Life Update

I realized that I am getting more and more lazy. Life is so routine and I need a change. I guess I was so used to spending 3 hours after work every day at the library and now I need something exciting to fill that time. Daily soap on TV is so boring because I have no idea what is going on in each show.

As I am writing this, I am yawning. Any ideas on how to make life not so boring???

Well, here is an update about life (more like this week):

Last weekend, I joined the gym. All that sitting in the office and then at the library did not do me any good. Monday was the first "work-out" day. I attended Zumba class. I was always considered a good dancer in my family, but after attending that class, I no longer consider myself a good dancer. I felt so stiff. The last ten minutes of the class, the instructor taught belly dancing. I stood still because she was doing stuff that I cannot dream of doing. Overall, it was okay.

Monday/Tuesday: I finished I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. He wrote The Book Thief, which is one of my favorites. I am the Messenger was an okay book. The ending was little confusing. I will talk about this later.

I also finished Serious Men by Manu Joseph. This book really picked up and just got better and better. I enjoyed it.

I started One thousand and One Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean and As Luck would Have it (Audio CD) by Joshua Piven.

Wednesday: We had health fair at my workplace. I got bunch of goodies. Also, I signed up to be an organ donor. I figured the end is undecided for us. However, I might as well make a difference in somebody's life after death.

Thursday: Family decided to go out to eat at Olive Garden, which recently opened in our town. Our server was horrible. We waited a long time on our food and when we finally got it, it was wrong dish. I was annoyed but we still generously tipped him.

Friday: I found out that the second disc of As Luck would Have it is missing. I think it was missing when I checked it out from the library. I did a thorough search of my car when I got home. It was sort of annoying because I was really enjoying the book. I will get the book from the library to read. Now I have to figure out which book to listen to next. I have Emma by Jane Austen in my car, but I do not feel like listening to it now. I want something light. Any suggestions???

Saturday: I met with a trainer at the gym. I think I will stick to my ways at the gym. She made me do exercises that look easy. I am so sore. I also watched The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock. That was a good movie. As I am typing this, I am watching Bluffmaster. I love this movie.

I also bought my brother an iPod Touch 4G. He is excited about it. Of course, I have full access to it. :)

This weekend I am planning to buy the iPad. I am excited!!!

Anyways, time to get/cook something to eat.

I am DONE!!!!

I received my score for the last CPA exam last Friday. I am very very HAPPY to say that I am DONE with the CPA exams. In about a month or so, I should receive my certificate (all depends on my manager signing my documents). For me, this is one of my biggest accomplishments so far. I cannot believe that I am going to be a:

CPA

I am 22 and I have my Bachelors degree and CPA certificate. I hope that next year I will start my Masters. That is my short-term goal. As for long term, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I do not want to continue doing what I do for rest of my life. Oh well...I do not want to think about that now. I am just happy with what I have done so far. I will think about the future tomorrow.

Since I am done, (took me almost 2 years), I think I am going to give myself a treat. I am going to buy an iPad. I am too excited. I have already decided the apps and books I want on there. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. That's it for my life update.

Look What I Created...

Source: Wordle

Book Thongs & the Weekend

Monday, I received the Book Thongs that I won at BookSnob's blog. They are gorgeous. As promised, here is a picture of all three beautiful book thongs:

On Sunday, I went to Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to donate blood. This was my second donation. My first donation was on January 19 this year (parents' anniversary). Both donations were eventful. First time I donated blood, I fainted twice afterwards. I think that was because I had fasted the day before. After the donation, I did not drink lots of fluids as instructed by the nurses. On June 27th, I was better prepared (learned from my past mistakes). I had a good breakfast and drank plenty of fluids all day so I did not faint. It was the donation process that was eventful.

First, the nurse could not find my veins. The whole process was slower for me because my veins are small. On top of that, the needle stopped withdrawing blood after 5 minutes into the process. The nurse did not want to mess with the needle as it was barely in my arm. Another nurse came by and she tried messing with it, but she also did not want to touch the needle. Then they called another nurse over. I think he was more experienced. He checked to tube to make sure it was not clogged. Then he checked the needle (that was painful). He pushed it a little bit more, and the needle started pumping blood again. Another five to ten minutes and I was done. I have a real nasty bruise now, but it will go away in few days.

They withdrew about a unit (about one pint) of blood. I got a cool T-shirt and 600 points for their online store. I can donate again in August, and I am going back for sure.

--------------------------------------------------------

I leave you with today's "10 Sec Read: Kings" on Paulo Coelho's Blog:

The Kingdom of This World

An old hermit was once invited to visit the court of the most powerful king of the day.

“I envy a holy man, who is content with so little,” commented the sovereign.

“I envy Your Majesty, who is content with less than I. I have the music of the celestial spheres, I have the rivers and mountains of the whole wide world, I have the moon and the sun, because I have God in my soul. Your Majesty, however, has only this kingdom.”

Music for Memory

It is interesting how our minds work. One thing our brain does is associate unrelated things to objects, persons, and music (this one applies to me). This morning on my way to work, our local station was playing "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake. The association with this song is completely unrelated: drive to my university. Before conclusions are drawn, let me say I was not a wild child in college. I went to class, did my homework, and came back home :). Every time I hear that song, I think of turning left on Middlebrook Dr. and entering the University parking lot.

I enjoy listening to Linkin Park. For some reason, whenever I listen to any of their songs, I think of my Spanish III class in high school. That is going back about 6 years and the songs have nothing to do with Spanish.

Another song is "Wake Up (Make A Move)" by LostProphets, which reminds me of my Calculus class in high school. There are so many more songs and so many memories. Some are related and most are unrelated. This is kind of cool because these are few moments in life I will remember as long as I listen to these songs.

P.S. I am too lazy to get the video of these songs or even link them.

Good day

Today is definitely a good day...and yesterday was better...don't know much about tomorrow!!!

That's all I have to say in this post.

Life Update and Books

Since my last post, many things have happened in my life. I will not post about most of them. I will talk about one new thing (a good thing) that happened. I donated blood for the first time in my life. The aftermath was not so good but that is not important. I wouldn't mind doing it again but I have to keep in mind that it is over the weekend and I can come home right after that. Today I received my Commit for Life blood donation card.

I also finished two books:

         

A Short History of Myth: I started this as an audio book but ended up reading the last chapter. The book was very dry. I thought I would enjoy it. The audio book was about 3 hours and it took me two weeks to finish it. Every morning after listening to it for 5 min. I would switch to the radio. Finally, I just checked out the book and read it. Even then I was like, "Why am I reading this?" I felt as if the author did the research and wrote the book but did not present it properly. I would give this book 4 out of 10 because there were some interesting stories. So I don't think this will qualify for the Audio Book Challenge.

The Christmas List: I read this book and enjoyed it very much. The story is a modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol. It is about a businessman names James Kier who only cares about money and success. In order to become successful, he destroys many lives. One day he sees his own obituary in the newspaper and reads other's reaction to his death. Then he realizes what he has done and decides to atone for his doings. He makes a Christmas list and goes on a journey looking for forgiveness. Now the readers have to find out if he can make everything okay or maybe he is too late. I give this book 8.5 out of 10.

Now I am listening to the Outliers and enjoying it very very much. I also have to pick up a book to read at night and I think I want something funny. I think I might read some Sophie Kinsella. That's it for tonight!

T.E.A of Life

I attended the Matri Diwas celebration at JVB Meditation center a while back. During one of the plays, they mentioned "T.E.A of Life." The play explained the importance of the T.E.A. in all the relationships in life, whether the relationship is parent-child, husband-wife, or friends. I thought it was a very interesting and totally agree with it. I think this will be something that will go long way with me in life. :)

T: Tolerance

E: Emotional Balance

A: Appreciation

The play showed a husband-wife arguing to the point where they decide to divorce. A friend sees what is going on and explains the "T.E.A. of Life" to them. The friend points out that the argument started because the wife accidentally broke a picture frame that was bought by the husband. He stated that the situation could have been handled using these three points. He states that if husband-wife had tolerance toward each other, had managed their emotions, and had appreciated each other even on little things, they would have been much happier.

Beware of the Birth of May...

The title of the blog comes from the novel, The Sweet Far Thing. Since my last post, I have read/listened to five books. So that tells me that it takes about 2 months to finish five books, granted that the last book was only 3.5 hours long.

Besides books, a lot has happened in past 2 months. I got Lasik done, so no more glasses/contacts. Yay!!! The experience was interesting. There was fear but it was overcome by desire of clear vision. Now my vision is better than 20/20. So now when I wake up, I see everything clearly. No more squinting to see the time. :-P But even though my glasses are gone, I am still a nerd at heart.

Then it was my best friend's birthday so had a surprise party. That was too much fun. I am still waiting on pictures.

I had my first CPA exam. That experience was scary. I am not so sure what will happen but I have my fingers crossed. I am hoping and praying that I pass. I don't want to look at that stuff again. I started studying for the second exam, but that is not going so good. I have 2 months to be prepared.

Last but not the least, March for Dimes happened. I collected $100 and walked 5 miles. I think it is an awesome cause, as these babies will be our future. I also got a cute teddy bear. :-)

I made up for a month and a half of disappearance from Blogger, and wrote three blogs today. Lol.

Statutes for Life - Paulo Coelho

Source: http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/engl/index.html