LiveStrong

Well, seeing as how I am not motivated at all to work on my scholarly project, write up a marketing summary for one of my classes, or read an article for class tomorrow, I guess I'll make an attempt to post something half-way worth reading on here.

My meeting with my scholarly project advisor went better than I expected yesterday. The only downside is that he is making me do my bibliography/references page in EndNote. So after I already typed the whole thing up (100+ references) in the correct format, I have to go download EndNote, re-find all my articles electronically because I did not save them, and figure out how to make the exact same bibliography page in EndNote, awesome. I didn't complain though, because:

• he is letting me do a poster presentation when we present on campus in October. Poster presentations are when you just stand beside your poster and discuss what you did with anyone who comes up to talk to you. The only other option is a Platform presentation, where you stand up at the podium in front of everyone and go over a Power Point presentation of what you did, no thanks.
• he is meeting with me on Mondays, instead of making me drive to Toledo every Friday (when I don't have to be there for anything else) and since this coming Monday is Labor day, we only have to meet 3 more times this semester.
• he told me he could tell I'd been working hard on it (I was afraid he'd tell me that I didn't do enough work on it)
• I do not have to present this project in Columbus, or even go there this fall, because my project didn't get accepted.

So...I didn't really complain too much about the whole EndNote deal. I'm not too thrilled about it, but oh well. It would be much worse if I had to give a platform presentation. All in all, the meeting went better than I expected it to, I got my parking pass taken care of for the next 6 weeks, and I got to eat at Chipotle. It wasn't too bad of a Monday.

Today I only have class from 4:30-6:30, meaning I should probably be getting work done beforehand, but I'm still trying to get some relaxation in after studying so hard for last weekend's exam. I went running this morning with my $3 orthotics in my shoes and surprisingly don't have knee pain! But, instead of just going out and running a long distance without stopping, today I ran interval sprints, meaning that I would sprint a certain distance and then take a break and walk and repeated that for about 2 miles. I have a feeling that the $3 orthotics have nothing to do with the fact that my knees don't hurt and more to do with the fact that sprinting requires you to land on the balls of your feet, rather than your whole foot, so it doesn't matter that I can't evert. Thus, no knee pain.

However, I have been trying to sell my elliptical for a while now because that does cause me to have knee pain. I know, it sounds really stupid because you technically don't "land" on your feet when using an elliptical (in PT, we would call that a closed-chain exercise), but since I am constantly pushing the pedals down with the lateral part of my feet, it kills my knees. So if anyone wants to buy an elliptical, I have one for sale. And it needs to go soon because my new exercise bike is coming today! I probably shouldn't have spent the money on it, but I need some way to exercise in the winter and some way to get a cardio workout without hurting my knees. The elliptical is out. Running on a treadmill is out. Biking is pretty much it. I can't wait to get started. Plus, it's a lot easier to study while biking, because you're not bouncing around like on an elliptical or treadmill. Not that I think I will actually have the motivation to study while exercising, but it is another potential advantage.

The only other news is that I am super excited for this weekend! I can't wait to meet my nephew!

Ahh relaxation

Ah, now that I have finally gotten some sleep and am NOT studying, I can "publish" a decent post. I am so relieved that the CSCS exam is over and done with. I can also honestly say, that was the most difficult exam I have ever taken. I don't know how anyone can call it "easy," unless you've already had experience as an athletic trainer or a personal trainer. That was a tough exam. To anyone who is thinking of taking it, I highly recommend the following:

• know every concept in the book and have a very thorough understanding of those concepts
• buy the practice tests, take them, and then understand that the real test will be harder than they were
• purchase the symposium dvd and/or personal training dvd that the NSCA sells. Even though they are never emphasized as good study material anywhere, random facts from both are on the exam (however, I did pass it without watching them)

Moving on from CSCS stuff...I'm pretty excited about this upcoming weekend. My brother and his family are coming and I finally get to meet my nephew! I can't wait! He is getting baptized at our church on Saturday. I went shopping today to get his gift. I am so looking forward to seeing all of them! I need to remember to buy a lot of extra batteries for my digital camera, because I'm pretty sure it's going to get a lot of use for those three days!

Tomorrow is my first meeting of the semester with my scholarly project advisor. I'm gearing up for the fact that he's probably going to be mad that I don't have my project done and the meeting, more than likely, won't go so well. Oh well...I've done my best on it so far, and I plan to continue to do my best on it until it's finished. I just know that I am NOT going to work on it today! This is my day of rest!

CSCS Exam

Well, I passed! I am officially a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I'm almost too tired to write this because I probably slept about 4 whole hours last night and have been worrying about it for months now. My brain is so tired! I'm off to take a nap and relax for the rest of the weekend. NO MORE STUDYING. Although, it did pay off! I am a CSCS!

The big day

The next time I post here, I will be able to tell you whether or not I am a CSCS. The test is Saturday at 9am. I am trying very hard not to freak myself out about it, but I will more than likely be studying up until then. I can honestly say that, even if I don't pass it, I did my absolute best to study for this exam.

Just keep smiling

I have to say that so far this week hasn't been that bad. I've been trying to have a more positive attitude about it. Of course some things have gone wrong:

• I found the perfect way to get to class that avoids a lot of stop lights and traffic. However, it's only open to go East right now due to construction, so I have to take Dorr street to get home, which includes more stop lights and continued construction.
• The very first packet of information I received on Day 1 of class was a brochure for the police department. Not a good sign.
• I found out that we are supposedly going to be required to dress up for all guest speakers in class. We have guest speakers every day. Sigh.
• I was standing in the hallway with a group of friends when one of our instructors (who we don't even have this semester) came up and scolded us for what we wrote on our parking ticket appeals two months ago. Apparently "we were told..." was not to be written.
• We were required to go early yesterday to have lunch with the first and second year students. This consisted of me sitting on a bench with other people in my class and talking to one second year student the entire time. I still don't know who any of the first year students are.

Despite all of this, I am still trying to keep a good attitude. Getting all upset isn't going to solve any of it, so I might as well just smile and let it go. There are a lot more important things in life than worrying about these things for just six more weeks.

My big exam is this Saturday. I have been stressing out so much about it. The people in my class who have already taken it keep reassuring me that it's no big deal, but I can't help but worry. Every time I look at the book, I find something that I didn't remember from before. We have a 6 hour break tomorrow between classes and I am going to spend it studying with another person in my class who has yet to take the exam. I also have all day Friday to study for it. I keep reminding myself that I have more time, but that time is dwindling down! I think that if I do pass it, all of Toledo will hear me cheering.

Stressing

Tomorrow is my last "first day of class" ever. While it's only for 7 weeks, I just know that it's going to be the most stressful semester yet. I'm not exactly looking forward to it, but I know I can get through it. I just have to keep a positive attitude, as difficult as that may be at times.

I took the 2nd CSCS practice test today. I really improved in the content that I didn't do so well on the first time, but I also really declined in the areas I haven't reviewed since the 1st practice test (the ones I did well on the first time). Needless to say, I'm stressing. The test is Saturday. Looks like I have a lot of studying to get done before then. I don't know if I just wasn't focused today while I was taking it or if I was just tired or if I really don't know the information that well. Whichever it was, I need to get it figured out in the next 5 days.

However, the rest of the night, I am just going to sit back and relax and take it easy. I feel like maybe I over-did it a little bit this break and that's why I'm so stressed. A little relaxation and a good night's sleep might do me some good.

Where did the break go and did it ever even occur?

Would it be horrible if i just took this whole day off from studying and schoolwork in general. I've had one heck of a week. After my last post, I went out to check the air pressure in my car tires to make sure they were good to go and one of them was only at 20 psi (in case you didn't know, they are supposed to be at 44). So I take a closer look at it and there's a nail in the tire. It had to have been there the whole day I was driving around. Nice....Luckily, I have some very helpful cousins who fixed it for me and got it all patched up. It could have been worse, but it was just the start of one of those weeks.

Now that it's the end of the week, I just want to sit back and relax and take it easy just for one day. I want to go sit outside and read a book, play nintendo wii, and take a long nap. But....I know I probably won't do any of these things, because I will just feel guilty for not accomplishing more.

This is what I accomplished yesterday:

• reviewed two more chapters of the CSCS book (I'm on the 3rd time through)
• started the "pre-course assignment" and got it halfway done
• added one article to my scholarly project paper and did some revisions to sections that needed it, making the paper 20 pages long (double spaced), but it was only 7 pages long at the beginning of break, so I have accomplished something right?
• organized my stuff for next week so that I don't have to worry about it later
• reviewed my current stack of CSCS notecards
• reviewed a couple of old anatomy notecards (I'm reviewing 2-3/day from now until Boards)

That is enough accomplishments, am I right? I should not worry about accomplishing any more today. I need a break! If I do not do any school-related activities today, it will be the first day of this 5-week break that I actually take a break. Seriously. I have a feeling, I might take a peek at my CSCS book today, but the rest of this stuff...I am really feeling like putting it aside for one day. My mind could really use a day off.