Happenings

Please bear with me for this posting. It’s currently 8:44pm on the Friday before my big trip to Puerto Rico with the Salsaddication dance team. I should be excited by this point, but after a few weeks of 30+ degree nights, going to bed around midnight only to wake up all sweaty by 5am, not to mention everything I’ve been trying to get done during the days, I am actually looking more forward to at least one day of rest amidst what I imagine I could be one of the wildest places I’ve ever been too. I think I’m beginning to associate myself more with Meursault from the story The Outsider these days.

Speaking of books, before I get into what has happened over the last almost three weeks, the third book I started to read not long ago, I finally finished. Last weekend I deliberately took some time for myself to sit through it. To my surprise, it has honestly been one of the better reads I have ever had. I think mostly because I feel it has a strong message for me. I won’t get into it here, but if you haven’t already read The Alchemist, get it right now! I owe my youngest brother for that one.

Now for the rest. I’ll try to brief.

First off, The Possibility of Shanghai, has finally become a magazine article, and by default, I have officially become an author.

It was quite the source of excitement, when on July 10th, my dad called to leave me a message that the magazine had finally arrived. The next day, and the following, I stayed up late emailing people with the article attached. It finally feels like the chance I’ve been waiting for- to show people just how much I really want my dream to come true.

The rest of my time has been largely spent practicing or performing salsa, and doing more research into what places I can contact to tell them about my article.

On July 7th, I met a “financial educator”, who the following week would introduce me to the wonders of the financial world. I have always been weary of these kind of people, but the opportunity to learn has always intrigued me, so I’m taking what I can out of it for now. We’ll see what happens next month.

On Wednesday, I decided to take a break from it all and go to one of the last U-20 FIFA soccer games here in the city with my mom. It was great to do something like that again.

However, the most exciting moment come when an old friend from university emailed me out of the blue earlier this week. We met for dinner yesterday. She’s one of those people I really respect and has always seemed to know me very well. This time when we met, things were a little different. While she was still for the most part the wonderful person I have known for all these years, but she seemed to be a little frightened about the path she is taking in life. Once we started to talk about it, it felt more and more like we were both the same person, and when she would talk, I would be there listening to myself. Quickly, the associations with The Alchemist, and so many other readings, lectures, and life experiences began to show themselves. I cannot even begin to describe my thoughts at the time, and the ones I have now (partly because I really need to get ready for my trip tomorrow), but as I mentioned earlier this year, I think I’ve realized something important once again that's difficult to put into words. All I can say is something that relates to something another good friend of mine said not long ago either: “Take your blessings”. If you understand this, please don’t forget it.

That night I rode with her tandem on my bike to On the Rocks (the place to go to for salsa on Thursday nights here), and we danced the night away. We had some really good gelato thereafter.

Today, I had a headache all day and tried really hard at work to get two projects done before I left, since I won’t be here next week. I almost did it.

Anyway, time to get some rest.