My Life So Far This Year

My top 5 of the moment:

5) Work has been interesting. I'm learning things that I thought I never had to use like the plants and insect lessons in a general biology class. Otherwise, I like that I get to learn about different food products from other countries. Hopefully, I can catch a few Mandarin phrases to make my job a little easier.

4) In two years, I get the opportunity to do temporary assignments in other parts of the country and even around the world. It would be nice to live in a foreign country for a bit. I love California, but I want to squeeze every moment I have with this job. I would even like to have a different flavor and maybe work in the San Diego area for a while. The land border is most definitely a different feel than the airport. Living in Southern California has been a dream for me since graduating from college. It would be nice to live there even for just a month. At least I'm getting paid to do it.

3) I have been very stagnant about my faith recently. It's hard enough to maintain my connection with God when I feel like my church is starting to go backwards to the pre-Vatican II era. I definitely have a better appreciation for the Latin stuff, but I'm just not feeling it with all the somber sentiment. Sure we are in the Lenten season right now and it's always a somber season. However, it's somber all year long. I wish I could switch parishes, but my family likes going to this church. I've become a little more disillusioned with all the priest child abuse scandals going around as well. I will definitely never trust any priest with my kids, ever. Actually, I probably wouldn't trust the care to my kids to anyone.

2) I've been curious about going vegan for a while. At the very least, go vegetarian. I bought a vegan cookbook and I've been wanting to try it out. I've just been scoping around the various grocery stores around my area for items that I wanted to try. The good news is that Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have a lot of these items. However, they can be pretty pricey. On the other hand, what's a few dollars more for healthier items compare to hundreds or even thousands of dollars of health care fees from being chronically ill?

I need to try to get back to my attempts to lose weight soon. I've noticed that ever since I started working, I've been eating a lot more. Not a good sign. I have been eating healthier items, but I just need to control the amounts. Also, I need to exercise more. I want those muscles to accompany the uniform and also relieve some stress.

1) I believe the someday in the future there will be a few cultures that will die off. Mostly it is because of the globalization. However, in some cases, they will just be knocked out though the evolutionary process. The first I believe will be the Japanese. Why, you ask?





I don't know what's even more funny. The fact that they have pillows for girlfriends or the fact that they have pajamas on while having pillows for girlfriends.

That is all.

What Does Health Care Reform Mean For Me?

There's a lot of buzz about the recently passed Health Care Reform (which I am surprised that it did pass). Kudos to the President and the Congress. However, what does this reform mean to us? How will we receive health care? Is it a government takeover? Does this mean higher taxes? There are definitely a lot of news articles, opinion articles, blogs, and the like. However, I, and probably all of you, just want a straight-up answer as to what will Health Care Reform do to my health care (or even lack thereof)? Here are four pretty good articles that are sort of like FAQs on the big concepts of Health Care Reform. I do recommend these because they have educated me about what we are sort of getting into starting this year.

The first is an NPR article titled "What Health Overhaul Will Mean For You." The title of the article says it all. What will it mean to you, the consumer, since this has now passed?

Next is an article from FactCheck.org called "A Final Weekend of Whoppers?" It talks about the big talking points used by both Democrats and Republicans in the health care debate and if they are actually true.

Another one is from PolitiFact called "Top 10 facts to know about health care reform." It's a similar article from the FactCheck.org one. However, there are a few different questions asked, especially in regards to abortion and the coverage of illegal immigrants.

Finally, this NPR articles called "What Are The Immediate Effects of Health Bill Passing?" It discusses what are the immediate changes to health care starting this year. If you're especially under 26 years old, you may want to take a look at this article carefully.

Hopefully these articles will help answer at least most, if not all, of your questions.

That is all.

The One of the Rarest Dreams I Usually Remember...

And it was about my own burial. Yes you heard that right, I died in my dream, and they were burying me. I apparently had a lot of people at my burial, family, friends, close aquaintences, so that probably answers the question of who would attend my burial. It was sunny and really bright. It sort of looked like that overlit look similar to the movie Minority Report. My gravesite was next to a few trees. The odd thing about this burial was that my coffin was still open, therefore why I was able to tell that it was me in the coffin in the first place. This dream really scared me (and I'm sorry to you, the reader, if this seems like a really dark entry). I decided to research what could be the potential interpretation of my rare dreams (I usually don't dream a.k.a. I don't remember my dreams). This is what I came up with:

Burial

To see a burial in your dream, signifies that you have gotten rid of your bad habits or freed yourself from a negative situation. You are finally letting go of something.

Also, I decided to look up funeral just for kicks.

Funeral

To dream of your own funeral, symbolizes an ending to a situation or aspect of yourself. You may be repressing some of your feelings or parts of yourself and the dream may be a signal for you to recognize and acknowledge those feelings. Instead of confronting a situation, you are dealing with it by burying it and trying to forget about it. If you are nearing death, a funeral dream may relate to your feelings/anxieties about your own death.

Family

To see your own family in your dream, represents security, warmth and love. It could also symbolize bitterness, jealousy, or rivalry, depending on your relationship with your family. Alternatively, it could mean that you are overly dependent on your family, especially if the family members are in your recurring dreams .Consider also the significance of a particular family member or the relationship you have with them (I'm in good terms with my family in case you're wondering.).

Friend

To see friends in your dream, signifies aspects of your personality that you have rejected, but are ready to incorporate and acknowledge these rejected aspects of yourself. The relationships you have with those around you are important in learning about yourself. Additionally, this symbol foretells of happy tidings from them and the arrival of good news.

Acquaintance

To see an acquaintance in your dream, represents aspects of yourself that you are still trying to get to know.

Sunshine

To dream of sunshine, indicates that you are experiencing some sort of emotional or situational breakthrough. The dream is offering you reassurance and that you are headed on the right track.

Trees

To see lush green trees in your dream, symbolize new hopes, growth, desires, knowledge, and life. It also implies strength, protection and stability. You are concentrating on your own self-development and individuation.

This is definitely a new chapter in my life and perhaps even a completely new direction. I hope and pray to continue to grow and improve myself as an adult as I start to enter my mid 20s.

R.I.P. Old Self.

That is all.