My New Year's Resolution

A month has gone by and so much has taken place. Shortly after my last post I felt the wrath of an unhealthy diet. Now I know my diet isn't the most impressive stat on my list of qualities, but other than gaining a few pounds every year, who could have known that I was causing havoc on my gallbladder. Early in 2008 I had to go to the emergency room for what I thought, scratch that, for what doctors thought was only gastritis. They told me to start taking prilosec, and to watch what I eat. So I Did. Well in late November it was confirmed, after a trip to the emergency room again due to a extremely painful attack, I had gall stones and that my gallbladder needed to be removed. It was exactly how I wanted to start off my holiday season!(sense the sarcasm?) I was in the hospital for three painful days before they could actually do surgery and had to miss my last week of my senior year at UTSA.

Scared out of my mind as to how my professors were going to react to me not being in class, I couldn't help but wonder if they were going to give me an incomplete or if I was going to be excused for this unfortunate incident. Fortunately, I had already presented strategic report for one of my classes, but I had to miss my capstone class' presentation. My group members were very supportive and let me know I had nothing to worry about. Between surgery and me actually being able to walk around comfortably I had a week to turn in my final papers, which I did in the nine days allotted. Six days later I was crossing the stage that I had been pursuing for the past 10 years.

Two years ago I set a New Year's Resolution to stop working and go back to school and earn the degree that I should have had four years prior. I accomplished that goal on December 20th. Now it is time to set another goal, to make a new resolution, another step in making me a better person. Except this time it is not just going to be one goal, there are plenty of things I can do to better my life, starting with my health. If I don't start taking good care of my self now, I may not be around tomorrow to accomplish my other goals. This year I will run at least a half-marathon, in addition to losing at least 40lbs. I will also increase productivity in my profession, I plan to publish at least 72 posts on Life as an E.G.G. this year. I'll make sure they are interesting and cover current events & trends.

These are just a few of my upcoming resolutions...what are some of yours? What can you do to make 2009 a great year for yourself and others? Let me know...

Birds are Singing.....

Well a lot has happened since I last posted to my blog. I have met some wonderful people, all who have influenced my life in one way or another. I left Friday, October 28, for Detroit to attend the Public Relations Student Society of America National Conference with three other members from the Steven R. Levitt Chapter. We arrived late in the afternoon to find Detroit a bit chillier than San Antonio, and not as sunny either. I had never believed climate could affect a person's mood towards life, but in this case it really did. I found myself excited to be in Detroit for such an opportunistic conference, but at the same time the weather was so gloomy that it kinda put a damper on things. Weather wasn't the only thing that went wrong, I realized once we arrived at the hotel room that I left my notebook and assignment folder behind on the plane. So the campaign I had been planning for a week already, was lost not to be found, meaning I would have to start from scratch.

Not all was bad in Detroit. I did meet a wonderful new friend in person, one who I met on Twitter, a fairly new social networking Website which I encourage all of you to join and start meeting people. Her name was Shannon Paul, or @shannonpaul for the twitter community, the Creative Content Coordinator for the Detroit Red Wings and social media aficionado. Shannon scored two tickets to the Red Wings game on Friday night for me, which was awesome of her, and I was able to witness my first professional hockey game and take a glimpse of what she does on a daily basis.

Social Media is taking the world by storm, it is all every guest speaker at the conference talked about and everything many of the PRSSA chapters who attended conference are training their members to be a part of. It is the newest way to stay in touch with the latest trends while taking part in those same trends in your daily life. Many of this is thanks to the newest technology in mobile devices, always giving you the ability to stay on top of everything at once. It is one of the best ways to meet new people with common interests and a great way to get others opinions on subjects that matter to you. Many people use it for marketing, some use it just to report their daily life. Twitter describes itself as a micro-blog...a way to give insight to your daily life in just 140 characters.

When I joined twitter it was maily to find reporters, and see what they were talking about, a way to get an inside edge at what my analysts at Frost & Sullivan should be researching, and to see if they had any insight to give to these reporters that may in turn create mentions in multiple publications. Now, I have met so many other twitterers(?) with like interests and started "following" so many others that I think may help me in the future outside of F&S. One of the biggest parts of public relations is to research, and what better way to research than to build relationships with others who may have experienced before what you are going through now.

With all of this being said go now and network, it is the key to your future and the answer that you are looking for. Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or another social media Website; go out and meet people, read their blogs, and most of all learn from those who have already been in the field.

Life is good my friends...

With all the problems in the world today, you would think that I would be worried. I'll be graduating soon. Am I going to find a job? The economy is jacked. If I find a job, am I going to be able to support myself? No loans. Am I ever going to own a house or get rid of that old blue truck I've been driving for 11 yrs? Which by the way is on its last legs, errr tires.

When I picture myself crossing that stage on, December 20, 2008 in UTSA's Convocation Center, all of those worries go away. Because I know that I have finally, after 10 long years, given myself the opportunity to compete in a job market that interests me. No more working like a manager, yet getting paid like a part-time employee. I will actually be putting my brain to work toward something that matters. I will be making a difference in people's lives, and I will have time to spend with the people that matter to me. Although, how much do we actually control?

We vote, and we hope that our leaders make the right choices (I stress, VOTE!). Although, they are only human like you and I, and being we each carry different veiws of life. The decision they make is not always going to be to each of our likings. As long as I can trust that our leader did take all of our lives in to account before making that decision, I will be able to sleep at night. Which, may not be a delight to some people with my recent unconcious noise disturbances... We cannot live our lives stressing on this matter though, because it does get to a point where it is out of our hands.

So, I encourage each of you to live your life to the fullest, smile, and take care of the ones you love. Life is too short to have to worry about all of the changes our world is incurring. Take some time to be a responsible human being, make it a part of your life. You will be surprised by the influence you will have on others to do the same. If we all make a positive influence on our friends and family it is sure to spread, and the world will be a better place. It worked on me, and I plan to continue living my happy life for a long while.