Throwback Blog: I Celebrate My Independence Soon

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 I Celebrate My Independence Soon written on Jul 4, 2016. My number one goal freedom is clear and present. I substitute the word freedom for the word independence anytime I talk about living on my own because of preference. Freedom is coming. There is no alternative.

The working intelligently for freedom partially changed. I job search once a day from Mon to Sat. I continue learning job skills and life skills when I'm not job searching. The job skills training is the endgame or one final practice including Excel, Python, R, and Power BI. My workouts are two days strength training and two days jogging outdoors.

The working intelligently for freedom partially not changed. I fulfill household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I sleep well. I read books. I'm happy I read Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling for the first time on Sep 2019. The timing was perfect I read Harry Potter three times during the COVID-19 global pandemic. I minimize watching television, eating junk food, and visiting my social media.

Today is Independence Day in the United States Of America. The Americans celebrate our independence when the thirteen American colonies became a new nation leaving the British Empire on July 4, 1776. One of these days I'm going to be independent making my own choices, living a consistent life, controlling more of my life, and being more proactive. The bottom line is freedom.

I'm working intelligently to be independent. I'm strong. I'm brave. I job search two times a day every weekday. I learn new skills when I'm not job searching. My current personal projects are learning Python and HTML5. I also stay active. Boredom is a motivation killer. Boredom defeats the reason to live. I workout at the gym four days a week. I fulfill household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I sleep well. I read books. My last book was 1984 by George Orwell. I minimize watching television, eating junk food, and visiting my social media.

My independence is not if. My independence is when. I promise to myself and I promise to everyone my earned independence is exciting. I can say my next manifesto includes an exciting independence.

Two Pathetic Companies I Used To Work

"I say Microsoft and Google have a lot in common. Microsoft never had the humanities and the liberal arts in their DNA. It was a pure technology company. And they just didn't get it. Even when they saw the map, they couldn't even copy it well. How dumb do you have to be to not see it--once you see it, you know. But Google is the same way. They just don't get it." --Steve Jobs, 60 Minutes Overtime

A Steve Jobs quote inspired me to write today's blog on two companies I used to work. One can say I should have spoken up the companies were screwing up themselves. Fair statement. I was naive when I worked at the commercial real estate company. I didn't have the wisdom, creditability, impact, and courage to call out management. I didn't have the influence, power, and persuasion to call out ownership at the retail start-up company.

The commercial real estate company had the technology, the strong support staff, the training, the highest number of brokers, and the facilities to be the number one in total leases and sales in the region. The company was number one once during my eight years in year 2000--too easy during the dot com economy. Otherwise, the company was number two or number three. Management just didn't get it.

The retail start-up sold premium wine, beer, and sake at discount prices at its brick & mortar store and online store. The business was a great idea. Their products were not found in supermarket chains. Ownership purchased wine, beer, and sake in bulk. The savings were passed to the customers. Tastings were held on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays to attract customers. The location was perfect in upper middle class and high class neighborhoods. The start-up was in business between 2014 and 2020. Ownership just didn't get it.

Update On A Past Blog

Blogger changed public access to two of my blogs posted at their website. I recognize Google's content policies.

The The Green Steno Notebook 5 blog written on Feb 9, 2020 can be read by logging on to a Google account. The blog can be read at my website Innovate Infinitely Blogs. Select 2020 for the year. Select Feb for the month. Press the Go button. Scroll down to Sunday February 9, 2020.

The Five Minute Management Course blog written on Jan 12, 2010 is no longer published at Blogger. The blog can be read at my website Innovate Infinitely Blogs. Select 2010 for the year. Select Jan for the month. Press the Go button. Scroll down to Jan 12, 2010 written as 01/12/2010.

Life Is Not Fair In My Words

"Life is not fair--get used to it." --Bill Gates, 11 Rules For Real Life

A common life knowledge is "life is not fair." Everyone knows it. Some people remember it daily. Some people are numb. Some people ignore it. Some people agree. Some people disagree. I explain "life is not fair" in my words.

Nobody has the right to be happy. Life doesn't care about people's feelings. Life doesn't care about people's successes. Life doesn't care about people's failures. Nobody is entitled to make it. Nobody has the right to be successful. You're a nice person. You're a good worker. You're educated. You're responsible. You obey the laws. Black or white race. Rich or poor family. Male or female gender. So what. Who cares. They don't mean life flows in your favor giving you success. There are exceptions.

There are people who earned their successes. There are people who didn't earn their successes. There are more unearned successful people than you think. Life is not fair. Successes are earned, unearned, given, rewarded, and mistaken. There are good people who worked hard without rewards from life. There are bad people who worked mediocre with rewards from life. Timing and luck are factors in good lives and in bad lives. Anyone who says luck has nothing to do with their successes is lying.

Furthermore, there are too many people. There are too few opportunities to succeed. There are too few opportunities to meet the demand of success. A rising tide raises all boats. Prices increase for the limited opportunities. Prices increase for the chance to be a winner. More people are trying. More people are working. More people are unsuccessful.

The very few talk about life is not fair in dinner tables and parties. Life is not fair is an uncomfortable conversation topic. A group of successful people in any gathering the life is not fair topic is in nobody's minds. Most people take life for granted. Life flows with them. They avoid talking about what happens if the headwinds blow at them. They avoid cursing themselves. They avoid creating bad karma. Unfairness applies to relationships, finances, contests, occupations, and health.

There is a lesson for students who earn straight A's. Life is not perfect. You're not perfect. Life doesn't care. The good life is not straight A's. Study hard. Earn A's. Good things happen is a false lesson. Anything bad can happen. No students earning straight A's are immune to anything bad happening. No students earning straight A's are immune to bad luck and bad timing. Schools fail to teach unfairness. Schools teach ABC's and 123's. Nothing more. Students are responsible for lessons outside the classroom.

I Defend The System

I live in the United States of America. The economy is capitalism. The government is democratic. The criminal justice system is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. I'm the George Costanza in my family. I'm unemployed. I live with my parents. The system fails me. Ironically, I defend the system. The system is unfair. The system is the best in the world. If the system fails or the USA residents live under another system, then there are more people struggling, more families struggling, increase in crimes, wider income inequality, ineffective distribution of goods and services, mismatch allocation of labor and resources, education barriers, social-economic barriers, and lower population growth. The system is not 100% perfect. Nobody is perfect. Nothing is perfect. There are people left out. There are victims of the system. The system fails some people chronically struggling physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and/or financially. I sound like a broken record--life is unfair.

The reader may ask about my job searching. I'm brief. I job search six days a week. My bad luck job interviews is another blog. I job train six days a week.

Destiny, fate, karma, act of God can go with people and can go against people. Life finds a way to help and hurt people beyond their control. People don't control 100% of their lives. There's always a chance something good or something bad happens. Life changes for the better. Life changes for the worse. Most people on planet Earth are good people. The good people don't want anything bad to happen. Bad can happen to good people. Accidents, disasters, destructions, crime victims, losses, disabilities, mistakes, illnesses, etc. Blame life. Life is unfair.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote another life is unfair blog titled Life Is Unfair There Is Bad Luck on Jan 7, 2018. There are many losers for each winner. People who experience bad luck continue moving forward. Don't stop living. Life can't get worse. Also, the blog foreshadowed the 2018 year. 2018 was my bad luck year.

Keep In Touch On Social Media

Everyone knows social media. Even people who live under a rock know social media. Facebook, Twitter or X, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, and Yelp are popular social media websites. Give it time for the people who don't have social media. They participate in time. Social media is present. People use social media to communicate. People use social media to search.

A negative social media common knowledge is some people become depressed. A common knowledge solution is take a break from social media or deactivate their social media accounts. I'm in the minority. Never take a break from social media. Never deactivate social media accounts. It's okay to reduce time on social media. You never know when you need to contact a friend, family member, or co-worker from a past job. Do your best to keep in touch.

Don't feel jealous when someone gets married, finds a new job, travels on a dream vacation, gets promoted, or purchases a new car. Jealously is poor self-esteem. Poor self-esteem becomes depression. The person earns their happy moment thru hard work, destiny, life, karma, or luck. Like or comment. On the other hand, if you got married, found a new job, traveled on your dream vacation, got promoted, or purchased a new car, then you want likes and comments. You earned your happy moment thru hard work, destiny, life, karma, or luck. It goes both ways.

Update On A Past Blog

I add another sports lesson to the Top Ten Life Lessons I Learned Watching Sports written on Nov 5, 2016. Winning solves problems. A professional sports team wins a championship. The problems are solved. The problems are forgotten. The problems are forgiven. Likewise in life. Winning is a factor to forgive. Forgiving is easier when the person or the party forgiving is winning. Forgiving is easier when the person or the party forgiving is successful.

Moving Forward Maturely

The week of Mon Aug 14, 2023 was one of the worst weeks in recent memory. Muggy hot or high humidity hot weather. Stomach problems. Mosquito bites affected the household for three days. Fewer hours spent job training. Shorter exercise workouts. Computer hardware problems. A minor family emergency. My weekly sleep schedule was altered. I read my book for one day only. There were no ignoring problems.

All of the above was not my fault. It was no human's fault. It was beyond my control. The probability of success to control the uncontrollable was too low. I didn't complain. There was no escaping. I didn't play video games. I didn't eat comfort junk food. I blame life.

Go with the flow was the best choice. Be strong. Be courageous. I accepted the bad week. Each problem solved one at a time. Do something was better than do nothing. Made lemonade out of the non-rotten lemons.

The week of Mon Aug 14, 2023 was a great example of a clique "life goes on." The week was a losing week. Experience experienced. Permanent memory.

Three Dreams

There were three dreams last night. I wrote the dreams on paper. Here they are below.

The first dream took place at a retail strip mall named Strawberry Park in San Jose, CA. My brother and I played arcade games at a carnival in the evening. The carnival closed at midnight. We exited before midnight. Our parents waited outside. We exited the carnival in a fire truck. Mom drove. I sat in the driver side rear. We drove to Westgate Mall which was an indoor mall with retail stores along the perimeter. We shopped inside around 11:45pm. One store was Toys R Us. The inside of the store looked like a dry cleaners business.

The second dream I was in a Vietnam War protest. I wore clothes in the 1930s. I carried weapons from the Korean War. I was shot from an unknown person. I died. Nobody visited my grave during burial. One of my cousins and people unknown took care of my belongings. I might have been a ghost witnessing. The unknowns looked like the main characters from the anime series Azumanga Daioh. They read and sang from textbooks next to my grave. The textbook subject was unknown.

The third dream took place in Campbell, CA; although, the downtown in my dream was different than the actual downtown. The downtown dream version was like a city for junior college students. The city economy depended on the students. There was a tall office building with restaurants and stores on the first floor. The basement was a parking garage. I worked at a dead-end job. I worked in the mortgage department at a company named Iron Mountain.

There were foreign students hanging out at the restaurants. There were two interactions. The first interaction happened at Burger King. Two of the three students forgot their sweaters. The third student helped me put my grocery bag inside my duffle bag. My duffle bag was my eighth grade school duffle bag. The grocery bag didn't fit. The second interaction was at the ground floor parking machines to pay for parking. The same three students were present. One of the three students had trouble paying for parking. I assisted. I walked to the entrance double-doors to my parking floor which was actually the first floor above ground floor. The stairway path to the entrance double-doors was narrow. I had trouble entering with my duffle bag and backpack--yes, I wore a backpack. The dream ended with the song Lost Our Love by Air Supply.

Update On A Past Blog

The blog Happy Life written on Dec 21, 2010 is a reminder happiness must be earned. There are good ways to be happy. There are bad ways to be happy. I don't know the bad ways. The good ways include sincerity, honestly, and genuinely. There is no violence. There is no acting like a jerk or a bitch. No harassment. No bothering other people. Work for happiness. If you're happy, then nobody criticizes your life.

Richard Nixon And Watergate Previews Donald Trump And The 2020 Election

Former President Richard Nixon conspired to cover up a break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. on Jun 17, 1972. The burglars intended to install wiretaps. 48 of the 69 people indicted were convicted. Nixon's Watergate scandal was a Mickey Mouse juvenile crime compared to former President Donald Trump's 2020 Election interference.

Here are five YouTube videos on Watergate. These videos may be considered previews, foreshadowing, forecasting, and predicting Trump's future being indicted four times as of Aug 14, 2023.

President Nixon's First Watergate Speech (April 30, 1973)

From the CBS News Archive: Roger Mudd Watergate Special Report

Richard Nixon's resignation speech

John Ehrlichman: The 60 Minutes Watergate Interview (1973)

From the archives: Nixon officials found guilty in 1975 Watergate cover-up trial

All Is Ready Cue The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show Opening Theme

Click CBS Bugs Bunny Road Runner show open 1979 to watch the YouTube video. Click bugs bunny road runner show opening to search for variation openings.

Overture, curtain, lights
This is it, the night of nights
No more rehearsing and nursing a part
We know every part by heart
Overture, curtain, lights
This is it, we'll hit the heights
And oh what heights we'll hit
On with the show this is it.

Tonight what heights we'll hit.
On with the show, this is it.

There is nothing more to add. Research completed. Knowledge learned. Set-up is done. Everything acquired. Preparation accomplished. The i's are dotted. The t's are crossed. Drills are mastered. Practices checked off. The teacher taught everything. The student takes the pebble from the teacher's hand. The present is now. This is it.

Update On A Past Blog

Follow the patterns. People who live long enough realize the Same Shit. Different Day. Everything Happens. blog written on Jul 28, 2021 is 100% true. Follow the patterns everyday. An additional wisdom is go back to the past. Find the source. Learn from the source. Get to the root of the cause.

Two What Ifs in 2016

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

I interviewed for two jobs in 2016. The first job interview was an analyst position for a Canadian space company in Jul 2016. The department was offsite from the main campus. The official job title was Database Coordinator with minimal data entry. The job was a non-traditional business analyst or data analyst. The requirements included database administration, reporting, and updating webpages. Outdated proprietary software. The employees were senior citizens for which the youngest was the late 50s. They wanted a younger jack-of-all-trades employee to bring fresh air.

The second job interview was another analyst position for a medical devices company in Dec 2016. Four month contract position. The hiring manager initially interviewed me for the wrong position. He didn't know what's going on; although, many of my past jobs I didn't know what's going on. My confidence was low on my job skills. Regardless, I completed all of my job responsibilities satisfactory. Too much unnecessary worry. Past history was in my favor.

A Paycheck Or A Career

I digress. I worked in neither of the two companies. An important question yesterday and today is, "Do I want a paycheck or do I want a career?" I choose all or nothing. No middle ground. I choose all-in for happiness, being lucky, and wake up in the morning to a good job. Or I choose nothing for melancholy, being unlucky, and praying in the morning for a good day; in other words, I work for the company to cut me the paycheck.

The bad luck, bad timing, and bad choices cost me eight years as of today. Most people say I'm a loser. I can't get a job. I earn no paycheck. I live at home. I don't have a family of my own. I live a stalled life long-term.

I recognize the criticisms. I recognize the observations. I listen to opinions. I took chances. None worked out in favor. I take full responsibility not getting a job. I thought I could do better. Nothing happened.

What Are The What Ifs

I'm the best person ever today. I'm the strongest, smartest, and wisest ever today. I graduated my self job training. The present job training is the endgame. My physical fitness is tops. Health is strongest. I'm one step closer to become a self-trained genius at the end of day.

I believe the above paragraph didn't happen if I worked at either the Jul permanent job or the Dec contract job. I didn't vacation at Zion National Park in Sep 2016. I didn't need two surgeries for Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis at O'Connor Hospital in Apr 2017. My Mahjong skills stalled since I didn't play more games. 2016 was the most recent bad year. All 2016 failures became successes years later. I'm unemployed. I live with my parents. I'm not George Costanza. I'm not embarrassed. Independence is maintained to the best of my ability.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog July 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. There is a late summer COVID-19 surge. The surge is the top COVID-19 headline for the month.

Sat Jul 1. Hottest day of 2023.

Mon Jul 3. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) estimated 1 in 4 Americans age 16 and older didn't get COVID-19. 96.7% of all Americans have antibodies from vaccination, surviving the virus, or a combination of both on Dec 2022. 9 in 10 Americans under age 18 survived COVID-19 at least once through Dec 2022. Having antibodies from a prior infection doesn't mean people are protected from future infections. Immunity weakens over time.

Mon Jul 10. Shopped at Valley Fair mall, Costco, and Marukai. Got gas. Went to Bank Of America. Costco was busy.

Tue Jul 11. A friend who is fully vaccinated and updated on boosters tested positive for COVID-19. He consistently wore his mask.

The US Department Of Agriculture Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service analyzed COVID-19 transmissions between humans and animals. Humans transmitted COVID-19 to wild deer hundreds of times. Humans and wild deer transmitted and spread mutated variants at least three times. 26 states and Washington, D.C. were the geographical areas from Nov 2021 to Apr 2022.

Thur Jul 13. The US Department Of Health And Human Services (HHS) said the next vaccines are entering through the commercial market instead of through the US government in fall 2023. Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are the three companies which manufacture the COVID-19 vaccines in the US. The three companies' latest vaccines targeting the current Omicron variant XBB.1.5 is available in Sep 2023 after the CDC recommendation and the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) authorization.

The CDC provides access to vaccines for people who don't have health insurance. Uninsured children receive free vaccines at no cost through the Vaccines For Children Program.

The CDC reported 69.5% of the US population completed the primary COVID-19 vaccines. 17% received a dose of the updated booster in fall 2022.

Mon Jul 17. Shopped at The Home Depot. A small number of customers and employees wore masks.

Deaths from COVID-19 declined to pre-pandemic levels. New treatments for COVID-19 hospital patients were a factor. Hospitalizations in CA are the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic.

Wed Jul 19. The Nature journal published a study people with a specific genetic variation may be more likely to never develop COVID-19 symptoms whether they're infected or not infected. 136 of the 1,500 unvaccinated people in the study tested positive without symptoms.

The US Department Of HHS suspended the Wuhan Institute Of Virology access to federal funding. The lab failed to provide biosafety protocols and security measures documentation. Federal funding stopped in Jul 2020. A longer term ban is possible if the institute doesn't respond with the documentation.

The lab is a possible virus source. The US and international public health organizations criticize China and the lab for stonewalling their investigations. The COVID-19 origin remains unsolved.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 7,000,000 died globally.

Fri Jul 21. Ran errands at Winchester Auto Parts and Costco.

The CDC said the COVID-19, flu, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) spread is currently low. However, there is a slight increase in both positive cases and emergency room visits. The hospitalizations decline is stalled. The Omicron subvariants XBB is prevalent. The WHO identified the subvariant EG.5 increasing in prevalence globally. The three vaccines RSV, flu, and an updated COVID-19 are available in fall 2023.

Sat Jul 22. Morning shopping at Kinokuniya Bookstore, Mitsuwa, Nikaku Animart, Nijiya, and Valley Fair mall. Family dinner at Happy Sashimi.

Tue Jul 25. The CDC said weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations increased 10% in the US. It's the largest percentage increase since Dec 2022. Emergency room visits increased from 0.49% to 0.73%. The US experienced another summer surge since the global pandemic started in 2020.

Fri Jul 28. The CDC reported wastewater data analysis showed an increase in coronavirus particles in early Jul.

Shopped at Smart & Final.

Mon Jul 31. The US Department Of HHS announced the Office Of Long COVID Research And Practice to research long COVID affecting up to 23 million people. The research is operated by The National Institute Of Health. There are two clinical trials to test long COVID-19 treatments. 900 patients are enrolled in the study named RECOVER-VITAL. The patients take Paxlovid for 25 days. The second is named RECOVER-NEURO. The patients are treated for long COVID-19 symptoms such as brain fog, memory problems, fatigue, headaches, and loss of taste and smell.