Live A Productive Life At Best Or Not Waste My Life

Today I shopped for used books at multiple libraries. Libraries donated books for their used book sales to raise money.

I asked the question at one library, "What am I doing?" I'm wasting my time. My life is George Costanza. I'm long term unemployed. I live with my parents. I didn't ask for my current life. I didn't want my present life. I waste a day shopping for used books. I buy books at cheap prices on a weekday mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Waste is relative. I should be earning an income working instead of shopping. I should be living in freedom.

Life goes on. I read books which is an activity today. I gain knowledge for tomorrow. I acquire wisdom for tomorrow. Today is today. Today is it no matter the degree. Tomorrow is tomorrow. Tomorrow can be a life break in my favor.

Inbox

Today I fully understand the inbox is never empty. At least a piece of paper is in the inbox for tomorrow. The email inbox counter is greater than zero at the end of the day. Do it one at a time. Do whatever I can today. Continue tomorrow. Another responsibility is placed in the inbox tomorrow. There are no rushes. There are no emergencies. Choose and prioritize. I can say no to myself with no penalties. Many times I say another yes to myself with no extra rewards. Stop for the day. Rest, recover, and reset the focus to 100% tomorrow.

Twenty Random Blogs Aug 2025

Blogger's note: I increase the number of random blogs from ten to twenty.

Here are twenty random blogs in order of randomly chosen. Duplicate blogs are allowed from past random blogs. There are no duplicates today. The previous random blogs are Ten Random Blogs Jul 2020 on Jul 31, 2020, Ten Random Blogs Aug 2021 on Aug 13, 2021, and Ten Random Blogs Apr 2023 on Apr 16, 2023. Update remarks are included.

1. Watch Wall Street (Sep 26, 2005). I shared my activities before and on Sep 26, 2005.

Update remark: Wall Street is one of my all time favorite movies.

2. Never Stop Learning Lesson Emphasized Because One Of The Shermans Past Away (May 05, 2017). The Shermans was a couple who lived in the neighborhood for decades. They moved to the eastern USA to be closer to their families. The husband past away. The wife passed away in Jul 2017.

The lessons I learned continue today. Never stop learning. Find new experiences to experience. Don't waste life watching television eight hours a day. Some seniors choose the sedentary life watching too much television.

Update remark: Rest in peace Bob and Alice.

3. Three Hours Of Me Time Weekdays (Feb 08, 2013). I wrote my life working Mon to Fri from 9am to 6pm. Wake up, go to work, work at the company building, go home, and sleep eight hours. Three hours of personal time remain. Repeat.

Update remark: No full time worker sleeps eight hours a night on weeknights. More workers lose concentration, act grumpy, feel weaker, and make more mistakes. No full time worker spares three hours of personal time. There are too many responsibilities in today's Information Age. A worker must complete an hour's work in 30 minutes.

A balanced life doesn't exist. The successful people don't live a balanced life to become successful.

4. Throwback Blog: I'm No Longer Nice (Aug 27, 2016). I reuploaded a previous blog be a good person. Don't be a nice person.

Update remark: I posted an I'm No Longer Nice blog update on Aug 21, 2025 Keep Going In Life. I added, "Being extra nice doesn't result in extra rewards. It's not aloofness does pay. It's niceness doesn't pay."

5. It's Okay To Live At Home (Jun 18, 2013). I wrote valid reasons sons and daughters live at home with their parents. Sons and daughters must not take for granted living at home. Sons and daughters must continue living their lives to the best of their abilities.

Update remark: The blog is 100% true today.

6. Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog February 2023 (Mar 05, 2023). California ended the pandemic state of emergency on Feb 28, 2023. It was the start of loosening restrictions and mask mandates.

Update remark: None.

7. Highlight and Favorite 2019 Tweets (Dec 30, 2020). My favorite Tweets in 2019. I share my top favorites:

Tweets

Jan 21: A conversation starter. Ask the question, "What keeps you busy?"

Jul 28: I'm not dumbing down. Never dumb down your life. Don't be an asshole for yourself. Don't let people drag you down. Nobody holds your back.

Jul 28: These people must leave your life. People come and go for good or for bad. Some people leave your life. New people enter your life.

Sep 22: I just finished watching The Shawshank Redemption. My high school and college friend watched the movie when it was released in theaters. It was the most boring movie he watched. He didn't understand the point. I avoided the movie.

Sep 22: I choose to watch the movie decades later. Good movie. Recommended. The movie is slow. I put the pieces together watching the movie without success.

Sep 22: My friend is correct up to the climax of the movie. It's the best full circle movie I have ever watched. Stick around. Don't give up. Have hope. The pieces are together. Good things can happen.

Sep 25: The female middle school student was wise beyond her years. RT @BoyYeetsWorld: one time in middle school i dated a girl for 4 days and when she broke up with me she posted on facebook sometimes your knight in shining armor is really just a loser in tinfoil and to this day that the sickest burn I've ever gotten.

Favorites

Apr 23: @NBCSSharks, BARCLAY GOODROW!!! Watch the Sharks winger's game-winning overtime goal to give San Jose an epic Game 7 victory. Pic Video.

May 12: @SportsCenter, KAWHI. GAME 7. FOR THE WIN. Pic Video.

May 12: @espn, Another look at Kawhi's Game 7 winner. Pic Video.

May 18: @SJEarthquakes, CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI. KING. #WondoWatched Pic Video.

Jun 13: @SportsCenter, Klay turning around in the tunnel and coming back out to shoot free throws had Oracle going nuts. Pic Video.

Jun 13: @BayAreaSportsHQ, This moment is an all-timer. Pic Video.

Jul 14: @SportsCenter, GAME. SET. MATCH. Novak Djokovic outlasts Roger Federer in an epic five-set #WimbledonFinal Pic Video.

Jul 14: @espn, Longest final in #Wimbledon history: 4 hours 55 minutes, 422 points, 68 games, 35 aces. Pic.

Aug 12: @SexWithEmily, As much as we like to beat around the bush, dropping hints to your partner is not the best way of communicating -- your chances of being understood are much higher when you are direct about what needs fixing. #sexwithemily #communicationisalubrication

Sep 14: @HistoryInPics, The Beatle's last live concerts—at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966 and then on a London rooftop three years later—have gone down as some of the most significant events in pop music history. Collector Finds Rare Footage of The Beatles's Top of the Pops Performance in His Attic.

Nov 19: @WakeOfWeek, I will always root for this man because of the way he has handled himself in hard times -- from bad coaches to having a different offensive coordinator every year to losing his job to Kaep to... this. #AlexSmith @lizbsmith11. Alex Smith's wife celebrates ex-49er's recovery from ghastly leg injury in emotional Instagram post.

Dec 11: @espn, Bill Belichick has his players focused on the 53 players in their locker room, not on social media. Pic.

Dec 16: @NBCSGiants, So many memories. @PavlovicNBCS takes you back through all of the best -- and funniest -- moments from MadBum's legendary Giants career. Pic Article.

Update remark: The Shawshank Redemption is my all time favorite movie. The Shawshank Redemption is not a slow movie after many rewatches.

8. Quad 3 Of 4: My Favorite Shape (Oct 24, 2006). The circle is my favorite shape. "My anything, anytime, and anywhere are going to come full circle good or bad. I make sure I create good circles and I innovate the circles."

Update remark: None.

9. Intelligence May Change Your Daily Life Intelligently (Sep 09, 2015). Use intelligence as an adverb. Think intelligently, communicate intelligently, work intelligently, and make mistakes intelligently are some examples.

Update remark: None.

10. Top 2018 Pics (Dec 17, 2019). My favorite pics posted in 2018. I share my top favorites:

Update remark: None.

11. Thought Provoking Information (Sep 03, 2017). A pics blog. The pic which inspired the title is below.

Update remark: None

12. My First Pop Tart (Sep 12, 2007). I ate a pop tart for the first time in my life. It was strawberry and strawberry with icing.

Update remark: No more pop tarts in my diet. I rarely drink milk. I stopped eating oatmeal in 2018.

13. De Anza Week Nov 15, 2010 (Nov 18, 2010). I went back to school to earn an AA degree in Accounting. I blogged one week during Winter Quarter 2010 at De Anza College. The week consisted of students and instructors with too much on their minds and too fatigued.

Update remark: They were the same yesterday. They are the same today.

14. First Time I Saw A Restaurant Close On Tuesdays (Dec 09, 2018). I said it best. "2018 is over. I wanted to try a restaurant in another city for the first time. I was in the area on Tue Dec 4. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. Are you serious? The event summed my recent life. Bad luck. Bad timing." The blog continued expressing my frustration 2018 was the year everything went wrong.

Update remark: I have not experienced another 2018. I have not let life take control of me.

15. I Own 15 Pairs Of Shoes (Jan 28, 2021). I posted pics of my 15 pair of shoes. They include exercise, boots, formal, and casual outdoors.

Update remark: None.

16. A Procedure To Stop Insanity (Sep 09, 2021). A life wisdom. Everyone is different. Everything is different. Birds of a feather flock together. Different folks for different strokes. There are matches. There are mismatches. A circle can't fit in a square peg.

Update remark: Live your life who, what, where, how, and I match who you are.

17. Lonely And Cheerful (Jul 24, 2007). I felt lonely and depressed in Jul 2007. I didn't feel cheerful. False optimism.

Update remark: The 2007 Summer Sabbatical failed. I did everything wrong. I admit I made a mistake. 2007 should have been one of the best years of my life. 2007 was one of the worst years of my life.

18. Throwback Blog: SOMT: Kodak Declares Bankruptcy (Sep 30, 2017). Toys R Us declared bankruptcy on Sep 19, 2017 which inspired the throwback blog on Kodak declared bankruptcy. The throwback blog was a brief explanation of the Kodak bankruptcy and my experiences using a film camera and a digital camera.

Update remark: Mismanagement, Amazon and Wal-Mart, and poor customer service are not the top reasons Toys R Us declared bankruptcy.

19. Work Mar 8, 2014 (Mar 08, 2014). I blogged the highlights when I worked in a retail start up. Dermatitis on my hands. Refusing a shipment. Both store locations short-handed. Purchased my first bottle of wine Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon "Generations" 2009. Wi-Fi problems.

Update remark: The dermatitis on my hands turned out to be a dirty workstation. I cleaned my workstation. No more dermatitis. I still own my Raymond wine bottle.

No smart person works in retail. Desperate smart people do work in retail.

20. Go To Sleep With A Smile (Oct 21, 2011). I was called for jury duty. I didn't get selected. The prospective jurors answering personal questions during the selection process convinced me my life is good. I sleep with a smile.

Update remark: Domestic violence can be a lifelong trauma. Some people you see when shopping are victims of crimes.

Keep Going In Life

I look at my Facebook friend's list. I identify all my friends who attended my high school. Most of them were smart. They enrolled in honor classes. They enrolled in Advanced Placement classes. They were active after school such as sports, arts, and volunteering.

Fast forward decades later. Most of the smart high school Facebook friends are no longer smart. I'm the better person today. I'm smarter. I'm stronger. Why? They stop learning. They settle down. I have been catching up what I missed. I surpass some of them. I continue to catch up. I continue to exceed any expectations. I surpass more of them in time.

Don't quit. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

Update On A Past Blog

aloof: not friendly or forthcoming; distant; disinterested.

I wrote a blog on Mar 9, 2010 titled I'm No Longer Nice. I stopped being nice. Nice guys do finish last. Niceness has limits. Niceness is more finite. I started being good. Good guys do finish first. Goodness has fewer limits. Goodness is less finite.

Moreover, being extra nice doesn't result in extra rewards. It's not aloofness does pay. It's niceness doesn't pay. Being extra nice is unlikely to change people's minds. Almost all of the time people's minds are decided.

Wrong Stress

I remember I took a nap at my first job after I graduated from San Jose State University. I was a Research Analyst in a commercial real estate company. The job title was misleading. My job consisted of 90% data entry and 10% analysis. I took a nap because I was stressed out. The stress was neither good nor bad. The stress was menial, repetitive, and boring data entry.

The jobs after working in commercial real estate were legitimate stress. Quick timelines. Bad management; although, management was bad in commercial real estate, too. Poor instructions. Last minute changes. Delays beyond my control.

Stress is relative. Stress is a perspective. The best people minimize stress such as the common knowledge eat healthy, exercise, and sleep for eight hours. I admit I failed minimizing stress. Lessons learned afterwards.

Today's workplace is fast paced. Today's workplace never slows down. More knowledge, more technical skills, and more responsibilities are required for most occupations. The workplace decades ago was kiddie pace compared to today.

X Is On The Clock

Patience is a virtue. Sometimes patience pays off with rewards. Sometimes patience costs with penalties. Don't know what to say. Can't respond. Too many unknowns. Processing continues. Adjust priorities. Wait for the favorable timing and luck.

Everything comes in time. The law. The system. The rules. The procedures. All is present in due time. Marriages. Graduations. Job interviews. Evictions. Championship games. Vacations. Car repairs. Medical appointments. New computers. Movie releases. Contract expirations. Academic years. Fiscal years. Full recoveries. All start in time. All end in time. Delays are likely. Cancellations are possible.

There are 24 hours a day. Guaranteed. Nobody speeds up time. Nobody slows down time. The inevitable. Give it time. Give them time. There is an end. There is the conclusion. This is it. Do you understand? Everything is coming soon.

Top Ten Plus Fifteen Equals Top Twenty Five Favorite Books I Read

I update my Top Ten Favorite Books I Read blog written on Oct 27, 2019. I repeat some of the introduction: Reading books is one of my favorite hobbies. I started reading more fiction books in 2008. I learn life reading fiction books than nonfiction books. Fiction books give me wisdom. Nonfiction books give me intelligence. I read 75% fiction and 25% nonfiction. I was on volume three in the Harry Potter series at the time of the blog. Harry Potter is number five. Here are my top ten plus fifteen equals top twenty five favorite books I read:

25. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. The author did his research on the Civil War. Some aspects of life exist today such as unfair life, read books, work hard, and despair. A recommendation from my uncle.

24. All The President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The Richard Nixon Watergate history is part of the book. Persistence is another part of the book. Memorizing all the politicians is not necessary.

23. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The illiterate main character stole books during World War II in Nazi Germany. Read World War II from innocent Germans point of view. Comedy, sorrow, and anger are some of the feelings the reader experiences.

22. Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. I Read Dr. Seuss Books on May 2, 2025. The Places book is a top must read for grade school children.

21. Looking For Alaska by John Green. College students can both be smart and be a prankster. Best John Green book.

20. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. A random book recommendation from a source I forgot. I thought it's an adult literature. It's actually a children's book. The adventure side of a child may open up after reading the book.

19. The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I purchased a European edition book. The author wrote the story and drew the illustrations. The main character had courage I wished I had when I was a child.

18 The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Everyone must bring a towel.

17. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. The book is more violent than the movie. The Ian Malcolm character stole the story.

16. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. If you didn't read the book as of the blog post, then don't watch the movie trailer. The movie trailer is major spoilers. I cried three times.

15. The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay. Teenage boys and teenage girls must read the book. The wisdom is learned at the beginning of the book. The main character practices the wisdom thereafter.

14. Forever . . . by Judy Blume. All teenagers and all parents must read the young adult classic book. The sex scenes and growing up lessons are relevant today.

13. Thinking, Fast And Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Follow the patterns.

12. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. A family lives in multiple cities being in poverty. The reader experiences all emotions in the emotional spectrum. Watch the movie end credits after reading the book to put a face to the family on YouTube. I enjoyed Walls' writing style.

11. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. A book from My Self-Help Books Recommendations blog written on Jun 28, 2020. Discover core habits. Practice, practice, practice the habits.

10. A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking. I learned more than science reading the book. I learned life.

9. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. How do people become rich? Kiyosaki answers the question how. The answer is not a college degree, an MBA, or working a six-figure income.

8. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Readers adapt 20% of his suggestions increases his or her likelihood to meet more new people and create more circle of friends.

7. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I loved Hemingway's writing style. Short. To the point. No wasted words. An easy and a quick read to satisfy a quick urge.

6. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. My all time favorite sci-fi book.

5. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I took me decades to read the book. I read the book three times during the COVID-19 pandemic. My house is Gryffindor. My wand is a white 10.75 inches made of oak with a phoenix feather core. My patronus is a tiger.

4. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. The last three chapters were the best last three chapters I ever read. I understand all the references in the media.

3. To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. Atticus Finch is strong. Atticus Finch is a model for a man.

2. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell wrote luck and opportunity are the reasons why some people succeed.

Honorable mentions. City Of Thieves by David Benioff, Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, and Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett.

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Jobs was a genius. Jobs was an artist. I promise everyone who reads the book becomes wiser.

The Real Moving Forward

Moving forward equals active. Moving forward is closing old chapters. Moving forward is opening new chapters. Life moves on. Strength, courage, intelligence, and wisdom are required.

A person is dying when he or she thinks more about the past than the present and future. There is no more looking ahead. Dying is looking back only. Dying is evaluating what a person has remaining good or bad. It can be knowledge. It can be memories. The person gives up. The person's game is over. The person rewatches old movies and relistens to old music too many times. The planning ahead stops. Making plans to watch the next TV series, play the next video game, or read the next comic book don't count. Make real plans getting up and doing something. Stay busy.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote the blog My Generation X Sucks on Jun 20, 2025. I said the forgotten Gen X is the gunnie pigs in today's Information Age. Gen X made the mistakes to correct for the future generations.

I wrote two blogs the Greatest Generation doomed future generations including Gen X, Gen Y or Millennials, and Gen Z. The Baby Boomers generation is responsible for the doom, too. I listed unsolved problems in the blog The Greatest Human Generation Doomed Their Grandchildren And The Future Thereafter written on Jun 25, 2022. Some of the problems include loneliness, increase costs of living, and poor physical health. The answer is yes to the question Did The Greatest Human Generation Doom Their Grandchildren And Their Future? asked on Mar 14, 2019. The Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers created today's life being too good. It's difficult for future generations to learn from our mistakes.