2/7/2012

Tuesday, February 07, 2012 / / comments (0)

Keeping to my word, I'm updating exactly a week after my first post of the new year.

I just want to take a second to say how truly grateful I am that life has worked out the way it has. I have spent the last 24 hours, and will spend the next 48 hours in Utah-- on a paid company trip. The company I work for has done extremely well over the past few years and they've brought all of us together to celebrate. Lucky for me, I just joined at the right time. I don't think I wouldhave this job, or truly be who I am, without this blog-- so thanks for reading. Those who actually care about me and my writing are who truly inspire me. So thank you.

As fora  goal this week-- it's only appropriate that my goal be to learn to ski or snowboard (better).

Unfortunately it doesn't look like this goal will get accomplished in the next 48 hours-- but seeing everyone enjoying themselves on the mountain has made me realize I should really give it another chance.

I went snowmobiling this morning and was a HUGE fan-- so maybe that's reason enough to plan another cold weather trip. Then I'll have an excuse to learn how to enjoy the cold...

Thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing you again next week.

1/31/12 ... The One Year Anniversary Check-In

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 / / comments (0)

I have absolutely no idea where to start with this entry. 

I've meant to sit down and write this "catch-up" post for over 2 weeks now. I've set appointments on my calendar, cancelled plans to set aside time and even set the blog as my home page to remind me to update this page-- but I could never find the courage to actually confront the disaster I've left behind... my abandoned blog. 

I'm proud to say that though I may have neglected to update this page-- my goals have not been forgotten. 

First and foremost, I accomplished goal #11, which has been plaguing me since long before I put it in writing. I found a full-time job (and one I enjoy and am satisfied with...). I accomplished this on November 15th, and started work just three days later, on the 18th. Six months after graduating and a week before my 23rd birthday I could finally breathe a sigh of relief-- I had a job I was excited about and my long and arduous job search had finally concluded (at least for the foreseeable future). 

If you want to know what I'm up to these days, as always, please just shoot me an email (cantonpnc@gmail.com), a facebook message, or a tweet (@cantonpnc) ... I'd love to catch up. But to provide you with a brief tease-- I work as an Analyst focused on client development for a company called Axiom. Long-story-short, we do consulting for F500 companies concerning their legal spending, ediscovery and litigation needs, and how we could help alleviate or redistribute some of those costs. So what that means for me is that I build, maintain and foster relationships with tons of well known companies, which is something I truly enjoy doing. Also, I am heavily involved in one of the fastest growing and most innovative companies in the legal field-- it is an opportunity that has exceeded my expectations for my first "real" job and it keeps me excited to see what the future has in store.

Next on my list was accomplished late in my senior year of college and truly perfected over this past summer. I can now write legibly with my left hand. I even took notes with my left hand the other day after getting a paper cut on the index finger of my right hand (I forgot how much those sting...). I know, truly fascinating stuff...

While I am yet to invest in the stock market I do now have a financial advisor... so hopefully he twists my arm into making some intelligent investments in the near future. Who knows-- maybe I buy some Facebook stock tomorrow...

Another goal I was able to accomplish came far easier than I ever imagined. Throughout the months of July and August I stayed off Facebook. Once I got started it actually turned out to not be very hard at all. It was actually a nice break-- a goal I would suggest everyone try to accomplish at some point (though you better keep in touch with me through email!).

Another goal was to grow a plant I'm proud of-- and after two attemps (may my jalapeno plant rest in peace) I've grown a vine that is on the fast track to taking over my bathroom. We are between naming him "contagion" or "wildfire"... but either way-- the plant spreads like crazy.

A few other are in the works (cooking class booked, flying lesson booked, hypnosis session in the works, etc.) but for now those are all the updates. 

From here on I'm vowing to make a return to the world of blogging. While accomplishing my goals is a good start-- I created this blog to remember goals as I thought of them. So from now till I decide to stop I'll be writing one new goal a week. I know, not nearly as impressive as a goal a day-- but I think this is just the start of my comeback.

As I sit on the train from DC to Stamford I'm staring out the window and thinking of what an appropriate metaphor this truly is. The world outside my window is flying by, and while I know roughly where I am and what I'm looking at I truly don't have time to stop and appreciate what what I'm seeing. It is exactly how I have felt about the past year. From the debate between grad school vs the "real world", to the choice between living and working in China or staying stateside, to where I would move after graduation-- not to mention all the craziness living in DC and having 4 different jobs has been. I'll spare you the details, but I'm sure you're starting to get idea-- this has been a crazy year. But much like this train ride, when I arrive at my destination there is no where I'd rather be. When I get off the train I'll be reunited with my family-- both parents under one roof and Chloe recovering from getting her wisdom teeth yanked (yes, I'm playing supportive older brother-- even if only for a night). And at the end of this tumultuous year I'm living in Washington, working a job I'm excited about and I'm relieved to report life is good. I was faced with millions of choices this past year, but at the end of the day I can confidently say I wouldn't change a single one of them if I was given the chance. 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Have a great week and I love the feedback, so please don't hesitate to comment below.

7/24/2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011 / / comments (0)

I promise I'm going to try to get better with this updating this page. And if you know me then you know I rarely make promises, so this is a big step. But after talking about this page with a few of my coworkers on Friday, and starting another blogging project (don't worry, I'll update you on that in the next few weeks) I realized my love for this page has not been eradicated, it has simply been hibernating for the past few months.

But I'm back! I've accomplished quite a few of my goals- I now am the proud owner of a Sony a580 DSLR, "a camera I'm proud of",done a wine tasting, shaved everyday for a month... and have been pretty busy otherwise... but I'm going to accomplish more goals in the near future! I promise!

As for the personal side, I am moving apartments next week and starting a new job next week... so life should be hectic. But rather than neglecting this blog and deciding I should be doing "better, more productive things with my time" I've decided to embrace it. Not to treat this blog like a journal, because as those who are close to me know, I have a personal blog and if you search long and hard enough for it you can track that down (good luck, my interest is in cybersecurity... don't think you'll be able to find it). But to use this blog to keep myself focused on what I truly care about. While working is great, my love of life and my true passions are what I use my time outside of the office for. I need this blog to remind me of that.

I created this blog to ensure I didn't forget my dreams and my life goals. It's time to stop running from this blog and to start adopting it into my lifestyle.

Hopefully I can accomplish more of my goals in the near future, and as always, if you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to leave them as comments below. Even anonymous comments are welcome!

Thanks for reading and have an amazing few days until you read this page again.

P.S. Here are some of my favorite pictures taken with the new camera, in case you're interested (i.e. family... or photographers looking for a paid young staffer...)

My parents 1953 Packard Caribbean Convertible's white tires at a car show while home for Father's Day. Love this car.

Arlington National Cemetery. No particular reason for this grave, just one of many stoic, but beautiful shots from a few hours spent there. Hope to visit again soon.

6/12/2011

Sunday, June 12, 2011 / / comments (0)

Ok, so it's time to come clean and resurface.

There is no acceptable excuse for my absence, but in my defense, the last month may have been the most hectic of my life.

I crammed for finals, graduated college, said goodbye (for now) to all of my friends I've made for the past four years, packed up my life, drove from AZ to CT (with more than a few stops along the way), spent 12 days catching up with family and friends, then moved down to Arlington, VA (just outside of Washington, DC) and started work.

Needless to say, I've been busy.

I've accomplished many goals on my list (check the compiled list to see!) and also thought of many more goals that I want to accomplish.

But I've come to recognize that I wasn't accomplishing things as quickly as I'd hoped. And that was in large part due to the fact that I spent too much of my time thinking of goals and adding them to my list, rather than being out in the world knocking items off my bucket list!

The whole purpose of this list was to get out and accomplish more of my dreams, not to have more dreams. It has been a learning experience and I expect it to continue to be as I do not intend to stop adding to this blog.

I've decided not to stop all together, but instead just to add on a more sporadic basis.

To my loyal readers, thank you, and I promise NEVER to go missing for a month again.

I plan to update at once a week at a minimum, and hopefully more often than that.

I would suggest signing up for the email updates (on the left side of the blog) if you haven't already. They won't spam you, I promise, but it will send you an email of my post whenever I put one up. And since they will be in more random and unmethodical timing I would suggest getting the emails rather than checking every day as this may become a bit monotonous and disappointing.

I will add pictures and stories of the goals I've accomplished soon, and will continue to add goals in the near future.

Again, thanks for reading, sorry for the hiatus and I hope the time off gave you some time to start a bucketlist of your own.

-Philip

5/2/2011

Monday, May 02, 2011 / / comments (0)

We got over 1,000 page views last month!

Always my goal, so awesome to see that I reached it again. Thanks everyone for reading. I hope you're enjoying reading this blog as much as I am writing it.

Now to the goal:

Complete the 365 Question Challenge in a day
(^^^^^Click that link to take you to the site for further explanation)


Really cool site I came across. I was intrigued by the challenge as I love any activity that is mentally stimulating and makes my reflect simultaneously.

I hope some of you take up the arduous task of attempting to answer these questions and please let me know how it goes.

Have an amazing Monday and, I hope, an even better Tuesday. See you tomorrow.

5/1/2011

Sunday, May 01, 2011 / / comments (2)

As I sit here watching the Mets destroy the Phillies (it's 1-0 Mets as of this moment... top of the 7th, 1 out) it just crossed my mind. How is this goal not on my list?

Attend the World Series


That's the team that made me love baseball, the 1998 World Series Champion NY Yankees.

My Bernie Williams jersey still hang on my wall.

I digress.

Hopefully I'd be able to go to all 4 games and see a Yankee sweep, but if not I'd happily settle for just going to one game.

Regardless, I would love to go to a World Series game and absolutely see the Yankees making an appearance there in the next 9 years.

Hopefully I can support the Yanks on the road for a World Series game. The tickets are way too pricey in the new stadium!

Thanks for reading. Again, I'm sorry I was behind, it was a bit of a hectic week.

But thanks for taking time out of your day to read this blog, I truly appreciate the support.

Comments, critiques, questions; all that fun is always welcome, so please feel free to leave it below.

You can even comment anonymously! Doesn't that sound like fun!?!

Until tomorrow, thanks for reading and see you soon.

4/31/2011

Sunday, May 01, 2011 / / comments (0)

Read the Bible


Google comes up with some pretty awesome images sometimes, and this was no exception. Didn't even have to leave the first page to find this gem.

If you know me well then you know religion plays a very ambiguous role in my life. While I won't go into specifics due to those who are close to me who I know read this blog, I will say ignorance is no excuse for religious beliefs.

It is one thing to not believe in a religion. It is another to not believe in a religion and not know the stories behind it.

Therefore, I believe I should read the stories before making any sort of decision. And sadly at this point in my life I'm embarrassed to say I am yet to read the Bible cover-to-cover. And this seems like a fantastic way to change that.

Thanks and hope I didn't offend anyone. If I did then I guess I just lost a reader... oops...

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