On doing good

There is so much bad in the world that we should all do as much good as we can to balance it out.

It doesn't take an inordinate amount of effort to do good. I believe that it can actually take more effort, sometimes, to do bad things. Based on this, it seems like a no-brainer.

On the CPA Exam

The CPA Exam is hard. Not that I thought it would be easy, but I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty rough. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the exam is divided into four parts: 1) Regulation (3 hrs) 2) Financial Accounting and Reporting (4 hrs) 3) Audit and Attestation (4 hrs) 4) Business Environment and Concepts (3 hrs). Sounds like a lot, huh?

Well, the good news is that you only take one section at a time. The bad news is that to pass the exam, you have to take and pass all four sections within an 18 month period, each with a score of 75 or higher. Believe me, it's the most difficult 75 you'll ever have to get. Most people take review classes, and schedule the four tests over the course of a year. I took all four in just two months. Insane, right? The reason being that I wanted to finish them before I started working full time.

In college, I'd say that I was pretty efficient and diligent with my studying. Having gone through the process of taking Becker CPA Review Classes, reviewing the lectures, doing the practice questions, and studying for hours on end, it makes college seem like cake. For the past two and a half months, I've probably averaged about five hours of intense studying every day. I took my fourth test earlier today, and hopefully it'll be my last- fingers crossed. I gotta say that I learned a ton from all the studying, and feel this knowledge will definitely benefit me in the future. However, I'm so drained right now from all this, it's kinda ridiculous.

I'm so glad to be done...for now...work starts Monday.

On shrinking

About a couple weeks ago, I was hanging out with Alexis at her house and she happened to have a yard stick lying around. I decided to measure myself and unfortunately learned that I'm an inch shorter than I though I was, and there wasn't a whole lot of height there to begin with. So yea, that sucked...

On legends

"Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong."- The Sandlot (1993)

On lying

A majority of the time, the reason behind a lie is more important than the lie itself.

This then begs the question, why did they do it?

On "riding shotgun"

So I was watching the show Top Shot on History Channel, and learned what I consider to be an interesting fact about the origin of the term "riding shotgun."

Back in the wild west, stagecoaches were primarily used to make deliveries, most of the time for mail services. Because of the perceived valuables on board, stagecoaches were prime targets for robberies. To mitigate this, the businesses would hire skilled marksmen to protect the items being delivered, and these shooters would sit next to the driver in the front of the stagecoach with shotguns (10 gauge), armed and ready to fire.

Just thought that was kinda interesting...

On humanity

When asked what surprised him most about humanity, the Dali Lama answered, “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

We may not completely understand the reasons for what we do, or why we do it, where we've been, or where we're going, but if we continue to smile, laugh, look out for, and love each other, I think we'll be ok...

On personality

"Beauty gets the attention. Personality gets the heart."

There's not really much else that needs to be said :)

Obviously, an initial attraction is important to making a good first impression, but it doesn't mean a whole lot if you come to learn that the person is lacking in the personality department. Getting to know someone, and learning about how they live their life is such an exciting process, and sharing smiles and laughs along the way can lead to something real. Building meaningful relationships goes way beyond what you see in the mirror- it's about what you discover deeper within.

Okay, there was a little more that needed to be said lol

On catching foul balls

Catching a foul ball at a baseball game is a very difficult and impressive thing to do. Catching one with your bare hands- even more impressive. However, if you have a glove, and miss the ball- well, that's just disappointing. You don't get many chances, and if you don't use your glove the right way, it's embarrassing. In short, if you bring your glove, don't miss the ball if it comes to you- you'll get booed.

Also, if you bring a date to a game and a ball is hit at you, don't move out of the way. Man up and protect her, or you'll look like a tool.

Just sayin'

On TV shows I started watching this summer

If you haven't already checked them out, here are some really cool shows I've started to watch during this summer:

Suits (USA)

Franklin & Bash (TNT)

Necessary Roughness (USA)

Man V Food (Travel Channel)

Storage Wars (A&E)

Auction Hunters (Spike)

Operation Repo (truTV)

Pawn Stars (History Channel)

On customer service

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that most of customer service is really disappointing. Don't these people understand that dealing with people is their job? It's basically at the point where we're pleasantly surprised when these people actually do what they're supposed to do. How sad is that? I don't mean to sound arrogant when I say this, because I've worked multiple jobs in which I've interacted with many, many people on a daily basis. It's just that it's really not that difficult- do your job.

On Lake Tahoe

Pictures from our vacation:

The Log Cabin in Kings Beach- awesome breakfast!

Lobster Benedict from The Log Cabin

Incline Village Mountain Golf Course- the result
of my tee shot on the 15th hole, right before my birdie :)

Paella from Caliente! in Kings Beach

Waterfall on Mount Rose during our 6 mile hike

Derek on top of a huge patch of snow on Mount Rose

Mom and Dad during our hike

trees

View of Lake Tahoe from Mount Rose

On top of the world (kinda)

On being single

Some believe that only when you are truly able to be yourself as a single person, will you be ready to be in a relationship.

Knowing who you are, and being comfortable with yourself, can really help you become a better partner to someone else.

On making decisions and pleasing everybody

The funny thing about decisions is that we don't seem to have to talk ourselves into the right ones. That's why it's important to trust our gut.

When we try to please everybody, we end up pleasing nobody. The unfortunate truth is that it's impossible for a single decision to make everyone happy; there's always someone who ends up unsatisfied. Knowing this, let's not leave ourselves to be that someone. I'm not advocating selfishness, but believe we should truly understand the reasons behind our decisions.

On going hard

A lot of the time when I run or play sports, I feel myself holding back, and I hate that. The reason I do it is because I am so afraid of pushing too hard and getting hurt again, and being sidelined from everything is one of the worst feelings in the world. It's really not worth it. I remember when I was younger, I would go harder than anyone else out there, and that's what defined me. Everything is different now, and I get that's how things go, but it still sucks. As we get older, we become more experienced and begin to learn. And yet, things don't really get any easier.

On breaking away

There is no prescription for life, and you know yourself better than anyone. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going off path and doing what you have to do. Just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.

Breakaway- Kelly Clarkson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-3vPxKdj6o&ob=av2e

"Grew up in a small town

And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreaming of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray

Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I'd pray
I could break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away

Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get onboard a fast train
Travel on a jetplane
Far away
And break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away

Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging with revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
Gotta keep movin on movin on
Fly away
Break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye
Take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away
Breakaway
Break away"

On self worth

"Learn to value yourself, which means: to fight for your happiness."- Ayn Rand

Life is funny in the sense that somedays we can be overcome with joy and have the utmost confidence in ourselves, and yet wake up the very next morning wondering what the hell we're even doing here. I've had days like this, but, with the help of many people and a lot of searching within, have since learned that we are only worth as much as we allow ourselves to be. We are the ones who have a say in our happiness, and we need to realize and subsequently know that we deserve it.

On sports memorabilia

This stuff is meant to be enjoyed because it represents the rich history of the sports we love. It makes me sad that some people just buy and sell it to turn a profit. It really doesn't matter what it's worth, because it's priceless.

On asking for favors

Some people have no problem asking for favors. Usually, I wouldn't have a problem with this, as long as they appreciate the favors that are done for them (and periodically show their appreciation), and/or occasionally return the favor. Sadly, life isn't that simple and people can really take advantage. The hard part is that some people are so kind and so giving that they don't realize how far out of their way they're going to help someone who doesn't really appreciate them as they should.

On having a filter

I met someone not too long ago, and normally, I would come away from such an event with nice things to say about my interaction with a new friend or acquaintance. However, on this rather unfortunate occasion, I was squared up against someone who lacked a filter. You know those people I'm talking about...

If you know me at all, you know that I absolutely love meeting new people, and that it's easy for me to get comfortable with, and open up to others. I understand that my strong personality may sometimes come off as obnoxious, but I would hope that I'm never perceived as mean or arrogant.

The reason I say this is because when I was around this person, I felt more timid than I have in a long time. When I meet new people who are quiet, I make a conscious effort to get them to open up a little. For the first time in a long time, I didn't want to say too much in fear of what may come out of their mouth- such a know-it-all

This may sound dramatic, but it was pretty brutal, some of the things they said- it was really off-putting. I mean, I had just met this person, and they were already running their mouth in a manner I couldn't believe. I don't get how a person could be like that...

On even more pictures of food

mmm...

4th of July Dinner

BBQ Chicken and Sausage, Garlic Fried Rice,

Baked Beans with Bacon, and Corn Salad

Ravioli di cernia

(seabass filled ravioli with lobster reduction)

La Briciola

San Francisco, CA

Potstickers

Coconut Bay

Burlingame, CA

Gumbo Omelet with Homefries

Cajun Kitchen

Goleta, CA

Cobb Salad

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

Fremont, CA

Lunch Special E

(Unagi, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, California Roll)

Ni-Mo

San Mateo, CA

On who you end up with

You never know who you're gonna end up with, and that makes life fun, exciting, scary, nerve wracking, joyous, complicated, easy, suspenseful, worthwhile, difficult, and chaotic, all at the same time.

On taking things for what they are

In life, there are things we can control and things we can't. In my last post, On life being what you make it, I talk about taking hold of things I can control. However, there are unfortunately things that are pretty much out of our control. In such cases, it can be really beneficial to simply take things for what they are. I can't tell you how much time and effort I've wasted trying to control things that were out of my hands. I've now learned that sometimes we need to leave things alone, accept them for what they are, and appreciate them as much as possible. It can make life so much better... and easier.

#the texts that make you smile

#the conversations that warm your heart

#the relationships that change your life