Fall/Winter

I guess my blog will really be more about periodic posts than regular anything. I think I'll just have to accept that.

So last Fall was interesting, after reading my last post I saw that the early success in football did not carry through the season because the Cats and the Titans were both disappointing by the end of the season. Zendejas missed a bunch of easy kicks and apparently we are about the trade away/release Vince Young, the 3rd pick of the 2006 draft. Both very disappointing things.

Looking forward in sports, I think that it will be Green Bay against the Jets in the Super Bowl and Green Bay will win (24-20). While I don't like the arrogance of the Jets, but something about them makes me want to cheer for them. I don't understand it.
The Cats in basketball are 15-3 right now which is surprisingly good. It seems like the entire team is supported by Derrick Williams so all it would take to stop us is a solid defender down low. I'm also not too pleased with our guard play, so I find myself not believing in the team despite our great record. I don't want to be pessimistic but I just can't see the team progressing very far in the NCAA tournament, if we make it. I hope we do. I think we'll make it as a #7 seed or so, maybe win a game. Hopefully we do way better and my prediction is proven wrong, that'd be awesome.

School last semester was very interesting. It's been a long time since I experienced something as new and difficult as switching from optics to business. They are two very different fields. In optics (at least the kind that I like) you're designing a system to solve a problem. As long as it meets the customer's needs, you did a good job. In business you're trying to make money. This is a very difficult process that many, many people are also feverishly trying to do. There is much more competition in the business world than in optics. In business you probably have to be very experienced in something before you're considered an expert, but after graduating with a BS in optics I was already considered to be an expert. Two different fields with very different mind sets.

TVM - Time Value of Money. Very interesting concept which intuitively makes sense, but I had never thought this way. I always thought that it was incredibly smart to save some of my money in a savings account. Little did I know that I was potentially wasting opportunities to increase my money by investing it in other places. Saving money is still good, but there exist many other places that are better. Even treasury bills and CDs return more than a savings account. Yes, there are liquidity drawbacks, but I'm willing to give up liquidity for more money since it just sits there anyway.

I also visited Brazil and Argentina as part of an international business experience for my MBA. It was a great experience and I loved seeing the different cultures and learning more about business. It's always interesting to see how God created people and the world that we live in. Before this trip I hadn't traveled internationally for 7 years and I forgot how different it can be. Americans have so much wealth and so much infrastructure that I have taken for granted. I thank God for the blessings he has given me and I pray that I will not be corrupted by the immense wealth around me.

About the recent shooting here in Tucson, it was a crazy thing. I almost can't believe it happened. On the nice side of Tucson, in a shopping center that I would routinely visit, its just weird. Why did it happen? I do not know, but I pray that God can use it somehow for His own glory. It seems so sad. I've often thought about my own apparent invincibility as a young man, but this further demonstrates to me the frailty of humans. Our lives are so fragile and can be taken away in an instant. Are we living our lives with the correct priorities in mind? Love God, love others. I pray that those would be my priorities.