dear world,
managing and changing ideas:
i just wanted to start this entry by saying, i've had a wonderful week... the weather is warming, the birds are returning and chirping and there seems to be hope and happiness at the end of this harsh, snowy and unforgiving winter... it's daylight savings time... thanks to this custom/law/social norm... i'm proud to say that we lost the dreary long darkness, and now have an extra hour of daylight... the people behind daylight savings time, are freakin' geniuses! i wish i was that cool/respected, to have the entire free world respect my ideas, and change their concept and perception of time... how cool is that???
managing one's concept of time... that's some really sweet power to have. the more time i spend at places like church and school, the more i see the power to shape ideas, and the way people live... i love school and i love church for some very unique reasons... school is a place where you can openly doubt... church is a place where you can openly have blind faith... school is a place where you can go to be loud and seen... and interestingly enough chuch is the same sort of place for me... a safe haven... i suppose it really depends on your peer group at your respective school or church...
managing relationships:
the other day, i was at one of my favorite coffee shops and in comes in a group of young asian folks... one of the guys says, "you are, paco, (names changed to protect the innocent) right?" i was like oh my goodness, i know we all look alike, and all... how do you know my name? and he said, we met a while ago at "__________ church"... playing ping pong... i was like, yeah, that's me... at any rate they are related / work for a chuch that i visited and played ping pong at "once"...
to me it's uncanny, that somebody can remember a single person, a single incident and just file it away in their memory... i would like to share with the world that i have been soliciting for a scholarship for a study abroad program while i was in college. (go jackets!)... i've made a few phone calls, and sent out a few emails, and voila... i spoke to a friend from way back in the day, and he simply asked me, how much i needed to fulfill the scholarship... i said, we have pledges of $1100.00 and a goal of $6500.00, and he said he would pledge $2000.00 and match up to another $2000.00. i was floored to hear such a kind and generous offer... remember world, tis about the relationships, experiences and memories we make... not so much anything else... as a quick digress, i would like to speak of the lessons learned during my summer abroad in chile, some umpteen years ago...
1. whenever there is a 'vaca' (a spanish term used to call a collection of money)... if you have some issues with the funds, it's usually the pretty girls who are at fault... they don't do arithmetic naturally, and they use their physical beauty as a "oh i'm dumb", "sorry" way out...
2. trust your instincts... i did a lot of hitch-hiking in chile... it just felt right, so i did it...
3. drink and be merry... even though my liver told me otherwise, liquid lubrication is one of the key factors to why i had learned spanish, and the chilean culture so quickly.
4. love is in the air... a lot of my peers fell in love while in chile... love is a wonderfully uplifting emotion. i unfortunately was not lucky in love in chile, but the experience made me a better person.
5. cutting the ropes that held me in place... and marching to my own beat... this is to mean that my parents, especially my mother... until that point in my life, had a "death grip" on my life, and what i aspired to be... living abroad gave me the independence and the chutzpa to march to my own drummer...
managing memories/normalcy:
even as a young boy, it was always asked... "what do you want to be when you grow up?", as a canned response, my father would always say... "it doesn't matter, what you do, just be the best"...
money and one's talents are tools, thus they should be spent in a most meaningful and impactful way... so for all of you who are listening and have lots saved up, and feel comfort and security from all those riches, i say... you are letting time pass and you should use your blessings for the greater good...
the convo. definitely was one of these enligthtening ones. we all pretty much share the same background growing up here in bergen county... dreaming of fast cars, and pretty girls... some people grow up to be pastors, businessmen, hedgefund gurus, teachers, lawyers, doctors... my answer to all that is... i will be a little bit of everyone, and connect the dots... as a generalist, and as a person who knows somebody in some really random positions, it's always nice to be able to point out people who are looking for work, and those who are offering it...
in this modern world of ours, normalcy... or balance is the HARDEST thing to do. i am good at everything i touch or want to do, but being normal is not being good... let's all open our minds and hearts to all the extraordinary crazy people in the world... they are doing some amazing stuff, they are just misunderstood... with that i will close by saying... hug a crazy person... it's necessary.
peace, and until next time,
ymjk
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