February 10, 2022 8:33 PM
A day for my dad
Today, I
- Took my dad to an appointment with a new doctor.
- Called my dad's former employer to ask about a tax form we haven't received.
- Called two companies to inform them of my dad's doctor's appointment today.
- Researched different tax software to see what would be cheapest and easiest for my dad's tax situation.
- Drove to a Verizon store so my dad could switch to a smartphone.
- Listened to my dad talk about the different exercises he's been trying.
- Went on a walk with my dad.
February 10, 2022 9:26 AM
My mobile app code is on github
Yesterday I took a day of PTO and spent a couple of hours on my mobile app. This is what came out of it:
- It now prevents me from trying to upload an image that will overwrite an existing one.
- It also copies the url of the newly uploaded image to clipboard, which I only included for the purpose of showing this progress video.
- My changes are on github! Hopefully I did it right and saved all the right files and didn't accidentally include any sensitive data.
December 31, 2021 2:19 PM
2021
I thought 2020 threw my system out of whack. I had high highs and low lows, but looking back at it, 2020 was pretty chill. Sure, the pandemic started, but at least it forced me to stay home. I didn't have to think about it. I traveled less, and I spent a lot of time with my sister.
2021 was a lot. I had even higher highs and lower lows. I've been so emotional and stressed out this year that it affected my sleep. And I had never had trouble with sleep before. Sleep was something I could count on. But then I had three weeks of barely any sleep, and months of waking up without an alarm. I used to think that being able to wake up without an alarm was a thing to strive for. Now, it's a little comforting to hear it.
But the sleep issues were only the beginning. I got promoted to a managerial position, and then several months later demoted myself. My dad suddenly experienced a lot of pain, and it changed the course of his life, taking up more of my time and headspace than I could have ever anticipated. But I also got to know a really wonderful person by going on lots of walks and eating lots of ice cream. I've learned and fumbled a lot throughout all of this, and I'm still learning and fumbling and flailing.
Sometimes it feels like all of my time is taken up by working, doing chores, running errands, and helping others, and I barely have any time for any of my own projects. But somehow I'm still able to get a few things done for myself. I beat Elite Beat Agents. I finally managed to do a 10 mile run. I learned some Android mobile app programming, and I made an app for my food blog. And every once in a while I make updates to this site.
I usually make New Year's resolutions, but I'm not quite sure I need something to focus on right now. Maybe I'll keep working on the mobile app. Maybe this year I'll finally get back to Programming Pearls or learning Teochew. Maybe I'll get strong enough to do a push up. We'll see.
I'm happy with the past year, and I'm looking forward to the year to come.
October 23, 2021 9:18 PM
10 miles
I probably gained about 20 pounds over the course of the pandemic. Maybe only 5 lbs or so during 2020, but once travel started opening back up again, and I was visiting home, I just ballooned really quickly. I gained about 15 lbs between February and June this year, and it was enough to make my doctor ask me about it.
You weigh 140? Is that right? You were 126 earlier this year.
Uhhh, yep, that's right. I told her it was due to stress.
So I had to do something about it. Stop eating so much fried chicken. Stop drinking soda. Start cooking again. Oh, and exercise.
But I felt like a blob. I could feel the tightness in my clothes and the heaviness all over my body. But I've been there before. If I can recover from a freshman 30, I can revert this quarantine 15.
So I did what I did eight years ago when I was overweight and terribly out of shape. I started running. And man, was it a struggle. How the hell did I manage to do 5 mile runs no problem pre-pandemic? For months I was barely able to run 2 miles non-stop. And I was running slow. 11 minute mile pace.
But something changed a few weeks ago. I don't know what it was. I felt lighter? I started being able to run 5Ks again. I ran 5 miles with my partner and I felt...fine. And then last week, I went out for a run on my own, with no real expectations. I ran three miles, and it felt so comfortable, so I kept going. I was at five miles, six miles, seven miles. I started running faster. I thought, "I think I can hit 10 miles". So I kept going. My feet started hurting, but I was determined. And suddenly, there it was.
I really thought I was going to have a few more #in-progress posts before getting to this point, but I guess I just unlocked something within me.
October 3, 2021 4:22 PM
An apple tree
Whenever my mom visits me, I try to plan meals at tasty Asian restaurants and find scenic places to hike because I know that's what she enjoys.
But man, nothing beats taking her to an apple tree on the side of the road. The way her eyes light up with excitement, stumbling upon apples (un)ripe for the picking. The rush she gets as she's pulling down a branch, grabbing a really good apple that's only just in reach. Her insistence on getting "just a few more" as we try to hold her back from harvesting the whole tree.
_-~~~~-_ ,;" o o ";, "We hit the jackpot!" ( o o o o) (o o o o ) (o o o o o) ',o \\ | | // o,` `.,\\| |//,.' | | | | ..o,,,/ \,,,..
"This one. This one here. Grab that one." "This one here? It's green." "Yeah! We like the little ones!"
Whatever legal troubles I may get into or fines I have to pay for this, it must be worth it.
# ^. | /_/ This apple was kind of pink, and ,.-|/,-~-., kind of green, and I had no idea .':::::::::::'. how to convey that well with my ::::::::::::::; ascii art coloring, and I should \:::::::::::::/ really just stick to line art `.:::::::::.' `~-----~`
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