Now I think it’s time for a slight change. I love being that go-with-the-flow type of guy, but I think I need a bit more structure to decide which flow I should go with. (Btw I’m reading a book called Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (P.S.) it’s pretty awesome you should check it out.)

Enter school. At school there’s clear goals and objectives that each student must achieve to get to the next level. Feedback is ever present and each time you overcome a challenge (like midterms) there is a sense of accomplishment (well for some of us lol). Using the structure of school as an example, I’m going to create a curriculum to organize my goals and objectives with built in feedback mechanisms and a set of mini challenges to overcome along the way.

What do you all think about this idea? Anyone want to try it with me?

By the way, my curriculum is called “Mega Internet Super Star”.

Related posts:

1. Reyshizz on Relationships (Part 2)

What is a relationship?

Traditionally when people talk about being in a relationship, they are referring to boy + girl exclusively dating one another. But in general a relationship can be any interaction between people, whether long lasting or fleeting. For now, let’s talk about the former.

What are the rules?

Once a boy and girl get into a traditional relationship there are rules and roles each party is supposed to abide by according to their society, religion, or tradition. Issues such as, “No sex before marriage” or “Who pays at dinner” and a variety of other topics are stated and answered by the society, religion or tradition the person has grown up in. I think the most controversial amongst them all is the debate between monogamy and polygamy.

Monogamy vs. Polygamy

In the US a majority of society believes that there should be only be one man and one woman in a relationship or marriage (monogamy). In other places and religions it is common for a person to have more than one partner in either a marriage or relationship (polygamy). [Side note: If there’s one man and many women it’s called polygyny. If there’s one woman and many men it’s called polyandry.]

Most women would ring a guys neck if he tried to introduce another woman in a traditional relationship, and vice verca. So this usually doesn’t happen. What is more common is that one party goes outside of the relationship to experience intimacy with another person without the other party knowing. What’s even more common is the the other party finding out and wanting to ring a couple of neck for the sneaking around that has been going on. Why? Because the rules of the land state that there only be one man and one woman in a relationship. If this rule is broken, the other party should feel hurt, sad, angry, seek vengeance, get a divorce etc. Even in polygamous relationships, where this behavior is (somewhat) accepted, it can still lead to conflict amongst all the people involved. (Have you seen Big Love? I wouldn’t want that guy’s life either)

This issue is one of the many issues that people are faced with when they are involved in a traditional relationship.

What is the solution?

As mentioned earlier there is a different type of relationship; the interactions you have on a day-to-day with your friends, family, co-workers, and/or strangers on the train. In essence we’re in relationships with everyone and everything around us, but we tend to make titles that, most often, restrict the level of interaction that can be experienced. Those titles are more often than not the cause of the conflict that occurs between people. Why isn’t it okay to love and learn from everyone we come across in our journey in life? I’m not saying that I am for polygamy. I’m saying that we can benefit from all the relationships in our lives if we stopped wasting time labeling and started spending time building upon those connections.

Okay, let’s be practical. Let’s say you want what society wants you to want (i.e., wife/husband, kids and a mortgage). You want the fairy tale “happily ever after” storybook ending. You want one person that you can come home to every day that will be there for you and walk with you in the journey of life. I am not saying that you cannot have that one person… What I’m saying is that if someone else comes along, we should not shut them out before sharing each others company and life experiences. You can take that to mean what ever you want, but the fact is we miss out on the jewels that “God/Jesus/The Higher Being/The Universe” sends to us in the form of each other when we close doors one another, in the form of labeling.

Alright, now I think I’m tired of talking typing. All in all, you will do what you will and so will I. It is all Good because it is done with His grace and He can do no Wrong.

Related posts:

1. reyshizz on Relationships
2. Jay-Z’s Six Point Best Life Diagnostic
3. I Don’t Write My Rhymes…

It’s true, I have a crush. Well, not really. I had a crush. This happens to me more often than I would like, after all I am human. When ever this occurs I take advantage of the situation and use the inspiration to write music.

No, I don’t actually confront my crush and reveal my feelings. That would be normal. I play the game like a champ and let the chips fall where they may. I’ll save those details for another post. This post is about using real life situations as a muse to write great music.

So, I had a crush (I’m over it now btw, well at least that one) and when I would talk to her, when ever it was, there would be a smile on my face. I know, pathetic. But it’s the truth. One day after a discussion I got in the writing mode and this came out:

I met her in November
She said her name was June
And when she speaks I swear the sun shines through
I mean she brightens up my days
My night times too
And reciprocates what I say times two
She feeds my curiosity
She’s my mind food
Take her away from me it would be a crime to…

That was about half of the first verse. (What do you think?) The funny thing is as this song continues, it turns sour. The brightness fades away and we part ways. Not that it has happened or that I want it to. It’s just that in my experience all things come to an end, and I acknowledge that in my music. I represent life, as I know it, in all of my songs. This is one example.

So my advice: Go, live, experience your experiences and write it about… I’ll be happy to listen (or read)

Related posts:

1. Weekly Recap – Happy Valentines Day
2. 15 Minutes of Free Writing
3. Open Letter to Facebook Fans

Dear Facebook Fans of Reyshizz,

First of all I’d like to thank you for becoming a fan of my music. I am writing this to get a sense of how I can serve you better as an artist, find out your expectations of me (if any), and know what it is I can do to make this relationship work better for the both of us.

I am an independent artist, amongst ocean of independent artists, trying to gain traction in the music industry both online and off. I am aware that rapping and making music is not new. There are litterally millions of people just like me, doing the same things I’m doing. The chances of actually “making it” is laughable. I know this and you know this. But despite that I still rap and make music and you are still a fan.

Why?

I make music because it honestly is an outlet for a lot of the emotions and feelings I don’t express otherwise. It’s also is a journal of sorts because I can think back to the stages of my life when I wrote a paticular piece of music, allowing me to remember and learn from the good times and bad. Some of the music I write can actually put me in a better mood when I listen to it, like my verse to Amazing. And above all, I love it.

So, why are you a fan?

I would guess that most of you know me personally and are a subset of my facebook friends. This is cool with me, I’ll take the support from anyone who’s willing give it. Some of you are fans of the music who listen religiously and give me invaluable feedback, which I greatly appreciate. There are others of you who’ve never heard me rap a word but think my pics are cute, I apprecate you too I know there are some reasons I missed, so please fill me in

Which brings me to my point… how can I better serve you?

What can I do to allow you to have a better experience of being a fan of my music? I’ll listen and respond to all opinions and suggestions. Leave a comment or hit up my inbox and we’ll take it take it from there.

I hope this could be a start of active communications between the us.

Sincerely,

-rey

Related posts:

1. Weekly Recap – Happy Valentines Day
2. Getting Real About Getting Plays
3. A Letter To the Ladies

The Zen principles of Aesthetics are derived from the Buddhism beliefs of Anicca or Impermanence where “everything, without exception, is constantly in flux, even planets, stars and gods”. (Wikipedia)

THE PRINCIPLES:

FUKINSEI (imbalanced)
Asymmetry, odd numbers, irregularity, unevenness, imbalance is used as a denial of perfection as perfection and symmetry does not occur in nature.

KANSO (simple)
Elimination of ornate and things of simplicity by nature expresses their truthfulness. Neat, frank and uncomplicated.

KOKOU (austere)
Basic, weathered bare essentials that are aged and unsensuous. Evokes sternness, forbiddance, maturity and weight.

SHIZEN (natural)
Raw, natural and unforced creativity without pretence. True naturalness is to negate the naive and accidental.

YUGEN (subtle profound)
Suggest and not reveal layers of meaning hidden within. Invisible to the casual eye and avoiding the obvious.

DATSUZOKU (unworldly)
Transcendence of conventional and traditional. Free from the bondage of laws and restrictions. True creativity.

SEIJAKU (calm)
Silence and tranquility, blissful solitude. Absence of disturbance and noise from one’s mind, body and surroundings.

Source: Aen Direct

Source: Swiss Miss

When I think of design or being creative I see it in a broad general sense. I bet that most people don’t consider themselves creative but are able to offer advise or a perspective on any given situation… I consider that creative and I think it’s beautiful.
rey’s moment of Zen

Related posts:

1. Weekly Update – On Vacation

On Friday night (Saturday morning) around 1:30am I walked to the spot where I normally park my and to my surprise it wasn’t there. I looked left I looked right, and nothing. I stood in the spot were my car was parked and search the area for some evidence of a break in, I found nothing. My friend, Jose, lives in the area so I called him and told him the situation. He came around and took me to the precinct to file a report.

We got to the precinct and saw what you would usually see in precincts in the hood, cops who are desensitized to the never ending crimes that take place in the inner city. They looked bored and uninterested in all that I had to say. I calmly walked in and told them I wanted to file a police report for a stolen car. The officer on the other side of the over-sized counter told me to have a seat and someone will be right with you.

Thirty minutes later an office came to where I was sitting and asked a bunch of questions about my car, like “Does it have any distinguishing features?” I chuckled and replied, “Is dirt a distinguishing feature?” We all laughed and she continued to ask more questions. At the end of the questioning she proceeded write the report while I waited. I thought getting my car stolen was bad, but waiting for someone to write a report about it is worst. She took about 45 minutes and when she was done all I got was a blue card with an address on it to where I can pick up the report. I’m like, wow thanks… I wish I had a car to get there. Going to the precinct was a waste of time. I suggest if anyone gets their car stolen late at night, get a ride home and deal w/ it in the morning. It’s not worth the wait.

Now what?… it’s time for a new (used) car… any suggestions?

Related posts:

1. Reyshizz has a Crush

*Sigh* … where do I begin? On Tuesday January 12, 2010 a friend of mine text me with the news about the earthquake in Haiti. I was at work, working on something at my desk. I stopped for a moment and thought… “Really? Haiti?… damn, that’s unfortunate.” I did a Google Search and saw images and read the headline … “blah blah Earthquake Haiti blah blah 7.0.” Now I’m like, “Wow that’s pretty bad, I hope the people are OK.” On my way home my nephew texts me about the earthquake. Then it hit me… “Shit, I got family in Haiti, I hope they’re doing OK” For the rest of my commute people were calling and texting showing concern for my family in Haiti. The more I talked to people the more worried I became.

I get home and everyone is huddled around the TV. Mom is keeping her composure but obviously worried to death. My aunt just went back to Haiti after visiting us for a couple of months. She’s old and fragile and would not be able to withstand the effects of an Earthquake. I visited Haiti in June 09 and thought about all the family I’ve met for the first time. Now I’m really worried. The first think I could think of is go on Facebook and message my cousins who live in Haiti. Looking back that was probably the dumbest thing I’ve done in a while. Realizing how stupid that was, I stopped worrying. There was nothing I could. Then I saw the tweet by @wyclef, “Help Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501 501 right now please RT.” Without thinking I reach for my phone and sent my donation. Now what… nothing…

Being the positive, passive, go-with-the-flow person I am, I let go. I know that everything happens for reason and some good can come out of every situation, even the apparent misfortune of a 7.0 Earthquake. I closed my door, stopped watching TV, online videos and images. I was done with the media coverage.

I think back to Katrina and the Tsunami and my reaction was pretty much the same. I was a bit more worried in this situation because I know people in Haiti, but at the same time there’s very little I could do, but hope and pray for everyone there.

The Media
The media coverage on any disaster situation doesn’t help much. After the facts are stated and ways to help are mentioned, it seems they use the situation to gain as much attention as possible. I’ve never seen this much coverage on Haiti in my life. In a way, it’s good because people are becoming aware of how poor the country is, but at the same time I wonder how long will this interest last. I also wounder if they’s asked the question, “Why is Haiti so poor?” I’m not going to act like I know the answer but I do have my theories.

Poverty…
How does any nation become poor? I am 100% positive that if the leaders of the world wanted to eliminate poverty, they could. How hard could it really be? Honestly…

That’s Life
Like I said earlier, everything happens for a reason. Nothing is guaranteed. Nothing is forever. All we could do is hope for the best and let the chips fall where they may. As it so happens, I received word from all of my family members in Haiti. They all survived. Few had damage done to their homes but no fatalities were suffered. For that, I am thankful.

PS – Special thanks goes all who voiced their concern for my family in Haiti. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Related posts:

1. Weekly Recap – Treading Water
2. Jay-Z’s Six Point Best Life Diagnostic
3. Thoughts On Common Conversation

I stumbled upon these illustrations on noupe.com of Street Fighter characters and had to snag them. It reminded me of the passion I had for the game and the time and energy I poured into it.

I used to play Street Fighter 2 every day before and after school, at the arcade in the corner store, and again when I got home, on my Genesis. I would wrap bandages around my thumbs so that I can play through the pain of a developing callus. The mark o a true gamer back in those days. Now the controllers on most systems are designed with smooth edge buttons and joysticks for these punks out here today…

Anyway, I don’t nearly play as much as I used to but I could learn something from the old me. Once you’re into something, no matter if it’s Street Fighter or spittin’ rhymes to beats, give it your all whenever you can for as long as you can. I’ve been doing that for these last couple of weeks and I lovin’ it. Almost makes me feel like a kid again (except without the bandages).

BTW I still could kick ass on street fighter. I just got part 4 for the PS3 (come see me).
BTW BTW this is off topic but I’ll whoop ass on Madden 10 as well!

Related posts:

1. Weekly Recap – Moving Fast
2. I Don’t Write My Rhymes…

When I was younger, I used to run with my head down. While playing football, as I would run, I’d keep an eye on the ground to see the shadows of an opponent before they can catch up to me. I wasn’t always the fastest so doing this allowed me time to maneuver in ways to escape a tackle. Now that I’m older I feel that I am still running with my head down but now there’s no apparent benefit.

When it comes to building this brand for myself, I make moves without considering it for too long. I think about my options for a couple of moments then make a decision and stick to it (rinse and repeat). All the while I’m not really paying attention to what is going on around me. I ignore all stats, praises, and criticism. I listen to a very select few but at the end of it all I do what I want.

I kinda want to change that. I want to know what other people in my lane (indie/hip-hop/rapper/blogger) are doing to get their names out there. I’m actually in “head down” mode as we speak, on a new mission. I’m in week 6 of the my 12 week project, again ignoring the outside world and running as fast as I can. Let’s see what happens at the end of 12.

The one thing I NEED TO REMEMBER is that the journey is infinitely more valuable than the destination. I actually have that in a verse. I play it sometimes to remind myself to calm down. See the lyrics and track below

i already know,
where i’ve been and where i’m going,
is the same place so,
no reason to chase no mo’,
i just focus on the journey,
death the final destination,
as you rush to get no where,
i’m enjoying the wonder years,
yea…

Amazing ft. Drew << click to play song

Related posts:

1. Weekly Recap – Moving Fast
2. Weekly Recap – Staying Focused
3. 15 Minutes of Free Writing

First of all I’m sorry. I’m not exactly sure what I’ve done (directly or indirectly), but I feel that you women deserve an apology from all men. I come as an ambassador to bridge the gap between the two of us. We can live together harmoniously. I believe this to be true. So can we make that happen?

*Sigh* Where do I begin? I’ve been hearing the same story amongst my female friends and I empathize deeply for them (but not in the way you think). Let me explain. She’s twenty something maybe even early thirties. She’s successful (in the common sense) has a degree, (or two) salary job, her own apartment (condo or house), but is deeply unhappy. Why? Because the men in her life bring her more grief than happiness. She meets the same losers (I may have been one of them) with nothing but apologies and excuses. When she does find a guy who she thinks she could spend the rest of her life with, he cheats on her or he’s afraid to commit or he’s a lazy bum. They all leave her and I get the opportunity to hear about it.

The first thing they do is blame themselves, “What is it with me that I always attract all these losers”. Next comes shutting down completely, “From now on I’m just going to focus on X and forget about finding a man”. But eventually another smooth operator comes along and it starts all over again….

What are we to conclude? All (or the majority) of men are jerks/assholes/self-centered/egotistical etc… (I’ve been called them all)? That would be the easiest assumption. But lets take a look at the other side of the coin.

I’m twenty something maybe even thirty. I like sex. I try to do it often with as many women as I can because that’s what’s expected of me. My role models are few and far between. I’m not really sure what I want in life but I do want options. I’m constantly pressured to “act like a man” what ever that means. I really just want to be left alone (and have sex every now and again). I meet women and I treat them like I treat them. I know what she’s expecting and I know what she wants. I’m not sure I’m ready for all that. Shit I still live at home w/ the parents… comfortably. Her time line is waaaay faster than mine… wait I don’t even have a time line. I wonder how long it will be before shit hits the fan…

As you can see our minds are in different places. You are obviously more focused and strategic than we are. And we are able to flow (or coast) better than you all. At the end of the day I think we both want the same thing… happiness. For each person that magical word can come from different things.

I think if we understand and know that neither of us are perfect and mistakes will be made, we will get along a lot better. We also need to do a better job as being open and honest with one another. I suspect that honesty would alleviate all the misunderstandings. We need to be able to talk openly (without judgment or shame) about what we want and when we want it. If we do these simple things I think we would get along better.

Again, I’m sorry.

Love,

-rey

Related posts:

1. The Programming of Life
2. Open Letter to Facebook Fans
3. Reyshizz on Relationships (Part 2)