What a difference three years makes.  I had a chance today to stop - pause - and reflect on how I've changed as a person over the last three years.  College and two years of having my ass handed to me have definitely changed me - in mostly (though not always) good ways.  I feel like every step of the way I've charged up, suited up and developed skills and abilities that take me one step closer to my goal of saving the world.  I've been hearing that video game "Level Up!" sound a lot lately.

Heck, even my writing has changed.   Too prose-like? Perhaps.  Meandering and wordy?  Absolutely.  Meaningful?  Hopefully.  And hopefully more writing to come, now that I've been freed from my proverbial cell. 

As a comparison: latest piece I had the pleasure of writing, this time for a newsletter for Frat. 

New York, New York - Brotherhood in the Big Apple

Although Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherhood, seeing as how we have no Philadelphia chapter, I hope Philly-ites will forgive me if us Yanks usurp the nickname just for one moment. I had the chance to understand brotherhood and family in New York as a shining-eyed and bushy-tailed kid leaving the bubble of college with four years of knowledge, a dream to save the world and no applicable skills to make it happen.
"I want to be a part of it, New York, New York.
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere" I hummed as I stepped foot into the real world for the first time.

New York is very much like other urban cities, except more so. There's more excitement, more people, more career madness and more stress here. At the same time, the loneliest place in the world is often within a crowd; the easiest place to be lost is within the jumble of the city. Have you ever felt the feeling of leaving your burdens and cares at the door with your shoes, of joyful fellowship and quality friendship with brothers, uncles and fathers -- of coming home? That's how I felt at my first Frat events. And as thanks, I hope to share some memories from the past year with you:

One of the first outdoor Frat events I had the pleasure of attending was going to Coney Island last August. There I had the chance to meet Brother A, talk more with Brother B as well as ride the roller coaster with Brother C's welcoming family. C was generous enough to buy rides on one of the oldest roller coasters in America for me with his family, and I immediately repaid his kindness by shrieking non-stop into his ear as the rollercoaster careened from one squeaking edge to another. The Cyclone's reputation as of "one of the oldest roller coasters in America" is indeed well deserved.

Later, at the New York Lodge's annual Holiday party, many of the candidates had the chance to share their backgrounds. Personally, hearing more details about my fellow candidates' backgrounds gave me more perspective into how Frat works like a family. Some candidates, like D, are actually multi-generational brothers and it was encouraging to see a legacy passed on from father to son. I had the added honor of sharing a bit about my own family as well as being a prop to another candidate enacting a skit--a skit of having imaginary super glue applied to his finger, and being unable to get his fingers off anything he touched, including forks, chairs, carpets and plates. And he, unfortunately, stuck imaginary superglue to my hair…and my face.

For the Lunar New Year Party, the candidates had the chance to show off their sense of fashion as they became models in a Project Runway showdown. The candidates ended up with wacky costumes that words cannot properly justify. Just know that I started calling the other candidates by names such as "Indian War Chief D," "Curtain Man E," etc. I'm at a lost to describe my own costume except to say it was some abomination of a toga, held together by scotch tape and staples, with major silver bling and a feathered headdress. Needless to say, the beautiful "Frat Angels" dressed in red, friends and sisters who helped to run the entire evening (and an addition I propose we entertain at all future Frat events), single-handedly put every candidate to shame.

I'm proud to say though, that I haven't only taken from Frat - I've also given back. At different times, Brother F helps organizes poker tournaments whereby brothers and candidates meet up, and after a five or six course dinner at a nearby restaurant in Neighborhood, walk over to the headquarters of Brother F's bank to play poker. These poker games are great because one is able to glean bits of business wisdom, sitting at the master's (Brother F's) feet. However, there is truly no such thing as a free lunch in this world. I consider the money I lost to Brother F at poker to be fair payment for his thoughts as well as a tax deductible non-profit contribution to Frat.

Most recently though, I've had the pleasure of being able to cross generations, geographies and backgrounds by grabbing dinner with Brother G. Brother G was in town hosting a dinner for some Fulbright students and I had the pleasure (and audacity) to bum along for a warm, cooked meal. First things first - I was immediately struck by how sharp and worldly Brother G was. I've devoted my life thus far to gaining the knowledge and skills to save the world - to utilize my knowledge of finance and China / international relations to work in - well, finance and microfinance in China. Fortuitously, microfinance was a shared passion of both Brother Gand myself and I got the better end of the bargain coming out of an in-depth conversation with Brother G about microfinance. It's humbling as a financier working in investment banking to go tit for tat with Brother G and come out of the conversation much more educated than I was before. And at his sprightly age of 87, I look forward to many future, enlightening and stimulating conversations with Brother G.

Looking ahead, for those brothers who will be around New York, the New York Lodge is planning a May 17th cookout at Brother H's with the Boston Lodge (I, J and others are expected to attend); a May 30 dinner with Brother K visiting from Singapore; a Bowling Party on June 7th organized by the 2008 New York candidates; as well as regular monthly luncheons on the 3rd Sunday of each month.

While we're looking to the future, we'd also like to welcome some new members into the Frat family. Brother L and Sister M welcomed their son N, born February 18, 2008 at a healthy 6lb 15oz and 21 inches. Brother O and Sister P welcomed their new 8lb 3oz daughter, Q, on Jan 2, 2008. With any luck, these new additions will be future full-fledged brothers and sisters of Frat.

While looking to the future, it's also important to reflect on the past. Although I'm saddened to read about the passing away of brothers in the Obituary, nostalgic goosebumps run down my spine as I read about the children and legacy these brothers left behind. I noted that another R (who was initiated in '34) passed away in March but was more struck by the impression he left behind on Brother S. We all have to pass away some day but no one wants to be forgotten. Someday, I hope I can aspire to leave behind a similar legacy.

On behalf of the brothers in the city that never sleeps,
Tetnaux