Saying Good-bye to 2010 and Hello to 2011

In 2010, a lot has occurred. 

1. Straights As for first time in college
2. Got admitted in to DAAP
3. Got a new job
4. 3 years with the girlfriend
5. Had my first car accident
6. Volunteered with the Tarbell for County Commish Campaign
7. Lost 50 lbs
8. Started biking
9. Started running
10. Spent my first New Year's Eve party outside the house.

It was a great year overall. I accomplished a lot: had a few setbacks and a few firsts. 

For 2011, there are going to be a lot of changes in my life. I'm going to be graduating from college finally, and I'll be shoved headlong in to the working world. With that comes having to pay back student loans, being completely independent from mom and dad, and the uncertainty of the current job market. Elyse and I will also be moving. I really want to live in OTR, but we'll see... 

2011 is going to be scary, but I have a few goals I want to accomplish in the next 12 months.

1. Get more involved in my community - I live in CUF, but will be moving in August. I want to get involved with a community council and activism. There are a lot of good things happening in Cincinnati, and I want to be a part of it.
2. Network - I want to use every opportunity I have to network with new people and reach out and get involved with the things I am passionate about.
3. Post on this blog at least 5 times per week - This one will be tough because school is going to be busy this winter quarter. I also need to complete this full website and put up my full portfolio.
4. Lose 20 lbs - This is last bit of weight I want to lose. I want to have it off by March. This will make my total weight loss 70 lbs, from 220 to 150. 
5. Complete my "30-by-30" list - Elyse and I are working on compiling lists of the 30 major things we want to accomplish before we turn 30. We're both turning 25 this year and have absolutely no idea what we want to do with the rest of our lives. By putting these lists together, we hope to at least know want we want to do in the next 5 years.
6. Travel - I want to go to Chicago (never been) and Phoenix. My sister lives in Phoenix, AZ and has been bugging me to go visit. 
7. Get a full time job - I'd love to have a full time job right after I graduate in my field, but I know the chances of that are relatively low. But I'm definitely going to try.
8. Bike over 4000 miles this year - I love biking, and I've seen larger part of the city from my bike seat this past year. I think 4k miles is an ambitious but achievable goal.
9. Run as many 5Ks and 10Ks as I can - I've found a love for running, so I want to maximize this as much as possible.
10. Learn to dance - I'm thinking salsa dancing, maybe some ballroom-style dancing, swing dancing; I want to know how to dance when the opportunity arises, feel confident, and not look like a fool on the dance floor. I know Elyse will appreciate this one. 

I'm looking forward to a new year with new opportunities, challenges and rewards. 

Welcome

Purpose

This blog is to chronicle a number of things: The things the I do, the articles that I read, my opinions on Urban issues, and my educational journey. Each post will feature text and photos about a specific topic. I will try to provide the facts as I see them. Then I will espouse my opinion. This blog is not meant to be a news blog. It is meant to be an agglomeration of my views and opinions regarding the things going on in our world.

About Me

I am a 24 year old male, living in Cincinnati. I grew up in Niles, Ohio. Where is Niles, Ohio? It's about 1 hour southeast of Cleveland and 1 hour northwest of Pittsburgh and about 15 minutes northwest of Youngstown. I was born in Fremont, CA and my family moved to Ohio when I was about 3 or 4. I don't remember, I was quite young. I attended school in the Howland Local School system in Warren, Ohio. I graduated high school with Honors in 2004 with a 3.749 GPA.

I was accepted in to the Civil Engineering Bachelors Degree Program at the University of Cincinnati for admission in the Fall of 2004. In my second year, I quickly discovered that Civil Engineering was not right for me. While I enjoyed many aspects of it, the transportation engineering, structures, and bridges, I felt that there was something missing. Later, I would discover that what was missing was the human component.

I transferred to the Business Marketing Program in my second year. Mostly, I was just marking time. I felt that I needed to be doing something. I was part-time for the better part of 3 years, and I took a couple quarters off. I worked part-time as a Communications Consultant (read: Sales Person) for Cincinnati Bell at the Nothgate Mall location. The hours made it difficult to attend school and work at the same time. But because the pay was so good, I decided to work and work and work and not focus on school.

Sometime in 2007, I stumbled upon the site UrbanOhio.com. As I read more and more about the things going on in Ohio's cities, as well as cities across the US and worldwide, I slowly developed a passion for Urban Issues.

In March of 2008, I was no longer employed by Cincinnati Bell and was able to devote more time and attention to my schooling. I was still in the marketing degree program, but started to explore my options.

In the spring of 2009, I took my first urban planning class. This was more or less an experimental course choice. I wanted to see if planning was right for me. From the first day, I knew it was. Being surrounded with students who think similarly to me and professors who are extremely knowledgeable about urban planning felt great. For the first time in my college career, I could tell I was in the right classes. Over the next year, I would fill my schedule with all the planning classes I could: studios, seminars, specialty classes, etc. I wasn't actually in DAAP yet, but after talking with the Director of the School of Planning, I got approval to take the Planning classes until I transferred.

My transfer to DAAP - School of Planning occurred just this fall (2010). So far I've taken 4 planning or multidisciplinary studios ranging in topics from Design Graphics Communications to Site Planning and Neighborhood Analysis to Fixed-Rail Transit. In future posts, I plan to go in to further detail about my studio experience. I will say, however, that they have been the best part of my experience so far.

I am currently set to graduate in June of 2011 with my Bachelors of Science in Urban Studies. I have about 3 classes left that I am required to take, but I will be taking several additional classes for a total of 8 between winter and spring quarters. Upon graduation, I will be looking to land a job that is in SOMEWAY related to urban planning, urban studies, or anything urban really.

I am currently employed at Schwartz, Manes, Ruby, & Slovin, LPA as an office clerk. My job is to maintain closed files and their records; order supplies; assist with client meetings, firm meetings, or other firm/attorney needs; and, on occasion, man the front desk. I've work here since July 2010, and I thoroughly enjoy working here. The people are friendly and welcoming. It definitely has a family atmosphere.

I think this is sufficient for now about my school and work experiences. My next blog will talk about my experiences in Cincinnati.