Taking 26th dose today!

I think I missed a dose the other night. I must have knocked out. Anyways, I'm taking my 26th dose today and I think my skin has become a lot smoother as so my brother says. And for teph's comment, I'd post some pictures soon, but I'm a little lazy here.

Last night I went out and I had 3 beers, a 5 hour energy shot, and a shot of Jamison.
(however you spell it) This probably wasn't the best idea, but it was too tempting, not to drink a few. I don't think I binged though, so I hope its ok.

Anyways, I gotta run. I got a couple projects due here and there, a couple of papers, tests, interviews, cover letters, research. It never stops!

Quickie!

So for Monday, which was 38 minutes ago, I ate my 22nd dose of Accutane. So far, I think everything has been manageable.

I scored an interview with Fox 5. The only downside is that it's an unpaid spring internship and who knows what to expect. All I know is that I have 6 classes left. 3 Finance course, 1 BPL, a capstone for Comm, and another elective. Pretty Jam packed. Let's see how things go.

Time to Re-focus....

Note to self: I just took my 18th pill at around 12:00 A.M. on Thursday October 30th. By the time I submit this, it's probably Friday already.

Ok, with that being pushed out of the way, lets start with some things I have to do for next week. I still have 3 midterms next week. Can you believe that?!?! Better yet, I have to write two cover letters for two company's by tomorrow morning. I have been putting it off since Wed night, which was when I took my last final. I really have to just step up to the plate and take action.

One couselor told me to practice what I preach. - What this meant was that I am usually the one to give advice on possibly doing the right thing, staying focused and all that good stuff, but lately... I've been so overwhelmed with the amount of work that I have all the time, that when I do have time, I end up wasting it, by catching up on episodes of heroes, smallville, entourage. Those are my shows... and now even worse is that NBA season started. So... it's really a tough gamble all the time. Look at it this way, the time I'm spending writing this blog, I could be taking care of the two cover letters.

However, before I go, I wanted to share another experience that had occured which was a short conversation with an intellectual professor who I believe has become very successful in his career to be percieved as a hot commodity. What he asked was a simple question, but I still have trouble answering it and it's simply "what do you want to do?" And... so I got to thinking again and again throughout the ride home and in the shower and even now. Sometimes, I even have the urge to put the blame on the lack fo guidance and how I never really had a father-figure to guide me towards a path, yet it only makes my struggles harder fought. I also had met with an internship coordinator recently and she was the one who gave the preach stuff above, but she also told me clear cut and was brutally honest with me. That's what I need more. I need people like her to really shut me down so I can learn from it over and over again, every single time.

I think this is enough. I need some rest. Time to research fox 5 real quick and then going to write my cover letter by tomorrow.

Just took my 13th pill

I'm currently writing at 1:37 A.M. and it just rolled over to October 26th. Supposibly, the pill I just took is for Saturday the 25th. I'm confused at this point if I'm OD'n. I hope not.

So here's the progress... I'm still breaking out like a bitch and I don't know when its gonna be better. I'm now eating omega-3 pills to lower my fat in the blood. I'm just an unhealthy kid. Tomorrow, I'm going to the library early morning to get a lot of shit done. I just have to...

So again, i just took my 13th pill meant for the 25th. Tomorrow, I plan to take my 14th pill.

Anyways, off to finish this options trading webinar and then off to bed.

Speak to you all soon.

Dose #11

Here I am writing on my 11th dose of Accutane and boi my lips are freaking dry. Real dry to the point, I feel it's swollen lol. Anyways, my eyes are also very tired and a small irritation, but it's tolerable. I don't see much change on my face, however some girl told me today that she sees it getting better, but I can't take her word for it because I havent' seen her in months before today, so I have no idea what she's tlaking about.

On another note, I can see that I am starting to have those little outrages as they had predicted happens. But this might even be normal, but just a little enhanced. I get a bit of road rage as I'm driving in NY. Taxi Cabs really piss me off for the most part because they really do cause accidents. But anyways, besides that I also lost one of my chapsticks in the car. I had no idea where it was and literally, I was going crazy for it because my lips were so freaking dry, it was unbelieveable.

Tomorrow, I'm off to go find a good moisterizer, I've been using aveeno, but I'm not sure if it's good cuz it's like oatmeal. WHo knwos if it's good, most online websites that talk about accutane speaks about other type of products for it, so I might just go ahead and do the norm. Anyways, off to bed cuz I got work tmrw.

L8ter!

I just finished my first 10 pack!

So it's been 10 doses of Accutane and here's what has happened thus far, my skin gets really dry after I shower in the morning and at night. I've been putting Aveeno daily moisturizer immediately after it drys so that way, it will last for 24 hours or so. I've also have experienced my lips becoming extremely dry even with chapstick on, it's pretty crazy. I guess its time to step up the type of lip balm. On another note, I believe this drug has been makign me feel a lil bit lazy. I wake up later than I usually do and I tend to sleep an extra hour or two more.

My pimples have been coming out though. It seems as if there little to no improvement, but it has only been 10 days. In the beginning it seemed to be n a great path for success, however, the lil shits have been coming out of my face, damn pus, left and right. Pretty sick shit, but this is how it's real. I'm telling it how it is because in the event I go jeckyl and hyde on you guys, then you know my every move.

Anyways, off to bed. I got work tomorrow and hopefully within the next week, things will improve. Or else, I'll be pissed. The weekend is near, and another test arises. A halloween party to attend to on Saturday, and a whole shit load of people telling me to drink on Friday. Wonderful ain't it?

I guess it's been an entire weekend....

This past weekend was a huge test for me...no alcohol was definitely an obstacle when it was my friend's birthday and we all went out to club duvet. The place was nuts, it was a great time. The people that I was with was pounding down goose like there was no tomorrow, while I was sipping on my cranberry juice the entire night. What I did take before entering the club for the first time was that 6 hour power shot from the grocery store and surprisingly enough, it deep keep me up. I wonder if I'm allowed to take that type of stuff while on Sotret.

Anyways, moving along with my progress... there would some days where I would wake up and look at myself in the mirror and say, wow this stuff is strong and it might even be working. My skin is completely dried up to the point where the surfaced pimples are becoming scabs. But then, there would be one day where I wake up and there's all of a sudden 3 new pimples, bright and red!

Currently, my face is extremely dry. My lips are drenched in chapstick every couple of minutes. If I don't apply it, I'm pretty sure I won't like the feeling. What keeps me going, is the hope that everything will turn out for the better and hopefully the rule that applys here is "No Pain, Go Gain"

P.S. This drug is also making me sleep more. It's making me ignore my alarm clock and I often become late.

What a start of my day...

Man, I woke up this morning with a stunning headache. It was another night of no sleep. I was tossing and turning and on top of everything, there was construction workers outside my window until 3:00 in the morning.

As far as the side effects for today, I don't think there was much of any except the fact that I did really have some mind-boggling headaches and my small little road rage after work heading into the city. I ended up in a small fender bender, argued with a taxi driver that I hit at 2mph, but literally it was his fault for swerving in when it was clearly slowing to a red light. So not cool.

After the fender bender, I went straight to the library to study for a quiz on three chapters for 2 straight hours, yet it turns out there was no quiz. I ended up cramming hardcore for some business communication textbook which, in my opinion is just a whole bunch of common sense. I'm telling you, I will be able to eventually write books the way I write and no teacher will be able to judge my writing... if that even made any sense.

Well... off to bed and then to work tomorrow. Got a heavy load weekend and it will be the first test to NOT DRINK while on Sotret. Wish me luck!

2nd Day - 10/16/08

A lot went on today, so let's hop right to it.

First off, I woke up in the middle of the night at around 4:30A.M, and I hope it was because I needed to piss real badly after pounding 3 bottles of water at 1:00A.M the night before. After that, my alarm went off at the usual time for Wed. morning and I went back to sleep until 9:30 and once I looked at my clock, I forced myself to get up because I like to be up when the stock market opens.

I woke up with some aches, but I think this was due to working out yesterday. My lips were dry of course because of Sotret. So I went on my day and went to school. Classes, classes, and classes, except it felt as if everyone was on edge to leave class more than ever because we were in the same class the day before. My first class, my teacher showed up late 20 minutes, but half the class and I were not there to witness it. We showed no pity and decided to flee after the 15 minute rule. (I think this is a rule)

Towards the end of my day, at around 6-9P.M., I started to feel the burn on my face. My eyes burning as if they wanted to just close. This could of been lack of sleep, or it could of been the drug. I started to feel a small sharp pain in my lower right area under the chest, normally where the liver is, but at this point I do hope it isn't the liver and the drug that might be doing something to it.

But as I left school, I was feeling exhausted and wanted to just go home and sleep. However, this is not possible for me. I have work tomorrow at 10:00A.M. and I needed to study for a quiz tomorrow on 3 chapters. On top of that, I needed to eat dinner, watch some of the analysis on the presidential debate that just took place, so I wouldn't be clueless tomorrow and finally get ready for bed. To end off, I have to study and it's 12:30. My goal is to study till 1:30 and get 7 hours of sleep. Let's see how that works out tonight.

Let's give Sotret a shot!

For those of you that don't know what Sotret is, it is a generic form of Accutane. A drug that would treat acne. I think my acne got worse after using Proactive religiously and I'm going to use this blog that I haven't wrote in a long time to express my daily thoughts on the drug and any side effects that may occur.

I started my first dose on Monday, 10/13/08. It's 40mg Sotret and immediately, what I felt was drying of the lips while going to sleep. After explaining this to several friends, they believe it's because I read so much that I would be having dry lips, and dry skin. I went to sleep that night a bit paranoid.

The next day, I felt fine. I even went to the gym and when I came home, I ate dinner at 11:30P.M and took my dose of Sotret 40mg. It's 1:38A.M. as I write this and I feel the dry lips and thirstyness of minor cottonmouth, from my early experimental days with mary jane.

I end this post with, I hope this works out for the better with little to no damage to the liver as I am extremely afriad for my liver each day because of my family history.

I will try my best to post everyday because of all of the probably side effects of psychosis, depression, and suicide that scares the shit out of me everyday. I try my best not to think of it.

Tomorrow is the end of one thing, and the start of another...

Tomorrow is my last day at the law firm. Since I had started in November '07, I had taken a pay cut and a lower job status as an administrative assistant. Pretty much, this was strictly filing. However, I quickly knew exactly what I had to do, which was do it right and make sure it was done quick and the best. I immediately showcased my potential and after a few weeks, I had upgraded my responsibilities and duties.

Two months later, I began working with the firm's bookkeeper, where I had the chance to upgrade responsibilities and completely rid of filing duties. Someone was hired to replace my mainline of administrative duties as I made the transition to become a bookkeeper assistant. I had achieved the level of credibility that I expected prior to joining the firm, proving to myself as well as the firm.

It's been 7 months, with the compliments of two promotions, it was yet again, time to move on. It was most definitely appreciated of the changing attitudes of my supervisors as I had grew on with the firm. I learned many useful skills that I will carry on with me to become the ultimate worker/entrepreneur.

**Thank you GHSK for giving me the opportunity to share my work ethics while assisting in the operations of your firm.**

My new path is set to begin on Monday as I will be working for Prudential Financial (if all goes well with the screening process), as I was accepted into their Summer Agency Marketing Associate Program. I look forward to it, while gaining valuable experience towards out on the field, within the financial services industry. It was definitely not what I had planned for this summer, at the time I had decided to transfer (wanted to land an internship position with any top 5 investment banks), but this will have to do for now.

My name is Raymond Mo and I will make it!

When do you know you're a bum?

When do you know you're a bum?

You know when you're a bum
when you wake up past 11:00A.M.

You know when you're a bum
when you watch TV for the first couple hours
the minute you wake up

You know when you're a bum
when you keep looking at the beautiful weather
and not do a damn thing to get ready

You know when you're a bum
when you write a poem like this
wasting valuable time to do something else

You know when you're a bum
when you leave house thinking, man why did it take so long?

You know when you're a bum
when you keep wondering, what to do next
And finally, you know when you're a bum
when you sit on the computer for hours
looking for things to do,
looking for ways to kill time while at home.

Fuck it, I'm leaving now!

To Prof. K

Today's class was the best. It topped every single class we had had prior to today and the majority were great. Prof K., many may see this as sucking up, but quite honestly I feel like you can't get enough compliments of how your class in one way or more, changed my views here and there.

I'm more aware of why things happen and how, in terms of management. I learned a great deal about myself, growing through outside ventures and even in class activities. The activities were great, the text was boring, but you made it interesting with your style of teaching. I actually prefer that type of teaching, where you post a slide and you explain it. Only one minor suggestion, but I'm sure you're the pro at it, but I prefer slides with less words, as most websites prefer as well.

All in all, Prof K, today's concluding class, I really needed it. In the beginning, although it was part of the class lesson, I felt like that entire presentation was geared towards me and my idea. I can't seem to let go of my idea and I feel like I will always have to prove myself to everyone that I have told about this new business venture. And the best way is to actually just go ahead and do it. I feel like, if it isn't me, then no one else will lead my idea to reality.... Then onto the poem slam; It was just awesome. I was laughing, amazed, and had wished I had set more time to write the poem to make a funny one because I'm pretty creative myself, but I ended up writing poems similar to the boring and serious poems that I've been reading all semester in ENG 2150.

Anyways, to end this quick - Had a blast in your class! You're the first class in Baruch I would actually recommend others to come take. Thanks a lot and definitely keep in touch!

My thoughts on the entire process...

So, we finally hit the end of the semester and I write this a little bit late of deadline I admit Prof. K
First off, I thought the blog assignment was great at first. I know, I know, the but part is coming up. At first, I was excited to start writing in an online journal because basically a blog is just that. It's a place where you can share your thoughts as opposed to a private journal/diary if your a chick.
So in the beginning, I thought it would be a great way to reflect on what I've been up to at school and ways I can make it better by figuring out what was exactly wrong. Although, writing in the blog was not a long task, it was the ability to make it a habit. It is in fact, a change of itself.

So long story short, it's a great assignment. I see the point of putting a blog assignment up to have students track their progress at least a little of what they are learning in your class, but in your class, quite honestly, you don't need to. You have the idea of experiences outweighing the texts, but to conclude... my suggestions for future classes is to make the blog assignment a requirement, except that it should be written in at least once a week as well as must comment on a random NEW classmate's blog entry. Each week, there should be a new topic up, or a new quote, or a question, or even a free entry blog assignment like how those English classes back in elementary used to spark my creativity at least.

You stress creativity, so why not create a larger incentive by choosing a topic of choice each week, while also forcing others to comment other classmates by actually reading their blog entry for the week, and it would help engage everyone towards each other's blogs on their self interest thereafter. I believe this would help spark more creative thoughts because it gives you a little bit of everyone, just how they always say you need to know a little bit about everything.

My piece of art!

Oh crap, I'm late!
Why did I ever stay up to watch that playoff game?
Why did I wait till the last minute to do my project?
Why did I?

Oh crap, I'm late!
I have to be at work in an hour! I need to study!
I'm gonna fail this test tomorrow.
So little time, so much to do...

Oh crap, I'm late!
Maybe I should get started on things earlier next time.
Maybe I should write out my course of action.

But in the end,
In order to be most effective,
Its time we realize that it never ends.
Approach everything in life and say "Fu*K it, Just Do it!"
Maybe once, I won't be late!

My first year at Baruch.... the many frustrations!

This is a recap of how much I have been annoyed and frustrated by this school's system.

First, I transferred losing 18 credits
- It took weeks and weeks before I was able to actually have a schedule I can say it was fixed.
- I was told to go here and there to get this and that
Second, registering for this past spring '08 was a pain!
- I had to take some courses that I had already taken at SBU
- ENGLISH lvl 2 AGAIN?!?!
- Only class I enjoy this sem. is MGMT (sucking up lol) but really, it's true

Now I'm trying to register for classes for Fall '08 and my registration date was this past Monday.
How many classes did I register for that actually went towards graduation requirements??
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

All classes are full!!! This school, as of now is basically making me take a semester off by default.

The classes that I'm signed up for in the fall is "Intro to Acting" lol, and ACC2203. I don't even know anymore what to do. I'm gonna get the worst teachers, hurt my gpa, but graduate on time, or I can take 5 bullshit classes each semester until everything clears up and I will be finally able to register classes on time.

BULLSHIT, SO DAMN FRUSTRATED!!!

An awesome inspirational video!!

Maybe It's My Fault - Jumpman23.com

This is a YouTube video. I'm going to try and make it viewable straight on my page.

I just realized, there's 2 weeks of school left!

You wouldn't begin to believe how much is going through my mind these past couple of days. As I write this entry, it's the unofficial celebration of April 20th. Although I won't mention its significance, I will mention that it's been a long weekend for me. So read on because I'm sure you'll find it quite interesting and raw.

On Fri. I decided to immediately head back home and start packing for a semi-relaxing weekend at Stony Brook University. Those who just tuned in, I x-fered from here and some of my friends here are considered my second family. I met with my partner to discuss our business idea and we held an informal meeting with some friends to convince them that the business was a great idea. It ended at 1:30A.M and we were extremely hyped because we actually convinced a very narrow-minded individual to side with us. Friday ended after I drank a couple of beers or two to put me to sleep.

On Saturday, my partner and I knew it was definitely time to put in some hard work to revise the business plan due to a recent upset of a competition. We worked on it for a couple of hours, until we needed a short break. The break ended up taking the rest of the night. My partner went to go do his thing for leisure and I decided to play some basketball, which I haven't played in a year for being such a "serious" kid at Baruch and because I was taking 18 credits last semester. SBU is my escape. Throughout the entire night, I would always be reminded of the big task at hand, which is really starting this business idea and really sticking with it.

It's 4/20 and I don't partake in the festivities, but I chaperoned with a group of friends to the nearby beach. It was a little nippy, but fairly sunny as well. Looking out into the ocean was extremely peaceful. As an Pices, thinking is in my blood. I started to think about my "I" personality, my life, what I'm doing is crazy, my motives for the next couple of months, what I need to do in the next couple of weeks, my spring break won't be a break!

It all comes down to two things. Is this what my Dad would have wanted me to do? and Will I be able to reach my goal in order to really spend some great times with my mom while she relaxes... Yes, I admit, I can't guarantee a success on what I'm planning to do. For example, I'm trying to take out a 100k loan. If the business fails, I'll be in deeper and in an even worse situation that I would be. Ever since my father had passed away, I haven't really been able to express true happiness. I've always been trying my hardest to take burdens off my mother so that she can relax. As little as I express it, I am incredibly proud of her efforts through my dad's passing and putting us through college.

Ok, you can stop now if you want to because now I'm just expressing my feelings.

I'm really scared at this point, but I feel like I am ready to try something new. Ever since I started working, I have been working on my resume to make it better each and every time, until I took a job with a law firm due to the lack of positions available granted for a x-fer student with very little leisure time. Starting up this business, feels as if this is my next big step. No matter what the outcome of the business is, I will have grown tremendously and better prepped for the real world than any undergraduate would be. This would in fact help boost my confidence and my credentials competitive with my peers. My family does not have many connects, yet I plan to change that with my generation and hopefully keep the Mo legacy going.

To wrap things up, this spring break is no joke for me. I must use every single time wisely to work on my business plan, work, and study. I would love to do great in these subjects with ease, but I think I have come to realization that my efforts towards studying are not A+ standard and I am ok with that.

To sum up, I'm an emotional guy for those who really decide to meet me. I can be a bit annoying and a downer at times, but I'm looking to change that hopefully. All I want to do is to live with my friends and family and have the luxuries of spending as I please to accommodate good people.

Yeah, whatever...

I'm a high I and secondary D

Whatever that means, the test was definitely accurate. Each day as I'm maturing, I'm noticing more and more about my likes and dislikes. Things that I'm naturally good at. This test allowed me to be aware of some of my qualities. I believe it was on point with the idea that I'm the type of person who likes to get the overall concensus of a group's approval instead of an argument.

Here's what I think about my test results. Since my secondary characteristic is D, I do see it come out often time when I don't want it to. I do understand it may be hard to work with these individuals, but I also feel as if you need to be firm in business in order to get things completed. All I want to do is bring th best out of people because I'm basically all morals and ethics. I just want to make it and hopefully give back in every possible way. Enough of that... I don't wish I was another type, but I also don't doubt the fact that I am a little bit of each type. I feel as if I'm creative, a perfectionist, etc.

You may decide to look at this test at many angles. The best thing you can do with this test is to understand what your best qualities are. From there, what you want to do is to find out how you can ultimately become a better person to work with and a better leader. I find the material given in this class is trying it's hardest to create a real life experience with real life case studies. The best thing someone have obtain is experience.

All in all, this test was great. I was shocked that a paper test can actually figure out what I'm 90% all about. It's crazy, but now it's time work with whats' given and make the best of ones attributes.

I have to find my star!

After watching the short video from last week on Vision, I felt motivated to continue my path of becoming successful. My thought on the vision video was that it was quite cheesy, but it did convey its message quite clearly. I feel that the video's message overall was to boost peoples confidence and self-esteem to believe in one's ideas and take an initiative to do something about it.

Working on my project for the past couple of months has been grueling with arguments with partners and other factors as school and work comes into play, but at the end of the day, you have to realize that I was doing a lot more than other people had expected as well as doing more than the normal person would do, which is why it would put myself into a better position to lead in the future. At least all of this only holds weight when the actual work is completed.

Vision is more or less an idea in one's mind and in order to breathe life into the vision, one must put it down on paper, then review the vision and take necessary steps in order to act upon a vision to make it a working project. So with vision, I would best compare it to hope. Without vision, there is no hope, without action, there will be no result. I may speak a lot of bull, but in the end it's only truth that the video's message is true, yet the makeup of the video, may not have been as appealing as one might have wanted.

I'm quite pleased!

It's been such a hectic week, with three midterms, a business plan deadline for a competition, but it's now done. It's 7:12A.M. and I did not get any sleep at all last night. I was at the library for the past couple of weekends till wee hours of the morning and it's finally over... at least for now.

After a great friend of mine had left the team because he wasn't able to commit the time into the project, which was totally understandable, but it would of been great to bring an old friend to the mix. Through last minute deadlines, I was able to recruit a new friend of mine for about a year and a half and what a great addition to the team. It seemed as if it fell right into place. The commitment level was definitely there amongst all partners.

I know I don't make sense at this point, but all I know is that I have work in an hour, with no sleep and class till 9:00P.M. and I won't get home until 11:00P.M. The question is how many times will I pass out?

All in all, you don't know how rewarding I feel right now, it's unbelievable.

So frustrated!!!!

It's Good Friday and it's about to end. I was up very early today considering I did not have work for once. THANK YOU!

At approximately 10:30, I had made plans to meet with my business partner and work extensively on the business plan. We discussed out project and it was just very tough to actually write collaboratively. We can discuss collaboratively, but working on revising, not so well.

It's just been tough. I have a CIS quiz next week, a ECO midterm, a 4 page paper due, and a POL midterm. On top of that I have to finish this business plan by the middle of the week because it will need to be submitted on the 30th. SO MANY DEADLINES and for once, I have not been procrastinating, well at least for the most part.

Time to get back to work. I did enough venting for now. I sure hope what I'm doing is the right way to go about things.

How badly did I want the boost?

I'll admit, I was a bit timid at first, but for my own personal reasons. I already knew that there would be other people stepping up to the plate other than I that would feel as if they would be bale to control the tempers flaring throughout the class.

I'll admit, at first I was handling the conflict at hand with avoidance. I usually like to let people vent out in frustration and capitalize on their mistakes. I like to listen to what other people have to say before I come up with a conclusion off of their ideas.

The class was arguing left and right and yelling at each other and I felt that it would of gone nowhere if people were not willing to compromise. By my avoidance in the initial phase of the discussion was me compromising that I would take a role in listening in order to get some ideas across the board as you might see it.

I did notice that some individuals were using the idea of competing to win in order to get their own way. You can see that some individuals were fixed on one suggestion and not willing to listen towards others. I felt it was wrong to attack another classmate because they disagreed with the overall majority without giving the chance to explain why they disagreed.

Currently, in my situation with my team writing up the business plan, I'm trying my hardest to keep the brainstorming phase as open as possible, but its really hard to move forth when two people just don't agree upon certain terms. There must be a time at which both agree to disagree and move on with the big task at hand, which is to complete the project.

I admired the brave individuals who stepped up in order to take the fall if there was no proposal at the end of the class. I'm sure they were thinking about it the entire time. Would they be able to convince everyone to agree to a simple proposal, at which everyone in the class weather good grade or bad would be able to accept?

Again, I believe overall, dealing with conflict has aspects to all of those listed. There is no one right way to deal with conflict because it's different on every situation. I do believe that people do need to speak up in order to set their ground on a disbelief, yet other members must give the opportunity for free ideas to flow in order for more options to surface.

This is my take on the class debate. I thought it was very interesting to watch as it all unfolded in front of us. I did mention the idea of extra credit, which everyone seemed very fixed on restructuring the test by what how the questions were written and many were close-minded, which did not lead to them thinking outside the box, like I did :) JK JK, for those who take it personally.

Opinion Poll.... Visa or Mastercard??

I'm really curious to see what type of credit cards or debit cards do they currently own?

Is it VISA? Or MASTERCARD???

If I get a really big response, you should take this into consideration the demographics of which is superior or if there really is a split between the two.

I'm finally 21!

It was a long and exhausting weekend. Now that I'm 21, gotta focus on anything and everything! The world is mine for the taking!

How did 'lucky' crack?

It just wasn't right? We had great planning and timing.

At first, it was considered to be the brainstorming part of the planning process. Each one of our team members stated an idea or so and we just kept repeating the process. We all knew what were the given objects and our goal was to get the 5 extra credit points.

We knew that we had 8 straws. We all came to a compromise of decisions where we needed to cover the points/tips of the egg in order to embrace the fall hopefully.

There were a couple of ideas that seemed interesting, yet we all agreed to wrap the egg with straws in a cross-like figure and tape it around so that it would reassure the straws.

We knew that we wouldn't be able make alternative strategies because once the timer had started, we knew that we must go for one plan and stick to it. As we were taping the straws together, we were working as a team accomplishing one goal, which was to wrap the egg securely.

Overall, I feel as if our team worked great together. We split the tasks evenly and everyone had a part. Unfortunately for us, our egg cracked a tiny bit. We allocated all of our resources, but wasn't sucessfull.

It's 11:55 and I'm running to beat the clock!!

It was 11:50P.M. and my local blockbuster is 2 blocks away on Hillside Avenue. During the day, Hillside is zooming with cars. During night, it can be pretty quiet. I felt an urge to get the movie Pursuit of Happiness. I needed some type of motivation and I just felt some type of calling that I needed this movie tonight on DVD. I already have the movie on my computer, but I wanted it on DVD. I know, I'm a little wierd, but some people pray for motivation, I watch movies.

So, to the story that just agravates me every single time... I left my house, and I was running to blockbuster. As I'm running, there are 5 kid's(male) probably the age of 16-18 across the street parallel to me and I just knew it wasn't good from there. "Run Nigga, Run!... Let's get that Nigga... Get em' Get em'" I decided to not turn back and keep running and act normal ... which was running towards blockbuster to beat the clock.

I get to blockbuster and I look back. No one there. Had a feeling it was only done for a scare this is common as a joke. I look for 10 minutes and even ask the lady if she had a copy. She found one on the system and helped look for it, but it was not where it was supposed to be. 1 copy only too. I looked for another 5 minutes... nothing there.... I went up and down the aisles of movie listed P & H, checking to see if they were there. I said to myself, if I find this 1 copy, it must mean something... I looked for another minute going one by one and finally it caught my eye. The 1 copy! I brought it with high spirits and left the store.

Now, two blocks from home... was I to run? I decided to walk. It's midnight now. I start walking and now one block away from my house, 4 kids pop out of nowhere within eye sight, yet since I was in the middle of the block, there was no where to turn. I kept walking as normal and they all gathered around and looked as I was walking closer... and closer. My adrenaline rushing, my fists clenched inside my pockets, heart pounding as it used to pound when I was in High School. Then suddenly, they start filming one of their friends dancing as they formed a circle when I was right next to them and I inched towards the street to avoid the film, yet 2 of the kids laughing on the left spread out to where I couldn't walk around them. As I walked through, I felt they formed the circle to jump me... The one guy in the middle dancing, and the one towards the right walked towards me and had no expression of laughter but eyed me down. I walked through it and I looked back as the filmer pointed the phone towards me and he quickly turned away as I kept walking.

This wasn't the first time that I was "scared" for my life. I hate my neighborhood and I only want to experience the finer things in life because the life of living where I am just is and never really was safe. I'm glad I got my movie. It might even be a little wierd, but I workout because I just feel like I have to in order to survive if it ever come to that point. The point is, each day I may bitch and moan about the grades, the interviews, the money, but in the end my main goal is always the same. I want a better life, not only for I but for my mom. If my father had tried, I mind as well die trying as well if that's the farthest that will ever occur. Currently, my task is to win first place in this competition to create a business plan, it turns out this past weekend after doing several extensive researches, the idea has been taken, but this time.... I won't stop just because there's one out there. I gave up my last idea because my friends doubted me, but this time I won't stop and well... let's see what happens.

I'm planning out my new venture

So it's been a couple of days since my state of depression and stress. It's back to the book's and time to focus on what's ahead. One of my biggest difficulties at this time is managing my time to apply for internships, learn about the industries and maintain my studies in school. In one big category, you can say this is simply time management, but on a chopping board, you can see managing issues in each sector. I'm even entering an entrepreneurial contest in PA with a buddy of mine who spoke briefly about it. I just came up with this idea that I thought would be great! It's currently in the phase of creating a business plan. My main problems at this point is to manage my time and keep up with my studies like I mentioned earlier. Obviously, I have to prioritize school first, but I feel like I also have to put so much time into this business plan to make it work and on top of that, my birthday is coming up on March 7, and I have some credit card debt because I just had to charge the tuition on my card, and I even have to worry about the work I do at the job. Honestly, I want to quit my job at this point because I feel like it will be beneficial for my analytical skills to prosper, but I still need the pocket change for me to eat and stay in the city as much as I do. Waking up at 6:30 and staying out until 10:00 on weekdays basically means I have to eat out. There's no other choice. That's another problem, budgeting. I'm gonna have to focus, plan and focus!

Kanye West at the Grammy's!!

KW-DTMM [ALi]
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Back to School....

After the past two - three days, I needed to relax. After my shutdown interview at Bear Stearns, I needed to chill out and stay away from the entire "get there fast" mentality. I decided to head up to my old school Stony Brook University to hang out with some friends.

I realized, now that I'm back at home. I did screw up that interview. And yes, I did walk out of the internship fair on Friday because I just wasn't feeling as confident as I usually do. I've been to career fairs all my life, but I wasn't up to the mood for it. So yes, maybe I did screw myself up by missing all the deadlines on CDC. But, in the end I'll have to deal with it. I just gotta keep moving on and just because that interviewer mocked me throughout the interview, I'll be damn sure that it won't happen ever again. I hate losing, and sometimes you just gotta lose first before you can dominate the next time.

So it's Sunday at 1:45 P.M. First thing is to finish my paper that I have to write. Then, I need to plan ahead, get a step ahead of the game. It's a lot tougher when you don't really read a lot of books, but I wish I did like reading because I'd prolly be smart as Ben Stein.

Boy did I feel at a disadvantage today more than ever...

It's been a while since I had felt at a disadvantage, probably since the time I had dislocated my hip and I couldn't play basketball for a year. Today, I felt it again and it wasn't through sports. It was at my interview for the Sales & Trading Internship at Bear Stearns. I'm here to vent my frustration and through this, I know for a fact that it will help others learn from my mistakes, or I would call it, unpreparedness.

For the past couple of months, and yes I do express my opinions alot. You probbaly don't see it in class cuz I'm just dead tired from being up since 6. Anyways, for the past couple of months, I started learnign about the financial markets. I xfered from SBU and not bashing the school because I loved it there, but the business classes there that I had taken were general business management theories and strategies. As I heard BUS 1000 here talks about stocks, bonds, ipo's. Now it may seem easy stuff as we talk about it now, but I should of rightly learned all of these basic market lingo's freshman year, but I didn't. So in short, I had to learn the market lingo by myself, additional self-learning on my own. I wanted to land a job in these top investment banks because I was certainly working my way up on my resume. So at a disadvantage, there was a lot of technical questions about the market which I had basic knowledge about, but not quite confident about the subject entirely because it was all fairly new, given the circumstances of only watching the markets consistently for the past 3-4 months.

I got the interview and I needed to basically cram as much information as possible. My original plan was to gradually learn everything that I can possibly learn. BUT, there is just so much you can grasp in the world of Finance, it's not just number crunching, because you need to know the economy as well and theres news everyday that affects thousands of people everyday.

So some tips for future reference.
1) Know about the industry thick and thin about what your applying for.
- I read about Sales & Trading for the past couple of days, but I guess I gave a slightly BS answer because I didn't know everything that there is to know about it.

2) Don't just know how the DOW or NASDAQ did the previous day, but actually know what the index is at.
- How can I be so dumb not to know the actual index and what it was at when I have been watching the movement's daily.

3) Know the commodities market and how natural resources are affected through economic changes.
- The interviewer asked about a energy fund and quite honestly, I was more concerned with businesses and how they profit and how stock prices moves and how to figure out wheter or not if the stock is undervalued or not. I did not get to read up on commodities, and yes the question he had asked could of been answered logically, but I guess I was stumped to hear it so I froze.

4) When you're pitching a stock, Know exactly how and why you chose it, technical and logically.
- I did this part semi-ok. I pitched Starbucks, I gave my opinioned analysis of the stock in terms of logical reasons according to what's been previously stated on the media but also an analytical point of view. I then explained why I felt it was undervalued and I explained what ratios I used, but since the material was all fairly new to me, all these names of "P/E, Quick, Current, PEG, EPS" all rang in my head.

Yeah, I screwed up. Yes I'm dissapointed. It bothered me the entire day at work and at class. I was just out of it today and I just can't believe how stumped I was and how I prepared for everything else but the questions he asked, I just couldn't give a good answer. This is my second out of 15 interviews that I would say that I most porbably will not get.

My plans: I will continue to keep moving. It's a short grieving period, but come Friday morning, I'm just gonna walk up to these same companies I applied to and did not recieve an interview and also the same company I screwed up on the interview and still give it a shot. Why would I? Because I got nothin to lose, hopefully it will get across that I'm determined, not desperate.

THE END ... for now. Please feel free to comment or tell me to go cry me a river and better luck next time. I already know you're thinking of it.

-PCE, time for a beer.

The Nerves Are Pouring In...

Why am I nervous?

It's because I have an interview tomorrow with Bear Stearns and I would have to say that I'm a bit intimidated by the competition. I already know of two candidates that were also selected and I had a feeling that they were goign to be selected for an interview as well the minute I met them at Baruch. I have been reading here and there about Sales & Trading positions, what it's all about, a little here and there about the current state of the economy, read a couple of books on how to rightly do your homework on stock tips, company's previous financials. I would say that I read a lot, but my only concern is the readiness to explain all that I have read. If any of it had made sense... Boy is a lot of things on my mind. I guess we will know tomorrow morning...

We Are the CHAMPIONS, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG-MEN!!!!!

Congrats to a New York TEAM! FINALLY!!!!

Unbelievable Game.
Giants WIN 17-14.
I can't imagine anyone who did not tune in to watch this years Superbowl.

COME OUT TO THE PARADE THIS TUESDAY!

"The parade is scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m. on Broadway at Battery Place and is expected to follow a route north to Chambers Street.

It ends with a ceremony at City Hall Plaza."

Here's basically the jist Of my blog.

I needed this blog for quite some time. It's a sort of escape where I can reflect on the events that occur in my life as well as my never ending path to reach my goals. Most recently, I made a huge decision to leave some of the most genuine friends I have made throughout my entire life to further my position in the future. Follow me as I find out if it will all be worth it in the next two years while there may be times where I get 0-2 hours of sleep just to have a sense of a social life, or glued to the books to only receive the disappointments of sub par grades.

Join the HYPE!!!

It's going to be the biggest sports event this year. You know you can't get enough of the GGG-MEN! Here's a clip of how much is spent for a Superbowl of this magnitude.

SuperBowl Spending

Reflection on today's first class

I'd have to admit, I was pleased to see that I did not fall asleep after a long day from 6:30 A.M. I was actually very interested to hear of the previous employment experiences that Prof. Kurpis has had and especially about the job at CNBC. I feel like I'm a very charismatic guy and ever since I have been watching CNBC during the day (well at least before the semester) I want to become an analyst or someone that could have an influence on the market. For example, if I think XYZ company is crap, I'll say some negative things (but factual) and everyone starts to panic and sell.

Moving along, I wanted to add the note that I gained an tremendous amount of respect for my previous manager of retail where the managers instilled a day where it was management's turn to mop the floor at the closing day. Usually the other works would take turns in mopping the floor. Something so small can show a lot about a manager's character. At my very first job, I worked extremely hard and often times, it was embarrassing, but since I was young and my boss had not communicated, I always had in the back of my mind "I got to leave, it's not benefiting me at all." Anyhow, the best managers that I had worked with, enhanced my current skills and abilities to allow me to work at a higher capacity each day. Several managers at MetLife communicated with me as often as they could and they received constant feedback to and from each other which gave us a sense of where we stand, in regards to our duties. I was promoted as a training manager at a small marketing firm out in Stony Brook, NY and it only happened through being honest, loyal and really just down to earth and serious about the workplace and the job that needed to be done. My boss had trusted my instincts on how to train new workers, mainly because I have done the task before. I definitely believe it is a benefit to know the ups and downs of a position that one might have. Finishing off, it's pretty late and I need to get some sleep. I'm definitely growing up wayyy to fast!

First day of classes = First day of misery

Hey,

Thanks for checking out my first blog comment. The name is Raymond Mo. Feel free to comment or bash my style. This is the first time ever doing this and to start off, I'd like to introduce a little bit about myself. I recently transferred from Stony Brook University at the end of Spring '07 and started my first semester here at Baruch college in Fall '07. I transferred out of SBU because I knew that it was in the best interest of my future and to put myself in a better position to top employments in Finance. It's hard to actually say why I did it because I really don't know the outcome until I'm done. I lost 15 credits throughout the process and as much as I don't want to say I regret it, I firmly regret my decision temporarily... (at least I hope) I have always been an entrepreneur since I was very young. I would always see myself trying to get ahead and learning how to profit in any situation. Normally, I would keep this to myself but at this point in my life, it's ok to speak of all experiences. I made investments in collectible as a child ranging from basketball cards, POGS, beanie babies, comic books, Furby's, Pokemon cards, playstation 3, nintendo wii's, poker. Anything that reads profit, I've probably thought of it. This past summer, a buddy of mine and I created the Local Talent Handball Association. We threw our first tournament and it was a semi-success. The turnout was great, except we didn't profit.

Anyways, I'm getting a little bit off topic, but basically I'm a very down to earth kind of guy. I grew up in a very diverse community where I was the only one of my kind (literally) in my Junior High School. I'm very diverse and I like to make the best of things at any situation there is. I've been through many jobs and experiences from the lowest of being a porter at a bowling alley to retail, then to telemarketing, then to telecommunication sales, then banking, then insurance, now even working at a law firm for the meantime because I hit a roadblock while transferring. Long story short, being a transfer student sucks! Hardly anyone is able to help you, but only can wish the best of luck to you. I took 18 credits last semester while maintaining a part-time job and it took a toll on my grades.

I was on an upward climb at Stony Brook from a rocky start and since I transferred my GPA and lifestyle decreased dramatically. I try my best to stay positive and hope for the best. I'd like to say that I can be an A student, but time doesn't permit. My school track to finish off my final two years here is basically taking 18 credits per semester with winter sessions and summer sessions. This semester, unfortunately I am taking 15 credits, but my day is still long. I wake up at 6:30 and I get home at 11:30-12:00 midnight, only to repeat it everyday. I would say I sacrificed a lot because of transferring, but one thing I can say is that I stopped tackling on student loans.