I'm smiling now, but this was before the epic fail (see #13)
Life update: I am finishing my rotation as an advertising sales manager in July and will be moving down to Silicon Valley and be starting as a U-Verse field operations manager in Mountain View in August. I am also considering traveling in July. Hit me up with ideas!
Alright, here we go…
1. A good friend goes above and beyond. During my visit to LA, my friend offered to pick me up from the airport, let me sleep over, made dinner, introduced me to others, woke up late to open the door for me, and understood I needed time to meet up with other friends. That’s the ideal host and friend; I wish I could be at least half as hospitable as that.
2. Great weekends can be had with great conversations. The weekend I spent in LA was one of the best ever because I got to have enlightening and refreshing conversations with good friends who I truly missed talking to. I’d recommend catching up with an old buddy or two!
3. Cherish friendships with those you ‘grew up with’ over a common activity. I realized this from the odd feeling of staffing UNA-USA MUN this year where many old friends were no longer on staff, and that it was the camaraderie that I had built up with them over the years that made the experience so great in the past. Shout outs to ya’ll; sorry can’t tag everyone! That said, it’s always nice to meet the promising next generation of staffers.
4. Every day should be a Mother’s Day. That’s a quote from my mom, and she’s right. When I lost my wallet, she was the one who did the most work to help me out. Mom is always there for you, make sure you at least acknowledge it if not appreciate it.
5. Do not lose your wallet. Ever. You do not want to experience the mess and frustration that comes with it. (Smart travel tip: split your cash in two places when traveling).
6. Respect people’s definitions of success and happiness. It’ll help you understand the decisions they are pursuing in their life, and they will appreciate you for it.
7. Share your knowledge, and let others know what you are curious to learn about. I made a presentation on mobile search, social media, and digital advertising at work. Not only was it fun to talk about technology that I use everyday, but I also felt that I helped quench the curiosity of all the co-workers seeking to learn about Facebook, Twitter, etc.
8. The future of technology just blows my mind. Specifically, I’m thinking about the technology that I saw the New York Times developing during my tour of their headquarters (thanks Parsa!), and also about Google Wave.
9. Remember to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month every May. (The secondary lesson here is: if there is not an appropriate event, then make your own! My CAAEN project group organized a successful celebration mixer in SF for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month).
10. Reach out to meet up with others, especially when you are traveling! It’s really a pleasure to host or meet up with someone when they are in town, and I actually admire other people who do it because it gives me this opportunity. I had really good dinners with Denise and Manoje; thanks to both for reaching out to me when you visited SF!
11. Don’t overextend yourself. I had a great time in NYC with both the UNA-USA MUN crew and my friends who I got to meet up with, but sorry to everyone I wasn’t able to see in NYC. Perhaps that’s just a sign that I need to visit more often!
12. Spring is a great time for outdoor activities. I went hiking in Tilden Regional Park (thanks Mohammad) and went berry-picking in Brentwood (thanks Rebecca etc.) – both were really fun!
13. Don’t be too greedy. Otherwise you’ll pull an epic fail when you get owned trying to eat the gigantic Factory Mud Pie from Cheesecake Factory by yourself. ;)
14. Re-living spontaneity makes it twice as fun. I got to experience it twice this month: once with a random late-night round of board games at Stanford (LOL), and again after Spring Sing when we spontaneously cruised down Wilshire at night, passing by Beverly Hills and the LACMA before hitting K-Town for late-night food. Ah good memories.
15. Time flies by when you’re having fun. But this is how life is supposed to be. :)
-Kevin
