Family Dynamics

Blogger's Note: May is pic month. I'm catching up posting pics from my smart phone. Enjoy!

I played a popular classic board game for the first time solo. A Safeway deal is better than a Costco deal. A clean residence is proper maintenance. Families change for the worst--blame life. Replace wear and tear car parts is proper maintenance. There is enough marriage wisdom to avoid a clique marriage husband makes wife's dreams come true. Families must share family history to avoid the clique history always repeats itself. Only death, taxes, and health care costs never decreasing are certain. Physical injuries is not a valid reason to stop exercising.

Remember These Lessons From These Pics

Blogger's Note: May is pic month. I'm catching up posting pics from my smart phone. Enjoy!

The boyfriends and husbands help their girlfriends and wives approximately every 28 days. A Hong Kong automatic Mahjong table can play multiple Mahjong styles. Consumers compare prices between hardware stores and general retail stores like Target and Wal-Mart; in particular, Target should sell more garden goods. Costco sale on chicken thighs a first for me. A Chinese restaurant is last restaurant standing. Taylor Swift's music prime continues. Outdoor exercise during an autumn evening is cool. Humanity needs constant reminders morals always change and laws always change. Three life biology lessons not taught in high school biology: competition, selection, and reproduction or breeding. A bonus fourth life biology lesson: Nature can restore balance with famine, pestilence, and war.

Throwback Blog: Where Does Bad Management Come From?

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 Where Does Bad Management Come From? written on May 30, 2023. The answer is stress. The absolute answer is stress. The final answer is stress. Him or her must not do everything. He or she stresses out doing everything. Bad life choice. Doing everything is impossible.

I'm not a management consultant. I have no management experience. I speak from intuition. Bad management comes from stressed-out people. Bad management is the symptom from stressed-out people; in other words, stressed-out people cause bad managers.

Stress is one of many causes of bad managers. Another possibility is rough times outside the workplace. Bad managers dealing with family problems. Bad managers with chronic physical ailments. Bad managers tight on personal finances. Bad managers working too many hours. Long commutes, poor diets, lack of sleep, behind in responsibilities, and little leisure activities influence managers becoming bad. Outside influences can affect a bad manager such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the economy, and politics.

The workers are the punching bag. The workers are the stress relief. The workers are the receiving end of the managers releasing their anger, stress, fatigue, etc. The workers' tolerance is limited. Give it time. The workers respond appropriately quitting, requesting transfers, decreasing quality work, and/or informing the higher up management.

Update On A Past Blog

It took me 2.33 years to proactively continue my financial education. I model financial education from one of my grandfathers in the blog My Two Grandfathers written on Jul 3, 2018.

My Best Motivational Quote On Winning From Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan on winning from The Last Dance documentary aired on ESPN in 2020. A camera crew was given unrestricted access to the Chicago Bulls 1997-1998 season. The ten-part documentary is Michael Jordan's NBA career and the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships in the 1990s. Here is the entire quote:

"Well, I mean. I don't know, I mean. Winning has a price. And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn't want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn't want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn't endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game. And I wasn't going to take any less. Now if that means I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that. You ask all my teammates. The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn't fucking do. When people see this, they are going say, 'Well he wasn't really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant.' Well, that's you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win to be a part of that as well. Look, I don't have to do this. I am only doing it because it is who I am. That's how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don't want to play that way, don't play that way. . . . Break." *Jordan requests a break*

The motivational pics are 4K 3840x2160 resolution. There are two full versions excluding the last sentence when he cried and wanted a break. There is a half version and there is a quarter version for those who want a condensed quote. The full, half, and quarter versions include a clean version without the swearing.

Begin The Divergent

I speak from personal experience. I follow the top four North American professional sports baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. The four diverged years ago. Football and basketball are higher priority. Baseball and hockey are lower priority. I believe my sports divergence and other sports fans divergence started at the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Divergence happens. Divergence can be good. Divergence can be bad. Divergence can be happy. Divergence can be sad. Divergence is present. Divergence is change. Divergence is life. There are forks on the road. Which path does the person choose? A or B. Or C. Or D. Workplace, careers, all relationships, hobbies, and opinions are examples. In particular, marriages. I'm not a marriage counselor. Some marriages end in divorce because the marriage diverges. The marriage changes naturally or intentionally for the worse at nobody's fault. The couple grows apart naturally.

Out with the old. In with the new. Close a chapter. Open a new chapter. The garbage collector arrives to pick up the garbage.

Stupidity Stress In 1998

I remember one workday in my first job after I graduated from San Jose State University. I took a nap. There was nothing wrong with taking a nap. Everyone experiences an unusual stressful day. Management should allow naps.

However, the unusual stress causing my nap was unjustified. I remembered my stupidity. I was naive as a newly college graduate. My Research Analyst position was unstressful. I maintained a database. I created reports from the proprietary database. I completed special projects a college intern could understand. No Excel was required. No analysis needed. Further, I complained like an immature high school teenager.

There is no comparison between the stress in 1998 and the stress in 2026. The 1998 stress was Disneyland. In particular, the research analysts, business analysts, operations analysts, and data analysts industry Power BI, Tableau, SQL, databases, key performance indicators, text editors, Salesforce, artificial intelligence, dashboards, and programming languages either didn't exist or didn't require to fulfill the responsibilities in the late 1990s. Times have changed. All of the above are required to fulfill the responsibilities today.

Update On A Past Blog

The Riichi City latest promotion is Riichi City Date A Live V introducing Date A Tile Collab. The five questions asked to match a Date A Live V character are below. Each question should tell the Riichi player there are multiple ways to play and to win.

1. What's your mahjong playstyle?
2. What would you do when your hand is a mess?
3. What's your favorite way to win?
4. What's would you do if a discard completes your hand, but it's a low score?
5. What matter most in mahjong?

I included screenshots with my answers and the resulted character below.

The Data A Live V reminded me of two Mahjong Riichi blogs. I'm a beginner player on Nov 12, 2012 from the blog Let's Play Japanese Mahjong (Riichi). I included my Riichi Hands guide from my webpage. I'm an advanced player.

I shared Life Lessons Learned Playing Mahjong Riichi on Mar 18, 2016. Most of the lessons are true today. The lessons are applied either way from Riichi to life or from life to Riichi. One experienced Riichi player told me professions who place fourth two times in a row stop playing for the rest of the day.

Top Ten Plus Three Equals Top Thirteen Lessons Schools Don't Teach

Schools teach ABC's and 123's. Schools teach 1+1=2, water is H2O, verbs, animals, and telling time. Schools don't teach manners, wisdom, and money. There is too much to learn. There is not enough school funds. There are not enough teachers. Parents must supplement their children's education. I wrote a blog FYI, Parents You Are Teachers, Too on Jul 30, 2009. I said, "Parents, find time to teach the soft skills schools don't teach."

There are multiple ways children can learn some lessons because we live in the Information Age; for example, YouTube. Parents must be aware some sources are wrong. Parents and children must use their best judgement they're getting accurate information.

Here are the top ten plus three equals top thirteen lessons schools don't teach:

13. Etiquette, Politeness, And Manners. It's unlikely teachers teach thank you, please, share, honesty, respect, more listening, and less talking. Teachers say them. Teachers don't teach them.

12. Financial Education. No person with a teaching credential knows the stock markets, interest rates, consumer price index, gold, cryptocurrency, and mortgage rates. Otherwise, the teacher works in another industry avoiding children five days a week.

11. Physical Fitness. Put the video game controller down. Turn off the phone. Get out. Move the knees and elbows. I include healthy eating for number 11.

10. Sex. The school districts policies teaching sex are a joke.

9. Depression. Welcome depression. Depression is okay. Do you feel better? If the answer is yes, then solve depression long-term. It's the deal.

8. Intuition. The late Steve Jobs said, "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."

Trust your gut feeling.

7. The World Is Not 100% Successful. Some dreams don't come true. Some people fail. Most things don't work out.

6. Don't Take Life For Granted. Self-explanatory.

5. Earn it. Success is not given on a silver platter.

Bonus: Time is the ultimate judge. Time will tell what you're doing in the present results in something good or something bad in the future.

4. Life Is Unfair. The first rule in Bill Gates' 11 Rules For Real Life is "Life is not fair - get used to it."

3. Bad Timing And Bad Luck. Timing and luck are factors to success and to failure. Most successful people never admit timing and luck are factors to their accomplishments. However, they're not the only factors themselves to be successful. Hard work, intelligence, repetition, and grit are factors, too.

2. Stop complaining about your crappy life. Life doesn't care about your problems. Too fat? Get physical. Eat healthy. Poor grades? Self-teach outside the textbook. No friends? Learn social skills. Get help.

1. Change. If you don't want to change, then life finds a way to change your life. You may not like life's choice for change.

Update On A Past Blog

I mention FYI, Parents You Are Teachers, Too written on Jul 30, 2009 for the second time. I started learning both the soft skills and the life skills in May 2015. I can't explain I consciously follow the lesson daily starting in Sep 2019.

I asked a question, "How do teachers teach failure is good?" in Reward Failure In Schools written on Nov 20, 2018. Did any professional educator find a way to teach students failure is good? Reward failure. Reward intelligent mistakes. The professional educator is a millionaire if the answer is yes.

I Lie If You Want An Exciting Update

The scenario is you and I are at a coffee shop. We converse. You ask for an update. I answer in two ways. My first way is the boring update. My recent changes are boring. I finished reading *insert book title*. I'm currently reading *insert book title*. The last movie I watched was *insert movie title*. My physical workouts are limited because of a left tricep injury. I play classic video games once in a while. You may as well read fake news on the internet. Fake news is exciting. Fake news is entertaining.

Although, my self-job training is completed. Click Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology written on Apr 19, 2024 for the detailed timeline and the skills learned. I finished the extended self-job training HTML, JavaScript, and WordPress. I continue Python and Excel which are boring.

A Reason Some People Lie

The second way is lying. I exaggerate because I hide my boring life; moreover, some people lie to hide personal weaknesses or personal vulnerabilities. There is no right and no wrong living a boring life. There is a good way and a bad way to live a boring life. It has been harder to live my boring life in a good way.

My last exciting change was Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology on Apr 19, 2024. One must look at the big picture to conclude the graduation was exciting. I must mention watching the movie The Shawshank Redemption on Sep 21, 2019. The movie saved my soul. It was one of My Four Mount Rushmore Greatest Moments In My Life written on Aug 9, 2020.

Real Answers

My real answers are boring. They're legitimate. They're genuine. I practice them. Physical fitness is real. My mental capabilities are real. My job candidate prospects pre-pandemic were real. My job candidate prospects post-pandemic are fake. My webpage, my reading books, and my cooking as a single person are real. My programming is fake; although, I can escape the fakeness when I write ad hoc programming for general business data analysis. My data analysis is real.

Update On A Past Blog

The unemployed job candidate rejected after being a finalist for a job opening one reason may be he or she is a threat to the department manager or senior employees' employment statuses. He or she asks the question Can I Be Overqualified? written on Jan 10, 2022. Some hiring managers hire underqualified people or people stupider than himself or herself. There are logical reasons and illogical reasons departments employ underqualified workers.

If you understand the management intention, then you understand the management behavior. The hierarchy must be preserved.

I wrote Raymond Mar 3.0 on Jul 15, 2023. The blog is about me at my best. No Raymond Mar 4.0. Two small unexciting updates. Number 9 Mahjong I'm an advanced skilled Mahjong player instead of an intermediate skilled player. Number 10 Handyman the patience and practice are valid. I continue looking for new life skills to learn.

I Grew Up The Changes Were Immediate Growing Up On Sat Oct 4, 2008 Grow Up

I grew up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. The day changed my life forever. I stopped taking life for granted. Playtime was over. The stress I felt along my back loosened up. Everything and everyone bad happened in the past were forgiven. I detail the immediate changes for the first time. The growing up blogs I wrote beforehand were generalized. Actions spoke louder than words.

Tue Sep 2, 2008. I experienced an identity crisis. Who am I? What do I want? How am I going to achieve it? Where am I going? Why am I experiencing the identity crisis? When am I going to find my true identity? I was lost. I was a wimp. I was unhappy.

Sat Oct 4, 2008. The location was Los Altos, CA. I attended a board game gathering at the Los Altos Library. I met up with a friend to return his DVDs. We played World Of Warcraft for half of the event because of his doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I walked around an arts and wine festival located in Downtown Los Altos.

There were multiple thoughts in my mind walking back to my car. The thoughts were puzzle pieces. One puzzle piece was everyone congregated together. Families, friends, couples, and acquaintances. I was the only person alone. I crossed the street to the side of the library. Eureka! I said to myself, "I need to grow up." I was lucky. It took me 32 days to end the identity crisis. It was time to catch up what I missed. It took me years later to become a mature adult.

Here are the changes and the actions from Oct 4, 2008 to Dec 2, 2009:

*Wisdom. People come and go in our lives including a brief 15 minute encounter, acquaintances, friends, family, co-workers, loved ones . . . any relationship among ourselves. Nobody keeps in touch with everyone.

*New clothes: pajamas, jackets, sport shirts, a leather jacket, slippers for home, v-neck t-shirts, a red cashmere scarf, gym shirts, gym shorts, and The Gap and Calvin Klein boxers underwear. No more polo shirts. No more plain white t-shirts. I include my first stainless steel watch Citizen Eco-Drive.

*New objects: bedsheets set, blankets, gaming desktop PC, tablecloth for the dining room table, mattress, shower brush for my back, daytime backpack which is also my go bag, hiking equipment, a razor for wet shaving, and a tongue cleaner.

*Rearranged my room. Reorganized my book shelf. Recycled old electronics. Removed junk. Donated old clothes.

*New foods and drinks: cranberry juice, Super H2O, a Beard Papa's eclair, Spaghettios, Hawaiian cookies, 98% cocoa chocolate, Honey Bunches of Oates cereal, Juroku Cha drink, Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies, cherries, pomegranate juice, Evolution Orange Juice, multi-grain crackers, Jack In The Box taco, chocolate milk, Toblerone, Pocari Sweat, grits, Pho Vietnamese soup, Cinnabon, Thai ice tea, Japanese maple bread, New York pizza, calzone, Dr. Pepper, Coco Fizz chocolate soda, Bubble Up lemon lime soda, Faygo redpop soda, and gelato.

*Movies worth mentioning: The Godfather trilogy, Mad Max, The Graduate, Batman Begins, Hot Fuzz, The 40 Year Old Virgin, A View To A Kill, The Departed, Transporter 2, Bullitt, The Dark Knight, Goodfellas, Ben Hur, Coraline, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Blue Hawaii, Star Trek (2009), UP!, Citizen Kane, Inglorious Bastards, 9, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, and Where The Wild Things Are.

The anime The Place Promised In Our Early Days and Voices Of A Distance Star must be mentioned. I marathoned 13 episodes of Natsume Yuujinchou.

*I changed my email writing style. No more indenting when I typed a new paragraph.

*Music. I became interested in jazz music and classic jazz music. Purchased Porcelain CD by Helen Jane Long.

*Events: sold books at Half Price Books, ate breakfast in Downtown Campbell and visited Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, visited California Academy of Sciences, toured Stanford University and University Of California--Berkeley, watched fireworks at New Year's Eve 2009 in San Francisco, visited Charles M. Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, CA, shopped at IKEA for the first time, listened to jazz at the San Jose Jazz Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA, and visited a small family amusement park Gilroy Gardens.

A one day trip in San Francisco because I dropped off family members for a vacation cruise. I walked around Pier 39, Fisherman's Warf, and Ghirardelli Square. I ordered the Fudge Sundae. Finally, I visited Japantown and the Viz Video building.

*Anime Events: cosplay gathering at Winchester Mystery House, cosplay gathering at Christmas In The Park in Downtown San Jose, cosplaying at an anime store Christmas party, and cosplay gathering at Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga, CA. I walked in the Northern California Cherry Blossoms Parade in San Francisco, CA.

Attended Fanime Con 2009. My best Fanime Con and my best anime convention I attended. I cosplayed Haku from Spirited Away for the first time. A good Fanime Con 2009 convinced me to attend Anime Expo 2009 at the last minute. I thank my mom for making the Haku cosplay.

*I cancelled Napster.

*Books: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Forever by Judy Blume, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary, Uncle John's Great Big Bathroom Reader, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Q&A by Vikas Swarup, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus from John Gray.

*I changed the oil in my car the fastest ever. I started at 4:30pm in early Dec.

*Washington Canada 2008 Vacation. Timing was perfect for a distraction. Click on the blog links Washington Canada 2008: Prologue, Washington Canada 2008: Day 1 of 6 Sat Nov 15, Washington Canada 2008: Day 2 of 6 Sun Nov 16, Washington Canada 2008: Day 3 of 6 Mon Nov 17, Washington Canada 2008: Day 4 of 6 Tue Nov 18, Washington Canada 2008: Day 5 of 6 Wed Nov 19, Washington Canada 2008: Day 6 of 6 Thur Nov [20], and Washington Canada 2008: Epilogue. Pictures are included.

*Christmas 2008 was the best Christmas holiday. Christmas 2008 is still my best.

*Video Games. I played Team Fortress 2 (TF2) and Crysis on my gaming PC. I played Rock Band and Rock Band Beatles for the first time.

*New. Ballroom dancing and hiking hobbies. I created a Facebook account and a Twitter account. I followed gym workouts from Body Building.

*Accutane. I started taking the acne medication.

*Computer Files Organization. I transferred 54 data CDs to 5 data DVDs. I transferred data from floppy disks to one CD watching Coraline, Wall Street, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Transporter movies.

*Going Back To School. Enrolled at De Anza College in Cupertino CA. I took Strength Training, Social Dance which is ballroom dancing, and Accounting classes.

*My orthodontist removed my braces. I wore my braces from Jan 24, 2007 to Aug 17, 2009. 936 days or 2.56 years.

First Time. I snuck Junior Mints in the theatre. I visited a coffee shop for which I used their free Wi-Fi. I ate at Pepper Lunch, Curry House Japanese, and Ramen Halu restaurants. I ate donuts at a 24 hour donut shop. I ate at a 24 hour restaurant The Mini Gourmet which was in business for decades. I went to Aki's Bakery. I ate dinner at Clover bakery and cafe. I tried coffee for the first time and the only time.

*My home upgraded the HVAC.

New Tabletop Games: The Settlers Of Catan: Cities and Knights, The Settlers Of Catan: Seafarers, Lifeboat, Balderdash, cribbage, Riichi Mahjong, Bang!, Dominion, and Rat A Tat Cat. Also, Google Scrabble for which the rule is any word which comes up with at least 1,000 Google search results is valid.

Update On A Past Blog

I want to add more wisdom to the blog I Define Self-Respect written on Mar 12, 2015. Self-respect is not dumbing down. Never reduce yourself. Don't lower yourself. I said, "I believe with self-respect includes self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-discipline." Don't disrespect yourself. Be courageous to respect yourself. Stay smart. Stay strong.

A Compilation My Changes Blogs

Here are my top blogs about changes in my life from Aug 4, 2005 to Dec 31, 2024. Blogs written from Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025 are considered for A Second Look 2025 written in Dec 2026.

Connecting My Dots Backwards written on Dec 13, 2011. I wrote about the changes when I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008.

Top Ten Daily Changes After O'Connor Hospital written on Oct 21, 2017. I was admitted as an in-patient for the first time in my life. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. Some of the changes included drinking less water, changing my job searching schedule, and changing my dental care.

My Four Mount Rushmore Greatest Moments In My Life written on Aug 9, 2020. The first day I cosplayed, the day I grew up, self job training, and The Shawshank Redemption movie are the four moments. Also, the four moments changed my life forever.

Top Ten Plus One Equals Top Eleven Life Changes Since The COVID-19 Global Pandemic written on Feb 11, 2023. The sum of the small life changes added to big permanent life changes. Examples included cooking, shopping in the morning, closing my windows before I sleep, and boiling water at home.

Side note: I rewrite the Connecting My Dots Backwards blog with a new blog post detailing the immediate changes when I realized I grew up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. Also, the title of the new blog is more accurate.

Update On A Past Blog

I watched the movies Planes, Trains & Automobiles on Mon Jan 12, 2026 and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Tue Jan 13, 2026 while I exercised on the stationary bike. The two movies used to be traditional movies I watched during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The two movies were a late consolation for the bad Christmas 2025 Good Way Depression And Bad Way Depression written on Jan 6, 2026.

Year 2026 Predicting Like Polymarket

I'm Polymarket today. I predict the year 2026. The 2026 year is 2025 part 2. 2026 is 2025 extended. 2026 continues 2025.

The devil collects more payments. More people made deals with the devil. The bills are due. Repay the contracts no more. Repay the contracts no less. If people don't pay, then chaos results. The devil profits from chaos.

There are more changes in both quantity and quality. Change is a clique at the start of every new year. However, I repeat, there are more changes in both quantity and quality. Take the average number of changes in the last 20 years. Double the average number. I remind the reader changes happen by choice. I remind the reader changes happen beyond people's control. Positive or negative. Lives are changed for better or for worse.

The number of failures increases. More people fail. Some fails are their own fault. Other fails are no fault of their own. Blame life. Blame bad timing. Blame bad circumstances. Blame bad luck. Somebody succeeds and somebody fails.

It's harder to lie. More truths are revealed. More truths are exposed. Deception requires more work.

More relationships are questioned. Examples include professional, personal, romantic, friends, family, neighbors, and online. Humanity has been getting wiser contrary to news reports and social media. The alternatives are considered. The substitutes are looked for a second time. There are more experimenting--trial and error.

Artificial intelligence is more prevalent. Individuals are less dependent on other individuals. More people forget they live in paradise at the end of the day.

State Of Raymond Mar 2026

Blogger's note 1: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar.

Blogger's note 2: Today's blog is edited minimally for grammar.

Today's blog is a life status update. These updates are in no particular order.

The Negatives. I start 2026 with an upper left arm injury since Nov 2025. The injury is not shoulder related. The injury is muscle related. My research leads me to a left tricep muscle injury. I think it's a strain. More research needed. Treatments are rest, ice, and Diclofenac Sodium Topical gel. I tried Biofreeze. Advil didn't work after five days. Consulting a sports injury doctor is possible.

Another negative is no new job skills to learn. A friend suggested the open source machine learning PyTorch. My quick research tells me PyTorch is not a fit for my career. I need more research. I learned everything I could learn including PowerBI, HTML, SQL, Linux, and Power Pivot in the meantime. Python and Excel are reviews.

My car needs to be serviced by an automotive technician. An initial check is my car needs a new fan belt. I anticipate more problems for my 2005 Toyota Camry.

Another anticipation is the household eats more take out food. The household eats more processed foods. The household maintaining the daily meals quality declines. I must be more proactive unnecessarily through no fault of my own.

Grew Up On Sat Oct 4, 2008. I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. The growing up changes I made paid off immediately; for example, new clothes, new mattress, new physical workout plans, and new Gaming PC. Similarly, the changes I made since Jan 1, 2026 also paid off immediately; although, they were smaller changes. I rearranged my desk, I used a longer USB cord to charge my phone, I coated the baking pan with butter to roast chicken to experiment, I played classic arcade games, and I played the Puerto Rico board game with four players as a solo player.

2009 Again? 2026 began with a partial 2009 feeling. Ignorant bliss. Less than too much free time today compared to 2009. Fewer friends, family, and acquaintances to support me today compared to 2009. More serious non-income generating work today. Less serious non-income generating work in 2009.

I bring back the beginner mentality. I need to find new life skills to learn. I tell myself, "I don't know what to do" multiple times. Be a beginner again intelligently. Be ignorant intelligently.

All previous personal projects were completed. Some personal projects are maintained by reviewing or by practicing. Maintenance is not new projects.

No anime, no ballroom dancing, no Accutane treatment, no vacations, no hiking, and no college classes. However, video games are significantly reduced. Counter Strike 2 is the next video game for which I play for the first time. Yes reading books, yes exercise, and yes cooking.

Money. Money resources are not a problem. I continue keeping my expenses in check. I spend intelligently. However, no budget restrictions like the Sat Oct 4, 2008 when I made changes growing up. Black Friday 2025 was like Black Friday 2008. Black Friday 2025 was goods upgraded or goods replaced.

My Foundation. I either improve my existing foundation or create a new foundation. I'm going nowhere. I'm regressing slowly. I'm losing the ability to live an awesome boring life.

The current life path destination is an unsuccessful life. There is failure at the end of the road. Blame life. Nobody wants to live a failed life. No rational person wants to live a George Costanza. There are successes; there must be failures.

I did everything correctly. I learn professional skills. I learn life skills. I ate heathy. I helped the family. I don't buy junk. No rewards. I'm an example of a person who did everything correctly and didn't get the desired results.

On the other hand, I speak up for myself. I share my thoughts and my feelings. I choose the timing. Be tactical. Speak intelligently.

No 2025 Momentum To 2026. 2026 is the first year since I don't know when the last time no momentum from the previous year. No carry over. No ideas, plans, and unfinished projects continuing from 2025 to 2026. My usual activities reading books, writing blogs, and exercising are excluded. Mahjong is excluded. The Counter Strike 2 next video game is excluded.

However, the Black Friday 2025 purchases a 14TB external hard drive and a new gaming PC mouse were upgrades which could have been purchased years ago.

I'm Out Of Bullets. The totality of my life is empty clips. Inside and outside the house. Inside and outside my body. There's nothing. The mini gun is dry. Reloading is possible. I don't know where to find ammunition.

Good Way Depression And Bad Way Depression

Blogger's note 1: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar.

Blogger's note 2: Today's blog is edited minimally for grammar.

Christmas 2025 was a bad Christmas. No need for a detailed explanation. The one sentence explaining a bad 2025 Christmas was my family did a bad job being boring. Dec 25, 2025 changed my family's lives for better or for worse. Dec 25, 2025 initialized permanent changes. I write bullet points to share my thoughts and my feelings in no particular order.

*I played Portal 2 for the second time. I finished the video game in Sep 2025. I planned to play a second time. I choose to play the second time during the holiday.

*There was one lucky moment. The moment was small. I play Riichi or Japanese Mahjong on Riichi City. I paid $7.99 to support the video game paying for one out of four new characters guaranteed. The guaranteed new character was my first choice Toho Nagi.

*I read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I ate like the French during the German occupation in World War II. Food was distributed with ration cards. I ate poor meals after Christmas. No appetite.

*I cleaned the house.

*I watched the beginning scenes from the movies Saving Private Ryan and The Godfather Part I.

*Eat intelligently regardless of proper meals or improper meals. No appetite. Still eat intelligently. There were some days I ate meals like I had the stomach flu.

*I didn't want to cook for the household. There were no reasons to eat well. On the other hand, I admit I completed tasks I delayed months ago with the free time. No cooking was another protest to express my anger Christmas was bad.

Did everyone feel Christmas was bad? My answer is most of us felt Christmas was bad. Nobody verbally expressed it.

*I trusted nobody with my thoughts and my feelings. The family was weak. The family was not strong enough to handle me.

*The world didn't come to an end.

*The cure is stay busy. Stay busy relieves the depression pain. Be active relieves the depression symptoms. Motivation is the key. Motivation is more important than knowledge. Motivation > Knowledge. Hope the depression is cured like taking medication for the common cold.

*There is no reason to be a jerk. There is no excuse to be impolite. Bad behavior is intolerable.

*The feelings and the thoughts no wants and no desires to do something, anything are valid. The feelings and the thoughts must be temporarily.

*The Christmas holiday was effortlessly boredom. There are people who live good boring lives with effort.

*I silently protested how my family celebrated Christmas 2025.

*There is work every day. Work can be a positive distraction to a negative feeling. Work is not necessarily financial or earned income. Household cooking, cleaning, and organizing are examples of work with zero pay.

Personal intelligence is also work. Reading, learning new skills, and doing personal maintenance are work.

*No sex desire. I understood better how depression repress the human sex drive.

*Choose the cure. Choose the distraction. Choose wisely.

*The human being is like an engine. All parts must function well to live a good life. Any parts go down or weaken a negative chain reaction starts. Other parts of the engine compensate. More stress. Life is harder to live.

The engine must be maintained. Sleep is important to rest the engine. Sometimes the engine needs upgrades. A tragedy can disable the engine. Hopefully, the engine can be repaired.

*Backups can be available. Complements, supplements, and substitutions must be effective to keep the human living his or her best.

*I ate one good meal during the depression. It was like the late Steve Jobs while he attended Reed College who said, "I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple." The one good meal was at Panda Express. I ordered fried rice, broccoli beef, and string bean chicken.

Outdoors can be good. I was out of the house. I was out of the bad boredom household. I understood better from decades ago I read an article about multi families staying in a single residence due to low income. Each family spent private time at a fast food restaurant.

*Depression time should be temporary. Depression passes.

*Must eat good meals to live a good life.

*Permanent changes happen afterwards due to self-discovery. Be aware to correct the ongoing mistakes.

*I read my personal bible. Click Inspiration Cheer Up File to download the .pdf file. Continue to live life finding what you want to do. Jobs said, "Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

*I played my all-time favorite board game Puerto Rico solo. I played with four players being solo. I rolled dice to randomly determined the roles.

*I rearranged the PC and tech cables in the computer desk.

*I stored the Christmas tree on Sun Jan 4, 2026. I initially wanted to keep the tree displayed for months as a reminder for a bad Christmas. I changed my mind which was the correct choice. Out of sight, out of mind.

Update On A Past Blog

There were blogs I mentioned my personal bible I didn't include the link to download the Inspiration Cheer Up File. I posted the link again. The blogs were Top 50 Most Memorable Moments written on Sep 18, 2024, The Green Steno Notebook 8 written on Apr 22, 2023, Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog 1 written on Jun 2, 2020, Top 40 Most Memorable Moments written on Sep 27, 2016, My Spirituality Discovery written on Jan 11, 2015, and Exercise Your Body From Head To Toe Inside And Outside written on Jan 6, 2015.

Permanent Changes Due To COVID-19 Is Another Change Reference Point In Time

California Governor Gavin Newsom shut down California 2,107 days ago on Tue Mar 17, 2020. People reference many permanent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 permanently changed *fill in the blank*. Schools. Colleges. Job searching. The hiring process. Work environment. Shopping. Contracts. Human relations. Governments. The financial system. Entertainment. Professional sports. Technology.

There are many historical reference points changing everything. The points I know are the following: the airplane, World War II, President Richard Nixon got the USA off the gold standard, the internet, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and COVID-19. There are more historical reference points changes coming soon.

A common knowledge is time changes everything--almost everything. The typical life is the same. A person is born. His or her parents raise their baby. Go to school. Graduate high school. Some graduate college or a trade school. Get a job. Get married. Raise a family. Retire. Death. Repeat. The circle of life.

However, the world changes. Humanitity changes. They are guaranteed. Generations change. Out with the old. In with the new. Let's hope future generations change for the better. Systems change. Processes change. Rules change. Opinions change. Time will tell the change is good or the change is bad. We connect the dots backwards. Forecasting or predicting is bullshit. The forecaster or predictor must sell with confidence to make it come true. Time is the ultimate judge.

Costco Oroweat Bread Is Not $7.49

My parents purchased a pack of Oroweat Country Style Buttermilk two loaves of bread at Costco to make stuffing for Thanksgiving Day. I ate a slice of bread. No jellies. No butter. No spreads. The slice tasted terrible compared to the past. Oroweat changed the recipe. Oroweat changed the baking process. Oroweat changed the packaging. No secondary plastic wrap. Either raise prices or lower costs. The answer is obvious. Lower costs. Keep retail prices as low as possible. Inferior ingredients. Inferior materials. Lower workmanship.

I share my experiences. Oreo cookies, spices, some fast food restaurants, fruits, Cheerios, and baked goods. Also, non-edible goods. Shaving gel, toothpaste, soap, clothes, batteries, medical services, and automobile parts.

Be suspicious of no price change since the COVID-19 global pandemic. Question why the price increase is lower than expected during the inflation. Some goods change for the worse. Some services change for the worse. Coke raise prices. The product is the same. People accept the higher Coke prices.

Oroweat made the business decision. Reduce quality to minimize retail price increase. Customers still buy the $7.49 bread at Costco.

There is inflation. There is shrinkflation. There is lower quality. There is lower quantity. There is a combination of any of these.

Past Lesson Blogs

Today's blog is an update on a past blog.

Update On A Past Blog

Here are 31 blogs with the word "lesson" in the blog title sorted by date in descending order from Dec 31, 2024 and earlier. Choose any blog to review and/or to relearn past lessons.

1. Grown Up Lessons In Second Grade Completing A Word Search written on Oct 22, 2024. Some assignments can't be completed for whatever reasons. People do cheat. And don't take everything seriously.

2. Reading Books Reinforce Centuries Life Lessons written on May 7, 2024. A pic blog from books Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, All The President's Men by Carl Berstein and Bob Woodward, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Humans deserve kindness. A person realizes life becomes a joke the longer he or she lives. 99.9% of young people are not going to change the world. The word "rat" can be used in joke, metaphors, and anecdotes. Always verify. Give it time; for instance, it was inevitable Richard Nixon resigned. Every human being has at least one redeeming quality.

3. Throwback Blog: The Lesson To Be Successful Rarely Taught written on Feb 28, 2024. I repost timing, luck, opportunity, and chance blog from Sep 12, 2018.

4. A Lesson From The Rich People written on Jun 27, 2023. Understand the true meaning of work more and play less.

5. Life Lessons And Reminders written on May 21, 2022. A pic blog which includes two pages from the book Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. Remember standard procedures. Narratives can change in minutes.

6. Three Grown-Up Lessons I Didn't Learn When I Was A Child written on Apr 17, 2022. The first lesson is nobody is perfect. The second lesson is actors and actresses don't make one movie and one television show for their entire careers. The third lesson is families change.

7. High School R.O.T.C. Leadership Lesson Another Viewpoint By Rank written on Oct 24, 2020. I rank the leadership attributes and leadership skills by importance.

8. Top Ten Lessons I Learned The Hard Way written on Jun 23, 2019. Never stop meeting new people is number one. Don't take life for granted is number three. Grow up is number four. Earn it is number six. Take care of your body inside and outside equally is number eight. Timing and luck are factors is number ten. These are my favorites.

9. The Lesson To Be Successful Rarely Taught written on Sep 12, 2018. If I can teach timing, luck, opportunity, and chance, then I'm a millionaire.

10. Another Lesson From Never Stop Growing Up Regardless When It Started written on Sep 5, 2018. People come and go in our lives. One reason is we change. People naturally grow apart.

11. Relevant Life Lessons And Trends written on May 23, 2018. Another pic blog. Active parents raise active children.

12. Throwback Blog: Top Ten Life Lessons From The Beatles written on Oct 30, 2017. I repost the Beatles blog from Jul 1, 2015.

13. Never Stop Learning Lesson Emphasized Because One Of The Shermans Past Away written on May 5, 2017. A lesson I repeat. Never stop learning. Innovate infinitely.

14. Top Ten Life Lessons I Learned Watching Sports written on Nov 5, 2016. Support, good coaching, consistency, be professional, and a strong core are some of the lessons.

15. A Lesson From My Bad Years written on Nov 1, 2016. I share a lesson from my bad years in 2002, 2007, 2008, 2013, and 2014.

16. Life Lessons Learned Playing Mahjong Riichi written on Mar 18, 2016. Skip all the lessons except the last lesson which is luck is part of the game. I'm an advanced mahjong player. My luck is terrible.

17. Life Lessons From Space Brothers written on Aug 17, 2015. My number two all-time favorite anime series. The lessons are part of my Inspiration Cheer Up life wisdom.

18. Top Ten Life Lessons From The Beatles written on Jul 1, 2015. Ten Beatles song titles are life lessons: Let It Be, Get Back, I've Got A Feeling, The Long And Winding Road, We Can Work It Out, Carry That Weight, Something, Here Comes The Sun, You're Going to Lose That Girl, and Getting Better.

19. Top Ten Lessons I Learned Working At My Last Job written on Nov 16, 2014. I worked at a retail startup selling wine. Shipping and receiving require training. There is no such thing as 100% customer service.

20. Top Ten Lessons I Learned Incorrectly written on Jul 28, 2014. I'm happy I corrected these lessons. They're no longer part of my life.

21. Top Ten Lessons My Parents Failed To Teach Me written on May 2, 2013. Parents raising children existed for centuries. Parents raising children exist in today's modern world. Unfortunately, some parents make the same mistakes my parents made when they raised me.

New parents remember some of these lessons from my top ten: communicate with your children, don't take life for granted, be mature, learn how to cook, read, and don't ignore problems hoping they disappear.

22. A Life Lesson I Learned Gangnam Style written on Aug 29, 2012. Ignore the lesson. I communicated incorrectly.

23. Lessons From My Office Space written on Jun 17, 2012. The first mistake was I didn't talk and socialize with my co-workers. The second mistake was I didn't realize people supported me in my second company. I believed I was lonely. I believed I was on my own. I had to be strong. I was a coward.

24. Life Lessons I Learned From Alex Smith written on Feb 15, 2012. The fifth lesson summarized Alex Smith's NFL career. Smith experienced bad luck and bad timing. I add a seventh lesson which is grit. Continue grinding. There was no reason to quit.

25. Another Lesson I Learned From My Grandparents written on Oct 15, 2010. My grandparents failed to meet new people and make new friends. People come and go. It's important to be surrounded with people. Make sure the people are good.

26. Derek Paravicini Teaches A Lesson On Life written on Apr 2, 2010. Begin in a friendly way.

27. A Lesson Learned Tonight written on Feb 2, 2010. There are no guarantees in life.

28. A Lesson From The Ants written on Dec 19, 2009. Don't make the same mistake twice.

29. A Lesson On Life Yesterday written on May 5, 2007. It was a reality check. Times have changed in the workplace from my parent's generation and the years before the Great Recession. Workers were on their own to solve problems. Everyone was too busy.

30. One Lesson Of Life Cosplaying written on Aug 28, 2006. The one lesson was don't rush. Take it slow. I add a second lesson of life cosplaying worth repeating is never stop meeting new people.

31. $100.00 Lesson written on Jan 24, 2006. Read the expiration dates for all rebates.

My Game Over Is Coming Soon

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

I'm running out of time. I'm running low on the number of chances. Resources and support dwindle. Permanent quitting time is near. I've exhausted everything I can think to earn my freedom. There are winners in life. There are losers in life. I belong to the losers. Nobody's fault. Blame life. I receive bad advice. Some knowledge are acquired incorrectly. I reverse setbacks as much as I can. I did my best. The narrative is I didn't do enough.

I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I think of my past self job training from today to 2015. Some may say my training was too good. Completing some training faster didn't guarantee a job. Time is no longer my friend. I'm not going to succeed.

No Longer Awesome Boring

I'm running out of ideas to keep my life fresh. There are more stale days lately. There are more rotten days recently. The present life is getting old. The general routine is unchanged for decades. I fear the present general routine becomes too comfortable I'm unable to adapt to better changes.

Reject The Alternate Life

Fortunately, the otaku life or the anime and video game life is forbidden. No fat man life. No eight hours of video games a day life. The lifestyle eating healthy and exercising is clear and present. I read books. I maintain the household. Self job training continues; although, what else can I learn which matches my strengths? My choices are few. I sleep well. I move forward.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote an honest blog Permanent Unemployment on Jan 24, 2024. I spoke for some long-term unemployed people like me frustrated with the job hiring system. I mentioned AI replaces human jobs. Job training costs continue to increase which includes money and technology tools. Timing and luck are factors getting hired and getting rejected.

The Democrats Are Unhappy They Won

Today's blog likely makes no sense to the reader. It's okay. I'm not a political scientist. I'm not an expert in government. I didn't take any classes on constitutional law. I write an unprofessional opinion on the US politics.

The Democrats won. The liberals won. The left side won. The victories happened decades ago. The best examples include The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, legal abortion maintained, fewer racial discrimination or greater equality or DEI Diversity Equity Inclusion, LGBTQ+ rights acknowledged, and more people gaining wealth. More people earn incomes to live a comfortable life.

The victories were too victorious. The wins were too good. The Democrats are unhappy. The Democrats lost their motivation. Bring on the chaos by the Republicans. Bring on stirring the pot stew. Bring on the uncomfortability. Bring on the unprecedent firsts. Bring on the new laws. There are changes. President Donald Trump won the 2016 election against Hiliary Clinton and the 2024 election against Kamala Harris; although, some people say the Democrats lost the 2016 election and lost the 2024 election instead of the Republicans winning. Perhaps, the Democrats took for granted they win the 2016 election and the 2024 election. I digress. Abortion is unprotective on a federal level. Tariffs are back. Obamacare is changed on the federal level. Illegal immigrants are being deported. DEI setbacks. Federal health policies are changing.

There is no impeachment against Trump during his second term as of today. I read past news articles a congressman or a congresswoman began the impeachment process. Nothing happened thereafter. There were rallies hosted by the Democrats to convince the US citizens to oppose President Trump and the Republicans. Nothing happened thereafter.

Winners are supposed to be happy. Losers are supposed to be unhappy. Losers can be happy by learning from their mistakes. Winners can be unhappy with an irrational reason. The Democrats are unhappy.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog August 2025

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The federal government changed the policies for people eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. The number of positive cases continue to increase.

Tue Aug 5. The Secretary Of Health And Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cancelled contracts and funding for vaccines being developed for respiratory viruses. 22 projects totaling $500 million for mRNA vaccines halted. Kennedy removed the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, fired the panel which recommends vaccines, and stopped vaccine endorsements. Pfizer and Moderna are two pharmaceutical companies affected by the cancelled contracts.

Kennedy is a critic of mRNA vaccines. He wants safer and broader vaccines which don't stop working when a virus mutates.

The COVID-19 variant XFG called Stratus was first detected in Jan 2025 in Southeast Asia. Stratus accounted for 14% of the cases in the USA as of late Jun 2025 according to the Center For Disease Control (CDC). The World Health Organization (WHO) added XFG to the watch list in late Jun. Low public health risk. There's no evidence XFG causes more severe sickness or different symptoms.

The CDC reported XFG accounted for 14% of positive cases, NB.1.8.1 43%, and LP.8.1 31% as of Jun 21.

Fri Aug 8. Shopped at Lucky's and Costco. Filled my car with gas at Chevron.

First day in 2025 daytime temperatures were in the 90s.

President Donald Trump ordered all federal agencies to delete COVID-19 vaccination statuses, prior mandate noncompliances, or exemption requests. Federal agencies are barred from using COVID-19 personal records for any employee related decision. The Trump administration removed pandemic mandates during the Biden administration.

Sat Aug 9. A shooter from Kennesaw, GA named Patrick Joeph White shot rounds at the CDC and a pharmacy. White blamed the COVID-19 vaccine made him depressed and suicidal. DeKalb County police officer David Ross was mortally wounded. White was fatally shot.

Thur Aug 14. Emergency room visits increased because more people tested positive. The XFG variant called Stratus is the most common strain. The significant symptom is a razor blade feeling sore throat. The WHO is monitoring Stratus. The WHO said the current vaccines protect against Stratus.

Sat Aug 16. Purchased a used outdoor garden storage bin in Sunnyvale, CA.

Tue Aug 19. The American Academy Of Pediatrics released an updated recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations for infants and young children. Children age 6 months to 23 months receive a vaccine. If these children are allergic to the ingredients or have allergies, then they shouldn't receive the vaccine. Children ages 2 years to 18 years receive the vaccine if they are high risk, residents of long-term care facilities, never been vaccinated, or live in a household with people at high risk for COVID-19.

The CDC recommendation for infants and young children is a discussion between their parents and their doctor. The guidance is called "shared clinical decision making." The prior recommendation was people aged six months and older receive the latest vaccine without third party advice.

Wed Aug 20. Shopping at Safeway, Books, Inc., and Costco.

Fri Aug 22. The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant women. The CDC removed the recommendation for pregnant women and lactating women.

Sun Aug 24. Lunch at The Olive Garden. Shopped at the farmer's market at the Great Mall.

Wed Aug 27. The FDA updated the COVID-19 vaccine approvals for a limited group of people. Adults age 65 and older and people age 5 to 64 at risk with an underlying condition are approved for the vaccine. The Moderna vaccine is authorized for children age 6 months and older. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for people age 5 years and older. The Novavax is authorized for people age 12 years and older. The parents must consult with their doctors before vaccination for people under age 18.

All emergency authorizations are rescinded. A FDA statement stated COVID-19 vaccines are available to anyone with a doctor's consultation.

The 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine targets LP.8.1 which is a JN.1 subvariant.

CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired by the Trump administration. Several senior CDC officials resigned afterwards. Health And Human Services deputy secretary Jim O'Neill is the acting CDC director.

Shopped at Target.

Thur Aug 28. Shopped for used books at the Saratoga Library and Los Gatos Library. Ate lunch at Chipotle.

Sat Aug 30. Played tabletop games at the Guildhouse.

The FDA approved the 2025 updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults age 65 and older and younger people with underlying conditions. Anyone can get a vaccine shop after consulting with a doctor; however, access may be difficult. A doctor prescribes the vaccine as "off label." Off label is defined as a medical product used outside approvals or not FDA approved. The updated vaccines are available in the fall.

CVS Pharmacy administers the vaccines where legally permitted. CVS follows state-level pharmacy regulations. Pharmacists don't administer vaccines not recommended by the CDC's Advisory Committee On Immunization Practices in some states. Walgreens also follow state regulations and FDA policy.

The CDC data reported 71.5% of shots were administered in pharmacies and 9.2% at clinics or health centers during the 2023-2024 respiratory virus season. Also, 23% adults and 13% children reported getting the latest vaccine.

People under Medicare and Medicaid who meet FDA policy their vaccines are covered. It's unknown how private insurance companies cover vaccines for their clients. People can get a flu shot and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Sun Aug 31. Watched Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Miami (FL) Hurricanes from the two minute mark in the third quarter to the end of the game.

Throwback Blog: Follow The Money

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 Follow The Money written on Sep 19, 2019. A person choosing a career can follow the money to find the popular careers today. The popular careers don't necessarily mean a high paying career. Anyone can make six digits or seven digits being a salesperson. Two letters are needed to update the blog in today's Information Age. The two letters are A and I--AI or Artificial Intelligence. A salesperson doesn't need specialized skills, knowledge, education, and experience.

I digress. Companies pay big salaries to people who meet the challenges of complex skills, knowledge, education, and experience in their industries.

I add the education system is the same: four years high school, two years associate's degree, four years bachelor's degree, and additional two years or four years for advanced degrees.

Deep Throat from the movie All The President's Men told Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to follow the money trail to solve the Watergate scandal. The follow the money thinking applies to careers.

Many of today's career challenges are skills, knowledge, education, and experience. We live in the information age. More careers require advance skills, technical training, indefinite education or self-training, longer hours, and more experience. More industries are complex, complicated, and difficult. Reference materials, books, notes, YouTube, and Google are required to research, to look up information, and to refresh our skills. Companies pay high salaries to workers who are strong, gritty, intelligent, motivated, and devoted to long hours. Companies pay high salaries to workers with highly demanded experience, best trained, and strong skills.

Some of the most common industries with high salaries include engineers, programmers, medical, scientists, and business. The five industries are changing rapidly. The best way to monitor the changes is job searching. Job postings inform the latest skills and experience. Job postings are up-to-date compared to college career centers and career counselors. Follow the money to learn the education, skills, and experience required in today's evolving industries.

There are some industries salaries have stayed the same. The reason salaries have stayed the same is because nothing changed. The skills are mostly the same yesterday and today. No technical training or little technical training is required. There is no need for additional education. The hours are the same. Little past experience is necessary. Almost all retail jobs the pay is low. Retail jobs haven't evolved. Post office, waiting tables, cleaning, and bus drivers their pay is low.

College Majors Lower Chances For High Salaries

I don't know how students majoring in humanities, fine-arts, art, music, education, and social science earn high salaries. However, these students can think of ideas earning additional income related to their majors. Podcasting? YouTube? Streaming? Blogging? Write books? Earn an advanced degree? Double major selecting a second major in a technical field or a business field? Generations ago college students can make a living in any major. Today's generation the high salaries goes to people with the latest and greatest skills and experience--the latest and greatest everything.

The workforce is not dumb. The industries are hard.

Update On A Past Blog

I forgot to mention to do something, anything new for which I'm uncomfortable in Get Back To The Basics When In A Jam on Sep 11, 2019. My life is moving forward too slow. It's time to take action. The best way is go back to the past when my life moved forward faster. I'm uncomfortable safely. I'm uncomfortable intelligently.