Memphis

Since I haven’t updated the blog for a long time, I’ve going to make it up with this, so bear with me!

For some reason, Memphis is a big name to me. I know next to nothing about this city, but it is one of those places that simply sounds representative. Like Detroit, Memphis is known for its strong culture. Elvis, Blues, Memphis-style BBQ and of course, the assignation of Martin Luther King Jr. There’s also the FedEx HQ in Memphis, which I learnt from watching “Cast Away”. Memphis sounds exciting before I am even there, but the drive to Memphis isn’t any less exciting.

After spending 7 years in the Michigan boring flat plain, I needed some mountains badly. The south east has some pretty nice mountainous landscapes. Most importantly, nice twisty roads to drive on. Birmingham will be a city that I have to drive through on the way to Memphis. As I was checking the map, I found a really exciting looking twisty road just outside Birmingham and decide to take a little detour on my way to Memphis.



Driving out of Atlanta was easy. This is also the first time I am driving in the southern highways. It feels different from driving in the north. I cannot express this difference, but I know I am in a place that I am not familiar with. As I drove by Birmingham, I found myself in a not-so-nice area. It reminded me of Detroit. Bad roads and rusty buildings. I pushed on and was driving into the wooded area. Even though I am surrounded by trees, the uncomfortable feeling hasn’t gone away. There was thrash along the way. The gas stations don’t look very welcoming and I was avoiding having to get off the car.

The GPS led me to the road I was looking for. I stopped to check the map if this is indeed the right one. Confirmed. However, it just doesn’t seem right, because the road is really narrow and torn in pieces. It’s the worst road I’ve seen before, very different from what I was looking at on Google Map Satellite photos. Well, since I am already here, I pushed on further, hoping that the road was going to get better. No, it just got worst to a point where there is no way that my car can endure the terrain for the next 10 miles ahead. So about ¼ mile into the road, I decided to make a quick U-turn, which was when I realized that the road was as wide as the length of my car. No problem, nothing a 3-point U-turn cannot get you out from.

Back at the starting point, there was a dump site with big trucks coming in and out from. At the junction, there was a stop sign. I pulled up to it, and realized that it has been turned into a beehive, aka bullet holes. People have been telling me how the southerners are trigger-happy and I never took it seriously, thinking that it’s just a stereotypical joke. Well, I am more than ready to hit the gas now!

I was contemplating if I should trace my way back to Birmingham and then take the highway, or should I follow the GPS which was telling me to take another 30 miles of local roads before it takes me back to the highway. I took the GPS’s advice. In this 30 miles, it was another experience. Along the way, I saw mining sites with dump trucks roaming the forest. I also saw many small Baptist churches along the way. I was also driving behind a pick-up truck for quite a few miles with the driver tossing out beer cans along the way. I cannot help by thinking about a few things. Southern stereotypes, and curiosity about this area.

The rest of the journey to Memphis was quite smooth. I noticed that as soon as I crossed the Mississippi state line, the roads are red instead of the usual gray. There’s nothing wrong with that, just felt weird that the world suddenly looks red.

So I am in Memphis, finally. Kyle, who lives in the eastern part of Memphis, German Town, took me to lunch at a small BBQ place just 5 min from his place. I have to say I’ve never had real BBQ before this. This is just great. The best brisket I’ve ever had. It’s actually moist! The beans, coleslaw and ice-tea. You can taste the homemade aspect of it. The service was the atmosphere. Absolutely casual. This is the type of hospitality that I enjoy. Not the fancy high-life style that you have to fork big bucks for. This is all about being passionate and sincere to what you do and what you want the customer to experience. I am looking forward to visit that little restaurant again.



We then spent the rest of the day driving around. Kyle has been here for many years, long enough to say “I’m from Memphis” when being asked, an answer that I still don’t yet have. Even being familiar with the city, Kyle appears to be rather paranoid about safety. Every nice neighborhood that he introduces me to, he will end it with “Oh, and literally 2 blocks down that way is the ghetto, and there’s been robbery and rape incidents when criminals come over into this neighborhood…..” So it appears that there is really no safe place in Memphis. Till now, I still don’t know how to react to that being in the US where for the most part, good and bad neighborhoods are pretty distinctively separated. One of the most interesting comments from Kyle was when we visited the Mud Island Park where the residential is pretty high-end and where Kyle once lived, he said that he used to see black 3 kids riding south on one bicycle from the north (where the bad area is) and ride back with each of them on a bicycle.

Kyle then points me to the Pyramid Arena, which was once the home for the NBA basketball team Grizzlies and U of Memphis men’s basketball team. It has been unused since 2004 when both teams moved to the FedEx forum. It’s rather unbelievable that such a major facility just goes abandoned, but why am I even surprised? Memories of Detroit shouldn’t have faded this quickly!



Then we headed towards down town where Beale Street is. It’s that one street where everyone hangs out at and can drink and walk publicly. There’s live music like I’d expect, but again, Kyle constantly warned me of being approached by strangers. This leads to another observation. In Detroit, I never felt uneasy on the street even around homeless people. Bums in Detroit are pretty harmless. If they approach you for some change, just say no to them politely and they will leave you alone. So far in the South, Atlanta included, I haven’t felt comfortable in the city. Bums approach and tags onto you, trying to hold a conversation with you with the only intention of getting some money out of you. It’s rather annoying. If they have the energy to do this, they should be channeling it to something more meaningful.









The next high point of this trip is the Lorraine Motel where the turn of modern American history took place.



This is where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a gun man who shot him from the building, which is now a civil rights museum, across the Lorraine Motel where he was staying. Kyle mentioned that the actual room where the gun man was at is blocked out from tourists and the window where he shot from has been sealed. Why? Not why the room is sealed, but why are they using a place of hate as a form of memorial of civil rights? What is the message that they are trying to convey, that white once hated the black? Civil Rights movement is supposed to be something that we celebrate. It is not about remembering the hate, but celebrating the peace. I am sure King will be disappointed that people who organized this site missed the point, and will probably get a kick out of it realizing that his death site has become nothing more than a tourist rest stop.






Tourists outside the room where King was shot.


Other street photos:





There is still a lot of Memphis that I want to see, taste and experience. I haven’t had enough of it. But since I have to return to work on Monday, I had to drive myself back to Atlanta.

Anxiety was kicking as I approached the same area where I had the detour on the way to Memphis. It was the town of Jasper. Well, since my GPS doesn’t have the latest update on the roads, I was taking a long way instead of the high way. Driving through Jasper, there were “Bingo” places after “Bingo” places, like Starbucks in Seattle or Waffle House in Atlanta. Basically, they are metal warehouse-looking structures without windows and just a neon sign that says “Bingo”. The traffic was busy since it was the major route to Birmingham, and it just seemed that I couldn’t be fast enough. I just want to get out of this area as soon as I can. So much negative attitude. I know. It’s ignorance that drives negativity, but in this case, I just couldn’t help it.

Just when I thought I’ve see a lot of America, I haven’t. The south is an entirely different country and culture. We watch CNN all the time thinking that we are seeing many things happening across the country, but the fact is, we are only looking at a very selected few incidents that are happening. Upon chatting with Franklin, he told me about Appalachia, a region just north of Georgia that has been in poverty for as long as people can remember, which reminded me of the Jasper experience. Mining, logging, gambling, lack of education, jobs, resources, welfare, and most importantly, attention. I am puzzled that for something this significant, the media chooses to ignore it, and Americans forget about it. What economic crisis? The people in Appalachia has never been in economic prosperity. In fact, we should be consulting them on how to get through tough times!

I have formulated, for some time, a way to see how big the world is. My world is only as big as my knowledge accommodates for. Yours is as big as your knowledge accommodates for. So, the world is the total of all of the individual worlds combined, and that’s just human race alone. Now think about all the creatures and organisms and aliens. We live in our own little glass ball. We can choose to continue to live in the ball, or break it and let lose. It’s the choice between security/familiarity and risk. For me, I just feel insecure not knowing the risk, therefore I chose to risk. It’s always a struggle. I always feel that it’s like digging a hole that is never deep enough, which makes me unsure of the best way to address them. May be I will never know, but at least, I know that.

A trip to Seattle, a journey back through time.

I recently had an opportunity to take a trip to Seattle, for work though. Even though the work part sucked, I was really excited for many reasons. Of course, visiting a new place is something that I always look forward to, but a chance to catch up with old-time buddy is more precious than the trip itself.


North America is pretty much frozen, reminds me of the movie "The Day After Tomorrow".

Seattle reminded me of Portland and Taipei. Portland because the demographics is similar. Seattle is very culture friendly, not as hippie as Portland, but seems to be thriving. The various bodies of water around the city is also what makes Seattle unique. Instead of a city on a plain by a river like most cities in the US, Seattle is more like an island-like land in the middle of lakes. Therefore, it is hilly, roads are narrow, but is painted with unique scenery.

Seattle also reminds me of Taipei because of the rain. Wait, more like, the moldy buildings. In Taipei, many buildings look dirty with stains. This happens when rain brings dirt down from the heavily polluted air. Therefore in Taipei, it doesn't matter how sleek your architecture looks, it IS going to look stained very soon. In Seattle, it is the shear rainfall that leaves the water stain on buildings. This is also very different from other US cities that are usually full of sun shine.









Seattle also means something else to me. This is where Dedy lives. Dedy, my buddy from primary school back in my early days in Singapore is the only person I know in Seattle. We spent primary 3 to 6 together as classmates, went through unbelievable crazy times, and this is the first time, since primary six, that we met again. Sometimes I feel a sense of regret that we did not take the effort to meet more often, but perhaps, this is also the reason why this trip means extra special to me.



Dedy, the tour guide, shows me around Pikes Market.







So we started to talk about the past, and I realized that Dedy is much more nolstalgic than I am. It seems that he is still very much in memory of the days of primary school and wants to be there. As we chatted, it seems that there wasn't really much to talk about between primary school and now. It just seems that nothing was more exciting than the days when we did the stupid things that we thought was cool. The old campus layouts, secret corners, the taboos, the new campus, the recess, Auntie Margarette the drink stall vender, Uncle John's fried chicken rice, the ping pong craze, police and thief, dragonball cards, getting caught with dragonball cards, faking "goldens" and "silvers" with dragonball cards(insider story), "Stepping" the game..... the teachers and the love-hate experience, the classmates and how they are doing now. There was little time to talk about now or the future. The past was enough to keep our minds occupied. This was a golden time for us. It is a time when we sat down in the cafe with a hot cup of coffee in our cold hands, relived our memory like as if the present doesn't matter or exist. It felt good.









Then Dedy mentioned something that absolutely slipped my mind, and shame on me. Dedy and I are one of the many foreign students in Singapore who have been sent abroad for "better days". We were a strange generation with multiple cultural backgrounds, and there were a lot of us. This is an good example of cultural transition. Dedy asked why there aren't nearly as many of "us" now than before. Well, we are the transitional generation. Our parents grew up in hardship, and for those who made it, they want their kids to be able to live better than they did. It was natural that many of them tried to give their kids more in hoping that they will move on to the promise land. Well, time have changed. Asia has developed rapidly in the last few decades. Asia has caught up with the rest of the world, so for current parents, there is no need to send their children to the "better" world. The world is just as good there as it is here.

Unique generation creates unique situations. For us, there was a common person in our lives. By common person, I don't mean a "person", but rather, a role. It was very common for parents to hire tutors for their children for academic guidance beyond what school provided. However for us, they usually ended up doing a lot more. Most of us don't have our parents around. They are usually working hard making the very money that is supporting our education abroad from back at home. Being without adults around, our tutors became the closest to person to family. They supervised our school work, they signed our report cards. They helped us get settled, and cared for our well-being. These were not in the job description when they signed up for it, but they did it for us anyways. Then, some of us moved on to higher learning, some left the country. Life continued and we parted our ways. They've become an unique part of our memories, a memory that only foreign kids like us have. We were the weird bunch that grew up without the physical presence of our parents, but there were those guardians that kept us on track. Thank you!







So how's Seattle? I don't mind living here. The availability of good food along makes me happy. One thing that I noticed was, while Dedy brought me to different ethnic restaurants every night, they are all scattered in different parts of the city. This means that the various cultures that reside in this city are rather well integrated, unlike in other major cities where specific ethnic groups tend to reside in specific regions. Oh, and the girls are... really attractive. Yes, my type. Often I feel relaxed being an outsider in a city. Whatever problem that they have isn't my problem. Well, this is when I get frustrated being a passer by. I can't go back to the very store where I saw those pretty girls and make my move.... arhhhh.





This Seattle trip, even as physically demanding as it was (had to work 12-hour days throughout), was a good break for me from my usual routine in Atlanta. I've lived a lifestyle in which constant new experiences keeps me looking forward to my next thing in life. Staying in one place for too long, doing the same things too often, or thinking about the same things repeatedly wear me out very quickly. In a way, I am high-maintenance, but affordable!

What now in Georgia?

After bouncing around between places in the States, this is the first time that I am living with a true American family, and the first taste of American lifestyle. Sure, I can't say they are typical Americans(what is that anyway?), but one American experience that I got to have is Thanks Giving.



Before I had this Thanks Giving, I thought this is a day that is equivalent to the Chinese New Year when families that are scattered all over the country, or the world, come sit down around the dining table and feast, catch up with each other and re-enforce the family value. Well, this is not entirely true, because there's more.



Romeo locked outside while everyone parties indoor.

There are two parts to Thanks Giving. "Thanks", and "Giving". It's really an event of action. Irregardless of what the origin of Thanks Giving is, it is a day of appreciation. Then here's the part that I found interesting. This is a day to show "thanks", by inviting family, friends, and even strangers who you barely know, to the dinner table. It is a day when you appreciate each other, irregardless of who they are, for what they are. It is a day of more than just "thanks". It is a day when the barrier between people somehow disappears.







Traditional foods such as bread crusting, mash potato and the turkey ready for the dinner table.


Everyone does his part.

I haven't experienced any culture that is welcoming to strangers by nature. Thanks Giving, to me, is the "odd" day of the culture. It's rather surreal. How often would you invite a stranger into your home for a feast? This is a day when it is "alright" to do so. This is the day when it is alright to be nice without reason, and receive hospitality without doubt.

More stars from Michigan

2 more photos from Michigan days. They are 30min exposure each in pitch black. I am sort of addicted to star trail photography. You just never know what you are going to see in the photo, which makes waiting(for the negatives to be developed) a bit more exciting.

Our denial

It was disheartening to hear about a news in Taiwan where people are fighting to preserve the "last natural river" in Ban Chiao city, Taipei county, to stop the government from burying it and make it into an underground drainage like many others. This is when I realised that in my memory, I don't remember a single "river" flowing through Taipei county. It also reminded me of the water way that used to lead from my place in Taipei to the outside. It was a big opened drain that the road twined with. For many years, with the surrounding factories polluting it and cars felling into it, it was regarded as a hazard rather than a resource to be preserved. We were also glad when the government sealed it by constructing a concrete road surface over it, officially making it "underground".

Now, reflecting back, it was an absolute shame. It is the typical "swipping under the carpet" mentality. Instead of fixing the pollution and controlling the surrounding development, we chose to simply cover it up. The water still flows the path it used to. It's still under the very cover that we drive on, but we don't see it anymore. I am pretty certain that people who moved into the area after the cover project will never know about the drain, about the pollution and about this lesson that we should learn.

Now I am living right beside a water way. It's a creek that channels the city's water run-offs into a bigger river. Unlike Taiwan, the creek is embraced here. Properties along it are desirable. People want to preserve it. I guess sometimes, resistance to change is good.

The New American Dream

The American Dream

My mom has wondered for a long time about American’s ability as consumers, that they have such big supermarkets, with such big shopping carts and everyone shops by the truck load. After 7 years of living in the US, I think I have figured it out.

If you are familiar with my recent posts, several events that took place recently have significantly shaped my view on the basis of the so-called American Dream. I am not talking about the ideology on which this country was founded upon. It’s not about freedom and human rights. Yes it is about dreams, but beyond that, it’s about a set of distorted values, of which its abuse has led to what Americans are about to face in their economic situation. Many say that the worst has yet to come and this is just the beginning. Many compare the current scenario to that of the great depression. To me, you can compare all you want, but all these are useless unless you have the courage to reflect on yourself.

In these 7 years in the US, I’ve worked in various types of companies and have observed how each approach their business differently. I’ve also participated as a member of this economy, from a student to someone who contributes and consume, and one who fights just like any other candidate on the job market to find the job that I will be investing my energy and effort in. All these, in midst of the economic crisis. All of these different experiences and observations have led me to one opinion. However this is certainly not a conclusion. I do not believe on conclusion when it comes to cultural issues. Culture changes with time, and so my opinion will change with time. This is what I have observed thus far, which I hope will change.

So back to the topic, what is this “American Dream” that I am talking about? Let’s look at what today’s America is known for, in her good times. Easily accessible supermarkets filled with pre-processed food. Drive-throughs for not just fastfood chains, but also for pharmacies and churches(Vegas). Cheap gas(relatively), trucks and SUVs. Big, wooden houses with 3-car garage and a big, nice, almost fake looking lawn. Not to mention all the money that it takes to maintain all these possessions.

Wait, did I say “possessions”? Sorry, my bad. Until the day the loan is paid up, it’s not yours. Sorry bud!

Buy now, pay later

So what has this got to do with the American Dream? Every thing. The new American Dream is not about building solid foundation to prepare for your dreams. It’s not about planting a tree now to prepare for the shade it will bring 20 years down the road. It’s about borrowing money, plug a grown tree today in front of your yard and enjoy the immediate shade, then worry about the next billing cycle. Americans don’t want a real dream, but the illusion of being in the dream. Look at the typical American home. It’s made of wooden structure, with side walls lined with plastic sidings while sandwiching foams for insulation, and plastic tiles for roofing. The average American building contractor has no knowledge or the skill to build a steel and concrete structure. American’s favourite venue, the strip-malls, are built with single-layered bricks without any re-enforcement with concrete or steel. This means that the roof is merely sitting on brick walls that are more like cookies when compared to the forces of nature. Even a five story apartment or condominium complex is made with the exact same wooden construction as a two-storey home. One would think that something this tall will be steel and concrete, but no, American consumers can’t wait. They can’t wait for the time to build their houses. More importantly, they can’t wait for the time for build their wealth to truly afford their dreams.

Detachment from the real world

Let’s pull back and go to the smaller things, the things that you find in an American supermarket. When I first came to the US, I spent my first semester living on frozen meals. It was fast and convenient. No it was not cheap as compared to self-made meals. It is certainly not tasty either. In fact, I got so sick of the microwaved-plastic smell that I have not had one since. NOT EVEN ONCE! But this happens to be one of the biggest sections in an American supermarket. Frozen food is definitely a mainstream product to American consumers. Frozen meat, frozen pre-seasoned meat, frozen pre-cooked meat, frozen vegetables, frozen ready-to-microwave vegetables, frozen ready-to-eat vegetables, assorted fruits, pre-sliced fruits, canned fruits… the list goes on. You can find anything pre-made, pre-seasoned, pre-cooked. The only difference between this and going to a restaurant is, you don’t have to pay the tips. “Cooking” becomes either a scary and troublesome process that everyone tries to avoid, or it can simply mean “pop-into-the-oven/microwave”. I have had people ask me, ”Why do you even cook when you can get cooked food so easily?”

(MS word crashes… damn microsoft!!!)

Let’s look at the food itself. Steak, beef petty, chicken breast, drums sticks, nuggets, chicken fingers, sausage, hotdogs, pork chops, fish fillets, cocktail shelled shrimps. What do all these have in common? They all have been processed beyond recognition. Oh wait, and the Americans are suspicious about the origin of their Chinese take outs?! I’ve met people who have no idea what fresh ginger root and garlic look like. I have met kids who point at the fish tank and refer the fish and lobsters as “SpongeBob”.(Hey SpongeBob is cool!) It is absolutely alarming to me that Americans don’t know their FOOD, one of the most BASIC elements of their lives! It bizarre me that many of my American peers think serving shrimp with their heads still on is a big turn-off. They also cannot understand the idea of eating a whole fish as opposed to a fillet. Man I will pay big bucks to eat my beef while staring at the very herd of cows where my beef was from. The on-site freshness is unbeatable. Why should we deny what we do? We eat. We eat food. The food is from the nature. Why are we trying to deny this fact by disguising it with over-processing, de-identification of its origin in attempt to say that it is more “civilized”? Please tell me how is this any more civilized than eating meat raw? How is a culture more civilized by denying the very thing that they do? Americans have detached themselves from the very world they live in, the very things they do and the very identity that they are in the name of speed, efficiency, convenience and cost. Note that “quality” isn’t in here, just like their demand on houses and cars.

Ok, then what do Americans do to achieve higher level of “quality of life”? Oh, one must look fit and healthy, so one must work out. What does that mean? Join a gym when you work out to be seen. If not, buy a “Bowflex” home gym system. Can’t afford it? It’s ok, only $29.99 a month! Oh and btw, it only requires 30min work out 3 times a week, and you will look like Mr. And Ms Universe in no time. Results guaranteed!
WOW, so many promises, definitely sounds like a great deal right? Hey, how about spend no money, in fact, save money on less and more healthy food, eat right, live right and have a more positive state of mind? Fit physical appearance is just like the wooden suburban houses that Americans live in. It’s not about the quality of state of mind. It’s not about the confidence from the inner self, but a deception of confidence from the outer shell.

The value of opportunity

Coming back to the current economic crisis and how businesses are dealing with it, it troubles me that rather than transferring their resources to research and development to prepare themselves for the moment when the market recovers and when consumers can’t wait to spend money, most businesses are more concerned with maintaining their current sales. In another words, they would rather take minute steps to meet today’s demand as opposed to prepare for the future when it matters. What does this tell me? First, it suggests that they haven’t realized where the opportunity is. They are not really interested in the true potential of themselves but only interested in milking every next bit of opportunity. Secondly, it can also mean that they’ve never intended to build a strong financial foundation all this while, and when such times comes, their pockets are empty. Hey, sound familiar? Yeah, that’s just like how some people borrow big loans to buy big toys, and when bad time hits, they lose everything. So the questions involved here are: 1. What do you do now in the midst of the crisis? 2. What do you do next? Seems that to American business, there is no next.

Just to further explain what I mean by “preparing for the time when it comes”. In times of recession, there is no way to avoid bad sales. Rather than spending money trying to market your products that won’t sell anyway, why not tighten your belt and shift your resources to research and develop products that people want when they can finally afford it? It means prepare for the moment when consumers have the money, and more importantly, the desire to buy something. The big question here, therefore, is, what have you got that is worthy for them to spend on? So, make sure you do your homework now and have a quality product when consumers most want it! It’s not about taking small steps to ensure survival. It’s taking revolutions and rethinking the new lifestyle and shift in mentality when the new economy starts. THAT’s when the real game of survival starts. Businesses that can’t adapt to the shift in demand WILL fail.

It’s a cultural thing

So many have blamed on China as a part of the reason for America’s failure, that the Chinese government have forced its currency to stay low, creating an imbalance trade condition. Well, if the Chinese currency is low, doesn’t that mean the dollar is superior? Won’t that mean more bang for the buck for the Americans to buy from China? I also haven’t heard about any Chinese holding American at gun point to force them to buy Chinese made products! If the Americans feel cheated, why did they deal with the Chinese? They asked for it! Let’s face it, American’s crave for “ownership” feeds directly into the Chinese’s crave for cold hard cash. I will never stop laughing to this interview with a Chinese factory owner in a TV documentary. He holds the product that he makes for American consumers in his hands and wonders, ”Who the hell needs a salad tosser?!”

Yeah, who? The Americans!

Why is it that the Chinese can do everything with chopsticks whereas Americans don’t feel right not having a salad tosser in their kitchens? In Chinese culture, borrowing is simply not a part of it. The Chinese spend with what they have, and therefore tend to be more conscious about what they spend on. If it is not a necessity, they won’t buy it, and that’s why the chopsticks are such versatile tools. It’s not the tool that makes itself versatile. It’s the user who makes the tool versatile. In American’s case, if they can’t afford a salad tosser, they take a loan to “own” it. Buy first, pay later.

Giving credit to where it belongs

This leads me to the credit system.

In Taiwan, a fire destroyed the factory of a small business. They’ve lost everything over night, and the only way to recover is to take a loan to rebuild itself. The owners have never taken a loan in their lives because like everyone else, they spend with only what they have. They went to the bank, the bank gauged their eligibility to the loan that they want by the value of the land(or collateral) that they still own as well as their financial records. They were granted the loan and are back on their feet. Will this be possible if this happens under the US credit system? Someone who have excellent financial record but have never taken a loan before, therefore do not have lending history will probably be denied the loan.

When it comes to business transactions, I was surprised that one of the things that the credit crisis is affecting is the loan that businesses take to buy supplies. Why is this a surprise? Well, at least in Asia when businesses deal with each other, between foreign clients, a Letter of Credit ( LC) is used. A Letter of Credit refers to the guarantee issued by the buyer’s bank that the seller will definitely get his payment. The amount of credit that the bank guarantees is based on how many assets the buyer puts with the bank, therefore there is no risk at all for both the bank and the seller. So in the US, there is no basis for what a loan is based on. To me, it’s rather a big joke that the credit score of a person is based on his lending history… I mean, of all things, you are awarding someone who borrows more with more loans? Shouldn’t the one who has better history of financial consistency be awarded more loan instead of the one who never has enough to pay for his purchases? It is very troubling to me that in the US, a person’s value is not judged by how much he actually owns, but by how much he borrows. This is what runs the financial system, and this is the value that is being embraced.

If there is one thing in the world that I will use to compare with the value of the new American Dream, it will be a house built on stilts (which I happen to be living in one). There is no foundation, just tiny poles that, rather say anchor, jacks a structure into the air, trying to be higher than it really is. The result is a house so stressed because of uneven supports that it warps with time until it eventually collapses. The American economy is definitely warped, but when will the collapse come? I don’t know. Actually, I don’t know whether it will be better if it does or doesn’t. Exactly how much does it take for a culture to learn and realize their fault? I don’t know. All I know is, I have yet to meet a single American that recognizes this yet.

So much talking, what now?

Solution? Ha! That’s more like it. Well Americans, tighten your belt, harden the #$%* up and pull through this deep sh*t. You still have to pay for what you owe. Stop looking at others to save your ass. Not the government, not those CEOs. It’s ridiculous to demand pay cut from the CEOs for your own misery. It is not about YOU as an individual. It’s about YOU as a culture, society and country. On the other hand, it is from the individual that the greater good is accumulated from. So stop pointing fingers and start looking at yourself and ask what can YOU do to save your own ass first. You have to learn the lesson as a culture, because culture is progressive. What you learn today will be passed down to the next generation. How you change in the way you spend will shape the society in the future. I have to admit that thankfully to my Chinese cultured parents, I don’t have any school loan when I graduated. I got a great education and started my career without having a 20-year loan payment slowing me down. Perhaps it’s not about saving for your own retirement. Perhaps it’s about giving your kids good education so that they will be grateful enough to support you when you retire. Again, it’s not about just yourself, because you don’t exist alone. We live in a system. To sustain ourselves as individuals, we have to find a way to sustain the system first. So Americans, the least you can do now is start learning how to use the chopsticks. If anything, it’s by far the most superior utensil in the history of human civilization, and even in times of total destruction of the human modern society, you still can easily find two sticks to eat with.

Happy Thanks Giving

God Bless America

/rant..... to be continued.