I found myself manning a kiosk at a mall. It was not because I got drunk or went insane, though it would be more convincing that that was the reason. Instead, it was simply because I agreed to help out a friend who was going through tough times. The past month was not an easy time, if not for the sheer cognitive dissonance experienced during this time. In many respects, it was a rare glimpse into a world I seldom experience - the world that a growing number of people are facing - that of the...
Written on October 21, 2014
Lots of things have been happening recently. The past five months have really flown by. My lifestyle has changed significantly recently. I find myself hanging out with my friends a lot more - eating out with them, playing with them, talking with them, etc.
This is almost the opposite of what I was like 10 years ago. 10 years ago, around this time, I was in 12th grade, grinding through high school with all the AP courses, with all my focus on preparing myself for college, and trying to make...
Written on September 18, 2014
That would be the time period between this post and the previous post. Remember how I said I wanted to make a bunch of posts in my last post? You don't? Well, that's what I said. But, I got lazy. Actually, I've been busily working on a project with my brother (the first thing we've collaborated on in a long time; the last time was probably in middle school when we decided to beat a game together). That is something that I will present another time. Add it to the queue of things to write about....
Written on August 5, 2014
So, I've noticed that I haven't been updating this repository of my thoughts. It may be assumed that it means nothing of note has been going on. However, there have been things going on. The problem is to take all these events and to format them in a post/entry format. That, I haven't gotten around to doing. Just as a list, here's the things that have been happening, which I hope to get around to making posts about sometime soon:
1. I started at a new job. It is a refreshing experience,...
Written on May 7, 2014
Yesterday was my last day. Now, I think I can make a thorough evaluation of my entire experience. There were some very good things as well as some sources of annoyance and frustration.
On the whole, my time at Sabre was enjoyable. The primary reason was the people that I worked with. In terms of raw intellect, we could hold intelligent conversations together. In terms of personality, we were all reasonable people. But even more than just being able to get along, I sensed that they were...
Written on March 29, 2014
This weekend was incredible, in all sorts of ways.
Friday night, I went to the old house after work to lay down vinyl planks. Rather, I went to knock out the sides where there were nails protruding out of wood strips used to keep the carpet in place, before I could lay down vinyl planks. There was an area where for a period of time, waters from the clogged laundry pipe would go up the sink, over the counter, and onto the carpet. The wood stripes had turned black, presumable from mold. Next...
Written on March 5, 2014
I never thought of myself as being old-fashioned, but more and more, I am seeing evidence that the world has gone on, and sort of left me behind. Either that, or I've grown up, and my mind has matured, and I've left the world behind. Or a bit of both. One thing that's for sure is, I am thinking a lot more similarly to my dad nowadays than before. The following are principles I've learned which have changed my wayz:
Others don't necessarily know what's best, or even what's better. This...
Written on February 25, 2014
This whole week has been crazy! A round of layoffs. Playing board games with co-workers all night till the morning. Then my long-time friend getting married. While all these things this week have involved intense emotions, this last event brought up extreme emotions on both sides of the spectrum.
On the one hand, I was very happy. I saw and briefly chatted with many people I had not seen for years. In a certain way, it was as if we had gone back in time, with all the people whom I had...
Written on January 13, 2014
This week, we had a large layoff in the company. The company was merciful in that our business unit waited until after the holidays to do the layoffs, that much credit I give them. They could've done the layoffs when the other business units were doing them at around Thanksgiving and Christmas, which would've dampened the mood. However, that is about as much credit that can be given.
The layoffs were due to a change in corporate strategy, presumably to position the company for an IPO....
Written on January 10, 2014
In a few days, it will be the end of my winter vacation (two weeks of paid time off). On Nov. 22, I walked out of the office with a big smile on my face. My vacation was starting, and I was happy. We had been planning a trip to Taiwan since when we (my brother and I) were in middle school. My mom wanted to take us back to see our homeland, where my mother and father were born; though if you were to trace it back to my grandparents, we would have to go to Shandong and Guandong. Regardless, it...
Written on December 7, 2013
Alright. Let me first give you a disclaimer - this can either go very well and painlessly (as described in the guide), or it could take up a whole day (what happened to me).
First, follow this guide.
I had this link open in one of my tabs in Google Chrome for months, while I pondered whether I needed to do it or not. My OS SSD had been running low on space (hovering around at less than 1GB of free space). Then, this morning, it went down to 400+MB, and that was when I decided to take...
Written on October 13, 2013
This is probably the first time I've ever done this, which makes it something I should write down, and keep for the future. I ate dim sum with my co-workers. Something I've never understood was how people always want to eat in groups. Today, I experienced how good company makes a pleasant difference. I did not expect everything to turn out as well as it did. Just a group of friends enjoying a meal together: chatting, eating, and drinking tea. This, to me, would be one of the more significant...
Written on September 29, 2013
Today, we shall learn about politics!
People often throw this term around, but it wasn't until recently that I came to personally know and experience what politics actually is.
What you may have heard
Places with lots of politics are terrible places to work in. People all universally hate politics. Life would be so much better if politics was not around to terrorize everyone.
The truth
Everyone is engaged in politics. Whenever someone chooses to hide the truth and say...
Written on September 22, 2013
The dream:
Since middle school, I've been praying and hoping that my friend would come to a meeting with me, and that the Lord would touch him and turn him to believe into Him. Today, it happened. He came to a meeting with me. In addition, he asked about the Lord's day meeting tomorrow, and wants to come to that one, too. I praise and thank the Lord for answering my prayer long after I had given up myself.
The nightmare:
I went to Chicago and parked my car by the side of the...
Written on June 30, 2013
As we're moving to a new house, I'm sorting through my old stuff. Sometimes, I'm reminded of the past, and I take the time to stop and reminisce. Sometimes, I remember good things; other times, bad things. However, one question always comes up at the end of each memory: if I could repeat that day again, would I have done things differently. That's when two things hit me.
Memories are all that remain of the past. Things change and people change. Even if I were to put the same people together...
Written on June 19, 2013
Yup. Was out in the sun too long over the weekend. Now I know how it feels to be a farmer. It's not a bad feeling though. Something about being outside and in the sun feels very good. Of course, there could have been a number of things that would've made things uncomfortable, such as mosquitos, the heat, etc. but none of those were present. It was just me, my shovel, and the dirt. And... now my neck and arms are bright red, like I got baked in an oven. I hope it gets better.
Written on May 7, 2013
When people think about people who are really into anime, they tend to think of cosplayers. These are people who dress up as their favorite anime character and go to anime conventions. However, if you've ever been to a convention, then you will notice how the fascade begins to fall apart, exposing an ugly truth hiding in the shadows: it's all on the surface. Because anime characters are not realistic by design, those who try to imitate them end up falling into a trap; the more they try to look...
Written on April 25, 2013
Ah. That's the word that comes to mind. The kind of soothing, smooth, relaxing word that conveys that everything is right with the world. That's the kind of weather these days have been. Cool for Texas, but just right in my opinion. I didn't remember April being so relaxing, and I didn't remember appreciating it this much. This time last year... I was probably staring out the window from a sixth story window office. Two years ago... I was probably sitting in a erratically lit room that hummed,...
Written on April 12, 2013
Time sure flies. It's been almost two months since my last post. It is time to make another. I've noticed that I haven't said anything about what's been happening in my life since I came back from China in November of last year. So, this is what happened. I came back in mid-November, started a job the day after Thanksgiving, at the same company I was interning that summer, and have been steadily chugging along since then. I have been involved with testing the services developed by my team,...
Written on March 30, 2013
The final video project that I still have with me (of the many film projects we did, the ones I have posted here are the only ones I still have). I believe this was 11th grade. We read a novel called, My Name is Asher Lev. Our job was to make a trailer. At the time, neither I nor Joe (my 2-member team team member) knew what a trailer was. Or, much rather, we knew what it was, but we didn't know it was called a trailer. At least, I didn't know it was called a trailer. For me, trailers were...
Written on February 3, 2013