Eric was going to be in Big Bear this weekend, so he invited me up to ride with him on Sunday. He said to dress warm. He wasn't kidding. He suggested that if I could get there at 8, I could go on a warm up ride with him and Rachael. Ooh, I get to meet his girl.
I stopped by Rock'n'Road to pick up some stuff, and get some tips on dressing warm. Their advice was to use layers. So I picked up a wicking undershirt, and planned on wearing a long sleeve under the jersey he gave me last week. Luckily Eric always brings extra gear.
So, I woke up at 5am, threw everything in the car and headed up to Big Bear Lake. It's about a two hour drive, and I got there at 8am. When I got inside, I found out that his parents were there this weekend also. Ooh, I get to meet his parents too. How awkward.
After about an hour of preparation, we went out for a "warm up" ride around the lake. I borrowed a pair of leg booty socky things, and a wind breaker. I guess that plan was that Racheal was to take the lead, and it was to be a slow 15 mph ride around. She hadn't been riding in a few weeks. Well, turns out she ended up riding a 15-20 mph ride. And they're on road bikes. and I'm on a mountain bike. Which means that I had to pedal almost the whole time, while they could coast with almost no loss in speed. one hour, eighteen minutes. eighteen miles later we were back, and it certainly was more than a warm up for me. But I didn't have to stop. And I think road riding is totally boring. The air is a bit thinner, which makes it for a rough ride. If you lose your breath, it's alot more difficult to get it back.
We got back, Racheal curled up around a good romance novel, and after a quick bite to eat we went back out for a 3-4 hour ride up and down the mountain. Eric let me borrow some full finger gloves. They came in handy.
Overall I can't say the ride was that bad. Kinda like stringing up northridge and Southridge-backwards. Nothing too intense going uphill, just alot of it. I petered out a few times because of the air, but overall I guess I didn't do that bad. Then at the very end we did some downhill, which almost made up for it. It was actually pretty wicked. Kinda like Lynx in Aliso woods. But steeper. and rockier. and sandier. Half way down that hill, I stopped picking out lines and just let the bike soak up whatever was in front of me. It was amazing. There was one part which I decided to walk, but I did almost everything else. There were also parts that felt a bit like demonstration up in San Jose.
I finally remembered to ask him if there was a fee to register for that Canadian Rockies race. He said it was $800, but not to worry about it until April. I asked him twice and he responded that as I wasn't sure if I was going to be his partner to not worry about it.
When we got back, his parents cooked dinner for us. Normally after Eric wrecks me, I go home, jump in the jaccuzi for a bit, then pass out on my couch for a few hours. Now I'm still at his parent's cabin. with his parents. and his girlfriend.
Dinner was great. I ended up leaving around 9:30 to get back home.
I guess Aliso Woods gets a bit cold during the winter. I may need to invest in some warmer riding clothes. Those arm stocking socky things and those leg stocking socky things are really neat.
Monday, November 12, 2007
School: Week 10
OK, this week was officially "opposite week."
It appears that the less time I devote to my classes the better I do, which is bad.
Let's start with our human sexuality group presentation. We went over by 10 minutes, our Q&A session went over an additional 10 minutes over that, our Freud guy talked about Freud for 20 minutes instead of 5, our Bandura guy over shortened his from 5 minutes to 3 and had every appearance of not knowing the first thing about Bandura. By all accounts we should have gotten a B. Well, we scored a 94/100. Our only two critiques were our time, which we knew, and that we overused powerpoint, which I don't agree with. This presentation literally came together in the minutes before class started.
The previous week to our group presentation we had a midterm. I scored a 73/75. I maybe studied 30 minutes for that one.
I also got my research paper back. This one also came together at the last minute. 98/100. Her only two gripes were that I didn't properly cite one of my facts, and she doesn't agree that circumcision is equal to female genital mutilation, because FGM is done specifically to hinder female sexual response. What she may not realize is that male circumcision was formally introduced as standard medical practice for exactly the same reason. It's just that we've rationalized the practice with additional excuses over time.
I received my Calculus midterm back also. I probably only put two hours of study time in and I should have spent at least eight hours studying. I was only able to answer 6 out of the 8 questions. I scored a 39/50, which on his scale is a B.
On the other hand, he had a quiz after our study section on Thursday. They're always the simplest of questions. A single question, just to get a little bit of credit for showing up. This time, though, I just couldn't figure it out. It was even open-book. I read through the whole chapter 6 times, and I just couldn't get it. That was a bit of morale crusher.
On Wednesday I had a Computer Logic Midterm. He warned us that it would be really hard, and that we could have up to 5 pages of notes. When reviewing the material and his recap of the types of questions, they didn't really seem that hard. So I showed up with a single page of notes just to jog my memory. Well, he was right, the midterm was hard. But not in a "I hope you studied" kinda way, but more like a "I hope you like solving problems." It felt like I was solving sudoku. Many of the problems I laughed out loud for just how silly they were. I'm sure I passed it though.
That reminds me, the W.P.E. (writing proficiency exam) is this month, and I need to register for classes soon.
It appears that the less time I devote to my classes the better I do, which is bad.
Let's start with our human sexuality group presentation. We went over by 10 minutes, our Q&A session went over an additional 10 minutes over that, our Freud guy talked about Freud for 20 minutes instead of 5, our Bandura guy over shortened his from 5 minutes to 3 and had every appearance of not knowing the first thing about Bandura. By all accounts we should have gotten a B. Well, we scored a 94/100. Our only two critiques were our time, which we knew, and that we overused powerpoint, which I don't agree with. This presentation literally came together in the minutes before class started.
The previous week to our group presentation we had a midterm. I scored a 73/75. I maybe studied 30 minutes for that one.
I also got my research paper back. This one also came together at the last minute. 98/100. Her only two gripes were that I didn't properly cite one of my facts, and she doesn't agree that circumcision is equal to female genital mutilation, because FGM is done specifically to hinder female sexual response. What she may not realize is that male circumcision was formally introduced as standard medical practice for exactly the same reason. It's just that we've rationalized the practice with additional excuses over time.
I received my Calculus midterm back also. I probably only put two hours of study time in and I should have spent at least eight hours studying. I was only able to answer 6 out of the 8 questions. I scored a 39/50, which on his scale is a B.
On the other hand, he had a quiz after our study section on Thursday. They're always the simplest of questions. A single question, just to get a little bit of credit for showing up. This time, though, I just couldn't figure it out. It was even open-book. I read through the whole chapter 6 times, and I just couldn't get it. That was a bit of morale crusher.
On Wednesday I had a Computer Logic Midterm. He warned us that it would be really hard, and that we could have up to 5 pages of notes. When reviewing the material and his recap of the types of questions, they didn't really seem that hard. So I showed up with a single page of notes just to jog my memory. Well, he was right, the midterm was hard. But not in a "I hope you studied" kinda way, but more like a "I hope you like solving problems." It felt like I was solving sudoku. Many of the problems I laughed out loud for just how silly they were. I'm sure I passed it though.
That reminds me, the W.P.E. (writing proficiency exam) is this month, and I need to register for classes soon.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Radical Honesty?
http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707
So, about 10 years ago, give or take, I made a conscious decision not to lie anymore. It wasn't that I was a compulsive liar, or that I wasn't any good at it. The problem was that I was too good at it. I didn't use my powers for evil, most of the time, but it was another tool in my arsenal to manipulate and control. And I was tired of it. At the very least, it became difficult to remember what I had said, after the fact.
So I stopped. No more. And you know what? It was nice. So much more stressful. Well, almost. There was the sticky grey area of truth and people's feelings. Do you like my haircut? Those types of things. And so the I did what any self-centered spineless altruist would do: I let out little white lies. They were so short in duration and situation that I didn't really need to remember them. But they were still stressful. Or even worse, I would come up with a way of answering the question that wasn't quite a lie, but relied on wordplay to obfuscate my true feelings on a matter. And the longer I went without lying, the harder and more stressful it was to pull one off.
So, I came across this esquire article today about something called Radical Honesty, and its impact on interpersonal relationships. The basis is that by lying, your cutting yourself off from everyone else and letting slide a real opportunity to bond and get closer to the people around you.
The article in print format is here:
http://www.esquire.com/print-this/honesty0707
It's an interesting thought experiment. What would happen if you dispensed with the subversive platitudes, little white lies, and filler speech and just said what was on your mind? Would it really be the end of the world? Is it really better to let slip a little white lie in exchange for hurting someone's feelings?
So, about 10 years ago, give or take, I made a conscious decision not to lie anymore. It wasn't that I was a compulsive liar, or that I wasn't any good at it. The problem was that I was too good at it. I didn't use my powers for evil, most of the time, but it was another tool in my arsenal to manipulate and control. And I was tired of it. At the very least, it became difficult to remember what I had said, after the fact.
So I stopped. No more. And you know what? It was nice. So much more stressful. Well, almost. There was the sticky grey area of truth and people's feelings. Do you like my haircut? Those types of things. And so the I did what any self-centered spineless altruist would do: I let out little white lies. They were so short in duration and situation that I didn't really need to remember them. But they were still stressful. Or even worse, I would come up with a way of answering the question that wasn't quite a lie, but relied on wordplay to obfuscate my true feelings on a matter. And the longer I went without lying, the harder and more stressful it was to pull one off.
So, I came across this esquire article today about something called Radical Honesty, and its impact on interpersonal relationships. The basis is that by lying, your cutting yourself off from everyone else and letting slide a real opportunity to bond and get closer to the people around you.
The article in print format is here:
http://www.esquire.com/print-this/honesty0707
It's an interesting thought experiment. What would happen if you dispensed with the subversive platitudes, little white lies, and filler speech and just said what was on your mind? Would it really be the end of the world? Is it really better to let slip a little white lie in exchange for hurting someone's feelings?
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sunday Ride
I made it back out to Aliso Woods with Eric again this past Sunday. Normally we go on Saturdays, but he had to work, so Sunday it is.
This is the third time I've been out there, and I seem to be getting a bit better every time. Unfortunately I only really have time to ride on the weekends, so that's impairing my progress as well.
The first time he took me up there, I about wanted to die. I pushed myself so hard I thought I was going to hurl every time I took a breath. There was literally a point where I contemplated the height from which I would have to drop in order to impale myself on this 4x4 post in the road, just to end this terrible suffering. Luckily I couldn't find anything high enough, and I finished the ride. The second time we went up I did better, and then we went back up Meadows and back down again. This last time we went up Meadows twice. All three outings have been about four hours. Sometimes he'll hang back with me to show my how to maneuver, other times he'll interval train by racing up to the next point and waiting for me. He's a pretty patient guy.
In earlier weeks I just couldn't breath enough and would run short of breath. Then I figured out how to trade leg speed for strength by using a lower gear. I still had to stop once or twice this time, but I also smoked my legs for a change. I'm definitely going to be sore in the morning!
After his next race, he'll be willing to go out to Aliso Woods with the rest of the gang. I know Jake will do alright, and I'm pretty sure Emilio would heal from anything that happened to him in the ride, and I'm hoping we can get out there before Pam hangs up the ole bike for a few months.
He's still taking about the Canadian Rockies race. It's in August. I let him know that I think we'd have a blast, but he really needs to find a better partner if he has any intention of winning. or placing. or maybe even finishing. I guess it's a five day event, and each day gets you riding about five hours. He put down the deposit on the race this week.
He's going back to Big Bear next weekend, and asked if I'd like to come up and ride with him on Sunday. I have a feeling I won't be a Mr. Happy Pants by the end of that day. It's high altitude, so it's even harder to catch your breath, and he wants to do uphill training, so we won't be able to use the lift this time. The only good news is that he isn't planning on riding for more than six hours.
This is the third time I've been out there, and I seem to be getting a bit better every time. Unfortunately I only really have time to ride on the weekends, so that's impairing my progress as well.
The first time he took me up there, I about wanted to die. I pushed myself so hard I thought I was going to hurl every time I took a breath. There was literally a point where I contemplated the height from which I would have to drop in order to impale myself on this 4x4 post in the road, just to end this terrible suffering. Luckily I couldn't find anything high enough, and I finished the ride. The second time we went up I did better, and then we went back up Meadows and back down again. This last time we went up Meadows twice. All three outings have been about four hours. Sometimes he'll hang back with me to show my how to maneuver, other times he'll interval train by racing up to the next point and waiting for me. He's a pretty patient guy.
In earlier weeks I just couldn't breath enough and would run short of breath. Then I figured out how to trade leg speed for strength by using a lower gear. I still had to stop once or twice this time, but I also smoked my legs for a change. I'm definitely going to be sore in the morning!
After his next race, he'll be willing to go out to Aliso Woods with the rest of the gang. I know Jake will do alright, and I'm pretty sure Emilio would heal from anything that happened to him in the ride, and I'm hoping we can get out there before Pam hangs up the ole bike for a few months.
He's still taking about the Canadian Rockies race. It's in August. I let him know that I think we'd have a blast, but he really needs to find a better partner if he has any intention of winning. or placing. or maybe even finishing. I guess it's a five day event, and each day gets you riding about five hours. He put down the deposit on the race this week.
He's going back to Big Bear next weekend, and asked if I'd like to come up and ride with him on Sunday. I have a feeling I won't be a Mr. Happy Pants by the end of that day. It's high altitude, so it's even harder to catch your breath, and he wants to do uphill training, so we won't be able to use the lift this time. The only good news is that he isn't planning on riding for more than six hours.
School: Week 9
Wow, I can't begin to express just how much this past week sucked.
All I can say, is that I definitely earned that double capstone rating for Human Sexuality. What was she thinking, having a 10 page research paper, a midterm, and a group presentation all due one after the other? I had to sacrifice calculus homework, computer logic homework, and I almost failed a calculus midterm just to get all that done.
Our group presentation for HSC425I went pretty well. It came together about 30 minutes before class started. I handled organization, the group activity, and of course the powerpoint. Each of the four team members had an assignment to come up with about 5 minutes of speech about a specific aspect of childhood sexual development. Everyone did well, except for two. I guess that's 50% which isn't so hot. Turns out Ray fancies himself a human sexuality researcher. All he had to do was come up with five minutes of speech about Freud. He joked before the presentation that he could talk for hours about it. He wasn't joking. He took up a full 20 minutes. That's what we get for not practicing it at least once. Also there was Chaz. After trying to plagiarize an entire page for his speech, he came back with something that wasn't so obviously ripped from a webpage. It would have been alright, except that he didn't really know the first thing about what he was talking about. And when it was his turn to present? Lets just say that if he would have at least read off his own paper, he would have been OK. Except that he didn't. And he didn't. Between the two of them they may have cost us our A. I guess we'll find out over the next week or two. I think we did the best we could under the circumstances. Oh yeah, everyone in class, and on my team, is between the ages of 20 and 22.
Because of all that hassle and preparation, I didn't have time to study adequately for my Calculus midterm, which is a shame because they're so straight forward if you put some time in beforehand. I haven't completed homework for the class for two weeks now, and I may be missing out on a third. So I couldn't remember how to calculate the sum of a series, which meant that I couldn't answer two out of the eight questions. Just sloppy.
Computer logic is alright, except I just found out that we have another midterm next Wednesday. Yikes, that means I have exactly two evenings to prepare. Just doesn't get any easier, eh?
All I can say, is that I definitely earned that double capstone rating for Human Sexuality. What was she thinking, having a 10 page research paper, a midterm, and a group presentation all due one after the other? I had to sacrifice calculus homework, computer logic homework, and I almost failed a calculus midterm just to get all that done.
Our group presentation for HSC425I went pretty well. It came together about 30 minutes before class started. I handled organization, the group activity, and of course the powerpoint. Each of the four team members had an assignment to come up with about 5 minutes of speech about a specific aspect of childhood sexual development. Everyone did well, except for two. I guess that's 50% which isn't so hot. Turns out Ray fancies himself a human sexuality researcher. All he had to do was come up with five minutes of speech about Freud. He joked before the presentation that he could talk for hours about it. He wasn't joking. He took up a full 20 minutes. That's what we get for not practicing it at least once. Also there was Chaz. After trying to plagiarize an entire page for his speech, he came back with something that wasn't so obviously ripped from a webpage. It would have been alright, except that he didn't really know the first thing about what he was talking about. And when it was his turn to present? Lets just say that if he would have at least read off his own paper, he would have been OK. Except that he didn't. And he didn't. Between the two of them they may have cost us our A. I guess we'll find out over the next week or two. I think we did the best we could under the circumstances. Oh yeah, everyone in class, and on my team, is between the ages of 20 and 22.
Because of all that hassle and preparation, I didn't have time to study adequately for my Calculus midterm, which is a shame because they're so straight forward if you put some time in beforehand. I haven't completed homework for the class for two weeks now, and I may be missing out on a third. So I couldn't remember how to calculate the sum of a series, which meant that I couldn't answer two out of the eight questions. Just sloppy.
Computer logic is alright, except I just found out that we have another midterm next Wednesday. Yikes, that means I have exactly two evenings to prepare. Just doesn't get any easier, eh?
Friday, October 26, 2007
School: Week 8
Well, in my Human Sexuality class, two out of the three big items are now out of the way. The research paper was turned in last week, and this week we had our midterm. It was pretty straightforward, as she gave us a thorough study guide. I'm pretty sure I aced it. Oddly enough, when it's a multiple choice test, I'm usually the first to finish. Now we need to get our group presentation out of the way, and we're all working on it this weekend. Of course its due this coming Thursday. We'll be meeting Sunday evening in the Horn center to start and finish it.
I had to sacrifice a few more Calculus homework assignments to get other work done in other classes. That midterm is next Tuesday. I've set aside some hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to get all my studying in for that test. I should do alright. After this group assignment is done I should be back on track.
In Computer Logic, we turned in our first lab. I got full credit on it. We also had a quiz. The professor made the mistake of allowing us a single sheet of paper with notes on it. Well, between the five of us we pretty much transcribed all of the key points from the chapter as a group effort. Needless to say, everyone in the front row (our row) did very well on that quiz.
I recieved confirmation that my application and payment for the W.P.E. was recieved. I stupidly forgot to register for it, so now I have to ask for an extension or else they won't let me register for my next semester. eep.
I had to sacrifice a few more Calculus homework assignments to get other work done in other classes. That midterm is next Tuesday. I've set aside some hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to get all my studying in for that test. I should do alright. After this group assignment is done I should be back on track.
In Computer Logic, we turned in our first lab. I got full credit on it. We also had a quiz. The professor made the mistake of allowing us a single sheet of paper with notes on it. Well, between the five of us we pretty much transcribed all of the key points from the chapter as a group effort. Needless to say, everyone in the front row (our row) did very well on that quiz.
I recieved confirmation that my application and payment for the W.P.E. was recieved. I stupidly forgot to register for it, so now I have to ask for an extension or else they won't let me register for my next semester. eep.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
School: Week 7
Wow. It's difficult to believe that I'm almost at the half way mark.
It took me every spare minute of each day this week, but I was able to complete my 10 page research paper for Human Sexuality. I chose the topic of routine male neonatal circumcision, so I guess I can't complain. But between you and me, I don't really want to think about circumcised or uncircumcised penises for a few days, ok? The paper turned out well I think, a little bit short but very well formatted. It's always difficult to tell what a professor is looking for, so we'll see how it's graded. I'm sure I got at least a C, so I'm not worried.
We have a midterm next week. 75 questions. I know the answers to most of them off the top of my head. I guess it helps that I took HumanSexuality 15 years ago in J.C. Or maybe that I took Human Biology last semester. She provided an in depth study guide that basically spells out what each question will be about. I have about 15 things I may need to brush up on. I'm still not that good with girl parts.
And then the following week we have our group presentation. We're the lucky first group that has the least time to prepare. I've kinda taken control of the group, and I'll be assigning out what each member's task is this weekend. I've come up with a presentation structure and approach, and I'll be making the powerpoint presentation. All each team member must do is to come up with a list of sources that they can share, and to profile the psychological and physical normative sexual behaviors for each of the developmental stages between birth and 12. A list of talking points, a detailed script to read from, and an iconic representation (picture) that they'd like to use on the powerpoint. The last half of our presentation will be a group activity to review parenting approaches for several common sexual behaviors for each age group. I think we'll nail it.
In Computer Logic, I seem to be like a fish in water now that we've started using our prototyping board. It all feels so familiar. I'm ahead on homework and the lab assignment. Other people in class keep sneaking over to see how to complete the assignment. Noone seems to notice that I'm sitting right in front of Dr Wu, and that they might be a little too conspicuous. Boy-genius Hani is a little miffed that I'm ahead of him. This is the guy that didn't study for the last midterm but got the highest score anyways. A little competition never hurt anyone, right?
I'm pretty comfortable in Calculus, but I had to sacrifice a pair of homework assignments in order to complete my research paper for HSC425I. We have a quiz on Monday, and an exam on the 30th I think.
This weekend, I need to study Calculus and ComputerLogic for the quizzes on Monday.
It took me every spare minute of each day this week, but I was able to complete my 10 page research paper for Human Sexuality. I chose the topic of routine male neonatal circumcision, so I guess I can't complain. But between you and me, I don't really want to think about circumcised or uncircumcised penises for a few days, ok? The paper turned out well I think, a little bit short but very well formatted. It's always difficult to tell what a professor is looking for, so we'll see how it's graded. I'm sure I got at least a C, so I'm not worried.
We have a midterm next week. 75 questions. I know the answers to most of them off the top of my head. I guess it helps that I took HumanSexuality 15 years ago in J.C. Or maybe that I took Human Biology last semester. She provided an in depth study guide that basically spells out what each question will be about. I have about 15 things I may need to brush up on. I'm still not that good with girl parts.
And then the following week we have our group presentation. We're the lucky first group that has the least time to prepare. I've kinda taken control of the group, and I'll be assigning out what each member's task is this weekend. I've come up with a presentation structure and approach, and I'll be making the powerpoint presentation. All each team member must do is to come up with a list of sources that they can share, and to profile the psychological and physical normative sexual behaviors for each of the developmental stages between birth and 12. A list of talking points, a detailed script to read from, and an iconic representation (picture) that they'd like to use on the powerpoint. The last half of our presentation will be a group activity to review parenting approaches for several common sexual behaviors for each age group. I think we'll nail it.
In Computer Logic, I seem to be like a fish in water now that we've started using our prototyping board. It all feels so familiar. I'm ahead on homework and the lab assignment. Other people in class keep sneaking over to see how to complete the assignment. Noone seems to notice that I'm sitting right in front of Dr Wu, and that they might be a little too conspicuous. Boy-genius Hani is a little miffed that I'm ahead of him. This is the guy that didn't study for the last midterm but got the highest score anyways. A little competition never hurt anyone, right?
I'm pretty comfortable in Calculus, but I had to sacrifice a pair of homework assignments in order to complete my research paper for HSC425I. We have a quiz on Monday, and an exam on the 30th I think.
This weekend, I need to study Calculus and ComputerLogic for the quizzes on Monday.
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