Summertime

I hope everybody's been enjoying their summer. I wish it were a little less hot for a change, but I guess people in Southern California can't complain about the weather. What I've noticed though is that there have not been very many days with that perfect blue sky. I remember in elementary school, I would go play basketball in the summer looking up at that assuring blue hue. Now it's an ugly bleached and lifeless blue, and the positive summer vibe is gone.

What would really restore that positive vibe is if the Lakers made a nice acquisition to bolster their chances of winning the championship next year. Bynum's return is going to make a huge difference, but the Lakers can still make some smart moves to get better. One would be trading away the weed-smoking Lamar Odom, the only player in the history of NBA to be labeled versatile despite playing with one hand. He's a great rebounder and passer but bringing in someone like Gerald Wallace or Ron Artest will increase our defensive intensity. And we could include Luke Walton or Radman as part of the deal. For god sakes, the Clippers are going to sign Baron Davis, and we have our sights set on James Posey.

For all of you going on family vacations to exotic destinations with exotic women wearing exotic clothes, I am jealous. And this statement, in no way, contradicts what I said in my previous post about my sexual drive being dulled by age. Remember that short story called The Most Dangerous Game? It's about General Zaroff, the ruthless hunter, who always tries to find more and more dangerous animals to hunt. Well that's sort of like me and women. I am always looking to challenge myself, and I think it would be pretty damn awesome to go around the world and have a deep conversation with beautiful women in each country. Nothing romantic or sexual. Just a deep conversation where we exchange our cultural juices and expose each other to different perspectives on life. Like Siddhartha said, I would be an eager pupil. But really, that's as far as the hunting analogy goes. I am not suggesting that finding beautiful women is like hunting and capturing animals.

Actually it turns out that I'm going to have much more fun at UCSD than I thought. Boawen informed me a couple weeks ago that there's a nude beach near the college campus. I looked it up online and sure enough, there is a nude beach nearby. The name of the beach, though, is slightly disconcerting- Black's Beach. I may not be allowed in after all. And even if I'm allowed in, I am not sure how I'm going to manage there.

On to other things... you know what word I really hate? Networking. What the fuck is that? To me, networking is everything that's wrong with human interaction. When you sign up for Facebook or Myspace, you have the option of saying you signed up for friends or for networking. I'm glad they differentiate the two. Networking is basically making new friends but doing so with the intention of somehow personally benefiting from the relationship. Networking is a corrupt version of making friends, like the skeeting bugs virus on my computer. It's artificial, contrived, and fake. It's about keeping in touch with people you know and actively befriending their acquaintances so that when there's ever a time you need something, you can ask. And sure, networking is one of those things you have to do in life. It's like having to put on a smile in front of teachers you dislike. And networking obviously has its benefits- you get hook-ups and you have a better chance of accomplishing what you want to do. And sometimes you will even make real friends in the process. But what I hate about networking is that your first and foremost intent is to benefit from the relationship, like a friend is a fucking investment. If you treat people with respect, appreciate them for who they are, and genuinely care about them, chances are
you are going to have a much more lasting and meaningful relationship. Nothing beats friends.

Lately I've been asking a lot of people about what careers they want to pursue. I'm just interested, that's all. My number one career choice is something in the field of natural sciences. Biology, biochemistry, medicine, something along those lines. But I told my mom that if I ever get tired of the schooling or the job, I'm going to be a barber. Maybe I'll go to occupational school for that and then just start working part time at a barbershop. But my dream is to one day open my own barbershop. That'll be so awesome. One day humans may come up with machines that give you the perfect haircut or hair styling and barbershops may become extinct. But I hope not. The job is really special if you think about it. It's one of the few human experiences that feels real... and human. As you are sitting on that chair watching your barber go at it, the barber starts talking to you. About the weather, about their children, about their favorite restaurants. Some barbers are more talkative than others, but they will at least ask you how you are doing. It's a place where you don't feel hurried or rushed. The barber's going to finish when it's finished, and you simply carry on that conversation as long as it lasts. In today's hectic society, not many places offer this refuge. And of course you get to come back in two or three weeks and you reconnect and learn even more about each other. We also take our barbers for granted- imagine if your barber quit all of a sudden. That barber knows your cranium like no one else and you don't want anyone else to cut your hair. That's what a good friend should be like.