As I said, hopefully I can keep it updated fairly regularly... it all depends on how exciting my life is at the moment... and well, at the moment, it's not very exciting, hehe.

So there's that... and let's see, what else?  Um, well I suppose I can give you all a brief abstract of who I am, in case there are strangers checking this out.

My name is Zeke, well, it's Exequiel, but try to say that out loud and you'll see why most people just call me Zeke.  I am 25 years old and single, never married, no kids.  I was born and raised in the Coachella Valley, where I currently still reside.  I'm a graduate of the oldest high school in the area, Coachella Valley High School, Class of 1998.  I did pretty well in school, always liked Math the best.  After high school, I decided to attend the University of California, Riverside, a very underrated campus in the UC system, and among Public Universities in general.  Even though I was accepted to better schools (cough**Johns Hopkins**cough) there was a couple of reasons why I decided to stay in California.  First of all, the school is fairly close to home, and as much as I don't like to admit it, I think I benefited from that.  I don't know if I would have succeeded being so far away from home.  Second, I liked the small campus, and in retrospect, it was one of the things I liked the best about it.  The professors were very accessible (and quite brilliant as well), and though it was a commuter campus (most students commuted from surrounding cities), it was still easy to feel like it was a close-knit kind of place.  I probably could have gone to UCLA or Berkeley, but I chose the quieter, laid-back UCR campus.  I still don't know how I would have done at Johns Hopkins, and I actually regret not going there, I mean, it's a very prestigious institution, and imagine what a degree from JHU would look like... but I also don't regret going to UCR.  I'm quite happy with the education I received at UCR, and with the whole experience of attending there.  Besides, I will be continuing my education at some point and I think whether it's my Masters or my PhD, where I get that degree will be more important in terms of job opportunities.

Speaking of Graduate School... I'm seriously considering an Masters of Social Work (MSW), perhaps at Loma Linda University, a fine institution here in Southern California.  I currently work as a Children's Social Worker, for Riverside County, CA, and that's where that interest has come from.  My B.A. is in Psychology and my ultimate goal has always been Clinical Psychology, but since taking this job with the county, an MSW has begun to look quite appealing, as there are a many positives to an MSW.  I've been out of school for a couple of years now and getting back into the mix with a tough Clinical Psych program might not be the best route.  I figure I could start with a 2-year MSW program and work from there.  Working with the county, I have a lot of options and connections.  Also, because there is such a need for Social Workers here, there are programs that literally pay for you to go to school and get your MSW.  That's especially appealing.  the only catch is you have to commit to working for the State of California, in some Count Social Services Department, one year for each year you accept grant money.  This is something I plan to do anyway, so it's not really much a catch.  I think I like this Social Work business.  It would make for a good career and there are lots of opportunities to move up.  Though it can be upsetting work, at times, I enjoy going to work everyday.  It has much of the appeal that Clinical Psychology and Medicine (I was pre-med) have for me, helping others.  It's interesting though, now that I think about it, not only have I been interested in helping others, I've been interested in helping children, in particular.  When I was pre-med, my plan was to become a Pediatrician.  When I switched to Psychology, the career I had in mind was Child Psychologist.  Now, I work as a Children's Social Worker.  Even the previous jobs I've had, have involved children.  I was a Tutor/Mentor with AmeriCorps.  I was a tutor for an organization called Upward Bound, which helps underprivileged, bright high school students make it to college (I was in Upward Bound when I was in High School), and the last job I had, before I became a Social Worker, was as a Substitute Teacher.  By the way, although I liked Subbing, I definitely cannot see myself as a Teacher.  I think it takes a special person to be a good teacher, and I'm not sure I have that in me, so my salutes to all the teachers out there.  Though, if I ever did that for a career, it would most definitely have to be as a Math teacher at either the middle school level or, preferably, the high school level.

So that's a little bit about where I come from.  Nothing too exciting perhaps, I'm just a regular guy.  It probably won't be too easy to infer more about me from this brief synopsis of my background, but well, to do a complete detailed account of my life, beliefs, values, aspirations, etc., I might as well write a book.  If you're so inclined, however, feel free to send me a message at my e-mail or on yahoo.  I'm often signed onto Yahoo Messenger and that'd be a good way to reach.  Besides, if I'm on Yahoo, it means I have free time and I'm always up for a good conversation.  So feel free.  I'm at "Nahuatldream" on Yahoo Messenger, and of course, there is always e-mail.  Well, I hope you like what I've done with the place and leave your comments in my guestbook.  Also, check out my journal to see the latest.  Catch ya later.