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November 2022 Update – Personal
Posted by: | November 11, 2022
| 2 Comments
| Personal
John
John
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My favorite singer, Gal Costa, died on Nov 9, 2022

I cannot think of any other singer who brings me such joy as Gal Costa. She was 77 years old. God bless her. I am glad I found her by accident many years ago. Her songs hit me differently when I knew she was alive. With her passing, my life will be slightly different. Her music shaped my personality and lifestyle. I often think about what I will listen to at the moment of my death. Gal Costa is the one.

My past blog posts that talk about Gal Costa

I am doing very well

I am sorry; I have slowed down with my blog update. I am still here. I still have the same job. I am still healthy. I haven’t changed much. I still believe a boring life is the best life. There is absolutely no drama in my life.

I lost 7 pounds last 2 months by eating less. I went from 162 lb down to 155 lb. The sole purpose of losing weight is so I can eat like a pig during the holiday season. Now I can gain several pounds and not feel bad about it. I call my diet “The Hunger Games”.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on video recording and editing. I don’t plan on becoming a YouTuber. it’s just fun playing with it.

Doing sit-ups can be bad for you. Very bad.

This is embarrassing, but I hope to save some of you from the months of suffering that I endured. I did some sit-ups last year, and it caused a blister on my buttock (in the awkward area). I thought it would go away, but it didn’t. The blister was there for several months and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t even examine it visually. The blister gradually became worse and more painful. Finally, before making a doctor’s appointment, I performed a minor procedure on my own. (detail skipped). My blind operation was a success. It took several days to get completely healed.

If this happened to me, this can happen to you. The blister is hard to manage because of where it’s located. If you are sexually active, such a blister can send a wrong impression about you. I don’t know if the blister leaves scars. And if you are not gutsy enough, you’ll have to take this to a doctor. I don’t even want to imagine how I was supposed to show this to a doctor… in missionary style? or doggie style? Terrifying…

There are better ways to work your abs. Do abdominal crunch. Avoid sit-ups (nonononono…).

Costco Shopping & Turkey Coming Up

Next week, I shall go to Costco for a turkey and some treats. I will bake a turkey alone as usual. I am invited to two places for Thanksgiving dinner. But Thanksgiving Day is also my holiday. I want to enjoy the holiday. I want to lie down, watch TV, take a nap, and do whatever I feel like. I shall gain 7 pounds during this holiday season.

Talk to you later!

Then I saw the videos
Posted by: | August 8, 2022
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| Personal
John
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Hi, I am doing very well. I still have the same job that I work from home since the pandemic. And I haven’t caught Covid yet! I am here and I will keep in touch. Below is a quick chit-chat.

###

Like any other teenager, music was a big part of my life when I was young. I still enjoy music every day.

Back then, there was a time when music videos were rare. MTV was new, and they mostly played pop songs such as Prince and Madonna.

I loved below two songs (among others). I listened to them hundreds of times when I was young. I even felt “exclusive” that I was listening to imported European stuff.

Many years later, I finally saw the videos on YouTube.

I wish I had never seen these videos. I still like these songs a lot. But the videos are horrible (suck). They look cheesy and cheap. I was shocked and confused. It would have been better if I didn’t see these videos.

Steve Winwood – While You See A Chance

Modern Talking – Geronimo’s Cadillac

Oil Change
Posted by: | April 5, 2022
| 2 Comments
| Kitchen, Personal
John
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My friend told me that my scrambled eggs smelled funny. She followed up by telling me that my cooking oil must be rancid and yucky. But, I know my eggs. I make great scrambled eggs.

“Rancid? get out of here! Cooking oils never go bad. People dig up old cooking oils from the Pyramid and cook stuff… sausages, and shit,” I said jokingly, but with confidence. I quickly dismissed her.

I keep two kinds of cooking oils in the kitchen and they smelled just fine. They smelled just like what I’m used to all my life.

But she disagreed. She made a sour face as she smelled one of my cooking oils. She told me to check the expiration date on my cooking oils. “Expiration date? What expiration date?” I frowned as I looked at the jugs.

Oh my God! My oils have expired ages ago! My oils are rancid! So… they aren’t supposed to smell like that? I was blown away and embarrassed. Holy cow…


Cooking oils from Costco (March 2022)

I buy cooking oils from Costco. And they would last several years. I never checked the expiration date on cooking oil. I thought they didn’t even have an expiration date.

I bought the double jugs of canola oil from Costco on August 7, 2018. They had an expiration date of June 2019. There was no chance I was going to finish those twin monsters in 11 months.

The next day, I went to Walmart and picked up some small bottles of cooking oils. I transferred them into the dispensers. This time, I wrote down the expiration dates in bold letters.

I was poor all my life. It’s been 10 years since I became a homeowner. It’s been 9 years since I got a new job and improved my financial status. But, I cannot suddenly become a person of high class overnight. I’ve been telling you guys that my root is humble. This is one example.

I fried eggs multiple times using the new oils. But, I couldn’t really notice the difference. They all tasted the same. They are all good. Hahaha…

Oils from Walmart
How I quit cable TV with minimal anxiety
Posted by: | February 1, 2022
| 2 Comments
| Personal
John
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This blog post is for those who would like to quit cable TV, but who are suffering from anxiety about making that big move.

I love watching TV. I have nothing against casual television viewing. I am not totally against cable TV. If I had a son who loves sports, I would gladly pay big bucks so my son will enjoy all games (FYI: I have no kids).

I watched cable TV since the 80s – during the entire existence of cable TV. After about 40 years, cable TV was part of my life. The thought of quitting cable TV was terrifying. I couldn’t imagine my life without cable TV. When I was poor and most of my food was from 99 Cents Only Stores, I still paid big bucks so I can watch cable TV on my 9 inch TV.

Let me be fair here. I was poor all my life. So, I can tell you that some poor people desperately need good TV to escape and find joy in life while living in poor living conditions. Some people say “In America, people in poverty have cable TV. How crazy is that?” But, I understand poor people need cable TV more than rich people do.

I wish there were free internet TV APPs when I was younger.

2004. My government-subsidized studio apartment.
Eating dinner standing up and watching a 9-inch TV.

How I quit cable TV

  • As time went by, my anger towards to the cable TV companies grew. They kept raising price. I hated all cable TV companies. I would rather pay more money on Hulu than giving my money to cable TV companies.
  • So, I subscribed to Hulu with live TV. After that I quit cable TV. I had access to all the TV channels via Hulu. So, I was not suffering from going cold turkey. Switching from cable TV to internet TV was a big change. I felt different. I learned how to use FireStick and free apps.
  • Youtube has live TV services as well. So, you can go with Youtube. But, live TV is expensive whatever you subscribe. The goal is to quit live TV.
  • What’s important here is that you are now on a monthly contract. You can let the service expire. And you can easily re-connect. You just click online, and you will get connected instantly.
  • After a few months of watching Hulu with Live TV, I switched my account to basic Hulu ($14/m). If I want, I can re-activate live TV anytime. So, there was no anxiety.
  • With basic Hulu, I could still catch some of my shows such as The Conners, American Ninja warriors, and Bob’s Burgers. I get to watch them one day after they aired, which is fine with me.
  • With basic Hulu, I am now missing out on all NBA, NASCAR, Super Bowl, Survivor, College basketball, etc… So, if you must watch those games, stay with live TV or cable TV and enjoy.
  • I can always activate Live TV account and watch live TV. But, now I feel uneasy about paying $70 to activate live TV. I found out it is difficult to re-activate live TV, just like it was difficult to cut cable TV.
  • I save about $700 on television yearly (compared to regular folks who watch cable TV). The satisfaction of saving money out-weighs watching live TV.
Internet, phone, TV price in a 12-month period
A royal customer getting screwed.

Additional information

  • I don’t receive any TV via digital antennas. I live far away and over the mountains from any TV stations.
  • On average, I pay about $15/m on TV services. Last 3 months, I spent an average of $5-$6 on TV.
  • I pay $87.98 for internet & phone (landline).
  • I have 2 Firestick 4k’s. One in my TV room, and the other one in my closet room. I don’t have a TV in both of my bedrooms.
  • My favorite movie app is Tubi. This free app has all kinds of movies. They show commercials, but the amount of commercials is considerably less than that of regular TV. The commercial time on Tubi is tolerable.
  • I watch Pluto TV for local news for free.
  • I will watch the Super Bowl on Peacock TV ($4.99/m).
  • Sometimes I subscribe to Netflix or Hulu, but I never subscribe to both at the same time. The last time I watched Hulu or Netflix was about 3 months ago.
  • I watch Amazon Prime only when they give me one month free trial, which is once a year. I refuse to pay for Amazon Prime. I prefer to put $119 in my pocket, not in Amazon’s pocket. (soon to be $139)
  • Discovery Plus ($6.99/m) is my regular TV APP that’s usually on.

January , 2022. I came a long way.

Finally – To save even more money, I let my TV subscription expire every month. I activate the service every month for just one month. I may renew the service on the day it expires. But, sometimes, when I realize that my subscription has expired, several days would have already passed. That means I didn’t pay for those several days. If I continue with that habit, I can save 1-2 months of subscription fee every year. If they want me to renew automatically, they better offer me a discount.

Screw cable TV companies. Screw all of them.

America’s Got Talent: My favorite show to fast forward
Posted by: | January 17, 2022
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| Personal
John
John
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I assume America’s Got Talent is a highly rated TV show. I don’t have a live TV package, and I don’t always subscribe to Hulu. I catch up on AGT whenever I activate Hulu, It’s a fun show.

AGT is the show that I fast forward the most. They put a minimum of 30 minutes of commercials in the 2-hour show. So, I squeeze the heck out of the fast-forward button. It usually takes me 10-15 minutes to watch the entire 2-hour show.

Now, set the timer for 15 minutes…

  • I skip commercials, fillers, and background stories.
  • I skip bad acts that’s supposed to be funny.
  • I skip child acts – 5 years old kids doing Tango, etc..
  • I skip mind-reader acts. The guy who predicts everything. He knows what you are thinking, etc.. they are all the same.
  • I skip community choir groups. A bunch of people sharing love and singing. I guarantee Judges will love them, because NBC will not invite that many people just to X them out. But, I press FF as soon as I see a sea of people on the stage.
  • I skip musical acts made up of family members. (mother and son heavy metal band, husband and wife duet, etc… )
  • I skip ventriloquist acts.
  • I skip animal acts.
  • I skip any acts if the contestants are annoying from the get-go.
  • I skip hip hop dance groups.
  • I never watch the result show.
  • I don’t care to know who won.
Absolutely adorable. But, I skip child acts, too. Sorry.

I don’t know why I even watch AGT. But, sometimes I catch some super fun acts such as Shin Lim and Double Dragon. That’s my kind of entertainment.

America’s Got Talent is a fun show to watch for 15 minutes – thank God for the FF button.

Double Dragon

December 2021 Catch Up
Posted by: | December 28, 2021
| 1 Comment
| Personal
John
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I don’t feel sentimental about reaching the end of the year. I am very busy at work. I don’t have time to pause and look back. My visitors know I enjoy every day of my life in my own boring way. Life is good when you are alive and not too close to death. Let me put this in a mathematical equation below…

Younger = Better

I work for a multi-billion dollar retail industry. We sell. So I am busy during the holiday season. It gets stressful, but it’s not too bad. I just don’t have time for my blog.

So, again, I will throw in a quick chit-chat to keep my blog fresh. I will stay true to myself and talk about some boring stuff.

First, this was how it looked on Christmas day. I tried to fix my Christmas lights (garland)… and Christmas was over. See how sad that looks? I never got to fix that garland. I’ll have to buy a new one next year. This Christmas came fast as usual, but this year I made some Christmas memories.

Below is a picture of my medicine cabinet in the master bathroom.

  • I always keep acne pads. I rarely get pimples, but when I need it, I need it ASAP.
  • I use sand timer every day when I use mouthwash. (1 minute)
  • I use soap and brush when I shave, but only on weekend. The pink baby cup holds the shaving soap. I bought that cup at my female coworker’s garage sale. I was looking for a cup for my shaving soap. And it works perfectly. Then I realized that… She must think I’m creepy that I bought the cup that she used when she was a baby. It is weird. What was I thinking??
  • I use some fancy hair care products. After Party hair milk makes my hair silky. I use Aveda jell if I want my hair extra curly. I rarely use those products now that I work from home.
  • TheraBreath is my go-to mouthwash. I always worry that I may have bath breath and not aware of it. So, I use a fancy mouthwash every morning.
  • The deodorant is unscented. You know I am particular about smell & fragrances.
  • Aftershave lotion is almost unscented.
  • I never use the dentist picks.

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  • I currently pay $6.99/Mo for television services. And I invested $24k in 401K & HSA this year.
  • I am 163 pounds now. Somebody send me some diet pills.

I am here and doing well. I am just busy. I will keep in touch. Happy new year~!!