Candidate Journals

Doing something well takes time, commitment and tons of effort. Need more time! 

Well with the physical and written test over, the end is finally in sight! The requirements are coming to a close (just finishing up the last few) and feeling pretty condifdent. Just a couple more sparing classes and mentor/mentee sessions and I should be done! 

Today was a good day getting rid of some dead wood around the property. Along with working with the boys for school, it was fun to build a big fire and create natures television. There's just something about a fire. I got next to no requirements completed today. My shoulders giving me some pain, so I'm going to take it easy today. Once in a great while I listen to my body. Most days I hit the mute button. When you get close to 50, something is going to ache. It's cool seeing the green bar going almost all the way across the requirements page. Connor keeps freaking out as the daily requirements keep telling him to do 500 push ups a day. I'm not sure when the website has the completed date, but it must be soon. It's giving Connor a coronary. I'm going to cut this one short. Move...

Are ya'll getting motion sick when you run? Because at the gym, I was running, Toward the bathroom! When I was running, I suddenly just got sick, but then it suddenly went away. It might be because I haven't had a break from running in a while and my stomach really needed one, so that's why I'm taking a rest tomorrow. But on Friday, I will run again! If anything, I need to take every sparring class I can. 

Today the weather was really nice... outside at least, at school every single classroom felt like a sauna and honestly the school day couldn't end fast enough. But afterwards I got to enjoy the nice drive outside and had lunch with my mom outside as well. I really enjoyed spending time with her as there isn't much more time for the two of us to get lunch together. 

Today was a homeschool day so we got to sleep in. Usually, homeschool days are short but this one went really long. When I finally got done it was about 4:00 in the evening so I was not happy. I wish I could redo this entire day which would have helped me a lot better.

Wow... even March is coming to an end. This year is gonna past by in a flash just like last year. 

Are we doing movie names for the last few weeks of cycle? The day after tomorrow will hopefully be my 2nd to last sparing class! 

Old movie quote that came to mind. What it means to this entry? Not a thing. I just like the way it sounds. I'm seeing a lot of tired candidates. Including myself. The good news is, that is you shedding your old weakness and becoming something stronger. As much as these cycles can be a pain in the southside. I believe that it's going to be the best thing you and I have ever done. Nobody remembers the easy times in their lives. It's the stuff that makes you want to crawl under a rock and start clicking your fancy red shoes, saying, "there's no place like home." Those are the times that stick with you and define the martial artist you start to become. Here's a little story that happened during my service years. I tried out for this job that was called Pararescue, which was basically search and rescue....

Tonight my soccer practice was canceled so I went to take class instead. I helped out in the family class to get a Leadership 1 because I am so low on them. For Black Belt Class we worked on the self defenses and poomsaes that we needed to know. It was a different night that helped me so I can keep myself going.

It's about time I get to wear shorts. It's as though since we had all those hot days in February, March had to be extremely cold. But now, Spring weather has returned the favor with sunlight showers and blossoming trees in the 70's. It's about time I'm not wearing a sweater and a coat every where I go.JK. Luckily I didn't have a lot of makeup work, or, as some prefer, absent work. I only had 1 assignment to do. So that was a true miracle. I seriously need to catch up with my jump rope though. I'm going to need to start bringing it to the gym from now on. So many people are so close to 10,000 on pushups and sit-ups and I feel like it's taking forever for me to be done with the 9000's. If only I could 600 in a day. If only...:`(

As the days get warmer and warmer I feel even better as I can actually enjoy being outside and walking to classes around campus. Nothing makes me feel happier than driving around town with my windows rolled down, listening to music, and wearing my sunglasses. I really enjoy this time of year for that feeling. 

Today was just another boring Tuesday. Another day with more homework and school work. 

My Nonny came to visit and spend the night with us. She came because my mom had to do some stuff to defend her dissertation. I really like when Nonny comes to visit because I love her a lot. I get to sleep with her when she comes. She bought us Hawthorne's Pizza for dinner. 

Today while I was in class, my mom and sister picked out a shrub for me.  I really like it. Except for the bird poop on it.  My mom said that birds are a symbol of good things to come. I hope that means that i will do well when i test and on my EOG's. Its late and i can't sleep and i needed to do my journaling sooner anyway.

Spent a good part of the day waiting for the septic man. That would be a weird superhero name, Septic Man. Well, as much as I would love to dive into that one, this guy was really helpful and now we can continue with the pool construction. You see, our septic lines ended up right where the pool is going to be. So, since the pool is in the most ideal spot, we are planning on moving the septic lines. Tricky stuff, because that requires a permit from the Health department. Fortunately, the Septic Man, knows the guy from the county and is making that easy. Maybe he is a superhero. I wonder what his alter ego secret identity would be, a pharmaceutical salesman? I also just realized today that I typed the wrong essay last week. I was looking at the bocho to 1st don. I guess the glasses were...

I am ready for the new week and even though it is midterm week I am prepared and ready. Seems like it is one test after another but hey no reason to fret and worry. 

Today I was so nervous because I had a dentist appointment but I was all good so that took a lot of stress off of me. I also got a lot of poomsaes today so I feel really good about that. Same with self defenses. Well, Have a nice week!

Well it is monday, which means a new week begins. What new things will this week bring I wonder!

Today was my friend Nolan's birthday. He had his party this weekend but we celebrated it again today. His party was really fun and we stayed up late. For his birthday we first went to Sports Connection and then went to his house. We played multiple of games there and he had a basketball game going on a screen in his yard. It went really well celebrating his birthday twice and I think he enjoyed it too.

  Today is the first day of  school after spring break. it was good seeing all my friends. The good thing is that I don't have a lot of homework because I had like a lot of tests the week before spring break. It was kind of hard in the morning because I had to be on the school routine not the spring break routine. I really wish that I was on break so I can just have fun and rest. School is not too bad though, even though I have homework, tests, and other stuff. I can still be with my friends.

Yesterday we had the physical test which was pretty tough. Today after I had breakfast I went straight to requirements. I did all of them at once which made me really tired. Then, later I had a soccer game which made me more tired. I hope I get some rest tomorrow because I will probably need it.

yesterday was so hard we had our physical and written test and after that we went to a soccer clinic for 2 hours straight it was so crazy but so much fun  

today we got out test scores for the written test and i got a 105/105 yeah! Me and one other bo cha don got the highest test scores and i am super duper excited yah

   Today I finished an essay for school. I really hate essays. They are so boring and take a long time. The essay I took today is supposed to be a fun essay. It was O.K I mean. The good thing was that I could really make up anything because the topic is about the worst spring break ever. The thing is that I really hate essays so I would not enjoy it. I am glad it is over.

As my requirements are running down I can see my journey coming to an end I am ready to take that next step and feel the enjoyment of fulfilling this life long dream. 

Today is my birthday. I still have to do requirements though. I did a lot of them this morning, but I still have to do my run. Today is a good day.

Now that I have the physical and written parts of testing done i am ready to finish everything else! I missed two questions on my written exam.  My mile run was bad, too. But, my chest was hurting because I'm still sick

Instructor Camp - CheckPhysical and Written Exam - Check Congrats to everyone on the physical and written exam. It is strange that I do more pushups and situps then that in any given day, but I am feeling the effects of the physical exam more. I think it is because I spread out everything else into multiple reps of 25 while yesterday we got everything done in what? 1 hour pretty much?

As part of the black belt requirements we have to buy a shrub and take care of it. We went to Lowe's and looked at roses and other plants. I really wanted something with pink flowers but my mom said it wasn't a shrub. I ended up with a blueberry shrub because she said that would be ok. I hope I can take care of it and not let it die.

Somehow, Connor beat me on the written test. I'm not sure which ones I messed up on, and now I will probably not hear the end of it for awhile. I actually had a good time this morning. I should have done a little better on some of the physical requirements, but hey, I'm still able to walk, so that's a good day. So now it's time to write some essays and finish up those requirements to put those to rest. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's hopefully not a train. Rest well candidates. Tomorrow is promised to no one.

Today we finished the written and physical portion of the exam and I am glad that it is over and that I finished strong and can focus on the other portions of the test.

I think everybody did a great job on the physical and written test. I am really, really tired after those two miles followed by pull-ups and V sit-ups. Then I went home and had a really big fudge cherry bomb. It truly was amazing. Well, I hope you guys have a nice day! Good Bye!

Today I met my goal and ran a mile in 12 minutes and 24 seconds. We had to take our written and physical tests today and while I was nervous I did really well. I think I got a lot correct on the written test. I didn't get to see my friends because they were sick. 

I jus got home for PNO. I had fun, but I'm not feeling well and tomorrow is a big day! Heading to bed and getting rest before physical and written testing. I hope i do good on it!

Today we had to prepare for tomorrow so we would pass the test. We finished up our journals first, then we studied the test a lot so we would get a good grade. I hope that my dad and I pass it because we did a lot of studying and writing today.

Today was senior skip day so I got to get some extra sleep and prepare for the written test and work on some of my essays. I am ready for tomorrow and I can't wait to finish part of the test. 

Tomorrow we are taking the written test. Tomorrow I am also having my birthday party. Today was a good day.

Twas the night before testing, and all through the dojang, not a creature was stirring, not even a... umm... Well I can't rhyme with dojang so I give up. Anyway, testing tomorrow. Really wish my allergies would give up so that I can breath while running. Anyone have the ambulance on standby for me tomorrow? 

Last of class for this week. :) Going to spend some time with my instructors this afternoon to finalize our first promotional video. 

M y spring break is basically over. I am kind of sad because I have to back to school and there will be a lot of tests and a lot of homework. the good thing is that I can see my friends and have a good time with them. This spring break felt so long because it was no that really fun and my friends were mostly out town.

Testing is almost here. Another day down and another day closer. I feel confident about the written test but I hate the physical portion (can we be done with running already?)

Couple more days til the test and I''m still looking for some final answers to a couple of questions. I am not the best test taker, so preparation is the key. Juggling everything is tricky. This will be one of those days when I look back and smile after it's all done. I found an interesting fact today, if you live in a house, have food aplenty, and have the means of transportation, you are in the top 15% of the wealthiest people of the world. Isn't that scary? That 85% of the worlds population may not have a roof, or food to eat on a regular basis, and are forced to walk or ride a bike everywhere they go. It's an interesting statistic how good we really have it here. Think about that the next time something doesn't download fast enough, or you mom didn't buy your favorite snack. We...

Today for English class we are learning about poetry. For our project we have to pick out an event that has happened in our country and write different poems about it. Today we wrote a poem to help us figure out how write one. In Science we are studying about atoms and we use balls and we connect them to form different types of substances. Me and another kid in my group made a lot of different things with them. It was pretty fun getting to use them. But other than those things my day was normal and not much exciting things happened.

todya we got Buffalo Wild Wings and it was good. I had a whole bunch of tests not so good but I did good one them. Okay was pretty good

Today has not been a ver good day. I had conferences with my teacher and that went well. But, i feel really sick today. Now I'm headed to class. I have another essay to write today too.

Always doing the hard things will eventually pay dividends. :) 

Worked on my statistics project today, so far my results have been different than expected and people haven't been understanding the question is about. I have almost 100 answers have one more group to do and then I will have finished the first part. 

It's going to be an essay night, so this will be short and shorter. I'm still suffering from sinus issues for some reason. The stuff just doesn't want to leave. This should be called the In-Law virus. It comes in to your house, drops their bags anywhere, brings you great pain and suffering, and won't leave. The cool news is I have this giant backhoe in my back yard. My friend and grader, Mike Stirwalt, is going to start clearing the land for our pool. If you ever need a guy who understands water run off and land usage, he's your guy. This should be a fun process. Ok, I have stayed too long. I have other writings to do. See you in class.

Today our grading guy was starting to put his machines out because he is going to dig us a pool. For his machines he has an excavator, a dump truck, and some other machines that help him get the job done. This is the second project he is doing for us and it is going to require some big machines. It takes him some time but he can get the job done, even with one person. I can't wait to see the pool in our backyard.

Today was the last day of school for this week! I'm excited to have a few days off so that i can study and write more essays! My work out for today was 50 pushups, 40 sit-ups, 30 pushups, 20 sit-ups, 10 pushups and the repeat. I also had to do 2minutes of jumping rope and 2minutes of sparring. It was tough, but I did it!

I was afraid I was falling behind in my requirements so I have been running more than I would like (anything over 1 mile is a struggle but just have to push thru every time) and been doing pushups until my arms aren't functional for the next few hours AND then I audited my requirements and it looks like it thinks the cycle ends weeks before it really ends (I don't know why I am surprised when it did this last cycle too). So at least my requirements will be over faster than necessary! 

 I love my spring, but I also hate it. I like spring break because you can rest , go out , and have a great time. the bad the thing about my spring break is that most of my school friends are going out and my other friends still are in school. when I am at home there is nothing to do, unless we go out. I still really love my spring break, but I hat it sometimes too.

Really proud of my students today. Showed a lot of effort during physical fitness week. Hopefully, we'll keep the momentum and be full force tomorrow as well. :) 

Interesting how things go from cold to hot in a eye blink. It did make for a pleasant run though. It was nice to sit outside and watch Connor's soccer practice. I'm a little fuzzy right now, so I think I'll actually get a good night rest tonight. Short and sour, with a hint of oregano. Enjoy 

Today was a hard day for me. I slept very late last night due to a large amount of homework. I have been very sleepy all day today and my extra cirrucular activities didn't make it any better. Hope tomorrow is a better and brighter day! Good Night!  

Tomorrow I leave for my field trop to Williamsburg and I know it will be a lot of fun. I just finished packing so I am ready. The ride there has a lot of detours so it will take awhile. We leave at 7:00 A.M. and arrive at 8:30 P.M. I only have one question on my test so I will finish that at the hotel. Well, Good Night!

I am starting to work on a project that will force me to talk to people who I don't know I am looking forward to it!

Today we had PE and our teacher is Mrs. Ford who is also in my black belt class. We warmed up first and then started with games. We played bowling from a far distance outside. It was windy and we used dodge balls as bowling balls so the balls rolled off the path sometimes. They missed the two pins a lot so each round we got closer and closer to the bowling pins. The class was really fun and I can not wait to do it next week.

This morning I ate four bowls of cereal!  It was yummy! During P.E. time I ran two miles which is 10 laps. My teacher said I had a good day! Now I'm headed to crossfit, so I can get my last nine pull-ups done.

So I have asked 3 different people and gotten 3 different answers on "How many king tiger schools are in North Carolina". Anyone want to clarify this one? 

 Last night was really fun. I went to my first basketball game. The seats were really good because I won a raffle for my friend's sister party like thing. The was not really intense because the hornets won by like 20 points. The game was still very fun. The cool thing was that I caught a  hornets T-shirt  that they through in the air. Last night is a night I will never forget.

Further reevaluating teaching methodology. As an educator I'm reverberating, I have not taught until my students have learned. 

As my requirements start to wind to the finish I am feeling a great sense of pride and relief to know that I have almost finished. I am feeling great as I am almost finishing this cycle and have 49 days of school left. But once after the cycle is over I have my AP Exams. Looking on the horizon and seeing the finish to so many things makes me step back and really think about all of the things that I have experienced over the past year. 

I guess it's time to start writing. If only I could come up with something on paper. Had a good time in class tonight. The little tigers are funny little buggers. Also just learned that our tea ceremony is going to be on Connor's birthday, which we were going to spend at the lake with his friends. I think it will be a cool present to receive his 2nd don belt on his birthday. Now I just need to share the news to my wife without her throwing something at me. Or at least something non-heavy. It's always dangerous grounds messing with any woman's party plans. It all started with the wedding, which the groom is just a side note in the event, and is to be seen but not heard. Pray for me.

So, I won't be here on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday because of I'm going on a field trip to Williamsburg, VA. So I won't be able to take sparring class and I need to get more of those. On the contrary, I only have two-hundred basic kicks left. I want to do them right now but I am really tired. So I am going to keep this journal short tonight, so, Good Night!

Today during Nature Study class at school we got to go deep into the woods. It was cool and there were a lot of branches and trees that were dead. We came across a lot of rivers too so we had to jump over them. My teacher said that we will someday come back in the woods so that I am looking forward to that.

Another day down, another day closer to testings. Gotta write those essays and start studying more!

I NEED TO DO A LOT MORE JUMP ROPE TO GET CAUGHT UP I NEED TO WORK HARDER  I CAN DO IT I CAN DO IT 

today i watched a movie and it was called hidden figures and for lunch i got chick-fil-a and it was really good  

Today I got the flu. I do not feel so good. i feel sick. I do not go to school. Today is a bad day.  

Today I tried to go mute at school.  it didn't go so well. I couldn't make it an hour. Then, i yelled at a friend at school and had to write him an apology letter. Now my mom has me doing a crazy WOD before i go to class. 

Finishing up my class plans for the week. It's going to be tough classes this week. :)

The new Iron Fist series is out on Netflix. Regardless if your a Marvel fan or not, the fighting scenes are awesome! But it is not for younger eyes. I've been down in the basement trying to do my requirements with the show on, and keep finding myself doing nothing but watching tv. Not very productive. Had a nice day, went to church, cleaned up the back yard, and burned wood like an arsonist. Got rid of a lot of dead wood lying around the property. I'm cutting this one short. It's late and I might do that work thing tomorrow. Sleep well. Unless your reading this while your driving, then, stay alert! And get off your phone!

Long day today.  I have been pretty tired this weekend planning on catching up on sleep tonight.  Had a birthday party at around 3 which went very well!

I have been recollecting a lot recently of the impending end of a very long chapter of my life, which is public education. I have realized that there is only about fifty something days of my senior year. I am ready to check this off and move onto the next part of my life. 

Just realized that my dad and I were going to throw a baseball outside to practice but we completely forgot. That doesn't make me mad but it does make me upset. Today I got a good bit of requirements in. I am so close to being finished with basic kicks. Once I'm finished with that, I'll be able to focus more time on jump rope and pull-ups and stuff like that. Well, I am pretty tired and I want to do a long journal but I'm afraid I need to go to sleep. So, Good Night!

  Today was a pretty normal day . I just went out for lunch and came back home. When I got home I went for a run. Then me and my friend went for a bike ride in our neighborhood. The last thing we did was just play some basketball. It was pretty fun. The problem is that he has school tomorrow and I don't because I am on spring break. Today was a normal day.

I woke up with a really bad stomach ache. I had to sit on the sofa for a while. Then I went upstairs and napped. Then my mom made me go run when I felt a little better. 

Today after we cut down trees we burned them. The fire went on for a while and we kept supplying it with wood. During it burning our neighbor cut down another tree which was very dead. That was added to the fire and so was some pieces of cardboard. I also helped my dad drive a tractor to a pile to pick up logs of wood. Our neighbors were also burning wood that kept on going through the evening so this day has been filled with fires burning everywhere.

Today, after sparring and black belt class, I came home and cut down a tree. A large sweet gum tree in our back yard that had grown and twined together with a red maple. The wife wanted the maple but not the sweet gum, so, Foster get to cut big tree down and it went boom! Actually, it didn't come down as planned. Oh, it came down, and fell where I wanted it to, it just decided to make it as challenging as possible. I placed a rope to the top and pull it with a come-a-long toward the direction I wanted it to fall. Then I made my wedge cut on the fall side, then cut it across the back side. It just shifted on the truck but stood there. Completely detached, but stood there, mocking me. So it was time for plan B. I tied another strap to the...

I went to my swimming class this morning then i had my BBC class. I really like doing pull-ups now. Although i finished all of my requirements for it. Im still going to do it. Today i had a ton of work to do.  But, i finished and i was able to play on my iPad.

Today from the the evening to the night our neighbors had a cookout and invited us to it. They made chicken wings and corn on the cob. I had thirteen wings and two cobs of corn so my stomach was satisfied. After that we played ping pong and other games and soon had to go to bed to rest after a good night.

Today I was mute for 12 hours. And I had to go to sparring and black belt but I got through it. We to see Beauty and the Beast. I really liked the movie. For dinner we went to Melting Pot. They used Fondue. It is one of my favorite places to go. 

I am feeling better my knee has started to feel better since I started taking my medication. Requirements have started getting easier and easier since I started taking them. 

Yesterday we had the post testing dinner and today we had the post testing celebration! Mr. and Mrs. Hartle, my mom, my dad, my brother and I went bowling and did some laser tag at Spare Time tonight. It was very fun. I did terrible at bowling though. It was very sad and depressing. If there was a sport called "Gutter Ball" I would be the world champion. I did better at the end though. However, in laser tag me and my dad did the best on the team which I knew would happen because I'm amazing and we think exactly alike. We're supposedly twins, that is, if he had hair. Before he went into the Navy he had Red hair and it was curly like mine use to be. But then he had to get it shaved. So sad. All that precious luxurious red. Now it's just a gray shave....

I thought being dizzy when standing was a norm Lieberman. Ha, as much as I would love to take credit for your misery, that would require us to be in some sort of contact. You didn't happen to received an empty envelope with no return address on it, did you? Well, hopefully you have had your share of chicken noodle soup and many dates with the nettie pot. I know I sure have. A new dawn to breaking, and sparring is tomorrow. Not to mention I have a new strain for your to try. It's called, Whichendisgoingtoexplodefirstia. Hope you feel better brother. 

Today I had a science test, literature test, and a math quiz. They all went well. I am so I happy stayed up late  studying for my science test. I am so happy because now I can rest and relax. I am not going anywhere for spring break. the sad part of today is that I was going to see a movie called LOGAN, but the tickets are sold out, but am probably going tomorrow.

Today is St. Patrick's day which is my name day. It is also my parents wedding anniversary. They have been married for 10 years. We went to food trucks at a brewery called Cabbarrus Brewing. I had chicken wings!

Today I got sick and I am not feeling well.  Hopefully I will be able to go to sparring class tomorrow. I did get some requirements done though.

Ever since I got sick I have been sick I have never felt like that I have been getting better. I actually feel a little worse. My dad has tried a few things to help me but the next day I don't feel much better. Well, I hope I get done with it before the cycle is over if I am going to get through.

So was preparing to write my journal entry and read a couple of the entries that were listed at the top and low and behold, the first one is from Brian Foster about he is getting over his sickness... If he is the one who gave me this lingering flu... sigh... Tamiflu has sped up the recovery time but a side effect is I am dizzy about 80% of the time I am standing. I am hoping to be well enough to go to black belt class tomorrow (need a couple more and the available oppertunities are dwindling down). On a side note, I beat a personal record! 102.7 degrees body temp! I think that may be a new all time high for me! 

There's nothing like getting over your sickness. It's like unveiling a curtain in front of you displaying the world as it really is. I spent most of my day outside thankfully. It was actually a nice day to be outside. Then, unexpectedly, Trent tested for his next belt and did beautifully. His pomsae looked great and he had to perform in front of all the black belt class. Which, he feels, are his people. In his mind, everyone came over to watch him test and cheer him on. I didn't dare tell him that they were just getting ready for class. I think that made his day. And of course, like an idiot, I didn't take a single picture. Katherine asked to see a video (like I normally do) of him testing and I just stood there with my mouth open like a two car garage. I got the eye roll....

Today we had no King Tiger classes because of testing. I helped so that was nice that I got a leadership in. We now have two new BoCho Dans! Woo! Woo! We also got some new high white belts, blue belts, green belts, high blue belts, red belts, high red belts, high green belts, yellow belts, and high yellow belts. For our post testing celebration we went to La Unica and I ordered some Fajitas and for some reason my Dr. Pepper was much larger than it usually is. That's fine though, it just means more soda for me! Thankfully I have no homework because I'm tired and it is late at night. I just wanna say congratulations to everyone who Tested! Good Night!

Worked with a group of students today and it made me think of ways to hep improve my teaching methods. I am trying to make my teaching style more effective and help the students more than I could in the past. 

Today my father got something called Google home. You can ask it questions it can answer most of them for you and most of them for you.It is very good entertainment for me and Erik.It is so AWESOME!!!

Today I was very sick so I had to skip school. My sickness was terrible so I didn't feel right for entire day. I wish I could make myself better but I can't get rid of this awful sickness. I also had to skip Black Belt Class so my dad and brother went instead. If I could change this day entirely I would so that I would feel great.

Today, finding the balance between authoritative and entertaining. Students must show some effort but it's an educator's responsibility to make the curriculum exciting. :) 

Went to the orthopedic doctor today, unfortunately got semi bad news I have a contusion in my left knee and am suffering from a problem when my knees are having trouble supporting itself. So I have to take anti-inflammatory for a month and do physical therapy for a month. But the good news is that I can still train and test just another little thing to overcome but I am ready to handle it.  

I'll be happy when spring springs!!!  My mom made me run a mile in the cold today. I was angry because it was cold. But< afterwards she got me two doughnuts. i wonder if she will do it again if i run in the cold tomorrow. I looked at the weather and it will be cold again.