Top Ten Favorite Quotes

Everyone knows quotes. These quoted famous people experienced the pain working hard earning their successes. They share their life experiences. We quote how they became successful. We quote their life lessons to help us live better lives. We also quote their life ups and downs, their comedy to make us laugh, and their beliefs. Adapting their quotes into our lives is an example of modeling. We model our lives from famous people. We follow their successes to become successful ourselves.

Steve Jobs is quoted many times for his successes. Some of my favorites are from his 2005 graduation speech at Stanford University. They include the following: (1) You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. (2) Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. (3) Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. (4) Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. One more quote on intuition: I began to realize that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis . . . intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That's had a big impact on my work.

Here are the top ten favorite quotes I follow to live my life:

10. Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you; When you think everything's okay and everything's going right; And life has a funny way of helping you out when; You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up; In your face --Ironic, Alanis Morissette

9. You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. –Winston Churchill

8. You can choose comfort or you can choose courage, but you cannot have both. --Theodore Roosevelt

7a. My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. --Abraham Lincoln (Similarly in my words: If I'm going to mess up, I mess up my way. I take responsibility. And I learn from my mess up. Stay foolish.)

7b. He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help. --Abraham Lincoln

6. The simplest explanation is probably the correct one. --Occam's Razor

5. Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something. --Plato

4. Obi-Wan: I suggest you try it again, Luke. That time, let go your conscious self . . . and act on instinct.

[Obi-Wan places helmet with blast shield on Luke.]

Luke: With the blast shield down, I can't even see. How am I supposed to fight?

Obi-Wan: Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them.

--Star Wars IV, A New Hope

3. Let it be, let it be; Let it be, let it be; Whisper words of wisdom; Let it be --Let It Be, The Beatles

2. Even today, I dare not say that I have reached a state of achievement . . . for learning is boundless. --Bruce Lee

1. I'm starting with the man in the mirror; I'm asking him to change his ways; And no message could have been any clearer; If you want to make the world a better place; Take a look at yourself, and then make a change --Man In The Mirror, Michael Jackson

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Preparing For The Summer

A prepared summer outdoors include a water filter, emergency flat tire equipment, and wearing sunglasses. Map the ice cream shops and ice vending machines. Visit open houses as a leisure activity. A good life includes white lies, no boredom, and knowing trivia. Should we follow Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs for a good life, too?





















Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Highlight And Favorite 2014 Tweets

Here are my 84 highlight Tweets and 9 favorite Favorites Tweets in 2014. My Twitter Account is @inin61 Enjoy!

Highlights

Jan 14: Co worker shared story getting Lasik. Lots of post surgery eye drops. Every procedure is different. #irememberthat

Jan 19: Fri Jan 24 is the 30th anniversary of the Apple Macintosh.

Jan 20: Today's Dear Abby column talks about a wife's solitary life and a husband's crave for a social life http://t.co/M4fTzXyYda

Jan 20: A car's check engine light illuminating indicates a problem with the engine requiring attention soon. Not an emergency.

Jan 20: On the other hand, a check engine light FLASHING indicates a server engine problem requiring immediate attention. Emergency.

Jan 20: Obviously the oil and temperature warning lights illuminating also requires immediate attention.

Feb 2: I have no explanation why it took me 16 years to watch #GoodWillHunting I plan to watch the movie multiple times.

Feb 9: Osgood File reported an algorithm predicts with 84% accuracy a book is a best seller. Short transcript at http://t.co/13TuQL3HdI 02/04/14 #4

Feb 9: For example, researchers say use more nouns and adjectives. Also, use a disproportionate use of words "And" and "But".

Feb 15: Cheapest scratch paper is the back of the envelope from your mail. Assuming the back is blank without advertisements and messages.

Mar 5: We sell a wine named If You See Kay. Produced in Lazio, Italy. Red wine with 3 grape varietal. Say name quickly 3 times.

Mar 8: I purchased my first bottle of wine. It's a Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon "Generations" 2009 from Raymond Vineyards http://t.co/NvVOTTpOgT

Mar 8: The wine is #89 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2013. That's really good.

Mar 8: I want to drink the wine to celebrate a great moment in my life.

Mar 13: Ridiculously funny. I looked up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to find the spelling for "Raphael". #tmnt

Mar 21: RT @FactsGuide: A thirsty plant will cry for help by making a high-pitched sound too high for humans to hear.

Apr 6: Facebook and Twitter have blue in their logos because the color blue helps people recover from depression.

Apr 6: TIL my AAA road services covers me in any car I'm inside riding.

Apr 14: The letters W and D in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement. The solvent prevents rust, displaces water & acts a degreaser. #mytriviaoftheday

Apr 14: Number 40 means staff failed 39 times to invent WD-40. It can remove gum from hair, loosen zippers & remove snakes from a car #inspiration

Apr 22: The Car Connection reported on a highway that glows in the dark in the Netherlands http://t.co/Dur6VBJgFN

Apr 23: Rosso is Italian for red. Bianco is Italian for white.

Apr 26: The Atari 2600 E.T. video game dug up from a landfill inspires me to tweet the Atari 2600 my brother and I own. http://t.co/uJNModMHja

Apr 26: Pic of the Atari 2600 video games. http://t.co/jVRnKENdJL

Apr 26: Close up shot E.T. cartridge http://t.co/SMOjQkEWLK

May 5: RT @FactsGuide: If you search for "elgooG" on Google, it will take you to a Google website that is completely backwards.

May 5: Today's Family Circus Billy and Jeffry count a person saying "like". http://t.co/lGhLGhR35a

May 5: Today's Luann the history teacher Mr. Fogarty announces his retirement. http://t.co/E4fsikjRL7

May 11: Cook food with love. Respect yourself and be happy. Your results show you care.

May 16: My manager told me many people dislike inconsistent weather and temperatures. All this time I thought I am the weird person.

Jun 22: Finished Quell Memento. I unlocked all achievements. I needed no help on YouTube to watch a puzzle move.

Jul 2: Tire retail stores buy damage tires prorated. #irememberthat

Jul 4: Daniel Amen, MD wrong a blog on the Brain Body Turnaround event http://t.co/07xwBAMvK2

Jul 4: A summary from the guests: Jonny Bowden: Cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease. Mark Hyman: Sugar is the enemy causing diseases.

Jul 10: Frontier Airlines pilot bought pizzas for everyone in airplane on runway due to diversion and delays #moneyaction http://t.co/Bia16KqtRQ

Jul 12: Watch Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address for inspiration and cheering up http://t.co/D51V0DWjDs

Jul 19: Learned in Excel to copy a worksheet, simply press CTRL and drag the worksheet tab left or right. Unclick and worksheet is copied.

Aug 10: The signal light celebrates its 100th birthday http://t.co/rEFHckjtWs

Aug 11: Actor Robin Williams has died. Found out seconds ago.

Aug 14: A person died in her basement because the first floor collapsed due to excessive weight. Extreme hoarder. http://t.co/ZdvXaLnmzJ

Aug 14: I'm never going to be a hoarder. Never. If I don't need it, I get rid of it. Give to friends, eBay, donation, Craigslist, etc.

Aug 15: Python programming was named after Monty Python's Flying Circus TV show. #mytriviaoftheday

Aug 15: print ("Hello World")

Aug 23: RT @HistoricalPics: The famous Hollywood sign, originally reading 'Hollywoodland.' The last four letters were removed in 1949 http://t.co/Y・E€ｦ

Sep 2: In Excel, Alt + Page Up or Alt + Page Down scrolls right or left.

Sep 9: RT @johnrabe: The #Ravens didn't release Ray Rice when they saw this video. They released Ray Rice when YOU saw this video. Remember that. ・E€ｦ

Oct 6: Just RT: News reports stated 49ers players dislike head coach Harbaugh. Owner York defends Harbaugh.

Oct 15: I wonder how a person can learn supply line, quote to cash, or being a buyer skills and knowledge for careers?

Oct 15: If college classes exist, my guess is the classes are part of the finance dept. I remember a buyer class in jr college

Oct 15: and the night classes sponsored by the local government. Class schedules were mailed.

Oct 17: The San Francisco Giants are going to the World Series #sfgiants #postseason #mlb #worldseries

Oct 17: Travis Ishikawa . . . redemption!!! Three run walk off home run. #sfgiants #postseason #mlb #worldseries

Oct 17: Hear the Spanish call on Ishikawa's walk off Fox Deportes Pablo Alsina http://t.co/OzgrRe7L9t

Oct 21: bravado: a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate #mynewwordoftheday

Oct 22: RT @NateSilver538: The Royals and Giants may not be the best teams in baseball -- but the best team wins the WS only 30% of the time. http:・E€ｦ

Oct 22: Just RT: regular season baseball games are a crapshoot.

Oct 30: Pirates + Nationals + Cardinals + Royals = World Series #sfgiants #postseason #mlb #worldseries

Oct 30: RT @SFGiants: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD! #SFGiants #ChampionsTogether http://t.co/zOcrGqmX8l

Oct 30: 2010 + 2012 + 2014 = Dynasty #sfgiants #worldseries #mlb

Oct 30: 2010 + 2012 + 2014 = Bruce Bochy Hall Of Fame #sfgiants #worldseries #mlb

Oct 31: Another thought on the Giants' three World Series wins. The 2B was a key. 2010 Freddy Sanchez, 2012 Marco Scutaro, 2014 Joe Panik.

Nov 3: My favorite quote from Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown when Sally grabbed Linus' shirt and shook him: "You owe my restitution".

Nov 4: Tom Magliozzi, co-host of Car Talk on NPR with his brother Ray, past away at the age of 77 from Alzheimer's disease.

Nov 14: Sometimes the best solution is not automation. The best solution is the grind work. Grinding it out. I was shocked, yet expected

Nov 17: A car drove off the gym parking lot before me. I was in my car turning on the ignition.

Nov 17: A crash. I saw two cars in an accident at the parking lot exit and street.

Nov 17: What if I drove off the gym parking lot exit five seconds earlier? I might have been in the accident.

Nov 24: I finished watching the entire Breaking Bad series. Great series. Highly recommended. There were episodes that sent a chill down my spine

Nov 24: The series included major unexpected events. cliff hangers, mysteries wait later episodes to know, lots of teasers, surprises, twists,

Nov 24: violence, evil, horrors, some comedy. There were moments I thought what's going to happen next.

Nov 24: Well acted. Well scripted. Good characters. My criticism is I wanted to see more backstory of the side characters.

Nov 24: Breaking Bad is about a chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin to raise money for his family. However, it's also about the drug world.

Nov 30: Today's Click And Clack Talk Cars features only Ray Magliozzi. Brother Tom passed away earlier in Nov. Interactive conversations are missed.

Dec 14: Jordi Lippe wrote an article for Yahoo interviewing Patriots QB Tom Brady regarding taking advantage sleeping more https://t.co/SmIg0gu2II

Dec 14: The article mentioned the word "sleepcations".

Dec 15: Whiners should never be rewarded. They should get off their asses.

Dec 15: A hernia occurs when an organ or fatty tissue squeezes through a weak spot in a surrounding muscle or connective tissue called fascia.

Dec 15: Most common types are inner groin, incisional resulting from an incision, outer groin, belly button, and upper stomach. Source: WebMD.

Dec 21: A peptic or gastric ulcer is holes in the upper part of the small intestine come in contact with stomach acids and enzymes #mytriviaoftheday

Dec 21: Pineapple Express is atmospheric moisture and precipitation from Hawaii to the Pacific of North America--atmospheric river #mytriviaoftheday

Dec 21: Find a word in a cell? Use ISNUMBER and SEARCH. Simple e.g. =ISNUMBER(SEARCH("cow",A1)). If sentence A1 contains cow, formula returns TRUE

Dec 21: SEARCH function returns the position of the text in the cell. SEARCH returns a number.

Dec 21: ISNUMBER function returns TRUE for numbers and FALSE for other results. IF SEARCH returns a number, a position, then ISNUMBER returns TRUE

Dec 21: Here's the link for ISNUMBER and SEARCH which contains more options to find text in a cell https://t.co/49wz8jtts7

Favorite Favorites

Jan 31: @mduo13, Posted a new blog on general board game strategy: http://t.co/NBOaxs8qXT

Feb 2: @inin61, “You can choose comfort or you can choose courage, but you cannot have both.” –Theodore Roosevelt

Mar 16: @SexWithEmily, Your orgasm will be stronger if you raise your hips and do your kegels right before you go over the edge #funfact

Aug 26: @BillGates, When you struggle to learn something, your brain actually grows. A researcher explains why you can learn anything: http://t.co/FC6DUlTQ2i

Sep 8: @johnrabe, The #Ravens didn't release Ray Rice when they saw this video. They released Ray Rice when YOU saw this video. Remember that. #RayRIce #NFL

Oct 2: @HistoricalPics, A rejection letter Bono received from a record label in 1979 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/By7-HbmIIAA83zl.jpg

Nov 9: @ScienceAllDay, This is why lack of sleep is destroying your brain http://t.co/mSbt5MeVyx

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

A Second Look At 2014

It's the time of the year I look back at my 2014 blogs to give myself feedback. My goal is relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, and rediscovering new wisdom. These blogs are also the 2014 best blogs.

There are 17 blogs for A Second Look 2014. I anticipate around 17 blogs for 2015. I believe there are fewer blogs for A Second Look 2016 because I announced I write fewer blogs in 2016 at my 1,000th blog on Sun Nov 8, 2015. I continue my second looks in Dec because I want a full year to think about my past year.

I provide the title and link to the original blog, date, summary, and my feedback. Enjoy!

Blog Title: 1. A Very Productive Weekend
Date: Sunday January 12, 2014
Summary: I posted the daily activities I accomplished Sat Jan 11-Sun Jan 12, 2014 from the little activities such as replacing the Breta filter to the big activities such as changing the oil in my car.
Feedback: No more blogging my daily activities. These blogs are a waste of time. I'm happy I wrote one daily activity blog in 2014 compared to nine daily activity blogs in 2013.

Blog Title: 2. Top Ten Self Discoveries
Date: Monday January 27, 2014
Summary: I discovered my own faults and shortcomings I corrected myself.
Feedback: I laughed too loud because I wanted lots of attention and I was partially tone deaf. I discovered another reason I laughed too loud was low self-esteem. Likewise when I talk too much and too loud to other people. The philosopher Plato said the following: Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.

Number two was Growing Up Part II which took place Oct-Nov 2013. I'm taking it back. I recall multiple events when I think about the second time I grew up. They explained why I posted multiple Growing Up Part II Blogs. Growing Up Part II takes place when I live independently.

Blog Title: 3. Clean The House With Deconstruction And Reconstruction
Date: Friday January 31, 2014
Summary: Starting over required a foundation to throw away the old and to welcome the new. Throw away inefficiencies and welcome fresh starts.
Feedback: I improved my foundation from Fri Jan 31, 2014. Today's foundation includes working out at the gym five to six days a week, eating out minimally, minimizing junk food, reading more books, job training indefinitely, sleeping eight hours, and always meeting new people.

My foundation or core is set to achieve my short-term goals and achieve my long-term manifesto. My foundation continues to improve, be modified, and can deconstruct and reconstruct anytime.

Blog Title: 4. Job Searching: Updated My Resumes And Job Profiles
Date: Saturday February 22, 2014
Summary: I update my online resumes and job profiles in a timely manner.
Feedback: I should have continued job searching on a casual basis. There's always a better job for everyone. I could have found a better job months into working at a retail start-up.

Blog Title: 5. Do Boring People Exist?
Date: Tuesday February 25, 2014
Summary: I asked myself do boring people exist. My short answer was relative and subjective.
Feedback: The best litmus test is how many adventures does a person fulfill. Does the person have an adventure mindset? Does the person live a life full of stories? Is the person sincere?

Blog Title: 6. Family Sacrifice and Courage
Date: Sunday March 30, 2014
Summary: I shared a scene from the Japanese Anime series Space Brothers. One of the support characters discussed family sacrifice.
Feedback: I must move out to correct most of my life mistakes. Some people believe I'm still a loser. Some people believe I'm incapable of making adult choices. I'm making sacrifices. For instance, a smaller social life. It takes courage to stop seeing my top friends. They have been a negative influence to me because they talk more about anime and video games. It's like they're entering the anime and video game abyss. One of my other friends told me they're in the abyss.

There are mistakes that haven't been corrected. There are adventures waiting for me. There are new experiences I must experience. I'm still catching up what I missed in my 20s. I must be strong. The rewards are coming the longer I'm strong and courageous. First thing first is be independent. The successes fall into place.

Blog Title: 7. Live In A World With People
Date: Saturday April 26, 2014
Summary: We live in a lonely world. Never stop meeting new people and making new friends.
Feedback: I add to the blog there are times we remove people in our lives. These people hurt us. These people are a negative influence. These people make us unhappy. These people don't appreciate our presence. Avoid the people who ignore us. Dump the uncomfortable people. Find new people.

Blog Title: 8. Mike's Rules
Date: Saturday July 5, 2014
Summary: I added new daily life rules inspired from a staff at my gym.
Feedback: I nominate the blog for 2014 blog of the year if there's an award.

Blog Title: 9. Top Ten Lessons I Learned Incorrectly
Date: Monday July 28, 2014
Summary: I corrected ten lessons I was taught incorrectly.
Feedback: I repost to review the incorrect lessons. They're the following from ten to one: driving on the freeway, prejudice, the easy way and the lazy way, being cheap, staying indoors too much, the purchase order process, writing, cooking, doing everything myself, and commercial real estate statistics. I continue correcting commercial real estate statistics such that I'm learning data analysis. One lesson I learned in data analysis is there is more than one way to analysis data. It depends on the audience reading the data analysis summaries.

Blog Title: 10. My Fifth Fear
Date: Thursday August 14, 2014
Summary: I discovered my fifth fear which is Raymond Mar becoming a bad person.
Feedback: I post my fifth fear to remind myself. My first four fears are living with my parents for the rest of my life, unemployed, being lonely, and not knowing what I'm going to do with my life.


Blog Title: 11. What Tiredness Are You?
Date: Monday August 25, 2014
Summary: There are many types of fatigue beyond the common physical tiredness. My general fatigue categories are physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual.
Feedback: Fatigue categories are indefinite. Examples include unemployed too long, nurturing children, too many donations, and caregiving. We're human. There's so much we can handle in any point of time. It's another example variety is the spice of life. Variety is good. We must do something different.

Blog Title: 12. Today Is The Saddest Day In My Life Ever
Date: Tuesday September 9, 2014
Summary: I shared the saddest day in my life.
Feedback: Tue Sep 9 is still the saddest day. I worked at a company walking the line between legal and illegal for two days. Some of the employees stayed because they needed the money. I think about the single mother of two when I think about the saddest day.

Blog Title: 13. A Positive Rant
Date: Thursday October 2, 2014
Summary: I told the world I'm a good person. Good moments are coming soon working hard.
Feedback: It's important to have a sense of urgency to become successful. Get it done. However, it's also important to pace yourself. I realized the importance of pacing myself job searching. I was burned out I took a one week staycation in July 2015.

Blog Title: 14. Seeing Ordinary People Living Their Lives
Date: Tuesday November 4, 2014
Summary: I saw honest people living modest lives when I ran errands.
Feedback: I question people counting their blessings they have a job. I question people are grateful they're working. My new thought is many of those people with a job want a better job. Some are searching for a new job. I disagree a job is a job. People who don't like their job should find another job.

Blog Title: 15. Top Ten Lessons I Learned Working At My Last Job
Date: Sunday November 16, 2014
Summary: Ten lessons I learned working at a retail start-up.
Feedback: Everyone should work in retail. Great learning experience outside the schools and colleges. These lessons can't be found in textbooks. Some of these lessons apply to white collar jobs.

Blog Title: 16. Go To Sleep
Date: Sunday December 7, 2014
Summary: Get more sleep.
Feedback: I hope to follow my own advice when I start working at my next job. I realize the importance of sleep while unemployed. Sleep is my spiritual practice. Rest the mind, body, and soul.

Blog Title: 17. Think With Your Penis
Date: Monday December 29, 2014
Summary: Men thinking with our penis can be good.
Feedback: I post to remind myself and the men to take care of ourselves with our penis in our minds. Eat healthy. Workout at the gym. Hate reading books? Read erotica. Brush your teeth for a healthy mouth and tongue. Be clean.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top 2014 Pics

Here are the top pictures I took in 2014. They’re sorted from the start of the year to the end of the year. Enjoy!









































Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Sandwiches, Wine, And Cheese

I forgot to post a group of 10 pics from 2014 on Dec 2014. Enjoy eating sandwiches, eating cheese, drinking soup while learning history. Take your time indoors away from the heat. The internet is slow which explained the one year pic post delay.





















Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

I'm An Open Person

One advantage being an open person is I'm open to learn how to be a better person. I want to hear other people talk how they live. I want to observe other people living their daily lives. I want to communicate with other people. I want to feel new things which may help me live a better life. I want to taste new foods and sip new drinks. I'm not a closed person. What can I learn from other people and things? I want to be stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser. I have no reason to restrict myself. I don't want to be closed-minded.

I'm Doing My Best

I'm doing everything I can to be a happy person honestly speaking. I'm currently unemployed. I spend six days a week working intelligently to find a new job. I job search tirelessly. I review my job skills such as Excel and SQL. I learn new job skills such as Oracle and Tableau. I'm prepare to continue reviewing and learning when I start working.

I workout at the gym four to five days a week. I take care of the house including cooking, washing dishes, laundry, and cleaning the house. I don't worry about money because I live an easy life minimizing splurges and minimizing materialism. I sleep eight hours a night. I continue being optimistic and cheerful.

I keep myself busy. I have no reason to quit. There is something I do everyday which contributes to my future success. Live the present for both today and tomorrow.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

All Firsts Pics

The engineer finally earned a $200k salary because he was inspired reading The Whole Earth Catalog when he was young. The ideas never stopped including Coke to clean kitchenware, paying restaurant bill at the table, leaving his or her left shoe next to his or her child’s back car set, and inflatable solar lanterns. The engineer took a break watching the Earthquakes win one day and listening to rain another day.





















Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Instant Bullets Blog Dec 1, 2015

*Live the present intelligently. There is a common life saying "You Only Live Once". Make your mark. Some people use the YOLO life philosophy to make irrational choices. I add the word "intelligently" to live the present. Living the present intelligently is begin earning your successes today. Don't wait for tomorrow to start working hard. The time is now to become successful. Make the best now for a better tomorrow. It's not goofing off. It's not neglecting life importance.

Champions train, practice, make mistakes, learn from their mistakes, work hard professionally, and work hard intelligently. The fun, leisure, and rewards follow. People come to the champions. Champions attract people.

*An engineer's story. A test engineer told me a story days before my contract was satisfied at my last job. He started the company as a contractor. He told his hiring manager he learns the job in 30 days. He has been with the company for four years.

Another conversation was an internal engineer position. He told me the position paid $250,000. Engineers who know both hardware and software have the highest job security. Engineers who continue learning new technologies have the highest job security. Engineers who continue retraining or refreshing existing technologies have the highest job security. Similarly, fire fighters continue their training and refreshing on fire fighting tactics and paramedic knowledge.

*A conversation idea. Read my blogs. If I need a conversation topic when I plan for a social gathering, then I read my past blogs. I'm interested in other people's thoughts what I wrote.

*Variety is the spice of life. Sex is a good life philosophy variety example. Sex variety starts with communication between partners. Try different sex positions. Have sex at different places such as another room, the car, a hotel room, or in public discretely. Use toys. Watch couple friendly porn. Listen to a variety of erotic music. Write dirty love letters. Read erotic stories to each other. Open up.

*There is a person out there for you. There is a person a match for you. I read an article a married couple met when they were building their own car doomsday. The couple is a prepper. People meet when they have common interests. There are wine couples, biker couples, geek couples, vegetarian couples, and adventure outdoor couples. People meet when they have uncommon yet interesting interests. There are cheapskate couples, hoarder couples, and swinging couples. I include breaking the law couples. Find people with common interests. Find people with common something. Sometimes the couple relationship becomes marriage.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Black Friday 2015

My Black Friday 2015 was another boring busiest shopping day of the year. I felt the deals were worse compared to last year. The big discounts were really not big. Many Black Friday items were the same as previous years. I felt many retailers scaled back their items for sale.

My shopping started at 7am. I purchased Castrol motor oil and Purolator oil filter at Pep Boys. The Black Friday sale price must be redeemed via mail-in rebate. I purchased Inside Out on BD, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I on BD, and A Christmas Story on DVD at Target. Head & Shoulders shampoo was on sale at Walgreens with an on-line coupon. I purchased Rite-Aid's Black Friday buy 1, get 2 free bath sponges; Belvita; a two-liter of 7-Up from their $.99 all two liter sodas, and Nivea and Eucerin trial size hand lotions.

I finally used my $4.86 Office Depot gift card I held since Sep 2011 to purchase a SanDisk USB 3.0 64GB and two Crystal Geyser 24 pack bottle water.

My Black Friday online shopping was at drugstore.com. I purchased ten Vanicream soap bars and Dr. Scholl's Moleskin.

Side notes: (1) Rite-Aid sold Head & Shoulders shampoo at the same price as Walgreens on their Sun Nov 29, 2015 ad. (2) I returned A Christmas Story back to Target.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

40 For 40: My First Visit At Google

Introduction: I start a new blog series titled "40 For 40." I share moments and experiences I lived in my 40 years. The ESPN 30 For 30 inspired me to create my 40 For 40 blogs. The sport documentary series detailed people, sport teams, moments, events, and controversial situations. The same ideas apply to my 40 For 40.

My fifth 40 For 40 blog is my first visit at Google campus for an interview.

I felt good interviewing for a contract data analyst position at Google in Nov 2012. I interviewed for six companies during the latter half of 2012. Six interviews were not bad for someone job searching after graduating from De Anza. I felt foolish afterwards which lasted one year.

The building was located a few blocks from the main campus. Google leased an industrial building which was converted to a call center. The call center went live in Jul 2012. I was surprised Google needed a call center. I joked someone calls for instructions how to use the search engine.

Some of the workers parked blocks away because there were not enough parking spaces. I was lucky to find a parking space. My contractor company should have informed me the parking situation.

One sign the interview was going to be bad when my contact person didn't answer my call. I waited past the scheduled arrival time outside the lobby. My contact person went to the cafeteria to bring lunch. The action was unprofessional in my opinion.

The inside of the building was laid back. There was a pool table and foosball table past the lobby. The break room was stocked with drinks, sodas, fruits, coffee, cereal, and snacks. There were showers in the restrooms. The bulletin board was written with positive comments and peer-to-peer complements. The workers' cubicle walls were a little above the height of their desks. It was easy for workers to talk to other workers. The working environment was relaxed, loose, and fun.

My interview was divided into two sections. The first section was an IQ test and a personality test required by Google. I was assigned an empty desk with a computer to complete the tests. The tests took an hour total.

The second section was the interview. It was a Google video chat. My webcam was obsolete which explains why I interviewed at Google. The hiring manager was on vacation. The position must be filled immediately. The person to person interviews after her vacation were too late. I became foolish during the interview. I asked the hiring manager ridiculous questions during my portion of the interview. I asked such as, "Tell me something you discovered recently?" "What is the last book you read?" "What is your dream car and why?" Most of the questions I asked were unrelated to the job. I corrected the clock before I walked out of the conference room because it was one hour behind. Did someone forget to switch the clock to standard time or was the wrong time a test?

The foolishness continued afterwards. I adapted the laid back lifestyle. I lived life having too much fun. The people I observed in the call center were having fun. They were conversing. They were laughing. The person I talked after the tests told me everyone was happy working at the call center. I dropped the fun attitude in Oct 2013. I realized the people were having too much fun. They were bored. There was no work. There were no calls.

The foolish life lessons were learned. I lost my focus on the most important priorities. I failed to prepare for my next job opportunity. My job searching was ineffective; for example, I found an error on my resume I sent to job openings for months. I reviewed my existing job skills poorly at a website. I should have reviewed watching YouTube tutorials. I didn't learn new job skills. The bottom line was I took life too lightly.

Side note 1: Another reason I didn't get the job was I submitted incomplete references. I believed the contractor company called my references. It was the first time a prospective employer called my references in my job experience.

Side note 2: I have knowledge from former Googlers working at Google is overrated. Free meals, free drinks, free snacks, gyms, bicycles to travel around the campus, a liberal dress code, etc. However, the work environment is no different than other tech companies. There are politics, workplace drama, and incompetent workers.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Growing Up Too Late Was Not My Fault

I can't blame myself for growing up too late. I finally grew up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. I'm happy I'm grown up. I continue growing up and catching up what I missed in my younger years. There are people older than me who haven't grown up or never grew up. I hope more people wise up. It's never too late to grow up. Life changes forever for people who grew up.

Dumb parents. My parents were not dumb intellectually. They were dumb raising and nurturing. I have few childhood stories to share involving my parents. The stories are short, weak, and embarrassing. Passive, lazy, and weak are adjectives describing how I was raised. They ignored my problems hoping they disappear for which it worked most of the time. My dad never taught me football and baseball. My mom never taught me how to cook and vacuum the house. Thank goodness my cousin introduced GI JOE and Transformers to me and my brother. I forgive my parents.

Fell through the cracks. My grade school education started on a high note. I learned first grade math in kindergarten. Thereafter, I was in remedial classes for reading and English. I didn't know what happened starting in first grade. My grade school intelligence was below average. My cognizance and comprehension learning skills were behind my age. I pulled through from seventh grade to twelfth grade.

Dumb luck. Dumb luck was in my favor throughout my K-12 education. Some of the teachers passed me either for participation, a good heart, or didn't care. I believed the latter happened many times.

I could include falling through the cracks being part of dumb luck. Challenges were avoided. There were no opportunities learning lessons on frustration. For instance, I was never a student body representative in grade school. I came close in fifth grade. I was never a senior cadet officer in JROTC. My high school I attended for three years closed because of budget cuts. I ended up being a squad leader in my senior year at another high school. And I registered for classes on the first day of registration when I attended San Jose State University. My English II instructor had me tested for a learning disability. Students with a learning disability registered for classes on the first day. I never experienced being on a wait list and never experienced being denied a class because it was full enrollment.

My life was riding on easy street. Life told me I was to live easy. Easy life was my fate. I took the easy life for granted. I was naive.

Too much fun. The easy street included stops having too much fun. I watched too much television. I daydreamed too much. I lived life indoors with no social life. I was weird. There were no opportunities to learn, to grow, and to enrich my life. I didn't have the motivation to live a normal childhood. My summer vacations were literally a three month vacation. I didn't know what to do. Where were my parents?

Childhood life lessons learned in my 30s: I learned on my own: it's okay to fail, learn from my failures; meet new people and make new friends; earn my successes; be responsible; and don't take life for granted.

Afraid of dogs. I was afraid of dogs. Not anymore. I believed my fear of dogs translated to being a coward. I was afraid. I was a worried ward.

The broken electronics set is more of a story. My parents were cheap. I admit their cheap consumer attitude influenced me to buy during sales. I'm not a cheap person for the record. My dad purchased an electronics set at a garage sale. I was eager to try it. I opened the box, took out the set, and opened the learning manual. I plugged in the battery. I started the first lesson. Success. I started the second lesson. Failed. What did I do wrong?

The electronics set convinced me I wasn't a smart child. The trauma lasted throughout my childhood. Why didn't I ask my dad for help? I never thought about asking him. I feared I didn't want to expose my poor intelligence. I believed I could handle everything myself. Moreover, my dad and I had a weak relationship. We rarely talked. We rarely bonded.

I realized decades later as an adult the electronics set was broken. I wasn't a dumb child. My bucket list includes completing a child electronic set. Learning basic electronics is also in my bucket list.

In conclusion, I'm responsible for myself. I'm a mature adult. I'm still a beginner in life catching up what I missed. I'm still new. I'm still fresh. Growing up too late is giving me a reason to life live by finding childhood and age 20s experiences and adventures. I accomplished reading childhood books such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, reading young adult books such as Forever by Judy Blume, peeing in the forest, camping outdoors, ice skating, sneaking food in a movie theater, and drinking alcohol. I'm looking forward to fulfill more experiences and adventures.

Side note: I acquired knowledge the number of students with learning disabilities doubled in my final year at San Jose State University. My thought was more students took advantage of registering for classes on the first day.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

All The People In My Life

2005 was the year I started to meet new people, make new friends, and create new circle of friends. I failed the three when I was in my 20s. People come and go in my life. It's life. People change. I change. People move on to new lives. I move on. I continue to welcome new people.

I'm part of a group of people moving forward opening new chapters. I seek new adventures. I experience new experiences. I continue getting stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser. I'm creating chances to live a better life. I have confidence to say I'm a better person today compared to the last time someone knew me. I want to be part of something great. My next great moment is being independent.

I ask a question to all the people I had any relationship including friend, family, acquaintance, or co-worker. Are you living a better life today compared to the last time we met? I haven't seen you in a while. I hope all of you are living better lives today compared to when we last met. I hope all of you are getting stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser. Maybe we see each other soon sharing successful stories. We're part of a group of people living better lives.

Moreover, I hope to meet more people in the good human beings group. You're going to meet a good Raymond Mar. I'm working hard to catch up what I missed from my past. I help you live a better life. You help me live a better life. I look forward creating new relationships. I look forward to reestablish existing relationships with some people in my past life. I assure the world I take no relationship for granted.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

1,000th Blog

I achieve a personal milestone. I never thought I write one thousand blogs when I blogged My First Blog on Aug 4, 2005. I realized I had been blogging less in July 2012 when I wrote 75 blogs in 2011. I was on pace to write 70 blogs in 2012. In comparison, I wrote 100 blogs in 2010 and wrote 131 blogs in 2009. I created a personal goal writing nine blogs per month to achieve my one thousand blogs in Nov 2015. Why nine instead of ten? I have other life priorities. I must live a life to think of blog ideas.

My life changed forever when I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. I blogged my Top Five Mistakes I Learned On And After Oct 4, 2008. I retired from anime sharing my Top Ten My All Time Favorite Anime Series. I shared my mistakes including 2007 Was Actually A Bad Year, The Correct Growing Up Part 2, and I'm No Longer Nice. I shared my Washington Canada 2008 vacation which is number two in my Top Ten Vacations. I give life advice such as 100% Success Rate To Keep The Toilet Seat Down, How I Buy DVDs, shopping for a mattress My New Mattress, and Think With Your Penis.

I say with high confidence eyeballing my past blogs I have been getting better. I'm getting stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser. I believe more about myself. I connect the dots backwards later what I'm doing today rewards me tomorrow. The blogs I write today I read them tomorrow learning, reflecting, and improving. For example, the work blogs Work Sat Nov 15, 2014 and Work Nov 23, 2013. Another example is my second look blogs such as A Second Look At 2013.

I continue my common theme blogs Top Ten such as Top Ten Favorite Beatles Songs, Sign Of My Times (SOMT) such as SOMT: Transitional Kindergarten, and pictures from my smart phone such as Nostalgia Atari 2600 And Wine Pallets.

I successfully wrote one thousand blogs and nine blogs a month. I reward myself lowering my writing blog requirement from nine a month to five or six a month. There is more life to experience. I must learn more. I must meet new people. There are new adventures to seek. There are new experiences to experience. I do my best writing nine blogs a month. I introduce flashback blogs. I repost a past blog because I want to evaluate what I wrote. Was I correct? Do I have an update? Reposting is a good way to remind myself my past blogs. I can't change the past. I can change my opinion. For example, a future flashback blog is Finding The Missing Pieces. Do I find my missing life pieces? Another future flashback blog is Happy Life. Is a happy life relative? And school districts begin The Five Year High School.

There is no top ten blogs or top 100 blogs. I have no time. I have more important priorities. I sincerely thank you to everyone who reads my blogs. I hope I made a difference to someone. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top Ten Fast Food Moments

There are stories told every day. We live each day one day at a time creating stories anywhere and anytime. Today's blog is sharing stories at fast food restaurants. The food is crap. The memories are good. Here is my top ten fast food moments.

10. Jack In The Box, San Jose, CA (1998). I was depressed as a recent college graduate looking for a job. I splurged on a Jumbo Jack combo upgrading to curly fries. It was the first year Jack In The Box served curly fries. The meal tasted good. I felt hope. I can't believe I'm saying a combo meal cheered me up.

9. McDonalds, Los Gatos, CA (2014). My third shift at the company's second store I ate lunch ordering two McChicken sandwiches and a Chicken McNugget combo.

Side note: My first shift I ate at Chipotle. My second shift I ate at Erik's Deli Cafe.

8. Jack In The Box, Campbell, CA (2000). It was the first time I ordered the Jumbo Jack combo with an ice cream shake. My friends and I played RPGs and watched anime the entire night. It was the closest restaurant opened after midnight.

7. McDonalds, Fremont, CA (2001). I drove from our Pleasanton, CA office to our San Jose office after a meeting. I stopped to eat lunch and play the Monopoly contest. I won a Playstation 2 video game. I didn't redeem because my social security number was required. I didn't own the console at the time.

6. Chipotle, Las Vegas, NV (2006). My friend from Washington and I ate a Chipotle after a night of gambling. It was my first time eating at Chipotle. I heard the hype being a great fast food Mexican restaurant. The mild salsa big sized burrito I ordered was spicy.

5. McDonalds, Saanichton, British Columbia, Canada (2005). My friend from Washington and I took a vacation in Canada. It was the first time I ate a McGriddle. It was the first time I saw a McDonalds which looked like a five star fast food restaurant. It was clean. It was modern. It looked like a high class diner.

4. McDonalds, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (2007). My business trip on my second week in the company. The closest restaurant opened after 9pm was McDonalds less than a block away from the hotel. I worked out at the gym afterwards.

3. Taco Time, Port Orchard, WA (2008). I visited my friend in Washington. We ate at Taco Time after he picked me up from the airport. It was the last time I saw snow as of the blog entry.

2. Boston Market, San Jose, CA (1996). I was hired to work at Blockbuster Video during the summer. I ate at Boston Market for the first time to celebrate my job.

1. McDonalds, San Jose Airport (2000). I booked the first flight from San Jose to Orange County. I didn't eat breakfast at home. I ordered the pancakes combo. It was the only time I ate their pancakes.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Live For Today And Live For Tomorrow

We hear the common sayings how to live life. Live the present. Live the moment. You're going to die so do it now. You only live once. Don't worry about tomorrow. On the other hand, live for the future. Prepare for tomorrow. Go for the long run. Short-term successes are just short-term; think long-term. Think for a better life tomorrow. Don't be reckless. Don't worry about today.

My 20s was living for the future. I ignored how I should have lived my life in my 20s such as traveling, eating new foods, trying alcohol, meeting new people, expanding my interests . . . seeking new adventures and experiencing new experiences. I saved too much money for which I should have spent some to create young adult stories. I held myself back avoiding more fun. I'm catching up what I missed.
My mid to late 30s was living in the present. I was catching up what I missed in my 20s. I sought new adventures and experienced new experiences. For instance, I backpacked at Zion National Park, rode the San Francisco Cable Card, learned Mahjong, read fiction books, and ballroom danced. I finally drank wine and beer at the age of 39. I let myself go living a life not worrying about tomorrow. I created stories.

Playtime is over. Every day I live for today and I live for tomorrow in 2015. I continue living for today and living for tomorrow for the rest of my life. I discover they're important living the present intelligently and preparing for the future intelligently. What I do today affects me tomorrow positive or negative. Time will tell. A mature adult accepts and follows the life belief live for today and live for tomorrow.

For example, I'm learning new job skills. My current personal project is learning Tableau. The time is now to learn Tableau because some jobs I apply require Tableau. I can't wait for tomorrow learning Tableau. I miss my next job opportunity. Another example is working out at the gym. The time is now to stay physically fit to avoid long-term health problems. I can't wait for tomorrow when my health problems appear. I want to slow down my aging keeping my brain sharp, my bones strong, and my joints flexible. I want to minimize stress, look young, be strong, and stay sexually healthy today. In addition, I continue seeking new adventures and experiencing new experiences today creating stories and preparing opportunities tomorrow.

Find your life path. Find your road straight and winding with bumps. Find your way of living both today and tomorrow. I believe the happiest people and the successful people think today and tomorrow. What can I do today for a better tomorrow? What do I do today I may not do tomorrow?

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

I Share My Feeling Snowballing

I felt humans are losing kindness, sincerity, and honesty two days ago. There is more greed, bitterness, and frustration. I share my feeling snowballing in my mind since Tue Nov 3.

Humankind is overwhelmed. There is too much happening in today's information age. I believe humankind is not tired; although, humans need more sleep. I believe the world is going too fast; although, humans must pace themselves. I believe humans must be more selective to tune out and turn off.

We're humans. Part of human beings is helping each other. Humans are reluctantly helping other humans needing help. I believe the top reason is we don't have time. We live rushing most people don't have time helping others. Most people don't want to delay their schedules.

Some people work too hard and too long. These people need to work more intelligently. These people are likely earning high incomes. I tip my hat to the high income people working intelligently. I ask why for the other high income people working too hard and too long stressing out. Following my thinking other high income people: work too many hours, earn high income, health problems result, spend money paying for pills, recover, work too many hours again, die unexpectedly early, too much money in the bank accounts making the people working intelligently earn high incomes. Life is meaningless with too much money doing nothing. The monetary value is worth nothing on the paper printed on.

I find most job openings ironic. The job description states the required experience. How can a job candidate acquire the experience without working a job to gain the experience? It's a catch-22. I'm currently job searching. The jobs I interviewed I wasn't hired because I don't have the experience. There is a flaw. A job candidate with a 100% match is bored months later. There is no challenge. There is nothing new. The job is routine like his or her past jobs. A job candidate with a 75% match is the better hire. The 75% match is motivated to do a good job because there is a challenge. There is something new to learn. The resume is beefed up. The job hiring is messed up. Blame the system. Furthermore, the interviewers are lying when they tell job candidates their departments and teams are unique, special, everyone gets along, and everyone supports each other. All of the companies I worked my departments are the same. There is someone who doesn't do their job like Wally from Dilbert. There is someone with attitudes problems like Alice from Dilbert. There is someone ignorant like the boss from Dilbert. There are some people who don't get along with other people. Companies need balls firing bad employees.

The world didn't come to an end. There is always tomorrow. Slow down. No need to rush. Conversely, live the present. Who knows when we die? We could die tomorrow. Live for today. Make your moment now. I believe all of these statements are true. The lifestyle living the present and preparing for the future are true. The happy people live in a straight line living today and living tomorrow.

From the song "Remember the Name" from Fort Minor, "This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will, five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain, and a hundred percent reason to remember the name!"

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top Ten Life Advices I Wished Somebody Told Me In My 20s

My 20s were more disappointments and few memorial moments. 5 out of my Top 40 Most Memorable moments were in my 20s. What a waste of my 20s. I was naive. I had too much pride to ask for help; my parents taught me a wrong lesson to do everything ourselves. I played too much role playing games. I shut myself from the world. I complained too much.

On the other hand, I accepted the advice to stop watching TV on weekdays in my Fall Semester 1994 at San Jose State University. My grades went up thereafter. Ironically, higher grades turned out to be overrated which is number 10. Another advice I accepted was finding a part time job. I worked as a part time tutor at the Mathematics Department and a customer service representative at Blockbuster Video.

I blog with 100% confidence I'm grown up. There is still more to learn catching up what I missed. I ask for help when I'm in a jam. I stopped playing role playing games when I turned 27. I'm an open person welcoming the world to me. I stopped complaining.

Here are the top ten life advices I wished somebody told me in my 20s:

10. College grades are overrated. If somebody told me the reality grades are a small factor when it comes to finding a job, then I spend less time studying and more time living a typical 20s college student. Ignore college job placement advice regarding the importance of grades. People skills are more important than grades, and people skills aren't taught in the classroom. The exception is graduate school because grades are important getting in a masters or Ph.D. program. Another way to look at college grades were overrated is applying for a financial loan. Banks don't ask for GPA.

9. Seek new adventures. Experience new experiences. I didn't live the present. I lived for the future. I lived my life in my comfort zone. If I didn't know something, I stay away. I was afraid to leave my comfort shell trying something, anything new.

8. Get stronger. I also include self-confidence—believe in myself. My self-esteem was zero. I was weak. I had little confidence. I was fragile.

7. Be responsible. I failed to take responsibility for my actions. I wasn't professional when the situation called for a professional Raymond Mar to get the job done. I didn't earn my successes. I wanted entitlements with little effort. The world didn't care about me which was justified.

6. Control of my own life. I believed in fate. I believed my life was predetermined. I lived my life believing my life was already set no matter what I did. Life came to me.

5. Don't take life for granted. I lived a careful life believing nothing bad happens to me. The best examples were some of my classes at San Jose State. I took for granted classes I barley pass even though I studied with half effort.

4. Meet new people and make new friends. I created small circle of friends. The failure shows today. Many of my younger friends have many circles of friends. I have very few today. Life could have been better knowing more people.

3. Make mistakes. Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn anything. I didn't make mistakes. I felt dumb if I make mistakes. I wasn't foolish. I was afraid to try something different. I didn't experiment. I wasn't wild. Obviously, don't break the law. Don't cause harm.

2. Move out of your parent's house as soon as possible. I was saving my money to buy a house when I found my first job. The homes started to get expensive in the late 1990s. I didn't even buy a home during the dot-com bubble burst even though my job was safe. Life could be boring living with your parents as an adult.

1. Embrace change. I resisted change. I wanted my life to be the same. Avoid conflicts. Stay quiet. My life was routine knowing what's going to happen. If it wasn't broken, I didn't fix it. There was no need to improve it. I didn't change myself. I stayed who I was.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top Ten Kid Moments

My kindergarten to sixth grade kid years were boring, uninspiring, slow growing, little developing, and being behind. There was little parental involvement. They were inactive, cheap, and overprotective. They took life for granted ignoring problems hoping they fixed themselves. My childhood was too much fun. The child years were too loose with little guidance. Ironically, I admit some children wished they had my parents because they provided shelter, food, and clothing.

I'm happy to share top kid moments. Some of these moments were experienced with good timing, good fortunes, and dumb luck. Sesame Street is a good example. The classic Sesame Street taught me how to be a good child my parents failed to teach me. I'm lucky I was young at the time Sesame Street influenced my childhood development. I was also lucky to watch the Saturday morning cartoons. Bugs Bunny, Richie Rich, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, and The Real Ghostbusters were my favorites. There are no Saturday morning cartoons today. The Saturday morning cartoons are number six in my top ten.

Here are the top ten kid moments:

10. Won $5 Pumpkin Contest (6th Grade). My junior high school held a guess the pumpkins' total weight contest. I won in the 6th grade division. It was the only time I won cash in any contest throughout my life.

9. Captain Of A Train (Kindergarten). My brother, cousin, and I played on a steam locomotive train at Washington Park in Alameda, CA. We played "captain, there's a fire" for which all the kids told me there was a pretend fire. I investigated. I extinguished the fire. My brother and cousin were my lieutenants. We continued the game throughout the entire day.

8. Solo Play (Various). There were times I was responsible keeping myself occupied. I played Puzzletown Set D Mayor Fox's Town Center. I rode my bike around the neighborhood outdoors and used the sofa indoors pretending I was a school bus driver. I pretended selling new cars at my car dealership named "Snoopy Car Dealer". I was a cashier at a grocery store and a BEST department store using a broken calculator, toy money, and a file cabinet as the till. I was a banker using Legos and preschool toys as the computers. And I was a teacher using obsolete primary grade textbooks my parents got at school closures.

7. I'm Bugs Bunny (1st Grade). I broke saltine crackers in half as carrots when I pretended I was Bugs Bunny.

6. Morning Game Shows And Cartoons (Various). My summer vacation mornings were occupied watching game shows. My Saturday mornings were occupied watching network cartoons. I was sad seeing college football games broadcasted during the fall and winter seasons.

5. First Football Touchdown (5th Grade). There was a fumble. A popular fifth grader told me to pick up the ball. I picked up the ball. I ran to the end zone. It was my first touchdown. I scored many more touchdowns in lunch hour football games.

4. Animal Telephone (Kindergarten-2nd Grade). My brother and I collected stuffed animals. We pretended our beds were apartments housing our own stuffed animals. We took turns an animal from one apartment called an animal from another apartment to hang out. Each of us owned toy jeeps big enough to put our animals inside. We used the jeeps to transport some of our animals inside the house; for example, my parent's bed was the grocery store. It was like old school socializing. Call a friend. Think of an activity. Do it.

3. Lunch Hour Run (2nd Grade And 3rd Grade). My elementary school promoted physical fitness. Students ran around the 1/4th mile grass field every Wednesday. We checked-in every 1/4th mile to 5th grade volunteers with clipboards. I started running in the second half of my 2nd grade year. I ran my entire 3rd grade year. I made the special running wall in my 3rd grade year where top runners were recognized. The teacher coordinator added all of the top runners' miles ran on a global map as if one person ran the entire world.

2. Girls I Liked And Liked Me (Various). I was a quiet child. I had my share of girls I liked. I had my share of girls liking me. My first friend was Carolyn Harper in Kindergarten. We telephoned each other. I liked a red haired girl named Meghan who sat on my left in 1st grade. There was a girl who liked me named Joann in 1st grade. A 1st grade girl named Amy liked me when I was in 3rd grade. I liked a girl named Jackie Russell in 5th grade. I wasn't sure she liked me. Deborah Biron sat next to me in 6th grade. We teased each other--friendly bullying. We never expressed liking each other. And there was a girl from another junior high school I befriended in the school bus going home in 6th grade. Her name was Cristina Dugglby. We dated a couple of times in high school.

1. Triple Play (4th Grade-6th Grade). GI Joe, Transformers, and MASK were the toys my brother and I played throughout our youths. We played on Saturdays and during the summers. We created scenarios or plots. What was the evil planning to destroy? The good responded to the evil. We never played randomly. We took turns playing the good guys and the bad guys. We also watched the cartoons.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Sometimes Any Given Sunday

I'm a football fan. I'm a casual football fan who follows the headlines. I know the teams, the popular players, the all-star professionals, and some NFL history. I know enough NFL knowledge to participate in football conversations. I listen to sports talk shows sometimes. I always watch the Super Bowl. I plan nothing else on Super Bowl Sunday.

Sometimes I watch football games on Sundays during the NFL season. Sometimes I don't watch. Sometimes I don't watch my San Francisco 49ers. I'm not a die-hard football fan who must watch football games. I don't even have cable. Sometimes I watch parts of a football games such as the last minutes of the fourth quarter when the game is close.

I live a balance life. There are some priorities which must be completed on any given Sunday. Some of the priorities include working out at the gym, cooking meals, paying bills, checking emails, playing board games, and catching up on something I'm behind. Sometimes I listen to football games on radio. I stop watching football games when the end result is a blow out. I believe there are some people who fit my football fan profile. There are some any given Sundays I have no priorities. I watch an entire football game. My way I enjoy my NFL football doesn't make me any less of a sincere football fan.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top Ten Vacations

Active leisure is part of our lives. We must find time to take an extended break. Pause. Turn off. Tune out. Find a distraction. See something different. Do something different. Be active at something not done in a long time. Take a vacation. Relax, refresh, refocus, and re-energize. Hopefully good stories are shared at the end of the vacation. Sometimes vacations are a catalyst for good fortunes coming soon.

I realized the importance of vacations when I took a staycation in 2015 for the first time in my life. I was unemployed spending hours seven days a week job searching, learning new job skills, and refreshing existing job skills. I took a one week staycation listening to podcasts, watching DVDs, and watching baseball on TV. I ate at an all you can eat sushi restaurant for the first time. My staycation reminded me to pace myself. My staycation reminded me my strengths. Avoid overstressing. Do everything one at a time. I discovered my sense of urgency finding a job must have intelligence.

Here are the top ten vacations:

10. Russian River (2013). The last time I took a vacation prior to the staycation was a weekend trip canoeing along the Russian River. It was my first time visiting Wine Country in Northern California. Very calm.

9. Cal Poly (1998). A friend invited me to visit him during Cal Poly Open House weekend. I helped his club raise money during the event cooking teriyaki chicken. Cal Poly was the first time I walked inside a university in my life. Cal Poly was the last time I walked inside a university after I graduated from San Jose State University.

The Cal Poly weekend vacation was the first time I went on vacation solo. I went shopping at an outlet strip mall purchasing neck ties.

8. Oregon (2005). My parents, uncle, and aunt took a road trip from the Bay Area to Oregon as far north as Portland. We were interested in purchasing real estate. My uncle knew a real estate contact person. It was the first time I purchased goods in a retail store without a sales tax.

7. Santa Barbara Weekend Trip (1998). My mom and I planned a weekend trip at the last minute. We transported our family birds to one of my aunts in Los Angeles. We met at my grandfather's house. The next day we drove my grandfather back to the Bay Area.

The highlight of the trip was a Mustang car driving next to me from Soledad to San Jose. Sometimes I was in front of the Mustang. Sometimes the Mustang was in front of me. We separated when I took another freeway entrance. We drove together at least 2.5 hours.

6. Las Vegas Grand Canyon (1997). My family's first biggest summer vacation. We stayed at a time share during our stay in Las Vegas. We took a two day trip to the Grand Canyon in the middle of the Las Vegas vacation.

The Las Vegas Grand Canyon vacation was all a first time for me. They included first time to Las Vegas, first time I gambled, first time in Arizona, and first time in another time zone even though Arizona doesn't recognize daylight savings.

5. Washington Canada (2005). Another vacation filled with firsts. My friend moved to Washington in 2002. I visited him in Washington for the first time. The first time highlights included visiting the Space Needle, visiting Canada, and riding a ferry.

The life lesson I learned was be patient.

4. Yosemite National Park (1995). 1995 was filled with family vacations. We visited Disneyland, stayed with my grandparents in Santa Barbara, and canoed in the Sacramento River. The best vacation was Yosemite. It was my first time visiting one of the most popular national parks in the USA. Every Californian should visit Yosemite even if it's one day.

3. Las Vegas (2004). Win money in Las Vegas is a shoe-in for a great three day vacation. My Washington friend and I walked away winning money playing craps and playing Camel Races in Luxor. We also played $2-$4 limit poker at Binion's Horseshoe when we visited Fremont Street.

2. Washington Canada (2008). The timing was perfect to visit my Washington friend for the second time. I lost my job because my contact was terminated. I was lost personally. I didn't know who I was. I was a wreck. The Washington Canada trip was my ultimate distraction. The sky was the limit when it came to spending. I discovered I was a beginner again ready to start my life fresh.

1. Zion National Park (2015). My cousin organized a two day backpacking trip to Zion National Park. We backpacked The Narrows Top Bottom. Our GPS recorded 23 miles of hiking down the Virgin River.

A good vacation is when there are a lot of firsts. I checked off lots of first times and checked off items in my bucket list. They included backpacking, camping, multi-day hiking, adjusting my clock to another time zone, and visiting Utah. I also visited Las Vegas where I met my cousin's party for the first time since 2006.

I experienced what it was like feeling I want to quit. I didn't quit because I must finish the hike. There were no alternate short cut routes. I also experienced willpower. The first day was willpower and adrenaline. I learned the importance of willpower.

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