February 6, 2014

Post post post post post post...

Hi there! My internet is working again!

First off, I have written five pages but I don't like what I've written/it isn't organized at all. So while it's technically five pages, all I really like are a couple of poems. And it's getting late, so I plan on editing/expanding on it tomorrow during my six hours of downtime between morning class and evening class.

A development has occurred. I have met another version of myself. Here are some similarities I have with Ian:
We both play Magic: the Gathering.
We both read the Dark Tower series recently (I had a half-hour animated freak out session about this).
We both watch starcraft videos and don't actually play starcraft.
We both watch the same starcraft video people.
We both have attempted to watch League of Legends (another video game) and couldn't get into it.
We both majored in philosophy.
We both had a second concentration in English. (He majored in it while I minored in it.
We both have identical LSAT scores (I know writing both and identical is redundant, but I wanted to stay repetitive)
We both dislike Adrian Sullivan. (A figure in the Magic: the Gathering world who deserves to be hated.)
We both like the modern format of Magic the best.
We both are incredibly sarcastic, deadpan, and quick-witted.
We both refuse alcohol.

Differences:
He has a summer internship already set up.
I play sports.
He does his reading.
I play sports.
I had a slightly higher undergrad GPA.
He is way nicer and more outgoing than I am.
He is hilarious in class.
He is from Michigan.
That's all I've got.

We talked for like four hours today, and it got to the point where it was a little weird how similar we were. He concentrated in a different area of philosophy than I did, and I basically don't remember philosophy classes anymore (whereas he finished writing his thesis less than a year ago). But yeah, pretty cool.

I got more free food today. I also played more handball yesterday and today. Yesterday really reinforced the idea that I'm not missing out that much by missing club time. It's likely that the times I'm missing (Thursdays) have a higher caliber of player, since it's not a league night, but I never let a person (or team) get to double digits on me yesterday. Or today for that matter. Today was cool because I was using the new ball that we'll use for the tournament. I played a game of doubles with John, a game with Kara, and two games with Joe (my partner). The scores were 21-8, 21-4, 21-9, 21-6 (or 7 or something) respectively. So it turns out it doesn't really matter who my partner is against those guys (Dane and Nick). Draws for this weekend are posted. It seems I will be in for some hard-fought handball. I wish they had seeded us better than fourth so we didn't have to play the people we are playing, but it's all just pointless complaining, really.

I'm starting to get excited for North Carolina. It feels like it's coming right up!

I forgot I had a class that conflicted with the jugglers yesterday, so no updates there.

Here are some things I had written in a draft of a post to tide you over, since this isn't that long:

I subscribed to this YouTube channel. So when you see their videos popping up here with regularity, you don't have to wonder why. There are some duds (for me), sure, but there's a good ratio of stuff I actually like. Worth it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leE4_k9zxEI
I liked this because... well, because I thought it was good. There's not much more to say. It felt like a short story, but in poem form. Which I think really helped her be direct and abrasive. The thing about this style I don't like is how I can hear the audience's reaction. It throws me out of the listening experience sometimes. Even when I agree, it's like, "come on guys, keep it down, I'm trying to listen here."

http://gizmodo.com/can-sochi-get-its-shit-together-1514828222/@Tom_Ley
The olympic village looks to be a crazy disaster. I'm sure most people have heard about this, but I certainly hadn't (in my isolated bubble, willfully ignorant of the news).

My sister emailed me. I responded at length. Probably too much length. I don't think I was mean. I've been wrong about that before.

So yeah, I'll write more here tomorrow, and I'll get up the decent parts of my free writing. But I have an early class, and I want to read a bit before I fall asleep. Thanks for reading!

PS: I just remember I lied. I let a doubles team get to double digits yesterday. Alex and I went down 3-12 before winning 21-14.

February 3, 2014

Post postscript post post

I had to title it that. I'm sure you understand.

I realized that during my break highlights I never mentioned the run I went for with David. Which was stupid of me, since that was definitely one of my highlights. It is actually perfect that he took up running, because as we've stopped seeing each other (ever), it has become harder and harder to actually talk with him. The problem is that what we've usually done is play video games, but while playing video games, very little conversation occurs that is outside the realm of video games. This wasn't a problem when we saw each other all the time, because eventually we would either grow tired of video games, we would need to eat, or something would happen that eventually led to us talking about other stuff. But when we only see each other once or twice, the conversation part doesn't really happen. Until recently, when I went on a run. We run slower when we talk, but it's still a decent workout. We just work harder at a slower pace because of the talking. So we are still multitasking, but we actually get to the whole point of being friends, which is awesome. Of course, it still takes us forever to get around to actually saying anything (both because we are boys, and because we don't see each other much), but hey, it's a definite improvement.

I received an email with the following text in it:
This morning, a student exhibiting troubling behavior in a Law School classroom was removed and transported by University Police for crisis assistance. There were no direct physical threats or weapons involved. The Law School is working closely with University officials to ensure that the Law School remains a safe learning environment.

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence, huh? Also, another student has dropped out of our section. I guess things are taking their toll on some.

I enjoyed my corporations class today. My professor is interesting, opinionated, and pretty funny. The material is dry, so reading for class is a pain, but the actual class time itself is good. He has a ton of anecdotes. Hopefully it continues in a similar manner. Of course, I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to have been learning this far, but that will probably sort itself out.

Today we learned that corporations are a great way of limiting liability. They stop a claimant from being able to go after your personal wealth. All they can sue you for in your corporate capacity is your worth in the company. This can be contracted around (banks can make you sign for things personally, etc.), but it can never be gotten around by a tort claim (as long as you keep yourself sufficiently separate from your corporation). So if I run someone over with a company car doing company business, they can only recover what I'm worth in the company. So if I've invested $500 in the company, but I have a million dollars, they only get to recover $500. Their lawyer will obviously try to show I wasn't actually on company business or that I haven't kept myself separate from the company in a meaningful way (this occurs all the time when people start a company for themselves; they file as a corporation, but they mingle bank accounts and expenses, they don't keep official yearly meeting minutes about elections, they don't re-file promptly, etc. and then the lawyer can show the "corporation" is really just the person anyway, and can get at his assets). I'm also still liable for criminal charges (might still go to prison, for example). But my money is likely safe. So as an alternative to insurance, just incorporate yourself! Weird, huh?

In other news, I did this to myself:


You might want some back story. So I had this weird bump on my arm about two weeks ago. I squeezed it, and sure enough, it popped. Some puss came out, and I thought that was the end of that. This isn't that uncommon. Usually it occurs when a hair follicle gets infected or something. Then it swelled up again, and I popped it again. And a third time. And a fourth time (over the course of a few days). Eventually, after ten days, it hadn't completely disappeared. It hadn't gotten any worse, either, so I wasn't like, worried about it or anything. But I did what any rational person would do and poked it with a safety pin to try and drain it for good. I poked it, squeezed it, and a bit of stuff came out. I could feel the swelling in a bit more than the area I poked, so I put the pin back in the same hole and advanced it in the direction of the rest of the swelling. This never hurt, which surprised me. So I kept pushing, out of a sort of morbid curiosity. Before I knew it, the whole pin was in there. I must have found the exact right angle of entry or something, because to move it at all hurt quite a bit, but getting it in there didn't. Also, when I tried from a different hole (my curiosity was in full swing), it hurt and I stopped immediately. So that was really weird. And now the swelling has disappeared completely. I'm pretty proud of myself, I must say.

I wrote a poem a little while ago. I figured I'd share it with the rest of you. Sarah S sent me a poem, and the first couple lines made me think of my own version, so this is a bit of a riff/take on that first bit of hers. Which is also why the style doesn't look quite like something I'd typically write.

I didn't title it.

So I heard you
shouldn't
stare too long into
the sun
so I stared
into your eyes
instead,

I should have
known better,
should have chosen
to have my eyes
seared
once and
be done with it

better that than
tempted
time and again

blinded so gradually
that, finally sightless,
I still think I can see

the faint outlines of love
shining bright as ever,
the lines I memorized
in your irises
radiate from the blackness
a reassurance
that isn't real

better to be blind
and know it
basking in my
blaze of glory
better anything
than being told I'm blind
and wondering
for how long.

I forgot to set my next deadline for writing. I think I should have time tonight and tomorrow, but let's set five more pages due by Wednesday. I'll try and make it at least a couple times a week, but school might start picking up here soon, and I would hate to make promises I can't keep. I've started a couple things since last time, but I don't really like them. I might try rhyming something also. I don't know. I will always have five pages due by Sunday, though. That seems like a pretty minimal output, but I've got a life. Sort of. If you count blogging. But there are some new developments that might further cut into my time! I'll get to those. Calm down...

I had made the decision to go a week without listening to music. I spend a lot of my time with headphones in, both because it stops me from having to talk to people, and because I like being distracted from what I consider to be the "worthless" parts of life. But I think it's those parts that actually might give me the time and quiet I need to have something to write about. And now that it seems I will be going without my phone altogether, the not listening to music thing at least is a sure bet. So because you guys didn't know anything about this intention, it looks pretty silly in retrospect. I only made it one day without my headphones before my phone died!

I got the tracking info for the cables in my inbox today. I don't think I've ever had a package I care more about getting here promptly. I don't know whether that's pathetic or what. I mean, on the one hand, I don't usually order things that I'm that excited about. But on the other hand, this is really showing how dependent I am on my phone.

I got two doughnuts from the cafe today. Then two muffins. Then a bagel. So I have breakfast waiting for me in the morning, which is a good feeling. Reassuring, you know? No preparation required. Just get up, and there's a delicious raspberry muffin with my name on it. Excellent. I ate the doughnuts right away. Then I went and rowed until I could taste them again. Blrgh. I think the most important thing about rowing was finding the right form. I can row pretty steadily at the same pace as ever, even though I haven't been doing it regularly. Also, it's astonishing how many people sit down next to me and have no freaking clue what they are supposed to be doing. One guy who sat down next to me today started off with a spasmodic stroke that involved the cable going above shoulder height somehow. I resumed rowing, and he at least started trying to imitate what I was doing, but he still looked pretty hopeless. Then as I was leaving, I saw an older guy sit down, and it was obvious he had done this plenty of times before. But he still didn't lean back to finish his stroke. When he hit the end of his legs pushing, he hunched forward instead of getting the last bit of power out of his body. I felt both superior and guilty. But who am I to say something? I've never actually rowed a boat before.

Today was even more special than usual because this pretty cute blonde girl and her friend came over and (of course) had the worst form imaginable. They didn't even get to the end of their legs pushing out before they were letting the cable pull them back in. I have no idea what they thought they were doing. But the more interesting thing was their conversation. I don't know whether people have gotten so used to everyone wearing headphones in a gym that they feel they won't be heard or (way more likely) they just didn't care who heard, but they were talking about their night out drinking, their sexual encounters, their friend's sexual encounters, and even at one point the fact that the blonde girl had smoked weed with her dad over break. It was a bit depressing, because it really solidified the idea that most people really do partake in at least some aspect of that lifestyle. The fact that they never gave me a second thought just contributed to my feeling of alienation.

On my way into the gym, as I was walking past the free use studios (usually filled with dancers/fitness classes/martial arts people), I saw some people juggling. I glanced at them and continued on my way. Then I went back and watched a bit. Then I went and worked out. On my way out, there was just one guy left working on some deft little three-ball motions. And I went in and talked to him! You know, like I never do ever? So now I know there is a group of people who meet every Monday and Tuesday (this semester) from 2:00 to 4:00. I plan on joining them tomorrow until 4:00, when I'll get on with my handball stuff. How about that! I might actually get to pass some clubs (assuming I can remember how the patterns and everything work). If it goes well, I might ask my dad to bring up some of my stuff when he comes.

Also, there is growing interest in my section in Magic: the Gathering. Some people went to a prerelease this weekend (I didn't, because I don't want to spend money on cards I know I won't use), and they've started talking about getting together regularly. I might become part of a bunch of social groups. This is weird.

Also on the topic of Magic: the Gathering: a bunch of really, really good counterfeits have been found recently. So, much to my chagrin, I may have been exaggerating when I said my cards would always hold their value. Now I'm wondering if I need to take steps to combat this development (either selling out, or trading for cards that are harder to counterfeit). Not what I want to be thinking about right now. Maybe I'll try and make an informed decision when the Minneapolis Grand Prix rolls around in a couple of months. Here's the article if anyone is curious: http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27693_Counterfeit-Cards.html

I don't know how much I put on here about my credit card struggles, but a while ago I returned a $200 textbook and it never showed up on my card. I then had a fun process of trying to make it appear on my card. Well, it seems it has finally sorted itself out. I still have $18 of credit left over after buying some external hard drives for various folks, but I'm glad I got most of that out of the hands of Capital One. I've also gotten my full thousand dollars out of my Magic scholarships from my high school days. I'm running out of random revenue sources!

Man, after all the personal stuff I wrote not long ago, these posts start to seem a bit too bland. Where's the controversy!? Where's the stuff I wonder if it will offend people? Well, for now I can't actually think of anything that qualifies as an update to those posts. I have a hint of something I've been trying to pin down, but I haven't had the willpower to really dig it out of my brain yet, so I guess stay tuned or something.

Five more pages of writing due by Wednesday night.

Thanks for reading!

February 2, 2014

Postscript post

So if you haven't noticed, I didn't get anything uploaded last night. My internet went out at my apartment as I was looking for a replacement charging cable for my phone on eBay, and I hadn't finished five pages yet, so I hadn't uploaded anything. There's something up now though! Under "Free write #1 on my short story blog: http://scantstories.blogspot.com/ I just started writing, didn't have a clue where even the next sentence was coming from, and sort of didn't connect things at all yet. So either it's the start of a longer piece or it isn't really going anywhere. Either way, it was fun to write!

So because I don't have internet at my apartment right now, I'm at the library computer lab. I hate these keyboards now that I'm used to the flat keys of my laptop. One of the things I plan on buying as soon as I have money is a mechanical keyboard with "brown switches." There are different switch types for different uses/preferences, and while I haven't ever gotten the chance to try the different kinds, I've read a lot about them and I think that's the safest bet for the kind I'd like. Not that there's anything wrong with my laptop. This keyboard just reminded me of the fact that I've researched a lot of pretty obscure things.

Speaking of, here's the story of how I convinced myself to spend $60 instead of $6:
So my phone's charging cable stopped working. This is a problem for me. I use my phone for everything. I went to Target to buy a replacement cable, only to see that they were $20. I turned around and left. If I were going to spend $20 on a cable, I might as well just put that money toward a phone case that took a mini-usb cable (which I already have) and not have to worry about my battery running out in the future either! So I went home and looked around online for a better deal. Sure enough, there are tons of cables on eBay for around $3-$5. Wary, I looked up some reviews. Almost universally they said not to get the knock-off cables, as they might stop working unexpectedly, might prompt your phone with an error message, and might just be DOA. So I looked around for certified cables. There are a ton on eBay that say they are certified, but do I believe them? Not really... So rather than spend the $6 on a knockoff, I would be spending $20, but rather than get ripped off like that, I'll just buy a case that I don't really need so I feel like I'm not getting ripped off... Yeah, I'm not sure I quite understand it either. I'll consider it a birthday present to myself or something. The important thing is the peace of mind, right? Yeah, I know I'm grasping at straws. But back to the post!

I said in my last post (the last real one that wasn't some subsection (or subsection of a subsection)) that I had a ton more youtube videos that didn't quite fit in line with the whole "searching for motivation/inspiration/meaning in life" theme. So without further ado:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wG_sAdP0U
This lady did some math. She wanted a Jewish husband with a bunch of other specific qualities, and she lived in a big city. However, after estimating that of the hundreds of thousands of people in her city, only about six of them would meet her specifications, she turned to internet dating. She was not successful. So she did some more math. She set up a points system to figure out how to better filter her results. She got no results. It turned out that the ideal guy she was looking for was not looking for her non-ideal profile. So she did some more research. She figured out a few key elements to profile-creation, and became one of the most sought-after women on her dating site. Then she found true love. It was a pretty interesting story. I'm still not trying internet dating (at least not yet).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKafI7Amd8
This guy is a show-off. He is a computer hacker, so his showing off is sort of cool, but he's a bit annoying to watch. But if you want to see mosquitoes hunted with lasers, this is the place to go (as well as hotel TV's hacked, credit cards cracked, and people tracked (oh man, that all rhymed so perfectly!)).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY
This guy says that you can learn a new skill in twenty hours. He taught himself the ukulele to prove it. It's not a great talk. You probably shouldn't watch it. Just take my word for it, and if you have a skill you want to become decent at, maybe give it a once-over in case there are any tips you can apply.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wfMNNr3ak
This doctor says the key to eating healthy is to eat a lot of starch. He makes some interesting observations of Asian people. Maybe he's right? It's certainly possible. I was interested enough that I didn't turn it off right away. Potatoes and rice are the way of the future. Who knew?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqpjap8rewo
While we're on the topic of eating healthy, this man made an athletic career out of eating better than his opponents. The goal was to speed up recovery through a good diet, and through a series of trial and error processes he came to the conclusion that plant-based diets are the best ones. He initially came down on the side of starch, but starch requires a significant energy investment to process. So he focused more on food "efficiency." He switched from starch to fruit, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat and wild rice, because they are seeds rather than grain, and so are more efficient. His calorie intake dropped by 20% and found he was less hungry because he was fulfilling his body's requirements.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMAwnA5WvLc
I don't know if you're as afraid of dying as I am, but this guy is doing some interesting research into how to stop (and reverse) aging. It's sort of cool. Mostly, I'm just trying to find a way to be less scared. I'm staking my hopes on you, crazy-looking-beard-guy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSz5BjExs9o
This is about the 11 dimensions that theoretically exist in the universe. I'm going to watch this video over and over again until I actually understand it. I sort of missed the boat when we discussed this in physics in high school. He intros with flatland, which is a great short story everyone should read if they haven't. A copy is online here: http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~banchoff/Flatland/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RENk9PK06AQ
This guy used math to write "music" that is patternless. This is different than random. It is carefully planned to have no musical qualities whatsoever. The music starts at 7:40, and the stuff before it is the background story (math mostly, with a bit of sonar-motivation thrown in). I didn't find it unpleasant to listen to, but I'll let you make up your own mind about that.

My mom asked me what a hipster was a while ago. So as I've forayed into the wild realms of the internet, I have recorded my encounters with the topic. Of course, as usual, the most effective way to figure out what a hipster is would be to google/wikipedia it, but I'll use it to introduce these two videos, which I found to be pretty awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYA8cSQB_rA
This is a bit explanatory, and also a bit humorous. Also, why wouldn't I link to another Charlie video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAMM-pZLXyQ
This poem, on the other hand, has very little explanation, so it must make up for it by being more than a bit humorous!
Best line: He mounts her...indifferently!

Poetry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lViEIq0Ne8A
I really liked the part where when he's talking about being dishonest, he says:
Stripped gears lying smoothly, pretending that our teeth still fit
(or something to that effect)
Also, he's performing this video in Northfield, Minnesota!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysVlscQtUXE
This poem is just a placeholder for Andrea Gibson's poetry in general. She's got great lines all over the place, and gets in these awesome rhyming sections, but she isn't afraid to move in and out of rhyme schemes as it suits her in the same poem. I don't really like the vibrato in her voice. It feels affected, as though she thinks it will add emotion. But the poem is already emotional enough! A video with better audio of the same poem is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoY0ukxLtms but I liked the intro she had in that one, so I put it first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4jbCgMqSew
You'd think I was a lesbian or something with these last two selections, huh? This one is cute. I can't think of a better term. It's just nice to hear a poem that's so obvious with its intention, so, I don't know, pure? Is that the word? I'd use the word innocent, but I know some people assign that different meaning than I do. So maybe the word is unpresuming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0okLJv_4wY
So either all the poems in this related-link-train I'm on are sexual or only poems that are about sex are catching my eye, or (and this might be the most likely) people write about sex in more original, more honest, and more interesting ways than they write about other topics. And, yet again, this one's by a homosexual. I guess the gays are just better at poetry... Also, he's hilarious. And whew! When the poem transitions it really turns a corner! I don't know if I like that abruptness, but it sure was memorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJeSo1JEwJs
So if you assume that she wrote this to be funny (with a side of indignation) rather than to be indignant with a side of humor, it's actually really funny. If you assume she's a hyper-feminist crazy person, then it gets a bit too "in your face." I interpreted it to be humor first. So I think it's hilarious.

Other stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89-SerAttxE
This guy put an engine on his kayak. He still steers with his paddle. It's pretty crazy looking. You have to watch some Top Gear to see it, and it's only shown in brief snippets (because this is a car show, after all), but since I know Piper, I couldn't not pass this along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rbVQNTzCh8
This guy's main point is that if we want to focus on our creativity, we have to become boring in many other aspects of our lives. I've already employed some of these things. I eat boring things. I buy the same groceries every two weeks, for instance. Well, except for this week. Segue time (you get the point of this video anyway, right?)! I was going to go to Target anyway to buy a cable for my phone (before I knew they were $20), so I took along my Cub Foods coupons and went shopping there instead of Aldi. And I figured since I was there, and it was a pretty rare occasion, I'd branch out a bit. So I bought the things I had coupons for, and not much else. But I had a coupon for waffles. And frozen pizza! So I'm living crazy as of now. I have chocolate chip and blueberry waffles (two separate packages, though I eat them in sandwiches of one of each because the combination is so good), and I bought some summer sausage (I was feeling nostalgic, and it reminds me of eating at my Grandma's house). And I had a coupon for pepperjack cheese. Basically, life is good. Except I didn't buy milk or eggs because those are still cheaper at Aldi. So I still need to go shopping. Also, my peanut butter coupon didn't register, so I wound up buying that at full price (giving rise to the line about losing $2 at the self-checkout in my little free-write). Plus, fruit is more expensive there, so I only bought oranges (they were the least different in price).

What the hell!?
David linked to this on Facebook. Don't watch it if you don't like really random bloody violence. It's actually just insane. It's supposedly a commercial to get kids to stay in school. What I can't quite figure out is how romanticizing the concept of skipping school and then blowing people to bits really accomplishes. Weird...

So, until my charger gets here, don't expect me to text you back. I will have my iPad with me at all times, so I'll be able to email whenever. Well, assuming the internet is working at my apartment, which seems to be a bigger and bigger assumption these days. My laptop also has a (pretty terrible) camera and microphone, so I could skype or google video call if email were unacceptable.

Thanks for reading!

PS: Update: I didn't actually buy the case after all. I found a lot of more than one cable for my phone that had a bunch of good reviews, so I bought that for $5 instead. Hopefully it gets here soon!

Also, I added an update to "secrets" found "here." It's not much, but I said I'd alert you if I edited my past posts, so there you go.