5 Fast Break Thoughts re: the NBA

I'm still on an MLB hangover, with most of my remaining energy left to the NFL, but here are a few quick thoughts regarding the Association.

1. I'm not sure if it's only this year, but I had no idea people were so excited about the NBA season starting.  So many random people were downright giddy like kids the night before Christmas.  Aside from my hopes with the Astros getting crushed, I just wasn't in the mood to go all gung-ho with the first tip-off, mainly cuz I don't think playoff seeding matters at all in the West.  Also, it's gotten to the point where I have very little interest in watching a random NBA game that doesn't involve my squad, with two exceptions -- the San Antonio Spurs and the Atlanta Hawks.  Man, those teams play some beautiful basketball.

2. I'm still pinching myself that Kevin McHale got fired.  Not simply the fact that he's now gone, but the fact that he's gone so soon.  Pushing the OKC Thunder to 6 games a few seasons ago had the unfortunate effect of McHale getting much of the credit for it, and I was afraid that the Rockets "surprisingly" making it to the WCF last season would bear the same disgusting fruit.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Rockets made it to 2 games from the NBA Finals IN SPITE of McHale, not because of him.  Some of you may hate Mark Cuban, but he is right more often than not, and him calling Houston "predictable" was nothing out of the ordinary.  We were as predictable as the Texans running a draw play on 3rd and long.  Our offense was entirely dependent on James Harden.  And our defense was entirely dependent on Dwight Howard.  Both had to play at respective MVP and DPOY levels for the team to compete, and that is obviously not a lasting combination in this league.

Also, for anyone saying that Harden is having an "off" year because of distractions like his girlfriend or because he's not practicing hard enough... please.  The dude has added drastically to his repertoire every single offseason, from becoming the best foul-drawer in the game to developing the best Euro-step in the game to harnessing the best step-back in the game, and now he's included the ability to post up effectively.  Just try to imagine carrying a team offensively for a whole year, with few teammates scoring or making any plays without your help.

3. Maybe it's his mere proximity to the most annoying guy in the league in Draymond Green and the most overrated guy in the league in Klay Thompson, but I can't stand Stephen Curry these days.  I loved him way back in Davidson when he was this small, David vs Goliath teen, but now?  Dude is a brat that somehow still gets tagged as a humble hero.  And for everyone hating on Harden getting questionable calls, most of the time, the Beard gets hacked, and he embellishes it.  Meanwhile, anytime Curry gets into the lane and there's even a hint of physical contact, he gets the whistle.  But I guess that's how the golden child face of the NBA is treated.  I'm still happy that he didn't get the players' vote for MVP nor the Finals MVP last season.  Cuz I know it eats at him, too.

4. I couldn't sleep last night, so I stayed up watching the Warriors-Clippers game.  I can't pinpoint exactly why I'd put myself through that duress, as I despise both squads, but it still brings me joy seeing the Clips falter.  Nepotism is the downfall of that organization.  You just can't have Austin Rivers play a significant role on your team and expect greatness.  It's like Doc felt obligated to watch all his son's games, but he also didn't want to spring for NBA League Pass.  The Clippers stay the Clippers.

5. For what it's worth, Blake Griffin is no longer on my hate list.  The starting 5 for that recognition are Chris Paul, Draymond Green, Kevin Garnett, Matt Barnes, and Terrence Jones.

Land of the Free, Home of the Not So Brave

I love America.  I love this country so much that my mind can't compute why anyone would choose to live elsewhere.  I love everything the stars and stripes stand for.

Which is why it is painful to see where we are headed.

I see racism thriving at the University of Missouri.  I see xenophobia highlighting Donald Trump's presidential campaign.  And now I see ignorance rejecting Syrian refugees.

How did we go from one nation under God to shutting out the people who need freedom most?

I realized a long time ago that the general public can be rather ignorant.  It's why the media has so much power to mold minds and warp opinions.  And obviously, under those circumstances, it's only a matter of time before fear takes over in light of the terrorist attacks in Paris.  Nobody wants another 9/11.

But this is the home of the brave, and bravery is not complete absence of fear, it is your character in spite of fear, no matter how unfounded those fears may be.

I thought we could rely on our leaders to be voices of reason, but instead of welcoming those without a place to call home, our governors are increasing the level of hatred and ignorance of their constituents.

I guess life is so much easier when you don't have to care about other people.

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave.

What are you willing to DIE for?

The title's a bit melodramatic, I know, but it's been on my mind ever since September 25th, when I watched EVEREST.  (It's hard for me to type that word without capitalizing every letter.)

I was visiting my brother in Kansas City, and we decided to go catch EVEREST after a day of overeating.  I think we had both read Into Thin Air before, but it had been at least a decade and a half for me, so the movie was quite the refresher.  Then after the credits rolled, we went home and looked up the different characters on Wikipedia for the rest of the night.

I'll try to avoid any spoilers, but it has always boggled my mind what people are willing to die for.  Obviously, nobody goes to EVEREST with the intent of losing their life, but you know the risk is there.

But to many, myself not included, the accomplishment is worth the risk, not to mention the money.  Maybe I'm just wired differently, but anytime I need that many layers of clothing and an oxygen tank, count me out.

Pondering Retirement With Mr. Money Mustache

I probably think about retirement more than most other 30-year-olds.

I mean, I enjoy my job and the opportunities it affords me, but at the end of the day, I view it as a means to an end, with that end being money which hopefully leads to retirement.

And I don't view retirement as bumming around and doing nothing other than playing golf, but I see it as that point in time where I have the full financial freedom to work where I want to work and when I want to work, in addition, of course, to deciding whether or not I still want to work at all.

I would continue doing a lot of the things I already do outside of the office currently, but without 40+ hours each week allotted to commuting and working, it sure would open up a lot more time and energy in my life.

It's been on the forefront of my mind ever since my friend Simeon first mentioned "Mr. Money Mustache" to me.  I had no idea what/who he was talking about, and then he pointed me to this page and then to this chart:

Then we started discussing budgeting and other matters that are not pertinent to this discussion, but ever since that point, I've been reading through MMM's blog rather religiously for both the entertainment and the financial concepts.

I encourage everyone to check out this website.  I'm under the impression that most people I know fall into one of 2 categories:

1) they are in debt but don't treat it like an emergency

2) they have zero/little debt and are vaguely working towards retirement without really knowing what the end goal looks like or how to get there efficiently

Let's dial it back real quick.  Who the heck is Mr. Money Mustache, and why do I care?  Basically MMM and his wife worked for 9 years and then retired by the age of 30 before they had their first kid.  How?  They saved 65% of their after-tax income every year, and even to this day, their family of three lives off of less than $27K per year.  (According to MMM, you can retire once your collection of investments reaches 25x your annual spending.)

I'll be the first to admit that MMM's tactics are on the extreme side, and saving 65% without it feeling like a tremendous loss in lifestyle is probably impossible for most of us.  However, you'd be surprised at how many "successful" people are actually swimming in debt and/or living paycheck to paycheck.  We should all at least reconsider or rethink some of our saving strategies.

Now some of you may read this and be all like "man, life's not all about money, bro, relax."  But that's precisely the point.  Life isn't all about money, so I don't want to have to work until an arbitrary 65 to finally be "free" from that burden.  

I told my wife a long time ago before we got married that I don't ever want to stress about money because it's something that comes and goes, and oftentimes, the times we have the most are the times we don't really need it.  On the other hand, not worrying about money is not synonymous with YOLO and just spending without abandon.  There has to be some sort of middle ground where you can be a good steward (I really like that word) of the money you earn while still enjoying life AND saving for the future.

Anyway, this is really just a relatively long-winded way of reminding everyone, including myself, to be responsible with your finances.  If you are also interested in the topic of retirement or budgeting or any other related subject, feel free to hit me up.  I love talking about this stuff, and frankly, I don't think people do enough of it.

31 for 31: the 31 Greatest Players in the NBA since 1984

I remember watching the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History ceremony during the 1997 All-Star Game, and in addition to being in awe that they could gather all those legendary players at one time, I was so proud because my Houston Rockets had 3 of them on their current roster: Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Charles Barkley.  (We would get another one named Scottie Pippen the next year, but I'm sure the entire city of Houston is still trying to forget that ever actually happened.  Sorry for bringing Quitten back up.)

Anyway, I was watching this video the other day with some players talking about the list and who would be the next 10 added.  If you love the NBA, you'd probably enjoy the video, but it's definitely one of those "watch at work" videos and not something you need to be checking out at home when you got better things to do.


Anyway, I was talking it over with my friend Timmy, and there's so many names on here that we can't fully appreciate because they played so long ago, and since we were both born in 1984, we decided to come up with a revised list of "31 for 31," or the 31 greatest players since 1984.

Our criteria was that the players' credentials had to be worthy based on their contribution starting from 1984.  So even if their career started prior to that year, the preceding years essentially didn't count.  This list is in no particular order.

(* denotes an original top 50 member)

1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*
2	Charles Barkley*
3	Larry Bird*
4	Clyde Drexler*
5	Patrick Ewing*
6	Magic Johnson*
7	Michael Jordan*
8	Karl Malone*
9	Kevin McHale*
10	Hakeem Olajuwon*
11	Shaquille O'Neal*
12	Scottie Pippen*
13	David Robinson*
14	John Stockton*
15	Isaiah Thomas*
16	Lebron James
17	Tim Duncan
18	Kobe Bryant
19	Allen Iverson
20	Kevin Garnett
21	Dirk Nowitzki
22	Dwyane Wade
23	Jason Kidd
24	Steve Nash
25	Dominique Wilkins
26	Gary Payton
27	Kevin Durant
28	Dikembe Mutombo
29	Chris Paul
30	Dwight Howard
31	Paul Pierce

The tiebreaker for #31 was broken by our friend Albert, who conned Timmy into allowing Paul Pierce onto the list.  TMAC, if you're reading this, I'm sorry.

The Best NBA Players by Number

So this infographic came out...

...and since I'm not watching the NBA Finals and am currently stuck at work when I should be playing golf, I'll just make this the last NBA-related thing my brain processes for the 2014-15 season.

Here are my thoughts.  Read through them if you're bored.

00 – ROBERT PARISH

All I know is I was very disappointed whenever I pulled a Robert Parish card in a basketball card pack.

0 – RUSSELL WESTBROOK

Should've been Gilbert Arenas.  Westbrook had a magical regular season, but he will probably never come close to the number of buzzer-beating game-winners Agent Zero had in his 2006-07 season alone.  Also props for the best player-written blog of all time.

1 – OSCAR ROBERTSON

This should have been TMAC.  I know it, you know it, even Oscar knows it.  Especially since Oscar shows up again on this list at #14.  Ugh.

2 – MOSES MALONE

Fo', fo', fo'.

3 – ALLEN IVERSON

No matter what the question was, Allen Iverson was the Answer.  I'm not into jerseys anymore, but if I was, I'd be sniping for a 76ers throwback.

4 – DOLPH SCHAYES

This dude was apparently inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, but it should have been Charles Barkley on the Rockets, even though I'll never forgive Houston GM Carroll Dawson for trading away Sam Cassell and Robert Horry for the Round Mound of Rebound.

5 – KEVIN GARNETT

Transformed his position.  I've had many a sports argument involving the Big Ticket.

6 – BILL RUSSELL

Sorry not sorry, LeBron.

7 – PETE MARAVICH

I think I would have really enjoyed watching Pistol Pete play basketball.

8 – KOBE BRYANT

Fine, but if Latrell Sprewell didn't have so many mouths to feed...

9 – BOB PETTIT

First thought that came to my mind was Bostjan Nachbar.

10 – WALT FRAZIER

I'm less than thrilled that this isn't Sam Cassell's name.

11 – KARL MALONE

So happy that both Yao Ming and Isiah Thomas got overlooked for Laker Karl Malone.

12 – JOHN STOCKTON

NBA all-time assists AND steals leader is no joke.

13 – WILT CHAMBERLAIN

100.

14 – OSCAR ROBERTSON

#1 and #14?  So greedy.  And so little respect for the greatness that is Tracy McGrady.

15 – HAL GREER

Who?

16 – BOB LANIER

Okay.

17 – JOHN HAVLICEK

Fair enough.

18 – DAVE COWENS

2 Celtics in a row?

19 – WILLIS REED

You can't teach heart.

20 – GARY PAYTON

I loved watching the Glove play defense.

21 – TIM DUNCAN

Greatest power forward of all time.

22 – ELGIN BAYLOR

Sorry, Clyde.

23 – MICHAEL JORDAN

Duh.

24 – RICK BARRY

Happy Kobe is only on here once.

25 – VINCE CARTER

They clearly misspelled ROBERT HORRY.  Shot clock running down with the game on the line, do you want Vinsanity or Big Shot Bob?  'Nuff said.

26 – BUDDY JEANNETTE

Buddy?

27 – JACK TWYMAN

Would you know if they made the name up?

28 – SAM CASSELL

MY MAN!

29 – MARCUS CAMBY

So underrated.

30 – BERNARD KING

Respect.

31 – REGGIE MILLER

Every time I hear Reggie commentate a game, I regret ever cheering for him in any capacity.

32 – MAGIC JOHNSON

I wish I got to see Magic in his prime.

33 – KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

I'm just glad this isn't Scottie Pippen.

34 – HAKEEM OLAJUWON

THE DREAM!

35 – KEVIN DURANT

Hook 'em!

36 – SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

I guaransheed that Rasheed Wallace is pissed that he can't even beat out Celtic Shaq.

37 – METTA WORLD PEACE

Every team needs a little crazy.

38 – KWAME BROWN

lol.

39 – GREG OSTERTAG

lol x2.

40 – SHAWN KEMP

Cocaine is a helluva drug.

41 – DIRK NOWITZKI

I've always admired Dirk ever since he was on Punk'd.  Such a nice dude.

42 – NATE THURMOND

Nate the Great.

43 – JACK SIKMA

Shouts out to former Rockets assistant coach.

44 – JERRY WEST

The logo.

45 – MICHAEL JORDAN

I wanted this #45 jersey so bad back in the day.

46 – BO OUTLAW

Bo knows.

47 – JERRY LUCAS

Jerry Lucas, not to be confused with John Lucas.

48 – NAZR MOHAMMED

This guy has played in the NBA for 22 years.  Years.

49 – SHANDON ANDERSON

Former Houston Rocket!

50 – DAVID ROBINSON

D-Rob is lucky he's still on this list after what Hakeem did to him.

51 – METTA WORLD PEACE

Obviously, there was a method behind the madness.  Second MWP sighting already.

52 – JAMAAL WILKES

Another Laker.

53 – ARTIS GILMORE

Happy Gilmore.

54 – HORACE GRANT

Remember the goggles they had on the Mickey Mouse tower in Orlando?

55 – DIKEMBE MUTOMBO

WHO WANTS TO SEX MUTOMBO?

56 – FRANCISCO ELSON

Great job picking your number, Francisco.

57 – HILTON ARMSTRONG

Is this guy still in the league?

58 – NO PLAYERS

Quick, someone take this number!

59 – NO PLAYERS

I can understand this.  59 is a pretty crappy number.

60 – WALT KIRK

The only other guy who ever wore #60 only played in 9 NBA games in his career... so...

61 – DAVE PIONTEK

I'm guessing this number was a lot more popular back in the 60's.

62 – SCOT POLLARD

Samurai Scot!

63 – NO PLAYERS

Meh.

64 – NO PLAYERS

This is a decent number.

65 – GEORGE KATKOVICZ

Only guy to ever wear this number.  Someone wanna take it from him?

66 – SCOT POLLARD

I love that Pollard is on here twice.

67 – MOE BECKER

Man, these numbers are really up for grabs.

68 – MILT SCHON

Seriously, it wouldn't take much to outduel Milt for this one.

69 – NO PLAYERS

Am I the only one surprised that there has never been a #69 in the NBA?

70 – DENNIS RODMAN

Dallas Worm.

71 – WILLIE NAULLS

This has taken over 10 minutes of my time.  I really thought I'd be finished by now.

72 – JASON KAPONO

The definition of a one trick pony.

73 – DENNIS RODMAN

Los Angeles Worm.

74 – NO PLAYERS

I'm getting sleepy.

75 – NO PLAYERS

Only 24 more to go.

76 – SHAWN BRADLEY

Retired by Tracy McGrady.

77 – VLADIMIR RADMANOVIC

Well done, Vlad.

78 – NO PLAYERS

I wish I didn't set a precedent of commenting on every number.

79 – NO PLAYERS

This should be blank.

80 – NO PLAYERS

But I can't just leave one blank.

81 – NO PLAYERS

Therefore I have to write this.

82 – NO PLAYERS

So many diminishing returns right now.

83 – CRAIG SMITH

I didn't know Craig Smith ever played for the Portland Trailblazers.  You learn something new every day.

84 – CHRIS WEBBER

Detroit C-Webb.  Yikes.

85 – BARON DAVIS

Baron played like he was 85 for the Knicks.

86 – CHRIS JOHNSON

Not the NFL player.  I'm assuming.

87 – NO PLAYERS

Some dude born in 1987 should rock this jersey.

88 – ANTOINE WALKER

Shimmy.

89 – CLYDE LOVELLETTE

Not Clyde the Glide.

90 – DREW GOODEN

Ridiculous that he's still in the league.

91 – DENNIS RODMAN

Chicago Worm.

92 – DESHAWN STEVENSON

Remember when this guy posted a picture of his black card online?

93 – METTA WORLD PEACE

I still can't believe the Rockets got Ron Artest for Donte Greene.  Thank you, not-so-meaningless NBA summer league.

94 – EVAN FOURNIER

I would totally take this number if I were in the league.

95 – NO PLAYERS

Or this one.  Clutch City!

96 – METTA WORLD PEACE

I loved Ron Artest on the Rockets.

97 – NO PLAYERS

Almost done here.

98 – JASON COLLINS

I wasted 20 minutes of a busy work week doing this.

99 – GEORGE MIKAN

The end.

A Racist Moment

I live in Chicago at the moment and I just experienced the most racist moment of my life. I grew up in the Houston area, which is a pretty diverse and integrated city. Chicago, although diverse, isn't as integrated. Maybe this fact contributed to this anecdote, or maybe I just happened to choose the wrong bus to hop on to today.

I'm writing this not to incite anything, or to have a debate about the current state of racism in our country, etc. -- I just want to share it because it was pretty appalling to witness: I get onto Bus 36 heading North. It's Memorial Day, so there's more people on the bus than usual at 3 p.m. on a Monday. The bus is about 80% full and 2 seats open up to my right just as I board. A middle-aged couple is sitting in front of me. One of the woman's leg is propped up onto the chair seat in front of her. The man has his arm around her. They're dressed like tourists, but they seem like they're from the area. I don't smell booze on either of them, but I really hope alcohol is involved.

"I really don't like the warmth," the man says. "I like feeling frostbite on my toes. My fingers. I don't mind the winter at all. I have had frostbite on my toes. My fingers. I'm okay without the warmth. Did you know? Frostbite on my toes and fingers." This statement isn't too random for a Chicago bus ride. I don't make much of it. Maybe he's a bit crazy? He's directing all these comments at his wife.

She begins murmuring something, and then I hear it -- "...THESE NIGGERS." Some curse words follow. The man tries to hush her. He tries talking about something else. Ah, now I know why he was talking about frostbite. He glances back at me just enough to gauge whether I'm black or not. I look around and most everyone is looking down at their phones or out the window. I realize that this woman has been causing a scene even before I got on the bus. The woman sounds drunk. She sits up a bit in her chair and tries to look behind her towards the back of the bus. She's searching for someone it seems. The man turns her back around and hugs her to contain her.

"Those fuckers. Shit. NIGGERS." An elderly woman next to me says in response, just loud enough, "There are children on this bus." The woman in front of me turns around to glare at the comment. The bus comes to stop and the doors open. A woman outside the bus pleads with the driver, "Sir -- I just need a ride. I've been trying to get change but I can't get any." The driver responds, "No sorry I can't do that." The woman in front of me exclaims "SHE'S A WHITE WOMAN. JUST LET HER ON. SHE'S WHITE." Everyone is shaking their heads now. Two stops later a black man gets onto the bus. Uh-oh. The man immediately holds his wife tight and begins to kiss her on the cheek to divert her attention. It doesn't work. "Where do they all come from? They're everywhere. They belong in South Chicago with the scum." The black man just walks past her.

The husband then says, "I live on the streets. I don't mind it. I live in the alleyways. Like a superhero. I'm like a superhero." Maybe this is his attempt to appease the situation. I don't think anyone knows what his comments mean. An elderly man with a cane gets onto the bus and sits in front of the couple. "Let me shake your hand grandpa" the woman says. The husband and his wife both reach out to shake his hand. They both fumble around like they're drunk. "You shake hands like this --" the husband says as he grabs the old man's wrist instead of his palm. This is all really weird. He then says, "You shake hands like a Jewish man. You know? Like a Jewish man." The old man just nods and minds his own business.

Then the woman in front raises her hands. She's flicking off people in the back of the bus. I don't turn around to see who's sitting back there. The man pushes her hand down. She raises her middle finger again and again. There's some cursing coming from her. We come to a stop and a black woman and her 3 kids walk to the front of the bus, ready to get off. So that's who all this hatred has been geared towards. "THERE'S RETRIBUTION FOR EVERYONE WHO ELECTED BARACK OBAMA" she yells at the family. The husband tags on, "All I know is that none of them are mine. That's all I can say. They're not mine." He means the kids. One of the daughters turns around slightly to take a look at the couple. She seems a bit confused. I think she knows the comments are directed at her family. The mom looks straight ahead, waiting for the bus doors to open.

Why don't people like baseball?

The Houston Astros have had a rough few years, to say the least. Aside from losing 100+ games per season and missing out on signing draft picks, there has still been glimmers of hope with the young studs growing up in the farm system. Even at my most optimistic, I was thinking 2017 would be when this team could finally have a chance at winning the division, but here we are, 21 games into the 2015 season, and H-Town is sitting at the top of the AL West with a 14-7 record.

The only problem? Nobody seems to care.

You know how you have certain friends you can text about certain topics? You know, like if something crazy happens with the Houston Texans, you can pretty much text anybody in the city. If something crazy happens with the Houston Rockets, you have a plethora of fans in your mind who you'd want to discuss it with. If something crazy happens with the Houston Astros? I can't even think of 10 people who would know the name of our starting third baseman.

My wife will sit through just about any other athletic event with me other than baseball. She, along with thousands of other people, simply finds the game boring. I thought it was primarily an Asian mindset until I saw this:


I love baseball. I can sit at home on my couch and watch every pitch. I remember the first time someone walked in on me watching baseball in college, they were bewildered. They couldn't believe I enjoyed watching baseball on TV, much less every single play. A lot of it probably has to do with nostalgia. I grew up back when the Astros were owning the NL Central, and going to the 18-inning series clincher against the Atlanta Braves is a sports moment I will never forget.

But my man Chris Rock is right. The sport IS too old-fashioned. There shouldn't be an unspoken code of conduct or "right" way to play the game. If anything, the league needs more showboats and outspoken players to garner some attention from the younger generation. 

I blame Bud Selig. Times have changed, but that Bud stayed the same. It wasn't until last year that the MLB finally allowed some of their plays to be shown on YouTube. Up til that point, the only major league baseball coverage you could find online was some grainy cell phone coverage taken from the upper deck or at a sports bar.

Long story short, I need more baseball people in my life. If you are an avid fan, please inquire within.

How Much Should You Love Your Job?

Whenever people ask me about my job, I tell them the truth.  I don't love the job itself, but I love everything the job brings with it.  The work/life balance.  The 9/80 schedule.  The benefits.  The monies.

I see all these people striving for a career that they absolutely love, and I get it.  You spend 8+ hours a day working, so you should be working for a place or a cause that you can fully stand behind.  But I don't know, that's just not me.

I guess the primary question is this: how much should you love your job?  Is it "wrong" to just view it as a means to an end?

Just some food for thought.

A Penny for my thoughts on Fresh Off The Boat

I was called a chink a single time in my life. It caught me off guard and I froze, not knowing how I was supposed to react, and the moment passed. It was at a random middle school where I was somehow coerced into attending a summer reading class. We had some sort of break, and a couple of black kids who were there for mandatory summer school came across me, a Chinese kid proudly wearing his favorite Anfernee Hardaway jersey over a white tee in a school hallway in the dead of summer (relatively) voluntarily.

They were making fun of me, a skinny, short yellow kid wearing the jersey of a skinny, tall black kid. (The irony being that my game was closer to Penny’s than theirs could ever dream of being.  While we're briefly on the topic, I've always hated being called Jeremy Lin or worse, Yao Ming, on the court just because of my race, but the worst name I've ever been called was JJ Barea.  I was furious.  But I digress.)

Fast forward a couple decades to today, and we now have a sitcom on ABC that shows another young kid getting called a chink. He handled it much differently than I did, but he was also under much different circumstances.

He grew up as the token Asian kid in Orlando (after watching The Book of Mormon, I chuckle everytime I hear the word "Orlando"), Florida, and I grew up as one of many Asian kids in Sugar Land, Texas. We both grew up loving Penny Hardaway (who wouldn’t?), but my schools’ student body was almost 1/3 Asian, and I never really felt any sort of racial tension, definitely not to the degree Eddie Huang did.

What it all boils down to is ignorance. Where there’s no diversity, people don’t understand what they don’t understand. Does that even make sense?

I get what Eddie Huang is trying to do, and I understand his frustration with how watered-down the sitcom is compared to his book. Trust me, I’m reading it. There’s a lot of hilarious anecdotes in the book, but there’s also a lot of animosity, hatred, and pain. Nobody wants to watch a sitcom that is a visual depiction of an Angry Asian Man rant, not to mention how exhausting it is to be angry all the time. So it’s tough to expect an ABC sitcom to go as hard in the paint as Eddie’s memoirs did over his own “growing up in America” experience.

That’s what we all need to remember when watching Fresh Off The Boat. It’s a sitcom. There’s no need to break down every little detail of the show or its jokes or its ratings and make it a racial thing. Look, I’m not putting down the show by any means or trying to downplay the significance of having an Asian family front and center on network TV – I enjoy the show (especially Constance Wu) and realize the show is unprecedented – but at the same time, I will watch it the same way I watch every other sitcom, for entertainment value. Let’s not expect every episode to be a groundbreaking, bold statement for Asians in America – the sitcom has enough pressure of its own, you know, just being a sitcom.

The "Thank You" Wave

Driving is insane in Jamaica, but they have a code.  Two short honks equates to a display of gratitude, and a single extended honk signals fury.  The longer the honk, the longer the obscenity.

I'm starting to support this horn system here in America because so few people do the "thank you" wave anymore anyway.  But maybe that's for the best.

Yesterday morning, I was nearing the finish line of a 5-mile drive from my house to the Park and Ride.  I was in the middle lane and had to take a right turn soon, so I signaled and changed lanes seamlessly before shortly glancing back in my rearview mirror as I did my patented thumb-1-2-finger "thank you" wave.

All I saw next were the heavy brake lights of the two cars in front of me, and while I slammed the brakes, the short distance and the wet pavement proved an unfortunate combination.  It turned out to be a three-car accident, with me being on the tail end.

The driver of the first car got out, looked at her car, saw little to no damage, and assured the driver of the second car that all was well and fine, and drove off.

The drive of the second car got out, looked at his car, saw little to no damage, and assured the driver of the third car (me) that all was well and fine, and drove off.

The driver of the third car got out, looked at his car, and was deeply saddened by the damage.

Thank God that nobody got hurt and I'll only have to pay my car insurance deductible to fix up my own car, but I still can't bear the sight of my beat-up car in the garage.  But I guess as I always tell people at the craps table: "It's just money!"

Trusting In God's Plan

Few things make me cringe more than a bad Christian cliche.

I've been going to church since birth, so trust me when I say that I've heard nearly all of them.  "Wait on God's timing!" "He won't give you more than you can handle!" "Ask and you shall receive!"  The list goes on.

While I hardly ever question the intent behind the hackneyed message, I'm usually just not sure what purpose it really serves.  More than anything, I worry that it's just filler material to fill an otherwise potentially awkward silence.  But most of the time, I think what a person really yearns for is compassion.

Of course, I'm as guilty of this as anyone.  As a guy, when I'm presented with a problem, I assume people are asking me for help to find the solution.  But sometimes, we're left helpless, with seemingly nothing we can physically do to alleviate the situation.

That's when we Christians like to throw out encouraging Bible verses rapid fire, thinking that if just one dart hits the target, we've done our job.

Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Ah, yes.  The almighty Plan.  For many of us, this verse is easy to recite.  We come from healthy homes with smiling parents, and we've jumped from one stepping stone to another in our walk of life.

Trusting in God's plan is ridiculously easy... until it no longer matches with our own plan.

I've always been a big proponent of wrestling with your faith.  You aren't going to grow spiritually until you first break down what you actually believe in.  So it's okay to ask questions.  It's okay to wonder why things happen the way they do.  It's okay to not have anything helpful to say because no matter how much we want to believe otherwise, we don't have all the answers.

You Can't Handle The Truth

Sorry to be so accusatory with the title to this post, but, you know, a movie quote is a movie quote.

23 days ago, my friend Cynthia mentioned Serial to me.

21 days ago, I got hooked and listened to all 12 podcast episodes consecutively.

Then for the next 21 days, I've found a way to wiggle a mention of Adnan Syed into nearly every conversation to panhandle for thoughts and theories.

The one thing we can all agree on is that there wasn't enough evidence in the case to convict anyone of murder, but as far as who actually committed the crime, there are only two plausible scenarios in my mind:

1. Adnan did it and continues to deny it.
2. Jay did it, and Jenn helped cover it up.

I just can't wrap my head around the absurd idea of there being a 3rd party serial killer involved... that Jay also somehow knew/witnessed and is scared to death of.

But the crux of the matter is, to put it simply, we can't handle the truth.  And the truth is, we will never truly know what happened to Hae Min Lee.

This shred of human nature also brought the downfall of Adnan Syed at trial.  The victim's family, the jurors, the prosecutor, the police, they all needed someone to blame for such a tragedy, and when nobody else presented himself as a viable suspect, they started thinking (as I have myself, many times), "if not Adnan, then who else?"

And from that point forward, call it bias or cynicism, but it was easy to take the (lack of) evidence and manipulate it to be used against Adnan.  "How could he not remember that day at all?" they thought, when in actuality, if we are under the assumption that he is innocent, how many of us could remember details of a "normal day" 6+ weeks in our past?

At this point, I'm not sure what the next course of action is.  Obviously, if Adnan is actually guilty, I'd rather the system "fail" than let a murderer go free.  But on the other hand, if he is in fact innocent (which I'm currently inclined to lean towards after reading Rabia's blog), then hopefully more can emerge out of this hoopla than a few months of rabid entertainment for us wannabe detectives everywhere.

Living in the Moment

I know it's too early in the year for new pet peeves, so I'll reframe this into the form of a resolution: let's all live in the moment in 2015.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like we're too mature (see: old) to still be desperately looking forward to things, like an overgrown kid still wanting to grow up too fast.  If there's one thing I've learned since college, it's that everybody lives on their own timeline that's as unique to them as their fingerprints.

Long ago I made it a goal of mine to never rush someone else's timeline, whether it relates to a job, a relationship, a child, a house, or anything else that's life-changing to that degree.

So you think people should find the career of their dreams right out of college, then find their significant other, then get engaged after a minimum of 1.5 years and a maximum of 3 years of dating, then get married after a minimum of 9 months and a maximum of 14 months of engagement, then have kids after a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years of DINK (Double Income No Kids), and your magical ideal timeline goes on and on and on.

That's cool.  That's fine.  But that cookie cutter formula just isn't for everybody.

Perhaps I'm harping on this too long, but I just hate when people are pressured into monumental decisions in their lives.  And on top of that, life is going by way too fast to perpetually waste time looking toward "the next step."

(Come to think of it, maybe this entire post should have "Trace Adkins - You're Gonna Miss This" playing in the background like an old school Asian Avenue page.)

Let's all just take a deep breath, laugh a little more, and enjoy where we're at.

Education: Game of Molds.

"Obama to propose free community college," the Headline Reads.

After browsing through a few more articles, Obama's "plan" is less of a plan and more of a "conversation starter" (as described by Obama's domestic policy adviser). If this loose wish eventually comes into fruition, we can all point to Obama and praise him. The more realistic outcome is that a dumbed-down version results and only 20-30% of community college applicants receive 40-60% of their tuition paid for. Politics, y'all.

Getting Educated On Education.

I finally finished schooling in May 2014 with 2 degrees and 25 years logged on Earth. If I live to 75 years old, I would've spent 1/3 of my life in school. Isn't that crazy? Isn't that a waste? 1/3 of anything is a huge chunk. Like I said, I know nothing about education, but I'd say 1/3 of my life spent towards education is too much time (and money) spent on education. Of those 25 years spent in school, I likely could've learned everything I did in 1/3 of that time: 8.33 years. So why's it take so long? 

Higher education is a business. Think about core-curriculum at your university. Think about how useless that stuff is, especially if you have a decent idea of what you might want to do. Do you really need TWO separate history courses? I remember one thing from my college history course: the route from my apartment to the classroom. I recall nothing substantive. And those two semesters cost me a few thousand, not to mention the time wasted.

Even law school. An American legal education is so blatantly a business. Law school most definitely does not need to be 3 years long, ask any law student. Heck, ask most professors. People think you finish law school and you're just good to go, able to tackle any legal issue. Your friends ask you about really specific laws, expecting a black/white answer, and you know how a law school graduate responds? "Well, it depends..." because you don't learn much actual law; you learn how to think, which is a very, very valuable thing. But it shouldn't take 3 years to get there. I recall sitting in half of my classes in my 3rd year of law school thinking, "what a complete waste of time." Where I went, you needed 90 credits to graduate, but only 40-50 hours were useful in my mind.

This is the greatest fault in our education system. There is no individualism. Think of education as a consumer product. Education is this massive product that mostly everyone feels like they need, or at least they're told this, and so it's mass produced. But with any product created on a huge scale, there are issues with quality control and customization. When you create something for the masses, corners are cut. To cut corners, molds are made. When there are molds, individuality suffers. And when individuality suffers, there is wasted time spent navigating a course that rarely takes you to the exact location you were searching for. Think of a mathematician at a state college who is required to spend 80% of her first 2 years taking courses like History, English, and Biology. This process sort of makes sense though, right? A good chunk of people enter college with absolutely no idea what to study, so they close their eyes and blindly choose something that sounds remotely interesting (more or less), maybe because that's what their friends chose, or their parents said it would be good for them. For these people, core curriculum is a decent place to start searching for direction. But for those who have a more focused idea on what they want, core curriculum is synonymous with throwing away hours and dollars. So who's to blame? How come so many 18 year olds entering college have no idea what they want? I was one of them. Well, it all comes back to molds and minimizing individuality. Our education system does very little to help us navigate all the varying avenues of possible vocations. And frankly, for the vast majority of us, our environments at home and in our communities likely do very little to usher us towards finding passions. I'm using passion here as a very general term with a low threshold. Passion merely means being interested enough in something to propel you to want to know more. Passion is curiosity, and curiosity may be the most crucial aspect lacking in American education.

No, can't be. Really? That's _______.

Cynicism. We all possess a bit of it. Some show it, others keep quiet. Thanks to social media, we can now do the former without much accountability. Cynicism is tricky because it's rooted in a milieu of reasons, from one's innate response to past experiences to societal influences to insecurities.

Cynicism, to a certain degree, is healthy to have. For all intensive purposes, I'll equate this healthy level of cynicism to discernment, which involves pulling in wisdom to the doubt that we respond with in whatever we see, hear, or feel. It's a protective measure against all the voices that tell us how the world is and how we should interpret it.

Lately, I find myself reading any article or hearing any conversation or attending any public event with a frame of cynicism. It does, after all, take very little effort to be cynical. And it also can make us feel like we have an opinion about something when we really don't know what to think, or it allows us to blindly go against the status quo when we really just want to be heard, or it can just make us feel like we're important - that we have an opinion, that we have something to stand against, that we have a right to defend, that we have a cause to pursue.

I think it's increasingly important to take into consideration where our cynicism comes from when we find ourselves blindly responding with it. But then again, who am I that you should listen to me?

Mok My Beans

There are two things that I have scoured the interwebs for at least once a year for 10+ years.  The first is a Jack in the Box commercial that spurred the creation of one of my oldest nicknames.  The second is a shred of photographic evidence of the best day of my friend Simon's life, in which he was originally asked by a passing girl to take a photograph of her and her friends and somehow ended up being in the picture while said girl kissed him on the cheek.

While the latter situation is one that will likely only live on in legend, a few days ago I stumbled upon the commercial that first coined the "Mok My Beans" nickname that a loyal few still recall to this day.  (Starts at the 6:20 mark.)


Now that I can finally check off that commercial from my life bucket list, and with such a glorious start to 2015, I figure new year's resolutions are in order.

My wife recently told me that everyone should have three kinds of hobbies: a fitness hobby, a money-making hobby, and a creative hobby.  So the creation of this blog essentially kills two birds in both serving as a creative outlet and representing a tangible way to help with another one of my resolutions: to keep in touch with my siblings until they come to their senses and return back to the great state of Texas.

So for all the imaginary people out there who have been waiting on pins and needles for the open-ended curtain call from mok's blog, wait no more.