Ah, fuck it. haha. So I decided in my last post that I would make this blog private so that I can truly reflect on myself and I wouldn't have to be afraid of anybody from the outside reading this, whether they knew me or not. Now I've made another decision - I don't care. It's okay to let people in sometimes. It's okay to share yourself with people. So, to a new beginning.
First, some personal issues that I have been dealing with. Let me back up a little. So in October, I ended a year and a half relationship with my ex-girlfriend that I loved. We had just moved in together into a brand new place and things were going somewhat well. We had plenty of fights, issues, problems, etc. throughout our relationship but I never thought I would end things. She tried a few, actually more than a few, times to end things but we would always get back together. But in October, a month after we had just moved in, things just started hitting me harder and harder and I was fed up with the relationship. I couldn't deal with any of it anymore and I just needed out. So we ended things or rather I ended things. She was not as friendly towards the breakup as I was. She did try to save things and tried for months but I would not budge because my mind was set and even though I tremendously appreciated the effort she was putting in to try and save our relationship it was still a bit too late. Too many issues, too many problems, too many fights. It was just too much for me. So what happened was I stayed on my friends' couch for a couple months as I looked for a place to stay.
While this was going on, I was happy. I was spending time with my friends and I was "dating". I met a few people and we "dated" for a bit but things never really took off. I ended up not wanting anything further than what was going on with them. I am not trying to be conceited but rather just being real with the facts. Unfortunately though, the latest one now has got me hooked. I find myself thinking about her constantly and wanting to text her throughout the entire day. But I restrain myself from doing this. I do not want to come off needy. We have had conversations and what's come from them is that we're just friends that are hanging out. This I understand and can appreciate but then there are times that confuse the hell out of me. Actions that confuse the hell out of me. I think this is what hooks me. The other girls I've been able to figure out and understand right away and I realize that that is not what I want. But this girl, whether it's a game to her or not, just keeps me thinking. I try to be real with her and express how I genuinely feel but it goes nowhere. I am not the type of person that likes to play "games". I appreciate straightforwardness, whether it goes bad or good. Straightforwardness is something I think everyone appreciates and would like from everybody else.
So, I think about this girl a lot. We hang out every once in a while. It used to be more like a few weeks ago but lately it has been less and less and I've noticed the conversations diminishing to shorter and shorter conversations. Maybe I am over analyzing everything because I do tend to analyze things a lot. I pride myself on the fact that I am always able to look at both sides of an argument. But my analytical mind gets me in trouble sometimes. Granted she has her own life, which includes a full-time job and active social life, so I can't expect her to want to hang out with me as much as I may want to hang out with her.
Another thing, I ended a serious relationship and moved into a new place. I did these things because I wanted to "start my life over". I wanted to readjust myself and focus on me more. I wanted to do more things with my friends and by myself. I wanted to figure out me and what I enjoy doing. So why am I stressing out so much over this girl. I do like her. That is a given. But is it possible that I also just miss having someone to come home to? Prior to my most recent relationship I had a two year stint with another girl. This ended and within a couple weeks I was already in this previous relationship. I did not have a lot of "single" time in between relationships. This has seemed to be my consistent behavior for a while now. I always seem to be in some type of relationship. I thoroughly enjoy my "single" time and any other time where I am by myself or with just friends but I do crave having someone that I can be intimate with and who I can share anything with. Someone that I can come home to or who comes home to me. Someone that I can relax on the couch with while my arms wrap around them with their body pressed up against mine. Someone that I cuddle with in bed with our bodies pressed up so tightly against each other that seriously nothing else matters.
Unfortunately, I have felt this with this girl. I've done all of this with this girl and I want more. So this is how I genuinely know I like her but to what extent I am not sure. I know I like her a lot and I can see a relationship with her but am I rushing into these feelings again? Of course. Should I take things slow? Of course. But do I want to take things slow? Absolutely not. This is not my way. I've had a conversation with a friend about our previous relationships. My friend and I are the same in the way that we both rush into relationships. We dive head first into them and then we see what happens. I believe this is the way you have to deal with new relationships. You dive head first and see if you like it or not. This is how you really figure out if things are working or not. (I think I apply this to my work as well. I am always ready and willing to take on new tasks whether they may be above my head or not. I will get to work in a bit - I have issues on this front as well.)
I don't know what to do about this girl. I've made the decision that I'm not going to read into things too much about her and that I'm just going to let things run their course and if something should happens then great. If something doesn't happen, then I'm not going to be disappointed. I need to just enjoy this time and enjoy my life. I just wish I knew now what to think. Where she stood. Where I should be. What our situation is. She just gets me confused when I wish I wasn't. She's gotten into my head.
Moving on to a new topic... On top of everything else, I am just not happy at work anymore. It is just not enjoyable to me anymore. Plus I don't feel like I get the appreciation or respect that I deserve. I know I am appreciated by some people but with some other co-workers it's difficult. I do the best I can at everything I do and I feel like I do a relatively great job. There are just times when I just have this demanding urge to quit and go somewhere else. I don't know if I will ever do this but this urge has been rising within me for a while now. I think I need a dramatic change in my life. Maybe I really need to consider culinary school and consider it now.
Culinary school has been on my mind more intensely lately. The more I cook the more I have to urge to go to school. Like I've mentioned before, when I'm in the kitchen cooking I feel at peace and I feel like this is where I belong. The kitchen is the one place I really feel like myself and the one place where I'm doing something that I truly love. I love cooking. I love feeding people. I love working with food. I love the action, the smells, the textures, the imagination, the endless creativity, just everything about food. I can't get enough of it. Work, on the other hand, is completely opposite. There are days when I can totally tolerate it and enjoy myself here and then there are days when I just need to get out. I can't deal with it anymore either.
The one thing I hate is being ignored. Of all things, that is the one thing that really pisses me off. Tell me if you don't want to talk. Tell me if you're mad at me. Just tell me, don't just ignore me or give me the silent treatment. I hate that the most. Don't send me a text to have me respond and then you don't respond until hours later.
Something else I remember from the book "The Noticer" is that mistakes are sometimes not mistakes at all. When something has gone wrong or when we do something wrong, we sometimes view them as mistakes. But sometimes, they are not mistakes they are choices. A mistake is something you couldn't control. A choice is something you can control. If I choose to have a relationship with somebody and then later I say that that relationship was a mistake, it wasn't. I was a choice. I may not have been a good choice but it was a choice, nonetheless. If you do business with a shady individual when you know they are shady, then that is a choice not a mistake. If we start to literally view our decisions as our choices then I believe we can start being more responsible with our decisions. If you stole a car and was caught, it was not a mistake, it was a choice.
Read "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews. Thanks for listening to my rant.
-Andrew
Friday, February 25, 2011
=/
Hello all. So as I stated yesterday in a rather "long" entry - I failed. I failed in my attempt to post consistently to this blog. at least on every work day. I missed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and slightly Thursday; granted Monday was a holiday though. Nevertheless, I have failed you and I apologize. I promise to be more vigilant and promise to keep my promise. My sincere apologies to you, whoever you are if you are anyone at all.
So, I know my writing style is not the best. It is not very structured nor is there any consistency within my posts. Well, one reason for having this blog is to develop my writing so that when I do go back to school, my writing will not be as poor as it was when I stopped. I am hoping that this blog helps to educate me, not only scholarly but also inwardly - about myself. So in order to do this I think I may need to get a little more personal than I have in my previous posts. I think I need to delve more into my personal life and share myself with you all. But I am not fully comfortable with putting all my problems, fears, interests, goals, personal feelings, etc. out there for all to read. Therefore, I think I will make this blog private to the public. I think I have to. If this blog is to be as reflective on myself as I am hoping it will be then I need to keep it private. At least for now. So here we go.
So, I know my writing style is not the best. It is not very structured nor is there any consistency within my posts. Well, one reason for having this blog is to develop my writing so that when I do go back to school, my writing will not be as poor as it was when I stopped. I am hoping that this blog helps to educate me, not only scholarly but also inwardly - about myself. So in order to do this I think I may need to get a little more personal than I have in my previous posts. I think I need to delve more into my personal life and share myself with you all. But I am not fully comfortable with putting all my problems, fears, interests, goals, personal feelings, etc. out there for all to read. Therefore, I think I will make this blog private to the public. I think I have to. If this blog is to be as reflective on myself as I am hoping it will be then I need to keep it private. At least for now. So here we go.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Quickie
Hello. This will be a quickie post. I just wanted to share a few pictures from my baking adventures last night. I made pizza again... haha I know, I know. Then I baked some cookies courtesy of the recipe I found online through apartmenttherapy.com's cooking section - Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies. They turned out pretty great - soft and chewy just like I prefer my cookies to be. I am not a huge fan of hard, crisp cookies. I believe they should be moist and soft. That way you fully enjoy them. Okay, well here are the pictures. I may or may not post other stuff later today. There are some things I'd like to write about but I'm feeling a little lazy right now (it may be because I just ate lunch - food coma). Til next time... (oh yeah, I forgot to take a picture before I started eating the first pizza again, haha sorry)
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Pizza & Book
I forgot to post this earlier. Here are pictures of the book "The Noticer" and a picture of the pizza I made last night. I remembered to take a picture of the pizza after I had already started eating it - oops, sorry. Haha. Enjoy.
Day 2
Hello. This is Day 2 of my blog and an exciting Day 2 it is. No, not really, at least not yet. I started off today by going to the Starbucks by my place on my way to work. I must say that the Starbucks on National Blvd is the BEST STARBUCKS I've ever been to. Their staff is always friendly and although the line can be a bit of wait (usually not longer than 5 mins though) their baristas are so quick. From placing my order to getting my drink, I probably only have to wait a couple minutes. Quick service + friendly baristas + great drinks = BEST STARBUCKS EVER! On top of all that, today the barista remembered my drink order. She didn't remember my name yet but at least she recognized me. That's always a plus. It probably helps that I've gone to Starbucks the last 12 days straight. I enjoy it there and hope I can just relax there one day instead of just stopping by on my way to work.
Last night, I made pizza... again. Haha, I think my blog yesterday about pizza kind of inspired me but I used leftover dough from the last pizza session instead of making fresh dough. This time it turned out pretty good. I rolled out the dough thinner than last time and it got really crispy except for the center of the pizza that was probably drenched with all the toppings (leftover steak, tomatoes, orange bell peppers, prosciutto, olive oil, monterey jack cheese, parmigiano reggiano, basil leaves, thyme). Also, I baked it differently. The oven was at 400 degrees and I had a baking sheet pre-heating in the oven upside. Once the oven and sheet were hot I placed the pizza on top of the baking sheet and left it in there for about 10 minutes. It turned out great and I may make some more pizza again today, but change up the toppings a little bit. Pizza is the best way to get rid of random ingredients you may have in your fridge. Fried rice also works wonders as a way to clean out your fridge too; and it just so happens that that's what I made last night too. I had to make lunch for today. =)
So, I was thinking about what I may want to post about today and something from "The Noticer" popped into my head. This is my recollection of what was said. I apologize if it's not completely verbatim. "There are 5 seagulls on a pier. One seagull decides to fly away. How many are left on the pier?"
If you answered "4", just like the person in the book did, you may be surprised the find that "4" may be an incorrect answer (I say "may be an incorrect answer" because it depends on how you look at the question but then again that is the point). The book says the correct answer is 5 because although the one seagull decided to fly away, it did not actually fly away. Not until it actually flies away will there be 4 seagulls left on the pier. This wasn't supposed to be a trick question, but rather a question where you can possibly learn to see things from a different perspective. I, too, thought the answer was 4 and it may very well have been. The seagull could have decided to fly away and then did just that. But the question only says that the seagull decided to fly away. So depending on your perspective the answer can be 4 or 5.
But the real point of the question was to get you to understand that deciding to do something and actually doing something are two completely different things. This applies wholly to my own life. A little more about me... I graduated from high school and attended college the following year. I survived about 2 and 1/2 years before I was dismissed from school due to poor grades. Entirely my fault. I was given multiple chances to prove myself worthy of staying in school but I did not take advantage of those chances. Remember when I said I was a completely lazy procrastinator? See, it's true. Nevertheless, I was dismissed from school but a great opportunity presented itself. I was working in an office as student and my supervisor left his position as I was dismissed. So I applied for the job and got it. I've been working full-time ever since and it's been rewarding. I'm not trying to brag but I am making a decent amount of money and actually more than some of my diploma-in-hand friends. Again, I'm not trying to brag but merely making the point that I am extremely lucky to be in the position that I am and I am thoroughly grateful for all the opportunities that befell on me.
However, as of lately, probably the last 4 months or so, my life has been changing. As I mentioned, I moved into a new place by myself after ending an almost 2-year relationship with my ex-girlfriend; and although I am happy with my decision and what I'm doing day-to-day, I still have this yearning for something else. I mean I should be happy. I have a roof over my head, a good job, great friends, loving family, and everything else a person could ask for; but I think I need something new. Or I need to finish what I started. I have the desire to go back to school and when I was interviewing for my current job, I mentioned that I planned on going back to school to finish and get my degree but years later I still haven't. I need to not only decide what I want to do but also act on my decision.
Another option that I have is Culinary School. As you can probably tell, one of my great passions is cooking. I love cooking, for myself or for other people. I really do feel like I am in my element when I'm in the kitchen. Whether it's making pizza, cooking fried rice, baking cookies, or just chopping vegetables, I'm happy. So I recently, actually just yesterday, got an information brochure in the mail from Le Cordon Bleu. I requested it last month and I've been receiving calls from one of their recruiters but I haven't picked up or returned her email yet because once I do, it kind of becomes real. I'll actually be doing something to further a possible career and this kind of scares me. I love cooking and if I were to become a chef, that would be oh so excellent but if I were to go to culinary school and then fail (like I previously did) that would be devastating to me. Like I mentioned previously, I am a slight perfectionist and I hate to fail. I hate the fact that I dropped out of college. That is not something I usually do. I am not a quitter.
I played sports competitively when I was little, not like club or anything but like little league. I played soccer and baseball each for 8 years and won a few league championships here and there. I played on the basketball team in junior high and on the golf team for a couple years in high school. I was also in my high school's ASB all four years. I was and still am an extremely hard worker. I work hard at my current job and I strive to complete everything correctly, efficiently, and on time. So this is why I hate the fact that I didn't finish college and I know my parents hate it too.
So, I think I am ready to make another decision in my life. Whether I act on it or not is another thing though. My decision is this. I am deciding that I will go back to school. I will speak to a counselor in a month or two and see what I can do to position myself to being re-enrolled in school. This will probably require me to take classes over the summer, which I am happy to do, and get good grades, which I am hoping to accomplish. From that I can hopefully be re-enrolled so that I can take probably a maximum of 2 classes a quarter since I plan on still working full-time. Taking 2 classes a quarter will probably mean I will finish school in about 3 years, hopefully. From there, I want to pursue a culinary career. I want to take my passion for food and cooking and run with it. I want to see where it takes me. You may ask why go back to college and why not just go straight to culinary school? Why spend the money on college? Well my dear friends, the answer is simple. I need to finish college for myself. To prove to myself that I can do. To prove to myself that I really am not a quitter. To prove to myself that I really am smart enough. To prove to myself that if I really put my mind to it, I can accomplish whatever it is. Just like everybody else in the world. If anybody sets their mind on a goal and actually works hard towards accomplishing that goal, it will happen - IT WILL HAPPEN.
Enough for right now... be back later.
Last night, I made pizza... again. Haha, I think my blog yesterday about pizza kind of inspired me but I used leftover dough from the last pizza session instead of making fresh dough. This time it turned out pretty good. I rolled out the dough thinner than last time and it got really crispy except for the center of the pizza that was probably drenched with all the toppings (leftover steak, tomatoes, orange bell peppers, prosciutto, olive oil, monterey jack cheese, parmigiano reggiano, basil leaves, thyme). Also, I baked it differently. The oven was at 400 degrees and I had a baking sheet pre-heating in the oven upside. Once the oven and sheet were hot I placed the pizza on top of the baking sheet and left it in there for about 10 minutes. It turned out great and I may make some more pizza again today, but change up the toppings a little bit. Pizza is the best way to get rid of random ingredients you may have in your fridge. Fried rice also works wonders as a way to clean out your fridge too; and it just so happens that that's what I made last night too. I had to make lunch for today. =)
So, I was thinking about what I may want to post about today and something from "The Noticer" popped into my head. This is my recollection of what was said. I apologize if it's not completely verbatim. "There are 5 seagulls on a pier. One seagull decides to fly away. How many are left on the pier?"
If you answered "4", just like the person in the book did, you may be surprised the find that "4" may be an incorrect answer (I say "may be an incorrect answer" because it depends on how you look at the question but then again that is the point). The book says the correct answer is 5 because although the one seagull decided to fly away, it did not actually fly away. Not until it actually flies away will there be 4 seagulls left on the pier. This wasn't supposed to be a trick question, but rather a question where you can possibly learn to see things from a different perspective. I, too, thought the answer was 4 and it may very well have been. The seagull could have decided to fly away and then did just that. But the question only says that the seagull decided to fly away. So depending on your perspective the answer can be 4 or 5.
But the real point of the question was to get you to understand that deciding to do something and actually doing something are two completely different things. This applies wholly to my own life. A little more about me... I graduated from high school and attended college the following year. I survived about 2 and 1/2 years before I was dismissed from school due to poor grades. Entirely my fault. I was given multiple chances to prove myself worthy of staying in school but I did not take advantage of those chances. Remember when I said I was a completely lazy procrastinator? See, it's true. Nevertheless, I was dismissed from school but a great opportunity presented itself. I was working in an office as student and my supervisor left his position as I was dismissed. So I applied for the job and got it. I've been working full-time ever since and it's been rewarding. I'm not trying to brag but I am making a decent amount of money and actually more than some of my diploma-in-hand friends. Again, I'm not trying to brag but merely making the point that I am extremely lucky to be in the position that I am and I am thoroughly grateful for all the opportunities that befell on me.
However, as of lately, probably the last 4 months or so, my life has been changing. As I mentioned, I moved into a new place by myself after ending an almost 2-year relationship with my ex-girlfriend; and although I am happy with my decision and what I'm doing day-to-day, I still have this yearning for something else. I mean I should be happy. I have a roof over my head, a good job, great friends, loving family, and everything else a person could ask for; but I think I need something new. Or I need to finish what I started. I have the desire to go back to school and when I was interviewing for my current job, I mentioned that I planned on going back to school to finish and get my degree but years later I still haven't. I need to not only decide what I want to do but also act on my decision.
Another option that I have is Culinary School. As you can probably tell, one of my great passions is cooking. I love cooking, for myself or for other people. I really do feel like I am in my element when I'm in the kitchen. Whether it's making pizza, cooking fried rice, baking cookies, or just chopping vegetables, I'm happy. So I recently, actually just yesterday, got an information brochure in the mail from Le Cordon Bleu. I requested it last month and I've been receiving calls from one of their recruiters but I haven't picked up or returned her email yet because once I do, it kind of becomes real. I'll actually be doing something to further a possible career and this kind of scares me. I love cooking and if I were to become a chef, that would be oh so excellent but if I were to go to culinary school and then fail (like I previously did) that would be devastating to me. Like I mentioned previously, I am a slight perfectionist and I hate to fail. I hate the fact that I dropped out of college. That is not something I usually do. I am not a quitter.
I played sports competitively when I was little, not like club or anything but like little league. I played soccer and baseball each for 8 years and won a few league championships here and there. I played on the basketball team in junior high and on the golf team for a couple years in high school. I was also in my high school's ASB all four years. I was and still am an extremely hard worker. I work hard at my current job and I strive to complete everything correctly, efficiently, and on time. So this is why I hate the fact that I didn't finish college and I know my parents hate it too.
So, I think I am ready to make another decision in my life. Whether I act on it or not is another thing though. My decision is this. I am deciding that I will go back to school. I will speak to a counselor in a month or two and see what I can do to position myself to being re-enrolled in school. This will probably require me to take classes over the summer, which I am happy to do, and get good grades, which I am hoping to accomplish. From that I can hopefully be re-enrolled so that I can take probably a maximum of 2 classes a quarter since I plan on still working full-time. Taking 2 classes a quarter will probably mean I will finish school in about 3 years, hopefully. From there, I want to pursue a culinary career. I want to take my passion for food and cooking and run with it. I want to see where it takes me. You may ask why go back to college and why not just go straight to culinary school? Why spend the money on college? Well my dear friends, the answer is simple. I need to finish college for myself. To prove to myself that I can do. To prove to myself that I really am not a quitter. To prove to myself that I really am smart enough. To prove to myself that if I really put my mind to it, I can accomplish whatever it is. Just like everybody else in the world. If anybody sets their mind on a goal and actually works hard towards accomplishing that goal, it will happen - IT WILL HAPPEN.
Enough for right now... be back later.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Hard Work?
Like with all new things in my life, I constantly look at whatever it is over and over again. I must admit that I have been repeating this occurrence with this blog and I must say that my posts have been dreadfully boring so far. My promise to you is to make things a little bit more entertaining and worth your while. I thought I would only be posting once a day but here I am on the first day with my third post. I know that I am not a great writer nor will I ever probably be but they say if you do want to be good at something, you must do it and do it constantly. This logic can be applied to all things and tasks small and large.
I was just on the phone with a friend and I mentioned that the other day my friends and I had partaken in the insurmountable task of baking pizza... from scratch, dough and all. I informed my friend that the pizza turned out well but that the dough could have used a bit of work. It wasn't that it tasted bad or anything but nor was it the greatest dough ever made by mankind. Now if you know me at all, which you probably don't, you may know or will find out that I am slightly a perfectionist. I am not saying that I am perfect, not in the slightest, but I do like things done a certain way, presented in a certain way, cooked in a certain way, taste a certain way, etc. Usually that "certain way" is the what I imagine to be as "perfect". It was my first time making pizza dough from scratch and I was proud of it but it could definitely be better and I will not settle until I get my "perfect" dough. Going back to my friend, she mentioned that I could have just as easily bought pre-made pizza dough and just added the sauce and toppings to it. My initial thought was "duh" - no offense to my friend. But, yes, this thought had crossed my mind and had been put into practice before but this time I had wanted to make the dough from scratch.
I think that in this day and age, most people have forgotten the value and benefit of hard work. Yes, it is so much easier to just buy the pre-made items and consume them but it will taste all the more sweeter when you have worked so hard to create what you are about to consume. I'm just using food as an analogy, but this belief, rather fact, applies to everything else on this beautiful planet. Of course, I'm not going to go out and build my own car or anything of the sort; but whatever I can do myself, I will try my best to do and do it successfully. I feel like this generation, my generation, has gotten lazy and relied too heavily on the work of other people. There still are a select few out there that work very hard for what they accomplish, and I congratulate and admire those individuals. They are realizing that although things can be bought, true happiness cannot - it is earned.
I am clearly no philosopher nor am I a preacher. I just think I have been fortunate enough to realize some things in life - one of which is that hard work pays off. Things are always easier when you "buy" them, but when you work hard for whatever you want, you are physically and mentally in better shape. This may all seem like I am just rambling on and I am, but I hope that some of this makes sense. I just thought I'd blog about it. I may update more on how I feel about this tomorrow. Until then, good night.
I was just on the phone with a friend and I mentioned that the other day my friends and I had partaken in the insurmountable task of baking pizza... from scratch, dough and all. I informed my friend that the pizza turned out well but that the dough could have used a bit of work. It wasn't that it tasted bad or anything but nor was it the greatest dough ever made by mankind. Now if you know me at all, which you probably don't, you may know or will find out that I am slightly a perfectionist. I am not saying that I am perfect, not in the slightest, but I do like things done a certain way, presented in a certain way, cooked in a certain way, taste a certain way, etc. Usually that "certain way" is the what I imagine to be as "perfect". It was my first time making pizza dough from scratch and I was proud of it but it could definitely be better and I will not settle until I get my "perfect" dough. Going back to my friend, she mentioned that I could have just as easily bought pre-made pizza dough and just added the sauce and toppings to it. My initial thought was "duh" - no offense to my friend. But, yes, this thought had crossed my mind and had been put into practice before but this time I had wanted to make the dough from scratch.
I think that in this day and age, most people have forgotten the value and benefit of hard work. Yes, it is so much easier to just buy the pre-made items and consume them but it will taste all the more sweeter when you have worked so hard to create what you are about to consume. I'm just using food as an analogy, but this belief, rather fact, applies to everything else on this beautiful planet. Of course, I'm not going to go out and build my own car or anything of the sort; but whatever I can do myself, I will try my best to do and do it successfully. I feel like this generation, my generation, has gotten lazy and relied too heavily on the work of other people. There still are a select few out there that work very hard for what they accomplish, and I congratulate and admire those individuals. They are realizing that although things can be bought, true happiness cannot - it is earned.
I am clearly no philosopher nor am I a preacher. I just think I have been fortunate enough to realize some things in life - one of which is that hard work pays off. Things are always easier when you "buy" them, but when you work hard for whatever you want, you are physically and mentally in better shape. This may all seem like I am just rambling on and I am, but I hope that some of this makes sense. I just thought I'd blog about it. I may update more on how I feel about this tomorrow. Until then, good night.
Day 1
So this is Day 1 of my blog "Occupy My Time" and already it's doing its name justice. Setting up my account/profile and the look and feel of this blog has thoroughly occupied my time now for the last couple hours. I must say that those couple hours flew. So I am still trying to figure out what I want to focus this blog on or if I'll focus on any one particular genre at all (probably not). To any readers out there, let this be a warning to you, this blog may be all over the place. It may deal with food and cooking, it may deal with watching particular tv shows or movies, it may deal with friends and family, it may deal with love, or it just may deal with some random thing I saw that day; nevertheless I will trudge on and bring you the happenings of a person who has "lost their way" and is looking to "find himself again". BLAH!!! So cheesy, huh? I don't think I've lost my way nor need to find myself again. Although I would like to find myself more innately and gather more understanding of who I am and want to be. I have all these thoughts and ideas about what I would like to do but I am such a lazy procrastinator that I'm afraid I won't do them. Or I just get distracted. Ha. Oh, also I'm broke. Haha - probably not a laughing matter, but it's always good to be able to laugh at yourself, right? Well enough about me, let's move on to something else...
Last night I cooked a steak. I had a couple steaks defrosting in the fridge and thought I'd eat one for dinner along with some leftover brown rice and vegetable-sausage medley (spicy Italian sausage, mushrooms, corn, brussel sprouts tossed with some leftover homemade pesto). I ended up seasoning the steaks with some salt, pepper, chipotle cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, and some steak seasoning. I threw them on a hot griddle pan just to sear the outside and get some nice brown color and then I put them on a baking sheet that was pre-heating in the oven. I kept them in the oven at 375-400 degrees for about 10 minutes - to about Medium, which is how I like my steaks. Now let me tell you that I am in no way shape or form a cook, chef, or any other culinary professional. I just make stuff up as I go along. The steaks turned out well - I will I had my bbq grill, they would've came out better but oh well. They still had some pink to them and were tasty enough for me to enjoy.
As I ate my dinner with my glass of milk (don't hate, I'm trying to be healthy and drink milk), I watched that night's episode of Glee (yes I watch it, again don't hate, they sing good songs sometimes - whether they butcher it or not is a different story). I don't want to talk too much about the episode but it was okay, not the greatest but okay. I did enjoy their rendition of My Chemical Romance's Sing and I enjoyed the Diva off song choice but Lea Michele's performance was not her best. I found it funny that she looks like she could be Idina Menzel's daughter and she ended up singing Idina's song from Rent, not to mention Idina's part. Anybody else notice that? I'm sure everybody did. Other than that, the whole Beiber fever tribute band crap.... Yea... I'm not a Beiber fan in the slightest. So BLAH!! Also, Dianna Agron and is getting hotter. I never thought she was when the show started but it's starting to come around; and Naya Rivera is just maintaining her hotness but there have been times when she's not, just my opinion.
So after watching Glee, I did some reading. Reading has been my new fascination this last couple months. I moved into a new apartment by myself and I seemed to have all this extra time on my hands so I thought I'd make up for the fact that I never completed college and I would try to help educate myself by reading more. So last night I finished reading "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. I know this is a young adult book that probably should've been read in junior high but I never did and it was recommended that I do. It took me a while to really get into it. I think I was thrown off by the fact that it was a young adult book but the theme and ideas of the book are so out there that I feel if I had read it back then I wouldn't be able to fully grasp it like I do now - even though it still is a little "crazy". Not "crazy" bad but "crazy" as in making your mind think. It was good and I TEI (thoroughly enjoyed it). That analogy was brought to you by my friends April and Raymond who said it while I was around one day I was completely lost and they wouldn't explain. About 20 minutes later, I finally figured it out. So now I pass it on to you dear reader. When you enjoyed something, thoroughly enjoyed something you can just announce "I TEI". "Trust me, it's a thing" - Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother.
I know this post is pretty long already but I just want to mention something else. Two nights ago I finished reading "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews (I like his name). This book along with "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch are the two books that are really speaking to me right now. If you haven't read them, READ THEM! I will even lend you my copy - as long as you promise to return them because they are GREAT books. They are life changing, well unless you already follow the principles that the books talk about, which I doubt 90% of people do, myself included. They are not self-help books or instructional books on how to lead your life. They are just novels about these two guys lives and lessons that they've learned - lessons that everybody could probably learn. So my final thought for the momment -
Read "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch and "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews.
The Last Lecture ; The Noticer
Last night I cooked a steak. I had a couple steaks defrosting in the fridge and thought I'd eat one for dinner along with some leftover brown rice and vegetable-sausage medley (spicy Italian sausage, mushrooms, corn, brussel sprouts tossed with some leftover homemade pesto). I ended up seasoning the steaks with some salt, pepper, chipotle cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, and some steak seasoning. I threw them on a hot griddle pan just to sear the outside and get some nice brown color and then I put them on a baking sheet that was pre-heating in the oven. I kept them in the oven at 375-400 degrees for about 10 minutes - to about Medium, which is how I like my steaks. Now let me tell you that I am in no way shape or form a cook, chef, or any other culinary professional. I just make stuff up as I go along. The steaks turned out well - I will I had my bbq grill, they would've came out better but oh well. They still had some pink to them and were tasty enough for me to enjoy.
As I ate my dinner with my glass of milk (don't hate, I'm trying to be healthy and drink milk), I watched that night's episode of Glee (yes I watch it, again don't hate, they sing good songs sometimes - whether they butcher it or not is a different story). I don't want to talk too much about the episode but it was okay, not the greatest but okay. I did enjoy their rendition of My Chemical Romance's Sing and I enjoyed the Diva off song choice but Lea Michele's performance was not her best. I found it funny that she looks like she could be Idina Menzel's daughter and she ended up singing Idina's song from Rent, not to mention Idina's part. Anybody else notice that? I'm sure everybody did. Other than that, the whole Beiber fever tribute band crap.... Yea... I'm not a Beiber fan in the slightest. So BLAH!! Also, Dianna Agron and is getting hotter. I never thought she was when the show started but it's starting to come around; and Naya Rivera is just maintaining her hotness but there have been times when she's not, just my opinion.
So after watching Glee, I did some reading. Reading has been my new fascination this last couple months. I moved into a new apartment by myself and I seemed to have all this extra time on my hands so I thought I'd make up for the fact that I never completed college and I would try to help educate myself by reading more. So last night I finished reading "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. I know this is a young adult book that probably should've been read in junior high but I never did and it was recommended that I do. It took me a while to really get into it. I think I was thrown off by the fact that it was a young adult book but the theme and ideas of the book are so out there that I feel if I had read it back then I wouldn't be able to fully grasp it like I do now - even though it still is a little "crazy". Not "crazy" bad but "crazy" as in making your mind think. It was good and I TEI (thoroughly enjoyed it). That analogy was brought to you by my friends April and Raymond who said it while I was around one day I was completely lost and they wouldn't explain. About 20 minutes later, I finally figured it out. So now I pass it on to you dear reader. When you enjoyed something, thoroughly enjoyed something you can just announce "I TEI". "Trust me, it's a thing" - Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother.
I know this post is pretty long already but I just want to mention something else. Two nights ago I finished reading "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews (I like his name). This book along with "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch are the two books that are really speaking to me right now. If you haven't read them, READ THEM! I will even lend you my copy - as long as you promise to return them because they are GREAT books. They are life changing, well unless you already follow the principles that the books talk about, which I doubt 90% of people do, myself included. They are not self-help books or instructional books on how to lead your life. They are just novels about these two guys lives and lessons that they've learned - lessons that everybody could probably learn. So my final thought for the momment -
Read "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch and "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews.
The Last Lecture ; The Noticer
Random Question
This is my first blog post!!! I'm excited, are you?!?! Probably not because you don't even know me or know what I'm going to write about or even if my writing/blogging will be good at all. Well I shall began and we shall see...
So as I was setting up my account and profile for this blog, there was the random question portion. I received the below question and responded but my response exceed the 400 word maximum so I decided to just post it instead. Enjoy.
"You’ve rented a sky-writer to propose to your significant other, but it’s completely overcast. What will you do?"
I'd do a traditional rain dance to get rid of all the clouds so that my significant other can see my "romantic" proposal sky-writing; or (and this is most likely what would happen) I'd get rid of the sky-writer and come up with a different plan (because you just can't mess with Mother Nature). Life is full of complications and it is our choice of reactions to these complications that define our lives. You can either complain about it or deal with it and move on with your life. But in answer to the question, another possible outcome might be that I'd rent a helicopter and my and my soon-to-be fiancée would take a night helicopter ride all throughout the city, finally landing at her favorite spot, whether it be the beach or a mountain top, where we'd get out and sit and talk for hours on end until I wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer and I'd die if I didn't ask her right then and there to marry me. Afterwards, we'd lift off again to have dinner, which would be another surprise - I will not reveal this in case my future fiancée-to-be should be reading this. :)
P.S. I know this is pretty lame as a first post so I will post another. Thanks.
So as I was setting up my account and profile for this blog, there was the random question portion. I received the below question and responded but my response exceed the 400 word maximum so I decided to just post it instead. Enjoy.
"You’ve rented a sky-writer to propose to your significant other, but it’s completely overcast. What will you do?"
I'd do a traditional rain dance to get rid of all the clouds so that my significant other can see my "romantic" proposal sky-writing; or (and this is most likely what would happen) I'd get rid of the sky-writer and come up with a different plan (because you just can't mess with Mother Nature). Life is full of complications and it is our choice of reactions to these complications that define our lives. You can either complain about it or deal with it and move on with your life. But in answer to the question, another possible outcome might be that I'd rent a helicopter and my and my soon-to-be fiancée would take a night helicopter ride all throughout the city, finally landing at her favorite spot, whether it be the beach or a mountain top, where we'd get out and sit and talk for hours on end until I wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer and I'd die if I didn't ask her right then and there to marry me. Afterwards, we'd lift off again to have dinner, which would be another surprise - I will not reveal this in case my future fiancée-to-be should be reading this. :)
P.S. I know this is pretty lame as a first post so I will post another. Thanks.
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