Inspiration

I have been short of motivation recently. Haven't posted, haven't drawn, and haven't really played Go, either. The plus side of this is being more able to concentrate on school, but even there I am lacking that certain motivation to concentrate and stay on top of the work. Recently I've had some epiphanies that I think might help me break my current mold I have been stuck in.

1. Inspiration can be found.
Inspiration isn't just a feeling that comes and goes. It can be found by immersing yourself in different things, be it music, television, movies, games, etc. Don't rely on chance to set your mood. Back when I was still working my way through Hikaru No Go, I was consistently inspired to play more Go just by getting caught up in the show. Then when I finished with the show, I needed new sources of inspiration, which brings me to my next epiphany.

2. Keep things fresh.
The inspiration you can gleam from something will wear off or end, so be constantly immersing yourself in new things. . Sticking with the Go example, I have been trying to think of new things to gleam some motivation from. One source of motivation came to me purely on luck. An Oklahoma Go player that is always trying to get players together for meetings recently moved extremely close to my campus, solving my problem of not having any way to play Go on a real board. As for other sources of inspiration, I have recently been interested in getting some non-study material Go literature. More specifically "The Master of Go" by Yasanuri Kawabata.

3. Once you're inspired, act!
This is a mistake I used to make all the time. That is to say, I would find something to be euphorically inspiring, and then just enjoy the euphoria without putting that positive energy to any use. It's too easy to just ride on the waves of emotion and then lay dormant on the beach once they have passed. I believe this might even be the hardest step of them all. At some point you should stop watching Hikaru No Go episodes one after the other, and use that growing feeling of inspiration inside you to play a couple games. Perhaps something you watched or read has made you think. This is a form of inspiration that you can turn into action in a different way by writing down your ideas. Ideas becomes a sort of internal source of inspiration, and if you don't write them down, it will be that much harder to turn them into action later.

These things might not seem all that surprising or new to you, but for me personally I feel that these three ideas will push me forward by leaps and bounds. It's started to pull me out of my slump, at the very least, and hopefully it will push me even further.

Oklahoma Go Club, Exercise, and Progress

Oklahoma Go Club

Way back, when I was just getting into Go and climbing my way up the KGS ladder, there was a Go club here in Oklahoma that I made some visits too. Everyone was older than me and attendance was often sparse, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying sage advice and relaxed atmosphere as we sat and played. Unfortunately, I couldn't make this trip often, as it was a pretty long drive, and, my only means of transport was my mum, who was not always available or willing to make the long drive. Eventually the long drive became too much and I stopped attending.

Recently the host of the meetings has moved, and now lives 4 miles from the campus that I live on! He's already e-mailed me with plans to start up regular meetings again, and I have to say I am excited. I never get any chances to play on a real board, which is especially depressing because of the small collection of Go boards I was able to create for myself, with all three standard sizes present, (9x9, 13x13, and 19x19) gathering dust on the desk to my right. I was lucky enough to find some nice (I think) glass Go stones at an out of the way games shop. (Looks like I went on a tangent there.. maybe I should make the next post about my boards?)

In case anyone here live in or around Edmond, Oklahoma, in order to get information on the group and how to join in on the meetings, this yahoo groups page would be the best place to get in touch, as it is the largest (only) collection of Oklahoma Go players I have been able to find.

I will continue working on forming a Go club on campus, though, as I believe if anything, I will be able to spread the game of Go into the minds of others, and enriching their lives by doing so. (Is that a bit pretentious? Go really is a beautiful game, though.)

WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE™ still going

I've finally been able to get a regular exercise schedule into my week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30 AM, 40-50 minutes of bike machine thingy that I don't know the name of. It's a little awkward, since I have no other clothes to exercise in other than what I usually wear during the day. As soon as money stops being a problem I will get right on that. What is more exciting about this post is that, after only 3 days of exercise (Monday and today), and maintaining a daily calorie count of 10x my weight (this gathered from information found on the internet), I have apparently lost 4 pounds! If this keeps up I will reach my goal in no time at all! Of course, there is also the possibility that this is just a minor variance in weight due to some of the many extraneous variables that can effect ones weight at any given time, but what is the limit of that? That is a question I should find out about.

Fighting the hunger has been a little difficult, though, but if what I've read is true than it is just a matter of time until my body readjusts itself into the lifestyle of not eating 5 times a day or on every impulse of hunger. In reality it isn't at all that bad, and I am surprised at the ease of transitioning into this new lifestyle. The number one destroyer of self improvement, though, is lack of dedication. As long as I stick to my goals and don't give up, I should be ok.

So, until the next time,
-BuddytheRat

Slump

I guess I can say I am officially in a slump. I have been intensely bogged down by school the past two days, and now that it is time to post I just have no energy or ideas.So, instead of boring you with yet another half-assed post, consider this my admittance of defeat. I feel kind of ashamed, but then, what I'm doing I feel is better for this blog in the long run.

Taking the advice I received from Terri Schurter, the author of one of the better Go blogs, I will try to stress quality over quantity. If I don't have anything good to post, I won't post. Period.

Until whenever,
-BuddytheRat

Happy Birthday To Me!

19 years old today. That's a boring number. 18 was exciting and new, 20 will be awesome, but 19? Meh.

Today I enjoyed my birthday, and played lots of video games. (Including the present that my girlfriend gave to me, Elite Beat Agents. <3 <3 <3) Of course, this means more distractions to keep me from my Go studies! Although I did play today, and had some particularly ingenious moments that I feel fairly proud about. Nothing left to say, really. (Yes I am using my birthday as an excuse to make a crappy post.)

-BuddytheRat

Go Club Update

The first meeting for my attempt at starting a Go club on campus is approaching. There is no set date yet, but I am hoping that we will get started on Friday of next week. If not then definitely the week after that.

The main focus of this post is the poster that I have created to spread the word. It is still a work in progress but once it is finished I will post a pdf file of the poster on this blog. For now I am just posting a preview to hopefully get some critiques or suggestions. Oh, and also, before anyone jumps on my back for stealing the general design from a certain poster on the American Go Association website, yes, I did take a lot of inspiration from this poster, because I liked it, but thought I could improve upon it.

Here is the poster as it stands currently:

UPDATE: Reading this post again the next day, I just discovered that about two or three of the paragraphs that I had written have vanished! Since I have class in 20 minutes, here is a quick synopsis of what I meant to say:

-The poster is inspired by this poster off of the American Go Association website, which I liked but thought I could improve upon.

-I meant to include a bit about how I did not originally intend to have the "Want to learn?" part included in the poster, not out of conceit or elitism, but because the idea of teaching Go to someone else scares the crap out of me. I am already a shy person, and just starting the club in the first place is a bit of a challenge. So, if anyone has taught before or has any suggestions of teaching methods, or the order in which to introduce new concepts, etc., then any help would be appreciated.

Sorry for the accident! I will pay more attention next time.

Until Friday,
-BuddytheRat

Go in the Virtual World

Goals and Schedules

I've decided on my new posting schedule. I shall now post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. (Yes I know it is Tuesday) This kind of goes with the challenge for this month, as well, since those days will be the days that I exercise.

Speaking of which, yesterday I finally managed to get down to the Wellness Center (the gym here on campus) and get my weight. I am 5' 9", and 228 pounds. As for what would be considered a healthy weight for my height/size in particular, I have no clue, and a quick google search reveals wildly varying numbers. One thing that is similar though, is that none of the numbers are higher than 200. SO, that will be my goal for the time being. Lose at least 28 pounds.

Go in the Virtual World: The Second Life Go Center

Yesterday I made a special trip to the self proclaimed "Go Center" of the online game/community of Second Life. To reach it, simply open your map in game and head to the sim named Vineland. For anyone not in the loop, Second Life is a free to play online game wherein anything can be constructed (through the combination and molding of basic 3d shapes called "prims"), textured, and brought to life through coding and other methods, and then shared within the world of the game. When you put it that way though, it sounds extremely intimidating. In reality, the building system is designed to be simple and easy to learn, and without getting into any complex stuff, anyone can make a large variety of cool objects and buildings to play with and communicate in. Communication becomes the game's second mainstay, as once you've created a world of your very own, all that's left is to hang out in it and have fun.

Click any image to see a larger version.

The Center itself is located in a remote island setting. Beautiful Japanese plant life dots the landscape, like this majestic Cherry Blossom in full bloom. Behind you can see an array of stores, the only one currently in use being a Japanese fan shop. To the left, just out of frame, is a gallery of Asian Art depicting serene landscapes. Traveling through the torii in the back brings you to a chat area with a bonfire overlooking the sea.

How would you like to play Go here?

This beautiful glass structure otherwise known as the "Playing Pavilion" offers a relaxing and quiet place to enjoy a nice game of Go in the company of others. Each board is fully interactive, allowing you to set game options such as komi, handicap, and board size, choose who plays which color, and finally allowing you to play on the board by clicking, just like in KGS. Second Life's flexible camera controls allow you to position the board perfectly in your screen for ease of use. Behind the Pavilion is stream of water seemingly from the heavens, but really, it comes from here:

Defying all laws of real world physics, a giant flower shaped platform funnels a seemingly endless supply of water onto the rocks below. On top of the floating rock is a relaxing chat area for use when the Pavilion needs to be kept quiet for the players inside. Here I have a relaxing rest as I peer into the sky. My avatar, by the way, is a recreation of Starman Jr., a
boss character from the SNES game, Earthbound.

Of course, none of this is quite as amazing as this gigantic sized Goban, towering far over my head in this image. But, what's that behind the left leg? A ladder?!

Inside the giant floorboard we find an elegant playing room, designed after the real life Yugen no ma room.The billboard on the left speaks of the dream that one day, the Go Center will gain enough members to one day hold a tournament, and that the final two players will play a series of games in this room, with only them and three officially chosen judges present. Each stone played will appear magically on top of the giant goban for all to watch and discuss from above. In the far left corner, a bonsai tree, a small white flower(can anyone identify it?), and a scroll adorning the wall. On the far right, a judge table complete with a tea pot and cups.

Flying around taking pictures, I noticed someone standing alone by the Pavilion. This was the first person I had seen so far so I flew in for a chat. We ended up playing a very quick 9 x 9 using the interactive gobans. As we played, another person appeared and asked very politely if she could watch. We talked about the Go Center, and I learned that the Center is most active on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 6 to 9 PM PST. After our game, and after my opponent left, yet another person approached. His name was Coral Gausman, and further inquiry told me that he was the main caretaker for the Center. I couldn't stay for much longer, so after a quick chat I said my goodbyes and logged off.

One final view of the island before I end my tour.

Wow, that was a lot of writing. I am ready to hit the sack. I will post again tomorrow, and from then on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Until then,
-BuddytheRat

Day 32 - No more days.

Here's the deal: The ONE MONTH CHALLENGE™ is over, and I feel I need to slow down now. No more daily posts. I will be posting 2 to 3 times a week on average. I have a feeling that the blog will improve as a result. Sorry to anyone reading this that enjoyed the prospect of daily postings (hah, yeah right) but these new posts will be a lot better, I promise.

I have been playing a lot of Go lately and I feel my game has improved a lot. I am 11 kyu now which is 1 kyu away from the goal I set during the ONE MONTH CHALLENGE™. I'd say that isn't a bad effort. I have been reading Tesuji, by James Davies, a lot. The problems are a lot harder than in Life and Death, but they will be wonderful for improving my reading skill.

Now, onto the WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE™, or, I would talk about the WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE™ except other plans prevented my from stopping by the Wellness Center. I plan to go first thing in the morning, and I might even try my hand at one of the machines.

Until then,
-Buddytherat