Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The end is in sight.

I literally have a final next Friday. To me, that signifies the beginning of the end, and it's a mere 9 days away. This is all that's left to do:

My COM video is due tomorrow. We're polishing it up tonight.
My SOC paper is due next Tuesday. I need to get on that. I think I'll make a phone-call regarding my paper this Thursday.
Then my Spanish final is next Friday, the 7th. Followed closely by my COM final on Monday the 9th, and finishing with my SOC final on the 11th.
Then I'm on the Adventuress on the 15th (Training is the 16th but they want us there the night before)

Somewhere in there I have to get a food handlers and CPR/First Aid training for the Good Ship. My schedule and all the schedules I've found don't match up so well. But it looks like I'll be taking my CPR/First Aid from the Red Cross on the 14th of June, 9am- 4pm. As for the Food Handlers. I think I'll take it either on Monday the 2nd at 8:30 in Downtown, or I'll do the Sand Point one at 9:30 on Wednesday the 4th of June.

Other then that, I've already started preparing for the Adventuress. I've made a lanyard for my spike that Jesse made for me, as well as a new Turks Head for my wrist. It's still got a long tail on it because I need to lash the two ends together, but obviously I'm unable to do so myself. So I can leave the tail wrapped around my wrist until I get on the ship in 3 weeks, or I can try and have someone burn the ends for me... I don't really like either proposition. I could always make another one if this one goes bust.

As for my pleasure reading, I've been engulfed by 20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. It's getting me all fired up about my summer adventure! Here's a line I just read and it's fantastic:

"The sea is everything. It covers seven-tenths of the terrestrial globe. It's breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the 'Living Infinite'" - Cpt. Nemo

My new workout plan is great, except I was meant to work out yesterday but didn't because of Memorial Day (they Gym closed early). So I'm about to do it in about a half hour. Then another one tomorrow morning at 10. The thing is, you're meant to leave a day between workouts so that may or may not be the best idea. Something needs to change though. I've lost no weight since being back and I've been eating pretty terribly. I have to stop that. I have three weeks until the Adventuress and I want to lose 10 pounds (I'm about 208 today). I think it's possible if I can just eat better. 195 is the goal at the present. 185 would put me in the "Normal weight" BMI range. Right now i'm in the overweight range. Boo.

Leaving that depressing subject behind, I've started guitar lessons with Rosy! It's fun and the lady teaching is really nice. Right now I'm practicing my pentatonic scales (for solos and bluesy stuff) and familiarizing myself with the fretboard; moving up and down it, knowing chords and notes etc.

I think that's it for today. More later!
Z

Friday, May 16, 2008

Highlights of the Week

Zach's Top Five Favourite Moments of the Week
5. Getting asked out on a date
4. Cold-reading the play "The History Boys" with my new friends
3. Slack-lining, studying, and tanning in the Quad
2. Passing a man dressed as "Bleaker" from the movie Juno, then him giving me orange tic-tacs.
1. Meeting the President of the University of Washington Mark Emmert and having a great conversation with him!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

I might live in France

I just keep hearing great things about France.

For some bizarre reason, the powers that be have decided that we shouldn't like the French. They're prudish, uppity, elitist, blah blah blah. Well, every country has those people, but you can't say generalize the entire French populace as such! I've been there and sure, Paris may be like that a bit, but even the rest of the France believes Paris is basically its own entity. The non-Parisians are from a mold quite their own.

I'm constantly impressed by what they're doing. Their stance on our war for one. Their language for another. They are well educated and on average, very healthy. And their food! My god.

But two things have struck me recently. First, in my Sociology class we've been talking about poverty and welfare programmes. Here's the thing, most western societies have implemented a poverty line and numerous welfare programmes, but some countries have been more successful at curbing poverty than others. France has done a great job of that. The difference between their programmes and ours is that they A) have set the poverty line higher than we have, and B) they have implemented more encompassing programmes; they consider things such as multiple children, debts, etc. Our system merely considers how much you make each year which is only one factor in a slurry that can lead to poverty.

But besides actually spending the money to help out their poor, they also care about health. I believe they have a universal health care system, but that's not what I'm talking about. Recently a bill was passed by France's lower house of Parliament that would make it illegal for anyone, including magazines, advertisers and websites, to "publicly incite" extreme thinness. The French even care about the self image of their people! MY GOD that's phenomenal!! They've long been the experts in fashion, and used the ultra-thin model trend to the full extent, but now they're leading the change for a better body image! This is a great step towards healing our ailing, over exercising, purging men and women from their endless quest for zero fat and flatter abs. Granted, exercise is immensely important, but not everyone can be Keira Knightly.

Thank you God. Or Buddha. Or whoever. Thanks for this gem of humanity in these dark times.