Humor 11/11/98: All I Needed to Know

Hey,

I hope you are doing well. I just finished my third midterm today. I
have one more exam next week, before we get to finals. I'm really
enjoying the stuff I'm learning. The next major thing is to polish up
my resume and start the hunt for summer jobs (already!). For those of
you in the Silicon Valley, I'll be going up there from 1/4/98 to
1/10/98, to visit hi-tech companies, and to visit friends. Hope to see
you there!

This week's humor was forwarded to me by Jenny Hsu, followed by a really
thought-provoking, self-improving admonition piece, sent by Anna Man.
Enjoy!

-Josh.
P.S. I need to forward these emails to you through this UCLA account
because my Anderson account limits the distribution list size. To send
me any emails, still send them to: joshli@post.harvard.edu, which will
be forwarded to me at: joli@anderson.ucla.edu. This is the one I check
every day.
___________________________________________

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW, I LEARNED FROM NOAH'S ARK

1. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
2. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do
something REALLY big.
3. Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done.
4. Build on high ground.
5. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
6. Two heads are better than one.
7. Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so
were the snails.
8. If you can't fight or flee -- float!
9. Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.
10. Remember that the ark was built by amateurs, and the Titanic was
built by professionals.
11. Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than
the storm outside.
12. Don't miss the boat.
13. No matter how bleak it looks, if God is with you, there's always a
rainbow on the other side.
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Subject: Build With Care

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-
contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and
live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended
family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire.
They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker
go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.

The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his
heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and
used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect
the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter.

"This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building
his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he
had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way,
reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best.
At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then
with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that
we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized,
we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each
day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely.
It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for
only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and
with dignity.

The plaque on the wall says, Life is a do-it-yourself project."
Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of
your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will
be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.