Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

How To: Survive a Road Trip



Every now and then, we must endure a road trip to somewhere we don't want to go to or visit people we don't want to see.  Here is a guide put together from experiance!

Step 1: Music
There are times when conversations get really boring to listen too.  These times are basically when the conversations don't involve Japanese super robot ninjas and unicorn tea parties.  To ensure complete zoning out, noise canceling headphones are the way to go.  Also, remember a charger or else the music won't keep coming!

Step 2: Entertainment
Music is good for escaping conversation, but you need a way to pass the time.  I have been knitting recently, so I have been trying new stitches and such.  My brother has many movies and TV shows on his computer, so he watches those.  I also have Kindle on my phone (as well as a manga reader), so I have lots of reading material.  These things make the time go by so much faster.

Step 3: Comfort
This goes FAR beyond dressing for the weather.  Being in a car for extended periods of time can be quite cramped.  Bringing pillows can help you get a better sleep if hotel pillows aren't comfortable.  If you normally sleep with a stuffed animal, bring it.  If there is anything that will make the trip easier, bring it.

Step 4: Toiletries
This is a no brainer, but you need to make sure you are clean.  Lush makes some shampoo/conditioner bars with condenses things considerably (and you can bring it as a carry-on if you are not checking luggage).  Pack everything together so it is in one spot (this reduces digging for that one item) and keep it in a closed bag (to prevent mess if there is spilling).  Voala!  Everything is good to go!

Step 5: Contact
Having somebody to vent to and makes jokes can really help you keep your sense of humor.  If you don't have that, you could get grouchy and mean, even though you know you aren't that person.  I like to text my boyfriend who understands what is going on and provides me with a distraction of kitty pictures.  Having this small bit of contact really helped me stay pleasant.  There is no excuse to be a mean person when you aren't one!

Step 6: Snacks
You may have different tastes than your parents when it comes to snack choices.  My parents like cookies, but my brother bought jerky.  It is a good way to keep hungry at bay until you can have a meal.  Also, if your parents are like mine, they won't stop for a meal and you need to fend for yourself.  This is a great time to reach for a snack!  You can always restock at the next rest stop if you run out!

Remember: This trip is just for a short period of time.  You can do anything for a week.  When it is done, everything will go back to normal and you can resume your schedule.  Now that I am back, I am watching a ton of Netflix Instant Queue and have kittens sleeping on me

Friday, May 21, 2010

How to Stave Off Boredum!


So, everybody gets bored at some point in their life and they never know what to do about it! I am here with a HUGE list of ways to keep bordum at bay!

Sing and Dance: Who DOESN'T love to rock out to their favorite tunes? So many people sing in the shower and dance around when they are with friends. It is a raw expression of you at your finest! Refined or not, it is you, and thus amazing!

Play an Instrument: Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, there is a level of satisfaction at being able to play songs that you like. Grab some new sheet music and your favorite instrument (anything that you enjoy and have on hand works as well) and start jamming!

Make Jewelry: Go to a supply shop if you need to and make a necklace or a pair of earrings. Plan a design and see it through until the end. Not only do you prevent boredum, you get something cute to show off to your friends the next time you are around!


Cook: Nothing fuels the brain like some healthy delicious snacks. Really hungry? Make all your favorite dishes into a huge meal. Don't know what to make? Find recipies that you have the supplies to make (or can make fairly easily) and have at it! You won't be bored or hungry after you make yourself a feast!

Concoct a new recipie: Mix ingrediants in new ways that you haven't thought up of before. Pretend you go to the McGuiver School of Cooking and that anything goes!

Make a Vision Board/Book: Grab some magazines, a pair of scissors, tape and an notebook/bullitin board and cute out what inspires you. Love the way somebody has their make-up? Cut it out and add it! Love the shapes/lines of something? SAME THING! ^_^

Make New Outfits: Rummage through your closet and dresser for pieces that you never paired before. It doesn't have to be an awesome successful outfit, just something new and exciting.

Go Shopping: Have you paired everything you own and still nothing new? Buy yourself a new top or dress. Now, you have something new to pair about! That not your thing? Get yourself some new accessories! Not enough money for that? PINS AND KEYCHAINS TO THE RESCUE! ^_^




Call up an old friend: Chances are they would love to catch up and chat with you! They will feel excited and loved. Bonus: You give them something to talk about to with other people later...maybe even start a small trend of everybody catching up with everybody else!

Make a lunch date: So, you and your friends have a busy schedule and never seem to speak more than a few words in passing? Plan out a few days/weeks in advance to have lunch together. This provides you with a way to leasurely catch up with them while filling your tummy with delicious tastiness!

Take a walk: Walk through town or to a park. It gives you a chance to clear your head of stressful thoughts and could inspire you for a new project! Plus, exercise is an amazing thing and many of us don't get enough of it!

Learn a Craft: Want to learn to embroider? Knit? Crochet? Weave chain mail (yes, chain mail. The same thing that used to be made into shirts and used as armor way back in the day)??? DO IT! Why not? Gather what supplies you need and learn something. It doesn't need to be a master piece. It doesn't even need to be good. Start with something basic and see how much natural talent you have!

Learn a Language: Have you ever wanted to speak a different language? Not only are they really cool, but it can help you differentiate yourself in the job market. Interesting AND help with finding a job? Yes, please!



Take a Nap: Do you feel overloaded and you can't think of what to do? Take a nap and recharge yourself! There is nothing lazy about this and you will wake up feeling refreshed, recharged, and ready to tackle any challenge brave enough to challenge you!

Pamper Yourself: Give yourself a manicure or take that bubbe bath you keep promising yourself. You will feel so much more relaxed and able to make better decisions about anything (Like grabbing a glass of water instead of that soda with the teeth rotting goodness)!



Plan a Tattoo: Even if you don't see yourself getting a tattoo, you can still have fun planning one out. Tell your friends about it and inspire them. One tattoo I had planned out since high school was a HUGE dragon. The tail coiled around my left middle finger, up my arm, dance around my back/torso, and coil down to my right elbow. Here, fire licks its way around my arm, hand, and finger. So many people thought this was the coolest tattoo. I don't have the time, money or pain tolerance to get it, but I still really like it.

Get a piercing: Peircings seem less painfu than tattoos, are less expensive, and less permanent if you later deside you don't want it. Add some extra sparkle to your body! Does your job not allow certain piercings? That makes it much more desirable. It can be your little taboo thing that you do!



Day Dream: Let yourself think those silly thoughts you don't let yourself think enough. You need to let your creative child out sometimes so the world can have a better chance to experience you for being you!

Analyze a Dream: Have you ever recalled a dream you had that was terrifying, silly, or just plain bizzaire??? Find out if it means anything. Even if it doesn't, you still had fun with it!

Play video games: Either by yourself, online with people you don't know, or as a social gathering of geeky friends! This can be a great excuse to hang out with a bunch of friends if you choose to play with them. Otherwise, it is a chance to escape into a fantasy world. Do you want to be the hero of a post apocolypic world? What about the one to save the girl? Video games take you anywhere!

Play board games: Yes, it is a bit low tech, but there are some amazing games out there. You just need to look for them. Check out for a list of games and their ratings!

Invent a new Product: Have you ever wanted to talk to your friends without actually speaking? What about a way to teleport you through space? Through time? Draw out the details of it, even if you don't know what you are talking about. It can be a really cool way for your sciency types to spend an hour or so!


Do your make-up differently: Use color combinations you haven't used before. Try new styles that you don't see people wearing! Be creative and have all the fun you want!

Style your hair differently: Grab the hair gel and have at it! If you don't like it, just wash your hair and try again! Find a new look that excites you!

Get a Hair Cut: Visit your stylist with an idea or with bravery (and tell them to have fun) and walk out with a different look. This is a great way to find the “new you”!

Dye your hair: Always wanted to see what you looked like with red hair? How about purple? Be as crazy as you want and find something that really speaks to you!

Buy Colored Contact Lenses: Get yourself new eye colors! Mix and match and have 2 different coored eyes! Have fun AND confuse your friends! I did this for a school picture once (one blule eye and one green eye) and my mom still claims I “ruined” one of the best school pictures I had! It makes me laugh so much each time!

Assign Pictures and Ringtones to your friends: This is a really fun way to customize your phone! You will know who is calling you from before you even get your phone out (for ringtones). It is also a great way to remind yourself of an inside joke(assigning pictures). GO CRAZY!


Buy a new phone case/phone charms: Make your phone stand out! Everybody wil know your phone for forever! Mine has a black/pink Hello Kitty case, 2 Hello Kitty Charms, a Tare Panda charm, AND a butterfly charm! My phone stands out so much in comparison to everybody elses!

Catch up on comics and web comics: Do you like reading Zits? FoxTrot? Pearls Before Swine? XKCD? It is a great way to spend a few hours!

Read/find funny articles: Look for people that have terrible tattoos or weird things going on with their body (I found oen with some woman who had a disgustingly tiny waist). Share them with everybody you know on facebook!

Follow a new blog: So, you know what to expect with all the blogs you currenty follow? Maybe you don't follow any blogs. Finding a new blog to follow can be extremely exciting. So many people have genuis things to say, but it is hard to share this enlightenment if there is nobody to hear it!

Read about other religions: There are so many religions that exsist in the world today and so many people are so stubborn to think that other ways could be a better fit! I like reading into witchcraft and also how 2 religions get along (ex: Shinto and Bhuddism in Japan). This is just so interesting and so many people feel “I am RELIGION X, so that is clearly the answer. I don't care about other religions”. That is such a suffocating mentality and it boggles my mind!

Check out 474 Thing To Do When You Are Bored: There is some crazy things they it suggests. I wouldn't recommend many of these things, but it is at least good for a laugh!

Doodle on your old clothes: So, you have a pair of jeans so tattered and torn that they re beyond wearable? Draw on them! Hang them up and be inspired! Even if the jeans are still good, it is something fun you can do. Are you going away for a while? Have your friends write on them (Bonus points if they write on them while you are wearing them) so you can remember all the fond memories with them!

Create a new nail polish color: Get 2 or more old bottles of nail polish and combine them into a new color. How does it look? Did you get a terrible color you would never wear? What about an amazing new color that all your friends are jealous of? You never know until you try it!

Mix and Match Nail polish: Paint every nail a different color! Alternate between two contrasting colors! Have fun with the colors! Go for brights! Go for darks! Go for what makes you smile at the time!


Plant flowers: Get some seads, soil, and pot to put them all in and see if you have what it takes to grow something! I already tried this. I can't remember to water my plants, so they always die pretty quickly. Can you remember to do this? If you succeed at this, it can make your living space brighter and more fun to be in!

Create Business Cards: Many websites allow you to design your own business cards. Do you want to be known as a professional hugger? Let the world know who and what you are with fun business cards! Allows you to create business cards with a different picture on the back of each! HOW FUN?!?!



Write In Colorful Pens: Everybody expects a pen to write either black or that very specific blue. Many people dread seeing red pen from when we were in school. Find a pen that writes in neon green or teal and start using it for EVERYTHING! Staples sells disposable fountain pens in packs of 3. One of those colors is purple. I use my purple fountain pen as often as I can! What kind of pen would you use?

Take Pictures: It can be of your pet, your friends, or even your stuffed animals! Take pictures of your walls! go outside and take pictures of what you feel like. Is there a cool cloud shape? How about a flock of geese? Maybe that really cool car you see driving around town? Anything goes so go after it!

Clean Your Living Space: Have you been too busy/lazy to clean up after yourself in a while? My table was cluttered with useless junk just a few days ago. Cleaning up and finding homes for everything REALLY makes a difference. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in a while! I am deffinately going to try harder to keep it clean from now on!

Reorganize yourself: Take some time to get things organized in a way that makes scence for you! Color code notes or your clothes. Take time to tear apart everything so that it will make your life easier in the future!

Buy a gift for your friend: Who says you need a reason to do something nice for the ones you care about? Find something a friend would LOVE to have. Do they collect something? Add to their collection! It makes their collecting effors more worth while because they know other people will support it!



Create your own Holiday: Happy MixMatched sock day! Do something fun and make a holiday around it. Plan for it every year! Get your friends involved! Have them get their friends involved and so-on. It can become a REALLLY fun think you and your friends 9and their friends) will come to look forward to!

Take a Vacation from the normal: Wear all your clothes inside out and backwards! Walk backwards! Spray dye your hair a different color for every day of the week. If something seems fun but you can't seem to find when to fit it in, just do it and say it's your mental vacation!

Travel: Even if you are just exploring your surrounding areas more, it is traveing. Check out that mall two towns over that all your frieds talk about! Is it worth the hype? Even if it isn't, you know now!



Wrrite a Love Letter on the Sidewalk: Tell the world how much you love and appriciate it!  Everybody who walks by will see it and you will leave an impression! Don't know what to write? Try just drawing a picture. This is something I found at my school last fall semester!

Headbutt people: Yes, you read that properly. Whoever you choose to headbutt will laugh and everybody around you will question who will be next! It isn't something that everybody does, so it will be a change of pace. Warning: you may get people giving your strange looks.  Enjoy it!


Have a cuddle fest: Curl up on the couch or in your bed with snuggly blankets, a relaxing drink, and indulge yourself in some TV time. You don't even need to have somebody to cuddle with (but if you do, it does make it more fun)!

Partake in a guilty pleasure: Read those trashy romance novels that everybody makes fun of you for! Watch that movie that drives your family and friends nuts! If you like it, do it! Sing to your naked self in the mirror if that pleases you! ANYTHING GOES!

Masturbate: It feels good, so do it! Sex is completely normal to want and if you are alone, masturbation is your only choice. It can help you with body issues to better accept the body you have as well as give you some ideas to try out when your lover comes home!

Write about things you care about: Do you love clothes? How are your feelings on world hunger? Start a blog and voice these opinions! It is never too late to start! Have a direction your would like to take your blog and just write to your hearts content!

Find a new Hangout: Most of this article is written in a coffee shop I have never heard of before. The people who run the place are really cool to talk to and the seating is so comfy! It is a bit of a pain for me to go here, but I will make a point of stopping by there again. They have a TON of art displayed that is available for purchase (which is good news for me because that means they are willing to sell what I make)! If you are ever in the Beaver PA area, stop by the Fountainhead Cafe in Monaca! Warning: the people who run it are not good at counting change (in their favor) so make sure that you count your change after you purchase!  They shorted Garrett $10 when he purchased 2 bottled drinks and refuse to pay us back!

There are plenty of ways to keep you from being bored.  Just get off your bum and find something to do!

What do you do to keep yourself from going mad with boredum?

XOXO
Mag-Elicious

P.S. All of the above images are images I found using Google Image Search.  If this is your image and you want credit for it, please contact me and I will be more than happy to credit you.  If you are not polite about it, I will simply remove the image.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

How To: Picking a Major and Getting your Dream Schedule!

Photo found on Google image search
At this time of year, us college students need to know what classes we will be taking in the Fall semester (and summer for those of us who take classes then).  Here is a guide I put together for how to love what you will be doing (even if you don't know the classes).

Major
♥ What are your strengths and weaknesses?  If you are amazing at something, try and work that into your major.  Conversely, if you are terrible at something, try to avoid it.

♥ What do you love?  If you have a passion, turn that into something workable.  Do you love to draw?  How about making clothes?  There is always a way to do the things you love!

♥ What programs does your school offer?  If a school has a large program, chances are they attract good teachers.  Smaller departments come off as having difficulty finding competent teachers.  If your school has only a few professors teaching a broad array of classes, consider transferring to a new school.  You want professors who know what they are talking about (I had teachers who taught many unrelated subjects and as a result, I know little in either topic).

Classes
♥ What is your personal goal?  I am a Business Management major, but my goal is to open up a craft shop.  I will need to know how to make a name for myself, so I am taking a lot of Marketing classes.


♥ How many extra classes are you taking?  If you are taking a lot of extra classes within the same department, you may want to think about getting a minor.  That way, you get to take all the courses you want, plus you get something to add to your resume!  Bonus?  Yes please!

♥ When do you want to take your classes?  I like having a short break between classes, but I don't mind block classes.  Do you want your classes in the morning, afternoon, or at night?  Night classes are longer and only once a week.  Can you sit through 3 hours of the same person talking about the same thing?

♥ Who do you want to take classes with?  Some professors are clearly better than others.  They understand students needs and are willing to put forth the extra effort to make sure you learn the material.  For this reason, check out RateMyProfessors. Some people will post that a teacher is good because he/she is attractive.  If you weed out those ratings, you are left with mostly accurate information (I just checked out my difficult professor and everybody seems to share the same opinion).  You get opinions of  professors in a variety of courses they teach.  Having good teachers is KEY and I cannot stress that enough!

♥ How does your registration work?  This semester, many students are having difficulty getting into a class because the system is saying that the prerequisites haven't been met.  It is aparently a problem for many students getting into one specific class.  The professor is really cool and understanding (my favorite in the department) and was willing to sign me into the class (even if I DIDN'T take the prerequite course).  If there is a class you want to take, and the registration system will not let you into the course, the people you need to talk to so you can get into the course are more than willing to help out.

► If you are not doing something you love, then don't bother.  Doing something you don't love will just make you miserable!
► Know your work load.  If you can't handle 18 credits, then drop something.  It is no use burning yourself out!
►Take interesting classes.  There are many liberal arts classes you can take that fill various requirements.  If something sounds interesting, take it!  I highly recommend taking language classes!
►If you cannot get into your department because of low grades, then try becoming undeclared!  There is no shame in it and your new advisor will have a general understanding of all departments.

This is what I was able to put together after scheduling this morning.  If there is more to add, please comment about it!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

How To: Beautiful and Healthy Looking Nails


Not all of us has the time/money to spend on getting manicures all the time, but we still want to have nice nails.  While getting pampered at a salon is nice, you can get great results from home for a fraction of the price!

Tools:
♥ Bowl of soapy hot water
♥ Cuticle trimmers
♥ Nail cutters
♥ Nail file (non-metals work best)
♥ Nail buffer
♥ Cuticle Oil
♥ Cotton Balls
♥ Lotion
♥ Clear base coat on nail polic
♥ Colored nail polish and topcoat (optional)

Start by soaking your hands in the hot soapy water (ordinary liquid hand soap is just fine, we don't need fancy stuff) for about 5 minutes.  This softens the cuticles and makes it easier to manipulate.  Once you are done soaking, push the cuticle back as far as it will go (you will see a semi-circle shape.  That is entirely fine).  Trim off any dead cuticle (hard/dry and white in color).  DO NOT cut living cuticle skin as it will hurt and can cause infection!

Now, trim nails to desired length (making sure to cut off any damaged nail (if your nail is chipping/spitting into small sheets) and file them into shape.  Note while filing: make sure to only go one way, not back and forth, as this could damage your nail and this is about taking care of damaged nails!  Once your nails are at desired length/shape, get out your buffer and have at it!  You can find a buffer at any beauty supply place.  I like the buffer blocks because they look fun!

Now that all the trimming is done, we move onto the easy stuff!  The next time we do is apply cuticle oil to all the fingers.  You only need a small amount of this to be effective.  Take a cotton ball and message the oil into the cuticle area and the nails.  Here is a guide to make your own cuticle oil, otherwise, I found it for about $6 just by doing a Google search (Ulta has the $6 cuticle pen which seems like it would offer high quality).

After you messaged the oil into your nails, apply a lotion to your hands.  Any lotion seems like it would be effective, but if your collect lotions, you probably have a collection of both hand and body lotions.  After the lotion, apply the clear base coat.  This will chip and take damage so your nails won't!  You also have the option of appling all the color in the world to your nails at this step (or what colors of nail polish you own).

Pro Tip: This process also works well on your feet!  For particularly stubborn dryness in your feet, use a pumice stone in the shower on calluses then, while feet still have some water on them, apply a lotion and put socks on.  The socks take up some of the lotion so your feet get the lotion applied all over for hours!  You will have softer feet in just a day!

This entire process takes about 15-ish minutes and after doing it just once, you see amazing results.  Plus, all you are purchasing is supplies (which will last for a long time) so it is ultimately much cheaper.  In the eyes of a poor college student, this is amazing news!

I hope after doing this you have happy and healthy nails!

♥Mag-elicious♥

Monday, March 29, 2010

Best Breakfast EVER!


Alright, so being home alone, I have to cook for myself.  I am not much of a cook at all (I'm suprised I haven't caught anything on fire to be honest).  I was really hungry, so I made myself a large plate of eggs.  Here is what all was in it:
♥ 3 eggs
♥spash of milk (it really gives it fluffiness and I never knew that before)
♥1 slice turkey bacon (because I don't like the fatty texture of pork bacon)
♥1/4 red pepper (chopped)
♥1/4 green pepper (chopped)
♥1/8 sweet onion (chopped)
♥1/4 teaspoon garlic (minced)
♥ pinch of shredded cheese

Cook bacon to taste (crispy or tender/juicy).  Put onions and peppers in the same pan (I used a skillet which gave me a lot of space) and let them heat up and get tastified!  When those are ready, take them off the heat.  At this point, cut the bacon into little squares.

In a separate bowl, crack the 3 eggs and spash in the milk.  Wisk until evenly conbined.  Add the garlic and cheese, wisk, then add the peppers, onions, and bacon, wisk again.  Pour mixture into a greased pan and cook it like you would normally cook scrambled eggs.  Serve with toast and juice.

For juice, I got Simply Organge with mango (no pulp) and combined with pineapple juice (I have lots of canned pineapple and the juice from that is amazing).  Propotion everything how you like and drink up.  Delicious!!!

Hope you all can enjoy a scrumptious breakfast/brunch.  You could split this with somebody as a side to something or as a smaller portion for breakfast.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

How to Stay Inspired When Classes are Bringing you Down

Classes, often times, are nothing more than a way to pass the time on your way to a degree.  I am starting an experiment and I would like you to help me along so we can see if it works or not.

So here is the experiment: Take your binder (or notebook if you prefer) and find a picture that relates to your class (cute animals or pretty flowers for biology, geodes for geology, girls/boys in lab coats with test tubes for chemistry, rollar coasters for physics...you get the idea).

Print out these pictures (in color if possible) and put them in the clear front pocket of your binder (if you are using a notebook or a binder that lacks the transparent front cover, you can always take a plastic sheet protector and tape it onto your notebook/binder or put it as the first page in your binder).

The pictures should relate to the class so you stay interested.  If in a few weeks, you are bored with the picture, change it out.  The sheet protectors are a way to help keep the pictures looking nice while your binder/notebook takes abuse from your bookbag.
(And who better than Jude Law?)
Here is what I have so far for my classes
Geology and Lab (pretty self explanitory)
Business Law (And who better than Jude Law?)
Human Resource Management (such a funny episode)
Information Systems Management (I like desktop backgrounds, so I figure I use that as a picture for this glass)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Welcome 2010! (sorry for how late this is)

Ok, so I am horribly late in posting this and for that, I apologize. My life was recently turned upside down and I think I am getting everything back on track. Many people are already loosing steam from new years resolutions, so many those people will find this a little pick-me-up!

Let's start short term:
Get organized.  I have never really been all that organized in my life.  I am always scrounging around last minute to get things together.  I purchased an organizer (blue zebra strip Keroppi organizer.  It is SO CUTE!) and I will be able to keep track of assignments.  I am also going to my apartment (currently at my parents house) and cleaning up a lot of stuff.  My boyfriend is moving out soon, so I need to clear things out.


Eat Better.  So, everybody has a different definition of what that could mean.  For me, it means no eating fast foods and no eating a lot of carbs.  No pretzels, chips, crackers, or drinking.  I will reward myself with these kinds of treats with working out and loosing weight.  I need to start cooking for myself (typically my boyfriend did all the cooking), so I need to not rely on ready-made food (high in carbs and sodium)

Work Out.  So, you might have noticed the trend of really predictable resolutions.  I want to be able to get back on my work-out regime.  I noticed results almost immediately.  However, I get really light-headed by a lot of it.  I am going to try taking work-out classes and see what I like.  I also need to get a hold of my badminton stuff (I know a fair bit of people who play) and get back into that.

Sewing project a month.  I got a nice new sewing machine for christmas and I really want to use it.  There are a ton of reasons to not do something (no money or time) but those are mostly just excuses.  I already have a few projects planned out (and I got fabric to start one) and I am super excited about getting started.


Reconnecting with Friends.  Since moving off campus, I no longer have a meal plan.  Going to dinner with my friends at the dining halls was how I mostly stayed connected with everybody.  I want to be able to hang out with everybody I was unable to hang out with.  I might even try and save them from campus food!  Who knows?  I want to make it a point to hang out with people at least once a week.

Learn New Craft Techniques.  I love beading and crocheting, but after a time, everything just feels the same.  I want to make it more interesting.  Not only will that increase what I can do, but it will keep me sane!  Doing the same things over again cannot be healthy.


Read More.  This is kind of vague, but the only things I read are assignments...things I need to grind through.  I want to read at least one fun (non-class) book a month.  To get a head-start on this, I have gift cards to Barnes and Nobles.

Pass the JLPT 4 Exam.  Japanese Language Proficiency Test is a standardized test.  Everything else about it is self explanatory aside from the number.  The level 4 exam is the easiest of the tests.  In Japan, they have a Kyu system (commonly seen to rank people in Go) where the higher the number, the lower the rank.  Think of it in terms of medals and it makes sense (level 1 is like 1st place, etc.).  I am studying to take and pass this exam so I have some way to differentiate myself from everybody else graduating with a BS in Business Management.  I have about a year until the next exam is held in the country, so I should be fine.

Learn HTML.  I am terrible at coding anything.  I always try and it messes up.  That makes it take even longer to put anything together.  I want to be able to post pictures without tags from hosting sites...The ad tags tend to be large and obnoxiuos.  I would love just regular pictures with not tags.

Done with short term.  Lets move onto long term:

Launch My Business.  I want to open up a combination cafe/bar/craft shop.  Garretts little sister wants to open those kinds of shops too.  I was thinking a partnership with her to get things started.  I also have a name on Etsy and My aunt is starting an e-business (http://www.simplychiccollections.com/ check for updates) and she said she would sell my stuff on consignment.  It seems like I have a ton of options and I am loving it!