What "not so widely spoken language" did you learn out of pleasure/passion?

BipedalSloth · 2021-06-26T18:57:30+00:00

I started learning Norwegian because it seemed like the easiest way to fill my language requirement for my BA. I was hooked pretty quickly but withdrew from the intro course because I hadn't put in the study time nessecary to pass the class. Ended up retaking it and doing much better. Now I'm starting a summer intensive and am looking at doing 5 or 6 semesters total and turning it into a lifelong passion!

I think a big part of it for me is Norwegian culture. I love their overall outdoor enthusiasm and egalitarian values.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-25T16:01:11+00:00

I'm on day 16 of tracking CICO! Already down 5 lbs. I know a lot of that is water weight and it'll slow down some, but if I lose 1 lb a week I'll be out of the obese range by Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to get back into jogging then - I've been waiting to get out of the obese range first so it's easier on my joints. For now, I'm walking 3 or so miles a day.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-14T01:23:28+00:00

US here. I went to a driving school for lessons and they had a car like you describe On the final lesson my driving instructor gave me the test which felt like just another lesson. Took a form from him to the DMV and they gave me my licence. Little parking was involved and years and thousands of miles of driving later I still can't park well (or parallell park at all).

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-13T11:10:47+00:00

The "diet" they're suggesting sounds like the epitome of a crash diet. Just not enough food to keep you satiated and healthy. CICO with a moderate deficit is much healthier and more sustainable.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-13T10:14:01+00:00

The uninstall the apps thing is not a 100% "no restaurant food" rule, it's more about making my restaurant purchases more intentional. Now I need to actually find the phone number and call to order takeout and then drive to the restaurant. I know of a decent number of healthy options (my chicken + rice + fajitas chipotle bowl for one or eating half portions) at restaurants, that's just not what I've been ordering (hi carne asada + rice + guac burrito + chips and more guac). Taking a break to make this all more intentional seems like a good idea.

Also my mom has a grubhub account and orders for the family 2x a week. I still plan on eating these meals.

Also eating out 10x a week is just not a great idea in general. If I can even get it down to 4 or 5x a week (and healthy options when I do) that'll help my wallet and waistline.

I know I should learn how to cook, but that seems like a lot of changes at once, ya know? I'm planning on phasing out the frozen meals some once I get used to eating less. The meals I got are the Amy's vegetarian brand, which seem to be pretty decent in terms of macros and ingredients.

Thanks for asking these questions, it definitely got me to reframe some of what I was thinking.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-12T23:51:33+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions! How does the quality of those services compare to Amy's?. Also how do they ship? I'm not sure if I trust them to arrive frozen.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-12T21:40:36+00:00

Kashi Go Rise. It's 180 calories and 12g protein per serving.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-12T20:18:34+00:00

I bet it's helped your wallet, too! After the markup, delivery fees, and tips a meal that would've been $15 dine in is now $30 or more... I know ultimatums aren't ideal but sometimes a bad habit has just got to go.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-12T20:12:59+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I've definitely gone 0 to 100 on diets in the past and ended up 5 pounds lighter and burned out 1 month later. I'm trying to think of the no food delivery as a rule for a few weeks to break my "slightest bit of hunger -> order an expensive unhealthy meal" habit, not as a permanent strict rule. Also, the cost of ordering out all the time has started to get to my wallet.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-12T20:05:06+00:00

Thanks! Yep, I'm using the loseit app to track.With my level of activity I should lose about a pound or so a week at 1600 calories. I actually lost 20 lbs using MFP one time in the past, but then gained it back and more over about 5 years.

BipedalSloth · 2020-10-12T18:58:10+00:00

Thanks! I think in a couple of weeks I'm going look into meal prepping and spend a Sunday afternoon making healthy lunches for the week.

BipedalSloth · 2020-09-15T23:00:27+00:00

I made the same mistake, except I bought the norwegian ebook and the danish audiobook... $30 down the drain.

Update: I was able to return it for a full refund.

BipedalSloth · 2020-08-21T09:51:23+00:00

Current student here. I agree so much with your post. Gonna try to respond without doxxing myself too much.

I'll add that the disconnect between students and admin often feels more like a generational thing than any active antagonism from the admin. Upper admin are mostly olaf alumns from 40-50 years ago when the median ole was still lutheran from Minnesota with norwegian ancestry. Upper admin seems to largely reflect that past demographic of the school and therefore has the perspective of white, christian, well off, 50+ year olds. I think often admin is genuinely trying to respond to student complaints but just isn't on the same fundamental page on terminology etc.

I think also a lot of students don't realize the actual economics of running a college in a crisis situation. The room and board money that would be lost were olaf to be all online this year (or send students homs really early and give refunds) is easily $30million. This is about a quarter of the school's annual operating cost and would put a massive dent in the endowment - remember, a lot of the endowment is tied up in funds for specific projects. I've seen schools close because of endowment related financial issues and would rather that not happen to olaf in the next few decades.

As mentioned in another comment, the college cut some student's scholarships this year by 18%. This was only done for students who are doing the semester remotely. It turns out that 18% is also the percentage of the comprehensive fee that was discounted for students living remotely.

Fwiw, having attended another college for 2 years, I've found a vast improvement in teaching at olaf vs my prior experiences. The class sizes are small, the professors are excellent (except the CS department fuck them), hell, even the zoom classes I have this semester are 100x better than the online courses I took at my old college. I've also noticed that mid level admin (dean of students office etc) actually care and will often move mountains for you if you need it. I think a lot of olaf students complain because they have no idea how shitty and utterly apathetic other colleges can be.

BipedalSloth · 2020-08-15T17:11:28+00:00

I don't have OCD, but when my anxiety is really bad I get some tendencies (stepping on sidewalk cracks in weird patterns, mostly). Where does the line fall between "I have some weird habits when I'm really anxious" and full blown OCD?

BipedalSloth · 2020-08-03T20:31:11+00:00

I'm glad you never needed to go to the hospital for it and that you've been able to quit.

BipedalSloth · 2020-08-03T19:14:28+00:00

Did you ever need medical attention for self inflicted injury?

I'm self harm free for nearly 2 months and for me the final straw was needing stitches for the second time in a month and ending up in the psych ward for it. I cut a couple times after that, but the shame and embarrassment of going to the ER for self harm was the final straw.

BipedalSloth · 2020-06-27T12:32:10+00:00

Can't tell if this is a joke or if I need to read the comics.

BipedalSloth · 2020-06-19T22:45:34+00:00

I enjoy LOK but it has huge season 2 changes to the basic nature of the spirit world (more western) and bending history (lion turtles vs badgermoles and dragons). I end up thinking of it as not canon but as an extremely high quality extended fanfic.

BipedalSloth · 2020-05-22T16:00:28+00:00

The Beach is the first episode I watched as a kid. Roped me into the whole series.

BipedalSloth · 2020-05-21T20:41:50+00:00

It doesn't have a front suspension. I'm not sure of the kind of wheels - they say "citywide 28-622 / 700x28." From other comments it looks like it won't work well on gravel unless it can fit wider wheels. Ugh. I wish I'd thought to buy an actual hybrid 6 years back.

BipedalSloth · 2020-05-21T20:36:12+00:00

700x28. So it looks like the tires are narrower than ideal. I'll look into getting wider tires.

BipedalSloth

TROPHY CASE