After a bunch of soul searching and trying to decide exactly what I want, one of my girl friends pointed out that I needed to make a decision and stick with it regarding work and school. I was giving myself too many options. She was completely right. I’ve been prolonging my definite decision since fall of last  year and I had basically already made my decision by January of this year, but didn’t really notice. I was unhappy with how things were falling into place in my life and that I was not focusing on the things that were most important to me. So after consulting my family, boyfriend, boss, and close friends about the things that had been going on in my life I finally did it.

I walked into my office yesterday to discuss my options prior to actually making a final decision. My boss had explained how my whole life I had been working and used to the order of things around me like having a job to go to in the morning, making money, and focusing on that before I went to school. He was right, because he knew I had to pay my way through school since I was 17 and working for this job since I was 19. He said that even though he would miss the employee that I am and everything I had done for the company, that I should focus on school and make sure I got what I needed out of life and to enjoy school life. I was very appreciative of his encouragement.

I gave my two weeks notice late this morning to my boss and as of March 31, 2010 I will be a full time student focusing on earning the rest of my degree. So here comes the “kind of” part… Of course I plan on looking for part-time work, because I couldn’t possibly just make no money. There is obviously minor luxuries like my cellphone and going out money that my parents aren’t exactly willing to pay for and it is definitely nice that you can do with your own money as you please. I am happy that I decided to make this decision in my life and look forward to what the next couple of years is going to bring to my plate. I’m also looking forward to the many doors that will be open after I finish.

**Side note: I get to enjoy funemployment for the first time ever! Woo hoo!

A few days ago the Executive Director for the company I work at, has released the freeze on the hiring process. Which basically means transfers to different offices, promotions, and new hires will be accepted again! For those of you that don’t know, I have been struggling with my current position, because it travels so much and I feel like I am not really going anywhere. Being able to challenge myself and take on new things is almost necessary in a company I am working for. To me it proves what sort of job I can do and leads me to bigger and better things constantly. I do have to admit one thing though… this job has great benefits and I always have the same amount of hours every week. I am salary and have been working in my department for three and a half years so it only seemed right to stay with the amount of time I have invested and the seniority I had achieved.

Now that the freeze has been released and I can start transferring, I feel like I am a little less stressed about finding different work in the Bay Area. The job I am transferring to is actually in another department which has room for growth and will provide me with multiple challenges on a daily basis. One thing I really miss doing is helping clients and having the satisfaction of knowing you helped that person with what they needed.

Right now what is important is a steady income, school, and getting everything done so I can accomplish more in my future. Either way, I’m so happy about this positive change and looking forward to concentrating on Stanford for the next quarter!

Excuse me for a minute while I step back into my girly self and take a few moments to reflect on my personal life.

I’m not really one to write about my relationship, because I’m always afraid I’ll jinx it or something and I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to be a relationship guru. Or it must be the fact that I like keeping at least some things private. Especially the most important, but there is something I want to mention when it comes to spending time with your significant other while you both have a lot on your plate. Sometimes it becomes SO difficult to spend time with one another, so I love when when we always find ways to make it work out.

In between all of the things I have going on which are traveling, homework, work, studying, social events, and just basic “me time”, one of the most important people I worry about is my boyfriend, My Robert. Spending time with each other is not always an easy task, because we both do so much of our own stuff, so most of our time is spent finding ways we can communicate during the day. I can tell you that small things like a text to say good morning and a phone call during the day are always much appreciated. Going over how each other’s day went and talking about what we did that day keep the sparks for me. So when people ask me how my boyfriend and I make it work, I tell them. It’s those little things and just enjoying each other’s company when you have time to do things together that make it work. I’m seriously not even big with spending that much money. An evening at home or going out to watch a movie is probably one of my favorite things to do with my boyfriend. Also, the calls of support for each other on a bad day and having someone to discuss it with is always a plus. With that said, if the Boyfriend reads this, he’ll know much extra he is appreciated if he didn’t know already.

My life has been going through spirals lately, because of all of the stress I’ve had to deal with in my career, school, and personal life. After so much time has been spent feeling like a weight is on my shoulders and just taking too much out of me, I basically feel like it is time to sit back and evaluate what is going on.

This time I turned to my friend L, because it never seems to stick on me when I do it myself. It is also always good to have another person looking from the outside, because they aren’t clouded in the situation and it isn’t you judging yourself. L began to tell me how I needed to get rid of all the negativity in my life. To sit down and look at the good and bad of all things going on around me. Was it really necessary to keep doing what had been bothering me for so long? To let go of all the negativity would make my life turn into more positive being generated. I was able to start a new life in a new city, new school, and a new job. This was an opportunity that most people aren’t given and I should take advantage of it. Everything L said made complete sense, so I decided to take on the challenge.

I began to look at this like throwing out the clutter that was overwhelming my life. So I began to write down what needed to change. Starting with work, school, and finally things in my personal life. Things I needed to learn how to say “no” to and things I needed to actually start saying “yes” to so that I can make my life easier. Trust me, evaluating your life is never an easy task. Especially when you’re not accepting of sudden changes. Luckily for me, I love change, so starting fresh is always something I look forward to. It is mainly why I love the start of a new quarter or project. I’m hoping the start of this new project will help me accomplish turning everything negative into a positive by going with this theory of getting rid of the things that are actually negative in my life or figuring out a way to fix them upon impact. Wish me luck!

February is on its final day and I am already overwhelmed with March. Besides rain and very little sun, this month was filled with Valentine’s Day fun, interview prep, meeting up with old friends, checking an item off my 2010 list, and much more. Today I spent the day all to myself taking a trip to Starbucks, getting a much needed haircut (only cut off an inch, growing it out ), trip to the Apple Store, walked around downtown, treated myself to a great burger, and came home to do things around the house. I had dubbed Sunday as my “to-do” day and thought it was about time I got much needed things out of the way before a fresh start and a new month.

This past month I have done a lot of resume building, cover letter editing, and talking to people who are familiar with the industry I work in. I found all of the peer help to be pretty interesting and very much needed in my quest for another job. I know myself that I needed to build a few things before I started interviewing so that I would be prepared when questions were asked. Quick and knowledgeable answers are always a plus in the interview process and being prepared is something I have never done before. I felt it completely necessary this time around, because there are plenty of people out there who are unemployed that are looking for a job like me. The competition has been raised a bar and as you find yourself moving further up the ladder, you find the job market a little more cut throat (factoring in the crappy economy also). With me, it is a little more complicated than also just interviewing, because I also have to include what benefits are out there (dental, vision, and medical). After a few interviews this past week, I wait to hear back and see how I have done and whether or not I am moving on to the next round of the process.

School preparation for the start of a new quarter at Stanford is also under way and I’m not so stressed about that, so that is a great thing for me. Being able to focus on other things before school starts is beyond needed for adequate stress relief, because I know when that hits I’ll be drowning in papers. Already looking forward to spring break!

I’m so pleased that even though I came home a few days with migraines this month and things seemed to be moving too quickly for me at times, I was able to catch my breath and relax a few days. Hopefully March is as nice to me.

I don’t consider myself an idiot when it comes to technology, but there is still one thing that I haven’t quite figured out and that is mastering my email inbox. No matter how hard I try to filter my inbox with dozens of labels and specific places it for it to go, I still can never get it to zero. Knowing that I probably have an OCD, because I can’t stand the number that is still climbing, staring back at my face. Red numbers that are visible as missed calls on my iPhone or sitting in my voicemail always need to be cleared out too, so I get to those also. So you can obviously see my ongoing need to keep things clear and done. On a daily basis I have usually more than a hundred emails coming in and about as much time to get maybe half completed if I am lucky. I started having to “star” things in Gmail to save the important things for later if necessary. One thing that has helped relieve some of the inbox is the recently found Dropbox, where I can receive documents in shared folders instead of through email. I find it very fast and reliable, so that is a big plus!

If you have any suggestions on how you get through your email without finding yourself sinking in it let me know. Hopefully after mastering it I can then buy myself the Nerd Merit Badge that means “Inbox Zero“!

I keep coming back to this:

I always notice after a conversation on the phone with an old high school friend who I haven’t talked to in years, things always come up that I never realized about all the changes that have been going on in my life. Mainly with the different person that I have become. It is always a little surprising to hear about how things were in the past and what people are going through in their current life to make you stop and evaluate yours. I have been out of high school going on a couple years now, which may not be long to some, but very long to me. People are getting married, talking about starting families, and finishing up grad school or getting started on it. It always makes me wonder if this was the right path and if I should be choosing a different career. My move to the Bay Area has not been as easy as I thought it would be and I seem to be trying to piece back my life together after hitting a little bump in the road along the way. With girls I think it is a little different when you’re thinking about how much older you’re getting and how you still would like to eventually plan out the rest of your future career and including a personal life. Frustration seems to get the best of me these days with all of the constant falling behind when you’re trying to stay on top of things. I suppose this is where the “life is never easy and will always throw you curve balls”, comes into play. Continuing to work full time is something I never really planned on doing when I was setting out to medical school. I also had planned to go to medical school since I was fourteen. With all the technology around me and related work I can’t help but still wonder if the tech industry which I feel so comfortable in, is the route for me. I know I’m still young and I have a lot of my life ahead of me, but to me I don’t have all the time in the world. I’m hoping a little break to sit down and figure things out will help me think about what it is that I really want my outcome to be. So I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that whatever I choose it is the right one for me.

One of my favorite places in San Francisco is Q Restaurant for a number of reasons, but the main reason is because the food is awesome.

My friend E (from Sacramento), decided it would be a great place to try, because she had seen it on the Food Network of all places and it had been given rave reviews. It was my first time being in San Francisco in this area actually, so it was a completely new experience for me. My friend L and I drove to meet her, P, and B around 12:30 for lunch. L and I took in some of the scenery prior to her arrival and thought it was an interesting area with all the shops, food places, and people walking around with their dogs. We had no clue how packed Q would be, but I guess we should have thought of that when it had obviously been mentioned on the Food Network. Luckily after putting our name down we only had to wait about 20 mins while catching up (E, P, and I had not seen each other in about 3 years).

Inside, Q had a bar area with different drink ingredients adorning its walls which was along the center of the wall, so your eyes immediately were focused there. We were seated at a window seat where some of our backs actually had the window as a chair rest which made it feel even more open. I glanced around the restaurant and noticed the amazing paintings on the brightly colored yellow wall and a huge mirror that made the restaurant look like it went even further back. The menu was very simple and not at all highly priced. I chose of all tasty looking things on the menu, a cheeseburger. Which when it arrived, was completely amazing tasting. Made with fresh bread, stacked with cheddar cheese, veggies on the side, where I chose a side salad instead of their awesome fries, and of course don’t forget the bacon I added onto my burger. I looked at everyone’s meals which also included various burgers topped with blue cheese or swiss, a salmon burger, and a great looking sandwich. Our table was completely satisfied with service, the amazing food, and great conversation among us friends.

I definitely recommend checking out Q if you’re in the area and I am positive I am going back to sample from more of their awesome food.

I used to feel like blogging about a product was sometimes a piece of fluff in a blogger’s posts.Then I realized that when you really like something and you want other people to know how much they would also like it, you have to share. This is where my post comes into play:

After a long day at work, one of my co-workers pointed out to me that my trusty laptop bag of the past 5 years (which is the amount of time I’ve ever owned a laptop) was officially dying on me. The strap on the bag was ripping at the seams and it was only time until my bag decided it would drop my lovely MacbookPro. Obviously it was time to replace my bag, but after weeks of searching I had no luck, because there was nothing I wanted. Then a friend reminded me of the Timbuk2 gift certificate I had, so I decided to check out the store and see what the bags were all about online. To my amazement I was completely excited about how stylish the bags were, as well as provided enough protection for a laptop, had a lot of pockets, and claimed to be very sturdy. I asked a few of my friends what they thought of their bags and all were very pleased, so I talked to an employee at the Timbuk2 store on Hayes in San Francisco where he gave me a walk through of all the bags that were available and we even talked about how easy it was to customize one. I ended up settling on a Commute 2.0 which has a pocket where the laptop goes that is TSA friendly. This is crucial, because it is really annoying having to take out your laptop in the middle of the airport along with your sweater and shoes, only to find out how hard it is going to be to put it all back in and on. There is also plenty of pockets which allow me to put my Air Card, earbuds, paperwork, external hard drive, etc. neatly in my bag. I am also impressed with the comfort of the shoulder strap which I have going across my chest that makes me feel like I am barely carrying anything. (My previous bag only allowed putting it on your shoulder which added weight on whichever side I wore it which made me hate taking my laptop anywhere.) The price was totally worth it for a bag with great quality that was going to provide everything I needed. I am pretty positive my next laptop bag purchase if I ever need one will be a Timbuk2 and I recommend checking one out if you are ever in need.

I’ve been finding myself working late at night with absolutely nothing to do, but heads down typing away and finishing a load of projects. To keep myself semi-entertained while my shows are still recording on the DVR (I hate watching shows live and not being able to fast forward commercials) and making sure I’m still in the mood to work, I’ve been using my Xbox like crazy. So I thought I might actually inform you of my two favorite things to do on my Xbox that have been keeping me completely happy lately.

If you already have an Xbox you would know that Netflix is now available to be streamed through your console and onto your TV. Recently, I just discovered Heroes for the first time, so I’ve been catching up on the all of the old episodes until the current season. It doesn’t have much to pick from as far as new movies go, but it does great with favorites or television shows, including the fact that anything playing on Starz will now be available, so that’s always a plus. It is also fun to start up a movie with any friend who has Xbox Live and also has Netflix. You can suggest a number of movies and then agree on one to watch together. My second favorite thing is Connect360 which is basically a program I have installed on my Mac after paying 20 bucks for an activation code. Basically it installs onto your Mac and allows you to play movies, music in iTunes, or pictures you have on your computer, right onto your TV through the Xbox. Which is pretty amazing, because it makes you feel like there is really no need to have cable. Especially if you download.

Anyway, this is basically what has been keeping me busy and happy lately in the at home entertainment department. I hope you find this of use to you if you want something else to do on your Xbox. Getting the most out of your console is always awesome and I just had to share.

I have actually checked off one item in my list of 23 things to do in 2010!

I’ve debated getting a camera for the longest time and basically got through about three months without one, but it was so depressing. I seriously felt like part of me was missing. Before you think I am completely crazy, I’ll explain. I like to spend my weekends going to new places to take pictures of the new places I visit. It’s very relaxing for me and I believe sometimes a picture is way better than explaining it in words. After plenty of research and asking a few people (specifically Helena, blog writer of Queen of the Pavement who takes amazing photos) which camera they thought was best. I settled on the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS. (Excuse the photo quality of it, I had to take it with an iPhone.) After going back and forth about purchasing a DSLR, I decided that since it wasn’t a very serious job and just a hobby, this camera would do just fine, but in pretty awesome quality. I really can’t wait to enjoy this camera on my next outing which will probably be this weekend, so I’ll keep you posted!

It is amazing to me how stressful and what a bummer this week started out with and seemed to have pretty much failed me, but I have decided that I can’t let this get me down. Even if things don’t seem to be going my way or looking up for me right now, I have a lot of other things to keep in mind.

I have interviews scheduled in February for jobs that I have applied to in the Bay Area. Preparing for those and hopefully gaining some that will temporarily make me an actual full-time college student. Not that I haven’t already been, but working full-time as well does not let you put everything you can into your school work. I have managed to keep up the good grades (A student!), but as classes are getting harder and I’m reaching the next pivotal point in my education I need to focus more. I know I can’t always be the girl who has never studied. (Photographic memory.) So I plan for my next quarter to be a full out process by keeping up with the reading, work, and important school events. I feel like I am beginning to sound redundant, but you can never remind yourself enough to stay focused on what you set out to do. I know that in the end this will all be worth it.

Having to keep my mind on school and partially on the future can sometimes make my twenties feel like I am planning for when I have the out of school life. Where I focus on my career and plan for the rest of my future. Yes, of course most of it is about that, but the only other thing that I should remind myself is to remember to have fun while I’m doing it. There is no way my twenties has to be all work and no play!

I decided to take some courses at the local community college which are based on a 10 week short semester length along with whatever I am registering for at Stanford in February. I am not sure if it is the lack of money at this community college with the poor economy, but I had the most horrible experience trying to do so. It is the first time this college-that-shall-not-be-named seems to be integrating online registration and looking up every course online. The UI also looked like my 5 year old cousin could have done a better job putting it all together. Besides that, I also went ahead and added some courses only to find out that I have been “waitlisted” before I am registered for that course which doesn’t make any sense to me. Apparently waitlisted does not mean what it normally means at a college. Typically to me, waitlisted would refer to being put on hold in the application process and not necessarily being accepted after the long wait. In this case, waitlisted means the class has already been filled, but you wait to see if anyone drops and you are given a position number to find out whether or not you will be added on to the class. Now I am confused as to whether or not I should even go ahead and buy the book or just drop the class instead. I suppose part of it is my fault for having registered to this school so late, because I would have been the first group to pick, but I still wasn’t sure if I had even wanted to take these classes.

So for now I’ll just say waitlists for classes are for sucks, college-that-shall-not-be-named.

We’re now two-thirds of the way done with January and the year is already flying by so fast! School starts soon for most people this week that are on semesters, while others are still in the middle of Winter quarter. The fact that I have been working non-stop and getting a lot of things done has been a big help to keep me occupied and not exactly notice the speed of time. Which can be both a good and bad thing if you look at it from two different angles. Either way, I have spent most of my January stressing out about current projects at work and wondering if what I am doing with school is right for me. I considered going a different route for a brief moment in time and I’m still on the fence about it. Hopefully within these next couple of weeks I can make life changing decisions that I’ll stick with or keep on track with the way I have already been going. I suppose most of my decisions are coming from the fact that I am obviously getting older and about two years away from twenty-five. To some people that are reading this, you’re probably saying… you’re worried about turning twenty-five? You’re still young. But it is not necessarily the age that is getting me worried, it is the thought that I should know by then exactly what I want to do. I suppose this is where the “quarter life crisis” comes into play. (A friend gave me this article she stumbled upon recently while she was going through hers. Read it here: Welcome to Your Quarter Life Crisis.) I am not sure when I decided this would be one of the main turning points in my life, but I suppose it is because I would have hoped after all this hard work, I’d know by now. It kind of makes me wonder, how many other confused 20-somethings are in the same boat as me right now?

I have never done this before, so I’m trying it for the first time this year. I always have a list of New Year’s Resolutions to go by which I am pretty bad at keeping up with or I lose the list along the way. So, I thought why not list 23 (my age) things I actually WANT to do in 2010 which are kind of like resolutions, but not necessarily something like giving up carbs (which is ridiculous) or learning to curse less (hey, I play Call of Duty and Halo with a bunch of guys and win don’t blame me for kicking ass).  So here goes:

1. Purchase a new camera for more photography adventures.
2. Find a new job that will help support the following: me, going to school, and still being able to go out with friends.
3. Find a new recipe at least each month if not each week, cook/bake it, and blog about it.
4. Keep school as a priority and let everything else (except being in love) fall second.
5. Finally take an overnight trip to Napa.
6. Go on at least two vacations not within California.
7. Take a photo a day for a new Flickr project that I’ve always wanted to try: 2010 in iPhone Photos
8. Start walking/biking around more.
9. Start swimming again. (My favorite thing to do in the entire world.)
10. Read a new book every month.
11. Attend SXSW and stay for the music also.
12. Try a new restaurant at least a couple times a month.
13. Learn how to snowboard/ski or both.
14. Start using Google Docs, Calendar, etc. more to make my life a little more organized and easier.
15. Go to more mixers/networking events to meet more people in the tech industry. (Making friends is also a plus!)
16. Experience a sunset all the way through while getting amazing photographs.
17. Go sailing.
18. Learn more Photoshop techniques to become a pro at it.
19. Eat at French Laundry.
20. Go to more concerts/music festivals.
21. Write more even if it isn’t on the blog, because I love to.
22. Go camping. (I haven’t been in so long!)
23. Explore SF and experience everything I have been wanting to.

Yes, it does look like a long list, but I am hoping 2010 is a great year for me. Almost all of these are completely obtainable if I make the time and effort, so I’ll let you know at the end of this year how it worked out. I’ll probably even blog about it along the way.

October through December are always the craziest months of the year. So many holidays and birthdays are jam packed into those three months that it is hard to catch up. Christmas has just passed and I feel like I am still not done with it, but that brings 2010! A decade has finished and brings a new year with new experiences and plenty to do. I really wish I would have kept up with my resolution of blogging constantly in 2009, but as all things in life occur I did not get to as much as I had hoped which I plan to tack onto 2010.

Looking back at 2009 here are some of my favorite moments:

• being accepted to Stanford
• my 23rd birthday
• changing my blog’s name and hosting it on my own domain
• Vegas trip
• all the time spent with my boyfriend
• the road trip to SF
• deciding my transition from LA to SF
• witnessing the first African American President inaugurated
• moving day to SF
• reacquainting with old friends who have become my best friends
• the Sandoval Holiday Party
• spontaneous photography trips with friends

Of course there are probably plenty more where that came from, but that’s as far as I could go without getting carried away. So I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and exciting New Year. That’s What Sam Said will see you in 2010!!!

I understand everything I read when it comes to the current status of the American economy and how hard it is for people to find jobs right now. The unemployment rate is extremely high and a lot of people are struggling to get by. Believe me, I understand that completely. Although, you don’t completely understand it until you are going through the same situation. I wouldn’t particularly consider myself one of the many in dire need of a job, but I also wouldn’t throw myself off of that list. I am supposed to start school again after winter break and finding a job in this economy is difficult. Not only are you now struggling to find a job like everyone else out there, but your skills might be almost the same as almost half of the people that are applying for the position. Selling yourself in this case is even more important so that you can secure that position.

Right now I am employed, but I am looking for a job that will not only pay me almost as much as I am making right now, but something that will allow me to comfortably go to school as well as pay rent, bills, and the necessities. My current job requires me to travel at least 25-50 percent of the year and that is something I am not going to be able to do while I go to school. It is also based in the Los Angeles area. So you can see exactly why I need to find something quickly.

So, currently I am faced with the fact that it is already December and school starts in January. I have always been the person companies have gone with after an interview, because of certain skills I have acquired, my work ethic, and the personality I present. When jobs are scarce and you are feeling worn out from all the looking you start to feel like it is never going to happen for you. After plenty of resumes, interviews, and company correspondence, I have finally took another step in the right direction and hopefully it is a good one. One of the top companies in the United States (and possibly the world) has decided to give me a security clearance check and a second interview. Basically it was explained to me that after the background check, which I am positive I’ll pass, there is a second interview with a hiring manager which is basically going to end positively as long as you had passed their security investigation. I can’t explain how this has lifted a major weight off of my shoulders. It helps me look forward to the future with optimism and also that I am definitely getting somewhere in my search even if it has taken longer than usual.

Every single year around the holidays, my family makes our famous Rocky Road Candy which melts in your mouth at the first taste. It is a blend of chocolate, peanuts, and marshmallows, that leaves you with a peanut butter after taste. I debated posting the recipe for the longest time, because it is my favorite thing and it is something that has stuck in our family for years. I have seen numerous recipes for it online which have never really been exactly the same, but it is probably out there somewhere if I bother searching long enough.

The history of making this basically started after attendance to our first family reunion. Every five years there is a “family book” with an update of each family and how they are doing. One year, they decided to include family recipes so we all could share. My Grandma Connie put her famous Rocky Road Candy that she made every year for the holidays and my Mom continued on with the tradition which then led to my little brother, CK, also continuing the tradition. Below is the recipe for you to enjoy this holiday season:

Connie’s Rocky Road Candy

Ingredients:

• (1) 12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• (1) 11 oz bag butterscotch chips
• (1) cup chunky peanut butter
• (2) cups salted peanuts
• (6) cups miniature mashmallows

Directions:

• Melt first three ingredients over double boiler (you can also do this in the microwave).
• Stir until well blended.
• Add peanuts and marshmallows, mix together, and spread into a 9×13 buttered pan (or any size that fits the concoction).
• Chill until firm, cut into squares, and serve!

Let me know if you have any questions about the process and I’m more than happy to help. Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Let’s face it, my Thanksgiving weekend was lame.

I somehow developed a flu that the rest of the family decided they would be so kind to share with me. Four people being around you while they are sick is not a fun thing. When I realized this many people around me were sick, I knew I had it coming. There was no way nearly a year without having the cold was going to work this time. So of course, I went back to my room Thanksgiving night and started to already feel the sore throat coming on over a game of Call of Duty:MW2. By the time I woke up the next morning, all signs of a healthy me were lost. About 48 hours of sleep, cups of Theraflu, nightly shots of Nyquil, and a box of tissues later I am almost better, but still not feeling it. On the bright side, if you consider it one, I’m stuck with hardly any signs of a voice and my computer. (I recommend communicating with me via texts or IM at this moment in time.)

Anyway, hopefully I’ll have something more interesting to blog about soon once I am able to get out of bed, stop coughing, and speak. Here’s to a healthy me for Christmas and the New Year coming around the corner!

I went back and forth deciding whether or not I should write a “I’m thankful for…” post for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to be able to thank everyone and everything that has been there for me in many ways this year. With that said, I am thankful for:

• Friends and family – Most of my friends have particularly been here for me throughout my whole life, but recently I have run into old, but newly reacquainted friends who have made this year even more special. Being able to have someone to talk to and just have a good time with is always a plus. Family, specifically my brothers for brightening up the day when I looked like I was stressed after a long day of work and school.
• Acceptance to Stanford – I have been blessed with a brain and a photographic memory. The way I have shaped it and filled it with knowledge to apply to my school life still baffles me. I have honestly worked my butt off when it comes to school and achieving acceptance to Stanford is something I can say I am very thankful for. I am looking forward to what it will bring me in the future.
• This might be totally funny, but… Technology (specifically the Internet and computers) – The Internet is full of a lot of useful and useless information, but it is where the world is going. Almost everything you do today has been touched in some way by a computer. Not only does it spark my curiosity every single time I use it and make me love to be involved in the tech industry, but I use both the Internet and my computer on a daily basis. How could we ever possibly go back to the old research methods or ways we accessed information? Technology is only getting better.
• My spontaneity and life – My life has never been led boring or simple. Even though I grew up in a middle class family and we didn’t really have much, I never let that stop me. I have always been pushing to go where I want to go in life. Feeding off of those that tell me I couldn’t do it and making sure I did it anyway. I love being able to spontaneously decide where I want to go and what I want to do every single day of my life.
• And a few things that don’t need any explanation: a place to rest my head, my animals, photography, the ocean, the written word, and the capability to love.

This list could have been much longer and never ending, because I am thankful for a lot of things, but maybe this list will inspire you to write your own. Happy Thanksgiving!

I am currently writing this blog post courtesy of the WordPress app for the iPhone. I thought I might give it a try and inform you of the new things that have been done to my blog if you haven’t already noticed.

One obviously is that I can now update via my phone while I’m out and about. This means more updates and I am also able to approve comments directly from the app so I can respond to them quickly as well. The next is not so new, but I never told anyone that if you are able to view my blog on an iPhone you will see a completely different theme than on your laptop. Also, my Twitter feed has been added to my page so you can read more of my random thoughts. (Thankfully I don’t tweet more than five times a day.)

I’m happy that I have actually decided to keep up with my blog for this long and all of its new features. Here is to the future posts you will continue to read on That’s What Sam Said!

The following blog post is not something I usually write, but intended to help my fellow readers and close friends who always ask me how I get everything done and where I find the time to do it all:

I recently spoke with a friend who had been completely stressed with what life had decided to drop on her plate. She began to explain her problems having a full time job, attending school, social life, family, making sure her boyfriend wasn’t neglected in the process, and anything else that had been thrown her way recently. I began to immediately relate and think back about all the times I had exactly the same problem. I began to give her advice about learning how to say “Sorry, I can’t make it” or “No” when it is absolutely necessary. Recently I have found myself falling into the same pattern as I had decided to take on so many tasks and in the end found myself not content with the amount of time I had to myself or what I was prioritizing. So I take a breath and go back to my organizational drawing board.

It becomes hard when you have so many things to do and never enough time to do it. Of course we all want to make every event, because we probably don’t want to miss out on the opportunity or we don’t want to let someone down. Although, when you become tired and you find yourself deciding whether your sleep is less important than the fifth social event you might attend that week, it is time to take a step back. Which is always the worst part for me specifically, because then I have to decide what comes first. Of course I know that school and work should take a priority in almost everything I do, but when it has been a while since you’ve seen your friends and you wouldn’t mind going out to that one networking event, your priorities become an option. Meaning, you start to find out where you are going to squeeze in work and school around the event rather than declining the invitation or leaving early and/or arriving late. This usually means the quality of work you put forth is not as great as you know you could have done and in the end leaves you dissatisfied.

I have worked on this by looking around and seeing what is most important. The key to all of my problems is usually organization. When school is in session it takes more of your time than when you only have to work during the summer. This means you have to make a list and say ok, this is what needs to get done. Then decide where you are going to fit all of the social events in after work and school are accomplished. (Don’t forget the time you need to get ready, eat, and rest. Most people forget these three important details.) After you have laid everything all out on the table and decided what is going to be done at what times, look at your list and see if you can shrink down any of it into a smaller time frame. What about spending more time on homework a specific day so that you don’t have to work on it another day so you give yourself some time to relax. (There should always be at least one day of time to yourself.) Or if you and your significant other usually go out to dinner and a movie, spend some of your time at your/their place and watch a movie and fix dinner there. You can both get some study time done [hopefully ] and spend time with each other. And if you need to, say no to a few social events each week. You can’t attend them all and no one expects you to be in three places at once. (How you can respond to these in a positive and appreciative manner I will discuss in maybe a future blog post.)

Without making this too long, those are just some of my tips in the whole scheduling and organizing process. Once you find yourself getting on a schedule and making sure you stick to it, the work flow usually comes naturally and you find yourself not as stressed as you first were. You are able to go out without regretting it and making time for yourself.

October 29th has just passed and I am now 23! My birthday fell on a Thursday this year which obviously sucks, because you can’t possibly do anything on a weekday, but maybe a dinner. I happened to make it all work though and I enjoyed the low key atmosphere of it all.

I spent the day sleeping in from a previous night of working and receiving “happy birthday” phone calls until about two in the morning  So the morning of, I stayed in and worked some more.. My Mom surprised me with my favorite cake which happens to be the most simple of all… yellow cake with chocolate frosting. She improvised with a random candle she found since we were short of the traditional birthday candles. I made a wish and was really appreciative of everything. Dinner with my Robert at our favorite place was a pizza of my choice (pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and bell peppers) with bruschetta as the appetizer and of course some cherry coke. (We happen to go there all the time for italian food.) He got me flowers and the balloons which was really nice and very unexpected. I love how he awesomely surprises me at times.

Of course my evening didn’t sound too exciting for a birthday, but I loved every minute of it. Spending it with some of the people I love is exactly what I wanted to do. It might have been a good thing too, because today I had to work and this weekend is going to be pretty busy. And since I don’t really consider my birthday over until about a month from now, there will definitely be some partying involved during the weeks to come! So here’s to another year and hoping 23 is healthy, gives me time to accomplish more things in my life, and fun times!

I’ve been going back and forth about my blog again which seems like it has been a little redundant, but with very good reason in my opinion. Deciding whether or not I want to keep it or what I should update about.

Most of the topics I would choose to write about almost seem like they would go in a journal which is probably something you wouldn’t particularly post for the online world to see. It made me think about the numerous blog feeds that are in my Google Reader which vary from tech information to cooking. The blogs all seem to have a general area where their focus lies or serve a specific purpose to those that read it.

I went ahead and took a look back at some of my blog entries which varied from reviews of restaurants or venues, baking, personal situations in my life, things I like in general, and school. My blog is definitely ALL over the place. I also didn’t see the point in using my free time to update, because I thought… well, maybe what I’m saying isn’t interesting enough to random people stumbling upon my blog. I started trying to find something that I could generally write about that would stick and I could also relate to, but I realized my blog is called “That’s What Sam Said”. It is about what I say. Which may sound selfish, but I’m not particularly looking to make it in the world as a so called “blogger” (even though I love writing and love reading certain bloggers’ masterpieces of the written word), but to inform my readers of my current standing in life. My readers come to my blog to see what I have to say. Of course my blog is going to gravitate toward my personal life and the problems I am facing, but that is what makes it my blog.

With that said, I hope that anyone looking to start a blog or thinking about giving up on updates to their blog finds this to be of some help in their thought process.

I really can’t believe we’re already in the fall and a few weeks have already went into October! The fall months normally mean a lot of busy times for me, because three members of my immediate family, and I celebrate our birthdays in October and November. Lately I have been busy with a lot of personal things which vary from looking for a new job, leaving my current job, get packing done for officially moving everything out of my parent’s place, helping plan my mom’s birthday party, school, etc. I probably shouldn’t be keeping this busy, but with the amount of things I have to do, it is impossible to do anything different.

My current job has already been informed of my departure and is very supportive of the new opportunities in my life that I have decided to embrace. That being looking for a new job , school coming first, and going on interviews when necessary. Making my complete move into the Bay Area which has obviously taken some time has been held back mostly by my current job which is based in Los Angeles and Sacramento. I have decided that looking for a new job where I can branch out and focus all my time in the Bay Area will help me out when it comes to school and the future. I guess you can say I have already made up my mind about making San Francisco my permanent residence, but I’ll always miss Los Angeles in ways that can’t ever be explained to a SF inhabitant.

Planning ahead for the end of October and all of November comes with its problems. Specifically because my Mom and I both have our birthday in October (24th and 29th) and Halloween is also almost in the same week. Then AK and my Dad have their birthday in November (12th and 23rd). Among birthday cakes, parties, and family get together time, I have to squeeze in time to myself to keep focus on school and personal things. Not to mention that I will need to make sure that I am ready to leave for Thanksgiving when it comes around. Plane tickets are already being considered, so hopefully I will be able to set a date and make a purchase this week. I have already designated days that are considered “homework” days which give me a lot of room and time so that I know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done by. Finals are right around the corner as well, so I will be taking time to study which I doubt I will need, because the information has been seeping into my brain better than I had hoped for. I have to love that photographic memory of mine.

I hope October doesn’t leave me in the dust after the all the plans are done, but there is always catching up in November!