Just discovered Jim Gaffigan - he is so funny, interesting perspective on American holidays. Just saw this on tv, and ironically I was just thinking about how Christmas trees are a weird tradition...
Everytime I come back to Taiwan, one or more of my uncles comes to pick us up. I hop in the back of a darkly tinted car and he hands me a cellphone to use once I'm there. In the past when we'd get to my grandparents house a big pot of tang yuan would be prepared for us, and a red e nvelope or a big wad of cash was passed to each of us.
I have no idea if this is normal but it's normal for me.
Sorry friends if I hadn't told you beforehand about this trip - it was so whirlwind to get out here - I'm now on my way back in the Kansai (Osaka, Japan) airport. I just spent a week and a half in Taiwan, for my cousin's wedding.
pics from day 1:
in front of G-ma's house, mom and g-ma talking to a a woman selling vegetables.
meeting the newest and cutest member of the family! (niece)
This past week was the first week I got a lot of sleep. This 60 minute special is worth a gander. I never took sleep so seriously but when you attribute some major world tragedies like Exxon Valdez and Chernobyl to sleep deprivation...I no longer wear that "badge of honor".
Feb was an insane month, most nerve-wracking was a presentation I had to give early Friday morning on leap day to all the Learning Leaders of GE Infrastructure. Aside from combining words and saying "farting" aloud during the presentation...I don't even know what two words I was trying to say...all things considered it went well. Thankfully the Chief Learning Officer said something worse! The leaders of GE are more mature than I am and can handle it. Let's just say he used the "balls in the air" analogy and he made up his own from there...
The combo of wicked early and high stakes got me all knotted up inside but it was interesting, as I was sitting and listening to all the presentations about learning concepts I was thinking about how it's neat that Jesus taught in parables. What an interesting way to convey messages. A story. Something people will remember. It was neat to think of the son of God on this earth, teaching people important concepts, using an effective method to convey the message. As I was daydreaming about this the presenter mentioned the same thing - people remember stories and it's an effective means to relay information to your audience.
// Now that it's March, I feel like I have my life back. Afro-cuban started up tonight at the professor's house. It's been a loong time coming. So funny thing is how work has influenced me here...one of the biggest learnings for me becoming the team lead is how undefined things can be. People are always seeking structure and the way "things are supposed to be." It's really stretched me to learn how to put definition and direction to the future which seems otherwise nebulous, and giving people the vision and the infrastructure to carry out that vision.
One thing that's always been elusive to me is soloing on the conga. We've always learned the different parts (tumbao, segundo, the claves, the bells) but playing the quinto has always been a mystery. What am I supposed to play? Stay in the clave? What does that mean? Well, we were all in the zone tonight and I was the first he asked to play the quinto and somehow I just felt the rhythm, and started defining the future. It wasn't perfect or all that special...but it finally happened. Another facet of being able to do it is just to be bold, uninhibited. Something sad people have said to the effect of people in pain/druggies/[pick your poison] make the best music. Oftentimes it's true because it's their sole passion. They're not a [?] that also makes music. Here's to taking a step to better music without baggage/paraphernalia.
One month later...it's been a crazier beginning of the year than I anticipated. But here are some interesting things I've experienced lately:
BAM! I kicked it up a notch, but I wasn't cookin'. I went to a one day conference at about the Business As Mission initiative. Here's some highlights taken from urbana.org (I can't share things I learned at the conference because of the sensitivity of some of the material, they asked not to publish it to the intarweb.)
What is business as mission?
Here's
our definition, which is adapted from the Lausanne Occasional Paper,
no. 59: "Business as mission means releasing business people to use
their gifting in business, integrated with biblical principles, to
transform their own communities and nations and to carry the good news
to the ends of the earth through commerce. Business as mission works
both within a business setting and through its purposes and capacities.
It seeks to harness the power and resources of business for intentional
missions impact in the community, nation, and world at large."
Business as mission includes, but is not limited to:
Starting
a business as mission enterprise in the developing world which impacts
a community economically, socially, and spiritually
Enabling such enterprises through training and availability of capital (e.g., microfinance)
Infusing Christian values and perspective into the global conduct of business (e.g., ethics, Christian leadership principles)
Ministering to counterparts in the marketplace with the gospel of Jesus Christ
To learn more about our working understanding of business as mission, check out our resources page, which includes a link to the above paper.
One major organization that was represented was Interserve. Check them out if you're interested in using your professional skills for more than positively affecting a corporation's bottom line ;)
Speaking of sensitive material...here's a scary clip from Zeitgeist I saw recently. What do y'all think about this??
On a personal note (in poetic form): Friday morning, less than a mile from work. Soft powdery snow gently falls. A phone call from a co-worker. The GM thought our meeting was a half hour earlier. rush, rush, rush down the windy driveway. panic, brake, slide as an oncoming car barrels down. smack, crumple, crack as I collide head on with a wooden guardrail.
The worst part is - I forgot to add rental car insurance when I hit a deer, which ironically happened right after I switched car insurance companies. No, actually the worst part is my insurance agent still tried to convince me that it's not worth it. How is paying $25 a year for up to $900 in rental car coverage better than paying for 2 weeks of rental car usage which I'll be up to with both accidents now?? He keeps telling me of the financial consulting the agency also offers...but I'm not sure that's the best idea.
PS - So I don't get many comments via actual xanga comments but many of you stop me in the street or call or email so I guess there's more than 3 of you reading this thing. I've recently added a site-tracking thingamabobber...so if you've never commented or subscribed...will you just let me know you're out there?? Like who's subscribed to me on Google Reader from Oklahoma? Or the stalker from DC?? I just want to know so I can sleep easier at night.
