Yesterday I tried a 5.11A for the first time. The route was next to a crack and using the crack and the holds I worked my way up and as i was being lowered down I thought to myself that it really wasn't that hard. Then I was told that using the crack isn't allowed unless the route explicitly says so. So sad. Of course I tried the 5.11 again without using the crack but by that time I was a bit tired and the results were not good. I think I made it about a quarter of the way...
I'll keep trying but I'm not disappointed at all, actually I'm surprised that I'm even trying a 5.11 this early in the year given that it's one of my goals to accomplish by the end of the year. With 10 more months to go, I'm confident that I'll get an 11 before the year is over - even if I can only climb once or twice a week for the next three and a half months while I'm studying.
As with most things in life, slow and steady will win the race.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Social Capital
This started as a comment on BostonGals blog but I realized I had more to say on the issue than just a paragraph.
The book The Bag Lady Papers tells the story of Alexandra Penny who lost her savings to Bernie Madoff and subsequently had her friends rally to her aid helping her find a job, get published and launch her art career. Admittedly I haven't read the entire book so I don't know all of the details but I don't want to talk about the exact details of her life because I don't think they are important. What is important is that throughout her life, Penny fostered and developed her social network so that when she needed help the most she had a deep pool of talented and influential people that could help her.
It's easy to berate her for coming from money or for having influential friends that helped her recover - yes she had a lot of advantages - but I think there is also a lesson that everyone can apply to their lives and that's the power of social circles. If she had not consciously developed that pool of "social capital" she would never have been able to bounce back the way she did. Did Penny have built in advantages? Yes, of course she did. But she also made a series of choices in her life to put her in a position to succeed. So, instead of dismissing her as some elite snob whose life has no bearing on yours think of the overall lessons you can learn from her story.
So what are you doing to create a broader and deeper pool of social capital? Is your pool of social capital a puddle, a lake or an ocean? And what have you done recently to make it larger?
Have you taken your boss's boss out to lunch recently to learn about the goals of your company and how you can help. If you're interested in starting a business, have you met with other small business owners to learn about common mistakes you should avoid making? When was the last time you called an old friend from school to see what they are doing? Have you hosted a diner party recently?
These are just a few examples of things you could do to broaden, deepen and strengthen your pool of social capital. Eventually everyone needs help in their lives, from the smallest of favors to the biggest of problems. When it comes time for you to call on your pool of social capital, will it be large enough to sustain you?
The book The Bag Lady Papers tells the story of Alexandra Penny who lost her savings to Bernie Madoff and subsequently had her friends rally to her aid helping her find a job, get published and launch her art career. Admittedly I haven't read the entire book so I don't know all of the details but I don't want to talk about the exact details of her life because I don't think they are important. What is important is that throughout her life, Penny fostered and developed her social network so that when she needed help the most she had a deep pool of talented and influential people that could help her.
It's easy to berate her for coming from money or for having influential friends that helped her recover - yes she had a lot of advantages - but I think there is also a lesson that everyone can apply to their lives and that's the power of social circles. If she had not consciously developed that pool of "social capital" she would never have been able to bounce back the way she did. Did Penny have built in advantages? Yes, of course she did. But she also made a series of choices in her life to put her in a position to succeed. So, instead of dismissing her as some elite snob whose life has no bearing on yours think of the overall lessons you can learn from her story.
So what are you doing to create a broader and deeper pool of social capital? Is your pool of social capital a puddle, a lake or an ocean? And what have you done recently to make it larger?
Have you taken your boss's boss out to lunch recently to learn about the goals of your company and how you can help. If you're interested in starting a business, have you met with other small business owners to learn about common mistakes you should avoid making? When was the last time you called an old friend from school to see what they are doing? Have you hosted a diner party recently?
These are just a few examples of things you could do to broaden, deepen and strengthen your pool of social capital. Eventually everyone needs help in their lives, from the smallest of favors to the biggest of problems. When it comes time for you to call on your pool of social capital, will it be large enough to sustain you?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Hits and Misses at the gym
I haven't been feeling well this week and as a result i haven't been eating that much or going to the gym regularly. Several nights diner was just a sandwich. So it was with some trepidation that I stepped on the scale at the gym the other day. My fears were confirmed when I came in at 169, a loss of more than a pound and a half.
I have been feeling better and am now eating normally again as well as going to the gym once again but it was still a shock to see that much of a loss. 178 suddenly feels like it's a long way off from where I am right now.
Not everything was bad news though. At the climbing gym I was able to successfully climb the 10.D that I wasn't able to get last time. It felt really good to get a 10.D (and it's only February!) and now I'm positive that I can do an 11 by the end of the year. My confidence level is high so I just might try one tomorrow to see what it's like. It feels really good to be over my injury and able to climb freely again.
I have been feeling better and am now eating normally again as well as going to the gym once again but it was still a shock to see that much of a loss. 178 suddenly feels like it's a long way off from where I am right now.
Not everything was bad news though. At the climbing gym I was able to successfully climb the 10.D that I wasn't able to get last time. It felt really good to get a 10.D (and it's only February!) and now I'm positive that I can do an 11 by the end of the year. My confidence level is high so I just might try one tomorrow to see what it's like. It feels really good to be over my injury and able to climb freely again.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Making some extra money
I still haven't started a side business but I did make some extra money this week. I was lucky and got into a mock trial focus group, which was not only interesting and a lot of fun it also paid pretty well.
I can't give many details due to confidentiality issues but the case had to do with intellectual property infringement on a pretty large scale. It was pretty clear that the defendant was guilty, the only real question we faced was how much in damages we thought should be awarded. Actually, the defendant never even said that they were innocent...
So, at the end of the day I gave 10 hours of my time, got lunch out of it and for the most part found it interesting. The best part - I got $250 for doing it. in one day I got half way to my yearly goal of $500!
Too bad these days don't come around more often. I'll definitely have to look into doing more of these focus groups.
As for what to do with the $250, I haven't decided but am considering putting it in my travel fund.
I can't give many details due to confidentiality issues but the case had to do with intellectual property infringement on a pretty large scale. It was pretty clear that the defendant was guilty, the only real question we faced was how much in damages we thought should be awarded. Actually, the defendant never even said that they were innocent...
So, at the end of the day I gave 10 hours of my time, got lunch out of it and for the most part found it interesting. The best part - I got $250 for doing it. in one day I got half way to my yearly goal of $500!
Too bad these days don't come around more often. I'll definitely have to look into doing more of these focus groups.
As for what to do with the $250, I haven't decided but am considering putting it in my travel fund.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Goal Updates
Max out Roth – On pace!
Maintain 16% in 401k – I'm still contributing 16%!
401K balance of $60k – Fail. current balance is $41,657, I've actually gone down this month - ugh.
Make an extra $500 – Fail. I think I've made about $5 doing a few surveys. I'll have to try and pick this up a bit.
Maintain $10K emergency Fund - On pace!
Sell something on ebay – Fail. Nothing sold so far.
Pay down student loan to $32,000, so in effect my goal is to pay another $1,370 in addition to the regular payments - Fail. I've made no additional payments so far and with a rate of 1.625% I'm not entirely sure I want to.
Personal:
Climb 5.11 – On pace! I'm making progress here. After taking 2 weeks off for an injury I'm back in the 10C, 10D range and am confident I can get to 11 by the end of the year.
Climb/Yoga 3x per week – Fail. But only due to injury. When healthy I've been hitting the gym regularly. Climbing 3x per week had to be reduced to 2x because when I made the goal I completely forgot that I had to set aside time to study for an exam. Even 2x might be a stretch for the next few months though. I love climbing though so it's something I'm going to make a serious effort to do as often as I can.
Consistently work out 3x per week – Fail. Again, only due to injury. Now that I'm healthy again I've been going 3-4 times a week.
Weigh 178 lbs – On pace.
Take two vacations – Fail. The Caribbean was a possibility but that seems to be losing some steam esp with all the studying I have to do. A fall vacation might be in the works though.
Look into moving – done. we looked into moving but didn't see anything better for the same or less money. It's just crazy how much rent is in the Bay Area. This is something we'll come back to in the summer and fall though - again, once I have free time after my exam.
Reviewing my list I'm hitting about .500. A few of my fails were due to being injured for a few weeks but there are a few areas that I need to work a little harder on - such as making extra money on the side. In general I'm fairly happy with where I am one month into the year, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Maintain 16% in 401k – I'm still contributing 16%!
401K balance of $60k – Fail. current balance is $41,657, I've actually gone down this month - ugh.
Make an extra $500 – Fail. I think I've made about $5 doing a few surveys. I'll have to try and pick this up a bit.
Maintain $10K emergency Fund - On pace!
Sell something on ebay – Fail. Nothing sold so far.
Pay down student loan to $32,000, so in effect my goal is to pay another $1,370 in addition to the regular payments - Fail. I've made no additional payments so far and with a rate of 1.625% I'm not entirely sure I want to.
Personal:
Climb 5.11 – On pace! I'm making progress here. After taking 2 weeks off for an injury I'm back in the 10C, 10D range and am confident I can get to 11 by the end of the year.
Climb/Yoga 3x per week – Fail. But only due to injury. When healthy I've been hitting the gym regularly. Climbing 3x per week had to be reduced to 2x because when I made the goal I completely forgot that I had to set aside time to study for an exam. Even 2x might be a stretch for the next few months though. I love climbing though so it's something I'm going to make a serious effort to do as often as I can.
Consistently work out 3x per week – Fail. Again, only due to injury. Now that I'm healthy again I've been going 3-4 times a week.
Weigh 178 lbs – On pace.
Take two vacations – Fail. The Caribbean was a possibility but that seems to be losing some steam esp with all the studying I have to do. A fall vacation might be in the works though.
Look into moving – done. we looked into moving but didn't see anything better for the same or less money. It's just crazy how much rent is in the Bay Area. This is something we'll come back to in the summer and fall though - again, once I have free time after my exam.
Reviewing my list I'm hitting about .500. A few of my fails were due to being injured for a few weeks but there are a few areas that I need to work a little harder on - such as making extra money on the side. In general I'm fairly happy with where I am one month into the year, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
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