William Penn Life, 2014 (49. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2014-09-01 / 9. szám
Tibor s Take with Tibor Check, Jr. New chapters of life THE ADAGE "LIFE IS A BOOK" is as old as the first Gutenberg Bible. The chapters of one's life story are all interesting and unique. In recent weeks, I have simultaneously closed old chapters and opened new ones. Graduating from Cleveland Marshall School of Law, taking my bar examination and beginning my post-doctoral studies at George Washington University are three different parts to my story. Another chapter of my life story is taking place as I write this. I am submitting this Tibor's Take via the Internet from the home of my cousins Árpád and Olga in Csőt, Hungary. I am currently on the first of two trips to Hungary. The first excursion started on Aug. 3 and ended on the 13th. My second trip to the old country will occur in mid-September when I will travel with my parents and siblings. My chapter of visiting Hungary twice in less than 60 days merits a brief explanation. About a week before my graduation from law school, a few of my cohorts discussed how it would be a neat idea to take a trip overseas. This would be a last group experience before we begin our careers. As with many conversations among friends, the discussion was more conjecture than actual planning. But a few days later, one of my friends informed me that his aunt was retiring from the airline industry and had available hundreds of thousands of miles of free flights that would have to be used up before the end of August 2014. After a bit of planning, it was decided that three of us would spend 10 days visiting Hungary. Just three days removed from the bar exam, we departed from Pittsburgh. As with many special deals, the flights came with multiple stops and layovers. After finally arriving in Hungary, we spent the first three days on a whirlwind tour of Budapest. We then rented a car to visit my relatives in Csőt before traveling to Lake Balaton and Pécs. My two buddies are of the "Heinz 57" ethnic extraction. Without a truly identifiable heritage to call their own, both appointed me as the tour concierge. They have been reading my Tibor's Takes on the WPA website for several years and have unofficially adopted Magyar history, customs, music, food and beverages as their identity. As my friends have learned, we Hungarians are different. Take music, for example. One of my friends is a musician. He is intrigued by the csárdás. It is not a polka, waltz or anything else. It is a Hungarian form of dance. Then, there's kolbász. Both of my friends love Hungarian food. They now frequent the Farkas Pastry Shop for pogácsa and krémés. They observe that kolbász is different from any other sausage. I explained that Hungarian paprika makes for a totally different taste and color compared to other stuffed links. With the help of my parents, we were able to spend our days in Budapest at an inexpensive youth hostel close to the Elizabeth Bridge and Mátyás Pince. My folks also arranged for our rental car and contacted my cousins. Our plan is to use my cousins' home as a base for several day trips of the surrounding area. As I write this, it is early Saturday morning in Csőt. My traveling buddies are asleep, as are my cousins. Being six hours ahead in time compared to Ohio has given me a bit of jet lag. Although I have been in Hungary for only five More, tips fat* codictpc saruival md success Clean up and get yourself out of social media. It may seem cool to be an Internet gossip sensation, but as you work your way up the caste system of college class rankings, your past becomes part of your future. If you were tagged a party person or bragged of moral indiscretions, those past proclamations and incidents will come back to haunt you. I have several acquaintances who inflated the seriousness of their poor behaviors to make themselves appear to be more like social butterflies. One person bragged about smoking marijuana with the shift managers at the fast food restaurant where they worked and then posted photographs of such activity. A website cleaner has been developed by some northeast Ohio college students who faced the problem of negative social network exposure, but many posts and photos cannot be removed. #9 L Be aware of official-looking companies that claim they are government-endorsed entities here to help finance your college expenses. If you see a top level domain that does not end in “.gov,” be aware (something like: www.federalgovernmentfinancing.com). There are actually two types of websites that you should be wary of. One, there are the shady opportunists offering you loan money at predatory interest rates. Then, there are web listings that are interested in obtaining your personal data, such as you Social Security number, credit card data or bank account information. Both types are bad, but be particularly alert for the second type. They have no intention of loaning you money; their goal is to obtain your personal information for illicit purposes. I have seen websites that closely mimic FAFSA. Do your homework and be cautious when sharing personal information. Be especially skeptical of anyone promising easy application, quick approval time, reduced interest rates if a predetermined application deadline is met, free gift cards or event tickets if you sign up, or no credit checks. 6 0 September 2014 0 William Penn Life
