Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Me 2.0 beta

I've actually been thinking about this for a few days now.  I've noticed recently that I'm in a rut, I'm plateauing, starting to coast.  What do I mean by this?  I mean that I'm not really improving anymore since I've graduated from college.  You guys remember that huge "sigh" of relief, "Yay! no more school, no more books!"?  Now that I've been out of school for a while, I've become stagnant and I'm starting to hate it.  Here's what I noticed:

  • My mind started feeling slow.  My little brother Wiltr0n kicks my ass in solving the Rubiks cube now.
  • I started misspelling words.  I used to be great at spelling! (Nod to my spelling brutha Hen)
  • I struggled with words when I was explaining things.  "uhh... what was that word again?... oh yea, potato"
  • I forgot a LOT of important engineering things.  My co-worker used to ask me mechanical questions involving basic laws and theory and I would have to dig so long and deep just to be wrong.  Please tear my diploma in half, thank you.
At first glance, I'd say I was drinking and partying too much and killing brain cells.  But then I thought about it, and I knew it was because I wasn't challenging myself anymore.  I had the mindset of coasting after college, and it is totally not working.  I don't want to be the guy that USED to be good at certain things.  I want to keep being good at the things I'm good at and beyond! a Me 2.0.    I've been coming up with a few challenges/goals to keep me challenged and goaled. 

Me 2.0 Challenges:
  1. Become fluent in Cantonese/Mandarin:  Now I know what you're thinking.. "Over-ambitious!" "won't last a month!" "buffoon!" (see, I just spelled it baffoon thx spell check).  I think I have a good foundation from high school, and there's plenty of non-Asian guys that become fluent in a few years like this man. or this guy:


    How?:
    Write a Chinese e-mail a few times a week to my parents and relatives (this is a double win!).  Watch a Chinese movie every week.  Start watching a TV series.  Spend some time every day reading news headlines (using FireFox's translater plugin)
  2. Learn how to Juggle:  Why?  Always wanted to learn, and supposedly helps your brain
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016114055.htm
  3. Grade 8 Violin: I love playing the violin, but I haven't pushed myself to progress after college.  I've neglected it for a while, but I've been playing again recently and it's like meditation for me.  Haha, I've taken the exam before for Grade 2 back when I was a kid.  I want to be good enough to pass the Grade 8 exam!  I want to do this so that I'll be more qualified to teach. 
    How?: I'm going to keep up with Wiltr0n's progress for a while, then start learning songs off of the Royal School of Music Syllabus
  4. 75% Free Throws:  Why? same with Juggling.  My hand-eye coordination is pretty horrible and I want to work at it.  If some preacher can shoot 2,000 in a row.  I'm pretty sure I can get up to 75%.  
  5. Write Left-Handed: Just in case I lose my right hand haha.  :)  Or so that I can be awesome like Demetri Martin
  6. Do 20 pullups:  I've had this goal for so long! I went up to 15! but now I'm at 10 again. -_-
  7. Swim 1 Mile:  For health and to work on my willpower (my biggest flaw). 
  8. Ongoing Study:  Review Math, Engineering.  Read about Investments, Real Estate.  Keep up with current Events.  Internet makes this a cinch!
Wow that's long.  Sorry for the long post, this one's for myself.  I'm going to do this!  I'm serious.  I'm printing this list right now (minus the Iranian dude).  Me 2.0 here I come.

    5 comments:

    D42 said...

    I like this. Your dad always said that the most important thing in life is to never lose the will to learn. I guess if you constantly want to learn new things, there will never be a time in your life when you're not learning new things. Goals are always good and I feel like video games and television defy our goals. So as long as you stay away from your TV for a while, you should be golden. I know setting aside an hour per day this term for exercise instead of playing games is already paying off. I've also set-up my schedule this term to be completely self-directed (weekly homework for all my classes) so that I can be ready for next year in grad school. I guess the key to these goals is your time-management ability and your self-motivation. It's like when I'm studying for a test: I only have so much time to study this test and once it's done with, I can relax all I want. You can take on the same mindset here: You only have so much time to live your life the way you want to and once you get old, then you can bum around all you want. Apologies for the deep and lengthy comment.

    Chun Lick said...

    haha no need to apologize, I enjoy reading comments. Well said! Yea I need stuff to keep me active, otherwise I'm a couch potato without a couch

    Fishy said...

    That's what I sorta learned too. Life never really stays stagnant if you don't want it to be. Benjamin Button tells us we can start learning and keep changing at whatever age we want. Right on with the goals. I will follow suit..when I stop being lazy. Hahahaha

    huangd87 said...

    Thank you for inspiring me

    Cora L. said...

    Okay dude. Keep us posted on your progress, I'm excited for you! I hope for your sake that your commitment to goals is MUCH more consistent than mine. =)

    I want to learn Chinese too!! I need Rosetta Stone!