Well Look What We Have Here...

It looks like I've gone an awfully long time without posting another blog - I really am terrible at this, aren't I?

Anyway, things have been rather busy, but excellent. I started my graduate school courses which are ah-mazing! Really, I couldn't be more excited! It feel so good to be back in a classroom, taking notes and reading textbooks. And please, no need to tell me I'm a nerd, I'm already well-aware.

I also posted a new video for work (hooray!), and honestly, if it's not too arrogant for me to say - I think it's my best one yet. Take a look and attempt the project if you like!  :]

And the quest to switch from coffee to tes is going amazingly well. I haven't had coffee in 10 days and don't miss it one bit! No caffeine headaches, or extreme drowsiness at all. If anyone is thinking of making the switch, I highly recommend it. No coffee breath, that's got to be a perk, yeah?

Whelp, I suppose that's all for now - hopefully I'll have something more exciting to say soon. Until next time, stay classy interwebs.

My Quest to Quit Coffee

A major pet peeve of mine at work is the fact that some of my co-workers don't seem to have the courtesy to brew a new pot of coffee when the carafe is near-empty, leaving nothing but burnt, undrinkable liquid in the bottom. So I nearly always need to brew a new pot when I get to work - rather irksome when it's early in the morning.

So I've decided to take the plunge and try to give up my addiction to coffee and replace it with a more healthy option - tea. Now I haven't really read any studies or anything, and have absolutely no evidence to back my claim, but I feel that tea would be a better source to quench my caffeine addiction than coffee.

And if not, at least it will make my breath smell better.

Today on my lunch hour I popped into Tevana and picked up their Perfect TeaMaker. It's a rather neat contraption that allows you to brew a single cup of tea really easily. You just add water and tea leaves, let it steep for as long as needed, then place it on top of your mug and let the tea drain into your cup. Bellissimo! 

I also picked up some tea which apparently has 100% the caffeine of coffee, so hopefully this will make the switch easier. My main concern is making sure I don't get a headache at noon, so I'll try to keep you posted (dear Blogland) in case any of you out there are thinking of doing something similar.

Oh, Well Hello There...

I suppose I haven't posted an update recently, and I'm sure you've been missing out on some 'Jessica Time'. So what's been going on recently?

Well not a whole lot, really (which I suppose is why I haven't posted). I thoroughly enjoyed my time at home with my family for the holidays, and was a little sad to come back to CA. But being back means more snowboarding time (yay!) and I must say I'm getting rather good.

Since the holidays, I've officially become a published author, which is pretty rad. The book is called Stamps in Class 'Mini Projects' and it's a collection of projects and things that I've put together since working at Parallax. You can take a look at it for free on this page.

I also start graduate school next Tuesday, which I really could not be more excited about! I do my most amazing work when I'm juggling a million different things, so I'm excited to get back 'in the zone'. In undergrad I worked 30+ hours a week as an Applications Engineer while going to school full-time, and I got better grades while holding that job than when I was working 20+ hours at New Balance!

School really is what I'm best at, where I've always excelled. Some kids were good at sports, some good at dance or student government, and while I am a pretty decent singer, school was my talent. I should have never bothered with dance lessons or playing soccer or swim team - I should have joined the Mathletes or something because I was in the business of getting A's. If only I had the courage to accept my nerdiness back then...

I mean really, is there anything better than well-organized notes, highlighted passages in books or color-coded and labeled Post-It notes marking important pages?

I didn't think so.

Plus this time I have the Smart Pen on my side - an amazing device which records audio and syncs it with what you're writing. That means, if I miss the professor saying something, I can just tap the paper and fill in my notes accordingly. 

I am so so so so so so excited!!!