travel required

So my company recently opened up some new positions for 2011. I won't go into too much detail about them, though. Speaking of that — I don't know if you noticed, but I don't like to talk about work-specifics on my blog. Those of you who know where I work might understand why, but honestly it really wouldn't be that big of a deal. Still, I'd rather be safe, than sorry. Anyways, back to the position. It's interesting and a completely different position than software engineering. The catch? Well there's two actually: one, I'm not quite qualified (d'oh), and two, it requires the ability to travel up to 50% of the time.

The reason I'm not quite "qualified" is that the lowest engineering position they opened up is still higher than my current position, which I just got promoted to last year. By their standards, I probably don't have adequate experience. And as for the travel thing... I'm undecided honestly. The position will include some great experience for me, so having to travel frequently would simply be a trade-off for that. Also, there is probably no better time in my life to have this kind of position than now. As you get older, the ability to travel as part of your job becomes harder. That isn't to say it wouldn't be hard now, since I'm in a relationship, have a dog, etc. It would be easier now than later, though.

Whoa, whoa. I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm going to apply, but the likelihood of landing this job is pretty low because of the aforementioned experience qualifications, and that there are only a handful of positions opening up (and we have a lot of engineers in our company).

I won't be disappointed if I don't get the job, but I might be disappointed giving up a potentially good opportunity without even trying.

winding down 2010

We're starting our final descent of 2010, and we should be landing in 2011 shortly. Please put your seats and tray tables in their upright and locked positions.

I got a B+ in my class. 87 on the midterm and the final, and a 92 average for our projects gave me an 88.6 in the class. I guess curving is out of the question, huh? I thought graduate classes only gave A's.

I have a pretty hefty break for Christmas thanks to my work's holiday schedule. I get off December 24 through January 3. My first day back at work is January 4. As you would expect, my brain has shut down — a week too early, I might add. Everyday at work this week has felt like a Friday for various reasons (meetings, holiday luncheon, etc). Finally, it is Friday and it has been slow as hell. It's only 11 AM! We also have a holiday potluck today, so I've been grazing on food all morning which really compounds my work ethic issues.

P90 is still ongoing; I am about to enter week 5. Time is starting to go by quick, huh? I was hoping that by around now, P90X would seem like less of a chore. Unfortunately, I still don't really want to start working out. A couple of times I have skipped a day, but made up for it by making that skip day my recovery day for the week. That way I've still stayed on schedule. I still need to be eating more. It's a constant battle.

Since I've moved sharing links to the left bar, I've had less blog updates. Plus I haven't been updating as often. I might start sharing links in blog entries, too. That way I'll have more updates for you guys, plus I can add my witty commentaries as well. I'm sure you guys don't really care either way, though.

xmas break around the corner

Okay, so it's a pretty big corner, since we still have 2 weeks.

What's happened lately? Not a whole helluva lot, honestly. I finished my class in Software Systems Engineering. We took our final on Tuesday, and I felt I did well. It feels like an A performance, but with the way the professor grades (i.e. bullshit), I wouldn't be surprised or that disappointed with a high B. Mid B or lower will be a disappointment, though. I'll find out this coming week.

P90X is still ongoing. I had a lapse day yesterday, skipping Kenpo X. I thought I was catching a cold and felt kind of gross, so I didn't try to push myself. It turns out it was just a random allergy outbreak out of nowhere (I barely even went outside!). I'm feeling better today, and started my recovery week on schedule. I am now on the last week of phase 1, week 4. My weight gain has plateaued. I need to eat more. A lot more.

Unfortunately there's nothing more for me to really add. I'm listening to the Tron Legacy soundtrack as I write this, and it's good. Nothing groundbreaking, but it was composed by Daft Punk and they did a good job of mixing electronic and orchestral. Taylor and I are going to 10:30PM IMAX 3D showing of Tron Legacy on Friday. I don't really know why I'm excited about it, but I don't have that much reason not to be excited about it, I suppose. Nothing wrong with getting excited about things, right?

I haven't even had all that much going on in my links section, either. Nothing seems very interesting in the news and on the internet these days. Oh, there's that whole Wikileaks thing. I won't be talking about that, though.

p90x - 2 weeks down

I am now done with the first 16 days of P90X. So far, so good.

I've gained approximately 4 pounds, and obviously that is attributed to my focus on [slightly] better diet and more calories via added protein shakes and meals/snacks.

I had a couple of "weak" days this past week, where I had to stop about 15-20 mins early because I simply ran out of energy. With my hyperactive metabolism, I have to make sure I have enough carbs in me by workout time, otherwise I will burn through my energy and start fatiguing. It gets hard to balance, because I have to worry about making sure I have enough available energy to burn, but without eating so close to my workout that bad things happen. I think the sweet spot is a good carb meal about 2 hours before workout, and an energy bar right before or throughout my workout.

I'm able to push myself more and more in my workouts these days, because I'm learning to slowly overcome the mental blocks in your mind telling you to stop. A big key to pushing yourself in P90X is taking mini-breaks in the middle of your set. For example, if you feel like you're on your last rep for pushups, rest for a few seconds before you go down for your last rep, and you might be pleasantly surprised that you can push out an extra rep or two.

Once I'm done with this week, I will be on my "recovery" week for phase 1. The recovery week basically omits the strength training and plyometric routines, and replaces them with yoga, stretching, etc.

For this coming week and the past two, I've done the following:
Sat - Chest+Back, Ab Ripper X
Sun - Plyometrics
Mon - Shoulders+Arms, Ab Ripper X
Tues - Yoga X
Wed - Legs+Back, Ab Ripper X
Thurs - Kenpo X
Fri - Rest

Next week, starting next Saturday, I will be "recovering" with this routine:

Sat - Yoga X

Sun - Core Synergistics

Mon - Kenpo X

Tues - X Stretch

Wed - Core Synergistics

Thurs - Yoga X

Fri - Rest

I'm so close to phase 2... but still 74 days to go.

zeale + awolnation

Last night, Taylor and I went to The Parish to see AWOLNATION.

Opening act was Zeale, and as usual I was skeptical because I didn't know who he/they were. Well, that's why you never assume. It was a rapper + DJ group, and they were pretty damn good. He had a longer set than I was expecting, too, which was impressive. I'm by no means a rap expert, but he reminded me of Lupe Fiasco. His lyrics were fresh, and he touched on many subjects aside from the typical crap you hear on radio. He closed with a "freestyle" rap, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he prepared most of it. Maybe not, though, in retrospect.

After Zeale, AWOLNATION came out and dropped a couple good songs on us. Then, believe it or not, the drummer broke his bass drum head. I wouldn't have expected the drummer to have another one just lying around, and he didn't. The highlight of the show was the intermission that followed.

While the band briefly dismissed while they figured out how to address the bass drum (they later acquired a whole new bass drum from somewhere, as a solution), they later came back out but with Zeale on the mic. What followed was pure awesomeness: the band started jamming a little funk groove, and Zeale just started freestyling while we waited. It was very good, too. Unfortunately I can't describe the awesome, but I'm sure somebody was recording some of it. It's bound to be on YouTube. They just jammed for 7 or 8 minutes, with Zeale freestyling the entire time. He definitely has talent, as I would have run out of words after the second or third line.

Once they found a new bass drum, the show continued to rock. They had a lot of energy and it all sounded great. That was the most bang for the buck concert I've been to in a while; tickets were only $8 a pop. Here are some samples of Zeale, and AWOLNATION, respectively:

Zeale - Monzter Hospital


AWOLNATION - Sail

the best stovetop ever

I want this stove top! It's such an ingenious idea. How has no one thought of this, yet? Unfortunately, it's just a concept and it doesn't actually exist. But when it does...