growth

the days are passing, and the information is slowly accumulating. with each passing day, more pages are getting read, more diagrams are being analyzed, and more nuggets of wisdom are retained. my power is growing slowly every day, and i am getting closer and closer to the right amount of knowledge accumulation. the next step is mastery. that will come in time.

the level of intensity of our program is still not quite where it needs to be, but i feel like that will change very soon. once the holy week is finished, there is nothing left but time - time to pour every ounce of strength and concentration into hitting the books.

i am learning things that i should have learned before but didn't understand through the fault of books that don't make sense and lectures by professors that didn't mean anything or didn't mention what was necessary. many of my comrades mentioned that the time we spent in the halls of academia for the past two years have been time wasted. honestly, i don't remember much from that time, but whatever i remember is being brought back into sharp focus.

the strings are slowly winding together and the links in the chain are starting to be reinforced. soon enough, everything will come together and make sense on a totally different level. in time, my power level will be high enough to crush the demon exam and carve out a legend for myself...

"Give me a minute, I'm good. Give me an hour, I'm great. Give me 6 months, I'm unbeatable." - Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith, "The A-Team"

nostalgia

i have recently returned from my trip to the province. once again it was a productive and fulfilling trip, laced with many new experiences and learning opportunities. you know what they say, "life is study". however, i came away from this trip with something else as well - an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. for some reason or another, i have felt this entire week, the same way i felt when i was a kid.

i don't know if it's the music i heard, the food i ate, or the shows i watched on the hotel tv, but something sparked a feeling of pure "back in the good ol' days" nostalgia in me. i've been riding high on this good feeling for a few days now. i hope that it will last. i already think it will, since i'm still feeling it now. it's a feeling that recalls my days playing in the yard with my brother, carlo. it reminds me of the days when we rode to the park on our bikes, spent entire afternoons playing with our action figures and watching cartoons. it reminds me of the summers we had as kids, when your days would be filled with play and looking forward to the newest movie coming out (animated or otherwise).

i've spent this entire trip with my partner in crime. it could be that she was the one who awakened such good feelings over the last few days. it could be that the promise of a summer together, in a schedule all our own, without the intervention of others that gives me that feeling of child-like freedom. whatever it is, this is the feeling that i've been missing from my summers for so long. i haven't felt this way since grade school. it excites me and energizes me for the hardships to come.

this summer will also require discipline if we are to follow our plan and accomplish our mission. but, i am ready. i am ready for what's ahead of us. i hope that this good feeling will ride it out with me and make this summer an unforgettable one....