Check Out My SoundCloud!!

Hey everyone!!

So this was the project that I was really excited to announce: I have a SoundCloud! Before I shared it to anybody I wanted to make sure that I had some content, so now I do!! 
It'll be updated hopefully more frequently from now on. Any song requests, please do let me know!

https://soundcloud.com/rickfanshi 

Or you can click HERE!

Enjoy!

Hawaii!

A little snippet of my time in Hawaii with my good buddy Matt. It's a little bit on the later side of getting all this stuff out, but it was because I was having a nightmare of a time getting the video to work with all the songs and whatnot... As I'm writing this the weather is like in the 40s... I guess that's a wrap with summer.

Enjoy!!

My Attempt to Squeeze Out Ever Last Moment Of Summer

There's a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that shows Calvin being reminded that summer is nearly over and school is about to start, so out of pure frantic he tells Hobbes that they have to go out and do stuff before their summer break is over. 

That has basically been me recently. 

Here's the best part: in a few days, my friend and I will be reuniting and traveling to.... HAWAII!! :D so stay tuned for those updates, and thanks for looking!! 

Also, I've been working on a project very near and dear to my <3, and pretty soon I'll be revealing it to all you loyal peeps that still bother to know what the heck is going on with me. Until then! 

Ode to Another Summer

Summer has always been like my number one favorite season probably because for the first 22 years of my life I lived in a place that only fluctuated from spring to summer as far as the rest of the country is concerned. But somehow, this summer felt different-er than the last couple since I've been out here. 

I love sap. Sap sap sap. There was a phase right before college when I got super into the Nicholas Sparks books my sister brought home. I even helped borrow some for her, you know, so she can read it and stuff... I can't really rattle off the details of many of those books anymore, but the fundamental feeling Nicholas Sparks conveyed to his readers was this feeling of longing. 

But I can also see how that can be a dangerous thing. People read these books expecting people in real life to behave that way, where in reality they are comparing others to one-dimensional characters devised from some random dude. That's the way I've thought about California for a long time, just some awesome awesome place that will literally solve all my problems. When I'm done daydreaming and look at snap back to my reality, I get dissatisfied and think that all I see is THIS. Instead of "why can't my my relationship with him/her be like that?" like in Nicholas Sparks books, it's like "why can't Colorado be as cool as California?"

And it makes no sense I'm beginning to realize. Because sometimes, Colorado is pretty cool. 

Palmer Park

Garden of the Gods

Maybe my thought process has been wrong. Do I want to go back to California? Absolutely. Should I mope until that happens? Probably not. This past summer has been one of many adventures and new faces and experiences, moreso than I would say the past couple summers simply because I'm finally beginning to get used to the way things are out here. Over the course of the past two months I've probably met more people than the past two years combined. All it takes is less daydreaming about what could've been to more daydreaming about what could be. I'm embracing the post-college young adult life more.

It's so simple that I seriously wish I had a time machine so I can go back and punch myself for not thinking about it earlier: When in Colorado, do Colorado. For so dang long I was trying to do California out here, which sucked!! I don't like everything about Colorado, but then again California is not without its faults either!! 

So here's to another summer soon to be gone. 


I am seriously nervous about this whole idea of winter coming again though...

Chinese Heritage Cultural Camp 2

This past weekend I did something that I haven't done in a very long time: volunteer. Yes I've done soup kitchens and stuff, but this is the first time in a long time that I've been a mentor/teacher/counselor for kids. And man have I missed it. And to think I almost missed the entire thing (read on it'll make sense)! 

The camp was called "CHHCII" which is short for something along the lines of Chinese Heritage Cultural Camp 2 (I know the acronym does not line up!). This is not just any ordinary Asian get-together, and believe me, and Asian get-together in Colorado is already an out of the ordinary thing. This is a camp for Chinese born kids adopted into American families. This camp is intended for them to make friends with other kids just like them and have fun with each other while learning a little about their country's culture. While the kids did that, there were parenting classes and seminars for the parents, as well as a couple Chinese culture classes too!

This is Pearl. She's a sixth grader that loves dragons!

So how did I stumble upon this camp?? Of all places, it was a video from YouTube! See, YouTube is useful sometimes. I was watching an interview with a rapper named DanAKADan who talked about how he was a Korean-born adoptee who was adopted into a white family. I found it pretty interesting, but what really piqued my attention was when he was talking about how there's a huge camp for it in... Colorado. Needless to say I was all ears at that point. He talked about how it's sponsored by this organization called Heritage Camps and blah blah blah and before I knew it I was applying to be a camp counselor. And shortly after that I found out that I was selected to be a camp counselor. 

If you don't know, I'm not adopted. I can't say I can really relate to the struggles of being an adoptee because of that. Yet before I knew it I was driving on my way up to Denver to a camp where I was going to be a counselor for Chinese middle schooler adoptees. 

I walked into a room full of Asian counselors in bright pink t-shirts. I already missed the meet and greet the night before because of work, so I was already nervous about how this was going to turn out. Believe it or not, I was actually nervous to be around so many Asians again too! But before I knew it I was talking to the other counselors and realized that many have been volunteering for years while others are newbies like me! And then camp started.

There was so much that happened (I wish I had more pictures!) but through the course of the next few days we watched dragon dancing, ate dim sum, learned to play mah jong, rock climbed, painted finger nails, and so much more. I'm still having a hard time explaining how I feel. I'm so glad to have been a part of this to help the kids, but I also benefited from this so much too. I made so many friends, got to speak with parents and kids in such a great subculture, and really just have an amazing weekend of good food and good company. 

I'm still just speechless from the weekend. I think a huge part of it is because I witnessed people loving each other unconditionally in a way so unfamiliar to me, and that really took me aback in the greatest way possible. I saw parents with so much love that they wanted to share it with ones who need it the most. I saw families with multiple adopted children and families that had both adopted children and their own.

This is Linnea, she came out from Minnesota to support her little sister!

You want to know what's great? There's another camp in September and I got selected to be a counselor for that one too! And I heard this one is even bigger :)

New Mexico, July 4th

First off, kudos and thank you to everyone who still cares to follow my "lil ol' lafe" (imagine it with a Southern twang). I have not been posting that much because it has been a hectic couple of months! 

I've moved out of my old apartment, and have been busy hanging out on the weekends. I also got a gym membership, and although it feels GREAT to be working out again, it's a lot more time consuming than I remembered it to be. 

I went to New Mexico a couple weeks ago! Why? Why not. A couple friends and I took a 3-day weekend to spend time in what is surprisingly a very historical and not-surprisingly a very beautiful state. We also ate lots of Mexican food. 

Thoughts on the trip? It was a great 3-day trip, but I think anything more would've gotten a little bit tiring (clay pueblos are clay pueblos are clay pueblos...) Nonetheless, I thought it was a perfect vacation and a great opportunity to just do a little escaping!

The oldest Church in the USA

Rio Grande

After that mini-vacation was over, it was just in time to celebrate the 4th of July! Although Colorado Springs has a "no fireworks" policy, going out of the city isn't too difficult. I got to watch a fireworks show the day before, and on the 4th I spent it at a coworker's house. This was my first time taking pictures of fireworks and practicing light photography!

All in all, it's been a fantastic summer so far. I can't wait for more summer adventures!

SoCal Vacation

Shot on a GoPro Hero3+ :) Enjoy!

24

God gave me a good start. 

Getting Old or Growing Up?

Today marks my 24th birthday. Turning this age is really weird: I feel like I'm too old for many of the things that college kids do, yet I feel like I'm not old enough to not be not be associated with that age group. 

Of course many would disagree: I'm greeted with marriage proposals on my Facebook and Instagram a lot more frequently. What's alarming to me is that many of these people are no more than a year or two older than me, if not the same age. It's definitely a feeling of happiness seeing these couples, don't get me wrong! But at the same time I find myself looking at the rings on the left hands and thinking about how I am nowhere near such a thing happening in my life. 

You're told to enjoy your youth, and I think it's true! But here's what scares me: am I growing up, or am I just getting old? Is the enjoyment of youth supposed to be the simultaneous growth in maturity, or are the memories from this age reflected on in a good light because of the immaturity that one has at this age?

I've been asking older people what they remember about being 24. Most people I've run into say something along the lines of "24 was a good year." But I realized something: 24 was a good year for many reasons, depending on the person. Some were in school, others were in a relationship, others were working, others were single. And yet they all looked back on 24 fondly. 

So where does that put me? I'm single, work 40+ hours a week, and try to have fun during the weekends and occasionally weeknights as long as it doesn't interfere too much with my sleep schedule. In other words: my life seems rather boring. Am I squandering this youth that those older than me look at with envy? 

23 marked my first entire year of not being a resident of California. It marked one whole year of my life working full-time. It marked the first time having a roommate disaster (cops, anyone?) and a bunch of other experiences. It's funny how I only realize how many firsts I had even at 23!

As anxious as I sound, I'm honestly not really. Learning is incremental, and just like many other things, it's one of those things you don't realize how much you've gained until you take a look back at where you once were. 

So here's to 24, a new year of learning, a new year of adventures, and a new year of experiences in life. Who knows what it'll bring? :)

To the Discouraged: Life is like an MMORPG

As of now, I have lived in Colorado for over a year and a half. Which means that I have subsequently lived for another year and a half, and learned a year and a half worth of things about things. Love, frustration, peace, anger. I won't bore you with the whole list.

When I first accepted this job offer, I thought that there was a specific reason for my coming out to Colorado. That God had these super divine plans for me; that I would realize my "destiny" residing at an altitude closer to the heavens. 18 months later, the revelation still hasn't come. I do not feel any more enlightened, nor do I honestly felt I've grown as a person. So what the heck?

Change is incremental. We like to hear rags-to-riches stories and all those big turnarounds in other people's lives because they seem far more interesting than ours. But the truth is, a majority of change is incremental. It's like an MMORPG (I'm looking at you, Maplestory): when you grind to level up and acquire new skills in the present, it's often tedious and seems like you're getting nowhere. But there's progress! Then, you reach a point where you achieve a high level, and you look back and think "dang, how did I get this far?" Going from 0 to 100 is not "real quick" most of the time in life (sorry Drake). I'm nearing 24 years old, and college already almost feels like a distant memory. Even when I look back that way, I think to myself "dang, that's pretty crazy." 

What am I saying? Has this late night blogging and a whole day of video games gotten me confused? Maybe a little bit, but hindsight is 20/20, meaning I really wouldn't know what the reason of my coming out here is until this chapter of my life is over. 

So to anybody struggling with the reason for their current chapter in life, here are some things that I think are important to remember (believe me, I'm still trying to grasp my own advice):
-Don't worry. If you believe everything happens for a reason, then keep doing what you're doing and don't get discouraged.
-Enjoy yourself. Don't get caught up with what you don't have; rather, focus on all the awesome things that you do. I don't care what anybody says: even dream jobs will suck, and no situation will constantly be perfect. 
-If you're not happy, do something about it. This could be actively finding ways to alter your daily reality, or simply switching your mindset from "oh this sucks" to "okay, well it's not so bad when I think about ______" 
-Don't forget what's important: family, friends, relationships, etc. 

Believe me, some things about Colorado really stink. And for the longest time, I was so mad and complained because I was being a big baby and kept thinking that the world owed something to me. I complained about my job, I complained about the culture, I complained about the demographics, cry cry cry... But the reality is not that bad: I have a job which I can easily fully sustain myself with, I've got to live in a different state which not many of my friends got to, and I know a lot better what I want from myself, my friends, and strangers around me. And weather :)

Does this solve your problems? Not necessarily, but it's a great start to feeling less crummy, that's for sure. So chin up everyone, and let's all try to have a more positive outlook on our lives!

New Year

This was a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of my time in Colorado. I'm beginning to realize family and old friends are extra important. It's a bummer that I couldn't spend New Year's at home as well, but I'll take what I can get! Besides, I'm coming back in a week anyways!!
With the GMAT now out of the way, expect more cool stuff to come!
Here's to a great 2015.