Pete and Repeat Meet... Which is neat.

You Ever have a day when you wish you could have more of yourself?

How You Become Us?

I always joke with my friends about things you essentially are not allowed to say unless you are a parent. You know… don’t make me turn this car around or you’re gonna poke someone’s’ eye out.

Or better yet:

- Don’t run around the pool!
- Don’t play in the street!
- Put on your helmet!

We start out when we are little and our parents strap us into car-seats. When we are teenagers, they drop us off at friend’s houses and make sure we ‘have everything.’ When we get our license and they hand over the keys for the first time, they look us all in the eyes and say: “Drive Safe.”

These risk adverse statements are constant reminders that we should not fool around and most importantly be secure. Life’s to short ‘to risk-it.’ For most of us, it is not until we head off to college that we stray down the more edgy path. But after all of these years… what makes us do it? What was the catalyst that set us out; desiring to be an entrepreneur? Some of us work for no pay and ‘equity stake’ of an (idea)… taking a chance - contrary to everything we were raised to do.

How can parents raise children to take the safe road, but support them if/when they stray from the path? An even better question is: What makes one path better than another?

Recently I decided to take a year off from Law School. My parents were very concerned. Law School unlike other institutional centers of learning require you to complete your entire education within four years of beginning; or you forfeit everything. Most schools do not allow you to transfer-in after you have spent over 50% of your time at another institution and most schools are not accredited for part-time education. Furthermore, you are not allowed to spend 20+ hours a week ‘working’ outside of your studies.

So here I am… 66% complete. 1 year away from graduating and 6 months left before I am forced to make my decision of whether I return and finish for my degree or sacrifice it all.

The experience I have gained as an entrepreneur has been AMAZING. My working experience has allowed me to grow as a professional and no classroom can teach what I have been put through (exception being Babson College… very cool school). But with so much invested (time, $, work) and my parents’ risk-adverse teachings, wouldn’t you think I would head back to school to finish my ‘fall-back?’

As for my parents… they are extremely torn. To one degree, they have conditioned me to be all I can be, do what makes me happy, and they genuinely do see the upside of what has and can come from my experience. On the other hand, they spent 18 years teaching me to look both ways before I cross a street and to always fall back on my education because it is the one thing no-one can ever steal.

I find it amazing that we go our entire lives conditioned to not take chances… and here we are fighting to make it to the top of an amazingly huge mountain. Well… I hope we all drank “plenty of water ☺"

*Sigh*

Have Money? Don't Show It...
Proof we are in a recession...

-----------
Making It Rain -

When you're in da club with a stack, and you throw the money up in the air. The effect is that it seems to be raining money.

-----------

Rappers have been 'making it rain,' buying expensive bottles in night clubs, flyin' them ho's, and accessorizing everything from their whips' to toasters.

Rock Stars have 'gutted' hotel rooms, crashed expensive cars, and skied on mountains of blow,

Celebrities have displayed their luxurious mansions on CRIBS, held multi-million dollar weddings, and dropped hundreds of thousands on weekend trips to Mexico.

UNTIL NOW... For the first time in my life... showing an egregious disregard for wealth is NOT cool.

With bottle sales down in the top clubs in Miami and LA, luxury car dealerships going out of business, and fur sections in department stores shutting down, people are (understandably) not spending money.

But this action has now had a reaction, in that people who drop $950 plus tip for a $36 bottle of Patron are now recognized as obnoxious, careless, idiots. Until a couple of months ago, this action was seen as a status symbol (I have so much $ look what I just did, don't hate!). However, with the world where it is now, those who find the best bargains are now the elite.

Now don't get me wrong, being rich is still very much 'in;' it's just that the figure that used to represent Big Pimpin has now been dropped to Medium Pimpin, Dolla Dolla Bills have been converted into pocket pocket change and qualifiers for Double-D Silicone Implants have begun regressing back to water bras.

Women will always want a rich guy and the American Dream is certainly not dead... but those who flaunt what they have are obnoxious, pompous, stupid, and unattractive.

Having lived in both Miami and LA, I'm all to familiar to the process that usually ensues with 'going out.' I've splurged, I've flaunted, and I've been full of myself at times. But RIP GOOD TIMES, I'm now a penny-pinching coupon-clipping bad ass. Now how about some respect?

As the economy gets worse and worse... this is only the beginning... people will be flaunting less and less. Not only is it NOT going to be cool to have the newest and latest, but it's also going to become dangerous... more poor --> more crime --> more incidents.

At the end of the day... who do I feel for the most? Probably Strippers... who'd ever want to dance on a poll and have guys...

-----------
Make it Hail-

When coins are thrown at the strippers oppose to bills.

-----------