Top Ten Saves

A save in baseball is credited to the pitcher finishing a game when the opponent is down three runs or less without losing the lead. Also, a save is credited to the pitcher pitching the last three or more innings when the opponent is down three runs or less without losing the lead.

The baseball save inspired me to blog events which saved me. Fortunately, I haven't experience life or death situations. One minor save is a new Dyson upright vacuum cleaner. I used an old two-piece Sears canister vacuum cleaner which was hard to turn corners, hard to maneuver with the canister, and less powerful.

Here are my top ten saves. Known dates are noted in parenthesis.

10. My Boss Was Fired (Sep 2002). My second boss at my second job after college was fired for doing nothing. Two people in the company liked her. Everybody else including myself hated her. My department breathed fresh air afterwards. Lesson learned: have nothing, do nothing, get nothing, be nothing, and people treat you like nothing.

9. Public Library Book Sales (2011-present). I buy 95% of my books at library book sales. I save money buying used books. Luck is everything. Sometimes I hit the jackpot buying many books. Sometimes I miss the jackpot walking away with nothing.

8. My Parents. My parents must be recognized during my present life doing my best to earn freedom.

7. Movies. I own a small collection of DVDs. There are some movies which cheer me up when I feel depressed. Some of the movies are Good Will Hunting, Escape From Witch Mountain, Snakes On A Plane, Black Hawk Down, Aliens, A Few Good Men, Grease, and The Shawshank Redemption. Also, I watch favorite scenes from various movies like a personal potluck movie night.

6. Walking Stick At Zion National Park (Oct 3-4, 2015). I went backpacking for the first time in my life. I rented a walking stick which saved my ass walking in the river and navigating the rocks. I purchased a pair of trekking poles afterwards.

5. Blogs (Aug 4, 2005 and Sep 2, 2008). I created two blogs to express my positive feelings and my negative feeling in writing. The first blog is Innovating Common Knowledge. The second blog is Finding Raymond Mar.

4. Fanime Con 2004 Midnight Marathon (May 28-31, 2004). I watched 17 episodes of Full Metal Alchemist from midnight to 7am on May 31, 2004. I stayed awake for 27 hours which is currently the most hours I stayed awake. I considered retiring from anime. The marathon inspired me to wear a costume or cosplay at anime conventions which cancelled retirement. I retired from anime on Sep 2014.

3. Job Skills Self-Training (Aug 2014-present). I self-teach myself Python, Tableau, and Power BI. I also self-teach myself HTML 5, CSS, and JavaScript. I review SQL, Excel, and Access. Job self-training is better than doing nothing while unemployed. Job self-training is better than watching television and playing video games eight hours a day.

2. O'Connor Hospital (Apr 2-6 , 2017) I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I required two surgeries for the first time in my life. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. It was the first time I was a hospital in-patient. I lost 28 pounds afterwards. I'm currently at my best health in my life.

Honorable mentions: Dyson vacuum cleaner, Meetup South Bay Job Network and C6 helping unemployed people with job advice and networking, and podcasts learning new knowledge.

1. Growing Up (Oct 4, 2008). My life changed forever when I realized I must grow up. I was lost Aug-Sep 2008. The life changes were immediate. I built a new Gaming PC, I started to read fiction books, I wore new clothes, I purchased my first fine watch, and I slept on a new mattress. I found new hobbies which included hiking, ballroom dancing, and listening to classic jazz. I started following new gym workout plans. I live life stronger, smarter, wiser, kinder, and mature. I'm one step closer to become a self-trained genius.

Update On A Past Blog

I watched Road House starring the last Patrick Swayze. The movie was released in 1989. What if I watched the movie when I was an adolescent? I exposed myself to sex, hot chicks, alcohol, bouncers, coolers, rowdy bars, drug dealing, strippers, rich criminals running small towns, living a simple life, renting rooms, being calm in trouble situations, speaking straight to the point, money talks, revenge, murder, and theft. Road House must be mentioned with my ten movies from the blog Top Ten Movies I Watched Late on Mar 1, 2014.