"You think you know, but you have no idea..."
Trying to capture everything I do, futile as it may be.

About

I keep a small notebook by my side and do my best to keep a log of my day-to-day activities. This is the result.

1 August 2018 | July in Review

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Happy New Month!

It's chilly in the Bay Area - or at least in SF and Oakland. Temperatures barely getting above 16°C (61°F).

I haven't decided what my August resolution(s) will be. Nevertheless, it's useful to look back at July and what I've learned from it:

  • Running every morning is a good habit for me. It's easy for me to do it before work in the mornings. I feel more energetic overall. People have noticed that I am a bit more in shape too.
  • I didn't blog every day. I could try to do this during August.
  • Donating every day became more of a chore (especially when I needed to research the charity each day). I'm happy to give back, but I think I'd rather just give once a week or month. And I'd give a bigger amount with each donation ($25-50).
  • I didn't really miss being off Instagram as much, especially after I also deleted Snapchat.
  • After working on myself for so many months, I would like to focus more on my relationships with other people. Maybe really try to get myself into a serious romantic relationship.
    • Probably easier for me to start with my existing friends - I should reach out to a friend every day that I haven't talked to.
  • Or even focusing on my friendships and work relationships. I think that in the last few years, my "don't give a fuck" attitude has come off more as asshole-ness. So I'd like to be considerate of others while still not caring so much about myself.
    • On a related note, I should not react to news/events so emotionally. This will be a challenge. But if I can keep a calm mind in stressy situations, I'll be good.
  • Also I could challenge myself financially - try to spend less in general. (Although, I'm generally good with saving and my current income level)

27 July 2018 - HIT BY CAR

Friday, July 27, 2018

Yesterday after work, I had plans to meet CJ. He had texted me,
"Just got out of a good job interview, need to celebrate was gonna grab a beer somewhere"
And I said, "yes" - so plans were made. We were to meet at the bar called Small Wonder in uptown Oakland.

As I was biking there, going down San Pablo Ave, a car that I thought was turning left continued straight and plowed into me. I was knocked onto the hood of the car and then fell to the ground. I fell on my lower right back and took the brunt with my elbows and wrists.

I was shaken. He said "why didn't you stop? I didn't see you" and I said the exact same thing right back to him.

Whatever. I didn't want to deal with this - I wasn't bleeding. My head was spinning slightly. I got on my bike and continued to downtown Oakland.

I met CJ and hung out. I tried to keep my mood up but I was clearly feeling uncomfortable. I switched seats from the window bench to the chair he was sitting on. We finished our drinks and walked back to 19th St BART and parted ways.

I went home, buying some antiseptic (Hydrogen Peroxide) at Walgreens. I soaked in the bathtub for a bit (cleaned the sink too) and then went to rest in my bed. I had plans to meet up with Henry H and James T but I decided it best to simply rest at home. I watched videos on my phone (Evil Genius) and ate cereal, watching GLOW until nearly midnight.

I tried to sleep on my side but fuck it, I turned on my back. The sharpness of the pain was only temporary.

I woke up, skpped my run. Ate some yogurt with my coffee, and decided to come to work. I had two phone calls (SEO proposal and an intro with our Amazon EDI integration. It was only me, Brad, David, and Oliver who went to lunch at Wally's cafe.

This afternoon was useless - I've been texting guys on Grindr and called Kaiser to make an appointment (for Monday).

Ok time to go home. And meet Henry. And then go to my kickball team's night drinking.

--
Also found this while browsing Quora:

Adam Fayed
Adam Fayed, Global Wealth and Insurance Advisor living in Asia

Wednesday, 25 July 2018

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Woke up 7am. Went for a run, 2km.

Refilled my prescription. Checked my insurance. Called the dentist and booked an appointment - tomorrow at 7:30am! Made an iced coffee. Showered, keeping Packed some bandanas (for Ken's bday tonight) and strawberries/yogurt with me.

Rushed to work, was a little behind schedule. There was a Lime scooter available, so I took that in to the office, arriving at 9:33. (Peralta Ave is under construction and is really bumpy!).

Not many meetings today, but still a lot to stay on top on - keeping our spend (on Google, Bing, FB) under control. Submitting ASNs to Amazon.

Afternoon, things slow down. I snack on pistachios and cheez-its at my desk. I want to have food in my stomach before I start drinking tonight (for Ken's bday).

Health: Good. I feel less tired overall, likely because of the exercise I've been getting. My hair is growing through medium length now, so it's starting to be awkward and can get frizzy. I want to grow it longer, but I can definitely see why people say I look better with short hair. I've refilled my Prep and have a dentist appointment tomorrow, so I'm taking care of myself.

Family: I haven't heard from them since Monday night; but my mom and uncle seem good. Tito Alan messaged me on Facebook and said he'll be in San Jose next month; so we may very well meet up. (sending him a response now).

Friends: Going to Ken M's birthday tonight; will likely see the group there (Tae, Walls, Greg, Jesse). Also Marc whom I've apparently met at a meetup before but have also matched with on Tinder. Awkward? Let's find out...

News: This "trade war" with China (and the rest of the world)... ugh. Demo Lovato in the hospital for a heroin overdose. And a shooting yesterday morning in the Mission. Fires in Greece have killed over 80. And a heat wave is holding Europe in its persistent grip. 

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Ugh it's the end of the day and I just want to go home, but I thought I'd bust out a quick blog post.

I donated to Water.org and PATH today.

Work is busy. I had the guys from Sellpoints and Retarget visit us today to present their SEO/SEM services. As a marketing team, we are figuring out our priorities. I'm trying to contain Amazon sales and traffic. We have sold a lot in July and will be on track to sell more in August.

I booked my flight to Chicago! Going there Labor Day weekend (end of August / early Sept). Going to help Sam settle in.

Ugh it's only Tuesday. I thought it was Thursday. :(

Went for a run this morning; I'm on track to meet my goal for July. I do notice that I have a bit more energy (i.e. I feel bad if I just stay in all day and don't get any exercise).

I cut the back of my left hand this morning on the wire that triggers the ice maker in the freezer. Wore a band aid on it all day.

Our music playlist at work today has been classic slow pop songs - from Whitney Houston to Africa by Toto to Phil Collins to Backstreet Boys. I dunno if I like it as background music. 

Sunday, 22 July 2018

Sunday, July 22, 2018

I slept in, until 9:30am. I was tired from last night's party at Grant and Alyssa's.  I met Michelle and Kai there. Kai is straight (I think) but very compassionate.

I ran 4k this morning, am finishing my homemade acai strawberry shake, donated to 3 more charities, and soon have kickball. We have barely enough people to play (yet again). Gotta go!

Thursday, 19 July 2018

Thursday, July 19, 2018

I've started a Google Doc to keep track of my progress (charity donations, etc.) toward my month's resolutions.

Woke up 7am today; I was in the middle of a dream. Went for a run (over 3km) around Bernal - Precita, and back on 26th St.

Work is still busy, but I'm somehow getting adjusted to it.

Went to KFC for lunch, even though I brought some food with me (leftover spaghetti and meatballs).


Wednesday, 18 July 2018

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Work is busy.

I woke up and went for a run early (7am) then rushed to work (8am) to be there by 9 for a phone call with La-Z-Boy. Then a call with Amazon. Then a call with an agency to go over their proposal. Then a meeting to assess what to do with operational quality.

Whew.

I am trying not to be burnt out.

Staying off Instagram is probably keeping me focused. I'm learning to say no to things and resist temptation. It's good.

Now, home.

Tuesday, 17 July 2018. Busy at work.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Oh man, I've dropped the ball and haven't blogged in almost a week.

I was in LA over the weekend - it was my mom's birthday. She, uncle Ben, and I went to the expensive fine dining restaurant Providence for a wonderful dinner on Friday night.

Saturday, I met Katie and her beach volleyball friends (including Kevin, and George from Greece) in Venice Beach, and we then went for a beer and burger at a nearby bar. I was happy to see her. I was also happy to see so many electric scooters (Birds and Limes) flying by everywhere. I then went home, then went out in WeHo with Samara. She drove me in her truck. We met Alex S then Will and I bumped into Max, whom I kissed briefly. We ended up at Flaming Saddles.

Sunday was brunch day at A&P's. I went for a run in the morning. I stopped by Super A and bought a bunch of ingredients, and  Priscilla helped me cook everything (she was my sous chef!). It was fun, but did take a while to cook. Michelle and Angela were there. (Kevin was staying at his friend's place; they were there in the morning to watch the World Cup final - France won!). Karen and Danny were there too, but Danny had to leave early. Chris D was also there but he left without eating. Jose was there with his little brother (who was also wearing USA swimming trunks). We then went to the pool and hung out and drank; good times! I left around 6pm, because Juan and Alex H were bugging me to come to WeHo. So I drove over and met them at Revolver. With them were Alex R and James T. Along with two other friends (forgot their names). Everyone was so happy to see me and telling me how good of a friend I am. Made me feel good but slightly uncomfortable. Got home around 10:30pm, stopping by Tommy's along the way.

Monday morning, my flight was at 8:20 so Uncle Ben and my mom drove me to BUR at 7am. It was a normal, non-eventful flight, landed 5 minutes early. I took a Lyft that got me to Emeryville at 10 sharp (but I decided to stop by Starbucks so I didn't actually walk in until 10:10). What a busy day. So much to do/figure out with Amazon. La-Z-Boy acquired Joybird. Filling in the daily/weekly spend metrics. I was exhausted by the end of the day, riding my GoBike to W Oakland. I put on some eps of The Americans (given the news of Trump meeting Putin today, it seemed oddly relevant). Sam came to hang out and chat - he got the job offer to Chicago and is now negotiating the salary of the offer. Alex hung for a bit too but slept early.

Today, I went for a run (I'm slightly behind on my goal of hitting 62km this month). Got to work around 9:45. Another busy day, weekly marketing meeting. I didn't even eat lunch. It's Prime Day but I'm too busy to be in a shopping mood. Thankfully I'm not letting the business make me stressy. I'm staying calm and keeping the perspective that work is work, I'll be fine regardless.

I donated to Ate Christina's birthday fundraiser for RAICES. I have missed several days of donating and will need to catch up.

DONE. Now, it's 6pm again and I'm still in the office with Jojo. Time to go home!