The Biggest Loser

I started watching this show sometime when I was living in Austin because I always watched NBC in the morning before going to the gym/work and then when I got back after work(ing out) I would turn on the tv and that what was on. And sad to say, somehow I got hooked. For the longest time I thought the show was ridiculous (actually I still do) but I've decided it's my guilty pleasure and I just can't stop. Along with eating. It doesn't help that only really NBC and CBS come in well through the antenna here and so I don't have anything else to watch. Currently the show is down to the final four and one of the women, Vicky, is the biggest bitch ever. Even Bob (one of the trainers) realized that the woman didn't learn anything over the course of show. Sad. It's great to see how the other characters have grown though. I think it also motivates me too, in a somewhat twisted way. I'm like, hey if those people who were like twice the size of me can work that hard, why can't I?

In other news, I am 1/3 closer to being done. Had the last exam for one of my classes (actually my favorite class) this afternoon. I learned some things this semester. I actually do better when I take classes by myself. My grades may not necessarily reflect that, but I feel like I know more. I don't get caught up in my friends' problems in the class and can focus on my own work and my own learning. I realize I have to do all the work in the class by myself and there is not really anyone I can ask. Thus since I am responsible for it all, I have to do it all and I can't copy a problem I get stuck on. Also I do not have to waste time meeting up with people to talk it over, since once I do it, it's done. Granted, I would not have made it through some of the ECE 200-level courses on my own, but also at the time I was taking them I don't think I was mature or experienced enough to know myself that well. It's interesting to see how I have changed just in my learning abilities throughout these past four and a half years.

In other other news, I did my first 2-a-day swim today. Because of the dumb pool hours the pool is only open 630-745am and 11am-10pm, meaning the prime workout time for me (8-10am) is unavailable. (This is one example of how stupid the Campus Recreation people here are, but that's for later.) Normally on a Tuesday I would swim at 11am before class at 1pm, but since I had an exam then, I did not want to go in oxygen-depleted and glycogen-depleted. So that meant I had to go at 6:30am. So in the morning I swam a solid 3100 yards. After my exam I headed back to the gym to try out some of the elliptical machines and swim some more. Got to watch some cable tv (including more on the governor of Illinois's arrest, ha) and people watch. The gym here has been under renovation since the end of my freshmen year of college. It finally reopened at the beginning of this semester. Had I graduated on time, I would never have gotten to use it. This meant that the money I paid as part of my tuition may have completely gone to waste for me. And the renovations aren't all that great either. There are what to seem to be hundreds of elliptical machines, some new weight machines, but the same old pool. Which normally the public only gets to use about 4 lanes of, despite that it is a standard 50mx25yd pool (at least). And they crappy hours. However, what makes me laugh the most is how the new layout is arranged. The top floor has all the Free Motion machines, body bar things, stability balls, Bosus, and ab mats. So this is where all the girls are. The bottom floor is the weight racks, squat machines, standard weight machines, and benches. This is where all the guys are. The one time I lifted there, I was in the basement and was wondering where all the girls are. They are apparently on the top floor. ANYWAYS, so in the afternon I went back to the pool and since there are only 4 lanes for public use (and they closed the pool that is closer to me because they are dumb which means 4 lanes TOTAL on this entire campus) it gets pretty crowded. How I miss the Hills. I have gotten good at ignoring the dumb asses who don't know how to circle swim properly and politely so am able to get 3300 yards without freaking out. And this included 7x100 on 1:35/1:37/1:36/1:34/1:32/1:31/1:28 (or something thereabouts because I forgot my splits on the 5th 100). That means my last 100 today was the fastest I've ever swam before!

Why am I swimming so much though, since I apparently am the girl who is supposed to "jog" across the US? My knee is acting up again. It doesn't hurt while I'm doing stuff unless I like lean way back while sitting on the bike on the trainer but when I'm just sitting around it is sort of like achy and twingy. I figure that swimming is the sport that uses my knees the least so it is probably safest at the moment.