A Small Note About This Past Weekend.

At the end of it all, I was exhausted on many levels-but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything else in the world.

Bad Dream...

Last night I dreamt that I got hurt while playin vball again.  I couldn't remember how it happened, all I remember was that I was confined to using a cane and couldn't walk normally anymore.  It was a very scary dream.  I didn't know how to interpret it when I first thought about it...but now I do think it is a message of sorts.

I have come to the realization that I have taken playing for granted and not ever really cared about taking precautions.  I hardly ever stretched or warmed up.  There have been many times that I would go out drinking the night before a tournament.  All these things added up over the years and I think I paid a big price for that.  Now think that dream was simply a message to about what will happen if I don't change.

I am 31 goin on 32.  I have been playing since I was 14.  It is safe to say that my "young pup" years are over.  I have now entered the "old dog who sleeps on the couch without moving much" phase.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It just means I need to play smarter.  We'll see how that goes.

On another note, I saw "Superbad" not once, but twice this weekend.  I will not go so far to say it is a generation-defining movie.  Well, I can only really speak for mine.  But anyways, the movie was probably one of the funniest movies I have seen in years.  Instant Classic, without a doubt.  I just wonder if there will be an unrated version to show anything that may have been cut from the final release.  One can only hope.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I want to start off by sayin thanks to everyone who left nice comments on my last post.

I feel like my brain is still hungover from that training experience.  I have been back at work since tuesday and things have been just fine here.  My boy Apinun did a great job keeping the ship afloat.

So going back to the final days of my training, it was crazy.  People starting failing exams and freaking out.  It is difficult to stay focused on a goal you want to achieve when people around you are losing their composure.  One guy kept giving me excuses on why he failed one of the exams.  Other people where comparing scores to make themselves feel better.  I found that very annoying.  I mean, I dont care if anyone wanted to know if I passed or failed an exam, but there is no need to gloat if you outscore me.  In the end, it doesn't matter if you score 100 points higher than me - so long as it counts as passing, who cares, right?

I tried to be supportive of the my newfound friends who weren't doing so well, but half the battle is staying confident in yourself.  By then though, I could sense they had already given up.  Hopefully they pulled through okay.  I didn't stick around when I was done with my last exam because I wanted to go home badly. 

So while I was up in PA, my car battery went bad and I had a problem with my transmission.  I barely got my car started and it was stuck in 3rd gear.  The result was me being able to go no faster than 60 mph.  It took me 6 1/2 hours to get home when it took me only 4 to drive up.  Traffic was horrendous just south of Philly.  I had no ac and being stuck on the hot, slow, sticky highway sucked - it was bad enough that I was already otherwise exhausted.  This was the cherry on top of everything.  But as I had done for the previous 2 weeks, I just gutted it out and made it home.  Being back in my familiar surroundings with my family was just the lift that I needed.

Funny to think how much difference a year can make.  Last year at this time, I was only a few days removed from rupturing my Achilles tendon.  The year starting from that point was really bad for me.  From the death of one of my good friends, the injury, the shitty time I had at work and school, not to mention me not being able to play vball - this all culminated into me not having much to smile about.  The whole year just felt like one huge loss

But now, here I am.  This time I am starting off on a high note.

This realization just got me thinking...a while back, I stumbled upon Richard Nixon's speech that he gave to his staff on his way out of the presidency.  Say what you will about the man, but if there is somebody out there that knows a thing or two about losing, it is him.  In spite of all he went through, he still found some way to make his mark in the world and deliver these words which will always stay with me no matter how good or bad times may be:

"We think that when we suffer a defeat that all is ended. [...] Not true. It is only a beginning, always. The young must know it; the old must know it. It must always sustain us, because the greatness comes not when things go always good for you, but the greatness comes and you are really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes, because only if you have been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."

Those words never get old with me.  I suppose now it's time that I start climbing some mountains. 

Comptia Security +

Passing Score:  764

My score:  825

Microsoft

All minimum passing scores:  700

My scores:

70-270:  873

70-290:  842

70-291:  800

70-293:  790

70-294:  810

70-298:  830

70-299:  700

Mission Accomplished. 

The drive home was hell, my car was dying, no AC, horrendous traffic, and I couldnt go above 60 mph...but somehow I made it back in one piece. 

Life returns to normal tomorrow.