This is a rambling post that covers a variety of topics and thoughts. Just FYI so you know ahead of time.

It’s a pretty dull night tonight and the college kids’ party next door promises to prevent sleep for me this evening. Damn kids.. >.< heh, oh boy.. so I'm trying to pass time.

I'm definitely in a bit of a lull this evening. You know it's pretty bad when you're passing the time with this kind of crap:

If I don’t live up to my own expectations then I’ll never be satisfied.
Read the rest of this entry »

Today I finished the physical exam that’s required by my Lifetime Fitness Concepts course.

There wasn’t a whole lot to it:

• Blood pressure is taken (mine was pertty good, woot!)
• Flexibility is measured (you sit & stretch forward 3 times)
• Height is measured
• Weight & other related data is taken (I think I was at 200 lbs? woot!)
• Heart rate is taken at rest & after stepping
• A step aerobics bored with 3 risers is used for 3 minutes to get the heart rate up
• Max number of crunches (small sit ups) in one minute are counted
• Waist & hip size is measured
• Grip strength is tested

There may have been one or two other items that I don’t recall.

I will not have the hard data for one or two weeks due to the fact that the class is only in session once per week. I’ll post the results when I can.

Most of the data was rated as either good or close to “excellent” (I guess all of that exercise has been paying off a little, eh?). There were a couple of things just below average, and one item that was rated “at risk”.

I still have a bit too much weight around the belly. My actual physical weight of 200lbs (If I read the machine correctly; mind I got little more than a glance) is not bad for my height and age. In fact it’s fairly good. However, there’s still more weight on the belly than is healthy.

Unless I get injured, that extra annoying width around the belly should be gone by the end of this semester.

Later folks!
~Steph

Technorati Tags: weight loss, health, fitness, physical, exercise, work out, exams

My feets* are hurting from last night’s karate class. I was hoping that they would heal up over night, but it’s just the opposite: They’re aching more this morning than they were last night.

Worse is that they’re also kind of sticky. Kind of gross, huh?

I’ve been walking around the house on the sides of my feet this morning but that’s only helped a little, and I’m not looking forward to putting on my shoes and socks. The walk from the parking lot to Porter Hall isn’t on the top of my list either..

Freak’n blisters… just argh. It’s all part of the growing pains from karate class though, eh?

Come on callouses, you can do ittt! >.<

~Steph

* I’ve deliberately used the expression “my feets”. Yes, I know that’s incorrect grammar.

Ever have one of those moments? Yeah, I’m sure that you have.

Ya see, our Korean instructor happened to walk by the desk as I was intently studying a new sheet that had been handed out. With one swipe of the hand – and not missing a step – she turns the paper around.

…and I realized that I had been studying it upside down.

D’oh!! *smacks forehead*

Yeah, that was a real winner of a moment. In my defense, Ah, Ya, Yeo and so forth looked more-or-less as they should. Granted, “Hue” looked a bit odd, but that wasn’t what I was paying attention to at the time.

Well, live & learn. Live & learn…

~Steph

Sunday night’s dream was about a demon that we had (somehow) “banished” into a doll. The doll that it was banished into just happened to be a Chucky doll. Yeah, it just had to be Chucky.

The dream officially got on a roll when I apparently somehow asked the demon to leave the doll. This was the only way that it could be freed of its banishment. Why did I do such a thing? I don’t know. Perhaps I became incredibly angry at someone and I said that I wished the demon would take them. Honestly though, the dream wasn’t clear on this point. This scenario was only suggested at best.

The only part of the dream that matters is that this thing got loose. What’s the first thing that a stereotypical demon does when it’s freed from its prison? It goes after the ones who put it there, of course! Read the rest of this entry »

From the “<sarcasm>nobody saw that coming</sarcasm>” department, everyone that I know is starting to ask me how certain things are said in Korean. Never mind that I’ve had only two classes and couldn’t possibly know how to say much of anything…

I can understand why they do this. Humans are inquisitive creatures that love to experience (and try) something new. A new language provides them this opportunity.

There’s also the fact that I live in the U.S. If your family was born here then it’s pretty much guaranteed that you speak only one language: English. Breaking outside of this typical American mold makes you a caricature of sorts in that you’re so different from the norm that everyone can’t help but focus in on you.

I find myself feeling genuine sympathy for foreigners who move here. I can only imagine how frustrating it must become when a “foreign” language is your native tongue.

Personally, I just wish that everyone would remember that two or three classes isn’t enough to have learned how to say anything of substance… ::sigh::

Oh well. This kind of attention will no doubt increase as the semester moves forward, so I may as well try to get used to it I suppose.

Anyhow, I’m just rambling. Later all,
~Steph

Technorati Tags: language, foreign language, Korean, communication

I love this shot. This woman’s style is beautiful IMO. I love the dragon designs on her arms*, the long dark hair is a given, and the look on her face tops it off. Kind of sucks that she’s probably in a bad mood, but the brooding just goes with the goth look oh so well.

Bet she has a lovely smile though. Attractive and a great style to boot! I had to share this.

~Steph

* duh, she’s Asian… dragon designs.. yeah no kidding. Just say’n, I love ‘em. they look great on her.

Technorati Tags: goth, japanese, japanese goth, goth girl, asian goth, asian

Welcome back to this much ignored food log category. I’m not going to try to keep a daily tally of what I’m eating because obviously that didn’t work out (it was too much of a hassle). Perhaps it’ll be of use now and then, though..

For now, I may as well post what I ate last night after karate class.

• First thing I hit up: 100% Gold Standard Whey Protein. One full scoop, half a glass, using 8^th Continent soy milk. Half a glass was used because that’s all the soy milk that was left!
• Dinner, after the shower, was a couple of mini steaks (mmm, more protein) and a peach

A bit off topic, but this morning’s breakfast was my usual granola cereal. Unfortunately I had to use cow’s milk (skim)… cow’s milk just doesn’t go over very well for me.

~Steph

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, food, diet

I just ordered some Korean language keyboard stickers. The cost after shipping was just under $6, so it definitely didn’t hit the pocket book too hard.

Actual keyboards (that I’ve found) that are made with the Korean characters on the keys are typically $60+. This price is crazy when you consider that the board that I have now was $15 after shipping and it has multimedia controls.

So anyway, the stickers definitely seem to be the most economical way to go. I just hope that they hold up.

Ideally this will allow me to eventually begin writing posts in Korean. I can’t exactly guarantee that I’ll do so because this depends on how well I learn the language. However, I would like to eventually make my blogs multi-lingual. At the very least, doing so will provide an opportunity for me to continue using the language which in turn should help me to retain it.

Theoretically. Read the rest of this entry »

Just an FYI, I’m going to try another way to make a bit’o money off of the blog. Please keep in mind that I’m attending college and yes, money is much needed. Especially being in an Art class where I buy those fracking supplies.

Anyway, since I haven’t used PayPerPost in awhile I’m going to let that simmer on the back burner for a bit. I love PayPerPost and it’s a darn good way to make money, but I’m going to experiment with this new system for awhile to see how that does.

Later folks,
~Steph