My cousins, sister and I went out on Saturday night to celebrate my cousin Palu's new job. We went to a place called Brasserie52 and it was pretty good food. Afterwards, I got us lost on our way to a bar called O'Flaherty's. I thought it was on 47th St. between 8th and 9th Avenues but it was really on 46th St. between 8th and 9th Avenues. So of course, I didn't just go to the next block, but rather, I circled around going back in the direction we came from. haha! We've been to that place before and it had a library feel to it because it had these bookshelves filled with books. My cousins and I have tagged a few books on our previous visits and we planned on tagging another book but when we entered, we were told that the section w/ the books was now reserved for dinner. Blah! We hung out on the sofa then. Regardless, they were good times.
On the way home, my sister and I missed the last bus to our area of Jersey City. So we walked down to 33rd street to catch the PATH to Hoboken. Luckily we got in and the train pulled out soon after. Once we got to Hoboken, we got out of the PATH and got on line for the taxi cabs so we could get a ride to Jersey City. However, TWO empty cabs passed my sister and me without even asking where we want to go, only to subsequently pick up white passengers. Bastard taxi cab drivers. I thought those were my people. I guess not! It was freezing outside and I know these taxi cab drivers saw that my puny sister and my puny self were cold as heck but they still passed us up. I could've understood if they asked us where we were going and then declined to pick us up because they weren't going in that direction. But no! They looked at us and waved their finger and said no. Where's Al Sharpton!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Goals
So things haven't been so great lately. But I could either let it consume me or I could keep busy and do my own thing. That's what everyone tells me. Stay busy. Keep your mind busy. So I'm going into super study mode and hitting the books. I'm planning on taking my SND exam at the end of March so I'll be cramming until then. I even took the last week of March off so I can completely focus and prepare for the exam. I'm taking a class for the second exam starting mid-April so I hope I get the first exam done with before then. I hope to take that second exam by June. And if things go well, my third exam this fall. My plan is to finish the 5 exams needed for my CCSP by next year when my CCNA expires.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Hail to the bus driver!
The bus driver for the number 85 bus at 4:30pm is a dead ringer for Joe Girardi. He even has the crew cut like Joe. Shouldn't he be getting the Yanks ready in Legends Field instead of driving me home? hehe Ok, that's all I have on the matter.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Adventures of S & A
So I went to Home Depot with S today because she wanted to get her boyfriend a toolbox and she needed my assistance in picking out such an item. She also got a plant from HD which kept tipping over in her car and spilling soil. I was in the passenger seat and the plant was on the floor behind me and I had to hold it up with one hand. At one point we thought we had sufficiently held the plant in place by moving my seat back so it pinned the pot to the backseat, but then she turned and there it went again! She exclaimed, "How come every time I'm hanging out with you, it turns into an adventure!?" hahaha It's true, there have been some really fun adventures. I'd like to point out two in particular that we recalled. 1) We were looking for a Papa John's on route 440 and ended up in Staten Island. A guy yelled at me at the toll booth because I was slowly changing lanes and he was speeding towards the booth and I got in his way. We ended up at Olive Garden that night and she made a waitress drop all her dishes because S wanted to get attention to ask for more bread. 2) S and I went to Edgewater one day and were in the drive through of a McDonald's because we wanted McFlurries and these kids cracked us up because one was pushing another in a shopping cart through the drive through. lol! Funny kids. That wasn't so much of an adventure as it was something funny but aahh, good times.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Death in Venice
Death in Venice is a book by Thomas Mann and it's one of my favorite books. I first read it in high school and even after all these years, the imagery has really stuck with me. Aschenbach was a renowned writer who decides to take a trip to Venice. During his vacation, he develops a distant love for a young boy named Tadzio. (No the gayness isn't why I like the book.. keep reading.) This love eventually turns to obsession. At the time that Aschenbach takes his trip, Venice is overrun by a secret disease. Although the city is a great tourist attraction and caters to them, there are warning signs posted by the Health Department and the smell of disinfectant is in the air. What I like about the book is that there are two sides to everything. Aschenbach is famous and has to present that image to the public but secretly he has another side to him. Venice is a beautiful tourist attraction but it is secretly being eaten away by disease. I think that the hidden side always ends up eating away at the facade that's presented to the public. Whether you present yourself as a free spender, but in reality you're a cheapskate, or whether you act like you care, but you really don't give a rat's ass, or whether you act pious, but you're just a sinner, or whether you put on a brave front for someone, but you're really torn up inside. It all eventually bubbles to the surface no matter how hard you try to suppress it.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I'm like Sylar
For those of you who don't watch Heroes and don't know who Sylar is, allow me to explain. He's a bad guy with a power to grasp how another person with a power clicks - how they use their power. He then goes on to chop off the top of their skulls and absorb that person's power. Whenever he starts to read a person, they play a ticking sound in the background. He was originally a watch repairman and first displayed his power by grasping the inner workings of a broken watch. Skylar sees a person and has the ability to see their inner workings; sees why they're "broken" - for lack of a better word. He can see what's wrong with them and what makes them the way they are.
I think I'm like Sylar because I am also pretty good at getting to know the inner workings of a person once I get to know them. I know what makes them tick; and what makes them tock for that matter. I know some aspects about them that they may not know themselves and I link these traits to one another in my head. I take conversations, actions and the like to form a tapestry of that person.
So even if you think I don't know you and I don't know what's wrong, I do. For those close to me who are broken, I do hear you ticking. And I'll do whatever it takes to fix you.
I think I'm like Sylar because I am also pretty good at getting to know the inner workings of a person once I get to know them. I know what makes them tick; and what makes them tock for that matter. I know some aspects about them that they may not know themselves and I link these traits to one another in my head. I take conversations, actions and the like to form a tapestry of that person.
So even if you think I don't know you and I don't know what's wrong, I do. For those close to me who are broken, I do hear you ticking. And I'll do whatever it takes to fix you.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Revelation
Part I of this post by S I've been through the desert on a horse with no name and a recent conversation with her gave me a profound revelation of sex and birth order in Indian culture. I'd like to start off by saying that S is a smart girl and I don't mean to insult her in any way with this post.
I've always told her that I wanted to be rich, but I could never convey my reasons for it. Consequently, this led her to believe that I was just a selfish, greedy, money-hungry basto (bastard). When we conversed today, I think she finally began to understand my point of view and I was happy that I would not be considered a greedy bastard any longer, but I realized that she would not be able to truly understand my point of view. So allow me to explain..
Resolved: I want to be rich. I want lots of money. I want, I want, I want.
Why do I want? Am I materialistic? No. Do I believe money will bring me happiness? Not exactly. You see, I believe money = security.
I don't think that my father - at any point in his life - ever earned more than $40k. I don't want to throw that number out there to embarrass him; but rather to show how much he's accomplished with so little. Let me throw another wrench into this situation. He supported six of us: himself, my mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and me. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor either. We actually lived a relatively comfortable life. I never felt like I didn't have what I needed. His primary job was a black & white photo developer at a company in NYC. He also worked weekends as a wedding photographer to bring in some extra cash. As he grew older, he was not physically able to endure the long days of shooting wedding picture with a heavy camera (he has a bad back). Growing up, I remember that there was always a fear of my father losing his job and this really scared me. What if we did cross that ever-so fine line into poverty?
When I was a teenager, he sat me down and went over how much he made and then went over his monthly expenses. I sat there and tried to figure out how he was able to keep the house running. I figured that since I was the oldest, and future "man of the house," I would do something - anything - to get us out of that situation. This is where my point of view differs from S's. She's the youngest and a girl who's always been taken care of while I'm the oldest and a boy who'll run the family. So I thought and thought. I was a teenager and didn't know much about anything. What could I do to ensure that when it was my turn to take care of the family, I would be able to do so and my kids wouldn't have to struggle like we did? It's funny. I was not an investor at all at this time but I did hear on TV that one should diversify his investments. So why couldn't one diversify his income as well. Hear me out. I made sense. I figured that I would work and that my wife would work. So that's two sources of income. We would probably be able to pay bills and save a little. But what if one of us lost our job? We'd probably be in a dire situation and our kids would probably feel that same pit in their stomaches as I did when I heard my dad could get fired. So what if we had more sources of income to diversify us further? I thought I would invest in the market and that would be another source. Also, I thought that I would own businesses and their income would further hedge us.
In 1999, when we were kicked out of Hoboken, my parents were able to buy a house! We lucked out because it was right before the bubble. I was amazed at how he did this and I don't think I still fully understand. The house was a two-family building and we rented the second floor to help cover the mortgage. It helped out so much! I added real estate to my income diversification plan as another hedge. Even though we now had a house and we were moving in the right direction, didn't mean that those same fears from my childhood were behind us. I worked co-op while at Stevens and used one semester's earnings to pay for my next semester of school. Moreover, my dad's hours at work were cut around that time and I began to help pay for monthly expenditures around the house.
After I graduated, I was out of work for 6 months. Not to brag, but I thought that I was a relatively intelligent person and the experience that I had gained during my co-op days would have helped me get a job quicker than it did. I couldn't make sense of it. I did have some money saved up but it was depleting quickly and I would soon have to begin paying off school loans. Just then, lifelong friend, Mike, got me an interview with Sumitomo for an entry level support position. After two years, Jim promoted me and I got a raise. I was saving money and looking to put my plans in motion. Not too long after that, my father lost his job. I was 25 yrs old and I thought it would've been longer before the baton was passed to me and I would be the "man of the house." I wasn't saving as much anymore and I had to put my income diversification plan on hold because my money had to go into taking care of the family. It was hard but my friend Jay said that it's an honor to take care of your parents and he wished he could do the same. Jay was right; it is an honor. My dad did start working again after a while - even though it was for less than what he used to make, it paid the bills.
So I started saving some money. I put more money in the market and I've made and lost some money in it, but I've learned a lot. And we began to shop around for businesses that we could buy. The plan was to buy the business and have my mom & dad run it but nothing really fell through. Earlier this year, I saw a building around the corner for sale. It's backyard touched and ran the length of our backyard. It was a much bigger place and I bought it. Yeah the housing market sucks now and it probably was a bad time to buy, but we're happy. We rent out both apartments in the old house. The point is: baby steps. Baby steps towards income diversification. My goal to become rich isn't because I want fancy cars or a lavish lifestyle. I believe that it will put my kids in a better position to succeed in their lives. As I explained to S, the point is to build on the shoulders of the previous generation. I want to give my kids all the opportunities I can so they can build on my accomplishments as I've built on my father's.
I've always told her that I wanted to be rich, but I could never convey my reasons for it. Consequently, this led her to believe that I was just a selfish, greedy, money-hungry basto (bastard). When we conversed today, I think she finally began to understand my point of view and I was happy that I would not be considered a greedy bastard any longer, but I realized that she would not be able to truly understand my point of view. So allow me to explain..
Resolved: I want to be rich. I want lots of money. I want, I want, I want.
Why do I want? Am I materialistic? No. Do I believe money will bring me happiness? Not exactly. You see, I believe money = security.
I don't think that my father - at any point in his life - ever earned more than $40k. I don't want to throw that number out there to embarrass him; but rather to show how much he's accomplished with so little. Let me throw another wrench into this situation. He supported six of us: himself, my mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and me. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor either. We actually lived a relatively comfortable life. I never felt like I didn't have what I needed. His primary job was a black & white photo developer at a company in NYC. He also worked weekends as a wedding photographer to bring in some extra cash. As he grew older, he was not physically able to endure the long days of shooting wedding picture with a heavy camera (he has a bad back). Growing up, I remember that there was always a fear of my father losing his job and this really scared me. What if we did cross that ever-so fine line into poverty?
When I was a teenager, he sat me down and went over how much he made and then went over his monthly expenses. I sat there and tried to figure out how he was able to keep the house running. I figured that since I was the oldest, and future "man of the house," I would do something - anything - to get us out of that situation. This is where my point of view differs from S's. She's the youngest and a girl who's always been taken care of while I'm the oldest and a boy who'll run the family. So I thought and thought. I was a teenager and didn't know much about anything. What could I do to ensure that when it was my turn to take care of the family, I would be able to do so and my kids wouldn't have to struggle like we did? It's funny. I was not an investor at all at this time but I did hear on TV that one should diversify his investments. So why couldn't one diversify his income as well. Hear me out. I made sense. I figured that I would work and that my wife would work. So that's two sources of income. We would probably be able to pay bills and save a little. But what if one of us lost our job? We'd probably be in a dire situation and our kids would probably feel that same pit in their stomaches as I did when I heard my dad could get fired. So what if we had more sources of income to diversify us further? I thought I would invest in the market and that would be another source. Also, I thought that I would own businesses and their income would further hedge us.
In 1999, when we were kicked out of Hoboken, my parents were able to buy a house! We lucked out because it was right before the bubble. I was amazed at how he did this and I don't think I still fully understand. The house was a two-family building and we rented the second floor to help cover the mortgage. It helped out so much! I added real estate to my income diversification plan as another hedge. Even though we now had a house and we were moving in the right direction, didn't mean that those same fears from my childhood were behind us. I worked co-op while at Stevens and used one semester's earnings to pay for my next semester of school. Moreover, my dad's hours at work were cut around that time and I began to help pay for monthly expenditures around the house.
After I graduated, I was out of work for 6 months. Not to brag, but I thought that I was a relatively intelligent person and the experience that I had gained during my co-op days would have helped me get a job quicker than it did. I couldn't make sense of it. I did have some money saved up but it was depleting quickly and I would soon have to begin paying off school loans. Just then, lifelong friend, Mike, got me an interview with Sumitomo for an entry level support position. After two years, Jim promoted me and I got a raise. I was saving money and looking to put my plans in motion. Not too long after that, my father lost his job. I was 25 yrs old and I thought it would've been longer before the baton was passed to me and I would be the "man of the house." I wasn't saving as much anymore and I had to put my income diversification plan on hold because my money had to go into taking care of the family. It was hard but my friend Jay said that it's an honor to take care of your parents and he wished he could do the same. Jay was right; it is an honor. My dad did start working again after a while - even though it was for less than what he used to make, it paid the bills.
So I started saving some money. I put more money in the market and I've made and lost some money in it, but I've learned a lot. And we began to shop around for businesses that we could buy. The plan was to buy the business and have my mom & dad run it but nothing really fell through. Earlier this year, I saw a building around the corner for sale. It's backyard touched and ran the length of our backyard. It was a much bigger place and I bought it. Yeah the housing market sucks now and it probably was a bad time to buy, but we're happy. We rent out both apartments in the old house. The point is: baby steps. Baby steps towards income diversification. My goal to become rich isn't because I want fancy cars or a lavish lifestyle. I believe that it will put my kids in a better position to succeed in their lives. As I explained to S, the point is to build on the shoulders of the previous generation. I want to give my kids all the opportunities I can so they can build on my accomplishments as I've built on my father's.
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