Could it be? Will this really be my year for cars?

Seeing that we are now two weeks into the new year, I already have car experiences. I guess I will never get a break from it. Last Saturday, while delivering pizza, my speedometer decided to stop working. It would read zero on occasion, and other times it would be all over the place, bouncing from 20 mph to 110 in a matter of seconds. It didn't bother me too much at first, despite the fact that my car has no tachometer and is a manual transmission. One thing that helped was not having a stereo anymore. I had to rely entirely on engine sound and feel to determine about how fast I was going. If the irony of the situation wasn't so hilarious, I could have been frustrated and angry by all of this. But, I wasn't. At least, not too much.

Yesterday I finally got a chance to meet up with my dad and have him take a look at it. Toyota said that it could cost up to $450 to fix if any parts of the electronic speedomter required replacing. But as he suspected and as proved to be the case, it was simply a loose connection. It took all of about 2 minutes to find and reconnect. I wish more of my problems (the few problems that I actually have) were this easy to fix.

And to add even more irony to the situation, after I got it working I got pulled over by the police. I wasn't even speeding, I used my turning signals, and everything. Yeah, she just wanted to let me know that my rear license plate was hanging by only one screw (thanks to the guy that rear ended me last year and drove off). I think she just wanted to see if I was drunk. But she was really nice actually. In my experience, females cops are generally very strict and harsh, but she was amazingly polite and kind. I was back on the road in two minutes.

So, it looks like this may truly be my good year for cars!

In other news, I have finally received some of my text books that I ordered. This can mean only one thing: school is inevitable. Plus, we'll be doing some chalk drawings and stuff tomorrow to hopefully get some quality pledges for Delta Sigma Pi this semester. It should be fun! I hope the weather cooperates.

The Return is Imminent

So this is what it comes down to: school starts on Tuesday. It is amazing to think about how simulateously the break has flown by and yet felt so long. I look back at my list of things that I hoped to accomplish over this four week break, and it actually makes me smile. Some of them I can say, with great satisfaction, that I actually accomplished. Others, well, I find myself scratching my head and wondering why I even put them on the list in the first place. But all in all, I am confident that my time has been well spent. Though I definitely can't say what the upcoming semester and year have in store for me, I am as optimistic as ever.

My load for this semester is going to be fairly intense:

• BF311 - Investments - Fixed Income Securities
• BGCC260 - Business Ethics
• BN301 - Supply Chain Management
• EC315 - Money and Banking
• L313F - French Translation and Interpretation
• L CC300S - Reading and Writing for Communication - Spanish

So that is the break down. I will have classes from 9:00 am to 2:00pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I will have class from 9:30am to 12:00pm. I am actually looking forward to having somewhat early classes everyday because it will give me a reason to get my trash out of bed in the mornings! And if I can stay as motivated this semester as I was last semester, I'm sure I will have lots to look forward to.

One thing in particular that I am excited for is being historian for my fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. I now have an excuse to go to all of the activities and take tons of pictures. I really enjoyed being the historian for our pledge class, and I think I feel a bit more prepared to take the post now for the entire chapter. I will definitely have plenty of pictures to post. And of course, I can tell that our formal retreat will be a major highlight of the semester, as it was for last semester. I mean, honestly, just look at our smiles from November's formal. That says it all.

Delta Sigma Pi Formal - November 2005

So, until classes begin next week and my rigorous schedule kicks into high gear, I will be savoring every last moment of unplanned and disorganized time. I'll be sure to get in some last minute painting, socializing, and eat some good food.

"Introspection"

The painting has finally been finished and I have chosen to title it, "Introspection." I originally intended on finishing this one over Thanksgiving. I originally intended to do something completely different with this one, but it seemed to have a will of its own.

In case it is news to anyone, I have been doing way too much thinking and such over break. I found it to be kind of enlightening. Needless to say, for someone to finally come to terms with their own self, it is a really joyful and happy as well as a downright mind-numbingly depressing experience. It actually hits everything in between, as well as other feelings I didn't know I had.

Where am I going with this, you may ask? Well, a lot of my pondering was done with a brush in hand, headphones on with music playing, and me just sitting there doing what I love while pondering who I really am. And this went beyond the basic master statuses of "mormon" or "skinny caucasian dude" or even "artist." The resulting piece is, well, extremely self-expressive. I chose to title it introspection because that is exactly what it was. I think it is probably the most emotionally laden piece I have ever done. I think this has also been one of the most emotionally laden and challenging times I have ever gone through. The most unique thing about it is that as I was going along, I wasn't sure where I was going with it. I had no real vision of how it would turn out. I just went along, stroke by stroke, following my instinct, my feelings, my hopes, dreams, and desires. It is truly an expression of me.

Where do I go from here?

In Progress 1

In Progress 2


In Progress 3


In Progress 4

Christmas break has been wonderful beyond words. I have been needing a break like this for months. Amongst doing art for Christmas presents for friends and family this year, I have been working on a painting that I started over Thanksgiving. The odd thing about this piece is that I really don't know here I am going with it. It is just of building itself as I go along.

I've been taking pictures of it as I have been working on it (about 15 hours of work at this point) and it is kind of cool to see it take shape. It's getting close to what I would consider done, but it's not there yet.

It just sort of dawned on me today that this is exactly what my life is doing in this moment as well. I mean, I'm kind of at a threshold where things have changed a lot for me, especially over the past few weeks. I don't have a real clear vision of where I will be even 6 months down the road, but I definitely feel excited and confident that things will work out well. I at least hold firmly to the hope that this will be a better year for cars for me than last year was.

I also started reading my journal entries from when I was in France. It really has been an adventure for me to visit those memories and experiences all over again in my mind. I can see the faces of the people so clearly. The scenery, the culture, the food - it is all so vivid in my mind. Suddenly I realize how much I miss it. It is yet another glipse in retrospect of where I have been compared to where I am now. I practically don't know what to think. Things definitely have gone in a completely different way from what I had been planning 3 years ago after I got back to the US. Now I can't help but wonder what I will think three years from now when I go back and look at where I am today.