So 2009's come and gone.
Gonna watch the Dick Clark New Year's Eve for maybe (hopefully not) Dick Clark's last New Year's ever. It was an interesting year, one that was full of law school, free internships, developing TV shows, good fantasy football teams, and a record of 79 blog postings (almost 1 every 4 days).
It was President Obama's first year, a year full of political scandals, a year of ordinary heroes, a year of worldwide pandemics, another year of trying to end America's war, a year of of a recovering ( hopefully?) economcy, a year of Ben Bernanke, a year of Balloon Boy, a year of vampires, zombies, low jobless rate, and all kinds of scary things.
Personally, I didn't have too bad of a time in 2009. There was a disturbing amount of rejections (by all kinds of organizations, including law firms, judges, reality TV shows, Residential housing, student organization leadership), but at least there were some acceptances. Hopefully the trend reverses soon, and 2009 will prove to be a transition year to something greater. At least I'm done with 1L year. Regardless, I'm glad that 2009 happened, and looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things.
Big Things Poppin' in 2010!
-Robert Yan
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Gone Cruisin'
To put an end to 2009, did a little bit of cruisin' on Carnival with the rentals... Catalina Island and Encinida, Mexico.
Tip on going on a cruise: Go with some people you know, like a family of relatives or a group of friends. It's not impossible to meet people on the cruise, but it's a lot more fun starting with people you're comfortable with.
Gambling- didn't expect it on this trip, but definitely a lot of options available. Played blackjack on 3 different nights and ended up exactly at 0. Well, actually, probably ended up ahead, but gave out $40 total for tips.
The 2009 gift of the year was the Zhu Zhu hamster, did NOT get one for anybody. My guess next year: Cristianado Ronaldo bobblehead dolls, or Landon Donovan dolls if the U.S. gets really lucky (prognosis doubtful).
Watchin' True Blood Season 1 on HBO. Apparently BIG TV sensation this past year in season 2. I can see why.
Back to glory days: USC Law Fantasy Football Championship 2009. Hopefully "back to glory days" will be the story of USC Law football next season.
Interesting to see what the 2010 New Year's Day Glasses will look like, I can imagine that it's a little skewed to the right because of the placement of the zero's. Have to get a whole new design in 2011.
Is it me or is the January 2010 TV debut season SO MUCH better than the Fall season? So many good shows PREMIERING, and on all different networks: I'm excited about Coach moving to East Dillon High on Friday Night Lights, Jack Bauer's (possible = yea right) demise on 24 this season, the conclusion of the Lost saga (wow that's huge) and on other sleeper show I wanna tune you into: Chuck. I've watched 2 seasons of this show and I have yet to be disappointed. Just a hip, spontaneous, 43-minutes-well-spent-if-you-watch-it-without-commercials. So big things popping in 2010. Again, just want to emphasize again, 2010 is gonna be MY YEAR.
Tip on going on a cruise: Go with some people you know, like a family of relatives or a group of friends. It's not impossible to meet people on the cruise, but it's a lot more fun starting with people you're comfortable with.
Gambling- didn't expect it on this trip, but definitely a lot of options available. Played blackjack on 3 different nights and ended up exactly at 0. Well, actually, probably ended up ahead, but gave out $40 total for tips.
The 2009 gift of the year was the Zhu Zhu hamster, did NOT get one for anybody. My guess next year: Cristianado Ronaldo bobblehead dolls, or Landon Donovan dolls if the U.S. gets really lucky (prognosis doubtful).
Watchin' True Blood Season 1 on HBO. Apparently BIG TV sensation this past year in season 2. I can see why.
Back to glory days: USC Law Fantasy Football Championship 2009. Hopefully "back to glory days" will be the story of USC Law football next season.
Interesting to see what the 2010 New Year's Day Glasses will look like, I can imagine that it's a little skewed to the right because of the placement of the zero's. Have to get a whole new design in 2011.
Is it me or is the January 2010 TV debut season SO MUCH better than the Fall season? So many good shows PREMIERING, and on all different networks: I'm excited about Coach moving to East Dillon High on Friday Night Lights, Jack Bauer's (possible = yea right) demise on 24 this season, the conclusion of the Lost saga (wow that's huge) and on other sleeper show I wanna tune you into: Chuck. I've watched 2 seasons of this show and I have yet to be disappointed. Just a hip, spontaneous, 43-minutes-well-spent-if-you-watch-it-without-commercials. So big things popping in 2010. Again, just want to emphasize again, 2010 is gonna be MY YEAR.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Dawn of a New Era
Since I so boldly proclaimed that 2010 was gonna be "My year," here are the things I'll be doing in 2010 that will make it so:
1. Stock market, baby. Along with it being my year, it will be the Dow Jones's year, the NASDAQ's year, NYSE's year. I'm banking on it, and I have a nice E trade account that my parents started for me (thanks, guys) to start investing, and I've never been more excited about it. I just read Jim Cramer's "Getting Back to Even," and while I'm not following it like gospel or even agree with everything Cramer says in it, it does give me good basic knowledge about personal investing.
More specifically: 1. follow my stocks daily
2. read the financial news of the day
3. catch up on current events and how it affects capital markets
4. Research, research, research. ("I AM research).
2. Learn different languages. My dad knows Shanghainese, I watched "Flash Forward" and saw people speaking Japanese, I listen to strangers every day in LA conversing in Spanish. Any of these would be a good place to start, and I don't see why I can't at least pick up basic abilities in those languages. Definitely a marketable skill, unlike "ability to get distracted by sports talk radio easily while driving on the road."
3. Go to different businesses in LA, meet people. Los Angeles will most likely be the market I will be working in the foreseeable future, and I gotta use my resources to enhance my job prospects. As Career Services at USC keeps telling me, "you gotta be creative in this job market."
4. Volunteer: Ever since my Alternative Spring Break days at Illinois, I haven't been as dedicated to community service as I should be. Last year was a wash; I didn't have much spare time and was constantly under stress. Halfway through law school, I feel like I can balance my time between academics and other things, and I don't think I will ever have another Friday class. Plenty of time to give my time to others, and it's one of the things I actually do well.
5. No more gambling trips: Find other forms of entertainment. One of my only vices is to play card games for money, and that can be thwarted by strong discipline. Law school is already a gamble (albeit a solid one in terms of investing for my career/life), but a lot of money's already tied up in it. Don't need anymore wastefulness.
6. More risk-taking: An example of tenativeness last year was not going to the Big Brother Casting Call 15 miles away in Hollywood. Really regret that unfortunate decision. I'm always reminded of Dorothy Hui's story, the winner of The Mole 2. She was 24 (around my age) and went with her roommate to The Mole casting call, got stuck in line, was running late to another event, so she considered leaving, but other people there urged her to stay. She did the taping, got on The Mole, and the rest is $1 million history. Hold nothing back; put it al ut there this year and you can really go far.
7. Learn to cook some dishes: Not talking Emerill-type dishes here, but maybe make a steak at some point, chicken parmesan, something that requires boiling, frying, or grilling rather than tearing open, putting it on a plate, and then inserting into microwave.
But of course, all of this is nothing compared to the overall health of my family and everyone's well-being. That's the ultimate gift of all. I encourage everyone to strive for their goals in the New Year, but always keep your family and loved ones in mind.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1. Stock market, baby. Along with it being my year, it will be the Dow Jones's year, the NASDAQ's year, NYSE's year. I'm banking on it, and I have a nice E trade account that my parents started for me (thanks, guys) to start investing, and I've never been more excited about it. I just read Jim Cramer's "Getting Back to Even," and while I'm not following it like gospel or even agree with everything Cramer says in it, it does give me good basic knowledge about personal investing.
More specifically: 1. follow my stocks daily
2. read the financial news of the day
3. catch up on current events and how it affects capital markets
4. Research, research, research. ("I AM research).
2. Learn different languages. My dad knows Shanghainese, I watched "Flash Forward" and saw people speaking Japanese, I listen to strangers every day in LA conversing in Spanish. Any of these would be a good place to start, and I don't see why I can't at least pick up basic abilities in those languages. Definitely a marketable skill, unlike "ability to get distracted by sports talk radio easily while driving on the road."
3. Go to different businesses in LA, meet people. Los Angeles will most likely be the market I will be working in the foreseeable future, and I gotta use my resources to enhance my job prospects. As Career Services at USC keeps telling me, "you gotta be creative in this job market."
4. Volunteer: Ever since my Alternative Spring Break days at Illinois, I haven't been as dedicated to community service as I should be. Last year was a wash; I didn't have much spare time and was constantly under stress. Halfway through law school, I feel like I can balance my time between academics and other things, and I don't think I will ever have another Friday class. Plenty of time to give my time to others, and it's one of the things I actually do well.
5. No more gambling trips: Find other forms of entertainment. One of my only vices is to play card games for money, and that can be thwarted by strong discipline. Law school is already a gamble (albeit a solid one in terms of investing for my career/life), but a lot of money's already tied up in it. Don't need anymore wastefulness.
6. More risk-taking: An example of tenativeness last year was not going to the Big Brother Casting Call 15 miles away in Hollywood. Really regret that unfortunate decision. I'm always reminded of Dorothy Hui's story, the winner of The Mole 2. She was 24 (around my age) and went with her roommate to The Mole casting call, got stuck in line, was running late to another event, so she considered leaving, but other people there urged her to stay. She did the taping, got on The Mole, and the rest is $1 million history. Hold nothing back; put it al ut there this year and you can really go far.
7. Learn to cook some dishes: Not talking Emerill-type dishes here, but maybe make a steak at some point, chicken parmesan, something that requires boiling, frying, or grilling rather than tearing open, putting it on a plate, and then inserting into microwave.
But of course, all of this is nothing compared to the overall health of my family and everyone's well-being. That's the ultimate gift of all. I encourage everyone to strive for their goals in the New Year, but always keep your family and loved ones in mind.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Problem with Survivor, Part II
Ah, finally, the end of an eventful semester. Being a 2L is definitely different than being a 1L, some of it "worse" different, but mostly "better" different. I remember I was barely living by the end of first semester of 1L year, and al I wanted to do was sleep + watch movies + vegetate. This semester, I had a 9-day break until my last evidence final, so I started vacation a little early and even (gasp) took a couple days off beforehand.
I started the year applying for Survivor and Big Brother, and neither really gave me a sniff (BB gave me a short email telling me to go to the casting call, for what it's worth), but the end of 2009 sees me optimistic about my prospects for 2010. As said by Liz Lemon to start off the 2nd season of 30 Rock, "This is MY year." 2010 - I'm gonna own it. Especially since I still haven't found a position for legal summer position, it would seem maybe destiny is propelling towards a reality TV summer. I'm gonna be 23 in May, perfect age for that stuff, I'm ready to take risks, I haven't started my career yet so I can afford to do something like it, I just got LASIK eye surgery (more on that later), and I live in one of the hotbed of reality TV- Los Angeles. O, and I have like 18 different celebratory dances ready for when I win my first leg/HOH/individual immunity. The stars are aligning for me, just hope it works out.
Just watched "Up" with my sister, and reports of its remarkability were not exaggerated. I, of all people, almost cried during the movie. My sister felt nothing. Mr. Frederickson is a beast, I'm glad whoever pitched it at Dreamworks got the message across that this movie is worth it, cuz it probably sounded pretty dry (what I said), some old man going up in the air w/ a Boy Scout named Russell.
San Diego Chargers, baby. Consider me a fan. Another classic Chargers-Colts playoff contest coming?
Special thanks to Aaron Rodgers and DeSean Jackson for absolutely dominanting for my USC Law football team this year. Standup job, gentlemen. Antonio Gates, the 4th straight season I've had you on my team, and I haven't been disappointed yet. And LaDanian, thanks for getting into the end zone several teams to at least conjure up some memories of '06. I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy season, thanks to you guys.
The AFC playoff picture is an absolute conglomeration of teams, a bunch of 7-7 and 8-6 teams going for the wild-card with nobody seeming to want to win it. I'm pretty sure the Chiefs and the Raiders are still alive. For what it's worth, I'm picking the Ravens and the Titans to take those spots cuz they're the best teams of the bunch.
Moment of silence for Brittany Murphy. Her passing is getting much less media than Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson, but I'll remember her for her role in Sin City.
The whole Tiger Woods situation DOMINATED headlines for the better part of a month. It's not surprising that people are more interested in the juicy details of his many mistresses (especially when there's clear audio of him trying to conceal one of his affairs online)....people want to see others fall to hide their own problems (I admit it, I do it), especially the rich and famous, because there's a safety net where your curiosity doesn't turn into pity as you think these people don't have anything to worry about, they'll be fine. And yes, Tiger should be, financially and golf-wise. But you gotta think spiritually, a part of him has died. You don't come back from adultery, you only get one chance at the once-in-a-lifetime marriage, and now he has to one day explain to his little girl what he did. Sigh, Tiger. If you weren't serious, you shouldn't have gotten married. (That's crossing the line a bit into passing judgment/going into personal lives, so that's all I'll say about it).
Ok, so first, Survivor last night. I would have voted for Russell instantly, nothing anybody else on the jury said woudl have convinced me otherwise. Glad also that Mick got shut out of votes, I was screaming at him on a weekly basis to backdoor Russell, and the fact that he didn't make any moves just shows how oblivious he was and justifies why he got nothing.
1.) Challenges are male-oriented. The last few seasons especially, the individual immunity challenges at the end of the season, the ones that count the most, have given the women absolutely NO chance. It's been a mix of strength/swimming, digging, rope-swinging, running-through-the forest challenges that involve a LOT of physical stuff. I'm not being sexist, women have an ounce of a chance to win these challenges, but not much. That's why you've seen so many male winners, and ESPECIALLY since early in the team phase women are axed much more than men because of the "we-need-big-strong-men" syndrome. It's really disappointing to see such gender-biased challenges. They can easily balance it out too by doing more eating challenges, puzzles, memory challenges, and hanging endurance challenges (as proven by BB, more balanced for the girls). Seriously, think about it.
2.) Casting really bad Survivor players. Every season, it seems to me like 60% of contestants have NO IDEA how to play the game, 20% have some idea but play it wrong, and maybe 10% execute it the right way and get far. For example, take the end of Survivor Samoa. Russell had a deal with EVERY SINGLE player in the final 6, while the other 5 seemed to not even consider that Russell had a deal with others, submitting themselves to being voted out and not once thinking about going after Russell, even after Russell NO LONGER COULD USE HIS IDOL!!!! WTFF???? Russell's strategy had been done before, by Boston Rob most prominently (and also successfully) in Survivor: All-Stars and by plenty of other survivors before. It's a good strategy IF the people in your tribe don't COMPARE NOTES with each other and figure it out, and then you're just screwed and nobody trusts you. It's absolutely agitating how these guys get on Survivor and are just pitifully unprepared to play.
3.) Lack of minorities: maybe one that's a little personal to me, but after the Survivor: Cook Islands season where the race experiment was nixed after 2 episodes, where has all the diversity gone? Samoa was OK, I guess, but the previous season before that, I think there were like 17 Caucasians and 1 African-American. Seriously? After Ozzy, Yul, Yau-man, James, and others, you cast 1 or 2 minorities per season? Have your people call my people if you need an intelligent and charming Chinese law student who writes fantasy sports blogs.
4.) The middle-of-season recap episode: Let's just do away with that. It kills my excitement for the show and drags the season on, really no need for it.
5.) TOUGH final challenges: I remember a time when the final immunity challenge was HUGE, almost game-defining, the days of Rob Cesternino beaten by Jenna Morasca cuz of final immunity, when Jonny Fairplay tried to sweet-talk in Pearl Islands only to get flat rejected, when the winner of that final challenge PICKED the one person she sat next to in the finals. Because of the magnitude, it was a straight endurance challenge, a test of will and how much you wanted it. Truly a test of survival. Nowadays, because it's the Final 3, the final challenge winner does NOT decide by himself/herself who gets to stay w/ him or her, so it's not that important. Correspondingly, the challenges have gotten more gimmicky, to who can hold up the most bowls with their hands, to stacking teacups, to the last season, which was even admitted by Probst to be a "carnival game." Really, that's the LAST and most important immunity challenge? Urg.
Final thought: I could see why Russell didn't get the votes, but it doesn't mean I agree w/ the decision. The reason Eric gave vicariously for the jury in voting for Natalie is that her integrity and trustworthiness got her as far as Russell did, so she doesn't deserve to win any less than Russell. Uh, no. If trustworthiness and integrity were all you need to win, you might as well just have everyone try to get in a 10-person alliance at the beginning and pick off everyone else, then have a popularity contest in the final 3 to see who everyone liked. That's not survivor. That's checkers, not chess. Playing survivor is (and IMO, was meant to be) a social game where you mainuplate anything and everyone to stick in longer than everyone else, make moves because th end justifies the means, change alliances when you need to. Just imagine how boring it'd be if it was a bunch of Micks and Jaisons walking around playing the game. That's why I feel for Russell; he did everything he could, played the game every minute he was on the island, WON THE FINAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE WHEN HE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO (against Brett) and still lost. What did Natalie do? Look cute in a bikini and vote with Russell. I wouldn't want to win that way, and it's the ultimate problem with Survivor that someone did win that way.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
I started the year applying for Survivor and Big Brother, and neither really gave me a sniff (BB gave me a short email telling me to go to the casting call, for what it's worth), but the end of 2009 sees me optimistic about my prospects for 2010. As said by Liz Lemon to start off the 2nd season of 30 Rock, "This is MY year." 2010 - I'm gonna own it. Especially since I still haven't found a position for legal summer position, it would seem maybe destiny is propelling towards a reality TV summer. I'm gonna be 23 in May, perfect age for that stuff, I'm ready to take risks, I haven't started my career yet so I can afford to do something like it, I just got LASIK eye surgery (more on that later), and I live in one of the hotbed of reality TV- Los Angeles. O, and I have like 18 different celebratory dances ready for when I win my first leg/HOH/individual immunity. The stars are aligning for me, just hope it works out.
Just watched "Up" with my sister, and reports of its remarkability were not exaggerated. I, of all people, almost cried during the movie. My sister felt nothing. Mr. Frederickson is a beast, I'm glad whoever pitched it at Dreamworks got the message across that this movie is worth it, cuz it probably sounded pretty dry (what I said), some old man going up in the air w/ a Boy Scout named Russell.
San Diego Chargers, baby. Consider me a fan. Another classic Chargers-Colts playoff contest coming?
Special thanks to Aaron Rodgers and DeSean Jackson for absolutely dominanting for my USC Law football team this year. Standup job, gentlemen. Antonio Gates, the 4th straight season I've had you on my team, and I haven't been disappointed yet. And LaDanian, thanks for getting into the end zone several teams to at least conjure up some memories of '06. I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy season, thanks to you guys.
The AFC playoff picture is an absolute conglomeration of teams, a bunch of 7-7 and 8-6 teams going for the wild-card with nobody seeming to want to win it. I'm pretty sure the Chiefs and the Raiders are still alive. For what it's worth, I'm picking the Ravens and the Titans to take those spots cuz they're the best teams of the bunch.
Moment of silence for Brittany Murphy. Her passing is getting much less media than Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson, but I'll remember her for her role in Sin City.
The whole Tiger Woods situation DOMINATED headlines for the better part of a month. It's not surprising that people are more interested in the juicy details of his many mistresses (especially when there's clear audio of him trying to conceal one of his affairs online)....people want to see others fall to hide their own problems (I admit it, I do it), especially the rich and famous, because there's a safety net where your curiosity doesn't turn into pity as you think these people don't have anything to worry about, they'll be fine. And yes, Tiger should be, financially and golf-wise. But you gotta think spiritually, a part of him has died. You don't come back from adultery, you only get one chance at the once-in-a-lifetime marriage, and now he has to one day explain to his little girl what he did. Sigh, Tiger. If you weren't serious, you shouldn't have gotten married. (That's crossing the line a bit into passing judgment/going into personal lives, so that's all I'll say about it).
Ok, so first, Survivor last night. I would have voted for Russell instantly, nothing anybody else on the jury said woudl have convinced me otherwise. Glad also that Mick got shut out of votes, I was screaming at him on a weekly basis to backdoor Russell, and the fact that he didn't make any moves just shows how oblivious he was and justifies why he got nothing.
1.) Challenges are male-oriented. The last few seasons especially, the individual immunity challenges at the end of the season, the ones that count the most, have given the women absolutely NO chance. It's been a mix of strength/swimming, digging, rope-swinging, running-through-the forest challenges that involve a LOT of physical stuff. I'm not being sexist, women have an ounce of a chance to win these challenges, but not much. That's why you've seen so many male winners, and ESPECIALLY since early in the team phase women are axed much more than men because of the "we-need-big-strong-men" syndrome. It's really disappointing to see such gender-biased challenges. They can easily balance it out too by doing more eating challenges, puzzles, memory challenges, and hanging endurance challenges (as proven by BB, more balanced for the girls). Seriously, think about it.
2.) Casting really bad Survivor players. Every season, it seems to me like 60% of contestants have NO IDEA how to play the game, 20% have some idea but play it wrong, and maybe 10% execute it the right way and get far. For example, take the end of Survivor Samoa. Russell had a deal with EVERY SINGLE player in the final 6, while the other 5 seemed to not even consider that Russell had a deal with others, submitting themselves to being voted out and not once thinking about going after Russell, even after Russell NO LONGER COULD USE HIS IDOL!!!! WTFF???? Russell's strategy had been done before, by Boston Rob most prominently (and also successfully) in Survivor: All-Stars and by plenty of other survivors before. It's a good strategy IF the people in your tribe don't COMPARE NOTES with each other and figure it out, and then you're just screwed and nobody trusts you. It's absolutely agitating how these guys get on Survivor and are just pitifully unprepared to play.
3.) Lack of minorities: maybe one that's a little personal to me, but after the Survivor: Cook Islands season where the race experiment was nixed after 2 episodes, where has all the diversity gone? Samoa was OK, I guess, but the previous season before that, I think there were like 17 Caucasians and 1 African-American. Seriously? After Ozzy, Yul, Yau-man, James, and others, you cast 1 or 2 minorities per season? Have your people call my people if you need an intelligent and charming Chinese law student who writes fantasy sports blogs.
4.) The middle-of-season recap episode: Let's just do away with that. It kills my excitement for the show and drags the season on, really no need for it.
5.) TOUGH final challenges: I remember a time when the final immunity challenge was HUGE, almost game-defining, the days of Rob Cesternino beaten by Jenna Morasca cuz of final immunity, when Jonny Fairplay tried to sweet-talk in Pearl Islands only to get flat rejected, when the winner of that final challenge PICKED the one person she sat next to in the finals. Because of the magnitude, it was a straight endurance challenge, a test of will and how much you wanted it. Truly a test of survival. Nowadays, because it's the Final 3, the final challenge winner does NOT decide by himself/herself who gets to stay w/ him or her, so it's not that important. Correspondingly, the challenges have gotten more gimmicky, to who can hold up the most bowls with their hands, to stacking teacups, to the last season, which was even admitted by Probst to be a "carnival game." Really, that's the LAST and most important immunity challenge? Urg.
Final thought: I could see why Russell didn't get the votes, but it doesn't mean I agree w/ the decision. The reason Eric gave vicariously for the jury in voting for Natalie is that her integrity and trustworthiness got her as far as Russell did, so she doesn't deserve to win any less than Russell. Uh, no. If trustworthiness and integrity were all you need to win, you might as well just have everyone try to get in a 10-person alliance at the beginning and pick off everyone else, then have a popularity contest in the final 3 to see who everyone liked. That's not survivor. That's checkers, not chess. Playing survivor is (and IMO, was meant to be) a social game where you mainuplate anything and everyone to stick in longer than everyone else, make moves because th end justifies the means, change alliances when you need to. Just imagine how boring it'd be if it was a bunch of Micks and Jaisons walking around playing the game. That's why I feel for Russell; he did everything he could, played the game every minute he was on the island, WON THE FINAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE WHEN HE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO (against Brett) and still lost. What did Natalie do? Look cute in a bikini and vote with Russell. I wouldn't want to win that way, and it's the ultimate problem with Survivor that someone did win that way.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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