Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

A scourge on civilized society

I really want to support my local Target store. I try to buy stuff there (instead of Amazon) as often as possible. However, when the thing I want to buy is locked up behind security boxes - requiring the assistance of a store clerk to open - I immediately give up and order that same item from Amazon. Sorry, I really cannot be bothered to talk to someone just to buy something.

I remember a time visiting Austin, Texas. The local CVS there has no such funny business. Every item was out in the open, not a security case to be seen. What a revelation that a well-functioning society should not subject its local populace to rampant retail thievery. Worse, there’s hardly any consequences for that sort of crime in the San Francisco Bay Area. Go to the 24th and Mission BART station and you can see vendors selling goods stolen from the likes of Target, Walgreens, and CVS. It’s madness.

I was at a Walgreens recently. Three young teens that looks to be of high school age walked in, and I immediately knew they were trouble. They took their sweet time to find items they wanted, stuffed them into their bags and jackets, then simply walked right out. Nobody working at the store paid any attention, not one person said anything.

And I don’t blame them. This is America, after all: you have no idea who has a gun and can shoot you for speaking out. Fellow shoppers just want to be left alone in peace. The minimum-wage store clerks definitely do not get paid enough to deal with this shit. Even for dedicated loss-prevention officers, potentially losing your life over theft is absolutely not a worthy tradeoff.

I don’t know what the solutions are. Smarter people have to figure out a solution to retail theft. It creates a wholly unpleasant situation for anyone. People coming into stores to steal utterly terrorize other shoppers while the act is being committed. Stores, in order to stem the tide, erect barriers that inconveniences otherwise law-abiding citizens. Eventually, it spirals into the store closing, like the Whole Foods in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

For the teens doing retail theft, I ask: “Where the heck are the parents?”

And there goes the day

Some days your day is just going swimmingly, then next thing you know, in a sudden transition worthy of film editing, you’re at the local emergency room awaiting news from a friend.

That was me yesterday. I was settled in to another good day of work when I suddenly get a call from close friend. She’s got a medical emergency that requires me ferrying her to the hospital as soon as possible. What do I do at that moment but drop everything and leave work? I’m immensely appreciative that I work at place where I can leave at the drop of a proverbial hat, no consequences. Any slack from the work I’m responsible for will be taken up by my colleagues (coordinated via Slack, naturally).

That is worth everything. Work will always be there, but the life events of the people close to you - good or bad - will only be there once.

Thankfully the injuries suffered by my friend is not too bad. Wounds will heal and she’ll be just like before in no time. There was a peculiar sensation I discovered during the ordeal during the wait outside of the emergency room. There’s only so much scrolling on the phone I can do while waiting out the multiple hours. So I started to space out and think about whatever comes to mind. That’s when a sort of existential crisis came up: “What the heck am I doing here?” “What day of the week is it?”

“Why did I get picked to have this predicament?” That is a surprisingly selfish thought, especially when I’m not the one with the injury. Of course I have no qualms with assisting a friend (or family) in their time of need. But truth be told: it is still an incredible hassle. The rest of my day have been utterly rearranged. Whatever schedules and routines I’ve got are completely out the window. Again, I’m perfectly willing to help. I guess when you’re outside the hospital waiting for hours for good news, this is the type of thoughts that comes to mind.

Obviously, it’s all part of life. It never goes forever smoothly and happily. We simply have to be up for the challenge. There’s no rewind or reset buttons, no matter that sometimes we wish there is one.

A truck when you need it

I don’t always buy furniture (my room is tiny), but when I do, I lament the fact I don’t have a proper vehicle to transport anything big. The tiny backseats of a BMW M2 may fold down, but the trunk aperture is so narrow that I can’t even fit a typical office task chair through the opening. I get why SUVs and trucks are so popular: you may only need the carrying capacity maybe once or twice a year, but damn if it isn’t handy when you do need to ferry something huge.

So instead going to grab the new couch from IKEA directly, I paid for shipping like a rich person who can’t be bothered to waste time like that. Admittedly it sucks to pay for any shipping at all when I am so used to free shipping on even the bulkiest items from Amazon (100 pound television set is just fine and free). But I wouldn’t buy staple furniture pieces on Amazon: no way I’m plopping down thousands of dollars on an item I’m presumably keeping for decades without first laying eyes and butt on it.

Speaking of IKEA, it is opening up a store in San Francisco soon. The problem is, the location is on Market St. downtown right near the twitter headquarters. Also known as drug-dealing central to us locals. The Whole Foods nearby just announced it’s shutting down (after grand opening less than one year) due to the deteriorating conditions in the surrounding area, and the rampant theft that occurs daily. Unless San Francisco starts actually enforcing those type of quality-of-life laws, there’s no way an IKEA store will last very long there.

There’s also the issue of parking downtown. I guess that particular IKEA store won’t be selling too many bulky items. From the outside there doesn’t seem to be any space at all for the typical monolithic parking structure. How are people going to load their Billy bookcases? It’ll be interesting to see. I for one will continue to go to the store in East Palo Alto. That is, when I’m not buying something too large.

Everything I need is on the ground

I am finally getting a new desk. But it’s not the kind you think. Standing desks are all the rage these days. I’m immensely glad my workplace has furnished for us adjustable desk. Which means I get to stand as much as I want while I am at work. Which also means I don’t necessary want to stand once I am home. There’s no need to pay (in this economy) for an expensive standing desk.

In a stroke of inspiration, I had the idea of wanting the exact opposite: a “floor desk”. One that is so low to the ground I need to sit on the floor to use. Picture a giant coffee table for computing use. It’s an ode to the traditional Japanese way of living, where everything is done close to the ground. The ryokan we stayed at while in Japan was like this: we sat on cushions, ate on a low coffee table, and slept right on the floor.

My favorite way of sitting is cross-legged anyways. I think using a floor desk just makes all the sense.

The problem is actually finding one. Unlike the legion of standing desk users, there doesn’t seem to be that many floor sitters out there. Therefore the selection of low-to-the-ground office desks is kind of non existent. I had to get creative. Per chance I noticed Uplift - a popular standing desk brand - sells coffee table legs. These 16-inch high steel legs can turn any piece of board into a low desk. Along with the legs I bought a bamboo desktop on Amazon. For about $300, it’s not a bad deal compared to the $600 or so I was looking at for a standing desk.

What’s more, I will be able to get rid of my office chair, freeing up precious space in this tiny studio of mine.

Riding cleanly to work

My coworker who commutes in from Alameda does so part of the way on an electric scooter. The same type of scooter that litter the sidewalks, ready for rent from companies like BIRD or whatever. The coworker paid the few hundred bucks instead to buy. It’s like owning a house rather than renting - on a much smaller scale.

Even my brother has bought an electric scooter. He started a new job near Chase Center, so parking is horrendously difficult (or expensive, if you’re willing to pay). Public transport is unreliable at the hours he works, so a zippy scooter is the way to go. These things can kind of fly! The unit he bought tops out at 30 miles per hour. Plenty fast in my opinion to do some damage. Thankfully he’s smart to wear a helmet.

Meanwhile, here I am walking the 10 minutes to work. It is the dream.

It’s fascinating to think about just how quickly electric power seems to have permeated our transportation options (thanks, Elon). Electric bikes and scooters give people an often superior option to public transport (this isn’t the ultra reliable and on-time version in Japan), without going the full car. Relatively easy to store, and can charge with any outlet. Another coworkers rides an e-bike into work all the way from south city. It’s great to see.

Because gas prices are still very high. The bikes and scooters are inexpensive enough that even students can afford. I see plenty of them on campus doing the commute. I just wish they would obey the rules and not ride them on campus grounds. I’m walking here!

Naked iPhone!

I’m going to try something: use my iPhone without a case again. It’s been a few years since I’ve done this. I use the iPhone X (my favorite iPhone design ever) sans case for an entire year. Dropped it a few times, but only suffered a few hard nicks to the stainless steel band. I guess the reason I went back to using a case is for the additional grip. The camera bumps have also continually gotten larger on iPhones, so having a case sort of balance out the incline when resting on a flat surface.

But even that’s not the case anymore: using the official Apple case, my iPhone 14 Pro still cannot rest completely flat. The cameras bump is simply too enormous.

The reason I’m trying case-less again is because of the realization I’m covering up the full tactile experience of the iPhone. The beautiful textures of the stainless steel and glass, the clicky buttons - all gets covered up by an albeit expensive piece of polyurethane. The rubber case also covers up the beautiful purple color, exclusive to this version of 14 Pro. Why pay so much money for a phone only to dilute the full experience? I want to see the gorgeous color and feel the design every single day.

Of course, the main worry now is dropping the phone. The pristine surface would be no more. Case or no case, I actually don’t drop my phone that much, if at all (I’ve yet to drop this iPhone 14 Pro, knock on wood). Besides, I get a new iPhone every year like clockwork, so any defects due to negligence will be short-lived. I just hope it won’t be too mangled, affecting the trade-in value.

Chinese people of my parents’ generation would buy furniture only to cover them up with plastic (or larger towels) immediately. That’s their version of using a smartphone with a case. What are you preserving, exactly? And for who? I think it’s better to use things as is. Doing things to prevent wear is trying to control the future, which as we all understand, is futile.

First sunny day

Easter Sunday was the first warm and sunny day of 2023, and it seems San Franciscans were out and about in full force. Even the homebody me went to the Mission Dolores area for a bit of afternoon sun and food. I get it: after an intense winter of cold and rain, the desire to be outside in the sunshine is strong. Dolores Park was absolutely jammed packed with revelers. In celebration of Easter, there was a Foxy Mary and Hunky Jesus contest. It is exactly what you think it is, and how appropriate it is for San Francisco to turn Christianity into a beauty contest.

Sometimes I feel like a tourist in my own city, because I typically stay home so much. The fun activities that people do, the unique districts that people hang out in: there’s plenty I’ve actually never partake. Yesterday we sat in an outdoor parklet for hours, just drinking and eating sliders. You know what’s great? The widespread availability of non-alcoholic beers at bars now. It’s great for people like me who really prefer to not drink alcohol.

I also had Bi-Rite ice cream for the first time. An apparent San Francisco institution that my friends chastised me for never having. The line around the block is a show of its popularity. I don’t think my homebody tendencies can be blamed here: I simply don’t eat a lot of ice cream. Fat and sugar may be a splendid combination for taste, but not so great when it comes to health. But for a sunny and mid 70s afternoon in San Francisco, two scoops on a waffle cone is quite amazing. I am disappointed that Bi-Rite does not offer my favorite flavor: rocky road.

Will I spend more time outside now during the weekends? Probably not. Tendencies and habits are tough to break. I have to say though I do enjoy it immensely during the few occasions that I do. Easter Sunday afternoon in the Mission was lovely. It’s the sort of San Francisco atmosphere that people flock to.