New Sights And New Experiences

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

I was lucky I got a free bottle water using my intuition. New Mahjong sights a portable automatic table and English translation Japanese Riichi tiles. Another new sight was apartments and industrial buildings by the bay water. Also, I saw 116 minutes from the home dishwasher for the first time. All workers should read The Peter Principle to minimize incompetence and to maximize worker habits. The family ate at a new Chinese restaurant for the first time for which the inside included a big picture.

Remember These Lessons From These Pics

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

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

Stupidity Stress In 1998

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

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

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

Update On A Past Blog

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

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

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

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

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

2025 Year In Review

The five nominations and their explanations for the moment of the year.

1. December 2025 Depression. A depression caused by the Christmas holiday beyond my control and self-imposed. Life lessons learned. New experiences acquired. I blogged Good Way Depression And Bad Way Depression on Jan 6, 2026. Eat well. Sleep well. Stay busy. There's no excuse to be a jerk. Keep going. Move forward.

2. New Webhost Provider. My previous webhosting provider falsely accused me of using too much bandwidth. I found a new provider. I include rewriting my webpage code.

3. Physical Fitness. I combined all the positive and negative physical fitness. The positives were I jogged 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles for the first time. I jogged wearing Hoka shoes for the first time. The Hoka was Bondi 9. I wore a running cap and arm sleeves for the first time.

The negatives were bicep tendonitis and tricep tendonitis on my left arm. The tricep tendonitis is cured. The bicep tendonitis is present. I treat with massages and stretches. My strength training is modified. I wear a left elbow sleeve to maintain my left arm downwards while jogging.

4. Portal 2. The video game nomination for 2025. Is Portal 2 the greatest video game of all time?

5. Riichi Mahjong. I promoted myself as an advanced player. I played at a board game cafe, food hall, and a gaming hall for the first time. I played on Riichi City.

Explanation: I expect the December 2025 Depression to be referenced the next time I'm depressed. The New Webhost Provider ended the five days a week post Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology; for example, I stopped learning WordPress. The Physical Fitness injuries were the first time I experienced non-short-term injuries. The tendonitis has lasted months dating back to Nov 2025. Portal 2 is not a moment of the year.

Riichi Mahjong is the remaining moment. Many people say a tabletop game is not a moment of the year. Fair statement. The rise is huge from intermediate to advanced. Reading books and rewriting my .pdf file Riichi Hands must be recognized.

What Won: Riichi Mahjong.

What Should Have Won: Riichi Mahjong.

My Thoughts On The Winning Moment: Many people say 2025 should be no winning moment. Fair statement. Riichi Mahjong moment took advantage of weak competition. Depression is a no. Webmasters change webhosting providers daily. No more Physical Fitness or gym workouts to win. Video games don't win.

2025 Letter Grade: C+. 2025 was a lower qualitative life. I could write home these five highlights. I didn't expect the home to respond. Also, I didn't expect the home to celebrate with a party. On the other hand, comparing the boring year 2024 and 2025, 2025 was more exciting than 2024 even though the 2025 letter grade is one-third lower.

Past Moments Of The Years And Its Letter Grades

2024: Analytics Research Technology. Grade B-.
2023: Physical fitness. Grade B+.
2022: Wallstreet Bets. Grade B.
2021: Wallstreet Bets. Grade B.
2020: First responders, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. Grade B.
2019: Consistent gym workouts. Grade C+.
2018: Consistent gym workouts. Grade C-.
2017: O'Connor Hospital. Grade D.

The Last Best Year 1999 Or 2007?

I'm an unprofessional anthropologist. I'm an unprofessional historian. I unprofessionally answer the question is either 1999 or 2007 the last best year? Here is a quick history of 1999 and 2007.

1999: NASA launched the Mars Polar Lander, President Bill Clinton was not convicted of impeachment, Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl, a hot air balloon circumnavigated planet Earth, Shakespeare In Love won Best Picture, the Melissa worm attacked the internet, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 and 11,000 for the first time, Kosovo War ended, Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, Napster was created, USA defeated China in the FIFA Women's World Cup, multiple earthquakes in Turkey, New York Yankees won the World Series, Exxon and Mobile merged, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned.

2007: iPhone debuted, Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl, Virginia Tech shooting killed 32 students, Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the USA House of Representatives, British Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned, Bob Barker retired as host of The Price Is Right, European heat wave, The Departed won Best Picture, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13,000 and 14,000 for the first time, San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds became the all time home runs leader, Southern California wildfires destroyed 1,600 structures, Boston Red Sox won the World Series, and Writers Guild Of America went on strike.

A criteria for the last best year is the highest number of winners. Success is maximized. The winners and the success are measured on a global scale. The chances people become instant winners are high just by participating. People apply for jobs, interview for jobs, and hire for jobs. Colleges accept many students. There are plenty of acceptances to programs. Consumers purchase homes, cars, and long-term durable goods. Banks give loans to entrepreneurs.

More opportunities. More openings. High enrollments. There are plenty of pie slices for everyone. Spend here, invest there, and gamble or bet on the opportunity. Reduce savings to earn more money. Money is plentiful attributed to the central banks such as the Federal Reserve, Bank Of England, Bank Of Japan, Bank Of Canada, European Central Bank, People's Bank of China, and the World Bank.

The above happened in both 1999 and 2007. An economic catastrophe happened their following years. The dot-com bubble burst in 2000 resulted in a recession. The real estate bubble burst in 2008 resulted in The Great Recession. Maybe 2019 was the last best year. The COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 resulted in a recession and an inflation.

What is the last best year for the world? There are multiple answers and explanations because they depend on the perspectives.

Update On A Past Blog

I want to add two more bad advice, bad lessons, or bad teachings to the Top Ten Bad Advice, Bad Lessons, Or Bad Teachings blog written on Wed Feb 4, 2026. The first is calling out my parents. I connect the dots backwards as I age. I acquire more knowledge, more wisdom, and more experience. The three convince me my parents gave me bad advice, bad lessons, or bad teachings. Do they mean well for which they didn't want me to be a bad adult? Yes. Do they try to be the best parents they can be? No. I forgave them decades ago on the day I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008.

The second is learning Riichi or Japanese Mahjong. I quit learning Riichi in 2007. I'm lucky I relearned Riichi in 2009. The reasons I quit Riichi in 2007 were bad lessons and bad resources. The books I read were terrible. The online resources were confusing. Fortunately, there are more good books and better online resources today. I consider myself an advanced level Riichi player.

I Quit Reading A Book

I want to blog a recent event. I stopped reading a book. The reason why I blog quit reading a book is people quit something. Quitting is acceptable. Quitting is a judgement choice. Sometimes quitting is the correct choice. Sometimes quitting is the incorrect choice. Take responsibility making the correct choice or the incorrect choice to quit.

The book I stopped reading is The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold at page 150. There are people who enjoyed the book. I recognize their positive opinions. The book is not for me. I also stopped reading Pattern Recognition by William Gibson decades ago. I read one chapter. I never read the rest of Pattern Recognition. I finished reading the following books I should have quit reading: The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame, King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green, The Adventures Of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green, Up In The Air by Walter Kirn, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, and The Rescuers by Margery Sharp.

I also finished reading for which I should have quit reading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. The Disney movie is great. The movie is one of my all time favorites. The adaption is fantastic. The book writing style is boring for me.

Riichi Mahjong

I learned Riichi Mahjong in 2007. I quit learning because it was too hard. A friend challenged me and another friend to learn Riichi Mahjong in 2009. We accepted the one week challenge. I have been playing since 2009. I blame poor resources, low motivation, read a poorly written Mahjong book, and no support for quitting in 2007. I corrected my mistakes when I relearned Riichi Mahjong in 2009.

Sometimes there are second chances after quitting the first time.

Review Mistake Number 14

It's okay to quit is top mistake number 14 "Mistake 14: Quit When It's Not Going Well" from my Finding Raymond Mar blog Top Mistakes Part 5 written on Apr 25, 2012. Top Mistakes The Final Part written on Aug 5, 2012 summarizes my top 18 mistakes plus the final top three mistakes for a total of top 21 mistakes.

Update On A Past Blog

I want to mention the Get Back blog written on Jul 13, 2011 as another growing up blog. I wrote an unofficial official growing up blog I Grew Up The Changes Were Immediate Growing Up On Sat Oct 4, 2008 Grow Up on Jan 20, 2026. The Get Back blog mentioned I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008, the change in clothes, the change in physical workouts, and reading fiction books. Specifically, no more dress shirts, slacks, hiking shoes, and SWAT police boots for casual events. I wrote the last paragraph, "I have a better understanding why some successful people who experience a slump or setback revisit their roots. The roots, the core values, the early successes are what made successful people the best they are. It can be people forgot something and they needed to go back and remember the past."

Top Ten Plus Five Equals Top Fifteen Moments From Oct 2013 To Aug 2019

Common life wisdoms. Learn from mistakes. Get better. Moments define us. We learn from moments. We grow from moments.

I'm proud no mistakes are repeated between the dates. Something good happened. These 15 moments are good moments and bad moments. There are life pains. There was a literal life pain in Apr 2017. 2016 was the fastest year. 2018 was the unluckiest year. Aug 2019 was the last time daily melancholy stopped. Patience and hard work paid off.

Here are the top ten plus five equals top fifteen moments from Oct 2013 to Aug 2019.

15. The Worst Day Of My Life (Sep 2014). There was a company located in Palo Alto, CA I worked for two days. The business activity was border line illegal. I felt sorry for the uneducated and the unfortunate who needed the job for income.

14. The Golden State Warriors Won The 2015 NBA Finals (Jun 16, 2015). I was less than one year old when the Warriors won the 1975 NBA Finals. It felt good the Warriors won a championship as a conscious awareness human.

13. Breaking Bad (Dec 2012-Dec 2014). My all-time favorite television series. The show is number one in the IMDb Top 250 TV Shows.

12. Pacific Mahjong League (Mar 2015-Feb 2019) and South Bay Mahjong (Aug 2015-Aug 2019 continue). Shoutouts to the Mahjong groups playing Hong Kong and Riichi styles. I include a Riichi self-promotion to intermediate level in 2017. The South Bay Mahjong continues past Aug 2019.

11. South Bay Job Search Network (Oct 14, 2013). I joined a local job networking group. Their experiences and their knowledge helped me get a job in Nov 2013. I used their information to improve my job search. They inspired me to continue learning new job skills and to continue reviewing my existing job skills. Joining the CSIX job networking group is included in the moment.

I include all job interviews in moment number 11. If you want me to share job interview stories, then we eat either lunch or dinner. Coffee is too short.

10. Steve Jobs (Feb 26, 2016). I read the late Jobs' biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Steve Jobs is my all-time favorite book. Lessons learned. Wisdom acquired. Click Steve Jobs Compilation Blog I wrote on Aug 12, 2020 to read my past Steve Jobs blogs.

9. Artisan Wine Depot (Nov 2013-Sep 2014) and Palo Alto Networks (Nov 2014-May 2015). I combine these two companies which failed to strengthen my resume. The experiences from the mistakes and the politics inapplicable on a resume were greater than the work experience itself.

8. Joaquin Miller Park (Oct 6, 2018). A friend recommended hiking at Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland, CA hills. I include the four hikes at the end of 2019. There were the San Pedro Valley Park And McNee Ranch State Park in Pacifica, CA in Aug 2019, another Joaquin Miller in Oct 2019, Castle Rock State Park in Nov 2019, and Mission Peak in Dec 2019.

7. Mission Peak (Sep 2015, Sep 2016, and Feb 2017). The Mission Peak moments receive a separate entry. I hiked the Hidden Valley trail ascending to the 2,517 feet elevation peak. Mission Peak is located in Fremont, CA.

6. Zion National Park (Oct 3-4, 2015 and Sep 16-17, 2016). My cousin organized the two visits to Zion National Park. My first time visiting Utah. My first time in the Mountain Time Zone. My first time camping. My first time backpacking.

5. Retired From Japanese Anime (Sep 20, 2014). Anime gave me experiences, adventures, lessons learned, and fun memories. It was time to move on. New priorities. New choices. Click Top Ten My All Time Favorite Anime Series I wrote on Sep 20, 2014 to read my all-time favorite anime series. Full Metal Alchemist is my all-time favorite anime series.

4. New Webpage Design (Jun 29, 2016). The 2015 and 2016 job training inspired me to redesign my webpage using Sublime Text, relearning HTML, learning JavaScript, and learning CSS.

3. The Real Job Training (Oct-Nov 2014 and May 2015-Aug 2019 continue). The skills include Power BI, R-Studio, Excel, Python, and SQL. YouTube videos, online education, books, articles, and online posts are my learning sources. My self job training continues past Aug 2019.

2. Restaurant Closed On Tuesdays (Tue Dec 4, 2018). It was the first time I saw a restaurant closed on Tuesdays. Not Mondays. Tuesdays. The event summed up year 2018. Bad luck. Bad timing. Misfortunes. Missed chances. Missed opportunities.

1. O'Connor Hospital (Apr 2-Apr 6, 2017). I was admitted as an in-patient requiring two surgeries. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. The doctors diagnosed me with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I wrote the blog Top Ten Daily Changes After O'Connor Hospital on Oct 21, 2017. I changed number seven New Jobs Search Schedule to one day from Mon to Sat.

Read Books To Learn Different Wisdom

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

Different wisdom perspectives: You don't need to learn every day, nothing is possible, take and take the opportunity, and quitting or stopping may be the best choice. Ring Security owners a reminder the motion sensor slides up and down from the wall mount. Lowe's sells working gloves. The Riichi junk mat can be used for other Mahjong styles. Blame management for JoAnn Fabrics' bankruptcy. It's okay to spoil oneself for soft serve ice cream.

Top 50 Most Memorable Moments

Number 50. 50 years on planet Earth. A life milestone. Life can be better. Life can be worse. We do the best. I do my best. These top 50 are the moments from when I was born to my 50th birthday. Each person is responsible to live a memorable life. Here are the Top 50 Most Memorable Moments:

50. My Boss Was Fired (Sep 2002). Officially, she found another job. Unofficially, she was fired. The reasons were incompetence and doing nothing. Lesson learned: have nothing, do nothing, get nothing, be nothing, and people treat you like nothing. Never be a nobody.

49. The Golden State Warriors Won The 2015 NBA Finals (Jun 16, 2015). I was less than one year old when the Warriors won the 1975 NBA Finals. It felt good the Warriors won a championship as a conscious awareness human.

48. Neverland Album By Nirvana (Aug 1, 2025). I can't explain why it took me decades to listen to the album. There are some songs I didn't realize Nirvana sang from other medias.

47. Bonchon (Jan 27, 2021). I ate Korean fried chicken for the first time. The fried chicken is fried twice.

46. Team Fortress 2 And Final Fantasy VI-VIII (Oct 21, 2007, Dec 20, 2020, Aug 9, 2021, and Feb 2, 2022). Team Fortress 2 was my first video game I played online with other players. I took advantage of the COVID-19 global pandemic to play classic Final Fantasy games. VI is my favorite out of the three Final Fantasy games.

45. Witnessed An Eviction (Mar 6, 2024). I helped a family friend evict a tenant who took advantage of the COVID-19 global pandemic eviction moratorium living rent free without paying back rent. Lesson learned: it's coming--give it time. Everything happens in time.

44. Riichi Mahjong (Oct 2009). I played Japanese Mahjong Riichi for the first time in summer 2007. I hated it. I quit. I accepted a challenge from a friend to relearn Riichi. I accepted. Mahjong is one of my all-time favorite table top games. I also play Hong Kong and Taiwanese styles.

43. Moby-Dick By Herman Melville (Oct 17, 2023). The last three chapters are the best last three chapters I have ever read. I understand all the jokes and references from other medias.

42. Breaking Bad (Dec 2012-Dec 2014). My all-time favorite television series. The show is number one in the IMDb Top 250 TV Shows.

41. Harry Potter By J.K. Rowling (Sep 2019-Mar 2020). I can't explain why it took me decades to read a modern classic. I read the books two more times during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Harry Potter is my favorite character. Gryffindor is my house. My favorite volume is either Year 5 The Order Of The Phoenix or Year 7 The Deathly Hallows.

40. Classic Rock Music (Sep 2005). I was introduced to the local classic rock station 98.5 KFOX. The station saved me from driving without music. I lost interest in pop music. Classic rock is one of my favorite music today. The Beatles is my favorite band.

39. Rent A DVD From The De Anza College Library (Oct 2010-Mar 2011). I rented one DVD a week for my movie of the week. Almost all of the movies I rented were from the American Film Institute's Top 100 Movies 1997 edition. Some of the movies I rented include King Kong, Singin' in the Rain, Midnight Cowboy, Vertigo, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

38. Las Vegas 2004 (Dec 13-15, 2004). My friend from Washington and I met in Las Vegas. Both of us won money at the Luxor casino playing craps and playing the camel race machine. We visited Fremont Street where we played limit poker at Binion's. The casinos we stayed overnight were Paris Las Vegas and Bellagio. The Bellagio is my all-time favorite hotel and casino.

37. Oregon Trip (Nov 16-20, 2005). My parents, uncle, aunt, and I drove from the Bay Area to Oregon for a road trip. We visited Portland, Salem, and Multnomah Falls. Shopping, sightseeing, and real estate were our top activities. I won $100 at an Indian gaming casino along Interstate 5.

36. Anime Expo 2006 (Jul 1-4, 2006). Best Anime Expo I attended. Some of the highlights included the guest of honor CLAMP, cosplay gatherings, meeting new people, and sneaking in the dealer's room without lining up. It was the last year Anime Expo was held at the Anaheim Convention Center.

35. South Bay Job Search Network (Oct 14, 2013). I joined a local job networking group. Their experiences and their knowledge helped me get a job in Nov 2013. I used their information to improve my job search. They inspired me to continue learning new job skills and to continue reviewing my existing job skills. Joining the CSIX job networking group is included in the moment.

34. Steve Jobs And Stephen Hawking (Feb 26, 2016 and May 25, 2022). I read the late Jobs' biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and the late Hawking's A Brief History Of Time. Two geniuses. Steve Jobs is my all-time favorite book. Lessons are learned. Wisdom acquired.

33. Paul McCartney Up And Coming Tour (Jul 10, 2010). I missed the opportunity to see Paul McCartney at the HP Pavilion in 2005. I wasn't making the same mistake twice. I saw Paul McCartney at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Great concert. He played for almost three hours.

32. Podcasts (Various Dates). I listen to 99% Invisible, Awesome Etiquette, Damon Bruce: Plus, Freakonomics, Lex Fridman, MuggleCast, Sex With Emily, Stuff You Should Know, The Dave Ross Commentary, and The Problem With Jon Stewart. My current events podcasts are 60 Minutes and Nightline. My retired podcasts are Car Talk and NBC Sports Bay Area Happy Hour.

31. Artisan Wine Depot (Nov 2013-Sep 2014). My first start-up company I worked. My second retail company. Great business idea selling high-end wine at discount prices.

30. Palo Alto Networks (Nov 2014-May 2015). It was nice going back to a tech company. The timing was good I earned money for the 2014 Christmas Holiday. The experiences from the mistakes and the politics were greater than the work experienced itself.

29. New Laptops And New Desktops (Various Dates). My first laptop was the Dell 8600 Inspiron in Feb 2005. My second laptop was the HP Compaq 8510p in Jul 2008. My third laptop was the HP Spectre in Nov 2019. I built my first desktop in Jan 2009. I built my second desktop in Jan 2020.

28. My Bible (Aug 7, 2012). I created my bible from past blogs. My bible reminds me who I am, my strengths, and my lessons learned from my mistakes. I say with high confidence I am who I am today reading the bible: stronger, smarter, kinder, wiser, confident, and having faith in myself.

27. My Blogs (Aug 4, 2005 and Sep 2, 2008). I created two blogs. The first blog is Innovating Common Knowledge. Innovating Common Knowledge innovates life's common knowledge. My second blog is Finding Raymond Mar. Finding Raymond Mar is my personal blog for which I blog anything without restrictions.

26. The Perfect Semester At San Jose State University (Fall 1996). I attended classes on Tue and Thur. I learned how to write. 3.64 semester GPA. I mastered the shooting arcade game Area 51. I worked part-time at Blockbuster Video. I lost weight. I began listening to music while I studied.

25. Washington Canada 2005 (Aug 27-Sep 4, 2005). I visited my Washington friend in his home state for the first time. It was my first time in Washington. It was my first time in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Some of my highlights included visiting the Space Needle, winning money at an Indian casino, shopping for used books, visiting small towns, and seeing new sights I never saw in California. I don't consider Canada my first foreign country because anyone in the United States can visit Canada easily.

24. My First Car (May 19, 2007). I purchased my first car from my neighbor who moved to Virginia. It was the Toyota Camry 2005 XLE V6. Very dependable car. No major problems. I take my car to the auto repair shop for routine repairs. I change the oil myself using Castrol. I fill my car with Chevron gas.

23. My New Face And My New Haircut (Sep 2004 and Apr 2017). My new haircut was a buzzcut in Sep 2004. I lost weight which included a new face in Apr 2017. Today is the best I've ever looked.

22. Cisco (Mar 19, 2007-Nov 22, 2008). My first job working at a tech company. I experienced working in a cubicle for the first time, eating in a cafeteria, and my first work-issued laptop. I went on a business trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on my second week. My 18 months was good experience in the tech sector. My contract was terminated because of the financial real estate bubble burst leading to the Great Recession.

21. Hiking (Apr 2009-Present). Hiking became a new hobby. My first trail was Uvas Canyon in Morgan Hill, CA. Some of my favorite trails include Castle Rock State Park in Los Gatos, CA; Point Lobos in Monterey, CA; and Pinnacles in Paicines, CA. I purchased hiking clothing, shoes and a backpack at the 2009 REI anniversary sale. I recognize four hikes in four months between Sep-Dec 2019. The hikes were Montara Mountain trail at San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica, CA; Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, CA; Castle Rock State Park; and Mission Peak in Fremont, CA.

20. Ballroom Dancing (Jan 2009-Mar 2011). My sister was an amateur ballroom dancer. She introduced me to ballroom dancing. Dancing is a great social activity. I took dancing classes at De Anza College. I met new people and made friends.

19. De Anza College (Mar 2009-Jun 2011). I choose to go back to school after I lost my job at Cisco. I took Beginning Weightlifting and Social Dance in Spring Quarter 2009. I choose to go back to school full time majoring in Accounting. Accounting was an alternate major when I attended San Jose State. I earned my AA degree in Mar 2011. I finished in Jun 2011. Going back to school was a second chance to relive life as a true college student. My experiences were satisfactory.

18. Fanime Forums Valentine's Day Gathering (Feb 18, 2006). It was my first forum gathering. We met at a bowling alley. I made lots of new friends. I keep in touch with most of them on social networking.

17. Innovate Infinitely Was Created (Nov 2000). There is no innovateinfinitely.com without Innovate Infinitely. Innovate Infinitely was created driving to Japantown-San Jose. The words "Innovate" and "Infinitely" came to my mind waiting at a signal light. I said, "Innovate Infinitely . . . Never Stop Innovating Life." I innovate infinitely. Always find something new to learn, always improve, always create, and always becoming a better person.

Blogger's note: Sep 2000 is incorrect in the Top 40 Most Memorable Moments. Nov 2000 is correct.

16. innovateinfinitely.com Is Online (May 1, 2004). I created a web site to promote Innovate Infinitely. It took 10 months finding a web hosting company, learning how to register a domain name, learning how the domain name servers work, and learning the basics of web pages and the Internet.

15. Fanime Con 2009 (May 22-25, 2009). Best Fanime Con I attended. Everything started on time. The weather was perfect for cosplayers. I made lots of money at the Swap Meet. I danced at the Black And White ball. I always did something. It was the perfect con with minimal problems.

14. COVID-19 (Mar 17, 2000-Present). California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I'm in the minority. My life has been improving. There are life changes such as new cooking techniques, old school boiling water to drink clean water, completing more errands in the morning, and sleeping with the windows closed. A few COVID-19 moments appear in the Top 50.

13. The Year Of The Role Playing Game (RPG) (1997). 1997 was the perfect year for RPG. Everyone was in San Jose, everyone adjusted their college and work schedules, everyone participated in the action, and the plots were terrific. The memories are remembered for a long time.

12. Washington Canada 2008 (Nov 15-20, 2008). I visited my Washington friend in his home state for the second time. We went to Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The highlights included visiting Hurricane Ridge, playing Betrayal At the House On The Hill board game, touring The Underground Tour in Downtown Seattle, and shopping for books. I also climbed the indoor wall at REI in Downtown Seattle. The timing was good because I needed a life distraction desperately. The vacation satisfied the distraction.

11. Japanese Anime (Summer 1996-Sep 2014). I became an anime fan watching Sailor Moon on TV. The first anime series I purchased was the first season of Ranma 1/2. Anime influenced my life. I created many memories. I officially retired in Sep 2014. Full Metal Alchemist is my all-time favorite anime series.

10. The Shawshank Redemption (Sep 21, 2019). There is a reason the movie is number one in the IMDb Top 250 movies. The movie is my all-time favorite.

9. Life Skills (Various Dates). Learning life skills is part of my training to become a self-trained genius. The skills I have been learning include rope knots, paper airplanes, shuffle cards, sew a button, read a compass, and basic electricity. I'm open to new suggestions.

8. The Triple Play (1984-1988). My brother and I played G.I. Joe, Transformers, and MASK. We played on Saturdays and during the summers. We created plots to determine the scenarios like a cartoon episode. Our collections were not the biggest. I believed having enough toys for the three series was better than having all the toys for one series. There was a lot of variety.

7. Zion National Park (Oct 3-4, 2015 and Sep 16-17, 2016). My first time visiting Utah. My first time in the Mountain Time Zone. My first time camping. My first time backpacking.

6. Cosplaying (Sep 11, 2004-May 27, 2013). I attended anime conventions cosplaying from Sep 11, 2004 to May 24-27, 2013. Memories were created. I made friends at cosplay gatherings. Cosplaying saved me from quitting anime at the end of 2004. I thank my mom for making the costumes.

5. Wall Street Bets And Superstonk (Jan 2021-Present). I learn more about financial investing following the two Subreddits wallstreetbets and Superstonk compared to my B.S. in Economics and A.A. in Accounting degrees combined. It's an example people learn more outside the classroom.

4. The Real Job Training (Oct-Nov 2014 And May 2015-Present). The skills include Power BI, R-Studio, Excel, Python, and SQL. YouTube videos, online education, books, articles, and online posts are my learning sources. My self job training is completed with a graduation in analytics research technology on Mar 2024. I began my graduate self job training on Apr 2024.

Blogger's note: Oct-Nov 2013 And Jul 2014-present are incorrect in the Top 40 Most Memorable Moments. Oct-Nov 2014 And May 2015-present are correct.

3. O'Connor Hospital (Apr 2-Apr 6, 2017). I was admitted as an in-patient requiring two surgeries. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. The doctors diagnosed me with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis.

2. 50 Years Old At The Age Of 45 (Sep 2019). In my opinion, a genuine adult is a genuine adult at age 50. I became a genuine adult at the age of 45. I crossed the line four years and 11 months ahead of schedule.

1. Growing Up (Oct 4, 2008). My life changed forever when I realized I must grow up. I walked to my car after attending the Los Altos Fall Festival when the moment happened. The life changes were immediate. I built a new Gaming PC, I started to read fiction books, I wore new clothes, I purchased my first fine watch, and I slept on a new mattress. I found new hobbies which included hiking, ballroom dancing, and listening to classic jazz. I started following new gym workout plans. I live life stronger, smarter, wiser, kinder, and mature. The real innovate infinitely continues today.

Playing Riichi Mahjong With Dice

I dreamed last night I played Riichi Mahjong. Most of my tiles consisted of dice like in Monopoly or casino craps. Illogical and inaccurate. We played in my house. My mom watched the game.

The dice was the dots or pinzu tiles. The hand began. I made tempai or one tile away from winning on my second draw. My hand consisted of the following explained in melds: 1,2,3; 1,2,3; 6,6,6; 6,6 for the pair; and 2,4 for which I needed a 3 to win 2,3,4. The 6,6,6 were the mahjong tiles.

I declared riichi or I told the players I'm ready to win with my 14th tile. The player on my left was OCD. She adjusted my dice to be faced consistently in one direction. The player on my right looked at my dice facing one direction. He was guessing my winning tile or tiles. I made a mistake on the 2,4 for which I needed a 3 to win. I should have set up the dice from 2,4 to 2,3 for which I needed either a 1 or a 4 to win for a 1,2,3 or 2,3,4; in other words, I could win with two numbers 1 or 4 instead of one number 3. The player on my right discarded a 3. I won my hand.

Another friend appeared out of thin air. He scored my hand. Dora was 3 dots or pinzu. Ura dora was 1 dots or pinzu. My score was riichi, ippatsu, chinitsu, ipeiko, dora 3, and ura dora 2. Total score is 1+1+6+1+3+2=14. I earned a 13+ yakuman 32,000 points which is the highest score possible. He disappeared after scoring my hand.

Too Many 5's And 6's Dice Rolls Playing Axis & Allies

Axis & Allies made by Milton Bradley Company was a board game I played in high school. I sucked. I remember there was a chance I win one game. There were five of us. I teamed up with a straight A student friend who was like the late Steve Jobs without charisma. He knew how to play the game. We were the Axis. I played Germany. He played Japan. The other three friends were the Allies Russia, Great Britain, and United States.

My friend guided me where to put my soldiers, tanks, and planes. My friend suggested where to attack, where to place my armaments, and when to save money. He wanted to win. He wanted me to win. He cared. We lost. What happened? The answer was I rolled too many 5's and 6's. I rolled too few low numbers to attack and to defend. I rolled too few low numbers to win battles. Pathetic. My friend suggested a different method to roll the dice. Unsuccessful. My fault? Yes. Bad luck? Yes.

Two of the three friends playing the Allies were smart students. They enrolled in advanced classes. One of them could bowl a 200 score. The other friend was fluent in English and Spanish.

Tabletop Gaming Curse

If there is a term for bad luck playing tabletop games, then give me the term; otherwise, I assign myself the tabletop gaming curse. I realize connecting the dots backwards bad luck factored in my losses. All games involving luck include dice rolling, drawing cards, drawing tiles in Mahjong, and spinning I experience more bad luck than good luck. The odds are in favor of my opponents. The over 50% probability are in favor of my opponents.

Likewise for my present life. I lost count the number of times I was the second choice for a job hire. There were job hires cancelled due to a director overriding the hiring manager, budget cuts, and breech of procedures not my fault. Curses are meant to be broken. I don't know how to break a bad luck curse.

Raymond Mar 3.0

There are alternate titles for today's blog: Another New Raymond Mar and This Is Raymond Mar III Now. I'm better today. There's no going down. Raymond Mar 2.0 began on Sat Oct 4, 2008 when I realized I must grow up. The best years of my life started in Sep 2019. Ironically, my life is George Costanza from Seinfeld. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents. The best years continue. There is no top ten. Today is not the day I grew up for the third time. I'm contradicting myself. There is no Growing Up 3.0 or Growing Up Part 3. The threes must wait. Here are the better me and the new me in no particular order:

1. Intelligence. Intelligence or genius. My reading speed is faster. I learn new job skills. I refresh existing job skills. I seek new life skills such as tying knots, navigating with a compass, memorizing jokes, and cooking new meals. I'm becoming useful. I'm not an old fuck in my senior years. The end of the day I'm one step closer to become a self-trained genius.

2. Motivation. I practice. I drill. I repeat. I learn by repetition. I will is more important than I know. Desire is more important than intelligence.

3. Physical Health. I minimize eating processed foods. Dairy is non-existent. I disagree with the common health knowledge drink eight glasses of water a day. I drink water when I'm thirsty. My physical workouts have been improving. I maintain my 155 pound weight since Apr 2022. My max weight was 188 pounds before. Eight hours of sleep is mandatory. Lower priorities can wait tomorrow. I'm the healthiest I've ever been.

4. Excel. A special recognition to Excel. The Excel skills were incomplete at my previous jobs. Number one Intelligence and number two Motivation above are the reasons I'm better at Excel.

5. Financial Education. Thank you WallStreetBets!

6. Books. A special recognition to books which helped me become stronger. The books are The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking, and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

7. Retired. I retired from anime and video games. However, I'm playing classic video games an average of one weeknight every three or four weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The noteworthy video games I completed are Final Fantasy VI-VIII. I replay Bloons Tower Defense (BTD5) for the second time on Steam.

8. Sex. Thank you Sex With Emily podcast. Good Vibrations is a good adult sex store. Sexual Health Magazine is a free quarterly magazine. My big penis ladies tell me is more than a complement. Wearing large size condoms feel great.

9. Mahjong. I'm an intermediate skilled Mahjong player. I play Hong Kong and Japanese Riichi. It's unfortunate I have too much bad luck.

10. Handyman. I learn patience. I learn practice. I learn take it easy. Take one task at a time. The elbow is the key to hammer a nail properly.

11. Technology. Timing favored me when I purchased a new laptop and built a new desktop PC months before the COVID-19 pandemic in Mar 2020. I learned Windows 10. I expanded my Linux knowledge. I include job skills such as Python, Oracle, and Power BI.

12. The Shawshank Redemption. My spirit is free. My soul is relaxed. Tensions and conflicts are released. Who cares what other people think as long as I'm truthful sincerely. I'm honest for real. The Shawshank Redemption is my all-time favorite movie. The movie is number one in iMDB's Top Rated 250 Movies.

Update On A Past Blog

Here is the blog I grew up for the first time on Sat Oct 4, 2008 Five Years Ago Today I Grew Up written on Oct 4, 2013. The day began Raymond Mar 2.0.

Here are the blogs related to growing up part 2 for which I took it back in subsequent blogs. The day I grew up part 2 on Dec 6, 2012 Growing Up Part 2. The two blogs I took back growing up part 2 are The Correct Growing Up Part 2 on Oct 28, 2013 and The Correction To The Correct Growing Up Part 2 on Oct 7, 2020.

New And Old Uncontrolled Chaos

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

Efficient maintenance is important for all objects. Be professional to earn happiness. Nobody controls problems caused by nature. On the other hand, opening a business at a location with a small amount of foot traffic creates future problems.

Update On A Past Blog

I repeat the last life lesson I wrote in Life Lessons Learned Playing Mahjong Riichi written on Mar 18, 2016. The last life lesson is luck. Accept luck as part of the game. Accept bad draws with stride. Accept giving up riichies with stride. There are no reasons to lose temper. An international student from Japan told me professional players who finished last place multiple times consecutively stopped playing for the rest of the day.

Top Ten Redos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Update On A Past Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

Five More Minutes To Prevent Problems

I dreamed last night I traveled to a Riichi Mahjong gathering. I drove southbound on Saratoga Ave making a left on eastbound Stevens Creek Blvd in San Jose, CA during the early evening. I drove on Stevens Creek Blvd passing a Japanese Daiso-like store at the Barnes & Noble bookstore building. I entered the store to purchase ramen. I asked the cashier for chopsticks. The cashier gave me half a sandwich instead. I woke up.

I thought about the point of last night's dream awake. I made up the point of the dream I should have paused for five minutes. I should have taken an extra five minutes to go home. Why should have I gone home? The answer was I needed a better jacket. The evening forecast was cold temperatures. Another reason was get better food. Eating ramen was insufficient calories. Eating ramen was insufficient energy to focus on Mahjong. If there was no food at home, then I shopped at a market. The minimum beef jerky, bread, banana, and bottle water were better than ramen.

Take five more minutes to minimize the chances of anticipated problems for the rest of the day or evening.

Update On A Past Blog

A common concern is children interacting with technology too much. I wrote the concern on the blog Reflecting And Connecting Both Technology And My Childhood on Jan 16, 2017. Many parents are stressed. They need a break. They need quiet. They need to destress. Their children are second priority for the short time. Let the children look at the smartphone. Let the children play the handheld console. Let the children press the video game controller. Give parents their peace.

Acknowledgements

Today's blog is more thank yous from the blog Top Ten Thank Yous on Nov 23, 2014. A few are mentioned again from the blog.

My parents. They're not really dumb. They're slow, lazy, take life for granted, and rely on luck too much. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on perspective, they have more good luck than me. Their support is passive. Their parenting is minimally good for which most children with toxic parents prefer my parents. I'm sincerely grateful. Regardless, I realized years ago I solve problems on my own.

A specific recognition to my mom for making my cosplay costumes and teaching basic cooking. A specific recognition to my dad for teaching me automotive basic maintenance and driving a manual transmission.

Appu. My technical advisor. The best person I know who explains anything technology any grandparent understands. He introduced me to Linux and Python. The two skills are paying off.

Punkbuster. Bodybuilding.com

Vgan. My first manager at my first job after I graduated San Jose State University. He was my manager at my second job. I knew you wanted to train me in everything. Everything! Unfortunately, circumstances prevented my training. I was your project you took personally. My intuition told me you had marriage problems. I was your distraction.

The late Steve Jobs. I read your biography written by Walter Isaacson twice. Your biography is my all-time favorite book across all genres. I'm wiser. I live part my life today based off Jobs.

Fanime Con Forums. Short-term and long-term friendships were formed. Unfortunately, my retirement from anime naturally made me leave quietly. I grew out. Life goes on. Lifetime memories created. Are we going to meet up again? God only knows. The forum members to be acknowledged: appu, Chun, Dev, gmontem, LastExlir, Loktera, mduo13, Spiritsnare, and Tsubasa.

"You know the carnival comes and goes. If you wait for a while, it always come back." --Ryoko, Tenchi Muyo

Thundercloud. Stocks, investments, Washington-Canada vacations, and Las Vegas.

Kimu. A master cosplayer. You saved me from Yaoi Con 2008.

My sister. She introduced social dancing.

Leeza. A social dancing organizer.

Cousin Chris. Introduced GI Joe, Transformers, MASK, and baseball cards to my brother and I.

Cousin Alan. I experienced both camping and backpacking at Zion National Park for the first time.

The San Jose State University classmates and staff: Economics Lecturer Blackerby the best instructor; Economics Professor Ortega who taught me how to write; Mathematics Lecturer McClory who hired me as a math tutor for my first paying job; China man Thomas who changed majors from Computer Science to Economics and fluent in Spanish because you are born in Brazil; Joyce in Earth Science good luck being a police officer; my gun partner art major playing Area 51 in the Student Union; Linda, an Economics major classmate and popular among us majors, who was hired as an intern at the Redevelopment Agency for which I was the runner-up, no hard feelings; and JoshC my Physics 61 lab partner majoring in general engineering who saved my ass.

O'Connor Hospital. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. Many first-time life experiences: emergency room, hospital inpatient, two surgeries, hospital food, and blood tests. I thank the doctors, nurses, and staff.

Montarbo. The Blockbuster Video store manager who hired me twice.

JDulay. My second manager at my second job who was fired. Lesson learned: have nothing, do nothing, get nothing, be nothing, and people treat you like nothing.

South Bay Job Search Network. Turnout was always low during my weekly attendance. I learned about job searching from people who actually lost their jobs and found new jobs instead of career counselors.

The Shermans. I believe you influenced my parents more than my dad helped you. Thank you for selling your used cars to my mom and I.

The Shawshank Redemption. My acknowledgements are more than people. The movie realized I have been doing many things correctly. I had to convince myself. The movie also saved my soul. Good Will Hunting is another movie worth acknowledging.

Arashii. She called me out to tell me to stop complaining about everything. She's a person with more wisdom than a 50+ year old adult.

Mahjong. The South Bay Mahjong group and Pacific Mahjong League. Everyone opened me up how to play Mahjong for real.

Any acknowledgements I missed are acknowledged in future blogs under Update On A Past Blog.

Top Ten New Experiences I Don't Experience If I'm An Anime Fan

I retired from anime on Sep 2014. The time and money away from anime allowed me time and money on new experiences. These new experiences have made me a stronger and smarter person. New experiences experienced. New wisdom acquired. One new experience is redesigning my webpage. The new job skills I learned applied to my webpage Innovate Infinitely. I learned HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Learning new job skills is number three. Here are the top ten new experiences:

10. Painting. I hate painting. My handyman skills are poor. However, my painting skills are better years ago. Painting taught me to be professional completing my responsibilities.

9. CERT or Community Emergency Response Team. I took a seven day CERT training course to learn basic emergency skills in a disaster. I have a better understanding on first responders.

8. Intermediate Mahjong Skills. I rate myself intermediate reading books and watching YouTube videos.

7. Podcasts. Sex With Emily was my first podcast in Spring 2014. I added 99% Invisible, Awesome Etiquette, Freakonomics, and Stuff You Should Know. My current events podcasts are 60 Minutes and Nightline. My retired podcasts are Car Talk airing repeats and NBC Sports Bay Area Happy Hour.

6. Gym Workouts. I used to workout two days a week combining weights and cardio. I workout four days a week with two days cardio and two days weights today. I admit I'm an amateur. I minimize eating processed foods. I minimize eating at restaurants. My penis is stronger.

5. Backpacking And Camping. I experienced my first backpacking and first camping when I visited Zion National Park in Oct 2015. My party gave me a crash course. I have been acquiring new equipment, upgrading existing equipment, and acquiring knowledge thereafter.

4. Review Existing Job Skills. I have been reviewing Microsoft Office, HTML, SQL, and VBA.

3. Learn New Job Skills. Learning new job skills gets its own number. I have been learning Python, Oracle, Linux, HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript.

2. Power Of Goodbye. Goodbye is more powerful than saying goodbye to a friend for the day. Some goodbyes are long-term. Some goodbyes are permanent. Some goodbyes are happy. Some goodbyes are sad. Goodbyes apply to places, hobbies, and possessions, too. I have experienced these goodbyes for the first time since I retired from anime. Also, I experienced these goodbyes before I retired from anime for which I didn't realize at the time.

1. Sleep. I remember exchanging sleep for watching anime. Sleep is important. Sleep rests the body. Sleep rests the mind. Sleep rests the soul. Sleep is my spiritual practice. My focus is strong the next day sleeping eight hours the previous night.

Update On A Past Blog

I read an article at askmen.com titled Things All Guys Should Stop Doing by Age 30 on Nov 11, 2018. The article reminded me of my Top Ten Men Truths blog on Jan 7, 2017. The askmen.com article mentioned eight stop doings including stop eating at Taco Bell and stop showing up late. My top ten men truths included stop complaining about your crappy life and stop blaming your problems on other people.