8 Day Soundtrack

I meant to post this yesterday.

Sunday - “Feeling Good” – Michael Buble

Monday- “Hustler’s Ambition” – 50 Cent

Tuesday- “Always Fine Tuning” – Lyrics Born & Dan The Automator

Wednesday- “Heart of a Lion” – Kid Cudi

Thursday- “Come On Girl” – Taio Cruz

Friday- “What About Your Friends” – TLC

Saturday-  “Runnin’”- The Pharcyde

Sunday- “You’ve Got The Love” The Source Ft. Candi Staton and “Coffee and TV” – Blur

//A.J.

BIG NEWS: Nod From Brazen Careerist

I received awesome news yesterday!  Ryan Paugh, Director of Community at Brazen Careerist, informed me that one of my posts had been selected for Brazen Careerist’s Best Posts of 2009!

My post is one of 50 divided among eight categories (mine is in the “Career Management” group).

This was a big surprise. While I’ve steadily built up hits to my blog; beyond my friends whom mention a post to me, or people who comment (which are ALWAYS welcome), I generally don’t know how it is received.  It felt good to see my name up there with other bloggers I enjoy reading.  Now the fun part!

HELP ME

Now I need YOUR help.  Brazeen is running a Twitter contest to decide the TOP blog post of 2009.  To vote for me, all you need to do is copy, paste, and tweet the following:

I’m voting for @AJ_Bingham‘s post in the #Brazen Careerist #BestOf 2009 Contest: http://bit.ly/M7lKR

What’s in it for YOU

Your vote will put your name in a raffle to win 1 of 3  $20 Starbucks gift cards.  You can receive a 6th bonus ballot by tweeting about the Best of 2009 Contest.

Deadline

The contest ends Dec. 23, so PLEASE take two seconds to copy, paste, and tweet the above.

Thank you!

//A.J.

Goodbye Imeem, Hello (Again) MySpace.

Photo credit

Imeem was my preferred source for online music.  I like Pandora, but I enjoy being able to create play lists, and being able to move through songs at will.  Thumbs up or down doesn’t cut it for Mr. Bingham.  I also prefer Facebook to Myspace, for the reasons listed here (and in the comment section).

Imagine my surprise when I attempted to go to imeem.com, and was directed to this page…

See, I use MySpace sparingly.  Mainly I’ll log on to copy links of new posts to my status, and also to message my oldest Austin friend (since third grade) Zach the Artist.  I rarely venture deeper into the site.

“F***!”  Actually, “What the F***,” immediately came to mind when I saw this screen.  Did I mis-type?  Nope.  As of today Imeem is a part of MySpace (News Corp., specifically Fox here in the states).

All I wanted to do was listen to some Motown, maybe some Michael Buble.  In any event I guess I’ll be going to MySpace more frequently.  I’m listening to Metric right now.  They’re calming the sense of loss in my heart.

Adios Imeem!

//A.J.

Clocks Overhead.

Photo Credit

“While knowing that we will die someday, we think that all the others will die before us and that we will be the last to go.  Death seems a long way off.  Is this not shallow thinking?  It is worthless and is only a joke within a dream. . . . Insofar as death is always at one’s door, one should make sufficient effort and act quickly.”

–Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659-1720)

Imagine waking up one morning and looking into the mirror.  You see a shocking sight, a clock running over your head; counting down to your last breath (you would inherently know what the clock was counting down to).

How would you conduct yourself?  By that I mean, would put off plans become actions?  Would your attention be pulled away from petty issues and sharply focused on goals?  I imagine the answer to both would be, yes.

Check out this video (cut to 2:5o).  While it is Nickelback (I apologize to those who are averse to their music), the premise of the video provides the best visual for this post.  As the above quote states, death is not something we normally contemplate.  The point of the quote though is embracing life with an urgency most of us don’t have in our daily lives.  The type of urgency we usually reserve for looming finals or deadlines.

I try to conduct each day with a measure urgency, not because I feel death is near, but to override that sense of complacency that there will be a tomorrow.  It’s tough!  So from time-to-time I visualize a clock over my head, counting down to my end.

It helps beat the point into my subconscious.  Then I get on with the day and hustle double-time!

//A.J.

Top 8 Reasons I Am Thankful (EVERYDAY).

I’ve finally woken up from my Itis induced post-Thanksgiving nap.  I’m still a little groggy but couldn’t pass up the obligatory Happy Thanksgiving post (my friend Linda ,of Curious Notions, has three).

So, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Here are my top eight reasons to be thankful:

1. My health. There’s a line in Baz Luhrmann’s Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen, “Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.”  I may not understand it, but I am thankful each day for it.  I decided (last night) I would run 12 miles this morning.  I got up and knocked it out in 1 hour and 49 minutes.  I know at some point my body will not align with my will, whether through age or accident, so each day that I have my health and full capacity is a blessing.
2. My family. In times of inner-doubt I can think of no greater refuge.  Whether through outward expressions of their love and confidence in me (for as long as I can remember), to indirectly letting me know they have my back, I am fortunate to have them.
3. Friends and Friends that inspire/motivate me. Second to my family, I am thankful for having a great circle of friends across the states and abroad.  You are the company you keep.  Through their words and actions they make me strive to reach my full potential.  Also they hook you up with Google Wave (thanks David!).
4. Life Time Fitness. I am an active gym goer.  I wouldn’t call myself a gym rat, but behind my study I probably spend a fair amount of time there.  Life Time’s staff is friendly and I’ve enjoyed all the gym has to offer (note: this is an uncompensated review).
5. Living in Austin. Need I say more?  I love my city, more so having spent undergrad and law school out-of-state.  A lot changed in those eight years, and I enjoyed seeing the growth in spurts when I came home for holidays and the summer.  In this past year-and-a-half since I’ve re-settled home I am discovering Austin, making new friends, and reconnecting with old ones.
6. The people who read my blog (and leave comments). THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  A friend said, “When you have blogs you start seeing your life through a ‘can this be blog post fodder’ lenses.”  Put another way it makes you examine your daily life purposely.  I definitely have been doing that, and I am m extremely thankful for all who take time to read what I post.  Especially those that leave comments.
7. DVR. This bit of tech has freed me from the tyranny of commercials and network/cable programing schedules.
8. Endless curiosity. I can’t study at Barnes and Nobles because on bathroom breaks I always end up distracting myself picking up a random book on business, poetry, philosophy, etc.  However, when time is available, I enjoy exploring the random thoughts or interests that pop up in my mind.  Intellectual wandering may be the apt description.

Again, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

//A.J.