Well…just called my adviser, I’m like 95% sure I’m cleared to graduate/etc. I still have to move my shit from Lincoln to Omaha which is a pain in the ass. Once I do that, it is pretty much it…no more school.

I said that I would write some of my goals out and what I hope to accomplish these next few months. I’m fairly sure I want to travel somewhere for a while, probably with some forum friends. Not quite sure where yet…Asia was definitely fun and I wouldn’t mind going back. Australia is also high on the list and the middle east would be fun as well.

When you travel to a place, you get the bug…traveling is fantastic, and if you have at all the opportunity, by all means go. Even if it costs you alot of your current money, the experiences you’ll have when you’re young and free, these experiences are well worth it. I know that I’ll have the rest of my life trying to get money, and I might as well enjoy myself now while I can.

So now that I’m out of school, what do I do? I have a lot of free time and really no responsibility. I plan on being in Omaha for a few months probably, just getting some stuff in order, maybe participating in our spring flag league (hopefully there is one) and then traveling in the summer.

I’ve been debating getting a job…not really for money (I guess $7 or $8 an hour no variance is nice lol…) but for the experience…I was thinking about trying to apply for a local gym’s climbing wall and working there. I want to get some experience doing so as I wouldn’t mind doing it for a potential career. I’ve really really enjoyed climbing the last semester, and going like 5x+ a week, it’s great. I’m starting to see alot of gain in terms of climbing ability and strength, and I think that working at the gym would help with that.

So, I guess I’ll make a list of goals I want to complete within the next few months:

Exercise stuff

-Climb 5 times a week (if the gym is open, not sure). I want to continue to get better at climbing. I shouldn’t even really list this as a goal since it’s being done already and I don’t see it changing in the (near) future.

-Cardio…I want to get better at it. I’ve historically sucked ass at running longer distances and I want to improve on it. I’m thinking I want to start on 10 miles a week. There’s a local lake nearby and I’ll try and run it when it gets warmer. I’m a bit hesitant to work on the treadmill since I’m not a huge fan. This combined with climbing might be a bit rough and I’m not sure how exactly I want to break it up…climbing for 1.5 hours or whatever then running 3 miles might be a bit much on the body.  Might have to readjust this goal.

-Diet- I want to cut down a bit. Now that I’m home, I won’t be starving like I am at school. I’ll keep eating breakfast and I think I’ll probably go out a bit less than I was in school. With that said, I need to cut my portion sizing down a bit. I’m not really going to set any weight goals, I think I’ve been gaining a decent amount of good weight the last few months due to climbing alot. I’m alot stronger than i have been in the past and I’m not sure how good or bad that is (relative to what I want to do, with flag football).

Poker

Now that I have alot more free time, playing cannot be excused. I can’t use school as an excuse and I think that getting at least 20k hands of mixed PLO/NLHE/tourneys/etc in should be attainable. I’m not going to set a money goal…my monthly nut isn’t that large relative to alot of cities and I think I can be fine on winning smaller amounts if need be. With that said, I do want to play more (in volume). I also want to play some more tourneys. wouldn’t mind playing live a bit more, though, live poker is a bit boring and I should only go if I really want to play it. (If I don’t, it often leads to $ donations).

Other Stuff

-I want to read more…though, I’m usually reading something most of the time anyways. I have a lot of books I need to get through and though I am reading fairly consistently, I wouldn’t mind upping the level.

-I want to learn another hobby/trade. Since I’ll have alot more free time, taking up something like cooking wouldn’t be bad…I love to eat and actually semi-learning how to cook is a useful skill for the future. Other stuff like helping my dad out/becoming better with my hands wouldn’t be a bad option either. I know I also want to start to learn more about some market stuff (stocks/options/etc), so probably will be ordering some books/reading more about that.

-Volunteer stuff? Not sure yet. I guess I’ll see how much time I have, but I wouldn’t mind doing some volunteer work. Will still have to think about what and where though.

That’s all I can think of for now. I’m sure I’ll come up with more later. Happy holidays

Today was my last day of classes. Finals week killed me and I have been scrambling around like a crazed madman throughout the week, trying to finalize my graduation. Looking back, this has been the busiest semester of my life…simple things for others is not simple for me, and for whatever reason, I’m a fuckup…passing classes; a relatively simple task for others, is insanely difficult for me. I’m glad I can finally vent here, I have alot to ramble about…

Looking back, I got insanely lucky throughout this semester. From the start, I pretty much fucked myself in wines class…after I aced the second test, I decided to take it pass/no pass (P/NP). The teacher stated that you need a 70% to receive a P, which was swell.

Well, I didn’t really go to the rest of those classes and let it all ride on my final (smart decision right?). I was shitting bricks before I took it. When I finally did complete the test, I emailed my teacher, hoping to get a response. He told me I got a 71% or something overall in the class, which was a P. I was elated, and went about my business.

Well, I saw my adviser a few weeks ago. Turns out that I needed to get a few transcripts, all from classes that I took at local community colleges. I was scrambling around like a fucking moron, trying to get my transcripts out and sent. I came so close to missing one of my deadlines, as the community college did not send it and I had to pick it up myself, meeting the deadline by a day.

On the same day (this all occurred this past week) I found out that I did an epic misclick- I actually took one of my history classes P/NP instead of wines, and that the C- that the teacher gave me would NOT have qualified me for a Pass. Further, I also received a letter in the mail stating that I was in a NP grade for said history class (I’m hoping it was due to not updating the grade?).

Yesterday I received some good news, in that I only needed a D instead of a C in Spanish to pass….I was teetering on the edge of a C and D and was flipping shit because I thought I needed a C.

I had roadblock after roadblock here…I was on the edge in nearly all of my classes, and I’m still not out of the clear yet. I’m technically graduated but still have to get my diploma once I drop off my final transcripts from the community college. So many landmines waiting to detonate, to explode my college career.

I’m not sure what I would have done had I failed and not graduated. Hell, I guess I still can’t say that, since there’s still a non-zero percent chance that it happens. With that said, getting done, it’s a miraculous feeling. I’m so happy that I’m done, not only because I don’t have to read any more books or argue on the synoptics of Jesus, but because I finished something. College is something that isn’t the easiest thing to finish at times, and I know alot of my poker friends struggle heavily.

What can I do with my shitty history degree? Probably just be a fucking bum on the streets, begging for quarters…I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but I’m glad I have it. Was it worth it? Was the degree itself worth all the money I spent at UNL? Probably not…but the memories I have, the times I shared with friends, those are the ones worth remembering. I feel like I’ve grown alot, as a person AND in an intellectual sense. You don’t always realize how writing on the Chinese Cultural Revolution can increase your logical and reasoning skills, but they do. Kids that say “I didn’t learn jack in college” are just fooling themselves…people learn, oftentimes in innate ways.

I was feeling pretty nostalgic today, a bit emo. For the last time (well, maybe not TECHNICALLY the last time), I ate at the local Chinese joint. Last week I ate at the local diner place, today I ate at the local sushi place. (You get the picture, I like food). I climbed the wall one last time and that really made me sad…this wall was a place I climbed at a ton this semester. I probably climbed maybe 4-5 times a week for the last 2 months, and it’s been great. I can feel immense improvement and I know I’ve attained a hobby for life. (I tried climbing 10 routes today but only had an hour to do so and only got in 8, they kicked me off the last one as they were closing up).  I mumbled “goodbye Lincoln” as I rode my bike across the bridge one last time. College was a fantastic time, and I learned alot…not necessarily just academics, but life lessons.

Above all, I was sad because its the end of an era. I’m beginning to enter the stage of my life where friends are getting jobs, getting married, living in “the real world”. This is a scary place, and a place where many of us will be for the rest of our lives. There will be no more dicking around day and night, watching movies until 2, eating IHOP 4 times a week. No more “hey, let’s go to the REC and throw the ball around” at 2 p.m., or “hey, let’s go to that nugget feed”. While I enjoyed college immensely, I do have a lot of regret. I wish I did more instead of grind my ass off when I was younger. Money can be attained anytime, and instead of going out with friends I liked to stay in and just play. I was a loser then and I’m a loser now…but meh, such is life.

Despite graduating college, I’m just about the least mature person alive…at least at my age. I don’t want to grow up, I don’t want to get married or work a real job or live “the American Dream” with a white picket fence and a 2 car garage. I’m in a flux, and I have no clue what I really want to do…and it’s scary.

I’ve referenced that adsman post before…going into the future with little structure or plan is great…but it’s incredibly scary. I have some idea of what I *might* want to do but nothing is certain. Sometimes I DID wish I knew exactly what I want to do…I have alot of friends in med school right now, they all seem to have their life on track, their goals realized.

I need to figure out what I want to do. I’ll probably assemble some sort of goals list here in the following days…lord knows I have nothing else to do (or won’t). I’m guessing that I’ll probably stay in NE for a few more months then head off somewhere around the world for an equal duration.

thanks for reading, this is mainly just a vent/explosion of thought. hopefully everything goes smoothly for graduation, i don’t plan on walking but my teachers better pass me…

Finals week this week, last week of college (I hope). This is so stressful…I’m on the fence on a number of my classes. Hopefully I return in a week with good news (that I passed). If I don’t pass, I don’t even know what I’m going to do.

gl all

here are some pictures from that destructive game-

anyways, some pictures there. weather outside sucks, but that = snowday, so mmmm. though, snowday = lots of poker, which = lots of $ lost for me these days. frustrating because i’m stuck 25 buyins the last 2 days at PLO. not playing well at all and just donking off money/running a bit bad.

fml cant even climb either. dammit.