Heart of the City

It's happened again. Just as I move to a city, Ameer moves away. A year ago, I shuttled up to the Bay and before he could take me to the Korean restaurant located in a garage, he jetted down to LA. Now, he's U-Hauling his way back to San Francisco and leaving me behind. It's not personal, he assures me.

In our short time here, we've managed to set up a nice routine of places to eat after work. The sticky rice noodles at Dragon, the boba at Little Bean, the late night standards, Asian Denny's and Carrows. And of course, the one burrito place up here that serves an acceptable carne asada. All of these places may never be the same. Then again, maybe I'll be getting a real room out of the whole deal.

The good news is that I (and we) can all follow along on Ameer's new adventure through the power of moblogging. I'm a little jealous that Ameer's moblog is about to get a thousand times more exciting. West Covina and Rowland Heights can't compare to the sights of the city. People come and go but with iPhone in hand, nobody is ever very far away.

(on living in san jose, too far away from san francisco)
"it's rough to be so close, and so far at the same time... i go see her weekly and there's a tingle in my spine from the bottom up to the back of my neck that gives me goose bumps and forces my hands to shake when i drive up the freeway and see the noble lights of the financial district buildings next to the lights of the bay bridge... i will prove my love to her, and we will be together one day."
-high entropy-

Walk the Line

Here's the thing about work friends: I usually avoid them. In just about every job I've ever had, I've kept a safe distance from any co-worker. Not because none of them have been cool or worthy of knowing as people, but because it's just weird to get close to co-workers. I mean, doing the drink thing after work, talking about your personal life, mixing business with pleasure, that's just all weird.

However, with my current job, by the nature of it, we're allowed to be a little more relaxed as far as our relationships with co-workers go. For one thing, my fellow managers are amazingly cool -- inside or outside of work. And since everyone spends 12+ hours a day together, it's natural to want to get along when each day feels like a lifetime.

However, when there are heads to butt, or business type things to deal with, it can become a barrier when you're friends on the side. It's not that separating friendship and business is difficult but it's definitely a different way of approaching things. I'm naturally inclined to befriend everyone around me, mainly because it's better (not to mention more fun) to be around people you like. But when you have to judge people on their work personas versus their regular personas, it can kind of get mixed. A great person doesn't necessarily make a great worker.

Especially when you get into the area of supervisor versus supervisee. While being friendly with your superiors is never a bad thing, there's always that cloud hanging over your relationship that when it comes down to it, one person can dramatically alter the "friendship" by firing the other party. Usually this isn't a problem at all. With most co-workers, it's usually safest to get close to those you trust and respect anyway. The distance is there for people who aren't likely to be around, or for individuals who aren't that savory in either respect.

But to have this artificial barrier of work hanging over a potential friendship is strange for me. Where's the separation? Does hanging out after work make sense if you're just going to see them again in eight hours? Is it possible to build a relationship that isn't work related? Of course, many normal people consistently find their friends through a work place so clearly the answer is "Yes".

I just don't really like having to evaluate someone based on the normal factors plus this weird grey area of "are they good workers?" It certainly adds a new dimension to the term "value add," which we use to judge people in a typical social circle. It may be time to bust out the friendship report card and make some work-centric modifications in order to create the "Are you my perfect co-worker?" test.

Number 2

Kokopelli
[ Nov 1, 2003 ] - Right Calf
Sometimes, you get attracted to a symbol or an image and then find out that, for whatever reason, that symbol is a good representation for you. I guess that's how people pick their totems -- their favorite colors, animals, cars, constellations, everything. You're mysteriously attracted to something and then bend your preferences around it. For me, one of those symbols has always been Kokopelli -- a Native American deity commonly seen in the Southwestern United States. The quick description for him is that he's the god of fertility and trickery. Like Loki with an endless supply of Viagra.

Kokopelli is typically depicted as a hunchback playing the flute. The hump is there for him to carry unborn children, which are then distributed to women. This would logically imply that Kokopelli is some sort of Casanova, or at least, a Travis Henry, but as we all know, that's the direct opposite of me. Hell, my greatest single fear in life is probably having children. If I woke up one day and was suddenly responsible for the care and upbringing of a child, I'd freak out big time. Thus, having a god of fertility on my leg highly amuses me.

Since I was highly attracted to Kokopelli before I even knew what he was all about -- a god of fertility that doubles as the god of trickery -- hopefully that's the universe's way of telling me that I'm sterile. Hopefully.

"Known to some as a magician, he is known to others as a storyteller, teacher, healer, trickster, or god of the harvest and is often credited as being the 'original' journalist.

Believed to bring fertility and good fortune to whomever he met wherever he chose to roam, Kokopelli, with his hunchback and flute, was always welcome.

Kokopelli possessed a playful, carefree nature that seemed to be able to bring the good out in everyone. Cousin to the mythical gods of the ancient world, Kokopelli is believed to represent the fertility and the untamed spirit or nature. Because of this and his sexy, joyous, uninhibited ways, his wisdom, magic, and simple nature have often times been overlooked. This masculine casanova is famous for his prankster ways and one is often warned to beware for he is likely to trick you. It is all in good fun, though, for especially in today's world, his humor is refreshing and delightful.

The stories may differ depending on the storyteller and tales shall be told for many, many years to come. Yet through it all, Kokopelli shall remain an inspiring figure with a passion for life."