Things That Make You Go Hmm

Is it not strange, that certain events that take place in life, all seem to happen at once? For instance, when things go bad, everything seem to go bad like a domino effect. On the other hand, when things go rather well, everything seems to be going so smoothly. Oddly enough, after 8 years of searching for a new employment, I now have oodles of choices for my next potential job. Go figure, but all these opportunities just seem to all pop up at the very same time. Hmm ...

The question is now, which job should I persue among the 3 choices I have:
1 - Stable job in a big company that will allow me to work and travel around the world.
2 - High paying job in the land of the dreams.
3 - Fullfilling and benevolant job that will enable me to utilize my skills for the better good of mankind.

This is one of those things that make me go hmm right now. Questions, questions, I have some questions ... I want to know ... Certainly, I am going to carefully think it over. Perhaps after my skydiving experience I will see the light!

Time To Move On

After 8 successful years at Arsenal in England, Thierry Henry has finally decided to move on to play for Barcelona in Spain. In England, Titi, as we call him in France, is a living legend and is amongst the best strikers in the premier leauge. Of course, he could have stayed in England and be in a confortable position for the remainders of his career. But instead, Titi seeks new adventures and mountains to conquer in Spain.

By no means am I like Titi at all! However, like him, after 8 years of loyal service to my current company, I feel I have nothing to prove anymore. Everywhere I have been, every client or project I have worked for, I have more than shown my talents and skills. Like Titi, I believe it is also time for me to move on and look for new horizons to defeat!

Do the Right Thing

After having graduated from the university back in the US, I had set my eyes to return to France. At the time, most of my chum friends did not understand why I would even consider doing that. They say, in the US, we can make so much more money. Truth be told, they are absolutely right, but there are some things not even money can buy. After all this time, no matter the adversities and difficulties I have encountered, I have no regrets with the choice I made. It was the right choice at the time.

A couple of years ago, my French colleague asked how is it I still lived with my mother. I replied that I could not just leave her by herself being my mother. Obviously, the mentality among Americans and French is different from that of Asians or Africans. The Western mentality has always been that of a bird leaving his / her nest and making it on its own. Whereas in Asia for instance, children stay with the parents for quite some time. At times, even living with the parents after marriage and having children. In China for instance, you would even see even 3 or 4 different generations in the same household!

Several years after I had returned to France, my other friends also followed and returned to their homeland. Some, like myself, had returned due to family obligations. Others, while they were also making lots of money, returned to their home to be closer to their family and friends. After all that has been said and done, it goes without saying that money is not always the most important thing in life, contrary to popular belief.

So part of me is French, as I am somewhat of an idealist, and often think too much like your typical French person! Part of me is American, for I am a dreamer at times, and always yearn for the impossible and the great adventures. Last but not least, part of me is Cambodian, for I have always been there to help my family, no matter what the sacrifices. What we must always remember, is that we are who we are today thanks to our families, and we should never forget that.

Parents in Seoul

My mother just called from Seoul. She and my father have been there for the past week. She enjoys it a lot. Of course, she says it's just OK. Ah, once you know Paris, it is a rather difficult task to compare any other city. In fact, she says that there aren't alot of people who speak English.

Hmmm, that reminds me when I visited Seoul in 2002. It is true though, only the new generation spoke English, even after the world cup. What was awkward for me then, during my 3 days in Seoul, it was that I never saw another person who even came close to my tanned skin. I felt I was the only colored person in the whole city! It was even more awkward for my Korean friend, who is a girl.

What made this trip most memorable, was the fact that a total stranger that I had met in Paris a few months back, took the time and had the courtesy to welcome me in Seoul and tour me around. I have not met a nicer girl ever since!

Failure and Possibility

As with everything in life , sometimes we must learn to accept failure and move on in order to evolve in this constantly changing world. It is not always easy to accept failure, especially after having put so much effort. Obviously, moving on and getting past the disappointment takes time. Personally, in everything I have endeavored, I always did my best and have no regrets, regardless of the outcome. The most difficult part of failing of course, is the fact that one truly believed in a given goal or objective. Sometimes, it does not matter how much effort one puts into something, it is just not meant to be, and we must let things carry out naturally. But hey, there is nothing wrong with chasing stars. Who knows, maybe one day you will catch one! There are always other opportinities in life. So always yearn for the best and the impossible!

Dreams be Dreams

While I was attending elementary school in France, during recess, my friends and I would regularly attempt to conceive and dream up a plan to drive off the evil army that was occupying and harming Cambodia, and help its people. At the time, my friends and I were only about 6 years old, but yet politically aware of what was happening around the world. It is funny, for I had not thought of this childhood dream in such a long time. Not since I was 3 feet tall. Who knows, maybe one day I'll have the chance to accomplish this childhood dream and actually help people in Cambodia. As Jack Johnson says, "Don't let your dreams be dreams."

How Old Are You?

Last year in Cambodia, I once picked up my niece and nephew from school. Upon picking up my niece, her teenage friends said I barely looked 20? Several months later in the US, while shopping with my teenage niece, her friend thought I was her cousin. She said "No! He's my uncle!" LOL. Just recently, I met this female doctor in Cambodia. She's a couple of years older than I, and inquired about me and my age. Likewise, she was surprised at my age, and thought I was barely 20??? Then my mom would go ... "Ah it's your fault, you look too young!" Huh?! How is it my fault if I look younger than my age? Shouldn't it be a compliment? Moms. Go figure.

Follow the Current

In France, the laws are rather strict when it comes to firing or laying off people. As a matter of fact, it is quite a hassle to let go of personel. So much, that there are so many consulting/service companies that exist to provide the necessary and competent work force in a timely manner to other companies. For those that work in these so called consulting companies, going from one mission to another, one client to another, is always a surprise. Some good. Some bad.

Changing regularly from client to client allows some of us to see different projects, people, environment, and technologies. It is rather intriguing at first. However, with time, some prefer to look for something more stable and fix, and not worry about what the next mission will be, or which client he or she will end up with.

When I started working for my current client several months ago, other consultants had arrived in my team before myself, and were quite interested in being hired by the client. Naturally, they worked and invested alot of their time to please the client. As for myself, like Jack Johnson says, "what will be, will be, and so it goes". I really have a don't care attitude, but I do my job professionally regardless, and everybody seems quite content.

Content may be a modest adjective, for they have asked me today if I wanted to join the company. Strangely enough, the people who have been showing off and doing everything to please the client have not had any official proposition. In the end, it is the very discreet, don't care person that has this opportunity. I suppose sometimes we should not try too hard to impress others, and just be our best naturally, and just let things be.

Hmmm .... according to the person responsible of the department (2 levels above my project manager), there are 3 reasons why they wish to hire me:
1 - I have good rational and communication skills?
2 - I have the necessary skills for the new generation of projects to come.
3 - I am very mobile.

My name keeps coming up in the list of consultants to be hired, and it seems everyone agrees about appreciating me. OK that is nice to hear this. Well of course they appreciate the fact that I dont complain like your typical French person!

In joining this company, I will be able to work on many international projects, thus travelling and discovering many new cultures and countries. In addition, I would have more vacation holidays, more bonuses, and a higher salary. Sounds nice huh?

So my answer? Let me think about it ...

Learning the Guitar

One day before Zizou's famous head bud during 2006's world cup final, I had just bought myself a folk guitar. During that summer, I had just happened to find the inspiration to learn to play the guitar. Don't ask me why, but it happened. In my quest to master this absolutely magnificient instrument, I set out to buy numerous DVDs and books to learn.

I must admit, things look rather easy at first sight, but it is far from it, believe me. Not only must you memorize the different notes, but for each note there are different chords to strum. Not to mention the steel chords on a folk guitar are quite painful to the naked fingers. But once the chords memorized and the ability to change notes correctly, I was able to start playing a couple of easy songs. Yet for some reason, the songs I played never sounded quite right. My endeavor to play the guitar lasted a couple of months til I broke one of the chords.

Fastforward 7 months later, and I finally got my guitar fixed. I now realize, though I knew the basic chords, I had played them wrong all along. While browsing through Youtube, I found this guitarist, Justin Sandercoe, who was kind enough to give free guitar lessons on the internet. As a matter of fact, his lessons are great as he give pointers on what to do and not do. The URL is the following: http://www.justinguitar.com/

So here I found myself learning to play the guitar all over again. The steel chords still feel rather painful, and my fingers are not as flexible and long as I would like them to be. It is rather difficult to play the different notes correctly, that many times, I have felt like giving up. But with practice, my fingers are starting to get used to the chords, and are becoming more flexing as well. To be honest, with all the stretching and flexing with my left hand and arm, I now feel muscles I never tought I had. In some ways, with my left arm being stronger than before, it feels as if I have found balance between my natural right arm and my left. It goes without saying that practice does make one better, so we'll see how things progress. I just need to take my time to do things the right way.

Whether it be learning to play the guitar or doing anything else, we can always find ways to improve ourselves in our everyday life or society. Nobody is perfect, and there is always room for progress and evolution. Sometimes, we just need to look into the mirror to make a change in this world.