Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Makes me Wise, or Something...
Going to bed (insert sort of here) early since my intent is to head off into the mountains tomorrow with a friend and conquer Mt. Baldy, the highest mountain around here at just over 10,000 feet. Hopin to take a pic very similar to one I took the last time I was on top, which was about ohhhh 9 years ago give or take. Will be interesting trying to find the right spot. And the trail, even. (Last time my father and I went, we missed the trail on the way up and took an alternate route, and then halfway down the "right" trail on the way down got lost, ended up on the wrong side of a ridge, and had to scramble through brush for a while before we got back to the trail)
I know EXACTLY what I'm doing this time. Really. Hee.
Thursday, July 18, 2002
Shin Splints, My New Mortal Enemy...
Man, for all of high school I was oblivious to the concept of shin splints, dozens of my fellow athletes would complain about them on a daily basis and I'd just insist I didn't even know what they felt like. Well, I finally know.
These last few weeks I've been sticking to a running routine and all the sprinting at the end and downhill running on the local Cross Country course at Entradero has started taking its toll on my legs. It's quite painful, immediately after I stop running they begin to throb, and I end up having to wait a couple days before it isn't painful to run again. Theoretically you're supposed to just take six months off or something to let them heal, but that would sort of go backwards with regards to what I'm trying to do with the whole getting into better shape concept. I've been looking into other non-contact forms of exercise like biking and whatnot, might have to start doing more of that instead of running, even though that's really what I need to be working on. Gr.
So it's Thursday night and I don't have much of anything planned for the weekend... Anyone out there in boredom land feel free to look me up, I tend to be available...
I did manage to finish reworking my movielist, so now it's much more useful and will require less effort on a daily basis. Wonder why I wrote movielist as one word. That's not even what the filename is or anything. Weird.
I was bored enough tonight I went Google searching again, with "ucsb blog" popping up some interesting people whose guestbooks I immediately spammed with gibberish. Still refreshing the AFOQT scores at least 3 times a day, tomorrow is day 5 or so of 10, dun, dun dun dun.
Man, for all of high school I was oblivious to the concept of shin splints, dozens of my fellow athletes would complain about them on a daily basis and I'd just insist I didn't even know what they felt like. Well, I finally know.
These last few weeks I've been sticking to a running routine and all the sprinting at the end and downhill running on the local Cross Country course at Entradero has started taking its toll on my legs. It's quite painful, immediately after I stop running they begin to throb, and I end up having to wait a couple days before it isn't painful to run again. Theoretically you're supposed to just take six months off or something to let them heal, but that would sort of go backwards with regards to what I'm trying to do with the whole getting into better shape concept. I've been looking into other non-contact forms of exercise like biking and whatnot, might have to start doing more of that instead of running, even though that's really what I need to be working on. Gr.
So it's Thursday night and I don't have much of anything planned for the weekend... Anyone out there in boredom land feel free to look me up, I tend to be available...
I did manage to finish reworking my movielist, so now it's much more useful and will require less effort on a daily basis. Wonder why I wrote movielist as one word. That's not even what the filename is or anything. Weird.
I was bored enough tonight I went Google searching again, with "ucsb blog" popping up some interesting people whose guestbooks I immediately spammed with gibberish. Still refreshing the AFOQT scores at least 3 times a day, tomorrow is day 5 or so of 10, dun, dun dun dun.
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
A Roof With A View...
The tiny spider inches its way along the metal railing next to the young man. He watches as inch by inch, progress is made. The tone of his friend's voice is still echoing inside his head as he lifts his gaze to take in the view around him. From the lawn chair on the roof of the apartment building several stories up, he can see much of the surrounding area, the lights from many tall buildings interrupting the darkness that is the night. It is cold, the breeze has picked up since the beginning of the conversation. He realizes the time has been passing unnoticed. He glances back to his friend as she stares off into space, seemingly oblivious of the temperature as she stands there, leaning against the railing in a tank top and jeans with her arms crossed, defiant. The deep down sadness is shown in her expression. A tear is still visible on her cheek before she wipes it away, seemingly angry her emotions have become visible. The young man is torn, wanting to help, not knowing what he can do. He's never seen her like this, but they've never really had this kind of conversation before. Usually it's he who's jabbering away, telling a story, making side comments whenever possible. Tonight it is she, opening up a side of her he's never seen. For the most part he just listens, trying to understand what she's going through, but knowing he can't share the weight of the pain to make her side lighter, no matter how hard he tries. He wishes he didn't have to see the people he cares about like this. There's a silence for a minute, as the crescent of the moon climbs higher into the sky. His gaze wanders back to the spider. It's decided against that earlier course towards her, and is now making its way back towards him. It disappears behind a potted plant, as he shivers."
Made the trek up into L.A. to visit a friend last night, she's staying there for the summer to attend summer school, originally from the Bay Area. Seemingly random conversation eventually turned to much less pleasant topics, as I learned about a problem she's been facing for a while. Made me realize that I must have been making progress somewhere a long the line, because the number of nights when I feel the way she does have dropped dramatically over the years. I guess it's because I have friends like her to talk to whenever I feel the need, there's always an open ear whenever my voice needs to be heard. Then again I guess it could be because I've been lacking a girlfriend or female companion for almost two years now, and so there's been less drama...
Not much pains me more than seeing an inherently good person affected negatively by someone else, when it's out of my control. You just want to give them a big long hug and show them that you're there, and always will be. Our conversation last night made me realize she's one of only a few really close friends I have at UCSB, whom I can always call whether it be to whine about the latest rejection I've faced, or ask for a ride because my car broke down in the middle of the night. I just haven't really connected with the amount of people I did in high school, even though I've been there three full years. I think the overall mentality is just different in college, and the amount of people on my wavelength is minimal. Makes me thankful to have the close friendships that I do, I wouldn't ever want to give those away.
To those who make my friends feel like shit, open your eyes, and realize what an idiot you are.
The tiny spider inches its way along the metal railing next to the young man. He watches as inch by inch, progress is made. The tone of his friend's voice is still echoing inside his head as he lifts his gaze to take in the view around him. From the lawn chair on the roof of the apartment building several stories up, he can see much of the surrounding area, the lights from many tall buildings interrupting the darkness that is the night. It is cold, the breeze has picked up since the beginning of the conversation. He realizes the time has been passing unnoticed. He glances back to his friend as she stares off into space, seemingly oblivious of the temperature as she stands there, leaning against the railing in a tank top and jeans with her arms crossed, defiant. The deep down sadness is shown in her expression. A tear is still visible on her cheek before she wipes it away, seemingly angry her emotions have become visible. The young man is torn, wanting to help, not knowing what he can do. He's never seen her like this, but they've never really had this kind of conversation before. Usually it's he who's jabbering away, telling a story, making side comments whenever possible. Tonight it is she, opening up a side of her he's never seen. For the most part he just listens, trying to understand what she's going through, but knowing he can't share the weight of the pain to make her side lighter, no matter how hard he tries. He wishes he didn't have to see the people he cares about like this. There's a silence for a minute, as the crescent of the moon climbs higher into the sky. His gaze wanders back to the spider. It's decided against that earlier course towards her, and is now making its way back towards him. It disappears behind a potted plant, as he shivers."
Made the trek up into L.A. to visit a friend last night, she's staying there for the summer to attend summer school, originally from the Bay Area. Seemingly random conversation eventually turned to much less pleasant topics, as I learned about a problem she's been facing for a while. Made me realize that I must have been making progress somewhere a long the line, because the number of nights when I feel the way she does have dropped dramatically over the years. I guess it's because I have friends like her to talk to whenever I feel the need, there's always an open ear whenever my voice needs to be heard. Then again I guess it could be because I've been lacking a girlfriend or female companion for almost two years now, and so there's been less drama...
Not much pains me more than seeing an inherently good person affected negatively by someone else, when it's out of my control. You just want to give them a big long hug and show them that you're there, and always will be. Our conversation last night made me realize she's one of only a few really close friends I have at UCSB, whom I can always call whether it be to whine about the latest rejection I've faced, or ask for a ride because my car broke down in the middle of the night. I just haven't really connected with the amount of people I did in high school, even though I've been there three full years. I think the overall mentality is just different in college, and the amount of people on my wavelength is minimal. Makes me thankful to have the close friendships that I do, I wouldn't ever want to give those away.
To those who make my friends feel like shit, open your eyes, and realize what an idiot you are.
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Feels Like Noon, But Isn't.
Guess that's what happens when you wake up at 2:30pm. I'm allowed though, after the 4am wakeup yesterday I ended up intelligently staying up until 2am, not quite making it to the full twenty four hour day. I had good reason though, so it's all good.
The test, ah the test. Imagine taking a full blown SAT for about two and a half hours, getting a ten minute break, and then proceeding to go through TEN more sections all more stressful than the previous, and eventually finishing the test five hours later than when you started. Definitely the longest test I've ever taken, and even though I love tests as opposed to homework and such, and used to take practice SATs for fun, this was not very fun.
Some of the later sections were VERY difficult, not because the questions were hard, but because the time limit was ridiculously short. One section had a table with forty numbered row and columns with random numbers in every slot, with the rows and columns numbered as if they were the X and Y values of a graph, from -20 to 20 on both axes. Without using a straight edge or marking on the sheet in any way, we had to take two numbers given in the problem and find the corresponding number on the sheet. It's an easy task, unless you're rushed. That and the fact that the test problems themselves were just in a list on the page in two columns next to the problem number so your thought process went like this:
"Okay I'm on #316, where is that on the page, okay here it is, numbers across from it are -16 and 18, okay look at the table, find -16 on the X horizontal, take my finger and slide it down carefully without screwing it up towards about where 18 should be, oh wait that's -18, slide it back up, okay there's 18, double check yes I'm in the right place, okay the number is 319, okay back to the test sheet, 319, 319, wait what number was I on, check answer sheet, okay it was 316, scroll over from #316, look at the choices, wait what did I say the answer was 316? No wait it was 319 okay that's choice D okay quick bubble bubble it in okay next problem #317."
If you read that and understood it all then maybe my brain isn't as confusing as I thought. Again, it doesn't look all that difficult, but when you put a 7 minute timelimit on 40 of those giving you about 10 seconds a question including bubbling, it can get tight. Thanks to being prepared and having taken a full on practice test before going, I knew how fast I had to work on each of the sections, and ended up doing them pretty efficiently. On more than one section I could tell I was the only one who finished, with the average person around me finishing about half. It was quite satisfying to be done when the proctor came back into the room and hearing nothing but mad random bubbling all around me. One guy said during the break he was using the "BABE" technique of randomness for the ones he didn't get to. I'd never heard of that before, go figure.
The test room itself was quite bizarre, at first we were all seated in this somewhat long room with desks and I was getting all set up assuming the test would be there, but then they opened this small door which led into this literally four feet by six feet room or so with ten desks crammed into every conceivable space. There were windows on all sides but they were somewhat soundproof, so other than the door it's just us in a claustrophobic's nightmare. Luckily that's not me.
The best part was when the proctor would leave the room at the beginning of one of the faster sections (some were as short as 3 minutes) and you could hear him say to the other people working in ajoining rooms (COME WATCH THIS ONE THERE'S NO WAY ANYONE WILL FINISH THEY'RE SCREWED) thinking the windows were soundproof. Nothing like having six guys line up against a window about six inches from your face looking over your shoulder as you take one of the more stressful tests of your life. Sheesh.
Ten days maximum is how long it's supposed to take to get the scores, they break it down into 5 subcategories by percentile, with 99 99 99 99 99 being the highest. The categories are three academic just based on the first six sections that are very SAT like, Verbal, Quantitative, and Academic Aptitude, which is just the first two scores combined. The last two categories are Pilot and Navigator, which are composites based on the test sections they feel will be most representative of what those jobs will require. I've been thinking quite positively, so I'm hoping for 90 Pilot, 90 Navigator, 90 Verbal, 95 Quantitative, and 90 Academic Aptitude. This is where my parents both go "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT." Basically if you think about it those scores just require beating 9 out of every 10 people who took the test, which is I'm guessing a no more than a couple thousand nationwide, maybe even as few as five hundred. Generally when I make predictions I end up overestimating, and I always hope that isn't the case the next time, but I like being optimistic. Of course, in order to be eligible you only have to get like 50 combined between all five scores, but I'm trying to counteract a lower than average GPA, so exceptional scores would be ideal.
La Cienaga was very kind going both directions, only took me a half hour or so, the 405 can be up to an hour during rush hour traversing the same distance.
More later, as the day was only half over by the time I got home.
Guess that's what happens when you wake up at 2:30pm. I'm allowed though, after the 4am wakeup yesterday I ended up intelligently staying up until 2am, not quite making it to the full twenty four hour day. I had good reason though, so it's all good.
The test, ah the test. Imagine taking a full blown SAT for about two and a half hours, getting a ten minute break, and then proceeding to go through TEN more sections all more stressful than the previous, and eventually finishing the test five hours later than when you started. Definitely the longest test I've ever taken, and even though I love tests as opposed to homework and such, and used to take practice SATs for fun, this was not very fun.
Some of the later sections were VERY difficult, not because the questions were hard, but because the time limit was ridiculously short. One section had a table with forty numbered row and columns with random numbers in every slot, with the rows and columns numbered as if they were the X and Y values of a graph, from -20 to 20 on both axes. Without using a straight edge or marking on the sheet in any way, we had to take two numbers given in the problem and find the corresponding number on the sheet. It's an easy task, unless you're rushed. That and the fact that the test problems themselves were just in a list on the page in two columns next to the problem number so your thought process went like this:
"Okay I'm on #316, where is that on the page, okay here it is, numbers across from it are -16 and 18, okay look at the table, find -16 on the X horizontal, take my finger and slide it down carefully without screwing it up towards about where 18 should be, oh wait that's -18, slide it back up, okay there's 18, double check yes I'm in the right place, okay the number is 319, okay back to the test sheet, 319, 319, wait what number was I on, check answer sheet, okay it was 316, scroll over from #316, look at the choices, wait what did I say the answer was 316? No wait it was 319 okay that's choice D okay quick bubble bubble it in okay next problem #317."
If you read that and understood it all then maybe my brain isn't as confusing as I thought. Again, it doesn't look all that difficult, but when you put a 7 minute timelimit on 40 of those giving you about 10 seconds a question including bubbling, it can get tight. Thanks to being prepared and having taken a full on practice test before going, I knew how fast I had to work on each of the sections, and ended up doing them pretty efficiently. On more than one section I could tell I was the only one who finished, with the average person around me finishing about half. It was quite satisfying to be done when the proctor came back into the room and hearing nothing but mad random bubbling all around me. One guy said during the break he was using the "BABE" technique of randomness for the ones he didn't get to. I'd never heard of that before, go figure.
The test room itself was quite bizarre, at first we were all seated in this somewhat long room with desks and I was getting all set up assuming the test would be there, but then they opened this small door which led into this literally four feet by six feet room or so with ten desks crammed into every conceivable space. There were windows on all sides but they were somewhat soundproof, so other than the door it's just us in a claustrophobic's nightmare. Luckily that's not me.
The best part was when the proctor would leave the room at the beginning of one of the faster sections (some were as short as 3 minutes) and you could hear him say to the other people working in ajoining rooms (COME WATCH THIS ONE THERE'S NO WAY ANYONE WILL FINISH THEY'RE SCREWED) thinking the windows were soundproof. Nothing like having six guys line up against a window about six inches from your face looking over your shoulder as you take one of the more stressful tests of your life. Sheesh.
Ten days maximum is how long it's supposed to take to get the scores, they break it down into 5 subcategories by percentile, with 99 99 99 99 99 being the highest. The categories are three academic just based on the first six sections that are very SAT like, Verbal, Quantitative, and Academic Aptitude, which is just the first two scores combined. The last two categories are Pilot and Navigator, which are composites based on the test sections they feel will be most representative of what those jobs will require. I've been thinking quite positively, so I'm hoping for 90 Pilot, 90 Navigator, 90 Verbal, 95 Quantitative, and 90 Academic Aptitude. This is where my parents both go "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT." Basically if you think about it those scores just require beating 9 out of every 10 people who took the test, which is I'm guessing a no more than a couple thousand nationwide, maybe even as few as five hundred. Generally when I make predictions I end up overestimating, and I always hope that isn't the case the next time, but I like being optimistic. Of course, in order to be eligible you only have to get like 50 combined between all five scores, but I'm trying to counteract a lower than average GPA, so exceptional scores would be ideal.
La Cienaga was very kind going both directions, only took me a half hour or so, the 405 can be up to an hour during rush hour traversing the same distance.
More later, as the day was only half over by the time I got home.
Monday, July 15, 2002
Gah, Nerves, I Guess.
What's really annoying about having a big day that I need to be up early for is the night before the night of I always let myself get like ten hours of sleep, then take another couple hour nap later in the day, to the point I'm as rested as I can possibly be. Then I try to go to bed the night before the big day for just an eight hour normal set, and not only can I not get to sleep, but when I finally do I end up waking up too early, fully awake. So here I am at 4:15 when my alarm was set for 5, not having to be in LA until 6:30. Even if traffic was horrendous I could get there in an hour. Guess I'll read the paper, and listen to some motivational music or something. :) I suppose I shouldn't complain, it's a lot better deal to be yawning a bit because you woke up an hour early, instead of falling asleep even though you didn't get there until an hour late.
Wish me luck, that's always useful. More later when I return from the test, it doesn't get over until like noon, sadly enough.
What's really annoying about having a big day that I need to be up early for is the night before the night of I always let myself get like ten hours of sleep, then take another couple hour nap later in the day, to the point I'm as rested as I can possibly be. Then I try to go to bed the night before the big day for just an eight hour normal set, and not only can I not get to sleep, but when I finally do I end up waking up too early, fully awake. So here I am at 4:15 when my alarm was set for 5, not having to be in LA until 6:30. Even if traffic was horrendous I could get there in an hour. Guess I'll read the paper, and listen to some motivational music or something. :) I suppose I shouldn't complain, it's a lot better deal to be yawning a bit because you woke up an hour early, instead of falling asleep even though you didn't get there until an hour late.
Wish me luck, that's always useful. More later when I return from the test, it doesn't get over until like noon, sadly enough.
