Throwback Blog: Be True To Yourself

Blogger’s Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Be True To Yourself in Sep 2008. Here is proof I wrote blogs consisting of swearing. The context spoke yelling. I was pissed off at the world. I was pissed off at myself. I was lost. Everyone experiences loss of self. I wrote the blog on Sep 30, 2008 which was four days before I realized I must grow up on Oct 4, 2008. A grown up person laughs off immature moments. The blog below is another reminder I'm not perfect.

Warning!!! The blog entry contains swearing—lots of bullshit ;)) How many times do we bullshit? Admit it. Be honest and no bullshit. We have bullshitted in our lives. I bullshitted. I bullshitted a final I took at night I crammed on the day of the final. I bullshitted a few reports at my current job. I bullshitted many times in 8th grade which I didn’t know bullshit when I was 13 years old =P 8th grade was an exception because I was young and an idiot, LOL

Bullshitting work, exams, homework, reports, presentations, speeches, deadlines, lectures, and sales are nothing. If nobody catches your bullshit or somebody keeps quiet, then the bullshitter has no worries. One bullshit I despise is bullshitting one’s own soul. I hate fakers. I hate people in social situations who bullshit to get attention or meet new people. Fakers are nobodies :‹

Be honest. If you’re in an argument with a special someone, be honest. Honesty strengthens a relationship and strengthens the forgiveness. Likewise in work situations between co-workers and co-worker and manager. And likewise in family conflicts. Everyone be honest, be true, and the family grow stronger and be closer together. Conflicts can be positive at the end when everyone works together, be honest, solve the conflict, and bring closure. Be true to yourself is no bullshit XD

Addendum: There are people who think I'm a faker. I want to know why some people think I'm a faker, a nobody. I want to know their thoughts and I consider whether they speak the truth and I find ways to correct my fakeness or whether they speak bullshit and are cowards toward me.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Death And Taxes

"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," said Benjamin Franklin. Another way to say the quote is, "Death and taxes are the life guarantees." Here are more guarantees. I guarantee everyone experience trouble. I guarantee everyone experience frustrations. I guarantee everyone experience problems.

Nobody lives a life trouble free. There are conflicts. Some parents are overprotective raising their children. The parents believe their children must not live a life with problems. Life is good. The truth is life can not be good. Naive people believe life problems never affect them by avoiding problems. Adults raised by overprotective parents must eliminate the lesson avoid problems to life a good life. Life finds a way to give everyone problems. Nobody lives a trouble-free life.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

More Losses Less Wins And More Setbacks Less Accomplishments

One common life wisdom is add up the little things results in big things. The life wisdom goes both ways. Add up the good little things results in good big things. Add up the bad little things results in bad big things. My bad little things or more losses outnumber my good little things or more wins began either May 2015 when I became unemployed or Jan 2016 the start of a bad year from Jan 1 to Dec 31. I choose Jan 2016 because 2015 was a good year despite being unemployed the majority of 2015.

More bad little things, more losses, and more setbacks accumulate frustrations, pessimism, and cynicism. My life is hard when everything I do is a step backwards. It's like my life is Charlie Brown from Peanuts. I fail to see my life is two steps forward and one step backwards. I have little control of my life. There is bad luck. There is bad timing. A few little bad things are nothing. They're forgotten quickly. Many little things add up to frustrations: too many red signal lights, missed *insert anything* by one *insert any quantitative measurement*, cancellations, delays, unnecessary activities, and misinformation. In particular, I got sick two times from other people, a mouth sickness because I became allergic to my toothpaste, and family setbacks in 2018. Sometimes laughter is the best medicine.

Time is running out. I have experienced too many "are you kidding me" reactions. I have experienced being second. I have experienced too many runner-ups. I have experienced being the alternate. Money is secondary. I need chances. I need opportunities. I have been preparing for freedom. Life doesn't give me rewards.

Life is not fair. There are winners and losers. I rarely think my life I belong with the losers. I might as well stop living life if I'm 100% certain I'm a loser. Today's blog I'm one of the winners.

Finally, I'm not alone. There are people who live a similar situation like me. There are losers working hard to become winners. We are not alone. We hope for the best for each other.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Past Comic Strips Posted Aug 2018

I photocopied comic strips I read at work or read at home decades ago, or downloaded from the comic strip's website. Here are some of my favorite comic strips I took a picture on my camera. I post more later. Enjoy!

Credits: Dilbert by Scott Adams, Foxtrot by Bill Amend, Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, Dennis The Menace by Hank Ketcham, and The Duplex by Glenn McCoy.



Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

The Piano

I remember my brother, cousin, and I played band when we were children. We pretended to sing Disney songs. I played the piano on a table. My cousin was lead singer. I forgot what instrument my brother played. My mom enrolled my brother and I to private piano lessons years later. My sister learned the piano years later.

I hated learning the piano. The easy answers were I didn't have patience, I lived a childhood life of too much fun, and I didn't have interest. The deeper reason why I hated learning the piano was frustration. Frustration? I realized frustration today as an adult. How was I frustrated? I experienced trouble with timing. I experienced difficultly counting the beats. I experienced problems hearing the rhythms. Maybe my partial tone deafness started when I was in middle school.

I experienced the same frustrations when I enrolled in a singing class at De Anza College Winter 2010. I remember the final exam the instructor asked two experienced students to stand on my left and on my right to sing my final song. I could hear myself sing. I could hear my tone clearer.

I wonder what if somebody called out my tone hearing problems when I was young. The two piano teachers knew their piano. They should be trained in observing hearing difficulties. Piano playing involves hearing. It seemed either they didn't care since I'm learning piano casually or they needed the money. Maybe I used the time instead of learning piano I learned something else. Maybe I experienced less childhood frustrations. Unfortunately, I can't change the past. Unfortunately, my tone hearing problems were self-discovered decades later.

I wonder how Beethoven mastered the piano. Beethoven was deaf.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Grading My Past Years

I wrote three blogs sharing my moments from my past years 1998-2015, 2016, and 2017. I assign a letter grade for each year. Some may say I have a good life because I have good moments. I correct everyone. I had good years. I had bad years. My life has been a roller coaster life highs and lows like most people. Nothing is perfect. There are bad years in sports, entertainment, and business. There are award winners in bad years.

1998 (Grade: B): I got my first full-time job after I graduated college. I self-taught Microsoft Access strengthened my resume. One of my two weekend vacations was my first time experiencing freedom.

1999 (A): Microsoft Access helped me get a better job. I attended the biggest anime convention Anime Expo for the first time. I experienced life going my way for the first time. The flow felt good.

2000 (D): The Y2K problem never happened. On the other hand, the stock market crashed. Innovate Infinitely was created. Life didn't go my way. There was no flow.

2001 (B-): A roller coaster good year with good moments and bad moments. Anime Expo was at Long Beach, CA. I watched a Golden State Warriors basketball game at courtside. 9/11 changed the world forever.

2002 (B-): A roller coaster bad year with good moments and bad moments. The months Sep-Dec were good including my boss fired, shopping on eBay for the first time, and a Thanksgiving SoCal trip.

2003 (B): Good anime conventions after bad anime conventions in 2002. Back-to-back wedding vacations in SoCal gave my family a road trip vacation which included Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. I failed to meet new people and make new friends.

2004 (A): If the only bad moments were two anime conventions, then I had a good year. I wore a costume at an anime convention for the first time. I created my own webpage Innovate Infinitely. I visited Las Vegas. Curses are meant to be broken. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series.

2005 (A+): I visited Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, Canada for the first time. I purchased my first laptop. The entire 2005 was like 1999. Life flowed my way from Jan 1 to Dec 31.

2006 (A): The 2005 flow continued in 2006. I learned meeting new people and making new friends are important in life. People come and go in our lives for which I learned the lesson the hard way. I had a fun two day local business trip in San Francisco.

2007 (F): I found a new job at Cisco. I had opportunities to make life changes which could have affected the rest of my life. I was given all the tools and all the opportunities on a silver platter. I messed up. I took life for granted saying anything bad is not going to affect me. I was naive. Most of the bad affected me later. I'm still paying for my mistakes today.

2008 (B): 2007 continued in 2008 ending on Fri Oct 3. My life changed forever on Sat Oct 4 when I realized I must grow up. The changes paid off immediately: new clothes, read fiction books, built a new desktop PC, new mattress, new gym workouts, and a soul-searching Washington Canada vacation in Nov. I was a beginner again.

2009 (A+): The growing up continued correcting my mistakes, catching up what I missed, and learning what I should have learned earlier in my life. I continued being a beginner again. Some of the events included taking ballroom dancing lessons, going back to school attending De Anza College, hiking, and playing Mahjong for the second time.

2010 (A): I experienced what's like being a full-time college student again: taking classes, meeting new people, making new friends, experiencing new experiences, and seeking new adventures. One mistake was I didn't job search. There was a chance I find a full-time job during the Great Recession. I knew people who found jobs. If I didn't find a job, then I find additional job skills I needed to learn outside the classroom.

2011 (A): I graduated De Anza College with a AA degree in Accounting; however, the job market continued to be tough from The Great Recession. I maximized my free time experiencing new experiences and seeking new adventures for the second year in a row.

2012 (B+): Lots of job interviews. No hires. Job market was tough. I had too much fun for which I should have spent time learning new job skills and reviewing existing job skills like I did in 1998 self-teaching Microsoft Access.

2013 (C): I learned new job skills and reviewed existing job skills incorrectly using Accountemps. Avoid Accountemps' online courses. I got a job at a retail start-up.

2014 (C): I retired being an anime fan. I learned new job skills and reviewed existing job skills correctly watching YouTube tutorial videos. I listened to Podcasts for the first time. I got sick for six weeks between May and Jun. I went back to a white-collar job.

2015 (A): I experienced new feelings being a professional mature adult. Also, I experienced new feelings sacrificing, nothing to lose, going out of my comfort zone, willpower, and not giving up. There were first time experiences including watching a live Major League Soccer game, visiting Zion National Park, and training for natural disasters. I lost ten pounds.

2016 (F): Life flowed against me. There was no control over my life. Bad luck. Bad timing. Misfortunes. Anything bad which could happen happened. Too much frustrations. I redesigned my own webpage Innovate Infinitely using JavaScript and CSS.

2017 (D): O'Connor Hospital prevented 2017 getting an F. I was an inpatient for the first time because I had Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy surgeries. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I lost 18 pounds. Job searching continued. Job training continued.

Here are the links for my complete yearly moments 1998-2017: 1998-2015, 2016, and 2017.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Instant Bullets Blog Aug 11, 2018

*Curse Of Colonel Sanders. The Japanese baseball team Hanshin Tigers won the 1985 Japan Series equivalent to the North America World Series for the first time in franchise history. Tigers fans tossed a Colonel Sanders statue in the Dotonbori River. The Tigers posted one winning season from 1986-2004. The team returned to the Japan Series in 2005 losing to the Chiba Lotte Marines. The statue was recovered in 2009. The Tigers has been posting winning record seasons thereafter. Source: Have the NPB's Hanshin Tigers been cursed by the ghost of a fast food statue?

*A Life Wisdom. A rising tide raises all boats.

*Pet Overpopulation. Perhaps we are seeing a precursor in the human population. Earth is overcrowded. Anyone who denies overpopulation fails to see the big world. The future is too many humans. There are limited spaces in pet shelters; moreover, pets are euthanized when time is up. There is limited land for residences.

*Simple. Too Simple? Change yourself if you don't like yourself. I was quiet, worrying too much, shy, having too much fun, and taking life for granted when I was a child. I'm none of the above today. I have good communication skills. I meet new people. I learn new skills. I earn my freedom. In addition, I never thought I learn programming. I'm learning Python. I never thought I read fiction books. I learn more about life reading fiction books than non-fiction books. The choice to change is simple. How to change is hard.

Another thought. Maybe a person can't change because of his or her brain. Our brain controls who we are, what we do it, why we do it, and how we do it. There is brain damage prohibiting a person to change.

*The Gambler By Kenny Rogers. The poker lesson applies to some board games which scores using the point system. There are some life situations when you need to quit.

Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser

*Young At 30 And Stupid. I was young and stupid at 30 years old. I feel 30 year olds today are more stupid than I was. Maybe the 30 year olds today have weak motivation. They take more life for granted. The world is more complex today than compared to my 30s.

*A Life Lesson Following Sports. Matchups is the lesson. Coaches match up their players against their opponents to maximize their chances to win. The matchups include plays, schemes, and in-game adjustments. Likewise best matchups apply to life. For example, the best hire for a new job, the best spouse in a marriage, the best city to live, the best meal for an occasion, the best marketing materials for a presentation, and the best clothing for an event.

*Overprotective. Is it me or are we overprotective? There is too much fear. There is too much worrying. Too politically correct. We have the mindset everything we say is subject to misinterpretation. We fail to think the true context in our communication. We interpret bad communication politically incorrect.

*I understand when a person says his or her lover keeps the bed warm. The meaning is the couple gets along. The two people are a match. The relationship is strong. In contrast, a couple with a weak relationship sleeps together in a cold bed. It's difficult to sleep with a person who can't get along with the other person.

*Murphy's Laws. If anything can go wrong, it will. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. Enough research will tend to support whatever theory. There are more laws such as love, tech, cop, and nurses. Direct link to Murphy's Laws.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com