Candidate Journals

Chinese New Year is a bit of an event at Macalester, given that we have a large number of students here from China.  I went to a tea social today, the first one of this semester (I was a regular at the tea socials last semester), and I was going to go to the big event they were having, but today was the first day of an astronomy research course that I have that goes from 7 to 10.   I usually don't like doing night classes, as they mess up my schedule of eating dinner super late, but the course itself seems fun.  Unfortunately, these are the sparring days at Shoreview but I won't be able to go much due to my class being at the same time.  I have quite a bit of homework to do, and I am also about to go do a midnight gym session.

Tuesdays are worse than Mondays in my opinion.  You have a lot of work cut out for you and you still have most of the week ahead of you.  I am currently dealing with a huge wave of homework.  At least I'm in my "locked in" mood.  Anyway, I had another black belt class at Shoreview and worked on my 540 hook kicks.  I think the trick on getting a good 540 hook kick is to visualize 3 kicks and to do them stepping forward before you actually do the kick.  That helped me today.  Hope I have time to do more fun stuff around Macalester tomorrow.

Today I got up to do my morning marathon of classes.  I was reminded why I rely on caffeine so much when I didn't have any before my 8:30 class.  I ate lunch and had a lab to go to later on, and then I had to pick up a bunch of packages.  I got on a call where I saw a lot of people from King Tiger back at home, which made my day.  I miss everyone back at home.  As fun as it is here, nothing and nobody I have encountered here as of yet can really replace that.  Anyway, I went to the gym afterwards to get some requirements done, and I am now doing some homework, after midnight EST, because I really didn't watch the time.  My first class tomorrow starts at 9:40, so I can look forward to an extra hour of sleep.

This week is going to be the first full week of classes this semester.  I have created a schedule of morning classes so that if I am trying to catch up on anything, I can do so in the afternoon, sleep included.  I think I mentioned this in a previous journal.  Anyway, I now have a time to catch up on sleep if I don't get much through the day, which happens pretty frequently between homework and sleep issues.  I would have time to take a nap for a while and then get up to do whatever it is that I still need to do.  I'm not much of a morning person but it's worth the extra torture.

Today I had the first zoom-in black belt class in about 5 years!  It was 7:15 Central, so I had to wake up an hour earlier than usual to show up for it.  After that, I practiced some falls and rolls just right there on the floor.  The floor isn't all that soft so I would not recommend doing this all the time but I wanted to make sure my falls and rolls were up to speed fully. I went ice skating later on, the first time I have done so since I was 8 years old.  Teaching myself how to do that again was fun.  I didn't fall there except for one time when my friend jokingly pushed me over.  The ice is less fun to fall on.  Anyway, my friends are texting me to get over to where they are so I have to go.  See you all soon!

Today didn't really feel like a Friday.  Maybe it was because I just got back on Wednesday.  I had my first taste of back-to-back morning classes.  I'm not much of a morning person.  Getting up to work out in the morning is one thing, but using a bunch of brain power that early is a different challenge.  However, my schedule is formatted as such that I can nap in the afternoon if I need to, and even after that I would still have time to do everything I need to do, schoolwork and black belt cycle requirements.  Well, that's all I really did today.  That's the other thing.  I normally don't do schoolwork on Friday nights, but here I am.  So this doesn't really feel like a Friday, but I guess I'm just locked in.  I will see you all over zoom eventually.

Greetings, Pokefans! Today I got my school schedule fixed!  It was also the first day of school, and I had all of one class to get to.  After that, I went on a long journey through the frozen wasteland while I was taking stage 2 cold damage to Target to buy me some sweet tea.  It's a lifesaver here where you don't find very much of it.  Got me through all three of my black belt tests in the past. I had another day training at Shoreview.  The grandmaster there did not get the email I sent him, as of now I am not exactly sure why.  I discussed being on the black belt cycle at King Tiger with him.  Also, it turns out my black belt cycle will be a bit longer than expected.  Well, sort of.  He said he was fine with helping me but requested that I test...

Today was the last day before classes.  My main goal for the day was to fix my class schedule.  Registration was a bit difficult last semester.  Not as difficult as UNCC, but still a bit annoying.  Mostly because they don't let you register between their select window and the add/drop period, which I wasn't prepared for as they don't restrict you from doing so at UNCC.  I also was able to see a lot of people I have not seen in a month. Up here in Minnesota, I train at Lee's Champion Taekwondo in Shoreview.  It's a ways away from Macalester, so it's often difficult to get there, but I usually get rides from people when possible.  For my first class at this dojang, I made the mistake of trying to take the bus there, and the bus doesn't go all the way there, so I had to run for a...

...but it's way colder here in Saint Paul.  Yesterday I was out launching rockets at the JMA field.  One of them got lost because it got picked up by enough wind to blow it to the nearby forest. Today, I flew on a very delayed flight to Minnesota.  Well, sort of.  I had the wrong ticket.  Oops.  So I was able to go home for a few hours and knock out some requirements before I flew over.  After coming here, I got some training at the Shoreview dojang.  Now, my issue is figuring out my schedule.

I have a stretching routine that I have been doing pretty consistently for about 4 years.  I originally started it because I wanted to improve my flexibility and see how long it would take me to get a full split, but I have been consistent with it for as long as I have because it doesn't feel normal without doing it every once in a while anymore.  Even at Macalester when I am not going anywhere, I will do my stretching routine right in my dorm next to my bed.  Occasionally, you will catch me to the side stretching in between classes at King Tiger, and sometimes I do it without thinking.  In fact, I am probably going to do a few minutes of stretching right after writing this post.  I was asked in one of my classes last semester if there was any particular ritual I had that I would feel...

Today was pretest day!  I haven't had one of those in a minute.  It was good seeing everyone on the cycle and reminded me of when I was on the cycle for the first time.  I feel like this is a strong start to the next few weeks of training.  Anyway, I am writing this after a nap because I decided to catch up on the sleep that I'm not going to get over the school year.  I just thought of my YouTube channel sometime during my pretest.  It's been a year since I posted on the new one.  I might think about dropping a video or three in a bit, depending on how busy I am.

Greetings Pokefans! Today was the first sparring class, and probably the last sparring class I am going to be able to get at Lake Norman for the black belt cycle.  This morning during training, I felt a bit rusty with some poomsaes compared to when I was doing recordings for them.  That could also be because I had just woken up.  I am feeling sore from getting in so many extra requirements in yesterday. 2024 was a good year for me.  For a good portion of the year, I had just a few things to focus on, and I was able to do a lot because of that.  Over the course of the year, I grew a lot as a martial artist, between being able to be at the dojang a little bit more due to being a part-time student at UNCC, being on the demo team, and later on training at another...

Today was a quiet day.  I got a few requirements in, but not the large amount that I thought I was going to get in.  Everyone else was away at school, so I took that time to catch up on the sleep I don't get while I'm at school.  I also ended up replacing a light for my grandparents.  On my first black belt cycle, I started to feel extremely sore on my third or fourth day.  I tried to start getting into a normal routine this time to avoid getting that sore right at the beginning.  Anyway, my run path is still partially frozen over.  Tomorrow is forecasted to be colder than today so I'm not sure if it's going to fully melt even by then.

Today was a normal day at King Tiger for me.  School started already for everyone.  I'm still here enjoying my winter break, and although everyone I know is busy, I can get in some extra black belt cycle requirements.  This week is also a quiet time to catch up on things that I don't have much time for otherwise.  Books to read, games to play, shows to watch (and I am most definitely going to nerd out in my journal entries, so expect that from me in the future), calls to make, model rockets to launch, and maybe a few other things that I can't think of right now.  Anyway, I think that's enough for today.  I will see everyone later.

This morning, I had to deal with some ice that remained on my run path while I was going for my run.  For part of the run, I wasn't so much running as I was hopelessly sliding on the icy pavement, with nothing I could really do to slow myself down.  Yesterday there was still snow everywhere, which reminded me of Macalester a bit. Snow is supposed to be rare.  It's supposed to be a special thing, something that happens not even once a year, maybe once every 3 years.  When it snows, everything stops.  Nobody goes anywhere.  School gets canceled.  Everyone goes outside all day to shovel driveways, slide down hills, or throw snowballs while it lasts.  It is, after all, a rare event to behold.  Then it quickly melts and everything goes back to normal.  At least that's how it was for my life while I was here. When I was...

Today was the first day of the black belt cycle, so I decided to get a good start with requirements early.  And by early, I mean right after midnight.  My sleep schedule is weird like that.  Anyway, this afternoon, once I was done with everything, I went to Ichibancon for the second time after I went on Thursday.  The events were different, and I got to see a cosplay competition.  The cosplays were all very detailed and impressive, and must take a lot of time.  I wish I could put together things like that.  Maybe next time I can get someone to go with me.  I usually don't have much time for anime conventions like this but there are some this summer that I plan on going to.

I am kind of excited and nervous for this test, but I know this will most likely push me to do my best today and tomorrow.

Today was a teacher workday, so I had a free schedule.  I didn't have to go to school in the morning, and I am grateful for a break like that.  I played some golf in the afternoon, the first time I played since the end of summer vacation.  Since my dad had to drop my sisters off at soccer, I had to bike to Tae Kwon Do, but it was worth it because I got to work on some of the final things before testing, including my breaking routine.  I anticipated that to be the hardest part of testing, but I actually did pretty good after that extra time practicing it.

Today, I did my last sparring class for the cycle, even though I already had the required sparring classes.  It was fun even though I didn't get to spar Nate.  I was sore from the weightlifting I did yesterday, but that didn't stop me from doing good in my sparring rounds!  Tomorrow is a teacher workday, and I am off school, so I will be able to relax then.

Today after school I learned that Cross Country would be working with Indoor Track at my school for the rest of the Cross Country season.  We didn't do any running, as we were weightlifting instead today.  Later, I went to Tae Kwon Do and got my last Leadership 2 credit, and I worked on a lot of poomsaes there too.  I also got a lot of my homework done.  Today was a pretty productive day.

Today was a normal Sunday, somewhat boring as usual.  I started filming my next YouTube video, but I got stuck as I didn't have any good voice actor for Toad.  This week will be a 3 day school week, as I have Wednesday as a teacher workday and I am taking the day off on Friday so I won't be tired from school on testing night.

Today, I had 3 tests in school, and the good thing about tests is the fact that there's not as much homework afterwards.  I am planning on going to sparring and black belt class tomorrow, and I will have a pretty chill weekend for the most part.

Today was a normal day, other than the fact that I got to spend the night at my grandparents' house.  They are usually pretty chill, and they make good food as well, and when I am busy with school during the week, I usually don't get to see them much, with the exception being this week, as I got to stay with them on Sunday too.  I am satisfied so far with what I did this week, and I don't have as many requirements to deal with at this point, even though I am so used to doing them.

Yesterday was sparring class, and it was pretty productive.  Today was too, and with my mentor today, I worked on my breaking routine for testing.  I think that it will most likely be the biggest challenge of testing for me.

Today I got all of my push-ups finished, and I felt very satisfied with getting it out of the way.  I felt like today was a relatively productive day at Tae Kwon Do and at school.  I still need some leadership credits, but I feel that I am making a lot of progress on them.

I usually use part of every Sunday to catch up on cycle requirements and homework.  I wish I could work on my YouTube channel, but I don't know if my friends are available to help me with it.  I am grateful for days like this where I can catch up on work without being too rushed in my otherwise tough schedule.

Today I didn't get to Tae Kwon Do because of how preoccupied I was with my homework.  The good thing is that I am close to being done with everything, and hopefully the next 2 weeks before testing won't be so bad.  I wonder who is going to the stick session on Saturday.

Today was a normal day for the most part.  Cross country was very hot, and there were almost no clouds in the sky.  I got leadership credits done later at Tae Kwon Do and spent most of the night working on homework.

Today was a normal day, but I did get a grind session in for my cycle requirements.  At Tae Kwon Do today there were pictures, so we had to do all of our classes on half of the mat, and it was mostly crowded until the later adult class.

Today was a nice relaxing day since I could just get requirements in and play Fortnite when I wasn't working on my cycle requirements.  This cycle is already almost over, which is kind of crazy, since I remember getting my Bo Cho Dan rank not too long ago, wondering about what the cycle was going to be like.  Yesterday I had a cross country meet, and even though I was very tired from the school week, I set a new personal record then.  We worked on breaking routines afterwards, which I really think I have to work on, because even though I know what I'm going to do, it still seems hard.

Today was a productive day, I had to ride my bike to Tae Kwon Do because my parents were at Curriculum night, but the day was normal other than that.

The post test is tomorrow, as most of you already know. I have been studying the written test questions, and most of them I know off the top of my head.  I have always been good at remembering certain things (with the price of forgetting some other things sometimes.).   This cycle went pretty fast so far.

Today was another ordinary day.  Cross country was cancelled again due to the hot weather this week.  I have been running at home in the evenings instead.  I had a normal amount of homework today, and my schedule was like normal.  I can't wait until this weekend!

Today was a normal school day for me for the most part.  I finished 2 more essays today, so I have done 6 of them.  I wrote my 2nd living hero essay about Elon Musk, and I was researching and writing about him after school today.  

Today I had to go to a cross country meet, and at 95 degrees outside, it was harder than most 5Ks.  Add a very rough terrain where you could easily sprain your ankle (A kid on my team actually did just that) and you get plain torture.  I had a slower time than normal, but that wasn't the worst of it.  There were a couple ambulances at the meet because people were doing all kinds of things to their ankles while running, and passing out because of the heat.  Normally on any day above 90 degrees cross country as well as all other sports would be cancelled, but this was unfortunately a meet.  After we ran, the girls' race was cancelled because of the high instances of injuries on the race.

Today I was completely zoned out of everything, a result of 2 weeks of tiring school among other things catching up to me.  I didn't get as many things done as I wanted to today, and the day itself just passed me by at an alarmingly quick speed.  I wish there were more time in a day sometimes.

Class today was tiring but fun at the same time.  Sparring was like the seminar yesterday, while the black belt class was a little different.  I'm glad I got to do a lot of things toward my cycle this weekend, and I am a bit surprised at how fast the cycle has gone.  I am getting very used to it, and I feel like I have improved in a lot of things since I started the cycle in the summer.

Today I was very tired, and that combined with the sunburn I had on my shoulders from going swimming yesterday, it wasn't the best of days.  I had to skip Tae Kwon Do today because I had to catch up on sleep hours.  I kind of wish I had the energy to go to sparring class today.  I also missed out on filming my YouTube video today (Adventures of Yoshi is the name of the channel, be sure to subscribe!), which was another bummer.  I hope I can get enough sleep in the future, even though this transition to a new schedule makes it difficult.

Yesterday, I uploaded a YouTube video onto my account, Adventures of Yoshi, using plush Nintendo characters that I collect.  Today was a very tiring day, as I spent all day playing golf in hot and humid weather.  I was kind of glad when the clouds came to block out the sun.  Today was the 3rd day of my white belt challenge, and class seemed shorter than usual today.  I haven't been able to post anything because the internet was out at my house, so I was glad the internet was on when I uploaded my video yesterday.  Right now I am using my dad's portable Wi-fi hotspot, so I don't have to worry about the internet going down.

Today was a long day full of things to do.  I had cross country practice in the morning, which took care of all my running today, I played golf at 10:30, I had to go to my school's orientation soon after, and then I went to sparring class in Tae Kwon Do.  Afterwards, I was kind of tired (mostly from the orientation because we were out in the sun's heat most of the time with no hat or sunglasses :( and it was boring as well), and I played a couple rounds of Fortnite to relax.

Today at Tae Kwon Do, my mentor and I worked on some color belt poomsaes, and I plan to review some study guide material for the pre test on Saturday.  I have no idea what it is like, and I originally imagined the pre test to be like a color belt testing, but since it is my first time on cycle I can only guess what it will be like.

Today was another normal day.  I finally got to mow my grandparents lawn, and I did some cycle requirements as usual, and even finished one of my essays today, but overall it was pretty boring, but that's OK because I know I get to play some golf this week, as well as doing Tae Kwon Do.

Today was a normal Saturday for the most part.  I went to sparring class as well as black belt class, and got a fair amount of cycle requirements done.  I didn't get to mow my grandparents' lawn because of the rain though, but that's OK because I can hopefully take care of that tomorrow.

Today I was extra tired for some reason.  I went to my grandparents house in Davidson for a while before returning home.  I took a short nap and woke up afterwards to do some more cycle requirements.  I'm so excited for my birthday tomorrow! :)

Yesterday I got back from Ontario after a 14-hour drive, which was surprisingly short for that distance.  I already miss the cooler temperature there, especially when I'm running.  I didn't get the chance to write any journal entries in the past few days, but since I don't have much to do other than cycle requirements, I will be able to do more entries as well as trying to get ahead on the requirements.

Today was a very hot day, especially for the normally mild summer weather of Stony Lake, Ontario.  Since I am on a small island, I have to go on the mainland every day to get my run done.  Today's run was very hot, with horseflies trying to bite me the whole time, which I found very annoying.  I did get to go for a swim in the lake afterwards, which felt good after a run on a hot day.  I did some cycle requirements before going kayaking around the lake.

Today was a long day of activities for me, cycle-related and otherwise.  I just got done with an evening swim to cool off for tonight as it is supposed to be hot (for Ontario).  This is my first post on here and I hope everyone else is doing okay on their cycle reqs.