Checkmate

The King and his army... who leads who?

Life was much simpler when we were younger…

We had no bills to worry about, no responsibilities, no investments and pensions to consider, no cars to get oil changes for, no dinners to attend for causes, no grass to mow or driveway to shovel, no credit ratings to maintain, no sales to keep in mind, no worries about whether clothes matched in colour, no worry about computer failures or Internet issues, no budgets to keep track of, no reimbursements to ensure we received, no emails to send out, no worries about not spending enough time working out, no money owed to others, no money owed back to us, no worries about eating right, no doctors’ phonecalls to be waiting for, no reports that were expected, no documents that needed to be submitted, no obligations to friends or family to keep track of, no newspapers to read, no concerns about the government’s fiscal policy, no worries about what atrocities took place overseas, no understanding about the difference between the rich and the poor, no annoyance over the failure of favourite sports teams, no worry about food being on the table when we were hungry, no one to please, no expectations from others, no worry about the future, no concern for the past, no other time to live for other than the present…

Ignorance was bliss…

We didn’t have to worry about the actions of governments we’re supposed to support, no worries about those who suffered, no worries about what’s really taking place, no worries about the health of those around us, no worries about the mindset we’re in, no worries on what it really means to win and lose, no worries about the ramifications of who we trust to lead, no worries about what may transpire, no worries about where to go…

We live in a world desensitized by it all
Where on-demand and self-gratification
Are recurring themes in all facets
There was a time when we seemed to care about life’s struggles
And stood up against injustice intent to serve law
But those days are long past with remnants
In the minds of a dying generation
As they lay in hospital beds afflicted with pain and disease
In the minds of those who no longer have the means
To stand up against those who transgress

We cried afoul when foreign nations were illegally invaded
Yet we forgot about that just minutes later
Death after death of civilian and foe
On the news each night from headline to backpage
First we saw Afghanistan then Iraq charged against
Other nations would be soon to follow in rhetoric
Sisters and daughters growing up without fathers
Because they were slain before they too were slaughtered

But we don’t care
We just look away and accept it as a daily occurrence
People are born and then they die
So what difference does it make if its end by a knife
Or a rape, a bullet or streams of all in genocide?
We just focus on what we have before us
Money, cars, materiality with blood stains ingrained

We can’t be touched by the sensation of wrong
Because we’ve accepted it long ago as a way of life
The downward spiral takes us further below
And from there maybe we’ll look up and think ‘why’.

“Why don’t you weep when I hurt you? Why don’t you weep when I cut you?”
- Skunk Anansie (Brazen)

Across The Sea

The beauty of a city is made from its culture

Every world-class city in the world has its own identity and feel to it. They’re not cities bustling with culture – they’re cities that define culture. You can feel it when you enter the city, you can taste it in the food, you can hear it in the sounds, you can see it in the lights and you can smell it in the core…

In 2007, I visited Chicago (USA), Vancouver (Canada), Orlando (USA) and Miami (USA). Each of these cities, in their own way, is a world-class city and it was a great experience to spend time in each. Of the four cities, I liked Chicago and Miami the best as both are truly part of the higher echelon of world cities. Vancouver was good too but Orlando felt like a fabricated city run by carnies, clowns and overgrown-and-somewhat-well-dressed mice.

Each city has its own vibe: Vancouver with it’s cool, North-West Coast vibe; Chicago with it’s busy American mid-West transit hub feel; Orlando with its Mickey-Mouse inspired silliness; Miami with its Gateway-to-The-Caribbean and ocean feel; Washington with its historic-Greco-Roman mirage. Every city has its vibe…

This year, I visited Washington (USA) and saw a little more than I would have liked of the rural areas in Western New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. I liked the suburbs of Washington but disliked the actual city for what it stood for and represented… you could almost see the blood and oil dripping off the White House and other famous sites.

However, I’ve decided to really get out to see the world later this year. After initially being unable to do so, I’ve tentatively scheduled, over a three week period, a trip to visit London (UK), Bahrain (Bahrain) and Karachi (Pakistan). I’m also seeing if I can manage to visit Ulumqi (China) and Astana (Kazakhstan) but that remains unlikely. Each of my stops are cities that I’m visiting for obvious reasons but Ulumqi and Astana are two cities which aren’t so obvious… and that’s why I want to see them. Both are excellent cities which very few people have heard of or have visited yet both have some absolutely stunning tourist sites.

I’m tentatively planning to see Prague (Czech Republic) and Plzen (Czech Republic) but that’s another story for another day…

“I put on for my city, on, on for my city, put on – Eastside, put on – Southside, put on – Westside…”
- Young Jeezy (Put On)

Shape Up

Keep looking for the light...

Sometimes, life has a way of working out. For every setback has a reason to it and an intended path to follow. Lately it seems that I’ve been hit with setback after setback and as frustrating as it can be, I keep reminding myself that something better is on the way.

Setback #1:
Earlier this past summer, I broke my left wrist while playing hockey in the first game of the season after being tripped. I didn’t realize it was broken until more than a month later. In my right arm, I developed a pinched nerve which severely reduced my right hand’s strength and ability to function. I can’t write, hold simple things, etc. Now I wait for the call from the neurosurgeon since I need surgery to repair this problem…

Setback #2:
For over a year, I’ve been planning to take a nice trip overseas. It would start in London, United Kingdom, continue on to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and then end in Karachi, Pakistan. The idea was to visit family along the way and get to see three world-class cities that I haven’t had the opportunity to see in the last 15 years. I felt it was much-needed but due to political strife in Pakistan which has made it unsafe for visitors and ridiculous airline costs, I can’t justify the trip any longer.

Setback #3:
For the past year, I’ve been working towards earning my Certified Management Accountants (CMA) and was previously flying through the program. Not anymore. After getting half-way through the program, I failed the Case Exam (an exam I know I can and should have passed). The next writing of the exam isn’t until May 2009 so I basically have to wait a year before I can continue with the program. If all goes well, I’ll finish in June 2010 now instead of initially finishing in June 2009. This doesn’t sit well with me but my opinions on the matter are irrelevant.

I’ve faced a lot of adversity so I suppose it’s only fair that I face some more just when I thought things were going well. Maybe they were going too well… and that I just needed a good hard knock down back to reality. For a person approaching the age of 27, I was hoping for some things to go my way… but it is what it is. My desire is to sulk and be “destructive”, as my dad says, but I suppose all I can do is shut up instead and step things up. As the saying goes, “shape up or ship out”.

“I don’t want to die out here in the valley Waiting for my luck to change…”
- Sixx A.M. (Van Nuys)