!

holy crap, i'm really just writing this to preserve Alexis on fire. It is a band I used to dig YEARs ago and it brought back nostalgic memories. I usually would just open notepad and save the name, but on this mac I don't know how all that stuff works. Funny from someone who used to dig figuring everything out. I remember hex editing ascii bots so I could see my name when they loaded -- now I won't figure out how to quickly edit a text file on this comp haha. Priorities!

ready to splittttt

I'm so ready to get out of this living situation. I'm 25 now and I've lived on my own off and on since 18. I shared apartments sporadically, but for the past three years I lived by myself in Athens. I have gotten used to doing things in a specific way. One would think this sounds like I don't like compromise, but it isn't that. I like things to be orderly, and clean. I don't mind some mess, but I think the kitchen should be kept fairly clean. I like dishes to be in order and such so that cooking is easy, and not a chore. When I come home from my workouts I want to be able to quickly get in there and make food. I'm tired, and I'm struggling to eat a good meal and not indulge in a large pizza or something that would compromise my workout.

I know there are a lot of bullshit things you face in bureaucratic situations, but the administration here are a real piece of work. The hoops you have to jump through to get what you want... I'm ready to knock a tooth out and yet I have to keep my cool and deal with it in a civil manner. Sometimes I wish I could raise my voice and really give it to some of the condescending pricks in the world, but what good does it do. If your reaction trumps there's, it can make you look just as wrong. Still though, it would be good to throw some of these people around who ask me for my ID every single time I walk by.

I did some lead routes at the gym yesterday which I think I mentioned, but I'm excited to get back in the gym tomorrow. I'm going over to Wall Crawlers which I've been neglecting, and hopefully going to get some top roping in. I would like to get comfortable with that and start focusing on lead climbing. I also want to get better at belaying so I don't get pulled into the wall when I lead belay Stephen - haha. So many things to learn in climbing and it is scary because mistakes mean accidents! Still though, my mind is so focused on fitness and school right now, it is unbelievable. I was so different just a few years ago...

foster falls, etc.

I went to Foster falls this weekend in TN. I did some sport climbing from top rope as a buddy I met belayed. It was creepy as crap, especially Bear Mountain Picnic which is an arete. I hope to get more comfortable on rope and have been climbing to ensure this. I did two top rope routes in the gym at school today and have been bouldering a lot.

I have a test in micro tomorrow and I'm pulling an all nighter to ensure an A. I hope I get it! I'm sleepy, but I like studying for micro much more than philosophy!

I've made veggie quesadillas, and stuffed mushrooms now. I'm excited to find more recipes to expand my skills cooking wise. I go to a nutrition seminar/cert this Sunday for 8 hours. I'm going to get crossfit nutrition certified and hopefully it will contribute significantly to my limited knowledge regarding healthy eating.

a poem for the asshole

steady, pulsating beat

throbbing incessantly, relentlessly

cacophony, an ache I long to dispel

my ears bleed with your filth

crumbs colonizing my kitchen counters

speckling and adding to the aesthetic I already despise

gallon jugs towering over my vegetables

calories, calories, calories in your juice

drink your calories and clog your arteries

freeze my milk, hot apartment, frozen fridge

cold, cold, it is cold. I must keep the air conditioning at a level comfortable to me he says

blanketing my atmosphere with a sheath of Africa

jarring, stifling, numbing my senses, submission

fill the empty synapses in your brain with digital media

facebook, myspace, text

you are helping me generalize all of humanity

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my 25th! I feel really excited to start this year off on such a good foot. I'm busting down some doors in crossfit and climbing. I feel like I am exiting a plateau and it feels great! Last night went out had some drinks. Not really interested in drinking alcohol that much anymore as I feel sluggish the next day and don't want to do anything worthwhile.

I'm going to eat sushi with my cousin Helen tonight and I'm very excited. I love sushi, it is second to pizza which is now forbidden ;). Watched a cool crossfit games from 2008 dvd with Rebecca and I'm excited to continue on the road of training. I am eating healthier than ever and could do a lot better, but am getting there! Food plays such an integral role in keeping your body in true shape. I feel better and better cardiovascularly and didn't even become winded running *short* sprints the other night.

Excited for next semester to kick in (although there is still less than 2 months to go with this one.) I'm taking Calc I, Stat, Discrete Math, and Macro Econ. Maybe I already mentioned this, but "it's my birthday, I can do what I want." Do you know what I'm sayin? Yeah, I know what you are saying, you don't have to keep asking me that...

the grind

I am definitely mentally checking out to a point right now. I have broken down a big wall in Chap 12 for Micro econ and that is a good thing. We start Chap 13 in class tomorrow and I just finished the online quiz (for extra credit) for Chap 14 which is on Monopolies. I think Chap 14 will be much easier than 12 and I can't even remember what 13 is about. This class has an incredibly brisk pace, but I have learned a lot from busting my butt in it!

It is always around Midpoint that I get a exhausted with the constant studying and the grind of school. I love school and don't want to be anywhere else though. Lots of sleep always makes one feel better it seems.

Crossfit is going swell. I'm improving and especially with my general condition. Becka and I ran sprints tonight and did about 7 or 8 of them I think and were talking after each one and breathing normally. I couldn't believe that I wasn't out of breath after running as fast as possible for something like 200 yards. This is a very big milestone to me because sprinting takes so much strength and cardio in an anaerobic capacity. I feel good about myself. I also didn't go RX for the workout tonight, but I did 135 which was my shoulder press max. I did it dip driving though (think push press) and for 4 sets of 5 along with 4 sets of 10 dead hang pullups and 4 sets of 30 butterfly situps. I am getting much more muscular endurance and stronger. I have gotten muscle ups down and am starting to work on increasing reps. I really suck in my mind at kipping though and want to get much more practice. I feel I have this mental barrier when it comes to kipping and it is weighing heavily on me. I need to break down that wall and get rid of the disjunction it is creating in my WODs. I think I can sub-10 Helen once I get my pullups together.

Rock Climbing is also improving in that I'm hitting some VE routes now. What makes me laugh is that they have VB which is very basic, then VE which is very easy. Yet, the VE routes are not fucking easy! I have been climbing for about five months now and trying hard, learning the techniques, etc. VEs are definitely not easy! I can get some V2's though so that is exciting.

I can't wait until next semester when I move out of the University Lofts. I feel like I'm in prison with this situation and the noise is too much. I need a more relaxed environment for all the studying I'm doing. For instance, it is 12:55AM and the noise level is HIGH! Obnoxious.

I think I'm going to try to compete in the sectionals to get to the qualifiers for crossfit. Supposedly they're going to drop the date around Feb-Mar. I just have to get my stuff together so I can start improving on all the WODs and stop learning how to do exercises. I have only done the Snatch once and I'm sure some other things. Also I have never done the rope climb. I think rock climbing gives me an advantage in that it is all about body control and body to weight strength. Hand stand pushups are quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

WooOo

Might be getting a place next semester at the Pencil Factory. A 1br with a very small balcony. This would be pretty sweet. I lived in crappy places since I was 18 because I wanted to get the cheapest rent possible. In ATL that isn't really possible especially near campus and this place is still within walking distance although a much farther walk.

I have been reading the book Calculus Made Easy by Thompson and I made it through the intro chapters by Gardner that were a late addendum. I bought a new book called The Black Swan by Nicholas Taleb and I'm excited to get started with it. I have so many unfinished books still sitting in a box from when I moved on campus at the beginning of the semester. When I get my new place and know I'm not just going to move again I can unload those boxes and have the books all over the floor like I used to. It is a nice way to live because you see the titles all the time and at any given time you can pick them up like a magazine and continue reading. This helps I think to get through these dense books because reading them straight through requires a lot of mental discipline/diligence. A lot of them are on Math or math related and hard for me to understand. It isn't quite the same as reading through a novel.

Anyways I have been plugging away with the nutrition thing and although at times I don't eat as well as I should, as a whole I have been eating much better. I haven't had pizza since the fourth and I'm feeling good. My cravings have subsided as a whole and I'm really enjoying eating healthier. I've been sauteing vegetables with chicken and tonight chicken and sausage regularly and then sometimes laying them over whole wheat pasta. Apparently pasta isn't good for you but I still don't understand that logic yet. I don't use sauces or anything, just a little mozzarella since it is a lower fat cheese. Honestly cheese isn't that necessary since all these vegetables have so much flavor. For instance, squash tastes so sweet and delicious. When you brown it all in olive oil too, it is just wonderful. Thank god for olive oil and sauteing or I would be screwed!

Crossfit is coming along too. There are a lot of walls with lifts and such but if I have got my muscle up and a lot of other things under my belt. I would really like to get kipping down and have great technique on pullups. It is a hard technique to practice because it puts so much stress on your hands and literally rips them in multiple places which takes weeks to heal.

Oh yeah, I made an 88 on that econ test and it was hard as fuck. I'm surprised I made that high because I thought I did poorly on it. I can't believe how different it was compared to the practice tests. There were ungodly problems on there that we had never been introduced to doing. Bummed me out because I thought I was going to slaughter it.