dabs

Enjoying the Bay Area

2009-05-18T03:15:27Z

My last post was about taking up the new job and moving to Shanghai… That never ended up happening. Well, I did take up the job but I never gone back to Shanghai since that initial trip. Instead, my company brought me out to the headquarter in the bay area twice since. First trip was a month long from January to February. In fact, I’ve been here in Sunnyvale since late March on my second trip. The current plan is still 3 months and I shall head back home in late June, but we’ll see how it goes. Things have been going great. Friends from So Cal have come up to visit and I have made a trip down as well. It’s certainly a lot more exciting than living in Hong Kong, partly because of my not knowing that many people there but I think mostly it’s my perspective and attitude. Either way, I’m surely enjoying it a lot more here.

If you haven’t noticed already, I’m slowly slipping back into hiatus… And I don’t think I can give anymore excuses about being busy and what not, since we all know that if you care enough about something, you’ll always make time for it. Perhaps it’s because I feel like my life is no longer interesting enough to deserve blog posts, or perhaps I have just moved on to easier, cooler, hipper, geekier microblogging systems, or perhaps I’m just too lazy to write lengthy blog posts. But I can never abandon dabs, especially after so many years of happy and tearful memories we shared.

New Opportunity From an Old Connection

2008-10-20T14:09:40Z

A few weeks ago Dr. Ted, the former Chief Scientist at my previous work, Veoh, contacted me and asked whether I would be interested in working for a new company he just joined at their Shanghai office. The company concerned was Infovell. They were one of the 77 companies at this year’s DEMO. I was interested but didn’t really expected the opportunity to go anywhere. However, after a dozen emails and a few conference calls later, I found myself on a flight to Shanghai for 4 days to check out the office and meet the guys I’ll be working with in a near future. I was there since Thursday and came back just last night. Ted was there as well for a couple of weeks. Qianjin, the company founder, was really hospitable; treating us to nice dinner every night and providing great accommodations. It was my first time going to Shanghai and it was a pretty impressive city, certainly catching up quick to Hong Kong.
I accepted the offer mainly for the opportunity to see more of the world while I’m still young and for the work experience I will get working with a group of smart people. I will be leaving my current position at aNobii and joining Infovell sometime near the end of next month. I always say, life is so unpredictable. Sometimes you just need to go with the flow and see where it takes you.

Do No Evil

2008-09-29T15:26:00Z

Google is a tech company with many great products defining this generation of the web culture. Despite their company motto of Do No Evil, the amount of information they obtained certainly has raised many people’s concerns and worried others. Personally I’m more or less on the side of admiration towards a company that has accomplished so much with unwavering determination. However, this official blog post of Co-founder, Sergey Brin certainly has me convinced of the founders’ sincere belief of Do No Evil. To stand up and speak up against Proposition 8 and declare the position of the company on such controversial issue with little to gain but a lot to lose, Sergey has earned my utmost respect. Let’s hope that many more Californians can recognize that this all boiled down to an issue of equality and join Google in doing no evil.

Here is a wonderful video I came across with a simple and clear message. Even though this commercial was made in support of legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada, I think the message is universal and fits quite well here.

Heroes with Personality Disorder

2008-09-25T14:44:05Z

The long awaited season 3 of Heroes is finally here. With the shortened second season due to the Writers’ Strike, I was excited to see how the story would evolve and where season 3 would take us. However, little did I expect the story to go off on an entirely new direction… I think the new development has lost the original essence of the series, and it appears that they’re more focused on going for the wow factor than actually developing the story based on where it left off on the second season. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great show and the new development certainly has its potential. I will still be a dedicated follower and patiently awaiting to see where this is all going. But what happened? It seems like the characters have changed their personalities between seasons. What happened to Hiro and Mohinder? It really feels like the original creator of these characters left and someone just picked it up and continued to develop these characters with their own perceptions of them. Perhaps they have hired new writers? Perhaps the returned writers are upset with how the story was going towards the end of season 2 and decided to clean up the mess and start anew? This season definitely has a new flavor to it, and I mean not in a good way. Did I mention how much I hate the new Hiro and Mohinder?

“As long as there is love, there is hope”

2008-08-15T18:49:20Z

Do you know that feeling you get after watching a powerful and meaningful movie that speaks to you? One that would leave a mark on your perspective and forever change you? Rak haeng Sayam, or The Love of Siam, is one such movie. Despite it being out for almost nine months, I have just heard about it from Chris when he visited last week. I briefly looked it up online and made the mistake of judging it as a cheesy teenage drama from its sappy looking poster, but the charmingly good-looking protagonists were enough to get me interested. Without much to lose, I decided to download the director's cut version, which is about thirty minutes longer than the original with a three hour running time, and give it a try. It was as much a pleasure as it was a curse to have watched this film. It hit something tender and lonely in me, and I have so deeply immersed in the story that I have already watched it three times in the past few days. I'm a sensitive and emotional person, but I don't remember when was the last time a film has made me cry.

In spite of the relatively prominent gay aspect of the plot, the film was intentionally marketed as your average — read heterosexual — coming-of-age romance story when it first came out in Thailand last November. Director Chookiat Sakveerakul has admitted that he wants the film to reach a wider audience in a somewhat conservative society, and the film was received with critical acclaim and won multiple major awards in Thailand. Despite the length of the film, the emotions basically carry through the whole story until the very end without any dead air. What speak to me the most were its honesty and realness. Another thing I love about this film is its perceptive use of songs in various scenes that helps saturate the emotions; not just memorable melodies but also meaningful lyrics that speak to the characters. The score is absolutely beautiful as well. There is no exaggerated acting, crafty angles, or glamorous effects; just genuine dialogues and scenes that are filled with emotions.

To simply label the film as a mere gay teen story is to dismiss the depth and power of this amazingly insightful and intelligent tale about love and sacrifice — not only that of lovers, but of friends and family as well. The three hour long movie opens with a twenty-minute prologue that serves very well to introduce us the two protagonists — Tong and Mew, and develop their characters and the tender friendship between them. It also sets the tone for the rest of the movie, which is playful at times but heavy-hearted overall. The story follows the two young friends who fell in love on the verge of self-awareness. Through their eyes and with them, we learned about the conflicting feelings of trying to please everyone you care about, the hopelessness you get when things don’t always go the way you want; basically all the irony associated with growing up and coming of age. Above all, we see the different aspects and complexity of love played out and affected everybody around them. The movie speaks of love as pure and beautiful no matter who you are or who you are offering it to. It reminds me that love really is innocent, uncomplicated, and true.

The ambiguous and ironic ending is somewhat open to interpretation. I would like to believe that it is echoing the one line from the Chinese song that Ying translated for Mew — “As long as there is love, there is hope.” Being so used to Hollywood style western movies, I was expecting a happily-ever-after closure, so this unfulfilled open ending somehow leaves a void in my heart every time I watch it. However, at the same time, there is a part of me that really appreciates the bittersweetness and overwhelming emotions that linger long after it’s over.

If we can love someone so much, how will we be able to handle it the one day when we are separated? And, if being separated is a part of life, and you know it will happen, is it possible that we can love someone and never be afraid of losing them? At the same time, I was also wondering, is it possible that we can live our entire life without loving anyone at all? That’s my loneliness. — Mew to Tong

Friends from Afar

2008-08-06T16:20:35Z

Chris, a friend from UCLA, came visit this week and stayed with me for 4 days. He was doing a summer study-abroad program in Shanghai, so he decided to stop by Hong Kong and check out the city before heading back to the states. I took the last three days off work so I could show him around town. I picked him up from the airport on Sunday morning. We did a bit of shopping at the Ladies’ Street in Mongkok in the afternoon and checked out the Avenue of Stars in TST and watched the harbor view laser show. We went to the Island side on Monday and took the tram up to The Peak that night. The next day we went to ACGHK and checked out a few bars in LKF at night. Since it was typhoon signal 8 on Wednesday, we just went to a mall and took it easy during the day. We were cutting it tight though so Chris almost missed his flight that night, but we got him through the gate eventually.

I think I have been to more places in Hong Kong in that 4 days than I had in the past 10 months since I came back, which is good I guess. I haven’t taken any time off for so long, and it’s good to have a few days off after a long, stressful month. But I don’t think I have gotten much rest though. In fact, it was actually a lot more tiring than working. We basically woke up relatively early and stayed out way past mid-night for 4 days straight. Who would have guessed doing tourist stuff could be so exhausting. I still had a great time though, and I sure hope Chris did too.

aNobii Everywhere

2008-07-29T16:39:30Z

This past weeks were hectic with work. (OMG, this has become my opening line for so many entries already. I have really turned into a workaholic.) Right after we got done with the new shelf view, we immediately started working on an iPhone web-app for the 2008 Hong Kong Book Fair. The deadline wouldn’t have been as tight as it was if we weren’t trying to get it out by the iPhone Hong Kong launch party on the 17th. aNobii was one of the few presenters to demo our web-app at the party. We had this whole Mac-vs-PC skit planned, but we got cut short since we went over our 8 mins allowed. Oh well, we were almost done anyway.

Then we were at the book fair on Monday for an interview with Next Magazine. That journalist certainly asked a lot of questions, but I doubt it will get published anytime soon. The same journalist has already come up to our office once a couple months ago to interview Greg (my boss + aNobii founder), and that ended up going nowhere.

I had worked for more than 2 weeks straight on the interface and interactions of the app. I was so proud of myself since I have always wanted to make a functional web-app for the iPhone since it first came out, so this was a great opportunity for me. All the interface effects were built with the Mootools framework, with AJAX for data retrieval. I know the book fair is over already, but you can still check out the app on your iPhone at hkbf.anobii.com/iphone. I guess you can also load it up on Safari if you don’t have an iPhone. For those who don’t have either, a video demo is available on our press kit page. :D

New Shelves in Town

2008-06-28T17:09:00Z

I really wish I could be blogging more than I have been, but work has been hectic. I’m often pulling 10-11 hour days on a regular basis, and that’s not counting freelance projects that are keeping me up at night and taking over my weekends. I’m also trying to go home more often over weekends to see my family. My dad was telling me the other day that I have many more years of work ahead of me, and there is no need to take on so much now. He said I should really strive for a balanced life and enjoy it while I’m still young, which I took to heart dearly.

Anyway, after months of developing and fine-tuning, we have finally launched the updated shelf pages on aNobii. I’m really proud of the new look and interactions. Personally I think they are far more user-friendly and intuitive than the previous version. However, the increase use of AJAX in various spots has me worried about its impact on page-views and Alexa ranking. I guess we’ll let things play out and see how it goes.

I finally got my MacBook Pro fixed. That poor thing’s built-in keyboard and trackpad have been broken since the beginning of this year, but the geek in me couldn’t go for a day without a computer so I waited until after I bought my iMac before bringing it in to get it fixed. The service I got from the Apple authorized service center in Hong Kong was not as bad as I thought it would be. I got the baby back spotting a brand new keyboard and top panel a little under 2 weeks. I sure hope nothing else is ever going to happen to it as its Apple Care will be up in a month’s time or so.

“I left my new torch in Narnia”

2008-06-08T15:47:00Z

I have been looking forward to seeing Prince Caspian as soon as I heard about its release date. I went to Shatin with my little sister and brother yesterday afternoon hoping to watch the movie but it was sold out, so we bought tickets for today’s showing instead. I still remember how much I’ve liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe despite its many symbolism and analogies to the bible. This one is pretty much the same in terms of biblical inspirations in its story. However, I think it’s a lot more powerful and entertaining.

Ben Barnes disappointed me as Prince Caspian though. He’s not quite up to the role I must say, especially with his lack of expressions and emotions. For me, the magic of the Narnia series still lies in the four Pevensies, Edmund in particular. Skandar Keynes did an amazing job given his limited screen time in this movie. His character certainly doesn’t have a big part in the story but he is very likable and charming with the few key scenes he has, not to mention Skandar Keynes has certainly grown up nicely *grin*. William Moseley is still gorgeous but his character, Peter, annoys me sometimes. I think to some extent his role and Edmund’s have somewhat switched in this second installment.

Prince Caspian is quite a bit darker than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, perhaps because the children have grown and Narnia has lost many of its magical elements as the Telmarine invaded the world. However, I guess director Andrew Adamson tried to balance it out with more witty dialogues, which bring the story to a lighter note every once in a while. It certainly did feel like a roller coaster ride. Now I am really looking forward to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Perhaps I should get started on the books while enduring the long wait to 2010.

Another Word for Hectic

2008-05-21T16:31:00Z

Learning to say no is quite an essential skill, and certainly one I haven’t quite mastered yet. Otherwise I wouldn’t have landed myself in this situation of having 4 freelance projects on hand on top of my full-time day job. When I was young I always dreamed to be a freelance designer. But dreaming to be one and actually being one are two different stories, especially when you’re doing it part-time in addition to a full-time position. I certainly wouldn’t have imagined it to be this hectic with little time to sleep, let alone time for myself.

Talking about work, we have been working on some rather big improvements on a few sections. I can’t really discuss many of them since they are still in progress, but we have recently launched the new Translate aNobii section, which I’m quite proud of. I don’t think anyone has done localization/translation quite as engaging as we have.

A lot have happened since my last entry — getting a new iMac (also my first desktop Mac ever), a 4-day family trip to Shantou, which was a lot more fun than I expected. Maybe I will put up some pictures once I get over this couple weeks of hectic works.

“All I Need”

2008-05-08T17:34:00Z

I guess no one can describe it better than Radiohead‘s lead singer, Thom Yorke:

They’ve produced a video of two parallel stories running, one of a little boy in the West and one of a little boy in a sweatshop in the East, and the boy [in the West] ends up buying the shoes from the sweatshop. It’s actually quite powerful.

I think it’s important for everyone in the West or on High Street to understand the consequences of our economic activity. You must be aware of the level of exploitation that’s going on. It’s part of our Western life, and one we should accept responsibility for. There’s no such thing as a free lunch or a free ticket to another country.

A Tramway Ride

2008-05-02T15:09:00Z

Tonight a couple of coworkers and I went out to grab some dinner after work, and we decided to take the tramways. This was my first time taking the renowned Hong Kong tramways since I came back. I don’t even remember when was the last time I took it since I grew up in the New Territories but the tramways only runs on the island side. Anyway, I always thought it was such a shame that thousands of tourists come to Hong Kong every year to take the tramways, and I had yet to taken it once when there is particularly a stop a block from my work. So tonight I have finally redeemed myself and tried our best to make the most out of our HK$2 tramway trip.

Yesterday a friend of mine from UCSD was asking me for advice on how to deal with goodbyes, since he has been accepted into Berkeley and will be transferring over and leaving his friends this summer. Well, you would have thought that after so many experience of leaving and goodbyes, I would be a pro at it. But the truth is I’m not even the least qualified for the job. I’m a mess myself when it comes to goodbyes. Well, he’s a smart person and I think he has figured out all the answers all along. He just needed a friend to tell him what he needed to hear, and I knew that’s the part I could do.

I have been playing with this revolutionary news/RSS reader application called Times since I came home. It’s amazing with a spiffy interface. It has just launched today, so go check it out if you haven’t done so already.

Not Starting Over. Starting Anew.

2008-04-29T15:31:24Z

I started dabs back in 2001 right before I started college. All through college I had been pretty good at keeping it up. I have met some amazing fellow bloggers and made a few net-friends along the way. There were ups and downs but it was a great journey nonetheless. That’s why six and a half years later I am still holding on.

I stopped blogging almost two years ago due to a lack of time, shortly after I got my first full-time position at Veoh. After a year of work and knowing I would be coming back to Hong Kong, I thought what is a better time than this to resurrect my blog. But life has been busy and there is always something else to do. I figure I would never get around to it if I don’t make time for it, and being as sentimental as I am, just leaving it behind is never an option for me. So half a year later and with some determinaton, dabs is back again.

Leaving the states to come back to Hong Kong was a pretty tough change for me, leaving behind a group of great friends and a life I have gotten so accustomed to. But there was also a bit of excitement about starting over at a city so different than what I have remembered. With a new environment and meeting new people, there are also new opportunities. I suppose it’s all about your perspective and attitude. I guess it’s really time for me to look forward instead of dwelling on the past, even though it will always be in my memory and be a part of me. That is also a reason why I haven’t brought back the old entries. It’s really not starting over; it’s starting anew. Now I just have to believe in it.