Career Activism: Good or Bad?

Certain testing methods are developed and readily available to determine if one can be diagnosed as a career activist. Career activism is often not encouraged in other work environments specifically for most corporate capitalists who would think that collective bargaining or sitting down with employers to meet at the midpoint is a waste of time and connotes big losses on investments. Most companies resort to outsourcing abroad because they are just too afraid to take the risk on the kind of employers that is taking the path to career activism. So, they innovate (if that is the correct way to say it) by exploring cheaper labor abroad while this may post risk or compromise their production. Fortunately, most of them succeeded because some countries have bankable manpower- as long as the company keep their books and adhere to their manuals strictly; the "lazy or less fortunate man becomes a modern product of corporate evolution". To determine if this is good or bad for the economy can be tested and analyzed through the current financial turmoil that is happening globally. There are plenty of determinants to a company's survival. Production for example cannot be increased when the demand is undetermined. Some CEO's would lament that "In the absence of wants, advertising should do the trick to convert it as need, so create it somewhere else."

Being a career activist has two significant effects in a basic feedback mechanism. One for the person involved and second, to the company in general.

So if one is a manager, he should know who the career activists among his subordinate are in order to drive along with a strategy to make a feasible work environment running and productive.

The picture of happiness

A career activist routinely asks himself if he is happy, involved or is learning in the organization. When he feels unhappy with work, he tries to do something about it. The solution may not come solely from him until it becomes contagious to his co-workers about the need to make changes in the work environment. People think of him as passionate and engaged in his work so co-workers might be convinced to consciously or subconsciously participate unto his proposition. On the other hand, if he can't push further and continues to be unhappy or not learning at work, he seeks out alternative opportunities from different sources.

Decision-making skills

Every work entails a lot of decision-making process. The quality of decision-making process is dependent on a series of different strategic solutions. For a career activist, he is aware of what sacrifice is and makes it basing from a thoughtful analysis of the pros and cons of such decision. However, a career activist knows how to apply standards and knows how to deal with performance appraisal

Self-awareness of skills, strengths and weaknesses

Since he is thoroughly aware of his skills, strengths and weaknesses; the career activist knows how to leverage his skills to get better assignments. He is defined by his skills not by job description so he works well on most contemporary management styles. His awareness of personal strengths allows himself to work effectively on environments adaptive to such skills. He is prepared to be seen as pushy if it's the last resort to get his work needs recognized. Whether he is a manager or a subordinate, a career activist must be a good communicator to achieve maximum potentials.

The learning direction

The career activist is not stagnant water. He has a directional career path and a time-plan. Some keeps records of what he has learned for the past six months and what he is about to learn in the near six months.

Attitude towards the monster (boss)

He may be treated as the monster's greatest villain but a career activist makes the organization dynamic because he works according to his interest. It is essential to take note of his skills before deciding if you'll need to give him the project or not. This type of person should let his dignity be compromised because he is fully aware with the standards, most specifically with professional standards; that means he can sacrifice by being prepared to lose clients, prepared to turn down lucrative assignments when it is personally painful. Yet, he is prepared to do work that he does not like if it increases a longer-term options.

Interaction beyond…

Since the business world moves along with etiquettes, a career activist usually takes note about meetings canceled thrice and is ready to deal with compromise especially when his personal commitments are held in conflict. However, he is not going to sacrifice for himself or make sacrifices that he can't justify. After all, he likes being stretched at work; he is hungry for life-work balance (so a company should have this protocol) and lastly, he has selected a network of mentors and friends who can provide him with professional and emotional support. So, if you are his manager, be in this circle so that you can easily be in-tuned with a career activist to outwit him to get on track with work, motivate him to achieve corporate goals.

Multitasking: Working beyond your Limits

The medical director of the popular TV series Grey's Anatomy encouraged the head resident to "learn to delegate" when the medical resident has done a lot of multitasking in the facility. The latter did the delegation apparently but ended up doing the job herself basically because she did not have a sense of trust with the other co-worker. The medical director continued, "Go home to your family or you'll end-up going home to no one…"

Some doctors in the field tend to overlap into their job description due to various reasons. Sometimes they felt that they could do it all most especially when their personality is a competitive one. The know-it- alls , do- it- alls principle does apply to many individuals who are confronted with many issues within work which is becoming unhealthy for them as they continue such multitasking in the organization. In some health facilities, under-staffing provokes employees to fill in the task of the absent person. In the long run, they would have to do their work while eating, abuse or push the methods of modern technology to its maximum; create conflicts with other co-workers (because of overlapping responsibilities) and putting their own health at risk. The same is through to other work environments- nurses in the health care facility, financial analysts, call center agents, etc. Almost all work environments today have multitaskers and their kind is greatly preferred and encouraged.

Today's knowledge-based economy, multitaskers are the most in-demand type of people. Yet, their value to the company can only be measured through organized processes. Multitaskers must learn the principle of "work-life balance" in order to achieve the so-called company objectives. Bosses love these people undeniably because it is the trend of today's modern lifestyle in the advent of modern technology. Just because there is technology, does not always have to push humans to adapt with technology. Isn't it that technology should be used to aide humans with their work and that humans must not be the ones fitting himself into existing technology? Ironically, humans are the ones adapting with the advent of modern living hence the word "upgrade" does not always apply with technology but to humans as well. He or she undergoes professional enhancement or worse, work outside of his or her qualifications thus re-creating a figure of him as the living robot of the century. The more he does multitasking, the more he compromises his quality of work because it is a fact that the human brain literally shuts down when it can't handle all the processes that it needs to act upon. John Arden, a psychologist and Dr. Glenn Wilson, commissioned by HP in 2005 have correlated findings regarding multitasking and memory. In their separate findings, Wilson showed that an average worker's functioning IQ drops to 10 points which may lead to sluggishness posting greater health risk in chronicity while Arden stated that "Multitasking decreases memory ability" which will allow a demonstration of "divided attention', another similar concept that will cause "shifting from one activity to another".

Reasons for Multitasking

1. Out of Desperation

Time is an element in which an individual has no control of. He cannot prolong time, stop it nor turn it back so that could do more tasks in an hour or a minute. The inclusion of "time management and planning or realistic schedules" is an efficient way to avoid "cramming". When a task is given ahead of deadlines, one should plan to finish it ahead of schedule to avoid going through desperation. One thing more, one should not accept additional assignments when a certain project has not yet materialized or it requires total attention. Prioritization is a keyword and "quality" should always come first when results are being talked about.

2. Impulsively

Most people are easily interrupted by ringing phones, text message alerts, fax machines while meeting or discussing a certain issue with a co-worker or a boss. An ability to control "technology" to answer the demands of a current problem requiring human interaction is a plus in order to put multitasking to a proper basket. Impulsively, interrupts communication and becomes a moving obstacle in gaining effective feedbacks from sender and receptor, vice-versa. When you have experienced stating, "Where were we?" after taking too much call, one is on a verge of multitasking impulsively.

3. Pride

David Mayer, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan stressed that "Many people delusionaly believe that they are good at this." He explains that the brain is only equipped to do heavy-duty multitasking. Although people are asked to do multiple things, they would need a superhuman ability which is only true when one performs two activities that require the use of the same part of the brain. So does it apply to one reading a financial report while making love to his spouse? This would be futile.

As the three experts suggests, multitasking could result to serious health risks. Further it affects one's level of concentration or focus. You can just imagine how many of these people who gets a car accident while answering their mobile phones. Scientifically speaking, stress hormones play an integral part in straining the human body. Drugs (like sleeping pills, vitamins and supplements) mistakenly taken to boost the body's defenses could result to even more serious problems like dependency and addiction. Occupational safety and Health researchers confirmed that with this biologic changes, it would contribute to headaches, sleep problems, stomach problems when in acute phase but for long term effects, could lead to heart diseases, depression and back pain to name a few.

Time magazine in an article about "Inflammatory responses" also affirms that chemicals produced in response to the body's stress leads to many debilitating diseases of the century like diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.

Aside from this, multitasking is a significant factor to brain cell permanent damage which would latter make a person have difficulty doing one thing at a time.

Work-Life Balance Promise

Work-Life balance is concept that has been gaining buzz in most contemporary organizations. Little emphasis on work-life balance creates influence to employers' attitudes, behavior and values in the workplace. This concept could be an answer to addressing multitasking problems; wherein an employer or employee, who has not been able to balance these two core concept: work and life, tend to resort to multitasking. Balancing to avoid multitasking can be achieved by engaging in a formal work-life planning process in a structured disciplined manner. The measures could be allowing alternative working arrangements like flexi-time work arrangements. It is a promising solution which would decrease tension between superior and subordinates, creates more responsibility and empathy in the workplace.

The benefit of work-life balance is owed to policies developed that includes family or simply goes with the principle of family-friendly policies. This would result to a wide array of solutions from reducing employee absences, better staff retention, easier recruitment or filling of positions, improvements in morale, commitment and productivity of the employees.

As a conclusion, truly an answer to this multitasking problem is to stay organized and avoiding putting work on hold for tomorrow. Thus, tasks are done during the course of the day and decreases piling of work loads. When you are working on a project, control technology like ignoring your cell phone when it rings, your IM when it pings, and focus. Take a break: have a brief walk, take a nap, browse the net for fun in less than ten minutes, and sip tea to calm your nerves as the experts say. Focus on one task at a time. Don't be pressured and resist the urge to do multitasking.

Out-knowing the Monster?

He is the boss and you're the slave, so? Does that mean that the slave does not need a sense of liberation from the boss's invisible remote control? There are diverse types of leaders and managers in the world of WORK. Sometimes we stumble to the one that really heats our butts because we are not used to with the kind of needle that he or she is exposing us in our work environments. Yet, we cannot be silent or act like a buzzing bee when we failed to assert ourselves as co-workers. We want to make things work or else the company which is undeniably the source of our bread and butter; suffers because of our undirected egos. So before you resort to "resignation" (which I suggest to be a last option for your dilemma); you might want to read some thoughts which might help you realize that you can actually outwit that guy up there and who knows, you might grab his or her seat one day and experience a different kind of hell that you might want to re-create.

First of all, the monster is not a god and certainly he is like Goliath that has a weakness. He or she shouts, throws things, rewards the wrong person and annoys but you must have to look at a perspective that he or she is hiding a "secret closet", that once you unlock it, he or she is going to be your own proto-type asimo. So take note of your strengths and observe that without it, your boss is screwed. There's got to be that thing in you that he or she does not have. Use it when the right time comes. In short, know the things that the monster does not know. Have an extra ear and of course, always listen with your two ears and your eyes. If you have that sixth sense, then add that up!

Working with numbers and other data

The TV series Numbers for example suggests that problems in crimes can be statistically analyzed using collated data. Though it has a varying degree as to how efficient statistical analysis resolve even the toughest organized crimes like terrorism, it gives us an idea that when you are capable of analyzing these and your boss definitely depends on you on such information; this could translate to you being the asset of the organization. When you are able to translate figures to valuable information in resolving the toughest organizational problems, you can maximize your own potentialities.

In the field of medical science, laboratory analysis are derived from "numbers" which is a fact, an important tool in the treatment and management of diseases. Nurses and doctors depend on this information in making critical decisions in health care. If you are the nurse, when you know how to deal with numbers and data, you won't feel that you are a mechanical puppet when the doctors just happen to make his "orders"; actually you can make pertinent suggestions by which you believe, best for your patient. Gone are the days that a nurse is treated as that mechanical assistant who operates on "push-buttoned" responsibilities.

In the field of business however, when every data is equal to "money", when you are good at working with numbers and other data, you can help the company to minimize losses in the stock market. When your boss misses that single detail which you provided a door of opportunity may open for you…

Getting caught with your bluff

The boss is the boss. You are not yet. Remember that it is not wise to be overconfident about your value to the organization. Yet, you should always anticipate that he or she might ask for you to double check on something. On the other-hand, do not push that all answers provided by you and everything else is complete. When at the back of your mind, you missed something and you just had that flickered while having the presentation, do not get caught and have your confidence melt down. Admit it when it is too obvious. Say that, "I do not have the answer for the moment or the information at the moment", and then offer to find out. Yet when you do, do not make a promise; just do it. This works well for medical interns or personnel making a stiff monitoring. Do not make an alibi that there are so much things to do especially when you are dealing with lives. If you are keen with monitoring machines, then check immediately if there is stored information which you have missed. Most health managers want to see changes that make a patient recover, achieve his or her optimum level of functioning; that is why the health care provider is supposed to be the "generalist" in a certain situation.

The test-retest Method

The WORK world works with logic and from logic, we extract the thing known as common sense, so when you learned to anticipate the monster's questions, be ready to advance the questions that starts with the word, "why". In a presentation, you must be able to monologue for that question and answer portion. Visualize the results as you present the solutions to the problems. The basic principle is "cause and effect" but the "why" thing weights the solution that you are presenting. The keyword for this principle is, "Initiative". Before the monster manages to find out for him self, have the initiative to look further.

Your back-up support system

Einstein, one of the great thinkers of the century, said that never reveal your sources which is one best principle while you are still developing a strategic idea on your next career move. It is not wise to depend solely on your knowledge and skills; you must have a back-up of support systems in the field where you can extract ideas and where you can depend on when you are confronted by your waterloo. Admit it, you are not a superhuman. You can be a walking Almanac or a concise Encyclopedia but you are not a compendium of all knowledge so you must know who are in that "support gear" that you must be wearing. He may be another manager you met from a convention you had coffee with a couple of hours ago, a reliable expert, a corporate geek or an explorer. The point is you are clever enough to out know the monster so as to advance yourself in that organizational ladder. The idea is simple, when you have access to such information that the monster don't, you can synchronize with the boss's strategies easily, propose outstanding solutions, or innovate on existing standards. Whichever the step, you are building your value with your career and to the employer.

The Post Graduate

The Graduate is a classic example of college seduction in which a question of morality is put into test from the mature ones- who should uphold the highest standards of human wisdom;yet it pictures that age is not correlated with morality but "character" is a product of time-tested experience- that can be molded into an unbelievably ugly phenomenon set to be loved by an ailing society.

Mrs. Robinson is a victim turned to victimizer while Ben is a picture of a dead man walking seeking for another chance. While personally I would say that the plot is a reflection of the reality that we are living in, there are certain spots in the plot that I can say, contrary to human nature. This conflict is alluded in the sound-tract but to wave away from the predecessors of the movie, I would beg to disagree on Elaine's responses to the conflict. She is typically no different from Mrs. Robinson, a corruption of womanhood and a figure of weaker vessel in the movie and Ben, the typical chauvinist nature fashioned by a lovable face that is in the guise of a carnal man who never really changed his real skin. I love how the movie portrayed the conflicts. Dustin Hoffman was superb in any angle- his nervousness comes in almost normal to fine acts. I like how the addiction was presented (though some may disagree that it is plainly temptation).

The fornication may not be an issue today but the scene, was bold enough to expose how a man could go further to the extremes of his desires and yet, when confronted with his conscience, the act of transformation to betterment is not just enough to fill in my viewer's taste. If I would have to base that movie to current western culture, I would get murdered, yet the idea there is to explore human emotions which is not vastly portrayed.

Elaine's screaming were not enough, she should have undergone some series of alienation and depression and Ben is the culprit behind- the master opportunist on the situation. We don't sympathize on that kind of person but the movie is wise enough to inject that he was indeed the victim yet he was a maturing adult who is nothing but a blind and selfish person.

I also pity Mrs. Robinson for grabbing into her sense of controlling nature in which she has failed in her character. The succeeding characters were typical parents who are "detached" from their children. I can see injustice for using the house of God as a place for that climax. Yet, the crucifix may symbolize "salvation" in anyway for Ben and Elaine to start a new life together. What if they don't take that bus?

A Borrowed Chance

Mr. Pedro Donoso's downfall was Ysabel Arroyo, his second wife at is ailing health and old age. It was a quick marriage at first in the guise of betrayal shared by the latter with Andres Corona, Pedro's most trusted servant. Days past as the newly wed couple started their new life together, the ambitious Ysabel has recently had a friction with Donoso's only daughter who was witness to her infidelity. Naturally, the old man- so in love with Ysabel would side with his new wife until his death prompted Cayetanna- a fortune teller and occultist to warn of the future. Donoso died in the hands of the woman he loves. Yet, fate decided to help a wandering Pedro's soul to take over a farmer's body owned by Salvador Serinza for his forthcoming revenge...

So much for the prelude but this unique Mexican telenovela is not like the typical rags to riches story of a woman fairy tale that ends up into a happy ending but the plot speaks of a spiritual journey of a man who is given a chance to seek the truth beyond the lies and betrayals of his beloved and gradually resolves unfinished business and conflicts with his neglected family members due to his ill-fated decisions. The funniest aspect of the story roots from his awakening from a body that supposed to be buried which prompted the grieving community folks to suspect that he has risen from death and can perform miracles because of remarkable changes in his behavior and newly-found intelligence. Donoso found himself in the body of a man whom he assumed to take as he returns to avenge his own death only to realize that as he unfolds the truth, he is still in love with Ysabel's cousin yet has to make a swallow-hard decision to stick with Ysabel up to the end of his journey. His revelations led to a collective hysteria which began with Simon, Andres Corona (who became mentally ill), Walter and Ysabel's aunt's death. The plot talks about obsession, rise to power, greed, passion, compassion, resolution, revenge, love, etc. The climax is exquisitely unexpected as both Ysabel and Donoso crashed through a car chase once authorities unlocked the mysteries of the black-widow's (Ysabel Arroyo) crimes.

What is touching is Ysabel's admission of his sins but failure to be forgiving for her cousin and the rest of Donoso's family. She was trapped by her own curse and offered death as her repentance for all the crimes she did in the name of love. I surely miss the drama, I love Cayetanna and her company, Serinza's family and his funny wife, Father Jacobo's immaturity in his religious belief's and Walter's sarcasm. This drama is a new taste and a new fold of plot yet to be re-explored as we begin to untangle the mystery of death and rebirth.

Not Sweet Enough: A Sweet November Breeze

What would you do if you lose control on what would you want your life would be? All of us wants to take over, we would sing to the very idea of self-determination only to realize that this life is all bout suffering and with the idea of impermanence no matter how perfect we want our life to be, impermanence stays and it is just one sweet element.

Nelson is a portrayal of a man who would want to tap that very direction of calculated living and when he thought he gets all the grip of how life should be lived, he realized that one fine contact with a stranger's eye is the beginning of a life-changing moment; his own interpretation of romance and his quest for happiness.

I like this movie for two personal reasons: One it is another re-interpretation of "love" and second, it is set in a controlling manner that will keep you glued to watch the whole movie or else you'll be sorry.

While it is intriguing to understand why would a woman opens her door to a verbal contract with a guy, a thought-provoking concept that would often have a thumbs down for most feminists and conservatives; we would unveil the motive that she resorts to it in response to her defense mechanisms because she has that inner conflict within herself while she is holding on to her own battle with a disease. If this is promoting a mind-over-matter thing that is leaving us with a big question mark in the end; this conflict is clouded by romance as the scenes progressed to the cinematic portrayal of what a couple should be. Aww! I hate to say that this is a tragic comedy but I am more keen to the symbolisms that the movie is showing.

California is a mix of the old country as well as the new and I guess this movie is conveying a message that it is not just a remake to do justice from the first but a revelation that the concept of "love" and the confrontation of the conflicts present in the movie knows no time. So I guess this is in sync with the soundtrack as well.

I love how the colors blended and how realistic the place was. Who knows we might bump at a real-life Nelson or Sara in our own California streets but what is truly moving is not just its simplicity. The movie is about a critical audience who could distinguish the relationships of each elements in the plot, the set and the characters...

I did not like how the characters tend to be cold-hearted as Nelson chased Sara effortlessly. It was like, Keanu Reeves was thinking more than setting his real emotions.

Sara is a selfish individual who finds comfort in a man's down side. Nelson has been submissive for the very first time yet he was even more trapped when he finds that he is going to lose what he had worked for but he was a risk -taker.

However, Sara rediscovered her humanity as she let-go of Nelson for it was not her plan to go on with him because something is holding her back and she has to face it beyond November. Whether both are truly in love, pride tore them apart because of one has to be in-control.

And yes, Sara won over making her decisions despite Nelson's willingness to give out more. Until, a too "familiar" goodbye sets the denouement to an ending scene. The classic sun rays and smooth breeze is a classic symbolism of "hope" and this is what I hate about open-ended stories in movies... it is not a reality show where the audience could just make a text vote or call to have their own desired endings. This is not a reality show but it aims to portray reality in dream.

To GREEN now or?

How do we go Green when all we think is to get the latest in the market.?We want to throw or just take away some things that we believe we no longer need, the green revolution's calling is simply not our creed... it indeed easily said than done.

My mother has been very influential in the family when it comes to going green. She has been working in the Environment Bureau for almost thirty years and with her expertise, she has been consulted by many organizations, including our City government with regards to solid waste management. Within our city, each household is obliged to segregate garbage and yeah, we pay for garbage fee too. We have also our option by selling our own trash (the non-biodegradable ones like scrap metals, computer hardware, plastics to junk shops of our choice) or just segregate it and allow the city garbage collector to take it and from there, they manage your trash...

Solid waste is not just the visible garbage that we get rid from our households. It also includes the other establishments in a certain place. The municipal hall is an abiding model where it boasts its earning for the past years and it mobilized the funds in taking care some of the expenses of the city like medicines and other services. It was not a highly profitable one but yes an evidence that, "there is indeed money in the garbage".

The other proponents of going green could not even deny that to live with it, you have to spend money to really achieve that full potential but for ordinary people like me, change does not come with a snap of a finger. Money is not always available to change your lamp bulbs, your TV screens, some house finishings, your cleaning gadgets, your car, etc. It denotes time to really figure out and to make your decision. Most especially, when you are not living on your own. How could you advocate others in your household to change just because it is the calling? We simply need some right timing, right information and of course, the right "choices" in which we could make a "compromise."

We have to be honest to ourselves that there are some things that we could not just let go simply because the "cost" is not feasible. We can't let go of this refrigerator because there's no budget to get a new one nor let go of that non-environment friendly washing machine and detergent when the supposed to be friendly stuff is not yet commercially available.

Yet, still the best place to assess how "green" we can contribute to the environment is to start from our homes, we can determine "wastes" from all areas beginning from our own closets to our garage. According to a popular show, when you don't use your clothes for more than 6 months, then it is a candidate for either giving it to charity, for your garage sale or trash (trashing also follows the words: recycle, re-use, repair/recondition, re-sale, etc). So many solutions available and yet "the choice is in your hands. "

My parting words, when you decide to go and live green, are you ready to change your lifestyle by considering going back to the basics? Using stuff you haven't tried, spending in an environment-friendly technology? How about your government initiatives? The big corporations?

Reliving the Cast Away Conflicts

Whenever I see a volleyball, I would always be reminded by Tom Hanks' unforgettable best-friend, "Wilson" in his Cast Away Movie. Yes, we will surely agree that "No man is an Island" but his Character managed to survive in that island, thanks to his sanity and grip of personal human self-preservation. At first, I was preempting that this is no less than a "easy-made" movie commercialized by the famous FedEx campaign but as the scenes progressed to an expanded possibilities in which several situations arise, it touches more human interest and depth in acting supremacy that crosses from serious hopelessness and life's natural comedy.
I would like to stress on the following conflicts:

1. Survival- The island reminds me of the "reality show" series when human subjects are placed in an environmental and situation-controlled simulations. Worse case that a man could experience is conflict within himself as to the idea of answering the question, "Will I survive?". So Hanks' character was challenged in using his resourcefulness in order to gather food for himself, cook and be filled in the absence of certain luxuries in life. There was a point when he needed to deal with opening the packages to see if there's something he could use for that cause. Yet, his detachment to human civilization did not impede him to become human by carefully deciding which package is worth salvaging and not...

2. Anger- Who would be so happy in that island if all you got is a non-responding volleyball ,you fashioned to keep track of your human senses? In here, we would see Hanks' character resort to displacement and series of defense mechanisms like self-talk" put to its critical limits. There was anger against the island itself, anger at the typhoon and anger against fate or God who put him into that kind of situation. At first he was determined to utilize all his strength to get off that island, he failed, got injured... Next day, he determined to kill himself, the next thought was "Never say never."... Yet he did, he rebuilt his hope and he succeeded.

3. The Challenge to get off that Island no matter what...-is always a climax to his solitude. He was physically exhausted yet, powerful enough to inspire the audience to exhaust all his human capacities to get out of his "hell" and take back his life.

4. The Resurrection- Now, we pity Hanks' character as he battled against "time" and unresolved issues of his past. In this case, he never thought that his engineering skills has its own limits and he can't take back the past. It was quite a short phasing of the Cast Away movie but it needed no further dramatization because it clearly speaks of the idea of "impermanence" and what's important is, He was able to look ahead into the future.

Was that salvaged FedEx package sync to culminate his future? That was the beauty of how the story unfolded- open-ended, simple, and brilliant.