Hm, Days Past?
Strange. It's not like I've been doing all that much.
I did have my last 4x400 workout yesterday before I move up to 4x600's starting tomorrow, which went quite well. I can now say I can officially run as fast as I did in high school, sort of. The sort of being I was running the sprints with 200 yard rests in between, whereas in high school as part of the mile I would have ran the 1600 all at once. But my times are comparable. So once I build up the endurance, wahoo. That was the first workout I ever really cramped up afterwards, like it even hurts to sit down because your hamstrings are just dying. I've been doing really good stretching sessions both before and after the workouts though, so there isn't any soreness. I still get occasional soreness in my shins, but almost always because I'm running on pavement for long periods rather than the track. Either that or at the very beginning of the warmup, before I've properly stretched and such. I'm very happy about my progress.
Upcoming weeks get pretty ugly. The setup is Tuesday Thursday Saturday Sunday, with Thursday and Sunday being the heavier workouts of 4x400 for example last week, and Tuesday and Saturday being shorter speed workout such as 1x400, 1x300, 1x200, 1x100. Sounds easy, but if you're really bookin it, it's still pretty draining. That and you have to tack on a mile or two afterward as a warmdown, which is really good for getting used to running while absolutely dead. It doesn't really leave any time for seeing how my 1.5 mile time improves as I go, but it should be pretty obvious as the workouts lengthen. This week I go to 4x600, and then as the weeks pass it goes to 4x800 (this should be bad), 4x1000 (this should definitely be the worst one), 8x400, and 8x600 (um, gasp). The final two weeks of the schedule I've been working at actually tone down the workouts, maybe to just maintain the level of endurance rather than overdo it. Basically has you run the first rep at top speed, literally race pace, and then still do a few more lengthy reps after that, such as 1x1000, 1x1000, 1x300, or the final one of 1x1400, 1x1000. One thing I should mention is in these later weeks the rest period between the reps is a mere 25 or 50 meters, whereas in previous weeks such as the 4x1000 the rest was up to 400 meters. Basically as the distances increase, the rests decrease. Easy way to build endurance I suppose. So somewhere down the line in about 7 weeks I should be in pretty awesome shape when it comes to running the 1x2400 (1.5 mile) I'll be scored on.
Hm, have I babbled enough about running yet, yeah I suppose.
Meanwhile I'm sticking to my reading schedule, although I have a bunch to catch up on this weekend. I felt pretty trashy today, think I missed a day of Centrum a couple days ago and got your typical common cold. Did get some sun in, and got a really funny squarish shaped sunburn in the middle of my back where I guess I couldn't reach with the lotion. It's small though, just kinda funny.
I went over and bought all the graduation stuff required, including announcements, the cap and gown rental, the diploma cover, and all the stuff they end up basically forcing you to buy with it. I also decided to splurge on a ring, for as I also said in high school when I bought that one, I'll probably only buy three rings in my life, one of which I won't even get to wear, so I might as well buy the other two. It's dang spiff if you ask me, but of course won't get shipped until just before graduation, so I can't enjoy it just yet. Hearing all the workers over there say congratulations to me like eighty times for graduating sort of caused it to start sinking in, but given how much work I have left to do, I don't think it'll be until the end of that last final that I can truly enjoy it. Meanwhile, rise, run, rep, eat, class, read, sleep, repeat as necessary.
Man, I slept like ten hours last night, took at least a three hour nap, and am now probably going to easily sleep through the night again. I really need to get better and get back into eight hours a day and feeling great.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Two Days and a Hundred Years Later...
It's funny how sometimes when you finally sit down and look at where you're at, and figure out everything that's wrong with the way things are, it makes it so much easier to see what's right.
I've had a really good couple of days, spent with really awesome people. Yesterday someone came to visit me in my room, which is always a pleasant surprise. She stayed for quite a while, and we just talked about this that and the other thing. She's just a very cheerful person, and it's so easy to crack a smile whenever I'm around her. We eventually went to dinner which I inhaled given I was to meet a friend at the 154 for our usual Monday night jaunt at 5:30. I was even sly enough to jack a full sandwich from Carrillo to eat on the way back which worked out nicely. It was raining, but I actually like driving in the rain. Much less monotonous. Chumash for the second week in a row was kind, with me walking out being up a total three times what I walked out up with last week, which is of course even better. Going to be pretty tough to triple the winnings next week, but you never know. Unfortunately for the four of us playing in the tournament, no one made it past the first round, although we all had "big fish" stories to pass around. I personally think I got robbed worse than anyone, with a 19 on the last hand while all in against a dealer 8, which then became a 16. Thus any card other than a 3, 4, or 5, and I would have won. Ten out of thirteen times I'd have gone to the second round, unfortunately this was one of the three times I wouldn't with a 3 popping and making the old lady's day at the other side of the table. All four of us had fighting chances in the last hand though, so it was a shame no one went on. By my count though I've played probably in about 8-10 tournaments costing me 40 or 50 bucks, and thus far have won $400 worth of winnings. Still a good $5 wager with a 10 to 1 return. On the way back since we had two cars involved due to one of my friends meeting us there since he works in Solvang, one of them was nice enough to ride with me back over the pass so I wouldn't have to go alone. We split up two and two and were off again through the rain, and I actually became engrossed in conversation the entire way back about my previous blog, the stage of life that I'm at, and just everything going on. She is actually in a somewhat similar situation and was able to relate, which was great. Was just good conversation, yet again.
Denny's was the flavor of the evening once we got back, and we had the usual fun making fun of my friend's special ordering that is quite extensive, with the usual reference to my previous joke about the fact she might as well "ask if they have a kangaroo in the kitchen." You kinda have to be there and in a certain mentality, but hey. I also found out the long distance phone card I've carried in my wallet for years expired in 2001 and has just been taking up space, go figure. Haha, I just typed fo gigure. That's hilarious. Anyway. Apple pie ala mode is the best. After more trash talk and storytelling alas it was time to head back, which was sad because it was now 11pm and I of course had homework due at 8. I'd had a great day though, so I decided to put it off til the morning and wake up mighty early. Before I did though, I got an IM from another friend wondering how the trip had gone and how I was doing, which was nice. She's definitely the person most like me that I've met this year, which makes her very easy to talk to. She'd swelled up her ankle like a balloon a day or two before, which really sucks, I remember the days of spraining stuff, it was never fun.
This morning 5:15am was when the watch went off, which was of course pretty obscenely early since I didn't actually hit it until around 1. I managed to get off my ass though, and better yet do the couple chapters of reading and understanding concepts required, and then figure out and finish up the homework, a half hour before it was due even. I even had time for breakfast! After a relatively uneventful class of going over stuff I'd already read (she collects homework at the end and despises people who come in at the end just to turn it in) I turned it in and headed over to the reccen and track. I've added an arm curl regiment to my workout, as that's one of the weightlifting exercises I'm a decent gap behind what I'm going to have to be at during fighter training. I figure biceps are easy to develop and look good anyway, so might as well get that started. The bench press will probably take care of itself as my push up reps climb into the several hundreds a week, but I'll probably check at some point to make sure I'm up where I need to be. Most everything else I'm already at the level I should be or beyond, so I'm not too worried. The track workout was pretty uneventful, other than feeling like I was going to die as usual. Managed to double the length of the warmdown, although it's still half the length of the recommended one. I've been doing the same initial week's sprint workouts for two weeks though to get better acquainted with that type of workout, so I should be up to speed next week. Lap times continue to fall.
So then I head off to my 11am which I was finally able to add last week. The lectures are pointless, but my main goal was to find someone with the reading list so I could copy it down. As it turned out the first guy I asked was extremely helpful, even letting me know about a homework assignment that's due a week from today and letting me copy down both it and the syllabus/reading list. With that info in hand and having scheduled out the reading for that class up through the midterm, and feeling much better about that class in general, I headed off to go check mail. That is when I stumbled upon my friend from my Writing 109 group, who I've run into now and again since then. Although she'd probably kill me for bringing it up again, she was the one who donated the golf ball sized bump to my forehead a few months ago during a heated racquetball match. :) Although we see each other occasionally, I really haven't been able to get to know her all that well until today. She was tabling for the Princeton Review, so I basically just kept her company when she wasn't helping a patron. I was initially only going to hang out for a little while, as I was hoping to get home and go to sleep immediately, not waking up until around 6 or something. As it was I ended up staying the entire time she was working, for no real reason at all other than the fact I was enjoying her company. I got to hear a lot of good stories about her life, and share some of my own, and it's weird, I just felt like I was actually getting to KNOW know her for the first time. Rather than just being a casual acquaintance, she actually feels like a friend now, you know? She's just an awesome person in general. It's bizarre, I go and complain about lacking these types of connections and then I just start falling into them left and right. Go figure.
I also must mention while I was outside the library one of my bestest friends stopped by as well, cheerful as ever. I don't get to see her too often since she lives off campus, so I value all the times I see her more than ever. She's just the type of person you wanna squeeeeeeeeesh whenever you see them.
So there you have it, Sunday I do all this whining about lacking real friends, and within two days six of the coolest kind make appearances. Life isn't all that bad.
It's funny how sometimes when you finally sit down and look at where you're at, and figure out everything that's wrong with the way things are, it makes it so much easier to see what's right.
I've had a really good couple of days, spent with really awesome people. Yesterday someone came to visit me in my room, which is always a pleasant surprise. She stayed for quite a while, and we just talked about this that and the other thing. She's just a very cheerful person, and it's so easy to crack a smile whenever I'm around her. We eventually went to dinner which I inhaled given I was to meet a friend at the 154 for our usual Monday night jaunt at 5:30. I was even sly enough to jack a full sandwich from Carrillo to eat on the way back which worked out nicely. It was raining, but I actually like driving in the rain. Much less monotonous. Chumash for the second week in a row was kind, with me walking out being up a total three times what I walked out up with last week, which is of course even better. Going to be pretty tough to triple the winnings next week, but you never know. Unfortunately for the four of us playing in the tournament, no one made it past the first round, although we all had "big fish" stories to pass around. I personally think I got robbed worse than anyone, with a 19 on the last hand while all in against a dealer 8, which then became a 16. Thus any card other than a 3, 4, or 5, and I would have won. Ten out of thirteen times I'd have gone to the second round, unfortunately this was one of the three times I wouldn't with a 3 popping and making the old lady's day at the other side of the table. All four of us had fighting chances in the last hand though, so it was a shame no one went on. By my count though I've played probably in about 8-10 tournaments costing me 40 or 50 bucks, and thus far have won $400 worth of winnings. Still a good $5 wager with a 10 to 1 return. On the way back since we had two cars involved due to one of my friends meeting us there since he works in Solvang, one of them was nice enough to ride with me back over the pass so I wouldn't have to go alone. We split up two and two and were off again through the rain, and I actually became engrossed in conversation the entire way back about my previous blog, the stage of life that I'm at, and just everything going on. She is actually in a somewhat similar situation and was able to relate, which was great. Was just good conversation, yet again.
Denny's was the flavor of the evening once we got back, and we had the usual fun making fun of my friend's special ordering that is quite extensive, with the usual reference to my previous joke about the fact she might as well "ask if they have a kangaroo in the kitchen." You kinda have to be there and in a certain mentality, but hey. I also found out the long distance phone card I've carried in my wallet for years expired in 2001 and has just been taking up space, go figure. Haha, I just typed fo gigure. That's hilarious. Anyway. Apple pie ala mode is the best. After more trash talk and storytelling alas it was time to head back, which was sad because it was now 11pm and I of course had homework due at 8. I'd had a great day though, so I decided to put it off til the morning and wake up mighty early. Before I did though, I got an IM from another friend wondering how the trip had gone and how I was doing, which was nice. She's definitely the person most like me that I've met this year, which makes her very easy to talk to. She'd swelled up her ankle like a balloon a day or two before, which really sucks, I remember the days of spraining stuff, it was never fun.
This morning 5:15am was when the watch went off, which was of course pretty obscenely early since I didn't actually hit it until around 1. I managed to get off my ass though, and better yet do the couple chapters of reading and understanding concepts required, and then figure out and finish up the homework, a half hour before it was due even. I even had time for breakfast! After a relatively uneventful class of going over stuff I'd already read (she collects homework at the end and despises people who come in at the end just to turn it in) I turned it in and headed over to the reccen and track. I've added an arm curl regiment to my workout, as that's one of the weightlifting exercises I'm a decent gap behind what I'm going to have to be at during fighter training. I figure biceps are easy to develop and look good anyway, so might as well get that started. The bench press will probably take care of itself as my push up reps climb into the several hundreds a week, but I'll probably check at some point to make sure I'm up where I need to be. Most everything else I'm already at the level I should be or beyond, so I'm not too worried. The track workout was pretty uneventful, other than feeling like I was going to die as usual. Managed to double the length of the warmdown, although it's still half the length of the recommended one. I've been doing the same initial week's sprint workouts for two weeks though to get better acquainted with that type of workout, so I should be up to speed next week. Lap times continue to fall.
So then I head off to my 11am which I was finally able to add last week. The lectures are pointless, but my main goal was to find someone with the reading list so I could copy it down. As it turned out the first guy I asked was extremely helpful, even letting me know about a homework assignment that's due a week from today and letting me copy down both it and the syllabus/reading list. With that info in hand and having scheduled out the reading for that class up through the midterm, and feeling much better about that class in general, I headed off to go check mail. That is when I stumbled upon my friend from my Writing 109 group, who I've run into now and again since then. Although she'd probably kill me for bringing it up again, she was the one who donated the golf ball sized bump to my forehead a few months ago during a heated racquetball match. :) Although we see each other occasionally, I really haven't been able to get to know her all that well until today. She was tabling for the Princeton Review, so I basically just kept her company when she wasn't helping a patron. I was initially only going to hang out for a little while, as I was hoping to get home and go to sleep immediately, not waking up until around 6 or something. As it was I ended up staying the entire time she was working, for no real reason at all other than the fact I was enjoying her company. I got to hear a lot of good stories about her life, and share some of my own, and it's weird, I just felt like I was actually getting to KNOW know her for the first time. Rather than just being a casual acquaintance, she actually feels like a friend now, you know? She's just an awesome person in general. It's bizarre, I go and complain about lacking these types of connections and then I just start falling into them left and right. Go figure.
I also must mention while I was outside the library one of my bestest friends stopped by as well, cheerful as ever. I don't get to see her too often since she lives off campus, so I value all the times I see her more than ever. She's just the type of person you wanna squeeeeeeeeesh whenever you see them.
So there you have it, Sunday I do all this whining about lacking real friends, and within two days six of the coolest kind make appearances. Life isn't all that bad.
Sunday, April 13, 2003
Taking Stock.
I yoinked that heading off a sibling's blog, it just sort of fit what I'm trying to do here.
So I've been pretty irritated lately in general. It's just sort of come to a head this weekend because I got flaked on by a few friends who were supposed to go to Magic Mountain with me today but waited til the night before to decide against it. That, and like every single person I've talked to ends up annoying me. I'd call it PMS, but well, that wouldn't make much sense.
I had a phone conversation last night with someone for over two hours. I used to have those kinds of conversations all the time with people. Be it on the phone, or just sitting someplace, we'd talk about anything and everything, whatever was on our minds. I never felt like I was wasting time, I always felt I was gaining something. The people were smart, knew what they were talking about, and even if our opinions differed, helped me learn why. Those types of conversations seem like they're becoming fewer, and fewer. The conclusion I've come to is while in college, I just haven't really connected with anyone. There are a select few who I feel are on the same wavelength, but other than that, it's like I'm a stranger in a strange land. In high school these types were for some reason, easier to find. Many of them I still keep in touch with today, and whenever we meet up we end up just hanging out for hours. In college, everything seems forced. I do things with people because it's better than being alone, but I'm not necessarily happy hanging out with them either. Granted everyone I know could potentially take that last line personally, but if they do, they're clearly not one of the select few mentioned above.
This is probably all becoming more clear because of my impending departure. I am at a stage in my life where everything will soon be changing, and I will be too. It's actually quite sad, although I still see myself keeping in touch with literally a dozen people I met in high school while I'm away, I really don't see that happening with those I've met in college. A few sure, but given the dozens I've become acquainted with here, the fraction is miniscule. People just don't seem like they're on the same page. I know where I'm going in life, I know what I'm doing, I know how to get there, I know what's required, I have the motivation, and I'm on my way. Most people I know, are just stagnant. They don't know what to do with their lives, what comes after college, or why they're doing what they are already. Some are more concerned with whether or not their significant other remembered an anniversary than whether or not the US is at war.
That's the other sad thing. I'd love to say that I thought all of my friend's relationships were going to last forever, but call me a pessimist, or a hater, or bitter, or whatever, but some just make me laugh. That someone can possibly be so shallow as to think that it will actually work in the long run, that they will actually get married and have kids some day. I'm not going to go into specifics, and given almost every single one of my friends here is in a relationship of one stage or another I'm not speaking for the whole, but some people are just being stupid. Yeah, it's my opinion, yeah, I may be proven wrong. I just wouldn't put money I earned on the happier ever after result.
When someone is that engrossed in something doomed to fail, it just makes me feel detached from them in general. If they're willing to expend all this energy on a waste of time, then are they really going to go anywhere in life? Am I ever actually going to learn anything from that kind of person, or are they just dragging me down? The obvious defense is I haven't dated in college, so I don't know what I'm missing. My phone conversation last night was with someone who over the past few years has run into a few unfortuante circumstances with a few different members of the opposite sex. Although we are near the same age in our lives, they have taken a much more proactive stance when it comes to trying to find a relationship that works, while I have not. In a way, the person has taken what has come to them, and only later found out it wasn't the ideal situation. Whereas I've simply been the most picky person ever, not even making the effort unless there's extremely long term potential. Arguments can be waged for both strategies. One causes pleasure follow by pain, but you learn as you go. The latter merely means you don't date until you find one of "the" ones. It was interesting, as we talked it seemed we both were leaning towards using the other person's strategy, due I suppose to the grass being greener on the other side. In reality though I don't know which of us has ended up better off.
It's been close to three years since I've been in any kind of serious relationship. Three years of college mind you, which I've spent surrounded by thousands of people my own age. How is it possible I haven't found someone on my level, seeing things on the same wavelength, being at the same stage in their life? I have no idea. Granted, there's still time. Also granted, I'm leaving, but seriously, if I thought the person was the best thing that ever happened to be, distance would not be an issue, and neither would time. I've done it before, and I'd do it again.
But alas, the challenge is the search, and the chase. Meanwhile I'll keep meeting people who are more worried about what they're going to wear, or how many pounds they need to lose, or why President Bush is an idiot for wanting to kill American soldiers on purpose so he can get more gas for his SUVs. I suppose I could give a long drawn out rebuttal to why these people are stupid, but frankly, if they're stupid enough to think it's true in the first place, it's not like saying something to deaf ears will improve anything.
I'm often asked what single value I'd look for in a partner, and honesty always comes first. Everything begins with trust. I've never really thought about the second one though. Based on all this, I'd have to say ambition comes next . That's one of the most admirable qualities a person can have.
Are you out there? You who actually has a clue? You who know where you're going in life, have a plan, and are making it happen? You who are actually informed, intelligent, and ambitious? You who will always be teaching me, as well as always be learning? If so, please feel free to contact me. I'll be waiting.
I yoinked that heading off a sibling's blog, it just sort of fit what I'm trying to do here.
So I've been pretty irritated lately in general. It's just sort of come to a head this weekend because I got flaked on by a few friends who were supposed to go to Magic Mountain with me today but waited til the night before to decide against it. That, and like every single person I've talked to ends up annoying me. I'd call it PMS, but well, that wouldn't make much sense.
I had a phone conversation last night with someone for over two hours. I used to have those kinds of conversations all the time with people. Be it on the phone, or just sitting someplace, we'd talk about anything and everything, whatever was on our minds. I never felt like I was wasting time, I always felt I was gaining something. The people were smart, knew what they were talking about, and even if our opinions differed, helped me learn why. Those types of conversations seem like they're becoming fewer, and fewer. The conclusion I've come to is while in college, I just haven't really connected with anyone. There are a select few who I feel are on the same wavelength, but other than that, it's like I'm a stranger in a strange land. In high school these types were for some reason, easier to find. Many of them I still keep in touch with today, and whenever we meet up we end up just hanging out for hours. In college, everything seems forced. I do things with people because it's better than being alone, but I'm not necessarily happy hanging out with them either. Granted everyone I know could potentially take that last line personally, but if they do, they're clearly not one of the select few mentioned above.
This is probably all becoming more clear because of my impending departure. I am at a stage in my life where everything will soon be changing, and I will be too. It's actually quite sad, although I still see myself keeping in touch with literally a dozen people I met in high school while I'm away, I really don't see that happening with those I've met in college. A few sure, but given the dozens I've become acquainted with here, the fraction is miniscule. People just don't seem like they're on the same page. I know where I'm going in life, I know what I'm doing, I know how to get there, I know what's required, I have the motivation, and I'm on my way. Most people I know, are just stagnant. They don't know what to do with their lives, what comes after college, or why they're doing what they are already. Some are more concerned with whether or not their significant other remembered an anniversary than whether or not the US is at war.
That's the other sad thing. I'd love to say that I thought all of my friend's relationships were going to last forever, but call me a pessimist, or a hater, or bitter, or whatever, but some just make me laugh. That someone can possibly be so shallow as to think that it will actually work in the long run, that they will actually get married and have kids some day. I'm not going to go into specifics, and given almost every single one of my friends here is in a relationship of one stage or another I'm not speaking for the whole, but some people are just being stupid. Yeah, it's my opinion, yeah, I may be proven wrong. I just wouldn't put money I earned on the happier ever after result.
When someone is that engrossed in something doomed to fail, it just makes me feel detached from them in general. If they're willing to expend all this energy on a waste of time, then are they really going to go anywhere in life? Am I ever actually going to learn anything from that kind of person, or are they just dragging me down? The obvious defense is I haven't dated in college, so I don't know what I'm missing. My phone conversation last night was with someone who over the past few years has run into a few unfortuante circumstances with a few different members of the opposite sex. Although we are near the same age in our lives, they have taken a much more proactive stance when it comes to trying to find a relationship that works, while I have not. In a way, the person has taken what has come to them, and only later found out it wasn't the ideal situation. Whereas I've simply been the most picky person ever, not even making the effort unless there's extremely long term potential. Arguments can be waged for both strategies. One causes pleasure follow by pain, but you learn as you go. The latter merely means you don't date until you find one of "the" ones. It was interesting, as we talked it seemed we both were leaning towards using the other person's strategy, due I suppose to the grass being greener on the other side. In reality though I don't know which of us has ended up better off.
It's been close to three years since I've been in any kind of serious relationship. Three years of college mind you, which I've spent surrounded by thousands of people my own age. How is it possible I haven't found someone on my level, seeing things on the same wavelength, being at the same stage in their life? I have no idea. Granted, there's still time. Also granted, I'm leaving, but seriously, if I thought the person was the best thing that ever happened to be, distance would not be an issue, and neither would time. I've done it before, and I'd do it again.
But alas, the challenge is the search, and the chase. Meanwhile I'll keep meeting people who are more worried about what they're going to wear, or how many pounds they need to lose, or why President Bush is an idiot for wanting to kill American soldiers on purpose so he can get more gas for his SUVs. I suppose I could give a long drawn out rebuttal to why these people are stupid, but frankly, if they're stupid enough to think it's true in the first place, it's not like saying something to deaf ears will improve anything.
I'm often asked what single value I'd look for in a partner, and honesty always comes first. Everything begins with trust. I've never really thought about the second one though. Based on all this, I'd have to say ambition comes next . That's one of the most admirable qualities a person can have.
Are you out there? You who actually has a clue? You who know where you're going in life, have a plan, and are making it happen? You who are actually informed, intelligent, and ambitious? You who will always be teaching me, as well as always be learning? If so, please feel free to contact me. I'll be waiting.
