As you may or may not be able to see in my title, my work is slowly seeping into my playtime. For almost 2 weeks now, my "supervisor" was traveling abroad (He's back now though). As a direct result, my immediate workload increased slightly, but the decisions I made were more difficult due to the uncertainty of not having a more knowledgeable person to check with. But as an indirect result, I found myself working in the evenings because that's when my supervisor would be sending emails.
My two projects right now are pretty intense right now. Unfortunately, I cannot go into details because of some papers I signed, but there's a lot of big, important, difficult, messy, engineer-y, and ugly stuff going on. It's a headache trying to sort through all the goings-ons not just in my office, but on the other side of the globe while I'm asleep.
To help facilitate all the teams, international companies utilize some magic tricks - such as the conference call. With my supervisor out of the country and my China team pretty powerless, I've had to learn to work with entire teams over the phone at 8 in the evenings. Definitely a hassle - adding to my workload and just overall taking away from my chillaxing utility.
BUT - there is a bright side. I see myself growing more confident, more knowledgeable, and more comfortable in the environment. I am also realizing that in order to make your company competitive, you have to be a more competitive engineer. And there'll have to be sacrifices like working a bit late. (Ahhh, Formula, you've taught me so much!) So far, I am not entirely dissatisfied with my balance, as I've been having fun when I'm not working. But that doesn't mean I don't wish I was still in school sleeping late, waking late, and being late.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
POLYSICS Live!
Earlier this week on Sunday, my friend and I went to see POLYSICS perform live at the Abbey Pub. In the past, I've read that their lives are a lot of fun because they're so energetic. And DAMN WAS IT A LOT OF FUN.
Performances started at 9PM, but POLYSICS was apparently the main act, so they started at 11PM. They were preceded by Black Gold and Jaguar Love. Nothing against them, but they seemed and sounded more like the start-up garage bands while POLYSICS was like...on a totally different level. I don't go to performances like these, so I'm at a loss for words and comparisons, but man they were really awesome.
Before the show began, my friend and I saw the frontman Hiroyuki Hayashi (aka Hiro) at the tables selling albums, vinyls, and various other souvenirs. I really think we were the only ones there at the time who knew who he was because when we started asking for autographed albums and pictures, everyone else around did too. It looked like they were going, "Oh, it looks like this person's worth taking pictures with" or something. I dunno.
Later on, we saw him standing in the back, watching Black Gold perform. I tapped his shoulder and asked him would he play "I My Me Mine" and all he could say was, "Secret!" with a smile. It was pretty awesome. He did ultimately play "I My Me Mine" - I like to think that he obliged my request, but I know that's very unlikely because that's like one of their best songs...haha.
I still can't believe I saw them perform. It's almost surreal. So far this week, there has been two mornings where I wake up, drowsily thinking to myself, "Damn that concert was awesome." I highly recommend POLYSICS to anyone and everyone because in my opinion, their music is impossible to hate. You can maybe not like it, but there is no way you can hate it I can't wait for them to come back!
I embedded a YouTube video of two of their best songs, both of which they played, edited back-to-back.
Performances started at 9PM, but POLYSICS was apparently the main act, so they started at 11PM. They were preceded by Black Gold and Jaguar Love. Nothing against them, but they seemed and sounded more like the start-up garage bands while POLYSICS was like...on a totally different level. I don't go to performances like these, so I'm at a loss for words and comparisons, but man they were really awesome.
Before the show began, my friend and I saw the frontman Hiroyuki Hayashi (aka Hiro) at the tables selling albums, vinyls, and various other souvenirs. I really think we were the only ones there at the time who knew who he was because when we started asking for autographed albums and pictures, everyone else around did too. It looked like they were going, "Oh, it looks like this person's worth taking pictures with" or something. I dunno.
Later on, we saw him standing in the back, watching Black Gold perform. I tapped his shoulder and asked him would he play "I My Me Mine" and all he could say was, "Secret!" with a smile. It was pretty awesome. He did ultimately play "I My Me Mine" - I like to think that he obliged my request, but I know that's very unlikely because that's like one of their best songs...haha.
I still can't believe I saw them perform. It's almost surreal. So far this week, there has been two mornings where I wake up, drowsily thinking to myself, "Damn that concert was awesome." I highly recommend POLYSICS to anyone and everyone because in my opinion, their music is impossible to hate. You can maybe not like it, but there is no way you can hate it I can't wait for them to come back!
I embedded a YouTube video of two of their best songs, both of which they played, edited back-to-back.
POLYSICS - I My Me Mine
POLYSICS - Electric Surfin' Go Go
POLYSICS - Electric Surfin' Go Go
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Advent and Rise of Hulu
Launched less than 8 months ago, Hulu.com is well on its way to becoming the next YouTube. On TIME's top 50 inventions of 2008, Hulu.com made it all the way up to #4.
For those of you who don't know, Hulu is basically a high-definition version of YouTube. The difference is that all of the content is licensed but legal - the caveat is that it's ad-supported. But in my opinion, ads online are WAY more bareable than ads on TV because: 1) there's only 1 30-second ad per break and 2) even if you're not paying attention to the ad and end up missing a part of the show, you can simply skip back to the parts that you missed. No such luxuries on TV!
There is a ton of video media available on Hulu, ranging from promos, clips, full TV shows, and even full movies - all in HD! The TV show selection is rich, as I see many of today's and yesterday's top shows, including several of my favorites.
Hulu is growing as well. I noticed yesterday that Hulu even added a new anime channel. After sampling the channel for a bit, I was disappointed that the eps are dubbed, but the selection looks pretty good. I hope it'll draw in a lot of new anime fans.
However, it seems like Hulu vids are only available to residents of the US or Canada, so my international friends are left out. But if you can - I highly recommend you sign up for Hulu immediately!
As a side note - HD video via internet is definitely the wave of the future. In mere months, I've been spending a lot of time watching my favorite shows in HD - completely free (but ad-supported). 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report are my regular offenders. South Park and Late Night with Conan O'Brien are my less-than-regulars, but I still love 'em.
For those of you who don't know, Hulu is basically a high-definition version of YouTube. The difference is that all of the content is licensed but legal - the caveat is that it's ad-supported. But in my opinion, ads online are WAY more bareable than ads on TV because: 1) there's only 1 30-second ad per break and 2) even if you're not paying attention to the ad and end up missing a part of the show, you can simply skip back to the parts that you missed. No such luxuries on TV!
There is a ton of video media available on Hulu, ranging from promos, clips, full TV shows, and even full movies - all in HD! The TV show selection is rich, as I see many of today's and yesterday's top shows, including several of my favorites.
Hulu is growing as well. I noticed yesterday that Hulu even added a new anime channel. After sampling the channel for a bit, I was disappointed that the eps are dubbed, but the selection looks pretty good. I hope it'll draw in a lot of new anime fans.
However, it seems like Hulu vids are only available to residents of the US or Canada, so my international friends are left out. But if you can - I highly recommend you sign up for Hulu immediately!
As a side note - HD video via internet is definitely the wave of the future. In mere months, I've been spending a lot of time watching my favorite shows in HD - completely free (but ad-supported). 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report are my regular offenders. South Park and Late Night with Conan O'Brien are my less-than-regulars, but I still love 'em.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Fall of the Republican Party
In one big swoop, the American people showed their "wholesale rejection of President Bush and the GOP's policies" by electing a Democratic Party majority in the BOTH the House and the Senate. Amazing. The pundits are saying that the Republican party must "think long and hard about who and what they are" now.
I personally noticed and realized the Republican party's downfall during Obama's victory speech on Election Night. At Grant Park, you saw a mix of Caucausians, Africans, Hispanics, Asians, and many others - and they were all cheering and screaming and so enthusiastic. Compare that to McCain's concession speech - the ONLY demographic I saw were whites. Many of them seemed disappointed that McCain did not win but still supportive, which is understandable and expected. But there were also many people there who just sounded angry and McCain had to stop his speech several times to calm them down.
That was when I realized just how "behind the times" the Republican party is. If you treated the Parties as companies, the GOP is the old player with antiquated equipment, using obsolete technology, run by a bunch of old white guys who's play by the same rules for generations. On the flipside, the Democrats looks like the young start-up who's embracing new technology like the internet, run by a group of young, energetic, diverse team recently graduated from the top universities, and ready to revolutionize the world with a fresh outlook and no boundaries. Of course, there are some similarities and there are some "that's what they want you to believe" things in my metaphor. I realize that. I realize what the word "politician" means and I know that politicians will always be politicians.
What I'm saying though, is that if the Republican party wants to survive, they need a new winning strategy. And let me tell you this - their new strategy will have to ditch the extreme-right nutjob "base." They need to lose the hatemongerers like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and basically everyone on Fox News. It's okay to be right, but they need to move over to the center and learn to embrace those that are not "like them," meaning other races, other demographics.
Four years is a long time and I'm sure they can change their image if they really wanted. But if they don't, I can easily see the next 12 years belonging to the Democrats.
I personally noticed and realized the Republican party's downfall during Obama's victory speech on Election Night. At Grant Park, you saw a mix of Caucausians, Africans, Hispanics, Asians, and many others - and they were all cheering and screaming and so enthusiastic. Compare that to McCain's concession speech - the ONLY demographic I saw were whites. Many of them seemed disappointed that McCain did not win but still supportive, which is understandable and expected. But there were also many people there who just sounded angry and McCain had to stop his speech several times to calm them down.
That was when I realized just how "behind the times" the Republican party is. If you treated the Parties as companies, the GOP is the old player with antiquated equipment, using obsolete technology, run by a bunch of old white guys who's play by the same rules for generations. On the flipside, the Democrats looks like the young start-up who's embracing new technology like the internet, run by a group of young, energetic, diverse team recently graduated from the top universities, and ready to revolutionize the world with a fresh outlook and no boundaries. Of course, there are some similarities and there are some "that's what they want you to believe" things in my metaphor. I realize that. I realize what the word "politician" means and I know that politicians will always be politicians.
What I'm saying though, is that if the Republican party wants to survive, they need a new winning strategy. And let me tell you this - their new strategy will have to ditch the extreme-right nutjob "base." They need to lose the hatemongerers like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and basically everyone on Fox News. It's okay to be right, but they need to move over to the center and learn to embrace those that are not "like them," meaning other races, other demographics.
Four years is a long time and I'm sure they can change their image if they really wanted. But if they don't, I can easily see the next 12 years belonging to the Democrats.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Election Night 2008 (yesterday)
Great heroes emerge from great chaos.
Last night, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the next president of the United States of America. (I don't use his middle name to incite fear. I use it because it's his name and I don't there should be any reason for anyone to use it against him.)
On Tuesday morning, I woke up early before at 6AM to place my first vote. On that day, I did not care if I slept 2 hours less than I usually do. One that day, I did not care if I was going to show up late to work (which I didn't). Like many others, I decided that I had to be a part of this potentially historic moment - and I, like MANY Americans, placed our bets on the right guy.
I stayed up and refused to go to bed until Obama finished his speech and Grant Park had begun clearing. It was an awesome experience, even though I basically experienced it myself. Unfortunately, being at my apartment up in the north, away from my South side home, nobody near me was really as excited as I, or any of the people they show on TV, was.
I voted for and believe in Barack Obama for many reasons. He's educated and eloquent - "elite," you would say. And I think it's great. I think he represents -me- and -so- -many- Chicagoans so well. Having established his political career here, I trust that he understands the problems that are plaguing me and people like me. Having gone to Harvard and working hard to get through his college career, I trust that he understands the plight of college students everywhere - that throughout the 4 years of my college career, I saw my grants and aids and scholarships consistently decrease. Coming from a humble home, I trust he understands how it must be to see your parents work harder and longer but make and enjoy less.
Obama understands the ordeals and the motivations that drive a lot of working families - families that have been largely ignored or marginalized by many of the Washington veterans. He gives the thoughts and feelings of so many parents a national audience. What he is telling America is the exact same thing my parents have told me all my life. They work hard to make my life better. To give me the things and the life that they could only dream about. To give me the opportunity to become a better person, a more productive member of society, and a person who through their sweat and blood make them proud. And to best repay their commitment, I can only say I will do that when I am in their place. And this is what us minorities are really about. This is why people from all across the world come to America and this is why they love it here.
This morning, when I woke up, my first instinct was to go online and find "international" stories. I easily found articles on CNN talking about how Obama's victory brought joy and happiness - and a sigh of relief - all across the the globe. I doubt that anyone else could bring about such goodwill and emotion so easily. Obama IS a celebrity. But why is that bad?
All over the news, there's been discussion about what Obama has done for African-Americans across the country. When I was younger, I would often come across a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote. Each time I read his words, I would feel a chill down my spine because his words rang so true, deep, and inspiring to me even though I only considered myself the 3rd person looking in. And oftentimes, while I was...trying to grasp and understand the different socioeconomic conditions of my environment (so to speak), I would often wonder what happened to the movement MLK led? Why is there nobody to continue it? To finish it? Is there no one else besides Jesse Jackson?
In Obama, there is a man who echoes the spirit of MLK. And in that, I feel that the seeds of change have been sowed, and that once again, we can write another chapter in the history books of the future that we can be proud of.
Last night, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the next president of the United States of America. (I don't use his middle name to incite fear. I use it because it's his name and I don't there should be any reason for anyone to use it against him.)
On Tuesday morning, I woke up early before at 6AM to place my first vote. On that day, I did not care if I slept 2 hours less than I usually do. One that day, I did not care if I was going to show up late to work (which I didn't). Like many others, I decided that I had to be a part of this potentially historic moment - and I, like MANY Americans, placed our bets on the right guy.
I stayed up and refused to go to bed until Obama finished his speech and Grant Park had begun clearing. It was an awesome experience, even though I basically experienced it myself. Unfortunately, being at my apartment up in the north, away from my South side home, nobody near me was really as excited as I, or any of the people they show on TV, was.
I voted for and believe in Barack Obama for many reasons. He's educated and eloquent - "elite," you would say. And I think it's great. I think he represents -me- and -so- -many- Chicagoans so well. Having established his political career here, I trust that he understands the problems that are plaguing me and people like me. Having gone to Harvard and working hard to get through his college career, I trust that he understands the plight of college students everywhere - that throughout the 4 years of my college career, I saw my grants and aids and scholarships consistently decrease. Coming from a humble home, I trust he understands how it must be to see your parents work harder and longer but make and enjoy less.
Obama understands the ordeals and the motivations that drive a lot of working families - families that have been largely ignored or marginalized by many of the Washington veterans. He gives the thoughts and feelings of so many parents a national audience. What he is telling America is the exact same thing my parents have told me all my life. They work hard to make my life better. To give me the things and the life that they could only dream about. To give me the opportunity to become a better person, a more productive member of society, and a person who through their sweat and blood make them proud. And to best repay their commitment, I can only say I will do that when I am in their place. And this is what us minorities are really about. This is why people from all across the world come to America and this is why they love it here.
This morning, when I woke up, my first instinct was to go online and find "international" stories. I easily found articles on CNN talking about how Obama's victory brought joy and happiness - and a sigh of relief - all across the the globe. I doubt that anyone else could bring about such goodwill and emotion so easily. Obama IS a celebrity. But why is that bad?
All over the news, there's been discussion about what Obama has done for African-Americans across the country. When I was younger, I would often come across a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote. Each time I read his words, I would feel a chill down my spine because his words rang so true, deep, and inspiring to me even though I only considered myself the 3rd person looking in. And oftentimes, while I was...trying to grasp and understand the different socioeconomic conditions of my environment (so to speak), I would often wonder what happened to the movement MLK led? Why is there nobody to continue it? To finish it? Is there no one else besides Jesse Jackson?
In Obama, there is a man who echoes the spirit of MLK. And in that, I feel that the seeds of change have been sowed, and that once again, we can write another chapter in the history books of the future that we can be proud of.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Tina Feylin
Illustration by Francisco Caceres for TIME
Here's a fun picture I found on TIME.com. There was a lot of talk about how 30 Rock star, Tina Fey, has taken over Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin's public persona. This picture really captures that.
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