Pray for 日本

You know it is kind of expected when one builds a civilization right on the ring of fire. It is what happens when you mix plate fault line and volcanoes - earthquakes are not an if, it a when. Does not diminish the human tragedy every time it happens. Last week Japan experienced yet another earthquake, one of the many in its long and infamous history. I was kind of taken back when I was ready to call it a night, checking CNN, and saw the news. 8.9 on the Richter scale? That is absolutely insane. And remember the it scales up exponentially, so it is hard to fathom that the earthquake that just rocked Japan was some 100 times bigger than the one that rocked Haiti last year. 

I should say Japan is lucky that it is one of the most developed nation in the world (though like the US, absolutely mired in debt) and thus have the infrastructure and building codes to sustain earthquakes. Not to mention they already know what they are dealing with, and the long line of history (like the Kobe earthquake). And for the most part the buildings built to code withstood the quake, and that alone saved countless lives right there. Imagine the absolute destruction had an earthquake of this size stuck a third world country instead - I think we would be talking about the death of a country. 

There are numerous benefits to starting a civilization surrounded by water - in fact I would wander to say proximity to water is almost prerequisite for any civilization to start. Unfortunately this fact did not help Japan much when the earthquake struck because when earthquake happens in the ocean, tsunami happens. We have all witness the video and they are not at all appealing to watch. It is a sad really - Japan built buildings up to code for earthquakes like this, and yet who could have thought mere hours later a giant wall of water will come tumbling into town.

For sure it is a tragedy, for sure a person dying due to natural disaster is one too many. But we have to look at the positive in that it could have been much much worse. Be thankful that the country is developed and prepared, and that the earthquake happened 230 miles outside of the capital city (though if you are not a fan of tsunamis, perhaps not). Preparation for impending disasters that you know will someday happen is paramount in going through them with the least amount of damage as possible.

Of course it is nice to see the outpouring of donations and support in such trying times. Developed country or otherwise, people are suffering and they need all the help and generosity they can get. This is humanity, and it is nice to see it alive and well, albeit the circumstances.

What I am shamed to see is people saying Japan had it coming and they deserve it (!?). For attacking America at Pearl Harbor and enslaving pretty much all of Asia. A big what the fuck to that because all that stuff was over 70 years, and many generations ago. I cannot fathom how someone would have the mind and thought process to say Japan deserved the earthquake. The people that are suffering right now (or DEAD) probably have little to no ties to the Imperial Japan and the atrocities of World War II. And to think I live in the same country as some of these people is absolutely disgusting. I know we like to romanticize World War II (hell, Band of Brothers is my favorite mini series), but damnit people need to stop correlating it to the present. By and large the war crimes of Japan is settled and done with back then. With the criminal courts, and oh yeah those two atomic bombs.

Natural disaster is not something you would wish upon even your worst enemy, because the colateral damage is just not worth the price. 

Anyways, we who live in this wonderful city of San Francisco should be mindful that we ourselves live right on a fault line, and also have a history of earthquakes. And of course, the next big one is a just a matter of when. And just like Japan, we are surrounded by water and very much susceptible to the powers of a tsunami. Hate to say it, but what happened to Japan last week can easily and will probably happen to us sometime in the future. Again, preparation is key.

So I hope San Francisco building codes are such that it is seismically sound, and that the powers at be had learned from the 1991 quake and made adjustments accordingly. Though the tsunami is still a conundrum. Do you see a natural barrier before Ocean beach? I did not think so. San Francisco is known for its hills, but hills have sort of a habit of sprouting up inland (damn the laws of land formation), so won't do much good to block off a large body of fast moving water (though I do physically live in a valley.. hmm). I am not saying start building dams and levies, but those that live close to the western waters better have a good evacuation plan.

Ever since we are in grade school we have been taught to be prepared for an earthquake, have a kit ready, and know what and where you are suppose to do and go. But who honestly follows though? I certainly am not prepared (was kind banking on the fact that my building is only 10 years old). Are you ready to loose all the irreplaceable things due to an earthquake? Do you even have insurance? But what am I saying, this is America - we don't do shit until shit hits the fan. Preparation is for other parts of the planet. 

Then let Japan be a warning to San Franciscans that preparing is not a choice, but a necessity. All the humanitarian aid in the world will not replace the lost memories, documents, and help you fight insurance companies for reimbursement. Keep important things safe, backup the hell out of anything and everything that can be backed up (all hail the digital age), and keep a emergency kit ready. DO IT NOW. I repeat, SF lies on a fault, has a history of earthquakes, and is surrounded by water.

Or I can just move, but why? I love this place.   

The weary post - random thoughts

Random thoughts speed-blogging time. I am just going to type what ever is coming to my mind probably for the next 45 minutes. Weather was dreary today, why did not anybody tell me that it was going to rain? Like half the people out there I was caught unprepared, and today it was one of those rains where it was just fine, misty, and never-ending.

Speaking of rain, was talking to one of my boss at my internship and how he used to live in Malaysia. We agreed that the kind of rain that San Francisco sees is nothing compared to the tropical nightmare that is southeast Asia. Being from China I knew that first hand. 100% humidity, and buckets loads of rain (enough to flood improperly irrigated streets in a matter of minutes) 24/7 for months on end during the summer. Last time I went back to China (almost 10 years ago (!) ) was during the month of June, and I don't think I want to make that mistake again. It makes me wonder how I ever got use to that weather.

Today marks the 15th year me and my family have moved to America. I would like to say time flies, but looking back on it, eh it really did not fly. Maybe I went through so many transitions and transformations (you know, part of growing up from a kid in to an adult) that it just registered as a damn long time in my mind. I think it went by way too quick for my parents, whom are due for their mid life crisis any day, now that the kids are for the most part grown and independent. Nonetheless I am eternally grateful that my family decided to bring my along to this wonderful country, where I enjoy much better things and much better opportunities. But as I always say, I still prefer the atmosphere over in Asia (probably not the air pollution).

I must say that due to my workout regiment and healthy lifestyle, juggling 20 hours or work, full time school, and 15 hours of internship a week so far has not been that bad. I would be lying if I say I am not tired, but KTFO tired? Not by a long shot. And no I do not have an ounce of caffeine help either. Goes to show that if you take care of yourself well, your body can tackle anything (within reason of course - don't expect me to play World of Warcraft for 50 hours straight and expect me to still be breathing).

It is very wonderful to be working at a startup, as the vibe is just completely different from an old and entrenched business. The environment is much more flat, relaxed, open, and ultimately more productive. People have to genuinely like each other to be stuck working together for much more than 40 hours per week. The kind of team work and collaboration required means that the hierarchy walls must be invisible and ideas and information must flow. Not having to have a stick up your ass when you are around superiors also helps. Have fun and get things done I think is an appropriate motto for startups, and that is a big part of what draws me in to being an entrepreneur - working together with like minded people towards one common goal. Most importantly, be creative.

Hard to believe it is mid march already. Graduation is only a little more than two months away. But in more exciting news spring break is like two weeks away. My last spring break ever, and I will mostly likely spend a good chunk of it at my internship. I did want to travel somewhere, but my financial situation is not at a good enough place to allow for such extravagance. Then again, where would I want to go anyways? The place I do want to go is Asia, but a week is way to short to be forking over 2 Gs for plane tickets. If you ask me I better be staying for at least a month to make that plane ticket to Asia worth the money.

I am glad I started the 365 project this year and actually sticking to it (I started one last year but it was sporadic to say the least). Most likely it is because I spent $700 on a camera just to dedicate to the task, hence me being Asian I must damn sure get my money back in terms of usage. Like I have stated before, I don't get how people spend insane amount of money on things and not use it because they want to "preserve it". Perhaps they are not business majors, because other than a house (eh, probably not yet in today's times), almost anything you by is a depreciating asset so might as well get some value out of it before the things turns to the equivalent value of dust?

That being said, the 365 challenge is a fun experiment to be able to look back on what happened on a particular day, and sometimes when I see a picture I just cannot help but smile because the memory is just too vivid and great. They say a picture speaks a thousands words, and honestly even if video is dominating (hi youtube), the still picture will alway have its place as just like a painting it can be interpreted in so many ways. It is probably what drew me into photography in the first place. Video is cool and all, but you can't manipulate video as much as you can with a photography. Besides, video editing takes much more serious computing horsepower, over the already taxing photo editing (which reminds me I need a new computer).

I hate to say it but these days my room is a mess. Might not be considered a mess compared to some others, but to my standards I would say my room is quite messy. But that goes with being busy I guess. Even if I started to clean, I get distracted with the task at hand once I sit down on my absurdly comfortable chair. How did it get like this? I guess my OCD with cleanliness has finally worn off some, which is all well because honestly my old OCD used to be intense (that remote is crooked by 1 degree? must move!). But I cannot let it lapse though so I think for now a good thing for me to do is just to clean up a little before I crash into the bed for some sleep.

45 minutes times up. Until next time.  

Week 10 - random thoughts

Yes I indeed have the uncanny ability to tell what week out of the year it is. And no I did not count from the very beginning just now. Time really do flies when you are amongst busy times because as the title states, it is the already the 10th week of 2011. I must complain that February went by way to quick, while fully understanding that it is the shortest month of the year. It kinds of knock your internal month clock of its kilter don't you think? I mean, for me it does because next thing I knew it was March already and traditionally that is the month when things really pick up (and naturally the best post season system in the entire world - March Madness is finally here!)

You know so far I have been blogging about various topics, and nothing really about what is going on with me (except for the way too long January 1st post). Recently I stumbled upon my old xanga posts and to my surprise all I did blog about back then was what went on with my day. I guess things were much more interesting back then, as nowadays I can explain my weekdays into three words - work, school, sleep. Funny thing was, I cannot believe that people actually was interested in something like that, but perhaps it is just like reading someone's diary, accept of course being online I omitted much of anything that would be incriminating.

So for this post I decided to write about what is going on with me (though my 365 challenge album on my flickr pretty much explains much of it) instead of writing about a topic (I was going to blog about China's rise as a world power and what it means for foreign Chinese persons like myself). Where to start? Well my concentration of course is desperately trying to finish up my undergraduate studies and get the heck of of the education system. As luck would have it, so far it has been the easiest and the hardest semester I am going through.

The easy part is that the classes themselves are easy. Irony is all of my four classes are within my business major and counts towards the degree. It is so surprising to find out that after one and half year of absolute torture in my main entrepreneurship class, this spring semester has been a relative piece of cake (remember, same class, same teacher, same classmates, TWO straight years). Instead of writing the equivalent of a graduate thesis (every semester (!) ), this spring all we have to do is run a computer simulation of starting a business, and to be honest it has been very fun starting a business with no consequences. But that is it! Run a year worth of simulation, and write a few pages, and I am done.

Pretty sure i have mentioned how impossibly strict and tough my entrepreneurship teacher is. However just before the spring semester started, she went into the hospital in bad condition (due to decades of neglect due to the profession). She basically had one of those mid life health epiphany moment, and is going through a 180 lifestyle change. Her presence towards the class has definitely softened - still strict, but softened. The lesson learn is that definitely should take care of your body NOW. Modern medicine is great and can probably reverse a lot of the damage but why put yourself through it?   

I am also taking this color theory class, which is my elective. The class itself is like the entry level class in the industrial design program (sorry to the person whom I stole a spot in the class from - super senior first pick for the win). So yes the class is meant to be easy. Not that I am not taking it seriously because it does go towards my major degree so I need a good grade to maintain my robust GPA (in case I am insane enough to go back into the education system for my masters, which is most likely). Nonetheless, the class is fun, I learn about coordinating colors, and I get to be a kid again and do various art projects (though my god art supplies are not cheap - even with student discount).

My third class is the last business core class - the business seminar on strategies. Basically all we do is read case studies and have discussions. Believe it or not I consider it my filler class as the class is a joke and I either fall asleep or iPad surf. I do indeed complete any work assigned, but just don't ask me to pay attention is class because it is pretty much impossible (the fact that it is the last class of the week does not help).

As my previous piece on finding an internship indicated, the only class I am having some trouble with is my entrepreneurship internship class. Like I have said, finding an internship is just as hard as finding a job. When one crosses the outside, "real" world with the timetable of Academia, it is just a bad mix. Absurd as it might sound, I do not graduate if I don't find an internship. Ever heard of an undergrad class where the onus is on you to source the learning experience from an outside entity NOT controlled by the school? And I thought the university wants us to graduate!

Due to 99% the blessings of god and 1% my absolute abilities, I actual found an internship with a company (still need to get approved by my instructor, but hope her soften nature this semester will mean it is a trivial matter). I will be doing some product photography for the company, which is great. Because not only will I get my three units and graduate, I will also get to enlarge my photography portfolio (I must say, I impressed the founder of the company when I brought out my iPad, which held my photography portfolio).

So that is pretty much school life for me right up until May 20th, which is when the entrepreneurship programs holds its own little commencement ceremony. Oh I guess I should mentioned that I am also on the committee to organize and plan the ceremony. Problem is there are just so many details that goes into these things, not the least of which we as a whole are flat broke, and in order to actually pay for the ceremony we must either beg for services or do some fund raising. I am however very determined to see it come to fruition and according to plan because I am not attending the big school ceremony (which is... not as good. I mean, we will have alcohol). And plus, it is for our families, whom have supported us for so long and deserve to see us in our moment of celebration.

Of course I still work 20 hours a week on my campus job. Cannot believe I am going on my fourth year at the job. Naturally I will not be working anymore once I graduate, which presents two unique problems. First and foremost is that now I, along with my colleague on the similar level, is tasked to pass on the knowledge to the people that came after us, so that when we leave, things will be in good hands (because that is Allstate's stand). Last but probably more important than the first, I will be unemployed come the end of May! That is indeed a scary thought as how am I going to support my extravagant spending habits? But I have no choice but to go job hunting then, because MBA programs requires full time work experience, which at this point I am starting at zero. My hope is to join a startup company, because the vibe of a startup has really enticed and inspired me.

Anyways so that is the update on my school and work life. What is going on, on a personal level? Well I have to say I have literally zero time for myself because the aforementioned basically consumes the bulk of my time. I still work out six days a week (or at least try to), and sleep 8 hours a day (again, at least try to). So you couple those things with work and school, it does not really leave much for myself (because the accursed school leaves behind things called homework for people to do). I mean I am so busy during the weekdays that I literally go to work/school, come home, workout, watch Conan, and then crash. The weekend is then where I do all the homework that I have accumulated during the week and run all the errands that also have piled up (thank you, person for inventing Saturdays).

I have eliminate all my hobbies except for photography, as it after all the base of my entrepreneurship studies. Plus I committed myself to taking one photo per day for the 365 challenge (photos on my flickr, link to the left). I am looking forward to years end to look back at all the pictures and relive the year. But another reason I do photography for my only hobby for the time being is that it is the most expensive (the fixed costs are enormous), so I feel that I must constantly use the equipment, otherwise I would have wasted a lot of money buying thousand dollar lens and monitors.

Which reminds me, I have spent a lot of video games and devices as well, but a las I just do not have the time, not matter how much I want to play Gran Turismo 5 (have not touch it since December). I remain asking, is there a inexpensive hobby out there I can pursue? 

Oh and I also blog obviously, because I am encumbered by my new years resolution to do so (see I do not set ones I cannot keep). The main goal of blogging is to not shamelessly self promote, but to sustain/improve my english writing ability. I don't want to lose it, especially when we are living in a world where twitter exits with its 140 character limit, and people's attention span is ever decreasing. Long form writing will only be limited to those who's job depends on them, and will be lost to the general population. So hopefully when that time comes I can leverage my writing abilities into some money. Let's hope right? (I should really start proofreading these - I just straight write and publish).

I had more to write about - personal non-wealth, a girl, frozen tundra, weather patterns, automobile fun facts, expensive fauna, and the royal wedding. But my ADD is kicking in, and it is 1:13am right now Monday morning, so I think I will just end it here and go to sleep. 

Protesting education budget cuts is futile

In San Francisco yesterday it was raining like someone left the sprinklers on. Which mean great things for today as the weather was superbly nice (now ruined by the chronic western fog). As I did my daily browsing of news, an article came up about how yesterday was the day of protest for the budget cuts to education in California. First thought that came to mind was damn, terrible timing with the weather to be having a protest OUTSIDE. It was probably the reason I did not even hear about it until I saw it on the news because I bet a lot of people that planned to go did not because of the weather (come on, what is more important than the iPad 2 announcement?)

As graduation draws closer and closer, I am beginning to think that I am getting out at just the right time. The state of California is still a budget hell hole (come on, take my idea and secede from the Union) and public higher education is on track to suffer a major brunt of it. As if the class and teacher cuts of the pass years are not already deep enough (pretty soon there will be no lecturers left, only tenured faculty), what do you mean there will be more? Things looks super marginal as is.

But really do these people that protested yesterday actually think there will be a reversal of fortune? I am not putting down their efforts because the cause is indeed admirable, but unfortunately that effort is for naught. When you don't have money, you just don't have money. Education already consumes the biggest pie of the entire spending budget for California. So when it comes time to cut, it should come as no surprise to anyone that education will get effected (now if someone can just tell the US government that when they are doing cuts of their own to cut from the biggest consumers of the pie - entitlements and military). And when budgets are cut, programs get cut, that is just kind of how things are.

Now in order for cuts to not be so deep to affect the overall integrity of the system, naturally the institutions will have to raise fees. Like I have said before, in state students pay some of the cheapest four year university fees in the NATION! Of course I am not unsympathetic to the difficult financial situations of some people and the paradox of paying more for less is a very tough pill to swallow. But you already know what is the other option - pay the same for even less. Money is a very easy thing to figure out - it gives you choices. Less money, less choices. It is that simple.

Unfortunately K-12 simply just cannot raise fees, because there are no fees to be raised. Thus they have no chance but to simply cut, cut, and more cuts until the budget is balanced. So what I am saying is, protesting is futile. Cuts are going to happen and the entire education population will just have to weather it until things get better. One cannot possibly expect things to stay the status quo, even when cuts already have come to pass for the past five years.

And protesters are saying education is a right? No it is not. Like driving, education is a PRIVILEGE. Those that can afford it get the privilege to drive nicer cars, and unfortunately those same people can afford better education. If education is a right then the entire process would be absolutely free (K-12 is NOT free by the way, it is paid for by something called taxpayer's money). And you know what, there is education that is free and is a right - proper education from your parents (so easy a caveman can do it). Honestly I think if everybody look at education as a privilege, people will actually do better in school because they would actually take it seriously (mighty ironic that America always propagandized against communism and socialism, yet Americans feel they are entitled to so many things by the government).

But of course cuts are not okay. The deterioration of the educational system in California has been played right in front of my eyes as I have gone through it myself. Cuts will only exacerbate the already dire. How can we Americans be near last in aptitude categories like mathematics amongst all developed countries? I mean for sure we wil never beat China but man I think we should at least be in the top 5! America is home to some of the best universities yet the fruits of it are being harvested by foreign exchange students (Maid In Taiwan anyone?). Anybody else find it insulting that the requirement to pass high school is only to master the art of 8th grade Algebra and English?

I feel sorry for exchange students coming to SF State. They get absolute last pick as they cannot pick classes until they physically arrive here. By that time all the classes are all gone, but they need at least 12 units to keep the student visa. Much kudos to the teachers that takes special care to their predicament and actually tries to accommodate foreign students whenever they can. Is this the message we want to sent to the rest of the world? Come here but we don't have classes for you?

Recently I read in the New York Times an article about how the alumni association raise so much money to keep alive all the myriad of programs Lowell High has to offer to its students. While it is admirable that people like myself donates and give back to our high school that gave so much, but it should not have to be this way. I am sure plenty of other public high schools alumni associations out there don't have nearly the generosity potential as Lowell's. So then is it not unfair to the students of those high school that they are getting a lower quality education just because they don't have people donating money to them? The onus is still on California to properly fund public education and making sure it is an equal distribution for everyone. 

The whole Lowell Alumni donation thing gives me a great idea on how to save sub par performance of public education. There is a reason Asia has such high education standards (thank you Tiger mom) - part of it is because it is not FREE. Back when I still lived in China, my parents have to pay for my education, and would have had to straight through college had we not immigrated to America. And you know what? Because actually money is invested into my education, my parents made damn sure I excelled. That means nightly homework checks, "you better get 100 on that exam!", and parent teacher relations. This force to do well in school by my parents became ingrained into me as a habit. I don't take school for granted because it would greatly disappoint my parents who's hard earn money is invested into it. 

Of course this sentiment is missing in America because public K-12 education is entirely subsidized by the government (not to say it is not a noble cause). No wonder the budget cut protesters say education is a right - it has been GIVEN to them all up until college. This idea of free education thus created apathy and carelessness because the families do not have "skin in the game". Parents don't care because it does not hurt them financially (and it is always very convenient to blame the teachers and the system for their children's failures.).

So to solve the problem, is to make parents pay for their kids education. Not up to private school kind of level, but perhaps just enough of an amount to avoid cuts and keep classroom size to a average level. Meaning public schools will still be heavily subsidized by the government, but families will now have to pay a little to get in. This way the quality of education is preserved, and kids will have more tendency to excel because their parent's money is now on the line. And parents will pay more attention to their kid's learning because well, they don't want to see their money go to waste.

But what if families are too poor? Well no, that simple cannot fly because as I have said, education is a privilege, not an entitlement. My grandparents back in China was dirt poor to the core, yet they still manage to put all 5 kids through high school, and one of them through college. So no, being poor is no excuse for not choosing to provide education for your kids. Besides, the poor already get an entitlement from the government in the form of welfare - so have them use a percentage of that and pay for their kid's public education.

Like I said, it will solve the budget problem, and push the kids to do well. And subsequently it will trickle to the university system a larger pool of well educated kids, and perhaps then we can compete will the best of the world again.