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In my opinion, life thrives on providing us with opportunities and challenges that help define our character. Even in my own life, I have experienced numerous challenges that have really taught me how I conduct myself as well as my refine my approach to life itself. Perhaps the most divine lesson that life has taught me is the passion of education and how it really is important to wake up and absorb all that we can. Over the past several years, I’ve really only wanted one thing from life and that was the chance to meet the person I love and spend time with her. My life has been full of complexities, “drama”, as well as adventure. However, I’ve known for sometime that the true serenity missing in my heart was the presence of a loved one. In the past few weeks, I’ve had the rare and sacred opportunity to meet someone special in my life. Her name is Andrea Schmidt, and she is perhaps the only person I’ve ever met that really has taken the time to understand me. Andrea is from Germany and is a co-op/intern who works at John Deere Waterloo Operations here at Waterloo, Iowa. What really makes her special to me is the fact that she and I have both had similar pasts filled with personal struggles. Moreover, both of us took different paths in our lives and yet we learned the same lessons. Throughout our lives, we both were looking for that someone special who we could rely on, talk to openly, and really understand our own perspectives on life. The question that remains is, “Do I love her?” For me, personally, the term love is very powerful term and I seldom use it. The term love doesn’t simply imply intense affection for someone or something. Rather, love is a term that encompasses a variety of emotions and thoughts that really are tied to your heart. In other words, these are thoughts and emotions that cannot be changed simply by a few actions and are really a strong bond. To put it simply, Andrea is the only girl I’ve ever truly loved and she really is the center of my heart. Her words, her thoughts, her presence, are all elements that really provide clarity and peace for my soul. She really does give me the happiness and serenity that I have been craving for so many years. I think it is fair to say that I love Andrea and I want to be with her. What a wonderful life and I could not ask for anything more. Thank you Andrea and I love you!
I just finished perhaps one of the best books I’ve read in my life, “Veronika Decides to Die“. Simply put, the book is about a girl who attempts to commit suicide, fails, and is told she only has one week left to live. However, the book does not simply end there. Paulo Coelho vividly describes how she lives that one week and learns the true value of her existence. Like “The Alchemist,” this book has a number of subtle messages that are designed to provoke thought and squeeze the reader into understanding the value of life. There have been moments in my life where I felt I was lost in forest surrounded by darkness and completely off the path. Often, I would resort to asking God if He could go ahead and end my life so that I could move on and enjoy eternal bliss. Much of this was brought on by the fact that I was not content with who I was or the life I was leading. I overcame my addiction to the darkness by continually reading motivational books as well as turning to meditation to help. The most important lesson I learned was that I need to live my life on my terms and everyone around can either choose to befriend me or walk away. This lesson taught me to push myself beyond my limits and start creating dreams that were once simply unimaginable. I never thought that I would end up working for a prestigious company such as John Deere. I never thought that I would end up driving on my favorite cars as soon as I graduated. I never thought that I would enjoy my life as much as I do today. Today, I have virtually no regrets about my life. Every event that comes my way, be it good or bad, I take with laughter and prepare myself to tackle it and embrace its aura. So what is the downside? Because of my insistence on setting high goals and the constant perseverance to achieve those goals, I don’t think I have the ability to rest and enjoy the precious moments and people I meet. My only regret is that I wish I could simply find someone who would open their arms so that I can collapse and look up at her and say, “thank you for grabbing a hold of me as life took me further and further away from you.” I know that sounds a bit cheesy or lame, but the fact is that sometimes everyone needs to simply slow down and enjoy life. Have I found the right person yet? No. But I did learn one thing. Like Veronika, I gave up and I came back and I realized I need to treasure my life. And that is what I have been doing for the past 16 months. Thank you to everyone who has been a treasure and a guiding light in the forest I now call, my life. Veronika Decides to Die is fantastic novel that you should definitely check out. I’m a big fan of Paulo Coelho and I intend to read the rest of his books. Thank you Paulo for your continued support and vibrant thoughts. There’s a tornado near where I live. I’m actually writing this blog while the net is still up. Hopefully it’s not my last post, but who knows. Hope all will pan out. I’d take pictures, but I’m conserving the battery life of my phone just in case. This is just incredible! Nature is just beautiful and awe-inspiring. UPDATE It seems like the worst is over. There were very strong winds and apparently there was a funnel cloud that I could see, but not exactly a tornado. Coming from the city, I have absolutely no idea what a tornado looks like except from what I have seen on TV and in movies (Twister comes to mind). Everything is pretty calm right now, no more flying branches and winds strong enough to shake the whole apartment. It’s hard to believe, but I am writing another post after such a long time. I’ll be honest, since I’ve started working at John Deere, I have thought about simply quitting my blog and moving on. However, what has drawn me back to this blog is the freedom of writing. I’ve never had any intention of making any money off of my blog and I’ve used this medium as a way to encourage myself to continue my passion for writing. Unfortunately, I have found limited amount of time and convenience (i.e., mood) to go ahead and write. Over the past few weeks, I’ve come across numerous issues which I wanted to write about, but simply did not do so due to – shall we say – laziness? Nothing Runs Like A DeereNow that I got the formal excuse out of the way, what have I been up to lately? As you may already know, I have a job at John Deere as a Manufacturing Engineer at their Waterloo Works. I work on the 7000 series tractor assembly line and – knock on wood – I am enjoying every minute of my work. So where is Waterloo Works? Waterloo Works is actually comprised of several plants in the Waterloo, IA area:
Needless to say, I’m working at the TCAO facility, which is over 2 million square feet and climate controlled. In other words, the entire manufacturing floor has a controlled climate of approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit. How awesome is that? Das Auto: GLII cannot begin to tell you how much I really love my brand new car. I never thought that driving a six-speed manual would be so much fun out here in Iowa. In fact, it is far more comfortable than my parents’ car and packs a punch in the front. With that much power also comes responsibility, so I tend to drive far more rationally than ever before and I do not give into my temptation to speed unnecessarily. What surprises me is the fact that not very many people consider looking at a Volkswagen while looking at a Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and others. VW’s might seem a bit pricey, but they are worth every penny. The creature comforts in my GLI easily outperform any comparable vehicle from Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Chevrolet, and others. Updates Here We Go Again!Now that I am settling into my new job and life, I am starting to create time for the things I enjoy. As such, it is time now to look at updating this blog and fixing many of the “errors” I seem to encounter every now and then. I’m very much tempted to go ahead and start from complete scratch, but I’m not sure if that is the smart thing to do. It is my hope to continue using my blog as a platform to improve my writing and express my thoughts and opinions as I experience LIFE.
These days the environment is a growing concern among Americans. As the average national gas price soars past the $4.20 mark, the average American is starting to reevaluate vacations, commutes, car purchases, groceries, and much more. Former Vice President Al Gore has committed himself to pursuing issues concerning the environment and encouraging everyone to do their part to assist the environment. However, both political parties have stayed relatively neutral when it comes to environmental concerns. Neither Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton have outlined a detailed plan that either eases the rising oil prices or reduces/eliminates American dependence on foreign oil. So what exactly are we to do? I read an article today that outlines how expensive gas price (namely $8 a gallon) can be good for the American economy. The author outlines eight specific reasons that support his main idea:
Surprisingly, the author does a great job of procuring valid consequences if the gas price increases to nearly ten bucks. However, my issue with this article is the fact that the author assumes that most people, including myself, would simply live near urban centers and let go of our suburban upbringings. I enjoy the city of Chicago and I know it has more activities year round than my own suburban community. However, if I had a family, I would most definitely live in a suburban setting because it would allow my family to live somewhat quietly, live in a nice single-family home, and near other kids in a good neighborhood. I don’t have to worry about pimps and gangs invading my streets. As a single adult, I would live in the city of Chicago in a heartbeat. However, as a family man, I would live in a suburban community with no doubts in my mind. The author also talks about how the high prices would reduce our dependency on Middle-Eastern oil and spur innovation in alternative and renewable energy sources. In case anyone forgot, the past eight years have seen the emphasis in U.S. policy shift from domestic to foreign issues. Moreover, my personal opinion is that the war in Iraq was a screen for growing Republican interest in securing oil fields for American companies. To this day, not one Republican or Democrat has shown interest in pursuing alternative energy. In order to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we must have a strong alternative. Most people talk about hybrid vehicles or ethanol, yet they do not even consider completely eliminating oil. Hybrid vehicles STILL require oil and ethanol production requires substantial amount of oil. Why not consider alternative technologies which do not require as much oil such as wind power, hydrogen fuel cells, nuclear power, etc.? Then again, we come back to the argument that public transportation is not well developed. The reason is because most people drive everywhere. Innovation needs to start prior to its use, not after. If companies and local governments started to innovate public transportation, we would see increased usage of those facilities once gas prices started to rise. Public transportation needs to be convenient for as many people as possible, otherwise, no one will use it. My argument has always been that if gas prices rise to an absurd level, consumers will undoubtedly change their habits. However, the American dream has always included tokens such as cars, homes, and a comfortable lifestyle. That is our culture and I don’t think that will change. Maybe in the far future, it may. But for now, our culture is going to be one that is filled with cars and people driving them. Alternative fuel needs to be researched and implemented NOW so that all of us can then reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Article source: Market Watch |
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