Go Big.

Yep, if you're going to go, go big.

It's been a quick eight months since I crashed big.  I felt like I had to do something big to show I was better.  Not just better as in well, but better than before.  One of the guys at work mentioned that he was training for a half marathon.  I happened to have just started running again.

Last year, my resolution was to run a marathon.  Like most resolutions it didn't happen.  Now I had the drive to work for it and a support group to keep on track with training.

I adapted the eight week training program Drew and his wife were following to prep for the run.  A few runs during the week then increasing the distance by a mile and a half each Saturday.  That worked up through week five, 8.3 miles.  Then I got sick with something nasty that killed week six, which should have been 9.5 miles.  No big deal, I used to run that regularly before I wrecked.  Then crappy weather killed the weekday runs of week seven.  So two weeks of not running and I had to do 11 miles, farther than I had ever run.

Shit.

Sometimes you have to do something just to prove to yourself you can do it.  There are lots of things were the outcome depends on whether you believe you can do it or not.  Running is definitely that kind of mind game.  It's probably not rational, but knowing that I could do 11 miles meant that 13 was well within reach.  Still feeling a little crappy, I ran eleven and some change a bit slow and ugly.

Week eight of the program was to get to 12.5 miles, but that went out the window.  I decided on a good solid 8 to get that form back.  With that and knowing I could go the distance, well, believing I could go the distance, I was ready.

So I ran it and it was good.  I met the goals of finishing and running the whole damn thing.  Then I had a beer and it was over.  That's the trouble with hitting your goal, what to do after you get there.

I'm thinking another couple of halfs and then a full, but I have to get this crap taken out of my back first.  The rods are poking me in the shoulders and I'm over it.  There's the next goal, run a full marathon titanium-free.

Keep submitting your work, a lot of it will get rejected by idiots that wouldn't know a good submission if it had a Pulitzer attached to it.  But sometimes you'll get in, like the one I saw in print today.  Pretty cool.

Learn your craft

I overheard a professor telling a student a story the other day.  He had been playing at some music conference and a student asked him to help him get some really good ideas out of his head and into the world.  So the prof tells him to play what he's got.  After the student is done he says, 'You can't play your horn, learn to play it and the ideas will come out.'  That sounds harsh, but it's probably the best advice that student could have gotten.

If you don't know what your tools can do, then you can't use them to fully express your ideas.  I mean tools in the broadest sense possible, like if you are a writer than language is your tool, if you're a photographer the camera is your tool.

Learning your craft might seem tedious, but once you have it down you are free to use it, abuse it, disregard it, do whatever that gets your idea out because you know the rules and you can consciously decide how to apply them.

Guess I better go learn the scales.  Again.

By request

So the fun has begun, hey?  Work, school, activities and only 24 hours in a day.  You asked for a little advice on how to get through it all without keeling over so here it is:

Coffee.

Naps.

Not in that order, naps definitely have priority.  When you can't take a nap, drink coffee.  Scope out a few places that aren't too far from where you need to be that can be used for a quick sleep.  Twenty minutes is awesome, thirty even better.  That's not enough time to really get homework done, but it can be the recharge your brain needs to get through the next appointment.

My favorite spots were the fourth floor of the library, the grass between the Art and Administration buildings (shade and a slight slope made for a comfortable impromptu bed), and the student lounge.  Hell, you live on campus so you could probably duck back to your room for a kip.

Study at night with friends, you'll keep each other awake and on task (as long as the Game Cube stays off.)

Avoid energy drinks because they suck.  You'll be feeling great and then it wears off and you crash.  Hard.  Same with cigarettes, only they make you smell, too.

When things really get rough, just remember that you'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead.

Face to face

It's too easy to send a text or an email to someone when you need something. Sometimes you have to do it, like when you need a paper trail to cover your ass. Otherwise, just go talk in person or at least on the phone. You'll develop better relationships faster and truth be told, those relationships are how things get done.

Positive Reinforcement

I don't think I'm being cynical when I say that most jobs consist of dealing with other people's problems. That's just how it goes and it isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, it can be depressing to only hear negative crap day in and day out. When you get good service from someone, tell them. Sincerely tell them, not like facetiously tell them, especially if it is someone you work with often. I'm not saying you should butter people up. I am saying that a little courtesy and thoughtfulness will help someone remember why it is they started doing whatever it is they are doing and maybe forget the jerk that was yelling at them over some self-inflicted problem a few minutes ago.

I keep seeing students do the same stupid thing

When it comes time to register for classes, which you did today I hope, you need to have multiple schedules at the ready. When I had to register for classes, it had to be done over the phone. On the scheduled date, hundreds of others would be trying to register at the same time. Once you got into the automated system, you had to get your classes or you may not be able to get back in later to do it. It's a huge pain in the ass, especially when you have to keep work schedules in mind, but it pays off in spades to have valid options available at your fingertips.

Don't have one or two second choice classes, have a whole schedule ready. You won't get locked into classes until your senior year and you can cross that bridge when you come to it. For now, don't rely on luck, sympathy stories, or charm. No one has any sympathy right now because every student has a sad story to get that one class they need. And the crappy cut backs on classes and sections situation isn't going to get any better any time soon.

If all else fails, try bribing the secretaries with doughnuts.

Tedious work counts

Everyone wants to do the new and exciting stuff. Some other suck can do the grunt work, right? Yeah, that's great except that rarely does anyone volunteer to be the suck or is dumb enough to get stuck with it twice. And yet the work is still there to do, so just suck it up and do it. Put on some music[1] you can zone out to and plow through it. It'll get done--eventually--you'll feel some sense of accomplishment, and it can be a nice change of pace.

[1] I recommend Deftones, A Perfect Circle, and Eskimo Joe. At least that's worked for today's drudgery.