Oppy Knocks

Will wonders never cease? It seems that every time I've looked at the news in the past few weeks there's something more stunning and unprecedented than the day before. It's official; we are now in uncharted territory in this economic climate. But that knowledge isn't any more comforting, today than it was yesterday. The scale and scope of the events we continue to witness dwarf so many people's imaginations with ease that it's hard to fathom what's next. Questions about the economy's health and future abound and answers are few and far between. While I remain cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the future, recent events are definitely reinforcing a change in my attitude of late - living in the here and now. I can't tell whether it's all the discussions about creating vision statements and life plans in my managing change class or something else but I'm really focused on making the best of the present. After all, the past is already written in stone and the future is obviously not as predictable as we once thought. So here are just a few things that I think have recently helped me to appreciate these precious life moments more.

As it relates to the Oppy, I've redoubled my efforts to engage more of the school community. You may have seen me at the pre-term club expos for full-time and part-time students canvassing for new contributors and taking lots of photos. Well, that's not by accident. Interacting with people is a passion of mine and lately I've placed a lot more emphasis on making my co-curricular desires reality. My renewed vigor has even begun to pay some dividends with many more new writers signing up to contribute to the newspaper. Welcome aboard to all of our new writers. We're excited to have you. We have just a skeleton staff of hard workers at the Oppy and we rely heavily on the contributions of our fellow students to bring news and opinions the to the attention of the broader community. So it's really important that our contributor base is substantial. Given the early signs, this year is shaping up to be a great one and that makes me happy.

On a personal note, the DW and I have had a night or two out on the town as a way of living in the moment. Trust me, that is no easy task with our little ones campaigning for all of our attention when we leave Stern's doors. Last week however, ahead of her birthday, I planned a little outing that allowed us to hang out with a few fellow Sternies - something we almost never get the chance to do together. It was long overdue. Those few hours were well worth it. It was also very nice to feel the love from many of the people we saw out that night. They seemed to be genuinely happy for us being able to spend some time out. Thanks for all the kind words guys and gals. We had a great time and we would have you know that we repeated the feat again in Washington DC after two long days of networking at the National Black MBA conference. Can you say lightning striking twice?! Well, if lightning comes in the form of great auxiliary caregivers for our kids then it can strike a little more often in my opinion. Happy belated birthday to you DW. I can't wait to spend what I have left of this life with you.

Well it looks like we're getting ready to wish farewell to the first month of the semester. I hope all of your courses are going well and you're living in the moment! If not, give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Peace and Love.