resurgent multichotomy

A multi-talented, go-getter friend of mine told me this about a year ago: “I’m starting to trim down the excess fat in my life”.

“Good for him,” I thought to myself then, but clearly not the case for me as I look at continuing to nurture the multichotomy – a set of parallel and ofttimes conflicting interests and preferential predispositions – that I’ve come to accept in me.

I took pride in the diversity and significance of my endeavors. They flourished and progressed, and at the time I felt very productive and fulfilled in every one of them.

Then there is now.

Curiously, I find myself nowhere near as equally excited as I was about everything. It’s not that interest levels have waned though, but maybe they were just too diverse and disjointed to manage simultaneously. Maybe it was just sheer exhaustion. Or maybe I had put my eggs in too many baskets. Seems this is what we proverbially refer to as being “spread too thin”.

At a certain point, my gut was telling me to jump the gun on dropping one or two of these, but then I managed to procrastinate to let things simmer down and think things through.

I now have to come to terms that there is a limit to this so-called resurgent multichotomy. Certain facets have to be set aside in order to have more focus, more engagement, more drive.

So, which ones to drop and which ones to keep? Strangely, this decision-making process seems to excite me more than the interests themselves.

This made me happy today! :)

* I really need to manage my money better. Not that I’m spending too much, but I need to get a hold of all my investments (which are scattered all over mutual funds, real estate, stocks, business investments, and savings) and collate them in a way that allows me to understand what’s what and how my money is doing.

* I feel awkward whenever people bring up the topic. Which is why within my first year of working I stopped disclosing my salary figure to my friends and parents. I also never discuss financial performance of my business investments to folks who don’t have a need to know, however pestering they may be.

* It’s a pity some people get all uptight and agitated when it’s about the subject of money. I guess I’m blessed with less financial woes so I can’t fully understand, but still it’s a sad reality to note that certain “good” people can turn into demons when money is the issue. What’s worse, I’ve seen this to be true: “They say blood is thicker than water, but to some people money is thicker than blood.”

* This year, I wished for more money. Sounds wrong? Well, the way I see it, money is not the real goal anyway. It is a means to an end. It allows me to invest on people by creating jobs where there were none (thank you, Cusina Royale!). It allows me to make those I love to live comfortably and share wonderful memories with them. It allows me to do what I love and develop others along the way.

* I’m looking for good investment avenues other than the ones I currently have on my portfolio. I hope I find something worthwhile soon. In the mean time, I badly need to get more organized. >:|

I love spending time with my dogs.

Love is not a word I take and use lightly, but in this case I couldn’t think of a better word.

Due to work schedule and convenience constraints, I only have limited time in a week to spend with my canine buddies, but not a day goes by without me thinking about them.

I basically have 5 that I personally own and have raised: 4 shih tzus: Nash, Sean, Haley, Alison, and 1 Labrador Retriever: Chance.

Being with them, even just lying around to chill, is an activity I certainly look forward to more than most other things I do during the week.

The mere sight of them serve as a fantastic stress reliever to me.

They teach me a lot, too — about trusting instincts, and about unwavering loyalty and devotion.

On one of my classes, I asked my students to write down on a piece of paper what motivated them to come to class that day.

A couple of them said it was because they liked the subject, and a few even mentioned the professor as a motivator (yeah right, suck-ups! haha). Some of them cited other extra-curricular activities they looked forward to.

One of them simply stated “music”. Music? This guy serious? I was a bit befuddled.

I asked him what he meant, and his nonchalant answer was that listening to music got him through the commute and brought him to class that day.

Strange, I thought.

**********

I had to go to school to meet a couple of students for consultation this morning. On the way there, for no particular reason, I turned up the 60GB iPod classic I’ve always kept in my car to a couple of old favorite tunes that I haven’t played for quite some time now.

Driving through traffic-free Katipunan, suddenly a gush of excitement came as I listened to the music.

String orchestrations tastefully layered against lead guitar solos. Strategically-positioned key modulations. Toe-tap-inducing syncopated rhythms. Lush and textured backing vocals. Insane keyboard riffs. Moving lyrics. Magnificent arrangements.

Then I get it.

A few years back, music has pervaded my days and boosted my productivity and motivation in ways I seemed to have forgotten of late.

I took my iPod out of the car and brought it with me to the office today.

I’m happy. :)