Senior year and a job

It's December of my senior year already and so far school is going by extremely fast. It's bittersweet because I want it to end but I actually enjoy going to school and seeing everybody. I also like being on a schedule, but I have a good feeling when high school is over I will live better being off a schedule. Anyways, I was just thinking about senior year and how things have changed since freshman year. Unlike the rest of MHS seniors, I for some reason still have this motivation to do well in school. Yeah I know grades don't count and colleges don't look at them and all that bullshit, but I have a feeling if I slack off now, chances are I'll slack off in my freshman year of college. So if I can keep up this motivation and not develop bad habits like sleeping in class and just not doing any work, I'll continue to do well in college. We'll see what happens.

If you don't like to listen to music or watch movies, chances are I won't like you that much. But thats not to say we can't be friends. Many of my good friends aren't that thrilled with seeing a movie or listening to music, but it seems its easier to become friends when they like either of the two. I saw a kick-ass movie today. It was called "Almost Famous", and was about this kid who writes and follows a band around. The soundtrack alone is insane but if you have a chance to see it definitely take it.

Three weeks have passed since I got a job at Cheeburger Cheeburger. Its pretty cool there, but starting out is rough. Right now I only have training in Bar/To go, which is at the bar station right when you walk in. Tables order shakes and I make them at the bar. Also at the bar I handle take out orders. I picked up on how things run pretty quickly, but the work can be a lot sometimes. When it gets busy its rushing around in a small space trying to make a crazy shake, like a peanut butter oreo strawberry m&m shake. People are crazy. And then there are times when there are hardly any customers, which sucks because there's nothing to do.

It's really hard to get shifts to work. Right now I'm not on the daily schedule which sucks because I want to work. Hopefully I'll be put on soon. Cheeburger uses a program called Schedulefly. Basically all the shifts are posted online. People drop shifts and we receive a text which tells us we can pick it up. Its annoying because you have those people who sit at a computer, waiting for a shift, so you really have to be fast.

Thats about it. Lately I haven't been busy, just trying to pass the time by.

Snow Patrol recently released a new album. Its real good so if your looking for something good to listen to, check it out.

Later.

Josh

I'm finally back. I sorta forgot about this blog, and there was a couple of times where i would start writing and then say to myself, "whats the point, nobody is going to read this anyway". Not this time though.

So here's and update of my life since my last blog. Wow, its been nearly 8 months.

April- April 6th is my birthday. This year I turned 17, which meant getting my license which was pretty sweet. I drive a used Hyundai Sante Fe, (paid for by me and my relatives) and I remember the first week I was just driving to random places across Manalapan, just because I could. Gas from April-October sucked since I paid around $3.50/gallon, but now in November its under $2. Driving has been fun, its made my life a whole lot easier and less reliant on my parents.

May, June- Nothing too much about these months. End of the school year bullshit, days are getting hotter and I just wanna get the hell out of school.

July, August- Camps finally here. I work at Frogbridge Day Camp. This summer was filled with a bunch of fun times. We all could drive so we hung out with middle camp people a lot. My group this year was pretty good, just a few kids that were annoying but overall I liked my kids. Actually I kinda miss them. My weekend job and Frogbridge on the catering team was pretty lucrative and I'm working my way up.

At the end of August I took a 2 week trip to Germany. I had a great time there and its changed my life. I can't wait to go back. I'll try and blog about it when I have some time, since I have a lot to say.

September, October- Senior year at Manalapan High School starts. My classes are all for the most part easy, except for english. I start again my tutoring for the SATS. I can honestly say that I worked my ass off studying for this test. And it paid off, I got what I wanted when I took them in October. Then I applied to some colleges; University of Maryland, Rutgers, and Penn State. We'll see what happens. I'm just glad its over. I'm so sick of talking about GPA and SAT scores and everything else that goes along with college stuff.

November- I joined the YMCA. Lets see how that goes. I'll admit I'm not the most committed person in the world. They got a pretty good facility there, a lot better than Elite. I applied for a job at Chee burger, because every other restaurant wont hire until 18 since they serve alcohol and I'm sure as hell not working at a retail store. Training is in 2 days so lets see what happens.

Otherwise, life is good. Lately me and my friends have been playing soccer at the rec. Thats a lot of fun. I watched so many good movies since my last post it would be crazy to mention all of them. Music also.

For the past month the band "Explosions in the Sky" has kept me alive. Download their songs, I still can't get over how good they are.

So I'm not really sure who is reading this, so I'm going to ask if you would leave me a comment letting me know you read it. Its encouraging to know that someone is reading my work rather than me just writing for the sake of writing.

Thats all I have in me for now. Catch ya later.

Josh

I don't wanna grow up

It is starting to seem that as I grow older, the more and more I wish I was still at a younger age. Therefore sometimes I feel like I don't want to ever grow up, which leads me thinking about life when I was younger and how much I'd appreciate more to not do adult things. If I had a choice to either stay a child my whole life or grow up and be an adult, I think right now I would chose to grow up.
Looking back to when I was a kid, not 11 or 12 but prior to that, say 4 or 5, life was pretty swell. There was nothing too stressful to worry about, just things like what color popsicle to go after and who to say my best friend is. It was rather nice not having all the responsibilities that life hands down to you as you get older, and the simple activities were enough to keep me busy and happy. With that said, after growing older and finding a more complex life to live, it is worth having all these good and bad things that come with it. Think of this analogy if you are confused: (I was inspired after eating an apple today) Person A has an apple. Person B has an identical apple as person A. So time goes by, and person A decides not to bite into the apple. Person A does not know what will happen if they do, so they play it safe and do not take the chance. On the other hand, person B bites into the apple. Two things happen. First off, person B bites too hard into the apple and ends up enduring the pain of losing a tooth. After the pain is gone, person B takes another bite and enjoys the delicious taste of the apple. Understand? Person A is that child that never grows up, staying a child for their whole life and enduring neither the good nor bad life has in store for us. Person A is that guy that grows up, fighting the hardships in life and enjoying the pleasures.
If I had the choice to stay a child my whole life, I'd chose not to take it. I'd take the risk of growing up 100 out of 100 opportunities. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to grow up. Who does? It sucks being an adult and dealing with what adults deal with. But at the same time, I need to grow up. It is inevitable. I'd rather suffer all evil that comes with growing up in order to experience all of the good stuff, such as driving, traveling, starting a family, etc. then not have either of the two at all.

I know if from an outside perspective, this might indeed sound crazy, but if you are willing to have the patience needed to furthermore think about this subject I strongly suggest you read the novel, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It somewhat parallels to what I am saying here, and maybe it will spark some thoughts as it did when I read it.

Whats going on in my life, you may ask?

I got a car over the weekend. Its pretty sick and I can't wait to drive it alone when I get my license in three weeks. It is a used silver Hyundai Sante Fe, a very fine car for a new driver if I might add.

I haven't been really watching too many movies anymore. I did see some though, because I am an addict and cannot go a weekend without watching at least one. I saw Police Academy, Glory Road, and Enemy of State, all of which I suggest you see.

My new music consists of songs made by Sigur Ros. They are rather motivational. Although they do not contain that many words, the use of instruments and sound devices is phenomenal.


Quote of the day: "What you do with your time helps to define you, so be sure you're making the most of it."


Let there be no wasted time in our lives. No regrets, just lessons learned.

'Till I write again.

Josh

Stupid people doing stupid things

I don't like stupid people. I also don't like going to bed and waking up early in the morning for school. Maybe I'm not a person who likes to be organized and on a schedule, or maybe I just like to do what I want and that does not include a schedule. Now back to stupid people. Its not that they are necessarily stupid its just that they don't spend enough time thinking about what they do before they actually do it. For example, today was a pretty important day for try-outs on the high school golf team. So we went to Hole in One and did our thing on the mini-par 3 course. There was this kid there, had to have been a freshman or a sophmore, that was pretty damn awful. You could really tell he's never played golf before when he banks a shot into the water on a hole about 3 or 4 times before finally giving up. But I have nothing wrong with that, because at one point in time I was that freshman loser that couldn't hit a golf ball for his life. Things are different now though I've been taught how to play golf well but theres always room for improvement. Alright we're now on like the 6th hole, which has a pretty big lake guarding the green. So the kid keeps shanking it left into the water, but he somehow gets it onto the green safely after basically his 8th stroke. Anyway, the point of the story is the kid lies about his score when asked by one of the varsity guys from last season. He looks at him with a sorta confused look. Then he turns to me and I give him this "don't believe that shit" face and shake my head. There is one thing I can't stand and that is being lied to. He's stupid enough to think that we are oblivious to the world and can not score correctly. And in doing so with two kids who have been on the team for years is just even more foolish.

I gotta admit sometimes I'm just as bad as that kid. I cheat sorta often in school on tests and shit. Teachers should be able to catch us more often but they're only there for a pay check, so I'll take as much as they will give us. Its pretty funny how many kids cheat and get away with it. Gotta be at least 3/4 of our school. I know it won't be put up with in the real world, but I'm way too lazy to change my ways right now.

I'm too tired to be blogging for the moment, I had to do some last minute stuff for school like usual. I'm an extreme procrastinator by the way. Until tomorrow, to be continued, c ya later peace out and good night.

jsiegz

"This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo"-Eminem

While sitting at my kitchen table this morning, taking an SAT practice test for my tutor, a thought came into my mind. 20 years from now, is all this going to matter? Is it going to really going to make a difference if i have a B+ GPA as opposed to an A- GPA? Or can that kid who gets a B- GPA be more successful than those students who got an A GPA. And what about the SAT scores. Will it matter if i get a 1100 instead of close to a 1300? Does my SAT scores really matter to whether or not I can be successful and happy in life? Does any of all this high school pressurized competition B.S. matter in the real world?

I've heard from some people it does, and from others it doesn't. 20 years from now, where ever I am, i will be sure to come back to this blog, if the Internet (or world) hasn't blown up by then, and answer the questions I am currently asking myself (as a junior in high school) for all you readers out there.

The basis of the creation and thought-process that went into starting this topic actually came from yesterday. After a morning spent exercising and playing basketball at the local gym, my family and I took a trip to New York. I usually spend the car rides listening to my Ipod. So we went to this big-time Italian owned car dealership and I bought my first car. I'm bringing it home next Saturday and am pretty excited. All will be well when I actually get my license in April. Anyway, all of the car ride home I was thinking about all this good stuff. Life, college, jobs, death, the usual. I feel like getting a car is a new beginning. I will have the chance to live a different life, based more on what I want and less according to what my parents and other people would like. Simply put I'll have more control.

Getting my first car is only one chapter of my life. It is only one start-over. It is only one chance to do things differently. I find that there are many times where I want things to be different. I want to be a different person, live a different life, and do different things. I constantly think about that, and although the past 16 years of my life have been greatly shaped from my parents and environment I am slowly but surely pulling off the layers of influence I have received and developing my own way to live.

Alright, I have finished with that thought for now and will come back at another time. I haven't been watching that many movies recently, probably I have seen a couple of bad ones and got turned off.

I have seen a few good ones, such as Instinct, Ratatouille, and Man of Honor. All of which I highly recommend you go out and see.

Music. Although I have only explored the band Travis a little bit, they are very talented and consist of what I consider good music. My Switchfoot addiction has indeed worn off, even though I sometimes find myself humming their songs. I know a big bulk of their albums. The rest of what I have been listening to is made up of a few single artists with only a few songs out. But besides that I've concentrated a lot of my music towards Bob Marley. Its hard to really appreciate his music without living in the time period from which it comes from, but I think I am coming fairly close. He's one of the best artists ever. I also like Wyclef Jean. He's had a few hit songs but looking further into his music I've found some pretty cool stuff he's made.

Well that's about it for now, I have a tough 2 week stretch of school coming up and then its off to Puerto Rico during Spring Break.

Lata Gata

Josh

Back from the dead, finally a new post!

I think its pretty interesting that i feel guilty when i go so long without a blog.

I'm in one of those writing moods. I haven't been a loyal blogger its been weeks since my last post. could be that i'm really lazy.

So there isn't very much to talk about right now. Its February and the weathers been on and off. yesterday i went to the rec with some friends to play basketball and wore shorts, today its windy and freezing and i wore my winter coat. Lately i've been thinking about life after high school and also after college, i'm wondering what type of climate i will live in. Although i like warm weather, i also sometimes look forward to the cold winters spent by a fire. I think i would get too bored of the warm weather and appreciate it less. I think that i enjoy the summertime so much because i experience the rough and cold winters. Of course the cold sucks usually but i like the change in temperature depending on the season in new jersey.

As you can tell theres not that much on my mind to write about, i wouldnt normally talk about the weather. My birthday is coming up, April 6th, and i am pretty damn excited about finally getting my license and not having to rely on my parents all the time for rides. Now all that needs to be done is get a car to drive.

Theres been two things in my life that i am constantly involved in. Music and movies. Lately i have been watching movies, maybe one a day, and my sense of differentiating a good movie from a bad movie is becoming stronger. Some movies i (along with my rating) have been watching:

I am Legend 8/10

Death Proof 4/10

Disturbia 7/10

American Gangster 8/10

No Country for Old Men 6.5/10

Juno 7.5/10

We Own the Night 9/10

Music:

I am currently addicted to Switchfoot. I need something else to listen to in order to get unhooked and i haven't found anything yet. Some of the top songs i like are: Awakening, We are one tonight, The beautiful letdown, and The shadow proves the sunshine.

But above all, Switchfoot (feat. relient k) produced a charity-type song called "rebuild" that is simply amazing. go on their website right away and download it. not sure why but ive listened to it about 50 times already after only having it for 2 weeks.

So there isn't anything too much going on in my life. same old stuff, different day.

quote to think about:

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Mahatma Gandhi

I make mistakes, a lot sometimes, but what makes us different is our ability to learn from them. Gandhi is great. one of my role models, im trying to be more like him.

Well im gonna get back to life and stuff, listening to switchfoot and watching a movie.

until next time.

josh

I'm becoming a better blogger. I got off my laziness habit and brought myself to writing this blog; my second in two days which is an improvement for me after going about a month since i've written.

Nothing too much happened to me, just a normal school day at high school fulfilled with homework projects and annoying teachers that piss me off. But i have to say that one of my teachers mr. nuccio differs from the usual teacher description. I admire that. rather than teaching through the book, everyday is a lecture from his own personal knowledge of the topic that we are learning about in school. Although it got sort of annoying at first because we would have to read the textbook on our own and we do not get any grades back at all during the year, his alternative teaching method has actually gotten to my liking. I feel as though he changed my way of thinking in high school and more importantly my way of learning. My attitude towards going to school changed also, as there are some days where i look forward to attending his class. there are even times where i find myself wandering around manalapan high school just looking to have a conversation with the guy. How can one person be such a major impact and influence on somebody you ask? well you'll have to meet him for yourself just to see how.

In this blog i intended to accomplish two main points; the first one being to mention one of the best teachers i will ever have in high school, and the second one is to talk about being different. Mr. Nuccio has a different way to teach his classes and it seems to be very successful and have astoundingly impressive results. The students he touched in his lifetime are endless. Anyway, today i had a really long amount of time to think because i didn't have anything to do after school because i couldn't get to the gym today. So the thoughts of what i would do after high school crossed my mind. I opened this blog with Mr. Nuccio's different style of teaching to express how one can be different and still be successful.

The story goes that we go from grade school to high school. then to a good college. then get a job. then marry and have a wife and kids and live happily ever after. right now i have an opinion about that. total bullshit. maybe i dont want to go to college. maybe i've had enough of this whole being educated crap. or maybe i will go to college. but maybe i dont feel like getting a job that i'll have to live with for the rest of my life. going from college to sitting in an office building all day does not sound fun at all. when college is over, i'm expected to get a job and become an adult. but there's a part of me, some tiny voice in my head thats telling me to be different and don't do what everyone else is expecting you to do. dont go along with what society expects you to do. be different, be yourself, and be happy. i dont know where i will end up, but today i have the thoughts that all of these expectations are not meant for me individually to follow and maybe one day soon when i am able to i will divert from the master life plan i have been following all of these years and do what will make me happy.

i saw the bucket list a few weeks ago and there was a line in the movie that really made me think. Morgan says, "Well, the first question they ask is, 'Have you had any joy in your life?' And the second question you're going to be asked is, 'Have you brought joy to others?'" well living according to society and the path your parents want you to take might not bring on the two answers i would like for those questions. the two questions sort of go together i think, because you get joy in your life by bringing joy to others. and i dont know that much, but thinking about it i dont see too much joy in sitting at a workplace with a job on a schedule all the time. maybe i will follow the expectations everyone and society makes; i'll go to college get a job settle down with a family and live happily ever after. but maybe there's a different road i will take that will make me happier and be able to answer those two questions better. right now i am not sure. im still in high school on the long journey we were forced into when we were young and started school. but there's this strange feeling i get sometimes that when eventually i am fully able to make my own decisions i will be different from everyone else. i guess we'll just have to let fate do its part and see what happens.

(i feel like a writer now, so i'll use the name on my birth certificate to sign since its sounds more like a writer).


-Joshua Miles Siegel

Party it up / Do What you want

So today was quite an interesting day in high school. I woke up this morning next to my friend alex and eric shaking because it was so damn cold on the floor that we slept on. Last night was the superbowl, and although the giants upset the pats there were crazier things going on at the cohen house without any parents in the country. Anyway, me and a couple of friends started to party with some older girls and got pretty drunk last night. I found out today that the group was supposively famous around manalapan so that was pretty awesome to say that us high school kids got to party with some popular college girls. One thing led to another, and next thing i know me and this one girl have sex and i got her pregnant. well that didnt really happen but its on my list of things to do before i die. minus the pregnant part though.

We always learn about abstinence and all that shit in school, but being that junior year i have been going to a couple of parties here and there i can actually say that it is pretty fun to get shit drunk once in a while. Its like the whole high school experience isn't complete with out a variety of parties where you can drink until you puke. This would've been just another party but in reality it wasnt because we did it with a bunch of popular older college girls and on a school night. Now i'm not an expert on hangovers, but i can def. say that falling asleep in math class only to be woken up by your teacher isnt exactly good. So what i drooled all over my test in english and almost threw up after i ate lunch, i partied with some hot chicks and got wasted life is good. Maybe someday i will look back and see how immature and bad my decisions were, but until then hell im going to live it up.

I really don't want to go to sleep. I want to live a life where i can do what ever i want and not be limited. tomorrows school, and so is the next day, and the next day after that. it seems never to end. I think we would be a whole lot more productive if we didnt spend so much time sleeping. We usually spend like 7 or 8 hours a day sleeping, a little less than 1/2 the day. thats a lot of wasted time! i believe we should spend every single day like its our last, and on my last day i don't want to be sleeping. maybe ill become an inventor and invent something that decreases the amount of sleep that we need. that would be sick.

so people ask me whats new and i never know what to say. everything is the same with me. i go to school everyday, hang out with friends on the weekend, and then do the same thing when a new week rolls around. i need to get off this schedule that dominates my life. it sucks that i cant do what i want. but i am progressively accomplishing that. i try to sleep less and avoid making plans, instead doing things when i feel like it. i'm a lot happier that way.

so long

Decisions Decisions

I don't know what to take next year for my senior year of high school. The forms are due on friday and i'm acting like my whole entire outcome and success of my future is riding on my selections. I know its really not though i make a big deal out of things like this. So anyways i've been talking to people and trying to get ideas about what to take next year. They should really write a book about the approach to picking classes in high school cuz i dont have a fking clue on whether or not to take honors physics or woodworking. And no point of going to the guidance counselor; of course she's gonna tell me to go with the harder class what kinda counselor would she be if she gave me the advice to take things easy and take easy classes next year. ughhh decisions decisions.


In life we are left with many decisions to make. Some are harder than others, some we look forward to making, such as what kinda car to get when we are able to drive. But some just plain out suck, and lead to consequences that are difficult to deal with. After we decide, ya know like whether to go with a medium or large ice cream cone at jersey freeze, we must live with ourselves and take a responsibility. Living in denial or as i would put not owning up to what we have done isn't good. I have a problem with the decision-making process, I'm too indecisive and over think situations when i shouldnt. I don't think that compulsive thinking is necessary all the time but i should be do that more often. Especially when playing poker, complusive gambling is awful for your wallet trust me on this.

I'm going to take a break and do some hw, i'll blog some more later.

Song of the day- Oh! Gravity by Switchfoot, very creative and spirit-lifting song check it out

-Josh

My life in a heartbeat

The Beginning

This is my first official "blog" entry. I'll start off by introducing myself. My name is Josh, right now i am a junior at manalapan high school. There's a lot i can say and it will probably take me quite a while because i think about many things. Im not too sure what will come out of writing a blog. Hopefully it will turn out as a good thing and i will continue to write in it. The question thats on my mind is who is going to read it? Ok so lets see. First off music is one of the most important factors in my life right now. It usually describes the mood i am feeling. I love to stay up all night and download new songs from new bands i have heard from people. I get a lot out of recommending people songs that i have once become addicted to. My life revolves around music and whenever i can i will grab my ipod and tune into whatever comes up on shuffle. I dislike many things in life right now. Tonight i had a fight with my mom about her pressuring me with my school work. i ended up not getting anything done like usual so its not so good. Ok its getting late and i have school tomorrow. fuck i hate getting up for school so early in the morning. alright, bye.

Josh