What Would You Do Differently?

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Greetings all! I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy. Things in New York are warming up (literally and figuratively!) Pretty soon I'll find myself occupied with impulses to golf and preoccupied with trying to find a new apartment. May is my last month in my current place, and I'm itching for a solo place of my own. I'll keep you posted, and am hoping to make a little video of wherever I end up so you all can see where I live.

My friend Kerry recently recommended a book to me that details a scientific exploration into the possibility of consciousness after death. They take multiple renowned psychic mediums and multiple participants and run consecutive experiments that prevent all possibilities for fraud, only to have some pretty incredible things start coming up. It's called The Afterlife Experiments, for those who are up for a truly interesting read. The idea is that if you live a life filled with love, you will maintain a connection with others after your body is no longer a part of the existential equation. At its root, this meshes well with my favorite goals in life: treat others the way you'd like to be treated, and love one another. It also fits the dreamer in me that believes much of what might be seen as coincidence is actually a nudge from someone that cannot be seen with the naked eye, but only felt with the heart.

Now this type of subject matter can get dicey or touchy when different religions get involved. The beauty of this book is its objective point of view. It simply amasses factual evidence that points to a strong possibility of consciousness after death. And then it asks: What would you do differently if you knew the entities that are "you" and "loved ones who have passed" would exist infinitely, like the light that long-dead stars emitted thousands of years ago? Would you drop a grudge against someone? Or conversely, be more careful about crossing others? Spend less time worrying? Personally, I think it strengthens my goal of adhering to the golden rule by making the consequences for how we treat one another more weighty.

So if it is possible, what would you do differently?

Time Flies... And Then You are Grown

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Howdy all! The last week and a half has been a busy one, with trips to Seattle and Chicago for work. The highlight of the week was probably a random decision to go for a 6-mile run so that I could see the Japanese Tea Garden, only to get there and find out it was closed. It's the hardest run I've ever gone on, and possibly the longest too. Hardly any of it was flat! My left foot has been hurting for a few days now, so I'm cautiously hoping that goes away sometime soon.

During all the traveling, I lose track of things I want to write about in the blog. (I really should start keeping a little list somewhere.) However, I wanted to share an amusing article from Men's Health. (Quickly becoming one of my favorite magazines... stuff on exercise, health, food and other manly things.)

Apparently, there are 18 things a grown man should never have. If you'd like to see how I stacked up, keep on reading...

1.) A black eye. Never had one of those. I've never really even been in a fistfight. Even the skirmishes I had in elementary school were ridiculously on the defensive.

2.) A witty email signature. No quotes or song lyrics in my email. I do have my contact info beneath my work emails, but I think that falls short of witty.

3.) An empty refrigerator. Guilty as charged... perhaps when my commute is shorter in months to come I will have more time and patience for cooking. In the meantime, vive taquitos!

4.) PlayStation thumb. The last game system I had was a Nintendo 64, which I gave away a long time ago. So I've been gamer thumb free for quite some time now.

5.) A key chain with a bottle opener. Guilty... made even guiltier by the fact that it's got my college logo on it. I think this will be one of the last things to go.

6.) A lucky shirt. While I do have a few favorite shirts (i.e. my Waterbury Swimming and Yavapai T-shirts) I consider none of them lucky.

7.) An unstamped passport. Whew! Just got that one in a few months ago with a trip to Ireland. I hope to add onto that at some point.

8.) Olympic dreams. Luckily for me, golf isn't an Olympic sport. So I can dream all I want. I think there may be a stint as a golf instructor at some point in my life.

9.) Less than $20 in his wallet. I do usually carry something on me, but not always. And I'm still not carrying business cards often enough.

10.) A name for his penis. This one made me laugh. Not because I have a name for mine, but just because it's always funny. Seriously, you know you laugh at those jokes in movies.

11.) Any beer that costs less than $20 a case. There are beers that cost more than $20 a case?

12.) The need to quote The Big Lebowski/Caddyshack/Superbad. Uh oh. This one nailed me. At least in the first two cases. I have yet to quote Superbad. "Thank you very little."

13.) A futon. Guilty, but only for a few more months. After I move, it's time to bring on the queen-sized bed. Hello, comfort. Goodbye sagging into the middle. Futon, 'tis the time to embrace your role as a couch.

14.) Code words for ugly women. Along the same lines as me never being in a fistfight, I'm clear on this one. I can only hope that women out there don't have code words for ugly men.

15.) A Nerf hoop in his living room. I have golf clubs in my bedroom, but golf is a grown man's game, so I'm safe. Although I'm always tempted to buy Nerf guns when I see them.

16.) A secret handshake. None here. I have a standard 3-step handshake that I learned growing up in Waterbury, but everybody does it there. So it's not a secret.

17.) Drinking glasses with logos. I don't have any... yet. I don't know if I'd be able to resist a good sports team logo on my glass of cold beer.

18.) A recent story with the phrase "So I said to the cop..." I'd tell you something about this one, but my lawyer made it pretty clear I'm not to say anything outside a court of law.

Checking In

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Howdy all!

I just wanted to check in with you in case you began to wonder if I'd been neglecting the blog. The last week was a busy one, and I haven't had a lot of free time for random musings. That said, on with the post!

Earlier this week I traveled to Atlanta for a project I am working on. It was my first trip down there of any worthwhile amount of time, and would like you to know that it's one of the prettiest parts of the country I've been to yet. I've driven from Phoenix to Waterbury twice, and been fortunate enough to see several parts of the U.S., and Atlanta's among the top of the list. I really like being outdoors and seeing foliage. Atlanta has trees everywhere you look, and this time of year they are all flowering. All of the houses feel grand and garner respect, and it's clean almost everywhere you look. On the recommendation of one of my co-workers, we had dinner at a local place called Fat Matt's Rib Shack. (If you saw how much I ate, you'd think they named it after me.) I had me a delicious BBQ pork sandwich and a local beer whose name escapes me. The best part of the restaurant is the outdoor seating and live blues music. It made me feel like I saw a part of life down there, and the whole experience was great. We really do live in a beautiful country... the evergreens of Pacific Northwest, the flowering trees of the Atlantic Southeast, the cacti in the desert and the many colors of a New England fall all make me feel happy.

The project that I am working on is a very inspirational one that, in a roundabout way, asks, "How do you express who you are?" We are always evolving as people as we learn and see new things, and we mark our evolution within our surroundings by filling them with reminders like photos, music and more. So if you are reading this, and feel comfortable chipping in, what are some of your favorite or unique habits or means of expression that convey who you are? For me, this blog is becoming one such outlet. I don't put a lot of thought into the clothes I wear or decorating my living space, but I've put some thought into this here blog.

And for your viewing pleasure, a video another one of my coworkers shared with me. It's a pretty touching idea:

Movin' Right Along

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Hello all! It's been a few days since I last wrote, and I'm "writing home to catch you up on places I've been." 

Earlier this week, I traveled up to Boston for work. It was my first time there since a field trip in sixth grade or so, and I took the train up. I learned that I really enjoy riding trains - certainly more so than riding on planes. There's no hassle about security checks, which is equally convenient and jarring. Second, there's a ton of leg room and personal space, which is great for people on the larger side. Lastly, it's really peaceful. You get to see new countryside up close and personal and feel closer to the neighborhoods you travel through. It's a much different experience than looking down on the country from 35,000 feet in an airplane. It made me feel introspective and calm.

While in Boston, I got a chance to meet up with two of my oldest friends, Latoya and Matt, for dinner. Two very cool and inspiring people. We had some PF Chang's - one of my favorites. It's great to see how well they are both doing in their lives, living as independent and successful young adults. The conversation turned to our times in the past and how they helped to get us where we are, and it's comforting to think that Waterbury helped to produce all of us in its own ways. It gives me a sense of roots and companionship to look back on our common experiences.

Up next on the schedule is Atlanta a.k.a. Hot-lanta. My flight's on Sunday, and I'll be back in NYC late Wednesday night. I'm going to miss seeing the Braves home opener by the slightest of margins, which is disappointing. I would've liked to see that. Oh well, baseball season is beginning and that makes me happy.

Now for your viewing entertainment, a video that fits in with all this travel I'm doing lately:

 

Funny Realization

Friday, March 21, 2008

For the longest time, I've noticed that for some mysterious reason, I always get little ads for Spam recipes atop my Gmail page. Spam tortillas, spam 'n eggs, spamwiches... I always wondered what I'd done to merit such unusual recommendations.

It only took me a year or so to figure out that it's just a part of how Google takes key words from your emails, etc., and makes recommendations based on them. Since the word "spam" is always present on my Gmail page, it's just making a recommendation based on that.

I found this really amusing. Ah, the simple pleasures.

I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend! I'll be using the time to prepare for a long 3 weeks of work and travel. To anyone in Boston, Atlanta, Seattle or Chicago: Let me know if you'd like meet up!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Monday, March 17, 2008

I just wanted to say a quick Happy St. Patrick's Day to everybody! I hope everyone out there has a safe and merry one. I myself will be chillin' back with some Jameson & cranberry juice, watching Boondock Saints. It's becoming my traditional way to celebrate: 2 years in a row now!

Quick notes... I learned how to make videos with my webcam today, so I've added it here! My apologies, as it's not the greatest. Hopefully they'll get better!

And! One quick note... I added a music player to the top of this blog. Right now it's just playing some of my favorite tunes, but if anyone would like to hear a song added, I can try to put it on there! I'd love to have a mix of what people are listening to, so just let me know

Death and Taxes

Saturday, March 15, 2008

For the first time, I have felt the sting of having a full-time post-college job... I owe the federal and state governments a total of $1100 in taxes. I thought it was called a "tax return," as in get something back. For a second I was really excited about having an extra $600 for the economic stimulus rebate. Now it's just a cold compress on my bruised finances... anybody else having tax nightmares? Maybe I can be like Ana Pascal from "Stranger Than Fiction" and just pay proportionately based on only the government spending I condone. TurboTax said I'm at a low risk for an audit.... tempting thought.

John's Movie!

Monday, March 10, 2008

For those of you who have (and haven't) met my good friend Johnny Doolan, he is an insanely brilliant soon-to-be-a-force-to-be-reckoned-with movie man. Dude's so fly he's got his own entry on IMDB. Click on the title of this entry to see the trailer for his first completed film, "Banshee!!!" The movie studio he works for had a script that needed work, and they put it in good hands. It'll be available on DVD later this year, so when you get yourself a gift certificate to a movie store, check to see if they've got it! (For those of you too stubborn to click the link, here's the URL:

http://syntheticcinema.net/banshee/index.html

New Post!

Hello again! I hope that this post finds you well. It finds me at home, after a Monday at work after a long weekend in Washington DC. I headed down to visit Meg M., Erin B. and Phil (over from Ireland!) The weather wasn't particularly nice, but it was a great weekend. I got to spend time with people I miss, complete with beautiful architecture, aimlessly fun conversations, some excellent movies ("Good Bye Lenin," "Once") and some singing. (They got me to sing, and as nervous as I am about it nowadays, it felt great.) Here's a weird artsy picture I made of each of the four of us in front of a sculpture in the garden at the National Gallery of Art:




And here's some things I've been thinking about the last few days:

1.) Daylight savings time is a violation of my civil rights! The government cannot censor what I say... cannot force me to follow a religion... cannot search my home without a warrant... inalienable rights. In the cases of free speech and religion, these are subjective experiences: each of us has our own meanings attached to things. Now take the notion of time. It's pretty hard to interpret differently from person to person... it can't be sped up or slowed down... rewound or fast forwarded... yet the government feels it has a right to steal an hour of my precious sleep away from me. Who's to stop them from turning the clock on its head any time they want to? This madness must be stopped. Although I do like walking home in the daylight.

2.) I've been thinking about how often I think by a process of justification... I eat "this" because I ate "that" earlier, or will eat "that" later on today... I spend "this" because I did or didn't spend "that" another time... I wonder how pervasive this balancing act is. Does it work against spontaneity? I know I tend to rationalize things, so maybe this is putting a new spin on some of that. Do other people do it? I hear it in research pretty frequently. What do you think?

Random Thoughts

Saturday, March 01, 2008

I'm reading a book for work called "The Anatomy of Buzz." It's written to attempt to explain how companies should think regarding the way our social networks impact the spread of ideas and product adoption. (Kind of like "The Tipping Point.") So far it's talked about how part of the process is that we're all part of several circles, and constantly picking up info from individuals in one circle and passing it to people in others, speaking up about positive and negative experiences as consumers. In some circles we might be leaders, making it a point to stay connected to the world outside the circle and keep learning. In others we might not go out exploring for info, and rather, simply rely on the word of others.

It made me start thinking about what circles I am in... circles of friends, family, coworkers... golfers, book enthusiasts... young adults, New Yorkers, U of A alumni... and kind of made my head spin. It's not one of those things we consciously think about, and can be kind of cool when it means you might very well be someone who influences the way others think in certain areas. So think about it: What circles are you a part of? When and where are you that influential person that others rely on for ideas and expertise? And who do you turn to for ideas and expertise on other things? It's kind of fun to think about.

I also had a couple of random thoughts today...

1.) I have a feeling that the same people who manufacture the mirrors for fitting rooms in stores also make the mirrors in barbershops and salons. In both places, you try something on or see your haircut and think, "Sweet!" Then you go home and all of a sudden it's like you're not even looking at the same thing anymore.

2.) I love it when I see older couples who walk side by side in stride, stepping left and right in sync without even realizing it. It makes me feel like there's reason to believe we could meet someone we connect with beyond a conscious level. Or, is it possible that once upon a time, these two people walked out of stride, bumping into each other or others from time to time, and only over time learned to walk together?