Macroeconomics

I hate macroeconomics. I'm on my second round of taking this class (the first time I dropped it because I didn't like the teacher --and so did half my original class), and I still don't like it nor has it gotten easier for me. Imagine that. Hm. I'm not a business/economic person, but because social workers should apparently know about the economy impacting the lives of clients, I'm required to take it. I don't mind knowing about inflation rates or how the Federal Reserve works. But it's the word problems that really get to me. The book isn't clearly written, so it's not easy to understand each step. And I still want to know why paper money must be backed by bullion or how the value of the dollar increases or how the stock market works. Yet, I will never know this from this class because it's all about useless word problems and relentless information about the Keynes cross. I don't care about any of it!! Call me lazy, ignorant, whatever, but I'm allowed to rant about things I don't like. And I definitely don't like macroeconomics (and I'm not going to call it by its cute little nickname that other people use: Macro. I will use its full name because I despise it so!)

Godparenthood

In Hispanic/Catholic culture (in which I was somewhat brought up), allowing a person to be your child's godparent is a great honor. What exactly are the godparent's duties? I'm not sure the ecclesiological (church history) roots of having godparents, but the obvious job is to be present at the godchild's baptism. Next, an ideal nino or nina (godfather or -mother) is to be a guiding force in the child's life; maybe give them a little spiritual guidance here and there(although being a person of faith is not usually a prerequisite of godparenthood). Legally, the godparent promises to raise the child if something major happens to the biological parents. A godparent can be of any or no relation at all. My godparents are older cousins and I am my nephew's godfather. Often, parents will choose a good friend to be a nino/nina.

Since I wasn't baptized Catholic until I was 14, I had the opportunity to help pick out my godparents. Mine were chosen by their helpful advice they gave me at various points in my pre-Catholic life. Recently, I was bestowed the gift of godparenthood by my sister and her husband for their baby Colin. Colin is a special little guy because he was adopted from Guatemala. They got him right before the country stopped allowing international people to adopt. Since he was "conceived" out of such different circumstances, I love him much more. Moreover, since he is my own godchild, I love him even much more.

Even though I'm not Catholic anymore, I think that if I have children, I will give them godparents so that they can have a similar special relationship with people other than my wife and I. Also, if you are having a baby and want me to be a godparent, I'm accepting applications.

Futility

I admit it. I hate doing things that require so much work, only to have to do it over again. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind hard work; I'd even say I welcome it. However, lifting heavy things or doing strenuous work for little purpose really irritates me.

Let me give you an example. I just came in from edging and mowing my front yard. A month ago, I spent two days pulling the weeds in said front yard in the dead of the Floridian summer. Coming back from my trip a week ago, I was chagrined to find ALL the weeds regrown. My seemingly endless toil was for nothing! So today, I decided to use the weed whacker to rid the weeds that had overtaken my yard. I won't get into how hard and loud it is to operate the ridiculous gadget. And because the spool-head is broken, I foolishly wasted ten minutes trying to pry it off to change the line. After employing my dad's assistance, it took him a good ten minutes to change it (he had previously devised a way to change the broken spool involving wrenches and screwdrivers). After two hours of yanking cords and holding triggers, I completed the mammoth weed-ridding task. Another fifteen minutes was spent cleaning up the mass array of clippings. After such work, I know that these weeds will all return in the near future. So I say all of this to say that futile labor really bugs me.

I invented the iPod.

Just kidding. I thought of the concept one day, long before it became really popular. I'm not really saying I came up with it; that would be sacrilegious to Apple. However, in about 2001, I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to have something like a CD Player [portable] so I can store all my CDs AND watch music videos?" And that, my friends, is how I think I came up with the iPod idea.

In all seriousness though (although this isn't really that serious), my opinion is that the iPod is the best invention of the 2000s. I can have hundreds, even thousands, of songs in one little sleek computer. Even still, I can watch movies, play games, AND store pictures!

I've been a proud iPod owner since Christmas '05, when I got a slim, black, 2GB nano. Let me tell you, a gig goes a long way. At my high point, I had about 473 songs. I took it everywhere: in the car, to the gym, jogging around the lake, work, with me studying. It revolutionized my life. Working out was easier without the bulk of a Walkman. I didn't have to worry about changing CDs. Life was just plain ol' easier.

But that's not all to my iPod love story.

Last month, I got a new, 8GB video nano. I can't say how much I love it. Giving my old iPod to my mom, I broadened my horizon for maximizing technological potential. I started crazily downloading music, videos, music videos, TV episodes, rental movies, and audiobooks from iTunes (thanks to a giftcard I got for my birthday). I was in heaven; I'd never be bored again. My search for accessories might border on obsessive. I searched every (well, almost every) Target and Wal-Mart in the Bay Area for the right case. I purchased a very sporty jogging strap (which I won't use until I get to school). My latest accessory wish is for a docking station/stereo speaker set. Anyway, I'm drooling now.

In case you couldn't infer from all this, I think iPod is the greatest thing in the world. Thanks, Apple.

Multimedia message

Mariah is playing doctor.

Prologue

I've been wanting to start up one of these things for a while now, but never have. I'm the kind of person who likes to write blogs, but often doesn't publish them once they're written. As a result, pages of unread material lay unread in my hard drive. So I'm hoping now that I've opened a blogger account, I can publish things more often. I was "inspired" by my cousin's musings (thanks, Magoop!), figuring someone's bound to read about my thoughts.

Here's what to expect from this blog.

I appreciate the simpler things in life, so expect to read about things that might not matter very much. For example, I really like reward campaigns that promise customers free things, "You buy ten _______, you get one free." That makes me very happy; as if my individual purchases matter in the long run. I purposely patronize businesses that offers these programs, so I can get free things (even if it means buying ten burritos in order to get an eleventh one free!). It's my right as a customer.

Usually, when I'm in a blogging mood, I always write dryly or even (albeit, not often) humorously.
I don't plan on revealing a lot of personal information, because my line of thinking is that if you're reading this, you must know me. I kind of thought about using pseudonyms when referring to others, so we'll see if I do. I even thought of using the names of characters from literature, just to spice things up. So if a name sounds outrageous, it's probably fictitious.

I'm looking forward to blogging my life away. Here goes...