Yes, Master Yoga

As the school semester drags on and as the homework assignments get either harder or just more numerous (it's hard to tell) I continue to battle with the monster commonly called stress; and as most experts agree stress is BAD! Anyway as the stress piles on I have begun to investigate a number of ways to manage my stress and hopefully keep my head on straight.

• Prayer and Meditation; Overall the best one so far. Although, the trick with prayer and meditation is consistency, quiet and discipline. Had I had an abundance of discipline I certainly wouldn't be looking for outward forms of stress relief. With kids, getting a moment of quiet is almost impossible until after they've gone to bed (that doesn't work so well for me since I'm already asleep by the time they go to bed and I get up and go to work long before they awake.) Consistency has always been a big problem as far as prayer and I have been concerned, I'm working on it but with the stresses weighing heavy on my shoulders it's hard to concentrate on forming these good habits. If you're a better person than I, than I would certainly find prayer and meditation they way to go, but since I'm me I went on to try other options for when I fail at prayer.
• Exercise; I've heard time and time again from several people that exercise is the best form of stress relief. I think they are full of crap. I ride my bike to and from work, school and home. I spend anywhere between 5-20 minutes on my bike per ride and am on my bike about an hour a day. In addition, I regularly go to the gym with my wife and I push myself on all the machines and the only thing its ever done for me is made my muscles hurt and make me feel a little more inclined to not do my homework and go to bed. If you're than kind of person and it works for you then great, otherwise, forget it.
• Movies, TV, Video Games, Books; Oh, sure, once upon a time this kind of thing worked for me. Once I had kids my available viewing material was reduced to 'Y' so I don't get the same kick out of movies and TV like I used to. Video games are still great but need more of a time commitment then any father really has. Books are good, but there I am with the time commitment thing again. The big problem about these options, for me, has always been that I escape but my worries don't seem to be any more manageable by the time I get back to them.
• Food; Not much gets me feeling better like a double six-dollar-burger from Carl's Jr. and a side of ice cream. This really works. Until you realize how many calories you're taking in! For the love of all things holy, if you know what's good for you never look at the nutritional facts at fast food restaurants. That is bound to increase stress and all those calories will be going straight to fat. Frankly since heart disease runs in my family I'm going to be avoiding this option. Well, maybe once every six months.
• Yoga; Okay, I saved this one for last for a good reason. My wife started yoga some time ago. She really liked it and wanted me to go along with her. I valiantly declined and continued to do so at her every request. In my eyes yoga is were you go to prepare yourself to join the circus as a contortionist, and there are always too many women there. As a man I just couldn't be going in there representing the male sex, I'm just not that good of a specimen and I sure don't want the other fit guys and girls looking at me and saying something like "I've never been disgusted by the human form until now". Well, as my stress levels increased and my ability to control them wasn't enough, I had to try it out. Although I've only been to two classes thus far I have to say it works, I come out of there sore but mentally strengthened. I feel like I can face my challenges head on and maybe win, okay probably win. So here is one for yoga despite making me look silly. The best part is that they do it in the dark so if you see others in the class later you won't recognize them. That is a big plus for me.

The ethics of everyday life.

So the university that I so delightfully attend thought that we shouldn't miss our Monday classes for the holiday so instead of missing out on my classes for Monday we were told that we would have to come in on Tuesday to have our classes.

Apart from being one of the more backward things I've heard it really was rather inconvenient. I went out of my way to have my classes on MWF. It was overall just better for me and my family. Well the other day when I was informed about this odd arrangement I told my wife and she informed me that we had a dentist appointment that we had made a month in advance. (these guys seem to be in demand and after having been to them I have to say that I am impressed. Digital X-rays and very friendly staff) So here I was having to pick between going to the dentist and going to class. Sure I could reschedule my dentist appointment but if I put it off then who knows if I will actually keep it, and to be honest I've been putting off going to the dentist quite long enough.

So I ditched my classes to go to the dentist. I did this because I can recover what little information I'd miss relatively quickly and if you don't take care of your teeth regularly then it certainly could cause a big and expensive problem later. Luckily I have no problems with my teeth to report.

Every little once and a while we find ourselves in situations were we have to make ethics decisions on the fly and I think we don't give them as much attention as they deserve. Especially if you have children.

Oh yeah, there is something else.

Of all the reasons that I had that kept me from going back to school there is one that I forgot to mention and it's the one that angers me the most.

I hate people that tell me how to think.

I love to write. I've written a lot more since I graduated, I feel this is due because I can write about what I want, when I want and however I want. Sure it doesn't pay, but then again I do it just because it's something that I enjoy doing.

The problem that I'm finding at school is that my writing assignments are coming back with points knocked off because the teacher didn't like the way I did something. I didn't do it wrong, I just didn't do it the way they wanted me to. For example, on my last assignment I got to tell a story (I'd put it here but it's in Spanish so I don't think most would get it) I wrapped up the story with one sentence. That was my conclusion, I don't like the wordy conclusions because I feel that they distract from what I was trying to do with the rest of the story. In the case of this story I was just trying to make the reader laugh, I didn't want to muck it up with my feelings and reflections on the incident. Turns out the teacher wanted me to expound on my feelings and knocked me 15 points for it. WTH?

I've always had a problem with people that tell me that I need to do things the way they tell me to. Especially when there is no other reason other than they say so. I've made it my own personal goal that if my kids don't like the way I do something they can sit down with me and figure out why I do it the way I do. That way we can figure out a better way to do things or my kids can come to the realization that I do things for good reason. Either way we both win.

There is also that problem I have with conforming for the sake of conforming. Throughout school whenever I would point out that the teacher was wrong in the way they were grading I was usually told "Just do it his way for now and down the line you can do it right." That never sat right with me. I just think too many people sit back and do things the way they've always been done and don't think about trying to do it better. Then again these people are smarter then me, you know it because they get paid more than me.

Better Living Through Chemistry

A long time ago back when I used to be an Ultra-nerd instead of the Mega-nerd that I am now. I used to play a RPG that had a chapter of the same name that I am naming this post. From time to time I like to say it out loud to people whenever it suits the situation.

The problem that I face as a Mormon Father is that I have a lot I get to deal with on a daily basis. The worst part is that since I work in the early morning often I don't get the sleep I need. This usually leads me to consider the evils of chemical stimulation.

I think on the whole the Lord councils us to avoid addictive substances. Caffeine being the one that I am referring to at the moment. He outright disallows coffee and from my understanding of a recent Ensign article (sorry we read the Liahona in our home and I haven't read it yet.) he is outlawing energy drinks. I thought this was an overall good move because a couple of years back I started to drink those things and I can tell you that once you start drinking those babies then anytime you feel tired you start jonesing for them. Since then I don't touch them. But from time to time when I don't get enough sleep I find myself reaching for a Coke, Pepsi or Mountain Dew, I usually start thinking to myself "well, the Lord hasn't banned these yet and I still have to get though today's classes."

So this is the problem that I often face. On the one hand the Lord wants me to avoid addictive substances so I don't become addicted to them and he wants me to learn good habits like getting to bed early so that I won't need the chemicals. While on the other hand I certainly don't live a perfect life and from time to time, things don't go well and I reach for that chemical help. Kinda sounds like I am depending on the arm of flesh.

Anyway, the Lord sets up this bar and he wants me to reach for it. I'll fall and try again, but I can't help but understand all those people that drink that morning coffee. I know that all they want to do is feel like they're alive and ready to face the day. I feel that way when I get a good night's rest, but when I'm tired, I can't help but be tempted to reach for that soda that will help me survive the day. Good thing God created repentance.

The Procastination Monster

So far this semester I've been able to keep up with my homework. I've been completing my homework assignments at least a day before they are due. Overall I've been pretty proud of myself, but lately I've been more and more afraid that any day now I'm going to slip up and face the horrible monster called procrastination.

Well, today might be that day. Of my three classes I have completed the homework for two of them and one I've been putting off. Even now as I write this I'm putting off that last homework assignment. My excuse for the moment is a very complicated situation of medications, time of day and what to eat for breakfast. All in all it's just me procrastinating.

I've found that when I start procrastinating it's usually because I am trying to avoid doing something or I am afraid of facing something. Instead of going about it efficiently and only avoiding the one thing I find that I start putting off everything. Perhaps subconsciously I am trying to let my conscious side figure out what is going on so that I will buckle down and get things done. I still have a couple of hours before my class so I still have a chance to get my homework done before class, it very well could be a start to slaying the monster.

Facebook Swaray

I've really tried to avoid joining Facebook. I've looked at Facebook the way some literary snobs look down on popular literature. I thought I was above that kind of thing.

Call it like you will but as I have reached the delightful age of 30 and I've come to ponder more and more about who I am, where I am going and where have I been. The allure of Facebook with all it's promises of being able to contact people that you've lost contact with. It is the most popular and therefore has the most members, so in turn holds the greatest chance of contacting people that have some contact with my past.

It's probably a mistake, one I can hopefully rectify if I get tired of it. I guess I'll see where it goes.

I hate mid-crisis.

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I'm having one of those days when you just feel tired. I guess I could blame it on the fact that I was up a bit later than I should have but that would mean that it was my fault and I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to blame some unknown source. Nevertheless it doesn't take from all the feelings of frustration that I have been feeling.

The problem is that with the economic downturn everyone is a little on edge, my job is reasonably secure so it doesn't bother me as much but I've noticed that other people are more stressed and irritable. Although I down play it I am beginning to think that I am more effected than I realize, for example I don't feel as prone to laugh as I used to. Some things don't seem as funny as I once found them to be. My wife says that my point of view is expanding with all the studying and reading. Who knows?