Venting

Is it wrong to expect certain things from certain people?  For example, you expect the President of the United States, whoever that might be in any given year, to manage the country, protect us from harm, and look out for our well being (at least you hope).  Pretty straightforward right?

To me, I expect certain behaviors from people in certain roles.  I expect a mother to be motherly and always caring.  I expected a father to be protective of his family.  I expect a manager to train me and set me up for success at work.  Not so hard right?  This would be ideal in a perfect world.

If I take this up a notch, then I expect people in general to be honest, respectful, considerate, and compassionate at least up front.  However, it seems to me that people are not this way anymore.  If they are, then we must be living in a bubble.  People are caught up in their own lives and just don’t seem to care, at least not like when I was younger.

I remember the days when friends had get togethers and neighbor’s doors were wide open.  You could come over anytime and we could just kick back and talk our heads off.  Even my parents generation had friends like this.  They’d have house parties at a moment’s notice.

Now-a-days, you’ve got to coordinate schedules.  You’ve got to call in advance.  Doors are locked and alarms are set.  Gone are the days of ‘my house is your house’ mentality.  At least for the most part it is.  There are very few people who still value hospitality.

Unfortunately for me, I still have this mentality that friends and family are automatically hospitable just out of association.  I’m sure they are hospitable, assuming they can fit you in their schedule or their kid’s schedule.  Once are family is started I will probably run into the situation.  I surely hope not.

Sadly, I rarely know my neighbors.  Two of the surrounding neighbors are renters.   One of them looks questionable.  His roommates even look familiar, like a post office picture familiar, like Megan’s Law familiar.

There has been so much crime and violence that people are less trusting.  I don’t blame them.

When people do something out of the ordinary, they surprise the hell out of me.  Maybe I just need to lower my expectations of people.  I just don’t get how people can be so busy that they can’t even give you the time of day.  I mean, if we invite someone to our home, then we consider them friends.  It would be great to have the same invitation to build that relationship.  But it’s just not that way anymore.  It’s disappointing and when you get treated the same way from family, then it becomes annoying.

Do you know what’s also annoying?  People who don’t listen when you talk.  People who are half listening and thinking about how to top your story.  People who constantly talk about themselves.  I could say, ‘my work place burned down’ and the person would say, ‘oh that’s great.  Anyway, I just went skiing yesterday and we saw a burnt house on the way up to the slopes’.  WTH!

Is it bad to expect that people should listen to you and actually provide a response that is more closely to what you expect?  Maybe show some concern? Such as, ‘wow, was everyone alright?  were you at work when this happened?’.  To me, that would be the ‘normal’ response.

I guess that we are in a busy world, we’ve got places to go, people to meet, and less time to do everything.  I surely don’t have an answer.  Just venting today . . .

Stay in School

My grandmother (Lola) was a strong supporter of a good education.  She believed in it so much.  She know that value of a good eduction in this country.  My mom barely finished grade school before my Lola started to take care of her.  Back in the day, school was a luxury.  I guess it’s not free like the public schools here in the States.  Free is a relative word.  But the bottom line is that my mom didn’t have the book smarts she wanted.

Dad was the same way.  He knew and knows the importance of a good education.  He supported me financially through high school and college.  I still had to work though.  Tuition and books on a quarterly system was quite a burden.  Dad gave me just enough to cover rent and food.  The rest came from financial aid.

From Lola down to my dad, we all believe that education is important.  It is what gets you through this life and prepares for your future.  It is an accomplishment to be proud of.  It is something that is valuable and rare in our family.  It’s not impossible, it just takes discipline and hard work.  Long hours of study and memorization are a requirement.  The payoff is priceless.

Check out the 5 reasons to stay in school from the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network:

Top 5 Reasons to Stay in School

1. High school dropouts are four times as likely to be unemployed as those who have completed four or more years of college;
2. Graduating from high school will determine how well you live for the next 50 years of your life. High school graduates earn $143 more per week than high school dropouts. College graduates earn $336 more per week than high school graduates ($479 more per week than high school dropouts);
3. Dropouts are more likely to apply for and receive public assistance than graduates of high school;
4. Dropouts comprise a disproportionate percentage of the nation’s prison and death row inmates. 82% of prisoners in America are high school dropouts;
5. School districts all over the country provide alternative programs for students who are not successful in the usual school setting. The best programs in the country are featured in our Model Programs Database. The database can be searched for programs in your city and/or state.

I know there are things that happen to make you want to drop out of school, but it’s not worth it believe me.  Do not get caught up in making money.  Once kids get the taste of money from part time jobs, then they think that’s all they need to survive.  Part time jobs are supposed to supplement your financial situation towards school expenses.

Find the right friends.  The wrong kind of friends are the ones that drop out of school and try to influence you to do the same.  They are the ones into drugs and other bad things.  These are the type of friends you want to stay away from.  They are more trouble then they are worth.  The right friends motivate you to study and to appreciate all the goodness in this life.

Balance your activities between schooling, sports, music and other meaningful things.  Once you get out of school you can catch up on other things you may have missed.  By then, you will have the means and support to do whatever you want in this life.  But whatever you do, stay in school.

See the rest of our Nispiros Portal Lessons.

Street Smarts

What is the world coming to?  Today I was listening to CNN and they talked about how kids are dying every week on the streets of Chicago.  Somehow kids are dealing with their problems with violence.  One kid was shot twice in the same neighborhood just riding his bike.  I’m not sure how that could have been avoided.  He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There are plenty of things that can be done and I’ll leave that to the politicians, educators, and law enforcement agents to figure out.  While these groups are figuring out a solution, this would be a good time to develop your street smarts.

Street smarts isn’t something you learn in school, it’s something you learn on the ’streets’ by observing people.  It’s like a game.  When I go out to public places I always make sure I’m sitting in the power position.  The power position is the seat that have view to the door and can see everything in that area.  I never had my back to the door and I always pay attention to what is going around me, the sounds around me, and just paying attention to my surroundings.

When I walk around I try to keep my hand outside of my pockets.  I want to be able to use my hands in an emergency situation.  Keeping your hands in your pockets will leave you vulnerable (unless you’re holding pepper spray or have your house keys wrapped in-between your fingers).

Having street smarts also means having common sense.  It means not walking to your car by yourself at night.  It means always thinking about your safety and staying out of bad places.  Sometimes you are in situations that are out of your control.  Best thing is to get in control and get in a comfortable and safe environment.  Nothing is worth your safety.

Being alert includes profiling people.  I know it’s bad, but it’s what I do.  If I see a suspicious person, I keep my eye on him.  I watch his movements and observe any unusual behavior.  This behavior includes constantly watching for authorities, gazing at children, monitoring women’s belonging, etc.  Sometimes I wish I had a photographic memory so I could recall a face at will.

Don’t be fooled either.  Having street smarts means being tough and not letting anyone BS you or rope you into something you do not want to do.  There are lessons in school that are important to remember.  Don’t talk to strangers.  Don’t ride in a strangers car.  Don’t walk home alone.  I’m sure there are more tips that the schools teach now-a-days.  Learn them all if you’re still in school.  If not, then Google ‘safety tips‘ and see what you find.

See the rest of our Nispiros Portal Lessons.

Saying ‘yeah yeah’ doesn’t mean anything.  However, saying ‘yes in 5 minutes’ is better than saying ‘yeah yeah’.  This is another one of our Nispiros Lessons.

Growing up there was nothing more annoying to my mom than me saying ‘yeah yeah’ LOL.  Rolando do this, Rolando do that.  ‘Yeah yeah’.

Now that I’m in the corporate world, ‘yeah yeah’ certainly does not cut it.  If I was President of the United States such as our President Obama, I’m sure he would not have been elected if he responded ‘yeah yeah’.  When my boss says he’d like to see a headline report on his desk in the morning, I’m sure he means a lot more than just a summary of tasks and statistics.  He means, show me a headlines report that talks to the initiatives that we are working on in the company and present it in a way that will wow me.  This is probably what he means by having a headlines report in the morning.

Trash

Following through is easy, but it does take time, discipline, and commitment.  It takes time, because you have to make sure you have a plan.  It’s not just about committing to a task, but it’s also how you carry it out and how the instructions are given to you.

For example, taking the trash out means also replacing the trash liner and making sure you locked the garden gate.

It also means making sure you’ve gone through out the house and making sure all possible garbage is disposed of, not the the waste that’s in the kitchen trash can.  It also means checking the recycle bin in the pantry and laundry room and making sure they are empty.  This is what I mean by taking the trash out.

See, my mom never explained what she meant.  She just said take out the trash and that’s what I did.  I just took the trash from the kitchen garbage can and that’s it.  I could have asked what did she mean?  But then she’d probably say, use your common sense.  You see there are garbage cans in the bedrooms and bathrooms, empty those too!

Lesson here is follow through AND ask questions.  Ask what the expectations are of the tasks.  This will set you up for success.   Otherwise, you might feel the wrath of the evil slipper.

See the rest of our Nispiros Portal Lessons.

Best Friends

But you know, she never really explained what she meant.  What she really meant to say is that pick good friends.  Pick friends that are nice with good morals and with a good sense of judgment.  Pick friends like you that are honest, friendly, and that are a good influence.  Pick friends that are smart and worldly and won’t cheat on you or stab your back.

When I think my long life friends, friends I’ve known for 20 years or more, I think about how we are the same, the history we’ve shared, and how thankful I am to have had such friends.  When you are younger and busy working, you think you have time to make friends.  I’d say, don’t wait.  Make friends now when you’re young and full of energy.

Your life friends will probably start to come to you when you’re in Jr. High School or High School.  Take advantage of that time and don’t hurry to start working.  Make friends and chose them wisely.

See the rest of our Nispiros Portal Lessons.

This is a continuation of the ‘Nispiros Lessons’.  I know it’s easy to look at someone and make a snap judgment about his or her success or lack of it.  But don’t let that influence your decision on how you will interact with that person.  Get to know them.  Talk to them.  Dig deeper.  Ask questions, inquire, then make your decision.

I’m not perfect at it, but don’t make a quick judgment just because I haven’t demonstrated this skill.  Use your own brain and do the right thing.  Just because a person is not wearing the latest fashion or not sporting most recent hair style doesn’t make them not cool.  What makes them cool is what they are and who they are on the inside.

A sincere friend, a loyal partner, or a person who touches your heart, is priceless.   Genuine happiness can not be bought.  Don’t let opportunities pass you by because you were early to judge.

Take a look a Susan Boyle and you’ll understand a fraction of what I’m trying to say. The rest of you will have to learn on your own.

Britains Got Talent 2009 - Susan Boyle

See the rest of our Nispiros Portal Lessons.

Easter

Happy Easter All!  I wish I could say that I celebrated Easter this year, but I didn’t.  I’m happy that’s it’s here because of it’s spiritual meaning, I just wasn’t able to participate this season for one reason or another.

I could blame it on the stress of the economy and the worries of the workforce reductions at work, but I can’t.  I should have been more diligent and more focused on my faith.  I’m sure this was more important than my iPhone, than Twitter, or Facebook.

Now that Easter is here and almost gone, I celebrate with guilt and regret.  I’ll retreat to my cave and pray in silence.

Sorry I have not responded to your comments.  Just got back from the Bahamas and am now finally settling down.  We left last Saturday and just got back late last night.  Our cruise left port out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  From there we jumped on the Carnival Freedom then island hoped through the Eastern Bahamas.

Carnival Freedom 2009

We stopped at Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau, Bahamas.  My personal favorite was Tortola just because it seemed less commercialized and more relaxed.  The beaches were also crystal clear and the white sands were unforgettable.  My least favorite was Nassau just because it was too commercialized.  Our tour sucked!  We didn’t stop at any beaches.

The cruise itself was very good!  This was our second cruise within a 2 year year period so the comparison was easy.  Our first cruise was with Princess Golden through the Mexican Riviera.  Freedom had slightly better service and the food quality was about the same.  However, I did like the 24 hour buffet on the Golden.

The entertainment was also about the same.  What we did notice, was that Freedom offered more actvities for kids and there was more of a mixed crowd, i.e. mixed ages and nationalities.  The Freedom was definitely geared more for families.

Overall we had a great time and have sunburns to prove it LOL!  Thanks for visiting the site while I was gone.  I’ll comment back as soon as I can.  It’s great to be back!

Eggs Benedict

Today we spent the day at the Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa off of Fair Oaks in Sacramento.  It was a special day because it was a continuation of Ebru’s birthday, which was yesterday March 21.  The day started off with brunch at their Mango’s Cafe.

I had the Eggs Benedict and Ebru had the Lox Special.  Both were tasty and the service was excellent!  Of course it helps when you are the only customers there, but I’m sure they always provide the same level of service at all times.

We took our time eating since our spa reservations wasn’t until noon.  Shorty after brunch we headed over to the spa check in.  We were greeted with warm smiles from their friendly staff.  Then we were on our way to the member’s locker room to change into robes and slippers.

The facilities was very impressive.  They’ve got Olympic pools and beautifully decorated grounds.  It’s no wonder they specialize in wedding receptions.

My message therapists was Melissa and Ebru had Amy.  Melissa had experienced hands that got my kinks right out!  I highly recommend her if you’re in the area.

I just discovered Arden Hills Resort and Spa last year when I was suffering from some bad muscle pains.  This was Ebru’s first time and I’m sure it won’t be her last.

If you’re looking for a local spa with great service, then you have to check out Arden Hills.

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Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa
1220 Arden Hills Lane
Sacramento, CA 95864
(916) 482-6111

Mangos Restaurant
Wednesday - Saturday 11:30-2pm,
5:30-9pm
Sunday 10am-2pm