Generation Alpha May Be The Last Generation To Shop In Malls

Today's blog is an update on a past blog.

Update On A Past Blog

The biggest mall in San Francisco is closing due to sales decreasing and lower number of shoppers. The COVID-19 global pandemic, employees working at home, and inflation are factors, too. Popular stores such as Nordstrom, Banana Republic, Whole Foods, LuluLemon, Disney, Macy's, The North Face, J. Crew, and Old Navy announced in summer 2023 they leave the Westfield San Francisco Centre. The Century San Francisco 9 movie theater owned by Cinemark closed in Jun 2023. However, the mall stays open for new businesses renamed to Emporium Centre San Francisco at a later date. I wrote two blogs on malls. The first blog is SOMT: Fast Times At Ridgemont High written on Jan 20, 2018 and SOMT: A Few Malls Still Exists Today written on Mar 24, 2018. SOMT stands for Sign Of My Times, an occasional blog sharing my thoughts how time changes life from when I was young to today. The malls are a people get-together magnet. People gather to socialize.

I remember a conversation with a group of friends back in my college years. It was a Friday night. We were bored. There was a suggestion we go to the mall. One disagreed admirably. He didn't believe in going to the mall to hang out. My opinion on malls is unchanged. Malls are a great place for gatherings. People are present. Human interaction. Face to face socializing. People spend money for the local economy.

Unfortunately, online commerce is another reason malls close. The generation alpha people born from 2013 to present may be the malls' final customers. There are people still shopping at malls at all ages; in particular, generation alpha's grandparents representing the baby boomer generation. The best malls remain. Winning malls stay open. Losing malls close.

SOMT: The 2022 Business Analyst Is Not The 2007 Business Analyst

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

I worked at Cisco as a contractor Business Analyst in 2007. The one job requirement was Crystal Reports. All other job requirements were secondary such as Excel, Word, and Outlook. Times were easier decades ago.

Times have changed. Job requirements have changed. Job expectations have changed. Some business analyst job titles are renamed business analytics. Business Analytics or the like is a fancy way of saying a business analyst with advanced technical skills. I received an email for a fulltime BI Analytics or Business Intelligence Analyst position. The job description is the pic above. Some of today's business analysts require more than Excel, reporting, and analyzing. They require database skills such as SQL and Oracle. They require programming skills such as Python and Java. They require more than basic statistics mean, median, mode, and rank. They require reporting and dashboards software skills such as Tableau and Power BI. Forget Crystal Reports. I see a few positions requiring Linux, HTML, JavaScript, and knowing a text editor. I see a few positions going for the home run requiring supply chain, accounting, and/or finance. On the other hand, I see fewer positions requiring Salesforce. The key skills requirement importance 1-5 might as well be all 5's. The second page is the disclaimer and contact information.

Another change is contractor companies or recruiter companies search for full time employees. Be cautious. Some contractor companies or recruiter companies find job postings online instead of being contracted directly by companies to find a fulltime employee; in other words, unsolicited full-time job candidates. They hope the job candidate is hired for which the company receives compensation. Company career web pages post no third-party recruiters on their job openings.

SOMT: Calculators Are Allowed

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

Calculators were not allowed in tests. My junior high math classes calculators were not allowed. My high school math classes from freshmen year to junior year calculators were not allowed. Calculators were allowed doing classwork and homework. The top reason was students must learn how to solve math problems in case there were no calculators. Another top reason was students understood the math concepts and math theories completely without calculators.

My education life changed in my senior year. My trigonometry and pre-calculus math teacher allowed calculators. All of my college classes involving math calculators were allowed.

Look who's talking now. Calculators are everywhere. Most people carry a calculator. The calculator is on their phone. Calculators are encouraged. Calculators are acceptable in education, in the workplace, and in the household. Calculators are efficient. Calculators reduce errors.

My high school chemistry teacher said don't memorize formulas. He provided the formulas during the tests. My Introduction To Physics professor answered any questions directly related to formulas during the tests. If the student forgot a formula, then he told the student. Don't memorize. There's no need. People remember the formulas by repetition and by practice. It's like a pharmacist memorizing the drugs and their spellings. Pharmacists learn drugs in college. Pharmacists work with drugs at their jobs.

My Mechanics Physics professor allowed open books and open notes. The first exam all questions were straight from the homework. The professor told the class a few students were stupid they scored a D or a F. All students earned A's copying our homework to the exam.

Open Book, Open Note, Open Everything

My Macroeconomics professor was my only Economics professor who allowed open books and open notes in all exams. The multiple choices questions were three choices. A few of the questions the students were required to open the textbook to a specific page. The negative was all exams except the final were timed. He explained the students after the first exam there was no such thing as a perfect test. The professor graded on a curve. A few students scored a D or a F. I believed the professor knew if we forgot anything we learned outside the classroom, then we could look it up from a book or ask for help.

Look It Up, Google It

The internet is the third source to look up anything. Forget memorization. Remember repetition. We live in the information age. There is information everywhere. There is knowledge everywhere. Access to information and knowledge are on our phones. People look it up when something is unknown. There is no shame not knowing. There are exceptions; e.g., a football fan must know a touchdown is six points. A friend of mine is a programmer. He and his co-workers Google programming documentation. No memorization required. Programmers learn new concepts. Programmers remember new concepts by repetition and by practice eventually. The programming and the pharmacist examples apply to many aspects of life.

The information age gives people methods to save information, save exercises, save work, create templates, and backup our work. The methods include USB flash drives, cloud storage, printed hard copies, network storage, and online repositories. People can access any method to recall procedures, retrieve knowledge, practice exercises, remember past projects, and research information.

Just In Case

Finally, I carried a flashlight and a multi-tool plier on my belt, and a Swiss Army Knife in my pocket while I was a student. I received criticisms. I received funny looks. Fortunately, there were no emergency situations. If there was an emergency situation, then nobody was laughing because either my flashlight or my multi-tool saved us.

Today's information age technology people with smart phones have access to a flashlight. Everyday carry or EDC technology tools allows people to carry multiple and miniaturized tools like a multi-tool plier. I carry an EDC bag 90% of the time when I'm out of the house. Some items in my EDC bag include three flashlights, AA batteries, USB battery storage, first-aid kit, sewing kit, pens, and matches. I don't bring my EDC when I run errands locally. Nobody laughs at me when my EDC bag saves myself and other people around me from an emergency situation.

Update On A Past Blog

I update the blog SOMT: Newspapers Are Still Great on Aug 5, 2010. My local newspaper prices have been going up two times a year. My household is paying more for less content. I learn less. We cancelled our newspaper subscription.

SOMT: A Few Malls Still Exists Today

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

I shopped at a small mall yesterday to purchase a new pair of shoes. The mall was dead. Most of the people were alone on their phones or laptops. The few people shopped three-fourths of the mall occupied by stores. Also, the few people socialized without their electronics. These few people reminded me of malls of the old days. It was inevitable many malls closed today. One obvious reason is online shopping. There is no reason to leave your residence when consumers shop conveniently in front of their computer wearing pajamas. Another reason is there were too many malls.

I remember the malls were a magnet for people to get together. Loitering was acceptable in some malls. People left their residence, hung out, and met new people. No smart phones. No laptops. People communicated face-to-face. Some conversations could be started by walking around observing other people and stores.

I believe malls exist today and tomorrow. I believe there are people who keep the mall tradition alive. People shop, people meet, people eat together in food courts, and people socialize.

Update On A Past Blog

I want to add another movie for my blog Top Ten Movies I Watched Late on Mar 1, 2014. I blogged if I watched these movies earlier in my life, then I could have been a better person earlier in my life. I could have been wiser and smarter. The movie I add is "Fast Times At Ridgemont High." The movie depicted typical high school life such as sex, dating, drugs, and part-time jobs all are true today. Also, the movie depicted political topics such as abortion.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: Fast Times At Ridgemont High

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

The times were fast when the movie was released in 1982. Today's high school life fast is light speed. The coming of age, comedy, high school life is a classic movie. For example, the list of actors and actresses we know today include Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Forest Whitaker, and Nicholas Cage. We also know Ray Walston and Phoebe Cates. I add the movie to my wish list. It was the first time I saw Fast Times At Ridgemont High movie. Most of the theme of high school in the 80s is true today such as sex, drugs, music, and naturally curious.

I compared and contrasted my high school life and today's high school life while I watched the movie. I concentrated 50% of my brain watching the movie and 50% of my brain thinking back to my past. I share some of my comparing and contrasting below:

*Telephone. Past teenagers lived the good life having their own phone in their rooms. They practiced maturity, privacy, and independence. It was the best way to have a real time conversation without being face to face. Times have changed with smart phones. Teenagers today can practice maturity, privacy, and independence anywhere. Email, texting, and social networking reduce the old school real time conversation talking on the phone.

*Go to a friend's house. Let's go to a friend's house to hang out. Real time socialization. Today's information age more teenagers are hanging out online via social networks. Perhaps, it's a generation change and/or culturally related. More parents aren't allowing their sons and daughters to invite their friends over. I don't know why. Responsible parents must allow their sons and daughters to invite their friends over at the house for safety reasons and to keep the parent-child bond strong.

*Take a chance. Leap of faith. Let life dictate. I'm speaking from experience. We can't control everything in life. Sometimes we must let life choose for us. Take a chance to let life set a pathway. My high school life was good and bad letting life dictate most my high school days. I admit I should have taken more control of my life. Perhaps, I learned an important high school life lesson I realized later in life: sometimes trust fate, destiny, and karma to bring good moments.

*Trial and error. We forgot the best way to learn via trial and error. Everyone is expected to learn quickly today. Everyone is expected to know everything today. No more discovery. No more patience. The information age makes learning instant without making errors; for example, Google the unknown. How are high school students supposed to learn without making mistakes?

*Meet people from other people. Another benefit going to a friend's house was the opportunity to meet new people. Past high school students expanded their circle of friends face to face or telephoning each other. High school students today can expand their circle of friends online without meeting face to face. Is meeting new people online genuine?

*Mail letters. Handwritten notes. Pictures on photo paper. Finally, letters, notes, and photos all on paper. Past high school students exchanged handwritten notes and developed pictures; moreover, personal message written on the back of a picture. Past high school students didn't have smart phones to text and to view pictures online. Past high school students mailed letters instead of emailing.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: McDonald's Big Mac Combo $2.99 And Donut Shop Donuts $0.50

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

The inspiration for today's blog was buying two donuts at a donut shop on May 2017. The last time I purchased donuts at the same donut shop was Oct 2014. The cost for two glazed donuts was $1.90. I paid $2.20 last month for two smaller sized glazed donuts.

I remember when retail prices, grocery prices, and restaurant prices were cheaper. Almost everyone agrees the past times were easier. Almost everyone agrees the past times were cheaper. People paid $2.99 for a Big Mac number one combo. Gas prices were in the $1.00-$2.00 per gallon, and people complained when prices broke $2.00 per gallon. Many homes owners never thought their homes reached a million dollars. Some of those homes are breaking the million dollar mark in hot real estate markets. Many landlords never thought their apartments reached a thousand dollars per month. Some of those apartments are breaking the thousand dollar mark in high demand markets. Movie matinee was $4.25. College education, medical insurance, and utilities are common knowledge prices are going up.

Prices are going up. Welcome to Economics 101. Supply and demand. Inflation. Cost of living increase. One can say prices are going down. One can say prices for medical care are cheaper. Better technology to run tests faster and more accurate decreases wait time for patients. New surgery techniques patients recover faster resulting in less time as a hospital inpatient. There are more over-the-counter drugs more powerful requiring fewer dosages.

One can say prices for operating all ground transportation are cheaper. Gas mileage is better. There are hybrid cars. Ground transportation innovates their durability lasts longer compared to 40 years ago. Desktop computers are cheaper such as bigger disk drive memory. Computer hardware lasts longer in durability and in more performance; for example, motherboards don't need a video card for basic desktop use. LED light bulbs are energy efficient costing pennies. The cost of backpacking equipment is going down because the durability lasts longer and equipment serves more functions. Flat panel television, clothing, and appliances are common knowledge prices have been going down.

Perspective determines whether we are living prices going up or prices doing down. Perspective is correct on both viewpoints. Costco's food court prices are the same since Costco opened their food courts.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Throwback Blog: SOMT: Kodak Declares Bankruptcy

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 SOMT: Kodak Declares Bankruptcy in Jan 2012. Toys R Us declared bankruptcy on Sep 19, 2017. There is truth the better companies Amazon and Wal-Mart ruined Toys R Us. The deeper truth is mismanagement. I know somebody who knew a manager who worked at Borders. The manger told her the top reason Borders went bankrupt was mismanagement. The economy changes. Business practices change. Time changes anything. Companies stay in business as long as they can. Companies don't last forever. Good management keeps companies in business as long as they can.

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

CNBC reported the 131 year old company Eastman Kodak declared bankruptcy. The company has no cash to continue operations, and bankruptcy provides the company with protection to survive. Kodak is shifting their business plan to printers for home and commercial use.

My dad was a good amateur photographer. He took family pictures when my siblings and I were young. He developed and printed black & white pictures from college to his young parenting years. I remember shopping at LZ Premiums, a local ma & pa discount photo store that sells photography equipment, film, development services, and photo developing equipment. LZ Premiums expanded their store selling televisions and renting VHS movies in the mid 1980s. I’m guessing the store expanded because of competition from bigger stores selling photography equipment and services such as Circuit City and a small chain of camera and video stores known today as Wolf Camera. LZ Premiums went out of business.

I took black & white photography in 1991 while I in 11th grade. I used one of my dad’s Nikon cameras to take pictures for my assignments. I purchased my first film camera in Dec 2002. Digital cameras were too expensive for me. The first time I held a digital camera was on July 2000. A friend owned a Casio digital camera that used 3.5 inch floppy disks.

I purchased my first digital camera in July 2003. The first pics I took with my Olympus were our family vacation in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon. I purchased my second digital camera in May 2004. It was the Canon Powershot A75. The A75 was a rock I dropped it so many times. I took many pictures at anime conventions and my vacations in 2004-2005.

Digital cameras and photography are everywhere. Cell phones can take pictures. People can take as many pictures as they want—even an ant on the sidewalk. There is no need to be picky taking pictures with film. I started my digital photography with point & shoot cameras. I use a SLR today. I consider myself an amateur below my dad’s skills. Regardless, anyone can take good pictures with today’s digital cameras.

Stubborn Is Another Bad S Word

Going back to Kodak, the company was stubborn to enter the digital market. It stayed in the film business years after digital photography started becoming mainstream. Kodak lost money staying in the film photography. They were too late entering the digital market.

George Eastman founded Kodak from his photography hobby. He found ways to make photography easy for common people including the photography paper and easily transporting camera film. Eastman debuted Kodachrome film in 1935.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: Flea Markets

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

I remember shopping at the flea market with my family when I was young. The oldest I shopped was my sophomore year in high school. Almost all the time my family and my uncle's family shopped together. The flea market was busy. Parking lots filled to capacity. The high demand for parking spaces allowed the flea market to charge a parking fee. Police officers were on duty to control traffic and watch pedestrians cross the street.

There were activities for the family besides shopping. There were carnival rides, arcades, restaurants, live bands, midway games, and other shows I can't remember. The most common sellers were antiques, clothes, produce, toys, and music cassettes. There were many one-time sellers selling their junk. There were three wheel drink carts powered by electricity driving along the selling aisles. A person drove the cart in the front. The back of the cart was a cube which stored the drinks. The person stopped the cart, turned the swivel chair, grabbed a cup, and dispensed soda or beer. The flea market earned lots of money on hot days.

The following are some of my flea market memories:

*One visit my mom didn't purchase soda from a cart vendor because he used his hands to put ice in the cup.
*My parents purchased four love birds. They were our family pets.
*I collected baseball cards for four years. I purchased baseball cards from a regular seller.
*My family stopped watching Super Bowl XXIV at halftime to shop at the flea market. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10.
*I played the arcade game Smash TV.

Times have changed. The flea market still exists with lower turnout. Parking is free; however, the flea market charges an entrance fee which makes no sense because the flea market wants to attract more shoppers. Further, the parking lot area shrank. Single family high-density homes are built on the former parking lots. There are no need for police officers to monitor automobile traffic and pedestrian traffic. I haven't seen any flea market advertising in the local media for decades. Finally, the internet changes the way we shop for bargains which includes Amazon and eBay.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: Cities, Downtowns, Stores, Parties Meet People

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

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

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

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

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

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

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: USB Flash Memory Drives

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

My first USB flash memory drive was a 128MB Soyo Cigar Pro I purchased at Fry's Electronics in 1998. I paid $50. Click here to view a pic and description from overstock.com.

I admit I'm not a tech expert and I'm not a tech historian. Flash memory drives have been getting faster, bigger, and cheaper. The picture above is most of my USB flash drives. I have a SanDisk 4GB Micro Cruzer in my daily backpack and a Swiss Army 8GB on my keychain both not pictured.

The SanDisk Mini Cruzer 128MB and SanDisk Mini Cruzer 512MB were plenty of backing up files space when I ran Windows XP back in the early 2000s. I purchased the Micro Center 4GB in 2010 for my files when I attended De Anza College. The cost was $14.98. The SanDisk 8GB Micro Cruzer replaced the SanDisk 4GB Micro Cruzer for backing up pics. The Sandisk 16GB Ultra was purchased from a 3 pack on Black Friday 2012 for $19.99. The 16GBs are used for all backups. The SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 64GB was purchased on Black Friday 2015 for $17.00. My current USB flash memory drives are still sufficient. It's a matter of time when file sizes get bigger and more files to backup I use my 64GB.

I conclude my SOMT brief evolution on USB flash memory drives.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: Dependent On Computers

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

Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. My life is dependent on the computer. The common examples are email, Excel, social networking, and job searching. We live in the information technology. Information is a few clicks away on the internet: trivia, history, learning how-to, research, education, and entertainment.

My life is on pause when my laptop or desktop goes down. My computer broke on Dec 27, 2014. My failure analysis concluded the motherboard was at fault. Fortunately, my laptop worked which provided limited uses when I needed a computer. My priority outside work was upgrading my desktop Jan-Mar 2015. The research, advice from my family and friends, and shopping around occupied lots of my free time. I wanted the upgrade to go smoothly. I wanted to buy new hardware at the lowest price possible.

Likewise when my smart phone stopped working. People with smart phones are connected 24/7. Currently, I'm job searching. It's difficult to find a job when the only communication between the job prospect and me is email. My number one out of many reasons I own a smart phone is communication during an emergency. If my smart phone stopped working, my life is paused. I devote all my time replacing my smart phone immediately.

I was a child during my life without a computer. My dad brought home an outdated HP computer from work. It was the family's first computer. I used the computer to play baseball and to write. I never programmed. I never learned anything more about computers. I don't know how to live life without a computer. I don't know how adults lived without computers and without cell phones in the past. My adulthood is dependent on computers and cell phones.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

SOMT: Supermarkets Grocery Stores From The 1980s

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

I shopped at Lunardi's grocery store for the first time on Fri Mar 21, 2014. I purchased a deli sandwich, bottle water, and a bag of potato chips. I walked around the store carrying my sandwich to get my bottle water and potato chips. The store reminded me of grocery stores during my childhood.

Lunardi's is a traditional supermarket in my book from the 1980s. There is a full service delicatessen, bakery, and meat. Most aisles sell food, drinks, ingredients for baking, spices, cereals, dairy, wines & spirits, candy . . . items from yesterday's traditional grocery stores. There are aisles selling limited items traditionally found in a drug store, automobile store, and a hardware store.

Lunardi's doesn't have a pharmacy, bank, ATM, gas station, seafood department, fresh coffee kiosk, DVD rental vending machine, and Chinese take-out. Lunardi's doesn't sell specialty nuts, flowers, greeting cards, DVDs, and gift cards.

I believe Lunardi's business model is being a traditionally grocery store. I approve. Their full service departments are much better than the big name mega supermarkets. Their deli meats are fresher and tasted better. I ate a cookie from their bakery. It tasted like the cookies were made from brand name ingredients. Lunardi's prices are more expensive. The quality and value are worth the extra couple of dollars.

I miss the grocery stores in the 1980s. I'm happy Lunardi's is walking distance from my workplace. I shop at grocery stores to buy groceries. I shop at a drug store to buy drugs. I shop at an automobile store to buy motor oil. I shop at a hardware store to buy tools. I'm looking forward to shop at Lunardi's soon.

SOMT: Transitional Kindergarten

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

My parents enrolled me in kindergarten at the age of five. I was born on August 3, 1974. I started kindergarten in September 1979. I just turned five years old. They didn't delay my enrollment one year later.

My nephew was delayed kindergarten one year and my niece is being delayed kindergarten during the 2013-2014 school year. My brother and his wife made the choice to delay their children. Their school district has a delay kindergarten one year program called Transitional Kindergarten (TK). TK is not pre-school. TK is popular according to my brother. Many of my nephew's friends started TK. They stay together in subsequent grades. The school doesn't separate students to different teachers for their next school year; in other words, my nephew's classmates stay together for each progressing grade.

TK starts early and ends the school day at the same time as grade level students. TK students are assigned homework. Parents are required to be involved. Communication between the teacher and the parents are emphasized. Today's technology makes communicating easier with emails and information posted on the school's website.

I didn't have TK when I was a child. My kindergarten started the same time as all grade levels; however, we went home at noon. I didn't have homework when I was in kindergarten. My homework in my grades 1-3 were memorizing words for spelling tests. Recreational reading was optional. My fourth grade was the first time I experienced homework every school night. The only communication was information printed on official school letterhead the teacher gave us for our parents. There was no telephone tree or automated phone message system.

SOMT: Police Officers At Schools

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

There were two events I see police officers at my high school campus. They were football games or social dances. There were probably police officers when classes were in session to make an arrest. I never saw police officers when I attended classes personally. The last time I saw police officers was during my high school graduation ceremony.

My high school years were peaceful. There was no major event calling for law enforcement to patrol the campus daily. We had the typical fights, pranks, troublemakers, and students with problems needing extra attention. There were no violent crimes, drugs, alcohol, thefts, weapons, and assaults that required police actions; although, if there were, the administrators did a good job handling these problems at a low profile.

I never experienced going to school in a crime ridden city. I never experienced metal detectors, uniformed security personnel, random locker searches, and clear see-through bags. I never experienced fearing my life from physical harm. I never experienced school lockdowns when a felony was in progress near a school. I never experienced duck and cover practice for gun shots.

I believe all the high school districts and unified school districts have their own police force in my city and my neighboring cities. The first time I experienced a campus police force was my first day at San Jose State University. The California State University has a police force for all their campuses.

Times have changed. Today's youth from grade school to high school are exposed to the outside world easily through the media and internet. We are more aware of our surroundings today compared to when I was in high school. The world is complex. We have taken responsibilities and liabilities more serious. That thought influenced school districts having police officers and better security measures in schools.

SOMT: When A Supermarket Was Just Buying Family Groceries

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

I was inspired to write the supermarket SOMT when Raley's and Nob Hill union workers went on strike for the first time in the supermarket's 77 year history against the parent company Raley's Supermarkets. I didn't shop at Nob Hill during the strike. Fortunately, the strike lasted a little over a week.

I remember shopping at retail stores for their primary goods when I was in elementary school. My family and I shopped at a retail store to specifically buy their primary goods. We bought groceries, milk, meat, and produce at a supermarket. We bought toilet paper, toothpaste, over-the-counter medicine, tissue, and soap at a drug store. We bought hammers, nails, glue, soil, plants, and wood at a hardware store. We bought oil, oil filters, and car batteries at an auto store. We bought clothes, bed sheets, ties, and shoes at a department store. We bought cakes, donuts, and pastries at a bakery. We bought pens, paper, and erasers at a stationary store. We bought footballs, basketballs, tennis balls, bats, gloves, and fishing supplies at a sports store.

There were overlaps sometimes. We bought school supplies at a drug store's back to school sale. We bought diapers at a grocery store when my mom didn't buy enough at the drug store. My brother and I bought toys at a department store because of their sales instead of a toy store. And I bought tennis shoes at a department store instead of a sports store. We rarely shopped at nurseries, meat stores, outdoor equipment stores, and hobby stores.

I didn't have a Target, Wal-Mart, Price Club, and Costco. I was in junior high when I entered a big box store for the first time. It was Price Club in San Leandro, CA. We got our first Price Club membership in my freshmen year in high school.

Forget The Drug Store

Today, some retail stores have a huge overlap in goods and services. Safeway is the best example. I could shop at Safeway for groceries, order a birthday cake in their bakery, deposit checks in their sponsored bank, fill up gas at the gas station located in their parking lot, eat a sandwich for lunch in their deli, drink hot chocolate in their sponsored coffee shop, buy roses for my girlfriend in the florist, buy fresh seafood for dinner in their full service meat department, get my prescription drugs in the pharmacy, rent a movie in the DVD machines. If I drink alcohol, Safeway has a section devoted to fine wines. I don't need to visit a bakery, bank, gas station, fast food restaurant, florist, and drug store. Shopping and errands are completed in one stop.

I have no opinion on big box stores, comparable medium size stores, and ma and pa stores. I still shop around and I still shop at multiple retail stores for their goods and services. There is no one stop shop for my errands, bare necessities, entertainment, desires, and wants. I spread my consumer spending around because the best goods and services are from different stores.

To end the blog, raise your hands if you remember the check out registers without scanners. The cashier manually entered the price and looked at the tax table to enter the tax. In particular, grocery cash registers entered the price and press the tendered button as grocery, meat, dairy, or produce, etc.

SOMT: Call Me On My Cell Or Text Me

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

I rooted my smart phone and installed Google Android 4.0 also known as Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) earlier this week. The time learning how to root and learning how to install ICS was worth my time, and I'm an average PC user with average technology knowledge. I installed all of my apps and customized my settings.

I remember my years attending San Jose State University. The chances of a student owning a cell phone back in the early to mid 90s was small. There was a student's cell phone ringing that disrupted class. The college newspaper occasionally published an article or an editorial stating cell phones were a waste of money. I didn't want to own a cell phone because I didn't want to be disturbed. I didn't want to own a cell phone because I didn't want to carry something heavy. I didn't want to own a cell phone because . . . .

I asked for the student's phone number, which was always their home number, to organize study groups, to get together for a project, or to hang out on a Fri night. There was no email. The only way to communicate outside school was calling from my home phone to another person's home phone. Moreover, I remember my high school days talking to friends on landlines. Teenagers can use their cell phones and talk anywhere around the house for privacy and keeping the home line free today.

I say, "call me on my cell or text me". Another way to communicate and keep in touch is "I add you to my Facebook". Email is still effective. I can chat online. I have AIM and Google+. Someone can follow me on Twitter. I use LinkedIn for professional networking. I don't need your home number anymore. I have multiple ways to communicate with family, friends, and acquaintances in today's information age.

I believe everyone should have a cell phone. A cell phone is a good communication device to keep in touch with people and excellent for emergencies. Games and gadgets are secondary to me. My top uses are communication including talk, text, and email; GPS and maps; dictionary; social networking such as Facebook and Twitter; and seeing information such as Yelp and Wikipedia. I have a .pdf copy of my resume just in case I meet a hiring manager or supervisor looking for people.

SOMT: I Remember The Trapper Keeper

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

I had two thoughts the other day. The first thought was going to Office Max in August 2009. There was a back to school coupon for a pack of gel pens. I wanted to try the gel pens to experience the hype. I entered the busy store filled with parents and their children from grade school to high school. The parents talked with the children discussing what to buy from the green sheets. I saw shopping carts and baskets filled with typical school supplies such as pencils, pens, makers, and paper. I also saw calculators, pocket dictionaries, and blank CDs.

I found the few remaining gel pens on the shelf. It took a long time finding because of the huge crowd and walking around to avoid hitting people. I looked at the long cashier line. It wasn’t worth the long wait for a pack of gel pens. I walked out of the store. I was happy walking out because I saw the families shopping together for school supplies.

The second thought was my elementary school years from kindergarten to third grade. My parents didn’t buy me school supplies. The school supplied pencils, pens, crayons, and paper for classroom use. My parents did buy school supplies for home use; although I rarely used them because my primary school teachers didn’t assign homework.

I was in fourth grade when my parents started buying school supplies for school. The first purchase was the Trapper Keeper. Most of my classmates carried the Trapper Keeper. My parents purchased my first backpack in sixth grade. One of my backpack straps broke. My dad fixed it by sewing fishing line to connect the strap and the plastic tab. Clever. I was never taught to wear the backpack with both straps. Everyone wore the backpack on one strap in junior high. I think students today wear their backpacks with both straps because the textbooks are heavy, less strain on their backs, and parents want to avoid buying new backpacks as long as possible.

Fourth grade was also the year my school stopped supplying basic school supplies to the students. Students had to provide their own school supplies to bring for classes. I stopped receiving school supplies provided by the school in fifth grade. I remember buying two pencils for $.25 from a small vending machine in seventh grade. It was an emergency because I forgot to bring pencils from home.

There is a cost attending public schools. I hear teachers solicit money from their students for art supplies. My sister paid a quarterly fee to ride the junior high school bus. Parents, it takes money to raise children. Remember to add school supplies as a high priority to support your children.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

SOMT: Kodak Declares Bankruptcy

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

CNBC reported the 131 year old company Eastman Kodak declared bankruptcy. The company has no cash to continue operations, and bankruptcy provides the company with protection to survive. Kodak is shifting their business plan to printers for home and commercial use.

My dad was a good amateur photographer. He took family pictures when my siblings and I were young. He developed and printed black & white pictures from college to his young parenting years. I remember shopping at LZ Premiums, a local ma & pa discount photo store that sells photography equipment, film, development services, and photo developing equipment. LZ Premiums expanded their store selling televisions and renting VHS movies in the mid 1980s. I’m guessing the store expanded because of competition from bigger stores selling photography equipment and services such as Circuit City and a small chain of camera and video stores known today as Wolf Camera. LZ Premiums went out of business.

I took black & white photography in 1991 while I in 11th grade. I used one of my dad’s Nikon cameras to take pictures for my assignments. I purchased my first film camera in Dec 2002. Digital cameras were too expensive for me. The first time I held a digital camera was on July 2000. A friend owned a Casio digital camera that used 3.5 inch floppy disks.

I purchased my first digital camera in July 2003. The first pics I took with my Olympus were our family vacation in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon. I purchased my second digital camera in May 2004. It was the Canon Powershot A75. The A75 was a rock I dropped it so many times. I took many pictures at anime conventions and my vacations in 2004-2005.

Digital cameras and photography are everywhere. Cell phones can take pictures. People can take as many pictures as they want—even an ant on the sidewalk. There is no need to be picky taking pictures with film. I started my digital photography with point & shoot cameras. I use a SLR today. I consider myself an amateur below my dad’s skills. Regardless, anyone can take good pictures with today’s digital cameras.

Stubborn Is Another Bad S Word

Going back to Kodak, the company was stubborn to enter the digital market. It stayed in the film business years after digital photography started becoming mainstream. Kodak lost money staying in the film photography. They were too late entering the digital market.

George Eastman founded Kodak from his photography hobby. He found ways to make photography easy for common people including the photography paper and easily transporting camera film. Eastman debuted Kodachrome film in 1935.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

SOMT: My Job Search

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

I remember searching for my first job after graduating San Jose State. I searched for open job positions at job websites. Two of the websites I browsed were San Jose State’s online career center and I believe careerbuilder.com. I printed my resume and cover letter hardcopy and mail them to positions I’m interested. I wrote the addresses on the envelope by hand.

I received three interviews between Feb and June 1998. The first interview was in Foster City. I forgot the name of the company. I didn’t get the job because I was overqualified. The second interview was in San Jose near the San Jose Airport. I don’t know why I didn’t get the job because they never contacted me. The third interview was also near the San Jose Airport. I got the job working as a Research Analyst at Grubb & Ellis.

Today, after graduating with an AA degree in Accounting from De Anza College, I search online at Monster, Careerbuilder, and San Jose State’s career center. I create job profiles in big companies throughout Silicon Valley to search for their open jobs. I email my resume and cover letter or complete their online application instead of mailing my resume and cover letter.

Sometimes I receive a call for an opening and sometimes I receive an email for an opening. If a company seriously wants to interview you, they call you instead of emailing you from my experience. However, my friends say an email requesting you to reply back with your resume is considered a legitimate job opening.

Timing and luck have not changed since 1998. My jobs at Colliers and Cisco involved timing, and Cisco involved luck. My Colliers job was an example of networking. The manager who hired me at Grubb also hired me at Colliers. We kept in touch during the months we separated.

The economy remains weak. Finding jobs is the hardest for me ever. I continue to find open jobs and email my resume and cover letter for positions I’m qualified. I’m confident I find a job. I succeeded in the past and I succeed again. I need favorable timing and good luck.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

SOMT: From Land Lines Phones To Smart Phones

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

I remember July 1, 1998, the day I got my first cell phone. I just started my first job after graduating college. My first big purchase was a Nokia cell phone in Pacific Bell store. The black cell phone was almost the size of a brick. The weight was as heavy as a paperweight. The screen was about 40% of the phone size.

I had a smaller Nokia in 2001 and two LG cell phones from 2006-2011 thereafter. My last LG phone I texted, took pictures, listened to music, and wrote notes on my notepad. My older cell phones were ordinary phones that included call waiting and voice mail. On July 6, 2011, I purchased my first smart phone on the last day Verizon offered unlimited data. I found out days before Verizon announced an end to their unlimited data plan. I quickly researched and choose the Droid X2. I wanted to purchase a solid, reasonably priced smart phone to lock in the unlimited data plan for future contracts.

I remember students in my high school had pagers. In college, some students had pagers and a few students had cell phones. I remember one student’s phone rang three times in a Calculus II class in 1993. Many students either couldn’t afford a cell phone or believed cell phones were a bothersome when somebody calls.

Times have changed. Cell phones are affordable and a necessity. The reason I purchased a cell phone was for convenience: communicate with my family and friends and for emergencies. I have a smart phone today. Smart phones, used properly, make life easier. I find nearby restaurants, use maps for directions, take better pictures, and connect to the internet to find information. And I keep in touch with family and friends more effectively because my smart phone has Facebook and Twitter apps.

I believe everyone should have a cell phone or smart phones for at least communicating and for emergencies. Twenty years ago, almost everyone was on a land line talking on the phone. A person must find a phone when there is an emergency. Today, almost everyone is talking on a cell phone indoors and outdoors, in a restaurant or at the park, and in a car or bus. Most people can call on their cell phones for emergencies. Smart phones provide additional convenience including paying bills, watching videos, writing notes, listening to music, and doing something to occupy time a person is waiting.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar