Jeremy Lin is significant to the world of sports because he is an underdog bench player suddenly boasted into stardom. He is significant to mass society because his story speaks of hope, an emotion we can all relate to. He is significant to me because he is Asian American.

Before you groan, roll your eyes, and classify me as being un-PC, you have to realize there is no way to disregard race. Even my mom who has never cared about basketball (or any sport for that matter) has been mentioning him over every meal. Why? Because he is Asian American. He shares the exact same identity as her own children. There’s an automatic connection that can’t be severed, which is probably how the African Americans must have felt when Jackie Robinson made it to the MLB.

Yet, I’m not here to overplay emotion or claim honor. To me, this connection is important because he’s going to blow things up in my community (if he hasn’t already.) Ling Woo Liu made an important point in the CNN article, Why Jeremy Lin’s Race Matters: “[T]he conversations on Facebook, in bars and living rooms are as diverse as the Asian American community itself. Some are pumped up about seeing an Asian face next to Kobe Bryant’s or moved by Lin’s public devotion to Christianity. Others are analyzing Lin’s academic and athletic prowess and thinking about the role model he’ll be for their children.” Did you get that? Read it again. That statement strikes clarity about the exact controversies that Asian Americans in my generation, my parent’s generation, and the future generations of Asian Americans face.

I grew up in a town where the population felt like 80% Asian. I also went to college in an Asian-dominated system. Thus, having spent so many years being nurtured in a similar environment as Lin’s (LA and Palo Alto), I know first-hand what Liu was talking about.

Asian Americans are a hybrid class of immigrants’ children whom all had to shed parts of our roots and assimilate to a culture vastly different from the ones our parents were raised with. We range from “bananas,” a vernacular term describing someone who looks Asian on the outside but has lost so much of their cultural roots that they are “white on the inside,” to people who “might as well be FOBs.” Actually, scratch that—there is no suitable umbrella term; in fact, our existence spans like an iceberg, Amy Tan and Lucy Liu as the commercialized tip. However, while we are a diverse and bifurcated group, each community—as society—has its trends…Asian Americans are not known to crank out athletes.

In high school, we often mocked a rival school for not having a football team because their Asian student population was much higher than ours. In college, we mocked ourselves for not having any legitimate sport teams because “we’re Asian, all we do is study.” I remember being asked as a kid how many colleges I could name off the top of my head (as if that’s so important and something to be proud about.) My mom collected SAT guides for me since I was in junior high. Honors and AP classes were filled with contention between students battling over who sets the curve. Any kid that pursued a degree in science, law, or technology was openly praised and deemed honorable. When one of my family friend’s daughter declared a linguistics major, her father promptly forwarded her a Yahoo! article of the top 20 useless majors to have.

No one’s really at fault for this. Most of our parents are immigrants if we aren’t ourselves. It is stamped in our mindset that “useless” is bad. “Useless” won’t get you anywhere even if there is passion. We are bred for being “useful,” for lucubrating to get the best grades we can, for insuring careers, for fortifying our 401K and savings accounts, especially in a society where we are second-rate. Playing basketball? That’s nice…as long as it’s only your hobby.

Hence why Jeremy Lin is blowing up conversations over cups of tea, dim sum, and mah jong. He’s challenging not only the racial minds of non-Asian Americans, but conventional thinking of Asian descents alike.

I’m going to leave it to the sports fanatics to bicker out whether Lin is simply a media sensation or if he truly spews game. However, Linsanity is nothing to vilipend. To the Asian American community, he’s already changing the game. His success (which he has yet to prove) is ineluctably going to affect the thinking of future Asian American generations and what is expected of them. Reveling under a national athletic spotlight is one more thing for us all to acclimate to. No matter what stance you take, the debate is on.

Today’s Random Thing: all hail the Sabich Sandwich at Taim Falafel and Smoothie Bar!

I have been dreaming about this sandwich for two years. TWO YEARS. After all this time, we will finally be reunited! This sandwich has never failed me. Ever. I have brought numerous friends here who have all fallen in love with it like I did. When my parents came to visit, they gave it a full-star review—and this is coming from a dad who used to only eat Chinese food. (His foodie nature has come a long way.) My mom has even tried to scope the Bay Area to find a comparable falafel place, but nope! Taim’s reigns supreme. When I was working as my department’s office assistant, I even brought prospective students to Taim’s for lunch, and after one bite, they told me they have full faith in my foodie skills. I will not lead anyone astray.

The joint is known for their falafels and smoothies, but I actually have never tried their drinks. (Thus, if the drinks suck, don’t blame me. I’m still the food guru.) The falafels are good, but if you’re not born with a picky palette and would rather spend two bucks on a sandwich, do yourself a favor and frolic down to Mamoun’s Falafel. The Sabich on the other hand…is glorious. The veggies are finely chopped and distributed unlike other sandwich places where tomatoes come out the size of building blocks. The sauce is packed with flavor. The fried eggplant melts in your mouth. The pita is warm, fluffy, and completely inviting. The hard-boiled egg just seals the deal.

I’m hungry now. Who knew 24 hours could pass so slow?

Today’s Random Thing: Somebody That I Used To Know by Walk Off The Earth, Gotye Cover

Wasn’t that awesome? I’ve seen that video ten times already and I still think it’s cool. Happy Friday, people!

I love the statement this calendar makes! Because it’s true. Our days are not defined by what happens to us, but how we perceive moments.

It’s like photography. You can travel to the greatest sight in the world and realize that dozens, perhaps millions of other people have seen and taken a picture of the exact same thing; yet, what makes a shot provocative is not just due to the content in the frame but how it is captured. It’s all a matter of perception, perspective, and execution of the photographer. Some of my better photographs did not occur when I traveled through Peru, Europe, or Asia (although I’ll admit Italy was gorgeous), they happened when I was simply taking a walk through my typical suburban neighborhood.

Similarly, we can’t rely on great things happening to deem our lives as spectacular. Hate to break the dream bubble, but life more often consists of mundane tasks than thrills. (Such as driving through traffic, doing laundry, and cleaning the house just to name a few.) However, we shouldn’t be daunted by our mediocrity. Though life may not be glamorous 24-7, it doesn’t mean we can’t make it fun.

So how do we let the little things that would ordinarily bore us thrill us instead? Here’s what I propose:

1. You have to want to have fun. It’s amazing how many people would rather complain than do anything about the situation. It all starts with mentality right?

2. Surround yourself with like-minded people who agree on having fun. The reason why I have decade old friendships is because we all take pleasure in the enjoyment of food. It doesn’t matter what we eat/inhale—whether it be In-n-out, a taco truck, brunch at a cafe in San Francisco, or a simple meal cooked at home…we indulge in every detail. We’re happy to be alive just to eat. Hallelujah.

3. After you’ve decided that you want to have fun, make a plan. Any plan. It could be bringing your camera to work and snapping pictures during your lunch break. If you have a long train commute, pack a book. Books are so underrated these days. Pack your lunch creatively. Draw eyes on your orange. Something.

4. Let go of preconceived notions. If you really want to be a rap star in your car as you’re driving through traffic…Go for it. Get creative. And have no shame.

5. Whatever you do, just stop complaining. Old-age advice, but we’re all subject to forget.

Cheers to the next 341 days of 2012! May it be a thrill.

It was a blast. And to think this is just the beginning of the celebration soon to come…

Crowding the streets along Grant and Pacific Avenue.

Some happy friends.

Apparently socks are sold too!

Guess what, we bought some snappers!

My first time playing with Pop Pop snappers!

Snappers make us feel like kids again.

Interestingly, when people ask me what I thought of CES and whether I saw anything inspiring, my first response was not about the products, but how incredibly cool and unique each booth was designed. It’s pretty baller, for lack of better words. I was talking to my boss who said a booth like Samsung or Nikon would cost at least half a million to construct. (I can’t even dream of half a million dollars.) Even a small quarter of that space would cost at least 50 grand. Baller? I think so.

Which leads me to…Today’s Random Thing: Woot!’s booth!

I thought I might as well feature this first since I happened to come across their video of how they constructed their nifty adobe with “crazy monkeys” and all.

Cool, right? Goes to show everything is a process.

Anyway…besides killing my feet, here are other tidbits of CES and what made it awesome. (I apologize in advance for the low image quality…These were all taken from my phone.)

Arriving at the convention center! This place was huge. HUGE. Think Costco x 20

Trying to look professional with my badge.

One of the registration halls...Surprisingly quite empty!

The view from our hotel room. I am not used to this. I usually see a nice gray parking lot.

Can you see how THIN these screens are? To think that our TV was once a box...

I just liked their logo design and decided to take a picture of it.

Microsoft was pretty baller.

Cool headphone display. Seriously, browsing CES was like the ultimate window shopping experience.

I thought this was a really cool fundraiser campaign by NRG: For every minute you bike, they donate $1!

Who thought I'd find a free gym at CES?

And I raised $130! Since I couldn't contribute to meetings, I contributed in my own ways.

And here we have a popular hottie that everyone wanted to take a picture with.

Beer shamelessly served. I love it.

These are absolutely hilarious. These bags are bully-proofed to prevent fellow classmates, coworkers, or roommates from stealing your food! This should be a whole set. Tupperware, saran wrap, cups and plates…anything but the food.

Instead of doing something productive Christmas day, I decided to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins since it was recommended to me by various people. I even watched the trailer and thought the premise was interesting; but instead of being enthralled, the plot was one-dimensional and left me disappointed to say the least.

Sure, it was action-packed, but besides that, I couldn’t grasp the point. There was no point. It might as well have been Twilight. The savagery reflected nothing of the human condition that was so poignantly illustrated in Lord of the Flies. The leaders of Panem were underdeveloped and flat unlike the “villains” in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. I expected some sort of clincher in the last third of the book that would bring insight to humanity and political struggle, but no, just some “star-crossed lovers” crap; and some, “Oh I don’t know how I feel” crap; and some, “What would Gale think about Peeta and all the kissing?” crap. (Yes, folks. We have another love triangle here. And what kind of name is Peeta anyway?) There was absolutely no character growth. The action, though exciting, slowly proved to be pointless. And the resolution is simply how love intervenes in a tragic setup and confuses a dense, shrew-like protagonist.

Really? That’s it? Yes, that’s it.

Actually, to be fair, it’s not as badly written as Twilight was. (I’ve read the first 5 chapters of the first book and it made me want to sleep and gag at the same time.) It is somewhat exciting. I just expected it to be epic. And it wasn’t. Even the cliffhanger at the end left me bored. “Lady, just pick one.”

I was feeling bitter that I spent my Christmas day reading a crap-novel, but at least if someone recommends The Hunger Games in the future, I could politely hush them and ask, “So what did you think of all the kissing?”

Especially when it’s cool music. Today’s Random Thing: Free Downloads from Emancipator

I first heard his track “With Rainy Eyes” on Nujabes‘ Hydeout Productions CD (RIP Seba Jun), it was immediately one of my favorite songs. Filmmakers will probably love his work since it’s 99% void of lyrics yet poetic and immersing down to every note. The dude’s based out of Portland, Oregon and self-released his first album in 2006. The closest he got to touring in my area was a concert starting at 2am in Santa Rosa, but sadly none of us thought a 2 hour drive for a concert at 2am was worth the zombie trip.

If you become hooked to his music (you’re welcome) and are debating whether or not it’s worth to spend $10 purchasing his albums…trust me it’s worth it! Happy listening.

(Wow. Imagine if he lost count.)

I think the best part of this image is the negative space for the highlighted stubble. Really, really well done. Positive space is usually instinctive to draw, but negative space requires envisaging the result before it’s complete.

Beautiful. Another instance where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.