Thanksgiving. Yay!!!

Welp, the semester is coming to an end, which is a relief because classes were just becoming too monotonous. This week has been the most freaking busy week in all the semester, and I was questioning whether or not I would live through it. Three projects and an exam, along with the coincidence of my tire losing air in the same week.

The last two or three weeks I've learned how to make some awesome Hispanic desserts to add to the repertoire. Here are some pictures -

These are called "horchata" and "queso helado", but for all those who transate that, and find that it means frozen cheese, disclaimer: there is no cheese at all in the recipe, it is more similar to ice cream. 

So anyway, looking very much forward to thanksgiving break, it's gonna be awesomeness and Christmas break is going to be even more awesomeness. Have a good week!!!

school and schlotzsky's and stuff.

First of all, OMG I'm sorry I'm such a blogging failure.

Ahora, these past few weeks have been pretty alright, getting into the swing of things at State. My classes are as follows - Español, Русский(Russian), Physics, and Intro to Numerical Analysis (I had a fifth class but I recently dropped it (and by recently I mean just a few hours ago) because it was a graduate level class that I saw myself failing in the future.

It's super divertido talking два languages in the morning, Spanish at 8 then an hour break followed by Russian at 10.

Physics is también fun because she gives us a lot of demos. Like, things we´re learning she will bring in a physical demonstration. Like yesterday she brought two skateboards to class to teach about newton´s first law.

So a friend/Elder's quorum president hooked me up with connections to work with him at Schlotzsky's, a super awesome sandwich and pizza making deli. I started working there like two weeks ago. So funny story, and by funny I mean, ughhhh. The other day I was working and as I was getting ready to leave the manager came to me was like "Hey, your cash register is short $20. UGH. The next day was the first day ever for me to meet the owners of the store, nice first impression right? But everythings ok, they let me off the hook for this time, with a stern warning to not let it happen again.

In other news, I now have a calling as the first counselor in the sunday school presidency, Yay callings!!!

That is all for now, enjoy, and whatnaught.

Hello!

I was told that I should update, and so...here it goes!

I've mostly been working at michaelangelo's the last couple of weeks, but other interesting things, with photos attached.

For Fourth of July, I tried to be as American as possible by......frying up a Peruvian dessert. Picarones! A Squash and Sweet Potato based doughnut type pastry, with lemon and orange based syrup (I made the syrup too) It was delicious.

The other day we made a pizza, Gabby, LeAnn, and I. My section is the bottom one, with chicken, and cheese on top of pepperoni and cayenne pepper. Awesomeness!

So I started making hats with a looming kit that I found at Walmart. Here is Gabby sporting a hat I made for her, all green but with some pretty spiffy designs (except I closed it off a little too early, but it stays on her head at least)

Here are some pictures of the most recent hat I made working on trying to use more than one color.

In other news, I've been trying out yoga. Apparently putting yourself into positions you almost never put yourself actually feels really good over time. 

School starts in a few weeks, and I...still don't exactly what I want to study. But I signed up for classes and apparently am sticking to it at N.C. State for at least one semester more if not more. Hopefully I can focus a little more this time and get straight A's and whatnaught.

Return of the Paco

Hello World!!!

Alright, so I'm slowly getting back to my normal self, it's been a tough few weeks, and I will continue to struggle a little bit, but Trishy brought it to my attention that my last post was a REALLY depressing one to just leave it for a while without anything more.

So, I'm back!!!!!!

The meds are doing their job, I'm still a little bit anxious, and am trying to adapt. It's always a little hard to dig yourself out because you learn to leave it in the past and then you realize almost no one even noticed without my telling them.

I say almost anyone because there are many who HAVE noticed, and who have helped me a lot to get through it.

So the semester is coming to an end, and I am struggling through finals. Hoping it goes by fast so I can come home and relax a little.

Almost all I´ve been doing this week is just going to the gym. So while my brain feels like jello, this body is not going down.

I´m still trying to find a major that I could go for, it´s reaaaaaally difficult. But I know that in the end I will settle on something.

In the meantime, just be patient as Paco returns and comes to terms with who he is, that he is loved, and that he is the man.

I love all of you, and I think that you all are amazing for the things you do.

Depression strikes again

Hello world!

Sorry I have not been able to post recently, I have really been going through some tough times, and am still currently going through them but, it will all get better.

Slowly this semester has been getting more and more stressful. I feel like my head spinning 24/7.

This weekend was a great weekend, mom came to Raleigh and spent some time with me and Tricia. We went to a Peruvian Cuisine Restaurant, which by the way, was pretty legit. On Saturday we went to a lake that can be seen by I-40. Lake Tucker? It was freaking awesome. Sometimes I love the sun.

On sunday we went to church. And it was weird. Seemed like every single testimony and all the lessons were talking straight to me, and I felt reassured that everything would turn out ok.

So, I made the decision to go to the doctor this week, to see if in any way I could feel better, even if it means being put back on anti-depressants. Unfortunately, the closest possible appointment was this wednesday. So, for now I'm just trying not to go crazy. Honestly, I don't even know if there is anything physically wrong with me, my mind just isn't working the same way it usually works. I honestly don't want to do anything but study, but know that I can't because it would drive me more crazy. These days I'm generally either anxious with so much on my mind that nothing gets done, or so calm because I'm just not thinking of anything. It sucks because I feel like one of my classes is partially to blame for my condition, and now my condition is making my studying almost useless because I can't retain nearly any of it. Soooooooo desenfocado!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I don't want to worry the world too much with my problems, just know that I am definitely not feeling myself, and hoping to feel as such soon, because this SUCKS.

But I know that I will feel better, as much as I don't FEEL that I will feel better, I know that it will happen. Many people in my life assure me of that, and so I know it will come to pass.

So I'd like to thank anyone and everyone who has done something to try and make me feel better. Honorable mentions are Dad, Mom, Darlene, Sarah, Tricia, Thomas, Alan, Kevin, Karli and many more. Some of you might not even read this but, when I get through this it will be because of you guys, so thank you.

Easter Break!

Por Fin!!!!! Easter break is here. I never knew a three day week could feel so long, but really it was. 

So yesterday I was coming home, and let me tell you, it has got to be probably one of the craziest drives home I've had thus far. But thanks to God nothing actually happened in the end. 

It started out me trying to load my car. Now usually you can have like a 30 minute grace period, but this time I parked in a spot that was less than allowed apparently. As I was picking up my last load, all of a sudden I felt a need to run as fast I could to the car. I got there, and....I was in the process of getting a parking ticket, but luckily I got there JUST in time for him to let me off with a "don't park here again". I drove off as he continued to write a ticket for the guy parked next to me. 

So, I was on my way, thanking God for the feeling of "I have to get back to my car." And all of a sudden the traffic goes into a complete standstill. So I step on the break, and am just about to hit 0 mph whennnn, THUD! The guy behind me decided it would be a good idea to hit me. So I had to pull over and see if anything happened and blah blah blah, turns out it was of absolutely no consequence.  So we got back into our cars, and waited to be able to merge in and be on our way. 

Well, the traffic was so heavy, and going so fast, as is natural on I-40, that I couldn't get on the road until like 30 to 40 minutes afterwards. SO LAME! but I did get in eventually, and finally got home to enjoy an easter break. 

Now, you could judge me and be like "LEARN WHERE TO PARK!" or "DON'T DRIVE IN FRONT OF MEXICANS" but what I got out of it was "Dang, God really does love me."

I mean, of all the things that COULD have gone wrong, I got out of all of it with little to no consequence at all. I even got rewarded, with Trishy and 007 Skyfall. 

I was super irritated when it was all happening, but in the end Trishy helped remind me that really it could have been a lot worse, and you know, I think we all need to keep that in mind.

We all go through trials on a daily basis, but as long as we do what we know we should be doing, God will make up for the rest. 

Anyway, the moral of the story is, keep the commandments, and you'll be fine.

This post was brought to you by the letter P

Tests, tests, and tests.

Hello Friends!!!!

This week has been freaking stressful, and I'm happy to say that I survived it. Now I just have to get through a few weeks more, so I can just put these classes behind me and move on.

First, last Friday I had to take a Probability exam, studied really hard every day for a week straight, thought I was going to do really well. Walked into the room confident, thinking I was going to do somewhat well (at LEAST 80% if not 90%. Well....I failed my first college exam, so now I can check that off the bucket list.

Saturday I went to the temple with the ysa Wilmington branch, it was awesome, as the temple always is. Before that I accidentally locked Michael out of our room. Which was hilarious, but also inconvenient. Everyone made fun of me for being THAT guy who is overly cautious and locks the door too much. So I resolved to not lock the door for the rest of the day. Later in the night we decided to play a card game. I came into my room to get it and... it wasn't here. "What?" I furiously look for said card game, to not find it. Turns out it was in someone else's room. Someone had taken it out of my unlocked room, without telling me. Moral of the story is: Do what seems right, because sometimes friends give dumb advice.

In other news, I got set apart, and am now a ward clerk assistant. I still have no idea what I am doing, but this Sunday I should be learning a lot more. As long as I serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength I'll know what to do.

The same night, President Fernandez, sent me a notification on Facebook  and I was like "Hey! President sent me something!" Silly me, decided to click on the link that was there. I immediately got locked out of my Facebook, and my Facebook started spamming the same link to all 900 of my friends. And liking a bunch of random pages in strange languages (one of which was the justin bieber fan club, which I was NOT happy about). and so....since I was locked out of Facebook on my computer, I had to stop it from spreading by deleting the notifications via the ipad. Freaking obnoxious. So moral of the story is....don't click strange links...EVEN if they are from your mission president.

So after getting back the results of the probability exam, which were horrible, if failing that wasn't enough, I had to worry about one test more. Actually two, but one of them was kind of easy.

So, I was taking the easier test. Which at the time, I didn't know was that easy. I finished in like 20 minutes, and looked around me to see the faces of all the students with faces of disgust, trying to figure out how to do the problems. It honestly made me feel like I had missed something. Like I wasn't really done, but that I just forgot to answer something that would take more time. Looked back at the 2 question test, and no....it really was that easy. So, I spent like 10 minutes being really confused, and finally, several minutes AFTER finishing the test, someone decided to leave, which I took as my cue to leave as well. So, moral of the story is: If you finish something 20 minutes before anyone else, it's because you're awesome, not dumb.

And finally, the foundation of advanced mathematics test, which was way short, and, for that reason alone, I don't know how well I did on it. Granted, I KNOW I didn't do as horrible as the probability exam, but I also had to rush through so much just to get it in under the time limit. Basically, I've come to the conclusion that I do not test very fast, and so I need to practice taking exams at a fast speed. Moral of the story is: It's not about how much you know, it's about how fast you can regurgitate it onto paper.

And last but not least, I lost my wallet the same night. And didn't notice until 2 or 3 hours later. When I realized it wasn't in my pocket I was in the institute building. And FREAKED OUT. I ran to the dorm, checked every single place I had been, it was no where. I returned to the Institute building and basically, no one helped. An announcement was made "There is a green wallet missing, if you find it please notify me or Paco." and...pretty much no one reacted at all. It was like, they stopped to listen to the announcement and then continued talking. So I was just internally freaking out, and Tricia was like "CAAAAAAAAAAALM DOWN!!!!!!!" and so I calmed down.

The next day I got up to go to the last place that I could possibly think about going, the Dining Hall. And BAM it was there. They had locked it up in the safe, and nothing was missing and everything was fine. So moral of the story is: Listen to Trishy.

And other than that, everything has been awesometastic. There are a few more stories, but this post  is getting a little too long, so I will put it in another post.

But it sufficeth me to say that life is good. It gets stressful, but then I remember the awesome people in my life who help me to get through, love you all! (Especially Trishy)

A few pictures to start this blog off right.

 My awesome family of doom and despair, and happiness.

I visited Tricia at work, and it was awesome.

 HUGE No-bake Cookie

 On the Ferry 

 Blanket fort in the dorm. Best idea EVER!

Blog! Yay!!!!!

Hey!!!! So I was reading up on all of the blogs of my sisters and friends and whatnaught, and decided it would be pretty spiffy to start this thing up again, for the benefit of all those interested. It's been at LEAST 2 years if not more since I have done the whole blogging thing, so I hope I can fill it up with interesting things about what happens in my day. And if nothing interesting happens in my day, then I can just use this blog as motivation to make interesting things happen. Yay!

Anyway, this week not much is going on because I am literally being consumed by the tests and whatnaught that I am having to prepare for. SO MANY TESTS!!!!

I have taken the first few steps towards declaring foreign language minors, now I just have to actually find an advisor, that should be fun.

Anyway, just doing the normal college activities. Getting really stressed out. Taking a lot of tests. But also enjoying the company of my friends. Pretty soon I am going to be set apart as a ward clerk assistant, and my time is gonna be cut even shorter, but I know that God will bless me for doing it with a good attitude. So.......yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Blessings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I have not EXACTLY decided the way I want to do this whole blog thing yet, so....any suggestions would be awesome. I am just going to roll with it until then.

Have a nice day everyone! I love you all!!!