Down And Out Both Are Never Permanent

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

I connect the dots from yesterday to today. The following moments were down and out. There were no permanent downs and outs. The following moments could be a catastrophe. Disasters were prevented. The following moments could be negative life changes. I'm fortunate these negative life changes were temporary. The following moments were potential failures. Failures became satisfactory successes. Life found a way to bounce me back up. The system worked at the end of the day. Destiny, intuition, karma, going with the flow, divine intervention, whatever. A bad luck moment was countered with a good luck moment plus more goodness.

Faith, good luck, and/or good choices saved me from a permanent down and out. Many of these moments were luck. Few of these moments were good decisions. I needed help from family, co-workers, and friends. All assistances were appreciated. Here are the moments from oldest to newest. I categorized the moments good luck or good decision. I want to tell the story. Some of these moments connect.

*Changed Majors (Fall Semester 1995). Good decision. I changed majors from Mathematics to Economics as an undergraduate at San Jose State University. The preparing, volunteering, reading, and the guidance to become a high school math teacher were falling apart. I couldn't pass my math classes. I lost my desire.

One could say the change in majors were killing two birds with one stone. The first was switching majors my grade point average went up every semester thereafter. The second was I'm not teaching in high school today. I graduated with a Bachelors Of Science in Economics and a minor in Mathematics. I didn't waste my lower division math classes.

*First Job (Jul 1998). Good luck. It took me six months to find my first job after graduating at San Jose State University. I was a Research Analyst in a commercial real estate company. My parents pressured me to find a job naturally. I thought about going back to San Jose State University to earn a master's degree.

*Second Job (Feb 1999). Good luck. The manager who hired me at my first job hired me for my second job. Same job title in the same industry. I was a Research Analyst in commercial real estate. The second company was better than the first company. A total of five employees quit from my first company to work at the second company. Moreover, the second company saved me from the first company because I thought about quitting the first company.

*My Second Boss Was Fired (Sep 2002). Good luck. My first boss who hired me at my first job and my second job moved to Australia. My second boss was nothing. Officially, she found another job. Unofficially, she was fired.

I warned the office manager she was ineffective. I waited two years for her release.

*Full Metal Alchemist Midnight Marathon (May 2004). Good decision. A Fanime Con 2004 anime convention event was a midnight marathon showing the anime series Full Metal Alchemist. I watched 17 episodes from midnight to 7am. I stayed awake. The end of episode eight I said, "I'm going to cosplay Edward Elric." Edward Elric was the main character. I thank my mom for making my Edward Elric cosplay.

I contemplated retiring from anime for the remainder of 2004 because I talked to a friend much younger than me. He retired from anime. Watching the marathon delayed my retirement for nine years and four months. I officially retired in Sep 2013.

*Third Job (Mar 2007). Good luck. The second company started going downhill in late 2006. People began quitting. My third job was my first tech job. The company was the largest employer in San Jose, CA. I belong working in the tech industry.

*Grow Up (Oct 2008). Good decision. I remember the day for the rest of my life. I was lost in Aug-Sep 2008. I was weak. I realized I must grow up. My life changed forever. 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 include going back to school earning an Associate Of Arts degree in Accounting at De Anza College and vacationing in the state of Washington and visiting Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

*First Job In A Start Up (Nov 2013). Good luck. I was a data entry and bookkeeper in a retail start up selling high end beer, wine, and sake at a discount price. Timing was good because I needed a distraction.

*Another Tech Job (Nov 2014). Good luck. My contract job at the start up company was satisfied. I found another contract job supporting an engineer at a networking server company.

*O'Connor Hospital (Apr 2017). Good decision and good luck. I experienced stomach pains since Mar 2017. The pain was too severe. My parents took me to the emergency room. The wait time was minimal. I was admitted as an in-patient requiring two surgeries. The hospital was not busy. The hospital was quiet. I was the only patient in a double occupancy room for three out of the four nights. 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.

The moment was the first time I was an in-patient and first time doctors performed surgery.

*Safe At Home Plate, 50 Years Old At The Age Of 45, or Self Trained Genius (Aug-Sep 2019). Good luck. I can't choose a title for the Aug-Sep 2019 moment. I include any of the three. Choose any one.

I began hiking again devoting one day per month. I hiked the Montara Mountain Trail in Pacifica, CA for the first time on Labor Day weekend. I started to read Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I watched The Shawshank Redemption for the first time. My soul was saved. I became a genuine adult at the age of 45. I began training to become a self trained genius.

A Song And A Genius On The Uncontrolled Life

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you; When you think everything's okay and everything's going right; And life has a funny way of helping you out when; You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up; In your face. --Ironic, Alanis Morissette

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. --Steve Jobs

Update On A Past Blog

The Top Ten Saves blog written on Apr 25, 2020 mentioned four moments from above: my second boss was fired at number ten, number seven mentioned The Shawshank Redemption, number four was the Fanime Con 2004 Full Metal Alchemist midnight marathon, number two was O'Connor Hospital, and number one was growing up.

Three high school saves happened in my sophomore year. I took Geometry after my sophomore year in summer school to take Algebra II in my junior year. I played chess during the lunch hour. I played softball in Physical Education.

Another moment in Fall Semester 1995 which was a save. A shoutout to my Physics 61 laboratory partner who majored in General Engineering. He saved my ass.

My Problems Are Nothing

I'm a happy loser for the purpose of today's blog. My life is like George Costanza. I'm unemployed. I live with my parents. My personal problems are small in comparison to other people. I'm not grandparents who do a bad job living a boring life. I'm not a divorced parent. I'm not an overworked and underpaid supervisor. My problems are small compared to a typical high school student. My intuition tells me some people with bigger problems exchange their lives with my life.

I'm happy. I work to earn a good life. Disregard the financial rewards in the paragraph. I job train learning new skills and reviewing existing knowledge. I job search. My physical workouts are two days strength and two days cardio per week. I minimize eating processed foods. I sleep eight hours a night. I read books. I learn life skills. I cook. I clean. I do my share maintaining the household. Stay busy.

The regular readers may say I sound like a broken record repeating my daily life. They may say I repeat another daily life blog as too repetitious. They may say today's blog is another bullshit blog. Regardless, I keep quiet. I don't communicate unsolicited advice. The problems are theirs. I hope their lives improve.

Top 2023 Pics

Here are the top five pictures I took in 2023. They're sorted from the start of the year to the end of the year. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, and sharing changes. Enjoy!

Update On A Past Blog

2024 is over. I shut down my life during the Mon Dec 23, 2024 and Mon Dec 30, 2024 weeks. These two weeks remind me of the blog First Time I Saw A Restaurant Close On Tuesdays I wrote on Dec 9, 2018. I declared 2018 was over. I said, "Bad luck. Bad timing. Misfortunes." Dec is ending on bad luck, bad timing, and misfortunes. I adapt the "I respond what life gives me. I go with the flow." It's time to take a break. It's time to rest. Two reasons are loss of focus and fatigue.

I took partial breaks and spread the partial breaks from Oct 2023 to Jan 2024 to finish reading Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. The time span was the last time I took any break or any vacation.

Worried Or Not Worried

I share current events concerns and personal concerns. The concerns are in alphabetical order. Am I worried or am I not worried?

*2024 Presidential election: not worried. The US people speaks on Tue Nov 5. We vote for the correct president.

*Children and teens: worried. Small sample size. I read stories the children of Generation Alpha and teens of Generation Z intelligence are underdeveloped. They're learning few life skills. They're social skills are poor for which it's hard to interact with other people.

*Climate change: worried. The temperatures are increasing. I include the demand for natural resources and demand for utilities increasing. I also include droughts causing lower water supply.

*COVID-19: worried. The unvaccinated must listen to the experts. Get vaccinated. Stop the spread. The virus is smart. The virus mutates. I continue to wear my mask.

*Economy: worried. The economy has been in a recession during COVID-19 and after the COVID-19 inflation. The US can't sustain the record debt. The economy can't kick the can down the road forever. The road must end.

*Food supply: not worried. The experts say there's plenty of food. The problem is the food distribution. However, it seems more people are malnourished.

*Garbage: worried. There is too much trash. The municipal recycling system is confusing. I include too much consumption.

*Guns: not worried. A gun itself doesn't kill. A gun on a person's hand kills.

*Health care: worried. There are too many people. There are not enough resources to satisfy the demand. I include the justice system and the education system.

*Homelessness: worried. The local government homelessness programs can work. The homelessness is reduced significantly by eliminating the drug addiction by 20%. Mental illness is more challenging than drug addiction; although, drug addiction and mental illness overlap for some homeless people.

*Jobs for everyone: worried. The job market has been tough before COVID-19, during COVID-19, and today. There are not enough jobs for the growing number of people looking for work. Artificial intelligence is a factor.

*Loneliness: worried. People must never give up being strong. Strong people attract other people. Unfortunately, more people are giving up their lives repelling potential friends.

*My life long term: worried. Living a life with minimal income is unsustainable. See Jobs for everyone.

*My life short term: not worried. My current life is stable. I read books, exercise, self job train, and take care of the household. No complaints.

*My physical health: not worried. I workout four days a week to minimize health problems. I minimize eating processed foods. I'm the healthiest I've ever been.

*My money: not worried. Keep the discretionary spending in check. Make the best of what I can afford. Stay busy with what I own.

*Nuclear missiles: not worried. No country takes the initiative to launch nuclear missiles. Watch the movie War Games.

*Population decline: not worried. There are plenty of people on planet Earth.

*Population physical health: worried. Too much time on non-physical activities. Too little time on physical activities.

*Racism: worried. Racism and discrimination existed yesterday. Racism and discrimination exist today. Racism and discrimination exist tomorrow. Today's youth can change my mind.

*Sleep: worried. Too many people are sleep deprived. If the busy people spend 20% more time sleeping, then the world is less stressed.

*Smart phones: worried. Self-explanatory. There is too much time spent on smart phones.

*Sports betting: worried. The games are rigged. Otherwise, Las Vegas and the sports betting industry are out of business.

*Stock market: not worried. I admit I'm ironic. I worry about the economy. I don't worry about the stock market. Stocks only go up. Stocks go down when the otherwise happens.

*Successful people and unsuccessful people: worried. There are more people unsuccessful through no fault of their own. There are not enough opportunities for the people working on success. See Jobs for everyone.

*Taxes: worried. I'm 100% pro people pay their fair taxes. People must pay for the government to run the country. The government doesn't run for free.

*Television: worried. There is too much TV to watch. There's no logical reason to watch all the shows.

*Video game addiction: worried. There's nothing wrong with playing video games. I'm worried about the player's life outside the keyboard and/or controller.

*World War III: worried. I don't follow international politics closely. A country or countries lose in the Middle East war. Another answer to the question is another terrorist attack succeeds on the US soil.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog May 2024

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. Don't flirt with COVID-19. The May month was the fastest of the year. Normal life is coming back slowly.

Wed May 1. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) reported weekly hospitalizations reached the lowest levels since the pandemic started. The most recent data was 5,615 people hospitalized with COVID-19 nationwide. The highest was 150,000 people hospitalized in early 2022 during the omicron variant. Hospitals no longer need to report respiratory illnesses starting on Apr 30, 2024. Officials use other data sources such as wastewater readings, laboratory tests, and emergency departments.

22.6% of adults and 14% of children received the latest COVID-19 vaccine. Adults 65 years or older are recommended to receive an additional dose of the latest COVID-19 vaccine due to their increased risk. Deaths declined from an average of 25,000 weekly deaths during the delta variant to an average of 231 weekly deaths in 2024.

Fri May 3. There are two FLiRT variants. The KP.2 represented 25% of cases and the KP.1.1 represented 7.5% of cases. The JN.1 represented 22% of cases. The FLiRT variants are part of the omicron variant.

Tue May 7. Went to AAA and Stevens Creek Toyota for car errands.

Wed May 8. AstraZeneca withdrew its vaccine Vaxzevria due to a plethora of updated vaccines and lower demand for its vaccine. More than 3 billion doses administered worldwide beginning in the United Kingdom on Jan 4, 2021. No revenue generated from Vaxzevria since Apr 2023. A reason was the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines being more effective. AstraZeneca withdrew marketing authorizations within Europe because Vaxzevria is no longer manufactured.

Fri May 9. Novavax signed a co-exclusive licensing agreement with Sanofi SA for COVID-19 and flu-COVID-19 combination vaccines. Novavax receives from $500 million up to $1.2 billion in payments for development regulatory and distribution. Sanofi sells Novavax's adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine and pay R&D, regulatory, and commercial expenses starting in 2025. Novavax receives at least 10% royalty payments from its sales. Sanofi develops and commercializes the novel flu-COVID-19 combination vaccine containing a Sanofi flu vaccine.

Sat May 11. Celebrated Mother's Day.

Mon May 13. The KP.2 variant was the dominant COVID-19 strain at an estimated 28.2% of cases according to the CDC. JN.1 was 15.7%. JN.1.7 was 13.3%.

Fri May 17. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time. Powell tested positive for the first time on Jan 2023.

Tue May 21. The State Of CA reported no deaths due to COVID-19 on Tue Apr 2, 2024. It was the first day of zero COVID-19 deaths since Mar 18, 2020. CA shut down on Tue Mar 17, 2020. Tue Jan 12, 2021 was the deadliest day with 718 deaths. The average daily deaths was four in Apr 2024. 107,000 total CA residents died.

Sat May 25. Shopped at Costco.

Tue May 28. The FLiRT subvariants KP.2, KP.3, and KP1.1 are the dominant strains overtaking JN.1. FLiRT accounted for 50.4% of the nation's infections. It was 20% in Apr 2024. FLiRT doesn't appear to be more severe. The current vaccine is expected to provide good protection.

Wed May 29. Ran errands at the bank, Target, REI, Nob Hill, and Big 5 Sporting Goods.

Boredom Is Better Than The Alternatives

Good health, decent shelter, books to read, a bed to sleep eight hours, good intelligence, and no debt. These are boring. These boring are better than alternatives. The alternatives include bad health such as chronic sickness, shelter too cold during the winter, illiteracy, less than six hours of sleep, poor mental comprehension, and rolling debt into debt.

The assignment is complete. The project is final. *fill in the blank* is successful. The task is finished. Take everything one at a time. The process is not boring looking back. The process is not boring connecting the dots backwards.

Boredom is better than doing nothing. Motivation is not boredom. Motivation is better than doing nothing.

Update On A Past Blog

I posted my Inspiration Cheer Up on my webpage. Click Inspiration Cheer Up File to download the .pdf format. The file is as-is with explicit edits. I mentioned the Inspiration Cheer Up at Why Do I Pray? on Aug 3, 2014. I mentioned reading the Inspiration Cheer Up is part of my spirituality at My Spirituality Discovery on Jan 11, 2015. The Inspiration Cheer Up is my personal bible.

Instant Bullets Blog Sep 23, 2023

*2 X 0 = 0. Double nothing results in nothing.

*Combat The Snitch Economy. A secret shopper doesn't rat out the employees. He or she gets paid to eat and always gives a positive review.

*Condoms are 98% effective. Condoms are 2% ineffective. Prevent the 2% failure rate. Don't ejaculate inside a woman wearing a condom. Pull out the penis before ejaculating inside the condom. It's better than unplanned pregnancies. No birth control is 100% effective.

Further, condoms are one time use. Use once. Throw away.

*Open the windows. Close the windows. Summer season. The house is cooler inside. The weather is hotter outside. Windows close. On the other hand, the house is hotter inside. The weather is cooler outside. Windows open.

Winter season. The house is warmer inside. The weather is cooler outside. Windows close. The house is cooler inside. The weather is warmer outside. Windows open. It's a judgement call.

*The Perfect Bid. Watch The Price Is Right Documentary on the Showcase Showdown perfect bid. The documentary explains the truth when Terry Kniess bided perfectly on his showcase with help from Ted Slauson in 2008. The documentary is free with ads on YouTube Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.

*virile: having strength, full of energy, and a strong sex drive. Pronounced ve-ril. For example, some women find bald men quite virile.

*Steve Jobs: Some people say, "Give the customers want they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page." The quote is from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson on page 567.

*premeditated: an action thought out or planned beforehand. Full conscious willful intent and a measure of forethought and planning. Thought of or planned before being done. Planned in advance with a purpose; no accident. Done deliberately. Planned in advanced. Planned. Calculated. Deliberate.

*Christmas One Week Later. My acceptance to the families celebrating Christmas one week later. These families are poor. These families take advantage of the after Christmas sales. No right or wrong.

*Teenage Pregnancies. Here are some YouTube videos on teen pregnancies: I Think I'm Having A Baby Abc Afterschool Special Full, Some Girls (1987 documentary on teenage pregnancy), Teenage Pregnancy in the 1950s, and When Teens Get Pregnant (1982).

*I Heart Trivia. There are four chambers in the human heart. Listen to Neil Young - Heart of Gold (Official Audio) by Neil Young. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant. Sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson are members of the band Heart.

*The Renaissance. The renaissance short definition is rebirth or revival. Michaelangelo created the statue David between 1501 and 1504. Leonardo da Vinci is considered the most diversely talented person. Venus is standing on a seashell in The Birth Of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.

Oregon Ducks Head Coach Dan Lanning's pregame speech before defeating the Colorado Buffaleos 42-6 The Cinderella story is OVER! - Dan Lanning's speech before Oregon vs. Colorado. "This game ain't gonna be played in Hollywood, it's gonna be played on the grass."

Yes To Intuition

I dreamed last night I was at the platform of an overground public subway station. I conversed with a robotics engineer friend. I told him I was down on my luck. I told him I needed a break. He listened. He supported me. A couple ascended the stairs. The woman was happy. The man was worried. She said life is going to be good. She continued saying she's going to get pregnant and start a family. The man stopped ascending when the woman arrived on top of the platform.

The next scene I was at a security line like airport security lines on the first floor of an office high-rise building. I carried a silver color laptop without a laptop bag. There were multiple security checkpoints represented by color. I was in the blue checkpoint checking three or more items. The nearby green checkpoint checked one item. I must leave the security lines. A conga-like line formed a bee line to an authorized personnel only exit. I rushed to the line. A security guard held the door open. I exited the blue checkpoint. I walked to the outside observation deck.

The dream shifted to another timeline. The sun was setting on a summer day. I found a job. It was the end of my first day. I walked around my office building in an office park feeling optimistic. I asked myself where am I going to park for the night? I was employed. I wore normal clothes. I was homeless.

The dream shifted back to the original timeline. I met three women on the observation deck. The four of us exited the office high-rise building. We walked to the parking garage a short distance away. The women invited me to attend a concert. I declined. We separated in front of the parking garage.

I entered the parking garage ascending the stairs to my parking garage floor. I saw a sign saying metal detectors. I emptied my pocket change consisting of eight quarters. I emptied my car keys. I waited in line with the quarters and car keys on top of my laptop. I misread the sign. The metal detectors were for the copiers and scanners. The line was the cashier line. I exited the line. I walked to a map which looked like the subway map. I thought about whether I should attend an anime event nearby. I woke up.

Two Intuition Scenes

The point of my dream was intuition. The man in the couple used his intuition. The man felt something in his gut when he stopped on the stairs. He was apprehensive. He felt uneasy. The man felt the relationship is not long-term. Couples must listen to their intuition.

The second intuition was declining the invitation to watch a concert with the three women. My intuition told me I'm not going to have fun with the three women. My gut feeling said I take my chances at an anime event than take my chances with these three women I just met minutes ago. At least one of the three women gave me a bad vibe.

I've Been Doing Everything Correct Mostly

"Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time, because, to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit." --Ellis Boyd Redding, The Shawshank Redemption

The movie The Shawshank Redemption was released on Oct 14, 1994. The movie is currently number 1 on IMDb's Top Rated Movies list at 9.2 out of 10. I watched the movie for the first time 9,108 days later on Sep 21, 2019. I continue watching random scenes and favorite scenes today.

The quote is about telling the truth without caring about what others think. The quote made me think about my life as a child and as a young adult. I've been doing everything correct mostly. I should have faith about my actions, behavior, and thoughts. I should have ignored many of the bad advice and bad teachings given to me. Nobody told me I have been walking the correct paths. I have stronger confidence I'm earning my successes correctly. I tell myself everything has been well. I tell myself I'm correct.

People said I'm wrong doing it my way when I'm actually correct. These people feared me. These people told me bullshit because they created a false image to protect themselves from me. These people didn't want me to succeed.

I'm not perfect. I made mistakes in school. I made mistakes learning new skills. I'm human. I correct the mistakes. My past life paths were full of merit. If I make mistakes, then I make them my way. I take responsibility for my mistakes by correcting them.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote past blogs detailing I was correct. One blog was written on Jun 9, 2016 titled Top Ten I Was Correct When I Was Young. I'm happy to say all ten are correct today such as be gritty, daydream, and be clean and organize. Another blog was I Did It Right on Nov 14, 2013. I told myself I've been doing it right despite the victories and defeats throughout my life controlled and not controlled. I gave myself Top Ten Advice I Reference In My Life on Feb 26, 2017. One minor correction is number eight My Daily Rules Of Life. Rule number 7 "Have faith. Believe in yourself." is removed because I don't need to believe in myself. What is believe? I have to do it anyways.

The Shawshank Redemption is my new number one movie on Top Ten Movies I Watched Late I wrote on Mar 1, 2014. An updated list is planned.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog February 2022

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. COVID-19 headlines continued more states and cities are easing pandemic restrictions. The Russian invasion Ukraine dominated all headlines thereafter. Feb was another slow pace month.

Tue Feb 1. I shopped at Smart & Final and Safeway the first thing in the morning.

Wed Feb 2. Shopped at Costco. The parking lot closest to the gas station was renovating. More beer and wine in stock. Less tables for bakery goods.

COVID-19 daily cases dropped in the Bay Area.

Fri Feb 4. 900,000 deaths recorded in the US.

Contra Costa County lifted mask mandates for fully vaccinated people in indoor businesses. The exceptions were hospitals, senior care facilities, and indoor events with 500 or more people. These events people were required to be fully vaccinated or a recent negative test.

The Center For Disease Control (CDC) published data analyzing the coronavirus appears in the country's wastewater. Some of the virus gets flushed down the toilet into the wastewater system. The wastewater can be tested like the same test to detect the virus from nasal swabs. It's an early warning a city is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Sat Feb 5. Sonoma County lifted indoor restrictions imposed on Jan 10. Local cases and hospitalizations were declining from the omicron peak. Restrictions were indoor gatherings 50 people or greater and outdoor gatherings 100 people or greater prohibited. The lift started on Fri Feb 11.

80,688 deaths in CA which was the highest in the US. CA was ranked 38th in deaths per capita. State hospitalizations 12,135 as of today compared to 22,000 at the peak in Jan. 2,300 ICU cases as of today compared to 4,600 at the peak in Jan. 37,000 cases in the last seven-day average. 120,000 cases in the peak seven-day average in Jan.

A friend who tested positive for COVID-19 said she experienced loss of taste, brain fog, headaches, and fatigue. These are symptoms of potential long haulers. She is the first person I know with long haul symptoms.

Mon Feb 7. New Jersey ended school mask mandates effective Mar 7. School districts can continue their own mask mandates. School districts are prohibited to ban people wearing masks. Connecticut ended school mask mandates on Feb 28.

Wed Feb 9. Santa Clara County Libraries provided free N95 masks and free COVID-19 tests for the next four days. The service was a drive thru. Each vehicle was handed four tests.

Truckers protested Canada's measure requiring all US truckers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated at the US and Canada border crossings. The protest has lasted for ten days. Trucks couldn't complete their deliveries.

CA Governor Gavin Newsom signed the COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave act into law. The law is retroactive to Jan 1 and expires Sep 30. The law included $6.1 billion in tax relief, tax credits, and grants for small businesses affected by the pandemic. Employees can access up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to quarantine, care for a COVID-19 family member, and get a COVID-19 vaccine shot. The law applies to small businesses employing 26 or greater workers.

Fri Feb 11. Shopped at Costco during the 3pm hour. The parking lot renovation near the gas station continued. Construction workers controlled traffic at the main intersection.

Sat Feb 12. U.C. Berkeley dropped mask mandates in most indoor classes which starts on Feb 28. Students and faculty must be fully vaccinated and boosted to stop wearing masks.

Sun Feb 13. Shopped at Costco during the 9am hour. It was a busy morning for Super Bowl Sunday. I saw a customer purchase a new TV. Roses and wine were at the front entrance.

I watched the Super Bowl.

Mon Feb 14. San Jose State University and San Francisco State University reopened their campuses for in-person learning.

Police in Windsor, Ontario in Canada arrested protesters blocking the US and Canada border at Ambassador Bridge.

Tue Feb 15. The last day of California's state mask mandated. Counties can issue local mask mandates. Masks are required in schools, public transit, hospitals, and nursing homes. Unvaccinated people must continue wearing masks.

Returned Christmas gifts at REI and Target. Shopped at Smart & Final.

Wed Feb 16. US protestors at US and Canada borders ended their protests.

CA became the first state to announce the "endemic" approach. Gov Newsom's plan is prevention and quick reaction. No mask mandates and shutdowns. Identify surges and variants quickly. Send health care workers to minimize case increases. Supply tests to high-risk areas. Catch false information before it spreads. The definition of endemic is the virus exists while population builds immunity.

Thur Feb 17. No new COVID-19 cases at the Beijing Olympics for the first time. All athletes, team officials, and workers were tested daily.

Sat Feb 19. Scientists from Japan discovered the BA.2 omicron subvariant which spreads faster. It might cause more severe diseases and resist current vaccines. The BA.2 was called the stealth omicron. The World Health Organization (WHO) said BA.2 is 30% more contagious than omicron. BA.2 was detected in 74 countries and 47 US states. The CDC said 4% of Americans were infected with BA.2.

Mon Feb 21. Australia opened its borders to international travelers. Travelers must be fully vaccinated.

Tue Feb 22. The weather was hail and light rain. The last time the Bay Area experienced rain was Sun Jan 9.

Thur Feb 24. The New York City Marathon planned full capacity for 2022. The 2020 was cancelled. The 2021 was held with reduced capacity. Runners must be fully vaccinated. The race is scheduled for Nov 6. A lottery is drawn on Mar 30.

Russia invaded Ukraine.

Fri Feb 25. The CDC released new guidelines for areas where COVID-19 cases are low. There is less focus on positive test rates and more focus on hospitalization rates. Low case areas people can take off their masks. High risk areas masks are advised. Airports, train stations, and bus stations masks must be worn. People who tested positive or show COVID-19 symptoms must wear masks.

Sun Feb 27. 250 million free COVID-19 tests are unclaimed from the Federal Government. President Joe Biden announced each household could request four free tests per household during the omicron surge in Jan. 45 million tests were requested on the first day of availability. The average orders per day is 100,000 as of today.

Mon Feb 28. California announced indoor mask mandate ends on Tue Mar 1 for unvaccinated people. Schools and child care facilities mask mandate ends Sat Mar 12. Oregon and Washington announced the same mask policies. The reason is declining COVID-19 case rates and hospitalization rates along the west coast. Masks are required in health care settings, prisons, homeless shelters, long-term care facilities, and public transportation. Local governments and school districts can enact stricter mask enforcements, rules, and mandates.

Throwback Blog: 10 Hour Therapy

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled 10 Hour Therapy written on Aug 17, 2008. I blogged a solution when I felt depressed. The solution was sleep. I connect the dots backwards. I grew up 48 days later on Oct 4, 2008. My life changed forever. The number of days I felt down, depressed, tired and not myself dropped significantly thereafter. Feeling depressed is normal; on the other hand, feeling depressed consistently is not normal. Ironically, minimizing depression requires work; for example, staying active physically such as exercise and staying active mentally such as reading books. In addition, minimize eating processed foods and live an organized life keeping your residence clean. I stand by everything I blogged because I practice them daily.

The 10 hour therapy sleeping works. I rarely need the therapy today. I can't remember the last time I slept for 10 hours to treat depression. Today's blog is a reminder I have the no cost option.

Wednesday night August 13, 2008 I slept for 10 hours. What happened? Since Monday July 28 I felt empty. I neither felt happy nor sad. My attitude was "I'm living life. So what else is new." I showed up for work, exercised, played Team Fortress 2, and replied to emails work and personal. Whoopiedoo =\ My life was uncommon, or perhaps too common such as go to work, exercise three days a week, and sleep. The days were plain with no joy. I had too many thoughts including the recession and "What If" questions such as what if my contract is terminated and what if I never buy a house. (Yes, the US economy is in a recession.) I was myself and I was not myself.

On Thursday August 14, I felt much better. I was myself again. Wednesday night was my 10 hour free and self-help therapy session ^_^ My mood was happy. My attitude was I'm living life and what's new. My life was common . . . a positive attitude, looking forward to new adventures, and seeking new opportunities. The day was joy. I continued with too many thoughts positive and negative; however, the negative thoughts were conquered with the positive thoughts. I was ready to finish anything I needed to get done.

Feeling down, feeling depressed, feeling tired, feeling not yourself? Try sleeping 10 hours. Delay your night plans and activities. Go to bed (-,-) I learned sleep is more than resting your body. Sleep also rests your brain and your soul =D

Side note: The week of Monday August 11 I didn't go to the gym. Physically I felt good. Attitude wise I felt bad. I remember when I have the "I don't want to workout" feeling tells me I'm tired and I must devote extra hours to sleep. Fortunately, I skipped gym for the week or else I might have been sick >.>

2020 Year In Review

Let's start with the nominations. I provide feedback in the thoughts section.

Seven nominations for 2020 Moment Of The Year

1. COVID-19 changes. I grouped all temporary changes and permanently changes caused by the pandemic. They are the following: making homemade bread, boiling water instead of buying water in the supermarkets, working out at home with dumbbells and plates, jogging in the neighborhood, closing windows on hot weather days, opening windows on hot weather evenings, shaving two days a week, trying new restaurants, supporting more local businesses, increasing productivity because more free time, decreasing obligations outside the house, roasting tri-tip or round roast in the oven, exercising in the afternoons instead of the evenings, job training in the evenings instead of the afternoons, reducing laundry, filling my car with gas less often, and setting the air conditioning to 80 degrees instead of 78 degrees while turning off the Patton fan. I admit my neighborhood supporting local businesses is tough because most of them are terrible. Three examples of increase productivity were not driving to the gym saving me 56 minutes weekly, faster job searching because there were fewer job openings, and shopping less often because no need to buy water.

2. Final Fantasy VI. I come out of video game retirement. I completed my first Final Fantasy video game.

3. Harry Potter. I finished reading the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. It took me decades to read the books.

4. Job training. I continue my self-job training adding finance, adding dashboards, and combining the Sublime Text practice drill, Git, and Linux practice drill in one day. I wrote my first API which is a Twitter API downloading tweets.

5. Life skills training. I self-taught myself how to use a navigational compass. Learn life skills now instead of later. There are more life skills training coming soon. My self-training genius is included.

6. New desktop. I built a new desktop because Microsoft ended Windows 7 support on Jan 2020.

7. The first responders, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. These are the people helping other people deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. They are worth my personal nomination. I can't do any of their jobs.

Explanation: The obvious no chances of winning are Final Fantasy VI, job training, and life skills training. Nobody cares about video games and trainings. The trainings are my daily life until I find a job; otherwise, I'm a dumb bum. Harry Potter is inappropriate for an adult to win the moment of the year. Timing and luck are part of the reason my new desktop deserves recognition. I changed my job-training schedule, my new desktop is faster, my new desktop doesn't freeze, and desktop hardware deals for Black Friday 2020 was fewer compared to Black Friday 2019 when I purchased most of the hardware. More COVID-19 temporary changes are becoming permanently. I want to recognize the people working directly with COVID-19 saving lives.

What Won: The first responders, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff.

What Should Have Won: The first responders, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff.

My Thoughts: I'm in the minority. 2020 was a good year despite the COVID-19 global pandemic, global recession, and unprecedent pandemic life. The year slowed down. I was productive. I relaxed. I was boring. I anticipate boredom as a nominee for 2021. Boring could be good. It was boring at first. It's exciting at last. The successful people don't say the process is boring. Patience is a virtue.

I maintained my body weight around 165 pounds. Luck was in my favor not getting the virus and not getting sick. Physical workouts were consistent with my mini home gym and cardio workouts. Luck was also in my favor no traumatic events changed my life in a bad way. Watching one movie a week, eating healthy meals, minimizing junk food, and reading books continued.

2020 Letter Grade: B. 2020 was a good year since 2015. 2019 was barely a good year 51% good and 49% bad; although I could reward myself 60% good and 40% bad. Two good years in a row. The last time I had two good years in a row were 2011-2012.

2020 was another 2008. 2020 was another setup year for something big coming soon.

Update On A Past Blog

I factory reset my Samsung Galaxy S7 on Tue Mar 23, 2020. I wrote a blog I Purchased The Samsung Galaxy S7 Five Years Ago Today inspired from factory resetting. I found out later in the day there was a bug on Google's WebView on Android. Sources: The Verge and XDA Developers. The bright side factory resetting my S7 is my phone runs faster and battery time improved.

I'm changing my 2015 Moment Of The Year and my 2016 Moment Of The Year. The 2015 Moment Of The Year written on Jan 14, 2016 is changed from New Feelings to Zion National Park. The 2016 Moment Of The Year written on Feb 5, 2017 is changed from Zion National Park to Steve Jobs' biography written by Walter Isaacson.

Charting My The Shawshank Redemption Movie Awesome Rating

I chart my all-time favorite movie The Shawshank Redemption. I watched the movie for the first time on Sep 2019. I continue watching random scenes today. I highly recommend the movie.

United States Of America Today Is Election Day 2020

Today is the day US citizens votes. US citizens have a civic duty to vote. Express your thoughts. Express your feelings. Express your opinion. You may submit your vote leaving the presidential candidate field blank. You may vote for any qualified person in the write-in candidate box.

I blog my unprofessional political science opinion on past US presidents. I play the connect-the-dots card starting with the 2000 election. All of the presidents voted to serve were the correct choices. The losing candidates likely performed worse than the winning candidates. Presidents don't need a 4.0 GPA in college. Presidents don't need to be white. Presidents don't need past government experience or hold past elected positions. Presidents connect with people. Do you feel comfortable having a beer with the candidate *insert last name*? The answer is the candidate you vote.

Time is the ultimate judge for the 2020 winner. I believe the voters of the United States Of America vote for the best candidate. The voters have been successful. The voters have spoken.

Unreported 99.9999999…% Times

Today's blog is another reminder life goes on. We make stories every day. 99.9999999…% of all stories are unreported for every 24 hour period. These are the stories nobody knows. The news don't report them. The news misinforms the truths. Every second we breathe something good happens. A couple falls in love. A person is cured from cancer. A person recovers from COVID-19. A person fixes a car. A person's investments are in the positive. A person is hired for a new job. A person earned a promotion. A person graduated from college. A couple becomes parents for the first time. A person purchased a new computer. A group of friends celebrate their sports team winning a game. A felon is released from jail completing the sentence. A professional singer signs his or her first record deal. A first responder succeeds in saving a life. These are good moments.

Every second we breathe something bad happens. A couple is divorced. A person is diagnosed with cancer. A person died from COVID-19. A person's car breaks down. A person's investments are in the negative. A person is laid-off from a company he or she worked for decades. Another person earned a promotion for which he or she didn't deserve. A person flunked out from college. A couple loses a baby from a miscarriage. A person's computer broke. A group of friends are sad their sports team lost a game. A criminal defendant becomes a convicted felon for the first time. A professional singer is rejected from a record company. A first responder fails in saving a life. These are the bad moments.

Moreover, there are bad happenings neither reported from traditional media nor the plethora of online media. Depression, police racial injustice against Blacks, crimes committed from suspects with mental illnesses, mentally ill non-criminal people no longer taking their medications causing problems with their families and/or friends, and clean and sober people relapsing.

Life is unfair. Life moves forward. Nobody's perfect. Tomorrow is another day. Don't take life for granted. Be grateful. Life can be better. Life can be worse. These sentences are clique. These sentences are simple. These sentences are true.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote how life is connected and life is full circle in Life Is Xs and Os on Jul 21, 2018. There is a reason why one person is connected with another person. There is a reason what we do today affects us tomorrow. The answer comes soon.

Throwback Blog: Records, Streaks, Counts, Combinations Matter Briefly

Blogger’s Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Records, Streaks, Counts, Combinations Matter Briefly written on Sep 21, 2016. Today's throwback blog is also an Update On A Past Blog. I combine the Throwback Blog and Update On A Past Blog.

Update On A Past Blog

The Records, Streaks, Counts, Combinations Matter Briefly blog is forget about the bad luck, bad timing, counting failures, and remembering those moments. Stop the snowballing of adding the little bad moments and negative outcomes. We forget the positive streaks and negative streaks count in time. Remembering the positive streaks in the future is okay. Remembering the negative streaks in the future is a waste of time and is depressing. There is always a reset. There is always a new start. Zero is the beginning.

It took me three years to permanently adapt my wisdom acquired on Sep 2019 in Who Cares About The High Number Of Bad Luck? blog on Jan 1, 2020. I could have used the wisdom in 2018 when I experienced the worse and most bad lucks, bad timing, and unfortunate moments in a calendar year. I remembered them. I snowballed them. I should have forgotten them. I follow the two blogs' wisdom today. Nobody cares about my bad days. Stop counting the bad days. Never remember negative streaks.

We hear about the streaks, counting successes, counting failures, and keeping records daily. Some common examples are winning streaks and losing streaks in sports, number of days something happened or something didn't happen, and number of profitable quarters. The time spent counting must be short. It's okay to celebrate a victory. It's okay to express frustration. Thereafter, forget about the count.

For instance, I count the number of days I'm job searching. I feel sad when I reach a milestone number. I forget the number seconds later. Today is a new day. I continue job searching. I continue learning new job skills. Another instance is playing Mahjong (Riichi). I declared I'm ready to win waiting for my winning tile 11 times during an informal tournament. I won one time. I forgot about the 1 for 11 the next day and the next tournament. And I stopped counting the number of job phone interviews after 11. There have been too many.

Put the count to the back of the mind. It's a waste of time contemplating the positive streak or the negative streak. The next time it happens is new. It's a reset. Perform your way. Play your game. I believe baseball players take each at bat and take each defensive play separately. Don't worry about last place. Forget the negatives. Move forward. Take everything one at a time. Improve the successes. Correct the failures. Something different can happen. The score takes care of itself. The result takes care of itself. Good moments follow.

Too Much Hurrying And Too Much To Do

I express my frustrations calmly and maturely. There are two topics. The first topic is hurried. The second topic is overwhelmed.

Everyone is in a hurry. Everything is in a hurry. The world is too fast. The years go by faster and faster even though there are 24 hours per day. The new generation believes today is the normal pace. The old generation believes today is faster than their younger years. Welcome to the information age. There is more automation. Do it quick is accepted. There are more choices. We must think fast to choose. We don't want to do more. We must do more most of the time.

We forget why we are human. We forget how to be a human being. We forget to take a breath. We forget to pause. There is no time for a checkpoint. Our habits are engraved we don't want to innovate. Our habits are an assurance everything is okay. Chances are everything is not okay.

There is too much to do. There is too much to know. Most people aren’t dumb. Life is too hard. I put myself in the spotlight. I job train six days a week. My subjects are Python, Power Pivot, Power Query, Power BI, and SQL. Learn JSON, review Sublime Text, learn GitHub Desktop and review GitHub command prompt, and review Excel 365 are backlogged. I pause the job training and work out the backlog starting on Mon Apr 20, 2020. Another backlog is a short-term project updating my webpage Innovate Infinitely. I prioritize tomorrow. I'm responsible to job search. I'm also responsible to cook and to shop for my household. I spend a little time to unwind with my leisure activities read, write blogs, watch movies, and exercise.

I'm lucky I have no children to nurture. I'm in trouble if I have children and fulfill the responsibilities above. If I reduce my responsibilities by 50%, then I still have too much to do. There is still too much to know. If I reduce my responsibilities by 90%, then I might as well be a lazy homeless bum.

There are days I'm two steps up and one step down. There are days I'm two steps down and one step up. No problem. I have grit, determination, and motivation. I have no reason to stop because what else am I going to do?

From Frowns To Happiness

Everyone has problems. Everyone. You have problems. I have problems. Trust me. There is hope. I call my problems frowns in today's blog. The frowns and I fight together. I help my frowns become happiness. Be brave. Don't be shy. I'm an open person. I welcome frowns. We solve the problems together. Happiness is the goal.

Loneliness frowns. There are good people we find to become friends. We rescue other people's loneliness. Unemployed frowns there are jobs. We must beat the unfair job hiring system. Bad luck frowns. We trust life finds a way. Nobody lives a live with bad luck forever. Likewise with bad timing frown.

Problems are meant to be solved. Bad turns to good. Frowns turn to happiness.

Update On A Past Blog

I remember another forgotten moment I should have mention in Top Ten Forgotten Moments on Feb 15, 2020. I watched four WB TV shows in 2001. They were Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Maybe It's Me, Reba, and Raising Dad. I also watched a few episodes of Grounded for Life on FOX. These five TV shows helped me through the bad months in 2001.

2019 Year In Review. It Was Barely A Good Year.

Maybe waiting two months is a good idea to post my prior year review. I have two months to reflect the prior year. What did I do wrong? Learn from the mistakes. What did I do correctly? Reinforce the positives. Could I have done something different? What were the good choices? What were the bad choices? I select my 2019 Moment Of The Year first. There were highlights. I reflect my 2019 second.

2019 Moment Of The Year

Nominees: Consistent Gym Workouts, Discretionary Spending In Check, Innovating Common Knowledge Blogs To My Webpage, Hiking, HP Spectre x360 Laptop, Learn Life Skills Better Now Than Never, Rage Quit Bloons Tower Defense 6 Or BTS6 Video Game Indefinitely, Self-Trained Genius, Sickness Free Year, The Shawshank Redemption Movie
Explanation: I brought back my third gym workout plan I started in 2016. I followed the late Steve Jobs' philosophy living a simple life minimizes money worries. I finally posted my blogs on my webpage decades later. I mixed-up one weekend a month by hiking Sep-Dec. I purchased a new laptop to replace my HP Compaq 8510p since Jul 2008. I have been learning rope knots, sew a button, paper airplanes, and Morse Code. I uninstalled BTD6; in addition, I uninstalled Ascension and Pandemic video game apps. The end of the day I'm one step closer to become a genius. I took no drugs because I wasn't sick; although, I admit there were at least four close calls being fully blown sick. The Shawshank Redemption movie might have saved my life.
What Won: Consistent Gym Workouts
What Should Have Won: Self-Trained Genius
My Thoughts Mar 2020: Physical workouts win for the second year in a row. My physical appearance is the best ever. I begin a fourth workout plan in Mar 2020. Many people are afraid or uncomfortable of geniuses for whatever reasons. I scare myself sometimes when my thinking is one step deeper the following days. The uneasiness prevented Self-Trained Genius winning.

I can't explain why I waited decades to post my blogs on my webpage. Click Innovating Common Knowledge Blog on my webpage to read my blogs. ¬¬¬One of the four hikes was a new trail Montara Mountain trail at San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica, CA. My backpacking equipment collected dust. I might as well do something different going outside while unemployed.

My new laptop running Windows 10 is fast. I watched Windows 10 YouTube videos for a crash course. I can't explain why it took me decades to learn life skills. More learning is expected. I want to be useful. I uninstalled BTS6, Ascension, and Pandemic gaming apps to prioritize working out at the gym, reading books, learning skills, and sleeping. I feel happy I wasn't sick in 2019. I was sick three times in 2018.

It took me decades to watch The Shawshank Redemption because a friend from college told me there was no point watching the movie. My friend was wrong. I'm not elaborating the movie because I don't want to give any spoilers. The movie is number one in the IMDb top 250 movies.

Reflect 2019

My 2020 feeling is another cautious optimistic year like 2019. I keep my feeling good moments in check. I asked the question, "How do I recover from three consecutive bad years?" in 2019. My answer is keep living. Continue moving forward. Mix up life. Try something new. Take a chance. Continue learning. These answers are cliques. These answers are true. The new hikes, replace my old laptop, learn rope knots, and refresh my Excel are good examples. In addition, the old school activities are valid today such as reading books, working out at the gym for physical activity mixing up workout plans, and minimizing eating junk food while trying new foods. Doing nothing leads to nothing.

My life is like professional sports. I can't win the championship. I can win games. I can win playoff games to advance to the next round. I lose the biggest game of the season. I don't win freedom. I don't earn freedom. I elaborate my hands are inches away from the freedom championship trophy in a future blog.

All years were good when the prior year had momentum. Good 2004 was the exception because there was no 2003 momentum. There was 2014 momentum for a good 2015. There was no 2015 momentum for a bad 2016. There was no 2016 momentum for a bad 2017. There was no 2017 momentum for a bad 2018. What if the 2018 momentum needed more time for a future good year? In other words, the 2018 momentum needed 2019 for a 2018 and 2019 momentum for a good 2020. Time will tell.

2019 Letter Grade: C+

2019 is a barely a good year scoring a 51/49 good/bad. My best is 60/40 good/bad. The Self-Trained Genius increases the grade a third from a C to a C+.

Update On A Past Blog

I want to remind people about quiet people from the blog Another Perspective On Quiet People on Feb 20, 2019. Sometimes people are quiet because they have a lot on their minds; likewise, when people are in a new environment for the first time mostly. The update is another reminder quiet people are not necessarily people who don't want to be with other people.

Today Is A Lucky Day I Count My Blessings

Today's blog is not a bullshit blog. Today's blog is not a self-pity blog. Today's blog is not a life reset blog or a daily reset blog. Today's blog I remind, review, and refresh my good luck and good fortunate. Today's blog I count my blessings. Never forget.

*The minimums. I have shelter including a mattress and a bathroom, meals, water, and clothes. I thank my parents. My 2005 Toyota Camry runs good.

*Health. I'm in good health physically, mentally, and emotionally. I workout at the gym four days a week. I minimize eating processed foods. I review skills and learn new skills six days a week. I read books. I sleep eight hours a night. My self-esteem is strong. I'm one step closer to become a genius at the end of the day.

*Speaking of review skills and learn new skills, I have been reviewing my job skills to prepare for my next job. I review Excel, SQL, Power Query, and Power Pivot. I learn Python and Power BI. I wrote my first API which is a Twitter API written in Python. I also learn daily life skills such as tying rope knots and sewing a button. I learn past generation leisure skills such as making paper airplanes.

*Maintenance. Working out at the gym four days a week is an example of maintaining good physical health. I do my share keeping the house in good condition cleaning, vacuuming, and mopping. I review everything I have learned from the bullet above continuously. Learn by repetition. Muscle memory. I write blogs to keep my writing skills sharp.

*Minimal money worries. Steve Jobs never worried about money before and after he found Apple. Jobs lived a simple life before Apple. Jobs became rich after Apple went public.

*Leisure. Working out for physical fitness, reading books, and watching movies are my top leisure activities. I spend about 20 minutes a day reading social media. Newspapers are delivered four days a week. I minimize watching television. I minimize playing video games.

*Active life. It's hard for me to be bored. Effort is required to keep myself occupied. A person motivated to keep himself or herself occupied is half way to become successful at anything.