Signing Your Soul

You commit to do something most are expected to fail at.
You add an aspect that supersedes the value of profits.
You grow passion for a movement that will make a dent on inequality.

You said before 30
I'll pull that stapler off you

YOUR promise... YOU held true

- Thank you healthPAC

The Impossible

During the film the 74 year old lady tells Timothy that knowing which stars are dead or alive is impossible. 

They had the conversation because the old lady had no one to sit with and found the boys alone.  The main guy (Ewan McGregor (sp?)) leaves his two young sons in the care of a random stranger....

Would you make the same decision?

That picture I'm sharing was taken right after the random stranger told him she lost his two sons because someone took them and wouldn't allow her to come along.

The Art of Service: Learn From a Receptionist

I accompanied my dad to the doctors office today.  Since it was my first visit, I had no idea where the restroom was. 

After I thanked the receptionist for pointing me towards the right direction, she held her palm out and with a big smile said:

That will cost you 25 cents

Its a doctors office, there's no need to go beyond what's required.  If only all people who held service-oriented customer-facing jobs has a similar sense of humor. 

Auto Rescue to the Rescue

Finally got Blogger for my Nexus S 4g and its definitely better than the iPad version. Makes sense since I'm using a Google phone; bonus points for having instant access to the pictures I take with my phone. Still, both apps suck compared to using a browser. 

First post using my phone and its a pain  to type.  I'm exhausted thanks to all the driving I did today to take my parents to their appointments and crashing an evening class at Chabot.  Thank God I bought an Accord - sure beats driving the MPV around and there's no way I can take both my parents in the Miata.

Speaking of the Miata...left the keys in the ignition and locked the doors.  The annoying part is that I'm trying to remind myself not to lock the doors since I'd rather save a slash through the softop.  Of course, I don't have a spare. 

Auto Rescue came to break into my car.  The person arrived within 10 minutes after I called Safeco roadside assistance.  For roughly $8 a year, I don't know why anyone would skip out on this.  I already used it once before to jumpstart the MPV 3 months ago.

I'm thinking of using up all my fuel and call for service. 

Wonder how much gas they would add???

Free Gems on Clash of Clans

Builders are crucial to progress in this game. You start with two and only way to buy additional builders is by acquiring gems. However, gems could only be: purchased, finding some by removing "weeds" off your land (yields only 1-3 gems) and achievements.

In found out that with the current amount of gems I had, if I complete the achievement that requires 1250 trophies, then I can have my third builder for free.

Well, getting to 1250 trophies was a bit of a pain, especially when I had 1249 but lost my next attack that resulted in -30 trophies.

Man I haven't been addicted to one game in so long. Hopefully there's a focus group for this game I can hop on soon.

Tobacco in Films

Wow! In Movie 43 Dennis Quaid smoked an e-cigarette. Is that a first?

Rental Comics

My dad shared something he used to do after school when he was a kid in the 1940's .....

There was a comic book shop that allowed you to pick a comic and read through it until you are done for 10 centabos.  He explained that it was just a room with comics hanging with a bench. The owner also sold soda, candy and other treats.

However with a 30 centabos daily allowance he was very limited to what he can do after school.

Found the Golden Arches

Got the craving for some soft serve so as I drove out to find the golden arches I noticed a Japanese restaurant for the first time.  I was surprised considering how often I'm in that area to watch at Century Theaters.

As I drove down past the stop light, I instantly see that damn letter M.  How can you miss it?

What do they put in their soft serve?

Life in threes

How many times have you been told to repeat something three times so you won't forget it?

My Intro to Advertising professor at Chabot studied cognitive science at UC Berkeley for undergrad.  She shared that the best way to learn is to expose yourself to that specific material three times.

1. Read the text
2. Attend the lecture
3. Complete the assignments

That's automatic for most disciplined students.  

To add to the importance of doing everything in threes - a wise Judge said that the best way to get hired is to share three things about yourself.  Frame it as a story and wow your interviewer.  

There are 3 C's in life: Choice, Chance, and Change.  You must make the choice to take a Chance if you want anything to Change

The adventures of B & C

B & C decided to go hiking around Lake Chabot.  This was around 4pm and while they knew it gets dark around 5pm.....

They decided to keep going.  I mean they still had to drink their green tea and eat their snacks.

Man it got super dark! Running with a rice krispy treat with the left hand and a ziplock bag containing white cheddar cheese puffs and granola, plus an old ass camera with the right hand, this turned out to be quite an exciting adventure!

(will upload pictures later from the old ass camera)

What C loves about hiking or jogging outdoors, especially at Lake Chabot where the scent of fresh green reminds him of freedom.  Being out, experiencing the tranquility of nature, strolling through paths surrounded by nature - this is freedom screaming into his nostrils.

You realize age is creeping up on you once you feel pain in you joints despite your best efforts to stay physically fit.  No matter what, don't forget to stretch.

99 vs 1

If it's 99 vs 1, then how come the 1 won?

Maybe, if the 99 act like 1, we can say we won.... 

Difficulty Opening Laptop

I'm finally on my laptop. It's been so difficult opening it up and getting on it.  I shared it with Daniel and the conclusion is that I know I'll be doing "work" if I'm on my laptop.

Subconsciously I choose browse on my iPad or Nexus S.  I know I'm on these devices for leisure and pleasure over "work."

I'm way too critical on my work output.  Every content I type up, I just hear myself telling me that the sentence could be more perfect.  Hence, I try my best to type anything I can think of on this blog without putting too much pressure on myself to over analyze each sentence.

Just type, type type.

Our brains work in very complex ways and I wish there was a switch to easily fix it.

2000 District Solo Competition

I wasn't a big fan of being forced to learn how to play the piano. But can you really say no to mom?

I barely practiced and progressed very slowly. However there was a piano piece that I fell in love with. The title is "Somewhere In Time" the theme song of the film (same title) starring Christopher Reeves and the Medicine Lady.

Love is a powerful word, so I am very cautious to use it. I know it was love because I practiced so much that I ended up winning a district-wide piano competition in high school.

One of the few things I'm very proud of. I found this letter; the date happens to be my birthday!

The Speed of Camera Technology

FinePix cost $800 new

Lumix cost $300 new

Guess which one has more megapixels

Lechon in Clash of Clans

Filipinos are known for lechon aka whole roasted pig. I just realized that Clash of Clans (sooo addicted right now) represents this incredible pork dish! 

Wow! So I was in Hawaii late November 2012 and I still have that tan line from wearing my tank-top while taking a nap at Lanikai beach.  

Making it Difficult on Myself

Had my 4th session today and so now I'm an associative thinker with anxiety issues that have gotten stronger over time.  This makes it extremely difficult to take on tasks that I don't want to do.

All that freedom through my childhood is starting to haunt me now....

My sister is asking if the $309 Motorola Xoom is a better purchase than a $299 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.  Decided to check out Slickdeals to research prices. They didn't have FP deals for the Galaxy Tab 2.

Motorola Xoom 32GB WiFi Android 3.0 Tablet $500 + Free Shipping (View Thread)

Posted 06-01-2011 09:37 AM by dockuttu 

Motorola Xoom 32GB WiFi Android 3.0 Tablet $350 + Free Shipping (View Thread)

Posted 11-15-2011 09:45 AM by DJ3xclusive 

Motorola Xoom 32GB WiFi 10.1" Android 3.0 Tablet $335 + $4.99 Shipping (View Thread)

Posted 04-11-2012 09:31 AM by Selma 

If you wait 5 months you'll save $150.  Another 5 months saves you $15.  I got nothing against first movers, but I don't see the point of buying tablets brand new.

Batteries Look Like Shotgun Shells

Did you treat batteries as ammo when you were a kid?

Got that set + 4 AAA for $5.49 a few years back at Walgreens and used it for that SanDisk Sansa MP3 player that I got for free thanks to Google Checkout.

The Accord has an aux out so I got a use for it again.

Speaking of the Accord, wrote down a summary of the repairs proven by paperwork.

1999 Honda Accord V6 Coupe Comparables

I bought mine with service records, clean title, alarm, bone stock and TL rims for $3300.

People are Paying More Attention to Politics

I love keeping up with weekend box office numbers.  I play the box office challenge on www.ez1productions.com and read the weekend warrior from comingsoon.net.  I believe we can learn from the box office trends and this 2012 recap of box office winners and losers from www.boxofficemojo.com reveals something positive related to politics we can look forward to.

Government Benefits

I spent the bulk of my day researching government benefits online and then calling to schedule appointments for my parents.  Got to love the Internet! All this information at the palm of your hands.

Inspired By Looper - 1992 Mazda Miata - My Bay Area Commuter

I visited Cupertino last Friday to meet up with someone selling a 1992 Mazda Miata for $2000.

Team White: Buying a 1999 Honda Accord on a Whim

Last week, thanks to Craigslist I purchased a white1992 Mazda Miata for $2000 to use as my commuter to visit the independent locally owned businesses (ILOB) in the Bay Area. I still had Craigslist fever though as I browsed through the "cars and trucks for sale by owner" when I woke up this morning.

How Freedom is Merely a Dream in America

Athletes go out there and give their all to compete against some of the best players the world has to offer.

  photo credit: Eleven8

But when they get injured....

You Wish You Had a 24/7 Camera To Catch Everything

While preparing my iPad to record my nephew (he was copying everything I said or did) I was so happy I hit the record button before this happened:

My reaction was screaming "ooooooh" while lowering the iPad as he fell. I'm glad I aimed it back up as it lead to my favorite part when he quickly got up and ran to his brother.  Of course the uncle cares enough to ask "is he ok?"

Back to Back Then Look Forward

Woohoo!  Back to back posting on this blog. Looking forward to making it a habit to sit down and type type type.

The First of the Year

It was a very chill and leftover grubbed first of the month so wake up! Bone Thugs

Mari visited me at home and we tried out Labib's holiday giveaway. We got lazy since it was so cold but we have a big year ahead of us so it was nice to bum around during a cold first day of the year.

Only productive thing i did was type up a little intro for www.ilobresources.com on the www.whyshiftlocal.com blog.... Wow that's not a lot done today. Well, a lot can change tomorrow.


B = 1 *