Happy Valentine's Day

The message: This shouldn't be the only day one does something special for someone else.

If you're feeling down...

Feeling pretty bummed right now...but then I saw this and got a good laugh. Temp solution.

A New Year

2011 over. 2012 now.

I tried reflecting the other night about 2011 and this is what I came up with:

Domestic Trips all over the East Coast
Got really fit, but stopped the last 3 months of the year
Settled into NY. Built a strong network of friends
Work + Promotion
Tons of fun, but don't remember half
AY

To sum it up, 2011 was the year of play. I really played hard. Was it hard enough?

So now 2012. This year is full of uncertainty. Big decisions. Important events. What will it all come down to? Where will I end up? What's going to happen? Big year ahead; gotta focus, stay positive, and rock it!

Check out this site about resolutions for 20-somethings.

Hear Ye

This is the email I wrote to my team:

As some of you may already know, but for those that don't know, Will T has been volunteering with Citizen Schools (once every Wednesday for the past 10 weeks). It was a great opportunity for me to get back into the classroom. I taught my 6th/7th grade students about Food Blogging. Most days, my team and I brought in food samples for the kids to taste and blog about them (Shout out to free Google food...hollaaa). We even planned a field trip to Amin Indian Restaurant (yes I know, it's only 2.5 stars on Yelp...). In the end, many of the students created blogs (posts, pictures, videos) and learned to express their valued opinion about food. To top it off; Zagat's Marketing Director visited on the last day and spoke about blogs and food!

Here is a list of the blogs, check them out! Free feel to comment (a comment can go a long way)!

http://kellybee16.blogspot.com/
http://foodwarsthetrilogy.blogspot.com/
http://fluffypandatail.blogspot.com/
http://thefoodemaster.blogspot.com/
http://sweettoothblogger.blogspot.com/
http://tengohambre11.blogspot.com/
http://madisonsilvers.blogspot.com/
http://foodlifeloveblog.blogspot.com/
http://fastfood-blogman.blogspot.com/
http://allaboutmeshy2fly.blogspot.com/
http://monsterfoodbizarre.blogspot.com/

Also, watch the Citizen School video, featuring yours truly! Google Citizen Schools Video Yes, you have my permission to bookmark the video if you'd like...

Last thing, Google just donated $3.25 million dollars to Citizen Schools. I didn't get any of that, but it's good to know Google is doing its part to close the achievement gap.

Happy Holidays to all! Have a great week.

Updates to come...

I've been so bad...I haven't blogged in a month and I tell my students to blog! Sorry all!!

I'm currently waiting at the Gap and writing this blog. Just saw mission impossible 4 and it was pretty darn good. Cruise still got it. Fun to watch; some really creative scenes...

Tonight I'm cooking Christmas dinner for a couple friends. Recently I really got into cooking. I'm not good at it, but it's fun. I think it's a great skill to have and practice. The other day, I made gelato some scratch (gelato making class) and made a couple omelets in the morning. Tonight, I'm probably going to make a soup, spam masubi, a korean main dish, and gelato and dessert wine for dessert time. I will post more about this....

Alright time to get going. More to come!!

Pictures

A couple phone pictures

Black Funday

Feels good to be home with family and friends. It's definitely a feeling that I don't take for granted. Doesn't happen too often so when I get this feeling, I really appreciate it. Nowadays it's so hard to get everyone under one roof. Sometimes, this can take months and years. Feels good to be in LA.

This morning was something special to me. It was the first time in a long time where I had my 4 closest friends sitting around a dim sum table. The last time that happened, I don't even remember; it's been that long. It was something great. Felt like a breakfast of kings. After all, it was on the top floor of a restaurant.

Now to Black Fridays. This year, I did not even attempt to buy anything during Black Friday. I remember my senior year of high school was the hardest I went for Black Friday. Since then, each year, Black Friday got less cool. Logically, it stopped making sense to me. DVD, blu-rays, electronics all became less appealing to me.

Instead, I now deem Black Fridays as my Black Fundays. Each year, I will make this a day of friends day. Thanksgiving is time spent with family. The Friday after Thanksgiving is my day to sit with my brothers and sisters from another mother and fathers. It is the day to appreciate time with friends. Hopefully, I can remember this next year wherever I am. Here's to Black Fundays, y'll!

I still read this article...

http://gizmodo.com/5710654/how-to-fly-35000-miles-visit-4-continents-9-countries-and-15-cities-for-418

then I came across this: http://www.travelzoo.com/ap/-3667-Fly-Around-the-World-w-16-Flights-to-750-Cities-1134571/?utm_source=top20_ap&utm_medium=email

I'm trying to plan a vacation but it's so hard! I honestly want to outsource this.

Mark my words, the summer before bschool, I'm gonna quit my job and do some serious traveling.

Always Give Back

Always remember your roots, as well.

I started to host informational interviews to the current TFA corps member that are trying to transition into corporate america. A part of me really wants to tell them to stay in teaching...but then I would be a hypocrite. But I guess those that have TFA under their belt will do good in the long run regardless of where they go. I mean, how can one experience TFA and do nothing to close the achievement gap? I don't think these types of people exist. If they do, I would like to meet them and whoop that @$$.

It feels really weird to be on the other side of these informational interviews. I remember I always told myself that if I ever got a good job, I would help others. When I went through the application and interview process back in Sept 2009 to Feb 2010, I was struggling. Day in and day out, I was looking for help and practicing my interview skills with Josh at Starbucks. The good ol' days...

Lesson here...remember where you came from and give back. It's a good lesson.

It's okay to say Cheers!

Many times, we simply don't celebrate. Most of my friends are successful and I almost feel we all take our success for granted. We tend to remember the negatives and forget about the positives. Let me be the first to tell you that I learned an important lesson as of late. The lesson is simple. Actually, it's only one word. "Celebrate". Celebrate, my family and friends.

Thanks to all those that celebrated with me. Money is just money, but the memories are worth it. I can't wait until I go home for Thanksgiving to celebrate with my inner circle.

Cheers!

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On a side note, here are some pictures of my field trip to try indian food with my class: https://picasaweb.google.com/115560502152860583538/FoodieBlogging?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGy8cup0rqddg