Category: Life Events

An Eventful Life

Life has been quite eventful already this time of year (2025) as we now enter the month of May. We start off with any Star Wars fans with “…the fourth be with you”, to Cinco De Mayo, nurse’s week and where I spent most of my childhood growing up, the city of Holland. A place where we celebrate not just tulips, but the Dutch culture as well… and a parade! This small but highly populated city, from what I’ve watched with my own eyes grow larger throughout my younger years, is really a gem. Even though, during the tulip time festival week, it may be crowded with tourists, I still find myself going to check out the tulips, and enjoying the food trucks and carnival that come with it. Can’t get enough of those elephant ears!

Did you also know they made a movie about Holland? It stars Nicole Kidman, who I think is wonderful and absolutely gorgeous, and although the film says it’s a psychological thriller, according to the trailer I watched, it had horror vibes. I’m not sure what was implied, but my life there had much different vibes. It was more comedy with notes of drama, adventure with a touch of musical, and cannot forget about romance. Maybe I’ll make my own short film about this city. Everyone does have their own perspective and that’s the beauty of film and media, we’re given a story through the writer/director’s point-of-view.

So anyway, with all that in mind said and done, we can’t forget what this weekend is… Mother’s Day! To my mother, I love you and appreciate all that you’ve done to raise me, even though I was a pain in the ass for just a decent amount of my childhood. Not too much hopefully. I know for a fact I would not be the man that I am today without you. Thank you for being my mom!

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The Right Title

When you’re making up your own story, which can be for a book, movie, or even a blog post, it’s never easy. Sometimes it can be a cinch, but lately for me, it’s been a struggle. No matter how simple or complex the story, I put in the research so I can make it right. The less voids/holes in the plot the better. Of course, it’s not going to be perfect.

However, once I have an idea of the story I’m going for and a little research later, I find myself going further down this sort of rabbit hole of a title. Could be simple or catchy, but I also want to make sure it isn’t copying anyone else’s which I find incredibly difficult (just because I don’t know how the world of copyright works and that it’s everywhere no matter what you do). And by this time, it’s almost impossible to come up with your own title that’s an original, unless of course you make up your own words. Like putting two words together, and somehow unfortunately for me, some made-up words I’ve looked up were also taken. Now I’m at a crossroad. But at this point, I think I’ve just accepted no matter what I decide to make my stories title, it’s my story, and no one else’s.

And that’s currently the story of my life lately…

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How Sleep Affects Your Happiness

As we evolve from being a young adult to adult, sleep starts to become less and less of a factor. And sometimes with that, lack of happiness. Not to say that you’re completely a sad old fart. You may tend to think about your past a bit more and remember some good times you had. But without a goal, constantly thinking of the past isn’t always a good thing. You forget to be present while being in the present. Just know that there are always going to be younger crowds than you and you may end up having to play the role model. Even if you didn’t choose to be, people could look up to you for inspiration.

I used to be that guy that always looked back at my past and wondered what went wrong with me, or why I’m not where I’d like to be in life. And also kept thinking about future plans for myself and think of steps to take to get to where it was, I want to be. But a good friend (and my hairstylist) once told me to live in the moment. And it hit me. There were so many times I was living in the moment and felt great about myself, but I quickly move on from it.

Now, just more recently, I’ve been trying to live my life in the moment and later on would recap my day. I would look back at the positives and if there were any negatives, I would quickly get through that and move on from it. Figure out what was not so great and try to learn from it to be better next time. And anything good, I like to soak that in just a bit longer because it felt great! It’s like I had my own highlight reel for myself like how you would see in pretty much every sport out there.

And to highlight this post, if you’re not feeling as great as you want to be, maybe you just need more sleep! At least we can start there.

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What is Nostalgia?

When you search it up, it basically explains a feeling you get about the past. Something that you miss, which could cause a bit of sadness. But it doesn’t have to be. I know for myself, I’ve only been introduced to a new genre of music (well, new to me) about 5 years ago now. Some call it Synthwave, others will call it Retrowave, and there’s many other names for it too. If you’re big into film and media, then you might recognize that type of music from the show Stranger Things. When I listen to this type of music, it does bring me back to my childhood.

Remembering simpler times of going to the arcade where you could win a fighting game just by button mashing. That or heading to the nearest video store to rent movies on VHS and that slow transition to DVDs. And you would have that forbidden adult room that always made you curious to why you weren’t allowed to go in. “Boobies!” I always claimed to have seen it on the cover but was never really certain. I ran in there once really quick to sneak a peek.

Also, my calves did get quite the workout too. I rode my bike for miles on average almost every day from going to the mall, video store, or the gas station to get slushies or ice cream. I had one of those bikes where you had to pedal backwards in order to stop. No gears, just strength. And don’t get me started on Pizza Hut. For some reason as a kid, it hit differently. I’m not sure if my memory is right about this, but I believe they had this $5 combo deal for a small pizza and drink. And collecting toys from McDonald’s or Burger King was something of its’ own thing too.

The only problem is having that feeling where that life has come and gone. The neon lights were its’ own vibe. Maybe that’s why I really enjoyed the movie Cars so much when Lightning McQueen helped fixed the neon of the people from Radiator Springs. Even though that was before my time, I still had this feeling about it. But I also have a good feeling about being able to bring back some of what we consider nostalgic. If you can do it right, you just might have a big enough fan base that would be willing to bring themselves out to your retro video and arcade store that have gone obsolete.

As much as streaming services have taken over, there are certain movies that you won’t find on certain platforms. And that is the hassle. Having to subscribe to possibly 10 different services or more to watch certain types of movies and TV shows. Next thing you know, you’re spending quite a handful of money a month on these and hardly use most of them. What if the internet went out for a day? As long as you have electricity, you could still have a movie night shuffling through your DVDs or VHSs. But if the internet was also down, you could even have a little fun game night. Whether it’s with board games or bringing out the old Nintendo games that you once had such a blast with your family from way back when.

That’s one of the old feelings I missed a lot with my family, getting together and playing a little Mario Party on the 64. And yes, that can still happen now with who knows what’s going on with the world. We just have to remember to take time for ourselves, each other and keep things simple again from time to time. Take a moment to pause your life, your busy busy life. As overwhelming as it could be, just remember to look after yourself. And don’t forget to bring those close to you along with you on this journey. You got this!

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My Perception of Life: Teenage Years

Life for me as a kid I had one focus: making friends. I didn’t realize it then but looking back at it, that really seemed to be the case. The friends I made growing up I had just one feeling every time we would hang out, and that was happiness. Although I didn’t have many friends, my parents did, and their friends had kids of their own. All these other kids were right around the same age as me and we hung out often. This is one of those situations where you would consider them family-friends. Even though we weren’t related, we still considered each other family.

Teenage Years

One of the first major turning points in my life happened during my high school years. But it wasn’t just one specific thing, it was many things that accumulated. New friendships, my love for cars skyrocketed, and of course, my first high school girlfriend. “Snuggly Bear.” I never called her that, just what she referred to herself in the letters we would write each other. Anyone else remember that? Letters! Seriously, when was the last time you wrote a letter to someone? I write maybe one letter a year.

Anyway, a lot of the friends that I also made, we had so much in common. Things like playing sports, video games, and sometimes we would rent a movie that was more horror-esque and pick characters in them who we would claim as ourselves and see who makes it out alive at the end. Also, another thing with horror-type video games, we would rent them and see how far we can get before having to return them. From what I remember, I was typically the one playing the game while my friends would watch. They were more interested in the viewing aspect while giving me options and observing the gameplay, all while I had to make whatever choices that doesn’t lead to death.

Even though I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 18, that didn’t stop me from being around cars. My older brother was a great example of that. During the weekends, when he would be working on his car in the garage, the moment I heard tools and other mechanical noises, I would pretty much run out to observe. I feel like the reason I did this was to see if I could learn from anything my brother does. I would ask him about what he would be working on or what modifications he would be doing, while still trying not to bother him too much. At least up until the point when I would have my own car to work on. In these early days, we only had 2 Fast & Furious movies out and during this time I could definitely say that I admired Paul Walker’s taste in cars. To this day, I still can’t afford the cars he drove in the movies, which led me to get the next closest thing… affordably.

With all these things that I mentioned and how great they sounded, maybe you’re wondering where the turning point comes in. Because from what we know, turning points are tendencies for conflict. When it came to school, my education was subpar. Bad grades can only lead you so far in life… or so they say. It helps, but a lot of experience with life in general can open up a lot of opportunities. With my grades not doing so great, my relationship with my friends became a bit bumpy as well. At this time, as much as I loved having friends, I never considered what would happen when we all started to get comfortable around each other.

What I mean by this isn’t just about farting in each other’s faces and seeing who beats who to the punch of saying, “doorknob or safety”, followed by running into the wall trying to avoid getting hit, but welcoming one another in like family. And from my experience with family, we do have tendencies to bicker and poke fun, but when it happened to me with my friends, I took it out of context. I thought maybe they were just making fun of me because of how easy I was to make fun of. And maybe that’s at least somewhat true, but my innocence was sort of taken from me. This meant as we got older, we start getting wiser and more mature… I would put an asterisk on both of those. At least when it comes being a teenage boy, we seemed to be incredibly immature.

After only a short time dating my girlfriend, she would break things off with me. Funny thing, she thought that I was going to break up with her which wasn’t true. But it happened and we talked about trying to get back together which we never did. So, no more Snuggly Bear for me. As I tried to move on, I did put myself out there with other girls. At the time, it seemed like it was preferred that as teenagers, you would rather hangout as a group while getting to know each other better before finding yourselves into a one-on-one situation, which was what I was trying to do. The girls that I asked out said yes and agreed to meet with me only to not show up and I would get stood up, multiple times, multiple girls. Since then, I just been afraid to ask anyone else out for the remainder of my high school career. And so, we move on…

My Perspective

Depending on how long ago since you’ve been a teenager, obviously, you’ve changed and have grown from that person you once were. The parts of you that you didn’t like, you no longer did that. Unless you are living in the past and only want to stay that way, but life doesn’t really work like that. Yes, you can keep certain aspects of your younger self with you. But the biggest takeaway from this in my opinion, is any situation that we find ourselves in, despite how we react to it and how it changes us… that defines who we are. Maybe not completely, but easily when it comes to certain aspects about us.

If I was able to go back and give any advice to my younger self, I would tell myself, “Don’t be so emotional. Learn to relax a bit. People are going to talk and you can either shrug it off or just do what you are going to develop later in your 20s: self deprecation. Trust me, it works! I know you wear your emotions on your sleeve but you’re a great kid… also, quit trying to be right all the time! There’s so much greatness in you and you don’t even know it yet, but you have to figure that out on your own. You can’t be afraid to learn something new. And one last thing: education is important. I know you don’t like it and a good amount of this stuff might not be useful in the future. But a lot of it is… that and you could also use it for trivia night. Did you know there are over 1400 different types of cheese in France?! Anyway, I should get going. One last thing, don’t tell anyone about this and the whole thing about time travel stuff.”

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Has Technology Ruined Traditional Romance?

What would life be like for Cupid in this modern age? Do you think that with smartphones and all these dating apps we have, Cupid has lost his desire to bring lovers together the old-fashioned way? What if I’m Cupid in the flesh and as a mortal? Because I’ll tell you, the last time I was sitting in front of my laptop, I banged my elbow against the table in public… and it hurt. Of course, I was trying not to show any emotion but I’m sure the girl sitting across from me noticed but continued on with her work. Why did I even bring this up? … I really don’t know, but let’s move on!

How Has Dating Changed?

It wasn’t so long ago before the dynamic of dating became what we now know it as: mostly through dating apps. Since the idea of smartphones came into fruition, that changed the entire game. But how so? Is it because almost everything is at such a convenience? If so, maybe that’s just a reason to describe us better. I like to consider myself like the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz: no courage. Maybe it’s not just me, as in there are a favorable amount of others that are the same way. But when we have our phones, who knows what we’re capable of? One thing I know for sure, we’re gifted with the creation of art. The amazing things that have been done or said just by having a phone in the palm of our hands. That right there gives us the courage we need to make something beautiful and memorable for others to see.

With this, it could be another reason why dating apps are so convenient. Some people have a way with words that could swoon others leading to love. I’m no poet, but someday maybe. Who knows? Let’s just hope they don’t take advantage of it in ways that leads to broken hearts. Unlike myself, I was never good at using dating apps considering there’s actually a lot of steps that are involved. Like how I’m not much of a picture person (which I’m working on) or let alone, taking selfies. Then there’s my bio with what I’d like others to know about myself where I’m making sure I’m not coming off as too creepy… or not creepy enough? Haha, I really don’t know. Some people have some interesting fetishes in this world, and hey, I’m not judging.

Maybe that’s why I have a higher tendency to have more work crushes in my life. Apps don’t work, I am not the type to go to bars to meet women, so what does that leave me with? Well, I did mention how I could be Cupid himself. My birthday is only 2 days apart from Valentine’s Day and I like to consider the month of February the month of love. Even with all of this, I do start to wonder… maybe I’m just not in a place or time in my life right now for love. It’s not like I’m looking or really trying. However, with that, love seems to find me and I believe it likes to see my reaction. Like how I stumble over my words quite often when I’m nervous around someone I like. That or being clueless to the signs that are being sent my way.

Nothing against those who found their loved ones/companions from these apps, because now it’s become the new normal. And even if that’s not how you met, there are other ways of communicating with someone we’re interested in just from our phones altogether. When it comes to love, obviously somethings working. In just the last couple of decades, Earth’s population went from 6 billion to 8 billion. There’s a whole lot of love going on in this world, and maybe that’s why Cupid decided it was easier to stick with apps. He ran out of arrows!

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The Biggest Lesson I Learned from My First Job

Because I was only 16 when I first started working, mistakes were common but learning lessons was rare. Now, to be clear, I’m not just referring to my jobs. It’s my life altogether. As we stick to the working portion, one thing I know for sure when it comes to retail is you have to have good customer service skills. Other traits and your personality are more of a bonus to have when it comes to making conversation and having a connection.

Going back to my first job, McDonald’s. I’m not exactly sure how I was able to ace my interview but I did. My boss who interviewed me was amazed with my answers, but when it came to the job itself, there was so much to take in being in a fast-paced environment. For the most part, all I had to do was run the register, taking customer orders and greet them with a smile, which I did. However, there was a lack of motivation in my speech and how I was speaking to customers. How I know that: it was what my boss told me when she was letting me go. And unlike what we see in movies and television (at least from my experience), I was never told the words, “you’re fired.” It was almost always, “… we have to let you go” or “do better next time, stupid!” … okay, that last one was made up. But maybe a little transparency isn’t such a bad thing.

I personally prefer honesty, because that gives me insight on what I need to work on. Hence, the transparency. Having constructive criticism on our work is a good thing, but we cannot forget the how of it all. Like how to deliver the message to those so they can understand it and make the necessary adjustments needed to perform better at their jobs. Like I said before, it’s not just with our jobs, career, but with life.

Depending on your relationship and how you are with others, it’s easy to do or say something that could be taken out of context by someone else, just by saying the wrong thing… even if it’s not. That’s why I believe a huge part of conflict comes from misunderstandings. And how we react to it is mainly just our personality and lifestyle. These are the effects of life choices.

The choices we make determine how people perceive us, even if it’s one thing that doesn’t really define us. Unfortunately though, people are also quick to judge. But that’s also what makes us human. Whether it’s being bold in the moment or just trying something new, which I do quite often. And the end result: there are both rewards and consequences. For me, a good chunk of the reward is entertaining people like making them laugh. Then there’s the consequences…

As it may seem like I have this huge list of consequences, I’m pretty sure the positive outcome/rewards are about even, if not more. Like my constant battle with choosing to stay up late and almost every time waking up tired and unmotivated. Again, it’s all choice. The choice we make that has its’ consequences, has its’ rewards, all lead to the potential of having misunderstandings to conflict, and that gives us our personality.

My biggest takeaway from learning that I lacked motivation from my first job made me understood, knowing what I know now, who I was at that moment in my life. Quiet, in my shell and has yet to find my voice in the world. In public, I’m as shy as it gets, which makes it easier for people to take advantage of me, and have. Despite that, when I’m in my comfortable surrounding, I am quite expressive. Being around a smaller group of people or with one other person, I can just have a conversation with nothing held back. And that’s trust. Probably the reason why my inner circle was so small considering my life experiences. I put a lot of trust in people and there were times it backfired, but other times, it was incredibly rewarding.

So, no matter how long it takes you, if you haven’t already, take a moment to yourself to reflect on your life. Whether it hurt you or pleased you, just know, it’s a part of your life and your own. The outcome is what you make of it!

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I’m not a player, I just crush a lot

Unless you work from home and see nobody but maybe your pets, you’re going to have a colleague you become attracted to. Also, not to get things mixed up with having a thing for your pets. Uhh, anyway, could be right away or maybe it takes a little time first. Then again, attraction is one thing but developing a crush is another. If you asked me about all my work crushes, I would be a wh*re… without pay. In the many jobs I’ve had… and current, there’s been one or multiple for each job where I find myself crushing over someone. But the longer you work at one place, the more crushes you will find yourself having. At least, that’s with my situation.

Barista

Let’s take my current job for example, especially while my memories fresh! But for me, I have two jobs so we’ll start with the first. Been working as a barista now for three years and I love it! The vibe is great, customers are wonderful (for the most part), and my colleagues are just incredible. I will say, I do work with mostly women, in both my jobs actually, which explains the many love interests I have. But honestly, when I first started working here, I felt like my teenage self again back in high school. Everyone just so beautiful and me, just this quiet kid hoping not to make a fool of himself. I was mostly known, and still am to this day as having these one liners that makes everyone laugh. It really did take me a while to be a little more open just because everyone else seemed like they just connected with each other so easily, all while I’m just observing and taking it all in. It was a fast working environment as well, so I did my best just to try and keep up. Some things took me a lot longer to figure out, but other things were just natural.

Of course, during my time learning something new like this, there’s no denying I started catching feelings in the process. One individual (I won’t name names this time), just had something different about her. Something new that I had yet to experience. As always though, there was “the look” that you just have with certain people and it’s more than enough to put a smile on your face. With that, she almost knew what I was thinking half the time. On multiple occasions, she actually finished some of my sentences. And on top of that, this one time around the holidays, we were both randomly singing the same Christmas song. Once we caught ourselves singing when we crossed paths, our eyes locked for a moment… right before we went back to work. The best way to describe, whatever this was between us, was the chemistry we shared.

Unfortunately, despite all the chemistry, we also had different religious views. Me personally, I just like to consider myself spiritual (something I talked about from a recent post). She on the other hand was very religious and was only interested in someone that was the same. Even with that, I still had this feeling she felt a certain way towards me. But hey, I’m not going to judge someone just because they have specific standards in a partner of what they’re looking for. We all have them. It’s just too bad because of our chemistry and only for it to be disregarded by this one particular thing. That’s okay though because life goes on, and you got to keep moving forward.

Nurses

Right around the time I had accepted it wasn’t going to work between this other barista I really liked… and also, because she was leaving this job to move in with one of her siblings out of state (no, I had nothing to do with it. I promise), I came across a second job working at the hospital. I wasn’t a nurse or anything, just because a. I never considered it an option and b… well, I guess that’s just it. I thought I had more. But my primary role here would be to help out the nurses with any non-medical needs and tasks. A completely new program that I got to be a part of the new pilot. With me like pretty much every new job I start, I like to observe as much as I can so I could understand what my role would be and get a feel for the vibe. Whatever the energy is, I’ll try to match it. At least when it comes to the work itself. Again, being in the hospital setting there are not just female nurses, but doctors, secretaries, physicians, and many more. As I always tell myself being somewhere new, “David… be on your best behavior. But also, don’t be afraid to crack a few jokes every now and then.” Just to keep everyone on their toes. That and to see who’s actually paying attention to me.

Like this one time I was talking to one of the nurses about why my eye was itchy. For a moment, I really thought I had gotten pink eye from the night before. Well, it was more or less from when I was sleeping in the middle of the night. I was really gassy and every time I would wake up, I let out a fart. It was this on top of my fan blowing towards me with the gas, so I’m soaking in my own stench and whoo! It was quite pungent. Hence, the reason I thought I had pink eye. Also, I really liked working at the hospital because yes, I help out whenever I’m needed or anything I can do to alleviate the workload from the nursing staff and anyone else in the department. But if I feel like I’m having issues with myself, I’m getting a free diagnosis… in a manner of speaking. Or rather a consult.

Anyway, it wasn’t long after I started this new role where I found myself wandering towards the beauty of the staff. Knowing that I am in a work environment, I still know to keep things professional. But there was this nurse that just stood out to me, where she had this aura of lust. And something almost immediately told me that she was special. Throughout the year that I was working there, I could just hear her voice and how she was with patients. She had such an amazing and positive energy. And her laugh, wow! I mean, it was so affectionate. With all that being said, whenever the two of us would bump into each other, I would strike up a casual conversation just to be able to get to know her more on a personal level. And there were also times when she would ask me personal questions as well. Even though we would maybe see each other once a week, sometimes if I’m lucky enough, I get to have these little conversations with her. Despite the short amount of time we do talk, it’s still a moment that we got to share with one another. And that alone just made my day so much brighter.

Sadly, so many good things tend to be almost temporary. My work there changed so much. At one point, I was only helping out on the weekends considering my other job I had. Then, another moment I had switched over to weekdays with an opportunity that only lasted so many months before it was gone. But not only that, this nurse that I was so into ended up switching to another department and rarely do I ever see her again.

Something that I wanted to add to why nothing ever came to fruition with these two individuals, is because we worked together, and I just couldn’t do that. Like I mentioned earlier, I do keep things professional. Almost like dating in the workplace is not allowed. But I see so many people do it all the time… which is just my excuse.

Truth is… and I’m sure you already know this, but I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what might happen if things don’t workout or if I get turned down. What that will do to our work relationship and how it might affect things. Could I stay professional after the fact? I’m not sure, but people meet their lovers so often from work. Maybe it’s time I change it up. I mean, why not? There’s this scene from Ratatouille between Remy and his father when he shows Remy the dead rats. His dad mentioned to him that the future is only more of this, and that you can’t change nature. Remy refused to believe that and told him, “Change is nature. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide.” And where I’m getting at with this is, well, if you’ve followed along the journey throughout my love life, you’ll know I haven’t really made a whole lot of changes. So, when I choose to make that change, then we could finally have a plot in this story of my love life. Let’s find out!

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How Saying Yes Changed My Spiritual Journey

Not so long ago, right after Thanksgiving day, I was approached at home by a couple of sisters from the missionary. My nephew was the one that originally answered the door but started saying some silly things which led me to intervene. I was curious, so I introduced myself. They were incredibly nice and asked me where I stand on religion.

Despite my family being Buddhist and when I was much younger, I do remember a friend of my parents offered to take us to church but I was too young to really understand and retain any memory of it. As I got older, I never really saw myself leaning towards any religion. I just did my own thing really and believed in whatever I suppose I wanted to believe in… and of course, that means Santa Claus! Even if he doesn’t believe in me.

So, when I told the sisters I didn’t have any belief, they asked if I was at least spiritual, which I most definitely am. They were more than happy to hear that. Considering Christianity is incredibly broad with many different denominations, they were Mormon, and asked if I was okay with them reading a scripture from the bible. How could I say no? This ended up leading to where they asked for my number and then offered me the book of Mormon, and that eventually led to me being invited to a Christmas party and going to church the Sunday before Christmas. With all this, I also ended up learning quite a bit about the religion.

But why did I agree to any of this in the first place?

As we started approaching the new year, about a week or two prior to the sister missionaries knocking on the door, I was rewatching the movie Yes Man from anywhere to about the tenth to fifteenth time. Overall, in my opinion, it was a great movie with how simple, easygoing, and of course, because it’s Jim Carrey, its’ comedy and his perspective on showcasing two different types of people in one.

But one thing stood out the most to me about this film: its’ relatability. This most recent time that I watched it, something triggered in me that got me reflecting on my past. The countless times I would have friends and family invite me to whatever it would be that they were doing, I would come up with an excuse not to go, causing me to miss out on so many opportunities in my life. And who knows where that would have taken me to this day.

The reason I feel that I am this way often could be because I like sticking to what I’m comfortable with. Getting out of my comfort zone does raise my anxiety and then I start to feel awkward in my surroundings. I am a bit of a homebody.

So, I took a chance and said yes.

On a weekly basis, I met up with the sisters to learn more about the book of Mormon. Now, other than my reasoning to saying yes, in these last few years alone, I became obsessed with learning. Because there’s so much out there in this world alone, it would be a waste to stay couped up in only so many places. That’s why I had to break out of that.

Being older and wiser (sort of), I wanted to understand more about this religion. So, I took it upon myself to be educated by the sisters. I was very much intrigued, although, when I was asked if I knew anything at all about the book of Mormon, my mind went straight to South Park. I didn’t tell them that. Just let them know that I have heard of it. And from there, the education began and the rest was history, as they say.

Something that I missed way back when, when I was still going to classes in grade school, was that feeling of wanting to learn. My much much underdeveloped mind at the time just wanted to make friends and hangout with them as often as I could. And even that was difficult for me. Especially when you’re typically the quiet kid in school. I couldn’t tell ya how I was able to make the friends I did, but hey, it happened and we all got to hangout as much as we could. It did lead me to constantly waiting to do my homework at the last moment before being due. But I’ll always be grateful for the friends that I made and the memories we shared.

The thing is, you don’t have to say yes to everything. As per the movie. But it’s there to just give you that kick start that you may need to the possibility of something wonderful. And if you don’t want to, you could always just say no instead of making an excuse not to. For me, I’m just getting started and already I got to have this story to tell if I didn’t. Do what feels right in your heart… or gut… or wherever. Whichever you prefer. You got this!

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Navigating Change: My 2024 Journey

How do I describe 2024? Why have I been lacking to blog? What changes will I make for this coming year? My answer… “what’s with all the questions!?” Here’s the thing, change happens constantly in my life. To start the year off, I once again had to make the decision to move out and stay with my sister and her family. That was to save some money before I can get back on my feet. After many calculations, it’s not cheap to live on your own without a second set of income to help take the edge off. Especially if you’re going at it alone. I was given an opportunity with one of my job, which I took, only several months later to have that taken away from me ( I swear I was crushing it with the job and a lot of people were thankful for me. Unfortunately, I doubt I’ll ever figure out why they did this to me).

This only shortly after I made a decision to upgrade my vehicle to something newer and hopefully more reliable than my last. Of course, when you find out about things that take you out of your routine… you stumble. If you have a good thing going, you have a routine, you have a set schedule, you can work with that, happily I might add. What made this worst for me was finding out from a peer and not my superior, not until after we got together weeks later to talk at least. When this happened, I do what I know, which was to stress just a bit, come up with a new gameplan, and as always, figure out my budget moving forward. Communication has always been an issue since I’ve been with this employer. Sadly though, communication is a big issue with a lot of other places too.

The thing is, I am incredibly thankful my sister allowed me into her home. Even with her kids, who are young adults now, can still be crowded now that I’m there. I have lost many quality sleep since I’ve been with them. All the more reason why I miss being on my own. Which honestly would be a great motivator towards pushing myself to do more with my life so I can achieve that feeling again. It’s not all bad though. I do get to save money and I picked up a new skill in pickleball, which my niece and nephew play quite often. I even made a trophy for them for a end-of-summer event tournament they hosted with their friends. The feeling I got when crafting things again brought back some really fond memories. I think that’s the thing we lose in life as we get older though. We forget that we can make things with our hands no matter the outcome instead of just purchasing things constantly. We consume way too much in life.

Which leads me to what my plans are for this new year. I’m slow. Something I’ve known for a while but never really understood why. And I’ve accepted that. This year I’m going to take my time with life. I know I have a tendency to give myself a hard time if I don’t get to do things I would like but now that’s perfectly fine. As long as I know I’m taking a step towards the future I want, I’ll be alright. Things with my other job have been going really well and it seems like all you have to do is stay poised, stay positive. But not just staying that way, it’s about being it. Life can be difficult but maybe that’s because of how you look at it. If you have dreams, goals, and aspirations… all you have to do, is start.

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