today is a gift.

it's about time i posted, eh?

been really busy with friends and midterms are coming up - you know, the typical. been driving a lot too - i've gotten quite good as well with the stick-shift. also in the midst of planning a road trip to santa cruz to visit the boardwalk and such; hopefully i'll be one of the cars to drive up there. santa cruz is also the surf capital of the united states (some say even the world). hoping we will be able to catch a few waves too - and check out all the guys, of course.

it'll be fun whatever happens though. i've been reading 'tuesdays with morrie,' a book about a old man, and a young student and life's greatest lesson, but more on that once i finish it. for now though, it's taught me to enjoy the little things each day. something we are missing in today's world.

getting used to a clutch.

so i got my car a few days ago - as well as a cold. it's a older bmw, a '99 5-series; the owner kept it really clean and bought it in europe while he was stationed over there. another plus is that he was the only owner too. typically, my father really wanted to avoid anything older than 10 years, but this car was in such good condition it was almost unbelievable.

here the catch, or should i say clutch; it's a stick shift. and with this cold, it made it difficult to practice while my father was here before he had to fly back for work. so far i've had about 4 hours of practice and i would say i'm doing all right. i can do it, but i get so nervous when someone is behind me, you know? i guess it'll come with time - and i'm not even going to attempt hills for a while!

hope everyone had a good valentine's day - i really wish i could give a rose to kevin, but... yeah.

ride the waves.

so i had my surfing class on friday - by far the greatest class ever. it's pretty fun, plus great views of the beach and sun, the waves, and of course, the guys.

i haven't been surfing for long - maybe a year - but it's becoming a passion of mine. and of course, being in california really makes it easy to ride. friday's class was pretty easy; just basically to get into the water and get used to being on a board. i mostly stayed on the side just surfing and having fun with the others who somewhat knew how to surf.

and of course, there's this guy, I never really caught his name but talked to him a few times. he is your typical surfer, you know, dirty blond, blue eyes, perfect tan and body. he seems really laid back and friendly so hopefully after a few classes we'll become friends.

there's always opportunity.

there's always opportunity - i live by this quote.

so a week of class has gone by, and i'm loving this semester quite a lot. i'll give you a quick low-down of my classes:

i. introduction to statistics - it's math, meaning it's my worst subject. however, the class seems really easy and relaxed, plus there is never homework. odd, i know, but great.
ii. monterey bay scientific case study and policy - it's a science based class, but what makes it unique is that we work with the monterey bay aquarium, which happens to be the world's largest i believe. it's a great class, a lot of work, but that's expected. the professor is also a navy vet. who became a geologist specialist who worked at the pentagon, and at one point, was the director of his department.
iii. managerial accounting - this class is just one of those you have to take. i've realized accounting is not my thing, however, there's a friend i really like there. i'll have to tell you about him some time.
iv. business law - one of, if not, my favourite class this semester. our teacher is a well respected lawyer and has a very great personal approach when it comes to teaching the material. he leaves us to debate and figure things our own way, and although there is a lot of writing, it's very fun. it's also a long class (about 3 hours), but it doesn't feel long and i haven't gotten bored which is rare.
v. business major proseminar - this is an interesting class. it's one of those required courses, but it's just to make sure business is for you and to get to know the business department at the school and the resources available to students like myself.
vi. surfing - okay, you know this class is great. there's like 50 students in the class, and quite a few good looking people, haha. our first day out surfing is this friday and i'll be sure to post about it. did i mention there's a really nice and cute guy in there?

so there are my classes this semester - it's only 15 credits this time around. i'm trying to balance my time with volunteering in the area, learning a language on the side, finding a good business plan to start my own, and parties of course.

i've also bought my car too! it's a older bmw 5-series - i don't get it till the 11th though. my father bought it in arizona and will drive it up that weekend. it's also a stick-shift, something i'll have to learn to drive. i've driven them before, but never really had one of my own. it'll be interesting, but fun most of all.

it all begins.

finally, i'm back on campus. i gotta say it feels good to be back for the most part.

drove for about 4 hours from my grandparents to get here, and i don't think i will ever be able to have them drive. i understand they might be a little older, but going 10 under the speed limit the entire way - and having trucks pass us - is pushing it a little bit don't you think?

colorado was pretty fun as well. spent a lot of time just relaxing, going to movies, eating out pretty much every meal and enjoying the last bit of my break. as i mentioned before, i visited the ferrari dealership down in denver and i spent a good 6 or 7 hours there. the family friend who happens to be one of the managers there, had to leave to help a client, but he still took me out for a quick drive in his scuderia. best 20 minutes of my life. he put a new performance ecu system in, and straightened out his torque curve on the lower end - making it even quicker at the start.

well, enough car talk, haha. so my phone is vibrating like crazy - going to hang out with a few of my friends, maybe a few games of beer pong, who knows. hope you guys are having a wonderful day, and if not, tomorrow is a new day.

life is to short for traffic.

for some reason i can't really think of anything to write. nothing really has happened in the past week; just been doing the usual. i've gone to the pool a few times, but other than that, i'm either watching movies and such or sleeping. it's so amazing being able to sleep without an alarm clock though.

this coming thursday i am going to colorado to visiting my aunt and uncle in denver for the weekend. now, that'll be fun. hopefully they will take me to the ferrari dealership and let me check out the cars there. i know, i know, seems odd but i love cars. i don't take them out for a spin, but being able to talk to people who understand the love for ferrari (and cars in general) is amazing.

the manager of the place also remembers me everytime i visit and loves to just chat. last year when i visited, he drove up in his own red ferrari 430 scuderia and took me out for a ride (one of the happiest moments of my life). for those of you who don't know, the ferrari 430 scuderia is my all time favourite car. it's the perfect driver's car and everything about it has been designed for performance in mind. from having no carpets to save weight, to it's amazing superfast2 gearbox being able to shift in less than 60 milliseconds. if that doesn't get your heart beating, the sound of the exhaust will.

as you can probably tell, i'm pretty excited. speaking of cars, i'm still looking for mine. i've been looking around to buy a car for the past semester but nothing really has come up. that and with my conservative father, finding middle ground is nearly impossible.

other than that, my phone fell out of my shirt pocket while i was washing my hands and it happened to fall just a second before i turned off the water. anyway, it's sitting in a bag of rice at the moment; thankfully, blackberries are known to survive. just letting you know, bob.

sincerely,
j.

it's good to dream.

oh, what a day. what a day.

actually, nothing happened really. it was one of those days where you just stay in your pajamas - watch movies, listen to music, read, and just enjoy the simple pleasures. i even grabbed a bottle of 15-year macallan out of my father's closet and enjoyed a small glass while watching one of my favourite movies.

at the moment, it's about 2 in the morning right now, and i can't sleep.

i'm once again caught up in the world somewhere lost in my mind. wondering if it will ever come true. the moments where it feels so real... as if your right there, holding his hand, driving that classic sports car, or watching the world from the highest mountain. only to catch youtself and realize you're just wanderings off again.

i've asked myself that question for as long as i can remember. will it ever happen the way it does in the books? does it play out like it does in the movies? we all have our own dreams and fantasies (no, i'm not talking about those) and we all hope to have a small piece of what we've always imagined. i guess we will never know till it comes, or till something else that catches our eye does.

either way, i hope everyone finds their own prince in shining armour, that perfect wave to ride, or whatever you're thinking about right now.

sincerely,
j.

there is no reset button.

first of all, happy new year to all of you! i pretty much stayed home - with my parents. that's what happens when your 'vacationing' back home. meh.

nonetheless, i made a few new year's resolutions;

1. learn to master a manual gearbox. heel-toe and all. i'm going to see if i can buy a cheap used piece of junk for under 500 dollars and just use it to practice, then when i am done maybe donate to someone who needs a car, but might not have the money for it.

2. work on creating a good business idea i can do while in college and try to find other students who are interested in something similar as well. this also goes hand-in-hand with my other resolution, and that is to get back into the stock market, even if only a few hundred dollars.

3. and lastly, read more. when i was young, i love to read, and then i just hated opening the first few pages. i'm going to try and break that. any suggestions on some good books to start?

anyway, i am hungry so i think i am going to go search the fridge. have a good night guys.

sincerely,
j.

in one's right mind.

had a very interesting weekend, i must say. christmas for my family is very... ordinary to say the least. there is no christmas tree, there is no knee-high running relatives, nor is there any signs of the holiday seasons in our house. and no, not many presents, either. however, my entire family (grandparents and all) do share one tradition that we hold each christmas.

instead of buying presents for everyone, or tickets to travel around, we give the money that would have been spent and give it to someone in the family. we do it each year, and it's always someone different; this year, it was "our" families turn. now before you let your mind go wild, it's never spent. rather, it's "given." each time it goes around, someone in family goes out into the community and finds someone in need.

a widowed mother who lost their son in the war; a young mother barely making rent and without health care caring for her child diagnosed with wilson's disease. a divorced man fighting cancer. last time it was our families turn, my father was in iraq and gave varrious amounts to iraqi families in the area. who ever it may be, it's our gift to those who might not be having the "typical christmas."

however, this time around, my parents told me i would get to choose who we would give the money to. my father handed me an envelope with $3,450 dollars, cash. we did some research and stopped by the battered woman's support group in another city and asked one of the volunteers there if they knew anyone in particular who could use some help - they said there was a woman who left everything she knew in fear of her husband and ran away to arizona. they said they couldn't give out her name, but said we were welcome to "come back" again and maybe "run into" her.

that day came yesterday. she was a woman in her late 20s, and working at a local motel. we asked her for a moment of her time and if we could talk outside; she seemed scared as i remember. after telling her our family "tradition," and that it was my turn, i pulled the envelope out of my pocket and gave it to her. i asked her not to tell me more than what she already did. it never goes past first names. my father told her there were no strings attached, and this would be the only time we would ever see each other. she cried, thanked us, and we walked back to our car and drove off back home. her name was beth.

even though i never get as many presents as my friends do each christmas, i am happy that the money that could have been spent on fruitless things for each other, was given to someone who may have needed that little break in life.

and hey, who doesn't want a break one time or another? that leads me to my second "point" to this post, and that i realized the blogs out there did more for me than i thought. i caught myself reading in other lives just like mine, and no matter how alone i felt, i knew there were others out there like bob willing to give a helping hand. i guess you could say blogging in some ways, is a small break from the lie many of us live.

sincerely,
j.

caught up.

sorry guys, got caught up in a few things; i'll tell you guys about it tomorrow. hope you guys had a wonderful christmas and got what you wanted.

sincerely,
j.

la vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin.

so this is my (new) blog.

this is (the story of) my life;

it's been far to long since the last time i was here. i'm not one to walk away and this time around, it'll be different. i'm sorry i left without saying anything, but i'm back now.

however, before i begin (again), i want you to know that i am both happy and sad and i'm still trying to figure out how that could be. somehow, i feel that you'll understand.

sincerely,
j.