Blog #3 - Generative Research

I can't live without:

Goals: Without a direction to head in I often feel lost. If I am not working towards something I feel like I am just spinning my wheels and adding nothing to myself.

Occasional Solitude: I consider myself a people person but to be honest it makes me weary sometimes. Even though it's only once in a blue moon I will eventually reach a day where I will leave my cell phone at home and have a "me" day.

People: I love people. To me, more friends equals more fun. Despite what I said earlier I will always choose to hang out with people over just myself 99% of the time. 

Sun: Ah, the sun! Give me sun! I moved from New Jersey to Texas to enjoy the sun! If I ever miss snow or rain I will just google image search them.

I care about:

Balance: I'm a grad student with a lot on his plate. If I didn't make sure I made time to do work and play (not all the time but occasionally) I would might go mad. I respect my workload but know that I need some time to kick back and cut loose to give myself some time.

Running: Running brings me solace. Ever since I started running I felt like my life has gotten more in order. The weight loss that comes with it also helps.

Success: If is something that is not going to help me succeed in anything I won't do it. I strongly dislike anything that doesn't help me in any way even if I try to look at it from different angles.

Digital Ecosystem

National Newspapers Online: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times were staples when I lived in New Jersey. I have always been a huge fan of newspapers and the ability to read them while being environmentally friendly is a huge bonus. The art of writing a newspaper article is easy to appreciate. Also, these sites have more info than hardcopies of the same paper due. There is always an endless supply of information and news available at my fingertips.

Twitter/Facebook: My background is in journalism. Through four years of college I was lucky enough to make a lot of friends in the business and if there is one thing I can trust it's that when they post an article online it is definitely worth a read. My friends are likely to have similar interests as me being of same age and place of origin so keeping tabs on what they are sharing usually keeps me up to date on relevant information to home. I will also follow their post back to the source Facebook page or twitter handle so I too can keep in the loop.

Blogs & Forums: I frequent Reddit a lot. It's easy to stay up to date following the proper subreddit. While I won't find every article interesting, I will find many that are worth reading for sheer entertainment value.  It's also easy to break down what kind of news I want whether it be international news, entertainment, or science.

Typical Weekday

Peaceful Wake-Up: After a couple dozen snooze button strikes I wake up to the most calming part of my day, 6:45 am. While I get ready for the day I usually turn the tv on and absorb whatever news is being presented at that time. I'll switch between multiple news channels ranging from BBC to KXAN. I have no preference, I mostly do it for the background noise but find myself learning information as well sometimes as I make my breakfast.

Walk/Work Shuffle: As I switch between home, work, and class multiple times for the first half of my day I take some time to go online and read whatever pleases me or do homework if I have any. These days it is mostly the latter. When I actually am performing the former I look at movies, entertainment and national news but when it's a work day I gather work and professional related information. This stops when I am in class of course because I am actively listening and taking notes but will gather events and work related information from my professor.

Home Time: After a long day out I usually go for a run to get away from it all. Unfortunately, every run has led me back to my house so I usually give in and decide to make dinner instead. While I cook I have cooking shows on. I learn as I cook and the music on Chopped makes any dinner you are making seem incredible. Once dinner is out of the way I get my last look at the outside with a game of intramural flag football. Afterwards I prepare for my night of learning, working, and occasional procrastinating as I plan out my days ahead and see if anything I picked up on earlier has evolved in any way.