重出江湖

Ok. It's been about a year since the last post. I was contemplating letting this blog die but recent events have led me to think that I will be once again resuming writing. However, it will not really be of the personal story type of blog anymore.

I just opened an investment account with Fidelity and I think I will try to use this space to sound my arguments and research into buying/selling shares. If anyone wants to contribute, feel free to comment.

I think I shall also start using this space to track the progress of the P90X workout.

And finally, I might be using it to reinforce some self-taught language lessons too.

Wish me luck.

May Jap Trip Part 2 - Daytrip to Kyoto

We did a day trip to Kyoto. It was an interesting way to travel. We went there via midnight (1130pm) bus (kinda like a greyhound) to save some cash. It was about 90 USD to go by bus and 145 USD to go by Shinkanse. It was interesting as it was a 6+ hour bus ride and I got to see the highway oases of Japan.

It looks like they have a supermart inside this particular one. We stopped twice. Once at around midnight and then again at 5+ am. This was the stop close to Kyoto.

Our ticket home. Cos I wasn't going to take TWO 6+ hour bus rides in the same day...

The first order of business was to find something to eat. Luckily there was this 24/7 store opposite the station. Gyudon, somen and tonjiru. Breakfast of champions.

Our first stop was Kiyomizudera (清水寺). It's a long hike up the hill from the bus stop. The temple is up in the hills.

It's in the middle of the forest. Very scenic.

That's the main 'wishing stream' of the temple. Allegedly (I say allegedly because we got this info from grade school kids), the streams are (from left to right) - health, romance and smarts. The metal cups used to get the water are sterilized with a UV machine. Modern technology in a temple, who woulda thunk.

えんむすぶ means to connect a relationship. It's for match making. It was interesting to read all the wishes that people left at the shrine. Some were even in English.

This is from a shrine in the central part of town. I can't remember the name but It's called Yasaka Jinja (八坂神社) and was within walking distance of Kiyomizudera. Which was why we stopped by as it wasn't really on a list of 'to-see' places.

We then went to Nijo Jo (二条城). This is probably the most famous tourist spot in Kyoto. It used to be the Shogun's （将軍) castle. There used to be an outer building and an inner building but through the years, only the actual Shogun's residence has remained. They said that the floors created to prevent ninja assassinations and that the Shogun would have his guards hide in hidden wall panels during meetings with his subordinates. Very cloak and dagger stuff.

The garden was very pretty. And it had a moat. 2 moats actually. One for the outer walls and another one for the inner walls.

This is Shijo Dori (四条通). It's the 'downtown' of Kyoto. It's not too big. But they had a Takashimaya.

I had mini kaiseki (会席/懐石) meal. It was pretty reasonable. Like 30 USD for lunch. I liked the dessert.

After lunch, we went to the World Heritage Site of Kinkaku Ji (金閣寺). The temple has a gold exterior. Whether it's gold foil or something else, I couldn't tell and my japanese isn't good enough to ask.

I found it interesting that the entrance ticket was kinda like a seal. Like those old qiang shi movies. Haha.

For dinner, we went back to the river and Shijo Dori. Apparently, this is the 'Lover's Lane' of Kyoto. And if you see single ladies, you can try your luck. Too bad I didn't get that info till I got back to Tokyo.

Ducks in the canal(?)/drain.

We walked along this street to find a place to eat. It's just by the river (to the right) and quite 'old town' style. The ambiance was nice but the food was expensive. We were considering eating ramen after dinner but had to rush for the train.

Kyoto Tower (Tokyo Tower's lesser known cousin) at night.

Shinkansen! I really can't tell you much more than that other than the leg space was not designed for sleeping. I slept most of the 2+ hour return trip.

Next part will be the Return to Tokyo!

May Jap Trip Part 1 - Adventures in Toyko

So finally, I have had some time to clean up and organize my photos. So here we go. Photo trip recollections starto!

My gracious host, my cuz Shaun, came to pick me up from the airport. He's gonna be rich and famous cos he's a lawyer in training.

My room. An actual tatami room. Woah. Note the lack of pillows. :(

A funky washer/dryer setup. The dryer wasn't very powerful nor efficient, but when it's squeezed above the kitchen sink, what can you expect.

How the rich-to-be roll and eat. Fine dining = fries in Tokyo.

I prefer the takoyakis. Takoyakis, how can you not like them?!

This is the before Takoyaki shot.

So this was the first time I've spent some time in Toyko and I was introduced to the nighttime food of champions, the Izakaya (居酒屋). It's kinda like a bar, but with better food. I find japanese draft beer (生ビール) to be weaker than bottled/can beer and weaker than american draft beers. You have a huge selection of stuff to eat but we mostly concentrated on yakitori, kawa and some softbone meatball whose name I forgot. Good eats.

Next part will be my 1 day trip to Kyoto!

Saying Goodbye

Up till now, I have had the fortune to not have many loved ones pass away. My grand father passed away in a vehicle accident, I lost a basketball buddy to a hit and run and an army buddy died in college. In all cases, the news of their passing was sudden and shocking, I never got a chance to really say goodbye. By the time I knew, it was too late.

I have a friend who was diagnosed with cancer recently. The docs say he had 3 months to live. That clock started ticking in March. I called him to express my sympathy and hope for his recovery but it's a weird feeling, chatting to someone who knows he has only a limited time left. He is literally wasting away in front of everyone - he lost half his weight in 2 months and according to the doctors has only 30+ more days.

I told him to keep fighting and to keep living the way he wants to. But it's really weird to say stuff like 'Just in case I don't see you anymore...' or 'It's been great knowing you'. I wonder if I could have said things in a better manner...

In any case, my wishes and thoughts go out to him. I hope he proves all the experts wrong.

2009!

First (post)!

Ok, so maybe that was kinda lame. But with the first post of 2009, I will want to set out some of my goals for this year and review 08 for me.

I think 2008 was quite interesting for my career. It marked an evolution in my career as I started taking on more responsibility for start-ups and projects. I was the point man for the company for the one major start-up in Mar. I started to understand more about how equipment worked as I spent time in the field and saw actuators, switches and electrical panels. However, I still am not quite there yet in design, with my boss here, I should be able to learn more.

I think I kinda wasted my time in Chicago as I mostly stayed home whenever I wasn't on a startup but it was a definite improvement over the previous place I was staying. At least there's MUCH MUCH more food choices here. Some friends who graduated also moved into the city, so I got together some, but I can improve of that in 09.

I finally managed to play barre chords on my accoustic, so that's good. However, the playing is still very sloppy at times and needs more practice. Composing songs is way harder than I thought so I think I should concentrate more on playing instead. Ha.

Exercise was very inconsistent. There were periods where I worked out and then there were times I totally slacked. I need to have better discipline when I go out on start-ups. Need to exercise more and eat less. Luckily, most of the startups should be in summer this time. And that means I can actually go outside to jog/walk. But I gotta watch out for my knee.

Overall, I think 2008 was satisfactory. I enjoyed myself in the new city and the stuff I did at work. However, looking back, I realise that I can do much more in both aspects. 2009 will build on that.

To that effect, I will start a new label "Resolutions09", so I can actually follow my progress (or lack of) throughout the year. So without any further ado, I will list the things I want to accomplish for 2009 and my vision for doing so.

1. Lose 2 lbs per month.
- I have worked out a timetable for my exercise routine so I can gauge my willpower.
- I have promised to set out $10 per month to this goal. If I fail in any month, I will set that 10 bucks aside to treat my motivator (if said motivator actually tries to motivate me)
- Smaller Portions!! I don't snack a lot but I think I eat big portions for meals.
- Eat fruits/cereal(?) before lunch. To try to sate the mid-morning hunger pang.
- Track my progress bi-weekly. Starting from now. Wt= 227lb.

2. Manage my finances better
- SET MY BUDGET for the month!!
- Track expenses per week, instead of per month.
- Start Investing! Or at least actively track things I-would-invest-in-if-I-had-the-money
- Track my progress bi-weekly. Trend Interest rates, Property, Select Investment prices (this to be done from DJ or SP500 stocks)

3. Get out more
- I probably have 5-6 startups this year to go to. Which means a max of 5 months free at home in Chicago.
- Go hang out in Borders.
- Go out every weekend to walk the streets.
- Dance classes(?) if they fit my schedule.

4. Career
- Design my first pilot scale equipment
- Learn about the pros & cons of different equipment. Why is stuff used for specific apps and not others?
- Brush up on thermo!!
- Monthly Review on what I have accomplished in the month.

Wow, this is quite a long post. Well, here's to wishing everyone (and myself especially)the willpower and luck to get through 2009 without breaking any resolution!!

Hmm...

最近我的朋友请我到他的组屋的人的派对。我认为这应该是好机会较新朋友所以答应了。可是我忽略了一点。一件很大的东西：这派对是印尼人举办的。除了我以外，其他人都会讲印尼话。。。 真是有点尴尬。。。 食物非常好吃，可是95%的对话我听不懂。。。 而且主持人不会讲中文，把我的名念成“姐姐”。。。发誓下次我会自我介绍为“JJ"。。。 幸亏有好心人故意用英文跟我聊天。 可是现在就有点矛盾-下次应该不应该再回去呢？ 我一生中这是第二次发生这种情形。第一次是韩国人。那更惨。那一餐，我只说了两句话。。。

If it were you, what would you do? Any suggestions?

And on a brighter note, I finally have a break through in Fukai Mori by Do As Infinity! The tab is finally clear to me!! Practice practice practice!!

Not the best of times.

Not the best of times right now. Violence across the globe, religious strife, economics turmoil and I'm not feeling too good either (and not just about my single status too).

First of all, my knee feels sore. The alarming thing is that happened suddenly without any warning. So I'm thinking if this still hurts tomorrow, I'll go and see a doctor. Hopefully, it's not a big deal and I'll feel better when I wake up.

Next piece of bad news is about my bank. JPMorgan recently came up with a deal to purchase Bear Stearns. I read on the Economist that JPMorgan agreed to guarentee $1 billion of Bear's $30 billion most illiquid assets. If Bear Stearns can't get rid of them, I'm doubly screwed. Once via JP and once more via the Fed(since I'm a taxpayer). I hope it doesn't come to this. Ugh. Also from the article is the following.

The bank is heavily exposed to rising corporate defaults. It is also big in home-equity loans, which are souring at an alarming rate. More importantly, it is a giant in the over-the-counter derivatives market, and number one by a long way in credit-default swaps. With such a large derivatives book, the bank can withstand losses of only 15 basis points (hundredths of a percentage point) across its positions before eating through its regulatory risk-based capital, according to Institutional Risk Analytics (IRA), a research firm. These positions are, like those of America's housing giants, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, too big to hedge effectively, IRA says. It also calculates that JPMorgan needs almost five times its current capital to cover its economic risks.

I want to comment about Tibet, but it's late and I'm tired. So I'll leave you a link to pics about how foreign (i.e. non-chinese) people have protested against Chinese action against Tibetans. You don't need to read Chinese, just look at the pictures and form your own conclusions about "westerners".
Lastly, this is a conversation with a relative in China about her opinion on the whole matter. Some editing for space and formatting.

Her: 西藏我没去过. 不过哪个地方是很多人都很想去，特别是中国人.我有几个朋友说一定要去西藏，哪的文化很浓，地方也很好，海拔很高，很多人梦想去哪，特别是搞艺术的，做设计之类的对这个地方很感兴趣
Me: ok.对西藏人要独立的事又有什么看法？
Her: 这次事件搞的满大的，独立我想不太可能的.做为中国人当然不希望他们独立
Me: 那你对“做人不能太CNN"这句话又有什么看法？
Her: 我们做人要实事求是，要厚道.比较同意以上说法，哈哈. 中国人做事也好，我感觉都很有原则，实事求是，做人，做事脚踏实地. 这次事件对中国影响很大的，我同事有去过西藏的，大该去一下，在中国要花1.5万人民币，现在可能又少一点，过去的人都说很好. 像这样地方，去的人一般都是喜欢冒险的，哈哈，不过铁路通了以后，旅游的也很普便了

She says she doubts that Tibet will become independent and that she doesn't wish for independence. On the issue of Western Media Bias against the Chinese government's actions, she says that Chinese people are principled and practical and that everyone should be like that. I guess that's not really answering the question, but I want to sleep already and that's as far as I will get.

Ok. Night all.

Resolutions

So I'm waiting for my car to do its 25,000 mile service and what better time to do my New Years Resolution(s) than now?

I think my keyword this year will be ACTION. That is, take concrete steps towards goals and not put things off. I wonder how long before I start procrastinating this year though, in spite of this decision. Haha.

Anyways, here is the list of things I want to do. And a little bit of how I'm going to do it.

1. Learn about investing. By reading Investing for Dummies (1-2 hours per week, till end of Feb) and then researching online. Via some online brokerage that I've yet to research.

2. Learn about VBA. By reading VBA for Dummies and writing my own code (1-2 hours per week, till forever).

3. Learn how to do barre chords properly and get the Em to Bm transition smoothed out. Then I can play 恋爱 ING better. Learn Fukai Mori by Do As Infinity (have to practice).

4. Improve Japanese by watching 1-2 hours of drama per week. Currently watching Security Police, which is pretty good and reminds me of the Ambler Warning.

5. Sign up for a gym when I come back from vacation in Feb.

Now I just realised that the stupid morons at Lenovo have, by reimaging my hard drive, wiped out my wireless card software. Which I will have to re-download and reinstall. Gods... I will not taint this feel good post with vulgarities but gods!!

Who's afraid of the rain?

So as some of my readers know (or have inferred from the post and comments), my car window was smashed last week and someone stole my GPS. The vandalism cum theft occurred during my japanese class and I was totally unprepared for the sight of glass shards all over my driver seat and floor. To make matters worse, about 5 minutes after I reached the car, it started to rain. It wasn't any kind of spring shower, the raindrops were the size of your fingertips. It was a localized storm.

So I scurried about in the rain trying to clear the glass shards (by dumping them onto the ground beside me) from my car, to restore some semblance of order to my suddenly chaotic vehicle. When it was somewhat cleaned up, I decided to seek cover in the backseat of my car. The rain was pounding the car and I had to wedge an umbrella into the driver seat window to try to keep my car dry. It was truly a sorry sight I think. An orange umbrella trying to shield a gaping hole. Why me? I already have to deal with being sent to the middle of nowhere and now THIS? Those were the only thoughts I could muster as I sat, soaked and feeling sorry for myself, in the midst of the pouring rain. But after a while, as I surveyed the interior of my car, I felt calmer. It provided an (imperfect) sanctuary from the howling rain. And I realized that I could only control so much in my life. I don't have any say in whether someone will break my window, but I can reduce the odds of that happening. I can sit around and bemoan my fate all day long but the glass isn't gonna magically disappear (sonic attrition perhaps?). You can bitch but bitching and taking action is so much more efficient at getting yourself back on your feet. And the hopelessness of the situation kinda receded. It was a $650 lesson in life that I don't think I will forget anytime soon. This was not to say I wasn't depressed nor that I didn't bitch about it as I drove 40 miles home with the wind blowing past me on the highway.

When I got home, I thoroughly cleaned up that mess and now my car is actually cleaner than before the incident. The next day, I went to get a replacement window and life resumed as normal (sans a GPS - anyone know about any deals?).

I think that the ordeal was made that much more bearable because I have good friends (a shoutout to R & Y & all the people I bothered on my drive home). And I think that the same applies to life. Even though I'm a semi-vagabond right now, it's not something I can control. What I can do is maximize my own skills and improve my fitness. And I'm thankful that I have good friends that I turn to when things like this happen.

So really, who's afraid of the rain? Not me. Not anymore.

Musings

Spending a week in the wilderness that is Nebraska can really give a man some perspective. Before I start reflecting, just in case there are people out there who actually want to visit Nebraska, here are the things you can look forward to.

1. The speed limit is 75mph for the most part.
2. The skies are really vast and clear and blue (when there are no storms).
3. The clouds can do impersonations.
4. The speed limit is 75mph. (Get out while you still can!!)

Ok. With that out of the way, lets start the ramblings proper.

1. 人生最重要的可能是好友。爱人可以分手，同事可以辞职，好友会终生在你身边。I am really starting to miss everyone already. I think it's a cumulative effect of everyone being far away. Advice can be sought online, but the damn time differences always screw with the best laid plans of men. I'm sure that the safety net that is a cherished friendship will be put to use even more from now on, as most ties with college have been severed. Thanks guys & gals. You know who you are.

2. I think I won't complain about my place as long as I go to Nebraska. The place where I go to makes my current digs look like downtown Manhattan. I guess you make do with what you have and believe that however bad the situation is, you can find a dump that's worse. I know I did.

3. 在我的年龄,我是应该注重职业,可是还是觉得很孤单.甚至在一个繁忙的城市里住也会觉得孤单.这是没办法的吧.做朋友以往是不容易的一件事,但我真的希望能找多几个好友...

4. Bleah. I forgot what I wanted to write about already. So no 5. Not much of a 4. even. My bad.

Hope everyone had a memorable Memorial day weekend!

Pirates is a 3 hour long backstab fest. Leave your brain at the door and empty your bladder for maximum enjoyment.

One for the Road

I just can't enough of traveling it seems. After (finally) finishing with one job last week (Friday), I'm going to another job site 600 miles away this time.

But before I go (leaving at 6am tomorrow), I'm gonna say a few things.

1. It's really the end of an era for the Champions of Excellence as I know them to be. No longer will I hear the cross hallway shouting of explicits during late night Dota Extravaganzas. No longer will I be able to meet most of my friends around a table in the middle of the room and eat/steal other people's potluck food. I will miss those good times (not to mention times when people make a fool of themselves reciting the alphabets).

2. Shrek 3 is a refreshing change from the previous 2 in my opinion. It's not a straight parody of fairy tales anymore and instead tries a different kind of plot instead of just playing off stereotypes. There are definitely less jokes about fairy tales this time and more action/drama elements. I think the best of the trilogy was the first Shrek, but I doubt people will regret spending $8 to watch this.

3. STARCRAFT TWO!! If that didn't sink in, I'm repeating it again. S-T-A-R-C-R-A-F-T 2!! I wonder how many people who have forsaken gaming for other things like "life" or "significant other" will find themselves struggling with that pledge to stay clean from gaming after the release date for SC2 is out.

Ok, see you guys next time from Far Far Away...

最近比较烦?

Before I get into the post proper, I'd just like to point out that there's such a thing as Gummi Bears overdose (you have been warned). And you know who you are, you spastic dreamer =D.

Okie, to the post proper.

最近比较烦,比较烦,比较烦,总觉得日子过得有一些极端

So I've graduated and have started working. My friends are scattered all over the world. I'm stuck (till August at least) in a hole-in-the-ground place and the work just keeps getting harder and harder. I've definitely reached a different stage of life that's radically different from the last 15 years or so. And I guess naturally, during this transition, there's bound to be some trials and tribulations. I just never figured they'd come so fast. And so frequent.

最近比较烦,比较烦,比较烦,我看那前方怎么也看不到岸

It increasingly looks like I'm gonna be the designated test-site engineer for the company. And that involves a ton of travel to different job sites when we are starting up our equipment. In the next 4 months or so, I expect to be away from home for at least 8 weeks, or more, depending on how smooth a start-up goes. 8 weeks out in 4 months means that I can probably find someone to sublet my house for summer... That's a very depressing thought. Not only will I not see the comforts of home, but that kind of schedule just f*cks up your social life. Trust me, no one ever builds a ehtanol plant on the hip side of town. In fact, I'd be surprised if an ethanol plant was ever built NEAR a town... Man, travelling it this sucks.

不烦,我不烦,只有一点烦

Well at least that was how I felt. And in fact, I still do now (a little at least). But thanks to an email from a good friend, I feel better. Because no matter how bad the situation is, at least you know that you can always talk to your friends and there are people there who have worse situations than you =D. Like being called to travel to the other side of the world with only 3 weeks notice. (As opposed to 3 months). Thanks. And please don't kill me.

So I guess, in the end, this is a rather exciting transitional period. And I hope to emerge from this phase of life smarter, more well travelled and have a more complete resume. And thanks once again to all the listening ears out there. Cheers.

终于明白笑里藏刀的意识。。。

这个世界上能信谁呢？好友，家人，除此以外，其他人都得争取你的信赖。不能凭表面而说能信不信。由此是在工作方面的人。

这次不算什么大事，可是，某某人的真面目已经被漏出来了。。。

下次要谨慎一点。

P.S. 爸妈，不用担心。当我能用自己的电脑时，我会寄email给您们的。

Update

昨天，我下面谈的人已经被炒鱿鱼。真的很突然的一件事。他照样来上班可是9点就突然说声“好吧，我要去钓鱼了。大家保重。”而走了。起初我还以为他在搞笑但过后大老板寄一封email给公司，说他辞职了。

收到email之后，我想每一个新的人都有一点害怕。被开除的事实是很sobering。昨天，公司很冷。也很安静。。。

洋人和我的差别

我想先说好我不是看不起老外.单单只想highligh他们被上士司谴责的时候的反应。我想我一百年之后还是不能像他们一样。

让我先给一些background.在我公司，除了我之外，还有多一个新的化学工程士师。他和我一样，是普渡同一届的毕业生。他最近转换到我的部门，和我一起做projects.他最近的project犯了一个超大的错误，当上士叫他把公司想要bid的project的经济算术(hmm, not sure about this translation here)时，他忘了数一个equipment.如果上士没好好查他的数字的话，公司就会损失超过USD500,000.而且，他犯了错之后，就去旅行。不能联络到他。

那昨天，我们和上士开会时，上士为了这件事而大骂他一顿。他的回应是“我很了解我自己犯的错有多大。从此以后，不会有这种事发生了。“可是上士还不满而说“我相信你是不真真正了解你的错有多大。会害公司损这么大的一笔钱不是一件小事。如果你不加把竟劲的话。。。“

到了这种地步，如果被骂的人是我,我就会安静得点点头，再声说“对不起”。可是我的同事，他却说“我明白。我不会再犯这种错。”好像没什么内疚的样子。这就是洋人和我的差别吧。是好是坏，我不知道。只知道，如果是我，我不会那么有“balls"...

And a brief review of the DS-X for the interested. The DS-X is a brilliant piece of equipment that basically transforms the DS into anything you want it to be. A PDA, a game machine, a psychedelic MP3 player... Nothing is out of it's scope. And the best part is, it's just 1 piece of equipment. So no transfer is required between equipment before stuff gets onto the DS. In fact, I'm going to have a quick go at Robot Wars Taisen now. =D

Edit - Did some 改正。

2006 in Review

Well I have to send my bro back home tomorrow so I'll try to make this brief.

For me, 2006 was a year of ups and downs. I'll try to recap the highs and lows here so we can laugh together at the good times and laugh at my bad times.

1. The Shanghai Girl thing didn't work out. I guess the 默契 just wasn't there. Next...
2. Realizing that having 9 credit hours in a semester meant a lot of slacking time. And time for a lot of video games.
3. Become a semi-pariah due to said semester workload.
4. Trying to cherish the last few months with friends that I might not ever see again in my life. Although I believe that in the end, 有缘相见, we will met again.
5. Rushed and jumbled through my final semester as a semi-lazy bum. Nearly died due to a lot of bad luck and misjudgment on my research. Which has taught me to always do your best. 做事要认真.
6. GRADUATION. Finally, after approximately 100K USD, 3 years, 20kg of caffeine, countless brain cells and about 2 solid months spent in the library lounge, I was pushed into the world. Kicking and screaming about how I didn't want to leave my friends and school. But if there's anything I learnt from previous graduations, it's that good friends tend to stick around. And I get the chance to get bragging rights to be the first to earn USD amongst the Fubar gang. Haha.
7. The frantic summer time search for gainful employment. I didn't have the foresight and doggedness of some of my classmates and I paid for it during summer. 20 applications a week for a total of around 100 netted me 4 interviews (phone & physical) which landed me 1 job offer. All in all, I consider myself lucky that I could land a nice job on such long odds. And now I had the bragging rights in the bag.
8. First job jitters. I went to work so nervous I forgot to remove the size sticker on my brand new khakis. (I'm sure Ebof will find that story familiar, haha). When I first started out, I was working from the conference table in the middle of the office. Now I have my own desk! And I have a monitor and keyboard to go with my laptop! Definitely moving up in the world... To top it off, I got my own phone! That means I don't have to hijack my colleagues' anymore.
9. First plant trip. The sights!! The smells!! And I think the smell is what will remain with you, even longer than the sights... The smells!!

And that was 2006 for me. I wonder what 2007 will bring but I'm pretty confident that I'll have more good than bad. How was 2006 for you guys?

I'll post my 07 resolutions another night. I need to hit the sack. Cheers!