That could've been easily avoided

Last week my neighbor's brand new car had the misfortune of a hit-and-run. While it was parked on street in front of the house, another car bashed into its rear quarter-panel on the driver side, leaving a sizable dent on it and the lower bumper. It isn't pretty, and sadly yet another casualty of street parking in San Francisco.  

A major part of why I sold the ND Miata was the peace of mind from not having to deal with this kind of bullshit anymore. It ups my anxiety anytime I had to leave the car on the street due to fear of another driver bumping into it during parallel parking maneuvers. Or more commonly use my bumpers as feeler guides to know when to stop - we all know and have the battle scars. The Bumper Bully was invented because of cities like San Francisco. 

So part of me sympathizes with my neighbor, yet another part is full of disapproval. That's because my neighbor's house has a fully functioning garage, yet for whatever reason his family never park cars in it. Wouldn't it be smart to store the new car in there knowing full well the hazards of parking outside? Had his RAV-4 been in the garage my neighbor wouldn't be staring at an expensive claim on his insurance right now. 

Why don't people use their garages to park cars?   

I am not lucky to have a garage in our apartment complex, but if I were to have one you can bet it'd be used for its intended purpose. 

Remember, kids, don't take photographs on live train tracks, no matter how awesome it looked on instagram or tumblr. 

Money doesn't solve everything

I am extremely shocked and sad at the news of Anthony Bourdain killing himself this morning. He had what I and many others consider the dream job: traveling throughout the world and eating amazing food, yet plainly that wasn't enough. In the same week that Kate Spade also committed suicide, it goes to show that money, fame, and power can't possibly solve all of life's problems.

People that don't have money or power can't fathom the possibility someone with those things can still be dissatisfied with life. The usual rebuttal to the maxim "money can't buy happiness" goes "I rather be unhappy with lots of money"; well, Bourdain and Spade were obviously quite unhappy while having lots of money, and it led to death. 

Is that what you want? 

It's easy for the have-nots to imagine having unlimited funds to satiate wants would lead to a happy life. It indeed feels wonderful to buy material things and obtain various luxuries of life, but it's fleeting. Demons that existed when you are poor don't suddenly go away just because there's a large influx of cash. 

I've been there. 

In 2013 I felt like luckiest boy when I purchase my then dream car (Subaru WRX STI). I'd spent the preceding years saving up hard and it was a personal victory I was super proud of. The euphoria did not last however because in 2014 I fell into depression due to various reasons. Having the trappings of a nice car and a stable job did absolutely nothing to prevent it from happening. On paper I should be incredibly content with life, but I obviously was not, even if I wanted to be, 

Reading and traveling retrieved me from my rut. 

So it's from personal experience that I can readily see how someone like Bourdain who seemingly has it all can reach a mental place where continuing to live became untenable. It's truly sad. 

My kind of morning rays. 

Just when I thought I was out...

The car enthusiasts blood never leaves. It even grows stronger when you don't have a car at all. 

Last week I sold the Miata and I've been doing the San Francisco public-transportation thing, quite happily, mind you. In this crowded metropolis it's so freeing to not have to worry about parking, street cleaning, tickets, and the audacious traffic. Riding the train I can relax and listen to podcasts until arrival at destination.

However, the fact is I am without a car, and as a petrol-head (it says so on my landing page) the yearning, the withdrawal symptoms, are ever present, more so than I realized because indeed selling the car was the correct decision and I'm immensely happy. On my daily commute I can't help to analyze the cars passing by and if it's a nice one I think about what it would be like to own it. 

Paradoxical, isn't it. 

Since selling the MX-5 I've also had renewed interest in automotive content on Youtube. I would go as far to say I'm actually enjoying the content more now that I don't own a vehicle. I think my subconscious reckons the abolishment of driving as a system malfunction and is therefore not so subtly pushing me to correct the situation. 

It makes sense: I've got leftover money from the sale and can easily afford to buy another car.

My subconscious won't win though because I am quite determined to be car-less for at least the next few years. In the meantime I'll enjoy the reenergized amusement I get from Youtube car shows and watching awesome cars drive by on the bus home. 

The transit life. 

Productivity hack: daily checklist

Keeping a daily checklist of enriching must-do items is a good tactic to keep motivated and not waste time. Especially if you posit the list as I do: something to complete before the fun and mindless things like watching Youtube shows. Like doing homework before play or eating broccoli before dessert, putting the hard stuff first and have something sweet at the end is highly conducive to good productivity. 

For example my daily checklist consists of the following: 

• Read whatever book I'm currently on for one hour.
• Study Korean for at least two hours.
• Practice driving in Gran Turismo Sport for half an hour.
• Write something on the blog. 

As you can see the tasks all revolve around learning and self-improvement. I believe it's crucial to do such activities so to avoid regression as a person. I do them everyday (and on the seventh day I rest). 

Indeed it's simple and short but checking things off on a list is a great mental framework to keep me focused and not stray to frivolous time-sucks like social media. I can do leisure stuff only after I've finished the tasks for today, so I'd better get moving quickly on the work if I want to spend a decent amount of time enjoying the latest Star Wars fandom wars on twitter.

The San Francisco outsiders imagine it to be. 

Mechanism for implementing austerity

I have found the best way for extremely frugality: have something impossibly expensive to save up for. 

My one New Year's resolution this year is heavy austerity in my finances. The past fews years have been a bit overboard on the travel expenses, even though I wouldn't trade away a second of the experiences. Nevertheless it was time to refresh the rainy day fund, in preparation to counter any ill events, should they arise. 

First half of the year the resolution was not going so great. I didn't travel anywhere so that was good, but I put some money down for travel later this year, which required a significant chunk (super counterintuitive, I know). Due to various circumstances my mother decided it was time to buy my brother a car, him of still in college and no real income. So towards that end I've fronted and still fronting (insurance is a bitch) some money.

I also bought a few expensive play things as well. Self control is difficult. 

Now the situation has changed. Looking backwards I realize the only times I was able to implement crazy austerity was when I needed to save for something big. Back in 2012 when I decided to buy a WRX STI and needed many thousands in down-payment dollar, every financial decision, big and small, was run through the filter of will it adversely affect my goal. Utilizing that mental mechanism I socked away nearly over 50% of a paycheck. 

So to force myself into frugality, I've pick another big item to save money for. It isn't a house because I have no interest in ever owning, so naturally it's another car. Not a normal-priced car obviously because I can go and buy one now. It needs to be quite expensive: six-figures at least. 

Won't say what the car is because that'll spoil the fun, but ever since I made the decision my austerity resolution is back on track.  

Do you want to save money effectively? Have a huge monetary goal to save towards. 

The architect drew inspiration from the Death Star. 

WWDC 2018 is software only

Apple's annual WWDC was today and the keynote was all software; the company announced zero new hardware for us to tell it to shut up and take our money. It's quite disappointing, honestly speaking. 

Yes I understand it's a software developer conference so that will be the main focus. Apple has got four interface juggernauts in iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS, and showcasing the new features in their respective new iterations took the entire two hours of the keynote.

But, software doesn't sell things, does it? Not when you're Apple at least. People have come to expect great software from the company, so a dazzling show of cool items coming soon isn't going to move the needle in my opinion. 

The thing we love Apple for best is the shiny hardware, and to have none announced today was a huge bummer. Don't ever forget: the Mac Mini was last updated back in 2014, and Apple is still selling the same four-year old unit at the same original price.  

What about a Macbook with Thunderbolt 3? How embarrassing is it that a $1,200 laptop currently can't plug into modern 4K external displays, or utilize fast external accessories. Granted this one probably isn't Apple's fault because Intel is beyond delayed in bringing out appropriate chips and chipsets for ultrabook-class laptops like the Macbook.

Mac Mini though. Come on, man. 

I am excited about the new stuff coming in the software, though. Most interesting to me was a true system-wide 'Dark Mode' in macOS Mojave. 

One last longing look at the MX-5 before I sign over the papers as sold. 

Was I ever good at multitasking?

Lately I've come to realize that having singular focus is supremely important. Whatever I am doing at the moment needs my complete attention, otherwise the results will be suboptimal. For example, when I write on this blog I can't have music on in the background because I'd have difficultly stringing words and thoughts together. 

Or perhaps my playlists are too good and engrossing for its own good. 

Is this need for singular focus a byproduct of getting old: a deterioration of attention-ability? Back in high school and college I'd multitask the hell out of everything and it turned out fine. Studying while having the baseball game on was a tradition, and I graduated with honors. 

Fast-forward to the present and even a wandering mind can be detrimental. Whenever I listen to podcasts I have to rewind more frequently than I'd like to admit because when my thoughts goes off to a distraction I absolutely cannot pick up any of the podcast's dialogue during.

I thought learning a third language and reading many books would keep my mind tack sharp (mental exercise), but I guess not?

Some people can watch a television show while keeping tabs on social media on the smartphone (or playing Candy Crush) yet they suffer no loss of detail from the particular episode. I am definitely not one of those people. 

Focus on the task in front of me: no distractions, no multitasking. That shall be my process to producing/attaining quality. 

I stuck my iPhone X out of a four-story window to take this, thinking I was going to drop it the entire time.