Wow, this is an addictive game: Desktop Tower Defense
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Author: Preston
Agent of Change, Former of Entropy, Seeker of a Stateless World.
The AIESEC US Leadership Team Meeting occurred this weekend in New York City. I had many waves of differing expectations for it: the ultimatum meeting, the desperation meeting, the opportunity meeting, the just-another-worthless meeting (kind of like the just-another-worthless US election).
Ultimately, I was very frustrated by the meeting, as were most students there. Luckily (if my spider-sense hasn’t failed me), the deep-seated issues of mistrust and “versus” began to be eroded, thanks in largest part to Missy’s general change of modus operandi in comparison with her predecessor. She is actively trying to create trust and participation rather than deliver ultimatums. The frustration however came from the entering mistrust and the format of the meeting itself – a large plenary with a single straight agenda, in which there is no way that everyone manages to have even a single comment for the duration of the weekend. People pay what it takes to come up to NYC and then are infuriated by the definite lack of their input, because that format just doesn’t allow for that. I felt it very much and began to get kind of demotivated by it, but I think that based on some conversations that were had at a remarkably affordable BYOB Cantonese restaurant called Phoenix Garden a model to reshape the leadership team can be implemented with the right hand-shaking. There was more frustration on some people’s parts as they were brought in a separate small meeting to talk about their frustration in the meetings according to the comments they had made – I would say, rather, that it was because they exhibited leadership in the room. The weekend did end on a positive note with a sweet new financial system unveiled, and the creation of a committee to deal with “how AIESEC US relates internationally.” I am on that committee, of course, and it will turn out to be a significant thing I hope.
I had to deal with some problems in my team today as well, but those will have to be explained later.
New York, for its own sake, was a great time. It is so much better than Atlanta in every way (except in the general prices, it devoured my wallet). It was great to stay with my old friend Mischa in Astoria and to see friends from around the nation currently in AIESEC as well as Dagan, who I hung out with a good bit especially on Saturday night. Friday I arrived at a fresh 9:10 AM into LaGuardia, from which I took the M60 to the Astoria Blvd. metro stop on the NW and rode that horse into Manhattan and got out at the Plaza Hotel right next to Central Park. After wandering for a bit I called my West Coast people who I knew were in town since 6 AM, and they came to meet me in the park. We then had a decidedly unauthentic Italian lunch in Little Italy, the girls went shopping while Colin (LCPe Bay Area) and I had a couple of pints at a local cafe-bar and talked about everything from his time in Norway to IT systems (he is a software engineering master student). We then checked out Ground Zero, followed by a ride up to Midtown to meet Dagan and sit at some random restaurant-grocery store where you can basically sit and buy nothing. Then at 9:00 it was off to Dallas BBQ for Emily’s 21st, and I have to say I was impressed both by the size of the margaritas and the quality of the “wings” (actually real Southern fried chicken). Then myself and Sarah S. and Colin went to a pub in the Lower East Side called the Blind Pig to have one beer, which turned into more, and I went to bed at 5.
The next night was less crazy, but equally fun. Several of us, after dinner at the Cantonese restaurant, went on a lifequest and eventually found, after two false prophets, a bar called simply “Karaoke” on Avenue A. A fun time was had by all as we tried the local Brooklyn Lager and waited a worthy hour-and-a-half for me to sing “Sweet Home Alabama,” and Shannon and I sang “Beast of Burden,” and Sarah arrived just in time for everyone in the bar to sing “Don’t Stop Believing” with Amanda. After that high point we walked in search of someplace quieter and found an amazing Afghan place called Khyber Pass with great ambiance and, most importantly, shisha. We closed the place. Needless to say I am exhausted from all of this because I got in at midnight on Sunday.
But tonight I was glad to hang with a currently domestic nomad, none other than Burbs. He was in town for an HIV/AIDS conference and we had a great evening of conversation about people and experiences and communities at Mellow Mushroom and then the bar next to Slice. It is always excellent to mind-meld with the great people that inspire you and your vision from time to time.
I stand now in a locus pregnant with possibility, but the shores of the absolute are growing ever closer in this ship I’ve taken over the last year and a few months. The Fox is a done job, my last night was Saturday and my coworker and I had a good old time at Midtown Tavern afterwards. This week has been full of work with AIESEC, not least of which has been the privilege of close conversations with the head of the presidential Team of AIESEC US: Missy, the MCP. Understanding was forged in those unique moments, a beautiful testament.
Furthermore, the Web 2.0 face of the LC has arisen from the Tubes: The Atlanta Blog. Expect elevation, excellence, and the building and maintaining of rep.
I fly out really early for New York on Friday morning. I’ll have all of Friday to myself and a nice birthday shindig for a friend that evening. I hope we can begin to rebuild the culture that we have let founder in the rough seas. The sun shall rise one day.
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I Closed the Lid
I have abandoned my NaNoWriMo novel after only writing 4,717 words. I decided to abandon it when I was able to sit down a couple of days ago with that word count and realized that by then I needed about 35,000 words. I knew that it was going to be impossible to finish even close to it, especially when I had other things – especially preparing for my LCP term and recruitment – that I could be worrying about. So my crappy first few thousand words will lie fallow for some time. I do not anticipate being able to write like that again until after I graduate in May 2009.
In the meantime, life finds new beauty in many ways. One of them is found through Beirut, and especially the videos and magickal sonic art at this website for the new album. Conquer the non-artisans, Zach Condon, and create a world of unrealistically good culture generators.
I have purchased harmonicas to learn how to play them, which would make them the first non-gigantic portable instrument I have ever played. Wish me luck on being able to finish at least that much. Feed a foreigner this Thanksgiving.
I am up to 2,567 words, which is less than two days’ worth of what I should be writing. It is now November 9, and that means that were I writing the average 1/30 split of the entire month’s work I should have written over 15,000 words by now. Damn. I just haven’t been able to focus like I’ve wanted to, life errands and such have come up as well as work. But I will not give up. I’m starting to get my feel for it and I can make it. But now I must hit that sack.
Have you felt like the pressure of all time and space behind you has taken your breath away, instead of inspired you?
The first line of my novel.
Yesterday was my Executive Board teambuilding day. Everyone on the 2008 EB had committed to go, which was too good to be true. Sure enough, thirty minutes before we left Atlanta on Saturday morning I get the call that Bryan, my future VP Infrastructure, is mad sick, and completely incapable of even moving in his bed. But the other six VPes and I still made that trip out to Leesburg, Alabama, for a day of getting to know each other and planning for the year ahead.
It exceeded my expectations far beyond what I could have believed them to be. Even for what little time we did planning for our team, it was the most efficient meeting I have ever been to in AIESEC (except the German conference meetings which trump it all, but then again, they are German). The personalities that came together and the visions that clicked and the words of action, not deliberation, that were spoken gave my soul a big-ass jump-start on AIESEC in general, and especially for the Georgia Tech LC. I contrasted it with the ebb of motivation that has been going on, our low(er) conference registration numbers, the sometimes defeatist attitude in our leadership team meetings, and I see a bright and shining sun charging on the horizon, that is our Executive Board 2008 and a new era.
At tonight’s leadership team meeting, my heart just about exploded out of my chest when I was offended by the stark contrast between yesterday and today’s meeting. I value everyone in our leadership team. I found – and find – myself wishing I could sweep it all away though and begin with January 1. That is a hard confession to make, but that is how I feel, and that is what this outlet is about. Life with others is not about sweeping things away however, and we will all be better for working towards January 1 in the current situation because you learn more with challenges like this. I learned that a long time ago, and dammit, I just keep on learning it harder and newer.
It is three days before National Novel Writing Month 2007 begins and I have done no plot or character outlines.
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The Teachings of B
Yesterday I finished the book My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, and with that last shutting of the paperback I finished the trilogy of the books that I call the most influential I have ever read.
With some books or series or movies or anything of the sort – say Harry Potter – the reader will reluctantly put the book down for the last time, after having read the entire available exploits of the family of characters and situations located therein, and think with nostalgia about the excitement they had knowing that there were pages left to turn and new roads to discover in that particular contained fantasy world. There was something like that with putting Quinn’s third adventure of the mind and spirit on the table, but it was not quite the same selfish yearning to melt away into a simulacrum of escape. Instead I thought of how deeply the concepts therein had affected my character and my views about humanity, society, and my place in the global system. The answers themselves are not in Ishmael, The Story of B, or My Ishmael, but the way to find answers is, and that is what makes the books so unique and powerful, applicable to anyone who chances upon them with the nagging thought that we are all dead or dying, or at least that you are. I am thankful to my 12th grade government teacher for making Ishmael a part of of our required reading for the class, because I’d have almost never heard of it otherwise.
There are those moments that are so full of everything – senses, emotion, and experience – that they become ingrained in your head as a part of your personal golden legendarium. One of those moments for me was while reading Ishmael as a senior in high school. My family was in Birmingham, visiting my grandparents and mother’s relatives for some holiday function, probably Thanksgiving. I had been reading the book on the car ride from Gadsden, and all I could think about in my grandfather’s house was the continuing of the book, arriving at more real answers for myself. On the car ride home, I got to read the climax of the book, which was in itself a revelation to me. To many, that revelation is nothing new, but maybe they aren’t understanding it fully well.
Whilst sitting on the couch and thinking about this state of affairs, I reminded myself that I am participating in National Novel Writing Month 2007. A new spark and a new road open before me. Writing 50,000 words in one month is going to be damn hard, especially between building up my Executive Board team for 2008 and working at bars, but it’s one of those things that I should do before I leave this plane. Now I just need to get fired up for plot and character development.
Hey AIESEC!
This is Preston, your Local Committee President-elect of AIESEC at Georgia Tech for the year 2008.
Charlie has sent out the EB applications and appeals to sign-up already, but if you have not done so yet or are hesitating, then this email is for you.
Most of you have been in AIESEC for less than a year, but even for many of you who have been around longer than a month you have seen the overwhelming power of the AIESEC network. You have worked as a salesperson or external relations agent in a real business (that is AIESEC GT!), networked with some of Atlanta’s top political and business figures, begun a push to use the AIESEC network as a platform to develop a project or initiative that you have created, and even experienced the wonders of local, national, and international conferences – some of you have probably even gotten a meal and a place to stay from Europe to Japan just because of your AIESEC network.
Those stories are proof that AIESEC, unlike so many other student organizations, is not a place where only seasoned veterans can take ownership. AIESEC is designed for you to develop yourself, and you can ask anyone in AIESEC who knows me – I am a firm believer in providing as many opportunities as possible to as many members as possible, regardless of their life experience or their AIESEC experience.
The thing I want to get most out of my time in AIESEC is to be a part of the perfect team. The perfect team is one where everyone not only understands their role and their place in the team, but where they are so empowered and impassioned by the work their team can do that the constituent individuals and their interactions with each other and with the outside world are able to create a sum greater than the whole of its parts. The opportunity has now been laid in front of me to be a part of the perfect team: the Executive Board of AIESEC at Georgia Tech for the year 2008. I want you to be on that perfect team.
If you feel like you can create legendary projects, turn AIESEC into the most powerfully networked organization in Atlanta, and/or use your creative and interpersonal abilities to motivate individuals to utilize our platform to change their lives, you should apply for the EB. If you look back at your GT career thus far, even if it has only lasted two months, and think about your place in this school and in your major and in Atlanta and the greater world and can’t help but say “there’s something missing,” you should apply for EB. If you are hesitating because you think it would be a cool idea but aren’t sure that you could do it with classes and other obligations you have, you should apply for EB. And don’t even begin to think that just because you are new applying would be a futile effort – on the contrary, I specifically am looking for a mostly-fresh EB, because if I’ve learned anything in my time in the network, it’s that the results and enthusiasm are highest for those who have to work the hardest due to a potential difference (kind of engineering terms there, but it means that YOU have high potential and the job has high expectations, so putting you in that position generates high results!)
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Paradise Vendors
Last night was my first night working at the Fox. I was stuck making hot dogs for most of the time, but I was thrown in the mix a little bit. As it was my first night, I made no tips, but tonight that will all change. In fact, I’m probably making a mistake writing this right now because I may not make it to get some dinner in time before work starts.
After work was done right before midnight, I was in a conversation with one of my co-workers, and we agreed to go up to his favorite bar, the nearby Jocks & Jills, and it was there that we were involved in a two-and-a-half hour life conversation in which he dispensed his sage wisdom and I was the padawan. I wish I could remember it all verbatim, because he is a remarkably intelligent Englishman with a penchant for street-wise speech, but I remember the main points. Most of all, I gravitated towards his absolute love for the bartending life – “slingers” being the demonym of those who are the greatest. I still intend to return to Georgia Tech and get my degree, but what inspired me was precisely what Georgia Tech itself lacks – the passion of artisanship and a bigger place in the world that he so clearly exhibited, and demonstrated in his interactions with the Jocks & Jills bartender, whom he described as “like family.” They’re all like family, he says, and that’s the best part of it.
When I dropped him off at his place at about 2:30 AM, he looked at me and said,
“You’re 21 years old, and you’ve got a golden coin in your hand, mate. Use it wisely.“