Sorry About Being Gone

Hey all of you, I’m back again today to apologize for being gone the last week (and then some). It’s been one of those times when real life interferes with online activity – and I definitely wouldn’t be leading the good life if I spent all of my time in front of a computer. I already spend enough time there as it is as a college student. So what’s been new in my life? Well, I finally got my broken computer back, and I’ve had to spend the last several days returning it back to an approximation of its former glory. Believe me; it’s been harder than it sounds. It took about two days just to restore all of its functionality (for example, Firefox with the plug-ins and bookmarks I need, and Microsoft Office). I’m still putting the frills back on it and optimizing it for use – it’s still a little unstable, and more than a few programs installed incorrectly.

On other fronts, I’m stepping up my cardio significantly. Due to a mystery leg injury I’ve had to scale back my running, but I’ve replaced it with fairly intense swimming. I’ve been shooting for about 1000 meters a day, or 800 meters stopping every lap for 5 pushups and situps. It’s not a huge distance, but it’s enough to burn lots of calories. What’s really sweet is that for one of my jobs I am paid for at least one of these workouts (I have to be in good swimming condition to be a lifeguard). Of course these workouts are structured differently and compulsory, but they offer great chances to exercise in different ways.

School and work has also been great – in one job, I work seven hours a week and am allowed to do as I please during this period. I use this time to get ahead in my classes, so I’m thankfully ahead of the curve for once in my classes. I can also tell a substantial improvement in my happiness now that I’ve switched majors (I switched from what my parents wanted me to do to something closer to what I want to do) – backing up once again my belief that you’re happier when you’re exercising your right to self determination.

What I’m really looking forward to right now are the first few paychecks. I’ve already made a small list of things I’m hoping to purchase. Firstly I’m going to get a few carnivores plants – despite my cleaning efforts there’s been a substantial fruit fly population. So I can get rid of them and get a “pet” at the same time! Then, I’m going to get a Chinese text, so I can get on with learning another language. After that, I think I’ll splurge and get myself a watch. The time for me to get one has been long overdue!

Well, I think that’s it for today. I sincerely hope that all of your lives are going as well as mine is right now! If not though, remember this – Life is like a rollercoaster. If things go down, they have to come back up again!