Jogging

I guess i got pretty bored, but i decided to start jogging about a month ago. Of course i am way too lazy, i just do it when i feel like it, so it looks something like this: jogging for 3 days and then nothing for a week. Repeat as needed.
I have this standard route i take. It goes through the forest and through the fields, it's really nice. It's a bit varied with two instanced of uphill running ( not too long, though, otherwise i would have given up ) and some pathless areas, which makes it all more interesting.
Anyways, i have been running against the time, just to make it more interesting. I like to get myself a good run. It's kinda cool when you get a bit tired and you say to yourself, ok i need to stop, but actually you don't and you can keep on running, only if you wish to.
Well, i broke my personal best and now it stands at 24:43.62


When i started running it has been a bit above 30 minutes. So i have made quite some progress. This makes me feel quite satisfied with myself.

So it's been good so far.

Looking good..

As you might have read, i have set myself a goal for this summer, to get my lazy ass out of this stinking and old Europe ;). I decided for Algeria, cause i think it's kind of cool country. I have read a little about it, i liked what i heard and the decision was made.
Unfortunatelyi couldn't find anyone to go with me. People were either out of cash, or lazy non-adventurous slackers, or non-adventurous hard working freaks planning to work the whole summer earning money ( guess they haven't figured out summer is about spending, not earning ) or adventurous people already have their destination in place and it's certainly not Algeria. For a moment there has been a glimpse of hope as one friend offered her to go, but then changed her mind due to school work ( read: diploma to write ).
After that i have been trying, asking people around, but couldn't really find anyone at all. Although i am generally very independent emotionally and don't have problems changing environment people around me, i would still prefer some company, it's just much more fun this way. People there don't speak English (only bloody French), so if you have someone you can chat and support each other in your crazy ideas. So i chose not to travel alone at all. But still, there was just simply no one to come with me.
As all got dark and gloom and it seemed like i am definitely not going anywhere this year, a guy i know gave me a hint to post an offer on this website, backpacking people read. And voila, in 2 days i got an answer. So now there is hope again !
From the response i think it might just work out.

Hooray for the internet. ;)

This is summer ?

14 degrees centigrade in July ?
And that's summer ?
You gotta be kidding me. Oh, and in addition to that i forgot my umbrella in Ljubljana ( I learned from the experience a year ago, and now i have a backup at home ).
Fortunately it will stop raining tomorrow...

Done with exams

Well, i am finally done with my exams. This last exam has been dragging on for almost a month. It really started getting on my nerves, so i decided to ignore untill yeserday at 10 pm ( yes, i haven't slept enough yet again, so i have been sleepy the whole day and left work early - another yet again :p).
Anyways, it's been a really strange feeling studying for this exam as the professor hasn't really explained things into depth but rather width, so i didn't feel like really getting into the subject and understanding but just read through it. It turned out all right though. It's been kinda funny sitting there ( 4 people had an oral examination simultaneously), everybody was so chilled, just as if i went for a drink with a couple of friends. A lovely feeling.
So now what ? Well, i guess i should go partying. But it doesn't make any sense, cause there would be no change in my life style. I am going out, having fun more than ever. I am doing different kinds of stuff, ranging from doing crazy stuff like swimming in cold water in the middle of the night ( imitation of the night fjord jumps ;), going to the cinema ( yeah, i actually do support the film industry, and i am proud of it. I go to the cinema at least 3 - 4 times for 1 movie i download to my computer and watch it there. I think this has become quite rare in the era when even in Slovenia broadband is becoming prevalent choice for internet connection.)

Oh, my cousin got married this Saturday. Apparently a lot of couples did, since it's 07/07/07 - three 7, should get you luck or something.. My comment to that is, thank God it's not 06/06/06, cause in that case it would be the end of the world :) ( although i did actually have a very difficult exam on that day).
Anyways, the wedding was lot's of fun. It was a bit of stressful ( not really ) when we had to catch this piece of cloth. The (un)lucky person who manages to catches it is supposed to marry next. Fortunately it wasn't me. But this has been the first of my cousins to get married, which reminded me i will be next at some point in the future. That's not so good, as i really don't want to get married in the next couple of years.

But we will see, how it goes, things change rapidly.

Travian

I have found this game, called Travian. (http://travian.com/). It's a browser based game, so you don't need to install anything. (which also makes it perfectly cross platform - works under Linux :) ).
It's a tactical game - you are in command of a tribe - Romans, Galls or Teutons.
You need to build up resources, build buildings, train your solders and fight your enemies.
In the beginning (first two or three days) it's just endless waiting to get enough resources

I play it on a Slovene server - the address is http://si.travian.com

If you want to play start on the North West corner. My nickname is bd4e and my 7 day protection period (when you cannot be attacked by other player) expires tomorrow. It's going to be a fun day ;)

Fast drive

Today i managed to get home in less than 30 minutes ( hitchiking ) - 37 km.
Pretty damn good, ha ?

Fjord jumping.

One of the best things at RCNUWC was the fjord-jumping, the daily or at least weekly ( not in january, and february though) dose of adrenalin.
Obviously doing these things is extremely cool, so when coming back home, i thought of a challenges, which we have had organized within our youth club to compensate for the lack of fjord jumping ;).
Now that activity has more or less ended, i have somehow managed to return back to the source. Of course there is a minor annoyance ( read: lack of fjords ), but fortunately there are different kinds of rivers, streams available for use (chilled to something between 5 to 13 degrees Celsius). :)
There is however, no appropriate water close to where i live ( closest is 11 km away ), which makes an aftershower an impossibility. Bummer.

I have also changed my style - back at RCN it was, jumping, staying in water for 5-10 seconds, climbing up, jumping again... 2,3,4, or even more times (23?) and then finally leaving to warm up freezing body. But now, it's jumping only once then waiting in the water until the temperature of your skin and the surrounding water are the same, and you don't feel cold anymore. Now is time to enjoy, chill out, or swim a couple of meters. After you start feeling cold from the inside it's about the time to get the hell out of there.
To add to the adrenalin side, these occasions mainly occur during the night.
Anyways, it's fun. You absolutely have to try it out sometime. You'll become addicted.

Speaking of fjord jumping, i found this CAS entry regarding fjord jumping, written by Matt. He sent it to me about 2 years ago ( damn, the time flies ). I had a harddrive failure and thought it was lost forever.
Yesterday i found it by chance, whilst scanning through my USB pen. That just made my day. Seriously, it's the best english written stuff, i have read. Ever.
So respect Matt... Great shit you wrote.
Copy > paste

Summarise what you did in this activity and how you interacted with others.

This activity is called ‘fjord-jumping’. It involves jumping into fjords at all times of the day and the night whenever you get the urge. There is a lot of interaction between male and female students as we see who can jump the most times and the furthest or from the greatest height. There is also a lot of interaction with the rest of the student village, as we have to walk the streets to get to and from the traditional fjord-jumping platform by the boathouse, so we occasionally take the opportunity to do some recruiting. In addition, our war cries can quite often be heard from the houses as we attempt to shout the loudest and come up with the most bestest one-liner. You can shout in your own language as long as it sounds cool, or even better: you can jump at the same time as any number of your fellow countrymen, raucously shouting out the name of your beloved homeland together as you do so. You gain more respect the higher the percentage representation of your country, although sometimes, when we feel like exercising some international understanding, we merge the names of all the countries represented into one (genius), and jump and scream them all at once. These occasions are most joyous.

Explain what you hoped to accomplish through this activity.

Through the noble art of fjord-jumping followers hope to reach a refreshing state of affinity with the water, a kinship, almost an attraction; they seek oneness. What is better than leaping out into nothingness and getting some major kick-ass air with your pals; being suspended over the unsuspecting water; framed by a dazzling sunset? It’s about pushing oneself to one’s limits and then stopping and going and having a really hot shower that feels like it’s lukewarm but in actuality is very hot although you can’t feel it and then oh it burns. And basically we’re all just up for a bit of a laugh and avoiding doing college work.

How successful were you in achieving yours goals? What difficulties did you encounter and how did you overcome them?

I believe we achieved and will go on achieving all of the goals mentioned in the mission statement on page one of the 2004 ‘Fjordon bleu’ fjord-jumper’s almanac, and that the difficulties we encounter just make things all that more fun. An example of a potential problem is that of weak swimmers wanting to jump. If they do so we always make sure they are flanked either side by two strong swimmers and that various life aids are available. Furthermore, we guarantee that every jumper about to jump has immediate access to a helper-upper piece of apparatus such as a ladder or wooden steps at the side of the platform so that no one need be subjected for too long to… The temperature of the water, although contributing to the extreme sport side of things is also a bit of a bummer. On the side we always have an abundance of towels and check the boathouse is open so that we can use the shower and revive certain parts of the body, like the nose, as soon as possible. We don’t generally jump in when there is ice. That would just be silly.

What did you learn about yourself and others through this activity?

Through the martial arts discipline of fjord-jumping I have learnt that everyone has at least a tiny bit of insania inside him or her and that it’s just a matter of bringing it out in a controlled manner. Although I have learnt that it is not clever to run very fast on a wet/snow covered platform I have also learnt that in some cases it is a good thing to be spontaneous and do things on the spur of a random moment. Sometimes it is best to stop trying to work and chill out and clear your head with a splash of water. Then perhaps when you return to your work you will be more productive and focused; happier, even if people tell you you’re a mentalist. But you’re not; you’re a hardcore leg-end. You know it.

Did anyone help you to think about your learning during this activity? If so, who helped and how did they help?

Last year, my most regular fjord-jumping partner was none other than my roommate Andrej (Jedi master, level 14) from Slovenia. He taught me many things. He taught, leading by example, how to run on stones without squealing like a girl, and that one should always wear a hat when journeying to and from a jump because the head is very efficient at losing heat. And he always let me shower first, which was very kind of him. The notion of room showers was brought up, but it was decided that this was taking integration too far. Together, we broke records and some of the records we broke were ones we set ourselves. And sometimes people broke our records, and sometimes their own records, and sometimes, people set their own. Best of all, we just did something great, something a little bit crazy, at the same time realising that it isn’t about being the greatest or the craziest, it’s about flinging everything else aside and breaking out when you need to, how ever much you need to. So jump on. Respect.