Power of intention

So I said I'd get a few things done over break. I would post my games from the Millennium Chess Festival, I would finish my assembler program, and I would beat Through the Fire and Flames on expert level.

I talked to Sarah on the phone on Thursday night, and we might hang out some tonight. I haven't spent more than 30 seconds with her since...October, I think. She's a lot more important to me than that statistic would indicate. Last year, I was working the 24-hour desk at good ol' Lee Hall, and she'd always make a point to visit me during my Friday afternoon shifts. I still haven't gotten over the feeling I had when, probably around a year ago, during one graveyard shift, around 2:30 in the morning, she showed up just to say hi and hang out for a little while, and she gave me a Sudoku book to keep me occupied while no one was coming to the desk. That was probably one of the coolest things anyone has ever done for/to me.

Anyway, I was in the middle of my assembler program when I talked to her (fine...I was actually taking a break and playing Guitar Hero, trying to beat Through the Fire and Flames on expert), and I told her that I would have said program done so that hanging out would be possible (or easier, anyway). Up to that point, I wasn't really organized in my programming...I just started coding and hoping for the best...kind of like trying to paint a masterpiece by spraying paint through a fire hose. The program compiled and worked, but it wasn't fully functional. Keeping with the analogy, technically I created a painting, but it wasn't worth anything.

So having said I would get it done, I pretty much scrapped the entire program (that I had been working on for pretty much 12 hours straight), and started over. I actually made a plan, wrote pseudo code, and all that stuff, and I put out a working program within an hour. So check one thing off my list.

I promised I would beat Through the Fire and Flames on expert before Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out, and I just did it about an hour ago, so check that off too. Phew...done with 6 hours to spare.

Haven't studied my openings as much as I wanted to, but I'll do that soon enough.

First post

First post on blogspot...

First of all, here's the mandatory link to the old blog...
http://eMan2718281828.livejournal.com

Spring break be here, and somehow, I will finish the assembler program by tomorrow. It's due on the 11th, but I really don't feel like doing it in the last two days of break.

The biggest news of late is that I'm fresh off a trip to Virginia Beach last weekend for the Millennium Chess Festival...the beach was chilly and windy...and almost completely empty. Not quite beach season, I guess. But no matter. All of us had our moments in the tournament...Udayan won the Under-2200 section with 4.5 points out of 5, Eric had 3/5 in the open, beating 2 National Masters and a Women's FIDE Master. I had a pretty slow start, but I crushed two people on the last day, although I let a win get away in the endgame and settled for a draw in one of the games. I guess that brings me to my point.... People have asked me why I spend hundreds of dollars, travel hundreds of miles, and spend so many weekends in order to play a game with the possibility of making a meager amount of money. And not just any game, but one often associated with socially inept people who wear thick glasses and are more likely to get a wedgie than the time of day from someone of the opposite sex. The point is, I do it because I love it. I study the game and its theory because I love it. I love to play and to come up with brilliant combinations and to meet and socialize with other players who enjoy the game as much as I do. I think everyone has a passion like this for something, whether it's a game, an academic subject, or a career, and we're at our best when placed in such an environment. I'm at my best when I'm playing chess or Ultimate, and when I let that love spill into other areas of my life, the same passion will show up.

I'll post my games when I retrieve my scorebook...I left it in the apartment before I left for break.

To do list for break, in order of importance:
- Finish assembler program
- Study openings
- BEAT DRAGONFORCE ON EXPERT