Lately, I’ve been thinking about human consciousness and our existence, as well as spirituality and religions. I finally understood why people have religions, to explain our existence, our purpose and eventually, our death. That is the fact of life. Doesn’t get any simpler than that.

I believe that we come out of nothingness, which is actually some kind of magic like the birth of universe, by the infusion of one sperm and one egg. A man and woman. As we grow to become adults and getting to our prime, we procreate. Babies are born and the cycle goes on. Till we grow old and can no longer function and then drifts back into nothingness, become unconscious but with our spirit, we’ll be somewhere, wherever we want to be, with our families or loved ones. I support the first amendment, by the freedom of religion that anyone can believe in whatever they like to, just as long as it doesn’t result into violence and compromise one’s life. If they want to believe they were a cockroach or something, there’s nothing wrong with that either.

Because in the end, we all drift into nothingness but worry not, we all mean somebody to someone.

Couldn’t sleep. Looked up in old Men’s Health magazines.

Read this article titled “There’s a first time for everything.” Not sure if the website has a copy of that and I’m in the mood to type it out.

1. The first time you see your father as a man, complete with flaws, unfulfilled dreams, and unchained lust. Your mission: Learn from him, but don’t repeat after him.

I have.

3. Your first paycheck. It gave you a one-two combination punch from the invisible hand of capitalism, the first being that yes, taxes suck. The second: This is not nearly enough dough. Both fueled your ambition to earn more zeros. And still should.

Yup, it still does.

5. Your first wedding as a groomsman. You looked your best, the free booze flowed and you had that genuine pang of hope that someonday you’d find the woman of your dreams–and that she might ust be that hot bridesmaid dancing to “Baby Got Back.”

I have. One of the best experiences. And still yet to find that person. Someday I shall.

6. The first time you dump a girl. It took balls to walk away from free nooky. Maybe you’re stronger than you think.

I have and it was hard. Hope I don’t have to do it again.

7. The first time you’re picked last. First thought: I suck. Second: I’ll show them. That mojo can last a lifetime.

Yes, that’s the most important.

8. The first time you encounter mechanical failure in bed. Laugh it off, reboot, and spend the next hour pleasing her. She’ll remember it as your best performance ever.

Hasn’t happened but that seems possible. I’m already well-read.

9. Your first medical scare. Next time you’re in the drive-thru or at the gym, remember that panic.

I didn’t get the scare but regardlessly, I’m working out.

11. The first time you stay out all night and see the sunrise. Freedom. Hope. Endless possibilities. Attack every dawn with that mix of surprise, awe, and optimism.

That’s why I camp out in my Element. :-)

12. The first time your 401(k) nmber surpasses your annual earnings. It means you’ll be buying and not serving the lattte at Starbucks in 2048.

About halfway there already.

13. The first time you walk away from an animal pleasure–the fourth pitcher, the availabe wench. It’s an indication that your cerebral cortex has finally taken over from your lizard brain. Now you can pursue a life, rather than merely live it.

Yup, have been drinking quality beers like new belgium beers and start to experiment with mixed drinks. I’ll wait till when I’m over 30 years to start appreciating the fine taste of wine. Ha.

This man is something. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Men are born to write… Whatever he beholds or experiences, comes to him as a model and sits for its picture. He counts it all nonsense that they say, that some things are undescribable. He believes that all that can be thought can be written, first or last; and he would report the Holy Ghost, or attempt it. Nothing so broad, so subtle, or so dear, but comes therefore commended to his pen, and he will write. In his eyes, a man is the faculty of reporting, and the universe is the possibility of being reported.

I’m trying to write more, on my work blog and this one.

Taken from here

Everyone should discover their personal legend. :-)

Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist

I remember receiving a letter from the American publisher, Harper Collins, which said that: “reading The Alchemist was like getting up at dawn and seeing the sun rise while the rest of the world still slept.” I went outside, looked up at the sky and thought to myself: “So, the book is going to be translated!” At the time, I was struggling to establish myself as a writer and to follow my path despite all the voices telling me it was impossible.
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Out of all things what I can get for my dad’s birthday and his retirement, I think the best gift I can get for him is this, other than a plane ticket to surprise him at home.

My dad turns 57 years old today; we’re 30 years apart so that makes it easy to remember. This one is probably his best one ’cause he gets to retire! he worked for 31 years at the United States Postal Service. He was a mail handler and for the last five or six years, he worked the forklift. To be frank, I was a little depressed to hear what did he get out of this. All he got was a plaque that’s made of paper and a cake to go with it. That’s it. Not even an ounce of cheese, summer sausage, celery, carrot or a single cracker. Zilch. Just a cake for my dad. He had a clean record—no suspensions or late warnings—and had more than 500 sick hours to spare.

It was only two weeks ago that my team and I had a nice team outing. We went to this cool indoor go-kart racing where we put on racing uniforms and helmets, then had some pizza and soda for lunch. What a contrast. The speaker box blasted on after a half hour of celebration, telling everyone to go back to work. So, after working for more than thirty years for P.O, ensuring that every box goes to your door on time, my dad’s retirement party was over in less than an hour.

I’d like to share a story about how my dad wound up at P.O. He used to work as a printer, along with his good friend who was also deaf. They were good workers who do their jobs well and would know exactly if something went wrong. It could be as obvious as ink running out or as small as a nut getting loose. My dad would see that easily and go to fix it. keeping the whole facility equipment running, which kept the business going and ultimately, for managers to be happy.

For some time, I wonder why did my dad decide to make a jump to work at the P.O. I found out it was because of me. When it came to time for my parents to have a child, they already knew they couldn’t have a child so they wanted to adopt. After they’ve found a child to adopt and that, of course, came with a cost. My dad knew they couldn’t afford the adoption, had he stayed at the printing so he applied and got the job. His math skill helped him out. He had to work on weekends, had Wed, and Thurs off and worked overnight because it paid more than the day. He thought he would eventually work in the day but he never did, though he did have better days off - on Fri and Sat.

For the first year or two, my parents didn’t see each other much but that didn’t bother them, they had the same goal, which was to save up money to afford the adoption. At that time in 1984, the cost was eight grand. They were able to save 7 grand, one thousand short but when the agency found out that I was deaf, they slashed it by half, to four thousand. Ha I’m a bargain child, so to speak.

With those said, I’m ecstatic to see my dad retired and I hope he’ll enjoy his retirement and do whatever he wants. Happy birthday and retirement, Dad. This is yours.

This is a cool commenecement speech by Dennis Prager.

Counterculture
by Dennis Prager

Following is the commencement address Dennis Prager gave to the 1997 graduating class of Pepperdine University.
would like to offer you seven ideas. That’s all I want to do. If you fall asleep during one of them, there are six remaining. If you fall asleep during five, maybe you’ll get two ideas.

But I want to just give you seven ideas culled from one human’s life that I think can be very powerful in the way you live your lives when you leave this institution.

In no order of importance:

One: The Greatest Struggle Is with Yourself
The greatest struggle in your life is not with society; it is with yourself. This idea is not taught in America today. We are taught that we are victims of a society that is sexist, racist, ageist, anti-Semitic, anti-Asian, anti-Hispanic, anti-woman, anti-old, anti-young — anti just about everyone. The temptation is therefore overwhelming to see your problems and challenges in life as being with America and not with yourself.

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Thought I’d share this story that my former manager asked me to write for the program.

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WRP Success Story
There are many paths to the top of mountain but the view is always the same. - Chinese proverb
by Nathan W. Kester
4.5.06

Hi, my name is Nathan W. Kester and I’m going to write how Workforce Recruitment Program, WRP for short, has helped me find a job. Some of you may have heard or used the program but for those of you who never heard of it before, WRP is a program coordinated by the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the U.S. Department of Defense to enable college students to find summer internships not only within the government agencies but also in the private sectors. It aims to set up a path to obtain a permanent position following an internship and to develop career networking too.

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He’s finally found his problem. It’ll take him a while to solve it but he will get there. But the most important part is he’s found the problem.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco’s SmugCloud - by Kertong.

Having been to San Francisco a few times, wow, anyone would love to live there but one thing about the city. They have people that are known as ‘SF snobs’ who possess this air of superiority and think that their shit doesn’t smell as bad as yours. And that’s very true. I’ll admit—I did think about how great would it be to live in SF but like Kertong said, you’d pay more rent for a smallish space, crowded parking space and deal with city traffic the minute you insert the key in. Reading his post made me realize how fortunate I am now. I live in a nice apartment that’s not too high in rent, get to work under a half hour and ofc, Fry’s store is only a few miles from here. I’d much rather to invest the extra $$$ into traveling and getting out on adventures. :-)

20 Things I Wish I Had Known When Starting Out in Life

#7. All the stuff you’re doing that seems hard — it will be of use. This is the first one that might not be as obvious. There were times in my life when work was hard, and I did it anyway, but hated it. I did it because I had to, but boy did it stress me out and leave me exhausted. Hard work isn’t as easy as I wanted it to be. But you know what? Every bit of hard work I did without knowing why I was doing it … it’s paid off for me in the long run. Maybe not right away, but I’m using skills and habits I learned during those times of high stress and long hours and tedious work — I use them all the time, and they’ve made me into the person I am today. Thank you, younger Leo!

Exactly! I’m living it out. Studying Korean is hard right now…but I know it’ll pay off. :-)

This is my life motto.

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded.”

I turn 27 years old today.

Here’s my previous posts on the same day:

Twenty-six years old
The Existence of 24 years old on this Planet Earth.
I turn 25 today.

Like I said last year, I’m gonna write a post on my birthdays, it feels like giving a gift to myself because the ability to write is a gift itself. So, I have 3 years left to 30. Wow. Time’s flying by. A lot has happened since my last birthday. I moved coast to coast, from DC to California. Ha I don’t have a Subaru WRX anymore, now Honda Element where she and I shall go far. I’ve already slept overnight in it at Lake Tahoe; that was cool and fun. Gonna do more of that soon.

One big thing I’ve accomplished is that I have managed to maximize my 401k. That is $15,500 a year and company matching half of that so I am saving $23,250 a year plus interests and most importantly, zero debt. Well, I suppose that is another achievement too. Doubt I will become a homeowner because costs around here are ridiculously high and I’m constantly amazed at how people continue to find ways to buy houses at like 500k or higher. That’d be paying a loan forever.

Renting Makes More Financial Sense Than Homeownership

“What about the pride of home ownership?”

It’s not for me. I define ownership as no longer having to pay for something and being able to do as I please with it. I own my coffee maker. House owners must pay taxes each year even when their mortgage payments are done. In certain markets they can’t even make changes to the houses they’ve paid for without seeking the approval of others. Personally, I feel the pride of ownership for shares of businesses, and I’m proud to occupy a nice place while leaving the burden of poor returns and maintenance to someone else.

Unless I move to a state where a house can be bought 200k or under, I might reconsider. For now, nope. I am happy with where I am now, all of my basic needs are met and I’m having a time of my life. I’m gonna explore life, make friends and help others. I know I’ll be comfortable later in my life, with a house or not. Just a roof over my head is good enough. I share a nice well-maintained apartment with a great roommate who is Japanese and is fluent in four languages. Ofc, ASL is one of them. We met through Craigslist and turned out that we have some mutual friends. How small world.

This year, I’m gonna do a lot of activities. I plan to become a member at a golf course, play in tournaments and see where I stand at. I’m gonna do more of running, rockclimbing, snowboarding, traveling, learn how to surf, camping, hiking, working out, dancing, basketball, take more pictures, building websites/apps, watch more movies, and writing.

Tonight, I will have a bday party at Dave n Busters and it’s gonna be a lot of fun. :-) See you all there!

Calvin and Hobbes comic on Wikipedia

That’s my religion, exploring life. No wonders I love North Face so much, ha. Never stop exploring!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

Something’s going to change…

Thought I’d take a few moment to reflect back on the year 2007.

There has been ups and downs like my grandma passing away and staying in a really crappy apartment for 8 months but I’ve accomplished two things. One was getting the job transfer from DC to CA to work as a webmaster for Google. Definitely one of my proud moments in life. Second one was paying all the debts I have including the car, credit cards, and student loan. I’m 100% debt-free. From now on, I’m not gonna put myself in a debt. I’m going to pay any new/used car in full and plan to buy a used road bike from Craigslist and use it to commute to work. Except for the possible mortgage loan in the future, of course.

Last year, I mentioned that my goal is to blog everyday . While it didn’t quite happen like that, I’ve made a lot of progress with my blog and been finding topics that serve both myself and you. I’m definitely going to blog even more this next year and bring useful, interesting information to us.

In 2008, I’m gonna try to focus more on getting things done. It’s been a big weakness of mine and I want to work out more often and consistently and be in a better shape. Maybe I’ll compete in a triathlon later on. I want to do a lot of snowboarding this season. Another goal is to go out more, meet new different people and build my resources.

With that said, 2008 is going to be a great year!