i finished my first day of work today from 830am to 3:15pm. it was orientation. it was basically just sitting around all day watching a prepared dvd to train us on the basics of retail. i learned that the corporation i am working for is a fortune 30 company. this particular store grosses 45 million a year and has 60,000 customer flow each day. that's hella cash, hella people. too bad i'm only making 8.00/hr. but, i decided to look at it as them paying me to teach me the basics of social interaction. so, i'm up on them. just kidding, that's an bad attitude to have. i am thankful they are allowing me to earn hard earned money at their respectable corporation. they said, they won't give me a raise till may 2009. sucks, but, at this point, it's all about the training not the dollar amount. they are gonna give me a raise just about the time i'm gonna be ready to find a new job. what irony. my training group was 90% hispanic. i go back to orientation tomorrow from 9am-2pm. i think today i made $56. feels good. it's real money.  realest money of my life.

i got a job. passed the drug test (whew) passed the background check (whew) orientation is tomorrow @ 830am. it's the most basic type of job that pays minimum wage. friends tell me i can start higher because i have a degree from uci. this is true. but i am putting into consideration the fact that i haven't worked a normal job for a decade. my personality & social etiquette is slightly out of tune with normal civilian standards. i am gonna use this job to get my social skills up to par, reacquaint myself with society. i plan to work here for about 1 year. then, move on.

i am actually looking forward to working. it was my view that the normal proletariat, slaving to make others richer, were fools. but, i have a new outlook after the financial pinch i am facing. i respect those who are putting in their time to earn their living. this is a path of decency.  so many shortcuts exist out there that are lucrative but unethical or illegal. there are many ways to create an enormous income, but at the end of the day, if you don't have self dignity, and satisfaction knowing you provided a service that helped others, something might be missing.

knowing myself, i will prolly eventually return to trying to make money the fast way. but at that point, it will be with my hard earned money that i can afford to risk. and, most likely, no more, ALL-IN bets. but, fast money will have to wait until i repay my friends & family who loaned me money to bail me out of my situation.

all sorts of lessons to be learned in life, this one is the most impactful, life-style changing of them all thus far. but, for some reason, i am deriving satisfaction from it. i'm finally gonna start working! something, i've been dodging since i graduated college in 1999.

last 2 weeks i've been maintaining 151-155 weight range. i feel pretty good. my goal is to be stable at 147-152. i felt best when i was 147. it's because my walking feels very light, my movements feel crisper, and my digestion system is healthy because of the minimum food intake. some guys claim that when you get too light, you feel like you can get pushed around. i feel this too, a little bit. but the energy level, and the lightness feeling overwhelms the whatever good qualities that may lack from the higher mass. also when i'm lighter, my skin complexion improves, my facial features are accentuated positively, and somehow it feels easier to speak, and my mood improves. so, ultimately, my goal will remain at 147-152.

some new points i've picked up since those days i used to talk alot about dieting.

1. sleep at 10:30am - sleeping early will helps prevent late night eating. i realized that when my dad comes home he starts cooking and i get curious what's on the grill. i would start snacking off of whatever he makes and destroying my diet efforts of the day. sleep @ 10:30. it's not only good for dieting, it's a good habit to rise & shine w/ the sun.

2. portion, portion, portion! i'm betting that the average person can cut every eating session by 50% and still be eating too much for their body class. the easiest way to lose weight is to cut down food intake. i'm theorizing that the older you get, the less you need to eat, since you move around less, and your digestive system doesn't need the extra work. less eating means less work for your stomach to digest.

3. stretching. just recently, i realized that my body is very unflexible. so, i tried p90x's stretching routine and realized, just stretching burns hella calories. i think stretching is a good way to get in touch with your body, keep your body supple, and at the same time burn calories. flexible body, flexible mind.

4. take walks whenever possible. walking has become my favorite hobby. it's a good excuse to be anywhere. i visit any place just to take a walk. walking is good cardio, but if you pick the best locations to walk, you can enjoy the scenery, people watch, and feel invigorated from the energy vibe of the area.

(the mother cat is training it's kitten to travel. it's leading it's kitten out of the garage for the first time. i wonder where they are traveling to.)

5. ok, that's it for now. there is prolly more good info about dieting that i am forgetting at the moment. but i really want to watch these kittens.

bye.

for the last few months, a tiger striped cat of gold and black has been wandering around my backyard. it sips on the water in our swimming pool. the unusual thing about it is that is has a broken, left hind leg. it reminded me of chi, when she broke her leg. i couldn't believe it was hopping around with it's hind leg broken. i thought it would just die naturally because it was moaning in pain all the time. but after a few weeks, it started climbing up walls like a healthy cat, altho it's hind leg is still broken! i was pretty amazed. i thought maybe i should take her to the humane society, but was told they would just put her to death. anyways, this cat was impressing me with it's survival powers.

then, this cat took it to the next level and surprised me even further. my dad discovered that this cat had laid kittens in our garage! lol i was told this but never got the chance to see the kittens until tonight. when i was driving into the garage with my headlights on, i saw 4 kittens jumping around in the back corner of the garage. the mother was a few feet away protecting them. 2 were black and white, and the other 2 were colored like their mother, tiger striped, gold and black. i took chi's dog food and a bowl of water and placed it near the mother. few minutes later it was feeding on it.

anyways, the power of life is amazing. i really thought the cat was just gonna pass away, instead it battled against it's broken leg, furthermore, came back and popped out 4 more kittens full of life. man, never underestimate life. it really has a way of overcoming all obstacles. life is powerful.

if i keep feeding the cat and kittens they will prolly make our backyard their new home. 5 new family members. i hope chi does not get jealous of them. how are we gonna fix that cat's leg. i'm freaking broke right now.

lates.

1. no shortcuts in life
2. laziness is the root of failure
3. working a normal job is respectable, dependable, stable income
4. gamble only with risk money that i earned myself
5. deviating from lawful actions has severe consequences
6. live as truthfully, ethically as possible.
7. don't mix money with friendships from hereon
8. friends & family are more important than money
9. i can live a satisfying, happy life without large amounts of money
10. dedicate next 5 years towards a straight, healthy, respectable, ethical lifestyle
11. excessive greed is dangerous.
12. the simple life rocks.
13. relationships are an essential part of a satisfying life.
14. evil is real and can ruin a person's life.
15. choose goodness whenever possible.
16. i love my parents, brother & friends.

this was the most educational, impactful week of my whole life.