Money Diary #30

Morning: 

• He leaves for his sailing club around 7:30, I get up, and read the Python book on the sofa for a while. Finish part 1 of the book (bookmark p. 89 as the starting point for next time), brush my teeth, and get dressed to head to parents' place. I weigh myself before I leave, and it's not as bad as I had expected. I do, however, need to cut down on the amount I've been eating lately (including sugar). 

• Once I arrive, read more Python, eat breakfast of toasted Hawaiian rolls & tea, and also try a bite of the pineapple coconut cake Mom tells me they found in the clearance aisle at Kroger. It's really good! Mom also tells me that the neighbors finally fixed their fence, so there is no longer a gap between our yard and theirs. As it took them nearly a year to do this (and was very annoying to say the least), I am super grateful and also wonder out loud if the neighbors are thinking of moving. Other parts of their fence had also been broken for the past year, and they've had those fixed as well. My mom really likes being in the backyard, and felt uncomfortable with the gap that existed for the past year, so I'm grateful that she can enjoy her backyard again in peace and solitude. Lounge on the sofa for a while, catch up on blogs, and then go shower. Watch a few reruns of old Scooby-Doo episodes. Download the free Saturday Sampler deal from Albertsons which is plant-based meat this week. 

• I read an article on Jake Gyllenhaal and how "he has found that professional disappointment can yield personal benefits." That makes me pause and think about a few years ago. I had been working towards a rotation in Europe, and in the fall of one year, my then-manager (who I admired and respected a bunch) had indicated it was in the works for me to move to Europe early the next year. Then, my management changed, and when I asked new management about my Europe rotation, I was told no. Needless to say, I was heartbroken and very professionally disappointed. In hindsight, though, a couple of months after I received the news I wouldn't be heading to Europe, I met SO. So I am a living example of how professional disappointment can lead to personal benefits. The Jake Gyllenhaal article also highlights that while the journalist kept asking about the noise, Jake focused on the signal. That's an important reminder to me when I work, I'm always asked about the noise, and I need to focus on the signal.

Afternoon: Dad makes air fried tilapia, and we have that with lentil stew for lunch. I immediately fall asleep on the couch afterwards. I hear my mom saying they're off to Albertsons to get the free plant-based meat, and then the next thing I know, I hear the garage open when they come home. Apparently, I was out for an hour or so, haha. Eat some tres leches cake, send SO a picture of the free plant-based meat so he can get it too, and then have ladyfingers with tea. Read for a while, and here is what I learn:

• On what financial independence means in corporate America: The right boss makes the difference. Once you are FI, focus on picking a boss (vs. a company), rather than letting things work the other way. 

• On how to improve your professional life (part 1): Talk to more people, and by doing so, you will learn how to become more reasonable. You will learn how to live in the mess -- more in the gray area and less in the black-and-white. A black-and-white version of the world leads to two consequences: (a) perceiving life events in an emotional way and (b) a distorted view of the world because you can't see nuance.

• On how to improve your professional life (part 2): Part of my job requires me to be a therapist. Let the other side vent and then guide their emotions. After all, I'm getting paid to listen to what they're saying, point out what emotions they are feeling, and guide those emotions. 

• On how the future can throw curve balls: A doctor enjoys her job now but could have surprises like a couple of malpractice cases that may make her bitter and disenchanted with medicine. She should not take working for many years and future income for granted.

• On how I can add value: I need to keep up to date in my profession, but my value lies more in doing the right thing, the right way, over and over again. I am not inventing anything new. 

• On having negotiating power: He is looking for a house and wants to pay $5 million for it. Instead, he should tell the seller he is no longer interested, that his initial offer is off the table, and that he is lowering his bid to $4.75 million. The key is you have to be willing to walk away from the deal. That is when you have the power.

• On a high net worth: People with high net worth have to put that net worth somewhere -- it can be in index funds or in a house.

• On what an optimist is: "An optimist is someone who gets treed by a lion but enjoys the scenery."

• On the difference between ambition driven by insecurity vs. ambition driven by the desire to self-actualize: The former begins by feeling you're not enough. The latter is an affirmation of life -- it's an attempt to do the most you can do with the body you've been given. It doesn't compete with others but with yourself. It is the act of pure desire rather than the fear about not feeling enough.

Evening: More Scooby-Doo, dinner is air fried tilapia & fish stew with rice, and brush my teeth. A couple of work projects came in earlier this afternoon, and I think about getting a head start to the week. Decide to do it tomorrow & summarize what I've learned about Python instead, and bed around 10. Here is the Python summary:

• How to approach programming: Use the "Grilled Cheese" method. You don't need to be a Michelin-starred chef, but it is useful if you can cook a meal for yourself. In a similar fashion, if a piece of code solves a program, that's all we need it to do. 

• What a programming language is: A programming language allows a human to manipulate the computer's physical hardware by switching transistors on and off.

• On visualizing a script: A script is a set of instructions with conditional checks (questions that are answered with "yes" or "no"), operations to be carried out, and an endpoint (which is a "Yes" answer to the first conditional check question). When drawing it out, use a diamond for conditional checks, a rectangle for operations to be carried out, and an oval for the end of the process.

• How algorithms can be political: Algorithms can help make the world appear in certain ways over than others by ranking, classifying, sorting, predicting, and processing data. 

• When using Twitter's free APIs: APIs are software that request data from Twitter. The free APIs do not let users have 100% of the data they request. The only way to get 100% of the data that match your search criteria is to buy the data from a Twitter-approved vendor. When you extract data through a free Twitter API, you're limiting the scope of data you'll receive and you also have to be mindful of Twitter's terms and conditions regarding data usage.