New Post

I was a little surprised when I saw that I haven't updated this thing in close to a year. Bullet point highlights of my life since the last post:

- Moved 3 more times. 1st move was right around the corner from my old place in LA, 2nd was to Costa Mesa and lastly where I am now Murrieta.  

- Quit my job to go back to school

- Started my own business

- My best friend moved back to CA

Making New Friends

I have been in LA for 2 months now. I really like the city but making friends has been difficult. My work schedule is a large barrier. If I worked normal hours than I would be able to join a small group at church and would be able to consistantly connect with people. It's not like I haven't met anyone, I have, but seeing people on a weekly basis (besideds co workers and roomates) has been largely absent. Making post college friendships in general has been a challange. It's a lot more difficult than it used to be.

Life Update 5/11/2011

Moved to LA about a month and a half ago. I like it out here. Nice to be in a really big city with the beach close by. Started going to a church called Reality LA which I really like. I find myself getting frustrated by my lack of involvment which is somewhat related to my crazy work schedule. The lease ends at my current place at the end of June. Not sure where I will be living after that. Work is moving offices to the Carson/Torrance area which is about 15 minutes farther away from where it currently is in El Segundo.

Life Lately

I've been working at my new job for close to a month now. It's been so nice to be working again. The company is growing really quickly and we are running out of space at our current office. They recently implemented a night shift which is what I'm now working. I start at 3:30 and get off at midnight. It's not as bad as it sounds. I like being able to do stuff during the day. It's also really cool being able to enjoy most of my free time after getting some sleep insted of getting off work and feeling drained from an 8 hr day and 45-60 mins of traffic on the way home. It feels so good to be productive and to be out and about. Still not sure where I will be going to church. I'm living in LB but I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here for. The longest I will be at my current place is until the end of this month. My roomate's lease is ending and I'm not sure if I'm going to stay in the area or move closer to LA. We will see.

New Job. New Opportunities.

I just got a new job! I'm going to be a working for a company right by LAX that turns pictures and film into digital images. I'm currently looking for a place to live close to Downtown LA or Hollywood. So many changes are/will be happening in the next few weeks. It's exciting!

2011

On the verge of the new year people can be filled with anxious anticipation of what might happen during the next 365 days. Will it be better than this year? Or, how could we possibly top this year? What's going to happen? I guess I'm just hoping that 2011 be better than this year. Not that this year was a complete dud I would like to think that life will get better and better with every year that goes by.

18 Months

I've been out of college now for a year and a half. It's been one heck of a ride so far. Lots of highs, lows and plateaus. I find myself unemployed for the 2nd time since graduation. Out of the 18 months that I have been out of school I have been jobless for 8 of those. I have an interview tomorrow for a job which I really would like to get. A job is not the complete answer to all of my problems but it would help solve a few. Looking for jobs has been a frustrating experience. I've applied for around 100 positions so far but have only interviewed, face to face, for around 5 of those. Lately I haven't been looking as dilligently as I once did. Looking on job boards hasn't shown to be that effective for me. It shouldn't be this difficult to land a job but unfortunately it is. I want to return to normalcy. I feel like I'm in the dugout just waiting to get into the ballgame.

Where Am I Going?

I have no idea where my life is headed. It's not completely a bad thing. Part of me really enjoys it. After coming home from Boston a couple of weeks ago I totally wanted to come back (or to NY). I'm back in Massachusetts currently for a few job interviews. I'm not sure whats going to happen while I'm out here. I bought a one way ticket in case I did get a job and decide to stay out here. It's been hitting me more and more that I might not be coming back home for awhile. Part of me is totally ok with that. I feel like I was leaving a mediocre situation. I wasn't loving my life situation. But then part of me more recently has been feeling a little sad about the things I will be giving up. Quality time with my family and friends will be only achievable through phone calls and occasional visits. I could be back home enjoying all of the old things in a week or two if I don't get a job or have a change of heart. Or, I could be staying out on the East Coast for awhile. Adventure lies ahead... wherever I'm at.

Boston

I'm about to head to the airport in just a few mins. I don't want to go home. I'm planning on getting a seasonal/retail job out here for a few months. I figure that way it will help me see if I really like it out here and can see if I can survive the cold weather. Hopefully I will be back soon.

cpewmcecnjfcbjfjcnkldnmslkm

I find it hard to stay positive being unemployed. I wish I had a better looking resume to send out. I wish someone in college would have told me that my work experience was more important than my degree. I would have pursued a better job than being a server at a steakhouse. I'm pigeonholed in the customer service industry. Foolishly in college I thought that just having a college degree would make me eligible for a lot of different jobs.

One Week, A Few Questions

My rent is due again in about a week. I'm not sure if I'm going to move back home to my parents' house or what. I'm supposed to have an interview really soon for a company that I would love to work for. If I get that job I would move to the Santa Monica area, which I would be excited about. If I don't get that job I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Should I collect unemployment while I look for a decent job? Should I take a couple part time jobs til something better comes along? Being unemployed is very boring. I just feel restless, frustrated and a mixture of other negative feelings. It is nice to get the extra sleep but not knowing what next week looks like is kinda scary.

4am Blog Post

I'm unemployed once again. I hated being unemployed last year after graduating from college. Although I did not like my previous job, I was thankful to have it. Just having something to keep me from the boredom of doing nothing was nice. Who knows what's going to come out of this?

Should I move to the East Coast?

I'm currently debating whether I should move across the country with my friend Mark. I would move to some suburb close to Boston. I don't think I'm going to do it, but who knows. Being 3,000+ miles away from all my friends and family doesn't sound too appealing. It would be cool to do something new and crazy though. It's hard to make a decision since I have never set foot in Massachusetts and haven't felt the East Coast air since I was three years old when my family took a trip to Disney World. I'm planning on joining Mark on his journey out there from Louisville to Boston. If I like it, there is a chance I would move there. But if I don't fall in love with it, I plan on staying close to the beautiful California coast.

Update

Man, I haven't updated this thing in awhile. A lot has happened since my last post almost a year ago. Haha. I've been working at a Chase bank down in South OC since last November. It's so nice having a job! Being unemployed was one of the strangest stages of my life. I moved out to Costa Mesa shortly after getting my job. I moved out of that appartment a little over a month ago into a townhouse in Tustin. I'm still trying to navigate my way through the real world which isn't as cool as I thought it would be.

College

My four years at CSUF were pretty life changing. I've changed so much since I was a young freshman back in the fall of 2005. I thought it would be cool to do a breakdown of each of the four years that I spent as a Titan.

Freshman year (2005-2006)- This was my first time living away from home. It was an adjustment period. I ended up going home every weekend. It was good to take a break from eating tv dinners and get a home cooked meal as well as do laundry. I went to Campus Crusade for Christ after going to their high school ministry, Student Venture, during my senior year. It was great meeting people my age who were passionate about God. I went to Fall Retreat and Christmas Conference and grew closer to God and the people who I was with. The begginings of some very solid friendships were established during freshman year.

Sophomore year (2006-2007)- This was my favorite year of college. I joined the leadership team with Crusade and grew very close with the students on the team as well as other people within the movement. I had a lot of fun hanging out with people outside of school. It was a year when a lot of relationships were formed, many of which have ended up in marriage recently.

Junior year (2007-2008)- This was my least favorite year of college. I went through a breakup the summer before and it took a long time for the pain to go away. I left the Crusade leadership team and battled through some tough times. There were definitely some bright spots though. I moved to the Hope International University dorms where my friend Mark was living. We grew a lot closer during this time and now he is one of my best friends. I also changed my major for the fourth time to Speech Communication.

Senior Year (2008-2009)- Senior year was an interesting time. I was in three weddings which was a cool experience. I had never had a really close friend get married before. This past year I was able to spend some quality time with a couple mentors/disiplers. It was beneficial for me to be able to be able to discuss life and the future with these guys. Over the course of the year I spent hours and hours wondering what I was going to do with my life. I had multiple ideas of what I wanted to do from being a baseball card photographer to being a staff member of Campus Crusade for Christ. I still don't know what I want to do but that's alright.

My time in college was a extremely valuable. I grew so much as a person. I met people who I hope will be life-long friends.

Life Update

A lot of things have happened since my last post. I've graduated and am looking for that 9-5 job that I have never really wanted- til now. I'm still really uncertain of where my life is headed. The job search started a couple months ago. I've had a few interviews but nothing has panned out yet. I've heard stories from people who have graduated and it took them 8 months to a year to find a job. I hope it doesn't take me that long. Once I get a job I can move back to Orange County and hang out with friends more easily.

Moving On Slowly

Blog post from June 2nd 2008:

"It looks like from now on people are going to be doing their own thing. People are getting married, on the road to getting married, or just have other big time commitments. Things are never going to be how they used to be. The community that I once enjoyed does not exist anymore and it's just going to keep dissolving more and more as time goes on. "

I wish that I could say that things have changed or that I was just being a little dramatic that day. Things aren't as bad as they were during the summer when I wrote the blog post above but they sure aren't great. I'm struggling. I miss my friends. I miss hanging out with people all the time. My friends have helped me become who I am today. It's been difficult for me to accept that things are different. I don't want them to be. That is why I have a desire to start over some place else. But what if the friends that I make in SD or wherever are just as busy as the friends I have now? People everywhere are going to have their own lives with their unique set of responsibilities. I don't know.

Fears

I fear the future. I've spent most of my life dreaming about being a baseball player not a guy working a 9-5 job. I didn't grow up wishing to work in a cubicle. I had bigger dreams for myself. I wish that I had some crazy goal to shoot for, some dream to follow.

Spring Break 2009

I'm currently in the midst of my last spring break as a college student. I don't have any crazy plans like last year when me and the guys were going to watch Mark attempt to woo a girl in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I mainly just want to rest and get some school stuff done. I only have 7 more weeks of school left! (hopefully). The future has been scaring me a lot lately. I've changed my mind a bunch of times with what I want to do after May 24th so I would be careful not to give this week's "plan for the future" too much weight. The game plan after graduation is to take a little bit of time off to relax. I might go on a vacation with my parents and maybe go on a camping trip with the guys. After that I plan on trying to find a job in the San Diego area. I want to find a room or an apt close to the beach. SD is a nice place and it isn't way too far from my parents or friends in Orange County.

Optimist: Me

I'm an optimist. I feel like is a good characteristic to have. I was looking at one of my blog posts from last January where I was wondering what would happen in 2008. I wondered about what the new year would bring. 2009 looks like it's going to be filled with a lot more uncertainty than any other year of my life. At some point during this year I won't be a student anymore. I've been a student since 1992 when I was five years old. Bill Clinton was in the first year of his presidency. Questions surround me about what life is going to look like. I don't know where I'm going to live. I don't plan on staying in Orange County so I will have to make new friends and acquiantances. I wish I was filled with more optimism that things are going to be great and that it's going to be a wonderful journey. But at the moment, the uncertainty is outweighing those fealings. I'm focused on the upcoming semester. It's my last full semester as a college student. I don't want to take this lifestyle for granted. I know that I'm going to miss it.