Smallish Updates - August 13, 2022

So today I decided to make a small update to my journal since I thought it would be perfect to post one. First off, updates on work is that now I have more than one person who is asking for work and it is perfect since the more jobs I have, the more I am able to grow bigger as a graphic designer and able to make more money that way. As I got more opportunities to work on projects like posters and banners, it makes me feel more happier as it is fun coming up with ideas on layouts and also how to personally find my own unique individualistic style. Secondly, I would like to mention something that I forgot to mention before in May which was a big part of me but it's alright. Around the end of May, my step-uncle was having mental health issues and he was dealing with a ton of anxiety and panic attacks. As much as I know how much it feels and also how much my father feels that too, his health deteriorated much and much before he met with a psychiatrist. Unfortunately that he decided not to get help, he decided to unfortunately end it all the day after he refused with a gunshot through his head. As much as it hurt me more, I will always cherish him as a beloved family member. The significant memory I remember from him is that he gave me a lot of books on hacking and I will always treasure them as a gift from him always. But with that being said, crying at his funeral is heartbreaking and made me tear up. I was supposed to go to a burial ceremony but due to my sister not wanting to go, I was dealt with the task of staying home with her as an adult and a big brother. But nonetheless, he will be loved always and will be an angel in the sky along with my grandfather who passed away October last year. Lastly, I would like to add exciting news since it was that time for me to do so. I decided to buy a new phone as it has been already 3 years since I bought my phone since it was due it's time. One reason being that my old phone, the Samsung Galaxy S10+ is no longer receiving security updates from T-Mobile and Android. Second reason being that the battery life has decided to go down which has been significantly noticed during my road trip to Merced and me always having to bring in a power bank which isn't ideal. The phone I bought is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 along with the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Why I also decided to get the smartwatch and the galaxy buds 2 pro is that one, the airpods first generation that has been handed down to me really sucks and I can't use it in compatibility with my Samsung Galaxy S10+ and another reason being the battery life has gone down which makes sense since my father has originally used it, then passed it down to my sister and then once again to me. The reason why I bought the smartwatch was that basically I thought it would be cool to track my heartbeat rate in a game such as Beat Saber which has a built in overlay from mods to show how much your BPM is which I find fascinating. But to be honest, the price I spent is about $1,848.01 total for all three devices, yes all three for that much. The Z Fold 4 costed me $1,249.99 and the Watch 5 costed me $189.00 and the Buds2 Pro costed me $160.99. Now you are curious how I got it that much off for the Z Fold 4 since the original price starts at the same for that. Basically I was able to get a promotional discount as a student along with bundle discounts. Not only that, I was able to trade in my S10+ with an enhanced trade-in price of about $550 since they had a deal where if you trade-in a Samsung device, you get an enhanced trade-in price. Although it was a tough bite to pay for that much, it was definitely a payment worth making since I had a lot of money from FAFSA in my wallet and I figured it was time to switch to a new phone. Not only that, it was a consolation as an early birthday gift for me since my birthday is coming up next month. I'm expected to receive my phone in August 26 along with the Watch 5 and the Buds2 Pro in Aug 29. I also want to add that it comes with a free standing cover with a S Pen as part of a pre-order gift and as well as 6 months free 100GB of OneDrive, which I have no idea when I'm going to use it, YouTube Premium of 4 months free, which I have no idea when I'm going to use either too since I have Brave Browser that blocks ads from YouTube anyways and also 3 months free of Spotify Premium which is what I'll definitely use for myself since I usually go out and I want music on my phone without having ads and also lastly SiriusXM Free 4 months which is another streaming app which I don't use and will never at all. As always I will be updating in about 2 weeks or more on my review of the phone, the watch and the galaxy buds themselves.