Mexico Outreach

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you all know that I am leaving for Mexico this Saturday with APU's Mexico Outreach. Please pray for us while we are down there. I will be back next Friday (April 2). Have a great week!

Street Photography

Here is my latest Photography 1 Assignment; Street Photography. I thought I would share with all you wonderful people. These photos where taken in Hollywood and Venice Beach. You can always find some interesting people roaming around those areas. Enjoy!

It is now March!!

Venice Beach

ohh hello errrbody, I bet you have been wondering what Ryan has been up to since his last post. Well I am here to help you out! Let's see... where should I begin? Well the reason why I haven't updated recently is because I have been working on my RAC portfolio. For those of you who don't remember what that is it's a portfolio that all the Art majors have to make compiled of the all the art classes I have taken while in college. Quite the process but that has been occupying most of my time. Luckily, that is all done now and it just needs to be processed to see if I have passed or not.

When I have been able to get some free time from working on my portfolio I have been taking pictures for my photography class. This latest assignment is called Street Photography, which is taking candid pictures of people in public places. I have gone to Venice Beach and Hollywood because those places are filled with interesting people. I feel like a creepy stalker though taking pictures of people I don't even know. I was able to develop the first two rolls I have shot and it looks like I have taken some good pictures, so far. I am excited to see how prints are gonna turn out.

Also, it is official, I am going to Mexico over spring break with the Mexico Outreach program here at APU. I know this is going to be a life changing experience especially since I have never done anything like this before. I am on Team VBS, so I'll be able to play with little kids. Please keep us in your prayers.

Lastly, Jared is coming home this next week for his spring break! I am excited to see him and JR, who will be down for the weekend! It is going to be a fun weekend filled with excitement and adventures. haha. I can't wait!

Well that is about it for this post. Until next time!

Photography 1 Assignment.

Here is my first assignment for Photography for all of those who are interested. The point was to capture shapes, (whether geometric or organic) patterns, and/or lines.

Anna Howard Shaw Day

Yesterday was Anna Howard Shaw Day (30 Rock joke) or some other may know it as Valentine's Day. Molly and I planned on having a Disneyland and Rock Harbor day but plans did not work out as planned for us. We drove down to the land of Disney (which was super crowded) but it turned out that it was a block out day for me so that plan was not going to work out. We roamed around Downtown Disney for a bit trying to figure out what we were going to do until church. We decided to go on a little adventure to find the nearest Chic-fil-a or "Chick-filla" as Molly calls it. Neither of us have ever been there before and we always hear people talk about it so we wanted to find out what the hype is about it. There was one about 15 minutes from our current location so we decided to make the trek over. As we made it closer to our destination it was not looking promising since there was only one car in the parking lot and as we drove past the front door to scope it out we see that it is closed on Sunday! So that was a Chic-Failure. We ended up going to Rubio's and making it to church about an hour early. Rock Harbor was Amazing as usually. I forgot how much I missed it. I really wish it was closer so that I could go more often. After we enjoyed a wonderful church service we decided to go see Valentine's Day movie but of coarse knowing our luck the time we choose was sold out but we were able to make it to a later showing at another theater. That pretty much was the sum of my Anna Howard Shaw Day. The lesson of the day was that you can't count on anything because they will let you down except for church/Jesus. Haha yep anyways I hope your Anna Howard Shaw Day or Valentine's Day or whatever you celebrate was a successful one!

Keeping Busy.

Today has been a long day in the dark room. My first project for Photography class is due this week. The demo days were pretty overwhelming because there are a lot of steps and everything is pretty sensitive. In the dark room, there is a closet that is pitch black where you have to take the roll of film out of the canister and into a container all based off of touch. It's an interesting experience. After that you have to develop the film which is exposing the film to different chemical liquids so that we can use it to print. If that is successful then you can start making prints which is what I have been doing all day. Making proof sheets, dodging, burning and basically anything to make the prints look decent has been my challenge of the day. I have gone through a lot of paper and I am not 100% satisfied with my final prints but it is my first time. I will try and post them when I get a chance.

This past weekend, I did my first APU Azusa Food Bank Ministry service. It was a rainy morning and we went to Foothill church which is just down the street. I got assigned to washing tables and then folding clothes for the homeless to go through and pick out what they want. After that I cleaned dishes (I realized that I kind of like washing dishes. haha). Then once we opened the doors to the homeless people, I served salad and pudding to them. It was eye opening experience because I never gave much thought to a homeless person and it made me thankful for how much God has provided for me. We are all blessed. All the volunteers were pretty cool. They were all freshmen except for the leaders. haha. I feel like such a newbie ever since I transferred. Next time we are suppose to go help at another church so it will be interesting to see how they help out those less fortunate.

Also, I finally joined 24 hour fitness! I am going to try to go at least 3 times a week but so far these first days of having the membership have been busy. I might have to reevaluate my goal but hopefully I will be able to get into the groove of things and make time for it.

Alright that is pretty much it on this end. Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods.

Signing Up.

It is now February and things have been going well for me since the last post. A quick recap of my last weekend consisted of going home for the night because of a doctors appointment, running errands, going to Benihana's to celebrate Molly Miller's birthday (which was fun and delicious!) and then a day devoted to homework. As for my goals, reading the bible 3x a weeks has started off to a good start but I have not been able to join 24 hour fitness yet. There is a special deal that you can buy at Costco for the gym membership but I was unaware that Costco does not take Visa credit. Hopefully I'll be able to sort that out this weekend. Also this weekend I signed up for Azusa Food Bank Ministry with APU which starts saturday. The ministry is at a local church which basically helps serve food to the community. This takes place 2 saturdays each month (working on my MAS credit). I already know the girl that is in-charge because I met her earlier in my swimming class today. I've also finished my Mexico Outreach applications and just need to get that turned in by the end of this week. The application asked a lot of deep questions that I don't normally think about on my own. Some of them were 3 great passions in my life, 2 strengths and how they have been reaffirmed in the last 6 months, 2 weaknesses and how God is working on them, and examples of how you have seen Jesus Christ love you, and how you have shown His love to someone else. Pretty deep stuff so it took me little bit of thought to answer those. I am starting to enjoy this semester more and more as new opportunities arise. I was worried it was going to be hard with 5 of my friends missing (I realized that is a lot to lose for 1 semester) but I am putting God in control & I am excited for what is next!

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Today in my Health class we were suppose to make a S.M.A.R.T. Goal for ourselves. I made 2 for myself.

S - Specific

M - Measurable

A - Attainable

R - Realistic

T - Time

(Incase you were wondering)

First Goal: Read my Bible 3 times a week for at least 10 minutes for the next month. (1/26 - 2/26)

Second Goal: Go to the gym for an hour or more 3 times a week for the next 6 weeks. (1/30 - 3/13)

The reason why I have end dates is so that once I have reached that time limit I can go back and reevaluate how I've done in accomplishing these goals and alter for improvements. We are also suppose to put the exact time of the day we are going to do this but as of right now I don't have an exact time because each day is different. So we shall see how these goals progress over the next few days. I hoping all goes well and I am able to follow through.

Also, recently, I have felt God is calling me to take some action serving wise. I enjoy doing community service usually but I have a hard time actually taking the time to do it. I've been trying to scope out and see what there is for me to do while I am here at APU and what I find the best connection with. That has been the hardest part for me is what I am passionate about towards helping out. As of right now, I am leaning towards going on the Mexico Outreach they have here at APU. I haven't made any commitment yet but I have been praying about it and so far that has been the most concrete answer I have received so far.

Lastly, for all the Art Majors we have to go through this process called a R.A.C. (Review of Artistic Competencies) Review. This is a portfolio of all the artwork we have done thus far after completing our Core Art classes (Drawing, 2D Design, 3D design, and Intro to Computer Graphics). Basically what this RAC Review does is help see if our artwork indicates the right concentration we are currently focused on. If our major and artwork don't necessarily complement each other then the professors reviewing the portfolio will help guide that student to the right area of art they should be focussed on. You also need to pass this in order to take upper division class and graduate. I am not too worried about it just putting all this together is a little stressful and nerve racking. This is due March 1st so hopefully all will go well!

Alright that is all that is currently going on in my life at the moment. Until next time!

I got Skype.

Hey Kids,

I got Skype! Ya so add me. My screen name is RaddicalRyy.

DO IT!!!

Let me know what yours is!

The Ships Have Sailed.

Well the last of my friends have left. Josh is off to South Africa for 3 1/2 months. It was nice to have him come and visit for a few days here at APU before he left. He's a funny kid. Now that a majority of my friends are gone for the time being I need to find something to help occupy my time. Focusing more on school work sounds like a logical answer but that is a lot harder for me to do then it sounds. I want to get involved with something on campus but I just don't know what yet. Besides all that, it has still be raining like crazy here in SoCal. We have basically had ever type of storm from thunder and lighting to hail today. I can't believe how intense it gets outside. The puddles just keep getting bigger and bigger outside making them much harder to avoid. The only time I enjoy the rain is when I have nothing to do but going back and forth between classes this week is not enjoyable but I am lucky I have my truck to help me get from East to West Campus. Then only other good thing about rain is that some classes get cancelled because of it. My weekend has started as of tonight so it can keep raining for now. Hopefully it will be done before next week starts. Well to all my friends who are abroad, I hope everything is going great for you and hopefully the weather is much more enjoyable and to those friends that still are local, let's hang out soon!

A whole lot of rain.

For the past few days it has been raining like crazy. Sunday is when it all started, but then Monday came the wind combined with the rain, and today the thunder and lightning arrived. I don't remember the last time it has ever been so non-stop especially with more rain on the way. I can't wait for the rain to be gone by Saturday! The one good thing about the rain is it actually made me rediscover my love for The Fray today. It is perfect easy listening for rainy days. I love APU but this also made me realize the one thing I miss about going to a commuter college, which is the drives. That may sound weird but that was the one time I could listen and sing out loud any music of my choice without worrying about bothering people around me. It was a great stress reliever... not that I am stressed or anything, it's just fun to do. I find it interesting how powerful music can be sometimes with changing a mood or helping reflex on past memories with older songs. As dumb as this may sound I kind of compare music to being a type of time machine warping us to the memories of something important that stood out to us when we were listening to a song. Just like when I hear certain songs remind me of a certain friend or experience. Pretty interesting what music can do. Well that is all I have to share for now. Hope things are going well where ever you might be.

First Week.

I've made it through my first week of school! Now I am on a 4 day weekend, which is nice since this first week felt so long. Here is a run down of the classes I am taking.

• Graphic Design 1: deals with text or typography as it is called. This should be an interesting class since you never really think of the structure of fonts. My professor seems quirky. She has been in the graphic design program since before computers were used. It will be cool to see what I get out of this class.
• Spanish 2/Lab: For those of you who don't know, Spanish 1 was a struggle for me. I am hoping I can improve this semester. I have a didn't professor this time around so I am hoping that will be a good change. We shall see how it goes!
• Health: This class is at 8am and I am not a morning person. The professor is the coach for the baseball team so he seems slightly intense but he also seems pretty cool. I think this class could be good for me since I am not a very healthy eater so I am hoping I can pick up some good habits from this class.
• Photography 1: I took photography back at CSUN but it dealt with slide film. This class we will actually get to develop our own pictures. I am looking forward to that! The rest of it seems like it might be pretty much a review for me. The professor for the class is very chill and laid back so it should be a good class.
• Christian Life, Faith, and Ministry: For this class, so far all I understand is that we are suppose to learn how to use our Christian understanding throughout different circumstances in life. I am not sure how I feel about this class. The professor seems a little out there. haha I don't really know how to describe it. All I've heard from friends that have taken the class is that it's boring. I guess we shall see how it goes.
• Swimming: For the first day of swimming, we had to do 100 meter freestyle. I was not expecting it to be as hard as it actually was but I've also never swam before. I have only leisurely done swimming during the enjoyments of summer. There are about 10 of us in the class 3 guys and the rest girls. All the girls have swam before back in high school or what not while it seems like the guys have no idea what they are doing. Hopefully, I'll be able to strengthen my aquatic abilities without killing myself.

Well, there is a breakdown of my class schedule for this semester. If all goes well I'll be more rounded with my major, foreign language, faith, and healthier/fit. Also, I have started the process of joining a gym. I got a 7 day access pass at 24 hour fitness which will most likely lead to getting a membership. If I decide to put out the money for it. Alright time to enjoy my weekend! Peace.

It's Starting Again.

School starts back up tomorrow. It's weird to be back at APU without some familiar faces. I am anxious for classes to start. I just wish it was possible to fast forward a few weeks when I'm all settled in to the school routine. When I was at home I just wanted to get school started but now that I am here I just want to be back home. What a conundrum! Hopefully I like my classes. I wish I didn't have to keep taking GE classes but by the end of this semester I should be all done with them. I feel like I have taken a lot of classes already yet I still have a lot more to take... I guess at this moment in college I am directly at the halfway point. Well I am happy that I am at least making progress. It is crazy to think that in less then 2 years I will be all done with school. With school getting close to its end and having friends studying abroad this semester has made me realize that I want to travel more. Yahoo! had this list of the world's greatest views. How awesome would it be to go to all these places? I would like try and make it to all of them or even to see half would be pretty amazing. Well I guess I shouldn't fantasize too much about traveling when I have school coming tomorrow. I need to just take it one day at a time. I am getting in too deep over my head. Some sleep will help prepare me for a new day.

12 Things I did over Winter Break.

1. Hiking Escondido Falls (& running into Jason from True Blood).

2. Good bye Party for Jared & Jen (even though they did not leave till 2 weeks after).

3. Walking through the Light Festival in Griffith Park.

4. Medieval Times

5. Christmas time at Disneyland.

6. New Year's Eve Dinner with JR & Jared.

7. Camping out for the Rose Parade.

8. Paint War!

9. Nicole comes to visit.

10. Huzzah at Disneyland.

11. Final Good bye for Jen & Molly.

12. Free 21 Choices in Pasadena.

Perspective

It's is a new year and already things are going to be completely different this year. Especially this next semester at school. I have 3 friends studying abroad in Australia for 4 months and 1 moving to Tennessee. My emotions have been bouncing back and fourth about this. How long is 4 months going to be? Is the time going to go by fast or feel like forever? To me it seems like all my friends are having fun and exciting lives while I am here at home, but I am so proud of them for pursuing their dreams. They make me want to do something important with my life and time. I can't wait for them to come back and share all their fun adventures with me. But while they are gone who is going to hang out with me? Parts of my comfort zone are leaving me... is this a good or bad thing? I am going to try and look at it like a good thing. God is testing me to be productive with my time and not fall back on my current comforts. I am hoping I will be able to make positive changes in my life and grow as a person as well as in my faith. I am hoping I can be more outgoing and meet new people while doing well with school and using my time wisely. I am thinking about looking for a job on campus and joining a gym. The possibilities seem endless. Only time will tell with what will come during the next 4 months. I know there are going to be ups and down but I am interested to see what God has in store for me. No doubt about it, it's going to be an interesting semester.

My Mind is Running.

Well, Well, Well... I felt like I needed to create one of these blogs to keep in check with what all my friends are doing while they are studying abroad. Plus I can update this to keep all my friends posted on how things are going on the home front.

Just gonna keep it short and simple for this first post.

Peace Out.