A Summer of Possibilites

Awesome, my 4 month long summer break is finally here. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it. It always feels odd, not having the threat of an oncoming exam or paper breathing down your neck. Being able to sleep in, relax and goof off.

So much spare time.

Free!

Usually at the start of each month I do a recap of my progress on a list of goals I've set for myself. But let's be honest, how much progress was I going to make during finals month? But now that I have time, maybe I can get some work done.

I haven't gotten any proper exercise in weeks, I haven't practiced baking or cooking, done any book or game reviews, job hunting has gone poorly and who know what else has been neglected lately. But hopefully that can and will change in the coming weeks.

I've got a new pile of work for me now.

I've been sleeping better, so I have more time and more energy now so that means I can get back to trying to not be a scrawny twig. Oh, and that means I'm healthier or something too. Exercise is good for you, blah blah blah.

One of the things I want to do for Theresa before she heads of to China is cook her a proper meal. Usually the most I've been able to do is supplement her lunch with a simple soup or something to that nature. So it be nice to cook her something decent.

Any ideas? Some good steak recipes? I want to make a leek and potato soup, maybe a potato gratin. Thing is, I have no idea what works well together for a lunch. Sure I could just slap together random recipes together but if they compliment each other that be nice.

I don't want her eating some monstrosity like this.

The job hunt is not going well. Most research jobs are either already taken or I don't qualify for them. Same with a lot of the other jobs offered by the University. I've applied for what I can but from the looks of it the best I've got is working at FutureShop for 4 months.

And that's assuming I get an interview. I sent an application a while back, still nothing. Same with the other job I applied for. Getting a bit discouraged here because it's not like jobs are jumping at me, begging to be taken.

Very worried about this happening.

But all in all, I think I should try and relax a bit. My family has confirmed that we will be going to China again this summer. If you haven't read my first experience in China, you can see it here.

Which means that my blog posts will probably be reduced to about once every week. I won't be able to visit anyone else's blogs. Actually, there's a very good chance that I'll have no internet. I mean, I can get past the Great Firewall of China, that's no problem, but it will be a problem if I have no internet.

A nightmare come true.

But we'll see how things go. I've still got 4 months left. Let's see how things turn out.

Resolutions Update 3

I still can't believe I'm following through with this. People generally stop trying or forget by this point but here I am trudging on. I deserve a gold star, a cookie, or something.

Even though I've been kind of too busy since the last update to have made much progress.

I'm giving myself a high-five anyways...

Goal #1:

Yeah... It's not easy to do push-ups when you're sleep deprived. I would know, I've tried. I'm still stuck on week 4 of the 100 push-ups challenge. I'm finding that my wrists are getting sore and that a way to get around this is to use fists instead of open palms.

The problem with this is that now the push-ups are significantly harder and my nails are digging into my palms. I guess I can alternate between the two methods until I find something better.

Oh, and I've joined up with a site called Fitocracy. Basically, you do various exercises, you get points for doing them, achievements, and level up. It works based on an honor system as no one can really prove that you've done the exercises but lying about it only hurts yourself. I find it's a good way to keep track of what you're doing and even though all I do is sporadic push-ups, it's still something.

You can follow me if you want. Just search for DWei and we can encourage each other in our bid to become more healthy.

Could be worse I guess.

Goal #2:

The job hunt has not gone well. There is virtually nothing for Psychology students. Nothing. I have looked all over and in my city, all they want are Engineers. You know it's bad when you search for "Psychology Internship" and the top results come back as "Engineer Internships".

Right now, this is the only kind of Engineer I want to see.

I've extended my search to neighboring cities and I'm even considering the Canadian Army. Apparently, if you have a degree that matters more to them and you start off better. So I've heard. I'll give more details into this as I look into it, my courses have been eating up a lot of my time.

A fellow Psychology student suggested that I look into Speech Pathology or a similar career route. All I'd be required to do is take a few more years of courses in Linguistics. I've never even considered this but I'll certainly look into it when time permits.

Also, has anyone else been getting paid significantly less from advertising? My traffic has gone up but my earnings have dwindled. Seeing as this blog is major part of my current income I'm a bit concerned.

Oh and current debt to parents is currently $5200 Canadian.

Goal #3:

Looks like I'm just really bad for finishing things. I have a project on hiatus with my friend Jean, my hollow book is almost done however, just need to make a few more cuts and I'll post pictures of the finished thing.

I've also decided to finally get my full driving license. I've had my probational one for long enough so I can take the test but I want to get more practice first. Getting the full driver's license counts for this goal as it is something I've wanted to do for a while.

And Theresa has been hinting that I should get it so I can drive her around. So yay, more encouragement. Though I won't take the test until after finals most likely.

And let's hope this doesn't happen.

Goal #4:

This is probably my worst goal so far. I've only done one book review so far and I haven't had time to finish other books or games thanks to my workload exploding. I'll probably make up for it in the future by doing two a month or something. Same applies to Goal #3.

And now I need to run off and continue studying for a midterm. I'll see you guys on Friday. A lot of people asked questions for my last post and I'll try and answer them as soon as I have a chance to properly read them all.

Resolutions Update 2

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments and well wishes. I'm feeling somewhat better? I just need a bit of time to mope.

But it's the beginning of the month, so let's check up on how well I'm following my resolutions since last month.

Here we go...

Goal 1:

I enter the 4th week of the 100 push-up guide. I've learned a few things such as push-ups are really hard to do when you're tired. That's my excuse for the slow progress on this guide. Not going to blame my scrawny physique if possible.

Also, strange unintended side effect, the constant push-ups are slowly giving me a six-pack. I don't know if this is normal, or if I'm getting abs because I'm so thin and lack any fat but hey, I'm not complaining.

No I am not using one of these. (Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference).

Goal #2:

Well, we all know how well the Internship Program went. Meaning I'm still left hunting for a job of some sort, preferably something research or Psychology related because that's all I've done for the last 4 years. But I'll be honest, if it pays well, I'll do it.

Like I said at the beginning, one place that I really wanted a job yet currently doesn't have any positions but they're willing to keep in touch with me and answer any questions I have in the future. It's pretty nice of them, really hoping something opens up within the next few months.

Goal #3:

Instead of finishing up a certain project,  I actually ended up starting another one with my friend Jean. I'm not going to say much on it until we're done. But if this actually if this works I plan on maybe posting a video of it in action.

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with Pat Hatt's catch phrase "Enjoy your winter, smash a printer", but I will hopefully be melting through a printer with ease.

Glorious.

Goal 4:

I did a book review of Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk and I for those of you who read my review you'll know that I didn't care much for the book.

Also, that was supposed to be my January review. I'm still a bit behind on my February one so bear with me here. Depending on how closely you read things, D4 may have revealed the title of my next review.


BUT WAIT. This month I was given my first awards. A very big thank you to Vapid Vixen for The Charlie Sheen seal of Win. And then I was so very lucky to get awarded this:

Are you jealous? You should be.

Lord Phrozen describes this honor better than I can so hop on over to his blog to read the descriptions for everyone.

If you've given me an award and I haven't acknowledged it please leave a comment below. I love these things, validates my existence as a blogger.

Resolutions Update

I was actually serious when I said I was going to keep track of how well I've been following my New Year's Resolutions. An update at the beginning of the month should be enough, let's see how I've been doing.

Goal 1:

So I've been following the push-up guide and it's coming along I think. I'm a bit behind schedule because I'm kind of a weakling and some days, I just can't do the required number of push-ups.

It's been way too long since I used a picture of Byran.

Thus I've had to repeat some days until my puny body is capable. If my math is correct I am currently able to do 100 nonconsecutive push-ups. This is coming from the guy who started out barely able to do 20 so that's an improvement. It's really not that hard to commit to this, I tend to do a set after a round of Starcraft, a chapter of studying, etc. etc..

Goal 2:

I found this goal of trying to earn more money to be too vague. I'm working twice a week now at my part-time job but I don't that really counts. I'm adding on paying back my parents for my tuition. At my last count it was at $5500. I have less than $3000 in the bank. I need to find a way to pay them back and still be able to buy things for myself.

I haven't been sitting around in January however, I've been reapplying for that internship and right now, it's pending. The application is sitting in some bureaucratic nonsense and the job list opens up in two weeks. I was told I'll probably get in but that's not helping my nerves, at all.

This van is "probably" legit.

Goal 3:

This goal has been going well. In January I not only tried to make a different soup, but I also semi-successfully baked brownies. I know a lot of people have asked on my progress on the hollow book and all I can say is that I'm almost done cutting.

If you find a neat guide or recipe feel free to suggest it on the comments. I seriously look through these and consider doing the ones that are within my ability.

Goal 4:

Believe it or not, I did read a book in January, I just never got around to doing a review of it. Expect a post on it sometime in the near future.

No it was not this book but I wish it could have been.

And that's my update so far, I'm on track at the moment. Yeah, my goals may not be the most amazing "I'm going to change the world and become the next Ghandi!" types, but they're realistic, and I'm actually following them.

How are the rest of you fairing?

The Hollow Book: Part 1

One of my New Years resolutions asked that I try something new each month. So let's start with a DIY sort of project that I've been wanting to do for a long time: Make a hollow book.

I found these set of instructions online a long time ago but never had the time, effort, and motivation to actually get around to doing it. So I'm going to show you my progress (and potential failure) of my attempt to make one.

Here's the guide if any of you want to try it yourself.

So the textbook I'm using is an outdated, discarded volume of a Psychology textbook that I found lying around in the department. I made sure that it was a hardcover and that it was fairly thick (several hundred pages) because what's the point of a hollow book if you can't store anything in it?

So here's a picture of said textbook. My new phone is on top to give a sense of how big the book is:

And because I have tons of Psychology textbooks no one will look twice at this one.

After applying the first layer of glue I'm already noticing a few things that I'd do differently if I were to make a second hollow book.

Firstly, the pages are starting to warp and some aren't really sticking. At the moment I'm using a roughly 50/50 glue and water mixture. For anyone else doing this I'd recommend using 70/30 glue and water. This will probably help the pages maintain their integrity and stay together.

I also took a bit longer before applying pressure. I'd also recommend that you add the weight as soon as possible. Really compress the book as soon as you can before the glue starts to set.

Compressing the pages down with some of my other heavy Psychology textbooks.

I'll begin cutting as soon as the pages dry and make another post on this when I've made significant progress. If you guys find any other interesting projects like this give it a mention and I'll consider doing it in the future.

New Year, New Phone

I remember when I got my first phone 3 years ago. It was an LG Rumor, first generation. Even by the time I was getting it was bordering obsolete. But I didn't care, I was satisfied I'd finally be able to call and text people on a whim, due to the age of the phone I wouldn't have to pay any extra with a plan AND it had a physical keypad that slided out. Very important because I can't stand the touchscreen ones.

Fast forward a year and a half later and I'm wishing my plan would end already.

 

Even the keypad couldn't save it from its failings.

The problems were small but they continued to add up over time. First the battery had issues, the phone couldn't make up its mind on how charged it was. It would jump from full or 3 bars, to 1 bar, no bars, 2 bars, back to 3 and so on and so forth. The thing was that it loved pretending it had no energy even if I CHARGED IT THE NIGHT BEFORE. And it beeped every 5 seconds that it thought its battery was going to die.

And then the phone would suddenly shut down if you poked it every so slightly. Sometimes I would put the phone in my pocket, pull it out, and it would be dead. This resulted in a lot of missed calls and text messages. Other times I would slide the keypad out to type a text and the phone would go NOPE and shut down.

And of course the time the stupid phone almost cost me an interview.

Yes that is a phone going through a wall. Yes I wish that was my phone.

But fast forward to 2012. My plan has ended and that has allowed me to get something (hopefully) much better. I am the proud owner of a Samsung 551. It's an Android with touch screen capabilities AND a slide out keypad. Because I love being able to actually feel the keys when I press them.

 

I know it looks similar to the Rumor but I assure you it's not.

It's almost the same as the Samsung Gio except that the 551 has the keypad. So far I'm liking it. Still getting used to all the new functions and settings but I'm liking it so far. I haven't got any apps for it yet but I plan to soon.

Oh and before I forget. I have chosen my 4th resolution based on comments on my New Year's post. I'm actually combining D4's and Heddin's suggestions. So I'll be either reading a new book and/or finishing a game from my massive backlog of computer games per month.

 

And I eat too slowly so Mark's suggestion of eating flaming endangered animals becomes eating ash.

I'll see you guys Thursday.

New Years Resolutions

Alright, it's time for the generic end of year and/or next year resolution's post. But you know what? Yes, I'm going to have a list of things I want to get done by the end of next year. But I'm going to be different by actually posting updates to my progress at the beginning of each month. That way I can keep on track.

And you guys can laugh at me if I should fail due to laziness.

A big problem for a lot of people with these things is that they set vague or unrealistic goals. I know I've been pretty bad for vague goals myself. Thus, let's fix that right now.

Goal #1:

I'm a skinny guy, really skinny. Like, I'm borderline anorexic skinny. My girlfriend Theresa saw me without my shirt once and she told me I looked like one of those starving Africans you see from National Geographic.

Now I know it's unrealistic to become a bodybuilder and if I say "I'm going become healthier next year" nothing's going to happen. So let's try this instead. The link I provided is a site that claims by the end of 6 weeks you should be able to do 100 push ups. At the moment, I can do 20 so let's see what happens.

 

 And maybe you'll see some meat on me.

Goal #2:

I am in need of money. A part time job just isn't going to pay for tuition or spoil Theresa. I'm going to need to find an additional source. Whether that's through an internship, this blog, or some crazy idea I find online I need to try it.

The goal here is to try a new thing each month and report on its success and/or failings. Yes I did mention I was making some profit with this blog but unless I'm making more than minimum wage it's not something to boast about.

EDIT:

Added requirement of trying to pay back debt of $5500 to parents.

Goal #3:

Too often I tell myself "That looks neat, I should really try it" and then I never get around to doing it. This include recipes, small projects, and places to go to. The goal here is to try at least one new thing each month and post about it. I need to learn how to cook, I want to make that hollow book and take Theresa out to that restaurant.

Actually for the longest time I've wanted to start a blog so I guess yay for me?

Woohoo!

Goal #4:

I have an obsession with the number 4. So I need a 4th goal if it kills me. Uhhh...

Uhhh....

. . . .

You have no idea how long I spent in this pose.

You know what? You guys decide for me. Long time readers will have a better idea of what to chose but I'm good with whatever. I'll pick the best one from the comments and hopefully it won't be something like eat 100 endangered species or set yourself on fire for a minute.

And that's it from me. I'll see you guys in the New Year!

Edit: Thanks to D4 and Heddin for their combined suggestion of completing a game from my backlog and/or reading a new book each month!