365 grateful project (count=179)

photo from chairholder.de

• cute and (informative) short film on Basel III
• Vitra Design Museum holds several prominent estates, including those of Charles Eames, Verner Panton, Anton Lorenz, and Alexander Girard (located in Weil am Rhein, 6 km away from Basel)
• Dad congratulated me for living next to the Best Food Market in the world

365 grateful project (count=176)

• New Idea Fest at Alumnae Theatre: He says he likes the second play the best because it was the most realistic; I say I like the second play the best because it was the most absurd; the play is about the meeting of two women at a laundromat; the old woman thinks life is a play; the young woman thinks life is a reality TV series.
• Preceded by Mylk Uncookies for milk (almond milk latte) and cookies (not usually a cookie person but this cookie has more salty choco than cookie).
• The barista at Crema has been giving me double stamps for some reason, so I’m getting a free cappuccino every other week.
• Lunchbox Exchange: When I cook, he gets to bring the leftover for lunch; when he cooks, I get to bring the leftover for lunch.
• Dinner at the Rosedale Diner; loved the apple cake and the duck confit (in a cassis veal jus).
• Health Mandate: I ask him if he thinks it’s constitutional; he says “No Act of Parliament can be unconstitutional, for the law of the land knows not the word or the idea”.

on a less positive note

photo from anotherstickerinthewall.com

• We saw Eames: The Architect & The Painter ten days ago at Bloor Cinema. It upset me so much that I didn’t know what to write. Charles+Ray found a successful design firm. Charles (who is described as very very charismatic) meets new girl and offers to leave Ray and start a new design firm with her. Imagine a version of the Bill+Hillary (Billary?) story where Monica runs for president.
• Reading Here Are The Women of Y Combinator And They Are Awesome, I stumble over this quote: “Women and men look at things differently. Women will go to a store and browse. But job search is built around knowing what you want and going after that.” Like seriously!!!

grateful at work (count=170)

Sometimes I notice that some people at work are not happy. Most of the time it’s because they are thinking about how they compare against other people. It reminds me of being in first grade. To join Young Pioneers, one must get 100 on both the language test and the math test. I always got 100 on the language test. I used to always get 99 on the math test because seven plus five is eleven. To say that I felt left behind when all my friends joined Young Pioneers would be an understatement. Twenty three years later, I’m certain that feeling is still with me even if I don’t think about this kind of stuff consciously.

So, what to think/talk about at work?

• Jessica and I are going to see The Job: “Will the candidates endure this Survivor meets The Apprentice competition for employment? Should they have to? This brutal examination of entry-level recruitment sheds light on the stigma of being unemployed, the power dynamics of interviewing and the roles people play in their quest to earn a minimum wage.”
• Faisel and I are doing choco exchange: He gave me choco with mint chips, which is surprisingly good even though I can’t stand choco with mint cream (uh toothpaste uh); I gave him 99.
• Michel, who used to work in Amsterdam, cannot stand Canadian coffee. He put a coffee machine in the kitchen, which is next to the entrance. The scent of great coffee hits me the second I step into the office. It’s like I’m working for Starbucks.

Do you have a good job? Take the test

365 grateful project (count=167)

Banff Mountain Film Fest
• Obe & Ashima: “There’s a nine-year-old girl from New York City taking the bouldering world by storm, and her name is Ashima Shiraishi. Guided by her coach and former bouldering star Obe Carrion, this tiny master is crushing competitions and raising the bar for her peers. A trip to the bouldering mecca of Hueco Tanks provides a glimpse of the past for Obe and the start of amazing new adventures for Ashima.” (probably one of the reasons that I’m thinking that I’m not living up to my potential)
• Spoil: “Photographers join the Gitga’at First Nation of British Columbia in an attempt to photograph the legendary spirit bear, with the help of a local guide who is deeply connected to the bear and its environment, a place threatened by a proposed oil pipeline.”

living up to my potential

I’m having one of those days where I wake and think I’m not living up to my potential. Listened to the audacity of hope speech while walking to work and felt even worse. Maybe I should go climb Mount Rainier this summer?

Then I read this wsj article.

The explosive growth in marathons, triathlons and other endurance sports comes largely from midlife converts such as Mr. Waxman, the Ironman triathlete. // His exercise regimen intensified about seven years ago, eventually hitting two hours each weekday and up to five or six hours each Saturday and Sunday. // In his view, his athletic ambition shouldn’t have surprised his wife. It arose from the same qualities that drove him to obtain two law degrees, an MBA and his position at Merrill Lynch. // His gargantuan training hours last summer were aimed at a particularly elite goal—a swim across the English Channel, which he achieved in September. “The English Channel thing, hopefully my wife and kids see it as a little bit inspiring,” he says.

Reminds me of this nytimes article: marriage is not great terrain for overachievers.

big data

April 13, 2011

I think the smartest kids in my generation are becoming entrepreneurs and there are huge opportunities at the intersection of technology and statistics.

Now I have a quote from mckinsey

There will be a shortage of talent necessary for organizations to take advantage of big data. By 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.

In my original post, I “couldn’t help but wonder if management consulting popularizes red ocean strategies”. Nevertheless, it’s very interesting thinking about how this is going to affect life insurance and annuity businesses.

365 grateful project (count=163)

• used to buy squash ravioli a lot; now realize that baking large batch of squash is super easy; +ricotta +pasta +pea + sausage +garlic
• white fish + Jamie Oliver red pepper and walnut pesto
• fav supermarket salad bar: bloor street market in manulife centre; three dozen options including four different kinds of quinoa
• last year’s wine expo with Jessica/Faisel/Tiffany: we liked the pear sampling booth; eating lots of Green Anjou
• choco workshop with Denise: although cannot handle too much heat, dark choco + chili = yummy

365 grateful project (count=158)

• Sipping in a comfy chair at seven grams (love the splatter on wood artwork)
• Liège waffle (wiki: “richer, denser, sweeter”) from Petit Dej
• it has been six months

365 grateful project (count=155)

• Hugo: Yup I cried!
• Urbanized: DVD finally arrived and definitely worth the wait
• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia: At Cannes, where the film won the runner-up Grand Jury Prize, it was called “Chekhovian”. We know what that means. Nothing happens, everyone talks. // Half way between – at the 70-minute stage – comes the AGM. The Absolute Great Moment. // intertwining the frayed ends of their soul. Then beauty comes in, plain and nature-gifted, and transcendence happens. This scene is cinema of utter, purest sorcery. But one could say that of the whole film.
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi: “You have to fall in love with your job,” Ono says. “You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill.” Ono literally does dream of sushi, waking in the night with visions of better ways to serve his eel and tuna, his octopus and shrimp.