2010 Winter Olympic Fashion

Watching the Vancouver Winter Olympics every day now, I wanted to make a comment on what is of foremost importance -- Winter Olympic fashion, of course.

First of all, the U.S. uniform during the Opening Ceremony did not disappoint. Designed as usual by Ralph Lauren, this uniform was classic and patrician. The silhouette was modern yet retro at the same time. The pants , which taper into a high top boot, reminded me of today's "skinny-leg" trend, yet also reminded me of football uniforms from the early 20th-century.

However, when it comes to pure dapper style, I think this Winter Olympics uniform definitely fell short of the Beijing Olympics outfit from 2 years ago. Usually, the navy blue double- breasted jacket is sooooo over-done. But for some reason, Ralph Lauren played with the razor edge between cliche and supreme elegance, and the effect took my breath away.

I also managed to catch a glimpse at Burton's U.S. snowboarding outfit for the Vancouver Olympics (above). The uniform is a tongue-in-cheek nod at the flannel and jeans culture of snowboarding. This is all good in theory - it's subversive, just like snowboarding culture. However the jeans look dull and colorless on TV, and I can't imagine that the team would look that unified together. How can you look unified when you are all wearing jeans?

I think I preferred the Burton-designed U.S. snowboarding team outfit from the Torino Winter Olympics 4 years ago. All-white, with the faintest of blue pinstripe, the uniform was witty, cheeky, subversive, yet restrained at the same time. This uniform was a nod at the White Sox baseball uniform, which is as American as it comes. But to me, it looked like a prison uniform, which was delightful in a rebellious kind of way.

If I can have one last word on U.S. Olympic fashion, it is that it's completely un-unified. Ralph Lauren designed the opening ceremony outfit, Burton - the snowboarding outfit. And then you have Under Armour, which reportedly has designed the downhill ski and bobsled outfits (they look like something Captain America would wear). Each outfit is super clever individually, but altogether, there was no master statement to be made. I would suggest that Ralph Lauren's design team take the helm in the future, overseeing all other design teams in their fashion designs.

Why Me? and other January Tales

The month of January was a rough one. I came into the new year fired up on a project, one which had real impact on the company, and one which I would demonstrate ownership and leadership in changing how we performed engineering. I did a fairly good job of gathering information and getting peoples' opinions and assimilating them into a proposal to be presented to higher management. When it came to making a final proposal to management, however, I bombed! I was completely tongue tied. Frankly, I made a fool of myself. Unfortunately, I think my manager lost a little faith in me after my poor presentation. I would go so far to say that he attributed the results of my work to the more senior members who were involved with the project, and not me at all.

Later, I had to tackle an important engineering problem. Unfortunately, I really frustrated my boss for being slow. He had tried giving me greater leeway to perform my own investigation. Unfortunately, my boss's goals and mine were not aligned, so I ended up being late on delivering the work. Also, I received some negative attention from the CEO who wondered if I was the right person for that job, and whether they needed to hire a consultant. Well, my manager told me this story in an attempt to light a fire under my ass, and I attribute it as such. However, it is always hard to pick yourself up and perform after being told such a story.

Anyways, the point of this story is that everyone goes through a period or rough patch where they ask themselves, "Why me?", and they firmly believe that the world is out to get them. That is the way that I feel sometimes. And it is hard to convince myself, sometimes, that I am not receiving the short end of the stick, or being the target of some poor treatment. Although the latest spiritual gurus and psychology experts claim that you aren't the center of the universe, and that noone is targeting you, I AM beginning to think that some people do attract more ill will from people than others due to their being less socially or politically skilled, being meek, or just with their plain being so brilliant as to incur the jealousy of everyone else.

Case in point: Hillary Clinton. I am in the process of reading Hillary Clinton's autobiography, "Living History", which she wrote about her life up to her winning the senatorship of New York. The number of attacks from the right wing on this lady was unprecedented, and was certainly directed at Hillary specifically. I think that perhaps Hillary's brilliance had something to do with how vilified she was (we all know how mysognistic this society is). However, I also think she was the target because she was obviously wounded and embittered, and bitter people attract bad luck. The enemy likes to kick you when you're down.

I wish that someone could tell me that I am wrong about my theory that some people are more targetted than others, at least in my case.

Marie Antoinette - Book and Film Review

What most people think of when they hear the name, Marie Antoinette, are opulent dresses, cluelessness at the plight of the impoverished ("Let them eat cake") and her ultimate fate under the guillotine.

"Marie Antoinete - The Journey", by Antonia Fraser portrays the French Queen less as a villain, but more sympathetically, as a carefree teenager whose response to the overwhelming pressures that she felt was to revel in her famously hedonistic lifestyle. She was vilified by the French as being sex-crazed and completely ignorant of the poor, but the author argues that she was actually the opposite -- she was prudish, and compassionate towards the impoverished.

I don't usually read a lot of histories, but this book kept me riveted with the strange goings-on in Marie Antoinette's life. Did you know that she and her husband, Louis XVI did not consummate their marriage until 4 years after they were married? Did you know there was a complete lack of privacy for the royals -- that lay people were free to wander around inside the palace, and had to be rooted out routinely? This book is just full of interesting tidbits.

As well as recommending the book, I recommend seeing the movie, Marie Antoinette, which is based on the aforementioned book. The film, which was directed by Sofia Coppola, is famous for blending the historical events of Marie Antoinette's life with a 90's pop soundtrack including the Cure, and Souxsie and the Banshees. I especially appreciated the riotous art direction with its sumptuous pastel gowns and endless pastries. I especially appreciated the scene in which Marie Antoinette, and her fellow young cohorts decide to party all night and stay up to watch the dawn. (This actually happened, according to the book.) In summary, the movie made me nostalgic for high school, Sofia Coppola did such a good job with portraying adolescence, albiet as French royalty.

2010 New Year's Resolutions

1. Watch less TV, play less video games, surf the internet less. Generally, get my butt off the sofa more.

2. Stretch my lower back and shoulder more. These spots are giving me grief.

3. Continue to make exercise a habit.

4. Begin to think about what it means to grow older and come to terms with it. These are one of the things I fear the most -- getting older, and being perceived as old. Thank goodness I don't look any age at all with my asian face.

5. Continue with my spiritual and psychological development.

6. Take better care of my skin.

7. Do new things. Plan more events with friends.

8. Dare I say it? Travel more? Will it happen with my dwindled finances and few vacation days?

9. Continue to acquire a stylish wardrobe!

10. Survive work in 2010 with my sanity intact, which promises to be the make or break year

A Look Back at 2009 New Year's Resolutions

I cannot believe that it is that time of year again. I was just reading my 2008 Year in Review, and it feels like I wrote it yesterday! I wanted to review what my new year's resolutions were back then and whether I had developed in those areas in some small way.

Last year, I wrote that I wanted to develop my "emotional resilience" -- in other words - "get over myself as quickly as possible". I think I have definitely improved in that area. I don't stay upset for very long- at least not more than a day at most. When I'm blue, I own up to the fact that I am blue. And then it is not so bad... Also, anytime I feel bitter, I work to break through that narrowing way of being, and open my heart.

My other 2009 new year's resolutions, and results in italics:
(1) increase tolerance and minimize judgement of others
My progress has been slow, and sometimes it feels like I've made no progress at all. But how much progress I really have made was certainly highlighted at a recent family reunion. We were visiting my sick grandfather when one family member made a judgmental comment about one of my relatives. The relative being discussed had been judged and judged throughout the decades, and as a result had formed a protective attitude towards the rest of the family. I told the family member who had made this judgement my analysis of the situation, which we were all contributors to. And I think they were a bit surprised to hear such truth coming from one of the younger generation. It was then that I realized that I had come farther along than I had thought. VERDICT: POSITIVE GROWTH.

(2) listen to my gut
I believe this is going to be an ongoing project for me. Very small decisions, like what color camera I should buy, can take forever for me to make (they all suck!). I leave Mark to make decisions with regards to decor and party entrees, because he is so good at that stuff. But to sum up, I think I have become a much improved decision maker. At work, I've even gotten the reputation for being a firm, and good common-sense decision maker, which is so opposite what I was even a few years ago. This all stems from following my gut, which, I believe, reflects subconscious calculation. Everytime my gut says something, I analyze why I feel that way, and often times, there is a reason that is so complex and refined, it is hard to describe in words, but definitely there. Verdict: POSITIVE GROWTH.

(3) care for others and focus less on myself
What a joke. This is the area where I think I have made the least progress. I feel a lot of empathy for people who are suffering. However, I don't bear as much good will towards people who are doing well. This is something that I have to continue to work on- to be happy for people who are successful. Verdict: AREA OF OPPORTUNITY.

(4) be better with finances
I vow to do this every year. And I don't think I have gained a whole lot in the area of investing or saving. However, much of my spendings have gone into the house this year, and into our refinancing project. Many people couldn't even refinance this year in light of the economic recession. So in light of this progress: POSITIVE GROWTH.

(5) be more eloquent
Again, it is one of those things I need to work on. I would especially like work on responding faster on my feet. What should I do? I already speak often at meetings, maybe I should try and speak up more? Practice expressing complex ideas to people on random occasions? My Dad feels that public speaking on the fly is a reflection of intelligence. I don't necessarily agree with him completely. However, building neural connections between one's brain, and one's verbal abilities DOES exercise one's intellect. Sometimes, I am too lazy to even express what I did over the weekend. VERDICT: AREA OF OPPORTUNITY.

(6) exercise my brain on occasion, maybe know world affairs
Hah. Good luck with that. I'm still playing video games (currently Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) and would prefer to learn about the virtual weapons that I am using rather than learn about what is actually going on in the world. I did read a variety of biographies and non-fiction, so maybe I am not a total loss. Verdict: AREA OF OPPORTUNITY.

(7) continue to write on a frequent basis
This has not happened as much as I would like. I wrote half as many blog entries as I did last year. And many of those entries were 2 sentences long. I need to watch less of our ginormous flat screen TV, and do more writing! Verdict: AREA OF OPPORTUNITY.

To be continued...

Thanksgiving 2009 Time Capsule

This Thanksgiving has been good. I suspect it will look better in retrospect. Vacations always look rosier when viewed back with nostalgia. Despite things not going as planned this past Thanksgiving, we nonetheless had a good time.

This year, we decided to go scuba diving in Monterey. We hadn't gone diving in a year, and so it was time consuming and laborious as we packed our musty scuba gear. Once we got to Monterey, however, there was a storm advisory. We decided it wasn't smart to go diving, particularly when surfers were actually surfing where we were supposed to dive.

Disappointed, we decided to explore. We discovered things we wouldn't normally see had we gone diving . We discovered the scenic walk between downtown Carmel, and Carmel River State Beach. I highly recommend this stroll along Scenic Rd, Carmel. It is here that you will find gorgeous gingerbread houses overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Less pretentious than 17 mile Drive, the natural scenery along Scenic Road is more memorable, and you don't have to pay to enter to boot. Along this path, we found the famous, Butterfly House (see above). This iconic house went on sale for $20 Million in 2007. It is also the site of a very good, and pristine shore dive, when the conditions are right. At one point, Bay Area scuba divers mused over pooling our money and buying it for ourselves. But a Washington Real Estate developer eventually bought the gem for $10 Million. I hope he doesn't mind seeing scuba divers prance around in front of his panoramic views of the ocean on occasion.

On another day, we rode a tandem bike along 17 Mile Drive. The rain pounded us at times, but Mark and I had a wonderful time synchronizing our pedal strokes as we hammered up some hills and glid past enormous chateaux. Beating the rain as we raced back to the bike shop was my favorite moment on this bike trip. Mark professed not to feel taxed at all, but both of us were covered in sweat when we were done.
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Being that it is Thanksgiving, and not just a time to go on trips, it is also time to be grateful. I recently saw a PBS special on the Dust Bowl. Thank goodness I did not go through the hardship that broke so many farmers during this era. It is not always easy to feel grateful, but I am grateful that I do not have to worry about where I am getting my next meal, the shame of accepting government aid, or the fate of my land without rain.

Here is a short list of other things I am grateful for:

(1) Our house

I am grateful that our house hasn't severely depreciated in this recession. I am grateful that we can enjoy our little fireplace, relax in front of the TV and feel contented in the cozy and stylish little nest we have created for ourselves. All those weeks and months of painting and stressing has paid off. We recently refinanced, and were able to get rid of our second loan, as well as lowering our mortgage payments. Our house is small, but it is perfect for our needs.

(2) My husband

I am grateful that I found someone who always has a bright smiling face to light up my day, and who can always make me laugh out loud every day. My husband is also realistic and responsible, qualities which I don't always demonstrate. If it weren't for him, I wonder if we would still be in the process of refinancing our house, instead of being done already.

(3) My job

My job is challenging, and creative. That is all that I ever ask for. When I first started, I thought I was going to do some more hand-held plastic enclosure design. Right away, however, I started design on some battery contacts, which for the type of batteries I am working with, is not a trivial task. Lately, I have expanded into the crucial interface areas. The project I work on is practically Space-Shuttle-esque in its complexity. It has countless parts, 3 tiny motors, and three complex subsystems with their own multi-person teams. I am working on the mechanical interfaces between these subsystems, and I am so grateful to have this opportunity.

Eyvind Earle-An Artist of California

Art galleries these days are full of paintings that repeat the same tired old themes. Perusing the art galleries in downtown Carmel, CA over Thanksgiving weekend, we saw the same old still lifes with wine glasses and bottles, the same old kitschy whale paintings by Wyland. This time, however, I had a chance to discover a significant artist whose works took my breath away. I have never seen paintings that capture Californian scenery as masterfully as those by Eyvind Earle.

Eyvind Earle is a contemporary artist, who recently died in 2000. A former landscape artist at Disney, he worked on such films as "Lady and the Tramp", and "Peter Pan". Earle's style is most clearly evident in "Sleeping Beauty", for which he was responsible for art direction. With its medieval styling, Sleeping Beauty can now be considered an noticeable departure in style from previous Disney films. During the film's development, other Disney animators protested against Earle's art direction, but Walt Disney himself interceded. For the first time, the voice of a single animator, Eyvind Earle, set the tone for a Disney film.

After leaving Disney, Eyvind Earle spent a few years as head of his own animation company. He animated commercials, and even created the trailer for the movie, "West Side Story". But in his final years, Eyvind Earle spent his time painting professionally in Carmel, CA. His mature paintings are fantastical and magical, much like his illustrations while at Disney. But they are also evocative of the beautiful Californian landscape. They are infused with feeling and emotion. In many of his landscapes, there is a sense of aching solitude.

When looking at "Sounding of Surf ", or "Swirl of Fog", I am reminded of waves crashing on the Big Sur coastline. Notice also these paintings' resemblance to Japanese block prints. A "Touch of Magic" brings me out of myself, and gives me the sensation of hiking through the Santa Cruz Mountains on a lazy afternoon.

My favorite Eyvind Earle, however, is "Quiet Solitude". The original painting is currently on sale after being part of a private collection for many years. This painting, whose price is unlisted, but will probably sell for ~$100,000+ currently resides in the Gallery Fine Art in Carmel, CA. This work almost reduced me to tears. There was the masterly technique, and colorful beauty, but there was also a strong sensation of silence and loneliness. If you are looking to collect significant, important works of beauty, as an investment and to enrich your life, I highly recommend that you look for the original works of Eyvind Earle.