Excited for Spring/Summer

winter is nearly over. that means better weather, better conditions for playing ultimate. the first tournament of the spring is this coming weekend. i have really high hopes for BU this year – we will definitely make regionals. getting edged out by BC last year was one of the most disappointing losses ever. we’ll be sure to punish them this year for it, haha.

life is going well. i got a job lined up for this summer at Verndale again. it seems like ever since i started web development, i’ve slowly fallen deeper into the rabbit hole. not too long ago, i was messing around with an HTML page with a CSS stylesheet attached. now, i’m working on web applications to be used by hundreds of strangers all over the world. it’s stressful trying to learn new technologies in order to achieve your goals, but there’s a sweet satisfaction each time you reach a milestone.

so much is going on in my life that i feel like i should be able to write pages about it, but my mind is surprisingly blank. oh well, time to go play Starcraft 2. i deserve it after the 6+ hours i input in my CS460 project, right?

My Early New Year’s Resolutions

i had been veering off the path recently and i needed to re-evaluate my priorities in life so as to not fail. i started a new job as a programmer at 829 LLC. i’m in it more for the experience than the money because my finances are pretty stable, but my big wage was a great incentive to get me on board. however, now my schedule is even more packed. i’m looking at an additional 10 hours of work a week on top of my 10 hours of work-study, but maybe i can still manage. without further ado, my goals:

  • captain of BU men’s ultimate frisbee team next year – this goal is very achievable. i’ve been working hard at ultimate ever since i came to BU. i started off as an unathletic and inexperienced player, having no prior sports experience other than martial arts. i would like to think that i’ve progressed since i play more than 2 points a game nowadays.
  • manager at CFA ITO (work-study job) – this goal is also very achievable. i’ve worked here ever since i’ve gotten to BU. the job has been a good learning experience because i’ve constantly been challenged. it was the first job that forced me to work 100% at all times, which has shaped my work ethic into something reasonable. i feel attached because i just know the organization and the people so well (relative to previous/other jobs). the pay could be better, but in this economy, i’ll take it.
  • continue web development next summer – sooner or later, i will have to choose between verndale or 829 LLC as my summer job. we’ll have to see how this run with 829 LLC goes, but i’m sure i’ll be happy with my choice either way because i’ll be getting paid well to do rewarding and exciting work.
  • be a decent pool player by end of academic year – i’ve been hitting BU central’s pool hall pretty hard for the past month. everyone pretty much knows me as a regular there. i purchased my own cue stick (mcdermott m72e for $135 off ebay) and i think i need to step it up to the next level. i’m going to start reading and watching learning materials, as well as practicing instead of just playing pool. by the end of the school year, hopefully i’ll be able to run a table from the break most of the time.
  • don’t fail school – a seemingly silly goal, but i find myself not paying attention to my academics as much as i should be. i mean, i pay quite a bit of money to attend college and i shouldn’t slut around so much, but i have poor self-control and this results in poor grades. i’ve pretty much decided what i want to do when i graduate: desktop and/or web programming. it’ll be more along the lines of practical application rather than technical/theoretical because frankly, i’m not that great at math and by extension, computer science. this means i just need to focus on the classes that matter and skim by in the classes that don’t relate so much. a bad strategy for my GPA for sure, but i’m just a realist (or maybe that’s just my excuse for sucking in classes).
  • learn some tricks in snowboarding – maybe too early, but with this upcoming season, i want to improve my skills on the slopes. last year, i could do some big boxes and rails and small jumps, but i want to double that this year. i want to be doing bigger jumps, smaller boxes and rails, and maybe even a 360. maybe it’s my competitiveness, but i just think that part of the enjoyment of an activity is the challenge it provides. that’s why i just love trying new things and seeing if i can improve at it really quickly.

anyways, have to wake up early tomorrow (or today, rather) and listen to a semi-boring lecture on probability and computing (CS237). it’s my worst class currently and i was going to drop it, but i decided to just stick it out and try to barely pass. hooray for mediocrity!

What WolfGang Ultimate Needs To Do

we lost our game today against Porkbellies. i consider them as rivals because our record against them is 2 losses and 1 win. however, i am so frustrated and disappointed at the loss today because it was all our fault. we showed up late and didn’t warm up properly. we threw so many turnovers – our defensive fire was not there – our offense was sluggish and shaky. i’m going to clamp down at practice again. we can’t afford to joke around any longer.

we need to learn:

  • offense strategies
    • zone
    • vertical stack
    • horizontal stack
  • hard, intense defense
    • keeping the force (not getting broken)
    • marking intensely (shuffling back and forth)
    • dictating where we want our man to go

our team needs to show up to practice and give it our all. we need to build team chemistry and increase our ultimate skills. i’m really trying but how can i motivate my players? all i can do now is keep nudging and hoping.

New Website Launched

I just installed WordPress. I can see why many people use it – it is a very slick weblog application…

I started work at Verndale recently. It’s an interesting place – a small corporation. There’s much to learn and I’m pretty excited about my short career there.

My summer ultimate frisbee team is coming along. We have our second game this Thursday. First game was a win – let’s see if we can keep it up.