Thank God for the rain

I finally got my wish.

The weather here in New York has been rainy and cloudy for the past 5 or 6 days and I couldn't be much happier about it. It's a lot cooler because of it and watching the raindrops fall is surely a sight to see. What's even better than watching the rain is walking in the rain, with an umbrella of course. Except when the rain is just a slight drizzle and I'm too lazy to open my umbrella and just opt to feel the raindrops falling on my head. Walking around in NYC in the rain, It doesn't get any more emo than that.

I have been exploring NYC this past week. It hasn't been for leisure purposes though but strictly business. I will reserve going to NYC for leisure till I save enough money for the digicam that I have been wanting to buy. I will be posting pictures weekly or even more than once a week when that time comes. Hopefully it will be sometime around October to November.

Going back to business in NYC, I was there or passed by there on my way to interviews. The first one was my interview with Continental Airlines in which I was late for 10 minutes and the outcome was I wasn't able to interview because of arriving late. Not a good trait for some one who wants to be a flight attendant. I blame the delays in the schedule of public transportation for that.

The other interview was yesterday for a position as an ESL teacher. I was able to arrive on time this time and the interview was so-so.

I'm still getting used to riding the subway, I am able to get to the right station and ride the right train, but sometimes going to the opposite direction of my intended destination. That's something that will take some getting used to. Going around the city and being able to familiarize myself. I miss Manila all of a sudden, the jeepneys, MRT/LRT, FX's and even the tricycles and the other means of transportaion getting around Manila, My Manila

Anyway, I'm really thankful to God for the rain. It's been giving me happiness.

The Barber

I gave myself a haircut today. It's now official, I am a barber both literally and figuratively. It's not really difficult, since I just shave my hair and leave just about 3mm of it (see profile picture). I do admit that I had some trouble in the beginning because my hair was a bit longer than the usual. I get a haircut once every 3 or 4 weeks, but it took me 2 months before I cut my hair today.

The last haircut I got was 2 months ago, before I left the Philippines. The price of a haircut in the Philippines is just 50 pesos or $1 and the price of a haircut here in the U.S. ranges from $10-15. It's just 10-15 times more expensive. My friend Kirby, adviced me to buy an electric shaver to cut my own hair instead of going to a barbershop in the U.S. for a haircut. He made perfect sense, I would at least save $120 dollars a year on haircuts and I can use the money I save to buy other things. And best of all the electric shaver that I bought just cost me $15, the price of a haircut.

The whole process of cutting my hair took about 20 minutes. I was enjoying giving myself a haircut. After getting my hair cut, I took a bath. I again looked at the mirror to see if I got an even shave on my head. I realized that I may just have a hidden talent for cutting hair.

When I was still in high school, I remembered one of my classmates bring an electric shaver to school. Some of my classmates took turns giving one another a free haircut and they pretty much enjoyed themselves. At the end of the day, there were 11 students with shaved heads in a class of 37 students.

The next idea that came to my mind was why not start a barbershop in the future. The barbershop is one of the places where people come to share stories both true and the not so true while relaxing and of course getting yourself groomed. Almost all the barbers I know are friendly and are always eager to begin conversations and share stories. After the haircut, they usually give a shoulder and head massage to the customers. The barbershop is a fun place to be in.

If you also want a good movie to watch, I suggest watching The Barbershop starring Ice Cube. I should practice giving haircuts to other people for free. The next thing for me to figure out is what to name my barbershop in the future.

Ambitions

What are your ambitions in Life?

I admire the people who know what they want in Life. More often than not, these people have very detailed plans and a set timeframe about how and when they are going to achieve their goals in life. They pursue their dreams actively and work hard to make them a reality.

On the other hand, I only have a vague idea of what I want in life. My plans are not very detailed, just simple plans that I can easily change or modify if the circumstances do not allow it. Thus, I have back-up plans if things don't go the way I want them to be. I exert an effort to pursue them, but I also prepare myself if they don't become a reality.

I am really just a simple person with simple ambitions. I do not aspire to be rich, powerful, or famous although I would sometimes joke about it. I just want to have enough. Enough of everything necessary and vital. Maybe the only thing that I would have more that enough of is Happiness.

One thing that has become very important for most people is money. Many people go on living thinking that it is the most important thing in the world. Money is important, but there are other more important things in life. I'm just glad that I have realized this at a young age.

Because of this, I feel sorry for the people who think that money is everything. They cannot understand that there are more important things than money and they go on worshipping it.
I have sometimes been chastised for having simple or lowly ambitions, trying to convince me to be like them. I will never understand them and be like them. They will never understand my reasoning anyway.

Questions

I started working and training for my part-time job today. I am working as a front desk receptionist at a nursing home. I work twice a week, monday to tuesday 5:00 pm- 10 pm. Having this part-time job will keep me occupied and will help me earn money to spend in looking for a full-time job. I hope to get a full time job soon.

During my training today, I noticed all the old people walking around. Most of them were over 70 in age, and some might even be in their late 80's or early 90's. This made me aware of age and our mortality.

Growing up, aging and eventually dying is inevitable. Looking at them however did not bring up these images but instead made me focus on what may have been their accomplishments in life, triumphs, mistakes, memories, and regrets and respect for how they have lived this long.

It got me thinking again. Life becomes more complicated as you continue living. As a child life must have been simple but as you continue to grow, many things nake life more difficult yet interesting. In it sparked many unanswered questions that I sometimes ask myself.

How should I live my life?

What is love?

What is/are the most important things in life?

What makes/will make me truly happy?

Will I find true happiness?

What is the meaning of my life?

These are just some of the questions that I have asked myself. I do not know if I will ever find the answers to my questions. Looking at them, I also wondered if they found the answers to the questions that they might have asked themselves.

A lucky man/woman, I would say is a person who found the answers for his/her questions.

Two Summers

This year I have experienced something unusual. I have experienced two summers. "How is that possible?" you may ask. It is because I experienced my first summer in the Philippines, which started mid March to mid June and now I am experiencing my second summer here in the U.S. which started mid June up to now and will probably last up to September.

The weather in New York has been terribly hot and most of the U.S. is experiencing a heat wave. For someone who has lived most of his life in the Philippines, this kind of temperature is nothing new. Yet for some reason this has been a subject of controversy here in the U.S., many are linking this phenomenon to global warming. Today, however the temperature is a little cooler compared to the temperature these past few days.

I don't like hot weather. Even though living in the Philippines has made me used to hot weather, it is still something I despise. I remember telling myself that I will miss almost everything in the Philippines except for the hot weather. Looks like it will be something that I have to bear with until autumn and winter arrives later this year.

If I were to choose between a sunny day and a rainy day, I will always choose a rainy day. There is something about the rain that makes me happy, mostly because of the cool weather and the rain drops that fall from the sky. Everything seems to become slower. Anyway since there is nothing that I can do for the moment, I will start praying for rain.