The Flip Side

So Long, Farewell

2009-02-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

I regret to say The Flip Side will be closing down. I've decided to combine my advice blog with my other blog, ROFLCOP. So if you guys still want to follow me, go here:

SPEAKEASY

Thanks and happy readings!

$Mas Time Is Here

2008-12-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

The statistics are all over the news but we don't need that to know that the economy's forcing us to tighten our belts a little for the holidays. Here's how you can cut back and still remain fancy as Christmas rolls around.

1. Dec' The Halls- Skip out on the inflatable decorations and animatronics. Instead, go back to a more traditional deco. Lights are cheap and chances are, you'll find them cheaper at thrift shops. Thrift stores do change with the seasons so you're bound to find some Christmas decorations there. When you do install the lights, make it a habit to switch the lights off by 11 or 12 because they can suck up a lot of power. Make yourself a homemade wreathe to put on your door so that when guests come by, you won't say "I got it at K Mart".

2. Tennebaumer- I understand that sometimes, you just can't skimp out on trees. But if you can go for a smaller tree, do it. Try not to buy plastic trees. Frankly, I find them a little tacky and chances are, you won't reuse them. Plus, plastic sucks. In terms of ornaments, if you don't collect ornaments, don't buy the sets. Make your own ornaments with twine, paper clips, Popsicle sticks, and other cool crafty things. If there are kids around, include them. A little less work for you, and if you did a piss poor job with yours, you can say the kids did them. People love kids.

3. Potty Party- Whether it's you or your family, you're going to be involved in one somehow. Go for the potluck this year instead of putting all the burden on one family. People tend to be more satisfied when there's a potluck, and it's always a lot of fun. After the dinner, pull out a board game or rent a movie. Don't go to the theater, the prices are beyond ridiculous now. Feel festive? Go peruse neighborhoods and look at all the pretty decorations.

4. Tis The Season To Give- Skip the Hallmark and make your own cards. They may take a little time/effort but it's 100x more worth it than a $5 card. A little busy this time of year? Do a Secret Santa gift exchange. Saves money and everyone gets something they really want. If you really need to stretch that dollar, consider making your own gifts whether it's by knitting, craft making, baking or cooking. Batches of brownies or cookies are always great. When you do get gifts, remember, NIX ON THE HOLIDAY THEMED GIFTS. No one is going to wear that reindeer sweater year round. And when you wrap gifts, try to avoid plastic glossy wrap. Newspaper and twine is always an excellent way to go; it's got a very pleasing aesthetic to it.

Four little points to have a little grandiose holiday season without the extra expenditures.

photo courtesy of Captured Lights

Black Friday: Survival Guide

2008-11-27T13:32:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow's Black Friday and if you aren't prepared by now, you're already behind.

Most Black Friday sales occur at about 5AM tomorrow morning but people generally start lining up about 10 hours before that (i.e Fry's, Best Buy, Walmart). I've been to the Black Friday sale at Fry's for the past two years now and I've learned some things about it. It sucks. The deals are great but you have to risk your life a little bit. Most stores have a pre-Thanksgiving sale so that the crowds won't be so big tomorrow but we all know that the best deals are yet to come. Here are some tips I've compiled for those of you planning on some massive shopping tomorrow.

1. Form A Team- You're going to need people to stay in line, people to bring food, people to check the internet, people to get your items for you, people people people. Last year we tallied up who wanted what and divided the group into teams of two where each team was in charge of getting a specific item for everybody in the group so that everyone didn't have to run around the store.

2. Bookmark BlackFridayInfo as if it's your Bible. You should scour all of the sites for the best deals. Some sites will update their info last minute so it would be wise to have someone on the computer until the deals come up. Print the catalog, and race on over to the store.

3. Skip the turkey- You're probably not going to enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal. That's the sacrifice you're going to have to make for this. Skip the turkey and load yourself with carbs and fruits and guanine to keep your energy up.

4. Bundle Up- It's going to get freaking cold because A. You're not moving in line and B. A storm is passing through. Keep your hands and your head warm with gloves and earmuffs.

5. Are You Gellin'? Uncomfortable shoes will kill you if you're going to do this. Shoes that you find comfortable will get uncomfortable. Get Dr Scholl's in your shoes or wear Aerosoles. Comfortable wear but not light or your feet will get trampled all over. Remember you're going to be standing/running for about 12 hours or more.

6. Save Point - Once you're in the store, have someone sit in the sitting area so that everyone can drop off their stuff with this person. Think of it as a safe zone where you can unload everything and run off again.

7. Is Your Shit Secure? After you buy your stuff, either drop it off at home or cover it with a blanket. The last thing you want is to get your car broken into and have all of your valuable work get stolen. This is for people who intend to hit multiple stores.

8. Get some breakfast. Go through a drive thru or pick up some leftovers at home before going forth. You may not feel hungry but you've got to eat.

9. Swipe Swipe Swipe - If you can, pay by card. It's just faster and a lot easier to track.

10. KEEP ALL RECEIPTS. Most stores give their deals through rebates. If you don't do these rebates, it's as if you're paying full price. Also, Black Friday can be like that one crazy night where you've had too much to drink. The next day you'll wake up thinking, why did I buy that 100 pack of gel pens? Keep the receipts in case.

Well that's all I can think of for now. Happy shopping!

photo courtesy of Matdjj

Wising Up

2008-11-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

Every now and then in my life, I often think back to my earlier years and think how stupid I was to spend my money on this or invest in that. I often imagine how much I would have if I had spent my money more wisely.

We will always think about this because we are continuously growing; we do not grow wise and stop at that. At least, I certainly hope not. Instead of looking back with regret, let's reflect on what we have done and how we can help it in the future. If you want to eliminate this regret of displaced spending, there is going to be a need for some major groundbreaking changes. Most notably, you must find/change your philosophy.

What is a "philosophy"? I like the Webster definition: the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group. Our philosophies are always changing, little by little, whether we notice it or not. We are influenced by people, media, politicians, family, religion, etc. so our outlooks and attitudes are always changing. Your philosophy should be the most basic, stripped away, core of your belief in how you want to live your life. Savings could be your philosophy. That no matter how little of a paycheck you get, no matter how small your income is, a certain percent of it has to be saved so that you will always have something to fall back on. Maybe homemaking is your philosophy. The items of most importance is your furniture or house so that if anything happens, at least you've got a solid roof over your head.

How do I "find" my philosophy? While sitting down with a pen and paper is a good way of finding yourself, I argue that more cultural knowledge is needed with something as big as this. I suggest plugging yourself into the news for a while to sort of forecast the future. Read a lot of books whether they be classical literature or modern satires; books will always pull a few scales from your eyes. Maybe you can work with the "if I had a million dollars.." scenario to see where you would go. Pretend you get a check for a million, what will you do with it. Some might put it into savings or pay off debts and mortgages while others may choose to buy a nice car or get into a good school. Different people have different priorities, but no one path is greater than the other. Remember, this cannot be impulse buying. You're given this check and you must decide what you're going to do with it now. You're not going to sit on it and spend little by little.

How will finding my philosophy save me money? I never said it will save you money. I just said that you will have less regrets on what you spend your money on. If what you invest in is the core belief of your life, you should be okay with it further down the road. All the rest will be arbitrary clutter you can break from. If my philosophy is to not compromise school, I might spend the extra cash to buy a book instead of borrowing one. I might save for an esteemed university that I want to get into. I might pay for extra tutoring and specialized tests. How I make up for that extra money is the trick. I may stop going out with friends as much and leave hang-out time for the weekends. I might stop my shoe collection or hold off on the new laptop and instead, use the school computer lab.

You will never have too much money in your life nor will you have too little. Your income will always be just the right amount. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, believe it or not you can actually save money. There are little corners to go around and shortcuts to make that only get brought up when you don't have the money. Save yourself in the future by understanding the present. We live very busy and occupant lives that sometimes we lose ourselves in it or we grow afraid whenever we have a little time off that we immediately fill the void with more busy work. Stop deluding yourself and realize what is most important.

photo courtesy of Grant MacDonald

Movable Type

2008-08-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

Are you stuck in a rut? Do you just wish you want to get out of wherever you are? Is life a little dull for you? Do you feel spent and burnt out? Here's a solution that might just work for you.

Move your furniture, get new furniture, rearrange your room.

Start with just imagining all of your furniture moved around your room. Imagine new positions to place them in, different flows into areas, and pack things away.

Search sites like craigslist or the pennysaver for cheap/free furniture to use. Shelves, boards, and desks are quite common and can be painted or altered to fit different situations.

Push yourself to take drastic steps such as painting your walls if that's allowed or just painting your furniture. Your room should emphasize you in your best so decorate accordingly.

photo courtesy of retrodesignfan

Amnesiac

2008-06-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

You're an adult now. Really.

We're all adults. This means that our childhood is behind us now.

One of the things I hate the most is forgetting things. This is why I always carry around a moleskine to record down notes and thoughts. This is why I constantly update my calendar at home. This is why I save chat logs. This is why I blog. And now, this is why I'm going to embark on my next project and I'm inviting you to join me.

I'm going to start writing my memoirs from as early as I can remember and try to include every detail. As I grow older, I can update this while looking back and recalling what happened. It's putting your memory into words so you won't forget. If these memories aren't down in any solid format, they are to be lost forever unless by chance someone else remembers the exact same thing. Stop the good times from slipping away and put them all down on paper. Bring up the bad memories as well and expound on them. Get rid of your demons and come face to face with difficult issues you never dealt with. This is a wrap up of your life and it's about time you got a hold of your recollections. Our memory is a tricky thing, warping itself to whatever it wishes, so take a hold of it's reins.

Since you're going to be writing, this gives you a great opportunity to practice your artistic flair in writing. Write a comedy for a chapter, write a thriller for another, and the write a tragedy for one. Use different elements to get your story across the way you want it to. Here's another challenge: Stay true to your memory. All those disturbing or embarrassing spots stay as it is. Do not shape your memory into a lie but rather stick with the truth. This is your red pill/blue pill situation, do what is right.

This project will getting tiring, I'm sure of it. You've got to take your time with this and find a night (I usually think deeper during nighttime) and be prepared to stay up all night because once you start thinking, it'll snowball. Pick up again another time when you've got the thoughts running but be sure not to forget about it. Those old folks' memoirs are bound to be inaccurate at spots frankly because, they're so old. It's better to start fresh and young then let it transcend through the years.

Good luck to all of you, and wish me luck as well.

Photo courtesy of kamerakrazy

It's Uber, Man

2008-06-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

For the next few weeks, I will be attempting to adjust into the Uberman sleep system. Wish me luck!

My Daily Mantra

2008-06-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Over the life span of this blog, I've shared with you many websites that I have found pretty cool. For this post, I'll share with you the websites that I check on a regular.

We all have our mantras and sets that we go through everyday but some sites may leave us wasting time idly for hours on hand. To escape this, I go through a list of sites that I've found very useful over the years.

1. iGoogle- This is a great homepage if it's not yours already. Sign up for a Gmail account and get this site. It's highly customizable pages work like widgets and RSS feeds. It also possesses the handy tab system so you can create numerous pages. Themes can be changed to suit your liking. For example, I can get my Gmail inbox, Woot, the weather, Digg articles, and LOLcats all on my front page. Go check it out, it's the site to use.

2. Gmail- Probably the best E-mail client out there. Gmail used to be an "invite-only" mail system but now, it's available to everyone. You literally do not need to erase any of your mail with the amount of web space made available. It also has the handy Gmail chat to communicate with your contacts. Now, you can even add your AIM contacts so it's all meshed into one. The labeling system organizes your mail in no time and it's totally compatible with Microsoft Outlook.

3. Latest Headlines (BBC)- I use Mozilla (probably the best browser out there) and my toolbar comes with an RSS feed to the latest headlines on BBC news. This can be changed to CNN or FOX or whoever you prefer but I prefer a less biased source. It's always good to know what's happening in the world.

4. TheCoolHunter- This site is all about "cool", ranging from art to fashion, architecture to gadgets. This is an excellent site to scour when you're looking for the creative thinkers out in the world. You can subscribe to them and receive a monthly issue of recent posts in your E-mail.

5. HypeBeast- For the best source for the freshest street wear, head on over to HypeBeast. This constantly updated site shows you the hottest brands and collaborations out there. If you're a sneaker freak, this place will have the nicest and most expensive shit ever. Check it out you hype beasts.

6. Digg- Here you can find the most interesting articles in the world in one place. The popularity of an article depends on how many votes or "diggs" it received. The most popular ones are in the right hand side. Stories, videos, pictures, and such; you can find all of these formats there.

7. ZenHabits- This site sort of inspired me to get blogging. It offers great advice on improving your quality of life ranging from exercising to organization. This award winning site updates on a regular and the author has an e-book out. Great place to visit when you want to turn your life around.

8. Woot/Amazon Gold- These two sites offer one day deals that are sold out when it's out. It's a great place to find great deals randomly, you just have to check it on a daily basis.

So that about wraps up the sites I check on a regular here. If you have any cool sites that you want to let me know about, drop a comment.

Turning Japanese

2008-05-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

An issue I think many people in my age group are facing is dealing with a lot of stuff in a little room. Dorms are a relatively small area where your space must be managed wisely or else your roommates will get pissed. Although I don't live in a dorm, my living area is roughly the size of one. I will share with you little tips and shenanigans on how I manage with the space.

In today's post, some points will be directed to dorms while others to apartments. I understand that eating situations differ with different audiences. Even if you haven't moved out of your parents house yet, you can still take these advices to heart.

1. Stack 'em, Rack 'em. Pending on where you live, there are different rules. Most dorms will not allow you to put up shelves or do anything that involves nails. Some apartments may permit it while some wouldn't dare let you push a thumbtack into their dry walls. The point is, you have to work with your surroundings. Can't nail shelves? Stack boxes against the wall to maximize your space. Shelves are very important in a living space for it can serve multiple purposes. It's a place to put your books, backpack, laptop, TV, radios, etc. without investing in different mounts and tables. Also, take advantage of hidden spaces in your area such as vacant spots under counters or in corners. There's always a hole ready to be filled with your junk.

2. All Your Space Are Belong To Us. Go out and get some small containers to hold your little items. IKEA's got some great collapsing containers that you can store anywhere. Do you just leave your keys by the door? Get a container for it. Do you pile your pencils on your desk? Get a container. Remote on the table? Get a container. Reefer on the TV? Get a freakin' container. Now that you've got your little containers, let's move on to what you do with them.

3. Designated Spots. Assign your stuff to a place/container and STICK TO IT. If you have your bills in a box, ALWAYS put it in that box. If you have a cup for your pencils, ALWAYS leave it in the cup. Your area will be less cluttered if you commit to this AND your things won't get lost as easily. We all waste a lot of time scouring our rooms for misplaced items. If they were given spots to stay in, we would never misplace them.

4. Lvl Up. When you've got a small place, sometimes the only way to go is up. The Jeffersons did it and so can you! Going back to the box shelves, you can create dividers with them as long as you stabilize it. You can cover an entire wall with them. Bunk beds are a great idea if you're short on space. Living by yourself? No problem! Get those bunk beds with the bed on top and nothing on the bottom so you can stack more shit there. Try to leave your floors as clear as possible to maximize your living space.

5. There is a Season(Turn, Turn, Turn). Check your closet. If you have swimming trunks and a wool coat in there, you failed. Your clothes are some of the most mess-inducing substances in your home. Drawers are always full of clothes you don't wear. Closets are vomiting out ancient apparel. Take some time and choose what clothes you need and don't need. Then out of of those chosen few, decide which is appropriate for the current season you're in then pack the rest away in storage. If it's summer, do away with the heavy jackets and leave them at your parent's place.

6. CDs, Nuts. The compact disc is dying out and die out it shall. Not just CDs, in fact, DVDs too shall fade away. I suggest you purchase a nice big external hard drive to store all of your music and movies into. I understand it can be a pride thing to show off your substantial music or movie collection but no one really cares if you've got all 12 versions of Star Wars or the Director's/Producer's/Sound Technician's cut of the LOTR series. If you must keep CDs and DVDs because you're A. Poor or B. a freak, get a big CD folder to archive everything and do away with the cases.

7. Furnishing Line. If you have the chance to buy your furniture (or scavenge craigslist for it), try to find furniture that works for smalls spaces. For example, the captain beds are really cool. You know, the beds with the drawers on the bottom so you can put shit in. Desks with a second (or third) story are cool as well.

8. Keep Surfaces Clear. Here's a toughie that varies with different crowds. If you want your place to look organized, neat, and sleek, avoid putting anything on surfaces. That is, nothing on your desks, nothing on your tabletop, and nothing on the top of your boxes. This will give you a very decluttered serene look. Now many people would rather style their places homely and add flairs. Though it does make the environment warmer, it also gives it a slight smothering feel. I tend to lean towards that every now and then but I have realized that a clean and sleek environment boosts my productivity.

9. Mean, Lean, Cleaning Machine. Force yourself to clean, even if you don't think you have to. I like to make myself clean at least twice a week to maintain everything. If everything's relatively organized, scrub a bit or vacuum. Dust never goes away so you always have to deal with that. Always do dishes right after you eat or the buildup can get gross. Maintain your habitat and your habitat will maintain you.

10. Sweet (Suite) Sharing. If you and your roommates share taste in stuff and are close enough pals to share (after all, you are sharing your homes), take it one step further and share more. you guys can probably share one desktop computer if you needed to, even though everyone has laptops nowadays. Share bookshelves, share dishes, accounts on the computer; there are lots you can do.

11. Light Feats. I've come to realize that a lot of college kids out there prefer a dark living environment. This is a terrible idea, you emo skanks, get some light in. Always take advantage of your window placement (if any) and position mirrors to lamps and sunlight to redirect the rays. Standing lamps are always cool if you position them cleverly. The truth is, light can make the size of a room double if used correctly. It exposes all the dark vacuums in your place and allows a sense of openness to invade your living quarters.

12. 30 Days of "Might". Since money is such a big deal to us, we have to control our compulsive shopping. Aside from rent, gas, and food (which you still have to consider your choices carefully), there should be a 30 day list for you to put that item on. If by the end of 30 days you've lost interest for it, you would not have the need to buy it. This goes for movies, clothes, furniture, appliances, and more.

There is my list of effective management you can put forth into your agenda. Mold and shape my advice to suit you however you wish as long as you don't compromise and underestimate yourself. There are all the little things that we can get into such as eating out vs cooking or even the type of furniture you should be looking at and where. For now, consider these twelve tips.

40 Some Winks

2008-05-05T04:16:00.000-07:00

Insomnia sucks.

Put You On Game

2008-04-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

It has occurred to me that the Zen lifestyle is not stagnant nor is it exciting. It is a lifestyle of continual growth, deterioration, self destruction, and rebirth. Constant attention must be preserved and habits must be put in place.

I am still learning how to balance my life and it has proven to be a difficult task. I've made a list of personal goals and I need to be held accountable so I'm going to blog my progress (or lack thereof).

Learn Cooking Recipes
Organize all music on single hard drive
Draw up a healthy diet
Less soda, more water
More fruits, less easy solutions
Less dining out, more dining at home
Early to bed, early to rise
Build a strict exercise schedule
Make more time for Meditation and Greening
More: Religious Understanding
More: Political Understanding
Research healthy alternatives
Set aside time for Screenplays
Set aside time for Novels
Set aside time for Drawings
Set a weekly allowance and do away with the Debit card
Learn handyman skills and woodwork

Well, I guess that's it so far. More posts, coming soon.

Hangover Remedies

2008-03-31T02:40:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, I like to use my blog as a tool for reflection. At the same time, I want to include helpful advice and revelations that I have come across to interests you the reader. Sorry that I haven't updated recently, to my fans out there. I know you were just dying for another one of my posts. Spring Break meant people coming home and a lot of hanging out so I fell out of some habits. This lead to me breaking cycles that maintained my life and now I have a metaphorical hangover.

[23:10] Adam: did you go to the gym
[23:10] Adam: ?
[23:11] benchen14: nope
[23:11] benchen14: didn't get to
[23:11] benchen14: whatever
[23:12] Adam: you wanna go ?
[23:15] benchen14: no too tired now
[23:15] benchen14: plus i'm eatin
[23:15] benchen14: but you go ahead and go
[23:15] benchen14: get back in the habit
[23:15] Adam: yeah
[23:20] Adam: ok ima go to the gym
[23:20] Adam: ill ttyl

Later that night...

[01:32] Adam: you could have gone to the gym bum
[01:32] Adam: haha
[01:39] benchen14: yeah f*** it
[01:39] benchen14: haha
[01:39] Adam: haha
[01:39] Adam: fatty

So there you have it. Routines thrown out the window. But tonight, I organized myself again in an effort to set myself straight. Sometimes when I think about it, I realized that a lot of people are in my so called "mess" and have been for quite some time without realizing it as a mess! What can you do about it? Here are some things I did tonight to straighten myself out.

1. Paper Vomit Sounds a little graphic, I know, but basically I want you to throw out everything you have on your mind on a piece of paper. Many people think that they can keep it all in their heads and sort it out little by little but no, you're wrong. Little important pieces of info will slip your mind unless they are written down. This can be totally disorganized from stuff you need to tell people to things you need to buy, eating habits, places to visit, music you want to listen to.

2. Divide & Conquer Now that you have your plethora of thought, start categorizing them and labeling them. Put them in groups and if you can, expand on an idea (e.g-Talk to Ted/ Talk to Ted about shopping, movies, work). In my moleskine, I usually put separate everything into a To Do list or a To Buy list. This helps me visually attack all of my tasks. For the To Buy list, if it isn't a necessity such as clothes, gadgets, or even furniture, I put it on a 30 Day List where I wait 30 days before I purchase it. If by the end of the 30 days I still feel a need for it, I get it. If not, I drop it.

3. Better Luck Tomorrow Before you sleep, make sure you have a plan for tomorrow. This helps you use your time efficiently instead of spending hours on YouTube and Digg (guilty pleasures). If you plan the night before, you will want to cram every nook and cranny of your time with something productive. Chances are when tomorrow hits, you won't be able to do everything on your list. But do try to hit all of it.

4. PocketMod Now that you've gotten everything organized, put it on a PocketMod or write it in your moleskine or calendar. As long as you carry it with you wherever you go, it's fine. Written formats are always more preferable to me, but some of you are electronic people. Whatever floats your boat.

5. Balancing Act Your money. We all have different amounts of income but the truth is, none of us have enough. How do people with less money than you get around? Are they less respectable than you? If not, why can't you be like them? Balancing your checkbook sounds like a very senile adult thing to do but it's a must. Most of us spend money like we're going to lose it in the next second. I'll do another entry all about money control but basically, give yourself an allowance and start a savings fund. Don't know what you're saving for? Don't matter.

This is a brief collection of advices I came up with while trying to organize my own life. Hope you can make use of this.

Cheap Eatings

2008-03-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

Food is a necessity. No questions about it. But how can we make better choices and wiser decisions as we pick and choose what our body takes? There are little things you can do that can aid your overall health and make your wallet a little bit fatter.
Going to restaurants over 5 times a week, giving in to those enhanced formula beverages, shelling our money out at lunchtime, hot melted buttered popcorn at the picture. Does that sound familiar? Truth be told, we all do it. There's almost no escaping from it. Poor eating habits have been molded into our culture and most of us just stand around helpless. If you sat down and thought about it a little, there are solutions around every corner to help. Here are a few to help:

1. Water Is Free! No joke. The healthiest beverage out there, over 60% of your body, is free! Did you know that it is illegal for food venues to deny you of free water? That's right, order that cup of water at Starbucks. It's all right! Next time you're at a fast food restaurant, don't get the super size coke, get the free water! And if you must have a beverage that's not water, go for the small size. Refills are unlimited. Here's an equation. Small+ infinite refills = infinite drinks. Large + infinite refills = infinite drinks. What's the difference? Go figure.

4. Brown Bag It Or lunch pail it. Everyday, I bring my lunchbox to school. It's strange when people ask me what I put in it and even weirder when they are shocked or confused by my response. I put my lunch it. I'm not a dork, I actually kind of look cool with it. Empty handed people are dorks. What do you guys eat for lunch? I bet it's fast, convenient, expensive, and full of shit. The cost of packing your own lunch is a lot less than eating out every day. It all adds up. For the green folks, don't use the traditional brown lunch bags. Reduce paper waste by using and reusing Tupperware and a lunchbox.

3. Just Say No To Freeloading Your toughest enemy when it comes to saving money are your friends in so many ways. One way, is their knack to slip their hands in and out of your plates. Are you going to say something? No way man! They're your friends! It's their natural rights to steal food from you. Or you can say no. Not enough chutzpah to stand up for yourself? Order foods like soup based noodles, sandwiches and burgers. Fries and other finger foods are prone for the snatching. First thing you do when you get your food, sneeze on it.

5. I Like The Bartender Hey if T-Pain thinks it's hot, what's stopping you? Keep your plastic bottles and mix future drinks in it. This is what I do to save money. I keep several of those large gallon Arizona green tea bottles. Once I buy a new gallon, I pour half of it in a bottle then mix it with water. I just made another gallon of green tea without paying for it. Speaking of bottles...

6. No Bottled Waters If you already like drinking water, don't buy those big packs of individual water. It's a waste. Get a Pur filter or fill up by the gallons at the water filling places outside of practically every market and then some. You can also have water companies deliver water to your house by the gallon.

7. Bulk It Up Gosh, don't you just love Costco? In the long run, it's so much cheaper. Get things you need in bulks! We always joke around as we pass by that gallon of Kikkoman Soy Sauce, but we really can use a gallon of soy sauce. Maybe. Party Planners, go to Costco.

8. Little Shop Of Grocers I haven't done this one a lot but it seems pretty cool. We all love Whole Foods for their freshness but the price just bites a hole in your ass where your wallet was. Truth be told, there are little tiny markets around the corner. All you have to do is look. For example, I found this tiny little market place next to the Bank Of America on Baldwin. It's about 5 minutes from my house and has plenty of fresh produce.

9. What Would Martha Stewart Do Just because you don't know how to cook doesn't mean you're fucked. In the long run, you will be but it's not that bad. There are plenty of easy recipes online that you can learn. Don't worry about being exact with recipes, you can always substitute ingredients. A friend of mine makes a quick snack out of pita bread, olive oil, and lebnah. Cheap and healthy.

10. Look For Alternatives A lot of times, making better choices are just not acting on impulse. If you thought for a second, a lot of good substitutes are in hand. Don't get popcorn for the movie, bring your own bag of nuts or trail mix. Drinking beer tonight? Hold the chips, bread can be paired with alcohol very well. Don't grab that donut on the go. Keep granola bars in your car or backpack if hunger strikes.

11. Add Toppings Like you would do with a pizza, sprinkle things here and there. Put blueberries in your yogurt. Add raisins in your cereal. Throw some walnuts in your salad. It'll add flavor and give you a boost of nutrients.

12. Find Activities, Not Restaurants If you and your friends are bored, chances are a restaurant would be the ideal place to go to. Why? Because you've got something to do. Well, we can just get drinks; it won't be that expensive. Nope. As you walk in, the aroma hits you and you're hungry for food. Restaurants aren't the ideal place to go to hang out. It costs money and it gets you fat. Instead, watch a movie at home, play some card games, bring out the old board games. Inexpensive alternatives!

13. Warning Labels There's a fight to make fast food chains list calories and other nutrition facts on the menu you order from. Is this necessary? After all, they do put it on those mats that comes with the tray. It is on the walls. They're on every burger wrapper. What I'm getting at is that you're not reading what you're putting in you! Are you eating the amount suggested by the nutritional diet? Here's a real challenge, try staying under your sodium level. Record your daily diet and see where you're at. The results may shock you.

Thirteen tips to help you manage your body and your wallet. But you must know that it is important that you don't sacrifice quality for price. Meaning you shouldn't be eating all of your meals out of the 99 cent produce section. Always place health over frugality. Try some of these and let me know how it turns out for you. Also leave some comments or arguments you may have.

photo courtesy of Ben

4U2C

2008-03-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

One of the duties I perform here on The Flip Side is to inform you of cool sites that may or may not come in handy in the future. While perusing around, I stumbled upon these two:

1. Sandy This is your personal assistant via e-mail. Sandy can be used to remind you of appointments, contacts, your to-do lists, etc. This can range from reminding you to knit gam gam's wool sweater for Oktoberfest or just to remind you that you have to take out the trash in 10 minutes.
You access her by signing up for it at their site. Upon doing that, you send her your requests on your e-mail client with your personalized SandyMail address. You can also send things to her in the middle of another e-mail by CCing the message.
What's really cool about Sandy is that she can interpret shorthand commands so you can jot in some reminders in no time. Follow the instructions on the site to learn the annotations.

2. SpeedTrap Have you ever gotten pulled over in your car? If not, it's only a matter of time. But you can further prevent this from happening by going to Njection's sweet little program called the SpeedTrap. This site allows you to find where all those sneaky snake cops are hiding out behind their ray (speed) guns, zapping at you. You know that one on Las Tunas that always get you? He hides at the Bank of the West. The black and white that slams you for an "unsafe lane change" and "carrying a passenger on a driving permit" on Temple City? Yep, you can find him here. You can type in different area codes and search different places whether it's work, a friend's house, or if you're planning a trip.
How SpeedTrap works is that it's an online community where drivers can post known locations that squad cars hide at. Though this concept may seem faulty, it strings together valuable information that can be very useful to other unsuspecting drivers. If you know hidden locations that are not posted, you can put them up yourself to warn future site visitors of hidden dangers.

That concludes my recent internet escapade. There are still many more sites that I will share with you in the future. If you have a site you would like to share such as Kevin's exclusive discovery of the PocketMod (not really), feel free to link them in your comments.

photo courtesy of chinua000

The Happenings

2008-03-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

For those of you who still avidly check my blog, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post much lately. A lot of my time is taken up at school or at the gym. Rarely, do I get time to sit down and type up a post. It's not that I'm out of material, I've got plenty backed up. Hopefully, I'll be able to organize my time more thoroughly so that I can continue posting.

Along with the works, I'm currently working on my next big project. I'm not sure whether it will be a novel or a screenplay, but I'm trying my best to get through with it. I'm also looking for screenplays to read so that I can get an idea of the difference in form. Not necessarily "how to write" books but actual screenplays.

What are you up to now? Drop a comment about big things you're doing with your life or just how busy you are with everything else.

photo courtesy of aragonzo

Pushing 24 Hours A Day

2008-02-21T00:37:00.000-08:00

I recently got a year membership at 24 Hours Fitness.

So far, it's been quite spectacular.

Morning Has Broken

2008-02-16T02:03:00.000-08:00

The majority of us are night owls, that is a fact. For us, we embrace the Post Meridian (PM) like a child to its mother. We wake during lunch breaks and our bedtime is minutes before sunrise. Unfortunately, such habits don't bode well with the rest of the world.

Waking up early is a daunting task for many of us and we would search for any excuse to sleep in. I usually wake up past noon and sleep around 3 or 4 so waking up early is hard enough for me than most of you. With school starting for me (Spring semester for the rest of you), here are some tips for the late starters.

1.No Compromises We kid ourselves all the time with excuses. "No, I have 10 minutes!" "No! I can do it tomorrow." "No, I'm a big baby." During the few moments we wake up, our judgment is clouded and the decisions we make in those critical few minutes can lead us kicking ourselves later in the day. Make the right choice and the right choice is no more sleep.

2. Make Some Noise Turn on the TV if you have one in your room. Turn on the radio, CD player, anything noisy as long as it doesn't bother others but annoying enough to keep you up.

3. Leave the Bed Do whatever you can to get out of bed. If it involves rolling off, do it. If it means running out of the room with your eyes closed, do it. Just leave your bed the moment you wake up and don't return. Pretend it's infested with bugs or an invisible fire is burning it. Currently, I am sleeping in a couch bed so the first thing I do is fold up the bed. Can't sleep anymore if your bed is gone.

4. Burn Yourself Not with fire. March yourself straight to your restroom and wash your face with cold water and face wash. Proceed with mouthwash to wake up your mouth with that minty feeling. Some people take morning showers and it helps. I usually take it after my morning exercise.

Waking up is only half of it. In order to stay awake and ensure the start of your day, a lot has to be done the night before.

1. Work It Exercising before bed time will expell whatever energy is left in you and tire you out right away. Nice if you follow it with a warm shower.

2. Reach For The Sky Stretch if you're too lazy to exercise and if you do exercise, stretch anyways. Meditation or yoga are good too if you're into that and it's also proven to make you look younger.

3. Power of the Sun The sun is a wonderful (my main) alarm clock. Open your blinds/curtains before you sleep and the sun rays will creep in and wake you naturally. Inexpensive alarm clock, yes. Tanning alternative, maybe not.

3. Scatterbrain Everyone and their mothers use several alarm clocks and turn the time back. It's not that effective anymore but it still helps.

4. Night Cap Drink a glass of something before you sleep. Some people drink warm milk (supposedly that helps you sleep), I can't stand the taste of it. You can drink chocolate milk, but I don't like the feeling in your mouth when you're heading off to bed. Basically, drinking before you sleep will make you have to pee in the morning which will force you to get up out of bed. Unless you're a bed wetter.

5. Eliminate Distractions You know that blinking light in the corner? That chirping cricket? That guy snoring? That creaking in your attic? That's going to keep you up for quite some time. Find the source and eliminate it. I wear those eye patch things and ear plugs to help me sleep while some people are bothered by them. Whatever suits you as long as your night time is still.

If you follow these steps strictly, you'll be a natural morning bird by my calculations. You'll be catching those 6 AM classes with ease. Feel free to add any suggestions if you have a different method or if some of these options don't work for you.

photo courtesy of ielle2007

ROFLshots

2008-02-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

1. Hair removal gel, not necessarily for the nads.

2. Pretty self explanatory

What's My Age Again?

2008-02-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

So here's a quick life update of me. I'm going to college! But I still have a lot to deal with like taking my case to a lawyer in a few days. Talk about nerve wrecking. If this goes out like I hope, I'd be living a lot easier than I am. But if my case is denied, all hope spirals down the drain. I chose my classes but the bank won't let me use my money until next week so I have to wait before I can pay for them meaning, I still have not gotten my classes yet! School starts on the 19th! Cutting it close, are we?

For Spring, I'll be taking your standard English and an English Lab class, a Political Science class, a Speech class, and a Communications class. Oh yeah, I'm going to major in Communications. Hopefully after I'm done with my IGETCs, I can transfer to UCLA(?) to pursue my education there. Okay! Get set, go!

photo courtesy of Louis79

Origa ME!

2008-02-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Want to stay on top of your life like never before?

Always wanted a moleskine but thought that they were way too overpriced?

Got a moleskine but need more features out of it?

I've just come across this fascinating application called ThePocketMod. An ingenious little doo-dad that proves to be efficient in both costs and utility.

The "Pocket Mod" is actually a single sheet of paper cleverly folded up and littered with widgets that transforms the origami into a handy notebook. Astounding, no? If you don't understand what I'm saying, head over to their site and check it out. It's well worth your time. I'll touch upon some of the features the mod holds.

With this booklet, you can have 6 spaces with a front cover and a back cover. On these 6 pages, you can add calendars (weekly,monthly,yearly, etc), lines, graphs, food diaries, checklists, checkbooks, and more organizational tools. You can also add RSS feeds of quick reads you want to put. It comes with feeds from TIME and WIRED magazine and also the current weather forecast. You can also put games on it such as Sudoku or the dot game. What I love most about it are the tip tables, and conversion formulas you can add. So cool! Once you're done selecting your widgets, you simply print out your mod on a single sheet of paper, make a slit, fold, and there you have it.

Your easy-to-make handy, dandy, pocket mod.

Look! It fits in your moleskine pocket flap!

This is one of the ideal organizing programs to utilize out there. Not only is it flexible, it takes no space and is super cheap. For the price of a single sheet of paper, you can create a 6 page wonder.

photo courtesy of Mareen Fischinger

WAR

2008-02-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

The battle resumes.

Rock Your Body

2008-02-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

I can't help but write something about myself every once in a while. Yes, I'm an egotistical narcissist and the mere sound of my voice excites me in ways no one can ever match. Yes, moving on.

Exercise is good for you, no? I'm starting to make it a habit and it's such a great feeling if only you can motivate yourself. The truth is, we all dread it because we're lazy and prefer to fester in front of the computer or television set. Often times, we cry to ourselves (and to others) how out of shape and dissatisfied we feel with ourselves. We make hollow commitments by telling ourselves (and others) "Okay, I have to start eating better" or "Okay, I have to shed a few pounds". The sad reality is, most of us will never live up to our commitments.

Don't believe me? Reflect upon yourself.

If you don't want this to happen, you have to discipline and motivate yourself. We all have different ways of motivation and they work for different people. Exercising is not a get-up-and-go thing for us lazy folks. But once you get into it, I promise that you'll feel great about yourself. Here's what I do:

Preparation
I put exercising into my daily routine. I would follow the same ritual every morning so that it will flow in an orderly structure and that involves waking up earlier than usual (more on waking up effectively in a future post). I first get into comfortable exercise clothes and put on my music. Music is a great motivation to get you pumped and bring rhythm into your workout.

Part 1
I have an old bench press in my backyard which I started using recently. If you don't have a bench press, you can use dumbells or weights. Before exercising, you should ALWAYS stretch. If your workout is going to be strenuous, you can't risk cramping up in the middle of your routine. My exercises would cycle between bench pressing, weight lifting, sit-ups, push-ups, and jumping jacks. After a few sets I'm comfortable with, I log down my progress. The next day, I will do the same number of exercises I did plus one and so forth.

Intermission
Relax a bit and loosen your muscles. Go inside and have a nice cool drink of whatever. I'm sure there are healthy choices and not so healthy choice so choose carefully. Wash your hands and face to get that dirty sweat off and stretch again.

Part 2
This is your cardio workout and it can be either running or biking. I use to love running but winter time means dry skin for me and I get extremely sensitive. If you're looking for a leg workout, alternate between jogging and biking to work different parts of your legs. Force yourself to go a certain distance before retiring home again and always push yourself a little more. At the same time, you have to be realistic with yourself. If you're going to torture yourself with a spur of the moment five mile run, chances are you won't feel up to it the next day.

Having a reliability partner is another way to keep you in check. Personally, I don't like to bother people into bothering me (quite a paradox) and I use my workout time as precious alone time. But like I said, different things work for different people.

We all have the time and energy to become healthier people, it's just a matter of if we feel like it or not. Try to "feel like it" and give it a shot.

photo courtesy of niels

The Healing Powers of Grass

2008-01-31T01:13:00.000-08:00

Not marijuana.

With the surge of green aspects in our day and age recently, I've come across some very interesting new ideas. Practices of a more greater scale such as holistic healing. One of the topics that really caught my attention is Earthing.

Earthing literally is kind of like putting a lightning rod in the floor so that electricity can be conducted to the rod and sent down to the ground. Earthing as explained by the Barefoot Revolution is the actual connection between the human body and the earth. BR argues that the earth's surface is charged with electrons that in turn charges us, the human body. Humans have always lived with direct contact with the earth allowing a constant cycle of moving energy. But in our time, we have separated from the earth with the use of plastic and synthetic fibers in our shoes. We travel everywhere in cars whether our destination is a mile or a block away. Our buildings are being built higher and thicker than ever before. This separation of us and the earth has brought upon new modern disorders and diseases that plague humanity. New scientific evidence supports that actual human contact with the earth's surfaces can gradually heal pains and disorders in the body.

Now I understand that this new age stuff may sound a bit far-fetched. Obesity and other modern lifestyles are also to blame for the new disorders. But think back and try to remember, when was the last time you soaked your feet in the grass barefoot? Was it a nice feeling? Did you feel refreshed and cool? Was it stress relieving? Did it calm your nerves? Whether it has magical healing powers or not, human body contact with the earth is essential. Next time you're feeling tired or stressed out, instead of relaxing in front of the TV or on the computer, go outside and lay in the grass. Take a short nap, bring your laptop out, read a book, or just lay there and let your body recharge naturally.

photo courtesy of aussiegall

Funny VS Not Funny

2008-01-31T00:21:00.000-08:00

1. Meet the Spartans: Not a funny movie. Don't watch it. Don't ask any questions, just, don't watch it. Yeah.

2. Douche: ROFL. Snapped a shot of this one while I was perusing the aisles at the 99 Cent store.

Asian Alien Invasion

2008-01-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

By next month, I will be an official college student attending Pasadena City College. Impressive, huh? After several months of legal battling, I have finally been admitted for almost $200.00 per unit. I know, what the fuck, right? At least I'm in school for now. I will try to find a way to be exempt from the non-resident tuition fee which is way too out of hand. How can you possibly throw another digit at the end of that number and call it fair? I better not hear anyone whining if Prop 92 didn't pass 'cause I'm in a deeper hole than you are. I must say that this victory was bittersweet. I celebrated by making smoothies today.

photo courtesy of claimmantoo

Organizing Chaos

2008-01-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

For some of us, we only plan a day ahead and often live a life of stress and procrastination. Frustrated over missed deadlines, wasted time, and misplaced memories ("what did we do on the 22nd?"). Throughout high school, I got by with this lifestyle and I must say that I didn't really get by at all. I've only recently started to organize my life in little ways. One of the most profound change is the use of a To-Do list.

I'm sure we all have our to-do lists written on a post it somewhere on the bottom of our backpacks or in an agenda that we leave home half the time. Maybe it's on a notepad in the drawer or on a document in your computer. Whatever it is, half the time it doesn't work. These types of lists are everywhere and are themselves unorganized which kind of defeats its purpose. If you live in an "organized chaos" you'll need a more attention grabbing way to keep your tasks at hand.

Here are some ways that can be very helpful in restoring order in your life:

1. Get a Moleskine Or any other small handy journal thing. Stay away from diary sized notebooks because chances are, you'd rather leave those at home than carry them everywhere. A pocket sized notebook can slip right into your pants or jacket. I prefer Moleskines because they come in very many varieties such as lined, sketchbook, or journal, all of which are pocket sized. They also include a nice flap in the back as a pocket.

2. Calendar Get yourself a personal calendar, not one you share with your entire family. Make sure it has nice big boxes so you can write in each date. Here, you'll plan your tasks ahead of time and follow it as you go along. Placement is also a very important factor for your calendar. If you have space, hang it on your door or maybe over your desks so that you'll be constantly reminded.

3. Use your Blog If you use Livejournal, Blogger, Xanga, or any other online journal/blog, feel free to use it to record your days and remind yourself what you have to do. It may not interest readers but the truth is, you are your biggest fan. You check this sucker everyday and reread entries typed by yourself multiple times. Isn't that a great way to remind yourself of something you need to do?

4. The To-Do List This is a category all by itself because you should put this in all of the above. I separated my moleskine and added a mini-calendar in the pages. We all have our own ways of making our to-do lists but the truth is, half of us don't format it correctly. Use bullets and numbers. Square off irrelevant sections and place asterisks on important matters. Underline and bold items but above all, keep it in an appealing organized fashion. Another important thing I do is to reflect and write in occurrences. This means that even if a day in my calendar has already passed, I write in the occurrences for that day with detail so I can look back at the entry and immediately remember what I did. This comes in great when you're looking through bank statements, paychecks, missing homework, rehearsals, and more.

Students usually lead a fast paced day to day life that leads to a big mess everywhere they go (literally and metaphorically speaking). Organization is essential to these individuals whether it's a decluttered room or a decluttered mind. Hopefully, the to-do list will help direct you to a healthier approach.

photo courtesy of fracking

Mamma Famima!

2008-01-27T02:46:00.000-08:00

There's a new face in Old Town in terms of convenience. Actually, this place has been around for a while now but I haven't actually gone in until recently.

Famima is a convenience store of grand proportions. Its exclusive locations make it hard to locate (though there are 2 on Colorado Blvd) but if you do, it's a great find. Whenever I've passed by, I;ve always thought to myself that this place was probably one of those high classed, overpriced, up-town corner store but a curious peek inside led me to wander its aisles for quite some time. Their variety is superb and features many foreign blends (Voss, Ramune, Pocky). They also have Leninade.Imagine your local 7-11 but bigger, more design oriented, with seating inside and out, and replace the token Indian cashier with a friendly staff. Amazingly, the prices are very competitive and much lower than I expected. These are the same prices you would find anywhere else if not better.

What intrigues me the most is the collection of some of the coolest stuff together. Instead of a traditional card rack they have two Papyrus stands in the store. They also have two magazine racks with more than just Muscle Builder or Ricer Rocket. They serve hot soup (clam chowder, roasted garlic tomato)! Interesting pastries like Curry bread and pressed sandwiches. They even have notebooks, notepads, and writing stuff. Not the cheap kind but Japanese imports. Last but not least, they have Cha Sew Baos! Steamed buns.

The layout of this place is very modern and sleek. Color oriented beverages, metal furniture, and track lights can't help but bring out the cool in the environment. Don't take my word for it, go down to Old Town Pasadena and check the place out yourself.

We Blog Web Logs

2008-01-25T19:31:00.000-08:00

Not a lot of people read my blog, I know. Am I discouraged by this? Yeah, a little bit. Even though this blog is really more of a journal to process my thoughts and feelings into a readable format. Then I again, I thought myself. Why would people bother to?
Back in the day, Xanga was the leading online journal bringing everyday people's lives to the public. Anyone can read about any person anywhere and about anything too, from a small unoticed happening to the most private intricate detail. Livejournal was much the same but with a smaller community and certain levels of private posts. Tumblr is for little farts of "Hey, that's cool! I'll put that on my site". No one uses Blogger. No one. If you do, link me.
I've noticed now, that there has been a decline in online journals. I don't know if it's the fact that people I know are now starting college and are leading much busier lives than they used to. Maybe it's the fact that new social network websites (Facebook, Myspace, aSmallWorld) are on a rise and attracting millions of users. Whatever the reason is, personal reflection time is giving out. I find that it's a great exercise to practice because of the many things you can get out of it, but whatever. You're probably asking me what am I getting at here.

I've been reading through some interesting blogs lately and it occured to me that people read these blogs 'cause they're interesting! The "good" blogs are helpful to its readers while the "bad" blogs are digital shitpits of emotions. So in an effort to draw more readers to my site, I will start writing about helpful things such as reviews, philosophies, lessons, news, and all sorts of fun shit so that you, the reader, can enjoy this site!

I'm A Little Bit Country

2008-01-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Last night, I slept at 10:00PM. This morning I woke at 10:45AM.

Needless to say, my plan backfired on me.

I'm indulging myself into new ambitions lately. I'm picking up my guitar again and relearning all the songs I forgot. I practically forgot every song I learned on guitar and piano. Also trying to bring back the piano too but that's still proving to be difficult. On top of that, I think I want to start the harmonica. Cool little doo-dad that's handy and sounds great. Soon enough, I'll move on to the banjo, mandolin, and the jew harp. I hate how I go through these cycles where I would excel in one thing I like and drop it after a month or two. I do this with art, music, and learning (book learning). This is how I know that I am going to live a very difficult life. Back to the harmonica. I have a tremelo harmonica which is not the type I'm looking for since it's mainly used to play melodies. Looking for a nice diatonic harmonica for all the bluesy stuff.

On a side not, Happy Birthday Eric.

Mape: A Mating Ape

2008-01-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

I was digging through some old pictures and I came upon this; a true gem of my freshman year. To recall a conversation with Eric:

"Hey Ben."
"Yeah?"
"Remember that picture of me and Stuart as monkeys?
Whatever happened to it?"
"Huh, I think I lost it."
"Good."

I think it's a good time to bring it back again.

Hey Mr Tambourine Man

2008-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

It's 5:00AM right now and it's hailing rocks outside. My cats are at the windows, wondering at the icy spectacle outside.

These nights I've been winding up with very bizarre sleeping patterns. Sometimes I can sleep at 1:00; sometimes I can sleep at 6:00. My biological clock depends on the rise and falling of the sun and since I'm living in a house where my bed has no windows, sleeping has been very difficult for me. I feel very cluttered and disorganized which leads to unproductive days and cranky moods that result in a downward spiral to death. My peak thinking hours are when I'm pushing myself off to sleep which confuses my body. It's like an 8am happy hour; doesn't bode well. During the twilight of my snoozing, many thoughts and spurts of thinking (known as thoughts) stream through my half conscious mind. Thoughts like "Why am I still not in college?" "What am I going to do in college?" "What am I going to do after college?" "Is there more to this?" "What's God's plan for me?" "How many roads must I go down?". Basically my brain tells me that I'm shit out of luck. It's a busy scary thing, life, and it gets even scarier when you're not so busy and you sit down and realize you're behind on something or something is not aligned in your life.

Hey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me. I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.

I am in no place I imagined to be 5 years ago, 1 year ago, 1/2 a year ago, or a month ago. Times are a changin' for me drastically and it's broken any constant in my life. I haven't yet disappointed myself, though, I'm perfectly fine with where I am and I need no pity from anyone. When I'm troubled, I give thanks for how fortunate I am. I have a roof over my head (though it leaks from time to time), I have my health, and my two front teeth. Then, I say to myself "It's good to be alive."

With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Truth is, I have a path to tomorrow paved already in my mind. I don't think I'll tell what it is just yet because, who knows, I'll probably end up someplace completely different a month from now. I'll keep moving and changing. Like a rolling stone, I'll gather no moss and tumble on through life one way or another. There's so much out there to be had and all I have to do is to reach out and take it. I hate to be tied down in routine and structure. I'm not talking about good structure like a morning routine, I'm talking about a monotonous process some of us call "life". So there, I'm recreating myself in another blog post.

Rising Above

2007-12-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

So I've been looking through ZenHabits.com lately and thought I'd take their advice. Most of the articles advise me to keep a journal to reflect. I thought "I have a journal! I have several. I have journals in books! I have journals online!" so I thought it'd be best for me to update my blogger.

Life's been good to me and I've been good to life. I think? Whatever. Even though I'm not in school yet, I've come to appreciate other things I'm blessed with. I'm in stable condition living here at the new place and my financial crisis has been lifted. Frugal living is easier than you think. I love the independent life and it's abundant assets. Sure it might have been rocky to start out with and yes, I have some future problems that may/most likely come up but nothing I can't deal with. I'm looking to refine my daily/weekly/monthly routine after I deal with a few snags. I have no windows into my room making it extremely hard to wake up in the mornings. But yes, on with life.

I suppose it's hard to imagine what I can do with my time since I'm not currently in school. I thought I would be bored out of my mind and in certain cases, I was. Fortunately, I was able to channel my boredom into activities such as reading the encyclopedia or massive cleaning. Moving into the new place certainly took up a lot of my time. I had to spend time moving, painting, looking for new furniture, setting up a layout, and things like that. It was very stressful and soothing at the same time; kind of a crazy yin and yang thing. I also had to say goodbye to half my family and part ways. Then there was the whole war against PCC and the international/illegal/undocumented/out-of-status/I-don't-really-give-a-shit-anymore department which was pretty draining (and continues to be). Tida really kept me sane through all the ordeals and really supported me through everything. If she wasn't there, I wouldn't have made it to where I am now. I had to transcend from a lot of material outlets to arrive at where I am today and I must say, I'm doing a lot better. Well, this has been a fun entry so far but I should be getting some rest since it's about 4:30 AM right now.

Seacrest...OUT. Sorry, I had to.

The Amerikan DREAM

2007-11-28T01:38:00.000-08:00

Why is it that I always catch everyone at PCC on their lunch breaks? And why is it that their lunch breaks are always way past noon? And why is it that their lunch breaks take several hours at a time? Why do I always wait for hours on hand and in return am fed with single sentenced answers to which I already know? How is it that I have fallen into a crack so complex that it has every one's head spinning? How is it that I've been able to get away with it for 10 years? Why is it that I must suffer the repercussions of an over glanced tear in the system made when I was a child? Why is this my fault? Why are there so many classifications of who I am? Why do you continue to label me? Why do you refuse to look at who I am but instead focus on how I got to be this person? Why am I always "someone else's problem"? Why can't you deal with me? Why do you brainwash me with this "future" only to take it from me? Why wasn't I told that there were strings attached? Why do you fill me with false hope? Who are you to deny me of my rights? Who are you to deny me of my dream?

Our House; In The Middle Of The Street

2007-11-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

I'm finally settled in. Ish. Just need to paint a few more rooms when I have the time and install some shelves. A clothes rack, some rugs, a dining table, and a fridge.

Okay, maybe I'm not quite done yet, but it's coming along nicely and it's inhabitable. I sleep in a hallway and eat by the sink but it's all good. Plus, there are no vents in this house so it can get really hot.

My brother's cats are kind of scary. They claw and they hurt and they like to destroy sheets and shit. Oh yeah, their shit smells horrible. When I sleep at night, they try to sneak into my bed and claw me in my sleep. They haven't attacked me in bed yet but I know that's their motive. That's why I keep a small vacuum cleaner next to my bed to scare the bejeezus out of them. I am king.

I predict that I'll be fully furnished by this Friday. But hey, I've been wrong before so you never know. Here's what it looks like:

Okay, maybe it doesn't really look like that. Maybe it doesn't look remotely close to that, but it's comparable. Ish.

Shazaam, playah!

Get Down With The Sickness

2007-11-09T01:17:00.000-08:00

I currently have an excruciating headache from which there is no cure. Ugh, I just had some expired children's chewable bubble gum flavored aspirin. Bad idea. I wolfed down a six dollar burger and its criss cut friends in about a minute or two. Second meal of the day at 1:30 in the morning. Let's see how I got here...

I basically spend the day tearing down a bunk bed, moving shelves, televisions, cabinets, desks, and books to my brother's house. Then I proceeded to clean the damn place, touching up some paint and lots of handy man shit like that. At this rate, I'll be living here by this weekend. God, I feel sick. I'm out of here. Hey, you guys should check it out when I'm done!

Moving On Out, To The East Side

2007-11-06T03:32:00.000-08:00

Bam! I'm finally in the midst of moving. Packing everything and bunking up with my brother. It's quite an exciting step and I'm looking forward to it once i renovate and clean up this place. This 1/2 bedroom "house/apartment/thing" is poorly constructed with plastic piping, tiled floors, single outlets per room, phone jacks that lead nowhere, cabinets without....cabinets, no ventilation, and plastered walls. Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched. Once I get settled in, fell free to check it out. By the way, the "Help Ben Cause" is still in function so please donate your help to me. Thank you. Yeah, I don't really have a phone yet but I think it's safe to say that Ben is finally coming back to the internet. Yes, it's been quite some time, hasn't it? Next, I have to sort out my problem with PCC then I should be set. I also plan on getting a motorcycle instead of a car because it's cheaper and, well, it's pretty kick-ass. Lots of stuff to do and not very much money/time to do it. The next few weeks will be fun happenings, I bet. I'll try to keep this going as long as I can. Peace out you hooligans!

Holga came in today. Bam.

$hibby

2007-10-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, my friends, shibby shibby!

Wait..

2007-06-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I haven't really been blogging. Actually, I haven't blogged at all. I've got a lack of internet, first of all, so that kind of inhibits me from making posts. Hokay, then. Sorry and bye.

Can You Dig It?

2007-01-14T01:16:00.000-08:00

I'm coming back to blogger. Mainly because it kicks your ass better than xanga does. Xanga does not understand my adolescent side nor does it understand my need for senseless rambling. I suppose I'll use this much less than I use other sites, but check back frequently. Why? Because you're short. That's right. You come short in height and expectations. Sorry, please come back. My future posts will be of more meaning; I promise you.