Category: Uncategorized

I had to attend a Community Board meeting district 2 on October 26, 2017, which started at 6:30. Wanting to kill time, I went around Baruch looking for a club (or in this case several) to join. Wanting to find a club with the most bang for my buck, or the most fun for my ratio of effort, was a quest that I  had to fulfill. The dedicated detectives who investigated these club meetings are members of an elite squad known as the Justin Wong and Mardochee Hyppolite squad. These are their stories.

Trudging through the cold, my friend Mardochee and I were pushing the limits of our body while also trying to find the limits of a calculus problem we were practicing prior. We were like Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, only instead of saving anyone, we were going through a different kind of rush hour.  We were trying to waste time in a fun way, not wading through the traffic of the student halls. After about an hour walking around random floors, we decided to just “screw it” and walk the rest of the way instead of using the elevator.

We went inside the Student club hall on the third floor and stopped by Carribean Club first. Peeking in, I didn’t want to be the only oddity in the demographic and my trusty companion Mardochee already sensed that, so we walked further down where we saw a club playing dungeons and dragons. Or something like that. No thanks. There was another club full of Asians and likewise, I didn’t want to abandon him. Rinse and repeat, but with every club we sat in on, we sat in on longer up to about a few minutes.

Long story short, we ended up bothering the Student life department of people and had a great time in the many clubs we sat in for about 3 minutes just to steal pizza from. 

 

Last week I had to visit the health and wellness center for Baruch.  Located on 26th street and Lexington, it is on the opposite side of the building from the entrance from the library. The reason I had to go was to get a Mumps shot because I had not been vaccinated.  It all started on a Monday morning where I was blocked from going into the building of Baruch and all of my classes.  This was because the dean had put a block on me from coming in because many students had been exposed to mumps and I hadn’t gotten the vaccination, and if I did not I wouldn’t be allowed to go to classes for 2 weeks.  The whole situation was actually very annoying, and no one was helpful with anything.  The health center people were clueless and didn’t really help or explain anything.  I had to wait until they opened up at 10am, and my first class where this issue had all started was at 7:50 in the morning.  I had to wait 2 hours than for them to open.I also had to wait for 2 and a half hours to even get any help from them.  Also, it was really frustrating when the security guard who told me I can’t go into the building didn’t explain anything to me. I would not recommend going to the health center, because from start to finish it ended up being a 3 and a half hour issue, something that if I was home could have been solved in at most 45 minutes. The whole situation as a whole was a nightmare, and I would never recommend going to the health center and I wouldn’t try to deal with them in person, rather over the phone. Overall, I suggest to stay on top of all your information so you don’t run into my situation on this day.

On Saturday, September 9, I attended a Baruch soccer game against Old Westbury. I have never been to a soccer game before and the only knowledge that I had about the sport was accumulated through the very slim amount of PS4 FIFA that I had acquired. For this reason, I was interested to watch the game. The main reason why I attended, however, was that I was given the opportunity to make a little bit of pocket change. They needed a ball runner for the game and I figured what college student couldn’t use a few extra bucks? The game was held at Randall’s Island on a beautiful turf field that was right next to the main stadium at the complex. My job was to supply the ball to the players on the field whenever the ball went out of play. If the ball went far, I would then have to retrieve it and be prepared for the next time it happens. I was surprised how easy the job was. Baruch got out to an early lead after the ball found the back of the net off of a nice bender from the right forward. After some defensive miscues, Baruch was down 2-1. The score remained till the half and once the second half started the Bearcats looked like a whole different team. Baruch got off to a fast start in the second on a nice goal and the score would remain tied for the rest of regulation time. Typically, the league would play two ten minute overtime periods if the game was tied after regulation. However, there was a football team that was looking to practice on the field, but after talking with both coaches, the decision was made that there would be overtime. Baruch had possession the entire first four minutes and they were able to find the back of the net giving them the 3-2 lead. I could feel the excitement through every pass (something I wouldn’t have expected when I first decided to go). I would definitely suggest to anyone to go to one of these soccer games because they get exciting and it is a great way to support our fellow classmates.

For my career workshop, I went to the America Needs You (ANY) fellowship information session. I was informed about this information session by one of friends, who also went to the ANY information session. The session was on November 13, and was suppose to start at 3:30 PM. However, my philosophy class ends at 3:45 PM, so I was going to be at least fifteen minutes late to the meeting. To my surprise, the information session did not even start yet when I arrived around 3:47 PM. In addition, there were only two other students attending the session, one of which was my friend. In other words, there were only a total of three students attending this ANY fellowship information session. When I realized that there were only three students, I had a pretty strong urge to laugh. Well to be honest, if I did not have to do a career workshop blog post, I would not have attended this meeting either. So after I arrived and sat down, the people in charge presented a slideshow to us. Ironically, three of the slideshows were some forms of icebreakers for the students, which were relatively pointless considering that there were only three students in the room. Later into the meeting, two other students entered the room, making a total of five people; which was still a pitiful number of students in a career workshop. Although there was a pitiful number of students attending the workshop, the ANY information session was still useful. The presenters explained that ANY was a program that assisted low income first generation college students in their college career. The program would assist these low income college students by answering their college questions. In addition, the program would provide internship opportunities to students that successfully join the ANY program. This program may be beneficial to me in the future as I am a first generation college student.

I decided to attend the career and internship fair at Baruch College. I wanted to get an idea about the future and what I think I would want my career path to be. i still am unsure of exactly what profession I would like to get into but I think it would be in the realm of business. At this fair there where many accounting firms and banks and other companies. I took a look around and over heard in a bunch of conversations and got into some myself and I realized maybe I wasn’t as interested of getting into business as I thought I was. This was a great even for me and helped me figure out what I like, I still will probably end up going in the business path but it is very big so I do not yet know what I would like to get into. I would recommend other people to go to events like this to find out what you like and what you think you are interested in and see if you really believe that you belong in that setting or career. That is why everyone should take the opportunity to explore and maybe it would change their minds or reinforce what they thought.

The title explains it all, but I’ll explain it anyway. Some time back, my Anthropology professor, Kenneth “Ken” Guest, assigned a project where students had to visit the Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and create a test based on the information in the exhibit. I had been to the museum many times before, however, I had never spent so much time absorbing one exhibit. Often times when people visit museums they are in a rush to see the entire museum in a reasonable time frame. If people were to actually stop and read every blurb of text, they would spend several days and nights in the place. In 2 hours, I had absorbed more new information than all the other times I had visited the AMNH combined. One interesting fact, my favorite fact from the museum, is that Bonobos, a close primate relative of humans, resolve conflicts by engaging in “make-up sex.” Interesting. I included that fact and many others on the test that I created which is pinned to this post alongside my ticket from the museum.

 

Gym Monologue

The thing about the gym is that at the gym, unless you’re focusing on decreasing what you see on the scale, the numbers go up, not down. Your muscles get bigger. The weights you lift get heavier. The time you can hold a plank gets longer. The number of exercises you can master get more numerous. However, over the last few years, there are a few things I’ve come to love about the gym experience. Here are the top 9, in no particular order

1) Endorphins

Even though I sometimes have to force myself to go, I always enjoy that natural high after a good workout. That feeling of euphoria is a great reward for the hard work I’ve just put in. You never really regret going to the gym

2) Results

It’s a long, slow process, but the results do happen if you stick with it. My father compared it to working with clay… you start off with a shapeless lump; but, every time you go to the gym, you are splashing water on that clay and spinning it, and slowly shaping your body into the figure you desire. You can lose weight without exercising, but how much more will you enjoy a strong, fit body when you finally reach your goal?

3) Health

Every Monday, when I start a new week of working out, I feel stronger than the week before. I find that I can do a few more reps, go a little faster on the treadmill, or do an extra set of weight training than I was previously capable of doing.

4) Variety

Going to the gym means that I have a ton of options available to me, when it comes to my workout routine. I go to a gym that is very basic; but even so, there are quite a few different cardio machines, weight machines, circuit training, and even training classes provided that focus on every part of the body. Every time I start to get bored, I change things up and try something new. And some gyms offer many other resources, such as aerobic classes, spinning classes, yoga, zumba, basketball, swimming, saunas, and many other options.

5) Cost

As I mentioned above, my gym is pretty basic. There are classes, but no pool. It does have plenty of every kind of cardio machine and weight machine you could want, as well as free weights and space for doing floor work. All of this, and it only costs $30 a month with no contractual obligations.

6) Clear Mind

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve had a rough day or was going through a difficult situation and resorted to the gym. It’s a place to go where you can clear your head or maybe even get anger out. You focus on getting a good workout in and work on yourself which forces you to forget everything else.

7) Availability

A lot of gyms these days, not including mine, are open 24 hours. So, there’s no excuse for not finding time to go, even if it’s only for 30 minutes. You can get a good sweat going after 30 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, and even the busiest among us can find 30 minutes in a 24 hour day, at least twice a week, to spend at the gym. That’s another excuse solved. There are even daycare facilities at many gyms, for those who can’t find, or afford, a babysitter.

8) Challenges

Every week, I push myself just a tiny bit harder than I did the week before. I add a workout or to my abs routine, or I go a tenth of a mile an hour faster on the treadmill, or a higher amount of weight for benching. And sometimes I simply try to beat my own previous record, whether it’s an extra rep or maxing out the amount of weight I can do for one rep. Nothing makes me happier than setting a new personal record, and realizing how far I’ve come

9) Partners

My gym partner is my best friend. We motivate each other to go when the other one doesn’t feel like it. But he’s not the only gym partner I’ve ever had. Along the way, I’ve worked out with many different friends, and we’ve always managed to inspire each other to give a greater effort than we would have done alone. This makes the gym experience more enjoyable, and allows my competitive spirit to kick in.

For this career based blog, I recently went to an entrepreneur workshop on october seventeenth. I think it was an overall good experience because it gave the base knowledge of owning a company and being an entrepreneur. It showed the different kids of businesses that could be ran. For an example, they explained the steps on making money online. It gave step by step the way someone would be able to make money through an online company. You don’t even need to leave your house. They also were persistent on how much time and effort it takes to run a company. Having it is a start-up business takes a lot of financial risk but high reward. It gave me ideas on my own business that I could run online. One of my friends on the baseball team already built and sold his online business making a profit of over twenty thousand dollars. The key to building a business is learning what works first. Learning from other successful entrepreneurs is key. Observing to see what works and what fails helps so you don’t make those mistakes. My friend built multiple companies but his success was from “Mutts and Putts”. He sold dog toys, outfits, beds and other accessories to dog lovers online. He was technically the middle man who mad money off a product that wasn’t his. He was just distributing it through an online website. This shows that it is possible to make money without even really having a product that is your own. Another thing that was great about the career fair was free pizza. That was definitely a plus. It helped me get there in the first place from the smell and helped to stay there. Overall I think it was a good experience, although I did have to leave early because I had baseball. I’d go to another one. 

 

T’was the last day of September, and the weather was as hot as summer. I took a hoodie anyway because I knew that my destination would be cool. After about 2 hours of train commute because of messed up weekend schedules, my friend and I ended up walking half an hour to the Museum of Natural History– a great way to start the day. Using my handy-dandy Baruch Student ID, I gained access to the Museum by paying a mere 5 cents, to which the lady gave me a stank face. After all, it was a suggested fee. But because I had a guilty conscience, I ended up forking over $15 anyway. After getting lost in the Museum (because real men don’t ask for directions), my friend and I eventually found the gift shop, where I purchased some crickets for consumption. They were about $3 for 3 crickets and it was so not worth it.They tasted like how flies smell when you kill them with an electric fly swatter and fry them. Since I am a spontaneous person and am good at wasting time, we actually spent more time in other exhibits other than the Hall of Human Origins, which we were supposed to go to. One such exhibit was about minerals and gemstones, where I found out that Gems can be of various colors. For example, an emerald doesn’t HAVE to be green, an onyx gem could be just as green as the former. We ended up exploring a space exhibit as well; we even got to see how much we weighed on other planets! All in all, the Museum was a great experience, and although most of my fun was found in the gift shop, things can get expensive and fast. Note: The astronaut “ice cream” is NOT worth the $7, it was very dry and crumbly.