life – markmagpusao.com

Review of Goals 2019

Here are my goals for 2020.

Let’s review what I did well and what I failed at.

Recover from my ACL Surgery
Pay off debt
Travel and save money
Volunteer more
Spanish Level. Increase.
Draw, Paint and create more
German level B1
Korean Basics
Be stronger
Try Rock climbing
Go to sleep at 10pm, wake up at 430
Buy work truck
Paint watercolor.

My first goal of the year started with recovering from my ACL surgery. My second surgery on the same knee. January of 2019, I had surgery. I spent the next 3-4 months walking with crutches, then with a cane, and now I walk with a limp when it’s cold outside. When I’m fully warmed up I can do most of the things I did before the surgery. The doctor said I can slowly return to Jiu Jitsu. Jiu Jitsu brings me so much happiness to me. I will have to start slowly. I’m very excited about this.

I also listened to David Goggins’ book, Can’t Hurt Me, and it really motivated me. I have to search for ways to really push myself outside my comfort zone and grow. I want to keep growing mentally and physically.

My debt is about the same. I will have to make a plan and stick to it.

I traveled to Cuba, Scotland, and Spain. I traveled but I wish I saved more money. Volunteer more. I volunteered a little bit. I joined the Houston YangGang. I volunteered when I could and showed support when Andrew Yang was in Texas. I volunteered at the Edinburgh Festival. For 2020 I wish to do an activity more consistently.

img_20190810_222015 — I returned to Edinburgh in 2019. It was a great experience.

Increase my Spanish level. This was my most consistent goal. I’ve had an italki tutor since March. I had a lesson every week minus holidays and when I traveled. I also went to Spain to improve my Spanish.

img_20190901_142145 — I really appreciate having a job that I enjoy and co-workers that I get along with.

Did I draw and paint more? I went back to a former occupation of drawing caricatures for tourists. I miss being around artists. I miss drawing. It felt good to make art and make people laugh. I also want to increase this as well. The next Pancakes and booze I want to put in six pieces.

Improve German B1. I’m shelving this goal. I just don’t have enough motivation.

Korean Basics- I’m shelving this goal. I want to return to Korea and have a better experience.

Be stronger. This goal was very vague. I did become stronger though. I need to get specific with what I want to accomplish.

Rock climb- I’m shelving this as well. I have Jiu Jitsu now.

Adjust my sleep schedule. At times I was good at this. Then I fell off.

Buy work truck. This is a long term goal.

Watercolor more. Yeah I started.

img_20191230_140835 — I want to get better at drawing and water color this year as well.

Back to school Fall 2019

It’s back to school for myself and many of us who still attend. I will try to post once a week. For those you have been in school, know it is very difficult to have free time for yourself. I’m essentially writing this blog as a record of my life. This will be the summary of my classes and my initial thoughts of the classes.

My classes are English 302, History civilization before 1877, Introductory Algebra, Public Speaking and Introduction to Teaching. English 0302 is similar to English 2 in most colleges I suppose. I will have to write papers that analyze and interpret subjects. History is basically history of the world until 1877 as it relates to the United States. Though I always think that history is always taught with bias, no matter where how impartial one tries to be. Introductory Algebra, I had to take a remedial class because it’s been so long since I’ve taken a Math class. The highest math class I took in high school was geometry. Public Speaking is a class, teaching us how to speak well in public. Introduction to Teaching, It’s funny how a teaching class is being taught online. Overall 15 credits.

How do I feel about this semester? I feel like It will be easy I just have to put in the work and show up. I get paid to go to school. You can’t beat that. I have it better than most college students right now. I should be glad, unfortunately my mind is constantly somewhere else most days.

What keeps my hope up is the light at the end of the tunnel. It helps to have a goal. I plan on going to Europe for my winter break. I want to take a Spanish course in Valencia, Spain. Then see Belgium and France.

Until next time. I will also be participating in INKtober2019.

Back to school

So I officially started school AGAIN. It’s a little weird to go back. The young students are probably wondering why I’m so old and going back to school. That’s just me projecting and being insecure about being older. Back when I was in college I used to wonder why the older students were so driven. Now as an older student I know why. I have had so much life experience and years of working in the world. I’m going back to school more focused and knowledgeable on how to accomplish tasks. I look back on my 20s, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I’m impressed with these kids that do know what they want to do, but really they don’t know what it’s like to work in their proposed fields.

By being older I’m more focused and dedicated to my craft. I know what I’m capable of and how the world works. I’ve failed at many things in life. I learned resilience from getting back up. For example, I’ve dropped out of art school, I failed out of Navy Dive school and I’ve had two knee surgeries. These low points are necessary for the high points. If I didn’t drop out of college, I wouldn’t have join the Navy and seen the world. If I didn’t attempt to try for special operations I would have always regretted not trying. I’m a better person for failing at something. My recovery from my knee surgeries gave me the opportunity to learn Spanish, something I always wanted to do. Now I’m learning Korean and improving my conversational Spanish towards a near native level. The experiences I’ve had from the time I’ve left college initially couldn’t have been learned by following a common archetype. Even now I plan on finishing towards a Bachelors degree. My future job will be an unconventional location in relation to forty years ago. My age is an incredible asset when it comes to returning to school.

I have to address that many students choose nursing as career of choice. Nursing is an up and coming industry that will need workers. It is a stable career. I’m Filipino, it is ingrained in our culture, well, my upbringing. My mothers a nurse, both my sisters are nurses, several members of my extended family are nurses. I know very well about this occupation. I worked as Navy Hospital Corpsman for 7 years. I know what it is like to work in the healthcare industry, among doctors, nurses, and other specialists. To sum up my experience, it isn’t for everyone. I didn’t enjoy seeing people put in hospice care. I didn’t enjoy the bedside care. I didn’t enjoy people dying. I think the last reason was why I couldn’t deal with it. That aspect is a small part, it takes a toll on a persons mental health. As a result most of the ICU staff I worked with had black humor, as most do that work with death so closely. Its an interesting coping mechanism among first-responders. I won’t mention the bureaucracy among the United States healthcare system or the how we heavily medicate with drugs and pharmaceuticals. I won’t forget my time as a corpsman. I admire any one willing to aspire to be a healthcare professionals. I just hope they do it for the right reasons and not the money.

Some other News

I finished my Spanish intermediate online class. I received an A. There’s something wrong with the foreign language education system in the United States. Is it the teaching method? The policy? America’s general attitude towards languages of foreign countries? That’s another blog post. I have to keep studying. There is so much to learn. I learned many different nuances and subtleties in the class. I still do italki.com classes with a community tutor.

I got a new/ old job. I draw caricatures at the Downtown Aquarium here in Houston. I drew for Kaman’s Art Shoppes from 2004- 2008 at Great America in Santa Clara, Ca. I miss being around other artists. It is very hot humid here in Houston. It is something I just have to get used to. So far my boss is cool and my co workers are warming up to me.

I started teaching Jiu Jitsu to kids again. Well, I’m the uke. (Uke: a japanese term for someone receiving the technique.) The purple belt uke. More to come on that.

I will try to post more. College is about writing papers. I have to practice writing.

A year in Texas

I realized that I still auto pay for this domain. I couldeither cancel it or continue blogging. I’m going to continue blogging. Despite not keeping up with this. I’m going to start again. Its one of those new year resolution things. I want to write more.

I moved to Spring, Texas about a year ago. Before that I was on a 6 month tour around the world. My year in Texas consisted of going to welding school and training Jiu Jitsu. My Jiu Jitsu knowledge improved but my athleticism decreased, because I became efficient with my movements. I finished welding school with a base knowledge of pipe fitting. I’m still very green in welding but I have a gig fabricating furniture. When I’m working in the environment it feels good to apply what I learned and use my problem solving skills I learned in school. More on this subject to come. I kept studying Spanish but I feel I didn’t progress very much without italki lessons or consistent speaking practice. I still have travel debt from that year of travel but I do not regret one second of it. I have 2019 and the rest of my life to pay off that once in a lifetime experience.

A few of my 2019 goals.

-Recover from my ACL Reconstruction surgery. Yes, I tore it again. I will be taking a break from Jiu Jitsu. During my recovery I will still be learning and improving my game.

-Apply the Jim Rohn’s 70-10-10-10 rule. I’ve been lying to myself saying that I know how to handle money. I really don’t. I have to educate myself on the subject. It’s something that I must do if I wish to become wealthy. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that can improve the way they handle their finances.

-Volunteer More and donate to 10% to charity. I probably won’t blog too much about this. I think people want to show people that they volunteer instead of actually volunteer. Sort of like being a tourist and taking pictures of cool places.

-Spanish. As soon as I get consistent money I will continue using Italki. I want to read more books in Spanish.

-Make Art. Eventually I’m going to go back to finish art school. I’m older, wiser and a seasoned adult. I know if I put my mind into something I’m going to do it. First, I have to create and get my skills up. I have to build a portfolio and learn to paint in watercolor and acrylic/oil. My Gi bill expires in 2032. Expect more art posts.

-Go to sleep early and wake up early. My goal is to go to sleep at 9pm and wake up at 430-500am. The Rock does it, and he accomplishes a lot.

-Blog consistently. Obviously.

That’s it for now.