The Lenten Saga: Day 26

Such an eventful day! From singing twice at two churches, to participating in the Crop Walk, to even watching USC and Michigan State go at it. Unfortunately, my Trojans did not make it, but I think it is pretty safe to say that it was not a cakewalk for MSU. They earned that win, but it was no gimme. USC lost by 5. Duke is still in, YaY! And I will be watching the Villanova-Duke game with much interest. Now in my bracket I have Pitt and Duke going at it, with Pitt winning, but if Duke pulls it off, I will not complain!

Funny, this is where I usually do my Sunday thoughts, but it has been a very long and busy day. I do not even know how far I walked in the Crop Walk.... I just followed everyone else, but I had a walking buddy, a choir member from church. I was the only young adult from the church group there, so everyone else were my elder. Nonetheless, I had fun, and it was enjoyable.

I need to get up early tomorrow, so I am signing off now!

The Lenten Saga: Day 16

What a busy day!

Thursdays are my busiest day's out of the week. I guess it is because I have so much going on. In and out of work, with choir and working out... Plus running errands does not make the day any less busy. I got a lot done at work today but I still need to do more. Looks like I will be coming in on the weekend to get it all done! Such has been the way of things. Deadlines are tight, resources, tighter, time is a luxury no one seems to have... Wow, I have not even went salsa dancing in a long time! I will remedy that Saturday... wow, That is going to be a busy day too!

Well, I guess that is good, I am very active... No couch potato-isms here! Plus I am not in my apartment long enough to enjoy the craptacular one I have in my living room. Still looking at furniture for my new place... I want to get decent stuff... I will be here for awhile. I do want to live somewhat comfortably. Exciting times, busy times!

And somehow I survived 16 days of Lent! Hmm, have not received email about Caterpillar this weekend... I guess I will send out a reminder.

To day 17!

The Lenten Saga: Day 8

You know what I have not written in awhile? A Social Dating Okie-Dok note! I guess that is because a lot of stuff is going on in my world, both inside and outside of work. Did not read Job 3 yet for the Caterpillar challenge. And since we did not meet last Saturday, the Engineer in me is saying "Hmm... If we were to discuss chapters 1 and 2 last saturday, and we need to do 1 chapter a week, what should the yankee be prepared to share with the group this week (to stay up to speed with the Caterpillar Challenge)?" My logic is flawless (damn I am good)!!! So Why am I slacking!?! I have no clue. Oh yea, I need to tell the choir peoples that I will be taking their pictures Sunday... I suppose I can do that at practice tomorrow, and I need to see if the nieces want to join me at church.

I wanted my next social dating okie-dok note to be about something that I addressed in an earlier entry (see Happy St. Valentines Day), but I think I am going to digress and talk about something else... Something a little bit more subtle that women do (which to me, is disrepectful) that I have encountered during the times I was single during undergrad, grad school, and even today. So to the ladies, I am just going to give you a heads up that you might not like my opinion or my position on this particular topic but at the end of MY day, when it comes to social dating, it solves more problems (for me) than it creates.

The Lenten Saga: Day 2

Well, at least I do not have to come up with any fancy titles for the next month! But today was a pretty routine day. I need to do my "Caterpillar Challenge" assignment, hopefully I can get that done by the time I am finished with work tomorrow. I also need to talk to my real estate agent. Since this pre-approval thing went through, I need to get on the ball and get my house search going. I know with the state of the economy the way it is, I am taking a risk either way, but even in the immediate/medium term, investing in a home is the financially smarter thing to do versus renting.... With that being said, let the house-hunt continue! 

It was such a long day, and I have no idea why. Maybe because I also started to resume working out on my 'non-weight-training' days... Maybe that was the reason why I was so tired during choir practice, and even now, as I am writing this. I upped my vitamin and minerals intake due to my own personal Lent challenge, at the recommendation of a fitness advisor at the Gym, but I guess it will take a few days for my body to get used to me training on M-W-F, AND cardio on T-R-S-Su. All this time, I have been weight training. 

All I know is that I am going to sleep well tonight! I am hardly ever in my apartment long enough to enjoy it. I guess that is good... This lets people know I have a very active, busy, and healthy lifestyle... The only time I come home is to sleep, shower, and eat, and then I am out again! No need to clean up, not here long enough to make a mess! 

And speaking of sleep...

Double Duty Part 1

Well, since Thursday's long work day led me to absolutely crash and pass out on Friday, I'm going to have to do a double entry to make up for me sleeping through my blog hour from yesterday.

With that being said, this was kind of a normal week. I realize that as a young man, sometimes I do not look before I leap. The biggest thing on my mind throughout the week rests with an initiative I tried to show to the choir. I had my niece video-record one of our songs for a couple of reasons:

1. To see how well my camera (it is a (semi-pro) still camera with recording capabilities) can record from her vantage point. 

2. To actually get a shot of the choir in action....... With ME in it. All throughout last year, I took pictures and video snippets of the choir, and although I was a part of the choir, since I was on the other side of the camera, no one could really see me in action... Hey, I want to smile and show my involvement too! :-D I took the best pictures and video snapshots and created a nice little dvd for the choir members. 

When I viewed the video, the light from the window behind the choir blinded many people... Yankee included! So most likely, I will not be able to use the video portion for anything, unless I use some special effects and just use the video(no audio) only for whatever... The audio, however was a different story. Personally, I thought it was great! 

Then I thought of something the choir director asked us to do weeks ago: come up with ideas to promote the choir concert this spring. I thought to myself, "hey yankee, you are good with camera's photography, promotion, and you have a little web savvy, lets see what will happen if I upload this to youtube, email the choir, and get their thoughts... Maybe we can use this as a way to get our event out there..." Me and my young thinking :-D So I did just that...

I was so amazed by the overall mode-of-thought from the young people.... to the younger. (hehe see how I was very careful in my choice of words :-D). 

To the young people, I should have asked for permission from the choir. It was possible that what I uploaded could have been copyrighted, and if it ever got traced, there could be legal issues. To make light of the situation, the choir gave feedback of their performance. Very humorous, there were a lot of laughs, and I am pretty sure that they knew that I did not mean any harm by posting this on the internet.

FYI: I did take the video down. I try to do what is right, and even though I got plusses and minuses from all sides, taking this video down solved more problems than it created.

The young people of course are correct. In my attempt to present this idea, their view did not cross my mind. Proof, that even though I try to think a lot of things through, I make mistakes also. 

The younger people however, saw something completely different!!! We did not think about the possible legal implications... at all! We saw it, we were amazed by it... The prayer group used it as an opening song to start our study. People emailed the yankee and (positively) commented the video on Facebook. One of my peers even teased me saying that "you must be the brightest one in the front..." It stimulated enough interest to create a buzz for my generation/age group.

Nonetheless, I learned a lot that night. In addition to all the above, I learned that I can take my lumps, and take them like man! LOL! Guess I am back to the drawing board for helping the choir out in this particular area/initiative. All I can do is try!

Later on, I will talk about this Med-School Prom thing that one of my church friends has invited me to! This should be interesting!

My Thursday Formula For a Disasterous Friday

What do you get when you add...

work at 8:30 AM
plus
work through lunch
plus
leave work at 6:00 pm
plus
choir practice at 7:00 pm
plus
going back to work around 9:00 pm
plus not getting back home until like, geez, I dunno, I dunno... Maybe 10:30-ish (and that is if everything I need to do back at work gets done correctly)

equals.... Drumroll Please..................

ME NOT GETTING UP AT 5 AM!

Remember last week, with the whole chain of events that just knocked me out of sync? Well, this week, it is not as bad, and only Friday will be affected... Giving me Saturday and Sunday to recuperate!

We will see what unfolds...

DTH and Tutoring

So from yesterday, I went to the Carolina Theatre and saw the "Dance Theatre of Harlem," (DTH) perform. Dance, of course is one of the more beautiful forms of the arts, but since I am a former instrumentalist (one day I will return), I would have to rank music above dance (hehehe). I would even rank music above vocal (and I am in the gospel choir at church). Anyways, the group performed a variety of classic, modern, and neoclassical styles, and there was even an interactive piece where audience members could interact with the dancers. There was a musical (no dance) performance before the intermission by the pianist (I can not find my program, so I can not tell you his name), that was so beautiful and unique that one could not help but to be mesmerized. You know how some musical compositions definitely belong in an orchestra, and how some could be used in a musical? This artist made up his own composition, and I can easily see it go either way. I would not be surprised if his piece was used in a musical at some point in the future, and if it is, he will get an award!

More information about DTH can be found HERE. 

So my freelance tutoring adventures continues. My client is getting her knowledge together. So far she is acing all of my quizzes and lectures and is understanding my material. I am beginning to show her more advanced ways to solving the same common problems. Since I have started tutoring, she has shown more confidence in her math ability. 

I know how to bring out the best in people ;-) partially because the drive to succeed is buried deep down inside of us. All I do is bring it to the surface. With a lot of positive reinforcement, motivation, and patience, there is no limit to what you can do!

Bedtime! Before I go to bed, I am going to find my old notepad and start taking notes at church. There are a lot of wisdom in our Sunday 'messages' and I want to be sure that I can share it with you guys!

Good night! 

A Theory as to why God led me to the Containment Area (Part I)

Today was a normal, not too exciting, but not too boring day. I pretty much followed my new "old" schedule to the letter, except for the working out part (Only train on M,W,F). Choir practice was pretty normal, but afterwards, I sat in the pew and just started thinking. 

Just thinking...

I am here, in the Containment Area, for a reason. All the events that happened in my past (the good, bad, and ugly), shaped my life--my decisions. I do believe that I was influenced by the Almighty. I am trying to hear the silent whisper, in the midst of the wind, earthquake, and fire. 

I think I am here to excel in my career. From day one, I have enjoyed working with my colleagues, even though my primary skill set is not being used (all my secondary skills are). I think that this is a humbling experience reminding me that there is more to succeeding in this profession than the specialized focus of one's graduate school study. I am seeing my field in a whole new light, and direction. I am learning things that I never learned in school (neither at Ohio St or Southern Cal) as well as becoming a better communicator and well rounded person. Sometimes I wish someone would just come to me and ask me to solve a transistor-level circuit design problem, or ask for insight on solving a real-world complex oscillator problem using the latest foundry technologies--Little stuff like that to really keep what I learned at USC in my head for as long as I possibly can. At the same time, there is something about working with and collaborating with people, that for me, gets better and better the more I am exposed to it, and the desire to enhance my resume for my eventual return to graduate school (MBA) is getting stronger and stronger.  

 I think I am here to find my wife. Shocking is it not!?! Nowhere near 30, but a desire for family is getting stronger. Maybe because I remember a time when my immediate family was very close-knit. But a lot has changed, and the jury is still out while trying to answer if these changes were for the better. Usually when the man marries, he leaves his family. The man and woman become one flesh (I think I read that somewhere). But a part of me feels so distant, not because I left for college, interned throughout the States, lived in California for a couple of years, and now residing in the Containment Area, but partially because the ideals that made my family a great one, seem to have gone out the window when troubled times came to 'trial' our souls. It is almost as if the family has left the man. I am not sure how to feel about that, but I know it is not a positive feeling, but one of indifference. 

Still, I hold on to positive memories, but even those memories are getting old. If I want to experience new ones based off the same kind of close-knit, peaceful, Christ-centered, 'family-oriented' family that I experienced as a child, then maybe it is time for me to have one of my own. 

But not yet... 

When I started dating again, I am seeing a lot of things that I DO NOT LIKE when it comes to the women I have 'encounters' with. That is why I said that I think I am here to find a wife... So far from every encounter, there is something the woman does that I really do not like and it sticks out like the worst sore thumb. Like Mr. Deeds' 'foot.' I hate that, but at the same time, I also feel that it is good for me to eliminate the traits/habits I do not like. I have not had a real opportunity to do this with such scrutiny, until now. 

Mom and Dad raised me well, to their credit, but they also did not raise a fool. They raised me the best way they knew how: by how they were raised, which I must say is pretty old world. They told me that the women of my day will take my rearing for granted and that they will not see my true worth, and while unfortunate, I must NOT fall into the trap of making excuses for them. "Defend ideals, not excuses," they tell me (I changed that to 'defend philosophies, not excuses') They will categorize before experiencing (me), and/or take actions whether consciously or unconsciously to undermine my opportunity to shine for them. 

Such has been my experience so far. All I can do, from here on out, is to keep on going. Keep looking, keep smiling, keep living!

This entry is part of an ongoing saga. Look for Parts II, III, IIII, .......  in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Operation "Go As Planned..."

Did not fare so well. You see, I thought that if I took Jade early into her surgery (7:00AM) I would be out by 9-9:30 AM and still be able to have a decent work day. Well, well there was a lot of rust, an unfortunate side effect of originally hailing from the North, and by the time they scraped all the iron oxide out, it was literally lunch time. Now normally, I would have eaten lunch, but today I sung with the choir at a funeral (which usually occupies my 1 hr lunch window)... Now this was at 11:30AM...... By 1:50PM I arrived at work, and just told my manager that I was taking the day off. I was sooooo pissed because I did not get any work done, plus I was tired, and since I did not have breakfast or lunch, hungry. 

I have no one else to blame but myself. I made a serious error in (time) judgment. When the guy told me that my car's alignment would not take any more than 2 hours, I should have just taken the shuttle back to work instead of waiting like an eddy right then and there. To me, I came in at 7, and 7+2=9, therefore I would have left around 9, and got in like around 9:15-ish. It would have still been a very salvageable work day. I did not take into account the intangibles... How was I supposed to know that Jade was going to get that rusty as a result of Northern exposure? Once 2 hrs became 3.... then became 4.... I just kept getting more and more restless and upset. 

So I guess I learned some major lessons today:

#1. Things do not "Go As Planned" hence the name of the blog subject.

#2. Bring some snacks/rations/MRE's(Meals Ready to Eat), something to fill your stomach up if you ever decide to wait during service.

#3. If you are doing anything else to your car besides an oil change, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR SHUTTLE SERVICE! Leave immediately so you can have a productive day at work!

#4. If you are too overwhelmed to work for that day, get out of that environment. I know my limits, and I am confident that taking a vacation day today was definitely the right thing to do. 

Besides, how often does getting an alignment and new tires for Jade, singing at a funeral, and waiting waaaaay longer to get your car actually happen in the course of one's life? I sincerely hope that this is one of the more rare sequence of events to happen in my days. I would not know what to do if this ever becomes common. 

Tonight, I have to replenish my vitamin supplies (I will blog about this another time), then go back to church for choir practice, and then, salsa dancing! In the midst of all this craziness, I have to do something to keep myself sane. Salsa is it! I have no idea how I am going to wake up at 5 AM tomorrow! LOL!