Variety Is The Spice Of Life

I prefer to live my life avoiding boredom. I choose to live life open to new adventures and experiencing new experiences. I want to live life something different daily. The boring, same old, same old life is for somebody else. I live life open because I want to know there are many ways to live life happy and exciting. My best example is music.

I listened to pop and rock music when I was a child. My favorite radio station was 1170 AM KLOK. The radio station called itself, “Clock radio 1170 KLOK.” The station played late 70s and 80s pop and rock. I started recording music off the radio stations on cassette from 1986 to 1997.

I started listening to Japanese Anime soundtracks and character vocal music in 1998. I added classical music in late 1998. I considered myself a casual classical music. I hated classical music when I was a child. It sounded boring except Tchaikovsky’s 1812. It was my dad’s only classical music in his record collection. I opened myself to classical music after reading an article children listening to classical music makes them smarter.

I started listening to classic rock and a little Japanese Pop (J-Pop) in 2003. Pop music started to get crappy. I tried classic rock and liked it. From 1998-2008, I listened to pop, anime, classical, and classic rock and J-Pop. I listened to pop and rock only from 1997 and earlier.

My music interests took a huge eye opening as I more types of music in a shorter time frame. I became interested in classic jazz in late 2008. I listened to easy listening music such as Frank Sinatra in February 2009. I received my first Vocaloid CD in April 2010. Vocaloid, in short, is a computer program that plays music when given the lyrics and melody. Hatsune Miku is popularly associated with Vocaloid. The newest music I became interested was big band in January 2011.

Opening your life is important to live with variety. Everyone should try listening to different varieties of music. Each of my favorite music type brings different feelings and thoughts. Each of my favorite music type is appropriate for different moments. I switch to a different music type when I feel tired and needed something different. Variety can apply to the foods we eat, the board games we play, the different gym workout schedule, or a different work commute. People can have an interesting life and non-boring life by living a life with variety.

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Me Versus My Sinus Infection III

I was sick on the third week of Feb. The timing was bad because I started a consistent lifestyle including job searching and going back to the gym. I thought I had the common cold, a rare sickness because the past years I either got the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) or the stomach flu. Fortunately, this sickness was minor and recovery was faster than last October. I remained focused, read my past sinus infection blogs to remind myself how I recovered, and remained calm. Here’s the timeline:

Mon Feb 13. I woke up with a dry throat. I drank water and the dry throat disappeared. The dry throat reappeared in the late morning. I drank water and the dry throat remained. I took a throat lozenge. No improvement. I applied salt inside my throat before I went to sleep. I slept well. I thought whether I got the common cold or a mild RSV before I fell asleep. The symptoms matched RSV throughout the day.

Tue Feb 14. I felt worse. I had stuffy nose one minute and runny nose the next minute. I drank water throughout the day and drank Coke for lunch and dinner. I ate an orange and apple for breakfast. I ate two kiwi at night. I made jello after dinner.

I had trouble sleeping because I had breathing problems. I turned on the humidifier. My sleeping was off and on. I turned off the humidifier late night and fully fell asleep.

Wed Feb 15. I felt a little better. The stuffy nose continued while the runny nose ceased. Light cough started. I coughed out phlegm which was 99% white color. I took a nap at 5:30pm without the humidifier. I turned on the humidifier at night time. I turned off the humidifier before I went to bed.

I ate frozen yogurt from a local frozen yogurt store. I drank Coke for lunch and dinner. The jello was good.

Thur Feb 16. I slept for 11 hours last night. Best sleep of the week. Coughs were productive. I had congestion. No runny nose and stuffy nose. I asked myself, “Mild case of RSV?”

Fri Feb 17. Best day of the week. I could use more rest throughout the day. Coughing continued to be productive. I bent down and blew my nose that allowed me to blow out more mucus. I’m not sure that was healthy or advised for sick people. Coke, jello, and yogurt helped.

I was sad I couldn’t workout at the gym all this week. I spent less time searching for a job. I took no medications and vitamin C supplements.

How Did I Get Sick?

I always think about the most likely cause I got sick. Here are the probabilities:

My cousin and aunt were sick. My family celebrated Chinese New Year in my cousin’s restaurant. My cousin and aunt were sick. My cousin didn’t work in the kitchen that day. Probability is 25%.

It’s simply in the air. It was the time of the year for people to get sick. Probability is 20%.

Sat Feb 11 dinner. I ate Hello Kitty sushi for dinner. Probability is 15%.

Sun Feb 12 lunch. My dad, uncle, and I ate Chinese for lunch. Probability is 10%.

Sun Feb 12 dinner. My mom did a poor job cooking pork from the freezer. The pork was dried like beef jerky. Probability is 10%.

Too little, too late? I ate the Chinese for lunch and my mom’s dried pork dinner both late. Probability is 20%.

One of my body weaknesses is a large difference in daily temperature range. The temperature range varied day by day significantly. Probability is 20%.

Bacterial. I could have gotten a bacterial infection somewhere and somehow. Probability is 20%.

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Dear People, Take A Break

I’m writing an open letter to the billions of people. Dear people of the world, take a break. Take a time out. Stop what you’re doing, pause, and take a breath. The world is going too fast. We adjust our clocks one hour forward this weekend. It’s like we just adjusted our clocks one hour backwards yesterday. March Madness starts next week for those who follow sports.

There is so much events, so much stimulation, so much information exchanged in today’s information age and technology dependent world. Be patient. Slow down. Everything is going to be okay. Let’s do everything one at a time. We want to avoid careless mistakes. We want to keep our focus. There is no need to stress out everything happening everyday and every minute. Relax.

Let’s stop and do something different to distract ourselves from the everyday. It’s a great opportunity to take a break. Watch a movie you haven’t seen from you DVD collection. Listen to music. Lie down on your bed and daydream. Cook. Clean the bathroom. Do household chores. Do something that involves anything except a personal computer, laptop, smart phone . . . nothing involving a keyboard, joystick, and mouse. Moreover, don’t take a vacation. I want you to slow down from your daily life for a while.

The world continues tomorrow. Take a break to refocus, reset, refresh, review, and renew your life. If you’re fatigued, losing focus, making mistakes, forgetting information, being clumsy, then it’s time to take a break.

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Life Lessons I Learned From Alex Smith

The San Francisco 49ers played in the NFC title game. If they won, they play in Super Bowl XLVI. Unfortunately, the 49ers lost to the Super Bowl champions New York Giants. Nobody expected the 49ers to make the playoffs. Nobody expected quarterback Alex Smith to comeback and perform his best season ever.

Smith was the 2005 number one draft pick overall. His seven seasons were ups and downs including injuries and losing the starting quarterback position. Fans wanted him gone. He had different head coaches and different offensive coordinators. He persisted. He didn’t give up. Smith’s strengths are intelligence and tenacity.

The 2011 season brought Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers new head coach. Harbaugh brought the best in Smith and used his strengths. Harbaugh raised Smith’s confidence. Smith worked hard and earned high respect from the 49ers fans. The following are life lessons I learned from Alex Smith.

1. Hell before you get to heaven. Everyone starts at the bottom. Nobody becomes a vice president in their first year in a company. Continue reading to understand my point.

2. Consistency is important. Smith started his first 7 seasons with a new offensive coordinator. That’s bad. Smith had to learn something new at the beginning of a new season. He couldn’t continue developing a coordinator’s style into the next year.

3. Support. Nobody becomes successful alone. Smith’s best season included support from Harbaugh and the coaching staff, former 49ers General Manager Scot McCloughan, current 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke who signed him for this season, 49ers owner Jed York (who also signed Jim Harbaugh), teammates including Vernon Davis and Frank Gore, and Smith’s family.

4. Action speaks louder than words. Smith won football games. That was how he did his talking. His modesty is another strength. He was the number one 49er this season.

5. Luck and good fortune. Always factors everywhere we do.

6. Redemption. We all make mistakes big and small. The successful people learn from their mistakes and don’t repeat them. They want a second chance to make up for their mistakes. Smith’s 2011 season was redemption after all those past bad years.

Smith's 2011 season was a season in heaven. Good things come to those who wait.

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There Are More Jeremy Lin People Out There

Who is Jeremy Lin? What is Lin-sanity? Here he is below:

*Graduated Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, CA and attended Harvard University.
*Not drafted in the 2010 NBA draft, he played for the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. Both teams released him.
*The New York Knicks signed the 6-foot-3 point guard in December and had been a bench player.
*Lin became the first American born Chinese or Taiwanese descent to start on Saturday February 4.
*The Knicks have won five straight since Lin started. Lin scored a total of 109 points, and 89 in his first three games which is the highest total for any player since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976.
* Lin has over 220,000 Twitter followers, as of this blog post.

We experience moments we overlook greatness and excellent. Sometimes a piece of paper documenting a person’s potential is not telling the entire story. Maybe the story is twisting and distorting the truth. It’s natural we seek people with past experience, high grade point averages in school, and/or knowledge in many skills. We want people who can do it now instead of starting from the beginning and training people. It’s a common catch-22 in life: how can people gain experience, learn from their mistakes, and acquire skills if we aren’t given the opportunity?

Lin’s high school coach was quoted saying, “We know what he can do and other people aren’t seeing it. Nobody game him a chance.” Average people can reach the sky for superior success. It takes hard work, practice, learning from your mistakes, and improving continuously. Timing and luck are important, too. Give that person a start. Give that person an opportunity. There is hidden talent everywhere. Thank you Jeremy Lin for reminding us hidden talent is everywhere.

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Pictures From 2011

I take another break writing blogs because I’ve been spending my time on other activities. I start with January and February 2011. My daily life and observation pictures are from my old cell phone. Enjoy.





















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Stay Focus

I have been losing focus since Jan 1. I’m slightly concern. My focus lost is minor. I forget little things here and there. I drop things. I make a mistake. My concentration has been off at least once a day for most of a week. Moreover, there were a few days I felt tired. I hope my losing focus is not a serious medical condition.

It Has Happened In 2010 and 2011

I remember losing focus when I attended De Anza College in Winter ’10 and Winter ’11 quarters. I remember the campus dreaded Winter ’10 after the 2009 Christmas break. On the other hand, the campus welcomed Winter ’11 after the 2010 Christmas break. Weeks went by in both quarters. Students experienced typical stress from their classes and life outside school. I lost focus. There were days I stressed out.

I have the same feeling currently. I admit I experience some stress from job searching instead of studying for mid-terms. I experience anxiety when I send a resume and cover letter. Is the company going to call me for an interview? The job search is tough.

Optimistically, everything seems to come together and my focus comes back as the year approaches the spring season. I handle my stress very well. My senses are razor sharp. I have full control over my life. My question is why do I lose focus in the early months of the new year?

Consistency Is A Must

My daily life has been inconsistent. The gym workouts, cooking and eating meals, completing errands, and my online activity such as checking emails, social networking, and sending resumes are completed at different hours per day. I admit it is hard living with my aging parents since I help around the house. I’m doing my best to establish a consistent daily routine.

More People Are Like Me

It seems I’m not the only person losing focus. My observation skills tell me some people have difficulty focusing. I see people making mistakes, especially driving. I’ve seen people drive erratically and dangerously such as unsafe lane changes and cutting in. I see people behaving badly in supermarkets. Some people start arguments because they’re impatient. 2012 is the worse beginning of a new year since I don’t know when.

Off The 2011 And New Year’s Eve 2012 High

Let’s not get depressed. Most people had a good 2011 year. I was in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve 2012. There were huge crowds around the bay. Everyone was having a blast and partying. There were people talking, celebrating, and being loud. The happy parties and celebrations are over. 2011 is history. Let’s get back to the present moment. Focus on 2012. Make 2012 a better year than 2011. If 2011 was a bad year, then make 2012 a good year.

Relax And Take It Easy

Do everything one at a time. Relax. Take a deep breath. Concentrate on your present task. There is no need to rush. There are days when a plan is delayed or trashed. Don’t take your frustrations and stress out on other people and on the road. They’re ineffective. Just go with the flow. No matter how bad a day went, remember the world didn’t come to an end.

Side note: Winter ’11 was the worse quarter because I missed an entire week of classes due to sickness and the instructors for my classes were boring.

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