Money and possessions

Somehow John Mayer's "I'm Yours" is still #5 in the country though it must have been released as a single when I was still in college. In the song he says "There's no need to complicate." That line came up today while driving. I do a lot of thinking when I'm driving. Hearing this line on the road reminded me that money and possessions have the ability to complicate, moreso possessions; money is just the catalyst. As I've become immersed in my studies in the last week I feel like I've come into a feeling of clarity. With a huge test on the horizon and immense curriculum to learn, my responsibilities are fairly simple. Work, study, and take a break every now and then to not burn out. I don't have to sit around anymore wondering what to do, the clarity is there, I should be studying. Clarity brings focus. Clarity makes things simple.

Along those lines, during my drive today I thought a little about some advice I received yesterday to "Change the way you think." I think I need to simplify things where less is more (I acknowledge that in some instances less is, simply, less). One of these things is possessions. I have way too much crap. I own four pairs of jeans. There are only two days a week I even have the opportunity to wear jeans. I can think of lots of examples such as this where I have too much. It's a waste of time. I could expand more on this subject but I think this is sufficient. Less is more here. See what I did there?

The answer's in the question, I should have known that all along

The fact that I go one month without an entry and then follow up with entries on consecutive days transcends the inconsistency in my life. If life were a final exam you would see me constantly switching writing utensils while skipping all over the Scantron. Tie that off with the fact that there is an emerging "question" motif to the entry titles. I swear to you that was not planned, as you might deduce below, as these entries are not related.

I came to a bit of a realization this evening while driving in the car. I spend a lot of time searching for answers. Trying to find solutions. I think I've come to find this mindless toiling is wasted when a critical step is missed. As important as solving problems and finding answers is, it's critical to also be asking the right questions. So that's where I'm focused right now. I'm focused on making sure I am asking myself the right questions so that I work for the right answers and solutions. I need to work to answer the questions where the answer is clear, and there is no mystery, where it's all laid out for me and I just have to be willing to walk down that path.

Too emo? probably.

I question myself

At this point my lack of motivation makes me question myself. I ask myself how bad I want this. Because right now my actions have not shown that I am willing to make the sacrifices necessary to obtain the CFA Charter. Maybe in the last week I have become a bit more dedicated. And maybe I have been putting in a lot of time in the office. But flat out, successful people make time to achieve their goals, and they are cognizant of the limits of their bodies and the energy they have. It kind of sucks to say this but I have been having too much fun lately. Going out too much, hanging out too much, and wasting too much time. Too much time spent on Facebook and too many late nights in bars. I can't go completely into a shell to get the job done, but I need to be more selective about my outings. Bars do not align at all with my career or personal goals. Maybe I should plan my acceptable distractions:

LOG meetings
LOG select outings
Running/Fitness
Movies/Dinners

I know I want this. And I do not want to not pass this test. I know I will be a Charterholder someday, but I'd rather it sooner than later. Class starts this week. The time is now. Amen.

I cannot become complacent!!!

I am finding it difficult to really dive deeply into my studies. I've been hitting the material here and there, but this type of work ethic will ensure I fail Level II should I not step it up. Why is it so hard to get motivated? Is it because the test is so far away still? Is it because I am busy at work and I also enjoy my job? Part of the reason is that my social life is just so awesome right now. It's never been this fun before to be me. I hate to complain about that, but I really need to pull myself away from all my friends just a little bit so I can focus more. I have to stay focused on the big picture, and doing that means day by day dedicating myself to this exam. That is all.

upDate

whew that was a stretch without a blog.

looking at my last blog, everything came through, except the fight which is next week.

life is good. i am really enjoying life. i've never been happier.

the new kanye album is out. man i really love this album. i'm hanging on every word of every song telling myself me and kanye are so alike. talk to me personally if you'd like me to map out all the parallels.

got the spiderman dunk SBs.

i have officially started studying. feels good to be back in the mix of mean regression and time series analysis.

i have yet to take the studying to the next level. i am not immersed yet. let's work on that.

Things I wanna do soon

There's a lot to do. I am getting back to studying this month but there's a lot going on that I want to do.

November 15 UCC Park Day
November 21 Associate Team Building Activity in Anaheim
November 21 Benefit Concert
November 22 Fashion Island Tree Lighting Ceremony
November 23 Share the Harvest
Novemeber 27 Balster Thanksgiving at my house
December 6 Pacquiao Fight/Holiday Party

I also really want to go to the Getty. I've never been there and it sounds/looks awesome. I can't wait to deck the halls of my house for Christmas. I'm getting a tree before my Holiday Party.

My mind wanders

I have had a lot of random thoughts in the last hour. Hopefully they don't escape me as I try to blog them all down.

We had a company golf tournament today. I left work before lunch, barely worked 3 hours before hitting the links. Sounds great right? It so happens to be the first business day of November and I communicate a lot of info to clients on the first business day of the month usually. I don't think the golf tournament is a worthy excuse to fall short of our goals in servicing our clients...so after the tournament I showered up and headed back into the office at 7pm, wrapped up around 9:30pm, went jogging in Newport Beach, and here I am showered up again. I am consciously going the extra mile at work. It says something when clients receive emails from you at 9pm.
I am driven and inspired to work super hard. My mom is one of the hardest working people I know. So is my older sister. I was really inspired when I went to the Philippines and saw the house my mom and her family grew up in. It was poverty by US standards, but maybe not by Philippines standards. I can't really say my mom came from nothing, but she definitely didn't come from privilege, and she had some very lean times during her upbringing where food was scarce, but there are people in the Philippines who are much worse off and never are given opportunities. My mom had opportunities, and she went after them. She was blessed and she gave thanks by lifting it up. She came from so little and has created so much. She raised my siblings and me. She has given us opportunities. We could have still been living in the small house in the Philippines but the family worked their way out, no easy task. Indeed, the people next door when I visited were my mom's former neighbors over 30 years ago. That could have been us. But since my mom was blessed with opportunities, she was able to create more opportunity for us. And so I have been given opportunities and incurred some luck, and I am obligated to work hard. It is almost a matter of family pride. This is what drive me.

A lot of people probably think I am a money hungry SOB. Admittedly, compensation and recognition are important to me. But I think the main thing is that someday I want to provide for my family. I don't want money to be an issue. It is an issue for so many families and it takes away from time spend just enjoying each other.


I have a few more random thoughts, but more brief than the essay I just wrote.

I love music. Sometimes I close my eyes, listen, and feel moved. If I can experience this, why am I such a bad dancer and an even worse singer? Shouldn't the passion rub off a little into a glimmer of ability?

Tomorrow is election day. Why do people aspire to be President? I would rather go to the dentist everyday for two years than be on the campaign trail for two years.

What drives other people to work hard? I know what drives me. I spoke to a guy today who said in his previous job he did nothing for three years ("You're kidding?" I said. "No seriously," he said).

I flew on a plane over the weekend to San Jose...on Halloween...in a banana suit.

I am excited about Christmas because I get to deck my own halls. I want to buy a Santa suit.

I have had some pretty great luck. Life is coincidental.

People are doing all this grassroots campaigning on Facebook, getting the word out about where they stand on political issues. Which is great, how it should be...but I wonder if it's all hype because our age group sucks at turning out to vote on election day...we shall see. I am ready to vote tomorrow.