I am patience's constant test...

Man, I can't believe I'm still up....it's less than 7 hrs to our flight and I'm here, in mom and pop's kitchen...


(This pic is from last year's Thanksgiving holiday)
Unlike years past...I get to spend the Thanksgiving weekend in its entirety with my family. In the past, I've often had to work over the holiday weekend, usually being sent to the east coast right after Thanksgiving lunch and off to work for the weekend. Another year, half of us were in the PI. This time around, we all get to spend the whole of the weekend together...on a plane on the way to the Philippines. I'm looking forward to it though, spending time w/ the family for the next two weeks and not having to worry about work(well...that's only partly true, I'm very attached to my work right now and i will be worrying about it a bit...however, I do have faith in my team that everything will run smoothly while I'm away. Anyway, Thanksgiving....so much to be thankful for, a stable job in this rough economy, a place to stay, decent health(we'll cast aside the back spasms at the moment...but most of all, I have my family and my friends to be thankful for. I know how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life, that I love and care about, and love and care about me. I truly feel lucky, and blessed...so to anyone who plays an important role in my life, most of you know who you are, and yet there are others who don't eve know they've affected me in one way or another..., I thank God for you and for our relationship. Wow, look at me gettin all sappy.... Well, happy Turkey day to you all...

Of weather, and the changing of...
It's a strange sight to see the sky so dark at around 4:45PM during my smoke occasional break. Ahh, the winter season. It hasn't been exactly what I wanted, but it's getting cooler. With the exception of last week of course...where it was in the effin high 80's low 90's. And the fires haven't helped much either. Someone needs to wake up the Winter clouds and call them over already. I love this time of the year, it gets colder(by California standards, so don't hate all you "real" winter folk, he he he), and the holidays are coming around. Hopefully, by the time I get back from the PI, it'll be much cooler. It already started raining tonight, so that's a good sign. It was actually raining quite hard for a decent amount of time(snow!), so maybe the season has actually decided to change... It's a shame I'll be missing it for 2 weeks....he he he.

of random digressions
Dangit! Harry Potter 6 got moved to Summer '09 instead of this fall! Weaksauce! I can't wait tho. I don't really have much time to watch movies cuz of work right now anyway. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

Of old habits being hard to break...
You know certain things aren't good for you. Often times, we know certain things are just downright bad. Strange thing, addiction can be. Sometimes, I stand outside, when I smoke, remembering all of the commercials, all of the warnings from my friends, and even deep down, I know...but yet, I can't just put it out. Some days I can, most days I can't. Obviously, my wont is not so high that I am making a 110% effort to quit, but I can still see how addicted I am. There's a reason why people are addicted to various substances - they have a draw on the person that can rise beyond logic and reason.

But addiction isn't limited to substance...there's gambling, video games, shopping, porn, what have you. Some are good, some are bad. But one that we often overlook is...relationship. YES, relationship. Have you ever talked to someone who constantly tells you how bad their relationship is, or how miserable they are, and that they know they should get out...yet they won't...or in their words, they can't? I'm so amazed whenever I hear about another one of these situations. Getting out of the relationship would release the person from the stress, anxiety, and unhappiness they are feeling...well at least in my opinion it would.

55 small things you can always do
40. When you receive a compliment, just say thank you.
Probably one of the hardest things for us to do, accept compliments from others. I know I definitely have a hard time with this one. There's something about it that makes me a little uncomfortable...like accepting the compliment makes me cocky or something...but when I think about it more, it's just a sincere gesture from a friend that wants to say something nice about me...to me. Same when I hand them out, I just want people to know that they've either said something, done something admirable, or that there's just something good to be said and that's that. Compliments, are gifts, and they should be accepted w/ open arms, and as always, a sincere, "Thank you."

Better try and get a little bit of rest...happy trails all, and I'll miss you guys...

I am another subtle reminder...

The day before I left for my east coast business trip, A bunch of us as seen above(not pictured; the roomies) went to the Jason Mraz concert. I officially have a second-man crush, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, ha ha ha. (Kobe is my first, for those who are wondering). Anyway, after the concert, we were leaving and we got to take a pic w/ Toka Rivera! He's Jason Mraz's drummer dude, and he rocks! Thanks for the pic Toka!!!

Of comfortableness
I attended a "Business Etiquette" training session today at work. It's funny how things at work can be completely applicable to every day life - actually, that's almost how it should be - in most cases, that is. One thing that stood out to me in the training session was that as far as etiquette is concerned, you let the other party take the lead. You adjust to them and follow suit - you see what's comfortable for them. And if you don't really care about fostering a relationship, then you do your own thing and do what makes you comfortable. Basically, the way I see it is...what's more important, your comfort or theirs? To me, I'd rather put other people's comfort before my own...because that's what makes me happy. I've been told numerous times that there's times that we should be selfish in our lives...I think I've tried that route, and I've realized that it's just not my cup of tea. Personally, I find happiness when other people are happy, and I guess that's what matters. I choose their comfort. And you know, sacrificing your own comfort isn't a new idea...it's called stepping out of your comfort zone. We do it all the time when we're reaching out and trying new things, accepting new challenges, pursuing our dreams. The more willing you are to step out of your own comfort zone, I think the better you're off.

55 small things you can always do
39. Don't allow the phone to interrupt personal moments.
The phone is there for your convenience, not theirs. Man oh man...I am so guilty of this sometimes. You don't really have to pick the phone every time. If it truly is an emergency, or you are expecting a very important phone call, maaaaaybe. But more often than not, it's not an emergency. Especially in this day and age where our phones are constantly going off, just set it aside while at dinner and focus on who you're with at the time. I would say the same goes for text.

I am a near-miss...

Happy 33rd Wedding Anniversary mom and pop! Sorry this is a pic from last year, but I haven't had the chance to post my new pics yet. I'm a little tired. 33 years...Wow. One day, i can hope to make a claim like that....one day...

Man, travelling can really take a lot out of you. I've played the part of the wander-weary traveler for a lot of the year; and these next few months are no different from the past few, except that I'm travelling further and for longer sets of time. As much as I do like to travel, going here to there within a small time frame can be a little taxing. Just got back from the east coast last night, and it was quite the day of moving around. I have connecting flights, cuz there's always that maybe. Let's just say that yesterday was one of those types of travel days most of us aren't particularly fond of. fter a few flight changes and a straight sprint from my EWR > SFO flight to my SFO > LAX flight, I was finally home. It was a day that started at 3PM Eastern time and ended at 12:30AM Pacific time. Much too long for going from the east to west on the mainland. It's nice to be home for the next few weeks. I tend to take for granted the time I have when I'm not movin around. But not now :)

Of living and learning
Sometimes people's biggest fault is that they think they have learned everything that needs to be learned in life and that they are done w/ it. I think this leans more to us older folk, who can be so naive as to think we don't have anything to learn from those younger than us, but just as much to the growing youth who refuse to learn from their elders. I think most parents can vouch for the fact that their children teach them new things all the time. I personally feel that learnng never EVER ends. There's a reason why the cliche "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," exists - because a lot of people actually believe it. I don't like that cliche much...because I think everyone learns something new every day. EVERY day. Whether it is some random fact, or discovering something newthat affects us far deeper, something that affects our heart. I found out recently that if you collected the farts from every human being in the world you can fill 13 blimps with that gas! How's that for randomized knowledge? he he he. Mom and I always argue when I try to get our family to communicate better, because she says that she's old and that it's hard. But I always tell her, it just depends on what she wants...if she wants us all to be closer, then we have to communicate and say what we feel. We need to be more assertive and not be afraid to be open and honest. I think in my family at many times we set things aside and bottle things up. We were never an intimately close family growing up; not until certain major events occurred did we get closer. But I'm glad that we're closer now, and I always push to continually grow with each other. Going back to the never-ending lesson, don't forget that it's never too late to learn.

The holiday season is fast approaching...I'm excited and sad at the same time. Excited because this is my absolute favorite season to be around for, but sad at the same time, because, if my travel schedule remains unchanged, I won't be around for a lot of it...

Trying to run in the AM....wish me luck.

I am the implementation of change...

ooooooh baaaaama ooooooooo baaaaaama (Sung to the tune of the classic standard "Oh Donna")

Anything is possible....Anything. Here's to hope, and to the future.