That pain... is the sensation of your brain cells firing

... for some that pain is probably not felt as often as it should. I give neurons an A+ and my English instructor an A++++++ in awesome.

Karissa Martin

Silent River Kung Fu

Stony Plain, AB

www.silentriverkungfu.com

So tired...

For the past few days I've been incredibly tired, lonely and unmotivated. Perhaps I'm becoming sick, or I'm just not settled into my new routine. I really hope it's the latter. I'm also starting to feel a little homesick, which is funny because I'm not even an hour from home. It's tough to go out and be social and fulfill my 12 conversations requirement when almost all my time is taken up by studying...

It hasn't been a good week so far for my push ups and sit ups, as I'm a couple hundred behind on both. That will have to change.

This is kind of unrelated, but I feel like ranting. Yesterday I had my first biology lab, and it was a little disappointing. It took me 45 minutes trying to calibrate my microscope since I haven't used one in over a year. Blah. I'm a bit of a nerd (I hide it well) whose eyes light up at the thought of dissecting dead things, so this experience was a bit of a downer. The bio lecture is also really hard to take,as the professor can't keep a constant stream of thought. Plus the material is a little dull. It almost makes me want to change my biology major. BUT I'll stick through it, education is never a bad idea and I'll be a better person when it's done.

So, I have a question to ask. What do you guys do to give yourself a boost when you're feeling down? For now though, I'm off to bed...

Karissa Martin

Silent River Kung Fu

Stony Plain, AB

www.silentriverkungfu.com

I can't make up interesting, relevent titles

I'm blogging from my new place at Grant MacEwan. I really enjoy university so far. I feel far less socially awkward here than I was in high school. Maybe I'll change my mind about university come midterm time, ha.

One negative aspect of university is that I'm 45 minutes from the kwoon, and can only attend the Sihing class on Fridays and on weekends, but maybe that will make me more motivated once I can attend more classes in the spring.

Sit ups and push ups are proving to be difficult on the concrete floor in a confined space. I'm a little behind on both but I'm going to make them up tomorrow and challenge myself to do as many as I can in one set. Fun times!

I want to touch on one of my personal UBBT requirements and how it is progressing. I made a requirement that I have to engage in 12 meaningful conversations with previously unknown people in order to get over my shyness. 12 doesn't seem like a lot, but trust me, to me it might as well say 1000. Moving in to a different place and sharing it with someone I didn't know was really stressful, but I'm so glad I did it. My roommate is a friendly, intelligent person and we seem to connect on a deeper intellectual level. Even though I was kind of forced into conversing with with person, I feel like I've gained a little confidence in my social abilities and self-esteem. I'm just so excited that I went out of my personal comfort zone and in turn received a positive experience.

Next I'm going to attempt to approach someone and initiate the conversation (and hopefully in not creepy way.)

Karissa Martin

Silent River Kung Fu

Stony Plain, AB, Canada