Three Years Ago Today

Third anniversary of Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. There is a lot of media attention on the disaster in Japan this week; but memory is fast fading away elsewhere. There was no mention of the anniversary in front pages of NY Times or WSJ today; not that I would have expected it. The truth is the people living in the affected areas do not have their normal lives back. The reconstruction work is certainly going too slow where many are still living in temp housing. But I ask myself "what can I really do about it?" I hate to admit it but there is really nothing that I can do. But we can make sure that we do not forget about the disaster and remind ourselves how precious our lives are and count our blessings.

New York - The Transient City

Friends come and go. Some drift apart for no fault of anyone in particular. Some were never meant to be. There are those that endure through the test of time and proximity. But I never fully appreciated the importance of having good, trusting, and long-term friendships until I came to New York. 

New York is a great place to meet new people from all walks of life. That's one of the things I love about the city. But the reality is that for many, New York is not the final destination but only a layover in their life's journey. Some come for further education, others come for work, to live the glamor of the city life for a brief moment in their lives, only to go back to their roots hopefully bigger, prouder and more experienced. Many more come for the pursuit of their dreams, and too many of them forgotten never realizing those dreams. 

During my years in New York, I've met many new friends. But I've said many good-byes as well.  I've come to grips with the fact that this is a fact of life in New York. Over the years, friends have come and gone. I don't dwell on it, but I am reminded of this fact periodically. In reflection, the friends I had 5 years ago are not the same as the friends I have now. Of course there are some friendships that have endured. These are friends in what I call the semi-permanent group; those of us that call New York our permanent home, or at least until we find a better city to live (and its not easy to out do New York). That's not to say or belittle the friendships I have formed and bonded over the years. But as they move on and go back to where ever they came from, only a handful have endured the test of time and distance. Perhaps with Facebook and other SNS, we have a better chance of keeping those friendships (but that's for another time). 

This past weekend, I was at a farewell party for a couple friend - whom we've met here in New York and gotten to be good friends. Again, a reminder that friends come and go. Although we had to say good-bye, we also met new friends. I never really liked farewell parties - why would you go to a party to say good-bye? Its usually an excuse to get together and have drinks. But perhaps there is a reason for such a party. Obviously to say good-bye; but it also serves a purpose of making new friendships - a partying gift by the person that's moving on to those that's left behind.

Establishing a livelihood in a new city where you have no friends or family is never easy. And in a transient city like New York, friends that you can trust is most critical to survival. 

Is It OK to "Friend" Your Boss or Your Staff From Work on Social Media?

Podcast is a great innovation. I can download radio programs from Japan and listen to them during my commute every day. One podcast in particular that I listen to regularly is called "Session 22" (and its predecessor "DIG") produced by TBS Radio in Japan. Its a prime time radio talk show where the host interact with guests and listeners to cover variety of hot and trendy topics in Japan. It's a great way for me to keep up with my Japanese as well as to keep up with the current events in Japan.

A recent episode covered a topic of social media (or social networking services / SNS) and workplace. More specifically, the host posed the question whether it is okay to "friend" your boss, your staff, or your colleagues at work on SNS? What surprised me about the episode was the ignorance of the host and the producer of the show. It surprised me enough to prompt me to write it on this blog. 

There are variety of SNSs out there, each with its target audience and objective. Twitter is different from Facebook; and LinkedIn has its niche focus different from Google+. But the host completely ignored that these SNSs are different and treated them as one big SNS service. He went on to discuss whether it is okay to "follow", "friend" or "connect" with someone from work on SNSs. He missed the boat complete on this. I would have focused the discussion on the fact that there are distinctions among the SNSs; so here are my take on some of the major SNSs.

Twitter - its a tool to broadcast information in an open forum to the whole Twitter community; therefore, its more a place to gather and share with the broader community of similar interest. Now, I can enhance my "The Amazing Race" experience by sharing the moment with thousands of other viewers at the same as each episode is aired using #TheAmazingRace hashtag. 

Facebook - its a tool to stay engaged with network of friends that you interact with in the real physical world. That may be with your family, your friends from school, and yes, your friends from work. But you would "friend" those from work only if you would also interact with them outside of work and share your private life with. 

LinkedIn - its a tool to network with professionals in your field of work. This is where you should be "connected" with your boss, staff or colleagues. 

You may have noticed that each SNS is a tool. Each time we have any SNS related discussion, it is important to remember that SNS is a mere tool available to us as a convenience to enhance the real physical world we live in. It is true that SNSs exist in virtual reality; but its not a separate and apart from the real physical world; but rather its still a part of the real physical world and should be viewed as a mean to an end. 

I go back to my earlier comment that each SNS has its own audience and objective. If we focus our discussion on the distinctions, then the question of whether its okay to "friend" someone from work becomes irrelevant. 

Two Years Ago Today

Two years ago today, the world as we know it changed. The Great East Japan Earthquake changed the lives of many directly impacted not only by the earthquake, but the tsunami and the nuclear meltdown. It also impact millions more in their own way.

I remember that day very well. The pictures of the tsunami destroying everything in its path as if they were made of paper. Then the pictures of explosions at the nuclear plants. Unimaginable and yet it was happening live in Japan of all place. But I also remember that day very well because that was the day that we learned we would be parents. It was as if many lives were taken; but one life was given to us.

As time passes, the memories fade. We move on with our lives, slowly forgetting how we felt, how the devastation impacted us, and forgetting that there are many who are still struggling to recover and rebuild. Only to be reminded by the sensationalism show put on by the media on each anniversary.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon each of us to remember in our own way so that the lives lost and impacted were not in vain but that we pass on the history to our future generations with hopes for better tomorrow.

We are reminded every day as we watch our Hope grow, how we wish her to be the type of person that brings hope and joy to others.

March 11, 2013

BlackBerry, Android, or iPhone... The Sequel

A while back, I wrote a blog on my assessment of each of the three mainstream smartphones that were out in the market at the time. I think its time for a sequel.

I still have the BB - mainly used for receiving/sending work related e-mails and keeping work related calendars - although not much action here. iPhone is my device of choice and I won't leave home without it. As for my Android phone, my one-year old daughter uses it as her toy phone; although she is quickly catching on that this phone doesn't work. She rather use my iPhone.

BlackBerry 9000 Torch

• The phone is fast becoming useless. The battery life between charges is shorter than a mayfly. Lucky if this thing lasts through my morning coffee run. I could get a new battery - which is by the way one of the positives about BB, where I can actually change the battery on my own. But then the phone is not worth spending another $60 to keep it alive any longer than I have to. 
• BlackBerry World is slow and prone to crash. Besides, its useless without desirable apps. 100,000 apps can't complete with 800,000.
• There is very little support for the apps that I have, so I deleted most of them since I don't use them anymore and were using up my precious memory. 
• Getting sick of seeing hour glass flipping over and over again.
• Should I upgrade to BlackBerry Z10? It does look appealing; but my firm will not support BB10, or at least not for a while until they get comfortable that the investment to upgrade the enterprise servers to BB10 is worth the cost and effort. 
• Verdict: BB is waiting for its slow death and it eventual resting place - in my daughter's toy bin.

Android - SonyEricsson Xperia X10

• Haven't used it in over a year.
• SonyEricsson does not exist anymore; its Sony now.
• If close to 40% of the smartphone users are choosing Android phones, then it must be doing something right. I see more and more people using the Samsung Galaxy III. But in my opinion, they don't look all the pretty; too big and too curvy. At the end of the day, I still think that Android phones have too many bells and whistle that most users do not need and use up too much memory and power.  
• Verdict: I passed my verdict long time ago and I stand by it. 

iPhone 4S

• My iPhone is the device of my choice. I use it for all my calls, apps, etc., except for work related e-mails and scheduling. I am considering switching my work related e-mails and calendar to iPhone. Good apps does not appeal to me - not so user friendly. But I'm willing to consider living with some inconveniences. For now, the only real downside (beside having to carry two devices) is that my calendar in BB don't sync up with my calendar on my iPhone. 
• The apps for iPhone are the latest and the greatest - we get more of them and the best of them. 
• I'm glad that they got Google Maps for iPhone. One thing that I did not like about the iOS6 upgrade was the Apple Maps. Can't complete with the number of years Google spent developing their maps. 
• iPhone 5 upgrade? Maybe. But I haven't found any reason to upgrade, except perhaps the bragging right - to say I have the latest gadget. Sure, it runs on 4G LTE. But the speed isn't all that noticeably different from the current 4G; did an unscientific test with a friend and wasn't all that different. I can wait another 6 months for the next iPhone to decide whether to upgrade or not. 
• Verdict: I'm now a true Apple convert. There, I said it. 

I recently cracked the screen on my iPhone 4S. I did not buy insurance so I had to replace it on my own. With iPhone 4S, the glass comes with the digitizer attached to the glass so it was expensive and much harder to replace the screen. But with some helpful guidance from iCracked.com, got the screen replaced this past weekend. Its good as new now. Better looking than how my BB looked after one year. I must say, it is hard to wear out iPhone's looks. Furthermore, learned that it is very easy to replace the battery on the iPhone as well. Probably I'm breaching a covenant on my warranty so that the device is no longer covered. But I'll replace it with iPhone 5 if this thing breaks anyway.

Sidewalk Hoggers between Me and My Dinner

One of my pet peeves is what I call the "sidewalk hoggers." We walk a lot in New York City. Yes, we hail yellow cabs, we ride on the subway, and we ride the bus. But generally, we don't think much about walking 15 to 20 city blocks. Naturally, sidewalks are the equivalent of highway for automobiles. You heard it right - highway. We want to get from point A to point B as quickly as we can. We walk on narrow sidewalks, swiftly navigating through foot traffic, artfully maneuvering through crosswalks, traffic signals and yellow cabs. Oh, and in many touristy areas, we run into the "sidewalk hoggers."

You cannot miss the "sidewalk hoggers." Usually its a family of 4 or 5, or sometimes even more. They walk 4 across (or more) on the sidewalk - pretty much take up the whole width of the sidewalk. The problem is, they are typically walking at leisurely speed, taking in the bright lights big city scene. My Baby M can walk faster than these guys; and she just barely learned how to walk. As for me, I'm late for a meeting with a client on 45th Street but I can't pass and go around the "sidewalk hoggers" because they are blocking all lanes!!! Arghhh!!

It doesn't help that my office is located in the epicenter of Tourist Central (aka Times Square). I have to fight the crowd - tourists - as I come and go from the office. When its 8:30pm and the only thing that's slowing me from my dinner is the tourists, well, I'm not a happy camper.

It is nothing personal - I welcome our guests to the great City of New York. Last year alone, New York City welcomed a record breaking 52 million tourists. According to the city, tourists "generated an estimated $55.3 billion in economic impact to the city’s economy, with direct spending reaching $36.9 billion." So as a New Yorker, I welcome them to our great city. I thank each and everyone of the 52 million, for visiting and willing to spend money on overpriced goods and services. But when they stand between myself and my destination - well, they are not my best of friends.

Back to the "sidewalk hoggers." A four-lane highway typically means that slower traffic yield to the faster traffic by staying on the right lane. Remember what I said about sidewalks being the equivalent of highway for New Yorkers? Well, here too, we would like to have slower traffic yield to the side and allow the faster traffic to pass.

Oh, and by the way; its is not cool to suddenly stop in middle of the sidewalk without any warning, just because you want to take a picture with Naked Cowboy. No one in their right mind would stop the car in middle of a highway just to take picture of a burning car on the side street. I'm quite sure that's a moving violation - (or stopping violation)?

When I Opened a Bottle of ...

When is the perfect time to open that special bottle of wine? That was a topic of conversation recently with friends as we dined and wined - one of our favorite past time. In fact, we were enjoying a special bottle - courtesy of the friends - as we talked about the very topic.

As wine enthusiasts, we all have few of these special bottles sleeping in our cellar. It might be a bottle of 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild, a 1971 birth year vintage red from California, a bottle of the wine served at your wedding, or a bottle of wine with special memory. Or it just might be bottles from your favorite winery that you are keeping for special occasions. We buy these bottles with excitement, anticipation and high expectation; yet we find reasons to force ourselves to defer the ultimate enjoyment of actually tasting the wine and let them sleep in our cellar until that perfect moment that we hope can live up to the high expectation. The truth is, the more we wait, the harder it becomes to open these bottles, because they become too special to be opened.  We allow the wine to play the leading role and find ourselves trying to create the perfect setting to match the wine.

As I look back, some of my most memorable special wine moments were memorable because of the people and the story that we shared while drinking the wine. Its not so much about the wine that I remembered, but the stories shared and friendships made because of the wine; and because of the stories and friends, I also remember the wine. The special wine became memorable because it stepped aside from its leading role and stepped back into a supporting role; but paradoxically it ended up being the shining star.

Just the other day, I opened and drank a bottle of 2000 Niebaum-Coppola Estate Cabernet Franc with friends. It was an ordinary weekend evening, nothing special about it, except that we were enjoying the evening shooting the breeze. We were very much delighted with the wine and will always remember that evening. I'll remember the wine not because it was a special wine; not because it was the right moment; but because we can now share stories about the evening with friends.

Few years ago, I was visiting Tokyo to see Wife M (before she became Wife M). We were dating long distance - Tokyo/NY - and it was my turn to travel. We had dinner at a French restaurant at the top floor of a skyscrapers near by Tokyo Station. Our table had a stunning view of the Imperial Palace. Obviously, it was a special evening and I remember it well, although the food was forgettable. I also remember the evening quite well because we opened and drank a bottle from my favorite winery that I had brought with me from NY - a bottle of 2005 White Rock Claret. We still talk about that evening, how we had the restaurant to ourselves at the end of the meal and how we had a pleasant conversation with the restaurant's sommelier about the wine - even past their closing time.

Its not about the right moment. With wine - whether special or not - it is always the right moment as long as you have someone to share it with. It could be on an ordinary weekend with friends or could be with someone special with an added bonus of a sommelier. Wine is meant to be drunk. So what's holding us from opening those special bottles? Nothing - go out and drink up.

Back to the wine at a family friend's home. It was a wonderful Napa Valley Cab. Full bodied but needed some time to breath. But after it had some time to inhale, it really opened up. Loved the wine. But I will always remember the moment, because of the stories and friendship that the wine brought; but would not have remembered if we were there because of the wine. Thank you A&H!!