New domain

Http://www.thirdeyeenlightenment.com

Enjoy

Hiatus

I'm currently trying to learn basic HTML Code; I purchased a domain name, and will be moving once again. Wish me luck; I hope to be done within two weeks, with a custom designed template. As such I'm dropping blogging for the next two weeks, so there will be no updates; regular posts will return on 1/15/14, whether or not I am done. If I am finished, I will post a link to the updated site. Feel free to browse the archives at this time.

Indulging in False Realities

Just Love Will Open Our Eyes

The title sounds a little cryptic, but why not; the original title was "Why Books Are Incredible," which I thought sounded a little too plain. I had the original idea for this post on 12/21/13, but never got around to actually typing it. If you were wondering about the quote at the top of the page, that's a new feature I'm going to add to musings. Musings aren't very much fun to type, but I feel they're important. A musing on this blog generally consists of my exploration into a topic that has recently piqued my interest; it's something that I do all of the time, but the tiresome part is transcribing my thoughts into paper, or in this case, data. The quote will be from whatever song I'm listening to when I start typing the musing as a treat to myself, in this case, Pig by Dave Matthews.
False Realities encompass, obviously, all interpretations of the world surrounding us that are not based in our Primary Reality. Art, for example, is a false reality. Both literature and music fit the description perfectly. Even the news tentatively fits into this categorization; although the news, ideally, is a factual report of real events that have happened, the way in which the news is presented makes it a false reality. People's realities, as per extension, are false realities, clouded by bias and subjugated by our feeble minds; this isn't necessarily a shot against humanity, but rather an acknowledgment that the world does not objectively exist as we perceive it. Our own perceptions of reality are false; however, our perceived realities are also our Primary Realities, and as such exists as the Real Reality to our subjective viewpoint. As confusing as that may sound, put more simply (And inaccurately), a False Reality is a Reality we observe through an external agent, and Real Reality is what we observe through an internal agent. This isn't to say Real Reality is superior to False Reality; far from it. While False Reality is easily manipulated and distorted, it can more often be miscommunicated. How many times have you been in a position where you've understood something better than you've been able to explain it? Real only exists to the Perceiver. The meaning of a song to the listener is only what it means to the listener, which seems fallacious at first; why isn't what the writer of the song intended it to mean the meaning of the song to the listener? That's because the songwriter's meaning isn't real to the listener. If the songwriter has a discussion with the listener, and converts the listener to his vantage point, than the songwriter's meaning has become real to the listener. There's nothing wrong with this, because what's real can change. Reality is NOT more objective than Falsehood. So, what does this have to do with "Why Books Are Incredible?" Our Realities are incredibly limited. We can do anything, but we can't do everything, and there are experiences that we will, ultimately, not be able to experience on our own. As such, there are viewpoints we will never get to see, lessons we will never get to learn, and memories we will never get to have. False Realities do a great job of allowing us to experience more (Although not really experience more). As much as I want to get kicked out of an all-black college to which I had a full scholarship for almost killing the founder, almost die working in a Paint factory, lead a miniature uprising for a Communist Party in Harlem with my oration, and eventually flee into the sewers to avoid being arrested by Policemen who suspect that I am a looter during a Harlem Riot, I will never get to do that. As such, the closest I can get to doing this is by reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. While I never will get the full experience by reading this book, I can begin to understand it. As much as I want to live on the Jersey Shore in a house with my closest friends and enemies, partying with full-celebrity status, I will never get to experience this. As such, the closest I can get to doing this is by watching The Jersey Shore. These are experiences I will likely never have. If I want to see what it's like to drop acid or have a threesome, I have two choices; experience through secondhand opinion, or do it myself. A False Reality can never replace the Real Reality. However, the Real Reality is severely limited, and is supplemented by occasional indulgence in a False Reality. That is why books, art, literature, music, and the like are incredible. They may not replace the real thing, but they can take you places where Real Reality cannot. They can provide us with viewpoints we will never get to see, lessons we will never get to learn, and memories we will never get to have. Obviously the key here is moderation, because denial of Real Reality and subsequent escape into a False Reality leads to a destructive disconnect. However, as a supplement to Real Reality, as a servant to the master that is Real Reality, False Reality is incredible.
As I typed that last sentence, I remembered a great scene from the movie Good Will Hunting, where Robin Williams, while pondering over a serene pond or something gay like that, says to Matt Damon:

So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the Pope, sexual orientation, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. Seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right: 'Once more into the breach, dear friends.' But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, and watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on Earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of Hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sittin' up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms 'visiting hours' don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause that only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much.

I look at you. I don't see an intelligent, confident man. I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you're a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine. You ripped my fuckin' life apart. You're an orphan, right? Do you think I'd know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, 'cause I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you I can't read in some fuckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't wanna do that, do you, sport? You're terrified of what you might say.

Required Reading, although somewhat unrelated. Don't confuse a False Reality with Hyperreality, and don't indulge so far in False Reality that it becomes Hyperreality. Life isn't fun living in Hyperreality. I've attempted to read Simulacra and Simulation before, but put it aside for another time. I barely understood what was being said, and it took a long time just to read a single page. I was actually originally drawn to the reading after I read the Story of the Eye, a relatively short work, and incredibly messed up, but nonetheless a fantastic work. Simulacra and Simulation was actually one of the original inspirations for the movie The Matrix, and this book was required reading for all actors in the Matrix, although the author of Simulacra and Simulation has publicly stated that The Matrix is a wrongful interpretation and distortion of his work. If you want to take a crack at Simulacra and Simulation, go for it. If you want a sample of the text:

The simulacrum is never what hides the truth - it is truth that hides the fact that there is none. The simulacrum is true. 

-Ecclesiastes  

If once we were able to view the Borges fable in which the cartographers of the Empire draw up a map so detailed that it ends up covering the territory exactly (the decline of the Empire witnesses the fraying of this map, little by little, and its fall into ruins, though some shreds are still discernible in the deserts - the metaphysical beauty of this ruined abstraction testifying to a pride equal to the Empire and rotting like a carcass, returning to the substance of the soil, a bit as the double ends by being confused with the real through aging) - as the most beautiful allegory of simulation, this fable has now come full circle for us, and possesses nothing but the discrete charm of second-order simulacra.

That's the first paragraph. Have fun.

Sharing is Caring II

While I'm sharing music, I'll share another song or two today for the hell of it. This song is called pride, and this one is a rap that I wrote a little over a year ago. It samples Fall in Love, produced by J. Dilla. This was the first song I ever fully completed. I had a lot of fun writing it, hope you enjoy looking at it, and I plan on recording it at some point and releasing it on a mixtape.

I gotta write my thoughts down on this tree/ Because I can no longer lose them in this tree/ When the industry schemes to subdue revolution like it's the final solution/ And it all comes together again/ Going in circles like a ceiling fan/ We don't progress/ We just regress/ When we won't digest our pride (0:20)

I can't burn a bridge in the rain/ That's why I can never escape the pain/ Because where's there to go if there is no bridge (0:31)

I'm taking out my rifle/ Putting on my blindfold/ Then taking shots in the dark at the centerfold/ This was more than sensual/ More than just sexual/ In my mental you weren't just a rental/ Then you opened up your dental/ and tried to tell me gentle/ That you just weren't feeling the sentimental/ The fighting never ended/ Even when we ended/ Because the bridge never burnt/ I was sick of the fighting/ So I started writing/ Promising my love would remain undying/ Because even if we weren't meant to be together we can be together/ Until the end of forever/ But love can't exist in an environment like this/ A blemish like a cyst/ I insist it subsist/ But when I reminisce the first time we kissed/ I promise I can't love you anymore (1:13)

And it all comes together again/ Going in circles like a ceiling fan/ We don't progress/ We just regress/ When we won't digest our pride (x2) (1:34)

Postwar I deplore our rapport/ And swore to ignore/ I promise I can't love you anymore/ I can't stand the depression/ I have to stop the oppression/ It's time for our final secession/ But after another sex session/ I confess a confession/ That I've yet to suspend my obsession/ And did I forget to mention/ My final expression/ That I'll never forget your everlasting impression/ You agree to all I say/ We make up its great/ As you wipe the makeup from your face/ Everything will be fine/ I promise this will be the last time/ But a promise won't stop the crime (2:06)

And it all comes together again/ Going in circles like a ceiling fan/ We don't progress/ We just regress/ When we won't digest our pride (x2) (2:26)

I can't burn a bridge in the rain/ That's why I can never escape the pain/ Because where's there to go if there is no bridge (2:47)

I promise I love you/ I promise I don't/ I promise I won't stop loving you/ Promise you love me/ Promise you don't/ Promise you won't stop loving me/ I promise I love you/ I promise I don't/ I fell in love (3:05)

Extra verses:

Shitt on some deep shit/ Trying to reach it/ Because I'm the Regis/ But what's a king without his queen?/ Just a Philly without the green/ I'll admit I'm not perfect but I thought I was perfect for you/ And you were perfect for me/ I took a leap of faith 

Sharing is Caring

Insanity --- Premix

I have been working on a few songs recently, and recorded this song on my iPhone as a basis for a new song. I tend to use MIDI data over live recordings when making a song because it's easier to edit, and because I don't have a compressor/studio mic, and as you can tell, the tools I have to record with are essentially my iPhone 4 and Macbook Pro. However, I'd like to start recording more live performances for work, because MIDI input is very tiresome. Some thoughts about the song:
-I have yet to write lyrics. All I have so far are for the fourth repetition of the melody in the first verse, and the chorus.

"This Reality it worries me, this must be insanity, I must be insane"

"This must be, Insanity"

-I started work on this a few months ago, never really expanding on it. I had the chorus and the first verse down, but had some ideas about the rest of the song. I wanted the song, as it goes on, to start sounding more confusing and chaotic, while still following the same traditional song format. I had the idea that this song begins with a standard structure, but as the song progresses, that structure erodes away. I finally sat down and finished it a few days ago.
-I may want this song eventually recorded on an organ. I want it to have a very psychedelic feel. I want minimal percussion during the verses, but I may have the percussion either build throughout the song, or become more intense during the chorus and bridge.
-The pause in the first melody in the second verse was intentional. The mess-up at 3:03 was not.
-I plan on adding a lot of short modulated delay effects to this, and maybe some supporting synths, especially at 2:42-3:04.
-I utilized heavy pedal use in this song. When I record it again, I may record it without using the pedal, and instead just use heavier delays.
-The chorus is my favorite part. The chord progression throughout the entire song is the same four chords. However, the melody in the chorus uses five chords, following the pattern 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st, 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd, 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd, 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th. During the chorus, I progressively hit the notes more intensely and use more pedal.
-Speaking of intensity, the intensity with which I hit the notes varies wildly. It's tough to hear because of how I recorded it (Really sloppily), but as the song progresses, the intensity with which I hit each note and chord begins to vary more and more, until the end (Around 4:00), where I try to give the effect of the intensity building on top of itself until it drowns itself out with full pedal, although playing the notes softly.
-I originally started making the song in the key of B, but as it developed, I began ignoring the rules, and just playing what sounded good.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

My best friend as a kid was named Dan. Dan and I met in 4th grade, after my best friend at the time had moved. We were united by a fervor for both pokemon and yugioh at the time. When we hung out, we would play video games, watch movies, and generally keep it lowkey; however, we never really went outside much. As we started getting older, around 7th and 8th grade, we still never really hung out at the mall, hung out with girls, or any of that, preferring to isolate ourselves through video games and TV. We remained best friends up until High School, when I went away to a private school while he stayed at public school. We intended to remain friends in High School, but after going to a Metallica concert together as freshman, we started to drift apart. I hadn't seen Dan since I was a Freshman, and I didn't have any plans last night, so I decided to message him and see if he wanted to hang out. We made plans to meet at his house around 5:30.
Dan's a short kid, and he's a little chubby. He stands about 5'5, but weighs around 180 lbs. He also talks a little weird, but has always been a genuinely nice kid. When he met me at the door, I noticed he'd grown a beard. We chatted for a minute before I came inside his house, where I was met by his mom, also a genuinely nice person. After an initial reminisce, Dan and I headed to his basement, where we had spent much of our childhoods. The basement was about the same as I remembered it, except his old TV had been replaced with a nice flatscreen, and his sister had collected a miniature home studio, complete with amps, guitars, and microphones. Dan was very talkative at first, but after about 30 minutes conversation became more strained, because we realized we didn't have much in common. We spent the night watching Ted, and watching a few episodes of Family Guy and American Dad.
Dan never really outgrew video games, pokemon, and all of that. He talked about video games, anime, and TV almost as if he used it as an escape from reality. I was surprised to learn that he wrestled in High School at the 152 lb weight class, but in the short few months since he graduated High School, he's managed to gain 30 lbs, and not of muscle. I touched on the idea of girls with him, but the conversation was short. He told me he hasn't had much luck with girls, but not for a lack of trying. He added near the end of the conversation that he thinks that his beard is the reason he can't get a girlfriend, like all of his friends have. In terms of any extracurricular activity, it seems as if he doesn't have much. His average day seems to consist of school followed by video games; he didn't have many interests outside of those two things.
There's nothing wrong with Dan. Once you get past how he presents himself, he's just like any other person. The issue with Dan is that he hasn't experienced as much of life as he should've, through no fault of his own. He was never a popular kid, an many experiences of life had been denied to him through peer exclusion. He decided to fill his time with something to escape from reality, namely video games and TV. I was the same way in Middle School, but as I've experienced more and more of the real world, I've grown to like it more and more. Although it's not something everyone necessarily has to like, I prefer life to virtual reality. I'm not going to try to change Dan to make him more like me; he's his own unique person, and it's up to him to go through his unique life path. I'm not going to tell him how to get girls, I'm not going to tell him how to be cooler, how to be more fashionable, or how to do anything of that nature. I'm not going to tell him to go to the gym more often, to be friendlier, or to stop watching anime. Maybe he will achieve all of these things through imitation, but it's none of my business to change these things. I'm going to hang out with Dan more often, and treat him just like any one of my other friends. I plan on hitting him up to go to the mall soon; here's to he and I being friends again.

How I've changed over the past year

Fitness:
Last Year-I weighed between 160-165 lbs, but in relatively good shape pound for pound. Could do 14 pull-ups, didn't bench much, centered workouts around plyometrics and machines. Had a full on six pack, but you could see my ribs easily. Ran 5:30 mile, hadn't pulled a 2k in about two years on the erg, but 2k pace was 1:44. Neglected nutrition, but did eat well.
This Year-I've upped my weight to a baseline around 184. Still in good shape, but not as strong pound for pound. Topped 200 on the bench press, but don't focus much on presses. Can do 11 pull-ups now, and still run a mile in about the same amount of time. Center workouts around freeweights and cables now; would like to return to more plyometrics once I hit 195 lbs. Started deadlifting and squatting on a consistent basis. Dropped to a 4-pack, but can no longer see my ribs. Last 2k was six months ago, pulled in 6:51, now 2k pace hovers around 1:40-1:41. Nutrition is more important to me

Relationships:
Last Year-Finished calendar year in a committed relationship. Relationship was on decline stages, and I noticed it; I correctly predicted that it wouldn't last more than a month into 2013. (Although we didn't stop fucking until five months later). I generally would have sex with anyone who wanted to, and had a thing for hitting up girls I had already been with.
This Year-Haven't officially dated since my last relationship, but have had some fuckbuddies who were basically girlfriends. Am more picky about sex; however, has lead to having less sex. I recently turned down two girls that hit me up, one was a girl I had already been with, the other a new girl. The new girl said she wanted to blow me, then eventually said she wanted to have a threeway with me and her boyfriend. Haven't had sex in a month, but still said no. Recently ended talking to two girls I had talked to for a while. It seems now when I commit to stop talking to a girl, I stay true to that commitment now.

Substances:
Last Year-Strictly weed and alcohol. Not too often, would drink probably once a week, and would smoke less often than that.
This Year-Experimented with a few new drugs, most notably combining Xanax and Weed, and tried LSD once. Didn't do any new drug more than once except for Xanax. Smoked less than the year before, except for one weekend in which I smoked an ounce in two days, but drank more consistently. Switched from a liquor drinker to a beer drinker, and went from drinking to get wasted to drinking to get buzzed. Acquired taste for beer. As year went on, I smoked less and less. As of this writing, I haven't smoked weed in 3 and a half months. Haven't touched alcohol in a while either. Nevertheless, I recommend that, assuming it doesn't violate any personal moral code, everyone experiments. Drugs, especially drugs like LSD, provide a new view on life. I don't like drugs because they're so counterproductive, but assuming you do drugs to supplement your reality rather than to dominate it, they can be an interesting thing.

Friendships:
Last Year-Had a close friendship with about 4 guys. Would hang out with all of them a lot, but didn't have much of a friends list beyond my close circle. Tended to be a dick to everyone I met, because it was funny.
This Year-Still great friends with all my close friends from before, but not as much. Don't have any best friends right now, but I have a couple of friends I hang out with. Still am a dick to others

Sports:
Last Year-Followed hockey religiously. Quit my Varsity Hockey team Senior Year because I had issues with the coach, and helped coach the JV Squad instead. However, I was looking to have my best year that year, I felt better in every respect than I was before.
This Year-Don't follow hockey as much anymore, but watch almost every Devils game. Haven't played hockey as much as I'd like. Got more into basketball, and became a lot better at basketball after practicing two hours a day for a month during the summer. I think I got worse at hockey since last year.

Music:
Last Year-Listened mainly to Rap, however liked all genres. Began writing rap, using instrumentals from old J Dilla beats and classic rap songs such as 93' til infinity. Favorite artists were Capital STEEZ, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, and J. Cole. Listened to other genres, but not as much as rap.
This Year-Listened to a wider variety of music. Focused more on a psychedelic sound. Began producing, and finally got around to learning guitar after practicing about 3 hours a day, every day, since summer. Favorite artists are Capital STEEZ, MGMT, Foster the People, Neutral Milk Hotel, Tame Impala, The Beatles, Velvet Underground, Marvin Gaye, and Mac Miller.

Happiness:
No noticeable difference between last year and this year, although theoretically I should be happier this year. Has devolved into an entire post, will release another time.

It's You

I finally realize what it is. For a long time, people have told me I have something on my shoulder, an anger deep inside of me that has yet to be resolved. I've never denied it, but have never taken it too seriously either. I had always figured that the answer to my psychological issues would come to me in a great epifiny one day, and the conflict would've been something cliche; anger at my dad for "abandoning" me, or blaming myself for my parents divorce, or something along those lines. But no, I realize now what it is; it's you. You're the person I haven't forgiven, the person I've always hated. Maybe I do blame you for the divorce subconsciously, maybe I don't; I genuinely believe I don't care about the divorce at all anymore though. I also don't care about my father in any capacity, and don't miss the family after everyone took the other side. What I hate is you. You created this dynamic that entrapped me, made me dependent on you, on your side, in your dispair from the divorce. You created this mentality in me that my dad was evil, my family was evil, everyone is evil, and you're the saint who sacrificed everything for me, the one who gave up 36 hours to give birth to me, the one who sold her jewelry to keep me in hockey. You made me fear the real world as a child, instead clinging to the fallen reality you had "gifted" to my brother and I. I would live somewhere else by now if I had money and a college degree, but I'm afraid of what can happen. Maybe I still should live somewhere else. You managed to push me away and pull me in simultaneously. There's a reason I ignored you when I was in college, and it's not because I forgot to answer you, or because I was drunk half the time, or because I was with my friends. It was because you finally didn't have power over me. And the funny thing is, the power structure is more or less imagined, something I've played into. Power is a concept, but it isn't tangible. If I want to live under your roof, I would have to follow at least your minimal rules. But there are plenty of places to live, and I would've been better off doing my own thing. I'm only subjected to your power as much as I allow myself to be subjected to it. It's funny how its always everyone else's fault with you, and you're always the victim. I've always felt subjugated to your decisions and will, and felt that my freedom has been restricted. That's why I jumped at the chance to do drugs, to have sex, to do everything you told me not to do. It was pure adolescent rebellion, and I'll admit they were blind decisions with limited foresight. Maybe the horrible dynamic you've established with me is the reason I can't hold a real relationship with a girl for anything more than my selfish desires. I'm sick of you.

This is all in the past though. I do still hate you, and I'm going to have issues with this until I can forgive you, which isn't happening until I don't see you for a long, long time. I can't force myself to forgive you unfortunately, and a conscious acknowledgement that "I forgive you," that I played a hand in my issues as well (although at the age my issues developed at I couldn't have known better), and that you were emotionally devasted, maybe a little soul searching as for your motivations for doing what you did, won't be enough. The reality of te situation is that I have to deal with you for two weeks until I go to college again, in this horrible dynamic we have; the dynamic has never changed between us in the past two an a half years, since I started "revolting" against you. I'm still too stubborn to bend to your wishes, and you're too stubborn to bend to mine. There's an immense conflict of interest, primarily fueled by hatred on my side, and I don't know what on yours. Maybe I'll forgive you when time goes on, but it's not something I can force. The important thing, at the very least, has been discovered on my part. I did have psychological issues in the past, and you are the reason for a lot of those issues. But now, it's up to me to be my own man. I no longer want to have horrible relationship dynamics with girls (re: mommy issues). I no longer want to do drugs, and haven't touched anything, even weed, in months. I may have found the motivation for a lot of the shit I have done. However, these are still my choices, and I can make the choice to not do these things. I'm going to delve into this more in the future, I have a lot of thoughts on this. My mind has been proccupied with this as I cooked dinner for myself, ate it, and then eventually started typing this post. But at this point, I've been thinking of this for the past hour, ever since you left to go celebrate Christmas Eve without me. And good, because now I'm alone, and I've never felt more liberated. I've had time to finally identify the demons I've been living with, both metaphorically and literally. I just can't wait for college.

"Running away isn't rough, but it isn't enough"

Stalker Level 10

When you walk into my gym, you are immediately flanked by the Men's Locker Room on the right and the check-in desk on the left. The Men's Locker Room was recently renovated, and looks absolutely beautiful now; the lockers give plenty of space for everything you brought, the showers are nicer, and there are a few bathroom stalls. If you walk past the check-in area, you will be able to go in one of four directions. Straight ahead, you find a miniature restaurant, where you can buy food, protein, workout gear, drinks, or watch sports and bullshit. To your right, there is a room with a pool, sauna, and hot tub, the perfect place to decompress after a grueling workout. To the left, you will find hall leading to the aerobic room, along with a few racquet ball courts. Up the stairs, you will find yourself in another hallway. On the second floor, to your immediate right, you will see a personal training room, if you opt to pay extra for someone to yell into your ear while you work out. To the left, there is a short walkway with more racquet ball courts, which will lead you to the weight room.
This morning, after changing in the locker room, I headed towards the aerobic room. I planned to start off by rowing intervals on an erg; six intervals of 500 meter sprints (For me, 500m done at a minimum under 1:40.0), followed by a 2:00 rest. On this day, I happened to see a friend who graduated from the same high school as me, also on the erg. He rows crew for Princeton, but his semester recently ended, so he has to workout back home.. His workout was slightly different than mine was; four 10:00 intervals, followed by a 10:00 rest. He averaged somewhere around a 1:50 split in what is essentially a grueling endurance workout. On this day, I also happened to catch sight of another man, leaving the locker room around the same time as I did. This man looked to be about 35 years old and out of shape, but in otherwise perfect health. He plopped his body onto the exercise bikes, which are located right next to the ergs, and started cycling at a lackadaisical pace. After I finished my erg workout, I headed upstairs to work on my legs. Luckily for me, the middle-aged man finished his light bike warmup the same time that I finished rowing, and headed upstairs the same time that I did.
The weight room in my gym in a very large room. When you reach the end of the hallway leading up to the weight room, you will find yourself close to the right-side wall in the room. If you walk the length of the weight room going straight, there is another hallway leading to rooms used primarily for the classes offered with membership, such as Yoga. These rooms are filled to the brim with medicine balls, BOSU balls, and light weights. Coming off of the right-side wall, there is about three rows of machines that work on your entire lower body, from the hip adductors downward. If you go to the left, there is a dumbbell rack, followed by benches, followed by more machines for the upper body, and two Icarian cable crossovers. All the way on the left wall, there are machines for core workouts. In the far left corner, there are two real squat racks, and one smith machine. My victim, middle aged man (MAM) headed straight to the right for what I'm sure he believed to be a tiring day of lower body exercises. Seeing as how I was working legs today, I thought I'd keep an eye on him.
I headed to the squat rack, and loaded up the bar. There was weight on it already from the last person, who didn't take the weight off, which slightly annoyed me. Nonetheless, I did a set of squats, and then headed to the leg machines, where I followed up with a set of prone leg curls and calf raises. I noticed my target, MAM, was on a machine for glutes. He would do sets at explosive movements and awful form (Impressive considering he was using machines), exploding during the concentric phase, and letting gravity do the work for the eccentric phase, in a somewhat violent manner. He also seemed to be using weights heavier than he was realistically able to handle. Following a set, he would stay on the machine and stare at the clock. After finishing the calf raises, I went back to the squat; I repeated this cycle four more times (The fifth time using a leg press instead of squatting). MAM went machine hopping, doing three sets per machine. When I went back to the prone leg curl for my fifth set, he had just gotten off of it. After finishing the cycle five times, I finished off in the weight room by doing two sets on each side for hip abductors, and hip adductors. It became increasingly clear that MAM would not be squatting, or using any free weights for that matter, on this day. He also wasn't doing a full-body exercise, leaving the weight room the same time I did, an hour after coming to the gym. He went straight home; I headed to the indoor field (Past the aerobic room, in a room with heavy bags) to do work with a plyobox for another 30 minutes.
If my gym sounds nice, that's because it is. And unsurprisingly, my gym is also very expensive; a $200 start up fee, and $70 a month. The workout that MAM did today was a workout that could be replicated at Planet Fitness for $60 less a month. MAM is clearly a person that doesn't understand how to work out properly, and would probably benefit from a personal trainer for a little bit, assuming he's too lazy to learn the dynamics of working out online in his free time, and too proud to ask for assistance from the supervisor in the weight room. I'm not doubting that MAM has the honest intention of getting into better shape, and I'm not going to criticize some intangible factor such as heart which he may or may not have. Maybe he is genuinely lazy, or maybe he just doesn't know how to work out properly*. Nevertheless, if you're going to invest that much time, money, and effort into a gym, or anything for that matter, make the most of it. Learn what you're supposed to do, ask for help if you have to. If you're investing time into doing something improperly, then you're just wasting your time, and everyone else's (Damn asshole made me wait for him to finish his horrid set of prone leg curls before I could get a set on, and yes, he sweated all over it).

*And yes, nutrition and lifting go hand in hand, and there's a pretty good chance he isn't eating properly either. Don't bother going to a gym if you're going to neglect something as important as proper nutrition. Proper fitness is not a "One hour a day, three days a week thing."

14 Resolutions for 2014

• Get certified as a Personal Trainer
• Make an album, minimum 10 songs, of any non-rap genre of my choice
• Release a mixtape, minimum of 10 songs
• Get rid of all acne on my body
• Learn Italian fluently
• Learn to play either the violin or the trumpet
• Minimum of 100 hours of extracurricular volunteering
• Deflower a virgin
• Maintain a monogamous relationship with a worthy girl for a decent amount of time, do not base it primarily on sex
• Have 200 posts on this blog by the year's end
• No jerking off or smoking bud
• Get a car
• Read a Poem Everyday
• Read 12 books

1. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
6. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
7. Ulysses by James Joyce (Again)
8. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
10. A Farewell to Arms by Earnest Hemingway
11. The Garden of Eden by Earnest Hemingway
12. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

I consider myself a failure if I don't accomplish at least 12 of these. I will update this as I finish goals.
Here is my other public blog. It's almost upsetting that this blog already has more page views than that one. Unfortunately, I haven't updated it because I haven't been playing hockey as much anymore, but I have a couple of unfinished posts I may finish. Most have to do with fitness.