What happens when you wake up one day, and you realize you’ve led your life wrong. Nothing is what it’s supposed to be. Nothing goes according to your plan. You smile and laugh everyday but it’s all empty inside.
You can’t do over.
Do you march on with a bigger smile on your face?
Do you close your eyes again and wish it was all just a nightmare, and when you wake up again, things will be back to the way they’re supposed o be?
Gin, Television, and Social Surplus - Here Comes Everybody
I’ve been fascinated with blogging for a while. My enthusiasm with the internet is not limited to blogging. Facebook, twitter, wordpress, open source software, stickam, or anything that has to do with WEB 2.0. A friend once asked why I’m into Web 2.0, and I couldn’t give her the answer.
I also spend a lot of time in the gaming society. I browse various video games forums all day long, eager to pass on tips and updates I learned with complete strangers. I patiently answer questions, no matter how repetitive or stupid they are. (Mind you most of the gamers are <18 years of age.)
I always think this hobby of mine is a complete waste of time. I’m better off doing _______ (fill in the blank yourself), I’d say.
But today I came across the transcript of a speech given at the WEB 2.0 conference. The transcript deeply moved me. It touched a spot in my heart that I’ve always suspected existed, but didn’t know where.
The article is long. Before you lose your patience and don’t see how Gins has anything to do with Web 2.0, allow me to summarize a little for you:
The author was once asked by a TV producer that where people find time to contribute to Wikipedia. He said
“No one who works in TV gets to ask that question. You know where the time comes from. It comes from the cognitive surplus you’ve been masking for 50 years.”
What’s a cognitive surplus? Basically it the brain power of people with ample free time thanks to peace, booming economy and modern technology. And what do we do with the free time? We watch TV.
So if you take Wikipedia as a kind of unit, all of Wikipedia, the whole project–every page, every edit, every talk page, every line of code, in every language that Wikipedia exists in–that represents something like the cumulation of 100 million hours of human thought.
And television watching? Two hundred billion hours, in the U.S. alone, every year. Put another way, now that we have a unit, that’s 2,000 Wikipedia projects a year spent watching television. Or put still another way, in the U.S., we spend 100 million hours every weekend, just watching the ads.
At the end of 20th century TV is the major source of entertainment. In the 21st century, some of us started using our energy on the net:
there’s an interesting community over here, there’s an interesting sharing model over there, those people are collaborating on open source software. But despite knowing the inputs, we can’t predict the outputs yet because there’s so much complexity.
The truth is, the majority of the work done, from blogging to open source software, will not have a significant impact to the society. To rub salt into the wound, most of these attempts will turn futile. Should we stop?
The way you explore complex ecosystems is you just try lots and lots and lots of things, and you hope that everybody who fails fails informatively so that you can at least find a skull on a pikestaff near where you’re going. That’s the phase we’re in now.
The author’s conclusion, to all of you fellow bloggers/web 2.0 contributors:
…ask ourselves, “If we carve out a little bit of the cognitive surplus and deploy it here, could we make a good thing happen?” And I’m betting the answer is yes.
Smart girls like to pretend that they are comfortable with their intelligence. When in fact, most girls would happily trade for an angel face, big boobs and average intelligence (um, sure, maybe slightly below average).
Smart girls would never admit it though. What they say instead is, ‘I wish men were smarter, or there were more smart men. And I wish men were not as shallow’. Translation: I wish I were dumber, and that way there’d be more intelligent men. And i wish I were prettier, so more men would notice me.
Disclaimer: I’m not saying smart girls are ugly, I for one am not. But a girl always wishes she were prettier and skinnier.
How good are you at reading minds?
The first test challenges your ability to spot a fake smile. There are similar tests out there but this one has video playbacks, so you can see the smiles in action.
BBC Smile Test
This one is difficult. You guess the person’s mood by looking at his/her eyes only.
Mind in the Eyes
Trees help me focus while meditating
My mind is always racing with ideas, and thus my attention span is getting shorter and shorter. During the day I usually have at least 5 tabs open in firefox, while running 3 things in the background, and listening music at the same time.
So I’ve been meditating, or trying to meditate lately. I downloaded a bunch of short meditation Podcast on iTunes. They range from 7 to 15 minutes, and I can do quick ones while at work. I just sit at my desk and close my eyes for a few minutes to slow myself down.
But even 7 minutes is hard. My thoughts are always flooding and my heart rate speeds up whenever an exciting thought or idea comes in.
Today at the 6th minute, I opened one eye to check how many minutes I have left. Then I noticed the tree outside my office window was swaying slowly with the mild wind.
The tree is deciduous. Right now it’s completely leafless and full of tree nuts hanging from the bald branches like Christmas tree ornaments.
On the tips of branches, I saw tiny baby green buds showing their faces for the coming spring.
The scene was so beautiful and it calmed me down instantaneously.
I kept my eyes open for the remainder of the podcast. For a few minutes I became the tree. I swayed with the fluctuating floods of thoughts. I just let them come and go without resisting. Underneath the busy brainwaves, my true and calm self, is slowly emerging. It’s growing so slow that you may not see it at all. But oh it is there.
Friday night, home alone…
I’m so bored I whipped out my cell and started calling my old friends. I haven’t done that in a long long time. Now i spend most of my life in the cyberworld, and sometimes I feel like I’m losing the connection to the real world, that the cyber world is more tangible than the real one. I feel weightless, like a balloon let go by a child, quickly drifting away from the ground.
After talking to some of them, I feel grounded again. It feels good to be back.
I’ve decided to reorganize my blog. I’ve set up a couple of WordPress blogs on my own webpages. I’ll move most of the Geekie Stuff over and leave the girlie stuff here.
The reasons for the move -
1. I just want to play around with WordPress, and start writing plugins. This is my way of forcing myself to learn more about php and java scripting, and God knows what else.
2. I realize most of my readers are girls, and they are only interested in cosmetics. I’ll concentrate more on that side in this blog.
3. I swear I’ll figure out a way to export blogsome blogs!!! <— new year resolution #7
I’m planning to move my geekie stuff here like mentioned above. I’m considering merging some of my travel posts to the other travel blog, although I haven’t decided.
In the meantime, please pardon the occasional funky look of the blog. That means I’m trying to take things apart and reassemble them again.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m pretty sad to see Gates go.
I think most of us take Microsoft for granted, and under appreciate Bill Gates. No matter how Bill got where he is today, and how shitty Vista is, we can’t deny that he made the greatest impact in the 20th century and continue to influence the 21st.
I still remember how young and lively he was when I was little, and seeing his agile figure it reminds me how fast time flies (and how old i am). While saying goodbye to him, I’m also saying goodbye to my younger days, and a big chapter in my life.
I was browsing on a game forum and one thread is about, "What are some big things that will happen in 2008 for you?" Lots of people jumped in and it seems everyone has a list of exciting things to come.
I was shocked to realize that there is nothing for me. No joy, excitement, nor despair. Just void.
Do I have any goal this year? no. Resolution? no.
I don’t know where I lost my passions as youth along the way.
2008 will be the year of nothingness.
Blog Action Day - for a greener earth
I’m proud to announce that busygirl is part of the blog action day. It is an initiative by lighter footstep. The idea is to have lots of voices on one topic, on the same day. If you’d like to participate you can just click on the link and get involved.
I am an environmentalist. Here are the simple things I do to contribute protecting the environment:
- I try my best to use both sides of paper
- limit the number of paper printouts
- I changed 2 lightbulbs in my house to the energy saving ones
- I turn off lights and unplug chargers when not in use (almost obsessive compulsively)
- I recycle all my batteries (target & wholefoods both take them)
- I recycle or donate computer equipment, since they impose environmental damages
I know I need to do more. But at this point there are simply too many mixed messages and incomplete information. For example, are hybrid cars really good? If my japanese car’s mileage is great, it’s probably as good as a hybrid car, since I’m concerned about the environmental damage the manufacturing process for hybrid cars cause.
There are a lot of websites that ask you to donate to green funds to offset your carbon fooprint. This sounds like a wonderful idea. But does it really work? Who are the recipients of my contribution? What are they doing with the fund? Is my money better spent somewhere else? But for those of you who’d like to contribute this way, this site is a good start.
For now, I’ll stick to simple things and try not to harrass my family and friends. One tip I learned recently, is that cell phone chargers, when plugged in (even without connecting to your phone), drains power as well. So unplug it when you’re not charging. Hey, it’s good for your electricity bill too.
A small study links the type of bacteria living in people’s digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate’s allure.
That may be the case for other foods, too.
So we are (in some way, at least) controlled by the little guys in the guts? We humans like to think we rule the planet, when in fact microorganisms are the fittest in most environments. I personally like to think that eating chocolate and prefer pepsi over coke is out of my free will, not the microbes in my guts. And I’d also like to think I went to school, got a job, and maintined a healthy diet is for myself, not for the masters in my guts.
This research gave a new meaning to "gut reaction".
<Photo credit: nature.com>
I’ve been busy updating my facebook. It’s a lot funner than I thought it’d be, and I especially like all the applications we can add. I’ll be all set once Shutterfly adds an app. One of the applications is Movies, where you add your favorite movies. Immediately I added about 50. After that I looked at my friends’ favorite movies, and none of them had more than 3. Then I realized that ‘favorite movies’ means ‘all-time favorite movies’, as one that you would watch over and over again, and should probably be your favorite movie for years to come. For example, many characters in romantic comedies claim that they LOVE Casablanca, and they would watch it and quote it throughout the movie. I never thought those people exist in real life. But I wonder if they do and I’m the oddball. I’m simply incapable of having a favorite anything. When people ask me what movies i like, I immediately access the region of my brain which is set up like Blockbuster. "Well, in action category, i like… for dramas, i like…, new releases, i like…" is my typical response. Same thing about my favorite color. I was watching "Stomp Yard" and the girl rejected a marriage proposal because her boyfriend didn’t know her favorite color. Hell, I don’t have a favorite color! It depends, right? Are you talking about a car (white, but depends on the model), clothes (depends on the style, and the color of eyeshadow I want to match at the moment, etc.), ipod (they’re all cute!)….? Not only does it depends on the subject, it really depends on my mood at the moment. Wait, I take it back, I do have some real favorites. My favorite sitcom - Seinfeld, favorite food - chicken legs, and favorite classic composer - mozart. The funny thing is most people I talked to don’t have a favorite food. That’s when they say, it depends on what category, the mood, etc. I love chicken legs so much that if I have to choose one food and give up everything else forever in my life, I’ll pick chicken legs (with skin) with no hesitation. Somebody should do a poll what category of "favorites" that most people have fixed answers to.
What’s your favorite?
This is the funniest and cuttest youtube i’ve seen to date. Be patient and watch until the very end. That’s the best part.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno
Steve Jobs said in the town hall meeting the day before the iPhone launch day, that we shall forever remember this historic moment and tell our grandkids all about it. On June 29, 2007, I arrived at the Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara and joined the line an hour and half before the store open time at 6pm. The real reason that I wanted to go was I heard Steve Woz was the first in line. Allegedly he arrived at 4am that day on his segway scooter, wearing the iPhone T-shirt that says "the line starts here". He helped keep order by passing out number cards to early arrivals. That was just too funny and I had to leave work early and go check him out. Besides, it was free gelato day from noon to 4pm to celebrate the iPhone launch, so most of my coworkers were nowhere to be found after noon. So I got there, saw Steve Woz, clad in that white T-shirt, obviously unshaven (he never had the clean look anyway). There were 4 segway scooters neatly aligned by the door (probaby his buddies’). I was gonna go home but my boyfriend begged me to wait in line so he could lay his hands on the phone that night. There weren’t as many people as I thought. I thought there’d be about 1000 but there were only 500. I wasn’t too concerned about waiting for 2 hours to get in (with my PSP, 2 hours would feel like 20 minutes), but I didn’t know how long it’d take them to process orders for 500 people. 3 -4 hours right? Most people in line were in their 20s and 30s, in T-shirts, faded jeans, pale and unshaven, with macbook or macbook pro on their laps. Quite a few of them were high school kids. I couldn’t help but wondering if they saved up months for this, or their parents spoil them rotten, or they waited in line for other people on commission. I didn’t see that many girls my age. The guy in front of me called his friend and said "I thought I got here early!" I almost laughed out loud. Later his girlfriend showed up for moral support. I complained to them that I didn’t know why my boyfriend couldn’t wait for 2 days, before I realized I was complaining to the wrong audience. The guy said, "what’s your point!" and everyone laughed. His girlfriend gave me a sympathetic look. After the store opened, I went back in (the line was so long we looped outside of the mall) to check out the store. I saw a guy walking out holding his iphone bags up high, and everyone cheered and clapped. At first I thought he was somebody but couldn’t recognize him at all. Later I realized that the crowd did that to everyone. There was a large crowd outside the store not interested in buying the phones, but just wanted to watch the geeks in line. They really had nothing better to do I guess, but I suppose we did look like a bunch of idiots waiting in such a long line, when we could’ve easily ordered on line. The line moved rather quickly, to my surprise, and in less than an hour we were in the store. While we were still outside the mall, his little sister went to Jamba Juice, and I was joking that we’d probably get our orders at the same time. And it turned out we did. She came back a couple of minutes before we finalized the orders. The way they sped things up was that the employees had cordless credit card processors, so they scanned your credit cards as soon as you step into the store, and they would send receipts to your email address (to save paper they said). My boyfriend shopped there before so they had his email add on file. It happened so quickly I didn’t even know when he was done. BTW, no employee discount on iphones, but accessories are ok. When we walked out, the store clerks lining up by the door applauded and cheered. I didn’t know if I was supposed to smile and showed that I was a proud iPhone owner, even though I’m not? But if I don’t smile i’d feel bad for the clerks. Anyway, although unnecessary, I’m glad I joined the party. It was fun to chat with fellow Apple fan boys in line, and the store order arrangement was really impressive. I won’t do any review for the iPhone, since my boyfriend won’t depart with it the whole weekend. I can tell you this, he absolutely loves it!
Waiting for the Baron’s dog to die
I came across this story on Time.com, and I found it amusing. This was quoted as a sarcastic analogy for Israelis and Palestinians’ peace agreement. But I feel this mentality in the business world all the time. I also wonder if guys use this tactics when they tell their girlfriends that “yeah, we’ll settle down and get married in a year.”
Once, long ago in Russia, a Baron decided to expel all the Jewish peasants from his estate. The peasants pleaded with the Baron, but he sat there bored, petting his favorite wolfhound. After a few minutes, he waved them away. Just as they were leaving, a rabbi who had noticed how fond the Baron was of his wolfhound, said: “You know, we’re very talented at making dogs speak.” Intrigued, the Baron allowed the Jews to stay on for a year, to teach his dog how to talk. Outside the Baron’s castle, the Jews wailed: “Rabbi, how can you make such a promise? We’re doomed!” The Rabbi replied with a shrug, “Anything can happen in a year. The dog could die. Or the Baron could die. Who can tell?”
This past weekend we went down to Breakwater at Monterey bay to complete my PADI open water certificate program. Breakwater is also known as Coast Guard Pier. Most of the scuba dive beginners and night divers get their certification here for its calm water and gradual decent.
I hate to admit, but I’ve been worried about this trip as soon as the diving class started. I was relatively comfortable in the pool sessions but I was afraid I’d panic in the ocean and shoot up to the surface at the slightest discomfort. I tend to forget some of the prep procedures, such as turning on the air, connecting the tank to the BC. I’m clumsy at putting my fins on with one hand, and my mask keeps sliding off my face or gets tangled up in my hair. In class, my buddy was always 10 steps ahead of me and had to assist me just so we could hurry up and get into the pool; the dive masters in the class usually had all their eyes on me as though something would go wrong with me the moment they take their eyes off me, while the other three classmates roam around freely in the pool. Besides, I didn’t know what to expect when it comes to the water temperature at the ocean.
All my worries proved to be unfounded. The weather was nice over the weekend. It was sunny and around 60-70 degrees, and the water temperature was between 52-56. We started debriefing at 7am just so we can get good parking spots and don’t have to drag our gear too far. The parking fee is reasonable, at roughly $1 per hour. Most students will dive twice on Sat and twice on Sunday, but my group voted for 3 dives on Sat and 1 on Sunday. I didn’t like the idea too much, but my buddy and the other two classmates from Texas (we call them “the texans”), who all are excellent swimmers and in tip top shape, happily said to the instructor that “don’t worry about Rebecca, she’s outvoted.” Word of advice - bring your own friend to a scuba diving class! No just kidding. My buddy is a great guy and all my classmates are really nice and have a great sense of humor.
Back to the story. The dive masters warned us about the poor visibility at Breakwater, but I was still shocked as soon as I started descending to see that it’s pretty much in a milkshake condition. I could barely see my buddy 3 feet away from me. Breakwater has sandy bottom, and is packed with beginner divers who can’t control their positions and tend to kick up the bottom with their fins.
We breezed through all the drills (a few required drills in every dive). I don’t know if it’s because they’re easier to perform in salty water or because we’ve got plenty of practice beforehand. All of them felt as easy and natural as breathing. After we proved that we could perform the required tasks, we went on tours with dive masters. So during the weekend we went on 4 tours in total.
I saw decorator crabs 
.
They select pieces of seaweed and small animals from its habitat and fasten them to hooked setae (Velcrolike bristles) on the back of their shells, to camouflage themselves. I saw giant kelps 
,
lots of other colorful seaweeds, and countless sea stars.
I didn’t see that many fish, but it’s not hard to guess that they want to steer clear of beginner divers. I imagine at any another dive site nearby we’ll see more abundant sea life.
Anyway, I really fell in love with scuba diving. The underwater world is so fascinating, and it’s really different seeing it with my own eyes than from the Discovery channel on HDTV. It’s quiet and dark down there, and I could hear nothing but my own regulator and the bubbles coming out. I also like the weightless feeling. The combination of senses and seeing these amazing creatures in their natural habitat is beyond words.
(photos are from Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website.)
I was reading this book “break the bamboo ceiling” which is about the problem asians face in corporate america world.
The author, an Asian American HR, recruiter and coach, pointed out that only 0.29% of corporate officers of Fortune 500 company are Asian women. Even in Silicon Valley, where Asian Americans comprise 30% of technology professionals, Caucasians hold 80% of managerial positions, versus 12.5% Asian Americans.
I, like most people, gave little thought about Asians’ problems advancing their careers. The stereotypes of Asians are they’re hard working and highly educated. Note that 44% of Asian americans over age 25 have graduated from college, the highest percentage for any racial gruops, compared with the 27% average for the US population. And according to feedback from recruiters and HR directors, there is significant representation of entry-level Asian talent in corporations.
Once I started thinking about it it’s easy to identify the reason. It’s so painfully obvious that I don’t need to restate here. But I think, and the book agreed, that most Americans judge your personality by your Asian face, and it’ll just require extra effort from us to break the first impression.
I’m starting to feel the bias when I’m climbing up the corporate ladder. Sometimes when I go to clients’ with a male staff, they’ll automatically address to him. I know it’s the combination of sex and race… I wouldn’t call it discrimination, but maybe natural reaction. I bet most people aren’t even aware that they do that. Like the lyric of my favorite musical, Ave Q, “everybody is a little bit racist…”.
I haven’t finished the book, but can’t wait to see what tips she provided to counteract the bias.
I finally got myself out of the New Jersey project, and am ready to start fresh in San Francisco. Since I was stuck in East Coast all this time, I gave myself two days to secure an apartment, a week to pack and 3-5 days to move and settle down.
I wasn’t sure if I was able to find an apartment in such a short time. Bay area is consisted with numerous neighborhoods and some I heard are not safe. But it’s not as simple as avoiding those neighborhoods. Most of the areas that are close to downtown are ‘mixed’, as in some blocks are nice and some blocks are ‘less nice’, so to speak.
Initially I wanted to stay as close to downtown SF as I could. The person that killed the thought was my boss, a PwC partner. Obviously he knows the best how much I make, and instead of offering a raise, he barked, ‘Are you out of your mind? You can’t afford it!! Move to East bay, and no, not the east bay that’s close to the bay like Oakland, but go over the hills and the valley to as far east as you could, like Pleasanton, it’s a mere 45 minute BART (bay area rapid transit) ride to the city.”
Riiiight. I thought. I’m not taking 45 minute train ride each way every day! So I started by looking into the part of east bay that’s close to water, like Emeryville and Lake Merritt. It’s less than 15 minute ride to the city. I went so far as to pay application fee for a tiny little studio in a gorgeous condo right by the bay, and the unit has a view of the water as well. I was pretty excited even though the rent was over 1000 and the kitchen was so small that I doubted if i could fit a microwave oven in it. Only a few hours later, I drove by the BART station and saw that the parking lot was so small that I didn’t think I’d ever get a spot past 7am. If I can’t park there, that means I can’t take the BART. How the heck am I supposed to go to downtown? How do people in this neighborhood go to SF? I bet you most people are students or local commuters, who don’t have to go across the notorious, always jammed Bay Bridges.
Then I started looking more east. I found an apartment complex that’s right by the BART station in Walnut Creek. Rent is about the same for a studio that’s slightly larger, but the kitchen is full-size and the best part, there’s washer and dryer in the unit.
After all, I ended up with what my boss suggested. Go as far east as you can. But hey it’s not bad, it turned out that the BART ride is ONLY 37 minutes, not 45! The 16 minutes i save a day is enough for me to take a quick shower huh?
All in all, for friends who might visit me in the future, Walnut Creek is my new home. Although it’s a bit far from the city, it has all the retailers that you can think of. Well, although I can’t name all the retailers, i’m convinced that wherever Tiffany is located, everyone else must be there.
I’ve been on the road since last late september. Living out of the suitcases for over a year is starting to wear me out. To be exact, what i’m feeling right now is probably not just from traveling; 14hour-days probably have much more impact. Come to think of it, it’s really the combination of the two.
There are some exciting aspect of traveling and living off of corporate account. I don’t have to cook anymore (well, personally I really miss cooking); I order whatever I want without looking at the price first; I don’t have to laundry anymore; I don’t have to clean up my room; I don’t have to pay for my cell phone bill, ….
But after the initial excitement phases out, the reality starts to hit.
The most depressing aspect of it is that after work, I have no friends to go to. Yes coworkers hang out once in a while, but coworkers and friends are not the same. It’s true that New York has the best lounges and restaurants, but what’s Happy Hour without good old friends? I remember I used to have this Happy Hour multi-tab-spreadsheet that we passed around to record the location, phone number, happy hour hours, special deals and review of all the restaurants we heard of, had been to, or wanted to hit. Aaaaah, and the power of FRESH WILD SALMON in Pacific Northwest!
The other thing has to do with fitness. Do I miss 24 hour fitness!! The gyms in NYC all closed around 10:30. I don’t know how New Yorkers do it. They work crazy hours yet they don’t have 24 hour gyms? Back in NY I could rarely make it to the gym. The hotel gyms weren’t bad though. The best hotel gym-I gotta give credit to Marquis. It’s about 2000 squarefeet (I think), has about 10 elliptical trainers among other things. All the cardio machines have individual TVs on. And it’s 24 hours. Westin Times Square wasn’t too bad. Although it’s fairly small, it had 3 elliptical trainers and all cardio machines have TVs on. The only thing was they closed at 10:30 too.
Now that I moved to Westin at Princeton, my fitness life dwindled to almost none. The gym has one elliptical trainer that doesn’t work. Refusing to use treadmill, I’m left only with a stationary bike. No individual TVs on the machines. There’s a small TV in the room WITHOUT A REMOTE. Good thing I always carry tons of exercise DVDs with me when I travel, so that’s now the main source of my workout routine. However, I can’t really do weight training anymore, so my muscle has been loosing up and flab has slowly, umm no quickly, crawled back.
Since I work most of the weekend, wardrobe choice is severely limited. I have less than 5 sets of outfit to mix and match. It doesn’t really bother me anymore though. My coworkers, clients and I spend so much time together, I honestly doubt anybody cares what I wear. But lack of wardrobe choice and lack of working out have downward sprial effect on each other. I don’t feel I look good cuz I have nothing to wear, so I feel less motivated to work out, and now I never want to dress up because I’m so out of shape…
I suppose i CAN live without gossipy friends (just kidding!!) and get used to my new flabby arms and thighs. Eating without a budget is the major killer. I was actually happy leaving New York’s worldclass fine restaurants behind, and I thought I could finally quit eating at Princeton. I miscalculated. Now instead of gaining weight on exquisit fine cuisine, I gain weight on greasy Chinese, deep fried chicken and ribs, and tons of chocolate and candies. Really, it’s not worth the calories! But loneliness and stress has got the better of me, and I can’t stop stuffing my face with junk food.
I can’t wait to move to San Francisco, the part of the world that 24 hour fitness rules, that people don’t work 25 hours a day–hmm come to think of it, I’ve heard some rumors about SF office’s crazy hours, and people bike, hike, camp, basically have a life outside of work.
Relax!
DILBERT’S GUIDE TO STRESS 
An alternative guide to stress in the workplace from Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip.
1. I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.
2. I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.
3. Tell me what you need, and I’ll tell you how to get along without it.
4. Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.
5. Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If they aren’t there the first time, chances are you won’t be needing them again.
6. I don’t have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem.
7. Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky, and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling?
8. My reality check bounced.
9. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.
10. I don’t suffer from stress. I am a carrier.
11. You are slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.
12. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
13. Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo.
14. Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
15. A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt.
16. Don’t be irreplaceable - if you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.
17. After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before.
18. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.
19. You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry clipboard.
20. Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
21. People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn’t.
22. If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.
23. When you don’t know what to do, walk fast and look worried.
24. Following the rules will not get the job done.
25. When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question, “How would the Lone Ranger handle this?
The moment hit me again, this afternoon, when I was in Metropolitan Museum of Art, sitting in front of Vermeer’s “Woman with a Lute“. 
I was sitting down in front of the painting listening to the audio guide playing a piece of Lute music popular at that time. The melody was so simple and slow, compared with the contemporary top 40. Of course our popular music is a lot faster, louder, and more complex for obvious reasons. Simple lute or any acoustic instrument will no longer satisfy modern population’s appetite for music entertainment.
To appreciate this music, I tried to put myself in the ancient time. I gazed into the painting and imagine myself to be in it, sitting by the window, looking out, waiting for my lover’s return. Momentarily I was in a life that I was not constantly surrounded by sound and visual stimulation provided by mass media, the biggest noises would be a busy market, or galloping horses. I guess I could how it’d be one of the most beautiful harmony I’ve heard, at least comparing with the tunes sung by drunken men on the street.
This is when the moment hit me. I was concentrating so hard that for a nanosecond, I felt like I was “really” in the 17th century, hearing nothing but quietness, feeling the slowness of pace compared with NYC pace. Ever since I saw “Somewhere in Time” when I was a little girl, I’ve always had this fantasy of being able to time travel if I could just concentrate as hard as Christopher Reeve.
For a moment, I felt like I was there.
Where is the GreenTea in Green Tea Frappuccino
The first time I tried Starbuck’s green tea frappuccino I wasn’t impressed. It tasted like bland green tea flavored bubble gum. I forgot why I bought a second one since I disliked the first one so much, but the second one was more like it. The green tea flavor was strong, and it tasted almost like green tea ice cream. I was exhilirated to find my official summer drink.
At that point I was convinced the barista who made the first one didn’t make it according the formula.
And then I tried the third, fourth,.. so on. Now I know the true story. The second one was abnormal. All the others I had didn’t taste anything like green tea. I don’t know what impulses me to keep buying and getting disappointed. I mean, now i’m obsessed with finding the ‘right’ green tea frappuccino. Isn’t that crazy? I’ve turned Starbucks addiction into Lottery consumption. I pay a daily due hoping for hitting the jackpot.
I can’t wait to go back to Seattle to test it out. I still believe that Seattle Starbucks has the best standard. I still believe…
Cafe Provencial - Why is their business slower than neighbors?
My NY colleagues and I have probably tried all the deli places within 1 mile radius. Today I went to a French deli that I haven’t been before, Kitchen Provance , located on 45th between 6th & 7th. It serves hot entree bars and a salad bar, plus pastries.
The entree bar is probably the most gourmet I’ve tried in this neighborhood. For example today I got Polenta Pizzette, Zucchini cake, and Ricotta Roasted Vegetables Roulade, just to name a few.
What’s bugging me is the deli is not that busy compared with its neighbors, although the quality leaves the competitors in dust, and the french country decor is cute, clean and intimate. I noticed two things that might have affected it. The food section is way in the back of the deli, and the lighting is on the dim side, so it’s difficult for pedestrians to glimpse quickly what they’re serving. The unofficial standard for NY delis is to have entree bar in the center of the store.
The second is the credit card is acceptable, but it’s in the back of the kitchen and can only be handled by a grumpy looking mid-aged woman who appears to be the owner. After waiting for two minutes, the woman came out to hand over the receipt to the cashier, and she gave me a head to toe glance. Frankly, just for this reason, I don’t think I’m going back. But for those of you who use cash, I’d definitely recommend it.
