wow, it is sure weird that time has moved so fast and that the Fall 2011 semester has ended. as for how i did, i passed all of my classes this semester (an A- in one class, 2 B's, and a B-) and i am damn well satisfied going into the Spring on how i should finish my time at UCF.
i am now at my Mom's new house in Grapevine, Texas and i gotta say it is a BIG improvement from their last house in Bedford. first off there is more room, there is more atmosphere outside, and that there is a lot of good channels to watch on TV here (compared to my basic cable in Orlando). to make matters a bit better, the weather is a lot cooler here (i am looking at my computer thermometer and it is 47 degrees outside, brrr!) and i am hoping that one of these days that it would snow here (wishful thinking, but it could happen).
my family looks a lot different in which my mom has a new hairstyle and my brother, Drew, looks tall as ever. i sure do miss my dad and my little bro, Stephen. guess i will be able to see them at either my or Drew's graduation.
in closing, i hope that all of my friends and family are having a great holiday season so far and enjoy this great time while it lasts. hope everyone is doing well!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
another Thanksgiving in Orlando
well once again, i will not be seeing some of my family and friends for Thanksgiving...instead it will just be another day of eating and business as usual. it is times like these that i do miss many of my friends and family for these times. on the schedule for tomorrow is watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, finding a place to eat, watching NFL football, and probably going to talk with my family by phone...joy.
however it is not all bad for me. if there was one thing to be thankful for, it would be for all of my friends and family members because without them, i would not be able to get to the point of my life of where i'm at right now.
with the Fall Semester close to an end, i am very excited that i will go get to see my mom, my step dad, and my brother (who will be graduating in May like me). there is however still an empty space that has not been filled and it's the support by my family that makes it worthwhile. anyways, i hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and would like to tell you to be happy for the life that you have right now and hope that it does get better!
however it is not all bad for me. if there was one thing to be thankful for, it would be for all of my friends and family members because without them, i would not be able to get to the point of my life of where i'm at right now.
with the Fall Semester close to an end, i am very excited that i will go get to see my mom, my step dad, and my brother (who will be graduating in May like me). there is however still an empty space that has not been filled and it's the support by my family that makes it worthwhile. anyways, i hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and would like to tell you to be happy for the life that you have right now and hope that it does get better!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Reflecting upon 25 years of TJ...
I look at the number 25...and I think, WOW! I sure have grown up so fast! I went to a multitude of places during all of my time including Key West (twice), Homestead, so many cities in Iowa, Tacoma (Washington), Idaho, Ft. Walton Beach, and even where I am now in Orlando.
All the things I have done in life up to this point can drive me to several places including playing in one sport for three straight years (4th grade-Basketball, 5th grade-Football, 6th grade-Soccer), being in the band for my middle and high school years, being in the choir for my elementary and high school years, getting my high school diploma, my associates in arts degree, and (soon enough) my bachelors in arts degree...whew, that's a lot of talk.
Today, I celebrate a quarter of a century of my life in which I did it my way with the help of family, friends, and other people who have helped along the way as well. I am thankful for the life I am living so far and I hope it will only get better. What the future holds for me? No one knows, but I know it will be getting better as it shapes up...and who knows? maybe in the next 25 years, i'll be blogging with a career, a wife, and successes (wishful thinking, right?) For now, I celebrate my birthday with the fact that I lived through my early years as successful and hope to gain more in the next coming years!
All the things I have done in life up to this point can drive me to several places including playing in one sport for three straight years (4th grade-Basketball, 5th grade-Football, 6th grade-Soccer), being in the band for my middle and high school years, being in the choir for my elementary and high school years, getting my high school diploma, my associates in arts degree, and (soon enough) my bachelors in arts degree...whew, that's a lot of talk.
Today, I celebrate a quarter of a century of my life in which I did it my way with the help of family, friends, and other people who have helped along the way as well. I am thankful for the life I am living so far and I hope it will only get better. What the future holds for me? No one knows, but I know it will be getting better as it shapes up...and who knows? maybe in the next 25 years, i'll be blogging with a career, a wife, and successes (wishful thinking, right?) For now, I celebrate my birthday with the fact that I lived through my early years as successful and hope to gain more in the next coming years!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
September went fast!
Boy, what a September it was...and it went by so quickly I didn't even think it went by so much. It was the fresh beginning of my final year at UCF and I began in a new major track in Broadcast Generalist. Now, a couple weeks later, I feel much more accomplished and hopefully had good grades to start the year with. I also have a couple of my friends that I used to have in previous classes to help me out.
As the end of September has reached, I feel great to have accomplished so much early on, but I've gotta stay on task and keep on the ball here...there's always a habit of the work getting harder and it's up to me to get through ok.
Next month is my birthmonth as my birthday is on October 17...on a Monday no less, ugh! There is also some more things going on campus as well as I try to look into possible internships to have before I graduate next year. The responsibilities keep getting harder, but I will look to get through it all right.
That is my life up to date so far...hope everyone else is doing great and hope to see you soon if I either see you or get a chance to talk to you guys!
As the end of September has reached, I feel great to have accomplished so much early on, but I've gotta stay on task and keep on the ball here...there's always a habit of the work getting harder and it's up to me to get through ok.
Next month is my birthmonth as my birthday is on October 17...on a Monday no less, ugh! There is also some more things going on campus as well as I try to look into possible internships to have before I graduate next year. The responsibilities keep getting harder, but I will look to get through it all right.
That is my life up to date so far...hope everyone else is doing great and hope to see you soon if I either see you or get a chance to talk to you guys!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Oh, the changes my friends have had
It may sound crazy but I still feel like my high school graduation was like only 1 year ago (when really it has been 6 years since I graduated from Key West High School). Since then, I've witnessed a lot of changes happening to all of my friends whether it is getting married, having a baby, and working in some place great after college graduation (or just right out of high school).
Soon, I'll be joining them, but probably will have to make a rain check on marriage and babies being born until I have a girl to spend my life with, lol! It still does feel strange that the same people I've made friends with over the years in high school, college, and anywhere else have changed for the better.
I hear all the time the same status quo message from my friends to "live life to the fullest", but my friends have really lived life and they are getting better with each passing day. I use this as motivation to improve as well so my life can be just as enjoyable or maybe even better than my friends are. So, to all of my friends near and far from where I'm living now, keep living life to the fullest...I will soon be joining you!
Soon, I'll be joining them, but probably will have to make a rain check on marriage and babies being born until I have a girl to spend my life with, lol! It still does feel strange that the same people I've made friends with over the years in high school, college, and anywhere else have changed for the better.
I hear all the time the same status quo message from my friends to "live life to the fullest", but my friends have really lived life and they are getting better with each passing day. I use this as motivation to improve as well so my life can be just as enjoyable or maybe even better than my friends are. So, to all of my friends near and far from where I'm living now, keep living life to the fullest...I will soon be joining you!
Friday, September 16, 2011
How much I miss home...
I go around here in Orlando looking at all the places to have fun at...but it is no secret that I do miss Key West. I've made so many friends, made a reputation of myself, and gone through all of the good and the bad times down there when I lived in Key West.
Back then, there were so many fun things to do around there such as the Magic Carpet Miniature Golf, two Laser Tag places and a fair once in a while. Now there is not much fun around except for the beaches, the downtown bars, and the attractions telling the history of Key West.
Despite that, it was a place of joy for me because I made friends and was able to come out of my shell thanks to them. If I did not have many friends, I would probably not be the fun loving TJ that you would see me as today. I always remember all the fun times in Key West including Fantasy Fest, New Year's, and the parties that I loved going to.
For many who have not experienced Key West, I tell you it is pure paradise and once in a while you should go here and for many who have lived and went to Key West, you would enjoy going back and seeing all the changes that have happened...I know I would. It has been 2 years since my family has moved from paradise (except my brother Stephen who is living with his girlfriend, Deanna) but I really would like to go back someday and enjoy a drink at a bar, a relaxing day at the beach, and socialize with others here and there.
For 10+ years, I loved being in Key West and even though I am not there, the fact that I lived there made me who I am today!
Back then, there were so many fun things to do around there such as the Magic Carpet Miniature Golf, two Laser Tag places and a fair once in a while. Now there is not much fun around except for the beaches, the downtown bars, and the attractions telling the history of Key West.
Despite that, it was a place of joy for me because I made friends and was able to come out of my shell thanks to them. If I did not have many friends, I would probably not be the fun loving TJ that you would see me as today. I always remember all the fun times in Key West including Fantasy Fest, New Year's, and the parties that I loved going to.
For many who have not experienced Key West, I tell you it is pure paradise and once in a while you should go here and for many who have lived and went to Key West, you would enjoy going back and seeing all the changes that have happened...I know I would. It has been 2 years since my family has moved from paradise (except my brother Stephen who is living with his girlfriend, Deanna) but I really would like to go back someday and enjoy a drink at a bar, a relaxing day at the beach, and socialize with others here and there.
For 10+ years, I loved being in Key West and even though I am not there, the fact that I lived there made me who I am today!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
10 Year Reflection of September 11th
It's been strange to know that today is the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. A lot of people have been apprehensive of this day while others believe since that day we have become stronger.
Ten years ago, I was a freshman at Key West High School and I was sitting in the middle of my environmental science class only to see the tragic events happen right on the television. The cities of New York and Washington DC were left to ponder in sheer terror of the events that have just occurred and the events that would have happened for the last plane had it made its quest to destroy whatever it was aiming at. Many people were devastated at this time including my family.
At this time, my dad was just coming back from a year leave to Korea during his time in the air force and was preparing to leave for his next assignment at Ft. Walton Beach and my mom was working at AIDS Help Inc. in Key West. My brothers and I were very devastated that this would happen and each day, week, and year since, we have seen the advances on how we would make our country stronger than it has ever been.
Since that tragic day, we have compromised two lethal leaders in Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, have tightened a grip on airport security, and minimized terrorism to the point that it should not happen anymore. If you would ask me if we are a safer country, I would say we are but not to the point of being invincible, but close to it. I am thankful for every person that has sacrificed their lives to help us gain our freedom and for all the former people in the service, including my dad, for their dedication to making our nation stronger than ever. To all the men and women serving overseas, we love you, we thank you, and come home safely!
Ten years ago, I was a freshman at Key West High School and I was sitting in the middle of my environmental science class only to see the tragic events happen right on the television. The cities of New York and Washington DC were left to ponder in sheer terror of the events that have just occurred and the events that would have happened for the last plane had it made its quest to destroy whatever it was aiming at. Many people were devastated at this time including my family.
At this time, my dad was just coming back from a year leave to Korea during his time in the air force and was preparing to leave for his next assignment at Ft. Walton Beach and my mom was working at AIDS Help Inc. in Key West. My brothers and I were very devastated that this would happen and each day, week, and year since, we have seen the advances on how we would make our country stronger than it has ever been.
Since that tragic day, we have compromised two lethal leaders in Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, have tightened a grip on airport security, and minimized terrorism to the point that it should not happen anymore. If you would ask me if we are a safer country, I would say we are but not to the point of being invincible, but close to it. I am thankful for every person that has sacrificed their lives to help us gain our freedom and for all the former people in the service, including my dad, for their dedication to making our nation stronger than ever. To all the men and women serving overseas, we love you, we thank you, and come home safely!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Everything is settling in so far
One week right after everything was so meek and desperate, finally things are settling in here. I finally have my money for the semester, I finally have the front door key to my apartment after waiting for so long, and my classes seem to be more understanding than I have anticipated. It would seem that my life is back on track, but if I kept saying that to myself, I'd only be fooling myself in believing in something that was not real.
Still some things are not in place yet such as finding a part-time job here in Orlando (I have already applied to at least 20 jobs and for some damn reason they don't have the gall to ask me for an interview at least) and I am most recently going to apply for an internship for next semester since I've only got one more class to complete for that semester. I keep telling myself to never give up and keep trying because there are a lot of negative people in this world that keep telling me that I will never get into this or that and I just pretend I'm watching a screwed-up TV show and just press the mute button on the remote and don't listen to them. In this time, we have a screwed up economy, but I know it's not screwed up enough to get a part-time job--I know this already, but come on...money's tough enough to keep as it is; at least call me for a damn interview at least.
However, for the most part, life in Orlando is getting back in place and I'm know I'm going to finally finish next semester. For now, it's just about making it reality. In other events, football season is fully back with the NFL season just starting last night and the college season in full flux. For the most part, most of my teams in college and in the NFL should do decently especially for the Knights, Noles, and Hawkeyes. My Oakland Raiders begin Monday Night against the Broncos and I should expect some improvement to at least make the playoffs and not have another dull season of 5-11 or 4-12 for that matter.
School life is looking to get very interesting so far...I am taking 4 classes. My military history since 1900 class is getting interesting and since I have a family member who was in the military for some time, this may be appealing to me. Another class is Regulations of Broadcasting is a class in which there are some opinions on how broadcasting has originated and how it should look today...may not have very many opinions on it, but since I'm watching NBC in the morning for the Today Show or Local News in the morning, I may become more informed on it. Another class is Public Relations in which we learn how the public is well informed on influence and since we have our class in an auditorium, material should not be that hard to learn. My last class, but fun class, is RTV Advertising in which we learn about sales but the fun part about this class is we earn points to gain in case we don't do well on exams and any other assignments. A very interesting load for this semester but I'm hopeful to gain at least a few A's for this semester (since I came into UCF, A's have been rare to get in my case).
Anyways, that is my life so far and everything seems to be settling in better. To all my friends, family, and any other people interested, I hope that your lives seem to be settling in better as well and do not be afraid to try something new because you never know if it will benefit you for the better!
Still some things are not in place yet such as finding a part-time job here in Orlando (I have already applied to at least 20 jobs and for some damn reason they don't have the gall to ask me for an interview at least) and I am most recently going to apply for an internship for next semester since I've only got one more class to complete for that semester. I keep telling myself to never give up and keep trying because there are a lot of negative people in this world that keep telling me that I will never get into this or that and I just pretend I'm watching a screwed-up TV show and just press the mute button on the remote and don't listen to them. In this time, we have a screwed up economy, but I know it's not screwed up enough to get a part-time job--I know this already, but come on...money's tough enough to keep as it is; at least call me for a damn interview at least.
However, for the most part, life in Orlando is getting back in place and I'm know I'm going to finally finish next semester. For now, it's just about making it reality. In other events, football season is fully back with the NFL season just starting last night and the college season in full flux. For the most part, most of my teams in college and in the NFL should do decently especially for the Knights, Noles, and Hawkeyes. My Oakland Raiders begin Monday Night against the Broncos and I should expect some improvement to at least make the playoffs and not have another dull season of 5-11 or 4-12 for that matter.
School life is looking to get very interesting so far...I am taking 4 classes. My military history since 1900 class is getting interesting and since I have a family member who was in the military for some time, this may be appealing to me. Another class is Regulations of Broadcasting is a class in which there are some opinions on how broadcasting has originated and how it should look today...may not have very many opinions on it, but since I'm watching NBC in the morning for the Today Show or Local News in the morning, I may become more informed on it. Another class is Public Relations in which we learn how the public is well informed on influence and since we have our class in an auditorium, material should not be that hard to learn. My last class, but fun class, is RTV Advertising in which we learn about sales but the fun part about this class is we earn points to gain in case we don't do well on exams and any other assignments. A very interesting load for this semester but I'm hopeful to gain at least a few A's for this semester (since I came into UCF, A's have been rare to get in my case).
Anyways, that is my life so far and everything seems to be settling in better. To all my friends, family, and any other people interested, I hope that your lives seem to be settling in better as well and do not be afraid to try something new because you never know if it will benefit you for the better!
Friday, September 2, 2011
On the eve of another football season
Finally, football season has arrived and I'm back into the mix of looking forward to it...after all I most likely will be going into sports whether it will be announcing, advertising, etc. My school's team, the UCF Knights, just came off of their best season in school history including winning their first bowl game ever and they look to build upon it. For my other teams, the Florida State Seminoles are looking great at #6 and hope to get back to national prominence, the Iowa Hawkeyes took a step back and look to get back into it this year, and my NFL team the Oakland Raiders finally improved after 7 years of disappointment and try to get back into the playoffs. Yeah, I have a strange set of favorite teams, but who the hell cares, they're my choices damn it!
Anyways, it's great to see that fall is soon about to kick in and I have fully settled in my apartment...my duties are still kept as the same-find a part-time job during the year, try to improve in school, and enjoy my last year while I can...a lot to do on my plate, but nobody said it would be easy. Almost went through a little crisis yesterday with my family on paying the first rent of the month, but got through it ok...i pray that my financial aid comes next week!
But other than that, life is going swimmingly as I try to improve myself as a person, as a friend, and in life as well. To all my friends, family, and anyone else who cares to read this, hope you guys are doing great in life as well!
Anyways, it's great to see that fall is soon about to kick in and I have fully settled in my apartment...my duties are still kept as the same-find a part-time job during the year, try to improve in school, and enjoy my last year while I can...a lot to do on my plate, but nobody said it would be easy. Almost went through a little crisis yesterday with my family on paying the first rent of the month, but got through it ok...i pray that my financial aid comes next week!
But other than that, life is going swimmingly as I try to improve myself as a person, as a friend, and in life as well. To all my friends, family, and anyone else who cares to read this, hope you guys are doing great in life as well!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Final Year at UCF Begins
I finally have a new blog available and now I share my story of how my final year starts at UCF. I still live in Orlando, FL at Pegasus Pointe Apts. or what they now call "The Pointe at Central"...crazy they would change their name to that. I have now officially become an RTV Generalist which I would refer to as the advertising/sponsoring part of Radio and Television...guess it would be great to learn about a new thing...and just with only a few classes to graduate too!
It's strange to not have many of the friends that I know around except some of my Key West friends around Orlando and even some of the friends I made in the past few years whether they are school friends or past roommates. As if anyone needs to know, I hate being alone all the time so I look for anyway to have fun around here on my spare time. That would be an understatement being that I am enrolled in the 2nd most populated school in the country and that Orlando has so many fun spots around that it would be hard to not have a good time.
As for my future endeavors, I do not know what I would like to do after my time at UCF is over, but I do have a couple of interests such as sports, music, and even video games. I do have some time to ponder that over as I continue to search what I want to do later in life. For now, it's just trying to finish school on a high note, trying to find a part time job around here for the time being, and having fun while I can. My final year begins and I cannot wait for what lies ahead!
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