Semester 3- Change

I can't believe it has already been a full year since I started college. By and large (and I do mean large), I am basically the same person that showed up here last year as a freshman. Of course, many things have changed. Good changes and bad changes. Things I learned. Things I realized I didn't learn. Some deep thoughts, some not so deep thoughts.

For example, at this time last year I was cautiously optimistic about cafeteria food.

I had been disappointed several times, but had also found some things I enjoyed. I figured I would get tired of the food eventually, but that it was generally ok.

A year later, they still serve the same meals. Too much of a good thing is really a bad thing, right? Too much of a really bad thing is terrible.

That's why I am already sick of the dining halls (except for the ice cream)

What else has changed this semester?

1. I'm getting married in less than a year!!!!

2. I have scaled up my training in all three areas and feel as though I am nearing the best shape of my life.

3. I now have absurd amounts of homework.

4. I now live exactly 136 feet down the hall from where I used to.

I was going somewhere with this, but I need to study for anatomy. Here's what I have waiting for me (except it's on an actual dead person).

You would be amazed at the similarities in google search results for "lower limb cadaver" and "college cafeteria food".

Just kidding.

But really.

Success!

If you checked my blog at any point between last Monday and May, you may have realized that I haven't done any blogging at all. Period. Nothing. And I am sorry.

You see, I found this funny correlation. The more cool things I have going on in the "real world", the less inclined I am to actually get on here and blog about it.

Do not think that means that my life stinks because I am on here blogging tonight. In fact, quite the opposite. The fact here is that even my plodding, ponderous mind turns to composition of words and....uh....things every once in a while :)

That is why I am here blogging late on a Wednesday night, after a most excellent day filled with my fiance, Chick-Fil-A, and productive studying habits.

O yes. I believe that since I have not technically announced that on this blog (see last post in May), I should say it officially. I am engaged :) my fiance is absolutely the best, and we will be married next May ( and I will probably be due for another blog post about that time too).

Here is a picture of us on top of the mountain where I proposed.

I have more news to share. Because I am a science major, I like outlines.

1- I successfully completed the Branson Ironman 70.3 last Sunday. I expect a full race report with pictures to be up by Christmas break. Suffice it to say that it was the most grueling, enjoyable, exhilarating experience of my life. Seriously. Last 9 months of training=totally worth it.

PS-That is why that picture is way up at the top.

2-I have new classes this semester. They go like this.

History(Honors)

Writing for the Professions

Anatomy w/ Lab

Organic Chemistry w/ Lab

EMT-B Training.

Located above is as many books as would reasonably fit on my iPhone camera.

3- The above may explain a lower frequency of posts this semester. That, plus the fact that my brain is almost as lazy as I am and can't stand any creative more than once a month :)

Seriously, though. While I love blogging, I just can't stand the massive time commitment (I am going on 8 minutes since starting this post), I can't take the stress of the writing process (spell checking? Are you kidding me?), and I suffer from anxiety when I think that other people are able to read my thoughts on the internet.

4- Lastly, I am increasingly distracted every day. That's not to say that I can't focus on anything, just that I m-

So this is where I do some self promoting for my own blog and myself.

-I am planning (read that: helping my fiance plan) a wedding this year. I am actually planning a honeymoon to follow shortly after that wedding, and therefore want to solicit advice from all of you other web-savvy readers out there. First, please recover from shock at seeing my blog re-appear on your RSS feed, Google Reader, or whatever. Then, kindly let me know about good travel websites, travel deals, low airfares, etc.

-I need to read through my old posts and the comments you all have made. Sadly, I must approve each and every comment before it goes to the blog. This is why I had countless comments to pre-read, censor, approve, and label appropriate and such. Because I didn't want to actually do all of that work-related material, I deleted all of them. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

I have now disabled the "approval needed" function of my blog. Comment at your will.

I also added little buttons at the top. I am not sure what they do, but please push them, find out, and let me know.

Adios

Branson Pre-Race Analysis

So with a mere 5.5 days until the Half Ironman in Branson, it is my job now to be aware of what I am getting myself into. I'm looking into my race strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and race plan. I guess knowing my strengths and weaknesses is the best place to start here. I have a number of things going for me (some of them are odd, but they are indeed cleverly disguised strengths. There are also some things I have going against me, and I need to be ready for these on Sunday. Without further ado:

Strengths:

1- Ignorance.

Most likely my greatest strength going into this race (and sometimes life in general), I have no idea what I am getting myself into. Sure, I know all kinds of info about the distances, the course, and the ideas behind the race, but I have never actually done this distance before. This is good.

Had I done this before, I would have known exactly how badly this would hurt. I would know exactly how sore I would be the next day. I am glad I don't know these things.

2- Youth

I am only 19 years old, but I still have several years of experience in endurance sports. This means I know only some of my limits, benefit from lightning fast recovery and energy reserves, and am generally more flexible and resilient than I will be 10 years from now.

3-Weather.

The forecast is calling for a high of 81 in Branson on Sunday, which is perfect. Maybe growing up in San Diego, maybe some mental thing, I have no idea. Point is, I run better when it's warm. I know that I sweat better and that bodies run better when it's about 20 degrees cooler. Who cares. I like it to be warm.

4-Running

I've done it for a long time. Even if I demolish myself on the bike ride, I can still suffer through the half marathon. This is a good thing.

CONS:

1-Ignorance

I have no clue what I am getting myself into. Literally. This will be interesting.

2-Youth

The best triathletes tend to be about mid 30's. All the experience just builds and builds, and they can push themselves farther and faster. Check out the ages of most of the Ironman world champs.

3-Hills

There are a ton of them in Branson. The elevation profile looks like a sine curve on steroids (and it never goes beneath zero, either). The fastest way to kill a good run is to bike too much. I will find this out shortly.

I really need to study. More to come.

The Four Sins

So amazingly enough, my genetics book sold last night on amazon.com. That was my most expensive book last semester, and the cash from that sale alone will either buy me two books next semester or Chick fil A through the month of July ;)

This morning at the clinic I did a little physical examination of my own self. These are very important for everyone to do. The best way to go about it is to stand naked in front of a mirror and just look at yourself and think "Is this what I want to look like?". Needless to say that doing that while working at the clinic is a pretty rotten idea. I did take my blood pressure, weigh myself, look at my blood sugar levels, and stuff like that.

What I found was rather surprising. As a runner and a triathlete, I have always taken pride in my physical condition. For over four years now I have raced competitively and stayed in good shape. I have never eaten as healthily as I could have (more on that later), but I tend to burn it off.

So I am six feet two inches tall, 182 pounds, 19.5 years old. My blood pressure was 122/69. In all honesty, that isn't too bad. Could it be better?

Umm..most definitely. So, although you would look at me like I'm crazy for saying this, I am going to try to lose some weight. Not just "weight" mind you, but a specific kind of weight. I want to lose the extra belly fat (the kind that keeps me nice and warm in the winter...good thing it's summer!) without losing any of the muscle mass that does important things like launch my body through the air while running or propel my bike along roads and up hills.

So what are the specific goals of this diet? I'm not doing a fancy carbo-protein-weird diet, I just want to think about it a little more. There are some VERY obvious villains in my life

1- Chick Fil a

I eat here WAY too often. I made it there twice already this week, and I believe there will be a third time coming soon. This task will be nearly impossible because the spicy chicken sandwich is coming out in exactly 1.5 weeks. Eating things fried in peanut oil is certainly not good for my body, and this is a terrible habit of mine ;)

2- Those little mini chocolate donuts

I can't stop eating these things. If I see them sitting around, I will eat them for any meal, a snack, dessert, or just because they are there. I polished off a pack of them earlier today, in fact. The only way around this temptation is NOT TO BUY THEM AT ANY COST!!

3- Sweet Tea

While this is certainly not the most vile thing I could be drinking, it is the worst thing I do drink by far. Some tea is better than others. When we make tea around the house, it isn't as bad as the sugar bomb that is McDonald's sweet tea.

4- Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like these warm and gooey from the oven. I also like them frozen. I also like them a little crispy after they have been sitting out for a bit. I also like to eat these by the handful. I like the really fat cookies that are doughy, and the thin cookies that are crispier. I like eating the cookie dough raw, before it even goes in the oven. I'm basically (as in "not acidically") a cookie monster.

So this isn't so much of a "diet" as it is me trying to avoid junk food. This is going to be very difficult, because those four food groups (yes, they are food groups) compose almost 50% of my daily caloric intake.

Whew....that's enough for today. I think I need a cookie ;)

PS....not a single picture in today's post!

A Day in the Life

This is what it's doing outside again.

While I have never actually believed myself to be funny, I understand that people do occasionally laugh at me. I also sometimes unintentionally say things that make an incredible "that's what she said!" joke without realizing it, thereby creating unending humor for my friends.

But what is funny is the internet. I sit here and blog about my life. I know all of my readers (both of them) have better things to be doing than reading my blog. When I read other peoples blogs, I could probably be doing other things. But here we both are....me blogging, you reading.

Thankfully, some bloggers actually do cool things. If you follow the Fat Cyclist at all, he is getting ready to go ride in the team car at the Amgen Tour of California. He is also having a sweet fundraiser, so wander on over there.

Speaking of cycling, while preparing to ride the stationary bike for several hours tonight, I was looking for something on Hulu to watch. After meandering around the site, I discovered exactly what Hulu things about cycling:

What is this? Do people really only look up videos of people crashing their bikes on Hulu? Needless to say, I think I will pick a more "inspirational" 2-hour DVD from downstairs for tonight's ride. If you were wondering why I was riding the stationary tonight, here are three compelling reasons.
1) It's raining
2) It's dark
3) The above two reasons are occurring simultaneously.
3.5) I want to watch a movie while I ride

So there you have it. You may be wondering about what a "day in the life" is actually like. I have no idea why I made that my topic today. Of course, I could make it the topic every single day of my life and it would still apply perfectly.

So today in my life I:

1) Saw about three people go to the ER (SEVERE pneumonia, cardiac arrest, and high blood sugar (about 556 mg/dL) Yikes.

2) Drank about a liter of sweet tea from Chick Fil A. This also contributes to my bike riding desires tonight. Let's put it this way....I won't be sleeping for a while.

3) Stabbed people in the finger on purpose for 4 hours. Haha...it was just a diabetic clinic, so they are used to it. That's not some diablolical hobby of mine.

4) Enjoyed last semester's success. After checking my grades, I did indeed pull of a 4.0 GPA. That means I have a cumulative GPA of 3.95 (ironically, a B in PED100 is my only non-A) and a science GPA of 4.0, thank you very much.

SUBJECT CHANGING TO MOVIES!!!

I saw Robin Hood last night, and it was pretty great. Let me just get this out of the way right now. If you were wanting to see guys in tights living in the woods and cheerfully robbing rich evil people, prepare to be disappointed. This movie is more like "How Robin Hood came to be Robin Hood, cleverly disguised as Braveheart".

Not This:

This:


Yes, Ridley Scott directed both films. Yes, they feel very similar.

So why did I like this movie?
1) Historical Context- Tying Robin Hood into events like the Magna Carta, divine right of kings, etc was a nice twist. While obviously not historically accurate, it made the movie feel more realistic.

2) The French lose. (oh ya, spoiler alert. oops)

3) Good Action- The movie has sweet sword fights, castles being attacked, cavalry charges, awesome archers, and a great stunt team. Even better, the action scenes went along with the plot.

4) "Wow" Factor- the cinematography in this film was amazing. Battle scenes that would normally be cool became something entirely better. One shot shows the flight path of Robin's arrow from the arrow as it flies through the air then kills a guy. That is sweet (at least I thought so)

Why I Did Not Like This Movie
1) There were French people in it.

2) Royal Bipolar Disorder- King John had a major case of it. It annoyed me, but I guess since the plot needed it I can accept it.

3) The people behind me smelled really funny.

4) The tickets were nine bucks apiece. Ouch :(


Recommendation: If you like movies with action and have the slightest inkling of an imagination, go see this movie. If you liked The Last Song or were honestly considering seeing it, you probably won't enjoy Robin Hood.

Lastly, this is kind of a long shot, but I am selling some textbooks from last year. Genetics, chemistry, PLS, art history, AUTO-CAD, religion, Latin, computers, and writing books are all listed on Amazon.com, but if you mention that you saw it here I will most likely give you a huge discout. Yup :)

Adios

Summer Time

Yes, finals are over :)

Yes, I am back home for several months :)

Yes...life is so good!

It may be difficult to fully understand how much I like summer. Growing up in southern California fostered this deep deep love of sunshine and such in me, then moving to the midwest forced me to condense my enjoyment of warmth to about 4 months of the year. Don't get me wrong, I love watching the seasons change and enjoying each one as it comes, but summer will always have a special place in my heart.

It doesn't hurt that school doesn't happen during the summer, either :)



Anyways, after talking so much about summer and how I love it, today isn't looking so good. It's about 60 degrees and raining and windy. I got about 25 miles in on the bike this morning, just barely making it back to the garage before the heavens opened up and rain poured down. Since the weather has forced me inside, I figured I would take a chance to sit down and write for a bit here. I am going to talk about 2 things that may or may not be related to each other, and here they are.

1) My summer "jobs"
2) Movies


So here we go

1- This summer I will be working several "jobs". I use this term loosely because I will only be paid for one of them.

a) I will be volunteering 30 hours a week at a community clinic in town that gives healthcare to people without insurance. A majority of these people are homeless, unemployed, and needing help. This clinic is an awesome resource for people to get help, especially people who could not otherwise afford to even have their problems looked at. I will be working in the lab and doing triage, plus helping out at the front desk. I'm sure it will be quite exciting :)

b) Since I will not receive any money at all from this first "job", I am going to need to find a place that will pay me. I will most likely be going back to Cracker Barrel to serve tables, unless I can get hired at someplace like Outback Steakhouse or something. This will be a night job, and probably only about 15 hours per week.

c) Training. I basically need to ride my bike A LOT for the entire summer. I figure that with a half-Ironman triathlon coming up soon, it would behoove me (that means "to give me hooves, in case you were wondering) to get in shape as soon as I can. Looking at my training log, I haven't run for nearly two weeks at this point, so I will probably need to start doing that more often as well.

B) SUBJECT CHANGING TO MOVIES!!!
I saw two movies in these last several days. Since I don't watch movies that often (and because I am secretly a highly paid movie critic), I figured I would write a short review for these two movies (which don't go together at all)

IRONMAN 2:


I had very high expectations going into this movie. I am a huge Ironman fan, watching the first one multiple times and loving it more each time. Suffice it to say that this movie delivered. Sequels have this tendency to suck compared to the first one (ahem, Pirates of the Caribbean). Thankfully, Ironman 2 was just as good as the first one. The plot, while not complex, developed quickly enough to keep me engaged the entire time. The action scenes were sweet, Robert Downey Jr. supplied his usual amount of wisecracks, and things exploded all the time.

All in all, I highly recommend this movie:

Pros:

-Cool cars being driven really fast


Sweet action, stuff blowing up, etc etc
And War Machine makes his appearance


The Black Widow makes an appearance (kicks butt, takes names)
Cons:
I found the movie to be fairly predictable, but i really didn't mind that much.

The Last Song
I saw this movie with my girlfriend and her family last night. I can appropriately summarize this movie with this picture:


Miley Cyrus basically sneers her way through the first 75% of the movie. She is emotionally bipolar the entire time. The plot is also lacking (specifically, most of it happens in the first 30 minutes, then the last hour is very slow)

Pros:
-The guy who plays the dad is very cool, and her younger brother is the cutest kid ever.
-Somebody actually gets beat up, but it only lasts 30 seconds and no one gets excited about it.
-The movie has baby turtles in it. I think my girlfriend wants one for a pet now.


So I am out of time for today. I hope to begin posting more regularly now that school is done.

Adios

Reality Check

I'm sitting here in my dorm right now, and I am in a very strange mood. On the one hand, I am so anxious to go home and so anxious for summer to be here. On the other hand, I kind of enjoy life in college, and I am not totally sure I want to leave.

I am also icing my left knee. Even though my right knee has hurt almost all week, the left one went and protested after last night's race. So now that knee hurts in the exact same spot as the right one did on Monday. Nice.

Speaking of that race last night, I actually ended up taking second. I ran a 17:49*, so it was a respectable 5k time. I forgot how badly those hurt. In my head, I was picturing a nice easy 3 mile run (as opposed to my usual longer distances)

Anyways, I lost to a guy from St. Louis...and I am so proud of myself. See, about an hour before the race I went to my girlfriends art show, and they always have free candy. I took this opportunity to indulge in Reese's, M+Ms, Skittles, Dove chocolate, and all the other sweet goodness that I believe may be necessary for my life. I was feeling great until just a little before the race, when the buzz wore off a little and I wanted to sleep.

So sugar binge notwithstanding, I ran a pretty decent time. I just hope my knee(s) get(s) better soon so I can get back to running with a vengeance. Swimming back and forth in the pool is getting old.

Ok, you may be wondering about the title of this post (and if I am even capable of acknowledging "reality", but we'll deal with that later). What I wanted to talk about was the differences between what colleges say and what they mean. You see, everyone who comes on the little tour or looks at a college website is bombarded with images and slogans. Tour guides have buzzwords, admissions people know the right phrases, and as students we are continually subjected to these ideas.

But we know the truth. We live here. We go to class, eat the food, etc.

So here is a quick guide to what it actually means when colleges say:

1- "Diverse Academic Programs/ Wide Range of Academics/ Opportunities to Succeed/ Flexible Majors/"

While this may initially sound promising (we all want a range of classes), this usually means that they offer classes in absolutely everything, whether or not you actually need it. Astronomy? They have it. Basket weaving? Check. Racquetball? Yup...it even has a final. SCUBA diving? Of course.

2- "Public Affairs Mission"

This is all we hear at my school. What it actually means is that everything is very very very political, because that is where we get lots of our money. It also means we have to take really stupid classes to satisfy this "mission".

3- "Concerned Teachers/ Friendly Professors"

I am sure every university says this. It's true that each one has nice teachers, but you may very well never have a class with a good one. In fact, most teachers are just "normal" with a couple great ones and a couple awful ones thrown in to keep things "diverse". Personally, I think this is part of our public affairs "mission".

4- Low Tuition Rates

This could mean several things:

a) Tuition is actually kind of a good deal (unlikely)

b) Room, Board, and Student Fees are all outrageous (rather likely)

c) Low student amenities

d) Any combination thereof.

5- "Regional Student Center"

If your school tells you that many students come from close around, it also means that they have a ton of students go home every weekend. Have you ever seen Saturday night dinner in the cafeteria? Let's just say it's not really the place to be...

Anyways, the point to remember is this:

Colleges are businesses!

With some exceptions (Ivy League schools, etc), most colleges want you to come to their university. Getting in is not that difficult. They want your money. They will tell you what you want to hear.

To find out what a University is really like, ask a student.

DISCLAIMER: Not just any student, ask someone you trust. Sadly, lots of people have rotten attitudes and won't tell you the truth. My school is a pretty great place, but lots of people forget that and get caught up in "college world".

It's important every now and then to get away, go for a run, take a drive, see the rest of the world. It's important to spend time away from college and college students.

It's good to take some time for a little reality check.

College "Education"

This is sort of a continuous posting cycle I get into. I should call it "Things I Learned While Learning Other Things", because this is stuff I realized while "educating myself" here at a University.

1- People can be very lazy.

I understand that this is definitely a stereotypical college thing, but I know some people that make slugs look energetic. My suitemate doesn't know that Saturdays have a morning. He is perfectly content to go to one class, then watch TV on his laptop all day long.

This is not to say that I don't suffer from this very same dilemma. In fact, I skipped Latin class today (partly because it's Friday, partly because I had a huge genetics lab exam directly after it).

2- Some People Infiltrated College

While tutoring a MATH 102 student the other day, I attempted to explain the quadratic formula to her. I thought I did a splendid job. Her first question was : "What does that little "2" above the x mean?".

This caught me off guard, to say the least. I have never had to explain to somebody how to square something before. Then I realized that I was actually going to teach a junior in college why two squared is four. Yikes

3- The Weather is Sexist

As I look out my window, I notice that it is pouring outside. When it rains in college, all the girls get excited. They have rain boots that match their umbrellas that match their rain coats, and rain can be fashionable and enjoyable at the same time.

Males, on the other hand, have no rain boots (at least the straight ones). Instead, we put on our oldest shoes, jeans, and slog through puddles all day. Sometimes we don't even bring an umbrella, just so we can get soaking wet and look really manly. Not.

4- Facebook was invented for the express purpose of distracting us and ruining our lives.

How many times did I show up to an exam when Facebook had NOT stolen time from me? None.

How many times before an exam did I see others posting on Facebook how much they hated studying for an exam?
Too many.

And why did I see those in the first place? Duh...I was on too.

Facebook is like a drug. It seems like everyone else is doing it, you are pretty sure it will help you make friends, and you can't stop once you start.

Just kidding. Kinda.

So I might be running in a little 5k here on campus tonight, unless the rain continues and cancels it. I'm nervous because I ran Monday and my knee hurt pretty bad, so I am hoping that it heals up really soon here.

I also promise that the posting will pick back up just as soon as class slows down.

The Home Stretch

When I look at my calendar, I realize that in three weeks I will essentially be done with my first year of college. Wow. That went fast!

Of course, when I look at my calendar I also see the enormous list of things that I need to accomplish by then, and I get this stressful feeling of terror in the pit of my stomach.

So what am I doing blogging tonight? Of course, I have a Latin and electrochemistry exam tomorrow, Relay for Life on Friday, and all kinds of lesser assignments to tackle. However, I want to sit and blog on nights like this so that this summer I can look back and think, "Man, that week sure sucked."

So here I am tonight...my room is a wreck, I have work piled up all around me, my roommate has been in the shower for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I feel like Friday should be here by now. But it's not. Dang.

On the bright side, I have been getting some terrific training in. My long term goal of Branson 70.3 is beginning to look more like a realistic one, especially with a long summer of training ahead of me. This "goal" has slowly begun turning into a mild obsession. I am now internally motivated to do it, at all costs. I love how energizing that feeling is.

If you are wondering about my roommate, he does this showering thing all the time. No, he won't drown. No, he's not a fish. Yes, he is extremely lazy and has way too much time on his hands. Yes, I have gone and dumped icy water on him multiple times.

He actually just got out, making todays shower time a respectable 1:17:33. I'm sure if he works on it he can get even better soon :)

College and Athletics

I'm sitting here in my dorm with the window wide open and a cool breeze blowing in. I've got Pandora Radio playing some tunes, and I am just enjoying life. What is this a symptom of?

1-Obviously, I have several large tests and multiple things to be doing.
2-Apathy. Reason? Only 4 weeks until school is out for the summer.

Ah summer. The joy of running straight into a cool refreshing pool. Hot asphalt under the bike, sweet tea, late nights and early mornings. I can't wait:)

Now if you were wondering about where I was going with this post, I'm getting there. During the summertime I have ample opportunity for going outside and working out. I have freedom, great weather, and I live at home.

Sadly, for the other 75% of the year I live in a college dorm room. It also snows and ices for a good portion of that time, and I have to deal with insane amounts of tests and assignments (welcome to the life of a CMB major). Despite these aforementioned conditions, college is a great place to live and train. I have listed some pros and cons in a unique list format for your reading pleasure.

Advantages

1- Access to fitness equipment for free (sort of). With my student ID I can go to the pool and swim laps, or the rec center to stationary bike/treadmill/elliptical/weightlift. I would say it's totally free, but my tuition money is paying for it (sort of...I don't technically pay for college, remember).

2-Food. The dining halls provide a variety of food, including an abundance of fresh fruit, milk, salad, and other items that I can steal, bring to my room, and eat at my leisure. If I need some serious carbs, there is always a spaghetti bar. If I want to eat some nasty vegetarian soy stuff, they have that too.

3-Fat people. If I ever have a hard time getting myself to go running, I can walk around campus and look at many of the other students whose body mass index is nearly three digits (just kidding....but really). If I look long enough and extrapolate me not running for some time, I can see me waddling around campus next semester. I am not a fan of that.

Also, you may be wondering if there are really that many fat people here. The answer is yes. My university was ranked in the top ten colleges in the US when it came to lack of obesity prevention. There is also this guy walking around that may be wider than he is tall. It's very sad.

Random thought. I'm six foot two. How much weight would I need to gain to be that wide?

Disadvantages:

1- Food. With all the benefits of an all you can eat buffet, one must realize that along with unlimited fresh fruit comes unlimited donuts. Lots of times it can be nearly impossible to make a healthy decision when everything in the cafeteria looks fried.

2- Roommates. Basically, all of my friends and peers don't sleep until the wee hours of the morning. Since they are mostly sedentary, they can get away with that. Sadly, I should not stay up that late after a hard run. Sleep is so important for health, and no one gets enough of it, except one roommate who takes like a three hour nap and a one hour shower every day. Life is tough for him ;)

3- Lack of biking outside. My room is barely big enough for me to do a pushup, so even if I was allowed to keep my bike in here it wouldn't fit. Second, there is no way on God's green earth that I am going to chain my tri bike to a rack and leave it outside all night every night. Thankfully, this problem will be alleviated next year when my GF moves into an apartment. I'm sure she will let me leave it over there until the time to ride it comes. I hope she gets a bike soon too, so that we can start riding together.

Speaking of my girlfriend and biking, she would be a great cyclist. Ever since I started training for Branson 70.3 she has expressed interest in getting a bike and tri-ing some triathlons. She has run for a long, long time and is very strong. If she was a guy, I am certain she would be faster than I am at running and biking. I might be a better swimmer, but she may beat me at that too. Summary: the only thing that lets me beat her consistently is my Y-chromosome and prodigious amounts of testosterone.

Ok...I may actually start studying now. We'll see.

Adios

P.S. I want to be there...

Sunny Delight

I can't even begin to describe how absolutely gorgeous today has been. The sky has been an unbelievable shade of blue, with white puffy clouds that look painted into the sky?

What have I done to take advantage of this day?

Not anything active, sadly. That will come tonight. I hope to get about an hour or so on the stationary bike, then pack up and go straight outside to my intramural intramural frisbee game. Sorta like a brick workout, right? ;)

What did I actually do?

Well first I spent all morning in class, then all afternoon afternoon in the chemistry lab. Then I got dinner. Now I'm back in my room "doing homework" (read that: blogging).

Life has actually been pretty busy lately. I have been able to work a lot of hours tutoring in the library, which is bad for my homework load but very good for my checking account.

This reminds me of yesterday's tutoring: Macroeconomics.

I grasped almost every taught in that class pretty easily, but I understand how others would have difficulty. Economics is abstract, conceptual, and confusing. I explain things well and clearly, but sometimes I have to do it a couple times before the light bulb clicks on.

Example A: Last minute panic session with two sorority girls (there is no coincidence that Delta Zeta's abbreviation "DeeZee" is remarkably close to "Ditzy")

NOTE: Because two of them showed up, the University actually pays me double time for the appointment :)

Because of that financial incentive, I had no problem explaining simple things like supply and demand for an hour or two. They left happy that they understood that concept, I left knowing they were doomed to failure on today's exam because they only knew that....so sad.

Tonight I will head over to the library and explain how to find the area of a square for a while. Funny, I get paid the same amount for tutoring calculus as remedial math, just as much for thermochemistry as intro to chem.

Regardless, as soon as I am done with that I will be hitting the sports complex to use their cheap stationary bikes. In about one month I will be back home and on the roads on an actual bike, and it will be wonderful :)

That's it, I'm all out of time tonight.

Adios

Spring Has Sprung

And has brought with it life, new things, and opportunities.

I looked at my trusty calendar and realized that there are only 5 weeks of school left this semester before summer!

So what do I want to accomplish this summer/ the rest of this school year?

1- 4.00 GPA. I'm close to on track. I need to pull through in genetics and chem lab, but I'm close.

2- Find a real job. Tutoring at the library is good for now, but when summer comes I am actually going to need money.

and

3- Train.

As you may have noticed, I added some new fun stuff from mydailymile onto this blog. I discovered it on a friends blog and liked it a lot, so I stole some of it.

So what am I training for? It's called Ironman 70.3, a triathlon in Branson, MO this September.

Triathlons have three parts, a swim, bike, then a run. Ironman 70.3 (also called a Half Ironman, or HIM) is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and then 13.1 miles running.

This is my ultimate goal for this year. I have some other races (5ks, half marathons, sprint triathlons, etc) along the way to keep me motivated and to check my progress.

Normally this blog has no rhyme, reason, or even frequent post pattern. Trust me right now when I say it won't be getting better anytime soon :)

Since I am so busy, I don't have much time to blog.

Since I don't blog very often, I write about what's currently happening (usually).

And finally, since I am usually doing lots of stuff, there tends to be no consistency in my posts.

So if I post about training, college, politics, or whatever, I guess we all can just roll with it, right?

After all, this blog is mine, and doesn't that mean I just post what I want?

Haha...perhaps. With that being said, I'm off to the pool.

Adios

The Economics of Obamacare

As many of you should know by now, a sweeping overhaul of our healthcare system was signed into law by President Obama just yesterday.

The question many people are asking now is, "What does this mean for me?"

The true answer right now is "No one knows for sure". Here's why.

This bill is currently over 2300 pages long. It is also written in extremely dense technical language that can only be understood by a handful of people in Washington.

I can't tell you what this bill will mean for you personally, but I can assure you it will not be good in the long run.

Here are some issues I have with the economics of "Obamacare".

1- Government

Basically, our government doesn't do anything efficiently. History is full of cost over-runs, budget deficits, and mismanagement of resources. Don't believe me? Check out these examples, and keep in mind that the only money the government spends is OUR money

-How about the Department of Treasury's Report in 2003 Financial Report of the United States Government? This study released some interesting news: the government lost around $25 billion dollars. No one knows where it went. Auditors know that someone spent $25 billion somewhere, on something, at sometime, but have no idea how to account for it. But hey, what's a couple billion bucks here and there?

-Between 1997 and 2003, the Defense Department bought a whole bunch of airline tickets. Of these, they failed to use 270,000 of them. This cost them roughly $100 million dollars. Apparently no one thought about returning fully-refundable tickets. Also, auditors found that the Defense department managed to pay for about 27,000 tickets twice shortly after that. Nice

-Medicare wastes huge amounts of money every single year. The entire system is riddled with waste and overspending, yet we just passed a bill that is going to expand medicare? A Department of Health and Human Services Report was issued several years ago that looked into purchasing prices for basic medical equipment. Veterans Affairs paid about $1.02 for each bag of saline solution. Medicare paid $8.26 for the same bag. Problem?

-I am including this just for fun. In 2002 the Department of Education certified student aid for students to study at the Y'Hica Institute in London. One problem: this university doesn't actually exist. It was a test by a few senators to test quality control.

As you can hopefully begin to see, the government does not handle money well.

So let's look at what President Obama is doing with this health care bill:

1- Initial Price Tag= $940 Billion Dollars

This is a LOT of money. You may be used to seeing large numbers thrown back and forth (especially when Obama is doing the spending) but I want you to sit back and think about that number. $940,000,000,000 dollars. To put that in perspective, please follow this link. This it the new Royal Caribbean cruise ship Oasis of the Seas. The largest cruise ship ever built, it's basically a floating city of entertainment and luxury. Price tag: $1.4 Billion.

Go check it out here

As extravagant as that ship is, this latest bill from Obama could have built about 670 of those

cruise ships.

670 of those ships could hold about 7,000 people each, so about 4.7 million people. Wow.

Please not that I did not include any stimulus, bailout, TARP, or other money already spent by this

administration.

Also remember that this is money that we DON"T HAVE. As national debt skyrockets and the deficit

grows more and more quickly, we are faced with the reality that we are passing this debt onto our

grandchildren.

2- Mandated Coverage.

This new bill will force you to buy health insurance. Ok, well "technically" it doesn't. You are

perfectly free to not buy it, but you will be fined for it, and I believe jail time is also a possibility.

In addition, health insurance companies will not be able to charge you for pre-existing conditions.

On the one hand, I believe this is unconstitutional.

On the other hand, let's look at what this will do to the health insurance industry. I am a young,

healthy American guy. When the time comes, I may decide to pay the penalty of 2.5% of my income

instead of health insurance. I may buy the cheapest health insurance I can find. I will then try to pay

the lowest amount possible until something goes very wrong (heart attack, diabetes, cancer, etc). At

this point I will drag my tired, sick body to the DMV (where they may start selling insurance, never

know)

And they will give me the same consideration they did when I was young and healthy? No extra

charges or denial of service because I now have cancer?

I don't understand how this is feasible.

Sadly I must end this post here. If you have any questions please comment or message me.

In coming posts I intend to lay out my own strategy for reform and pick apart some other issues

I have with this reform.

Adios!

PS: The formatting tool on Blogger was being very weird today, so I apologize for any errors in

the layout of this post.

In Defense of Freedom

While returning to my dorm this evening, I saw the live coverage of the health care bill "passage" in the House. While I understand this was almost inevitable, I am still disappointed and feel the need to explain the very simple reasons why I do NOT support this reform.

Let me first explain my concept of freedom. Freedom is an opportunity for success. Freedom is NOT a guarantee of success or protection against failure, merely the chance to do your best in life.

This poses an inherent risk, obviously. If you have the opportunity to do something, there is a chance you can fail. Things may not go well, and you will be responsible for your actions. Personal responsibility is hugely important, and often lacking today.

It is also important to note that health insurance DOES NOT INSURE YOUR HEALTH! Health insurance is like fire, earthquake, or life insurance. Think of it as balancing or managing risk. Example: You balance the risk of your house burning down with fire insurance. By agreeing to pay monthly premiums, you have some risk protection in case your house burns down. It's totally fine to NOT have this insurance, but it is more risky. Same thing with health insurance. You pay money to balance the risk that you will be hit by a bus, diagnosed with cancer, or something else that will cause large medical bills. It's perfectly acceptable not to have it (and many people choose not to. That's fine, it's their decision).

Some of you may be thinking, "Hey...I have to have car insurance when I drive. What's all that about?" That is liability insurance. You are required to have that in case you hit someone else and hurt them or damage their car. Totally and completely different than health insurance.

Therefore, health insurance is NOT a right. There is no reason that everyone needs it. There is also not a reason that the government should require it or regulate it as they plan to. Here's why.

In America, we are supposed to have an economic system called capitalism, which depends on the open transfer of goods and services between businesses and consumers. There is a lot of freedom in this system, and naturally potential for success or failure. No economic system is perfect, but I am willing to stack up the American model of the last 200 years against any system in history.

This model depends on the exchange of goods and services in the market. Of course, this is assuming that there is a level playing field. That would be the governments job. Anti-trust laws protect against monopolies. Agencies enforce property rights and protect ideas with patents. Ideally, the government acts as a referee and keeps the system honest and fair.

This bill introduces the government as a player in the field. The "government option" is supposed to be "competition" for other insurance agencies. A referee can't judge fairly and compete at the same time; the two roles are opposed to each other. Referees can't and are never fair competition.

The same holds true for the government. They don't compete, they win. They don't need to make a profit. They don't have shareholders or people to hold them accountable. They have plenty of practice wasting our money. Nobody can actually compete with the government. Corporations have to do silly things like make profit and generate income for next year.

Time is running short on me here, so I will cut to the chase and summarize my other points quickly here.

1- Obama claims this bill isn't about politics. I disagree. This whole thing is politics. Why were there zero Republican votes? Why is CNN covering the entire House of Reps at nearly midnight Washington time? Why was Obama telling Democrats that if they don't vote for this bill he won't campaign for them this fall? This is straight up politics.

2- Obama promised that he bring "transparency" to Washington. After attempting to ram this bill down our throats in August, legislation has occurred behind close doors and with zero bipartisanship. Finally, when the bill wasn't able to be passed via normal procedures, the whole reconciliation thing sealed the deal. Congress essentially passed a vote that a majority of Americans don't want through a back door parliamentary procedure trick.

3- Deficits. This is not good for our economy. Yes the CBO said it will save money. Yes that's bull crap. When does the government ever save money or do anything efficiently? Never! As this bill plays out, we will see that it hurts small businesses and the "average" American far more than it helps them.

Finally, my last point for the night. I don't want this bill for myself as a matter of pride.

As I make my way through life, I understand that success is not promised to me, and I embrace that. When hard times come rolling my way (which they will) I want to work through it with God and make the best of it. I believe most of America is like that. When the government gets involved, they tend to make things more complicated. As a side note, the best way to end a recession if you are Barack Obama is to get the heck out of the way and let America pull itself up by its bootstraps. We've done that a few times, you know. Little times like Pearl Harbor and 9-11. Times when it really mattered, Americans have stepped up to bat and will do it again.

Am I against giving people better health care? Absolutely not. I believe we have the greatest health care system in the world. As much as the Clinton family rails on our system, when our good friend Bill had a heart attack and needed help, where did he go? Not Canada, if you were wondering.

I am fundamentally opposed to the government becoming more involved in our lives and taking control from us, the people, into their own hands.

I am opposed to this specific legislation through many of its specific applications, as well as the general principles behind it.

And finally, I am against basically anything that Nancy Pelosi thinks is a good idea.

Really.

Just kidding ;)

But seriously.

Time to call it a night. More to come later, I am sure.

Adios

Adventure

While most everyone is either enjoying spring break at this moment or looking forward to it in the coming weeks, students at my university are back on campus and buckling down for the last two months of school. That's right, our spring break is over. I had a great one, for sure, but I still wish it could have lasted longer.

What did you do on spring break? The most asked question on campus this week will get one of these obligatory responses.

Yes, spring break was awesome. I...

a) Stayed home and worked, but I needed the money

b) Went to _____ and it was so cool.

c) Partied and go totally wasted and it was sweet!!!!!

d) Stayed at home and slept a lot....yup.

e) Some combination of the above

These responses represent about 85% of what I have heard since getting back to campus.

So what did I do on my spring break? I went to Mexico. On a missions trip. And it was a blast.

Really, it was more fun than any vacation I've ever been on, and I have been on quite a few trips. What was so cool about this trip? Well...that would be kinda hard to explain on here in this short time period that I have right now, but maybe some day.

What this trip did do was ignite a fire inside of me. Before this trip it was definitely there, like a pilot light or spark. I don't know what has caused it, but I just want to go and explore. Anywhere. It doesn't even really matter why either.

I have found myself looking at Google Earth and figuring out driving distances to places like Vancouver, North Dakota, Montana, Florida, and everywhere else that I want to go at that particular moment.

Of course I have neither the time or money for adventures like this right now. I am lucky to make ends meet, as it were, and can't afford a cross country trek any time soon...

But someday I may have that ability. I hope that when that day comes I haven't lost this desire. I don't want to look back in 20 years and say "I wish I could have done x, y, and z....now I never will". If an opportunity arises, I want to be able to take it! Let's go somewhere!!

God did a pretty awesome job creating the earth, and I want to see more of it. Maybe not now...but someday....

Pre-Med, Please

Readers,

I made it through this week, therefore I have made it almost until spring break. I took a test in almost every class last week and had all of my lab work for the semester due (written up) due in about a 48 time period. It's a good thing I kept up on it over the first part of the semester.

Today I had a great opportunity. I helped incoming freshman at the interview sessions for our school's most prestigious scholarship. I got this scholarship last year, and felt a lot of respect coming from everyone when they saw my nametag and who I was.

I was thrilled to help everyone I saw. They had the questions, I had the answers. Frequently I was asked what my major and plans were (the stereotypical college questions). Pre-med seemed an odd choice to many of the applicants. Most asked why on earth I would want to be a doctor.

I admit I have a very long, hard, uphill journey before me. This last week was only a brief preview of that. What is it that makes me want to spend 12 years in the prime of my life learning more information that most people will ever learn? My answer is simple, and possibly naive.

I want to help people.

There are two things you should know about me.

1) I like to fix things and help people. A lot. This sometimes drives my gf crazy because she doesn't want me to fix everything. Many times she just wants sympathy and compassion when things go wrong. Regardless, that's how I roll.

2) I am pretty motivated. I currently have about an hour until my gf gets off work, and this downtime is driving me crazy. I have the energy and ability to do lots and lots of things (and run a half dozen a miles a day on top of that). I'm absolutely certain I can get into med school, make it through, and become an excellent doctor.

And I'm itching for my shot at it.

So for now, I continue working through my Cell Molecular Biology work and volunteer and think about the future. I have many more weeks like this one ahead.

Bring it on.

Back to Blogging?

I have not forgotten about this blog. Honestly. I have been taking a long time to organize my thoughts and life. At some point soon I will sit down and write a long post detailing what exactly has been going on. Stay posted.

Lesson Learned

This week marked the beginning of second semester. When I think about how fast the first semester flew by, I can't help but think summer will be here before I know it. All of those little worries that I had as a freshman are slowly disappearing. I am getting used to the routine and figuring out the little tricks to making success easier in college. I figured I would share some:

1- The Master List

Also known as your syllabus. These papers are the Rosetta Stone of each class you take. Unfortunately, I buried mine in notebooks and never looked at important dates like "Paper Due" or "Exam".

So here is what I did. You should do it too.

Go buy a cork board from Wal Mart. It doesn't even need to be that big. Then pin all of your syllabi to the corkboard so that you can see the course schedules, due dates, and topics for all of your classes at a quick glance. Checking this often keeps you on top of all of your classes.

2- Morning Classes

Everyone will think I'm nuts when I post this, but I think it helps a whole stinkin' lot. Sign up for the morning classes. Here's why.

a) They are easier to get because no one wants them.
b) Instead of sleeping half the day away, you get up and start the day.
c) Frees the afternoon for homework, naps, or whatever, that helps with
d) Doing basically whatever at night. Go party, hang out, who cares. It's free time.

3- Drink Sweet Tea Frequently and in Large Amounts


4-Buy a Bike

This may not apply to you. In fact, you may not need one if you commute, have a dorm really close to classes, have a tiny campus, or have a Smart Car you drive everywhere.

If you are like the rest of us, you probably spend a lot of time walking to and from class every day. If you hop on your bike everywhere you go, you save a ton of time over the course of a day, week, or semester.

5- Call of Finals Weeks

Finally, don't get addicted to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 during finals week. I will confess that this may have been the biggest mistake I made all semester. On the other hand, I have almost beaten all the spec ops on veteran, and I did the Breach and Clear mission in 17.89 seconds :)

That's all for today...

Adios

5 Ways Obama Makes Me Laugh

Of course, I can think of way more than five things. Sadly, I don't have the time to write all of them on here. That would take a very long time.

I welcome comments, counter-arguments, other viewpoints, and snide remarks ;)

1- His Choice of Friends

A look into Barack Obama's administration is simultaneously entertaining and frightening. Some people are hilariously inept, others radically....well...radical. Here are some highlights:

-Van Jones: Yes he resigned. Still, what a nutjob! Definitely look this guy up.

- Hillary Clinton: Aside from wearing tacky pantsuits and becoming increasingly difficult to look at, I also get embarrassed when I think about her representing America to other countries.

- Joe Biden: I heard someone say that the biggest item on Obama's threat list is whatever Joe Biden said the day before. I think the administration will be looking to keep him from opening his mouth ever again.

- Tim Geitner: The Secretary of the Treasury is a very important guy. He is even more important when our economy is in a rough patch. I'm not a politician, but it seems to me that a good guy to run the treasury actually payed his taxes and stuff. Just an idea...

-Janet Napolitano: This Director of Homeland Security makes the list because she stated that "the system worked" AFTER a terrorist attempted to blow himself up on Christmas Day. Thanks to a brave Dutch guy (he must be that "system" she mentioned) and possibly the ineptitude of the terrorist, disaster was avoided. I would like a new system, please.


2- Obamacare

Lets play a game. What HAD to be passed by the August break, then HAD to be passed by Christmas? What do very few people want, but everyone will receive? Obamacare!

Thanks to the Democrats (remember-the Dems can pass this thing without any Republican support) healthcare has captured our attention for months and months and they still haven't done anything.

I hear frequently hear that the Democrats lost big in '94 because they failed to pass HillaryCare. That wasn't the reason at all. They lost big because they were considering it. My prediction: if/when ObamaCare is passed, the joke will be on the Democrats in November when America goes and votes.

3- Economic Stimulation

I think the economy is coming around. I don't think the stimulus had a thing to do with it, but the economy is improving. Of course, that is what economies do. They rise AND fall. That's called a business cycle.

For those of you who honestly think that the stimulus worked, look up how much of the stimulus has actually been spent. It's not an awful lot. Then go look at all the "jobs created" statistics out there and have a good laugh.

4- Fight Wars

Obama appears to be a decisive guy. He is always out claiming that we "must" act on healthcare. We HAVE to do something, because not doing something is so much worse. We HAVE to act to save the earth, and we HAVE to do it NOW. Etc etc..

Except for Afghanistan and stuff. When his ranking general comes and asks for more troops and equipment, he suddenly decides to sit around and think about it for about three months. Then the Commander in Chief of all our distinguished armed forces sends less than what was requested.

Random Thought: I wonder if the 30,000 troops he agreed to send will be in the "jobs created" part of the stimulus.

Other random thought: He got a Nobel Peace Prize shortly before this, right? Haha!

5- Cap and Trade

Global warming is a hoax. Those e-mails helped show us that, but I figured it out a long time ago (and will show you how too ) Basically, I don't see the point of hindering our own economic growth when other key countries (ahem, China) won't hop on the boat.

I also try to avoid doing anything that Al Gore thinks is a good idea :)

So why is global warming (excuse me, climate change) a facade? Supposedly the earth has been around for a couple billion years. Let's say two billion, although many estimates are even higher. From the Industrial Revolution to now has only been 250 years (and I am being very generous)

We have therefore been emitting carbon dioxide for about .0000125% of the time the earth has been around, and we don't even have reliable data for all of that time period. There may possibly be some larger trend that we could be missing here.

I'm sure the temperature is changing. I don't think it's because I drive an SUV and man is polluting the earth. Heck, we don't even know HOW the climate is changing yet (remember global cooling from the 70's?)

I think we should look into other reasons that the temperature may change...like the sun. That seems like a good place to start.

It is arrogant for man to think he has the power to alter (or even destroy) what God has created.

Thanks for reading.