This quarterlifer is embarking on a new journey soon. Where I will be going, there will be heat - lots of it! No, I'm not going on a sabbatical to the Equator, and neither will I be passing through the highway to hell. During my journey, I will be exposed to the world of stocks, spices, and meat cuts. My new vocabulary will include big words such as mis-en-place, brunoise, and foie gras. My tool of the trade - a trusty 8-inch knife. My garments will be a pristine set of chef's whites and a toque. Yes, I will be entering the culinary world as due to start school in the coming month. It will both be a very exciting and anxiety-inducing period in my life. Just the thought of going back to a formal education setting after 3 years wakes me up in the middle of the night - not out of fear, but from anticipation. More than the feeling of excitement that fills me up to the brim, I am full of hope that this is finally the one thing I have been searching for. I want to fully relish this experience, to feel it swirling in my mouth as I taste everything there is to taste - the sweet, the sour, the salty, the bitter, and the umami. I'm not expecting this to be a walk in the park, and I have been psyching myself up for the past months since I made the decision to finally take the plunge and leave my comfort zone. This will be my journey for the next 14 month, and what better time to travel than on the eve of my quarterlife.

A BUM'S GUIDE TO PURPOSEFUL BUMMING

Bumming around is one of the few activities individuals of my generation have prided themselves as being masters of. Being a bum is both an art and a skill, and the mere ability to be able to last an entire day without doing anything of particular importance or consequence is a something that requires a certain degree of expertise and willpower. I have been lucky enough to have experienced living a bum's life for almost a month now. Its not as bad as it seems to be, and I believe that every person should experience at least a month's worth of downtime. It can do wonders for the mind and the soul, as it did for me. However, I am not advocating the "sit-on-my-ass-all-day", "waiting-for-the-world-to-pass-me-by" type of being a bum. What I wish for all bums out there, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this department, is to be able to become a "bum with a purpose". How do you exactly become a purposeful bum? Allow me to share with you a number of tips that helped me get through this particular period in my life.

1. Have a "bumming" plan: This is basically setting a game plan as to how one would handle becoming a bum. What are your goals in becoming a bum? Do you have a timetable set before your parents start making remarks for you to find work? The key here is setting goals that you have to work on: I will become a triathlete in a month, I will be 17 pounds overweight in 3 weeks, I will be ready to slit my wrists in 5 months, I will find a job in 2 months. Remember, goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound)

2. Develop the discipline to follow-through: Now that you have set goals for yourself, follow-through with the discipline to make things happen. Don't be tempted into sleeping in when the end in mind is to lead an active lifestyle. Immerse yourself in activities that will lead you to your goal. If you want to become a movie-critic is a short span of time, pop in that Spielberg, Kurosawa, Scorsese, Bay, or Lamangan into that DVD player, pronto!

3. Go on special missions: One of the major activities that helped me through my bum phase is to go on a special mission each week. I took on these projects like an eager Navy SEAL sent to Afghanistan to eliminate the insurgents. Activities can be mundane as back-reading all the love letters you've received as a child or sorting your clothes by color and fabric type.

4. Take up a hobby: Having a hobby is a sure way of killing time because of the enjoyment factor involved. My new-found hobby came in the form of growing my own marijuana garden (I'm kidding, I grew herbs) in the front lawn. My afternoons are spent conversing with plots of basil and parsley, tending to their fragile leaves. The options are endless! Do whatever it is that makes you happy or gives you some sort of pleasure. But no, choking the chicken or slaying the one-eyed monster are not hobbies.

5. Exercise, exercise, exercise: I advocate getting exercise the same way Donald Trump advocates "location, location, location!" Exercising is one of the activities I'm obsessing about now, and I've never been healthier. You don't have to pump iron or churn out 1,000 crunches everyday for it to qualify as exercise. Remember to have some form of physical exertion at least once everyday.

6. Learn a skill: Give life to the brain cells you're bent on killing by lying in bed. Learn a skill or two. One of the high points of my extended vacation was when I learned to jump rope! Not only have I seen an improvement in my dexterity, but I'm now jumping like I've never jumped before.

7. Reward yourself: There is always value in celebrating victories, no matter how small they may seem to be. I treat myself once every week to a movie and an all the junk you can stuff into your gut food binge.

8. Do things you've always wanted to do: Do the things you missed out on doing when you were stuck in that high-paying, 8 to 6 job. Be a chauffeur to your parents and be the family driver, become a connoisseur of canned and microwaveable meals, mold yourself into becoming a household general in charge of sanitation and cookery.

9. Have a creative outlet: Being a bum does not mean that all creativity should go out the window. Channel the pent-up creative energy. Get the karaoke machine running! Entertain yourself with a stand-up comedy act! Draw in the shades and paint your walls black! Blog!

There you have it, a bum's guide to a worthwhile, purposeful bumming. You don't have to feel sorry for yourself everyday. Maybe a day or two of sulking is good enough.

I recently acquired a new hobby that's been keeping busy these days. I've taken up gardening, or more specifically...herbal gardening. I'm slowly taking over my mom's garden to make way for my herbs. Where once there were bromeliads and ferns, now there are heads of dill and plots of basil. My lemon mints and pepper mints have started to look like twisted masses of growth. I'm also growing sage, oregano, parsley, rosemary, lavender, stevia, and, and rauram. I'm obsessing over these plants of mine to the point that I water them at exactly 6:30 AM, on the dot. A good chunk of my afternoons are spent tending to them, pruning the dying leaves and the wild plants that grow around my herbs. I've gone to the point of getting ground coffee beans over at Starbuck's (which they give away for free, by the way) to pour over the soil. My small piece of the garden literally smells of mint, basil, and freshly brewed coffee. Thankfully, none of my plants have yet to croak on me, which means that i'm probably doing something right.

I pretty much have it down to a science as to how my typical day looks like.

Wake up at 5:30
Have breakfast at 6:00
Go walking at 6:30 up until 7:30
Finish my morning exercises until 8:30
Take a shower
Do household chores that could be anywhere from cleaning, giving the dog a bath, or cooking
Take a shower
Have lunch at around 11:00
Read a book or watch my movies until I fall asleep
Wake up at 3:00...or 4:00
Afternoon exercises until 5:00
Take a shower
Daily dose of the Internet until dinnertime
Dinner at around 7:00
Evening brisk walk with friends at 9:00
Take a shower
In bed by 10:30

There you have it. My life for the next 45 days. It consists mainly of exercises and showers. Sounds exciting, huh? But looking on the bright side - at least i'm going to end up the fittest and most hygienic, jobless 24-year old around. That has to count for something.