Monday, February 26, 2007

I'm Moving

Just like that, my focus will change. It used to be that I wanted to find all the other filipinos out there. i still do. But that is a smaller part of myself now. So I will leave this blog where it is and visit from time to time. New directions require a new blog. If I am to be a multi-millionaire, gotta start bigger. Come see me at my new blog:

Tatangs

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Take Responsibility for Your Life

There have been many types of messages that have been sent to me lately. But the ones that resonate the most are about personal responsibility. Be an adult. Take care of business. Take care of yourself, then your family. Be a man. Be a human being. Do not give excuses. Do not lie to yourself. Do not, do not lie to yourself. Be honest. Be truthful. Don't delude yourself.

If only the people that I have met can take these advice, their lives will be better.

A long time ago, I cut off people that I considered friends. One slight, out. One mistake, out. I thought afterwards that my standards were too high. That I was losing friends unnecessarily. But in reality, I had high standards. I wanted to be rich. I wanted a life that was enjoyable. I did not want pain. I don't like suffering. I want laughter, joy, and smiles all around.

Five years ago, I began studying in detail how to achieve these goals. I learned that I was going about it all the right way after all. It's nice for the universe to confirm that you were doing the right thing twenty years later.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Kids

Last week, the SO and I ended up watching the sister's kids. A set of twins and a single. The kids get excited whenever we come. I guess they know the difference between mommy and daddy versus guests. I guess they know they can get away with more things with the guests.

Very cute. Very cute. It's fantastic to see their development. I can understand why other scientists go into child development. To see the children accumulate data and then process it is an amazing thing to behold. Furthermore, the growth rate of advances is logarithmic. The twins have mastered walking and are trying to master talking. I take some videos so that someday, they can see themselves.

It makes me wonder about my family to be. How will I hold up to the crying for food, food, I'm wet, food, food. It will no doubt be an interesting ride.

As I said, teaching at a law school in Silicon Valley has been a challenge. Clearly, some of these would-be lawyers just don't know how much work is to be done. One guy asked if he could now go into trial after my class. Well, he did have 15 years experience as a law clerk.

The gout is still with me. I'm just going to need to eat vegetables. Oh, if you are in the Oakland Area, I suggest MEZZE in Grand Avenue. Delicious food!

I had the Caesar salad, the filet mignon and the chocolate mousse. The SO had tuna tartare, duck breast, and Pear Napoleon. Absolutely lipsmacking awesome.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Rotation of a Bowling Ball

114, 191, 158.

It started off pretty badly tonight. I could not figure out what was going on. I was thankful of getting a 100 score. Then in the second game, I experimented with increasing the rotation on the ball. I kept noticing that people with a lot of rotation did not seem to have a problem with the game. So I joined in the fun.

We actually took 2 games out of 4. The last game, we won by 1 pin. The sister-in-law broke 200+ game. Awesome!

Sunday, February 11, 2007

I admit, I like synthesizers

Analyzing the music that I listened to while in college and grad school, I realize that I like the technolike sound. Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure. I never did get into the garage band sound of Seattle and Nirvana. Too much angst even for me. I mean, I like sad, but I prefer happy over sad.

In selecting music for my ipod, I am conscious about how it affects my mood. I want upbeat lyrics. Or upbeat music. I choose to be the master of my life. I choose happiness.

Been speaking with the SO about life and how people make decisions. We break down how other people we know are leading life and we compare how we would do it if placed in the same situation. Certainly, it is not for the weak for there are some situations where the hopelessness can only be cured with a 180 degree change in attitude and dedication.

And so it is with the music. I find I still like a capella. I find that I like easy listening. I find that I like jazz.

Testing the New Blogger

You know, change is part of life. Blogger has switched to a new version. I delayed switching for the longest time, but now, I have made it.

Have been busy teaching the class at the Silicon Valley business school. You will be surprised by the amount of bitching and moaning I am encountering from the students. It's as if they came from high school and don't know any better. One guy complained about the write-up of his proposal for the entrepreneur class that I am teaching. He did not even use complete sentences. Bwahahahhaha!

We went to an a capella concert after not having gone for quite a while. What a magnificent show. The BYU Vocal Point won the Western sub-regional. Last year, they won it all. Pretty good showmanship and effort. My favorite was the Michael Jackson Thriller, complete with dance moves.

Have also completed the ripping of my old CDs. Overall, my taste can stand the test of time. I have a capella CDs from the 1990s, Miles Davis, Beatles White Album, Depeche Mode, Eraseure, Filipina singers and a lot of jazz.

The gout has been acting up. Gotta keep eating the leafy vegetables. It's weird when I buy Ranch 99 vegetables. They actually let the plants grow to flowering.