Overview

Looks like Monday Go Meditation will continue to be on break for a little bit; but on the upside, that comes with the contingency that it seems like I am working my way back into playing games again (which will inadvertently make the MGM’s that much more meaningful as time goes on).

Life and work continues to try to drown me in all of its priorities as I shift gears and prepare to ramp up things. And while I am a tad tired and busted up (particularly from the workouts), it does feel like I am making progress. In addition, I’ve given my training regimen an official tweak with a more variety of problem difficulty along with a new training system I’ve been testing out for a little while. I’ll be sure to post a full review on it when I feel like I’ve fully vetted it.

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Over the last few days, part of my subconscious was nagging me for spending so much time not playing a single game. And while I did play at least one 9x9 game a day, it has been ages since I last played a full 19x19 game in real time. And for those who want to count the one at the Pumpkin Classic, that doesn’t really count since I wasn’t planning to play. So in another sense, I have been avoiding playing games in real time.

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Overview

As the weeks have piled on, it’s only to be expected that I would eventually hit a burnout period of some sort. This week seemed to show signs of it, but I’ve managed to weather the storm for the most part. My training regimen hasn’t been impacted at all, but I’m afraid that Monday Go Meditation will have to be on break next week.

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Although progress seems to have been a bit slow, I’m happy to report that I actually finished Jump Level Up 2 recently. When I first started the book, I have to admit that I was concerned it would take too long; but before I knew it, it’s finished and I’m onto the next volume! Hoorah for steady progress.

Even though I have some concern regarding my lack of playing, I’m still happy that I’m able to continue studying at a consistent pace amidst the craziness of life. In the meantime, I’ll just continue living vicariously through my friends and look forward to the day I will be playing consistently.

Overview

Two months has come and gone. While I haven’t been able to make much headway on time to play more games, it’s been satisfying to know that I have been able to maintain my training regimen all this time. The past me would have been unsatisfied with the progress I’ve made thus far, but I know better than to expect more than what I’ve been able to accomplish. In fact, I’m even in the process of tweaking the training regimen so that it becomes even more effective with minimal effort. I’ll be sure to update it when I think I’ve made a change that has been useful.

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As I continue embarking on an effort to achieve whole board vision on my approach to my life, I have to say that I have nothing but thanks for my past self for designing the training regimen the way I did.

One of the things I noticed about many go players that I have met is that we all seem to view go as much more than a hobby. It is a skill, an embodiment of a philosophy, or simply a core part of who we are. So instead of seeing it as a hobby, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of us would jump at the opportunity to study go or play go on a part-time/full-time basis.

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Overview

Man. The time sure does fly by doesn’t it? It only felt like just yesterday when I rebooted this series and yet here I am seven weeks in.

To be honest, part of me feels like after almost two months, you would think I would have something significant to report; but even this week, the focus is still on the same goal: consistency. At the end of the day, consistency is not nearly so glamorous as a huge gesture of studying that usually fizzles out with an equally bad burnout. On the upside though, I’m at least working on go on a daily basis without impacting the rest of my life in any significant way. And while it still takes a little bit out of me to keep this discipline, I’m thinking that eventually it will become more automatic and ingrained in my routine.

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This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the NOVA Pumpkin Classic Tournament and seeing many friends there. And though I originally planned on playing in the tournament that day, I ended up being on call for work and thus planned on only attending to see friends and show my support.

Upon arrival though, I got convinced to play in the first round since we had even numbers. And while I would have liked to have played for more rounds, it was simply not possible for me to do so with a possible work call coming at any moment.

On the upside, I did get to play a round against an opponent I had played against in the Baduk Open Championship. I had decided to self-promote to 1k this time and was giving her a 2 stone handicap. The following is the game record (which I will be sure to review in a future Monday Go Meditation).

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Overview

As I continue into the second stretch of non-stop hammering of work and attempts to sustain consistency, I’m happy to report that while I feel pretty winded, I don’t feel anything close to burnout yet. On top of that, I’ve actually come to realize that executing my routines first thing in the morning seem to work out pretty well for me. On days that I didn’t manage to do so usually resulted in a last minute scramble to get it done at the end of the night, but I’m hanging on as best I can.

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The only way I can describe the past few days is that it has been a flurry of work and attempts to straighten out other aspects of my life (like working out more consistently and waking up early). On the upside though, I’ve been rather successful at those things and have actually found that doing my training regimen early in the morning is actually quite effective. There’s definitely something about knocking out four pages of problems and playing a game of 9x9 first thing in the morning that really makes for a good start during my day. I’ll be sure to report more later on this week on how it goes.