| |
| I'm still fascinated by pole dancing. It's so beautiful, and so impressive. When I'm listening to music, if a danceable or sexy song comes on, or sometimes even something like Kissing You or At Last, I usually make up a pole routine in my head for it. I mean moves, costumes, sometimes partner routines... So today while talking to a friend about it I had a brief moment of "Hey, I could be a pole dancer! Then I could make enough money to stay in Rochester!"* But that's probably not going to happen. :D Assuming I even find a poledancing class, I doubt I could get good enough to get a job doing it. Damn tempting though... * No, I don't want to be a stripper or get into really seedy stuff, but I really don't think I'd mind pole dancing in a club. For one, I'm already used to being in my underwear in front of strangers. Two, it doesn't seem so exploitive to be in your underwear, since you need bare skin to grip the pole. And three, pole dancing is so fantastic and athletic that I would be proud, not ashamed, if I could do it. And I think that if I was jacked enough to be a pole dancer, in the dim light of a club I could be hot enough for the job.
If not, I could always just cut my hair, stuff a sock down my pants, and work at a gay club.Anyways, it got me digging through vids again, and I have a new pile of favorites for you. If you think you've seen all the good pole dancing on YouTube, try looking up Mallakhamb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7MUjFliBNk&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5ZFdl3xN1Mhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN4GwOLhVbUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hALqY50pwVw&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNTtT-XQgD0&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF5bTTl9tQcSome random acrobat/gymnast/tricking/Parkour stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_hRHSPseY8&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-AEZ9kW7ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Z3l_HHGdAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=698hFsGEEkIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIUs3QSQnaghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKLHVapYckMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjQxIRWZu0chttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6M12EXp2cshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98jCBnWO8wAlso, bored gymnasts crack me up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYlzjbw4GbIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQdFuBPI5hsWhat Tim and Dick do when they don't feel like riding the trains. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qhgIdP3l3IAnd last but not least, the most popular dance number from Batman: The Musical - The Acrobat of Arkham. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc5p00rIoNk&feature=related | |
|
| Herein I shall babble about body fat percentage, nutritional goals, etc. I'm making it public to that people can give/get advice, use me as their guinea pig, whatever. I am NOT looking for people to comment with anything along the lines of "Oh silly Rachel, I think you look fine", or to try and stage some kind of intervention because you think that anyone who exercises more than 4 hours a week is insane, or gripe because my idea of fit is different than yours. If you can't resist the urge to do that, just don't read it. Seriously. ( In which Rachel actually starts paying attention to numbers for onceCollapse )In other foody news, Panera's Cranberry Walnut Panettone is SO FUCKING GOOD. Seriously. Go eat some. RIGHT NOW. I'm going to build a time machine just so that I can buy a 37 pounds of it and send it to my future self to eat once they stop making it. I've said it before, but I'll say it again - I &hearts Lori's. I don't really like food very much, and often have trouble getting myself to eat, so I sometimes indulge in new (weird) foods to keep myself interested. Today's insane Lori's find? Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate. You heard me. | |
|
| For a long while now, GNC's been selling the Perfect Pushup, and I've wanted them from day one. Now we're selling the Perfect Pullup too, which I also want. I spend long hours staring at the hot guy on the box and his perky nipples, longing to have shoulders like his. So I was looking up the Perfect Pullup online hoping for more pics of pullup guy for research purposes, and I found Elite Rings. http://www.ringtraining.com/ Perfect Pushup/Pullup, you have been trumped. Elite Rings are cheaper, more versatile, and (the most important for me) way easier to use in a variety of places. At least, that's how it looks from the website. Has anyone used these? I always thought you had to be this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q8KMnWUsvg to use them, but maybe we normal people can try them too... | |
|
| Gyms, unless you're there with a friend, get really boring pretty quickly in my opinion. When I was living in Prague I was walking outside a lot, probably a couple hours every day, and frequently going on some all-day hiking thing on the weekends. So I've been feeling weird and cooped up if I don't get to go out on the nice days. Those two factors combined, naturally I decided to go play at the park yesterday. I decided to share, in case anyone would like to shake up their workout, or wants to be outside more but isn't sure what to do other than jog trails. ( 9 year old Tim totally did this after schoolCollapse ) | |
|
| I'm having energy issues. For one, I have almost none, which is annoying because I'm eating pretty well and exercising and I'm not sure what to do on top of that. For two, my energy is at really inconvenient times.
Generally my day goes as such, give or take an hour:
Wake up at 8:00, eat breakfast.
Start work at 9:30.
Eat first lunch at 11:00.
Eat second lunch at 14:00.
Leave work at 17:00.
Eat first dinner at 18:00.
Work out at 20:00.
Eat second dinner at 21:00.
Sleep at 24:00.
The problem with this schedule is I'm tired in the morning, get a wee bit of energy around noon, then I'm tired until 21:00 when suddenly woo, energy! So when I'm working, and when I should be exercising, I'm super tired and just want to nap. When I need to be going to bed, I have energy, and usually force myself to go to bed only to lay there for an hour and then be totally exhausted when I get up. I've always been a night person so this is nothing new, but I also used to be able to arrange my classes and homework around that. Now I'm restricted by work hours and, once I get settled, by dojo hours (MA classes are generally 18:00-20:00). I'm also going to try and cook more, try and do that meal planning thing...oh yeah and I'm going to try to start getting up at 7:00 so that I have time to do a little cardio and then make food to bring to work, instead of just eating energy bars and Panera.
Point is, does anyone have any ideas for how I can switch around my energy schedule? I really need to be having energy 7:00-9:00, then 18:00-21:00 and then I can be sleepy (I'd like to be going to bed around 22:00-23:00). Some days I work 13:30-21:30, and on those days I need to have some morning energy so that I can work out at like 11:00. I don't care too much about energy midday, cause let's be honest, working at my store doesn't require a whole lot of vive. Just enough to keep from napping during the hour between customers because those pesky Radio Shack customers keep waking me up anyways. Oh and btw the energy rush around 21:00 isn't because I worked out, I get that every day regardless of my daily activities.
Also, does anyone have a YMCA membership? I'm considering joining them for a little while, because it seems like you get a lot of bang for your buck. Gym, pool, and a fair variety of unlimited classes for $60 a month, if I'm reading the website right. Compare that to $55-100 a month for 2-3 MA classes a week. :P But I'm not sure I'm reading the website right, they're pretty wobbly on info. Anyone know how they really work? - Tags:training
- Lyrics:we're all gonna run run run around
| |
|
| So while I was at the climbing festival I tried slacklining. It's basically tightrope walking, and it's surprisingly hard. The webbing goes all crazy when you stand on it, so it's kinda like trying to walk on a 1" rope while some asshole is shaking it really hard. It took me a Lot of tries to stand up on it (we had it tied between 2 trees at about waist height so you had to put one foot on and push up), and then a dozen+ more tries to stay on instead of just catapulting myself off the other side. Eventually I stayed on for 3 seconds, and for whatever reason couldn't get past that time. I was still proud. :) Look at me go!  That's while I'm still rising up I think, because there's another pic where I'm straighter but I have a really weird look on my face from thinking "I am looking at the tree not the ground I am looking at the tree" so hard, so I'ma use this one. Anyways, I want to set up a slackline in my yard. I was trying to figure out how to do it in my room, but I can't figure out how to attach one end to the pole without sticking something to the pole (the other end could go on my punching bag). I think my balance has improved just from that one time, because I'm out of shape and waaaaay out of MA practice but my balance is much better than it should be. Worth a try! Does anyone else do this, and maybe want to show me how to tie a good knot? I'm starting to get back in shape, finally. Ronon is my inspiration. &hearts Rowr. After a couple months of not working out (obviously aside from walking I wasn't exercising in the Balkans and then September was just crazy) I'm low on muscle tone and flexibility, but it's always kind of comforting to see that no matter how long it's been since I've been athletic, I never return to my pre-Kuk Sool Won levels. I can always touch my toes, I can always stand on one leg, I can always do a few pushups...pathetic I know, but I was really the antonym of jock before KSW. :D Anyways, between Teyla, Ronon, and the fact that I'll be a superhero for Halloween, I have a lot of incentive to get back in shape Very Fast. - Tags:prague, training
- Lyrics:you know that i am quick, you know that i am fast asleep
| |
|
| - Tags:dance, training, vids
- Lyrics:Do you think you're sinking, or swimming into something deep?
| |
|
| One of my students, Alena, is a rock climber. She's traveled all over Czech, and even to a few other countries, to climb in the wilderness. She even competes! She says that guys have a strength and height advantage, but girls are better at figuring out routes. :D She's so much cooler than me. I talked to her more this week, and she told me that it's actually pretty cheap to go to a training center and muck around for a couple hours ($4). She does bouldering, which is climbing without ropes/equipment. Usually the walls are shorter and angled than a regular climbing wall. This sounded a lot more fun to me than a regular climbing wall, and god knows it's good for upper body strength which I always need more of, so I looked at the website. http://www.boulder.cz There're loads of pics all over the website, especially under Boulder Bar and Activity>Competition. My god those climbers have the perfect bodies. Rowr. Anyways, I drafted Wade, Alicia, Melissa, and Jamie into coming along with me to check it out tonight. I think this was our first group outing that wasn't in someone's apartment or to a pub/restaurant/club. It was really fun! We didn't last too long, because we're all weak and scrawny. Mel was the first to reach the top, and everyone eventually reached the ceiling except for me. I uh, reached the ceiling in the little kid's room...I love the kid's room. :D The handholds are things like hearts and elephants and it's really easy, but good practice cause you can go sideways and worry less about falling. Once Wade realized there were holds on the ceiling he liked the kid's room too. I was doing pretty well on one of the walls, I started using a foothold on the bottom (it was a jutting wall so it was kinda like a ceiling, but a foot off the ground) and eventually moved up the wall and then over to the perpendicular wall and further up, but then I fell. We all fell a lot, which is fine, it's easier to jump down than climb down and the mats are cushy. But something went wrong on this fall and I ended up face-planting. My feet hit first and then I don't know what the hell happened but I literally fell on my face. ( boobooCollapse )So after that I admit I got a little wussier and didn't even try to reach the ceiling. Shame on me. But I am planning on going back once a week, it's a really great forearm/hand workout. Works everything really, but this is the first time my finger muscles have hurt after any kind of training, which is pretty exciting. I also like how body-conscious you have to be while also planning the next move. There was a good climber in there while we were winding down, I loved watching him. I have no illusions of ever being really good, but it's fun and useful so no matter. And it's always good to do things that scare you a little. Hopefully Wade and Alicia/Mel will join me sometimes. :) - Tags:booboo, training
- Lyrics:all things go, to recreate us, all things grow
| |
|
| Today was a good teaching day, but not in the way you'd expect. ( the zen of slackingCollapse )I've been feeling a lot better in general the past couple days. Which isn't saying much, because before that I was being a total cranky bitch. It might be because I finally started working out. And I think I've gone through that cycle often enough by now that my body figures it out really quickly, so 2 days after exercising in earnest it's like "Whee, working out, insta-mood improvement!" I'm happy to be achy (though I'm still nutrient deficient so I'm achier than I should be, but whatever). I think twas Snyper that gave me that final kick in the butt. She's going to Japan this spring to train with ninjas! So I figure for every handstand Stacy does, I can at least do a pushup right? Otherwise Bruce will pick her to train without me.I think I'm also just really happy that I'm finally getting paid this week. :D - Tags:tefl, training
- Lyrics:today this ends, i'm forgiving what i've done
| |
|
| M and L took the PET mock exam last Wednesday, and M got a 94%! Which means L got at least that, since she's a little farther along than M. I'm so proud of them! And M said that one of their colleagues that didn't do as well asked if she could join our class, because I prepared M+L really well. :) We're not letting her, and I told M to just tell her to talk to teacher about making the class more prep and less conversation, but it was still flattering. And M cut her hair to a style almost exactly like mine and L already had short layered hair and we're all brunettes, so...yeah, cute! I love them so.
I lost my pre-intermediate but got a group conversation class and another Metrostav private. And I did that intensive. So hopefully future paychecks won't be quite so pathetic... I have such a long list of things I'll do with each one. :D
1st - rent and food
2nd - stuff for the apartment, like a toaster. Get out of Prague for a weekend.
3rd - more work clothes? or lenses. I really need new lenses. That might take a couple paychecks.
4th - This is parent-visiting time, so stuff from home. I need electronics and vitamins.
5th - Finally start saving up for real trips. Scotland and the Baltics next year. It'll take awhile... Also, start MA.
You get the idea.
My muscles have been so pathetic lately. I'm really physically tired when I get home, and I was blaming it on teaching being tiring and maybe the pollution, but I think most of it is actually nutrition. I think I'm ok on protein but way low on minerals. The big clue was last week when I went to do some pushups and after the second one my muscles cramped, like charlie horse kinda cramp. What? I don't care how lazy and out of shape I am, my muscles should not be cramping after a couple pushups. Clearly something is amiss. So I looked up foods with high amounts of magnesium+potassium and have been trying to eat them daily. And I'm taking my pathetic british multi that makes my stomach hurt even though it's just 100% RDA. Laaaaame. I miss GNC. Any advice on how to get my body back in order until I can get multiminerals from home would be welcome.
Everyone was amusingly cranky in my Czech lesson today, including the teacher. Towards the end Alicia and I were laughing about how catty we all were. We tend to hijack the class, and tell each other what to do before the teacher gets a chance. The hazards of teaching language to language teachers I suppose, though you'd think we'd be making her job easier.
Example of when TEFL teachers get bitchy -
After yet another difficult listening where we're supposed to fill in the blanks though we have no idea what words we're listening for because we haven't learned the vocabulary yet.
Me: Could we please go over the vocabulary before the listening? I don't know what I'm listening for and it's rather frustrating.
Most of the class: Yeah, that would be good.
Steve: Oh come on, they're the same words that we just went over!
Me: Yeah, those are the adjectives, but we haven't learned the names for family members yet.
Steve:*really brattily* Maminka is mom, that's easy!
Me:*damn near shouting* Oh well I'm sorry I'm holding you back Steve!
::Teacher intervenes to prevent a fistfight::
Steve's actually a cool guy, it's just...yeah. Last week everyone was depressed, this week everyone's bitchy. Not sure what's up with the communal mood swings. But I remember reading that around the 4th month is the toughest time for people that have moved abroad - the excitement has worn off and homesickness is setting in and you're still not completely settled in. So maybe we're all just at that phase, I dunno. | |
|
| I was grading my students' tests today and a couple of them put "loose" as the antonym of "find". Sigh. That's a pet peeve of mine, but I also felt bad marking them off for it since so many Americans make that mistake. (i gave them half credit) Then I was looking around YouTube for gymnastics vids* and found this lovely gem. this makes ne so proud i chose gym its so hard but it means u getting better and stronger my coach is so strict but i know that her just trying to make our dreamz cum true*wince* I'm pretty sure that's a native speaker. It's rather depressing trying to teach my students to improve their English when, at the Intermediate level, they're better than this person. I know my internet language isn't perfect, but...ugh. * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Viu7U8_IhD4 Wait, there are seriously people that think that's easy? Man, I was pretty excited the first time I touched my toes, or when I catch something thrown to me from a couple feet away. The comments on these vids are so bratty, it's ridiculous. I prefer artistic gymnastics (is it just me or do those names seem backwards?) but still, respect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XcdMpKsVXs&feature=related Hot damn. I wish I could date a gymnast, just so I could sit there and watch them do pretty things all day. And then have their babies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m-_2fEp62s More silly, less awesome. Worth it for the little striptease at 2:25. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoMrmXk0Cws Pretty dec montage in the second half. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4zLJI6fwR8 MA gymnastics. Too many backflips, but some stuff I hadn't seen before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUC1JMdaIss&feature=related Beam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DLgWF5lc7A&NR=1 Beam mounts. | |
|
| One of my students and I were talking today about procrastination, specifically how we both want to work out/train (she's a rock climber, because all my students are cooler than me) but we often put it off until it's too late. Not so much because we don't want to do it as just...because. (I used to try to motivate myself by thinking of Robin or Batgirl, but I think I've mostly accepted that I will never be Robin or Batgirl, so that's kind of lost it's power.) So she came up with the idea that everytime we don't work out when we should, we put 100kc (yeah, my students are all richer than me too, let's try 10kc there shall we...) in a jar. It's like a swear jar, except it's a procrastination jar. And then once the jar is full (because it will be, I'm that damn lazy) it can have some purpose...like...making it fun money kind of defeats the point doesn't it? I know, it could go towards me starting MA classes here. :) I'm not sure if it'd really work, because there's nobody making sure I put money in the jar and nobody making sure I don't take it back out of the jar, but still, I thought it was a cool idea. And I know some people on my flist have similar issues with homework or whatever *cough* so I thought I'd pass it on. Heh, we could make it a present jar - "Hm, my jar's full, guess it's time to send everyone an inflatable Batman." My laziness is your gain!
YES, EVERYONE ON MY FLIST WANTS AN INFLATABLE BATMAN. Don't even try to deny it.
On a slight tangent - why is everyone always so surprised when I tell them I'm a martial artist? OK yeah I just went on about how lazy I am but still, it's winter so they can't tell I'm low on muscles right now. :P I know I'm little, but I'm tall too, and little people are the ones that need MA anyways. It's just the kind of thing that, after every single person is shocked, gets a little tiring and makes me wonder just how pathetic people think I am.
On a total tangent - man, I love my icons, but for like the past 40 posts/comments I can never find an appropriate one. It's really starting to bug me. I think we may need an icon revamp.
Hee, I just noticed that my alphabetical icon list has "Nature, Nurture". I love accidental cleverness. | |
|
| If you could take a no-fear drug, would you? Your reason, your emotions, your thoughts would not be affected, except that fear would be removed from every equation. Think about it. Would you stop holding yourself back? Would you lose some kind of motivation? Of course you'd probably kiss that person you've been craving, maybe do some dangerous sport/stunt you've decided isn't worth the risk, but what else? Who would you become? How afraid are you to find out?
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. --Marianne Williamson
(This moment of introspection is brought to you by the letter Te. Which is pretty hilarious, if you know why.) | |
|
| I'm home, oh joy, I missed my apartment. Didn't really miss Prague, just the apartment. I start teaching in earnest next week, though I still don't have a full load of classes because the organizers are sick, grr. I start Czech lessons next week too, funfun. Not really, and dear lord could there be a more useless language to put on my resume, but I'm sick of staring blankly at people and not knowing what I'm eating. I finally got a cheap yoga mat in England (it's the same kind of crappy mat they had in Prague, but far cheaper. If I'm going to get a crap mat I don't want to pay $30 for it.) and a pilates/yoga book that was on sale at Borders (yes, England has Borders. They also have T. K. Maxx. Ha! If they're going to bootleg our store names, they should at least choose a good store. Although in T.K.'s defense, they had more sports equipment than the sports shops, which actually sell clothes. Shopping is confusing.) so I can start working out in earnest, huzzah. The pilates book is cool, lots of stuff I can do without equipment, and the yoga bits amuse me because the text will be all "This is really advanced!" and it's almost all stuff that I was doing in my first week in Laura's class. Ashtanga is hardcore. ::horns:: ( The rest of the xmas entry I wrote on Babs, with added England storiesCollapse )Well that was a lot of rambling (or, in Helen's words, waffling) and we're supposed to go meet Jim and Jenny (or, in my words, the Js), so I'm off. PS - For all those people who think Laura is the coolest chick ever from my stories about her, she has an LJ now.  laurasheaa I don't know if she's going to write in it, but you can poke her. Edit: PPS: I just remembered that someone asked me about xmas customs in Prague, so I'll note a few here (I may have already, but I can't remember). Fish - The traditional xmas dinner in Czech is carp. So during the week before xmas, vendors will have tubs, about the size of kiddie pools but deeper, full of carp. They're usually outside supermarkets. you pick a carp, and then you can either whack it with a stick yourself or have the vendor whack it. The really traditional way to do it is to bring the carp home live and let it swim around in your bathtub until it's cookin time, but that's not so common these days. Devils and angels - In elementary schools, there will be a day when a devil and angel walk around the school telling the children if they were good or bad, and the good ones get presents from Santa and the bad ones get nuthin. Imagine being 7 and having the devil tell you you were bad. I think that's the greatest incentive for good behavior a school has ever had. The 24th - In Czech they celebrate Xmas on the 24th. This really bothered Helen. Markets - There are xmas markets in all the major squares of Prague. They sell food, alcohol, tourist crap, and some handicrafts. One stall has leather hair ties, and one looked like Kyle's crab mask! Prague also has loads of lights. I'll post some pics eventually. | |
|
| Hey hey lads and lasses, I have stumbled upon a fabulous new post-workout drink and wanted to share my knowledge with y'all. Not that it'll do you any good, because I think I'm the only person near a Trader Joe's, but just in case -
Trader Joe's Protein With Pzazz
I picked it up because I was shaking like a junkie after kickboxing and didn't want to wait until I got home to consume nutrients, and only realized later quite how perfect it is. It has: 500 calories, almost 960mg of potassium (28% RDA), 64g carbs (22%), 300% Vitamin C, 30% Iron, some calcium and sodium, and 40g of protein. The protein is from whey and soy, the carbs are from juice, and there's a wee bit of coconut milk in there for good fats and yumminess. Isn't that just fantastic? It's grainy, but tastes better than most protein RTDs. Cheaper too. And I'm so blown away by the balance of carbs + protein (martial artists need carbs dammit) and the potassium, oh the potassium! And iron! Now if they would only throw some papaya juice in there to help digest the protein, and if it were organic, it would be The Perfect Drink.
You do need to keep it refrigerated, but it should be fine to take to the gym/dojo, just don't leave it in a hot car for 4 hours.
Go forth and drink!
(ok, so it's a copy of a Naked drink, but it's $1.50 cheaper so rock it) | |
|
| I earned $20 in commissions today. Wooo. That's actually not that much compared to the busy stores but for my lil store and my lil self that's not bad. AWC and I have a little good-cop-bad-cop thing going :D He's the big guy that eats horribly and uses a lot of our products, I'm the skinny girl that lives healthily and tries to steer customers towards lifestyle changes rather than pills. When we get going you can see the customer's head go back and forth like a tennis match, one guy today actually said something about us being like a comedy routine, AWC was like "we have shows at 12 3 and 6" and the guy's like "see you in 3 hours then!". He was a cool customer. And then there was the customer who split one purchase into 4 sales. Please don't split sales people, it fucks our numbers and makes the baby pandas cry.
I am increasingly frustrated by my inability to gain muscle weight. I'm recovering a bit faster since starting some supplements, but I still can't get the weight on. I think it's mainly a calorie issue. Veg meals (that don't involve massive amounts of junk or cheese) are extremely low calorie, which is awesome for people dieting and shitty for me. So I'm considering starting meat again. I still believe it's possible to be a great athlete on a vegetarian diet - if you are willing and able to pay lossa $ for supplements and/or eat a large, carefully planned diet. I just don't have the time and energy to eat that well right now. But I feel like I'm betraying vegetarianism by taking a hiatus. Don't judge it by my example! It's healthy I swear, I just suck. Maybe once I gain the weight I can go back to veg, I don't know. Phooey. Why won't anyone make microwave meals that are high calorie And healthy? | |
|
| ( is going to duke worth living in the south and taking calculus?Collapse )I've also been researching grappling martial arts schools in the area, i checked out one that had a good teacher but i'm intimidated by the students and the general atmosphere of the classes. I would be learning how to fight with 200 lb guys, which is my goal, self-defense...but i'd have to fight with 200 lb guys. there are No girls, it's basically a class of wrestling/football types, a wee bit scary for lil 'ol me. i'm really excited about another option though, it's a huge school with a bunch of different arts, i could take Tai Chi, Jujitsu, and Quick Defensive Tactics (a class of mixed arts) all in one night! i check it out on monday, if i like it as much as i expect to i'll sign up that night. i'm pumped about getting in ridiculously good shape again :) my focuses for this semester are A) surviving my 3 incredibly boring classes and kicking ass on my thesis B) rocking the martial arts training C) getting all this grad school shiznit lined up so that in the fall it's easy sailing D) my usual projects like gradually sorting out my room, teaching myself world history, and memorizing the globe how much will rachel succeed in this semester? place your bets now... (my bets are on getting a B- in biostats, an A- in spanish, a B+ in microeconomics [assuming i get added to the class], and an A on my thesis. i'll rock the martial arts but probably injure myself at some point and have to miss class again, i won't get enough grad research done ahead of time so i'll partially wing it when visiting the schools, and i'll get 1/2 my room done and after a few weeks have no time to study anything outside of school. this is my time capsule to look at 3 months from now.) we watched The Librarian today, i loved it :) totally nerdy guy with 23 degrees, another evil nerd, and 2 buttkicking bodyguard girls who luv the nerds. my goal in life is to be the nerd who can be her Own bodyguard. if Only i could remember everything i learned i might stand a chance... | |
|
|
