April King

The end of 2008 is upon us and I have had a fair amount of time to sit and reflect on the past year and all the implications it has had on my life. It has been yet another tumultuous year, but as always, life goes on and there is always something new around the corner. That’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it? That life… it simply keeps going, moving, changing, progressing… whether we want it to or not. There are so many moments that I wish I could have frozen in time and space, so that I might always be able to reach back and experience them again and again. However, there are also many periods and experiences that I would not have survived had life decided to stand still and allow me to wallow in the same shallow pool of filth and misery until it felt like lumbering on again.  

It has been a tumultuous year, yes. But life goes on and it is a beautiful thing. There is more happiness in store, and sadness as well; some of the yin and yangs of life. That is what makes it interesting, I suppose. The fact that it keeps you guessing.

The following is a track by a wonderful musician by the name of Ronald Jenkees. I was lucky enough to find him on YouTube. The name of the track is “Stay Crunchy” and I adore it. If I were to make a video collage of my life in 2008, this would be the soundtrack. 

UPDATE:  Three things I’m looking for…

It’s been nearly two years and we are due for an update!  Plus, I need to start planning for three *new* things to look for in 2009.  These years just zip by too quickly!  Sigh…

1. A New Snowboard (freeride/all mountain)

   Okay, so its been two years and I still need a new board.  Well… need is probably not the right term… more like want.  It’s just hard to rationalize the purchase because I don’t go snowboarding nearly as much as I used to when I lived in LA.  Such is life.

 

2. A New Bed (mattress and bed frame)  Still loving it!

 

3. A New TV (for the new house!) LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Got this song stuck in my head… it’s called “Young Folks” by Peter, Bjorn, and John.  It has this great whistling sequence that gets stuck in your brain, but it’s awesome.  I couldn’t remember the name of the song the other day, so I had to call up my buddy, Cesar.  He knows everything.  If I am ever on a game show such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Cash Cab… Cesar will most certainly be my “phone-a-friend”. 

Here are the lyrics to the song…

If I told you things I did before
Told you how I used to be
Would you go along with someone like me
If you knew my story word for word
Had all of my history
Would you go along with someone like me

I did before and had my share
It didn’t lead nowhere
I would go along with someone like you
It doesn’t matter what you did
Who you were hanging with
We could stick around and see this night through

And we don’t care about the young folks
Talkin’ ’bout the young style
And we don’t care about the old folks
Talkin’ ’bout the old style too
And we don’t care about their own faults
Talkin’ ’bout our own style
All we care ’bout is talking
Talking only me and you

Usually when things has gone this far
People tend to disappear
No one will surprise me unless you do

I can tell there’s something goin’ on
Hours seems to disappear
Everyone is leaving I’m still with you

It doesn’t matter what we do
Where we are going too
We can stick around and see this night through

And we don’t care about the young folks
Talkin’ ’bout the young style
And we don’t care about the old folks
Talkin’ ’bout the old style too
And we don’t care about their own faults
Talkin’ ’bout our own style
All we care ’bout is talking
Talking only me and you

And we don’t care about the young folks
Talkin’ ’bout the young style
And we don’t care about the old folks
Talkin’ ’bout the old style too
And we don’t care about their own faults
Talkin’ ’bout our own style
All we care ’bout is talking
Talking only me and you
Talking only me and you

Talking only me and you
Talking only me and you

I like to listen to this song by Leonard Cohen when I feel down.  I’m feeling pretty low right now, so here’s a little bit of Leonard… 

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you’ve been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Have you ever searched for yourself on the internet? 

To be completely honest, it never really occurred to me until I started this blog and wanted to see if people could find it if they entered my name in a search engine.  Well, for one, yes, you can find my blog, but it gets better… you can find multiple April King’s across the vast and unending expanses of the World Wide Web.  Awesome. 

I have written this blog in honor of the first several April King’s that I have found in my search for “April King” on Google.

• April King, the Paris/Los Angeles based One Woman Hip-Hop Xtravaganza (Drummer and MC)
  She is a fantastic artist and you can listen to some of her music on her site. Some of her work is referenced at discogs.com.  She is awesome! 
• April King, the Roller-Derbying Programmer from Minnesota
  She was born in April (me too!).  She can speak Japanese, she’s a programmer, enjoys photography, and for God’s sake she’s in a roller derby league!! Need I say more?!!  She is just way too cool!
• April King, the SF Bay Area HR and Staffing Executive
  She’s networking the web in at least two sites (linkedin.com and zoominfo.com).  She’s in the SF Bay Area (me too!) AND she went to UCLA (me too!)!!  Go Bruins!!!Yes, she ROCKS!
• April King, of Ojibway descent from Poplar Hill
  She really, really loves Wyderman Black!  Her nickname is “Ape” (mine used to be “Apes” back in grade school)!  She is Ojibway. 
• April King, the Poker Playing Volleyball Star from Virginia
  She plays poker.  ‘Nuff said!
• April King, Photographer Extrodinaire from Pueblo
  She’s a photographer with a passion for nature.  Wonderful!

July 11, 2007 is World Population Day ~ aka why-we-stand-in-such-long-lines-and-have-so-much-traffic-on-the-freeway-day.

The world population on this 20th anniversary of ‘Five Billion Day’ (the day we reached 5B back in 1987) is estimated to be 6,602,224,175. 

Check out this tool from the UN Website!   

India Becomes a Billionaire: World’s Largest Democracy to Reach One Billion Persons

1. According to the official United Nations population estimates and projections (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision), India’s population will reach the 1 billion mark on August 15 this year, coinciding with its Independence Day. China’s population passed the 1 billion mark 19 years earlier, on July 31, 1980.
    
2. China remains the most populous country in the world, with a total population size of 1.27 billion in mid-1999, followed by India. The country with the third largest population is the United States, with 276 million people.

3. It is projected that India will have a larger population than China by the year 2045, when United Nations projections indicate a total population of India of 1.501 billion and of China of 1.496 billion.

4. India, with an annual population growth rate of 1.65 per cent, is the largest contributor to world population growth, accounting for 21 per cent of the 78 million annual increment to the world. China contributes about 15 per cent to annual world population growth.

5. By 2016, the population of India (1.22 billion) is expected to be larger than the population of all the more developed countries combined (that is, all the countries of Europe (including Russia), Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the United States).

6. China and India will most likely remain the only members of the 1 billion-population club. According to the United Nations projections, no other country will reach a population size of 1 billion persons.

I recently had a conversation about what happens when we are dead and gone – what impact does our disappearance make on the world?  Well, in short, I related that to measure the impact of our disappearance from the world, one would first need to assess the impact of our existence.  The impact of an individual’s existence (or lack thereof) becomes greater and more pronounced as you enter the individual’s sphere of influence - a phrase a friend of mine recently re-introduced into my vocabulary.  Basically, the more: lives you touch, people you reach, companies you work for, causes you fight for, people you love, people you hurt, dollars you donate, smiles you give, food you share, spare change you hand out, classes you teach, projects you complete, people you manage, children you raise, animals you save, paper you recycle… the more you impact the world. 

To this, I began to introspect and analyze the impact I have made in my own sphere of influence.  I think I’ve done a lot, really I do.  But I also think there is so much more that I could do; so much more that I am capable of. 

I guess, in the end, regardless of the extent of your impact, when you are gone, life goes on, the rivers still flow, the sun still rises, the Earth still spins, and the birds still sing.  But an echo of who you are and what you were remains in the people whose lives you’ve touched in one way or another.  It’s not so much about leaving behind a legacy, but it’s more about making the world a better place… making it better for you, and making it better for me.  There are things in life that I think are worth dying for… and those are the things for which I want to live.

LA is always burning.  Somewhere, always, the fiery embers of this city are hot and ready to ignite.  The picture above is of the Griffith Observatory, with a backdrop of hot-orange flame.  I haven’t been to the Griffith Observatory since it closed in 2002 for an extensive $93-million rennovation and expansion.  It reopened in 2006.  I hope, after this fire, I’ll still get a chance to visit.

So, I realize I’ve been MIA for the past several months.  But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been *thinking* about posting.  I have the titles saved up to prove it:

• There are Glances, and then there are *Glances*…
• I take myself waaaay too seriously…
• I Tired.
• Happy Birthday to Me!

See?  So, I initiated several posts, but merely lacked the creativity and brain power to appropriately execute the completion.  I know, I know… very sad, but hey, it is what it is.  At least I tell the truth.

I celebrated my birthday last month.  The most popular age guess has been 22.  Cute.  I suppose I should appreciate the notion that I appear to be that young – one day I’ll bemoan myself for not relishing in it more deeply.

Okay, that’s it for now.  You’ll be hearing from me again soon – I promise.

Layla (3.5 years) and Elise (15 months) wish you a very merry Christmas!