Things that make you go hmmm....

Sushi Roll

Cue the music preferably one that hits all the notes that sends intoxicating chills down your spine because I am happy. I am ecstatic and I have a reason and that reason starts with an L and ends with E and its not love but I am certainly in love with it… LIFE people LIFE. Wonton Samosa has been on hiatus for a week now but it was for good reasons… in short, me and Riaz almost perished into nonexistence. You can return your seats to the upright position we are very much healthy and alive. A week prior to Easter I was involved in a car accident that made my car roll deuce eventually landing upside down. When I got hit and my vehicle defied gravity I thought I was surely a dead man. Not to sound cliché but the life flashing before my eyes did happen and I thought about not being able to smooch my wonderful girlfriend or listen to awesome music anymore (I have an obsession with music refer to our earlier music articles). Where was I… oh yeah, I am upside down surrounded by a plethora of glass shards and dirt. As I hung upside down I thought to myself… Whoa! I survived that! I am a very lucky and fortunate man. So there I was trying to unhook myself from my seat, I hit the seat belt eject button and plopped onto the car roof, glass cutting my hand as I land. Outside my car crowded a bunch of spectators conversing and trying to help me out of my death trap. I was eventually freed from the car and I sat myself down 10 foot away peering at my car thanking it for sacrificing its gleaming metal body for my fleshy vulnerable one.

It’s been more than a week since the fiasco and I am glad I am alive and still kicking. Taking life for granted is something all of us do daily and I am learning how precious this commodity is. Call me annoying but I am over the hills happy about life. I love the music people produce to express their inner creativeness. Heck I even love the water I am drinking right now as I type up this article. If there is one thing that you the reader should take away from my crazy life is this… do things that make you happy everyday. What is the point in being bitter and questioning everything you do? This, friends is unnecessary filler. You might think my views are cheesy but they are my views and there is nothing you can say to change my mind.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Asianman,

Wonton


Fire

It’s a bit odd posting personal information/stories on the internet, but I guess if there’s a bright-side or possibly a lesson in here somewhere, well then, why not?

On Saturday April 4th I was planning on spending the evening at home and just calling it an early night. At about 9:30pm I received a text message from a close-friend asking me to hangout. I headed out for a couple of hours and when I returned home my street was littered with a bunch of fire trucks, police cars and ambulances. I found out a few minutes later that my apartment building had caught fire. I headed back to my friend’s for the night.

The next day another friend called me to see if I was okay, and then gave me more details as he had read a story about it in the news. The details at that point were that a fire started on the 2nd floor (in the apartment next to mine) and spread to the 3rd floor. Sadly one 61 year old man died from some inhalation, a couple of people had been taken to the hospital (they’re fine now) and a several people lost their pets.

My immediate reaction to it all was simple. I was/am thankful to be alive, and thankful that my friend decided to call me to hang. The next few days definitely were a mixed bag of emotions, but there were a couple of resounding themes: Life is fragile, things are just things and stuff is just stuff. Sure initially I was a bit bummed out. I hadn’t seen my apartment at that point and was wondering exactly how much damage there was. I did hope that my guitar and laptop were fine, along with some other things of sentimental value, but again, what did it really matter? Someone lost their life.

Throughout the week I received a ton of support from close family, friends and complete strangers as well. If I had any doubts in my mind about the “state of humanity” that’s been rolled up into a little ball and tossed into the stratosphere. The generosity and support of people is incredible. Enough random acts of kindness have taken place to last me a lifetime. I’m still extremely overwhelmed, and find it hard to express how appreciative I feel. I just can't believe how amazing people have been and continue to be.

We were allowed back into our apartments for 10 minutes last week to see what was what. Although there was a ton of smoke, fire and water damage, my guitar, laptop and cd’s along with some other stuff were salvageable. I guess the fire that started in the apartment next to mine spread in the opposite direction.... It’s a weird mixture of happiness and guilt. I’d definitely trade any of those possessions for someone’s life or their pets…I guess I just have to smile and be thankful that as far as my material possessions go, not everything was lost.

I also was reminded of one important thing, fire or no fire, I am lucky to have options. There are people in the world who don’t have any options. If something bad happens they don’t have people to lean on, places to go, people to hug or a familiar smile to see. I have nothing to complain about, nothing at all. Life is good and I’m extremely blessed. Things that bothered me before don’t now. Oddly enough, I don’t think I’ve ever felt lighter.

We always hear people say “look at the big picture.” After this experience I think, why not stare at the big picture constantly? Why not make that our regular point of view? I’m not saying that I will always look at the big picture, I’m human and I probably won’t…I am however making a promise to myself to definitely try to never lose sight of it.

Talk to you sooner than soon,

-Samosa