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. 

It's not about you - 10 things I think

It wasn't a good weekend sports-wise, but overall it was plenty decent. Got a chance to see Woody Allen's latest motion picture vehicle (Magic in the Moonlight), which was quite pleasant. Lucky, too, because the movie was released in limited theatres and the one we went to just happened to be one out of only 17 in all of the United States. It definitely pays to live in a relatively artsy metropolitan area. 

I've got five weeks until the SF Giants Run event, in which I'll be attempting the 10k. Exciting stuff being that it will be the first time I will be paying to run. Sure it's all for an excellent cause but the reason I took up running as the exercise of choice this year is because it essentially costs me zero dollars (sans any sunk cost for shoes and various sports clothing). All runners in the Giants Run do receive a nifty commemorative bobble-head, which is just about the only reason I'm participating.

Over the past two months or so I've lost almost 20 pounds, coming down from a high of 178 to now a more slender 159. I wasn't overweight, per se; I merely wanted to slim back down because the body-weight lifting and protein-heavy diet these past years has made me bulkier than I far wanted to be. Every time I put on a black t-shirt I'd feel like Johnny Tran looking for Dom Torreto in "The Fast and the Furious".

So I stopped doing body-weight exercises completely, and in conjunction cut my daily protein intake by two-thirds. The only exercise I do now is the five mile run on the weekends. Because I've stopped working-out everyday, I also am eating much less than before. It's quite simple, really: the law of thermodynamics dictates you will lose weight if your daily intake of food energy is lower than your body's daily energy exertion. 

10 THINGS I THINK

1. I'm happy Chipotle just posted a record quarter. I absolutely love the food there, and would be happy to eat it daily for the rest of my life. Just stop raising the prices, please? Okay?

2. The laughably light suspension the NFL levied on Ray Rice for basically knocking a woman unconscious is completely unacceptable. I hope there's enough social pressure on the NFL to change its mind and increase the severity of the punishment.

3. Street festivals should be banned in San Francisco. There's simply not enough real estate to accommodate the throngs of people that flocks to them. Traffic is bad enough as-is! Last week's ramen festival in Japan-town was an utter disaster.

4. Presidential visits should also be banned in San Francisco. Must you add to the already tragic levels of congestion just to raise a few dollars for your party? Thanks, Obama. 

5. I'd love to upgrade to an iPhone 6 when it releases this fall simply because of the larger screen size, but ultimately I cannot justify ditching my still decently capable 5S and pay almost 300 dollars for the privilege to upgrade. 

6. The new Levis Stadium looks spectacular, as one would expect. I'm keen to try the "Peking duck bao" it's offering in its food menus. It'll probably taste nothing like the authentic stuff I've had at Chinese restaurants. 

7. I'm a huge fan of baseball, but the Baseball Hall of Fame means nothing to me. Not only is the selection process highly draconian, some of the best players to ever play game will never get inducted (example: Rose, Pete)

8. Some days I really tire of getting only a scant 18 miles to the gallon in my STI. A car with only four cylinders shouldn't be that inefficient, but it is. Bloody fun to drive, though. Good trade-off. Sometimes.

9. It feels like everybody and their mothers are opening up boba-tea establishments in the Bay Area. Those tea cafes are like coffee shops for Asians. I personally don't get the appeal, though I wouldn't mind having a cup once in a great while.

10. Great words to live by: "You just have to realize it's not about you." Sometimes, not giving a f*ck is the best way forward.  

Up & down - random thoughts

Can't say that did not suck. I was at the ballpark last night for Giants versus the Marlins when Buster Posey got pulverized by that other guy at home plate and is now going to be out for a at least a couple of months with a broken lower leg and a completely busted (no pun) ankle. Arguably the best player on the Giants, losing Posey for an extended period of time absolutely sucked all the positive energy out of the team and the Giants fan base. Today was overall depressing and a drag, not only because the news of Posey, but the Giants also lost today as well and got swept by the Marlins (guess the team was feeling the same).

It completely overshadowed what was an epic ninth inning comeback in last night's game when the Giants rallied for four (FOUR!) runs to tie the game. I mean the Giants have trouble scoring four runs a game, much less in one inning. It was a sight to behold, and the TRUE fans that were still left in the stadium got a visual treat. It is moment like that, that makes the game a beautiful one. Fans and players alike live for them. Too bad the moment will not not be soon remembered because of what happened only three innings later.

That being said, the team and the fan base must move on. The Giant's pitching staff is still tops in the majors, and have potential to blank an opponent on any given day. Sure losing Posey will mean not only his bat but also his catching abilities in handling the staff, but I think having Bochy as a former catcher means whoever does replace Posey on a permanent basis (Whiteside or somebody else) will be fine in adapting to handling the staff. If Belt plays to his potential, and Panda returns in two weeks continue his form, the offense for the most part will be fine as well. The team is infinitely better with Posey, but it is at the very least still a very competitive team without him. It is not even June yet, plenty of ball to be played.

So other than that, my first week of post under grad life have been great. Finally got past being sick the past couple of weeks was a welcome sign as I finally get to work out properly again. Though I definitely lost some of my strength because I lost a couple of reps on all my workouts. Anyways, treat your body well because being sick absolutely sucks (accept you sleep really well, only to wake up finding out that you are still sick). 

I have to say, my entrepreneurship graduation ceremony this past Friday was the best. Two years of hard work with the same people culminated in a celebration unlike any other. Of course these type of things are all for the parents, but I think for us the graduates we had a great time as well (free booze did not hurt one bit). My favorite part of the ceremony was when our names got called individually to get recognized and make a small speech. Very interesting to see what my classmates have to say during one of their best moments in their lives (I am surprised our professor had the fortitude to hold back the tears haha). Anyways thanks to the power of media, our class will always have pictures and videos of the ceremony to remember with.

Naturally I skipped the "big" ceremony that happened on the next day. My sympathies to those that sat in the sun for four hours only to see your graduate's name get called. I on the other hand slept in, ate pho for breakfast, and then had a nice stroll in Golden Gate Park and drank tea at the Japanese Tea Garden. Not a bad way to spend the day after grad I think (of course there were alcohol involved the night before). 

And the party continues this weekend! Actually all on Saturday. Got invited to a party to watch a soccer (what the rest of the world would call football) match, which just happens to be the biggest soccer match in Europe every year (the UEFA Champions league final). Unfortunately that soccer here is only big every four years when the World Cup rolls around (it is the only time I get to watch a soccer game on TV here in America. Thank you ESPN). I would be a bigger soccer fan if it actually shows up more on TV. Back when I was still in China soccer was about the only sport there is to watch because it was so big everywhere. Here in America I've grown to adore the game of Baseball and American Football, and have seldom watch a soccer game of any sort. Anyways, I am very excited for some soccer action. It is going to be Manchester United vs. Barcelona. Should be a good match at the very least. Who am I rooting for? Well I am rooting for a good exciting game haha. 

Honestly, this whole post undergrad world is still very strange to me. Until next time. 

D minus eight - random thoughts

Only eight more days until my graduation ceremony. Eight more days until the first day of the rest of my life. Yesterday was the final day where I have something academically due for class. I am a free man - the burden of academia is finally over after 18 long years (oh hello there grad school, not yet please). So you can say I DONE, but I am hesitant to say I am DONE (no tweets, no nothing), because no it has not hit me that I am done yet (the fact that next week is the ACTUAL finals week and I still have work on campus probably contribute to it). Though I guess I am getting to a point where it is hitting me little by litte (I slept REALLY well last night, and waking up without academic obligations was damn nice). 

At least my body is telling me it is over. How nice of it to wait until my final projects were turned in to hit me with a throat infection (actually it started on Tuesday as I was knee deep in trying to complete my last projects - how wonderful). But man today it was the mother load - I slept really well, but woke up feeling more crappy than the previous day. Felt like my throat was on fire. But hey if there is a good time to get sick, now is the perfect time is it not? I guess two straight months of 11 hour work/school days and a full academic workload finally taken its toll on me (no she did not say goodbye). You know what, it is okay, because on the bright side if I was not as healthily living as I was, I would probably be getting more than a throat infection.

Major congratulations to myself and my 25 other classmates for finally finishing the grueling two years of the entrepreneurship program at SF State. The amount of apathy that was in class yesterday was absolutely hilarious. Everybody basically busted tail for the past four days to finish the final three major projects, so everybody was dead tired in class. Whatever the professor was (still!?) teaching during class just completely went over our heads. Can you blame us? We just turned in our last projects - we are DONE. Nothing we could have done yesterday would otherwise prevent us from graduating. Quite frankly I don't know how some of us stayed awake haha. Of course the professor could care less - as far as she is concern the learning never stops (and she would be right).

Anyways I was incredibility disappointed I did not get celebrate with the class for drinks after class ended due to the fact that I had work on campus. But hey I am going to be unemployed in a week so I need all the money I can get right now. Besides the grand celebration is only eight days away haha (cake and champagne!).

It may have been a tough week workload wise, but the Giants winning six in a row certainly help me pull through. I think it is about time the team go a on a run like this, and the fact it is doing it the Giant's way is just incredible (winning by one run, not scoring more than four runs a day, torture torture torture). Now that I am done with the burden of school, time to go to more live games! Not to mention I have yet to see a live game where the Giants have won so my goal is to un-jinx myself really soon (so when is Washington in town?). Anyways, wait until the Panda comes back form his injury (he was raking before he got injured) and the team will only continue to improve and stay atop the NL West as they should. Though I like how everybody is avoiding the Zito situation not that Vogelsong is pitching so well (Bochy practically brush Zito off by saying couple of days ago that he is still three to four weeks day and will need to build arm strength before he can return).

So I wonder what I should I do for finals week. Well I still have internship to go to. I am practically done with my product photography assignments, now I am taking over managing the company media, which is very exciting for me. Managing the blog, flickr, Facebook page, and twitter will give me experience into managing those of my own. Besides I am an introvert, so me making sales calls will hardly be effective (entrepreneurship Professor said hiring an introvert to sales is a royal waste of money and time). I think the web is that perfect wall and filer between myself and others so that I can be more natural (why do you think I blog? lol).

But for sure what I will be doing is purging my room of the clutter that have accumulated over the past couple of months (I know, impossible!). Probably going to junk anything and everything that has to do with college (accept for the stuff that has to do with entrepreneurship, because you know, kind of important). 

The thing I am looking forward to next week though, is watch all the TV shows I have yet to watch do to all the busy. It will be mini marathons after mini marathons. I've always love end of semester TV marathons - there is no TV experience like it.

Oh yeah - SLEEP!