The Roof of Blanding Tower

What's up everybody? Happy Thursdays. I actually hate Thursdays, this one included. It's just not typically a good time to be had. I'm always running between classes and dressed up in my uncomfortable Air Force uniform and it's all work, no play all day. Then right after class is Air Force Lab and that's not always fun, then after a full 9 hours of work I get back to my dorm, shower, and do homework until bed time. Like I said it's just not a good time.

But then, when all the homework and duties are finished. And at like 11:00 or midnight when I lay in bed and relax, it hits me that my week is complete. Still, until then it kind of sucks.

I had a class canceled today, circuits. So that left me with two and half hours of free time between 1:20 and 3:50. That's actually the reason I'm in my room blogging right now, but before I got the idea to blog during this down time I was just planning on eating lunch slowly and walking around the student center twiddling my thumbs for two hours. It would be like a two and half hour layover in a really boring airport. That's when my imagination took over and I reminisced in how much I love layovers.

Honestly when I book plane tickets, I typically go for the longest layover possible. I'm completely weird in that aspect. Two hours of layover time is good, but more is always welcomed. Spending hours walking around an airport with nothing to do is a vacation in itself for me.

One of my favorite memories of Miami was being stuck in the airport for 9 hours after Spring Break 2010. Spring Break 2010 was a huge success. It was a cruise on the Carnival Glory with Alex Shacklette. All the pieces were there for a fantastic high school Spring Break; the girls to chase, the lax Caribbean drinking laws to play around with, and a bro to share the memories with. The cruise was out of the Port of Miami, and it was in fact my first post-childhood visit to my new favorite city.

The Spring Break trip was great, like I said. Being a solid 17 years old, my fellow partiers and I took over the "under 18 club" due to our age and advantage. Every day was spent in a different Caribbean paradise town, indulging in the cheap and accessible alcohol to a teenager (and fearing dad would see me drinking a sample shot of Kahlua). Every night was spent sobering up at 9:00pm in the teen club. We had our section waiting for us every night, we had our free virgin daiquiris, we had our censored hip hop music, and we had girls to look popular with us.

Cruises really are the highest authority of vacations for high schoolers. The parent's noose loosens up a little bit (it's not like you can get lost on a boat), the experimental drinking comes with a less consequences, and boys and girls are dying to ask each other to chill at the teen club each night. When there's 4,500 people on the ship; 3,000 non-staff; 1,200 below age 18; 450 between ages 15 and 17; and 300 of them are girls; it really doesn't get much better for a 17 year old guy.

But enough about the cruise. It was fun yadda yadda but then on Saturday at like 6:00 in the morning it pulled back into the slip on Dodge Island and the cruise was over. However the real vacation had just begun! My parents scurried off the ship at 7:00am, the minute the doors opened. I don't know why we did this because we had a 5:00pm flight, and I guess I was the only one thinking 10 hours may have been a bit too much of a cushion from cruise disembarkation to plane boarding. But that meant that we got to spend a long as time in the Miami airport! I was more than ready for that!

As expected, it was a breeze getting of the boat and there was little to no traffic getting to the airport. There was no check-in or security line once at the airport, and we were sitting at our gate of H-10 by 8:00am. Let me reiterate, our flight boards at 5:00pm. We had nine hours. That same 757 would go between Miami and Atlanta three times before it picked us up. A Lufthansa 747 took off from Frankfurt, Germany right at about the time we got to the airport, it landed in Miami before we left. We were going to be in that terminal for a long ass time.

And it was a blast! I just listened to my music, walked all over terminals H and J, texted the friends I met on the cruise, texted all my bros back at home, watched some planes take off and land, enjoyed some Cinnabon; there wasn't much I didn't have time to do. The Miami airport has a very Floridian decor. In the flooring tiles are seashells, palm trees, marlins, and nice beachy quotes (Jimmy Buffet, Hemmingway, etc). I read every single quote in the south side of the airport. There was a big thunderstorm that closed the airport for a while, I was listening to LiveATC seeing how they handled it. I was able to fit in a three hour nap somewhere in there. Man, it was bliss!

Sooner or later our 757 came back to gate H-10 for the 3rd time that day, ready to pick us up. And after 9 thrilling hours, we were off to Atlanta, and eventually back home. And now I love the Miami airport. It's like I have Stockholm Syndrome. (AND I GET TO GO BACK TO THAT BLESSED LOCATION IN 8 DAYS). That summer, I did something ridiculous like 100 or so flights in and out of MIA. A year later, I sacrificed 3 days at Naples Florida so I could fly through MIA. A year after that, Travel Channel makes a T.V. show about the MIA, except I don't watch it because it's not very good. Then, two months ago I get lucky enough to fly through KMIA with my girlfriend enroute to Madrid! I can't help but make a Spring Break trip to Miami; I love that place too damn much.

But enough about Miami.

I was reading this blog back two years ago. On March 10th I blogged about a substitute teacher wanting to throw a party for our class.

"Ok so a bit of background before I dive into this. So the AP music teacher, Mrs. Knapke, is off doing some important music theory shit (oxymoron!) and isn't in school this week. We have some 70-something-year-old substitute who's putting on the video and watching us this week. He's quite the chatty gentleman. Upon the first day he asked if I were on the basketball team, to his disappointment I'm not, but I chatted about my swimming. He walked away just as Amanda reminded me it'd be amusing to see his reaction to my pilot's license. So he's been chatting me and Amanda up on and off everyday and yesterday he hit upon a humorous concept.

He told me "I'm thinking of throwing a party in this class on Friday, would that be ok with you?". I was like "Sir, you are talking to certainly the most party-friendly person in this class. That idea is not only ok with me, but it is highly encouraged." And he promptly replied with a smile "Well then that's what I'll do." Now I, even to this moment, lack the slightest clue as to why this man wants to throw a party for the class he's subbing. But he wants to, and I'm supporting him. A lot. If an old man feels like throwing a party, that's his prerogative and my privelidge. Advantage will be taken accordingly."

It obviously wasn't the typical alcohol-infused party with girls and music and all that like my high school senior personality was so into, but it was such a treat. That Friday, only a week or two before Spring Break that year, instead of doing work or reviewing or God-forbid a quiz; we were eating chips and queso, sipping Big Red, and happily conversing with each other. 

That little incident had an impact on me. Of course I completely forgot about it until I read about it in my own blog, which is why I'm so grateful I wrote it down. The thought of a humble old man (working part time as a substitute music teacher) wanting to spend his own money so that his temporary students could relax on a Friday before Spring Break, after being so busy and working so hard for months, is quite touching. I was so appreciative of him thinking about us, "I bet they could use a party. I'll throw them one."

So I decided I'm using my RA superpowers to pass the favor down. I asked my residents last meeting if they would like a pizza party before Spring Break, and they of course responded positively. So I planned it out, sent in the paperwork, and am spending $50 from the department to throw a pizza party for my residents the Thursday night before Spring Break. My thinking is that at least one person who attends will appreciate it in the way I appreciated it almost two years ago. Perhaps that one person will remember it later on in his life, even if it's when he's 70 years old, and he'll decide to throw a party for someone before Spring Break. 

It will cause a never ending chain of pizza parties being thrown before Spring Break. I can sleep soundly every March for the rest of my life knowing that from generation to generation, someone in the country is graced with a pizza party right before Spring Break. Hopefully they appreciate it as much as I did. Hopefully over the years it will put a smile on thousands of young faces as they grind out the rest of their work before Spring Break--the best week in the Universe. Hopefully my pizza party will make the world a brighter place. Hopefully that substitute music teacher knows he had such a positive impact on some of his students. 

Anyway, it's February 28th which means the dead months are over and Spring is about to begin! This is always a happy time of the year for me, but I have to get through three more hours of ROTC, and three more hours of homework before I can enjoy it. Then, I can enjoy my circuits Friday, get some money with my power weekend this weekend, crank out my last few exams and assignments, hit up one last shitty Thursday, have my pizza party, and call it a wrap before heading to my favorite place on Earth. 

I have a lot to look forward to. It's rare I notice that until I write it down in this blog. College really is a roller coaster between insane fun and insane stress. Writing it down makes it seem like it all evens out positively. But anyway, have a good day, week, weekend, Spring Break, whatever. Until next time...

Oh and you've probably realized this by now, but the title of this post doesn't have shit to do with the content. I've been wanting to do that for a while haha. See ya.

Udaho

What's up world? Happy Tuesday. I just got back from tanning. It's been time to prepare for Spring Break for a while now. The stragglers who don't truly understand the gravity of Spring Break are just now starting to get ready. You can't start tanning and working out for Spring Break like three weeks before... That's that shit I did in high school.

I was watching Animal Planet last night, Finding Bigfoot to be exact. I know I've said this numerous times but Animal Planet will earn my respect when they produce the show "Found Bigfoot". Until then they have absolutely no credibility. Anyway, the "research" team was in Idaho trying to find bigfoot. Spoiler alert: they didn't find him. But while mindlessly watching it at midnight before going to bed, I couldn't help but miss my two day trip to Idaho.

Every time I travel and visit some new place, assuming I have a good time while I'm there (which I do anywhere), it's never long before I start to miss it. Obviously places like LA, Miami, Morocco, Honduras, etc. have a ton of weight on this scale, and I find myself frequently washed away in nostalgia from those places.

But even Idaho, (fucking Idaho!) is enough to make me close my eyes at night and remind myself of how much fun I had there. There wasn't even that much that happened in Idaho! But whether it was enjoying a stop in Atlanta, hardcore family drinking in a trailer park, lunch in Wyoming, or seeing the sights of Preston, it was great. In fact I just listed every single thing we did.


It took about $600 and two nights for me to form a a great memory to look back on. Now every time I see anything from Napoleon Dynamite, Jackson Hole, or really anything in Idaho I can freely become happy. I see four overpaid idiots running around the Idaho country side and can't help but thinking of driving endlessly though the hills and canyons enroute to the highly anticipated family picnic. I can't help but remember stopping at a rest stop enjoying coffee, lemonade and cookies from whatever old-man organization that was giving them away for donations.

I happily remember driving for hours and hours while gaining excitement for our future trip to Europe. I remember sternly texting Karen telling her she should have manned up and gone on the trip with us (she seriously would've had fun but no, she's too good for Idaho). I remember sitting on the plane (Delta 757-200; Tail #: 650DL) on the way there and back, enjoying my cranapple beverage while excited to tell my friends back at UK of my Idaho adventure.

It's the whole process of getting excited for a trip, having fun after the trip, and then happily going about the rest of my life content with the fact I went that describes the incessant pleasantness of my life. One trip is just wrapping up and instead of being sad about it, I prepare for the next trip. In between vacations and travel destinations is nothing but excitement and satisfaction with future and past experiences.

When I just get back to the dorm room, after a big busy fun trip, of course I'm a little depressed. But what I've come to find is that I'm not sad about wanting to go back. My low mood wouldn't simply go away if I got back on a plane to go back. Then I'd be on a plane headed to Madrid, but I'm sure I'd still be sad. What I'd rather do is just relive the whole trip. It's the lifestyle I miss more than anything. It's relaxing with Karen after a long city tour, bringing a few cups down to the lobby before hitting the clubs at night, and spending days on the bus watching the country roll past that I miss. Since it's not possible to go back in time and relive a moment in your life, all you can do is look forward.

Sure I can look at pictures and videos but I sure as hell can't just uproot myself and go back, and I certainly can't go back in time and relive it. All I can do is be happy with the experiences I've accumulated and look towards the future. So I book a trip to Miami and get really really excited about it. The cycle never ends. Life goes from a monotonous bore to a book that keeps getting better and better but never ends. And I'm grateful for the way I set it up.

Anyway I have an interview with the Blanding Tower Hall Director about me potentially being the ROTC floor RA. That'd be sick. Can't wait. Until next time...

Lost

What's up world? Happy Friday to all. I'm a bit tired today. I don't know why. But I just have a quick calc session and then I can take a nap.

So back in middle school I remember I used to watch the show Lost. It was quite a mysterious and entertaining series. A group of people are stuck on an island and can't try to survive and eventually try to get off. But the most entertaining aspect of the show was the random shit that happened to the poor people on the island. For example, they'd be trying to find some food, and a giant polar bear would attack. Or they'd be walking through the jungle and an invisible smoke monster would start tearing down trees and making weird mechanical sounds. The frequent and extreme plot twists was what made it so entertaining. Just when you think you have everything figured out in the show, you find out something new and captivating about the island that keeps you content.

I was thinking last night how I kind of wish real life was like this. Where one couldn't enjoy a simple walk across campus without being confused by something completely out-of-the-ordinary like a giant polar bear or invisible smoke monster. Life would be so much less repetitive, and a lot more interesting if we had all these big mysteries to solve and piece together.

Then I suddenly realized that life is almost exactly like life on the island in Lost. Obviously we don't encounter huge heavy mysteries that determine life or death, but plot twists are absolutely everywhere even to a college kid. Everyday we learn new things, many of which are some really interesting stories. There are secrets like giant reservoirs of radioactive sludge all over Wyoming left over from recycled nuclear warheads that were dismantled after the Cold War. There are idiosyncrasies of the human brain like the Tetris Effect or time dilation that are as mysterious and entertaining as the strange occurrences on the Lost island.

Traveling makes the idea of secrets and mysteries being everywhere even more apparent. There are places in the world that you didn't know existed; and when you go explore the planet and find these peculiar destinations, it's as rewarding as finding a new clue about Lost. The more you travel and explore the planet and read about the oddities of the universe, the more you realize how captivating the real world is even when compared to the fiction on T.V.

When I think about everything in that respect, I start to feel more pity to those who don't indulge in every aspect of life and the world. There's so much to see, experience, and learn; it blows my mind that a huge majority of the American population just wastes their life away in one place without a single desire to explore. I realize that everyone's different, but I can't fathom being satisfied with life without moving around and seeing a fraction of the cool stuff in the world.

Leonardo DiCaprio has a quote I love that says "How can I die without seeing every inch every inch of this world?" And that pretty much sums it all up in one line. I guess if you die without ever leaving your hometown, you die blissfully unaware of everything you missed in life. That's sure as hell not going to happen to me.

Anyway, that concludes my rant. But I have about 20 more minutes to write so I was going to tell you about Circuits Friday.

Every Friday afternoon, I have a circuits lab/recitation/lecture all in one in the afternoon. Like it's a lab, lecture, and recitation crammed into one long as shit two-hour session. It's so painfully long, there's an intermission. And to make it worse, like exponentially worse, it's at the worse possible time in the week at 2:00pm-4:00pm on a fucking FRIDAY. Like who the hell put a 2-hour circuits recilabralecture on a Friday afternoon?

But instead of bitching about it, I took did the 'Decker' thing to do and embraced it. Instead of a painfully boring class right before the weekend, it's "Circuits Friday!" What better way to finish off a rough week than with a calming cool-down class? I squeeze in a good work out right before the class, make a hearty bottle of tea, and skip to the Engineering Tower with a smile on my face. I sip on my tea, watch the stock market go up and down in the final hours of the business week, and learn some cool tricks about electrical analysis. While taking notes in the lecture, taking a quiz in the recitation, and setting up resistors in parallel in the lab; I'm making plans for the weekend and beginning to unwind.

Two hours is a long time to melt and hate your life. That's why I choose not to. It's the same situation as a long flight. A two hour flight to Atlanta is a long time to stress about whether you'll make your connection and make it to the cruise ship on time. Two hours is a long time to dwell over the possibility of leaving your passport at home. Which is why in the cases I'm able, I embrace situation and do my best to enjoy it. If I treat my two hour circuits class like I do a two hour flight; complete with something to sip on, some vacation music, and daydreaming about the days ahead (while of course not sacrificing participation in the class); I find two hours to pass a lot more gracefully.

And finally I know that spending two hours every week this semester miserable will only result in negative emotions when I look back on my life years into the future. If I bitched and moaned about it, I'll only feel like it was wasted time. If I embraced it and gave it a catchy name like "Circuits Friday", then I'll have nothing but fond memories to hold onto.

The difference between bitching about something and embracing the positive aspects, is your happiness along the way. You can spend an 11 hour flight to Dallas painfully counting the hours. Or you can take my lead, toast your plastic cup containing a cheap beer, and enjoy your flight as if you don't do it all the time.

Anyway it's time for calculus. Until next time...

Lost at Sea

What's up world. Happy Monday. Better yet, happy less-than-a-month-til-Spring-Break. Things continue to be chill on the college campus. No complaints about that. I had the PFA this morning, I did as well as I wanted to. Now I just gotta keep it together and coast through the summer.

I found a new song while studying Saturday. Well I found a bunch and downloaded them all but there's one in particular I like called "Lost at Sea". It's all about literally getting lost at sea with a girl and having no worries and just riding out the rough waves in the coziness of your boat.

It made me realize how nice that idea sounds. Next to exploring and exciting adventures, nothing sounds better than just leaving the rocky coast behind and sailing away forever. All through life there's stress and money and work involved that never seems to go away. The thought of leaving it all behind to drift from one abandoned beach to the next is blissful. This is all assuming you have sufficient equipment; water, food, showers, and a big enough boat all are nothing short of necessities.

But let's say you do have a big sail boat, stocked to the brim with your ever need, and you just left the shores of America behind with no one but your lady and your sailors intuition. You could just sail for the scattered islands of the Caribbean without worrying about when you're getting there or what you'll do on the way.

The days would be spent enjoying an endless supply of tropical cocktails, fused with the occasional ocean dip. The nights would be spent being rocked to sleep by the gentle caress of Poseidon. If there's rain when the morning comes, time would still pass on inside the comfort of the cabin, still without a care in the world. And after an indefinite amount of time spent lost at sea, land would come into view. The beautiful sparkling ocean would be replaced with a beautiful sandy beach. More cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and peacefulness would be had on land before returning to sea. Depending on your supplies, life like this could forever.

No stress, no bothers, no money, no assholes, no problems. I feel like this is what a lot of people dream about in one form or another. I've written before about blasting off in my own space-yacht to tour the galaxy with my friends, and it's the same concept. The downside of having a ridiculously productive ("productive") country is the constant desire to leave it all behind to get lost at sea where the incessant problems fade from view with the Miami skyline. It's why people drink, it's why people cheat on their spouses, and it's why I treat life like a vacation.

As much as college life differs from being lost at sea in almost every aspect, I can still make the best of everything and keep my sanity. Every weekend when that last 2-hour Friday class let's out, it's the start of my sailboat journey. Instead of packing my bags and boarding the vessel, I stack my notebooks on the shelf and check Karen into Haggin. Instead of untying and pushing off, I make some tea and boot up the Xbox. Instead of relaxing on deck watching the clouds and swimming in the ocean, Karen and I watch a movie and play some ping pong. Instead of grilling up a burger, we'll make a big pot of Ramen in the microwave and enjoy it just as much.

The similarities don't lie in the beauty of the view outside the porthole, the weather outside, or the isolation from the world. But for a couple of days while watching movies, ordering pizza, and finding out next exotic destination on Google Earth; the worries fade, the time passes peacefully, and in a way it let's me get lost at sea.

Then when Sunday afternoon rolls around it's back to the marina. We tie back onto the dock, unpack our things, and clear customs back into the real world. And when you can do that every four or five days, it's just enough to keep yourself from dropping out of school and signing up as a deck scrubber for Carnival. Plus when you're able to count the weeks between real vacations with your fingers, it simply bides the time.

Sooner or later I'll be 60 and retired with a lot of money. I'll eventually be reading this post on the porch of my beach house (THAT'S RIGHT, YOU BETTER BE LIVING IN A BEACH HOUSE, or at least something of equal or greater value). The time will come when my stresses go away forever and the dream of never having to work another day in my life becomes reality. The ironic thing is when I hit that point I doubt I'll feel glad that it's finally over. I'll probably end up wanting to go back to where I am right now, getting lost at sea with the people I love most.



Ha! I bet I'll get goosebumps to that in the future. Until next time...

N00bs

Good morning everybody. Happy Wednesday. The week's almost over. A few more homework assignments, a few more classes, a little bit of ROTC shake and bake and bam it's weekend number 5 for this semester.

A few other 200's and I went to eat breakfast at the lodge again this morning after PT. Once again it was a delight. The polite ladies that worked there and serve us apologized for us not seeing any basketball players (like we really care about that, we have enough shit to worry about). We're starting to become regulars there, which is great because nothing beats being welcome at such a nice place. Ironically enough, back a year ago when I was a ignorant freshman I actually blogged about Wildcat Lodge before I even knew what it was (http://deckerloyd.blogspot.com/2011/12/whats-up-world-yeah-thats-right-second.html). Now I know it's the home of famous athletes and I'm eating breakfast there on a regular basis.

I was doing some thinking last night about acting like you've been there before. Now I say "act like you've been there" a lot, and it's with good reason. In my lifestyle where I travel a lot, hang around classiness as much as possible, and typically end up in situations that just aren't 'everyday'; fitting in can be difficult. Obviously I don't mean the high school definition of fitting in where everyone tries to fit in with the cool kids; it's more of a sense of belonging.

Fitting in for me sometimes earns a serious connotation. Depending on my situation, fitting in is a matter of safety. Walking around medinas and slums of third world countries at night, let alone prostitute nightclubs, can be dangerous if bad people can pick up on the fact that you are completely fucking lost. Standing out too much in certain crowds drops a target on your head that significantly increases the amount of danger you're facing.

Other times, it's just a matter of getting in and not getting kicked out. You really limit yourself on the places you can go if you don't fit in. Places like Turf Club at Churchill Downs, Beverly Hills, South Beach, or any generally classy location require a high brow attitude. Without carrying yourself well you might not make it past the front door; and if you act like an idiot inside, you might just get kicked out. This is especially true if you're not paying for it (I'm a man of my free admission).

So what's the easiest way to put up create this aura that says you belong? Just act like you've been there before. Whether it's a Hollywood nightclub, a bar in Spain, or the streets of a Muslim country; if you act like you go there every single day then people will probably believe it. If it looks like you're unfazed by your surroundings you don't ever look vulnerable, trashy, or immature.

Think about it. When you're at a fancy hotel, who are the first people you notice who don't belong? For me at least, it's the garbage blue collar family who end up making it clear that they've never stepped foot inside anywhere fancy. They're always overly excited which makes them loud, completely inexperienced in the hospitality department so they end up pointing out everything they've never seen before ("LOOK MA THEY GOT AN ELEVATOR"), and everything they do points out that they don't belong there. Personally it pisses me off. All I can think is "Dear God, act like you've been there before."

Or if you're at a party. It's a fun party, not too rambunctious. It's the first week of school, K-week, August, etc. There's always 5-10 freshman who have clearly never experienced college before. I get it, I was a freshman once. College is fun. But there's no reason to annoy the shit out of everyone there because you've never been drunk before. Typically the most obnoxious of the freshman are removed, and they wake up in the hospital.

Or walking around the medina of Fes. There's always some lady not paying any attention, getting pick-pocketed, and annoying the shit out of the locals trying to go to work. Those are the people who make a bad reputation for travelers (particularly American) in foreign countries. 

Acting like you've been there before removes most of the idiot resonating out of you and pissing off those who have been there before. And you only have to act like you've been there before once. When you go back you don't have to act, because you've actually been there before. 

Nobody in the western world likes a noob. If you don't have any clue what you're doing, you can figure it out and learn. But in the mean time, don't be a clueless nuisance. The difference between an obnoxious tourist and a welcomed visitor is the sense of belonging. 

That's all I have for today. For those counting, we have 30 days until Spring Break. I will be in the Miami airport in just over four weeks. But anyway, until next time...

PCHSHGWBKP

What's up world? Happy Monday. Today has been too chill for words. Gettin' money working all weekend, no PT due to the quarter inch of snow, and now I'm sipping some tea up at the front desk making more money. And perhaps the best part is that Spring Break is in a short 31 days, and I'll soon be smoking cigars on Ocean Drive with a drink in hand.

For the hell of it, Karen and I watched the whole second season of Jersey Shore on Netflix, which is the season where they're in Miami Beach. So after watching 11 straight hours of this garbage TV, I can't help but think like DJ Pauly D, The Situation, and the rest of those idiots. Those 8 individuals don't have ANYTHING to do except party and screw around and have fun, yet they stress and get been out of shape over the stupidest shit. So they yell at each other for and confront all the "drama", and then they cry and complain about how hard it is to live their life. Then, my favorite part; regardless of how angry and disgusted they are at their roommates, every night at 11pm they put their differences aside and get way too excited to go to the clubs.

They live the simplest, most carefree lifestyles but think they have it rough because they aren't smart enough to get along with the people they're paid to live with. I will say however that it's very entertainment, and truthfully worth watching until the repetitiveness gets to you.

And it makes me realize that my life is stressful. I can handle 10 times as much stress and difficulties as the Jersey Shore cast, and I don't need to lose my cool to handle it. I'm guessing that's why I'm a pilot and the Jersey Shore cast has a hit TV show.

Although despite the Jersey Shore lifestyle being significantly less difficult than they really make it out to be, I have to admire their enthusiasm for simple, everyday events. Perhaps the best example is GTL (Gym, tanning, laundry). GTL exemplifies the daily activities and attitude in the life of the Jersey Shore cast. Firstly, you hit the gym. You get a good work out in because in the words of The Situation, "If you don't hit the gym, you don't look good." After the hitting the gym and getting showered off for the day, it's time to get your bronze on. A getting a good tanning session in, whether it be at the beach or in the bed, is the second necessity to a productive day. "If you don't tan, you're pale." Simple as that. Finally, the last thing on your list is to get the laundry done. The reasons are obvious, "If you don't do laundry, you don't got no clothes."

And that's a wrap. Sun up to sun down, the three primary objectives of the day are GTLing. And for the Jersey Shore cast, it's a full plate. Yes, it takes nearly 3 HOURS, to get it all done. So after sleeping for 14 hours, and GTLing for 3 hours, you only have 7 hours left the in the day to drink and go to clubs. Like I said, they have a full plate.

If I had three tasks to do in a day, stress wouldn't exist to me. I'd be a happy chap. If GTL is considered a full plate, then ROTC, work, engineering classes, and homework is a four-course meal. I don't mean to sound like I'm looking down on the people who live like the Jersey Shore cast (I actually envy their class); my daily list of activities is just different.

Instead of GTLing, I have my own acronym. PCHSHGWBKP (PT, class, homework, study, homework, gym, work, blog, Karen, ping pong). It starts with a good PT session, then class so I can learn cool stuff that makes me a more interesting individual, then it's time to knock out some homework, study, then do more homework. After the academics are done I can get some quality gym time (because like The Situation says, if you don't hit the gym, you don't look good). Then I usually have something work or RA related squeezed in there, then I can't go long without writing down what's on my mind and spending time with Karen. Then it's to the table for some ping pong. Now I'm not going to act like a superhero, it's quite taxing. Because after sleeping for 6 hours, and PCHSHGWBKPing which takes a whopping 15 hours, I'm only left with a meager 3 hours to get wicked hammered and hit the clubs! And if I'm trying to pick up a floozie and get some smooshing in then I have even less time! Yeah! Life's rough!

But I'm not complaining about it. With the exception of eight individuals the Jersey Shore lifestyle is essentially fiction. If all you do everyday is GTL, then you're a loser. Anyway that's all I have for this post. Until next time...