Lover of trading, tacos, 3D/AR/VR, cryptos, and most things Japanese

It’s been a busy week so far. I’ve been working, training, going to groups, having meetings, and doing lunch, among other things.

I guess I’ll start off with the biggest news of the week: I heard back from Apple. Bad news. I didn’t get the position. It was nice of them to give me a call to let me know. Jason explained that the positions were very competitive and that a lot of people were interviewing for them, but didn’t give me any real reason why I didn’t make it past the second interview. Sigh. Oh well, such is life. Time to move on, redouble my efforts, and get back to work.

Speaking of work, the social media and web work I am doing for my old boss, Jean-Paul, and his company, Billistic is going well. This week the Twitter account blew up! We had added about 275 followers in the first month of activity, then added over 100 on Tuesday alone. It’s a curious thing, as I’m left wondering a little bit about what prompted the surge in activity, but I have some ideas and the trend is continuing, so we’re quite happy. Follow along at @Go_Billistic.

Working out is going very well. I’m down 4.4 pounds since Sunday. I’m getting stronger and leaner, which is what I’m doing all the working out for. I’ve started using a couple apps to track progress, and finally seem to have figured out how to get MyFitnessPal to post to my Facebook page. Poor app design, as it turns out – the updates I’m doing on the app aren’t triggering it to post to my wall. The workaround is to do my morning weigh-in and evening diary completion online, then it posts.

Oh, and I joined the 21st century, and created an instagram account. My username there, as well as most places now, is imagin8orr. I’ve only posted a few pics so far, but I like the app and can see myself posting a lot more in the future. I’m a shutterbug at heart and instagram is a great app for sharing pics.

“Don’t quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion” – Muhammad Ali

Yesterday was kind of a blah day. I was kind of in a funk all day. I miss my bestie, who’s been unavailable recently. I didn’t work out, but I did go for a nice, hour-long walk with my sister, taking full advantage of the beautiful weather. So that was nice. I called the placement firm and told them my history, and they didn’t seem to think it’d be a problem. I also played in a poker tournament, had a great session, and finished second out of 87 entrants.

I was contacted by another recruiter, this time for a position at a media company which sounds like it could have a lot of potential, so I’m looking forward to learning more about that. I have to drive out to Lakewood today to do a UA, then hit the gym, then maybe go shopping for some new sneaks and shirts. Tomorrow I’m taking my son out to get some highway driving experience. We’ll head west, up into the mountains, and have lunch at this little cafe I discovered on one of my rides. It’s a quaint little hole in the wall, just off one of the side streets up near Evergreen. It’ll be good father-son bonding time and I’m looking forward to it. In one month he’s eligible to get his license! Kids grow up so fast, cherish every moment you get to spend with them, for sooner than you’d like, they’ll be off living their own lives.

I found this great little reminder in one of my mags about mindfulness that I’ll share:

“7 Things Mindful People Do Differently”

1. Approach everyday things with curiosity
2. Forgive their mistakes – big or small
3. Show gratitude for good moments – and grace for bad ones
4. Practice compassion and nurture connections
5. Make peace with imperfection – inside and out
6. Embrace vulnerability by trusting others – and themselves
7. Accept – and appreciate – that things come and go

I’ve had a lot of mindfulness training these past few years, and these things ring true. So much in this life is about perspective. I just shared a TED talk on happiness that talks about how the functioning of the brain is actually 37% more effective when in a positive state than a negative one. I’ve felt this for years, often being criticized as an overly-optimistic person, and now there’s research to back it up! 😉 Seriously though, the way we look at things makes all the difference. That’s why I’ve always chosen to find the silver linings in things. This does not mean one should ignore the bad stuff that happens, one needs to recognize, accept, process and move through that shit too. But keeping a positive perspective make it so much easier to deal with the hard times. Accept your reality, and take the steps you need to take to garner more of what you want out of life. As the Big Hitter himself, the Dalai Lama, says, “Cultivate a mindset of gratitude.” Be grateful for what you have, focus on that, rather than what you don’t have. Focusing on what you don’t have breeds negativity, which impairs the brain, and thus your life. Stay present and try to live life with each breath. Make the changes you want in your life happen. Commit to it. To paraphrase Goethe, all manner of things you could not have foreseen make themselves available to you when you commit to something. It’s yours for the taking, go get it! 🙂