Well, I'm closer to 40 than I am to thirty.....I don't feel it. I really haven't had a chance to sit down today and even think about where the last year went or how the years are seeming to go faster the older i get.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes... They are very welcome when I am so far away from home especially when I am missing home and friends from home.
The most ridiculous part about having a birthday in a strange place is that it really doesn't feel like your birthday. It feels like every other day, especially if you don't take time to yourself that day.
I still am growing old disgracefully. I still don't know when to yield and have a warped sense of humour when it comes to life. I have curtailed my drinking habits somewhat and really won't have a chance to go out and celebrate my birthday until next week as I am on back up for the week and am working emergency on the weekend.
Birthday's should not only be about reflection and celebration but should be about the future. What are you going to do different in your life next year to improve the quality and enjoy it more getting the most out of it all.
In truth the answer for me is simple.....All I want to do is take every opportunity that I am given and turn it into something that makes a mark on my life and others in my life. I think if I can turn around next year at this time and look back on what I have done and smile, then, I will be satisfied. The worst thing that I could do would be to lock myself away, immerse myself into work and then moan and groan about missed opportunities............
My dad always use to say to me " Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone"
I have always liked this quote ...
"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth.
~ William W. Purkey
Thanks for your birthday wishes.............
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Personality......
It's hard to believe I've been here in the US for 5 weeks. One month at the job already, and one round of students down. It's going so fast. The year's roster has been done and my holidays have been set in stone. Seems a lifetime ago that I was in Australia, working at VSS and had my future set in front of me.
It hit me yesterday that I was in America for the next 3 years. I guess I have just taken it as it comes but as my birthday has gotten closer my attention has turned to friends and family. I think it's hard especially around big events like birthdays and holidays like Christmas, because you miss the ones you love that have been influential on you and your life.
On the flip side, I wouldn't trade what I am doing for the world.
I was told the other week by a friend that Australia was just another American state. Categorically, I can say that this is just not so. We drive on the other side of the road, have 9 TV stations, and do not have drive through banks, coffee or smoothie Kings. There are so many things that make where we all come from unique and Australia is a country with it's own unique personality and personalities.
My point is that home is where your heart is. No matter what, I am Australian and more than that I am a Novocastrian. Born and bred there and proud of it. I follow the Blues and the TAH's and neither living in Brisbane or for that matter Louisiana will ever change that. When travelling and living in another country it is important to keep your identity even if you don't want to stand out Your accent and sayings are unique. For me I am laid back, speak Aussie slang, and some may say speak to much. But, you know, that's what makes me who I am.............
"Why am I as I am? To understand that of any person, his whole life, from
Birth must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient"
Malcolm X
It hit me yesterday that I was in America for the next 3 years. I guess I have just taken it as it comes but as my birthday has gotten closer my attention has turned to friends and family. I think it's hard especially around big events like birthdays and holidays like Christmas, because you miss the ones you love that have been influential on you and your life.
On the flip side, I wouldn't trade what I am doing for the world.
I was told the other week by a friend that Australia was just another American state. Categorically, I can say that this is just not so. We drive on the other side of the road, have 9 TV stations, and do not have drive through banks, coffee or smoothie Kings. There are so many things that make where we all come from unique and Australia is a country with it's own unique personality and personalities.
My point is that home is where your heart is. No matter what, I am Australian and more than that I am a Novocastrian. Born and bred there and proud of it. I follow the Blues and the TAH's and neither living in Brisbane or for that matter Louisiana will ever change that. When travelling and living in another country it is important to keep your identity even if you don't want to stand out Your accent and sayings are unique. For me I am laid back, speak Aussie slang, and some may say speak to much. But, you know, that's what makes me who I am.............
"Why am I as I am? To understand that of any person, his whole life, from
Birth must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient"
Malcolm X
Saturday, 4 August 2012
New things........
I've been living in America for nearly a month!! I can't believe how lucky I have been to get an opportunity to do this!!
It's been a real change in my life. It's not just a time zone when you move. Your whole world, that you use to know and be comfortable in, is changed. Mine is very much for the better.......
The job; To say awesome, is an understatement!! I guess I have experienced private referral and now am being challenged by university referral work. The challenges are very much different as is the focus.
Fortunately the cases stay the same.......
The teaching is something that has me hooked!! And the learning and steep learning curve is ridiculous....
But somehow I find myself motivated after 4 years of doing a residency because the focus has changed. The students are what drive a university. Their attitudes are the ones you rely on to enjoy your work.........
As for Baton Rouge.....Most amount of food and eateries I have ever seen.... From Jimmy Johns to Five brothers, to drive through Smoothies at Smoothie king and who could forget Drive through Community Coffee and Starbucks.......Get out of town.
And just when you think you've seen it all then you experience Canes.......This is the craziest story which I was told whilst doing drive through at Canes in a mini bus with the other residents at orientation......
The founder Todd Graves was enrolled in a Business course at LSU. So Graves writes a business plan about establishing a restaurant chain.....No one bought the idea. In fact, everyone thought it would not succeed. So Graves raised the money for his first restaurant by working in oil refineries and then on fishing boats. From that one restaurant came more than 100 restaurants in 15 states.
Here's the kicker.....His idea was simple sell chicken fingers!!!!!!
I've been told there is also a way to eat Canes.....You have to open the lid when you get it so it does not get soggy........Food eating as an art............
My point is that this has been the best move for me in more ways than one. I love what I do and I love walking into the university each day.......
Henry Miller once wrote " A new world is not made by simply by trying to forget the old. A new world is made with a new spirit, with new values. Our world may have begun that way, but today it is a caricature. Our world is a world of things. What we dread most, in the face of the impending debacle, is that we shall be obliged to give up our gewgaws, our gadgets, all the little comforts that have made us so uncomfortable. We are not peaceful souls; we are smug, timid, queasy and quaky...."
What I take out of this is don't be afraid of trying to better yourself no matter what the cost. For me this was a real leap of faith. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself through changing the world you live in and your immeidate environment. But, never forget where you came from or the friends you have made in that world..........
It's been a real change in my life. It's not just a time zone when you move. Your whole world, that you use to know and be comfortable in, is changed. Mine is very much for the better.......
The job; To say awesome, is an understatement!! I guess I have experienced private referral and now am being challenged by university referral work. The challenges are very much different as is the focus.
Fortunately the cases stay the same.......
The teaching is something that has me hooked!! And the learning and steep learning curve is ridiculous....
But somehow I find myself motivated after 4 years of doing a residency because the focus has changed. The students are what drive a university. Their attitudes are the ones you rely on to enjoy your work.........
As for Baton Rouge.....Most amount of food and eateries I have ever seen.... From Jimmy Johns to Five brothers, to drive through Smoothies at Smoothie king and who could forget Drive through Community Coffee and Starbucks.......Get out of town.
And just when you think you've seen it all then you experience Canes.......This is the craziest story which I was told whilst doing drive through at Canes in a mini bus with the other residents at orientation......
The founder Todd Graves was enrolled in a Business course at LSU. So Graves writes a business plan about establishing a restaurant chain.....No one bought the idea. In fact, everyone thought it would not succeed. So Graves raised the money for his first restaurant by working in oil refineries and then on fishing boats. From that one restaurant came more than 100 restaurants in 15 states.
Here's the kicker.....His idea was simple sell chicken fingers!!!!!!
I've been told there is also a way to eat Canes.....You have to open the lid when you get it so it does not get soggy........Food eating as an art............
My point is that this has been the best move for me in more ways than one. I love what I do and I love walking into the university each day.......
Henry Miller once wrote " A new world is not made by simply by trying to forget the old. A new world is made with a new spirit, with new values. Our world may have begun that way, but today it is a caricature. Our world is a world of things. What we dread most, in the face of the impending debacle, is that we shall be obliged to give up our gewgaws, our gadgets, all the little comforts that have made us so uncomfortable. We are not peaceful souls; we are smug, timid, queasy and quaky...."
What I take out of this is don't be afraid of trying to better yourself no matter what the cost. For me this was a real leap of faith. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself through changing the world you live in and your immeidate environment. But, never forget where you came from or the friends you have made in that world..........
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