A New Start

I had a thought the other day. That thought was that I should start blogging again. That I should really be keeping some record of my life, and it's easier to do that here. If I do it in a physical journal, it takes up space and I run the risk of not being able to read my own handwriting. If I do it in a conventional word processor, my computer may explode or something, and then I'd be out of luck. So I choose to write here, where I can share my life with the people who choose to read about it.

It's almost the start of a new era for my little family. I'm about to get a masters degree and start my first real career. I've been at this company for a while now as an intern, and I've recently decided to accept their offer to hire me full time once I graduate. Things are looking up.

Endings and beginnings can be tough sometimes, but that's what leaps of faith are for, right?

Vacation Time!

My school has what they call "J Term," which is this: During January, there are hardly any classes for "regular" students. Instead, they hold a bunch of seminars and certificate classes. Most students, including myself, take this opportunity to have an extra long winter break.

Between January 4 and 19, my wife and I took advantage of the extra time off to visit our families in Utah. I had to also take the time off from my internship, but sometimes the sacrifices are worth it. :)

It was great. We visited both my family and hers, and we also had a chance to visit some friends. It was pretty low key other than that.

I did take the chance to send my resume out to a few companies, and even got an offer for when I graduate in May! And, as of today, another place that I sent my resume out to called to express some interest.

So, as always, life is good.

My Awesome Day

It's been a while since I've posted!

Today was a really good day! It started out much like a typical Saturday: I woke up slightly later than usual, watched some cartoons (Yes, I still do that), checked FaceBook, etc.

But then, my wife and I went on a walk to the nearby mall. There's a Whole Foods market on the premises, so we got what has become one of my favorite things there: freshly ground peanut butter. It's really good. It's just peanuts, and maybe a little salt, and the best part is that it doesn't have much of a difference in cost compared to "regular" peanut butter! After we got home, we split a peanut butter and jam sandwich (homemade strawberry jam, to be precise).

On our way home, we saw another grocery store, Trader Joe's, that has great pizza crust. We decided that we would be having pizza for dinner. I didn't know it until we had decided that, but I was really craving pizza.

Later, we went to get one of the toppings that we needed for dinner (pepperoni). While we were there, we noticed that clementines were on sale for about half their usual price. We got some. Clementines are delicious.

As we left to do this shopping and other errands, we noticed that California's oldest theater, which isn't usually open to the public, had its doors wide open as part of Monterey's "Christmas at the Adobes" thing that they do each year. We mentally crossed our fingers, hoping that it would still be open when we got home. It was. Apparently, you're supposed to sign up for a tour or something, but we explained to the volunteer that was there that we always pass by, and we've always wanted to see the inside, and he said something along the lines of "Just walk in like you belong there. No one will know the difference." It was pretty awesome. Apparently, they did plays there as recently as 10 years ago. They allowed people into the lobby area, but the theater part itself is currently too dangerous to allow anyone to enter. Apparently, it would cost around $4 million to repair, according to the volunteer that told us, and the state just doesn't have that kind of money. It was still a great experience.

When we got home, I helped make the pizza. I sliced the mushrooms and shredded the cheese. It was so delicious that, even though we were both not hungry anymore after two pieces, it was hard to stop eating it.

I also got to spend the entire day with my wife, which is always a good thing.

Thank You, Day 7

Today is not my last day to be thankful, but it is the last day, for now, that I'm going to explicitly mention my thanks here on my blog.

Today, I'm thankful for everything. Yep, that's right. Everything. I'm mostly thankful for the good, but the bad has its place in life, too, if only to help us appreciate the good and help us grow.

I am thankful for, among other things: Dad, Mom, older brother and his family, younger brother #1, younger brother #2, younger brother #3, baby sister and her hubby, my wife, my in-laws (mom-in-law, cousin-in-law, great-aunt-in-law, you name it), my ancestors, my future progeny, puppies, everything I've mentioned so far this week, hamsters, bats, cats, rats, cockroaches, brooms, grooms, mushrooms, peppers, salt, trees, fish, jellyfish, seals, modern medicine, death, life, love, sorrow, joy, pain, healing, Jupiter, the sun, Chile, Russia, Japan, board games, video games, card games, chairs, music, musical chairs, noise, silence, whispers, laughter, tears, cheers, birthdays, anniversaries, art, clocks, time, Eternity, pi, water, dihydrogen monoxide, the past, the present, the future, the possible, the impossible, the improbable, the world, calculus, statistics, computer programming, computers, you, me, him, her, them, pronouns, adjectives, demonstratives, phonetics, semantics, spell check, language, the five senses, the sixth sense, religion, truth, error so that we can learn from it, wood, metal, earth, wind, fire, knives, chopsticks, and having a place in your life.

Thank You, Day 6

Today, I'm thankful for food.

Anyone who knows me well at all knows that I love food. It's necessary for survival, and that in itself makes food something to be thankful for, but food is also good! Taste is a very fascinating sense, and it's only through nourishment that we get to fully explore it.

That being said, I am even more grateful for healthy food that tastes good. If all you eat is meaty, greasy, cholesterol-ridden stuff, it may taste great, but it defeats the main purpose of food. Instead of nourishing, it kills slowly. I'm trying to make sure that I don't ignore that food is to help you, and that tasting good is a bonus.

Now I'm hungry...

Thank You, Day 5

I could say that today, I'm thankful for the feature that lets me mark posts as happening on different days.

While I am thankful for that, it's not what I'm going to feature. Today, I'm thankful for fantasy.

Imagination lets you put a new perspective on life by escaping it to a degree every once in a while. A big homework assignment is nothing compared to evil wizards trying to take over the world, for example.

Besides, would we have any of the wonderful things that we enjoy if it weren't for imagination? Internet? Computers? Television? Electricity? Cotton candy? Cars? Worcestershire sauce? Running water?

So, yeah, I'm thankful for being able to imagine things.

Thank You, Day 4

Today, I'm thankful for my wife.

We've been through a lot together since we got married 5 1/2 years ago. My little brother died just 5 months after we got married, and that was a defining point in our marriage. My wife was always there to strengthen and support me, and she still is.

Now, she's strengthening and supporting me as I finish up my Master's degree. After that, I imagine she'll be supporting me as I transition into the life of a non-student.

Years from now, whatever I'm doing, I know that my wife will be there, helping me through it as I try to help her through whatever she's doing.

Thanks, honey.