mgedwards – Page 209

You wanna be Atlas for a change?

I spent much of the weekend stewing over something that really bothered me. I was pretty mad, actually. I won’t tell you what happened, but here’s a cryptic analogy for you to ponder. You’re Atlas, holding up the Earth because you were told to hold up the Earth. Then someone tells you should actually be tending to Mars because Mars comes before Earth and you really aren’t good enough until you go to Mars, even though you were never, ever given a rocket ship flight to Mars. Meanwhile, the one who tells you this takes off for the Sun on a rocket ship launched from Earth and then exiles you on Mars, leaving you far behind and drifting in outer space. So what do you do? Drop everything and tend to Mars instead…as soon as you can get a hold of a rocket ship.

Lesson to ponder: Don’t use others as a launching pad and exile them. You may believe that you’re isolated because you’ve moved on to the Sun. Once you’re long gone, your legacy will remain and will be recounted to the Stars who follow.

World Adventurers Magazine

Association update

Tonight our community association held its semiannual all members’ meeting and elected a new governing Board. The association hosted a dinner for its members and combined it with the semiannual talent show and a St. Paddy’s Day celebration. Tonight was quite the shindig, and it seemed that half the community showed up for it (free meals tend to bring out the crowds. I sang a song at the last talent show; this time around I hosted the members’ meeting. I’m glad–many of the talent show acts were absolutely amazing. The teenagers who performed acts ranging from guitar solos to martial arts demonstrations were absolutely fabulous. Our nanny brought my son to the event. When I saw him, I told him wistfully, "Bao (his nickname), daddy needs to speak." He answered, "Daddy, no speak!" Fortunately, he listened intently from the audience while I spoke. A bit later, my wife arrived from work. I wish I could say that we were together for the event, but unfortunately, I needed to focus my energies on making sure the event was a success. Still, we had fun, and after we came home, we headed quickly for bed (I crashed, woke up late, and decided to write this blog entry).

I will remain the chair of our association until the end of this month. Although I was re-elected for another term and will stay on the Board for another six months, I’m really burned out and need a break. In September, I will step down from the Board for good. I think we accomplished a tremendous amount of work over the last six months. One of the more visible changes is that the association now has a really cool web site. We brought in some new services and replaced some old ones. Perhaps most significant–we now have an employee cafeteria. We made some less obvious changes too such as adding credit card capabilities. Before, customers needed to pay with cash or check. Now, they can pay with plastic. Big and small changes such as these helped improve the association and make it more appealing as a venue for potential customers. Recently, we also began a marketing campaign to remind the community we are a non-profit organization committed to community service, a charm offensive to let the community know that we’re there for them. So far, the message seems to be well received. At least it was tonight when everyone feasted on free food and entertainment.

Way to go, Korea

Korea beat Japan 2-1 today in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic to advance to the semifinals. Way to go! Not only did Korea’s victory secure the team a spot in the semis, but it also lifted Korean national pride as its national team beat Japan, its archrival and frequent nemesis, in a sport at which both nations excel. Most westerners cannot fathom how deeply the outcome of a game like today’s can affect the Korean psyche. To most westerners, baseball is just a game (except perhaps for Boston Red Sox fans). To many Koreans, today’s game was an opportunity to show the world that Korea is in elite company, finishing ahead of Japan. At work today, I noticed a significant lull in our workload as I waited for Koreans to finish watching the game. I don’t think that has happened since the 2002 World Cup. After the baseball game ended, I heard a thunderous applause erupting from our Korean visitors before they streamed in to talk to me.

To understand how just how deeply a competition such as this influences Asian sentiments, consider this. Ichiro Suzuki, the Japanese sensation who plays outfield for the Seattle Mariners and who happens to be one of my favorite baseball players, said before the WBC that "I want to beat South Korea so badly that the South Koreans won’t want to play Japan for another 30 years." The commentary, atypical of the normally collegial Ichiro, caused quite an uproar among Koreans. In another incident, Korean baseball players allegedly complained that their Japanese counterparts were staying in better accommodations in Phoenix. Stories such as these are common whenever national pride and bad blood spills onto the playing field.

Well, congratulations, Korea. You did well in the Winter Olympics, especially in short-track skating, and avoided controversy. Now you have advanced to the upper eschelon of baseball’s version of the World Cup. Alas, if you advance to the finals, you will face even more formidable opponents, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. I wish you luck. Both teams will be very tough to beat.

Blog Notes: Editfish, regarding my Spanish study–when I found out that I already had the required proficiency to bid on Spanish-language assignments, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I didn’t know whether I would move to China or to another country where Spanish is unnecessary. I also figured that if I had studied and tested in Spanish again from Seoul, my exam score could have actually decreased. I scored a 1 in speaking and 2 in reading, so anything less would have disqualified me from Spanish-speaking assignments. A score of 1/2, 2/1 or 1+/1+ is required to qualify for top-off. My worst nightmare would have been to score less than 1/2 in Spanish and disqualified myself.