Sumo Deadlifts are Scary

Besides exams for the grade 8s and a meeting after school, work was quite the ordinary.

Leg day was just compound exercises -- squat and deadlift. Squat was initially weird, in that I felt my right straining while my left felt powerless... never a good sign. However, when I went heavier, it felt alright.

Deadlifts were tough, since I normally deadlift after doing a lighter/less volume session of squats. Conventional went fine, though sumo deadlifts felt oddly difficult. It didn't help that I felt like I was going to squish my toes with the weight today. Fortunately, nothing bad came out of my sumo deadlift sessions.

Running Out of Steam...

I'm running out of title ideas, since that's how ordinary life is at the moment. Work was pretty much the ordinary -- printed out exams at the end of the day for tomorrow and Friday.

After work, it was off to the gym for back and legs. I was being lazy today, so I didn't get as much work done. It did, however, do wonders for my mental state, since I'm starting to feel fatigued from going to the gym. Perhaps doing 15 sets of pull ups isn't doing much benefit for me....

Demo Days

School was the ordinary today -- though instead of notes, we had a few demos to help the grade 8s prepare for their upcoming unit test. Demos (and labs) are great, though it does take quite a bit of time to prepare a demonstration. Nevertheless, I had most of the ingredients for both demos, except for a few items that I grabbed during break.

After work, I went out for dinner at Han Corea, a Korean restaurant I visited a while back.

Just where does the day go? It's already 11:07, even though it feels like the day has just begun.

At least it's going up!

Work was the ordinary, I spent some time preparing for a demo for tomorrow. Fortunately I have prep first period, so I'll be able to grab the last couple of ingredients.

Shoulders and arm day went relatively well. Shoulder press is going up! 110 lbs is starting to feel doable for sets of five and for five reps.

Off to bed for another day of work!

Another year of Exams

Karate was marked with exams -- otherwise nothing out of the extraordinary. I went to go wash my car afterwards, since it has been two weeks since it's last wash. It doesn't help when the last two weeks have been filled with snow days and melted snow the day after -- I usually wouldn't let my car get that dirty!

After lunch, it was off to the gym to make up for yesterday. 120 kg went up relatively well, but I couldn't do all my sets with normal grip. By set 3, I had to use wraps. Something to work on, but I was pleased that 120 kg went up quite well.

After the gym, it was off to do some work and MHGU. A nice way to end off the weekend before work starts again!

Ain't a Laughing Stock Anymore

The Great Jagras is the new punching bag for MHW. In previous games, it used to be the Great Jaggi. Both are known to be easy and a great way for players to learn how to play the game.

However, with the special event quest, the Greatest Jagras is no pushover. It hits harder than Extreme Behemoth...

It's literally a one hit KO if any of his attacks connect.

May it have mercy on my soul and let me win at least once.

TGIF

It seemed this week that Friday would never come. There were more students at school today than yesterday, but less than 50% in all of my classes. Nothing dramatic took place, and I was able to put in some last minute marks before printing off interim report cards.

Once work was over, it was off to the gym for chest day. 95 kg was difficult, and I was only able to do a couple sets of four while my last three sets were for three. Eccentric bench was brutal and I could only do sets of five. Other than that, back felt relatively good today in comparison to Wednesday.

Starting February (next weekend), it'll be back to writing short stories. I cannot think of ways to liven up my blog here...

All the Slush

Unlike yesterday, it was quite warm. Warm means melting snow. Melting snow means extremely dirty car. I haven't washed it for over a week now, but there doesn't seem to be a good opportunity to do so-- though I should soon due to my fear of it starting to rust.

Work was not the ordinary -- majority of my students were away today. Fortunately, I had booklets prepared the day before, so students who weren't at school most likely (hopefully) worked on their booklets at home. As for the students here, they worked on their booklets for most the day.

After work, I rushed on home and ended up playing a bit of MHW before heading out to dinner at Dagu Rice Noodle. I tried it in Toronto, and it was pretty decent. Calgary's version was not bad, though I didn't feel like the soup was at 150 degrees Centigrade. My soup stopped boiling literally seconds after it was placed in front of me, while in Toronto, it was boiling for a good minute or so. Either way, it tasted great, and I'll probably stop by again in the future.

I got home and proceeded to try and get the parts I needed for MHGU. Unlike yesterday, I was gifted with SEVEN of the parts I was looking for (when I only needed 4). Almost completed my first G-rank armor set with the help of my brother!

Desire Sensor is Strong

Morning commute was smooth and work was the ordinary. It started snowing mid-morning, but the day was relatively mild otherwise. It was warmer than I thought it would be as well for bus supervision in the afternoon.

Back and leg day at the gym was rough. I barely could do pull ups -- perhaps only 10 sets today of five reps. Squats were really rough as well, though I guess you'll have those days every now and then.

After the gym, I had some time to play MHGU. I've been trying to build a G-rank armor set, which requires specific parts from an elder dragon. Many players, including myself, believe that the game has a "desire sensor" in that the game has the ability to detect what parts you really want, and deny you from getting those parts. I've been looking for one particular set of claws from the elder-dragon, and it shouldn't be that hard to get, if you meet the require conditions. The required condition was to prevent the elder dragon from doing too much damage to your wall... and normally the elder dragon doesn't attack the wall that often.

This version/fight had the elder dragon gunning for the wall and doing as much damage as s/he could before we could kill it...

There's always tomorrow I guess!

It's apparently harder to not go all the way down...

Once again, work was the same as every other day. The only difference being was that my grade 8s had their quiz. For students that kept on complaining how difficult the topic was, they did extremely well on the quiz. I'm quite sure I didn't hold back my punches when I made this quiz as well.

Going home was a bit busier than yesterday, but relatively smooth still. Tuesday marked gym day -- which is mostly volume squats. I've been going just below parallel instead of ass-to-the-grass as of recent due to some back issues. It's a lot harder I find to go just below 90 degrees -- probably since I don't have that quick break at the very bottom. I'm sure it'll get better with practice.

Other than that, I've finally started reading Sapiens. It's a really interesting book about how we evolved as a race thus far -- or that's my understanding of what I'm reading so far!

Almost Knocked Myself Out

Work was the ordinary once again, with nothing really out of the ordinary. After work, I drove home anticipating the wall of traffic that I was about to face. Fortunately, it was extremely smooth and I think I made it home in record time.

Monday is shoulders and arm day. While I was warming up for my first overhead press, I managed to hit my chin as the bar was going up. Fortunately, I didn't push full out, and didn't end up breaking anything! It was embarrassing though for me. =/

After the gym, I went to fill up gas. Out of more sheer luck, the Petro I go to normally ran out of regular, thus offering Ultra Clean 94 Octane at the same price of regular ($0.869 a litre). I cannot recall the last time I filled up my car was gasoline less than $1, since it requires premium gas at all times.

A good evening nonetheless. 

To the Start of a Short Week

Division 3 have their ski trip this Thursday and Friday, meaning that I really only have to teach from Monday to Wednesday! Short weeks are always nice, but that means I have less time before the exams hit in June...

Other than that, I need to remind myself to book the last few field trips for my grade 8s before the end of the school year. It's almost scary how fast it's coming despite feeling like school just started.

Karate was the normal affair, followed by marking afterwards. I had my week planned ahead of time this time, meaning that I was able to spend a large amount of time to relax. I'm starting to feel my work ethics pick up again!

Saturday's almost over?!

My alarm went off at 8:30, but I instinctively pressed the snooze button. I didn't end up waking till 10:30. After breakfast, and getting ready, I headed to the gym for leg day. Evolve was a lot busier than I ever have seen it, due to a variety of events taking place today (training session for kids and a seminar on bench press).

After the gym, I headed on home. I had plans to do work, but I ended up playing MHGU and MHW for most of the afternoon and night.

I will regret not doing any work tomorrow... but that's a Sunday David's problem.

Annual Telus Spark Field Trip

Friday morning drive was alright -- traffic was smooth and I made it to work in time to do some final preparations before the grade 8's first field trip to Telus Spark.

Like the past couple of years, students had a chemistry lab and a demonstration. The presenters were new this year, in comparison to the past couple of years. For the most part, I thought the field trip went well; no one got into trouble!

After work, I hurried on home before heading out again for dinner.

And that pretty much marked my Friday night!

Surprisingly Smooth Drive

This morning, I woke up to a few cm of snow covering my yard. Thinking that the roads will be busy, I left earlier than I normally would for work. Surprisingly, despite the snow on the road, there was no major delays going to work.

My day was pretty ordinary, though the drive back was far from that. It took longer than usual, of course, and I got home late without any desire to head to the gym. Since I'm planning to take a day off tomorrow, I dragged myself from the comforts of home to Evolve.

Chest Day went alright, and 90 kg went up pretty quickly, except for the last set. I should be able to aim for 5 by 5 of 92.5 kg next week. Other than some other chest accessories, and a bit of back, and a bit of cardio, I left the gym at around 8:30.

And here I am digesting my meal before bed. Like I mentioned before, perhaps it's time to write short stories again. My life is back to the daily grind, which isn't giving me much to write on...

Grueling Day

I probably used this title in another post, but it was an indeed another grueling day. Classes were pretty much the ordinary, though we had a practice lock down drill in the afternoon. Other than that, I got my work done, tried to troubleshoot my pc issue without much avail and headed off home.

Back and leg day at the gym today was difficult. I'm glad to say that I'm able to do about 12 sets of 3-4 reps of 35 lbs weighted pull ups, though it did give my back a good thrashing. For legs, I kept it simple with 185 lbs of a multitude of sets that I lost track of after set 6.

Hard to believe it's only Wednesday though... it feels like today is Thursday.

A few more days before the weekend!

Ordinary Days

Nothing new at work and at the gym. 225's are alright for squats, and 245's are starting to feel normal again. Front squat 95 was alright as well, with no major pain in my wrists.

A few more days before the annual field trip to Telus Spark -- I think I got all the details inked out.

Despite coming back from break, I feel oddly exhausted.

Last marking day for now

Work was the ordinary besides another meeting after school. I skipped the gym in order to finish marking the last batch of grade 8 winter break assignments. I also managed to work on the field trip logistics for this Friday, so hopefully I'll be able to fine tune details tomorrow. 

Hard to believe it's the middle of January...

As for my grade 7 winter break assignments... they can wait for the weekend. 

Another Marking Day

Karate was the usual -- we were able to spend some more time with kama kata... which is still a struggle for me. I dislike the non-intuitive spins in the kata. Other than that, the white and green belts were prepping for their exam.

After getting home, it was off to mark another class set of winter break homework. Once I established a groove, it wasn't too bad, but it did take most of my day today. I had a bit of Monster Hunter Generation Ultimate (and World) inter-spaced between marking sessions.

Onto another week! I'll need to fix up a unit test for my grade 7s and prepare my grade 8s for their upcoming field trip this Friday...

Marking Saturday

In retrospective, I regret assigning so much winter break homework this year. I spent a good deal of today marking, and I have yet to finish a class set.

As for the morning, I started with a massage and chiro session. Besides sore hips, I was in pretty decent shape. I headed straight the gym afterwards for leg day -- with focus on my hamstrings and glutes. After coming home, the rest of my day/afternoon/night was dedicated to marking (save for going out for an hour or so) before I gave up and played some MHW.

Tomorrow's another day to mark!

Chicken Friday

First Friday of the new year in terms of work. The grade 7s had a field trip, and luckily enough I had them for a double today. In other words, I had three preps, which is a rare event. I spent some of it doing marking while the rest of it reading.

When I got home from work, I was awaited by a new (or relatively new) snack that my mom bought from Costco: Honey Garlic Chicken Drumsticks. They were remarkably tasty, though most likely bad for my body. Either way, it was the start to a day filled with chicken.

Chest Day went alright, though I wasn't able to make much gains from last week. As for dinner, we stopped by Nando's -- hence more chicken.

Other than chicken, it's off to start the weekend!

Long Week

First week back from break is hard (did I say this before?). I had prep first period, though I felt like I couldn't get much work done during my prep. Either way, it was a research period for my grade 7s while I had a density demonstration for my grade 8s.

After work, I headed on home. It's my day off from the gym, so I spent some time to read The Rising of the Shield Hero (I believe that's the title). It's an interesting take on the other-world genre, but with the main character depicted as being evil despite not being evil.

I got some work done, including working on a field trip and some marking, before proceeding to play a bit of MHGU. Onto G2 quests!

No Prep Days are Definitely Long

Day 3 at work is my non-prep days. When I first started teaching, I always thought that I would be able to work the full day since I never had a prep in high school. The "preps" I had were in university, but mostly because I couldn't have classes back to back (except for my third year winter semester, which was brilliant since I started at 8 daily and ended at 12!)

Either way, it was a long day. I left work a bit later than I thought I would, but rushed on home to snack before heading to the gym. Back and squats went relatively well, though I didn't do as many exercises as I thought I would. I'm glad to say that front squatting 95 lbs felt alright for my wrists!

Two more days to go for the weekend. The week is going by so quickly...

First Day Back

First day back when relatively well. My grade 8s were pretty hyper, though my grade 7s were pretty good. Other than that, work was pretty ordinary.

Leg day at the gym was alright -- 225 lbs was doable, though I just did sets of three. My oblique/side was starting to hurt, so I took it easy for the rest of my exercises.

After a few days of no luck against Arch-Tempered Teostra, we were able to defeat it today. It wasn't a pretty victory, and it took nearly 45 minutes, but that's another Arch-Tempered to cross off the list (AT Kirin, Vaal and now Teostra!)

First Aid Day

First day of work was a whole day PD on first aid. It was long, but fortunately the presenter had added humor to the presentation. Other than that, I printed off my notes for tomorrow and headed for home. Monday is shoulders and arms, with some added cardio to help shave off some weight.

The path to lose 20 lbs is going to be hard...

Last Day of Break

It's finally the last day of Winter Break for the 2018-2019 year. Two weeks went by at a relatively decent pace. It was relaxing, even with the first week of sickness. I accomplished much in terms of gaming (finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider, went past where I left off in FF XII about 12 years ago, got into G-Rank for MHGU, and progressed in MHW), though perhaps not in work. There'll (or should) be time for work in the next coming weeks!

Karate was the usual affair, and I ended up playing FF XII before heading to the gym to make up for yesterday. 110 kg deadlifts were going up relatively quickly, though I felt like I should have taken it slower since I was feeling strain in my lower abdominal area (I hope I wasn't close into getting a hernia). After a few more hamstring exercises, and some cardio, it was off home to MHGU.

With work being back on, it's time to "cold turkey" gaming till the weekend (or the occasional hunt after working out).

Another Cleaning Day

As for Saturday, I started the morning with a leisure breakfast while watching a show that I picked up recently: A Place Further Than the Universe. To sum it up, it's about four girls going to Antarctica. The premise seems a bit weird, but people were raving how good the anime series is -- and good it is. I really like the pacing and how real the interaction between the four girls seem as they climb over hurdles to reach their goal of going to the South Pole.

I skipped working out today to do some chores, which include cleaning up my room. It took a lot longer than I expected, but it's somewhat cleaner now!

Back to normalcy tomorrow, it's been three weeks since I've last been to Karate.

Last Friday of Break

After going through a grueling set of notes to modify, I spent most of the day playing FF XII. I found a spot to grind for a few hours, which gave a decent amount of experience and money. After a few hours, it was off to the gym for chest day. 95 kg for four reps is starting to be doable, though I was able to squeeze in 3 sets only. The last two sets were stuck at 3 reps, but I don't believe I ever done that before.

Afterwards, we had dinner at East Side Mario's. I never ate at the restaurant before, but it was very reminiscent of Olive Garden, save for a 2 for 1 meal deal they had going on at the moment.

Either way, almost the end of a pretty relaxing break.

Another Day of Break

Hard to believe it's Thursday, though the week, like mentioned before, is going by slowly. I got through some more notes in the morning before progressing to playing FF XII. As for the afternoon/evening, it was leg day at the gym. Hips seems fine, though shoulders are causing me some issues right now -- the bar is crooked on my back.

Either way, nice to know that my hips are doing alright... or so I think. A couple days of break left!

Almost Back to the Grind

I started the morning by going through code.org since I didn't feel like modifying more notes. I managed to finish going through most of the lessons, with a few more CSS ones to go. Other than that, I spent a portion of my afternoon on Final Fantasy XII before heading to the gym for back and leg day. Squats were horrible, for 145 lbs was dreadfully crooked. I'm feeling alright, with no apparent tightness, though it'll be something I'll have to discover. Back was alright, though it was dreadfully hard to do pull ups.

As to finish up, I did some cardio, which I normally do not do. However, it is time to go back down to around 170ish pounds, and not wanting to starve myself like a few years back, cardio will be on the menu!

Almost back to work. Break went by relatively slowly which is awesome!

New Year's Day 2019

I went to sleep early last night since my nose was running amok. I woke up to the sounds of fireworks, which I guess made me technically up to ring in the New Year (I believe they started fireworks at 12).

I woke up early, but went back to sleep. After getting up at 11, I scarfed down breakfast so that I could get work done. With having marking finished yesterday, I spent most of the morning working on modifying notes for my grade 7 and 8 science class. Right after that, I spent most of the day playing FF XII. I first played FF XII in high school when it came out, but I never got the chance to finish it.

Since the gym was closed, I sat at my computer all day...

Either way, a relaxing way to start of 2019.