Professionally I’m really focused on a few things as a result. 1) learning as much as I reasonably can on my own time so that I can contribute to my employer as much as possible. 2) looking for innovative ways to market our services and snag new business opportunities as possible. 3) rejuvenating my effort and efficiency to be as productive as possible with the effort I’m putting forth.

I’m embracing our new office but also cognitive of the fact that this introduces direct overhead for our team and increases the need for sustaining revenue.

Socially not much has changed. I’m still optimistic that a mature woman can come into my life that brings out the best of me, truly has something to offer as a woman, and is keen on working in partnership to really enjoy life with a friendship that really is mutually beneficial. While there have certainly been quality women that I’ve spent time with the feasibility of a committed relationship has been somewhat disappointing but not impossible. It is difficult to continually build something with someone that you need to get to know hundreds of miles away. I could complain and honestly in some of my more private moments I have but of course it’s done no good.

Mentally I’ve been up and down but I hope to get away from that roller coaster a bit and really key in on what’s important to me and keep balance in my life. I’m a good person and I have much to offer but I have to keep it together, even during times of adversity, doubt, and pessimism which surround me.

My city, my industry, my country, my heart, and more have had their back against the wall but I am confident we all will prevail. My faith is still strong and while patience is sometimes thin, it is still within me.

Our new President has quite the road ahead of him and certainly if he can face all the challeges looming over him with optismism so can I. I’m blessed and fortunate to say the least.

To have have days, months, and even years go by and continue to someone’s presence in my life speaks volumes about the quality of the relationship that I share with that person.  Many people come and go quickly in our lives.  Others stick around for a lifetime in friendship.  A handful will be there in love for an eternity.  

Companionship is what we appreciate most in old age and last breaths, movies and high school dances, honeymoon cruises, 25-year anniversaries, etc.  Its why being single only means being without commitment rather than being alone.  Even single people often get snaged by the net of relationship if for no other reason than companionship.

-Sam

In our walk through life we often feel like there are moves that we make that are positive steps forward…and then there are the occasional setbacks, or steps backward.  The thought crossed my mind earlier that when you have faith in God, there is no such thing as a setback, steps backward in life, or subtraction of our forward progress. 

In all things positive and adverse, God moves us forward towards a proper destination.  Hence “our steps are ordered“.  The “bad” in life  is what often teaches us the most, utilizes our muscles of faith, and brings out our inner-most strength.  Come to think about it, us Black folks shined the most in the past when we were in our most adverse times. Slavery, no equal rights, racism, and all kinds of other oppression set the stage for Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriett Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, and many others.

Today our struggles are different and subjectively better or less adverse, but opinion and statistics suggest we have less and shine not quite as brightly.  I’m not trying to knock anybody but rather simply taking notice that in the experiences of life, it all adds up and serves purpose in the days that follow.

Each day’s sum will always be greater than the day prior.  Perhaps take this day and truly appreciate how God has utilized ALL in our lives good and bad to prepare us for the present and provide strategy for the future. 

No steps back…  No subtraction…  Just addition and steps forward…even if they’re just baby steps

-Sam

Be blessed and rejoice…

-Sam

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

The movie clips don’t seem to be playing at the moment so give check back to see when I have them fixed.

“Love is a gift, not a reward for service!”

-Jack Winter

The people in Malaysia seemed pretty nice towards me and I had some laughs with locals and other guests of Malaysia along the way. I didn’t really get to experience much of Singapore outside of the airport but what I did see I liked. I’m thinking a return trip to this area will likely happen somewhere down the road. My experience in Austria however is generally speaking, quite different. It could be the language barrier but I’m more prone to say that it’s not. And after sitting in conversation with a Thailand citizen in Graz, I’ve gained just that much more insight into impressions of Black people generally in Austria. I think it’s going to be topic of my first book if it isn’t an all-inclusive autobiography.

The drive from Vienna to Graz is always fun with the winding turns and fast pace of the Autobahn through the mountains. Even in a Peaugot 206 diesel, I enjoyed the drive and was impressed with the car. I’d love to have one back home considering it had a great sound system, 6 airbags, seated 5, and had some basic trunk space.