最後の一言 (Last word)

After an alarming lack of book reading the last couple years (language learning takes a toll on that) I finally sat down, blocked off a few hours without the distraction of Iphones and work and driving to dodgeball and nagging girlfriend (just kidding!) to sit down and actually read a book. Reading a book is just like riding a bike for me: I don't desperately need to do it, but when I do, the same rewarding feelings come back quickly, the thrill of learning more about different characters, about wanting to flip the page and know what's next, to get closer to the climax and ending of the book. Unless it's like Freakonomics or something, where there's just a lot of good information thrown at the reader no matter what section of the book.

Anyway, I read a book called "Looking for Alaska" by John Green, author of "The Fault in Our Stars," one of the more famous books of the past 5 years. "Looking for Alaska" notably is about a boy who memorizes famous people's last words, especially those with significance. Impressive ones are Milliard Filmore, "the nourishment is palatable" after he had just been fed some soup, Another famous Civil War general said "they can't hit an elephant from this far aw....." before being shot and killed. Ulyssis S. Grant practically proclaimed "water" before dying of throat cancer. Some are really poignant, like Thomas Edison, "it's beautiful on the other side." Somewhat reassuring, that last one, as he was one of the most famous scientists in the world and maybe he knew something about the human afterlife that we don't? Recent quantum physicists just proved that our consciousness goes somewhere else after our death, so maybe it's the beautiful place that Edison was talking about?

I'd like to think that one day before I died, I could come up with something memorable as my final word? I gotta think that "I love you" and "Now I rest" or something along those lines would be up there, but something that really sums up one's life but also hints at something beyond. By that time, though, I imagine I won't be very creative, or have the energy to come up with anything......or just been resigned to the fate of death. Then there's the fantasy that before I die I come up with a diabolical riddle or some sort of treasure so that others would go on a treasure hunt before I die with secret clues and answers to questions only I would know or a password hidden in my favorite book somewhere, thus extending my influence upon the world even after death.......even though I wouldn't know how the hunt would go, thus ruining the whole experience. I just hope I'll have done everything I wanted to do in my life so as to be ready, or come to peace with something, or have some reassurance that there's something in the afterlife or it's not that painful.......anything to avoid the cowardly, yet realistic last word that I would utter if I knew I was gonna die very soon: "I'm scared."

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

半年 (Half Year)

Hour. Day. Week. Month. Year. Human beings measure time increments by these commonly understood measurements, and it makes sense: the earth rotates around the world that way, it's a nice way to divide large increments of time (except how did we end up with February only 28 days as opposed to other months still is an oddity). But nobody really mentions 6 months, or half year, as a way of measuring one's life. 

6 months is the standard amount of time to let wedding guests know the date of the wedding so they can plan ahead........and "save the dates" need to be sent out. (another wedding complaint I have, btw....it seems a little far in advance, and presumptious of the RECIPIENT to demand to know about a wedding so far in advance as not to book vacations, etc). In my mind I always picture a mega-diva in her apartment poring over her schedule of hair and manicure appointments to try to squeeze in something as trivial as a friend's wedding. I also object sometimes to the casual way in which attending a wedding is bandied about, as if it's just nothing, almost an annoyance like going to the dentist (which, coincidentally, is recommended by dentists to happen every 6 months = PYRAMID SCHEME). 

Actual conversation I had one time: 

Me: "Oh so you got invited to a bunch of weddings this summer, huh?" (Jealous because I hadn't been invited to any that year yet) 

Friend: " Yea we have like 7 weddings to go to this summer. It's such a pain to have so many friends. I'm almost at the point of wanting to offend all these friends to get out of the wedding." 

Me: "Oh really?" 

Friend: "Yea weddings are so expensive to go to! Going to different places and having to pay for hotel rooms." 

Looking back, I actually agree with some of "Friend"'s concerns in that weddings all around for everyone involved are expensive, but imagine the bridge and groom who had to PAY for their wedding (or their families did) putting on an expensive wedding only to have people reluctantly go to it. Why even do it in the first place then if no one's happy about it? Sigh. 

Anyway, enough wedding-bashing, 6 months is also the amount of time I've spent in Chicago on a work assignment, and although I wouldn't say it was a life-changing experience (I spent a LOT of that 6 months in an office at the same seat looking at the same computer screen getting up occasionally to use the same bathroom), it definitely is a 6 months I won't forget. My philosophy is that sometimes human beings just need to experience new things, inject new stimuli into the mind, deal with different people, and there's nothing like that than moving to a new city to work with a new company. Chicago rewarded me with new train routes around the LOOP, plenty of fat pigeons siphoning food from the ground, great street architecture around town that rivaled my memories of having lots of bull sculptures in the 90's, an excellent river and lake that make it one of the most aesthetic downtowns in the country IMO, one of the best lake shore drives in the world to walk down with the one you love, vibrant baseball town during a run to the World Series in the Chicago Cubs, italian beef and deep dish pizza, and so much more. 

One of my all-time favorite SEASONS of TV was Heroes on NBC, and one of the best episodes was a flashback of characters from 6 months before the events of the show, aptly called "6 months ago." I think that was an acknowledgment that big life changes happen usually 6 months at a time (sometimes they happen all at once, too, so obviously there are exceptions), but one's frame of mind can change in 6 months, can affect one's planning of the future, understanding of one's place in the world. I think human beings are constantly changing and on the go, but once in a while you can look back and reflect on what path we've walked down and put a marker or bookmark to save the place where we last reflected or changed our lives. That bookmark for me is 6 months. And this most recent one has a picture of Chicago on it. 

Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan 

Wedding Dress (ウェディングドレス)

I've been to several weddings in my life. (I was going to post "a lot," but I actually haven't been invited to that many. Maybe it's something about me!) There's a lot of things I don't understand about weddings. I could list these all in some sort of order, but there's almost too many to choose from. Disclaimer: the following is not a complaint of any of the weddings I have ever been to, the bridge and groom and their families put a lot of work and money into the preparations and I now appreciate more than ever all the effort that goes into it, I'm more ranting at the whole idea of a wedding and what is "expected" and "traditional" about a wedding that makes it a good time for people.

1. Wedding dress: why does it have to be white? Does it have to be white? (Apparently not all white). What's better, flowery designs or a straight, traditional solid design? Why do wedding dresses hang way down so that parts of it are dragging on the floor, or one of the unlucky bridesmaids has to hold it up? MJ and I recently went to a Macy's in Chicago that has a bridal salon where one family was trying out wedding dresses......MJ might have liked it, but it was excruciating for me to watch the bride-to-be try on dress after dress while the Macy's employee tried to fit her with whatever the family was trying to achieve, some unattainable dream of the perfect wedding dress no doubt, while the bride was just excited to be getting married, and the family was making assessments like "oh we need something lower," or something that sounded like me to be purely nitpicking but I'm sure was of utmost importance to the bride's family. After all, a wedding is that one time (besides splurging on everything of course) to be nitpicky about everything and get everything perfect, or so says wedding taglines everywhere.

2. Why do grooms have to go under the bride's dress and pull out the....what is it called, "garter?" Isn't that a little too PG-13 if kids are invited to the wedding? What kind of message is it sending to the kid?

3. Wedding cake.....what if guests don't want cake? Especially in the summer, wouldn't guests prefer ice cream? Maybe an ice cream cake? Why does the wedding cake have to be so tall? Isn't it tougher to slice that way? No wonder some married people complain afterwards that their servers "served" the top layer first; I would be so confused after trying to cut such a tall cake I wouldn't know what to serve neither.

4. Are drunken-stupor pics of people at a wedding with silly masks and costumes on really something that we should cherish? Sure, take a picture with the bridge and groom looking nice, but squeezing into a small booth with 7 other people who are sweaty from dancing and stinking of booze so that you can be in a tiny corner of the shot because the photobooth-hog of the group insists on being in the middle.

5. Are all those groomsmen and bridesmaids necessary? Seems like a lot of extra work for everyone involved, including the groomsmen and bridesmaids themselves, to like get the same suit or dresses, etc. There's also the matter of these groups of people tending to order shots at the end of the night and getting everyone really wasted, adding up costs if it's not a complete open bar (o, btw, didn't know there was a 2-hour open bar, rest of the time cash bar option at weddings). Of course, "is all that extravagance necessary?" is probably not the right question to ask about a wedding.

6. Speeches- I actually think speeches are super cool, and deserved for the people getting married for everyone to learn about that them, it's their day after all, I'm not sure why everyone complains about them all the time, especially when they're accompanied by cute baby pictures and other embarrassing pictures through a powerpoint or video or something.

7. A photographer AND a videographer? Oy vey, there's really no time to pick your nose, is there?



A lot of these traditions seem to take root the same reason why lawyers are needed and legal procedure take hold: to make money off of tradition and what people's expectations are. It's quite a......you guessed it, pyramid scheme. But ultimately, I do recognize that it is a time to gather as many friends and family together as possible to recognize the union of 2 people, it's really one of the few times almost no one can make a "gotta-be-somewhere-else more important excuse," it's a way to make one day out of one's lifetime stick out more than others (even though, yes, it is EXORBITANTLY excessive and expensive to put into just several hours of one day). and it's a way to make one feel special. Therefore, deciding all that, I am ultimately not against weddings and having them. Just don't ask me to be that excited about wedding dresses.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

出産 (Childbirth)

One of the toughest topics for a guy to talk about with women (at least for me) is childbirth: the process of getting pregnant, going through the 9 month pregnancy period, and then finally, the dreaded birth itself, whether it's natural or via C-section: it's just not a pleasant topic, and reminds some how lucky it is to be a guy (both men and women). Obviously there's exceptions and everyone is different, but I'm ready to concede on one of the age old questions: Is it tougher to be a man or woman? A: woman, exhibit A- childbirth. 

From everything that I hear, childbirth is horrible. My mother delivered me through Cesearan, and 10 years later delivered my sister through C-section as well, and she still has the scars on her belly to prove it. I thought (until today!) that it was just a rosy experience that came and went, just like normal surgery, let the doctors put you under anesthesia and wake up and it's all done, but apparently it hurts A LOT after the procedure is done, waking up to massive pain in the belly due to the cutting. (There's a scene in Prometheus that is a C-section scene delivering an alien baby, not pleasant). 

Other advantages of being a man and a woman (don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging about being a man or being sexist in any way, I'm just counting my blessings and giving due credit on this, Valentine's Day. I know we have Mother's Day to appreciate mothers, but I think Valentine's is a good surrogate for a Women Appreciation Day, a day to give chocolates and flowers to women to say, "yes you're appreciated," a consolation gift if you will and before the dreaded pregnancy period). 

1.) World is a man's bathroom......it's apparently just easier. 

2.) subsequently cuz of No.1, shorter lines at a crowded public restroom. 

3.) time of the month- it does not seem pleasant. 

4.) cultural expectations regarding sexual promiscuity- men are praised for sleeping around, women are chastised. Really a disappointing aspect of society, and men everywhere who do it should be ashamed of themselves. 

5.) Physically weaker- not trying to be sexist, it's just women's bodies are built differently. I like figure skating and gymnastics as much as the next person, I like the gracefulness of diving and body contortions, but men on average just have more muscle massage, are built bigger and physically stronger. It sucks for women when it comes to personal safety, because the big guys also could be attracted to the woman and stalk them, and in some extreme unfortunate cases rape and murder them (really sad case of an Ohio State student just recently who was a victim). It happens over and over again, and it's because males can physically overpower women and have a high sex drive and affinity for women (as opposed to most women, who don't feel sexually attracted to women). 

Unfortunately, women's biggest fears should be men.......they're the most dangerous, whether it's breaking their hearts, letting them down, physically abusing them, or worse. 

6.) Men, according to some scientific data and anecdotal evidence, are prone to tendencies of spreading their seed around, finding as many spouses as possible, and that's been hashed out throughout history of kings and emperors finding many wives......(it's all those dudes with multiple wives v. like one Cleopatra who had multiple male partners). Women seem to be more family-oriented and thus reliant on one man, and once they've made up their mind they stay loyal, which is where you get all the stories of older men abandoning women for younger, more attractive women, who are young enough to be their daughter. Sigh, some men are just not very loyal unfortunately. C'mon, guys. 

Bottom line is, now that men in most countries around the world aren't required to go off to battle and risk their lives for the most part to defend one's country and families, once the risk of death is substantially taken off the table, it's just better to be a man in this world. I am very lucky in that regard, as my girlfriend constantly reminds me. Happy Valentine's Day! 

Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan 

Fatal Mistakes (致命的)

The Chinese and Japanese word for "fatal" are sadly the same: it means, costing one's life, and as difficult it is to think about, that's what's on the line when one makes a mistake of that magnitude.

This weekend, I had the chance to go down to the IHSA state chess tournament and witness some of the brightest high school minds in the state of Illinois battle it out for the state title, congrats to IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy- I was accepted into that school!) for winning the title. Going to the tournament reminded me of the joys of chess, the intense strategizing, the adrenaline rush of playing with one's team, the thrill of victory, but also the devastating feeling of defeat, and how one move in chess (and in life, really) can spell one's doom and be "chimeiteki," or fatal. One competitor from Naperville North was left to tears after making ONE bad move out of 50, and turned a win for her and her team into a loss. In the semifinals of a 130-team tournament. Ouch. Unfortunately, that's one of the defining features of chess: you sit for hours thinking about different scenarios and always trying to make the right move, and you can make the right moves all the time, but if you make one wrong move, that's the end of the match for you, unlike football or basketball where you can always have a chance to come back. In chess, at the higher levels, you make one blunder, and the game is good as over, and many players recognize that by tipping their kings in resignation soon after. In chess, especially at the high-school level (not grandmaster), often it's not who outplays the other with brilliant moves, but who doesn't make the fatal error who wins the match. I understand this now, but unfortunately I made too many fatal errors back in my high school playing days to become a champion. (I wish they would TELL ME or have some sort of flashing lights when I'm about to make a fatal move! Urg!)

As mentioned, life as with dodgeball also involves dodging fatal mistakes. After realizing how many mistakes I make per day, I kind of thank my lucky stars that none of them are fatal ones. I can make a mistake typing, make a bad trade in fantasy baseball, throw inaccurately in dodgeball, say the wrong thing to my parents to make them upset, all of those are not fatal mistakes.

I think it's human nature to avoid fatal mistakes: the higher the cost of the mistake, the more attention is paid to it, the more money is put on stopping those: medical costs for vaccinations and medicine, safety equipment and standards, not going out into wild jungles with deadly creatures, buying a house in a safer neighborhood with less gang violence. I think we can take a lot of lessons from other people's unfortunate ends and take precautions to avoid those fatal mistakes as much as possible: Don't drink and drive (look at how many DUI accidents there are), don't keep a gun in the house (accidental gunshots), get health checkups to get early detection of cancer (don't let it go to the bad stages), etc., etc. I think as a society people might be too desensitized sometimes about some of those bad decisions, we make so many bad ones all the time it's hard to distinguish which ones can be fatal- the phrase "whatever doesn't kill me only makes me stronger" comes to mind, but it's important to evaluate our own behavior in terms of how possible it is that it's fatal- for example, driving a car is already one of the most dangerous activities one can do, why double down on the risk by 1. driving without wearing a seatbelt, 2. driving while impaired, 3. texting while driving, 4. doing anything while driving (I need to work on this!)

Fatal mistakes are the ones Americans all hope President Donald Trump isn't making, as that's the high-stakes games he's playing and which are inherent in the role of President. The more power one has, the more chances of making a fatal mistake (at least for others).

Luckily, in chess, dodgeball, and other sports, you do lose the game if you make a fatal mistake, but you can learn from it and make less fatal mistakes in the future. (Maybe there's another life in the future for all of us where we can learn? Sometimes I honestly think this might be based on how I avoid getting shocked by static like the plague, maybe that was my downfall in a past life). That Naperville North player can learn so much about chess and life like I did from playing the game and developing as a player/person.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Chess (チェス)

The Japanese play a different form of chess called Shogi, which involves putting captured pieces back on the board, the rules and pieces are similar but rules are different. In Korea there's "Go," in China there's Chinese chess and Chinese checkers, but certainly when it comes to strategy games, internationally there's nothing like chess. A seemingly simple game with 16 pieces each side and only 64 squares on the entire board, the infinite combinations of games leave it thrilling to play and analyze. It was really a big part of my childhood and growth process, and I owe a lot of who I am today to chess. 

When you're a high school kid who's not really popular, doesn't have too many friends and doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up or what kind of person he wants to be, and no big brothers or sisters to look up, it's important to have something to identify as, and that was chess for me. I started playing in the chess team in elementary school, but it was only until high school that I recognized the mixture of fun, discipline, competitiveness, and strategy that chess could be. It didn't hurt that Illinois is the No. 1 state for organized chess in the country, holding a state team chess competition every year. (Apparently, it's just not that cool to be on the chess team, and doesn't generate funds like football and basketball). But every year in February, the Hinsdale South Hornets would travel down to Peoria, IL to participate in the 2-day high school chess tournament to determine the statewide high school champion. There were other tournaments in the year, but state chess was the first time I played in a 2-day tournament, bond with your teammates (chess is an individual game, but in a 8 v. 8 team tournament, there's some elements of a team game of whether to try to win your match or draw your match to help the team, etc.) and feel part of a competition, to know other teams wanted the championship as much as we did. At Hinsdale South we were lucky enough to have a group of guys attending the school at the same time that were as nerdy,  didn't participate in a sport during the winter months, could meet after school 2 days a week for practice, and actually enjoyed playing chess (not an easy combo to make) to have a team that stuck together, and improved every year. I didn't recognize it then, but it was the first time I felt a part of something, a dedicated cause, something to work for that I really enjoyed other than just doing a lot of homework or trying to achieve the best score I could on the SAT. I really wanted to be good at chess and win for my team, and the results showed it. 

By our junior year we finally put it all together at state, and to this day it's one of the most exciting tournaments I ever attended. Make fun of chess all you want as the nerdy game that's not a sport, but to this day playing in a crucial match as one of the last matches in a packed room still playing, everyone watching YOUR moves, trying to win for your team is one of the biggest natural highs I've had in my life, very comparable to dodgeball. I imagine it's a lot like a boxing head, going toe to toe with one's opponent, him firing a shot while you fire one back, trying to figure out the opponent and get into their head to see what they're thinking and why they're making moves. And when I won, it was one of the most fulfilling things to walk out of the room knowing 2 or 3 hours of exhausting gameplay was worth it. That year, at state, our only 2 losses were to 2 of the top 3 teams there, we beat a lot of good teams and felt CLOSE to being the best team in the state at chess, like we achieved something. 

More than 10 years later, I still think back to the fun times of chess I had and probably now more than back then appreciate what was going on then, a competition of skill where people didn't get advantages based on how they looked or who their parents were, it was just a game with relevantly rules, but the way one played defined who one was. I loved it. 

A documentary called "Chess State" was made in 2014 and basically sums up the whole experience of high school chess in Illinois, it's great and highly recommend it, it personally brought back a whole lot of memories for me. Enjoy like I did! 

Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan 

マスコット (Mascot)

Back in the early stages of this blog, I was still "discovering myself" and trying to identify who and what I was in this world, and getting a job was part of it. I was pretty dedicated to finding a job or at least getting as many jobs as possible, which is what the guy from "50 states 50 jobs" did, finding an odd job in every state of the US that matched with the identity of the state. Odds jobs are interesting in the sense that they take one out of their normal comfort zone, give one a new experience to do something that they wouldn't do, and go to new places, break out of the normal cycle, something that's definitely welcome when one is going through the motions or when they don't have a job.

Mascot- is an odd job. They don't get that much recognition outside of major sports teams (Benny the Bull for Chicago Bulls, Traveler (a horse) for USC). Usually they have to be energetic in a large onesie costume outside on a hot day, doesn't seem great for most people. But in Japan, mascots are huge- every company and public facility seems to have a mascot. I noticed this on my visits: the fire department has a mascot, the Tokyo Tower has a mascot, the train system has a mascot, almost everyone has a mascot, maybe because the Japanese are so into manga and cartoon characters. There's bears, birds, pigs, all kinds of cool animals, and they all dance around and wave and do things that mascots are trained to. That's because there's apparently a mascot school similar to a real educational facility in Tokyo that trains all these mascots. Their rules are: 1.) don't talk to people, 2.) don't let any of your own skin show, 3.) Don't be violent. Out of these No. 1 seems hardest, not interacting with kids who are asking questions, but apparently they don't want to disillusion people who believe in the mascots.

I've dressed up in one of those costumes though, and the problem is: it gets hot. Depending on the material of the costume, and if it's one piece, it can get really sweaty in there, especially if one has to move around a lot and seem energetic. And the costume gets sticky from the sweat; I hope they have dry cleaning to wash it every time. Count me out on the mascot business.

A place that could use a mascot is downtown Chinatown- a nice area, lots of great restaurants, gonna be very boisterous with the Chinese New Year parade tomorrow......but it seems like they need some sort of combining factor, something that unites all of them together and shows off the culture, gives energy to a place despite it being 19 degrees and freezing all the time through a tough winter. I guess the dragon where various people hold up a long dragon in a line qualifies as a mascot of the Chinese New Year every year .


Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

FantasySportguru 10-year Anniversary: 記念日

Coming up on the 10 year anniversary of this blog! YAY! I can remember back in February 2007 deciding to set up a blog about fantasy sports because I (thought I) knew so much about it to call myself a "guru," to eventually expand my readership. Ah the good ol' days, let me celebrate by comparing my life as it is now 10 years later to that of 10 years ago:



Goal of the blog
2007: to make a website about fantasy sports and make a name for myself.
2017: to chronicle my life and introduce Chinese/Japanese concepts to others, entertain my girlfriend MJ from time to time when she reads.

What I do nowadays:
2007: I sit in front of a computer at my dorm wasting time on the internet, occasionally doing required work for school
2017. I sit in front of my computer at the office dawdling on the internet, (a little more than) occasionally doing work for the company I work for.

Jokes
2007: Awkward and forced, still feeling my way for the timing
2017: got the rhythm down but still botch some, now more sarcastic and self-deprecating, due to being bogged down by life.

Aspirations:
2007: to get on reality TV, become famous, make it big in the world at all costs. I remember distinctly wanting to have superpowers after watching the show "Heroes"
2017: to just get through life, be successful, have a family and live a happy life. Trying to acquire slightly above average powers by learning new languages.

Body weight:
2007: 180 after a bit of freshman 5 impact.
2017: after some peaks and valleys, still around 180. Slightly overweight for a 5'10'', 29 year old, slightly more dangerous now going on 30.

Primary exercise activity:
2007: going to the gym to play pickup basketball
2017: going to the gym to play dodgeball, running (trying to put in 2-3 miles a day), lifting weights to get some muscle tone (not even contemplated in 2007)

Experience with girls:
2007: none
2017: I found the one I love after failed experiences with online dating.

Attitude towards family/relationships:
2007: not even thinking about it, but wanted a kid eventually so that kid could compete in the spelling bee that I didn't get a chance to do (how messed up with that?)
2017: want to start a family to share my love with others.

Musical preferences:
2007: Listened to Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson
2017: listen to Selena Gomez and Katy Perry. Basically not much has changed

Prowess at fantasy sports:
2007: perceived to be high, trying to spend more time mastering the art, excited about the future.
2017: learned that depending on the sport, it's dependent on luck, and treat it more as a game than life, don't take too seriously, am trying to cut back.

What I eat:
2007: Whatever's available, get pizza or fast food usually, make some ramen noodles, go home to parents' home occasionally and mooch some free food
2017: Same, still don't consistently make my own food

Favorite movies:
2007: Independence Day
2017: Independence Day and some others.

Attitude towards becoming a lawyer:
2007; Starting to think about it, took the LSAT in the summer, didn't know what I was getting into, but was excited about it going straight to law school after undergrad
2017: What was I thinking? Didn't know practicing law would be like this, but at least now I know, and it's......not all bad? Haha.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

スマホ (Smartphone)

One of the most amazing advances in technology is the smartphone. Almost a miracle from what we had before, the smartphone has surpassed the wallet for being a handy device that contains anything anyone ever needs: it's better than the computer because it's so compact, it's better than a watch because it can do other things, and it's better than a wallet because it's living: it has up to date, live information. Almost everyone in working society has one now, yet there's one thing it can't do: clean itself/ repair itself. I assert, therefore, that smartphones get the Unheralded Player Award in our lives: they give us the most utility in our lives, yet we treat them the worst, worse than our pets, worse than tables (they get a scrub at our family every time we use them). 

I crash my cellphone constantly: I drop it on the floor, I scratch the surface with keys, I keep it in my pocket when I play dodgeball allowing it to thump against the ground, I'm very rough to the device that I use all the time. It's really counterintuitive, we're really careful with our laptops and computers in scrubbing them down and keeping them in a safe place, but cell phones' lives are put at risk every day, from all the times one pulls it out of their pocket/purse, uses them to text while walking, etc. Cell phones also don't get washed very often: we're putting our fingers and hands all over them, but I for one don't wash them more than once a day, and I use the touchscreen all the time after eating, etc., etc., without washing my hands (I should probably start doing so now). A German study found that smart phone surfaces tend to have on average 18 times the amount of germs that toilet bowls have. Given the dirty things that happen in my office bathroom (and that I've chronicled), that's saying something 

Smartphones cause me to be eternally connected: there's no break from connectivity, to something on my phone. Even on a plane, I can use the phone's various internet-free options: check the Japanese dictionary, listen to music, play games. And because of that, I touch it constantly, always check something, always swipe, always adjust the volume. It's probably time I started taking care of it more often.