myspace.com lays off workers

Last week myspace.com laid off 30% of their workforce. I was worried that I was going to lose one of my only friends (besides my wife), Tom. (The Huffington Post: MySpace Layoffs: Slashing Workforce 30%)

 

Tom: 1 of my 2 friends

I only signed up for a myspace account to follow some bands, and really haven’t pursued it as a social networking site. In fact, most pages give me a headache. I really can’t stand it for that purpose. I guess I’ve always been a Facebook guy.

Myspace always seems like the wild west. I could add blinking images, I could put together colors that didn’t work, I could make pages a mile long. Most of these are eyesores that hurt my head. Facebook, while extensible with apps, keeps a consistent look and feel. They also do a good job of hiding older things, while giving you the option to see more.

I don’t mean to make this into a Coke v. Pepsi debate. I’m sure there are some die-hard myspacers out there. Myspace has taken a former Facebook exec as their new CEO. And not to worry, Tom, one of the co-founders I’ve learned, is still there. And hopefully will remain my friend.

Crisis of Faith

I’ve been away for a bit, first on vacation, then last week with my father’s funeral, which has a point.

While I was away on vacation, I received a New York Times article via email on the pitfalls of a spiritual path as a means of escapism. I like this because it doesn’t diminish the power of the spiritual tradition. It refers to both human experience and spiritual experience. It tries to not take the silver bullet of a spiritual practice and make it a cure-all of all of one’s ills in life. This was a wonderful read for me. The article can be read below.

The New York Times MAGAZINE | April 26, 2009 Enlightenment Therapy By CHIP BROWN How a Zen master found the light (again) on the analyst's couch.

I myself was brought up Catholic, then born-again Christian, then I drifted. I’ve practiced as an initiate of the Himalayan tradition under a guru and am practicing and studying Vodou today.

On the corner of Barracks and Decatur

Sitting at Envie in the quarter sipping peach iced tea, there’s not a place I’d rather be. I’ve been to NOLA a few times now, and each trip is better than the last.

Saum’s at the New Orleans's Healing Center, in a planning meeting for Anba Dlo Deux. The name Anba Dlo means “from beneath the waters” and last year festival coincided with Halloween. It was a fantastic celebration with three live music venues, street stalls, food, drink. It was amazing. This year they’re planning the second annual event. In avoidance of responsibility, I’m enjoying a much needed vacation and staying away from the planning. It’s not like I don’t want to help, but whatever Saum ends up doing, I’ll be assisting in whatever capacity I can.

I don’t know exactly what it is about New Orleans that generates so much buzz, so much energy. I feel like a different person when I’m here. There’s a part of me that’s always been here. A part I reunite with when I come. I can feel that part of myself welcoming me back, becoming whole again. This is not the first time I’ve had this feeling. I’ve experienced it while in India, sitting at a certain temple in the Himalayas. Like I’ve been sitting there forever; and always will be. That same feeling exists here, a special place on Earth that invigorates the soul, that breathes through you.

Start Writing: Setting goals

I’ve been saying for some time that I was going to start writing again. It’s been a while, so I set out to go in stages. The blog, the short story, the book. This is step 1, the blog.

I’m actually not sure how far I really need to go. This entire process made me realize the lack of goals in my life. This hasn’t always been the case. I set out with major and intermediary goals earlier, but I accomplished them. Where I lacked was setting sufficient ones for the future. I was burnt out. I just kind of coasted.

Drifting through life, while being alright for some, doesn’t lend to leave much to look forward to. This was one of the new year’s resolutions I hope to keep.

So what exactly are you blogging? Good question. I plan on a tech blog, focused on enterprise storage challenges, disaster recover and business continuity, virtualization, encryption, de-duplication and grids. As well, I plan on a more diverse blog, the random notes, which will contain daily life as well as some short story gems I plan on getting into. All of this is step 1.

Another goals I set in 2009 were getting into some music classes. The first is scheduled this upcoming weekend – an African drumming class. The last goal set at that turn of the new year was to get more engaged with my horse, Jetta, and the riding and training  I hope to be doing with her.

That’s it. Things are happening. There’s a direction. Stopping the drift.