The New Beginning

Alright guys. It's official. I will begin writing the next chapter of my life tomorrow. I am officially done with my degree. Next stop, loan repayment. My challenge for the next year is to beat my greatest enemy-interest. The goal is to pay off my student loans in a year and make my first million by 40. Nothing will stop me. There is nothing holding me back now. I feel just like I felt in the MTC. Anxious to get out into the real world to solve real problems and talk to real people. I'm excited to hit the pavement running. I have been asked by work to begin preparing for my licensing as an assessor. Should accomplish this task by the end of the year (all three levels). I can't tell you how happy I am to get out into the real world and start making my ideas and dreams become reality. But, first things first. If I want to get anywhere in life I have to get ahead of the game and the only way to do that is to be debt free. As I said earlier, the goal is one year. After this first year.....WATCH OUT! I'm coming through. I have my mother to thank for her support, emotionally, finanically, and spiritually she has been my greatest advocate. She has always believed in me. I love her. I can't count on my hands the number of times she has asked about when I will be receiving my diploma in the mail. She is so proud and she should be. She has been the one who has sacrificed the most to help me achieve my dreams. May God bless her forever for it. I'd also like to thank friends who have listened to my doubts and concerns and helped me along the way. There have been many nights of restlessness, tears, and doubts, but I have accomplished my first task. Thanks to all of you who have listened and loved me. I'm blessed beyond measure. This year has been a year of changes and for those of you who are close to me...know what changes I'm talking about. Thank you for your continued love and support in my decision making process. I owe all that I am to those with whom I surround myself. Cheers!

Boston: My new favorite Place

We just recently moved my cousin and his family out to Boston this weekend. All I have to say is that this place is amazing. My cousin will be getting his MBA, hence the move. We are so proud of him. I will definitely be a routine visitor when chance permits. No words can describe the beauty of this town. The buildings are genuine and have charm like you wouldn't believe and the expanse of cultures is savoring. I spend the evening enjoying a theatrical performance downtown, open to the public, and then some musical performances by several vendors on the sidewalks. One of the vendors was so talented he had, at one point, over 50 people in the crowd. The scene was majestic. Couples of different races and families from all over the world were brought together on that sidewalk to listen to the melodies of one man picking away at some strings. The history around me could be felt in the air and the bricked roads on some of the streets ringed back horse drawn carriages and 1800's lifestyles. Needless to say...I'm in love with this town and it's character. I will definitely come back for a longer visit.

Update

The long and anticipated blog post has finally arrived. It is my pleasure to announce that I have finally landed a job! My position title 'Real Estate Improvement Deputy.' I can't believe I'm going to actually be getting paid to look at real estate all day. This position fits me perfectly. I'm in charge of assessing commercial/industrial properties in all of Johnson County. I spent the last couple of days, with my trainer, looking at neighborhoods and recent commercial activity all over the county. It looks like I got my work cut out for me. The Trafalgar and Bargersville area have experienced tremedous growth. I also just recently learned that the Center Grove area is unincorporated...meaning that pretty much any kind of development usually goes. From my observation it seems as though this strategy promotes business development, as Center Grove area is among the most developed-residentially and commercially. I don't believe government interference in this aspect is a good strategy for envisioning growth within city limits, but I'm not in a position to change that. Even if I was, who knows how difficult it would be to unicorporate the city now.

Thumbs Down by Jean Leon Gerome

A recent essay in the London Review of Books — on Death in Ancient Rome by Catharine Edwards and The Death of Socrates: Hero, Villain, Chatterbox, Saint by Emily Wilson – drew my attention to the following passage in St. Augustine’s Confessions (Book VI), which describes how his young and virtuous friend Alypius became corrupted by the sight of gladiatorial combat. Though the Roman aristocracy made a great show of drawing moral lessons from public displays of death, the line between philosophy and merely sadistic voyeurism was a thin one indeed:

Chapter 8. The Same When at Rome, Being Led by Others into the Amphitheatre, is Delighted with the Gladiatorial Games.

13. He, not relinquishing that worldly way which his parents had bewitched him to pursue, had gone before me to Rome, to study law, and there he was carried away in an extraordinary manner with an incredible eagerness after the gladiatorial shows. For, being utterly opposed to and detesting such spectacles, he was one day met by chance by various of his acquaintance and fellow-students returning from dinner, and they with a friendly violence drew him, vehemently objecting and resisting, into the amphitheatre, on a day of these cruel and deadly shows, he thus protesting: “Though you drag my body to that place, and there place me, can you force me to give my mind and lend my eyes to these shows? Thus shall I be absent while present, and so shall overcome both you and them.” They hearing this, dragged him on nevertheless, desirous, perchance, to see whether he could do as he said. When they had arrived thither, and had taken their places as they could, the whole place became excited with the inhuman sports. But he, shutting up the doors of his eyes, forbade his mind to roam abroad after such naughtiness; and would that he had shut his ears also! For, upon the fall of one in the fight, a mighty cry from the whole audience stirring him strongly, he, overcome by curiosity, and prepared as it were to despise and rise superior to it, no matter what it were, opened his eyes, and was struck with a deeper wound in his soul than the other, whom he desired to see, was in his body; and he fell more miserably than he on whose fall that mighty clamour was raised, which entered through his ears, and unlocked his eyes, to make way for the striking and beating down of his soul, which was bold rather than valiant hitherto; and so much the weaker in that it presumed on itself, which ought to have depended on You. For, directly he saw that blood, he therewith imbibed a sort of savageness; nor did he turn away, but fixed his eye, drinking in madness unconsciously, and was delighted with the guilty contest, and drunken with the bloody pastime. Nor was he now the same he came in, but was one of the throng he came unto, and a true companion of those who had brought him thither. Why need I say more? He looked, shouted, was excited, carried away with him the madness which would stimulate him to return, not only with those who first enticed him, but also before them, yea, and to draw in others. And from all this did Thou, with a most powerful and most merciful hand, pluck him, and taughtest him not to repose confidence in himself, but in You - but not till long after.

Spring Break

Not much of a break, but it feels good to finally be earning some money for once. I spent the week doing yard work and detailing cars. The endeavor has sparked some business ideas.

The Power of a Dollar

Today I experienced this phenomenon called inflation and it was scary. Bajios is a restaurant that offered students discounts on meals. Five dollars and fifty cents bought me an entire meal and a drink; it was more than enough to fill my 140lb. body with enough fats to last me a lifetime. Unfortunately thirty minutes before I showed up they discontinued the special. My meal costs me six dollars and fifty cents. I began to wonder about the people all across America who might be encountering the same phenomenon the markets call "inflation." For the first time I experienced it directly. I realized how psychologically dependent I am on my habits. Despite the hefty price on my meal I couldn't resist and still purchased. I came to grips with reality and committed to change my habits of eating out all the time. You know the economy is doing poorly when inflation begins infecting our basic goods. Times are getting tight and suddenly I'm finding my dreams of being wealthy fading away...slowly. Perhaps this is not my purpose. That will be difficult to come to grips with. But, on I must...

My Roots

Above is the Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico coat of arms. It represents the beginnings of my childhood. Born the third month in the year 1980, I spent the first five years of childhood living with a couple of aunts, uncles, and my grandmother. In 1985, my mother and I paid a visit to an aunt living in Franklin, Indiana at the time. She had a son my age and we became like brothers. To this day, we maintain a close bond. It was during this visit that mother met my stepfather at a Singles Dance at church. They couldn't understand each other because my mother spoke no english and my father spoke no spanish, but they somehow fell in love. I always kid my mom that she only did it to get the papers to become legalized, but to this day they have raised my two younger sisters and I. These sisters mean the world to me. After one year of visiting this aunt we treked it back to Guadalajara for my parents engagement and paperwork to be finalized. We eventually made it back into the U.S. at age 6 or so where I was immediately enrolled in preschool and I started my language learning skills. My mother in Mexico, worked for the Mexican government as a secretary to support all of us in the household and was gone for most of the day. My father, Maximiliano, had no part of my childhood growing up. My mother wanted nothing to do with him and would never permit him to take me out by myself of fear that he would abduct me. According to my mothers story he was a "lazy son of a bitch," she would say. As for knowledge about his side of the family, I know little. From memory I can recall "Tio Alfredo--" a tall 6'3" green eyed man that really cared for me and an aunt with pale skin and blue colored eyes, story has it she was beautiful. I remember my grandmother, my father's mother, being short and frail; always wearing an apron and doing chores in the kitchen. I'm curious as to my geneology. Is there any criollo running through our veins or are we full descendants of American Indians? The question has been boggling my mind for a couple of years now, and one of my goals is to take a trip to Mexico to see these relatives before they have gone. The little neighborhood where we lived was called "Colonia Oblatos"--ghetto then by our standards now, but back then it was home. "2132" was the number of the blue house that has taken years of sacrifice to updgrade and maintain to its highest standards. Abuelita lives there now, and is loving every minute of it. The areas has been cleaned up and now houses the middle class.
Guadalajara now is the second most populous city in Mexico and is the State of Jaliscos' capital. The city is named after the Spanish city of Guadalajara, whose name originates from the Arabic word (وادي الحجرة) "wadii al-Hajara", which may mean "river of stones", "valley of stones", or "valley of the fortress". According to FDi magazine, Guadalajara is ranked "city of the future" over all other major Mexican cities, has the second strongest economic potential of any major North American city behind Chicago, and was among the top five most business-friendly Latin American cities in 2007. I'm most proud of Guadalajara's most recent development project "Puerta de Hierro."

La Fiesta

This past week has brought about some of the most interesting emotions that I find this image appropriate. School is becoming incredibly time consuming and sometimes I wonder how everything turns out for the best in the long run. Valentines Day brought out some great company. A few friends and I went out to celebrate to some Jazz and dinner. The company was wonderful. This week will be another busy one with tests, presentations, and group projects. You gotta love the business school for keeping us out of trouble and occupied. On another note: On Saturday, Fred had some people over to celebrate IU's win against Michigan State and to celebrate Becky's birthday (his girl-friend). She apparently celebrated too early and crashed on Fred's bed.

Graduation is fast approaching!

The time is fast approaching! Graduation is almost here and I'm ready to start writing the next chapter of my life. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but for the meantime, I am preparing for tomorrow. I have two interviews lined up for February and look forward to a position with JP Morgan Chase or Sherwin Williams. I'm attracted to the autonomy that the Financial Auditor position offers with Sherwin Williams and look forward to traveling 50% of the time. It offers an opportunity to do a little bit of consulting work and financial analysis, while at the same time helping the branches' growth. I love looking at what the numbers are telling me and getting people to implement action based on those numbers. At the same time I'd love a position with JP Morgan. It offers an opportunity to work with people and learn the banking side of business and their investment products. I'd love the position because it offers a chance to be exposed to the markets and the science behind economics. I love this! Wish me luck in my endeavors. In the meantime, I'm also daydreaming about business ventures in real estate. Oh, how I wish I would someday own a huge downtown building....that would be the dream!