#john choe

大法拉盛西商會 籌建 記者徐佳紐約報導

為讓亞裔商家更好地了解市政府各項規定措施，同時幫助外族裔商家了解亞裔社區、開展生意，由各族裔商會代表組成的「大法拉盛西商會」(Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce)籌備委員會28日宣布成立。同時成立的還有由民選官員以及法拉盛地區商家、非營利組織代表組成的商會顧問委員會。大家希望通過6到12個月的準備工作，屆時正式成立可以服務各個族裔商家的「大法拉盛西商會」。

有80多年歷史的法拉盛西商會(Flushing Chamber of Commerce & Business Association)於今年1月底發出公告，宣布因為人口結構改變，社區變化，正式解散。為了有個組織可以服務各族裔商家，在ONE FLUSHING經濟發展中心總監崔容準(John Choe)的召集下，各族裔商會決定共同再成立一個商會。

法拉盛華人工商…

John Choe Named “Star of Queens”

Our executive director, John Choe, was recently named a “Star of Queens”:

Star of Queens: John Choe, executive director, Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce

BACKGROUND: John Choe is the executive director of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce. Choe works to identify and address issues of, as well as advocate for, the Flushing business community. As executive director, he provides…

Political season is about to be in full swing here and I’d like to offer a polite suggestion to everyone I know: please shut the fuck up.

No matter which side of the aisle you’re on, please shut the fuck up.

Let’s get this out of the way first: nothing is going to ‘destroy America.’ Do you know why? Because America is not some porcelain figurine you can smash and destroy because you have POTUS on your business card. Plenty of fuckwads have been in office and plenty more are still to come. America is a behemoth of a country that can handle its shit. And while we’re at it, you can’t “take the country back” because that doesn’t really mean anything. And there’s no such thing as a ‘Real American’ [besides Hulk Hogan], so stop proclaiming to be one because you read Mitt Romney’s Wikipedia page last night.

Politics is a dirty game and a necessary evil. We all accept this, yet argue in terms of ideals and absolutes. Please stop. Like anything else in life, government is inclined to swings and stumbles and changes over time. Regardless of who takes office next January, you’re probably gonna be just fine. Calm down. We have these traits called human decency and reason that have gotten us through several millennia now; we’ll be ok.

I’m not saying government is unimportant, I’m just asking you to shut the fuck up about it. Nobody changes their mind because of your facebook post. And unless your name was once stenciled on the door of a government building, you have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. Having an opinion doesn’t actually make you an expert in anything.

There is a time and a place for debate and it usually happens in October, in Primetime, on national television. It typically involves two candidates running for president and a moderator. You were not invited to participate in this event. Your tweets don’t count. In fact, nothing you say ever counts. Ever.

It always comes back to fear. Every decision about who we are and what we do, is driven by fear. It precedes everything from how we dress to who we marry (or why we don't). We wade through life so damned scared. What will others think? What if I look stupid? What if she leaves me? What if I can't find something better?

Fear is why he won't put a ring on it. Fear is why you can't leave your shitty ass job. Fear is why your client is being a raging bitch. Fear is why you don't get what you want. Fear is why committees exist. Fear is why you can't be yourself. Fear is why. 

Life is dictated by fear and living is but a series of actions to overcome it. 

Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Fear of loss. Fear of uncertainty. This is what we face. And when it comes to life's big decisions, too often we clam up. We settle on safe and boring because of "what if?" We mistakenly believe life is safe and boring. It's not. Nothing worth anything is ever safe and boring; besides, maybe, sleep. Life is the stuff that happens between the safe and boring sleeps. Life requires courage, because fear is all around once you get out of bed. 

Fear itself is neutral; the good or bad is in our response. When facing fear, choose the path that requires stupid, brash, unapologetic courage. It will be rewarded. 

No one ever tells you how life works after college. Nobody tells you just how boring a well-paying job is and how depressing it is to wait for Friday COB 50 weeks out of the year. No one mentions how much time is actually wasted even in the most intense work environments and how the nagging sense that you're wasting the prime years of your life never goes away. Nothing can prepare you for this reality. 

The ones who are really lost are the Creatives. The free and lost souls. The ones who pity friends in med school or dent school or just grad school in general. The ones who have big dreams but are afraid to admit they have them. The ones who want to create and bullshit for a living but can't find a practical way to do so. They are the ones who really feel lost.

These are the ones I love. Little lost souls in their early twenties. Maybe I whine so much they see a kindred spirit. Maybe they just need some hybrid uncle-friend who pretends to listen. I tell them all the same thing:

Don't be scared and don't compromise. Not yet, anyway. In the longview, a few weeks, months, even years of searching is a small price to pay for contentment. The only real mistake you can make right now is to be scared and settle. Contentment is life's great puzzle. Jigsawed pieces made of money, and independence and security and creativity and love and whatever else matters to you. It's all a delicate balance, you obsess over one and it's at the expense of the others. Find what really fulfills you and chase it, even if it's scary. What is it that gives you a sense of accomplishment? What makes the time fly by? The only real mistake you can make right now is to ignore those things. 

Maybe it's writing a song. Maybe it's snowboarding. Maybe it's digging ditches. These don't have to be hobbies. A true dream job isn't vacation; that's vacation. A great job is about improvement: making life better for yourself and whoever else cares. That's it. Pursue those things without fear, chase contentment. Do work that drives you crazy when someone else is better at it than you. Do work that makes you proud. That's how we improve.

Just don't be scared. You are smart, honest, and kind. You'll be fine. Go ahead and fail. Get used to it (P.S. you never get used to it, but you get real good at getting back up). It's ok to suck now. You've gotta start somewhere. Just start. Shut up and start.

It dawned on me the other night that I actually don't know how to write. I only feel. This is a strange realization for someone who thinks himself a writer and hopes to earn a living writing someday. But the reality is, I don't really write; I feel.

A few weeks ago, I watched "Page One: Inside the New York Times" and walked away thoroughly impressed and grateful for all the true journalists in the world. Journalists full of integrity and talent and complete badass grit. Journalists who wrestle with deadlines and grind at a merciless pace that would certainly kill any mortal man. Above all, it was their unrelenting need to get the truth that struck me most. They want to get it right. They have to. They put their feelings and prejudice aside [as best they can] and they dig and dig until they get it right. They write on command about anything, really, and they're able to translate mountains of data from head to print with such ease and balance. That is real writing. That's not what I do.

I watch or read or experience and something inside needs to come out. I just feel it. Usually I don't know what it is and so I force myself in front of a white screen and a blinking cursor and just let shit out. I have no recorded interviews or notebooks filled with research, I only have my feelings. And even if I did have all that other stuff, it would still take me weeks to put it together in a cogent way unless I had some strong feelings about it. This lack of skill and logos makes me feel incredibly inadequate at times, but feelings are all I've got. It's who I am. So, maybe I've been wrong to consider myself a writer all this time. I only feel. I consume and consume and consume and then write down what I feel. What do you call someone like that?

Well, "amateur" comes to mind. Or how about "raw" or "unpolished"? That would be a fair assessment of my character. It's pretty spot on, as a matter of fact. It explains a lot; my taste in music, for one. I like things that sound honest, whether it's a warbling poet or a drunken, hot mess diva, certain songs and singers and tunes just sound more honest than others. I'm all about shit that comes from the gut (where else would shit come from?). I value honesty in art and everything else. I think I'm ok with that. I'd never want to write something I didn't believe or just to appear contrarian. The people I love most are also this way. They may be utterly sweet or harmless pricks, but they are who they are. Honest to themselves and loyal to others. Keepin it real.

I'll keep writing; probably forever. Because that's how I stay honest. Whatever it is I can't say for fear of hurt feelings or appall or ridicule, I can write. This is probably why I write so much about religion and parenthood and career and angst and other things that tend to get bottled up. It's my way of staying honest - setting the record straight. However far that takes me, it'll be enough to keep me satisfied - knowing that I did the best with what I had and held onto some integrity of self along the way. It may not get me onto Page One of the NY Times, but it's all I've got. And I think I feel pretty good about that.*