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New Year 2012

Posted on January 2nd, 2012 webmaster No comments          Print

Happy New Year!

I like to start the new year thinking about things I’ve accomplished the previous year and what I want to accomplish in the future.

Looking back, 2011 for me has been very productive. I’ve accomplished quite a bit, some were planned and some were not. These are the ones that stood out:

1.  Exceeded my financial goals.

My very first job while in college was working for a startup company.  I was assembling computers, doing helpdesk, and performing systems/network administration tasks later on.  The main business was re-selling Sun Microsystems (now owned by Oracle) servers.  We’ll get used parts from vendors and put them together and sell them to customers.

I worked there for about 4 years.  Pretty much since I was a freshman until after graduated from college, when they hired me full time.  I saw the company grew from less than 15 people to over 40.  While the job didn’t pay that well, I learned a lot from working there and enjoyed most of it.  I had a really great boss and met some really great people who I still keep in touch with to this day.  The business, unfortunately, went bankrupt (but re-opened again under a new name pretty much around the same time it filed for bankruptcy, I don’t know the legal details).

Weeks before the big announcement, we pretty much knew something was going on as people were getting laid off.  I was actually one of the few people that were left, but I left the company shortly after it re-opened.  That experience really made me think about job security.  There’s really no such thing anymore.  I was still living at home at the time, so if I lost my job that time it wasn’t a big deal.  But then I thought about my former co-workers, who have families to support and very dependent on that job.  That must’ve been really tough for them.

After that experience, I made the decision to save like crazy.  I wanted to be able to cover at least 1 year of living expenses.  I don’t want to be in a position where I couldn’t sleep at night because I was thinking about how to pay the bills.  I also don’t want to be very dependent on my job.  If I started really hating my job, I want to have the option to be able quit at any time.

I did reach that goal, but I still kept saving.  I also kept looking for ways to cut my spending even when I was making more than twice as much as I did earlier in my career.  I set a goal to have x amount of money at age 30, which I exceeded last year at age 26.  I’ve been very fortunate financially so far.  I managed to save enough to support myself for a few years (note that I don’t have a lot of money, I just don’t have a lot of expenses).

2.  Got more comfortable meeting new people.

I’m not the most outgoing person.  If you talk to my classmates in high school, they’d all tell you I was very shy and quiet.  People voted me in the “most shy” category in the high school yearbook.

I still am usually shy and quiet around people I just met, but not as much as I used to.  I started going to meetups on things I that interest me.  I went to a lot of tech meetups, hiking, and just hanging out with people doing different things.  I’m not comfortable just walking up to strangers and introducing myself, feels like I’m trying to sell them something.  But when you go to meetups, you know everyone is there for the same reason which makes it easier to approach someone and start a conversation as you already have a topic to talk about.

I actually enjoy meeting new people and listening to their stories.  Computer geeks are not anti-social creatures, and most have other interests outside of technology.

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Travel lighter with Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps All-One

Posted on December 30th, 2011 webmaster No comments          Print

Ever since I decided to travel the world, I’ve been looking for ways to do it with as little stuff as possible.  After a few test runs traveling with just a carry-on, I’m now a big believer that the less stuff you take with you the more fun you’ll have on the road.

I was searching for a soap that I could use both as a shampoo and body wash, but what I found is much better.  Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap can be used for both and a lot more! It replaced about 5 items in my backpack.

Dr. Bronner’s soaps are made of all-natural, organic ingredients.  Their liquid soaps are highly concentrated so a few drops can go a long way.  I bought the peppermint flavor and it replaced the following items in my packing list:

1. Body/face wash - I fill up a 3-ounce container halfway with water, add about 10 drops, and use that to wash my face and body.
2. Shampoo – A couple of drops seem enough. My hair gets dry if I use too much.
3. Toothpaste – Yes, you heard that right, as a toothpaste! It’s literally washing your mouth with soap! I usually just use a drop, sometimes two.  The peppermint flavor is probably the best for this.  The first couple of times I used it as a toothpaste it didn’t taste great, but I quickly got used to it and it doesn’t bother me anymore.  Just don’t use too much or it will leave an aftertaste.
4. Mouthwash – About 10 drops in 1.5 ounces of water.  Not sure if it actually helps using it as a mouthwash, though, as I’m already using it as a toothpaste.
5. Laundry detergent - Since I only carry about 3 sets of clothing, it’s good to have laundry detergent handy as I have to wash my clothes often.  I remember carrying a box of powdered laundry detergent with me, which is good for like 50 loads (smallest I could find at the store), when I was in New Zealand because I found the laundry detergent at the hostels pretty expensive and I don’t think all the hostels I stayed in were selling them.  For hand-washing, I use about 5-15 drops depending on how much clothes I’m washing.  For one load in the washer, I use about 30 drops.

Other possible uses when traveling:

1. Hand soap - Some hostels just don’t provide any soap at all in the bathrooms.  One or two drops of Dr. Bronner’s does the job.
2. Hand dishwashing soap - Probably mostly useful when camping.  I’ve only used it a few times when traveling to wash my spork.
3. Washing fruits and vegetables - I’ve actually never thought of using soap to wash fruits and vegetables, but it’s listed in the product description.
4. Household cleaning - Haven’t tried this yet, but I’ve read reviews saying it’s good for this.  Good to know if I decide to stay in one place for a while and rent an apartment.

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Grand Canyon National Park

Posted on December 28th, 2011 webmaster No comments          Print

I was very excited to visit the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.  Though I probably set my expectations a little too high, as I was pretty disappointed…

I only spent a day at the park and the weather wasn’t that great, which probably contributed to my disappointment.  The view from one of the viewpoints is definitely amazing, but it looked pretty much the same from all the other viewpoints.

It was pretty cold that day, probably in the 30s, and it was snowing a little bit.  It was  mostly cloudy and quite foggy so the views probably weren’t as great as they should’ve been.  The hiking trails were also pretty icy, so I didn’t do much hiking.  I hiked down about half a mile from the Bright Angel Trail and went back up as it doesn’t look like the views would change that much unless I go all the way down to the Colorado River.  But there was a warning on the trail that if you’re planning on hiking all the way to not expect to be back in one day and I definitely wasn’t prepared for that.

It looks like there are rafting tours you can take as well but there aren’t any tours operating this time of the year.  Plus I think the length is a minimum of 3 days.  I have a feeling though that doing the river rafting would give the best experience and views of the canyon.  Maybe I’ll come back here in a few years and do it the right way, allowing more time to really explore it.

More pics here: http://www.calazan.com/gallery/?album=8&gallery=46