Sunday, May 31, 2015

Some Non-Work Work Things

I would prefer not to discuss any work stuff on a public blog...but as for non-work work-related stuff, I have some thoughts to share...

The Perfect Meal Day

After almost a year of working, it finally occurred what would be my ideal meal (on a workday)...


Breakfast


Bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant.  Bacon > sausage, and croissant > bagel. Some fruit cause I know I probably don't get enough on a regular basis...

Lunch
















Lunch is tricky because it has to be filling, yet it can't cause a food coma.  I've finally figured out that a cold lunch for me is the way to go. Chicken pastasaladsomething with vegetables...something like this picture...would be great.

Dinner




















Dinner is the most flexible, but I have to go back to my roots with Chinese...especially with rice.


Travel Tidbits


Check-In

Airlines usually open up check-in 24 hours before a flight departs.  If you aren't happy with your seat (basically if you have a middle seat), wait until just after check-in opens before picking a seat.  For example, for my 6:15 flight, this is what I looked like at 6:28 the night before.

Isn't that weird? None of the middle seats are available but so many aisle/window seats are. I think this is because a lot of the "Preferred"/first class seats are not initially booked, but when check-in opens, "status" members (who are also seasoned travelers who book the good seats early) are automatically bumped up to first class, and then their seats are opened up. The middle seats are taken by people who book later and pick a seat when they book.  This method has proven reliable for me every time.

Precheck
If you don't know what Precheck is, you've probably been randomly selected for it on occasion (when the security line is especially long).  It's the expedited security line on the side in which you don't have to take off anything or remove anything from your bag.  Precheck is access to this line every time you fly (domestically)...

Having Precheck saves 20-30min every-time. If you buy it, you have to go through a background check, but for 5 years of access, it only costs...$85.  That's pretty insane because if I think about it, if I missed a flight, I would probably pay at least $85 to not have missed that flight...so even if it saves me from missing a flight once every 5 years, it's worth it, not to mention all the time saved waiting in line and lack of stress from worrying about a long security line.  If you travel at least a couple times a year, I think it's worth getting! There's also an international version called Global Entry that includes Precheck, but is just slightly more expensive.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Mail of the E Variety

In Gmail, if you wanted to know how long ago you created your account, click on Settings, go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, and you should see a line that says “Status: POP is enabled for all mail that has arrived since _________.”

I made my email on October 19, 2005, when Gmail was still in beta/invite-only mode. I vividly remember making my email username...even though Gmail had only been out a year, david.du was taken, as well as du.david...I believe davidrdu was taken as well for some weird reason...And so, I was left with the next thought that came to mind, which was of course...ohsnapple.  On a side note, I once randomly emailed david.du@gmail.com kindly asking if I could have it, but I got no reply to no one’s surprise.

Sigh...I’ve grown too reliant on this ohsnapple.  I even applied to college with it! I’ve since made another ‘less teenager-sounding’ email but it’s not the same...ohsnapple is still my main bae. 

I manage my email pretty uniquely in my opinion. Here’s a picture of my inbox:











Yes, that is correct - there are 0 emails in my Inbox.  I delete everything after reading it. Everything is in my trash (for 30 days until it’s automatically deleted), because I realized that for me, 99% of emails I won’t need after 30 days.  It also helps me feel more at ease from a psychological perspective; it’s like I’m clearing a lot of mental clutter.

The important stuff I save as PDFs onto a folder in my hard drive. And I keep the theme vanilla - simple and smooth. 

Maybe you should try this system out, too! I promise it’s very refreshing.

I’ve leave you with a little food for thought...who is more ‘truly’ more organized? The person who has little on his desk because he has removed everything unnecessary, or the person who has a ton of stuff on his desk but all arranged neatly.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

My First Post-Grad Vacation in Pictures (West Coast)

A few weeks ago, I took my first post-grad vacation with my college friends VK, CH, AH, and LL.  Because both VK and CH reside on the West Coast, it made sense to go there. Rather than typing up what we did...I'll just let pictures do the talking. Until next time!

Los Angeles

CH's pad
CH's pad
CH's pad
Housewarming Potluck Dinner

Selfie Stick Time!
Our LA ride
Griffith Observatory

Starting off the trip Cali-style...

Philz Coffee Mint Mojito
Santa Monica Beach
Okrumong - shaved ice

Half & Half Boba - a lot less 'smoothie'-like than east coast bubbletea - really good!
Hollywood Hike
We made it! 
Bulgogi Hut - $15 AYCE KBBQ!
El Taurino - best Mexican food ever
View of LA (mainly tree though) from rooftop restaurant
Boiling Point - Taiwanese hot pot
85 degrees bakery
 Las Vegas

View of LV from VK's apt
View of LV from VK's apt
Kitchen
Bathroom
Walked the Strip for a day
Strugglin' with Hash House
View from Stratosphere - LV's tallest building (you can see it from VK's apt view)
I went on this ride...jk
SW Steakhouse
Bacchanal Buffet overload (best buffet ever)


Bacchanal Buffet
Le Cirque de Soleil
Grand Canyon/Zion



Setting up
Tent success
Pictures don't do it justice...you have to experience it in person

Quite the narrow trail in some parts
Prepping Dinner
Cooking meattt
Kalbi (so asian)
Eating dinner
I became a fire master by the end of the night
Sleeping arrangements
Hiking in Zion National Park, Utah
Basically a rocky river in between mountains
Love driving down these roads