I am currently in LA ... hanging out with my buddy skhoo. Been a busy week doing all kinds of paperworks. Filing for taxes, renewing my driver's license, renewing my car registration etc etc ... finally get to take some time off to wind down in LA LA land.
Anyway, things look pretty set now. Refocused, regrouped and reenergized. The bad guys must pay. This is Kill Bill Vol 3.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Friday, April 15, 2005
My next phase
I am entering a new phase in my work life. After coding and coding and coding for the past 3.5 years, I have decided to go into a new field. Consulting. Something that has always been lingering in my mind. What ifs? Now, I will be doing it and living it out.
Yes, my new office will be in downtown San Francisco but I will still be staying in San Carlos. And I anticipate a lot of travelling to happen for my work. I will still be dealing with the technology sector, as that is my primary focus. However, I will be looking at things from a different perspective. It should be interesting.
Yes, my new office will be in downtown San Francisco but I will still be staying in San Carlos. And I anticipate a lot of travelling to happen for my work. I will still be dealing with the technology sector, as that is my primary focus. However, I will be looking at things from a different perspective. It should be interesting.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Word of the day
Spring is finally here. Today we spring forward and attain an extra hour of sunshine. I always like this. Having more daylight makes me feel good. Somehow the world seems brighter and everything just looks so full of life.
A quondam conservative, I used to be thrifty and do things with cautions. For me, resources are precious and limited, thus I should use them carefully. However, the past few years have been bifurcating for me. I am constantly swinging back and forth, trying to seek the balance in life. It is perfectly important to be assiduous and save for rainy days. Through my upbringing and cultural infusion, I appreciate readiness for adversity. However, a few past events challenged my position on life. Sometimes, in the infinite time continuum, our lifespan looks so short. What is a century of life in a billion years? Life is only as meaningful as the way we choose to live. If we choose to color it vividly, then I quote my favorite phrase, "che la vita bella!" But to live as a bon vivant, it comes with a price - be it monetary or not. Unless we have an abundant amount of resources, our seemingly inpregnable financial position will soon wear down to nothing.
Sometimes, I act inconsistently. I would one moment be very firm on my spending habits and the next, become biddable and succumb to pleasures. Well, one solution that comes across my mind is producing a potboiler and generates fast cash. So fast that I can gain an immense amount of resources in the shortest time possible. However, money will only allow me to indulge in material pleasures. Eventually, they will just cloy my senses.
So, back to the billion dollar question? What is next?
A quondam conservative, I used to be thrifty and do things with cautions. For me, resources are precious and limited, thus I should use them carefully. However, the past few years have been bifurcating for me. I am constantly swinging back and forth, trying to seek the balance in life. It is perfectly important to be assiduous and save for rainy days. Through my upbringing and cultural infusion, I appreciate readiness for adversity. However, a few past events challenged my position on life. Sometimes, in the infinite time continuum, our lifespan looks so short. What is a century of life in a billion years? Life is only as meaningful as the way we choose to live. If we choose to color it vividly, then I quote my favorite phrase, "che la vita bella!" But to live as a bon vivant, it comes with a price - be it monetary or not. Unless we have an abundant amount of resources, our seemingly inpregnable financial position will soon wear down to nothing.
Sometimes, I act inconsistently. I would one moment be very firm on my spending habits and the next, become biddable and succumb to pleasures. Well, one solution that comes across my mind is producing a potboiler and generates fast cash. So fast that I can gain an immense amount of resources in the shortest time possible. However, money will only allow me to indulge in material pleasures. Eventually, they will just cloy my senses.
So, back to the billion dollar question? What is next?
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Of conmen and tricksters
Recently, a few "head hunters" from New York, whom I shan't name, came knocking. One of them is particularly irritating. They kept calling and for weeks promised the sky of New York as the bounty. Each time they would say, "... hey we will get you into this bank or that hedge fund ... hook you up with opportunities there ... get you an audience .. etc etc etc". You get the idea.
But the funny thing is each time, they will ask me the same old question. Do you know this? (yes I do), do you know that? (yes I do), how to do this, how to do that ... to which all I provided them answers. After a while, the process got irritating. Hey ... it is like don't they keep a profile of their candidates? They kept asking the same old questions and it seemed that we were getting nowhere.
So, this morning, being tired and fed up with their same old routines, I got straight to the point. They asked me again, " When can you come to New York for interview?" I told them, "as soon as you schedule one for me." A moment of silence ensued. They had no answer for me. They said they will be in touch. I won't.
But the funny thing is each time, they will ask me the same old question. Do you know this? (yes I do), do you know that? (yes I do), how to do this, how to do that ... to which all I provided them answers. After a while, the process got irritating. Hey ... it is like don't they keep a profile of their candidates? They kept asking the same old questions and it seemed that we were getting nowhere.
So, this morning, being tired and fed up with their same old routines, I got straight to the point. They asked me again, " When can you come to New York for interview?" I told them, "as soon as you schedule one for me." A moment of silence ensued. They had no answer for me. They said they will be in touch. I won't.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Wait and see
What is balance? Taoism defines it as a harmony between Yin and Yang. Soldiers call it the thin red line. Philosophers see it as between ingenuity and insanity. Is balance really achievable in every facet of our lives in this world?
If there is balance, everyone should be above the poverty line. The poor should become well resourced and the rich shall stay rich. However, we always have that top 0.001 percent of people on this planet being the superrich and a large number of our population dying of hunger and poverty. So, balance? You tell me.
Many say people like Hitler, Mao, Stalin and etc, fell out of balance and went to the extreme. But again, who is to judge what is extreme and what is not extreme? When Bush decide to attack Iraq, Afghanistan and get involved in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, is he trying to maintain a balance? or is he becoming an extremist? Again, who is to judge?
Well, the way I see it, the strong, the victor, the powerful and the rich will always say it all and do it all. Since they define and change the rules as they wish, who among the laymen, is to say no and play against the tide? Once, I thought education, knowledge, science and technology might somewhat level the playing field. But how naive and wrong am I! The very fact remains. The old money controls Wall Street. Their offsprings attend Harvard, Princeton and Yale on a legacy ticket. The techno-socio-bio-younamewhat capitalists take down the Bay. And Stanford is their favorite playground. The average Tom, Dick, Harry, you and me will get by- yes get by with hard work and certainly a heavy dose of luck. Nevermind if you are brilliant or not, for brilliance is second citizen to connection. The majority of corporate America will still be in the reins of these people. If you manage to break in, given your humble family background, I say, you have made it - yes, the American dream! I will say you are good. But the luck factor is undeniable.
Boy, do I sound biased? Not at all. My statements are certainly debatable. But then again, there is for sure a heavy dose of truth in them. Enough for today.
If there is balance, everyone should be above the poverty line. The poor should become well resourced and the rich shall stay rich. However, we always have that top 0.001 percent of people on this planet being the superrich and a large number of our population dying of hunger and poverty. So, balance? You tell me.
Many say people like Hitler, Mao, Stalin and etc, fell out of balance and went to the extreme. But again, who is to judge what is extreme and what is not extreme? When Bush decide to attack Iraq, Afghanistan and get involved in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, is he trying to maintain a balance? or is he becoming an extremist? Again, who is to judge?
Well, the way I see it, the strong, the victor, the powerful and the rich will always say it all and do it all. Since they define and change the rules as they wish, who among the laymen, is to say no and play against the tide? Once, I thought education, knowledge, science and technology might somewhat level the playing field. But how naive and wrong am I! The very fact remains. The old money controls Wall Street. Their offsprings attend Harvard, Princeton and Yale on a legacy ticket. The techno-socio-bio-younamewhat capitalists take down the Bay. And Stanford is their favorite playground. The average Tom, Dick, Harry, you and me will get by- yes get by with hard work and certainly a heavy dose of luck. Nevermind if you are brilliant or not, for brilliance is second citizen to connection. The majority of corporate America will still be in the reins of these people. If you manage to break in, given your humble family background, I say, you have made it - yes, the American dream! I will say you are good. But the luck factor is undeniable.
Boy, do I sound biased? Not at all. My statements are certainly debatable. But then again, there is for sure a heavy dose of truth in them. Enough for today.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
When it comes back ...
Life is interesting. It is dynamic, unpredictable and yet very forgiving. You only live once. At each point, you make a decision, hoping that is the best decision, given information that you have. Can I argue that we follow a Greedy algorithm here? But then, Greedy algorithm is proven to fail in certain instances. And I believe, it applies to us too, when making life decision. However, the nice thing about life is, we only know the consequence of an action we take. Hence, we can't go back and try out other possibilities. In that sense, we'll never know what would have been best? Good.
Human is amazing. We constantly adapt and change, according to our actions and our thoughts. An old adage says that our mind is like a knife. The more you use, the sharper it becomes. I used to only partially believe this. For I feel that a person's intelligence is somewhat constant after a certain age. However, I finally realize the deeper meanings behind that adage. It is actually talking about how you will become less agile, if you stop doing something for a long time. Generalization. The best explaination I can offer to avoid a debate here. Anyway, I finally see the point ... and when it comes back, I will never loose it again.
Human is amazing. We constantly adapt and change, according to our actions and our thoughts. An old adage says that our mind is like a knife. The more you use, the sharper it becomes. I used to only partially believe this. For I feel that a person's intelligence is somewhat constant after a certain age. However, I finally realize the deeper meanings behind that adage. It is actually talking about how you will become less agile, if you stop doing something for a long time. Generalization. The best explaination I can offer to avoid a debate here. Anyway, I finally see the point ... and when it comes back, I will never loose it again.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
It is Sunday ...
Good morning! I just got up, walked out of my room and went to the bathroom. Right now typing away for this blog. Hey, it is getting addictive!
Anyway, this weekend is supposed to rain. So, we don't have the usual California sunshine today. Still, I feel fresh and anticipate something good is coming up this week. After so many weeks of shit and downhill, I think I am in the valley literally and figuratively, so what goes down must come up again. It is just a cycle in life ... similar to your business cycles or stock market cycles. The important thing is ... invest, invest and invest ... buy, buy and buy when the market is bad. Source for value when others don't and when the upswing comes, you are well positioned for a big time.
Anyway, this weekend is supposed to rain. So, we don't have the usual California sunshine today. Still, I feel fresh and anticipate something good is coming up this week. After so many weeks of shit and downhill, I think I am in the valley literally and figuratively, so what goes down must come up again. It is just a cycle in life ... similar to your business cycles or stock market cycles. The important thing is ... invest, invest and invest ... buy, buy and buy when the market is bad. Source for value when others don't and when the upswing comes, you are well positioned for a big time.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Some random thoughts
Seems like the Straits Times is no longer free. Damn ... why must it always be about money? What happened to the concept of free news? They don't subscribe to that.
Feeling bored ... just went out to get a milk tea. Ate some fried chicken. That's it. Nothing much tonight. Haven't been very active lately. More recently, I have been thinking a lot about my past, present and future. Something I claim to be self-reflection. Just like the Java Reflection API, well, somewhat like that.
Anyway, I thought about my past in Southeast Asia. How I grew up, my carefree days ... those times when I used to wander around or take a jaunt around the good old town of Malacca. I remember those sunsets ... when I used to ride aimlessly through the village behind my house to take Malay lessons under Mr Omar. I definitely missed those moments. I wished I could be trapped at that time and space, for those were very happy times and more importantly, stress free for me. Hmmm ... sounds like escapism to me.
Honestly, I do enjoy my life in San Francisco. In retrospect, I can't imagine the interesting trails and routes I have taken, twists and turns, to arrive at this juncture. It seems to me for now that I am starting to think again. To think of what my next steps will be and where they will take me to. *sigh* ... I don't want to think so much. For the rest of tonight, I am just going to let time pass.
Feeling bored ... just went out to get a milk tea. Ate some fried chicken. That's it. Nothing much tonight. Haven't been very active lately. More recently, I have been thinking a lot about my past, present and future. Something I claim to be self-reflection. Just like the Java Reflection API, well, somewhat like that.
Anyway, I thought about my past in Southeast Asia. How I grew up, my carefree days ... those times when I used to wander around or take a jaunt around the good old town of Malacca. I remember those sunsets ... when I used to ride aimlessly through the village behind my house to take Malay lessons under Mr Omar. I definitely missed those moments. I wished I could be trapped at that time and space, for those were very happy times and more importantly, stress free for me. Hmmm ... sounds like escapism to me.
Honestly, I do enjoy my life in San Francisco. In retrospect, I can't imagine the interesting trails and routes I have taken, twists and turns, to arrive at this juncture. It seems to me for now that I am starting to think again. To think of what my next steps will be and where they will take me to. *sigh* ... I don't want to think so much. For the rest of tonight, I am just going to let time pass.
A Beautiful Life ... in a beautiful world
8.18 pm PST 2005. My first blog. After much deliberation, I decided to start this weblog. Today is March 19th and the location is San Francisco. What a wonderful world!
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