Aren't we so lucky - 2013 reflections

So, where to begin? 

2013 was quite mundane compared to previous years. It’s what happens when I’m two years removed from the (probable) end of my educational life and entering workforce as an “adult”. I say probable because I’ve yet to determine whether or not pursuing a graduate degree is worth the considerable time and concentration (doesn’t help that I’ve develop a smidgen of apathy towards being enslaved to the academic machine once more). Anyways, there’s only so much excitement to spread around when week after week you do the exact same thing at work. I don’t think I’ve looked forward to weekends more than I had this year, purely because that’s where all the fun happened.

Ironically, I haven’t exactly left academia at all; my place of employment, after all, is a college campus. No complaints from me though, because while I’m increasingly antagonistic towards going back to school for an advance degree, I must say I enjoy immensely the vibe and lifestyle offered by a college campus. In a way it keeps me young - and young at heart - because the median age of the immediate surroundings at work is always at a constant high teens to low twenties. I turned 26 this year (where it all goes downhill from, right?), but I don’t feel at all that age. Innately I feel just as wet behind the ears as ever. What doesn’t help the situation though, is seeing many friends of a similar age getting on with the business of marriage and procreation. Meanwhile, I’m over here screaming: what on earth is the rush? 

Indeed, it’s gotten to that point, hasn’t it? I’m at the age where acquaintances left and right are settling down (or have settled) to form families of their own. Stable employment does that, I guess (and love, haha). Good for those people, of course: just because I’m nowhere near that point in my own timeline doesn’t mean I throw ninja stars full of question marks every time I see a new engagement announcement or pregnancy press release. Funny thing is, none of my immediate group of friends are even remotely close to that sort of stuff, which gives credence to that whole “you are the company you keep” spiel. Hey, at least I won’t have to hear “yeah… we’re going to stay home tonight.” when hang-out solicitations are sent. 

Of course, countless thanks to the higher spirits that I have gainful employment amidst the turmoil that still is the United States economy (my god I must have been watching FOX news). 2013 is the first year that I’ve ever held a full-time job (well, if you discount much of January), and the stability it has brought to my life is immeasurable. Having a solid sense of purpose everyday when I wake up and actually looking forward to going to work is, as Gollum would say, precious. However, as with any public university job that isn’t management, the pay is what can be best described as mediocre - especially when I live in the third most expensive city in America to live.

It’s enough for me, though. Every time I encounter negative employment news such as the fast-food workers strike or the termination of unemployment benefits, I’m reminded just how lucky I am. Low wages, income uncertainty, and job search futility -  I’ve been there, and it isn’t at all fun. Plus, everything else about my current job is so spectacularly awesome. One of which, is my commute to work doesn’t consist of me being mired in Bay Area’s infamous traffic gridlock. I’d gladly trade a few ten thousands in dollars earned to not have to sit in traffic for hours on end, every single day. Time is money, as they say, and nothing piss away money faster and more miserably than sitting amongst a sea of cars, all going slower than people can walk. 

So how is it possible that I can live in the great expensive city of San Francisco when I’m getting paid less than a BART train operator? (There’s a joke in there somewhere). Fortunately, because I’m decidedly Asian (last I checked), there is no social stigma in my culture for living with your parents pass the age of 18. So, instead of using a significant chunk of my monthly paycheck towards renting a place, I get to put most of it towards investment accounts. Which, speaking of, 2013 was a solid year for stocks and mutual funds, and I must humbly brag that my investment portfolio is looking very nice indeed. Anyways, I’m not saying moving out on your own and doing for yourself is a terrible thing (we all have to do it eventually), I’m just glad I have that option to choose, instead of getting unceremoniously kicked out of the house at a predetermined age. 

Because if there is one important lesson I take away from 2013, it’s that spending time with your family is incredibly important, especially when you’re still young and single. Perhaps it’s all too easy to get caught up in being independent and experiencing the world, but you - and your parents - are only as young as you’ll ever be, today. I certainly don’t want to be that person who regrets not having spent more time with the parents only when said parents are sick in a hospital bed, or gone to the heavens. We need to spend time with our family while we are still able, healthy, and on our end, not tied down with spouses and kids of our own.

There will come a day when I’m only going to see my parents during the scant few holidays we get in America (meanwhile, most of Europe gets the entire month of August, off), because real life will certainly get in the way. In the meantime, I’ve made it a point to allocate a portion of all my weekends to hang-out with the father and mother. While I still can.

Portions of the weekend not spent with family, I’ve mainly dedicated it to my beloved car, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The joke is the car has become a substitute for a girlfriend, and it really isn’t far from the truth (haha!). There’s not much better on a weekend day than spending a few hours cleaning up the STI, and then taking it out for a spirited drive on one of the numerous mountain roads the Bay Area is so blessedly endowed with. It’s horrendous on gas, sure, but what car isn’t that can go from zero-to-sixty miles-per-hour in under five seconds. Besides, the car’s significant running costs (lost the windshield to a rogue traveling rock this year, which was quite the ouch to the wallet) escapes the mind as soon as I mash the throttle. Driving the STI brings a smile to my face each and every time I get in it,, and having a daily driven car that can do that for you is one of the core tenets of being a car enthusiasts.

With the STI in tow, I made a few ventures southwards this year, utilizing the blissful stretch of tarmac that is the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). The first time was back in July, when I took the weekend to traverse the entire length from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was an arduous 12 hour affair, and most of the time I was stuck behind slow-driving SUVs that refused to let faster cars behind them go past. However, the spectacular views (the skies cooperated very nicely) and the winding road was as advertised, and more. I highly recommended those traveling to LA and have got the time to spare, take the PCH instead of Highway 5 - twist and turns with a view beats driving in a straight line looking at cow manure any day. The STI’s seats proved their worth as my back didn’t complain at all after the 12 hours, though my feet had a completely different opinion. I guess Chuck Taylors aren’t the best driving shoes for trips of considerable distances. 

I love the PCH so much I went back a second time early October, this time along with other car enthusiasts (there was nearly 20 of us). Good times are best shared, right? At least it made slow cars more willing to move over, because having 20 loud sports cars in a train behind you is a frightening scene indeed (ah, the power in numbers). Driving in a group also meant being with people with more knowledge of landmarks and places of interest. This second drive on the PCH was definitely more scenic than the first. I certainly wouldn’t have gone on a tour of Hearst’s Castle in San Simeon had I gone by lonesome.

Speaking of cars, I started new blog this year dedicated to them. Since my personal life hasn’t been nearly as exciting as previous years, I decided to exclusively write about one of my greatest interests. Povertyspec.com is chock full of random editorials about all facets of the automobile, from individual models, the technologies, to the greater industry as a whole. Having written nearly 90 posts in a span of five months is pretty prodigious, if I do say so myself (and I do). Blogging has continued to be is a good excuse for me to hone my non-college educated journalism skills. I shuttered my separate photography blog (pun intended), and this blog with under my namesake has largely become its replacement. 

2013 marked the first time I’ve made the prerequisite pilgrimage to that small town in the desert, Paradise, Nevada. Some might say the age of 25 is much too old to be making the first (adult) trip to Las Vegas, but honestly the timing just hasn’t gotten right until this year. Never known to be the life of the party or a compulsive gambler, I think this year was as good as any to see Vegas for myself. It’s really all one huge, never-ending party, isn’t it? The awesome food, the great shows, and the overflow of drinks simply doesn’t stop for the entire duration. I can definitely see the allure of Vegas for many of my peers, because compressed down to it, it’s an escape. 

As for me, it’s merely a ticked check-box on the bucket list. I don’t think I will be making another trip to Vegas again anytime soon. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I had an awesome three days with my friends. (I found out exactly how long a Las Vegas block (off the strip) is, and I will never venture to walk one ever again.) It’s just that there is so much to see and do in this world that it’d be a personal disservice to visit a place more than once within a short time-frame (says the guy that drove on the PCH twice this year). A trip to Vegas isn’t particularly cheap (and I didn’t even gamble!), and I much rather allocate that money next time to go visit another awesome place.

Midway through the year, I started the 16/8 intermittent fasting program. It dictates that I must eat my daily required intake of food within an eight hour period (three big meals, in my case), after which I mustn’t eat for the next 16 hours. The fasting is suppose to significantly increase the body’s growth and repair hormones, something it can’t normally do if you keep stuffing it with food. I haven’t stop doing it since, because it has been, and continues to be, wonderful for me. Not having to worry about the old “eat every three hours” routine has been liberating, and I’ve ceased to have the typical hunger pangs. In fact, I seldom get the “hungry” feeling anymore, even when it’s the end of the 16 hour fast and my stomach cannot be more empty. Combined with my usual regiment of healthy eating and regular exercise, I feel awesome and full of energy ever day. 

When it comes to sports, now that I thought about it, 2013 was bad. Bad, because expectations were so high. Not for me to complain after winning two championships in the past three years, but the San Francisco Giants stunk up the joint during the 2013 season. I do wish the team doesn’t get the World Series hangover the season immediately after (same thing happened in 2011), but it appears to be inevitable with the men in orange. Of course, it’s always an good time (as Carly Rae Jepsen and that Owl City guy would say) to go see games live at the cathedral that is AT&T park. That’s the beauty of baseball: even when your team isn’t going particularly well, there’s enough games in a season that many, many, good things can still happen. Losing season as it may, I won’t soon forget epic-ness that happened like the Tim Lincecum no-hitter in San Diego, Pagan’s walk-off, Pablo’s three home-runs in one game, and many other heroics, that’s for sure. 

As for the 49ers, I didn’t think I can be more heartbroken than back in 2012’s NFC championship game when Kyle Williams fumbled that punt. Well, what happened in the Super Bowl back in February proved me wrong. Granted, as whole it’s awesome to see the 49ers get back to being perennial Super Bowl contenders, but being a scant six yards away from winning it all, that’s a heartbreaker if there ever is one. Perhaps it’s just too much to ask the sports gods to grant two teams from one city winning their respective championships in the same season. Now that the baseball Giants have failed to defend their championship this season, perhaps it’s good sign for the 49ers heading into the playoffs early next year. One step at a time, right? Lose NFC championship last year, this year win NFC championship. Lose Super Bowl this year, so next up is surely: win Super Bowl. 

So, that’s pretty much 2013. Just your typical twenty-something adult life: work for five days, and then play on the weekends. I do wish I’d travel more, and I took the least amount of photographs this year since starting the hobby many moons ago. I hope to rectify these two things in 2014, but other than that, hopefully much of the same as this year. As long as we have our health, family and friends, a roof over our heads, and a steady job, we’re all so very lucky, indeed. 

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The top 10 most played songs on my iTunes, 2013:

• 1. Girls’ Generation - I Got A Boy
• 2. G-Dragon - Missing You (feat. 김윤아 of 자우림)
• 3. f(x) - Goodbye Summer (Amber+Luna+Krystal) (Feat. D.O. of EXO)
• 4. Taylor Swift - 22
• 5. Owl City - Gold
• 6. EXO - 으르렁 (Growl)
• 7. 周杰倫 Jay Chou – 手語 (Sign Language)
• 8. Taylor Swift- Stay Stay Stay
• 9. KARA - Secret Love (Goo Hara Solo)
• 10. 周杰倫 Jay Chou – 大笨鐘 (Big Ben)

Cars of interest from the 2013 NYIAS

The 2013 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) was held in (where else) New York City last week. It is the final major show of the so called “auto show season”, and automakers usually show production ready new vehicles (as opposed to concept cars) that will be available to consumers in the next few years.

While I am not currently looking to purchase a new car (cause I just did it last winter), as an automotive enthusiast I am always on the prow for new and exciting cars that could potentially be the replacement for my current ride. Not to mention, trading in cars and switching for another is bloody easy these days. The three cars from NYIAS that caught my attention are as follows:

AUDI S3

Picture this: for a little under $40,000, you will soon be able to purchase an “S” trim Audi sedan with a 295hp turbo four-cylinder engine, and all wheel drive. The S3 sedan (and it’s more pedestrian A3 brother) is ushering Audi back into the luxury compact sedan class, since the A4 that previously occupies it has grown in size with every generation. Audi is also hoping to attract younger buyers, with the new A3 bringing the price of entry to the Audi family down to the $30,000s range.

Of course, it’s the S3 variant that really piqued my interest. With almost 300 horsepower and all wheel drive, it’s practically the same car (performance spec wise) as my WRX STI – but in a more luxurious, Audi wrapper. For sure the Haldex based (front wheel biased) all wheel drive system in the S3 is not nearly as sporting as the one in the STI (which has a true center differential), but that difference is made up in a high quality interior and the famed Audi sophistication. Plus, the exterior styling is quite Teutonic chic, isn’t it?

For only $6,000 more than what I paid for my STI, the new Audi S3 looks to be an excellent performance sports-luxury bargain.

MERCEDES BENZ CLA45 AMG

Just as Audi is trying to reach the younger market with the new A3/S3, their geographic competitor Mercedes Benz is also targeting the same demographic. Instead of refreshing a model in its current stable, Mercedes is choosing to introduce a brand new product line - the CLA class. The CLA is a compact, sleek, and stylish four-door “coupe” that is priced right at $31,000 for the base model. It’s an unprecedented entry price for a Mercedes Benz, one that it hopes to attract young buyers looking for the prestige and luxury of the three-pointed star, but doesn’t necessarily want to pay a high price for it.

At NYIAS, Mercedes introduced the hot, AMG version of the CLA – the CLA45 AMG. Just like the Audi S3, it has a two-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but here it makes a ground breaking 355 horsepower (that’s a record 177 horsepower per litre of displacement). The CLA45 AMG put power to the ground via all wheel drive, though due to the transverse engine layout, it’s a front biased Haldex setup just like the S3. The upgraded brakes look absolutely beefy; looks to be six-piston units up front and two-pistons in the rear.

With higher performance potential come higher price: the CLA45 AMG starts at a little over $50,000. While this is outside my price range, it’s a known fact that Mercedes Benz AMG cars depreciate like nothing else. If I was going to purchase one (and the car is pretty much a more powerful and more luxurious version of my STI), best to wait a few years and get it used. 

VOLVO V60 WAGON

I’ve always had a liking for wagons; they represent great utility and cargo capacity, but without the off-roading pretentiousness of sports-utility vehicles (because face it, 99% of SUVs are not seeing anything outside of asphalt). Volvo is world famous for it’s wagons (like the classic 240 turbo), and it was a shame that these past years, it did not offer a single wagon in the North American market. Well, that would soon change.

At NYIAS, Volvo announced that it would be bringing its European-market midsize wagon, the V60, to America (along with a fresh facelift to the styling). I am beyond ecstatic because I am a big fan of the Scandinavian chic styling of contemporary Volvos, but did not consider a regular S60 sedan during my last round of car purchasing because the wagon V60 was not available in these shores (no point in buying a Volvo if it’s not in wagon form like the classics).

If a Volvo V60, in T5 all-wheel-drive form can be had in the mid to high $30,000s, then it’s a very enticing proposition indeed to trade in my STI. It may perhaps be the ultimate go anywhere, do anything car for the money. 

What I learned working at a non-tech startup

For much of last year, I worked at a four year old startup called O'BON. Their claim to fame is being purveyors of eco-friendly stationery products. Kind to the environment products like pencils made from recycled newspaper and notebooks with paper made from sugarcane waste. I was the jack of all trades for the company; doing a little bit of everything. My main focus was product photography, handling the company's social media, and warehouse logistics. 

Unfortunately, O'BON closed up shop late last year. The main problem that undid the company was a severe lack of product production. People desperately wanted our products, but our production house in China screwed things up in royal fashion, and we just had NOTHING to sell for the longest time. That led to a dry up of capital, and finally, we had to close up shop. 

The following is a list of things I've learned about starting a business while working for O'BON. Not to be taken as gospel; they are just my observations.

1. If you are selling a product, MAKE SURE your production pipeline is supplying you adequately. Not having enough products to sell (or having chronic shortages) will doom your business no matter how much people are clamoring for it.
2. Not having your accounting books in order from the start will just make a big mess of things later. At that point, fixing it would take enormous capital and cause huge headaches.
3. Be consistent with your marketing message/plan. Have a theme and stick with it for a period. Revamping things month after month will only cause the marketing team to do unnecessary work.
4. SALES, SALES, and SALES. That is one thing you should be doing everyday. At a small startup, that goes for the whole team. Marketing is done with their work for the day? Go make phone calls.
5. Don’t underestimate the value of social media, even when you don’t see a tangible return (immediate or otherwise). A brand’s goodwill may not be quantifiable, but is very important in the thought space of the public. Because when shit hits the proverbial fan - watch your social media blow up with negativity (and you thought nobody thought you existed?).
6. Have an understanding of your startup’s financials and cash flows. Otherwise, watch the company hemorrhage cash like no other.
7. Don’t equate having money in the business account as actually having money.
8. If you are a boss in a small startup, NEVER leave earlier than any employee. Absolutely NOTHING gets done after that if you do. You’re the leader, set the example. 
9. China plays by their own rules – work with them cautiously. It does not matter how ironclad your contract is or how many lawyers you have.
10. Understand the point at which your company is no longer feasible (the proverbial writing on the wall), and then exit in a gracefully and quick manner. Dragging it on does a disservice to your employees.
11. Interns are indeed the best way to get quality work done for little to no monetary investment. With so many college students desperate for “work experience”, you’d be stupid to not utilize them.
12. How much you are paying your employees is directly related to the quality of their work (and other ancillary stuff like motivation, initiative, enthusiasm, etc.). It hasn’t got to be astronomical, but you are going to have a problem sooner or later (employee turnover!) if your employees can get a better salary being a barista.
13. Taking people’s money and not delivering the product; plus spending that money and not having enough for refunds is the ultimate sin in doing business.
14. Big box stores (Whole Foods, Target, etc.) are indeed solid revenue steams if you can get them to carry your products, but they will screw you over when it comes to returning items they don’t sell – guaranteed.
15. Under delivering what is promised (or something completely different) might not be a kiss of death, but you’re going to have a really bad time.
16. An employee (or two) that is detail oriented and pays attention (and gets to) the little things is paramount to a small company’s success.
17. Because invariably there will be one employee (or two) that do great things on a macro level, but often leave small details unchecked.
18. Don’t have enough money to pay rent? It’s time to move to a smaller space, put it on credit, or close down the business.  
19. Re-read number one. 

My favorite meme: first world problems

One of my favorite meme out of all the hilarious ones out there (“Success Baby” is another one) is the “First World Problems” meme. This meme is unique in that it serves a second function other than to induce great humor – it reminds people to be humble and grateful of their current situation.

I am very much blessed to be living in a first world country. Life and the standards of living in the United States is unimaginably better than a third world country (unimaginable, because I wouldn’t know what it is like to live in the third world). However, that first world lifestyle and environment breeds us to take for granted many things that we think are rightfully ours. When things go bad, we lament our problems even when viewed from a wider perspective, they can be seen as trivial at best.

Everybody has heard it: people bemoaning whatever conundrum they are facing, even though it can be as small as not receiving the correct order of coffee drink at the local Starbucks. I personally have a habit of getting incensed about the cost of gasoline, or the ticket prices to a San Francisco Giants game. We can all imagine the outrage if all cellular towers in the city just stopped working; there would be mass hysteria of complaints from people not being able to go online to check Facebook with their smartphones.

The “First World Problems” meme was created to poke fun at ourselves for complaining about things that would seem stupid and ridiculous to be on about in the eye of someone from a third world country. Oh, you’re mad because the cook at the diner made your steak medium rare instead of medium as you’ve had requested? A person in the third world obviously hasn’t got that luxury. You’re cable service is offline due to unforeseen circumstances for an hour? A person living in the third world hasn’t got cable! The meme automatically puts everything we complain about in perspective.

Nowadays when I find myself making comments about how terrible things are or make complaints about certain things, I mutter “first world problem” to myself so that I take a different point of view. Most of the time, I really shouldn’t be talking at all. It allows me to not give mind to the little issues in life that might otherwise irritate me. The phrase is a constant reminder of how lucky and fortunate I am everyday to be alive and well; with a roof over my head, and food to eat.