for a bit, I was seriously considering the ticket home on friday november 13th. for november 14th. and the trip back, sunday november 15th. For that one day, that one day that i won’t be able to experience ever again in my life. OH, how i would do anything to earn a ticket back home for that weekend just to see them race one last time at crystal. and remind myself how much i miss that course… and that looking at pictures online just doesn’t live up to reality. before woodward.
stay hungry,
lum
what it feels like to be a student-athlete again… not with 8am class no thanks.
-I don’t want to do chem homework, aleks can smd.
-I’m really not looking forward to reading econ this weekend.
-at least warren writing is taking a break this weekend. phew.
-midterms back up again next tuesday. woo. pause. not.
It’s been amazing watching you all since the first practice your freshman year, i’ve spent almost a little too much time with all of you. whether during meets, ditching practices or at pasta feeds. I know you don’t see it in yourselves but you’ve all grown so much more than you think. I’m super glad to have run with all of you in the past. It was three years and i haven’t forgotten one bit to this day–obviously since i’m still writing about it. Tomorrow probably doesn’t feel like the last race of the regular season does it? All of you have come so far from nothing, proven so much of yourselves, and have actually made a name for yourselves. You guys are those kids.Tomorrow, be those same kids. Be great, be everything you’ve learned about yourself this past season. Every single practice, race, fault, is it’s own individual piece of the puzzle, you have all the pieces at hand. You own them, you earned them. Put the pieces together and either prove your identity or make it into your own. Your hard work, sweat, tears, blood and fatigue took place of your fear and got you where you are today. You resisted the urge to fear, to let it own you. You’re there, go out and get it. Leave all your regrets on the trail, by the time you get on the bus back home, have a free mind, go home, and enjoy yourself. I still remember my last race at crystal, and despite how painful it was, afterwards it was the greatest night ever. It was my birthday. I really don’t know how to explain it… Make it–go home and be happy-but seriously just chill tonight. End it–go home and reflect-but seriously just chill. All your bodies could use it, for heaven’s sake-the news you guys have been making up in san jose has been all over college campus’ everywhere, east to west, north to south. You guys are seniors and deserve to just kick it. This is your time tomorrow, not that guy in front of you, or the next guy up there. You should be there and you know it, you’ve done more work than all of them combined. They don’t know how badly you want it. But YOU do. You want it more than any of those other kids at the starting line. Are they gonna stop you? They won’t even come close. No one deserves this more than you 7 boys and girls. Cancel out everyone else around you, run your race and your mind and work will take you where you’ve paid for. Everyone believes in you, each one of you. Amrit, inside i know you’ve been saving it up for this race, don’t let anything your body tells you get in the way of what you really want. Just think how you’re gonna feel at the end of the race if you dip down to listen to what your body wants over what your mind wants. I know how strong you are. Varun, you know you’re that standout from no where. Don’t let those first races at crystal determine how you approach your run. I don’t know where you get it in you. But dig deep tomorrow and pull it all out and leave it on the trail. Whether you want to race this as your race from yesterday, or your race of your life… make it a comfortable race, i can tell you it won’t feel the same if you think about it that way. Decide how you want it to be and do whatever you’ve been doing. You have that talent stored up somewhere, you just need to tap it and you’ll run crazy, Find that one guy and just tail him the whole way-you’ll piss him of while making yourself feel like you’re jogging. Let it out coon. Luca, just go eff sheet up. No matter how it turns out tomorrow, you’ve brought so much to this team, you’ve helped bring together more than three generations of xc runners and it’s your time to show the world what you’ve made out of it. Nothing can touch the bonds you made between your teammates, just go out there and show that course who owns it. I only hit the seniors since this is the race they’ve been waiting 4 years for. But really, it applies to all of you… At the end of the day, if you’re not satisfied–good.
stay hungry guys.
to all of you, sleep well. you’ve trained hard. race should be fun. winning should be easy.
“train hard, win easy.”
Make it your best and most importantly, have fun.
i’m out.
lynbrook seniors of 2010.
i wish you could have read this before your skit tomorrow, and i knew i should’ve posted it yesterday but whatever. I hope you’re all enjoying your all-nighter, getting ready to pull crazy shit out of your ass, hyping yourselves up to walk all over the juniors tomorrow, and prepping to talk nothing but pure trash to the rest of the school. It’s your time. It’s been your time but, ittt starts now, and to my dismay, it doesn’t last long. Sorry i said hawaii was better, but homecoming is a different feeling. It’s not the same as winning a race as a team for the first time. It’s not the same as owning your older brother in basketball. It’s not the same as winning the world cup, or scoring the golden goal. It’s one of those unique to high school moments. It’s not the same as winning a football game in college against division rivals. It’s not. Nothing in life can replicate the past four years you all have spent with each other, getting to know the back of each other’s hands. For one day tomorrow, you all are going to be united closer than one… if that’s even possible. It’s an indescribable feeling going crazy for something you love, for people you truly do love. Seeing them go crazy for their love of you too is spine chilling. Seeing the school respect you–no wonder you can only be a senior once. Once. Maybe that’s what i meant last night when i titled-Nothing gold lasts forever. This homecoming stuff is pure gold, but it’s also so much more than pure gold. If it lasted forever, it wouldn’t be gold worthy enough for you to want it to last forever. Something about forever brings things down. Make history instead. This is hard stuff to describe… and I wish i could go on and on about what you’re going to go through tomorrow, try not to throw up.
I am seriously getting through school right now just from feeding off the energy you guys are giving each other on facebook. I love the smack talk and i wish i were up there to join in. I wish i were a part of that again. I don’t have much else to say, but
tear it up ‘10.
time to throw it all out, balls to the walls.
'o9 is today. 'o9 is tomorrow. 'o9 is gold.
as always… stay hungry,
lum.
but i don’t care, because when i go out on my balcony and look up and see that one bright star in the western sky, i think of home. I think about sitting on the street, gazing into the pitch black night. I can close my eyes when i’m on my balcony and drown out the noise, and pretend i’m on that street. Everything about it is gold. And every time i look it’s got forever written on it. It’s mine, forever. okay, when i go back–things won’t be the same. but it’s okay, i’ve got this shit…
with finals done and in the books, the only thing i can say is… i wish my tests used condoms cuz they effed me hard. It’s a wake up call definitely–i’ll be having a planned out schedule and everything from now on. specific study times each day after lecture, less time walking from place to place and more time studying in one place. But enough of that boring academic talk, i wanted to use this time to catch up.
"In a poll of 8,000 runners... women said they run to sculpt a toned physique, shave off stress, and achieve personal goals...just some of the benefits. But perhaps what drives people to the sport more than anything is that everyone can do it. You don't need special skills, pricy gear, athletic ability, or even good genes. All running requires is a pair of shoes and a little determination."
I KNOW luca didn’t quote this article since i got it out of a Women’s Health magazine [don't ask how or why i was reading one]… it’s hard to read but i deciphered it… it was just amazing to see this content published and known throughout. It’s practically the same thing luca is writing about each time he writes–amazing stuff, and he’s not even getting paid to do it.
"When you run, it's just you, your body and the environment... your arms, legs and breathing fall into a rhythm that eventually...___"
Sorry Chrissy and Narayan, that puzzle of you two was cute. But our's owns.
weight room-picture is for xc boys
the reason i keep studying at geisel to a minimum these days...
one of the reasons i love sd... unpredictable fog. Although, i've yet to go running in it.
per request.
this has become my temporary replacement for priyas… the hill down and back up is ridiculous… the sight of it is crazy. But some how, it’s nothing compared to priyas. i’m no where as painful, the pain you get from priyas is almost unique. which is hard to say about pain of anything. I had to get lost… i had to get away from my room, give it all up, and find this place instead. it’s not the best. but at least it’s something of a home away from home.
i wish i had my camera but those three black dots the size of dogs are raccoons.
stay hungry,
lum.
the secret to success is for a man to be ready when his opportunity comes.
-last two midterms are on monday. time to go study.
Everyone read this,
http://albertcaruana.blogspot.com/2009/10/catching-up-with-lynbrook-hs-runner.html
From 'who are those kids'
to 'those kids.'
it’s not gonna be printed in the paper or online and even if it is printed, it’s not gonna be pretty, no matter how fogged or clear it is…
but make every single one count.
don’t run however fast they have you running. Run faster.
stay hungry guys, you’re almost there–every single one of you.
-lum.
today when i was in the library…
1)somebody ripped one
2)Sir Macho blasts his music (replay-iyaz) through his earphones
3)…his following song comes on. “what the… that sounds like Miley Cyrus. HAH!”
4)…continues to listen to those two songs… on repeat for the next 20 minutes before i left.
stay hungry,
lum.
oh, this was my lunch LOL
wow
i haven’t experienced that in a long time. For the time being, i’ll define “that” as, barely being able to open my eyes but really being able to open them, layering up, grabbing the keys, lacing up, hitting that brisk air, taking off…
made my way as usual down the hill then back up the two hills, pushing every stride harder till i reach the peak. taking in the cooler air or lack thereof before pushing my edge once again going back down. It felt good to live out pictures. I truly was looking for the next hill, just so i could experience it all again. That’s when my story takes the wrong turn into the eerie wooded area with weird brightly lit eyes staring back at you. The singing tree got me, eventhough i was expecting it. The corridors got my scratchy steps and sent em back at me. I got to the top and decided to turn around after losing interest.. plus i didn’t exactly have the best idea of the dark versus lit spots on campus. All while more than half my suite were tucked away in their sheets, and the less than half that were still awake? probably wondering why in all of the world is this fool going running now. at 2 in the morning. You can’t explain love, that’s why.
Needed that run. Just finished my essay about an hour ago, and it’s been rough. Rough like sand under your shoes on top of concrete. Rough like dragging your fingernails on the hard carpet at school. I have to keep reminding myself that i will still wake up tomorrow. and again.
I’ve noticed I rarely write about how great times reflect my identity. So let me think, tomorrow–i have 4 classes, and a 8am. Nevermind, i’ll save that great moment for another day Hah.
stay hungry friends,
lum.
10/2 - 9:48am
The box of 18 didn’t even have a chance with me, lasting a good 24 hours. let me put that in english, that’s just under 3/4th’s of a cookie–every hour. for 24 hours. I wasn’t even awake for all 24 of those hours. so it’s more like a cookie and a half–every hour. No help, no milk, no cookie monster under the bed. just, one college student… in a room–with a box of cookies staring him down every time he walked out. And calling him back in when he finished eating it on the couch–in front of the tv. Again, and again, and again. for 24 straight hours. That was 2,700 calories–just from cookies alone. in 24 hours. Not even paying attention to all the other bells and whistles I managed to put down. Breakfast? cookie. Snack? cookie. Thirsty? cookie. Bored? cookie. I won’t even mention that they were somewhat “stale-like” tasting–or, in fact… were stale. Cuz that would just ruin the entire story. But they didn’t even need milk, or re-warming. It was like… the greatest tasting bad. Kinda like how you’re reading this entire thing, when all i’ve talked about was my short lived experience with these cookies. I guess there’s things in life that we will never learn to understand. Things in us that can never be stopped. Some of these things are the things that aren’t a part of our plan. they exist on the outer barrier of our lives and intermittently come in and out. it goes na, na, na, na. instead of naaaa. More on this is what we do with what we fail to understand. We sit and ponder on them, laugh and swear at them, or cry and slam fists because of them… to name a few. College apps are difficult. Period. and there is no way around them. Personally, they are some of the worst times of fall–and walking home to a empty word doc is a horrible feeling. Sometimes you absolutely won’t know what to write, and most of the time you’ll end up deleting a whole paragraph… putting you further away from that magic number one-thousand. or is it twelve-hundred. whatever it is, hang in there. tight. pulling ideas out of your head to earn yourself a potential 4 more years is a wonderful disaster. If you found the connection between cookies and life, great. If not… i’m telling you–eighteen cookies. 24 hours. you’re not listenin’ man…
18 cookies. one 120 lb boy. 24 hours.
jeez.
stay hungry,
lum.
since class has officially started. No more searching for rooms, hoping i’ve landed myself in the right classroom (it’s pretty epic actually… anticipating the teacher’s words “welcome to lecture, my name is…”) in those first three minutes, you pray so hard that you’re in the right class but at the same time you doubt yourself. especially after looking around and hearing about material you’ve never run into. For the most part class hasn’t been all bad, only two of my classes are actually a little confusing–just because they’ve gone completely online with homework. It gets more confusing when they lecture on some material, but the homework covers way more material–yet they don’t assign sections to cover in the book. It’s like they cover whatever they can in class, not exactly hitting the important parts, and expecting us to learn the rest. absolutely wonderful. I don’t really know what happened to my leg but, it feels super vulnerable to bruises and aches. Putting it in english, it’s sensitive… don’t know what that’s a symptom of but i’m scared it means i’ve torn some muscle or something. Nevertheless, i went running today down at the beach. Not a good idea for those average people out there. I can’t say it made it better or worse. Came back and worked on my salad bowl packing skills. I should master that before i leave for thanksgiving… getting my 3.75’s worth. It wasn’t great tasting but, i got my greens for the week–and that feels good. I’ve done laundry like twice already but i guess i have actually been here for almost two weeks now–need to find a way to get those stinky socks smelling fresher [hey that was an "s" sounding alliteration]. Hot water, small load is what i hear gets at it. Budgeting dining money is going alright too. Well, i’ll leave you with running, it never gets old. The things it can do.
stay hungry, lum.
i’m enjoying it down here. really. i am.
after getting back from my quick campus loop, i really need to get to bed or i won’t be up for class tomorrow morning. So i’ll just get this out while its fresh. Of course, interpret it as you like… that’s like… one of the big pillars to life isn’t it?
It doesn’t mean anything, until it means something.
Will you stick around long enough to see what it means?
Or will you going to be around long enough to know what it means.
are you in?
stay hungry,
lum.
so badly right now. I want to run crystal one last time again. I want to race one last time again. My left calf is in intermittent pain and it feels bruised up and down. I feel like it’s telling me something is torn and I need to stop walking around so much on it. I want to get out and run so badly though, I’ve seen one good sunset since i’ve gotten to sd and it was on a bike. Just not the same experience you work for. Still feeling a little overwhelmed with school work, not because there’s so much yet but more because i’m always uncertain if i’ve done everything or not. Don’t ask me how i ended up with 6 classes, i guess its because two are seminars, and still the workload is pretty light… but, its getting hard to remember what was due for each class. Sure, “get a planner,” but its different when one isn’t provided for you. Story of College life right there. Things are different when it’s not handed to you on a shiny platter. I know it’s cliche but it’s SO true when you experience it yourself. You seniors will see what i’m talking about one day. You’ll negate me now, but when the day comes–man, you’ll be laughing at yourself. But i digress, I’ve reached that point where i need to run, it’s unfortunate it came at a time when my leg is in pain. I can bike–but i won’t. I can walk–I have to though. I want and need to get out for a run, maybe i’ll take the bus down to the beach and run on the sand… yes, that sounds like a plan. Just need to find a nice long clean beach now. 
Things are going well for those of you back up in the bay. I haven’t shrunken any clothes yet. All my whites are still white, i haven’t pulled an all nighter yet. I haven’t broken anything yet. I’ve been eating well–at least a meal a day LOL. I’ve been filling my tummy to say the least. I’m not late to class. I take notes and listen to lectures and discuss during discussions and engage during seminars. Life is well. I must have spent half my day today thinking about a planner. 4.5″ x 8″, 8.5″x11″, 3″x5″, weekly planners, day planners, academic yearly, monthly planner, address book, aw shucks. I think i’ll just make my own after seeing how much these companies are trying to rip us off. 20 bucks for something i could keep on my computer and print out for free. Well, getting home after chipotle–i spent another good hour figuring out the most optimal way of printing out a weekly or monthly or daily calendar. Should i draw it? Excel it? Get a image off google? Photoshop lines? oh… i’ll just print my google calendar.
To those who have word spelling suggestions built into their browser (it underlines a misspelt word), is it interesting that “google” is an actual entered word now? but “haha” or “lol” isn’t.
i’ll update you guys soon,
stay hungry
-lum.
sd looks like this sometimes
Yes i DO listen to your requests. and I respond.
