I haven't posted in the past few weeks due to finals week. But since they're over, I now have some more free time on my hands to blog. It's been weird since I've finished. I'm used to going to work and then once I get off going home and either having homework or studying to do, but now I don't have anything to do and it feels, I don't know, different. I'm sure with some adjusting I'll be over it in no time and enjoy not having the stress of school constantly worrying me.
With that being said, the holidays are here and I am very excited. I do know a couple of things I am getting already, but most of them are a surprise and I realized that by making a list this year, its making things much easier for my parents to find me things without disappointing me.
I did find out through me pre-ordering Star Wars: The Old Republic that they're getting me the full game for Christmas. I've been really excited about this game and considering my girlfriend would rather me play a game then play poker with my spare time I feel as though it's a win-win for me. The game so far has been a blast to play and even though I haven't had a huge amount of time to play yet, I've enjoyed every minute.
The holiday season also brings back old traditions and so far I've been able to experience two of them. The first being my Christmas Xtravaganza with all my friends. For the past two years, my girlfriend, my girlfriend's sister Jessica, and my friend Dustin have gone to San Jose for some good food and a drive through The Fantasy of Lights in neighboring Los Gatos. We put on some Xmas tunes and have such a great time every year. This year we added to the party with Jessica's boyfriend Carl tagging along, as well as his friend Jake. We ended up eating at Naglee Park's The Garage which was featured on a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode and as always it never disappoints. The Fantasy of Lights was just as great as we remembered and it couldn't have been a better trip to start of the holiday season.The second holiday tradition was Christmas Caroling. Every year my entire family comes over and we sit around the piano, as my mom plays, and sing just about every Christmas song there is.
That's what I've been up to for the past couple weeks. This week I'm going to be working a few extra hours and then I get to enjoy a 4 day weekend for Christmas. Should be a great one. Til next time.
-Thomas
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Eating Right & Staying Fit
There's a reason why there is an expression called "The Freshman 15". With an array of different factors entering into the average college students life, it's no surprise that weight gain can happen. Even though I am no longer a freshman, eating right and staying fit is still a struggle every day. Between the convenience of quick and easy food to a constant lack of sleep, there just never seems to be enough time in the day.
This is unacceptable and has got to stop! There is enough time during the day, I'm just not taking full advantage of it. I realized that even if I was only able to work out for 15 min during the day, it would be better than zero, and that's what I needed to do. I used to be a nationally ranked junior tennis player who could eat two double-doubles from In-N-Out like it was nothing and not gain a pound. Now that I'm focused on school and my career, I feel bloated and out of shape just looking at it. That's not to say I'm in terrible shape. I still play tennis about once a week, and am probably only about 5-10 pounds overweight, but personally I feel as if it's not where I want to be.
So given even the smallest increment of time I wanted to devise a workout for myself that would fit within a 15-20 minute time span. I went online to do some research on quick workouts that you can do from home. Surprisingly I didn't find anything! Alright that's a lie, apparently I'm not the only person out there to think of this genius idea, there was a wide array of information available to me on the best quick workout. One thing I noticed from a majority of the information is they do a lot of core and leg workouts, which is great for me because as a tennis player those are the areas of the body that need to be strongest. Doing jumping jacks is also wildly popular which caught me off gaurd because I always remembered in elementary school doing them and thinking these are so easy. Well after doing 100 jumping jacks in a row, I realize now why they recommend to do them.
With my new found knowledge I created a workout routine that was quick, challenging, and would help me get back into better shape. This is my routine:
100 Jumping Jacks
20 Push-Ups
20 Stationary Lunges (ea leg)
15 Toe Raises
1 Min Plank
15 Push-Ups
12 Squats
15 Toe Raises
30 Sec Inverted Plank
75 Jumping Jacks
It's quick, challenging, makes me sore and after doing this routine for about a week and half I'm starting to see results, feel better about myself physically, and get a little more energy throughout the day. I recommend this workout to anybody, modify if you have to, and encourage others to comment and add to it. Let me know what you think. Til next time.
-Thomas
This is unacceptable and has got to stop! There is enough time during the day, I'm just not taking full advantage of it. I realized that even if I was only able to work out for 15 min during the day, it would be better than zero, and that's what I needed to do. I used to be a nationally ranked junior tennis player who could eat two double-doubles from In-N-Out like it was nothing and not gain a pound. Now that I'm focused on school and my career, I feel bloated and out of shape just looking at it. That's not to say I'm in terrible shape. I still play tennis about once a week, and am probably only about 5-10 pounds overweight, but personally I feel as if it's not where I want to be.
So given even the smallest increment of time I wanted to devise a workout for myself that would fit within a 15-20 minute time span. I went online to do some research on quick workouts that you can do from home. Surprisingly I didn't find anything! Alright that's a lie, apparently I'm not the only person out there to think of this genius idea, there was a wide array of information available to me on the best quick workout. One thing I noticed from a majority of the information is they do a lot of core and leg workouts, which is great for me because as a tennis player those are the areas of the body that need to be strongest. Doing jumping jacks is also wildly popular which caught me off gaurd because I always remembered in elementary school doing them and thinking these are so easy. Well after doing 100 jumping jacks in a row, I realize now why they recommend to do them.
With my new found knowledge I created a workout routine that was quick, challenging, and would help me get back into better shape. This is my routine:
100 Jumping Jacks
20 Push-Ups
20 Stationary Lunges (ea leg)
15 Toe Raises
1 Min Plank
15 Push-Ups
12 Squats
15 Toe Raises
30 Sec Inverted Plank
75 Jumping Jacks
It's quick, challenging, makes me sore and after doing this routine for about a week and half I'm starting to see results, feel better about myself physically, and get a little more energy throughout the day. I recommend this workout to anybody, modify if you have to, and encourage others to comment and add to it. Let me know what you think. Til next time.
-Thomas
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Economics 101
These past six months have been some of the toughest I've ever gone through. From everything that happened with San Jose State, to trying to find a job, to trying to add my classes and relocate my entire life in Sacramento, it's been difficult. Not only has it been difficult on me, but it's been just as difficult on my family, friends, and most of all my girlfriend. I love her more every day for being there when I need her most, whether its just to listen to me vent or give me words of guidance, she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
With that being said, after all the changes that have been made, things are going well for me. I'm enrolled in two classes, have a great job working with computers and have a few options available for a place to rent in Sacramento. It took me longer than I expected to get back on my feet, but by setting little goals along the way I got to where I needed to be.
Now the next step is getting my degree, and it's time for the last big change. I'm changing my major to economics. The reason being is because I've realised that engineering and computer science just aren't the right majors for me. I'm miserable every time I go to these classes. There isn't a single aspect of any of these classes that I enjoy doing. So after looking through what classes I have taken, the majors available to me, and classes I remember enjoying, I came to economics, and I have to admitt I am really excited about my new major. Even though I may not be good at Calc 3, I'm still very good with numbers and an economics degree lets me use my math skills, along with my knowledge of the economy and how it works, to analyze markets and systems within a business venture. I'm smart and savvy with money and have always taken an interest in the stock market and this degree gives me the opportunity to explore that possibility.
With this degree I'll be done in 3 semesters which is awesome because the end seemed forever away in engineering or computer science and then I can move on into the next chapter in my life which is what I look forward to now more than ever.
I've already got next semseters schedule planned out: Econ 1B, Stat 1, Econ 113, and Econ 135. I can already take upper division classwork in my first semester! I feel confident and strong in my decision and for once am excited about the possibility of being able to graduate within a year and a half. I look forward to the challenges and can't wait for the new opportunities that will be at my disposal. I'll keep you posted on how my degree progress is coming along. Til next time.
-Thomas
With that being said, after all the changes that have been made, things are going well for me. I'm enrolled in two classes, have a great job working with computers and have a few options available for a place to rent in Sacramento. It took me longer than I expected to get back on my feet, but by setting little goals along the way I got to where I needed to be.
Now the next step is getting my degree, and it's time for the last big change. I'm changing my major to economics. The reason being is because I've realised that engineering and computer science just aren't the right majors for me. I'm miserable every time I go to these classes. There isn't a single aspect of any of these classes that I enjoy doing. So after looking through what classes I have taken, the majors available to me, and classes I remember enjoying, I came to economics, and I have to admitt I am really excited about my new major. Even though I may not be good at Calc 3, I'm still very good with numbers and an economics degree lets me use my math skills, along with my knowledge of the economy and how it works, to analyze markets and systems within a business venture. I'm smart and savvy with money and have always taken an interest in the stock market and this degree gives me the opportunity to explore that possibility.
With this degree I'll be done in 3 semesters which is awesome because the end seemed forever away in engineering or computer science and then I can move on into the next chapter in my life which is what I look forward to now more than ever.
I've already got next semseters schedule planned out: Econ 1B, Stat 1, Econ 113, and Econ 135. I can already take upper division classwork in my first semester! I feel confident and strong in my decision and for once am excited about the possibility of being able to graduate within a year and a half. I look forward to the challenges and can't wait for the new opportunities that will be at my disposal. I'll keep you posted on how my degree progress is coming along. Til next time.
-Thomas
Monday, November 28, 2011
Starting Fresh
With the new year approaching I wanted to start something new in my life to keep me motivated, organized and aware of what is going on around me. Finally for the first time in my life I know when I'm going to graduate, what I need to do to get to that point and feel confident and strong in my new found major, economics, and I'd like to keep it that way in case I ever get discouraged or frustrated about making the switch. If all things go to plan I should be graduated in 3 semesters, done with school, and be able to take on a new chapter in my life working, living, and traveling the world with my beautiful girlfriend.
With all that being said, I feel as if a blog is a really good way to be able to express my thoughts and be able to reflect upon them over time. Being able to see who you were and what you've become is a great way to grow and learn about yourself as a person. I think the biggest plus is it will keep me motivated to finish these last 3 semesters off without looking back. I've realized about myself that I'm very results oriented with just about everything that I do, and if there ever comes a time when I feel like giving up, I can reflect back upon my blog and realize that at one point in time, I was facing a more daunting task then what I would currently be facing in the future.
Lastly, most of my posts will probably be about school and college life. I think there comes a point in every college students life where they just go "Screw this!" and feel like giving up on college and entering the work force. It's times like these that shape who you become in life and show how hard you're willing to work for something you want. I know what I want and I know how hard I have to work to get it and nothing is going to stop me. I'm going to try and post 3 times a week if I can. Til next time.
-Thomas
With all that being said, I feel as if a blog is a really good way to be able to express my thoughts and be able to reflect upon them over time. Being able to see who you were and what you've become is a great way to grow and learn about yourself as a person. I think the biggest plus is it will keep me motivated to finish these last 3 semesters off without looking back. I've realized about myself that I'm very results oriented with just about everything that I do, and if there ever comes a time when I feel like giving up, I can reflect back upon my blog and realize that at one point in time, I was facing a more daunting task then what I would currently be facing in the future.
Lastly, most of my posts will probably be about school and college life. I think there comes a point in every college students life where they just go "Screw this!" and feel like giving up on college and entering the work force. It's times like these that shape who you become in life and show how hard you're willing to work for something you want. I know what I want and I know how hard I have to work to get it and nothing is going to stop me. I'm going to try and post 3 times a week if I can. Til next time.
-Thomas
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