Throwback Blog: 500

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 500 written on Aug 6, 2010. I wrote blog number 500. I didn't write a top 50 blogs. I reposted my top 30 blogs from 300 written on Dec 7, 2008. Today's blog is number 1,930.

I update my top 30 blogs. There are changes. Mistakes made. Lessons learned. My life changed. New knowledge. Intelligence expanded. Wisdom changed. Increased strength. Here are the top 30 blogs with updates in italics, strikethroughs, and my remarks noted with RM:

1. Never take anything and anyone for granted.
2. Trust my gut feeling.
3. My [earlier] daily top five rules for living: (1) Don't criticize, condemn, and complain, and don't compare with others. (2) Don't act like a jerk or bitch. (3) Always speak calmly and be calm. (4) Don't daydream when driving. (5) Keep your head up high . . . look at [their] cute face when talking. RM: Sometimes comparing with others is positive.
4. Continue to live life finding what you want to do.
5. Never judge a person by their appearance.
6. Remember to learn from [your] failures as well as your successes.
7. It takes patience to learn who a person is for long-term family, friend, business, and romantic relationships.
8. Do something else to take your mind off something you hate.
9. Meet new people and make new friends continuously.
10. It's OK to be alone.

11. You must earn what you want in life.
12. You are responsible for yourself.
13. Schools have summer vacations; life doesn't have summer vacations. Life has vacations. Life has seasons like sports and TV series. Fiscal years, resets, endings. Life can say one continuous life; however, there are chapters, volumes, parts, checkpoints. RM: Everyone needs a break. Everyone needs a vacation. Everyone needs days off.
14. Age is just a number. RM: Age is a factor in most situations.
15. Have courage to say goodbye to anything precious.
16. First years, first impressions, first go-around, and first successes are equally important as second years, second impressions, second go-around, and second successes.
17. Everyone has the right to find happiness. Pursue happiness to find happiness.
18. Be patient. Never rush.
19. Take life one day at a time. Have fun, learn, and enjoy. Increment.
20. If you talk the talk, you must stand by your talk.

21. Do something to receive something.
22. Money is a way to help people, create action, and show appreciation.
23. Fight the pain, the suffering, and the struggles to keep living.
24. Use your mind to see.
25. Time is the ultimate judge.
26. Live the present. Live the moment intelligently.
27. Wait 24 hours for goods or services less than $100 and 48 hours for greater than $100 to avoid the urge to splurge.
28. Do the little things and they add up in time.
29. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
30. When you in a jam, go back to the basics. Go remind yourself the basics which is what I'm doing :D :D :D

Number 500! This blog is number 500 and the 5th anniversary for Innovating Common Knowledge. Good timing. I average 100 blogs every twelve months. That's too low. On the other hand, 100 is a good number because I spread my time writing blogs and many other activities. There are both sides to the discussion whether I spend too much or too little time writing blogs.

On my 300th blog, I shared my top 30 blogs. I choose to repost the top 30 blogs instead of creating a top 50 blogs. The reason is the lessons I learned and the wisdom I gained from my top 30 blogs applies to today's living--and tomorrow's living. They are powerful for me. The lessons and wisdoms are both old lessons such as life is a marathon, not a [sprint] and new lessons such as age is just a number. The timing is good for another review.

I continue to write blogs promoting change, improvement, and innovation. I continue to write blogs to open myself up and to experiment what I can and what I can't do. The Sign Of My Times (SOMT) and Accutane blogs continue as I reflect how life is changed now and when I was a child and my acne treatment, respectively.

Here is the summary of my top 30 blogs:

1. Never take anything and anyone for granted.
2. Trust my gut feeling.
3. My [latest] daily top five rules for living: (1) Don't criticize, condemn, and complain, and don't compare with others. (2) Don't act like a jerk or bitch. (3) Always speak calmly and be calm. (4) Don't daydream when driving. (5) Keep your head up high . . . look at the cute face when talking.
4. Continue to live life finding what you want to do.
5. Never judge a person by their appearance.
6. Remember to learn from you failures as well as your successes.
7. It takes patience to learn who a person is for long-term family, friend, business, and romantic relationships.
8. Do something else to take your mind off something you hate.
9. Meet new people and make new friends continuously.
10. It's OK to be alone.

11. You must earn what you want in life.
12. You are responsible for yourself.
13. Schools have summer vacations; life doesn't have summer vacations.
14. Age is just a number.
15. Have courage to say goodbye to anything precious.
16. First years, first impressions, first go-around, and first successes are equally important as second years, second impressions, second go-around, and second successes.
17. Everyone has the right to find happiness.
18. Be patient. Never rush.
19. Take life one day at a time. Have fun, learn, and enjoy.
20. If you talk the talk, you must stand by your talk.

21. Do something to receive something.
22. Money is a way to help people, create action, and show appreciation.
23. Fight the pain, the suffering, and the struggles to keep living.
24. Use your mind to see.
25. Time is the ultimate judge.
26. Live the present. Live the moment.
27. Wait 24 hours for goods or services less than $100 and 48 hours for greater than $100 to avoid the urge to splurge.
28. Do the little things and they add up in time.
29. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
30. When you in a jam, go back to the basics. Go remind yourself the basics which is what I'm doing :D :D :D

My first blog was posted on Thur Aug 4, 2005. The 300th blog was posted on Sun Dec 7, 2008. Click 300 to read the entire 300th blog detailing the top blogs.

My Generation X Sucks

Gen X is known as the forgotten generation. Gen X is between the bigger size and expressive generations Baby Boomers and Millennial or Gen Y. Gen X are people born between 1965 and 1981. Baby Boomers are people born between 1946-1964. Millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996.

Our childhood was latchkey. A latchkey kid is defined as a child left home alone or without supervision for most of the day because their parents are working. Another definition is a child returns to an empty residence after school or after other activities without supervision. We went to school by ourselves. We went home by themselves. We gathered in feral packs. We roamed the streets. The activities included riding bikes, playing baseball, skateboarding, and jumping rope. We included kids we didn't like because of inclusion. There were commercials reminding latchkey parents about their children; for example, a local news commercial said, "It's 10pm. Do you know where your children are?" Our parents said before we exited the front door, "Be home before dinner." Perhaps, our latchkey childhood explained no parental involvement. No guidance. No teaching. No nurturing.

Gen X prefers calls over text. We desire offline communication over online communication. We are more patient. Persistence and grit are true attributes. The process is more valuable than the result. Privacy is paramount. We prefer cash over credit cards.

Some world events included the Vietnam War, Watergate, the energy crisis in the 1970s, AIDS in the 1980s, President Ronald Regan's Reaganomics, Chernobyl, the Berlin Wall collapse, the Cold War ended, and the Apple and IBM personal computers. There were disco, MTV, and Michael Jackson.

The Gunnie Pigs

Gen X are the first people to watch educational television such as Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Schoolhouse Rock! We experienced changes in music from vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs, and then mp3s. We experienced changes in communication from typewriters to word processors; from landlines, car phones, pagers, mobile phones, cell phones, and then smart phones; from floppy disks, USB storage devices, email attachments, and then the cloud.

Gen X are the first workers with defined contribution accounts. These accounts are 401(k) and IRA for which the workers are responsible for their retirements. Baby Boomers retirement accounts are defined benefit pensions for which the company funded their retirement accounts. Moreover, we are the first generation both parents worked for dual incomes.

We Gen X juggle our lives by taking care of our children and our aging parents. We care about our families. We make sure our children are active such as dance class, band practices, and sports practices. We make sure our parents arrive at their medical appointments and rehab sessions. On the other hand, our generation saw an increase in the number of divorces.

Further, Gen X struggles with personal finances. It's an economic inflation storm of college tuition, utilities, mortgages or rent, insurances, and bare necessities. Some Gen X support their parents and their adult children. The increase costs make some Gen X work in their 60s and 70s. I hope they don't lose their jobs. They experience ageism while finding employment. They experience some jobs replaced with AI.

The 2000s decade Gen X's 401(k) and IRA declined because of the dot com bubble in Mar 2000 and the real estate bubble in Sep 2008. Our retirement accounts declined during a brief inflation in late 2018, COVID-19 global recession from 2020-2022, and the present inflation. We can be the first generation to experience the Social Security collapse. The forecast is Social Security loses all funding in the year 2033. Payments are decreased by 20% to 25%.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote blogs blaming my parents for my unsuccessful life or loser life. I forgave them decades ago. It's not entirely my parent's fault. Gen X is to be blamed, too. Here are three blogs I blamed my parents: Top Ten Don't Be My Parents written on Mar 17, 2020, There Are Many Children With Parents Like Mine written on Jun 2, 2014, and Top Ten Lessons My Parents Failed To Teach Me written on May 2, 2013.

Graduating High School Seniors All Back At Square One

My nephew graduated high school yesterday. There were 750 out of 800 graduating seniors who attended their ceremony held in the football field. No tickets were required. Seniors could invite any number of family members and friends. The open seating area on the field was full. Both sides of the bleachers were filled. Some family members and friends disobeyed the graduation ceremony rules. No big deal at the end of the evening. The graduating seniors met with their family members and friends to share a once in a lifetime moment.

There was a commonality when all graduating seniors received their diplomas. They're all even. They're promoted to high school graduate level 1. A new experience points system is activated. Everyone starts with zero points. Everyone opens a new book starting at chapter 1. Level the playing field.

It doesn't matter who were the high school students. Athletes, trouble makers, C average 2.0, goths, rockers, skaters, geeks, loners, straight A 4.0+, popular students, gamers, and good looking students. If the term "college preps" still exists, then they're included. Weirdos, fat students, bullies, bullied, special ed, and bad looking students. All high school students were included.

The rumors disappeared. The mistakes learned. Popularity no more. No more ranking students in *fill in the blank*. Send the bad memories to vault. There were bygones. There was forgiveness. The past is the past. The past four years matters none. The end arrived. High school is over more for better and less for worse. Time to say goodbye.

Boring Ceremony Not Boring

Parents and younger siblings who said high school graduation was boring must take it back. Retract the boring feeling. If parents said high school graduation was boring, then their high school graduation was boring, too. If younger siblings said high school graduation was boring, then their high graduation is going to be boring. The siblings are going to graduate soon.

High school graduation is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Nobody must screw up a once in a lifetime moment.

Throwback Blog: Get Up And Do Something, Anything

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 Get Up And Do Something, Anything written on Jul 21, 2012. I created a life motto "Get out and do something, anything" on the day I grew up on Oct 4, 2008. Sometimes do something, anything is indoors. I changed the life motto to "Get up and do something, anything." More people discover there are plenty of productive somethings and enlighten anythings indoors in today's Information Age and today's economy. A balance life of indoors and outdoors is unnecessary; however, people shouldn't spend all the time either indoors or outdoors.

Furthermore, get up communicates to people to get up from bed or get up from the chair to live life.

There is 5-6 weeks remaining in the summer. School and college begin soon it's like one blink of an eye and classes start. There is still time to take a vacation for the full time workers. The year is going by fast. I hope everyone has done something special. It can be a big trip or a few small moments. Never settle on one small exciting day. Never wait for something to happen.

I changed my life motto from "Get Out And Do Something, Anything" to "Get Up and Do Something, Anything." I changed the word "out" to "up" because I wanted to imply people can have a good life indoors; however, a balance life of indoors and outdoors should be achieved. Some of my favorite indoor activities are working out in the gym, listening to music, ballroom dancing, and reading. Some of my favorite outdoor activities are hiking, visiting new places, and shopping.

Get up and do something, anything. Stop sitting on the chair or lying down on the bed. Find a new adventure. Meet new people. Read a book. Rent a classic movie on DVD. Eat something new. Walk around new places. Improve a part of you. Start fulfilling your to-do list. This blog is a solution to stop being lazy. Find happiness and joy in your life today.

De Anza Fall 2010 Note: Going off topic to end this blog, I realized one of my key for my most successful quarter was my Accounting 86 class. The instructor assigned homework on the fourth week. The first 3 weeks I settled in and concentrated on my other classes more difficult than Accounting 86.

Selected The Price Is Right YouTube Videos Bob Barker Era

Television game show host Bob Barker past away on Aug 26, 2023 at the age of 99. Barker hosted Truth Or Consequences and The Price Is Right. I watched The Price Is Right during my summer vacations from grade school and when I'm sick on school days. Here are some of my favorite Price Is Right pricing games.

Punch-A-Bunch. Contestants punch a hole to reveal a winning cash paper.

EPIC Price Is Right gamble! It pays off BIG! Bryan ignores his wife to give up $5,000. Watch Bob Barker's poker face. Complete video Punchboard $5,000.

Sweet Senior Is Shocked When She Wins $10,000 Playing PUNCH-A-BUNCH! - The Price Is Right 1984. Watch Bob Barker's poker face on her first punch.

Sound the Alarm! TPIR Contestant Wins $10K Playing Punch-A-Bunch! - The Price Is Right 1985. The contestant's reaction is shaking.

Fun Contestant Wins $10K With First Punch Playing PUNCH-A-BUNCH! - The Price Is Right 1983. The contestant dances a winner.

Shell Game. Contestants guess where the ball is hidden under a shell.

A "Dirty Rotten Trick"/cheat on playing Shell Game -- The Price is Right. The contestant cheats and gets away with it.

Three Strikes. Contestants draw numbers to the price of the car or strikes from a bag.

Wow! TPIR Contestant Makes History Winning 3 STRIKES Without a Strike! - The Price Is Right 1984. The contestant draws numbers only with many miss guesses.

Contestant Makes TPIR History When She Plays a PERFECT GAME of 3 STRIKES! - The Price Is Right 1984. A perfect game no strikes and no miss guesses.

The Price is Right - Jonathon Berg PAINFULLY LOSES "3 Strikes"! (Friday, May 12, 2000). Contestant doesn't win the $41K Lincoln Town Car last number after drawing five consecutive numbers even with the one strike chip rule.

The Price is Right: April 2, 2004 (Longest playing of 3 Strikes!). The UCSC Banana Slug student doesn't win the $40K Lincoln LS after drawing many numbers and guessing many times even with the one strike chip rule. Time stamped.

Race Game. Contestants place the correct prices on four prizes in 45 seconds.

The Price Is Right Super Fan Quickly Beats RACE GAME While In Heels! - The Price Is Right 1983. Wearing heels!

Savvy Contestant Gets Four Prices Right on First Try During RACE GAME! - The Price Is Right 1984. Contestant guesses correctly the first time.

The Price is Right - Pregnant Race Game Perfection!. Nothing to worry. Victory in 9 seconds.

Switcheroo. Contestants insert blocks with numbers to complete the price for five prizes.

TPIR Contestant Goes For EVERY PRIZE While Playing SWITCHEROO - The Price Is Right 1983. Contestant takes a chance with three correct to win all five prizes.

The Price is Right 99 Year Old Contestant. The contestant played Switcheroo with a broken timer.

Other Videos

One of the Worst The Price Is Right Players Ever. The dumbest contestant wins Ten Chances. My all-time favorite.

The Price is Right - Little Sweet Surprise. A five year old boy from MA is given gifts which includes 1980s GoBots and Transformers Dinobots.

Schools Give Out An Unlimited A Grades

I admit I'm not an educational professional. If schools want to give out more A's for an easier school day, need to give out more A's while convincing more students to attend classes for more funding, feel less guilty conscious being dishonest, turn off their sincerities, and stop caring, then all of the above are accomplished easily. Students must not be fooled life in the classrooms reflect real life. The purpose of going to school is to learn. Students learn the ABC's and 123's; in particular, college bound high school students prepare for college enrollment taking required classes and exams. Nothing more. Nothing less. Anything taught outside the ABC's and 123's are bonuses and exceptions.

True A graded students learn outside the classroom 365 days a year. True A graded students are not the 3.5's and the 4.0's. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating--innovate infinitely. If students don't participate in athletics, then exercise at home. Read leisure books. Learn life skills such as cooking, tying knots, programming, Excel, changing the oil in a car, running basic PC, and sewing. There's nothing wrong with playing video games, watching movies, and socializing with friends. Know the priorities. Strengthen your self-confidence, self-esteem, socializing skills, and communication skills. Discover motivation. I will is more important than I know. It's okay to make mistakes. Make intelligent mistakes to learn from them. Schools teach none of the above.

The real life is not A grades. The real life is not feel good participation awards. People show up resulting in people succeeding is false. Students attend school whether they like it or not. Students attend school whether they're present or the minds are someplace else. The real life is people don't do anything not feeling up to it. People do quit. People say goodbye. The real life is limited opportunities for too many people.

People should wonder why the big successful people didn't earn A's and B's. They earned C's. Or they dropped out of college such as Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, and some professional athletes.

My High School Freshmen Year Was My First Taste Of Responsible Adulthood

My freshmen year was the year I studied the hardest. I spent more hours learning. I spent more hours practicing. I spent more hours exercising at home. I spent less hours watching television. I used flash cards to learn French vocabulary. I drilled my R.O.T.C. general orders and ranks. The hard work paid off with good grades. I felt smart. I felt strong.

On the other hand, I failed the state's basic writing standards exam. My mom purchased two books to improve my English and my writing skills. I read the books. I studied. I practiced. I passed the exam in my sophomore year.

My adulthood was established. Hard work. Motivation. Focus. Strength. Intelligence. What about fun? The fun happened afterwards. I accepted the process. I accepted the challenge.

Summer Vacation Ruined Everything

My summer vacation after freshmen year was too much fun. I watched too much television. I took the adulthood lesson for granted. I thought I remember everything. I wasn't going down. The opposite happened. I forgot everything I learned. Use it or lose it. I lost it. I didn't exercise. I didn't refresh my French. It was harder without my French textbook; however, I did have my lecture notes and flash cards. My parents were partially responsible because they never encouraged me to continue getting stronger and learning more. They didn't look after me.

Today's high school students can study during the summer because of the internet; in particular, tutorial videos on YouTube, Wikipedia, books in .pdf, and websites posting learning materials.

High School Was Different Thereafter

I experienced a non-typical high school thereafter. There was one French II class instead of two classes due to budget cuts in my sophomore year. French II was overcrowded. I couldn't take R.O.T.C. because the class conflicted with French II. The district announced two high schools closed permanently due to budget cuts in my junior year. My teachers didn't care. Homework was reduced. Teaching was relaxed. Tests were easier. I graduated at another high school in my senior year. Students and faculty didn't care about the multiple schools merged. I struggled in my classes during my senior year. I could have studied smarter. I still earned A's and B's.

Freshmen Year Didn't Count

Freshmen year in a college candidate's application was excluded. I'm not sure the rules apply to today's high school students. It's ironic I didn't need a warm-up year. I was prepared in terms of motivation for college.

My freshmen year I was motivated to be a mature adult. I lost the motivation during my first high school summer vacation. The motivation came back decades later.

Side note: One of the two high schools closed permanently reopened five years later due to higher student enrollment. The school opened with freshmen and sophomores only.

Painful San Jose State University Reflections

I graduated from San Jose State University on Dec 19, 1997. 8,094 days later I ask the question "What did I learn in college?" from the memoir titled Reflections. My answer is I learned nothing except Economics and Mathematics. I learned life working at Blockbuster Video in Fall Semester 1996-Spring Semester 1997. I write a blog on Blockbuster Video soon.

I read the 20 pages Reflections memoir today. It's painful. I was ashamed. Too many mistakes. Too few lessons learned. I failed to take advantage of being a college student exploring life, trying new things, experiencing new experiences, meeting new people, and seeking new adventures. I also failed to take advantage of living in the 1990s. The 1990s was a great decade. I could have set myself up for a long-term solid foundation and life-lasting connections after college. I was weak. I was naive. I took life for granted. I complained. I had too much fun. I was an entitled student for which it was wrong. I didn't grow up to be an adult; fortunately, I did grow up to be an adult on Sat Oct 4, 2008 3,942 days later.

The 20 pics below are my Reflections memoir. I'm happy the Raymond Mar San Jose State University college student is no longer present. He was closed more than a decade ago. I promise I never be the Raymond Mar San Jose State University person.

Side note: The unidentified song Valentine in Spring Semester 1997 is identified Valentine by Jim Brickman and Martina McBride.

A Second Look At 2017

It's the time I look back at my 2017 blogs to give myself feedback. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, correcting errant blogs, and sharing changes. These blogs are also the 2017 best blogs. There are 13 blogs for A Second Look At 2017.

Blog Title: 1. Schools Have Summer Vacations And Life Has Summer Vacations
Date: Tuesday January 3
Summary: There is an ending to everything controlled or not controlled.
Feedback: The blog may be misleading. There are short-term endings. There are one-time endings. Sometimes we create the endings. Sometimes life creates the endings. Work meetings end. Waiting for a car in a repair shop has an ending. Seasons have endings. Holidays have endings. The end of a calendar year is an ending. Time passes.

Blog Title: 2. Top Ten Men Truths
Date: Saturday January 7
Summary: Ten truths distinguishing a boy over 18 years old and a man over 18 years old. I do no justice summarizing here. Click the link to read in its entirety.
Feedback: Top blog for 2017. I nominate the blog for any blog of the year award.

Blog Title: 3. Live Quitting Or Die Believing
Date: Saturday January 14
Summary: The time to wait is subjective. The time to believe is subjective. Waiting and believing have an end time.
Feedback: I did it again. I wrote eight self-pity blogs or bullshit blogs in 2016. I wanted to stop blogging self-pity blogs in 2017. I was wrong. The world knows my current life situation. The bullshit blogs are complaining blogs. I express my frustrations. I express my anger. There's no need to repeat again for another year. Flipping an innovating common knowledge blog to my current life situation is terrible. There are seven bullshit blogs in 2017.

Blog Title: 4. Don't Be Me
Date: Sunday March 5
Summary: I want mature adults to move out of their parent's house at first opportunity intelligently, to learning new career skills indefinitely, to never stop meeting new people, to expand their lives, and to remember desire is more important than knowledge.
Feedback: These are tough adult lessons. If I teach a young person these lessons which change his or her life, then I'm happy.

Blog Title: 5. Two Personal Vows
Date: Wednesday April 12
Summary: The first vow is money doesn't change who I am. The second vow is control stress.
Feedback: Quoted for emphasis. Its ironic work must be done to control stress. Some stress is required to minimize stress. Stress can cause people to lose intelligence. My intuition says stress can cause brain damage such as memory loss, weaker comprehension, and behavior problems.

Blog Title: 6. What Is Believe?
Date: Saturday June 17
Summary: I don't need believe to complete my goals. I have to find a job. Do I need to believe? Students must graduate schools to increase their chances of success. Do they need to believe?
Feedback: Another bullshit blog. I removed daily rule #7 "Have faith. Believe in yourself." on Mar 12, 2018.

Blog Title: 7. Anything Better Than Duct Tape?
Date: Saturday August 5
Summary: I question the attitude of improving everything every day.
Feedback: There is another term. It's called creative exhaustion.

Blog Title: 8. Hate Yourself Today Only
Date: Wednesday August 9
Summary: Hate yourself is an easier way to find flaws, weaknesses, and whatever missing.
Feedback: Here is one way to be brutally honest with yourself. Turn your self-hate to self-love. Find everything you hate. Fix everything you hate. One must work to fix problems. Self-love is not automatic.

Blog Title: 9. Be Patient, I Rescue My Loneliness And Other People's Loneliness
Date: Monday August 14
Summary: There are lonely people in the world. I save myself first. I save lonely people next. I welcome people with weak self-esteem if they're motivated to strengthen their self-esteem. Nobody lives a happy life being lonely.
Feedback: The irony is I need people to help achieve freedom. I refer independence in the blog as freedom. I achieve both rescuing lonely people and earning freedom. Both complements each other. On the other hand, why do people want to spend time with losers who are unemployed and live with their parents? Where are the unemployed and live with their parents? Where are the people down on their luck? Where are the people not given chances? I must have bad luck finding unemployed and live with their parents people.

Blog Title: 10. Higher Priority Job Hiring And Higher Weight Job Hiring
Date: Sunday September 10
Summary: Times have changed regarding the job hiring system today and our father's job hiring system yesterday. Experience is valued. Good attitude is not valued.
Feedback: More people blame today's information age making jobs harder to find. Automated cars lead to automated trucks. Robots work in shipping and receiving. Customers order fast food at self-pay kiosks. For example, I saw kiosks at Costco's Food Court. I'm sure Costco has plenty of other customer service positions and more food preparation position for the food court cashiers.

Another ironic thought. Hiring managers hire people with matching knowledge, recent experience, and relevant experience because they're less likely to take another person's job. A job candidate with a high desire to learn and strong motivation to get better is more likely to take another person's job. There is a fear. The fear is a new job candidate replaces an existing job candidate. The job market is tough. Some workers do anything to protect their jobs. Some workers do anything to avoid entering the unemployed abyss.

What do we blame? Blame the job hiring system. Blame population overcrowding. There are too many people. There are too few job openings.

I have a degree in Economics. I learned new industries create more new jobs. The job workforce increases. I question the job creation theory. How does the robotics industry create more new jobs because many robots substitute human labor with automation?

Blog Title: 11. Life Goes On
Date: Saturday September 23
Summary: Anything that happens today good and bad anything happens tomorrow good and bad. Life is unfair. Life goes on.
Feedback: Everyday we wake up there is a chance of something happening. Sometime we're prepared. Sometimes we're not prepared. We roll the dice 24/7. Coincidences happen. Logical events happen. Illogical events happen. Weird events happen. We're at the right place at the right time. We're at the wrong place at the wrong time. Take a chance something good happens. Take a chance something bad happens. Life is full of chances.

Blog Title: 12. Throwback Blog: How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It?
Date: Wednesday November 30
Summary: I ask the question how some people attract people no matter where they are. Charism. Good looks. Voice tone. Luck. I also ask why some people repel from me. Poor physical appearance. Weak self-esteem. Loud voice. Luck.
Feedback: A common saying is don't judge a person by their appearance. Let's play the brutal honest card. We do judge a person by their appearance. Most of the time our judgement is correct. Take care of your body physically speaking. Good grooming. Good clothing. Good smile. Good communication skills. Back up the grooming, clothing, smile, and communication skills with intelligence, confidence, and mature behavior.

I thought back to Fanime Con 2009. I wore costumes to anime conventions. I wore makeup for the first time in my life. I couldn't believe makeup makes a difference to a person's looks. The makeup covered my pores. I attracted people. People came to me. I have a better understanding why women wear makeup. Also, perhaps, why men wear makeup. The makeup industry doesn't exist without Hollywood.

Maybe I'm scaring people without my knowledge. Maybe the people I scare have poor self-esteem. Maybe the people I scare are weak. I'm portraying myself unconsciously too strong, too smart, and too confidence; on the other hand, I question do I want to meet weak people. Do I want weak friends? I admit I have more work to strengthen my self-esteem. I admit I scare people off when I'm laser focused on a task. I look intimidating.

Blog Title: 13. The World Is Too Many And Too Few
Date: Saturday December 2
Summary: There are too many good people. There are too few good opportunities.
Feedback: It's a conversation nobody wants to talk about. The population continues to grow. Is the number of opportunities matching the population growth? People are living longer. Overcrowding is the number one global problem.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Schools Have Summer Vacations And Life Has Summer Vacations

2016 was a bad year for the majority of the people. We wanted 2016 to end. We wanted 2017 to begin. 2017 begins a new year. 2017 begins a new beginning. 2017 begins a new *fill in the blank*.

I wrote a blog You Must Create The Endings on Mon Apr 30, 2007. I blogged schools and colleges have endings when the school year breaks for vacation. Life doesn't have endings. People are responsible for their endings.

I correct myself. Life does have endings. Dec 31 is the ending of a calendar year. There are endings to a season such as sports and television. There are fiscal year endings. Life can be one book series with chapters, volumes, acts, and parts. Sometimes people control their endings. Sometimes fate, destiny, karma, life itself, call it whatever, controls the ending. Nothing lasts forever.

Further, life has summer vacations in another viewpoint. There are times people need to stop for a breath. Timeouts and checkpoints are part of life. People take vacations to break routine. We need to refresh. We need to recharge. We need a temporary escape. Everyone find time for a vacation no matter how big or how small. The vacation must be sincere.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

A Lesson From My Bad Years

Everyone lives good years. Everyone lives bad years. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Think Monday morning quarterback. Steve Jobs said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." The past can't change. The opinions on the past can change. We better understand the past when we continue living. We wise up.

The following years are my bad years. What caused the years to be bad? What lesson did I learn? I think back my past bad years to remind myself the lessons I learned.

2002 bad year. 2002 was the opposite of 2001. I could say 2002 bad year started on 9/11. Life flow went my way in 2001. Life flow went against me in 2002. 2002 was a bad year beyond my control. I couldn't recall any highlights. I didn't remember any accomplishments. Work was hell because there was nothing happy to keep me going. Confusion and ambiguity were the best 2002 adjectives.

2002 lesson. My manager was unofficially fired. My company kept their firings quiet or concocted a legitimate reason for dismissal. She did nothing. A person has nothing, does nothing, gets nothing, be nothing, and people treats you like nothing. Never be a nobody.

2007 bad year. 2007 was an up and down roller coaster for which 2007 went downwards after May. My grandfather past away in Jan. I started to wear braces in Jan. My company went downhill again people leaving the company in Feb. I started working at Cisco in Mar. I purchased my first car in May. The rest of 2007 went down the roller coaster for which I lived like I was on vacation in my high school years.

2007 lesson. The first day I worked at Cisco I said to myself, "2007 is a good year no matter what happens afterwards." 2007 was a year I took for granted. I worked half-ass at Cisco. My gym workouts were both ineffective and inconsistent. I read a string of bad books. I didn't know why I finished reading those bad books. I experienced multiple times of fatigue. Never take life for granted.

2008 bad year. The real estate bubble popped. Work got easier because there was nothing to do. There were fewer assignments. My contract was terminated. I became lost. Who was the real Raymond Mar?

2008 lesson. I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4. The changes paid immediate dividends. New clothes. Read fiction books. New desktop PC. New mattress. New gym workout plans. Forgiveness. I opened up to new adventures and new experiences.

2013 bad year. Too much fun. I didn't work hard enough and long enough to learn new job skills and review existing job skills. Also, the process to review my existing job skills was incorrect.

2013 lesson. Playtime was over. It was time to be a mature adult responsible for myself. Spend less time having fun. Spend more time learning new job skills.

2014 bad year. I failed to follow my 2013 lesson in 2014. I had too much fun from Jan to Jun. I was shocked I failed an Excel test during a job interview. The worse day of my life happened in Sep when I worked at a new job doing shady tasks.

2014 lesson. I reviewed my Excel skills and my other skills the correct way by watching YouTube videos. Moreover, I have been learning new job skills primarily watching YouTube videos. For example, Tableau, Salesforce, Python, and CSS. The first lesson was always learn new job skills and always review existing job skills. Learning new skills outside my career is valid. The second lesson was saying goodbye to anything or anyone holding me back. I retired from anime because I have more important priorities. I stopped seeing some people who didn't contribute to my well-being. I stopped seeing some people I didn't contribute to their well-being.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Growing Up Too Late Was Not My Fault

I can't blame myself for growing up too late. I finally grew up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. I'm happy I'm grown up. I continue growing up and catching up what I missed in my younger years. There are people older than me who haven't grown up or never grew up. I hope more people wise up. It's never too late to grow up. Life changes forever for people who grew up.

Dumb parents. My parents were not dumb intellectually. They were dumb raising and nurturing. I have few childhood stories to share involving my parents. The stories are short, weak, and embarrassing. Passive, lazy, and weak are adjectives describing how I was raised. They ignored my problems hoping they disappear for which it worked most of the time. My dad never taught me football and baseball. My mom never taught me how to cook and vacuum the house. Thank goodness my cousin introduced GI JOE and Transformers to me and my brother. I forgive my parents.

Fell through the cracks. My grade school education started on a high note. I learned first grade math in kindergarten. Thereafter, I was in remedial classes for reading and English. I didn't know what happened starting in first grade. My grade school intelligence was below average. My cognizance and comprehension learning skills were behind my age. I pulled through from seventh grade to twelfth grade.

Dumb luck. Dumb luck was in my favor throughout my K-12 education. Some of the teachers passed me either for participation, a good heart, or didn't care. I believed the latter happened many times.

I could include falling through the cracks being part of dumb luck. Challenges were avoided. There were no opportunities learning lessons on frustration. For instance, I was never a student body representative in grade school. I came close in fifth grade. I was never a senior cadet officer in JROTC. My high school I attended for three years closed because of budget cuts. I ended up being a squad leader in my senior year at another high school. And I registered for classes on the first day of registration when I attended San Jose State University. My English II instructor had me tested for a learning disability. Students with a learning disability registered for classes on the first day. I never experienced being on a wait list and never experienced being denied a class because it was full enrollment.

My life was riding on easy street. Life told me I was to live easy. Easy life was my fate. I took the easy life for granted. I was naive.

Too much fun. The easy street included stops having too much fun. I watched too much television. I daydreamed too much. I lived life indoors with no social life. I was weird. There were no opportunities to learn, to grow, and to enrich my life. I didn't have the motivation to live a normal childhood. My summer vacations were literally a three month vacation. I didn't know what to do. Where were my parents?

Childhood life lessons learned in my 30s: I learned on my own: it's okay to fail, learn from my failures; meet new people and make new friends; earn my successes; be responsible; and don't take life for granted.

Afraid of dogs. I was afraid of dogs. Not anymore. I believed my fear of dogs translated to being a coward. I was afraid. I was a worried ward.

The broken electronics set is more of a story. My parents were cheap. I admit their cheap consumer attitude influenced me to buy during sales. I'm not a cheap person for the record. My dad purchased an electronics set at a garage sale. I was eager to try it. I opened the box, took out the set, and opened the learning manual. I plugged in the battery. I started the first lesson. Success. I started the second lesson. Failed. What did I do wrong?

The electronics set convinced me I wasn't a smart child. The trauma lasted throughout my childhood. Why didn't I ask my dad for help? I never thought about asking him. I feared I didn't want to expose my poor intelligence. I believed I could handle everything myself. Moreover, my dad and I had a weak relationship. We rarely talked. We rarely bonded.

I realized decades later as an adult the electronics set was broken. I wasn't a dumb child. My bucket list includes completing a child electronic set. Learning basic electronics is also in my bucket list.

In conclusion, I'm responsible for myself. I'm a mature adult. I'm still a beginner in life catching up what I missed. I'm still new. I'm still fresh. Growing up too late is giving me a reason to life live by finding childhood and age 20s experiences and adventures. I accomplished reading childhood books such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, reading young adult books such as Forever by Judy Blume, peeing in the forest, camping outdoors, ice skating, sneaking food in a movie theater, and drinking alcohol. I'm looking forward to fulfill more experiences and adventures.

Side note: I acquired knowledge the number of students with learning disabilities doubled in my final year at San Jose State University. My thought was more students took advantage of registering for classes on the first day.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

What I Learned Finishing CERT Academy Training?

I completed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) academy training in Feb 2015. It was a two week, three days a week course plus a final for a total of 7 training days. I learned two concepts. The first concept was extinguishing light fires, triage, light search & rescue, disaster psychology, terrorism, and CERT organization. These are skills CERT volunteers apply in disasters. A wide area disaster requires these skills to help people.

The second concept I learned was any school environment teaches the foundation only. School environments include K-12 schools, colleges, academies, training seminars, vocational, and any boot camps. The students don't become experts immediately. Students graduating with a 4.0 GPA don't necessarily mean they're a professional fresh from graduating. Take the initiative. Students are responsible to get experience outside the school environment. Students are responsible to learn more outside the school environment. The acquiring experience and extended learning are indefinite. Bruce Lee said it best, “Even today, I dare not say that I have reached a state of achievement . . . for learning is boundless.”

The CERT academy was information overload. We didn't finish learning the entire material in a 2 inch binder. I'm responsible to learn new skills to be a smarter CERT volunteer. I must acquire more knowledge such as first aid and CPR. I must stay physically fit. I must participate in practice drills to keep my life saving skills sharp. The idea continuing CERT training outside the academy applies to real life. Don't take your knowledge for granted. You learn it. You know it. You remember it. You're a master. The chain is incorrect. There's going to be periods of time you must review your knowledge. You must refresh your skills. You must learn new knowledge. Police, fire fighters, paramedics, military, and teachers are required to refresh their skills, to retrain, and learn new knowledge. Professional sports players practice their fundamentals daily.

Choose your strengths. We are different. Pursue the skills you feel comfortable learning. For example, in CERT training, I was comfortable learning search &rescue. Learning search & rescue was more natural than learning first aid. Another example is computer programming. I had trouble learning programming skills in college. On the other hand, learning economic theory was easier; in particular, microeconomic theory. Economics was natural because abstract thinking was one of my learning strengths.

My best story to illustrate taking my knowledge for granted happened in high school. I took French I in my freshmen year. I earned an A. I aced the final. The teacher told the class after we took the final to spend time each summer vacation day to review our French vocabulary. I didn't. I believed I remember my French. I was wrong. I spent my summer vacation having too much fun. I enrolled in French II in my sophomore year. I forgot most of my French vocabulary. I struggled the entire year. I should have spent time during the summer to review my French. The students didn't have textbooks. The teacher returned our homework assignments. Access to French I material was available. There was no excuse failing to review French I.

In conclusion, learn first aid and prepare for disasters. Also, continue learning outside the classroom. Don't take knowledge for granted. Never stop learning. Continue training. Continue refreshing. Innovate infinitely.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

A Letter To 20 Year Old Raymond Mar

Hi young Raymond Mar. I'm your older Raymond Mar. I'm writing a letter to share three life lessons I learned in your future. What I'm telling you may not seem to give you a better life today. Believe me. Have faith. These lessons help you live a better life forever. I'm currently catching up what I missed in my 20s. I don't want you to live in your 30s and 40s catching up if you continue your present path.

The first lesson is never stop meeting new people. Make new friends. Expand your circle of friends. You never have too many friends. People come and go in our lives. Don't believe your high school friends are your friends for life. Unfortunately, all of your high school friends hinder your 20s life. They hold back your new life experiences. They move on to their own life paths. The new people and new friends you meet are better. You learn new life lessons. You experience new experiences. Some of your new friends are part of progressing your life. San Jose State University is a commuter school. Ignore the stigma. There are thousands of students in your situation who needs friends. Be proactive. Meet new people. Make new friends.

The second lesson is get a part time job. Work during school and during breaks. You're going to be a math tutor next semester. Don't apply. Get a part time job in retail. You're going to change majors. Working in retail satisfies the first lesson. You're going to meet new people by working with your co-workers. You're going to earn money to help you live a good life in your 20s. You learn to depend less on your parents for money. The customers teach you there are different people: good people, rude people, happy people, angry people, dumb people, etc. The world is not all peace and joy. Your world is not all peace and joy. You experience people have a conflict with you, and sometimes the conflict is beyond your control. You learn life lessons outside the classroom and lessons mom and dad failed to teach you. Your winter and summer breaks shouldn't be fun, fun, fun. Find a job to start beefing up your resume.

The third lesson is don't take life for granted. Your entire semesters at San Jose State and your jobs after graduation are taken for granted. You apply a half-ass effort to most of your classes with the attitude of the professor is not going to fail you. You do a good job completing assignments before the due date; otherwise, your attitude and your behavior are unprofessional. Your co-workers don't want to have a friendly conversation.

Stop believing you live a good life nothing negative happens to you. You're going to experience bad moments. You're going to have times in your life you need to stop. Time out and checkpoints are part of your life.

Be responsible for your actions. Earn your successes. Learn from your mistakes. Be a good person. Be professional. Work to be a champion. Trust your intuition. Grow up.

Sincerely,

Raymond Mar

P.S. Stay hungry. Stay foolish. I'm going to let you figure out what those two sentences mean. If you learn those two sentences, you're one step ahead of many 20 year olds.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Get Up And Do Something, Anything

There is 5-6 weeks remaining in the summer. School and college begin soon it's like one blink of an eye and classes start. There is still time to take a vacation for the full time workers. The year is going by fast. I hope everyone has done something special. It can be a big trip or a few small moments. Never settle on one small exciting day. Never wait for something to happen.

I changed my life motto from "Get Out And Do Something, Anything" to "Get Up and Do Something, Anything." I changed the word "out" to "up" because I wanted to imply people can have a good life indoors; however, a balance life of indoors and outdoors should be achieved. Some of my favorite indoor activities are working out in the gym, listening to music, ballroom dancing, and reading. Some of my favorite outdoor activities are hiking, visiting new places, and shopping.

Get up and do something, anything. Stop sitting on the chair or lying down on the bed. Find a new adventure. Meet new people. Read a book. Rent a classic movie on DVD. Eat something new. Walk around new places. Improve a part of you. Start fulfilling your to-do list. This blog is a solution to stop being lazy. Find happiness and joy in your life today.

De Anza Fall 2010 Note: Going off topic to end this blog, I realized one of my key for my most successful quarter was my Accounting 86 class. The instructor assigned homework on the fourth week. The first 3 weeks I settled in and concentrated on my other classes more difficult than Accounting 86.

The Five Year High School

Most of us attended a four year high school that started in September and ended in June. There are various high school formats. For example, two of my cousins attended a year-around high school that included six weeks of summer, two weeks of winter, and two weeks of spring vacations. In Japan, I believe the start of the new year is in April. Students get one month vacation in July, November, and March.

Times have changed. Life has changed. There is more to learn and know. Expectations and requirements are more challenging. Life today is more complex 20 years ago.

It’s time to change the high school format. I suggest we have a five year high school. Let’s spread out the graduation requirements. The five year high school format allows students the option to work part time and take fewer classes per semester. Working part time is great experience. College bound students have experienced more stress than their parents’ generation because of higher college expectations. There is no ironclad rule a students must attend college immediately after high school. Students need an extra year to prepare themselves to live on their own. School districts can revise the curriculum adding more updated classes and removing outdated classes.

Part of high school life is just being a young teen exploring and making mistakes. There are important life lessons outside the classroom that can’t be taught from a textbook. Sports are important, too. Give students extra time outside classes for sports. Give students time outside classes to have a social life. Give students time outside classes to pursue new hobbies and interests. There is no need to rush success. It’s ironic a common life lesson is be patient . . . haste makes waste. Yet, high school students still have only four years to graduate.

And colleges, you should allow five year high school students to apply. I’m confident they’re more prepared to handle college than four year students.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

You Must Create The Endings

Most of today's USA public schools year is September and June. June to August is summer vacation. All my school years followed the schedule. When summer vacation begins, the school year ends. Schools have endings and college have endings. The ultimate ending is graduation.

Unfortunately, schools following the June to August summer vacation schedule create a false sense of what life is about. Life doesn't have two and a half months summer vacations. Some people can even afford a summer vacation especially where I live. Life doesn't give you an ending. You must work on your ending. If you want a bright ending, then get up the couch and create action.

When I went to school and college, I followed the system. The system failed to teach me and to tell me that life doesn't have summer vacations. Life doesn't give you an ending. I thought my ending was to graduate and get a job. Man, what a boring and unfulfilling ending.

When you become an adult, the endings are limitless. When you reach an ending, another beginning awaits. Do you want to be better at something? Then go out and end your current situation and create a new beginning.