The End of the Semester

Hey everybody,

Today I would like to talk about the end of the semester which is coming up rather quickly.  Personally I am very excited for it to be almost over.  I am ready for the greatest of all breaks, the summer one :).  It is the longest most relaxing break of the year, and I cannot wait for it to be here.  I have so many plans to lay around, work on my car, lay around, eat, sleep, work, make money, eat some more, go on vacation, lay around, and work on my car.  It's going to be awesome.

That is what is constantly going through my head since spring break ended... lol it makes it extremely hard to get to work.  Right now it is true that the end of the semester is coming up quick and yes it is exciting, but what I did not realize is that there is a lot of stuff due at this time.  It is a very stressful thing when you realize how much work you have to do but can't because all you can think about is vacation... which is why this blog is taking me longer than ten minutes to write...

Oh well I guess this is it seeing as this is the last required post.  If I never post again then good luck in college fellow freshman I wish you the best.  To all my not school related readers what's for dinner mom? haha :P have a great break everyone and be ready for level 2 of college!

Fasting

Hey everyone,

Today I would like to talk about fasting.  First of all, fasting is the act of abstaining from food.  Normally I would not post a blog about something like this because I do not usually experience it and therefore would probably not have much to say on the matter.  Today is not a normal day though.  Today is good Friday; the day Jesus Christ was crucified.  Many people fast on good Friday.  At least, many Catholics fast on good Friday, and though we are all supposed to many of us don't.  I used to be one of the latter, but for some reason this year I decided to actually sacrifice for my God. 

Let me be the first to tell you it is not easy... at all...  especially when you work all day...  first of all in case any of you do not know I work in a restaurant.  As you can imagine, all of the wonderful smells fill you and make you hungry even when you aren't.  For me today, as I was fasting (still am by the way), it was horrible.  I went from hungry, to starving, to light headed, to dizzy, to my head throbbing, and now I am home writing this blog while trying to rest. 

Fasting makes you realize how good we have it... We take for granted the fact that we have the luxury of eating three meals a day; at least I know I do.  Well, I used to, I won't take it for granted after today.  The food we have is a blessing and we should thank the Lord every time we eat it.  Saying grace has a whole new meaning to it for me.

At any rate, just remember how fortunate we are to be able to eat... maybe if I go to bed now I can wake up to breakfast...

(The word breakfast comes from the phrase "to break the fast." We do not eat while we sleep so technically we are fasting.  Meaning that your first meal of the day is breakfast regardless of what time because it is breaking your fast.)

Traffic

Hey Everyone,

Traffic sucks... You either get stuck in it and sit in your car for hours on the freeway, or you leave early to avoid it and get their so early that you sit in your car anyways waiting for hours for your thing to start.  There is no getting around waiting in your car; you can only choose where you want to do it.

Traffic has always been a mystery to me.  All sorts of questions pop into my head when I am stuck in it.  Where does it come from? Why aren't we moving? What the hell?  Those sorts of things. I know that some of the traffic is caused by freeways merging together and the way people try cutting other people off.   I listen to am radio to catch the traffic news and that can shed some light but even still once you are stuck in a sig alert you are stuck until the traffic lets up.  Then you have the traffic caused  by nosy people who look over the side of the oncoming traffic to see what is going on over there.  Then everyone slows down to see what they are looking at.  After pondering this for a little while I soon realize that it doesn't matter where traffic comes from cause I am still stuck in it.

Until next time and remember leave early...

Stress...

Hey everyone,

Today I would like to talk about stress and how pointless yet unavoidable it is... Stress unfortunately for me is pretty much unavoidable as I have said before, but that is not true for all people.  Some lucky group of people can realize that it is pointless and push through it and just not worry... Or so I am told (I have never met one of these lucky people).  I have seen people that come close, but something can usually get to them depending on what it is. 

The thing that stresses me out the most in my opinion is homework... I say in my opinion because others who know me might name many more things lol.  Anyway, if I get too backed up on homework my brain starts going crazy and thinking about everything I need to do and I run around saying "I don't have enough time to do all this!!"  This can go on for a very long time which is bad because the more I stress the less work gets done which make me stress more and so on and so forth. 

So my best advice for coping with stress is to avoid it... I know that isn't really a coping technique, but it is the best thing out there.  The second best thing I can think of is to calm down and breathe, and once you can finally think straight make a list of everything (see time management post).  The list will also help you calm down which helps you to focus and actually get the things done that you need to get done.

Well now that this blog is done I can stop stressing about it and move on to stress about something else... (like essays...).

Post Spring Break Syndrome

Hey Everybody,

Today I would like to talk about what I like to call the post spring break syndrome.  Yes I made that up, but I am almost positive everyone feels it so decided to give it a name. 

I previously posted a post about how great spring break was and how everyone needs a break... that is all still true, but I had forgotten what happens after the break.  Spring break being so close to the end of the semester makes us subconsciously "check out" or decide that we are done for the semester.  This is very bad because as you and I know we all have to get right back in where we started.  If we have checked out and are no longer is school mode it makes it ridiculously hard to do any school work when the break ends.  Not that the work is too much to ask, it is just extremely hard to focus when it is so beautiful outside and you want to be out doing things. 

After spring break we all just would like to be done for the semester, but unfortunately we have about 5 weeks left to try to get out brains back into school mode.  Well I'm off to sit at my desk to try to open my text book...

Time Management

Hey everyone,

Today... or rather tonight I will be talking about managing your schedule.  First off I would like to say that I am no expert at time management.  In fact I am horrible at it... but regardless of how bad at executing it I am, I still know what should roughly be done. 

First I would suggest making a list of everything that you need to do in a certain time period (say one day).  I hate making lists, but in reality it can be one of the most helpful things when it comes to time management.  Next I would suggest organizing the list in order of importance or urgency.  Doing this allows you to physically see what needs to be done and what order it should be done in.  After that I would try to allot each item a time slot during the day to insure that everything can get done. 

If you can follow your list you will become an excellent time manager.  I can never follow the list that I never make, thus proving that I am horrible at managing my time and schedule.  Which is why I am keeping people waiting by writing this blog last minute... well until next time... Make a list!!

P.S. also see my earlier post on procrastination

Music Soothes the Savage Beast

Music is an amazing thing.  Most people take music for granted.  It is something that is on in the car on the drive to work or school, and it is something that plays while you are working around the house or while hanging out at a party.  The true power of music goes unnoticed by many pairs of ears. 

Music has the power to induce so many emotions: happiness, sadness, excitement, pity, etc... Good music makes you not only feel the emotions caused by the lyrics, but it also makes you feel the emotions caused by the music itself.  Meaning the structure of the music; chord progressions, changing mode and stuff like that.  To a trained musician all these things do not get taken for granted because we know what to look for, but to others it makes you feel things and you cannot completely understand why (in all reality we do not know "why" we just understand how certain sounds make one feel). 

Regardless of whether or not one knows the theory behind music, it can really make a positive impact in someones life.  It can help with getting through rough times or it can just add to the happiness.  When times are sad, music can help express the feelings that are being felt, which, I believe helps with the healing.  Until next time, I am going to listen to a lullaby because it is late, or rather, it's early...

Spring Break!!!

As a freshman this is my first spring break in college, but as far as I know it is amazing.  People always associate spring break with parties and beaches, but I am not a big partier.  For me, just taking it easy sounds amazing. 

Do I have plans? Not really.  I'll probably use this time to catch up with some old friends that I have not seen in a while.  It is hard to squeeze me time into my schedule while school is going on (see previous post about friends).  I will also probably try  to work more.  It would be nice to be able to have a little bit of spending money during and after spring break.  I can also use this time to work on my car...  Needless to say I will be keeping myself busy. 

Unlike birthdays and other self-made breaks, spring break does not make your homework build up; mainly because there isn't any... This is really nice because it allows us to truly relax.  Being able to relax is really important for us college students.  All the stress from school and life can really get to us after a while. 

Until next time.  What are you doing over spring break O.o?

Friends

Hey everybody,

Today I'll be talking about the people that kick you when your down...then chuckle and then pick you up saying "just kidding."  The people that you go to when you need something, and the people that will be there for you even when you are afraid to ask for help.  Yes I am talking about friends.

Friends are wonderful to have.  You hang out with them, you party with them, and you can be yourself around them.  The fact that your friends allow you to be yourself is the best thing about friends in my opinion.  When you actually think about it, most people are not who they really are in front of people because they want to fit in or something like that, but your friends are already your friends so you are open with them and you know they will be there no matter how weird you are in front of them.

Like I said above friends also pick you up when you're down.  For a while I had forgotten the need for friendship with my busy life, but I realized that I wasn't the same person that I used to be.  I wasn't happy... I thought because I had not talked to my friends in so long that I would not have them anymore and I was sad and afraid because I did not know if they would be there like they used to be.  So I called them up one day and apologized for not being there like a good friend should, and the first thing they did was getting everyone together and we hung out like old times. 

Friends are amazing people, so don't let yours go like I did.  I got lucky, don't leave your friends up to chance, they are worth more than that.

Visiting Your Place of Origin

Hey everybody, Today I'd like to talk about visiting the places that you came from.  Many people go through life at a really fast pace and don't look back.  This is all fine and dandy, looking to the future, but what some people do not realize is that it can be fun and fulfilling to turn around and look and what got you to where you are today. 

Of course there is your family, that is something most people don't usually forget.  Even though sometimes they seemed to be a pain in your @$$ the did help you become who you are.  At least in my case they did and I love them and appreciate what they have done and continue to do for me. 

It is also fun to go back to your old schools.  Not just your high school but also your elementary school and Junior high school too.  It is fun to go back and see your old teachers and in some cases friends that you have not seen in a long time.  To me it is kind of humbling because you return to where you came from, and you see all the teachers you had so much respect for.  That respect never leaves and it reminds you that without those individuals you would not be who you are today.  Well I'm off to high school, until next time...

Pains of the Heart

Hey everyone, today I would like to talk about something that affects all of us; the feelings that come from our hearts.  Everyone, I don't care how macho you think you are, has felt or will feel these heart pains sometime in their lives. 

The heart has a lot of power over how a person sees his or herself, or how someone acts.  I am not talking an actual heart that pumps blood through the body.  Rather I am talking about what people refer to as the heart; where all your love comes from.  When one is in love the heart jumps for joy and makes the person feel happier than he or she has ever felt.  Which I guess by definition suggests that said person would feel like the happiest person in the world.  Speaking from experience that is very true.  When you are in love you feel invincible because no matter what someone loves you and it gives you strength. 

When the heart is in pain there are a lot of negative effects it has on the body and soul.  When one's heart is in pain one is devastated.  The heart completely takes over and makes it hard for the person to do much of anything aside from being sad.  The pain is overwhelming and try as you might to dispel the pain and regain control of yourself you find that you can't... For nothing you do can fix what happened... No the world doesn't end... although it feels like it should end.  The world keeps spinning and the sooner that is realized the sooner the broken hearted can get up and try to catch up to where their lives should be.  No it isn't easy and yes it will take a lot of time before you feel yourself again.  All that can be done is to wait for time to heal your brokenness. 

The only thing I can suggest to aid in the healing process is to not be afraid to cry.  Crying as I have found out helps relieve some of the pent up anxiety and is perfectly normal.  I also find that listening to sad songs (even though it makes you feel worse at the time) really helps because it almost forces you to cry and it also puts your feelings right out in the open for you to examine.  If you are religious then trust in God to carry you through.  God is the best way, if you believe, to ease your weary soul.

Long story short; the heart is very powerful so take care of yours

Being Excited and Being Obsessed

Hey guys today I'd like to talk about obsessions, being excited about something, and the fine line between the two.  I honestly have no idea where the line is located or even where it starts to get blurry.  I'm not usually the kind of person that gets too over excited about things, but recently I have been working on my car and it's constantly on my brain.  I do not know if I am obsessed or if I am just really excited about it for some reason.

Being obsessed can hurt your life and since I have trouble knowing whether I am or not I usually live by a few guidelines:

If you are having trouble doing anything that is not related to the thing you are excited about then you should probably take a break from it.  Sometimes this does not always work though.  If you are in the middle of something (in my case modifying my car) and you leave it unfinished to do something else it will eat at you until it is complete.  In that case make sure you get to a good stopping point before you decide to get away from it so your brain can continue to function. 

If ever there is an awkward silence you bring up the thing you can't get off your mind.  If this happens which I know for me it does you have two choices (that I know of) to solve this.  1) just keep it to yourself until the subject is brought up.  If you talk about it every time you can the people you are talking to will stop listening to you all together because they are done hearing about it but are too polite to tell you.  2) If you cannot keep it to yourself then keep telling different people.  If you are that excited about it and need to talk about it tell different people.  If you have fresh ears chances are they will be willing to hear about it, and it will also satisfy your need to talk about it because you have told a countless amount of people.

That's all for now I can't focus; gotta finish my car...

PS If ever there is a random link and it doesn't seem to make sense in my posts it is just there because I think it is fun/funny/awesome.

Tourists

Today I would like to talk about the people that show up in our hometowns wearing Hawaiian shirts and straw hats which get in the way of them trying to take pictures of everything they can see... yes I am talking about tourists.  Even though tourists help stimulate the economy I usually can't stand them.  Although there are many polite and fun tourists and to them I apologize if I have offended anyone.

                    

Whether they are from the next state over or the next country over it doesn't really matter.  What bugs me are the many attitudes tourists have.  Living in Southern California brings about many tourists with many attitudes. 

Firstly and most annoying is the tourist that believes that since he or she does not live here he or she can do whatever he or she feels like doing.  This often frustrates the locals (or me) because they live there and they do not like someone coming from who knows where acting like they are the king. 

Secondly and less annoying (less blamable actually) are the tourists that have no idea what is going on.  These people are frustrating to locals (or me again) because they are always getting in the way and they don’t realize that their presence in this place is disturbing the balance… Maybe I’m being dramatic, but when a tourist is walking around in circles, or looking around at the tall buildings in the middle of a crosswalk I have to try really hard not to run them over…

Actually other than those two types of tourists (those two are the majority) the rest are ok.  Okay I’m going to miss my plane (gotta find my straw hat…).

Birthdays

Hey guys in this post we are going to be talking about birthdays.  For the starving student birthdays can be a much needed day of relaxation and fun.  I know that my birthday was a much needed break from all the stress from school.  It was a day full of fun and love from loved ones.  This year my birthday happened in two parts which was double relaxing.  One with the family, and one with my beautiful girlfriend; both were much needed.  School can cause a lot of unwanted stress and lack of sleep which is not good.  One "relaxing" thing to do for a good birthday is k1 speed; very relaxing... haha it is a lot a fun and relaxing in a different sense.

Although birthdays are a great break in the stress, but they can also add more stress.  While you are off celebrating your birthday all the homework that you are avoiding is still there piling up.  So before running off on your wonderful birthday adventure be sure to plan out how you will do your homework so it doesn't stress you out even more.  Okay well my girlfriend is bugging me to do my homework so I can continue celebrating... happy birthday to me.... doing homework... k bye. :)

Money

Hey everybody today I wanted to talk about money, and the problems that go along with it.  From what I have been exposed to there are three different kinds of people when it comes to managing money.  There is the person who is "cheap" or "tight", the person with a hole in their pocket, and the person that does not mind spending money every now and then, but knows how to save it also.  Now in this situation, being a starving student has its advantages.  Meaning you don't really have that much money to spend, and what you do have goes to top ramen. 

In my opinion the third option is the best way to live.  If I was too tight with my money I would begin to wonder why I am saving it so much if I never plan to spend it.  If I was too loose with my money I would definitely be in a bad place.  If I ever had an emergency and needed cash I wouldn't have any because I spent every penny I had the minute I got it.  I believe you should save your money until you find something you really want or need.  If you save then you are prepared if you need emergency money, and you can also afford to treat yourself and others from time to time (which is perfectly okay).  Okay well that's all for now, I'm off to the freeway exit with my cardboard sign... no not really, there aren't enough people on the road right now...

Learning to Juggle Part. 1

Hey everyone,

I would like to attempt to teach you all how to juggle... at least how I juggle.  You may be thinking why would we care to learn how to juggle; it's because I juggle school and work.  Juggling school and work is no easy task (especially since there are more than just those things to juggle) it takes a lot of time management. 

I work part time at a sports bar called Oggi's Pizza & Brewing co..  I work about an average of 14 hours a week.  I do not know how some people can work full time and go to school full time.  The people that can amaze me.  Anyway in order to work and go to school I had to keep in mind that I needed time to work when I was enrolling in my classes.  So I enrolled and put mostly all my classes on Monday and Wednesday; I also have one class on Friday (this one).  This freed up Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for work (I try to leave Sunday open for church).  The main problem with this schedule is that I am at school from 8am to 10pm and it is very tiring.  The main benefit is that if I do not have work the next day I have the whole day to rest and catch up on homework.  Oh and having money on the side isn't bad either ;)

Basically just be aware of your work schedule and homework assignments.  Oops I start work in half an hour gotta go.

Procrastination

Hey everybody the next main topic about being a college student that I want to address is procrastination.  Ask any student you know and they will tell you not to do it, but every student you ask will also be a procrastinator.  I have no idea why, but we all do it whether we want to or not.  It is like a horrible curse put on all students that has yet to be broken. 

The curse goes like this:
-The student gets the assignment with the intent of starting it as soon as possible
-the student says to him/herself I have time I'll start it tomorrow
-I have time I'll start it the next day and so on
-Oh crap it's due tomorrow!
-Student sulks in order to stall just that much longer

I find that this curse is usually brought on by laziness or the mind frame of living in the moment.  Lets face it, there aren't many students that do not feel either one of those feelings every now and again.  I feel the curse of procrastination right now... It is Friday and I am writing my first of two blog posts for this week, it is 7:15pm, and I am playing drift runners 2 almost every five minutes... talk about procrastination haha....ha... (fun game though if you like the concept of drifting).  Eh oh well I'll finish this later.... (just kidding)

Sleep

Hey everyone so today I'd like to talk about sleep... and the lack there of for us starving students.  There have been many times when I have seen someone ask a student "how do you survive without sleep?"  The student usually says one of the following things: "who needs sleep?", "I just do", "eh", etc.  If any of those statements ever came out of my mouth it was a bunch of bull.  Everyone needs sleep I don't care how tough you think you are, and being someone like me who tries to do it all makes it that much harder to get any. 

I came to this realization one morning after only getting about two hours of sleep while driving 20 miles to school at 7am.  Luckily I actually made it to school that day.  Once I was there I got out of my car, thanked the Lord I made it, and started walking to class while thinking of a way to get some sleep.  It didn't take me all that long to figure out which was a good thing because I needed to go back and move my car for my plan to work.  I moved my 2004 Chevy Impala LS  into a parking structure where the sun could not reach it and where it wasn't directly underneath any lights.  After that I went to class and barely made it on time.  After struggling to stay awake in class I went back to my car, turned it into a bed and took a long nap.

Starving students need sleep and we take it where we can get it.  Taking a nap can be the most beautiful thing in the world when you need it. 

Goodnight...

The Starving Student

While I was in high school I would always joke with my friends about how we would be eating top ramen and cup of noodles in a few years when we started college.  We were all ready to graduate from high school and move on to bigger and better things.  Most of my friends wanted to go far away for their education and leave the nest.  I thought that was a great idea, but the closer graduation got the more I realized that the joke that we had so much fun with over the years could very well  become reality.  Needless to say I was not keen on having half a decade's worth of top ramen. 

My name is Ricky and I currently attend Cal state Long Beach (CSULB).  Yes...I am now a starving student, but it's not bad enough to stop joking about.  In this blog I will be discussing the ins and outs of the everyday life of a college freshman.  I wish all my fellow students good luck as they journey along side me through our freshman year.  This is all for now I haven't eaten lunch yet so I am going to grab a cup of noodles...