Life of a Student

Alright, so the date for my goal has come and passed. How did I do?

• “Be able to parallel squat 275 for 15 repetitions” - Not even close. I was banking on my squat progress being much faster than it actually was. I can bang out 240 pounds for 8 or 9 repetitions nowadays, which I still consider to be a relatively strong improvement. Squats are just so ridiculously challenging sometimes…
• “Weigh in at 170 pounds.” - I’m at about 165-168 pounds nowadays, depending on the time of day, etc. I’m in a bulking phase right now, so although I would like to gain as little fat as possible, caloric excess is required for muscular gain, and so in some cases it can’t really be helped. Have to address that in the cutting phase instead.
• “Be able to close the Captains of Crush No. 1 Gripper 8 times (I currently am working with the CoC Trainer gripper + CoC Expand Your Hand Bands, which I will review in a post at a later date.)” - I have a relatively easy time now with the CoC Trainer Gripper, but I simply haven’t ordered the Captains of Crush No. 1 gripper yet - I will get that taken care of in the coming weeks.
• “Weighted chin-ups with 45 lbs, at least 15 repetitions.” - I can do this. It is a bit challenging, but doable for me at this state.

So that about wraps up my goal analysis. Summer just began for me a few weeks ago, so I will be crafting a new set of goals, which I will be posting about in a few days.

I’m excited about this summer - it will be a time of massive positive personal change in many ways.

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It’s a vicious cycle. I’ve spent numerous nights this semester puzzling over homework in the wee hours of the night. I always promise myself, “Next time, this will not happen. I will start my homework the day it’s assigned.”

Inevitably, new work is assigned. However, feelings of late-night tiredness and stress far from me, I choose time and time again to partake in time-wasting activities like surfing Digg. Before I know it, it’s 3 AM the morning of an assignment’s due date, and I’ve got several hours of work ahead of me.

In other events, I have been fairly successful in keeping up with the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year regarding exercise and my hobbies. Just have to maintain that consistant stream of action, and start taking action on killing procrastination.

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So a new school year has come.

Everything is going by so fast… sometimes it all blends together. I’ve heard many times from graduates that college just flies by in a flash. I can definitely attest that is true for me. It seems like only yesterday I was folding clothes at the Gap. Now I’m drowning in chemistry homework and engineering problem sets.

Which takes me to a thought I’ve been turning over in my head recently - something first brought up in one of my classes.

The majority of men live their lives for the “end result”, that reward that they get for “suffering” through life.

I certainly felt this way recently, when I battled 4 different midterms plus a huge project - all in one week. Sleep deprivation, complete fatigue, and a feeling of weakness and lifelessness were my constant companions.

All I could console myself with was the thought of the “end result” - that delicious weekend that lay only a few days in front of me. But what was that tribulation in the grand scheme of things? Should not all life be enjoyed, even the hard times? Are the hard times not necessary to fully enjoy the best of times?

If we are constantly wishing for life to go faster so we can reach the fun, does life itself not get wasted in the process? Life should be viewed and lived differently.

So easy for me to write, but so difficult for the idea to be lived. The difficulty of anything worthwhile always lies in action…

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It’s funny how life can never be predicted by your expectations.

Before I came to college, I expected to still be able to continue playing poker, while maintaining decent grades and a fulfilling social life and learning new skills (I particularly wanted to get involved in salsa and Brazilian jiu jitsu). During my first few weeks, this seemed an attainable goal. However, as the true workload of college hit me, I was forced to lessen the time I devoted to each my endeavors. Before I came to college, I played 3 to 4 hours of online poker a day, making a respectable hourly wage. At one point, I actually became bored of the money I was earning, as it became a mere digital figure in my bank statement.

Over the last year, I managed to attend exactly one jiu jitsu training session. I did manage to attend some salsa class, however, my mastery of salsa is far from perfect, I am competent in the basics but nothing more. As for poker, I have not played a single hand for significant money in months. On the other hand, my appreciation of money and what it can do for me in life has increased tenfold. I also feel that the strenuous workload of college has led me to cease wasting time as much (although my discovery of Facebook has not helped much in this regard). My grades have been acceptable, but I’ve also learned that I have a long way to go socially, and that is an aspect I plan to concentrate on in the future.

Peoplewise, I remember my first reaction when seeing my roommate information sheet - “Wow, this college has a lot of Asians”. While the preceding statement certainly holds true, I have found college to be a larger party-oriented environment that I expected, which is a good thing. My initial impression of my suitemates were completely off, but in general I feel I have been very lucky to have enjoyed the last 8 months in the presence of such excellent persons. Through them, I have managed to gain the inspiration to improve myself in many ways. One of my roommates is the nicest people I have ever met, another is excellent at Physics, yet another is a strong graphical designer and fellow blogger. Every one of them has their own strengths and unique abilities, and I have come over the last 8 months to thoroughly appreciate this.

As for myself, I could not have dreamed of taking a dance class before I came to college. Last semester, I took two. I would never have dreamed that I would one day be streaking across the campus, with only the protection of shaving cream, or that I would attend a massive underwear party with hundreds of attendees. I feel that in general, college has inspired me to push myself to do things I had previously never considered. Although trying new things is hard and sometimes fear-inducing, in the end, I have come out of most new things a stronger and more capable person.

It’s been a good year.

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Chipotle and Physics… no two things produce different emotions in me.

There’s nothing better than biting into a juicy Chipotle burrito at the end of a long week.

I usually make a run to Chipotle once or twice a week. It’s relatively close, and aided by public transportation, I can usually arrive with 10 minutes. Undoubtedly, it offers a delicious alternative to the blandness of servery food. The burritos are, as described by one of my fellow students, “the size of a small child”, and are uniquely satisfying to my stomach. Likewise, the ambience of the restaurant is one of cleanliness and sophistication.

On the other hand, Physics is the subject I’ve always had the most trouble with, even in high school. There’s nothing like intensely slaving 2 hours over a set of problems, only to be rewarded with a 60%. It’s not that the professor is incompetent, it’s just that the knowledge of physics comes easily for some, and I am not one of those lucky few. I’ll be looking forward to the end of the semester in approximately ~30 days.

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