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Country: United States
State: Massachusetts
Birthday: 11/25/1985
Gender: Male
Interests: 
Expertise: random stuff
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/21/2002
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| Odd.The following happened yesterday:
I'm waiting at the corner to get a ride down to practice when an older woman approaches me and says, "There sure are a lot of [parking] spots today!" "Must be students taking off early," I reply. "But especially for a FRIDAY!" she interjects.
It was Tuesday yesterday.
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| Makes Me Think (AKA obligatory rowing quotes blah blah)"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results." -- Jack Dixon
"A man goes through many changes in 2000 meters. Some are not very pretty. Some make you hate yourself. Some make you wonder if you've been rowing for only three or four days. To avoid that fate, we prepared for all possibilities. If a meteor landed 10 feet off our stern, we would not blink. [We] Would be aware, yet impassive, to the outside world. Every ounce of energy would be funneled into the water, and not wasted by looking around, worrying about opponents, wondering about things that didn't concern our primary goal--to be the first across the finish line." -- Brad Alan Lewis from Assault on Lake Casitas
"White Hot Concentration is the unappreciated fruit of hard lifting, especially squats. When you're in the squat rack, with a serious amount of weight overhead, your life literally depends on maintaining concentration. You learn to block out the swirling images in the mirror, the obnoxious chatter of the people next to you, the fat drop of sweat running down your nose. Once you've mastered this concentration in the weight room, duplicating it on the race course is relatively easy. Champions have only a few things in common. One weapon they all possess is White Hot Concentration." -- Brad Alan Lewis from WANTED: Rowing Coach
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Where/how do you get your White Hot Concentration?
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| ThoughtsAs a senior in college, the notion of post-college life is no longer on the back burner. It's becoming real, very real, and there is much scrambling among my hallmates, classmates, and teammates alike. I know people who are on several post-graduate tracks- graduate school (Nina), a postbacc program (a teammate), and working in "the real world" (a different teammate). My inbox slowly expands with email after email from employers, Cornell career services, and other listserves I signed up for back when I thought they'd offer me opportunities.
Looking at these three paths, I wonder if there isn't a fourth, fifth, or twentieth thing that I haven't considered. Nobody starts out at the top of something- if they can, then other people must also be able to do so too. So if we temporarily accept that there's a procedure to get to the top of something, should we also assume that your first job out of college has to suck? I don't think it should mean that, but nearly every single person I know who has left Cornell to enter the working world has told me that it sucks. Is that a comment on Cornell, college in general, their workplace, or the splash into the real world in general?
As I look at the options that are made available to all students, it makes me think. 4 years ago, I was a senior in high school. College fairs back then offered no more insight to me than did this year's career fair or that of the year before. To be sure, I owe a large debt of gratitude to the staff at my high school who wrote letters to Cornell after I had been waitlisted. One thing that is different between high school and now is that I have had experience in making things happen in "the real world." While in the past, I had obtained a street-performing license and a TEFL certificate, at heart those endeavors required that I pay money to someone else to be able to do something that I wanted. One exception to this pattern is that I set up an organization for international students at my high school which has been flourishing to this day. There might be a lesson there, that you can set up things with no more than an idea and other like-minded people around you. Whatever the case, in my senior year of college there is an exception. Something is different.
During the winter of my sophomore year, I realized that with my interest in Chinese and rowing, that there had to be some way to blend the two. After that flicker in my head, the following happened: I remembered that the Olympics would be in Beijing in 2008, and further thought that US Rowing would need a translator who understood rowing. The next step would be to meet someone who could help, and with that I asked my freshman year coach to introduce me to Mike Teti, the Olympic Rowing coach. While he wasn't the exact person to talk to, as the coach of a world record-setting crew which ended a 40-year gold medal drought for the US in the men's 8+ event, his words carry weight. I heard back from him, sent my resume to US Rowing, and not long after that, I had positive phone calls with the national team manager (incidentally a former high school classmate of my oldest sister) and the executive director of US Rowing. By fall break I was in Princeton interviewing and looking at the boathouse of the national team. The following July I was at Beijing Capital Airport meeting the US Rowing delegation.
I did it. I made something happen. I shifted the balance- no more would I have to pay to get what I wanted, people were willing to pay me to get something they wanted. As James might put it, I moved from the "consumer" end of the scale to the "producer" end. Now after all that, all that I did and made happen through determination and taking on manageable tasks, can I really think about a regular desk job where someone else feeds me orders? It's a tough call. I don't want to have to "drink the kool-aid" of the corporate world and sell out some of the most precious years of my life. If I have an idea, and I think it'd be best if I spent my time setting up this idea, then why shouldn't I? Besides asking why I shouldn't do it, I'm fairly sure of why I should. It's something that I can see myself doing, doing passionately, doing whether everything is great or not, and that's what makes it seem to me like it's something I should be doing. Having had experience going into jobs where before I even got changed I felt like my energy would be spent needlessly all for some hourly wage, I want to try something new.
There are people less than 4 years older than me who are living large, flying in private jets, but why is it that I can't imagine so many of the people who have entered the workforce as doing the same thing? I see shows like "the office," and I just think about how they must have been written by people in some office somewhere. It is not work that I reject, but monotony. I need to wake up and know that I am moving something forward towards a tangible goal. When I reach that goal, I will know to move on rather than condemning myself to a hampster wheel. To me, the greatest tragedy is to lose that voice that says, "Get up and get moving!" If the gadfly in my head telling me to make something happen is silenced in any way, then my life goes from adventure to just plodding along, looking at the shiny things, taking for myself what's easiest to reach. Even though much has changed (for the better!) since senior year of high school, I find that the quote I chose for the yearbook rings as true now as it did then. In closing, patient reader, I leave you with that quote:
“I tell you that as long as I can conceive something better than myself I cannot be easy unless I am striving to bring it in to existence or clearing the way for it.” - George Bernard Shaw
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| It's that time again..No pictures, instead here come lists!
Resolutions (in no particular order):
1. Learn to swim fluidly (I've known how to swim forever, but if I'm serious about competing in an Ironman down the line, then I need to learn how to minimize extraneous movement).
2. Explore more of Ithaca with Nina, and take pictures along the way! :D
3. Do better in the spring semester than I did this past fall semester.
4. Improve flexibility by stretching more.
More to come..?
Self-Evaluation on last year's resolutions
1. Budgeting - That lasted for a little while (maybe 3-4 months) but school took precedence over receipt-recording. I'll try again after this year.
2. Spending 10 hours/wk or less on AIM. Well, it went pretty smoothly during the fall semester, seeing as after I
Survey whatnot:
1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Rowed in the Head of the Charles again. =P Turned 21 (a few times, haha). I was considered (and it looks like I might have the job) for an international translation/interpretation job. Had my first real job interview. Beat UPenn (on their last duel race under their long-term coach). Rowed in the First Varsity boat for the entire spring season. Rowed during the summer, met a world champion rower, had an internship, learned what morning crew practices were like, stayed in Brooklyn and had an amazing time. Observed 2 cardiac procedures in the OR, rode on an ambulance as an observer, went to my sister's wedding. Tons of stuff, I guess.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Half. Yes.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I hope I don't have to answer "yes" to this for a long time.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not that I can recall.
5. What countries did you visit?
None this year, but maybe more next year.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
A
friggin' new WARDROBE of other schools' shirts. (This is a reference to
winning the other team's shirt when you beat them in crew races).
^ That's still true from last year. Though this year, I want to add the IRA Points trophy to that.
7.
What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? The time Nina had just finished a grad school application and we ran in the night. I could never forget it. Becky's wedding is up there too, as is winning a medal during the summer, but Nina is truly special.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Earning a varsity letter in crew.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not training enough during the summer when I could have, not giving clear directions to the Syracuse racecourse.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
My shoulder developed an overuse injury during the summer that required my taking 2 weeks off from training.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My exercise ball in my room. It's great to bounce on!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Oodles of people.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
People on the crew team who were content with where they were as rowers and didn't strive to improve.
14. Where did most of your money go?
That is a _VERY_ good question... I think most of it went to books and food.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
being with Nina, training hard, winning the last 2 races of the season (the first was just winning in the B category, but we got 6th overall and the A boat took 4th; the second race the 4 that I was in won the whole thing).
16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
"Passion" by Utada Hikaru, the Encore 04 Mix by DJ Sandeman, the song "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? way happier!
ii. thinner or fatter? I put on a lot of muscle during the summer, lost it, now I'm about 5 lbs. heavier than last year.
iii.
richer or poorer? richer in terms of friends. I still have the same
great friends, and I feel strong friendships with the people I've met
in the past.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Extra training for rowing. More self-improvement stuff?
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Watching TV?
20. How will you be spending New Years? Already did, and I was erging as the clock hit 12.
21. What did you wear a lot in 2006? My red Cornell jacket.
22. Did you fall in love in 2005? I'd say I'm in a very fulfilling relationship whose bond is growing stronger and stronger.
23. How many one-night stands? -
24.
What was your favorite TV program? I watched CSI, Numb3rs (still, ugh, haha), and 24.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? nope, not really mad
26. What was the best book you read? Difficult to choose.
27.
What was your greatest musical discovery? Encore 04 mix by DJ Sandeman, plenty of stuff.
28. Any Drastic Change? I'm 21!
29.
What do you wish never happened? This question is antithetical to how I
generally view things. However, I will say that if my shoulder injury
didn't happen that I'd probably be in better shape now.
30. What was your favorite film of this year? God of Cookery or Supermodel.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I had friends over and drank a little. It was tame.
32.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More walks in my moccasins sans watch, wallet, or cellphone.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Comfort!
34. What kept you sane? Not thinking too much.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? -
36. What political issue stirred you the most? Low graduation rates in public schools.
37.
Who did you miss? I don't know if I really miss anybody right now, but
that's because I do my best to stay in touch. Oh, well I miss Siggy.
38.
Who was the best new person you met? Nina.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006: Always give your best, because each day is only there once. There is only one January 5, 2007, 2:20PM. Once a second goes by, it's gone.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Put apprehension on the back burner, let it sit, don't even get it lit.
Don't hold back!
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| Ok, so.The interview went really well in Princeton and I may go back this month to do more stuff in person.
- At the Head of the Charles, we did not get within 5% of the winning boat time in the Champ 4s category, however we WERE faster than the US National Team at the first mile.
- At the Princeton Chase (the following weekend), I was in the B 8 and we got 6th out of 37 boats. In doing this, we beat all the other B boats and a bunch of A boats as well.
- This weekend, at Syracuse, the boat I was in (Cornell A 4+) won the entire event! No prizes this weekend, but at least we'll have the memory.
Life is really good. A person can't always get all the grades, continually perform athletically, and take a million classes at once. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but it does mean that you shouldn't be crestfallen if you don't do perfectly in something. That's balance; there's a give and take. This is part of why I'm looking forward to next semester. I'll be taking one less class, will probably stop working at the jobs I have now (shhh) and life will just be more simple. Looking at the seniors here, I realize more and more that the time to enjoy Ithaca is now more than ever.
Who's seen the Borat movie so far?
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