FORE!!! never really works...

I never thought that I'd almost kill my best friend playing a round of golf. Golfing can really be competitive, but c'mon, would I really stoop that low? Perhaps...

Eric and I started to really get into golfing a couple of months ago. We even have our own set of golf clubs now. Here are a few pics of me wacking at the ball back on July 7th.

I'm driving off a tee in this sequence...
Here I am using a pitching wedge to get the ball up into the green...

Then of course here's putting...


I scored a 119 that day. Just a few more months of practice and I should be hitting the pro tour...yeah, right!!

Fast forward to August 18...

Eric, my brother Roman, and I were playing at a golf course in Cecil Field (the former Navy Base) . My brother took this picture of us from his cart.
Needless to say I was having a bad day and I was pretty frustrated from hole 1 onward. After a quick break, we set off to the 10th hole. Off the tee, both of our balls sailed to the right, with Eric's going through a little patch of woods onto the other fairway, and mine on our side but a little short in distance.

We drove the cart to my ball location. Eric took his club and started walking a distance to find his ball while I setup to hit my ball more into the fairway. At this point he is about 40-50 yards in front and about a 45 degree angle to the right of where I was attempting to hit, and was about to cross a bridge to get to the other fairway. I figured he was out of harms way, right?

Remember, I was frustrated already, and out of desperation I swung really hard at the ball with my 3 wood.

This is where Murphy's Law takes into effect.

I hit the ball with the side of my club and sliced it really bad...

...a line drive...

...at a 45 degree angle to the right of intended direction...

...right towards Eric.

My frustration turned to horror and just as I was yelling "FORE!!!" the damage was already done. Eric dropped like a bucket, sprawled on the golf course, in pain.

I thought OH GOD!!! I just killed my best friend!!!

Roman saw what happened and we both immediately ran to him. He laid motionless, with his face grimaced with pain. Eric couldn't talk at this point so my brother and I were trying to decide if he needed medical attention because it hit him right around his right kidney area. We weren't sure if any internal damage was done.

Roman went back to the 10th hole tee and told the group behind us to play through. They were in disbelief as to what happened after my brother recounted the incident to them.

As the pain subsided, Eric started to laugh and muttered, "Man, we're always making new memories, huh?" I was relieved to know that I didn't kill him after all, let alone his humor.

So what's the damage? Take a look for yourself...
Anyone want to challenge me to a round of golf?

Prayer of Many, Prayer of One

If anyone knows me, I love football. I jokingly prioritize football right after God and just before family. So what does prayer have to do with football? Well, when someone gets seriously injured, that situation usually puts football in the right perspective in life, and whether a team wins or loses doesn't seem so important anymore.

This past Sunday Buffalo Bills reserve tight end Kevin Everett sustained a catastrophic and life-threatening neck injury which required surgery. The doctor said afterwards “I believe there will be some permanent neurological paralysis. ... A full neurological recovery was bleak, dismal.” Everett was under sedation in ICU to allow the swelling to go down.

Usually an event like this would draw only sympathy from me, but for some dumb reason, after reading the prognosis yesterday (Monday), I decided to stop everything I was doing and pray for Kevin right then and there. I'm sure there were already thousands of prayers poured out throughout the nation, so one more couldn't hurt right? I poured out my heartfelt prayer to God, asking if it'd be His will that Kevin would be able to walk again. When I was done, I went on with my business.

Well, I just read the update today on Kevin's prognosis and was floored. It's nothing short of a minor miracle. Kevin voluntarily moved his arms and legs on Tuesday when partially awakened, prompting a neurosurgeon to say the Buffalo Bills' tight end would walk again -- contrary to the grim prognosis given a day before. I was thrilled to hear such good news!!!

Now I hope you don't think that I'd be naive enough to say that it was only my prayer that God answered. I'm sure the outcome would have been the same if I didn't think even once about praying for Kevin. God answered the many thousands of prayers on Kevin's behalf.

But it is the fact that He did answer my prayer that brings a minor miracle in my life, and I'm led more to believe that my impression to pray for Kevin was really God's way of bringing me closer to Him. For that, I am grateful for.

Best wishes to you, Kevin, for a speedy and full recovery.

Como?

I'm counting down the days of working with Dell, and thought I'd share with you an interesting encounter today with a Spanish speaking female customer who can barely speak English.

During our difficult dialogue, trying to understand each other, she was complaining about how she tried to call Dell but no one there spoke Spanish. Well, luck had it that while she was submitting an online application for Dell Financing, she had to call Dell for additional information.

She reluctantly agreed and was having trouble understanding the person on the phone. She asked to speak to a Spanish speaking representative, of which there was no option for that. Among the conversation (she eventually hung up), she was verbally showing her displeasure to me about why Dell didn't have Spanish speaking representatives while other companies did.

On the one hand, I was very sympathetic.

But on the other hand, I really was not.

I'll leave it at that before I get in trouble.

Kinda reminds me of an encounter on my church mission in Los Angeles where two of us were knocking at a door of an apartment complex. Through the screen, you can see a little Mexican boy come up to the door...."no entiendo" came the response from the boy, which means "I don't understand".

"What? No Nintendo?" was my smart-alec response.

"OK...well, no Playstation"

Career Path

Gosh, has it been that long since I've posted something on this blog? July 10th seems sooooo far away, and we're in September. I know that a lot has transpired since then...my dad's birthday, my niece's birthday, countless times at various golf courses (including a time I almost killed my best friend...stay tuned for that blog), but only one poker night at the house.

Anyway, I hit my year mark working for Dell in July and after much consideration, I decided I needed to move on. It wasn't a sudden decision. I've actually been slowly warming up to it. I've been looking a lot the past few months, to no avail. That includes the following:

• Interviewed to be a account manager for WOKV AM690 FM106.5 Talk Radio. The interview was in mid June...said he'd reply in a few weeks. I never got a response, BUT I didn't really care to follow up.
• Interviewed with Sprint to be a cellphone repairman in July. I was his #1 man, but needed to interview one more person. A week passed...then two...but ultimately the hiring manager stated that the position fell through.
• Was approached at church by a friend that stated that they were looking for a recruiter for FMU (Florida Metropolitan University). It was later noted that they were going to hire from within and that I would only be able to apply for an admission specialist.
  
• Got rejected from interviewing for a RF Engineer position for Clearwire....jeez, and I'm even a Clearwire customer.
• Got a call back for a possible Sales Engineer position in August, but didn't quite have the credentials for it...who ever thought knowledge on PLCs would be that important.
  
• Never heard from various other applications, like HP medical imaging technician.
• I thought about getting a CCNA certification so that I can enter the into the IT field. I even got invited to go to a CCNA bootcamp. No thanks.
  

So you can't fault me for trying. Was I suppose to stay at Dell, or was God saving me for the right opportunity for me.

Out of desperation I asked another friend from church to give me information on her company because she said that they were hiring like crazy, and to be honest with you, it's in a field that I've been intrigued in. So I sent in the application online August 17. I received an email the following Monday and got past the phone interview on August 24. I had an on-site interview on August 29, which included some nifty test (can't remember the name) that tests on how you think, I think.

One week passed and I was thinking They're hiring like crazy, but I'm sure I must have dropped the ball somewhere.

But I did get the call yesterday (while I was working at Dell, mind you). I was given an offer, and I accepted.

I will be a Financial Representative for Fidelity Investments, starting on Sept 24.

During the first few months, I will be studying for the Series 7 and Series 63 license examinations, after which (if I pass) I'll be able to do transactions in securities (stocks, mutual funds, etc). They even give us paid company time (even overtime) to study for them. And for those who don't know, the Series 7 exam is a six hour 250 question exam. If you don't pass, you pretty much get fired. No pressure, huh?

So this is my new career direction. And I'm pretty gung-ho about it.