Let it Snow, Let is Snow, Let it Snow

Mother nature has really outdone herself this winter as the region is expected to get quite a hefty amount of snow! With snow reaching an unprecedented 12-24 inches by the time this storm is all done, this could turn out to be one of the greatest snowfalls ever received this early in December! See as i will likely be stuck at home all day tomorrow I'll take the time to work on finishing up college essays and applications (boo!) but also take time to appreciate the beauty of the falling snow.

My ideal winter snow day would involve me, a cute guy, a crackling fireplace and lots of snuggling, but then again this is still during the school year so unfortunately this will have to be postponed to a later date.

I'm contemplating going out on Sunday and see if people will be willing to pay me to shovel their walkways. I don't know what to charge, but my coach recommended this to us as a way to get some good exercise and also make some cash in the mean time.

Overall this week has been a good, albeit exhausting one. I haven't gone to bed before 2:30AM this week which means I've been getting 4 or less hours of sleep each night (I know, shame on me) but teachers are really piling on the last minute tests and grades before winter break begins next week. Today for example i had a physics lab due, a physics test, Calc test and a 2k test. Last night i didn't end up going to sleep until about 3 (homework, studying, procrastination skills) and I was worried about both my tests today because I didn't feel like I understood anything, especially in calc where we essentially got notes and terribly vague instruction. Surprisingly, I found the physics test pretty easy and I was able to answer all the questions on the calc test. Hopefully I did everything correctly in the end. So after all the school tests were all said in done, all that was left was the 2k.

Now today was "Carnivore Day" in journalism which made my prospects of a successful 2k seem limited at best. Carnivore Day is pretty much a day where everyone brings in some food for a meat-based extravaganza - chili, hot dogs, chips, soda and baked goods galore. Not a vegetable in sight. It is usually recommended that you eat well before a 2k so you don't get bogged down because your body is trying to digest heavy and unhealthy food, but I find it terribly hard to resist a good, delicious artery clogging lunch when it is set up buffet style before me. So I enjoyed and immediately felt in trouble when I was sleepy soon after. Since it has been about two weeks since our last 2k, I hoped to cut ten seconds off my time, whether that was possible was questionable in my mind but I went in with high hopes and Lady Gaga blasting from my headphones. So, the result of all my worrying, poor food choices and fantastic music? 15 seconds chopped off from my last 2k time bitches! I'm only 10 seconds off my PR time so I really hope I can keep this track of progress for the rest of conditioning.

Have a nice weekend!

JP

Surprise!

Just got back from a surprise sweet sixteen birthday party for one of my friends. Exhausted, but I had a great time. The DJ though, as always, could have been better. I'll post more details tomorrow.

Also, my 2K went relatively well. I didn't reach my absolute goal, but I kept it under 8 minutes which was my secondary goal. I felt that I could have pushed harder at the end so I'll do that next round. At least now I know what my limits are and can now push myself to, and even beyond them in the future.

Bye :)

JP

2000 Meters

I'm so nervous right now! God, I've been dreading December 2nd for two weeks now and now, the dreaded day is mere hours away.

So why am I so anxious? It's because tomorrow I have my very first 2000 meter test of the season for crew. If you're involved in crew or know someone who is, you've probably have heard people talking about 2Ks and their 2K times and maybe you don't know too much as to what it actually is. A 2K test is the standard test for rowers in order to measure performance, strength and endurance. As the name implies, it's a 2000m piece that is done on an erg. Your goal is to find a 500m split that you can hold for about 1750 meters and then you sprint at the very end to get your overall time as low as possible. A 2k usually lasts under 8 minutes for guys and 9 minutes for girls but those are probably the most draining and painful 8 minutes any rower will experience short of being in an actual race.

Because the 2k measures performance, it can ultimately decide your seat in a boat and which boat you are placed in (1st or 2nd etc), so your goal is to get your time to be lower than everyone else's. Of course there are those who are absolute beasts, but you're competing against everyone else on the team to fight for the best spots. It's so competitive it makes my mind and body hurt just thinking about it. >.<. Just tough it out. just. tough. it. out. *sigh*

College Application update:
-Teacher recommendation stuff finally all handed out :D
-There are still supplemental essays to write (probably will finish this weekend, hopefully)
-SAT scores sent out
-Dues for two schools paid, five more to go

With everything being so busy and hectic, the only thing that's keeping me going is Christmas break which is rolling 'round pretty soon. We haven't decorated the outside of the house yet but hopefully we will soon. I put some lights up in my room though and the tree is up and decorated (well, to be honest, it's kinda up all year since we're too lazy to take it down lol). Well, hopefully things will ease up a little and everything smooth out soon. Also, I just downloaded "Alejandro" and "Dance in the Dark" from Lady Gaga's new album The Fame Monster and my god they're good, especially along with "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" Lady Gaga is my total obsession music wise right now if you couldn't tell lol.

Go listen! - Dance in the Dark

I hope you have a great week!

wish me luck :)

JP