http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/
Arcade Fire's 'interactive' music video; content that changes based on your hometown (location). Neat.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Soccer
Since we lost a majority of our soccer players (and I'm not sure where I'll be in the next few months), our co-ed soccer team didn't attempt a third season at the YMCA. Instead, I started looking online for random pickup games. Yesterday was my first pickup soccer game and there were striking differences from the organized games that I've grown accustomed to. Instead of a sport ladened by nugatory rules and regulations, it felt like futbol the way it was meant to be played.
On Monday night, a friend and I went to the designated spot and approached a motley group, asking if it was the same meetup group that posted online. A terse "Yes" was all that was said from one of the players.
The group of random people consisted of all age groups, genders, and ability. They gathered for the sole purpose of playing a good game; there were no introductions of names, rules, or even a single referee. Almost instinctively, teams formed with dark shirts vs. light shirts and the game began instantly.
What I found most interesting was that there were no limits on 'ball touches' based on gender. In most of my past co-ed games, guys were usually limited to three to four 'touches' of the ball before someone else needed to touch the ball. This forced limited ball control with guys while girls had unlimited touches. The rule implied that all guys were more proficient than all girls. I found it to be an antiquated concept that could easily be seen by certain girls who could dribble endlessly around talented guy players.
It felt incredible playing without the imposed handicap. It was mentally and physically rewarding in that I didn't have to count each touch. If a ball came high, I wouldn't have to worry about using my chest to stop the ball (first touch), kneeing the ball to gain control (second touch), and begin dribbling (third touch), before I needed to pass the ball (fourth touch). Throughout the night, I was able to use my speed to catch up to attackers or to pass defenders, and I had unlimited touches to control the ball!
For the majority of the game, I played defense with a random stranger that happened to hang out back with me. With no goalie, we were able to defend with 2 defenders versus 2-5 attackers. Although I had never met this person before, we were able to read each other's moves and cohesively defend against the odds. Without a word, one of us would cut off the pass while the other would rush the ball. For the first hour, they hadn't scored at all while we scored over 3 goals.
It was bizarre how few words were communicated throughout the night. There were a few shouts of "Man on", "You have help on your back", or "Across". It was just pure soccer. We started playing with sunlight and left at night, with cars flashing their high beams onto the otherwise unlit field.
Everyone played clean and we finally called it a night (promptly after someone was accidentally kicked from the lack of visibility). We all exchanged concise "good game" goodbyes and left as quickly as the game had started.
On Monday night, a friend and I went to the designated spot and approached a motley group, asking if it was the same meetup group that posted online. A terse "Yes" was all that was said from one of the players.
The group of random people consisted of all age groups, genders, and ability. They gathered for the sole purpose of playing a good game; there were no introductions of names, rules, or even a single referee. Almost instinctively, teams formed with dark shirts vs. light shirts and the game began instantly.
What I found most interesting was that there were no limits on 'ball touches' based on gender. In most of my past co-ed games, guys were usually limited to three to four 'touches' of the ball before someone else needed to touch the ball. This forced limited ball control with guys while girls had unlimited touches. The rule implied that all guys were more proficient than all girls. I found it to be an antiquated concept that could easily be seen by certain girls who could dribble endlessly around talented guy players.
It felt incredible playing without the imposed handicap. It was mentally and physically rewarding in that I didn't have to count each touch. If a ball came high, I wouldn't have to worry about using my chest to stop the ball (first touch), kneeing the ball to gain control (second touch), and begin dribbling (third touch), before I needed to pass the ball (fourth touch). Throughout the night, I was able to use my speed to catch up to attackers or to pass defenders, and I had unlimited touches to control the ball!
For the majority of the game, I played defense with a random stranger that happened to hang out back with me. With no goalie, we were able to defend with 2 defenders versus 2-5 attackers. Although I had never met this person before, we were able to read each other's moves and cohesively defend against the odds. Without a word, one of us would cut off the pass while the other would rush the ball. For the first hour, they hadn't scored at all while we scored over 3 goals.
It was bizarre how few words were communicated throughout the night. There were a few shouts of "Man on", "You have help on your back", or "Across". It was just pure soccer. We started playing with sunlight and left at night, with cars flashing their high beams onto the otherwise unlit field.
Everyone played clean and we finally called it a night (promptly after someone was accidentally kicked from the lack of visibility). We all exchanged concise "good game" goodbyes and left as quickly as the game had started.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Ethical Relativism
Currently studying at a local coffee shop (LeStats) and stumbled onto some text regarding ethical relativism by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He states that judging a particular action is dependent on the circumstances of the time and culture in which it occurs.
It'd be interesting to juxtapose 'fundamental' precepts across different cultures. How do Western ideas of sexism, racism, and genocide compare to Eastern? It's ironic how this human concoction of morality has no absolute right or wrong.
It'd be interesting to juxtapose 'fundamental' precepts across different cultures. How do Western ideas of sexism, racism, and genocide compare to Eastern? It's ironic how this human concoction of morality has no absolute right or wrong.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
New Surf Board!
I finally replaced my fiberglass longboard with an epoxy shortboard. I bought the used board at a local shop, and I normally make a big effort to buy local, but was a little disheartened to see the prices on the wet suits. I quickly googled the $200 wet suit that I was interested in and found it for half the price online. That's not even competitive :(
Oh well. I'm so psyched, I can't wait to take out the board tomorrow, but I need to wait for my wetsuit to arrive first. I've long acclimated to this constant perfect weather and now I find 70 degree F water teeth chattering cold. To my cred, I didn't factor in wind chill...
Oh well. I'm so psyched, I can't wait to take out the board tomorrow, but I need to wait for my wetsuit to arrive first. I've long acclimated to this constant perfect weather and now I find 70 degree F water teeth chattering cold. To my cred, I didn't factor in wind chill...
Another Chapter
I'm officially unemployed! My last day at the RTFH was last Friday. A new chapter of my life begins!
Right now, I feel a wide mix of emotions. For the most part, I'm genuinely happy and optimistic; I look forward to the new challenges and adventures that await. I feel like I have a new found purpose (although I'm not entirely sure what it is yet)! Another part of me is relieved that I still had the courage to listen to my heart and to change things up.
For a fleeting moment, I worried whether this was the right choice. Logically speaking, it seemed so easy to stick with the job; I'd be volunteering to quit a comfortable career in the middle of a recession. I was never one to stick with 'sensible' though; flashbacks of deciding between Law School and Peace Corps came back. I listened to my heart then and I never regretted it since.
That isn't to say that I haven't had unexpected emotions come up. I didn't know the extent of how much I would miss the camaraderie of the office and how engrained I was with a whole community during my almost three year stint there. It's only been a few days and I already miss everyone I worked with (albeit some more so than others).
New paths always seem so lonely; I wonder if the negative reinforcements of leaving familiar faces will someday catch up to me.
On a happier note, this afternoon I took a friend out for his first time surfing and happened to catch some gnar gnar waves.
I'm going to revisit some of my New Year's Resolutions and see if I can catch up on some of those items, as well as add a few new "to do's". For some strange reason, I really want to try out swing dancing.
Right now, I feel a wide mix of emotions. For the most part, I'm genuinely happy and optimistic; I look forward to the new challenges and adventures that await. I feel like I have a new found purpose (although I'm not entirely sure what it is yet)! Another part of me is relieved that I still had the courage to listen to my heart and to change things up.
For a fleeting moment, I worried whether this was the right choice. Logically speaking, it seemed so easy to stick with the job; I'd be volunteering to quit a comfortable career in the middle of a recession. I was never one to stick with 'sensible' though; flashbacks of deciding between Law School and Peace Corps came back. I listened to my heart then and I never regretted it since.
That isn't to say that I haven't had unexpected emotions come up. I didn't know the extent of how much I would miss the camaraderie of the office and how engrained I was with a whole community during my almost three year stint there. It's only been a few days and I already miss everyone I worked with (albeit some more so than others).
New paths always seem so lonely; I wonder if the negative reinforcements of leaving familiar faces will someday catch up to me.
On a happier note, this afternoon I took a friend out for his first time surfing and happened to catch some gnar gnar waves.
I'm going to revisit some of my New Year's Resolutions and see if I can catch up on some of those items, as well as add a few new "to do's". For some strange reason, I really want to try out swing dancing.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Odd Feeling
I always wondered why 'rich' people worried about their millions. I always assumed that they shouldn't miss much if they lost a small % of their fortune.
And now I find it oddly peculiar; the more money I have, the more I'm concerned about my money. I worried about money when I only had 2 to 3 digits in my savings account. When I had four digits, I didn't really worry about anything. Now I'm worried again after hitting the 5 digits range. Strange.
And now I find it oddly peculiar; the more money I have, the more I'm concerned about my money. I worried about money when I only had 2 to 3 digits in my savings account. When I had four digits, I didn't really worry about anything. Now I'm worried again after hitting the 5 digits range. Strange.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Perspectives
When I first heard of Father Joe's Village (FJV), a local homeless non-profit, the descriptions ranged widely between scores of praise and simply unflattering comments. While I didn't have any first hand experience, the negative rumors hinted that the large agency was pushing its weight across the homeless community.
FJV undoubtedly had a substantially larger operating budget than any other program, which it used with great efficiency in serving the homeless. However, since it was an agency competing against the same funding sources as those of the smaller (and usually less efficient) programs, the organization made a few enemies. The method of rewarding funds seemed like a self perpetuating cycle where grants with money get more money and a Catch 22 for those that don't have money. Anyways, that's another topic entirely.
Before I go further, let me give some background information. I work for a homeless non-profit agency (RTFH) that felt the pressure of competing with FJV for the same funding source. We had a homeless management information system (ServicePoint) that was in competition with their database (CSTAR). The problem was that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) only wanted one report (which would require only one database or a lot of work merging data between multiple databases).
When I first worked at RTFH, I avoided the politics as much as I could simply because I knew I didn't have the stomach for it. I'm not sure exactly what transpired, but whenever my agency would meet with FJV, it seemed physically and emotionally draining on everyone involved. Even though I had never dealt with any of the staff at FJV, I felt for my coworkers, whom looked so exhausted after each meeting. I continued to hear more rumors and a part of me began to build resentment against the giant agency.
My first encounter with some of the FJV staff was at Atlanta, Georgia. After a day of HUD conferences, we happened to run into each other at a bar. I sat down and had my first opportunity to talk with them. I was genuinely surprised. They seemed like very nice people and it dispelled many of the rumors that I initially heard. It's easy to talk about a stranger behind their back, but it's difficult to do when you have a face to a name.
As time passed by and large staff turnover happened, I inevitably worked more and more with FJV's staff. After a couple years of working together, and from what I've personally seen, their staff were always professional, kind, patient, and good natured.
An exemplary example of their character was at a committee hearing that questioned the capabilities of RTFH to complete its contracts in a timely and accurate manner. We had no executive director, a part-time (although very amazing and knowledgable) associate director, and three full time IT staff (with only one that had an IT degree and whom no one had more than two years experience). One of our the IT staff was just hired. Our reports in the past did not have a good reputation. The situation looked very grim.
The smart business move would have been to capitalize on your opponents when they're down on the ground. Without our small agency, FJV's CSTAR database could have taken over all of our city/state/federal grants, received a lot more money, and it would have been a lot less work for them (since no data merging between systems would be required).
However, FJV and their staff did just the opposite; in the spirit of cooperation, they offered to fill in the technical expertise that RTFH lacked, handed over the work that they tediously created, and trained RTFH staff on how to use/modify their reports. At that point, I worked with them long enough to understand that they were genuinely good people, yet I was still slightly shocked at the kindness of their actions.
I'm not here to promote an agency or a program. What does this mean to me personally? When I look back, I can't believe that I believed some of the things I heard. I feel a bit of shame buying into the rumors. Rumors seem to start and usually have just enough of a hint of truthfulness that it becomes dangerous.
I sometimes forget that life is just so different. This isn't the movies. There's no black and white, no good and bad. It's more complicated than that. There's just different perspectives, and sometimes, our perspectives are wrong. I guess that's what makes us human. We all make mistakes and we all try to learn from them.
FJV undoubtedly had a substantially larger operating budget than any other program, which it used with great efficiency in serving the homeless. However, since it was an agency competing against the same funding sources as those of the smaller (and usually less efficient) programs, the organization made a few enemies. The method of rewarding funds seemed like a self perpetuating cycle where grants with money get more money and a Catch 22 for those that don't have money. Anyways, that's another topic entirely.
Before I go further, let me give some background information. I work for a homeless non-profit agency (RTFH) that felt the pressure of competing with FJV for the same funding source. We had a homeless management information system (ServicePoint) that was in competition with their database (CSTAR). The problem was that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) only wanted one report (which would require only one database or a lot of work merging data between multiple databases).
When I first worked at RTFH, I avoided the politics as much as I could simply because I knew I didn't have the stomach for it. I'm not sure exactly what transpired, but whenever my agency would meet with FJV, it seemed physically and emotionally draining on everyone involved. Even though I had never dealt with any of the staff at FJV, I felt for my coworkers, whom looked so exhausted after each meeting. I continued to hear more rumors and a part of me began to build resentment against the giant agency.
My first encounter with some of the FJV staff was at Atlanta, Georgia. After a day of HUD conferences, we happened to run into each other at a bar. I sat down and had my first opportunity to talk with them. I was genuinely surprised. They seemed like very nice people and it dispelled many of the rumors that I initially heard. It's easy to talk about a stranger behind their back, but it's difficult to do when you have a face to a name.
As time passed by and large staff turnover happened, I inevitably worked more and more with FJV's staff. After a couple years of working together, and from what I've personally seen, their staff were always professional, kind, patient, and good natured.
An exemplary example of their character was at a committee hearing that questioned the capabilities of RTFH to complete its contracts in a timely and accurate manner. We had no executive director, a part-time (although very amazing and knowledgable) associate director, and three full time IT staff (with only one that had an IT degree and whom no one had more than two years experience). One of our the IT staff was just hired. Our reports in the past did not have a good reputation. The situation looked very grim.
The smart business move would have been to capitalize on your opponents when they're down on the ground. Without our small agency, FJV's CSTAR database could have taken over all of our city/state/federal grants, received a lot more money, and it would have been a lot less work for them (since no data merging between systems would be required).
However, FJV and their staff did just the opposite; in the spirit of cooperation, they offered to fill in the technical expertise that RTFH lacked, handed over the work that they tediously created, and trained RTFH staff on how to use/modify their reports. At that point, I worked with them long enough to understand that they were genuinely good people, yet I was still slightly shocked at the kindness of their actions.
I'm not here to promote an agency or a program. What does this mean to me personally? When I look back, I can't believe that I believed some of the things I heard. I feel a bit of shame buying into the rumors. Rumors seem to start and usually have just enough of a hint of truthfulness that it becomes dangerous.
I sometimes forget that life is just so different. This isn't the movies. There's no black and white, no good and bad. It's more complicated than that. There's just different perspectives, and sometimes, our perspectives are wrong. I guess that's what makes us human. We all make mistakes and we all try to learn from them.
Monday, August 9, 2010
An amazing week
Sometimes you have that perfect day. Sometimes you have that perfect week. This was one of those memorable weeks.
My younger brother and his girlfriend visited from Nebraska last Friday/Saturday, the beginning of my weeklong break. They had my truck and returned it intact after a cross country trip; that was already a great start. As usual, I found their good humor refreshing. Hours after my brother left, I saw some Peace Corps friends who have been living as dorm parents in Shanghai. They were such amazing company and I got to show them around a little of San Diego.
Monday through Wednesday I went to visit my parents and some high school friends up in Reedley. It happened to be one of my cousin's birthdays so there was a lot of good food. Wednesday night I happened to come back in time to meet up with some other coworkers in my building for happy hour. Thursday I drove up to Vegas with a friend; he had an annual gaming convention up there, though I honestly went for the open bar and pool party. We stayed there until Saturday. Sunday I recovered by playing a lot of Starcraft 2.
After much thought, on Monday I put in my two weeks notice to leave my company. I've had a job offer from another company hours after my notice was sent and I haven't even sent out my resume yet. However, I don't plan on taking it. I plan on taking time out to study for the GRE for graduate school; I'm hoping to get into a Public Health and Policy program. Sometimes life shouldn't be planned. Sometimes life should have that free fall moment, where things should just happen for that moment and nothing else.
Life is looking good. I have a lot in savings and hope to make the most use out of my newfound free time. I hope that my application to be a janitor in Antarctica gets approved. My lease for my apartment is up in January and I want to travel or do something new by next year, whatever that may be.
My younger brother and his girlfriend visited from Nebraska last Friday/Saturday, the beginning of my weeklong break. They had my truck and returned it intact after a cross country trip; that was already a great start. As usual, I found their good humor refreshing. Hours after my brother left, I saw some Peace Corps friends who have been living as dorm parents in Shanghai. They were such amazing company and I got to show them around a little of San Diego.
Monday through Wednesday I went to visit my parents and some high school friends up in Reedley. It happened to be one of my cousin's birthdays so there was a lot of good food. Wednesday night I happened to come back in time to meet up with some other coworkers in my building for happy hour. Thursday I drove up to Vegas with a friend; he had an annual gaming convention up there, though I honestly went for the open bar and pool party. We stayed there until Saturday. Sunday I recovered by playing a lot of Starcraft 2.
After much thought, on Monday I put in my two weeks notice to leave my company. I've had a job offer from another company hours after my notice was sent and I haven't even sent out my resume yet. However, I don't plan on taking it. I plan on taking time out to study for the GRE for graduate school; I'm hoping to get into a Public Health and Policy program. Sometimes life shouldn't be planned. Sometimes life should have that free fall moment, where things should just happen for that moment and nothing else.
Life is looking good. I have a lot in savings and hope to make the most use out of my newfound free time. I hope that my application to be a janitor in Antarctica gets approved. My lease for my apartment is up in January and I want to travel or do something new by next year, whatever that may be.
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