Tag Archives: vent

Staking in for the Blind and Showing of Hands – Texas A&M Commerce

So today I took a journey to Commerce, Texas and take a gamble on my academic fate. A friend needed me to be navigator, but also found out that Texas A&M Commerce has a pre-pharmacy program. I figured “what’s the harm of sitting 1 hour in a car to navigate?” because ultimately, it could benefit me. If the event was a bust, then it wouldn’t be like going “all in” but rather folding my hand of cards. It wasn’t much something out of the ordinary, as I arise at 8am… but with torn glutes, quads, and hams… It makes for a difficult task to want to get out of a warm bed.

After brushing fangs and forgetting to mix my whey protein shake for breakfast, I’d make a beeline to my friend’s house to rendezvous with them for our trip. For once, traffic in Dallas was favorably nice! I had never been out to East Texas, so seeing the real country side was interesting. The amusing part for me was seeing a Carl Jr’s out on I30 East as that restaurant was a mythical restaurant that didn’t exist in the south, until today. The boring nothing was spontaneously broken up with scenic views of lakesides and the nice overcast sky with the clouds peeping out. The journey took an hour, but traffic was not as bad as my friend had predicted. Being avant garde made us extremely early, because our tour was scheduled at 2pm and it was 11am. I’d throw in my application and just inform them that I was going to have my school submit my transcripts via fax or mail. They have a policy of not eating the application fee unless acceptance is confirmed.

The next phase was to do “logistics” and locate shops for provisions. There was a Wal-Mart across I50 from the school. There are some fast food restaurants not too far away. The funny part is that there’s a liquor store about a short walk from the campus. An O’Reilly’s is about a short distance from the school, should I need car parts on short notice.

After eating a quick lunch and ratting around Wal-Mart for logistical reasons… We wandered back to the campus to prepare for the tour. It was brisk tour in the 40F cold with gusting winds, so it was not a pleasant for an experience. Our guide was great and quick… I was impressed by the facilities. The recreation center looked vast, but we didn’t explore there. The overview of the facilities revealed something very slick, a rock climbing cylinder! Something I’d kill to tackle after getting my arms back in shape… Most of the buildings are either being built or being upgraded, though some of the new buildings (1-2 years old) look great! The sciences building (where I will probably spend the bulk of my studies) looks like a pleasant environment to be in. After looking into things like transfer requirements and what essential courses I need to polish up on.

I like the campus, dearly. To be isolated in Commerce, away from the buzz of Dallas and the suburbs will keep me from wanting to spend a single dollar locally on weekdays to minimize my expenses. That and to be separated from “civilization” will allow me to concentrate on my studies. For once, I could care less about civilization and the metroplex. The big break from my family to be able to concentrate on my school work is the biggest incentive. The final hurdle is my coursework which I hope I just touch the 2.0 minimal GPA, after that, it’s more on me to pray I can get federal aid or loans for the $6,000 – $8,000 tuition.

For now… I hope that things work out for me, because I want to excel high. I would like to keep this as a surprise to my family if I get accepted… because I know right now, they see me as a “failure” or a pathetic buffoon. To be fair to myself, I have been slaving at my toiling to succeed. With fighting my personal demons, academic redemption, and debt, my mind has not been able to vector on progressing further with my education. I know Sol has witnessed me fall and pick myself up from shambles… With my supportive friends, they have helped mend and sew me together. I will fight on, because I know that I can succeed. I savor success and crave victory… I just wonder if family will cheer me on if I am accepted. If they do, then good. If not, then I shall hold myself high and stand proud.

Pictures are now online via my Flickr, enjoy! – ZeroXR

Pale Solar Flare
Pale Solar Flare

Expanse of Nothingness
Expanse of Nothingness

Gloomy Horizon
Gloomy Horizon

Commerce Sign
Commerce Sign

Christmas is HELL!!!

I tried to pick up an iTrip for a friend for Christmas and I got to see wanton chaos in retail settings at an unprecedented scale. The shop next to my office had the iPod section striped BARE. You had remains of the peg board and some torn cartons just left. A second mass merchant yielded much of the same… The electronics specialty shop looked like a tornado ripped through it. You had children fighting with parents on “Mommy, I want [insert name of toy/electronic gadget here]!!!”, people on the phones with the person they were attempting to gift for, and the terrible checkout lines.

I understand the need to shop last second is apparent, but for the love of all that’s holy… People should have the courtesy of being polite to each other, not this frenzy of “I gotta buy this or my kids won’t love me!” If a parent is worrying about how much a child will love them, then they should have a better parent through out the entire year rather than be a jackass to the entire world for the last few days of Christmas shopping due to procrastination.

How sweet it is..!

Today is one of the few days I have felt my best. To be around people who are non-biased to things that had no relevance to them was better than the last few weeks. I ended up throwing my confidence around and approached one mature woman at the party. It was fun to just have a great conversation with someone who’s grown up and not tied to needless drama. In addition, she had a spine of her own to speak her mind out her opinions rather than rely on the “commands” of her friends.

My friend was mingling around her work friends and had a great time, though she was laughing and jocking on me saying I found a date at the work party of hers rather than be her date. It was good to be a whole town away and just have fun with not being concerned with a single care in the world. Family is finally calling less, but it’s more when they have concerns on when I am going home. It is great to see my uplifted mood from working out is finally paying off. Things are looking up at the office as well and that has been boosting my mood higher.

To my “date” that I met at the party, thanks for the fun day! For my friend who dragged me out, my thanks for having me come out and get away from wanting to mope around my home office.

Tomorrow begins a new week… I wonder how bad the office will get, because it’ll be the final rush before Christmas. I forsee that it will be hell and chaos to boot. Clients trying to take care of affairs before our doors close for Christmas day. I know my newer partner will be helping me maintain my sanity, I can’t say so much about my other partner who’s been training for almost 3 months… The holidays are a time where mess-ups just cannot be afforded, especially when emotions are on a high with clients.

If I haven’t mentioned it to my readers… Happy holidays from me and may the new year bring about great things to all of you! I wish you all well and the best of things to come in your lives! I know many of you have had some of the most difficult of struggles, but maybe we can all get together and celebrate life one of these days.

Finals, Excitement, and a Reprive

So my last few finals are today and tomorrow. I am fighting to do battle with a paper on evaluating a symphony and sleep is killing me. Let this be a lesson to myself: I shall learn better than to procrastinate on something absolutely vital to my academic success. Don’t get me wrong, I love the topic I am writing about, but after a week of drama, rage, high speeds, and coffee… It has reduced me to a crawling pace. Once it’s all over, then my pain shall be uplifted from me from academics.

Work is getting better, I think. Progress at the office has been wonderful with regard to the new lady working with me. She fulfills the term “partner” very well as she works with me rather than being a hindrance to me. My recognition for my merits have been growing from both my superiors as well as my clients. This has bumped my morale up a notch, so I am feeling rather good about it.

I am already looking forward to the weekend as it will be good to kick back and relax. My cousin Sol is coming back in town and we’re looking to kick it “old skool“. I will also be able finally relax and rebuild on the tattered remains of my life and attempt to get it back on track. I am also trying to hastily speed up the rate of repayment to my parents so I can be square with them for their assistance. I just hope that an end to the nightmare is coming soon. I know I could use it.