Insomnia
I think one of the worst feelings to experience is not being able to fall asleep. It drives me nuts that I can be so tired throughout a whole day, struggling to keep my eyes open at work, then when I finally get to my bed, I lie there for like 40 minutes, wide awake.
It's been a long time since I have slept well, and I wish I knew why. One thing is that I seem to always be thinking about stuff. I try to clear my head, but so many things are on my mind.
They're not always deep or stressful thoughts, but all kinds of stuff clutters my brain. I get excited that baseball spring training is only a couple months away. I think about a game of Starcraft and what I could have done to play better. I think about work, about friends, about Olivia, about my future.
Sometimes people ask me how I always have weird ideas for blogs. Or, how I always seem to write so much. Well, I think the answer to both is that my blog is just a reflection of my life. Throughout the day, I've been spending a lot of time in personal thought, some of it is by choice, other times, I wish I could just relax and not think about anything. It's not like I sit around thinking "what should I write for my blog?" but more that I have so many random thoughts and the most accessible outlet these days for me is this blog.
The past year has been a tough year, among other things. And after talking to some of my friends, it seems that they have gone through (and may still be going through) tough times of their own. In my life, I don't think I really ever went through any identity crisis or anything when I became a teenager, or when I went through high school and college. As I have written before, the first 21 and a half years of my life were somewhat of a honeymoon for me, in that everything was laid out for me and that there were few things for me to doubt.
But right now, I think I'm going through maybe a mini-identity crisis. No, I'm not gonna quit my job and go pursue a life of painting or something. But I often wonder, where do I stand and where am I going? I've graduated college and found a job, now what?
I used to look up to people in my position and say to myself, "that is where I want to be. That is what I work hard for." And here I am, having essentially reached my goal. Who do I look up to now? What should I work hard for?
Even though I still admire my dad and respect him for being much older and wiser than me, he's no longer the invincible master of all knowledge and undisputed authority in everything. A lot of people see this earlier in life, but the realization that my parents are as imperfectly human as anyone else has only struck me in recent times.
So this is a time for me where the one feeling that seems to blanket all of my thoughts is one of ambivalence. For example, I feel too old to be buying clothes from places like Abercrombie, but I'm not ready for shopping at Marshall Fields or Nordstrom for stuff my mom or dad would wear. I feel like I should be past the college habits of sleeping late, going out to bars, etc., but at the same time I feel too young to leave that all behind now and start going to theater and musicals instead, drinking brandy instead of beer and listening to Kenny G and Celine Dion instead of Nelly and Britney Spears.
I don't think I want to be dating "just for fun" like in high school or college, but marriage and settling down with kids feels like it should be at least a few years away. And I know it's only a matter of time before I will move out from my mom and dad's house, but on second thought, am I really ready to live on my own, alone in this world? Scary.
As always, I've wandered far from my original topic. And of course, I don't really have any answers or solutions for myself. I'm just babbling here. At least now you know that I can't fall asleep, and maybe you know a little bit about why. But yeah, it sucks.
Wednesday, January 08, 2003
Tuesday, January 07, 2003
New Years Resolutions
I didn't notice very many people talking about their 2003 resolutions on their blogs/xangas. Even though I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, I am usually kind of interested to hear what kind of stuff people come up with and see how long it lasts for them.
Maybe everyone is lacking the creativity to think of their own resolutions these days, so I have a few suggestions for all my readers, as a special dudo509 blogspot treat. Feel free to print out any or all of the following and tape them on your wall or whatever, if you decide to take on a resolution listed below.
DISCLAIMER: These are only suggestions! Adopt and use at your own discretion and risk. I take no responsibility if you get lung cancer, lose your job, or just plain turn into a fat smelly sack after following any of these resolutions.
1. Show up later to work each day - Time is of the essence, they say, and I couldn't agree more. My time is precious to me; the more I have, the more I can sleep, play Starcraft, or watch TV. So this resolution is designed to help me maximize the time I have to myself by shaving off unneccessary time spent at the job.
The first thing I'll try is to arrive 6 minutes later each day. Simple math tells me that this alone will save me half an hour per week. Now, if I should be so bold, maybe the next step will be to show up 6 minutes late and leave 6 minutes early, saving me a grand total of 1 hour/wk. Eventually, I might have the gongs to make it up to 12 minutes each way. That amounts to 2 hours of savings which I could use for any of the above activities listed! It all adds up, as you can see.
2. Watch more TV - You know, that television set downstairs has been pretty neglected these days. Sure, I already spend all weekend watching football, not to mention Monday nights, and I also watch ESPN and ESPN2 pretty often too. But unfortunately, this leaves out plenty of other quality programming. For starters, it's a pretty disturbing thought to me when I ponder how many Jennifer Lopez and B2K videos I've probably been missing lately, just by failing to watch enough MTV.
Well, all that's gonna change starting right now. I'm gonna kick my TV-watching repertoire up a big notch across the board, whether it's MTV, VH1, BET, ESPN Classic, or Comedy Central we're talking about, as well as the basic channels like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and the WB.
Since I won't be able to catch everything, I'm gonna first try to focus on those reality dating shows. You know, like Dismissed, Elimi-Date, The 5th Wheel, stuff like that. Those shows rock. And after that, I guess I'll just squeeze in whatever else I can.
3. Eat more fast food - Throughout the years, it's always been a constant struggle to obtain enough calories in my daily diet. No matter how many fruits and vegetables or lean white meat I eat, it inevitably seems as if I'm just barely meeting the requirements set by my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This has become more than an annoyance in lifestyle, it's simply unacceptable.
So, after doing a little bit of research, I have found the solution: fast food. Consider the fact that most people's BMR falls in the range of 1000-2000 food calories, depending on weight and exercise. Now, if you get a Big Mac and large fry at McDonalds, thats like 1000 right there. If you Super-size that shiznit and add a Coke, you're pretty much set for the day, right? For me, I resolve to eat such a meal twice a day, just to make sure I'm getting enough calories, but you could probably still get by with just one of these meals per day, and go back to your vegetable and fruits crap for your other meals to patch up the rest.
The only problem is, I might get sick of eating McDonalds. Well, I guess if this happens, there's always Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, White Castle, Wendy's, etc. Just an endless assortment of similar restaurants surrounds us all. What a great country we live in!
4. Shower less - The utilities bill has been steadily growing the past few months, so starting this year, I've resolved to do something about it. Effective right now, I am gonna cut my showering frequency in half. Think about how much water we waste by taking unneccessary showers, and how much you could potentially save just by doing this one simple act.
But the savings don't end there. Half as many showers means half as much shampoo, conditioner, and soap used. It also mean you change your clothes half as frequently, meaning you will save yourself from doing laundry nearly as often as you do now. You see, the hidden savings are plentiful. It's like a chain reaction, one good deed begets another. If you've ever seen Pay It Forward, you probably know exactly what I mean. (I've never seen that movie, but I'm just guessing here)
5. Take up smoking - This year, I'd like to pick up the habit of cigarettes. I've gone too long in life without that sweet nectar they call nicotine. Reasonably, within a year I should be up to at least a pack a day, if not more. Once I become a more advanced and experienced smoker, my next resolution may be to start smoking weed. After that, who knows? Perhaps one day you'll see me on the street as a crackhead, if all goes well.
6. Drive more aggressively - 1 hour and 40 minutes is way too much time to be spending on the road each day. By cutting more people off, accelerating more forcefully, and using the ofter overlooked path they call the "shoulder" to pass traffic in rush hour, I hope to cut my daily commute time to about 1 hour and 38 minutes.
But time saved is not the only benefit. Driving like a jackass will make me look cooler and more dangerous, which in turn attracts more fine women. I'm thinking, if I can follow through with my resolution to take up smoking, I can also smoke in the car and toss cigarettes out the window while I'm on the road, in order to increase my cool factor even more. Maybe on lucky days, the cigarette will end up flying into the face of a toddler playing on the side of the road and burn him. Won't I be the ultimate bad boy then?
You might say that overly aggressive driving leads to decreased safety. Well, that may be true, but according to a wise man named Greg, "Being safer is good, but not as good as looking cool. A good motto for life." haha
7. Use more curse words - Will Smith doesn't cuss in his songs, but Eminem does. Now look who's more successful? It's easy to see from this example that the more swearing you do, the cooler and more popular you will become. So, this year will be the year that I beceome as nasty as I wanna be. I'm quite confident that I can keep this resolution, when I think about how simple it is to add profanity to my normal everyday conversation. For example, "I'm gonna return the video" could easily become "I'm gonna return the F-ing video." See how that works? It just takes some practice.
For now, I'm just gonna focus on expanding my vocabulary by the basic 4-letter words, but someday I hope to incorporate and more complex expressions of vulgarity. After that, maybe I'll even throw in some racial/ethnic slurs here and there as well. Baby steps, though, baby steps.
I didn't notice very many people talking about their 2003 resolutions on their blogs/xangas. Even though I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, I am usually kind of interested to hear what kind of stuff people come up with and see how long it lasts for them.
Maybe everyone is lacking the creativity to think of their own resolutions these days, so I have a few suggestions for all my readers, as a special dudo509 blogspot treat. Feel free to print out any or all of the following and tape them on your wall or whatever, if you decide to take on a resolution listed below.
DISCLAIMER: These are only suggestions! Adopt and use at your own discretion and risk. I take no responsibility if you get lung cancer, lose your job, or just plain turn into a fat smelly sack after following any of these resolutions.
1. Show up later to work each day - Time is of the essence, they say, and I couldn't agree more. My time is precious to me; the more I have, the more I can sleep, play Starcraft, or watch TV. So this resolution is designed to help me maximize the time I have to myself by shaving off unneccessary time spent at the job.
The first thing I'll try is to arrive 6 minutes later each day. Simple math tells me that this alone will save me half an hour per week. Now, if I should be so bold, maybe the next step will be to show up 6 minutes late and leave 6 minutes early, saving me a grand total of 1 hour/wk. Eventually, I might have the gongs to make it up to 12 minutes each way. That amounts to 2 hours of savings which I could use for any of the above activities listed! It all adds up, as you can see.
2. Watch more TV - You know, that television set downstairs has been pretty neglected these days. Sure, I already spend all weekend watching football, not to mention Monday nights, and I also watch ESPN and ESPN2 pretty often too. But unfortunately, this leaves out plenty of other quality programming. For starters, it's a pretty disturbing thought to me when I ponder how many Jennifer Lopez and B2K videos I've probably been missing lately, just by failing to watch enough MTV.
Well, all that's gonna change starting right now. I'm gonna kick my TV-watching repertoire up a big notch across the board, whether it's MTV, VH1, BET, ESPN Classic, or Comedy Central we're talking about, as well as the basic channels like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and the WB.
Since I won't be able to catch everything, I'm gonna first try to focus on those reality dating shows. You know, like Dismissed, Elimi-Date, The 5th Wheel, stuff like that. Those shows rock. And after that, I guess I'll just squeeze in whatever else I can.
3. Eat more fast food - Throughout the years, it's always been a constant struggle to obtain enough calories in my daily diet. No matter how many fruits and vegetables or lean white meat I eat, it inevitably seems as if I'm just barely meeting the requirements set by my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This has become more than an annoyance in lifestyle, it's simply unacceptable.
So, after doing a little bit of research, I have found the solution: fast food. Consider the fact that most people's BMR falls in the range of 1000-2000 food calories, depending on weight and exercise. Now, if you get a Big Mac and large fry at McDonalds, thats like 1000 right there. If you Super-size that shiznit and add a Coke, you're pretty much set for the day, right? For me, I resolve to eat such a meal twice a day, just to make sure I'm getting enough calories, but you could probably still get by with just one of these meals per day, and go back to your vegetable and fruits crap for your other meals to patch up the rest.
The only problem is, I might get sick of eating McDonalds. Well, I guess if this happens, there's always Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, White Castle, Wendy's, etc. Just an endless assortment of similar restaurants surrounds us all. What a great country we live in!
4. Shower less - The utilities bill has been steadily growing the past few months, so starting this year, I've resolved to do something about it. Effective right now, I am gonna cut my showering frequency in half. Think about how much water we waste by taking unneccessary showers, and how much you could potentially save just by doing this one simple act.
But the savings don't end there. Half as many showers means half as much shampoo, conditioner, and soap used. It also mean you change your clothes half as frequently, meaning you will save yourself from doing laundry nearly as often as you do now. You see, the hidden savings are plentiful. It's like a chain reaction, one good deed begets another. If you've ever seen Pay It Forward, you probably know exactly what I mean. (I've never seen that movie, but I'm just guessing here)
5. Take up smoking - This year, I'd like to pick up the habit of cigarettes. I've gone too long in life without that sweet nectar they call nicotine. Reasonably, within a year I should be up to at least a pack a day, if not more. Once I become a more advanced and experienced smoker, my next resolution may be to start smoking weed. After that, who knows? Perhaps one day you'll see me on the street as a crackhead, if all goes well.
6. Drive more aggressively - 1 hour and 40 minutes is way too much time to be spending on the road each day. By cutting more people off, accelerating more forcefully, and using the ofter overlooked path they call the "shoulder" to pass traffic in rush hour, I hope to cut my daily commute time to about 1 hour and 38 minutes.
But time saved is not the only benefit. Driving like a jackass will make me look cooler and more dangerous, which in turn attracts more fine women. I'm thinking, if I can follow through with my resolution to take up smoking, I can also smoke in the car and toss cigarettes out the window while I'm on the road, in order to increase my cool factor even more. Maybe on lucky days, the cigarette will end up flying into the face of a toddler playing on the side of the road and burn him. Won't I be the ultimate bad boy then?
You might say that overly aggressive driving leads to decreased safety. Well, that may be true, but according to a wise man named Greg, "Being safer is good, but not as good as looking cool. A good motto for life." haha
7. Use more curse words - Will Smith doesn't cuss in his songs, but Eminem does. Now look who's more successful? It's easy to see from this example that the more swearing you do, the cooler and more popular you will become. So, this year will be the year that I beceome as nasty as I wanna be. I'm quite confident that I can keep this resolution, when I think about how simple it is to add profanity to my normal everyday conversation. For example, "I'm gonna return the video" could easily become "I'm gonna return the F-ing video." See how that works? It just takes some practice.
For now, I'm just gonna focus on expanding my vocabulary by the basic 4-letter words, but someday I hope to incorporate and more complex expressions of vulgarity. After that, maybe I'll even throw in some racial/ethnic slurs here and there as well. Baby steps, though, baby steps.
Sunday, January 05, 2003
Weekend Update
This blog is dedicated to my 2 blog fans in the world. You know who you are.
I changed my oil on Saturday for the first time. This will be the first complaint I have about the G35. This car has a cover for the underbody for "protection and aerodynamic purposes." Which is fine, I guess. They even left a hole for the drain plug so people can change the oil without taking off the cover.
But for some reason, they didn't do the same for the oil filter. It's designed so that unless you are Stretch Armstrong or Gumby, there is no possible way to unscrew the filter and change to a new one. Trust me, I have a forearm full of scratches from trying.
And if you didn't know, it's pretty much expected that you change the filter every time you change the oil, it even says so in the manual. The manual gives you a whole step by step guide to changing the oil as "Do-it-yourself maintenance," and there is a part that says "If oil filter is to be changed, remove and replace it at this time. See later in 'Engine oil' for changing oil filter." So I found the section and guess what it said? "Contact your INFINITI retailer if replacement is required."
How awesome, eh. So did I give in and take it to the dealer? Hells no, that would be the loser way out. I ended up taking out about 15 screws so I could get that stupid cover off and change my oil filter. Took me a while, but I am proud of myself for this effort.
Later on that day, my homie Dr. Dre came through with a gang of Tanqueray, and a fat ass J of some bubonic chronic that made me choke...
Actually, we just went to the Buzz. I think I am getting too old for this stuff. Sad, I know, but I really don't think I would ever go unless a lot of good friends were gonna be there.
A couple hours ago, my sister was heating up some oil to make popcorn and she left the stove running while she went upstairs. Meanwhile, I was watching High School Reunion on WGN (more on this show later). A couple minutes pass, and my sister comes down and she just goes "OHMYGOD", which makes me turn around and see that there is a pretty decently sized flame coming out of the popcorn pot.
At this point, my sis is like "whatdoidowhatdoido?!" and I was like, "cover it!" So she takes the lid, looks at the fire for a few seconds, then turns to me and goes "can you do it?" That look on her face was classic, if there wasn't a growing fire I would've pulled out my digital camera and taken a picture. Finally, I covered the pot and everything ended up ok. Except maybe the pot might not be usable anymore, we'll find out. She told me not to tell my mom what happened but I think my mom found out anyways.
Oh well, if you didn't like that story, you had to be there.
Ok, I don't want to make this blog too long so I will just say something quick about High School Reunion. It's a show where they hold a high school reunion at like a vacation house or something and film it like "Real World" or "Survivor." So they have all these characters and their descriptions like "the Tall Girl" or "The Nerd" or "The Bully." And of course some of them are looking to hook up with their old crushes and stuff. The first episode was pretty entertaining. Catch it on the WB Thursday, I recommend it.
I've said it before but I'll say it again: Jack's frozen sausage pizza rules. Tombstone drools.
This blog is dedicated to my 2 blog fans in the world. You know who you are.
I changed my oil on Saturday for the first time. This will be the first complaint I have about the G35. This car has a cover for the underbody for "protection and aerodynamic purposes." Which is fine, I guess. They even left a hole for the drain plug so people can change the oil without taking off the cover.
But for some reason, they didn't do the same for the oil filter. It's designed so that unless you are Stretch Armstrong or Gumby, there is no possible way to unscrew the filter and change to a new one. Trust me, I have a forearm full of scratches from trying.
And if you didn't know, it's pretty much expected that you change the filter every time you change the oil, it even says so in the manual. The manual gives you a whole step by step guide to changing the oil as "Do-it-yourself maintenance," and there is a part that says "If oil filter is to be changed, remove and replace it at this time. See later in 'Engine oil' for changing oil filter." So I found the section and guess what it said? "Contact your INFINITI retailer if replacement is required."
How awesome, eh. So did I give in and take it to the dealer? Hells no, that would be the loser way out. I ended up taking out about 15 screws so I could get that stupid cover off and change my oil filter. Took me a while, but I am proud of myself for this effort.
Later on that day, my homie Dr. Dre came through with a gang of Tanqueray, and a fat ass J of some bubonic chronic that made me choke...
Actually, we just went to the Buzz. I think I am getting too old for this stuff. Sad, I know, but I really don't think I would ever go unless a lot of good friends were gonna be there.
A couple hours ago, my sister was heating up some oil to make popcorn and she left the stove running while she went upstairs. Meanwhile, I was watching High School Reunion on WGN (more on this show later). A couple minutes pass, and my sister comes down and she just goes "OHMYGOD", which makes me turn around and see that there is a pretty decently sized flame coming out of the popcorn pot.
At this point, my sis is like "whatdoidowhatdoido?!" and I was like, "cover it!" So she takes the lid, looks at the fire for a few seconds, then turns to me and goes "can you do it?" That look on her face was classic, if there wasn't a growing fire I would've pulled out my digital camera and taken a picture. Finally, I covered the pot and everything ended up ok. Except maybe the pot might not be usable anymore, we'll find out. She told me not to tell my mom what happened but I think my mom found out anyways.
Oh well, if you didn't like that story, you had to be there.
Ok, I don't want to make this blog too long so I will just say something quick about High School Reunion. It's a show where they hold a high school reunion at like a vacation house or something and film it like "Real World" or "Survivor." So they have all these characters and their descriptions like "the Tall Girl" or "The Nerd" or "The Bully." And of course some of them are looking to hook up with their old crushes and stuff. The first episode was pretty entertaining. Catch it on the WB Thursday, I recommend it.
I've said it before but I'll say it again: Jack's frozen sausage pizza rules. Tombstone drools.
Thursday, January 02, 2003
Post-holiday Hangover
6 am, Thursday January 2nd, 2003, clock radio wakes me up and it's back to work. "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still I'M STILL Jenny from the block. I used to have a little, now I have a lot..." - such inspiring words by the poet of our generation J-Lo, I gots to say. Brings a tear to my pretty eye.
Anyways, it wasn't so hard waking up. But staying alert throughout the day was a different story. One discouraging moment was around noon, after 4 hours of hard work I decided to reward myself with lunch (roast beef sandwich, chips, and Capri-Suns as always), then the thought hit me that for the past week or so I probably would not have even woken up by that time. Oh well.
I'm getting kind of sick of Capri-Suns, next time I go to Dominick's I'm gonna look for Squeeze-its. Hopefully they still make those.
It's probably not a good thing to do on your first day back at work, but I had to check what our next holiday is, just to see. Sadly, it is not for another 3 1/2 months, Good Friday 4/18. I am really appreciating holidays so much more since I started working. Next time I have time off, we are all going to do something cool, kind of like the Museum but something else. I'll think of something good hopefully.
Something that entertains me a lot is listening to Eminem, and then hearing one of his songs on the radio. I just like to hear how he tries to replace some lyrics with less offensive ones. The latest example is in "Superman" where almost half of the song is changed in the radio edit from the album version. Like, "bitches" becomes "chickens" or "tricks", "hoes" becomes "girls" (but only some of the times), "slap you off that barstool" becomes "bump you off that barstool." My favorite is "Superman ain't savin spit" cause I didn't know anyone else besides me used that. The one that puzzles me is, how does "leave footprints all across you" make it any better than "leave handprints all across you"?
Now that I got used to my optical mouse at home, the plain old roller mouse at work just doesn't cut it anymore. Kind of like going back to driving the old Ford Taurus after taking a spin in the G, but not as drastic.
The question for tonight is, to lift, or not to lift? I'm leaning towards no.
1. It will almost definitely be crowded from all the stupids who made a New Year's resolution to work out (which I can pretty much guarantee will be broken within 2 weeks), and
2. I am tired and I want to sleep early
Time to eat.
6 am, Thursday January 2nd, 2003, clock radio wakes me up and it's back to work. "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still I'M STILL Jenny from the block. I used to have a little, now I have a lot..." - such inspiring words by the poet of our generation J-Lo, I gots to say. Brings a tear to my pretty eye.
Anyways, it wasn't so hard waking up. But staying alert throughout the day was a different story. One discouraging moment was around noon, after 4 hours of hard work I decided to reward myself with lunch (roast beef sandwich, chips, and Capri-Suns as always), then the thought hit me that for the past week or so I probably would not have even woken up by that time. Oh well.
I'm getting kind of sick of Capri-Suns, next time I go to Dominick's I'm gonna look for Squeeze-its. Hopefully they still make those.
It's probably not a good thing to do on your first day back at work, but I had to check what our next holiday is, just to see. Sadly, it is not for another 3 1/2 months, Good Friday 4/18. I am really appreciating holidays so much more since I started working. Next time I have time off, we are all going to do something cool, kind of like the Museum but something else. I'll think of something good hopefully.
Something that entertains me a lot is listening to Eminem, and then hearing one of his songs on the radio. I just like to hear how he tries to replace some lyrics with less offensive ones. The latest example is in "Superman" where almost half of the song is changed in the radio edit from the album version. Like, "bitches" becomes "chickens" or "tricks", "hoes" becomes "girls" (but only some of the times), "slap you off that barstool" becomes "bump you off that barstool." My favorite is "Superman ain't savin spit" cause I didn't know anyone else besides me used that. The one that puzzles me is, how does "leave footprints all across you" make it any better than "leave handprints all across you"?
Now that I got used to my optical mouse at home, the plain old roller mouse at work just doesn't cut it anymore. Kind of like going back to driving the old Ford Taurus after taking a spin in the G, but not as drastic.
The question for tonight is, to lift, or not to lift? I'm leaning towards no.
1. It will almost definitely be crowded from all the stupids who made a New Year's resolution to work out (which I can pretty much guarantee will be broken within 2 weeks), and
2. I am tired and I want to sleep early
Time to eat.
Wednesday, January 01, 2003
2002 - The Year In Review
Well, here it comes. A reflection on my life in the year 2002.
- Final semester of college
4 years spent studying electrical engineering at the University of Illinois culminated in one last semester of class and graduation in May. These were probably the most memorable years in my life, and in this time I can honestly say that grew a great deal physically, mentally (I hope), emotionally, and spiritually.
But most of all, they were great times with really great friends. As I look back on my last semester, I think both of how much fun I had, but also how much I may have missed out in the 3 1/2 years preceding it. It wasn't until my last few months at school that I actually spent time chilling on the Quad in nice weather, or playing tennis at IMPE, or broomball, and all kinds of stuff that I should've been doing all along instead of studying at Grainger every night or playing video games in every spare moment (not knocking video games, video games are good).
Even though I loved all 4 years at U of I, it seems like I didn't make the most of my time there until it was almost over. Which is a little sad, but I'd rather look at it as a positive, that I went out on a good note and didn't overstay my welcome in Champaign-Urbana.
- Working For My Dad
After graduation, then what? A bachelor's degree in electrical engineering bought me next to nothing coming out of school, other than some scattered looks of sympathy in light of the slumping economy. Thankfully, I was able to spend some time working in a whole other field, the world of business with my dad. I already wrote quite a bit about this experience in an old blog, but mostly all I can say is that I am glad that I got this opportunity to learn and understand what my old man had spent 20+ years working in. And if nothing else, it was out of this time that dudo509.blogspot.com was born.
- Job at NG
A few months later, I got the call and accepted a job offer, beginning the Northrop Grumman chapter of my life. How long will this chapter last? Who knows. For now, I should probably just be content and happy to be where I am. It's been a good 2-3 months so far and I'll just take things as they come, I guess.
- G35
2002 also saw me wave goodbye to my first love, the '97 Maxima, and say hello to my new buddy, '03 G35 sedan. Of course I love the Infiniti, but as they say, you never forget your first love. At least I get to see her whenever my sister comes home. Meanwhile, I fully plan on keeping the G and driving it until he dies. That would be a sad day, but lets not think about that right now.
- Fantasy Baseball/Basketball
Another year, another set of failures in my fantasy sports leagues. In baseball, I had maybe the best collection of star hitters ever seen on one team. But in the end, A-Rod, Barry, Soriano and the boys could not overcome the pitching of the Jobberz, namely Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. And in football, Kurt Warner killed me once again, except this time from within. The team stumbled out of the gates, recovered momentarily, then faltered again before a hot streak to finish the season (5-1) fell short of 2nd place and its accompanying $10 glory prize. More importantly, the team came up empty once again in two matchups against Dave's gang of thugs.
2003 - The Year Ahead
Well, it may be hard to top 2002 in terms of life-altering events, but I expect nothing less in terms of personal growth and making memories. I don't believe in making New Year's Resolutions, I think you should just set goals and make changes when they are needed throughout the year at any point. But there are some things I do hope to see or accomplish in the coming 12 months:
I definitely hope to see more of my friends and get to know some people better. I will also work on being a better son, a better brother, and a better boyfriend.
I want to move out of the house, learn to cook and take care of myself and live on my own within 1 year.
I want to beat Dave's team in fantasy football, just ONCE, even if I lose every other game in the season.
I'd like to take more pictures and be a little better at photography, so I can record some of the moments I experience in the coming years.
I hope I continue writing in this blog, and that I continue to have different and new things to say. Whether it's a quick journal of what I did today, some random thoughts about commuting to work, stories about my mom, a list of songs I'm currently listening to, or deep thoughts on life, I want to keep on doing it. If I ever lose the feeling of enjoyment from writing, I don't know what I'd do. It will be a sad day if it ever happens.
I am gonna get some more Star Wars action figures to go with the Falcon. Maybe some X-wings, TIE Fighters, and AT-ATs as well.
That's all I can think of for now. If anyone else has a suggestion for me, I'm listening.
Well, here it comes. A reflection on my life in the year 2002.
- Final semester of college
4 years spent studying electrical engineering at the University of Illinois culminated in one last semester of class and graduation in May. These were probably the most memorable years in my life, and in this time I can honestly say that grew a great deal physically, mentally (I hope), emotionally, and spiritually.
But most of all, they were great times with really great friends. As I look back on my last semester, I think both of how much fun I had, but also how much I may have missed out in the 3 1/2 years preceding it. It wasn't until my last few months at school that I actually spent time chilling on the Quad in nice weather, or playing tennis at IMPE, or broomball, and all kinds of stuff that I should've been doing all along instead of studying at Grainger every night or playing video games in every spare moment (not knocking video games, video games are good).
Even though I loved all 4 years at U of I, it seems like I didn't make the most of my time there until it was almost over. Which is a little sad, but I'd rather look at it as a positive, that I went out on a good note and didn't overstay my welcome in Champaign-Urbana.
- Working For My Dad
After graduation, then what? A bachelor's degree in electrical engineering bought me next to nothing coming out of school, other than some scattered looks of sympathy in light of the slumping economy. Thankfully, I was able to spend some time working in a whole other field, the world of business with my dad. I already wrote quite a bit about this experience in an old blog, but mostly all I can say is that I am glad that I got this opportunity to learn and understand what my old man had spent 20+ years working in. And if nothing else, it was out of this time that dudo509.blogspot.com was born.
- Job at NG
A few months later, I got the call and accepted a job offer, beginning the Northrop Grumman chapter of my life. How long will this chapter last? Who knows. For now, I should probably just be content and happy to be where I am. It's been a good 2-3 months so far and I'll just take things as they come, I guess.
- G35
2002 also saw me wave goodbye to my first love, the '97 Maxima, and say hello to my new buddy, '03 G35 sedan. Of course I love the Infiniti, but as they say, you never forget your first love. At least I get to see her whenever my sister comes home. Meanwhile, I fully plan on keeping the G and driving it until he dies. That would be a sad day, but lets not think about that right now.
- Fantasy Baseball/Basketball
Another year, another set of failures in my fantasy sports leagues. In baseball, I had maybe the best collection of star hitters ever seen on one team. But in the end, A-Rod, Barry, Soriano and the boys could not overcome the pitching of the Jobberz, namely Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. And in football, Kurt Warner killed me once again, except this time from within. The team stumbled out of the gates, recovered momentarily, then faltered again before a hot streak to finish the season (5-1) fell short of 2nd place and its accompanying $10 glory prize. More importantly, the team came up empty once again in two matchups against Dave's gang of thugs.
2003 - The Year Ahead
Well, it may be hard to top 2002 in terms of life-altering events, but I expect nothing less in terms of personal growth and making memories. I don't believe in making New Year's Resolutions, I think you should just set goals and make changes when they are needed throughout the year at any point. But there are some things I do hope to see or accomplish in the coming 12 months:
I definitely hope to see more of my friends and get to know some people better. I will also work on being a better son, a better brother, and a better boyfriend.
I want to move out of the house, learn to cook and take care of myself and live on my own within 1 year.
I want to beat Dave's team in fantasy football, just ONCE, even if I lose every other game in the season.
I'd like to take more pictures and be a little better at photography, so I can record some of the moments I experience in the coming years.
I hope I continue writing in this blog, and that I continue to have different and new things to say. Whether it's a quick journal of what I did today, some random thoughts about commuting to work, stories about my mom, a list of songs I'm currently listening to, or deep thoughts on life, I want to keep on doing it. If I ever lose the feeling of enjoyment from writing, I don't know what I'd do. It will be a sad day if it ever happens.
I am gonna get some more Star Wars action figures to go with the Falcon. Maybe some X-wings, TIE Fighters, and AT-ATs as well.
That's all I can think of for now. If anyone else has a suggestion for me, I'm listening.
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