A Second Chance

I've since realized that a great part of our lives deal with relationships, whether it would be with your family, friends, business, church, etc, and so it's very important to cultivate them, grow them, love them in whatever capacity is appropriate.  And as a part of being human, we've made mistakes in those relationships that require forgiveness on our part, and hopefully with humility, we would be given a second chance.  And likewise, we would hope to forgive those who have wronged us, even though some circumstances would be difficult.

I am thankful for those who have given me a second chance. 

Of all the of numerous examples that would sufficiently portray this, I go back to the 7th grade for a little example that still has a profound meaning to me this day.  It would have gone unnoticed, like a lot of things we do growing up, but I still remember "this" one.

During lunch period one day, I noticed some guy looking at me in the lunch room.  His name is Charlie Gatz.  Being a smart-alec, and not so sure why I felt threatened by him, I shot to him (as to challenge him)  "Don't look at me!"  He continued to stare me down..."Don't look at me!"  It was the battle of wits now, but he finally relented and looked away.  I had won.  How rude, right?  Once again, I still don't know why I decided to treat him that way.  And to be honest with you, I didn't really think much about it afterwards.

Earlier that year, one of our good neighbors moved away.  They lived at the end of the cul de sac.  I only remember our friend by his first name, Buddy.  I believe he was a year younger than me, a short black kid with a lot of energy.  He was part of the neighborhood group that would play street football, and baseball with a tennis ball and a whiffle bat.  The front of his house plot formed the first base line.  It was a sad day watching them drive off.

A little while later in the year a new family moved into that home.  The father was in the US Navy, the mother was of Korean descent. And they have two sons, Charlie and Andy Gatz.  What?!  Yes, that Charlie Gatz.  Now that he was part of the neighborhood, he somehow became "cool" with me.  I don't remember speaking to him until that first day at the bus stop that took us to the 7th grade center we attended (Eugene J. Butler).  I hopped on the bus first and after taking a seat towards the back, I invited Charlie to sit with me.  I knew he was in the band because he carried his instrument to and from school.  I found out that he played saxophone.  We really got to know each other that day and I felt that we were going to be good friends.

"But, Vlad, if you were already learning how to play the trumpet, why didn't you know who he was?  Weren't you in the band too?"

So let's fill in the gap from the previous post (The Accidental Trumpet Player) and now.  In Jacksonville, the band programs started in six grade.  In the six grade center, we had only one assigned school teacher, just like in elementary school.  One day a week, for an hour or so, the students in band would leave their regular classroom to go to band class.  It was fun for the first few times as we were learning how to play our instruments...but to get straight to the point...it was becoming apparent that I was sucking at it, really bad.  It didn't help that I had a teacher from hell, not the band teacher, my regular teacher (do you all remember Mrs. Buck?...it was an unfortunate name for her).  She gave me a hard time about leaving her class for band...and then because of her guilt trip, she gave me a hard time for not going to band practice.  At least I learned how to deal with difficult people from her experience, but I digress.  Ultimately, my desires to learn how to play the trumpet were no longer there, and in less than a year, I quit band altogether.

This is where looking back in life, I realized how important relationships are, and that we should seek to build them, because we need each other, whether we know it at the time or not.

Knowing that Charlie was in the band, that piqued my interest in picking up my trumpet again, outside of school.  I asked him to bring music home for the trumpet, and we would start playing the pieces in my garage.

I still sucked at it, but having a personal friend that was in the band just gave me encouragement to keep pressing forward.  We had another neighborhood friend in the band that played the flute.  He was already attending the junior high school.  We were the garage band trio.  After 7th grade ended, Charlie and I were invited to attend summer band at that junior high school (Jefferson Davis), and then because that program ended abruptly after a week, we were invited to attend the high school summer band program.  I learned how to march as well as improve in my trumpet playing skills.  I met another trumpet player there that is now one of my best friends to this day.  I progressed so well that summer, that I made it to the top band program at the junior high school when Fall came around.  And to top it off, during that Fall season, I was privileged to march with the high school band, even though I was only in 8th grade at the junior high school.  It was the same high school that hosted the band competition I attended just three years earlier.

All because Charlie Gatz moved into my neighborhood, for which I am thankful.

Remember how I had forgotten that I was rude to Charlie in the cafeteria?  Well, he didn't.  Sometime during our friendship, he reminded me of that incident.  He also told me how surprised he was that I was friendly to him at the bus stop.  He thought we were forever enemies, since I was the bully.  But he gave me a chance to be his friend, and he didn't judge me based on that incident alone.

Thanks, Charlie.  You were the friend that I needed at that time of my life.  And thanks for giving me a second chance, because I think you gave me a lot more than that.

The Accidental Trumpet Player

For those of you that know me, music makes up a lot of my life.  It all started when my mom "forced" me to take piano lessons at the ripe old age of five.  We were living in the Philippines at the time (my dad was stationed in Subic Bay) and so I had the neat opportunity to be taught by the same lady that taught my mom when she was a little.

I remembered that first day when this elderly lady came to the house.  I was still a little defiant at the notion that I had to take piano lessons.  While they were at the dining table catching up on old times, I hopped onto the piano bench and started playing the piano like a pro, or so I thought.  After playing a few licks, I would run up to them and say "See, I already know I how to play the piano" and then run back to the piano to play more of my well thought-out musical phrases.  Needless to say, I was stuck taking piano lessons.  And that decision started the musical tapestry that has and still is being weaved in my life.

I am thankful that my mom gave me the opportunity to learn a musical instrument at an early age.  

So where does the accidental trumpet player come in?  Let's fast forward to 5th grade, in Jacksonville, FL.  One Saturday November afternoon , my mom took my brother and me to lunch at the Burger King adjacent to the local high school near our neighborhood (Nathan B. Forrest High School).  There was an unusual hustle and bustle at the restaurant, with a lot of teenagers and parents coming in from next door.  

"There must be a football game" we decided, after which my brother and I begged my mom to go watch the football game.  My mom was curious as well.  She didn't think twice about our request.  Before we knew it, we were settled into one of the concrete rows in the football stadium.

A marching band was about to enter the field.   "Great!!  It must be halftime.  Once they are done, then we'll be able to watch the football game."  After their performance, another marching band came on to perform.  "OK...this must be the opposing team's band.  This should finish halftime.  I can't wait to see the football game."

And then another marching band came on the field..."What is going on?"

And then another marching band...

And still another one came on after that one.  

We were slowly assimilating the event that was going on before us.  If you haven't guessed it by now, what we thought was a football game, ended up being a marching band competition that the high school was hosting.  

I am glad that collectively, my family did not know that high school football generally isn't played on a Saturday. ;-)

I don't remember being disappointed that no football was to be played.  I do remember being fascinated by the pageantry of the marching band presentation.  As I was looking at the different formations, instruments, color guard, I remembered fixating myself on those silver trumpets.  I've never seen one before.  I thought they were all those brass color.  I noticed that the trumpet player usually played a solo as well during their performance.  They were usually louder than the other instruments.  And I loved how some of them can hit those high notes that just penetrated the air.

As the competition continued throughout the rest of the afternoon, I finally told my mom that I wanted to learn how to play the trumpet.  

And that's how I became the accidental trumpet player. 

Should I Start Blogging Again?

Wow....I've let this blog kinda slip for the past four years. In a way it does seem that long, but not really. I feel like a whole world of things have changed since I first started my blog. Facebook is one of them. I'm amazed at all the new people that I've come in contact with, from grade school, to friends from other parts of the United States, to long lost relatives...well, I'm not sure if we're related, but we have the same family name.

Now that it is near the end of 2011, I am in the process of thinking of goals and resolutions going into 2012. Should I include the goal of blogging again? If so, will it just be on the topics that currently grab my attention? Politics? Religion? Football?

As of right now, I think 2012 will be a year of thanks. Each day, I will post one thing that I am thankful for, whether it is something general, or maybe something specific that happened on that day. I just hope that I can put something here that would be beneficial to both you and me.

We'll see...2012 is just over a month away.

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.