Thursday, February 15, 2007
In the face of so-called insurmountable odds...
Before I begin this mini-rant, for those of you who work with me and are reading this, believe me, it's nothing personal.
I've come to realize that the negativity that goes around in the office has really taken its toll on mostly everyone, and up until recently, it really affected me. It just seems like most people are jaded in one form or another, and after hearing their plights I know that they all have justifiable reasons to be disgruntled.
Now, it's one thing to be disgruntled when ALL options have been exhausted and there's still no solution in sight. It's a completely different matter when people tell me that no matter what I do, I won't be able to find the solution at the current place, without even trying. THAT, my friends, is giving up before doing anything.
I almost did that. I came about thisclose from giving up and throwing in the towel and basically just running away from my problems. But, people are better than that!
After calmly assessing my situation, I realized that I really haven't done anything. Sure, my rank has been "lowered" to assistant-like status, but I hadn't even begun to take matters into my own hands to improve on this.
After a short conversation with my boss, I put forth my convictions and threw away my fear of retribution. I told him flatly and directly that I really want to take measures to achieve the next step in my professional career and do whatever it takes to get there.
A funny thing happened after that. I fully expected him to refuse my proposal, since my colleagues gave me the sense that he would do that. Instead, he's giving me the chance to do it now and gave me the answer I really wanted.
Whoever is reading, don't ever let anyone talk you out of trying. I know my colleagues were just trying to help by keeping my expectations at a realistic level, but they've also unintentionally tried to make a coward out of me. "It's not about how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can GET hit, and keep moving forward." So remember folks, before you throw in the towel and give up on something, you owe it to yourself to at least try. If you go down, at least go down swinging so you'll never regret it!
I've come to realize that the negativity that goes around in the office has really taken its toll on mostly everyone, and up until recently, it really affected me. It just seems like most people are jaded in one form or another, and after hearing their plights I know that they all have justifiable reasons to be disgruntled.
Now, it's one thing to be disgruntled when ALL options have been exhausted and there's still no solution in sight. It's a completely different matter when people tell me that no matter what I do, I won't be able to find the solution at the current place, without even trying. THAT, my friends, is giving up before doing anything.
I almost did that. I came about thisclose from giving up and throwing in the towel and basically just running away from my problems. But, people are better than that!
After calmly assessing my situation, I realized that I really haven't done anything. Sure, my rank has been "lowered" to assistant-like status, but I hadn't even begun to take matters into my own hands to improve on this.
After a short conversation with my boss, I put forth my convictions and threw away my fear of retribution. I told him flatly and directly that I really want to take measures to achieve the next step in my professional career and do whatever it takes to get there.
A funny thing happened after that. I fully expected him to refuse my proposal, since my colleagues gave me the sense that he would do that. Instead, he's giving me the chance to do it now and gave me the answer I really wanted.
Whoever is reading, don't ever let anyone talk you out of trying. I know my colleagues were just trying to help by keeping my expectations at a realistic level, but they've also unintentionally tried to make a coward out of me. "It's not about how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can GET hit, and keep moving forward." So remember folks, before you throw in the towel and give up on something, you owe it to yourself to at least try. If you go down, at least go down swinging so you'll never regret it!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Investment portfolio for $150 per month?
-According to an article I read on Japan INC, Merrill Lynch and Fidelity both offer portfolio packages for $150 usd per month. It stated that it gives the owner a more flexible/diverse style of investing and since it adds up as each month goes by, the portfolio will grow to a pretty decent-sized investment.
I'll have to do some research into this to find out more about it, but if this is true, it definitely sounds like something that almost everyone should be doing if they're not investing already.
-Global warming is now on the forefront of news, which is a good thing since it's better late than never. What I didn't realize before was what impact the Kyoto Protocol has on major corporations. Carbon emissions trading has become a major business in of itself and the concept is quite intriguing. Putting it simply, all companies acting in the protocol have set limits as to how much carbon they can emit from their factories. Anything over that limit, and the companies involved are penalized by the government. Here's where the business aspect comes in. Companies like Mitsubishi Corp. and Natsource (partner company) specialize in carbon emission trading. What they do is, when companies realize that they are over the limit for CO2, they buy rights to produce extra tonnage from carbon emission trading companies. Eventually, if the companies can get the emission level down to an acceptable level, they often find themselves with extra CO2 credits leftover. They can then sell the extra credit for revenue.
While this method is intriguing from a business standpoint, one has to wonder whether or not this is an effective way to reduce global warming. I guess time will tell, but it's nice to know that something is being done.
I'll have to do some research into this to find out more about it, but if this is true, it definitely sounds like something that almost everyone should be doing if they're not investing already.
-Global warming is now on the forefront of news, which is a good thing since it's better late than never. What I didn't realize before was what impact the Kyoto Protocol has on major corporations. Carbon emissions trading has become a major business in of itself and the concept is quite intriguing. Putting it simply, all companies acting in the protocol have set limits as to how much carbon they can emit from their factories. Anything over that limit, and the companies involved are penalized by the government. Here's where the business aspect comes in. Companies like Mitsubishi Corp. and Natsource (partner company) specialize in carbon emission trading. What they do is, when companies realize that they are over the limit for CO2, they buy rights to produce extra tonnage from carbon emission trading companies. Eventually, if the companies can get the emission level down to an acceptable level, they often find themselves with extra CO2 credits leftover. They can then sell the extra credit for revenue.
While this method is intriguing from a business standpoint, one has to wonder whether or not this is an effective way to reduce global warming. I guess time will tell, but it's nice to know that something is being done.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Introducing the enemies list...
Ok, I usually give people 2nd and even 3rd chances when they do something to wrong me. I always try to understand that those people act/react differently under certain circumstances.
But tonight was different. This asshole of a coworker just went out of his way to make an utterly classless act towards my friend and humiliated her for absolutely no reason other than the fact that she works for a rival company. Normally I'd be thinking "what the fuck is his malfunction?" But in this case, it would only be a waste of my valuable time to fire up that thought process.
So, without further ado, here's my enemies list. God help you if you're on it because I'm making it my mission to destroy you.
FL
今なら、てめを打たおす。許されない。
But tonight was different. This asshole of a coworker just went out of his way to make an utterly classless act towards my friend and humiliated her for absolutely no reason other than the fact that she works for a rival company. Normally I'd be thinking "what the fuck is his malfunction?" But in this case, it would only be a waste of my valuable time to fire up that thought process.
So, without further ado, here's my enemies list. God help you if you're on it because I'm making it my mission to destroy you.
FL
今なら、てめを打たおす。許されない。
Random ramblings...
-The first thing that comes to my mind these days is, what the hell is wrong with the Celtics? I mean seriously, 16 losses (and counting) in a row?! Paul Pierce is out with an infected elbow? Wally Sczerbiak (sp?) sprains his ankle on his own teammate's foot, while that teammate is sitting on the bench?!?!?! This smells like a conspiracy all the way through, and hopefully come draft day, we'll hear the words "Celtics with the overall #1 pick select..."
-Speaking of which, who is actually better at this point? Greg Oden or Kevin Durant? Assuming if the Celtics were to get the #1 pick, if you were Ainge, who would you go with? Tough debate on this one and I'd like to hear comments/opinions about it.
-Recently, I've discovered that my stress level has affected me too much. Granted that I work in a stress-filled environment, it's amazing how much negativity is around the office at times. I try to stay positive and try to cheer other people up, but it somehow ended up dragging me down as well. On top of that, 2 of my friends have been laid off by their respective companies, which means that I've been appointed as the motivational speaker/advisor to them. So, in order to combat this issue, I've decided to first-and-foremost take care of my own spiritual and physical well-being as the #1 priority. Coming home from work, I've become a voracious reader of financial magazines and find that it helps to take my mind off of needless distractions. I've also started to resume some martial arts training at home to vent my frustrations off. Finally, the biggest thing that helped (which I feel a little guilty about) is realizing that my situation is much better off than my friends who are struggling, so there's really no need to rush into doing something drastic at this point having put that into perspective.
-Honeymoon plans are gonna be delayed for a year...sucks huh? The timing just isn't right as my wife will be starting grad school soon and taking a major exam in September. Meanwhile, if I last long enough that is, I'll probably be on a company trip for a week in September as well. Ah well, at least it'll give us more time to plan out our honeymoon and make it right rather than rushed.
-That's it for now!
-Speaking of which, who is actually better at this point? Greg Oden or Kevin Durant? Assuming if the Celtics were to get the #1 pick, if you were Ainge, who would you go with? Tough debate on this one and I'd like to hear comments/opinions about it.
-Recently, I've discovered that my stress level has affected me too much. Granted that I work in a stress-filled environment, it's amazing how much negativity is around the office at times. I try to stay positive and try to cheer other people up, but it somehow ended up dragging me down as well. On top of that, 2 of my friends have been laid off by their respective companies, which means that I've been appointed as the motivational speaker/advisor to them. So, in order to combat this issue, I've decided to first-and-foremost take care of my own spiritual and physical well-being as the #1 priority. Coming home from work, I've become a voracious reader of financial magazines and find that it helps to take my mind off of needless distractions. I've also started to resume some martial arts training at home to vent my frustrations off. Finally, the biggest thing that helped (which I feel a little guilty about) is realizing that my situation is much better off than my friends who are struggling, so there's really no need to rush into doing something drastic at this point having put that into perspective.
-Honeymoon plans are gonna be delayed for a year...sucks huh? The timing just isn't right as my wife will be starting grad school soon and taking a major exam in September. Meanwhile, if I last long enough that is, I'll probably be on a company trip for a week in September as well. Ah well, at least it'll give us more time to plan out our honeymoon and make it right rather than rushed.
-That's it for now!
