Got my final grades last week so I have my bachelors degree and I've ticked off most of my todo-lists. This means that I now have time for things like sanding and repainting my table, cleaning up my PC and having fun with the dogs: Haven't felt this zen in a while!
My million dollar fitness idea was to start day one reeaall easy: 1 push up, 1 sit up, 1s of plank.
Each day, add one. After a week you're doing 7 push ups, 7 sit ups, 7s plank.
A month, 30 of each.
After a year, you can do over 300 of each, and more than 6 minutes of plank. That's the idea anyway. I'm on 63 of each right now. I'm not sure how long I can keep going for...
Something like that worked for Milo of Croton. Any idea which of the three might be the breaking point, and what you'll do after that? I began doing pushups about two months ago, starting with three sets of 12, much easier than 20 at once. I try to add one each time, about three times a week, and am up to three sets of 25. I am curious to see how far I can go, but might also switch to something that won't take so much time.
Or try Hindu pushups;
They're a smoker. Or tie it all together with some classic burpees. Get the full body workout.
Fingertip pushup also helps to strengthen your grip. Putting your thumbs and pointer fingers together in a diamond shape also increases the difficulty. Setting your legs up on the couch or raised positions makes them a tad harder. Also I personally find keeping your elbows back against your body instead of clear out changing how the pushup feels and increases difficulty. It is now weird for me to out my arms out! To make it extra fun do your 19 pushup then go down slowly, hold until you can't hold no more then go up and call it good!
I switch it up a bit. Sometimes I put my hands up higher, sometimes lower, closer together, or farther apart. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not looking for serious strength or muscle building, so much as maintaining a healthy level. They've definitely become much easier since I started, which suggests to me that they keep me at a higher level of fitness.
I have a nervous image of you doing push ups in front of the tub, on the bathroom tile. Uhm. I'll just stop there.
Long time no see famski! I've been brutally busy with college apps as well as the constantly growing pile of random bullshit one must handle on the daily. I'm pretty sure the entire East Coast has seen my resume by now. Hey, check out the fucking view from my office in the Empire fucking State Building! Not the office, my fucking office! I feel like the Wolf of Wall Street but in Midtown. They have Chips Ahoy in the pantry. Glad to see all the new names, seems like an awesome new wave of redditugees! lil, when's the next IRC?
I started the worst summer job ever. I'm working for charities (Fondation de France, Médecins du Monde -- Doctors of the World) to collect donations by phone. It's 450 phone calls a day harrassing people and trying to persuade them to give some money to your cause, whether it's homeless people, funding research for cancer, or another fundamentally great thing. Everything is calculated : if you are late for 3 minutes, it's written down, if you are late 5 times by 3 minutes, you lose a quarter of an hour of pay. Everything is registered and they can listen what you are saying when they want. We all have the same names. I'm Simon Rollin when I'm calling, and every girl is Emilie Quentin. We have a script to follow -more or less- and we have to say the exact same thing almost everytime. Sometimes, it's emotionally heavy because you can hear a grandma explaining to you for 15 minutes all the horror of her life. You are the only person who can be here for her, so you aren't going to finish the call even if your boss asks you so. Sometimes, you asks to speak to dead people. At another moment, you asks people with great heart who have a little pension to give some of that to a great cause, even if it's going to be hard financially for them.
Anyway, I think I'm going to finish this week and the one after that and call it a day. It's not for me and I don't understand how in 2015 we are still requiring that kind of work to let charities be fonctional. We should built up a website with clear and concise actions/goals by charities and transparent financial reports and let people give what they want, not harrassing them. It's a never-ending process : We are calling everyone. You don't know us ? Here's our great actions ! Could you help us ? You gave us some money ? Well, it's been 3 months since your last donation ! We are really thankful and we are just going to remind you our actions, blablabla, can you help us some more ? Great ! Hey, it's us again, here's what we do again ! This time, do you think you can help us every months ? Would 10 euros per month be conceivable ? Hello, It's Simon Rollin again ! Blablabla - You are helping us 10 euros per month, do you think you can help us 5 euros more per month ? Astounding, we thank you for your generosity ! Hey you ! It's another charity. Oh you give some money to them every month ? It's great. Why don't you listen to our great actions and help us too ! And so on.
On another note, I'm accepted in a really great French Business School (EM Lyon) and it more or less gives me almost every opportunity I want, which is great since I want to work as a consultant for 2-3 years and as a project manager on innovation in the energy industry after that (the idea might evolve, but I think it's going to be that).
I like that you buried getting into EMLYON after all that horrid stuff :D Congrats man, that's great news– I hope you make the best use of those opportunities. As for the summer job, considering all the craziness that your management has got itself caught up in, it seems like a great opportunity to subtly fuck around with your job. Is there always someone listening in? Maybe you can have fun with it, or relieve tension when you're on the phone– talk casually and in a friendly way instead of a rushed and oppressed summer employee, it does wonders surprisingly. I've had to write a ton of e-mails recently, that are all very awkward to write (asking for letters of recommendation, organizing meetings and schedules and appointments, talk to college admissions, etc.) and it's one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever had to do. Then I started dropping the annoying formalities and (still being respectful and appropriate) I wrote the e-mails like I would speak to the person out loud. It made everything much easier, and I even started getting better responses from everyone I spoke to. Good luck!
I had an interview today, the first few hours went really well, then there was a final formal interview which was, without a doubt, the most stressful experience of my life. At times it felt like I was giving the right answers and they were happy, then other times it felt like I was literally interviewing for my life -- like I'd say the wrong thing and they'd just put a big red X on a piece of paper and take me out back like Old Yeller. The thing is: all my plans continue on regardless of the outcome of this, it'd be a lost opportunity and is something I want to do -- but failing this stage would really not be the end of the world. I wasn't even that nervous at my proper interview to get on my course. Hell, visiting courtrooms and holding a mock court for my degree was less stressful than this interview.
Oh goodness me no, I don't have any detailed plans! I just have a mental list of "Must happen" "Should happen" and "Nice to happen" for the next 1, 5, 10 and 20 years. There's a lot on the last list, but increasingly gaining items in the first two which is always exciting!
Finally got my beer started and into my primary. Going to be expanding my home entertainment system with a new (to me) TV and a chromecast. Been listening to Sunset In The 12th House's new album Mozaic pretty much on loop. It's pretty amazing. On the work front trying to add deeplinking to our app but having some issues with our startup flow.
I've had one for a while now, and it's great ... when it works. For some reason I have more problems with the wifi where I work now, so the connection to my Plex media server isn't stable enough. I've moved my Intel NUC into my living room instead, and while it is a more complicated user experience (keyboards and mouses and stuff!), it is more stable. Plus it gives me more options. The ease of just using my phone to play anything on my Chromecast was awesome, though.a chromecast
Ok, I'm in the process of setting up my media center. I am building a PC, I have a big flatscreen TV, and I plan on watching exactly 0 cable television. How should I configure all of this for maximum media experience? I've been thinking about using my existing (though old and battered) laptop as my primary media console, but I can't see an advantage to having two computers doing what one could do.
That sucks that you're having issues with it. I did as well until I realized that the hdmi 'extender' thing that came with it was actually a wifi booster. Now the only time I have streaming issues is when there's a few torrents downloading at the same time while I'm streaming. I think it's more though that my torrents and plex are on the same box.
Settled in more or less at the new job. Finally have all of my logins, permissions, etc, and the powers that be are starting to take the training wheels off as I start to show a little confidence in some of my more basic functions. Had a talk with my... supervisor for lack of a better word, this morning and I was able to express a concern that I feel like I'm not doing as much as I could be because I'm deathly afraid of making a mistake (Big problem with investigational medications being thrown around) . She told me it's good to have a little fear, but as long as I'm checking in with her before I mail anything off to patients, we should be able to catch any potentially dangerous or expensive mistakes.
I've grown a mustache! You know what that means? Mustache wax shopping time! I don't shop for new things often, but when I do, I watch the shit out of some youtube reviews. So that's what I'm doing this morning. Apparently they make wee combs for styling mustaches.
Currently doing the frantic search online for accommodation for the coming academic year in college. Have an apartment viewing tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will go well! Also, a friend sent me a message this morning asking if I wanted his Raspberry Pi because he doesn't use it anymore. I was chatting to him about Raspberry Pis/Arduinos when I first found out about them and how they look really cool for little DIY projects. I'm also looking around for little beginner projects I could do to start myself off.
A video I'm editing for work had some setbacks last night and now I get to spend today redoing some of the work I've already done and troubleshooting an issue. On the relationship front, marriage looms ever nearer while I wait for the lengthy K1 visa process to progress. Been feeling a little apprehensive since the fiance has a friend she used to be intimate with but is now friends with and wants to meet him in person. I don't particularly feel secure in that happening but it also feels like one of those things she really wants which naturally bothers me further. Not sure exactly how that will play out but at the end of the day I love her and am looking forward to being with her for keeps.
I can only imagine. We've been lucky honestly. We're already at the NVC processing stage even though I only filed back in early May. It must have been arduous to try to get a K1 through right after 9/11. I guess I just don't trust the guy. I know that's cliche but I don't know him all that well. You're probably right that I need to trust her and stop being paranoid about it though. She's worthy of the trust.We dealt with the K1 right after 9-11. That was a process. Good luck.
Trust is everything. If your fiance was inclined in such a way, far better to know now than later.
Yesterday I watched a couple walking towards the city center, and it hit me that it will take years before my wife and I can ever again walk like that - alone and without worrying about our kids. We have one 2 year old and one 10 days old. Not that it's necessarily bad - it's just different. We chose to get kids, and we love them. It's fascinating how much your life changes when you have kids, and how fast it all seems natural. I hardly remember what it was like to have no obligations.
I'm djing my friends hip hop show tonight.i mostly dj house and other electronic music so I'm kinda nervous. Got a whole bunch of current hip hop on my computer but I'm not super familiar with it. We'll see how it goes. It's mostly my friends on the bill so that'll be fun at least.
I have decided that I'm seriously going to attempt to move to Canada. I don't feel like there's anything for me in England and I want to start a new adventure. I have some family there in reasonably influential places and with the attainment of my masters in the near future I don't think I'll have the worst of times find employment (even if the degree is in music composition). I'll most likely be starting off in Alberta somewhere, likely in Edmonton or Calgary. If any Canadian Hubskites have any tips for me then by all means throw them my way.
This is driving me crazy, I just want my apartment to be ready to move in to, all my stuff to be out here, and do take care of work on the east coast next week so I can come back and actually settle in to living out here. It is becoming too prolonged of a process to make all of this happen due to reasons that have been largely out of my control, and it's driving me crazy. On the plus side I've met a bunch of new people and have a surprising amount of connections already so...you win some you lose some I guess.
I'm on my way to work. Lots of drama last week, so I might walk out today. Had to drag myself onto the bus. Windfall of a grant from school, finally came. Boyfriend and I joined a gym last night. We also split the cost of Monster Hunter 3. Was going to get assets from Unity store with my grant. We discussed the structure again and we decided the UI and wiki, were more important than the gamification. He doesn't want deal with the mess of knitting assets together, so he says he will buy it later. We made new diagrams.
I work in a satellite office. We're a little bit like the "red headed step-child" of the company. We're "out west", HQ is "back east". There's this feeling sometimes that they'd just as soon shut us down and centralize the jobs - but some of the groups that work here are fairly crucial to the operation. Even though about 150 people work in my office... most don't actually work here, they tend to work remotely from home, coffee shops, etc. It's actually one of the major perks of why I keep working for this stank hole of a company. That said, every now and then, the CEO comes for a visit. He's recklessly clueless about what we actually do - but somehow keeps his job. He's a jovial sort of dude who looks and even giggles like uncle Albert from Mary Poppins: So CEO Albert came to town yesterday. You'd have thought we acquired two new companies. The parking lot was overflowing, the cubes and offices were bustling with energy, the coffee pots never got cold as they were relentlessly refilled. Men were in sports coats, women in share suits and skirts, beards were trimmed, shoes were shined... shoot - I even tucked in my shirt. There was a buzzing Ice Creme Social in the afternoon. It was an absolute madhouse of corporate patriotism. And today... it is silent. My friend who sits next to me and I have the run of the joint. Other than some construction noise from some new cabinets being installed in the break area, I can't hear a thing... and it's marvelous. The ebb and flow of office population is interesting to say the least.
Working from home sounds like such a nice thing to do. Sadly my job is fairly hands on and the chance of me ever working from home with my current career seems slim. Does telecommuting have drawbacks? I imagine it would make the separation of home life and work life a bit more nebulous.
I worked from home essentially full time for 1.5-2 years. Even when I wasn't WFH full-time, everyone else in my department was. If I am honest the biggest drawback, which took me a while toidentify, was the fact that you have absolutely no social circle. If you are a new hire in an established department where everyone is already WFH, you are not going to get to know your coworkers, your boss, anyone you work with, in any significant way. You don't realize how much you learn about the people you work with until all of a sudden you don't have any coworkers. There were a couple of downsides that I found stemmed off of that isolation. First, I do think we're social creatures, and after school's out and we go to full-time employment, generally speaking, our social spheres contract even in a regular employment setting. When you WFH you essentially remove the "work social sphere" totally. So if you are a lonely post-college graduate wondering where to find friends or just to find someone to talk to, you no longer have work as a resource. I mean, I hate how much my coworkers talk to me and I deliberately sit off by myself, but I still would rather have the option of their company when I want/need it, than the total nothingness that I experienced working from home. Yes you have IM but IM is not a face-to-face conversation and I don't think you can build the same rapport that way. I found working from home lonely. Also as a result I wasn't very attached to my job. I executed what I needed to but beyond that I didn't have any reason to care or get invested. Most people will agree that your coworkers make or break your job for you. Good coworkers will really get you to care about your job, I've found, at least because you don't want to disappoint them, and also because you like them, want to help out, etc. Good coworkers really are what makes a "team" feeling, I find. Also, having to work with your coworkers. Since I started working in office settings I have cried about leaving jobs, about coworkers leaving, and so on. When I quit my FT WFH job I felt absolutely nothing. There was no one I missed, nothing even really. Another thing I experienced was that, especially if you are a new hire on an established WFH team (repeating myself I know), it's very hard to gain recognition, "be in the eyes" of management, "get your name out there," and so on. I found even if I went into work, no one else was there, so it was kind of pointless. Without helpful peers physically near me to talk to and confide in I didn't have anyone to point me towards potentially good career moves, such as "volunteer for this" or "go to this networking event." Also, unless I was IMing or emailing my boss all the time, I simply wasn't in her line of sight and she wasn't thinking about me. I think it is a lot easier to be overlooked and forgotten, especially if you haven't had the opportunity to establish yourself as a solid worker with a good reputation, when you wfh. I think without coworkers a lot of humanity is stripped from work. It's different if you WFH once or twice a week. WFH full-time was a luxury but it was also killer. There were other drawbacks too (like I basically never got any exercise, would wake up on weekends thinking I needed to be logged in, etc) but those are really minor in comparison to what I experienced when I was FT WFH and effectively had no coworkers. I would never work from home full time again. I do get to do it every Friday and that's great. Sometimes I go home mid-day and finish a day from home, too. But full time, never. I can complain that my coworkers talked to me for waaaayyy too long all I want these days but I would rather have them there for rapport, advice, solidarity, support, etc, than go back to the days when everyone was just a screenname on my IM.