Thursday, July 16, 2009

I Got Drunk and Didn't Know About It.

I finally finished reading the book "Drunkard's Walk - How Randomness Rules Our Lives" by Leonard Mlodinow. I couldn't help but smile upon reaching the last chapter, Drunkard's Walk, really the summary chapter wherein Mlodinow simplified everything; he drew parallels to everyday lives the theories he discussed.

I was smiling because there was this line" " What I've learned, above all, is to keep marching forward because the best news is that since chance does play a role, one important factor in success is under our control: the numbers of at bats, the numbers of chances taken, the number of opportunities seized."

I started this blog on May13, 2008 and my very first post was titled "Batting Average." I was talking about my batting average, the scorecard of success in my career. And I talked about the chances and risks I took with each change in career, with the move from my country of origin to the US and to Canada; the opportunities I seized.

And then when I was thinking of a title, I intuitively called it Lucky Canary, for it was the name of my very first pet - a canary. And the reason I called this bird Lucky was because it was given by a friend, who accidentally found it in her balcony. I felt that he would bring me luck - not in the financial sense, but luck as in giving me joy.

And he did, because in Lucky, I found joy with his fine singing; then, he brought me other canaries, and from then on, I acquired the love for other birds - for budgies and now for a dog - so, essentially the canary taught me how to breed and care for fragile creatures.

I also recall a former colleague who featured me in her column in a Philippine community paper, and wrote "I was lucky." I don't know about that. But I say being lucky is to not let life's "accidents" get in your way. Because somehow, I've been able to survive.

So, from that very first post "Batting Average," I got encouraged to write more and found other blogs to read - randomly. And then a happenstance - a blog stayed on with me.

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