Ambition...

I am determined to move to NYC. All over the internet there are blogs about people's stories about moving to New York, and people's advice about moving to New York, and people saying "Don't move to New York!" Having read quite a few, though only a small percentage I'm sure, I feel heartened. This could very well be possible. But I think I have definitely been going about it backwards. I've been looking quite a bit at housing and such, mainly to get a feel for the costs. And because I've concentrated on that, I've been preoccupied with thinking of ways to reduce the cost. Instead, I should be concentrating on raising capital to get there/survive in the first place. I have just over a year before I need to start a serious job/apartment search from across the country. Between now and then, I need to have a list of goals:

-Get a job: I don't care what it is, I just need to fill my schedule. Without rowing, my evenings have really opened up, so hopefully I'll be able to get some sort of job downtown. Not having a car really hinders what I can do.

-Finish my degree strong: Anything to revitalize my GPA after the crash that was engineering. Good thing I'm actually enjoying my classes now.

-Save as much money as I can: There seems to be a trend here...

-Tap all of my resources: Find all my friends from New York, ask them about the city and such. Go to student services and see what members of the Trojan Family are living in NYC currently. See what online communities exist that I can gain contacts from.

Any input on what else I should do would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
-Peter

It all comes back to money...

The FCI (French Culinary Institute), in NYC, which I would love to attend still costs about $35k. This would be a problem for me. I'm getting the same deal that my brothers got from my parents, 3 months of rent post graduation, then that's it. Of course, being a student isn't condusive to earning lots of money. I currently don't even have a part time job (though I am searching). Like I mentioned earlier, I've estimated (generously) about $17k for me to get to New York and have 3 months to find a job (most likely plural). The plan was to save up enough money and then go to the FCI. Assuming I need $1000/mo for rent and utilities for a room in an apartment, and $200/mo for food, I would need to get two jobs at $7.50/hr for 60 hours/week to barely squeak by. That means no saving up for FCI. And supposing I somehow managed to get the money for the tuition, the 9 month course takes 3 days a week, during which time I wouldn't be able to work enough to make rent. So basically, I've got to find some way to save up a LOT of money between now and New York, and finish my degree with good grades at the same time. But, I did manage to go through miles of red tape (from the government, no less) in two weeks to go to Field Training last summer. If I really want to do it, I'm going to find a way. I'm going to find a way...

A Brief History... Part 1

So I've done a lot of things in life (I'm sure I'll look back at that statement and laugh hysterically, but for now...). All through high school, I was gonna be a doctor. And honestly, I still might if I could swing another acceptance to the University of Poznan some time later in life. Well, the time to choose a college came and went. I ended up at USC, turning down a half tuition scholarship and guaranteed fellowship at UCR. According to my mom, eight days after school started, I called and told her I was switching majors to Linguistics and Music Theory. After a talk, I ended up choosing mechanical engineering. That ended up not working (took me a year and a half to figure it out). So in the spring of 2008, my parents came down to L.A. for the weekend, and I explained that I'm not happy with ME, and need to change. We had a long talk, and looked at the Course Catalogue. Now I'm in International Relations and happy. I'm actually enjoying my classes, which means I'm actually going to classes and studying (a far cry from my engineering days). So academically, I'm very much into international conflict and diplomacy, as well as foreign economics. Going back in time to the change from Pre-Med to ME, that winter I also joined the Air Force ROTC program at USC. That was fun. ROTC for me was an escape from ME classes, which I hated. I gained most of my friends from that program, along with my rowing friends. I even went to Field Training (the ROTC version of boot camp) in Alabama last summer. That was a memorable experience. I looked terrible in the last few pictures from those six weeks. But I wouldn't trade that time for the world. I don't feel I wasted any time in ME or in ROTC. I think it's pretty obvious that I love learning in all forms, and travel because I'm interested in other languages and cultures. Going even further into the past, I was taught to cook at a very young age. I remember watching how much my dad enjoyed spicing a meal just right and how satisfied he was with a great meal (which it always was). I guess I get my love of cooking from him. Talk about brief... I'll continue my personal history later.

Every road has a beginning...

...And this is mine:

Hey All,
I'm Peter, a student at the University of Southern California. I'm in my junior year studying International Relations (after a long mire of finding what I wanted to study, but more on that later). Without too much personal history, there are certain things in life that I want to do, with everything else being means to doing them: travel, learn, teach, cook, write (music, books, scripts, etc.), have a family, live life. I always like having a plan, which until last semester was set for me for at least four years after college (I was previously in Air Force ROTC). Since I left that program, I have been feeling a growing anxiety about what I want to do with my life. I've been told that I need to not worry about it, and enjoy being in college. But I know that I want to minimize the time between graduation and starting life. And to avoid taking a few months to decide what to do, I wanted to have a plan, which I have:

I am going to move to New York City after graduation and pursue a culinary education.

I need to get off the West Coast for a while (I've never had a chance to miss it). I need to do something to be self sufficient. I have a tentative plan (which will undoubtably change) with what I believe to be a solid first step. After some research and some overbudgeting, I've estimated that to start a life in NYC, I need some $17,000 dollars. Later, I'll clue you in to how I came up with this ridiculous amount. But for now, I've got to make a sandwich and head over to Open Mic Night at Ground Zero Cafe. I hope you enjoy my chronicling of my quest to start my life, and maybe participate in some of the discussions that are sure to ensue.
Cheers,

-Peter