Posts

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica Trip Recap

Image
I recently took a trip to Costa Rica, and here are the details of my trip. I'll share the day by day recap with details for each day then provide an overall summary of my thoughts at the end. The trip was only about 2.5 days, so not long at all, but definitely worth it. If you prefer a video version, check out my Youtube Video . Day by Day Recap Day 0 I left my house around 9 PM on a Friday night. My flight was supposed to leave San Francisco around 11 PM, but we actually left around 11:30 PM. My layover in El Salvador was only an hour, so I was concerned I was going to miss a connection because of the delay. However, we actually ended up arriving 30 minutes early. I’m not sure how exactly the pilot did that, but we arrived in El Salvador around 6 AM central time so that was about about five hours of flying to El Salvador. I ended up arriving an San Jose, Costa Rica around 9am on Saturday. Day 1 The only international airport is in San Jose, and most of the places that people visit
Post a Comment
Read more

Bali Solo Trip!

Image
I took another solo trip. This time to Bali, Indonesia. This is a blog about my experience. If you prefer to receive information in video form, please check out the vlog. Travel Info Bali does require an eVisa or VOA for US citizens. You can do this when you arrive, but I opted to do it ahead of time to avoid waiting in an additional line. You can apply at https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/ and the cost is about $35. I traveled on China Airlines from SFO - DPS via TPE.  Be prepared for a long travel day if you are coming from the USA. It was about 17 hours of flying each way between the two flights. I think flights may be even longer from the East Coast. I didn't eat much on my first flight, but the food was decent on all remaining flights that I took. I pre-ordered a lactose-free meal since I am lactose intolerant. They were accommodating of other dietary restrictions as well. The seats were not particularly comfortable especially on the longer flight. The plane seemed to be a bi
Post a Comment
Read more

Eating Out is Cheaper than Groceries?

Image
For those of you wondering if the title is clickbait, yes, it is. There seems to be a general sentiment that eating out is cheaper than buying groceries these days. This is showing up even more as grocery costs continue to go up. However, grocery costs are not the only thing going up. Restaurant prices (including fast food) are also going up. If you prefer to watch a video instead of reading this blog post, please see my youtube video below :) I decided to map out a week's worth of food given three different scenarios to decide once and for all, whether eating out or cooking at home was cheaper. If you want to check the values that I used or verify my math, please refer to this spreadsheet . Scenario 1: Eating out If we assume that a meal out costs $10 on average ($5 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, $15 for dinner), that would bring us to $150 for a 5 day workweek. If you are like me and your meals out consist mainly of food delivery services or sit-down restaurants, this cost is actu
Post a Comment
Read more

100 Years of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc

Image
I became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated in the Spring of 2012. This year was my 10 year SIGMAversary. However, the sorority has been around for much longer. We were founded November 12, 1922 which means that we turned 100 this year (2022). We have been celebrating all year long, but I wanted to share some of my favorite celebratory moments from the year. May 2022 Butler University (where we were founded) honored our 7 Founders with Honorary Degrees July 2022 Centennial Boule The Boule is our International Conference which takes place every two years in the summer. I attended our Centennial Boule in Indianapolis, IN. I vlogged my experience (see Youtube video below), so I won't go into full detail here, but I will provide the main highlights of the week. Day 1 - Tuesday, July 12 - Thee Homecoming We all went to Butler University and had a homecoming style celebration where they unveiled a new Sigma Gamma Rho Monument. Day 2 - Wednesday, July 13 - Block Party We h
Post a Comment
Read more

Let's Talk Money!

Image
One topic that will continuously be a source of debate on social media (especially twitter) is money. I have some thoughts on some of these debates which I will explore below in some detail. I think the main question is really, "How much money is enough?" The answer is, "It depends."  If you prefer to watch a video instead of reading, I do discuss this topic in my latest "Get Ready With Me". I think a lot of people have misguided opinions on how much money is enough because they are living paycheck to paycheck and they feel like all their problems would be solved if they made 20k more or whatever the number is. They see people making more than what they think their "magic number" is and decide that those other people must be hoarding money and make statements like "nobody needs that much money." There is even more pushback if the person making more is saying they want to make even more.  To some extent, this makes sense because ther
Post a Comment
Read more

Lovers and Friends Fest! Las Vegas

Image
I had a great time at the Lovers and Friends Festival in Las Vegas, so I wanted to share my experience with everyone. If you're interested in a video version , please check that out on Youtube :) This was my first time attending an all day music festival, and I definitely wanted to be prepared for the Vegas heat, so first I'll share what I packed for the festival. clear backpack  - This was a must as festivals as well as many other events only allow clear bags or super small clutches. I definitely needed something of a pretty good size to carry all of my other options. gatorade powder  - This was a major key in staying hydrated in the 100 degree Vegas weather. Some people use the Liquid IV packets, but some form of electrolytes are definitely a must. collapsible water bottles  - I chose these because I wanted to have more room on my way to and from the festival when all of my other items were in my backpack. I reserved a locker, so some of the less essential things (listed belo
Post a Comment
Read more

Trip to Tulum, Mexico!

Image
I did create a video of my experience, so feel free to check that if you prefer watching a video over reading. However, I do provide some additional context in this blog post which is not included in the video, so it might still be worth reading :) Monday, January 3, 2022 This was our travel day. We left landed in Cancun around noon local time and got on our shuttle to our resort (Dreams Tulum) which took about an hour and a half if I remember correctly. We didn't do much on Monday since by the time we got there and checked in, it was fairly late in the day and we were pretty tired. We did walk around a bit and find out where the pool was, but that was about it. We had a quick dinner at the Mexican restaurant then briefly stopped by the entertainment for the evening which was karoke with a live band. Tuesday, January 4, 2022 We spent a good amount of Tuesday in a presentation that they low-key tricked us into attending. Think timeshare presentation but not timeshare...We did get
Post a Comment
Read more