Simplifying My Stuff

/ Me, Photo

After reviewing all my options, I’ve decided to put my condo up for sale. I’ve lived here for about 7 years, and after weighing my finances, logic dictates that I get my equity out of the house and put it towards the next things in life.

It’s time to look forward, because that’s where we’re going to live.

And in that statement, I’ve had to make some hard decisions. Moving sounds simple, but there’s so much more to it… especially when you you’re downsizing and simplifying.

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And that’s the key word, “simplify”. As I reduce the amount of things I take with me, I realized how much stuff I’ve acquired over the years, and how little I’ve actually curated my belongings.

Would you believe that I’ve been shaving my head with the same $20 clippers since high school? That’s one hell of a purchase that’s paid itself off numerous times. I can’t say that about all the other stuff I’ve kept around for the last two decades.

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As I prep my condo for sale, I’ve decided to categorize things into 3 buckets.

1. Things I haven’t used in a year.
These are things that need to be sold, given away, or disposed. While it may seem like a trivial task, it’s hard to throw away things that I’ve spent money on at one point or another. These will be the largest branches of stuff to prune. I’d say about 90% of my belongings will fall into this category.

2. Things that I use frequently.
Stuff like my toothbrush, laptop, cloths, and daily items fall into this bucket. I’d also like to say my stereo, TV, couch and car could be lumped into this as well. While I don’t need my TV, it’s just a really nice thing to have, and makes a new venue feel more like home. In general, I’d like to make sure that my basic necessities only take up 3 boxes max.

3. Lastly, the “keep-sake” and sentimental items.
These are things like photographs, relics that have been handed down to me, and personal gifts people have given me over the years. These are items that cannot be replaced, and are in some ways priceless to me. The goal is to keep this bucket limited to a single box. This will be the most challenging to curate.

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And once I can get things down to the bare essentials, I’d like to try living a more simple life for a while. As a rule, if I purchase anything new, it needs to replace something within my collection.

There’s an old saying in design, “less is more”.

My mom has echoed this to me over the last few years as well. It makes a lot of sense, but living under those conditions requires one to be more thoughtful with each choice. Keeping your belongings down to a limited mass is challenging. But, if you can do it, I think you’ll have less things to maintain, and ultimately less distractions.

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It’s been an emotional week pruning all my stuff. I’d say I’m about 80% there. Like I said earlier, I just have to keep looking forward because that’s where I’ll be living. I’m hoping I can share a photo of what I’m actually taking with me to Cali and what sentimental box contains. Stay tuned.

Travelling Light

/ Cali, Me, Photo

I went to California recently and I tried taking as little as possible. In retrospect, it was the right decision, and truth be told, I could have subtracted more. In the photo above, you’ll notice a ton of things that are not included compared to the photo below. One of my priorities was to take my laptop and some camera equipment. As a last minute decision, I left behind the extra camera lens.

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In hindsight, I probably could have left behind the tripod, lens hood and car charger. By packing lighter, you can do so much more. It also forces you to be a little more creative with the equipment you bring. Packing light translates into being more mobile, which is a good thing for travel.

Minerals, Space, DC

/ Me, Photo, Science

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

It was pretty fun metro-ing into DC with Annie and her friend, Nguyen. I’ve seen some of these exhibits several times, and I am astonished by how much I take away every time I visit.

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at the cross sections of these particular meteorites, and yet every time I see them, it’s always a new and fascinating experience. To actually see these things up close blows my mind away. There are vast amounts of metals and minerals in space waiting to be found, just like this.

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If you put the materialism aside, there’s a part of me that would love to own a piece of space in the form of a watch. What you see here is a Jaeger Le-Coultre master calendar watch with a small cross section of iron meteorite on the face. The naturally occurring pattern in the iron is money.

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For now I need to reduce my spending. So no expensive watches. Instead, I will look into only expensive camera lenses. Hah! On a side note, I’m really digging this new Nikon 24mm f1.4 lens. It’s a beast to lug around, but I’m really pleased with the results.

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I’m actually more interested in natural shapes and inclusions of minerals versus the cut and polished gemstones. This thing looks like it should be a planet in some sort of sci-fi movie.

Some of the naturally formed shapes are like miniature paintings. Millions of years of the earth’s history are visually captured within each one of these minerals. Each inclusion is unique and one-of-a-kind.

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And I really liked this one. The little touches of orange are curious and beautiful. The tiniest bit of molecular contamination can create lovely visual accents.

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Look at the shapes of all the metals (silver and copper) that have been formed from crevices of other rocks. Each shape is a natural sculpture that I could stare at for hours.

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And here’s a picture of Annie showing off her moissanite next to the raw mineral crystal on display. She really likes the color, and it was pretty interesting seeing it next to the real thing.

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And of course opal. The people who originally discovered it probably thought opal was an alien or god-like material. In its raw form and unpolished, it looks like it’s from the movie Avatar.

After the Smithsonian, we headed over to the Air and Space Museum. More on that later, so stay tuned.

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Hanging with Rudy

/ Cali, Food, Me, Photo

One word: Generous

While I was out in Cali, I had a chance to hang out with Rudy and his family. I’ve only known Rudy for a short amount of time, and I’m just astonished by how generous he is. It’s really rare to meet people that constantly give more than they take.

And when it comes to food, both he and his wife are off-the-charts generous.

Food Galore

The second thing you realize about Rudy is that he’s serious about food. It’s also just as rare to meet someone with similar tastes in food, and pretty much have a 100% hit ratio for good suggestions. I know a lot of people into food, but Rudy and his wife Laney are true afficionados. They are what you consider genuine “foodies”.

Yes folks, that’s a lychee bubble tea drink. Definitely interesting. Later that evening, we went out to one of their favorite Chinese restaurants.

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The food was spot on, starting with a roasted crispy pork belly. The pork was juicy, but not too fatty. The flavor was rich, without being too salty. Most importantly, the skin was crispy, consistent and delicious.

It was an onslaught of delicious food across the board. What was most impressive was that the dishes weren’t exotic, in terms of ingredients. The dishes were executed at a high level, and unquestionably won in spades when it came to cantonese cuisine.

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And just when I thought it was over, Rudy had to order these fried crispy bread sticks wrapped in noodle. The sauces delicious—at this point, I was pretty damn full, but I had to give everything a try.

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And for the grand finale, they ordered a mango pudding dessert. I had to say, it was tasty. I mean, I tapped out about 2 dishes ago, so I was at my limit. The food hurt so good. I literally had shortness of breath and the sweats at this point. Nonetheless, every bite was worth it.

On a side note

It’s also pretty refreshing to talk to someone who’s passionate about building products and stay in the sauce. I expect to see great things coming from Rudy soon. Cheers buddy! Thanks for such a memorable experience.

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Lunch with Philip

/ Cali, Me, Photo

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After SmugMug, Philip and I grabbed some lunch in the Mountain View area.



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After walking around, we decided on a Ramen restaurant.



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As we entered, you could smell the aroma of Ramen broth. However, as we walked towards the back, they just cleaned the floors… which was reminiscent of a semi-sterile bathroom scent.



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Despite the smell, the food was pretty good.



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And the ramen was actually pretty tasty.

Philip, thanks for the tour and making some time to catch up. ^_^

Tour of SmugMug

/ Cali, Me, Photo

While I was out in Cali, I had a chance to meet an old friend and comrade of mine, Philip. He wanted to show me his new gig, SmugMug.


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Here’s the entrance.



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When you first go in, you’ll see photos covering every wall, including the floors. Just to get to the top of the stairs takes a couple minutes because there are so many stories behind each photo.



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As you walk up to the second floor, you get the sense of quirkiness and a laid back kind of environment.



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There’s definitely a theme of large awesome photos from their customers, as well as a strange assortment of furniture. While the chairs look comfy, this room is a little crowded with furniture.



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There are photos of their team, most of which are family members. SmugMug is a family operated company that hasn’t taken any funding. Pretty amazing that they’ve stayed competitive for the last decade. Props to any company that can do it without taking a mortgage.



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Here’s a pic of their café. They’re actually remodeling their kitchen, and from the sounds of it, they have a legit chef that comes in to cook.



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While most of the space is dark, there are occasional sky lights that let in a fair bit of natural light.



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Almost every surface is plastered with photos, filled with rich detail and history.



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Here’s a pic of San Francisco during the great fire. How the photographer managed to get this photo is beyond me. There’s a diagram of the setup, and it uses a kite. It’s mind boggling.



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One of their developers had to hack together their own office/castle. You’ve got to love the energy of engineers. ^_^



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There are actually office rooms for all the employees. Unlike the open space, these walls provide visual screening, but are semi-open, letting in ambient noise.



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I guess the semipermeable walls could be a good and bad thing. Probably not awesome if you have someone really noisy next to you. Noisy neighbors could be a bummer.



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I mean seriously, some of these landscapes are incredible. And to see them blown up to a wall mural is astonishing.



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And there’s always something on tap. I’m talking about the exquisite, obscure, and most desired beers. These guys are serious about their brew.



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Thanks Philip, for giving me a tour of your new gig. The space is pretty interesting, and the relationships that your company has built with customers is remarkable.

By the way, Philip is going to be a dad soon. Congrats to him and his wife! Hopefully I can be other there again soon to check out the kiddo when he/she arrives. ^_^ Cheers buddy!