So it's that time of year again, the holidays are coming up and it just has that feeling of love in the air. Love for family, friends, and your significant other. Except in my case, I don't have one, so I'm here updating this blog once again. Had an interesting conversation today about the meaning of love in our lives. Some might think that finding that special person completes us. There are others who would rather have money and power over love. I'm more so one of those hopeless romantics who think that finding my other half would complete me spiritually, like a soul mate, but I also believe that you have to continue to live your life full of aspirations, goals, and whatever else that may drive you. Love is there to support that and much more, but it shouldn't be the end all be all of life. Love someone for who they are, not just because of how much they love you. My friends often tell me that my expectations and standards are too high for me to find someone in today's society. My response is usually this: My standards are not too high, we just have different preferences. I don't ever want to "settle" for someone, it's not good for both parties involved. I've also realized that I just need to be myself regardless of how it may be perceived and if that person thinks it's a little too much, then they're not the one for me. That's just the way it's going to be. When I was in a relationship, I gave myself and my ex a lot of reasons and excuses for things we didn't like about each other. I thought love could conquer all of that like in the movies. But in reality, it can't. Maybe she didn't love me enough, but I don't think love should ever be that complicated. From all the sad love songs I've heard, they were probably written by people who had gone through very bad relationships and experienced a lot of pain. Ever notice how the happy love songs are so simple? I think that's the way it should be. The complicated love I sometimes seek is exciting and full of passion, but I think as I've grown older, I realize that it doesn't need to be that complicated for it to be good. Trust your gut. That's all I'm looking for now, Simple Love. Amen.
Just wanted to give a quick update before I go to bed. I meant to post this yesterday but didn't have time hehe. So I'm currently working on a project in downtown and after work I walk by the central library everyday. During lunch yesterday, my coworker and I walked over to Cafe Prezzo and noticed that there was some filming on Figueroa. We looked over and the action was going on inside the car, so we couldn't see what they were filming. When the work day was finally over, I took the elevator down to the ground floor and proceeded to walk my usual route. As I was walking by the central library, I was told to stop since they were getting ready to film. I stopped, looked to my left, and saw this cute girl literally right (left hahaha) next to me. I looked away and then it crossed my mind...she's Lucy Liu! I thought about whether I should get my phone out to take a picture and then I reconsidered. I was thinking hmmmm if I was her, I wouldn't want someone to take a picture of me just randomly. So I ended up just walking to the parking after they told me that it was ok to walk. Just another day in "Hollywood".
It's been a while since I've posted, so I decided to just ramble off some things. I recently bought the iPhone and I love it! I've found it to be very useful in what I do professionally and personally. For instance, I had printed directions to a company I was interviewing with and when I arrived at the destination, I finally realized that yahoo mapped me from my house to the city I was going to. Needless to say, the directions took me to center of city and I didn't notice that for some reason the street address wasn't included when the directions were mapped in yahoo. I was thinking, of great, I'm in the middle of a city I'm supposed to be in but I don't know where the company is exactly located in. So I took out my iPhone, went to my email, copied the address, and then got directions to the interview location with the built-in GPS. I don't think I would've been able to do that on any my previous phones combined! That's just one of the many moments where I truly felt that the money was well spent.
Anyways, I've been interviewing with a couple of companies and have received offers. One company made me listen to them talk about their compensation/benefits package for 45 minutes before telling me what my salary was. The whole time I was thinking, come on, just get to the salary...and since they just went on and on, I knew that they were trying to sell me on their benefits instead of the salary. They tried to low ball me on their offer and I was utterly insulted by the amount. So to get to the point, I'm not going to accept any of the offers I got. The offers are way below what I was getting at my prevous position. I know that job market is bad right now and there are a lot of people who are unemployed. I get that. I really do. But...I'm just unwilling to get ripped off by my potential employer. I know what I'm worth and I'm going to go out and get it. Plain and simple. Some people think I'm being too picky and stubborn. To me, it's a matter of principle and just being fair. I have the experience, certifications, skill sets, and people skills to get the job done. If they can find a similar or better candidate at a lower salary, then good for them. I'm just unwilling to settle for that shit.
WoW...no, I don't mean World of Warcraft hahaha. It's been almost a year since I last posted on here. Time sure flies and here I am, still working towards my dreams. There have been a lot of setbacks along the way, but I would like to believe that I'll get there someday. I once gave advice to someone regarding the journey towards achieving goals.
"Don't waste time getting frustrated over things that are out of your control. It will only make you feel worse and depressed. You'll end up hurting yourself and the people who care about you. What you need to do is to develop a plan that will enable you to reach your goals. The only thing that you should be doing right now is to strengthen your core and work on things that will help you achieve those goals. As long as you have a strong foundation, there is nothing that can derail you. It's like a house. You want to build an indestructible house that can withstand earthquakes, fire, floods, lightning, etc. You just have to worry about building that house. All the other factors such natural disasters are out of your control and is factored into the plan. Unexpected changes might force you to adjust your plan but it shouldn't take you out of commission."
I have to remind myself from time to time that I need to follow my own advice. It's hard, but I think it helps to just sit down and chill for a bit. Give yourself some space and then figure things out. Rash decisions will only make situations worse than they need to be.
Anyways, enough of this talk. Who's ready for some Oregon - USC football on Saturday? It's going to be an awesome game. The season's not over yet, so Fight On Trojans!!!!!
PS I'm going to the Jacky Cheung concert in Vegas on 12/23 and then the Jay Chou concert at the USC Galen Center on 12/24. I can't wait!!! It's going to be awesome!!!