Status Quo- The Last Songs- Bucket List

This is just one of those times where things are going well. Things are moving forward, I am getting ready for class to start in the Fall. Looking for full-time work, but finances are stable. I have to remind myself to be thankful when things are just normal.

The Bucket List is coming along, although sometimes I have to make myself practice even on the home stretch. Lessons would help speed things up greatly, but the money is allocated elsewhere. I console myself with the possibility that if I am not happy with it, I can re-record. The main criteria of the goal is that I am happy with the recording, otherwise I cannot stop singing in good conscience. I saw some videos of America’s Got Talent, and all I have to say to the first round judges is: Thank you for eliminating me. I don’t sound anything like who they think sings opera, and nobody I have heard in a big or small opera house does either. I don’t have a gimmick except to practice a lot, study and listen to the great voices past and current. Enough said.

I really feel it will be a relief to let it go, I am ready to move on to the good things that await: finishing the Masters, making some money, getting the real estate business going and SKIING! I am going to attempt a double-black diamond slope this season, which is #2 on the bucket list. In the movie, they went roughly bottom of the list to top, I am going top to bottom, easiest to hardest in order to get some momentum and pickup a quick win or two. I had some doubts about committing to the list, because it seemed a little bit facile, a little “Disneyesque”, but I thought I’d see if I could use it as a tool. I am really pleased with the results, mainly because of my focus issues. I can just say, here are the things my energy goes into, the rest will wait. I carry the list with me in my planner, that works out well. It works great for life-coaching and planning as well. When I finish this list, on to list #2. If there is a list #3, it won’t need to be written down.

Some political insight

Something that has concerned me a bit of late is the current administration’s seemingly total disregard for the rule of law. It gives rise to speculation about what happens to us as a community, a Nation, a people, when we discard the rule of law in favor of -what? It occurred to me today that the opposite of the rule of law is WAR. People may argue that war also has its rules, I say that it is my observation that they are generally not adhered to. If you put a uniform on me and a gun in my hand and send me over somewhere else to kill people, being completely honest about myself I am not sure I could promise or guarantee anything at that point.  I am certain nobody could, despite their training and best intention. I don’t think I am a Lt. Calley, and I would most likely do what I was trained to do, but my point is that I couldn’t guarantee that I would with absolute certainty. Our current administration and like-minded ideologues seem very comfortable with war, and they seem to see it as a good vehicle to re-privatize public funds. I think if you are comfortable with war as a participant, as an imperialist aggressor, as a profiteer, I think along with it may go a certain contempt for the rule of law. This also may explain the lack of follow-through when it comes to adequately supplying the troops, taking care of them when they come back and auditing the contractors. At some point within our lifetime, we as a people are going to have to resume control of this murderous military-industrial complex and withdraw funding. And, when it comes to dealing with the Pentagon and regaining control over this monster, I think that no option should be ruled out. This issue will decide the future of this country and the quality of life for future generations, and if legal options don’t work, we may need to wage war on the warmongers. Hopefully, it will come down to the point were people will become educated enough and spiritually aware enough to just not participate, I think this process may have already begun. Yes, there is still a terrorist issue, but if we went over and said, hey, we are going to wage some peace. We are going to train & help you to build water sanitation plants, powerplants, roads, schools, hospitals. I think that would be more successful and I don’t think there would be so much suicide bombing.  I am thinking its a cheaper option as well.

Passed 100 posts

It just came to my attention that I have passed the 100 post mark, this might become something serious. I haven’t really thought about it that much, as the blog serves its purpose for me. My previous blog has over 100 as well, when I looked back through it I could see some progress in terms of my own personal growth. I used to imagine that someone younger than me would read it and learn something useful that would help them grow past where I was at the time I wrote it, now I am not really concerned about who reads it.

Statism Revisited

So, me, my wife and a friend from upstate are coming back from Coney Island and this ghetto style altercation erupts on the train. This guy was talking to someone on his cell, and his female companion kept yelling “Murder, bitch!” into his phone while he was trying to talk on it. Another female passenger had an issue with this and objected, saying that there were children on the train and could she please ease up on the profanity. So then the two women get into a heated discussion, and this necessitates a visit first from the train conductor and then from a cop, who then ejects the first lady and her friend from the train.  My upstate friend views this as live theatre/performance art and comments accordingly. We then chat about this incident and I came to the unescapable conclusion that a significant cultural degradation has occurred. I am doing my best not to be classist here, but it seems that the moral code, values, protocols that go with civilized society are not being transmitted effectively to all strata of society. I am not leaving the elite out of this problem, although they are polite and not likely to fistfight on the street, they can still be vicious, amoral and predatory in equal proportion to their intelligence and education. From my own personal observation, reading and experience, it seems that the lower the income, the more people seem to require higher levels of services from the city/state. Social services, housing, food, employment and law enforcement efforts all seem to be concentrated on the bottom 20%, even to the extent of making sure that they behave like human beings in public. I don’t think its a race problem, and I have to mention that I despise white trash crackers more than any other lowlife, because they don’t have the same history affecting them as other ethnicities. It appears to be a cultural transmission problem, a parenting problem and a school problem. The conventions, the traditions, the etiquette of polite society seem to be breaking down. To what extent is this city and nation becoming one giant ghetto? This is obviously a multiple variable problem that didn’t appear overnight, but in the meantime, like any suburban soccer mom or new parent, I can appreciate the police and wouldn’t mind at this point seeing a lot more of them around.

My Bucket List

I saw the movie “The Bucket List” the other day and decided to come up with one of my own. I think it can be a useful tool, keeping in mind that it is written on paper and not graven in stone. The honest perspective is still to love oneself and love life no matter how it goes, but I think the list is a good reference point. Seven seems to be a good number of items and they range from not so huge (1, 2, & 7) to truly monumental (#6!). I am going to lock in these seven and say that no further items will be added until these are completed.

1.       Finish the recording.

2.       Ski a double black diamond slope- “up”.

3.       Finish the Master’s Degree.

4.       Finish the Black Belt.

5.       Finish my mystery novel.

6.       Achieve a net worth of 4 Million dollars, 5K/month passive income through Real Estate Investing. 

7.       Huge 10^th Anniversary blowout party.

I have some additional notes for my own benefit and detail, but I have a feeling that any subsequent list will probably change as I move through these items and cross them off. For strict chronological purposes, #6 and #7 should probably switch places, but I am going to push myself a little harder and see if I can’t expedite #6, my tentative deadline for that one is 2017. I think if I am not at least self-employed by then, I will go even more nuts than I am already. Q1 of 2015 is better.

Weekend Days

The fact that I am working part-time now gives me a little chance to explore what life might be like if I was financially independent. So far, I really like what I am seeing. It is really motivating me to get my real-estate business up and rolling as soon as possible, because I think I am really going to like the lifestyle. I imagine what a day would be like as a multi-millionaire, and so far it looks nice. Maybe a trip to the gym followed by a leisurely breakfast at Park View cafe at the corner of Dyckman and Broadway. A stroll through Central Park on the way downtown. I check my Blackberry to see if there are any important emails. I check voicemail and make a few calls to set up the next trip to Philly to look at property. Lunch at the Dojo, followed by Yoga class, then back uptown for a voice lesson. I do some writing, then a late dinner prepared by our personal chef. We retire to the screening room for the latest film… etc. It’s good to visualize things like this, its time to bring the Secret to bear.  

It’s not necessarily about being able to do anything in particular, it’s more about being able to control our time. I have enough work experience to know that I am not really missing anything, and am actually starting to get to where I dread and hate it in any shape or form it takes.  I am almost considering freedom on the other end, but that is not an option as I have some responsibility. The other direction is far more preferable and has much more integrity.