take a deep breath

Waiting on the results of my exam, and it's the beginning of busy season so excuse my absence. Think of this as the lull before the storm or the deep inhale before a plunge into cold water. Keep your fingers crossed for me. We'll talk soon.

semi comfortable flow

Have been at it for a month longer and maybe now am a bit wiser for it. At least that is the theory. One thing I've noticed is that drum'n'bass is awesome work music.

Some quick lessons from work: leave at least a day to spare for polishing up work and tying up loose ends. There will always be more loose ends than you originally account for and this is the biggest time waster.

Another lesson is, be proactive in learning about what exactly you are doing. It becomes very easy to just tick and bob, leaving yourself with no idea of what you just did. It takes an effort to understand why you are doing what you do and how to do it better. This effort is crucial if you are coming back later on and you need to be the leader.

A lesson I've picked up from "Rich Dad Poor Dad". Don't spend your life trying to get a piece of the pie, that will ultimately just lead you into the rat race. The rat race being "pay bills and work, pay bills and work". Instead of trying to get a piece of the pie, bake your own damned pie. While you are slugging away at work, focus on 'minding your own business'. This will ultimately lead to financial and personal freedom to do whatever it is you are really called to do.

This is another realization, that is mostly a personal revelation: what you are the best at may not be the most employable skill. So until you figure out what it is you are the best at and what you truly want to do with your life (your "calling"), keep plugging away at work, learning as many transferrable skills as you can before you 'GTFO'.

Onto another topic of personal interest. The Nintendo Wii has followed a rather odd strategy of positioning itself as a console for the children. I'm sure I've talked about this before but I find it odd that the folks at Nintendo wouldn't target the larger & wealthier teen-young-adult market. Why target young children and their mothers? Of course, the moms have the buying power and this in itself is a sound reason. However this market is much smaller and even if Nintendo has full penetration of this market, it still is only a small piece of the market. On the other hand, the launch lineup for the Wii is very balanced, with enough hype to get everyone interested, cheap enough to be an off-the-cuff purchase and with enough retro games to make it a must buy for anyone who grew up playing video games. Good job to Nintendo for taking a perceived weak position in the market and twisting their strategy to make it a contender.

I've also made some changes to the blog as you can see. Changed the name of it and changed the permissions to allow all access. I figured it would be better to remove any obvious links and risk the odd traveller to read it, rather than to shut everyone out.

funny...

... that I post more now that I know my blog is a tad more secure.

Anyways, this moved me today in service:

Oh to grace how great a debtor,
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, Oh take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above - "Come Thou Fount"

I think I felt particularly touched by this because I can feel the divide growing larger and larger each day. And for what? Simply because there is less free time in the day. This is something that I need to work into my schedule, just a regular quiet time to reflect and re-align myself. On the other hand, classic hymns have so much more substance than the contemporary stuff that we usually sing.

Have a blessed week.

some changes

Sorry, the blog has been undergoing some changes. Due to slight paranoia of internet snoopers I have decided to make some slight changes. I'm also going to refrain from writing about work specifically due to obvious reasons. More changes to come. Don't be surprised if you come back to this site and it's no longer here. I may rename the domain.

That is all for now.

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope you are enjoying it with the people that you love.

Going through a little bit of a restructuring at the point. My life hasn't really settled into a predictable pattern as yet. It's been difficult so far to find a good personal pattern that balances work, study and exercise. In the same vein, trying to find a new sport because basketball doesn't seem to be as feasible on a regular basis anymore. Need the cardio because just sitting in the office all day is a quick way to accumulate bodyfat. And nobody needs more of that!

Work has been really interesting so far, and while the easy times won't last, as long as I am learning I don't really mind how much work we have to put in. Learning at this point is key and it's really a personal commitment to get as much out of it as possible. Still getting used to the regulated lifestyle of waking and sleeping at certain hours.

The only thing that is starting to get annoying is the commute. I'm sure many can relate, but the 45 min. - 1 hour commute makes life difficult. This requires waking up about 2.5 hours before the work start-time if you want to get anything done in the morning. It didn't bother me as much before when it was just going to school, but it seems to take more of a toll when I go to work. I think this will have to call for just more discipline when it comes to planning the day. It would be nice to eventually move out to a closer place, but that is another issue for another time. One step at a time.

So how do you know when you've become another working stiff? When all you are interested in talking about are things related to your work-life. It's sad but maybe it's a sign I need to diversify my reading material haha. It's very easy to just develop tunnel vision and bury yourself in the work at hand. Balance is a good thing!

Anyways, more to come at a later time. I'm bushed!

kind of an uneventful lull

This summer has hit a sort of sleepy stretch where I've settled into a boring cycle of sleeping, eating and working at the mall. Sometimes I don't even know if it has been worth it, wasting away the bright days of summer for a little more pocket change. I am comforted by the fact that I probably would have accomplished little anyways but still I suppose the grass is always greener on the other (unemployed) side of the fence.

The upside to being paid to spend time watching an empty store is that I get an enormouse amount of time to read books or people-watch. People watching is pretty interesting, since most of the time there are interesting characters that mall walk. This has given me a good opportunity to sharpen my ability to read the intentions of people. I've also been able to finish a couple of books recently, and that has been one of the few positives of working. Educate myself on someone elses dime? Yes please.

I'll share some of my opinions on the books that I have read. The first book I finished this summer was "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. An excellent read by a brilliant man. Although a little slow in the beginning, it is refreshing to see a layman's take on how our world and the universe works. I think the title may be a little misleading, because it is not a solely religious commentary. It's more like one man's approach to interpreting how the universe works and then how Christianity fits into it. As an intellectual and former atheist, Lewis shows that many of our 'modern' ideas are merely rehashes of concepts from civilizations long-gone. I really enjoyed reading it and plan to go over it again in depth.

The next book I read was "Crucial Conversations" by Patterson, Grenny, etc. Another good read, with straight forward and functional instruction on having meaningful and effective dialogue. Essentially this book teaches you techniques to ensure that you are creating a safe environment where both parties in the conversation can communicate effectively. Probably a good book for those who will be in situations where conversations will carry weight. Like in the workplace. Yet another book that I should probably go back and read up on again.

The next book is a very short one, more like a booklet, called "How to Find Your Mission in Life" by the author who wrote the "What Colour is your Parachute" series. I was surprised by this book, because when I picked it up I was expecting a secular point of view on finding ones purpose. However, this is written from the Christian standpoint, which I found to be very uplifting and encouraging. Here's an excerpt which I found very simple yet so true: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet". Good food for thought.

I am now reading Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, which apparently was highly recommended by many high profile people. Myself, I only picked it up because I saw the Harvard Business School publishing logo on the side of the book. I figured that if they saw fit to publish it, it had to be some good stuff. I haven't finished it yet (I'm almost done) but from what I've read so far, it seems to be a very comprehensive take on the ideas of leadership. Compared to the John C. Maxwell stuff, this book is much more in depth and exhaustive. Goleman explains how our brain (specifically the neocortex and basal ganglia) are wired to learn differently when we are in different emotional states. Also he goes into detail of how the emotional intelligence of the group is just as important (if not more) as the EI of the leader. It has been a more technical book and harder to read than the last two books, but I have found it very educational and useful nevertheless.

Outside of working I haven't done that much, just going out occasionally. I went to the Night Market at Metro Square the other day and that was okay. Saw a lot of old friends there, which was nice but then had to hustle home early.

I've also started jogging in the morning, which I must say, is more fun than I had originally thought. Having good music to listen to while you are pounding the pavement in the morning is very fun. Just being on the road running is quite liberating, the feel of running is pretty exhilirating. I think I may have joined the ranks of 'endurance junkies', which I find hilarious because you guys know I hate cardio with a vengeance.

My harddrive crapped out a week and a half ago, which has spurred my hiatus from computer use. I've also found this to be very liberating, as I have noticed that being constantly tuned into the computer really sucks away all your free time. Hopefully I will continue this, as I suddenly have time to pursue other things. So no worries if you don't see me online, I am still alive and kicking.

I hate to admit it, but my taste in music seems to be changing a little as well. I think City & Colour is pretty decent and I have also started to listen to reggae. Diversification is good!

In the meantime I have a stack of magazines I should go and finish reading. Continue having a fun summer guys! I'll see you when I return from Asia.

vegas and back, holla!

Back from Vegas and I think it is definitely a bumpin' city. We pretty much lived a disgusting nocturnal lifestyle with a diet of fast-food and alcohol the whole time we were there. Vegas can be summed up as the most basic of human needs: eat, sleep and play (this last part can be taken whichever way you want, because if you can think of it, they probably have it). My sleep schedule is all messed up at the moment as we slept at 5am (8am T.O.) and woke at 12pm (3pm T.O.) usually.

Naturally, gambling is literally at every corner in Vegas. The moment you leave the airplane there are slots to play and you senses are assaulted by all the sights and sounds. Every corner has a massive LCD screen advertising something and any place with a pulse is literally covered with bright lights all night long. Food is everywhere and you get an idea why obesity is such a problem in the US. All the food there is supersized, even staples like McDonald's are much larger than their Canadian counterparts. Rarer stores like Fatburger and Carl's Jr. have some of the best burgers I've ever had. Until you've tried Carl's Jr.'s onion rings on a bacon-cheeseburger sourdough sandwich, you haven't had a real burger. And the Fatburger sausage-egg & cheese sandwich, you haven't had a real breakfast burger. I can't believe I just wrote breakfast burger haha.

We went to the buffet at Paris and the Bellagio. The Bellagio had a nice atmosphere but the food was kinda bland (except for their apple crumble which was excellent). Maybe because I was sick of food at that point. Paris' food was excellent though, and they had the absolute best creme caramel I've ever had. We also had the famed $4.95 steak dinner at Ellis Island Casino & Brewery. Excellent food overall.

We hit up PURE nightclub/Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Caesar's Palace, and that put all Toronto nightclubs to shame. The average age in the club must have been like 35 though, because I have never seen a crowd go wild when Madonna got some play. And this was the first time I've heard darude's Sandstorm get play in a club. I thought raving died? Haha, good thing the DJ was awesome and made everything sound great. Some fine ladies there too (holy crap). At one point there was a party of seven asian girls all dressed up in similar white mini-skirt outfits. Nosebleeds all night long. No personal space at all though. I think I spilled my beer on my shirt twice at least and my friends had drinks spilled on them quite a bit too.

American television is excellent. I literally watched sports recaps programs on ESPN end-to-end repeatedly without seeing a single mention of hockey. Even soccer got more coverage than hockey. What I didn't like was the strong bias that Americans have. They really believe in that manifest destiny crap. Lou Dobbs needs to take his head out of his arse. He's got to be the most outspoken windbag. You can't responsibly take only one stance without evaluating the other perspectives when you have so much influence. No wonder so many Americans are so one-sided on stuff like border control.

Americans aren't all bad though. Many of them were really friendly and hilarious. The most consistently hilarious ones were the african-americans. They say some of the most outrageous/hilarious things.

Also got some good shopping done in Vegas. The shopping outlets had some good deals and I was impressed with some of the shopping places on the Strip. Ask me for more stories next time, I can't remember them all at the moment.

Finally, my marks came out alright, for which I am extremely thankful. I cannot believe I got by on so little, it is seriously a gift because I can't honestly say that I earned it by myself. Hope you are all having as much fun as you can! See you all soon.