of studying...

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There is just so much to learn and review in so little time. It's awesome that I feel like I'm learning things again and "moving on" but I just wish that I had more time. I can't say that I am spending it wisely updating this blog either, but I have to keep myself sane. Spending time on the computer definitely does put in a good dent into my studying time, but I enjoy it. It just stinks that it takes up too much time to read my sites and update, e-mail, etc. It's just like having a part time job.

Well, a bunch of my friends ending up flying away either visiting their families or wives, and I'm stuck just studying. I wanted to do the same, but I just feel like I should be doing something else. We'll see tomorrow.

Bush Plan: Now that's just a different idea and agenda. Can it be compared to Vietnam? I would say no because you don't have 11 year old boys doing the dirty job of terrorists. It does suck, but we need to finish it once and for all and just finish it hard. Will this work, we don't know.

100 Hour Congress: Seems like Congress is really pushing all they can and fast! It's a rush to just get anything and everything approved. Stem cells are a nice idea, but I really don't know where I stand. Now yet another Democrat wants to run for Office? That party is just going to have yet another big split just all over the place if they end up splitting votes left and right. What the president is doing right will definitely give the opposing party some good ammo for the 2008 election. Convention 2008 in Denver just announced.

Kaleeforne-ah: Whoa, what is Arnold thinking? Is California really going to be able to afford the new Universal Health Care plan? I don't think that its going to happen. I mean, it almost seems like political suicide for what he is proposing. I need to read the plan more, but I just don't have the time. It's going to be a tough year for CA.

Airline Biz: Northwest and Delta now talking about a merger possibility post bankruptcy? That's just outrageous. It is mean that USAir would increase their bid for the hostile takeover but man, its just getting scary. I do like the idea of larger competition for the world amongst other international airlines, but within the domestic US, cut throat is turning into beheading!

I like doing this topic news discussion. I'll try to do it for Thursday's posts. We'll see how it goes! Thanks for increasing the traffic to this site. It got some good hits over the past week! Back to studying!

of disappointment

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Today marked the revolutionary unveiling of Apple's iPhone but to my surprise (I had hope for more support from different mobile carriers) that it will be exclusive to Cingular. I should have known that in order for Apple to spread quickly, they would have to adopt the worldwide standard, GSM. I can't sign up for that cell service because truthfully, after going to a Cingular Store today and asking if they could match my plan, they said no. They also did verify that Sprint has the cheapest for data plans which also might change relatively soon unless the "others" come down in pricing. The prices are too high and just ridiculous for data on other networks. Some still have the pay per megabyte deal which was popular in 2000. To even think that Apple would go exclusive for two years!!! It's going to be ashame that a lot of people will not be able to sign up and play with the iPhone because of this. Now, new questions of, "Where is the Widescreen iPod?" and other things like DVR functionality for the Apple TV device are setting up the stage for the next Apple event whenever that may be. I really hope that there is just one more thing coming along, because this event didn't do too much for a whole lot of people. It did signify the fact that Apple is for real and that the other players of Smartphones better step it up a notch. As Apple stock climbed 6% today immediately after the announcement, both Palm and RIM dove! That just shows you how much investors really feel about Apple and what happens when they enter the battle. I'm just about over the new hype of the devices which stinks only because I won't be able to play with any of them. I can't afford them anyways, but that's not the point.

Apple isn't just directing the iPhone towards a select few of Apple geeks, but now they are targeting the Apple geeks with AT&T / Cingular Accounts. That's a crazy small demographic perhaps, but man, that's one hell of a target. I'm sure that when the devices are released worldwide, they will start to show up unlocked so the friends at T-Mobile can party too, but it does look like the CDMA family is going to have to rely on Palm or RIM to do something that incredible. I was hesitating on upgrading my Treo 650 to the 700p, but looks like I might just be doing that soon. Oh well...

Florida vs. OSU

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Wow, that was a game for the books. Florida tore OSU a new one! I ended upstairs with a few friends and just hung out for the remainder of the evening after putting in a good 1.5 hours studying. I still had a little bit more to do, but it was a good chance to relax again a bit. I was really good today in not spending any money on food. I probably won't tomorrow either, but we'll see. I had a good dinner tonight which consisted of a Turkey / Chicken Deli Meat sandwich, 1 Cup of Noodle Chicken Soup with some hot sauce, a couple of Triscuits, and Carrots and some dip. I also had a Coke Zero which always tops it off well. I have a lot to study and I don't think that I will be able to go home this weekend which would be a good thing because I would get to watch the Charger game here somewhere instead of flying back. Tom Brady did look really good this past weekend. I just hope that our secondary can stop them! Go CHARGERS!!!

of missing someone and studying

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Well, Adelle woke up early today to get ready to head back home. She let me sleep up until we needed to leave which was nice. I had a bowl of Lucky Charms downstairs which was pretty tasty then I drove her to the airport where we said our goodbyes. Then poof, she was gone and back in San Diego. It is really awesome that we can go across the country within 5 hours by jet. I'm still amazed at that simple feat. I can't wait to see what is in store in the next 15 years in terms of travel. So anyways...

Right when she left, I already felt sad. Just having her here for a week was awesome. We spent a lot of time together which was good. The good side to a long distance relationship is that it always feels like brand new after a period of absence, but the let down is that you have to start over again in aspects of "getting use" to each other. She let me study what I needed to and was definitely an excellent girlfriend. Thanks for coming beeb!

I went back home, finished up a couple of things, went back to sleep and then awoke to a friend asking me where the hell I was. When I got back into the room, there was no one left. That sucked. I ended up doing some laundry today, got a hair cut from a Vietnamese guy who did an excellent job (it was probably my first awesome haircut away from San Diego), found out from him that there was a Pho place around the area and a Ranch 99 just north of the city, headed to Costco for a case of Red Bull and PowerBars then some awesome $1.50 polish dogs and Pizza, then went to WalMart which rounded up that portion of errands.

Finally after that exhausting day, I studied from about 1740 till about 2100. I can't say that I felt like I got a lot of things done, but I was able to navigate around the panel which did prove good I guess. I can't wait to keep it up now that I don't have any distractions. Not that having someone here around all the time was a distraction or anything, but shoot, it's going to be a great week!

Oh yeah, I also ate in for dinner. I had some Chef Bo R Dee Ravioli minis with some triscuits. You just wish that you could have been here huh?

on the dancefloor

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=)

So, today was the first time that Adelle and I headed to a nightclub on our own. We first stopped by Zuma Sushi up in Highland Avenue which definitely fulfilled my sushi craving. It was a nice little quaint place that was filled with deep reds and black decor throughout the restaurant. Authentic you would call it with the Japanese Anime on the LCDs flickering away and a full Japanese staff behind the counters. The food was excellent but any place that wants to charge $5.50 for Edamame is insane. The sushi was a little expensive but it was filling and prepared well. I would go there again, but not until I earn a little more of a paycheck.

On the way to dinner, an old friend who came to Atlanta a while back to attend attend Emory University gave me a call and told us that we should meet her at a new bar / dance club. Of course, Adelle and I said yes and it was probably the first time for me in about 2 years that I did this going to a club and all. I mean, we went around in Fort Lauderdale, but walking into a place on your own is a little weird for me. Turned out to be really fun once we met up with our friends. We had some drinks, danced and ended up meeting new friends. Oh yeah, the place was called, Lotus Lounge. I have to say that the place itself is rather large but it does constrain you to only the downstairs portion unless you are VIP / or some type of "member." The initial reviews that I read on citysearch weren't that positive at all so I ended up not having any expectations. When I entered inside, I felt back at home in San Diego. The ambiance shouts high class, but the dress is business casual with nice jeans and all. Cover is $10 after 2200 for guys and then $10 after 2300 for girls. Not that bad at all, but the drink prices is where they get you. I bought a Coors light and a Rasberry Martini (originally ordered as a Mojito but the waitress didn't get it correct) and it cost me $17.00! I was shocked a little bit, but I guess that's normal for some places.

I definitely have to come back sometime with my guy friends. The ratio was definitely tipping in our favor. There were so many ladies just walking around and I was quite surprised by this. I also have to point out that it was very multi-cultural which was completely different than my past experiences around this town. You'll probably find more interesting information on the citysearch link above that I provided ya.

...to resist the contagious laughing syndrome

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Today's itinerary included waking up early and heading out to see some of the sights in the city. We first headed to the Georgia Aquarium. That was rather cool at first, but it was more of a little playground than anything else. I have seen better pet shops really that were more entertaining than this! Even Sea World beat the show hands down, no question. I'm not sure if I just wasn't feeling it, but I can't say that I would hit it up again anytime in the near future.

The CNN Center was really cool! No, I'm not some extreme leftist or anything, but the fact that it was fascinating was awesome. I didn't really want to see it because it was CNN, but rather because I wanted to know what happened behind the scenes and that's exactly what happened. It's really cool what goes on inside it all and seeing the live broadcasts being taped and how there were no actual camera men in front of the news anchors but instead joystick-controlled ones were amazing. One news anchor even used a foot pedal for controlling the speed of the teleprompter while using a clicker to change stories or whatever. They control their own taping!

At the very end of the tour, we had a chance to purchase a recording of ourselves in the Headlines Newsroom Mockup and my two friends did just that. They got to have a DVD created for them and I upped it to YouTube for your viewing pleasure. I'm probably going to have to edit it because it is too long (4:29 minutes) but the end is good. I didn't get to record one, but I will one of these days. Enjoy! Overall, I was pleased with the day. Watch the video till the end!

...to resist temptation

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I'm not sure if you noticed yet, but as the blog is entitled "the battle," I'm going to try to make each entry somewhat related by completing the thought in the title. e.g.: the battle to resist temptation

Walking around the mall today with Adelle, I'm come to realize that my shopping habits have greatly been modified with me starring at prices over $19.99 for a shirt or pair of pants and just dropping my jaw. Finally, after many years of being a brand whore (still am for quality though), it's amazing how much you can actually spend on just a couple of items. I think that I am set in my wardrobe for quite a while as a lot of my close friends have told me. I still lack a couple essential items such as multiple pairs of khaki pants, a pair of black slacks (shocking huh), some deep colored jeans and a light pair. Back to prices, Lacoste sells polos for $76.00!!! That's awesome that they last that long, but my Gap ones lasted just as long and look good after the wash fade. Lacoste, not so much but rather, they look like they came out of my dad's closet. So, as this blog is titled, I'm resisting the temptation to buy outrageous priced items as long as I know that I have something already available to me at home or somewhere in my homes (San Diego or Florida), or the basic fact that I probably don't need it.

I did spend some money though, but it was on a long sought for pea coat. Over the last few months or maybe even years, I've been trying to find something that wouldn't make me look like a midget, a man wearing a dress and just feel good after I put it on. Every department store in the US is having a blowout sale of winter coats, and after looking online, I finally headed to the mall to purchase one. Banana Republic had a good one that was $50 off the original $198, but it looked like a mini black dress when I put it on. Macy's had a couple but they didn't finish right. But Gap actually had one that when I put it on, it felt right. I did take about 30 minutes of taking it on and off to finally just decide to get it. I couldn't make the impulse buy because of my recent monetary complications and setbacks. It was meant to be though. It rained for a good portion of the day which probably swayed my decision to finally just drop some cash on one and the fact that I have been wearing a particular black waist high jacket for years, I needed to mix it up a bit. The Gap coast was priced at $148 down to $99.99. Then at the counter, it rang up as $79.99 and the manager gave me a 10% damage discount for the thread that was hanging out all over some of the seems. Basically, the damage to it was some thread was left over in the seems. Nothing much, but hey, I got the extra money off! It was at a very reasonable price and its going to be the last purchase for a while.

I've been updating the trelijah blog quite a bit lately. You should definitely stay up to date on that if you dislike reading.