The Best Advice

Lately I've been doing what I can to walk around the building to meet new people. Most of them have been working in all parts of the industry during their careers, so they often have interesting tidbits to share. Since my job will be over in a couple of months I figure the more advice gather, the better.

I picked up what might be some of the most inspiring words of wisdom this week. One of our development producers was good enough to set a few minutes aside for me, and during that time he shared several insightful thoughts about the industry. Most notable, I thought, was this piece of advice: "Everyone is going to tell you that you can't do it, that it's impossible, and that you shouldn't bother trying. They'll tell you that over and over, but you just have to ignore them. Somebody is going to get those jobs, and it might as well be you."

That was just what I needed to hear. I was asking him specifically about how he broke into development, but I think this truth applies to anything that's difficult to accomplish in life. If you aspire to do anything difficult, chances are you've heard this before. "Oh, you can't do that. Everyone is trying to do that." Now just remember the response.

-chc

Google Me

Now, for your reading pleasure, I present a list of unlikely internet searches that somehow landed unsuspecting surfers on our site. It's amazing when you think about it. Type something as broad as "Nursing in France," and you could end up here. Wow. Here we go:

The top ten unlikely searches that could bring you to H-C.com:

10. nursing in France
9. college in Chicago
8. the most memorable day of my life
7. Dimples Burbank
6. Hollywood back lot
5. the family news
4. weekend in Chicago
3. holden snow board
2. what is the role of nursing in your life?
1. what happened to tgif?

Indeed. What did happen to TGIF? Find out next time.

-Charlie

No Spoilers Here...

I'm finally back after a few weeks off from blogging. I usually update on the weekends, but since the New Harry Potter book came out I'm sure you can understand why I didn't get around to it. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. I'm not going to say anything more about it now, because I'm guessing that many people are still reading it at the moment. Now we just need to wait a couple more years for the final chapter.

Hopefully this week I can catch up on all that sleep I lost trying to finish the Half-Blood Prince before anyone could spoil it for me. I could only find the time to read in the late evening and early mornings, which meant I've been up until three the last couple of nights. It was well worth it though.

-chc

PS. If you've read the book and want to chat about it, e-mail or IM me. Let's not give away anything in the "comments" section of the blog:
charlie@holden-corbett.com
aim: holdencorbett01

At the Barbershop

I linked that article by Ben Stein in my last post because he had some good thoughts about what is really important in life, and who our true heroes are. Today I had a conversation in the barbershop that was even more compelling.

First of all, please remember that this is the very same place where I was recently asked if I wanted my hair cut "too short." There are a lot of people of various nationalities there, and it's often difficult to even describe how I want my haircut. So you can see why I usually don't end up having in-depth discussions with the people who cut my hair--it's just difficult to do.

But today was different. The lady cutting my hair spoke English fluently, but she had an interesting accent that I've never heard. I asked where she was from, and she said Germany. I thought that it sounded a bit German, but there was something else in there as well. Once I got her going she told me about the college town where she lived, and we talked about how beautiful Germany is and how nice the people are. Apparently, though, it was very difficult for her family to find work there since none of them had gone to German schools. Eventually, she said, they moved to the US because they already had family living in the LA area.

Stay with me here, because this is where it gets interesting. She eventually explained that they had been living in Germany because her family was in exile from Iran. They are all Christian Armenians, so when the Islamic Militants took over in 1979 things were getting really bad. She said that bombs were going off everywhere around her house, and they just never knew what was going to happen. They couldn't sell the house, so they had to just leave it with a friend who eventually sold it for a pittance. And apparently they needed to get out before their son turned 14 or the new government just wouldn't let him leave the country.

Since they couldn't really work in Germany, they basically came here with nothing. With a flash of regret in her eyes she described how beautiful her old house in Iran was, and how good her life was before the revolution. But she mentioned it only briefly and changed the subject. Then she proudly explained how her son just graduated from dental school and her daughter recently finished an accounting degree. It was worth it, she says, because they got a good education and can have a good life.

The great thing about America is that if we step back just a few generations in any family we see that everyone shares this same story. It is one of leaving a troubled life behind with the hopes of finding a better one somewhere new. It's the story of families doing what they must to survive in a world that does everything possible to strip them of their pride, their human dignity, and their freedom. And ultimately, it's a story of parents struggling so that their children and grandchildren can achieve a dream that they themselves could never see.

God bless all of those who brought us here, and who continue to make this country great.

-chc

Win Ben Stein's Final Article

I read this article in a forward and thought that it was worth sharing. I guess it's a couple of years old now, but still relevant. Perhaps it is even more potent today considering the recent attacks in London.


Monday at Morton's

-chc

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's good to be the king!

This is a picture of your gift, but it will probably be a few days before it's finished. It will be in the mail soon!

Hopefully you can stay up at your kingdom and enjoy your birthday. I wish I could be there!

Happy 4th!

What better way to celebrate the 4th than to break out the Whippersnappers? Do you remember those from back in the day? They're the little paper things that explode when you throw them on the ground. Well hop on your bike (bmx, forget the 10-speed), and take a trip down to West-Side Beverage with me, because they're back.

Come to think of it, there might even be some Whippersnappers buried in that time capsule somewhere near that tree in our yard. Do you think they'll still work 15 years later? Only time will tell.

Today I actually used a few of these fun little exploding toys for the first time since the 80's. And in Church no less! Apparently it was Fr. Albert's idea to pass these things about to a bunch of people in the congregation. After the closing song, "America the Beautiful," we were to let them fly. It was just like fireworks going off inside the building, but without the fire and the risk of burning people. I think the lady in front of me must have jumped a foot into the air (she wasn't expecting anything). Too bad I didn't have a camera...

-chc