Feb/March Challenge

Leap year day. Final day of February.
My 'no red meat' challenge wasn't too bad. I never craved a burger or any red meat. The only thing was that it was extremely inconvenient at times like going out to eat with others. There were times the group decided to share food, and I felt bad because they were trying to adjust for me. I think the most beneficial part about this month was I became more aware of people's eating. I feel like now it's easier for me to remember which of my friends can't eat something. It's easier to remember what foods my friends like/dislike. It's a good feeling when someone remembers your habits decides to share it with you. That's something I hope I can pass on to others.

Now that I've finished a month limiting what I could eat, it's time to go back and even beyond. This month's challenge will be interesting: Eat everything.

I usually eat everything on my plate, that won't be a problem. But this month I'm going to make sure no food at home is wasted. When I go out to eat with friends, I'll finish all the food there, whether it's mine or not, or take it home. Also, if any food is offered to me, I'll always say yes. Haha, I hope people don't take advantage of it.

The Greatest Speech Ever Made

Not really, but very powerful. It's very interesting to listen to these kinds of speeches and notice not just what they say, but how they say it. Also, background music helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibmcsEGLKo

Only the unloved hate

Brownie

My old dog, Brownie, was in my dream last night. What a good dog. I miss her.

Sara Lee

I bought these Sara Lee blueberry bagels, man they really smell.... blue. The smell is so strong, it's like a perfume. How do they do it?

Almost there

Great weekend, great week thus far.

Work is kind of lame in the sense that I'm not putting any of the skills I've developed the past 6 years to use. But I think of this as a good opportunity for me to really push towards finishing my thesis. So many things to think about, probably still a lot more to do (even more than I expect). Hopefully it will be done soon!

Turnaround

Yesterday was a different day.

I was at a friend's place when I realized it was late and I should be sleeping. Stuck around to finish some stuff then hurried home, only to realize I forgot stuff I needed for work the next day. Turn around, go back to the place before coming home again. Great, I now it's about 4 and a half hours before I have to wake up. Not only that, but the next day I would be going in to work at a different rotation than last week. They switched me out of test lab for some 'emergency' help that they needed. Frustrating because I was really doing work in my last rotation, contributing a lot (I thought) to the group. And I'm leaving that group to help these other guys make excel sheets? And they're not very helpful, and not very welcoming? It's easy to wake up for work when you're excited about what you do. When you dread your work, it's just one more mental barrier you have to plow through in the morning.

But things changed. Today wasn't so bad. Sure, I wasn't using the skills I've developed in the past four years, I wasn't given the respect that I was used to. But at least I got to walk around outside a couple times. Sunny days in San Diego are hard to beat (also going home when you still have a few hours of sun). And I realized, this is my come up. I'm just starting work. And this is going to be my story. 'Start at the bottom, work your way to the top'. Talked with some people and really had to fight for some information. But it wasn't too bad, lunch was fun, found out how cool some of my coworkers are. I felt good at the end of the day.

To top it off, I got the best news I heard in what seemed like forever.

Who needs Valentine's Day when you have days like these?

PVHS

A friend from college said he saw this on reddit, apparently my high school got a lot of pub through this video. Pretty cool...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwi5wNuRrac&feature=youtu.be

Amish Project

Social networking is a great tool. It allows you to communicate quickly with people too far away to see in person. But sometimes we forget to interact with the people we're with.

http://news.yahoo.com/90-days-without-cell-phone-email-social-media-015300257.html

Real talk. Things like this make me dread the day I get a smart phone. Even without one, I feel trapped in this weird environment I call a 'solitary party' or 'solitary company' where all these people are together, but they're not doing anything together. Everyone's concerned about what's happening elsewhere. It's easy to get caught up in, but it's nonsense. It's ridiculous, because all we have is this moment. I wouldn't necessarily call it a waste of time to be playing words with friends, but there's so much more we can be doing. Maybe I'm just jealous because I don't play =P...

Einstein once said 'only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.' And I think in addition, only a life with others is a life worthwhile.

Well, that was fast

And I ate red meat on day 2. Knowingly, though, it wasn't an accident. A coworker made food and offered it to me. I guess I can't turn down an offer like that. Oh well, I guess my challenge can stay as I can't order/buy red meat. Different story when someone makes it for me.

In other news, work is pretty cool. I have work to do, I heard some other people in the rotation don't, so I'm happy with where I'm at. Hope it keeps getting better. Weekend is almost here!

February

Last month's challenge was kind of lame. But on to February: no red meat. Should be interesting. At least it's a short month!