Thursday, August 11, 2005
One
Introduction: I planned on writing this blog two days ago (8/9/05) while in the middle of an emotional Beata saga. I will preserve the original two part structure that I envisioned. The first part would use the theme of "One" to refer to self, or in this particular case, my self (my self meaning my ego, brain, intellect). Part two would use our planet Earth, as the "One" planet.
Well, I just finished the "self" part. It went longer than I anticipated so part two will appear in a future blog. I'm also not going to predate these blogs like I originally planned. I'm excited about part two because it basically will be a short explanation about why I believe that life exists outside this planet. Most people I know and I'm sure most people on this planet believe that life only exists on this planet. To them, Earth is the "One" planet in this universe. Being a fan of Star Trek and other science fiction, I've always wanted to believe that this isn't the case. I want to believe in extraterrestial intelligence. I'll argue using science, that it isn't too far of a stretch to believe that life exists outside Earth. Life possibly it even exists, or existed, in others areas in this solar system. The moon Titan is believed to be a good candidate, and possibly Mars. I'm refering to simple life, such as microbes, in these examples. Later, I'll then go to show why I believe that intelligent life, possibly even more advanced than us, probably exists in this galaxy and beyond.
Quick disclaimer: No, I'm not one of those people that claim to be abducted by aliens. I probably won't even touch on the topic of aliens visiting earth; that's another topic. My friend "Colorado" Dave and I had this discussion last year in a long car ride. He told me that he hadn't even thought about this stuff before, and I believe he told me that my thoughts gave him a new perspective on our place in the universe. I hope I can do the same for any readers.
Now, here's the more Earthly part one.
Self:
When I should have actually written this, I believe I could have conveyed more emotion as I was an emotional mess after answering a call from Beata. In the call, she continued to argue with me about my job. She just refuses to accept that poker can be a way to earn a living. She dispariginly referred to poker as merely a hobby. She continued her claim that she would be happy with me if I had a regular job, even a job that earned the same as hers does (she processes payments for a mortgage company and she makes approximately $30,000 a year). I repeated my point that I had developed from our many arguments about poker. Some of these points were made in my first blog.
I'll summarize my argument:
1) Poker allows me the freedom that other, regular, jobs wouldn't (set my own hours, break up work into multiple session, get up whenever I want, travel if I want, etc)
2) I understand that I could have made more money if I had made a career in consulting or law. I did afterall go to the University of Chicago, and I did have a slightly above average GPA of 3.3. For comparison, my old roomate, Renato, who went on to the best law school in the country (Yale), had a 3.7 GPA. Poker is one of the few jobs that I could envision myself being happy doing. I still think I probably would have enjoyed law, but I grew tired of school and I'm not sure I could have forced myself through three years of law school. As for consulting or any other job I could have gotten, I'm not sure I would have been happy doing those jobs either. The idea of having a boss telling me what to do just doesn't appeal to me. I like telling myself what to do. In poker, if I want to work harder, I will. If I fail, it's my own problem, and not the company's or anyone else's. I don't like the idea of 9-5 hours either.
3) At various points in the last few months, I've considered getting a job. My shabby resume, though, would preclude me from having a great job, like I might have been able to get if I had just entered the work force like a normal human being. My friend Jim did say he could get me a job at this company that employer works with. Jim is an electrician, and my job would involve customer service. Basically, I'd answer phone calls and customers would tell me what is wrong with their phone systems. I'd then type up a work ticket and use the radio to find someone (for example, Jim) to go fix the problem. He said that he knows a woman who works there. As a supervisor, this woman makes just over $60,000, but I'd probably start off at like $35,000.
I know I could probably get the job above right now, especially if Jim put in a good word for me. Despite setbacks I've had lately, I'm conviced I could at least make what this job offers, with the possibility and probability that I'll make more now that I've excised some demons that have haunted me. The demons I'm refering to are various problems pro's have: spending too much money, lacking self control, not working enough, etc. If I can do the same or better in poker, I think I'd rather do that. Who knows, I could figure this out and make good money (70K+), and maybe I could win a big tournament someday, but right now that's a pipe dream. I know for sure, I can make average money at my current skill level.
Despite what I think is well-thought reasoning, I can't convince Beata that my position has merit. She said that she doesn't believe I can make money, despite showing her my records. Then, she went on to be hurtful by saying that my friends, stepfather, and even my mother don't approve of what I'm doing. I had countered in the past that my mother does approve, but when I talked to my mother, she admitted that she wishes I had gone on to do a real career but she'll support me in this. She'll support me because she knows I'm adamant about doing this, and she needs to be supportive as a mother.
Of course, I was saddened by all this, and to get past the pain, I told myself that I know I can do this. In the past, I've let other people's expectations depress me or prevent me from doing what I wanted. That's where the "One" theme comes in here. As I described above, I've learned that I can only count on myself. All these people might be against me, but I know what I have to do and what I can do. That the lesson that any readers should take from this. Believe in yourself. Not everyone is going to support you the way they should. Some people might even try to bring you down (intentionally, or unintentionally).
This reminds me that I need to order this book I saw in a store when I was in Galena, IL. It is written by Laura Fitzgeral and titled If at First: How Great People Turned Setbacks into Great Success. Link I haven't read it yet, but it sounds like it is a greatly inspirational book.
Introduction: I planned on writing this blog two days ago (8/9/05) while in the middle of an emotional Beata saga. I will preserve the original two part structure that I envisioned. The first part would use the theme of "One" to refer to self, or in this particular case, my self (my self meaning my ego, brain, intellect). Part two would use our planet Earth, as the "One" planet.
Well, I just finished the "self" part. It went longer than I anticipated so part two will appear in a future blog. I'm also not going to predate these blogs like I originally planned. I'm excited about part two because it basically will be a short explanation about why I believe that life exists outside this planet. Most people I know and I'm sure most people on this planet believe that life only exists on this planet. To them, Earth is the "One" planet in this universe. Being a fan of Star Trek and other science fiction, I've always wanted to believe that this isn't the case. I want to believe in extraterrestial intelligence. I'll argue using science, that it isn't too far of a stretch to believe that life exists outside Earth. Life possibly it even exists, or existed, in others areas in this solar system. The moon Titan is believed to be a good candidate, and possibly Mars. I'm refering to simple life, such as microbes, in these examples. Later, I'll then go to show why I believe that intelligent life, possibly even more advanced than us, probably exists in this galaxy and beyond.
Quick disclaimer: No, I'm not one of those people that claim to be abducted by aliens. I probably won't even touch on the topic of aliens visiting earth; that's another topic. My friend "Colorado" Dave and I had this discussion last year in a long car ride. He told me that he hadn't even thought about this stuff before, and I believe he told me that my thoughts gave him a new perspective on our place in the universe. I hope I can do the same for any readers.
Now, here's the more Earthly part one.
Self:
When I should have actually written this, I believe I could have conveyed more emotion as I was an emotional mess after answering a call from Beata. In the call, she continued to argue with me about my job. She just refuses to accept that poker can be a way to earn a living. She dispariginly referred to poker as merely a hobby. She continued her claim that she would be happy with me if I had a regular job, even a job that earned the same as hers does (she processes payments for a mortgage company and she makes approximately $30,000 a year). I repeated my point that I had developed from our many arguments about poker. Some of these points were made in my first blog.
I'll summarize my argument:
1) Poker allows me the freedom that other, regular, jobs wouldn't (set my own hours, break up work into multiple session, get up whenever I want, travel if I want, etc)
2) I understand that I could have made more money if I had made a career in consulting or law. I did afterall go to the University of Chicago, and I did have a slightly above average GPA of 3.3. For comparison, my old roomate, Renato, who went on to the best law school in the country (Yale), had a 3.7 GPA. Poker is one of the few jobs that I could envision myself being happy doing. I still think I probably would have enjoyed law, but I grew tired of school and I'm not sure I could have forced myself through three years of law school. As for consulting or any other job I could have gotten, I'm not sure I would have been happy doing those jobs either. The idea of having a boss telling me what to do just doesn't appeal to me. I like telling myself what to do. In poker, if I want to work harder, I will. If I fail, it's my own problem, and not the company's or anyone else's. I don't like the idea of 9-5 hours either.
3) At various points in the last few months, I've considered getting a job. My shabby resume, though, would preclude me from having a great job, like I might have been able to get if I had just entered the work force like a normal human being. My friend Jim did say he could get me a job at this company that employer works with. Jim is an electrician, and my job would involve customer service. Basically, I'd answer phone calls and customers would tell me what is wrong with their phone systems. I'd then type up a work ticket and use the radio to find someone (for example, Jim) to go fix the problem. He said that he knows a woman who works there. As a supervisor, this woman makes just over $60,000, but I'd probably start off at like $35,000.
I know I could probably get the job above right now, especially if Jim put in a good word for me. Despite setbacks I've had lately, I'm conviced I could at least make what this job offers, with the possibility and probability that I'll make more now that I've excised some demons that have haunted me. The demons I'm refering to are various problems pro's have: spending too much money, lacking self control, not working enough, etc. If I can do the same or better in poker, I think I'd rather do that. Who knows, I could figure this out and make good money (70K+), and maybe I could win a big tournament someday, but right now that's a pipe dream. I know for sure, I can make average money at my current skill level.
Despite what I think is well-thought reasoning, I can't convince Beata that my position has merit. She said that she doesn't believe I can make money, despite showing her my records. Then, she went on to be hurtful by saying that my friends, stepfather, and even my mother don't approve of what I'm doing. I had countered in the past that my mother does approve, but when I talked to my mother, she admitted that she wishes I had gone on to do a real career but she'll support me in this. She'll support me because she knows I'm adamant about doing this, and she needs to be supportive as a mother.
Of course, I was saddened by all this, and to get past the pain, I told myself that I know I can do this. In the past, I've let other people's expectations depress me or prevent me from doing what I wanted. That's where the "One" theme comes in here. As I described above, I've learned that I can only count on myself. All these people might be against me, but I know what I have to do and what I can do. That the lesson that any readers should take from this. Believe in yourself. Not everyone is going to support you the way they should. Some people might even try to bring you down (intentionally, or unintentionally).
This reminds me that I need to order this book I saw in a store when I was in Galena, IL. It is written by Laura Fitzgeral and titled If at First: How Great People Turned Setbacks into Great Success. Link I haven't read it yet, but it sounds like it is a greatly inspirational book.
