Positives Tue Aug 17-Fri Aug 27, 2010

*Resumed lifting weights from a two month absence. My workout steps are stretch, weights, and cardio.

*Hiked at Monte Bello Open Preserve.

*Visited the California Academy of Sciences. We went inside the planetarium.

*Celebrated my dad’s birthday. His birthday activity was visiting the Moaning Cavern and California Cavern in central California.

*Ate Captain Crunch cereal for the first time. It tasted terrible. My breakfasts have been boring. I’m eating a variety of different cereals taking advantages of sales in grocery stores.

*Finished watching Macross Frontier.

*Drank Sarsaparilla root beer made from pure cane sugar. Now that’s root beer!

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge

Positives Thur Aug 5-Mon Aug 16, 2010

*Began playing Starcraft 2.

*Birthday dinners with my friends and family.

*Watched Inception twice and Toy Story 3.

*Drank an Icy Coke for the first time in a long, long time. Popcorn with jalapenos has a kick.

*Ate at Verde Tea restaurant for the first time.

*Played Weiss Schwartz (unofficial) tournament style.

*Attended the San Jose Jazz Festival.

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge

What Do I Have That Keeps Me Having Friends?

I ask myself that question when I go out sometimes. What do I have that my friends enjoy my company? What do I have that my friends involve me in gatherings and hanging out? I don’t have special talents. I’m not a magician. I can’t repair broken cars. I can’t hit a 400 foot home run. I can’t speak Japanese. I can’t draw. I don’t have special skills. I have average computer skills. I graduated with a degree in Economics. I have poor marketable job skills which explain why I’m going back to school.

I’m not good at everything I do. Let’s take a look at some:

*Anime. I read a few Japanese comics (manga). I watch a few anime series every season. My DVD collection is small. I’m not a die hard anime fan whose entire room is decorated with anime and the bookshelf is full of Japanese comics and DVDs. Please don’t ask me about voice actors because I don’t follow who’s who in anime series.

*Video Games. I play Team Fortress 2 (TF2) and StarCraft 2 (SC2) only. I don’t play fighting games and RPGs. I don’t own a Playstation 3 (PS3), Nintendo Wii, and a Xbox 360. My favorite arcade games are shooting. I know very little video games.

*Sports. I follow the headlines in football, baseball, and basketball. I follow very little hockey. I don’t follow golf and racing. I don’t have ESPN and I don’t read Sports Illustrated. I know enough to enjoy the games and small talk. I can’t carry long conversations; although, I follow others sport conversations.

*Physical Fitness. I follow two basic weight lifting schedules. One schedule is machines and another is free weights. I continue to learn and to improve my workout plans. I just workout to feel good, improve my health, and stay young. The fastest I ran on the treadmill is 6.5mph. Today, I’m getting back into shape after inconsistent workouts in June and early July.

*Music. I know what I know. I know little classic jazz and classical music. I just listen and enjoy. Classic rock is my favorite music. I started listening to The Beatles almost every day. One day, I want to identify Beatles songs from which record.

*Books. I’m a slow reader. I started reading fiction books in Nov. 2008. Fiction books are better than non-fiction books to learn about life. I have fun what I read. I’m not a bookworm.

*Cooking. My cooking skills are such that I know enough to survive on my own. I improve my cooking skills dramatically when I live on my own.

One of these days, I’m going to be good at something. No, I’m going to be good at a few skills, hobbies, and personality traits.

What Is The Answer?

I’m a good guy. Good guys are people you feel good hanging around with. I’m a good listener. I’m a good conversationalist. I’m interested in others’ hobbies, personalities, and who they are. I learn from others who help me determine who I am. We influence each other who we are. I’m a team person. I love action. I hate being bored. I smile when I’m happy. I’m a very open person and I talk about almost anything. 98% of who I am I’m free to speak out.

Being a good guy doesn’t mean I stop being good. I continue getting better. There is always something to improve. I improve my skills, my hobbies, my physical attributes, my knowledge, and my social skills. I learn from my successes to be better and learn from my mistakes to avoid repeating them. I seek new adventures, new interests, and new knowledge.

I want to add more than just being a good guy. Life is more than just stopping and settling somewhere at sometime. Life is taking a deep breath, stop for a moment, and ask yourself, “What is there new I want to do? There is something I want to be good at. What is it? What are they?”

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge

Short Q&A

Raymond Mar on going back to school. If your unemployed and doing nothing, then you must learn something to prepare for the recovery. I believe it’s going to take at least two years for the economy to recover. I don’t believe in the current recovery. I’m back in school learning new skills and knowledge to find a better job. Don’t sit on the couch watching TV all day. If you’re not going to school, do something, anything to keep busy. You may discover something new you want to pursue to make a living.

Raymond Mar growing up. I consider myself lucky I realized I must grow up. There are people older than me who act and behave like a child. And there are people who never grow up. Mature people don’t blame others for their problems. They take responsibilities for their actions. I see young people acting immature. That’s okay. They’re allowed to make mistakes.

Raymond Mar and cooking. I believe cooking is a skill everyone must know. My cooking skills are poor; however, I know enough to cook for myself. I respect anyone who buys groceries from a market and cook a meal. There are no microwave foods, frozen foods, and processed foods. The person buys fresh food, goes home, cook with appliances, and hot meal is served. The taste can be plain like my Mom’s, lol. The bottom line is if you cook, you have my respect.

Raymond Mar and life now. Life is good—well good in terms of free time. I make the best of my free time having fun: going back to the gym to get back in shape, working on my webpage, hiking, and finding anything new to do. Life is bad because I’m unemployed. For now, I live the present and take advantage of the free time before school begins in the fall and before I find a new job.

Raymond Mar and the movie First Blood. Finally, watch the clip staring Sylvester Stallone. I have a little more respect for him as an actor. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qIgVrOy9vM&feature=related

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge

Update #2: What Are You Missing In Your Life?

On March 23, 2009, I asked the question, “What Are You Missing In Your Life?” My answer was to find people, meet people, and make new friends who are similar to me. On July 25, 2009, I asked the question again. My answer was to find a person like me or my best friend.

I have a new answer. My new answer is specific and detailed. First, I want to share other answers that are true except they miss the bull’s eye:

*Independence. I have some independence. I’m allowed to come and go from the house as long as I tell my parents. They’re flexible. I gain full independence in time.

*Apartment or house. My own dwelling. Like independence, I live at my own place in time. I invite friends. I initiate gatherings and hang outs--“My place is free, come on over.” I live without junk.

*Long term income. I live in Silicon Valley. It’s expensive to live here. How do families pay for expenses and pay for their mortgage? I have no idea. Credit cards and debt? I find the answer, I live in Silicon Valley for the rest of my life.

*My dream car. Hmm, I buy an Audi and make extra money being the transporter. I wear the suit, too.

*Accounting degree. A bachelors in Economics is garbage. In time, San Jose State opens admissions for those wanting a second bachelor’s degree.

My new answer is friends. I want to make new friends. I need more friends. I want lots and lots of friends. People are important in my life. Families are important. Friends are important. I live my life to the fullest with friends. I interact with friends and they interact with me. The interaction identifies, shapes, and even helps me who I am—who am I and who am I not. Being with friends makes life fun. Doing activities are more enjoyable with friends. Friends help friends when they’re in trouble. Friends celebrate the successes and birthdays. There are moments when life is bad; however, life is not that bad with friends.

I can never have too many friends. A person with lots of friends and finds time to spend with them is a great impression for me. I want to be that person. I want to be a person who has lots friends and finds time to spend with them. I want to be a person who attracts people to me and we become friends. The best way is to be a good person, and I never stop improving being a good person. The better person I am, the better the chances I make new friends.

My friends have other friends outside me. I want to have friends in other groups, too. When I’m with a group of friends, I want to mention another group of friends. I’m able to mention a few friends. I want to mention more. It’s a small world. Maybe some of my friends know some of my other friends. Never stop meeting new people.

One of these days when I have my independence living on my own in an apartment or house, I initiate parties. Long term income is nothing without friends to spend with. Friends are more important than money. Sometimes the parties and gatherings are outdoors. I need to get there driving an Audi. My degree in accounting is a huge help to find a job to make all these happen. In the meantime, presently speaking, I make as many new friends to share my dreams with them.

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge

500

Blogger's Note: To recognize my 500th blog from my Innovating Common Knowledge blog, I choose to post number 500 here.

Number 500! This blog is number 500 and the 5th anniversary for Innovating Common Knowledge. Good timing. I average 100 blogs every twelve months. That’s too low. On the other hand, 100 is a good number because I spread my time writing blogs and many other activities. There are both sides to the discussion whether I spend too much or too little time writing blogs.

On my 300th blog, I shared my top 30 blogs. I choose to repost the top 30 blogs instead of creating a top 50 blogs. The reason is the lessons I learned and the wisdom I gained from my top 30 blogs applies to today’s living--and tomorrow’s living. They are powerful for me. The lessons and wisdoms are both old lessons such as life is a marathon, not a sprit and new lessons such as age is just a number. The timing is good for another review.

I continue to write blogs promoting change, improvement, and innovation. I continue to write blogs to open myself up and to experiment what I can and what I can’t do. The Sign Of My Times (SOMT) and Accutane blogs continue as I reflect how life is changed now and when I was a child and my acne treatment, respectively.

Here is the summary of my top 30 blogs:

*01. Never take anything and anyone for granted.
*02. Trust my gut feeling.
*03. My [latest] daily top five rules for living: (1) Don't criticize, condemn, and complain, and don't compare with others. (2) Don't act like a jerk or bitch. (3) Always speak calmly and be calm. (4) Don't daydream when driving. (5) Keep your head up high . . . look at the cute face when talking.
*04. Continue to live life finding what you want to do.
*05. Never judge a person by their appearance.
*06. Remember to learn from you failures as well as your successes.
*07. It takes patience to learn who a person is for long-term family, friend, business, and romantic relationships.
*08. Do something else to take your mind off something you hate.
*09. Meet new people and make new friends continuously.
*10. It's OK to be alone.

*11. You must earn what you want in life.
*12. You are responsible for yourself.
*13. Schools have summer vacations; life doesn't have summer vacations.
*14. Age is just a number.
*15. Have courage to say goodbye to anything precious.
*16. First years, first impressions, first go-around, and first successes are equally important as second years, second impressions, second go-around, and second successes.
*17. Everyone has the right to find happiness.
*18. Be patient. Never rush.
*19. Take life one day at a time. Have fun, learn, and enjoy.
*20. If you talk the talk, you must stand by your talk.

*21. Do something to receive something.
*22. Money is a way to help people, create action, and show appreciation.
*23. Fight the pain, the suffering, and the struggles to keep living.
*24. Use your mind to see.
*25. Time is the ultimate judge.
*26. Live the present. Live the moment.
*27. Wait 24 hours for goods or services less than $100 and 48 hours for greater than $100 to avoid the urge to splurge.
*28. Do the little things and they add up in time.
*29. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
*30. When you in a jam, go back to the basics. Go remind yourself the basics which is what I'm doing :D :D :D

My first blog was posted on Thur Aug 4, 2005. The 300th blog was posted on Sun Dec 7, 2008. Click http://ininblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/300.html to read the entire 300th blog detailing the top blogs.

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge

Positives Fri July 23-Wed Aug 4, 2010

*I began listening to Beatles when I eat breakfast. I take a break listening to classic jazz.

*Ate at a fast food Thai restaurant for the first time. Fast food Thai?!? I also ate at Aqui restaurant.

*Drank mandarin lime soda and Faygo Red Pop for the first time.

*Successfully fixed my laptop cooler pad simply buying a cheap cooler pad and using the USB cord.

*Japanese manga. Finished reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. I caught up with the Bleach manga.

*Uploaded cosplay pics from Fanime Con and Anime Expo.

*Willow Glen Yogurt. I remember to order the child size, not the small size.

*Deposited money in the ATM for the first time.

*Finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood TV series. That series is my first anime BD purchase.

*Ate Suzy Q’s, a Hostess snack, for the first time.

Always Innovating and Changing Innovating Common Knowledge