Blog

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

Bad news and good news

The thing about mass shootings is that you have to worry about copycats imitating the unholy deed. A deranged person seeing the news of someone similar to him committing a crime can be just enough of a push to make him follow through. That’s why the media have to balance between reporting on a mass shooting and also not glorifying the details of the shooter. It’s a tricky situation for sure.

Sadly, not two days after the horrific tragedy in Monterey Park, another shooting occurred close to home. A senior Asian male killed seven people in Half Moon Bay, motive unknown. I can’t help but wonder that this guy saw the news of a similar-aged Asian male shooting up a dance hall in Monterey Park, and thought that he also can move along with his evil plans. The Asian American community is hurting, our sense of safety is shattered everywhere.

In other news, Everything Everywhere All at Once leads all movies this year with 11 Oscar nominations! I’m particularly happy for Stephanie Hsu getting the nod in the supporting actress category. The numerous flowers for Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh during this awards season are well deserved, but Stephanie Hsu’s multi-faceted performance as the daughter has been somewhat overlooked. I’m happy the Academy gave her recognition with the nomination.

That said, if Ke Huy Quan doesn’t win the best supporting actor category, we riot! I look forward a merry Oscar watch party with friends.

Year of the rabbit

A happy Lunar New Year to those who are celebrating. I had a wonderful dinner this past Saturday with my immediately family, hot pot style. I don’t always go back to my parents’ house for dinner, but when I do, it’s the traditional year-end dinner on the night before Lunar New Year. The dinner symbolizes togetherness, a renewal of familial bonds. It’s practically the Asian version of American Thanksgiving. It’s that important and special.

Of course, there’s money in those little red envelopes for the kids. Imagine getting money from your parents for Thanksgiving? Oh wait, that’s called Christmas.

Unfortunately, the holiday spirit was dampened tremendously on the day of Lunar New Year. Horrific news out of Monterey Park - a predominantly Asian enclave in Southern California - of a mass shooting with 10 people dead. A 72-year old Asian male opened fire into a dance hall Saturday evening, just as folks are gathering to celebrate the incoming new year. That male is now dead, having shot himself after a standoff with police on Sunday.

The sadness and anxiety is through the roof for Asian Americans. We can’t feel safe anywhere. Since the pandemic started we’ve witness massive uptick in armed robbery, elder abuse, and home invasions against the Asian community. With this latest incident, it seems we cannot feel secure even in our community centers, from our own people.

I have latent anxiety for my mom who goes to Chinatown every single week. Nothing has happen thus far, thank god (and knock on wood), but I never feel truly safe about it. There’s no reason that Asian Americans - or any American - have to live like this. What a sad state of affairs.

Induction is best

Let me get in this great debate in the culture war regarding gas versus induction stoves. I absolutely love my induction stove. This $50 piece of kit from IKEA - at least it was that price back when I bought it about two years ago - continues to serve me splendidly. Induction is perfect for my tiny studio because it only heats the cookware, and not the surrounding air like a gas stove would. It eliminates the risk of gas leak as well; I’m glad my room isn’t even plumbed for it.

Not to mention that on a per unit cost, electricity is far cheaper than natural gas. The latter seems to be even costlier than usual this winter. This is why heating a home cost a ton of money during the wintry months - central heat boilers use natural gas. A friend of mine stopped heating up her entire two bedroom apartment because the bill from December was shockingly high. My studio is tiny enough that a portable electric heater suffices for the truly cold mornings.

I do conceded that a proper gas range can provide far more energy. For certain types of cooking, a high flame is really desirable. Such as getting an iron pan searing hot for a piece of steak, or a blazing stir-fry using a wok. If cooking is your thing, I can see why you would opt for a gas stove instead of induction (my landlord did). And that any legislation towards eliminating gas would seem like an existential threat.

But I think there’s innovation to be had in the induction space, especially in terms of energy release to match a gas stove. There’s a manufacturer adding batteries to an induction stove to act as a rapid-release energy store, vastly improving heating time. Imagine heating up a few cups of water for instant ramen in no time - that would be the dream!

Go back to where I came from

If things continue to go well, I reckon I can go back to China later this year. My home country seems to have finally given up the COVID zero dream. Citizens are allowed to move about the country freely, travelers from abroad need only a negative test, no more quarantining. All of this just in time for the massive Lunar New Year festivities (it’s this weekend).

Of course, a complete reversal of the previously harsh restrictions means COVID is running rampant in China. So much so the country is not even bothering with releasing numbers. They are essentially going through the waves we already saw here in the States and the rest of the world. The sad part is, the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) that we received are banned in China. They’ve only got the far least effective (effectively ineffective) home-grown Sinovac vaccine. Needless amount of the citizenry will be severely sick (or die) because of this.

This is why I have no short-term plans to visit China (after three long years away) to see family. I think it’s better let COVID run its course and reach a sort of equilibrium. Besides, my mother tells me those of us on the old 10-year tourist visa are still not yet allowed into the country. With the requirement that Chinese tourists coming into the United States must test negative (a logical move, honestly), China will certainly reciprocate in kind, if not even more restrictive, to U.S. travelers.

My father is scheduled to retire in July. The hope is that he will be able to return to China to live for a few months starting in autumn. I will then join him towards the end of December, my usual timeframe to go back home, back before the pandemic started.

Imagine that - I’m now old enough to have both parents retire completely. The seasons of our lives can seemingly change so suddenly.

Don't forget to live

Recently, a retire faculty member came back to visit us. She bought a house on an acre of land back at her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. For way less money than the typical home here in the San Francisco Bay Area, she now has a main house, a guest cottage (that’s about the size of a small starter home), and plenty of grass and woodland to roam around in. It’s always been her dream to to move back home after retirement, and I’m really happy for her that it’s coming to fruition.

For whatever reason, the faculty went on this small lecture with me (once a teacher, always a teacher) about not being able to take all this money with you when you’re gone. She’s drawing two pensions plus social security. She’s not married and have zero kids. She’s 72 this year, so the clock is rapidly ticking to spend the wealth she’s accumulated over the years. Splurge mode! I’m eager to see how she decorates and furnishes the new (to her) home.

I very much agree with her that one should spend the money they’ve work so hard to acquire. I simply disagree with this eminent faculty member on the timing. I am definitely not waiting until I’m properly retired to begin enjoying the fruits of my labor. There’s no guarantee I will even reach that age: either via my own volition, or whatever natural (or man made) disaster should befallen us. My aim is to enjoy life and procure experiences throughout all of it. Pushing it all towards the supposed end is not the marshmallow test we think it is.

Some activities are better to do at an earlier age than after retirement. What good is traveling the world when you’re 60 and cannot muster then energy to be awake for longer than 24 hours. Attending the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race would be measurably more enjoyable in my 30s. Which is why I aim to go to one sometime this decade.

A more affordable Tesla

Late last week, Tesla announced price cuts to its entire model lineup, ranging from 15% to 20% - effective immediately. This is the power of direct-sale to customers: you the company can dictate the price at anytime. Don’t forget that Tesla actually raised pricing multiple times in 2022. This latest price cut is not so much a discount but rather a revert to the before times.

Still, if you just bought a Tesla vehicle in December 2022, you must be rightfully pissed off. Had you waited just that bit longer, you could have saved tens of thousands of dollars, plus be eligible (on certain variants of the Model 3 and Model Y) for the federal EV tax credit. $20,000 is a considerable amount of money, even for those who can otherwise afford a Tesla car before the price cut. This is like buying a TV for a certain price, only to find the same unit on sale the following week. On a larger scale.

Even those who purchased a Tesla car earlier in 2022 now have cars that are suddenly worth 15% less overnight. That would include dealerships who bought Tesla models on trade in: they are now upside-down on practically their entire Tesla fleet. I sure hope you’ve diversified! If your entire business is trading on used Tesla vehicles, you are effectively done.

It may be extremely salty for owners of recently-bought Tesla cars right now. I think if you’re in that situation, you have to suck it up and keep owning and driving the cars. That’s the only way to make back that money, so to speak: to get the most utility out of the original purchase price. Unlike the TV, you can’t simply return the Tesla or ask for a price match.

If you’re looking to buy a Tesla model, now is obviously a great time! The next day after the price-cut news, a friend of mine immediately sorted out financing and ordered a Model Y long range. He’s been pining to buy one for the longest time. The latest price reduction, plus the tax credit eligibility, was finally incentive enough for him to make the move. Now comes the hard part: the waiting game. As someone who have ordered a few cars, I can relate to that anxiety and agony.

Movie rentals

I’ve been an Amazon Prime subscriber probably since inception. Back then they offered discounts for college students, something like 50 bucks a year for free two-day shipping. Obviously nowadays it’s far more expensive - $139 annual - and I’m no longer in college.

With the accompanying Chase Amazon Prime card giving me 5% cash back on purchases at both Amazon and Whole Foods (there’s one a few blocks from where I live), I make back that annual fee in no time. The card also gets you 2% cash back at gas stations, which is lovely. Last year I got back over $300, which is more than comfortable enough to continue my Prime membership.

There are times I really don’t need to receive an item in two days or less. Amazon gives me the option to forgo the standard two-day shipping. In return, it gives me a dollar or two of digital spending credits. What I do with those credits is rent movies on Prime video. Often times that rental comes out to be free. It’s how I’ve been watching movies at home for quite some time now.

I can’t remember the last time I actually bought a movie. With mountain of books taking up shelf space, I don’t have any left for Blu-ray discs and DVDs. Besides, I’m not the type of person to watch movies a second time, so physical copies of movies would literally be decoration after the first watch. This is why I rent digital versions as well, instead of purchasing outright.

Besides, whatever is stored on Amazon servers doesn’t really belong to me, does it? Who do I make a claim with if those servers go down? Do I get mailed a copy of all my digital purchases on a hard-drive?

(Often free) renting movies is the way to go for me.