Throwback Blog: Don't Be Me

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 Don't Be Me written on Mar 5, 2017. I was depressed. I shared what I hated about me. One way I expressed my self-hate safely was telling the world not to be me.

Today is April 2023. Six years and one month later. The self-hate motivated me to solve problems. Patience is a virtue. I still live with my parents maturely and professionally. The job training continues with new skills learned and existing skills reviewed. There are new circle of friends waiting to be drawn. Expansions are expanded exponentially; for example, communicating Morse Code, tying rope knots, creating paper airplanes, learning new physical workouts, learning new cooking skills, hiking new trials, and folding bedsheets. The best lesson desire more important than knowledge is still the best lesson to date.

Some parts of me don't be me. I have not earned freedom. Wait for the day people can become me.

Blogger's note: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar.

We've been told to like ourselves. Great. There are parts of our lives we dislike. I accept. Here are parts of my life I don't want other people to be. I also share what I'm doing to turn around my dislike to like. Don't live my life I did in my past. I admit today's blog is another "don't make the same mistakes as me" blog. I remind myself as repetition; don't make these mistakes again.

1. Living at home with my parents. I remember reading a college graduating speech saying live with your parents as long as you can. I accepted the bad advice. A person knows the time to move out is when the person becomes an adult. Independence is achieved when a son or daughter moves out of the house. Become independent naturally; however, don't rush being independent. I became an adult too late in my life. I'm a late bloomer. I'm preparing my moving out when my opportunity comes.

2. Unemployed too many times. I worked in Commercial Real Estate for 8.5 years. High job security. Low career advancement. I failed to learn new skills during the 8.5 years. I learned small skills here and there. Those small skills were weak transferrable skills. The best way to minimize unemployment is learn new job skills indefinitely. I learned the lesson in Aug 2014. Job searching is a full time job. I learn new job skills such as Python and Tableau and I review existing job skills such as Excel and SQL when I'm not job searching.

3. Small circle of friends. Call my circle small. Call my circles few. There are too few people in my life. I need more friends. I need more contacts. I said goodbye to some people because I must move on. Some people held me back. Some people and I diverge to different paths. People come and go naturally in our lives. People change as time moves forward. Meet new people continuously. Make new friends continuously.

4. Expand yourself. My mind was closed most of my life when I was introduced to something new or I discovered something new for which I ignored. I opened my mind for the first time in Oct 2008. The world is full of interesting which must be discovered. Keep an open mind when introduced to new hobbies. Hobbies come and go like people. Some hobbies we lose interest naturally. Some hobbies we grow out. Some hobbies we discover new they're better than existing hobbies. Hobbies, interests, experiences, adventures, and people all belong to expand yourself. Get up and do something, anything.

5. Desire more important than knowledge. I was raised to be a smart person. High GPA is important. A's are important. Know everything. Making mistakes mean I'm a stupid person. They're all incorrect. I recently discovered desire or motivation is more important than a high IQ. My desire is the reason I'm learning new skills I never thought I learn which are Python, JavaScript, and CSS. Nobody knows the future. One of these days the new skills help me become successful. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating. Innovating infinitely. The last three sentences are motivating me to learn. Nobody needs to be smart to motivate oneself to be a better person.

Side note: Here's the top mistakes blog I wrote in my Finding Raymond Mar blog titled Top Mistakes The Final Part. Click the label "Top Mistakes" below to read my top mistakes blogs.

Update On A Past Blog

The movie All The President's Men (1976) is one of my all time favorite movies. Actor Jason Robards played Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. He said, "I screwed up. I wasn't wrong." The quote reminded me the blog Top Ten I Was Correct When I Was Young I wrote on Jun 9, 2016. I screwed up on some of the top ten. I stopped practicing. My patience was poor. Most of my priorities were wrong. I wasn't a good person sincerely. On the other hand, I daydreamed appropriately. I never stopped exercising. I kept my expenses in check. The top ten are followed daily.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Answered Failure

The 2023 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference number one seed Milwaukee Bucks lost to the number eight seed Miami Heat 4-1 in the first-round best of seven series on Wed Apr 26. Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked if the 2022-2023 season was a failure? The question was fair. He answered honestly. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't attack the reporter. He responded humility taking the high road. "Michael Jordan played 15 years. Won six championships. The other nine years were a failure? . . . It's a wrong question. There's no failure in sports."

There is a common wisdom: failure is absolute, success is relative. Did Antetokounmpo dodge the failure question? The answer depends on the person's reference point. The answer depends on the person's base case. One perspective is the Bucks failed. The Bucks were eliminated in the first round to the lowest seed. The Bucks were eliminated early by five games in the series. The Bucks won an NBA Championship in 2021. They team should have won another. The odds were in favor. Antetokounmpo was an MVP in 2018-2019.

Another perspective is the Bucks succeeded. The Bucks already won an NBA Championship in 2021. Antetokounmpo was a former MVP. 16 teams play in the NBA Playoffs. The Bucks was one of the 16 teams. One team is a champion. 15 playoff teams are not a champion. The remaining NBA teams didn't reach the playoffs. And Antetokounmpo has a successful NBA career.

Another successful perspective is the Bucks' best regular season record in the NBA 58-24 earning the number one seed. The Bucks did their best. Unfortunately, the timing was bad to play poor basketball. The Heat played the best basketball at the best moment. The games favored the Heat. The Bucks' shots didn't go in the bucket. Injuries factored in the Bucks performance. Antetokounmpo missed two full games. The Bucks couldn't control everything.

Click Giannis Calls Out Reporter In HEATED Response: "There's No Failure In Sports" to watch the failure question interview. Click Giannis AMAZING exchange with Reporter During Postgame Interview to watch the full interview.

Men Can Also Shop For Dresses

I shopped at a Nike Factory Outlet store earlier in the morning. There was a 20% sale for all shoes. Good timing. My current running shoes need to be replaced as soon as possible.

I'm a beginner runner learning running techniques and learning how to buy running shoes to match my running style. I was lucky I purchased a pair of running shoes at random with good cushion and good stability at the center of my feet on Mar 2021. The pair of running shoes was the React Infinity Run Flyknit 2. The store disallowed customers trying on shoes due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. All benches were removed.

The store didn't have my React Infinity Run Flyknit 2 shoe size. I must take advantage of the sale. I choose to try running with different shoes. I tried multiple shoes. The looks were secondary. The shoes felt from good cushion to no cushion, strong stability to no stability, ankle support or the rear of the shoe moving up and down along the ankle, and the feel of my feet as if my feet touch the pavement. Pardon the weak running shoe terminology.

My estimated time trying on different shoes and slow running along an aisle was one hour and 20 minutes. I retried some shoes for a second time. I purchased two shoes which were the Renew Retaliation 3 with good stability at the center of my feet and the Air Winflo 9 with good cushion. Both shoes have good ankle support and long height separation between my feet and the pavement. I look forward running with different shoes for new experiences.

There are two takeaways. The first is always shop in desired outlet stores. Almost all sales are unannounced. Customers must enter the outlet store for the current sales. The second is men should be patient when women try clothes. Men can take a long time to shop for shoes like women take a long time to shop for dresses.

Gimme Some Cash

I dreamed last night the day was Super Bowl Sunday. ABC telecasted the football game for America. I was a teen in high school. ABC guaranteed all celebrity employees tickets to the game; otherwise, ABC reimbursed at a 4.5 to 1.0 ratio. Two anchors didn't have tickets at an $100 face value. One of the anchors was Cokie Roberts. The second anchor looked like actress Sandra Bullock. The Bullock anchor received both the cash and a ticket at the nosebleed section. She gave me the $450.00 before she attended the game. My dream didn't explain how I received the cash.

The next scene was my room. I counted the cash. My two brothers who don't exist in real life were present. One of the brothers reminded me of a classmate in my P.E. class in my sophomore year. He looked like the Bertram character from Family Guy. He was a natural bully. The second brother was a tag-a-long. Both brothers teased me, angered me, and frustrated me. I told my parents my brothers gave me trouble. They did nothing. Their intention was they wanted some money. There was no stealing. There was no dishonestly. They asked for money in a negative way.

I woke up. I realized I should have deposited the cash at an ATM before I went home. Nobody in the family knew about the cash; although, I'm honest I tell my parents.

The Green Steno Notebook 8

The picture above is the notebook I acquired on the first day of my new white collar job. I wrote notes during my job training. I wrote other notes, reminders, and knowledge thereafter. I share many of them. Here is the eighth blog.

*Jan 1, 2019. I began to flip my pillow vertically before I go to sleep.

I played the piano. The song was Mary Had A Little Lamb pressing middle C, D, and E keys.

*Jan 2. I stopped eating oatmeal.

*Jan 8. My gym changed the outdoor signage from The Right Stuff to Fitness 19.

*Jan 13. I dreamed last night I hiked at a fictional city with a boardwalk along the ocean. I stayed at the boardwalk the entire day. The boardwalk included a video arcade, a midway arcade, and a vintage arcade a mile long. Family members were seen including my brother's family, a cousin's family, and more cousins from Southern California.

*Jan 23. Blisters appeared at my right mouth. I switched toothpaste from Arm & Hammer to Colgate.

*Jan 23. Played Solitaire with a deck of playing cards.

Five minute shower using a bar of soap and body wash for my back scrubber. The shower is quicker instead of using body wash for my entire body.

*Jan 27. Installed florescent LED light bulbs.

*Feb 1. A action game my brother, cousin, and I played when we were kids was Immortals Of Change.

*Feb 5. Polished and shinned old gold color game tokens. I use the tokens as markers for any tabletop game.

The night temperature was 40 degrees exiting the gym. It might explain fewer people in the weight room.

*Feb 11. Car maintenance. I checked spare tire air pressure. I increased the air pressure from 22.5psi to 35psi. I removed corrosion on battery. I applied baking soda on the corrosion, sprayed water with a squirt bottle, used a wired brush to remove excess corrosion, and used an air compressor to blow out the small corrosion. A bowl was placed under the battery to catch the corrosion.

A bonus was polish and shine the house address numbers.

*Feb 13. Power outage at 9:20am. Family used the emergency radio for the first time. Big storm with heavy rain and strong winds. Power restored at 9:59am.

*Mar 8. I dreamed last night I worked in a United States Post Office branch. I helped the branch's post master edit the monthly newsletter. Dr. Phil made an appearance.

*Mar 9. I dreamed last night I piloted a blue color A-10 Warthog Thunderbolt.

*Mar 12. I experienced a bloody nose running on the treadmill. The gym worker turned off the ceiling fans ten minutes before closing.

*Mar 14. Replaced my car's license plate.

The orange hammer is a dead blow. I used the dead blow to reattach the emergency trunk opener.

*Apr 7. I dropped my Samsung Galaxy S7 for the first time in a house backyard.

*Apr 9. A self-discovery. Doesn't make sense. Don't waste your time. Let it be.

*Apr 16. Security disguise procedure. Information written on a piece of paper. Write additional information as fake information. Create fake information. For example, account numbers create math problems and/or create more numbers.

*Apr 18. I dreamed last night I was a lawyer for Steve Jobs' estate. Apple shareholders filed a civil lawsuit against his estate. I was part of a team. I was a rookie. TV cameras were allowed because the plaintiffs wanted to make me nervous. It failed.

Discovered a boring and a healthy fast food option. I purchased a loaf of bread, a container of peanuts, bananas, and a package of beef jerky in a market. Buying Snickers candy bars was optional.

*Apr 25. Replaced expensive windshield wipers with Costco windshield wipers for the spring season and summer season.

*May 5. May 2 was the National Day Of Prayer. I read my personal bible.

*May 13. Flushed home hot water heater. Suggested flush once a year.

*Jun 1. Stomach ache. Too much gas. Time was between 2pm and 6pm. The pain felt the same when I admitted myself to O'Connor Hospital in Mar 2017. I relaxed in the family room watching Major League Soccer Atlanta vs. Chicago and Major League Baseball Boston at New York. I sat on the sofa at an angle. The pain concentrated at my belly button.

*Jun 3. Raged quit BTD 6. I uninstalled the game on my Galaxy S7.

*Jun 4. Changed the Oracle executable file from automatic to manual. Uninstalled PostgreSQL. Changed the MySQL executable file from automatic to manual. Desktop bootup time decreased.

*Jul 13. Watched The Lion King on BD.

*Jul 16. Pour flavored oatmeal first because the flavor powder in the middle adds flavor to the regular oatmeal.

Blogger's note: It appeared I continued eating oatmeal past Jan 2.

*Jul 18. Cleaned the dryer lint duct.

*Jul 20. I'm allergic to Potassium Sorbate.

Update On A Past Blog

The set up for earning freedom continues today. The set up is taking years. The blogs 2019 Year In Review. It Was Barely A Good Year. written on Mar 8, 2020 and 2018 Year In Review. Three Consecutive Bad Years For The First Time in My Life. written on Mar 9, 2019 mentioned momentum going into the next year became a good year. 2020 and 2021 were good years. Momentum continues for years including year 2023. Momentum is indefinite.

Level Up Life Infinitely written on Dec 2, 2019 is a reminder ". . . life levels never stop. Never stop leveling up life. Leveling up is infinite. Never stop innovating life." More job training is near completion. Physical workouts are improving.

Finally, I wrote an update on a past blog for Money And Life on Sep 12, 2019. I said, "It's possible I need more [set up] time." The correct answer is I need more set up time. It's not possible. It's definite.

The Person Has Priors In A Negative Way

The NBA suspends Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs first round against the Sacramento Kings on Thur Apr 20, 2023. Green stepped on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter on Mon Apr 17, 2023. The Kings defeated the Warriors 114-106 taking a 2-0 game lead in a best of seven series. Green was ejected when he received a Flagrant Foul 2. Sabonis was assessed a technical foul.

Green isn't suspended for stepping on Sabonis' chest. Green is suspended for numerous heated exchanges with referees. Green is suspended for his past history of unsportsmanlike conduct. Green is suspended for his bad reputation. Some of the suspensions or fines:

*The Warriors fined Green for an altercation with guard Jordan Poole during a team practice on Oct 5, 2022. Green punched Poole in the face.
*The Warriors suspended Green for one game when he argued with Warriors forward Kevin Durant during a game with the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov 12, 2018.
*Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals Green swung his arm at Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James in the groin area. Green was suspended for Game 5 due to accumulating four flagrant fouls in the 2016 playoffs.
*Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams twice. One of the kicks was in the groin.

Reputations matter. Past behaviors matter. People sincerely earn their benefits of the doubt. It can make or break a judgement in favor or against. Give it time. Life is full circle. They come back in favor or against. Add up the past problems. The haunted history comes back. There are limits to tolerations. There are lines drawn. Don't lose the mini points. Keep the small stuff positive.

Green is a ten-year veteran. Four-time NBA Finals champion. Four-time NBA all-star. Seven-time all-defensive team. One-time defensive player of the year. Yet, he can act like a twelve year old. Don't be a pain in the butt. Don't be unprofessional.

Ten Random Blogs Apr 2023

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

1. Free Your Mind (Sep 02, 2010). An anime conversation is an example of people with different likes and different dislikes. One person likes an anime series. Another person dislikes the same anime series. Don't hold back. Share your opinion with your group of people. Nobody should disrespect your opinion.

Update remark: Speak up. Share your thoughts. Share your suggestions. If the group of people denounces you, then find another group.

A good example of two people with two extreme opposite opinions is VERY FUNNY Siskel & Ebert movie review "Brain Candy" 1996. Siskel loved Brain Candy. Ebert hated Brain Candy.

2. There Is More Than One Way Home (Mar 02, 2014). Commuters should know multiple routes to and from work and home in case of accidents or road closures.

Update remark: Today's workplace some people are no longer concern about commutes because of hybrid work schedules, permanent work-from-home, or being laid off.

3. The Most Likely Good Time At Any Convention Rule (Jun 06, 2013). The convention attendee is responsible for having a good time.

Update remark: An attendee can't control how a convention is organized. The worst case scenario is the attendee leaves a poorly organized convention.

4. Accutane Day 135 (Jun 18, 2009). My face experienced virus warts which was a side effect. My dermatologist prescribed Aldara.

Update remark: I need another Accutane like treatment. The year is 2023. My intuition tells me there are better treatments than Accutane.

5. Washington Canada 2008: Prologue (Jan 20, 2009). The introduction for my Washington Canada 2008 vacation. Vacations planned correctly are a great life time out.

Update remark: The vacation is number 9 in my Top 40 Most Memorable Moments written on Sep 27, 2016.

6. Streaks Of Imperfection (Mar 04, 2011). I experienced a streak of bad luck, bad timing, and bad circumstances.

Update remark: Nobody cares. Blame nobody. Blame life. Move on. Move forward.

7. This Week With Raymond Mar (Jun 19, 2009). I blogged all the events during the plain week.

Update remark: No need to click on the link. The blog was about my De Anza classes, Accutane treatment, anime, video games, books, and music. I tried to do everything which was rationally impossible.

8. De Anza Week Jan 11, 2010 (Jan 16, 2010). I blogged another Winter Quarter 2010 week.

Update remark: I feel sorry for college students who can't afford either a desktop or a laptop. I believe the computers in colleges are subpar compared to students who can afford their own computer. Also, I should have dropped Beginning Singing class.

9. You Need The Correct Attitude? (Jan 21, 2006). I blogged a common dating advice, "What's the worst that can happen--he or she says [no]."

Update remark: A person can increase the chances he or she says yes by being a stronger person.

10. Throwback Blog: I Remember These Tragedies Forever (Jan 30, 2019). I remembered where I was when I heard about the tragedies: Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Michael Jackson died, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, Columbine shooting, Operation Desert Storm, and the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Update remark: No more all major networks' breaking news for mass shootings after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Update On A Past Blog

I want to add parallel parking to the list of My Parents Raised My Correctly written on Feb 15, 2015. Some of today's cars include self-parallel parking. I have seen more drivers fail at parallel parking. The drivers are forced to drive away from the open parking spot because he or she holds back traffic. My dad taught me parallel parking. He constructed vertical wooden stands to mimic cars parked between the open parking spot. The old skill is a valid life skill today.

I also add my mom teaching my siblings and I don't eat candy, instant foods, sugary cereals, frozen foods, fruit juices, and donuts when we were children. Avoiding the bad food habits continue today. All of the processed junk foods mentioned are consumed in the rare special occasions.

The Time Is Now And Later

Most people are unconscious two steps forward and one step backwards. The daily life is moving forward a little bit. There are days moving backwards. Moving backwards doesn't matter. A backwards day requires changing priorities. Make the best choice the new top priorities.

Go with the flow. Tomorrow is another day. Go to sleep. Start again to move forward again. The next day we move forward overtaking yesterday's move backwards and moving forwards again. The net is a positive forward gain.

Time Is The Ultimate Judge

Everything done in the present influences the future for better or for worst. All actions in the present a judgement awaits in the future. A judgement is instant later today, tomorrow, next week, next year, or the next decade. Be patient. Give it time.

You need help. Somebody needs help. Is the help full circle? Is the help among family, friends, acquaintances, professional relationships, or strangers? I help you. You help me. If you help me, then I help you we save time--productive work. Time tells whether the full circle help is completed. There are exceptions the full circle stopped circling to completion.

By The Numbers

A success formula. A moving forward formula. A keep busy formula. +2-1=+1.

Update On A Past Blog

I remind everyone the These Young People Are False Losers blog I wrote on Aug 7, 2022. There are more people becoming false losers through no fault of their own as the economy goes to a recession. Age is irrelevant. There are young false losers. There are old false losers. There are fewer opportunities for the greater amount of people.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog March 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. More winter rains continued with floods, downed trees, and power outages. The last week of Mar was the fastest week of the year.

Sat Mar 4. Walked my sister's dog twice. Shopped at Trader Joe's, Goodwill, Nordstrom Rack, and Costco.

Sun Mar 5. CA discontinues mask and vaccination requirements for health care settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, warming centers, and cooling centers on Mon Apr 3. Health care settings include hospitals, urgent care centers, dental offices, and doctor offices.

CA residents end isolation after five days for people who tested positive for COVID-19. CA residents must feel better, symptoms improved, and fever free for 24 hours before ending isolation. The updated procedure starts on Mon Mar 13.

Wed Mar 8. CA Governor Gavin Newsom tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time. The first time was May 2022. Mild symptoms. Newsom returned from a personal trip to Baja California. He self-isolated working remotely for five days.

Thur Mar 9. Shopped for used book stores in libraries in the West Valley area, Nike Outlet, and two Target stores.

Fri Mar 10. Shopped at Target and Costco.

Tue Mar 14. China reopens its borders to tourists and resumes issuing visas on Wed Mar 15. Visa free entries are reopened. No notice whether vaccination proof or negative COVID-19 tests is required.

Fri Mar 17. Shopped at Safeway.

A team of scientists around the world announced the virus SARS-CoV-2 originated at the Hunan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. The strongest evidence is the virus started from raccoon dogs to humans of the natural transmission theory to date.

Three year anniversary CA shut down due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Mon Mar 20. Shopped at Costco, Home Depot, post office, and Safeway.

President Joe Biden signed legislation passed unanimously by the House and Senate to declassify information on the source of COVID-19 in China. The Office Of The Director Of National Intelligence to declassify information on a lab at the Wuhan Institute Of Virology.

Mon Mar 27. Shopped at Safeway.

Contra Costa County staff at skilled nursing facilities, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, medical contractors, and medical vendors inside county's medical facilities must wear masks. The mandate is active after the state masking requirements expires on Mon Apr 3. However, the county mandate doesn't apply to nursing home patients and their visitors, hospitals, and outpatient health care clinics; however, these facilities can enforce their own masking policies.

Alameda County staff at skilled nursing facilities must wear masks after Mon Apr 3. Visitors are encouraged to wear masks even though they're not mandated.

Tue Mar 28. Shopped at Nike Factory Outlet, Game Kastle, Trader Joe's, and Central Computer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended low to medium risk people getting COVID-19 don't get additional or annual booster shots. On the other hand, high risk people get the additional or annual booster shot. High risk people include older people, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions. The WHO believed the benefits administering boosters to low and medium risk people are small.

However, the Food And Drug Administration proposed COVID-19 boosters annually regardless of risk factors.

Wed Mar 29. The Senate voted 68-23 in favor of ending the national COVID-19 emergency declared on Mar 13, 2020. The House voted 229-197 in favor last month on Feb 1. Biden opposed the bill. The administration is preparing to end the national emergency on Thur May 11. Biden signs the bill to law when the bill arrives on his desk.

Thur Mar 30. Former President Donald Trump is indicted in New York City.

Top Ten Redos

Today's mulligan blog is a redo. I redo a moment at a different time. I redo a moment the way it should have been in the first place. I redo a moment to increase my chances of being successful. I redo a moment to increase my chances of a better outcome. Here are the top ten redos:

10. Job Search Working At A Start-Up. I started working at a retail start-up selling high-end wines, beers, and sake at a discount price in Nov 2013. I found another job in Sep 2014. I started job searching in Aug 2014.

Redo: I started job searching in May 2014 when the company fired a manager because he was the fall-guy. Bad management was exposed. Also, the new beer buyer submitted his two-week notice at the end of his first day.

9. Anime Expo 2007. It was a disaster when Anime Expo was held at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. Hotel overbookings, hot weather, not enough parking, convention center too small, and crowds too big for the downtown.

Redo: I skipped Anime Expo 2007 instead of Anime Expo 2008. Anime Expo moved back to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2008. Anime Expo was held in Anaheim, CA from 2003 to 2006.

8. Fanime Con 2013. I planned Fanime Con 2013 to be my last anime convention for the rest of my life. I skipped day one for good reason. Con attendees waited hours for their membership badges. I was lucky. I waited one hour on day two.

Redo: Fanime Con 2012 should have been my last anime convention. I should have ended my anime convention experience on a good note.

7. De Anza College Winter 2006. I enrolled in a business plan night class. I went back to De Anza College from 2009 to 2011 to earn an A.A. degree in Accounting.

Redo: Take one evening accounting class starting in Winter 2006 instead of going back to school full time in Fall 2009. A bold redo is quit my job, become a full-time student taking accounting classes, and transfer to San Jose State University. I earn a B.A. in Business Administration-Accounting when the economy recovered from the Great Recession in 2011. My full disclosure connecting the dots backwards is who knew about the Great Recession in 2006. Five years is sufficient time earning a B.A. taking night classes.

6. Mahjong (Riichi). I started learning Japanese Mahjong in summer 2007. I quit because it was too hard. I relearned in Oct 2009 because a friend challenged another friend and I to learn the basics in one week. I have been playing ever since.

Redo: I continued learning Riichi finding better ways. Riichi might have saved 2007 from becoming one of the worse years in my life.

5. Moved To The New House. My parents moved the family to a new house in summer 1983. My parents heisted moving in 1982.

Redo: My parents accepted the bold choice to move in 1982. How my childhood life changed moving to a new neighborhood one year earlier is another blog.

4. Job Search Working In Commercial Real Estate. I job searched in Jan 2007 resulting in a new job at Cisco in Mar 2007.

Redo: I job searched starting in summer 2006. Bad management became front and center throughout the partnership.

Redo addendum: I job searched during the Great Recession. Two friends found jobs in 2009.

3. Changed Majors At San Jose State University. I changed majors from Mathematics to Economics in Fall 1995.

Redo: I changed majors in Fall 1994. The Math 42 Discrete Mathematics class should have been a wake-up call in Fall 1994. I struggled proving math formulas and math theories.

2. Stock Investing. I sold all my dot-com stocks after the 2000 dot-com recession. Most of the stocks sold were at a loss.

Redo: I sold all my stocks the day after NASDAQ closed above 5,000 for the first time in history. I remember a conversation with a senior executive broker who listened to a financial expert who said sell all stocks. Also, I purchased stocks during the Great Recession when the markets were down an average of 50%.

1. The Day I Grew Up. I grew up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. The changes were immediate. For example, new clothes, new workouts, new desktop computer, and reading more fiction books.

Redo: I grew up on Mon Mar 17, 2007 which was the first day I started working at Cisco.

Update On A Past Blog

I add more life saves to the Top Ten Saves blog written on Apr 25, 2020. These saves are ordered date descending.

Wall Street Bets (Jan 2021). GameStop, AMC, Sundial Growers, and Nokia. Stock options. Short squeeze. Naked short selling. The stock market events made me a smarter investor. The stock market events revitalized my interest in the stock market. There is no more passive stock investing.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (Sep 2019-Mar 2020). I fail to explain why Harry Potter was not mentioned on the same month I finished reading all seven books. Hindsight is 20-20. The COVID-19 global pandemic shutdown the world on Mar 2020. I'm reading the books for the third time. Moreover, the next blog was Top Ten Plus Nine Equals Top Nineteen Harry Potter Adult Perspective Takeaways blog written on Apr 29, 2020.

The Shawshank Redemption (Sep 2019). I mentioned the movie in saves number seven. A special recognition. The movie saved my life. The movie saved my soul. The movie set me free.

Python (May 2015). I mentioned Python in saves number three. A special recognition. I thank my friend Appu for introducing Python, Linux, and a text editor together.

Physics 61 Lab (Spring 1995). My lab partner JoshC. We were the worst lab team. I was the worst lab student. I couldn't pass the class without your help.

Grandmother Listened To Me

I dreamed last night my late grandmother on my mom's side and I conversed. The topic was my long-term unemployment. She said I should be working any job. I agreed and I disagreed. Any person can work any job. My stronger response was some jobs are a match to people and some jobs are a mismatch to people; for example, an oversimplified scenario a grocery store doesn't hire job candidates with a master's degree. She asked why I'm unemployed. I answered bad luck. I got interviews. I didn't get hired beyond my control. I job train five days a week. I don't watch TV and play video games eight hours a day. Furthermore, I explained why some people can't find work. I said timing and luck are factors. There are too many people applying to fewer openings. The quantity of job candidates increases the supply of job candidates at the end of every academic school year. There are not enough openings to satisfy the additional supply.