A Good Heart, Is The Sun And The Moon; Or, Rather, The Sun, And Not The Moon; For It Shines Bright And

A good heart, is the sun and the moon; or, rather, the sun, and not the moon; for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly.

William Shakespeare, Henry V

Love is in the air!

#SorryNotSorry for the cheesy blog title.

I am sorry for such a long time before updating. I already had the new design ready to go but something glitched with it. Either my coding skills have gone downhill or Tumlbr has got it out for me and won’t accept complex custom theme codes. Eh, I don’t know, but it’s frustrating not being able to use a custom design and then having to create a completely different one.

As you can already see, this design uses very similar coding as my previous design featuring Halsey. It’s pretty much the same base code with a few adjustments. I like this tabular design for its simplicity and functionality. It’s not fancy like the design I already had planned to use, but it still gets the job done. The next time I try to do a complex design, I guess I’ll have to pick it apart block by block to ensure Tumblr will accept it and not frustrate me with “I’m sorry. You can’t use this customized theme.” (That’s really a paraphrase, but you all understand what I mean.)

Because I couldn’t go with my original design, I decided to use this one featuring Rihanna. Considering that it’s February and it’s Black History Month, it’s fitting that I feature a person of color and roses. A bit clever, eh? I’ve also updated my affiliates list. Thanks for being so patient with me.

This and that and jury duty?!

Hi there.

I just want to give you all an update on my life, so here we go:

School is back in session and it’s been going well so far, already succeeding and making good grades. Starting strong is good, but finishing strong is better, so that’s the goal with school...and GRADUATION is in three months. Yay!

If you ever take a gander at the Ten random facts on the little bio I’ve written about myself, then you know I’m a Zumba® Instructor, and I must say that this keeps me quite busy and active. Don’t get me wrong! My body looks fantastic since I teach ten fitness classes each week, but it can be brutal sometimes. Ha. (Just so you know, I’m not teaching ten Zumba® classes a week. I actually teach different formats of fitness and all my classes combined equal ten.)

Going back to the school subject: I’ve to pass Piano Proficiency in order to actually receive my degree - and let’s not forget General Chemistry I Lab! - and I’m happy to announce that Class Piano (Advanced) is actually going pretty well and I’m actually learning stuff in this class. I’ll spare you the horror story of Class Piano (Beginning) but just know it was BAD. This new instructor is a bit scary: 1. She’s Russian. 2. She’s a pianist. Enough said.

Hopefully, you visit here regularly so you know that I’ve changed the look again and I love this design. The coding was such a pain to figure out and edit and decipher and all that jazz, but the end result is spectacular if you ask me. I can’t tell you how much time went into this current look - so why am I already starting the next one? Eh. Who knows? Anyway, enjoy this look, because it’s staying up a LONG time (or until I get tired of looking at it).

Going back to my life: I’ve jury duty! I don’t want to go, but, apparently, it’s a federal law that citizens must serve on a jury.....or go to jail. I’d prefer jury duty, tbh; however, that doesn’t insinuate that I even want to go. Ugh, sometimes performing civic duties just sucks. We’ll see how it goes. It might just be my next blog post.

I’ve nothing else to say or talk about that might interest you, so I bid thee farewell.

- Martin

It’s official. I’m a college graduate.

...and YES(!) it is a big deal.

If you’ve visited my site, you’ve probably heard me talk about school a lot since ‘twas a huge part of my life. Well, I can finally close that chapter. After five years, I’ve finally graduated from college (which means I need to change my bio on here and other places)!

The joy and sense of accomplishment I feel is unreal. Tbh, it didn’t even register to my brain that I’d graduated until after the commencement ceremony. All the days leading up, sure, I was excited. I guess. It just didn’t feel real. It just felt like another day.

When I actually sat down and thought about how I won’t have any tests, projects, classes, deadlines, etc. to think about anymore, then I actually realized ‘Hey, dude! You graduated!’ It’s a pretty awesome feeling and I am so proud of myself.

My advice to other students who haven’t graduated is simple: Don’t give up. Keep pushing. Of course, there were times where I wanted to quit or even drop out of school altogether. Of course, I shed some tears (in private) along the way. Of course, I had self-doubt - not a lack of confidence, there is a difference - and questioned if I’d really make it through college. Now, none of that matters. I proved to myself and the world again that I have what it takes to succeed.

No one said that Life is easy. No one said that the road ahead doesn’t have twists or bumps in it....but EVERYONE did say “Don’t give up.” That is such sage advice and it pertains to anything you go through in life. The worst thing you can do is give up, because you never know when you’ll hit that breakthrough if you decide to forfeit even trying or to give up all hope. I know it’s incredibly difficult. Life has taught me that; however, Life has also taught me that those who persevere, even in hard times, are those who succeed and come out champions in the end.

Which one are you?! The one who gave up all hope? Or the one who came out the champion when all was said and done?

The end is just a beginning.

Hi, everyone!

I finally changed the look.

Speaking of change, there will be many soon.

First, I’m going back to school. Classes start Aug. 28, which just so happens to be four days after my 23rd birthday.

Second, I’ll be really busy with my work schedule. This possibly means that I won’t have much time to be online and stay in contact with you all.

Third, I don’t think I’ll update NotS for a VERY LONG TIME. School and work will have to be much more of a top priority in my life, so that means that online activity that isn’t school or work related will have to decrease tremendously.

I really hope you all understand. This is my last semester in college. I’m graduating in December. I have to do well and finish strong. Enjoy the new look and leave comments. I’ll still check in occasionally.

Until next time,

Martin

Credits go to Olivia (cutouts), Kaitlyn (textures), Kevin (object pngs), Nicola (object png) & Barbara (object png).