Lightwork

Debt Crisis

So I haven't done this in a while but I feel like it's about time I get one in. I am sitting at my desk right now way past when I am supposed to be at work attempting to get work done. I did some pretty solid connecting with people. Called a few Indian people and tried to decipher what exactly they do in software engineering. It is always nice to talk to people you have no chance of understanding. It is a lot of repetitive questions and asking them to repeat their last statement. They are probably used to it, and I am sure I don't help with the whole 'self-esteem' thing. I will say I do posses an advantage other people don't....I am a foreigner myself. I know this comes as a surprise because once you read one of my posts you think "wow it is the EE Cummings of blogging" or "man, that moejank is a modern day Harper Lee".... If you don't know who Harper Lee is, you didn't pass middle school English so get yourself to the library and check out To Kill a Mockingbird.

Anyway, you don't need to thank me for this post. I owe you this. I owe it you, like I owe Sallie Mae way too much money for my 'degree'. If any college kids are reading this, please get a technical skill, go to medical school, or get a masters degree. Not to take away from the rest of us, but no matter what you think, four years in college isn't enough fun. Now some parents and peers may read this and say "c'mon Moe, you had plenty of fun at school! you turned VCU inside out." It is true that I ran Richmond like my name is Rick Ross and I didn't need a Maybach to do it. All I needed was a beat up burgundy Nissan Altima and some Air Maxes.....UNNNGHHHH (RICK ROSS VOICE).

Honestly though, there is a reason why I believe you should stay in school for as long as possible. The reason has nothing to do with gaining more knowledge because in this world knowledge isn't power. It is a burden, a burden for you to do the wise and logical thing. For an entry level or a person 2-3 years into their professional life, knowledge is a road block tagged as arrogance and egotism by managers who don't trust you can do a good enough job without them. In reality they need you though and they are probably threatened that their decades of experience were condensed into a 2 hour lecture you attended once a week for a semester. That's just the way the cookie crumbles, and if you aren't smart enough to scoop up all the crumbs until they let you into the door then enjoy waiting tables at the cheesecake factory home-slice.

That though, isn't the reason why you stay in school for a long time. It isn't about knowledge or skills, and it most certainly not about commitment. It comes down to the credit card you are handed once you step into your home room or first period in 9th grade. It isn't an actual credit card, but you can call it a black card. There are no limits on this card, you can use it every day and on anything. There is no bank backing this credit line either and there isn't a single regulation on its use. I call it the "Immaturity Credit Card". It is almost like playing Monopoly and having an endless amount 'of get out jail free' cards. You can literally make bad decision after bad decision, bad purchase after bad purchase, and continue to do so until you get bored.

The Immaturity Credit Card is unlike any other card you have ever seen. It is backed by intellectual capital and adults everywhere are firm believers that giving you a second, third, or tenth chance to succeed will ultimately lead to you learning that you shouldn't schedule an 8am class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if you are going to go out every Tuesday and Thursday. Or that you should probably not sneak your dads whiskey into your bag on the way to your senior class field trip. That it might be a bit risky to walk into a historical town's candy gift shop and incise a free for-all thieving of candy and soda for the bus ride back to Fairfax.

All of those things are covered by the Immaturity Credit Card. You can literally do what you want and your parents will bail you out. You can ask for a student loan in any amount to make sure that your shopping, drinking, dancing, and drug addiction is completely covered. In some cases you will apply for a job, just to get suspicion off your back and also use it for a money laundering front for the hustling you do on the side. By all means though, you hustle. You play hard, and when there are mid-terms and finals....you kind of work hard too.

Anything is possible with use of this credit card. It is a bigger network of supporters, and people who are on your side wishing and hoping your lackluster attitude towards life and sense of entitlement will turn into appreciation. One thing those supporters forget about is that sometimes you can dump money and effort into a project or lets say a franchise and still come out looking like the Washington Redskins or even the Miami Heat. All the potential in the world, you even get to the ship but still fall a bit short. You have the talent, by all means you have the finances, and are even 'motivated' by the doubters. You still can't make it happen though. Alas, you still have the Immaturity Credit Card, and with a swipe you are back in it again! Nothing is stopping you from success the second go-round......<----sarcasm

So the question becomes when do you pay back your debt? When do you have to learn from your mistakes. For some they just compound debt finding the right answers and combination for success. One investment didn't work so you take another route. Right there in your corner are the people willing to help you succeed, feeding into your "after some introspective thinking, I know what I want to do now" speech....we all have done it. None of us are perfect and we make mistakes. So the swan song can apply to a lot of us. For some we hit our limit and never have to pay it back because there were no real implications to our actions. We have assets that our peers don't have that are able to take care of the actual debt we stack up. Some don't ever come close to maxing out their limit. They hardly use it and make smart decisions and do what they are supposed to with ease and comfort. Others still can make huge mistakes like ice bombing their ex-girlfriends dorm room and are forced to take a semester or two off from school putting their plans at a stand still. Others have to pay it off with actual financial capital. They swiped their card so many times that it went beyond their support circles means to cover. It had to go on their head. They now have to pay it back. They still need whatever support they can get from their safety net or maybe they don't but in one way or another are paying for the immaturity they exhibited in the past.

No matter what we have a system that promotes the 'Immaturity Credit Card' as much as it promotes the Chase Credit card in your wallet. We encourage youth to "learn" on their own. Trial by fire and whatever means necessary to find your calling or make a career choice finally. According to the great novel 'Stuff White People Like', whities enjoy going to Law School. I know of someone who had no idea what they wanted to do and ended up going to Law School so they can do public service and have all their debt forgiven in a decade. As a matter of fact I know a lot of people who did that. It used to be that kids were tied to their families prosperity and hard work was valued, now things have changed. It is the standard to get a bachelor's, obtain a secret clearance, and then work on some classified project that you will end up telling all your buddies about later that night when you meet for kabobs. Responsibility is key and because parents are too busy providing and earning money for the kids extracurricular activities and their dream home, they ask teachers to do it, but teachers don't get paid enough and wish the parents were more involved. In my mind parent teacher conferences are just to discuss the max limit spending on your immaturity card that quarter.

No matter what though, someone is paying for the Immaturity Credit swipes. Whether it be the actual cardholder or the institution that supports them. Some default and some are stuck in major debt contemplating calling the 1-800 number they saw on that infomercial to consolidate their credit and pay it off at some other price (this is called a part-time job). At the end of the day though you can forget about having Social Security (a savings account or buying a house) or maybe you can raise the debt ceiling like your name is Obama....

My Mood

http://youtu.be/Oextk-If8HQ

The Rant

Alright, I have had a lot of conversations with friends who have ready my posts. We talk about a lot of things and they make mention to me going "off" on this page. As much as I am flattered by their vision of me as the rapper of bloggers, I don't want to become the Eminem of blogging. That said, if you know me, you know I can get very heated and passionate about certain topics. If you equate certain topics to any and every topic that affects me in anyway then you would understand I have an opinion. So as I listen to this Wale track over and over again and switch to some more deviant hip hop music, I will essentially use this post to speak on our worlds biggest problem. It isn't the environment, it isn't rising gas prices, it isn't hunger, or oppression. It simply comes down to people, and mainly those who have been on this earth longer than 55-56 years.

Now that I have narrowed down who I have put my cross hairs on, I will elaborate for your pleasure (as well as the blood that is pumping through my veins). In my opinion, I can only really say that those people about the age of 55 have just disappointed me. There is evidence of it everywhere you turn. Whether we are discussing the current economic state of this country, the religious tension across the world, or the systematic oppression of people. You can always point your finger to those "adults" we have trusted with power. My intention isn't to implicate every single person above the age of 55. I am sure there are some great ones out there but like my good friend Travis said so pointedly: "Our parents generation has been very disappointing" and as much as I want to agree with him; I feel like it goes on further. They have failed us. As I sit here and contemplate the idea that the United States Government bickers back and forth between parties about how to spend our trillion dollar budget, I wonder why the heck did we even elect these people? With a house representative from my own state coming out and proving that he needs to attend 8th grade civics (Yes Eric Cantor you are a moron) . I wonder why there is so much pressure on us? As a 20 year old's and a college students we end up paying for their lack of compromise and understanding. We of course elect these politicians knowing well they don't really care about what their constituents need, but we have to vote for the lesser of two evils in the hopes they will do something positive. Clearly we were mistaken. The generation of world "leaders" seem to have regressed us in every sense. We all have a boss who doesn't listen to our suggestions, it gets to the point where we don't even feel like it is necessary to speak up anymore. Forget our education, forget our energy, forget our ambition because at the end of the day their experience outweighs us all. Makes sense doesn't it?

So we end up paying for their mistakes. For instance Greece, where they decided that sitting around eating souvlaki was much more important than advancing their society. I mean it makes sense, Greece peaked after Socrates. It was all down hill from there. I am positive no 18 year old Greek said "hey, why don't we just sit around and eat olives all day?" although that same 18 year old not knowing any better thought it was awesome and agreed to it. I am also pretty sure that the senseless deaths of Israelis and Palestinians weren't thought out and planned by the hands that executed them. Nope, the youth only suffer while the adults seek personal power and wealth. Of course we are taught it is for the good of us all, but really what good is it doing? It most certainly wasn't the hordes of Egyptian youth (mainly female) who protested peacefully and forced a tyrant to retreat to some foreign resort that initially agreed to him being in power for 30 years while he systematically destroyed Egypt's middle class and eliminated the working class. Actually those are all those 50 and 60 year old's who could have had the energy to demand changes, faults. They instead picked the leisure of a hookah bar at night or to flee their homeland all together and go teach Saudi and Kuwaiti brats.

If you watch the news you see a lot of pundits on T.V. telling you what to do, and how to do it. They want to explain to you that their point of view is correct and having a different one means you are a terrorist. Or if not a terrorist, a socialist, an anarchist, a hippie, or on drugs. A lot of times these same adults have sidekicks that are closer to our age. The hope is we can relate to the Ivy League pretty person regurgitating what Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh said before we woke up. There is plenty good in this world, but unfortunately there is even more bad. The only way to fix it is to listen to Keith Olbermann make fun of an out of context soundbite from a tea partyer or Glenn Beck draw some sort of pie chart on a chalk board. I guess Hannity has a stronghold on all of the overhead projectors? At the end of the day it is their way, or no way.

They are right, they are going to lead us on the right path. They are going to bring us back! My only question is, who the f@ck are you? As a matter of fact, I know a ten year old little girl that has more wisdom in her pinkie than most people I have met over 55. Her name is Leena Sayed and she is happy to consult you. As Jeff Foxworthy has shown most of America these same men aren't as smart as a 5th grader. Now we all have parents, and some of us have very successful parents. Some of our parents are less successful. That is the nature of the world, but at the end of the day our parents want us to have a better life than them. So they do everything in their power to advise us on how to do that. It is a noble gesture of theirs to look out for us that way. I would argue though that once we get to about 24 years old, their advice is null and void. I mean I am going by the age in which we are coming on to a quarter of a century. For some of us, we have to grow up faster, and others still haven't grown up. At the end of the day though, you can never really explain your mothers love. It can't be measured, but they still judge the hell out of you. They still measure you against other people from the neighborhood/ book club/ or gym's kid. Your father's love can be measured, he is always in some sort of competition in his mind. A lot of times we are fed the idea of unconditional love, well that isn't true.

Parents use you as a measuring stick for their own selfishness. This is a new phenomenon for society. When the baby boomers did so well post WWII they created our parents who have been spoon fed all their lives. Not their fault, but they could never be the baby boomers. Thank god they aren't either, because baby boomers are out of touch. Side Note: All baby boomers should report to some community in a warm place, where we can communicate with them via Skype and Gchat and stay off the roads and normal human being stuff. Seriously just go away and don't worry about it. It would create jobs for people who like old people, and it would mean I am not slamming my breaks on I-95 behind the Crown Victoria going 40 miles per hour. I don't want to hurt feelings but I imagine it is a bit too late. The mistakes our parents made are used as red flags and scare tactics to get us to avoid using our gut. They aren't necessary lessons learned but more means to persuade us to comply. If the United States were the Kansas Jayhawks and kept failing to make the final four at the hands of mid majors like...South Korea which we will call VCU or Northern Iowa. The leader would be fired. Yes that is Obama, Pelosi, and Boehner who would be gone (Bill Self sucks). It is time to look at our elders in the face and say "hang it up". All of them seem to think they are Brett Favre, and you see what happened to the Vikings. It is time for the 20 and 30 year old's to take a grasp over government and private business. It is time for us to shake things up and demand what we deserve.

Flat out, they had their chance and they failed. They were masked by ideals, and pretty language but all they have done is brought us down. I am sick of taking advice from failures. Their sense of accomplishment is inflated and then transferred in the form or graduate degrees, extra-curricular activities, and hectic schedules for us. We have worked our asses off so that we can be "qualified" for jobs held by those who are lesser versions of us. We are smarter than them, we are more energetic, and we are more savvy. We can't sit back anymore and let our fate be dictated by silly law makers and bad business men. Alright that is enough for now, if you took offense to any of this, I really don't care. It is my opinion and you can't say a damn thing about it....

David is a Goliath

So last night was the culmination of a pretty amazing sporting event. I did not watch the first half at all though. I was too busy watching Aaron Eckhert figure out how to cripple an alien invasion in the streets of Santa Monica and Los Angeles. If you think about it though Battlefield LA and the NCAA national championship game have a lot of similarities. You have the attackers and evil doers who travel into our polluted atmosphere to harvest our earth and steal our water. Then there are the unsuspecting "too busy fighting some other war" Marines who could never have imagined they would be fighting this finely tuned advanced machine in the Alien forces coming into earth.

So clearly Butler would be the Marines, and Matt Howard (the goofy slow hardworking senior) would play Aaron Eckhert. Shelvin Mack would be Ne-Yo, who is trying to get through the war to finally marry his wife who he is planning a wedding with in the first scenes of the film. In this case Mack is just trying to get out the game unscathed so he can get married to Daniel Stern the NBA commissioner and make millions of dollars hooping alongside other Butler greats like......Gordon Haywerd? Butler somehow is the underdog...let me repeat this. The team who played in this same exact game the year before were again the UNDERDOGS against traditional powerhouse UConn, led by the head alien Jim Calhoun and his lightening fast killer alien general Kemba Walker.

Casual observers, some sports fans, and especially the media love the underdog story. It is apart of our history that dates back to pre-biblical times. We are all raised on the notion that as a community you can raise up greater than your individual parts to accomplish greatness. That the last thing you would do is count little Thomas the train engine out when it comes to pulling a load three times his weight. We are inspired by those stories and they bring us hope. Take America for example, would we be a country if we didn't stand our ground against the English? Forget about the facts in this example. We all know they were just trying to tax us for wars they felt needed to be waged regardless of our feelings about them (cough cough Iraq/Libya/Vietnam). As Americans we stood up and said "We don't want your stinking tea" and "No taxation without Representation" as well as "Give me liberty or give me death". The point is we were the underdogs, the little guys standing up to the giant. The big dumb English giant who wanted to ballroom dance and eat crumpets.

Okay, enough with the history lessons. I am going to get down to it. We are a nation of overachievers. We strive to be the best in everything we do. It is an imprint in the DNA of every inhabitant of the 50 states. With the exception of Maryland and New Jersey where they refuse to become better drivers and to make left turns. Like come on New Jersey, why do I need to make a roundabout right turn? Are you trying to waste my gas so I have to awkwardly sit in my car while some 19 year old freezes his butt of pumping my gas and cleaning my windshield?! Maryland drivers are just the worst, they treat every road like it is the Audubon. That being said Mark Zuckerburg is from New Jersey and his website started a revolution in my country and a Maryland University graduate created Under Armor and opened up a whole new athletic apparel segment that Nike and Addidas are trying to catch up in. So in every state there is a story of a regular Joe or Josephine who make it big and impacts the world in such a major way. We are a nation of underdogs. Proving that hard work can trump talent and privilege any day of the week.

Now I am a Duke basketball fan, I like them and I take a lot of heat for it as well. I don't mind because y'all just hatin (Vince Vaughn from "Be Cool" voice). They are not an underdog they are a powerhouse school in a power conference that everyone loves to hate. The night Arizona beat Duke in the tournament I could have put restraining orders on dozens of my closest friends for harassment. After careful consideration I voted against it because deep down they still had some redeeming qualities. Plus no one wants to explain why they are on http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/. Duke had an early exit, but VCU my Alma mater made their stay a little longer. They beat 5 different teams from 5 different power conferences. As the team that was first 4 in defeated and deflated their opponents in their run to the final four you could also see the wheels on their bandwagon slowly lose air.

No one in the country had really heard of VCU and if they had they probably thought they shouldn't be in the tournament. That being said, VCU was included into the mix and took on the role of David and pounded 5 "Goliaths" to win their region and play in the Final Four. It was a record breaking run to the Final Four, no team had one 5 games to reach the that stage and VCU had never made it that far into the tournament. Some will say that VCU played better than anyone in the tournament and did it with a bit of flare. Their run ended at the hands of Butler another Cinderella story of the tournament. Only fitting that there would be one David commissioned to take on a Goliath coming from the other side of the bracket. So we cheer for the underdog and we pray for the oppressed. It is in our nature, because we all want to feel normal. We all want to know that anything is possible and it isn't just some tag line Disney glossed up in the shape of Hannah Montana. This is real life stuff that drives Americans and it is what makes us unique. We defy social structure, we drive through thunderstorms of adversity and make it out on the other end with our head held high. This is who we are, and quite frankly because of it we have collectively become Goliath. Who really wants a piece of the United States?! We strive to be greater than our individual parts and are united behind ideals of success and prosperity.

We stick up for the little guys (privately) because we know that we can. George Clooney is leading the charge in Darfur, for goodness sake he is a movie star. He uses his influence to bring light to a subject we can hardly get our representatives to take on. We are a machine (sometimes) finely tuned and focused because we have our small parts. Overachieving and thriving under any circumstance and racing harder and faster than any Chinese person.... Well maybe we aren't this anymore. Maybe we rubbed off on everyone in the world. They were inspired by our David's, by our under dogs, and our hard work. We have it in us though. Like we cheer for the most unlikely and pray for those who have less. Like we battle to win social wars for human rights across the globe, we can do it here at home. We are a Giant made of dwarfs. Dwarfs unwilling to feel inferior, unwilling to be brought down and bewildered. It isn't a Napoleon complex, no one likes the French. It is the American way, it is what makes us great and what can launch us to heights we never imagined. I hope you take it to the next level in your life. Love yourself, love your family, appreciate what you are given and make the best use of it. For me it is remembering that God has given me gifts and that I have to graciously receive them and pay him back by being the best person I can.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Make someone smile, do something to make yourself smile, and be positive! You can accomplish anything...well I wont say anything because I can't dunk on a 10ft rim and that probably won't happen ever.

The Most Important thing Pt.2 Continued

So I am back to my old ways. Kind of just woke up from a deep literary slumber, and feel really ready to knock one of these out. Now before we begin I do feel an obligation to catch you up on what has been going all around us. Just in case you are like 90% of America and deliberately ignore the fact that the world is round, and there are things happening outside of your city. It really is amazing how people just neglect there are other human beings that inhabit this earth and look, dress, smell, and think differently than them. So for a quick recap:

1. Charlie Sheen is a very rich crazy person who has destroyed the word "winning" and gave Lorne Michaels and SNL a jolt of tiger blood. (Bill Heder is awesome)
2. The Situation was at the Roast of Donald Trump and got booed off the stage.
3. Tiger Woods has a new Girlfriend
4. Chris Brown went "Four Loko" on the set of Good Morning America dressed as a stretched out Sisqo.
5. Some stuff is happening in Libya, and Muammar Qaddafi is still a war criminal
6. The earth reminded us again that we are only temporary after it decided to ransack Japan. (please donate to the red cross for the Japanese people and keep them in your thoughts)
7. Paul King a U.S. legislator and member of the IRA accused all American Muslims of being members of Al-Qeada and had some panel of random people sit in and agree with him.
8. March Madness began and of course there were some awesome upsets, including Morehead State destroying my 10 year old sisters bracket. (she had Louisville was going to the Final Four and by "she" I mean I filled it out that way)
9. VCU keeps dominating teams from the AP top 25, and giving greater meaning to the money I spent getting a degree there. Shout out to Coach Smart and his players Skeen, Rodriguez, Burgess, Nixon, Rozzel, Reddic, and the rest of the squad! You guys make my education more valuable with each victory!
10. I discovered Sports Dome, thus making ONN (Onion News Network) the most amazing thing to happen in comedy.

So that's a full recap of what happened, a lot of other crap happened but I wanted to keep this Letterman-Esq with the top ten things I heard the most about. Not because they are important but more because this is my blog and I get to write what I want. (Read it or leave Brian Tran)

Now onto this post. Very early on I took a unique approach at describing what the most important thing was to me on the dance floor. It was very descriptive critique at what I have noticed women tend to proclaim is dancing. Now this is a continuation of that conversation because I was advised that I should be fair and balanced. So in the spirit of Fox News I am going to do just that. My time on this desktop will solely be aimed at assisting those of us with a X and Y chromosome how to be efficient on the dance floor. Too many times men become gaudy or needy on the floor as opposed to what their true role is.

So as a heterosexual man, I can only speak to other ones. I want to make clear that my views and opinions on this matter are meant for the guy trying to dance with a girl. Gentleman, let me be clear... your role is that of support/escort/and highlighter. You are not the body of work on the dance floor, you are the staple that holds the document together. You aren't a leading man on the red carpet you are that guy who knocked up Natalie Portman. You are not the piece of information pivotal to the exam you are just the florescent accent over top of the ink. So that being said, here are few things men should remember when dancing.

Let me start off by saying, the movie's Step Up were horrible. The only good thing that came out of them was Channing Tatum. Dance circles and battles with other guys are just ridiculous and probably uncool unless you live in Florida. (For some reason or another break dancing and all that jazz is still very cool down there). Now, I will say that you can indict me on charges of breaking my own rules, but I have thought about this a lot. I am in my mid 20's and yes I can dance but today goes down as the day in which I give up being the Jester at a dance party. Yes everyone who knows me will probably be upset but honestly, I am getting old, my knees are getting weaker, and I rather not be on showcase for everyone else's amusement. My wish is for you guys to stop trying to hog some sort of attention by creating these dance circles. It attracts the bad kind of attention, i.e. drunk white guys who want to be involved and really serious dancers dispatched onto the dance floor to judge your every moment. Now it is always fun to win such people over but at the end of the day it isn't about that.

Next fellas is the hand motions that you all seem to rely on for your lack of footwork and hip-flexer muscle. Put your hands down, there is no need for you to wave your hands around like you are in a gang. The drink in your hand doesn't require a birds eye view of the dance floor either and boasting your cranras-tini to a crowd of girls does not scream "I GOT MONEY" or "I HAVE TASTE" it more resembles " I get my nails done more than you.." to a female. Stop beating the beat "The Situation", Pauly D isn't on the wheels of steel and Snooki wants nothing to do with your pickle unless you are tan, gelled up, and wearing a rhinestone tiger saving a unicorn from a horrific helicopter accident. Your hands are not needed at any point of the dancing. Just avoid overly using your hands and arms to express your jubilation with the music being played. All it really does is take up space and invade the space of those around you. You are not only attracting bad attention to yourself you are probably going to hit someone in the face.

Finally gentleman, we are no longer in middle school. You shouldn't be trying to grind on your female counterpart. Most of the time I can never tell if it is a deliberate decision to dance that close or the two involved are so intoxicated or tired that they are trying to hold each other up. It looks extremely sloppy and immature. What exactly do you do that for? There is no reason I can think of other than a mans fetish of voyeurism to attempt to get that close to a woman for an extended period of time in public. I think it actually should be illegal to watch every article of clothing on that female ride up. Innocent spectators like me are exposed to the flaws that these guys will not discover until the next morning. In most cases if there is a woman allowing you to do that in a club then she attends George Mason University and is in English 101 or she has lost her "bff's" and you are going to be feeling really blue later. I don't know whats better dropping the girl off at her dormitory in the morning or the empty but yet blood filled feeling you have after that experience.

So gentleman here is my advice, instead of causing all sorts of strange attention to yourself I recommend doing a few things different. First, just bob your head or tap your feet. It is OK to get into the music but you don't want to just start dancing in your own world. People get weirded out by that, now I do it because I like repel people. It is a weird habit I have of being in a social place and doing everything I can to avoid socializing with people. If you stay in a small radius roughly the size of your shoulder, you allow for people to make eye contact as well as not obstruct any ones path or movement. It really is an easier way to meet a person if that is your goal and also gives you the ability to be cognizant of what their state of mind is. Another thing you should remember is that if you are in the act of dancing with a girl you should keep a good distance and dance with her so she can feel like she is a Rihanna video and the "only girl in the world". Don't take the spotlight away from her but let her express herself and feel sexy and valuable. Give her a twirl...but not to many twirls because no one likes ballroom dancing. Avoid too much footwork, I am positive that 80% of the people reading this don't salsa so STOP pretending like you can. It is really weird to watch a guy try and work his hips and mix in footwork. It more resembles Ronaldihno dribbling a soccer ball than dancing. Now if you are at a salsa bar, or you can actually do it with a girl who is also knowledgeable then by all means take it south of the border. If you are there and you are trying to teach the girl how to do it, take her no rhythm having booty somewhere else (preferably to a dance studio).

I hope that everyone has learned a little something about what is acceptable when dancing. Men should not be the center piece of any dance floor unless they are getting paid to do so. If you are a male stripper like my friend Z then by all means dance away. If you are out on the town, keep your hands and arms in side the radius of your shoulders at all times, stop beating up the beat, remember it isn't a step or tap dancing competition, and really remember you aren't there to prove you have skills. If that were the case there would be a cash prize or a camera crew filming you in 3D/Slow motion.

As always I hope you have a wonderful day and that you enjoyed a little bit more of my thoughts!

Lent-il Soup for the Soul

Hey everyone, I apologize for not getting one of these in sooner. I have had a busy week and unfortunately it has taken me away from my passion. By passion I mean surfing the web and deciding what topic I should focus on. I also use T.V. and good friends to stimulate my intricate blog posts that have had you so riveted. I am kidding of course, I doubt I write anything that keeps you all on the edge of your seats. If I do I am honored and humbled....and if you aren't sure what that looks like. Picture a Duke basketball player slapping the court and beating his chest, because he knew he was going to dominate your mind with amazing food for thought!

Speaking of food, I have several friends going through their 40-days of Lent. Of course not being Catholic myself, I only realized this on Ash Wednesday. Outside of not eating meat and substituting it with Fish on Friday, many also opt to give up their most sinful indulgences. Now I go through Ramadan once a year and I totally understand the idea and the benefit of such a spiritual time. Although I understand its importance I still enjoy the perspectives of those who live it, hearing it from my friends gives it more relavance.

As my friends typically do, I received an email from a friend laying out plans for what sounded like an awesome weekend. Just in case you wanted to know how to plan an excellent weekend do the following gentleman:
1. Cook Italian Food on a Friday Night and watch College Basketball and Hockey
2. Wake up late Saturday discuss in depth topics like bust size during brunch at your local Dennys
3. Watch more Basketball
4. Grill Meat
5. Hit the town and make a fool of yourself by dancing to a Myley Cyrus Song.
6. Fit in a Vampire movie starring Leslie Nielsen or Snoop Dogg

Anyway, the author of this amazing email mentioned how he was being proactive and avoiding doing certain things. I remembered that he was a devout Catholic who was trying to honor his promises to God and exhibit constraint and sacrifice. I chatted him up a bit and came to the conclusion that his journey to personal growth was in many ways rooted to the sacrifices he was able to make for his own good.

Recently I haven't been a stranger to sacrificing things in my life. I gave up all drinks that have caffeine or sugar. Now if you have read earlier posts or know me personally, you know this is a large undertaking. I am happy to say I have been this way for two weeks now, but this is a sizeable change in my life. It is as if there was a sugar and caffeine ruler, dictating all the things my body did and was bringing it down to its lowest physical state. For the first week, my body revolted against this cruel unjust dietary dictator. It struggled through fits of low energy and a headache or two. In the end the body and soul was freed with minimal casualties. Clearly all Arabs are revolting against one thing or the other, and I was feeling a bit left out. Sacrificing this large section of my Food Pyramid has been a tough task but I am looking forward to the future. Feeling better everyday and instead of craving a Monster or a coffee, I prefer some Water with a little Crystal Light. I have never been this hydrated in my life, I think I restored the balance of my body. 70% water, 30% mass and 100% where amazing happens (just like the NBA).

So with all this proactive sacrifice going on, my main message is this: You can always stand to give up something small in order to better your life or another.

We all have seen documentaries and news segments highlighting people who have had to make sacrifices as well as those who have chosen to do so in order to help themselves or others. I think it is an excellent lesson to learn. We live in the age of A.D.D. and we already give up on everything very quickly. Well that being said, what we should focus on is how we can make sacrifices proactively to improve situations. This can look like a lot of different things, you can give up a fattening food that you don't need in your diet. You can use the 5 dollars you will spend on something silly and donate it to an important cause. Even still you can give up some of your own personal time to make another persons feel special. In our lifetime there are opportunities to make decisions that can effect us positively later. In many cases it is deciding what we will be sacrificing.

Now I am no lovey dovey hippie, I have a business degree. I see practicality and I know that your Total Revenue- Total Cost = Total Profit. There is always going to be a cost, but if you can manage your costs properly and effectively you can yield a higher profit. Yes this may seem childishly simple, but in reality it is simple for you to make small sacrifices that can boost you and others every day. I urge you to make those sacrifices so that you continue to succeed and grow. I also hope that you take the opportunity to make a small sacrifice for the sake of others. Who knows, your 5 dollar bill may help people more than you can imagine, the time you spend being a mentor can help a kid realize their ambitions, or even lose a few pounds not eating that donut in the morning!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Detention

So last night me and my pal went to catch a movie for our "Something New Thursday" weekly event. Initially we were a bit stumped at what we could do. Our mutual friend was hosting and providing the musical entertainment to a really classy event. One of those high-brow social functions that really begin to bloom in the spring time. It was a chilly night though, but we figured it would be nice to support our friend. Ultimately we decided against going to the bikini contest being held at the "Backyard Grill" in Manassas, Virginia. I think we felt like it was just going to be too elitist for our simple tastes. Although the thought of 20 to 30 year old women in bikini's on a 35 degree March night was tempting. We decided to pass on the toothless, flat tire entrees that would be parading their pre-beach bodies on a ply-wood stage. Instead we decided that if we were going to spend over 20 dollars in an evening it should be done where we can fully enjoy it. A large stadium theatre ticket : 11.50, Refreshments : 8.50, an evening watching a hilarious movie: REALLY FREAKING EXPENSIVE.

Now this movie had some excellent comedic actors. I won't get into the actual cast of the movie because you can look that up on your own , but the movie was "Hall Pass". The actors are all recognizable and the ones I had not seen before are extremely relatable . You can see your life ending up like theirs, you can see friends growing into these characters. What else would you expect from the Farrelly brothers! Well written and meticulous in every aspect something that people overlook in comedies. So the premise was that these two married men got a week off from being married, and in turn their wives had the same privilege at the same time. As if they hopped in the Dolorean (I feel like a rapper using this metaphor) and went back to when they were single and free of any commitments. Of course the two males caused this extreme situation to happen because of...well the fact they are warm blooded males! Yes, they gawked at women, yes they made crude jokes, and gave intimate details that are "reserved" for only your partners ears. It is almost a shame that women expect men to be at their best all the time. Not that we aren't capable of it, but we are incapable of being perfect gentleman 100% of the time. Group think comes into play, and we regress back to our adolescence. Essentially every time the "guys" "wolf pack" or "crew" get together we bro-out. We ask the "What would you rather?" and "Who would you rather?" questions. Not meant to be-little you but meant for us to feel like we are kids again. Take us back to a simple time of washing down an applesauce, worm, and mustard concoction with soda. Its what guys do, and we do it well.

Now if you are in the unfortunate situation of witnessing this ladies, you shouldn't be surprised. We clean up well, but won't hesitate to unzip the trousers and pull out the measuring tape (if you want I mean). It is an unexplainable occurrence. You can give the Brookings institute infinite amounts of money to research it and they wont figure it out. Want to know why? If its a team of men researchers they will be too busy having pissing contests, if it were a team of women it would be oversimplified and just come off extremely bitter (you know its true), and if it were a team of women and men they would never understand each others points and get no where(also called marriage). So I just say we leave it alone. Ladies just let us have our immature time with our buddies, we will be back home on time. Just the other day my four friends and I wasted a good hour passing a soccer ball around in the living room and talking about our favorite foods and beverages. This is also the same group that spent over an hour throwing a plush ball back and forth in creative Harlem Globetrotter-Esq ways trying to one up and fake out the recipients. It was the happiest time of my life, literally.....

So now that we have come to an understanding that men are in essence very simple, we can move onto this idea of a Hall Pass. The movie allowed you to see a married man, fantasize like all of them do about what it's like to be single. Then it expanded on that by portraying what really happens when a man is single! In the mind of a guy who is "taken" single life is a magical time. Where you ride into town on a chariot, pull up next to a sea of half nude supermodels all waiting for you to show them what it was like to be a noble in the Roman empire. All the girls are Athena's and Aphrodite's, and you are Zeus sneaking in and out of their rooms and flipping through a golden Rolodex of eager women. <----- I realize my mythology maybe off and Zeus is potentially the father of these two but I don't care enough to research it. Also Zeus is Greek and I made mention to Romans, whatever. I again don't care....

So what happens when a guy is single, is pretty pitiful. We are literally reduced to hunting. Taking every waking moment planning some sort of fun excursion or activity to improve our chances of meeting attractive girls. The hope is one will go out on a limb and accept our advances. The movie really keyed in on how much easier it is for a girl to gain attention and enjoy single life than a man. Men put in a considerable amount of work to put themselves in a good situation to find a potential mate. They go to the hottest places, they do all the inviting. Whether they are hounding their wing men to come along or they are persuading a "prospect" to enjoy the night with them. Yes, there are men who have it considerably easier (eff you tall guys). There are those guys who always seem to be getting what they want when they want it. What you have to understand though, is that those guys have put in a lot of leg work. They have laid a foundation, as if they were building a pyramid. Most guys retreat to their comfort zone though. They have the eclectic group of guys that usually appeal to every kind of girl in one way or another. That group does everything together, and from an outsiders point of view it looks like they aren't interested in women. That is where you are wrong ladies, those guys just have no idea how to approach you. They are more content (and nervous) to sit around on couches and chill. Wolf Packs such as these don't call attention to themselves because they are average guys. None of them look like Channing Tatum but they all have seen "Fighting" twice.

It's always easier to be the single girls. Guys are dying to be around women and are eager to give a girl attention (as long as it may lead somewhere). Ladies go out on the town and can do whatever they like. The two wives in the movie, had a much easier time mingling and flirting than their husbands. It is true though, as funny and as ridiculous as it is. Men have to do a lot more work. Woman aren't typically stimulated by the same things men are. We men react to sight and women react to sound. So for men to obtain what is in their sight they have to be quiet long enough for the women to hear themselves speak. Men are not the ones who are desired, women are desired and some of you know that. You go out to bars either indifferent to the idea of a male approaching you, really excited about that idea, or so hostile that you are willing to make him feel so inferior that he starts a scuffle with anyone who looks at him the wrong way after your interaction.

I am not saying that Women have it easy, but in this situation they do. You ladies know it is true and you can't deny it. Yes there will be men who are not interested but that's probably for the better. There will be plenty of men who are interested in doing anything you ask. Including eating an apple from a forbidden tree (biblical zinger).

So this is just me explaining to you how it is being single. For a man its a lonely, boring, unfruitful time(outsiders p.o.v) that is filled with awesome male bonding activities with a little crude and rude behavior in it. For a Woman, it can be whatever you want it to be. It can be a time to explore hobbies, or engulf yourself into your career. It can be a time where you go out and get a sun tan from all of the testosterone filled males burning a hole into your skin with their gaze. In the end it all has its ups and downs, and we all just want to be cared for and supported. I hope you guys see the value in both and can grow from those experiences!

Something New Thursday

Here is a little something for you to listen to. Not a new song but I want you to press play while reading my post Friday Morning! Have wonderful night everyone.

LOL, Smiley Face

So I am sitting here, half watching this movie. "Last House on the Left", my FIOS information guide says that these parents are going to exact revenge on a group of people who brutally attacked their daughter. In my opinion the premise is pretty awesome. Imagine if someone attacked your child, or family member and you were presented with the opportunity to torture them. Some of you may think its barbaric and that the law will provide justice. As much as I want to agree that the legal system will punish them properly, I would also love to beat the crap out of some hoodlums. Can someone make a website where its at the very least simulated? Just kidding, violence is wrong and if the legal system does not deal with criminals properly I hope there is some higher being that does. Whether it is Karma, God, or Marvel's Superhero "The Punisher" something is bound to catch to up to these evil doers!

Really though the idea of violent attacks that are senseless make me sick to my stomach. In many ways we have degenerated ourselves as a society. We used to have a heightened sense of community. Yes people I am talking about small tribes, colonies, and townships that relied on each other to make it through harsh winters and deadly droughts. They had a sense of respect for one another, an understanding of community that we lack. Yes we have progressed with technology, commerce, and personal hygiene. It has clearly been a give and take. We have been able to become more modern societies that do not rely on one another to provide for things and barter, but we have lost respect for each others worth. Look, of course there were criminals back than and people were more primitive, but even at that they had manners. They showed each other respect. I am not talking about the Egyptians, or the Romans, or any of the empires of old. They had specific social constructs but that exists everywhere. I am talking about small townships and tribes. Those empires had slaves and lacked respect for the working class and eventually crumbled because of it.

So what am I trying to say? I am just imploring you as a human being to show some respect and be NICE. What ever happened to please and thank you? What happened to chivalry? What happened to etiquette? I understand that life is a very stressful fast paced one now-a-days, but that doesn't mean we have to forget lessons we have learned as kids. Just the other day I witnessed two middle eastern girls chase another girl into the gym because they were upset that the girl tapped the front of their car as they were driving. Turns out the two middle eastern girls ran a stop sign and HIT the other girl. So instead of trying to examine the situation Jasmine and Cleopatra thought the other girl was just being a B-word and hit their car. Now you can say it boils down to a misunderstanding, and you are right. Jasmine and Cleopatra misunderstood what a stop sign was, and hit this unsuspecting person, who in turn slammed her hand down on the hood of their over priced German car. The victim misunderstood that when you get hit by a car you should fall forward and defy all laws of physics avoiding any whiplash effect, and because of that last misunderstanding between victim and car it led to the two middle eastern girls chasing down their victim in attempts to pull her hair or whatever it is girls do in a fight (yell and whip their neck around violently, I don't know).

So some of you are probably like: "I don't hold doors for people, that's not my thing" or "I shouldn't have to say please and thank you, because it's their job to do it". Point well taken, and let me know when you return from your high speed electric train ride from "Inconsiderateville" No such thing as Inconsiderateville or a high speed electric train, well at least in America (Europe and Japan don't count). The fact is that the world would just be a lot more pleasant if you did those things. I am not asking you to stand at the corner of a busy congested street and give random people hugs. Dave Matthews already did that, and I don't like to imitate. I am an original, so what I am saying is that you should just be a nice person. Be a person that on first glance people don't want to murder with an Axe.

So what does that entail? I am glad you asked! How about you start with using your blinkers on the highway. Try not cutting people off on the road, and if it does happen a wave back to the driver helps. Smiling, is a great way to start your day. If you make eye contact with someone just try it, what's the worst that can happen? [insert really example of the worst case scenario] The worst thing that ever happened to me when I smiled at someone was that they literally jumped back in awe of the prospect that someone smiled at them. Chivalry does not have to die, and having manners shouldn't just be a subject in preschool or a segment on PBS. We can genuinely change each others lives with generosity and kindness. The wonderful thing about it, is that you can never get tired of it. There is no possible way for us as humans to get sick of genuine care and respect. Having consideration for people around us and being positive is a natural energizer. It is a natural stress reliever and it is something easily practiced. I am going to make a commitment to this effort and I hope we can share the experience together. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Mood Swings

So I am sitting here listening to a Lupe Fiasco song. This guy is impressive in every sense of a hip hop artist. He reflects the three aspects of hip hop. He has a unique style and is always ahead of the curve when it comes to it. I remember seeing him wearing this leather jacket at a concert at Virginia Commonwealth University. One of those jackets with all the straps and and race car collar. Of course everyone on campus was wearing them for the last two months of winter, me included. His style also lends itself to his lifestyle which is another huge part of hip hop. You can be a gangster, a pimp, a pothead, or the skater. "Kick Push" put Lupe on the scene, so clearly he is the rapper all about graffiti, skating, and that whole rage against the machine/anti-big business/freedom and whatever it is the alternative culture complains about. Now Lupe is a smart guy, and I won't sell him short. I will say that he speaks to middle class kids with "identity crises". Relax Brad... the fact your parents didn't buy the free range turkey for Thanksgiving doesn't mean you need to go on a hunger strike. Finally Lupe is an amazing lyricist. His metaphors have endless meaning and can resonate in a different ways each time you listen. I won't lie, I sometimes listen to him and say to myself "man that was creative, but what the heck is this guy talking about?" That is a rare moment though, because I am so wise and have an infinite capacity to learn and be better. Basically I am the smartest man in the world... so you are welcome planet Earth.

Speaking of the Earth, this weather is driving me nuts. I live in the mid-Atlantic region very close to Washington, D.C. home to the largest consortium of out of touch arrogant people. I mean the Redskins are bad people, we can't keep claiming we are going to win the Super Bowl every year. There are 20 plus, other teams who seem to have athletes receiving less money and winning more games. Anyway, that's not the point I am making. Last week, the weather was in the 60's and 70's for the majority of the week. People were hiking, biking, and any other "ing" verb you can imagine particpating in outdoors. We were really praising that prophetic rodent that apparently predicts the seasons in Pennsylvania. Even I was hailing King Phil, for his prediction. I despise snow and cold weather. Snow is a combination of three things that make me uncomfortable: Cold, Wet, and White! <----- There is a deeper meaning here, just think about it.

So now we come to this week, where I have to pull out the sweaters and jackets again. I know these fluke weather conditions occur but mother nature is really messing with us. She is acting like well....an upset mother! Think about it, how many times did your mom tell you to clean up your closet and you ignored her because you were to busy on AIM with your boo boo. Only to come home from school to see all of your clothes piled up on your bed and your closet empty?! What's that? Never happened to you? (that's doubtful) Look, mothers get extreme when they see that simple reasoning will not work. Can you blame them? We go out of our way to ignore their requests and all of the sudden get upset that she dumped 14 inches of white destruction on to our highways. Than mother nature makes sure you know she means business by turning up the thermostat so that those 14 inches turn into a flash flood drifting your brand new Jetta down the hill into Mr. Johnson's two car garage, that apparently was always meant for three cars. I don't know about your mothers, but some enjoy the three strike rule. So that ultimately means you get three major catastrophes. For me it was cleaning the closet I put off for months, being grounded for a weekend, and then she would take something from my possesion. Usually my cell phone was hidden in her closet and if I even thought about retrieving it there was a death stare and a Muhammad Ali style butt whooping. So mother nature tops it all off by somehow fitting in black ice in. So clearly I exaggerated a bit here, but you get where I am going. We used to expect a cycle, you could predict what this lady was going to do year in year out. I am assuming this is like menopause for her. She is hot and cold, moody and emotional.

Ladies I am not trying to downplay your physical changes. This does make sense though, especially since I just made it up 8 lines ago. As a whole though, we need to do a better job taking care of our planet. We are letting those ice caps melt and we will be experiencing some major climate shifts. I, like most men appreciate beautiful things. Men are stimulated by sight, we like the nice car, the big boat, and beautiful women ( you are all beautiful honestly).<---BROWNIE POINTS.

That being pretty clear, I like a beautiful earth. Trees, mountains, hills and the basic scenery that our Earth provides us are all at risk by how we live our lives. We all have heard about our carbon imprint and all of the marketing terms used to evoke a connection with our planet. I am not here as a tree hugging hippie (I was never attracted to trees like that, I wont even climb them). We are all entitled an opinion and mine is simple. Pick up your trash, recycle your cans and be a decent temporary resident on this earth. We all are going to pass away, and I would appreciate it if we didn't destroy every Forrest we have. I would really like my kids to be able to look up on a late night drive in the summer and see the stars. All of these wonders on earth were here before we decided that we needed them to make our lives easier. Obviously to survive and to ensure our species moves on we need to use the resources on our planet, but we have to really focus on the longevity of the planet itself. We have always been able to answer the call and take society to new heights. America is the perfect place to take on the new challenge. It is as simple as demanding recycling and being consistent with ourselves. I work at this airport in the Washington D.C. area as an HR manager and on my walk into my office, I pass trash cans but not a single recycling bin. This is an airport people. and I drink a lot of energy drinks and soda. Do you see my dilemma?!

Lets work together and be clear about where we go from here. I am sick of this weather, Mother Nature is really killing me right now! I hope you have a wonderful day and that your weekend is relaxing as well.

Something Different Thursdays

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As a part of a commitment me and my good friend Stephen have made. We were fortunate enough to be introduced to Darwin Deez on Wednesday and go see his show at the Black Cat Thursday night. Really creative fun show, Darwin and his band are excellent performers. I recommend them to anyone looking to spice up a dance party! I will have to admit my jeans were not the appropriate tightness at the show, but I did have a V-neck t-shirt, vans, and a hoodie on. Shout out to my friend Jessica for the introduction!

Musick

So I started this boot camp class yesterday at my gym. There is no real reason to bring this up other than the fact that the 12 hours prior to the class I consumed three burritos. I had a craving for Mexican Tuesday night so I convinced a few friends to join me. It didn't take much coaxing since they essentially go to this particular restuarant every week. So in essence they met their quota for the week and brought some satisfaction to a dear friend. I had a huge burrito with all the 'fixins'. Woke up the next morning pretty early and rushed out of my home. I needed something for breakfast so of course I directed my vehicle as I have done many times before through the drive thru at McDonalds. I have been doing so well avoiding the salty greasy cow slaughtering machine, but I needed another burrito. I got the number 10 off the breakfast menu and consumed like it was the starship enterprise entering a black hole. It isn't completely through the black hole (my body) but I will explain that later. Hours pass and my brain decides it needs to fill my stomach up again. I think my brain has a vendetta against my other body parts.
Brain: " you can do one more set on bench press, don't worry chest" ;" stay out until 3 a.m. you will be in at work at 9 a.m. for sure!" ; and the one that it instructed my body to do yesterday "yea, you should eat a chipotle burrito with your coworkers! Remember how much you enjoyed the previous two?"

Regardless my body obliged my brain and I had the burrito. Bringing my grand total to three huge burrito's in 12 hours. It also meant that I would sacrifice dominating my boot camp because with two sets left in my circuit I could taste chicken/steak/potatoes/guacomole/cheese and the drugs McDonalds and Chipotle infuse into their foods to keep you coming back. Needless to say I was feeling a bit nautious but I finished the workout with no regurgitation of burrito byproduct. Only problem is I haven't been to the bathroom to cleanse myself. I am scared of what I will be doing to a public restroom later on today. Never use your home bathroom after food binges, you have to treat that toilet like a porcelin statue.

Alright now that I told that embarrassing story, I am going to move onto the real one. This one is only minorly embarrassing. I mentioned in my first post how I love music. It is true, I mean what grown man admits to practicing dance moves in his room? (this guy) Music has been apart of my life since I was young. As a kid my parents would set aside time for us to watch old Egyptian movies together. Egypt used to be the Hollywood of the Arab world. Their grand productions rivaled any film industry. People loved the characters, they loved the belly dancers, and they loved the deep soul singing of the leads. The movies were always musicals, even if you thought it was a serious one bridging social gaps and taking on tough ethical questions of humanity. There was somoene at some part of the movie, stopping preceedings to sing or belly dance. It was weird to me at first, but it was something that became a part of me. As much a part of me as well...sugar. Yes I taste like sugar; this shouldn't come as a surprise.

As I grew older, I began to get deeper into music. My social situation geared me towards alternative and urban outlets. I was a hip hop and rock kid, not Fred Durst though. I didn't do anything for a stupid nookie or snookie....whatever it is that guy was singing about. I remember watching documentaries on rappers like Tupac. I also loved head banging to jams on DC 101. As much as I enjoyed the angst and the depth of rock bands and wordsmith hip hop artists, I did partake in the sillyness of the pop scene. Look I fully understood the strangle hold JC Chazes and Justin Timberlake had on girls my age. What hormone driven teen wasn't trying to impress a girl? So I snuk my sisters tapes and these weird circular things called C.D.'s into my boombox and jammed out while avoiding geometry homework. Geometry is the worst, I played with shapes when I was a toddler why can't we just leave it at that?!

Mtv used to play videos, so I would pretend I was Usher Raymond and took every opportunity to walk into alley ways when it was raining to do a spin and slide combination. If it was socially acceptable I would have had a radio and speakers attached to my life, playing out an epic soundtrack to it. God knows I day dreamt to a mixture of BET's "106 n Park" and "Total Request Live" absent Carson Daily's bug eye's and bland personality.

In college my tastes began to change a little more. I became a bit of a snob about music. I was always searching to be ahead of the curve ( I was the original Mtv U). I guess as an aspiring DJ I did everything I could to get the scoop on new music. As the internet got more effecient and easier to use, I was able to expose myself to artists. I listend to all genres (country music is horrible) and was like a human search engine that rivaled Sky Net. Suck it John Connor! Music was my hobby and my major interest. I wanted to live the lifestyle and look the part. It was enfused in me and became apart of how I was feeling. You could tell what emotional state I was in by turning on my Ipod. You probably still can, and it kind of messed up my "DJing" career. I wasn't worried about the audience. If I was in a bad mood it was going to be a mixture of dark hip hop music and whiny rhythm and blues. I apologize to all that had to deal with that, I was 19 so my judgement was a bit hindered by circumstances. Example: the fact that I got a C+ on an exam.

So I can't really say that any of that has changed. Music is my mood, it is what sets the tone for my day. If I am determined to do something, I will pop in some Lupe Fiasco or bump some Katy Perry to keep the show going on and the sky filled with fireworks that originated from my chest hair. If I want to mellow out and be introspective, maybe put some "Beirut" on. If I am in a funky mood I go from dance pop, to dance hall, to electro music. I have probably gone mad on music, but I enjoy it. I love listening to it, I like reading about it and learning about its origins. Maybe it's my generation, maybe it's just me. I could care less explaining the causes. I am going to listen to some Kanye West and think of how I can be more of an arrogant prick to unsuspecting strangers now...

I hope you guys have a wonderful Thursday, and a good holiday weekend. What holiday is it again? I have no clue, I am a foreigner so I use a different calendar than you regular people. <------ That is a joke you racists.

A Lovers Ballad

I have to begin with talking about how pleased I am with how my weekend went. I traveled through the depths of Maryland, the crab and football state. Emphasis on crabs, and crabby drivers to be exact. I get it Maryland, you guys don't have actual roads just highways so you drive aggressively. Calm down though! 90 miles per hour is pretty fast for a Subaru climbing a steep hill.

I was fortunate to meet a dozen new people this weekend. Introduce a few level headed young professionals to a cabin covered in snow with good eats and some organized gaming, you get a pretty special time. I guess I came into it a bit apprehensive because I literally knew two people going on this trip prior. At the end of the weekend, my facebook friend requests got some heavy volume. Not like Tila Tequila on "friendster" volume, but what do you expect a 25 year old guy to do in one weekend? My name isn't the Situation, regardless if there was some Jersey Shore-esque story lines. Plus I am pretty sure the IQ level at the house I was in is about 500 % higher and the VD rate was 500% lower (OK the last part of the statement is questionable).

Now onto the good VD, Valentines Day. The weekend I just had is a great way to introduce you to my idea of this day. Being on a trip with strangers who turned into friends showed me something about the whole love thing. Yes, there were some cute couples spewing their pheromones around the house and an unsuspecting Jacuzzi. Imagine if a hot tub had emotions, it would be one messed up stripper. That's neither here nor there.

As I went about my business this past weekend, I learned a valuable lesson about who I am. I am in the middle of a new group of people that I have never met before. First things first, you find common ground and open up small "get to know you" conversations. With the high number of people in the small space, you are really speed dating (or friendship dating). Finding who likes what, where they are from, and if you can play 7 degrees of separation. It takes energy but if you can keep it genuine than its never a chore. Some people like to focus on work and "what you do", that's probably the most annoying thing. Work is a great way to identify yourself but I think the fact you are a Detroit Lions fan is much more important. Mainly because it takes someone with big cojones to admit they like that franchise. I am a Redskins fan so I guess I don't have much room to talk. Sometimes you get lucky and someone will tell you something really strange like, " I am from Indianapolis". No joke I have never met anyone from there, my guess you haven't either so shut it.

With all this talk of friendshipping, you have to wonder where the openness comes from. I think I benefited because the people I went on the trip with were confident with themselves first. They had identities, they had personalities, they had the willingness to enjoy life. Everyone I was with was completely open to talk about anything, yea it may have taken some coaxing and a confessional room. Oh I didn't mention this, we had a confessional room. Real World style.... we also had set questions to answer. Did you guys know that penguins have knees?

So in all the fun and excitement, I realized that my joy comes from entertaining people. I am not talking about dominating conversations. I know that sometimes I can get so deep into a conversation that's hard to believe I even took a breath to gather myself. I was bouncing around the kitchen, buzzing up and down each floor. I tried to steal a moment with everyone in the house. See what they were doing, how they were feeling, and what their next fun move was going to be. That was exciting to me, and I am sure everyone in the house took me for a poster child of Attention Deficit Disorder. I guess it's warranted, considering I was asking everyone to give my a high five and jumping up and down like a "Cameron Crazy" pressuring the shooting team on a pong table. They seemed to enjoy it, and it caught on. Everyone was participating and dancing. They found my jokes funny, the kind of jokes that my 10 year old sister glares at me for even trying to pass as funny. In all the fun and games, I realized that I was having fun because they were. I was feeding off of them. I may have brought a smile to their face, but it was really them making me smile. I love that about myself.

That is what Valentines Day is about. Loving your life, your situation enough to care about someone else. It isn't a chore, it is not you showing appreciation because it is the right thing to do. It should not be about that. It should be about you, and if it isn't about you than you are missing the point. I think most people forget that you can only love another person as much as you love yourself. It is easy to say you love someone, harder to show it. You make or break that "love" with how you treat yourself. The best mate, is someone who has come to the realization that they are happy with themselves. Not complacent, but open. Not arrogant, but confident. Not selfish, but selfless. They achieve that identity by essentially worrying about themselves first. They are able to balance their life and achieve their goals. They aren't concerned with telling you about themselves, but concerned to learn about you. See, I love myself. I have a great family, wonderful friends, but I realize there is much to improve. I have humps to get over and goals to achieve. I can't let my problems overwhelm me, let alone the person I am interacting with. I want balance, to be able to do the things that make me happy, and share it with those people who make me happy.

I am by no means perfect or even implying that. Frankly it is pretty easy to fall into regret for my past indiscretions. I will not allow that to happen though. I pledged to myself to learn from mistakes, and take lessons from my surroundings. I pledged to focus on my goals and incorporate those closest to me. Its nice to have a differing opinion, give a little perspective to what your doing (or lack thereof). Valentines Day is about love, if you want to give love you have to be able to receive it. It starts with you, if you can't let people in, you aren't ready. If you won't take care of your own problems how are you going to help anyone solve theirs? See single people, just because you didn't spend a ton of time and money and feel lonely today, doesn't mean today goes to waste. Go do something for yourself. Sign up for that dance or art class at your community center, go for a jog or bike ride on your favorite path, or pull out that scrap book you haven't finished yet. Enjoy this day and realize the more you know yourself, the more others will want know you!

Happy Valentines Day My Valentines <------- By far one of the silliest things I have ever said.

The Most Important Thing pt. 2

I first want to thank my good friend Bilal, he took this picture that I use. He is a wonderful photographer and a dynamite guy. I don't just say that because he is Muslim and Pakistani, I am referring to his personality. I also would like to thank all of my friends who let me know they are keeping up with my random thoughts and opinions. I appreciate your support as I virtually guide you through the inner-workings of my mind. I know that sometimes its troubling for you to come to grips with my ideas and actually agreeing with them to an extent. At the end of the day I won't tell anyone you said it. I will just store it my memory so that in the off chance you try and mess with me, I can use it against you. Kind of like the live score sheet a woman uses to get you to obey them. My mother does this all the time to me and it forces me to be accountable for what I say and do. Really is a downer, since I am a 17 year old trapped in this manly 25 year old body (don't deny it ladies, I am hot).

So in an earlier post, I mentioned a few important facts about myself. Today I wanted to address one of those topics in a unique way. I try to see myself through other peoples eyes. I have been told that I am a pretty good dancer. I won't lie to you, I spent hours of my pre-teen years blasting Z104 (the old school pop station in D.C.) dancing and moving around my room. I guess it was all the Usher and NSYNC on the television at the time that made me want to do it. It also has to do with my background. Egyptians love drums, chanting, singing, and dancing. When I was a toddler my parents took me with them on a cruise of the Nile for dinner. Instead of sitting in my highchair I was mixing it up with the belly dancers on the boat. I am not sure how much of the story is true, but apparently they were fond of my moves even back then and allowed me to entertain with them. I guess it's a part of me that is natural, and probably when I have the most fun. It also shows how irresistible I was as a toddler. God has truly blessed the women on this earth........(just playing).

Now this explanation of me leads to another more important conversation. Ladies, if I could ever criticize some of you, this would be the only thing. Please for the love of all that is visually appealing fix your dance moves! I might be getting a little cocky about this subject, but it's really just a constructive critique of your skills. I know sometimes the music takes control over you and your ability to control limbs gives way to the euphoria of the moment. I can never object to a person having a really good time. At that point your individuality comes out and being yourself is important.

For the times where you are consciously attempting to be a seductive temptress in a dress and leggings, heed my words. Focus on the beat of the song, sometimes you try and dance to beats that aren't there. If there is a drum follow its lead, and stay within the lines. I know your kindergarten teacher encouraged you to think outside of the box, but in music the artist has already done that. You will not and can not improve on it. It reminds of a quote that my good friend Stephen said once. "these girls, be dancing to the words and not the beat man".... Now Stephen can speak proper English but when he takes on his DJ persona of "Stoundyn" he sounds cool, he is cool. He is the guy swaying your hips and letting your hair flow. Needless to say his attention to detail is critical because his job is to make a fantasy out the "dark room and neon lights" setting. He watches and observes it all and its true, I have caught some people just stop because Ludacris wasn't saying "when I move you move". Music is about the rhythm and the flow. Not the crazy metaphor comparing money to some random green object. Enjoy the words of course, but dance to beat...focus on the beat.

Avoid excessive use of your hands and arms. I don't know if most girls do this as some sort of protective shield against intruders, but it looks silly. Unless you are belly dancing or on America's Next Best Dance Crew, it is simply unnecessary. It never is what you think it looks like. You may think you are resembling Aphrodite the ancient goddess flowing about in the middle of a sweaty dance floor, but in reality you look like those spooky paper mache ghost things my parents put on our balcony around Halloween. I am not trying to make fun of you, but sometimes its best to keep your limbs close to avoid smacking your dance partner or girlfriends in the face.

You should truly focus from the hips on up. Watch that Shakira and Beyonce video, there is a lot to be learned there. Their arms go up and down and not side to side. Their feet don't move, because dancing at a bar or a club is not about your feet. Its about your hips, so don't kick out like you are swing dancing. In fact don't do anything that resembles swing dancing/ river dancing/ or salsa dancing unless you are at that exact setting. Its actually really annoying and not cute. All it says is that "I am an obnoxious girl here to rain on every ones fun by doing this really atrocious ONE move as if I have mastered it, but really not at all". If you want to swing dance go to a swing dance venue. Want to salsa? There are plenty of places where you can do that to!

Now I know that women love to dance in big groups to provide protection. I have seen the infamous backdoor intruder, sneak up on an unsuspecting girl from behind. So I am willing to yield to the idea you dance so badly in order to deter them from harassing you.... actually never mind. I know that's not the case. Just take my advice, use your hips. Now some girls will say I am all bust and no hips. OK you have a different body shape that's not strange, but it does not mean you don't use them. Just ask Salvadorean women, they have no bottom half but seem to do well for themselves. Your shoulders are a key part of your moves, but I would not let them take over the dance. The shoulder should take a back seat to your hips and your back. Those two parts of your body in unison are the key to a good dance. I recommend practicing these dance moves, like I did in my room. If you are concerned with how you are coming along, youtube is a great platform for opinions. You can post a video of you dancing and people will comment on it. I am just kidding about that but if you go into youtube and search girls dancing it is amazing how many videos there are. I guess its like the monster.com or career builder of the video vixen world.

I hope you enjoyed this commentary and it shed some light on the subject. No girl wants to dance with a guy who is off tempo, but have you ever thought that maybe it was you with that problem? Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

Opinionated

As events continue to transpire in my homeland, I have to find new ways to be optimistic and respectful of their struggle. I have such wonderful friends that always ask about my family in Egypt and even inquire about my thoughts and perspective. I appreciate their concerns and am humbled by their compassion. It is no doubt what we are witnessing is history, and undoubtedly special. In my opinion, my own opinion does not matter. I am not there physically and I can not relate. I have been afforded so many wonderful opportunities in my life that the only thing I can do is sink into emotional pain. It hurts to watch footage of people suffering and putting themselves through such stress. On the other side it angers me the level of stubbornness that a regime can exhibit after witnessing such an outcry in the streets.

The only opinion I can give is one that applies to all of us. On this earth some are given an abundance of wealth, some receive intellectual strengths far greater than most, and yet others will receive an abundance of some other talent/skill/or adverse condition to overcome. At the end of the day we are given what we need to find our solitude on this earth. A wonderful friend who I can openly admit is smarter than me, once said "I just think about how we are all connected" the simple statement is as profound as it gets. We are all connected, apart of the spinning globe and what happens in Bloomington, Minnesota can affect people in Beijing.

The fact is our strengths and our weaknesses are there for a reason. Its a fact that we have brilliant people on this earth, and we trust them to take humanity to new heights. There are ground breakers, the kind of person who sees what's coming. Visionaries on this earth help us open our minds and hearts. 10 years ago we got a glimpse of Toy Story, now there are three of them and a host of other Pixar movies that cross generational gaps in 90 minutes. Our world is constantly changing and we have those gifted individuals who have the ability to connect with people across the globe. Leaders who can command attention and influence people of all social classes and cultures. We trust them, we support them, we will work for them, and we will die for them. Some of you are those people I am referring to. Honestly I feel like all my friends who are reading this are special people meant for great things. You might be saying thats silly moejank... I am not interested in your opinion about it. Take my word for it, you are special.

It is not just the ground breaker, visionaries, and natural leaders though. We all can make a difference in each other lives and we should want to improve our situations. An economics professor once preached to my class, when a business seeks profits (ethically) it will be socially beneficial for all. Think about it this way, if a company is growing they will need to make products consumers need thus filling a void. They will have to hire and create jobs to manage their business and seek new avenues of revenue as well. This is a very simplified description of the business cycle but my point will help clarify. If you are seeking to develop and expand your station in life, you will in turn be benefiting others. Your hard work, your drive for success, and behavior will help you reach your goals. The better you do the better others can do as well. Now some people will remind me of the selfish nature and corruption that comes with it. I am talking ideals here, so lets just say that I am assuming people are ethical and honest (it shouldn't be a stretch but for some reason it is).

We all can make a positive impact, we all can help each other. If you make a commitment to be your best, you are also saying you will be giving everyone that crosses your path that as well. Not only is that inspiring and pleasant, it will yield high levels of achievement. Some of us try and compete and win at any cost, sometimes there is a cost. Of course life has its winners and loser. Those who have and those who have not. That is natural and that is life. Fortunately improving our station does not have to be a selfish task. We are all connected, we all deserve the same basic rights. What we do with those is totally up to our own intentions and our own strengths. All I ask is that you make a commitment to yourself and to others to be the best. The best person to work with, to do the best we can with every task, and to find what we are best suited for. It won't just help you it will help everyone. Find your strength and use it.

Love you people.

Gy-udgemental

So after a pretty long day, I made into the gym just as I had planned to. Well I originally planned on going in at 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Clearly that's never going to happen with the guy unable to sleep before 11 p.m. and who needs at least 8 hours of sleep to function in a civilized manner. If I sleep for less than 8 hours I tend to act like an angry owl twisting and rotating its head to give you a chilling stare. Just ask my co-workers or anyone who has had the displeasure of dealing with me before 10 a.m.

OK, back to business! I was at the gym getting a workout in like I enjoy doing 3-4 times a week. More on the side of 3 times a week, but they are efficient workouts that have helped me get stronger. As anyone who goes into the gym does, there is a certain amount of "people watching" going on. Usually where I am located on the weight floor its "dudes and bro's" checking out other "dude's and bro's". Like any situation where the testosterone outmatches brain cells, they are judging and competing with one another. Grunts and heavy breathes on the free weight floor are met with sarcastic scoffs and under the breath comments meant to belittle the other bro. This kind of behavior is acceptable in my eyes. It is just a way the male species reacts if they feel threatened. Its a natural reaction and it isn't like we are grunting at each other and kicking our feet back in preparation to charge head first. Men just do it because; well we are not human in the gym. Most guys will get a sense of accomplishment if they are called "buff" "an animal" "jacked" or "ripped". None of these adjectives mean much outside of the realm of lifting weights. So I will graciously pass on making a comment on that setting.

The reason I bring this up is due to the judgement not just stopping on the weight floor. It extends all over a gym and the health and fitness realm. People who workout or work at the gym become very caddy and disrespectful to anyone who is not like them. They can be an out of shape person starting back at the gym and be discouraged from asking another question when they seek help from an employee.
"Well sir, this is a resistance machine, and you actually use it like this..." says the smart alec 20 year old personal trainer.

It can be the overweight ex-athlete who always has a grasp on a third persons ear and pretends like he invented the gym.
"Why would you ever do that workout?! It really does nothing special for you." says the ex-athlete to the trapped teenager polarized by the mans stature and age. Mainly the teen listens because he knows its the respectful thing to do.

Unfortunately it seems as though the number one thing holding people back from exercise is the fear of judgement from others. I worked at a gym and had countless cancellations due to the fact that people were just not comfortable in a building where hormones take over the brain. It is tough to workout in an environment like that, and who would want to. Others come into the gym incessantly because of the same reason. They fear being judged by their outward appearance so they workout 4-5 times a day doing everything they can think of. When they run out things to do they will repeat the process or find something new to do.

Ah, but alas their are those who do it for the feeling of accomplishment. Those who do it for the sake of being active and maintaining a good livelihood. The person who works out not to look good, but to feel good. You know these people because they move around the gym and their life quickly and seem to notice everything but never stick their nose into anything at the same time. These individuals seem to have a passion for their choice exercise. There is the yoga instructor who is always so calm and elegant. You have the runners and cyclists on the streets of the city or your neighborhood abiding by the same principles as a mailman. There are a ton of examples of these people, who have an exercise that they love and "do it" like the nike slogan.

In my opinion we should all stay active. Do what makes you happy, don't be limited by gym memberships or magazine images. We all are not meant to look like Spartans, but we are meant to enjoy our time on this earth. Our bodies are magnificent things that can, and have done amazing things. If you don't like lifting weights, try rock climbing. If you don't like to run, try biking on a trail or swimming. If you enjoy a sport and love playing it, seek out a league and get involved. Too often we let outside influences dictate our lives. We all have a realm of influence, a small circle in our life that we can truly impact on day to day basis. I know how hard it is to come home and to muster up energy to go exercise. All it takes is a week of consistency to break your body into the routine. If you can manage that you can take it to new levels! Forget about social constraints and popular trends. You have muscles in your body sleeping right now, find a way to wake them up and they will repay you in kind.

Have a wonderful day everyone! Stay active and live healthy, you don't need anyone to tell you how.

The Only Thing that Matters

So as many of you may or may not know, A revolt is occurring in my home country. I was born in Egypt and my parents brought our family here to take advantage of opportunities that were not as accessible there. Clearly their reasoning is justified from the view in our comfortable leather couches as we watch our people fight to be able to put a good meal on their table. Outside of the major political significance of the protests, another thing can be learned about Egyptians and mainly me. We like to eat! I am constantly chuckling at the sight of an angry Arab man yelling at Anderson Cooper about how his protests are because Hosni Mubarak won't let him feed his family. These Arab men usually resemble some of my dads friends, meaning they have really skinny arms, a small chest, a closely cropped haircut, and the belly of a pregnant gorilla. This is usually how it goes:

Anderson Cooper: "What are you here for? What is your goal?"

Random Egyptian: " VWe vwant Hosni Mubarak to gho! BLEASE HOSNI GHO!"

If you are concerned that I forgot how to spell certain words, be at ease. Thats how Egyptians speak English. Egyptians can ruin anything. Languages (even Arabic) , Politics, and their blood pressure are amongst the many things they can drag down to depths never seen before and in the case of blood pressure levels higher than modern medical science can explain (slight exaggeration). Needless to say Egyptians love food, thats why they are rioting and why universal healthcare may be a bad idea in America.

Let me get personal here, I am not trying to degrade my countrymen. Just use them to give you a metaphor for my love of a certain food group. If you know anything about me you know three things. I am a pretty good dresser, I am a really good dancer, and I love CANDY. So without further ado, ladies and gentleman the new Food Pyramid:

So this is "therealmoejank Food pyramid". Man I am so Egyptian I built a pyramid. Hold your applause until the end, thank you...

The Pyramid like most starts from the bottom, the building blocks to my love of candy and the most important ones. These are the candies that are soft or chewy and bring you the highest levels of artificial flavor. Starbursts, Skittles, and Gummi's are essential to every diet. Not only because there is almost no nutritional value to them, but because they provide a jolt to your taste buds and your blood stream. Wiring the consumer for action and preparing them for a day of being really sweet and an evening crash that makes you oh so sour. I am salivating at the thought of unwrapping a yellow lemon flavored Starburst, or using my thumb to punch a hole into the top corner of a box of Mike and Ikes.

Next in the building blocks of therealmoejank diet plan, is the hard fruit candy. You have a number of hard candies that can bring you a marathon of flavor. Willy Wonka knew what he was doing when he created the everlasting gobstopper. Imagine yourself in a lecture hall listening to a professor of economics explain the marginalization of your time and how to spend it efficiently. You are instantly light years ahead of your peers because not only are you diligently taking notes you are enjoying it with a Life Saver candy nestling on your tongue. Thats flavornomics people.

We continue up the pyramid and find an even split of blocks. These two deserve no real distinction from each other because they serve very different but equal satisfactions. On the left you quench your thirst with what my dear friend Mark tags as "liquid candy". This is Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and the Energy Drink family that gets therealmoejank hype to punch time cards as well as get moving on the dance floor. Why Pepsi and Mountain Dew? Simple these two offer a level of sugar that coke products don't achieve. They are also the gateway drinks to 'Monsters', 'Red Bulls', and a 'Full Throttle' 'Rockstar' lifestyle guaranteed to keep you 'Amp'd' for about two hours. After that usually you will experience a severe emotional breakdown or a light coma. Depends on your body type in all honesty.

On the right side you have your mints, gums, and other sweet treats that help you practice safe breathing. Listen just because you can't smell whats coming out of your mouth does not mean that the person unnaturally close to you can't either. You should as a precaution keep these products around so that you can overpower that "double cheeseburger chicken salad falafel sandwich" you bought isn't blistering someones nostrils.bad breathe technically does not cause nose bleeds, but it may pack a bigger punch than Floyd Mayweather.

Now we come to the very top and the end. To me the least important. I know the ladies are probably trying to google my address so that they can personally deliver a beating to me for saying this, but I am going to do it anyway. Chocolate is the least important, it has too many natural things in it. It offers way to many health benefits, and you may say "thats why its so good". The only thing I can tell you is that if it isn't artificial than I am not interested. Now this does not apply to everything in my life. I like natural things such as meat, vegetables, breasts.....you know the good stuff. Chocolate is the last simply because it offers your body too much and it is easily found on this earth. If I were to survive in the post apocalyptic world, I would be able to get chocolate whenever I want. However I would not get to enjoy the wonders of a micro-laboratory of sugar and food coloring. I doubt Robots will be interested in producing Nerds, although it would be a brilliant idea to catch me. I would follow the trail like my name is Ratatouille.

I am not sure if its troubling that this as deep as I get about candy or a good sign. You decide and of course you are welcome to attack me for my opinions. Thats why I am doing this! Love you people.