And I was Hoping We broke the speed of light

Science, Alt

Remember those faster-than-light neutrinos? Great, now forget 'em

By Sharif Sakr posted Oct 17th 2011 12:46PM

A week ago the world went wild over CERN's tentative claim that it could make neutrinos travel faster than light. Suddenly, intergalactic tourism and day trips to the real Jurassic Park were back on the menu, despite everything Einstein said. Now, however, a team of scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands reckons it's come up with a more plausible (and disappointing) explanation of what happened: the GPS satellites used to measure the departure and arrival times of the racing neutrinos were themselves subject to Einsteinian effects, because they were in motion relative to the experiment. This relative motion wasn't properly taken into account, but it would have decreased the neutrinos' apparent journey time. The Dutch scientists calculated the error and came up with the 64 nanoseconds. Sound familiar? That's because it's almost exactly the margin by which CERN's neutrinos were supposed to have beaten light. So, it's Monday morning, Alpha Centauri and medieval jousting tournaments remain as out of reach as ever, and we just thought we'd let you know.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/17/remember-those-faster-than-light-neutrinos-great-now-forget-e/

We broke the speed of light

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15017484

Speed-of-light experiments give baffling result at Cern

By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News

The neutrinos are fired deep under the Italian Apennines at Gran Sasso

Continue reading the main story

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Puzzling results from Cern, home of the LHC, have confounded physicists - because it appears subatomic particles have exceeded the speed of light.

Neutrinos sent through the ground from Cern toward the Gran Sasso laboratory 732km away seemed to show up a tiny fraction of a second early.
The result - which threatens to upend a century of physics - will be put online for scrutiny by other scientists.
In the meantime, the group says it is being very cautious about its claims.
"We tried to find all possible explanations for this," said report author Antonio Ereditato of the Opera collaboration.
"We wanted to find a mistake - trivial mistakes, more complicated mistakes, or nasty effects - and we didn't," he told BBC News.
"When you don't find anything, then you say 'Well, now I'm forced to go out and ask the community to scrutinise this.'"
Caught speeding? The speed of light is the Universe's ultimate speed limit, and much of modern physics - as laid out in part by Albert Einstein in his special theory of relativity - depends on the idea that nothing can exceed it.

Much of modern physics depends on the idea that nothing can exceed the speed of light

Thousands of experiments have been undertaken to measure it ever more precisely, and no result has ever spotted a particle breaking the limit.
But Dr Ereditato and his colleagues have been carrying out an experiment for the last three years that seems to suggest neutrinos have done just that.
Neutrinos come in a number of types, and have recently been seen to switch spontaneously from one type to another.
The team prepares a beam of just one type, muon neutrinos, sending them from Cern to an underground laboratory at Gran Sasso in Italy to see how many show up as a different type, tau neutrinos.
In the course of doing the experiments, the researchers noticed that the particles showed up a few billionths of a second sooner than light would over the same distance.
The team measured the travel times of neutrino bunches some 15,000 times, and have reached a level of statistical significance that in scientific circles would count as a formal discovery.
But the group understands that what are known as "systematic errors" could easily make an erroneous result look like a breaking of the ultimate speed limit, and that has motivated them to publish their measurements.
"My dream would be that another, independent experiment finds the same thing - then I would be relieved," Dr Ereditato said.
But for now, he explained, "we are not claiming things, we want just to be helped by the community in understanding our crazy result - because it is crazy".
"And of course the consequences can be very serious."

My Nephew is cooler than yours...

Case and Point:

He's making the tackle by lifting the runner off the ground; bad ass!

Went with my gut & it worked out: Living the Dream

Yup, that's right kiddo's, I gots me a job. It's at a great start-up tech company. I knew I was going to get it and I did. I guess everything does happen for a reason and for right now, everythings in its right place.

Entrepreneurial Cognition: Intuitive thinking

If you've had the chance to meet me you'd notice that I'm a highly intuitive individual. I have been called an encyclopedia of Snapple facts; something I took to be a great compliment. Lately, I haven't been following my gut instincts. The rejection of what feels right over what is apparently logical is good.

However, when making a divergent choice in which the outcomes are non-predictable even by reasoning and logic, I haven't been following my gut.

Not sure where the quantum comes from.... but its a cool graphic.

I'm getting back to basics, about to engage in a divergent decision where my chosen path is not the easier of the available options. I'm an entrepreneur, as an entrepreneur I hope you'll excuse old fashioned plain speak. To quote Jimi Hendrix, "I'm the one who's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to." This quote can be seen as taking to an extreme, for me it's a return to who I am and not what it is I should be if I were someone else.

Hind Sight is 20-20

Fate vs. Free Will is an idea I think about often. Life seems to have too many coincidences to be random events, I mean what are the odds of some of the things that happen actually do happen. On the other hand, the odds that something odd doesn't happen are very small.

People often say when one door closes another opens and that everything happens for a reason. I understand this sentiment but I believe that in order to believe it, one must have had a lost opportunity and as a result or, possibly by chance, found another one.
I suppose I'm still waiting for the latter but I've got a feeling.....

Door to Door Jews for Jesus....

A whole new level of door-to-door religious people. These two ladies about my age knocked on the door and asked me if I was Jewish. I said no, but my roommate is. They gave me a DVD to give him and a pamphlet of bible verses for me.... I couldn't figure out who or what they were trying to convert until I read the back of the DVD. "I used to be Jewish, and I was dying of stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma, I found Jesus and was saved."
For some reason my religious convictions are not swayed on a stoop. Unfortunately for them they missed their target demograph.  Good story though.

Upbeat and beat up

I've heard that looking for a job is the hardest job. I've been going at it for awhile now and am reasonably assured that I have enough irons in the fire to result in me getting hired. While I am optimistic about the job hunt, I find it to be all consuming. There is no such thing as half looking for a job, because it won't happen.

On a web analytics note, there are about 20 heavy readers of the blog, which I think is good. Slow, organic growth of views is good for websites, especially a blog about whatever it is I am thinking about. From the onset it has been a case study of Entrepreneurial Cognition.

Goals:
I) Pack up all my stuff in Miami and sell most of my furniture
II) Get Hired and Relocate
III) Work and play
VI) Go back to school

The first three are something I hope to accomplish within two months;  Going back to school seems very appealing to me. Although life is a continual learning process, Higher education is something I aspire to.

Closed-Loop Cronyism: Contemporary Examination

Labor unions in the 50's 60's and 70's wielded tremendous power. With this power came money, and of course organizations like the Teamsters. This organization basically built Las Vegas and padded the pockets of those behind the scenes. For more evidence, watch Casino directed by Martin Scorsese.

To enter a labor union, you have to "know somebody." In Corporate America this was not always the case. The best and brightest are recruited and compensated adequately to prevent thoughts of leaving the company. However, Cronyism still exists in the cubicles and HR departments. Am I suggesting that it is rampant or anywhere near levels seen in organized crime, no. I'm just saying that you still need to "know somebody." Especially in an economic climate where a net of 18,000 jobs are produced a month.

Cronyism isn't the only factor in a closed loop job system. After sifting through thousands of position openings I discovered that the requirements that must be met can only be met by certain candidates. For example, in order to get a local job in Electronic Medical Records, one must be Epic certified.  In order to be Epic certified, you must have worked at Epic or be grandfathered in at a hospital that adopted Epic Systems. So these high paying jobs within the local community are not even offered to local individuals due to the exclusionary nature of the job requirements. Closed Loop System..... Bummer.

Thesis: Blogging + Being Busy = Inverse Relationship

I find that being busy has an inverse relationship with blogging; aka the busier one is the less they blog, being that I have been busy I have tested this on a small scale. It is true. Having just gotten back from Atlanta for the 4th, I am not busy and therefore blog. As it was a holiday weekend I eavesdropped on some very interesting conversation pieces

Strange and random quotes from drunken strangers:

I) "Yeah, I don't really think the Mormons know what they're talking about. I think Jesus was actually a space alien, think about it. (Bryan Chuckling in background) Ascending into heaven..... sounds like a tractor beam to me."
The Mythbusters guys actually tried this one and its most definitely busted.

On my road trip I attended an Irish wake. I don't know how many of you are familiar with tradition but basically everyone sits around a dead body and tells stories of fond memories and how the person was great. After the burial everyone is invited to eat a meal and beverage where old family stories are told.

My Great Aunt passed away at 91. She was an extremely nice loving person who was ready to pass on to the hereafter and did so peacefully last week. So after we left, my Mom calls up my Grandma and tells her about the funeral and then briefly mentions that they found a mattress full of cash; summing up to hundreds of thousands of dollars and left it at that.

My mother felt bad, called back and said all the other stuff was true except for the cash mattress but I didn't get a chance to really break down what happened until 5 minuets later.

Jargon Summery: "Hey, your sister died. It was a beautiful service, everyone is doing well, she passed peacefully and she left you a million dollars........JUST KIDDING! HAHAHA..... Oh, yeah but your sister is still dead."

Messed up practical joke....

Preview for next blog post: Lessons in morality and hilarity.

Heat vs. Dirk

Dirk Nowitzki is having the NBA finals of his life, even though he is running a 102 degree fever. You don't see many players in their 13th year finally hitting their stride. I mean that whole Dallas team is older than dirt in NBA years.

If this guy were coming at me I'd be a little afraid also. 

It really is the Heat's series to lose. Although anything can happen in playoff basketball, second to an act of God, or Dirk, I don't see it going any other way, just a question of how many games will the series go to. 

Everyone hates the Heat because their team was "bought."

I'm not really sure if anyone was paying attention but these players actually took a pay cut to play together.... so that is a misconception. Second, who hated the dream team when they won the Olympics year, after year, after year.
I like to root for the underdog too, its always great to see a Cinderella story.
But after recently taking my talents from South Beach, my prospects aren't exactly those of the Heat. We'll see.

Now Serving Hot $&*^ Sandwiches with a side of WTF: 9.1% Real Unemployment

The monthly unemployment report came out a couple days ago putting unemployment now at 9.1%, Jobs created in May were about 1/3 less than expected, yet one remains optimistic.
Some people are glass half empty people, saying that the economy isn't going to get better. This is not beneficial according to new study done by UMiami saying that economic recovery is faster in more optimistic states.

http://bus.miami.edu/news-and-media/recent-news/kumar-mood-economy.html

While I was on the board for UMiami democrats, I'm not one to blindly follow a party over who I believe would be the best candidate at the time. Mitt Romney seems like a better candidate to deal with the economic decline our country is in and would do a better job on that side of things.

A lot of my democrat friends would put me to the rack for this, but I'm willing to put party lines aside for the sake of American prosperity.

I am recently privy to information regarding a job that was created in May, the identity of the persons and company have been changed to protect me from getting reprimanded. But lets just say "Kelly Jones" just graduated from "Panhandle University", submitted resumes with falsified addresses and got a job within four weeks. Well, unfortunately for "DiscountMailOrderBrides4u.com", the company that hired Kelly Jones, she's "a little nuts."But they have time to find that out and I suppose that's what pink slips are for anyway.

Back to my perpetual optimism; Due to my recent use of Google analytics I can see statistics on various traffic on the website within the US. Those readers outside US boarders need not worry, Google hasn't figured that out yet. Traffic is up, return rate is way up, content quality is down, which is what I need to work on. Funniness. I have work to do but the next couple updates will be that of comedic gold. So begin waiting with bated breath.

The Times They Are a'Changing

James Brown was one of the best showmen that ever existed. Watch him on youtube, he was 50 and moving so fast the flash would have a hard time keeping up with the foot work.

Yup, that man certainly was a sex machine, just ran out of gas.

James Brown

(May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006)

I digress.... I wanted to partake in some post rapture looting, unfortunately that didn't pan out. I guess there's always 2012. 

I digress again, I suppose the question on everyones mind, or all 36 of you that read my blog, how do I know that times are a changing for myself and the free world? Estoy contento. I don't need anything, wants are there but the sobering truth is no matter how bad the economy is or how hard the job search is, the fortuitous string of fortunate events that have led me to this place and continue to occur (albeit less slowly than my impatient self would like) on a daily basis. 

Bette Middler would say God is watching us from a distance, Religion is a highly personal thing, and who am I to tell you what to believe blah blah blah blah. A better question is fate vs. free will. I for one believe it is 100% free  will, but the world is such a small place and our interpersonal places, habits, or "rounds" as I occasionally refer to habitual and ritualized frequenting of different locations for social interaction. 

Regressing.... fortunate events, I feel it in my bones that a big change is coming for me. It doesn't hurt that I'm loading the odds in my favor and the chance of change. Plus the fact that is is an eventuality doesn't hurt either. I mean I'm not going to live in Naples for long, I mean there's definitely a fire lit under my ass. Also regaining my fighting spirit, got the wind knocked out of me and while its something I don't like to admit its nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody hurts, sometime....

Man whats up with this, it seems that every post has a theme, and this one is music, but mostly bad. This must be remedied.

Beatles- Everyone's favorite band. 

The Doors

(I tried to replicate Jim Morrison's fashion sense)

*SERVER ERROR*

Oh well, you get the point.... Also check out The Black Keys, my new favorite. 

Do I use my blog as a podium: Yes, it is my digital soap box. If you don't like it, why have you read all this? Am I trying to make the world a better place: yes, I was asked that at work by a guy that is in the army studying to be a doctor. He looked at my brochure and asked me if I was trying to save the world. Yes, one step at a time.  The brochure is being printed by NCH and distributed as well as translated into Spanish and Creole. 

I can feel it in my bones, a big change is coming. 

Epic Systems Fail.....

No it wasn't the 2K computer crash, or the web 2.0 bubble popping in everyones face, it was my  notification from Epic Systems that my employment opportunity was an epic fail. This would be of little recourse as I have been actively seeking employment for some time, and received hundreds of rejections, some from employers, some not, but I've also been on the dating scene for a couple years now so that doesn't phase me. However I had gotten the farthest with this application process.

Employee reviews here:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Epic-Systems-Corporation-Reviews-E35163.htm

Oh! The figurative dagger through the heart, and I was growing fond of the idea of Wisconsin winters and writing about health informatics. Alas, must reboot the system. I am going to be doing some work integrating NCH's ElectronicMedicalRecords or EMR system with the Women's Health Foundation which will get my feet wet.

Applying to Arthrex, a local joint manufacturing company, this isn't California so I must be talking about Hip replacements. They are growing and as a reasonable individual I wouldn't believe it to be outrageous to think I would be employed there. However, I really really really want to get out of Naples/Ft. Myers/Estero/ Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale and don't want to go anywhere south of the Mason Dixon line.

Philly seems like a nice city, I have family and friends in the area and a really cool potential roommate if I want to move up there in August.
Companies headquartered around Philly include but are not limited to Accenture, Deloitte, Adelphia, Shire Plc. and many others. It would be a welcome change, but I've found the more plans I make the less they materialize. So I suppose the plan for the immediate future is continuing the job scavenger hunt. Hope I land a good one.

The happiest place on earth... Or is it?

Upon my recent journey to the lair of the insidious rodent by the name of Mickey, an obvious slant against the Irish, I visited spaceship earth. There, the entire history of the world was laid out to me in about 120 seconds flat. We proceeded with our trip around "the world" beginning at Canada.

Oh Canada.... you didn't look like this in real life, but I suppose that you can't have your maple syrup and ... drink it too.  Before heading over any bodies of water we reached the UK. They had the a Beatles cover band and beer, sounds about right.

We had lunch in France. I've been to France, the food is good. Unfortunatly, everything comes from a big kitchen where it all comes out of the same tube. Or at least that's what I imagined after sampling cuisines from around the magical world of Epcot.

China was surprisingly empty, I suppose that one baby policy really worked.... Wouldn't want to check the pond out back.
The rest of the world was lack luster, Germany and Sweden seemed the same. And then came time for the fireworks.
Mexico was spot on, crowded, and the line for margaritas was a mile long. Oh yeah, we tried to get ice cream and a lady told us how stupid we were for not knowing they only had soft serve. She has to go to a couple hours of training now, to make sure shes the happiest person serving ice cream.
Goodbye wonderful world of Disney, and stay classy

Carpe Diem

Seize the Day! Everyone says it, but it's much easier said than done. I think in order to seize the day, you have to live in the present, and on a surface level, everyone lives in the present but most people are concerned about preparing for whats to come; or reveling in what happened. There's a song called "I hope tomorrow is like today." In order to say that you are living in the moment, placing emphasis on enjoying the "Now" is essential.  I believe it is important to embrace the things we have and by appreciating them in this way, not taking them for granted. We by our nature must plan and remember, but these thoughts of tomorrow and yesterday are thoughts we are having in the now.

Everyone is concerned about what the future holds and what the past has presented, myself included. By living in the present and not stressing constantly about the future outcomes of events or things that have already occurred which I could not effect I have become a happier and more enlightened person. Just by thinking positively and being outwardly happy, people have been nicer to me and picked up on it on a subconscious level. Its weird what a smile and hug can do for a person's day.

Meeting new people is always a good thing, but what's more interesting is meeting a new person that you have once known. There are certain constants that hold steady and this is the part of the person that is in your memory, but growing up and out and upside down, sideways and rightways, and all the complexities people come to develop are fascinating and exciting. Imagine meeting someone you used to know as playing Jenga backwards but with all new pieces and the old version of them is the tower that falls over, but the new schema of knowledge, information, and personality is the new tower, but since people always continue to grow you're always adding new pieces. I'm not sure if that makes sense to everyone or anyone; I am getting sleepy.... I hope I get to play reverse Jenga soon then I'll be better able to say what its like instead of juxtaposing imagination with anticipation.

70 year old Zen master from Cleveland

(Holmes' have done a lot of work on the building on the right through three generations)

As I left off I was going to discuss the East-meets-West Zen Philosophy I've been exposed to while spending time with my Dad. He's been fighting cancer for about seven years now, and has had multiple surgeries including the removal of his lung and his left shoulder ball and socket. The latter was a painful limb salvage surgery which gives the appearance of a fully functional limb, without function. The problem is that there is severe nerve damage causing extreme pain. 
He uses meditation as a method of dealing with severe and acute pain attacks. Through his study of meditation he has stumbled upon Zen, and has done a suprisingly stunning job of passing his reading and philosophical reflection on to me during our time together.
My Dad has always been a religious person, but has recently become more spiritual. Not to say that he has turned off to being Catholic, its just that he looks at things from a more spiritual perspective. We have been learning about how to define Zen in a traditional western mindset. The simplest way to do this is to think of a Full moon, and its reflection in the ocean. The Moon does not wait for the water to cast its reflection just as the water does not actively prepare to cast it. They do it simultaneously, naturally, and without deliberate action. I've been trying to live my life more in this fashion, and because of that everything seems to be falling into place without having to be forced.

I have 3 scheduled meetings with very important people this week. One is with a professor whom I've never had the pleasure of having a class with but none the less has gone out of his way to provide his knowledge and time as a Mentor, Dr. Junkunc, a man I admire very much and hold in very high regard. The second meeting is with Dr. Ullmann, he has been my mentor in marrying my entrepreneurial skill set with the health sector. He has shown me paths that I previously did not know existed as far as education and experience was concerned, and I believe he will continue to do this. My most influential entrepreneurship mentor sent me a lead on a position in a large Health Informatics company. All of these men have been recognized very recently for their dedication to helping and mentoring students such as myself. The third meeting is with the Director of the Collier County Health Department. Although I only met her briefly, I can tell she is a sincere and kind individual and I look forward to what will come of it. After this week I should have a clearer picture of what the road of my career will look like in the near future.

T-2 Days for The University of Miami Business Plan Competition

Last year at exactly this time I was working my cramped typing fingers guided by war wearied eyes. The war of of that thin red line underneath misspelled words, putting the final touches on what was to become The business plan that was deemed best written by the judges of the University of Miami Business Competition. These judges were a panel of venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, and professors who have spent their life studying the genesis of ideas and their transformation into economic progress.

It is the highest achievement I have achieved. I feel it is more of an achievement than Bachelors of Science in Entrepreneurship & Biology Minor or When I was honored to become a Heffner fellow. It says that of all the plans submitted, of the greatest and most competitive minds throughout the entire university, I constructed the best blueprint explaining abstract concepts as well as logistics of an entire business, revenue streams, and a plethora of detail and projections. The judges were intimidating due to their high levels of success, basically what I would hope to achieve in my life, grilling me. I was not used to this and was not my normal charismatic self.

Can't win em all, but I did get best written; and after meeting a CEO of a company I will decline to mention, but lives in the greater Cleveland area as well as SoBe who is a new family addition. Well, it was a very interesting time we spent together and Power, even the kind of power he had, does not intimidate because when it comes down to it, a man is just a man- no more. no less.

Reflecting on the past, I learned so much from the school of business and in particular, one man. THE MAN.
Ken Colwell, the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at University of Miami.
He teaches in a unique way, very eastern thought, with zen principles. Where the student/teacher interaction is the focus of the class, and the lessons are ones that cannot be learned through an online interface, but through moments of directed epiphany.

Long story longer, the UM business competition is coming up and another will be chosen. I look forward to finding out who my successor will be.

Preview of Next Post:
I have been studying zen, and different meditation styles. My father who has cancer is very into meditation and I am spending time learning from him. It is a very good experience because we bond in a way that will continue to grow throughout my life. Next post will be my Eastern Philosophical view mixed with a previous Mid-Western raised mind.

Public Health Internship: It's Grrrrrrreeaat!

Health Care makes me happy, second day on the job better than first, and it just keeps getting better...

I am currently learning about targeting prenatal emergency preparedness through childbirth education. I am producing material to educate my foundation's target demographic on how to keep themselves and baby-to-be safe.

I am the only male in the entire place excepting the President. It is the Women's Health Foundation, so this is not a shocker. It makes for a great workplace environment. Everyone is super nice, its calm and laid back, and it's a position in which I am gaining valuable experience in public health.

The experience is two-fold, yes I am learning, but on top of that I'm helping people who otherwise would not get it. It's a team effort and more than that, its a caring family of people that work together. I have not seen a work environment quite like it anywhere else.

This next section is not for the faint of heart, it details the pros and cons of my previous position

Tarpon Bend Analysis: Good/Bad/Ugly
Good: I learned how to make very good drinks
I increased hand speed and balancing as well as the quickness and efficiency of my cleaning
I ate good food when I came in on my days off

Bad:
No tips.
being loathed due to the fact that I started college, and actually finished,
Catching flack for using polysyllabic words.
Paying my dues in an industry that I never wanted to spend the rest of my life in.

Ugly:
Cleaning the bathroom on a Friday night during rush time: when someone puked all over and pissed themselves. I think he may have had too much. 
In Exchange for this I was offered a Make it Great card, this is equivalent to a sticker in kindergarten.
Use of words like "mines" instead of mine.
i.e. "That drink shaka is mines dog. It's MINES!"
The word is mine, just humor me and say mine. Please. 

Conclusion: I need to be intellectually challenged to be happy. I like jobs/industries that help people and utilize emerging technology. I like management styles that are educated, wise, and friendly so that I can learn from them instead of learning what not to do.

Winning, but no Tiger's blood

Cha ching, Got an intern position at the Collier County Health Department .

 First day is tomorrow at 8:30. Will keep you readers out there posted. Tomorrow should be an introduction day, touring around the complex and meeting all the friendly staff.
I'm quite stoked. Finally, I'm in my desired field. I'm happier than a hamburger at a vegan commune.

......AND ITS GOOD!

Bartender gets a break

I have been looking to get into public health. Finally lightning struck, and I was ready. I am going to apply for a position in a non-profit.

I spoke to the president of the organization today and he seemed optimistic that there would be a position available for me.
Optimism tends to spread like wildfire.

I have a tremendous opportunity to help the indigent population in Immokalee.
The world is unpredictable and works in mysterious fashion. I've gone from bartender to potential General Contractor to Non-Profit Sector Employee within a matter of weeks. Being an entrepreneur and life in general is like riding a roller coaster, ups and downs, turns and loops.

It seems the fun part is back again, and I'm on the right track for a career I want.

Good things come in 3's

3-2 was a glorious day in birthday history. My father and Older sisters all share the same birthday, I'd imagine had we gone out together today the restaurant staff would be utterly confused as to who to sing to.

As a kid I remember solving the problem by going up to our waitress and surprising my sisters with a birthday. Cracker Barrel Surprise Singing was by far the most awkward and she was put on the spot but continued with the ruse and Dad got a hell of a kick out of it.

Family bonds are special and should be cherished. I am blessed to have such a great family.

I recently heard straight from the source that Two of my best friends, Brian Beers and Chrissy Ellinger, are getting hitched Oct. 2nd 2011. I could not be happier for those rascals. Having the pleasure of knowing them since my freshman year at Miami, I watched them grow together. Its easy to see that they are soul mates and they compliment each other perfectly.

I'll be flying up to Philly for sure!.... I hope Brian has a couch to crash on....

Choosing a career path raises the likely-hood of workplace performance and satisfaction due to the synergy of intrinsic and exterior motivators. The odds of ending up exactly where I planned from the beginning are not likely for me as I am finding out.
At First Grade I wanted to be a Lion Tamer,

Grade 2, a Fire-Fighter,

Grade 5, a Theoretical Physicist.

Radically jumping to, Grade 9 a Singer in a Rock n' Roll band,

Grade 10 a House Husband,

Grade 12 an M.D.,

Sophmore Year- Health Care Industry Professional

Junior Year- Medical focus (MPH; Public Health)

Senior year- Start-Up Business Employee

I am starting to realize that these are not all mutually exclusive, in some cases I just have to figure out a path of succession in others the "Oprah-tunity" just has to present herself. Back off Stedman and Dave Chappelle, she's mine!

Like I said, Good things come in three, in this case, Family, Friends and the Future. 

Idea Limbo: The place where unbaptized Inspiration goes

I finished reading the book "What Color is Your Parachute: A Guide for Career Change"
According to this graphic my results are ESI
E-16
S-13
I-12

I then reached over to the pan of plans sizzleing on the back burner of my mental stove. There's always something cooking, and unlike my culinary skills, this chef knows how to slow roast a well marinated thought till its golden brown and ready for easy and delightful digestion.
Getting back to the meat and potatoes of this blog, my original plan after graduation was to go directly from undergraduate to a Masters of Public Health program. I took the GRE after studying copiously, performed adequately, but I was hesitant to pursue this avenue because I had not investigated any other avenues. This led me to take the LSAT and after winning best written business plan I became determined to become involved with a start-up business immediately out of College.

Grad School was put on the back-burner.

My plans for the future have had time to thicken into a fine stew, with a rich taste that comes only from careful aging. I wrote the business plan for the expansion of Accelerated Commercial Realty into a national real estate Auction service provider. I laid the foundation for the growth yet to come, but I was not able to wait for years for it to blossom because it was not my passion.
For this I am grateful, both having the opportunity and gaining the experience from my time with ACR and Mentors Ray Princiotta and Frank Calautti.
I have been a bartender for the past months because commission does not pay the rent, tips do. This has also been a unique learning experience, granted a far different teaching style than the classrooms in Coral Gables, but a position that teaches many lessons that can only be learned on the job. At the same time it has not been fulfilling and It has left me wanting for something more.
I want to be able to use my critical thinking and analysis skills, answer complex questions and create efficient and elegant proposals for solving multi-faceted problems. Sorry Bartending, you do not meet this criteria.

Ding!
Oh, that must mean my idea is ready to be taken off the back burner.
I am going to pursue my Masters in Public Health as origionally intended (It's why I got a BSBA instead of a BBA and a Biology Minor)

Public Health: Circle of Life-

I am interested in UMiami's executive MPH program and intend to pursue this through my career change from the hospitality industry to the medical field. The gratification of bettering society through my primary career is something I look forward to.
I will keep ya'll abreast of the progression of this plan and its resurrection from the Life Goal Limbo like a Phoenix from the ashes.

Again, a man with a plan. Dream in my head, smile on my face and song in my heart.  

Pawn to Rook 2

So long distance chess jargon isn't my specialty. Le sigh. I am content at my job as a bartender for the immediate future. The job hunt is a depressing journey for myself. I think that I would be satisfied and this would elevate my performance if I were in a role that complimented my skills and education within a company. For now I will enjoy the Miami sun and beautiful weather before I bury my head into piles of resumes and submission forms.
I have had a series of entrepreneurial endeavors unravel due to circumstances beyond my control, and this is disappointing and disheartening.

I just gotta keep my chin up and work towards my goal with renewed dedication.

Promotion Delayed: Questions Arise

I had a One-on-One discussion with my general manager today about training for more lucrative positions within the restaurant and his reaction was one of postponement. I have conflicting feelings about this because I am not occupying a job/position that maximizes my potential, I am a mixologist of the lowest degree, Service Bartender. Instead of getting any face time or tips from the people I am mixing drinks for, I get a sweet hourly wage that I wont reveal but it needs to be higher. I suppose paying your dues is required in every field and in some, college doesn't matter.
This reality means I need a day job, where I can use my market and industry analysis skills I've been taught for the past 4 years. I am currently reading a  book that is very useful for me in finding what I truly want from my career, and life in general. It is called "What color is your parachute: 2011 Edition" This publication has been edited each year to gear itself toward the changing times and has been doing such for 30+ years. Sounds cheesy but seems to be helping myself find what I want from life.

I definitely take myself too seriously, but I believe that high expectations are necessary to reach lofty goals. If not, its a great way to set myself up for a hot slice of humble pie.

Humble Pie: Fresh Out the Oven!

Note to self, eating humble pie this fast can cause burning of roof of mouth.

In an attempt to spin the wheel of career acquisition to increase my perceived value I, like thousands of other 22-23 year olds figure that educational institutions are great places to wait out the recession and lack of jobs.


New York Times- Is Law School a Losing Game?

Suddenly saddling oneself with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans seems like a viable solution to the rig-a-marrow of recessionary holding patterns, innumerable unanswered resume submissions, failed interviews, and my personal favorite, temp jobs with a misleading title and an unclear end date.

I have heard horror stories far worse than I have encountered. Its rough out there, so rough that saddling oneself with debt banking on a long shot hot shot lawyer job.

 

At least I don't have any student loans coming out of undergrad. I should realize how lucky I am and keep making more mojitos.

The Man with a Plan: Attitude makes all the difference

With ThinkStorms LLC was put on the back-burner due to the necessity of getting a job to pay the rent I thought the days of innovation would have to wait. The daily grind then took over as I am now able to make mojitos on auto-pilot. (I actually received a compliment that I made the best Mojito a regular customer had ever had in his life.)
I do make house calls for a nominal fee.
I received the server training manual, this will double my daily income. Getting to main bar will quadruple my daily income; a promise that was made to me by the manager who promoted me to server.

I received high marks from the general manager and this was all triggered due to a change in my attitude. I became a man with a plan.
It seemed like I was not making progress and I was destined to fall in between the proverbial cracks. I then logged on to my lsat account I had made before I took the test, which I received a 153 on. This score is not stellar, leaving me two guaranteed options, FIU or Ave Maria Law. If I am in the top 1/3 of the class I have an opportunity to transfer to any public Law institution in the state.
This was the spark that I needed to put a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
All day I was putting 110% into all of my actions and this resulted in a chain reaction of positive occurrences that has continued to cause positive change in my life.

Knowing I have the opportunity to apply myself in a field I am passionate about, that is a career and not a job is all I needed to ignite my fire and burn white hot. I know it is not exotic as traveling the world teaching English or working at a fortune 500 company, but its good enough for me.

Mood: Ecstatic

1/1/11- New Year's Conjecture

Another decade down! The ten second ball drop, although arbitrary and a human construct, allows for one to reminisce of the year passed and wonder what the next will hold. It is a time where one remembers what is important to them because after all, we only have our memories and experiences as comfort and guidance in this game called life.

The Mayan calendar ends sometime next year.... (ominous music)
Other, more rational schools of thought realize that on a calendar written on limited space, it must end when there's no more room to write. Plus its hard to take a doomsday prophecy from something that looks like it belongs next to the silver monkey in the Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Anti-climactic, I know. All this speculation about the future makes me laugh at the best laid plans of mice and men. How many times I planned every detail only to have my preparation be in vain.

Bar-tending is tremendous fun, and I wonder how many other positions I will have in the next 365 days, and where life will take me as I continue to research how to travel and work venture in worldly enterprise and exploration.

What does the year hold for you? What are your New Year's Resolutions? Your goals, hopes, expectations?
I want to run a marathon with my brother. Sounds simple enough, and it's going to test my physical endurance but much more my mental discipline.

Here's to you, brother: