James profile picture

James

Nescio sed sentio

About Me

I recently graduated from SDSU with a degree in English. I love reading and analyzing literature- in fact I supremely enjoy books by authors who have been dead for a minimum of about 600 years, so my emphasis is esoteric with a capital "E."I love to get up early and enjoy good coffee and equally good books. I also love triathlon and its independent disciplines.I have four girlfriends who take up most of my time, what little money I have and leave me bruised and battered but always wanting more! They are my Cervelo dual, Trek 1500, and my old Raleigh fixed gear, and my new Novara Squadra; I pretty much love bikes.I enjoy immersing myself in the natural world and trembling at the sublimity of nature- it's usually what I always fall back on as immutable when everything else in life is anything but.Currently I reside in Yorba Linda, or as I affectionately call it, "Yorba Limbo," while I get ready to take the GRE's and apply to graduate school.I just try to keep in mind Satre's maxim that our "existence precedes our essence.""The lyfe so short, the craft so long to lerne,/ Th' assay so hard, so sharpe the conquering." -Chaucer

My Interests

Photography, reading books whose authors have been dead for centuries, bass guitar, listening to music, shooting, hiking, running, swimming, biking...actually my new interest to replace the void left from rowing is triathlon, and attempting Latin. I'm also a fan of astronomy (when it's actually clear by the beach) and waking up early to work out and then enjoy a good cup of coffee while reading a good book. I've recently become a second amendment advocate and I enjoy the world of shooting sports and hunting which helps link me closer to nature and also reminds me how easy we really have it!

I'd like to meet:

Anyone driven to accomplish difficult goals and willing to learn from mistakes. Active people interested in pushing their body and mind."Do, or do not, there is no 'try'" -Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')

Music:

To be succinct I like anything with good bass guitar or substance. My two favorite bands would have to be Saves the Day and AFI, and my favorite composer would probably be Bach or Wagner. I also like folk music, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, and James Taylor. Some other good bands are Thrice, The Beatles, Coheed and Cambria and Atreyu, My Chemical Romance, Blues Traveler, Cream, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Death By Stereo, Green Day, Harry Chapin, Hawthorn Heights, Jimi Hendrix, Hot Water Music, Carl Orff, Howlin' Wolf and more...

Movies:

My favorite movies are Lawrence of Arabia, Easy Rider, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Excalibur.

Television:

I avoid TV like the plague-sometimes not successfully.

Books:

My two favorite books would have to be Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY and THE CANTERBURY TALES by Geoffrey Chaucer. Recently I just read a wonderful book by Terry Jones (Monty Python yes!) called Chaucer's Knight. I am also a fan of the works of the Romantic Poets like Keats, Shelley, and Byron. Robert Frost is a joy to read. I truly enjoy reading C.S. Lewis. I also enjoy reading philosophy. In general I try to stay away from the "pot-boilers." Some other books I have enjoyed are: The Republic, Civilization and Its Discontents, Troilus and Criseyde, The Poetics, The Social Contract, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Problem of Pain, The Abolition of Man, The Prince and also Theodore Roosevelt's Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter. Currently reading Hemingway's "Green Hills of Africa."

Heroes:

Lance Armstrong, C.S. Lewis, Chaucer, my family and anyone who overcomes adversity in their lives to reach a goal.

My Blog

Fränk Schleck Crashes Into Ravine Tour de Suisse

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Posted by James on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:51:00 PST

Balance

What a great past couple of weeks. I always used to use the word "balance" like taking a breath. I seriously probably carped some people to death with the word. I always thought I was living it and pr...
Posted by James on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:10:00 PST

The road traveled, beaten, and worn away to a deep trench about shoulder height

No this is not a lengthy diatribe against the bar scene, which most of you know I absolutely despise. But now that I have your attention: During a harder than usual 16 mile run this morning I rea...
Posted by James on Mon, 21 May 2007 04:28:00 PST