Archive for July, 2008

July 29th, 2008

Book Review: Invisible Man- The quote that gives the book away…

“And although I knew no one man could do much about it, I felt responsible. All our work had been very little, no great change had been made. And it was all my fault. I’d been so fascinated by the motion that I’d forgotten to measure what it was bringing forth. I’d been asleep, dreaming.”

Just one week taking the fiction class have given me a renewed love for reading. I have been going back and forth with reading, The Invisible Man, and I can now see the importance and style of the author. This very quote helped me to understand the meaning of the novel and also the importance of the title. I have felt this way many times in my life with the notion of trying my best to do something that I believe in and getting people to see it from my point of view and the individual doesn’t change for the better or to my liking. The pages proceeding this very quote gives more details on the way the main character feels about his work and also the people that he is associated with. He is indeed angry and uses a cunning way of getting the audience to realize his way of thinking and feeling, especially with emotions linked to his speeches.

Everyone has a different style of writing, speaking, expressing themselves. At times it can be mature or at the peak of the person’s intelligence. Whatever the case a person should do from their heart and not worry about what others will say.

 
July 26th, 2008

Reflection of Japan…a Year Later

As I look at this photo a year later I still can’t believe that I was there. As each day passed since the last day in a place I only saw in other people’s photos, movies, television shows, and in my dreams I knew that I really did something special. All I had was a book bag and a suit case. A book bag and a suit case. I had the best time by myself yet and by all of my pictures you would have thought that I knew all of the people that I came in contact with. There are a few that I still communicate with, but the biggest attainment was that I was free of the day to day struggles of a 9-5, flakey friends who promised the world and gave nothing return, myself running around in circles not know what I really wanted to do with my life, and whatever else I was going through at the time.

This blog is mainly about making my life the best possible one for me. I got that very feel for 2 whole weeks. 2 whole weeks of waking up whenever, doing whatever I felt I wanted to do, and forgetting what time it was, damn just thinking of that gets me going. While being in the magical place of Japan I wanted to transfer the feeling of “making my life the best possible” to my life back in the States. I also told myself that I was going to move there, which I still want to do in a different type of situation with a very special person. But anyways after being in a place that I only dreamt about my life has surely gotten better. I don’t let the little things get me down as much, less time sensitive, care-free and totally willing to try new things, and the most important one is living as much in the moment as possible.

Living in the moment as much as possible is perhaps the most important thing that I learned from my trip to Japan. However, taking nearly 1000 pics, meeting cool and interesting people which I still keep in contact with some, expressing myself and opening up to perfect strangers as they did the same, walking everywhere and finding out more about myself, and meeting Japanese people and living as they do is something that I will never forget and always cherish.

Now being back in the States for a year I have bought many plane tickets to realize dreams that I have been thinking of doing for sometime. Some of the dreams have really turned out to be part of my daily life and others have fallen by the way side. When dreams are realized something in your body, something in your mind, and your whole look on life changes. I feel most of the time for the better and it is up to that person to grab hold of that dream and realize and grow from it.

July 25th, 2008

Fiction Writing Class

I had my first fiction class this past wednesday. I didn’t know what to expect but I was anxious to see what I could learn from the instructor. When I walked into the classroom a white hair white woman with glasses greeted me. She was very enthused to see me and the other beginning writers who were ready to throw away their misconceptions and learn from someone who knew a thing or two about writing. There was a total of 3 guys and 8 women present for class and I looked like the one out of place. I was dressed in some jeans and a designer shirt that was hugging my body, I clearly looked like I could easily punch someone out and also mirrored of someone ready to go out on a date or hang with the boys. Nonetheless I was ready to see what I could learn. This was the first class in over 3 years that I have taken since being out of school and a class that I wanted to take and had no problem paying for something that I felt that will benefit me.

Once everyone was settled in the fiction teacher introduced herself, talked about her credentials, gave out a rule that she had for the class, and told us that we all are writers. She was very inspirational and gave all of us positive feedback on what we wrote for the writing exercise. What I learned that day was that I am a writer and that there is tons of things that I do need to work on, but I can express myself and a story through words. Furthermore, is that a novel is a series of short stories that gradually reveal more about the main or round character. That little statement is so simple, but powerful because I started to think and jolt down more short story ideas and to look at the way authors put together a series of circumstances that gives the reader an understanding or realization of the story through the main character.

 
July 23rd, 2008

Goals for the Month that I am not at Work

As many of yall already know I will be off from my next job for a month. I plan to do some reading, writing, traveling, working out, and whatever I feel that I have been putting off. I have been looking forward to this the whole year and now that I am here I am even more enthused. What I plan to accomplish is to make my passions and purpose exposed to myself and to push my limits further than I ever thought possible. Also, when I do start my job in a little over a month I have the mindset of placing my job into my passion and purpose instead of the other way around. Yes I know that my job will take up 40 plus hours a week and that I will do my other things on the side sparringly, but the foundation will already be set and good habits will be implemented. So without further ado here are the goals of the month that I call, Passion or Bust That’s the Dilemma.

1. Write write write- Once I am done with my Civil Engineer career I will be a full-time writer. Right now I am no where near where I want to be when I am doing this full-time and am taking steps to become better. I have ordered a couple of books to help write creatively, taking a course this summer starting today on fiction writing, also listening to podcast and reviewing grammer websites for improved sentence structure, and read tons of books in general to develop my own writing style. And also to write every single day.

2. Read like a mad man- My goal for more knowledge and to revive my love of getting totally lost in another world is to read books. My goal for this month off is to read 10 books.

3. Already in shape so now it is time to be ripped- I am in great shape right now and since I have to time I will put some of that energy in to increase strength and to be in sculpted physique. I will write about this whole ordeal because I am already witnessing unbelievable results and realizations that I didn’t think was ever going to happen.

 
July 20th, 2008

Vacation is Bliss…

I have already started my month off before I start my next job vacation and so far so good. I have tons of things planned and I will do my best to complete them. I am going to write a huge goal list later today or early morning to give people and myself an outline of what I plan and the reasoning behind all of this.

So far my detox of the previous job is going well and should be done with those negative feelings of it. So until next time everyone enjoy the rest of there weekend.

 
July 17th, 2008

Happiness in Life and Living in the Now

I have been thinking about this since yesterday, since I dropped the bomb at the old gig. As I was talking to people about what had happen, where I was going to go, and what was I going to do between the time I became depressed. I was distraught with what people were saying about my new employer’s salary and also that you can check what everyone makes online. It blew me away that was what people were basing a good workplace from the next. Money is important, but it sure isn’t everything, and if people are constantly basing their happiness around it then they are going to be disappointed. Hell I would take a pay cut if I was a happier person that enjoyed going to work, had more time to spend with his family and friends, travel more often, exercise, and pursue his purpose in life to write and change the world.

So now that I am moving on in my life I stop to realize what things that I am grateful for. What things move me to get out of the door every morning, what gives me the strength to wake up with no animosity whatsoever, the moments that bring a smile to my face, the people that make me laugh because we are in the now or reminiscing of the pass, and so on and so forth. I can say right now that I am on top of the world and the only place for me to go is up and there is no reason to let people keep me down, keep me from realizing what I set for myself. Everyone’s goals and purpose are different and people have a tendency to push others in their own direction.

When I was a kid I thought about the future, thought about when I was going to get my driver’s license, when I was going to graduate high school, that first kiss, that first lay (well I thought about that a lot later in my pre 20’s) and that was it. I thought as myself as the ideal candidate for a “Toys“R”Us Kid”, who never wanted to grow up and who only wanted to play. We would play basketball, football, crawfish baseball, hide and go seek, ride bikes, go swimming, and read a hellva a lot on a role playing game on the 1st generation Nintendo. I didn’t have to worry about bills, car note, where the next pay check was coming from, going to work clearly not ready snoozing at least 5 times. As anyone can see these are the things that we simply go through with the entitlement of “growing up” and that being that “Toys“R”Us Kid” of never wanting to grow up was out the window. One thing that I am slowly getting back from being a “Toys“R”Us Kid” is living for now. Damn every motivational speaker or humans that have experience so much in life say that but it is so true. When I was a kid I dreamed about the future and my naive way of thinking the world will be when I was that ripe old age of “being grown”. But living in the now and just enjoying every single second that I was doing something was the most important trait I learned as a kid and that I am getting closer to realizing and experiencing it more.

“Toys ‘R Us Jingle”

 
July 15th, 2008

My Jab is Quicker than Your Jab

I have been thinking about this very same situation for some time and today was the day that it actually came true. Here is the narrative of my day.

I slept okay, but I was ready for the morning, ready for the next step in my life. I was already feeling sick in the stomach due to drinking 4 cups of detox green tea and damn all of the fantastic tasting food from this weekend in Minnesota came out. I got ready for the morning as I usually do. Grabbed my vitamins, my flip video recorder, and banana and went out the door. I made a quick 20 sec video of what I was preparing myself to do, something I have been thinking about doing for some time now. Again the morning was just like any other morning and the drive was just as mundane as any morning drive. I parked the car, walked in the building, took the stairs up 5 flights, walked to my cube and turned on the computer, talked to some co-workers about my weekend in Minnesota, and sat there. I sat and sat and waited and was ready to get it over with. I checked my outlook page and noticed that my two bosses had an incredible and thorough meeting with the subject line: Oke and with a red label that said it was important. I laughed and said to myself that they were doing this while I was flying back, they were going to welcome me with a “Oke, can you come to my office and…” you know the rest.

I was so anxious and ready to get it off my chest. It was as if I was a kid waiting my turn in line impatiently to double-dutch jump rope. I hear a door open. I look up and there he was. It was my time and I didn’t let it get away. I told him I needed to talk to him as soon as possible. He went to get his coffee. He came to me and said the was ready. I got up, cleared my throat. Went to his office and closed the door. I sat down and said, ” I am quitting…it is about that time…I feel…because…I am not finish saying what I have to say…thanks and shakes hand and leave with a smile on my face. The happiest day that I have had at the job, the old gig.

After I told my old boss that I was quitting he did something mysterious. He opened his eyes as wide as possible, smirked, and smiled in one unison as if he was performing a dead-lift with perfect form and movement. Damn that was a surprising jab that he wasn’t expecting. I didn’t talk to my other boss because she was ready to do what she planned to do in the meeting the day before, but wasn’t able to. She didn’t make none whatsoever type of eye contact to me and that was the final blow of the day. Words cannot totally describe how I felt at that moment and how I feel now that it is over. I can’t wait to start my new job and show them that I am worthy of what they hired me for and this will also give me the opportunity to learn and grow as an engineer and more importantly as a man traveling through his journey in life.