Raquel Lampe's Blog

CEO of Apple and Pixar animation studios, Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University to about 5000 people today.  Jobs focused on three main topics; connecting the dots of life, love and loss, and death. These three topics are what he used as the main driving force for his work and personal goals, but the secret was to never look too far into the future.

“Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backward 10 years later.” Jobs said, as he explained how the inspiration of Mac’s typography came from a calligraphy course he stumbled in on while being a “drop in” student at Reed University.

“So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Jobs said.

This type of mentality allowed Jobs to focus on the present and achieve goals day by day, rather than worry about how every decision he makes will turn out in the future.  The speech motivates the graduates to focus on what they love and put everything they have into it by channeling their own personal interests into work.

“I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life.” Jobs started off. Finding what you love to do and applying it to your work is the key to success. But success doesn’t come without loss as Jobs describes.

“How can you get fired from a company you started?” Jobs asked. “…at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.”

Although Jobs had lost all he had worked for his entire adult life, the thought occurred to him- “I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit.” He adds. “And so I decided to start over.” As Jobs explains, “…it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.” So through the loss of Apple, Jobs was able to free himself from the stress of success and focus once more on what he loved.

“During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar…” Pixar, which is now the most successful animation studio in the world, created the first computer animated motion picture, Toy Story.

Failure is one of the key components to success, because without it, development is impossible. It allows the loss of something great to the foundation of something even greater. Yet there is no greater loss than death.

“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something,” said Jobs. Explaining to the graduates how many fear death, while he uses it as his greatest motivation.  By knowing that any day may be the last, one can channel that fear and that sense of urgency into the passion of creativity. All the problems of day to day life are drowned out by the reality of death.

Jobs lives by a very simple quote, a quote that he wishes unto the graduating class of 2005.

“Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

In a world of choices, chaos, and influence, finding what you love may seem impossible. Work hard, never give up, and live each day like it was your last and in the midst of the chaos, you may just find exactly what you weren’t looking for.

If you haven’t heard a performance by These Fading Visions, you’re missing out. Every other weekend, this band performs at The Metal Grill in Cudahy, Wisconsin.

These Fading Visions consists of lead vocalist, Justin Wiedower, guitarists Chase Kendall, Mitch Garcia and drummer, Eric Treuden. Their music style revolves around metal core songs the band covers from other artists. Wiedower also writes and produces original songs for the band to perform.

I spoke with their lead singer about how the band formed.

“Four months ago, I got a friend request from Chase, our guitarist. I saw that he posted covers on his Facebook and ended up messaging him because I thought he had insane talent,” Wiedower explained. “My drummer and I were actually looking for two guitarists, so one thing led to another and we all met up and jammed to a song by Of Mice & Men and right there we became a band.”

Their set at The Metal Grill features a hall which is reminiscent of an East Coast dive bar. Dimly lit with neon signs on the walls that illuminate the tightly packed crowd from each side, the stage is lit so bright that everyone’s attention is attracted to it. The band got their start performing at The Metal Grill with help from a friend.

“Our friend Dan, who was originally going to be our second vocalist but turned out it wasn’t his style so he left on good terms,” Wiedower explained. “That’s how we ended up playing here.”

As the band members step on stage, they appear to be experienced musicians. However, Wiedower stated that he usually gets nervous before their performance.

“I get butterflies before I go on stage and once I get up there, I get an adrenaline rush,” he explained.

During their set, the band performed three songs. Two covers, one from A Day To Remember and OG Loko. The final song was an original, called Ink Stained Promise.

This single can be purchased on iTunes for .99 cents or heard through Spotify. When Wiedower and his band heard the big news, they were absolutely ecstatic.

“It’s an amazing feeling, I never would’ve thought something of my own would be on iTunes or Spotify,” he stated.

My friend, Emily Jonson introduced me to the band and suggested I join her at The Metal Grill for one of their performances.

“Even if you don’t like metal, they are worth a listen because they are amazing,” Jonson said.

Come and hear These Fading Visions play at The Metal Grill in Cudahy at 6 p.m. every other weekend for $12. Browse their Facebook page for more information on their next gig.

Mayor of Kittatinny, Pennsylvania, Gustavus G. Petykiewicz announced the proposed budget for 2016. Due to the loss of property value in Kittatinny, the annual city budget has been affected. Most of their losses come from the industrial industry. With a $100 million loss from this year to last, the change in budget will affect the 17,000 people living in Schuylkill County. When proposing the budget, Mayor Petykiewicz states that its goal is “to spread the pain around a bit.” If necessary, members of the city council, including Mayor Petykiewicz will take a significant pay cut.

The following members: Chief of police, Roman Hruska, City Council President, Delenlda Penoyer, President of American Federation of State, Country and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Martha Mittengrabben and President of the Pennsylvania Police Association, Bjarne Westhoff plan on working with Petykiewicz’s to propose a feasible and realistic budget for the city.

The loss within the industrial industry will cause 600 jobs to be lost at Susquehanna Steel Corp., directly affecting the commercial industry. In order to create more employment opportunities for the city, the annual budget proposes using the cuts from the industrial industry will be used to grow the commercial industry. This will create the opening of the Tohickon Creek Plaza, a strip shopping center that will include multiple jobs openings and stimulate further city development.

Petykiewicz plans on raising the city tax rate from 4 mills to 4.3 mills. President of AFSCME, Mittengrabben proposes that a 4 to 5 mill raise would “save jobs.”

“There must be a spirit of shared sacrifice,” Mittengrabben explained.

By approving a 1 mill tax hike, the money can go towards more commercial development or the reconstruction of industrial properties.

Aside from commercial and industrial development, additional jobs are needed within the police force. The proposed budget plans to cut an entire police shift from 4 a.m. to noon.

Chief of police, Hruska, stated “I cannot stand ideally by and watch a city of this size by deprived of regular city protection for a third of each day.”

The money accumulated from the tax hike can be used to keep an officer on duty during that time. In case of an emergency, calls will be addressed by an on call deputy from the Schuylkill County Sheriff Department.

“We must move forward from this,” Petykiewicz explained. “Please know that my door is always open and I welcome your suggestions as to how we can weather this tough time.”

The budget must be approved by the council and signed into law by Petykiewicz by March 31, 2016.

20 year old, Peter Szozda is an Aircraft Hydraulic Specialist in the United States Air Force.

As an Aircraft Hydraulic Specialist, Szozda examines the aircraft hydraulic systems, manages malfunctions, maintains inspection and repair records and discards of harmful waste.

“Being an Aircraft Hydraulic Mechanic is interesting. Some days I will go home soaked head to toe in hydraulic fluid, known as carcinogen, and it smells wonderful,” he laughed. “I’ve learned a lot about what it’s like being a mechanic and working with your hands.”

Szozda joined the Air Force after he graduated from Oak Creek High School in 2014 and has experienced many changes, both mentally and emotionally.

“Joining the Air Force has definitely changed me. When most people join, they are straight of high school or close to it and have never had any real experience on their own,” he explained. “The military changes that very quickly, as one is thrown into a life where you can control everything you do. It’s a huge responsibility thrown on your shoulders and it’s quite the thing to get used to,” Szozda said.

Aside from working for the Air Force, Szozda is both musically and artistically talented.

He plays the guitar, both electric and acoustic, the ukulele, the drums, and the piano.

He has been playing the piano since kindergarten, but just recently started playing guitar and bass.

Szozda has many inspirations when it comes to music.

“Well, I would have to say a major inspiration would be my family,” he said. “Almost all of them are musically talented and everyone has potential. When I started playing the guitar, my first actual serious instrument, I was just trying to get some attention from my siblings and people; something to put me on the radar I guess. But, from there, it took off a lot more than I was expecting and it went from me trying to impress, to me just enjoying the music,” Szozda explained.

Aside from his many talents in music, he is a very artistic person.

“I remember drawing as a kid, absolutely random stuff, like most kids, and I remember drawing hundreds of space ships,” he explained.

One of my major inspirations to start drawing was my mom; not exactly pushing me to draw, but showing me what she drew. I remember her bringing up an old sketch book and it was filled with drawings of pretty much everything. Mostly animals though. I thought it was the coolest thing and it kind of made me want to draw like that,” Szozda said.

Along with discovering his love for music, Szozda has played multiple sports such as basketball, football and track.

“I think my reason for playing sports is for more of how far I can push myself before I break more than, this sport would be very fun, Szozda explains. “I guess I just love challenging myself.”

If you have been caught in Steven Avery’s web in Making a Murderer and have binge watched the 10 hour documentary series like millions of others have, make sure to check out the most credible theory I have come across.