- update to last entry 2013-05-22 14:49:58 Just a quick update to my last journal entry. I've moved a bit East from Arizona to New Mexico, where I found a much better med lab job in a much better town. There are some martial arts instruction schools here. However... I currently work ten and a half hour shifts. When I get up at 5:30 in the morning and then leave work at 5:00 in the evening, I'm usually too tired to go to a Tae-Kwon Do class. So, I'm still having some trouble restarting this activity of mine.
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Finally visiting the AMV.org website again
2012-01-14 21:29:51
I haven't been on this Anime Music Videos website in a very long time. I updated my profile. I'm no longer a 24 year-old biology graduate student in Pennsylvania. I'm a 32 year-old medical laboratory technician in Arizona.
In regards to some of the messages written in my previous posts... I indeed had the LASIK surgery done. I no longer need corrective lenses for my eyes. I completed my master's degree in biology. However, I was never able to get accepted into a PhD program (and you can't really become a biologist without a PhD degree). Therefore I got a new degree in med lab science and started a job as a medical laboratory technician. I am not a member of a Tae-Kwon Do school at the time because I live in in a small and isolated town with no martial arts instruction schools. So that activity is on hold for the time being.
Those who looked at what I posted on the forum may remember I was not pleased with the vulgar material that was posted there. A lot can change in eight years. I'm not as easily offended as I once was. I even have some friends who have been known to say some pretty vulgar things nowadays. My thoughts that such behavior is typically inappropriate have not changed, but... if you dismiss everybody who makes a mistake, you dismiss just about everybody. So as I said, my social network has expanded. Nevertheless, I still refuse to use the forums here. That place will always hold a special place in my heart as a place that I hate. When a person offends you involuntarily - that I can usually forgive. When a person acts with the intent to offend you - that is quite a bit harder to forgive. -
New opportunities in Tae-Kwon Do
2004-07-12 22:51:39
Just yesterday, I had the honor of marching in a parade with some of my fellow black belts. Our march was like no other. We punched and kicked as we moved down the street. We got some good reactions from the crowd. Most of them (I assume) had never seen anything like this in a parade.
On a somewhat related note, my Tae-Kwon Do school has at last started to offer weapons training. Black belts can now learn techniques with a staff. I've jumped at the opportunity. I am eager to become one who can fight both armed and unarmed. -
change my eyes?
2004-07-07 21:10:59
I have myopia (nearsightedness) and use glasses to correct this. Although some people prefer to use contact lenses, I’ve always used glasses. I find they are much less hassle, and I dislike touching my eyes. However, I’ve been making plans for some new cosplay costumes. Some of these characters leave their face uncovered - and they have no glasses. I know that official cosplay judges would never hold it against me that I have myopia - I can’t help what I’m born with. But still, I realize it would look odd to see glasses on a character who has none.
Of course, getting contact lenses simply for the purpose of costumes is a foolish waste of money. So there’s nothing I can do about that problem - or is there?
I have been intrigued by the idea of laser surgery to correct one’s vision. It makes both glasses and contacts unnecessary. Even before I started cosplaying, I was planning to have this done. I’ve just been biding my time. I’ve been waiting for the procedure to get as cheap and effective as possible.
Because I recently got a new reason to want something other than glasses, I talked to some people about laser surgery. It seems that it is now fairly cheap and quite effective, and quite possibly it won’t get much cheaper and effective than it is now. Now the time has come to consider whether or not I should have eye surgery. I’ve been planning to have it done in the future. But maybe, as some of the dramatic characters say, “The future is now!” -
All obstacles removed
2004-07-01 21:16:59
It has taken longer than I though to get all the supplies I needed for my thesis research. Getting grant money for such research at my university is something of a hassle (but that’s probably how it is just about everywhere). Many universities are willing to give graduate students the basic research supplies that are normally found in the stockrooms. But that’s not always the case at my university. In some cases, you can’t use research supplies that are already there - they are used solely for classes and the research of professors. Those who don’t get research grants have to buy such supplies themselves.
But now, all the items from the science supply companies (Sigma, Hach, and Fisher) have arrived. The final parts of my field and lab work can now be completed. I look forward to collecting the rest of my data and seeing what I find.
As I indicated, there were unexpected delays in starting the hands-on part of my research. And also, I started graduate school with a different thesis topic which never worked out. So, I think it is understandable that it will take 2½ years rather than 2 years to earn my master’s degree. But I feel that goal like this is worth pursuing, even in the face of such obstacles.
JOURNAL: Michael*Explorer (Michael Sawicki)
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