2010 – The Year of Rediscovery
2010 was quite an interesting year. A lot has changed, for better or worse, time will tell. Personally I have been accepted to NEIU MBA program and I am very excited to get going. I have rediscovered my love for music and creating music. I set up a website from which you can check out what I am working on during my rare free time at hypamusic.com. I have also lost touch with a couple friends I was close with but rekindled other relationships.
Professionally things are going okay. It is amazing to see that when there is a common goal, people work well together and things get done, especially during tough times. Our annual audit had to be moved by 3 months due to the flood but I don't expect it to be a difficult one. There is some good movement in our dental department, which I hope will get the clinic closer to self sustenance. Although it took us approximately 3 years to achieve it, I am very proud to see the increase finally happen. Now it's time to determine the next area with potential and I will move forward from there. To put it more succinctly, IWS is also rediscovering itself.
I hope to keep the momentum going in 2011 and I hope anyone who is reading this will have a wonderful new year.
--Orkun Ozkaymak
2010 – 3rd Quarter
What a fascinating year.
Aside from some bad news about the clinic, everything else has been going just great. I just started my second semester in my MBA program and my teachers so far are great. IWS was hit with a flood but we have the knowledge and willpower to recover. With the help of our great board and auxiliary, I think the flood will be a distant memory and a once in a lifetime story to tell for all the employees.
My parents' businesses started picking up a little, and my brothers are doing great as well. My nephew will hopefully be born within a couple days!
All in all, a great summer.
I am headed to Niagara Falls in about a week and I am looking forward to getting my first stamp on my US Passport. (It's been collecting dust for nearly 8 years). I hope Emi's wedding will be everything she hopes it to be.
I am truly looking forward to the next 3 months. Hopefully there won't be too many changes, but it should be a fun 3 months to come.
Foolishness
What seems like a liability to most people can also be a great asset.
Our learned behaviors, or experiences, are often what hold us back from achieving our goals and dreams. It is due to experience that we hesitate, and a lot of times it's for good reason. But experience is the type of thing that can back-fire, and make you miss your window of opportunity.
Over the years, I have had hundreds of ideas about different products and services. Unfortunately though, my past failures had an adverse effect on my willingness to follow through. I am not 100% timid, heck, not even 50%, but my lack of desire to be foolish enough to do what I think needs to be done is a bit disheartening. Of course, I am my own worst critic. A lot of what I have accomplished in my life came at times when I was most daring, risk-taking, and foolish. I will take foolishness over jadedness any day of the week.
If you live each day as if it's your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.
Infant Welfare Society of Chicago
Infant Welfare Society offers quality and accessible health care to the general public. Not only is it a 501 (c) corporation, it a very generous one for its patients.
I have been working at IWS for over 4 years and truth be told, this is a really nice place to work for. I have never seen such a well rounded organization that employs a group of people more dedicated to achieving its mission. Not only do the people of IWS work hard, they do it with passion and kindness. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has helped IWS accomplish so much in the past 100 years from the Board of Directors to the Janitors.
Para cien años más!
3600 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647
2010 1st Quarter
There are often times when change is in the air, you can smell it. 2010 has been such a year for me so far. Aside from working hard as usual and other personal responsibilities, I have finally started my journey which will net me a Masters Degree. I may even be able to get a CPA on the way.
Life has been tough though during the great recession, although not as tough for me as it has been for many others. It seems as though we have finally started recovering. It's time for my parents' small businesses to pick up and start doing well. If anyone got hurt this recession, it was the small business. I know that first hand!
Some of my projects are close to completion, yet others are far far away. I will continue completing projects and doing things one step at a time.
Project Status Table
Pizza Maya - 90%
OneInq - 75%
Ozfield Financial Services - 40%
O2HQ - 10%
I hope the second quarter of 2010 will be much more productive. Change is in the air, I can smell it!