The Price Of Maintenance Increases

The week of Mon Sep 8, 2025 was catching up. There were no physical workouts due to fatigue and a minor injury to my left Achillies heel. Circumstances favored me for which there was no weekly household cleaning. I felt good I caught up with most of my backlogged responsibilities and projects.

The week of Mon Sep 8, 2025 inspired today's blog. Prices are increasing to maintain our lives. The price is not necessarily monetary; however, in today's inflationary economy, all goods and services for maintenance increases. Time is another price increase. More time is required to maintain our lives. If a person has too many priority responsibilities to complete, then the price the person pays is less sleep.

Bare necessities for body maintenance such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and aspirin. Prices increase. Shoes, socks, shirts, shorts and supplemental equipment for physical workouts. Prices increase. Human body services such as medical, dental, and gym membership for those who need gym equipment. Prices increase. Engine oil, tires, windshield wipers, and wax. Prices increase. Utilities, light bulbs, batteries, furnace air filters, and cleaning supplies for residence cleaning. Prices increase. Further, more time is required to complete everything above. And learning new job skills to maintain careers. Prices and time increase.

Cut The Distractions

I admit I'm distracted in today's Information Age. There is a song stuck in my head. I must play the song on my computer. I look up information on Google or on YouTube. Unimportant information catches my attention. I click on the website or I watch the video. There is a breaking news headline. I read the news article. Time wasted. The distractions increase the price of maintenance.

Update On A Past Blog

Here are two blogs on maintenance. The first is Car Maintenance Is Expensive written on Mar 26, 2025. I wrote interior maintenance and exterior maintenance are important. The ultimate price for non-maintenance anything is chaos.

The second is Maintenance Is Important As Innovating Infinitely written on Nov 6, 2016. I repeat what I wrote from the Car Maintenance Is Expensive's Update On A Past Blog: "I shared some of my life maintenances including a clean household, job training, physical fitness, and keeping myself clean and groomed. I admit maintenance can be boring; however, my life is in chaos without maintenance."

I also update Normal Adolescents At Chipotle blog written on Dec 9, 2023. The blog was mature junior high school students socializing at a Chipotle restaurant. I overheard a conversation between three ladies at the gym earlier tonight. Two of the three ladies are high school students. The third is probably college. I'm bad at guessing people's ages. The three of them organize a breakfast meetup at their local cafe on Sat at 9:30am. 9:30am in the morning--on a Sat weekend. My initial thought was high school students sleep-in on Sat mornings. The two high school students are mature and responsible.

Top Ten Plus Three Equals Top Thirteen Random Historical Events I Wanted To Be Present

I randomly thought of ten plus three equals thirteen historical events I wanted to be present. I use a time machine to go back to the past. I could be present at the event or I could be present at a memorial location such as at a college student union, at work, at home watching TV, or vacationing. No changes in my body inside and outside. All knowledge remains with me.

13. San Diego Comic-Con 1998 (Aug 13-16, 1998). Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi made her first US appearance.

12. Governor Bill Clinton Visits San Jose State University (Fall Semester 1992). I was stupid. I went home during a presidential campaign rally. It could have been a lifelong memory participating in US history. Number 11 is a do-over. I blogged my mistake The 1992 Presidential Election Bill Clinton At San Jose State University on Oct 28, 2021.

11. President Richard Nixon Resigns (Aug 8, 1974). Nixon is the only US president to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon. The Watergate scandal was the reason for the resignation. Five men broke in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office building during the 1972 presidential election.

10. Star Wars VI: The Return Of The Jedi Opening Night (May 25, 1983). The third movie in the original Star Wars trilogy. Self-explanatory.

9. Korean Armistice Agreement In Panmunjom (Jul 27, 1953). The Korean War ended. A 4 kilometer or 2.5 mile wide demilitarized zone was established to separate North Korea and South Korea.

8. Japan Surrenders To The United States In World War II (Sep 2, 1945). The surrender was held on the USS Missouri. Japanese officials signed the Japanese Instrument Of Surrender.

7. The Dot-Com Stock Market Crash And Dot-Com Bubble Burst (Mar 2000). I worked in commercial real estate during the dot-com era. A senior executive broker told me a financial analyst on a radio told his listeners to sell everything when the NASDAQ closed at 5,048.62. A staff co-worker told me to "load up on Cisco" in 1999. The staff co-worker was correct. I could have made a fortune buying Cisco in 1999 and selling Cisco in 2000.

Number 7 is not necessarily a do-over; however, I could say I go back to 1997 when the stock market hit records numbers. I could have purchased stocks in 1997 and sold in 2000.

6. The Berlin Wall Fell (Nov 9, 1989). The Peaceful Revolution happened which led to the wall destruction and the fall of communism in Central Europe and Eastern Europe. Germany was reunified in Oct 1990.

5. Michael Jordan Wins His 6th NBA Championship (Jun 14, 1998). Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won a second three-peat NBA Finals Championship during the 1997-1998 NBA season.

4. The Catch. Joe Montana Game-Winning Touchdown To Dwight Clark (Jan 10, 1982). The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28-27 at Candlestick Park at the 1981 NFC Championship Game during the 1981-1982 NFL season. The Catch symbolized the end of the Cowboys' domination and the start of the 49ers' domination in the 1980s.

The 49ers defeated the AFC Champions Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI.

3. Michael Jackson The Dangerous Tour in Bucharest, Romania (Oct 1, 1992). The concert took place at Bucharest National Stadium. 90,000 in attendance at the sold-out stadium.

2. The Beatles 1965 Tour in New York, New York (Aug 15, 1965). The concert at Shea Stadium was the first musical band at a major stadium concert in musical history.

1. Steve Jobs Debuts iPhone (Jan 9, 2007). A phone, a musical player, and internet access in one.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog August 2024

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The summer surge continued. The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics was completed. I see a tiny increase in people wearing masks. August was the fastest month of the year.

Tue Aug 6. Nassau County in New York passed the Mask Transparency Act into law. The act makes wearing a mask or face covering a crime. The misdemeanor offense is punishable by up to one year in jail or a $1,000 fine. Supporters say the law helps combat crime during protests and combat potential felons only. Opponents say the law gives police the legal authority to stop and question people wearing a mask when no crime is being committed.

Thur Aug 8. American sprinter Noah Lyles tested positive two days before he won a bronze medal for the 200 meter race. Lyles quarantined at a nearby hotel. He took Paxlovid. Trainers and medical staff attended Lyles who laid down on his back after the race. He was taken off the track on a wheelchair.

The Center For Disease Control (CDC) said the US overall death rate dropped to 6% in 2023. Heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injury including drug overdose were the leading causes of death. COVID-19 fell from 4th place in 2022 with 245,000 deaths to 10th place in 2023 with 76,000 deaths. Stroke is 4th place in 2023 with 750 deaths per 100,000 people. 799 deaths per 100,000 people due to stroke in 2022.

Sat Aug 10. Watched the fourth quarter of the Men's Olympic Gold Medal Round France vs. USA.

Sun Aug 11. Attended my first social event outside my residence or another family's house.

Mon Aug 12. The CDC said 27 states reported very high levels and 17 states reported high levels of wastewater data measuring COVID-19 activity. The western region was the highest levels. Emergency room COVID-19 cases increased. Death rates were unchanged at low rates.

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) recommended the vaccine is based on the KP.2 strain for the updated vaccines available in the fall.

Wed Aug 21. The JAMA Psychiatry journal published a study people with a severe case of COVID-19 their chances of mental illnesses increased. They include depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorder, suicide, and bipolar disorder. Unvaccinated people who experience a mental illness are more severe than vaccinated people. In addition, unvaccinated people who are older aged and male their mental illness is more severe.

The study looked into long COVID-19 for children. The results indicated debilitating and long-term side effects which make children difficult to live their childhood lives in and out of their residences. The symptoms include headaches, loss of memory, trouble sleeping, and stomach pain. Teenagers with long COVID-19 experience children symptoms plus fatigue, dizziness, gastrointestinal problems, heart palpitations, and body pain.

Tur Aug 22. I went to an industrial company to drop off shoes for recycling. Nobody was available to receive the shoes. I went to Costco and Safeway afterwards. More people wore masks.

The FDA approved emergency authorization for the updated COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine targets the KP.2 strain. The authorization applies to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The vaccines are available in the coming weeks. People who got the COVID-19 vaccine recently should wait three months.

The CDC recommends people age 6 months and older receive the latest vaccine.

Fri Aug 23. The Federal Government restarted its free home COVID-19 tests program in Sep. The exact date next month is unknown. It's the 7th time in the President Joe Biden administration each household receives up to four free tests.

Thur Aug 29. Shopped at Target first thing in the morning.

Fri Aug 30. The FDA approved emergency authorization for the updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. The Novavax vaccine targets the JN.1 strain. People age 12 years and older may get the traditional protein-based updated vaccine.

The KP.3.1.1 strain dominated with a 42.2% of cases.

Sat Aug 31. Went to Sports Basement, Books, Inc., Chevron for gas, and Safeway.

Normal Adolescents At Chipotle

I ate a late lunch at Chipotle at the 3:00pm hour on Fri Dec 8, 2023 because of shopping. A nearby middle school ended the school day. Students walked home. A few of the students congregated at a small retail strip mall. The fast food restaurant was 90% occupied with students. A few seats were unoccupied. The restaurant workers were prepared. The front end was fully staffed. The cooks were preparing the food. It was loud inside.

Witnessing the middle school students was no different when I attended middle school. Students socialized. There were no parents; although, I saw a couple of parents picking up students in the parking lot. Cell phones were prevalent; however, nobody was individually silent self-occupied with their own phone. They used their phones for conversation topics. They used their phones to pay for their orders. They used their phones calling their parents. The students acted and behaved like normal adolescents. Their parents taught them well. Their parents trusted them and their circle of friends. I didn't have cell phones in school. Socializing and friendships are the same today and the same yesterday regardless of the trends or technology.

Matching Connections Between People Get Along With Each Other

I dreamed last night I played softball at a privately owned softball park. The softball park consisted of many softball fields, batting cages, a soccer field, and a central building for administrative, operations, and a cafeteria.

The first part of the dream I played in the left outfield. Each team required four outfields. I played between the true left fielder and center fielder. No balls went my way. The left fielder was a grade school child. He caught all the fly balls hit his way. He fielded all the ground balls hit his way. The game ended. The grade school child was recruited for another softball team.

The second part of the dream I wondered around looking for a team who needed an outfielder. I found another team. There was a two minute interview. The team accepted me. The weirdness was the second game I played was inside the narrow rectangular office suites of an industrial building. The entrance of the office suite or the reception was the infield. The first office suite with no windows was the shallow outfield. The second office suite with windows at the back was the deep outfield. The captain, vice-captain, and I played the outfield at the second office suite. There was a fourth outfield who didn't appear in my dream.

The game started. The team played poorly. All three of us couldn't catch fly balls defensively. The team couldn't get on base offensively. It was three batters up and three batters down. The opposition scored runs without problems. There was in-team fighting and arguing. I asked the umpire named Mr. RR about the maximum seven runs scored per inning rule in the middle of the game. The umpire acknowledged the rule. The opposition scored seven runs in their inning. The umpire told the captain of the opposing team to switch sides. The captain was angry.

There was enough time in the one hour of gameplay for the final four batters to step up to the plate. I was batter number ten. I hoped at least of the three reached base for me to bat. The opposition didn't send a pitcher. Mr. RR pitched for the opposition. One of the three batters reached second base on a double. I approached the batter's box. Mr. RR gave me a wink. The first pitch was in the middle of the plate. I hit the ball deep to the outfield or the second office suite for a two run inside the park home run. The team celebrated at home plate and at the dugout like we won the championship. The game ended. I woke up.

I finished the dream consciously lying on my bed. The team went to the central building cafeteria. We ate pizza. We drank beer. There were smiles. There was socializing; although, some of the conversations was drunk talk. There was singing. There was joy. Everyone connected. I established the connections. It took one action to combine a group of people. It took one event to bring togetherness. It took one moment to be together. It took one person to spark a group of people to become together.

It Was My Fault I Made A Mistake

I admit I made a mistake. It was my fault. We were late to a family gathering yesterday at 4:30pm in a restaurant. We arrived at 5:30pm.

I shopped for the second gift in the late morning. I purchased the second gift at the fourth store. What if I purchased the second gift at the first store? The narrative was I found the second gift minutes away from the house. The family schedule followed according to plan. I looked good. Unfortunately, the narrative was too much traveling time and too much shopping time. I rushed eating a late breakfast. I rushed wrapping up the gifts in two boxes. The first gift was purchased weeks before.

In addition, there was bad traffic. There were miscommunications. There were more red signal lights than green signal lights by a two-to-one ratio. I needed to use the bathroom twice. I was told on Thur two days before the family gathering.

It didn't matter the circumstances. I couldn't control the bad timing. I couldn't control the bad luck. I took responsibility. I apologize.

My Favorite Jokes And Riddles

I memorize jokes and riddles to improve my life skills. Jokes and riddles are good ice breakers. Jokes and riddles are good to stop the silence. Search online for jokes and riddles. There are websites posting the best. There are books, too. Here are my favorites below.

Jokes

*Why did the kangaroo stop drinking coffee? She got too jumpy.

*What do you call a classy fish? Sofishticated.

*Knock knock. Who's there? Cow. Cow who? No, silly cows don't say whoo cows say moooooo.

*Why is 6 terrified of 7? Because 7 "8" 9!

*What do you call a boomerang that does not come back? A stick!

*Two muffins in an oven. One says, "sure is hot in here!" Other one says, "Holy smokes! A talking muffin!"

*Why did the orange lose the race? He ran out of juice.

*Why did Tigger stick his head down the toilet? He was looking for Pooh.

*How does Darth Vader like his toast? On the darkside.

*What do you call a bear with no teeth? A Gummy Bear!

*What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator.

*Why don't any other shapes talk to circles? Because there's no point.

*Why did the skeleton quit her job? Her heart wasn't in it.

*What did the little corn say to the mama corn? Where is pop corn?

*Where do vampires keep their money? A blood blank.

*Why did the kid throw a clock out the window? To see time fly.

*Why isn't your nose 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot.

*What kind of vegetable is angry? A steamed carrot.

*How do baby cats learn how to swim? The kitty pool.

*What do you call bears with no ears? B. Remove e-a-r-s.

*Why did the student eat his homework? Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake!

*What did the wolf say when it stubbed its toe? Owwwww-ch!

*Why did the parent hit the cake with a hammer? It was a pound cake.

*How do you fix a cracked pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch.

*What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire? A frostbite.

*Which fish costs the most? A goldfish!

*Why do bees have sticky hair? Because they use their honeycombs.

*What did the rug say to the floor? Don't move. I have you covered.

*What do you get if you put a mother duck and five ducklings into a box? A box of quackers.

*If two kids share eight pieces of cherry pie, and one kid only gets to eat one piece, what does the other get? A stomach ache.

*Why are ghosts bad at lying? Because you can see right through them.

*What is the surest way to keep water from getting into your house? Don't pay your water bill.

*Why do you want to stand in a corner during a cold day? It's 90 degrees at the corner.

*What do you call a group of whales playing musical instruments? An orca-stra.

*How do you stop an elephant from charging? Take away his credit card.

*Where did the music teacher leave her keys? In the piano.

*What is the capital letter of Italy? I is the capital letter of Italy.

*A grasshopper walks into a bar and the bartender says, "We have a drink named after you!" The grasshopper says, "You have a drink named Steve?"

*What does a hamster have in common with a cigarette? They're harmless, unless you stick 'em in your mouth and light them on fire.

*What do you call a dead polar bear? Anything you want, it can't hear you anymore.

*Why can't you trust an atom? Because they make up everything.

*There's two whales in a bar. One of them goes: [imitates whale sound] And then the other one goes: "Go home. You're drunk."

*What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

Riddles

*What has eyes, but can't see? A potato!

*What goes up when the rain comes down? An umbrella.

*How do you make a lemon drop? Just let it fall.

*If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become? Wet.

*What animal is always at a baseball game? A bat.

*What do cakes and baseballs have in common? They both need a batter!

*What does every birthday end with? The letter Y.

*Mr. Red and Ms. Red live in the red house. Mr. Purple and Ms. Purple live in the purple house. Who lives in the white house? The president.

*How many months of the year have 28 days? 12. Every month has at least 28 days.

*What has hands that can't hold and a face that can't smile? A clock.

*Kate's mother has three children: Snap, Crackle and ___? Who is the third child? Kate! She's Kate's mother.

*If you don't keep me, I'll break. What am I? A promise.

*You're running a race and at the very end, you pass the person in 2nd place. What place did you finish the race in? 2nd place. You finished in 2nd place.

*What 2 things can you never eat for breakfast? Lunch and dinner.

*What gets wet as it dries? A towel.

*Two fathers and 2 sons spent the day fishing. They caught 3 fish. This was enough for each of them to have one fish. How is this possible? There were only 3 people fishing. There was one father, his son, and his son's son. There were 2 fathers and 2 sons, since one of them is a father and a son.

*Mrs. Brown has 5 daughters. Each of these daughters has a brother. How many children does Mrs. Brown have? They have 6 children. Each daughter has the same brother. There are 5 daughters and 1 son.

*There are 3 apples in the basket. You take away 2. How many apples do you have now? You have 2 apples. You took away 2 apples and left 1 in the basket.

*I go all around the world never leaving the corner. What am I? A stamp.

*I make a loud sound when I'm changing. When I do change, I get bigger while weighing less. What am I? Popcorn.

*I can fill a room taking up no space. What am I? Light.

*If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it. What is it? A secret.

*What goes away as soon as you talk about it? Silence.

*What can run and can't walk? Water.

*What has one eye that can't see? A needle.

*If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke going? There's no smoke as it's an electric train.

*Imagine you are in a room with no windows or doors. How will you get out? Stop imagining.

*What has a head with no brain? A lettuce.

*The English alphabet goes from A to Z. My name goes from Z to A. What am I? A Zebra.

*How many letters are in the alphabet? 11 letters. There are 11 letters in the phrase "the alphabet."

*What word begins with E and ends with E that has one letter? An envelope.

*What's black and white and read all over? The newspaper.

*What goes up and never comes down? Your age.

*What kind of water doesn't freeze? Hot water.

*What falls and never gets hurt? Snow.

*What has ears and can't hear? A cornfield.

*Four legs up, four legs down, soft in the middle, hard all around. What am I? A bed.

*What has many keys that can't open doors? A piano.

*I have wings, I am able to fly, I'm not a bird yet I soar high in the sky. What am I? An airplane.

*I follow you all the time and copy your every move. You can't touch me. What am I? Your shadow.

*What is orange in color, green on top, and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.

*What is yours, yet mostly used by others? Your name.

*Give me a drink, and I will die. Feed me, and I'll get bigger. What am I? A fire.

*If you drop me, I'm sure to crack. Smile at me and I'll smile back. What am I? A mirror.

*Which question can you never answer "yes" to? "Are you asleep?"

*A cowgirl road into town on Friday. Three days later, she left on Friday. How is that possible? Friday is the name of her horse.

*I'm tall when I'm young. I'm short when I'm old. What am I? A candle.

*What's really easy to get into, and hard to get out of? Trouble.

*What has four fingers and a thumb but isn't alive? A glove.

*You cut me, slice me, dice me, and you cry. What am I? An onion.

*What kind of room has no doors or windows? A mushroom.

*What three-letter word is a mousetrap? Cat.

*Who always goes to sleep with his shoes on? A horse.

*What is full of holes holding water? A sponge.

*Where does Monday come before Sunday? In the dictionary.

*What flies all day and never goes anywhere? A flag.

*What goes uphill and downhill, and always stays in the same place? A road.

*What is the highest building in your city? The library has the most stories.

*What table has no legs to stand on? A multiplication table.

*What is too much for one, enough for two, but nothing at all for three? A secret.

*What is it that no one wants to have, but no one wants to lose, either? A lawsuit.

*I am always around but unseen. I am often avoided but never outrun. I could find you at the end of the road or even the next corner. What am I? Death.

*What gets harder to catch the faster you run? Your breath!

*I am an instrument whose music always comes from the heart. What am I? An organ!

*What travels on all fours in the morning, two legs at noon and three at twilight? A man as he grows from a crawling baby into an adult, and finally into an elder with a walking stick!

*What do you throw away yet keeps returning? A boomerang.

*What has neither nails nor bones, yet has four fingers and a thumb? A glove!

*The more you take away from me, the larger I grow. What am I? A hole!

*I have both a head and a tail, but no legs. What am I? A penny, of course.

*Two coins total $0.30. One of the coins is not a nickel. What are the two coins? A quarter and a nickel. The second coin is the nickel.

*There is an elephant and a refrigerator. How does the elephant go inside the refrigerator? Answer is open the door and put the elephant in the refrigerator.

*A pound of feathers or a pound of bowling balls. Which weighs more? None. They're one pound each.

*Which U.S. Presidents are not buried in the United States of America? The ones still living.

The Lowest Of The Low Employee

I dreamed last night I was in a division meeting at a publicly traded large tech company in Silicon Valley. The division consisted of three departments. Each department occupied a long table in the large meeting room. The CEO was present. The time of the meeting was early evening in the fall season. The economy was in a recession.

I was the lowest of the low employee in the division. I felt like fourth grade physical education. I was chosen last to be in a team. I took advantage of my position to speak up. I had nothing to lose. I told the truth. I spoke on the recession. I spoke on the low morale. I spoke on layoffs. I spoke on family finances. I spoke on many people ignoring the economic news of a recession. The CEO asked if there are any questions afterwards. One employee asked about the competition. The CEO asked if he needed to be polite. Employees said no. The CEO answered everyone is screwed. The end of the meeting another employee suggested ramen for a dinner gathering.

I survived the layoffs. How ironic some experienced employees were laid-off. Employees who tell the truth are most likely to be laid-off. Maybe my salary was too cheap.

Update On A Past Blog

Last night's dream included the conversation on layoffs. Be honest. There is a 99% chance an employee is replaceable. The 1% employees are the Michael Jordans, Tom Bradys, Meryl Streeps, and the Michael Jacksons. Specifically, there is a difference between replaceable and layoffs. An employee is replaceable. Undisputable. The question is, "Is the employee going to be laid-off?"

I wrote a blog Higher Priority Job Hiring And Higher Weight Job Hiring on Sep 10, 2017. An employee's complete package is the reason to hire which includes attitude, knowledge, experience, and professionalism. Any of the four examples missing the job candidate is disqualified. Similarly, the four examples apply to an employee's chances of being laid-off.

I wrote, "Artificial Intelligence eliminates more jobs as time moves forward, anyways." Companies can replace employees with artificial intelligence with a 98% accuracy. WarGames (1983) is a movie example of a computer making decisions WarGames (7/11) Movie CLIP - DEFCON 1 (1983) HD.

Life Lessons And Life Reminders

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

Life lessons from the Special Forces Rangers and Deltas mission in Mogadishu, Somalia in Africa take nothing for granted and one moment can change the narrative. A reminder on ceiling fan rotating direction. A reminder on home prices going up year after year. A reminder on cooking pancakes. If I needed a reason for missing newspapers, then it's fewer pics for pic blogs.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog May 2021

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The May month continues a quick 2021 year. We are in spring with one blink of an eye. Blink again. We are in summer. I got my second of two COVID-19 vaccines. I'm fully vaccinated on Wed Jun 2, 2021.

Tue May 4. San Francisco County was the first Bay Area county to enter the yellow tier in the State of California's Safer Economy COVID-19 color reopening tier. The yellow tier is the least restrictive tier out of the four colors yellow, orange, red, and purple.

The recall campaign for CA Governor Gavin Newsom began. The recall petition was certified.

Wed May 5. Renewed my auto insurance. Shopped at Target.

Fri May 7. 30 US states reported cases dropping. 33% of the US population are fully vaccinated. 45% of the US population received at least one dose.

Sat May 8. The first weather red flag warning. The warning started on Fri May 7 at 11pm. The warning ended on Mon May 10.

Mon May 10. The FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 12-15 for emergency use.

Wed May 12. The CDC approved the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 12-15.

San Mateo County entered the yellow tier.

Thur May 13. The CDC announced fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and most indoor settings. Masks are required in public transportation, hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters.

The US virus case numbers were the lowest since Sep 2020.

Governor Newsom announced fully vaccinated people wearing masks ends Tue Jun 15. The exception is large gatherings such as sports, festivals, and concerts.

Kids age 12-15 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Sat May 15. Health workers in Great Britain identified two variants in two towns in north England.

Movie theaters plan to lift all lockdown restrictions on Mon Jun 21.

Mon May 17. Retail stores Trader Joe's, Costco, and Wal-Mart announced mask mandates are dropped for fully vaccinated customers.

Tue May 18. Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County entered the yellow tier.

Wed May 19. I received the second of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. There were no lines at Levi's Stadium. I shopped at Costco afterwards. There were no lines at the cash registers. I got gas before I went home. Traffic was light like a weekend afternoon.

I watched the fourth quarter of the Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers play-in tournament game.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said cases in the US are decreasing.

Sun May 22. The delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan is scheduled even if a state of emergency is declared. The Olympics begin on Fri Jul 23 and ends in early Aug.

Sun May 23. The Oakland Coliseum mass vaccination site closed. 500,000 shots were administered.

Mon May 24. The US Government warned Americans not to travel to Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics officials said athletes, their families, and sporting officials are allowed.

Wed May 26. The CDC reported 50% of US adults are fully vaccinated.

I shopped at REI's Anniversary Sale. The number of customers was bigger than I anticipated for a Wed afternoon. There was a line to buy shoes because of social distancing.

Fri May 28. Quick errand at the bank. Early Christmas shopping at REI's Anniversary Sale.

Sat May 29. The Indianapolis 500 was the first major sports event with full attendance.

Sun May 30. Helped my dad shopped at The Home Depot. Crowds were small for a Sun afternoon.

Mon May 31. First heat advisory of 2021 for the Bay Area.

Let's Eat Or It's Time For Dinner

I remember my childhood mom says "let's eat" in the house. Everyone stops what they're doing. They walk to the dining room for a family dinner. No waiting for everyone. No wait one minute. Turn off the TV except for special TV shows. Place the bookmarker on the book reading or doing homework. Turn off the electronic. Dinner time is break time. Past family generations followed the rule dinner time is break time.

Times have changed. I admit I'm guilty I'm part of the change. Today's Information Age the attitudes are get it done now. Complete the assignment immediately. People are focused intently to complete the present assignment. People are focused intently to complete the task on hand. The assignment or task is anything such as writing reports, replying to emails, texting, programming, playing video games, watching TV, reading a book, sewing, painting, and cleaning. Five more minutes to finish the last paragraph. One more email reply. The programmer is too close to stop writing the function. The boss man is almost defeated. The episode is near the commercial. One more chapter. Let me wash the brushes first. The sink is still dirty. The excuses to delay coming to dinner are endless. The result is people eat dinner at different times, at different places, and maybe alone.

It's sad the Information Age disrupts the family time dinner time. The Information Age disrupts the family time meal time. Less family communication. Less family get together. Each family members has their own schedule. Dinner time is supposed to be break time. Dinner time is get together time. It's ironic break time can be good for the person for which after dinner the person may find a better way to complete the assignment or task.

The Real Life Match Game

Today I want to talk about match. *insert bad joke* I'm not talking about the Excel MATCH() function which finds the location of a string or number in an array. *insert another bad joke* I'm not talking about The Match Game TV game show past and present. I'm talking about match relationships. Relationships are everything. Relationships are between people, places, and things. Matches are between people, places, and things.

Is there a match between one person and another person professionally, among friends, dating, and with family? Nobody gets along with everyone. If everyone gets along with everyone, then there's no need for attorneys. One person is not for everyone. One person may be a top 1% in the world. The person is good, strong, smart, experienced, and smiles; however, the one person is not a match for another person. It's nobody's fault. There's nothing to be ashamed the good person can't get along with another person. Different folks for different strokes.

Likewise a person matches with places. A person matches with cold weather cities. Another person matches with warm weather cities. A person matches with big cities. Another person matches with small towns. A person matches with beaches. Another person matches with forests.

Finally, a person matches with things. A person matches with computers. Another person matches with collecting shoes. A person matches with books on print. Another person matches with books on a tablet. A person matches on fixing cars. Another person matches with sewing. A person matches with traveling. Another person matches with wood working.

There Are Exceptions

There are people who match with 99% of other people. These people possess natural charisma, strength, intelligence, beauty, wisdom, charm, and kindness. These people have strong self-esteem, strong self-confidence, and pure self-responsibility. These people communicate well with proper words everyone pays attention. These people are professionals. Most of these people are not celebrities. Celebrity examples who match with 99% of other people are George Clooney, the late President Ronald Regan, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Richard Branson, and President Bill Clinton in my opinion. Most 99% of other people non-celebrity are humble. Personally, I'm doing my best to model these 99% of other people. I don't have natural beauty. My communication skills are almost professional. I do my best to match as many characteristics as these exceptional 99% of other people.

Update On A Past Blog

I have been waking up at 8:00am instead of 10:00am consistently. The earlier wake-up reminded me of the blog My Two Grandfathers on Jul 3, 2018. My two grandfathers woke up early consistently. My grandfather on my dad's side owned a restaurant. He maintained early to bed and early to rise daily schedule. My grandfather on my mom's side woke up early to take care of his mother who lived a long time in a nursing home after suffering a stroke. The immediate benefits of my new sleep schedule include learning new job skills and job searching immediately after breakfast, eating my meals at a normal time, and sleeping at a normal time. I continue the early to bed and early to rise to prepare for my next job. A common life wisdom is, "The early bird gets the worm."

The Green Steno Notebook 2

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

*Sep 2009. I have an above average long term memory. I share some of my past memories:

Sep 1985: I purchased a cinnamon roll in junior high school for $.30.
Summer 1989: I watched Will Clark hit his first career grand slam at Candlestick Park San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies.
Summer 1996: I watched Sailor Moon which introduced me to Japanese Anime.
Sep 2004: I cosplayed for the first time. My cosplay was Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist.
May 2007: I purchased my first car 2005 Toyota Camry.
Fall 1997 and Summer 2009: I watched Titanic twice and UP! twice, respectively, in the movie theaters.
Oct 2008: I read The Choice by Nicholas Sparks which was my first fiction book I read in decades.
Winter 2009: I learned the Fox Trot my first ballroom dance lesson.

*Nov 2009. I created a Twitter account @ININ61 at Monsieur Beans in the Willow Glen neighborhood in San Jose, CA. It was my first time I connected my laptop to a WiFi network outside my home.

*Dec 2009. Police officers and sales people are the best sources for good restaurants. There was an article on best places for breakfast. The list included the following: Lloyd's Donut Kitchen, Country Way, Dino's Family, Queen Donuts, Flames, Country Inn, Jim's Country Style Restaurant, Bill's Cafe, Holder's Country Inn, Greenlee's Bakery, Cafe Rosalena, Santa Cruz Diner, Heavenly Cafe, Sunrise Cafe, and Red Apple.

*Early 2010. I remember watching a movie a donut machine making donuts continuously. The name of the movie is The Donuts released in 1963. The main character's name is Homer. Click The Donuts for the IMDB information.

*Mar 2010. I asked myself the question, "Where are the anime fans in the 1990s?"

*Apr 2010. I believe the following below:

*Have nothing, do nothing, get nothing, be nothing, and people treat you like nothing. Never be a nobody.
*Life is really not that bad. Skip a night watching the news on TV. You may feel better. If you feel better, skip more nights watching the news on TV.
*Curses are meant to be broken.
*Redemption is one of the best ways to learn anything--to learn from your mistakes.
*"I believe" is a great conversation starter.
*Education is not always the answer.

*Apr 2010. Say you have 20 people. Split into groups of four or five. Each group eats at a different restaurant such as Thai, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, or American. It's like a seminar split into smaller groups which satisfies people who prefer small groups. Smaller groups are easier to get to know each other.

*Aug 2010. Cook green beans in two batches in a smaller pot. Cook bok choy in three batches. I wrote the two sentences in Aug 2010. It took me years later to follow through.

*Aug 2010. The standard biological sex symbol for male is the Mars symbol ♂ representing a shield and spear and for female is the Venus symbol ♀ representing a bronze mirror with a handle. Wiki source Gender symbol.

*Oct 2010. Websites Shirt.Woot, Black Friday, Reddit, and Las Vegas Gold Star to find last minute good deals.

*Oct 2010. Watch Love Actually. I actually watched the move in Nov 2011.

*Oct 2010. A rhetorical question is a question asked for effect which neither expects nor require an answer. In other words, don't answer a rhetorical question.

*Dec 2010. My friend Appu told me to watch YouTube tutorials. I followed his advice starting in Jul 2014. Some of the tutorials I watched were Excel, SQL, Python, HTML5, and electricity.

*Dec 2010. Pour milk little by little in a cereal bowl to keep the cereal crunchy.

*Jan 2011. Windows 7. Press the Windows key and the number button together to open the program pinned on the taskbar.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: Cities, Downtowns, Stores, Parties Meet People

Blogger’s Note: SOMT stands for Sign Of My Times, an occasional blog sharing my thoughts how time changes life from when I was young to today.

I watched the movie "American Graffiti" on Sat Nov 5. Good movie. The movie was ranked #77 in the American Film Industry's Top 100 Movies of all time 1997 list. The movie is about two high school grads spend one final night together cruising the local town.

My favorite part of the movie was everyone being outdoors. The characters were outside seeking adventures and experiencing new experiences in town. Meet new people, share laughs, cry, be honest, and finding oneself. My generation's youth we spent time outdoors. We met new people. We cruised cities, downtowns, and roads. Also, we met new people indoors such as malls and parties.

My youth leisure was being active. We were physically doing something. We brought ourselves out there to be seen. We brought ourselves out there to see new people. We brought ourselves out there with our friends to strengthen our friendships. We made phone calls on landlines to organize the day's activities.

More youths are on the computer today. More youths are on the internet. More youths are on their cell phone. Cell phones and the internet are great to organize gatherings. Meeting people indoors such as parties and gatherings is acceptable. The bottom line is don't isolate yourself. Don't be anti-social. Spend time outdoors. Get up and do something, anything. The best way to meet new people is still the old fashion way. Get out there.

In addition, I follow my advice. I'm a man of my blogs. I begin attracting new people indoors and outdoors when I find my own nest.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Why Do We Have Hobbies?

One common answer is leisure. Hobbies are a way to relax. Hobbies help people take a break. My answer is better. We have hobbies to meet new people. Like hobbies bring people together. Sometimes friendships are formed. The internet makes finding new people easier searching for groups with the same hobbies.

One warning regarding friendships based on hobbies. I'm blogging from my experience. Sometimes these formed friendships are long-term. There are times the friendships stall. The friendships become stale. There's nothing new. The honeymoon period is over. A group of friends continue doing the same activities when they're together. The hobbies which brought them together lost the excitement. My advice is being dynamic. It's time to leave the comfort zone. Find the courage doing something new. Every person knows each other well. Take the next step. Find new adventures. Seek new experiences. The friendships become closer, stronger, and more exciting.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

My Thoughts On Boring

I'm breaking one of my daily rules which is comparing myself with others. I live a life not being bored. There's always something to do. I do my best to live a dynamic life. I avoid living a routine schedule. Doing nothing is not one of my leisure activities. My life is different every day. I'm hungry for new adventures and new experiences. I compare myself living a boring life. Today's blog I live a boring life.

I realized there are advantages living a boring life. I have plenty of money in my bank account for emergencies. If my car's transmission failed or the radiator leaked, then I have the money to hire an auto mechanic. If my home's septic tank is clogged, then I have the money to hire a plumber.

My meals are plain. I eat cereal for breakfast. My lunch or dinner is like steak and potatoes. My meal isn't fancy. I have a meal. I eat fruits and vegetables, too. I plan ahead the meals I eat. I don't choose my breakfast, lunch, and dinner spontaneously.

My home is either non-materialistic empty or hording full. I can keep the house clean and healthy or dirty and dusty. There is nothing modern. Every doors, sinks, showers, light fixtures, and toilets are the originals. There are no upgrades or replacements. Maybe the walls need a paint touch up. The bottom line is I have shelter.

I make the best of anything leisure at home. I don't need cable. There are plenty of television stations even though some shows are reruns from the 1980s. I have internet. I have free time YouTube surfing. I find books to read at the local library. Likely my friends are boring like me the activities we engage are quiet. We get along well we hide our differences. We avoid arguments. There is no friendship drama. Some people say we're socially awkward.

My weekly schedule is set. I know what do to. The surprises are minimized. I work five days a week. I relax two days a week. I wake up at a set time. I sleep at a set time; moreover, my boring life allows me to sleep eight hours resting my body and my mind. I set aside days for errands. I set aside free days for personal events. I'm comfortable knowing what I'm going to do. Everything is mostly the same. There is no worry nothing bad happens. My routine is my happiness.

There is no reason to live outside my comfort zone. I don't need to visit Europe. I don't need to skydive. Food is food. I'm a picky eater. I have no interest trying new foods. The majority of my shopping is at Costco. I accept buying the same goods. The deals are better than the supermarkets. The world is complex. Daily life outside my house is complicated. I avoid complications and conflicts. I'm at peace living inside my world. I don't want to work too hard. I don't want to rock the boat.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

2014 Ends With Gifts, Foods, And Wine

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

Reliable internet and take & bake pizza are important during rainy storms. The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is a great tree taller than a five pound gummy bear. I’m not going to drink Coke eating a Steakloaf. We drink cheap wine playing the Tuscany board game set. Thank you Gaming PC for six years of service.





















Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

How Do I Self-Improve My Entire Self Inside And Outside Top To Bottom?

Blogger's Note: Today's blog I ask myself questions. I post at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar blogs.

I blog how to improve myself. I blog getting stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser. I blog being responsible. I blog earn your successes. Don't take life for granted. Always meet new people and make new friends. Find new adventures. Experience new experiences. Never stop improving life. Never stop innovating. I ask questions questioning some of the blogs I have written those themes above. I have few answers. How can I practice what I preach with quicker and/or better results? I give myself a B- grade practicing my preaching. I want to raise the grade to a B+. Then I raise the grade to an A.

I imagine myself I'm with a group of people in a social situation. The situation can also be a professional meeting, a training seminar, or a family gathering. And the situation can be small and brief such as waiting in line at the grocery store or small talking the bank teller.

How do I improve my strength, appearance, confidence, charisma, kindness, and sincerity in any social situation? How do I get stronger? How do I look handsome? How do I communicate my gentlemen side? How do I attract more people? How do I share the goodness from my heart? Also, do I know I'm a good person? And how do I show I'm a legitimate person? There's no acting. People look at me for the first time thinking I'm the person they want in my life. I believe the older I get, the more handsome I become. I must be doing something correctly. My better look is related to my increased maturity. How is my self-awareness being myself telling me I'm being a good person? I could be a jerk not knowing it. I could break etiquette rules without my knowledge. I hope my conscious and my awareness are sharp to tell myself I must make improvements and corrections.

What do I offer with a group of people today? A good conversationalist. I enjoy conversations getting to know other people, learning, and sharing experiences. Trust. There's no faking. I communicate the Raymond Mar inside and Raymond Mar outside. I believe being true towards others is a strength. I don't need to be somebody else. How do I improve? How do I communicate a good vibe from me to others? It's like my presence is in a room of people. There's a good aura coming out of me other people feel. The feeling is having people talk about me in a positive way. The feeling is other people want to be with me.

Can I Do Better?

I stay active never being bored. I read books. I work out at the gym. I minimize watching TV. I listen to a variety of music such as classic rock, classical, and classic jazz. I cook healthy meals. I minimize eating out. I listen to four podcasts to acquire new knowledge. I completed training being a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and I continue my disaster training. I play board games. I'm open to try something new. I started a new theme this year for which I continue indefinitely. The new theme is do something out of my comfort zone.

My final thought is when I'm in a jam, I trust my intuition. My intuition saves me in an awkward social situation. Smile and listen.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Work Fri Dec 5, 2014

Mon Dec 1: It seemed some commuters were late to work after the Thanksgiving weekend. A car blocked my driver side mirror when I slowly moved forward continuously in the merging late of the expressway. I don't have a free entry path.

I felt tired during my first hours. The reason was my attitude. I wanted the weekend now. I needed more rest. I wanted to sleep. I didn't get the necessary rest during the holiday. The additional rest never happened. Some of the circumstances were beyond my control. Regardless, I must be professional. I started working on an assignment I started on my second week. My engineer told me to complete it.

I wore a single pair of socks with my dress casual shoes. I had been wearing two pairs of socks because my socks were thin. My feet felt more relaxed.

There were lots of cars in the parking lot when I walked back to my car. It seemed many full time employees arrived to work late.

Tue Dec 2: The rain arrived in the morning. It was the second day it rained during my commute. I used my umbrella from my car to my building. I dried my umbrella in my cubicle.

My engineer was sick. He worked from home. I continued the assignment I started yesterday.

I went out to lunch with a component engineer. We ate at a Chinese restaurant. Some of the conversations included our past careers, family, Thanksgiving, and the company.

I picked up a package at the front end. I purchased an item at Amazon a week before Black Friday. I used my company's mailing address to ship my package instead of my home address. I showed my badge to the front end staff. The staffer found my package from the stack. I walked to my car to drop off my package in my trunk.

Wed Dec 3: My engineer was sick again. He worked from home.

I took a 30 minute lunch because I arrived to work at 8:30am. The week had been little productivity. However, the time went by fast. I completed 50% of the assignment I started Mon.

There was a Happy Hour Decorate The Floor Christmas party for the Operations Department. There were snacks, crackers, cookies, and wine. I wanted to mingle with people to get to know everyone better. It never happened. I felt lost. I felt nobody wanted to get to know me. I felt intimidated. Thank goodness there was a making your own Christmas stocking in a meeting room. I made a stocking using paint to draw my name and draw a snowman.

I participated in past Christmas parties in a workplace. I expected my company to be different where everyone socialized. It never happened. The outcome was the same in past parties. Some people participated. Some people partially participated. Some people didn't care. The most active people were the ones near the senior manager and vice president's offices. It was the wine doing all the talking.

The floor was warm. I sweated throughout the afternoon including the party. I took off my long sleeve shirt.

Thur Dec 4: My engineer was sick again.

I checked the thermostat when I arrived at work because of yesterday's warm air. I lowered the thermostat from 72 degrees to 70 degrees.

I asked the component engineer questions on the supply database. He gave me tips reading some of codes. Very useful information.

I went to the company gym after work.

Fri Dec 5: My engineer worked from home continuing his recovery.

I donated $10 to the Second Harvest Food Bank. The company collected donations from all the workers.

I completed my assignment I started Mon. I had free time 45 minutes before the end of my work day. I checked my personal emails.

A company email was sent to the full time workers. The email told them to leave work before 4pm because there was a major sporting event nearby. Security monitored the parking lots. One of the exits was closed. I was informed of the company email from a full time co-worker.

I went to the company gym after work. I small talked with a worker who went to the lab to continue working in the elevator going down. He said working late Fri is better than waiting in line for bread.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

What Tiredness Are You?

There are five types of fatigueness that requires rest and recovery. They are physically, mentally or intellectually, emotionally, financially, or spiritually. We rest and recover physically when we sleep at night for the most part. A common knowledge regarding the office workforce is walking during lunch hour. The reason is to rest and recover mentally from the morning's work. Another common knowledge is taking a nap in the afternoon. The reason is the same.

Recovering emotionally happens when we exerted big emotions during a moment. The examples include playing your favorite board game for extended hours, rooting for your favorite sports team, and cheering your sons or daughters at any activity. The best way to rest and recover financially is stop spending money. There are moments we spend lots of money at an event or a shopping spree. Back to school, Christmas holiday, upgrading furniture, and buying souvenirs on vacation are good examples requiring rest and recover financially. Indulge something fun to recovery spiritually. Do something out of the ordinary as long as it's safe.

There was a moment I was tired mentally. I worked a Sun shift. The store was open for five hours. I worked five hours straight. I went to the gym in the evening because I wasn't tired physically. Working out at the gym requires very little mental thinking.

Identify what you need to rest and recover the next time you feel tired anytime in the day. Distractions are a great way to shift your focus. Choose the following what you need to take a break: physically, mentally or intellectually, emotionally, financially, or spiritually.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com