Every night I hear footsteps and I look out my window to see the guitar major from two floors up, leaving the dorm with his girlfriend. Every night they walk hand in hand to North Campus. Every time I see this I am filled with an emotion. It’s the emotion that you feel when you are laying out in a hammock for hours in the filtered shade of a warm summer afternoon. It’s the emotion you feel when you step out into the first winter snow and see the flakes drift gently down and sparkle in the light. It’s the emotion that fills your heart when you welcome someone home who has been gone for a long time. That emotion is peace. But more than that, I am filled with the sense that everything is right with the world. That this crazy rock we live on isn’t filled with psychos who will destroy everything soon. It convinces me that good will triumph.
The true virtues of life thrive in the realm of simplicity.
It’s almost as if the weather knew that classes started today. The air was brisk with a morning tinge of cold that announced fall has begun the slow march to take over summer. The cool breeze reminds me of many fall afternoons spent playing football at Richard’s. The evening will remind me of those football games I always speak of. It is time to associate some new memories with weather.
PhyEd 100 will be an interesting class; it is a pity the weight room doesn’t open earlier in the day, but it looks like I will workout in gym class, go to classes hopefully not smelling too bad and then lift later that day. It’s going to be awesome! Gym is seven weeks, so I will only have weights and gym on four of those weeks. English was awesome; it’s in an old building that I am told has asbestos, which could be part of the reason they are knocking it down soon. Either way, we tried not to disturb any insulation or ceiling panels, so I think we’ll be OK. The prof’s name is Micheal Mikolajczak and he seems like he will be a very good moderator of discussions and opener of minds. I grabbed lunch because we were out of that class early (something I won’t normally be able to do) and headed over to German. Paul Schons is a very easy going guy and thankfully there is no mid-term or final in that class. Thus, I have a midterm (which is the end of the term for that class) gym final, no English final, and no German final. I am thankful, but that doesn’t really mean there will be any less work, it will just make finals week easier because I will be able to focus on my Calc and Philosophy finals. Mental note, I have a meeting with my faculty advisor at 7:00AM on the 9th of September. Gotta go to bed early that night. Then again, I’m really getting into the going-to-bed-early idea. I feel great and every night since I got here I’ve been getting to bed earlier and earlier.
Martha C. Nussbaum’s Cultivating Humanity is calling. Away!
The speaker who came to motivate us talked of “dead wood” in our lives, and how the storms clear that dead wood and make the tree of ourselves stronger. However, I don’t have any “dead wood.” And I didn’t have any dead wood. But my tree is damaged. I’ll explain. Trees have branches called “leaders.” Merriam Webster defines this as the “a primary or terminal shoot of a plant.” There are usually only one or two on a tree, and this leader is an extension of the solid trunk; the growth of the tree follows this thick branch. My leader has been violently ripped off the tree, destroying years of growth. It was coursing with life right up until the day it was agonizingly twisted and then wrenched free of the rest of me. Thus, I will start out in a new direction and forget about that old branch. The tree still lives and is stronger for it. It doesn’t need any crutch or enabler to get through these rough days; it only needs time. Time to forget and bottle up and throw away.
There you have it. I’m moved in, feeling pretty good about classes starting tomorrow, and staying in touch with some people. Working out is going well, I am finding times and places to play the piano, and I resolved all of my connectivity issues with the TechDesk. Scoped out campus, walked through the arches, ate some food, cooked Oatmeal successfully, enjoyed life! The weather is picture perfect. I am looking forward to meeting people in my classes because they will be the ones I will really want to get to know better. Every girl I talk to is smoking or has a tatoo (well not every girl, I have met some very cool women) but classes do serve as a rudimentary people-sorter. Opposites do attract, but within reason!
I could write for hours about everything that has happened; but I can only share a couple of highlights. During the ice breaker, we heard a very sad story about a man from 3rd floor Cretin. Yes, he was kicked in the groin by a girl, sent to the emergency room with something ruptured, and suffered the humility of surgery. We all felt for him; there was a moment of silence for his loss. However, he can still have kids! What else … oh yes they put a brand-new floor in the weight-room and it looks like a couple of new machines and some mirrors and the like. It is very nice! In addition, it is an excellent place to meet people. Places to play piano include: Koch Commons, pratice rooms on South campus, Grace basement, and UV Cafe on first floor Cretin.
I still remember joking how maybe the Cretin-Grace brother-sister floors wouldn’t go 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, and on but how they might go, say, 2-3. Which is exactly what has happened. Strange, isn’t it?
I need to call Matthew, Steve, and Tina. I need to mail Nils and Marty something. I need to get to bed on time tonight! Sleep is a beautiful thing.
A good friend will bail you out when you get arrested. A best friend will be sitting next to you saying, “dude that was freakin awesome!”
MLG[edit]: oh my god MLG[edit]: i just got to the bed bath and beyond website MLG[edit]: and i tried to look up my account MLG[edit]: and it sent me to bridal registry instead MLG[edit]: and it says that i am getting married to susan mentges on august 25 MLG[edit]: thats so weird
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.” - T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
We’re right in the middle of the pre-freshman-year-in-college exodus. It is so very strange to see everyone leaving. The summer was long enough, and we are ready to go, but leaving has a strange sense of finality to it. I should re-cap yesterday as has been my habit lately:
After that, I said farewell to Laura, Simon, Katherine, and Tommy [and others!]. It’s really starting to sink in; I’m leaving soon as well. It’s almost over, the summer is almost up. True, it is the end, but I because I’m moving on to something very very exciting, I’m not really sad. I’m more pensive and reflective than anything. Now is a time of great change in all of our lives, and i’m happy to know that we have one another and we do really look out for our friends. I owe a huge thank you to all of my friends who have given me support and guidance this summer. I would list them, but I fear I would leave someone out. Too many people to count have given me more support than I could have ever asked for. Thank you all.
We returned to Steve’s around 11:10 and proceeded to rip his inside plastics off as a part of his door dissembly. Why do this? Well, his outside door handle stopped opening the door. In 50 minutes we fixed it. Let me tell you, it feels so good to start out with something working incorrectly and finish with it working perfectly. Fixing things appeals to my desire to help others and my streak of organizing, coordinating, and regulating the things in my life over which I have control. But most of all, I simply like to “fix stuff.”
Ooh, I bought my chair! It is ridiculously comfortable, space-efficient, and retro.
Finally, I got two roles of film back. I shot 200 speed for the first time. Let me tell you, if you’re into any photography that doesn’t involve action, go for the 200 speed film. True, I was blest with a tripod to compensate for the slower film. But, that is more than worth it considering what the prints looked like. 200 captures colors so beautifully, richly, and without grain. I will shoot nothing but 200 and 400 speed in the future. Also, if I have the opportunity, I will shoot an even slower film to get better detail and color reproduction. I love slow film. The point of all that is, I finally used my “Ten Frames in a Box” from Target. I looked at two years worth of my prints and selected the ones that best represented my time here in Woodbury. Unfortunately, there are no people in these pictures. I don’t shoot people becasue I’m rather shy about my love of photography. However, the pictures still are an accurate portrayal of my time. They include: a black Stingray Corvette [color, ISO200], double exposure yellow flowers [color, ISO200], one classic Ford [black and white film and processing, ISO400], double exposure nature perspective shot with filtered sunlight [color, ISO800], piano keys [black and white film and processing, ISO400], Lord of the Rings foldout map [color, ISO800], double exposure white flowers [color, ISO800], Saint Mary’s Point waves [color, ISO800], single yellow flower [color, ISO800], and a large aperature (that gives a narrow field of focurs) shot of morning dew on grass [black and white fillm and processing, ISO400]. Many of the nature shots were taken right in my own back-yard, and most of the shots were taken around Woodbury. So, looking at these pictures in my dorm will bring back the good memories of summertime and wonderful times I had. I hope you all find something to put in your dorm that will remind you of the “good times.”
Once again, not an ego trip, just sharing the pictures. If I could, I would scan them and toss them into the imagexhibition section of this site, but I don’t have a scanner. Someday, maybe. Oh, I thought I’d mention that this journal will shortly become less of a daily log and more of a place to reflect on certain select things. In college, I will not have time to record all the events of one day. Therefore, you will get the highlights, the funny parts, and basically the stuff that’s actually interesting. I hope to post 3 times per week.
The following documents my workout schedule for myself. I weigh 135 pounds, my 170% is benching 230 pounds, which is slightly under my one rep max on bench. Why am I sharing this? It’s certainly not an ego trip, this is just a convenient place to record this all. If you aren’t interested, (I know I wouldn’t be) then don’t read. Either way, I guess the world can see what my workout schedule is:
Workouts are every other day, alternating between the following two workouts.
Non-Leg Day Bench Sets:
* 10 down-angle push-ups
* 8 reps with bar only
* 4 reps at 135 pounds
* 3 reps at 155 pounds
* 4-5 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 185 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 185 pounds
* 5 reps at 195 pounds
* 3-4 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 175 pounds
* I recently stopped arching my back by lifting my butt off the bench, so I’ve lost reps on the top of every set; the above took that into account. Because of the form change, I frequently end up repping 6 at 185, resting quickly, and then finishing up with 3 more reps. “See these games I have to play with myself?” Compound leg raise and chin up:
(Before the slash, the reps are done by lifting the legs straight out from the body so your quads make a 90 degree angle with your abs, and then doing a chin-up in this position. The number after the slash represents holding a chin-up with the upper arms parallel to the floor and doing leg raises only.)
* 28 reps (16[rest]/12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (8/4[rest]12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (7/5[rest]12) at bodyweight Military Press: (behind the head)
* 9 reps at 85 pounds
* 4-6 reps at 105 pounds
* 2-3 reps at 115 pounds
* 2-3 reps at 115 pounds
* 3-5 reps at 105 pounds Shoulder raises while face-down flat on bench (lead with the elbows):
* 15 reps at 40 pounds per arm
* 10 reps at 40 pounds per arm
* 15 reps at 35 pounds per arm
* 10 reps at 30 pounds per arm Shoulder lift; straight out in front of body:
* 12 reps at 20 pounds per arm Weighted dips:
* 15 reps holding a 45 pound weight
* 15 reps holding a 45 pound weight Chair biceps:
(Before the slash are hammer curls, after are preacher.)
* 14-15 (6/8-9) reps at 40 pounds per arm
* 6 (2/4) reps at 45 pounds per arm Incline biceps:
(While sitting on an incline bench, curl dumbbells. This eliminates cheating with shoulders.)
* 4-5 reps at 40 pounds plus 4 half-reps (50% lowered on negative) after final full rep
* 5-6 reps at 40 pounds Compound leg raise and chin up:
(As before, with a delay of a half hour between this set and previous leg raises)
* 27 reps (7/8[rest]12) at bodyweight Chin-ups:
* 12 reps holding 30 pound weight Goofy-final chin-up sets:
* 4 deep chin-ups
* All in one set: 2 shallow chin-ups followed by 5 leg raises followed by holding bodyweight with upper arms parallel to floor for 12 seconds
Total time for non-leg day: 105 minutes
Leg Day Bench Sets:
* 10 down-angle push-ups
* 8 reps with bar only
* 4 reps at 135 pounds
* 3 reps at 155 pounds
* 4-5 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 185 pounds
* 5 reps at 195 pounds
* 3-4 reps at 205 pounds
* 6-8 reps at 175 pounds
(Eliminating that extra 185 pound set really sped things up; now I can usually complete this bench series in just over 20 minutes.) Compound leg raise and chin up:
* 28 reps (16[rest]/12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (8/4[rest]12) at bodyweight
* 24 reps (7/5[rest]12) at bodyweight Incline bench:
* 10 reps (7 quick rest then 3) at 135 pounds
* 5-6 repst at 145 pounds
* 4 reps at 155 pounds
* 3 reps at 165 pounds
* 1-2 reps at 175 pounds Calf sets:
(Lately, I’ve begun to work these in between the incline sets, because these muscles are physically so far from one another - it saves time well.)
- Plate loaded boom calf machine (the boom stretches out far from the pivot of the machine and thus works to multiply the weight loaded on your legs; in short, it hurts more with less weight)
* 20-21 reps at 100 pounds [thirty second rest…]
* 10 reps at 100 pounds
* 12-15 reps at 115 pounds [thirty second rest…]
* 10 reps at 115 pounds
- Cybex calf
* 20 reps at 280 pounds [thirty second rest…]
* 10 reps at 280 pounds Chair biceps:
* 5 (2/3) reps at 50 pounds per arm
* 6 (3/3) reps at 45 pounds per arm Incline biceps:
* 4-5 reps at 40 pounds plus 4 half-reps (50% lowered on negative) after final full rep
* 5-6 reps at 40 pounds Weighted dips:
* 15 reps holding a 45 pound weight Compound leg raise and chin up:
(As before, with a delay of a half hour between this set and previous leg raises)
* 27 reps (7/8[rest]12) at bodyweight Chin-ups:
* 12 reps holding 30 pound weight Goofy final-chin-up sets:
* 4 deep chin-ups
* All in one set: 2 shallow chin-ups followed by 5 leg raises followed by holding bodyweight with upper arms parallel to floor for 12 seconds Quads:
- Cybex machine
* 17 (14[quick rest]3) reps at plate 11 [i’ll figure out what that weight is here soon]
* 12 reps at plate 13
* 12 reps at plate 12 Hams:
- Cybex machine
* 15 reps at plate 11
* 12 reps at plate 12
* 12 reps at plate 11 Leg press:
(Don’t let the weight throw ya, this machine loads heavy by nature.)
* 12 reps at 180 pounds
* 12 reps at 270 pounds
* 12 reps at 360 pounds
* 12 reps at 450 pounds with up to 8 reps after that (presses get deeper later in the set)
The quads, the hams, and the leg press all work in between the sets preceeding them. This is because upper body and lower body don’t overlap and the sets can be run almost consecutively as one muscle group can recover while the other is working. This is how I have chopped 30-40 minutes off these leg days.
Total time for leg day: 120 minutes, 125 minutes max
That schedule has been evolving as I have worked out every other day for the past couple years and I need to keep it at those times or under because it is starting to get cumbersome. From now on, if I add a set, I’ll need to drop one somewhere else just to maintain the total times. So that there is the work-out schedule for both types of days, reported for posterity and in case I suffer amnesia but still need to exercise someday. *whew*
Well, Matthew has confirmed the Whitacre Effect on day two of the experiment. It has been, in fact, proved that listening to Eric Whitacre whilst falling asleep causes the subject to fall into a deep, long, and restful sleep.
An unfortunate side effect is the inability to wake up at the time you need to. Therefore, doses of Eric Whitacre should only be used in a situation where the time at which you wake up is not important. However, when you do have the chance to listen to his music and knock yourself out for the night, you will emerge from your slumber quite rested and refreshed.
When you wake up, that is - because you’ll be out for sometime.
Currently, we are investigating the possiblities of curing insomnia using the Whitacre Effect. I think the possiblity is definitely there. Thus, we will discover how potent our new Effect is on sleep. And off to the evening!
I was talking to Adam and we concluded (as I had already decided, but confirmed with him) that you don’t need a good reason to break up with somebody. You just have to do it politely. Adam’s an awesome kid; I wished him luck in college and that may be the last time I see him for years.
At DairyQueen it was Josh, Steve, Matthew, Peter, Ben, Bri, Karin (she rocks for getting me eastmountainsouth), Jordy, Simon, Jeremy, Adam, Danielle, Ryan, Katherine, Tommy and even more people whom I can’t remember. It was one massive, accidental, leaving-for-college party. We all talked, caught up, laughed, and Matthew chased Steve threatening to whip him with his belt.
Later on it was Nils’ house to say goodbye. We returned to the house with the Christmas tree and candles in the window and sang more Christmas music. Loudly. Then on to other people’s houses for more caroling. Thankfully nobody chased us and no cops came after us.
It was strange to say “good-bye” to Nils. We’ve known each other for 8 years now and the times are loaded with memories. I remember our English video about “Lord of the Flies,” playing laser tag, birthday parties in his basement, sleep overs with botched attempts to get shaving cream all over people who were actually sleeping, and then back to dim memories of elementary school when Nils wasn’t 6 inches taller than me. I can’t believe that book is closed; life continues to move on now. Don’t any of you let it pass you by. Our time is still our own even if we can’t control the “whips and scorns of fortune.”