Recently I got into a book-buying spree. Just last week, I must have spent over three hundred dollars at various online bookstores. This uncontrollable and irrational obsession with purchasing books that I most likely will not read (at least till years later) is a personal weakness that I have by now accepted. After all, there are far worse things to waste money on. This time, however, things got a bit more complicated.
Last Wednesday while I was hunting for deals on the AMS Bookstore, the book “Automorphic Forms and Applications” caught my attention. It has some solid articles on areas of automorphic forms that I was keen to know more about (such as the Langlands-Shahidi method of constructing L-functions). The book was selling for $60 to members of the AMS, but only for $54 at Barnes and Noble. For me, however, a meager $6 in savings is not enough; so I searched for coupon codes to use at Barnes and Noble. Imagine how pleased I was when I found out there is a 20% discount coupon at B&N for signing up for a new user account! Without any hesitation, I ordered the book at the discounted cost of $42.
Yet there are is free lunch in this world. It has been two weeks now since I placed an order of two books through the SpringerLink MyCopy service, the shipment still has not arrived. I could not withstand the anxiety any longer and decided to check up on the order. Turns out the order did not register at Springer, despite the fact that a transaction of $49.90 did show up on my credit card statement. As of now, Springer is still looking into the problem.
Although I do not believe in fate, it did make me wonder whether this tit-for-tat is some cruel prank planned by a malefactor on my poor soul. Perhaps I did get too greedy and lost self-control on my book-buying spree, perhaps it is just karma. I abide.
Lately I have been a bit scatter-brained. The numerous technical tools I acquired over the past three weeks have consumed much of my time and energy. Besides the Apple Time Capsule that frustrated me so much to warrant a short blog post, I also bought a pair of Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise Cancelling headphones. Surely after investing in such a pricey pair of sound gadgetry, it would only make sense to purchase some good music to go along with it? Consumerism is indeed a bottom-less pit.
In any event, I am not feeling guilty for making these purchases as I believe they are productivity tools that will (at least I hope) improve my performance and my quality of life in the long run. What I am going through now is just the growing pains from getting used to these new additions to my life. Since I get adapted to the new demands and complications arising from the yet untamed technological enhancements, the benefits will outweigh cost of the initial investment and maintenance.
I will not shy away from worthwhile investments, even if it means enduring some initial growing pains.
The Time Capsule I bought a week ago on eBay has taken over control of a large part of my life.
I tend to get a little overly enthused after a break from mathematics. The contemplative and pensive persona that I take on when conducting research is now in hibernation, and I am back to being the life-hacker who has difficulty putting out any self-claimed spark of genius and ended up complicated matters.
Nonetheless, my seemingly impulsive acquisition of this expensive equipment had its reasons, even good reasons. Everything began when I experienced problems with backing up using Time Machine to the portable USB hard drive. For some reason, this troublesome yet deceivingly convenient program kept on saying that there is not enough space to continue the backup. After an hour or so of googling for solutions, I somehow ended up looking for information on the Apple Time Capsule.
Before I know it, I already placed a bid on eBay for this $250 plus network storage. Five days later, I became a proud owner of a 1TB MC343LL/A Time Capsule.
Opening up the USPS priority one-rate shipping box was a piece of cake compared to the headache I had while trying to configure this toy to work with the University network.
Initially I tried to have the Time Capsule join the existing encrypted WiFi network, but did not succeed in doing so. According to the tech support, it is probably better to connect the Capsule to the ethernet instead, then broadcast its own WiFi for my laptop to access.
This gave me a good reason to go back to eBay and do some more shopping. Such extravagance!
Let’s hope all the dust that I kicked up will settle next week, and I can peacefully return to my pensive and meditative demeanor fitting of a mathematician.
Filed under: Mathematics, Moderation and Balance, Self Improvement | Tags: Mathematics, mind-body connection, observations, physical effects, vitamin, work
You probably know that taking too much vitamin B2 turns your urine bright yellow. It turns out that there is one additional side effect on me.
After returning from the holiday break, I felt lethargic and unmotivated. So I fooled around with my diet a bit, and decided to resume taking Twin Lab’s Daily One Caps multivitamin to boost my energy and stamina. I bought these a year ago when the vitamin B content in these pills was still extraordinarily high. Although these are just multivitamin supplements, the physical effects were much more acute compared to the Centrum brand.
As unbelievable as it may sound, taking these riboflavin-loaded vitamin pills made me unusually moody about things that have no emotional bearing. Just several minutes, I was trying to write up some mathematical computations, but slowly sad memories begin to drift through my mind. I remembered the years of hardship laboring over the tons of mathematical texts that I have to digest, and my eyes begin to swell up. It was not distracting; quite the opposite, remembering these bitter sweet moments made me more focused and resolute on the work at hand, and bestowed me with a sense of purpose and a desire to give all my being to mathematics. Please tell me that I am not crazy.
What did the Twin Lab guys put in their pills anyway?
Filed under: Time Management
The title is of course misleading. I know better than to stubbornly try to continue the unsustainable. Yet I was never eager to go easy on myself, especially when it comes to something that I care about. So how should one try to continue the seemingly unsustainable?
The key is to prioritize. Manage your time and other resources wisely. Always remember to save some energy for the most important tasks on your list. For me, this would be mathematics. Then, take care of other tasks and chores. Also, try to avoid overwhelming yourself. Sometimes it is worthwhile to push yourself beyond your limits; yet always giving your all will only end up in a burnout.
Friday, October 17, 2008
I have lost quite a bit of weight over the summer. Whereas I weighed about 156 lbs back in May, I am averaging 147 lbs in the mornings now. My waist is tights, leaner; my face is thinner and more angular; my workout routine also became less demanding on my heart and muscles. Running and swimming are not as tiring as before. One reason is that I have reduced workout intensity to leave some energy for mathematics, but shedding close to 10 lbs definite eased the load on my body during workouts.
As exhaustion is becoming less and less a factor, I plan to continue training for at least one and a half hour for six days every week. The plan now is to bike to Princeton on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I will try to squeeze in a swim session on each day. On Tuesdays and Saturdays I plan to ride, for 30 miles and 40 to 50 miles respectively. I also plan to do a recovery run workout on Fridays, and probably also Tuesdays and Saturdays, as brick sessions.
If all goes well, I will be able to finish my thesis and make good progress on my triathlon training. Keep it up and overcome yourself.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Bothered by the occasional inaccuracies in my heart rate monitor, I sought for ways to fix the problem. A google search brought up many discussions suggesting interference from cars and high-voltage electric lines is probably to blame. Many also pointed to electrode gel as a possible solution. So, I naturally shopped around and found a decent deal on none other than Amazon.com. The seller is a Amazon Marketplace Store. A “Special Offer Available” caught my attention. Turns out the company is offering free shipping on orders over $75.
So I browsed some of the items on sale. A gel flask caught my attention, but it was too pricey. Then some supplement called “SportsLeg” caught my attention. It supposedly reduces (possibly even eliminates) soreness from intense exercise. I was a bit skeptical but I was also quite open-minded when it comes to such things. More google searches did not yield any conclusive findings on the effectiveness of the product. Considering the recent huge expenditure, I decided against spending ten bucks to give that a go.
Then something else caught my attention. Apparently some clever inventor in England came up with a piece of equipment for training breathing strength. For ninety some bucks, this “PowerLung” supposedly will enhance your aerobic capacity (CO2Max). Again I began to ponder. A natural sense of precaution led me to yet another search for reviews on the product. There is hardly any. Many people who considered the product remain skeptical.
In the end, I adhered to the advice offered from another triathlete. “Nothing can replace the improvement one gains from hard work.” I wholeheartedly agree. Life takes no shortcuts. Luck is a factor in one’s success, but it is of little use if it is not accompanied by hard work. I should let go of the natural yet misleading urge to find ways around actual work.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
I spent majority of the day reading John Grisham’s novel, “The Runaway Jury”, trying to relax after yesterday’s hard ride. I am still getting used to living here. There is a lingering sense of resentment and displeasure with the still somewhat foreign neighborhood.
The tremendous stress in cycling itself, mixed with the psychological stress in navigating around the confusing routes, became a toxic blend that drained my enthusiasm and impaired my mental faculties. Many times I sank into a bitter battle with myself and my past, without much provocation than my own wondering thoughts. It was atypical that I did not even fight back for control of my head.
After taking a nap this afternoon, I could not stay in the house any longer. It is healthy to move around. I decided to visit the local county park. A local Indo-American festival is taking place there, on the lush green lawns and in the scenic backdrop of the Mercer Lake, not a good place for swimming (it is banned), but ideal for rowers. The biking path was also in excellent condition, files of riders on their comfort bikes roamed by carelessly. I imagine myself would be spending many mornings here riding and enjoying the fresh air.
Watching couples huddling by the lake shore, I thought about how love. Just two weeks ago I sensed fatherly love from my dad. He worried sick about my well being. After all, driving ten hours to New Jersey is no everyday chore. That kind of care heals me. Love is our weapon against stress.
Monday, September 01, 2008
I worked on the brake calipers on my road bike today. I wrapped the right arm of the front brake in a piece of towel and used a pair of pliers to straighten it. This, however, proved futile. The cold-forged aluminum (I suppose it is aluminum) brake arm will not budge no matter how hard I tried. Soon I gave up, finally accepting the fact that the brake caliper is beyond salvage.
For a perfectionist like I, it is hard to shake away the psychological stress from this not-so-minor blemish on my beloved bike. It made me bitter. Soon enough I was looking on EBay for replacement brakes. Despite the raving reviews on Shimano Dura-Ace and Campagnolo Centaur brake sets, as well as their fairly reasonable prices, I found myself prejudiced against them. I did not like the fact that they are heavier than the SRAM Force brakes that I have been using. It is only a matter of around fifty grams, but I was unable to step out of the narrow-mindedness that I am steeped in.
For a moment, I even pondered on getting a whole new component groupo (I made an offered on a new set of SRAM Red). Fortunately I had enough senses to not empty my pockets. It was such a rash decision, I would have surely regretted it had it been made.
The question that bugs me is: how did I become a weight weenie? I guess it is a combination of stress from moving to New Jersey and my personality for perfection. I care a lot about my road bike, and in turn want to make it better and faster. The weight of the bicycle is a simple and easily adjustable measure of its quality, so it is natural for me to be so obsessed over the weight. I believe this may be a common syndrome of many hardcore road cyclists and triathletes.
The pursuit of perfection is not wrong. But one also must factor in his or her personal ability and the reality of the situation. Single-mindedly pursuing one course of action without evaluating the progress is as idiotic as trying to pass through a door by ramming your head against it. It just won’t do you any good.
And the brakes? Oh yeah, I decided to replace them by the Crane Creek SLs. Only 259g!
Friday, August 29, 2008
In the past five days that I’ve spent in New Jersey I must have spent over a thousand dollars. Some of the expenditure is necessary, of course. Groceries, and my new commuter bike, are not purchases that I would regret over in the future. Even getting the bread machine may prove to be a wise decision.
In contrast, the new set of Shimano road cycling pedals, the new touring wheels, the extra clothing for the eight some mile commute to Princeton, and the commuter cycling shoes, are luxury items that I can do without. Yet somehow I lost control of myself and steeped myself in the fleeting pleasures in acquisition. Yes, it feels good to fulfill your heart’s desire; but it may well be problematic if it is out of evasion of responsibility and a means of escaping the reality.
I fear I have been making all these excessive purchases as a way to channel my stress, to distract my mind from the physical exhaustion accumulated over the cross-state trip, as well as the psychological stress from living in a new environment. These are difficulties that I need to just strap down and deal with. Avoidance is never the answer.
Think twice and act wisely. See far and limit (or better, eliminate altogether) choices that you may regret in the future.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
