Paul Kasaija

1/19/21

8:26 PM

 

The main improvement activities that spanned the day were improving my exercise routine, trying out new things while cooking dinner, specialized videos on blockchains (the crypto platform), and reading articles on Business Insider. Not to mention writing this journal to keep tabs on what I do on a day-to-day basis— I think that it is not only very helpful in forwarding myself but it is cathartic as well.

 

Beginning with the first activity, exercise, or as they call it “gains”: my regular routine is very tailored to my intermediate level—Either beginning or at the end of the day, I go on the pull-up bar and work on getting 10 in a row with good form, then I head outside to do jump ropes for 10 minutes, and after being thoroughly drained from that I go on to do 60 weight-elevated push-ups, 60 slow rise but continuous sit-ups with 100 10lb dumbbell tricep raises intermittently, 120 lunges (60 each leg) with one 10lb bicep curl on each lunge, 6 one minute planks (which I recently progressed to two 2-minutes and two 1-minutes), and 120 Russian twists while rotating the 10lb weights. Recently, my record has been to get it done in around an hour and 20 minutes, which is only possible for me if I focus on reducing rest times and continuously exercising in sets of 10-20 (30 in a row for jump-ropes).

 

I got that done fairly quickly and then helped with cooking dinner for the family, who returned soon after I finished exercising. In college, since I cooked for myself quite often, I improved to “perfection” the routine of cooking chicken: that is just a staple for us students. So, I cut and breaded chicken, along with corn and a pepper roux sauce that worked well with it all. Dinner was good, very good if I can say so myself (because I don’t always do it well on the first try).

 

It was quite late when I got started with finishing a section of Blockchain training videos on a platform created by a company called Blockchain Training Alliance. On it, one learns about the specialized tools and use cases of each blockchain technology, including Ethereum (which is also crypto), Hyperledger, and Blockchain. Each technology has its own benefits, but the main benefits of blockchain technology are the fact that it has huge ledgers (like permanent databases) that run on peer-to-peer networks, without relying on a central authority or government. It provides next-generation security and encryption that not only serves as a platform for distributing cryptocurrency but all kinds of things: automobile deeds, healthcare records, product distribution, and much more. So I completed a BTA section and went downstairs to browse the web for information that drove my curiosity.

 

A certain curiosity was the main factor for me reading some articles on Business Insider-- what are the benefits and what am I losing out on if I stay at my current bank. Wells Fargo has had some major problems in recent years related to illegal actions, like creating fake accounts and illegitimately charging accounts, that brought scorn and a bad reevaluation from the Better Business Bureau, the evaluators of a company’s credibility. Not only that, but the practical benefits of being a member are lacking: savings account options don’t provide much annual interest, and there aren’t many benefits besides having a decent checking account fee and many ATMs and locations. In the article that I read, they evaluated Wells Fargo certainly less than the other banks but said that it really depends on whether they have a lot of bank and ATM locations where you work or live. I find convenience to really be one of the most important values for a bank in my current living situation, so Wells Fargo currently wins by sheer pervasiveness, but in the future, I may have to turncoat in search of better savings account features and more options.

Additionally, I watched and read articles relating to the inauguration of America’s president-elect Joe Biden (which happens on the 20th). I definitely hope that the next presidency marks a radical shift in the dire political polarization of our country and brings an end to the viral death and destruction of the Coronavirus pandemic in our homeland. We can’t do all that without a great leader, but what we can do in this seemingly endless separation from the normal is keep optimistic and productive in our self-improvement, our jobs, and our lives at home in general.