Making lists, checking them twice, and dreaming

It is hard to quantify how much I've learned at my new job since working for my uncle. Just yesterday, I was thrown in the lion's den. I had an edit session with a client who wanted to put together a DVD. It was everything at once, and this kid wanted to work quickly. So I'm capturing, capturing, capturing, then chopping, cutting, and editing within minutes. I started using tools I was briefly familiar with.. offhand knowledge that I cannot cite sources from...

I took some risks in using tools I wasn't experienced in using, but I knew the end product I needed, and I needed to take those risks to get there. I did admit that needed help in some minor areas, and it turned out that help I needed amounted to more knowledge I can use later.

I figured how to erase timecode and and add proper subtitles in the same session. Amazing. I need to put these ideas into practice. Practice leads to perfection.

Yesterday, I also had a project using Adobe Encore. I had briefly used it a handful of times before. Maybe once, actually. I steamrolled through my next project which had previously taken me days before. Which wasn't a fault, mostly inexperience, and I know a lot more now. Of course Encore is a buggy program. That's why you need to save more often. That's why you need to know what you're doing before you do it.


And then today, I'm calling up a program assistant about FTP information for one of their domains. I troubleshooted the hell out of the problem I was having... they had given me the wrong account information, but I was able to change one of their passwords and by pass their webmaster that was unavailable.

So now, I'm kicking back with my feet on the desk. Metaphorically. Figuratively. Whatever. I'm king of the world.

And I'm not really doing as much cool stuff today. I do have a job interview I'm looking towards though. And I have some callbacks to make, too. Gotta keep moving forward. I've been shot down a few times already, but that's not the point. You can't hit the ball unless you swing the bat. "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."

That wasn't the point of this blog though.
I wanted to remind myself that I had a dream this morning...
In it, I was talking with someone. I think female. She asked if I was becoming a chemical engineer. I remember replying with an excited "YES!" I think she was becoming one, too. Or she was a psychic that predicted me to be a future chemical engineer. I can't remember. It was just a dream. Either way, I was happy with myself.

One more credit card down, one more to go

I'm halfway through paying off my second credit card, and I'm excited looking at my bank account. It's a feling of relief. I feel like "I'm going to make it!" I had a credit card with 0% introductory APR, and it's year of 0% APR is ending next month. I've kicked into high gear, and I've forced myself to pay off it's remaining balance as soon as humanly possible. If I didn't, the deferred finance charges would kick in, and I'd owe immensely. That can be a scary situation, but I'm glad I've paid attention to the bills that I come across.

My barber was talking to me about credit cards, and how he has $20k in credit card debt. He has 3.9%APR on it though using some balance transfers and such. Things could be worse for me. I'm on the right track. :)

And just imagine what a second job would do for me. It would be explosive. I picked up applications to about 5 different restaurants in Valencia, annd I'm going to fill them out later tonight. Monday afternoon, I'm going to take work off early to head back up to Valencia to hand them all in between 2-4pm. I'm not done there though, I also want to make callbacks to every single place I gave an application to try scheduling interviews, too.

I feel as if I've completely changed my lifestyle in a matter of days. Change can be instantaneous. I'm excited about the next week, and the weeks to come. I wasn't pushing myself before, and now I'm realizing my potential.

I even had some time to contact a couple DJ companies. I can't give up on my dreams just yet. You can't succeed if you don't try. I'm going to make things happen for myself.

And of course, school decisions about Spring 2009 from UCLA and CSUN should be arriving any day now. Mid-October is what I heard from UCLA. :)

Welcome to the weekend

My car broke down yesterday, and I was devastated.
But I'm persevering.
Persistence is my biggest ally.

I was thinking a lot today

Probably the worst words ever uttered. I'm going to stop thinking. It's time to take it easy.

I've had my transcripts sent over to UCLA and CSUN, and now I just had my SAT scores sent over there as well. I thought I would have an answer from either of them by now. I just want to go to school damn it. Keep your fingers crossed.

I saw a hookah lounge across the street from my work that was opening up and hiring, so I'm inquiring into that. I want to get a second job so that I can get out of debt much quicker. Maybe I'd meet a few people, too.

My plans for this weekend involve ebaying and Craigslisting all of the junk that I don't need. The thought crossed my mind about selling the turntables. They're worth a lot of money, and I'm not putting them to use right now. I can't afford any money on new needles. And do I really see myself going down that avenue in the long run? That's such a tough decision. In all honesty, as fun as it is, I've been thinking that it's not right for me. If there's a shadow of doubt, I should probably pursue something else. You have to completely love what you do.

I plan on junking or listing...
Odyssey Coffin ($100?+)
Xbox 360 + 20 games ($400+)
Hard drive + Macally case ($100+)

I hope. Selling the Xbox off will bring back some much needed cash. I'm not going to follow through with upgrading my current 360 to an elite. I don't have the time or energy to direct towards that. I've got more important things on my mind. Like school and work. That's where my head needs to be at. I woke up this morning wanting to get my butt in gear. I feel like I'm trying to go into overdrive. There's so many things I care about that I feel are out of my control. But I need to focus on the things that I CAN control.

Figuring out how to be healthy

I was just starting to see some results from working out, but I've slowly let it slip away in the past few weeks. Now I'm redoubling my efforts starting yesterday. I've got a new morning routine that I think is going to work well. The past couple weeks, I've been running late to work as well. No more. I'm forcing myself to roll out of bed at 8:00am, and I'm letting myself only stay up till 1:00am. That should be more than enough sleep, and what else do I need to be up late? I can play Halo again tomorrow or the next. Of course I'm talking about weekdays for this plan. If I'm able to get up that early on a weekend, that's great too.

So I get up at 8:00am, do a great amount of pushups and situps, then I'm gonna lounge by the pool and read/write a book for awhile. I'll be up early enough to choose whether to be early to work, if traffic permits. And maybe I'll get a small tan, too.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I'm being optimistic, and the uncertainty is exciting.

A shovel digging to Hell, let's be happy

I feel as if can't accept a smile because I feel like it doesn't know this reality. It's lost! There's no way you can be smiling right now. I used to value the innocence of that... and now that it's taken away, I feel like it's a lie.
I've pigeon holed myself into unhappiness.

Sad, really.
I feel like maybe I've been down this road before.
But It's actually completely new territory for me. I've never been so shocked or pushed to such a level. You can have your buttons pushed in places you've only dreamed of. Doesn't everyone like a challenge?

Things have turned, let's say, "weird". It's a chance to prove who I am, and I know what I should do. But I'm having trouble forming the simplest of words. I sort of feel like they're silly. Like maybe they won't be understood, or it would fall on deaf ears.

A confidant here, a confidant there.
I've taken a broken puzzle and tossed it's pieces into the wind.
I've now been thinking no one has understood the complete picture. And I don't know whether I want to be right or wrong about that. I think I'm wrong. And there's the optimism. So smile and be happy.