(not) Alex's journal
Dec 22, 2014 20:26:25 GMT -5
Post by Alex Vasilyevich on Dec 22, 2014 20:26:25 GMT -5
In the two years I have been absent from Hammel, my char has undergone some interesting changes. This journal is a way for me to better understand these changes. I write in first person just to get inside his head better.
A Recap of 2012. Part One:
I entered Hammel almost two years ago. The shock of packing my bags and moving from Russia to the United States was less than expected. I traveled completely alone. When I landed a representative of Hammel drove me to the school. The ride was rather quite. He made some comments about the school, the weather, and change in general. I didn't pay much attention. I was thinking about the trees, how they were one ocean and one continent distant from my home. In my dorm room I immediately organized everything thus that it resembled my bedroom. I put the bed by the window. I put the desk next to the closet. etc.
The time was 10:30 am, but my jetlagged body felt like the am was actually pm. I consumed two Five Hour Energies and went to bed at the usual nine o'clock. My alarm clock woke me at five. I ate oatmeal. I am studied chess for three hours. At eight thirty I went to class. after seven hours of tedium I returned to my room, did some yoga, and watched a little tv on my laptop till dinner time. After dinner I spent three more hours studying chess. Then I went to bed. I was determined to live my life as if the 4,600 mile displacement had never occurred.
Over the next year my schedule often deviated from the norm. At school I met some interesting
On the weekends I would sometimes go to chess tournaments in the New England area. This seems as good a time as any to talk about what chess was to me two years ago.
Have you ever wished to be an Olympic athlete, or win the prize for "best (blank) in the world". Most children feel this desire. Most parents feign encouragement saying "you can be whatever you like sweety". But the parents never do anything to make the desire a reality because they don't want to force their child into dedication. Sooner or later the child forgets about the passion they had, and they go on to live boring normal lives.
Well, I wanted to be the greatest chess player in the world, and because I showed real talent my parents gave me the opportunity to strive after the goal. They provided me with a good coach, and even let me go to some international events. Sometimes they had to force me into dedication. (my father was quite good at convincing me.) At times I wanted to give up, never play again, but they wouldn't let me. I would beg them to let me be a normal child, but my father would tell me "other people are normal, you are great." Sometimes, especially after a failure, I wouldn't believe him, but my father was too formidable a man for me to outright contradict him.
Some people think it is silly to study chess. "it's a game" they say. To such people much can be said, but the most apt thing to say is "go suck a wet noodle." Such people do not understand and cannot understand. The pieces do not dance in their heads like sugar plum fairies. They do not know the thrill of the fight. The joy of victory; the despair of defeat; the rush of adrenalin when the game stands upon the edge of a knife. They see a board with 64 squares and 32 pieces moving on it. I see a dance of death. Two intellects locked in a Darwinian struggle for survival.
Despite my strict study schedule, and frequent skype lessons with my coach, my tournament performances in the US were quite lackluster. My coach gave me some advice. He said, "You are being distracted by school and all your American friends. You should get up earlier, and stop wasting time." My friend Pyotr suggested that we start studying together via skype.
A Recap of 2012. Part One:
I entered Hammel almost two years ago. The shock of packing my bags and moving from Russia to the United States was less than expected. I traveled completely alone. When I landed a representative of Hammel drove me to the school. The ride was rather quite. He made some comments about the school, the weather, and change in general. I didn't pay much attention. I was thinking about the trees, how they were one ocean and one continent distant from my home. In my dorm room I immediately organized everything thus that it resembled my bedroom. I put the bed by the window. I put the desk next to the closet. etc.
The time was 10:30 am, but my jetlagged body felt like the am was actually pm. I consumed two Five Hour Energies and went to bed at the usual nine o'clock. My alarm clock woke me at five. I ate oatmeal. I am studied chess for three hours. At eight thirty I went to class. after seven hours of tedium I returned to my room, did some yoga, and watched a little tv on my laptop till dinner time. After dinner I spent three more hours studying chess. Then I went to bed. I was determined to live my life as if the 4,600 mile displacement had never occurred.
Over the next year my schedule often deviated from the norm. At school I met some interesting
On the weekends I would sometimes go to chess tournaments in the New England area. This seems as good a time as any to talk about what chess was to me two years ago.
Have you ever wished to be an Olympic athlete, or win the prize for "best (blank) in the world". Most children feel this desire. Most parents feign encouragement saying "you can be whatever you like sweety". But the parents never do anything to make the desire a reality because they don't want to force their child into dedication. Sooner or later the child forgets about the passion they had, and they go on to live boring normal lives.
Well, I wanted to be the greatest chess player in the world, and because I showed real talent my parents gave me the opportunity to strive after the goal. They provided me with a good coach, and even let me go to some international events. Sometimes they had to force me into dedication. (my father was quite good at convincing me.) At times I wanted to give up, never play again, but they wouldn't let me. I would beg them to let me be a normal child, but my father would tell me "other people are normal, you are great." Sometimes, especially after a failure, I wouldn't believe him, but my father was too formidable a man for me to outright contradict him.
Some people think it is silly to study chess. "it's a game" they say. To such people much can be said, but the most apt thing to say is "go suck a wet noodle." Such people do not understand and cannot understand. The pieces do not dance in their heads like sugar plum fairies. They do not know the thrill of the fight. The joy of victory; the despair of defeat; the rush of adrenalin when the game stands upon the edge of a knife. They see a board with 64 squares and 32 pieces moving on it. I see a dance of death. Two intellects locked in a Darwinian struggle for survival.
Despite my strict study schedule, and frequent skype lessons with my coach, my tournament performances in the US were quite lackluster. My coach gave me some advice. He said, "You are being distracted by school and all your American friends. You should get up earlier, and stop wasting time." My friend Pyotr suggested that we start studying together via skype.
