Let me preface this post by apologizing to my followers. Yes, Between August 24 and September 23, my life has been dealt with a hand of cards that were required strategic and tactful execution. During this time, a lot of joy and excitement was to be shared and celebrated.
First and foremost, one of my longest friends, to whom I consider family, was married. I have known Tiffany since the tender age of three, having grown up with her in the projects, going to school together, and finally moving on in our own lives. Despite the different paths we both took in life, we still are, somehow, and in some way, good friends to this very day.
I wanted to stifle her father at the day of the wedding, reminding him that he was the asshole who forbid me to marry his daughter while playing “house” when we were four years old. But I didn’t. I didn’t because I saw no point. What would I achieve in doing something to my friend’s father, on her wedding day? I decided to let it be and let life go on while we celebrated an joyous day.
And the funny thing is, being at her wedding taught me something important. No matter what walk of life you come from, where you live, who you are, your real friends will always be there for you, or at the very least, make it out to your wedding. Yes, I agree that friends come and go, but seeing how Tiffany managed to hold on to some very old friends and on top of that, build upon it, speaks for her personality.
Tiff – I know we don’t talk or hang out often, but I want you to know that it is a real honour to have been your longest friend to date. I wish both you and Ru the absolute best and happiness in life together. You two are an inspiration to me in more ways than words can describe.
On the topic of friendships, I celebreated my four year anniversary with my Rancilio Silvia espresso machine. We’ve had our ups and downs (mostly ups) and she has so far been a tremendous teacher in perfecting the pursuit of espresso. I felt many times that it was time to replace her, but no, I held on. At the end of the day, she is my first true love and I love her.
Oh, and want.
I should probably shut up about this but Eddie himself is a great friend too. I don’t know how he puts up with my stupid bullshit. And I am sorry for not telling you about the Reynolds Assaults. I really just wanted to play it low key hahaha. :)
Dinner @ La Piazza at the Italian Culture Centre
Some hipster brewery along the Adanac Bike Way near Britannia
The Bump & Grind Cafe
I took notice of the shindigs that Deus Ex Machina happen to throw every once in a while and it just so happened that the Venice store was throwing on a classic aircooled (luftgekhult) Porsche meet! They had some goodies that I wanted and Jonathan managed to pick up some neat stuff for me and it felt as if I were there! Win!
A co-worker of mine mentioned to me how amazing the Chubby Chicken (fried chicken pieces) at A&W was. I wasn’t convinced because I’m more of a Churches kind of guy. I decided to give it a shot with my siblings and we all are undecided which we prefer. On one hand, it’s got a bit of flavour, but not as salty as KFC. On the other hand, it is just as juicey as Churches and less greasy. The worst part was that it isn’t cheap and isn’t always readily available. Only certain locations carry it and you “should” call in advance to order it. Will I try it again? It would highly depend on circumstances.
One of my favourite ex-contractors Aman got married last weekend. He is one lucky son of a bitch and I am most certainly happy for him. He is a brilliant young man with a bright future ahead of him. I was honoured to have been a part of his wedding and this was my first Indian wedding! I want to marry an Indian girl.
It was definitely an interesting experience and it was neat to have seen the cultural differences. There, they wont have a box or table where you leave/drop off gifts. You hand them directly to the parents or siblings of their respective families. Also, don’t show up early. Everything runs on Indian time. I showed up at 6:30pm expecting the festivities to start. Instead, I had to kill time over a few drinks, then followed by some appetizers, and that’s when the show begins with the dances and the bride/groom come out to meet everyone followed by drinking/dancing, and much later, you get to eat. Wow, I got duped. But it was fun nonetheless and I had a blast catching up with some old friends and contractors as well.
And finally,
Work: The Deliberations Of What May Have Become
I would prefer not to get into too many details about my professional life only because, well, it’s the fucking Internet.
On a high note, I am glad that one of my contractors is/will be hired on as a full-time employee. He has done an amazing job thus far and certainly displays a high degree of accountability, reliability, and is results-driven. I’m really happy about this because as a senior on the team, it reflects my quality of work and leadership. The result of this resonates a “feel good” confidence booster. And now that one of my colleagues has left for greener pastures, it’s up to me to be the anchor here in the west.
However, going back to the title of this post: Deliberations and Exertion. Life has a strange way of throwing wrenches and lemons at you. If it’s not a string of bad luck, it’s a bad hand of cards, or the usual bullshit of how the timing wasn’t right, or it was destiny or fate and all that jazz. I was once told by a very wise individual that sometimes, persistence is key, and last week, I was living proof of her words. I was offered, let’s just call it an opportunity, to relocate for work and to join a team I had always been interested in. I jumped through hoops, went to the moon and back, and made it a point that I was in it the whole way. I saw this career path as “prestigious” and a “promotion” if you will. I felt so honoured to have been personally contacted and to be considered for this posting. It truly meant a lot to me and warrants my years of hard work and dedication.
I had to make some difficult decisions, mostly to confirm with where I am in life, what my priorities are, and what the future holds. The pressure was on to make a bold decision, and although I am (90% of the time) a complete idiot who makes rash decisions, I took the time to do some homework at the guidance of several highly respectable friends, family, and colleagues (you know who you are.) I really had to ask myself, What do I want? How do I get there? Where do I go? But what I didn’t ask myself was, “Is this what I actually want to do?
That question alone made me realize the magnitude of the decision I was about to make. All it took was for me to pick up the phone, say yes, finalize some papers and pack up and start a new life. But instead, I had weighed my options and made one of the most difficult decisions in my life – turn down a job opportunity.
Some of you may be thinking, “Wow, what a fucking retard. What a moron.” Sure, yes, You have every right to feel that way and to think of me as such, but deep down inside, the child inside me wanted to say yes to this new job, for the sake of saying yes, and to do something different. I was more interested in how people perceived me. “Wow, bcrdukes is a real go getter! He’s so successful!” Yes, I secretly want you all to think that way of me, but the grim reality is, if I had said yes, I would have been entirely miserable and I would have regret my decision. Five years ago, I would have totally said yes, But if I said yes now, the only real loser would be me.
I had to really think long and hard before coming to this decision. Believe me, it wasn’t easy. I don’t believe that moving thousands of miles away from your family is a good thing. Not every job you take up is a promotion. It certainly isn’t one if you will absolutely hate the job and who you work for. Take it from me – I’ve been there. And it sucks.
One person told me that there is no such thing as making wrong decisions in life. I thought he was crazy, but little did I realize, no matter what you do, you’ll think back years from now wondering how things COULD have turned out, when really, what’s important is what has turned out. I had to factor in all kinds of circumstances in my life and sometimes life can be a fucking asshole who throws all sorts of shit at you along the way. But the most important right now is family and keeping them together and enjoying life with them and my friends. As for my career options, I’m not one who enjoys maintaining the status quo, so I do enjoy change, but change and decisions should come for the right reasons and really be evaluated and well informed before pulling the trigger. This experience alone was a huge life lesson for me and I can only grow and become wiser from here onward.
In the end, I know I made the right choice in staying.
