Category: Blog Project 2012

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Blog Project 2012

Topic 4: Now, I’m a Morning Person.

Topic #4:

Pick something new to do this week, whether it be a new recipe, craft, or activity, that you have never attempted before.  Then write a how-to about this new thing you have done.

My never before attempted thing is morning exercise, specifically, before class exercise. I have always been a person to exercise in the afternoon, so this was different. Here is an account.

Day 1:

Arguably the hardest day. My entire body was telling me, “No, the bed, it feels nice.” With much reluctance I arose from my warm, pillowy cocoon and put on my work out gear and headed to the basement. It has a bunch of stuff cluttering the unloved workout area. I cleared it all out and did “Chest & Back” and “Ab-Ripper X” as per the schedule. It was hard and it made me feel completely week and ineffectual, but I still pressed on. I still remember when I could do that workout without much trouble. It shows how quickly your body can deteriorate without proper maintenance. I did it, day 1, done.

Day 2:

I missed it. I missed my alarm and didn’t get up in time to work out this morning. Maybe it was because my body was just wrecked from the day before, but I missed it. I barely made it to class in time. Either way, after class I came home, ate something, relaxed, and did the workout. Today was “Plyometrics”. Plyometrics is jump training. It involves plenty of lunges, and, well, jumping. To say this workout is painful is an understatement. Again, it brought back memories where I could follow along perfectly with the video and even surpass some of the stuff shown. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Day 3-7:

So guess what. I injured myself. I didn’t like pop a joint or break an arm, but I am sore to the point of impeding me doing normal things. I guess this is the price of jumping into a workout of that intensity from a point of relative sedentary behavior. I know if that I push myself any more that I will end up hurting myself for a long time. This is where my journey sadly ends. I plan on trying to reinstate my morning routine next week, but I need to build to the point to be able to do P90-X. It’s going to be hard. Starting from complete rest to physical exhaustion is a tough transition. I think the goals will be worth it though. I noticed way more energy during the day I woke up early and did it.

Take-aways

Don’t over-exert yourself. It’s painful and ineffective. Also, the just do it mentality is a must for anything straight out of bed. Don’t let your brain be your obstacle.

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Blog Project 2012 Music

Topic 3: Tbtf

Topic 3: Pick a song. The song that is currently stuck in your head, the first song that shows up on shuffle, the song that has the most plays on your iTunes, etc. Write a short piece of fiction inspired by that song.

A little preface. I chose my most listened to song according to last.fm and it happened to be:

Kevin Drew – Tbtf

Also, this story is a departure from my normal writing. It’s inspired directly from the song. I hope it plays out well.

It’s different now. I mean it doesn’t seem different, but it’s different. It’s more of a palpable feeling than any particular conversation or action. It happened before either of us realized what we were doing. It seemed so natural at the time, but in the cold light of day, it seems off. I can’t even pinpoint it exactly. I mean, it was great and all, and if I was put in that same situation again I can’t say I wouldn’t do the exact same thing, but, now there is all this tension. No, not tension. Tension isn’t right. Baggage? Stiffness? No, definitely not that, that just opens up a whole other can of worms for childish jokes. Balance. Yeah, balance. The balance is just…off.

I think the situation is too fresh in both of our minds to bring up now, but I am just left with all these questions. Who am I supposed to see about this? My usual sounding board is probably dealing with the same thing. Or maybe she isn’t. I am completely in the dark.

Normally, like in movies and stuff, when this happens it’s usually the audience yelling out a cry of “finally!” A part of me wants that audience yelling at us just so we know where to go from here.

I mean she’s great. She’s smart, funny, beautiful. I mean beautiful in that way that supersedes pure attraction. Maybe that’s it. Maybe she’s just too beautiful to fuck…

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Blog Project 2012 Personal Photography Purdue

Topic 2: Greyhouse

Topic 2: Take a picture of something you see on a regular basis, and write about it…

I live a dual life, kinda. I live in The Region. That is where I go to school, and live during the week. However, come the weekend, I travel the 70+ miles to my second home, West Lafayette/Lafayette, IN. It’s a strange lifestyle. I don’t have a permanent residence down there and it has forced me into a nomadic lifestyle. I have just about everything I need within my bags and go from place to place.

Some would ask why I do this. Seems expensive and quite a hassle. To an extent this is true, but the pros far outweigh the cons. All my friends (like the one’s who are doing this very blog project with me) are located in Lafayette. My girlfriend is there. My improv group is there. The entirety of my social life is in Lafayette. Strange as it might be, this is how it is.

Having no place to call my own is kind of difficult. Especially when you have a lot of work to be done for school (engineering is quite a lot of work) and said improv group. That is where Greyhouse enters the mix.

Greyhouse is a local coffee shop located in the Chauncey Village area of West Lafayette. It’s hard to express how much of a sanctuary it has been for me. I have previously written about my troubles with school and to be perfectly honest, the redemption portion of that is mainly situated at Greyhouse. In the process of getting myself back on track I needed a place to focus. A place with great atmosphere and great coffee. Greyhouse has and does fulfill those requirements and then some. It always has diligent students, hard at work (I count myself among these), as well as people milling around just hanging out and having a good time. This combination just puts me into the zone.

I have spent countless hours and drank countless gallons of coffee at Greyhouse and I attribute a lot of my success to Greyhouse for providing me a place to focus and get work done. I am actually writing this entry from a leather chair in Greyhouse after putting in a good 3-4 hours of work. This place is my home and I would have a hard time without it.

If you ever find yourself in West Lafayette, pay yourself a visit to Greyhouse. It is amazing.

*Since I brought up what has made me successful  I want to give a special thanks to all my friends. Among them I want to single out Tim and Mary Franklin. I have stayed a their house countless times and I would not be able to have this portion of my life without them. Thank you guys, truly.