Miscellaneous
Productivity
Lately, productivity has been quite high. I think that is largely due to cutting off (almost all) usage of entertainment media. What I mean is, no YouTube, TV, Social Media, etc. Sure, it's nice to relax and you can't always be working on something super important, but there are infinitely better things to do than watch/read pointless media. Case and point, writing some blog posts to avoid studying. This is much more productive than watching a video about X and gaining nothing from it. At least this is somewhat constructive and I also enjoy writing about stuff.
Everyone is always saying how addicted we are to our phones and social media etc. I completely agree with this, but it seems like nobody is heading the warning. What I have found is that reducing your usage time really is like quitting a drug; you can't just quit it some, you need to eliminate it completely. If I am on the bus, have some down time which cannot be utilized for anything productive, or am sitting on the toilet I usually would go to my phone. Though I use my phone for only a small while, I feel the pull of that dopamine release when I watch/read/etc. something online. I feel quite aware of the "just one more", which is really the brain craving more dopamine. Therefore, I have tried to eliminate all media consumption (albiet the occassional video/music during lunch or dinner; though, even then it can be hard to quit watching once time to start working).
Since this semester I have been busy with 20 credits, I told myself I did not have time to waste if I wanted to maintain school, relationships, work, and climbing. So far, I feel more on top of my school work than many other semesters with lighter loads. I think this stems from the fact that when I have down time, I am utilizing it to do something productive. This works synergistically, as I am constantly in the mindset of "what can I get done". I rarely have time where I do absolutely nothing and watch YouTube. Though this may seem like a simple break, it drains the drive/motivation to do anything. An analogy is: it's really hard to go from napping to a full out sprint; but, if you are lightly jogging/walking acclimating to a sprint is much less harsh. "A body in motion stays in motion" and I think this goes equally for the brain.
Additionally, I have been really motivated to do my homework as well. I always have a mental barrier to entry when approaching schoolwork; I don't want to get started because it seems like there is just too much to get done and I don't want to get involved. However, once I start getting into it, I can easily spend 5 hours working a single problem. It has been getting easier and easier to simply just start. Once I start, the work is usually pretty enjoyable and I really want to get whatever it is I am working on finished. I'd go as far as saying I am excited to work on some of my assignments.
I really hope I can keep this level of motivation up and don't get burned out at some point. There is a lurking concern that after I return from my trip to the Red in March, I may be somewhat zapped of motivation. However, I think I can get back into the groove. Staying away from time sucking media will be my friend.
Plans for the Summer and Fall
I got the internship at United Health Group very late. I decided to go with them for a few reasons, but mainly since they are a large company and have infrastructure to withstand the cornavirus, I felt it was a bit safer. In the meantime, I cancelled my trip to Korea with Sarah in May. We were bummed, but we got all our money back and the process was easy. The UHG internship is only 10 weeks, so I will start June 1st and be done on the 7th of August. This is actually really nice, I feel like I have a lot of summer. 2 weeks after school gets out and 4 whole weeks before class in September. Hopefully, by August the country will be opened up and we can go to Tensleep again. Mark Richmond is having a wedding in Washington on the 15 of August, so I will hopefully make it to that as well. Tenatively, I am thinking I could drive to Washington and Sarah could fly in (or drive with me). Then, on my way back I can stop in Tensleep and meet up with everyone. I just want to climb in Tensleep again.
Joey and I are looking for apartments together. Currently, we have it narrowed between Elmwood which we will tour on Saturday and Hedberg which we have a video tour of. I am currently preferring Hedberg because of the quick response and the apartment looks quite nice. Also, everything except electric is included which makes things really easy. We will see though, hopefully nobody takes the apartment before our tour on Saturday. I am a bit hesitant to move out, simply due to saving money. However, I think I should be able to save a decent amount of money of the Summer and will continue to work during the schoolyear I am sure. Having my own space again will be nice, but having to pay for food etc. will catch up to me quick. I am making a point of it not to bring tons of stuff, only the essentials. I don't want a cluttered room full of stuff I never use. I want to get a nice desk to set the extra monitor(s) on and have lots of space to work on paper. Other than that, I don't think I'll need much large furniture.