From Kristiane. Here are the rules: 1) Link back to the person who tagged you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post by posting links to their blog sites. 5) Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their site. 6) And let your tagger know when your entry is up.
1) I’m starting to get a gut. Granted, a “gut” for me isn’t much of a gut, but I could grab, pinch and pull off a good chunk of stuff…I couldn’t do this just a few months ago. I plan on starting a workout of some ab crunches. Considering it’s taken me almost a month to do this post after getting “tagged”…we’ll see when I get around to chiseling my abs.
2) I haven’t folded my laundry the past three times I’ve done it. Now, I used to fold my laundry while the clothes were still warm from the dryer every time.
But some time ago, I was pretty busy…but I had to do laundry. So I did it real quick and left the laundered clothes piled in the middle of my room, planning to fold them when I had time the next day. Well, I found that aside from certain “must-hang” clothes, the majority of my clothes didn’t really need folding. What’s the point of folding socks and underwear? Who cares if you have wrinkly boxers and undershirts? I sure don’t. So after hanging up what needed hanging, I picked out most of my clothes for the day off the ground for a week, until the pile got down to a smaller size.
And seeing as I rarely have people over (I rent a room out of someone’s house), I’m really the only person who sees my room. So the pile of clothes isn’t really a big issue. But I would still begrudgingly fold my laundry and wouldn’t go the “pile route” two times in a row…until the past couple months. I let it slide. Three times in a row. I don’t think it’s a habit yet.
3) Rock climbing is slowly taking over my life. I needed a Physical Education credit this past semester before transferring out. After strongly considering a Badminton class, I saw that my school offered Rock Climbing. With flashes of Cliffhanger, Vertical Limit and the opening scene to Mission Impossible 2 swimming around my head, I signed right up.
After the first day, EVERYTHING was aching from my shoulders to my toes. My handwriting was messed up for a couple days because my forearms were so sore. But after that, I slowly started getting stronger and less sore. I was able to climb routes that just a week or two earlier, I was pretty pathetically falling off of repeatedly.
I soon bought my own harness, chalk, caribiners, and climbing shoes — and I’m renewing my climbing gym membership this month. I have some hardcore callouses on my hands too 🙂
4) I want a motorcycle. I know, I know, they’re death traps and I could die any second when I’m on one. I still want a motorcycle. I’ve been wanting to get one for a while. And yes, it’s probably a phase that I’ll get over in a couple years, but hey, what’s the point of growing up if you don’t give into “phases” sometimes? Aren’t they what define our maturation?
Like many people, the bicycle was my preferred mode of transportation as a kid. It got me everywhere I needed to go in my busy childhood life. A motorcycle is nothing more than that bicycle, except it will take me everywhere I need to go in my busy adult life. It’s just another case of the refusal to grow up that fuels many of our decisions. (Oh man…I hope I don’t hit a mid-life crisis in the future.)
I really don’t understand why people think it’s perfectly cute and fine if I say I want to get a Vespa — which are smaller, less stable, and less visable — but get all worked up about how I’m committing suicide when I tell them I want a motorcycle.
5) My car is a piece of crap. It’s a 2000 Toyota Corolla, so it’s not that old I suppose. But boy, it hasn’t aged well at all. It’s used, and the previous owner certainly did not consider it a prized possession. The engine died on me on the freeway a few months back, so I had to spend a pretty penny basically putting a new engine in.
I have to check and top off the engine oil every week between oil changes just to keep things running smoothly. It makes all kinds of weird noises, does this vibrate/lurching thing at stop lights, and, on certain occasions, I think it farts through the air conditioning. Yes, it emits the silent-but-deadly types. I could be driving along on a hot summer day with the A/C cranking and suddenly, mild but unpleasant smells come wafting in along with the cool air. I’m pretty sure it’s not too harmful to my health. I use window A/C much more anyway.
But despite its quirks and embarrassing flatulence, it gets me from point A to point B. It also has a wicked turning radius that is awesome in parking lots and city streets.
6) I found out this weekend that I got a ‘D’ in one of my classes this past semester (Political Science 180). What the hell am I supposed to do with a D? This could actually jeopardize my plans to transfer out this fall. I quickly did the math and out of the 4 exams that make up our grade for the class, I did well enough on the first 3 to be sitting at a solid B/B+ going into the fourth and final exam. I needed to score a mere 65 to maintain my B.
But seeing as I got all A’s and one B in my other classes, I couldn’t care less if I dropped down to a C for this one. Okay, so what did I need to get a C? I needed to get a whoppin’ score of 25. A freakin’ 25 out of a possible 100. You’re telling me that a final exam that I hand-wrote 8 pages worth of answers for got me a score that was less than 25?!
I can only think of two things that happened:
- The prof. misplaced my exam on the wrong pile or something, figured I didn’t show up, and gave me a 0 for the final.
- The prof. just didn’t like me and graded my final extremely hard to make me fail his class. This one actually seems somewhat plausible because I probably missed about 1/3 of the classes and was late for a good chunk of the others. (It’s a morning class…and political science is kind of boring to me.) But c’mon, I studied the reading material and took notes every class I attended. That’s why I was sitting at a ‘B’ in the first place! Okay, so my final wasn’t up to the standards of the previous exams I took. But was it 60+ points worse? I highly doubt it.
These are the only two possible scenarios in my mind. I’m going to be, at the least, very annoyed no matter which one it is. If it’s the first one, it’s fine. He grades my exam then amends my grade for the class. No biggie. We all make mistakes. But if it’s the second one…I’m taking this all the way to the Dean if I have to. You can’t just change how you grade exams on the final exam of the semester!
Dammit, I really don’t need this right now. And the guy hasn’t returned my email and he didn’t give the class any other way to contact him. He’s a part-timer so he doesn’t even have an office! Oh man…if this guy went on vacation already…
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So I guess you can see which of the 6 things is occupying my mind the most right now.
As for the tagging? See the rules? That part is crossed off. I have a love/hate thing with this tag-post business in blogging. I like when I get tagged by someone (I feel like I have friends in the blogosphere), but I’m horrible at actually getting around to doing whatever I’m tagged to do.
Songs of the Day:
Jamie Cullum – “Twentysomething”
Jason Mraz – “Geek in the Pink”
Radiohead – “Climbing Up the Walls”
Oh No! Oh My! – “The Bike, Sir.”
Fountains of Wayne – “Survival Car”
Chuck Berry – “School Day”
Don’t ride a motorcycle. Please Please please!
And then, please go have your grade fixed. it is obvious that you are diligent and deserve better.
The prof. emailed back. He apparently got my test mixed up with another class (same course, different time). It turns out I actually got a B.
My relief overwhelmed any feeling of annoyance.
I’m sorry…but I do still want a motorcycle. C’mon…I know plenty of people who had motorcycles and are still alive as can be today! I actually don’t personally know anyone who has been seriously injured. I’m sure I’ll only have it for a few years and be done with it.
It’s like I’m asking permission…I need someone to give me the okay on it, haha…
It’s okay, you have my permission.
I’m saving up for a Vespa.
*phew* Thank god the Professor just turned out to be a Dolt and not a Dick. I’d have had your back either way though.
As for the motorcycle…meh. Do what you want. Just don’t get dead.
Hey, I need some good Summer Driving Music…something upbeat and peppy and catchy and sing-alongy. Any recommendations??
Dude. Don’t get a motorcycle.
Mind you, I’m biased because two of my family members have been in pretty bad accidents on their motorcycles. They’re OK, thank goodness, but I’ve been weary of motorcycles ever since.
If you think the prof. is fishy, file a complaint to the Dean. You have planned to transfer anyway; it’s good to give it a try.
Dan: A vespa actually doesn’t sound too bad. I might have to consider one for zipping around school. It might be better than a bigger motorcycle and a tiring bicycle.
essaytch: Thanks for having my back, homes.
It’s funny you ask for summer driving music because I just came across a mixtape made specifically for driving in the summer: The Blah Blah – “Summer Mix 2”.
I only know 3 or 4 of the artists on there, but ’tis very good…and great for driving. But you have to download every song one by one and they’re not in the order of the mixtape…but I think he’s working on that, so you might want to wait. I mean, it’s EXACTLY what you’re looking for! Oh, the blog seems to focus on indie/underground music, but specifically those with sort of a “Christian” twist to it, so if that bothers you, beware! But if it doesn’t, it’s good stuff.
I’m also getting ready to post my “Bomb Diggity Jams – Vol. 2” (summer edition)! Wooooo! So look out for that one.
Sally: I’d be SUPER careful though!
You know, I might have to settle for just a regular old bicycle anyway. I’m planning to go to school up in a very left-wing area (they tried to kick the Marines’ recruiting office out of their city), and while I don’t really have a problem with that, I hear some liberal environmentalists actually slash your tires and stuff for using gasoline. Crazy hippies!
leafless: I’m sure it was a genuine mistake. He’s an all right guy overall…has this very dry, extremely sarcastic sense of humor that I found pretty funny.
My panic lead me to jump to conclusions….but really, neither of those should ever happen and I figured the chances of a prof. losing an exam were much lower than him just being a jerk. Luckily(?), I was wrong.
Berkeley is super easy to walk around in and there are a ton of buses and you’ll have friends with cars and CalTrain/BART can take you a lot of places around the Bay Area pretty cheaply!
I whole-heartedly recommend a bike, not just because motorcycles aren’t necessary at Cal, but also ’cause of the convenience factor. Stuff gets stolen pretty easily (and slashed haha) so you’ll have to rent out garage space to store a motorcycle safely or something blech like that.
So cool, I first heard Oh no! Oh my! last summer when I found “Walk in a Park” on some music blog..in the past month I’ve come across two of their songs after not seeing them for a long time. My collection grows!!!
Shhhh…that’s my primary reason you’re dismantling there!
Oh No! Oh My! make perfectly adorable music. Yes, it can get tiresome, but I think we all need a healthy dose of adorableness in our music collection 🙂
“…specifically those with sort of a “Christian” twist to it, so if that bothers you, beware!”
Dude, you crack me up…I was a Worship Leader for 10 years. The “Christian twist” doesn’t phase me…
🙂
Rock climbing? That’s awesome. I wish I could get into that but I have a weird fear of hieghts and it’s not the looking down part. It’s the looking up. I get vertigo when I see sky contrasted with whatever I am up against. Strange.
I too want a motorcycle. But I know the end result of that.
Oh I have a fear of heights too, but it’s the normal, looking down one.
That’s why I strictly climb indoors at the gym, where the floors are nice and padded and you get to stack big, square pads all around you before climbing.
I plan on eventually working my way outdoors though…that’ll be a scary day.
essaytch: Wow…10 years is a long time. I did read that you were “cool with Jesus” in that 100 things list you have on your blog (which, if I remember correctly, I read in its entirety). But I was juuust makin’ sure
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So I just went back and checked that list. That praise team of yours recorded a CD?! Care to upload that on your blog any time soon??
Aaaah, the CD. That might be a little embarrassing: “Hey everybody, listen to me singing!!!” Not sure about uploading the whole thing, Michael…but maaaybe a song or two. It is one of those things that I cringe when I listen to it now. I actually have a live recording that I think is MUCH better than our studio recording. Speaking of which, I wonder where I put that…..
You can send the songs to me and I’ll upload it as a “Song(s) of the Day”!
No excuses now…I’m sure you’ll remember where you put it…
Oh sweet lord….I found them, Michael! They are cheesier and more embarrassing than I remembered! *sigh* I’ll see if I can email you a few. 🙂
Michael, that’s awesome you’re into rock climbing! It’s my most adored past time and I spend FAR too much time doing it. I knew rock climbing was taking over my life when I started cutting off all my fingernails because they got in my way and started nurturing all my calluses. I’d get so upset when I’d lose one! I’d have to say though, I’m pretty much fearless inside but I got a major case of The Fear when I climbed outside for the first time. It is not at ALL the same and very scary. But you can get over it pretty quickly and it’s completley worth it. Nothing like climbing on real rock!