Subtleties.

I enjoy most things Machiavellian. I appreciate that the world works in peculiar ways, but that there are a complex set of rules or laws that govern these peculiarities. Increasingly, I believe that we are best served to learn and exploit these rules.

One of the common themes that continues to emerge in reading such literature is that while people try desperately to practice deceit, they often betray themselves. By paying attention to actions, details and subtleties we can often catch people in their lies. The truth comes out not in a great declaration of integrity and valor but how an individual acts before, during and after such a statement.

I was reading my all-too-neglected Slovak language book . There's a page of modest flattery at the beginning of the book providing cultural and historical context about Slovakia.

In looking at my surroundings, I can't help but feel that the content of the book is much more revealing with regards to culture and history than any number of eloquent paragraphs strung together to convey that very information. I'll exemplify what I mean by sharing with you some lines of dialogue from Chapter 2 (translated into English of course. And let's ignore the fact that after 8 months here I'm still only on Chapter 2):

The conversation is between an old man (Kovac) sitting on his porch and his young neighbour
...
Evicka:I'm playing. And what are you doing, Mr. Kovac?
Kovac: I'm smoking and waiting for lunch.
Evicka: Where is Mrs. Kovacova?
Kovac: She's at home. She's cooking lunch, you know.

Ramble Ramble Ramble

Another early start to a weekend day. What's happening to me? Maybe I'm developing good habits. I mean good in the "not self-destructive" sense of the word. More to come on that later, my thoughts on that need to simmer a little longer.

I'm up being awesome again though, so not all bad.

I was reading Babylon once more. It's great stuff and you should definitely check it out if you have any desire to stack dollar bills. If you don't have any such inclination stop reading this blog right now, for we have nothing in common and surely you will struggle to relate to this subject matter.

I digress.

In the latest chapter, our friend Akrad (The richest dude in this ancient city) tells us to be wary of who we entrust our money to. Seems like a good lesson, especially given the prevalence of Ponzi schemes these days. Are those 30-40% returns every year really sustainable? Do your due diligence folks. Remember when I said I liked overlap? That's the reason I think this is blogworthy. I read something similar from my boy Rob. He talks about being careful who you take advice from. Seems sensible, no?

Off to eat some oatmeal.

An Adult Saturday

I find myself in an interesting situation. I feel like a real person. Like my mom might feel on any given Saturday - not to say that my dearest mother leads a dull life, quite the contrary! It's just funny that I am perplexed at not being a hungover piece of shit right now.

It started yesterday, after a busy week getting back into the swing of things at work, I decided a nap was in order. I watched Episode 7 of Jersey Shore in my bed before succumbing to slumber around 7:00pm.

I always wake up before my alarm. I'm a terrible sleeper. I like being awake too much. I assumed my natural urge to dummy bottles of cheap pear brandy would arouse me when the time felt right (the pear one is my favourite, by the way). I didn't set an alarm.

At 1:00am I found myself in the grips of a confused daze. My Friday night effectively poleaxed. I ate some stir-fry and watched the two most recent episodes of 30 Rock; squinting the entire time, as though the dim range light that hovered above my wok is the 7:00pm sun assaulting my retinas through a windshield as I idle in a never-ending snake of a traffic jam. I crawled back to my bed.

This morning, nearly 12 hours of sleep later I'm up, drinking coffee, listening to Dispatch and crossing items off my to do list with ruthless efficiency. I'm off to run some errands. I'm going to buy a new memory card for my camera (current is broken) and take pictures of communist hilarity to try and give you a feel for this Eastern-European-winter vibe.

A Note on Babylon

I'm re-reading a book my dad got me a few years ago. "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason. I read it on the 2 and a half hour Christmas drive to my grandparents house.

I obviously didn't absorb it all, but I knew it was important and something I should come back to.

I recommend it. A quick read worth more than it's weight, no doubt.

Back to hustling.

Accept Reality

I awoke an hour before my alarm again. I think my sleep cycle is well on the way to resetting itself though. But that's not what I'm here to talk about today. I'm here to talk about the way things are.

I'm obsessed with success. I think it's the effect of listening to so much rap music. Anyways, in pursuit of success, I read a lot. I read a lot about how to be successful and how the world works. I believe there are fundamental things we can do to increase our chances of winning. And life is all about chances and odds, if you ask me. When I find overlap in these "success fundamentals" from different authors that I respect I generally get pretty excited. I can't help but feel that I'm on to something big.

I stumbled across one such overlap yesterday. It was especially surprising because it was overlap between two of my favourite, but very juxtaposed people. The first, Iceberg Slim says:

'"Chumps prefer a beautiful lie to an ugly truth."The sucker wants to believe certain things about life and so projects these wishes on to the real world, seeing what he wants to see, not what is. A hustler thrives on reality, ugly or unpleasant - finds his poetry in the real. He sees the whole table and plays it as it lays.'

And secondly, Gary Johnson says:

"Become reality Driven, Don't kid yourself or others. Find out what's what and base your decisions and actions on that.'

ASIDE: For the full list of Johnsons 7 principles of good government, which I'm trying my best to live by click here.

So I think it's obvious. Critically and objectively evaluate your situation or you will continue to delude yourself about who you are and what you are capable of.


And that was my 200th Blog post. I'm glad I've kept with this. Thanks for reading along

Collar Policy

I think the day has finally come. Ok, it might have come and gone a long time ago but I was oblivious until recently. A brief Twitter poll concluded my sneaking suspicions. I need to revise my collar policy.

I'm not sure why but being a student gave me this sense of entitlement. Why should the collar of my polo lay flat against my shoulders when it can stand proud encircling my nape? That erect piece of fabric stood for so much, and hinted at the tinderbox of charisma that lay hidden underneath a light cotton weave. It differentiated me from the other biochemists.

One quick pivot of the head and I could poke your eye out with the heavily starched weapon of cloth I brandished around my neck.

I'm not a student anymore. And my eventual return to academia will see me wearing suits and looking sharp as hell. Something has gotta give. I can't walk around anymore projecting a completely care free, fun demeanor. I'm serious these days, it's all about business. I'm a young professional now.

As such, my attire on the daily is monopolized by dress pants and proper shirts, even the occasional tie. Polos have been ebbed out of my standard rotation and reserved for weekends around the house juxtaposing baggy, gray sweat pants. In this instance, I think the popped collar is insignificant. It's just me around the crib anyways. Another occasion in which a polo might have a popped collar is if I'm wearing a sweater or zip-up with a collar. Then it's only natural. Outside the house however, a completely different story is inscribed on the metaphorical wall. From this point on, my collar will be folded down, marking the end of a hilarious era, in accordance with the conformity of society.

My charisma will find a new way to express itself.



PS Can you believe this was blog post #199?

BACK IN THE GAME

It's 4am Monday morning. I've been awake for 1.5 hours. I don't know if it's because I'm starving, excited to work, travel-fatigue related or a combination of the above. I decided to just get my day started rather than toss and turn in the pursuit of elusive slumber.

It's obvious that I've taken a holiday hiatus from this here blog. Combined with some router compatibility problems at home, the shock of being in a fully industrialized country and general family and friend fun kept me from fulfilling the need to opine on these here internets.

BUT IM BACK.

It's 2010 and I need to start acting like it. I'm going to run with the excited about work reason for this bout of insomnia. I'll try to post short frequent blogs in the coming days. I had insane flight trouble that delayed my return. I'm feeling focused and ready to make things happen.