post-bamboozlement

what i've learned:

• don't trust internet pop-ups.
• even if you're curious, don't give real information.
• nothing is ever free.
  
• never give your credit card information to someone you don't know.
• trust your instincts more than strangers.
• when in doubt, just say "no".
• "450" will rarely mean "$4.50" in the business world.
• reality is you can't trust everyone.
• there are people who will take advantage of your naivete.
• if something's too good to be true, it probably is.
  
• always read the fine print. there's ALWAYS fine print.
• never agree to something when you're confused.
• you are always entitled to time to think.
• even "goodie-goodies" make mistakes.
• you are responsible for your own choices.
• never be afriad to ask questions.
  
• resolve issues directly, not over email.
  
• do not be intimidated by sales tactics or legal lingo. in the end, it's just a person on the other end of the phone.
• sometimes, you have to fight for yourself.
• don't be afriad to admit to mistakes, but don't let people walk all over you.
• some lessons are really costly. but all are valuable.
• know how to protect yourself.
• always deal with problems as soon as you can.
• some mistakes aren't reversible.
  
• sometimes, good intentions just aren't good enough.
• when you have nothing to lose, don't give up.
• always learn from past mistakes. and never do it again.
  
• sometimes you can't make it on your own.
• don't be afraid to ask for help.
• parents will get mad at you. but they'll always fight for you.
  
• "talk to your parents as soon as possible if there's something you know you can't solve yourself."
• "we love you and always support you" -dad.
  

choruses from the rock

The Eagle soars in the summit of Heaven,
The Hunter with his dogs pursues his circuit.
O perpetual revolution of configured stars,
O perpetual recurrence of determined seasons,
O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying
The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to GOD.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from GOD and nearer to the Dust.
-T.S. Eliot