=== Long Weekend Ahead! ===

(Posting this on April 14th, wrote this on April 12th)

     I can't tell you enough just how excited I am for the coming long weekend. I would like to say I'm going to catch up on sleep, but instead I'll likely be keeping myself busy with all my media, our baby, and preparing for my next round of classes coming up. This semester wasn't so bad, but I'm thinking I'll change a little bit of how I've been studying. I obviously haven't been able to work on my classes quite as well as I would have liked due to having our baby recently, but I also think I haven't been focusing very well on the work I've been trying to learn.

     I've noticed that even though it takes a little bit longer to get through any textbook reading and things of that nature, I retain and understand the work much better when I type it out. I tried writing out my work once upon a time, but that's a little bit TOO slow. Typing on the other hand, does two things for me. It excercises by brain by making my hands work and learn to type better and more consistently with greater accuracy, and it allows me to focus better on the words in front of my face rather than skimming through everything to find anything that pops out at me.

     As fun as it is to save time and cut corners, I think there's a healthy balance to doing some things a little bit slower rather than trying to get everything done as fast as possible. I think learning something slowly than speeding up as you get better at something is a much better way to go until you're able to do a task or activity quickly without having to give it much thought. The first semester, I took things a little slowly and I think I did well; the second semester, I tried to cut a lot of corners an messed a few things up which may mean I'll have to retake a class at a later time. This coming third semester, I'll be going for a middle-ground sort of approach where I will take things slowly as necessary, and hope to pick up speed as things go on.

     So besides thinking so much about school and my finals which are happening tomorrow, I'm looking forward to having the next three days off followed by a calm Sunday of work. Maybe Carley and I will get ourselves some fresh air and perhaps I'll use the time to make more posts or upload more videos. I love having time to work on hobbies and things.

Have a wonderful day everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Some Of My Thoughts On Sports

     Okay, so I've been thinking recently about how I feel about hockey. Maybe this will blow your mind, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only Canadian who doesn't like hockey. Or well... I don't MIND it, but it's just not very interesting to me. I guess if I'm being honest, I don't really like many sports in general other than curling. So in reality, I'm sure I'm not the only person who doesn't like hockey... but why don't I like hockey?

     It's too slow for me. Many people would say otherwise, but I get bored of only seeing 2-3 points scored in a whole game. And yeah, sure, they skate back and forth across the ice from one side to the other, but then they sit there... passing the puck... over and over and over again. I realize they're looking for the right opportunity for someone to slip up and give that opening where they're able to shoot the puck through the throng of people and into the goal; it takes so long though. Unlike in basketball where there are points being scored all the time; tons and tons of points over and over again! Wow! Look at all those points! They scored again! And again! Wow! And... they scored... again... and again.... oh.... again.

     Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of basketball either. Yeah, it takes a lot of skill to be able to accurately and consistently shoot a ball into a basket, but come on... they score way too much! To me, this means there isn't a good enough way to play defense in this game. You're not really allowed to touch anybody, and there isn't really anything stopping you from doing a layup into the basket over and over except when you miss; I just don't really get it. And once again, this is a game where people go back and forth across the court from one side to the other again and again and again. What am I missing here? Why is this so much fun?

     These are two sports where (to me) they either score not enough, or way too much. And all the action seems very repetitive to me. That's not to say I don't support anybody who plays these sports, I just don't personally understand the appeal to either watching or playing these games. Maybe it's because I view these games as a little bit less skill-based, and more fitness-based. Hockey, basketball, and football (which I enjoy watching a little bit more) are all games which seem predominantly endurance games. They play for a long time and have to have a very high fitness level to be able to continue to play throughout the entire game. I'll say, that is pretty cool that people are able to have that sort of level of fitness that they can do such a thing. My type of game is a little bit different though.

     My sport of choice Curling. Now, if you really want to be the very best at curling, yes, you do need to actually be fit and able to last for a long time. But there is also so much strategy and thinking that goes into this game that I just don't find anywhere else; though I'm sure it exists in other games as well. Curling for me is like playing a game of chess where you not only have to decide on the best play possible, you also have to throw your piece with the correct amount of power that you get there. It's an amazing combination of strategic thinking, muscle memory, and fitness that all gets put to work at the same time. Just thinking about this makes me miss being able to curl; this year with school, a family on the way, and having to budget our money a little tighter than previously, I just wasn't able to participate.

Even as a nerd, some sports are still fun to me.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Midterms February 2017 - Part 2

     I haven't received the marks for my midterms yet, but I'm sure I've done really well. It feels great to be able to do so well on my tests with everything else going on at the same time. I haven't been able to put as much work into studying as I would have liked, but I'm confident that I've managed to pull through anyways. One of the advantages I have is that a lot of this work I have already learned through high school, or previous courses I've attempted to take, or just from being proficient with computer programs in general. I think this semester is going very well for me and hopefully next semester will continue like this as well.

     One of my goals in this year of my life is to learn to do some things so well that it's all muscle memory. So much so, that I'm comfortable doing things without having to think about it, but just doing it at a comfortable pace. Then, once I'm able to do that will come the speed of being able to do those things without having to think so much but still pushing myself to continue doing so just a little bit faster each time.

     Typing is a great example of what I mean. Previously, I have proven myself to be capable of typing at a very fast rate, but I get slowed down by having to use backspace a lot. So what I'm hoping to be able to do is have a much higher accuracy rate by slowing down a little bit and getting used to hitting things right the first time. It's honestly a little bit tough to force myself to slow down rather than going as fast as I can and performing the same as always. It takes a little bit of change to be able to improve. Sometimes that means doing something a little bit worse than before; in the end, you do better than before.

     This is something I would like to do better at with other things as well. Obviously I would like to have this amazing muscle memory when it comes to video games, but perhaps I could put enough practice into my violin to do so, or making crafts, or writing, or even just thinking in a certain way. I have noticed that I lose a lot of productivity to getting sidetracked or taking time to think about things for a while... but what if I was able to think and keep going at the same time? There's a lot of thoughts I've had about this sort of thing; knowing I can do better and be more productive in a lot of things. It's so easy to just sit and watch a show and not do anything of value in that time, but what if I could keep myself going instead of falling into that rut of non-thinking? Strange how some midterm tests make me think of these things.

Just something to think about. ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

The Anticipation Is Killing Me

     I've had people complain about me being too slow, or taking too much time to do things or say something. I think it's one of my strongest qualities to be so patient. One of the hardest things to do is to wait for something. I've definitely been in some situations in my life that have required me to wait for something to happen. Yeah, I absolutely get just as impatient as the next person when having to wait for a period of time for something to happen. Even a short time sometimes feels like an eternity.

     Once again I find myself waiting. Perhaps I'm waiting for nothing. Or perhaps I'm waiting for what I've always wanted in my life. I can't really be sure as of yet. All I know is that once again, I find myself waiting for something in my life. It sucks to have to wait, but I believe having adequate patience is the difference between true happiness and settling due to rushing too quickly. I want to find the missing piece of myself that is floating throughout the world somewhere. I'm confident that with a little bit of effort on my part, and some patience... I will find that which I am looking for.

     If you're reading this right now thinking about how much you want something to just happen already... perhaps you're in the same position. Maybe you just need to slow down a little and take the time to let things happen on their own time. There are many things that can seem right at the time when done quickly... but in the end, you realize it's all just a cover-up. Anything that is rushed too quickly will only leave you feeling like something is wrong afterwords. Perhaps you'll try to bring back that spark by having more of it, but it won't be the same. Rushing through something before you're truly ready may give you a rush that you'll forever be searching for after the fact. A feeling that will be difficult to ever get again.

     The words "I Love You" for instance. The first time these words are said in a new relationship should be a special time; one which should not be rushed. Said too soon, and the words may feel awkward... or they could feel like the beginning of a roaring flame. That uneasiness when you're unsure if the time is right may translate into a rush of adrenaline as you say those amazing words. And then forever after, your memory of the experience is one of adrenaline... one that you likely cannot replicate. Thus, every time those words are used after that moment, it will feel like a band-aid that doesn't quite cover the scratch. More and more band-aids you try to put on the scratch, but no matter how hard you try, you just can't quite cover it.

     And so I say to have patience. As hard as it can be, it is a must if anything is to ever last. Patience with activities, but more importantly with people. Any relationship, whether a friend, relative, or significant other... needs patience and understanding between the two. In the end, having patience will pay off. So have patience with everything you do. Patience is the key to happiness no matter the timeline.

~ Kyle