Answering questions can be...distracting!

So just recently I found Yahoo Answers and am loving it right now, but yes, it keeps me pretty busy and can use up alot of time due to it's addicting qualitites of becoming engrossed in answering and asking questions! It's just fun! lol It's fun cause you can monitor who has answered your question and if they picked your answer as the best answer and other such stuff. Plus I just like to give good advice (albeit godly advice when I can) to other people who are honestly seeking it. I love to share my experiences with others and hope they learn from my own dumb mistakes in life. lol Anyhow, that's kinda been my new toy as of late.

Other than that I'm just trying ti keep up the homework and trying to get enough rest to kick this cold. As a matter of fact I should be in bed already. Hopefully I'll feel better soon so I can at least enjoy tomorrow with Isaiah and the 4-day weekend they gave us. Very nice. =)

Early Christmas Treat

The boys spent the night this weekend, which was nice since I got to spend an early Christmas with both of them, and I'm sure they were loving it! So we pretty much treated Sunday morning like it was Monday morning and opened just their gifts that morning. I can't believe how much Isaiah is talking now! I mean, last year he didn't make much of a big deal about Christmas gifts at all, but this year...boy did he have alot to say! Like "What did you get me? Oh...let me guess...it's...a skateboard!" "Nope." "Oh wait. Let me guess...it's..." Well, you get the picture. And that was pretty much 75% of the conversation the night before. lol But I thought that was interesting.

After they opened their presents and played for a bit, my mom treated us all to go watch Charlotte's Web. All in all I have to say it was pretty good. They liked it, too. It's hard to tell at this point which movies will keep Isaiah's attention all the way through, but this one actually kept his attention the whole way through. Sometimes about 2/3 of the way through, he'll start asking if we can go, even if it's an animated movie. So yeah, it's hard to tell sometimes.

I was definitely blessed having them both over, and I know they'll be blessed again tomorrow morning with Annamarie and Grandma & Grandpa and more presents. For some reason, though, I wasn't feeling too well tonite. My throat was feeling sore like a cold was coming on. Noooo...not on a 4-day weekend! That would be just great wouldn't it! Well, if I am sick, at least I only have a 3-day week, and I almost forgot, another 4-day weekend! Yes!!! Oh I love this job! lol Well...I didn't even expect this much time off, but apparently we are doing well in sales right now, so I guess the owners can afford to pay us for all this time off. Thank you Lord for such a blessing! He definitely is good. =)

Blah :(

As I was driving home tonite I started feeling very fatigued and feverish, just all of a sudden. Not sure what this is but usually this means the start of a cold or flu. yuck. I ate a salad, took some Vitamin C and laid down for about 15 minutes, which actually helped. I got myself up to get that reading and quiz done, which I completed, thank God. :) But oooh, I hope I am NOT sick! I don't need this right now! lol But seriously, between work and school, I'm in no position to miss either, so I just pray this passes tonite and/or isn't so serious. I'm feeling OK right now, or else I wouldn't even be here at the table blogging, which I guess is a good sign.

It was time to say goodbye to that short-lived site Life of Graham AKA Nerdville. It just wasn't serving any purpose and I had been toying with the thought of ridding myself of it. Ahhh...another opportunity to strive for simplicity in my life, which is direly needed. (direly?)
And MIS is actually a medium load compared to other classes, which is a plus. I hate having too much on my plate, cause it results in unfinished projects, which is very discouraging.

BTW, I'm learning mucho from this MIS class about technology! Right now we're going through the internet technology and supply chain mgmt (SCM) and it's info that I'm glad to be armed with, especially since my goal is to move more into a mgmt position after graduation, most likely in the sign or graphics industry.

You know, being fatigued and a little feverish almost has this...mellowing effect. It almost feels kind of nice. Is that weird? Maybe I'm just weird.

So, last night I was researching MAGLEV's, or Magnetic Levitation applications. That whole electrical transport stuff is very intriguing to me. What's very intriguing are the LIFTER experiments. If you don't know what that is, check it out here. There is an explanation, photos and even video of experiments done by people all over the world. I truly think that this is the beginnings of an alternative application for air travel and transportation. As I see the experiments progressing, the application is becoming evident, and I've had my own thoughts on that as well, which may soon appear on my Deviations site, more from the design standpoint. But I'm excited about doing this project of mine and hope to get started on it soon!

Well, better get some much needed rest. Nite. =)

Load a Little Lighter

Well I finally got one GE class finished, at least I hope so. Although I missed a few assignments, did kind of a rough assessment of my grades and I think I'll be okay. I'm just glad I got World History done so I can concentrate on MIS now. It's a pretty interesting class actually. It has more to it than I originally thought. I thought it was pretty much a management class...I didn't realize it had to do more with technology and databases and such, so I think I'm going to enjoy this class. And that's pretty much my life right now...work and school. And Isaiah.

The other thing I'm concentrating on and making good progress with is paying off my debts. At this point, I'm just trying to get on top of things so I can actually start paying down the credit cards. I got behind on EVERYTHING when I got into a bad job situation. It went from PT to FT and back to PT and then to nothing! I don't think the owner even really cared if I worked or not, which was incredibly discouraging and really messed up my financial situation. I suppose I shouldn't have settled for PT in the first place. Believe me, I learned my lesson on that one. Anyhow, it set me back pretty bad and I've been spending half of this year catching up, and in January I should have enough to finally get caught up, thank God! And I'm learning so much about money this year as well, on how to be a better steward of it for the Lord and how to handle it more effectively. My overall plan (and maybe I should just post it so it holds me more accountable! lol) is to pay off my creditcards and car pmt by Jan. 2008. After that, I may either save for a year, or I might go ahead and move out, preferably in OC somewhere, anywhere from Brea to Newport on the East side of OC, since Isaiah lives in Riverside. I don't want to move too far away from him because of traffic. So anyhow, that's the plan in the nutshell. It can actually be exciting every paycheck to watch the debt diminish, even if it's a small amount! Cause every bit counts and gets me closer to that goal of being debt free.

Being single definitely helps financially right now. No extra expenses, not until I get more settled in my job and pay off my debt. Then maybe I'll be ready to meet someone. Believe me, there are many times I'd like someone in my life right now, but I know right now I don't have either the time or money for a relationship, so I'm being as patient as I can. Patience is a virtue, ya know. Man, if I was only as rich as these two midgets on TV selling real estate, then I'd be living big! lol Actually, I'm glad I have better focus now than I used to. I mean sure, I want to make enough to move out and even have my own place, but I don't need to be wealthy to do that. I want to do what, well, the Lord is calling me to do. I want to use the gift He's given me, the creative talent for His kingdom. Whatever happens with my clothing company happens, but whatever I do with it I do unto the Lord and for His glory. Yeah, I hope it flourishes and gets recognition and all, but only insofar as it can provide people with the tools to witness. If the Lord blessed me beyond that, then that would be awesome! I guess we'll see what happens eh.

Anyhow I better get to bed or I'll never wake up tomorrow! Saturday is like my sleep-in day, but I hate waking up tooo late! So goodnite for now. =)

Time to Centralize

I think it's about time I do some spring-cleaning (or Fall-cleaning) since I've scattered myself in so many places on the net, so I'm gonna use Blogger as a sort of central site to all my sites, including my business and art sites as well as personal site. I need a little order here! Especially with a life as busy as mine right now, which I hope will become simpler by the year. =)

Christmas Surprise

When I decided to drive down to Fashion Island last Friday to do some homework for a bit, I had no idea that it was the night of the Lighting Ceremony, in which they light up this huge, towering Christmas tree in one of the squares. As I was driving to find a parking space that night, I couldn't believe how crowded it was, and when I saw guards and such directing traffic, I thought to myself 'there's gotta be something going on tonight.' That's when I asked one of the men, who informed me what was going on. But I was definitely not expecting that! But nevertheless, it was a nice surprise. And I got there just in time, the lighting starting about 20 minutes after I got there and FINALLY found a parking space. And I got my homework done too. Sweeet. =)

Onoma Clothing Co. on the prowl

Well, I decided to go ahead and start an unofficial site for Onoma Clothing on MySpace until such time as I can get a real site going. I may even use my Usana blog here for Onoma, seeing that I'm no longer in need of it anymore, and also because you have to sign up for MySpace in order to view the photos. I don't want to get too complicated with this, so I'm still thinking of the simplest way to do this, but for now I think myspace will suffice. =)

Much on my Plate

I can't believe how much has been going on lately. I haven't even been at Blogger for who knows how long, like I forgot it for awhile. sheesh. But it's good to write again. Although I cannot write much now since it's so late, which by the way is unheard of these days, since I don't remember the last time I was still up at 2am, at least I can write a small synopsis. At right is a photo of actually 5 generations (minus my mom). This was taken at my great grandfather's 100th birthday just a week ago! Can you believe that? I wonder if I will see that good 'ole age. lol Most of my family was there, but I couldn't stay long because we needed to leave for another little get together somewhere near Laguna Hills, just south of that, forgot the name. And my mom left for a Russia missions trip that day, on Saturday. She's back now and doing much better. When she first got back she was totally drained and feeling weary from both the trip and time change. Imagine coming back and having your time totally flipped around. Must be hard for a few days.

Other than that I've been just working hard at work, working more on Usana (http://personalvision.usana.com) and hanging out with Stace whenever I even get the chance. She just started a teaching position here in Chino, which is nice if I can catch her after work, but it's been rare so far, but I know she's still settling in so hopefully it won't be this crazy for long. So we've both been busy juggling work and a side business. sheesh I never thought my own life would become this busy. But, I need to slow down once class starts in a week or so. World History...woohoo! lol

Anyhow...off to bed for now. Gotta work some overtime tomorrow. Nite. =)

Setting Them Free

These little creatures were giving me the run around almost everyday that I wasn't working. When I would leave the sliding screen door open for the cat, they would all just happen to get caught inside the glass window without any luck of escaping, so I'd have to physically 'grab' each one and put them back outside ever so carefully. If I didn't do this, I'd have all these dead butterflies on the carpet later on, cause I've already seen a couple lying there, and one had ants on it, and I'm not about to put up with ants coming in and invading us, so yes, I'd have the happy task of escorting them back out into freedom! =)

the Search is Over!

Yes it's true...I finally got an offer tonite around 8pm on the phone and I took it! Yesss! Ohhh the search is over. I was praising God and thanking Him for this wonderful opportunity. Again, thank you Lord! =) Now, what's interesting is the motivation I actually had to work there when I was interviewed there just today actually. It's called American Instant Signs located in Anaheim off S. Tustin Ave. I felt really good about it and actually had motivation to want to work there. I just didn't have that after the other interviews, like I REALLY wanted to work there. So hmmm it must have meant something. They actually told me they had one more person to interview this afternoon, then they'd be making their decision and would give me a call later tonite. And call they did, along with an offer which suited me just fine. I'm all excited. lol

Well, I'm excited because they are a good company continuing to grow and they're looking for someone to stay and grow with them, so that's good news to me. In fact, in a few months they're moving about one block north into a larger location, into a complex where they are no longer a store front shop off the street where just anyone can come in, but instead deal with specific clients. And they way they've decorated the interior of the shop is actually very impressive. Each office has it's own signage and decor look. It almost looks like little shops within a large shop. It's a great way to show clients up front what's possible. So they're planning to do that same thing in the new office so I'm excited to see that happen!

The only thing that's lingering in the back of my mind is the possibility of Boot Barn calling this week and also offering me the position. That would be kind of interesting. I'm mean, who knows right? The only thing I can think of that would be of any worth is if they offer me a higher paying position. In that case, I may ask AIS if they want to counter offer, since my heart is more set on working for AIS, although Boot Barn didn't seem too bad either. But I guess well just have to see. Who knows but the Lord right. =)

Looking Hopeful

Well it looks as though I'm making some headway in this job search of mine finally. I got a call from Boot Barn in Orange for a graphic designer last friday and should be hearing back from them by week's end. Then I finally got a call from the owner of Bizart Graphics, the company I thought needed a designer ASAP, and he said he let one of his artists go because he wasn't working out, so now he REALLY needs a designer, so he wants me to come in and work a few hours to get a better idea of both the environment I would be working in and a better feel for one another, so it seems to be looking up! In the meantime, I've been putting out my resume to more companies and even a few freelance jobs. So...we'll see what happens.

Other than homework, I've been constantly updating my portfolio at naasson.deviantart.com for potential clients and companies I apply to. An online portfolio seems to be very important these days for anyone in the design industry. As of late, I've been delving into digital photography and I have about three pieces there so far with more to come. I'm planning to transfer my closeup images from my Graham Photography blog onto DeviantArt so they're not scattered here and there. Plus I hate having so many blogs. I might even delete the Usana blog too. I need to simplify here, not make my life more complicated! lol It's gettin there. =)

Trying to Stay Sane

Well I admit it's been tough this month trying to land a job and barely getting by. It looked as though I might be hired by one company in Ontario last week, because the owner said he needed to place someone ASAP! So I thought I had a good chance. Well, I had 2 interviews with him, and haven't heard from him this whole week. Hmmm. Welp...don't know what happened but I do know I will continue to press forward and keep looking. A lot of the graphics jobs are over in Orange County, mostly south OC like Irvine, don't know why. Then there are a few here in the Inland Empire. But I'm willing to commute to OC if the pay is right.

Since I started school last Monday I've had to focus more on that than Onoma or Usana. Actually, Onoma is pretty much set to go. I'm holding off on going to any more swap meets until I get a job to fund that. And when I do it'll probably be up in Glendale. They have one going on every Saturday evening, and you're not sitting in 100 degree heat all day! ugh By the way, it's about 110 degrees today. Yippie. Think I'll stay inside today. Anyhow, the NT class is actually going well and isn't too heavy like some of the other bible classes. It's more focused than some of the other classes, where I was just reading like 3 books and taking a ton of notes. It just seemed like random reading and too much info! This class seems more focused. So it's definitely going well for me.

So Stace and I went to go see You, Me & Dupree last night. It was actually OK, it wasn't really that funny. It was more goofy than anything. I should have known that with Owen Wilson being in it. He has kind of a goofy humor that isn't really funny to me, almost the same humor as Steve Martin. But we both agreed it wasn't all that good. We also realized that we haven't really watched any dramas together at the movies; it's always been comedies for some reason. Or animated, when I took Isaiah to see Over The Hedge. Now that I have to admit was funny. lol

Today is mostly a homework day, but I may finish up my Ads for Usana and do a little creative work on my portfolio and on the computer perhaps. =)

Closeup #4: Dirty Bike Chain

Closeup #3: Frito with Dip

Humble Beginnings

Onoma Clothing Co. is finally on it's way to becoming a world renown clothing co! lol Well, I think that's the dream of every business owner out there. But if there's one thing I've learned thus far, it's to keep things simple! Because I have so many ideas both on paper and in my head, there's a tendency to want to put them all to work for me at the same time. And while that would be ideal in starting a business, usually it's not realistic. I learned from the owner of Flaw'd Clothing at Spirit West Coast that keeping things simple is not only the best way to start, it's the least stressful way of all and it's very cost effective. I think alot of business owners go in over their head and end up with alot of debt from the very start. I realize that for some businesses this is necessary if you don't have the capital to begin with, but the risk is higher. I made up my mind that I'm going to start simple and within my means, because if there's one thing I know it's how horrible having debt is! It's just plain awful, especially when it leaves you with nothing left. So little by little is how I plan to build upon this future giant of mine.

Although not everyone who passed bought a shirt or decal, some actually asked if I would be there next week, which motivates me to be there again. I wasn't sure if I would do this every other week or every week, but I do know that the more frequent I'm there, the more familiar people will be with me. Then others just simply took my business card. Some didn't even look up at my booth. I can understand since it was so darn hot out there, I think some were just in a daze out there and tired of looking at every single booth! lol I was getting like that at SWC after I'd seen about 20 different booths! I was like 'okay I think I've seen enough already.' But the booths that stood out somehow still got my attention, no matter how tired I was, and that's what my goal is, to stand out in some way as to still catch people's attention, in spite of the 100's of other booths that are vying for attention. At the Swap Meet, it's not that hard to stand out as a clothing company, cause most booths were bargain-shopping booths with almost anything for sale, or a mix of things. But selling somewhere like SWC or any Christian event will be more of a challenge. So that's my focus and being at the Swap Meet will prepare me for that. It's kind of like a testing ground for me. All in all, it went pretty well. Hopefully this Saturday will be even better! =)

Seeking His Guidance

Closeup #2

Fountain at night. I found this little cluster of lighted drops interesting. =)

Closeup #1

This is my series of personal photographs, kind of a hobby of mine. =)

Almost Open For Business

I should have my booth up and running either this weekend or next weekend at Maclin Open Air Market in Ontario. I finally got everything ready to go and have a few minor details to work out, but it's been going well. I have about 5 different design options to choose from so we'll see how things go. I just need to get my banner done, which I may have to wait on til next week. I'm also working on getting my DBA (Doing Business As) and seller permit forms taken care of this week. Stacy is going to try and help out with the booth, too.

Along with that I'm finishing my training up with Usana, another business I'm working on establishing, also. I know alongside school and work it keeps me quite busy, but I know in the end it will pay off if I work hard now. I have one more step to complete, but Ted, my upline said I could go forward with selling and promoting my business so I'm concentrating on that too. I know that Lord willing I will get where I want to be down the road. =)

Spirit West Coast

Stace and I decided to go down to Spirit West Coast in Del Mar a few weeks ago, just for Saturday though. It just happened to land on Memorial weekend so there was traffic almost the entire way down there! It was so discouraging too because time was ticking away as we moved about an average of like 10 mph. sheesh. It ended up taking us about 3 1/2 hrs to get there! We actually decided to take PCH when we got around Oceanside. It wasn't much better but at least we were distracted by the shops and such around us. But when we finally got there and walked around a bit it seemed well worth the trip. We stayed until around 11pm or so. Stacy had to get up early for worship, too, but she got to sleep for awhile on the way back, so it worked out pretty well. We actually got to see a little of each of the 3 main bands playing that day and evening, including Skillet whom I have pictured here. The saw Kutless and Newsboys on the main stage later that night.

All in all it was a great day and I was especially glad to go down and see the booths and network a little with the other vendors down there. Plus Stace got me a really cool sweater, so I was happy. =)

Deja Vu

So a few weekends ago Stacy and I went to a baby shower with a Hawaiian theme right. It was a nice day that day actually and at a pretty large house. We spent most of the time in the backyard. It was for Rachel and Thomas, who just got married last November. Anyhow, then last weekend we went to a surprise party for a guy named Luis, who just graduated from Claremont College. And the theme? Hawaiian! lol All we could do was laugh about that one. Alas...where's the creativity? Twas sorely lacking I must say. But they were both pretty fun.

I've been busy enough even without school as of late, working both FT and PT and trying to get my designs and such ready for next month to start selling. Stacy's parents got some info on being a vendor at a few street fairs up in Glendora and La Verne, which is good news, cause then I could sell my apparel on Saturday practically all day! I just have one more design to get printed, a banner and a few accessories for my booth and I'm ready to roll. I'm also in the middle of getting it all copywrited and such so there's plenty to be done, but it's getting there. =)

In Remembrance of Irene

My brother's girlfriend's mom was fighting cancer for about 3 months and was actually doing well, when we got the news that she passed away last Friday around 5pm at home. She was allowed to go home because she was in the last stages of cancer, and the doctors knew she might not last much longer, so they sent her home with a hospice so she could be with her family. Most of her family were there that night mourning over her. I went over the next day to visit them, and spent the remainder of the evening there with them all. She left behind her husband, two daughters and a son. The older daughter is married and moved out, while the others still lived with her. When I went over to visit on Saturday they were doing better. I got to know the family a little better and talked with the son for quite a while. He still had mixed feeling about everything and I could tell his heart was heavy. He had alot on his mind.

So the funeral, or services, as my mom likes to call it, will be held on Thursday most of the day. I was able to trade my Thursday for my coworker's Saturday to get that day off, so it worked out well. And Saturday right after work I'm going with Stacy's family on a little getaway, I think to San Diego, I'm not sure yet where they decided. Well, we were all supposed to go to a wedding in Arizona this weekend. Someone in their family is getting married and invited them to go, but there's some kind of conflict with her father and Stacy's family, so I guess they decided not to go, mainly because of that. That's pretty sad actually. But I was told that he is a very stubborn man and very bitter still about the past so...that's why we decided to do something else this weekend. Hope it turns out to be nice still. Still, I think it's terrible that they aren't 'welcome' there, especially for wedding, something that doesn't happen too often you know. How callous can someone be?? sheesh oh well...

I'm just enjoying my last week off of school this week. Next week I'll be busy again with Statistics homework, at least I think I will if there's an assignment. So I'm focusing alot on Usana this week and making good progress. I'm hoping the owner at the Printing Spot will bring me on FT soon, which was his intention to begin with. He's having quite a number of other issues that he's dealing with right now, which I wont get into here. That would be another blog altogether just on that one! lol Anyhow, that would be good for me once that happens cause honestly having two jobs right now leaves little room to plan consistently. Plus those early morning shifts can really take it's toll on me during the week. But for now that's what I gotta do, so I can't complain.

As a side note, I thought I'd be blogging more on myspace but I guess I'm so used to this format that I have yet to make that change. Who knows if I even will change. hmmm... =)

Just in Time

Thank God I recently found another PT job to supplement my income. It was a referral from my cousin. Her boyfriend owns a print shop and needs help because he's getting more work, so she referred me to him, knowing that I have graphic experience. This is my second week now and it's been a good experience thus far so, hopefully things will continue that way. He hired me part time with the intention of bringing me on Fulltime in the near future, assuming things work out well between us. Right now it's M-W-F from 8-5pm. I'm still working at Starbucks though because I get free coffee...er...I mean cause I still need the money to pay my bills that is.

Man...why is Mexican food sooo filling! Sheesh That's why I rarely eat it. I can eat more seafood than this and I still feel light. Weird. Well seafood does contain more water so that's understandable. Mexican food is just full of stuff. lol Like cheese, which actually doesn't help. Stacy actually can't eat any cheese or caffeine or she'll have a bad reaction to it, or she will get a migraine. I almost wish I had that condition! Cause I still drink soda and need more motivation to stop drinking that stuff. It really does not have any nutritional value at all. Speaking of that, either does smoking. I was thinking the other day how smoking has NO BENEFIT TO OUR LIVES WHATSOEVER! It damages our bodies, the ozone layer, it stinks everything up, from our hands to our clothes, it gives people an excuse to be inconsiderate of other people by allowing that horrible stench-filled smoke to affect other people and then throw it on the sidewalk for further damage to our atmosphere and storefronts and planters...it just does NOTHING for us as citizens of this world. I can't believe that it's not illegal yet, with all the negative aspects of it. Anyhow, I realize that they are slowly but surely cracking down on this terrible substance that has claimed the lives of millions of people on our planet. Slowly...but surely.

So this is my last week of class! yay! Of course we have a big test on that day, so I'm not totally in the clear yet. Hopefully it wont be too hard. I actually saw Laura a few Thursday nights ago which was actually nice. Both Cindy and I saw her. She wanted us to sit and eat with her but I had to go get money for food, then wait for a while for it to be made, so by that time we had to leave so I felt bad. She seems to be doing good, though. Saturday I went with Stacy and her family to this very unusual restaurant up near Pasadena to celebrate her brother's birthday. It had fish tanks like everywhere! Some of those fish were huge too! It almost reminded me of the Rainforest cafe in a way, with all the fish, except there was nothing BUT fish at this place. lol It was pretty unique, I'll say that. =)

Informal interview

Well things may be looking up here this coming week as far as work goes. I've decided to keep looking for a FT job since Starbucks isn't giving me the hours that I expected to get, mainly because the manager keeps hiring more people! I don't totally understand that, cause me and another girl and who knows who else are looking for more hours to work, so hiring more people just isn't cutting it for us. So I decided to keep looking around. Well, on Friday I got a call from my cousin telling me that her boyfriend, who owns a tee print shop, is looking for someone to help out with all the extra work they've been getting. I think she recommended me, so he called me on Sunday to talk about it more in detail. Apparently, he needs someone to help with both the design and printing of the t-shirts, both of which I have experience. He was also telling me that the graphic artist that's working for him now can only work PT and is going to school in San Diego, and he needs someone to be there FT because of all the work they're getting now. I told him my own situation, and he wants to talk to me in person about working for him and also about pay, so Monday I'm going down to Riverside after work to meet with him. So...I'm very interested to see what will come out of this! I'm hoping and praying that this may turn into a FT thing with decent pay. And I thought, even if I do work FT, I'd still like to keep my job at Starbucks for the additional income and the all the perks. :) Plus it's actually fun working there. Even if I work PT at the print shop I can still keep my job at Starbucks and it will still help me out financially so, we'll see what happens.

Saturday was a little busy but still nice. I went to dinner with Stacy, her mom and dad and their close friends at Mimi's Cafe. Then we went to a small get together for a brother named Dave who's moving out to Montana. It was nice fellowship and worship too. We all prayed for him then left about 11pm. Stacy was dead tired by then! I took her home and hung out for a while, then headed back home. That was the first time we actually had dinner with more people than her family and also the first time we fellowshipped together with other brothers and sisters. I thought it went very well though and I was blessed by both. Then today she came along with my mom and the boys to Montclair Plaza. Since it was still rainy, we took them to a small indoor playground in the mall for a bit, then we all had haagen daaz afterwards. She hasn't been feeling too well lately. Not sure if she's still recovering from her sickness or what or just not getting enough sleep lately. But she had a good time nevertheless. We've been joking around lately with a skit we saw the nite before on SNL, the skit with the couple that act totally off the wall and drive people crazy. The husband always wears an earpiece and ends all his sentences with 'beb' as in "You ever been there, beb? You been to Toronto, beb?" And his wife is this snobbyish valley girl sounding chick that asks ridiculous questions. They were finding info on travel destinations last night and out of the blue she would ask things like: "What street is this?" or "Can you make me a grill cheese sandwich?" Just stupid stuff, but it's totally funny the way they talk. So we've been having fun with that ever since. lol =)

Losing my sweet tooth

Well somehow I've acquired a new appreciation for plain, dark coffee recently. I think it was brought on by the training a week ago when we had to do four different tastings of Starbucks coffee. It was done with plain roasted coffee and a pastry that complimented it, which I actually enjoyed. The girl next to me was like 'do they have any cream or sugar?' lol I said no kidding. There was about a good 20 of us sitting in a half circle, similar to my BOLD classes. After that experience, I've made more attempts to drink my coffee plain without ANY cream or sugar, and you know what...it's actually not too bad. Well okay it's still not as good, or sweet, but when you add a pastry or cookie it actually tastes better. In a way this is very therapeutic for me. It'll help me to kick my old habits of adding a ton of sugar and cream to my coffee, which only has the effect of adding empty calories and bloating. I never thought in a million years that I'd ever drink my coffee black either! Weird...

Dont get me wrong, I still drink my favorite Lattes. I'm not going to change that drastically. I finally tried the Cinnamon Dulce Latte and it turned out to be very good. The only other one's I've tried and liked are the Vanilla and Gingerbread Lattes. Something must be happening to my taste buds here cause I would never have drank Lattes before, only because it tasted too weird before, too creamy. My favorite back then was the White Chocolate Mocha and that was pretty much it. But working at Starbucks now is giving me the incentive now to be a little more risky and experimental, mainly because it's not costing me $3 a cup each time! I mean, if I don't like it, I can just dump it without wasting $3, so that's the advantage I have. A few people have asked for the Peppermint Latte. Not sure about trying that one yet.

Well one more Monday of Apologetics and I'll have a little more time on my hands for my other projects. Unexpectedly I got my refund deposited to my account on Friday when checking the balance online...thank God! I was getting a trite worried there cause my car payment is due this coming week and I'm not exactly getting paid enough just yet to cover it. So praise the Lord for that one! So now I can move forward with Onoma and get a few more designs printed and selling over at Macklin Open Air market, and get some display supplies for the booth, too. I'm still in prayer about Usana right now since I felt that the Lord put Onoma on my heart a few days ago. It's a great opportunity but I want to make sure it's an open door. I remember telling Stacy that investing in Usana would really depend on getting my refund in time, since I had only until March 3 or so to buy a package. So now that I got my refund I've been asking the Lord if this is His way of saying 'yes' and giving me the go, but I just want to make sure it's the right direction to go. He knows my desire to provide and establish a place so I know He will guide me in the right direction.

As a side note I'm actually just getting over a cold. :( I'm pretty sure I got it from Stacy, but honestly it was worth spending time with her. lol But thank God the worst is over and I'm sleeping better. On one particular night I think I was either just super dehydrated or I had a bad reaction to some cold and allergy medication. It was called Sine Off I think. I just took one pill cause I usually don't like loading up on meds. But that night I felt so weird in the middle of the night, like short of breath and panicky. Stacy said it might have been a reaction because she's felt the same thing. So after sitting up and drinking water for awhile and praying, I finally felt okay. But yeah that was a little scary there. But I'm glad this cold is almost over, especially since I'm standing up alot and need the energy. =)

Double Bday

I've finally reached that good ole age of 35. yep. Not really sure what that means though. I don't think 35 is really a significant age. oh well...it wasn't too shabby all in all. My mom made me dinner and a cake on Saturday so my brother and Stacy could be there. My bro's gf couldn't make it because her mom was in the hospital that night. But we kept her in prayer that night. Then on Monday, my actual bday, Stacy and I went up to Claremont college and just hung out there for a bit, did some walking and then sat on the grass for awhile. It's somewhat significant because we met there on our first date, by the fountain. I used to go up there awhile back ago here and there just because it's a nice place to just relax or study. After that we went back to her house and ate with her family and had some cheesecake later on for dessert, which was her mom's way of treating me to my bday.:) We all sat and watched Mr. Holland's Opus while we ate and had some coffee. So all in all it was a nice bday.

Other than that I'm just reading and writing papers for my 2 bible classes right now as usual. In a few weeks I should be getting both of my businesses going. Thank God I'll only have one class to focus on at that time. I have one more class in Apologetics on Monday and then it's done. I think I'll be cruising along the rest of this year since I'm trying to balance everything. I think it'll work out okay though...a little here, a little there. It would definitely help to have a set schedule and a plan for each day though so I'm being productive. That would be good. =)

Balancing Act

It's been quite a challenge lately balancing everything in my life, but I can say that I'm definitely getting better at it! I recently recommitted my relationship to a girl whom I was seeing for a few months last year. We separated for a good 3 months to pray and see what the Lord would do and ask for His guidance. Well, about a good week ago we got together after service on Sunday and had a good talk about things, and it turns out that what she said was the Lord separating us was really her own conviction that we weren't pleasing the Lord by being together, only because we were struggling in a few areas and working to amend them. But her feelings for me never diminished and neither did mine. So, upon clearing that up and also talking with her parents about things, we decided to make a committment to each other to work on things and just go forward with this, since we know that we're content with one another. So...we'll see how things go. So far, so good.

With that established, I'm having to make my own committment to doing my homework and stay focused and disciplined with my reading and all. Not only that, but I just recently got hired by Starbucks and will be working the morning shift starting tomorrow, at 5:30am! Actually, that's nothing. When I start opening, I'll need to be there at 4am, cause we open at 5am. Nice eh? It's funny cause I'm constantly trying to make the transition from waking up late to waking up early, so hopefully this will give me the motivation I need. Besides, they have so many little perks that come with it, it's almost ridiculous. lol I mean they're great, but almost overwhelming: free coffee while working, 30% off everything when not working, and a free bag of coffee every week! And of course, tips. Then they have all these little reward systems and all, which could actually make it fun. Interestingly enough, this is one direction I have been contemplating going, into the coffee business, that is. I was almost shocked when she hired me on the spot! I was sitting there thinking..."they hired me." lol Well...an open door was provided...and I walked through it.

So with school and Starbucks and my other small businesses, Usana and Onoma going on, plus my revived relationship will require a concious effort to keep things in order and balanced. Especially with two classes overlapping this week and next week. But it's been working out well so far and hasn't been stressful thank God. We've even been a little creative about it too. Last night she was going to a bday party for a friend in MiraLoma and wanted me to come. I needed to do homework at some point that day, so we decided to see each other for a bit during the day instead, then I would do homework that evening while she went to the party. She was driving quite a distance though and I and her parents were a little concerned about that. So she came up with the idea that maybe she could drop me off at a Starbucks nearby to study while she went to the party for a few hours. It worked out perfectly, because I lived halfway back to her house, so she wouldn't be driving back alone all the way home so late. Now I know your'e thinking 'come one, you couldn't take one night off to go have fun?' And that's what I thought, and ideally yes, I should've prepared for that by getting ahead. But...I also know myself, and that's that same excuse I used every time to get out of doing my homework, and it got me in lots of trouble! So standing my ground and deciding to do homework was good therapy for me and will help me to be more disciplined and to plan ahead for events like that. But again it worked out well.

Besides that, my tailbone has been bugging me for over a month now, mostly when I'm sitting down on harder surfaces. When I'm sitting on the couch I'm fine, but if I'm sitting in a weird position it will start acting up. Not sure what's going on. Too bad I don't have medical or I'd get it checked out. Getting lots of prayer though. Hopefully it'll diminish soon. =)

15 Degrees Cooler Good Enough Reason

I couldn't believe the difference in the weather conditions between Chino and Newport Beach on Friday. It was a nice sunny 82 degrees in Chino, and I thought it would be a perfect day to head down to the beach and read for a bit and enjoy the sun. But was there sun? Noooo...but there was a nice marine layer (or fog) that totally covered any sign of the sun and brought the temperature down about 15 degrees! So much for that. sheesh But...I'm glad I also love cool weather and rain, so the surprise was actually nice once I got the idea that the sun was gone. lol But honestly I was looking forward to the sun this time so it was a tad disappointing.

Still, that's exactly why my goal is to move down there in the future: that 15 degree difference. When it does get hot in the summer, I am hating it up here! During the summer I'm a frequent visitor of Newport and the surrounding areas. It's sooo much nicer down there. So you ask, how are YOU going to afford to move down there?!? Do you know how expensive it is? Yes...I realize that the most INEXPENSIVE home in Newport Beach is 1.9 million dollars. I didn't say I was moving into Newport, which would be nice yeah, but at least in the vicinity. Some of the condos in the surrounding areas like Costa Mesa start around $450,000. What? For that kind of money you could buy a nice house further inland! Yes, I know that. But that would defeat the very goal I have to escape the inland empire or any empire 45 min north of the coast. In other words, it would be well worth it.

Aside from that, school is going well and my knowledge is ever increasing in this Apologetics class. I have my first essay due Monday, then there's one more after that. The hard part will be when Acts overlaps that one, so I'll need to be on top of my homework during that time. After Acts I have just about a month to relax, then I'll be taking on Stats! Yeah, baby, yeah! lol I have no idea what to expect so I'll pretend like it will be a breeze.

As a side note I just have to give my thoughts on something. I attended a financial class today at the church. It was very informational and helpful, too, and I got a few things confirmed that I've been in prayer about. One thing that is already confirmed is the direction I'm going with Onoma, my clothing company. The Lord has totally guided me in the direction to go and has opened doors for me and it's been quite amazing. The steps are small yes, but I believe it's for a reason, to teach me along the way. I believe some people have the mentality that we need to be more aggressive if we're going to have our own business and get out there and 'stake your claim.' That was the advice I got from one of the attendees there who had her own business. I mentioned that I got good advice from someone else to start small at events and open air markets, but her advice was to be more aggressive and get out there. Although her advice was well intentioned and I was open to everything she said, again, I know where the Lord is guiding me, and if the Lord says to take small steps, then I'm taking small steps. I believe when you can hold to your convictions no matter what anyone else says, even if they appear disapproving or critical of your approach, that's when you've decided to heed the Lord's voice, and His alone. Cause He alone knows the approach we need to take, even if we ourselves don't understand for the moment. Again, I have nothing against her personally and I wish her the best in her business, but this is only to confirm further to myself that I'm going in the right direction. =)

The Winds of Change

I finally started school again on Monday in Apologetics. So far it's very interesting to me, and it's especially good to know that we as Christians DO have evidence of our faith that we can share that is not merely blind faith, but is actually concrete faith based on historical, scientific and logical data. The myth that faith and knowledge must be separated, which is so prevelant in our churches today, is untrue and these two actually work hand in hand to prove that God exists. The reason God has been slowly pushed aside is not because we didn't have the answers back then...but because Christians weren't debating the inaccuracies of theories like Darwinism. We let it permeate society while we continued in our little part of the earth within our own communities. But it finally seems like Christians are rising to the occasion today against the errors of humanity and using reason to prove that God is true. That's why organizations who are against God and faith-based organizations that stand up for truth are crying so loud and resorting to name calling and kicking and screaming today...cause what they thought was an easy win is turning out to be an all out war! And I say that the more we rise up and stand on the foundation we've found through Jesus Christ, the more others will around us who will realize the fight is hardly over against all deception from the evil one.

But that's what I got out of this first class and I'm looking forward to the rest of it definitely.
Other than that, I'm continuing my training in Usana and going forward with that, as well as my business. I may have more capital available to continue forward once I get my tax refund, assuming I'll be okay financially by then! I'm just praying I will! If that works out I can print a few more designs and get them going at the open air market down the street and start getting the word out. The last visit I made there to do some research, the Lord totally opened the doors and led me to a place where I can buy most of the merchandising equipment such as shirt racks, metal grids and so much more to sell my stuff! A friend of mine is selling a few clothes racks and said I could have them for free! That was a surprise I didn't expect. So things seem to be falling into place in surprising ways, and I thank God for that.

Anyhow, lately I've created a site on myspace, mainly as a way for our BOLD group to keep in touch over the years. You can see my personal site at http://www.myspace.com/onoma
I may be blogging there more often than here since I can network a little better there with other people who have the same interests. I can also put music on my site! yay! lol

As a side note, many unbelievers think that our prayers and faith to God are such that we depend of Him because we can't so much as lift a finger in this life. While it is true that He IS the reason we even exist and have free will, it doesn't mean we are mindless and helpless. We are all made in the image of God and have the ability to do the same things. But what prayer DOES do is give us help in supernatural ways that are beyond explanation and comprehension, and I think that's where people tend to freak out because they are still bound by their carnal nature.
=)

A New Chapter

Well, I finally made the decision to quit and move on from my job, for several reasons. One major reason is my desire to go in a new direction, that direction being in sales & marketing and network marketing. Is it because I know I could be a great salesman? Not at all. I want to go in that direction because I know I'm NOT a good salesman, and I want to acquire that skill for the future if I ever want to own my own business. This will be good for me, even if only for the experience. I'm thinking long-term here, because I have goals I want to achieve in the not-so-distant future. At the same time I do feel a little guilty leaving so suddenly, I think because of my nature of being considerate of others, and I went against that nature and just left. I probably could have waited and gave notice, and if I did it again I would have. But...now that all is said and done, the only thing I can do is move on now. And I wish them the best.

What's interesting is that I just happened to have something ready for me to enter at this time, an opportunity that I've been looking into for the past few months. I actually started my training this week and plan to go forward with this, Lord willing of course. This company is based on a network marketing program. I didn't really take notice until those words took on importance in my reading as a skill that is vital in selling and networking with others. When I found out this company is founded on network marketing, I thought to myself this would be perfect to get into, for both the skills and the money, too, if that's my desire. But yes, I thought it was interesting that the timing was practically in sync with leaving my job, and that's not something I set up either! It just happened like that and in fact, I just realized this tonite. lol Because for months I was actually more involved with my business than this company and had little interest at the time. But now...it's become a priority, and may even become a vehicle through which I can finance my business. That would truly be a blessing.

In the meantime, I'm still looking for regular work, most likely in the sales & marketing field, to supplement the network marketing. I know this is a drastic change from doing graphic design for the past 5 or so years, but then again my goals and priorities have changed. They've changed as a result of the books I've been reading from a man named Robert Kiyosaki, a man who's written an entire series based on business and finances and so much more. I'm only on his second book, but I can tell you that his first book alone has opened my eyes to the world of financial wisdom than ever. I have a better understanding of how money works and how to put it to work for me, instead of working hard all my life trying to earn it with hardly anything to show in the end. One bit of simple advice is this: Pay yourself first! No matter what the circumstances are, give yourself a certain percentage BEFORE you pay any bills, no matter what. Cause if you don’t, you’ll try to save only what you have left. And what we have left is either too small to save or we end up using it for something else. Creditors and such are usually good with working with our circumstances. And in fact, paying ourselves first will be for our benefit, because we will always have bills to pay, but we can’t let those bills leave us with nothing in the end. If we’re ever going to have a nice nestegg, we have to put that money aside and not let anything deter that. Doing that will even encourage us to find ways to get the money to pay for this or that.

And that’s the next thing that I’ve learned as a result of reading his book. It’s changing the way I think about money and using the excuse that ‘I can’t afford it’ or ‘I don’t have the money to do that.’ Instead of saying ‘I can’t afford it’ I ask myself instead ‘How can I afford it?’ You see, when we say we can’t, we automatically shut down our thinking processes and put them to sleep, cause there’s nothing more to think about, right? It’s all said and done. But…when you ask yourself ‘how can I afford it’ or ‘how can I make this possible,’ we put our minds to work in figuring out a way to make it possible. We make our minds work instead of putting it to sleep. And I think this is true of many things in life, where we let our fears or misconceptions rule our thinking. If we would give ourselves a chance and even challenge ourselves and meet that challenge, I believe we could surprise ourselves in many ways. In fact at my last job, I took a small yet valuable step in getting my confidence level up. I read a small article about confidence that said, if you know you fear doing something, take the challenge by taking a small step and overcoming that fear. Well, I hated answering phones and giving quotes to customers. Every time that phone rang I wish someone else would pick it up. When I read that and challenged myself, things changed! I wasn’t afraid to talk with customers and meet their needs any longer, cause I invited the challenge. And all cause I took that small step. I would say that was a small victory. And even though it was small, to me, it was a big step. My point is, when we give our minds the opportunity to work for us, whether thinking of ways to do what seems impossible or overcoming fear, we can make great strides in life, even with the smallest of steps. =)