A relationship is like a dance

Watching Dancing with the Stars...there are just so many types of dance that demands a certain...feeling or emotion. The Passo Doble is supposed to exhibit passionate aggression through the forms of the bull and the matador. The Viennese Waltz is elegant, a dance that a king and queen would dance too - kind of a like hidden passion that yearns to be free. The Jive is upbeat, young and perhaps best exhibits puppy love. There's also the Cha Cha, Salsa - both very flirtatious and seductive dances. The Tango, for me, defines how love is - being in the moment. Then there's the Fox Trot, Rumba and Mambo, which are...hmmm...special moments in a relationship?

The most important thing is though, it doesn't matter how good of a dancer you are unless you have the right partner - that goes for partners in a relationship too. You have to be able to act together in unity as well as one when necessary. It's not easy I tell you!

God and I

Well...as you might have noticed. I've stopped reading the Bible. Yes...it was kind of tough to go through it so I took a break. I did however, went to Church several times. I decided not to today. I just didn't feel like it. I don't feel anything really. Well, maybe exhaustion. Going to Church is kind of exhasuting sometimes. Especially when the majority of the time I just don't agree with what the Church is preaching about. Recently it's been about sin. It's weird hearing my 'name' being preached in Church and associating it with something evil. I did however enjoy the last service -

I like to use the grocery store analogy. When I go grocery shopping, I don't like everything that they carry, so I just pick and choose what I like and buy it. Sometimes though, maybe I'll try something new and end up liking it, even though I may not think so in the first place. I kind of see that metaphor with Christianity. I pick and choose what I like, and maybe someday I'll end up liking and accepting other parts of its beliefs. However, there are certain foods that I KNOW I don't like (like Avocado), and the same goes for with some Christianity beliefs (i.e. homosexuality is a sin). I think that's what I have the most trouble wrapping my mind around.

So I am taking a break. Besides, I've been buying a lot of new stuff and really haven't had the chance to 'eat' it yet.

CH

My Encounter with Religion

"Whatever your plans or objectives may be, they'll be a butt for serious obstacles; don't get discouraged for that. Don't wrap yourself up, knowing that your relationships with your equals will improve your spirit and your heart. Don't wait for happiness to come to you, go out and seek it by enjoying each moment of your life. You'd be willing to follow a newly met person to the end of the world; nevertheless take time to reflect before engaging yourself; love is blind, as is said everywhere and forever."

So that was my hororscope for the day. Moving on now.

So I, who believe in Evolution, went to (an Evangelical) church for the first time. Now, it's not that I'm becoming more religious (like some of my friends) or that I'm feeling lost/confused (or whatever) and need "answers." Nothing deep like that - fortunately I am quite content with my life at the moment. I may be looking for something (aren't we all?) but it's probably not god. However, this religious encounter has made me revisit the idea of how we all came to be. Tough question. There is no definitive answer. Regardless of what we each believe in - Evolution or Religion - both requires an element of FAITH, which is commonly associated with Religion. Lets face it, evolution wouldn't be called the THEORY of Evolution if it was cut and dry.

Now, anti-religious people knock on the bible, saying that it is "sexist" (towards women), that war and violence are "justified" by the bible and it's teachings etc (there are many so called "flaws"). If god existed, then why does he allow this and that and what is up with this free will that's not really free? Now, this is not to say evolution isn't flawed...how many decades have we been talking about the "Missing Link"? The link that "proves" that humans evolve from apes/monkeys? If evolution is in fact based on Darwinism - survival of the fittest, only the strong survive - then Hitler and Stalin wanting to weed the world of the "inferior race" is in fact practicing evolution. Scary thought isn't it? We "practice" survival of the fittest every day in our lives. As much as Religion causes war, so does Evolution.

So where does this leave me? Well. I have recently purchased a bible (New International Version) - this is not saying I'm becoming Christian or religious. I see it as a learning experience. I don't think I can ever accept that the Earth was only 5 days old before man "appeared on Earth" (I do believe in Carbon Dating), that we existed with dinosaurs, that good men and women will go to hell if they didn't believe in god and bad men and women can go to heaven if they repent. Of course, the caveat is that it's all subject to interpretation.

If there is a god...and if all non-believers go to hell...then I guess I'll be going to hell with a lot of my family and friends.

If there isn't a god...then...we are just part of the circle of life. Then there's the fact that I do believe in the spiritual realm...that there is a higher order of things...so where does that fit in? Is it related to god?...who knows.

If you think about it...believing that there is a god, in religion...is kind of like buying life insurance (or any type of insurance really). You'll be protected - and you have to admit, it's a nice comforting thought. All you have to do is change the way you live...

Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone...

I guess what keeps things "fresh" in a relationship is finding out new things about each other - not with respect to what is "good or bad" or "right or wrong" ... just...perspective/values/beliefs. And at the end...if it works it works, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. Like my friend says...what you gonna do?

I Know

I know loneliness
Loneliness of the imprisoned
I know fear
Fear of losing oneself
I know joy
Joy of being rescued by a friend

I know
So don't think I don't
I know
So don't think I won't

I know pain
Pain of the broken hearted
I know love
Love of the forbidden
I know happiness
Happiness of the innocent

Your mission, should you decide to accept it

Mission: Hard to Believe
Level: Difficult

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to escape The Village in the middle of the night, undetected with all your belongings. Then drive off into the night with the music blasting out of the Ford Focus. Observed obstacles: drunk sleeping person on the living room floor, unpacked luggage, randomly scattered items, loud creaking doors and dark lighting. Available resources: BlackBerry.

Turning on the lights was not an option. So of course I had to rely on my handy BB to show me the way. Believe me, it was not easy finding and packing everything (I forgot the toothbrush and took the wrong headset). I wasn't sure that I would be able to pull it off successfully. But I did. A new skill to put on the resume. I even straightened my hair before I left at 5am.

Cosmic Coincidence

Unbelievable, the weather here is fine, the weather in Dallas is fine, yet somehow my flight has been delayed. Again. I'm sure it has to do with all the delays in the East Coast.

Strangest thing though. I bumped into an old acquaintance at the airport. Here I was standing in the middle of the terminal trying to figure out where concourse E is and I guess the brief moment of confusion allowed the person the chance to catch grab my arm. And here I was wondering who the heck it could be. The thing is, we never really hung out or really had a lot to talk about...but here we are, at the Minneapolis airport swapping numbers...he'll be in MN every week for about a year...same as me. Wow. I'm still kind of shocked.

Forgotten combination lock

So I've almost finished unpacking everything except my hookah, which is locked in a silver case...with a combination lock - like the bike lock type. The thing is, I changed the combo number before I packed it up in the U-Haul and now...yep...I don't remember what the combination is!!! I've been trying various combination for the last few hours to no avail.

There are effectively 1000 different combinations that I can try (10 x 10 x 10), if I can at least find out ONE number, then there is only 100 combinations to try. Finite math does come in handy! At the end, I decided to use brute force and semi-break it. I got it opened, and after tinkering with it a bit, I figured out the combination I used, and I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THAT NUMBER CAME FROM!!! Anyways, I got my hookah out so I'm happy. AND the case still works...with the combo ;) I definitely remember the number now!

~Ci

My Idiotness with Car Keys

Ok - I don't know what is the matter with me, but lately I've been an absolute IDIOT with car keys.

I locked the U-Haul keys a couple of days ago and now my rental!! My next car will be idiot proof in the sense that you can't lock the keys in the car. So now...Geico to the rescue...AGAIN. I'm glad I got the unlimited roadside assistance option.

~Ci

Chinese Rice Pudding

tNow I don't usually write about my parents...it just isn't that cool. But what can I say, I love them. They called me after learning that I was sick, from my little brother (Facebook status). I was kinda touched. I was even more touched when my dad said that if I was not happy that I should go home and he will support me. No jokes - not really, it was his second time offering. LMAO. I had to break it to him that he cannot afford to support my lifestyle. He said that I should start eating Chinese rice pudding to save him money. Now you know where I get my sense of humour from.

Minneapolis...meet Ciara

Flying over Lake Michigan with a slight turbulence because of the low riding winds, kind of gave me flashbacks on Lost. Except I'm sure if that were to happen, we'd be stranded on a really really cold place. No palm trees and beaches - IF we made it onto the island. The more likely alternative is to freeze in the water first.

Anyhow, driving to downtown Minneapolis from the airport took me all of 15 minutes. It was great. I like the city so far except for the cold. I did not know it could get that cold here - it felt like I was in Montreal, Alaska and maybe even the North Pole!

My first day at work at Best Buy was absolutely crazy. My Outlook has never been so jam packed with meetings. All my projects revolves around building online capabilities within the Mobile division to enhance the customer shopping experience. In fact...I only found out today that I was switched to the Online team, I was originally supposed to be working on projects that dealt with the In-store shopping experience as opposed to Online. But hey, I'm not complaining :) - everyone seems really cool. The day went crazier when my manager had to leave for an emergency and I was left to attend a meeting by myself. I don't even know what I'll be doing yet!!!! It was quite the day.

I hate packing...and my Red River adventure

I really really hate it. You never realize how much you have until you have to stuff them in big brown boxes...then the boxes pile up and up and...I still have to disassemble my furniture. Fut. I should've hired packers - but I feel so silly with so little stuff for the "professionals".

Back to packing...*sigh*

~~~~~~~Update~~~~~~~~

So...we went to Cowboys Red River last night - my first country dancing bar. LMAO. Wow. I wish I had brought my camera!!! It was definitely a sight to see and glad that I went just for the experience. They had live country music, poker and crabs tables, a center bar console with dancers, a circle "board walk" around the center bar where people dance around on, one of those rodeo horse thingies and pool tables. Cowboys everywhere! Definitely the midwest here. My experience of Texas has just been completed. Now I'm ready to go :p

In a nutshell...in no particular order

1. Minneapolis might actually be cheaper than Dallas believe it or not! I like how utilities are included...but parking is extra. Darnit.

2. Took a break from all this moving stuff ... saw the Giants defeat the Pats during the Superbowl. Yea Giants! I have never seen people so enthralled with commercials. It is definitely an advertiser's heaven...if only it didn't cost so much! Best commercial of the game...Pepsi, though the Audi one was pretty kickass too. Dumbest...SalesGenie.com - which makes it pretty good since I remember it...

3. Still on Season 2 of Lost...gotta catch up, but work gets in the way.

4. I've been pretty scatterbrained lately...hope it's not the old age kicking in.

Like the Wind

Well, I received good news and bad news last night. Good news is that I got the Consultant position in Best Buy. Bad news is that I am expected to move my life to Minneapolis in two weeks (well ONE, but my new boss was able to negotiate two weeks).

I don't know anyone who has been through three moves in six months. Memphis, Dallas and now Minneapolis. I am not looking forward to apartment hunting again...making new friends again...that whole process of "settling down" again. Truth be told...I am kind of sad to leave Dallas. But I am excited to leave as well...here's what I read about Minneapolis...aka. The The Twin Cities.

Things that stood out for me:

...fifteenth largest metropolitan area in the US, with about 3.5 million residents.

...has twenty lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi riverfront, creeks and waterfalls, many connected by parkways in the Chain of Lakes and the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.

...ranked the most literate [city] in the US in 2007. A diverse population, the community has a long tradition of charitable support through progressive public social programs and through private and corporate philantrophy.

...the "Top Tech City" in the U.S. The Twin Cities ranked the country's second best city in a 2006 Kiplinger's poll of Smart Places to Live and Minneapolis was one of the Seven Cool Cities for young professionals.

...average annual temperature of 45.4 °F (7 °C) gives the Minneapolis–St.Paul metropolitan area the coldest annual mean temperature of any major metropolitan area in the US.

...second only to New York City in live theater per capita and is the third-largest theater market in the U.S.

...stronghold for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (DFL), an affiliate of the Democratic Party.

Seven miles (11 km) of enclosed pedestrian bridges called skyways link eighty city blocks downtown.



Sounds and looks like Toronto (cept for the CN Tower), only smaller :p Guess it's time to get packing and organizing/canceling things and services...blah.

The Job Test

1. You wake up wanting to go to work
2. You like the people you work with or the company you work for
3. You will still do your job if it only pays half the amount

At the moment...0/3. There are times when you don't know what you want - I do know that I want to move on.

~C

I drink coffee every morning...

Current song: I don't think I'll ever get over you - Colin Hay

So...I am currently sitting in the cabin filled with the smell of burnt popcorn. Yes. I burned popcorn. I am also the type of person who have burned rice as well. If you don't know what that smells like, I suggest you don't start. If you don't know how that is possible, well lets just say I am talented.

The day was super relaxing...Arkansas' hot springs, fresh air, a beautiful sunset. That all ended when the Packers lost to the Giants in OT (second OT in NFL). So now I am sad and drinking hot chocolate and listening to sad songs. I'm going for a nice morning hike tomorrow and watch the sunrise before my long journey back to Big D.

C'mere

Now this weekend was meant to be my "get-away" - a nice and relaxing spa resort in the middle of the mountains surrounded by nothing but nature...in HotSpring, Arkansas (no you did not read wrong)...well it was anything but relaxing today.

I was out the door in my sweats and baseball cap by 7:30am hoping to get into town early to explore. So after cruising at 80-90 miles/hr non-stop for 4 hours...I realized that my clutch has disappeared! So...Geico to the rescue - le tow truck.

In the near distance I see Walmart and I contemplated running across the 6 lane highway to get to it (and a McD's...I haven't eaten anything all day). I figured it was because I had no clutch fluid (I popped the hood and yep...no clutch fluid), but the verdict was either the slave or master cylinder. I'm hoping it's the slave.

Glen (tow truck driver) said no dealership will work on the car because it's the weekend. Great. At least if I'm stranded here, it's at a resort. Haha. Turns out the truck driver owns a wreck shop and he offered to fix it for me (after I cried - well not really) IF he can find the parts. He dropped me off at the resort and off I went to my massage appointment. It was a much needed massage.

Glen just called...the car is done and he will pick me up at the resort tomorrow. I will make it back to Big D on time after all (knock on wood). Why am I not excited?

Oh...and the title of this blog? I was listening to Interpol's C'mere when I got stranded...

Looks can be deceiving

Imagine meeting an elderly man in his late 40's to mid50's, with disheveled brown hair with specs of white, wrinkled clothes, unshaven. Who do you see?

Certainly not an ex-Executive at Philip Morris, not the CEO of CompUSA. But it was.

2007 - Year of Food Recalls

So for those of us in the F&B (Food and Beverages) Industry...2007 was definitely the year of food recalls. In case any of you (or pets) are still consuming poisonous food...here is a list for you to check http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/archive_2007.html as well as http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/Recall_Case_Archive/index.asp. Lets just say it was not a good year for:

1. Pet Food: National recall of more than 90 brands of popular pet food by Menu Foods due to an unknown cause. My poor dog was a victim of this...luckily he survived *sniff*
2. Ground Beef: Over 21 million pounds of ground beef by Topps Meat Co. The recall started in late-September in response to a New York outbreak of E coli, and ended up being the third largest hamburger recall in USDA history. The recall led the 67-year-old meat processing company to file for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy). I'm surprised they're the only company who went bankrupt this year from massive food recalls
3. Peanut butter: Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recall by ConAgra Foods, due to Salmonella. They recalled products back to 2005...so I guess if you had any of their peanut butter and survived...you were lucky?

Not to mention seafood like salmon, oysters and shrimp. Even chocolate wasn't free from recalls! Be careful what you put into your body people.

Re-energizing my soul

I need a place...where I can climb to the top - somewhere high - to scream at the top of my lungs. I need to fill my soul with new, fresh, clean, positive energy.

It's time to turn dreams into reality. I don't usually write this much, but there's been a lot going on in this crazy yet sane head of mine.

Drifting into the unknown

Horoscope: You'll need much courage and perspicacity in order to grapple with the difficulties which will suddenly arise in the professional domain; be ready for the battle.

I must say...I don't generally believe in these general horoscopes...but this one tugged at something inside...guess there's no time like the present...it's time to grow up and take control. Growing up sucks sometimes.