Positives Sun Dec 7-Mon Dec 29, 2014

*Drank tea at T-Pumps for the first time.

*Purchased Costco Take & Bake pizza for the first time.

*Watched Edge Of Tomorrow, Sleeping Beauty, and Gravity movies.

*Cleaned the house.

*Ate at Faultline Brewing Company and Mexicali Grill restaurants for the first time.

*Purchased Chrono Trigger at Google Play.

*Merry Christmas.

Positives Wed Nov 12-Sat Dec 6, 2014

*Replaced front breaks in my car.

*Purchased Logitech Pro Webcam C920.

*Purchased my first Google Play app which was Ascension.

*Finished watching Breaking Bad Final Season.

*Happy Thanksgiving.

*Black Friday: Purchased a flashlight set, bare necessities with a 30% off coupon, Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Gravity in BD combo pack, and Chromecast.

*Checked the first aid kit, smoke detectors, and flashlight batteries.

*Ate at Ming Tasty for the first time.

*Drank a milk foam tea for the first time at Gong Cha.

Positives Thur Oct 23-Tue Nov 11, 2014

*Interviewed for a Data Entry Specialist position.

*Attended a recruiter panel.

*Informational Interviewed at Apple One.

*Cleaned the house.

*The San Francisco Giants won the 2014 World Series.

*Ate at Pizz'a Chicago for the first time.

*I got the job at Palo Alto Networks.

*Purchased a Vornado Flippi Fan and house plants for my cubicle.

*Celebrated my brother, nephew, niece and sister's dog birthdays.

*Rearranged my desk.

Positives Thur Oct 2-Wed Oct 22, 2014

*Phone interviewed for a Compensation Analyst position.

*Online interviewed for a Marketing Associate position.

*Ate at Thai Orchid restaurant for the first time.

*Skype account.

*Watched Open Range, Juice, and South Central movies.

*Activated Google Hangouts for video chats.

*Marathon and finished Breaking Bad Season 4 and Season 5 Part 1.

Positives Mon Sep 15-Wed Oct 1, 2014

*Cleaned the house.

*Informational Interviewed at Accountemps.

*New floor mat for my desk.

*Satisfactory reviewed Access 2007 and read Python For Kids by Jason Briggs.

*Finished reading Up In The Air by Walter Kirn.

Positives Sun Aug 31-Sun Sept 14, 2014

*Hiked at Black Diamond Mines Regional Park.

*Read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

*Car maintenance. Changed the oil, replaced the air filter, and added fuel injection cleaner.

*Got a new job; however. . .

*. . . I quit the job for questionable business practices.

*Ate at Ramen Seas for the first time.

Positives Tue Aug 5-Sat Aug 31, 2014

*Ate Nature Valley Blueberry Breakfast Biscuits for the first time. I also ate Krave and Cheerios Protein cereal for the first time.

*Cleaned the house.

*Purchased Space Brothers Complete Best CD soundtrack.

*Purchased anti-fatigue floor mats.

*Interviewed by phone for a sales analyst position and person to person for a data entry/analyst position.

*First pedicure.

*Celebrated my dad's birthday.

*Rotated and balanced my car's tires.

*Marathoned Breaking Bad Season 4 episodes 2-7.

My Fifth Fear

Blogger's note: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar blogs.

I blogged my four fears Fear on Oct 2013. Here is my fifth fear.

Changing for the worse is my fifth fear. My fifth fear was discovered recently at work and at home. One of my managers changed recently. I describe him as a bad attitude manager. He was a friendly and helpful person when I started working at the company. I was comfortable having conversations with him. Unfortunately, he changed for the worse. He has an attitude problem towards me and some of my co-workers. He's annoying. His tone is best described as anger. He doesn't trust me anymore and vice versa. He's too stressed out such that he takes it out on others. I can't have sports, wine, and current event conversations with him. I avoid him at all costs.

My parents have changed mostly due to age. They're entering their senior citizen years. There are signs of laziness. They choose to live their lives too easy. They believe if they avoid anything bad, then nothing bad happens to them. I don't want to be them in my senior citizen years. I want to remain active which includes a social life with friends, physical activity hiking and going to the gym, reading books, playing board games, and continuing experiencing new experiences and seeking new adventures. My parents can live better lives putting in effort and sincerity. They wait for opportunities instead of seeking opportunities.

I don't want to be a bad person tomorrow. I don't want to be an inactive person tomorrow. I want to be a better person tomorrow--stronger, wiser, kinder, and smarter. I want to be a good person for the rest of my life.

Positives Sat Jul 12-Mon Aug 4, 2014

*Watched The Wolverine, Now You See Me, and Wall-E movies.

*Ate Trader Joe's Strawberry Breakfast Bar, Special K Multi-Grain cereal and Who Knew Smart Cookies for the first time.

*Finished Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

*Ate at The Garrett and House Of Bagels for the first time.

*Purchased a compact air compressor for my car and a magnesium fire starter. I also purchased a new sun shade to protect my dashboard and interiors for my car.

*Drank tea at Tea Station for the first time.

*Phone interviewed for a data analyst position at a law firm.

Positives Sun Jun 22-Fri Jul 11, 2014

*Cleaned the house.

*250 Yelp reviews.

*Celebrated Mom's birthday.

*Backed Reading Rainbow on Kickstarter.

*Finished watching Space Brothers.

*Informational interview at Manpower.

*Ate at Lou's Coffee Shop for the first time.

A Conversation From Dan

I remember a conversation with my assistant manager. Unfortunately, he no longer works at my company. The conversation inspires me to blog a brief self interview.

Good things in life require paying your dues. What and how does paying your dues mean?

I haven't paid out my dues yet. I'm still in the process of paying my dues. I started paying my dues on Sat Oct 4, 2008, the day I realized I must grow up. My dreams and personal promises of getting a full time job and moving out are going to happen. I still have more learning. I still have more mistakes to commit. I still have more hell to go through. I continue to get stronger and wiser. Life has a funny way to tell me I paid my dues and my life is ready for 100% independence. I earn my success and not take life for granted.

I have a new set of dues to pay after I find a full time job and live independently. I know the dues at a future date.

What are you doing to put in the time?

I start learning Python on Mon Jul 7. Python is not a language in demand. Given my weak programming skills, it's a start. I'm reviewing and relearning Excel's VLOOKUP.

I resumed my gym routine on Sat Jun 7 after being sick for 6 weeks starting on Wed May 7. I write down the days I work out and days I perform my stretches. My goal is a consistent physical workout to stay physically healthy.

I start job searching on Mon Jul 7. I'm going to make my move finding another job. Job searching helps me choose what new job skills and knowledge I learn after Python. I believe I waste my time relearning Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. . . . my past skills and knowledge. I'm rusty, however, everything comes back to me when I find a new job. My time out of work is better used to learn something new. I believe a company gives me an opportunity. My Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. skills and experience are like riding a bike and driving a manual transmission. I remember them when I start working at them again like balancing myself on a bike and coordinating my feet to shift gears.

My bonus is learning wine. I purchased Wine For Dummies by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan. I learn a few bits of information which helps me at my job.

Are you ready to die?

No. There is too much life I need to experience. I'm catching up what I missed in my 20s. I'm behind in my years. I'm a late bloomer. My life has been getting better. My life experiences, adventures, wisdom, and strength are getting better. Time gives me the hope I continue to grow on a geometric scale as a way to catch up. I'm not done. I'm not ready to settle.

Positives Fri Jun 6-Sat Jun 21, 2014

*Ate at Shalala and Top This Pizza Co. restaurants for the first time.

*Voted in the 2014 primaries.

*Interviewed for a Business Analyst contract position.

*Finished Quell Memento puzzle video game.

*Happy Father's Day.

*Ate Nature Valley Breakfast Biscuits for the first time.

*Drank a Tequila for the first time.

Positives Sun May 18-Thur Jun 5, 2014

*Purchased a new pair of hiking shoes, 64oz canister, and Gerber folding knife at the REI Anniversary Sale for work.

*Purchased a new explorer hat to protect my face from the sun. The positive is dated March 29.

*Replaced the battery on the motherboard for my Gaming PC.

*Cleaned the house.

*Installed a new keyboard for my laptop.

*Finished watching Saki The Nationals.

*Watched X-Men Days Of Future Past.

Positives Sat Apr 26-Sat May 17, 2014

*Ate at Siam Fine Thai Cusine restaurant for the first time.

*Welcome back garlic salt when I cook meals.

*Read The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

*Watched Alice In Wonderland.

*Finished The Simpsons Season 10 and Breaking Bad Season 3.

Positives Sun Apr 6-Fri Apr 25, 2014

*Purchased Ticket To Ride and Dixit board games.

*Sold Machine Of Death card game on eBay.

*Backed Tuscany with Viticulture board games on Kickstarter.

*First-aid kit checked.

*Drank my first beer which was a Coors

*Ate Honey Bunches Of Oats Cinnamon Crunch and Nyakers Ginger Snaps for the first time.

*Cleaned the house.

Positives Sun Mar 16-Sat Apr 5, 2014

*Finished reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Fermata by Nicholson Baker, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson.

*Ate at Sancho's Taqueria and Ramen Tenma restaurants for the first time.

*Listened to classical music on the Life Cycle and treadmill in the gym

*Showered with Old Spice's Zanzibar body wash soap for the first time.

*Shopped at Lunardi's Market for the first time.

*Ate Multi-9 Grain Toast at 99 Ranch for the first time and Cripix cereal for the first time a long time ago.

*Watched Frozen.

*Purchased Classified by Bond.

*Backed LuMini Bluetooth smart light bulb from Kickstarter.

*New sunglasses. Purchased Bamboo Forest made from Maui Jim.

Positives Fri Feb 28-Sat Mar 15, 2014

*Ate Special K Multi-Grain cereal for the first time.

*Listened to a podcast in the car from my smart phone for the first time. I purchased a cassette adapter to listen to all audios from my smart phone and my mp3 player.

*Ate at Little Mae's House Of Chicken & Waffle for the first time.

*Ate Singoalla Lemon-Lime cookies for the first time.

*Cleaned the house.

Positives Fri Jan 31-Thur Feb 27, 2014

*Purchased books at the Friends Of The Los Gatos Library for the first time.

*Ate at Happy Hound Restaurant and Roam Artisan Burgers for the first time.

*Watched Good Will Hunting and Just You And Me Kid movies.

*Super Bowl XLVIII.

*Ate Trader Joe's Too Many Chocolate Chips cookies and Amott's Original Chocolate biscuits for the first time.

*Alignment check my car.

*Participated in Escape From The Time Travel Lab reality puzzle game with a group of friends.

*Cleaned the house.

*Got my tire repaired from a screw. It was located at my driver's side front.

*Happy Lunar New Year.

Update The Introduction Since August 2010

Time flies when you get older and life is getting better. I find it hard to believe my last introduction update was 3.5 years ago. I update the introduction to reflect two steps forward, one step back.

I'm Raymond Mar. My life is filled with new successes and new experiences. I recently experience a step backwards losing who I am. I'm happy the step backwards was short. I grew up again. I found new strength, new wisdom, and the old Raymond Mar from 2009-2012. The biggest success since 2011 is I found a new job. My new life is coming soon. The curses disappeared. There is new hope and new faith. Never take anything and anyone for granted.

Here is the old one:

I’m Raymond Mar. I have experienced new adventures and experiences and gained wisdom and knowledge since I realized I must grow up. I never have changed if I didn’t grow up and act my age. The collective new everything grows bigger day by day, and soon my growth reach epic proportions. I still don’t know what I want to do. I continue to be kind, be a strong man, be positive, and be optimistic. Never take anything and anyone for granted.

Positives Tue Jan 14-Thur Jan 30, 2014

*Cleaned the house which included dusting.

*Watched Cirque Du Soleil Amaluna.

*Ate at Harry Hofbrau restaurant for the first time.

*Tire rotation and tire balance.

*Watched The Heat movie.

*Updated my web page Innovate Infinitely.

Positives Tue Dec 31, 2013-Mon Jan 13, 2014

*Two Anime Mini-Marathons. Watched 12 episodes of Space Brothers.

*Ate at Ringer Hut Restaurant for the first time. I ordered Nagasaki Champon noodle.

*Won my first Master's Gallery card game.

*Watched(500) Days Of Summer.

*Car Maintenance. Added fuel injection cleaner and changed the oil.

*Ate Strawberry Oatmeal Pop Tart for the first time.