"Differential Diagnosis"

Halloween parties this weekend! Everyone have fun, and if you happen to see Snake Eyes at a party, go over and greet him!

Make no mistake, ? I can be a pretty self-centered guy at times, and I absolutely love it when people praise and worship me. Who doesn’t?!? Some might say I am a typical? Leo, while others just believe I’m a naturally flamboyant, self-absorbed guy.

This flamboyancy can be seen in everything I do, from the way I dress when I actually feel like looking great, to my martial arts style. There is never a NEED for flashy techniques, but I just can’t help myself sometimes! Even on the job, I do my best work with an audience present or when multiple people are counting on me, that’s just how I roll.

So imagine the enormous ego stroke I received while making my way through my Google Reader feeds and I discovered this blog post at ChinkyMel’s Corner. Thank you for making this lion purr, stroking my ego, and keeping me entertained with your wonderful blog these past few months!

On another note, expect the next installment of “Middle School Business” sometime later this week, along with details on an upcoming guest post I’m writing for a more ‘female oriented’ blog.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled post for this important announcement!

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As I stare up at the night???s sky, and gaze at the stars, I am baffled by the brilliance and wonders of space. So many stars, so many systems of planets. Surely one must have life upon it. I enjoy clear nights without clouds, because they give me a perfect glimpse into the final frontier, one which I hope to explore on day.

A cool crisp breeze caresses my face as I lay there, bringing me back to earth. The night is silent and devoid of any life it seems. Wait! Something appears to be moving in the bushes! Its a cat hunting for bugs???the cat pounces, scratches at the ground and bites at a wounded night crawler.

Something soars over my head in the darkened sky! I scan above me and realize it was a bat. Flapping its wings with no visible rhythm or pattern, it flies in a circular motion high above my head. After several figure eights, it flies away…hopefully with tonight’s prey.

Once again I turn my attention to the stars above me and gaze at their beauty. Its rather unfortunate that most of those stars have long since faded away. They are nothing more than light that travels millions of light-years to be gazed upon in wonder by us. Look up at the sky and see death. Look up at death and wonder upon life.

Drug trafficking along the Mexico/US border has long been a very profitable and lucrative business.? Mexican news channels, day in day out, are constantly covering the aftermath of the war on drugs.

US Gov personnel stationed at these border towns are often prohibited from venturing into Mexico as civilians for recreational purposes, or have strict curfews and clearly defined boundaries in the country. Local law enforcement agencies often advise their officers to avoid areas near the border, even if they???re within their jurisdiction. Children of prominent Mexican businessmen constantly fear for their children???s safety and encourage them to stay on US soil.

Mexico???s president Felipe de Jes??s Calder??n Hinojosa, has pushed harder than any president before him against the drug cartels. They???re pushing back, and in many cases???the cartels are winning. Better funded, better equipped, and backed by overall fear, the drug cartels seems to have a strong foothold on Mexico and many of its government officials. More »

"For his inspiring posts that motivate me to work harder to achieve what I want in life."
-Andhari

So apparently I’ve been given a "Smittening Blog Award" by a thoughtful rapper, model, and blogger (a triple threat!) from Indonesia, Andhari "Ndeesaster" Sidharta. I’m very grateful to have a dedicated reader & commenter like Andhari!  Her blog is a mixture of creative musings, a dab of personal drama, and the occasional video of her performances.

Smitten is one of those words who’s definition changes based upon the context it’s used in.  Dictionary.com defines Smite as :

1. to strike or hit hard, with or as with the hand, a stick, or other weapon

7. to impress favorably; charm; enamor: He was smitten by her charms.

I’m physically unable to smite Andhari with "a stick, or other weapon," due to the geographical challenge. Even if I were in close proximity to her, with a stick in hand, chances are I wouldn’t strike her with it! So, it must be that my writing has charmed her and favorably impressed her. Awesome!

A mentor is someone important in your life, usually older and more experienced. Such person gives you advice and guidance throughout your journey. Luke Skywalker had Old Ben Kenobi teach him the ways of "the Force," the Power Rangers had Zordon, Robin had Batman, Neo had Morpheus.  The Mentor protege relationship is as old as time itself, and such a relationship is important for personal growth to occur since mentors have a way of pointing out flaws/errors which we might not see in ourselves.

Most people have a set of mentors present since day 1 of their lives, their parents.  Unfortunately, there comes a time when the protoge outgrows the need for a particular mentor, or the mentor no longer has anything new to teach the student.  The Power Rangers may have eventually lost Zordon, Luke Skywalker lost Ben Kenobi, and Robin left Batman to become Nightwing.  Growing up, our parents seem to be "all knowing," but as we get older and wiser we start to learn of their mortality.  The questions we may have, the answers we seek, we soon realize that they don’t have them and must turn to others for knowledge.  Thus begins our school years…

Only a handful of teachers during  school ever made any kind of significant impact above and beyond their teaching duties, and I’ve had the pleasure of returning the favor for one of them by writing something that would later be used to successfully score him a job in his time of need.  Given the chance, I’d willingly help out any of my favorite teachers.

During our professional lives we require a new mentor, which in my case have been more than several different people.  Cruz R showed me the importance of true customer service, Victor McK guided me through the basics of wireless networking, Tony G helped me stand on my own in medical information systems.  These are just some of the few that have mentored me to become the great person I am today.

Much to my dismay, it seems that I currently find myself without a professional mentor which has made professional growth in my field almost grind to a halt.  I’ve taken steps to reach out and acquire a new mentor in order to continue my improvement, but before I can truly continue my growth, I need to be ready to make a difficult decision and posses the constitution to carry on with the choice I may make.  Continuing my current path towards a bachelor’s degree has, and still is, the plan.  Its the next step which I’m currently trying to figure out, and hopefully I’ll receive a helping hand from a wise, as of yet unknown mentor in the near future.

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