Valentines Day, 2015, and Where I've Been

Valentines Day is just around the corner again and for the second year, it looks like I will have someone to actually spend it with. I'm now officially 2 for 22 years which is a solid record for my book, V-Days spent with hookups not withstanding. I've made reservations at the Kennedy Center and if things work out, dessert at Ted's Bulletin is on the agenda. I still don't know what I want to do in terms of a V-Day gift. I think I will make a card for him and see if my crafting skills are in any way near as good as my cooking skills.

Speaking of the BF, unfortunately he was sick earlier this week but since then he's gotten better. I made him a batch of matzah ball soup which I will like to imagine has amazing curative properties, but I'd probably bet my money on the Alka-Seltzer Cold Meds I got for him which kicks Tylenol's ass any day of the week. We've been together now for a few months north of a year, give or take a month or so, and things are going pretty smoothly overall. Yeah, we have out spats and he has his annoying habits, but knowing my own stubbornness and faults, I'd say we're even. He's a special guy and we've made it longer than almost all the other gay couples I know have gone, so three cheers to us and many more to come.

In other boyfriend news, we are.....get ready for this.....house hunting. Yup. He's going to be working in the DC area after he graduates school much like I am currently and we're looking  find a place together. I'm a big fan of Arlington and Court House while he is a huge fan of Dupont and being more down town, but that is a bridge we will have to cross when we get to it. I need to figure out my career path and where I want to go once I hit the one-year mark at my current job and if I want to stay or move to a new company at a new location.

Dupont: So Pretty, So Close to Cobalt, So Expensive....

So how is the job going? Well, it got better and worse in a few ways. Ever since I originally posted about my first real job a few months back in September (Holy Shit, that was September...), I've seen myself kick butt in every quarter I've been in my position. I've blown away all standard metrics and I push myself to reach my stretch goals as well. So by most measures, work has been going pretty well. So why did I say that things are also worse? Well, each passing day just makes me realize that I'm not learning or growing in the job I have. Sure, I can talk about tech like few can and the sales skills I have will probably be useful in some way, but I have hit a plateau in my own knowledge, and it sucks. I hit this plateau many months back. After training and everything concluded, I've applied the things I have known and the methodology I learned in a very cut-paste-repeat sort of way. Sure, sales can be rewarding and the money is definitely good, but there has never been a day where I was actually excited to go into work. I want to be thrilled. I want to wake up and be excited to see what the day has to offer. With each passing day, my enthusiasm wanes, and I've been running near empty for a while now. Probably by the end of the month, I will start looking around for what other options are out there.

So 2015: What's on the Agenda?

Well 2015 is off to a pretty docile start to be honest. Maybe it's because I graduated and "the real world" is inherently less exciting, or maybe it's just because I'm tired of a routine which I find draining and dull. That being said, with the prospect of a new job come June and moving in with the boyfriend, there are many big life changing events in the deck of cards.

I hope to travel this year at some point. Mom and I want to take a week on vacation at some point and a cruise is our go-to option. It would likely be towards Fall or late Summer, but I have zero objections.

So where have I been?

I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but I do hope you guys have been well. I've neglected this blog severely and all I can offer is a few explanations as to why.

1. Twitter - A while back I started getting more involved in Twitter and the convenience of quick, snippy posts and interacting with life minded people really appealed to me. I've made some pretty good friends off of Twitter actually even met a few of the people I met randomly on there in person too. A lot of what I originally funneled here now gets pushed there for convenience's sake.

2. I started a new lifestyle blog which has taken over most of my long-writing efforts and time. It's a cooking and food related blog which has become a pet project of mine. I hope it helps inspire new cooks to break out of their shells and see that cooking does not have to be a scary and confusing endeavor. Unfortunately it links to a number of my private accounts so I won't be linking it here. My apologies.

3. I've become more comfortable talking with my friends. My best friend Maria and I have become even closer in the last few months since I graduated and she moved away to attend law school. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and if anything, our now 18 year friendship only got stronger after we both started on our new adventures. We talk as often as possible, recounting our successes, failures, happy moments, and our pains. We don't bottle things up as much from each other and that has helped me a lot in expressing what otherwise would wear at me.

Balancing all of these things, plus work, plus working out, plus making sure I still make time for my family and my friends has honestly been a struggle. I'm still finessing the balance as I type this and will likely will continue to do so for a while to come. As the handful of you guys who have followed this blog for a few years knows, I really like stability in my life, and uncertainty can throw me for a spin. Once I get my shit sorted, excuse me for the language, I will find a way to make sure I don't neglect things like this blog which I have so much invested so much time into over these past 6 years. I still read every comment, reply whenever appropriate, and catch up with the blogs I follow on here as well. I realized something as I was going through some of my old posts from back in high school earlier this week. For the few of you who still follow this blog and still take time out of your day to read the scribblings of some now 22 year old guy from Virginia whose graduation was chronicled twice in this blog, you have known me longer than many people who I call friends today.

In all honesty, you guys, as loose a connection and however many degrees away we are from each other, are people and friends who I have known and have seen me grow and mature (sorta) for years now. You have given me advice, provided me with support through my tough times, and for that, thank you.

I hope everyone who is reading this has a great weekend and a happy Valentines Day. Even if you are single, take time to treat yourself to a day of relaxation and fun with friends or even just enjoy time with yourself. Love your boyfriend, love your girlfriend, love your friends and family, and love yourself.

All the best,

JP

Love in the Air

So.....hi there.....

It's been a while, eh? So what happened exactly? Well, with school starting up, I made a series of promises to myself. First, that I would try and get as much work done as possible ahead of time for classes, second, that I would do all my assigned readings, and third, I would go to the gym as frequently as possible, with an aim for 4x a week. Ever since the end of January happened and classes really kicked into high gear, I realized that Junior year was going to be rough work wise. Unfortunately, in order to keep up with everything, some others things ended up getting neglected, one of which was my blog. Nevertheless, I'm going to try and start writing more again, and that promise begins now.

So since I was last here, lots of stuff has happened. I'll break it down for you:

1. Classes: Classes as I mentioned have been revving up. These next two weeks are going to be rough as midterms start next week and I have papers and all sorts of assignments due this week. For the most part, its just been keeping up with the piles of cases I've had to read and also articles for other classes. My professors for the most part have been really cool. I especially love my business law professor and my other business class professors. One professor however, my anthropology professor, I haven't been so keen about. Her classes are literally all spent on discussion and her going on tangents about her own experiences with little time dedicated to actually teaching the material. As such, I've been left to try and figure things out on my own from the book which is not a style of learning that I do well with. I'm hoping that she spends time to actually review with us before the midterm. Maybe it's just me, but if I'm paying thousands to go to a school, I expect professors to put an effort in to actually teach the material.

2. The Roomies: Everything is going really well with the roomies. My roommate E's girlfriend visits every weekend which is really awesome since we all love her. For Valentine's Day she brought us four dozen cookies which was so awesome in addition to an ice luge and more Wii controllers. Otherwise, my other roommates C and A are also doing well. We're all pretty busy so we hang mostly late at night and on the weekends.

Ice Luge. We drink a lot in this house. I'm not going to lie.

3. Guys: The situation between Brandon and I have cooled a bit in the past few weeks. I think the fact that we don't live near each other (relatively) and that he works and I still go to school puts a hindrance on every being able to see each other. Also, the one time we almost did decide to hang out he bailed last minute which ended up pissing me off. We haven't spoken for almost a week now. I'm pretty sure that I know what he was looking for out of our "relationship" and while it worked over the summer, I think I'm looking for something more. Given that, there is another dude who is in the news. This is a guy who I've known since freshman year and always kinda liked and found attractive, but since he was a year ahead and had a boyfriend at the time I didn't really bother with. A few weeks ago that changed and we ended up chilling at his place after a party we were both at. We hung out a few times after that and come February 13th....

4. Valentine's Day: I asked him out to dinner for Valentine's Day. We ended up getting dinner near campus at an upscale burger place (we agreed that we didn't want something formal). It was cool and we talked a good bit at dinner. He's a senior from New England, about 5'10', blond, slim, and ran track. He's also involved somewhat with the theatre group I'm working with. He's a funny dude, a little awkward at times but otherwise fun to hang out with. He's been gone this weekend for a conference in Nashville but we've been talking every day which is nice and cute of him. At this point I don't know where things might be headed but the feelings are mutual. So who knows, it's a little scary but also pretty exciting.

5. Jobs/Internships: I've been searching and I have a few bookmarked but I haven't had time to start applying truly. I'm looking for marketing and PR style positions and I know I want to stay in the DC area this summer for sure. I'm definitely going to apply to the HRC once their application is released but otherwise, I'd be happy with any company right now. If anyone knows of some good companies to look for internships at, please let me know!

So that's what has been going on in a nutshell recently. It's been a lot of busy work with a some time to relax mixed in. My goal for this semester is to match my last semester sophomore year before I went abroad and get on the Dean's List again. It's an uphill battle but I have high hopes for the semester.

Also, I see I have a few new followers so a huge "hi" and "welcome"! Sorry I've been boring lately but I'll get some opinion pieces out there soon.

All the best,

JP

Love

To all you couples out there, congratulations, I wish you the very best and may your love grow to new heights on this day.

To us singles, love works in mysterious ways; it eludes us, teases us and tempts us with its siren's song, yet it can seem so hard to capture and hold in our hands. Don't be discouraged though, sometimes you just need to look in the most unexpected areas to find it, and when you do, it will be the most magical feeling in the world. All the searching, waiting and frustration will be all worth it.




Happy Valentines Day y'all.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

If you have someone special in your life, I hope you had a great time and enjoyed your time together on this day devoted to love.

If you're celebrating Singles Awareness Day instead, well, I hope that special someone will be coming into your life very soon, don't give up hope.

Unfortunately, I fall into that latter category but hey, you never know what the future holds, right?

Be my Valentine?

All the best,

JP

P.S. Happy Chinese New Year again. It's the Year of the Tiger!