Getting Ready...

So yeah, I'm gonna be a little more open with this blog post and this blog overall from here on out...

It seems like blogs are a lot more interesting to read for other people when it's all about someone and that someones particular life in general; my sister does that, a few of my cousins run one (despite privacy settings and accessibility issues they have set!), and of course some friends of mine have blogs that do just that. I originally started this blog in order to speak my mind on the many things there is to talk about but recently, I just haven't had any ideas to even consider blogging about... Blogs on Blogger or WordPress seems to be popular to have especially when one is married and wanting to share what's going on in such a chapter in life so close family and friends are in-the-know. I suppose it's a useful way to utilize technology and the social media; like Skype! And before you ask, yes I do hope to be married someday; it's all about priorities and long-term goals. I'm just not ready for that stage in life yet.

So there you have it! From here on out, I'm gonna include the goings-on in my life when I feel inclined to. I suppose it'll have it's benefits and drawbacks. Drawbacks might include a lack of pictures since I lack creativity. Benefits might include more frequent update at least on this blog and you'll get to know what's been going on in my life that I don't mind sharing. And while I'm thinking about it, if you have any friends who are aviation enthusiasts or just like aviation, please direct them to my aviation blog as well as my aviation Facebook page! I would greatly appreciate that A LOT!

So it's been nearly eight months since I've been back from Japan. It's late-November and things just feel like it's been slowing down... The last few days, we've seen heavier rain than what we've seen all year, which is no surprise when you live in Oregon! We had Thanksgiving dinner with my uncle and aunt (who also live here in Salem) and it was nice and simple I suppose. I definitely haven't had turkey in a while so naturally, it tasted really good; of course my appetite hasn't been the same as it used to be. But after being in Japan and experiencing some of the holidays over there, that's just it: it's just another holiday. But don't take it the wrong way; these days still hold meaning to me. Really though, it's just nothing more than a good time to spend precious time with those you care about. Nothing fancy about it but celebrating for the RIGHT reasons doesn't hurt all! But it's just really another holiday.

I applied for school (hence the blog post title) to two of the Brigham Young University campuses in Utah and Idaho; I got accepted to Idaho, which I was slightly disappointed about. I was kinda hoping to attend the main campus in Provo, Utah but that's not gonna happen now (they're REALLY picky about who to accept!). And since I was denied, I figure I can cheer against the BYU Cougars in their sports events for a while! But in all seriousness, the benefit of being close to relatives (plus I like Idaho air better!) might as well make up for it. I HAVE spent about 3 months in Provo prior to going to Japan and let's just say the dry air wreaked havoc on my respiratory system and skin while I was down there. And for some reason, I'm not affected in Idaho as badly as I was in Utah. Considering my dad is native to the area where I'm gonna go to school, I suppose I have SOME of his "blood" that makes me somewhat more immune to the particular climate...

But it's no cake walk! Getting ready for school has been stressful. Getting accepted somewhere was one thing but my mind has been spinning about housing, overall expenses, what classes to take, etc. I don't even have a major picked out yet! And honestly, I could use all the help I can get! But I learned recently the more problems you have, the more alive you feel. The dead don't have problems because their dead! So sorry! That got a little dark there...

But I registered for some of the classes I wanted to take but let me tell you, I felt like vomiting while I did so (but I didn't thankfully!). I have been losing some sleep over the matter since I do start in January so all of this plays out very soon... I feel very lost right now, to be honest. I can't say it's 100% thrilling; more like 67% (I just came up with a random number on that.). I really wish I got at least a semester in before I went out on my mission so I would've had that experience when I got home... And of course my mission was a great experience but at the same, not the same as what I'm facing now... In the rulebook for Latter-day Saints missionaries, there was a part that said to use the funds provided to pay your bills. I'm sure every mission is different but we always sent our bills to a financial secretary and the church took care of those utility expenses. It could've been the language barriers associated with difficulty of understanding on things such as an apartment utility bill (especially for a missionary foregin to the country) or it was just expensive overall in Japan but I feel somewhat cheated of that really... I am grateful it was taken care of, but it just didn't seem so "real world" or "life on your own" (in this case "life somewhat on your own") to me.

So there you have it, the majority of my mind is occupied with the prospect of rocky start to my Freshman year of college! I don't mind admitting it get's discouraging once in a while. But I'm wanting to get it done so my future can be secure.

Multitasking, A Double Edged Sword

I sure do love funny cat pics but I honestly don't even wanna think about what it's doing!

You know what the benefit of having multiple blogs is? I get to express different things I like to talk about. It all started with my good ol' aviation blog. It was meant to go along with the photo collection I got going. And oh, how convenient it was with Google and a single account by linking YouTube, Blogger and Picasa... until I realized Picasa had a limit! The digital space limit makes dedicated users BUY more memory... and Google makes money in the end. Lousy stinkin' rip-off...

You and me the same, baby puppy....

And when these corporate guys make money, they smile!

When Kaiba Google Corporation smiles, a puppy does die...

Thankfully, I switched over to Facebook for my aviation gallery by creating a page. And I discovered fellow aviation enthusiasts and their own Facebook pages with their galleries in the process. And thankfully, departing from my initial use of Picasa on my Google account yielded little to no consequences. And then there's this blog, which I originally started to just talk/rant about general things; in other words, subjects that might have been small to have its own blog for. And before you ask, no, I'm not gonna create more blogs anytime soon (I think four is plenty enough!). Usually, I just like to make fun of things, popular people, in addition to the things that drive me nuts (no pun intended!) that I sometimes seriously need to get out of my system... And I gotta say, I think this blog has done it's part well. As for people who ACTUALLY read my blogs, it's a different story. Sure, I would like to have tons of people subscribe and actually follow my blog. But in the long run, this blog is especially for me to utilize since I'm not the most conversational type of person out there so I make up for that via my blogs... But having followers read my updates (and this goes for my other three blogs as well!) would be a nice bonus because these are usually things I don't mind sharing with people.

Now as for my Japan and I guess what you can call my religion blog...

Shut up baby puppy!

...anyways, as I was saying, my two most recent blogs were pretty much the result of my two years that I spent doing missionary work in Japan (duh!). I think I can leave it at that.

The downside to running four separate blogs under the same account is it's pretty much multitasking. Sure when you multitask, you feel like you're getting a lot of things done but it's a double-edged sword. So why do we do it? When you're stressing over multiple things, you get a temporary feeling of satisfaction while attempting to get different things done ALL AT THE SAME TIME. But in reality, the result of multitasking most of the time is overall productivity in getting something done totally gets screwed over. You're more likely to make a lot of mistakes when you multitask. And going back to my blogs, the consequences of running four of them at a time has resulted in a lack of frequent updates. I get started on one blog for an update only to lose my focus and writing comes to a complete halt. Then I later feel remorse for being at a total loss for what blog I want to update next. It has become a rather intriguing dilemma. So why bother running four blogs at the same time you ask? Well, this dilemma actually keeps my mind occupied when I'm bored (and when you're living in rainy Oregon at this time of year, that's gonna be the likely case!) and I eventually just go off and focus on something else. And going back to the "having followers" thing, if I actually got flak from people for not updating, things might be a bit different. But for the time being, people are most likely not interested in what I have to say and I'm fine with that. Blogging takes a back seat in my life from time to time. Priorities are usually in order. And I still like writing for those that are interested in what I have to say. Thanks for reading if you actually did.

And if you have any funny ideas you want me to blog about, I'm all ears.

DISCLAIMER: No puppies were actually killed in the writing process of this blog post!