Hustle and flow

I took a drive up toward New York tonight, and it was cathartic, refreshing and challenging. There are moments on the drive where I was in the car and just moving with the flow of traffic, almost at one with it. You are a part of this great flowing river of metal, rubber and asphalt, going God knows where to do God knows what. Big fish, small fish, beautiful fish, ugly fish. All hustling somewhere.

I rode toward the airport. I miss flying--I haven't been on a plane in a year. Maybe it's the hassles of the process. But it doesn't diminish the buzz and the anticipation of going somewhere. With the sunroof open, I watched a jet fly over, about to touch down and discharge its passengers. Further up, there were jets lining up for takeoff, destined for locales close and distance, known and exotic. Turning into the airport itself, with its maze of roads leading to and from the terminals. Drivers hustle to find where they're going, trying not to get lost and avoid another lap. Most of the international red-eye departures are ready to leave, so the buzz has died down a little. But the anticipation of taking off and setting eyes on new places remains. So does the anticipation of seeing loved ones, friends, after a long trip, bringing smiling faces and news of distant corners of the world.

Nothing but net

The Dream Team. Magic. Jordan. Bird. Barkley. In 1992, they reestablished American dominance in Olympic basketball. Along the way to gold in Barcelona, they crushed hapless opponents, unable to keep pace. Ditto in 1996. But something happened between '96 and 2000. The world got wise, played catch-up, and started fielding good times. Meanwhile, the U.S. stagnated, not realizing--or not wanting to realize--the world wasn't quaking in its shadow. The U.S. won the gold in 2000, but it wasn't pretty. (Vince Carter's dunk notwithstanding.) Then, in 2004, the bottom fell out, and the Americans were lucky to get a bronze medal after a shoddy performance.

So how do you recover from an embarrassing performance, and get back to the place you think you belong. One, realize you need a change of scenery. In USA Basketball's case, they needed to choose personnel that best matched the international game. And you have to realize that the game you're playing isn't the game you're used to. The international game has different rules, flow and movement. Your personnel has to understand that, and adjust accordingly. The mindset has to be ready for a new environment. And, most importantly, realize that the competition has changed. They've gotten used to you. They understand your weaknesses. They aren't scared of you anymore. So you have to adapt. Circumstances, times, change. You have to move with them.

And it appears USA Basketball has. In the Tournament of the Americas, the U.S., with new personnel, and new attitude, has cruised into the semifinals. A win over Puerto Rico will put them in the Olympics. It's amazing what losing will do to you.

A warm mug of just shut up

Sometimes, when nice things happen to you--say, a car repair goes better than expected, or people at work compliment you and notice the work you do--should you question why these things happen, or why they are saying what they're saying, or do I deserve the plaundits? No, I need to just shut up and say, "Thank you."

The tao of driving

I'm not an aggressive driver. Really. Though my driving style as adapted to my surroundings, I don't drive like my hair's on fire, racing from stoplight to stoplight. I try to be aware of what's going on around me, including what the speed limit is. Last night, I was following someone who was going 10 miles under the limit. In a situation like that, the easy thing to do is to get frustrated. But no, you can't. You're in a 3,500-pound missile. No matter how little the doofus in front of you is not paying attention, you have to. At all times.

Dragon slayer

My dragon tried to flare yesterday, but I was able to handle it well. It tried to lay me low, but I remained calm and focused. It was a good confidence booster. I think I can keep this up.

Pick me up

I got a nice pat on the back at work today. Things were dicey for awhile, but I kept cool and made my way through. I'm not a horn-tooter, I've never been been at ease waving my own flag. I sometimes wonder if anyone notices. Today, someone did. And it felt good to know someone is watching. But really, all I'm doing, all I've ever done, and all I've ever tried to do, is do the best I could. I try to be efficient at what I do, because of the multi-pronged process I'm in. Sometimes I wonder if I'm up for the challenge, sometimes I wonder if can handle it. Somebody thinks so.

Settling for less

If you had a choice between hamburger or filet mignon, which do you choose? (If you're a vegetarian, neither, but that's not the point.) When it comes down to ordinary versus best, you should want best. Then why is it that the U.S. consumer lies down and takes substandard cellphone service, while the rest of the world has handsets that can pretty much make breakfast? And the argument that carriers come up with to keep the shackles around the ankles of the consumer are utterly weak. The system is weighted toward the carriers, with subsidzed phones that lag well behind the rest of the world. The solution in Belgium works for me: keep the phones unlocked, allow users to by a SIM card, and then leave to buy whatever phone they choose. They may not be to get a government together, but they've gotten the cellphone process right.

Building links

Some new links are up on the tumblelog. They look at...

• decluttering your life
• polishing your mettle
• and just being yourself

Let freedom swing

Here's a great story about freedom and letting go from Herbie Hancock. Even if your bandleader is Miles Davis, the best way to make him happy is to make yourself happy. Play the music in your head, not in someone else's head.

(A tip of the cap to Rifftides)

Three keys to life

Or another way to look at courage, discipline and craft.

The kids are alright

Yesterday, news hit that a 17-year-old kid from New Jersey unlocked the iPhone. And Engadget reported a software unlock worked as well. It was bound to happen at some point. Mix determination, youthful exuberance and a scientist's know-how, and you too can wreck the day of a major telecommunciations giant. While I would have no inclination to follow through on the kid's instructions--and neither do most iPhone users, I guess--I admire the hell out of him. Anything to ruin the way cell phones are sold in the country gains a star in my book. (Belgium has the right idea--choose whatever phone you want, then choose a plan. Phone unlocking there is illegal, I believe.) Freedom is such a divine thing.

Economy of force

Do you need to make a grand statement to get your point across? Do you need a lot of finery to make people notice you? Do you need to jump up and down and yell and scream to stand the test of time?

Abraham Lincoln didn't. I was watching the Civil War last night, and toward the end, they had someone read his Gettysburg Address. I got goose bumps listening to it. Two hundred sixty nine words. Two minutes. Economical, elegant, forthright. He said what he meant, clearly, vividly, movingly. He reminded people of what the battle was about, and the supreme sacrifice untold numbers made. And despite the carnage at a dark hour in the nation's history, he sounded an ultimately hopeful note on the future of the country.

He said much, without saying a lot.

Burn the tape

When a team gets its hat handed to them in a game, the coaches 'burn the tape'. They acknowledge the anomaly of losing by a bunch of points, and start preparing for the next game.

Talk about anomalies...The Baltimore Orioles got stomped the other night, 30-3, by the Texas Rangers, the front end of a doubleheader. And they lost the back end, 9-7. For the Orioles, they have to put it away, let it go (as the manager said), and move on. You're going to get stomped into the ground at some point. You can't hang on to it. Move forward because the next battle is coming.

For the Rangers, it's a fun group of stats to compile, but you can't be attached to them. We can't cling to winning. Life is full of peaks and valleys--maybe you'll be beaten by 27 runs one day. How will you handle it?

Captain Comeback

Lead a team back from the brink of defeat, and you wear the moniker 'Captain Comeback' proudly. Like Roger Staubach, the Hall of Fame quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. He led his to several come-from-behind wins in his career, including in his last game. Staubach never gave up on his team, or himself. A valuable lesson there--when the chips are down, what do you have inside of you to be called Captain Comeback?

Weightlifting

Sometimes it's hard to see how great you are, or how great other people think you are. You do good, you do well, you do right by other people, and that's what the world sees. They don't see all the little things you do wrong, the weight you carry from not being enough in your own eyes. You try, you strive, yet one tiny misstep along the way and you magnify it more than it needs to be. We're all fallible, but it doesn't mean we have to hold ourselves hostage to ourselves. We can continue to move forward, even as we stub our toe. Despite the tribulations of life, we can see how great we are, as we lighten the load our shoulders carry.

Great minds

I traded a couple of text messages with my brother this afternoon. He's on a vacation/trip to South Carolina this week. On his signature, it says "It's Never Late!" No, he didn't steal the name of this humble blog. He joined the church, and enjoys it a lot. I think he's referring to becoming a part of the church. I'm referring to make changes in life. Come to think about it, maybe we're talking about the same thing, but in different ways.

The quest

The Washington Post Magazine had a great story yesterday on Ralph Ellison, and his great unwritten novel. It should be coming out next year. The story details the quest of Ellison to write it, his literary executor to complete it, and his assistant's quest to find his father, and himself. One theme I picked up--no one's perfect, but we keep moving ahead. Another theme--life is a quest, and as difficult as it can be, there's always a surprise waiting around the corner. More later...

Wants and needs

In life, you have to decide what you need, versus what you want. You have to cover your needs, the basics. The wants, well, do you really need them? Do you really need, say, that iPhone? Me, not truly. I think it's a truly gorgeous thing to behold. For what I'm looking for in a phone, it fills the bill. So why don't I have one? It'll make me a little lighter in the wallet. And version two of these things are always better than version one. I can be patient--what I've got now works fine. Maybe I'll buy this to tide me over.

Time waits...

I haven't worn a watch in a few years. I stopped wearing one when I was in Europe, mainly because it was feeling heavy on my wrist. But then I realized, at least when I was in Brussels, that time wasn't terribly important anymore. It was the experience, and the here and now that was important.

Yesterday was a nice day for a walk, and I went to the nearby college town for a change of pace. I made a loop through downtown, lost in the niceness of the day, and how good it felt to be walking. I paid no attention to time. It didn't matter. What mattered was the glorious day and feeling free of constraints. There are enough time constraints on me at work. I need more places where time is of little consequence.

If you're happy and you know it...

Can it really be possible? A Harris poll this week said 94% of Americans are happy. With the subprime-mortgage mess, the markets behaving like a roller coaster, the mess in Iraq, it's hard to see how anybody can be happy. But think about it. Right now how do you feel, in this moment? Content, peaceful? There is so much going on in the world right now, that the natural reaction is how can anyone be happy. You can because you are fine now. You have a roof over your head, food in your stomach. You have the basics taken care of. It doesn't mean you've turned off from the cares of the world. It means what you've got, you're content with.