Saturday, May 22, 2010

SOMT: People are selling fruit at the street corners. I recall my high school history. People sold apples during the Depression. Grimmer economic outlook ahead?

Friday, May 21, 2010

De Anza Week May 17, 2010

Mon May 17, 2010

I spent the entire afternoon reading the latest chapter and doing the homework for Acct 66. The material is hard. I didn't finish the homework because I needed to eat dinner and attend dance class. It's hard to focus when you eat a crappy lunch—especially eating lunch at 6pm.

The turnout was great. We had enough students for five rows of dance partners on stage. The problem continues some students can't form a dancing row. We improved the Nite Club Two Step and learned more patterns for the East Coast Swing. We had a good class!

My observations were plenty. There were some older females who had trouble dancing. They got dizzy and had to step aside. I stand by my belief on dancing. Anyone can dance. It can be hard to some. If you're out of shape, you're going to have trouble. You can learn. It's just it's going to be hard.

Another observation was about ten students were frustrated learning the East Coast Swing. They went to the sidelines observing the rest of the awesome student dancing and trying to learn. Some of them went home early. The couples who didn't rotate partners also went home early. Rotating partners helps students learn. There was one couple who stayed throughout the class was arguing and fighting.

Finally, for the second night in a row, the air conditioning was off. We opened the side doors to get air circulation. I was sweating.

I talked to a couple of students after class about their jobs. One of them told me everyone at work are in survival mode. They want to keep their jobs. They hunker down in the cubicles and work to keep their jobs.

Tue May 18, 2010

I eat oatmeal for breakfast on days I have a mid-term. I have a mid-term for Bus 18 today. The mid-term went well. There was no lecture after the mid-term. The extra time I went to the library to finish homework for Acct 66.

Acct 66 was boring. The teacher knows the material. He couldn't teach. We reviewed homework most of class time. The quizzes are take home homework assignments. The class chose mid-term #2 on Tue May 25 instead of Thur. I made adjustments on how I prepare for the second mid-term.

I have a quiz for Acct 1C on Thur. Tomorrow I cram the chapter and do the homework problems.

Thur May 20, 2010

Yesterday I crammed and completed all the homework for Acct 1C quiz. Wednesday must have been one of the most boring days in my life. I read and studied. Then I took a break in between including eating lunch and taking a nap. Yup, I took a nap. I lost my concentration and became sleepy. My guess why I took a nap was I ate boring leftovers for lunch. The entire week my family and I ate boring meals. Why were the meals boring? It's a long story. I completed all the homework later in the evening.

I think I mentioned the following regarding college actually learning real life events, moments, situations in a past blog entry. The lesson was rushing, last minute, and cramming. This morning I forgot to complete the extra credit assignment. I ate a bowl of cereal only. I didn't eat fruit, bread, and nuts. I shaved a fast as I could. Then I started the extra credit at 11:30am and finished at 12:10pm. I arrived to my class at 12:40pm, ten minutes late. Prepare to experience rushing, last minute, and cramming in real life.

I was hungry in Acct 1C I ate a Snickers candy bar. I got a stomach ache. It's either eating a Snickers candy bar in an empty stomach or last night's boring dinner. Also, my two Hostess apple pies were smashed inside my bag. I threw them away. The class took the quiz. I got a 9 out of 10. Not too bad.

I went to the express store to purchase saltine crackers to settle my stomach ache. The crackers helped. I ate some before Bus 18. I found out I got a 92% on the second mid-term. We started Chap 9 and Chap 10. Chap 9 was an introduction to contracts. Chapter 10 was agreements. Generally speaking, price quotes are not an offer. There is no obligation to sell at the quoted price. There are exceptions. We also learned of a case involving a Hooters waitress who was promised a Toyota for selling the most beer. She got a toy Yoda. See pic below. Here's an update to the case: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/05/09/toy-yoda.htm


Readers, insert your jokes here.

Finally, the instructor showed her iPad. She protected her iPad putting inside three bags: her carrying bag, small backpack, and the pouch that came with her iPad. She shared a small story about her past. She had a difficult childhood. She worked her way through college and law school. She even dropped out of college twice.

Acct 66 was better than Tue. The main reason was everyone wanted to know what's on the second mid-term. We reviewed the material for ten minutes. Gee, ten minutes for five chapters. I made adjustments how I prepare for the second mid-term after seeing how the instructor writes his tests. He finished the class lecturing the next chapter. I followed his lectures from the textbook. Most of the material is self explanatory.

I'm A Good Guy Growing Up Finding Raymond Mar

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Year Was 2007

Blogger's Note: I pretend I'm interviewed by 60 Minutes. I choose Scott Pelley to interview me. Also, the blog entry is unedited for grammar and content. 60 Minutes is represented by "60M" and I'm represented by "RM."

60M: The year was 2007. It's Raymond Mar's worse year in his life that even includes high school and college. The year started great. He started to wear braces in January. In March, he started working at Cisco, and his second week he went on a business trip to Vancouver, BC, Canada. He purchased his first car in May. Thereafter, 2007 went downhill and he never recovered. We interview him asking what happened and the lessons he learned.

RM: Actually, 2007 started bad. My grandfather past away. My family and I went to Southern California. In 2005-2006, my family and my relatives who lived in the Bay Area spent Saturday's with him.

Then from January to May, 2007 went great. I got my braces, and that started helping me improve my smile. That was January. Then in March, I started to work at Cisco. Great timing because Colliers went beyond garbage. It started to head to the sewers. The second week at Cisco, my department got together for their annual meeting. We met in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I got a new cell phone. And I started instant messaging—chatting online. Those were all new experiences.

2007 was getting better. In May, I purchased my first car from my neighbor. It was a 2005 Toyota Camry. The car was a V6 and it has air conditioning. My family cars only my Mom's car has air conditioning.

60M: Then the year went downhill.

RM: Yeah, it did. Uh, I say the downhill started the day I got my car, lol. I locked my keys inside my trunk and the doors were all locked. I had to call my Dad to give me my spare keys. Man, that was embarrassing.

Then Fanime Con was terrible. I made a lot of mistakes. Some events started late. Anime Expo was a disaster. It took place at the Long Beach Convention Center. The facilities were too small. The hot weather made it worse. In fairness, some problems were not Anime Expo's fault. They're not going back there ever again. I made mistakes at both Fanime and Anime Expo that needed to be corrected for future cons.

Following Anime Expo, the summer I created the 2007 Summer Sabbatical. Cisco was stressing me out. I wanted to relax and take a break. The Summer Sabbatical failed.

60M: The Summer Sabbatical was supposed to pause Raymond's daily life. Do something relaxing. Do something different. Do something outside Cisco that's not Cisco.

Why did your Summer Sabbatical failed?


I failed to experience new experiences. I failed to seek new adventures. I failed to meet new people. I had a car. I had a job. I should have done new things. Why didn't I do all these? I was an idiot.

Hmmm, now I think back the Summer Sabbatical was like a cover up. It was covering how bad 2007 had been going. It was an excuse to say, "2007 is bad. Who cares? I still work at Cisco. Whatever."

60M: Raymond's summer was a total loss. However, the fall was a little better. He went to a Ren Faire for the first time in his life. He played Team Fortress 2, his first video game he played online. He went to a cosplay gathering where he did meet a new friend on Halloween. Work started to be better. And he watched The Nutcracker. The last time he watched ballet was in 1997.

RM: What ruined the fall was I spent my Saturday's helping my Dad help a friend install a new roof. Time was running out. My Dad and his friend hired three people to finish installing the roof. The project started in the summer time. The workers took about 3-4 hours to finish the roof. They were fast. If my Dad hired workers to install the new roof, they saved time and have better uses for our Saturday's. Why was my Dad slow? I don't know. Even my brother helped, too, and he spent his Saturday's in the summer helping my Dad.

60M: There are ups and downs in everyone's life. Nobody has a perfect year. Why 2007 is the worse year in your life?

Ummmm . . . . The short answers are idiot, taking life for granted, naive, failing to earn, failing to relax, pretending to be perfect and if someone didn't do something right, I blame them saying you should have done this and that—the mistake was obvious to correct.

But yeah, taking for granted is the biggest lesson I learned. I said to myself that 2007 is going to be a good year no matter what happens. I said that on my first day at Cisco. The rest of 2007 can be bad because the Cisco job superseded all the bad events and bad happenings in my life. So if I make a mistake, something bad happened to me, then no mattered what happened, 2007 is a good year. That was stupid. I took 2007 for granted. I should have corrected the mistakes. I should have created action or at least lessen the pain if something bad happened to me.

In short, I was an idiot. I failed to take control of my life. Life controlled me. If life gave me something good, hooray. If life gave me something bad, oh well. Then I got angry. I was not responsible for my actions, my thoughts, my responsibilities.

60M: What could you have done differently to lessen the bad year?

Oh, that's simple. Not go to Anime Expo. I could have saved the vacation time for something more productive. Knowing me back then, I used the vacation time just to take the day off and stay home and read or play Team Fortress 2.

60M: Why did you go to Anime Expo when you knew it was going to be a bad con?

Yeah, almost everyone knew Anime Expo was going to be bad at Long Beach. The convention center was too small. I was stubborn. I was a hard head. I even failed to make new friends. I wanted to keep my personal streak of attending planned anime cons going.

60M: Raymond Mar never forgets 2007. The positive events eventually pay off in the future such as his own car for vacations and adventures and his braces for a great smile. He definitely remembers the negatives which were personal including taking life for granted and acting childish. He remembers and learns.

The bad events that were beyond my control I'm cool with that. It's unfortunate there are people older than me have not learned life mistakes I made in 2007. I'm lucky I learned these lessons now instead of later on. One of these days, these lessons pay off.

60M: Raymond's Innovating Common Knowledge blog has been online since August 2005. In Raymond's 300th blog, he created the Top 30 Blogs. 33% of the top 30 were in 2007. He was a hypocrite because the good advice he blogged in 2007 he never followed it. Moreover, from Sep 26, 2007 through at least half of 2008, none of those blogs made the top 30. Raymond continued taking life for granted throughout most of '08.

Raymond's 500th blog he plans to repost the 300th blog to remind himself and his faithful readers the lessons he learned. For him, the Top 30 Blogs are like the US Constitution. The blogs are powerful and huge lessons he learned in life he failed to learn when he was young.

Raymond was given opportunities in 2007. Good timing was in his favor. He was at the right place at the right time for the Cisco job and his first car. He felt all the big events he didn't earn it. One day, he creates opportunities.

And speaking of Anime Expo, he didn't attend in 2008 that broke his streak of attending cons he planned. The streak was 31 dating back to 1997.


I'm A Good Guy Growing Up Finding Raymond Mar

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Life In Simple Terms

Stop for a moment. Think about life. Life is really not that bad. Life continues forward. The sun sets today and the sun rises tomorrow. Most of our days in our lives are ordinary; however, unordinary days something happens.

Anything happens good and bad everyday. Someone is hired for a new job. Someone is fired. A baby is born. A person dies. Two people fall in love. Two people breakup. Someone purchases a new car. Someone is involved in an accident and the car is totaled. Someone is lucky to win a contest. Someone is unlucky to be a victim of a crime. Someone receives a promotion. Many people wait for the next opportunity. Someone earns an acceptance. Many people don't earn the acceptance. New friendships are created. Old friendships end. There are new experiences and adventures. There are old hobbies we lose interest. There are days we're happy. There are days we're crabby. There are mistakes to be made and the lessons learned. There are days we do everything and the day went well. There are days we do everything and the day went wrong. Life continues.

I believe life is zero sum. There are successful people and there are unsuccessful people. There are smart people and there are dumb people. There are people who are friendly you want to be friends with. There are people who are unfriendly you want to avoid. Some people have extraordinary good luck and the wind blowing behind their backs. Some people no matter what happens life treats them harsh the struggle.

I also believe everyone has a reason for living. If you don't know what you're supposed to do, then continue living life to find what you're supposed to do. Personally, I don't know what I want to do and what I can do. I continue to live life seeking answers, and I continue to have fun, experience new experiences, and make new friends. If you feel like life can't get better, remember the world didn't come to an end.

I'm A Good Guy Growing Up Finding Raymond Mar

Friday, May 14, 2010

De Anza Week May 10, 2010

Mon May 10, 2010

Smaller class turnout tonight. The instructor focused on key points for the Nite Club Two Step. I was corrected. I realized I stepped on my heals instead of my toes. I keep an eye on my toes next class meeting.

The instructor started teaching East Coast Swing. No Tango. Some of the students were bored with East Coast a few went home early. One student I danced was bored I lead with some East Coast Swing moves. I messed up one move. East Coast Swing is a hard dance. There was another student I danced her legs were sore. I know I'm not dancing 100% correctly.

I talked to my sister about students having difficulty learning even basics. She told me some students might have taken the class for PE credit hoping it's an easy class. It's not easy. Very few students return for another quarter.

The instructor announced there is no intermediate dance class for Fall '10 quarter because of budget cuts. She was unhappy. I'm concerned because I plan to sign up for intermediate next quarter. Moreover, if I have a Monday and Wednesday night class starting at 6pm, I can't take a dance class.

Tue May 11, 2010

I had morning errands before classes. First, my ortho appointment to check on my retainer. My next appointment is in November. Second, I visited my family dentist to request emailing my x-rays to my ortho. Third, I went to Rite-Aid.

I earned another A for quiz #4 for Acct 1C. I fulfilled the required four out of six quizzes. The instructor drops the two lowest scores. In Bus 18, we started the next chapter which is crime. And in Acct 66, we finished Chapter 9 and started Chapter 10. Today's classes were the usual lectures.

Thur May 13, 2010

All my classes are behind. All my classes delayed the second mid-terms. The instructor delayed the Acct 1C mid-term #2 from Thur May 20 to Tue May 25. The instructor briefly discussed the Excel project. One of the students told the teacher she doesn't know Excel. Unacceptable. She's a business major and doesn't know Excel. She must learn it.

The following are the rules how I live my life daily. These are my daily life rules:

1. Don't criticize, condemn, and complain, and don't compare with others.
2. Don't act like a jerk or bitch.
3. Always speak calmly and be calm.
4. Don't daydream when driving.
5. Keep your head up high . . . look at the cute face when talking.

I thought of rule #6 in my daily life rules during Acct 1C lecture. Rule #6 is "Breath with your nose and stand up straight." I have been getting chapped lips. It can be the dry air and/or breathing with my mouth caused by wearing my retainer. I have been doing a good job improving my posture. I focus on my back straight and shoulder blades back. Rule #6 is a physical rule. Here are the new daily life rules:

1. Don't criticize, condemn, and complain, and don't compare with others.
2. Don't act like a jerk or bitch.
3. Always speak calmly and be calm.
4. Don't daydream when driving.
5. Keep your head up high . . . look at the cute face when talking.
6. Breath with your nose and stand up straight.

"With all due respect, I do not consent." The class in Bus 18 learned how to deal with police when we're stopped for a possible traffic violation. First, never admit what traffic violation you might have committed. If the officer asks why you're pulled, tell the officer you don't know and ask him for clarification. Second, be cool. Don't anger the officer. The instructor said "Sugar is better than vinegar." If the officer asks to search your vehicle, you don't have to give consent. You may say, "With all due respect, I do not consent." There are some situations where the officer can search your vehicle without your consent. However, if the officer asks, you don't have to consent.

The instructor shared a personal story. She committed a traffic violation. Her son was in the back seat and wore a baseball cap backwards like a gangster. The instructor told her son to give the best smile ever in his life and wear the baseball cap properly.

Today was the first time ever I wore shorts to lecture classes. The exception is gym classes. I never wore shorts when I attended San Jose State. That's weird. One student complained she was cold in Acct 66. It was not cold. The weather was mild and we got a great breeze. The student closed the front door in anger.

The first day of class we had 65 students. Today, we have 48 students. The first day in Acct 66 was packed. I reminded myself towards the end of the class to stop holding back. Let it all out. I'm doing good. No more all rights.

I'm A Good Guy Growing Up Finding Raymond Mar

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Socialize and Conversing

You must have good conversation skills to socialize. Socializing and conversing complement each other. If you want to socialize, then you must have good conversation skills. It doesn't matter what group you are with. For me, it could be with anime, dance, school, or out of town. I'm looking for more friends to make and groups to create or to join.

There was a period in my life I didn't socialize. I didn't meet new people. I'm catching up with the mistakes I failed to meet new people and making new friends. I'm learning how to socialize and to converse. I'm improving socializing and conversing. I have made progress. There is a lot more to learn and a lot of people to meet and make friends.

My learning is trial and error. I made mistakes. Read a book on getting along with people. Read a book on communicating with others. Go out and do something. Find a group with common interests and join them. Start with something. Use the internet and find people with similar hobbies. I did. 98% of the people you meet you meet once and you're not going to see them again. The other 2% you're going to make friends. The 2% is huge. Take advantage of today's technology including social networking such as Facebook and Twitter. Cell phones, instant messaging, texting, emails, and forums. Good luck!

I'm A Good Guy Growing Up Finding Raymond Mar

Friday, May 07, 2010

De Anza Week May 3, 2010

Mon May 3, 2010

We continued to learn the Tango after reviewing the Nite Club Two Step. Physical fitness is important in dancing. There are some men and women who can't do a basic Tango. I hope they learn it next class meeting. I lost my focused towards the end. My left arm was not in the "T" frame. I also forgot to extend my upper left arm forward for shorter girls to keep the "T" frame. And I forgot to keep my feet pointing straight.

The students have a good idea who to dance. The guys walk straight to the good dancing girls leaving the bad dancing girls without a partner when we start to pair up.

Tue May 4, 2010

The Acct 1C instructor said 15 students from my Tue/Thur class took the first mid-term on the Mon/Wed class. The results for all Tue/Thur students were 37% got an A. I got an A. The mid-term was easy, and the easiest and most straightforward mid-term I have taken that includes all of her Acct 1B mid-terms. The lecture we reached the 1,000th page. I don't recall having a textbook that has 1,000 pages. The textbook is used in Acct 1A, 1B, and 1C.

I purchased a bag of chips at the express store during my Bus 18 break. I had to eat the chips during the second half of the class. Bad mistake. I ate the chips quietly. No more chips. I must eat something quiet such as cookies or candy. The prices in the express store are retail. I'm going to buy snacks at supermarkets and take advantage of the sales.

We ended Bus 18 talking about torts. We ended with false imprisonment. The instructor shared a true story. A couple was arguing in a car. The girlfriend wanted to get out. She couldn't because the boyfriend used the child-proof locks to prevent opening the door. (Do child-proof locks work on the passenger front door? Maybe she was in the back seat.) The boyfriend wanted his girlfriend to listen to him. The girlfriend continued to demand the boyfriend to let her out of the car. That's false imprisonment. There was a police officer who was there and arrested the boyfriend.

33% of the class got A's in Acct 66. I got a B. I misread one multiple choice question and did some problems incorrectly. The mid-term was straightforward. I'm going to make adjustments on how I complete the homework and study for the second mid-term since I have an idea how the instructor tests his students.

Thur May 6, 2010

Lesson learned yesterday. Don't eat really old leftovers on gym days. I had a stomach ache. I couldn't go workout and I even couldn't study. I went to bed early.

I forgot my eraser at home. All my pencils the eraser was used up. I had to cross out my errors when the class reviewed problems. The next Acct 1C quiz was delayed to Tue May 11. I was ready for the quiz because the material in Chapter 22 is the same material I learned in Acct 66 Chapter 3. Timing was in my favor.

I declare the lesson for Spring '10 is "timing is everything." The Fall '09 lesson was "everybody is human; let it all out" and the Winter '10 lesson was "go with the flow."

The postponements continued in Bus 18. The instructor delayed the second mid-term from Thur May 13 to Tue May 18. Some people remember the McDonalds lawsuit where an 80 year old woman sued McDonalds for spilling coffee. There's more to the story than what the media reported. The instructor met the lawyer representing the woman. The woman spilled coffee between her legs causing burns on her upper legs, thighs, and groin. The coffee was hotter than normal because McDonalds wanted to keep the coffee hot when the typical customer arrived at work. McDonalds found a way to keep the coffee hot longer to compete with Starbucks. The woman just wanted McDonalds to pay for the medical bills. McDonalds refused. The woman filed a lawsuit and won. For full detail facts visit the website http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm.

In Acct 66, the instructor reviewed the extra homework for Chap 6 and then started lecturing Chap 9. The instructor knows the concepts in cost accounting. The problem is he can't teach. Almost nobody wrote lecture notes. I tried to follow from the textbook. I couldn’t do it. I take a look at Chap 9 tomorrow. I figured out why 33% of the class got A's on the first mid-term. The first mid-term was material from Acct 1C. Nothing new was introduced for students who took Acct 1C.

I'm A Good Guy Growing Up Finding Raymond Mar

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

SOMT: I have been buying my lunch instead of bringing lunch from home. I brought lunch when I was at SJSU. Its cheaper to buy lunch now money and time wise.