Outcome: "Win"
Record: 91-6
Streak: Won 3
Summary: Today was mostly a vacation-style day since my dad and sister are here. We watched both football games. I still observed my principles, and later I will probably work on some French/GRE/AW to finish-off the week.
Aujourd'hui c'etait, pour la plupart, un jour de vacance parce que mon pere et ma soeur sont ici. Nous regardons les deux jeux de football americaine. J'ai encore observe mes principaux, et ce soir je vais probablement faire du francais/GRE/AW afin de finir la semaine.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
Outcome: “Win”
Record: 90-6
Streak: Won 2
Summary: Little built-in, routine activities that are virtuous are great because they only take a few minutes each day, but they add up to something substantial. Like my French for 15 minutes at lunch every day at work. I’m learning French just by habitually utilizing a small space of time that is routinely available to me. Biking is the same way. Actually, biking is even better because it both accomplishes a necessary task while giving me extra bonuses on the side. In the spirit of what I’m talking about, from now on, I’m going to write a dual-language version of my blog, while still keeping the time to a minimum.
I realized today that I am impoverished, literally. I live below the poverty line. I always pictured people living below the poverty line as subsisting in these dilapidated shacks, suffering, looking out from their porches with ghost-like eyes. Well, I am the picture of poverty. Ha! For some reason, this thought is endlessly amusing to me. Well, it’s not really funny at all when anyone is poor, but I don’t suffer too much. I have my basics taken care of.
Aujourd’hui, j’ai realise que je suis pauvre, serieusement. Je vis en bas de la ligne de pauvrete. Je toujours m’imaginais ce que les gens qui vivant en bas de la ligne de pauvrete comme subsistant dans ces maisons effondrement, regardant dehors avec les yeux de fantomes.
Ca c’est bien. Plus en retard.
Oh yeah, plus, I did my shopping tonight, and I made my lunches, so no more food bullshit like earlier this week.
Record: 90-6
Streak: Won 2
Summary: Little built-in, routine activities that are virtuous are great because they only take a few minutes each day, but they add up to something substantial. Like my French for 15 minutes at lunch every day at work. I’m learning French just by habitually utilizing a small space of time that is routinely available to me. Biking is the same way. Actually, biking is even better because it both accomplishes a necessary task while giving me extra bonuses on the side. In the spirit of what I’m talking about, from now on, I’m going to write a dual-language version of my blog, while still keeping the time to a minimum.
I realized today that I am impoverished, literally. I live below the poverty line. I always pictured people living below the poverty line as subsisting in these dilapidated shacks, suffering, looking out from their porches with ghost-like eyes. Well, I am the picture of poverty. Ha! For some reason, this thought is endlessly amusing to me. Well, it’s not really funny at all when anyone is poor, but I don’t suffer too much. I have my basics taken care of.
Aujourd’hui, j’ai realise que je suis pauvre, serieusement. Je vis en bas de la ligne de pauvrete. Je toujours m’imaginais ce que les gens qui vivant en bas de la ligne de pauvrete comme subsistant dans ces maisons effondrement, regardant dehors avec les yeux de fantomes.
Ca c’est bien. Plus en retard.
Oh yeah, plus, I did my shopping tonight, and I made my lunches, so no more food bullshit like earlier this week.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Outcome: "Loss"
Record: 88-6
Streak: Lost 1
Summary: Today wasn't all that bad in terms of production, but crucial things were lacking. I completed a tough day at work, and when I got home I plowed through my list of administrative tasks and studied for the GRE. The reason I gave myself a loss was, first, that I was sloppy with my diet today and ate pastries and cookies and shit at work, second, I should have done Artist's Way exercises and I didn't (I opted to watch a movie instead), and third, in general my vigor was lacking. I'm not too worried about this, mainly because I can identify very specific and probable causes of my recent struggles. First, I didn't do my normal grocery shopping this week and my diet has suffered as a result. This weekend I should go again and get back on track. Second, I didn't get much sleep at all this weekend, and I've been sleep deprived since then (even right now). Like the first thing, it'll probably take the weekend to restore this. I'm going to try hard tomorrow, and like I said, this wasn't a horrible loss or anything, but I just had to be honest with myself.
These past few days have reminded me how important diet and sleep are. I already knew this, but it's nice to be reminded. My theory is that if I get excellent sleep, diet, and exercise, I will probably have a 20:1 win/loss ratio, but if I slack on even one of those, I will have closer to a 2:1 win/loss ratio. That's how big those things are to me.
Record: 88-6
Streak: Lost 1
Summary: Today wasn't all that bad in terms of production, but crucial things were lacking. I completed a tough day at work, and when I got home I plowed through my list of administrative tasks and studied for the GRE. The reason I gave myself a loss was, first, that I was sloppy with my diet today and ate pastries and cookies and shit at work, second, I should have done Artist's Way exercises and I didn't (I opted to watch a movie instead), and third, in general my vigor was lacking. I'm not too worried about this, mainly because I can identify very specific and probable causes of my recent struggles. First, I didn't do my normal grocery shopping this week and my diet has suffered as a result. This weekend I should go again and get back on track. Second, I didn't get much sleep at all this weekend, and I've been sleep deprived since then (even right now). Like the first thing, it'll probably take the weekend to restore this. I'm going to try hard tomorrow, and like I said, this wasn't a horrible loss or anything, but I just had to be honest with myself.
These past few days have reminded me how important diet and sleep are. I already knew this, but it's nice to be reminded. My theory is that if I get excellent sleep, diet, and exercise, I will probably have a 20:1 win/loss ratio, but if I slack on even one of those, I will have closer to a 2:1 win/loss ratio. That's how big those things are to me.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Outcome for the last three days: "Win, Loss, Win"
Record: 88-5
Streak: Won 1
Summary: It may have been a bad idea to go to Philly for a night and an afternoon. It threw everything off schedule, and I just can't keep myself together--I get so depressed when I leave, I just loose control. I said so much bullshit on Monday. I didn't mean most of the things I said. Like, that stuff I said over the phone to Dan was basically me speaking out of my ass. I bought a bunch of junk, neglected to do my grocery shopping, and stayed up late, which made my sleep deprivation from the last three days even worse. Whatever, it was still fun. I doubt I'll be going back to Philly again until May. The only exception would be if the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, in which case I think I'd go back up to watch.
It seems that my sense of new beginning was off-set by one day from the calendar, because today, not yesterday, felt like the start of a new year. In the spirit of new starts, I'm going to offer a new articulation of what it means when I give myself a win. I think I can boil down a win into three criteria. All three must be fulfilled in order to qualify.
#1, I must be ethical. I must always give proportionate attention to the important things, or the things most worth honoring/protecting/preserving. Without ethics you're not doing shit, at best, and you're ruining the world at worst.
#2, I must be strategic. Specifically, this means that I must do what will produce the best result objectively speaking. This sounds obvious, but it might be the hardest of my three. By default I live in accordance with aesthetics. I don't know if I can explain this (I tried in the past). Basically, if what I'm saying makes sense, I must recognize my aesthetic impulses and put them aside for more flexible and strategic approaches when striving to accomplish my goals.
#3, I must be vigorous. Fundamentally, if I opt out of doing something because I didn't feel like it, I get a loss. This is what I was saying the other day about laziness. But not only must I do what I should do, but I must do it "like a man", as the Godfather might see it, for example. I can't pussyfoot around and do half-assed work. I need to produce excellent work on every project and take pride in what I do. I can't say, "no chance, no chance!"(Godfather reference).
Record: 88-5
Streak: Won 1
Summary: It may have been a bad idea to go to Philly for a night and an afternoon. It threw everything off schedule, and I just can't keep myself together--I get so depressed when I leave, I just loose control. I said so much bullshit on Monday. I didn't mean most of the things I said. Like, that stuff I said over the phone to Dan was basically me speaking out of my ass. I bought a bunch of junk, neglected to do my grocery shopping, and stayed up late, which made my sleep deprivation from the last three days even worse. Whatever, it was still fun. I doubt I'll be going back to Philly again until May. The only exception would be if the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, in which case I think I'd go back up to watch.
It seems that my sense of new beginning was off-set by one day from the calendar, because today, not yesterday, felt like the start of a new year. In the spirit of new starts, I'm going to offer a new articulation of what it means when I give myself a win. I think I can boil down a win into three criteria. All three must be fulfilled in order to qualify.
#1, I must be ethical. I must always give proportionate attention to the important things, or the things most worth honoring/protecting/preserving. Without ethics you're not doing shit, at best, and you're ruining the world at worst.
#2, I must be strategic. Specifically, this means that I must do what will produce the best result objectively speaking. This sounds obvious, but it might be the hardest of my three. By default I live in accordance with aesthetics. I don't know if I can explain this (I tried in the past). Basically, if what I'm saying makes sense, I must recognize my aesthetic impulses and put them aside for more flexible and strategic approaches when striving to accomplish my goals.
#3, I must be vigorous. Fundamentally, if I opt out of doing something because I didn't feel like it, I get a loss. This is what I was saying the other day about laziness. But not only must I do what I should do, but I must do it "like a man", as the Godfather might see it, for example. I can't pussyfoot around and do half-assed work. I need to produce excellent work on every project and take pride in what I do. I can't say, "no chance, no chance!"(Godfather reference).
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Outcome for 12/30: “Win”
Record: 86-4
Streak: Won 22
Summary: My willpower has been potent lately, which is great. I basically obey my own commands, which, as we all know, is harder than it sounds. I spent much of the day in Washington with an old friend from St. John’s. It was awesome. I have to say that my opinion of Washington has been raised dramatically. We walked through some beautiful areas, ate some great food, and later we checked out this huge cathedral which was stunning. It was massive. I think it’s called the National Cathedral, but I’m not sure. So yeah, Washington seems like a winner after all.
Week in Review: I came back after break with great discipline. All of these holidays are nice, but they also throw things off schedule. Like tomorrow, I’m going up to Philly, so tomorrow and the next day are going to be non-working days, and I need to adjust everything around that. It’ll still be fun. Next week I want to continue my good discipline. Actually, much of this week was perfect and I can’t think of too much I’d like to improve on.
Year in Review: I’m doing this now because I won’t be near a computer tomorrow. Hmmm, where to start...Overall I’ve made tremendous progress this year, even though at times it seemed I wasn’t getting anywhere. To illustrate this, I’m going to describe where I was at the beginning and where I am now.
At the beginning of the year, I was in a shameful state. My will had lost all of its power, and I was basically dreaming up fantastic plans without being able to execute. My bank account was nearly empty, I was overweight, I was getting ready to start at the SPCA, which was the shittiest job I’ve ever had, my book still hadn’t really taken off, I didn’t have any viable long term plans, I lacked etiquette and self-awareness in many situations (I was basically a barbarian) and I had no phone, internet, or car.
Currently, I’ve improved in nearly every area: the biggest thing is that I’ve developed a realistic, yet effective system. I have complete confidence now that I can execute any of the plans that I dream up, which is liberating in a way. My bank account is comfortable, I’m nearly at ideal weight, I’ve lost well over 20 pounds, I have a decent and stable day job, I got some hours at an awesome green building firm, I’m 33% done a very presentable version of the book, I’m over half-way done with a writing program that I expect to pay huge dividends, I’ve formulated a viable plan-b, I’ve signed up for Spring classes to further that plan, I’ve found summer programs to further that plan, I’ve made a big initial push on my GRE prep, I learned conversational French, I’ve learned a ton of domestic skills and shed my barbarian style to an extent, I’ve read a lot, and I’ve hooked up all my practical stuff so that I can concentrate on work without worrying about those things as much.
I’m trying to remember the books I’ve read this year. Here are a few: The Dubliners, Nichomachean Ethics, Spinoza’s Ethics, huge chunks of the Tanakh, sections from the Talmud, Crime and Punishment, After the Empire, How to Read a Book, Leaves of Grass, Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, a few Roman authors in the same volume as the Aurelius whose names I can’t remember, a shit-load of Emerson essays, Nature, Walden, On Walking, Franklin’s Autobiography, several books inspectionally read (don’t know if that counts)…shit I don’t know, I don’t really remember. While I did read a decent amount, it wasn’t enough. Right away, without proceeding to general evaluation, I can say that I didn’t read enough. That’s going to be a huge goal of next year. I want to read more and read better. I’m going to apply the How to Read a Book method, and begin my three book cycle. The first book will be selected from a pool of modern works that I inspectionally read. The one that seems the most likely to increase my understanding will be read analytically. The second book will be a French book read to improve elementary reading ability. I’ll probably do the Harry Potter books. The third book will be a great book read analytically and will include a written response to my experience reading it. Then I’ll start over with a contemporary book.
General evaluation: I’m just really happy with what I did. Emotionally I feel like I grew a lot this year. I look back over my old posts and I see myself now as being much more stable and effective. That’s the key. I plan to do great things, so I need to develop a way to execute, which I have. The lack of reading might be my biggest area for improvement.
Looking forward:
French--I’ll finish my current 15-minute a day program in five weeks, at which point I’ll probably just start over with the beginner one and cycle back and forth between them. In my leisure time I will continue to watch French movies, speak French with Eva, and perhaps I will seek a conversation group next year. Of course, my three book cycle will include a French book, which will greatly improve my reading knowledge.
Writing--I’ll finish Artist’s Way in February, at which point I’m going back to an hour a day, six hours a week (Sunday off). It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I got a lot done within that time frame in October and November, so it should come quickly. Plus I expect my output to increase dramatically after the completion of AW. I realistically expect to be sending out manuscripts to publishers next winter.
Green building--first I’m taking the GRE and beginning my classes. In March I will apply to summer studios, and then in the fall I will apply to grad school, unless the book or Dan and Derek’s program become 7+ figure ventures, in which case it’s all Rittenhouse Square all the time.
Fitness/Health--I will reduce my weight until I reach a point where I think my body looks like it’s in good shape. I don’t know when that will be. Maybe around 165? I think that should be in the neighborhood. And once I hit that mark, then I’m going to start accumulating my gentleman’s wardrobe, which leads me to the next point.
Etiquette/Presentation--I want to purchase some etiquette texts and strive to become a gentleman. In terms of appearance, I’m going to stop dressing like a riff-raff and where nice clothing (made in Philadelphia).
Money--I don’t expect to come out of next year with a big surplus, mainly because there are big expenses on the horizon. Summer studio is 2500, plus GRE fees and application fees and tuition for classes, etc. BUT, I expect to be able to cover all my expenses as a result of careful management and budgeting. The one possible change to this would be if the program blows up and I have shares and I become a billionaire.
Where will I be at this time next year? Here’s a best-possible-scenario sketch, based on what I know right now. I will be chilling in my nicely decorated Center City apartment. I will already have a complete manuscript of my book and will be shopping it around to different agents. I will have already gotten into a grad program and will be working at a green building firm in Philly to build my skills. Eva and I will still be together and happy. I will be dressing, speaking, and acting like a gentleman. I will be fluent in French. I will have written several philosophical essays in response to my re-reading of the great books. I will generally have a broader understanding of the world. I will be fit and healthy.
I’m not going to make an emotionally charged declaration about how much ass I’m going to kick starting Sunday at midnight, because I have discovered that I do much better when I use a calm and methodical approach. So I will continue what I’m doing, continue striving to master myself, increase my understanding, accommodate changes, and report my progress here.
Good luck to everyone else, keep posting, and let’s be like Rocky Balboa!
Record: 86-4
Streak: Won 22
Summary: My willpower has been potent lately, which is great. I basically obey my own commands, which, as we all know, is harder than it sounds. I spent much of the day in Washington with an old friend from St. John’s. It was awesome. I have to say that my opinion of Washington has been raised dramatically. We walked through some beautiful areas, ate some great food, and later we checked out this huge cathedral which was stunning. It was massive. I think it’s called the National Cathedral, but I’m not sure. So yeah, Washington seems like a winner after all.
Week in Review: I came back after break with great discipline. All of these holidays are nice, but they also throw things off schedule. Like tomorrow, I’m going up to Philly, so tomorrow and the next day are going to be non-working days, and I need to adjust everything around that. It’ll still be fun. Next week I want to continue my good discipline. Actually, much of this week was perfect and I can’t think of too much I’d like to improve on.
Year in Review: I’m doing this now because I won’t be near a computer tomorrow. Hmmm, where to start...Overall I’ve made tremendous progress this year, even though at times it seemed I wasn’t getting anywhere. To illustrate this, I’m going to describe where I was at the beginning and where I am now.
At the beginning of the year, I was in a shameful state. My will had lost all of its power, and I was basically dreaming up fantastic plans without being able to execute. My bank account was nearly empty, I was overweight, I was getting ready to start at the SPCA, which was the shittiest job I’ve ever had, my book still hadn’t really taken off, I didn’t have any viable long term plans, I lacked etiquette and self-awareness in many situations (I was basically a barbarian) and I had no phone, internet, or car.
Currently, I’ve improved in nearly every area: the biggest thing is that I’ve developed a realistic, yet effective system. I have complete confidence now that I can execute any of the plans that I dream up, which is liberating in a way. My bank account is comfortable, I’m nearly at ideal weight, I’ve lost well over 20 pounds, I have a decent and stable day job, I got some hours at an awesome green building firm, I’m 33% done a very presentable version of the book, I’m over half-way done with a writing program that I expect to pay huge dividends, I’ve formulated a viable plan-b, I’ve signed up for Spring classes to further that plan, I’ve found summer programs to further that plan, I’ve made a big initial push on my GRE prep, I learned conversational French, I’ve learned a ton of domestic skills and shed my barbarian style to an extent, I’ve read a lot, and I’ve hooked up all my practical stuff so that I can concentrate on work without worrying about those things as much.
I’m trying to remember the books I’ve read this year. Here are a few: The Dubliners, Nichomachean Ethics, Spinoza’s Ethics, huge chunks of the Tanakh, sections from the Talmud, Crime and Punishment, After the Empire, How to Read a Book, Leaves of Grass, Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, a few Roman authors in the same volume as the Aurelius whose names I can’t remember, a shit-load of Emerson essays, Nature, Walden, On Walking, Franklin’s Autobiography, several books inspectionally read (don’t know if that counts)…shit I don’t know, I don’t really remember. While I did read a decent amount, it wasn’t enough. Right away, without proceeding to general evaluation, I can say that I didn’t read enough. That’s going to be a huge goal of next year. I want to read more and read better. I’m going to apply the How to Read a Book method, and begin my three book cycle. The first book will be selected from a pool of modern works that I inspectionally read. The one that seems the most likely to increase my understanding will be read analytically. The second book will be a French book read to improve elementary reading ability. I’ll probably do the Harry Potter books. The third book will be a great book read analytically and will include a written response to my experience reading it. Then I’ll start over with a contemporary book.
General evaluation: I’m just really happy with what I did. Emotionally I feel like I grew a lot this year. I look back over my old posts and I see myself now as being much more stable and effective. That’s the key. I plan to do great things, so I need to develop a way to execute, which I have. The lack of reading might be my biggest area for improvement.
Looking forward:
French--I’ll finish my current 15-minute a day program in five weeks, at which point I’ll probably just start over with the beginner one and cycle back and forth between them. In my leisure time I will continue to watch French movies, speak French with Eva, and perhaps I will seek a conversation group next year. Of course, my three book cycle will include a French book, which will greatly improve my reading knowledge.
Writing--I’ll finish Artist’s Way in February, at which point I’m going back to an hour a day, six hours a week (Sunday off). It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I got a lot done within that time frame in October and November, so it should come quickly. Plus I expect my output to increase dramatically after the completion of AW. I realistically expect to be sending out manuscripts to publishers next winter.
Green building--first I’m taking the GRE and beginning my classes. In March I will apply to summer studios, and then in the fall I will apply to grad school, unless the book or Dan and Derek’s program become 7+ figure ventures, in which case it’s all Rittenhouse Square all the time.
Fitness/Health--I will reduce my weight until I reach a point where I think my body looks like it’s in good shape. I don’t know when that will be. Maybe around 165? I think that should be in the neighborhood. And once I hit that mark, then I’m going to start accumulating my gentleman’s wardrobe, which leads me to the next point.
Etiquette/Presentation--I want to purchase some etiquette texts and strive to become a gentleman. In terms of appearance, I’m going to stop dressing like a riff-raff and where nice clothing (made in Philadelphia).
Money--I don’t expect to come out of next year with a big surplus, mainly because there are big expenses on the horizon. Summer studio is 2500, plus GRE fees and application fees and tuition for classes, etc. BUT, I expect to be able to cover all my expenses as a result of careful management and budgeting. The one possible change to this would be if the program blows up and I have shares and I become a billionaire.
Where will I be at this time next year? Here’s a best-possible-scenario sketch, based on what I know right now. I will be chilling in my nicely decorated Center City apartment. I will already have a complete manuscript of my book and will be shopping it around to different agents. I will have already gotten into a grad program and will be working at a green building firm in Philly to build my skills. Eva and I will still be together and happy. I will be dressing, speaking, and acting like a gentleman. I will be fluent in French. I will have written several philosophical essays in response to my re-reading of the great books. I will generally have a broader understanding of the world. I will be fit and healthy.
I’m not going to make an emotionally charged declaration about how much ass I’m going to kick starting Sunday at midnight, because I have discovered that I do much better when I use a calm and methodical approach. So I will continue what I’m doing, continue striving to master myself, increase my understanding, accommodate changes, and report my progress here.
Good luck to everyone else, keep posting, and let’s be like Rocky Balboa!
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