Daily Daze - January 3, 2016

Thought of they Day
When it's difficult to rise from the ashes, you must surround yourself by those you love and live for...

Daily Dose
Although I made it to the Dream Pie Pelota Fantasy Football Championship, my team fell flat on its face.  Stitchy Dazed got lost and confused and scored a measly 29 points to Pups N Suds 82 points.  Ugh, too many injuries and too many wins put my team in the position of not to pick up good waiver pickups.  

The rest of the day was filled with resting my finger and my heart.

Daily Daze - January 2, 2016

Thought of the Day
Survival starts with support and love.  I'm forever grateful for having the love of my pup Dakota, who taught me what love and commitment really means.  I'm grateful that my family and friends support me through action, kind words, thoughts and sentiments that I feel sincerely in my soul.  The last couple of weeks of 2015 were mixed with love, joy, stress, sadness and strife.  The truth of my life is that I have more than I can ever ask for or deserve.  This life is a long road and I thank God that I was blessed with His grace and love.




Living, Laughing, Loving and 
Fighting for every opportunity to have all of the above

Daily Daze - October 21, 2015

Thought of the Day

Heart, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades ... If it's in the cards then it is meant to be.  So you play the hand that your dealt.  If you just calculate the odds away, you never get in the game.   You miss opportunity because you get caught up in a future that was never founded in a present. So everything passes.  You don't play the game, you may not lose but you definitely will never win.  

Life and love is a gamble.  The odds bode well if you at least know what cards your willing to go all in with or which ones you need to fold.  Would you really double down with a person who hasn't already got you in aces?  

So hearts before diamonds... Clubs before spades...

Why the heck did this come up?  It amazes me how many people believe you have control of this life.  The dollars don't make sense in matters of the heart.  The means don't make the ends when you don't have passion and purpose.  

There is no doubt that compatibility is a critical component for a long lasting relationship. Love can't conquer all, but love is the foundation upon which you can build a relationship that can conquer all.  There is no doubt that we feel compelled to feel secure in our decisions.  

So in lies the conversation...a crazy fun conversation that throws everyone for a loop but really it's just a roller coaster ride of what ifs!

Bottom line:  to thine own self be true... Stop perpetuating a portrait of falsehood to hide a real human being... 

Do you wanna get married?

Do you want to have kids?

The irony to these questions is ... Do you fear commitment?  Do you fear failure?  Do you fear success?

Heck those marriage and babies questions irrleevant when there is no who!  it is a moot point to answer.

So here are a set of real questions... Do you trust in your own self to be open to love someone?  Do you know who you want to be with?  Do you know what you want in a partnership?  Do you know what you want of your friends?  Do you know what family is?  Do you know what kind of family you want to have?  

When you have those answers then you are set on a path... But even when you find the matches... There may not be a fire... It takes a spark... It takes that moment when your head tilts and you say "roh oh"... And when you find that person... You'll imagine what sacrifice is and would still be willing to endure...  When you find the one you see hardship and feel empowered to work through it.  When you find the one, you feel invincible... Not debilitated... 

Who would you go out on the limb for?  Who has made you want to go out of your way for? Who makes you go that extra mile for?  Who makes you smile because ya get to see them?  Who makes you sing when you can't hold a note?  Who makes ya feel a power beyond what money can ever buy?  

Doesn't happen often ... And the timing might be off... But people inspire ... And if you're lucky enough for that mutual

Inspiration and admiration... That's priceless!

Daily Daze - October 15, 2015

Thought of the Day
Coincidence or Fate... Does it really matter what brings us to this moment?  The truth lies not in the event, but what drives us through the moment at hand.  A choice based in love vs. that based in fear.  A choice to commit to a thought... A choice to laze away the day.  Are we fated?  Are we destined?  Are we doomed?  Or does free will, in accordance with the gift or curse, need or want?  Free will.. one would assume is a blessing.  The idea that we are in control, to choose and somehow believe that the outcome was based on a singular gesture.   Or was it a interwoven, composition, of spider created webs and labyrinth like puzzles upon which we move about, but only realize the fate and destiny has been defined.  We are moved to a simple moment... engage and exchange... then move on with a lasting impression or a fleeting thought.    Are we pulled, are we prodded, or does circumstance form from chaotic randomness?  A part of the equation is gravity...

GRAVITY... The nature of gravity is fascinating.  A mass imposing on another mass a force too powerful for either to overcome.  The imposition of gravity,  a law of attraction... the draw of souls, minds, hearts...  We are all drawn together to make sense of this world.

I love Sara Bareilles' Gravity... "Set me free, leave me be... I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity... "

Daily Dose
I had a day of simply cool moments.  I can only hope everyone can stop and appreciate the conversations that have meaning in your world.  The day started with wanting to eat eggs... brought me to Egg McMuffin, Ms. Pac Man and the opportunity to observe a newbie work the joystick.  At super speed.. Ms Pac is tough, so watching that anxiety rise was pure entertainment for me.  A quick jaunt to a caffeine haven and some SERIAL conversation started the afternoon, matched with some zen, relaxation conversation methods... led its way to a helping hand moment, trying to ease the burden of chaos with a dose of reality and necessity.  Football trades and a quick quiz later.. CUB SOCS DC...  Heading to workout - ville.. In workout - ville, legs, arms and abs take a beating, but negotiations and lost weight ensue...  Hitting a 6 pound loss over working out and eating more consciously were totally key...  Before you know it though, the HANGRY kicked in and found my way to in-n-out... where fun conversations with the least likely of "run into" folks ensued...

The details of the conversations are MOOT...  The beauty of the conversations was the GIFT.

Living life...  Laughing life... Learning life... Loving Life... Fighting for Life

To all those who conversed with me today... THANK YOU...  Through terse or in-depth, through heated or benign, through passionate and indifferent...  The exchange, not only of words, but of gestures and emotion...  The roller coaster of life is based on the relationships bestowed upon us.

Daily Daze - October 14, 2015

Thought of the Day
You live your life in the present, hope for a brighter tomorrow, but sometimes you just have to admire the footprints you've left behind. There's already something wonderful about JUST BEING YOU!  When you're real, that truth does set you free.  You are your optimal self when you let your soul shine.  However, sometimes you misplace that shine.  Today, so many folks reminded me of my shine!  So thanks... it was full of joy, laughter and gratitude!

There were some cool conversations which made me realize that I'm actually living this life, and setting the tone for who I want to be...

1.  A Gift or two!

This week I was blessed with kid art!  In both cases, totally unwarranted and from a distance.  It's kinda surreal to think that just by being cool to a kid and treating them like a real person and respecting them and their space, you get to be remembered.  I'm a big kid, so all I want to do is play.  And I'm so blessed to be around some of the coolest kids on the planet!  So when they show gratitude in their beautiful little ways, you gotta be like ... "damn I must be doing something right."  All I ever do is treat kids like how I would treat my friends.  You gotta give people time to acclimate to you, so you're approachable and interesting.  You gotta give people space, so they don't feel suffocated by your affection.  You gotta give people that room to be and grow.  And you gotta help them to learn and open up to learning from them. I know for a fact I learn more from kids than I will ever learn from adults.  Kids see the world in simple, fascinating ways.  I love analysis... All analysis really boils down to is being a little kid looking at the world as if you never knew the world!  Kids have the best and most honest view of the world... We grow into seeing through dirty spectacles, but KID EYES are CLEAR... So of course I'm gonna cherish their little brains and eyes... I wish I could just be a kid for life!

2.  Where did that SPICE come from?

Had a totally fun time hanging with friends, eating Indian buffet!  There's something hugely entertaining about partitioning your plate with the variety of sauced up meat and veggies, only to eat one thing, have your mouth be so SPICED up that you can recall which thing you thought you ate that made it spicy... AND YOU STILL EAT UP THE WHOLE THING!  Thank goodness for the cream of mushroom...   So the gift of SPICING UP YOUR LIFE, doesn't come up in just what you eat.  It's in the INNUENDO of speech!  hahaha "Riding Sticks", "Mischief Management" and "Pacific Beach in East Los".  I'm telling you now... WORDS MEAN SOMETHING... but sometimes WORDS MEAN MORE!!! So our spice world was filled with fun conversations.  And on the ride home... See some WORDS on a TATOOED MAN!

3.  Virtually Real Conversations
I had a great conversation with a friend about Virtual Reality and how we can be so consumed in the escapism of a virtual happiness, that we would forego living this existence.  I know escape and entertainment and I would love to play the day away.  However, I've come to understand something about this life, you have to CHOOSE TO LIVE IT.  Otherwise, it lives you and you don't see the gifts.  My friend posed the question if you could live a happier virtual existence, wouldn't you want to live it instead of live your life.  I thought about it.  Just like any ADDICTION that keeps you in a never ending EUPHORIA, it will lead to an untimely demise.  You have to wonder.  If you believe in the SOUL and that this body, mind and heart is the vessel we are constrained to use to fulfill this life, then you really couldn't be sated by the virtual reality.  However, if you don't have a soul, and you are biding time with this body, mind and heart... Then you may as well succumb to that false reality, but at that point why continue to be alive?  A good conversation which served up few answers and delivered ever more questions, which may never be answered.  However, the BEST PART of the conversation... WAS THE CONVERSATION.  We weren't engaged with our mobile devices... We were engaged in a conversation... The GIFT of GAB...

4.  Bucket Lists
It's not about having a bucket or a list... It's about approaching the world and saying "HEY WORLD, THIS IS WHAT I WANT!"  and maybe, just maybe speaking aloud what you truly want of this world will be returned ten-fold.

5.  Talking to Yourself
Do it, but don't be rude.  We all have our inner mind... We all have our multi-level thinking methods.  We manage conversations outwardly and inwardly.  So be "WARD-LY"... and WORLDLY.  Don't auto-google the answer... Think and talk it out with yourself.  Break down a problem, see it's points of truth, create and find the patterns.  The last thing you ever want to do is depend on a friggin' "WE ARE ONE, BORG BRAIN" - COLLECTIVE... ahem the world wide web... and BELIEVE THAT IS THINKING!  We aren't BEES!  We aren't the BORG!  We aren't PACKS of WOLVES.  There is no WE in I... hahaha At the same time, I CAN'T DO IT ALONE...

So talk to yourself...then talk to others.  Engage yourself... Engage with others...

Note to self... VIRTUAL means "NOT QUITE" ...

So I choose QUITE a LIFE, not a VIRTUAL one... With all this living, there comes JOY and PAIN (pump it up pump it up)... QUIZ if you got this far who sang that song?  But hey... I believe in a soul, I believe I'm a newbie soul... and I believe I have this vessel to navigate the murky waters of life looking for the natural spring.  For when you get closer to that source, the debris will subside and the waters will clear... You'll know why you WERE HERE.

Daily Daze - October 13, 2015

Thought of the Day
A quiz for 5 cents OR 5 for a quarter.  I realized that the fruit of life is knowledge and only when we consume it wholeheartedly can we truly replenish the mind.  Alright that's a bit grandiose and wax poetic... Here's the deal... If you can't challenge your friends or you can't challenge yourself, imagine how ill-prepared you will be when challenged by someone who couldn't care less about you.  To know is cool, but to act on the knowledge is divine.

There's something beautiful about how the mind works.  It's beautiful to look into someone's eyes while they think... Do their eyes glaze over or do they search in their head?  Do they furrow their brow or prefer the stone face?  Do they make sounds to make sense?  Do they use their hands to recollect?  It's a beautiful thing when someone realizes the trick or the treat of knowing.

The beauty of the puzzle is that the solution lies within.  The beauty of a problem is that there is a way to win.  The beauty of the human mind is the discipline it seeks.  The beauty of the thoughts are hiding in valleys and peaks.  The beauty of engaging in a task so specific... is the beauty of the dance that plays on the surface.  In the moments we think, in the moments we do, can we find the beautiful pattern of what we do... To break down a problem, look at all angles, in motion a thought slowly unfolding.  Do I like the quiz?  Or do I like the inquisition?  Do I like the answer or is it really the journey, the satisfying mission?

We may never know why we are here?  But in everything we do, there lies a quiz... A quiz of the moment, a quiz of a lifetime...



Quiz
1.  True or False - E pluribus unum
2.  Is it a deal?  a quiz for 5 cents or 5 for a quarter
3.  cub socs dc is an acronym to remember what?
4.  Does Mikey eat anything?
5.  Can you stare at the moon without seeing the man?

Daily Daze - October 12, 2015

Thought of the Day
It's never what you get, it's always in what you give.  It's too easy to be consumed by what you want.  Then you realize what you need.  I know the best me is a happy me.  I'm not always happy.  I'm human.  I get eaten up by negative thoughts and hopeless thoughts.  I pull away and I don't want to be part of the conversation.  I retreat into my mind, which in some cases can be a terrible thing.  Sometimes I don't want to put out the energy because it is all energy.  There really isn't any time to retreat and to pull back, but what's time when your mind isn't up for the challenge.  Who's time is it anyway?  There are moments when I pull, then there are revelations when I push.  I push through the self doubt and the devilish attitude toward living.  I push pass the head games and I wake up.  It's a rude awakening.  I start giving.

And tenfold I receive.  Letting go... and giving up... and giving in... that's where the beauty and blessings are... When you hold too tight... and squeeze the meaning of life out... You see nothing and all is dark.  Sometimes you just have to look up and realize... there's something beautiful in the insanity of the moment... Because that moment has to exist.  With that said... Photo of the Day... The FIT Post Meeting leftover drop off elevator shot.  #1  The mustard was strong and in my face... And #2 grateful that Court didn't have anything in her hands.

Last Impression
There are some basics in life.  1.  Avoid talking aloud to yourself when with friends.  It's already bad enough if you're wondering off in your mind, but to actually overlay another person's response while you are thinking aloud, is straight rude.  2.  It's rude to call people out - kinda sorta?  It depends.  Sometimes I can be blunt, but sometimes someone just needs to be called out!  In the moment it sucks, in the long run you hope you've learned.

Be REAL!  At least practice being real (but thoughtful) when dealing with your friends and family.

Daily Daze - October 11, 2015

Thought of the Day
When you're feeling down and out, just moving through the motions.  When you get a bit inebriated, you feel like you own the world.  When you are ok, the world tends not to be.  So what should we feel?  Normal is abnormal when the world has gone crazy.  Drinking away your pain is a temporary relief from a real world.  When you're sick, your body is asking you to stop living and existing.  The world, however, wants you to be yourself.  So when will it just be good ... Good... GOOD!

It's only GOOD when you don't feel... even if it is real...

It's only GOOD when you don't mind... even when your mind knows better

It's only GOOD when you let it go... and your critique no longer flows.

It's only GOOD when you stop drop and roll.

When you have to only take care of the bare necessities will you know what it means.

When you have everything and nothing can convene... In the whirlwind of thoughts...

In the blink of eyes... In the plays in the mind... It's crazy talk really.

When you focus is when you don't...

When you don't is when you do...

Whatever it is ... it is the opposite of true.

Walk into the sun... get burned or sequester. 

Walk into the cold... bundle up or be susceptible.

For it is not the cold that gets you sick... but your body's inability to react to the trick...

The cool on your skin... when you swelter in heat

The draw of the ocean...  for the sun we cannot defeat

Escape only to be trapped in another tale.

Escape only to find that the freedom is jail.

The opposite of everything is what we are...

For in our choice, we only wish upon a star.

As if the choice has any great meaning...

Or is it just a choose your adventure ... to a page empty ... it is leading?

Can't we laugh at the premise of this existence?

Can't we grow larger than this estranged living persistence?

We keep waking and forsaking all that life has to offer.

Only questioning our truth and always intolerant of our growth.

We can't be real.. but there is a struggle for sure

We can't be fake... for the others will forsake

We can't be playing .. when all other's are seriously contemplating.

We can't be serious when all the other's foolishly pontificating.

Trapped in this world.

Waiting for a story to unfurl.

A story that leads to an ending..
That i'm not privy to pretend..

For what is this life..
So filled with strife
That the moments of joy so fleeting
And my heart soul and body want to retreat from?


It's stupid.

Daily Daze - October 10, 2015

Thought of the Day
Sometimes you just need to change one thing... Your attitude.  You don't have control over much of anything else.  Attitude comes from your soul aching to be set free.  Your soul knows you better than what your head sometimes tells you.  Your soul doesn't hear the whispers, doesn't see the actions, doesn't taste the bitterness of life.  Your soul feels... Your soul and your spirit gives you the energy.  That head though plays games... Your head likes to play with your heart.  Your head likes to feed your soul feelings manifested from allusions to what is real and illusions to what you seek.  My head spins out of control.  My head manages to trick my soul and my heart.  So to get out of my own head, I fight through workouts and I fight with gloves on.  To get out of my own head... I have to physically escape.  I have to blast that music to drown out the scenarios and the things that aren't necessarily real.  I have to feel physical pain because at that point your head needs to heal the body and focuses solely on that task.  That physical pain brings about relief from a head spinning out of control.

Don't get me wrong, I have an awesomely wonderful brain in that head.  I love that I can see and analyze what others take for granted.  I love that I can see a solution in a problem.  I love that I can make simple something that others see as complex.  I love that my head can do so many things.  I have above average talent in most anything I put that head to... My mind is super intriguing to me... My mind is what challenges me... but sometimes you just want to stop thinking and stop playing the scenarios out endlessly.

With all that body, mind and heart playing tricks on you, the soul has little room to be set free.  The soul has so much to fight through to be who that spirit holds.  I know that I have to get these things to coordinate just so I can let that soul be set to the sky.  The soul wants to thrive not just survive.  We just seem to get in the way of that relief.

So I let go of people, I let go of things and I let go of expectations the other day and my soul remembered how to fly.  I had to appreciate that small dose of energy.  That shift in attitude may only last for a small time, but I can only hope I keep remembering how I let my spirit free.  I think this helps... writing.  I think letting go every day of some thoughts may relieve my mind.  I think if I remember what my heart really longs for and my body gets a good dose of fight, I can see that spirit in my attitude.

The one thing I love most about my little brain... It's when I'm sitting by myself, I smirk and think it just might be ok.

Daily Daze - October 9, 2015

Thought of the Day
There are so many obstacles that lend themselves to tear a person down.  It isn't just the challenge of the obstacle.  It is the anxiety beforehand and the apprehension afterwards.  Inspirational words are so trite when enduring the obstacle.  No matter what you do, the words cannot penetrate the wall of negativity and defeatism.  What wins?  The obstacle or you?  I never believed in ultimatums because even an ultimatum is a choice disguised.  There are some obstacles that are so consuming and draining that the choice couldn't possibly exist.  Life is the ultimatum.  You either choose to live or you don't.  Going through the motions... that is a choice.  When you look at it, it is a living.  Maybe the motions are enough living to get you over that obstacle, don't you think? 

Amusement
People care, people don't care.  They all suck a little bit of life and light from your day.  As much as you want to glow a brilliant light, there are times when you have no energy and no warmth to bestow upon the world.  Change is a choice and in those choices, questions arise.  "That's different", "you're out of it" they say.  They have no idea what to do.  Change forces people to think and it scares them.  Some run away.  Some accept it.  Some try to understand.  It's all an amusement, this life.  There really isn't any point to ride a roller coaster of emotions, scary drops and nauseating twist and turns.  Life is an amusement park with nothing to offer but a passage of time.  Along the way you laugh, you may cry, and you may just get tired of all the rides.  Yet for some reason, we keep going back.  There is no meaning to life, it just is life.  We try so hard to project some grand gold star effort, check off lists of things to do and buckets to fill.  There are lessons to be learned and advice to be given, yet failure, pain, and negativity persists.  It is a wonderland.  I wonder what is the point of being happy, only to be left with an indelible memory.  I wonder what is the point to be hurt by someone you love only to be jaded in any future relationship.  I wonder what it is to learn the lessons well and poorly.  Humans are eternal screw ups. We fell from grace and somehow there is an amusement to trying to save face, but who are we trying to impress? 

God you must be hilarious.  Looking down on us as we spin out of control, regain some footing then fall apart again.  We can't get enlightened like the Dalai Lama... So what are we here for but for amusement.  I have to shake my head to that take... And wonder.  People look at kids with all of this hope masking all the fear.  We are freaked out to think they have to live this life and move through this world.  Some of us give them the tools to survive and we can only hope they thrive.  Even with all the tools and all the blessings, there is the imminent reality of time, causality, action and reaction, individual agenda, and  soul wrenching obstacles.

Sometimes I just want to step outside of the amusement park and walk away. 

Daily Daze - May 27, 2015

Thought of the Day
This quote inspired me.  Strong women make all women stronger.  I think women because of their complexities and natural wanting to protect and nurture are the most fierce in our societies.  That can work for and against women.  Our fierceness can keep us from growing, overly protective of what we have or know.  When we finally allow for that raw innate ability to multitask and apply it to nurturing and protecting the greater good, only then can we all prevail.  Unfortunately, that ferocity of being tends to mark a specific and enclosed territory.  We look at other women as threats, rather than as our teammates.  There is a huge difference in the emotional quotient of a woman from a man. The EQ is what throws a logical camaraderie into a hell bent vengeful catfight.  There are multitudes of books that speak to this.  The quote sums it up best.  To be strong is to avoid the pitfalls of "marking our territory" and seeking to build ourselves up through other's failures and shortcomings.   Standing on the mound of lose lose is far shorter than standing on the Mt Everest of the win-win.  I don't only believe in building up women alone.  I think we should always seek to build each other up.  With women, however, it is ever more important to show a tangible care and lift up.  There are too many societal norms that tear women down.  Avoid the cattiness, avoid the backstabbing jealousy... Avoid being territorial.  It's amazing how much care it takes to move mountains.

On the Day

Skipped all of yesterday because I was sick... I was feeling dead to the world... Slept in with Nyquil.  Lead into Wednesday was more of the cough and eck.  NyQuil just forces me to sleep and rest, I feel way better after since I'm not tossing and turning.  It's hump day... Wednesday.  Since I was sick, I was perusing Instagram and came across a few different things. 

Happy Birthday to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC.  TLC has been in my ear for the past month since attending their concert, so she was on everyone's minds and Instagrams.  My favorite TLC dancer, Maasa, posted a cool pic with her wide receiver left eye mark and @Duchess365 draws up a beautiful depiction of Left Eye.

Daily Daze - May 25, 2015

Thought of the Day

The truth will always hurt someone.  

Strangely, I learned that watching Bruce Jenner deal with his transition and the special on E with the Khardashians.  He has had this secret forever.  His kids want to be in the know... But he has been holding secret mode forever.  The kids can't understand why he can't share all the details about his transition.  Then there is Bruce who doesn't want to hurt anyone.  Truth is easy to say but hard to live with and live by. 

Reality TV is always a little petty... And gets to this strange voyeuristic part of who we are as humans... But it is these real life stories under the surface that can change a world view.  I grew up knowing Bruce Jenner as Olympic Gold medalist  of the 1976 decathlon.  He is the man on the Wheaties box.  

What is truth?  It is not mine, it is not yours.  It is.  Let it be, let it go.  What you do and do not know... For who is to say there is no right nor wrong there is just what is.

Daily Daze - May 24, 2015

Though of the Day

Choice... decision.  Choices are the options.  Once you make a decision the ripples are set forth in reality.  For it is not the stone that is tossed, it is the stone that is chosen which determines the impact.  Choose wisely, little pebbles or heavy rocks... To skip, sink or float.

On the Day

Awoke to congestion, rested the da watching East Los High.  Cool show.

Daily Daze - May 23, 2015

Thought of the Day

Moving through this life is never a solo thing.  Some of the toughest lessons are only survivable when you have support.  The invisible hand of  love and hope from family and friends provides that lift.  Remember to say thanks!  Living a life with gratitude, humility and respect for those who love, hope and pray for you is key to surviving the trials and tribulations set before you.  

On the Day

Workout, clean house, movie and my fave tweets a thanks to me... Good day! 😍

Daily Daze - May 22, 2015

Thought of the Day

Living with higher expectations means the fall is greater.  So do you forgo the yearning to be bolder, stronger, faster so that you can move farther, smarter and leave a legacy that lasts forever... Only to replace it with complacency, passivity and doubt?  Fall, live... Pain and joy are opposites on the frequency of life.  As felt in the beat of a heart, in the rhythm of your pulse, the pain and the joy cannot exist without the other in this life.  So live, endure, move on and move strong... Have faith in God, have hope in more than humanity, live with love.  

On the Day

It's a Friday before Memorial Day weekend.  The office was a bit slow and coming off a 2 day training session, I was tired.  Slogged through a drizzle of a day but had a good lunch at Nordstrom Cafe.  Enjoyed a good solid workout with Megan, Courtney and Amanda while listening to some classic rock.  Dinner with JDub and now I'm watching a Hulu special called "East Los High".  So far pretty interesting, twist on the MTV crowd, but solid.

Daily Daze - May 21, 2015

Thought of the Day:
Own who you are.
Establish who you want to be.
Determine who you want to have around.


On the Day:

Getting cultured is the key.  Michelle introduced to a bit of the East LA in her.  She loves this town and managed to give Justin and I some insight.  The fun started with a run back to the Grand Central Market to pick up papusa mapusas and horchata... For one, Michelle was so excited to jump out of the car and pick up her order... She jumped out 2 blocks too soon... Yeah... Then Justin and I had to kill some time, by driving 5 blocks North, 3 blocks West 2 blocks South, 4 blocks East... hahah Just kidding.. We drove in a gigantic circle only to take a good minute staring at the darn Chevy Volts driver window controls only to realize that the damned UNLOCK button is on the central dash... #EpicDesignFail.  

After papusas, we end up in East LA, AL MERCADITO... When you come from a diverse and pretty mixed in place like San Diego, LA can get a bit intimidating for us suburban beachy keen sheltered folks...  And although the place doesn't deny... Justin put it best... But before the quote of the day, driving around LA in stop and go... gets ya a bit dizzified.  Hence the following conversation

Michelle:  "Do you guys want to just stay in the car?"

Annavic:  "Yeah, I'm feeling dizzy... "

Justin:  "I'm feeling, er, a little to Asian."

ROFL, LOL... There's a reason working with these yahoos is so fun.  

Well Michelle did not disappoint with getting AUTENTICO #MEXICANCHURROS... #CHURROS are just not the same from anywhere else.  I am convinced this place has the best, perfectly balanced crispy to chewy churro!

Off to the traffic... and more TRAFFIC... And oh.. we are now in Monterey Park... Let's go to the mall to kill time... Fortunately we ate a bit at BJ's with Michelle's friend and historical "lush" stories...  The education of Justin continues during dinner after almost hearing the intriguing history of Michelle.. Almost means... Susie couldn't say what she wanted to say because we would never be able to undo what JDub hears... hahahaha

Back on the road and stuck on the San Clemente to San Diego corridor... but danced to Janet, rapped to Sugar Hill gang, broadway duets and just enjoyed a conversation around DEVASTATION "suicidal" music lists... We all have them... a DEVASTATING occurrence matched with the best music that you shouldn't be listening to but you want to wallow in your pain, so you do anyway list.  

In the end, nothing profound, lots of traffic, and always entertaining.

Daily Daze - May 20, 2015

Thought of the Day... 
What's your 30 second elevator speech?  Would you sell yourself short, overindulge in the delusion of your grandeur, limit your potential with overtly focused but short sighted future OR own your being and be enthused in that nature.

Here's my 30 second speech:  I love to play.  I love to tinker with ideas, thoughts and my imagination.  I want to engage in word play and love the challenge of brain games.  I am a kinesthetic learner who loves the hand's on approach to solving problems even when they are not so physical concepts.  I use analogies to bring bearing to my understanding of new information.  I teach so that I can learn.  I innovate to enable and enhance other people's lives.  I provide shifts in perspective so both of us can gain new depth to this world of experiments and experience.  I learn when you learn... I exercise every part of me from head to toe, from heart to soul, from mind to body, inside and out.  Choosing to make every choice count...

On the Day
Hangin' in LA for work, but having fun in downtown.  First rest stop, the Westin Bonaventure.  This place is an adventure.  It's a beautiful building with awesome beds.  It has been featured in several movies including one of my favorites True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.  The elevators are always fun to travel.  

Went to dinner at Wokano, a cool Asian fusion restaurant and had a very good Cantaloupe cocktail, chased by a wonderful asian inspired side salad, miso soup and white fish with asparagus... YUM!!!  Ran around town and got some Ingress points, but also found some fun photo ops.  

Ended the night chillin' at the hotel lounge talking Justin's ears off as we finished up with dessert, Tiramisu, and a Bailey's cappuccino.. Another YUM!

Daily Daze - May 19, 2015

The dread of LA LA... Grateful I live in SD's Heaven

There is some dread in going to work in LA.  I'm just a San Diegan who enjoys the easy go lucky, heaven like haven that San Diego offers.  LA is way to hustle bustle for me.  It was clearly apparent when my co-workers and I enjoyed a meeting at the boss' house in Carlsbad.  Her home was immaculate and cozy, but it was the sunny day that swept across the back patio that made this meeting way more enjoyable.  During the meeting, I said I wish I could work outside, on my computer, everyday.  They really should invest in more patios and decks.  The cubicle hell of office space is no way to spend 40-50 hours per week.  If you're lucky, you can at least leave work there.  Unfortunately, I'm not one of the lucky ones.  At least if and when I work at home, my deck can find me thinking away.

San Diego is amazing.  Some may find it too chill because they enjoy the hustle.  My heart can't take the hustle and intensity therein.  I don't necessarily want to live longer, but happier.  When you can appreciate the piece of heaven tucked away in the Southwest corner of these United States and call it home, you have to realize how lucky you are... Even the worst of places can get the sun to shine on it...

There is no place like home... And if heaven were a place on earth.. I would vote for SD to be that place.

Daily Daze - May 18, 2015

Topic 1 - Being There... 
em·pa·thy

ˈempəTHē/

noun

1.  The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

com·pas·sion

kəmˈpaSHən/

noun

1. sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

   
   

So even if you have empathy and compassion, it is an entirely different thing to act on it appropriately.  If you really think about it, the problem, the issues and the sympathy are not directed to you.  So what do you do when someone you care for is hurting?  What do you do when you want to reach out, but you don't want to dig too deep?  Such the quandary.  The truth is you turn inwardly and search for how you would want to be handled and cared for.  However, projecting that truth onto someone else probably won't work.  We're different.  So what do you do?  You feel empathy and you are compassionate, but what does it look like?  And who are we trying to help?

Simple reality:
*  Let the person know you are there and care
*  Open your arms as widely as possible, but allow them to walk in
*  Hold them when they need to be held
*  Encourage them when they need to be challenged

We can't protect each other from pain.  We can only help to endure, heal and recover from the pain.

Topic 2 - Being Square... or rectangle or circle or <<fill in shape>>
Finding someone else is really all about acknowledging one's self
Had a fun conversation which led to a simple idea

*  Know who you are right now - be open to acknowledge your successes, failures, bright lights and dim moments
*  Know who you want to be - see your future self, so that you can endure all the challenges which will get you there.
*  Know who you want to be surrounded by - see your family and friends

I basically thought... if you at least got these things in mind, the "RIGHT PERSON" will find their way to you.

Knowing who you are now with all the flaws, allows you to be the most real person to whomever you are introducing yourself to...
Knowing who you want to be, allows you to accept the challenges that well intentioned people will lay before you to move you in that direction
Knowing who you want in your life is the true destination.  In that circle is where you want "the one" to be.

It's funny how we get so stressed, depressed and obsessed with wishing on a star.  When all along the star is waiting to break through inside of you.  When you live your life with your ideals and your God given being... amazing people will come into and out of your life.

At least it's fun to think you have control somewhere in this world...

Daily Daze - May 17, 2015

Dancing to some throwback tunes
To sing along and move along to the grooves
A scratch, a mix, some rhythm, some blues
Old school boom but with all the same attitudes

In every beat, bass and sound
All alone and all around
Music moving through my mind
Forcing my body to unwind

A little throwback action can do
Inspired to relive my youth
Even still impressed to live life unbound
Keeping solid in the music I re-found

To find joy in a simple melody
To find true love in harmony
To just percolate to the pound
That boom boom boom pow

Singing at the top  of my lungs
No one in sight, it's all for fun
Then you break out your rap game
And you know it's insane

Dancing is for the soul
Singing is for the mind
Music is for the body
As we rock, roll, sway in time.