Be open to all the possibilities.

I got a water bottle with the quote
"pain is weakness leaving the body."
It was from the U.S. Marines.

I am very ready for winter to come.
I love the cold weather.

One of my goals for the next few years is to read fifty books that I think “WOW!” “Amazing words and thoughts.” Do you have any books that gave you a "wow" experience...if so, let me know!?

Wrigley's Extra Gum Commercial: Airport Security

Every time I turn on the TV this commercial is on. At first I didn’t make too much of it but now I think the guy is kind of hot. Anyone else agree?

I went out to a Thai restaurant and the food was SO GREAT! I had the chicken peanut coconut dish…and I told the waiter “really spicy.” I didn’t think it would be at all spicy maybe American spicy.. but they listened and it was super spicy. Loved it!

The music that was playing in the restaurant sounded so familiar. So I closely listened to it and realized it was Korean music from the drama Kim Sam Soon.

This morning when I was walking back to my apartment someone was playing the soundtrack from the movie “A Walk to Remember.” This used to be my favorite movie until I memorized all the lines. So pathetic.

Good times!

I am having WAY too much fun and my classes are awesome!!

New Discoveries. On the Bookshelf:


I was given a ton of books this summer by my manager:

StrengthsFinder 2.0 was one of my favorites.

The author, Tom Rath, writes "Society’s relentless focus on people’s shortcoming had turned into a global obsession. What’s more, we had discovered that people have several times more potential for growth when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead of correcting their deficiencies.” With a purchase of a book you will get a pass code to take a 30 minute online StrengthsFinder assessment. Answering questions for 30 minutes is not a lot of fun but reading the results is!

Here are my areas where I have the greatest potential to develop strengths:

ADAPTABILITY
People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

It’s very likely that you traditionally prefer to work independently. When you have only your work, studies, resources, and time to manage, you are able to contend with the day's events as they unfold. You usually like to make decisions and act on them without being required to seek and receive the approval of one or more people. By nature, you can be flexible about how a game is played. Having a good experience is much more important to you than winning. Many people marvel at your ability to calmly move on to something else after you have met with defeat. Chances are good that you occasionally can let today take care of itself. Why? Maybe you understand that tomorrow will bring its own demands, worries, concerns, and opportunities. Because of your strengths, you traditionally decide all is well in your life when you allow each day to unfold on its own terms. You are apt to feel restricted or boxed in by people who force you to adhere to their plans, processes, rules, or procedures. You often argue that human beings must be flexible as they plan for the future. Why? Life is filled with constant surprises and change. You are determined to avoid creating undue stress for yourself and others by acknowledging this simple fact.

CONNECTEDNESS
People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

Chances are good that you know you are a strand in the intricate web of life. You search for ways to link with individuals who also ponder concepts, theories, or philosophies. In their company, you are apt to discover or rediscover your special place and purpose in life. Instinctively, you continually seek wisdom from people with whom you have intelligent conversations. You not only listen but also share your thoughts. In the process, you are likely to move beyond concrete facts. Your curiosity draws you to speculate -- that is, reflect or wonder -- about theories, ideas, or concepts. To keep your mind fresh, you frequently quiz individuals who are equally fascinated with the intangible and abstract aspects of life. Because of your strengths, you have no doubts about being linked in some way with everything in the universe. This includes all creation and all humankind. Driven by your talents, you spontaneously open your mind to people's diverse philosophies of life. You habitually search for ideas that link one person's fundamental truths with another person's core values. You probably realize human beings are tied to one another regardless of their age, language, education, socio-economic status, nationality, race, religion, or culture.

INDIVIDUALIZATION
People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.

Instinctively, you occasionally spend time alone thinking about which individuals work well together. Perhaps your thoughtful examination of each human being allows you to mix and match the strengths of several individuals. Sometimes the strengths of one person compensate for the limitations of another person, and vice versa. You might conclude that a group's true strength lies in the diversity of its members' knowledge, skills, motivations, work styles, or thinking styles. Driven by your talents, you might search for the factors that produced a certain outcome or started a particular chain of events. Sometimes you are frustrated until you figure out why things happened the way they did. Chances are good that you sometimes rely on reason to determine how an event, decision, or condition led to a specific event. Perhaps you desire to understand how things converge to produce the final result. It’s very likely that you have quick and ready insights into how each human being is unique and distinct from everyone else. Diversity intrigues you. You are apt to be open to individuals who possess talents, skills, and knowledge that vastly differ from your own.

RELATOR
People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

Because of your strengths, you are quite content with your results as long as you can honestly say you are producing as much as you can. You maintain an optimistic outlook on life regardless of the value some people place on your results. Chances are good that you are regarded as a hard worker and a doer. You derive a lot of satisfaction from tackling projects without anyone interfering with your
plans or second-guessing how you do things. Driven by your talents, you feel upbeat and cheerful when you keep busy. Without question, you derive much satisfaction from producing tangible outcomes. It’s very likely that you consistently measure up to your high expectations when working, studying, or playing.


LEARNER
People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Driven by your talents, you probably are a solo performer. You are determined to broaden your knowledge and acquire new skills. You are repeatedly drawn into the process of education. Instinctively, you are attracted to difficult and challenging endeavors. You are not inclined to look for the easy way out. You are bold. You take risks. You dare to stretch your mind. You test the limits of your abilities in ways that timid individuals would not attempt. Chances are good that you enjoy pondering what you can revise, correct, renovate, upgrade, or relocate. When you are curious about a person, event, topic, project, activity, or idea, you devote much energy and time to studying it. By nature, you yearn to be inspired by your work. You want experience to be your teacher. You need to feel enthused by your work or studies. You constantly acquire knowledge and skills. Whenever you study facts, ponder concepts, test theories, or sharpen your skills, you feel most alive.

Another Book:
I read a ton on my travel to and from work. The book that made me miss my stop on the train : Middlesex.

The August issue of O- The Oprah Magazine had a very interesting article. It was titled “Inside the Writer’s Mind.” The asked Jeffrey Eugenides, author of Middlesex,

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

The response:
The best thing is also the worst thing. It’s that, no matter how long you’ve been at it, you always start from scratch. Henry James said, “We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.” Unless you ‘re the kind of writer who works with a template, where the narrative strategies remain more or less constant and the job consists of filling in the boxes with new material, then what you have to do, with each new book, is discover all these things anew. Your material determines your narrative strategy and your tone of voiced rather than the other way around. You change from book to book. You begin always knowing nothing. You remain forever an amateur, a first-timer. Sure, you might cobble together something akin to a methodology after a while, a working method, a sense of packing yourself through the seasons. But that’s about it in terms of the pleasures and wisdom of the veteran. What makes this worst thing also the best thing has to do with the agelessness of aspiration. When you’re always starting out, always trying to learn to do what you don’t know how to do, you remain close to the place (college dorm room, Prague Café) where you first set pen to paper. You remain in touch with that crazy, dreamy kid who spent so much time in the library. You persist in being impractical, idealistic, naïve, and brave. Your body ages, but your imagination remains young, and on your deathbed, if you’re lucky, you might be prideful enough to say to yourself, “I am finally getting the hang of this.”

My Best Friend (Mon Meilleur Ami)

Two thumbs WAY up for this awesome French film!


François is a middle-aged antique dealer. He has a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, but at a dinner with a group he considers his dearest acquaintances, he is blindsided by the revelation that none of them actually likes him. He's arrogant, self-centered and harsh, and they don't believe he knows the meaning of friendship. His business partner Catherine makes him a bet: if he can produce his best friend, she will let him keep the massive Greek vase he acquired that afternoon on the company tab. If not, it's hers.

Having accepted the wager, François naively tears through his address book, trying to shoehorn an increasingly unlikely series of contacts into the all-important role. Moving through Paris, he keeps encountering a trivia-spouting, big-hearted cabbie named Bruno. Bruno's chatty, lowbrow ways grate against François's designer temperament, but he covets the other man's easy way with people. He convinces Bruno to teach him how to make friends and sets about learning the “three S's” – being sociable, smiling and sincere – though they don’t come easy. Ultimately, François victory will depend on Bruno's naiveté in playing along, but what's the cost of cheating at friendship?

My Best Friend

I love my work! It’s been a blast to meet so many people and learn so much. Since I am trying so many new things out, I definitely know what I am good at and what I am passionate about. The surprising thing is, I been thinking about my childhood lately and see how much it has impacted the person I am today. I feel like a little child-just smiling all the time, open about life, and waiting to take things one day at a time. With all this excitement however, I need to slow down and just look around to see how beautiful everything is.

There are still so many questions. I love it!

transmute, transform; vary, mutate; amend, modify. Change, alter both mean to make a difference in the state or condition of a thing or to substitute another state or condition. To change is to make a material difference so that the thing is distinctly different from what it was: to change one's opinion. To alter is to make some partial change, as in appearance, but usually to preserve the identity: to alter a dress (to change a dress would mean to put on a different one). 3. replace, trade. 4. trade. 7. convert. 10. vary, mutate, amend. 18. transmutation, mutation, conversion, vicissitude.

Annoyed: I am usually not like this…

Does your MP3 have to be so loud that I could actually hear your music on the train?

I am so tired of people coming by me and asking me for change to get on the train. Do I look like I am offering free money? If you don’t have the money…then WALK! I don’t care if you are a penny short...everyone got so many excuses!

I am so mean...but today I am just not having any of it.

I haven't been bored in a long time...there is something always on my mind.
Just passing days with a routine schedule
But there is something beautiful in that – predictability-whatever that means.
Maybe I should post something small everyday.
Watching the fireworks yesterday was GREAT!
I feel like I haven’t been creative in a long time…and that gets me down.
I read an awesome book “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides
Its already July…time is flying by!
Everything happens for a reason...that I know for sure.

*Pictures above taken by my sister

I was invited to attend lunch with some of the big executives in my company. I was thrilled to go because not everyone gets that chance. It was a beautiful event at one of the hotels in downtown.

At lunch.
I was so nervous to even pick up a fork. I was afraid that I might spill something, drop something, and spit something out. Anyways, my worst fears at this event did happen-my knife dropped to the floor just as I was eating the main course. I was so sad the rest of the event because I was not able to eat some delicious chicken. To make up for it, and at this time I was only 75% nervous, I wiped the dessert dish completely clean-who needed a knife for that.

I went to my apartment to hangout with my roomies for the weekend! It was fantastic. They have already moved in but I won’t officially move in until September. I drove over right after work, had a tour of the apartment and each of their rooms, and relaxed. One of my roommates had an empty wall that really needed a picture on it. So guess what! She decided to paint it herself. How wonderfully beautiful and amazing.

Aren’t these gorgeous! My supervisor gave them to me.

I took my parents to the Hindu temple. We drove, drove, and drove. It was frustrating but met some very helpful people! It was an awesome experience! The temple too but the journey was wonderful.

Gas station workers came out to the streets to point the way.
Few jumped into their cars to get a map.
One woman grabbed my pen to write a page full of directions.
A man who was deaf gave me a thumbs-up.
Another man said “Good luck sweetheart.”

Finally the lawn mower said “I saw the sign for the Hindu temple just last night.” And the temple was only a few blocks from his house. So, he gave me the best directions.

Temple was wonderful. Busy. Peaceful.

*Picture above from my sister's Duluth trip.

This morning I got together with my friend for her birthday. We had an early lunch since I had to be at work in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun! The environment was very cozy and quiet for the most part of our lunch. So we got in a lot of talking.

I think these days I am boy crazy or something because my friend and I thought our waiter was extremely cute! So, we were asking him questions just because and he was so sweet about it!

The reason I have been going to this particular restaurant twice in the past week is because of their bread! The baskets of bread they give before our meal is so wonderful. Yummy. I barely touch the main dish because I am stuffed from all the bread that I eat.
After lunch, we stopped by Barnes & Noble.

Oh yea, I must be really tried from work-the whole 5 A.M to 6 p.m. routine. Yesterday, I slept from 7:00 P.M. to 8 A.M. The last time I did that was the day we arrived from our vacation to Sri Lanka.

What do I like about my job?
Independence – I am on my own. Managing my time and going on the pace I want is great.
I get to create presentations for my managers and print them out.
I was so scared to print 75 copies of a 10 page PowerPoint presentation!
That’s a lot of pressure. I was concerned about any mistakes that the presentation might have.
I think the office prints a forest a day :-( haha.

I walk so fast into my building in the mornings.
I walk even faster to the train in the afternoons.

This morning, it occurred to me, what a gorgeous view my walk is?
How could I have wasted these past four days?
Not even looking at what was in front me, above me, beside?

I saw the big picture
But just when I am starting to look at the smaller details
Do I realize how much the big picture didn’t even matter?

I went to a speech given by the president of the company I work for. Let me tell you, he is a celebrity to those who work at the company. All the cameras miraculously appeared when he entered the auditorium. It was as if Brad Pitt made an appearance. People were hyped to hear him speak. Understandably he is the top of food chain in a multi-million dollar company but this is not all of it.

People admire him because he is a people person! Of the things I heard in my two short days at my job, people at the very top give speeches but rarely do they stick afterwards to meet anyone at all. They want the title and the money-that’s it. They hate to mingle and hear about concerns. This man however, wants to know about the people in the company-the very individuals that make the company what it is from the very bottom to the top.

So, I have to say proudly that I got to shake his hands. I told him my name and he asked me to spell it-so I did! Usually people will just have a confused look and simile. But he actually wanted me to spell my name. That was great!

I have so much to learn. Even introducing myself in a confident and clear manner is something I need to work on. When there is a mob of people trying to have a few words with a celebrity, which was the scene at this time, you need to standout of the group and get him to remember you.

First day of work was stressful and my feet hurt so much! I love the whole downtown scene-busy people, full of activities, cute little stores, and well-dressed people. I have so much to learn this summer. I hope I am spiritually and emotionally ready to take on all the big and small tasks and grow from them.

Train ride was nice. When I was coming back home I saw a guy who looked just like the guy who acts on the show “The Office.” Shocking.

When I come back from work my mom asked me “How was the plane ride?” It happened today and yesterday. Is a little funny!

On Mother’s day we all got together at my brother’s place. He bought a house a month ago and it is gorgeous. A very cozy and a clean house. A clean house. That is very important to my brother.

I wrote this on the day he first moved in:

My brother bought a house- a clean house! Everyone else saw the house before an offer was made but I didn’t. So it was all a surprise to me

It is such a beautiful house and in a wonderful, cozy neighborhood. We all gathered there one Saturday and boiled some milk-per Hindu religion. We drank the sweet milk and ate all the goodies my parents have been making the past few days. It was such a great celebration. A house-warming event pretty much took all day because after eating we all just sat there talking.

I know there are complaints about packing and moving…and if not done in a timely manner then it could be a lot of work.
But I secretly love the whole packing up things and moving… because, if looked at it the right way, usually moving means another adventure…another chapter…and new things waiting to happen. New environment, new people, new experiences!

hahahahahahaha!

New addition to summer list:

Watch all movies of Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio

Commencement Speeches:

Some outstanding speeches

I am SO excited to start my new job. Probably have to take the train…hmmm…public transportation…wonder how that will go? I hope I do extremely well and really develop my resume with this job.

A few of us were sitting around talking one late night. One of my friends mentioned how she doesn’t know if she’ll ever see her roommate again. The roommate will return to Japan in a few weeks. At that time, I said “yea, who knows.” But the more I think about it that is such a strong statement. If you really want to meet someone again in their own country you can always go visit them. The world is big but not impossible to meet someone again. I guess I am not the type of person who believes in the “never” of life. Nothing is impossible. You can be so sure of one thing, but in an instance, that sureness can be erased. If you really care about someone, maybe not now, but at one time you will have to make a time to meet them again.

Having a relationship with anyone is work. In fact maybe the most important work of one’s life.

Blood Diamond!



I really don’t have that much time to be watching movies…but everyone needs a little break. Between classes and library, a few of us get together to sit in our lounge and talk…occasionally watch a movie.. Well, on this particular day they had Blood Diamond on cable. What a fantastic movie! How fabulous was Leonardo DiCaprio,in this movie? Well, simply… Amazing! I absolutely loved the movie. Wow, cinematography at its best!

Hot. Hot!




Watched the movie Troy for the first time and it was… hot! I don’t know if it’s just my mood but Brad Pitt is HOT! Yes, I am a little late to declare this considering it has been established over and over that he is pretty good looking to most people… but OMG that body, that face, that body! Wow!

United States is a gorgeous place! Why because of the diversity of its people. Just today I have talked to way too many people from way too many countries. Wonderful!

Day started out fantastic. I woke up at 6:30 A.M. to go running with my friend on a beautiful trail. We live right behind a lake so it was just convenient to take that path. It was gorgeous. We walked behind huge houses that were on the lake and the entire trail was filled with beautiful greenery. The weather was perfect and occasionally there was a wonderful breeze that would wake me up a little. There is nothing like waking up early and enjoying nature. Must do this more often.

Commencement Speech to the Havard Class of 2000

by Conan O'Brien

I'd like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious. I'd like to announce up front that I have one goal this afternoon: to be half as funny as tomorrow's Commencement Speaker, Moral Philosopher and Economist, Amartya Sen. Must get more laughs than seminal wage/price theoretician.

Students of the Harvard Class of 2000, fifteen years ago I sat where you sit now and I thought exactly what you are now thinking: What's going to happen to me? Will I find my place in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin? I still have 24 hours and my roommate's Mom is hot. I swear she was checking me out. Being here today is very special for me. I miss this place. I especially miss Harvard Square - it's so unique. No where else in the world will you find a man with a turban wearing a Red Sox jacket and working in a lesbian bookstore. Hey, I'm just glad my dad's working.

It's particularly sweet for me to be here today because when I graduated, I wanted very badly to be a Class Day Speaker. Unfortunately, my speech was rejected. So, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to read a portion of that speech from fifteen years ago: "Fellow students, as we sit here today listening to that classic Ah-ha tune which will definitely stand the test of time, I would like to make several predictions about what the future will hold: "I believe that one day a simple Governor from a small Southern state will rise to the highest office in the land. He will lack political skill, but will lead on the sheer strength of his moral authority." "I believe that Justice will prevail and, one day, the Berlin Wall will crumble, uniting East and West Berlin forever under Communist rule." "I believe that one day, a high speed network of interconnected computers will spring up world-wide, so enriching people that they will lose their interest in idle chit chat and pornography." "And finally, I believe that one day I will have a television show on a major network, seen by millions of people a night, which I will use to re-enact crimes and help catch at-large criminals." And then there's some stuff about the death of Wall Street which I don't think we need to get into....

The point is that, although you see me as a celebrity, a member of the cultural elite, a kind of demigod, I was actually a student here once much like you. I came here in the fall of 1981 and lived in Holworthy. I was, without exaggeration, the ugliest picture in the Freshman Face book. When Harvard asked me for a picture the previous summer, I thought it was just for their records, so I literally jogged in the August heat to a passport photo office and sat for a morgue photo. To make matters worse, when the Face Book came out they put my picture next to Catherine Oxenberg, a stunning blonde actress who was accepted to the class of '85 but decided to defer admission so she could join the cast of "Dynasty." My photo would have looked bad on any page, but next to Catherine Oxenberg, I looked like a mackerel that had been in a car accident. You see, in those days I was six feet four inches tall and I weighed 150 pounds. Recently, I had some structural engineers run those numbers into a computer model and, according to the computer, I collapsed in 1987, killing hundreds in Taiwan.


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After freshman year I moved to Mather House. Mather House, incidentally, was designed by the same firm that built Hitler's bunker. In fact, if Hitler had conducted the war from Mather House, he'd have shot himself a year earlier. 1985 seems like a long time ago now. When I had my Class Day, you students would have been seven years old. Seven years old. Do you know what that means? Back then I could have beaten any of you in a fight. And I mean bad. It would be no contest. If any one here has a time machine, seriously, let's get it on, I will whip your seven year old butt. When I was here, they sold diapers at the Coop that said "Harvard Class of 2000." At the time, it was kind of a joke, but now I realize you wore those diapers. How embarrassing for you. A lot has happened in fifteen years. When you think about it, we come from completely different worlds. When I graduated, we watched movies starring Tom Cruise and listened to music by Madonna. I come from a time when we huddled around our TV sets and watched "The Cosby Show" on NBC, never imagining that there would one day be a show called "Cosby" on CBS. In 1985 we drove cars with driver's side airbags, but if you told us that one day there'd be passenger side airbags, we'd have burned you for witchcraft.



But of course, I think there is some common ground between us. I remember well the great uncertainty of this day. Many of you are justifiably nervous about leaving the safe, comfortable world of Harvard Yard and hurling yourself headlong into the cold, harsh world of Harvard Grad School, a plum job at your father's firm, or a year abroad with a gold Amex card and then a plum job in your father's firm. But let me assure you that the knowledge you've gained here at Harvard is a precious gift that will never leave you. Take it from me, your education is yours to keep forever. Why, many of you have read the Merchant of Florence, and that will inspire you when you travel to the island of Spain. Your knowledge of that problem they had with those people in Russia, or that guy in South America-you know, that guy-will enrich you for the rest of your life.


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There is also sadness today, a feeling of loss that you're leaving Harvard forever. Well, let me assure you that you never really leave Harvard. The Harvard Fundraising Committee will be on your ass until the day you die. Right now, a member of the Alumni Association is at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery shaking down the corpse of Henry Adams. They heard he had a brass toe ring and they aims to get it. Imagine: These people just raised 2.5 billion dollars and they only got through the B's in the alumni directory. Here's how it works. Your phone rings, usually after a big meal when you're tired and most vulnerable. A voice asks you for money. Knowing they just raised 2.5 billion dollars you ask, "What do you need it for?" Then there's a long pause and the voice on the other end of the line says, "We don't need it, we just want it." It's chilling.



What else can you expect? Let me see, by your applause, who here wrote a thesis. (APPLAUSE) A lot of hard work, a lot of your blood went into that thesis... and no one is ever going to care. I wrote a thesis: Literary Progeria in the works of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. Let's just say that, during my discussions with Pauly Shore, it doesn't come up much. For three years after graduation I kept my thesis in the glove compartment of my car so I could show it to a policeman in case I was pulled over. (ACT OUT) License, registration, cultural exploration of the Man Child in the Sound and the Fury...



So what can you expect out there in the real world? Let me tell you. As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the correct response to where did you to school is, "School? Why, I never had much in the way of book larnin' and such." Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there.



You see, you're in for a lifetime of "And you went to Harvard?" Accidentally give the wrong amount of change in a transaction and it's, "And you went to Harvard?" Ask the guy at the hardware store how these jumper cables work and hear, "And you went to Harvard?" Forget just once that your underwear goes inside your pants and it's "and you went to Harvard." Get your head stuck in your niece's dollhouse because you wanted to see what it was like to be a giant and it's "Uncle Conan, you went to Harvard!?"



But to really know what's in store for you after Harvard, I have to tell you what happened to me after graduation. I'm going to tell you my story because, first of all, my perspective may give many of you hope, and, secondly, it's an amazing rush to stand in front of six thousand people and talk about yourself.


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After graduating in May, I moved to Los Angeles and got a three week contract at a small cable show. I got a $380 a month apartment and bought a 1977 Isuzu Opel, a car Isuzu only manufactured for a year because they found out that, technically, it's not a car. Here's a quick tip, graduates: no four cylinder vehicle should have a racing stripe. I worked at that show for over a year, feeling pretty good about myself, when one day they told me they were letting me go. I was fired and, I hadn't saved a lot of money. I tried to get another job in television but I couldn't find one.



So, with nowhere else to turn, I went to a temp agency and filled out a questionnaire. I made damn sure they knew I had been to Harvard and that I expected the very best treatment. And so, the next day, I was sent to the Santa Monica branch of Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. When you have a Harvard degree and you're working at Wilson's House of Suede and Leather, you are haunted by the ghostly images of your classmates who chose Graduate School. You see their faces everywhere: in coffee cups, in fish tanks, and they're always laughing at you as you stack suede shirts no man, in good conscience, would ever wear. I tried a lot of things during this period: acting in corporate infomercials, serving drinks in a non-equity theatre, I even took a job entertaining at a seven year olds' birthday party. In desperate need of work, I put together some sketches and scored a job at the fledgling Fox Network as a writer and performer for a new show called "The Wilton North Report." I was finally on a network and really excited. The producer told me the show was going to revolutionize television. And, in a way, it did. The show was so hated and did so badly that when, four weeks later, news of its cancellation was announced to the Fox affiliates, they burst into applause.



Eventually, though, I got a huge break. I had submitted, along with my writing partner, a batch of sketches to Saturday Night Live and, after a year and a half, they read it and gave us a two week tryout. The two weeks turned into two seasons and I felt successful. Successful enough to write a TV pilot for an original sitcom and, when the network decided to make it, I left Saturday Night Live. This TV show was going to be groundbreaking. It was going to resurrect the career of TV's Batman, Adam West. It was going to be a comedy without a laugh track or a studio audience. It was going to change all the rules. And here's what happened: When the pilot aired it was the second lowest-rated television show of all time. It's tied with a test pattern they show in Nova Scotia.


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So, I was 28 and, once again, I had no job. I had good writing credits in New York, but I was filled with disappointment and didn't know what to do next. I started smelling suede on my fingertips. And that's when The Simpsons saved me. I got a job there and started writing episodes about Springfield getting a Monorail and Homer going to College. I was finally putting my Harvard education to good use, writing dialogue for a man who's so stupid that in one episode he forgot to make his own heart beat. Life was good.



And then, an insane, inexplicable opportunity came my way . A chance to audition for host of the new Late Night Show. I took the opportunity seriously but, at the same time, I had the relaxed confidence of someone who knew he had no real shot. I couldn't fear losing a great job I had never had. And, I think that attitude made the difference. I'll never forget being in the Simpson's recording basement that morning when the phone rang. It was for me. My car was blocking a fire lane. But a week later I got another call: I got the job.



So, this was undeniably the it: the truly life-altering break I had always dreamed of. And, I went to work. I gathered all my funny friends and poured all my years of comedy experience into building that show over the summer, gathering the talent and figuring out the sensibility. We debuted on September 13, 1993 and I was happy with our effort. I felt like I had seized the moment and put my very best foot forward. And this is what the most respected and widely read television critic, Tom Shales, wrote in the Washington Post: "O'Brien is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He had dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever. O'Brien is a switch on the guest who won't leave: he's the host who should never have come. Let the Late show with Conan O'Brien become the late, Late Show and may the host return to Conan O'Blivion whence he came." There's more but it gets kind of mean.



Needless to say, I took a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it excessive. And it hurt like you wouldn't believe. But I'm telling you all this for a reason. I've had a lot of success and I've had a lot of failure. I've looked good and I've looked bad. I've been praised and I've been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary. Except for Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. That was just stupid.


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I've dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.



I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I'm as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.



So, that's what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it's all right, I'd like to read a little something from just this year: "Somehow, Conan O'Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever."



Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all else fails, there's always delusion.



I'll go now, to make bigger mistakes and to embarrass this fine institution even more. But let me leave you with one last thought: If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every time you fall, people will think you're drunk.



Thank you.

Taken from: Site

I have been watching way too much CNN and therefore I have been exposed to the Virginia Tech shootings as much. That’s all I seem to be thinking about lately. I wake up and it hits me…I could be in a classroom and the same thing could happen.
I sit in my classes and wonder: what’s the quickest exit from this room, where is the best place to hide, would I fight back or play dead. Then I sit in my room and wonder the same things. It’s all too scary.

I am looking forward to summer. With the new job (I received the offer today) and I start in May, I am going to be crazy busy! But I want to enjoy any free time I will have. I am going to take this summer to learn how to cook some Sri Lankan dishes, go for lots of walks, play tennis, soccer, have as many barbeques as possible, spent tons of times with my family, get to know my city, and read books. Hopefully not too many textbooks but the books that are on the New York best seller.

One thing I will surly not do is: start a damn garden. Two summers ago I started one and it was disastrous! The location my mom picked for me was an absolute dump! It was the capital city for all the mosquitoes and I was its main attraction. And don’t get me started on all the rabbits that ate anything that resembled green. I’ll leave this gardening business to my other 4 family members. They seem to have luck with it. My mom was a cutie who really wanted to inspire me to get a garden but the location that she suggested was...so wrong for a beginner. So that kind of ruined the whole garden thing for me. When I get a house I might hire someone to get one going (maybe my sister or brother...just kidding)- because I do like flowers but I am not the one going to be planting anything.

Went to the science museum for the Race Exhibit but these dinosaurs were so cool!

Hi!
So busy. I am learning so much and having way too much fun. I’ll update this weekend when I have my digital on hand.

My presentation went on fabulously! In this particular class presentation are redeemed good when it invokes a ton of discussion. Well, mine did. I shared a personal story of how my family came to the U.S. and have thrived in this country. So that got people talking about immigrant’s attitudes and black Americans attitudes.
It really pays off to practice. I practiced my PowerPoint so many times. Last night I was at the library until 1 A.M., stuck in a small room, and just kept doing the presentation over and over. When I got up there I was confident to begin with so that really helped.

Okay, life is definitely good for me. Haha.

More on my weekend a little later.

Do you ever read something in history books and immediately convince yourself that if you lived in that particular time, you would have helped in your own way, to prevent a small fraction of that event from happening? Well, the history is being written down as you read this—WHERE ARE YOU?

I use to read a lot of books on the Holocaust. And wonder “How could the rest of the world let this happen?” But now, I am the one, who is sitting and watching everything happen-without lifting a finger.

What can I do?

My weekend was so tiring especially Saturday night. I did some shopping but when I came home I really wanted to get my dad’s laptop hooked back to the internet. So to do this, I needed a CD. And Of course I could not find the damn thing. I was running around the house trying to find it, looked every corner of my room, every crap was lifted to see if the CD was there. When I can’t find something (which often happens because I am so unorganized and have a lot of crap) I get obsessive with finding it. I go crazy! Eventually I was exhausted trying to find the CD that all I could do was fall asleep.

The next day I called the company and they were able to get me connected in about ten minutes-no CD needed. The woman who helped me was “Annie” who had a strong Indian accent. She was SO helpful.

I am looking forward to next weekend!

My roommate and her boyfriend broke up. Who knew that was going to happen…ME!
Now he calls at 2 A.M. asking her to take him back.

I so need a vacation. But my parents keep telling me to wait until I graduate and get a career. But Hello, that’s when I’ll have a stricter schedule…more so than the current. This doesn’t make too much sense to me.

My classmate gave the best presentation I have heard in a long time. He had the audience captured for his thirty minute presentation and when he was done everyone had so many questions for him. His topic was the Somalian community in Minnesota and overall misconceptions Americans and Somalis have about each other.

It was awesome yet I am jealous of him!