Oh man! I Got the Internship!

This is the company I will be interning for starting on Monday! Tempo Networks is a Caribbean tv station and online station set on bringing together all of the Caribbean Islands and establishing the culture in the world today.

I'm so excited for this intership! During the interview, I got a tour of the Tempo Headquarters. It's huge! There's studio room where the entire room is green (thus, the green screen) where the shows are filmed. There is also tons of editting rooms, libraries, offices, everything! The place was buzzing with people running left and right. They all took a second to introduce themselves to me which was really appreciated. I can't tell you how excited I am to help out with such a cool company.

Also, it's in Newark! So, I'm a mere 10 minutes away from headquarters! (I live in the next town over in Belleville.) How great is that? I can keep my part-time AND intern AND go to school *(thanks to taking all my classes online this quarter.)

I'll be posting a whole bunch during these next couple of weeks since I'll be glue to this computer for assignments, lessons, and keeping a log of what's up at Tempo.

Big Thanks to Ms. Ortega-Cubas and Mr. Castro in Career Services for finding me this little gem of an internship!

Placement Seminar is the Berkeley Advantage!

So far, I've received straight A's! A good amount of peeps happened to have done pretty well this quarter. I think it finally hit everyone how you have to stay on top of your game if we're gonna do well after graduation.

Also, my interview for interning at Tempo Networks is on Tuesday. Nervous?...Kinda. Placement Seminar was a big help in improving my interview skills and the way I present myself. They taught us stuff you usually have to learn from mistakes in real life. For example, when being interviewed, don't get super personal (because this person is not your buddy, they're your potential boss.) Also, always bring enough (meaning many) copies of your resume because you don't know how many people will be meeting with you that day. When you take Placement Seminar, take it seriously. The class is there to help! It's a Berkeley exclusive! Take advantage!

Yeah, I finally got what that whole "Berkeley Advantage" thing means now. : )

Chillax Week AKA Last Chance Week!

To be honest, this is the most pressure I've felt during a pre-finals week. Interships must be finalized and its my last chance to do the GPA pickup. I've been doing pretty good on that one. I've been pulling A's in all my classes! (internet high fives, everyone!)

Other than that, interships have me worried. I had one lined up but it ended up not working out in the end. Ain't that somethin'? Well, I entered my resume into CareerZone and applied to places here and there and all over NJ/NY. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get a ~great~ one with tons to learn!

For everyone stressing out about the grades, ASK FOR EXTRA CREDIT! The worst thing that can happen is a professor saying "no." No biggie. You'll get 'em next time. Just remember to do better! Attend those 8am classes and submit those assignments on time!

Time to hit the books. Week 11, hello spring!

25 Copies of your Resume for FREE!

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/business&id=6700693

Today (meaning, right now) , Kinkos has a promo where you can print out 25 copies of your resumes! Their stance is that they understand that ink isn't cheap and neither are 25 printing credits. So hurry over to a Kinkos with your flashdrive and get your resumes!

My mom just went and printed hers out. They were nice enough to give her my 25 copies since I'll still be on campus by the time they close.

So hurry! Free stuff!

Sleep is Good. Really!

The past two weeks went by like a blur so sorry for the lack of updates. Works piled up like crazy and my job slammed me with some crazy hours. Can't say its been boring though!

Today marks day 17 of the Omega 3 Challenge and I have to admit, except for the fishy burps, not much have changed. Then again, these pills are more for a preventative purpose than healing or rejuvenating purposes. Its an investment in my future health. B12 vitamins, on the other hand, are the nifty little pink gelcaps that give me a little pep in my step in the morning. 5am wakeups are less and less difficult and I'm not passing out by 10am.

Also, I've given myself a curfew.
That's right. 21 with a sleep curfew. Sleep is so important for us college students. Sure, all-nighters are a common thing but man, a night without sleep stinks! Check out WEBMD.com's list of effects.

• Decreased Performance and Alertness: Sleep deprivation induces significant reductions in performance and alertness. Reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%.
• Memory and Cognitive Impairment: Decreased alertness and excessive daytime sleepiness impair your memory and your cognitive ability -- your ability to think and process information.
• Stress Relationships: Disruption of a bed partner's sleep due to a sleep disorder may cause significant problems for the relationship (for example, separate bedrooms, conflicts, moodiness, etc.).
• Poor Quality of Life: You might, for example, be unable to participate in certain activities that require sustained attention, like going to the movies, seeing your child in a school play, or watching a favorite TV show.
• Occupational Injury: Excessive sleepiness also contributes to a greater than twofold higher risk of sustaining an occupational injury.
• Automobile Injury: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.

There' s a reason why the new couches in the student center as so comfy. That's right. ~ naps ~

The Omega-3 Challenge!

According to good ol' WebMD.com, "...the benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer's disease."

So I'm, participating in the Health and Fitness class challenge. A couple of people are doing in from the 8am class and the 9:30am class. It's the "Omega-3 Challenge!" All we have to do is take a supplement of Omega-3 once a day and jot down any positive or negative changes in mood or energy. This is my day one.


Day One: I burped and it tasted like nori (seaweed used on onigiri and sushi). That's it so far.

Tax Time

If you know what's good for ya, and you receive Financial Aid to go to school, you're going to get up and do your taxes right now.

I did my taxes this past Wednesday. It was pretty quick and painless. (And I'm not getting paid to say this or anything but Jackson-Hewitt has a pretty good student discount on filing taxes.)

All you have to do is make sure you have all your W-2's and school documents if you pay anything out of pocket. According to my tax guy, that's a big mistake a lot of students make. If you pay any part of your tuition out-of-pocket, bring it up during your tax filing! It's probably a good idea to google "college student tax filing" to see if you get any special deductables. C'mon. A little prep work can go a long way (especially if it means a bigger return.) Remember, this is your own money you're getting back. Why not try to get as much as you deserve?

Right now, I'm updating parts of my FAFSA online. That's another helpful hint, FAFSA online saves the info you put in last year to make filling it out this year a lot faster. All you have to do is update your income info, update scholarship info and anything else that's changed financial between this year and last year. All you need is your PIN and your 1040 (and maybe your parents' tax info if you're still living at home.)

Don't wait for your Advisor and Financial Aid Counselor hunt you down to file this stuff out. It's fast, it's simple, and it's a great way to get rid of that giant "finance for school" weight off your shoulders.