1/30/2013

Fuckin Upward (pt. 2)

This isn't a pity party. 

It's one thing to fuck up, and stay down.
It's another to fuck up, then MOVE UP!
It's all about FALLING FORWARD.
Then doing a roll, conserving momentum, 
And getting back onto your feet.

I'm not blogging to say I'm a fuck-up, but I want to acknowledge that it's OKAY to fuck-up.
And since I wrapped up my last post rather quickly, I want to fill in what I had left unsaid.

It's OKAY!
When a fuck-up is made, it's in the past.
LEAVE IT THERE! Don't let it fuck up anything else!
One can dwell on it, or acknowledge the accident and move on from there.

I practice the 2nd strategy. The "Acknowledge and Move On" method.
Find the best practical action, that will lead to a desired solution, and then act on it.
That's how I deal with break-ups, injuries, mistakes, getting lost, etc.

So don't just fuck up, but fuck UPWARD. In an upward direction.

For example. 
I tried to get with this one girl, Pearl, back in college. She was pretty cute!
She didn't go for me, and I was bummed about it. 
Cuz she was smart too. And from norcal. Major bummer.
I was SO bummed that I almost didn't go to an open mic where I was planning to perform. 
INSTEAD, I went to the open mic anyway....fuckyeah! 
And this was back when I was new to open mics.
So I did my thing, performed on a broken heart, and afterward felt MUCH BETTER.

I even wrote my popular piece "What Is Love" the following week, as a result of that break-up.
(People have told me they like that one)

Then after that, I courted the best girlfriend I've ever had in my life!

So even when things don't work out well, you can flip it into something better!

As the saying goes:
"It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do about what happens."

Complaining is not a good solution to your problems.
Neither is blaming others for your mistakes.
Understand that other people will make mistakes too.
It doesn't help to criticize or complain, it's better to encourage/advise!

So don't fuck up, fuck upward!

(It's the same cat)

Another example.
Despite my thumb getting injured back in December, my energies turned toward writing, rhyming, blogging, and business have given me great advantages, including new job opportunities, new networking options, and new time freedom to set up meetings and learn!

I am blessed beyond belief to be able to enjoy the next few months in California, before moving to Louisiana, without working >10-hr days. The perspective and the set of the sail is up to the captain. 

Problems only make room for miracles to happen.

Finally, although I'm not the craziest illest bboy on the West Coast, and although I've probably lost more battles than I've won, bboying has given me countless blessings, opportunities, and experiences, and it has introduced me to great people. Dancing has helped me believe in myself
 and get rid of social anxiety at party/social events... it even helps for working with students!

I got my foot into the door of education, and it IS the good foot, so it's starting to boogie.

1/29/2013

Fuckin Up

I was gonna write something sad and overly-political about America's problems, then quote some underground hip hop lyrics, but decided to spare the trouble. Maybe another time.

Instead, I think posts that are self-reflective and honest resonate better...
...As opposed to being outwardly critical, and completely fallacious.

So... lemme talk about my fuckups as a bboy. They're kinda funny.
Always a lesson learned.


And not just THESE fuckups:

My face almost blew up right here, that woulda been fuckin up.

So not just fuckups like crashing... during important battles. That's definitely a fuckup. 
But also, not going to jams and practices, and being as involved as I once was.

See.... Back in high school, I danced every day during lunch and afterschool (see video above).
On Friday's we'd practice in the garage til dinner. It was the greatest time to break,
High school dances were the funnest shit ever.
And that's sorta when I was at my peak.

I couldn't dance a lick, but I was at my physical peak. At least a local maxima.
I'd say I'm a better dancer now, with more moves, more understanding,
But there are SO MANY people doing it, I'm still far from the best, even locally. 

And lately I've been injured. Why? Cuz of FUCKIN UP! (see video below)
So I've had to turn my energies away from dancing.
That's partly why I've been blogging and writing and rhyming more. Grinding more.
At the base of a tree, not the top, so I'm climbing more.

On the topic of climbing and elevating,
Just got the news that I got accepted to go teach Math in New Orleans!
Speedway to teaching math! That's a dream! 
From one Saint City (Santa Ana) to another!

~~~~~

For those who aren't bboys themselves, you might know me as 'the dancing guy,'
and if you know me as that, you've probably seen me dance, and you MIGHT think I'm good.

But let me assure you, although I've picked up some stuff in the 10years I've been doing it, I've still got a long way to go in the dance game. And there are people who practice a lot harder, and take it much more seriously than I do. The ones who practice harder are better than me. 
That's why I didn't win this jam:

Although, up to this point, I was practicing regularly:



But right around 4:00 minutes in.... I started fuckin up! It was all downhill from there.

My thumb's still not the same. 

All good though.

Better news to come in the future.

1/25/2013

MLM, OR ML-LAME?!

Isn't this how most organizational structures look anyway?
Audio option if you can't read (suggested):


Intro:

~Alright, so most people know, I did MLM. We should just be real clear about it. Multi-level marketing, network marketing, "friendship" marketing, relationship marketing, however you wanna call it, it's a direct way for good/services to be exchanged, no middle-man, no retail store. At its core, it's simple.

~And I'm gonna share my experience because most people are going to be approached with this as a unique job opportunity, many already have, and it's gonna sound tempting working from home, I'll tell you the ups and downs about it.
-----------

MY TOP TAKE-AWAYS:
~First of all, you CAN make money, and it's legit. Cash flow. It works. The question is, if you want to make money this way or not. What I hate are the "tactics" that some network marketers use, and I'll get into that later. If you're driven, got that entrepreneurial drive, then it's a way to succeed. You CAN make money.

~Secondly, It can be pretty fun! I had a lot of good times when I actually had a team; the most fun came from getting together with people and having that face-to-face interaction with people I LIKE, than the marketing opportunity itself. It was fun when we invited new members onboard, or made money together, but I enjoyed going to eat afterward... road trip. Just being around.

~Thirdly, these companies usually have a really good product, which lends to the direct side of the marketing. It's very easy to show someone, "oh you wanna lose weight? I got something that guarantees you'll lose weight." or, "oh you have pimples? I got something for that." People just love that face cream. So as good as these products are, it seems like a lot of groups focus more on recruitment than on customer acquisition. If the product was really good, you should be able to acquire and retain a lot of customers, as opposed to having the majority of customers being retained as distributers themselves.

~So what I didn't like most was the idea of recruitment and prospecting my own friends. It just wasn't fun. It makes sense as a business model, but as a relationship model, it didn't seem very genuine most of the time. "hey. sup. how you doing? cool cool. come to this meeting. hehe."

~Having said that, it was probably my biggest mistake to do MLM, in 2012. I should have just focused my energy on my own plate. Not to say I regret it, cuz I did learn a LOT, and it's good people involved, not all bad, but it's definitely not the best thing for me at my station in life. If I was old, older, and all my friends understood multiple streams of income, and a few hundred wasn't a big deal, then HELL YEAH I'd do it... economically, it makes sense. You're GONNA make money. At least a little. They have a system for it.

~Now a lot of people think, Tom, You'd be great at Network Marketing, you're so positive, uplifting, and high-energy, and can talk in front of people, and you can dance, and all this other shit. Let me tell you then, just because I'm good at OTHER shit doesn't mean I'm automatically good at Network marketing. In fact, from what I've seen, most of the people who are really really good at Network marketing, got to that position because they WEREN'T good at anything else! Doesn't mean it's a free ride either, cuz they had to grind as hard as hell to get on top, just like with anything. Of course I could be good at it too if I wanted to commit all my energy and focus into it, but I do a lot of other shit, so that's not gonna be my best option. Essentially, I was a TERRIBLE network marketer, I stayed up late, I avoided correspondences, my work ethic was inconsistent, I didn't know how to close a sale on people who came to ME expressing interest, but just cuz I couldn't do it doesn't mean it can't be done. Anyone can do it, I've seen the lamest people do it, just cuz there's a system they can learn, and they're probably more disciplined than me. 

~I WOULD do it again... But not now.



MLM tactics:
-"we're making so much money, I'd had for you to miss out."
^FEAR OF LOSS
-"the time to join is NOW, the wave is coming!" "Timing!"
^URGENCY
-"sooo many people are joining, ___ joined, _____ joined, ____ made money."
^JONES EFFECT
-"we don't need you. you need us more than we need you. how long do you wanna stay broke for? you don't have x amount of dollars? how long do you want THAT to be the case?"
^INDIFFERENCE

Okay, so, my formal apologies.
1: To my friends/family that I reached out to, chatted with superficially, in attempts to get you to see it. most of you didn't get to see it. so you probably still don't get it. and most of you probably got annoyed. i encourage you not to judge it until you actually get a good grasp on it, seeing it yourself. or just ask me questions. But to my friends and family who I reach out to, let's actually kick it. Let's get together. Because the only reason I reached out to you is because I LIKE you, I respect you, I could see you as being successful. My intentions are pure.

2: To my direct team. If you were on my team... I let you down. I'm sorry. Giao, Robert, Michelle, Jona, Johnny, Christy, Vivi, Mi, Viv, Brian, Lennon, Kenny, Alex, Michael, Chris, Riverside crew, we had good times! We were doing good for a while, but I got talked out of it, and essentially broke the cohesion we had as a team. It was starting to get shaky, and I wasn't the first one to stop, but when I stopped, the team really fell apart. And it was one of the hardest decisions I had to make, to stop, but I couldn't go on promoting something that I didn't believe in anymore, especially when I saw more people struggling than thriving.

3: To my support team. a lot of you are still in it. thank you for the help, the mentorship, the support. I learned a lot from you all. Judy, Barb, Simon, Helene, Mi, John Wayne, Jae, Ian... everyone except Julian Doan who blocked me on facebook. AHAHAHAHAH.

I've had about 3 attempts at direct/network marketing. Each time I got better, and each time I had fun. I can detail those experiences another time.

If you're driven, even a mistake is a detour on the way to success.




And if you do MLM, there's nothing wrong with it, here are good tips for you and your team: http://vincentstlouis.com/mlm-insider/

For the record, MLMs aren't get-rich-quick schemes. It's a get-rich-slow or medium-paced depending on what you're work ethic is. It can work, and residuals are real if you get recurring customers.

1/23/2013

China's Underground Cities!

This was brought to my attention on MLK Day.
(but serves no direct relevance to MLK day at all)
(just a random cool thing I learned about)

People living underground!
Seems like they've done it before.
Is it going to happen again?
Is it ALREADY happening??

This is Beijing's Underground City:


So it's been done!

That "Underground City" serves as a historical precedent to China's current/future plans for more subterraneous habitation (living underground). It seems like young people are more open to the idea, as shown in this recent Chinese news story:

^current world news!!!


Skating rinks and movie theaters underground...? underground schools/libraries?? I kinda see why younger people are more open to it... Cuz you can still be on the computer/play games LOL.

Probably wouldn't have rainy days. Just no sunny days either. And as the well-dressed Chinese lady said, no moon. :(

I'm more open to the idea of living on water. Or living on the moon.
I can also imagine living in a university in space, where people would be educated, and have families that get educated on the way to a distant location that would take lifetimes to reach.

Back to underground cities though...

This one in Turkey had an 8km tunnel that led to another underground city. 
It had a river, and air vents.




If you're anything like me, you might be thinking "What the f* dude?"

Yeah. But in the meantime, there's plenty of space to be used above ground. The most important space is the space around you, and the spaces that you put yourself in. Become more capable by learning to manipulate the space around you, with the skills/knowledge that you pick up. 

If you can figure that out, many amazing things happen.

1/17/2013

Astro Logic (recently published)

One of my poems recently got published in this online journal.
Not trying to be biased, but I like this one, it's probably one of my best.


Here is the poem in full, as quoted from this page: http://eyetothetelescope.com/

Astro Logic
With my eye on Orion
I lie awake in awe.
Across the sky flying.
I see planets, stars. 
Visualizing environments,
On moons and on Mars.
Listening to silence,
Wondering who we are. 
How’d we come to be?
Who planted the seed
Of our genealogical tree?
Curious indeed. 
Out of non-life came life,
Organic out of inorganic.
Water, steam, and ice,
Lifeline of our spinning planet. 
Twinkle, twinkle, ancient Gods,
By the cycling of Nature’s nods.
They shift our cosmic paradigm.
Wars and storms when they align.
—Tom T. Nguyen

Eye to the Telescope is a quarterly online journal that publishes science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative poetry.

1/16/2013

Solar Energy - Bright Future?

•Bright things/Bright people can be useful.
•But being bright is not enough.
•The miracle part is being able to convert the energy into something useful.
     •That's what Solar panels do, that's what plants do.
     •That's what you can do...if you can tap into where you shine your brightest.

•Our Soul, Our Energy
     "Our Solar Energy"




To ponder:
How efficiently and how much of the Sun's full potential do you think we effectively convert into "Solar energy" with our current technology?

Is there more energy available that we have not harnessed yet?

Every Miracle Starts With a Problem

From John C. Maxwell:

"Every miracle starts with a problem.
Most people have some sort of problem.

If you don't have any problems, I feel sorry for you.
Because then you're not a candidate for a miracle.
You can't have a miracle without a problem.

The point is:
There's a relationship between the problem and the miracle."
~~~~~~~

That brings me to the idea of struggle, 
And what it takes to overcome your individual struggle.
Struggling is a global theme, in Eastern and Western beliefs*.
I also see it as a theme, or at least a relevant factor, in hip hop.
We all know there is struggle in life, but what can be done about it?

Negativity or adversity has to be acknowledged; negative is normal.
But negative is not successful; the negativity/adversity is to be defeated.
^that was from Jim Rohn.

~~~

Here's something I learned while studying History:

Hip hop is something that emerged out of a struggle, 
and out of problems that existed within the country.

After the Civil Rights fervor of the 1960s, problems were still unresolved.
New laws were passed, key leaders were killed**, some progress was made,
but OLD PROBLEMS CONTINUED, and NEW PROBLEMS EMERGED.

In the 70s, America hit stagflation. 
It wasn't super bad, but it was like "the Recession."
Stagnated economy, inflated prices.
And the urban areas were looking like this:


"Broken glass, everywhere, 
people pissing in the stairs, 
You know they just don't care.
Can't take the smell, can't take the noise.
Got no money to move out, guess I got no choice."

^that about says it all. Melle Mel!






While one part of the country was better equipped to handle the downturn,
another part of the country was neglected and abandoned. 
In the South Bronx, the Cross-Bronx Expressway was knocking down residential buildings, 
Lowering property values, and kicking people out of their housing.
Born out of these conditions, was hip hop.

^that's my paraphrase from Jeff Chang! Can't Stop, Won't Stop!

~~~~~

But, here's from a book review that says it better than me:
“The birth of hip-hop out of the ruin of the South Bronx is a story that has been told many times, but never with the cinematic scope and the analytic force that Chang brings to it. Robert Moses unleashes the destructive juggernaut of the Cross-Bronx Expressway; landlords set fire to worthless tenements; police stand by and do nothing; and, against a backdrop of gang warfare, peacemaking d.j.s lay down the heavy beats and spidery loops around which a rapping, dancing, graffiti-painting culture grows."
-The New Yorker ::cited::

From these problems, hip hop came as a solution.

An entire economy was created.
Social and popular norms were transformed.
People born in poverty found a way out.
Many others, still in poverty, still in struggle,
Have found hope, joy, inspiration, and an outlet.
In fact, I could just about call it a miracle.
And it's getting bigger and better every day.

Long Live Hip Hop.

It all started with the DJ playing good music
And kids who wanted to have fun in a not-so-fun hood

This is what they did/started:

Setting up the DJ booth and mic, in the park.
Bronx: 1973

Every miracle starts with a problem.
Without a problem, you can't have a miracle.


*Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Hip Hop all have their own concepts of struggling
**MLK, Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy, and don't forget BUNCHY CARTER!!! Among MANY others...
***Long Live the King!!!

1/14/2013

Even Jesus Never Saw His Real Father

Been thinking about Christmas. It's kinda funny...

On your birthday, you get presents, right?
On Jesus' birthday, everyone gets presents!

Haha, but check this out:

"Even Jesus never saw his real Father /
It don't bother me at all though.
Said it don't bother me at all.
Got me thinking bout my Mom though."

That's a little snippet from a good song by J. Cole, called "2 face," talking about how there's always at least 2 sides to everything.

If there's light on one side of the Earth, best believe the other side is shrouded in darkness.
Same with everything. Same with the Moon. It's Yin and Yang, mang.

UNLESS you're the Sun itself, then you just shine light and warmth out to everything in range.
My goal's to be like God's Sun, and just share my light with the people on Earth. That means my rhymes, my thoughts, my advice, my blogs, my videos, my dance lessons, etc. And I do it for anyone who feels like they're in the darkness, or are coming out of the darkness.

Alternately, if certain situation looks bad, you better believe there's a brighter side to it!
For example, I'm not the only one who knows what it's like to grow up without a father around. Granted my Dad was there for the first 12 years of my life, but he's been gone for the last 12, and it's not likely that he'll be coming back (though I put faith on that thought for a few years).

I really think my Father worked hard, toiled, and sacrificed his life so that I could live a better one. For that, I'm eternally grateful for him.

It wasn't an easy situation for me, and it's still not, but I learned from it! With relatively little male guidance from age 12 til now, I had to figure things out for myself, and that's been one of the biggest blessings of my life. It has given me the chance to decide where I want to go, instead of having someone else dictate it for me.

I remember one guy said "Don't do everything for your kids, and rob them the opportunity of doing something for themselves." Good quote!

Now obviously I'm not qualified to give parenting advice, but from the KID's perspective, learning to do shit for myself, and solving problems for myself, figuring out relationships for myself, was GOOD. Did I make mistakes? Yes! Was it hard? Yes! Did I get hurt a few times? Yes! ....but it was worth it!

Fuck being spoon-fed, you can feed yourself if you're not a baby anymore.


This looks like a westernized Jesus flashing gang signs!

So yeah, even Jesus never saw his real Father, but that didn't stop him from living a significant life and impacting a lot of people. Even after his death, his legacy carried on. From a non-Christian, areligious standpoint, I think Jesus is not a bad person to model your life after.

1/04/2013

Every moment of weakness is also a test of strength

The title of this post is something I realized yesterday, at a local Open Mic.
I got irked! I got bumped!
And almost did something regrettable (in the form of online retaliation).

But thankfully, I did not!
Instead, I'm turning it into a story/thoughtspit about the lesson I learned from my moment of weakness.

And since some people seem to think that I'm happy all the time, or I got it made or something, this is just a reminder that I sometimes feel down about myself too. But it's a good thing I avoided retaliating against a group of honest, hardworking volunteer organizers. I was foolish to even consider the thought.

But hey, this is what a look like when I talk:


Just let that play.
Part 2 can be watched here.

So at the moment, I'm currently dealing with a few inconveniences, primarily my thumb being injured, leaving me still unable to get down and break, and unable to give a proper right-handed high-5.

Since a lot of people know me as "the dancing guy," you can imagine the difficulty I now have, not being able to dance. It's just another test. For me, it means I have to start doing more of what I'm less comfortable doing. Things like blogging, rapping, studying high-level math, and making the video above.

Because SOME people were put-off by my picture of Sharon Tay in the previous post,
I figure this awkwardly proportioned, water-balloon-looking man
would even things out (while staying in line with the "test of strength" theme)

Blogging's not easy, neither is rapping, neither is performing in front of audiences, and I can't say I'm the best, but I can definitely say I'm getting better. Compare my raps now to the ones a year ago. Deliberate practice yields improvement!

Anyhow,
Peace INSIDE, to all the spiritual warriors,
Who see life beyond its physical borders.

1/01/2013

I'm just an Asian, rhyme-spraying from the Southeast...

I find that there's still a very poor representation of Asians in the media.
They're usually either nerds or fobs. Unless it's an Asian female newscaster.
Sharon Tay, Susie Suh, Veronica de la Cruz, Tricia Takanawa... holla!

Sharon Tay... KCAL 9.

And in the rap world, we got Tai Mai Shu... Got Rice Bitch... You Want Beef... that cKY rap guy who's not even Asian... and Jin. Not too much going on lately. There are lot in the underground, but they don't seem to get much support.

Probably the top I've seen are Geo (Blue Scholars), Bambu, Kero One, and Denizen Kane (Typical Cats). Lyrics Born and Mike Shinoda are half-Asian.
Timothy de la Ghetto's youtube channel is cool too.

So if I'm gonna put myself out there and be rapping and rhyming, I might as well do the best I can to bring quality lyrics that enhance the lives of my listeners... meanwhile representing myself, where I'm from, and what I stand for.

So here's a fun one, one of my recent favorites!
on that DOOM beat!



I'm just an Asian, rhyme-spraying from the Southeast...
Lyrically I'm loaded, shootin' rhymes from out my mouthpiece.
Challenge me, or don't doubt me. Soy sauce, Laughing Cow cheese.
Sensitive kids get pissed, they screaming ouchies.

Tom T. I'm proudly from the O.C. living loudly.
You can out-complain, but you can't out-style me.
Fountain V, Orange County, sometimes known to get rowdy.
Grab the paper towels, I guarantee ya it going Downey/Bounty?

That's only 8 bars, got another 8 coming,
And I'm almost outta weed, got another 8th coming.
When Tom T's unleashed, there's nobody safe from him.
This for those who be sleep, those who need awakening.

- I'm "way cunning" - Stay punning.
Now I Take Care my shit, used to be straight bumming!
Guys like Einstein wouldn't settle for the Sideline.
Used to be blind, now Life is Good with the divine shine.

Fly rhymes for ya mind one time.
Original design. It's what you need to know!

~~~

Referenced 3 recently released albums there... did you catch it?
My word tricks are like Pokemon... you gotta catch em all AHAHAshit.

Expect new ideas with the Changing of the Age...



Normally, I contextualize other people's work, but I figure I'd start the year by sharing my latest Original Composition.

It's 16 bars * 3, so 48 lines total. But even just 1 line is pretty loaded. 
On that Nas beat!

Stream it here!


If people don't realize that it's high quality work yet...
Maybe they'll just have to wait til I die, like Vincent Van Gogh.
Or a large number of other authors/artists...

Either way, I think it's really good! Just speaking my truth.
I've been writing poems for 8 years, and stopped being wack after about 3-4. I don't plan to stop.
I don't know anyone else in the area writing this much, but I would like to meet them.

Here it is, pasted straight from my notes:


Verse 1:
Being a bboy, I think it's funny how they dance at raves.
Paying for their ticket with the money from financial aid.
Rolling on their pills to enjoy the way they feel.
But that sense of security is like a toy, it's never real.

Either in the bleachers, or near the speakers, bang their head hard.
Mellowed out like thugs entranced with nugs they got through med card.
Not calling no one out, but I'm speaking in general.
The signs are pretty obvious but the message is subliminal.

They trynna dumb us down, and turn us into criminals.
Stories on the news to keep us angry, scared, and cynical.
I serve through my words, where my mission can be found.
Trynna stay the path with addiction all around.

Can't stand the pain? Stop choking on your Vicodin.
Breathe in the trees if you need it to get hype again.
We all have fears but persevere here in spite of 'em.
Move beyond the darkness and radiate the light within.

That's enlightening.


Verse 2:
It's the first full moon of the newest baktun.
Is it all gonna end? I guess we'll find out soon.
If you can't catch the wave, at least vibe with the tune.
Be aware of the moment, conscious what your mind is doing.

Expect new ideas with the Changing of the Age.
God gives life in a Manger not a Cage.
The more they try to program, the stranger we behave.
Nowadays, many rave, or stay in chains, still a slave.

Economic bondage, wrecked by the dishonest.
If IMF control the price, you can expect another shortage.
Sick of all the garbage, brains get polluted,
Then the rains get polluted, we get sick from all the garbage.

When tyranny rains, You know the people poor.
In the media every Time; Watch as Egos Soar.
What to do, it's like a zoo, slim chances of achieving more.
Atrophying captivity leaves American Eagle's sore.


Verse 3:



Age of the Pisces, replaced by Aquarious.
Nothing can compare to what the feeling of awareness is.
I really stopped stressing bout religious opression.
The way you live your life is now your biggest expression.

Time for manifesting. Time to stop the guessing.
It's time to listen up, and it's time to take a lesson.
It's time to get together, and it's time for some progression.
Media lie all the time, so it's time to ask some questions.

Yeah, it's kinda weird depicting Jesus as white,
Cuz in truth his Middle Eastern, Israelite.
But God "Is Real Light" and exists in all things.
And his name, abused in vain, has led to fallen kings.

So What are you pursuing? Your dreams or your runes / ruins.
Life is like a classroom and you'll always be a student.
Know when to look within, and to power down your cell phone.
Take control of your life, knowing that your life is self-owned.

~~~

My blog is the only source to get my original lyrics.