Sooooooooo… Been riding my unicycle about 2-3 hours every day… And it is coming along so well.

I don’t really feel like typing all that much because I’m tired but I’ve rode my unicycle down south once a day since Sunday and I can pretty much get on and start riding the first try every time.
I’m finally getting a strong handle on turning (at least turning left… For some reason, thats a little easier than right).

Things to work on:
1. Idling
2. Riding forward, coming to a stop, riding forward again
3. Riding backwards
4. Jumping up small things? (Steps, curbs)

Spring is on it’s way and I’ve never been more excited =) 

So I meant as a little experiment for myself to write a little something on here every day. Whether it be a recounting of my day or an observation I made that day, blah blah.

But I’ve been lacking these past couple days so this is my apology to my single follower.

BUT! I have an excuse for the past 2 days. I’ve been outside =O In years past, I enjoyed most of my Springs and Summers as days of video gaming with breaks of watching TV… The only thing that was different from how I enjoyed my Falls and Winters was that now the windows were opened.

But now that I have this unicycle and have been confined to rocking back and forth in my dorm room and when I was feeling adventurous, going out in the hall and riding the 40 feet or so down and back, using the walls as a support.

But I knew I wasn’t going to advance if I always had these walls as my crutch.  So Thursday, I carried my unicycle down to the historic part of town, where there was a nice, paved, relatively flat road to ride on.  At first I tried to jump right into it. Whereas before, to get on my unicycle, I’d hop on, with one foot on a pedal, lean on a wall to get my other foot up and then center myself and push off of the wall to get my momentum… Now I was just trying to jump on, no support, and get going.

I mentally marked the spot where I started at 4:30 that day and got started. I told myself I’d just keep getting on and trying. If I fell, I’d start from the exact spot from where I fell. By 5:30, I looked back and I had traveled a full 30 feet (I’m being generous to myself).  And though many joggers, fishermen, dog walkers, old people, and car drivers had wished me luck through a nod, smile, or short conversation that pretty much consisted of “Wow, that must take a lot of balance. What is that? A uni….unicycle? Are you joining the circus?” But I was encouraged none-the-less.

Eventually, I moved down to a spot where I could lean on something to get on the unicycle and get centered, but then be thrust over the open pavement. I got to the point that I could ride.. pretty uncontrollably, about 20 feet and have to bail.  But I figured it was getting dark and a bit windy out and it was time to call it quits around 7.

Friday was when I made my breakthrough. I practiced for about 2 hours at the same place I ended up on Thursday. before I had to stop for ensembles and class. But after that, I met up with another bass player/unicyclist in the dept. and practiced with him for 2 or 3 hours. Long story short, I was able to get on the unicycle and start riding relatively consistently and with some amount of control in speed and direction.

It makes me so excited =)
I remember I got my first bike when I was about 7 and couldn’t ride it until I was 12 or 13. And now I feel like (thought I had dabbled in some riding for about a year now) I learned how to ride pretty comfortably in 2 days and only really fell (I mean like hitting the ground, scraping knees and dirty wrists) 3 or 4 times.

But alas, the weather has now resumed it’s wintery ways and I probably won’t be able to take the unicycle out for another run for some time as I HATE the cold. But I’m super glad I got to enjoy the nice weather while I had the chance. I’m glad to say I’ve rode my unicycle and played guitar/piano/bass for a longer amount of time than video games this week.

P.S.
Interesting that happened on Thursday, I was walking back into the building to drop off my unicycle and there was a man inside the door who saw what I was carrying and stated simply, “A unicycle.” And then proceeded to stare off into space.
I replied “Yeah, I just started.” Thinking it would spark further conversation, but he seemed to be finished with the idea of me.

I guess this just disproves the Douglas Adams’ character, Ford Prefect’s theory that “If humans stop talking, their brains stop working.” And instead proves his later theory “If humans stop talking, their brains start working.”

Link to better quality picture: Hey Sarah
(Picture some-what unrelated)

For all the nice guys
By: Anonymous

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back form parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left you 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner.  And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world.  And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor.  This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “Oh, but we’re just friends!” and even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

This nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should.  And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t.  From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches.  Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as, “Oh, he’s too nice to date” or “He would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “He already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “No, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks.  Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever.  There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted.  The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys.  You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice.  But the truth of the mater is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding of open doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile.  For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you.  You do have the credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Alright. Here we are again. Day 2 goin’ strong.

The urge to go on Facebook was decreased by about 60% I’d say… I don’t know if this has helped the way I feel or not, but I’ve felt great.  Maybe it’s the fact that when I’m on my computer, I’m forced to do something productive rather than go on Facebook and watch other people update things.

That and I’ve also spent a good 4-5 hours today playing Super Mario 64 on my laptop. This is what I’m going to talk about in this post:

The topic of Retro Gaming.

I never thought much of it until I listened to an episode of the Rooster Teeth Drunk Tank Podcast. And one of my people on the podcast made a statement along the lines of “Retro gaming is totally subjective.  It only applies to games YOU played as a kid.”
And I though, yeah, he’s right. And I realized how right he was when I was sitting in the student lounge playing Super Mario 64 on my laptop and had 5 people in row walk up and say “What are you playing?” At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking they just didn’t have a childhood, but after I informed them that it was indeed Super Mario 64 and they replied “Whats that?” I almost flipped. 
At the same time, I had a blast with another friend who came in and knew every level like the back of his hand. I guess that just proves the point though, right?

I dunno. I’m a bit tired tonight so this post won’t be as long or coherent as my past couple. Today was Valentines Day. I didn’t really care. The cards never seemed to fall around Valentines Day for me to get down and enjoy it.
But I’ll say this. I decided to turn on Wes Montgomery’s “Stompin’ at the Half Note” and felt great all day. And probably the happiest moment of my day came from a text from someone I’ve never really met. And I have a need to visit Chicago some time in the near future.

So if you caught my first post yesterday, you’ve probably been DIEING to know how an 18 year old American citizen of the 21st century could possibly go without any sort of social networking for 24 hours. And I admit, it has been tough.

I’m so conditioned to visit Facebook, there have been more times than I’d care to count of where I’ll be idle at the computer chair, having just finished a gaming session, or browsed through several videos on Youtube and I’ll have the notion of “I wonder what my friends are doing?” and proceed to open a new tab in my browser and begin to type “facebook.com”. 

Luckily, I’ve been able to catch myself every time and find something else to do.  This has actually led me away from the computer a few times to play guitar or go out in the hall to actually see what the loud banging and screaming was instead of just scowling and updating my Facebook status about the debauchery that happens oh-so frequently in the confines of Shit Bernie. I’ve also gotten my unicycle skills up quite a bit, which I hoped would happen as a result of my lowered Facebook usage.

I may soon attempt to channel my impulse to go on Facebook into texting/calling my friends and maybe see how they’re doing in a bit more personal fashion than liking their recent status update about their love of blueberry muffins.  I might even make plans to do something with them. I don’t know. It’s all up in the air.

I’d also like to address in this post a personal dilemma I’m having with this “blog.” I recently talked to a friend about the use of blogs and things like Twitter in which a person talks about themselves in hopes that someone will care and comment on their life. It all seems self-serving to me. Unless the blog site is dedicated to something specific (Something I would like to do in maybe a year or 2. I’ve had this dream to travel the country trying to find the best Bacon Cheeseburger in the country… And also use it as an excuse to go to Texas to have some Texas BBQ and visit the guys of Rooster Teeth… More on this at another time) or you’re doing ironic performance art on Twitter, I don’t see what the point of blogs are.

Maybe I’m just insecure about writing my feelings on the internet? I mean I’d like to say I don’t care if anyone reads this or finds interest in it. But if thats the case, why aren’t I just writing in word documents or something for my own personal use? I guess deep down I do want people to read this. It’s a real internal conflict I’m having with this.

I’m not sure if this Tumblr thing is the Tobacco patch to my Facebook Cigarettes… Or the Cocaine.

Either way… I’m on here much less than I was on Facebook so this is good in a way. 
If I start making 5+ posts in one day, we’ll know this hasn’t worked (I’d like to say we is Tumblr and I… But I think subconsciously I mean all my faithful readers.)

Bis Spater! (I think that is more fitting than the Over and Out I tried yesterday.) 

Hello Tumblr.

I don’t know you very well but I think some of my, what you could call, “artsy” friends use you as a medium for posting funny pictures or expressing their feelings. So I thought I’d get to know you.

My reason for using Tumblr though, I feel is different and needs a bit of explanation. I like writing. And I find writing things out helps me to cope with my problems. I feel like writing to you, Tumblr, can help me get over my problems.

At the moment my problem is Facebook. I realize that i spend so much time on Facebook that it is sickening. I sit down at my computer, hit the Google Chrome icon that is pinned to my task bar, click the URL box once, hit “f” and Google, being the all knowing wonder of the internet that it is, auto-completes it to “facebook.com.” About .17 seconds after hitting enter I begin the ritual of staring, open-mouthed, at the screen and scrolling through asinine posts of prom dress pictures, self-serving status updates that could be either a cry for help or a song lyrics from an unsigned band local band of which they’d be insulted if you didn’t know what band it was because it’s ONLY their favorite band, and the act of “liking” pages that include “Tying your shoes” and “Dropping your pencil and picking it up off the floor without any one seeing.”

I also feel like Facebook steals people’s identity in a way. One example can be expressed in the difference of an adult answering the question of “Where were you when you found out JFK was shot?” and a teenager answering the question of “Where were you when you found out Michael Jackson died?”

The adult would probably say something along the lines of “I was laying in my fathers arms on family couch watching the news. He had just come home from work and dinner was almost served. He still had the smell of cigarettes on his coat and I was wearing my old jeans and my favorite Beatles t-shirt…” You get the picture? Every detail of a specific event because they experienced a major change in their perception of the world.
Ask the Teenager where they were when they found out Michael Jackson had died, their answer would most likely be, “I went on Facebook and everyone had it as their status.” End moment. Nothing has meaning on Facebook. 

It’s just sick.

But I feel like I’m going to need some help coping with separating myself from the machine.

So I come to you Tumblr to express my daily endeavors as a non-Facebook user.
It’s going to be a long hard road to recovery, but I feel like we can do it together. Tumblr, you and I.
This has been a blast and makes me remember the times of Xanga when I wrote love posts about how awesome my girlfriend was in middle school… And vague posts of the times she “broke my heart.” And I wish to not think about the aforementioned posts so I’ll cut this off here for a unicycle riding “sesh” in my dorm.

How should I end these?
Over and out?

That’ll do.