Truths for mature adults

I came across this blog (The Baboon's Guide to the Internet) while checking my Google Reader items, and one of their posts was a list of Truths For Mature Adults. I will post them here and add my commentary:

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die. - Haha, agreed! But I don't have anything to hide
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. - What if you're never wrong :P
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is a great need for a sarcasm font. No0o0o...
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? I usually just roll it up, is that bad?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. - True, but does that seem disrespectful?
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. - YES!
10. Bad decision make good stories. - Haha yeah, like this one time in the library...
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. - Yup, usually around 4 o'clock
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to restart my collection...again. - I stopped buying DVD's, I noticed I never watch them
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. - Yes, yes, yes, that has happened to me too often
14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever. - Eww, that's gross
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? **** it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away? - I agree, it's really annoying...BUT I'm guilty of doing it
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste. - YES!
17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. - Nope, I have nobody to avoid at the moment
18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. - Agreed! My GPS has taken me on some pretty sketchy routes
21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. - Yup, I'll avoid that second trip like the plague
23. The only time I look forward to a red light when I'm trying to finish a text. - Guilty
24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? - I think it's two
26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters! - Haha, yeah I sometimes drive with road rage
27. Shirts get dirty? Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. - No, no, pants definitely get dirty
28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year? - Agreed
29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far. - Since I don't lean back on my chairs, I wonder if this is the same feeling you get right before you are hit by a car? In that case it's a pretty bad feeling
30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists. - I was a bicyclist for a while, but while on campus if you are not riding a bike, good look getting around unharmed
31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. - Yeah, but I've stopped wearing my watch recently
32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my *** everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time! - The snooze button is the best invention ever!

Life after grad school

With the economy the way it has been/is it comes as no surprise that there are a lot of college graduates who are currently unemployed. I am one of those recent college graduates who has decided to move back home, while job hunting. My reasons for this were simple, I didn't want to burden my parents with having to pay for my rent. I recently read an article which called graduates like me, "Boomerang Kids."

In fact CNN found that nearly 85% of college grads move back home for a minimum of 6 months. Some grads remain at home even after finding employment to save enough money to move out. Yes, living back home does have it's financial benefits, but I have become aware of some serious draw backs, this of course is unique to all Boomerang Kids.

Today was one of those days that has really made me want to expedited my job search. I think it's rather funny that as of late my primary reason for finding immediate employment is to leave home. Don't get me wrong I love my family, but I feel my patience is tried everyday. I feel like I am sometimes (a lot of the time) treated like a 5 year old. I am nearly 24 years old, and I can not leave my house without telling my dad or grandpa, where I'm going, who I'm going with, and at what time I will be back. This of course might be trivial to some, especially if those were/are questions your parents did/do ask you. See, the problem lies with the fact that I have lived on my own for three years, and far from home at at. For three years I did what I pleased, I came and went from my apartment whenever I wished, I went shopping whenever I wanted, and I went to class as often as I chose (this of course was about 95% of the time). I was my own boss, I did not need to justify anything to anyone but myself. Sure I missed my family, but in retrospect this was the happiest time in my life.

Recently I have been presented with an opportunity to teach Psychology at the local community college. Being a college professor has been for sometime a goal of mine, and possibly being at college professor at only 24 would be beyond belief. But the problem is that this job is obviously near home, which would require me to stay here for at least the Spring semester. Some would say that the simple answer would be to apply for the job and if hired rent an apartment of my own, this however, is not an option for me. I feel that if I rented an apartment here (in Imperial County), I would feel like I lived here. It has always been my intention to move away from home, and I promised myself I wouldn't live here permanently. Oh sure, Imperial County might be a good place to grow up, everything is slow paced, violence isn't high/or seen, and in general it's a tight knit community. And although I'm here now, I like to view my stay as temporary.

For now, I will enjoy the time I get to spend with my family, headaches included, and I will continue looking for a job I'll love, that will help me feel like I'm doing something in the world, and that is far away from here.

Hopeful

There's a saying people like to say when facing the unexpected: "Hope for the best, expect the worst" Well it's been my study that this idea is severely difficult if not impossible. I don't see how it is possible to hope for something and yet not really believe it's going to happen. Or shall I say, that one's hope isn't all that hopeful. At least for me, any traces of hope do not allow me to expect the worst, in fact that seems counter productive. Not to mention to always expect the worst must make you a very unhappy person and would prevent you from experiencing many wonderful things. I am aware and have experienced that being hopeful equally leads to utter disappointment when things do not go your way. But for me this is the lesser of two evils, because disappointment with time will disappear, and no one can be wrong all the time.

Leap of faith

Before now, I was not one to believe in destiny or fate. I believed things were accidental and coincidental. However, after recently finding faith, I can honestly say that things happen for a reason; although the reason is not always known, in due time all is revealed. In my last post I mentioned my struggle in finding a  job that suited me, this along with other questions about my future have been on my mind. But interestingly enough, today, while searching for an old letter, I can across a book written by Maria Shriver entitled, 'Just Who Will You Be?'

This book was given to me by my great uncle on the day of my graduation a year ago, where coincidently Maria Shriver's husband Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was our commencement speaker. Shortly after arriving home, I found out that I had been accepted into grad school, and spent the entirety of the summer preparing for that large venture. Needless to say, although the book was small, I placed it in a drawer with every intention of reading it...someday. Well today was that day. I picked up the book, which I had seen hundreds of times, and decided to read it.

I find that in this time, where I'm trying to truly find myself, this book posed an important question "Who do you want to be?" I realized then that I had been asking myself the wrong question my whole life, I was trying to figure out WHAT I wanted to be, instead of WHO. For a lot of my life, I measured my worth through my accomplishments. I think this was the only way I felt I could make my parents proud, although they never placed any pressure on me. I am fortunate enough to say that I have accomplished a great deal in my 23 years of life, but the problem is, is that in between accomplishments I often felt bad about myself. As I read Maria Shriver's book, she stated that the only way you can feel worthy, and really good about yourself - the only way to find a life of meaning and joy - is to find your on voice, find your own path, follow your own heart, and live your own life, not an imitation of somebody else's. So then I asked myself what is my path, what's my heart telling me, who do I want to be?

I took some time to think about this, and I came up with my answer. I want to be a better person. This is not to say that I am not already a good person, but I want to be better then who I've been. I want to be more understanding and tolerable of people's differences. I want to be a more positive thinker. I want to be someone who seizes the day, everyday.

This is who I want to be, this is who I will strive to be everyday. I find it important to pass on this question as it was given do me, ask yourself WHO not what do you want to be?

A hunting we will go

I'm aware that I've been neglectful as of late, but I promise I have good reason. My week was full of celebration, travel and illness. I'm happy to report though that the terrible stomach flu I had appears to be gone.

I have been looking for a job. So far I have only searched Indeed and Monster, but in the next couple of days I will be expanding my search, although I feel the listings might all be the same. I'm also not entirely sure what sort of work I'd like to do, I'm multi talented and have interests in a wide range of jobs, so I'm searching for different types of jobs. I'm positive that sooner or later I will find something that I feel suits me. My family thinks I should just do anything that moderately interest me. Having little experience I agree that I have to start somewhere, but I'd like to think that I can find work doing something I'll love.

Defining moments

Lately I've found myself battling an internal struggle between what I should do and what's easiest. Sometimes the easiest thing to do, is simply not to do anything at all, and yet other times not doing anything at all can also be the right thing to do. I realize that this concept may be difficult to grasp, and I am sorry I can't be more specific, but I increasingly find my fortitude being tested. I have become more observant, both of myself and other people.

 In turn there are aspects of my strength and patience that I am becoming more aware of. Although I'm aware that I am in no way shape of form perfect, I am a stronger person than I previously thought. I have also made more of an attempt to censor my comments and actions (though perhaps not entirely), and realize this is the time to change. While I'm still young, conscience and willing.