MaryAnn Forestieri 1929 – 2014

I recently lost my Grandmother as she passed away from a heart attack a couple weeks ago–and it’s okay.

Not to say that I don’t miss her every single day, but I know that it was the best way she could have gone. We can only be so lucky as to pass away without pain or lengthy medical procedures or memory loss.

She had just had the family over for Easter dinner. We all dined on her amazing cooking as we sipped wine from the same glasses she has had since I was born. We shared stories, we teased, we talked, we sought advice and we found what we searched for. It was a great dinner as always.

Looking back on Easter dinner, all I would have done differently that night is squeezed her a little bit tighter and held on to her just half a breath longer if I had known before I took off down the road.

Everyday Life Hacks For The Post-Grad

Disclaimer: Some of these tips may not fall perfectly into the “Life Hack” barrel, but, well, get over it.

Since moving into my own apartment in San Mateo near tons of college-aged kids, crazy house parties, and complete sarcasm from street to street I have noticed the need to rediscover my day-to-day. I know no one here and the most I talk to anyone in the neighborhood is the hard to understand Chinese man at the local Panda Express; things needed to improve.

1. Going to work in the morning you’re going to be groggy and you’ll have a tendency to forget things. Lunch for the day? Put your car keys on top of your tupperware in the fridge. Pack your jacket for the next day with change for the meter and your wallet (Mints and daily vitamins are a good option too).

Three Things No One Told Me I’d Miss From College

Today is my eight month anniversary since graduating the large, vast playground called college. Of course everyone experiences college differently. Some chose to focus on academics, some focus on the nightlife, some find their balance between friends, grades, and fun. The last was my experience and oh how eager I was to leave coming into my last year.

Little did I truly realize how special that cocktail of life was. If I could go back to freshman year here is the advice I’d shake into wide-eyed me.

1. You college jobs are the last time to be wacky; be weird:

What I Didn’t Know I Would Learn As An Intern

For the past three months I have had the privilege of interning at TiVo, Inc. Coming into this position I had my expectations and some of the things I learned I expected to learn. Some, however, helped to open my eyes to the corporate world.

What To Expect From the 49ers This Season

It is Sunday, August 25th and week three of the preseason is here. As sports fans know this is the only real game of the preseason and it sparked my thoughts of how the San Francisco 49ers could make this season the most memorable or the biggest disappointment.

Keys to a good season:

Gone Girl Review

I picked up Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl about a month ago when browsing for something to fill my reading needs after Dan Brown’s latest cultured Inferno novel. I had seen it come up in my recommendations several times, but the summary just did not seem to be at my pace. I was dead wrong.

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Over 75 Years of Relevancy

“I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise.” – Dale Carnegie

This book was published before the World Wide Web, decades before the floppy disk, before the moon landing, the atomic bomb and even the ballpoint pen.

Advice to a Recent Post Grad

Move on! Congratulations for making it through college.

It may seem like common knowledge, but seriously, so many of my friends are reluctant to move from the student life style to that of the unknown.Luckily I landed an internship in my field so it may be easier for me to say that.

Don’t be that guy who stays behind in order to live another year in that warped reality of parties and late night burritos and step into the world of working long hours and, well, still late night burritos. Life is rewarding, don’t hold off on redeeming what you have worked so hard to achieve.

Even if you don’t have a job lined up, get out of the college town! You aren’t doing yourself any favors by locking yourself up there. Getting away puts urgency on you to apply for more jobs and to extend yourself father than before. Good luck and trust me; you still don’t have to grow up completely.

How to be a Better Writer

Writing. Words, words, and more words. How can you use them to get your point across while making the reader enjoy the journey from beginning to end?

I’ll be the first to say my writing skills can use some tweaking and lots more revision. Here are a few tips to inch closer to verbal and written success.

1. Write more

Last Semester in College and the Questions that Follow

So you have been incubating in the classroom for the past 17 years or so and all of a sudden there it is; your checkered flag. You should be excited right? Life should have you ramped up and ready to stop living in the Dark Ages of old apartments and rowdy neighbors.