As you can see, this blog has a new look! I think the new theme provides a cleaner look to the site and should make it easier for readers to concentrate on the entries and also to find their ways around. I try to stay away from all the fancy themes and images, and hence, less tiring for readers’ eyes, as I believe a blog is more about readership compared to those fun fancy web applications out there.

My goal is to provide the best experience to all of you visitors of the blog, just as my constant strive to improve myself.

Therefore, I would love to hear any thoughts on your mind :)

This topic spins off nicely from my last one suggesting people to worry about others so much as to make decisions under that influence.

Quoting the articule Don’t Worry. Be Happy:

You know who’s responsible for that financial angst you’re suffering – that uncomfortable feeling that you should be earning, and spending, more, only you can’t? No, not your stingy employer or the IRS, but worse. People who are theoretically on your side: your friends, co-workers, and neighbors.

And I’d say, people not just compare themselve with their peers financially that leads to great stress. They also compare on fame, status, or any other statistics they can come by. Even worse, sometimes they compare themselves with the wrong targets, such as celebrities.

It’s pretty easy to put an end to this. Think about with more than 6 billions people on earth, when will we finish if we try to compare ourselves with everyone? Of course we will long be dead before we are done :) Each one of us is born with different backgrounds, places, and times. With all the existing variables, there is definitely no same result. What I’m saying is that we cannot lose ourselves in chasing all these other people materialistically, financially, or on fame. It’s almost like chasing shadows, which can never be caught.

We have to reach an agreement within oureslves that we are not here to become like others. We are here to be ourselves. And with our own abilities and our own hands, we will improve ourselves in ways we direct ourselves toward and reach goals of which we identify ourselves. Again, aim for tomorrow’s ourselves becoming better than todays’.

Like running on a track, if we keep looking back or sideways of what others are doing, we will only run slower.

Before hitting the movie, 300 (Spartans!!!), at Saratoga 14 AMC Theater on Saturday, my friends and I hit the Sushi Boat Restaurant in the vicinity for dinner.

All the sushi (including a lion-king type roll) tastes decent, the salmon was fresh on the nigiri, and price was appropriate for the portion. The boats that go around are constantly being filled unlike another sushi boat I went to near work. All in all, I would return there again.

Reminder: I’m a big Japanese food fan :)

We all live in some form of communities, big and small, among people. Therefore, we have no ways of avoiding people. Everyday we’re surrounded by them, at home with family, at work with colleages, at social events with friends, or on streets with strangers. As such, we hear things people say and observe how people act AND pertaining to this post’s topic – we hear things people say about us, see how people react to us, and what images they have for us.

The problem arises when we get so caught up in them and become affected. We start to worry what other people have to say about us. We live in constant worry and fear others having negative opinions and thoughts on us. We are afraid they see and label us as freaks, weirdos, geeks, clowns, jerks, or whatever social cliche out there. As this trend starts its engine in us, it escalates as we meet more people and the worry and fear keep on increasing.

Consequently, we fear to do many things and our productivity decreases, inhibited by our fear. Sometimes we even give up on striving to improve ourselves, which could make us different from the majority leading to labels and criticism. That leads me to the quote, “The greatest fear in life is fear itself.”

If we constantly worry and fear and do nothing because of that, we will always remain in the same place! If we cannot understand that and move on, we will make no progression in relationship, career, or life. Worry and fear become our greatest road blocks. It is about the realization that worrying and fear will not change reality for us, which begs the question, why the heck are we doing it? Until we can identify them, face them, and conquer them with awareness and rationalization, we will forever be bogged down.

We do not make decisions on what words come out of other people’s mouths or what they think. Consequently, we should not worry so much about what others have to say or think about us because we cannot change other people. Everyday we make decisions with the goal to make things better for ourselves and the people we care about. So rather, the decision is to change and imporove ourselves in turn, creates a character in us that will provide strong influence in the people around us, but that is not the main concern. The main concern is yourself, and the influence is just a result. Chaning other people is not the concern because that will never be guaranteed because people could simply have different experience and perspectives or they may just be jealous, and that’s too bad. That is not the concern. You have made the best decision you can to change and focus on yourself. As Jet Li said, “Do your best, it’s good enough.”

Make decisions with self in mind. And by “self,” I mean a person’s own well-being, values, and priorities that he holds true to. Stop your worry and fear due to other people! When you get yourself straight, other things will slowly become as a result.

As a part of my frugality, I feel that I have always drive my car quite fuel-efficiently. Even driving both locals and highways, I am able to get around 28 MPG each time out of my Scion tC, which is measured at 23/30 MPG. I’ve always tried not to have to brake and timed the street lights to avoid full stops. I thought that was pretty good!

But alas, check out this dude named Wayne Gerdes – the Hypermiler from Wisconsin, who takes it to the next level.

But it was driving his wife’s Acura mdx that moved Wayne up to the next rung of hypermiler driving. That’s because the suv came with a fuel consumption display (fcd), which shows mpg in real time. As he drove, he began to see how little things—slight movements of his foot, accelerations up hills, even a cold day—influenced his fuel efficiency. He learned to wring as many as 638 miles from a single 19-gallon tank in the mdx; he rarely gets less than 30 mpg when he drives it. “Most people get 18 in them,” he says.

But if you read, some of his techniques include going into sharp exits/turns at 50 mph! AND by turning off the engine and glide! I’m not sure if I want to do that… and I am definitely not one to drive like a dead man at 50 mph on a 65 mpg speed limit highway. Especially I’m in the Bay Area, I probably get flicked off and perhaps even tailgated and assaulted. Haha…

But there is a lesson, which is to drive fuel-efficiently as much as we can:

• Avoid complete stops without having accidents :)
• Go easy on the brakes. Note that your cars DO slow down if you take the foot off the gas pedal.
• Get to know the traffic light pattern in your local area.
• Start gliding if you see a red light ahead
• Drive at a consistent speed.