MOVING ON

My good friend Seiichi graciously gave me most valuable feedback onetime on what he thought has to be included in my article on Tips for Learning Japanese . I really appreciated it such that I'm blogging on it here. Below is his verbatim input (taken as a whole): click on the title for more...

MY FRIDAY STORY I AM THANKFUL FOR ... Author Unknown The partner who hogs the covers every night, because he Is not out with someone else. The child who is not cleaning his room, but Is watching TV, because that means he Is at home and not on the streets. For the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed. For the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends. For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat. For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am in the sunshine. For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home. For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because It means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation. For my huge heating/cooling bill, because it means I am warm/refreshed. For the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can h...

Thanks God, I'm able to look and apply for jobs, mainly through Craigslist in its NY site. I have been out of full time work for over a week now. Yesterday, I got to talk with another friend who's based in LA, California. He's been out of full time work along the banking industry for over a month now. He's got reasons why he's decided to give up his work, and get to doing some other things he'd preferred to work on. I figured I can learn from what he's undergone so far. He himself had notable managerial experience in banking, and recruiters are in disbelief why he'd give up the perks of being in a managerial position, and get to start again at the bottom in some other jobs which he thought he could do better. I've figured out that I'd like to have parttime jobs now. This has been the route that I've thought I can pursue even before I got full time jobs here in NYC. Thankfully, I got a response from an employer, and I'm working later today...

One of the freelance part time jobs I do from time to time is helping in the design, preparation, installation and dismantling of floral designs. These days, I'd do this mostly for religious events for church activities thru my network of friends in the place where I'm located. I've never done floral designs ever before back in the Philippines. It's one of those opportunities that presented itself to me to be able to get into hardline creative works. Boy, I tell you, it's one tough job, to the say least. It starts with doing cleaning tasks. This is to make sure the flowers, the branches and fillers are all cleaned up. They have to made sure all the necessary parts of the flowers are kept in place, and those unwanted parts are removed and thrown away. It's time consuming, actually. You will have to bring in buckets of water, you will also have to throw them away when not needed. It does not make it even easier to use artificial flowers, branches and leaves,...

Gratefully, I have been able to resign from this 15-year old job where I've gained so much. I gave my resignation letter the day I reported back to work after nearly a month long personal trip to Japan. I've gained much knowledge, many contacts in my network, and have become more steadily familiar with the inner workings of the corporate world, which most media depict as an ungrateful, highly competitive, and eerily disturbing environment (beneath the surface) to spend at least 40 + or - hours of your weekly life. People in this environment look like they're the most "normal" individuals you'll meet in your life. But from what I've learned, I've met the most unkind, the most scheming, and uncaring persons who take themselves seriously, who parade in the most respectable forms, without realizing there are "worlds" outside of business. Well, doing business (in all its forms imaginable) accounts for the largest portion of daily collective human ...