Last Trips in Cincinnati- National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

So for the past couple of weeks, I've been visiting the few places in the that I really wanted to go to before I left the 'Nati. For people who don't know, I can't stand this place, but there are few special places in Cincinnati. Two weekends ago, I went to a baseball game at the Great American Ball Park (which is named for the Great American Insurance Co. located in the city, which is a nice coincidence considering it's America's sport- which raises the question about why it's the world series and nobody else is in it, except Toronto I think.) But anyway that was cool- it's a beautiful stadium with no obstructed seats and a beautiful view of the Ohio River looking into Kentucky.

The most important trip that I needed to take was to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which sits on the banks of the Ohio in Cincinnati. The museum has special meaning for me- not only because I am African-American, but also because my great-uncle is senior historian at the museum. The museum is part of the Smithsonian and is humbling, informative, and brilliantly done. One of the most memorable aspects of the museum is that the 4th floor is dedicated to the continual struggle for freedom by people of all races and nationalities. There is a wall that illustrates the sacrifices people have made to end hunger, communism, racism, and genocide. It's one of the few things that will probably bring me back to the city. If you find yourself traveling through Cincinnati, take a moment and stop in or take a few moments to visit the museum's website at www.freedomcenter.org.

Math Camp Here I Come!!

I got my invite to the Quantitative Pre-Enrollment Program at Stanford's GSB, affectionately known as math camp. My guess is some people would feel remedial about receiving an invite to the program, but I'm glad to be attending. My GMAT quant score was crappy and my stats class in college was a joke. Math camp last approx. 1.5 weeks prior to the start of pre-term and costs $400, and of course I have to pay for the extra days at Schwab. But considering my current math skills, it will be well worth it.

Purpose

Several weeks ago, a fellow co-worker passed away. While I didn't know him well, I admired him from afar for reaching back and pulling people up the corporate ladder as he climbed up in the rankings. Lonnie was both a mentor and advocate to several of my friends, working diligently to ensure diversity at all levels of the company. His death was unexpected, but about a week before he died, Lonnie sent an email titled Purpose to the African-American Leadership, his manager, fellow co-workers and friends. One statement from his email really stands out to me:

Success will come when you are aligned with your PURPOSE. When you are inside GOD’S intended PURPOSE it will be easy and natural to do the RIGHT thing. If it is not natural, then, this is not your PURPOSE!
I'll admit- I've hated my job and IT profession for several years now. I've felt pigeonholed, unchallenged, and unappreciated. So I'm moving on. I know I'm fortunate to not have children and be able to make my own decisions without really having to think about how they impact another individual. However, there are people who have children, who have spouses, who have homes, and careers and all of these additional responsibilities make change that much riskier. But nothing worth doing is easy, not even for me.

I don't have the financial resources at home to fund this or back me up if I miss a car note. I have myself, my savings, and my $98,000 in loans. I'm taking a chance because I'm unhappy. But I'll be one step closer on the path to understanding my purpose.

I've typed all of this to say, don't wait around for something to happen, make it happen. Life is too short to wake up everyday, put your feet on the floor, and then think "damn". Get started on a plan, hibernate for a while if you have to, get a hotel room for a weekend and leave the cell phone at home. If kids are involved, really consider if stability (with you coming home pissed off daily) is better than them seeing you grab life by the horns and step out on faith. My God says that faith can move mountains.

In the words of 2 Live Crew, move something.

It works!

Just an update..I finally got my new PC's wireless card to connect to my router. I had to upgrade the firmware on my router (thanks Darius!!). Apparently, the previous version was not compatible with Centrino-based systems. Just a little FYI....

New Toy!!!

I got my new laptop yesterday!! I've named him 'Slick'. Slick is a Dell 610 Latitude- silver case. He has the volume controls on the keyboard and is Bluetooth-enabled. I have two complaints- 1) The ethernet card is designed to not power on if the computer is not plugged into the AC power. So if I'm not plugged in, I can't get an internet connection even though I'm hardwired into the cable modem (I did find an option to change this, and i selected the option, but that didn't do the trick.) 2) My internal Dell wireless card doesn't seem to be compatible with my Netgear router, and I've tried almost everything, even reconfigured the wireless router, checked to be sure the ACL on the router is off, checked the drivers, and rebooted the cable modem. Other computers in the house are connecting fine. The new wireless card sees the network, and the router sees the MAC address, but it's not connecting. I'm going to try to see if Netgear has any updates for the router, and then I guess I'll buy an external wireless card if that doesn't work. I'll keep you posted.