My 2013 so far...

Already past the half way point of 2013 and it has been a mix of highs and lows so far. It is almost the one-year anniversary of me leaving Orlando for Texas and it has been quite an adjustment for me to make. I still have been at my job at Adventure Landing for almost a year and have seen a lot of changes there including the friends that don't work there no more and new people that do...I swear, it is as if I do not even recognize the place anymore. Can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it affects me more to either keep working there and hope something good happens or leave and find better work elsewhere.

As for life at home, it seems to be settling more despite my little dog, Ollie, getting sick over the past weekend. The poor little thing had to be put in the vet hospital for 3 days and so far has seen a lot of improvement. My little brother, Andrew, unfortunately had to put his culinary dreams on hold and is currently working at a craft store called Hobby Lobby. His friend, Brine, is currently looking for work as well. My mom still does a lot of arts and crafts hobbies at home while her husband, Charly, continues to do more work for the movie theater, Cinemark, and I must say he does a lot more travelling for his work than all of us.

A lot of things coming up in the future such as my little brother, Stephen's wedding to his high school sweetheart, Deanna and I am currently looking forward to returning to my home town of Key West, Florida...a place that I have not been to since moving away from there in 2009, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what has changed since then. I'm also looking forward to seeing the rest of my family and wondering what they have been doing for the past year.

Not a lot of great things to look forward to for my sports teams though as most of my favorite pro teams are in last place or close to it...pretty much sucks to be a fair weather fan, but I can live for it as long as the future remains bright for those teams. Definitely can't wait for football season though...there's no better time in sports than that!

I can only hope for the best that 2013 will end on a very high note personally and mentally too. I hope everyone else out there has a great rest of 2013 as well!

Peace and love to everyone out there!

First couple months of being a Texan

They say as one story ends, another begins...

After I left Orlando, I left to live with my Mom, Stepdad, Brother, and Stepbrother in Grapevine, Texas (which is a province around the Dallas Metroplex Area). My first thing to do when I got here was to find work at some place that was able to get me financially back on track.

After putting in application after application to many places, I found success in a job at a Arcade/Mini-Golf/Go Kart place called Adventure Landing and for the first time since 2010, I was working. It was a hassle trying to get used to all the requirements and skills necessary to keep this place ship-shape.

I even got to make friends with some of the employees there and there are some interesting characters there if I do say so myself. Some have been working there long enough to know how much like prison it is to work there, but to me, it's all about satisfying the families (especially the children, ugh).

Meanwhile, at home, it's the same chill family but dealing with some occurrences like Mom and her recently injured neck (please God, hope she will be better soon), and Drew recently starting his time at Le Cordon Bleu in hopes of becoming a chef. However, the more things change, the more they feel like staying the same.

As for how I feel, I do miss a lot of my friends in Orlando, Key West, and the rest of the crew in Florida because it is hard to get used to living in another state when you have lived in the same state for almost 10+ years.

This is only the start of my time as a Texan now, but soon, I will make some opportunities become possible so I can explore the rest of the world as I intend to. For now, it's making the crawl toward those opportunities happen. Hope my friends, my family, and my recent new friends enjoy life as it comes to them as I will in the next few months ahead.

A Melancholy Farewell to Orlando (and to Florida)

As I pack the last of my things here, I am getting ready for the next part of my life in Texas. I leave this Wednesday and I am dreading leaving every friend I have made in the past few years in Key West and here in Orlando as well. I do like to return back here to Florida one day and possibly live here again if I could, but I guess that is life and you have to move forward.

Making new friends is sometimes hard to do and I will never replace anyone who has respected me and I did nothing short of giving respect back in return, but it is something that I will have to get used to. I hope to find work in Texas that will get me somewhere in life worth living for. I will however enjoy getting to see my mom, her little dog Ollie, Charley, and Drew (who will begin college at Le Cordon Bleu).

I've accomplished a lot of things up to this point such as graduate from UCF, broke out of my shy habits, and even made a lot of friends here. It has been a long time since I cried about going somewhere else (haven't since my high school graduation), but I feel like I will as soon as I board my plane out of here because I am going to miss this place and as well as this state so damn much. I must do whatever it takes to get my life in order for the real world and make either an attempt to return to Florida or to go any place else. That is what is facing me.

If any friends are reading this, I just want to say thank you so much for being a part of my life, I love you and will miss each and every one of you!

End of Fall 2011 and in Texas for the 1st time since mid-2010

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!

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!

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!

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!