Life changes

I was talking to Eric over coffee earlier today.

A little background for those of you who don't know Eric. He is a student of the same disciplines which I am currently digging into (with great relish, I may add). Those of you who've met Eric will know that he's about 40 years old and a rather calm/sedate alternative to my crazy hyper self.

Anyway, as I was saying, we were chatting.

We both came to the conclusion that our lives have changed for the better quite visibly over the last few months just through the power of positive reinforcement and the fact that we are actively seeking out ways to better ourselves.

We agreed that change had to come from inside. It has to be internally motivated. You cannot really want to change just to please someone else, and reasonably expect to succeed. The core motivation has to be that you want to change because you genuinely believe that it will make you a better person.

I notice it in the way I walk and the way I talk. I look so much more confident when I am out in public. I'm trying out new crazy things that I never thought I'd do. OK, my recent haircut wasn't my best experiment, but hey, I'll never know until I try it out!

Oh, along the lines of positive reinforcement... We chatted a little about the power of limiting beliefs. So briefly speaking, all of us have this little part of our brain that tells us that we cannot do something. It's that part of you that says you're not a good public speaker, or that you are afraid of speaking your mind, or that you dare not approach a pretty girl. Well, guess what? If you just force yourself to do JUST DO IT (thanks Nike!) you often find that contrary to what you think, the actual experience is nowhere as painful as your imagination makes it out to be. And if you draw on the positive aspects of that experiment, you will gradually gradually find that your limiting belief is... gone...

On a totally unrelated note, I met this guy today, Brian. Brian is a certified handwriting expert. He had me write down a short paragraph and from there, figured out a lot of things pretty accurately about me - that I am persistent (I'd call it stubborn), am very imaginative (true), have moderate self esteem (true to some degree), am talkative (usually true), don't reveal my inner self easily (very true) and am not really into sports (more false than not). Overall, I was pretty darn impressed.

Farewell Saturday

So Bruce had his farewell thingy on Saturday at the Hilton.

I had to buy piping for my sprinkler system soI was late getting to the movie. Pat got there earlier but wasted most of the extra time waiting in line at In'N'OUt. Hunger makes you do weird things like waiting for food even though the line is longer than most funeral processions. Now what in the world made me think of funerals?!

Anyway, we caught r & Mrs Smith. Nice movie! The plot is so-so, the action is quite unbelievable, but the chemistry between Brad and Angelina (my gal!!!!!) is great. Definitely an enjoyable flick. I'll probably get it when it comes out on DVD.

Speaking of DVDs, Hitch will be out on 6/14. That's a good one to have.

So after the movie, we headed back to the hotel, hung out a little, then went to Bennigan's for food. There were maybe 20 people there for dinner, but most of them didn't go back to the hotel for after dinner drinks. I've ever been really comfortable with that group since I find them a little too young, but anyway...

Pat and I get a little bored, so we head out to V Bar. Pat (jackass) is wearing tennis shoes, so Robert (doorman/bouncer) denies him entry. Bummer. Luckily, Pat has this pair of casual shoes in his car. I persuade him to try it, and Robert gives the green light. Actually, I like that pair of shoes Pat had. I'd consider stealing them but Pat wears a size 13 and I'm a 10.

V Bar is crazy. I don't mean packed. I mean just plain weird. We haven't been in V Bar for 10 seconds when some crazy chick asks me if I'm chinese (duh!) and pretty much hits on me for my phone number, business card etc. I give her all sorts of crap - I'm married, unemployed etc, but SHE DOESN'T GIVE UP. Later, I start telling her that I'm married but I play around, and oh, I only like girls with big boobs and who are good kissers. I offer to test her kissing skills, and for some reason she gets weirded out and starts avoiding me the rest of the night. Hmm... Go figure!

Some nights, I just love the way I screw around with people. This is one of those nights.

Then there's this weird creepy looking chinese dude who's following Pat and me arond like some kinda fobby shark. He kinda just drifts around us, doesn't talk to us, just drifts. Eventually Pat makes the mistake of establishing eye contact with him and gets sucked into a conversation. Luckily, he ejects quickly and for the rest of the evening Creepy Asian Dude leaves us alone.

Slighty past midnight, Pat leaves for home and I head back to Bruce's party.

THe part is strangely subdued when I get there. No noise. Apparently hotel management warned them to keep the noise level down (aka STFU). And there was some drama that I missed, but I won't go into that here. Bruce busted his knuckles, busted his camera, but unfortunately didn't do any real damage to the jackass that probably deserved it. OK, I'm biased about his jackass-ness, but this is my blog, so I can damn well say whatever I want, right?

Not the most exciting night, but definitely one of the weirdest.

Bad grammar

Friend: why does Yoda talk backward?
Me : because good grammar does not a jedi master require
Friend:
Friend: really? that is the reason why?
Me : absolutely
Friend: i mean in the book, did it say why he talks backward?
Friend: then how come the other jedi masters talk fine
Me : it's in his biography - Yoda - Good Grammar I Have Not but Strong in the Force I am
Friend:
Friend: then how come the other jedi masters talk fine?
Me : They're not as powerful as him

Delta

Delta. Synonym for change amongst the mathematical.

My new philosophy to uphold - Live your life as a series of constant change. Change renews and invigorates. Change allows you, nay, FORCES you to try new experiences in life. Change is difficult, but I think change is good.

What have I done for a change lately?

I bought a bowling ball. I haven't bowled (really bowled) for years. It might be cool to take it up, see if I still have the same passion for it.

I cut my hair short earlier this year. Ha ha ha

I blog more. Much much more. I've blogged more this year than the rest of my life combined.

I attended an NLP seminar last week. Up till a few months ago, I didn't even know that NLP existed. It's a really fascinating subject, and one that I hope to explore a little more.

I met a bunch of new guys - Cliff, Vince, Peter, Eric. Cool people. I can learn a lot from those guys.

I am seriously contemplating moving to south CA for work.

I shop for clothes now. WOAH! What have you done to the REAL Derek?!

Things that I am considering changing:
- Rebuild my computer. OK ok... that doesn't count.
- Have a more active dating life! Ha ha ha! Which guy doesn't want that?
- Be more in touch with the touchy feely side of life (ie emotions, feelings etc) <- TOUGHIE!
- More as I think them up... Got comments? SPEAK UP!

Derek vs Wall

This really sucks badly. I walked into a wall, and now my upper lip looks like somebody took a sledgehammer to it. There's an ulcer the size of Lake Tahoe where my teeth got slammed into my lips. I can't eat right. I can't drink right. I can't even talk right. SHIT! This is making me VERY VERY GROUCHY!