One girl specifically (the captain) was only allowed to contact her family just once every year, and when she’d request to go home, she was denied by her own family as a matter of “honor”

Initially I felt quite torn when I think of how these girls have been basically conditioned to be robots and programmed to do just one thing in life just barely out of the womb, making it impossible to compete with them. As a result I found it extremely difficult to have any respect for a country (namely it’s government) that apparently has such an inferiority complex that they’ll take ownership rights of a zygote and force them into modern day, athletic, slavery, just so that they can have a citizen of theirs stand at the top of a podium for a few minutes during a once in four year event.

However I got to thinking, what’s the alternative?

Having seen what life in the rural is, which makes a life of poverty here in the US seem like an episode of Cribs, I can only imagine that being an Olympic gymnast and honoring your country, the largest country with the richest history of any in the world–regardless of what sort of torture you have to go through as a youth–is infinitely better than a life you’d achieve living on a farm picking rice for 16 hours a day, not having any sort of escape route and perpetually “continuing the tradition” for generations throughout.

And in a country where essentially 700 million people or so live in the Dark Ages, you can bet that a high, high majority of them would send their kids off to do the same.

This is not even billions upon billions of others around the world that would sign up in a heartbeat as well.

There is certainly an honor in what they do that I can respect. It’s a cultural difference that may be hard is impossible to grasp as we sit away in comfy chairs behind our computers reading this while looking up the latest relationship statuses of our friends on Facebook–but until we’ve actually witnessed, or better yet lived in true poverty, that is poverty on an international standard, I don’t think we have any right to judge what actions the Chinese government and their families do in the way they nurture their citizens in an attempt to best in the world at what they do.

And while their intentions are far far from genuine and can easily be described as a humane crisis in any civilized part of the world, it’s hard to argue with the results, and who am I to deny a 12-year-old accomplishing more in her life than I ever will.

That said, I’m rooting for the U.S. all the way…

We’re a simple people, and while the 60s are long gone, we’ll always have a burning internal desire to create meaning and worth in our lives by fighting against “the man”.

We take bold stances by joining others fighting the same cause by placing the blame squarely on certain things for everything that’s wrong in the world–and generally there’s one specific scapegoat where all the anger is pointed at–even though there exists any number of clones that go completely ignored and often accepted by society.

Usually this target is the best or biggest, since it’s so much more fun to take them down, and so much easier too!

After all who actually likes to do critical thinking?

Examples:

Hummer H2 - Yeah it’s big, brash, and gets horrible mileage–but it’s no bigger or worse for the environment than any other full sized SUV. The Hummer is the face of the whole anti-SUV movement, and people point at them for the fuel crisis, global warming, Mid-East conflicts, and killing of baby seals.

However you never hear these people give off the same criticisms when the see the other tanks of the world, like the Toyota Sequoias, Lexus LX470s or Mercedes Benz GLs out there, which are often bigger and at best get marginally better fuel mileage than the Hummers/Escalades of the world (if they even do).. the same goes for performance sports cars that get mileage in the low-mid teen range that have zero utility and for most owners, are 100% status symbols (at least you can stuff a Hummer with lots of people/cargo).

Sure there’s the whole image the Hummer H2 gives off that’s part of the blame, but just from the standpoint of what’s killing the baby seals out there, it’s no worse than any number of popular vehicles out there that emit just as much emissions, or causing such a spike in our demand for fuel/oil.

Wal-Mart - There’s a million and one reasons to hate them, particularly if you or your family have never been in a situation where you actually had to shop here–as paying more than $5 for jeans or $2 for a bath towel isn’t an option for a good portion of the population.

But while shopping or supporting Wal-Mart is akin to worshipping the devil himself (or in this case the little Waltons), there apparently exists no problems with the Targets out there even though they both represent everything that’s wrong with globalization, destruction of local businesses (or mom/pop shops), and welfare in America.

Making a purchase at one is equivalent to the other, in the sense that both pay their employees about the same along with similar benefits, both import their products from 3rd world countries, and if you shop at either you’re most definitely not helping out the mom & pop/local businesses out there which apparently only Walmart is capable of driving out..

The differences between the two are a) Target charges more for their products and convey a greater image of “class” compared to the white trash image that Wal-Mart has b) Walmart 6x as large, and c) Target has a much better PR department.

At least with Walmart there’s the passing on of the slave labor wages from whatever 3rd world worker that’s making their products onto the lower class of America (e.g. my parents when they first immigrated over here)–at Target you just ending up paying more for the same crappy products and providing them with higher profit margins.

Wal-Mart may be pushing further onto the extreme level with it comes to its practices, but if they’re a 10 on the “evil” scale, Target is its mini-me and is at least a 9.

Barry Bonds - Yup he cheated at the sport, but so did all his peers, and he did it better than all the other cheaters. Maybe he shouldn’t have lied about it, but the blame is laid on him because a) he was so good at cheating, and b) because he’s a class A jackass, making it easier to point the finger to him.

Don Imus - Touchy subject but I’ll give it a go here–the black community can be seen in the news at any given time dealing gangs to drugs to dropping out of school to living in horrible communities to homelessness to shooting each other up for no reason to AIDs to teenage pregnancy to robbing liquor stores to stealing cars (no wait that’s us Vietnamese folk)–Don Imus making a comment about “nappy headed hos” shouldn’t even just be on the absolute bottom of all those worries–it needs to…well I’m not sure what it needs to do, but it should be the last thing that should be rallied around and made into big news.

McDonald’s - They’re unhealthy and will kill you young if you’re eating all their popular items everyday–but uh the exact thing is true about every other restaurant out there.

And not just all the fast food places joints pretty much any popular item at any “trendy” restaurant, from Chili’s to Cheesecake Factory out there is going to be loaded with fat, calories, and will leave you dying young. Restaurants rarely become popular because they’re healthy–they become popular (and hence profitable) because of taste, and in order for things to taste good for Americans you need to add lots of butter and fat and cheese (lots and lots of cheese) to their foods.

But McDonald’s is seen as the reason why all our kids are fat and our adults are dying from heart attacks, when basically the joke of a documentary Supersize Me could’ve featured any restaurant out there and come to the same conclusion–eating lots of fatty foods makes you fat, OMG.

At least w/ McDonald’s you’ll save up enough money to pay for your angioplasty.

Mmm $1 double cheeseburgers.

Yeah eating a Big Mac everyday is probably not recommended, but neither is sharing one of these…

Aaron Rodgers - Poor guy, he’s had nothing to do with Brett Favre flip flopping all over the place and going to a new team, Packers fans need to LEAVE AARON ALONE.

George W. Bush - Yeah he’s the leader of the gang, but if you’re the type of person who thinks the world is in chaos at the moment, and believe it’s because of our current administration, there is a laundry list of others who can be shared on here too. Impeaching Dub would have ultimately made little difference–other than holding up Congress for a months.

Oil companies - Exxon, Shell, etc., did not make your gas prices shoot up to a gajillion dollars overnight, don’t hate.

Enron/Tyco/Worldcom/Countrywide and subprime mortgage lenders - These guys…no wait scratch that, they are scum and deserve every bit of criticism them received and then some.

Not surprisingly mine looks like this:

Essentially, 92/118 of the places I’ve chosen to review I’ve left extremely satisfied (or higher)–and most of my really negative reviews (the 1/2 star ones) are for ghetto-ass rotting clubs or places I reviewed/went to when I was PMSing.

I’ve been asked before and have thought about what makes me so easy to please, particularly in the areas of food, and it easily goes back to my upbringing. My parents essentially came from nothing and came into nothing when they immigrated over here, and have always acted, and raised me as if we had nothing.

I’d had very few toys, no video game systems, eating out was very rare, and when we did there was almost never a time when a meal would amount to more than $8 > person; and come to think of it I don’t recall an occasion where I’ve ever shared a meal with my parents where a plate was > $15.

Food was eaten 99.9% of the time at home at the dinner table, and while it was always very basic, there are few things I’ve ever had at any price range that’s been more satisfying.

And beyond that whenever I’d complain the slightest about this half green/half brown thing with bumps on it that I was ever so slightly hesitant in eating, it’d always be “you know…when I was your age we were lucky to have rats at the dinner table, and the adults would always eat first and save the least appetizing parts to the kids”.

With my vivid imagination then that I had as a kid, every bite of food I’d ever had from then on was like a steak and lobster meal to me.

So yeah, I’ll never be able to distinguish between a bottle of 3 buck chuck and a $200 bottle of wine; I’ll never understand how a $200 Kobe beef burger is any more special than a double-double from in-n-out, and I’ll forever find a meal where I boil up my own noodles and pour pasta sauce over it more satisfying than a $50 dish found at an Italian restaurant with a valet out front and man in a tux handing me towels in the bathroom.

And I’m sure those Yelp business owners appreciate as much too..

Initially it was LeBron James who’s a full year (and 4 days) younger than me that made me realize that I’m no longer a child looking up to these athletes who I wished I could be at one point in time, but I’m actually older than a lot of these guys, muchless being in the same generation of them.

LeBron of course a ridiculous phenom–but now these guys are just getting younger and younger (obviously it’s not me that’s getting older, that’d be silly).

The core of the RaiDAHS now include…

Jamarcus Russell - born August 9, 1985, 602 days younger

Michael Bush - June 16, 1984, 183 days younger

Darren McFadden - August 27, 1987, 1350 days younger :-O

DeAngelo Hall - November 19, 1983 (okay he’s a month older than me but still damn young)

Oh there’s a white guy too, Zach Milller - December 11, 1985, 726 days younger

At some point I’m going to start feeling like a pedophile.

It was just about two years ago to the day when the fate of our livelihoods were temporarily taken out of our hands and put into that of a handful of 4,000 behemoths running down a narrow path with many a twist and turn everywhere in the annual, week long event known as the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

They say its your past that defines your present–and I’d certainly say that holds true here, as if I had died on this particular day, I wouldn’t be here today, alive.

Non-sarcasm aside though, it certainly is true that you never feel more alive the closer you are to, or at least the threat of death. And on that particular day, having stared death in the eyes in the form of a 2-ton cattle with horns like machetes, I can honestly say I felt more alive then than I currently do sitting on my bedroom typing away on my laptop.

Having been able to escape a date in purgatory then, I have been allowed to look toward a brighter, more exciting future in which unknown variables exist on every corner of life.

And of course by that I’m referring to the NFL SEASON.

To make things more interesting then I’ve put together some bets to make the upcoming season all that more enticing, and currently they’re as follows:

Bet #1:
subject: # of total Raiders regular season wins
o/u: 5.5
bettors: me, on the over; Will on the under
payout: lunch, from the usual rotational spots for a week

Bet #2:
subject: outcome of Raiders/Chargers game on September 2, in Oakland, CA
bettors: me: +400 on Raiders Rick: -400 on Chargers, M/L
payout: $100 to Tien, $25 to Rick

One was from my old work place, one from college, and one from high school who’d I share many math club moments with.

There are few things as fulfilling and wonderful as opening up old chapters again and adding new pages to them–and bringing your past together and connecting it with your present.

On the other end of the spectrum my loneliest/most depressing times come shortly after those moments pass, as I sit by myself here reflecting on the good times that were had, and reminisce on not only in the immediate past but further back as well, to different times of my life.

It’s like the low one gets after being high the night before as your brain is deficient in serotonin as it regenerates them or something.

I blame the socal heatwave + humidity for the emo puke above.

This time though a much happier ending is involved..

Long story short: a few weeks ago we stumbled upon this new frozen yogurt joint about 53 yards away from our office. Instinctively I go back to the office, finish off my wonderful dessert, and rave about it on Yelp. And since it was brand new, I end up being the all important first reviewer of the place-the only voice of reason seen to those looking to explore here..being a fellow business owner just looking to eat, I felt it in my responsibility to support his cause.

Skip ahead to today then, with the four of us looking to get our yogurt fix on, we head on down back to Capri.

I finish topping off my cookies & cream flavored froyo with some strawberries–and just as I was about to pay for my purchase the owner, an older Asian dude, comes on in, and looks at me.

Owner: *gasp* Were YOU the first to review?
Me: Yup yup, that’s me, that’s me.
Owner: Oooh, thank you so much *looks toward cashier* this one is free for him.
Me: *grin* Really? Thanks!
Owner: No problem, thank you again.
Me: Not a problem..we’ll back again soon!
Owner: Oh I know you will..(he says with a smile)

-conversation may not have been as corny as remembered

Moral of the story? Kiss up to others if you want free stuff…although, I feel as though if I had badmouthed the place I’d have gotten a month’s worth of free yogurt, so who knows.

 “I’ll take famous UCLA Bruins for $1000 Alex”

Alex: “This is what Tien Nguyen and Kevin Love have in common.”

“What is they’ve been been mentioned in the New York Times?”

And yet another similarity has arisen..

Ever since we’ve moved on from our previous lives toward bigger and better things, we’ve both managed to lose some 15lb or so–though Kevin might just have slightly more at stake and purpose in doing so..

Also, both our hairlines may have receded a bit over the past few months as well..

But, I’m pretty sure he’ll beat me to the big paycheck mark and whatnot..still I maintain that my vertical leap will always be greater than his.

Object of round 1: down/eat/inhale 27 pieces of sushi as fast as you can. First two in each group of 10 advance to the final round. The ringer to my left finished in like a minute, and I was in a neck to neck race with the rest of the 8 guys.

Round 1..

And then there were 7…

Round 2..

4th place was what I managed..It was pretty much one of the greatest thing I’ve ever participated in–which is a bit sad when you get down to it.

Though how can you beat 52 pieces of sushi for $15..

My primary thoughts so far can be simply summed in the following statement: where the fuck has the time flown?

I feel like I’ve gone through weekends that have lasted longer than this past month has, and I have little doubt that I’ll wake up tomorrow, look at the calendar and realize it’s 2010.

Things have surpassed the already high expectations I set for myself, and the few hitches that have come have seemingly vanished before they even came.

There were essentially two fronts that had anxietized (my new word) the emo side of my brain–on the social side of things: I was moving to a strange new town in a non-college setting away from the friends I’d come to known and created many memories with. What would my nights and weekends end up being like? Would I be a poor old sap who spends his Tuesday nights writing drawn out, overdramatized blog entries?

On the business side of things then, how were four kids (brought together because one was randomly assigned the other as a roomate, and another who happened to sit diagonally behind the other in a high school science class) who had only recently graduated from college with less than 2 years of “real world” experience be expected to succeed in a world where over 90% of startups fail (presumably run by people who actually knew what they were doing) in a recessitizing (again a new word) market?

As it turns out, these worries were completely unfounded, and things apparently just have a way of working themselves out. On the first front– *pretend I put in some kind of interesting explanation of this here*

And on the second case then, the transition from working for the man while at the bottom of the totem pole to becoming 1/4 of a whole company has proven to be quite the world of paradoxes.

From the transition itself: which has been drastic and rather overwhelming, yet quite seamless even from day one.

Then there’s the high level of responsibility that comes with business ownership, but with that comes ultimate freedom to do what I want, when I want to (to a great extent at least)

The hours are near endless and essentially around the clock–yet they fly by faster than anywhere else I’ve ever been. Instead of counting down the clock come3-4pm, I’ll blink and it’ll already by a quarter to nine.

The tension of having a serious business conversation with crucial consequences is often quickly transitioned into an inappropriate joke that would surely bring upon the HR department and perhaps a pending lawsuit in any “normal”office situation..

It’s been quite the ride so far, like a rollercoaster that only goes up..with no peak in sight yet *knock on wood*

Reflection time over.