I'm MAD as HELL and I'm not gonna TAKE IT ANYMORE!

Ok, well, ha ha, ahem, well, you know, it's like, ok, FINE!!! I guess I have no choice but to just take it.  Hmmm, seems like the theme of the times, on a side note. But let me say this to the Twitter's and the Facebook's and ALL of these new social networking sites... "Genius Ideas, POOR EXECUTION!!!" We all remember the frustrating hours we spent trying to navigate our way through Myspace, an error message, or sending failure, or Whatever (Shit) Happens.  Myspace gets bought out and my hopes for better programming see the light of day again! Yay! Only to be bought out by one of my personal faves, Rupert Murdoch, and I say that with the utmost sarcasm. BOO. In keeping with my expectations of the egregiously overly saturated media mogul, (in that his worldwide audience is 3/4 the world's population, ha, yeah!), Myspace didn't get much better, if any. And, well, all the rest to follow haven't done much better in their pursuit for a bug-free, or near, much MORE near, program. I bring this all up as it just took me almost an hour to do the simple task, so I thought, of updating my profile on Twitter. One pic, and some background color, no big deal, right? So why all the trouble? Why can't things just work? Or at least at an above average rating? Is that too much to ask?  That's too much to ask, huh. It shouldn't be, but maybe it is. Just BETTER! Please!?! I know a lot of people in the field and I just don't understand how the code and programming could work that BAD! WTF! So, here is my rant! More to come, soon, I promise! I have two more in the works. Just dealing with life. :p

Change You Can Believe In!

No, I'm not talking about Barack Obama.  And this blog is not about politics.  This time, let us delve into the Human Psyche...  ;)

     As I find myself in the midst of change, embarking on a new mission, reacting to what life throws my way and seeing where it takes me, I am ever so reminded of a lesson I learned many years ago. This lesson has been an integral part in shaping the person that I am and has helped in guiding me down the path that has led me to where I am today.  As with most things in my life, it was a lesson that I learned the hard way, but I am forever grateful for the lesson learned. 

    Many years ago, while working as a network engineer for a company in Orange County, I received a book at a company seminar that I didn't pay much attention to and it was promptly deposited to my bookshelf where it would sit for some time.  I was always drawn to it because of its peculiar title, "Who Moved My Cheese?", but at the time I was more into fiction books like Grisham, Sheldon, Crichton et al. Finally one day I decided to pick it up, see what it was about, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. 

     At the time, I was going through another whirlwind of changes, my job, my friends, where I was living, what I was doing!  I, again, felt defeated and wondered when things would work out right!  I had worked so hard, done so well in school, excelled in my field, but nothing came of it! No respect, no pay, nothing but a bunch of idiots disguised as my bosses who had no clue as to the value of my work.  How could this be happening again!  I work hard, I'm so nice to everyone, I get along, I excel, I don't get it...and, for so many years, I  beat myself up about it.  

     The story in this book is quite simple, but it's meaning can be interpreted and applied in so many ways.  It is a story of 4 mice that go to the same place for their cheese everyday.  But one day, the cheese was gone!  2 of the mice immediately split, off to find more cheese.  The other 2 mice, Hem and Haw, well, they stuck around, just expecting that the cheese was there once before, it will come again.  They waited and waited and the cheese never came all the while the other 2 mice were long since gone on their merry way to find more cheese! (Super short version, read the book! It's not much longer ;-P)

   I realized that I had put my focus in the wrong direction, seeing things in a different light.  The moral of this story is that there is nothing to gain from staying complacent, avoiding change, and expecting a different result.  I had inadvertently been pretty good about the change part, changing my life every 2 years or so, but what I didn't see was all the lemonade that could have been made from the lemons I faced.  I realized at that point that without everything that had happened to me, I would not have had the valuable lessons with which I gained strength and wisdom. I would not be the person that I am today without the strength that I gained and the wisdom that I earned through those troubled times.  I realized that it was ok if I fell on my face, it was what I learned that made me stronger.  I could take the good from the bad and actually be grateful for what I had been through.  Without it, what would I have to draw from? What lessons could I have possibly learned if I just stayed where I thought it was safe? None! None!, is the resounding answer! 

   Yet, I find that so many people have a hard time adjusting to change.  They would rather be miserable in their situation because for some reason they feel safe.  But it is not the safe option at all.  If there is only strength and wisdom to be gained, what is there to be afraid of? The point IS that their is NOTHING to be afraid of!  If you keep your focus in the right direction, and allow yourself to be guided down your own path, you have no where to go but up!  Because it is about what you learn in the process, and as they say KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, and with that power you gain strength, and with utter strength and determination, you WILL gain the most valuable wisdom of all, YOU, your true self, and what you are truly made of, with all your hopes and dreams in YOUR hands.

Shown here is the book and a few others I found truly inspiring.

A little something I thought I would pass along...

As I was going through my emails today, in my endless pursuit to organize thousands of emails, I came across this email from my dad and I just had to share.  This video is not only cute as hell, but it definitely has a deeper meaning.  And in the spirit of the video, I thought I would also share the unique bond that my cats share.  There names are Buddy and Clyde, Clyde having been rescued straight off the street outside a studio known for having stray cats in the area.  Initially, I didn't know if I would be able to keep him.  Buddy didn't work well with other cats generally, so I gave it time, and in the end I am so grateful that he stumbled into our lives as he and Buddy have developed a precious bond as you can see by the pic.  Buddy has taken Clyde under his wing and now they are like two peas in a pod.  I like to call them my little peas!  Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

xoxo

Sam

My first blog!!

So, I bet you never would have guessed, but today I start my first official blog!  And what better day to get started than Tax Day, April 15th! (Ok, I lied, I finished this late) I have been fired up all day about all of these "Tea Party" Protests going on around the country.  Now, don't get me wrong, protests can and should be a part of a healthy democracy.  Aside from voting, what better way can we express our feelings towards our government's policies!  I am ALL for it!  However, my problem is with the timing of all of this, and I don't mean Tax Day.  So clever... However, NOT so clever in how we got here in the first place and how we reacted then.  So, let's take a stroll through not so distant history...

Voting!  Like I said, voting is our first line of defense against electing public officials that have their own self interests at heart, not the American people.  Problem is that politicians have to SELL themselves to their constituents and nowadays there are such advanced marketing campaigns that, well, Americans are SOLD on a ton of CRAP that is useless, even when it comes to politicians.  But we live in a culture where BLIND FAITH Rules and we are just supposed to believe that we are being told the truth.  So, instead of digging deep, finding out the truth, talking with local officials, attending City council meetings, WHATEVER, most people just got behind the guy who wanted to ban abortion and keep marraige between a man and a woman(two other whole issues, don't get me started!  Oh, wait, that's the purpose of this blog!) and just figured that everything else must fall in line.  

Problem is, as we can see by the devastation the last eight years has left us with, IT WAS JUST A LINE OF BULLSHIT!  They used the heartstrings of those who believe to get their votes.  And then they used their office for their own gain, taking bribes, allowing deregulation to set the stage for loopholes that allowed the kind of economic and monetary mismanagement that got us into this mess.  They let their friends at the banks design loan programs that no one could understand and then they allowed the American people to think that EVERYONE could own a home, doing whatever it took to get a client qualified, no matter what the loan actually meant (and I know, I have my real estate license in California, I saw the programs, I didn't sell them, and my clients I'm sure are forever grateful!). It meant that Americans could buy and consume 'cause ya gotta put shit in that home, right!   The stage was set, and America was it's unknowing players.

So, we didn't really take an ACTIVE role in voting, did we.  If so, how could we have possibly voted for Bush, again...  How could we vote for the kinds of people that would let this happen!!! Government is supposed to protect us, right? Aren't we supposed to have a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people! As with so many other things that I can't even begin to talk about or I will never finish this first blog, the American people have had the wool pulled over their eyes.  We have been blind to the facts and deceived. 

Other than voting, well, then we have to hit the streets, make those phone calls, emails, letters, whatever!  It's our duty to stand up and have a voice when things are not going in the right direction.  My problem with the timing of these protests is that they are about, say, four to six years too late.  Where was the outrage back then?  There were so many problems with the Bush administration, yet everyone just sat back and let it happen!  And then voted for the guy again!  This outrage should have started back then and only been building more and more throughout the Bush Administration.  And to do it now seems like America is using Barack Obama as the scapegoat.  Sure, I agree that taxes should be fair and that the stimulus plan should have extreme oversight and applied logic so that we don't have unneeded pork.  There are SOME great congressional programs that will indeed help to create jobs and a better economy and only those congressman and representatives know their own district's as well as their respective constituents.  BUT, COME ON, do we really need wasteful programs like tattoo removal for guys coming out of prison?  Yes, I'm sure it is great for those inmates to have a clean start and not be judged by their tattoos, but is it really in the best interest of the people to spend that money in that way.  Aren't there many more issues that need to be addressed before we give up every last penny for things that are not going to have as great of an impact as we need.  We need so much more than that and we have to dig deep, make sacrifices, and get America truly back on track.  So, I hear ya, I'm fed up too!  But the timing of all of this seems a little trivial.  Let's just band together and make sure that we continue to do the right thing, stay focused on social issues and take a continuous active role in our society and democracy.  We owe it to the America that was built for us to not completely destroy it.