Saturday, January 5, 2013

What ARE the chances?

Let me begin, if I may, with a question. Let me begin this post, and in fact this year, by asking: do you believe in fate? How much control does one really have over things that happen in life?

I'm not sure I believe in fate per se, but I do leave a lot of things to chance. And I'd say that strategy (or lack therof) has worked, so far at least. I came to Chambana knowing nothing about the place and now I know that there's nothing I'd rather do than stay right here. Having said that, there are certainly places within these twin cities that I would avoid dwelling in. Last August, owing to my fantastic lack of organisation (and the fact that my yoga training had absorbed all my free time), I realized I had but one week left on my lease before I would become a homeless soul. I mean, I had a home - Champaign-Urbana - but the roof of 301 South Busey Avenue would not be over my head for much longer. During my desperate search for an apartment I had realized that the pickings were rather slim. A youngish man had shown me around some locations around campus which smelled even worse than he did. And let me tell you: that's saying something. The man was kinda ghetto, but at least he was nice enough to offer me a ride in his pickup truck (his partner in crime sat in the back, and had to hold on for dear life to prevent himself from falling off the vehicle during my drivers periodic accelerations, which were always accompanied by fits of laughter). I've heard that beggars can't be choosers but to hell with that - I wasn't going to live in his dingy pads. The next residence I inquired about, a modern two-storey dwelling in East Urbana, appeared much more appealing. And, as my potential housemate/landlord had informed me, it even came with a cute puppy. But while the dog was cuddly, the guy turned out to be creepy. The fact that his nice house was in a not-so-nice neighborhood (right near the Bullet, the self-proclaimed "best topless adult club in the world") wasn't working in his favor either. In fact, my friend who had given me a ride to the sketchy locale had come prepared with a switchblade. The aforementioned weapon was proudly displayed to me before we left, in a yoga studio of all places. Trust Jen Mui to bring a knife (correction: knives - she had a machete in the car!) to yoga. Anyway, with half a week left to look for a place I was, it had appeared, out of luck. That is, until Jen put out a plea on Facebook for anyone willing to harbor a "wayward Asian" (her words, not mine!). Anyway, so now I'm blogging from a very nice abode, complete with a cool housemate, a  friendly dog, a flock of ducks and a peep - that's right, a peep - of chickens.

A lot of things have worked out in my life, most of which are not a result of any real effort on my part! If I hadn't been so stressed at work three years ago, I wouldn't have discovered yoga. And if I hadn't discovered yoga I wouldn't have learnt how to stand on my head. And if I hadn't learnt to stand on my head, I would be homesick and would have forgotten how it was to live in the Southern Hemisphere, those peeps being all upside down and what not. And if hadn't been for that friendly customs officer in San Fran (long story - don't ask, let's just say I kinda forgot to get a visa - minor detail, right?) I'd still be in the Southern Hemisphere (or worse still, Guantanamo Bay) as the US would have deported me. But I'm here and it's 2013 and I'm excited to make the most of the first year the Mayans never thought we'd have.

2013 is the year I take life into my own hands and make stuff happen. My little new year's resolution was inspired partly by the pursuits of Davy Rothbart, a comedian/writer whose life was beautifully portrayed in the documentary My Heart is an Idiot. Davy travels the States doing stand-up and being an altogether upstanding citizen of this fine nation. In addition to this, and his promotion of Found magazine, this day-dreaming drifter looks for love in all the right places, in all the wrong ways. Things don't always work out for the free-spirited Rothbart, but it's never for lack of trying! While each of the ninety-four minutes of My Heart is an Idiot was amazing, Rothbart and director David Meiklejohn (both of whom were at the screening I attended) do an amazing job with the films ending. Davy left me with this pearl of wisdom: things will work out, you will get your happy ending, but you have to put your heart on the line, be proactive and make things happen.

So, what do you want to accomplish this year? Are you doing what you really want to do? At the risk of sounding too cliché: let's really go for it in 2013, get out of our comfort zones, take a risk and inspire each other to chase our dreams.

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