Lessons to Make a Better Life as Days go by

I sat in front of my computer after work and started to devour the noodles my mom left me in the microwave. I shoveled the lukewarm meal into my mouth with a fork. Noodles hung down like a waterfall. A flashback:

I’m in a nice neighborhood, the suburbs, in the middle of the afternoon. It’s bright. I turn around to walk back to the corner house that I had just left from. I knock on the large wooden front door; it opens. There stands Ryan, tall, with a piece of jerky hanging from his mouth and a confused look on his face. “I just wanted to give you a hug.” He responds, “I was just thinking that.” I wrap my arms around his torso and rest my head on his shoulder. Perfect fit. I take one last sniff of his cologne and walk to my car without looking back. Sadden.

I was pretty mean to Ryan and I always reasoned that he deserved everything I did to him. It takes a while to learn not to punish people you care about... but rather focus on what makes them wonderful.
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My cousin is about 1 or 2 years older than me, but he has a developmental problem. When we were growing up, it was always a race of who is going to be taller. But as I grew 1, 2, 3 inches taller, he was left behind in other ways. His mind is like a child’s and his parents really don’t do much to help him to what I can see. He called me incessantly last week, talking about some internship he just got and he needed my help. I told him I would and tonight after work, I’m going to stop by his office so that he can talk to me about finance stuff as a part of his training. He called me up yesterday and left a voice message:

Hi Christopher, it’s me, well um, I just wanted to call you and, you know, say I know my mom and dad don’t support me much in what I do in life. I just wanted to say I appreciate the love and support you give me, you know. It’s really cool that you actually want to support me in my business, you know. I just want to make my life better as days go on. And yeah, I just want to call and thank you again. Ill see you at 645.

I got kind of sad. I really feel for him, I don’t know. Everyone is so busy with themselves that it’s so hard just to say yes when someone is reaching out. I still haven’t visited my grandpa who always asks me if I have a job yet. And now I have a better answer for him. I should have dinner with him tomorrow.

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Yesterday, I called Michelle Nguyen. We really click, but I feel like she can click with anyone. We talked without pause as if we were best friends. She tells stories the way I hope I tell stories. She captivates with energy and passion and always achieves the appropriate reaction. We talked about how NOT funny work was and ended up laughing anyway. She told me some stories and said, “I’m not lonely, I just feel like I need more excitement so that I have something to say when people as me what I’m up to.” So wise.

People who really click need to stay close, even if it’s just through the phone once in a while. If you talk to her, ask her about that one time when she refused a beer.