It’s all starting to come together

Well, mostly anyway.  Turns out my English class was canceled due to lack of interest, so I’ll be driving to a farther campus for the same class this summer .  It’s only ten extra minutes each way or so though, so definitely not a deal breaker or anything.  I’m so looking forward to getting this class out of the way; English has been one of my least favorite subjects for as long as I can remember, and I can almost taste not having to ever take an English class again.  I actually do like the idea of taking the class over the summer, because it means I can put all the necessary focus into doing well in it as opposed to having to juggle all my other classes at the same time.  We’ll see how it goes, I do hope to get an A in it.

I’m also starting on my physical training tomorrow.  I’ve made a decision that I want to get into the best shape of my life by August; definitely not an easy goal, but I believe its reachable nonetheless.  Not that it matters if its reachable though, right?  So I’ll be doing weightlifting three times a week, working towards benching 250 pounds by the end of summer; cardio work at least five times a week, like jogging, rope skipping, and intervals; and of course, Kung Fu and Karate training three to four times a week if not more.  A few of my goals include holding a handstand for 20 seconds, 3 handstand pushups, and decreasing my body fat percentage by 1.5-2%.

The UW Karate Club I trained at for the last 9 months has been officially disbanded, due to some financial and philosophical issues between my instructor, Shihan, and his instructor and the grand master of the style, Soke.  I won’t go into details regarding the issues, but it sounds like Shihan’s been basically excommunicated from the organization.  It really sucks, because I looked up to him as a mentor and thought quite highly of him; I still need to find out if he’s told his side of the story to anyone, that would be interesting and I do think its only fair that each party is given an equal opportunity to present their case.  The good news is that several members of the old club are forming a new club that will be run as specified by Soke, so at least most of the current members will still be there.  What sucks though, is that this drama makes participating in the national tournament in August more complex and difficult to figure out, in no small part because I was looking forward to seeing someone at the tournament.  Who?  Lol ask me via email if you’re curious, thats as far as I’m saying here for now.

So wish me luck, I think I’m gonna need it to stay on track with my fitness regimen.  Motivation doesn’t stay constant which is a pain in the butt, but I really want it this time.  Look forward to more posts in the near future regarding martial arts and matters of the heart and mind, good night!

Restart!

So after October I really let this blog die, and I’m not happy about that.  I’m hoping that this time I’ll be able to keep it going a lot more consistently.  This summer I’ll be working to get into the best shape of my life by August 1, taking an English class at the community college, working (hopefully), and undertaking many other interesting activities.  Look forward to it, see you around!

Spreading the otaku

I’m all excited right now!  Guess why?  Cuz I’ve gotten my best friend Myles into anime!  I started him off with BLEACH, which we blazed through and he is now current with, and are moving to more and more series!  We completed Fullmetal Alchemist over the weekend, and I gotta say it reminded me why it’s one of my top faves.  The emotional parts were every bit as touching as the first time I watched them, the show is simply splendid.  So now we’re on Full Metal Panic!, and it’s just as much fun as always lol.  Revisiting these series almost feels like seeing old friends again, they really are worthwhile shows to watch.  Anyone have some ideas for what I should check out next myself?

All new BLEACH!

BLEACH is back!  I’ve been waiting forever for that filler arc to end, patiently watching every episode just so I can say I’ve seen every single one, and the story is finally continuing!  There’s so much that I’m almost biting my tongue in anticipation of seeing, gaaah!

So I was on YouTube and saw this, and it is awesome!  It’s a guitar cover of the new BLEACH intro, which is titled “Velonica” by Aqua Timez, enjoy!

Quotes 2

The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.

—Benjamin Mays

When the student is ready the teacher will appear.

—Buddhist Proverb

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

—Chinese Proverb

The more you know, the more you realise how much you don’t know — the less you know, the more you think you know.

—David T. Freeman

Back!

Hey!  So sorry I haven’t posted in awhile, I kinda forgot about Distant Sky while getting into a routine.  Anyway, here I am with news about the last week or two.  The overall status of academics here is an A, I’d say; I got an A+ on my Japanese exam on Tuesday and an 85% from my first Honors English essay, so I’m feeling pretty good so far.  I also completed a quiz online today that’ll get me my Information Literacy university requirement out of the way, so that’s definitely good news.  My Phys Ed class looks like its going to be a piece of cake, and we’re watching Supersize Me every week for 10 min or so after class is finished.  I’m doing well in Calculus as well, so far no problems with comprehension, although I think I speak for all my classmates when I say that more example problems during class would be appreciated.  I don’t know what my grade is in that class yet, as my teacher hasn’t given back any homework assignments yet, I’m really hoping I get something back soon though.

So far, the Karate Club has been a great experience.  I’ve learned a bunch of kata so far, and Shihan explains each different practical application of each form, which is awesome because it adds one more dimension to the kata.  We also do rolls, which I have been improving at; front rolls, knee shoulder rolls, standing shoulder rolls, and dive rolls!  I actually did a dive roll over three people on Saturday!  Still gotta work on my landings though…

Lately I’ve been on a techno/dance craze, and have added like 14 songs to my library, lol.  I’ll start posting my Blazing Playlists for you all, hopefully you’ll discover some new songs that you love!  Later!

UW Chronicles- Week 3

Well, it’s Sunday evening on September the 14th; the end of week 3 here at UW.  It was a pretty good week overall, even though there were some moderately stressful incidents.  One thing I’ve been amazed at is that my Honors English teacher is slower at, well, everything, than any of my other teachers so far!  The entire class is going crazy because we haven’t gotten our first essays back from being graded, although truthfully hardly anyone is looking forward to seeing their grade; I’m with them ^^.  Japanese went quite well, and I had my first oral quiz on Friday; I made two minor mistakes in a quiz of ten questions, so I think it went well.  As far as Calculus, we’ve finally started actually learning it; my teacher is Brazilian, so he operates on a different time system than Americans do (he said).  No major problems with comprehension so far, he’s doing a better job than my last Calculus teacher.

I’ve been learning a heck of a lot at the Seiyo Shorin Ryu Karate Club, mostly kata (sets/forms) and groundwork (rolls/breakfalls).  The warmup is always an awesome workout, it pushes my abs far beyond the comfort zone, and that’s a good thing.  I’m no good at sitting in seiza, the traditional seated position with legs folded underneath you, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I adjust.

I also joined the Anime Club!  It looks like a fun group to be a part of, everyone is lively and friendly.  We watched an episode of Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, which I had never heard of, and then the movie Steamboy; that was alright, but a little slow for my taste, and I felt the plot was lacking somewhat.  Nevertheless, it was a fun night, and I hope to be able to go often.  I’ll be restricted to Friday meetings though, as I have Karate on Monday nights at the same time.  Go figure.

I signed up for the Fit Buddy program last week, and am starting it tomorrow with my partner whom I know nothing about and have not met with yet (^_^*).  The Fit Buddy program is an 8 week fitness program that pairs you up with a partner whose interests and goals match yours.  There are several goals; the first is to log at least 10k steps per day, which I believe amounts to five miles, give or take; the three teams with the most steps at the end of the program will receive bookstore gift cards and a free massage each.  We’ll also be exercising together at least three times a week for thirty minutes or more; pretty much any exercise is fair game, so maybe I’ll get to experiment a little.

I have to say, my favorite part about this week has been the weekend.  Why?  Because Myles and I drove down to Colorado Springs and surprised our families!  It was a lot of fun, and definitely good for all of us; we realized just how close our families still are, after actually driving down there, and that should keep homesickness at bay in the coming weeks.

Well, as I write this I’m listening to a J-Pop version of You Raise Me Up which is absolutely beautiful, while watching a soothing Laramie sunset; add a little breeze to the mix, and there are the makings for a great Sunday evening.  I’ll probably end up doing some studying tonight, and spend the rest of the night relaxing and sleeping ^^.  There’ll be more posts coming soon, you can expect a YouTube funnies update along with various random other additions, I hope you look forward to them!  Good night everyone, or as the Japanese say, O-Yasumi!

Quotes Part 1

One of my little hobbies is collecting quotes and phrases that strike a chord with me, that I really feel like I can understand.  It’s like they give me an “Aha!” moment.  Below are 5 phrases that I think are particularly insightful and witty, enjoy!

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

—Ambrose Redmoon

We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.

—Anais Nin

People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

—André Gide

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

—Arthur Schopenhauer

The Argument from Intimidation is a confession of intellectual impotence.

—Ayn Rand

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu! meets 99 Red Balloons

Again, just felt like sharing something that I always have a lot of fun watching with everyone.  This one’s an AMV from the AWESOME anime “Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!”.  This AMV is just pure FUN!  Oh, and definitely check out Full Metal Panic, it’s one of my favorites!

Concerning AMV’s

I just now realized that this would be a great opportunity to show more people my AMV’s.  I’m no good at it just yet, but always appreciate constructive criticism.  So far, I’ve made two AMV’s; one featuring FFVII: Advent Children, and the other Eureka Seven.  So, please watch them, rate them, comment on them, and if you like them then favorite them!