Okay Children Gather Round.
I'm going to tell you how to play a very fun game. It's called "Chase the Add Code." It has been occupying my time over the last several days as we have now reached the end of the second week of classes.
See, you spend all four years of college looking forward to the quarter you are a graduating senior. Why you ask? Because that's when you have the highest priority when crashing a class. If a class is full, especially in the econ department, they generally close it after a certain number of days from the beginning of the quarter, and then the ONLY way to add it is via a four digit add code. It doesn't matter if there are spaces on GOLD, our registration system, unless you have a code. The codes are turned over from the department to the professors, who can then at their discretion add the people they want. In most cases, the people are prioritized by number of units, so that those seniors who need the class for graduation are able to add it first, and those freshmen who will have years to take it another time get shafted. However, you might get really lucky. You might have say, 171 units, and be only 9 units off the required total for graduation. You'd think with that total, you'd have an exceptionally high priority. You'd figure most classes would have plenty of add codes to give out, and you'd be safe getting any class you wanted. You'd of course, be wrong. I made the mistake of thinking I was going to be able to add a course on personnel economics, the one I was looking forward to taking because the professor was actually coherent. As it turned out, he wasn't going to add anyone over the fifty person limit for the class, because he uses two labs for the midterm and final which are computer based, and there are only fifty computers. Thus, he only had two add codes he was going to give out. Still I attended a few more classes, expecting to be one of the two, before finding out on Tuesday that the two unit totals receiving the codes were 213 and 208. I was under the impression they kicked you out after 200 units. Apparently not. So, for two days I scrounged around for basically anything that was upper division econ that I could add so I could graduate. Eventually I went over to the Phelps labs to actually check out the computer situation for myself, and discovered there were in fact 26 computers in each lab. Armed with this information, I eventually tracked down the professor's office hours, and sat outside the room for an hour waiting for them, as they happened to be the same day. "Not all of them might be working on test day" was what he told me. So I notice that he is also teaching 100C this quarter, and ask him if he's adding people to that. All too willingly, he gives me a code immediately. I'm at first ecstatic, but decide this is a little strange. I log on and check the syllabus. "This course is aimed at students with a serious interest in economics (as distinct from business), who may be considering graduate study in that field." Uh oh. That is so not me. I read more. "Some of the material we will be reading is very advanced ... economic research in its original form of journal articles ... everyone will be called upon and expected to participate since the class size is small ... thursdays I will randomly call on you to present your answer to the discussion questions or to discuss the supplementary reading" Basically worst case scenario here in my book. Luckily after a few days of e-mails, I manage to get an appointment with another professor who teaches 106 and 114 for today at 10am. I show up and basically give him a partially true story about how I was enrolled in his class, and then dropped it, and later tried to readd but couldn't because it had been closed. In reality it was because I tried to add 152, and got shut down. He asks if I'm a graduating senior and when I'm graduating, and then gives me the predictable line of how he's had literally dozens of people he's had to say no to. Then however, to my utter amazement, he pulls a sheet out of a drawer and says that one person who he was going to give one to didn't show up, so he has one last code to give out, and might as well give it to me.
As of about 11am this morning, I am finally enrolled in 20 units. Of course I had to go get a refund for the 152 book, and by the 106 book for the second time (which was a little more expensive) but it's a small price to pay. Friday has been a very good day. Thank goodness. Now all I have to do is get some decent grades. Oh by the way, I've heard from inside sources that basically no one gets below an A or a B in 106, so it's nice that 106 was the one that I ended up with. That's now three classes that should be automatic B's or better, with the other two looking fine as well. Eight weeks to go.
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Some Shoutouts.
This'll be fun. Some shoutouts to those I know, in completely random order. If you can guess which one's you, huge amazement points.
Shoutouts...
To the blue jean baby.
To the luscious lips.
To my polar opposite.
To the retard.
To a great mind.
To the star.
To the one I miss.
To big red.
To the dreamer.
To the blinks.
To my partner in crime.
To the late night rendezvous.
To the old one.
To the older one.
And no, I'm not telling.
While I'm at it, a shoutout to myself...
To the dork.
This'll be fun. Some shoutouts to those I know, in completely random order. If you can guess which one's you, huge amazement points.
Shoutouts...
To the blue jean baby.
To the luscious lips.
To my polar opposite.
To the retard.
To a great mind.
To the star.
To the one I miss.
To big red.
To the dreamer.
To the blinks.
To my partner in crime.
To the late night rendezvous.
To the old one.
To the older one.
And no, I'm not telling.
While I'm at it, a shoutout to myself...
To the dork.
Sunny, but DAMNIT WIND!
These past few days I've been getting my sunbathing on, but unfortunately the wind has made it more difficult than I'd like. I actually never did talk about the trip I took to the beach the day after I got here, which was a lot of fun. Although I was forced to show off the interesting tank top shaped tanlines I have from hiking last summer, it was the beginning of trying to get back to a monochrome exterior. Four of us ended up making the fifty yard or so walk that takes you from my front door to the water's edge, and took a tennis ball so we could all destroy most of our arm muscles trying to show each other up, and then whine all through the day following about what's sore. I eventually had the pleasure of being buried by two fine young women, a rare opportunity I of course took advantage of. Reminded me of the ol childhood days. The only thing I didn't do was dig a huge hole, but the sand was packed pretty hard with water not too far under, so a significantly deep hole wouldn't have been possible. Unfortunately much of the recent attempts at sunbathing have been thwarted by the gusting winds, which tend to slam the sand into you like thousands of tiny needles while you like there not bothering it at all. The gusts actually got up above 35 mph one of the days last week, which is impressive enough to make it pretty rough biking back and forth, especially in a crosswind as you try to avoid the retard freshmen on their cell phones.
They also finally opened up the pool here in the complex, which should be quite nice. Already invaded the place a few times, and it's nice not having to go all the way to the RecCen to get my swim on. Yeah seriously, how spoiled am I, half a mile via bike is too far, fifty yards is the maximum effort I'm willing to put out. Sad. I actually have been following some periodization schedules put together by a fitness trainer and incoming Officer Trainee who frequents one of the OTS forums I keep up with, which have been good for keeping me on track for hitting my goals in the running and strength events. Now I just have to keep with it, and watch the reps pile on and the minutes pile off.
Darn, was gonna post this before midnight, I flunk!
These past few days I've been getting my sunbathing on, but unfortunately the wind has made it more difficult than I'd like. I actually never did talk about the trip I took to the beach the day after I got here, which was a lot of fun. Although I was forced to show off the interesting tank top shaped tanlines I have from hiking last summer, it was the beginning of trying to get back to a monochrome exterior. Four of us ended up making the fifty yard or so walk that takes you from my front door to the water's edge, and took a tennis ball so we could all destroy most of our arm muscles trying to show each other up, and then whine all through the day following about what's sore. I eventually had the pleasure of being buried by two fine young women, a rare opportunity I of course took advantage of. Reminded me of the ol childhood days. The only thing I didn't do was dig a huge hole, but the sand was packed pretty hard with water not too far under, so a significantly deep hole wouldn't have been possible. Unfortunately much of the recent attempts at sunbathing have been thwarted by the gusting winds, which tend to slam the sand into you like thousands of tiny needles while you like there not bothering it at all. The gusts actually got up above 35 mph one of the days last week, which is impressive enough to make it pretty rough biking back and forth, especially in a crosswind as you try to avoid the retard freshmen on their cell phones.
They also finally opened up the pool here in the complex, which should be quite nice. Already invaded the place a few times, and it's nice not having to go all the way to the RecCen to get my swim on. Yeah seriously, how spoiled am I, half a mile via bike is too far, fifty yards is the maximum effort I'm willing to put out. Sad. I actually have been following some periodization schedules put together by a fitness trainer and incoming Officer Trainee who frequents one of the OTS forums I keep up with, which have been good for keeping me on track for hitting my goals in the running and strength events. Now I just have to keep with it, and watch the reps pile on and the minutes pile off.
Darn, was gonna post this before midnight, I flunk!
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Friday, April 04, 2003
Finally Friday.
This week has officially been the longest ever. Mainly because I've been going to even more classes than I've been scheduled for, trying to decide which ones I want to take. After talking with the econ department I found out that you can basically take any six econ upper division electives you want, which is contrary to what the business economics major sheet says, which acts like it has to be two from each of three groups. This would have been really useful information last quarter, I could have actually been taking things I thought were really interesting rather than stuff just to fill requirements. So given this new freedom I checked out just about all the possible classes before deciding what to add.
I finally settled on two of my classes because I had the teacher last quarter, you just read a whole lot and then write an essay test midterm and final, and if you know what you're talking about you get at least a B, which was my grade last quarter. I don't mind reading, the classes are right after each other MWF in the same room at 8 and 9, so no real effort is required other than the usual getting up early. One is on the economics of ancient civilizations like Egypt and the Middle East (111), which is interesting, and the other is on the economics of Europe prior to 1850 (112A), which isn't really. Given prior to 1850 means everything from 8000 BC really, and economics didn't even really exist until much later, thus far it has been mostly a history class. History is somewhat interesting though, and easy to absorb and write about, so I'll live. The one required class I had to take was 134A which is Corporate Finance, in which all the lecture notes are online as well as the reading that should be done out of a decently fat book. The concepts don't seem altogether difficult, and there are weekly homeworks assigned but not graded for which the solutions are given, so that will keep me on top of what's going on and prevent me from falling behind. Then there's personnel economics (152) which was a really great find. The teacher is coherent, and not only can I understand what he's saying, but I can read what he writes on the board. These are two very rare qualities in professors these days. He goes through the usual concepts and formulas, but then also even throws in numerical exampls to make everything much clearer. Usually teachers of this kind of class give you all the boring derivation of the formula that no one cares about but is "more important" and then leave you on your own to figure out how to use it. Given that's what you're tested on, it's quite annoying. So yes, this guy rocks, and the class's concepts seem easy to learn. Last on the list we have um... Man there have been so many it takes me forever to figure out what the fifth one is every time I try to describe my schedule. It's 180 which is International Trade. My 8am TR class, this is taught by a female professor who clearly knows what she's talking about. She moves pretty quick, but thus far the concepts have all been based on what I already learned when studying Global Economics in AcaDec. Actually I'm pretty sure the whole class will be a review, barring some more in depth topics. I'm tellin ya, the knowledge from AcaDec will be helpin me forever it seems like. Unfortunately aerodynamics and aviation weren't subjects, so during my training I'll be learning as I go.
So there ya have it, twenty units with 8am every day. Whee. Three sections even, when barely any upper division lectures have sections. Lucky me. But it should go alright, unlike last quarter there is no real class where it's like "wonder what I'm going to get in here cuz I have no clue" type situation. Obviously I'll know more after the first set of midterms, of which I think I have like three on the same day. Always nice. The good news is I got out of having three finals on the same day, which would have been much worse. Instead they're all over the place with one on Monday at 11am, two Wednesdays at 8am and 7:30pm, as well as two 8ams on Thursday and Friday. So having three 8am finals on the last three days of finals would usually be lame, but given I'm doing that all quarter it will be nothing new. Besides which I have to stay around for commencement anyway, so it's not like the last final is keeping me here anyway. Would have been nice to have a few days to enjoy myself though.
I'm almost caught up in writing about what I've been up to, prolly by tomorrow will be all up to date and can start writing about things when they happen instead of weeks later, yay!
This week has officially been the longest ever. Mainly because I've been going to even more classes than I've been scheduled for, trying to decide which ones I want to take. After talking with the econ department I found out that you can basically take any six econ upper division electives you want, which is contrary to what the business economics major sheet says, which acts like it has to be two from each of three groups. This would have been really useful information last quarter, I could have actually been taking things I thought were really interesting rather than stuff just to fill requirements. So given this new freedom I checked out just about all the possible classes before deciding what to add.
I finally settled on two of my classes because I had the teacher last quarter, you just read a whole lot and then write an essay test midterm and final, and if you know what you're talking about you get at least a B, which was my grade last quarter. I don't mind reading, the classes are right after each other MWF in the same room at 8 and 9, so no real effort is required other than the usual getting up early. One is on the economics of ancient civilizations like Egypt and the Middle East (111), which is interesting, and the other is on the economics of Europe prior to 1850 (112A), which isn't really. Given prior to 1850 means everything from 8000 BC really, and economics didn't even really exist until much later, thus far it has been mostly a history class. History is somewhat interesting though, and easy to absorb and write about, so I'll live. The one required class I had to take was 134A which is Corporate Finance, in which all the lecture notes are online as well as the reading that should be done out of a decently fat book. The concepts don't seem altogether difficult, and there are weekly homeworks assigned but not graded for which the solutions are given, so that will keep me on top of what's going on and prevent me from falling behind. Then there's personnel economics (152) which was a really great find. The teacher is coherent, and not only can I understand what he's saying, but I can read what he writes on the board. These are two very rare qualities in professors these days. He goes through the usual concepts and formulas, but then also even throws in numerical exampls to make everything much clearer. Usually teachers of this kind of class give you all the boring derivation of the formula that no one cares about but is "more important" and then leave you on your own to figure out how to use it. Given that's what you're tested on, it's quite annoying. So yes, this guy rocks, and the class's concepts seem easy to learn. Last on the list we have um... Man there have been so many it takes me forever to figure out what the fifth one is every time I try to describe my schedule. It's 180 which is International Trade. My 8am TR class, this is taught by a female professor who clearly knows what she's talking about. She moves pretty quick, but thus far the concepts have all been based on what I already learned when studying Global Economics in AcaDec. Actually I'm pretty sure the whole class will be a review, barring some more in depth topics. I'm tellin ya, the knowledge from AcaDec will be helpin me forever it seems like. Unfortunately aerodynamics and aviation weren't subjects, so during my training I'll be learning as I go.
So there ya have it, twenty units with 8am every day. Whee. Three sections even, when barely any upper division lectures have sections. Lucky me. But it should go alright, unlike last quarter there is no real class where it's like "wonder what I'm going to get in here cuz I have no clue" type situation. Obviously I'll know more after the first set of midterms, of which I think I have like three on the same day. Always nice. The good news is I got out of having three finals on the same day, which would have been much worse. Instead they're all over the place with one on Monday at 11am, two Wednesdays at 8am and 7:30pm, as well as two 8ams on Thursday and Friday. So having three 8am finals on the last three days of finals would usually be lame, but given I'm doing that all quarter it will be nothing new. Besides which I have to stay around for commencement anyway, so it's not like the last final is keeping me here anyway. Would have been nice to have a few days to enjoy myself though.
I'm almost caught up in writing about what I've been up to, prolly by tomorrow will be all up to date and can start writing about things when they happen instead of weeks later, yay!
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Geez, Life Busy Blows.
Okay so if I don't start catching up with this I apparently never will, so here we go.
Last Friday (am I really this far behind, so sad) I headed up to Snow Summit again for my second snowboarding trip of Spring Break. This time I went with my father, who is a self proclaimed "mastur skier." We got there basically as early as possible, and were greeted with pretty much large slopes of uncut ice. For those who have tried snowboarding on ice, it's really not the prettiest picture. Luckily as time went on the sun gave it a decent slushy type surface, which made it about a hundred times easier to dig into the curves on the steep stuff. Ended up spending a great deal of my time on the "Miracle Mile" as they call it, one of the intermediate runs down from the top, with relatively steep sections thrown in. Confidence came even quicker than the previous trip, and I managed to find a better way to carve toe to heel edge than I had been previously by bending my knees a little more and changing my arm position.
Unfortunately not all was paradise, as I managed to suffer the worst accident yet in my relatively short lived thus far career in the snow. Was zipping along across one of the easier runs, when I came across a flat section all snowboarders know and love, where you are skimming along a sheet of ice in the shadow and then plow into a section of slush in the sun. I'm not even sure what exactly happened, as is generally is the case when you eat it while hauling ass. Something dug in, the momentum kept me flying forward, and eventually my board went flinging over my head as my arms flailed around in the air trying to break my fall. They didn't, and I dropped out of the sky to land square on my shoulder and eventually skid to a halt in a heap. The guy who had been following me chimed in with a "Holy sh**, that HAD to hurt, you alright dude?" and a few other people took notice, with my father eventually joining the party as well, having missed the entire thing while trying to avoid a tree further up or something. Luckily other than some major back soreness for a day or so there wasn't anything major wrong, and I was able to continue through the rest of the day. We ended up leaving before 1, which gets you something like twenty bucks off your next trip, which will be nice. It also doesn't seem to expire, so I'm sure I'll make use of it at some point, even if the weather doesn't improve enough for another trip this season. It did rain today, so who knows.
Driving up PCH on Sunday on one of the hottest days in a few months wasn't very intelligent, but apparently driving the 405 and 101 wouldn't have been much better, judging from the radio dj's description of the "worst traffic jam EVER" on the 405 North at Sunset. Ended up taking about three hours instead of under two like usual, but what can ya do. The ocean sure was beautiful in the meantime.
While I was at home I got to spend time with various high school friends I'll probably only see once more if at all before I leave, so that was nice. I'm not a real fan of goodbyes, but guess I'll have to get used to it pretty soon here.
I'm still in the process of deciding which of my classes to keep, as I found out I have a few more flexible options than I thought I did, so I'll finish updating on what I've been doing since I've been back a while later.
Okay so if I don't start catching up with this I apparently never will, so here we go.
Last Friday (am I really this far behind, so sad) I headed up to Snow Summit again for my second snowboarding trip of Spring Break. This time I went with my father, who is a self proclaimed "mastur skier." We got there basically as early as possible, and were greeted with pretty much large slopes of uncut ice. For those who have tried snowboarding on ice, it's really not the prettiest picture. Luckily as time went on the sun gave it a decent slushy type surface, which made it about a hundred times easier to dig into the curves on the steep stuff. Ended up spending a great deal of my time on the "Miracle Mile" as they call it, one of the intermediate runs down from the top, with relatively steep sections thrown in. Confidence came even quicker than the previous trip, and I managed to find a better way to carve toe to heel edge than I had been previously by bending my knees a little more and changing my arm position.
Unfortunately not all was paradise, as I managed to suffer the worst accident yet in my relatively short lived thus far career in the snow. Was zipping along across one of the easier runs, when I came across a flat section all snowboarders know and love, where you are skimming along a sheet of ice in the shadow and then plow into a section of slush in the sun. I'm not even sure what exactly happened, as is generally is the case when you eat it while hauling ass. Something dug in, the momentum kept me flying forward, and eventually my board went flinging over my head as my arms flailed around in the air trying to break my fall. They didn't, and I dropped out of the sky to land square on my shoulder and eventually skid to a halt in a heap. The guy who had been following me chimed in with a "Holy sh**, that HAD to hurt, you alright dude?" and a few other people took notice, with my father eventually joining the party as well, having missed the entire thing while trying to avoid a tree further up or something. Luckily other than some major back soreness for a day or so there wasn't anything major wrong, and I was able to continue through the rest of the day. We ended up leaving before 1, which gets you something like twenty bucks off your next trip, which will be nice. It also doesn't seem to expire, so I'm sure I'll make use of it at some point, even if the weather doesn't improve enough for another trip this season. It did rain today, so who knows.
Driving up PCH on Sunday on one of the hottest days in a few months wasn't very intelligent, but apparently driving the 405 and 101 wouldn't have been much better, judging from the radio dj's description of the "worst traffic jam EVER" on the 405 North at Sunset. Ended up taking about three hours instead of under two like usual, but what can ya do. The ocean sure was beautiful in the meantime.
While I was at home I got to spend time with various high school friends I'll probably only see once more if at all before I leave, so that was nice. I'm not a real fan of goodbyes, but guess I'll have to get used to it pretty soon here.
I'm still in the process of deciding which of my classes to keep, as I found out I have a few more flexible options than I thought I did, so I'll finish updating on what I've been doing since I've been back a while later.
Monday, March 31, 2003
What, Did I Get A Life Or Something?
For once I actually have a lot to say but haven't gotten around to saying it. Strange. 8am classes every day this quarter will make things interesting, but Tuesdays and Thursdays will be especially interesting with class from 8-9:15, 11-12:15, 12:30-1:45, and 5-6:15. Wee. Will update somewhere in between all that mess.
For once I actually have a lot to say but haven't gotten around to saying it. Strange. 8am classes every day this quarter will make things interesting, but Tuesdays and Thursdays will be especially interesting with class from 8-9:15, 11-12:15, 12:30-1:45, and 5-6:15. Wee. Will update somewhere in between all that mess.
Thursday, March 27, 2003
Finally.
After GOLD was down for maintenance all day, I was finally able to check my grades tonight, and low and behold the news was good. The studying paid off as I received the expected grades in all three Econ classes. So then there was one final quarter before graduation. The requirement is simple now, 2.54 or greater and I graduate. With five classes to work with, I really don't expect it to even be close. My intention is to be so satisfied with the way things are going into the final is even a worst case scenario wouldn't deter me. I plan to make frequent trips over to the gnome rooms and stay ahead of the game.
It's not like I need more motivation than the fact that I either graduate and move on with my life, or screw things up royally.
Today I spent some time downtown with a friend, at a new section just recently built called "The Grove." It's over behind CBS studios adjacent to the Farmer's Market, and is really a cool place. We had fun running around FAO Schwartz reliving our youth, and spent the mandatory half hour browsing around the multi-story Barnes and Noble. Eventually we made it over to the theater where we watched Bend it Like Beckham a film originally released in the U.K. but has made an appearance over here although not in wide release. She recommended it, I'd never heard of it, so of course I went in not expecting much. She said it was partly about soccer, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. As it was I was pleasantly surprised. The whole thing was really entertaining, with the plot basically revolving around a young Indian girl trying to rebel against the traditionalist parents by playing for a football (soccer everywhere else but here) team. It had a very fat greek wedding type feel, but I actually enjoyed it even more. Course I was probably partially biased because both lead actresses were cute. Then again, it was probably because they were playing soccer part of the time. Dude, soccer chicks rule. Like, really rule. Huge brownie points. But yeah, either due to biases or the actual entertainment value of the movie, a whopping 5 M's to this one, I recommend it.
Ack was gonna write more but I'm leaving early for Snow Summit. More later.
After GOLD was down for maintenance all day, I was finally able to check my grades tonight, and low and behold the news was good. The studying paid off as I received the expected grades in all three Econ classes. So then there was one final quarter before graduation. The requirement is simple now, 2.54 or greater and I graduate. With five classes to work with, I really don't expect it to even be close. My intention is to be so satisfied with the way things are going into the final is even a worst case scenario wouldn't deter me. I plan to make frequent trips over to the gnome rooms and stay ahead of the game.
It's not like I need more motivation than the fact that I either graduate and move on with my life, or screw things up royally.
Today I spent some time downtown with a friend, at a new section just recently built called "The Grove." It's over behind CBS studios adjacent to the Farmer's Market, and is really a cool place. We had fun running around FAO Schwartz reliving our youth, and spent the mandatory half hour browsing around the multi-story Barnes and Noble. Eventually we made it over to the theater where we watched Bend it Like Beckham a film originally released in the U.K. but has made an appearance over here although not in wide release. She recommended it, I'd never heard of it, so of course I went in not expecting much. She said it was partly about soccer, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. As it was I was pleasantly surprised. The whole thing was really entertaining, with the plot basically revolving around a young Indian girl trying to rebel against the traditionalist parents by playing for a football (soccer everywhere else but here) team. It had a very fat greek wedding type feel, but I actually enjoyed it even more. Course I was probably partially biased because both lead actresses were cute. Then again, it was probably because they were playing soccer part of the time. Dude, soccer chicks rule. Like, really rule. Huge brownie points. But yeah, either due to biases or the actual entertainment value of the movie, a whopping 5 M's to this one, I recommend it.
Ack was gonna write more but I'm leaving early for Snow Summit. More later.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Monday, March 24, 2003
Carvature. Carvation. Carvin up a Storm. Carvilicious.
I was trying to come up with more fun exclamations along with the above all day yesterday. For some reason, my second day snowboarding took me from making slow progress learning to stay upright toe edge on the bunny hill, to making gigantic progress on my first run down the steep stuff, to carving massive ruts in lengthy s's throughout the remainder of the day. It's actually kind of strange, I think the gentler slopes were actually making it more difficult to learn to be more effective at carving turns. Although the steeper stuff is more visually intimidating, especially since once you turn your board downhill you're going to start moving in a hurry as you try to make the turn, it actually made it easier to learn.
Don't get me wrong, I had some particularly ugly falls, along with my fair share of skid outs. Man did I have a good time though. Being able to go screaming down the hill yet be confident enough that you can carve a toe edge turn just before running into the tree/small child/fallen snowboarder/cliff/mud patch/obstacle in front of you is quite a rush. The people I went with were of varying skill levels, but we were all able to get up and down the mountain a bunch of times. Lift exits were as usual somewhat challenging, but on the whole we avoided taking each other out more often than not. Top eat on the day went to my good friend whose talent on skis is unfortunatley less than his talent in real estate. The express lifts are a bit challenging at first, and he managed to get laid out horizontal right underneath it. Overall though he improved dramatically during only his second day on skis. Unfortunately I managed to save my worst eats for the last run of the day, having almost avoided doing anything really painful until then. One involved me trying to travel too fast in a straight line (for some reason much more difficult than me than carving s's) and somehow flipping through the air landing flat on my back. My friend got a great view of this one and chimed in with a nice "ooooooooh that looked like it hurt" immediately following. The second is a classic example of why turning around to look behind you for your friends while hauling ass is not the best idea. I had slowed down a bit and was just plowing down heel edge with my board perpindicular to the slope when I made the mistake. Somehow I leaned too far forward digging in the front edge, and as most snowboarders know that meant an immediate and abrupt faceplant. This one my friends missed out on, but a few of the cute girls in the area asked me if I was okay. Nothing like a faceplant to boost your pride.
The road home was long, as we had to take a side trip to Temecula to switch cars and drop off one of the friends we'd picked up on the way up from where we'd spent the night in San Diego. I did catch part of a hot air balloon convention of whatnot in that area though, had been a long time since I'd seen those in person. A ride in one is of course on my life list of things to do.
I'm now very comfortable with most any kind of slope, although carving down the double diamond stuff is probably still out of the question, most anything else is great fun. Too bad it costs so much. :/ Note to self, even though wearing sunglasses gives you a really weird tan line everyone makes fun of, it's much better than the alternative which I tried yesterday. All evening and even this morning my eyes were more red than white, and although I don't have strange tan lines (albeit I am burned in a few areas of my face) the headaches were definitely not worth it. I will be Joe Cool in his shades on the slopes from now on.
I was trying to come up with more fun exclamations along with the above all day yesterday. For some reason, my second day snowboarding took me from making slow progress learning to stay upright toe edge on the bunny hill, to making gigantic progress on my first run down the steep stuff, to carving massive ruts in lengthy s's throughout the remainder of the day. It's actually kind of strange, I think the gentler slopes were actually making it more difficult to learn to be more effective at carving turns. Although the steeper stuff is more visually intimidating, especially since once you turn your board downhill you're going to start moving in a hurry as you try to make the turn, it actually made it easier to learn.
Don't get me wrong, I had some particularly ugly falls, along with my fair share of skid outs. Man did I have a good time though. Being able to go screaming down the hill yet be confident enough that you can carve a toe edge turn just before running into the tree/small child/fallen snowboarder/cliff/mud patch/obstacle in front of you is quite a rush. The people I went with were of varying skill levels, but we were all able to get up and down the mountain a bunch of times. Lift exits were as usual somewhat challenging, but on the whole we avoided taking each other out more often than not. Top eat on the day went to my good friend whose talent on skis is unfortunatley less than his talent in real estate. The express lifts are a bit challenging at first, and he managed to get laid out horizontal right underneath it. Overall though he improved dramatically during only his second day on skis. Unfortunately I managed to save my worst eats for the last run of the day, having almost avoided doing anything really painful until then. One involved me trying to travel too fast in a straight line (for some reason much more difficult than me than carving s's) and somehow flipping through the air landing flat on my back. My friend got a great view of this one and chimed in with a nice "ooooooooh that looked like it hurt" immediately following. The second is a classic example of why turning around to look behind you for your friends while hauling ass is not the best idea. I had slowed down a bit and was just plowing down heel edge with my board perpindicular to the slope when I made the mistake. Somehow I leaned too far forward digging in the front edge, and as most snowboarders know that meant an immediate and abrupt faceplant. This one my friends missed out on, but a few of the cute girls in the area asked me if I was okay. Nothing like a faceplant to boost your pride.
The road home was long, as we had to take a side trip to Temecula to switch cars and drop off one of the friends we'd picked up on the way up from where we'd spent the night in San Diego. I did catch part of a hot air balloon convention of whatnot in that area though, had been a long time since I'd seen those in person. A ride in one is of course on my life list of things to do.
I'm now very comfortable with most any kind of slope, although carving down the double diamond stuff is probably still out of the question, most anything else is great fun. Too bad it costs so much. :/ Note to self, even though wearing sunglasses gives you a really weird tan line everyone makes fun of, it's much better than the alternative which I tried yesterday. All evening and even this morning my eyes were more red than white, and although I don't have strange tan lines (albeit I am burned in a few areas of my face) the headaches were definitely not worth it. I will be Joe Cool in his shades on the slopes from now on.
Sunday, March 23, 2003
Friday, March 21, 2003
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
That Coulda Been Bad...
So I study my butt off yesterday for the two finals that were scheduled for today, and end up eventually crashing in the wee hours of the morning as my friend and I decide our brains are as mushy as they'll get. Well that was mostly me deciding that, but I was tired. The alarm went off at 6:30 so we could move our cars, which was very cold and very annoying. Yeah I could have moved them the night before, but then I wouldn't have been forced to wake up. So I come back and roll around for a while whining about having to go take a final, and finally get my act together shower and head toward Phelps. I get there at like 7:45 and there are two people in the room, I figure well it's an 8 it's probably just ppl running late. At 8 there are now four of us in the room. I figure damn, looks like they rescheduled it to 9 like they sometimes do with 8am finals that won't last the full three hours. So I go down and buy some trail mix and a Powerade to occupy the time, and scan through various chapters of the book for any last minute useful information that might be helpful for the two essays. So about 8:50 rolls around and the place is really filling up. I get my blue book all ready for the essays and some random woman I've never seen before comes in with a stack of tests. I figure well, this class has no section, maybe it's the T/A, or the grader or someone. Then she's like, "I hope you all brought your scantrons... " This of course was a shock because I was expecting two essays. The thought occurs to me that this might not be my class. I go outside and ask someone what class is taking a final in that room and sure enough, it's Sociology 4, not Economics 113A. I hurriedly gather my things and leave, getting looks of bewilderment from the other students in there. I now have a real problem, potentially my final started almost an hour previously, somewhere else. I decide to go over to the Undergrad office to see if they have a list of where the finals are supposed to be, sweating bullets the whole way. They look it up, and find out it's scheduled for Friday at 8am. What the. Friday? I check my notes, and in three different places I have it written as Wednesday. So we check the schedule of classes booklet thing with the Final schedule in it as well, and it says classes that are MWF at 8 have finals on Friday at 8. So two sources now say I'm an idiot. I then notice in her list of classes that the second class that the professor is teaching this quarter had its final today at 8am. So he probably mixed them up on the initial syllabus and when initially giving us the info. Sigh.
I then came home and slept for like four more hours. After a bunch more studying I'm pretty comfortable about the one tonight at 7:30. I'll have plenty of time to tune in to CNN in another hour or so to find out what kind of world events take place. So here I am, still with 3 Finals to go, as most people pack up and go home. Doh.
It's been a while since I posted lyrics that meant something, so here you go.
"Listen late last night I heard the screen doors sway
and a big yellow taxi took my girl away...
Now don't it always seem to go
that you don't know what you got til it's gone
they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot."
It's the bridge and chorus of a new catchy Counting Crows song featuring Vanessa Carlton called Big Yellow Taxi. Good stuff.
So I study my butt off yesterday for the two finals that were scheduled for today, and end up eventually crashing in the wee hours of the morning as my friend and I decide our brains are as mushy as they'll get. Well that was mostly me deciding that, but I was tired. The alarm went off at 6:30 so we could move our cars, which was very cold and very annoying. Yeah I could have moved them the night before, but then I wouldn't have been forced to wake up. So I come back and roll around for a while whining about having to go take a final, and finally get my act together shower and head toward Phelps. I get there at like 7:45 and there are two people in the room, I figure well it's an 8 it's probably just ppl running late. At 8 there are now four of us in the room. I figure damn, looks like they rescheduled it to 9 like they sometimes do with 8am finals that won't last the full three hours. So I go down and buy some trail mix and a Powerade to occupy the time, and scan through various chapters of the book for any last minute useful information that might be helpful for the two essays. So about 8:50 rolls around and the place is really filling up. I get my blue book all ready for the essays and some random woman I've never seen before comes in with a stack of tests. I figure well, this class has no section, maybe it's the T/A, or the grader or someone. Then she's like, "I hope you all brought your scantrons... " This of course was a shock because I was expecting two essays. The thought occurs to me that this might not be my class. I go outside and ask someone what class is taking a final in that room and sure enough, it's Sociology 4, not Economics 113A. I hurriedly gather my things and leave, getting looks of bewilderment from the other students in there. I now have a real problem, potentially my final started almost an hour previously, somewhere else. I decide to go over to the Undergrad office to see if they have a list of where the finals are supposed to be, sweating bullets the whole way. They look it up, and find out it's scheduled for Friday at 8am. What the. Friday? I check my notes, and in three different places I have it written as Wednesday. So we check the schedule of classes booklet thing with the Final schedule in it as well, and it says classes that are MWF at 8 have finals on Friday at 8. So two sources now say I'm an idiot. I then notice in her list of classes that the second class that the professor is teaching this quarter had its final today at 8am. So he probably mixed them up on the initial syllabus and when initially giving us the info. Sigh.
I then came home and slept for like four more hours. After a bunch more studying I'm pretty comfortable about the one tonight at 7:30. I'll have plenty of time to tune in to CNN in another hour or so to find out what kind of world events take place. So here I am, still with 3 Finals to go, as most people pack up and go home. Doh.
It's been a while since I posted lyrics that meant something, so here you go.
"Listen late last night I heard the screen doors sway
and a big yellow taxi took my girl away...
Now don't it always seem to go
that you don't know what you got til it's gone
they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot."
It's the bridge and chorus of a new catchy Counting Crows song featuring Vanessa Carlton called Big Yellow Taxi. Good stuff.
Monday, March 17, 2003
Running Circles Around the Airtrains...
Out did even my wildest expectations today by managing to circumnavigate the airport with merely a pair of running shoes. Unfortuantely Monday slow distance day came on a day where the winds were at 20mph with gusts to 30. Luckily the middle legs of the run were all downwind, which is the time you need a boost the most. Initially though it really felt like I was going nowhere in a hurry, and the last mile or so probably looked pretty pathetic to passers by. Other than a breather and streching session at Hollister and Fairview about halfway through, I managed to do the whole thing without stopping, at least 5.5 miles in 52 min or so. Again not exactly hauling, but I was merely trying to survive the run and make it all the way around without having to stop and call a cab. The best part is I had no leg pain whatsoever during the run. Although in the last couple miles my whole body felt tired, it wasn't any kind of sharp pain or anything, and my lungs didn't feel like they were overworked, I just was fully tired.
I think I'm going to experiment tomorrow with a little couple mile island loop run or something, to see how my body feels about going to 5 days a week. I've been getting in gradually increasing distance three days a week now for over a month, and with a little over three months to go potentially, it's probably time to start getting even more serious about it.
It would appear the UN is pulling out all the inspectors, and Bush is set to address the nation at 5pm today. Gee, wonder what he's going to say.
Out did even my wildest expectations today by managing to circumnavigate the airport with merely a pair of running shoes. Unfortuantely Monday slow distance day came on a day where the winds were at 20mph with gusts to 30. Luckily the middle legs of the run were all downwind, which is the time you need a boost the most. Initially though it really felt like I was going nowhere in a hurry, and the last mile or so probably looked pretty pathetic to passers by. Other than a breather and streching session at Hollister and Fairview about halfway through, I managed to do the whole thing without stopping, at least 5.5 miles in 52 min or so. Again not exactly hauling, but I was merely trying to survive the run and make it all the way around without having to stop and call a cab. The best part is I had no leg pain whatsoever during the run. Although in the last couple miles my whole body felt tired, it wasn't any kind of sharp pain or anything, and my lungs didn't feel like they were overworked, I just was fully tired.
I think I'm going to experiment tomorrow with a little couple mile island loop run or something, to see how my body feels about going to 5 days a week. I've been getting in gradually increasing distance three days a week now for over a month, and with a little over three months to go potentially, it's probably time to start getting even more serious about it.
It would appear the UN is pulling out all the inspectors, and Bush is set to address the nation at 5pm today. Gee, wonder what he's going to say.
Sunday, March 16, 2003
Most Boring Ever
I'd love to say life is at least a little interesting at the moment but it really isn't. Finals at 8am and 7:30pm on Wednesday, and the last one at 4pm on Thursday. If I'm not doing anything when I'm studying, if I'm studying then nothing is going on.
Word on the street is tomorrow the doodoo hits the fan as they say in Iraq. Something tells me finals will still proceed as scheduled.
I'd love to say life is at least a little interesting at the moment but it really isn't. Finals at 8am and 7:30pm on Wednesday, and the last one at 4pm on Thursday. If I'm not doing anything when I'm studying, if I'm studying then nothing is going on.
Word on the street is tomorrow the doodoo hits the fan as they say in Iraq. Something tells me finals will still proceed as scheduled.
Friday, March 14, 2003
All Too Familiar...
Last night I was entertained by MTV's True Life: I'm a Gamer which was altogether way too strangely familiar. I'm glad to say never in my life have I reached the mental state of a couple of the guys they featured, one of whom was addicted to and the world champion of Pac Man (hello this isn't 1985 anymore) and the other who would spend hundreds of dollars gambling on Golden Tee. Least the games I tend to seriously play don't cost money by the game, and I tend to stay up with the times. So yeah the most interesting segment was the one where they followed around the world CPL champion now three years running, Fatal1ty. The fact that I've actually played against him (and gotten my ass handed to me) is just kind of a neat thing. One of my female friends was watching it as well, and I'm sure was definitely finding trouble understanding how people can get so worked up over a game. During the segment Fatal1ty is playing at the world championships in Texas in the UT2K3 tournament finals, and after winning leaps up with a big OH YAH BABY THATS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT and pumps his fist as the forty or so cameras flock in and surround him. He ended up pocketing a cool 10 g's off that tournament, and was quoted as saying he makes somewhere around 100k a year through tournaments and sponsorships. That's right, sponsorships. Pretty amazing eh? Being paid to just play games ten hours a day every day, and be the best. Only problem is when you're the best everyone is gunning for you, and probably a hundred thousand people think they can own you if they ever got the chance. Losing to some random twelve year old must really suck.
I saw in someone else's blog that they used the world "ergle" in a time of frustration. I think that will now become my word of the week. This day hasn't gone too well, with me oversleeping, then forgetting I had a movie due back at Blockbuster at noon until 11:45, then dropping my ice cream all over my desk after lunch while trying to put down my apple. Oh then there was the parking ticket I got because I was supposed to go out later last night with some friends, and they flaked, and I forgot I'd left my car in the meter spot because I thought I was going out again before this morning. First ticket since 2/9/02 according to my checkbook. Man I had a streak going. The good news is you can pay them online now, but only 24 hours after the ticket was given. Least it's less of a pain than wasting a stamp and having to troop all the way to a mailbox.
Guess the party's over and it's back to studying. Today, tomorrow, the next day, the next day, and the next day will all be pretty hardcore devoted to it. Lovely.
Last night I was entertained by MTV's True Life: I'm a Gamer which was altogether way too strangely familiar. I'm glad to say never in my life have I reached the mental state of a couple of the guys they featured, one of whom was addicted to and the world champion of Pac Man (hello this isn't 1985 anymore) and the other who would spend hundreds of dollars gambling on Golden Tee. Least the games I tend to seriously play don't cost money by the game, and I tend to stay up with the times. So yeah the most interesting segment was the one where they followed around the world CPL champion now three years running, Fatal1ty. The fact that I've actually played against him (and gotten my ass handed to me) is just kind of a neat thing. One of my female friends was watching it as well, and I'm sure was definitely finding trouble understanding how people can get so worked up over a game. During the segment Fatal1ty is playing at the world championships in Texas in the UT2K3 tournament finals, and after winning leaps up with a big OH YAH BABY THATS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT and pumps his fist as the forty or so cameras flock in and surround him. He ended up pocketing a cool 10 g's off that tournament, and was quoted as saying he makes somewhere around 100k a year through tournaments and sponsorships. That's right, sponsorships. Pretty amazing eh? Being paid to just play games ten hours a day every day, and be the best. Only problem is when you're the best everyone is gunning for you, and probably a hundred thousand people think they can own you if they ever got the chance. Losing to some random twelve year old must really suck.
I saw in someone else's blog that they used the world "ergle" in a time of frustration. I think that will now become my word of the week. This day hasn't gone too well, with me oversleeping, then forgetting I had a movie due back at Blockbuster at noon until 11:45, then dropping my ice cream all over my desk after lunch while trying to put down my apple. Oh then there was the parking ticket I got because I was supposed to go out later last night with some friends, and they flaked, and I forgot I'd left my car in the meter spot because I thought I was going out again before this morning. First ticket since 2/9/02 according to my checkbook. Man I had a streak going. The good news is you can pay them online now, but only 24 hours after the ticket was given. Least it's less of a pain than wasting a stamp and having to troop all the way to a mailbox.
Guess the party's over and it's back to studying. Today, tomorrow, the next day, the next day, and the next day will all be pretty hardcore devoted to it. Lovely.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Finals Begin...
In about three hours with my first and probably easiest, Geography 150. Nonetheless I've been in the books all day and going over the study guide making sure it's as easy as it should be. Managed to get off my ass this morning and go hit the track after class... Was originally going to do a 3 mile pretty decent pace run, but upon arriving was in the mood to just haul ass, so I decided to run a timed mile for the first time since August. The mile is really at a different level than any higher distance. Normally you have a quick opening couple laps, a bunch of mediocre middle ones, and a couple quick finishing laps in a race such as the 2 mile. Unfortunately the mile isn't that long. You basically sprint the first lap, try to maintain the same speed through the second, when you feel like dying on the third continue to fit in surges whenever possible, and then even though your legs are falling off make sure to try to make your last lap the fastest of the four. Easier said than done. Had been quite a while since I ran at that pace for any extended period of time. Managed a ninety second opening lap which is pretty ridiculous, then managed to hit the stop button instead of the lap button on my watch and thus had to skip a lap's time, then finished with a pair of 1:45 laps. Judging by what it felt like, the second lap was at least as fast as the third, so I gave myself a 6:45 overall time.
For those who have been following my forays back into running, you'll notice that's way below ordinary. The last timed mile I ran at the same UCSB track was an 8:26, giving a 101 second improvement. Pretty much unheard of. Then again I wasn't in the best of shape at that point, and later in the summer as the first half of a 2mile I notched an 8:02. Still never under 8, until last week's first half of a 2mile was 7:37. But a full minute off of that is pretty impressive. I'm actually improving at a speed faster than I expected. Since one mile wasn't a very good workout after a few minutes rest I tagged on an 800 which I completed in 3:10, although I didn't input the full on sprint second lap that I usually do, and was treating it more as a workout than a race. Again though, still faster than previous. One of these workouts I'll probably make a set of 800s, with the first one being treated racelike to see how far under 3:00 I can take it. With this race much like the mile though, high school is a whole nother stratosphere, with my personal bests being 2:15 in the 800 and 5:05 in the mile. My lap averages in the two races at the moment are about 95 seconds and 102 seconds, whereas in high school I was at 68 seconds and 76 seconds. Chipping away here and there is easy, but 25 seconds a lap is like, an entire straightaway and part of a turn at high school speeds.
These last few days I've really been feeling optimistic about my gains though, and through prolonged stretching before during and after I've avoided all leg pain outside the occasional general soreness after running my ass off, and even that disappears shortly afterwards. Running on the UCSB track in Air Max's is like running on foam, I always look forward to getting there, strange as it may be. The itch to get to five days a week is growing stronger, but I'm going to hold off until at least Spring Break, maybe adding a fourth day next week as a test. I will see a lot better gains in workouts when I'm able to intermix speed work with distance runs on an every other day basis, still taking the weekends off.
It would be so sweet if I had some sort of holographic image of my high school self running with me on the track at the same speed I ran my PR's at. Not that I'd be able to come anywhere near competing at this point, but trying to avoid being lapped would be fun, and it would be a great way to gauage where I was at when it comes to improvement.
In about three hours with my first and probably easiest, Geography 150. Nonetheless I've been in the books all day and going over the study guide making sure it's as easy as it should be. Managed to get off my ass this morning and go hit the track after class... Was originally going to do a 3 mile pretty decent pace run, but upon arriving was in the mood to just haul ass, so I decided to run a timed mile for the first time since August. The mile is really at a different level than any higher distance. Normally you have a quick opening couple laps, a bunch of mediocre middle ones, and a couple quick finishing laps in a race such as the 2 mile. Unfortunately the mile isn't that long. You basically sprint the first lap, try to maintain the same speed through the second, when you feel like dying on the third continue to fit in surges whenever possible, and then even though your legs are falling off make sure to try to make your last lap the fastest of the four. Easier said than done. Had been quite a while since I ran at that pace for any extended period of time. Managed a ninety second opening lap which is pretty ridiculous, then managed to hit the stop button instead of the lap button on my watch and thus had to skip a lap's time, then finished with a pair of 1:45 laps. Judging by what it felt like, the second lap was at least as fast as the third, so I gave myself a 6:45 overall time.
For those who have been following my forays back into running, you'll notice that's way below ordinary. The last timed mile I ran at the same UCSB track was an 8:26, giving a 101 second improvement. Pretty much unheard of. Then again I wasn't in the best of shape at that point, and later in the summer as the first half of a 2mile I notched an 8:02. Still never under 8, until last week's first half of a 2mile was 7:37. But a full minute off of that is pretty impressive. I'm actually improving at a speed faster than I expected. Since one mile wasn't a very good workout after a few minutes rest I tagged on an 800 which I completed in 3:10, although I didn't input the full on sprint second lap that I usually do, and was treating it more as a workout than a race. Again though, still faster than previous. One of these workouts I'll probably make a set of 800s, with the first one being treated racelike to see how far under 3:00 I can take it. With this race much like the mile though, high school is a whole nother stratosphere, with my personal bests being 2:15 in the 800 and 5:05 in the mile. My lap averages in the two races at the moment are about 95 seconds and 102 seconds, whereas in high school I was at 68 seconds and 76 seconds. Chipping away here and there is easy, but 25 seconds a lap is like, an entire straightaway and part of a turn at high school speeds.
These last few days I've really been feeling optimistic about my gains though, and through prolonged stretching before during and after I've avoided all leg pain outside the occasional general soreness after running my ass off, and even that disappears shortly afterwards. Running on the UCSB track in Air Max's is like running on foam, I always look forward to getting there, strange as it may be. The itch to get to five days a week is growing stronger, but I'm going to hold off until at least Spring Break, maybe adding a fourth day next week as a test. I will see a lot better gains in workouts when I'm able to intermix speed work with distance runs on an every other day basis, still taking the weekends off.
It would be so sweet if I had some sort of holographic image of my high school self running with me on the track at the same speed I ran my PR's at. Not that I'd be able to come anywhere near competing at this point, but trying to avoid being lapped would be fun, and it would be a great way to gauage where I was at when it comes to improvement.
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
A First!
Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever we have a guest speaker to the blog!
I have no editorial control over what follows:
Hi. Matt has some interesting songs on his winamp playlist. Many come with interesting dances. Perhaps he'll dance for you if you come visit him; i suggest requesting Sisqo's "Thong Song" . . . :)
Hm. Note to self refrain from using guest speakers in the future. Not my fault the guest took so long I was having to entertain myself using other methods. What's wrong with interesting dances anyway! Hmph.
Hung out with the same person for obscene amounts of time today. Was very strange. Way more than average. Cannot explain. I think they put something in the water.
Ran all the way down to the end of the pier today. Lot further than it used to be since I'm way over on this side of campus now and have to run across the island to get to where I used to start from in years past. Definitely the longest run time wise since I've started, going to have Mondays be long slow distance days. Hopefully within a few weeks will make it over towards the airport, and maybe in a few months run all the way around the airport. Should be fun. The two day weekend was good for my legs I think, I hadn't had a two day break in a few weeks.
Today I started actually studying. Actually reading even. Made up a schedule breaking it down over the next ten days, what I'm reading when, when I'm reviewing, etc etc. Even working on the weekends. It's gettin all crazy up in this.
Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever we have a guest speaker to the blog!
I have no editorial control over what follows:
Hi. Matt has some interesting songs on his winamp playlist. Many come with interesting dances. Perhaps he'll dance for you if you come visit him; i suggest requesting Sisqo's "Thong Song" . . . :)
Hm. Note to self refrain from using guest speakers in the future. Not my fault the guest took so long I was having to entertain myself using other methods. What's wrong with interesting dances anyway! Hmph.
Hung out with the same person for obscene amounts of time today. Was very strange. Way more than average. Cannot explain. I think they put something in the water.
Ran all the way down to the end of the pier today. Lot further than it used to be since I'm way over on this side of campus now and have to run across the island to get to where I used to start from in years past. Definitely the longest run time wise since I've started, going to have Mondays be long slow distance days. Hopefully within a few weeks will make it over towards the airport, and maybe in a few months run all the way around the airport. Should be fun. The two day weekend was good for my legs I think, I hadn't had a two day break in a few weeks.
Today I started actually studying. Actually reading even. Made up a schedule breaking it down over the next ten days, what I'm reading when, when I'm reviewing, etc etc. Even working on the weekends. It's gettin all crazy up in this.
