Bruises

Nothing like an angry rant to get you pumping iron harder than you've done before. Interesting night. Still don't think I maxed out, but I definitely pushed harder. Need to get new weights for the machine cause 5s and 10s aren't cutting it.
(Image (c) PixleAteIt ) So, I know I challenge my readers to a lot of things, but for the day that you read this, I have a unique challenge. And this is just for one day, but if you want to continue it to others/as long as it lasts, please do. My challenge is to tell someone who hurt you in the past that they did. Whether it was 5 minutes ago, an hour, or several years... tell that person. I know the great idea of "forgive and forget," but in all honesty, how often does that work? Small things like when a brother smacked you accidentally can be moved on pretty easily. But biting remarks, hurtful acts, and painful moments don't really go away because you say in your head "God, I forgive them for they no not what they do." It's great in theory, but in practice, we as humans far too often harbor that pain. Tonight, I did what I haven't done in literally years. I told a friend that a comment she had made earlier that night had hurt. We were hanging at college group and another friend challenged me to do the 47 pushups I was so proud to say I could do. So I got down and pumped out 57 to the point my arms were shaking hard and I don't think I could have done one more. And then the first friend without thinking about it commented that in the military, none of those pushups would have counted. It felt like a complete dismissal of everything that I had just so proudly achieved.

(Image (c) ginTonic13 ) She didn't know that I've been working out and keeping track of everything that I do to see my progress. She didn't know that I was super proud of myself in that moment. So it wasn't meant to hurt, but it did. Hours later I finally picked up the phone and texted her that it had hurt. She readily apologized and I forgave her and I told her it didn't damage our friendship at all. But it was freeing to admit to myself and to her that I had been hurt by it. So often, as a guy, I shove hurts down and push them off because "Who am I do tell them it hurt me? If I can get past it, then it doesn't change anything and we're both happy." But after a dozen times of being gently pushed or shoved, you start to show bruises. So perhaps the next time a shove comes along, let the person know. A hug later and you both bight be feeling a bit better after. So tell someone. You just might find the pain in your life to hurt just a little bit less.

-Jake

Creativity

Plan this to be a short post, but we'll see how it goes.
Update on working out... I found the old family weight machine. Barbell and all. The next couple workout sessions will be interesting. XD Far less pushes tonight (I think only 40 total) but I did a ton of other arm exercises on the machine. If may not be visible, but I sure feel a difference. Can't wait till it's really visible though!

Latest workout song:
Tons of fun to listen to, even though it repeats. Always been a pretty big fan of the original, but with the WUBWUBWUB in this version, it just makes the song worth listening to a million times over. XD
Anyways, subject tonight is creativity. I think the world as a whole is losing it. Certainly there's people out there who's job is to be creative, but on the whole I feel it's a dying skill. I remember the days when siblings and I would sit and play with LEGO's, building all of the craziest and most ridiculous space ships and monsters with it. Now my younger siblings just want to sit online and play video games. Games may seem like they are creative because they are interactive, but it's just force feeding impute into ones brain that then gets spat out as a movement or effect in the game.
(Picture (c) LEGO, and http://canadaleaf7.deviantart.com/ )Like with public schools and how the teacher feeds the kid answers to the test that the kids then spit back out for a grade with no learning involved. In the same way, the kid gets the satisfaction of actually doing something in a game without the work of actually having to have the skills, abilities, or anything else besides clicking or pressing the right buttons at the right time. In addition, kids can leave games any time they are "doing badly" which leads to feeling that they can do that with anything. Kids learn they can just "walk away" from what's not working in their life. Which isn't true. While there are something things that can be walked away from (an unfinished drawing), it doesn't mean that you should walk away from everything. Think about the last time you sat down to do something that wasn't school, mandatory, or 3 minutes, and completed it all the way through. No matter how bad the end result was, you decided you wanted to finish it anyway. If it wasn't recently, maybe you should try it out sometime. =)
Tomorrow nights subject: Doodling.

-Jake

Goals

Well, I now have a goal zone for working out. Though I wanted to "work out to maximum," your mind can be joked around a bit. Mind over matter is a curious but true thing indeed. Did 30 pushups last night in a row that felt that was my max. Tonight I did 47. But because I had a goal. Had something I desperately wanted to get to. And that was the "good" level in Navy exercising for someone 21. =P Low, I know, but what I wanted to achieve. But now I have my goals to get to and even do better than:
PERFORMANCE     POINTS  CURL    PUSH      1.5-MILE     SWIM
CATEGORY                UPS     UPS       RUN          500-YD     450-M

"Maximum"       100     105     87        8:30          6:30      6:20
I don't know how I will measure the running or swimming one, nor do I really care about the swimming one, but the pushups and situps are both things I'd love to reach. =D (Check out your fitness here: http://www.navy-prt.com/malestandard/malestandard.html )
But I also have a new workout song that I enjoy the intensity and music for! And the music really kicks off right near the 40 second mark if not earlier, so I can test all my stuff against the 2 minutes you're given to do the workout stuff in the Navy. Gonna be as fit as Alex by the time he's out. ;D
Ok, so enough about me and working out. Now about thoughts, and apparently people care because this place is actually getting views. Never thought there would be. XD Anyways, I wanted to talk this evening about goals.
We all have them, we've all set them on New Years, and we've all totally failed at them. Some we do better at, some we don't. I haven't done the same workout routine twice in all 8 days, nor do I think I'll have the body image I imagine in my head at the end of 8 weeks. But I have kept the goal of at least doing something every evening. I've gone three days in a row of doing at least 2 hours of workwork. Some days it was cleaning the garage, today was getting paid to clean off a roof. I know 2 hours isn't a lot, and I know I can and will do more. But it's something. It's choosing to not let a whole day go to waste. Maybe most of it gets spent swimming, tanning, and hanging with friends. But it's not the whole day. And that's a start. Maybe next week I can bump it up to doing 4 hours or 6 hours of work every day before spending time with friends and whatnot. But at least 2 hours is starting. Half the work of a job is starting the job. The finishing is the easy part.

(Picture personally named: Goal At Journey's End. (c) jayclemo) Something to keep in mind though is how goals work. We all want to feel successful, and we all want whatever the end result is of the goal. But perhaps choosing the end result /as/ the goal is what makes it difficult to impossible to achieve. No matter how long it may take us to reach that end goal, every day we don't, we still feel like we failed. So perhaps instead we should look at doing something every day, or every week. Something small. Rather than "I'm going to lose 10 pounds by the end of July" which gives all the time to "work on it" till the end of July, you instead say "Every day I'm going to eat one vegetable, one fruit, and do one exercise for 10 (or 20 or 30) minutes. Pick and exercise, and just do that one thing for 30 minutes. Then, no matter how much weight you are losing, you are a) continuing to lose weight, and b) able to feel successful at the end of every day because you completed your goal.
If it's smoking, rather than "I'll quit by the end of the year", you choose "I'm going to phone a friend I haven't talked to the next time I feel like smoking something." Now you're rewarding yourself for not smoke, getting to talk to someone, even if it's the same someone (girlfriend, boyfriend, etc), and you feel successful in finding an alternative action to the action habit wants you to make. Any goal you want can be broken down into small manageable pieces if you really want to do it. I've been being successful so far at mine with working out and am in the process of moving that over to the rest of my life one job at a time (Waking up at 8am every morning, taking the trash out every day, cleaning the littlerbox every day, etc). Already there's been improvement in my doing work as I said earlier. What's some goals you've made and kept or achieved? And are you looking for any suggestions on how to meet goals you've been struggling to make so far?
-Jake


Good quote:
"A goal is a projected state of affairs that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve – a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. 
A desire or an intention becomes a goal if and only if one activates an action for achieving it."

One of Eight

Well, hit my first mile-point in the working out course I've set for myself! Tonight I did in pushes a 30 set,  a 20 set, a 15 set, and a 10 set. Did three sets of 20 curls with the 16.5 pound detergent jug on each arm. A set of 30 and then a set of 20 pushes (pushing the jug from shoulder up as high as my arm goes and then bringing it back down) on each arm. Then 50 curls middle, 20 left, 20 right, and then 50 more middle. Sore, but in a very good way. This is after a week. I took a pretty hefty break on the third day to let my body adjust and recover, but now it seems to be doing pretty well. All the workout stuff I'm doing takes either no weights, or can be done with anything that can be held in one hand. And it just feels really good. Still taking pictures (missed two days but have 5 for the others) that I plan to make the clip with. But /I/ at least think you can already see some difference. Super excited for when it hits 4 weeks.
Supposedly in the workout world "4 weeks, you see change. 8 weeks, family and close friends see change. 12 weeks, everyone sees change." I'd like to drag it into 12 weeks, but at the moment my goal is to make it to that 8 week mark. ^^ Oh, and maybe look kinda like the guy in the video. ;D

Dunno how long it'll take to get an 8 pack like that, and of course it work help the girls that already swoon around me, but it'll be nice to have that personal success story. =D
On another note for success, working piece by piece on the garage. Considering taking pictures as the work goes on so I can do a time lapse (what is with me and time lapse stuff? XD) video of the work, but at the moment I'm a little too lazy for that. =P But those spiders! Normally I'm not really afraid of spiders, but when there's more than 5, big and tiny babies under /every/ thing you pick up and move, it's a little frightening to move a bunch of stuff. But it's my work in progress for the summer. Big time working on it tomorrow. Included is sealing and painting the garage doors. Cleaning everything really well, and throwing away a TON of old junk. Mom's pretty much given me free reign to get rid of anything no one has looked at in over 10 years. Which is all our junk. XD

(Image (c) Me)
As a last thought, my Mom and I were talking about significant others (since the name of this blog /is/ "Till I Find That One") and we got talking about settling for someone you know isn't a 10 because searching for that 10 is nearly impossible to find. Do you settle for a 9.8 after years of searching and not finding that 10? And if you don't, how do you tell that 9.8 that that's what they are? "Sorry honey! Close but no cigar." Tough call. My romantic side says don't settle for anything less than your 10, but my friend side that doesn't like seeing people hurt says don't turn down the 9.8 cause it may be all you ever find. At the end of the day though, I think I'd still wait for my 10, even if I dream in the meantime about what life with the 9.8 would be like.
Leave a comment about what you would choose. Wait for the 10 or settle for the really good 9.8?

-Jake

Day 3. Very sore. Great fun hanging with Laura at Ren Fest. Got to see the joyous faces of Sam and Noah as they got a bunch of blades from the Pirate auction and the content peace of Betsy from all the window shopping she did. Didn't get to see Lauren, but she said she had a ton of fun which is good to know. ^^ It was a joy to listening to the Friar sing his beautiful songs, a thrill to watch the new stunts by Barely Balanced, heart warming to see Judah still doing what he loves to do despite his loss, and a blessing to get to know Laura a bit better. Seeing old friends like Daringblade and Deirdre deepened my connection with Ren Fair and at the same time was like coming home to a family I never wanted to leave. I really, really hope I can work there again next year. It's definitely a home for me.

Did a simple short workout tonight. Negative event killed the mood for the evening but reminiscing on the day is helping to bring it back up. I don't really have any specific verse to share tonight. But I do want to say, listen. God talks through a verity of ways; people, events, or directly. Too often I go through life only taking time to listen when something bad is going on, or even then filling the air with all my complaints. If we simply took time on occasion to stop and listen, we might get in less trouble. =P Just a thought.
Anyways, hopefully I get to talk to the manager at Texas Roadhouse tomorrow. That'd be a start towards a new job. =)
Night,
-Jake

PS: Picture is mine, taken by me, (c) me.

Day 2

Day 2 and doing well. Worked out again. Feeling more fit already. Crunches will do LOTS to build my abs. Good stuff. Nothing to show in pictures yet, but I'll give it two weeks before I notice anything, if I do. XD
Didn't get the painting or drawings done which is a slight disappointment. But I did go to Miranda's graduation party and had a ton of fun hanging out with old friends. As well as went to Russ' 21st birthday party, drank a little socially and enjoyed an evening hanging with him and other friends. So today was a good summer day. Got a lot done on the picture and it's turning out amazing (posting on here once done with it), and was very social and a lot of fun. Only wish a pool had been thrown in, but ah well, can't have everything. =P

(Just sharing a cool picture by http://shinga.deviantart.com/ cause I like it. XD )
No comments yet, so I'll continue to make up subjects to share my thoughts on.
I think people take dating a bit too serious. Meaning they make it serious. I'm guilty of this as well, so I'm no means out of the boat with everyone else. But I think in general "dating" has become a term used when two people are "seeking a serious relationship with the potential of marriage and a life partner" where it used to be simply "getting to know someone better." The whole idea behind taking someone on a "date" was to spend an evening/dinner talking, learning about the other person, and focusing on getting to know the other person. But now it's become such a huge thing, that if you take someone out on a date, you're now "dating" and required to go on additional dates until you officially "breakup." All of which rushes the relationship and forces people into situations they don't want or need. Well, I'm going back to the roots of simple taking a girl to hang out for a nice evening, nothing serious, enjoying spending time together. Afterwords, taking her home, dropping her off by curfew, and thanking her for a nice evening. And then going about the rest of my week. Nothing epic about it, no? Just a nice, no ties date. We'll see if it catches back on. XD
Tonights verse is widely spread, but I want to share again because it never hurts to repeat: 1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Nothing says just because you're youth, starting out, inexperienced, or a host of other excuses, that 1) you shouldn't still try your best, or 2) you can't be an example for others. In the whole church and Christian realm, I'm only a very young adult, but I still set examples for those younger than me in the youth, and older than me that are watching. Be yourself, be strong, and let yourself make mistakes. It's how we as humans learn. ^^
Night everyone!
-Jake

PS: Bible I'm using is a New King James Version if anyone is wondering. If you want a verse in a different translation let me know and I can find it. ^^

Day 1

Evening folks. Hopefully this will be the last time I write one of these at nearly 3AM. But I'm getting my life together, and this is what it's all about.
Today I fought the war with the fleas. Part II will be tomorrow, but I got my floor clean, the whole place vaccuumed really well. Sprayed some powerful flea killer stuff everywhere.... hopefully the war will be on the ending side, not the beginning side by tomorrow. ^^
Other things include working out. I'm taking pictures (no not posting, but will be posting a video at the end showing each days improvements or lack of XD) of myself each day as I workout for the next 8 weeks doing my own personal fitness practice I've cooked up for myself. It'll be at least 30 minutes and at most an hour every night, and is intense enough that it should show pretty fast but not intense enough I injure myself. Tomorrow, man will I be sore though. XD
General thoughts: Relationships these days are rushed. And I say that coming from 100% of me wanting to rush relationships. I push hard because I see a glimpse of something I like and then burn through the learning about the other person part and end up hurting both of us in the end. Not good. Take your time. Patience and abstinence (even when it comes to kissing, holding, cuddling, etc) will always be rewarded with a sweeter prize the longer you wait. Like good wine, let the relationship build and grow slowly before that day of marriage when you open the top and enjoy the fruits of patience. ^^

(Picture (c): http://amwtm.deviantart.com/ )
And lastly, before I close this out, I wanted to share Colossians 3:16-17. The whole book is really great, so you should at least give it a read through, but I wanted to share in this section spesifically. I had it bookmarked and underlined in my bible, so obviously it's been important to me before, but even now it's still very important. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." I want to quickly focus on that last part about doing everything in the name of the Lord. Certainly some take it to the extreme of "Thank you God for these pencils so I can draw a cool picture." But overall though, it's about doing things with God at your back. It's hard to make out with your best friends girlfriend if you know that Jesus is there and wouldn't be happy about it. It's hard to curse out your neighbor for something they did if you know Jesus is shaking His head disappointedly. Like products from china have the label "Made in China" on it, we should want a "Approved by God" sign on everything we do. And if we do it as glory to Him, that sign will be there without even having to mention Him. Just keep that in mind as you do the things you do tomorrow.
Goals for 6/2:
Get as much info from Days about cars and loans (if not maybe please God please get a car...?)
Paint Davids cards.
Draw Christine's picture.
Finish folding laundry.

Night!
-Jake

Are looks important in a relationship?

Are looks important in a relationship?
Hmmm... Yes and no. In any relationship, there should be some measure of attraction, and ususally the first responce is to physical appearence. So how one looks definitely matters. Also, "looks" can have a lot to do with your clothing choice or how you carry yourself. An untucked shirt and a slouch will be much less attractive than a clean tucked in shirt with a belt and confident stride. People read other people by their clothes, actions, and look every day, without ever even saying a word. If you carry a look that doesn't match your personality (Ie, a jock trying to dress and act like a prep), then any relationship you have will be difficult due to people reading one thing and then discovering later you're different. Stick to being yourself in how you carry yourself and what you choose to wear and the relationship will be much simpler. Physical feature wise, looks are important in that you will be looking at the same person every day for the rest of your life if you marry them. Time changes how we look, certainly, but that freckle, the dimples when we smile, or our forehead arch are forever a part of us. Which means they are important. But something to remember is that in a healthy relationship, one finds the other attractive, always. Perhaps I'm not a big fan of piercings and a neck tattoo. But I'm sure there's a guy out there that finds that highly attractive. So maybe while she has the red hair I like and a personality that gets along with me, that doesn't mean I overlook what I find attractive or unattractive. Yes, people say it's shallow to base off of physical appearance only, and there's certainly levels that are ridiculous (I love everything about you... except that you're missing your left pinkie finger because of that accident when you were 12.). But there's a healthy level of accepting, overlooking, and needs. I can accept that my wife may not be 5'10". But if she's around that, I'll be happy. I can overlook she has curled toes from dancing, because I absolutely love her dancing and could watch for forever. But I need her to be able to smile and see that sparkle in her eyes when we're out hanging or enjoying each others company.
I find makeup or plastic surgery to be stupid personally. If someone can't respect and love the human being behind all the fake, then they're not loving you, they're loving an idea. All women are beautiful without a single touch of makeup. Find the right man that can see that.
However, that being said, I have no problem with it being used as an addendum or addition for certain things. Like men trimming their beard or waxing their mustache for a formal evening, if women want to add some eyeliner or shadow or maybe a little blush, that's fine. But to paint on a new face every morning? You can't even look like the real you if you do that.
So looks are important, but only in the sense that you should be true to yourself and how you look. If the person is basing the relationship solely off of looks, it's a shallow and unhealthy relationship. If the Beast (Beauty and the Beast) and Quasimodo (Hunchback of Notre Dame) can find someone that loves them for their oddities, then so can anyone in the real world. Give it time, give it space. No need to rush. The right person will come at the right time.
So yes looks are important. Important that you say true to yourself and you love your looks, just as the other in the relationship will as well.
-Jake
PS: If you have any thoughts or want me to post my thoughts on something, comment and I'll pick one to post about next time I do!

Fashion Design and Gaga

Alright, so first subject, though random, I want to talk about Fashion Design. This video describes perfectly my thoughts on the whole thing. XD At least the first group of clothes were something most people would actually wear in public. But as soon as "approval" for that designer is given, they go crazy. People like Lady Gaga wear ridiculous stuff that no one in their right mind would actually wear in public. So are fashion shows now just an art? Each person an art piece that is portrayed, but little of it will actually be created to sell? The video is obviously  farce of the actual thing because there really is no way anyone would wear the last group's clothing. But the concept is still the same. Just because one person "likes" the clothes, does that mean that everyone else should follow suit and think it good? So often I feel a lot of people in like live "The Emperors New Clothes", that as long as "the crowd" or someone with "power" believes, all of the followers do as well. The mob mentality behind the fandom of Lady Gaga is I believe proof of that. Few to none /actually/ wear the clothing she wears (hopefully):
As much as I certainly respect clothing styles in their own way (I wear what I wear because I enjoying wearing it), and I'm quite alright with people enjoying someone else's choice in how to dress, there is something absurd about thinking that THAT <----- is 1) clothing at all, and 2) something to be obsessed about. Granted she has an incredible voice, and granted, she's got a.... strangely.... creative mind. But there's a lot of people out there that are just as insane and talented. For suddenly the entire world to go "gaga" over Gaga is something that is confusing even in as much as it is frightening. I personally can't believe that every one of those people actually believed independently that her music was /that/ amazing. But just like in the video, when "everyone" likes the pizza, then everyone digs right in. Even though at the beginning, the designer was nearly throwing up over how bad the pizza was. I personally have a fandom over Star Wars (even to the point of dressing up for "May the Fourth" be with you). But that's an idea, a universe, a series of thoughts and morals (Jedi code). Not a single, real life person. That kind of devotion edges, if not falls right over, the cliff of worshiping. And I don't feel that any human being has the right to be worshiped by another since we were all created equally by God. So, thoughts to leave you with:
What is your fandom?
What do you worship?
Do you like waffles?
-Jake
PS: If you have any thoughts or want me to post my thoughts on something, comment and I'll pick one to post about next time I do!
PSS: Rereading, I realized I really didn't stay focused.... must do better next time. >_<

Cleaning Up My Act

Hey guys....
So, sorry about the last two posts. May even delete them. Haha. That's stuff for private journaling. Not for people to be reading. And I actually do want this to be read. So I'm going to be keeping this simple thoughts and a private journal as me actual thoughts and rants and blah. No one wants to read blah. So anyways, each post will be a specific topic so it's easy to follow. This topic is how I'm cleaning up and doing to be posting specific posts with specific topics... if you couldn't tell. ;D
Anyways, so a general "Sorry for those of you who read this" and "Enjoy reading what I post in the future!"
-Jake