Stay humble, Stay Foolish and Stay Disciplined… (Written By AmbassadorNique)

Life is good. Last Thursday I was able to be a sit in photographer for a friend of mine during a Culture Night at an elementary school where he teaches. It is a yearly community event that has been going on for over 10 years. It’s a fashion show with food and outfits, and music. I had a great time and it was nice to see so many different cultures celebrating all under one roof. My pictures were not as popular as I would have thought, but most people didn’t know they were free, and I guess getting your picture taken by a stranger isn’t something everyone runs to get done. Nevertheless I took 50+ pictures. It reminded me of the international fashion show I was able to help start at Central as an undergraduate.

Last weekend I spent the whole weekend with D and we had great adventures. I was able to sit in a 3 hour video editing class to learn more about Final Cut Pro X while she studied for her Anatomy class. I found I knew more than I thought I did but was able to pick up some new tips. Afterword’s, I cooked for her and I bought her a one hour deep tissue massage. Apparently deep tissue is more painful than it is relaxation. LOL Who knew?! Nevertheless her body felt relaxed afterwards.

The next day D and I would hike Tiger Mountain with my co-worker and a 75 year old doctor who teaches in our department. We’d bugged him for weeks about taking us with him on the climb that he does 3 times a week. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. One of the bones behind my knee had been hurting for the past week, but I knew hiking would make D happy so I just pushed through. This was probably a mistake. The mountain was A LOT steeper than any of us would expect. I really didn’t think I would make it, but two hours later it felt so good to be at the top and we all felt accomplished!

It felt like going down took longer than climbing up. We traveled through rain, sunshine, dirt, mud and even snow! All in all it was a great bonding experience. I learned that the only way to train to climb a mountain was the climb mountains. So… That’s what I will do!

All in all I am doing great! I cook all the time now. I have started making connections and reaching out to old contacts to start my Graduate application process. This Thursday I my top braces will be removed. I am SO excited about this! Saturday morning I will go to the dentist to get an x-ray of a dead tooth to see what my options are, and immediately after that around 11:30 I will take a practice GRE exam.

 Apparently If I register for the full time Master program I am applying to the GRE is not required. There is an info session next Wednesday evening where I hope to learn more and be closer to making a decision.

Work is work.. I am learning how to be in control of my own happiness and not let the attitudes of others ruin my day. I am also doing my best to use my spare time wisely.

My relationship is good. Dating someone who is ambitious and goal oriented is not always easy, because the sacrifice is quality time. However, if you love a person you should love them enough to want to do whatever you can to help them reach their goals while reaching for your own. I am still learning and definitely still maturing. It’s a process.

Oh yeah… I BOUGHT MY TICKET TO JAPAN! How could I forget?! Now its just about being ready to climb Fuji. No joke, half way up tiger mountain I was thinking there’s no way I can make it to the top of Fuji. My ticket was really expensive, but nevertheless its an investment. I am determined to make it to the top and it will be the experience of a lifetime!  

Overall life is good. I hope to climb a new local mountain in the near future. I plan to continue to stay disciplined about my finances and focused on continuing my education. Speaking of education D’s younger sister got her acceptance letter from Seattle University. Still waiting for like 9 more schools, most importantly Stanford! Nevertheless her journey inspires me. While many say there is no hope for the youth or the future, I say we’ll just have to wait in say.

Stay humble, stay foolish and stay disciplined.

-Ambassador

Time to Level Up (Written By AmbassadorNique)

I’ll keep this one short and sweat since most of my writings tend to ramble on. I’ve done a decent job of staying committed to my goals thus far, but now it’s time to level up and take it to the next level. The plan is to move to a weekly budget, I should be able to save more money now that my credit cards will be paid off. I would like to start waking up and hitting the gym 3 times a week, and taking my home workout more seriously and be more consistent about the workout and going to sleep earlier. I also need to diversify my dishes and more food uploads. My last GRE Prep class is tomorrow morning and a practice exam has been scheduled for March 9^th (should probably find a sooner one). Time to TURN UP!

I’ve been doing a better job of genuinely keeping a positive attitude at work and going out of my way to take advantage of networking opportunities. I definitely need to find more productive ways to use my free time.

Relationship wise I’ve recognized my girlfriends love languages are quality time and acts of service, but I need to do a better job of not letting small things lead me off course of building the foundation we are trying to build for ourselves. I am also working hard to continue to work on progressing in my personal maturity and communication. A friend of mine told me the other day “I would hate to date you because you always seem like you are thinking 10 steps ahead of everyone else.” A gift and a curse I suppose, but I will try to be sure to use those 10 steps to aim for happiness. (**sidenote** Valentine’s day is next week… hmmmmmm…..)

My tax return is on its way and will serve as emergency savings only. No big plans to buy anything or take any trips. Paying off debt slowed me down from my savings for Japan but this will start this month! August is getting closer and Mt. Fuji isn’t getting any smaller!

If you’ve made it this far I hope you too are being realistic about your goals. Continue on your marathon, and best of luck to you on accomplishing your aspirations.

-Ambassador 

Lately… (Written By AmbassadorNique)

Man, I feel like I’ve been flooding the blog with posts lately. I guess it just means I am inspired more than ever to share the great things around me. Life is good and a little over a half a month in I am still on my mission to better health, a vow to continue to be educated, and to make better financial decisions. Some of my goals were re-arranged but ‘tis is life and as with anything adjustments must be made. 

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post my Japanese language class was canceled 2 weeks ago, and the Masters program that I had been waiting to apply too turned out to be not as great as I once thought it would be after sitting in their first informational. I opted out of starting a GRE prep course next month, and decided to start a less expensive one that started this past Saturday. This program saved me money and fit a lot better in my schedule. So instead of focusing on Japanese my main focus now is this exam. My biggest challenge now is relearning and memorizing math concepts that I have not had to use or see in YEARS! (HEEELLLLP!!) IMPOSSIBLE is nothing right? At the end of the day I can either make excuses and complain or I can face this issue head on! 

 

I’ve been reading a good book that was given to me by my friend Kim called, The Slight Edge. She would be a bit disappointed to know I havn’t gotten as far as I would have liked, but I will continue to read it today for quite some time I hope (as I wait for my GRE prep book to come in the mail from Amazon since I ordered the wrong year last time).  The book so far is good and touches on ways to stay disciplined and be successful in life, relationships and financially which is what I am about!

 

I’ve been going to the gym and its working out really well. My ease back into the routine is getting better. I recently had a fail moment where I went to eat out friend. After eating it I felt so disgusted that I now vow not to eat fried chicken again. At least form that establishment, Grandma’s ONLY!!

 

Today I was afforded the opportunity to attend a workshop called Nothing About Us Without Us done by Seattle community organizers John Paige and my friend LuLu. The workshop was done very well! Sadly we didn’t have much time so we were unable to go into greater detail about a lot of things. Nevertheless I really enjoyed being there and learning many new things and seeing a few old faces whom I was able to catch up with as well. I was able to get a real sense of what’s going on in the community and it seems that as much of a progressive city as Seattle is their has been a racial undertone for quite some time that continues to get ignored. One of the most interesting discussions was the discussion of red lining (in short.. the way blacks and other people of color were kept out of living in  what was supposed to be “desegregated” housing). We talked about how it still goes on today with fraudulent housing loans from banks, lack of employment, affordable housing, and gentrification. 

 

I had a great conversation last night with a good friend of mine who is from LA about African American communities, racism, classicism and education and how they play significant roles in what’s going on today. We both agreed that while there are leaders out there a lot of times they do not get the deserved credits, but instead society has a tendency to refer back to figures like Martin Luther King and not look deeper into the present leaders or the women that actually were the backbone of the civil rights movements and movements going on today, or any of the other key players. 

 

Sorry if you made it this far I know it was very random, but hopefully if you’re still reading you’ve learned something and you care…

 

-Ambassador