I’m currently writing this blog post in the bed of our camper van Olive in Baja California, Mexico with yobo, Boo-yan, and Carp and there isn’t a place where I’d rather be right now. I’ve reached a wonderful equilibrium point in my life where everything seems to be where they should and where I would like them to be. This feeling of balance is occurring in all the major pillars of my life: family & loved ones, physical and mental being, finances, and vocation. I’m truly blessed to be at this point in my life at such a “young” age so that I can maximize, what I hope to be, a long life. My mother-in-law talked about how she’s noticing that her patients were “waking up” and really acknowledging their surroundings and other beings. I feel like this year did that for me where I have woken up and realized the important things I needed to focus on, and what my purpose is in this wild, precious, and singular life that I have. I think Elsie de Wolfe said it best, “I am going to make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.”

A Life Changing Experience in The Olympic National Forest
Yobo travelled to Nashville for a bachelorette party and flew in/out of Seattle because it was a cheaper flight so I thought I would make a trip out of it by spending a few days in the van but I had no idea where. I recall wanting to visit the Hall of Mosses but never realized that it was in the Olympic National Forest where is basically right in our neighborhood so I decided that was the spot and loaded up the van with myself, Brooks, and Carp for a little fur baby adventure. It worked out perfectly that there was a lot of spots available at the nearby Sol Duc Hot Springs so I decided that was my home base for the trip while I went around to explore the Olympic Forest. I got the visit the Hoh Rainforest where the Hall of Mosses trail was and I was absolutely awestruck by the old growth forest with the towering Western Hemlocks and the abundant, lush, and vibrant mosses that hung from every limb – it was a moss-lover’s paradise. I felt so at-peace and a sense of belonging and warmth – I could spend years there. My most transformative experience occurred when I went to the Sol Duc Falls where I loaded up on some mushroom pills before and smoked a joint at the top followed by some wine and the culmination of my surroundings and the different mind-altering chemicals allowed my being to explore and see things I don’t think was possible otherwise. I remember reading works by John Muir in the van and his quote, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” really hit home with me and I realized the interconnectedness of this world. To continue with the Earth theme, I had previously downloaded David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet and watched it that night and it felt like he was speaking absolute truths to me with the most poignant being that if we wanted to maintain a sustainable life then we need to eat healthy foods. This encouragement helped me change my dietary ways and I try my best to be as conscious as I can about what I put in my body and how I can use my choices to shape what I want the world of food to become – less meat, more vegetables & fruits, regenerative agricultural practices, and treating all life forms in a humane fashion. Lastly, I read a passage from John Muir where he talks about his beloved family horse that died and that illuminated my love for Brooklyn and I came to terms that night that she was eventually going to die and it absolutely devastated me. Since I was by myself with nobody but Brooks and Carp, I let it rip 1000% and just bawled my freaking eyes out and holding Brooklyn and telling her she was the best dog and that I love her so much – she probably had no idea what was going on and scared for her life lol I seriously felt like Gandalf the Grey after fighting the Balrog and leveling up to become Gandalf the White so I went into the Olympic National Forest as Khang and came out as an entirely different person, one who is entwined with nature and the voice of the forest, I became a Kodama.

Je Suis Viva La France
My 3 years of French in high school finally paid off!! lol jk all I basically could say was oui and merci and left the speaking up to Beth who is fluent and the catalyst for the trip since it was her 30th birthday present. France was an amazing experience because I only know Europe from the movies and internet comments and it all made it seem like the French hated Americans but I found everyone to be very friendly, helpful, and accommodating. I also don’t know why I thought the Europeans were less “sophisticated” in terms of technology than the US but their public transportation system freaking blew ours out of the water, it wasn’t even comparable. Albeit, I’ve only had a few experiences with the US public transportation system in Oregon, Washington, California, and Pennsylvania. We visited a lot of great places like Paris, Nantes, Domme, Arles, and the Pont-du-Gard. Nantes was where Beth studied abroad and my favorite city that we visited – I would love to be able to live and work there. It was a dream city for me where the restaurants were incredibly delicious, the walkability of the city was fantastic, the people and culture was extremely pleasant, and there were people hanging out at the train station!! I can’t even begin to imagine people wanting to hang out at Union Station in downtown Portland, you definitely try to spend the least amount of time as possible at Union Station unless you want to get robbed or stabbed lol My time in France opened my eyes to what life could be like when you can don’t have to worry about the hustle the whole time, the entire place had a “college feel” where people walked and biked to places they needed to go and spent the afternoons chilling with their friends. Of course this was me with my le vie en rose as a tourist but it let my imagination sore of what life could be like in a city. We ended the trip by flying out of London and I got to visit Stamford Bridge!! It was the stadium of my favorite football club Chelsea and it was so cool to see the plaques of all of my favorite players like Zola, Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Cech, Cole, but no Jose Mourinho sadly. The last event we did on this trip was go watch Mammia Mia! and it was bloody brilliant!! The cast as out of this world and we had such a great time listening to the wonderful songs and getting to sing at the end with the crew – highly recommended!
Not sure why the images are so tiny lol

Olive – Our Millennial #VanLife Dream Come True
We first got the notion that van life could be the thing for us after renting a camper van from GoCamp and traveling down the west coast on the 101 for our honeymoon. It was an incredible experience and we loved every minute of it. We were already used to spending every second together because of Covid and our living situation where we live in a 500 SF studio basement where we work right next to each other – we are one now and know no boundaries lol We did a lot of research and bit the bullet and put in an order for a brand new Ford Transit which we received in June 2022 and finished the build in March of 2023 in time for a trip to Lake Havasu to spend time with Beth’s dad and his wife. That van build tested the limits of marriage and we rarely fought before the van but man did we have a lot of fights while building it! There was one fight that occurred during a dog walk where Beth got so frustrated at me that she threw down the dog leash and started to walk home and I knew I had to follow her back instead of continuing on the dog walk if I wanted to remain being married and building this van lol Literally every screw in van was put in either by me or Beth and we felt such a strong feeling of accomplishment when we were done and celebrated with a very nice dinner at our favorite restaurant Ok Omens. The meal was a celebration of the completion of the van but most importantly that we did not kill each other lol We’ve taken Olive on so many adventures and this is definitely going to be a time that we look fondly back on as our “hippie” days when we traveled across the country living out of our van with our dog and cat. The part that blows me away the most is that we had a dream and we were able to bring it to fruition, literally. Every time we do a trip in it, I’m blown away that all the things still function and we were able to do all of it ourselves; DIY = Do It with YouTube!! Just this year we took the van to Lake Havasu, Las Vegas, Joseph, La Grande, Olympic National Forest, Mt. Hood, Baja California, and of course our cross country trip to Vermont for a friend’s wedding. Olive has brought so much joy and adventure in our lives and I’m really happy we had the courage to take on this endeavor and it has really helped take our marriage to another level.

Alexis (Ren) Becoming a Musician
This was the year that Alexis and us really started to share her love for music because we went to so many concerts together including ones that she played in with her school orchestra and band! It brings such a smile to my heart knowing that she is able to pursue something that she really loves and enjoys. Beth and I are both big fans of music and the arts so it’s been fantastic learning about new artists from her like BeaBaDooBee, Laufey, Men I Trust, Steve Lacey, Tyler the Creator, Yves Tumor, TXT, and so many more! She is also becoming quite the playing musician with her work on her violin along with the electric bass guitar that we got her for her birthday – she is also taking private lessons and I think that has really helped her get deeper into the music because I definitely do not have the skills nor knowledge to answer her musical questions lol I’m so excited to see her music skills blossom as she continues the practice and I look forward in supporting her every step of the way.

Parents Retired!!!
My Mommy and Ba retired this year after working ever since they were kids in Vietnam!! I’m so happy that they are able to have this moment in their life where they don’t have to work and can truly enjoy their life together with no worries of an occupation. Most importantly, they were able to get to a spot financially where they are comfortable to live within their means and it brings me great joy to see them become much happier versions of themselves. They gave and taught me the work ethic I have today and I would not be here without the sacrifices they made for our family by working crazy hours when our family needed them to. I’m forever grateful for everything they’ve done and extremely proud that they are able to retire so they can live their best lives into the future. It is magical seeing them nowadays as they are always beaming and truly enjoying the fruits of their life’s work and labor – I’m beyond happy for them! If you’re reading this Mommy and Ba, I love you very mucho and thank you for all your sacrifices and enjoy your retirement!

You want to put mother eff’ing PLANTS on top of your ROOF??? You cray.

Yeah, that’s what I constantly heard when we talked about green roofs but sometimes you gotta look at the science and see if it’s an overall add or a delta and depending on your perspective and research, you pick the one that confirms with all your values, and of course the codes lol

First I had to build the foundation which was basically 2×6’s on those preformed rhombus-prism concrete looking things. Then the flooring was just 1/2″ green plywood and then I started the framing which was regular 2×4’s @ 16″. Then the part that you came for… THE GREEN ROOF!!

I might have both over-engineered and over-worked the green roof like I went through and made sure there was absolutely nothing sticking up. Like I sanded the whole damn plywood sheathing. After that, I put on filter fabric for further protection of the pond liner and used permanent weather tape to seal it all together. Onwards, I put on the 20 mil ponder liner and cut a hole and waterproofed for the downspout (this was extremely stressful lol). I then added on a layer of 1″ washable HVAC air filters as my drainage layer. My thought was that it will allow for the same capillary action that a typical commercial drain mat would have. The next step was to put on another layer of filter fabric to act as a root barrier and also to keep the soil mix from clogging up the drainage layer. After that I carried up buckets of the planting mix which was 75% perlite and 25% potting soil. Lastly, I planted the roof with as many species of sedums and stonecrops that I could. I believe I bought the entire stock of Oregon stonecrop at Portland Nursery lol

My dearest yobo, I love you very much and I hope that I can convey to you on our beautiful wedding day in words how you make me feel every day. 

Over these past several years together, I have grown to love you more and more each day and you continue to blow me away with all of your amazing attributes. I’m so lucky to get the privilege of waking up every morning to your gorgeous eyes that shows the vast deepness of your soul, your beautiful freckles that shine with the glow of a thousand splendid suns, and your smile that expresses the kindness of your heart.

Your kindness is one of the things I love the most about you because of all of the small and big things you do for your loved ones. When poor Olly passed away and we had a burial for her where you included her favorite gifts and then you beautifully sang her a song that melted my heart – it showed how much love you can give and I’m truly blessed to receive it.

I love how strong-willed, smart, and ambitious you are. When you have your eyes set on something, I believe with all my heart that you will achieve it and I’m grateful to be your partner to help you reach your goals. You will never have to do anything alone. Whether it’s becoming a shareholder at Geffen Mesher or trying to bathe our crazy dog, I will forever be your +1.

So, you always say that I forget every song’s lyrics but I promise that I won’t forget these following lyrics to the soundtrack of our life together.

I promise to always be the number 1 fan of your career. I’m so proud of how you’ve grown as a professional over these past few years with your promotion to audit manager and then being the driving force behind Forward Slash. I love talking about your amazing accomplishments to everyone I know and I vow to always go to any business event with you where I’ll only occasionally wear my Crocs.

I promise that I won’t ever let us go to bed angry because I believe there isn’t anything we can’t talk through with enough time, late night coffee, midnight snacks, and depending on how big the argument is maybe the occasional snuggle or two.

I promise to continue and develop our self-created love language which comes in the form of words like yobo and batch, randomly dancing and hugging while we make dinner, and singing all kinds of songs and replacing the words with different names for Carp and Brooklyn Bandito. I love that we can be weird together but not too weird, just the right amount where others might think we’re crazy but we definitely know we’re not crazy… right?

I promise that I will continue to date you. I love our Friday date nights where we can unwind with some nice food, good wine, and then go to our personal make-shift spa at home. I will keep buying you flowers not because it’s a special day but because it’s a Wednesday and I felt like you needed flowers.

I promise to take care of you through the peaks of good health and through the valleys of sickness. You’ll always have someone at your side when you’re vulnerable and you’ll never have to worry if you’re inconvincining me with your requests because we are one and I can’t be healthy if you’re not healthy. 

I love you with all of my being and even though I keep buying lottery tickets at 7-11 and we talk about what we would do if we ever won, I know that I’ve already won the biggest jackpot by getting to be your husband.

Being wanted is a feeling that is innate and borne into us as soon as we leave the womb and feel that loving embrace from our mother, someone who truly and unconditionally wants us… most of the time. I have completely forgot what it felt like to be wanted after being stuck in a relationship for almost a decade where our relationship was devoid of emotional connection and I truly believe neither party “wanted” the other. There are tonnes of baggage, disappointments, and sadness that has festered and allowed to stew to create a horrendous cyst that was drained every now and then but always kept growing back because the root was never removed – and I personally did not think it could be. We stayed together for so long because of our daughter but the Universe finally said enough is enough and gave me a sign to move on and my gut has taken me so far in this world so I decided to proceed. This story takes place one month after the separation and is another fulcrum moment in my life that I will always cherish. This happened on Friday and it’s currently early Tuesday morning therefore I wanted to get my feelings down of what I felt before my memories and emotions start to blur and it’s not as poignant. My hope is that I can look back on this post when I’m in a spot where love has left me and I’ve become callous, that it can remind me that there is love out there and it’s the best high you can get. Warning – major cheese ahead, proceed with caution and eyeballs ready to roll backwards.

A Going Away Party at Suki’s Karaoke Bar
A member of our MBA cohort was leaving back to his hometown so we all got together for one last time at this bar which I use to drive past all the time when I worked out in Hillsboro but have never noticed. I walked in around 9:30 PM or so when the party started at 8 because I was busy watching LeBron James try to come back from a 3-0 Finals deficit. I enjoyed the atmosphere because there was a diversity of folks – a group of cosplaying friends, the long-term couples in the back, the college kids in the corner, and the creepy old guy right in front watching the drunken Asian guy sing Amish Paradise. There were eight of us with six being part of the cohort and the other two girls being friends. Things started uneventful as I just went to the bar to catch up by drinking summer shandys… I can’t help it but they’re delicious. After about three of those I was ready to karaoke!!
Focus is Great but Learn to Look Up Once in a While
During this time, I had taken an interest into one of our cohort members and spent the majority of the night talking with her. My plan was, as corny as it sounds, to sing “As Lovers Go” by Dashboard Confessional to explain to her my feelings – I know right, what is this? High school? But the plan was foiled by the DJ not having that song so I settled for some “All You Wanted” by Michelle Branch which is an awesome melody in itself but didn’t quite get the message across, but it was also a super fun song to sing. So after the song, and a few more beers, I went to talk to my cohort member some more and came off way too forward. Like when you take that leap with your crush and you wish you can get back on the ledge but that train has choo-choo’ed away. Anyways, she was not interested. A quick detour in the story but I tried to see if it would work over the weekend by messaging her but she was not having it – I was almost about to buy her a gift/flowers and have it sent to her but before I did I googled “when to know when to stop trying to get someone who is not interested” or something like that and found this absolute gem of an article by Love Panky: here is the link. First and foremost, I do not blame her for anything. I completely understand that everyone has their preferences and clearly I was not her type and it was hard for me to understand that at the time but the article helped me overcome that mindset. Anyway, I had spent the entire night focusing on someone who had absolutely no interest in me that I did not notice the stunning girl sitting across the table from me.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
I honestly don’t recall how it happened but we ended up drinking canned Tecate at a table all to ourselves. The alcohol was flowing and we ended up starting to get closer and closer then I had flashbacks to middle school of playing the “nervous” game where you would creep your hand up until the other person said they were nervous – we were as nervously close as could be. When the orange musky bar light illuminated her face, the first thing I noticed was that her face was kissed with hundreds of freckles. They were generated randomly yet somehow in all the chaos of genetics, their beauty was undeniable. The first thing that popped into my mind when I first saw those freckles was that it made her face radiantly beautiful and bore the glow of a thousand splendid suns. Now whenever I see another freckled face, hers will always be the golden standard that I would set all else to.
Living in the Moment
It all started with her hair being all frizzy on one side because of the humidity I guess, not sure since I don’t have long girl hair. As soon as I reached up to fix her hair, to her great surprise, I felt a strange surge of warmth that was mixed with desire and acceptance. She asked if I did that to truly fix her hair or if I was just trying to touch her and I replied both, and she whispered that she liked it. I repeated the kind gesture a second time but this time she reached up to hold my brushing hand and gravity pulled us together in a delicate embrace. It was the first time I kissed a different woman in almost a decade and it was life changing. I cannot speak for her, but for me, it was so eventful for me because I was currently in a state where I was unsure of myself. Was I attractive? How am I going to recover from being in such a long relationship? What if I’m a terrible single person and no one wants to date me? Should I just go back to the safety of my ex and forgive? But her kiss showed me that yes, there is more than one girl in this world. When our eyes entwined, I saw something that I haven’t seen in many, many years… my longing for that person being accepted and then mutually reciprocated. The Universe has a great sense of humor if you haven’t noticed, how do I know? Because for the brief moment that my ears became lucid, I heard some drunk dude signing Mirrors by Justin Timberlake and among many other things, that song will forever remind me of her. It was a beautiful experience in my life because for that brief moment in time, I was utterly and completely lost in her soulful chocolate eyes. I felt like Leo and his wife in Inception where they had already spent a lifetime together in what amounted to just a fraction of time in reality. I didn’t care that the night would eventually end, I didn’t care if there were people staring at us, or that I will probably never see her again after tonight. For once in my life, I was in the moment and not thinking about the next step. I will forever be indebted and grateful to her for giving me an experience that I will cherish it for as long as I need it.
Be Patient, There is Love Out There and It’s Beautiful
In our marketing classes, we saw a TedTalk with Drew Dudley talking about lollipop moments where an insignificant event in your own personal life makes a profound impact on somebody else’s. In his case, it was telling a shy guy to give a lollipop to the girl standing in front of him in line, that small ice breaker led to the two being married several years later. Once again, I can’t speak for her and this might just be another drunken random make-out session in a bar but to me it was an epiphany and a reminder that there are people out there who are interested in you and are more than willing to reciprocate your love. I have nothing but complete admiration for her, I feel as if she was an angel sent down to help lift my spirits and all I can pray for is that I made her feel happy in our short moment together.

My favorite part of Gardetto’s Original Mix is the roasted garlic rye chips and I would only eat those if I could but nope! Gardetto’s makes you buy the entire bag with all the other bull crap and won’t let you pick out those rye chips by themselves. This is exactly how I feel about cable packages. They bundle all this crap together and make you pay for it but you really only want ESPN, TNT, and BeIn Sports!! And it has been this way for decades with no other place to go but just like how Gardetto’s finally got wise and made the Special Request: Roasted Garlic Rye Chips bag, somebody has finally come up with an offering that fits YOUR wants rather than what THE CABLE COMPANY wants and what works best for THEIR contract agreements. Join me on this journey to learn how I cut the cord and custom fitted my TV entertainment to what I wanted and ditched a $170.92 cable bill from Comcast.

A cable bill just like everyone else’s
Yup you read that correctly, $170.92. This was the Xfinity Premier Double Play with DVR and 2 extra boxes and 100 mbs internet. Sure it was pretty great having 200+ channels but when you’re only watching 5 of those, it’s quite a big waste of money! Just thinking about how much myself and other people have spent on unwatched channels just makes me sick, $170.92 * 12 months = $2,051.04 per year!! You can take a pretty solid weekend vacation for $2,000 bucks! That’s a lot of clothes! A lot of drinking! A lot of restaurant time with the people you love! But nope, it’s getting spent on things that are of no use to anyone except for the cable company. Going through my debt-free journey, I’ve learned to be INTENTIONAL with my money and this was clearly a monthly payment that was not.

Step 1: Deciding on what Internet package to get
I could have stayed with Comcast and reduced my package down to just internet but I’ve quit from DirecTV before and if you want to have constant phone calls and letters about why you quit and if you want to upgrade your package then please go this route. I wanted a CLEAN CUT. I considered it a white lie when I told Comcast that I was cancelling because I was moving overseas. This was the best part, they asked if there was someone who could keep using the services I set up or if I knew of someone I could transfer my package to… wtf do you even mean! I HIGHLY recommend telling them the reason for cancelling is that you’re moving overseas because I haven’t received one phone call or letter from Comcast where DirecTV still calls and sends me letters when I have told them repeatedly to fuck off, just like that bad ex.

I decided to go to with Frontier because I had them before so I knew they were reliable and they were also cheap at $40/month for 30 mbs speed. Since I didn’t game anymore and we have a fairly small household, this was the perfect package for me. The worst part? Having to take a fucking day off so that they could hook-up my internet which took 15 minutes because I was a previous customer. Yes, let’s make our CUSTOMERS wait for us to install OUR shit and don’t let them pick a time, just tell them we’re going to be there sometime between 8 FUCKING AM AND 5 MOTHERFUCKING PM… what a joke. WHERE IS GOOGLE FIBER?!?!

SOFTWARE

Step 2: Tailoring YOUR entertainment package
I NEED SPORTS!!! This ultimately led me to have the package that I currently have along with what makes my parents happy as well. Although one sacrifice I had to make was giving up my soccer matches because I couldn’t find a good alternative and I didn’t watch that much anymore anyways. So here is what my subscription/software package entails:

Netflix = $9.99/month
I feel like this is an absolute must for that price. There are not many things that cost $10 that give me as much entertainment value as Netflix. Just think of all the great shows available on there: OITNB, Stranger Things, Marco Polo, Narcos, Master of None, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and so many great movies. This is the bare minimum.

Sling TV = $13.99 (T-Mobile Discount, usually the price is $19.99/month)
This is also a necessity for my situation because it gives me the Big 3 of ESPN, ESPN2, and TNT (for NBA basketball – LeBRON JAMES!!). It also gives me the Travel Channel and CNN which I really don’t care for but my parents love.

Amazon Prime = $99/year or $8.25/month
I mostly got this because of the free 2-day shipping but they also have movies and music available to stream. Not gonna lie but I haven’t watched a Prime movie or show since I’ve gotten it, however, my parent’s like the foreign movies on there so at least someone is using it. Once again, this is essential not necessarily for the entertainment value but that 2 day shipping is unbeatable, freaking LOVE IT!!!

Total Monthly Subscription = $9.99 + 13.99 + 8.25 + $39.99 = $72.22 for a total savings of $98.70!! WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH AN EXTRA $100/MONTH??!!?

HARDWARE

Mohu Leaf 50 = $49.92
If you’re a sports fan, then this is another piece of cutting the cord that you can’t escape. The Mohu Leaf 50 lets you pick up the local channels but why is this important? COLLEGE FOOTCHIE BALL, THE NFL, AND THE NBA FINALS!! WHAT MORE DO I NEED TO SAY? But be sure to check what kind of channels you can expect to pick up with the Leaf – here’s the FCC website. It’s kinda funky because I get ABC, NBC, CBS downstairs but not FOX, however, in my parents room upstairs, they get ALL of the Fantastic Four channels.
Amazon Fire TV = $64.99 (Refurbished)
This Fire TV itself is not that amazing but paired with Amazon Prime and Kodi, the Fire TV has no rival. You can also use the Fire Stick which works just as well but cheaper. I would talk more about Kodi but let’s just say that the first rule of Kodi is that you don’t talk about Kodi. It’s kinda like Pirate Bay but except with streaming, and that’s all I have to say about that. Kodi is what will fill all the gaps in your entertainment needs, believe me.

Total hardware costs = $49.92 + 64.99 = $114.91 => ONE TIME COST TO GET THAT STUPID ASS CABLE COMPANY OUT OF YOUR LIFE!!! Except for the internet… still no solution to that oligopoly. COME ON GOOGLE FIBER!!!

So if you’re like me and so freaking tired of dealing with the cable companies bullshit then cut the cord!! I’m not going to lie, I was afraid at first because what am I going to do without my OPTION of 200 channels?!?! Well It’s been 6 months now and I’ve never been more happy with my entertainment package. I do hear some cries from my mom because the soccer matches are a lot harder to find but everything else is copacetic.

STOP THROWING YOUR MONEY AWAY AT SHIT YOU’LL NEVER USE!!!

CUT THE CORD!!!

A Ferrari Enzo? How about a Porsche 911 Turbo? Maybe a Lamborghini Aventador? Perhaps a Lykan HyperSport? NO THANKS!!! My dream car is a Honda S2000 and I have loved every minute that I have owned this wonderful, beautiful, and absolutely kickass car. It was love at first sight when my virgin eyes were forever changed with the most exotic thing I’ve ever seen – a black Honda S2000 with them sweet ass decals and that NOS absolutely decimating poor Jesse’s VW. And of course those iconic words coolly whispered by Johnny “House of Ogedei” Tran, “Too Soon, Junior.”

Since that moment in time, I knew that someday I would have the privilege and honor of owning my own Honda S2000 and luckily that day came sooner rather than later. In the year of my quarter-century, the tipping point came when Tiffany got herself a new Honda Fit and I got bit by both the jealously bug and the S2K centipede (why a centipede? well if you’ve ever seen one move, it’s sexy as hell and very intriguing – just like the S). I began the search and found a completely stock one at CarMax with only 45k miles and one previous owner – it was one that I just couldn’t pass up! And to sweeten the deal, it was a free transfer from California! So I got a loan from LightStream and next thing you know my dad was teaching me how to drive a manual transmission in the Lowe’s parking lot! The car has been an absolute orgasm to drive and I’ve learned a few things from not only owning my first car but my DREAM car!

1. Driving Can Be Fun, Especially If It’s Manual
I’ve always looked at driving as getting from point A to point B although I knew how exhilarating going fast can be as I drive my motorcycle in the summer but those are two completely different categories, it’s like comparing lamb and tuna fish – it just doesn’t make sense. I never thought the acceleration of 1st gear and then shifting into 2nd could put such a fat-ass smile on my face, I literally screamed out-loud because it was that awesome. And then hearing that awesome roar of VTEC when I hit 6.5k RPM, I don’t think I felt that kind of an adrenaline rush since I jumped out of a plane. And the incredible thing is, I still get that feeling every time I drive that freaking car! I also met a great group of people who also enjoyed driving their S2000’s and the group showed me there are fantastic roads to push the limits of your S2K – I highly recommend joining the enthusiast group of your dream car, everyone shares the same love that you do for the vehicle.

2. It Feels Different When You Have the Title and OWN the Car
This might have to do with me going through my debt-free journey with the car payment. I had the constant battle of should I sell this car so I can get out of debt faster because at the time I could basically sell it and not lose any money. But, I decided to stick through it because I didn’t want to be one of those guys who had to sell their beloved cars because they got in a financial bind and it gave me extra motivation because this was the first car I bought and also my dream baby. I kept and car and cleared my debts and as soon as I got that title the car just started to sound different and handle differently. This is MY CAR, not the banks’, not the lenders’, nobody’s but MINE, MINE, MINE! It was the first major personal asset I had and it felt absolutely incredible to own it outright.

3. You Don’t Give a Shit About What Other People Are Driving
I was a little envious of my peers driving sweet ass cars like BMWs, Audis, Subaru’s, Lexus’, and of course my girlfriend’s brand new Honda Fit! But one thing I learned about this dream car process is the horrors of having a car payment and how many people are throwing away money in a depreciating asset where they can “afford” the payments. I read an article that said the average car payment in the US was $457/month!! That was believable to me since my own car payment was $267/month and my mom’s was $650/month for her 2013 Honda Pilot. So instead of putting that $5,500/year into a Roth IRA, you’re putting it in an “asset” that goes down in value with every single mile driven. I daily a shitty 1999 Toyota Camry and feel completely fine with that because I know I got my queen in my garage and when I look at these new cars, I just feel sorry for the buyers and their monthly car payment.

If you have the opportunity to purchase your dream car, DO IT!!!! But only if you can do it with cash and avoid that car payment! I don’t ever plan on selling my car because it has too much sentimental value tied to it and I don’t foresee myself ever being in a financial pinch where I’m forced to sell it.

VTEC JUST KICKED IN YO!!

I grew up in the internet age therefore I know all about trolls and trash talking on the internet. An internet troll is someone who lurks around the internet behind their veil of “anonymity” and makes senseless arguments and comments about hot-button issues just to entice a response from others – basically your virtual bully except much, much, much more dumb. Well, I happened to attract one after I wrote my blog post about what it was like driving for Uber in PDX. I’ve dealt with internet trolls through my gaming experiences but never on websites/Twitter/Facebook therefore I didn’t REALLY know that people went out of their way to make comments about others. From what I can gather, the troll was a cabbie who didn’t like Uber encroaching on their “time-tested” industry of taxi cab drivers. I don’t even know why I engaged in the pointless banter but it just goes to show you that the internet is full of idiots with opinions and you know what they say about opinions, “An opinion is like an asshole, everybody has one and it usually stinks.” The same guy also goes on to make comments on my blog but I didn’t publish them because I love freedom of speech as much as the next person but I see no point in publishing his pointless comments. Also, he’s a Ducks fan so that kinda explains a lot 🙂

It all started with me posting my blog on Twitter to garner traffic.
Then the wild troll appeared.
I tried to take the high road and thank him for talking about my blog. He also posted earlier about coming to do my job for a few hours like what I was doing to his.
And then a 3rd player jumps in and starts talking about cab driving being time-tested and we take a trip back to the future.

Next thing I know we’re talking about the generational battle against Millennials. I stole a joke from Key and Peele for my response.
Finally, he asking if I drive for Lyft as well and how long I’ve wanted to be a cabbie then brags about how much he makes. This was our final interaction for the day and ends my idiotic rhetoric with dumb internet trolls.
P.S. He then proceeds to post comments on my blog that I chose not to publish. Just goes to show you what people will say when they’re hiding behind their computer screen. FYI, @travisk is the CEO of Uber.

One of the fondest memories of my childhood is playing Diablo II and the expansion pack Lord of Destruction. I’m sure anybody who has played any MMO can relate and say they’ve made great friends through the game and you truly get lost in that wonderful world. I played this fantastic game starting from 5th grade all the way up to 10th grade and stopped after that, however, there are people still playing the game! The game consists of choosing a hero class and then leveling them up by killing monsters through five different “Acts” and ultimately defeating the 3 Prime Evils of Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal in Acts III, IV, and V, respectively. You get better items and skills as you progress up your levels (maximum is 99) and once you “finish” the game then you’re free to go back to any Acts and kill more monsters. It seems repetitive and I truly don’t understand why I did thousands of cow levels, Baal runs, and Magic Finding quests but I loved every minute of it. People might say that playing video games is a waste of time but I feel that if you enjoy the time you’re spending on anything then it’s not a waste of time FOR YOU. It might not be the most productive thing you could be doing but you have a limited amount of time on this earth so you might as well enjoy it! Of course this mind set changes tremendously when you grow up and have that horrible disease called responsibilities. The game also taught me many great lessons that I’ve applied to my everyday life and helped shape who I am today – I thought I would share my experience for shits and giggles.

Lesson #1 – If you want to be GREAT at something, you need to put in the TIME

I spent a considerable amount of time playing D2 which I will go into further detail in Lesson #5. Let’s just say that if I used that time to read the dictionary instead then I would be able to recite the entire English language either starting from A and going to Z or from Z and going to A. I SPENT A LOT OF TIME PLAYING DIABLO 2! With all the effort and time I put it, it definitely showed in my account, items, knowledge, and characters that I had. By the time I quit the game, I was quite wealthy in this virtual world. I was rich enough to get any item in the game and was giving away items that people would literally jump up and down IRL if they found it during Magic Finding. To compare it to real life, I wasn’t rich as a Warren Buffet or Bill Gates but more like an Elon Musk or Mark Cuban. However, I started playing the game like everyone else: a level 1 hero with the default items. I put in the time to become great by learning about the game, the mechanics, how to trade, how to barter, how to maximize Magic Finding, and the relationship between players. As the saying goes, “There is no shortcut to any place worth going”. If you want to be great at something, then put in the time and you’ll see the fruits of your labor.

Lesson #2 – NEVER give your password to ANYONE

In this age of technology, this might be more important than ever. I learned the hard way not to entrust your password to anyone. This happened perhaps during 7th grade and I had multiple accounts however my main account was the one I entrusted to a friend. He wanted to see what my characters had and play on my account for a little bit. Being the nice guy that I was, I said sure go ahead since I had other accounts I could play on. I trusted him but the problem was that he then told my password to his other friend who I barely knew. Next thing I know, that dude changed the password on my account and would not give it back to me. It was extremely infuriating and it still boils my blood when I think of that interaction. If that guy is reading this and you know who you are, YOU’RE A PIECE OF SHIT! I wish that you never plug in any USB device the right way on your first try and always have to flip it AND that you always feel like sneezing but never get the satisfaction of being able to sneeze! Never give your password to anyone, I don’t care if it’s your mom or if you’re telling it to your cat! DON’T GIVE YOUR PASSWORD TO ANYONE!!

Lesson #3 – There is ALWAYS a way to make MONEY doing something you LOVE

I first found out about people selling Diablo items on eBay shortly after I started playing and finding it was impossible to trade for an Ume’s Lament with my measly items and wanted to buy it from someone. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anything about buying something on eBay or even how bank accounts worked. Fast forward to freshmen year of high school and I was now quite rich in Diablo 2 and had a large surplus of items that people would actually PAY for. Logically, I researched how to sell items on eBay and had my dad/mom help me set up the account and I learned a lot about the financial world through this small endeavor. I also learned how to market my product and make an appealing website for potential buyers – the name of my store was Khangaldinho’s Arsenal haha… blame it on my youth for that goofy name 🙂 The first item I ever sold was a 160/60 armor that was very similar to the image below for $12!! That’s a lot of money IMO for a VIRTUAL item and to a 14 year old who has never made a dime.
I sold over 100 items on eBay and made enough money to buy my own soccer cleats! I will never forget the feeling I got when I was able to buy those shoes with MY OWN MONEY! THAT I EARNED ALL BY MYSELF! They were golden Nike Mercurial Vapors and I still have those shoes to this day. I learned that there is always a way to make money with something, you just have to be creative about it or sell it in a way nobody has thought of before.

Lesson #4 – Plan and gather as much information as you can before proceeding with any endeavor.

This is a lesson I learned from wanting to play different hero classes and didn’t want to trudge through finding/trading items as I leveled up. I was lucky to be in a position where I could fully furnish any character I wanted with just a few days of trading. For every new character I created, I did extensive research on what the best items, builds, skill sets, and attribute allocations were. I searched forums, talked to players in-game, and ultimately modified the build according to my own knowledge of the game. Therefore, as soon as my character was created and “rushed” I was able to hit the ground running and didn’t waste time learning how the character worked, I already had everything planned and figured out from the start. This lesson has transcended to my everyday life where I do extensive research and calculations before I begin any time consuming task or something that has any risk aspect.

Lesson #5 – Video games can be EXTREMELY ADDICTING

As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time playing Diablo 2. For example, in the summer time I would wake up around 9 AM and start playing Diablo with bathroom and food breaks in between and play up until 2 AM and then wake up again at 9 AM to repeat the pattern for the next 3 months. I didn’t know what “addicted” meant as a kid because I was having so much fun playing and I had a lot of friends that played as well. I mean I went to soccer practice and tournaments and played with my friends outside like a normal kid but the majority of my time was definitely spent playing Diablo. It got so bad that my dad actually took out my Diablo 2 disk and SNAPPED IT IN HALF! I got a little addicted to other games as well like Star Craft and DotA but nothing was comparable to the time I spent playing D2. Be very careful of getting attached to video games and be cognizant of how much time you’re spending on these things – you can very, very easily get lost in the virtual realm. I would relate it to being at a casino, you sit down for a few games at the start of the night and next thing you know it’s 5 AM! This is the reason I never played Diablo III after being a die hard D2 fan – I knew I couldn’t handle it.

As silly as it sounds, Diablo 2 shaped me into the person I am today – for better or worse. Either way, I would never hesitate to take the Soul Stone and penetrate it into my head again!

Here is a photo of where I spent a lot of time in Tristram – in the COW LEVEL!!
Photo sources:
(Photos 1,2,4) Blizzard Entertainment
(Photo 3) http://wiki.theamazonbasin.com/images/thumb/9/92/The_Cow_King.png/384px-The_Cow_King.png
(Photo 5) http://i42.tinypic.com/nqu0p3.png

“What’s in your wallet!?” is the famous slogan marketed into this world by Capital One and I think it’s a very fascinating way of looking into a person’s life through the perspective of their wallet’s contents. I’m not referring to a person’s financial standing but what they keep in their wallet and the reasoning for each item. I remember when I was out with my coworkers one night and we decided to pour our wallet’s contents on the bar table. There were people with entire novels inside their wallets! Carrying every punch card they’ve received from all the eateries along with a random library card from a place they’ve visited only once. This contrasted with the minimalist who carried a money clip that had only one credit card, one debit card, his license, and $20 in cash. It was very enjoyable for me to take a peek at someone’s life through their wallet and how to correlated with their personality. Therefore I thought it would be a good post topic: “What’s in MY wallet”.

Here is a corny photo I took of 80% of my wallet contents.
Driver’s License
This is the quintessential item I have in my wallet as it acts as my main form of identification and, more importantly, bears the responsibility of allowing me to consume alcohol.

Contact Card
I put my business card in the front in the case of an emergency where first responders might need to contact someone during business hours. On the back of the card, I’ve listed (2) emergency contacts. The main card in the front is laminated while I carry (3) regular business cards just in case I might need to exchange one with a new business contact.

Health Insurance Card
This is also for an emergency situation for when I might have to be taken to a hospital. Of course if it’s a life or death situation then take me to the nearest hospital! But if it’s not then please take me to a place that’s within my network! If you’ve ever had a health emergency then I’m sure you know how the costs can quickly become astronomical – I once had a 15 minute ambulance ride that cost $1,400!

College Student ID
This is just to show that I’m always a BEAVER! And to test my youthful good lucks trying to get that college student discount whenever I can!

$40 Cash and $8 in spare change
I went the longest time without carrying cash because I would only use my credit card. I learned the hard way that I needed at least some cash on me when I went to Cartlandia and all the vendors were CASH ONLY – I was so hungry but I couldn’t “afford” any food with my stupid pieces of plastic rectangles. I picked $40 because it’s a good amount when you’re in a pinch like needing to buy a decent meal for you and your date; geting a cab home or to a friend’s house when you’re too drunk; buying that awesome Domo Kun plushy at the flea market; or making a quick $20 bet on the spot that you can hit the goal post from the 18 yard box. The reason I carry $8 in two dollar bills is solely to give to homeless folks I cross paths with. My parents have always taught me to give to needy folks whenever I can and this is something I do as a small act of kindness. For $2 they can buy a Big Gulp and hot dog at 7-Eleven – a deal that I take advantage of whenever I get the opportunity!

Debit Card
It’s not shown in the photo but I always carry my debit card just in case I need to withdraw money from my checking account. The odd thing is I keep a very low balance in my checking account at all times – it’s usually below $75. My checking account balance is low because I believe I can maximize my money by putting it in other areas rather than letting it sit in a no-interest checking account. US Bank gives you a couple of designs to choose from for your debit card and I picked the Broncos one because Tim Tebow was playing for them when I got the card. However, as soon as I received the card the Broncos freaking cut him!!! I’ve been stuck with a Broncos debit card but I’m not even a fan……

Credit Cards
I carry all eight of my credit cards with me (only 4 of my cards are shown – the sexy ones) because I put a small charge on them to prevent the credit card company from closing the account. My main card is the Chase Sapphire because the points don’t expire and I reconcile the points to get a big check when I’ve built up 10,000 points ($100). I constantly check to make sure all my cards are there because I don’t want to go through the hassle of losing a credit card and not “promptly” reporting it.

Those are the contents of what’s in my wallet. Hopefully you learned something new about me and the next time your getting drinks with your buds, take out your wallets and see what it says about them. Do this prior to getting wasted as you’ll most likely find out that several of your items are missing by the next morning.

What’s in YOUR wallet?!