So my apartment is littered with these:

Cupcakes! With homemade cream cheese frosting.

I hate getting old. I have been awake since 7:30 am tossing and turning. 7:30 am is my normal wake up time during the week. It sucks. Sleeping is one of my favorite pastimes. If I could nap on my lunch, I would. Maybe when I’m CEO of my Fortune 500 company, I’ll mandate a nap hour.

So in the meantime, I will continue to toss and turn and listen to Luis snore. There’s your shout out babe!

Today Luis asked me what my goal was. He was referring to our running. Normally I’m a goal oriented person but I actually hate running. I’m only doing it because I can tolerate it. And it’s not half bad. But I have just a short attention span, and it’s becoming increasingly worse, that I get bored running.

Well we are running an 8k in March so we have to start upping the anty. Today we ran about 4 miles. My phone logged 4.12 while his logged 3.90. Why the discrepancy you ask? We haven’t figured it out. But with Luis being the dominant Hispanic male that he is, naturally my phone is wrong. Whatever.

I’m excited to do another 5k at the end of the month with family and friends.

Like I said, I don’t have an end goal. I’m not training for a marathon. It’s just something I’m doing.

Luis and I completed our first 5k!

10. China’s GDP has multiplied tenfold since 1978.

Currently, China has the second largest economy in the world, following the United States.

While customers of Chinese exports aren’t complaining about this growth, economists have a bevy of issues to take up with China, including currency manipulation, exploitation of labor and environmental pollution.

Photo: artemuestra

9. There are more cell phones in China than people in the U.S.

Twice as many, to be exact. In late August, Reuters reported that there were 794.7 million cell phone subscribers in China, nearly two-and-a-half times the size of the entire U.S. population.

Even still, those subscribers make up only 60.8% of the country’s total population.

China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) is the world’s largest cellular service provider, with a total of 558.9 million mobile subscribers.

8. China is crawling with KFC’s. (Of course it is.)

In 2009, Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) opened more than 500 new restaurants in mainland China.

Yum! Brands is an American company that owns Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s, A&W and WingStreet.

But in China, KFC has been the big winner — there are currently close to 3,000 KFC’s in mainland China.

Yum! claims that it opens nearly one new KFC in mainland China every day.

Photo: Davestraub

7. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities.

Currently, Chinese lenders hold over $840 billion worth of U.S. Treasury securities. That is equal to nearly 10% of the total Treasury debt held by the American public.

As China ostensibly moves toward a floating exchange rate, they may be forced to unload some of that debt, which could really put the United States into a bind by restricting our debt financing ability.

[China could be changing how it deals with the U.S. dollar. Understanding basic economic theory can help boost even the most diversified portfolio. Read more about how China's policy changes will likely have an impact on every American in this educational article, How Money Manipulation on the Other Side of the World Could Affect American Portfolios.]

6. Nearly one-third of Chinese adults live with their parents. (Sounds like my brother.)

But not for a lack of space; according to Bloomberg, urban construction is up more than 16% while rural construction is up almost 14% year-over-year.

According to a 2000 world marriage pattern study by the United Nations, the average marrying age is 24 and 22 for men and women, respectively.

In Chinese culture, people usually live in their parents’ homes until marriage. According to the same study, Americans marry about four years later than Chinese and embrace living alone before then.

5. China is the source of more than 77% of the U.S.’s pirated goods.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, China is responsible for 77% of pirated goods seized in the United States, with Hong Kong accountable for another 7%.

In a recent Los Angeles crackdown, approximately $12 million of contraband was confiscated, including cigarettes, iPhones and yet-to-be released DVDs.

Photo: Veriy

4. Over 75% of the Chinese population supports the “one-child” policy.

Even though its workforce has been able to produce stunning results over the past two decades, the Chinese government seeks to restrict its growth through the so-called one-child policy.

This prohibits many Chinese families from having more than one child.

Although seemingly despotic, the policy is supported by over 75% of the Chinese population according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

 Photo: art_es_anna

3. More than 135 million people in China live on less than $1 a day.

This is extreme poverty and it means families are not able to afford the most basic necessities to ensure survival.

Even though China has the world’s second largest economy, it is still considered to be a developing country by the World Bank.

Photo: Taro Taylor

2. Only 43% of Chinese Citizens live in cities.

More are urbanizing every year.  Reuters expects the urban population to have doubled to a whopping 700 million city-dwellers by 2015. Bear in mind, “rural” is not American suburbia. Rural Chinese towns generally lack running water and reliable transportation.

Also, rural towns still rely on the strength of their young boys to pass on the family name and care for the parents when they age. They’re so prized, Time Magazine reports, that in some rural populations 80% of kids between ages 5-10 are boys.

Photo: Alex Needham

1. Starting a business takes 38 days.

Capitalism is a touchy new subject in socialist China.

Though the central government is slowly releasing its grip as the planner of the economy, it is not yet as encouraging to entrepreneurship as many western nations.

To start a business costs 130% of the average worker’s income and taxes eat up a whopping 64% of profits.

Source: 10 Facts About China You Won’t Believe (But You Should)

Okay folks. I pay $20 a year to keep this domain name, I might as well start using it.

For those that aren’t aware, I’m in school 4 nights a week. 3 of them at Hopkins and 1 at my church. I generally don’t have much time to myself but seeing as how I’m paying for this, I should do a better job at updating it.

Where to start…

I’ve gained some weight. 4 pounds specifically. I’m back at 144 pounds. For those who remember, I lost 17 pounds in about 4 months earlier this year and got down to 140 pounds. It was TOUGH. I was working out 5-6 days a week and really watching what I was eating. My goal was to get down to my normal weight, pre Fall 2010 before I went on the cruise. Well I did and then stopped working out.

Combine crazy work/school schedule + alcohol + general laziness and I’ve crept back up.

I’m back on the wagon though, running long distances, 2-3 times a week. Luis and I have been training for our first 5k on Thanksgiving Day. Yes, I said training. 3.1 miles is a long distance if you’re not a natural runner. And trust me, I am not meant to run.

What else…

Oh, I became a Catholic last weekend. For my atheists readers, I’m sorry to disappoint you. There is a higher being and while you don’t believe it, He still loves you.

I’m sure I already talked about my new job at a think tank in DC. If I didn’t, all you need to know is that I’m doing their online direct marketing and it’s going swell.

I still really want a dog but still realize I am not responsible enough to care for one. Luis complains all the time that I “neglect” him. I’m not going to lie, I’d probably take better care of the dog than I do him just because I’d feel pity on the small creature versus a grown man.

Fantasy football…I am a BEAST. (Only in one of my leagues.) With a record of 10-1, I am well on my way to the playoffs. Sadly, I don’t think I can say the same about the Chargers.

That’s all for now. I’m off to the GOP debate!

Which friendships are worth saving? The ones you’ve had for years? Professional friendships?

I’m going through an issue with someone who used to be my really good friend in high school. After high school, we went to different colleges and naturally grew a little distant. Fast forward five years and we live on separate coasts and maybe see each other once a year. That person isn’t friends with any of my other friends and we don’t talk regularly. Is it a friendship worth saving?

Anyone who knows me well enough will tell you that I am not the person who is constantly going to reach out to make a friendship work. Quite frankly, I have several other friends who don’t need the constantly catering to and have accepted my style of friendship. Am I in the wrong?

I’ve never really lost a “good” friend before. I live the mantra that people change and friends change. But loosing this friendship somewhat bothers me. I know this person and I will most likely never have the relationship we did in high school and I’m okay with that. But am I okay with completely losing this relationship or just treading water with this person when I never really talk to them?

I live a very busy life. Between working 40 hours a week, going to class 3 nights a week, soccer, and soon softball, I have hardly any time to myself. Last Christmas, I was at home and saw a few pictures of myself and decided I looked horrible and needed to seriously shed some of my “campaign” weight. Now I know I’ve written blog posts about me wanting to lose weight in the past and then never really followed up on them but in January I was serious about losing weight.

January 1, I weighed in at 158 lbs. For being 5’4″, my BMI considered me obese at a rating of 26. (lol) Healthy is considered to be 19-24. Now it’s no secret, I carry a good chunk of this weight up top. (insert big breasted blonde joke here) To kick off my weight loss, I decided to do this 21 day cleanse. It was basically a vegan/vegetarian diet that prohibited dairy, alcohol, and meat. After day 11, you could consume chicken but in small quantities. You don’t really know how much you mix meat and dairy until you do two things: 1. Travel to Israel (which I did in May/June 2010) and 2. When you go on this cleanse. I genuinely struggled being on the cleanse the first week. I love vegetables but have always seen them as a component to my plate, not the main course.

After a week of being on the cleanse, I lost 3 lbs. It was advised not to exercise too much because of your body adjusting to the new lifestyle. At times, I felt light headed, so the last thing I needed to do was run. When I finished the cleanse, I was down 7 pounds. Arguably, some of this could have been water weight but nonetheless, it served as a good foundation for kick starting an exercise routine.

Nearly 4 months later, I’m down 16 pounds weighing in at 142. I would contribute the weight loss to high interval training at the gym. I primarily use the Nike Training App on my iPhone. It has several 30-45 minute, full body work outs. By the end of each routine, I am drenched in sweat. I highly recommend it for anyone who has an iPhone and can be committed to working out.

While 16 pounds in 4 months may not sound like a lot, for my height and frame, it’s a good start. In addition, I have acquire quite a bit of muscle mass. It is a constant struggle to maintain my weight because I do consider myself a food addict. Not to mention, I have been know to have a beverage or two on the weekends. With hitting the gym 6 days a week sometimes as late as 10:30 at night, on top of my already ridiculous schedule, I think I can lose another 5 pounds before my cruise in mid May.

I don’t necessarily have an end goal in mind. I don’t think people should strive to be rail thin. This journey has truly been a lifestyle change. Everything I consume, I look at it from a caloric stand point. I try not to eat bad and then justify it with going to the gym later. Once I feel like I am at a healthy weight, I will post before and after pictures. Bikini season is right around the corner and this year I won’t be ashamed of showing off my body.

-Tierra