Adjusting to a Full Time Routine: From Student to Employee

Photo Credit: Ukraine Business Online

If you're one of my dear readers who've been following this blog, you may have noticed that it's been feeling like a ghost town lately. But don't worry--I'm still around, just taking a bit longer to finish reading novels for review. But I do aim to post more frequently, if not about books, then about life and other reflections. If anything, this blog will take a more personal turn, but I will still be reading and reviewing books.

One of the biggest life changes that I've been going through is transitioning from being a student for most of my life to full time employment. Right now, it's a bit beyond full time since I'm working six days a week. Alongside the job, I spend my day off writing an article or two for a college publication. Feel free to come visit me at CollegeNews anytime!

Photo Credit: The Conversation

Shifting from Full Time School to Full Time Work:

• Regular Schedule; Better Time Management Skills -- I wake up and go to sleep at around the same time each day, something that I never quite mastered as a student. A regular routine has many benefits, but the biggest one is that it makes it a lot easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I have a gym routine, and I eat at around the same time each day.
• No More Fat Finals Week -- I gained so much weight studying for finals. The stress would cause me to eat tons of unhealthy snacks. Even the guy at 7-Eleven recognized me as I stumbled into the store in my pajamas and a blanket on a regular basis towards the end of every school quarter. "Finals?" he'd ask. He'd be right every time.
• Gratitude for My Parents -- I wasn't able to appreciate all the sacrifices my parents did for me until I started working full time myself. They were able to push through all the problems at work, the long, monotonous hours, and occasionally, work drama and come home to take care of me and my siblings by cooking, helping us with homework, playing with us, etc. 
• Less Leisure Time -- As a student, I was used to having lots of time to dabble in hobbies and hang out with my husband, family, and friends. Even with a full schedule of classes, I had lots of time in between classes to sketch and write for fun. Now most of my days have an 8-hour block set aside for work (9.5-hour block if we take into account my waking-up and driving to and back from work). In a 24-hour day, this leaves me with about 6.5 hours before bedtime, and currently, I'm spending these hours with my husband.
  Now I have the funds to buy all those art supplies that I drooled over as a student, but I don't have the time to commit to art. I'm becoming more picky about which hobbies I want to commit to, instead of dabbling in a million little hobbies.
• Feeling Old; Nostalgia for Teenagehood -- Sometimes I go to my old favorite teenage haunts and I get a bit wistful for all the adventures I had there with my friends. How did I ever have so much time on my hands? 
• I Enjoy Each Moment to the Max -- Whether it's reading a magazine while propped on my tummy on the bed or just doing stretches in the room, I relish the moment and the little bit of time I get to relax. 

Photo Credit: Out of the Blackness

Reality Shock; Feelings of Future Closing In

This might not be something that most people can relate to, or maybe they can. In my early twenties, I felt like I had my entire life ahead of me--world and future both included in one shiny package. I felt that I could become anything I wanted, although the issue of balancing between passion and practicality was always there. As I went through school, I started to realize the limitations of my abilities, and so certain options didn't play out well enough for me to continue pursuing them.

Now I'm dealing with the question of Okay, I've got a degree in literature and writing. What can I do with it? I went to college for a total of about 6 years, and the result is a B.A. degree. Where do I go from here? A part of me is reluctant to go for more schooling because I already spent so much time in school. That part wants me to suck it up, make the most out of my degree, and see what I can get with it. The other part wants to maximize my potential with...you guessed it, more school! But is the investment worth it?

Photo Credit: HD Wall Source

Conclusion

Life tends to be a lot more open-ended than the genre novel, and having a Conclusion seems to be oddly inappropriate at this uncertain stage in my life, but I have a horrible addiction to closure. These are some things that I've been thinking about lately, and chances are that I will still be trying to figure them out in a few months. In the meantime, I plan to live simply and appreciate all the wonderful friends and family in my life. 

Exploring the Forbidden Corners of the Library: The Day I Ventured Out of the Children's Section

Source: 1ms.net

It all began when I was a chubby kid in denim overalls with an androgynous haircut that my mother had made me get during our two-month trip in China because it was "too hot."

Winter Break and Free Time: Setting Goals

San Diego will never look like this.
Photo Credit: Nouse

So after two weeks of all-nighters (both failed and successful), stress eating, and final exams, I am on winter break. As someone who usually has something to study for, I am once again floundering around. It feels so weird to not have an essay to write, a passage to read for a lecture, or concepts to study for. Sleeping in is fantastic, and so is having the leisure time to meet up and have dinner with a friend, or to chat with my in-laws when I leave the bedroom. Lying on the bed and sleeping and dreaming and eating and lying o the bed some more is fun, but if that's all my break consists of then it will start to feel hollow. I need structure and goals to feel like I'm not wasting my time away. 

BLIZZCON 2013 : Where I've Been This Weekend

I was quiet this weekend, but part of it was because I spent Friday and Saturday in Anaheim. Blizzcon was great. My sister-in-law, husband, and I were in it for the World of Warcraft stuff, but there were also panels and competitions for Starcraft and Diablo. 

With Sodah (left), one of the best WoW healers in the game. A great thing about his team is that they can play under pressure and adapt to circumstances. His team, Skill-Capped, eventually won.

 There were evangelists outside the convention for both of the days we were there. They hoisted yellow banners, so on the second day, a couple of guys stood outside with the Horde banner too. 

Homework and Midterms: Let's Get This Party Started

Rah. Happy Saturday to you. 

I've turned in a couple of significant papers, but next week is where the slew of midterm exams come in. And a research paper to do.

This will be a busy weekend. I plan to get as much work done as possible, especially since there is a peninsular Spanish literature midterm exam on Monday.

Oh, Cervantes, you and your dellas and complex sentence structures. .
I will study a lot more efficiently than this. *vows solemnly*

Also, next up are readings for my science fiction class. I need to catch up for this and next week. 

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (sci-fi)
A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (sci-fi)
Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein (for my sci-fi research paper)
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (the next 150 or so pages)

What I'm reading for fun - Woodlands by Lauren Nicolle Taylor.
I'd really like to sit down and finish it but there's been so much. So much! *weeps* 

My Taiwanese film class readings can wait until Monday. 

If you're in school, then I wish you the best with midterms! Anyway, I gotta jet. Talk to you later! 

Personal Post: Hermitage

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No book review post today. I went on a volunteering trip to a free opthalmology clinic in Tecate