Deep Thoughts

Not to make myself sound too intellectual, (I tried to use some humor with an SNL reference), I wanted to catalog a few things I've recently discovered. This is also the official conversion of my weblog as a avenue of communication with friends to a personal, online diary. It's a little revealing, but I feel more motivated writing if I think, even on the off chance, that someone will read it.

In my travels and international experiences, I've seen, done and learned a lot. It's been one of those cliche but nonetheless monumental awakening experiences. However, I missed a lot as well. I began to think and see in broad strokes of differences - e.g. cultural differences and trends. I fell into the trap of categorizing. And what was worse, is I thought I knew better. Back in the USA, I've felt very under-stimulated, and turned off. The opportunities for growth and the differences here are not in my face and dealing with them is not necessary for survival. But with this comfort level with the vast majority of things surrounding me, I've also begun to reinspect the details and individual differences that have just as much significance as the cultural ones. Especially the differences of talents and deficits in myself.

This last week and today I was reminded of the difficulties and strengths of a close relationship. I was reminded of the talents and maturity of a good friend. I was reminded of the ability to agree with someone, but at the same time feel like you are arguing. That arguing emphasis is vain when the truth is held by balance, and that arguing on emphasis is often more an ego thing than trying to find agreement. remined of the importance and subtleties of communication, and of the necessity of active and frequent commincation in a good relationship. i remember that communication is incomplete and that the various methods of communication (language, music, pictures, expressions, etc) are limited in their capacity to communicate. To recognize that there is a difference between the merits of your argument and your own persuasive abilities, and to know when to concede when you powers of persuasion are feeble, despite the convictions of your argument. To remeber what real love is, and what just feels good or comfortable. To recognize the pain and shame of being challenged and truly admiting your wrong, and remember that i need and expect to be challenged by those i love. that no matter how much you've seen or learned, there's always more. and to remember that i will still continue to forget this and need a reminder, the more i learn and see.

i've learned to recognize my weaknesses, to always try to improve them and struggle with this effort, but to also recognize my strengths, and that happiness and success comes from applying your strengths, not your weaknesses. i've learned that no decision or idea can be proven, that some ideas seem more likely than others, but we all still have our own threshold for persuasion, which depends not only on us but on others. That our decision-making process and this threshold is different for personal and professional decisions. that some people are optimisitic/naive or pessimistic/realistic, and in the end you need to make the decision that makes you happy. and that if you are optimistic/naive and often take a few too many risks without due diligence, then you should have a plan B or recourse in case it was a mistake (e.g. 6 month lease).

i've learned that i'm much happier having tried and failed, then not having tried. i've learned that i'm egotistical and use information/experience as power or expression of "betterness". i've learned that i can recognize this and have a hard time changing it, because it's part of being human. i'm coming to accept that i'll never have the answers or know what i want or what to do, but i'm becoming more comfortable acting and making decisions without having figuring that out. i coming to accept that there may be no answers, but that it's not all a shot in the dark - it's about probablities and being able to accept/take real risk (the risk that can cause serious bad consequences). and with that, to have back-up plans (even really easy silly ones) in case it does.

i believe my life will be a constant battle of the mind with the heart; of finding that proper balance of analysis with over-rationalization. i believe for most people (or maybe just me), inspriation or motivation doesn't come from a vacuum of within, but develops with experience with a topic and finding solutions to the questions with which we've been presented, rather than picking a question yourself and then trying to find the solution.

i believe that i'm tired. see ya

Tatsachen ueber Bethlehem

So Bethlehem is not the birthplace of Jesus - at least here in Pennsylvania.

But....

On Christmas Eve in 1741, Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf of Saxony, Germany, leading a small group of Moravians, founded the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.....

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, founded in 1904, began producing the first wide-flange structural shapes to be made in America, was the first company to produce the now-ubiquitous 'I-beam', and was a major supplier of armor plate and ordnance products during World War I and World War II. After roughly 140 years of metal production at its Bethlehem plant, Bethlehem Steel ceased operations in Bethlehem in 1995.

Bethlehem lies in the center the Lehigh Valley...home to more than 650,000 people...making it Pennsylvania's third-largest metropolitan area.

In July 2006, Money magazine included Bethlehem as one of its "Top 100 Places to Live."

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 71,329 people...residing in the city...81.85% White...26.6% from 25 to 44...11.1% of families and 15.0% of the population...below the poverty line.

The median age was 36 years...For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,815, and the median income for a family was $45,354.

The current mayor of Bethlehem is John B. Callahan, who was elected to his 2nd term in November of 2005. His election marks the 10th year that a Democrat has sat in the mayor's office in Bethlehem.

Notable people from Bethlehem:

Michael Andretti, professional racing team owner, former professional race car driver.
Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock"), professional wrestler and actor.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor

If that's not enough info for you:

The Moravians were some of the earliest Protestants, rebelling against the authority of Rome more than a hundred years before Martin Luther...

The movement which would develop into the Moravian Church was started by a priest named Jan Hus in the late fourteenth century. Hus, sensitive of the [catholic] church's misconducts, wanted to return the practices of the church to the allegedly "purer" practices of early Christianity: liturgy in the language of the people, having lay people receive communion in both kinds (bread and wine), and eliminating indulgences and the idea of purgatory.

Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf was a nobleman born in 1700 in Dresden, Saxony, in the east of modern-day Germany...Out of a personal commitment to helping the poor and needy, Zinzendorf agreed to a request from an itinerant carpenter named Christian David that persecuted Protestants from Moravia should be allowed to settle on his lands.

In 1722 the refugees established a new village called Herrnhut...and became the centre of a major movement for Christian renewal and mission during the 18th century. Moravian historians identify the main achievements of this period as:

1) Setting a up a watch of continuous prayer which ran uninterrupted, 24 hours a day, for 100 years.

2) The origination of the Losungen, the "Daily Watchwords," on 3 May 1728, published today in 50 languages, the oldest and most widely read daily devotional work in the world.

3) The establishment of over 30 settlements globally on the Herrnhut model, which emphasised a lifestyle of prayer and worship and a form of communal living in which personal property was still held but simplicity of lifestyle and generosity with wealth were considered important spiritual attributes.

4) The sending out of hundreds of Christian missionaries to many parts of the world including the Caribbean, North and South America, the Arctic, Africa, and the Far East. The Moravian missionaries were the first large scale Protestant missionary movement.

The original unsuccessful attempt to found a Moravian community in North America was in Georgia; the Moravians later found a home in Pennsylvania, where the charter of the colony provided religious freedom. The towns of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, and Lititz, Pennsylvania were founded as Moravian communities.

Presently, the highest concentrations of Moravians [in the USA] exist in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania...The largest concentration of Moravians today is in Tanzania.

The motto of the Moravian church is "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love"

source: Wikipeida (the best damn encyclopedia in the world!)

So, in summary, I live in the Salt Lake City of the East which is one of the top 100 places to live with poor people (15% below the poverty line!) and tons of women. Come visit!

Hey Hey

What up my people..

Some new news to report. Overall though, I would have to say that this just feels like work. I think I will start sending out emails to make sure people see what I have written. But of course only to those I miss speaking to on a regular occasion and really should be picking up the phone and calling. But you can't send pics over the phone, so this really does serve a purpose.

I've been in Bethlehem now for about a week. Although I started working amost a month ago, I haven't actually worked in the office for a full week yet. First training in Detroit, then thanksgiving, then testing in baltimore, and now this week. Things are good. I have my very own cubicle. It's very nice. I use my German on a daily basis and I even think it is somehow improving here. (Ich habe die Worter Raendel, Zylinderkerbstift, Fase, Steigung, und Teilung gerlernt!). I'm settling in and it's too early to see how much I like working. I def don't love it yet, but it could get better.

Right now life is really busy (as if it usually isn't). I wake up at 6:30, which I know, isn't very early for many of you, but I don't like it. I am looking for an apartment and need to do all the other little thing one obsesses with in a new place. Anyway, things are good.

here are some pics to give you a feel of my life:

This is the old and abandoned Bethlehem Steel plant along the Lehigh River. It's very impressive and a large section of the riverside is still abandoned. It was the 2nd largest producer of steel for ships in the USA during WWII and the third largest steel manufacturer in the world! Now look at it.

The next pic gives you an idea of the area of Lehigh Valley. Sparce. But not so bad. It's like the farmlands around aachen. I went to some meeting for the Lehigh Valley Hospital tonight (I got a flu vaccination) and they were saying how this area is the fastest growing region in Pennsylvania and the third fastest in the country (that I find hard to believe). But there is a lot of development here. In any case, the views are picturesque.


A funny sign




And something I didn't expect is that Bethlehem is pretty German. I think the original settlers here were from Germany. it's a pre-rev war town and many of the homes with signs in front of them have german last names. (i still need to take the tour). Anyway, they had a christmas market here that is supossed to be in the style of a German Weihnachtsmarkt. For somewhere in the US, it's not bad.



The bratwurst was also okay but the Kartoffelpuffern (Latkas) were not.





The other problem I have here is that my internet is unbelieveably slow in my hotel/apt. It sucks and I will probably not be doing this again before I move.

be good.....your one and only