Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Go see your parents

As more and more people are vaccinated, it’s very heart-warming to see them visit their parents for the first time in over a year. The excitement, relief, and absolute joy is a lovely sight on my twitter feed.

Lucky for me, it’s a feeling I cannot relate to: I see my parents all the time. I was living with them when this pandemic began, and even after moving out of the house some six months ago, I still go home every weekend. I suppose the people who had to take an involuntary year off from seeing their loved ones will never take it for granted again.

I certainly don’t, which is why I still go see my parents every Sunday morning on a schedule. I’ve only moved to the other side of San Francisco, rather than somewhere far. No guarantees that won’t happen in the future, so I take the opportunity to visit my parents often while I still can. Though probably more than someone who have “moved out of the house” typical do.

Nevertheless, it’s already been half a year since I’ve moved out on my own. Routines and things have settled in quite nicely, and I often amazed at this little nest I’ve created. It’s truly wonderful to have absolute solitude whenever I want. In hindsight, I probably should have moved out a few years sooner, but then a Porsche 911 GT3 got in the way of my entire budget. Obviously, the pandemic created great impetus to make the move back in November, and I could not be happier having done so.

Primarily, it’s the massive decrease in stress that makes it worth all the money in rent. Living within walking distance from work, removing myself from a somewhat messy situation back home, and the sense of accomplishment in taking care of myself completely, are contributing factors in lowering my stress and anxiety. Having less disposable income takes some adjusting, but as of right now, I’m at a fine place to live how I want.

The only emotion I want to express, is gratitude.

Sell the M2?

Due to a global semiconductor shortage causing, amongst many other things, a shortage of new cars, the used car market is absolutely on fire. A twitter friend recently got offered more than what he paid on his Jeep Wrangler. Granted, he didn’t pay MSRP, but still: to have essentially driven the Jeep for only the cost of gas and insurance is pretty nice. It goes to show how desperate dealers and wholesalers are for vehicles.

The return of tourism and the demand for rental cars are also a contributing factor.

I’m massively tempted to check the value of my own BMW M2 Competition. I wonder how much I can get for a six-month old car, especially when German luxury brands like BMW are notorious for rapid deprecation. If it’s only a few thousand dollars (I paid about $63,XXX), that would be amazing. Amazing enough to make me think hard about actually selling it. If I do, it would be the shortest amount of time I have ever owned a car.

Truth is, I just don’t put that many miles on the M2. Being that I walk to work, and there’s a mall with a Target and Trader Joes three blocks away from home, I hardly ever need to drive. That’s by choice, of course, but nonetheless that means the M2 is parked on the street for about 90% of the week. I am paying way too much in insurance to have the car sit for so long. But then, what am I to do? Drive around in a loop for the heck of it? The recent high gas prices aren’t conducive to that, either.

I’ve gone without a car before, but that was in the process of saving up for a Porsche 911. The M2 is likely the endgame of internal-combustion cars for me. My next car - if I ever do purchase another - will be fully electric for sure. As a car enthusiast, I don’t think I can go car-less on sheer principle.

Good thing then that whenever I do drive the M2 Competition, I am reminded how much of a riot it is. It truly is the best modern M-car this side of a BMW 1M. I simply can’t sell it, even if its actual utility factor is very little these days.

Hanging out with friends again

This past Saturday was a super special occasion: my friends and I got together - indoors, unmasked - for the very first time since the the COVID-19 pandemic began. Going back to this normal part of our pre-pandemic life was weirdly surreal. Throughout the evening I paused to amaze at that we are indeed hanging out together without any safety precautions whatsoever. There were many hugs.

Well, aside from the fact that everyone in the group is fully vaccinated (so calm down, people). With the good mRNA stuff too, and not the Johnson & Johnson single-dose with an infinitesimal potential side effect of blood clots. It is nothing short of a miracle that we were able to effectively eliminate the worse of the coronavirus symptoms less than a year since the outbreak. And it’s also nothing short of a miracle that the Unites States is able to rollout the vaccines so proficiently.

It is thanks to the tireless work of countless others, from medical researchers to volunteers, that I was able to hang out with my friends so freely once again. I shall never take for granted the social joy of sitting around a dinner table, breaking bread (literally: we had sandwiches) with the people dear to me. As last Thanksgiving proved, socially-distanced gatherings and taking food back to our respective homes just cannot offer the same magic and merry. Even an ardent introvert like myself needs some proper social interactions every now and then.

There were lots to celebrate as well. Firstly, we are tremendously grateful that we’ve made it through the pandemic relatively okay. We and the people around us are healthy and employed. As for the rest: one friend just closed on a home, another is starting a new job, and another’s second child has his third birthday soon (it’s today, actually). That’s what these gatherings are all about: celebrating the milestones and turning points of our lives.

Once again, thank you to those that made it possible.

Your best, no matter what

It’s been said that if you’e not cynical or jaded about your job, you just haven't work there long enough. As a relatively younger person amongst the ranks, I often see it in coworkers who have been there longer. My optimism and willingness to go the extra steps often gets perceived not so much with disdain, but a disapproving head shake. It seems my more experienced colleagues have gone down this road before, keen to tamper my enthusiasm with the realities of the real world.

Perhaps they are right, and soon enough I too will collect enough years to become this apathetic. From my perspective right now, however, I think such cynicism is such a terrible way to go about work.

In a customer-facing job, there’s always going to be a certain percentage who are difficult to deal with. I don’t think that should mean we deal with those customers with any less attention and care than the rest. Even if some of them don’t deserve any amount of pleasant treatment, providing good service is still my job. Is it always going to be worth the effort? Probably not, but then again why should I change how I do things just because someone is tough to handle?

They deserve the same treatment as a customer who isn’t as needy.

Mind you this isn’t about immolating myself to keep other warm: outright rudeness will never be tolerated. Though it goes both ways, doesn’t it? I shouldn’t meet rudeness with more of it in return. It accomplishes nothing, only making the situation worse.

I greatly appreciate the guidance and wisdom of my older coworkers. I draw from their well of knowledge daily. However, I highly disagree with their learned cynicism, and I endeavor to not become like that the longer I stay on this job.

Finally a new iMac

Yesterday, Apple announced the awaited proliferation of its magnificent M1 chip to the iMac. However, it’s just not the one people like me are waiting for. Serving duty in the totally redesigned iMac is the same M1 chip in the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac mini. An amazing chip in its own right, but us power-users are looking for something more worthy of a “pro” suffix.

This is just the beginning, of course: the new iMac announced yesterday is only the replacement for the entry level 21.5-inch. The 27-inch iMac we know and love soldiers on for awhile longer with the Intel chips, until more beefier Apple silicon is ready for the show. Apple have set the stage nicely for an iMac Pro lineup, whenever the more capable M1 chips arrive. I myself am waiting for that same chips to show up on a new 16-inch class MacBook Pro. Fingers crossed for later this year.

Nevertheless, the iMac gets a major design change in nearly a decade. It’s now essentially the biggest iPad imaginable (24-inch wide, this new entry-level iMac is) fixed on a display pedestal. That’s it: there’s no bulge, no curves, nothing extraneous. Due to the impossibly thinness, there’s now an external power-brick, which is something laptops users have been used to for the longest time. Finally there’s now a keyboard with Touch ID, again, something MacBook Pro users are familiar with, though it’s going to cost $50 dollars extra over the standard keyboard.

Very worth it to tick that option, I would say.

I think the new design looks fantastic, especially the return of colors that isn’t a shade of greyscale. If I were in the market for an M1 iMac, the blue would be the one. I do wonder if the forthcoming iMac Pro will keep such a colorful palette options. Probably not, because professionals are serious people, and only blacks and silvers will suffice!

The roundabout, confounding Americans since inception.

To vacation or not

Summer is nearly upon us, and for those of us working in education, that means we can plan for some vacation time. 2020 was obviously a lost year, but with the vaccines proliferating nicely throughout the country, we can indeed entertain the thought of going away to places. Just recompense for being stuck at home for more than one year.

And it seems the proverbial floodgates have opened. My friend is heading off to Hawaii around Memorial Day, and the cost to rent a car is utterly extravagant relative to what it should be. Vaccinated people are planning to travel in droves, and prices for the touristy stuff are reflecting that demand. I haven’t checked, but I bet a plane ticket to Hawaii for the summer months is decently above average in price.

I’m in a conundrum, because while I do want to take vacation and travel somewhere, the places I want to go are all outside of America. I would love to go back to South Korea or Taiwan. Sadly, as of right now, traveling outside of this country is still prohibitive due to two-week quarantining requirements in most other countries. I only ever take two weeks of vacation at a time total, so I can’t spend all of that stuck in safety limbo.

The vacation I want to have is not a possibility, therefore should I even bother requesting time off this summer? I guess it would be prudent and healthy to take the time anyways even if I’m just staying home. It’s too early to say right now: if the aforementioned Asian countries relax their quarantine requirements in the coming months, I would definitely quickly make a change of plans.

But so would everyone else. I reckon traveling this year - especially outside of America - is going to be an expensive endeavor. Come on, guys, we make money now…

A house for you

It’s crazy to see that amidst this unprecedentedly hot housing market, both my close friend and my cousin have closed on houses recently. Houses in San Francisco. I think if you go back and asked us in high school if we think we would ever pay over a million dollars for a house, we would say that is impossible. In our mind, million-dollar homes are the province of the rich and wealthy, of which we are decidedly not.

And yet that’s the entry price for a decent house here in San Francisco. I feel overwhelming joy for my friend. He’s going to get married soon, and buying a house was definitely on the checklist to do before settling down onto the next phase of life. I just didn’t think he would make the move during this housing madness. There are way more buyers than houses for sale, and with interest rates at historic lows, the scale is tipped heavily towards sellers.

But sometimes you have to make the move, even if the conditions aren’t ideal. So what if people are overbidding each other? For a home to presumably live in for a huge chunk of the rest of your life, a few hundred-thousand can be amortized nice and long. The crucial thing is my friend gets to stay in the city he grew up in, and live close to his family. I say that’s money well spent, even if it is seven-figures for not really a lot of house.

Plus there’s the remodeling.

It is slightly jarring to see my cousin and friend getting married and buying homes. Meanwhile, I’ve barely started embarking on proper bachelorhood and living on my own. I guess I shouldn’t expect the people around me to all be at the same stage of life. Some will for sure move faster, like my other friend who’s already got two young kids. Perhaps I’ll feel some pang of missing out when everybody else joins in on the fray, but thankfully that day won’t come for awhile.