Stage 2, Day 15,
Days are still pretty productive. Going pretty hard on logic.
I have been working with more intensity on Italian, and less on Spanish. I should try to bring that back.
I had a phone interview this morning; I lost interest after finding that it's in another city, and only 10 hours per week. This pretty much disqualifies the job.
I'm becoming increasingly pissed off at the ease in which people can be deceived into outrage. Facebook is a breeding ground for these sorts of things. Two videos I saw today:
i) Lady Gaga's new video, which has to do with sexual assault on campus.
ii) The guy who recently acquired a patent for a pill and then increased the price of his pharmaceutical drug.
The first; Watch the video and you'll understand; it displays a poor understanding of statistics (the 1/5 figure), the methods in which they are collected, and the way that statistics are warped to fulfill a political agenda. It is certainly propaganda. It certainly isn't helping their cause.
The second; the people who are commenting have a poor understanding of economics or business. Nor do they seem to understand the role of costs or profits. Again, watch the interview he has on Bloomburg; he goes on record in saying that if individuals cannot afford the product, they will cut the price to 1$ a pill.
But the main reason I'm okay with this comes down to how the aggregate react to newly high prices; they simply put their money somewhere else. And I guarantee that there are already various medications, which come from other companies, that treat the disease. Raising your prices does not necessarily lead to higher revenue. If anything, it will lead to less, as the group as a whole will look for much cheaper options.
I'm deliberately leaving out details so that you'll look these stories up on your own. Also, I do not want this thread to be found by a Google search on those topics.
This deeply concerns me; if people's emotions can be engineered so easily, who knows what sorts of things they can be convinced to believe in the near future.
Stage 2, Day 16,
Another day has gone by where I've hit the gym, practiced guitar 3-4 hours applied to jobs, did my flashcards, learned some logic. I've created a list of books on the Trivium that I could buy. I want to buy one of them in particular.
I'm becoming serious about lifting more weight. I've been lifting for years, and I even look build, but my lifts are weak.
Here are my numbers today:
Bench press: 135 lbs x 6 (it has been at 155 lbs x 6 in the past)
Squat: 155 lbs x 8 (it has been 185 lbs)
Body Weight Wide-Grip Chin-ups: 10 reps
I didn't do my deadlift, but normally,
Deadlift: 315 lbs x 4
Let's see what I can do tomorrow.
@
Inconceivablezen
Watched the videos. I can only say: WOW.
People will soon lack in their cognitive faculties to the point where one can no longer even argue with them. They will probably shout platitudes and get their like-minded friends to do the same, drowning out any possibility of rational discourse.
... Oh wait, a lot a people already use that strategy.
(09-22-2015, 08:13 PM)DanAmerson Wrote: [ -> ]Stage 2, Day 16,
Another day has gone by where I've hit the gym, practiced guitar 3-4 hours applied to jobs, did my flashcards, learned some logic. I've created a list of books on the Trivium that I could buy. I want to buy one of them in particular.
I'm becoming serious about lifting more weight. I've been lifting for years, and I even look build, but my lifts are weak.
Here are my numbers today:
Bench press: 135 lbs x 6 (it has been at 155 lbs x 6 in the past)
Squat: 155 lbs x 8 (it has been 185 lbs)
Body Weight Wide-Grip Chin-ups: 10 reps
I didn't do my deadlift, but normally,
Deadlift: 315 lbs x 4
Let's see what I can do tomorrow.
Geez dude that's a massive gap between your dead and your squat and bench!
Stage 2, Day 17,
Pretty 'productive' day, even though I could only find one new job to apply to.
But, it feels like groundhog day. I way up and do the same things every day, feeling like I can't move forward.
An example to substantiate; for the last three weeks, I've been waiting for my transcripts to be able to use my official title in my field. If I can't do it, then I can't use the title at the end of my name. If that's the case, employers will look at my application and see 'Graduate', and will all but discard it.
I called to check on the progress; on two occasions, I've waited for 15 minutes on hold, but I cannot get through to an operator. Any useful contact gives me a voicemail.
I don't get responses from my job applications. Feels like I'm spinning my wheels. What else can I do, really?
Well, I've thought of a couple of things that I could do while I'm stuck in this limbo. I've taken a few little steps that can help un-budge me.
Anyways, I went to the gym today. New numbers:
Dumbbell Press: 75lbs x 2 x 5. I'm basically doing a 150 lbs bench press; I'm back at my maximum
Squat: 175 lbs x 4 reps. I've done several days of spot training my glutes. This has made my squats much easier, given that glutes are my weak spot, affecting this exercise and deadlifts.
Thanks for the advice @helloworld
I've upped my game at the gym.
Chest Dumbbells: 80 lbs x 2 x 5 (the highest weight so far; it is the equivalent of bench pressing 160 lbs)
Squat: 185 lbs x 4 (I've hit my maximum again)
(09-23-2015, 09:30 PM)DanAmerson Wrote: [ -> ]Stage 2, Day 17,
Pretty 'productive' day, even though I could only find one new job to apply to.
But, it feels like groundhog day. I way up and do the same things every day, feeling like I can't move forward.
An example to substantiate; for the last three weeks, I've been waiting for my transcripts to be able to use my official title in my field. If I can't do it, then I can't use the title at the end of my name. If that's the case, employers will look at my application and see 'Graduate', and will all but discard it.
I called to check on the progress; on two occasions, I've waited for 15 minutes on hold, but I cannot get through to an operator. Any useful contact gives me a voicemail.
I don't get responses from my job applications. Feels like I'm spinning my wheels. What else can I do, really?
Well, I've thought of a couple of things that I could do while I'm stuck in this limbo. I've taken a few little steps that can help un-budge me.
Anyways, I went to the gym today. New numbers:
Dumbbell Press: 75lbs x 2 x 5. I'm basically doing a 150 lbs bench press; I'm back at my maximum
Squat: 175 lbs x 4 reps. I've done several days of spot training my glutes. This has made my squats much easier, given that glutes are my weak spot, affecting this exercise and deadlifts.
My squat went up heaps when I switched to sumo deads. Went up from about 100 * 5 to 140 * 4 (kgs) in about 6 months.
Stage 2, Day 20,
Looking forward to Stage 3 (the Big Guns). But I'm pumped now.
I've been listening to someone I used to listen to a lot; Grant Cardone. He's the go-to guy if you want to get motivated.
To think that I had felt listless for the first half of the day!
Crushing it at guitar. Singing could use some help; I'm going to get professional help (a singing lesson) to help fix my mistakes and make me as good a singer as I am a guitar player.
Stage 2, Day 21,
Another bump in weightlifting:
Dumbbell Chest Press: 85 lbs x 2 x 3 (weight increase)
Squat: 185 lbs x 6 (rep increase)
Something is stirring inside. I'm feeling restless. I've considered applying for - and taking - jobs outside of my field, simply because it would let me leave my parent's house and become independent. Then I can begin to buy the stuff I want and get my life rolling.
I need more motivation and some sort of immediate purpose to compel me. I don't have quite a large enough reason behind my actions to leave behind the comfort that I have at my disposal.
Stage 2, Day 22,
Not sure how to think anymore. I'm learning more about logic through Leonard Peikoff's course, and though things are becoming more clear, I don't know how to stand on complex issues.
The migrant crisis?
A fiscally conservative or liberal stance, or a system that simply enforces the rights of individuals?
Rent controls?
Centralized medicine?
The nature of humans?
The law?
These are things that I want to become clear about.
But, let's be honest, I need to get my money right.
Stage 2, Day 25,
I'm beginning to feel the dividends of learning logic. Wow. I'm not even 2/3rds through to completing the program I have ( 'Introduction to Logic' by Leonard Peikoff ), it has allowed me to single in a determine the truth of statements on reality's terms. My eyes are opened (and, by virtue of my progress, I have yet to open them an additional 50%).
Stage 2, Day 26,
Another day of learning logic, and guitar. Gosh, I love the feeling of daily improvement; this day was very obvious, as distinguished by my improvement over yesterday.
Stage 2, Day 28,
Today my parents threw a graduation party. My family members came by for the entire afternoon. There were laughs, but we ultimately wind up talking about this divide in the family. Long story short, my uncle is estranged from the family due to the fact that his dad (my granddad) fundamentally dislikes him and doesn't agree not only with his life choices, but who he is as a person. My uncle didn't come today, and we all talked about it after my granddad left.
My immediate family was talking about an ex-uncle (was married to my aunt), and how the two of them lived in a mansion. They divorced 15 years ago, but I remember going to that mansion at a rather young age (6 to 8 years old), sleeping in the mansion, playing with my cousins in the mansion. It had 12+ bathrooms, three stories, a kitchen that was 900 feet, a weight room upstairs, a toy room, an intercom system, very nice furniture. Outdoors, there was a pool, a cabin with its own shower, a tennis court. Needless to say, it was NICE. Was, because, it was torn down to build a new one.
If I even become wealthy, I think that the mansion would an unconscious factor in my success.
All things considered, I received 450$ in bills and a much-needed new wallet. I really appreciate that.