Twenty Random Blogs Aug 2025

Blogger's note: I increase the number of random blogs from ten to twenty.

Here are twenty random blogs in order of randomly chosen. Duplicate blogs are allowed from past random blogs. There are no duplicates today. The previous random blogs are Ten Random Blogs Jul 2020 on Jul 31, 2020, Ten Random Blogs Aug 2021 on Aug 13, 2021, and Ten Random Blogs Apr 2023 on Apr 16, 2023. Update remarks are included.

1. Watch Wall Street (Sep 26, 2005). I shared my activities before and on Sep 26, 2005.

Update remark: Wall Street is one of my all time favorite movies.

2. Never Stop Learning Lesson Emphasized Because One Of The Shermans Past Away (May 05, 2017). The Shermans was a couple who lived in the neighborhood for decades. They moved to the eastern USA to be closer to their families. The husband past away. The wife passed away in Jul 2017.

The lessons I learned continue today. Never stop learning. Find new experiences to experience. Don't waste life watching television eight hours a day. Some seniors choose the sedentary life watching too much television.

Update remark: Rest in peace Bob and Alice.

3. Three Hours Of Me Time Weekdays (Feb 08, 2013). I wrote my life working Mon to Fri from 9am to 6pm. Wake up, go to work, work at the company building, go home, and sleep eight hours. Three hours of personal time remain. Repeat.

Update remark: No full time worker sleeps eight hours a night on weeknights. More workers lose concentration, act grumpy, feel weaker, and make more mistakes. No full time worker spares three hours of personal time. There are too many responsibilities in today's Information Age. A worker must complete an hour's work in 30 minutes.

A balanced life doesn't exist. The successful people don't live a balanced life to become successful.

4. Throwback Blog: I'm No Longer Nice (Aug 27, 2016). I reuploaded a previous blog be a good person. Don't be a nice person.

Update remark: I posted an I'm No Longer Nice blog update on Aug 21, 2025 Keep Going In Life. I added, "Being extra nice doesn't result in extra rewards. It's not aloofness does pay. It's niceness doesn't pay."

5. It's Okay To Live At Home (Jun 18, 2013). I wrote valid reasons sons and daughters live at home with their parents. Sons and daughters must not take for granted living at home. Sons and daughters must continue living their lives to the best of their abilities.

Update remark: The blog is 100% true today.

6. Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog February 2023 (Mar 05, 2023). California ended the pandemic state of emergency on Feb 28, 2023. It was the start of loosening restrictions and mask mandates.

Update remark: None.

7. Highlight and Favorite 2019 Tweets (Dec 30, 2020). My favorite Tweets in 2019. I share my top favorites:

Tweets

Jan 21: A conversation starter. Ask the question, "What keeps you busy?"

Jul 28: I'm not dumbing down. Never dumb down your life. Don't be an asshole for yourself. Don't let people drag you down. Nobody holds your back.

Jul 28: These people must leave your life. People come and go for good or for bad. Some people leave your life. New people enter your life.

Sep 22: I just finished watching The Shawshank Redemption. My high school and college friend watched the movie when it was released in theaters. It was the most boring movie he watched. He didn't understand the point. I avoided the movie.

Sep 22: I choose to watch the movie decades later. Good movie. Recommended. The movie is slow. I put the pieces together watching the movie without success.

Sep 22: My friend is correct up to the climax of the movie. It's the best full circle movie I have ever watched. Stick around. Don't give up. Have hope. The pieces are together. Good things can happen.

Sep 25: The female middle school student was wise beyond her years. RT @BoyYeetsWorld: one time in middle school i dated a girl for 4 days and when she broke up with me she posted on facebook sometimes your knight in shining armor is really just a loser in tinfoil and to this day that the sickest burn I've ever gotten.

Favorites

Apr 23: @NBCSSharks, BARCLAY GOODROW!!! Watch the Sharks winger's game-winning overtime goal to give San Jose an epic Game 7 victory. Pic Video.

May 12: @SportsCenter, KAWHI. GAME 7. FOR THE WIN. Pic Video.

May 12: @espn, Another look at Kawhi's Game 7 winner. Pic Video.

May 18: @SJEarthquakes, CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI. KING. #WondoWatched Pic Video.

Jun 13: @SportsCenter, Klay turning around in the tunnel and coming back out to shoot free throws had Oracle going nuts. Pic Video.

Jun 13: @BayAreaSportsHQ, This moment is an all-timer. Pic Video.

Jul 14: @SportsCenter, GAME. SET. MATCH. Novak Djokovic outlasts Roger Federer in an epic five-set #WimbledonFinal Pic Video.

Jul 14: @espn, Longest final in #Wimbledon history: 4 hours 55 minutes, 422 points, 68 games, 35 aces. Pic.

Aug 12: @SexWithEmily, As much as we like to beat around the bush, dropping hints to your partner is not the best way of communicating -- your chances of being understood are much higher when you are direct about what needs fixing. #sexwithemily #communicationisalubrication

Sep 14: @HistoryInPics, The Beatle's last live concerts—at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966 and then on a London rooftop three years later—have gone down as some of the most significant events in pop music history. Collector Finds Rare Footage of The Beatles's Top of the Pops Performance in His Attic.

Nov 19: @WakeOfWeek, I will always root for this man because of the way he has handled himself in hard times -- from bad coaches to having a different offensive coordinator every year to losing his job to Kaep to... this. #AlexSmith @lizbsmith11. Alex Smith's wife celebrates ex-49er's recovery from ghastly leg injury in emotional Instagram post.

Dec 11: @espn, Bill Belichick has his players focused on the 53 players in their locker room, not on social media. Pic.

Dec 16: @NBCSGiants, So many memories. @PavlovicNBCS takes you back through all of the best -- and funniest -- moments from MadBum's legendary Giants career. Pic Article.

Update remark: The Shawshank Redemption is my all time favorite movie. The Shawshank Redemption is not a slow movie after many rewatches.

8. Quad 3 Of 4: My Favorite Shape (Oct 24, 2006). The circle is my favorite shape. "My anything, anytime, and anywhere are going to come full circle good or bad. I make sure I create good circles and I innovate the circles."

Update remark: None.

9. Intelligence May Change Your Daily Life Intelligently (Sep 09, 2015). Use intelligence as an adverb. Think intelligently, communicate intelligently, work intelligently, and make mistakes intelligently are some examples.

Update remark: None.

10. Top 2018 Pics (Dec 17, 2019). My favorite pics posted in 2018. I share my top favorites:

Update remark: None.

11. Thought Provoking Information (Sep 03, 2017). A pics blog. The pic which inspired the title is below.

Update remark: None

12. My First Pop Tart (Sep 12, 2007). I ate a pop tart for the first time in my life. It was strawberry and strawberry with icing.

Update remark: No more pop tarts in my diet. I rarely drink milk. I stopped eating oatmeal in 2018.

13. De Anza Week Nov 15, 2010 (Nov 18, 2010). I went back to school to earn an AA degree in Accounting. I blogged one week during Winter Quarter 2010 at De Anza College. The week consisted of students and instructors with too much on their minds and too fatigued.

Update remark: They were the same yesterday. They are the same today.

14. First Time I Saw A Restaurant Close On Tuesdays (Dec 09, 2018). I said it best. "2018 is over. I wanted to try a restaurant in another city for the first time. I was in the area on Tue Dec 4. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. Are you serious? The event summed my recent life. Bad luck. Bad timing." The blog continued expressing my frustration 2018 was the year everything went wrong.

Update remark: I have not experienced another 2018. I have not let life take control of me.

15. I Own 15 Pairs Of Shoes (Jan 28, 2021). I posted pics of my 15 pair of shoes. They include exercise, boots, formal, and casual outdoors.

Update remark: None

16. A Procedure To Stop Insanity (Sep 09, 2021). A life wisdom. Everyone is different. Everything is different. Birds of a feather flock together. Different folks for different strokes. There are matches. There are mismatches. A circle can't fit in a square peg.

Update remark: Live your life who, what, where, how, and I match who you are.

17. Lonely And Cheerful (Jul 24, 2007). I felt lonely and depressed in Jul 2007. I didn't feel cheerful. False optimism.

Update remark: The 2007 Summer Sabbatical failed. I did everything wrong. I admit I made a mistake. 2007 should have been one of the best years of my life. 2007 was one of the worst years of my life.

18. Throwback Blog: SOMT: Kodak Declares Bankruptcy (Sep 30, 2017). Toys R Us declared bankruptcy on Sep 19, 2017 which inspired the throwback blog on Kodak declared bankruptcy. The throwback blog was a brief explanation of the Kodak bankruptcy and my experiences using a film camera and a digital camera.

Update remark: Mismanagement, Amazon and Wal-Mart, and poor customer service are not the top reasons Toys R Us declared bankruptcy.

19. Work Mar 8, 2014 (Mar 08, 2014). I blogged the highlights when I worked in a retail start up. Dermatitis on my hands. Refusing a shipment. Both store locations short-handed. Purchased my first bottle of wine Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon "Generations" 2009. Wi-Fi problems.

Update remark: The dermatitis on my hands turned out to be a dirty workstation. I cleaned my workstation. No more dermatitis. I still own my Raymond wine bottle.

No smart person works in retail. Desperate smart people do work in retail.

20. Go To Sleep With A Smile (Oct 21, 2011). I was called for jury duty. I didn't get selected. The prospective jurors answering personal questions during the selection process convinced me my life is good. I sleep with a smile.

Update remark: Domestic violence can be a lifelong trauma. Some people you see when shopping are victims of crimes.

Throwback Blog: A Second Look At 2010

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 A Second Look At 2010 written on May 13, 2011. Today's blog started A Second Look blogs for which the title is somewhat self-explanatory. I looked at the previous year's blogs. They were not year-end reviews. I commented myself. I provided feedback to myself.

I second looked at my 2010, 2011, and 2012 blog years six months later in its next year. The six months later was changed to 12 months later thereafter. My year-end reviews started with the blog A Brief 2005 Year In Review And Not Jinxing 2006 written on Dec 23, 2005. I brought them back starting with Moment Of The Years written on Jan 14, 2016 which briefly reviewed years 1998-2015. The previous individual year-end reviews were written two or three months on its next year which started with 2016 Year In Review. Is 2016 or 2007 The Worst Year Of My Life? written on Feb 5, 2017. There are no new year's resolutions blogs.

Today's throwback blog is my second A Second Look. My first throwback blog A Second Look was Throwback Blog: A Second Look At 2015 written on Apr 28, 2024. Today's throwback blog is different. I take a third look at the nine blogs. I write my Second Feedback below the Link. I edit when appropriate.

A Second Look At 2010
Friday May 13, 2011

I'm taking a second look at my 2010 blogs to provide comments and feedback. Was I correct? Was I wrong? OMG, I wrote that--what was I thinking? Was it true? Did it happen? For the record, this blog is not a 2010 review. I don't believe in [year-end] reviews and new [year's] resolutions. I believe a person should evaluate and critique their lives daily and make changes immediately.

My goal is to learn from my mistakes, reinforce my lessons, remind myself my moments, and rethink again. I gathered all my 2010 blogs including my weekly De Anza blogs, read them, and posted my self-evaluation. I included the title, date, blog summary, and feedback. The link is provided to read the original blog entry.

Blog title: The State Of My Life
Date: Feb 25
Summary: I wrote there was a moment I felt depressed and out of control. Regardless, life continues day by day. There is no time to sulk. Do anything to regain control of your life and get out of being depressed.
Feedback: OMG, I wrote that! I must have been depressed to blog something depressing and sad in Feb. I remember from 2000-2004, March had always been my depressing month. I hope my Feb 2011 is not depressing. Given it's May 2011, March 2011 was a bad month. Hence, I continue to experience depressing days. We're human.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/state-of-my-life.html
Second Feedback: It's normal to feel depressed. Don't use depression as an excuse to stop living life. If you feel better, then solve problems.

Blog title: De Anza Week Mar 22 2010
Date: Mar 26
Summary: I wrote my highlights for Winter '10 quarter at De Anza. I blogged my mistakes which were I didn't drop singing class and I should have stopped attending free salsa lessons.
Feedback: Continuing singing class was the worse choice I made in De Anza to date. The class failed to meet my expectations. The instructor lost her voice for three weeks. We had classes the instructor didn't feel like teaching.

I attended free salsa lessons too many times. It took too much time away for other important activities. There were times when one must stop his/her obligations. I had to stop attending the salsa lessons. Too much to do and, yes, gym was important to stay in shape.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/de-anza-week-mar-22-2010.html
Second Feedback: Two life lessons worth reminding. First lesson: Quit when something is not working out. Second lesson: prioritize. It's okay to keep the foot on the accelerator. There are times the foot must be let go; otherwise, the engine overheats.

Blog title: How to Build a Lasting Relationship
Date: Apr 15
Summary: Zig Ziglar wrote an article how to build long term relationships. The point was, "Compromise is not denying right and wrong; it's admitting that both sides can have some right and both sides can have some wrong."
Feedback: Reading the article made me think about my guilty conscious indirectly related to the article. I fear that one mistake jeopardizes my relationship with my family and friends. The little mistakes are not a problem. I should know that we're human and we make mistakes big and small. I should also know that almost all mistakes don't lead to an immediate break up. I never experienced any breakup from a mistake I made.

On second thought, yes, I experienced a breakup. I was in 8th grade. It was the summer before I started my freshmen year in high school. I went on a date with my friend's ex-girlfriend. My friend and I started high school. He never spoke to me throughout our four years. I was in 8th grade and I was immature for a 13 year kid.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-build-lasting-relationship.html
Second Feedback: Compromise is required for strong human relationships. On the other hand, don't be taken advantaged. Some humans don't get along with other humans. Nobody gets along with everybody.

Blog title: The Year Was 2007
Date: May 17
Summary: I blogged how 2007 is the worse year in my life. I wrote [a] Q&A as if I was interviewed by 60 minutes.
Feedback: Lol, I wrote a similar blog titled "2007 Was Actually A Bad Year" on Mon Oct 13, 2008. Click to read it: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/2007-was-actually-bad-year.html.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/year-was-2007.html
Second Feedback: 2016 is the worst year of my life. Read the blog 2016 Year In Review. Is 2016 or 2007 The Worst Year Of My Life? written on Feb 5, 2017.

Blog title: Bruce Lee Is The Man
Date: Oct 8
Summary: I paralleled Bruce Lee's philosophy with some of my top 30 blogs.
Feedback: I posted this blog to review Bruce Lee's famous quotes and how they match my top 30 blogs. Lee quoted he never reach achievement and "learning is boundless." I posted blogs reiterating that quote.

Side note: To view my top 30 blogs, click to read it: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/300.html.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/bruce-lee-is-man.html
Second Feedback: I wrote more Bruce Lee quotes in the Bruce Lee Was The Man Revisited blog on Nov 4, 2019. These quotes are from the movie Enter The Dragon.

Blog title: De Anza Week Oct 25, 2010
Date: Oct 28
Summary: I mentioned many students eat out instead of eating at home to save time and save money (arguable, eating out is cheaper).
Feedback: I looked at the nutrition information for a McDonald's Big Mac. That burger is fattening a frozen pizza is healthier. I promised myself I never eat a Big Mac for the rest of my life.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/de-anza-week-oct-25-2010.html
Second Feedback: I broke the promise in 2011.

Blog title: Why I Think The San Francisco Giants Won The World Series
Date: Nov 5
Summary: I shared my thoughts why the San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series. It was all action.
Feedback: Manager Bud Black from the San Diego Padres won manager of the year which he deserved. Bruce Bochy outmanaged Texas Rangers' Ron Washington. Good luck to the 2011 San Francisco Giants defending their world championship. The team must seek better actions to win the World Series.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-i-think-san-francisco-giants-won.html
Second Feedback: The Giants won two more championships in 2012 and 2014.

Blog title: De Anza Week Dec 6, 2010
Date: Dec 15
Summary: I wrote Fall '10 quarter was a bad quarter.
Feedback: Fall '10 really wasn't a bad quarter. Winter '10 was worse than Fall '10. Winter '11 is now the worse quarter.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/de-anza-week-dec-6-2010.html
Second Feedback: I change the feedback. The Fall 2010 and the Winter 2010 quarters were good.

Blog title: Happy Life
Date: Dec 21
Summary: Happy people earn their happiness working hard, doing better, innovating and improving indefinitely, and living life. The happiness becomes real. Innovate infinitely for a happy life.
Feedback: If there are awards for best blogs, Happy Life blog is a final nominee. The blog reminds me never take life for granted. Happy life is not for people who sit on the sofa watching TV. Happy life is not for people who play video games 24/7 and given shelter, food, and clothing from someone else.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-life.html
Second Feedback: Happy Life is an all-time top blog. It's still true today.

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.

Throwback Blog: Top Ten Wisdom Acquired In 2006 I Failed To Follow

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 Top Ten Wisdom Acquired In 2006 I Failed To Follow written on Nov 16, 2019. Today is a good day to review the 2006 wisdom. I continue to follow the ten wisdoms.

2006 was a good year. 2007 was one of my two worst years. The 2007 highlights working at Cisco and buying my first car overshadowed the many lowlights. What if I followed through my 2006 wisdom acquired in 2007? There could have been fewer lowlights.

I reacquired, relearned, and rediscovered my 2006 wisdom years later. They started on the day I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. I never forget these top ten wisdom. I practice them daily. Today's top ten is another reminder how I live a good life.

I blogged one dream titled Philosophy 98: Innovating Life on Mar 12, 2006. I dreamed I taught a philosophy class at a junior college. Students were required to read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Rich Dad Poor Dad teaches how the rich people become rich. How to Win Friends and Influence People teaches human relations skills. I dreamed Philosophy 98: Innovating Life for the second time replacing How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers argues timing and luck are the reasons why some people succeed. I approved my second dream using Rich Dad Poor Dad and Outliers as the required reading.

Here are the top ten wisdom acquired in 2006 I failed to follow. I followed them years later.

10. Life Sucks? Why Live? on Mar 16, 2006 and I Wonder on Aug 24, 2006. Timing is everything. I remind myself the two blogs. I'm alone, unemployed, and without money. I continue fighting the struggles. Doing nothing solves no problems. I might as well keep going. The I Wonder blog said maybe the next big break comes tomorrow, next week, or next month. I keep going hoping for the next big break.

9. Whoever Though Of The Word “Rush” Lived A Short Life on Jun 11, 2006. Don't rush success. Take it slow. Increment.

8. Do You Want To Be My Friend? on Apr 15, 2006. The last paragraph is the wisdom acquired. There are some people I don't get along with. There are some people I don't have a connection. I don't waste my time with these people. I stay away from these people.

7. Nothing Lasts Forever Which Includes Curses and Bad Luck on Jan 2, 2006. Nothing lasts forever. Curses are meant to be broken. Hope for the best. On the other hand, some people live life with many bad breaks and bad timing. It's life. Some people have lots of good luck. Some people have lots of bad luck.

6. Find The Misinformation and Misunderstandings First on Sep 27, 2006. Don't stress out on the person with the misinformation. Don't get angry over a misunderstanding. Misinformation happens. Misunderstandings happen. Seek first to understand. Correct the source. I'm angry when people don't correct the problem.

5. Second Blog Entry: Going With The Flow On A Bad Work Day on Jan 7, 2006. Go with the flow. I rediscovered the wisdom during Winter Quarter 2010 at De Anza College.

4. Full Circle on Mar 6, 2006. Life goes full circle. Whatever you do today affects you tomorrow. Life finds a way to reward you tomorrow when doing something good today. Life finds a way to punish you tomorrow when doing something bad today. For example, I failed to refresh my job skills during my down time at one of my contract jobs. I watched YouTube videos. Life punishes me today being unemployed taking additional self-training time refreshing my skills instead of learning new skills. Job searching is a full-time job. I learn new skills such as Python and Power BI. I refresh my existing skills such as Excel and SQL.

3. Keep Fun In Check on Feb 26, 2006. Something bad happens when I have too much fun. I lose my sense of awareness. I lose my clear thinking. Control everything as much as possible work, rest, and play.

2. Breakfast Is The Most Important Meal Of The Day on May 17, 2006. What if I ate a proper breakfast in 2007 and before Sat Oct 4, 2008 daily? The obvious answers are more focused, learned more, less chances getting sick, more gym workouts, and never unemployed.

1. Time Will Tell on Jan 28, 2006. The late Steve Jobs said it best, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

In my words, time is the ultimate judge.

Summary

10. Keep fighting the struggles. There's nothing else to do.
9. Take your time. Increment.
8. Spend time with good people. Avoid bad people.
7. Nothing lasts forever.
6. Focus on correcting misinformation and misunderstandings themselves.
5. Go with the flow.
4. Life goes full circle. What you do today affects you tomorrow.
3. Keep fun in check. Stay focus even while having fun.
2. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
1. Trust what you do today is good tomorrow. Time is the ultimate judge.

A Melancholy 2022 Thanksgiving Holiday

Chances are many people experienced a rusty 2022 Thanksgiving weekend. The expectations were high. The holiday was an underachievement. People wanted a Thanksgiving miracle all is better. Many people forgot how to behave. Many people either forgot what Thanksgiving meant or thought about something else.

There was too much on many people's minds they couldn't stop thinking. There were too many worries. There were too many problems. They thought there was not enough time. There was not enough time to relax. Break time was too little. The holiday went by too fast. The time feeling didn't slow down. People needed more time to take a breath.

People felt unsatisfactory during the final hours of Sun Nov 27, 2022. The holiday failed to meet expectations. There were disappointments. A minority of people shopped successfully on Black Friday. Learn from the mistakes for the 2022 Christmas holiday. Make adjustments for the 2022 Christmas holiday. Don't take the next holiday for granted.

Update On A Past Blog

I remember my first week of the Winter 2010 Quarter at De Anza College. I wrote, "Many students and even my teachers were tired and continued to be in adjust mode after the holidays" from De Anza Week Jan 4, 2010 written on Jan 7, 2010. I remember many students including myself and many teachers were unsatisfied with the 2009 Christmas holiday. 2009 was a year during the Great Recession. Nobody wanted to be at school.

The Real Life Felix Felicis

Felix Felicis is a potion from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The drinker becomes lucky for a period of time. Everything attempted becomes successful. The potion is also called "Liquid Luck." The drinker must not take Felix Felicis in excess which causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence.

I share three real Felix Felicis. The first is a moment. The second is a partial Felix Felicis in a calendar year. The third is a complete Felix Felicis in a calendar year. Good luck was excellent. Life flowed my way. I could do anything successfully. Good fortunes came to me.

The Felix Felicis moment happened Apr 2-6, 2017. I admitted myself to the emergency room at O'Connor Hospital for severe stomach pains. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I required two surgeries which were successful. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. The five days at O'Connor went smoothly. The emergency room was quiet. All tests, checkups, and follow-ups went as schedule. The only delay was waiting for the doctors to discharge me. My floor where I stayed was quiet except my last night. The victims of a major car accident stayed around my room. One of them shared my double occupancy room. They were quiet and problem free. One may say I'm still paying back the Felix Felicis Apr 2017 today.

The Felix Felicis partial calendar year happened in 2010. I attended De Anza College to earn an A.A. degree in Accounting. I earned A's in all my classes. I rented a DVD movie from the library once a week. The two anime conventions I attended were perfect. I went to a Paul McCartney concert. I played StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The San Francisco Giants Won the 2010 World Series which was their first in San Francisco franchise history. I rode the San Francisco cable car for the first time.

Felix Felicis didn't work for my Beginning Singing class in Winter Quarter 2010 and my Cost Accounting class in Spring Quarter 2010. I should have dropped both classes. The Beginning Singing class didn't meet my expectations. It was a waste of time. The instructor for the Cost Accounting was ineffective. I should have taken the class at a future quarter with a different instructor.

The Felix Felicis complete calendar year happened in 2005. I visited Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, Canada for the first time. I purchased my first laptop which was a Dell Inspiron 8600 on sale. I created my Innovating Common Knowledge blog.

Side note: 2009 can be the Felix Felicis complete calendar year instead 2005. I graded 2009 and 2005 an A+ from Grading My Past Years blog on Aug 13, 2018. The difference is 2009 went downhill in Dec.

Top Ten Wisdom Acquired In 2006 I Failed To Follow

2006 was a good year. 2007 was one of my two worst years. The 2007 highlights working at Cisco and buying my first car overshadowed the many lowlights. What if I followed through my 2006 wisdom acquired in 2007? There could have been fewer lowlights.

I reacquired, relearned, and rediscovered my 2006 wisdom years later. They started on the day I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. I never forget these top ten wisdom. I practice them daily. Today's top ten is another reminder how I live a good life.

I blogged one dream titled Philosophy 98: Innovating Life on Mar 12, 2006. I dreamed I taught a philosophy class at a junior college. Students were required to read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Rich Dad Poor Dad teaches how the rich people become rich. How to Win Friends and Influence People teaches human relations skills. I dreamed Philosophy 98: Innovating Life for the second time replacing How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers argues timing and luck are the reasons why some people succeed. I approved my second dream using Rich Dad Poor Dad and Outliers as the required reading.

Here are the top ten wisdom acquired in 2006 I failed to follow. I followed them years later.

10. Life Sucks? Why Live? on Mar 16, 2006 and I Wonder on Aug 24, 2006. Timing is everything. I remind myself the two blogs. I'm alone, unemployed, and without money. I continue fighting the struggles. Doing nothing solves no problems. I might as well keep going. The I Wonder blog said maybe the next big break comes tomorrow, next week, or next month. I keep going hoping for the next big break.

9. Whoever Though Of The Word “Rush” Lived A Short Life on Jun 11, 2006. Don't rush success. Take it slow. Increment.

8. Do You Want To Be My Friend? on Apr 15, 2006. The last paragraph is the wisdom acquired. There are some people I don't get along with. There are some people I don't have a connection. I don't waste my time with these people. I stay away from these people.

7. Nothing Lasts Forever Which Includes Curses and Bad Luck on Jan 2, 2006. Nothing lasts forever. Curses are meant to be broken. Hope for the best. On the other hand, some people live life with many bad breaks and bad timing. It's life. Some people have lots of good luck. Some people have lots of bad luck.

6. Find The Misinformation and Misunderstandings First on Sep 27, 2006. Don't stress out on the person with the misinformation. Don't get angry over a misunderstanding. Misinformation happens. Misunderstandings happen. Seek first to understand. Correct the source. I'm angry when people don't correct the problem.

5. Second Blog Entry: Going With The Flow On A Bad Work Day on Jan 7, 2006. Go with the flow. I rediscovered the wisdom during Winter Quarter 2010 at De Anza College.

4. Full Circle on Mar 6, 2006. Life goes full circle. Whatever you do today affects you tomorrow. Life finds a way to reward you tomorrow when doing something good today. Life finds a way to punish you tomorrow when doing something bad today. For example, I failed to refresh my job skills during my down time at one of my contract jobs. I watched YouTube videos. Life punishes me today being unemployed taking additional self-training time refreshing my skills instead of learning new skills. Job searching is a full-time job. I learn new skills such as Python and Power BI. I refresh my existing skills such as Excel and SQL.

3. Keep Fun In Check on Feb 26, 2006. Something bad happens when I have too much fun. I lose my sense of awareness. I lose my clear thinking. Control everything as much as possible work, rest, and play.

2. Breakfast Is The Most Important Meal Of The Day on May 17, 2006. What if I ate a proper breakfast in 2007 and before Sat Oct 4, 2008 daily? The obvious answers are more focused, learned more, less chances getting sick, more gym workouts, and never unemployed.

1. Time Will Tell on Jan 28, 2006. The late Steve Jobs said it best, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

In my words, time is the ultimate judge.

Summary

10. Keep fighting the struggles. There's nothing else to do.
9. Take your time. Increment.
8. Spend time with good people. Avoid bad people.
7. Nothing lasts forever.
6. Focus on correcting misinformation and misunderstandings themselves.
5. Go with the flow.
4. Life goes full circle. What you do today affects you tomorrow.
3. Keep fun in check. Stay focus even while having fun.
2. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
1. Trust what you do today is good tomorrow. Time is the ultimate judge.

The Piano

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

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

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

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

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

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Throwback Blog: My All De Anza Review Blog

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 My All De Anza Review Blog in Dec 2012. I blogged a self Q&A discussing my experiences at De Anza College. I reread my review blog. There was one answer I questioned today. One of the reasons I started taking Accounting classes was companies not hiring during the great recession. I know two people who found jobs in 2009. Time will tell whether my two years at De Anza pays off which currently has not.

Blogger's note: I wanted to blog my all De Anza review when I found a job. Unfortunately, I haven't found a job. The timing is appropriate to post my review. I use a Q&A interview format pretending 60 Minutes' correspondent Steve Kroft is interviewing me. My favorite articles were the financial crisis and real estate bubble.

The blog entry is unedited for grammar and content. 60 Minutes is represented by "60M" and I'm represented by "RM".

Introduction

60M: It's been 18 months since Raymond Mar attended De Anza College. Mr. Mar earned an AA degree in Accounting. His contract job at a telecommunications company was terminated in 2008. The financial crisis and real estate bubble bursted at that time. "I knew family and friends who lost their jobs," said Mar. He chose to go back to school rather than look for a job in a bleak job market.

We sit down and ask whether going back to De Anza was worth his time from Mar. 2009 to June 2011.

Interview

60M: What inspired you to go back to school?

RM: Actually, my first classes were ballroom dancing, strength training, and beginning Japanese. I dropped Japanese because the instructor, the sensei, taught too fast. I asked my friends who took Japanese at other colleges. All of them agreed I must drop Japanese. I saw a classmate in another class the next quarter. She said half of the class dropped before finals.

60M: What about ballroom dancing and strength training?

RM: My sister encouraged me to take ballroom dancing. She competed in amateur ballroom dancing competitions. She also went to school, and she didn't have time to teach me. As for strength training, I wanted to take a class to learn how to lift weights properly.

Ballroom dancing was fun. I met lots of people and made lots of friends. I met my girlfriend, too.

60M: In Fall '09, you choose to take an accounting class.

RM: Accounting was one of my majors I wanted to change after quitting majoring in Mathematics at San Jose State. I choose Economics. I thought I take the first accounting class and see what happens. If I liked it, I continue and work my way to earn an AA degree. After all, nobody was hiring during the financial meltdown. I had lots of free time.

As it turned out, I liked accounting and continued taking accounting classes, as well as taking ballroom dancing.

60M: You were a little careless taking your accounting classes.

RM: I admit I was a little careless. I took a couple of classes I didn't need to take. It turned out those couple of classes were taught by terrible instructors. One class was a complete waste of time. I should have dropped it when that class had too many students. That Spring '10 quarter I took that overcrowded class was the busiest quarter in terms of homework and studying.

Yeah, I should have planned out what classes to take. On the other hand, I wanted to take that overcrowded class when the first opportunity came to me because I never know when the next time the class was offered considering budget cuts.

60M: What were the biggest mistakes you made?

RM: I start with two mistakes I corrected. The first mistake was taking Japanese. Fortunately, I dropped the class. The second mistake was taking Advanced Accounting, a class I didn't need to take.

60M: It sounds like Advanced Accounting was required.

RM: It wasn't. I took the class out of self interest after I earned my AA degree. The professor was the worse professor ever, and that includes San Jose State. He couldn't lecture and couldn't explain the concepts just to save his life. We played games.

60M: Games?

RM: Yeah, games. Once a week, he brought these buzzers. All the students were divided in teams. The professor asked questions and the students answered them correctly to earn extra credit. You don't need extra credit because his grading was easier than high school exams.

Another game was the professor show an image he took in campus. Located and identify the image and you earned extra credit. Likewise for movies. The professor showed a clip from a movie related to accounting. Identify the movie and you earned extra credit.

Anyways, the third mistake that I failed to correct was taking a singing class. I took singing after playing Beatles Rock Band. I was inspired to learn how to sing better because I was the singer in the video game. There was nothing wrong with the instructor. It was just that the class didn't meet my expectations and I wasted gas and time driving to campus for just one evening.

The lesson was sometimes its okay to quit. There were more important priorities and better uses for my time.

60M: What were the lessons you learned? Of course you learned accounting.

RM: The lessons were everyone is human, go with the flow, timing is everything, and use it or lose it.

60M: Those four are life lessons.

RM: Yup, life lessons. Going back to De Anza was a second chance in my life. It was my mulligan card. I wanted to correct my mistakes or don't repeat my mistakes I did at San Jose State. I wanted to experience life as a college student again. I wanted to be a college student the right way.

60M: What was the right way?

RM: I wanted to meet new people and make new friends. (Thank you Facebook.) I wanted to experience new experiences and seek new adventures. For example, there was ballroom dancing I mentioned earlier. Others included hiking, visiting the Charles Schulz museum, playing Starcraft 2, visiting Monterey and Carmel, and much more. I didn't want to take college seriously like I did at San Jose State. Have fun, relax. Complete homework and projects last minute. Don't study too hard. Open myself up to something new from the simple try new foods to the first time moments riding a San Francisco cable car, and dating.

60M: Fall '10 was your best quarter. Why?

RM: That quarter I met the most people and made the most friends. One class everyone worked in teams for in-class work and for group presentation. I was lucky my group was the best in teamwork and presentation. The rest of the other groups experienced problems. The downside was the instructor was a bitch.

60M: Lol

RM: The downside of Fall '10 was I had to attend classes four days a week instead of two days for all of the other quarters.

Another best was the movie of the week checking out a DVD from the library. All of the DVDs I checked out must be from the American Film Institute Top 100 list in 1997, not 2007. *looking at the list* Some of the movies I watched were Midnight Cowboy, Citizen Kane, On The Waterfront, Singin' In The Rain, Some Like It Hot, Chinatown, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Philadelphia Story, Vertigo, The French Connection, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. I also watched Rosemary's Baby.

60M: Some people say you should not have gone back to school. Instead you either find another job despite the bad economy or take a class on a specialty skill such as a software program. Further, even though you have an AA degree in Accounting and a BS in Economics from San Jose State, you're having problems finding a job now since many jobs want relevant and/or recent job experience. How do you respond?

RM: If I went back in time to Mar 2009, I still go back to De Anza, or at least Sept 2009 when I took my first accounting class. The experiences, the people, the memories, the lessons on life, everything from Mar 2009 to June 2011 made me a better person who I am today. I mentioned earlier about the mulligan. Everyone deserves a mulligan. I used my mulligan on going back to school.

Going back to De Anza was like a time out in my life, a long time out. Going back to De Anza was a life refresher, to rediscover who I am, to find who I wasn't. Slow down, relax, don't repeat my past mistakes again. It was a time to be a grown up, a mature person. Everything, everything I experienced I apply for all my present and future relationships, my careers, and my daily living life.

I'm optimistic I find a job. I was interviewed seven times this year. I received calls from recruiters and hiring managers. It's a matter of when I find a job and start my life after college part 2. I need a little luck and timing in my favor.

60M: What was your worse quarter?

RM: I say Winter '11, technically my last quarter. I got sick and missed a week. The instructor for my Intro to Business was boring. Oh, BTW, I still remember the videos we watched and that opening theme song.

Spring '10 came in second. Listening to Beatles, classical music, classic jazz, and Vocaloid music helped me study well.

60M: You choose to continue taking an accounting class in Spring '11, the quarter after you graduated. Why?

RM: I enrolled in Auditing and Advanced Accounting. I dropped Advanced Accounting as mentioned earlier. Auditing was a hard class. I actually learned a few things I apply when I hear business news about disclaimers, security breaches, fraud, and embezzlement. It wasn't a waste of time. I was in survival mode for most of Spring '11, yet I didn't take the class too seriously such that I spent hours and hours studying. I had a life.

Auditing was a class to complete the full circle of all the accounting classes I took.

60M: In the Auditing class, you met a classmate who graduated at a CSU school with a business degree. Tell me what information she gave you.

RM: That recent graduate was smart and a quick learner. I remember one class meeting she arrived late. We had an in-class assignment. She opened the chapter, read a few pages, and then answered the questions correctly. She never took auditing as an undergraduate.

The information she told me was clarifying graduating with a BA in accounting. There was no such thing as an accounting degree, at least at the CSU schools. Business majors graduated with a business degree with an emphasis in accounting, or finance, or marketing. We went to the library, went online to compare an AA degree in Accounting and a BA in Business-Accounting. There was little difference. Most of the classes for an AA degree were the same classes for a BA. The major difference was two or three classes not taught at junior college. Further, if I were to transfer, I had to retake at least my two quarters of Intermediate Accounting because those credits were non-transferrable.

The bottom line was I could have a BA in Business-Accounting should I count my GE classes at San Jose State. It's those two or three classes that made the difference between an AA and a BA. How about that. Something to think about. I bet most BA or BS majors don't know just a couple of classes makes the difference between another BA or BS and an AA degree.

60M: How were the instructors overall?

RM: Overall, the instructors were good. Most of the part time instructors were good. Some of them really cared and some took time to share life experiences. The full time instructors were so-so. Having said that, students going to community colleges, I suggest you favor part timers.

60M: Timing was in your favor. You got all your classes at favorable times, with the exception of Fall '10 when you attended school four days a week. The friends who still attend De Anza said it's worse now.

RM: It's one of my life lessons I learned. Timing is everything. All my friends told me overcrowding is at the worse and classes are harder to get. They're seeing older age people unemployed going back to school.

60M: Share some little tid bits.

RM: I remember World Cup '10 was huge. The cafeteria had big screen projectors. I remember a group of card gamers moving all the tables together and playing card games. They're a perfect example of geek gamers. Do I want to meet them? No.

The cooks who worked the grill gave lots and lots of fries when people ordered the burger combos. Even their breakfast menu was decent. Prices were all reasonable. No refills on fountain drinks.

The only time I cut class was when I was sick. I never cut class just for the heck of it. To be honest, there was no reason to cut just for the heck of it.

There were three rooms I attended classes two or more times. Two of the three rooms I earned A grades all the time. Moreover, all my classes took place in two buildings and the computer lab, with the exception of the singing and ballroom dancing.

I ate lunch outside De Anza two times, and they were all on the first day of school for the two quarters.

60M: Compare the students at De Anza to when you were a student attending San Jose State.

RM: De Anza students had cell phones and smart phones. San Jose State students a few had cell phones, and you needed either a land line or pager to communicate. Email was spreading slowly. De Anza students could buy books on the web or at the bookstore, or buy a cheaper .pdf copy. San Jose State students bought at the bookstores only. The short answer was technology and communicating.

De Anza students could take tests and submit homework online. San Jose State students all work were done in class. And De Anza students had portable mp3 players for music. San Jose State students had walkmans.

De Anza students registered online. San Jose State students register by phone using a class scheduled printed hardcopy.

60M: Raymond Mar continues to think about De Anza occasionally, much more than San Jose State. He believes college students today have an easier time than when he attended San Jose State. Students today use technology to help with their assignments, keep in touch with friends and instructors, register for classes, and get their final grades. On the other hand, he fears that the technology today can make more people being alone and too independent.

The biggest mistake when he attended San Jose State was meeting very little people. That should be life lesson number #5: always meet new people.

Mar has experienced recruiters and hiring managers not considering him because of his lack of recent job experience and going back to school. What you do being unemployed can be just as important as what you did at your recent job. Right now is the best time to hire Mr. Mar because he's a better person who's more professional and more mature than ever.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

My All De Anza Review Blog

Blogger's note: I wanted to blog my all De Anza review when I found a job. Unfortunately, I haven't found a job. The timing is appropriate to post my review. I use a Q&A interview format pretending 60 Minutes' correspondent Steve Kroft is interviewing me. My favorite articles were the financial crisis and real estate bubble.

The blog entry is unedited for grammar and content. 60 Minutes is represented by "60M" and I'm represented by "RM".

Introduction

60M: It's been 18 months since Raymond Mar attended De Anza College. Mr. Mar earned an AA degree in Accounting. His contract job at a telecommunications company was terminated in 2008. The financial crisis and real estate bubble bursted at that time. "I knew family and friends who lost their jobs," said Mar. He chose to go back to school rather than look for a job in a bleak job market.

We sit down and ask whether going back to De Anza was worth his time from Mar. 2009 to June 2011.

Interview

60M: What inspired you to go back to school?

RM: Actually, my first classes were ballroom dancing, strength training, and beginning Japanese. I dropped Japanese because the instructor, the sensei, taught too fast. I asked my friends who took Japanese at other colleges. All of them agreed I must drop Japanese. I saw a classmate in another class the next quarter. She said half of the class dropped before finals.

60M: What about ballroom dancing and strength training?

RM: My sister encouraged me to take ballroom dancing. She competed in amateur ballroom dancing competitions. She also went to school, and she didn't have time to teach me. As for strength training, I wanted to take a class to learn how to lift weights properly.

Ballroom dancing was fun. I met lots of people and made lots of friends. I met my girlfriend, too.

60M: In Fall '09, you choose to take an accounting class.

RM: Accounting was one of my majors I wanted to change after quitting majoring in Mathematics at San Jose State. I choose Economics. I thought I take the first accounting class and see what happens. If I liked it, I continue and work my way to earn an AA degree. After all, nobody was hiring during the financial meltdown. I had lots of free time.

As it turned out, I liked accounting and continued taking accounting classes, as well as taking ballroom dancing.

60M: You were a little careless taking your accounting classes.

RM: I admit I was a little careless. I took a couple of classes I didn't need to take. It turned out those couple of classes were taught by terrible instructors. One class was a complete waste of time. I should have dropped it when that class had too many students. That Spring '10 quarter I took that overcrowded class was the busiest quarter in terms of homework and studying.

Yeah, I should have planned out what classes to take. On the other hand, I wanted to take that overcrowded class when the first opportunity came to me because I never know when the next time the class was offered considering budget cuts.

60M: What were the biggest mistakes you made?

RM: I start with two mistakes I corrected. The first mistake was taking Japanese. Fortunately, I dropped the class. The second mistake was taking Advanced Accounting, a class I didn't need to take.

60M: It sounds like Advanced Accounting was required.

RM: It wasn't. I took the class out of self interest after I earned my AA degree. The professor was the worse professor ever, and that includes San Jose State. He couldn't lecture and couldn't explain the concepts just to save his life. We played games.

60M: Games?

RM: Yeah, games. Once a week, he brought these buzzers. All the students were divided in teams. The professor asked questions and the students answered them correctly to earn extra credit. You don't need extra credit because his grading was easier than high school exams.

Another game was the professor show an image he took in campus. Located and identify the image and you earned extra credit. Likewise for movies. The professor showed a clip from a movie related to accounting. Identify the movie and you earned extra credit.

Anyways, the third mistake that I failed to correct was taking a singing class. I took singing after playing Beatles Rock Band. I was inspired to learn how to sing better because I was the singer in the video game. There was nothing wrong with the instructor. It was just that the class didn't meet my expectations and I wasted gas and time driving to campus for just one evening.

The lesson was sometimes its okay to quit. There were more important priorities and better uses for my time.

60M: What were the lessons you learned? Of course you learned accounting.

RM: The lessons were everyone is human, go with the flow, timing is everything, and use it or lose it.

60M: Those four are life lessons.

RM: Yup, life lessons. Going back to De Anza was a second chance in my life. It was my mulligan card. I wanted to correct my mistakes or don't repeat my mistakes I did at San Jose State. I wanted to experience life as a college student again. I wanted to be a college student the right way.

60M: What was the right way?

RM: I wanted to meet new people and make new friends. (Thank you Facebook.) I wanted to experience new experiences and seek new adventures. For example, there was ballroom dancing I mentioned earlier. Others included hiking, visiting the Charles Schulz museum, playing Starcraft 2, visiting Monterey and Carmel, and much more. I didn't want to take college seriously like I did at San Jose State. Have fun, relax. Complete homework and projects last minute. Don't study too hard. Open myself up to something new from the simple try new foods to the first time moments riding a San Francisco cable car, and dating.

60M: Fall '10 was your best quarter. Why?

RM: That quarter I met the most people and made the most friends. One class everyone worked in teams for in-class work and for group presentation. I was lucky my group was the best in teamwork and presentation. The rest of the other groups experienced problems. The downside was the instructor was a bitch.

60M: Lol

RM: The downside of Fall '10 was I had to attend classes four days a week instead of two days for all of the other quarters.

Another best was the movie of the week checking out a DVD from the library. All of the DVDs I checked out must be from the American Film Institute Top 100 list in 1997, not 2007. *looking at the list* Some of the movies I watched were Midnight Cowboy, Citizen Kane, On The Waterfront, Singin' In The Rain, Some Like It Hot, Chinatown, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Philadelphia Story, Vertigo, The French Connection, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. I also watched Rosemary's Baby.

60M: Some people say you should not have gone back to school. Instead you either find another job despite the bad economy or take a class on a specialty skill such as a software program. Further, even though you have an AA degree in Accounting and a BS in Economics from San Jose State, you're having problems finding a job now since many jobs want relevant and/or recent job experience. How do you respond?

RM: If I went back in time to Mar 2009, I still go back to De Anza, or at least Sept 2009 when I took my first accounting class. The experiences, the people, the memories, the lessons on life, everything from Mar 2009 to June 2011 made me a better person who I am today. I mentioned earlier about the mulligan. Everyone deserves a mulligan. I used my mulligan on going back to school.

Going back to De Anza was like a time out in my life, a long time out. Going back to De Anza was a life refresher, to rediscover who I am, to find who I wasn't. Slow down, relax, don't repeat my past mistakes again. It was a time to be a grown up, a mature person. Everything, everything I experienced I apply for all my present and future relationships, my careers, and my daily living life.

I'm optimistic I find a job. I was interviewed seven times this year. I received calls from recruiters and hiring managers. It's a matter of when I find a job and start my life after college part 2. I need a little luck and timing in my favor.

60M: What was your worse quarter?

RM: I say Winter '11, technically my last quarter. I got sick and missed a week. The instructor for my Intro to Business was boring. Oh, BTW, I still remember the videos we watched and that opening theme song.

Spring '10 came in second. Listening to Beatles, classical music, classic jazz, and Vocaloid music helped me study well.

60M: You choose to continue taking an accounting class in Spring '11, the quarter after you graduated. Why?

RM: I enrolled in Auditing and Advanced Accounting. I dropped Advanced Accounting as mentioned earlier. Auditing was a hard class. I actually learned a few things I apply when I hear business news about disclaimers, security breaches, fraud, and embezzlement. It wasn't a waste of time. I was in survival mode for most of Spring '11, yet I didn't take the class too seriously such that I spent hours and hours studying. I had a life.

Auditing was a class to complete the full circle of all the accounting classes I took.

60M: In the Auditing class, you met a classmate who graduated at a CSU school with a business degree. Tell me what information she gave you.

RM: That recent graduate was smart and a quick learner. I remember one class meeting she arrived late. We had an in-class assignment. She opened the chapter, read a few pages, and then answered the questions correctly. She never took auditing as an undergraduate.

The information she told me was clarifying graduating with a BA in accounting. There was no such thing as an accounting degree, at least at the CSU schools. Business majors graduated with a business degree with an emphasis in accounting, or finance, or marketing. We went to the library, went online to compare an AA degree in Accounting and a BA in Business-Accounting. There was little difference. Most of the classes for an AA degree were the same classes for a BA. The major difference was two or three classes not taught at junior college. Further, if I were to transfer, I had to retake at least my two quarters of Intermediate Accounting because those credits were non-transferrable.

The bottom line was I could have a BA in Business-Accounting should I count my GE classes at San Jose State. It's those two or three classes that made the difference between an AA and a BA. How about that. Something to think about. I bet most BA or BS majors don't know just a couple of classes makes the difference between another BA or BS and an AA degree.

60M: How were the instructors overall?

RM: Overall, the instructors were good. Most of the part time instructors were good. Some of them really cared and some took time to share life experiences. The full time instructors were so-so. Having said that, students going to community colleges, I suggest you favor part timers.

60M: Timing was in your favor. You got all your classes at favorable times, with the exception of Fall '10 when you attended school four days a week. The friends who still attend De Anza said it's worse now.

RM: It's one of my life lessons I learned. Timing is everything. All my friends told me overcrowding is at the worse and classes are harder to get. They're seeing older age people unemployed going back to school.

60M: Share some little tid bits.

RM: I remember World Cup '10 was huge. The cafeteria had big screen projectors. I remember a group of card gamers moving all the tables together and playing card games. They're a perfect example of geek gamers. Do I want to meet them? No.

The cooks who worked the grill gave lots and lots of fries when people ordered the burger combos. Even their breakfast menu was decent. Prices were all reasonable. No refills on fountain drinks.

The only time I cut class was when I was sick. I never cut class just for the heck of it. To be honest, there was no reason to cut just for the heck of it.

There were three rooms I attended classes two or more times. Two of the three rooms I earned A grades all the time. Moreover, all my classes took place in two buildings and the computer lab, with the exception of the singing and ballroom dancing.

I ate lunch outside De Anza two times, and they were all on the first day of school for the two quarters.

60M: Compare the students at De Anza to when you were a student attending San Jose State.

RM: De Anza students had cell phones and smart phones. San Jose State students a few had cell phones, and you needed either a land line or pager to communicate. Email was spreading slowly. De Anza students could buy books on the web or at the bookstore, or buy a cheaper .pdf copy. San Jose State students bought at the bookstores only. The short answer was technology and communicating.

De Anza students could take tests and submit homework online. San Jose State students all work were done in class. And De Anza students had portable mp3 players for music. San Jose State students had walkmans.

De Anza students registered online. San Jose State students register by phone using a class scheduled printed hardcopy.

60M: Raymond Mar continues to think about De Anza occasionally, much more than San Jose State. He believes college students today have an easier time than when he attended San Jose State. Students today use technology to help with their assignments, keep in touch with friends and instructors, register for classes, and get their final grades. On the other hand, he fears that the technology today can make more people being alone and too independent.

The biggest mistake when he attended San Jose State was meeting very little people. That should be life lesson number #5: always meet new people.

Mar has experienced recruiters and hiring managers not considering him because of his lack of recent job experience and going back to school. What you do being unemployed can be just as important as what you did at your recent job. Right now is the best time to hire Mr. Mar because he's a better person who's more professional and more mature than ever.

501

I forgot to say thank you when I posted “500” blog. Thank you to the people who read my blogs, and the numbers are very few `__^ I hope my blogs help you become a better person. There is always time to change, to improve, and to innovate. The examples include trying something new, forgiving yourself, making the tough choices, and taking risks. Life is taking action, not sitting on the couch waiting for someone to give you life on a sliver platter.

I want to mention the three lessons I learned attending De Anza. It’s good timing to review the lessons. Here are the lessons:

Fall ’09: We are all human. Everyone is human. We make mistakes and we learn from them. We’re happy, sad, depressed, cheerful, frustrated, optimistic, loved, scared, angry, forgetful, and not perfect. The emotions, the pains you feel are part of being human.

Winter ’10: Go with the flow. We have good days and bad days. Don’t fight it. There’s always tomorrow.

Spring ’10: Timing is everything. Sometimes I’m at the right place at the right time. Sometimes I’m at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes I get lots of green lights. Sometimes I get lots of red lights. It’s all timing.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Mar 22 2010

Mon Mar 22, 2010

Final's week. It was good news because I wanted Winter '10 quarter to end. Finals began on Tues. Today is the last day of regular classes; however, classes that meet Mon only have their finals today. My Payroll class final is today.

I had trouble waking up. What else is new? I ate an apple pie and Twinkie for breakfast. Then I went to the computer lab to check my email. There was a student in my Acct 1B class. We small talked on our way to class. The instructor completed chapter 12 material for the first half of the class. The second half of the class we reviewed for the final.

I went to the library to study for the Payroll final. I was hungry. I went to the cafeteria to buy a bag of chips and donuts. The snacks helped me study before I ate dinner at 5:30pm. After the cafeteria, I went back to the library to finish studying. The studying helped little. I absorbed nothing. I focused only on the highlighted key concepts from my notes. I ate dinner in the cafeteria at 5:30pm where I met with another classmate. We talked about the final, eating unhealthy, and our Spring '10 classes.

In Payroll, first we reviewed the third mid-term. I got a 98. Then we had our final. The final was 76 multiple choice questions. Almost all of the questions were concepts. There were seven problems. Studying the problems was a waste of time; for example, there were no questions calculating the federal income tax. I expected more problems than concepts. The final was open book. There was too much to know. One final completed. I have three more finals including one final requiring studying.

Tue Mar 23, 2010

My favorite day of final's week. I wanted to sing my final song and complete singing class. I requested an advanced student to help me sing my final. I got a student. Halfway through my singing, the instructor asked another advanced student to help me sing. I have problems listening to the tone. The instructor said I should sing with my ears. Agreed. I have tone problems ever since I was a child. That explains why I talk loud and nobody realized it. It wasn't my fault. I didn't talk loud to get attention. Today, I talk softer and I listen harder.

Wed Mar 24, 2010

The Acct final is Thur at 11:30am. My class was dance. We reviewed the four dances we learned: west coast swing, cha cha cha, waltz, and salsa. The instructor thank those who attended the Dance-A-Thon fundraiser. I attended and I had a great time.

I talked to a student before we danced. She took singing class before. She reassured me and said the problems I experienced were common. There was nothing to worry about. For example, beginners who sang up in front of the class sang quieter.

Thur Mar 25, 2010

I concentrated studying chap 17 and chap 12, the chapters that were the focus on the comprehensive final. I couldn't concentrate on reviewing the previous chapters. Too much information.

The final was expected. Most of the problems were chap 17 and chap 12. I understood some of the questions from earlier chapters. I hope the questions I didn't know I guessed correctly. I needed at least an 85% on the final to get an A in the class. I looked at my group project. We got a 22 out of 25.

After the final, I went to the computer lab to catch up on my email. The campus was quiet and dead.

Highlights

Winter '10 quarter was a quarter to forget . . . and remember. Most of the events and experiences were lowlights; however, there were lessons to learn from the lowlights. Most of us want to forget anything bad. I admit I want to forget, too. On the other hand, I want to remember the bad because there are lessons to learn not to repeat. Anyway, I start with the one highlight.

*Lesson #3. The one highlight that saved me from a disastrous quarter was lesson #3. The lesson is go with the flow. There were many unfavorable and uncontrolled events. I went with the flow. Control what I can control and don't control what I can't control.

(Lesson #1 is growing up and lesson #2 is everyone is human.)

*I don't want to go to school today. Everyone didn't want to be in school on the first day. The mood everywhere was like, "Let's start school tomorrow." The mood really didn't get any better through the quarter. Most of the students and classmates I talked to said Winter '10 was a down quarter.

*Singing class. I should have dropped singing on the third week. I didn't get into the class. The class was not what I expected. The lessons I learned at the beginning were enough for me to play Beatles Rock Band. And the instructor lost her voice for three weeks. We had class meetings were the instructor and the students didn't feel like singing. Furthermore, the instructor admitted to lessons she failed to teach. She corrects the mistakes in Spring '10. I didn't sign up for singing in Spring '10.

Singing class was the only Tue night class. Driving to campus just for singing and not enjoying some class meetings were a waste of time.

*Going with the flow with a last minute project. I wanted real life experience. The group project was an example. My group and I completed the group project last minute. The lowlight was the two students cut one of their classes to complete the project. It was nobody's fault. It just happened.

*Sick on Chinese New Year. The turning point of my Winter '10. It went downhill and continued going downhill. I became out of shape at the gym. I'm getting back on my workout schedule.

*Salsa lessons. I attended free salsa lessons. There's nothing wrong learning salsa. Salsa is my weakest dance. I realized if I attend a salsa lesson and skip a gym workout, I have trouble dancing. I'm out of shape and I can't dance well. Gym is priority over dance. I find other ways to dance outside De Anza and on days off from the gym.

*Too much Peachtree. Peachtree class was a self-taught course. The first month I attended class in the computer lab reworking the homework for additional practice. That was good intentions. I completed the homework at home. The computers in the computer lab were slow. I stopped going to the computer lab for additional practice after I got sick. Looking back, reworking the homework was a waste of time.

*West coast swing for dance demo. The instructor did different dances for the dance demo. The dance demo is an event where all the dance classes dance in front of their peers on stage. The Monday night class danced east coast swing and the Wednesday night class danced west coast swing. She wanted to compare the two dance styles. The class had mixed feelings. The intermediate class was supposed to dance the quick step; unfortunately, the dance was too hard. That class danced the cha cha cha for the dance demo. My Wed class was not a good class. Fall '09 dance classes were better. The students were better and we learned lots of dances.

*No Monday classes. Winter '10 was the first quarter I took classes on holidays. I thought missed classes because of holidays were made up at the end of the quarter. I was wrong. Missed class meetings because of holidays are not made up. My Payroll class missed two classes because of holidays. Lesson learned. Take Mon classes in fall quarters.

My spring vacation plans are to catch up, relax, reset for Spring '10, and seek new adventures and new experiences.

I Continue To Find Myself Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Mar 15, 2010

Mon Mar 15, 2010

My Financial Acct group project met at 9am at the library to finish. We engaged in small talk while we worked on the project. Both came from Vietnam. One is majoring in marketing and the other is majoring in business administration. One of them has a degree in Business Administration in Vietnam; unfortunately, she must take GE courses because the GE courses she took are not recognized. The second is an undergraduate and wants to transfer to San Jose State. She pessimistic she's not going to transfer because San Jose State restricts transfers from junior colleges. Both say De Anza is expensive because they're paying out of state fees.

At noon, we walked to the cafeteria to eat lunch. Then we had class. We took the Chapter 17 quiz. I scored a 6 out of 10. Not too bad for not studying. Then we turned in the projects. I noticed some students completed incorrectly. One group answered the questions by tearing out the page in the textbook. Most of the students were surprised we needed a folder. We scrambled to find any folder. I used my blue folder for my group. The instructor said projects and presentations must include a folder. Not true. Get out of your book world.

The second half of the class we reviewed the third mid-term. I scored a 96%. Not too bad for studying two and a half days. 30% of the class scored 69% and below. It's misleading because some students who scored low already have their two A's. The instructor drops the lowest mid-term score out of the three. Overall, the results were good.

I studied for the Payroll mid-term #3 after Financial Acct. Two classmates found me in the library and we studied. We ate dinner at 5:30pm. We engaged in small talk and crammed more material. Both are pursuing accounting degrees. One of them has an International Business degree from China. The second is an accounting student.

The mid-term #3 might be joke mid-term #2. I need to think about it. It's one of those "what the hell?" mid-terms. My first joke mid-term was actually a final. It was Physics 60. Everyone was worried about the final everyone studied their asses off. The final happened. Everyone in the room was shocked the final was so easy. Unbelievable! The open book mid-term #3 the multiple choice questions were straight from the lecture. Take good notes, get high scores. The problems were straight from the homework. Do the homework, get high scores. The last part was short answer for California taxes. I know I missed two of the four questions because I didn't expect to memorize the complete abbreviations. Students didn't even need to read the book.

Tue Mar 16, 2010

I registered for my Spring '10 classes. I enrolled in Managerial Accounting or Accounting 1C, the last of the one series, and I enrolled in Business Law. I'm waitlisted for Cost Analysis. If everything goes well, I have classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Also, I have dance on Wednesday.

The second to the last singing class. The instructor mentioned that in class. Everyone got up and sang with book or without book. The instructor said I have been improving. Honestly, I really don't know how. The class could have been great for me. The problem was I got a stomach ache.

During the break, I talked to one student who earned enough De Anza credits to get a bachelors. She finished her GE classes and took many classes in the major fields. She doesn't know what to do.

Wed Mar 17, 2010

I talked to my Peachtree instructor to verify I submitted all the assignments. I did. She confirmed I'm getting an A. Good news. I checked my email and talked to another accounting student before Acct 1B class. The student has a degree from India. I forgot the major. We discussed about transferring to San Jose State which is very hard. It seemed she doesn't know what she was talking about. She told me information that doesn't make sense.

We started on Chapter 12 for Acct 1B. We have an opportunity to earn two more bonus points by completing an online quiz not counted in the final grade.

There was no dance class tonight. Instead, it was the Dance Demonstration where all the dance classes perform on stage with family, friends, and peers. The front row screwed up. Everyone except me moved the wrong way. Oh well. We had fun and that counts!

I Continue To Find Myself Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Mar 8, 2010

Mon Mar 8, 2010

The library was full of students at 11:30am. I didn't find an open desk with a power plug. I settled to sit on the floor next to an outlet. I got a good internet connection. I was good.

Mid-term #3 was taken today in Financial Accounting. I know I passed, lol. There was one concept I had trouble. The concept was asked twice and I answered incorrectly. The instructor said the third mid-term was easier than the second. I thought otherwise.

I went shopping between classes. I purchased a new pair of gym shoes and a pair of swim trunks. I also purchased a bag of walnuts I eat for breakfast. I arrived back on campus at 5pm. I purchased a box of chicken nuggets to eat with my leftovers. I had to buy the nuggets because my leftovers were too little for me to survive Payroll class.

My Payroll instructor reminded me of the late physics professor Franklin Murihead. He taught my physics class lecture first and then going over the homework problems at the end of the chapter. The students copy the answers and study them. My Payroll instructor teaches the same way.

Tonight, she didn't feel well. She had family emergencies last week. She cancelled her Saturday morning class. She needed help from the students to know where we are. And she needed help from the students such that she's going to be on the slow side.

My Payroll class has determined for me how many weeks are remaining in the quarter and has realized to me how fast the quarter passes by. Next week, we have the third mid-term. Two weeks later, we have the final. The mid-term and final are open book. I start reviewing the homework little by little.

Tue Mar 9, 2010

I declare the rest of my Winter '10 I'm going to do a half ass job. I remember and I forget my quarter. The downfall started when I got sick on Mon Feb 15.

Earlier today I worked on my Financial Acct project. I got a call on my cell phone. It was a number I didn't recognize. I answered the call because it might have been a classmate from my Payroll class. The person was from Jatoft-Foti. The company was hiring for "multiple positions." I agreed to an interview after a brief phone interview.

I researched Jatoft-Foti after the phone conversation. Red flags were waved. First, the company didn't have a website. Second, various websites confirmed the company is an insurance company and are looking for salespeople to sell insurance to unions. I cancel the interview tomorrow.

Singing class was the best in a long time. I was able to sing clearly without problems breathing. Unfortunately, the second half of the class I got a runny nose I couldn't explain and my stomach was upset. I wrote more tips to improve my singing. I realized I couldn't sing high. I use the tips for Beatles Rock Band. I don't have time to memorize songs. Accounting is priority.

After dinner, I worked on my Peachtree class final project. My goal is to finish tonight and submit the Chap 13 homework and the final project. Those are the last assignments. I concentrate on Payroll mid-term #3 and my finals.

Wed Mar 10, 2010

I turned in my last Peachtree homework assignment and the final project. I picked up my graded homework assignments. I'm missing homework I completed. I talk to the instructor next week. I have all my homework in .pdf.

The third mid-term results for Financial Accounting are known on Mon's class meeting. Today's lecture was long. I was half awake. My classmates for our group project passed me a note as if we're in high school communicating meeting on Thur to complete the project. We meet on Thur to start on the project.

We had dance class at a dance studio by the swimming pool. The theatre was used for rehearsals for the De Anza dance group performing on Fri and Sat. The performance is required for dance class. I plan to attend on Fri. We reviewed the West Coast Swing for Wed's Dance Demonstration and then we learned the Salsa.

After School

My group met Thur for the group project at the library. There was miscommunication. We managed to start little on the project. We finish last minute on Mon at 9am at the library. I stayed in the library to complete what I can complete.

On Fri, I met with a classmate for Payroll. The third mid-term is Mon night. We reviewed the two chapters and helped each other. Productive.

I Continue To Find Myself Finding Raymond Mar