Yes I indeed have the uncanny ability to tell what week out of the year it is. And no I did not count from the very beginning just now. Time really do flies when you are amongst busy times because as the title states, it is the already the 10th week of 2011. I must complain that February went by way to quick, while fully understanding that it is the shortest month of the year. It kinds of knock your internal month clock of its kilter don't you think? I mean, for me it does because next thing I knew it was March already and traditionally that is the month when things really pick up (and naturally the best post season system in the entire world - March Madness is finally here!)
You know so far I have been blogging about various topics, and nothing really about what is going on with me (except for the way too long January 1st post). Recently I stumbled upon my old xanga posts and to my surprise all I did blog about back then was what went on with my day. I guess things were much more interesting back then, as nowadays I can explain my weekdays into three words - work, school, sleep. Funny thing was, I cannot believe that people actually was interested in something like that, but perhaps it is just like reading someone's diary, accept of course being online I omitted much of anything that would be incriminating.
So for this post I decided to write about what is going on with me (though my 365 challenge album on my flickr pretty much explains much of it) instead of writing about a topic (I was going to blog about China's rise as a world power and what it means for foreign Chinese persons like myself). Where to start? Well my concentration of course is desperately trying to finish up my undergraduate studies and get the heck of of the education system. As luck would have it, so far it has been the easiest and the hardest semester I am going through.
The easy part is that the classes themselves are easy. Irony is all of my four classes are within my business major and counts towards the degree. It is so surprising to find out that after one and half year of absolute torture in my main entrepreneurship class, this spring semester has been a relative piece of cake (remember, same class, same teacher, same classmates, TWO straight years). Instead of writing the equivalent of a graduate thesis (every semester (!) ), this spring all we have to do is run a computer simulation of starting a business, and to be honest it has been very fun starting a business with no consequences. But that is it! Run a year worth of simulation, and write a few pages, and I am done.
Pretty sure i have mentioned how impossibly strict and tough my entrepreneurship teacher is. However just before the spring semester started, she went into the hospital in bad condition (due to decades of neglect due to the profession). She basically had one of those mid life health epiphany moment, and is going through a 180 lifestyle change. Her presence towards the class has definitely softened - still strict, but softened. The lesson learn is that definitely should take care of your body NOW. Modern medicine is great and can probably reverse a lot of the damage but why put yourself through it?
I am also taking this color theory class, which is my elective. The class itself is like the entry level class in the industrial design program (sorry to the person whom I stole a spot in the class from - super senior first pick for the win). So yes the class is meant to be easy. Not that I am not taking it seriously because it does go towards my major degree so I need a good grade to maintain my robust GPA (in case I am insane enough to go back into the education system for my masters, which is most likely). Nonetheless, the class is fun, I learn about coordinating colors, and I get to be a kid again and do various art projects (though my god art supplies are not cheap - even with student discount).
My third class is the last business core class - the business seminar on strategies. Basically all we do is read case studies and have discussions. Believe it or not I consider it my filler class as the class is a joke and I either fall asleep or iPad surf. I do indeed complete any work assigned, but just don't ask me to pay attention is class because it is pretty much impossible (the fact that it is the last class of the week does not help).
As my previous piece on finding an internship indicated, the only class I am having some trouble with is my entrepreneurship internship class. Like I have said, finding an internship is just as hard as finding a job. When one crosses the outside, "real" world with the timetable of Academia, it is just a bad mix. Absurd as it might sound, I do not graduate if I don't find an internship. Ever heard of an undergrad class where the onus is on you to source the learning experience from an outside entity NOT controlled by the school? And I thought the university wants us to graduate!
Due to 99% the blessings of god and 1% my absolute abilities, I actual found an internship with a company (still need to get approved by my instructor, but hope her soften nature this semester will mean it is a trivial matter). I will be doing some product photography for the company, which is great. Because not only will I get my three units and graduate, I will also get to enlarge my photography portfolio (I must say, I impressed the founder of the company when I brought out my iPad, which held my photography portfolio).
So that is pretty much school life for me right up until May 20th, which is when the entrepreneurship programs holds its own little commencement ceremony. Oh I guess I should mentioned that I am also on the committee to organize and plan the ceremony. Problem is there are just so many details that goes into these things, not the least of which we as a whole are flat broke, and in order to actually pay for the ceremony we must either beg for services or do some fund raising. I am however very determined to see it come to fruition and according to plan because I am not attending the big school ceremony (which is... not as good. I mean, we will have alcohol). And plus, it is for our families, whom have supported us for so long and deserve to see us in our moment of celebration.
Of course I still work 20 hours a week on my campus job. Cannot believe I am going on my fourth year at the job. Naturally I will not be working anymore once I graduate, which presents two unique problems. First and foremost is that now I, along with my colleague on the similar level, is tasked to pass on the knowledge to the people that came after us, so that when we leave, things will be in good hands (because that is Allstate's stand). Last but probably more important than the first, I will be unemployed come the end of May! That is indeed a scary thought as how am I going to support my extravagant spending habits? But I have no choice but to go job hunting then, because MBA programs requires full time work experience, which at this point I am starting at zero. My hope is to join a startup company, because the vibe of a startup has really enticed and inspired me.
Anyways so that is the update on my school and work life. What is going on, on a personal level? Well I have to say I have literally zero time for myself because the aforementioned basically consumes the bulk of my time. I still work out six days a week (or at least try to), and sleep 8 hours a day (again, at least try to). So you couple those things with work and school, it does not really leave much for myself (because the accursed school leaves behind things called homework for people to do). I mean I am so busy during the weekdays that I literally go to work/school, come home, workout, watch Conan, and then crash. The weekend is then where I do all the homework that I have accumulated during the week and run all the errands that also have piled up (thank you, person for inventing Saturdays).
I have eliminate all my hobbies except for photography, as it after all the base of my entrepreneurship studies. Plus I committed myself to taking one photo per day for the 365 challenge (photos on my flickr, link to the left). I am looking forward to years end to look back at all the pictures and relive the year. But another reason I do photography for my only hobby for the time being is that it is the most expensive (the fixed costs are enormous), so I feel that I must constantly use the equipment, otherwise I would have wasted a lot of money buying thousand dollar lens and monitors.
Which reminds me, I have spent a lot of video games and devices as well, but a las I just do not have the time, not matter how much I want to play Gran Turismo 5 (have not touch it since December). I remain asking, is there a inexpensive hobby out there I can pursue?
Oh and I also blog obviously, because I am encumbered by my new years resolution to do so (see I do not set ones I cannot keep). The main goal of blogging is to not shamelessly self promote, but to sustain/improve my english writing ability. I don't want to lose it, especially when we are living in a world where twitter exits with its 140 character limit, and people's attention span is ever decreasing. Long form writing will only be limited to those who's job depends on them, and will be lost to the general population. So hopefully when that time comes I can leverage my writing abilities into some money. Let's hope right? (I should really start proofreading these - I just straight write and publish).
I had more to write about - personal non-wealth, a girl, frozen tundra, weather patterns, automobile fun facts, expensive fauna, and the royal wedding. But my ADD is kicking in, and it is 1:13am right now Monday morning, so I think I will just end it here and go to sleep.