Philip Bliss's Unlikely Accounts

WHO YOU CALLIN' ECCENTRIC?!!

2008-07-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may not know yet, I've decided to make a career change yet again. This is it for sure this time, I promise.

Things I've wanted to do since I was a youngin':

Some sort of Scientist
Chemist
Doctor
Astronaut
Police Officer/Detective
Teacher
Physicist
Rocket Scientist
Crossing Guard
Referee

When I finally graduated high school, I decided that Chemistry and Physics was a subject I wasn't ready to pursue. I tried Rocket Science when I used to study Aerospace Engineering but realized that, although I loved the subject matter, the industry wasn't for me. Crossing Guard and Referee is a job more fitting for retirees.

Not being able to decide on what career I really wanted when I graduated high school, I struggled through college. I have a degree in Mathematics with hopes of becoming a great high school teacher. But, as most of you may know, California is struggling to decide whether or not education is really that important anymore... or at least that's what the governor may think.

Then I realized that I could be a cop! All the action, combat-training, gun-slinging and intense chases portrayed in the movies and TV shows has always intrigued me. Of course, I realize that this is just a glorious portrayal of a somewhat bleak lifestyle, but it has always interested me. So why hadn't I considered it more seriously earlier? I remember that early in mine and Ruby's relationship, we had briefly discussed me becoming a cop and she had expressed her ennui for being married to someone who is a cop. She said she couldn't live with the stress of worrying about whether or not her husband was going to come home that night and the fact that she hated anything having to do with guns. So, my pursuit to become a police officer ended there.

But now that she's out of the picture, guess what I'm gonna do! Yes, I'm on my way to becoming a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff.

Overall, the perks of being a cop are better than being a math teacher:

Paid Academy training for 5 months, whereas if I were to become a teacher, it would take an entire year to get my credential and I would have to pay for schooling
With a bachelor's degree, I get paid $11,000-$20,000 more a year as a cop, depending on where I would have been teaching
Better health benefits and I get a free funeral when I die! (why am I excited about the funeral?)
Other opportunities include being a motorcycle patrol officer and helicopter pilot, both with training at the department's expense
Moving up in the ranks is easier as long as you put in the time and work

So, I had my interview with the Sheriff Department two Saturdays ago. I'm confident when it comes to interviews. The trick with interviews is to remember that the people interviewing you are just as human as you; interviewers are no better than you, they've just been working at the place you're applying for longer than you. So when I am being interviewed, I always remember this small fact and I usually end up having a somewhat realistic conversation with the interviewer, thus leading to a positive outcome.

During this particular interview, one of the officers (I was interviewed by 2 officers) stopped the interview to say that I should talk like I regularly do and to try not to use big words to impress them. I thought I was talking like I regularly do. And I don't think I used big words. Maybe its because he's not used to interviewing people who are at the college level. Anywho...

At the end of this interview, the same officer had asked me, "Do you consider yourself an eccentric person?" I had asked what he meant by that in hopes that he would explain what it was about me that would make him ask this. He asked, "Do you see the glass half-empty or half-full?". That didn't help much. But I thought about it briefly: I often consider myself an optimistic person but Sun Tzu said that it's important to know your enemy before engaging in a conflict. If the enemy of an optimist is a pessimist, then it is important that I see the glass as half-empty as well. In math, if you're gonna prove something, then you must consider all the options, even that which may hinder the conclusion of your proof. I responded that I look at it both ways.

Does my answer make me an eccentric person? I know that most people would choose a side when asked if they see the glass as half-empty or half-full but for me, I usually try to come up with the invisible third-option. My dearest Davy always comes up with scenarios like "would you rather bob-for-apples in diarrhea or drink your own vomit" and I would often respond with a "neither", leaving him utterly frustrated with my refusal to participate in his little game. Maybe this does make me eccentric, especially since an eccentric person is one who deviates from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.

I thought about this for a whole week and I've come to the conclusion that I guess I am a bit eccentric. I mean, consider what I've discussed in this post: I've earned a degree in Math but I'm not going to do anything entirely math related. I'm not much of a reader but I love to write (I'm not saying I'm good at writing), I spend my free time doing group activities alone (refer to my last post), I'm teaching myself how to become the world's greatest guitarist without any desire to make any money from it, I spend my early mornings writing a post for Blogger when I should be sleeping, and I wear sandals to almost anything for almost any occasion.

Should I be proud of the fact that I consider myself an eccentric person? Whatever. I have to wake up in 4 hours.

~McGavin Lee

A QUICK DRIVE TO VENTURA

2008-07-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to go on a little trip northward today. I had no particular reason to go, nor did I have any particular destination, nor did I go with anyone- I just decided to head north (I do a lot of things by myself, including going to the movies, the beach and sleeping). So, as I was driving on the 101, I stopped by the Ventura Pier. It was still sunny and if I headed any more north, I could see that I would run into some thick marine layer so I decided to make this my final stop before heading home.

After I was done throwing rocks into the waves, making smiling faces with rocks on the beach only to be disheartened as I watched the waves wash over them, talking to some friends on the phone, and walking the pier, I decided to walk along the boardwalk that ran along the beach. As I walked, I paid close attention to the 4-person-carriage-pedaling-thing as it passed me on my left and thought to myself, "Although I could pedal for all 4 people riding with me, it would be more enjoyable if everyone participated in helping me pedal the 4-person-carriage-pedaling-thing. Not only that, but it would be way more efficient in getting to our next destination." That's why the thing was built, right? So that every person riding on it can enjoy helping with the sweet pleasure of pedaling.

So, I just related aiding someone with enjoyment. Most people would consider helping someone a fatiguing and unbearable task. I, on the other hand, would consider helping someone a blessing. I usually try to help whenever I can. Of course, I've had my days when I just don't feel like helping, but more often than not, I always try to help. I enjoy it. I can see how some people may think that I'm letting myself get taken advantage of but, in my case I'm actually the one taking advantage of them. And plus, does anyone else see the beauty in helping others? Even the simple things like holding the door open for the person or persons behind you or picking up your best friend's water bottle cap that she dropped because she's carrying too many things, or even holding some of your friend's things as you both walk back to your car so that she won't drop anything else. Overall, it makes any situation more efficient- more productive.

I don't help others because they're incapable of doing it themselves, it's just more efficient. And plus, isn't it in our human nature to help others. I mean, we as humans build things to help eachother. Take the 4-person-carriage-pedaling-thing for example. The whole purpose of building that was so that everyone will enjoy helping eachother pedal. Look at sports teams. Everyone knows that you can't win a championship if you don't rely on your teammates for help (isn't that right Mr. Bryant?); and everyone loves and enjoy sports. We build water systems, roads, shopping malls, power plants, cities, etc. so that everyone may benefit and enjoy their lives, thus making our society a little more productive.

On top of that, it's a good way of knowing that you're not alone in this sad world. You rented a 4-person-carriage-pedaling-thing because you know others who would enjoy it with you. You're a part of a sports team because you share qualities with others that will aid you in winning a championship. You hold the door open for someone because you know what it's like to struggle through a door at times. You pick up your friend's bottle cap and offer to carry some things because you care about her and you don't want her to risk dropping anything else. By helping someone, not only are you letting them know that they're not alone, you're showing them that someone else cares. Isn't it beautiful how a simple gesture can mean so much? Or am I the only one who feels this way?

I'm not trying to preach, I'm just sharing my thoughts.

Much love.

~McGavin Lee

P.S.

I just found out that the 4-person-carriage-pedaling-thing is called a Surrey Quadricycle Limosine. Which one's easier to say? It's pictured above.

BARON BLISS DAY

2008-03-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

In Belize, today is known as Baron Bliss Day. Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, commonly known as Baron Bliss (16 February 1869 – 9 March 1926), was a British-born traveller who willed some two million U.S. dollars to a trust fund for the benefit of the citizens of what was then the colony of British Honduras, now Belize.

In my efforts to satisfy my curiosity as to why in Belize they decided to name a day after someone who bore the same last name as me, I found out how much I want to go to Belize now. As a hobby, I try to spend Sunday mornings doing research on the early inhabitants of the Americas. Belize was an area once dominated by the Mayans and so there are many Mayan temples plotted about the small 8,867 square mile country. On top of that, it's the only country in the region who's official language is English.

I'm making an effort to go to El Salvador next winter with my boy Luis, but now I'm reconsidering for Belize. Maybe we can do both.

Pictured above is an archaeological site called Xunantunich from the Maya civilization.

~McGavin Lee

HAPPY :)

2008-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged for awhile. I've just been very busy with midterms and partying.

So what's new...

I got new shoes!!

I love my new black low-top Converses. They're perfect for just about any occasion.

As most of you may know, I only wear sandals. If I'm going to church, then I'm sporting my sandals. If I'm going to school, then I'm wearing my sandals. If I'm going out to a fancy dinner, then you better believe that my sandals will be under my feet.

So I decided to break in my new shoes for a week and I don't think I recieved more attention than I ever had before. Everyone noticed them, even my students at the high school. When I walked into the classroom, they all gasped to notice that they could no longer see my toes. All my friends at school were shocked to see that my feet were completely wrapped in black rubber and textile material. I didn't think that wearing sandals all the time left such an impression on everyone.

So what else is new...

I recently turned in my graduation application!! Finally, I'm graduating!! When I graduated in 2001 from high school, I didn't even think I was going to college. I got accepted to all the local universities that I applied to as a Bio major, but I had no idea what college was about. My dad was trying to push me into going on a Mormon mission. But I wasn't that much into the church at the time and I didn't want to go try and convince some stranger to join a church that I didn't know much about. And plus, I wanted to stay local so I can be with Ruby, the love of my life.

So when late registration came around, I decided to register for some classes the Friday before school started. I had no idea what I was doing. No one else in my family has a college degree so I was embarking on a journey all alone. My family isn't the wealthiest family either. As a matter of fact, we were far from even being middle class. So, I had to work to pay for everything... and I mean everything. The only thing I didn't have to pay for while I was in college was room and board since I was still living at my parents house.

For my first year at Cal Poly Pomona I was a Biology major. But I fell in love with math within that year so I decided that I would do something math related. Since Cal Poly is known for their engineers, I decided to go into Aerospace Engineering. I loved it! So for my second year at Cal Poly, I geared all my classes to fit the prerequisites to Aerospace Engineering and I got accepted.

From here, I struggled for 2 more years as I tried to earn a degree in Rocket Science, work 30 hours per week and manage to go to UCI every week to visit Ruby, the girl on my mind all the time.

Then, I had a math professor who worked at JPL in Pasadena, the place where all Aerospace Engineers dream to work some day, who opened my mind. This man was smart. He really knew everything about anything. But he would always come to class stressed out about how he was afraid of losing his job to some newbie because it was too costly to keep him on staff due to his experience or because of budget cuts at JPL. I knew that if I were to be a part of this industry, then I would have to deal with the lurking possibility of losing my job... everyday. I decided that it was time for a change in my career path.

Since second grade, I always wanted to be a teacher. The idea of passing on your knowledge to another generation has always intrigued me. And I felt that I could do a better job than all those horrible tenured teachers who didn't even teach because they hated their jobs. But I was always too ashamed to admit it because I was under the impression that teacher weren't paid very well. But then I found out that teachers got paid the same starting salary as an engineer. So it was Bye-Bye Aerospace, Hello Math.

It was my fourth year at Cal Poly when I changed my major to math. I should've been graduating but I was already on the six year plan as an Aerospace Engineer so the change wouldn't have been any different. To my surprise, math turned out to be a more difficult major than Aerospace. In Aero, all the formulas being used were already derived and ready to use. It was just a matter of being able to pick up the ingredients and mixing them together properly to create a wonderful feast of orbital paths and fluid dynamics, something mathemagicians like call Plug-and-Chug. But as a math major, we had to derive these formulas that the engineers were using; this is far more difficult. The one thing that was easier about math was that the workload was lighter.

But I struggled with the upper division math courses at first. I had no idea how to properly execute a proof and some of the math professors were horrible!!! Can you believe that I got an F in the first calculus course, the easiest of all the math courses? This was due to a horrible tenured professor who only taught to earn money. Encountering and avoiding horrible math professors occurred frequently, thus extending my graduation another half of a year.

Then I was at the crux of my life. I had been dating Ruby for 8 years and I felt that it was time to start looking into marriage after I graduate. I knew that I could afford it; there are many programs available for teachers who wanted to buy a home and many programs to help pay for school loans. I would be working full time while Ruby finished her last year at Law school and it wouldn't be long before we could settle down and start raising a family; I estimated about 3 years before we started a family. On top of that, I was starting to shake off all the simple enigmatic problems that seemed to bother me about our relationship such as my relationship with Ruby's cousins. Things were going great between us.

But Ruby didn't see it the same way I did. In an instant, and out of nowhere, Ruby threw that all away. She says its because she's embarrassed of the fact that I took so long to graduate- that I wouldn't be able to support her or a family. She also said, "I want to be with someone who has accomplished a lot in their life and is on the same level as I am." Now, you know that when a girl says something like that that she's already met someone else "on the same level" as her. Otherwise, why would she leave something that is already functioning perfectly and has been functioning for 8 years?

I won't go into great detail on all my theories and proofs of how Ruby's lying to me and herself about why she broke up with me. I just want to point out that college has been difficult for me- that I went from ignorant to confident in 6.5 years and I'm happy pursuing the life of a teacher.

Much love.

~Philip

2G1C

2008-01-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

So, there's this disgusting fetish video called "Two Girls, One Cup" which has become a cult hit in the young adult community. I won't discuss or describe what it's about because it makes me want to keck just thinking about it, but I'll warn you that if you have a weak stomach, you may want to avoid this video at all cost.

Well, my good friend David convinced me to watch it while he recorded my ability to hold my stomach in. You may view it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HxKCXVI3H8

Let's just say that he's lucky I decided to use my weaker left arm to land my punches on him.

Extreme Team

2008-01-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

I had a really great weekend!!!

Friday started off like any other Friday with work at Savanna High School. But then, something amazing happened... I went snowboarding at night!!! Snowboarding at night sounds like it would be dangerous but its not. It's the same thing as daytime snowboarding except darker and there are green LASER lights everywhere. Although I've improved on my switch, my butt and my forearms are very sore. This has only been my 3rd time snowboarding and I love it. So, with a smug sense of accomplishment, I can now proudly say that I'm an official snowboarder solely because I now own all my snowboarding gear.

Saturday was good too. I woke up, studied a little bit, dropped two of my five classes, watched 3/4 of the Kingdom starring Jamie Foxx and my girlfriend Jennifer Garner, and went to John's house and watched the Patriots beat the Jags. After the game, I had the opportunity to prove to my friends that I do not have bad hand-eye coordination by playing some football, baseball and basketball in the same night while wearing my sandals and slacks. I don't know where it came from but Davy and Gary were one day convinced that I have horrible coordination between my hands and my eyes. I think they just put me down because they're jealous that I have "pure" athleticism while they have to work hard for it. So now my butt is even more sore and I now have a slight blind spot in my right eye thanks to Davy's failed attempt to knock the football out of my hands. No worries, it's slowly disappearing.

Today (Sunday) I played tennis under windy conditions (yes, my butt is officailly super sore), discovered a new cheap, health-conscious store whose name I've already forgotten, and cooked for my family. Today I cooked Roman-style chicken. It's pictured above and it looked exactly like the picture, minus the capers. It was so good.

You may have noticed that I typed LASER in all caps. This is because LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. I hope you enjoyed my fact of the day. Have a good week.

~Philip

I HAVE A NEW LOVE

2008-01-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it's true or not but I feel like I talk about myself a lot. So, to save any stranger or friend from the pain of having to listen to my mumbling mouth, I decided to start a blog. I was also compelled by the likes of those who I admire and wish to be like, of whom also blog.

So, for you today, I've decided to discuss the new love in my life. It is she who I have been canoodling since we met on Christmas day. I think she's absolutely gorgeous and I fall into a pit of despair every minute we're not together. I think about her all the time. I love her so much. We have grown so much since we've been together. Is what I describe not love?
Do you think I'm talking about a person? Well, I'm not. I speak of my new guitar my father gave me. She is pictured below.

The Guitar Center describes her as "a true full-hollow body guitar (no soundblock) perfect for that muted jazz tone and fully flexible for everything from alt rock to pounding punk. Mahogany set neck with bound rosewood fretboard and pearl block inlay is a delight to the digits." I simply describe her as my new lover.

I named her Ruby after the other love of my life. Yes, I'm aware that it's kinda weird to name her after a beautiful woman I admire who refuses to be affiliated with me in any way possible, but give me a break! I mean, how can you not name her Ruby? Look at her color. It says Ruby all over her. And plus, I named my last guitar (an acoustic Fender) Jewell after Ruby Simjee's middle name while we were still an item; I figured I would continue in the tradition of naming things after her.

Speaking of naming things... Did you know that my father gave me one of my middle names Lee after one of his former lovers? My mom once said, "See Philip, I loved your father so much that I let him name you after his ex-girlfriend." My dad quickly responded, "I also named you after my best friend at the time whose name was Brad-Lee." Yeah right Dad!

~Philip