A Little Piece of Me: Blue Tie

I am staring at a black tuxedo suit with a white shirt and black tie laid out askew on my bed.  I can feel Alma staring at me from the bathroom door.  "I don't feel like wearing a black tie today," I  wistfully said under my breath.  I felt her hands brush over my shoulder and then gripped me as she swung around in front of me. "You don't have to honey.  I'll pick something out for you," she whispered.  I took a deep breath and fell into her embrace.  It is a quarter to eleven and Frank's dads funeral is at twelve noon.

Every year the months of November and December are tough for me since my father died 17 years ago.  A close friend of mine a few days ago flew to the Philippines to attend his Fathers funeral. And during Thanksgiving I find out that my cousin's husband, Frank, father past away two days prior.  It has been a rough start to the holiday season to say the least.  My Fathers birthday is on December 19 and I usually celebrate it with couple of two buck chucks after having dinner with my mother and brother.  I prefer spending it alone so I don't have to kill anyone's evening with my pitiful sulking.  I have not been with Alma long, 5 months, so she does not know about my annual alcoholic binge yet.  I feel bad for her.   I usually break up with whoever I'm with a few days after my dad's birthday. I don't know if it will happen this year.  I really like Alma.

I lay back on my pillow topped ottoman trying to pull myself together. After all, this day is not about me.  I took a couple of deep slow breaths to calm my mind and to relieve the knot that was forming in my stomach.  I slowly drifted into a light sleep, still conscious, aware that Alma was going through my closet.  I felt a warm presence around me.  There was something familiar about this presence.  I was honing in on what it was, trying so hard to hold on to it before it slipped away.  It slowly came to me, it felt like I was looking at a blue bow tie.  And then it hit me, it was my father's favorite blue bow tie that he wore to every special occasion.  I was with my father.  I felt like I as being transported to my yesteryears with him, all the good and the trying times... bottled up in my chest.  Then I felt his voice, every molecule in my body relieved.  It was like a gentle wind brushing my soul.  Then my father's blue tie started to fade.  I knew his time with me was coming to an end.  I waited 17 years to feel reassured that he was still with me.  Faith wasn't enough for me I suppose.  I screamed in my head to him,"I love you!  I miss you so much!..."  Then he faded.

I felt Alma's fingers wipe the tears from my face.  I slowly sat up.  Alma sat on my lap, rubbing and gently patting my back as a mother would to calm a crying baby.  "I picked out something for you," Alma whispered, " I think it's perfect."  Alma turned toward the bed.  It was my father's blue bow tie sitting on my pillow. 

      

Maxwell Gatzby

Castro Valley High School Soccer Team Zumbathon Fundraiser 11/12/2011

www.zumbawithsharon.com

It was a fair and clear evening.  I arrived early to layout my course of action to document the Zumbathon Fundraiser for a dear friend of ours, Sharon Steele, the Zumba Instructor extraordinaire.  Needless to say our education and sports programs in California are under funded or have zero funding by the State so schools nowadays have to think out of the box to raise money for their programs.  In this case the Castro Valley High School Soccer Team did their second Zumbathon Fundraiser this past Saturday, 11/12/2011, on their beautiful soccer/football field.

Sharon Steele always lends her time and resources to support Bay Area Communities to do fundraisers like this.  Sharon invited 8 outstanding Zumba instructors to help her through this 2 hour Zumbathon.  The field was filled with great energy, beautiful smiles and a mist of hard earned Zumba sweat.  What a night!

I arrived early and I was greeted by Coach Dave.  I saw the stage and I made my way to it.   I placed my tripod in the middle of the second tier of the bleachers to mark my wide shot behind the stage.  The football/soccer field look so beautiful I had to take some pictures of it.  I managed to take some great pictures of kids playing soccer on the field.  They were nice enough to pose in a few specific soccer positions for me.

Slowly but surely more and more people walked onto the field.   

And the party got started!

Go to Maganda Productionz's Youtube Channel to watch 6 videos of this event.

Enjoy!

By Maxwell Gatzby

"Together" A Father and Son Story

Get Up 2 Speed

The number two has a deep meaning at U2SP.  It symbolizes a connection or a relationship between people, place or thing.  Sports can be shared and enjoyed by a party of two or many.  Sports brings people together.  "Together" is a short about a father and son that shares the love of Lacrosse.  The Father has to travel a lot for his job but manages time to spend with his son.  You can tell how much the son appreciates the time with his father.  We live busy lives but at what expense?  The relationships with people that we love and care for need to be nurtured.  It is from these relationships that connect us to what essentially breathes life into our lives... Love.  Enjoy!

Relax and have a warm cup of reality...

In the context of where we are today economically, health, and the pursuit of happiness we are force to change the projection and direction of our life.  We came out of what I like to call the "Bling" era.  We consumed without thinking of the consequences of our choices leaving many of us living beyond our means and in some cases losing everything: houses, cars, investments, etc..  With high unemployment, the real estate collapse and the global economic recession, we need to make an honest reassessment of our lives and make drastic changes to get through these tough times.
So what do we do?

• Keep life simple
• Build a solid foundation
• Have an above excellent work ethic
• Bargain shop
• Work with your community
• SAVE YOUR MONEY
• Strive for excellence

Keep life simple: We often associate simplification to being bland, boring and blah.  What people fail to understand is simplifying your education, finances, career, home and social life is essential to living a balance and fulfilling life.  Choose your priorities wisely.  As you grow older your interest and priorities change and that is a good thing.  Just keep it simple.   

Build a solid foundation:  We live in an immediate gratification society.  We look for short cuts and quick fixes to get what we want.  Success in anything takes time.  It is said that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours to be exceptional at something.  Patience and diligence is the key to having long success.

Have an above excellent work ethic:  People's definition of work ethic is looking busy.  Let me set it straight, work ethic is being consistent, persistent, and committed day in and day out to what you are trying to achieve in the short and long term.  Whether you are a business owner, an employee or a student, having an above excellent work ethic will insure a steady career of achievements.  

Bargain shop:  Bargain shopping is not the same thing as being CHEAP.  I remember going shopping with my mother at the busy Oakland Chinatown on Saturdays and visiting at least 6 grocery stores for bargain prices.  It was a long day but our fridge and cabinets were always full and my mother instilled in me at an early age how important it was to get the most out of every dollar.  These days there are so many deals out there from grocery, clothes, textiles, automobiles, travel, etc. you would be foolish not to do a little work to insure that you get the most out of your hard earned money.  PS, don't be ashamed to cut coupons.  They can save you 30% to 80% on your purchases.  Be smart!

Work with your community:  There is no better time than now to surround yourself with good people to support you.  Work with your community or "Network" well to insure that your needs and goals are met.  There are so many networking sites out there.  Surround yourself with supportive people.  They say the best jobs are referred jobs or the best business is referred business.  Support others, treat people well and fair.  It goes a long way.

Save your money:  Saving money is such an underused and undervalued factor of life these days.  I remember as a kid I would save every coin and dollar in a big coffee can to save up for something that meant a lot to me.  And by the time I got to my goal I would realize that I have saved up so much money that I would just keep on saving and it was really gratifying to watch my my money grow out of my coffee can into a shoe box and eventually into a savings account.  Sometimes we are so blind that we don't consider the consequences of our purchase.  Some purchases require financial maintenance or your purchase will take you so far in the RED that you will end up losing it sooner or later.  It is smart to live within your means and save your money.  We'll save the "investing" topic for another post.

Strive for excellence:  This is simple... be the best that you can be at what ever you are doing.  Take advantage of the resources that we have and not SPOIL them.  I can't stand the notion of not living to "your potential".  We came from a far away island where opportunities are few and people travel hundreds and thousands of miles away from home to have an inkling of an opportunity for a better education and employment to support their family.  They work their butts off and often climb the business ladder quickly. Strive for excellence, be the best you can be, make the most of every opportunity and you will not only reap the benefits personally but you may change your community and the world.  

Maxwell Gatzby