Amoeba Life: Your Virtual Guru

Contemplating Life

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 19:19:00 +0000

More pictures from Kolkata. What a magical place.

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 22:57:00 +0000

Live Your Best Life

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 22:06:00 +0000

At a cooking class deep in Thailand in the fields of Chiang Mai. What an amazing experience.

What does it mean to live your best life? Oprah talks about it all of the time...in fact she probably has a trademark on it.

I found myself sitting in my office (not my home office), considering the routine I had fallen into. Trying to get bigger tasks done each day - remember the prior article on high level v. low level - only to be stymied, without fail, by small fires that would inevitably arise every single day. From my list of 10 things to do each day, I would normally end up getting about only one of them done. And you know what? I was getting frustrated, more and more. All of these fires were caused by other people's incompetence and every day I would end up, and still end up, performing these low level tasks.

Stuck in routine. We as creatures of habit can find comfort in that routine, even when it is comfortable. For me, within a short period of time I find myself to be a caged animal. So what to do? GET OUT. The people that have regrets in life are the people that did not try new things. It is always better to try something you are not sure about, than regret not having done it later (unless we are talking about risking your health or safety). What I have found refreshes me is to not let myself fall into the mold and you should consider it as well.

What mold are we referring to? The mold which prescribes that we go to an offices or specific job from 9 to 5 every day. The mold that says once you commit to a career, you have to stay in it and build your life around that. BORING. What if you special skills in unrelated areas? Should they go to waste because apparently you are only allowed to stay and build yourself in one career? I think not.

Turn your passions into hobbies and into businesses. If you aren't happy in what you're doing, then do something else. It will take risk. And yes, it is easy to say if you don't have big bills and a family to support. This is your one chance to live your best life - if you're not as happy as you can be now, it is not going to get any easier and life is far to short to be miserable.

Live your best life. Every time you have a feeling of uneasiness, act on it and do something with it. Tired of looking at a computer screen? Stand up and go take a walk. Don't look at the clock wondering when you can leave to take a break, take it now. Follow your impulses! I myself need to do more of that. Bored with the city you're in? Go take a trip! If you can't afford one, jump on a bus and change your environment!!!

Change starts today, right now. Not tomorrow. You don't need to wait for new year's to change. Live can go by quickly. Live your best life now, today. Don't be afraid., just take that first step.

Are You High Level?

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:10:00 +0000

It hit me the other day. After a long trip abroad, I've been contemplating life again and I have that feeling that something is missing. More than anything, feeling like I have become a bit bored and stressed with my day job of being an attorney and business owner. Mind you, seeing as I don't believe in saving up vacation time and only getting to "do me" 2 weeks a year, working a 9 - 5 job is out of the question.

But it hit me the other day. I wasn't really lacking anything at all. Everything I have to be happy is within me. So what was the issue? Simple: I had devolved into being "low level". I truly believe that I am here to do something on a big scale that impacts as many people as possible in a good way. Unfortunately, over time, I had gradually gone from doing high level things to doing low level things. The epiphany occurred to me as I was sitting in my clients' living room. The two clients are lovely people although they struggle understanding concepts as well as with speaking, reading, and writing simple english. As such, I find myself having to repeat myself over and over and over again, with nothing getting through. Additionally, to provide excellent customer service I will often spend valuable time meeting with them at their home to retrieve or give documents, instead of just using email or faxing.

As I sat in their living room listening to them ramble on about things that had nothing to do with my visit, I had a mini out of body experience. I watched myself sitting there in their dingy little living room and felt myself not wanting to be there. My ears no longer captured the vocals coming from the wife's mouth, although my eyes stared blankly at her, while registering her mouth moving. I smiled to her in the process as though I were agreeing with and understanding her gripe, but in reality I was contemplating how fast time goes in life and how precious every second of every day counts. Every second I was spending there was time I could never recapture. My precious time was being sucked into a black hole with these people and doing tasks which had no meaning to the bigger picture.

I considered how unnecessary it was for me to be there in the first place as I had only gone there to drop something off, not to sit down and try to decipher whatever it was they were saying. It occurred to me - I was doing low-level stuff and this was causing me to depart from my true calling. The big picture. It was time for a shift so I could reach more people, expand my own horizons and hopefully have a positive impact on expanding the horizons of others.

The punchline? If you are feeling a lack in your life, have you considered if you are pursuing your true calling? Are you stuck in the same mundane routine? Get out of your box and stop doing so much low level stuff. Think of your big picture and go high level to start painting it! Ask yourself if you are truly undertaking tasks that are high level. Just consider people that are considered successful: Barack Obama, Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey...do you think they waste their precious time arguing with a loved one about a Facebook post, or are they promoting a book that could change the lives of hundreds of thousands? Are they driving around picking up documents from someone's house and listening to indiscernible english, or are they putting together business deals that will employ 1000 people?

So what are you doing that's bigger? Ask yourself!

Photos from China - DAY 1 - Photo Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 22:43:00 +0000

Some of you my loyal readers have been wondering where the hell I've been? Well, traveling, enjoying life, stressing about life, and going through a major transformative year! As I gradually reduce my workload so that I can focus more time to this blog, I would like to share with you some photos from my trip to China. I just got back from an amazing adventure through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia and want to start writing about that while the memories are fresh. However, given how indelible the images, sites, smells, and sounds were from that experience, I don't anticipate forgetting anything anytime soon!

I know, I know…I haven't even finished writing about China…stay tuned :) In the meantime, enjoy some of the visuals.

From the beautiful hotel grounds to the busy streets leading up to the markets, everything about the trip was magical. Cleansing, even. Things have really changed in the country - the days of millions of people riding bicycles have been replaced with luxury cars and mopeds (I don't think I saw a single car that was older than 3 or 4 years).

We had an amazing time at the food / night market. Amazing dishes, ambience, and tones of tourists! They were selling scorpions and starfish to eat (believe it or not the poor things were still alive while impaled on the skewers), but I think they were more for tourists as I didn't see a single Chinese person eating them.

Stay tuned for more!

MY TRIP TO CHINA - A Tale of Two Cities - Beijing and Shanghai DAY 1 - The Silk Market and Beyond!

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 07:21:00 +0000

Day 1 (continued from below)

The Silk Market

Despite our long trip, we caught our second wind and decided to set foot into the infamous "Silk Market". As our China Spree tour was likely going to be jam packed, wall to wall, morning to evening, I wanted to try to get the shopping out of the way asap. Perhaps the most famous tourist trap for the gritty bartering and shopping experience was the Silk Market which I had noticed in my Lonely Planet guide. Additionally, my friend had also recently visited and said it was a must see. I have to agree after going here! And no, this isn't a market where they sell silk (mind you they do sell some silk but given the parameters of this place, it is likely fake silk actually made out of polyester!).

The Silk Market is a multi-story building lined with stall after stall of merchandise and vendors. The real experience here is that the vendors are known to be quite aggressive and you have to negotiate - hard. It is not for the faint of heart according to many. The other claim to fame is that quite a few of the goods here are fakes - fake Rolex, Polo's, even fake iPhones. Everything looks completely legit, but is completely fake. Somehow even the electronics are fake even though they work. Talk about high-tech!

Each floor has a different mix of stalls. On the first floor it is mostly clothing related, on the second floor more clothing and souvenirs, then the third floor watches, pens, and electronics, and of course there are more floors. What you quickly will find though is that many of the vendors sell the same thing, especially in the clothing area or the watch area. You can use this to your advantage for your price shopping because you have an easy reason to just walk away if you don't get the price you want since the next stall over will have the same thing. The key however is when negotiating, to try to get the price down to about 15% to 20% of their asking price.

You can get lost in here, both literally and figuratively. You can plan to spend an hour in here in the morning, only to find that night has fallen by the time you leave. When you do leave, you will leave exhausted both mentally and physically with your arms full of purchases and your pockets empty, only to find a lady outside selling you even more fake Luis Vuittons for a fraction of the "great deal" you thought you just got inside. And in some cases, you'll know that you may have left just a little bit of your dignity behind. But all in all it will be a fun experience if you don't take things so personally!

We had a great time here. Although it was endless, I identified a few t-shirts, Burberry golf shirts, and other knick knacks like Montblanc Pens that I wanted to buy. I price shopped and my Dad and I went to work. Chinese versus Indians. Kung Pao versus curry. Cheap versus frugal. The battle of the two cultures famous for their haggling. My strategy was simple: counter their ridiculously high offer with a ridiculously low counter offer. Ultimately I think we fared well - in some cases I could have saved a buck or two, in others I got them to the point of getting mad. Just to give you a heads up, we paid about $4US per t-shirt, and about $8 for the polo shirts. The Mont Blanc pens were also about $8US. The fake watches were aplenty and boy, the quality sure has changed. Even the Rolexes, Hublots etc, even have automatic movement and sapphire crystals. Those varied quite a bit in price but for the better quality ones they could still run you about $100 or so. If anyone reading has gotten better prices please post in the comments so our readers will know!

Ultimately I can't say the vendors were in fact rude or aggressive, contrary to many things I had read. Everyone was quite pleasant, and the tactic of walking away worked charms. They would usually follow you out of their stall and convince you to come back. Whatever you buy though just assume it is low quality so keep your investment low and keep in mind you won't be able to return anything. Additionally, there is a section on the top floor with tailors. While you can probably get them to come down in price and probably get a men's suit tailored for around $70US, don't do it! The material they so certainly promote as wool or cashmere is in fact polyester. Wait until you're in Shanghai which has more options of trustworthy tailors.

Quite the experience spending the morning here. Yes, I said morning. We decided to go back to the hotel to meet the German guy and his travel companion at the for more adventures. Since I loved the Silk Market so much I came back many times before we left Beijing...including later that night where I ran into none other than a certain famous Hollywood actor...but you'll have to tune in for that story. Stay tuned.

Where did we go next? What was the subway system like and what exciting people did we meet? The adventure was yet to start. Keep visiting for more or subscribe for updates!

MY TRIP TO CHINA - A Tale of Two Cities - Beijing and Shanghai DAY 1

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 06:49:00 +0000

DAY 1

5:20am - Beijing Airport

Clearing Customs

So we're here!!!!! Unreal. We disembark the airplane and walk through the gigantic, beautiful airport, which is so nice it makes every other airport I've been to in the US look like garbage dumps. My Dad, myself, and Steve the Oil guy walk through the different terminals, following the heard from our plane to wherever customs may be.

Steve and I engage in a delightful conversation about the cute Chinese lady who gave him her "QQ" number (a cell phone app that many Chinese people use to chat with others and to pickup/hookup). I was 69% jealous thinking that I should have tried to talk to her but since I saw her with a baby, assumed she had a husband close-by, or she was flying out to China to be with him. Wrong. She was divorced, lived in Chino Hills, and was hot to trot. No offense to Steve, but she must have been longing for some lovin' if she was engaging flirtatious activity with him!

Anyway, we get to the customs area to the tune of a couple hundred others. Fortunately it is very organized, and since it is quite early in the morning, not so crowded. As a business-owner, one of the biggest joys of going on such a trip for me is to be away from a ringing cell-phone, and to also not have to be looking out for everyone, something that I tend to do in my personal life, and have to do as part of my profession as an attorney. Every day I get 50 to 60 calls from people, everyone needing help, asking me questions, and stretching my brain in a million directions. It is of such joy to me to just have to think about myself and tune out of this practice. I'm telling you this for a reason:

When we had exited the plane, an Indian lady travelling on her own had tried to engage conversation with me and my Dad, asking if we were Indian etc. What was odd was that she was strategically awaiting for us outside of the plane doors. Well, as luck would have it, while we were standing in the customs line, she approaches us again, very lost, and confused. At first I thought she was trying to cut the line since we had no relation to her and she just boldly planted herself alongside us despite the fact that we had no relation to her. It turned out she had a 12 hour layover in China en-route to a different country, no Chinese visa and had no idea what to do.

I'll be honest here - she really wanted us to hold her hand and help her figure out what to do. This would be an instance of me being torn - do I invest our time trying to help this lady when we have a tour operator waiting for us somewhere else in the terminal, not to mention we don't really know the customs here? No. No. No. Despite her attempts to persuade us surreptitiously and guilt trip us into leaving our place in a very long line, we stayed in line and just pointed her to the information desk and told her they would be in a better position to help her. It was hard for me to do that but I knew that on Day 1 of my vacation, I could not be figuring out someone else's lack of planning! Especially when it meant potentially jeopardizing missing our tour operator pick-up.

Lesson 1: If you're at stake, don't feel sorry for anyone.

My Mom taught me that first lesson when I found myself always feeling sorry for people and often to my own detriment. We made it through customs flawlessly, bid our adieus to Steve, and met the tour representative. About 15 other people joined us from the US, and we had a chance to speak with a few of them including an incredibly social man named Peter, who was from Hollywood but of German background. He was the first to approach us and introduce himself. Peter would be a very important person on the trip as we spent a lot of time with him. From the group, he was "that guy" (every group was one), who breaks the ice for everyone.

The China Spree operator was pleasant and organized. We were taken by a nice bus to our hotel. The first thing that struck me about Beijing was the architecture and how spectacular the buildings were. Usually when we look at our buildings here in North America, they often follow a common plan. Shapes and designs vary, but no significantly. Take Chicago for example - it is has a fantastic architectural tour pointing out the nuances of the tall buildings. In Beijing however, it seems like there is no restrictive common plan forcing buildings into a specific prescription. Their buildings are wild, impossible, beyond the imagination, and some even appear to defy the laws of physics!

The Jianguo Hotel, Beijing, China

Checking In

First order of business was checking into the hotel. Our hotel was the Jianguo Hotel which has been given great reviews on TripAdvisor, earning an #87 spot out of over 5,000 hotels. Wow, talk about great deal for our money thus far! You can check out reviews for the hotel here The potential issue we were to run into was whether the hotel would let us check in this early. After all, by then it was probably only 7:30am so checking in then would give new meaning to the term "early check-in". Luck! The tour guide talked to the front desk and they let everyone check-in! For me this was a huge plus as after flying for so long, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in a lobby or kill 5 hours - I needed to put my feet up for a few.

The interior of the hotel was gorgeous. The lobby was ultra clean, modern, and had a beautiful stream flowing through the property. Our room was excellent as well and came with a welcoming plate of fruit and two free bottles of water. The room even had this cool double sided mirror in which if you flicked a switch the mirror became a window into the bedroom. At one point when I was naked I flicked the switch, not knowing what it was - fortunately my Dad was sleeping. #embarrassing

We took a load off, my Dad and I put our feet up for an hour and I watched some TV. Since T-Mobile works internationally for very cheap and free if you connect to wi-fi, I called home to let my Mom know we had arrived. I don't get paid by T-Mobile to say this but if you're an international traveller, their phones are a must. When you travel, you can text and use data for free. Additionally, if you make phone calls they are very cheap. Finally, if you connect to wi-fi, you can make and receive calls from back home for free. Can't beat that!

Now time to get out of this room and explore the area! I had bought the Lonely Planet book highlighting the main parts of Beijing and Shanghai and made a list of the things I wanted to see that were not covered bou our tour. It is turning out that one of my rituals every trip is to buy the Lonely Planet guide. Yes yes, I know "the internet" along with Tripadvisor.com in some ways makes a book like Lonely Planet somewhat archaic, if not obsolete, but to me there's something about a tangible guide book.

Fortunately one of the main places I wanted to visit, the Silk Market was literally beside the hotel. The Silk Market is a multi-story shopping "mall" jam-packed with hundreds of stalls with each stall selling different products ranging from clothing to electronics to sunglasses. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that almost everything being sold is a fake? Fake Gucci, Rolex, Prada, Burberry, Polo...hell, they even had fake iPhones, Beats headphones, Canon cameras, you name it. I just had to check this place out based on the stories I had read and perhaps pick up a few souvenirs early in the trip.

As we walked toward the Market we noted this the entire area was a very touristy, perhaps expat area as there were many foreigners. Also, there were tonnes of restaurants including Mexican restaurants, pizza, you name it. The perfect place for travellers who had just taken a long flight. My Dad and I walked over to the Silk Market and decided to sit at a nice Cafe outside. Each with tea and croissant, we did some people watching and relished in the fact that we had finally arrived at this majestic country after almost a year in the wait! What adventures would await us in the Silk Market? What completely random things would happen to us later today? The adventure was about to being!

Stay tuned for our adventure in the Silk Market....to be continued...

MY TRIP TO CHINA - A Tale of Two Cities - Beijing and Shanghai

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Sun, 25 May 2014 04:38:00 +0000

Welcome! As this five year old blog now morphs into a new stage of it's life, I am excited to start tinkering with new designs for it, introduce more photos, and now talk in detail about my experiences travelling.

We are going to start from the latest trip and work backwards (or forwards depending on where I go). First on the block: China! I had the opportunity to go to China using the tour company China Spree (www.chinaspree.com) I found the deal through Travel Zoo and quite the deal it was. We paid extra to go during the season when the weather would be the best and in total only paid about $1,250 USD / per person. So having booked the trip, and considering the price, the next concern was - what on earth was this trip going to be like for this little money.

Well here is what it included: flights (LAX to Beijing, Beijing to Shanghai, Shanghai to Beijing, and Beijing back to LAX), hotel (four stars, amazing locations), tour guides, transportation, most of the meals, and all the admission costs to all of the major places. How on earth the price was what it was is still beyond what I can figure out. So what was the catch? Were we going to have to take a flight with thirty different connections? Was the tour bus going to be a rachety old school bus with chickens walking around inside? Were the hotels going to be roach motels? Or my favorite - were we going to arrive, only to get picked up by the tour operator, transferred to a remote location, only to have all of our expensive organs subtracted from our bodies and wake up in a bathtub full of ice?

Let's start from the top:

DAY 0 - Travel Day

Our flight flew out on Friday morning at 1:30am. Perfect! We were to fly Air China, leaving LAX and since it left from Terminal 2 instead of Tom Bradley, I have to say that I was very happy. Anyone who has flown international out of LAX via Tom Bradley knows that you definitely have to show up 3 hours early as the line-ups can be huge. Additionally, unlike domestic flights, it's not so simple as checking in 24 hours before and walking straight through security as you almost always have a suitcase to check. Usually when you get to that terminal you will find hundreds of people standing in line with tonnes of boxes, suitcases etc. bringing goods back to their homeland and also making it quite a hassle to just show up and check in quickly. Fortunately for us in Terminal 2, there was almost no line and we walked through security - from curb to terminal in only about 15 minutes!

I had never flown Air China before but given how economical this whole trip was, had some slight doubts that it would be a nice or clean plane. Boy was I wrong. As seems to be customary with international travel, the plane was super clean, the interior looked brand new and very modern, and of course each seat had it's own personal entertainment system built into the headrest. As I usually do, I selected seats towards the rear of the plane. The reason I do this is because many times when boarding, those with seats towards the back are the first group called to board. Not always, but sometimes.

My Dad sat to my left, and a hefty gentleman from Bakersfield who drove a truck in the oil fields was sitting to my right. He seemed quite social and had flown to China multiple times before as his wife lives there. Apparently the US thought his marriage to her was a sham so they wouldn't grant her a green card, thereby forcing this guy to have to see his wife out in China. After he showed me a few pictures of her on his phone however, I'm not surprised - she was a looker and he was.....well, anyway the plane was really nice!

Since I thought it would be nice to buy myself something for the trip, I decided for this long haul flight to invest in some noise-cancelling headphones. As I was a noise-cancelling headphone virgin, I did some research and bought a relatively cheap pair via EBay (about $26 with good reviews). Aside from being able to hear the movies much clearer without having to crank up the volume, I found them also helped with the engine noise - mind you things have changed and once the plan was cruising it was actually rather quiet in the cabin.

This was a direct flight to Beijing. Surprisingly, it was only to be a 12 hour flight. Based on my trip to Vietnam last year, I was budgeting one of those 19 hour jobs, but wow - this was a somewhat quick flight. The movie selection on Air China was very limited in terms english movies but I ended up watching Rush, something else I can't remember and about half of The Butler. The food on the plane....well, it sucked. Normally I would say airplane food always sucks but if you've flown Singapore Airlines then you'll know that's not true! But hey, I don't like eating much on long flights anyway so it was fine. My rationale is that if you're in a seated position for that long and putting food in your body, you are setting yourself up for constipation. Just a guess.

It was a smooth flight and the great part of those late flights is you sleep through most of it and when you wake up, you're almost at your destination. There was a cute Chinese lady in the row next to us with a little baby. Before I knew it Steve, the oil field truck driver was hitting on her. As I would later found out, his rule is that it doesn't count as being married until he's inside of China so anything else is free game. Can't argue with that. He was a likeable character however being sat between a 280 - 300 pound guy doesn't give me much room to move!

All in all, I was very happy with our flight and Air China as well as the air hostesses, stewardesses, eye candy, whatever you call them these days!!! About 5:15am we touched down! Steve and the lady next to him exchanged qq info (some sort of app where you chat via your phone, like whatsapp), I kicked myself for not having chatted with her before he did, and we cleared customs. CHINA HERE I COME.

To be continued.....

Signs

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Thu, 15 May 2014 06:45:00 +0000

There are always signs, you just have to open your eyes and listen. Yes, I said that correctly: "open your eyes and listen." Some may doubt the ability of us to shape our universe, or for our souls to perpetuate after the death of our body. What ever you believe to be true, ultimately is true. Therefore, I write this latest post to encourage you to believe in the things you want to be true. Avoid questioning or doubting that which you want.

My latest example involves my wonderful brother and kitten, Mr. T. As some of you who follow this blogAs science and physics indicate, matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore life in the existence of what gives a body consciousness, cannot similarly be destroyed and cease to exist.

know, Mr. T passed away unexpectedly several years ago. We were very close and I felt he is a reflection of me. He died on a late Sunday morning. That whole week was a difficult one for me and my family. My greatest hope was that there was more after death. Whether it was heaven or something to do with our souls continuing to exist after our death, it did not matter. I just wanted to know that Mr. T was okay. Furthermore my mind could not process that a life and soul as kind as Mr. T's could simply cease to exist.

Two supernatural events occurred that week following the passing of Mr. T. Late one night I was listening to an audio book about how our pets' souls do go to heaven and how we see them in the afterlife and that they even visit us from time to time. While listening to this heart warming audio book, I saw a white ball of light rise to the right of me and disappear. No, I do not take drugs, nor was I tired. What was it? It was about the size of a small Christmas globe. Could it have been the sign I was looking for?

I received my divine confirmation and indisputable sign exactly one week later and probably to the minute Mr. T died. It was now Sunday. I regularly attend the Self-Realization Center at Lake Shrine, which has a service every Sunday in which they talk about something spiritual. Every week has a topic, and all topics have been laid out a year in advance. During the week, I had hoped they would talk about death or the afterlife so that I may find some comfort. Unfortunately, when I checked the schedule online, the subject had nothing to do with that.

My Mother and I showed up to listen to the speaker...and he announced that he would be talking about what happens when those we love die. You may think I am making this up, but I am not! This was not even a topic for any other week that they had rescheduled - the speaker had for some unknown explanation changed the subject to discuss death, what happens when we die, and how we can even still communicate to those we love who have died. During the discussion, he even went through what it felt like to die. I cried quite a bit during this process and felt Mr. T all around me. I knew it was his sign in shifting the Universe around me to give me this comfort that he would forever be within my reach.

After that day, there was no doubt. We produce the Universe around us with our thoughts. Whether negative or positive, whether fantastic or sad, whether unbelievable or bland. So choose your thoughts wisely, and never, ever, disbelieve that you are your own God.

Don't Call It a Comeback, I've Been Here For Years.

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Tue, 06 May 2014 10:07:00 +0000

So you may be wondering - where the hell did I go? Well, I've been around. And NO - I'm not back to this blog because of a breakup, believe it or not. I actually just got back from a fantastic trip to China after not having gone on a real vacation in over a year and realized how therapeutic this blog is for me. You see, when we get caught up in the everyday of life and work, it can begin to weigh down upon us and we need an escape. For me, that escape is going on a trip somewhere and not worrying about clients or better yet, not having clients constantly asking me to fix their lives. It can be draining and stressful.

You know how when you return from vacation you feel lighter? You look 10 years younger? Nothing can phase you and you come home with a great outlook on life. However, if we are not careful upon our return, it doesn't take long for the stresses of life to quickly catch up to us and wipe that glow off of us. Although I am very jetlagged, I like the fact that it is 3am, I am wide awake to be with myself, and you all, my loyal readers.

Today was supposed to be my first day back to work but I woke up at 4pm and while trying to catch up on a million emails realized that I was falling back into a routine which had become old to me. Compounded with an annoying client who wanted to vent to me via email and voicemails about his problems with the DMV, I *almost* found myself thinking negatively and writing something nasty back to the client. It is at this point where I realized that this return from China is my chance to do things differently.

We can't change how people are, but we can change how we react to people.

My goal is to keep my luster, my back-from-vacation glow. It is mine to keep and to share! But it is also mine to lose. I urge everyone to work on maintaining your glow every day. When you are in a good mood, it is your responsibility to not let others take that away from you. Some call this glow a "halo" or "aura". Jesus had an aura which people followed. Many people who are leaders have certain magnetic auras as well. Why do you think it is someone can be physically beautiful but not have anyone ever wanting to talk with them, meanwhile someone considered much less attractive (by superficial societal norms), can walk into a room and people flock to their presence? The answer lies in their aura.

I am going to keep my aura by changing the channel when negative instances occur. If a client calls that I know will affect my mood or my aura, I won't answer. If I get an email which I know will stress me, I can choose to simply delete it or read it later. Each one of you has the power to change the channel. Your life is your personal TV set, and you happen to be in control of the remote!

And on that note - I also want to announce that I am going to posting more pictures on this blog as well as talking much more about all of my travels. I hope you'll enjoy it. Once you hear how amazing Beijing and Shanghai are I am sure you'll want to pay them a little visit.

Until next time...and that time will be later this week as opposed to months from now.....

Perfection in Imperfection

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 06:06:00 +0000

It has been quite some time since I wrote anything on this blog. The truth is that for me this blog is therapy. I haven't needed any blog therapy in quite some time because as I was in a relationship for the last few years, I became complacent and failed to do serious self-reflecting. Well guess what fans? My relationship ended (I'm hoping it can be salvaged), and I am here to take my mind off of it by reflecting on the things I did wrong so that I do not repeat the mistakes in the future.

I will get to what happened at a later point as I do not yet want to express in words that it is over, and put that out into the universe. What I would like to communicate to you is that when we look at our partners, our friends, our family, is that we should only focus on the perfection within each of them. All too often, we focus on people's flaws and imperfections. Why? How does that change them? And why do we do that, so that we can feel better by ourselves? Perhaps feel superior?

I challenge each and every one of you to shift your paradigm from being critical of others flaws. As practice, the next time someone you know does something that you normally find irritating, instead of reacting, quickly think of how their irritating behavior has some sort of benefit. If you can't find one, then think of something positive about the person so that you realize they are not the flaw you see, but instead are a composition of a number of characteristics.

In doing this practice, you will gradually become a more grateful person. In turn, by being more grateful, this will improve your relationships not only with the subject individual, but with everyone in your life. I believe one of the goals in life is to achieve a God like glow such as the Buddha or Gandhi. We are each able to obtain such a glow, however because of what goes on in our minds, we cannot release this. That glow you see from certain people is sourced from their positive energy and outlook on life. Give it a try for 27 days and see how things will change!

Life is what makes us live

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:44:00 +0000

I was thinking of a new concept for life today and breaking apart the typical notion of how it is we are alive. We are known to exist based on our internal organs. When we are conceived, cells come together, and over time they form organs, the most important of which is the heart which beats. When we think of life, and being alive, we think of a heart beating.

But is it really the heart and these other organs which start working in unison and then create what we call life, or what would otherwise be the beginning of what we term "consciousness"? I've been doing some thinking and I would like to propose a new theory: that "life" is what makes the heart beat and the organs function, and not the other way around. Maybe all along we've been considering things backwards. Life begins first, then the heart beats second.

Therefore I would like to propose that life is what makes us alive! The heart and these functioning organs are merely players in the game and "life" makes them function. So when we die and life leaves our body, the heart no longer needs to function since it has no more authority triggering it to beat. This my explain why some people die sooner than others despite having th same health - life has simply left them.

But that raises the next question: what is "life"? We'll explore that in our next article :)

Someone Can't Give What They Don't Have

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:43:00 +0000

I was listening to Joel Osteen this morning, I he said something that I found invaluable which I'd love to pass on to the rest of you guys.

"People can't give you what they don't already have."

The discussion today was about forgiving people who have wronged you so that you can free yourself. As always, it was promised that if you do your part, the Universe will pay you back double. I agree.

As I thought about past relationships, I've also thought of my times when I've proactively forgiven these ex-girlfriends. It is true, when I've done it genuinely, I've felt a huge weight lifted off of me - one that I didn't know I had. Unfortunately, I've also found myself going through periods where I've let myself feel anger towards them again, and these thoughts prevent the great things which are just around the corner, from entering my life (in the relationship department, that is).

But how easy is it to forgive? After listening to Joel today, I realized it is easier than many of us make it to be. Whatever relationship we were in before, ended for a reason whether good or bad. In a relationship while we may not enter it with any expectations, we eventually do develop some. How can you be in a solid relationship without having at least some minimal expectations, such as expecting your significant other to call you if they're running severely late, compliment you on something or the other, or even being there for you when you need a shoulder to lean on?

But I've learned that if you aren't receiving the things that you expect to get in a relationship, then it's not necessarily your fault so stop blaming yourself. People can't give what they don't already have. I interpret this to mean that someone typically won't treat you better or give you more than they give themselves. Yes, overly one sided relationships, and our Mothers are the exceptions. But think about it - if someone can't wake up on time to get to a job, if they're chronically late in everything they do, how can you expect them to be on time for you, when they can't be on time for themselves, or anyone else?

Here are some more examples, just so that we're clear. The person is overly frugal and doesn't even spend money on themselves, how can you get angry if they don't ever treat you to something nice every once in a while? The person is an emotional vault, refusing to ever cry, feel vulnerable, etc., how can you be surprised or upset when that person won't be emotionally available for you?

I'm sure you get it by now. I'm not suggesting you withhold yourself and who you are from your significant other. More importantly, just because you're boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife isn't as giving as you, that doesn't mean that you should change who you are and start giving or doing less. Be YOU. Those are the most important words you can ever bring to any relationship. As long as you drop expectations about what you think the other person should be, just focus on who you are and always give 100%. If the other person doesn't reciprocate, that's their loss. Your only job is to be you, and not expect the other to give you what they don't already have.

Peace Starts on the Inside

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:03:00 +0000

I decided that perhaps my thinking has become slightly negative in recent weeks or perhaps even months. I therefore decided to go to the Self-Realization Center in the Pacific Palisades with my Mom to feel cleansed. I was very glad I went.

I think for the first time, as we went through a brief meditation, I finally started to understand how it worked. Typically my mind is always racing, however today with guidance, I think I managed to harness it a little bit. Although I had been feeling a little bit of anger towards an ex-girlfriend (I just found out she moved in with somebody proving that there had been someone else involved in our break-up), I started letting that go and started feeling good vibes for everyone. I realized that it is not only healthier to love than to hate, but much easier! I left the sermon today feeling more refreshed. Unfortunately, that did not last for long. As I was trying to leave, a few people bumped into me, without making eye contact or apologizing. I felt like pushing back, wondering how these people could be so discourteous. Then I made it to the line for the Friendship Tea for the weekly snack. Again, there were many people, and some people decided to get their food, and just continue to stand in front of it to chat, blocking the line, and blocking others from accessing it. I don't believe they were intentionally being rude, but often people unfortunately do not consider anyone else but themselves. All that mattered to them was that they got what they wanted. Nobody else existed.

To take into account your surroundings, and others around you, seems to have turned into a rare trait amongst peoples, even at a beautiful place of worship. I started feeling anger, and then realized that I had to really work on myself as perhaps in these last few months the crowd of the city and the thoughtlessness of many people within had eroded my new place of peace. But I can never blame anything on the outside. I believe we must be so peaceful and strong, that nothing, nor no one on the outside can affect us on the inside. Not surprisingly, the Universe told me what I needed to know within minutes of me feeling this trivial and destructive anger. I had picked up a little booklet which contained selections from Gandhi's writing. Upon feeling this anger my eyes fell immediately on these lines:

I am too conscious of the imperfections of the species to which I belong to be irritated against any member thereof. My remedy is to deal with the wrong wherever I see it, not to hurt the wrongdoer; even as I would not like to be hurt for the wrongs I continually do.

No coincidence. I am but a fool to expect perfection from everyone. We cannot hold everyone else up to our own standards otherwise we will go crazy. Just because I'm overly considerate of others doesn't mean anyone else is, nor should I get angry with others for being the way they are. We are an imperfect species. And that's okay. Just accept others and focus on the simple and happy things in your life.

Like Gravity

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:46:00 +0000

I was on my way to a car dealership today to look at a new car. Yes, although not as cool as the BMW 3 series, I decided to go green and consider a Toyota Prius, especially given all of the miles that I sometimes drive, not to mention So.Cal traffic can take a toll on a car. More importantly my ego doesn't need the inflation of a car like that. Perhaps once upon a time, but not now. But something struck me on my way to look at the car: that I hadn't thought about my last relationship in a while. Have no doubt, time heals all wounds. It's funny to think how crappy I felt just a couple of months ago. However when we have a reference that puts everything in perspective for us, it all makes sense about how we have to be like gravity. We have to be like gravity in that we have to gravitate towards the things and people that gravitate towards us. This permeates all levels of life. Allow me to explain.

In our relationships, it is useless for us to convince someone to like us. No doubt, there is sometimes a game we have to play during the courting phase however over the longer term, it is fruitless to convince someone to like us. Our time is far better spent gravitating towards people who like to spend time with us without us having to impress them or convince them to do so. How do we know when we're with the right person or set of friends? Nothing feels forced, we look forward to spending time with them, and we don't have to feel like we're someone we're not. We just exist and are happy in their company. Trust me, take a look at how you are when you're with your best friend and contrast that relationship to other people you're with. Now let's move on to our "job" or whatever it is that we do for a living. If you're having doubts about your job or are unhappy or perhaps are at a stage in your life where you're still considering what you want to be when you "grow up", then read on. It's probably easier than you think to decide. Think back to what you wanted to be when you were a child - do you still have aspirations to do that? (aside from being a millionaire, which we've all found out, isn't actually a profession!). You may find that you do, and may want to consider pursuing that. Or if you're not sure about your current job, take a look at your life. Do you find yourself tired? Snappy with your loved ones? Getting sick all the time even though you take care of yourself? It may very well be your subconscious trying to give you signals to move on.

My point is that life does not have to be a struggle. In fact, the Universe is so abundant with whatever you want that it is fruitless to feel like you are swimming upstream. The path is laid out for you and perhaps more obvious to follow than your mind can comprehend, which is why we spend so much time pursuing things that we are not sure of, because society has conditioned us to take certain paths, which may or may not be our true heart's calling.

Take some time to meditate. Contemplate. What did you want to do for a living as a child? Who are the people that you feel most alive when you're around? When was the last time you got sick - what or who was involved in your life? These are the breadcrumbs that the Universe has laid out for us on our journey of fulfillment. Just follow the simple law of Gravity in everything your heart calls for you to do and you will be amazed by the results.

Kanye West and the Law of Attraction

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:07:00 +0000

Since it happens so often, I've decided to start documenting a bit more, my experiences with quantum physics and its more commercialized version, "the law of attraction". Let's start with today.

The VMA Awards were already a month ago. For some reason, I decided to watch a rerun of it the other night on the TV, only to hear the new Kanye West song, "Runaway". I didn't think anything of the song nor was it one of those songs that replayed in my head. I had never heard it on the radio or TV so I figured it didn't go anywhere. Today about about 4:00pm I was working when for some reason the song popped back into my head. I couldn't shake it. I ended up spending about 20 minutes looking for it on youtube and finally found a decent version to listen to. It was a decent song after all!

Two minutes later, I turned on the TV for the first time that day. The TV turned on with the face of Kanye West on the Ellen show. I didn't even have to change the channel - he was right there talking about his new album/song. Within about 15 seconds, they started playing the video for that song that I had just been looking for, but had been having a hard time finding a decent version of on youtube!

Coincidence? Doubt it. Stay tuned.

Rainbow Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Amoeba Life) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 21:33:00 +0000

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and vigour, those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent, the eager body quivers. Suddenly it begins to break away from the group, flying across the green grass, strong legs carrying him faster and faster.

YOU have been spotted and when you and your special pet finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face, and as your hands caress their beloved head you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. You then cross the Rainbow Bridge together.

Author Unknown

Going One Step Further

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 00:05:00 +0000

Thank you to ALL and EVERYONE who has ever read this blog. I am writing this to announce a few changes that will be taking place. Don't worry, this isn't an announcement that this blog will be shutting down since I don't have time to write anymore. Quite the opposite. I have decided to put more time and effort into maintaining this. If anyone gets anything out of it, whether a smile, knowledge, or even some help that saves one of their own animal family members, then it would make all of this worth it. Actually, all of this is worth it anyway, because I get to speak (type) from the heart and that alone makes it worthwhile!

SO - a few upcoming changes:

1) A new domain name! I haven't decided on it yet, but will do so soon at which point lovelifeandthelawofattraction.blogspot.com will point to the new domain (you have to admit, the current one is ridiculously long).
2) I am going to work on a slightly new and appealing layout.
3) And the biggest of them all, is that I want to start adding video blogging to this site. I think it will be a new way to spice things up around here.

Have a wonderful weekend and make sure and spend time with everyone you love, animal, human, or plant.

I love you Mr. T

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:09:00 +0000

My beautiful kitten, exactly one year old, died this weekend. I am trying not to look back with regret for not having brought him to the vet sooner. It happened so fast...

It's strange - I miss him dearly, but for some reason feel so surrounded by his presence and his LOVE. I've cried a lot over these last two days. Oddly enough, this is the first death I've really been close to. I've had pets many years ago, but I was a different person then, and their deaths hurt. However, I don't know if I was as close to those animals as this one - Mr. T. He was one of three brothers who was born in my backyard by a stray cat. The mother left them for us, and they were soon coined as "The Klump" or "The Brothers" (nevermind that two of them were female). They have spent the last year together completely inseparable, cleaning each other daily, sleeping, eating, and loving me and my family.

I love him very much. I see how much I've grown as a person and I see so much of me in each of those kittens, especially Mr. T. He was a very shy and timid kitten, but very kind, quiet, and peaceful. As our discussions on this blog have been clear, the things we receive in life are a reflection of us. This couldn't be more true of these kittens. As my mother pointed out, as I considered how unconditionally and deeply Mr.T loved me, he was just reflecting my own love for him back upon myself. I used to be someone that carried around a lot of regrets about things I could have done better. Not so much this time, hence my growth.

I never let a single day go by without spending a lot of time with my kittens and every single night, even if it was 2 in the morning, sitting down with them outside and telling them how much I loved them. Me and Mr.T used to sit down side by side, with my hand on his back, watching up at the stars. I told him every night just how much I loved him. I felt like he really understood me. He just stood quietly and listened to me always. So docile, so loving.

Despite him no longer physically here, all I feel is love all around me. I keep thinking of the line from Ghost where Patrick Swayze says (while he's going to heaven), "it's amazing, the love, you take it with you...". While the backyard seems very empty and quiet, and I know his two sisters are missing him dearly, grieving in their own way, I feel his ray of sunshine upon my soul.

I realized through Mr.T how silly it is, chasing love. How silly have I been over the years, chasing people that didn't love me back. It is incumbent upon us to be like gravity and gravitate towards those that love us and we love. Never try to convince someone to love you - that is not love.

As humans, we love to talk about love all of the time, however we understand it the least of perhaps all living creatures. Mr.T knew what true love was. He gave it to me and his siblings every day. He didn't do it to get anything in return. He did it simply because he had it to give. Love is being in the presence of someone who you can share your positive energy with, and bask in the glow of one another. Love is sharing your positive energy with someone when they're down and vice-versa. Love is not conditional. It is something you give because you wish to give it. I love you Mr.T and I thank you for loving me. I feel like that beautiful feeling you gave me will never go away. Ever.

Quotation from Eat, Pray, Love

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:44:00 +0000

“…I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call “The Physics of The Quest” – a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: “If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you.” Or so I’ve come to believe.”

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love.

New Beginnings...Again

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:39:00 +0000

Well, who would have thunk it? I first started this blog a few years ago to help me recover from a break-up. I'd like to say it was devastating because it rattled my foundations as a human being. The interesting thing is, it wasn't the relationship that did it, so much as it was how the end of it awoke me to the real me, and the issues I had that were holding me back that perhaps had prevented me from being in a great relationship.

Fast forward and a about a year and a half ago I met a great girl! As you can decipher from the dates on my posts, this blog went dead as my heart soared in ways I did not expect. With this new girl, I was able to do right all the things I had done wrong previously. I didn't hide her - she slept over at my parents place, I introduced her as my girlfriend, I was always available for her and I was generous with my time and love. For the first time, I was able to tell someone in english openly that I loved them and she loved me too!

I'm not sure where things went wrong. The only issue her and I ever had was that after a while I always felt like I was tenth on her list of things to do. Don't get me wrong, we talked and kept in touch all day, however it was rare for me to see her in the day, as though we'd only get to do things in the evenings after she had done all of her other stuff. To me that wasn't a big deal, although the bigger deal was when we would have tentative plans and she would forget all about them, almost twice a week! She was so busy managing her family, job and school, that while I would get frustrated, I was also very patient. I was just happy to have her in my life. Ultimately, this was the only thing I would get frustrated and angry about. Otherwise we got along well.

We finally made our one year anniversary. We enjoyed a fantastic weekend going to the aquarium and being together. She was head over heels and so was I. Then the next day, she became very distant. For the whole week we did not talk much. When I finally managed to get her to answer her phone, she seemed odd. She said she had felt so close to me and dependent that she wanted to see what it would be like to be without me for the week, and she ended up missing me. I, unfortunately, got mad and told her that it seems like she just wants to break up, so let's just break up. Although I regretted it immediately and apologized, she took it and ran. Either way, I had been very patient and nor am I a laboratory animal to experiment on!

Ultimately the relationship turned into an electronic one - we were broken up, kind of, sort of, but she would only communicate through text. She wanted to meet one day, but then ditched me. It has been a roller coaster these last four months, trying to understand her signs. I have felt every emotion from sadness to anger to overwhelming love for her despite everything. She kept giving signs but ultimately she was always too afraid to express herself fully and perhaps me too, as I had felt that I kept reaching out, and she would just recoil. Yesterday however, I finally gave it one last go, and got the closure I needed...through text message no less.

She repeated what she had said before - she wasn't happy anymore with her life and didn't want to drag me down in the process. Talking wouldn't have changed anything. She said I am better off without her, and that her life is so crazy right now. Whatever her motives are/were, I replied with no games, telling her that I loved her very much and all I had ever wanted previously was to at least talk to say goodbye if nothing more. I sent lots and lots of love her way and told her she is very dear to me.

I could have said nasty things, but what for? She did things the way she knew how and I know she did nothing out of malice. Perhaps she got afraid at the one year mark. And yes, we are at two different points in our lives, that's for sure. I feel so lucky to have been able to carry myself out of the fire two years ago and love again. I did not expect myself to wind up here again...but I know that I do so a much stronger person than before. I am grateful to be surrounded by many projects, many people and great family. And I realized that the real love of my life has to be myself.

Book Review: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Well it's been awhile, but I thought it was time for another book review. This time, after hearing so much about the series, I finally picked up an edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings. I have seen this book everywhere over the years, and always found the name of it to be a bit odd, but despite that my only excuse for not having picked up one of its many editions is because I never got around to it.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings, is a compilation of various short stories of situations people have gone through. They are all real events dealing with everything from people who lost their jobs, to their families, but were able to find a way to stay positive by focusing on the good things that they had in their life instead of dwelling on the lack, or what was missing. People began to realize that all that mattered was their peace of mind and humility.

The book is broken down into several chapters including "expressing gratitude", "silver linings", and "recovering from adversity" to name a few. Each chapter accordingly contains a number of real life stories from average people who were able to find their way and count their blessings, persevering through the tough things that life can bring out.

All in all I really like this book and am already heading to the library to borrow another one on finding love and chance encounters. The great part of this book is that you don't have to read it from front to back. You can read one story here, another there, and it still makes sense since each story stands on its own and is only a few pages long. There are 101 stories and for anyone who is going through a tough time in any regard, I highly encourage you to pick it up and realize that life is abundant!!! While you focus on the things you don't have, you forget the great abundance that you already do have and that is what matters most.

Speaking It Into Existence

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Thu, 20 May 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Be careful not only of the thoughts you carry in your head and in your heart, but also what you say. You can speak things into existence by a mere word. Just recently, I had difficulty in a dear relationship. For the whole year, things were blissful, however so good were things in my life I started to say that sooner or later, my great ride was going to come to an end. I don't know why I started saying it, but I did. When shopping for a gift for our one year anniversary, I started planting the seeds of destruction by telling the sales clerks at jewelry stores that it was a word record for me to have achieved a one year relationship.

Within days after our first anniversary, without a word, and for reasons that someone remain a mystery, my relationship began to unravel. For those who have followed this blog, they know the pain I suffered last time, but the great wisdom that arose from that pain. One parallel I found was that we can in fact "jinx" things by thinking the wrong way and speaking the wrong way. Remember, the Universe is always listening.

If this is the demise of another relationship, I take the blame. I spoke it into existence by anticipating an end, and even speaking it. I do hope everything works out and am changing my tune. Nonetheless, I encourage everyone out there reading this to guard not only what you think, but what you say. It will most definitely come true, in one way or another.

Daily Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:56:00 +0000

Celebrate the successes and victories. Acknowledge and mourn the losses, and allow the energy of disappointment to become the energy of faith and transformation. And always honor the journey.

Enjoy the Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Three) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:05:00 +0000