Posts...or lack of

Haven't been posting much lately, usually means I'm REALLY busy dealing with school and work stuff! I cant be too lazy to write something up on here, hell this is where I come when I AM procrastinating lol. I've recently begun to think about new possibilities for my future. New majors, new jobs, that will affect me a lot in the future. I've come to realize that I have to step up to the plate and make my decision now before it is too late. And literally there are a bunch of dead lines coming up for what Im trying to do, and if I don't get the material in now, the wait is up to a whole year again! And that definitely wont do for me. Im sick and tired of waiting for stuff to happen, while I sit around and watch the people around me move forward, as if I'm stuck in slow motion. If I learned anything from reading the Art of War, the hesitating general does not win the wars. I've got to get my battle formation right though, because this next move has to be executed perfectly, or at least with some genuine thought put into it.

March 18th!

Its early, heh I guess by my definition (11:30Pm) Im on my way home I guess I got about another hour or so before I get to my apt, and the night more than made up for my day. It started with the waking up in a scare and looking at the clock 7:06AM... How the hell did I not get up?? Realizing I just definitely over slept by an hour I jump out of my bed, grab my underwear and run to the bathroom, still went to the shower and brushed my teeth quickly, thorough none the less, but quick (smh at you guys that would of just got dressed and left!) it was was like a blur! I check the clock, 7:27AM Damn im slow as hell, got dressed and I had to skip breakfast which really sucks because I try to eat 5 times a day! strike one run to the bus, catch the train, get to school, check the clock ugh already 8:50am.... my class starts at 8:30AM oh and did I mention I have my two midterms today? eh...strike two I finish the test with confidence that I did well at least! but wait...theres one more midterm in the horizon waiting to catch me off guard, the 2nd midterm was HORRIBLE! strike three...aaaaaaand im out? Fuck no, my blog, my rules I get one more chance! fast forward to my lunch break at work to something I've been planning for two weeks now because as bad as the day went its still a special day! Its my two year Anniversary with my girlfriend, Lucy! It sucks that we both had to work today and go to school but that doesn't mean I can't salvage what's left of the day. So fast forward to when I get out of work at night, and it takes an hour, the train ride from my job to her job, I give her a call Me: hey just made it to the bus, you busy? Her: Actually now, its pretty dead, but damn this is the only time we get to talk on the phone for the whole day (already 10:xxPM) Me: yeah I know, but what are you eating, it looks good (already standing 3 feet from her with her back towards me inside her store, the phone faces away from the door so she dint even notice me walk in!) I step in her view, her smile streched all the way around her face, expression speechless and surprised I put the flowers and card down on the counter. The whole days worries, bad midterm, and work stress just went out the window, her smile is beautifully strong enough to cause a start to collapse within itself, and that's what she does to my heart everytime I see her...HAPPY TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY! It was a long trip down the yellow brick road, been to the depths of the abyss, flown above the heavens, experienced the endless desolate calm of space all for her...2:xxAM now... too tired to look at the exact time and focus, so sleepy now...going to sle..zzzz.zZZZzzz

The Joys of Running!

Being physically active isn't something I do, like go to the mall. It's part of my lifestyle. Tony Hawk skateboards, Ne-yo writes and sings, and Joel works out! Plain and simple. I don't play many sports because I don't have the time. I can run whenever I want to though, in the morning at 6AM before I go to class, or at 10PM when I get home from work, no team mates required! It's such a great stress reliever as well, nothing like it. Better than any drug or alcohol out there! I will say this though, it definitely isn't for everybody. Some people prefer to ride the bicycle, or like I mentioned before, play a sport for cardio. But if you are one of those people (like me) that don't have time for sports, but would like to get into running, there are a few things you can do to make it fun for yourself. Or at least tolerable if you're doing it to try and to lose a little weight.

• Running with a Partner

Running with somebody will motivate you more rather than if you are running by yourself. You will either get that competitive energy or just get caught up in the conversation and that will be fuel enough for both of you to keep it going. A way to gauge if you are running at a pace adequate to your current physical level is to try and hold a regular conversation while you run with your partner without huffing and puffing for air. If you can't run and talk at the same time, you should slow down your pace until you can.

• Good music

While some people can listen to slow jams and it keeps them going, most of us require some fast paced music. Any type of fast rock, rap, or techno get's the job done for me. I recently downloaded this 68 minute techno podcast from http://www.motiontraxx.com/ for free, it's really fast paced, the DJ says at about 168 Beats per minute lol, if that doesn't keep your legs moving, nothing will!

• Environment

This is the most important one for me. It's probably because I've been working out for a long time now, going on 4+ years. I've felt like a hamster on a treadmill for the first 2 years working out, then once I got to college I expanded my horizons. You can run on the indoor track or the outside. I also like to run outside! Running outside for me sure beats the treadmill, though it's not as precise, as you know with the treadmill you get the full readings like the total miles ran, calories expended, and your current heart rate. The constant change of scenery is what does it for me though while jogging outside. I know people that HATE running on a treadmill or on a track in circles, but take them out on the streets and they will run for days. Running on the treadmill might seem like it's taking forever because your staying in the same spot and just running while constantly staring down at the time lol, I HATE THAT SHIT! Running in a track makes people seem like their participating in a on foot version of Nascar, going round and round and...you get the idea.

So if you think you hate running, and you haven't tried any of these, what do you have to lose? Go for it!

A Dream come true!

Have you ever wondered if this is all a dream and in reality our dreams are our natural states? Well you are not alone (Lol that sounded really cliché) but Albert Taylor describes what can be called Astral Projection incredibly vividly in the latest (And randomly picked) book I am reading now, "Soul Traveler". He seems to enjoy the meta physical world which he can go into while he's half asleep by ways he learned through meditation (Yeah I know how it sounds). He was bothered as a kid because he would wake up in the middle of the night feeling his body frozen as if somebody was holding him down, and making him unable to move at his own will.

Eventually he researched into it enough to find out that he was experiencing what many people experience when they have a near death experience, but instead it was much stronger than that. In this state, you can sort of just separate your physical self, with your meta physical self and actually see everything in a new clarity, according to him. Astral projection seems like something out of a sci-fi movie to me and as much as I love the genre and I'm not discrediting him, but this does seem a bit far fetched. It's just a crazy notion to imagine that people have these abilities to be able to detach themselves from their physical body and roam the universe, so to speak.

Albert can fly, cross through physical objects, see through them as well, and in his astral state, he can even speak with those who have had their life passes revoked. I can make a connection and see that a lot of the experiences described in the book can be tied to something that has occurred to him in the physical state, or can easily be imagined during sleep. Only because the mind is such a powerful device and it can create the most wondrous situations while your asleep or construct the most terrible nightmare that would make Freddy Kreuger want to move out of Elm Street. Except the more I read about this stuff the more I scoff at myself and say what a bunch of crap this is! I know some people don't care but I mean why not fly to the Middle East and see where Bin Laden is hiding if he's still alive? I bet if I asked him personally there would be some type of bullshit "astral" excuse as to why he wouldn't be able to do that.

I believed it more at the beginning of the book because some of the things sounded a little bit more plausible. That is until he described that he was able to use his third eye to "see" through the wall and sense who was on the other side. Like I said I'm not calling the guy a liar because in a similar comparison, just because you can't see the oxygen you are breathing doesn't mean it's not there. But I can sure as hell use some type of equipment to measure the oxygen content in my room to make sure that it's there. This is pretty amazing but this is definitely one of those things that you have to experience for yourself to believe.

New Style in the horizon, Maybe?

Do you ever wonder what you will look like in the next 5 years? If I am me, and last time I checked I was, I will try to keep my body looking more or less the same. The only thing that I've been thinking about is what am I going to be wearing! As of late, as the days go by Im growing kind of tired of wearing the same stuff, and just want to switch up my style. Im tired of hearing this word from the older people (30+) at work, or in rap songs. And you can't step into one subway cart without seeing somebody wearing a pair of skinny jeans. Hi, my name is Joel and im a hipster...Ive been addicted to slim fitted jeans since about sophmore year in college and im ready for change!

I like the style don't get me wrong, its just were at the point in time where everybody is trying to be different at the same time and ends up looking just like the person next to them. Its a perpetual cycle that undoubtedly continues to feed on itself. Whatever I decide to do I just want to be comfortable with what I'm wearing. At the same time I want to look and feel good regardless of others. I tend apply the same principles to working out, because you better believe I don't do it for anybody but me, I could give two shits about what you think about my body, hate it or love it (dont get offended but its the truth).

Its the only thing I can do that I don't need anybody else involved with unless I allow them to. I wouldn't be where I am with that today if I took peoples opinions to heart about the way I look. One thing Ive asked myself though is how do you define what "looking good" is? Yes, it will vary from person to person, but the answer is quite simple, just wear what makes you, you. Reguardless of what other people think, if you like wearing a super tight shirt that has your love handles squeezing out, wear em! Some tight booty shorts that make your ass look great, accentuate those curves, if you got to wear that shirt to hide your gut, do it! We let a lot of media, and artists influence us, which isn't bad but at the same time it gives us unrealistic goals. Were people leading regular lives working, going to school, with everyday problems lol. God knows as much as i'd love to be in the gym 5 days a week, it's just not possible anymore. Hopefully I will see what the future holds for me with clothes! I am getting older, and I know for damn sure I wont be wearing these tight ass jeans into my 30's lol.