I know. I haven't blogged in a long while. I have been thinking a lot about my weekly routine and my balance between work/school/play and how that's going. I'm sensing an imbalance and thus, I'm looking for ideas.

This post is for students. Mainly on the topic of midterms. Now, last year I did like most students do and study the week of the exam. However, I've been studying my timetable very carefully and finding gaps where I do nothing. Let's make use of that time!

First of all, I'm one of those people who like to schedule a class between breaks. I dislike having 2 classes back-to-back, because:
a) No time for food (yes, I get hungry)
b) No time for brain to rest (learning takes brain power)
c) No time to finish an assignment / cram for a quiz right before class ( :) )

And there are other points that I could make; moreover, that takes me to what I really want to talk about.

Endurance.

Yes, endurance. Now, what I mean by that is how to create a routine such that there's this flow of learning going into my brain at a constant velocity, so that I will not get tired or stressed out because of midterms, etc.

How should I accomplish this?

a) Get the most out of my lectures. (Print the lecture notes before class and take notes on them. Highlight, scribble, etc.)
-At the break before class, read the textbook for 45 min, 15 min left to get to class.
-At the break after the class, read over my notes that I just took, and for anything I don't understand, add it to my "CONFUSED" list. (Yes, supposedly we can't learn everything after a lecture as the brain takes time to store memory.)
-Present my "CONFUSED" list to my Professor. After class if it's small, or at an office hour if it's important, or EMAIL the Professor my questions. Initiative ftw! :D
b) Exercise (Doing some form of exercise helps blood circulation, the cardiovascular system, and my BRAIN. Not only that, it helps to boost self-control, self-confidence, and keeps me healthy and in shape.)
c) Homework (I've been thinking of being very intricate with the scheduling of homework. I'm not sure if I should schedule the homework to be split over 3 1-hour blocks over 3 days, or just do all of it in 1 go. I'm going to split and see how it goes.)
d) Food/Water (Never go hungry/thirsty. It hurts. My body should never weep for fuel.)
e) Organization (Stay to a consistent schedule. Keep room clean. Keep everything in order. Use tiny notebook as a to-do list of the day. Finish the list.)
f) Stay social. Ask my roommates how their day went. Boost the morale around you. Enthusiasm will come when stress is gone. mirite?
g) Oh and most importantly. Henneni. Here I am. Practice the presence of God. Talk to God and be mindful of His control over my life. I belong to Him. Rinse and repeat.

Time to test my philosophy.

Our world is changing.

	Country	Number of Facebook users	12 month growth %	6 month growth %
1	USA	101,303,240	140.8%	46.0%
2	UK	22,625,300	51.5%	20.9%
3	Turkey	16,943,780	113.6%	36.8%
4	Indonesia	14,681,580	1536.7%	126%
5	France	14,290,700	117%	32.6%
6	Canada	14,228,460	31%	19%
7	Italy	13,272,760	137.6%	30%
8	Philippines	8,387,560	2046.8%	208.4%
9	Spain	7,701,200	196.7%	33.4%
10	Australia	7,611,920	75.8%	25.7%
11	Argentina	7,387,120	227.5%	50.6%
12	Colombia	7,243,520	99.4%	25.8%
13	Mexico	6,505,040	351.5%	78.5%
14	Chile	5,808,020	39.9%	20.2%
15	Germany	5,799,520	361.9%	84.9%
16	Taiwan	5,490,300	4763%	701%
17	India	5,397,480	403.8%	66.8%
18	Venezuela	4,952,340	164.2%	38.4%
19	Malaysia	3,975,640	367.5%	99.3%
20	Sweden	3,066,180	80.7%	34.1%
21	Belgium	2,872,160	73.5%	21.1%
22	Hong Kong	2,727,980	87.0%	30.7%
23	South Africa	2,434,500	164.6%	41.5%
24	Brazil	2,413,900	1052.4%	137.7%
25	Egypt	2,341,880	184.7%	44.7%
26	Denmark	2,262,260	27.4%	15.3%
27	Norway	2,256,080	54.9%	21.7%
28	Greece	2,222,860	122.4%	35.6%
29	Israel	2,149,500	149.5%	49.9%
30	Thailand	1,963,560	1063.8%	181.6%

Lucid dreams are dreams in which the dreamer "consciously knows that they are dreaming and are supposedly 'awake' in their dreams and can control the dream world".

It is estimated that 3% of North Americans are born with this ability. It can also be learned through practice.

I am fortunate enough to have this control.

This is something I have kept to myself, mainly because I thought everybody had this ability. A quick conversation with my Psychology professor revealed this statistical significance.

When I dream that I am in a hopeless situation that would cause injury/pain/loss to me, I start believing (in the dream) that I have the necessary tool/tools to avoid/win the situation. This could either mean "walking through walls, flying over cities, shooting Kamehamehas, etc" and I start controlling myself in the dream.

However, there is a different level in which I start controlling the whole dream. I create my own reality and the events which occur step by step. I control what other people around me do. I control the scene. I control the situation. I am the artist. I create the story as I experience it.

I used to do it frequently, a couple of years ago, but then I stopped. I put these dreams/experiences in the back of my mind, because, I felt it was harmful to create my own reality and wake up feeling that I had 'traveled back to real reality'. If you know what I mean. It felt as if I was fabricating pleasure and in the end, losing it by awakening. In other words, I lost the motivation to get out of bed and to enjoy the new day ahead of me.

Ironically, the dreams in which I was controlling started controlling me.
And that didn't sound right at all.

There is another topic of dreams in which I still have questions. And that is in the topic of awakening.
How come I can awaken myself in some dreams by force and not others?
Is there a force in which I am combating when trying to wake up and not being able to?
How come when I sleep facing the ceiling, my dreams are visually clearer compared to when I sleep sideways? Is that because one eye is against the pillow and is causing an external stimuli to be sent to the brain to cause a distorted image when dreaming?

My professor also said that these people actually believe that they're dreaming when they're actually awake. That's how crazy this lucid stuff can get to your head. It's a good thing I don't take it that seriously =o

I arrived at the airport today, excited to be able to fly for the first time.

Enhanced Security Due to Recent Terrorist Activity
Surprisingly, everyone had to be notified of recent terrorist news which resulted in increased security measures in place for all passengers. This included a simple physical search of body/carry ons and filling out a form with passport information.

Delayed Flights / Re-Routing
My flight got delayed. The flight from VANCOUVER -> CHICAGO till 5:30pm because of mechanical failure of some sort.

This caused my flight plan to change and I had to choose a new flight plan:
VANCOUVER -> SEATTLE
SEATTLE -> WASHINGTON, DC
WASHINGTON, DC -> ST. LOUIS (11:02 am Dec 27th)

Basically, I have to now sleep on one of my flights. Oh well. I get 2 window seats though!! :D

Right now, I'm waiting for my first flight from VAN -> SEATTLE.
Can't wait...