mike gerenser

Kuk Sool Won of Webster is proud to announce the grand re-opening of our new training studio. Located at 396 Route 104, Ontario, we serve students from all over the Rochester area, including Webster, Penfield, Fairport, Victor, Irondequoit and Rochester.

Our new practice area is larger than ever before, with tall ceilings and better equipment storage. Plus, everything is brand new: new drywall, fresh paint, a brand new bathroom & changing room, new posters and new decorations. If you were on the fence about joining a martial arts class, our new state-of-the-art facility will definitely sway you! Stop in and try us today.

Turns out this year in Rochester, NY broke a couple of records. No, we’re not talking about tax increases (although we’ve got plenty of those). The summer of 2009 has been one of the coolest on record. In fact, it was officially the coolest June and July ever. Personally, I love it – the 70s is my comfort zone anyway. If I wanted to sweat my cojones off, I’d be spending my summers in Texas. No thank you! In upstate NY, we’ve had no need for air conditioning, which means we can have the windows open all day and enjoy the summer air. With such awesome weather combined with the best day of my life this past June, 2009 will easily be remembered as a great year.

Here are a few more interesting facts about the summer of 2009:

• 2009 featured the coolest July in 125 years!
• We had the fewest 80°+ days — just 12 versus the average of 35.
• We only had one day above 86°. The average is 15.
• We didn’t have a single day above 90°. And to this, I say thank god!

I’m now officially a married man, and proud of it! Hundreds of high-res photos from our wedding are available at my MobileMe Gallery. Check ‘em out. Our photographer, James Schuck, deserves praise for a job well done – he captured dozens of candids, and was able to be very creative with me and Emily. It was a pleasure working with him and I can’t recommend him enough!

We had a wonderful “mini-moon” in Montreal, Quebec from June 28-July 2. It flew by way too fast! Had a great time running around the city with my new bride, doing what I do best… taking pictures! We visited the Botannical Gardens, La Ronde amusement park, the Old City, plenty of shops on St. Catherine’s Street and had more than our fair share of good eats at some amazing restaurants.

Check out my gallery for some pics.

I just picked up a shiny new iPhone 3G S on Friday, and I have to say I’m loving it! It really is faster than last year’s 3G, and much faster than the original 2G iPhone I’ve been toting around for 23 months. I was able to go nearly 2 years without destroying my phone – in fact, it still looks like new. But that doesn’t keep me from being just a little apprehensive about carrying what amounts to a $600 shiny, new mini computer everywhere I go. I’m less worried about dropping it than I am about leaving it somewhere and having some thug steal it. That brings me to this wonderful story I read today bout a guy who lost his iPhone and was able to recover it using Apple’s MobileMe service. I won’t spoil the story for you, so you’ll have to read on.

We just visited Sonnenberg Gardens two weeks before the Big Day, taking notes on our favorite spots for Wedding photos. We found plenty of great photo opportunities, especially in the Japanese Garden (pictured above). View some of our pictures from this recent excursion in the Gallery.

If you’re a cook (or even a wannabe cook), then Williams-Sonoma is as close as you can get to Heaven. Emily and I stop by this store every couple weeks or so, admiring all the gleaming utensils, gadgets and yummy foods. This store is perfect for us (she does the cooking, I do the eating – and cleanup). So anyone looking for a nice wedding gift for yours truly might want to check out our registry. I know all Emily has been wishing for is her Le Creuset dutch ovens. And who knows – maybe I’ll finally get that ridiculously expensive Weber Genesis Grill!

I recently completed a complete overhaul of the Rochester area Kuk Sool Won web site. The site has a wealth of information for prospective students as well as a very nifty Flash-based photo gallery.

Kuk Sool Won is a mixed martial arts system that is dedicated to the cultivation of mental and physical strength and well-being, and to the preservation of traditional Korean Martial Arts. I’m one of the instructors/students at our Rochester dojahng and highly recommend our classes for people of all ages. I wrote a brief overview of Kuk Sool for those interested in learning more about it. For those interested in the history of Kuk Sool, there’s another article on our new web site that talks about the origins of the art and its founder. Check it out!

We finally did the whole wedding registry thing this month. We’re officially registered at Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath & Beyond. After being told by the store manager to register for several hundred items, we looked back at our list and couldn’t believe the amount of useless junk on there. Who really needs a panini press and a queen-sized air mattress anyway? More than half of it got removed, leaving us with the essentials.

Personally, I wanted to register at my two favorite stores, Lowes and Home Depot. Nothing says “have a happy marriage” like a new washing machine, an aluminum extension ladder and a bag of concrete mix.

I wanted to introduce everyone to a new venture of mine, Velocimedia. Think of Velocimedia as a mini ad agency for small businesses. Working with a couple of talented and amazing individuals, I provide graphic design, web development, video production, branding and marketing services to clients that are  interested in making their business stronger and more profitable. Velocimedia focuses on developing realistic solutions custom-tailored to each client. Granted, it takes money to invest to market yourself effectively, but it is not so much about the amount you have to spend but rather the way you spend it.

I’m very excited about Velocimedia. Visit our site to learn more about us and check out our portfolio. And of course, if you know of anyone that can benefit from our expertise, send them our way!