This was inspired by thenewgreen's post asking what everyone was looking forward to last weekend. We're a little over a month into the Summer, though to me Summer really starts at earlier in June or whenever college gets out of session. So far, it's been a very relaxing summer. I feel less stressed than I've felt in many months, and am feeling a lot less anxiety over the next steps in life. Not to mention I'm finally comfortable being single again. Been writing and recording a lot more original songs and covers which (I think) are getting better with each song tackled. I've wrote at least 7-8 songs of workable lyrics, and recorded parts for two more songs today that I plan on bringing back to college and working out with my bassist roommate.
Visited four breweries and two wineries this month alone, and spent a lot of time visiting and seeing friends from high school before they all move on to the real world. Some have already started their first full-time job, that isn't an internship/co-op. It's a bit weird being in a 5-year degree when a lot of people are in 4-year degrees. Hopefully I'll be able to keep in touch with the people I've been friends with for years now, as we all go off in whatever direction we get blown in. Summer's also been good for spending a of time outside. We don't have much in the way of a yard or what have you, but I've ran/walked 7 miles so far this week and am aiming for ten. Getting closer and closer to my goal of being able to run a 5k by mid-August.
How about you? Is Summer treating you well physically, psychologically, or any other way?
This has been one of the best summers of my life. I broke up with my fiance last fall after 5 years together and had a rough 6 months after that figuring myself out as an individual and fighting depression. Started dating again in May and met the most wonderful woman! Seattle has had the best summer weather I can remember so there have been lots of late evenings and days spent outside. Besides that I've been working on fitness; running, biking, climbing, swimming. Great stuff. Party on hubski.
I joined a gym and spend much of my time in the sauna and avoiding eye contact in all the freakin mirrors, am resiliently avoiding drama at all costs, have been watching my small biotech slowly collapse under the weight of it's dreams, reading Infinite Jest, and am taking a trip next month to Belize. Considering it's not an official summer like I am used to, it's shaping up to be pretty dang good.
But mirrors are your friends at the gym! Instead of avoiding eye contact, try winking. You might get beat up sometimes, but you will have good stories and your form will probably improve once you begin to instinctively watch how your muscles move. Sorry to hear about your company though. Side note: I know a guy who moved to Belize for work, but had to return home because he was swimming and a submarine surfaced underneath him and he broke both his legs. Now, I did not get this straight from him, but that is what is said to have happened by our mutual friends and I do know that he is no longer in Belize. I guess I'm saying, "if you go swimming in Belize, look out for submarines."
Ugh, the mirrors are a total love/hate curse. I love people watching to death and am usually very good at concealing my talents, but all the bros are just staring at their muscles (granted, working out is pretty vain and I'm going to do it to once there's something to look at) and it's almost unavoidable if you're not intently staring at yourself. The only muscles I want to flex in that regard are my "getting the fuck out of this situation" muscles. I've gotten quite good as the razor you walk on when you look "pick on"-able is either
1) you can be a punching bag to others and they know you can probably do nothing about it
2) you are not a threat in any way so therefore do not merit consideration I always steer things towards 2. Biotechs are notoriously short-lived. I'm actually surprised it's kept afloat this long. It's like watching a reverse phoenix. I am already terrified of the natural food chain of the ocean cause we're just soft pink snacks floating in the sea, so now throw Cold War technology in and I am absolutely not going in any water can't stand up in.
Is there no other gym you could go to? It sucks working out in a shitty gym. In a good gym, there will be people looking out for others who might have terrible form and picking on others will generally not be tolerated. Everyone has to start somewhere and looking at your body while lifting weights to get a better understanding of how things should move when exercises are done correctly is key to progress. As for the food chain thing . . . ha! Speak for yourself. We might all be red and shitty on the inside but I am coal and gold on the outside. Just remember that we as animals have very few natural predators because we are exceptionally fantastic at our ability to kill other things, though of course not with our bare hands. There are plenty of things for the predators of the oceans to eat and we are generally not among those things. But yes, there is little we can do singularly against the war machines our nations use to keep each other in check.
Oh no no no, it's all just awkward eye contact, I was just referring to being picked on in the past or any situation that could end up in physical conflict.
Oh I see. I misunderstood. I have to say though, I've seen a few fights between dudes that look like bruisers and dudes that look like they couldn't punch a punch card and small, wiry guys have tended to be scrappier than one might expect. Anyway, physical conflict is no good but even that seems to me to be more of a mental thing than anything else.
That's a bit concerning, Biotech is the industry I really want to get into after I graduate next year D: It's kind of nice once you're a regular at the gym and recognize other people and they recognize you. The whole "head nod" thing of familiarity. That's when you know you're in.Biotechs are notoriously short-lived. I'm actually surprised it's kept afloat this long. It's like watching a reverse phoenix.
It's a funny industry, there's a lot of things you can do, longevity and salary comes with higher education, but the more specialized you get, the smaller your choice of jobs/locations gets. I'm rocking a bachelor's in SF bay area, so there's plenty of options around and I'm not worried about employment, but I compete with people from ivy league backgrounds, so jobs in academic labs are harder to get, as they prefer to hire alumni. At this level though, experience is king, so make sure you're putting in hours at a lab if you aren't getting a master's or PhD. If you are, I'm probably preaching to the choir, but make sure whatever it is you are doing you really, really like doing it, cause you'll do it every day.
I'm coming at it from an interesting angle, since I'm a Chemical Engineering student and all my bio experience is from electives. I'm interested in process optimization and/or scale-up and/or really anything else I can get my hands on. Starting to inquire with various professors about working in their labs this upcoming year. As for experience, I already have completed 3 co-ops with 3 different companies. However, none of them have been in a Biotech field.
Yeah, totally different angle, I'm on the pure research end and it's sounds like you're more about engineering/systems management.
Just passed the 30 day mark at my first "big boy" job after graduating college. Pay is good, plus I get a 2013 Ford Fusion, iPhone, Laptop, and personal use of the car. Obviously, I would love an extra $5000/yr, but I'm 22 and I've been given a great shot to prove I can handle the responsibilities of overseeing construction jobs in 9 states. I get to travel often with a large per diem. I can keep the 100,000+ Southwest Airlines points I will rack up this year and all the hotel and rental car points as well. I'm only making $40k/yr right now, but the bonus is likely to be close to $7k. Despite the lower salary, I have an actual career path and not just a stepping stone towards large increases in salary. My coworkers are all incredibly nice and welcoming. Coming out of college with a LAS degree and a 4 summers of plumbing ended up benefiting me more than I ever thought possible. All of this is coming after graduating with no real job prospects. Work is work, but if I get everything done by 3:30 then I'm free to go. My best friend just got engaged and he chose me as his best man. Plus, he is finally going to be around more often. I have been working out often while maintaining all my relationships so I have an incredibly positive mentality at all times. I have been told that my attitude has been keeping people from getting down on themselves despite mild hardships. Everyone said leaving a Big Ten party school and working full-time would be terrible, but I finally have some money and a good routine to stay healthy and help out people around me. I am reading more. I am getting asked to do more things by people who I have only met recently. My summer has made a massive turnaround from being a fresh graduate and I could not be happier.
- So I had to cancel our July 4 vacation because I had to work except I didn't have to work I was just going to kick myself for turning down $2 a minute - And the motorcycle is long overdue for some maintenance which involves some serious surgery, $400 worth of tools I needed to buy and replacement parts ordered from f'ing Dresden but I dusted the fuck out of an F430 Scuderia the other night and it remains the most awesome motorcycle in LA excluding Tom Cruise's Vyrus 987 - My daughter is hitting the terrible twos early and is being quite defiant and assertive but is now starting to form sentences and can parse if/then statements and is halfway to potty-trained - Childcare is kind of a bear right now because I work a variable schedule and my wife has 4 babies to deliver in the next few weeks but we've got friends and resources and ingenuity and I was actually able to take her to swimming lessons last weekend - Attempting to sell a novel is a total pain in the ass but literary agents are orders of magnitude more polite than movie agents and I'm getting far more traction than I deserve - Am scheduled to begin a gig that will suck down 60 hours a week plus a 45-mile commute at full union pop with pension and benefits that will likely let me bank enough money in a year to let me and my wife coast for 2 years while she re-establishes her practice in Seattle, book sales be damned So my instinct is to try and see the glass as half empty, but it's mostly runneth over.
Imagine how much fun it will be once your daughter can fully form sentences! I'm imagining the politeness hierarchy is something like this: Literary Agents > Music Booking Agents > Movie Agents > Airline Ticket Agents. You ever see Cruise riding around?
I've had the nastiest interactions by far with music agents, although a friend of mine is one. Back in the '90s the Legendary Pink Dots posted on Usenet that they were looking for clubs to play and that if anyone had any leads, they should contact the LPD's agent. I worked at a club that the LPD totally should have played, so I called their agent up. I got "who is this? Why are you calling me? You're not the guy I talk to! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" and hung up on. The agent then dialed the club owner, chewed him out, and blackballed our club from all his acts. I nearly lost my job, despite the Usenet posting as a smoking gun (where the hell would I get the specific number for a specific agent at William Morris after all?). 15 years later that entire faction of bands still doesn't play that faction of clubs. Who the fuck holds a pointless grudge like that? My understanding is that Tom Cruise has a lot of motorcycles. I'll say this: I haven't seen a Vyrus riding around. I'll also say that if I had $20k I still wouldn't spend it on this but if it were, like, eight? Hoo boy.
Huh, that's interesting. A just a bit ridiculous that those bands still don't play those clubs. I've been involved with putting together shows every so often for about three years now and have had maybe one experience that I would consider negative. Outside of that everybody has been nice, or at the least tersely polite. But I'm guessing it's two different scenes and scales that we're operating at.
Is this a motorcycle he rides in movies? I looked it up, it's distinctive, but I'm wondering how the hell I know what motorcycle Tom Cruise owns.- And the motorcycle is long overdue for some maintenance which involves some serious surgery, $400 worth of tools I needed to buy and replacement parts ordered from f'ing Dresden but I dusted the fuck out of an F430 Scuderia the other night and it remains the most awesome motorcycle in LA excluding Tom Cruise's Vyrus 987
Vyrus, as a company, is five guys who made racing parts until Bimota wanted someone else to make the Tesi 3D. They're about as bespoke as you can get. Vyrus is kind of the 2-wheeled equivalent of Duesenberg - they're just not something you see every day. Considering how few bikes they make, they kind of make a scene.
Jesus Christ, I want a motorcycle. And a leather jacket. And black boots. Where does one start? I'm keeping this question purposefully vague because I feel like you'd know where to start answering. Assume my interest is more than that of a passing dilettante.
Start with a course. I can't recall where you are, but in the US, the MSF does weekend courses that allow you to test for your motorcycle endorsement. They're often underwritten by state DMVs. You pay $150, show up with a helmet, gloves and boots and spend the weekend on little 125s in a parking lot.
Ooooh, what book are you writing? Also, is this your first kid? It's weird being in a position that I've grown up enough and seen how my parents have raised my siblings and I to be able to define what I think is "good and bad parenting." But I'm not acting on that information because...I don't want a kid right now, yo. But I do keep it in mind and write semi-letters to my potential future kid who will totally be named Ramses if it's a boy. Stuff like "I am 18 and an asshole. I will forget this 10 years from now. Don't let me." Or things like that. And then first-time parents bring their kids over and I'm left babysitting and I see them do shit that I can only respond to with "are you fuckin kidding me tho, why are you letting him/her do this?" I've become super appreciative of how my parents raised me, so I hope I don't forget that when I do(?) end up having my own. First kids are experiments, though. Middle child for life, it's actually a huge perk if you use it properly. I'm ranting now.
Nothing wrong with ranting! I have an n of one but I've come to the opinion that people who consider parenting before they become parents are better prepared to parent than those who don't. I know that there's this global illuminati that maintains that parenting is a life-changing unexpected hellstorm of shattered expectations and vivid insights but I gotta say - her growth and development has been a reassuringly predictable process. And I definitely believe both you and the kid stand to benefit greatly if you're in the zone to want them. My wife had to spend a couple years talking me into it (long story) but the kid's pretty neat. Book is done. Is through 1st draft. Is a paranormal romance spy thriller about God. Take that.
Mission motha'fuckin accomplished. My sister and I have had time to catch up on anime and movies we haven't been able to watch and making videos together, I've been able to catch up on books I haven't been able to read and games I haven't been able to play, and I've had plenty of time for Hubskina which is leaving me creatively satisfied, which is cool. Also I lost a ton of weight and am getting absolutely jacked. It is ridiculous and weird. I used to be the kid that scorned all the dudes that got muscly in the gym because I was an idiot and socially awkward and didn't realize that physically fit ≠being an asshole, when all this time I naturally get huge after a few consecutive weeks of lifting weights. It's like finding out your secret passive ability is way better than you thought it would be. So there's that.Not to mention I'm finally comfortable being single again.
Holy shit. What is that gif from because I love it already. Yo! I watched that video of you and your sis playing Smash Bros earlier. Seems like a really good relationship the two of you have going. Being physically fit is a great feeling. I don't know about you, but getting a good workout in when I'm stressed out feels amazing. Only some people are assholes at the gym, but from my experience it's the people that treat it way too seriously. Same as anything else. Congrats on getting jacked!
That is from Beyond the Boundary and I'm still trying to figure how I feel about it overall. Yeah people who are at the gym just want to do their workout and get the fuck out of there for the most part. That made me less self conscious about going...That and the fact that I went at 1:00 AM meaning no one was there anyways, haha.
Your Northern hemisphere bias is showing :-)
Winter's been wet, dreary, and pretty damn chilly, for the most part - thanks for asking
I have no idea what you're talking about. But really, sorry about that! It slipped my mind that it's winter in the southern hemisphere. How chilly is "damn chilly"?
I've gone soft, living here. Oklahoma winters are long and frigid, by almost any standard - but Auckland winters are just about unbearable, if you ever have to scrape frost off your windscreen in the morning. Which almost happened to me twice this week.
Relativity is everything.
Physically: I started running again. It's a been a while but I plan to run 2 miles every day and then a long run on the weekends. My first long run will be this weekend and I'd like to shoot for 5 miles. Psychologically: I'm a bit of a mess here. I'm struggling with where I'm at in life. I suppose I thought I'd be more independently successful by now. Also, it's difficult for me to be away from Michigan. I miss my family/friends. My grandparents are all aging and it's hard for me to know that my kids may not know them that well. I've been down. But it's funny how the physical effects the psychological, isn't it! Starting to feel better already. I'm enjoying being a dad this summer. I spent an hour today playing "dolls" with my daughter. I was given her "batman" doll and she said, "be his voice." She then got out her "Princess Anna doll" and said, "I'm Anna" and then proceeded to tell me how they were in love and were going to get married. She told me Anna is a funny and smart and an architect :-) I just finished watching the #movieclub pick and thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the discussion. I plan on seeing a bunch of music this summer and I look forward to swimming, going to the ocean and spending some time in the mountains too. All is good and getting better...
Nice, I hurt my ankle 3 times in a year (2/3 just walking), so I've taken to gym ratting instead. It's a different world, but I enjoy both. :)Physically: I started running again. It's a been a while but I plan to run 2 miles every day and then a long run on the weekends. My first long run will be this weekend and I'd like to shoot for 5 miles.
That's awesome, welcome back to the running game! Two miles a day is good, do you run with people or by yourself when you go out? I can't speak for your kids, but I lost all my grandparents by the age of 17 and you know, it's a bit of a bummer but there are always enough stories, pictures, and trinkets to paint the picture. It's not a replacement but it could always be worse. I saw you post that picture earlier! It is BEYOND adorable. I mostly ignore child related photos but that one was too good. An architect, eh? Seems like Batman's type. Seeing anybody good in concert? Ocean sounds wonderful. I miss the easy ocean access of eastern MA. Keep on keeping on tng.
It's not ideal, he tugs on the leash etc. Therefore, I'm taking him on the weekly short runs, which I expect will eventually extend to 3 miles, but I'm going to keep the long weekend runs for just myself.Keep on keeping on tng.
-Always. do you run with people or by yourself when you go out?
-Ever since our dog Hemingway died, our other dog Harrison has been depressed and he will not go outside. It's fucked up. The other night he peed on a rug in our home. I tried to shampoo it out, with a carpet cleaner and it still stinks. I have to get rid of the carpet. I need to get this dog happy and so I've started taking him running with me.
No summer classes below a 3.5 Metric shit-ton of Mi craft beer EVERYWHERE Oodles of kayaking Got my first ukulele and learned to crush that thing within the first week Met an awesome young woman And more and better sex in the past 4 weeks than the year before it. (Mostly ended a long and painful depression spiral with meditation, exercise and clean eating) I like 2014.
Well I've started a new job in past few weeks, it's nice being employed again and the job itself is okay. The pay is a bit meh though. I started couch to 5K a few months ago and on Monday managed to run for 25 minutes straight which was great. I'm getting used to being single again (since May), I was with my ex for nearly 2.5 years, she was my first girlfriend and it feels incredibly strange to not be with her. It does feel very lonely at times. I feel like I need to do something nice this summer but I haven't really got anything planned. There's a festival that I might want to go to at the end of August but it's really expensive, I don't know if I can justify the money but I'm not really doing anything else so I feel bad.
Couch to 5k is a great program for getting into shape. Which festival are you looking at going to?
It definitely is. It's called End of the Road.
Finally have time to do all the computer / network things I've wanted to learn and use. In a few weeks, I will have finished... (a) building a beefy new server, (b) setting that server up with docker, (c) writing a website for coordinating house activities, (d) cleaned up the god-awful hard lines to carry that server's services, (e) set up a mesh to share services with neighboring houses. Fun stuff, busy times...
It's good to hear you're good with being single, I'm totally in the same boat as you. (: I went to Pitchfork on Saturday and touched St Vincent, so by that alone, this summer is pretty frickin' great Look, you can even see me at 27:00ish here bobbing my head in the headband like the dork I am, yo Other than that, it's better than I thought it'd be. Summers usually 'fail' me, but I think after hitting rock bottom last summer, everything's finally coming up--I picked up two jobs after nearly 19 years of being a loaf and I'm actually feeling like I have friends and I'm being social enough. And I finally picked up a new guitar after noodling on this $10 one I picked up at a garage sale for the past year. Not exactly awe inspiring, but I'm happy with where it is and where it's going.
Stop it. I love St. Vincent, never seen her live though. It looks like her set has got even crazier with her new album. Another Hubski-er, T-Dog, was at Pitchfork too! Another musician here? You should share some music sometime!
My summer is going well. The monsoons have started up in Tucson giving us a break from the 10 months of heat out of the year, not to mention all the greenery we're getting. Physically: I'm getting up to my previous power lifting numbers before I injured my hip doing Smolov's routine. I could not be happier about that, its so damn satisfying everyday in the gym again. Also I've started biking to work since I recently moved closer so that's a nice bit of cardio during the week. Psychologically: I've come out of a year long slump. During that year I was hopping between jobs that I wasn't satisfied in, my girlfriend and I split apart, hurt my hip, just generally poopy. However I'm finally with a company making a middle class salary that I'm also happy at (its great not dreading going to work each day), my girlfriend and I recently got back together, living in a beautiful home, my hip is healed (can you tell I really like the gym yet), and things are definitely looking up again. Things are coming together again, so yeah, my summer is going quite well.
It's going like this... I landed some better ones prior, but settled for the first take, no need to make my friend film all day. It's not that hard of a trick, but I just got this magic skimboard... carbonfibermmmmmmm... Summer is what I live for, hate that it's already waning. :(
Physically, good. I tore a ligament in my right hamstring, which resulted in a lot of scar tissue in my leg and a host of other side effects. This was about a year and half ago, during which I hardly exercised at all. This summer i finally figured out I just needed to work through the scar tissue. So I've been stretching, biking, and running, and it's helped a lot. My leg feels better and I'm in much better shape. I'm up to running a 5k and I've been biking up to 12 miles, which usually includes some nasty hills. Psychologically, I'm improving a lot. This spring I finally got around to treating my depression and anxiety problems. This includes talking to people and going on some meds. I think I've made an overall improvement, but there's still plenty of improvement to be made. I do feel lonely a lot, so I'm working on improving my dating skills, with the hope of landing a relationship in the near future! Besides that, it's been a pretty ordinary summer, Mostly working, goofing off, hanging out with friends, and going to shows. I'm preparing to move to Albany in a few weeks, which is another big milestone.
I can relate a lot with the depression, anxiety and feeling lonely. Have you tried OkCupid for dating? I've found it's pretty good for meeting people. Good luck with the move too! It can be pretty overwhelming and stressful but can work out great.
OkCupid is actually where I've found all of my dates so far this year! Nothing has stuck beyond 2 or 3 dates but I feel a lot more comfortable and confident about the whole process. Like I said I'm moving in a few weeks so I've taken a break for awhile here since there's no point in trying to start something at this point. My area doesn't seem to have a great ratio of guys to girls on OkCupid, but maybe it's like that everywhere? I've gotten probably 10 dates but I feel like I could get more if I lived in a better area. Hopefully Albany will be more fruitful, I'll likely take a look on OkCupid once I get settled in.
I've been interning for the same company that I co-oped for in the fall and I'll be applying for a full time job here. I don't really like the location, but the leadership program only lasts two years, and then I can head wherever. Still debating whether I actually want the job. It's been a bit stressful this summer, but I've been alright. About 3-4 weeks ago the "cinderella" period where you're simply happy to meet new people and be in a new place grew stale and it's getting depressing. Otherwise, things are going great. The work is engaging and fun here. I can't wait to get back to college though, I miss the campus and a lot of my friends there...plus it's my last year and I want to make the most of it.
A few months ago I got very sick (and didn't have money to buy any food), and that combined with my financial aid falling through led to me having to move back home for the summer. The plan was to go back to Chicago this fall, but my experience with the financial aid office was so terrible (it's the only place I've ever yelled at an employee), and my situation so peculiar, that I've actually decided to take a year off, work, and save. My plan is to go back to a University in Virginia that I went to a special Communications program at a few years ago (GMU) and go there full time. Psychologically? Stressed. Moving back home wasn't what I wanted to do, and I just yesterday started a temp job at a factory (moving furniture), which was never on my list of things to do. I didn't want to move back home anyway, just because I can't stand the small town and all the memories that are around here. A few weeks ago a friend asked me how to talk to someone who'd told them they were thinking about suicide. That taxed me quite a bit as well. I found it odd that he asked me since he was one of the people talking me out of it a few years ago. He and I've had a weird relationship the past few years punctuated by some very awkward conversations and two trips of about 250 miles, which I never really imagined happening. I've been writing a lot more lately, focusing on my screenplays rather than my research work. So, not that great.