Finished reading this book this morning, so I thought I'll share my thoughts on it.
Why did I pick up this book?
I was browsing for books at Target and saw this one with a big 30% off sticker on it. I was mainly looking for books about contentment. A book that can teach me how to be content and appreciate what I already have. When I saw this one I thought it might be an interesting read. I honestly did not think much of the book, but was pleasantly surprised once I started reading.
What did I like about this book?
The lessons and principles that the author shares in this book are awesome. They all sound like common sense advice once you read it, however if it was that easy, everyone would be living their best life. It is not that easy and this book reminds you why and what you can do about it.
It is Friday, so time for another music log. I deem this music log the Crown The Empire edition.
Let's start slow with “Lead Me Out of the Dark”, a beautiful song featuring just the vocalist and a piano accompaniment. He's not the strongest singer, but there's something raw and real about the way he sings in this track.
Writing by hand may also improve a person’s memory for new information. A 2017 study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that brain regions associated with learning are more active when people completed a task by hand, as opposed to on a keyboard. The authors of that study say writing by hand may promote “deep encoding” of new information in ways that keyboard writing does not. And other researchers have argued that writing by hand promotes learning and cognitive development in ways keyboard writing can’t match.
Highlight of the week is the clutch slipping on my Speed3. Bummer because I just got it back last week after having the front and rear brakes serviced. If it ends up needing a new clutch, well that will be expensive. Alas that is a fact of life when owning a car with 100,000 miles on it. As a precaution, I've switched to a Stage1 tune to lower max boost on the turbo and have taken to driving like a grandma; never going over 3000 RPM. Unfortunate, because boost season is upon us too. Anyway it's Friday, so time for another music log.
First song for today is “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” by The Offspring. As soon as you hear it, you'll know it's a song from The Offspring. Must be the singer's voice or the way they do vocal harmonies. They just have this unique sound on their tracks that is reminiscent of other bands from the 90s or early 2000s. Just like how you know a song is from Red Hot Chili Peppers or from Incubus. The Offspring almost sounds like they've grown up in this song though.
As adults, we spend a lot of time talking about all of the things that we have to do.
You have to wake up early for work. You have to make another sales call for your business. You have to work out today. You have to write an article. You have to make dinner for your family. You have to go to your son’s game.
Now, imagine changing just one word in the sentences above.
You don’t “have” to. You “get” to.
Wow! A very simple thing to practice everyday, but the way your perspective changes is huge.
One of the things I get lazy on is washing my son's milk bottles. If I apply this lesson to that scenario, I would go from, “I have to wash milk bottles tonight”, to, “I get to wash milk bottles tonight”. Okay well it still sounds like work, but if I dig deeper, getting to wash bottles means:
I have been gifted with a child.
I am fortunate enough to afford to buy milk and milk bottles for my son.
I live in a house with water clean enough to wash the bottles with.
Now it doesn't like too much work at all. All with the change of a single word.
I returned the 2019 Mazda3 AWD Sedan loaner car last Tuesday. I miss it already. These are my final thoughts on that wonderful car.
For my first impressions on the car, you can refer to this post. I will be quoting some of my initial observations from that previous post, so as to give more context to the findings I’ve noted down in this post.
This is the only decent photo I have of this car. I wished I took more pictures of it, but ever since I've been on my digital minimalism journey, I've neglected having to take photos of a lot of other things as well. Mostly because I don't feel the need to share them online anymore.
Wow what a busy week! I was asked to take over work that needed to be completed today. I had to stay late last Wednesday and Thursday to get a lot of stuff done. I finally completed it today. Code reviewed and checked-in, whew. Let's celebrate with another music log.
First up is a cover of the song “A Million Dreams” by The Piano Guys. I learned to play the piano when I was kid, but didn't continue my lessons. Listening to this cover makes me wish I never stopped going to my piano lessons. I seriously envy being able to play a piano like this. It's just beautiful.
I unexpectedly got a loaner car today after I took my Speed3 to get the front and rear brakes serviced. It is a 2019 Mazda3 Sedan, with all-wheel drive, with the Select Package if I'm not mistaken. I wanted to write down my thoughts on it while I have it for a few days.
First off, the interior is indeed really nice for a $25,000 car. There are soft-touch materials almost everywhere in the car. The center console is padded generously and is a great place to rest your elbow.
The car only came with “Leatherette” seats, but the seats are comfy and fit my body well. The seats in this Mazda3 fit me better than the seats in my Speed3. My only issue with it is that it somewhat sticks to the back of my shirt when driving. That usually doesn't happen with cloth or leather seats.
The new 8.8 inch infotainment center is nice. It is a higher resolution screen than the one in my wife's 2016 CX-5. The backup camera feed looks great with the higher reso screen, though I feel like it is less of a wide angle backup camera compared to the one in the wife's CX-5.
Another Friday is here, so time for another music log. I skipped last week because I was yet again trapped in a conference room with other developers, working on getting a feature ready for release. Anyway I deem this music log the I Prevail edition. I Prevail is hard rock band that I discovered probably 2-3 years ago, when I heard their cover of Taylor Swift's “Blank Space”. Their bio on Spotify suggests that they are one of the reasons rock music is still very much alive nowadays.
First up is the song “Scars”. This is easily my favorite I Prevail song. This song rocks, I don't know how else to describe it. It's a great rock song from start to finish. The lyrics are great as well and the message they convey is a much appreciated one, especially for those battling anxiety or depression.
Excuses, excuses are all that I hear
All I can see when I look in the mirror
I can't escape all these thoughts in my mind
They're waiting to haunt me, night after night
I feel it in my bones, and everything I know
It's underneath my skin, and it won't let go
They know me all too well, but only time will tell
If this is who I am, do I know myself?
Don't forget your life's your own
Don't ever let it go
In the heat of the moment when fear has you frozen
You're crashing and burning when life's at its coldest
Don't fall too far from who you are
They can cut us but we'll wear our scars
I felt like I was showing off. Showing off what i had, showing off my life. And since my Facebook account was private, the only people who were seeing my posts were my friends. So I was basically showing off to my friends.
Update: I ended up creating a new Facebook account, here's why.
It didn’t feel that way in the beginning though. I thought sharing photos about my car, my gadgets, my road trips/vacations, my son, was one of the best ways to utilize Facebook. Somehow I forgot that the point was to connect with other people. But what else is there to do after you’ve added them as a friend, have browsed through their profile and liked/commented on their posts? Anyways, of course I was rewarded with some likes here and there, which simply made me want to do it more. It was not until I noticed other people doing the same thing that I started to question what I was doing.
This is the only decent photo I have of this car. I wished I took more pictures of it, but ever since I've been on my digital minimalism journey, I've neglected having to take photos of a lot of other things as well. Mostly because I don't feel the need to share them online anymore.