Throwback Blog: Doing The Same Routine Boredom

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 Doing The Same Routine Boredom written on Feb 12, 2018. Living the same routine life is boring. However, in today's Information Age, today's Artificial Intelligence, and living the post COVID-19 global pandemic, a routine boring life may be a person's best life choice.

I changed my opinion routines are boring. Routines can be boring from an awesome attitude point of view. If Bert from Sesame Street can make boring awesome, then real people can make their boring life awesome. A boring is life is not 100% defined, not 100% ironclad, or not 100% narrowed. Variety, changes, seeking new adventures, and experiencing new experiences must be incorporated in a routine boring life. Boring people can mix life up.

Routines can be good. The person knows what to do. The person expects the outcome. The responsibilities are completed. The tasks are satisfied. There are times routines are routines. He or she does the same over and over again. They become boring. The person becomes bored. Many people think being bored is nothing to do. True. The routines are another type of boredom.

The same routines boredom is a signal to take action. Getting the signal is easy. How to take action is hard. Is their desire to change something different? Yes. Find something, anything new? Yes. Keep the eyes open. Keep the ears listening. There may be a new interest. There may be a new hobby. Find a distraction. Go back in time. Go front and present doing something, anything new. Maybe a self-discovery is a new long-term activity. Doing something different even half-ass is better than doing nothing; for example, mix-up the daily routines. The goal is eliminate the boredom feeling. Hope for the best.

Throwback Blog: Self-Esteem Blog

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 Self-Esteem Blog written on Nov 14, 2018. People must develop their own self-esteem. Support is necessary for a person to develop their own self-esteem. It's possible a person himself or herself can develop their own self-esteem. It's difficult.

The timing may be good today's throwback is self-esteem. More people have been talking about more people with poor self-esteem; for example, today's teenagers in high school. Or more people are consciously aware observing more people with poor self-esteem. Perhaps, the Information Age more people with poor social skills explains more people with poor self-esteem, and vice versa. Too much stimuli from screens can be a factor.

The Boring People

The boring people self-esteem may be strong. Never assume boring people are weak and unsure of themselves. The Sesame Street character Bert is boring. Bert self-esteem is strong. Furthermore, people who want to be alone their self-esteem are probably strong. These alone people should know what they're doing. I digress. Perform a self-analysis. Is your self-esteem strong or weak? The question is hard. The question is fair.

How does a person know he or she has poor self-esteem? It's hard for a person to self-asses himself or herself physically, mentally or intelligently, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. He or she does good living a good life for which he or she doesn't question how good. There are people who call out personal shortcomings accurately. How does a person respond when people or the world tells him or her you have poor self-esteem? The question is does he or she accepts the call out sincerely, accepts the call out politely, disagrees the call out knowing it's false, or denies the call out knowing it's true. Recognize and accept or deny. Take note of the conversation tone. It's a personal judgment call.

I'm no expert being a psychologist. I'm no expert teaching self-improvement. I know there is no quick solution to strengthen self-esteem. Time is required. Mistakes are made. Trial and error are required. Prepare to say good-bye to people, places, and things. Patience is necessary. Get healthy. Sleep well. Sitting in front of a television and/or playing video games eight hours a day are prohibited. Spend time with good people. If you don't have good people, then find good people. Good people are hard to find. Prepare for time being alone. Learn to be professional. Learn new skills. Relearn existing skills. Hope for good luck. Hope for fortunate timing.

Update On A Past Blog

Today's blog reminded me a past blog The Person Wants No Help on Mar 24, 2015. I wrote some people don't need help with their problems. Also, how long do people continue telling the problem people they need help? Helpers do the best they can. Some people accept help. Some people refuse help. Maybe the source of a person's problems and the personal choice to accept or to refuse help is poor self-esteem?

Throwback Blog: Work Sat Jan 10, 2015

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 Work Sat Jan 10, 2015 written on Jan 10, 2015. I was a Data Entry Specialist contractor at a tech company making network servers. I supported a Senior Quality Reliability Engineer. I share my thoughts remembering the time in bullet format.

*I didn't take any vacation time during my six months. I worked on Dec 26, 2014. The company was closed on Dec 24-25, 2014.

*I never ate frozen hash browns for breakfast after my contractor was satisfied thereafter.

*I could have purchased a Calm Radio lifetime subscription for $300.00. I didn't pay because I thought Calm Radio goes out of business. Calm Radio still exists.

*A mistake I vowed never to repeat was waking up late. I must sleep early on the night before I work the next day.

*The language tone convinced me today I was unprofessional. Nobody cared about my commute. The commute text sounded like I complained too much. However, my job was data entry. The job was unexciting.

*The co-worker who was fired didn't know the Excel VLOOKUP function. Only God knew how she was hired. The interview process is more sales pitch or selling oneself and less knowledge and experience. My intuition tells me today's interview system incompetent workers are hired even though the interview exams should eliminate the unqualified candidates.

I forgot to mention security was present during the firing.

*"I met with the SAP administrator for a meeting explaining the SAP export problems. He explained he must follow a procedure including submitting an IT ticket and informing his management. I anticipated a long wait for the SAP enhancements. I'm required to test the enhancements in the development side."

There were procedures. Procedures were procedures. There were rules. Rules were rules. His department didn't revolve around my SAP export problems. I waited.

*". . . there are too many job openings in today's tough job market requiring too much experience. Many job openings don't require lots of experience."

There are too few job openings in today's tough job market requiring too much experience. I still believe many of the few job openings require little experience.

Wed Dec 31: I ate Safeway bagels for the first time working at the company. I purchased frozen hash browns for New Year's Day breakfast. I stored the hash browns in the coffee room freezer.

The audit continued today. Be slow. Be calm. I listened to music from calmradio.com. I checked my Facebook from time to time before lunch.

Thur Jan 1, 2015: Happy New Year. Company was closed.

Fri Jan 2: I arrived to work at 8:45am. I forgot to shave. The building was dead. I was ready to upload the audits from one of the vendors. It should be a smooth export to the SAP database. I spoke too soon. There were problems with the upload and there was a minor error on the interposer template. I emailed the SAP administrator documenting the problems with screenshots. I troubleshooted and corrected the interposer template. I listened to podcasts throughout the day. I listen to more podcasts and less music at work.

The cafeteria closed minutes after I ordered chicken tenders. One out of three stations and the salad bar were open.

Mon Jan 5: I experienced trouble waking up. I was ready physically. I wasn't ready mentally. My mind needed more rest. It was worth the additional rest waking up at 7am instead of 6am. I arrived to work at 9am.

I ate my granola bar in the coffee room. I small talked with the engineer I don't know his name from another department. The conversations included movies and our Christmas holiday.

I saw facility workers installing two cigarette receptacles at the court yard walking to the cafeteria.

My engineer emailed me more RMAs from another vendor to enter in the SAP database. The additional RMAs and the SAP export problems gave me optimism my contract is extended beyond four months.

Tue Jan 6: Another 9am-6pm workday. I was ready physically. I wasn't ready mentally. My mind needed more rest. The morning commute took 30 minutes. I experienced my first red light after El Camino Real. My prior morning commutes the intersections between El Camion Real and before my left turn were 100% green lights.

A co-worker was fired in my work area. It was the first time I was present during a firing. My past company firings I was informed after the employee exited the building. I gave her the extension cord I borrowed and I gave her my contact information. Other co-workers gave her their contact information. She was escorted by someone in human resources. A facilities worker pushed a cart to assist in taking her belongings. The three workers exited using the service elevator.

I met with the SAP administrator for a meeting explaining the SAP export problems. He explained he must follow a procedure including submitting an IT ticket and informing his management. I anticipated a long wait for the SAP enhancements. I'm required to test the enhancements in the development side.

My evening commute took 24 minutes. It was the first time my evening commute was shorter than my morning commute.

Wed Jan 7: Another 30 minute morning commute. I woke up at 7am for the third time in a row. I was awake mentally. I was still tired physically. I went to bed earlier last night. I must be adjusting from my holiday sleep schedule. I contemplated skipping the gym. No skip. I worked out at the company's gym.

Another worker entered the elevator area 3-5 seconds before me arriving to work. He held the elevator door open when I entered the elevator area. My thanks. I pay it forward the next time I'm ahead of another worker entering the elevator area.

Thur Jan 8: I was motivated to wake up at 6am because I want a 20 minute or less morning commute. Today's commute was 17 minutes.

My engineer told me more background story on the RMAs missing data points. He said the problems with the RMA data and the server component database existed before he started at the company. I thought about his story minutes after I sat at my cubicle. I realized why some job openings require lots of experience. One reason is the successful candidate must solve problems on day one. I'm guessing my engineer was hired because he has the experience to solve problems in quality control. On the other hand, there are too many job openings in today's tough job market requiring too much experience. Many job openings don't require lots of experience.

I exited the building at 5:15pm. There was still daylight. Daylight is getting longer.

Fri Jan 9: I continued with the audits. I continued listening to podcasts. I continued listening to KNBR 680AM at 3pm. There's no timetable when I complete the audits in full.

My engineer went home early because he had an appointment. He worked at home for the rest of the day.

Throwback Blog: Where Does Bad Management Come From?

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 Where Does Bad Management Come From? written on May 30, 2023. The answer is stress. The absolute answer is stress. The final answer is stress. Him or her must not do everything. He or she stresses out doing everything. Bad life choice. Doing everything is impossible.

I'm not a management consultant. I have no management experience. I speak from intuition. Bad management comes from stressed-out people. Bad management is the symptom from stressed-out people; in other words, stressed-out people cause bad managers.

Stress is one of many causes of bad managers. Another possibility is rough times outside the workplace. Bad managers dealing with family problems. Bad managers with chronic physical ailments. Bad managers tight on personal finances. Bad managers working too many hours. Long commutes, poor diets, lack of sleep, behind in responsibilities, and little leisure activities influence managers becoming bad. Outside influences can affect a bad manager such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the economy, and politics.

The workers are the punching bag. The workers are the stress relief. The workers are the receiving end of the managers releasing their anger, stress, fatigue, etc. The workers' tolerance is limited. Give it time. The workers respond appropriately quitting, requesting transfers, decreasing quality work, and/or informing the higher up management.

Update On A Past Blog

It took me 2.33 years to proactively continue my financial education. I model financial education from one of my grandfathers in the blog My Two Grandfathers written on Jul 3, 2018.

Throwback Blog: Higher Priority Job Hiring And Higher Weight Job Hiring

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 Higher Priority Job Hiring And Higher Weight Job Hiring written on Sep 10, 2017. The job hiring system is different in today's Information Age compared to past generations Generation X and Generation Y or Millennials. A nice job candidate with the attitude to learn is not going to be hired. I speak from experience many retail jobs the job candidate with good customer service experience only is not enough.

Discrimination was in the past yesterday. Discrimination is present today. The conversation on artificial intelligence eliminating jobs is rarely talked about in parties.

A casual conversation rarely talked about is the number of unemployed people. The number has been increasing. High school graduates, college graduates, recent laid-off workers, and long-term laid-off workers. The number of available workers is greater than the number of job openings. Job opportunities are few. People looking for jobs are many. More people are going to fail through no fault of their own.

A bottom line is high school students and/or college students who want a career in *fill in the blank* should have started training yesterday. The probability of finding a job increases the earlier the job candidate learns.

The old days a job candidate's desire, motivation, learning attitude, good communication skills, and friendliness were top qualities. They were the highest priorities. They weigh more. A job candidate's recent experience and relevant knowledge are top qualities today. The job hiring system today values the old days' qualities at the lower priority. The old days' qualities weigh less. Discrimination? My answer is yes. Discrimination has been happening for decades.

Moreover, managers and senior workers who "don't have time to train" prefer new hires with recent experience and relevant knowledge. What about your children when they're job searching after completing their education? Most of they can't find jobs because they don't have recent experience and relevant knowledge. Their potential managers and senior workers "don't have time to train." Managers and senior workers better train your children to avoid being discriminated like you're doing to job candidates who need a break.

I understand a common life quote "what goes around comes around." I also understand better some long-term unemployed quit job searching. Artificial Intelligence eliminates more jobs as time moves forward, anyways.

The job search system must be blamed. The job hiring process must be blamed. Some recruiters calling prospective candidates either don't read their resumes or don't understand their resumes content. They see key words on their resumes. They call the candidates or they email spam the candidates. Sometimes the calls or emails spam job openings are out of their metropolitan area. These recruiters are outside the United States almost all of the time.

It's very rare to find the 100% perfect job candidate. Most hiring managers believe their dreams come true. I see job openings. Time passes. I see the same job openings again as if the hiring manger rejected all of the potential job candidates. It happens to me when I reach the interview stage. Blame the system. Blame the process.

Throwback Blog: Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog January 2023

Throwback Blog: Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog January 2023

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 Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog January 2023 written on Feb 1, 2023. Bay Area people remember the big rain storm in Jan 2023 causing widespread power outages. The tripledemic COVID-19, the flu, and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) was weak. California ended the public health emergency on Feb 28, 2023. President Joe Biden ended the COVID-19 national emergency on May 11, 2023. The ending emergencies seemed they happened a long time ago.

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The COVID-19 winter surge tripledemic COVID-19, the flu and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) was weaker than expected. Strong winter rains. Near freezing temperature lows. Jan started the year slowly.

Tue Jan 3. Went to the bank. Shopped at Smart & Final and Nike Outlet. More people wore masks and more people didn't wear masks.

The biggest rain storm in decades arrived in the Bay Area.

Wed Jan 4. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the omicron variant XBB.1.5 is the dominant and the most transmissible COVID-19 variant. There is no evidence XBB.1.5 made people sicker. The initial research concluded XBB.1.5 is more resistant to vaccines compared to XBB and XBB.1. Infection rates doubled every two weeks. XBB.1.5 was identified in 29 countries.

Thur Jan 5. 90% of people with long COVID-19 started with mild symptoms according to a study published in the American Medical Association. Long COVID-19 is defined as the continuation or development of symptoms three months after the initial infection. Fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive problems such as brain fog are common long COVID-19 symptoms. Women are twice as likely as men and four times as likely as children to develop long COVID-19. COVID-19 patients hospitalized increase their risk with long COVID-19 with longer lasting symptoms. Researchers don't know why some symptoms disappear, reappear, and new symptoms develop. Other symptoms include loss of smell, loss of taste, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, and headaches. The initial evidence shows lower risk of long COVID-19 from omicron. Most people in the research were infected with deadlier variants.

Mon Jan 9. 89% of the residences in the Henan province in China tested positive with COVID-19. The province is the third most populated. Total infection 88.5 million. A possible reason for the spike is ineffective China vaccines compared to the effective US vaccines.

Tue Jan 10. Power outage started at 2:30am. The household listened to the news with the emergency radio. It was the first time the household turned on the emergency radio due to the weather. The emergency radio was used two times overall. Power was restored at 4:30pm.

Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the military. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act required the mandate dismissal.

The Washington Post reported an international expert estimates 5,000 people die each day and 1,000,000 people die in China from COVID-19 for 2023. The Chinese government official stated 5,200 people died since the start of the pandemic.

Satellite images of certain China provinces showed cars and crowds at crematoriums and funeral homes.

Wed Jan 11. The US renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency to April 2023. The emergency protected public health insurance coverage for millions, provided hospitals with greater flexibility to respond to patient surges, and expanded telehealth. Hospitals lose flexibility deploying staff, adding beds, and caring patients during surges when the public health emergency ends. Millions are expected to lose health insurance under Medicaid.

President Joe Biden said the pandemic was over in Sep 2022.

Thur Jan 12. A hospital in Beijing in China reported half of its 2,000 staff tested positive for COVID-19. They all recovered taking traditional Chinese medicine. Pfizer's Paxlovid is in short supply. A local manufacturer is contracted to manufacture Paxlovid available in three to four months to the Chinese people.

Fri Jan 13. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) said a possible safety problem with Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. Regardless, the CDC recommended people are updated with vaccines. It's possible people 65 and older increases their chances of a stroke.

Sat Jan 14. China reported 59,938 deaths from COVID-19 since Dec 2022. 5,503 deaths were due to respiratory failure and 54,435 deaths were due to COVID-19 plus other health ailments.

The CDC reported the tripledemic didn't happen. RSV and flu cases and hospitalizations declined in Dec 2022; although, some states experienced higher illnesses than other states. COVID-19 hospitalizations increased in Dec 2022. The RSV and flu mostly affected the children.

Mon Jan 16. Multiple celebrities tested positive for COVID-19 after the Golden Globes on Sun Jan 8, 2023. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Jen Statsky were some of the celebrities. Experts said it was no surprise because many people gathered indoors and poor COVID-19 safety practices.

The CDC said weekly COVID-19 cases topped 400,000 for the last six weeks. Weekly deaths increased with 3,907 reported as of Jan 11, 2023. However, flu cases declined.

Wed Jan 18. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tested positive for COVID-19. Mild symptoms. Powell is fully vaccinated and boosted up to date.

Thur Jan 19. I shopped at Target to purchase Bar Keepers Friend to clean sinks. I shopped at Smart & Final. I purchased the last pack of chicken.

Fri Jan 20. Shopped at Costco and Sports Basement. The cell phones and service booth was closed. The booth was covered with Costco services displays. Costco was dead inside at the 10am hour. I exchanged a Christmas gift at Sports Basement.

Wastewater samples show COVID-19, flu, and RSV rates declined in the Santa Clara County. Hospitalizations declined 30% from one month ago. COVID-19 hospitalizations were less severe because more people have antibodies and more vaccinated people.

Sat Jan 21. Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center For Disease Control And Prevention said 80% of the people in China is infected with COVID-19. Infections increased during the Lunar New Year. The government reported 60,000 people died from COVID-19 as of Jan 12, 2023.

Sun Jan 22. Watched Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers football game.

Mon Jan 23. Shopped at Smart & Final. There were lots of customers at 9:45am.

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) assessed the COVID-19 vaccine administered as an annual one shot like the annual flu shot before the flu season. Two doses may be needed for the children, the elderly, or the immune compromised. The goal is improved vaccine coverage rates and simplify vaccine deployment. Currently, most people receive the original COVID-19 vaccine two times separated 3-4 weeks apart. A booster is administered three to four months later.

Wed Jan 25. The North Korea capital Pyongyang was locked down for five days due to an unspecified respiratory illness. Citizens measured their temperatures which are reported to a hospital by phone four times a day. North Korea declared the pandemic ended on Aug 2022.

Thur Jan 26. The FDA pulled AstraZeneca's Erusheld from the market because it's not effective against at least 90% of the COVID-19 subvariants in the US. Erusheld is ineffective against BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and the XBB subvariants.

The CDC said omicron XBB.1.5 accounts for 49% of new cases. XBB.1.5 is adaptable to evade antibodies which block infection. 93% of new cases are the BQ and XBB variants.

Sat Jan 28. Shopped at Costco. It was busy at 9:45am. I avoid parking in the area next to the gas station in the future. I was lucky I found an open space near the entrance.

Sun Jan 29. Watched the San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles football game. I also watched the Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs starting at the 2:00 in the second quarter football game.

Mon Jan 30. The WHO said COVID-19 remains a global health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world transitions out of the emergency phase of the pandemic in 2023. Reduce hospitalizations. Minimize deaths. The health system manages COVID-19 in a sustainable way. At least 90% of the world population has some immunity to COVID-19. Tracking has declined detecting new variants difficult. Regardless, COVID-19 continues to kill. Resources must continue to research COVID-19.

President Joe Biden ends the COVID-19 national emergencies on May 11, 2023. The federal government roles are reduced for the COVID-19 pandemic response. The medically insured pay some out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. The medically uninsured pay fully for COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Tue Jan 31. The following are anticipated changes for COVID-19 government policy when the US public health emergency ends on May 11, 2023:

*The FDA authorizes COVID-19 home testing kits, vaccines, boosters, and products for emergency use. However, insurers no longer are required to cover the costs for home testing kits. Vaccines and boosters are free because the government purchased them. Congress didn't fund future vaccine and booster purchases.
*Medicaid enrollment increase during the pandemic because states can't remove people during the public health emergency. States can remove ineligible people in Apr.
*Title 42 allows the federal government to deny people seeking asylum to prevent COVID-19 spreading inside the US borders. The end of the public health emergency may end Title 42.
*More patients use telehealth to communicate with their doctors on a smartphone or a computer. Patients under Medicare pay nothing because Medicare covers the service cost. Congress extends telehealth for Medicare to the end of 2024.
*State public health emergency varies state by state. California public health emergency ends Feb 28, 2023.
*Hospitals no longer receive an extra 20% financial compensation for treating COVID-19 patients on Medicare.

The House passed two bills to end the COVID-19 government public health emergency. The bills are the Pandemic Is Over Act and the Freedom For Health Care Workers Act. The freedom act ends the mandate federal health care workers must be vaccinated.

Throwback Blog: Follow The Money

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 Follow The Money written on Sep 19, 2019. A person choosing a career can follow the money to find the popular careers today. The popular careers don't necessarily mean a high paying career. Anyone can make six digits or seven digits being a salesperson. Two letters are needed to update the blog in today's Information Age. The two letters are A and I--AI or Artificial Intelligence. A salesperson doesn't need specialized skills, knowledge, education, and experience.

I digress. Companies pay big salaries to people who meet the challenges of complex skills, knowledge, education, and experience in their industries.

I add the education system is the same: four years high school, two years associate's degree, four years bachelor's degree, and additional two years or four years for advanced degrees.

Deep Throat from the movie All The President's Men told Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to follow the money trail to solve the Watergate scandal. The follow the money thinking applies to careers.

Many of today's career challenges are skills, knowledge, education, and experience. We live in the information age. More careers require advance skills, technical training, indefinite education or self-training, longer hours, and more experience. More industries are complex, complicated, and difficult. Reference materials, books, notes, YouTube, and Google are required to research, to look up information, and to refresh our skills. Companies pay high salaries to workers who are strong, gritty, intelligent, motivated, and devoted to long hours. Companies pay high salaries to workers with highly demanded experience, best trained, and strong skills.

Some of the most common industries with high salaries include engineers, programmers, medical, scientists, and business. The five industries are changing rapidly. The best way to monitor the changes is job searching. Job postings inform the latest skills and experience. Job postings are up-to-date compared to college career centers and career counselors. Follow the money to learn the education, skills, and experience required in today's evolving industries.

There are some industries salaries have stayed the same. The reason salaries have stayed the same is because nothing changed. The skills are mostly the same yesterday and today. No technical training or little technical training is required. There is no need for additional education. The hours are the same. Little past experience is necessary. Almost all retail jobs the pay is low. Retail jobs haven't evolved. Post office, waiting tables, cleaning, and bus drivers their pay is low.

College Majors Lower Chances For High Salaries

I don't know how students majoring in humanities, fine-arts, art, music, education, and social science earn high salaries. However, these students can think of ideas earning additional income related to their majors. Podcasting? YouTube? Streaming? Blogging? Write books? Earn an advanced degree? Double major selecting a second major in a technical field or a business field? Generations ago college students can make a living in any major. Today's generation the high salaries goes to people with the latest and greatest skills and experience--the latest and greatest everything.

The workforce is not dumb. The industries are hard.

Update On A Past Blog

I forgot to mention to do something, anything new for which I'm uncomfortable in Get Back To The Basics When In A Jam on Sep 11, 2019. My life is moving forward too slow. It's time to take action. The best way is go back to the past when my life moved forward faster. I'm uncomfortable safely. I'm uncomfortable intelligently.

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.

Throwback Blog: Washington Canada Trip Part 4 of 7

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 Washington Canada Trip Part 4 of 7 written on Sep 24, 2005. The fourth day visiting Washington and Canda in Aug 2005 was Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Who knew I visited Vancouver for a business trip in Mar 2007. The Aug 2005 visited made Vancouver not a strange place in Mar 2007.

Half way there. Thanks for reading!

Tuesday August 30, 2005 at 9:00 A.M. Driving the Canadian Freeways

We woke up around 8:00 A.M. without eating breakfast. We choose to eat breakfast along the road. We needed to take a ferry to travel from Victoria to Vancouver. We drove on Highway 17 from downtown to Swartz Bay where the ferry is located. Steve kept a close watch of the speed because Canada uses the metric system and the speed signs are in km/h or kilometers per hour and the speeds changed many times. The maximum speed he drove was 50 miles per hour. And it was raining.

We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast in Saanichton. The McDonalds is the nicest and cleanest McDonalds we ever saw. The common areas has street light posts that acted as indoor lighting, indoor plants and TREES, a huge indoor playground for the kids, and the décor to simply explain is like a middle class home's living room. I should have visited the bathrooms. It's probably better than my bathrooms at home. I ordered the Sausage McGriddle and Steve ordered the pancakes.

Tuesday August 30, 2005 at 11:00 A.M. Entering the BCFerries

Before I go on, I forgot to mention all times are in Pacific Timezone. I didn't experience any jetlag or adjustments.

I purchased the ferry ticket at the BCFerries ticket booth. BCFerries is the company that runs the ferry system in British Columbia. The ticket booth is like a toll booth--drive up to an open ticket booth lane that issues tickets for Vancouver. After purchasing the ferry ticket, we lined up on the road along with the other cars waiting for the ferry to arrive. The destination from Victoria to Vancouver is from Swartz Bay on the Vancouver Island to Tsawwassen on the British Columbia mainland.

The ferry Steve and I rode is huge, huge, huge!!! There are three levels for automobiles, trucks, and buses, and people are allowed to stay in their cars if they choose. We parked in Deck 4 which is the upper level for automobiles. The common areas are two floors which included a cafeteria, three arcade areas, gift shop, workstations, play areas for children, and a formal buffet. I even looked at the Ferry schedule. Some destinations take 15 hours!!! My goodness. The cafeteria is big and busy. We could have eaten breakfast on the ferry.

The trip time is 1 hour and 35 minutes. The name of the BCFerries Steve and I rode is named "M.V. Spirit of Vancouver Island." I wonder what "M.V." stands for? I did the same activities and walk-arounds on the M.V. Coho Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria: I walked around the entire ferry and took pictures of the outside scenery; unfortunately, the rain affected the ferry trip such that I really limited my time outside the ferry and the rain clouds and fog limited picture taking. Steve mostly read his book on Feudal Japan. In the gift shop, I purchased magnets and maps for souvenirs. The Canadians are really friendly. In one instance, I maneuvered around the magazine section, and I needed to say "Excuse Me" to pass by a worker. When I said "Excuse Me", six people around me moved. Talk about politeness. Doesn't happen in San Jose =__=

After getting off the ferry we drove on Highway 99. Parts of Highway 99 are sophisticated. One stretch of the road there are lane signals. Lane signals tell drivers which lanes are open and which lanes are closed. It appears during commute times, Highway 99 opens extra lanes to move traffic faster for commute traffic and close extra lanes for reverse commute traffic. The maximum speed Steve drove was 90 km/h or 55mph.

Tuesday August 30, 2005 at 1:00 P.M. City of Vancouver City Limits

We arrived at the city limits. The sky was grey and Vancouver rained during the drive and during the entire day. Steve played his James Bond Greatest Hits CD. Gas was never a problem because Steve filled up the gas tank at Port Angeles, and we were glad because it felt weird to get gas in liters . . . and Steve drove a Volkswagen Bug which has great gas mileage.

Our destination was Downtown Vancouver where the hotel is located. We needed to drive by Marpole, South Granville, Shaughnessy, and Fairview neighborhoods before reaching Downtown Vancouver. These areas are like Santa Barbara, California including the homes, neighborhoods, and the shopping districts; in addition, the area is diverse with many stores and restaurants representing different cultures and different sexual orientations (if you know what I mean *nudge, nudge*) The drive reminded me when I was 5 years old visiting my grandparents in Santa Barbara for which the surroundings, the grey skies, the homes, and neighborhoods were 100% authentic and represented my memory accurately.

When we crossed the Granville Street Bridge, I noticed a lot of development in Downtown Vancouver. It appears Vancouver is growing. Downtown Vancouver kinda reminded of Downtown San Jose; however, the buildings are unique--the looks of the buildings I never seen before. We checked in the hotel and choose to visit the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park for the activity of the day and to eat lunch. And yes, the rain continued.

When we drove on Pacific Street and Beach Avenue and along English Bay and Sunset Beach to the Vancouver Aquarium, there are a lot small apartment buildings that looked like Santa Barbara again. The signal lights are simple like in Victoria.

Tuesday August 30, 2005 at 3:00 P.M. Vancouver Aquarium

Vancouver Aquarium is located in Stanley Park. We drove along the Stanley Park for 20 minutes. For me, it's the first time I drove around a park. The closest I drove in a park was Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and me and my friends drove through just to get to Highway 1. No scenic tour. There is a public pool at Stanley Park, and there were people in the public pool despite the rain. I believe the pool is a wading pool where people just go to the pool to get wet and play around.

Vancouver Aquarium was really busy. I think the rain and that the kids' summer vacations being almost over were the reasons for the packed aquarium. Compared to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, Vancouver Aquarium is really small. We entered the aquarium, paid admission, and the first stop was getting lunch. I like to tell everyone I donated $2.00 to the aquarium and I got a S.O.S. sticker which stands for Save Our Seals. Hee, hee, hee.

The rain kept pouring as we ate lunch. We saw the Belugas exhibit and they were swimming as we ate lunch. I ordered a burger and Steve ordered pizza. After lunch, we walked around the entire aquarium. We started viewing the outside attractions including seeing the sea lions, sea otters, and a dolphin show. The dolphin show was packed with spectators and their umbrellas. I was fortunate I got a spot and was able to see most of the show. I had to stand on my toes to view some of the acts.

After viewing the outside activities, the rest of the time, Steve and I walked around inside. We saw sharks, giant fishes, alligators, jellyfish, sting rays, seahorns, and entered the Amazon Rainforest. Man, the rainforest is really humid. I felt awkward viewing the maps of Canada on the displays and animal explanations. I'm used to viewing the California map when I visit the Monterey Aquarium, SeaWorld-San Diego, Disneyland, and other amusement attractions in California. The final stop was viewing the dolphins at the lower level of the aquarium. There is the Clownfish Cove where kids can touch the smaller sea animals. Kids, make sure your parents stick with you ^_^

Tuesday August 30, 2005 at 5:30 P.M. Dinner Time

We ate dinner at a high class, fancy restaurant named "The Crime Lab." There was nobody there and the food came pretty fast. After dinner, we walked around parts of Downtown Vancouver. Downtown reminded me of Downtown San Jose--quiet during the evening time. We visited a few stores. Most of the shops closed at 7:00 P.M. (for which, in my opinion, most retail shops should close around 7:00 P.M. because everyone needs to have leisure time).

We arrived back at the hotel around 8:00 P.M. and we channel surf. We saw the catastrophic damage Hurricane Katrina caused to New Orleans and part of Mississippi and Alabama.

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.

Throwback Blog: Throwback Blog: A Mixed Bag Of Everything

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 Throwback Blog: A Mixed Bag Of Everything written on Jun 30, 2021. Today's throwback is the first throwback throwback, a double throwback, or "A Third Look" blog. Also, today's throwback is the first in the 2020s.

The initial throwback is true today. I continue living my life with the corrected mistakes I committed in 2006. There are two updates. The Ryu's Birthday Party Ryu disappeared in Jun 2019. He reappeared in 2023. The Still 5.25% the Federal Reserve interest rates was 5.25%. The interest rates today are 4.75%-5.00%.

I said in the first throwback, "I was mostly depressed. I was mostly unhappy. Most of the happiness was faked." is true today. There were enough good moments to declare my 2006 a good year. Any past blogs stated a good 2006 year were true. My friend Barnes is quoted, "Enjoy it or complain." The paragraph contains two reminders.

Today's throwback blog is titled A Mixed Bag Of Everything written on Aug 11, 2006. The throwback is actually a second look at Aug 2006. I learn from the mistakes I made. I remind myself lessons learned. I refresh my acquired knowledge. I rediscover wisdom. I correct errors. I write changes. I share my feelings. Pardon the bad grammar. I write what happened first. I write my second look next.

Time Just Froze
Summary: I purchased a new watch which replaced my Casio G-Shock I wore since 1996.
Feedback: I purchased another Casio watch. I realized decades later my Casio watch made me look ignorant in terms of fashion and in terms of proper appearance.

New Laptop Bag
Summary: The grip handle on my laptop bag broke. I sent the laptop bag back to the manufacturer because of their lifetime guarantee. The manufacturer sent me a new laptop bag.
Feedback: I still have the laptop bag. I carry the laptop bag using the shoulder strap like a messenger bag.

Pictures Are Memories
Summary: I took pictures from events in Jul and Aug.
Feedback: I took too many pictures. There are lines between taking enough pictures, taking too many pictures, and taking inappropriate pictures. I stop acting like a professional photographer.

Ryu's Birthday Party
Summary: There was a popular anime fan nicknamed Ryu. He hosted an open invitation birthday party. Attendance reached the thirties. Everyone was having fun.
Feedback: Fast forward to 2008. Ryu's true colors were shown in a negative way. His 2008 birthday party attendance was under ten. He came in and out from the anime community. He disappeared completely in Jun 2019.

Anime Overdose (AOD) 2006
Summary: I attended their third AOD anime convention.
Feedback: AOD changed from Anime Overdose to Animation Overdose. 2006 was the year I attended the most anime conventions at six.

Last Night's Dinner
Summary: My mom cooked leftovers last night. She cooked in a lazy way. I cooked with heart. I cooked doing my best.
Feedback: No changes. My mom continues cooking in a lazy way. I cook with heart. I cook doing my best with infinite improvements.

A Quick Filling
Summary: I got a tooth filling before work. The dentist tried to sell Invisalign. My family suspected our dentist needed money.
Feedback: I took his Invisalign hint months later getting braces on Jan 2007 from an orthodontist. The family changed dentists on Aug 2019. His prices increased. His professionalism decreased. I can't explain why we didn't change dentists earlier.

Alphabetically Ascending A-Z
Summary: I listened to 98.5 KFOX's annual tradition playing their entire classic rock library by song title from A to Z.
Feedback: I continue listening to classic rock. Thank you classic rock. Today's music is garbage.

Broken Dryer
Summary: My dad attempted to fix the dryer.
Feedback: Thank you to our former neighbors the late Shermans for giving us their old dryer.

Green Tea
Summary: I drink expensive green tea from a bag costing $17.
Feedback: I stopped drinking green tea one year later.

Work Today
Summary: Today's work day was busy. I admitted my company stinks.
Feedback: I started job searching in mid-2006. I can't explain why I stopped. I resumed job searching in Jan 2007. I found a new job in Mar 2007. I should have more strength and courage to find a job when I realized the company started going downhill earlier in 2006.

Feeling Sick
Summary: I ate a poor lunch. I was fatigued. I got a sore throat.
Feedback: I repeat the lessons I learned years later. Get enough sleep. Exercise. Minimize processed foods. Eat good meals.

Keeping It Cool
Summary: I was sick during a brief heat wave.
Feedback: I'm proactive taking care of myself and my environment on hot days.

Double Day Off
Summary: There were two people in my department. My dumbass co-worker and I. I get a day off at work when he takes a day off away from work.
Feedback: I talked to one of the veteran brokers on my last day. He disclosed my dumbass co-worker had lots of personal problems. He had a good relationship with my dumbass co-worker because they worked in the company for years.

My coworker was a dumbass. He taught me Excel the wrong way. I unlearned his lessons years later. He taught me real estate statistics incorrectly. I was warned multiple times from past managers. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize them.

A Yummy Dinner
Summary: Inflation was the business headline.
Feedback: The Federal Reserve accepts the current inflation as transitory.

Still 5.25%
Summary: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 5.25%.
Feedback: Today's interest rates is 0.25%.

Shopping On eBay
Summary: I purchased a new watch and a new laptop battery on eBay.
Feedback: I believe my new watch stopped working around 2008. eBay is a legitimate ecommerce website.

Final thoughts. I ended the blog saying, "Who is to blame or to be faulted for a mixed bag of events the last two weeks? Nobody. I blame nobody for the last two weeks of completing something and more stuff comes to me. I'm going with the flow. . . . I feel mixed emotions." Going with the flow was accurate. Mixed emotions was accurate.

Honestly speaking, I was mostly depressed. I was mostly unhappy. Most of the happiness was faked. I should have been proactive to minimize chances of being depressed and to maximize chances of being happy. The writings were on the walls what I should have done and what I could have done such as find a new job, self-teach myself Excel correctly, and research gym workout plans. Better late than never. All mistakes in Aug 2006 are corrected.

Throwback Blog: De Anza Week May 23, 2011

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 De Anza Week May 23, 2011 written on May 25, 2011. I reflect these three days I went back to college during the Great Recession. My goal was to earn an A.A. degree in Accounting. I hoped to strengthen my resume when the economy recovered from the Great Recession. I thought a B.S. in Economics and an A.A. in Accounting were a good combination. They didn't work.

I visited the De Anza College-Accounting Department website. Four instructors remain in the department since 2011.

Reading the blog recalled my memory as if the three days happened earlier in the week. The week was memorable with action.

Mon May 23: The bad habit arriving late to class was never eliminated. Bad discipline. I was irresponsible.

Shocked was another verb the students felt when the professor handed out more homework. I finished the initial homework assignments before Memorial Day weekend.

Tue May 24: I missed driving to Mission College every Tue night. The class was easy. Attendance counted in the final grade. Important announcements were given in-class only.

Wed May 25: I should have exchanged contact information with the California State University (CSU)-East Bay graduate. She was informative on the accounting degree. Her accounting knowledge including auditing was good. For instance, there were in-class exercises. She exceled them for which sometimes she didn't read the textbook. The reason was she took an auditing class as an undergraduate.

I mentioned above the Economics degree and Accounting degree combination didn't work. The CSU-East Bay graduate explained a reason for which I was ignorant and I was in denial. The accounting classes taught in junior colleges are the same in four-year colleges; however, some important accounting classes are taught in four-year colleges only. Companies prioritize four-year colleges accounting degrees over two-year colleges accounting degrees. A person can say a two-year A.A. degree is fraud.

I think back about the conversation 13 years and at least three months later. I should have been proactive by researching skills I could learn related to accounting, data analysis, or both. The learning should have continued after graduation.

Mon May 23

The drive to De Anza was the shortest ever. I had one red light which was the first left turn that was a short wait. I still was 10 minutes late. The time could have doubled if I had more red lights.

The professor surprised the entire class. He handed out an additional chapter 5 homework assignment due Wed. 24 multiple choice questions. That's not good for those who wanted to finish the initial homework assignments before Memorial Day weekend. My goal is to finish all homework assignments before Fri.

Tue May 24

I arrived at Mission College at 7:20pm. The instructor said the official start time for the final is 7:30pm. Students can come at 7:00pm. I was running behind in everything. I ate a Snickers candy bar at the parking lot.

I turned in the take home final and received the final. My usual seats at the back of the class were occupied. I moved to the front. The final was doable. I didn't study. I recognized some questions from the take home final and lectures. I completed around 20 minutes. I received the take home final solutions after I submitted the final. It seems I did well because the debit and credit numbers matched what I calculated.

In a small way, I'm going to miss driving to Mission College every Tue night. It was a set activity for the beginning of 2011. I can use the two and a half hours to study for auditing and work out at the gym.

Wed May 25

The professor immediately checked the students completing the additional chapter 5 homework assignment as soon as he walked in the classroom. Then he began lecturing chapter 6. Finally, we reviewed the additional chapter 5 homework. The professor made me read all the questions.

I did poorly on the assignment. I got most of the questions wrong. Most students were surprised at some of the answers to the questions. The classmate who sat on my right was absent on Mon. She got most of the questions correct when she answered the questions before the professor announced the solution.

The classmate and I went to the library after class to photocopy the assignment for her. We talked about accounting degrees and economics degrees. She corrected my knowledge on accounting degrees at the California State University (CSU) systems. An accounting degree is actually a business administration degree. The account part is the business administration's emphases. I incorrectly thought an accounting degree is a stand alone degree with more accounting classes took compared to a junior college. The correction is the number of accounting classes is almost the same between a CSU and junior college. In particular, my classmate noted there are key classes taught at CSU junior college don't teach, and that's a key factor when it comes to companies hiring a person with a four year degree and a two year degree in accounting. The accounting classes I have taken at De Anza are the same as any CSU school. If I transfer to a CSU school, then some of my accounting classes count towards the transfer and I must retake some classes I already took at De Anza.

Update On A Past Blog

I finished reading the book version of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowing, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne. The story is overrated. The plot twist saved the theatre production. I watch the live action play. I prepare myself to avoid being hyped.

I add two more lessons to the blog Top Ten Plus Nine Equals Top Nineteen Harry Potter Adult Perspective Takeaways written on Apr 29, 2020. The lessons happened at the end of Year 4 Goblet Of Fire. Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid because there was no Defense Against The Dark Arts class. Hagrid told Harry it was okay to feel bad. Hagrid also told the trio, "Known it fer years, Harry. Knew [Voldemort] was out there, bidin' his time. It had ter happen. Well, now it has, an' we'll jus' have ter get on with it. . . . No good sittin' worryin' abou' it. What's comin' will come, an' wel'll meet it when it does. . . ."

Throwback Blog: A Second Look At 2010

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 A Second Look At 2010 written on May 13, 2011. Today's blog started A Second Look blogs for which the title is somewhat self-explanatory. I looked at the previous year's blogs. They were not year-end reviews. I commented myself. I provided feedback to myself.

I second looked at my 2010, 2011, and 2012 blog years six months later in its next year. The six months later was changed to 12 months later thereafter. My year-end reviews started with the blog A Brief 2005 Year In Review And Not Jinxing 2006 written on Dec 23, 2005. I brought them back starting with Moment Of The Years written on Jan 14, 2016 which briefly reviewed years 1998-2015. The previous individual year-end reviews were written two or three months on its next year which started with 2016 Year In Review. Is 2016 or 2007 The Worst Year Of My Life? written on Feb 5, 2017. There are no new year's resolutions blogs.

Today's throwback blog is my second A Second Look. My first throwback blog A Second Look was Throwback Blog: A Second Look At 2015 written on Apr 28, 2024. Today's throwback blog is different. I take a third look at the nine blogs. I write my Second Feedback below the Link. I edit when appropriate.

A Second Look At 2010
Friday May 13, 2011

I'm taking a second look at my 2010 blogs to provide comments and feedback. Was I correct? Was I wrong? OMG, I wrote that--what was I thinking? Was it true? Did it happen? For the record, this blog is not a 2010 review. I don't believe in [year-end] reviews and new [year's] resolutions. I believe a person should evaluate and critique their lives daily and make changes immediately.

My goal is to learn from my mistakes, reinforce my lessons, remind myself my moments, and rethink again. I gathered all my 2010 blogs including my weekly De Anza blogs, read them, and posted my self-evaluation. I included the title, date, blog summary, and feedback. The link is provided to read the original blog entry.

Blog title: The State Of My Life
Date: Feb 25
Summary: I wrote there was a moment I felt depressed and out of control. Regardless, life continues day by day. There is no time to sulk. Do anything to regain control of your life and get out of being depressed.
Feedback: OMG, I wrote that! I must have been depressed to blog something depressing and sad in Feb. I remember from 2000-2004, March had always been my depressing month. I hope my Feb 2011 is not depressing. Given it's May 2011, March 2011 was a bad month. Hence, I continue to experience depressing days. We're human.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/state-of-my-life.html
Second Feedback: It's normal to feel depressed. Don't use depression as an excuse to stop living life. If you feel better, then solve problems.

Blog title: De Anza Week Mar 22 2010
Date: Mar 26
Summary: I wrote my highlights for Winter '10 quarter at De Anza. I blogged my mistakes which were I didn't drop singing class and I should have stopped attending free salsa lessons.
Feedback: Continuing singing class was the worse choice I made in De Anza to date. The class failed to meet my expectations. The instructor lost her voice for three weeks. We had classes the instructor didn't feel like teaching.

I attended free salsa lessons too many times. It took too much time away for other important activities. There were times when one must stop his/her obligations. I had to stop attending the salsa lessons. Too much to do and, yes, gym was important to stay in shape.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/de-anza-week-mar-22-2010.html
Second Feedback: Two life lessons worth reminding. First lesson: Quit when something is not working out. Second lesson: prioritize. It's okay to keep the foot on the accelerator. There are times the foot must be let go; otherwise, the engine overheats.

Blog title: How to Build a Lasting Relationship
Date: Apr 15
Summary: Zig Ziglar wrote an article how to build long term relationships. The point was, "Compromise is not denying right and wrong; it's admitting that both sides can have some right and both sides can have some wrong."
Feedback: Reading the article made me think about my guilty conscious indirectly related to the article. I fear that one mistake jeopardizes my relationship with my family and friends. The little mistakes are not a problem. I should know that we're human and we make mistakes big and small. I should also know that almost all mistakes don't lead to an immediate break up. I never experienced any breakup from a mistake I made.

On second thought, yes, I experienced a breakup. I was in 8th grade. It was the summer before I started my freshmen year in high school. I went on a date with my friend's ex-girlfriend. My friend and I started high school. He never spoke to me throughout our four years. I was in 8th grade and I was immature for a 13 year kid.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-build-lasting-relationship.html
Second Feedback: Compromise is required for strong human relationships. On the other hand, don't be taken advantaged. Some humans don't get along with other humans. Nobody gets along with everybody.

Blog title: The Year Was 2007
Date: May 17
Summary: I blogged how 2007 is the worse year in my life. I wrote [a] Q&A as if I was interviewed by 60 minutes.
Feedback: Lol, I wrote a similar blog titled "2007 Was Actually A Bad Year" on Mon Oct 13, 2008. Click to read it: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/2007-was-actually-bad-year.html.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/year-was-2007.html
Second Feedback: 2016 is the worst year of my life. Read the blog 2016 Year In Review. Is 2016 or 2007 The Worst Year Of My Life? written on Feb 5, 2017.

Blog title: Bruce Lee Is The Man
Date: Oct 8
Summary: I paralleled Bruce Lee's philosophy with some of my top 30 blogs.
Feedback: I posted this blog to review Bruce Lee's famous quotes and how they match my top 30 blogs. Lee quoted he never reach achievement and "learning is boundless." I posted blogs reiterating that quote.

Side note: To view my top 30 blogs, click to read it: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/300.html.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/bruce-lee-is-man.html
Second Feedback: I wrote more Bruce Lee quotes in the Bruce Lee Was The Man Revisited blog on Nov 4, 2019. These quotes are from the movie Enter The Dragon.

Blog title: De Anza Week Oct 25, 2010
Date: Oct 28
Summary: I mentioned many students eat out instead of eating at home to save time and save money (arguable, eating out is cheaper).
Feedback: I looked at the nutrition information for a McDonald's Big Mac. That burger is fattening a frozen pizza is healthier. I promised myself I never eat a Big Mac for the rest of my life.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/de-anza-week-oct-25-2010.html
Second Feedback: I broke the promise in 2011.

Blog title: Why I Think The San Francisco Giants Won The World Series
Date: Nov 5
Summary: I shared my thoughts why the San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series. It was all action.
Feedback: Manager Bud Black from the San Diego Padres won manager of the year which he deserved. Bruce Bochy outmanaged Texas Rangers' Ron Washington. Good luck to the 2011 San Francisco Giants defending their world championship. The team must seek better actions to win the World Series.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-i-think-san-francisco-giants-won.html
Second Feedback: The Giants won two more championships in 2012 and 2014.

Blog title: De Anza Week Dec 6, 2010
Date: Dec 15
Summary: I wrote Fall '10 quarter was a bad quarter.
Feedback: Fall '10 really wasn't a bad quarter. Winter '10 was worse than Fall '10. Winter '11 is now the worse quarter.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/de-anza-week-dec-6-2010.html
Second Feedback: I change the feedback. The Fall 2010 and the Winter 2010 quarters were good.

Blog title: Happy Life
Date: Dec 21
Summary: Happy people earn their happiness working hard, doing better, innovating and improving indefinitely, and living life. The happiness becomes real. Innovate infinitely for a happy life.
Feedback: If there are awards for best blogs, Happy Life blog is a final nominee. The blog reminds me never take life for granted. Happy life is not for people who sit on the sofa watching TV. Happy life is not for people who play video games 24/7 and given shelter, food, and clothing from someone else.
Link: http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-life.html
Second Feedback: Happy Life is an all-time top blog. It's still true today.

Throwback Blog: Curses Are Meant To Be Broken

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 Curses Are Meant To Be Broken written on Nov 5, 2010. I used Major League Baseball teams as examples curses were broken. The San Francisco Giants won two more World Series in 2012 and 2014. The Chiago Cubs won the 2016 World Series. The Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Cleveland Indians, continue waiting.

Here are recent first time franchise championships. I don't know their local franchise histories. I believe local fans say there were curses. The Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series. The Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Finals. The Florida Panthers won the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals.

The title is self-explanatory. Curses are meant to be broken. However, it's unfortunate some people can't or don't break their curses for reasons beyond their control. Blame life.

The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series was in 1908, a span of 102 years which is the longest time a team hasn’t won. The second longest is the Cleveland Indians at 62 years. The third longest was the San Francisco Giants at 56 years. The key word is was.

The Giants won the 2010 World Series defeating the Texas Rangers four games to one. The win is the first time in San Francisco franchise history. The torture is over, and that includes torture Giants fans experienced during the last six weeks of the season. Edgar Renteria’s three run go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 7th inning is the Giants most memorable homerun in San Francisco Giants history. The championship is for the Willie Mays, Will Clark, and Barry Bonds eras. The win erases all the Giants curses. Here are some of curses I lived through:

*1987 NLCS. Candy Maldonado’s misplayed fly ball in Game 6 and Jose Oquendo hitting a homerun in Game 7 off Atlee Hammaker against the St. Louis Cardinals. Oquendo hit one homerun in the regular season.

*1989 World Series. Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland A’s swept.

*2002 World Series. Anaheim Angels’ Scott Spiezo’s three run go-ahead homerun against Felix Rodriguez in Game 6.

*2003 NLDS. J.T. Snow thrown out at the plate on the last play of the series against the Florida Marlins in Game 5.

Curses are meant to be broken. If you’re in a bad streak of sales, dates, homework and tests scores, interviews for a job, burning cooked dinners, or buying bad goods, don’t worry about it. Don’t give up! Curses are meant to be broken.

Side note: The Boston Red Sox’s broke their curse in 2004.

Throwback Blog: A Second Look At 2015

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 A Second Look At 2015 written on Dec 17, 2016. These are the top 18 blogs in 2015. All of the feedbacks are true today. The general feedback for the feedbacks is I practice them today. An additional feedback for the feedback 4. A Sample Of Changes Everyday is I see more people losing natural beauty as they naturally age. I reiterate 6. I Define Self-Respect for which people with problems don't respect themselves. I remind responsible adults 14. Accept The Daily Adult Living. I could have slowed down multiple times during my Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology; on the other hand, it took me nine years and two months to complete. Regardless, 17. Yes Slow Down eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner, sleep well, and pace accordingly are great to slow down.

It's the time I look back at my 2015 blogs to give myself feedback. The goal is the same as past second looks: relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, and correcting errant blogs. These blogs are also the 2015 best blogs.

There are 18 blogs for A Second Look 2015. There were 17 blogs for A Second Look 2014 and 11 blogs for A Second Look 2013. These 18 blogs are spread throughout the year. The breakdown: Jan has 3, Feb has 1, Mar has 3, Apr 1, Jun 2, Jul 3, Aug 1, Oct 3, and Nov has 1. I continue my second looks in Dec because I want a full year to think about my past year.

I provide the title and link to the original blog, date, summary, and my feedback. Enjoy!

Blog Title: 1. Exercise Your Body From Head To Toe Inside And Outside
Date: Tuesday January 6, 2015
Summary: Use it or lose it. Use your abilities physically, mentally, and emotionally. Otherwise, you lose them.
Feedback: The blog is another way to say maintain your body inside and outside.

Blog Title: 2. My Spirituality Discovery
Date: Sunday January 11, 2015
Summary: Reading my personal bible once a week and sleeping seven nights a week are my spiritual discoveries.
Feedback: The next job my spiritual practice sleeping is a weekday priority. I admit I haven't read my personal bible weekly for months. Ironically, I have been productive completing my responsibilities one at a time. No rushing. Minimize stress. I pace myself. Fortunately, I remember most of my personal bible I recite at times I need encouragement.

Blog Title: 3. Go Get My Life
Date: Saturday January 31, 2015
Summary: Getting a life requires working. A good life is not given on a silver platter. Be responsible. Don't take life for granted.
Feedback: I wonder if I wrote the blog in 2007, then I tell myself I'm full of shit. 2007 was the year I took all my successes and fortunes for granted. The blog above is I'm a man of my word today sincerely and truthfully. I continue learning new job skills. I workout at the gym. Moreover, I'm retired from anime. I say goodbye to anything and to anyone holding me back. I have more free time to earn a good life.

Although my past contract job ended up nowhere, I continue doing what I wrote. No wasting time. No jerking around. No taking my life for granted. Work and earn.

Blog Title: 4. A Sample Of Changes Everyday
Date: Friday February 27, 2015
Summary: I wrote four life changing samples humans experience. They were beauty, jobs, climate, and computer.
Feedback: Quoted for emphasis. Our looks change as we age. Many of us find another job. The weather patterns are changing. Technology innovates every day. Most changes are beyond our control.

Blog Title: 5. Work Sat Mar 7, 2015
Date: Saturday March 7, 2015
Summary: I drove on the carpool lane solo to work on Wed Feb 25 and Thur Feb 26 because there were two car accidents in those two days.
Feedback: I never drive on the carpool lane solo for the rest of my life regardless of time. I never drive on the carpool lane solo between the minutes before the carpool time starts and the minutes after the carpool time ends. Why? A police officer pulled over three solo drivers minutes before the carpool lane time ended on Thur Feb 26. I was lucky I merged out of the carpool lane.

Blog Title: 6. I Define Self-Respect
Date: Thursday March 12, 2015
Summary: My self-respect definition is live a good life. Take care of yourself. Be active. Avoid situations where you're uncomfortable.
Feedback: Here is another blog I wonder if I wrote the blog in 2007, then I tell myself I'm full of shit. To repeat, 2007 was the year I took all my successes and fortunes for granted. Self-respect is controlling more of your life. I want to control more of my life. I want to be in my driver's seat. Be professional. Avoid anything and anyone holding me back. Self-respect requires strength, courage, intelligence, and desire. Sometimes self-respect includes saying good-bye.

Blog Title: 7. My Girlfriend's Ultimatum Or Her French Black Dress
Date: Sunday March 15, 2015
Summary: The blog is from a dream. It tells me how to make my lover happy. Also, for the record, my lover must make me happy.
Feedback: Be the best. Never take my woman's love for granted. I want to be the person not to get the French Black Dress. Be strong. Be smart. Improve. Show the world the woman is happy being with me.

Blog Title: 8. Never Give Up Finding The Ultimate Happiness
Date: Saturday April 11, 2015
Summary: There is a human being meant to fall in love with another human being.
Feedback: The bullshit blog theme continues. I wonder if I wrote the blog in 2007, then I tell myself I'm full of shit. To repeat, 2007 was the year I took all my successes and fortunes for granted.

I believe it today. I'm always working on finding my ultimate happiness even when I'm unemployed and living with my parents. A lover makes happy life happier and sad life bearable. There is someone out there who's a match. There are an infinite amount of different people including geeks, boring people, introverts, book lovers, adventurers, wine lovers, and preppers.

Blog Title: 9. The Past Caught Up With Me
Date: Wednesday June 10, 2015
Summary: The problems I ignored in the past are affecting me in the present. Some of the problems included living a boring life and poor job skills.
Feedback: Checkpoint. How am I doing solving my past problems? They're a work in progress. I need more time. I'm optimistic my hard work catches me up what I missed pays off soon.

We live with problems. Nobody lives a life problem free. Carefree, worry free, and lazy people ignores problems. Eventually the problems come back in a negative way.

Blog Title: 10. My Manifesto Jun 11, 2015
Date: Thursday June 11, 2015
Summary: I wrote eight promises to live a good life. Some of the promises included get a job, live independently, and no hoarding.
Feedback: I need more time to accomplish the one shot goals. The indefinite promises are continuing accomplished.

Blog Title: 11. Top Ten Life Lessons From The Beatles
Date: Wednesday July 1, 2015
Summary: The ten life songs from The Beatles are Getting Better, You're Going To Lose That Girl, Here Comes The Sun, Something, Carry That Weight, We Can Work It Out, The Long And Winding Road, I've Got A Feeling, Get Back, and Let It Be.
Feedback: I repost to remind myself and my readers.

Blog Title: 12. Independence
Date: Friday July 3, 2015
Summary: The day I declare myself living independent is coming soon.
Feedback: Here is a 2015 bullshit blog. On the other hand, I wrote it on Independence Day weekend. Also, I have been repeating myself throughout 2015 my current life situation. In other words, duplicate blogs on how I'm getting better. Is it okay? I remind myself by repetition.

Blog Title: 13. Did I Make A Difference?
Date: Tuesday July 7, 2015
Summary: I recognize the people who helped me, taught me, and corrected me. I don't know how to pay back my debts for their assistance.
Feedback: I want to make a difference to other people. I have big debts to pay back. It's a question of when. I live my live in the driver seat. There are people who take a ride with me for which I make a different to all my passengers.

Blog Title: 14. Accept The Daily Adult Living
Date: Tuesday August 4, 2015
Summary: Strength, courage, flexibility, maturity, professionalism, and a grown-up behavior are required to live the adult life. No day is the same. Expect to be always behind in something. Be prepared for emergencies. Accept new challenges. Always meet new people. Stay active.
Feedback: Here is a good summary to live a good adult life; although, sometimes there are bad times. Nobody lives a 100% perfect easy life. Sometimes we must say no.

I see myself the life I described above as an adult. I hear stories and witnessed myself other people living the adult life above. Unfortunately, some of the adults do a poor job living the adult life. I live my adult life responsibility and intelligently.

Blog Title: 15. What I Learned Finishing CERT Academy Training?
Date: Wednesday October 7, 2015
Summary: One of the two concepts I learned was schools plant the seed. The responsibility to learn more and to become an expert is you. Don't take knowledge for granted. Never stop learning. Continue training. Continue refreshing. Innovate infinitely.
Feedback: Good parents encourage their children to infinitely learn. There's school vacation. There's no learning vacation. Continue learning something, anything. Likewise for adults. It's normal for a working adult to relax after a long day's work. Rest is required. No problem. Find some time in a calendar work week to learn something new. The learning can be job related or life related. The repetition is learning something new and reviewing something existing. Repeat infinitely.

In particular, the CERT 21 hour training planted the seed, started the motion what to learn and what to review, and continued learning. Similarly, I'm following the CERT self-learning attitude to learn Python, VBA, CSS, and JavaScript. There is so much to learn books and videos scratches the surfaces to become an expert. It takes time.

Blog Title: 16. Today I Want To Talk About Adventure
Date: Thursday October 8, 2015
Summary: Adventures are required to live a good life.
Feedback: Good adventures means a good life. Good stories attract good people or meet new people. Good stories mean a life without boredom. I have something to say. I don't have to stay something. Nobody wants to hear boring conversations.

Blog Title: 17. Yes Slow Down
Date: Friday October 9, 2015
Summary: Listen to your body. Get rest when you're tired.
Feedback: Eat your breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals daily. Never skip meals. I want to repeat. Sleep, take a breath, and pace yourself are all important.

Blog Title: 18. All The People In My Life
Date: Tuesday November 10, 2015
Summary: I ask myself the people I met in the past are doing better today. I want to be part of a group of people living a good life.
Feedback: I must make the blog true. My bullshit blogs end here. I don't take past people who helped me, shared their knowledge, and spent their time with me for granted. The next time these past people see me I'm a better Raymond Mar. I prove it to them. I prove it to the world. I nominated the blog for the blog of the year if there was an award.

Throwback Blog: The Lesson To Be Successful Rarely Taught

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 The Lesson To Be Successful Rarely Taught written on Sep 12, 2018. Part of the title word Lesson should be Lessons in plural. The lessons are timing, luck, opportunity, and chance. I add how to learn from mistakes to the list of lessons. Teaching learn from mistakes is easier than timing, luck, opportunity, and chance. I also add motivation or desire is more important than knowledge or intelligence.

What is the lesson to be successful? The lesson is timing, luck, opportunity, and chance. How are timing, luck, opportunity, and chance taught? Impossible. If there is a way, then someone teach me. Also, if there is a way, then it's likely the teaching is difficult. Forget the quotes from the most successful people in business, sports, politics, and arts. Timing, luck, opportunity, and chance are four simple words to success. Many people can be engineers. Many people can be plumbers. Many people can be doctors and nurses. Many people can be accountants. Many people can be athletes making an income. Many people can be actors or actresses. Few people achieve those professions.

Are you at the right place at the right time? If yes, then timing favors you. Are you in good health? If yes, then you're lucky. Similarly, do you have a good brain and do you live in a good community? You have good luck. Do you have a complete college education or do you have good training? If yes, then you have opportunity. Do you have interviews? Do you have callbacks? Do you have invites? Do you have offers? Are you in the second round of an audition? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have a chance.

Some people have the timing, luck, opportunity, and chance. Some people don't have the timing, luck, opportunity, and chance. There are winners and losers in championship games such as the Super Bowl and World Series. There are winners and losers in life. Some bad people win. Some good people lose. Life is unfair. Pray timing, luck, opportunity, and chance come to you.

Update On A Past Blog

Do you need a conversation starter? Do you need an ice breaker? Click Tell Me You Games for tips to get people talking. My tips I wrote on Dec 2014 may be silly. My tips are successful when people talk. The games bring back old school socialization. There are no texting, emailing, and video chatting. Everyone is present. Conversations are intelligent. Technology is okay to lookup information.