Sean R. Reid

After fighting, everything else in your life got the volume turned down. – Tyler Durden

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you’ve probably come across my posts about my love of boxing. (So, basically, George knows where I’m coming from.) The sport is truly amazing. Unfortunately I’ve not been hitting the gym much lately. Not the actual gym or the one in my garage.

I’ll save the details for a later post but currently I’m working through some stuff that I think can only be remedied by being broken down ala Fight Club. I’ve learned a few things about myself. Notably, I tend to stand up stronger after being beaten down.

So, it’s time to get back in the proverbial ring. However, I’m at a bit of an impasse. I love boxing, I truly do. The sport is poetry. However I’m wondering if I wouldn’t be better served to go the MMA route and expand into other areas. MMA seems to cover such a broad spectrum that any degree of proficiency is only achieved after seriously breaking yourself down and rebuilding brick by proverbial brick.  I’m also wondering if the same could be achieved by simply modeling my training on some of the CrossFit principles. No doubt it will break me down. However, I’m wondering if taking the “fight” aspect out of my training will impact my intensity.  It may sound twisted but I really enjoy, and currently am missing, those reductive moments of pure animal fury that let me unleash. I *like* feeling like my life is on the line and then going a little batshit crazy to come back from the edge. I’ve long since moved past the point where “vanity” training does anything but serve as a 10 second ego boost.  I want pain.

Finances add a layer of complexity. I really don’t have the luxury of dropping wads of cash at a gym. A lot of the mess I’m dealing with is directly tied to some poor financial decisions. Ironically this makes it difficult to afford the kind of outlets that would help put my mind on the path necessary to fix the aforementioned mistakes.  So, for the moment I’m limited to kicking my own arse.

However, I really think the octagon beckons…

Today is the first day of the last week of a loooooong trip.

I started working at UGA almost 13 years ago as a student worker. I’ve technically worked here on three separate occasions. I started as a student worker then left to work some corporate gigs (and drop out of school the first time). I returned a couple years later and started to pursue a degree again. That lasted for a year or two before I left to work in Gwinnett County Public Schools (and dropped out a second time).  At the time I thought I was gone from UGA for good. However, I still had the unfinished business of getting my degree. So after 5 years or so in GCPS I returned to UGA for the third time. I came back, finished my degree and changed career paths drastically.

Starting a week from today I’ll be a full time web developer. Which, is something I’ve been sort of pretending to be since about 2000.  My goal in 2010 was to make the transition from wanna-be developer/design to full blown developer/designer. That goal became a reality thanks to W3BG. So I’ll be leaving UGA for what appears to be the final time. I look back fondly on the times I’ve spent here. I’ve enjoyed my time and I’ll always be a DAWG. But in an odd way I *finally* feel like I’m a “grown up” and have a career ahead of me. It’s both scary and exciting all at once…

I’ve been trying to track down some of my older blog posts from back in the days when I was coding my own CMS platform over at CycleSixtySix.com. I’ve found a few that were worth revisiting. The following are some of the ones I found worthy.

This particular entry was written after the first time I had been back on a BMX bike in almost 15-20 years.  In the last 5 years I’ve made my on-again/off-again quite clear. I’m really hoping that one day I can return to this kind of pure unadulterated joy that can only be found on two wheels.  This particular entry is also very timely in that it includes an all-too-common New Year’s Resolution.

originally written by: Sean | posted on: 01/04/2004

I busted my ass yesterday.

Third time down a set of stairs, pulled up late, WHAM! I’m on the pavement, sliding on the ground with a couple of stigmata-like wounds as souvenirs.

Did I mention I was riding a bike? A street/flatland BMX to be exact.

Did I also mention that it f*n RULED??!!

Seriously, I loved every minute of the experience. I felt like I was a kid again. Of course, I will grant that when I woke up this morning, I sure as hell felt sore like an old man. But, for those 10 seconds-come-eternity, it was as much fun as I’ve had in a while.
*(others may comment that I am indeed a kid anyhow, but that’s not all relevant at this time)

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I’ve been trying to track down some of my older blog posts from back in the days when I was coding my own CMS platform over at CycleSixtySix.com. I’ve found a few that were worth revisiting. The following are some of the ones I found worthy.

This is another oldie-but-goodie and it’s oddly relevant to my current situation almost 5 years later.  I’m not nearly as dour as I was 5 years ago. I’m much happier now and even my present career track, despite not being where I intend to stay for much longer, is a much better place than where I was in 2004.  Regardless, it’s interesting to take a look back and see what lessons I can learn from  history.

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I’ve been trying to track down some of my older blog posts from back in the days when I was coding my own CMS platform over at CycleSixtySix.com. I’ve found a few that were worth revisiting. The following are some of the ones I found worthy.

originally written by: Sean | posted on: 08/01/2003

Recently I read an interesting article regarding ‘Fantasy Ideology’.

At the risk of oversimplifying, this type of ideology revolves around the idea that any person, or group of people, can believe so strongly in their own perspective that they hold it as an absolute truth. This is also known as not being able to see “the forest for the trees”, or thinking that the world revolves around oneself.

This concept plays out interestingly in my interaction with highschool students. This is not to say that such ideology is non-existent in people over the age of 18. However, I am not exposed to it quite as often as I am while coaching.

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