Category: Memory

Music…

Cuts Like A Knife

Cuts Like A Knife

Bryan Adams
and Words

Drivin’ home this evenin’
Coulda sworn we had it all worked out
You had this boy believin’
Way beyond the shadow of a doubt, yeah

Well, I heard it on the street
I heard you mighta found somebody new, yeah
Well, who is he, baby? Who is he?
And tell me what he means to you, oh, yeah

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I performed astonishingly poorly on my freshman year in high school.  While I definitely could’ve gotten better grades, I basically didn’t care.  I spent much of that year ditching school, though doing nothing of consequence.  It’s not as if I spent it doing drugs or the like; I honestly can’t tell you how I spent that wasted time.  Interestingly, I do have an educated guess as to what triggered that disastrous year, but I won’t bore you with that today.  It was really by pure chance that I only failed one semester of one class (World History); I could’ve done a lot worse damage.

However, once I started my sophomore year, my trajectory drastically shot upwards.  I discovered that I could easily remember details from the lessons; all I needed to do was attend class.  I only missed one day of school that second year; that day was after a bike accident.  Those grades were slightly elevated by my class selection (fewer honors classes), but not by much.

Continue reading “Lessons in the classroom and beyond” →

Music…

You Belong With Me

Fearless

Taylor Swift
and Words

You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset
She’s going off about something that you said
‘Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I do

I’m in my room, it’s a typical Tuesday night
I’m listening to the kind of music she doesn’t like
And she’ll never know your story like I do

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On a weekend afternoon, we finish our shopping at the local Trader Joe’s.  The modestly sized market sits a few minutes from our home.  Some employees recognize us and greet us.  They often play 80’s music, which consistently brightens my mood.  While we don’t spend a whole lot of time in the store, I’ll spend the short time, anticipating the next track, and furiously trying to recognize the song as quickly as possible, much like my own personal game of Name That Tune.

Today, their music threw me a curve.  They played a song that I didn’t immediately recognize, though it certainly sounded familiar.  A woman’s voice sung clearly and optimistically.  I no longer cared that I had lost this little mental contest, I needed to know.  I had an educated guess, but the response from Shazam confirmed my suspicion.  This was Taylor Swift.

Continue reading “Swift Integrity” →

Music…

High Enough

Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees
and Words

I don’t want to hear about it anymore
It’s a shame I’ve got to live without you anymore
There’s a fire in my heart
A pounding in my brain, it’s driving me crazy

We don’t need to talk about it anymore
Yesterday’s just a memory
Can we close the door?
I just made one mistake
I didn’t know what to say when you called me baby

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I tumbled through my fifth year in engineering school at the University of Miami.  To be completely honest, I encountered obstacles with my senior project and took a little more time.  Though with that extra year, I took the initiative to pick up a second major of computer science, and a minor in psychology.  On that last year, however, I coasted compared to preceding years.  Specifically, I needed fewer credits per semester to graduate.

The University of Miami had one rate for full-time tuition (12-18 credits), thus the price for tuition was effectively the same for four classes versus six classes.  I regularly packed my semesters with 16-17 credits to maximize my tuition money, but this also meant that I would regularly take one or two more classes than my classmates.  Hence, I kept a very full schedule and worked three days most weekends.

However, choosing to pack my schedule in this way had its own set of consequences.  It was easier to ace a class when we had enough time to dedicate to it.  Getting four A’s and one B (versus just four A’s) meant that I could get 25% more classes, but it also meant that my GPA would be 3.8 instead of 4.0.  The more demanding the semester, the more my GPA suffered, but I refused to drop a class.

Continue reading “My last year as a student and my roommate” →

Music…

One Night in Bangkok

Chess

Murray Head
and Words

Bangkok, Oriental City
But the city don’t know what the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world
In a show with everything but Yul Brenner

Time flies, doesn’t seem a minute
Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boards in it
All changed, don’t you know that when you

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

As I wrap up high school, I find myself attending a state convention.  In this particular case, it’s a mass competition between many schools in Florida.  On this multi-day trip, we packed those days with many events.  I will compete in three events.  They hold this convention for Mu Alpha Theta annually.  However, this is the first time my high school has attended since I started.  Our teachers and sponsors slowly increased interest in these competitions from one to the next.

They certainly did.  It all started with one announcement over the intercom, “Anyone interested in participating in math contests, should attend this particular meeting for information.”  Truthfully, I made up my mind already, I simply needed information on the logistics.  I didn’t yet know how I would do, but it’s not just about winning.  Years later, I continue to participate.

Continue reading “The foreign and familiar art of competition” →

Music…

It’s Not Love

Under Lock and Key

Dokken
and Words

I told you I had to leave
I had my reasons
I said that it hurt to stay
The way that I’m feeling

(It’s not love) that left you standing
(It’s not love) that left you cold
(It’s not love) misunderstanding
Only a mistake, there’s nothing left to take

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On my sophomore year at the University of Miami, I moved to an apartment on campus.  My college career started the year before, as I settled into Pearson Hall, one of the dorms on the edge of campus.  Over the course of the past year, I formed friendships with a number of classmates and neighbors.  As we finished our freshman year, we got an opportunity to sign up for an on-campus apartment.  Initially, one of us signed up for the apartment and penciled the remainder of our names.  The rest of us learned through word of mouth and subsequently rushed to the housing office to verify our names.

During my years of study, life became a series of obstacles to navigate.  My attention shifted from working for money to logistics about school (like where I’d be living) to learning my field and passing my classes.  Having addressed the ‘where I’d be living next year’ problem, I could focus on the other issues.  Though honestly, as the summer approached, my main focus was to work in order to save and sustain myself through college.

Continue reading “Afternoon Delight” →

Music…

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Document

R.E.M.
and Words

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane
Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs, don’t misserve your own needs
Feed it off an aux, speak, grunt, no, strength
The ladder starts to clatter with fear fight, down, height
Wire in a fire, representing seven games
And a government for hire and a combat site

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Having spent an extra year in college getting a second major, I arrived at Microsoft in July of 1991.  Washinton lies clear across the country of my home state of Florida.  I landed that first real job after graduating, and in most measurable ways, I became an adult.  I paid my own bills, had my own place, and contributed to society in a meaningful way.  My job involved learning, understanding, and doing a class of thing that few people do.  I took pride in it.

That said, Microsoft during the 1990’s was both an incredible place to learn and thrive and somewhat of a corporate dorm party.  Many places brag about flex time, which is little more than basically saying that you don’t have a time clock.  Microsoft took it to another level.  If you could accomplish all your work between midnight and 8am and never see another human, it was fine.  We were siloed, vertical stacks of technical information, and that was fine.  Most new employees got their own offices upon arrival or shortly after; this only exacerbated the problem.

Continue reading “Celebrating the end of the world” →

Music…

Stand My Ground

The Silent Force

Within Temptation
and Words

I can see
When you stay low, nothing happens
Does it feel right?
Late at night
Things I thought I’d put behind me
Haunt my mind
I just know there’s no escape now
Once it sets its eyes on you
But I won’t run, have to stare it in the eyes

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On a typical Florida day, I wander to the courtyard in my high school.  Friends and I meet on a familiar table near the boy’s locker room.  Our group of misfit geeks gather on one table among a sea of cement that separate us from others; there are both young men and women among our group.  I met most of these friends in middle school, though some I met in this first year of high school.  We’re here to adventure and slay monsters.

We gather with paper, pencils, and thumbnail-sized (and mostly regular) polyhedrons.  The latter have numbers scribed on each side, and we use them as dice.  They come in varying shapes and have 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 faces.  We use different dice to determine success on different tasks.  For instance, if you only have a 1 in 20 chance to successfully accomplish a task, rolling a 20 on that d20 (shorthand for 20-sided dice) indicates success; anything else is failure.

Continue reading “Here there be dragons” →

Music…

¿A Dónde Va Nuestro Amor?

20 Éxitos Originales

Angélica María
and Words

No sé exactamente qué pasó
Que todo de repente ya cambió
En nuestro diariamente, lo bonito
Tristemente terminó

¿A dónde va nuestro amor?
Si cada día
Se va muriendo la flor
De tu alegría

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Like anyone else these days, I’ll chill out to movies or series on Netflix.  One of the latest shows that I’ve enjoyed is The Lincoln Lawyer.  The series follows the movie, both based on the Mickey Haller novels by Michael Connelly.  While I enjoyed them both, the movie had a much darker tone to it.  The story revolves around the lawyer that runs his law practice out of his Lincoln Town Car, hence the title.

As you might imagine, the show runs a little more upbeat than the movie.  Haller practices his law fairly fast and loose, though he is generally pretty principled.  They interject enough plot twists to keep it interesting, and I certainly looked forward to its returning for a second season.  Out of respect for those who have yet to watch it, I’ll omit any spoilers, since it’s still a recent show.

Continue reading “A fifty-year flashback” →

Music…

Self Control

Self Control

Laura Branigan
and Words

Oh, the night is my world
City light painted girl
In the day nothing matters
It’s the night time that flatters

In the night, no control
Through the wall something’s breaking
Wearing white as you’re walkin’
Down the street of my soul

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Logically we understand the day officially starts at 12am, it crosses over, and we increment the date.  However, culturally our day ends when we go to sleep, the day turns over while we can’t observe it.  Even semantically, when we use terms like ‘tonight’ or ‘last night’, we refer to the time until you sleep.

We use the term ‘midday’ to refer to 12pm.  The term ‘midnight’ is a bit of a misnomer; it’s not the midpoint of the night; it is the dividing line between day and night.  While midnight defines the transition from one day to the next, it has a certain continuity.  We are neither Cinderella nor Gremlins, the rules don’t abruptly change when the clock strikes 12am.  Or do they?

Meanwhile those hours between midnight and slumber are magical pockets of time what defy definition.  Is it day or is it night?  Or better yet, neither?

Continue reading “Living among the creatures of the night” →

Music…

One Way Ticket

4 Hits: Eruption

Eruption
and Words

Mmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Oh, oh, oh, oho
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

One way ticket, one way ticket
One way ticket, one way ticket
One way ticket, one way ticket to the blues

Choo, choo, train a-trackin’ down the track
Gotta travel on, ain’t never comin’ back
Ooh, ooh, got a one way ticket to the blues

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On a particularly hot night in the summer of 1979, my mom, sisters, and I arrive in Hong Kong.  My mom returns after being away for over a decade.  At the age of eleven, it’s my first time in Hong Kong.  We pile into a cab and make our way into the residence of my mom’s long-time friend, yet another friend who we’ll end up calling ‘aunt’.  We’re all collectively jetlagged, exhausted, and cranky.  Upon our arrival, the only thing I ask for before going to sleep is a glass of water.  They pour me a cup of hot water from a thermos; it still emits steam.  It wasn’t the refreshing beverage that I expected.  This should have been my first clue.

In 1979, the British still ran Hong Kong and would continue to do so until 1997.  In many respects, the British westernized Hong Kong compared to the rest of China.  As such, many places understood English.  However, at this stage in my life, my ability to speak English was comparable to Cantonese.  They composed many signs in English as well as Chinese, at least I may recognize words.

Continue reading “A stranger among family” →