니가 뭔데 - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. This past weekend I went to a tailor and got measured for a suit. It's for my cousin's wedding at the end of November. My regular occupation doesn't exactly warrant the need for such sartorial dress so suffice to say it will be my first complete suit. 

But ouch is a fully-custom suit expensive. I obviously knew of the monetary consequence going in, but yeah, it still hurts when the invoice is presented to you. I'm a firm believer that suits and clothing of that nature should absolutely be tailored and fitted to the individual, otherwise it just looks sloppy and in poor taste. I could've spend a quarter of what I did at a department store but the results will be vastly unsatisfactory.

I'm going to wear the heck of that suit. Get my money's worth, you know? 

2. There's no magic like the Giants in the playoffs. Last Tuesday I went to game four of the NLDS against the Nationals, the end of which you can view in the previous blog post. Why did I ask "you do believe in fate?" Because the game wasn't even suppose to occur: it took numerous obstacles and happenstances for me to even have the opportunity to attend the game (we only ever bought game four tickets). 

First, the Giants had to win a do-or-die wild-card game against the Pirates, which they resoundingly did. Then, in a five-game series against the Nationals, games four and five is a "if necessary" scenario. The Giants, inexplicably (and I'm a Giants fan), won the first two games. Naturally, our lot felt confident about a sweep because the third game was to be started by the staff-ace Bumgarner. I was fairly resigned that I wasn't going to attend my first ever playoff game just yet. 

Well, Bumgarner lost, so game four was on. And the rest, was pure magic. Arguably the best game I've yet attended, it took incredible luck and fate for my first playoff game to also be a clinching game. Outside of seeing a clincher live in the later rounds, I don't think it gets better than what happened last Tuesday. 

Tickets stub and video saved forever. 

3. I was absolutely gutted and horrified to see the Jules Bianchi crash at the Japanese Grand Prix. It was a freak accident that nobody could have foresaw nor prevent. The diagnosis of Bianchi's head injury is not good at all - about a 90 percent chance he won't wake up. What a tremendous shame: he was a young driver with tremendous promise to take up the reign at Ferrari in the near future. 

Keep fighting, Jules; the Formula One community is rooting for you. 

4. The past week or so have not been kind to the stock market. It's gotten so bad that, for the calendar year, I am in the red. Obviously, it doesn't really matter in the long term because my investments are not to be touched for many many years. Still, it's rather heartbreaking to see it plummet to such depths. 

What's worse, this week hasn't exactly gone all too swell either. It appears it's going to hurt a bit more before it gets better again. Now if only the housing market would market-adjust itself, too.

5. Malala Yousafzai being well-deservedly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize really makes me count how blessed I am, and also, what the heck have I done to change the world around me? (answer: absolutely nothing.)

Standing ovation. 

6. Gas prices in the San Francisco Bay Area have dropped to a point where even the most expensive grade has a number three in front of the decimal point. With me driving a car that gets gas mileage in the high teens, this recent downfall in petrol cost is a much welcomed reprieve to my sanity and the wallet. Definitely got to enjoy it while it lasts.

7. It amazes me that my grandmother, whose in her eighties, still got the dexterity and acuity to thread needles and sew stuff. Me attempting to do the same results in hand more shaky than Ozzy Osbourne. I think the point is to stay active and busy even as you venture into your golden years. It won't stave off atrophy completely, but it will prolong the time to reach it. 

8. Apple's annual fall iPad and Mac event is tomorrow and I am waiting on the edge of my seat for announcement of refreshed macs - especially the long overdue Mac Mini. As I've said before, I desperately need a replacement for my long-serving 2009 era Macbook Pro. 

9. Jennifer Lawrence's response to the nude photo incident is brilliant and perfect. It absolutely is a sex crime - both for the people that stole the photographs, and the people that viewed them once it spread. 

10. This:

Happiness - 10 things I think

Last week was quite terrible for the stock market, as the gains I've earned in my investment portfolio this year almost completely withered away. Of course, it shouldn't matter at all because investments are not meant to be touched in the short term, and more likely than not the stock market will steadily keep growing over many years. It's simply too much fun to keep an eye on the daily fluctuations, especially when the market is up. 

I was stunned to learn from my parents that they really never kept a budget. They simply spent their income on the necessities and saved what was leftover. They've got zero inclination on how much they are spending on a monthly basis. How they ended up saving so much money over the years is baffling to me.

In contrast, I keep rigorous records of my spending and I make sure I save before I spend each month. This method ensures that I don't go around and blow my entire paycheck - because I totally would. I truly admire my parent's tenacity and a sort of innate ability to not overspend each month, without so much as a piece of paper and a calculator. Our generation is spoiled rotten with myriad of tools for us to be fiscally responsible and yet so few of us actually do it. 

10 THINGS I THINK

1. I'm surprised no one has yet did a parody of that Chris Brown song "Loyal". An intrepid female Youtube personality should do a rebuttal version that centers around the line "These bros ain't loyal." 

2. Oakland A's GM Billy Beane is a genius. Crazy, but a genius. It's still shocking to me how he could trade one of his marquee (all) stars on his championship-favorite team simply to improve the already stellar pitching staff. Why hasn't the likes of the Yankees or Dodgers lured him away from the East Bay is befuddling. 

3. I didn't get the hype with "Sharknado 2". My twitter feed was entirely useless during its airing. I had no idea it was so culturally crucial to the people i follow. And for the record, the people I follow aren't exactly of the unintelligent mass. 

4. I'd punch you in the face too if my ex-wife is Miranda Kerr and you slept with her while she and I were still married. Good on you, Orlando Bloom. You don't fuck with Legolas and get away with it. 

5. The bursted water main that flooded much of UCLA wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact California is in the worse drought of our lifetimes. Terrible timing, Moore's law. 

6. What an absolutely horrendous injury Paul George suffered. I couldn't stomach watching the video; the still photographs were terrifying enough. All the best wishes to his quick and full recovery. 

7. The first car at a stoplight has an almost fiduciary responsibility to be alert and go at the first turn of green. Being lethargic here can cost quite a few cars to have to wait for the next light. That's simply not awesome. 

8. 49ers' brand spanking new Levi's Stadium reportedly has got the same traffic and congestion issues that was the hallmark of the old Candlestick. And I thought the entire point of the new facility (other than being able to sell more tickets at a higher price) was to alleviate the usual nightmare involved with actually getting to the stadium. 

9. The problem with having a full can of Altoids is that you absolutely cannot stop eating them. They are indeed the Pringles of the breath-mint world. 

10. Whoever is in charge over at LAY'S potato chips need to stop putting out those fan-suggested specialty flavors. Potato chips should never taste like a cappuccino; ever.