I have spent the last couple of months determining the state of affairs and developing recommendations, which I am due to present to the CEO and COO on February 2nd.  Unable to escape the day-to-day during the regular work week, development of my presentation has been relegated to my off-hours.  I am beginning to get a little nervous with Feb 2 being just around the corner and the number of nights and weekends between now and then diminishing quickly.  Naturally, I thought it important to take some of that precious time to write a brief post.  What I won’t do to stall…

A new President, and a new chapter in U.S. history.  The sense of anticipation and excitement, as well as the collective exhale of relief is palpable even half a country away from Washington D.C.  There are a ton of celebrations being held in formal and neighborhood venues throughout San Antonio, as well. I’ve decided to take vacation and spend the day celebrating with close friends and family.  Like many I talk to, this election felt intensely personal to me… like I was a shareholder in the whole process. When I inevitably start with the waterworks, I would rather be among those who know and love me.

What better way (and day) to start a new chapter of my own?  So, here we go, ” The Other Line”!  I’ve had it designed for weeks but allowed myself to become paralyzed as I agonized over how to start, as usual.  Finally, I decided to give myself a break and to follow a fellow blogger’s advice to just not over think it and get started.  Thanks, Milo!

I went to El Paso this weekend to attend to a family matter.

It turned out to be a pretty eventful trip.  Between familial obligations and visits with friends, I got to play with the new camera.  We did a lot of walking, talking and picture taking.  JH is a good teacher.

I have been contemplating the viability of a new professional endeavor on my part and had the opportunity to share our thinking with some of friends and family. All were quite receptive and had very helpful feedback, helping us to make some decisions and resolving to implementing change sooner than later.

Fingers crossed!

Writing? Done it. (well… tried it)

Wines? Check.

Scooter? Bought one.

Exercise? Hired a trainer.

Unfortunately, about 50% of the time I just as quickly become disenchanted with the momentary object of my affection. (note the six month gap between posts)

I have been able to identify one constant.  Whatever ‘it’ is, it almost always, always involves some relatively expensive purchase.

Meet my latest inspiration…

I will be attending a conference this week on Hispanic marketing. Brand “Naco” will be presenting.  They developed the t-shirt with the above image. “DF” stands for Districto Federal, which is the DC of Mexico. The artist likes to take existing cultural iconography and play with context.

It’s been a great day.

Many people have been posting about the arrival of fall.  In San Antonio the transition is quite dramatic. This year was no exception.  After months of humidity and hundred-degree temperatures, things are finally beginning to cool down.

To commemorate the change of season, I spent the day riding my scooter around the neighborhood.

I bought the scooter a couple years ago when we moved back into the neighborhood.  As is often the case with some of my impulse purchases, I don’t ride it as often as I thought I might, but today reminded me how much I like it.  It’s interesting… you don’t realize how riding in a car ‘separates’ you from your surroundings.  It sort of keeps you out of context.

When you live in Texas, you tend to always be in air-conditioned climates.  From sealed air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned office to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned store to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned house…..

As I rode around today, however, I realized just how much more I felt like a part of the neighborhood than I do when I drive through it in a car. I felt like I belonged.

Yep. A great day.

The answer is simple: passion.

It is not that I am not a passionate person. In fact, this is an important distinction that should be made.  A person may or may not be a passionate person, generally, but that has very little to do with whether or not they have a passion.

It is the latter, which seems to be the common denominator among people in my life that I would consider to be successful.  Having a passion for something specific clearly translates into the kind of single-minded determination that refuses to take “no” for an answer and compels people to continually try new combinations and variations until they achieve their goal(s).

More importantly, though, it creates a paradigmatic shift in the way that “people with a passion” (PWAP) live in and interact with the world.

Rather than only reacting to events, opportunities, set-backs, etc., PWAPs take authorship of their lives and, to some degree, of the world around them, creating and manipulating events in order to bring them closer to realizing their passion.

When I look at my life and how it has changed over the course of my adulthood, it is that authorship which is most notably missing.  I have had passions in the past, and I lived differently, as a result.  I was certainly a much happier person. I miss it.

New goal, Paul.  Get passionate about something!

Now, if I can just figure out what that might be…. I do love tacos.  Does that count?

This post is probably an odd way to start my blog, but I figure that I have included enough introductory information in my blog summary and about sections. So, while it may be a slightly strange start, it is probably as good as any. Here we go…

I am so happy to finally be back among the living!!!  A little background… After a year of saying “Huh?”, or “Pardon?”, or “Excuse me?”, I begrudgingly had my hearing tested. To my dismay, the audiologist shared the results.  My hearing, she said, was significantly impaired, operating at 50-55% of average capacity in both ears.  She comforted me by explaining that hearing-aid technology has come a long way and that with an “over-the-ear” model, I would have the added benefit of looking like a Secret Service agent.

I promptly booked an appointment with an otologist…

After another hearing test, some x-rays, and being ear-raped by a number of camera-like devices, the specialist informed me that I had a condition called otosclerosis.  While I had never heard of this condition, he said it was actually quite common.  The good news, he said, was that my hearing loss was likely to be 100% reversible.  The bad news? Surgery.

The procedure he described is called a stapedectomy, which involves the surgical removal of the stapes (the little bone that looks like a stirrup) and implantation of a wire prosthetic. (see below)

I had my left ear done last Tuesday.  As promised, the pain was dull and the painkillers were strong.  So, my discomfort, actually had little to do with pain.  I was ill-prepared, however, for the degree of damage to my equilibrium.

Have you ever been sea-sick?  For a week??  I have spent the last five days stumbling back and forth to the bathroom like a drunk frat boy – gripping the walls in an attempt to keep from falling.

All in all, the process has not been too terrible.  My balance has returned and the nausea is gone.  What remains to be seen is if my new bionic ear really does return my hearing to normal.  I start drops to dissolve the packing tomorrow and should begin to notice the results in 2-3 more weeks – I think I will wait to schedule the right ear until then.  I will keep you posted.