7/10/2 - Current weight/body fat% - 161.9/13.286
I slept for more than 13 hours last night and was late to work this morning. Something has to change in my life if I am going to crash like that. It's not that I've been overtraining. I'm cautious of that. It's the damn furniture job, loading and unloading trucks practically by myself because the streoid pumping moron and 22 year old child I work with don't have a clue what "work" means. Oh, and I stay up way too late talking to friends, editing Chameleon Works and watching Animal Planet.
7/7/2 - Chameleonworks.com is coming along quite well. One portion of the music is up, though quite rough. 3 videos, 2 paintings, and all front pages to each category are posted, except for the about section, because I have no gotten together with the staff yet. I'm thinking about using the South Park type pictures in the about section, requiring that each staff member make one of themself. Not sure if that's a good idea though since they're all pretty much freelance.
In other news, I have a webcam. Still not sure if I'll post it on the site. I know I'm not going to do it while still using dial-up internet access. I will probably switch to broadband in another month or two. Just makes more sense as much as I'm online.
Still no results from the CPT exam. It's been almost 2 weeks now. I'm still working on the resume and attending the American Red Cross CPR and first aid course this Saturday. First Aid isn't required at 24 hour fitness, but some smaller businesses require it, so I'll spend the extra and 3 hours to learn it.
7/4/2 - Didn't do too much today. My neighbor's yard didn't catch on fire, so he should be happy about that when he gets home. A friend sent me her South Park picture tonight so I decided to make my own . . . without the assistance of their site.
This was done entirely with Paint Shop Pro.
7/3/2 - Current weight/body fat% - 162.4/13.233
Why do people insist on shooting fireworks today and tomorrow? Seems to me that that would only diminish the significance behind the 4th of July. Okay, so the founding fathers picked the wrong day anyway. I think they wanted the 1st since that was our actual independence day, but they settled for the third because they were late with their paper work, and someone screwed up yet again by declaring the 4th the holiday. Oh well.
Last night I had to let someone down; someone I dated very breifly. Before the dating she told me constantly that she wanted honesty, so when the time came for me to tell her that I didn't want to continue dating her I was honest, and what happened? Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. She was intelligent, and very sweet, but despite how often she bragged on herself I sensed a great deal of insecurity, which is a turn-off. She's short, which can be good, but overwieght (which she admits) and had a couple other not so attractive physical qualities I won't get into because no one is perfect. The third strike (even though you only need one) was how agressive she was physically. That's fine with most guys, but I'm not most guys. So last night I broke the news to her, and told her that a big part of it was physical, but honestly, I'm not so sure I want to be in a relationship right now. I have less than 2 months before I go back to school and my life becomes hellish again. Once that starts I probably won't have more than a 3 week stretch (between semesters) with free time until I graduate in 2 years, and when that time comes I'll be moving. Besides, I love my alone time, and I don't want to be in a relationship where I feel obligated to spend a certain amount of time on the phone or on dates, and I felt like I would have to do that with her. So I had plenty of reasons for breaking this thing off right away. Anyway, when I got my reasons out she admitted that she saw it coming, but recommended that I never tell a girl that physical attraction is a problem. Excuse the fuck out of me for giving a woman what she asked for: honesty! She then started rolling into some BS about how insecure she always is about her body when she dates "fitness freaks" (supposedly she dated 2 body builders before). Um, if you know you have issues with people who take care of their body then stop dating us! Jeez. This isn't rocket science. She then continued rolling and decided to tell me that she's bulimic. She just didn't want to tell me before because she thought it would freak me out. Okay, if you're telling people you are bulimic you're most likely lying, because bulimia is usually covered with denial. I guess she just wanted me to feel bad. When she saw that wasn't working she decided to tell me that she wasn't feeling anything beyond friendship with me either. Okay, that's why you made every move you could think of on the date, and you tried to call me every day until I put a stop to it. Women, do the men of this world a favor. Cut back on this bitterness. Your 180 ability amazes me.
This is actually true.
6/26/2 - Okay, it seems that a few people, um, or rather tens of millions of people, are in a craze over California's ruling to band the pledge in schools. I don't hide the fact that I am Atheist. And I have argued about this line in the pledge for many years. I don't want to start a debate on this topic. Arguing just isn't fun, and it doesn't ever seem to accomplish much. I just wish people would stop all of this hate. I checked out a message board on Yahoo! ealier tonight and my stomach just dropped after some of the posts I read. I guess since I'm against organized religion I'm not used to hear all of the horrible things these groups teach each other. I mean, I went to church once in a while up until I was 17, because my parents forced my, but I didn't remember the hate mongers. Maybe I just blocked it out. I wish I could do that now.
6/22/2 - There are a lot of things I could update you on, but most of them are those little tiny things that only I care about. So here's the big news: I finished my certification exams. I emailed my written exam in tonight, and I'm mailing my video tomorrow. The video quality is a little crappy, and I'm not sure why. I've transfered from my computer to camcorder before and it was great. This time there were several skips and blips and pixelations though. I also had a hell of a time capturing clips through Premeire's "batch capture" function. But it's all done, so some time in the next 4 weeks I should get a call, email, or letter telling me how I did. Of course, 4 weeks from today I'll be somewhere in New England visiting my brother, so hopefully I'll get the results before that. I also need to get my CPR and first aid certification done soon. A week from this Saturday is my planned date. I haven't registered yet, but I will. As soon as that's done I'll start applying for jobs. My plan is to be out of this furniture store by the first of August. That will give me about 3 weeks to get settled into my new job before the fall semester begins.
Another piece of news is about Tae Kwon Do. I got my advanced blue belt last Friday. That keeps me on pace for a 1st degree black belt right after my graduation in 2 years. It's kind of strange to think that I'm 2 years away when I've only been taking classes for 16 months. I only have purple, red, brown and 1st degree recommended to go. The problem is that each colored belt is divided into 2 levels, usually requiring 2 months at each level before advancing. Brown belt is usually 4 months at each level, and 1st degree recommended (black with a white stripe) is a minimum of 6 months. So I should be a brown belt at this time next year, but it's going to take another year after that to step up to black. I won't complain though. Once I get that first degree it'll be another 3 or 4 years till I go to 2nd degree.
i'm tired
6/8/2 - No club Saturday night. Instead I went to an all you can eat buffet and got fat. I missed another TKD class. This time because I fell asleep. Testing is a week from this Friday. I still need probably another 6 attendence points and 3 of the 4 stripes. I'd be fine if they didn't drop the self-defense stripe for board breaking. Blue belt board breaks are jump spin side kicks. Something we have NEVER learned before! Mine looks more like a jump spin broken leg heel kick right now, but I'm confident I can pull it together enough for the test. It might not be as pretty as I'd like, but I should pass.
I uploaded a new midi titled Hilton's Theme. Check it out. And check out Chameleon Works for my newest video, Birdwatching With Andrew. It's just some video I shot in my back yard then editing and adding a soundtrack to.
6/4/2 - A couple of guys from work are trying to get me to go out to some club with them this weekend. I'm not entirely sure I should go, but I'm not entirely sure I shouldn't go either. One even offered to pay my way for the whole night. He probably only said that because he knows I don't drink. Whatever happens, I'll let you know.
6/1/2 - I'm about half done with my certification written exam. I still have to do the practical part, but that's not going to be much more than video taping a few of my workouts. There's a good chance I'll have this thing done before the end of June, which is well ahead of my original schedule. The best thing about that is that I can get the certificate and be looking for a new job by the end of July. Sweet!
5/31/2 - Chameleon Works is now featuring my first two video projects, so get on over there and check them out.
5/30/2 - Even though I'm working on Chameleon Works I'm going to continue to make minor updates for special things, such as new works. That's why I went ahead and uploaded a new piece of music, "This Is Me", and a new poem, "Wish You Were Dead". And the poem is non-fiction for a change.
5/25/2 - My new site chameleonworks.com is now up and running. If you're taking the time to read this journal you probably have enough interest to take a few minutes and go check out the new site, even though there's no real substance up yet. So far I just have the index files in place with brief explanations describing each section of the site. My next step is mapping out the subsections and writing those html files. After that's done I'll design some graphics, ad special effects and other cosmetic goodies and upload the rest of my documents and the site should be good to go.
I have now had a few days to experiment with my new firewire card and Adobe Premiere 6.0. I completed work on a very small video project, taking highlights from one of my high school football games adding an original soundtrack I wrote in about a half hour, and sticking in some fades and titles. The uncompressed file is about 517mb. I shrunk it to an AVI and it's still over 20mb. The quicktime files I created were horrible quality. The sound skipped in and out and the screen was very pixelated. I'll have to spend some more time on compression for web posting, but the output to dv tape was awesome. I can't get Premiere to synch with my camcorder, but I have enough skills to hit a spacebar and and record button at the same time. Now that this first 90 second project (which took me about 90 minutes) is done I'll be looking for somewhat larger ideas. You probably already expect me to do some fitness related videos, and I will. But I plan to do some more creative things as well. Check out Chameleon Works for the release of such productions.
On a less happy note, I have serious psychological problems. I want everyone to know this now so you don't fall in love with me or something. I've let down too many women in the last two years to let it continue. I just can't date, and that's all there is to it. About 2 weeks ago a young woman asked to have sex with me. She's young, attractive, intelligent, kind, and funny. I turned her down. Since then I've spent some time talking to another young woman who is also intelligent and kind. I've had a harder time judging her looks and sense of humor, but still I won't give her any deductions there. She seems very interested in me and is being quite forward. I've had fun talking to her, but I just don't feel anything there. This is someone I would have easily dated 2 or 3 years ago.
I'm not going to place blame on an ex girlfriend. I just know that I'm afraid of that same shitty type of relationship developing. This woman who I'm talking to now constantly makes supposed jokes about being posessive and insecure. I don't find them the least bit funny. I'm not entirely sure they are all jokes. She tells me she is very confident in herself and bordeline cocky, but everyone once in a while she says something that really freaks me out.
Another problem is time. I am not used to having free time. Now that I have a little because I'm not taking classes I want to spend it on fun things I couldn't do during the semester, like working on my videos, painting, writing, composing, sports, etc. I don't want to spend an hour or two on the phone or on a date every night. I can't be with a woman who needs constant attention and reassurance that she's not a worthless person. I can't be with someone who feels lonely any time they're not being showerd with affection. I am introverted, I like who I am, and I really enjoy being alone. I can't imagine another person in this world being interesting enough for me to give up all of my alone time, and that's what it feels like most women want from me. Maybe they don't all want my money. Maybe they don't all want my body. But they do all seem to want my time, and to me that's the most precious thing I could possibly give, and I haven't met anyone worthy of it.
Maybe I really am too picky, like my friends and family have been telling me for years. Or maybe I'm so secure in myself that I don't give a humping duck whether or not I'm single or in a relationship, because honestly, I'd much rather be single and have the time and freedom to do whatever the hell I want than be in a relationship that sucks the life out of me.
5/18/2 - A couple good things happened today. First I found texasgolfing.com which lists major golf courses in the state. This helped me to find a handful of courses in my area that cost less than to ride 18. I also managed to do some writing and uploading for my new site, CHAMELEON WORKS!!!!!!!!!!
The bad news is that it's almost 11:00pm and I still haven't worked out today, so I have to run! (literally)
5/16/2 - The grades are in and . . . I got a B. I expected it, and I haven't yet decided whether or not to write a letter of protest to the dean. I understand a B isn't bad, especially when I got 5 other A's, but the structure of this Coaching Football class was ridiculous. The only notes we took were all in the first 2 weeks, and those could have been condensed to a simple handout if the instructor just learned about something called a copier. I had a master copy in his hand and wrote it all out on the chalkboard as we copied that. What a freakin' joke. The rest of the semester we watched two game films and analyzed them. Basically we picked a team and copied every single play they ran, offense and defense. Then after the game was over (3 weeks later) we made up scouting reports. And when I say made up, I mean made up. Most of the information on them was entirely bogus, like names, jersey numbers, height, weight, etc. We did two of those reports and had one exam. Those were out only grades for the semester. I don't know what I got on the exam or the second report, but I got a C+ on the first report. I've looked it over several times and I have no idea how this man grades. All of my actual work was correct. I diagramed and analyzed plays properly. The only comments he wrote on my paper were over the layout. Stupid old fart.
A guy from work is trying to set up what he calls a golf tournament. I call it a threesome since it's just going to be him, his dad and myself. He also thinks he's getting us a good deal. Now even those of you who know nothing about golf should know that a bucket of balls and 18 holes with a cart shouldn't cost at a standard course. But that's what they're charging. When I went a few weeks ago I payed for 18 and a cart. I know those buckets aren't . I guess I was just spoiled with the low prices at a lot of courses in Florida. My University had their own -- great course too -- and it was to ride, I think to walk all 18 holes. Kick ass. Another 9 hole public course, was about to walk the, which I'd still take. And my brother tells me about the cheap courses he plays up in Massachusetts. Lucky bastard.
I have a problem. I keep listening to "Face in the Photograph" by Yanni over and over. I just have it in my CD drive on repeat. It's been going for 3 days now. Yes, Yanni.
5/11/2 - I'm having some problems with my new site. The main problem is that um, I can't sign in to my account. The customer service rep I emailed said they had no problems with it. Oh, well if they're not having problems then nothing is wrong. Anyway, until they fix it I can't upload anything to my domain, and until I do that I'm not posting the url.
I'm done with classes, btw. I had my last final yesterday morning. Took me a wopping 20 minutes too. I spent a few hours earlier this week planning out my class schedules for the next 2 years. Might seem a bit anal, but I'll be working around a job and some classes that are only offered one semester and in only one time slot. I figured if I didn't plan well I'd be stuck here another semester or more.
The dv camcorder I ordered is in Mesquite right now, sitting on a truck awaiting delivery according to UPS tracking. That means I should have it Monday. Don't expect any footage or images for another couple weeks after that though because I still don't have a firewire card. Besides, I need to learn how to use the camera and I'll need access to my new web host to upload the files (they'll be huge).
The tattoo has been postponed until I get my black belt. That should add some fake significance and give me plenty of time to decide what I want.
5/8/2 - I have purchased my domain name and signed up for a hosting service. Now it is only a matter of time till my new site opens. Keep checking back for the unveiling.
5/6/2 - I don't see how I'm going to get anything other than straight A's this semester. I took my history exam this morning. It was a breeze. I also got to see my final grade for my health-related fitness course. A 96.5 will do. I know tennis and weightlifting have to be A's. I think I got a 98% on my tennis skills test. Why not a 100%? Because my backhand blows monkey butt. The only classes left now are MS Office and coaching football. I'm not the least bit worried about either of those.
All of my trainer certification materials arrived today. So did my BMG CDs that I ordered about 3 weeks ago. I've made 5 online orders in the past month. BMG is the only one that took longer than a week. But I got some good stuff. Of course none of you would like them, but I've been looking for a change. What's the point of buying CDs that you're going to hear on the radio constantly for the next 2 years? So I buy stuff I've never heard on the radio.
It's about 7:30 which means I need to get ready to go to my TKD class.
5/4/2 (part 2)- I went to my weapons seminar on nunchukus tonight. Pretty cool, though the instructor spent a lot of time discussing and demonstrating Kali and Jeet Kun Do technique and moves instead of nunchuks. Still, I learned the basics. He assured us that we can be as good as him within 6 months as long as we practice every day. Like that's gonna happen. I'm sure I'll practice a couple times a week, but that's it. I'd probably do it more if nunchuks were more practical. Don't get me wrong. They're a great weapon, but it's illegal to have them off of private property. So it's not like I could ever just carring them around with me in case I got jumped. The only martial arts weapon that is not illegal is the cane. Just like a walking cane. It's 3 ft. long and if a cop sees you with it there's nothing he can do. And if you think a cane is a useless weapon you obviously haven't seen one in use.
I've been studying for my history exam. I'm so tired of this class. I'm so tired of school in general. I need a life outside of books and lectures.
5/4/2 (part 1)-
5/4/2 (part 1)- More damn Esurance problems. A couple days ago their customer service emailed me to say that my billing problem was taken care of and I have a balance of /home/free/cgi-bin/util/sitebuilder. Great. Then this morning I got another bill from them. This one is for renewal. They want to charge me 30 days in advance, which is going to cost me another . Ugh. Now I have 2 weeks to find another carrier, and so far it hasn't been easy. Geico quoted me over for 6 months, which is absolutely insane. Progressive won't give me a quote online and their lines are busy right now (not a good sign for insurance service). Still, Esurance compares prices with Progressive's quote is about , which is excellent. The only problem with that is that Esurance originally gave me a similar quote for themselves then jacked it up a few hundred bucks.
I'm gonna go run.
5/3/2 - Well, I bought my miniDV camcorder today. I got off work a little early (7ish) and took a trip to a couple electronics stores. I had a list of 6 that I wanted to try out based on price, features and reviews I've read. I've been researching this stuff for about a month now. Anyway, I managed to find all 6 of them in town. After talking to some salespeople and realizing that I know more about these things than most of them I just tried them out and came to the conclusion that they are all very similar, so I went with the cheapest one -- Sharp's VL-WD450U. It has pretty much all of the features I wanted:analog in, a mic jack, still photo capability, manual controls, etc. I only found a few negatives. There is no USB interface. You have to upload still images via the serial port, which is slower, the camera doesn't come with a firewire cable, which is what you use to upload video to your pc, and it's also a little pricey, but I might get one with my firewire card when I buy it. Another negative is the pixel resolution. it's only 460k. That's still a lot better than a VHS camcorder, but some of the other ones I looked at were 640k. They were also a couple hundred dollars more. This cam is a little bigger than other ones too. That doesn't mean a whole lot since it's still only about 4"x5"x7". That's big for miniDV, but still small compared to VHS. It's definitely small enough for me to take on my trip to Boston this summer. The bad news about all of this is that none of the local stores would match the internet price I found. So I told them to blow my butt hole and I went home and ordered it online with a 4 year warranty and it was still more than cheaper after shipping. I just have to wait a week to get it, which stinks.
Did I mention that I also ordered my CPT course a couple days ago? That should be here soon so I can start studying as soon as my finals are over, then get my certification and get the hell out of the furniture biz.
5/1/2 - Whatever you do, don't get auto insurance through Esurance. I am in my 5th month of coverage and have had so many problems with them that I can't keep track. First they raised my premium, nearly doubling it and it took me 2 weeks to get an explanation of why. I took care of that problem but they didn't return the rate to the original number. It took me more than a month to get the reason for that. So now my premium is almost higher than what I agreed do. In February, when they originally raised my premium, the charged me a lump sum for the difference -- almost ! And because they take your credit card number and automatically charge your every month there wasn't much I could do to stop the payment. 2 weeks ago I received my final billing. Because they overcharged me by so much in February I was not billed at all in March and my final bill for May is only . But on my billing statement that are assessing a .50 delinquency fee. Delinquent? They're the ones who automatically charge my credit card! They need to charge themselves 39 fucking dollars if they want the payment 2 weeks before it's even due! Fair warning. Stay away from Esurance.
On to better news. Last night I didn't feel like sleeping much and I was fooling around with some of my fitness reports in Excel and just decided to upload everything to my page in a new section called Fitness Dude. Right now it's just a few paragraphs of me babbling and 10 charts of info about my body. Later this summer, after finals and after I get my miniDV cam I will be adding a lot more. Of coure by then I will also be moving the site to a new address and new server.
About that move -- Freehomepage only allows me to store 12MB, and that just won't do. I'm already using 95% of that, so when it comes time to add more images and videos I will need a lot more space, not to mention bandwidth. I have my domain name picked out, and it is available. I just need to decide on a host. Any recommendations? GISOL looks really good. I'm leaning towards the 250MB package for .95. It comes with the doman name registration and account setup. No hidden charges. Also unlimited pop3 email accounts, 5 mailing lists, a shopping cart system for my site, a CGI-bin, and some more stuff I probably won't use. The main possible downside I see here is the limited bandwidth. They don't mention it on the site. I had to email them to find out that it's only 3GB/month. That's fine for right now, but when I start using videos and MP3s and drawing in more visitors those 3GB could be used up fast.
iPowerWeb also has a good deal. .95 for 150MB, 50 emails (more than I need), CGI-bin, 15GB bandwidth(!), password protected directories, free domain, some marketing, a shopping cart, and still more stuff I don't care about.
I found a free site that gives you 150MB for free, but like Freehomepage they run banners and pop-up ads all over your site, and they don't have the extras the other places have.
Do you know of any other good hosting services? Higher bandwidth? More storage? Lower rates? More extras I'm not considering? Let me know.
4/30/2 - Yesterday I began my finals. Tennis and Beginning Weightlifting first. Maybe 15 minutes of testing, combined! Not another exam till Friday, then 3 next week.
Yesterday was also my first TKD class as a blue belt. I didn't make a huge deal when I got my yellow and green belts. The difference this time is that I was stuck in a freakin' green belt for 8 months. Damn that blue looks good on me. Black will look better though.
I added another article to "In My Defense" today. Check it out, and remember to send all hate mail to ydnandrew@yahoo.com. Enjoy!
4/25/2 - Tonight was the night. I finally got my blue belt. The worst thing about it? No, it wasn't the pressure of remembering my patterns. It wasn't intensity on my self-defense. It wasn't even the stamina for sparring. It was the damn straps of my sparring gear rubbing against my sunburn for an hour and a half! Behind my knee, on my calf, and on the backside of my wrists -- damn this shit hurt. But I suppose it was worth it because I'm finally through with the green belts.
If I pass every test as soon as I'm elligible (2 months for everything up till brown, then 4 months for both of those, and 6 months at 1R) I'll have my black belt in exactly 24 months. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Since I'm not going to be driving to Denton 3 days a week this summer I'm going to try to attend more classes and see if the instructors will let me skip advanced blue. It can happen. One or two people seem to skip a belt every test. Why not me, damn it?
4/23/2 - I took my skills test in tennis today. Got a 98, so I'm okay. Monday the real fun begins. I'll have a written final in tennis and weightlifting. Wednesday will be my Ms Office final, then Friday my health-related fitness final. The following Monday is US History and then Friday coaching football. That will do it for my semester.
Today's real news, though, is the 18 holes I played. For the first time in about 4 years I went out and played some golf. Sure, I took a golf class last semester, but that's just hitting some balls at a range and practicing chipping and putting. This was the real thing. I shot a 108, which by most people's standards is horrible, but by my standards it was friggin awesome since I've been out so long and the best I ever shot on 18 before was in the 160s. So I'm not much of a golfer. Okay, fine. But I birdied a par 3, which is a pretty big deal. My tee shot hit probably 2 feet from the cup and then rolled back to the fringe. I then knocked down a 15 foot put on my second stroke for the killer. My game was inconsisten, at best. That 2 stroke hole followed my worst hole of the round . . . 11 on a par 5. I didn't take any mulligans or gimmes. All of my stroke are legit. I had a couple nice drives around 250. Most of my par 3 tee shots were nice, with the exception of the very first one, which I topped and then watched trickle about 10 yards, stopping before the ladies' tees. The two guys from work who I was playing with said something about the dick rule. If you can't hit it past the ladies tees you have to play the rest of the hole "dick out", dropping your pants. If they actually wanted to see that maybe they need to question their own manhood.
So I shot a 108. One birdie, I think 2 pars. But this was a very easy course. Not much water, sand, or trees. Basically they took a huge pasture and mowed the grass nice, then made some holes and called it a golf course. I had fun though, and I feel better about my golf game.
The downside of this whole thing is that I left my sunblock in my car. Those of you who know me know how easily I burn. So yes, I have a severe sunburn on my face, neck, lower arms and lower legs. I've already medicated it, but it still stings and it's going to for a while. I'm not looking forward to my 5 minutes of sparring for my blue belt tomorrow. Ugh.
4/22/2 - Soon it will be time for me to buy my dv cam and still digital camera. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm leaning towards the Panasonic pv-dv401. The cheapest I've found it for is . From the reviews I've read I'm sure I'll need to buy another battery or two. I'll probably also have to invest in a couple of cables to connect to my computer, and an extra memory card or two for still images. And the tapes for this bad boy are a bit pricey, so I want to be positive this is what I want before I shell out upwards of for the setup. And that's just the beginning. The Firewire card, which allows me to trasnfer my footage to my computer, I want is , and there's an animation program I want that I can get in a bundle for another . Oy, and then there's a microphone, tripod, some cheap lighting equipment. This is going to bankrupt me. I'll be happy if I have the full setup by the end of the year. For now I just want to get the basics to take with me on my trip to Boston in July.
I'm playing golf with a couple of guys from work this Wednesday. I need to make sure to get out to the driving range tomorrow and practice a little first. These guys are pretty good (compared to me at least). I think I've only played 4 or 5 rounds my whole life. Okay, so I took a golf class last semester and I basically got to hit at a driving range 3 days a week, but I haven't swung a club since December. I'm gonna shoot a 150.
4/20/2 - I got another request to write a video game soundtrack today. It was by email, so it could be a few days till I know the details. I'm not optimistic though. I've been propositioned several times and have only accepted twice, and neither of those were ever completed. Not a good track record, huh? The problem most of the time is that these people have no idea what kind of work goes into writing a soundtrack. My last offer was . I'm sorry, but that's ridiculously low. I should be making at least that much per hour. This is a talent and skill. You wouldn't expect someone to fix your car for that kind of money, would you? Alright then.
4/17/2 - Andy the Happy Nerd will be moving this summer. I don't know exactly when, or even where yet, but you will be sure to know in advance. This move is a good thing. Freehomepage.com has been good for me, mainly because it's free, but I need more. Soon I will be adding videos and MP3 files to the site and added all sorts of stuff. the 12MB allowed by freehomepage just isn't enough, and I have found better pay sites out there. I will most likely buy my own domain, so anyone with suggestions please feel free to email me or post it in my guestbook. I don't think I'm going to keep the name Andy the Happy Nerd. I'm in the brainstorming process still. I don't need to make a decision for quite some time. I don't actually have any film footage ready for uploading yet, and I probably won't have any for at least another month, maybe 2 or 3, but it's coming.
I got my final TKD stripes tonight so I'll finally be testing for my blue belt next Thursday. From then on I have no excuses to miss class because I'll be out of school in 3 weeks.
I need to find other things to talk about. You know, most people have some sort of social life they would talk about on here. Oh, not me. The extent of my social life is going to Taco Bueno with my boss, Tommy and listening to him talk about how bad he has to shit afterwards. Oh boy. Gimme some more of that!
4/16/2 - I have the digital video camera I want all picked out. Now I just need to wait for my tax refund to come in and it's mine. I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I'm brainstorming and trying to come up with some plans. I'll have so much free time this summer, I'll need something to keep me busy. But first things first. I have a week of classes left, then dead week and finals. I also have 2 months worth of MS Office assignments to do in 2 weeks, and about 15 websites to review in 5 days.
Yesterday I missed my TKD class because of stomach pains. Today I missed because of tornados. I absolutely must attend the next two nights. There are no classes next week because of testing, so tomorrow and Thursday are my last chances to get my stripes.
I took my monthly picture tonight. I see two very minor changes from last month. You know, it's never like the before and after pictures you see on TV. Not that I'm taking a miracle drug or anything. I'm just exercising and eating right the same way I've been doing for years. And don't get me wrong. I see pretty big differences in my pic tonight and my pics from last fall. Mainly it's in my arms, but my stomach has tightened and my lats and chest are taking a nice form (V-shape). I don't expect to ever model on the cover of Men's Health, but seeing some positive changes sure is encouraging.
4/14/2 - Does anyone out there have any idea where I can get a ton of space online to upload some files for visitors to download? If at all possible I'd rather not have to move my whole site, and I don't want to ay anything (cheap, ain't I?).
04/12/02 - This computer course I'm taking over the internet has to be one of the most useful classes I've ever had. It's basically teaching us how to use some of the programs in MS Office (Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint). All of the assignments are listed and you do them at your own pace, as long as you have them done by the final exam. I just took my midterm tonight (the final is in 3 or 4 weeks). Anyway, I've learned some totally awesome stuff about Excel, mainly with functions and making charts. I've been tracking my weight, body fat % and measurements (with a tape measure) for about two months now. I check the weight and body fat every Sunday night and the tape measurements every 4 weeks. This Sunday I take my third tape measurements. After that I will make some graphs and post them on this site in case anyone is interested. It will show you all how studly I am . . . not.
When I started taking these measurements is was as part of my running log. Remember when I made the announcement that I would run a marathon this December? That's how this started. Now I only run 3-4 times a week, and still no more than 16 miles (per week). Like I mentioned before, I just have too much going on to concentrate on a goal like that right now. My lower back, traps, hips, gluts, and hamstrings are all very sore from my Tae Kwon Do class last night.
Back to my point. I'm not keeping these stats because I'm aiming for a specific number, or because I'm going extra hard on weightlifting or anything. I just want to monitor what's going on. I can tell you that in my first month only my calves and thighs grew in size. My weight and body fat % have hovered around the same area, more or less. Sure, I'd like to lower my body fat % to where it was 3 years ago (around 12%), but that's not my main goal. My main goal is to be healthier and attain a higher level of fitness. How do I know if I'm doing that? By my performance. I've noticed an increase in strength (ex. my 1RM on the chest press has increased by 50 pounds in 2 months), endurance (ran 6.3 miles one night and wasn't the least bit tired; also improved 1 mile time by 47 seconds) and I know I'm faster, even though I haven't had my sprints timed. When I measure my chest Sunday it may not show any change, even though I bench press more weight now than I did one month ago. But I don't care, because I'm healthy. And that's all it should be about.
Now on to other news. I have 2 of my 4 stripes required for testing in Tae Kwon Do (pattern and self-defense). I still need my stripes for sparring and attendance. The test is 2 weeks from last night, which should be plenty of time for me. This means I will have my blue belt in 2 weeks. About damn time too! One woman who started there the same week as I did (February last year) will be getting her purple belt this test. Why is she so far ahead of me? I missed two tests because I was too busy and too tired with full-time school and work. So what has changed so I can start testing again? I'm more fit, dummy! I haven't sparred in forever, but I just have this feeling that I'm going to do so much better than before. I won't get winded as quickly, and I have a feeling I won't be as likely to panic or rush a move. I think I'll be able to see things a little better. I'll let you know how it goes. We'll probably spar Monday night. I'm going to attempt to attend classes Monday through Thursday night. Fridays are still out because I work. Otherwise I'd go then too.
I think this update is long enough. I need to get some rest. More damn work tomorrow morning.
04/09/02 - I'm not feeling my best today, and I really don't think I could put up with a couple of whiney bitches bossing me around, so I called in sick. Maybe I can get some homework or something done.
I added two new(ish) poems to the poetry section. Go check them out (Just Before I Dream and The Deal). I can't say either of them are good, but I got tired of a couple of the other poems I had so, so these are the replacements.
04/01/02 - April fool's day, huh? How come fools get a whole day that's nationally recognized when the smart people are ignored all year long?
Okay, here's some real news. I have decided not to take any college classes this summer. That includes the intensive 3 credits in 3 weeks mini-mester offered in May. Instead I will be working on my National Personal Trainer Certification with AFPA (American Fitness Professionals Association), and CPR training. Then I will be a certified trainer by the end of the summer and can start working with a gym, or privately and maybe get out of this damn furniture business. I hate that job more every day. No, actually I hate that job more every week day. Weekends aren't too bad. I usually get to work with someone pretty cool and there's not a lot of work to do. Mainly I don't have to work with any of the visual department (showroom coordinators), and that's a big help. Basically these girls get paid /hr to tell warehouse guys where to move furniture while they sit and drink lemonaid and go out to Starbucks (while they're on the clock).
Anyway, this looks like a way for me to get out of furniture repair and get some experience in training, so when I get my degree I can get an awesome training job. I've been looking through so wanted ads across the country, and I really think I'd like to work for a big corporation that has their own fitness program. I read one where you design programs for all of the employees, and give them personal sessions along with teaching group classes.
Along with this CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) course I want to take one of nutrition and maybe strength training. I looked into two endurance certifications but one is basically like teaching aerobics and step classes, and I've already read the textbook for the other course, so I don't think I'd get much out of it. I can't see myself doing a lot of aerobics and step stuff. I prefer to run or bike for endurance training. Oh, and one of these days I need to learn how to swim. That's right, I can't swim. But I have a friend at work who was the national champ swimmer in Argentina when she was 14 and she has offered to teach me.
I think it's safe to say that I'm very excited about this decision. Oh, and something I've been thinking about lately that just sounds cool is that when I get my degree I'll be a kinesiologist. Neat, huh?
03/31/02 - It's Easter, but this isn't going to be some sort of special holiday update, since you know I don't give a crap about most holidays. But I did buy a new 80 gb hard drive last night at Fry's. Pretty damn good deal too. it was with a mail-in rebate. It's a Seagate, not a piece of crap name I've never heard of, 7200 RPM, 2 MB buffer, only a 9.5 ms seek time, but a 3 year warranty. It's all installed and now I have plenty of room to start loading up on video and music files. Now if only I had a video capture card, digital camera and digital video camera, and a connection faster than my shitty 56k dial-up. One thing at a time though, right?
I have nothing special planned for the rest of the day. I'll probably workout after lunch then do some more music recordings, and do some school work. Sounds like fun, eh?
03/28/02 - 7:30 PM and it's 71 freakin' degrees outside.
Okay, about yesterday's entry, I'm entering a contest at Turner Classic Movies. It's for young film composers. Basically what you do is download one of 4 movie clips they have and you write a soundtrack to it. All 4 clips are 90 seconds long, and they're all silent films. Very old silent films. I selected a scene from Nosferatu, which I believe is the first vampire movie. If you want to hear my first draft click on the link from yesterday. I'm not entirely happy with it, but like I said, it's my first draft. I just downloaded the clips and started writing the music yesterday. Unfortunately the contest ends Sunday, so I have to hurry up and make any changes right away. Feel free to email me with comments.
03/27/02 - My Nosferatu soundtrack.
03/20/02 - Boy do I have an update for you! Okay, nothing serious, but at least stuff has been happening.
I have had these last three days free. No school because of spring break and no work because I used some vacation time. So what have I been doing with my time? Well Monday I rested my left knee because of that damn 10k run Sunday night. I had a funny pain on the outside of the knee cap, so I went over to Academy Sports and bought a knee brace. While I was there I picked up some ankle weights for Taekwon-do. Last Wednesday our instructor requested that we do so. 10 lbs. for each ankle! So anyway, I went home and noticed that I accidentally grabbed an XL brace, so I went back to the store and exchanged it for a medium. I took that one back home and found out that I didn't like the fit. I was just an uncomfortable brace. I waited till today to take it back. But before I tell you about that I'll fill you in on yesterday. I sent 4 hours cleaning my garage! 4 freaking hours!!! Of course now it looks great. All of my tools, lumber, and exercise equipment is organized and usable. :) So today I decided to go back to Academy to exchange the brace. While I was there I also decided to buy a new piece of equipment. This deal has 3 punching bags (speed bag, double ended ball, and a 75 pound bag), a station for dips and knee raises, one for pushups, and one for chin ups. I brought the boxes home, opened everything up and sent the next 2 hours assembling it. The screws to mount the speed bag were missing, but I figured I could just go to Lowe's and buy them. No big deal. Then it came time to inflate the seed bag and ball. I got out my foot pump and off I went (while toasting my bagel). After 3 pumps into the speed bag the bladded popped. I knew it was screwed so I moved on to the other bag. I inflated it and everything seemed fine. I hooked it up and gave it a few hits. About 5 minutes later I looked at it again and noticed that about half of its air leaked out. So now I have 3 problems on my hands. I've already been to Academy 4 times in the last 3 days, so I'm not anxious to go back today. Maybe I'll go after work tomorrow, or just go to the one across town. I feel dumb, even though none of this is my fault. I'm just worried that they're going to say I overinflated the two bags, which I didn't. The speed bag is or on its own and the double ended ball is another or so. I shouldn't have to dish out another . Now I'm kind of pissed because I wanted to work out on those today. The 75 lbs. bag isn't as big of a deal since I've had a 100 pounder hung out in my garage since last summer. Though the lighter weight will be nicer for kicking. I still want a 40-50 lbs. bag for this station and a headache bag as well. But first things first. I need to get a floor mat soon. I know one of these days I'm going to try a high kick and my feet will fly out from under me, then *smack* goes my head on the conrete floor! So if anyone wants to donate some money so I can buy a mat please feel free to do so.
The only good news I have left to report is that I'm getting some nibbles to the ad I placed. Unfortunately they're either only nibbles, or they were just too much for me and I had to cut the line. There have been 4 in the last 3 days. Maybe one that doesn't suck will swim by eventually.
It's now 3:30 and knowing that my 3 day vacation will soon be over is beginning to scare me. I have no one to go out with today and nowhere to go myself . . . except Academy. I'm probably going to end up doing something stupid and unproductive.
03/20/02 (Part 2) - It's a little more than 5 hours since my last update. I did end up going back to Academy and exchanged the two punching bags. The guy there even inflated them for me to make sure they work. That was nice. So when I got home I just had to try it out. Then oops! I forgot all about the 4 machine screws I was missing to mount the swivel for the speed bag. So I just walked to Lowe's and bought some for 90 cents. Which makes me think. We have a dollar sign ($) on our keyboards (shift 4) but no cents sign. I know there are ways to do it, but I'm not good with all of the damn characters. Besides, it's easier to just type "cents". Anyway, where was I? Oh, so I got the hardware and mounted the bag. It's so cool to have all of this junk in my own home. Now as long as I can stay motivated and use it all the time I'll have some kick ass reflexes and hand-eye coordination. I worked on the 75 pound bag a little tonight. It's actually a lot easier than the 100 lbs one I've had. I didn't expect this much of a difference. I can make the bag move a lot without even fracturing my wrist!
Aside from taking care of my fitness equipment I have also used these 3 days to get caught up (halfway) with my computer class. See, it's over the internet so I don't think about it very much. Turns out I was behind by 16 assignments. I had only done two. Now I'm only behind by 9, which is a considerable improvement. And after spending some time on this stuff I see that it doesn't take much time or effort. I can actually work on the assigments while I'm talking to a friend online or something. Good deal.
I've been in such a creative mood lately, but I can't find my outlet. It's kind of the way I felt in last summer just before I started school, which killed all of my creativity. Back then I had this huge abstract idea . . . catching dreams. I still like that thought, but right now I'm more focused on something a little less . . . spacey. I'm thinking more along the lines of something that might help people. I'd like to finish one of my articles, but I want to go in a different direction than any of them are going. So I guess I actually need to start over. Also I really want to write a soundtrack. If anyone out there knows where I can get some kind of footage. I don't care how raw or edited it is as long as I can put it on my computer and add music to it. But I'm also thinking about making a cartoon. I have a cute fake animal voice I do. The character (in my head) looks like a cross between Gizmo from Gremlins and a Munchichi. You know what else? I want to start painting again. I haven't painted in about a year. I actually have an unfinished painting sitting at the foot of my bed. I stopped working on it one night and it hasn't moved since. Well it moves when I change my sheets but that's about it.
I need to stop listening to the same damn CDs over and over. Do you ever do that? You have a small stack sitting by your computer or in your car, and you forget to change them out so you hear the same stuff all the time, and you end up hating it? I'm going to do something now. Maybe pull out my blonde-tipped hair.
03/20/02 (Part 3) - Oh yeah, and I added the "In My Defense" section. Go check it out. It'll take 2 minutes out of your life.
03/17/02 - I ran for freaking 66 minutes tonight! Ever since I got my heartrate monitor I've been running farther, and longer. Sure, I run a little slower, but this feels so much better, and I'm really enjoying it. I set the monitor to alarm if my heart rate isn't between 65% and 75% of my maximum, which means 130-150 bpm for me. What I then do is run at a moderate pace until my heart rate exceeds this upper limit, then I walk till it drops to the lower limit. I keep this up throughout my entire run. My walks last anywhere from 30-70 seconds, and my running segments. nywhere from 5-15 minutes. So far every time I've used my heart rate monitor around 30 minutes into my run it starts going a little crazy. My heart rate will suddenly shoot up to 170 or so, but just for a few seconds. Then it will quickly drop. Tonight was the first night I kept going through it. I usually stop around 40 minutes. And what I found was that after the 40 mark my heart rate drops and stays low, like in the 120s even though my pace hasn't changed. Incidentally, lately I've been running right around 6 mph for the longer distances, which isn't very fast (10 minute mile). But Jeff Galloway suggests that you take long runs up to 2 minutes per mile slower than you feel you could go. So I'm doing well. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes. My heart rate drops to the 120s after about 40 minutes, so I slightly pick up the pace till it's in my desired range. It then stays there as long as I maintain my speed.
I was so bummed when I finally stopped to walk and cool down . . . and head back home. It had been 1:06:09 since I took my first step, and I wasn't even tired. I wasn't breathing heavy, and my legs felt very strong still. Some of you might remember last year when I complained about my shins not being able to handle these hard sidewalks. Now I'm having to trouble at all. I'm going to have to think long and hard about this marathon thing in December. If I can stay in this kind of shape (actually improving too) through the summer without any injuries I just might begin a marathon training program and sign up for the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I realize tonight was only a little more then 10k, or 6.2 miles, but if I can do that in an hour without any fatigue imagine what I could do by December when I'm training specifically for it? Eh, maybe I should wait and see how sore I am in the morning. With my luck my calves with be as tight as . . . okay, I won't make a sick sexual joke. But they'll probably be very tight.
Anyway, tomorrow is the start of my 3 day sring break. No work and no school. I'll spend a lot of my time cleaning the house, doing laundry, catching up on homework, studying, and hopefully writing some music.
One last note before I go to bed. I have decided not to post so much personal information (mainly about my dating life) on this site anymore. Too many real friends, family and coworkers are checking this thing out now. That's something I never intended.
03/16/02 - Today I woke up and took a little extra time getting out of bed. As a result I had to go without shaving. No big deal, right? On the drive to work I looked in the rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of my hair doing something funky. I played with it for a second and it got worse, but I didn't care too much, because it's no big deal, right? Then while at work someone gave me a mini 3 Muskateers, so I ate it. Chocolate doesn't do much for my breath. But it's no big deal, right? Then in walks John, "Sarah's here."
Surprised, I reply, "Sarah ?"
"Uh huh. She's walking around the store right now."
After doing my absolute best not to choke on my own saliva I snap back with, "Oh, that's nice."
No more than 30 seconds later Laura comes in, "Did you see Sarah? You should go say hi."
"I don't know. I'm not so sure she likes me."
"Why not?"
"Oh, because I asked her out when she used to work her and she said no."
"Oh!" Laura then broke out into uncontrollable laughter. But after a few minutes calming myself down and a damn good tooth brushing (yes I keep a toothbrush at work) I went out to the showroom to find Sarah. After walking the 100,000 sq. ft. store and not seeing her I gave up and went back to my work. Sometime later Laura was complaining about how she had no lunch and didn't have her car so she couldn't get anything to eat. She said she'd have to settle for cookies. Sorry, but I can't stand to see someone eat cookies for lunch, so I was on my way upstairs to get a trail mix bar from my stash when Laura shouted at me. I turned around and there was Sarah.
If you're read this much you're probably wondering why I'm talking so damn much about this woman. Okay, imagine me, but female, better looking, less musical, but much more artistic and outgoing. That's Sarah. That's why I had it bad for her when we worked together, and why I felt queezy when I walked up to her and we started talking today. The big smile on her face helped, but as the conversation went on I could tell she had absolutely no interest in me, just as she had no interest 15 months ago when I asked her to The Nutcracker. But it seems she doing very well now. Working for NBC in the promotional department. I'm happy for her. And it just reminds me of how little I have done with my life. I'm 23, I'm repairing furniture, I'm still going to college, and I'm still living with my mom. Folks, this ain't good. I'm 23. I need to make something more of myself.
After work I went out with Laura to play tennis. She asked me more about Sarah. She pointed out some look on Sarah's face when she saw me. Something I didn't see apparently. Something I don't think was actually there. Something about her being surprised because I look so much different now than I did last year when Sarah last saw me. Okay, my hair is a different color, I've lost 15 pounds of fat and gained 10 pounds of muscle. In Laura's words I looked "more like a man." Keep in mind Laura is from Argentina and still struggles with her English. But it got me wondering. What makes a man? I will forever wonder what gets the girl. That is different for every woman, and I honestly believe it changes every second of the day depending on their mood swings. Guys, when was the last time you got depressed when you were shopping for clothes? Women, what about you? I bet for most women it's a fairly common occurence. And most men have probably never let it upset them. For me, it's the whole package that counts. I think for women it's individual acts or qualities. Which explains why so many women fall for ass holes while perfectly great guys, like I used to be, go insane and turn into total losers.
By the way, I changed the "You be the Judge" section to "The Junkyard". It's almost the same, but instead of posting 5 incomplete pieces I'm posting about 50. Okay, it's not that many, but it's a lot more than 5. And I'm not providing information on any of them or taking a vote or anything. As always, if you have comments on them email me. If not, that's fine too.
I also uploaded me new version of "Present Tree". I'm also about to upload to rather controversial pieces I wrote a while back. Th first is "The Fight of My Life", which I wrote in the fall of 2000. The second is "My Kate", which I think I wrote in the spring of 1998. Check the lyrics if you want to know what's so controversial, as I will be posting them and lyrics to about 3 or 4 other songs of mine. Go over the the music section and check it out.
03/13/02 - Monday I met Daffny. I didn't find out her name till tonight though. I don't know how to spell that name, so please no hate mail if it's wrong. Anyway, she's in my Taekwon-do class. She transfered in from Tennessee so she has a slightly different hick accent than most people around here. I tell you about her mainly because that makes 3 people near my age now in my class. I'm pretty sure she's younger, but not by much. The other two guys are older. Still, it's nice to get more people who actually feel like peers instead of these 17 year olds or 38 year olds.
Speaking of Taekwon-do, I just got back from class. Ever since I've had to hit the workouts extra hard this semester for school martial arts hasn't worn me out as much. Then again, we haven't sparred lately. That's what really kills you. Still, I used to get a little winded during warm ups. Especially with fast kick stretches and such. Now I'm yelling the loudest and feeling no pain. Hopefully this will keep up. Honestly though, I'm looking forward to kicking a little ass again.
03/11/02 - It's just after 7:00pm and I'm going to go to Taekwon-do class shortly. This is my first class in a very long time. I'm part excited, part nervous, and part exhausted from a day that has already been very physical. But enough about my day, what's going on with you? Oh, that's right. I'm typing into my computer.
Okay, so I placed an ad at lavalife.com. That's a personals site. Yes, I'm resorting to online personals. But this isn't the first time. Actually I've been kind of messing around with them since xmas. I'm having no luck at all though. Anyone out there wanna help me write an ad? I've gone through hundreds of drafts that are all honest, but that apparently doesn't work. Yes yes, women say they want honesty. I think they just want a man with big . . . ego . . . who will treat them like shit. Maybe I should post what I have on this site and let you email me with your opinions. That kind of stuff always seems to get a response. People always seem to love to dive into someone else's personal life. But they sure don't want to sign my guestbook! :D
03/10/02 - Smoldering? Uh, okay.
Continued
