Just came up with my personal career mission statement:
"My personal career mission is to bring different communities together, add more positive than negative vibes to the world around me, and help bring out the best in people."
I know it's a little broad, but I think it can help keep me focused on what jobs are worth looking at and which ones I should eliminate right off the bat. Yay!
Kind of like this job-searching business...
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
The Tooklyn Resurrection
It's been a while since I've written here, so I felt like it was important to resurrect this blog before it faded into oblivion...
Today, I finally sat down to truly start my job search here in Houston. Generally speaking, I've just been allowing different ideas of what I want to do float around my brain aimlessly. One day I want to do business development for a non-profit organization, the next day I want to work at Spec's liquor store advising Houstonians on their wine shopping. For the most part, I simply let these thoughts come and go as they please, ultimately believing the universe will solve matters when it wants to. Well, today, as I actually started taking a serious look into what I want to do, I realized how lost I really am. Just because I believe in the all-mighty universe, this doesn't mean I believe life is supposed to be a constant state of laid-back bliss. Sometimes, it's simply time for a little stomach-churning, soul-seeking, job searching to keep the soul aligned with the powers that be. For me, that time has come...doh!
Today, I finally sat down to truly start my job search here in Houston. Generally speaking, I've just been allowing different ideas of what I want to do float around my brain aimlessly. One day I want to do business development for a non-profit organization, the next day I want to work at Spec's liquor store advising Houstonians on their wine shopping. For the most part, I simply let these thoughts come and go as they please, ultimately believing the universe will solve matters when it wants to. Well, today, as I actually started taking a serious look into what I want to do, I realized how lost I really am. Just because I believe in the all-mighty universe, this doesn't mean I believe life is supposed to be a constant state of laid-back bliss. Sometimes, it's simply time for a little stomach-churning, soul-seeking, job searching to keep the soul aligned with the powers that be. For me, that time has come...doh!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Closing a Circle
Last night, I finally arrived in Houston, Texas around 11:30 P.M. Despite driving 832 miles in 13.5 hours, I was wide awake when I reached my house and still remember, as I crept closer and closer home, repeating over and over, "Wow, I'm really here. I really did it. Wow, I really fuc*in' did it." While these words partly reflected my awe of finally making it back home, they also had to do with my realization that I just completed one big-a*s, kick-a*s circle in my life - hallelujah!
Four years ago, I left the exact same driveway, not really having much of a clue of what I was getting myself into. I just knew I was heading northeast and would figure things out along the way. Now, I was returning the exact same way I had left. In life, it's so easy to lose one's self in miniscule matters that we oftentimes forget to stop and look around at all the wonderful and amazing experiences we're living through. That's what I love about closing this circle - this is my time to reflect, my time to look back and revel at all that I've seen and been through in the last four years.
At this point of my life, 27 years old, I'm not really sure where I want to go next. I just hope the next circle is as great as the one I just closed. Sigh...
Four years ago, I left the exact same driveway, not really having much of a clue of what I was getting myself into. I just knew I was heading northeast and would figure things out along the way. Now, I was returning the exact same way I had left. In life, it's so easy to lose one's self in miniscule matters that we oftentimes forget to stop and look around at all the wonderful and amazing experiences we're living through. That's what I love about closing this circle - this is my time to reflect, my time to look back and revel at all that I've seen and been through in the last four years.
At this point of my life, 27 years old, I'm not really sure where I want to go next. I just hope the next circle is as great as the one I just closed. Sigh...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Special Guest: Omar Zaidi
As good as Zaidi is at being glued to what's going on in television land, he actually took the time to write an entry for my blog. Thanks so much! Here it is:
So Vilas is visiting us in DC, he said he is thinking of coming down on Sunday Nov 9th
Sunday November 9th – Talked to Vilas, not coming until tomorrow.
Monday November 10th – Talked to Vilas, now going to stay in Long Island one more day
Tuesday November 11th – Talked to Vilas, now he is going to come on Wed but he is going to stay with his aunt in McLean because they are going out of town on Friday so he can spend time with them first
Friday November 14th – Talked to Vilas during the day, he said he is going to be here around 4 or 5
3pm - Spoke to Vilas again, now he is coming around 7 or 7:30
8pm – Vilas is deciding whether he wants to pack up all his stuff and bring it with him or just pack a few things
9:30pm – Vilas shows up, the balloons we bought for him have already gone flat and we ate the cake we made for him on Tuesday
1:00am – Vilas is talking about leaving to go back to his aunt’s place
Tuesday November 18th – Come home from work, Vilas is gone. Also all the skittles are missing
Wednesday November 19th – Going through Vilas withdrawals, buy more skittles hoping to lure him back. It doesn’t work, Ketul must have bought some already to lure him to Atlanta
So Vilas is visiting us in DC, he said he is thinking of coming down on Sunday Nov 9th
Sunday November 9th – Talked to Vilas, not coming until tomorrow.
Monday November 10th – Talked to Vilas, now going to stay in Long Island one more day
Tuesday November 11th – Talked to Vilas, now he is going to come on Wed but he is going to stay with his aunt in McLean because they are going out of town on Friday so he can spend time with them first
Friday November 14th – Talked to Vilas during the day, he said he is going to be here around 4 or 5
3pm - Spoke to Vilas again, now he is coming around 7 or 7:30
8pm – Vilas is deciding whether he wants to pack up all his stuff and bring it with him or just pack a few things
9:30pm – Vilas shows up, the balloons we bought for him have already gone flat and we ate the cake we made for him on Tuesday
1:00am – Vilas is talking about leaving to go back to his aunt’s place
Tuesday November 18th – Come home from work, Vilas is gone. Also all the skittles are missing
Wednesday November 19th – Going through Vilas withdrawals, buy more skittles hoping to lure him back. It doesn’t work, Ketul must have bought some already to lure him to Atlanta
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mean, racist people - where art thou?
After 8 days in Washington D.C., I finally departed for Atlanta around 3:20 P.M. yesterday. I put in almost 9 hours on the road before finally checking-in to a Comfort Inn in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Aww, the good ol' south...
Four years ago, when I first traveled our extensive highway system by my lonesome in the southeastern region of the U.S. (driving from Houston to New York via Philadelphia), I remember being a little hesitant driving into what I perceived as the "deep south" - states like Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Sure, I grew up in Texas, which has its own questionable reputation, but I was raised outside a major metropolitan city, Houston, and spent five years in hippy-haven, Austin. Like many other colored folk who grew up in Texas, I dealt with subtle racism here and there but still had way too many great experiences with people from all walks of life to ever be overly concerned with the color of my skin. With familiarity comes comfort, and I was definitely more than familiar with my homestate.
On the other hand, I wasn't sure what to expect in the aforementioned southeastern states. To keep things simple here, I'll just say that I'd read some very bad things involving "white power" in the states in question. Furthermore, I had little to no "real-life" experience in these parts and thus didn't have the same familiarity/comfort level that I had in Texas. In effect, I clearly recall having a strong sense of paranoia driving up the roughly 180 miles of nothing-but-forest highways of Mississippi in the pitch dark of the night. I worried about my car stalling or choosing a hotel located in a not-so-neighborly section of town.
With the clock approaching midnight and me tiring down from a long day of driving, I finally decided that it was time to face my fears and find a hotel to spend the night in. Timidly, I veered off the highway, pulled up to a dinky motel, and headed inside looking for a room. Upon entering, I was greeted from behind the counter by Mr. Himesh Patel. Never before had I been so happy to see an Indian guy. If he could make it in Mississippi, I knew I'd be fine as well.
During this trip back south, I have encountered similar situations - Indians running an Exxon in North Carolina, an Om sign on the back of a Honda in South Carolina, and friendly people left and right not thinking twice about my skin color. People reading this blog entry might think that I was just being over-paranoid in the first place, and maybe they're right. Nonetheless, I still think it speaks volumes about our own self-created impressions of the world around us and how wrong those impressions can be. We all read or see things on television and assume we know things about people and places across the country or world from us, but fact and fiction can easily be twisted in the crazy world of our brains.
Four years ago, when I first traveled our extensive highway system by my lonesome in the southeastern region of the U.S. (driving from Houston to New York via Philadelphia), I remember being a little hesitant driving into what I perceived as the "deep south" - states like Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Sure, I grew up in Texas, which has its own questionable reputation, but I was raised outside a major metropolitan city, Houston, and spent five years in hippy-haven, Austin. Like many other colored folk who grew up in Texas, I dealt with subtle racism here and there but still had way too many great experiences with people from all walks of life to ever be overly concerned with the color of my skin. With familiarity comes comfort, and I was definitely more than familiar with my homestate.
On the other hand, I wasn't sure what to expect in the aforementioned southeastern states. To keep things simple here, I'll just say that I'd read some very bad things involving "white power" in the states in question. Furthermore, I had little to no "real-life" experience in these parts and thus didn't have the same familiarity/comfort level that I had in Texas. In effect, I clearly recall having a strong sense of paranoia driving up the roughly 180 miles of nothing-but-forest highways of Mississippi in the pitch dark of the night. I worried about my car stalling or choosing a hotel located in a not-so-neighborly section of town.
With the clock approaching midnight and me tiring down from a long day of driving, I finally decided that it was time to face my fears and find a hotel to spend the night in. Timidly, I veered off the highway, pulled up to a dinky motel, and headed inside looking for a room. Upon entering, I was greeted from behind the counter by Mr. Himesh Patel. Never before had I been so happy to see an Indian guy. If he could make it in Mississippi, I knew I'd be fine as well.
During this trip back south, I have encountered similar situations - Indians running an Exxon in North Carolina, an Om sign on the back of a Honda in South Carolina, and friendly people left and right not thinking twice about my skin color. People reading this blog entry might think that I was just being over-paranoid in the first place, and maybe they're right. Nonetheless, I still think it speaks volumes about our own self-created impressions of the world around us and how wrong those impressions can be. We all read or see things on television and assume we know things about people and places across the country or world from us, but fact and fiction can easily be twisted in the crazy world of our brains.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Waking up in the Boondocks
It's approaching noon, and I have just awoken in the basement of the Zaidis' house out in Chantilly, VA (a suburb about an hour west of Washington D.C.). As I crawled into bed last night, I had a startling revelation - I have my own bedroom here! When I visit most friends close to my age, I have to inflate an air mattress or rearrange couch cushions before settling into dreamland. Over here, I simply tuck myself in to a full-size bed - comforters, pillows, and sheets included.
In addition to having my own bedroom, the Zaidis have treated me to 3 corn dogs, cherry limeade, an unlimited supply of Skittles and Snickers, HDTV, and Playstation 3 in the 15 hours that I've been here. With all these amenities and a beautiful 6-month old girl, Rania, making her presence felt, I feel more like a 10-year old visiting my aunt and uncle than a young adult taking a road trip across the country.
Speaking of aunty and uncle, the Zaidis will be contributing to this blog in the next day or two. Keep an eye out for that!
In addition to having my own bedroom, the Zaidis have treated me to 3 corn dogs, cherry limeade, an unlimited supply of Skittles and Snickers, HDTV, and Playstation 3 in the 15 hours that I've been here. With all these amenities and a beautiful 6-month old girl, Rania, making her presence felt, I feel more like a 10-year old visiting my aunt and uncle than a young adult taking a road trip across the country.
Speaking of aunty and uncle, the Zaidis will be contributing to this blog in the next day or two. Keep an eye out for that!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Leaving New York
Tuesday morning, I finally started my drive from Long Island to Washington D.C. I slept around 3:30 A.M Monday night only to awake at 6 A.M Tuesday morning by an insanely uncomfortable itch that encompassed my hands, feet, elbows, and knees. With all my discomfort, there was no way I was going to fall back asleep without at least taking a shower to try and reduce my itch. Bleary eyed, I trudged to the bathroom and lathered up.
After my shower, I returned to my bed in a vain attempt to fall back asleep. By this time, I had too much adrenaline flowing in anticipation of my departure out of New York City to get back into shut-eye state. After two hours of lying there, I decided to get up to finish packing my car and eat breakfast (Cheerios and orange juice). By 10:30 A.M, I was finally in my car and ready to hit the road. Off I went!
After 40 minutes of driving on the Long Island Expressway, I ventured into Brooklyn through the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, crossed the Manhattan Bridge, travelled west on Canal Street within Manhattan, and passed through the Holland Tunnel into New Jersey. Just like that, I had left New York...
PS - This R.E.M. video really resonates with me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2PGJdtqn5w
After my shower, I returned to my bed in a vain attempt to fall back asleep. By this time, I had too much adrenaline flowing in anticipation of my departure out of New York City to get back into shut-eye state. After two hours of lying there, I decided to get up to finish packing my car and eat breakfast (Cheerios and orange juice). By 10:30 A.M, I was finally in my car and ready to hit the road. Off I went!
After 40 minutes of driving on the Long Island Expressway, I ventured into Brooklyn through the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, crossed the Manhattan Bridge, travelled west on Canal Street within Manhattan, and passed through the Holland Tunnel into New Jersey. Just like that, I had left New York...
PS - This R.E.M. video really resonates with me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2PGJdtqn5w
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Curry In / Curry Out
On Saturday night, I attended a very laid-back dinner at my uncle's family friends' house. Just 3 Indian couples plus my 3 younger cousins and myself. Last place I thought I'd be was face-down in front of a toilet. Here's how it went down:
I'm on my third plate of some amazing chicken curry, saag paneer, and rice, almost finished with my meal when I decide I want to add just a little more chicken curry sauce to my rice. As I reach over for the chicken curry spoon, the host uncle grabs it from me and decides he'll do the honors. So he pours one spoon, and I say, "Thanks, that's enough." He responds by pouring a 2nd, 3rd, and eventually 4th spoon of not only curry sauce but chicken too. I try to tell him that there's no way I can eat my full plate, but he just pats me on the back and nods his head. To make matters worse, he asks me if I want another beer, and I'm too much of a sucker to say no to him. So off I go, already stuffed out of my mind yet forcing more chicken curry, rice, and beer into my precious body.
Eventually, I am so full that I can barely breathe and come to my senses in telling the uncle I simply can't finish the plate. Thank the Lord he obliged by taking my plate away because apparently, as independent as I tend to think I am, I'm robotic and insecure enough that I probably would've kept eating if he had patted me on the back and nodded again. Immediately, I excuse myself to the bathroom where I am disgusted by what I see in the mirror. I look sick in the face and my belly is gigantic - when did my life get so out of control?!!
Anyways, I proceed to go number two just a little bit (sorry for details) but decide regurgitation would probably be beneficial as well. So here I am, at a family dinner party (um, also meeting people for first time in my life), sticking my finger down my throat over what is most likely a virgin toilet. After throwing up a tad bit of curry, I become paranoid about the dinner guests being able to hear me from outside. Thus, I return to the living room.
Very quickly, I realize that there is no way in hell I can continue the night in my current state. Thus, I ask the host where I can find his 6-year old son and my 11-year old cousin, both of whom I know are playing video games UPSTAIRS. After securing directions to the kids' whereabouts, I rush upstairs to say hello and sit with them for two minutes (in case anyone asks them about me visiting them later in the night). Then, I proceed to find a nearby bathroom and puke my brains out. Aww, I feel much better and no one in the party has any clue about my actions.
27 years old, crouched over a suburban Long Island toilet during an Indian family dinner party - what a life!
I'm on my third plate of some amazing chicken curry, saag paneer, and rice, almost finished with my meal when I decide I want to add just a little more chicken curry sauce to my rice. As I reach over for the chicken curry spoon, the host uncle grabs it from me and decides he'll do the honors. So he pours one spoon, and I say, "Thanks, that's enough." He responds by pouring a 2nd, 3rd, and eventually 4th spoon of not only curry sauce but chicken too. I try to tell him that there's no way I can eat my full plate, but he just pats me on the back and nods his head. To make matters worse, he asks me if I want another beer, and I'm too much of a sucker to say no to him. So off I go, already stuffed out of my mind yet forcing more chicken curry, rice, and beer into my precious body.
Eventually, I am so full that I can barely breathe and come to my senses in telling the uncle I simply can't finish the plate. Thank the Lord he obliged by taking my plate away because apparently, as independent as I tend to think I am, I'm robotic and insecure enough that I probably would've kept eating if he had patted me on the back and nodded again. Immediately, I excuse myself to the bathroom where I am disgusted by what I see in the mirror. I look sick in the face and my belly is gigantic - when did my life get so out of control?!!
Anyways, I proceed to go number two just a little bit (sorry for details) but decide regurgitation would probably be beneficial as well. So here I am, at a family dinner party (um, also meeting people for first time in my life), sticking my finger down my throat over what is most likely a virgin toilet. After throwing up a tad bit of curry, I become paranoid about the dinner guests being able to hear me from outside. Thus, I return to the living room.
Very quickly, I realize that there is no way in hell I can continue the night in my current state. Thus, I ask the host where I can find his 6-year old son and my 11-year old cousin, both of whom I know are playing video games UPSTAIRS. After securing directions to the kids' whereabouts, I rush upstairs to say hello and sit with them for two minutes (in case anyone asks them about me visiting them later in the night). Then, I proceed to find a nearby bathroom and puke my brains out. Aww, I feel much better and no one in the party has any clue about my actions.
27 years old, crouched over a suburban Long Island toilet during an Indian family dinner party - what a life!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Last night in Brooklyn
After moving from Texas to New York City over four years ago, it looks like my "NYC Chapter" is coming to a close...TONIGHT!
Wow, it's been an incredible four years that I will never forget, but this move (back to Houston, Texas) feels so right. Tomorrow, I head to Long Island to visit family for the weekend, then Sunday I take off to spend a few days visiting friends and family in DC. From there, I'll continue the journey south with a few more stops along the way.
Hope to update this blog with some of my thoughts during my trip back home...goodbye Brooklyn!
Wow, it's been an incredible four years that I will never forget, but this move (back to Houston, Texas) feels so right. Tomorrow, I head to Long Island to visit family for the weekend, then Sunday I take off to spend a few days visiting friends and family in DC. From there, I'll continue the journey south with a few more stops along the way.
Hope to update this blog with some of my thoughts during my trip back home...goodbye Brooklyn!
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