What Christmas is really about

So I obviously sounded highly cynical and maybe even bitter in my previous blog but I want to reassure you that I do enjoy Christmas very much and on d-day felt very much in the spirit.
It's about the little things. Giving and getting gifts is a lot of fun of course. I especially love discovering what Santa thought I should have. This year it seems they had an overstock of boxer briefs and pistachios at the North Pole. Christmas was very relaxing, just the way it should be. I spent it playing monopoly and watching TV while sipping eggnog and munching on cookies, crackers, rolls and a delicious artichoke dip among other goodies. That's what Christmas is about. Being with people you love and sharing good times. Looking at decorations and remembering those amazing feelings as a child when it was time to put up the tree and lay garlands and lights on it. Flipping through channels and seeing classic films and cartoons. There's something reassuring about this holiday. The safety of being surrounded by people you care about. The hope for goodness in the world. I remember being always fascinated by the idea that all over the world people were celebrating and doing the same things at the same time. It felt like a communion. I'd stay up watching TV and would come across the midnight mass broadcast from the Vatican. I'm not religious but it always impressed me for some reason.
Christmas reminds me of being worry-free, having no rent to pay, no food to buy, no table to set, no dishes to wash; a time when we could just wait for Santa to drop toys down the chimney. Of course as a kid I couldn't enjoy eggnog and brandy or bourbon soaked macadamia nut ice cream, or throwing in ten bucks at texas hold'em. But I also remember wondering what less fortunate and homeless people were doing at that time. Were they alone or would they get together around a fire to share food they'd found?
Growing up, aside from discovering that the world doesn't come to a stand-still to celebrate Christmas, I realized how lucky I was being brought up in a safe and loving environment. I had gifts, food and warmth.
I guess in the end, however tacky it may sound, Christmas is about being thankful for what we have and thinking of others who aren't as fortunate. If you can read this blog it means you're most likely far better off than 90% of the people on this planet. So lets not complain. I do on my blog a lot. I vent mostly about the American system because it is the structure in which I live in and it has many flaws. However I wouldn't be here if I didn't love this country. Expressing yourself is important. This blog also serves as therapy. I can say what's on my mind without being afraid to bore my girlfriend to death or stem controversy around a dinner table. I realized a few years ago that positive energy will get you much farther in life than anything else. I've been happier and more productive since then. Bitterness and cynicism don't do much for you. So to defend my previous blog, I'll say I was just being realistic, nothing else. There you go. Leave it to me to make an argument for, then an argument against, and then a final judgment. Thanks for your patience. Thanks for reading. Happy end of year and see you in '09!

The Spirit of the Holidays

So I sent out my annual xmas card and among the responses one person humorously (I hope) replied that every year it was the same message. Yes it probably sounded the same. Duh. Guilty as charged. What can I say, I like the attention... or maybe it's just that every year we celebrate the same things. Sorry to all those I offended. Come on. I know my message was not tailored to every individual person I wanted to wish a happy end of year to, but spending two full days writing emails is not my idea of preparing for xmas.
On that note this year I have the hardest time getting into the spirit. After a year that felt like xmas every day and not working for the last three months, I guess I'm getting a little anxious to get back to creating and getting busy. Plus like every year xmas has been announced since Labour day in stores, on tv and all over. They blast their holiday tunes for months and by the time we get halfway to d-day you're ready to carry around a baseball bat and smash every stereo in every store.
The slogan for these holidays should be: "No matter we're in a recession, come spend whatever you have left."
I may sound cynical, but the bottom line is that even if I know and read of people suffering from financial hardship, it's hard to notice when you're walking through a mall and feel like you're in a meat packing factory the day before meat supplies are to disappear forever. Or is it that people are so disillusioned that they have to buy gifts to feel like they're not broke. Is it naivete or the "great American spirit" (whatever that means). Is it the prospect of a new president giving us confidence in the economical future of this country or simply a pride issue (not wanting others to see that you're struggling).
The media talk about how this is the worst crisis since the great depression. It's bad for sure, but we're light years from anything comparable to the early 30s. So lets not dramatize. Once again, politics of fear prevail. People in Washington wanted all these bailout plans to pass and they succeeded. No matter that no one knows today where are the 700 billion dollars (our tax money) that were unconditionally promised to banks. What's important is that we Americans united during these harsh times to help our economy get back on its feet. Right? We the people... Although I don't remember voting on that... but whatever. I have to trust that the one clown who claims to represent me and millions others knew that it would've been our vote. Trust in this day and age? Are you kidding? Well again I think we need a lot of re-structuring in this capitalist "democracy". The constitution is an old piece of paper written in a different time. Yet we hail it as the one "rule of law" by which we make decisions. Updates please! I get them on my computer every other day. We get them in dictionaries and encyclopedias every year. Everything evolves, science, medicine, economy, etc. School books are updated every other year. Yet the two "literary pillars" through which our country is run, the bible and the constitution are the same unchanged ruling textbooks. How many times can you interpret the same words?! Apparently many millions of times. Which to a normal human being should say: "hey, we can't agree on what this means. There's a problem there. Lets change it." Seriously. What the hell is going on?! Wake up damn it. No matter that everything else around has changed for hundreds and thousands of years, these two manuals apparently are timeless. Wow, then what am I waiting for? I really should get on the bandwagon and follow the undying rules of man and society. Silly me for doubting and questioning the unquestionable. On this Christmas day I should repent from all my sinful thoughts towards our one perfect nation... under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all... Yeah that sounds like it. For sure.

To get back to my initial thought, let me sound redundant in wishing everyone a merry xmas and a happy new year filled with great things.

Back in the jungle

Upon my return to Los Angeles I was asked numerous times how it felt to be back and if it was different in any way.
I’ve called this town home since I moved here in early 2000 so being away for a year was not all that “shocking”. Time goes by quickly when you’re busy and not paying attention to it. The city, its people and the vibe don’t change. I do however. My eye, perception and sensitivity have evolved greatly in the past 12 months. I come back refreshed, inspired and more energized. I know what I want and everything appears a little clearer. My aspirations, dreams and desires are strengthened and reaffirmed. I have more ideas and the will to pursue what I came out here for more than ever before. My sense of values and priorities has been heightened and bettered. The list goes on as the amount of good that came from taking this time off and seeing other horizons proves incalculable.
So as you probably guessed, I'm really happy to be back. What’s exciting is the feeling of rediscovery. LA’s a very particular place. I’ve always loved it for its diversity and dynamic atmosphere above all. Everything and anything is possible here. It’s a world of its own where extremes set the structure in which people set their lives. Traffic is something I (as all of us here) could really do without and was thrown back into really fast. Spending an hour and a half driving from the westside up to the valley got me thinking yet again of how crazy it is to have all these people on the road at the same time. In just five minutes of driving I had seen more people here than in the prior month spent in Wyoming and South Dakota. Then very quickly you get back into the rhythm, living between rush hours and avoiding the bad stretches as much as possible. The way you plan your day here is different than in any other place. Reconnecting with friends has been the best part of my return. Catching up and seeing where people are in their lives is very exciting. A refreshing feeling of re-energizing relationships. It’s so important.
By the way I finally saw “The Dark Knight” last night and wow, what a rush. Incredibly inspiring filmmaking.

The "end" of an amazing journey

I don't like to use the term "end" since unless death occurs, the journey of life goes on. It is the end not of the journey but of an extraordinary episode of my life. The journey continues and I am very excited for whatever comes next.
So here I am back in California. I apologize for not posting anything last week but it was a little crazy between Thanksgiving, the return to the west coast and updating my website. I hope everyone spent a nice holiday. Mine was special for many reasons. I was in Salt Lake City where I had seen Coldplay a few days before. What an awesome concert. Such great performers and just there for the love of it. It was my 30th birthday gift from Brooke. Thank you so much!
Thanksgiving was special also because it marked the last day of the amazing journey I set out on a year ago today. How fitting... I have a million things to be thankful for but I'll just mention a few. First and foremost Brooke who went on for the ride without any idea what she was getting herself into and trusted my ideas and judgments along the way (well, most of the time... I was far from always being right). Secondly my parents who have shown so much support over the years and welcomed me back home for a few months over the summer. What a great opportunity to spend all this time with them after leaving the house nearly ten years ago. Finally I want to thank all the people we came across this year and welcomed us into their homes. From South Africa to Switzerland and over to the US, we had the privilege of staying with great friends and family. Their generosity and kindness touched us enormously.
More importantly we found that we are all the same. No matter whether black, white, African, European, native American, democrat, republican, religious, atheist, healthy, sick, redneck, liberal, poor, wealthy, old or young, we all respond to the same emotions. We all love to breath fresh air, see beautiful sights, share experiences, laugh, eat, drink, etc. Where our opinions or tastes may differ, the core of our spirits remains the same throughout. And that's what gives me hope that although this world will never fully come to peace, we are working towards understanding each other a little better every day.

Connect 4

Yes I re-discovered connect 4 last night and I must say it's a fun game, especially when crown royal is involved. I remember summer camps when I was in my early teens where we'd have connect 4 tournaments. Believe it! Alongside checkers and chess... I think I did fairly well back then. Yup, before video games made board games "obsolete". But who doesn't love spending money wildly at monopoly or drawing stick figures during pictionary? Really.

On another note, this morning I ran my yearly credit check and got really annoyed with the process. Federal law allows everyone to get a free annual credit report, yet the consumer reporting companies require you to enter a credit card number in order to obtain it. You get your free credit report, but if you don't cancel your new membership within a few days they charge your card. Sounds familiar doesn't it... I'm so sick and tired of this crap; companies out to screw people however they can. We're in an awfully rough economic situation where the government, media and all other supposed responsible entities tell us to show solidarity for struggling corporations (banks, auto makers, etc). Why is it always the people who are supposed to make up for mismanaged catastrophes? How about the higher political or corporate worlds act as role models for once?! We have to suffer the consequences and pick up the pieces every time. Remember a few months after the war in Iraq started when Bush told the American people to go spend their money to support the fragile economy? Wow, that sure did a lot of good in the long run, didn't it... And after Katrina rolled in, FEMA was completely incompetent dealing with the problems while Bush took forever to even react. Who ended up paying dearly? The thousands of people who to this day don't have the aid that was promised to them and have had to figure out alternate ways to survive, sometimes relying on others' help and generosity. Gotta give it to the American people for their resilience, courage and solidarity.
Isn't "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people" a common definition of democracy? So based on that, is this country really a democracy? There's way too much hypocrisy in our society. If ideas were actually carried out the way they're sold to us, then consumer reporting companies would be the first ones to encourage people to use their free annual credit report and not try to sneak people's money into their pockets. Times are tough and businesses need to make money to stay afloat and keep offering jobs. I'm fully aware of that. However it does not justify unethical behavior. We're all in it together. There are always those using times like these to make money off of others' miseries. I believe Obama will bring much good to this country but until something is done to tame the overly capitalist nature of this society people will always end up suffering the consequences of big business mismanagement.

But to end on a positive note, my credit report came back real good and I kicked ass at connect 4 last night!

Home travels and ethnic imbalance

One thing I was reminded of while traveling is that it’s important to see your own country. In the last few weeks I’ve seen amazing places. From Connecticut to Massachusetts and from South Dakota (The Badlands pictured here) to Wyoming, I was fortunate to see some amazing sights. This country has so much diversity. It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to live here and discover these wonders.
While in South Africa earlier this year I came across travelers from all around the world. I also came across many locals wandering around their own country. To them it made more sense discovering their own backyard than traveling abroad. More than the fact that the South African rand doesn’t get one as far as the American dollar, they are truly interested in getting to know their own heritage, one that has been disputed since the first European settlers disembarked on the southern shores of the African continent. As much as I agree with their philosophy, I do think it’s just as important to see what else this world has to offer, provided you’re fortunate enough to do so. I’m finding out that traveling abroad has made me that much more sensitive to the great things I’m discovering here in the United States.

South Africa has a lot in common with the US but what stands out is an incredible diversity in landscapes and ethnicities. This is a land that has seen much ethnic inequality and injustice. After the end of apartheid the world saw something extraordinary happen in Nelson Mandela becoming the first “man of color” elected to the presidency. An era of oppression had finally come to an end. But the antagonism between blacks and whites did not end there. I found that even if this country has come a long way in less than twenty years, it will be many more decades before any resentment is forgotten and a sense of equality settles in.
In the US we just took a big step in electing a non-white to the presidency for the first time. A wave of hope swept through the world showing how important this election was to more than just the American people. But as we all know the wounds of the past are not quite healed and we still have a long way to go before a real sense of mutual respect sets in. Having experienced this election in a very republican part of the country, I am that much more aware of it. It didn’t take more than a couple days before I started hearing some highly distasteful racial “jokes” on Obama. A lot of people here still use the “n” word and talk about blacks as savages. The civil rights act is more than four decades old yet around here it sometimes feels like that notion is inexistent. As much excitement I get from looking forward to january 20th, I realize that we have a very long way to go, not just to fix the economy but to reach a true sense of equality.

Change

“I believe in America.”

The opening words of “The Godfather” capture best what I feel today.

I choose this day to start publishing my blog because no other day have I felt so inspired. I have been thinking and wanting to write for quite a while now as this year has been a very special and different one for me. But it is on this day that I find the greatest inspiration to begin recounting the tales of the past months.

Change is what I needed and on dec. 4th of last year I embarked on a journey that I knew was going to be extraordinary without possibly imagining the outcome. Around that same time Barack Obama was speaking to people about change and his vision for a better America in the first stages of the presidential primaries.

Ever since he announced his run for the presidency, I have firmly believed and never doubted he would be our next president. He stole the show at the 2004 democratic national convention and sparked my hopes for something great to happen in this country. At that time of course I was hoping for a different outcome and when John Kerry lost I began losing hope again. Four years prior to that we’d seen a very divided America elect George W. Bush after a process that made me realize that with all its promises, this country isn’t the democracy it claims to be. How a candidate can win more votes than his opponent and still lose blows my mind. The electoral college system needs to be revised. It isn’t fair and I don’t understand how we went through this very controversial 2000 election and didn’t think to ourselves: “lets make some changes.”

On this day I can finally say my hopes are back and I am excited to start believing in this country again. What a good feeling. Because I do love this place so much for so many reasons, but have been so discouraged and frustrated over the years that I caught myself being angry more than anything else. I have spent this past year in many different countries and have heard many bad things about the US. Often times I didn’t feel safe saying I was American and found myself pretending to be from Canada... What a shame. I want to be proud of the passport I carry. And now I can be again as the world now knows that we Americans are ready to head into a new direction and get back on track.

Ironically I spent this election day in Wyoming, a hardcore republican state. I wore my Obama t-shirt proudly even though the dry cold forced me to put some layers over it... The minute CNN was announcing Obama as the president elect on the radio, I was entering a coal mine where I was taken on a night tour and showed the very impressive heavy machinery and coal mining process. I even got to drive a 240 ton capacity 2700 horsepower haul truck! And I thought I was the man when I drove a 600 hp Lamborghini a few years back...

I would’ve preferred being in Chicago or on Times Square of course, but at the same time it was quite an experience to feel completely isolated from the world in a science-fiction setting watching people working as if it was just another day, reminding me that although we have many reasons to celebrate, we also need to keep working hard towards better days.