Lessons From Outside the Classroom

 My intention with this entry is to offer some words of wisdom acquired from my 4+ years in college. (Yes, I took an extra year because I was so hungry for this wisdom that I'm talking about). The cool thing about wisdom is that everyone has some to offer. So allow me to offer you some of mine. My fucking leg itches. Went camping and those mosquito sons of bitches tore up my legs.

Anyhow, meet as many people as possible. This is the time in your life to start meeting different types of people from all over the world. I believe that you'll never have a better opportunity to meet so many different types of people with upbringings, experiences and views diferent from yours. During college I met people from Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Korea, France, Great Britain, etc. During highschool I probably knew 2 chinese people, max. Now, several of my best friends are of Chinese descent (China Jr. aka Taiwan). Branch out, step out of your comfort zone. You'll regret not having done so.

Get involved with something. Anything. Whether it be a sports club, an RSO, greek system, whatever. You'll realize that immersing yourself into activities like these will produce some of the most memorable memories of your college career. It will also help develop team work skills which will come in handy when you graduate and become your company's newly hired bitch.

"Date" around. What "dating" entitles is completely up to you, but the point is that meeting a love interest outside of school becomes a whole new challenge. College is a meat market, and your time to buy is now. Also worth mentioning, if you want to meet girls in the classroom, don't be an engineering major. I repeat, do not major in engineering if you want to meet girls in the classroom. All you will find are socially awkward dudes and girls with more testosterone than you do.

Utilize campus resources. Libraries, work out facilities, work shops, laboratories, even professors. I can only remember one professor that I actually sat down with and had a good conversation with. We talked about life, struggles, career. If you are intrigued by wise old people, I suggest spending some time conversating with a professor or two.

Have fun. Seriously, HAVE FUN. I may have over done this one. Call up your buddies, tell them to come over. If you're feeling hospitable, supply the juice. If not, BYOB. They will come. Just make sure you invite some girls as well. It keeps things interesting. There's only so much sausage festing a guy can take. Hit up the parties and the clubs. College may be the only time in life where the only responsibility you and your buddies have are homework and exams. Outside of college, your buddies will find significant others, get married, take on careers, squeeze out some kids, etc.

Also, learn from your struggles. Suffering is part of life. Its presence is an indication that you have become an adult. And when those struggles do arise, realize that nothing lasts forever. As sure as the sun will rise and set, so too will your times of struggle surpass. Acquire the wisdom damnit!

Currently Reading Chasing Cool: Standing Out in Today's Cluttered Marketplace By Noah Kerner, Gene Pressman see related

The Jamin Update

- Went to Portland couple weekends ago for Daves bachelor party. Let me just say, I have a newfound appreciation of Seattle. We were walking somewhere and we were hollering at these white chicks, and they replied.. "welcome to America!"

- I might go to Baltimore next monday. Funny thing is, I'm not 100% sure if I'm going yet. Depends on how much work I put in this weekend on the bridge project. To be honest, I don't care if I go or not. I think I could die happily without every have visiting that city. I heard they have good crabs.. err.. crab.

- Got that offer for the Software QA Engineering position. Just have to figure out if that is what I want to do. I'd get to travel to Seoul and Europe though!

- Just picked up my cap and gown. Feels good, though I still have some courses left in the summer.. arrrgh.

- I have another interview with K2 for their roller blades. That could be interesting....

Currently Listening Rappa Ternt Sanga By T-Pain Bartender see related

Journal Entries From Work

I like to write random journal entries during down time at work.

5/17/2007

I was stuck in traffic on montlake in front of husky stadium. On a day where not much was motivating me except for my work out routine and my fitness goals, something caught my eye. I saw this couple on a motorcycle. I couldnt quite catch what type of bike it was, but whatever it was looked pretty damn cool. The dude was stylish, nice jeans, chucks. Not that this is what defines cool, cause this could also very well define a poser. It's just that the whole get up just synced together flawlessly in this really unique bad ass stylish way.This girl was sitting behind him, she had her little purse, her own helmet, and she also rated high on the style scale. And when I say style, its not implied in just the materialistic sense, but in an all-encompassing-composure like sense.
(if that even makes sense) For some reason, after seeing this I felt..happy. I felt excited. It's just that, this sight that I saw was,in a weird way, inspiring! It was refreshing because lately everything just seems to be the same old routine. Go to school, take tests, hw,workout, project, bell town on weekends, bla bla bla. In that weird moment of inspiration or happiness, or whtever youd call it, that couple on the bike symbolized what I enjoy in life. This is how I want to live my life. No, not staring at couples on motorcycles. But, this certain lifestyle. This lifestyle that entails doing all the things youve always wanted to do in life. Not necessarily conforming to a certain mold because you feel obligated. For instance, the mold of a freshly minted 23 year old college graduate: get a "good" job, pay off school loans, buy house, buy car, start family,climb the ladder, get old and die. Doesnt sound too exciting to me. I realize that my problem is that I haven't created the mold that I WANT in  my life.
I feel like life has been living me, when it should be me living my life. Im only getting glimpses of being in control..
costco samples if you will. So, I want to find a job I enjoy while making the good money. I want to establish a greater network in Korea and Japan. Doing so will fulfill my innate inner desire to gain a better understanding of two cultures of people I am fascinated by. I want to purchase that car I always wanted, so I can baby it and stare at it after I wash it, and bump my music that I love so much. I want to date hot & intellectual woman. This one may take some patience...and money. I want to come home to place that really feels like home. Someplace that feels like me. Someplace I can stay in on a friday night and not feel alone and lost.Not some cookie cutter unit every other guy in the building proudly calls his home. I am not dissing condos, if thats what it sounds like, I am just emphasizing my desire for a sense of uniqueness. I want to dress stylish and modern in a way that is still very masculine. I want to wake up every morning excited to live out the challenges and surprises of the life I molded based on my desires. What I look forward to most about finishing up college is ....no, not working full time. Not even making more money, .. but it's about defining MYlife. Theres this girl in class and one time she mentinoed how much she was going to miss college. She seemed very disillusioned with how cruel and rapid the passing of time can be. I agreed, but I also told her that she should be excited to be free and live out the life that she always wanted to live.

You feeling me?

Now I know why people like Seattle..

Jon Kong from Denver wrote:

Update.. nothing fancy

Hey guys, what have I been up to? Well, if I was a good disciplined person like I should be I would say something along the lines of:

"Oh, I have just been going to classes, studying, doing HW, working out, looking for jobs, etc. "

But since I'm not,

"Oh, I have just been copying HW, working out, looking for jobs "

The working out has been paying off. I have been going every week day, allowing myself to rest on the weekends. And with that note:

Graph 1: Graphical representation of relationship between work out intensity/duration vs. "Luck" w/ attractive females

The above graph assumes that as work out duration/intensity values increase, so does time. Attractive female response refers to any positive feed back from "attractive" females. In this case, an attractive female is one that would rank at least a 6.7 on a scale of 10.

As the work out duration/intensity values are in the 0 to 5 range, the female response is nearly zero. This is because subjects usually are fat and ugly when they realize that it is time to begin a major work out regimine. This was the case for myself. Also, it remains zero for this span because initial, yet consistent, work out routines do little noticeable effects. Also, there is a slight spike at about a duration/intensity value of 6, but this is merely do to subjects experiencing a false sense of progress when attempting to obtain positive feed back from females. The positive feed back is a result of charisma and enthusiasm. There is another sharp curve at 10 and steady growth from there forward. This is a result of fat loss and muscle growth that attractive women are prone to fancy.