Let it go and set yourself free.
(Source: thashinea)
I received an email yesterday that I got pretty excited over. It wasn’t anything even beneficial to me, but it was simply an informational correspondence from Be the Match whom I finally joined the registry for a few weeks ago.
If you don’t know what Be the Match is, no it’s not an online dating website, it’s actually a nonprofit organization that provides bone marrow donations to patients in need. There are thousands of patients that are looking for a bone marrow transplant, and many never receive it. This is primarily because finding a match for bone marrow is not as easy as finding a match for a blood transplant. To put it into perspective, those thousands of patients looking for a match are in contrast to the nearly 10 million potential donors on the registry list, and many of them are still struggling and failing to find the match they need to survive.
I was excited for this email, not because they found me as a match for anyone, but just from the prospect of maybe being found as a match in the future. They informed me that if someone is ever found as a match, it’s likely that it will only ever happen once in a lifetime. I had to take a moment to think about that; once in a lifetime. People talk about soul mates in the context of love all the time, but I feel like something like this is akin to that. If I am able to find that one other person that I match in this world and I’m able to provide them a second chance at life, that would be so amazing. And if I have even the slightest chance that I’d be able to help someone this way, I want to make sure that I try.
I feel like people look for their match in love to help themselves, so why not do the same and find my match this way as well, to help someone else? Now, I’m not trying to coerce anyone into joining, but I am asking that if you’ve somehow found yourself here, reading this blog, and you’re not already on the registry, please consider it. I have no affiliation with them and I don’t even know anyone personally looking for a match, but the statistics speak for themselves. If this reaches even one person that decides to join, that would be great, but at the end of the day, if I’m at least able to inform a few people about something this big that they didn’t know about, I’ll feel accomplished.
If this is something that you’re even the slightest bit interested in or even just curious about, click the link below and check it out.
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![[April 23, 2005]
Every week, when Sunday comes around, I always try my best to make it to church. I’ve been doing slightly better lately, but I’ve gotten into a habit of arriving quite late into the mass. This week, somehow, something in me was able to get up and muster the power to get there (almost) on time. Partway through, I had drifted off into my own world when something caught my ear from our priest…
…bless the souls of those who are no longer with us, including Carlos Calubayan…
Suddenly, it was as if the blurry world instantly snapped into focus and the realization dawned on me, it was the anniversary of Lolo’s passing. Since then, thoughts and memories have been buzzing in my mind intermittently throughout the days. Memories of his cooking, his gardening, his hugs and smelling kisses, and of course, his famous yellow bike. Though, along with these happy, somber memories also came the inevitable questions/wondering.
The biggest thing that’s been on my mind, is that I just hope that he’s proud of where I am today. Coming up so close to my graduation, I know that he’ll be there to see me, but part of me still wishes he could be there physically, to see me graduate. Then again, at the same time, if he was able to be there, I’m not sure I would necessarily be graduating in Graphic Design. The picture above, which I made for Lolo, of a quote from my then five year old cousin and the single surviving Tulip of the garden he was so proud of, is one of the main reasons I am where I am today. This was the first thing that I ever made that I was truly proud of and was one of the main reasons I became so interested in Graphic Design. And so, even though I didn’t pursue Graphic Design right away, this life changing day when he passed away, eventually led to the development of what is now one of my passions in life.
From the immensely dark storm cloud, seven years later, I’m reaching the edge of my silver lining with my imminent graduation, and I think Lolo would be happy to hear this. In particular, because of one last story that I’ll share from a blog post that I wrote in my LiveJournal, the day that he passed. But before that, I just want to say:
Lolo, seven years later and we still miss you dearly, but I know you’re watching us daily and you’re making sure all of our gardens are taken care of. Thank you for everything you taught me that I was unable to realize at the time, but now I can look back on and appreciate. Sandali nalang po hangaan makaka kita ulit tayo. Sige na po. Mahal ko po kayo…
…it seemed though, there may have been one person who knew it was coming. As strange as it may sound, Lolo himself may have had an idea. Listening to everyone talking today, it seemed he was acting a little out of character the past few days or weeks or something. The strangest thing to me, was something he apparently said yesterday. Apparently, while at the mall, he said something to the effect of ‘you have nothing to worry about anymore, all of our children are successful in America now’ it was as if he knew everything and everyone was alright, and he could move on, and just wait to see everyone again whenever the time came…](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m30p3liQPw1qzaoifo1_400.jpg)
[April 23, 2005]
Every week, when Sunday comes around, I always try my best to make it to church. I’ve been doing slightly better lately, but I’ve gotten into a habit of arriving quite late into the mass. This week, somehow, something in me was able to get up and muster the power to get there (almost) on time. Partway through, I had drifted off into my own world when something caught my ear from our priest…
…bless the souls of those who are no longer with us, including Carlos Calubayan…
Suddenly, it was as if the blurry world instantly snapped into focus and the realization dawned on me, it was the anniversary of Lolo’s passing. Since then, thoughts and memories have been buzzing in my mind intermittently throughout the days. Memories of his cooking, his gardening, his hugs and smelling kisses, and of course, his famous yellow bike. Though, along with these happy, somber memories also came the inevitable questions/wondering.
The biggest thing that’s been on my mind, is that I just hope that he’s proud of where I am today. Coming up so close to my graduation, I know that he’ll be there to see me, but part of me still wishes he could be there physically, to see me graduate. Then again, at the same time, if he was able to be there, I’m not sure I would necessarily be graduating in Graphic Design. The picture above, which I made for Lolo, of a quote from my then five year old cousin and the single surviving Tulip of the garden he was so proud of, is one of the main reasons I am where I am today. This was the first thing that I ever made that I was truly proud of and was one of the main reasons I became so interested in Graphic Design. And so, even though I didn’t pursue Graphic Design right away, this life changing day when he passed away, eventually led to the development of what is now one of my passions in life.
From the immensely dark storm cloud, seven years later, I’m reaching the edge of my silver lining with my imminent graduation, and I think Lolo would be happy to hear this. In particular, because of one last story that I’ll share from a blog post that I wrote in my LiveJournal, the day that he passed. But before that, I just want to say:
Lolo, seven years later and we still miss you dearly, but I know you’re watching us daily and you’re making sure all of our gardens are taken care of. Thank you for everything you taught me that I was unable to realize at the time, but now I can look back on and appreciate. Sandali nalang po hangaan makaka kita ulit tayo. Sige na po. Mahal ko po kayo…
…it seemed though, there may have been one person who knew it was coming. As strange as it may sound, Lolo himself may have had an idea. Listening to everyone talking today, it seemed he was acting a little out of character the past few days or weeks or something. The strangest thing to me, was something he apparently said yesterday. Apparently, while at the mall, he said something to the effect of ‘you have nothing to worry about anymore, all of our children are successful in America now’ it was as if he knew everything and everyone was alright, and he could move on, and just wait to see everyone again whenever the time came…
Previously: So Close I Can [Smell] It…
Previously: So Close I Can [Feel] It…
Prior to beginning to write this final installment in my coffee-themed road to graduation chronicle, I decided to go back and read the previous two entries, and I can’t believe that 8 months have passed since I decided to start this. Looking back at my journey so far, it was most definitely not a cakewalk.
This past quarter was most likely the roughest, with the most stressful finals, that I’ve had to endure along the way. Having four studio classes with no gen. ed. classes to act as a bit of a buffer, my plate was always more than full and it was not easy. I mentioned previously that I was going to need to take care not to burn myself and I must say, I definitely had some close calls throughout that quarter. Overall, my outlook on the results of my classes are pretty diverse.
There were two classes that I came out of with some pretty good work that I’m proud of and I’m currently developing further to become solid portfolio pieces.
One class that I had to work with a group for the first time ever to develop and design a project over the course of the quarter. For this class, I was happy with my personal results from my contributions to the project, but the project as a whole was a bit lackluster.
My last class was the one that gave me the most trouble, as it was my only early morning class (which I have not had to deal with for over a year, thus was out of practice). In the end, I came out with a few projects that I’m proud of in that one as well, although I was not necessarily proud of my contribution as a whole.
All in all, aside from a few potential portfolio pieces, the most valuable thing I gained from this past quarter was knowledge from a teacher I had never known before. He’s been around, though he teaches in a different field so I’d never had him for a class in the past. However, this quarter I had two classes from him and ended up learning a lot about logo designing and web design in particular (since he is primarily a web design teacher). Although we didn’t necessarily develop a close bond or anything like that, I developed enough of relationship with him that I could bring my portfolio to him and trust him to critique it honestly.
Still, although I’m so close to graduation, the one thing that’s been stressing me out the most over the past few weeks is that I need an internship to actually be able to finish out the quarter. Over the past few weeks, all I’ve seen are a few missed opportunities, but earlier today I got my first chance to actually land something that sounds fun and like something that would be a valuable opportunity. All I need now is to wait for my advisor to give it the thumbs-up and I’ll be ready to go.
So, I got through the quarter without any major injuries, I have a potential internship right before my grasp, and now here I am, settled down and ready to enjoy my drink. I took the first sip today and as expected, the beginning is still sweet, light, and fluffy. From here, the quarter is looking entirely manageable; it’s all a matter of taking control of it and not letting it control me (which I have been known to allow to happen in the past). As I continue to drink, I know things will quickly go from sweet and light, to bitter and maybe a bit harsh. The most important thing for me to remember is that I can’t let up on the work, this is the home stretch and I need to put in 100%.
Relax, take it one sip at a time, work hard.
This is will be my mantra for my final quarter. It’s all right in the palms of my hands; 6 years of hard work has led me to this, and I am not going to drop this spill everywhere. I will to do everything I can to see this through to the very last, bittersweet drop.
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One of the most rewarding lessons, I believe, that one could learn, is to realize and accept the consequences of their actions (whether good or bad) as a result of their own choices. The reason why this is on my mind at the moment is the fact that I am currently midway through my first all-nighter in quite some time. However, I’m not here to complain about it, I’ve already come to accept the fact that I only find myself in this situation as a result of my own choices, and there’s nothing else that I can do about it now. I had the opportunity to do more of my work earlier on, yet I chose to put it off (as so many of us usually do) in lieu of more interesting (and sometimes even less interesting) activities. Even the decision to pull an all-nighter in itself was my decision; it’s not even entirely necessary, I could finish my work with time to spare and sleep some, but I’m choosing to do this in order to set myself into a better position where I will be ahead on my work, rather than catching up or even right on task. In the long run, I’m hoping that this sacrifice will be beneficial.
I could try to place blame on teachers for placing due dates so close to each other, or my boss for making me attend a work meeting rather than allowing me to do my school work. But in reality, I know that I am the only one that put myself here now; having chosen to improperly utilize the rest of my free time in the days leading up to this. By understanding this one simple fact, it makes life a bit easier and a bit more enjoyable, because I don’t have an unreasonable resentment towards others whom I try to blame for my lack of sleep.
And so ends my ten minute break in an attempt to muster up some energy to help me power through the night. With Barney and the rest of the How I Met Your Mother gang keeping me company in the background, it’s time for me to dive back into this ocean of graphic design that I call my life.
Late sauce.
In the land that is lovingly referred to as Minnesnowta, we’ve seen an abnormally warm winter this year. Barely a trace of snow around Christmas, not a single snow emergency declared throughout the season, and now we’re hitting 60-70° days in March; I think a more fitting term for us this year is actually Min-no-snow-ta. But I’m not really complaining, as much as I adapt to enjoy the cold weather when it comes every year, the arrival of spring is always a warm welcome, and today was most definitely one of those days.
Having missed yesterday’s 60° and sunny day because I was trapped inside all day due to work, I had to make sure that I would take advantage of today’s warm weather. Even though the sun wasn’t as prominent, the warmth still made for a great day. Since my fellow bro Erick also missed yesterday, we decided to adventure out to a key Saint Paul area spot, Grand Avenue.
It started off at the local Tea Garden for bubble tea with cousin Johnny, which consisted of discussions of a levitating Rob Schneider, the ideal Treat Yo’ Self Day, and drinks that mysteriously tasted like panties. After we parted ways with cousin Johnny, Erick and I took to the road, cruisin’ down Grand, windows down, without a care in the world except for what to eat. We finally parked and started walking when spontaneity kicked in; as we walked by a busy outdoor bar, we decided to stop in and take a couple day shots. A couple Washington Apples hit the spot, warming our bellies, and we were off again only to be interrupted a few steps later when we heard our names coming from across the street. Low and behold it’s a friend of ours that we haven’t seen in quite some time; playing an eleven-string guitar (it was actually a twelve-string but I noticed one missing), jammin’ out, he was just spending the day outside enjoying life with some friends. We spent the next 10-15 minutes talking, the conversation interwoven with stories reminiscing of the past along with his tales of his adventure travelling around the country. We split from him to continue our journey to find food only to get it cut short by time constraints due to a work meeting I had to attend. Still, after a great day like today, I did not let that kill my mood.
Today was the first day after daylight savings and I’d say we most definitely seized that extra hour of sunlight and made it our own. If this winter is any indication of what the rest of 2012 will bring, I’d say it looks like we’re in for a Grand Old Year.
Late sauce.
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Type That I Like - Poster Giveaway
I’m giving away the classic Keep Calm and Carry On poster to 2 lucky followers. (60cm x 91.5cm)
Rules:
1 - Must be following Type That I Like.
2 - Must reblog this post.
The 2 people will be selected at random from the notes of this post and will be contacted if chosen!
The competition ends on Monday the 12th March at 9am. (GMT + 0:00)
Good Luck!
- Rob