Xianxia in real life?

I have one more full day of teaching that I have to do. After that, I hope to take a break from lesson planning and spend that time working on my teaching portfolio. This past week was exhausting. It could have been because I was distracted, but I almost wanted to give up on teaching entirely a couple of times. I have really enjoyed getting to know the students, but the language arts are a frustrating subject to teach, I’ve decided. Even so, I have been pleasantly surprised a few times at how enthusiastically the students attack writing assignments that I give them. In particular, almost all of them seemed to enjoy writing a proposal for a change at the school.

Two years ago, I came home from Japan, and now I’m almost 34 years old. The past two years haven’t been exactly what I had hoped or imagined, but it has certainly been interesting. Last year in particular might have been the most I started off 2020 with the intention of doing challenges to keep myself progressing. That year I read a peculiar book series in a relatively new genre (to western culture) of progression fantasy. I rediscovered that series when I encountered a few Worm crossovers with that series (Cradle), and from there discovered another web novel (Beware of Chicken) which I just finished this morning. After that, I bought a video game called Amazing Cultivation Simulator, which is like Rimworld in the world of Xianxia (the Chinese word for the cultivation/progression fantasy genre). Fortunately, I got too frustrated with the lack of documentation to really get absorbed with playing it. It and the web novel also inspired me to consider my own real life in terms of progression.

One thing I really want to do is keep a record of what I learn and what I try to learn every day. Ideally, I would also like to keep track of the hours I spend on my pursuits, but that would be tedious. I do have some hope of being able to accomplish it, though, now that I have come close to establishing a nightly routine. But first, I think I will start a spreadsheet I update nightly with my weekly activities and my learning foci in each by day. Then, perhaps at the end of the week, I can write a journal entry expanding on them as well as my weekly thoughts. Yes, that seems much more achievable than a daily entry. For instance, this week I memorized Psalm 31:16-24. I would probably write down leisure reading as well, which in this case would be Beware of Chicken, and I might as well list my physical activities also (mostly push-ups). I hope this format will also provoke me to work on new things more deliberately, particularly on the piano/guitar.

A gap year?

I thought about New Year’s Resolutions around Christmas, and then completely forgot about them until yesterday. I don’t think I have done that in a long time, at least not while I’ve been in the US. I still don’t have any at the moment, but I may come up with some in the next few days. Today is going to be a day of reflection and some looking forward. I’ve been sick since Friday, probably with covid, but I won’t know for sure until later this week because I’m just getting the tests done today. We had a long weekend already, and then we had an ice storm on Saturday night that is far from melting. Even if I didn’t have covid and school was in session, my symptoms are noticeable enough that I would be very reluctant to go. All that to say, I decided to log my thoughts for the day, because I’m unusually clear-minded. I was thinking about writing this around the time of my birthday, but chances are good that I will have forgotten by then. So here are my reflections.

I said on my 33^rd birthday that I expected to be able to start my life’s work, like Jesus did. Heh. Obviously, that didn’t work for me, and why should it? God certainly does not have the same plan for me that he did for Jesus. Anyway, by all accounts my 33^rd year (and I think I can project all the way to the end of it) was a gap year. I spent most of it doing electrical work as a complete novice, and though I learned a lot, there hasn’t been any firm progression in terms of titles, certifications, etc. My last raise was at the end of May, to $13/hour, which is probably less than I would make after 90 days at most fast-food places in the current job climate. I enjoyed the work, but I can’t see myself doing it for more than ten years as a full-time job, and the job environment was rather negative (though that could have just been the company I was at). I really liked the hours, the combination of intellectual and manual challenges, and the fact that there was rarely any work outside the job site. Oh, and the tools. I liked the tools, maybe a little too much.

What did I learn in my 33^rd year? I learned that hospital bills are expensive, seemingly never-ending, and to be avoided as much as possible (thanks, kidney stone). I learned that I could live off $13/hour, although having a reasonable living arrangement made it more feasible. Thanks to my job in electrical work, I learned that a consistent sleep routine is highly underrated. I feel so much better when I follow the routine of winding down at 8, start reading by 8:30, and read until 9:30 or I am tired.

In Florida, I learned a lot about trusting in God to be my strength. I listened to two books that challenged me immensely: Desiring God and Knowing God. I think I’ve read the latter before, but it is so dense and expansive that I need to read it a dozen more times at least. Desiring God, though, echoes my conviction about the necessity of God being first in my life at all times, which is also the most difficult practice. I have read the Bible too, and I think that is important, but maybe I am not spiritually mature enough to meditate on it and draw meaning from it alone. I need something else to help me apply it. So, if I were to reflect on my spiritual life of the past year and determine a resolution from it, that resolution would be to be constantly reading a book that addresses my faith in God. With that, I project that the rest (prayer, Bible reading, memorization) will come naturally because it will be in my thoughts.

I have built two tables in the last year, and I am thoroughly convinced that finishing is the most difficult part of woodworking. Maybe next time I will remember to try staining and sealing before assembly and that will make it much easier. The first table (my coffee table) has a very messy finish. I think that if I get an itch to do woodworking in the next couple of months, I might try re-doing the entire tabletop. That’s not likely to happen because Mom already wants me to do a mirror frame as well as a couple of electrical projects at her house, and those take priority.

My original plan for post-student-teaching was to consider a post in teaching if I liked it enough and could find one in an amenable location. Otherwise, I would look for a job in electrical work. Now that my brother is an IT recruiter, though, he has encouraged me to return to looking for programming jobs because they are easy to come by. Honestly, I would feel much better putting another year in electrical work, getting my residential license, and then getting a job as a programming contractor with electrical side jobs. In my life, though, the timing never goes the way I want it, so I think I will just have to seize the opportunity for a programming job if I manage to have one. With that in mind, I plan to do some review on my programming skills while I’m student-teaching. I think that will come after I finish this table, and possibly after I do mom’s playroom lights.

For the past two weeks I’ve been distracted by an idle game. I haven’t spent a ton of time on it like I would an active game, but I’m sure it has consumed way more time than it deserves. Furthermore, I don’t know if it is the guilt or the game itself, but it distracts me from spending time with God (and other worthy pursuits too, most likely). Why do I play stupid games? Because I don’t have enough other tasks to do, or because I feel like I deserve a relaxing activity. Therefore, I need to find something to do that is a relaxing treat, and I need to find something that can always keep me busy. Woodworking could be good for the first, but it tends to overwhelm my living room so that I feel like all my recreational time has to be spent on it. Programming would be a good option for the second, especially if I tell myself that I can spend money on it by taking Udemy courses. That seems like a really good idea, as long as I am discerning in my choice of the courses.

Lewisville update

 At Lewisville today, we received some of our missing can light housings and put them in so that the women’s bathroom and the entrance hall are now fully lit. All we have left are the men’s bathroom and the bathroom vestibule, at least as far as I can tell. I put up an odd type of sconce and put in the other key switch for the bathroom. It still only works to toggle the power on and off regardless of which way it is turned, but I didn’t see another way to do it and Big John apparently gave it his stamp of approval. I wished I could have talked to him about it, though. It was a lot of fun trying to figure out how to make the key switch work the way I thought it should, even though in the end I decided it was impossible.

My weekend started out lousy with most of my Saturday spent on Rimworld. In the evening I went to visit my cousin Greg to see his woodworking shop. The furniture he built was awe-inspiring, and he also cut my wood so that I could continue with my project (after almost six months). Sunday, I spent most of the day on that project, an end table. I learned a lot from working on the end table. First, I discovered that I had been using my random orbit sander in all the wrong ways.

Snapchat and holiness

 I talked to Josh about Snapchat today, how it worked and what kind of content was typically seen on it. It sounds like the new Facebook, which people use to draw attention to themselves. However, it definitely appealed to me to have a ten-second clip of whatever I am working on archived for posterity (i.e. older me). I might look into creating a private account like that, but for now I will use the classic form of journaling, a blog (er… close enough).

Today was possibly my last day at the Lewisville Community Center, at least for a while. We got all the lights working that we had available to us. I did some rewiring of the can lights and installed some whips that will give power to some window blinds by pushing cables through holes that I made yesterday from just above the window up into the soffit and tying them into junction boxes. It was a good day of work.

I’ve been thinking about my future career a lot, as I tend to do when a change approaches. Also, a guy at work who does the data asked me about how I changed careers. Anyway, I have been thinking that I would like to try being a residential electrician. It would be good experience for side jobs, and it would also give me a way to help people. On the other hand, I am more interested in the controls branch of electrical work, which is more the opposite direction. And finally, my interest in programming has been rekindled for no apparent reason. I have yet to actually write any code this year, but I plan to begin as soon as I finish writing.

Also, last night I started reading The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul. One passage of the Bible that has haunted me for several years and particularly recently is the scene where Isaiah sees God in the temple and cries “Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). The book addresses this passage in the context of holiness. Examining holiness more closely in this book has elucidated a few mysteries I have pondered about the nature of God.

Relocation

 I’ve been thinking about relocating. For several years now it has been my plan to move to Virginia someday. Today I decided to investigate how to define that plan in more detail. First, I thought about my criteria. I want to be at a reasonable distance from my parents—ninety minutes is sort of my ideal, but I think I could handle up to four hours. I would want to live in a city, or rather on the outskirts of a city, at least as large as Burlington but preferably larger. This would help employment opportunities, meeting people, and general accessibility to goods and services. Ideally, I would have decent access to a larger city as well—within two hours. I wouldn’t want to live in a huge city though, especially not one known for its traffic like Richmond or DC. Neither would I want to live at or near the coast. The housing prices should be reasonable, hopefully similar to what is around here if not cheaper. I would need to find a good local church, but that’s a more advanced step. It might help me narrow down options, though.

With these criteria in mind, I examined Virginia and found it lacking. My recent thoughts have been of Roanoke and Danville, but it turns out that the latter is smaller than Burlington which probably eliminates it. Roanoke is smaller than I expected at 100k and a metropolitan area of 300k—about the size of Greensboro. It’s about 2 hours away from Burlington, which is a bit further than ideal. Also less than ideal is that the nearest large city is Richmond, over 2 hours away. Charlottesville seems like my other option. It’s over three hours from home, but has easy access to Richmond and DC, and makes New England a much more driveable vacation possibility. I enjoyed visiting Charlottesville, and I think I would enjoy living there.

While I have two decent options, I realized that North Carolina is actually much more ideal. If I move half an hour to the east or so, I could potentially work anywhere in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. If I move 30-45 minutes to the west, I could work in the Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem area. Both of these areas have populations of over a million, which easily surpasses my Virginia options. Even Charlotte might have more potential than them.

While an actual employment would weight any decisions heavily, at the moment that’s not really a factor. Actually, I take that back, since I could conceivably move either direction in NC while staying employed at my current company. The problem with that is my lease. Money would also become an issue quickly if my salary doesn’t increase sufficiently. Also, if I’m going to do student teaching in the near future, I would prefer to do it at BCA. Even so, I think I will look into it just to get a feel for the possibilities and perhaps set up a tentative goal.

33 Years Old

This is it—the big 33. I’ve been anticipating it for… six years or so? The reason: Jesus began his ministry at the age of 33. I would also like to begin my “life’s work” at this point. Expecting it to happen, and comparing myself to Jesus in this way, is presumptuous. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong, though, especially if it motivates me to persevere.

Last year I swore off fanfiction and video games. I made it to around this time of year and before diving back into video games. I’m pretty sure I didn’t last nearly this long with the fanfiction. For some reason, though, I can’t find any fanfiction that holds my attention anymore, and video games are only slightly more interesting. During the week I only have about three hours of free time, so it’s not difficult to fill that up. I do cleaning, woodworking, and lately I’ve started playing tennis. I was playing guitar for a while, but the other activities have mostly replaced that. I also talk to Jared and I’ve watched some TV with him, but none of it was riveting.

I’ve established some good habits, like preparing my food for the week. I do a decent job of passing the time in a productive manner. My biggest vices nowadays are shopping and eating, especially eating at Sheetz. My plan for avoiding this is to tell myself when I go to the grocery store that I can buy anything that I can take to work as long as I don’t go to Sheetz. It’s warm enough now that I don’t need to ride with the others to avoid the cold, so I can just stay at the jobsite for lunch. I’m starting this plan tomorrow.

Shopping is mostly related to my other pastimes, especially woodworking. I’m justifying it by saying that it’s an investment and an incentive to spend time productively. There may come a time soon that I will need to be more frugal, though. I may end up student teaching in the fall after all, and I might have to take a class in the summer as well, which would be expensive.

I’m going to spend time studying the Bible and praying. I also want to look for service opportunities. That’s my plan for 33. Let’s see how well it goes.

Using my time

I wanted to write consistently at least twice a week, but I have found that I have very little time during the week. Compared to my first two weeks of work, my new job site cuts down on my free time considerably. I lose at least an hour and a half to the commute, and I’m also more tired because of the increased physical demands. If I brought my laptop then I could write in the car, but I’m not going to leave a thousand-dollar laptop in a location where it could so easily be stolen.

For the past two weeks I wake up at 4:45, get ready, and go to work without any down time. By the time I get home and take a shower, it’s about 5 PM. I might play a bit of KoL or guitar before dinner. After dinner I talk to Mom or play games, KoL, or guitar. About 8:30, I get ready for bed. I might read a little, but my lights are typically out by 9. I generally spend about an hour on KoL and 30-45 minutes on guitar, which I think is reasonable. That leaves between 60-90 minutes (depending on the family activity of the night) which I waste on other things and which could probably be spent more productively. Oh yeah, I was also watching electrician videos, but I watched all the basic videos and now I’m struggling to find topics that seem relevant.

What other goals do I want to pursue? I want to improve on my calisthenics, but an extensive session of push-ups, l-sits, and handstands only takes about 5 minutes per session and I wouldn’t do more than three sessions a day. In other words, it’s not even worth scheduling, but I do need to start doing it. In my current situation, I’m around a lot of Spanish-speakers, and I even ride to work next to one. It’s a perfect opportunity to improve my Spanish, so I should figure out a way to work on that. Maybe go back to that grammar website and finish it off with about 10 minutes a day, and then alternate between reading and watching TV for another 20 minutes. Sounds good. I also want to work on my knowledge as an electrician, but I’m not sure how to do that. It’s a research topic for a weekend, I guess.

Another research topic, though not necessarily for the weekend, is something that I can do during the commute that doesn’t require a whole lot of concentration. Rubik’s cube is one idea, but I’m not going to do it for more than twenty minutes, and I would be inviting ridicule for sure. If I find an interesting book then I might be able to make that work, but I feel that at the moment I don’t have access to any, and a Spanish book would definitely take too much concentration. Spanish grammar is a possibility, and I could do vocab flashcards too if I made them in the evening.

Once I move out, I plan to do cooking on the weekends. The weekend will also involve laundry, cleaning, and probably grocery shopping for the week (in the early morning). I’ll update my budget too, and hopefully play tennis with Jared. I’ll try to find something social to do once that becomes more of a possibility. Then again, if I start spending all day at church again, that will probably fill up my schedule.