Showing posts with label Updates on Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Updates on Life. Show all posts

Monday, August 15, 2011

Quick update

1.) I started up www.williamqliu.com as a place for my web/tech projects.
2.) This past weekend I surfed in Manhattan Beach, the last time I'll be surfing for a while. I gave my board away to a friend since he moved to the West Coast and I'm going East!
3.) I started applying to jobs in NYC. I talked to my current boss and she's super supportive; my company knows that I'm looking around and I'll still be on payroll if they need me.
4.) The end of my lease is this month. Gonna couchsurf in San Diego until I can get a job in NY.
5.) Going on a road trip in the middle of September.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hello 2011!

It's been a while since I've last posted. Life's been busy, but I guess it's precisely these moments when writing is important; it gives me a chance for some much needed self-reflection. Sometimes I get lost in the details of life..

Let's see...

The readjustment from Ecuador was slightly difficult, something that I didn't expect. One minute I'm in my board shorts and flip flops speeding down an unlit mountain road and clenching the handle bars of my bike for dear life... my eyes are wide open and I'm peering into the pitch darkness of night, desperately trying to make out the outlines of a road.

I'm silently praying that the next pothole won't knock me off and that cars can see our bikes' reflectors. I can see myself there, thinking how a grueling three hour ascent was less than a half hour decent. And the moment where I finally realize our speed when we surpass a gas powered scooter going downhill...

Then the next moment I'm sitting with a dozen other analysts in a meeting room discussing the rating and ranking of our hospital in the U.S. News and World Report. I'm sitting there watching how quickly and efficiently the group dissects the report and appropriates out tasks. Conversations lasting 30 seconds went like this:
Person 1: "Question X"
Person 2: "I'll get it. I can pull X data from Z system."
Person 3: "Is A data included in Z's system? I can pull from B system to get A data, you need that to calculate X"
Person 2: "Does A get pulled if happens?"
Person 3: "A gets pulled if + "
Person 4: "Ok, pull patients from both and cross reference discrepancies"
Person 5: "Don't forget C data was added to X system last month. Contact D person, he can pull C data from W system. Clients are probably in both systems so be sure to find unique"
Person 6: "Person D is new, he replaced E and can verify those numbers"
Person 1: "Great. Next Question"

I'm finally catching up to the incredibly fast paced work schedule. I'm currently working on three system implementations (helping lead two) and I'm learning how challenging it is to juggle multiple projects successfully.

One of the projects is to switch to a new physician referral system and put it online; what it means is that if you're trying to find a doctor, now you can search for one yourself through the web site (instead of having to call people at the hospital). There's so much involved from data scrubbing to testing.

Anyways, I'm rambling. Work is good. Let's see what else...

Christina and I are still together; we're trying our first long distance relationship. She moved out to New York City last week and I plan on joining her there in 9 months. Living in New York City is one of those things that I've always wanted to do, but always had some excuse not to. Now I can't wait to get there.

I also got my 2011 Burning Man tickets! It's another one of those events that I've wanted to experience, but never followed through. Tickets were either out of my price range or unavailable by the time I remembered. When tickets went on sale at 10:00 am, there was an immediate server failure.

A few hours later, there were over 40,000 people in the queue. Thanks to Christina for waiting 'in line' online for me. She was able to buy them at a little past 8:00 pm. Christina and I will be meeting up with my friend James Laske there.

That's it for now. I'll have to remember to update more regularly since I'm sure I missed out on a lot of other things.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

End of October

I had my physical yesterday. I'm red and green colorblind; this was confirmed when I was looking at a book of images containing colorful numbers and my reply to one of the pictures was, "Is that a butterfly?". I used to be 20/20 vision, but now I have a little bit of trouble seeing out of my right eye. I see better out of my left eye than my right. I blame my deteriorating eyesight on all the time I've spent on computers. (Been thinking about picking up a new monitor)

Speaking of which, I have one more Android class on Saturday. We've covered so much in a small amount of time (6 weeks?). The class sparked my interest in creating a startup programming company. Since my new job is only 32 hours, I'll be able to invest more time in other interesting projects. Right now I gotta resolve another "The application () has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again". Debugging sucks :(

My trip to Ecuador is coming up soon. I need to pick up snorkels and stock up on surf wax and sunscreen. Also need to review Spanish.

Halloween is just around the corner. This year I think I'll be a glow stick man.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Life is good! =)

Lately the weather's been terrible for surfing so I've been programming and studying.

Studying for the GRE is sometimes depressing as shit. Its simply rote memorization. I don't think its a good measure of determining intelligence; I think it emphasizes a little too much on a person's command of the English language and how much time they can afford to invest. I haven't been to school in over 5 years, but I've gone from scoring in the 1000's to the 1300's in the practice tests simply by putting in time. However, not everyone can afford to quit their job and study for a month.

Anyways, during one of my study sessions, I started wondering about what I could do with a Masters in Public Health. I started browsing for jobs around the area and found a position at Rady Children's Hospital as a Business Analyst. The position would analyze databases to do statistical analysis of health issues, demographics, etc. Hmmm.. I thought to myself, I might be able to do this job (other than the "minor" issue of not knowing any medical terminology). I applied anyway.

A week and a half later (on a Monday), I was surprised to get a call from Rady Children's Hospital. We talked briefly and they asked if I could come in the next day (Tuesday) for an interview. Shit, I didn't think I was going to get an interview; I don't even own a suit (with the exception of two wetsuits). I asked if we could schedule it for Wednesday. They agree.

I buy my suit the next day and come in Wednesday morning. During the interview, I find that the methodology for homeless data analysis is strikingly similar to medical data analysis (with the exception of the terminology and with one set of data lacking addresses). The interview lasted about an hour and by the end, I felt pretty confident. I was told that they would have their decision in the next week or two. As I leave, I see the next applicant entering in a suit. I'm glad I went and got a suit!

An hour later I get a call from Rady's. They want me back for a second interview... in a few hours later that day. I agree (and I'm really relieved because I don't have to buy another nice dress shirt). This time I'm interviewed by a whole staff of 7 people. They were a great group and seemed really passionate about their jobs, which in turn sparked my enthusiasm further. I simply love working with a group that wants to make a positive difference in society.

I'm surprised yet again because right after the interview, I get the job offer. It was so surreal. I think about it for a minute and accept. It was too nice of a learning opportunity to pass up so I'm deciding not to apply for graduate school yet (though I will take that GRE test in the upcoming months). Getting an interview, a second interview, and a job offer all on the same day (in this economy and for a position that I'm really interested in) must be a sign.

So other than studying (or lack of), I've been spending my time programming. My Android Development class has been going great. The instructor is very talented, especially in balancing academic theory alongside real world applications. I feel fairly confident in searching through reference code and applying it. I've been looking through Google's resource list and the amount of information is incredible, but time consuming. I find myself losing hours or days at a time sitting in front of my computer. I forgot how meticulously demanding programming can be.

My goal is to have a good, clean, and polished app out in the Market before Christmas.

Other than that, my friend James and I have our trip to Ecuador soon. I'll be gone from November 17th to December 7th. We'll spend 10 of those days on the Galapagos Islands! I'm very excited about the trip. We're pretty much going to bring a carry on bag with a few board shorts, a few shirts, a sweater, and a couple of towels. We'll buy surfboards there and sell them once we're leaving. I would like to brush up on my Spanish and learn some Salsa dancing before then.

Last, and certainly not least, I've been seeing an incredible person that makes me light up every time I see her.

Simply put, life is good =)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Another Chapter

I'm officially unemployed! My last day at the RTFH was last Friday. A new chapter of my life begins!

Right now, I feel a wide mix of emotions. For the most part, I'm genuinely happy and optimistic; I look forward to the new challenges and adventures that await. I feel like I have a new found purpose (although I'm not entirely sure what it is yet)! Another part of me is relieved that I still had the courage to listen to my heart and to change things up.

For a fleeting moment, I worried whether this was the right choice. Logically speaking, it seemed so easy to stick with the job; I'd be volunteering to quit a comfortable career in the middle of a recession. I was never one to stick with 'sensible' though; flashbacks of deciding between Law School and Peace Corps came back. I listened to my heart then and I never regretted it since.

That isn't to say that I haven't had unexpected emotions come up. I didn't know the extent of how much I would miss the camaraderie of the office and how engrained I was with a whole community during my almost three year stint there. It's only been a few days and I already miss everyone I worked with (albeit some more so than others).

New paths always seem so lonely; I wonder if the negative reinforcements of leaving familiar faces will someday catch up to me.

On a happier note, this afternoon I took a friend out for his first time surfing and happened to catch some gnar gnar waves.

I'm going to revisit some of my New Year's Resolutions and see if I can catch up on some of those items, as well as add a few new "to do's". For some strange reason, I really want to try out swing dancing.

Monday, August 9, 2010

An amazing week

Sometimes you have that perfect day. Sometimes you have that perfect week. This was one of those memorable weeks.

My younger brother and his girlfriend visited from Nebraska last Friday/Saturday, the beginning of my weeklong break. They had my truck and returned it intact after a cross country trip; that was already a great start. As usual, I found their good humor refreshing. Hours after my brother left, I saw some Peace Corps friends who have been living as dorm parents in Shanghai. They were such amazing company and I got to show them around a little of San Diego.

Monday through Wednesday I went to visit my parents and some high school friends up in Reedley. It happened to be one of my cousin's birthdays so there was a lot of good food. Wednesday night I happened to come back in time to meet up with some other coworkers in my building for happy hour. Thursday I drove up to Vegas with a friend; he had an annual gaming convention up there, though I honestly went for the open bar and pool party. We stayed there until Saturday. Sunday I recovered by playing a lot of Starcraft 2.

After much thought, on Monday I put in my two weeks notice to leave my company. I've had a job offer from another company hours after my notice was sent and I haven't even sent out my resume yet. However, I don't plan on taking it. I plan on taking time out to study for the GRE for graduate school; I'm hoping to get into a Public Health and Policy program. Sometimes life shouldn't be planned. Sometimes life should have that free fall moment, where things should just happen for that moment and nothing else.

Life is looking good. I have a lot in savings and hope to make the most use out of my newfound free time. I hope that my application to be a janitor in Antarctica gets approved. My lease for my apartment is up in January and I want to travel or do something new by next year, whatever that may be.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Believing in Fate

Tomorrow's an important day. I have an interview for the Technical Manager position at my non-profit. If I get the job, I switch to management and we hire someone to replace me as one of the data analyst / database administrator. I would step far outside my comfort zone both in my current abilities and ideology.

Society seems to place a high status on managers, though I never really understood the reasons why. While I don't think of managers as the grossly inept people commonly portrayed in the mass media, I did think that a small professional staff could easily write off a manager as unnecessary overhead. Plus, I thought middle management was an antediluvian concept.

A couple events recently changed my mind. First, my boss went on vacation for a week. It was the end of the quarter/fiscal year so our staff should have all been busy. Without getting into the details, the office instantly turned into a wreck. I guess you don't appreciate someone for what they do until they're gone. Up until this point, I hadn't yet realized that my boss was the glue holding us together. After she came back, she was able to quickly bring the team back into a cohesive unit.

I also recently read "It's Your Ship" by D. Michael Abrashoff, a recommendation by my roommate, and it's helped change my perspective on what management means. I think the term management has a negative stigma associated with it; I think people still think of it as the "We do this because I'm the boss and I said so" mentality. As I read the book, I noticed the subtle, yet powerful messages that a manager can send to those around him/her. If I hadn't just seen my boss' invisible hand fix our company, my pessimistic self would have written it off as 'management bullshit'.

If you asked me a couple weeks ago whether I would hire an intelligent programmer or a competent manager, I would have easily chosen the programmer. They produce tangible results that you can see. Now, after seeing the crippling effects that even one negative employee can have on staff (and its negative effects on productivity), I would have to pick the competent, down to earth manager.

Although I believe in the company's mission, I'm still a selfish person. If I don't get this position, I think my time with this company would be closely approaching an end. I would want to stay around long enough so that the company can hire new employees, have them become proficiently trained, and then I really would wish them the best. I feel like I haven't challenged myself recently and I owe it to myself to do so, whether it's this new position or by facing the unknown again. I think fate will decide whether I get this position and where my life will go from there.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

New Job, New Travels

I quit working with Sony about a month ago. I'm now working with a nonprofit for the homeless. It's definitely a different environment going from a corporation to being one of only two full time employees in a nonprofit.

Before I started the new job, I took a couple weeks off to travel. I went home to Reedley for Christmas and later went to VA to meet Adrienne's family and friends. We made quick trips to New York City and D.C. to visit friends and sites. We did the cliched Times Square at New Years. It was very interesting; somewhere during the trip we all ended up wearing adult diapers (that's for another post). I'm really thankful for all the great company.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Travels so far...

Traveled so far:

Lohne, Germany
Hamberg, Germany
Bremin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bruges, Belgium
Paris, France
Lyon, France
Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic (currently in)

Updated:
After Prague, Czech Republic, we went on to backpack through:
Berlin, Germany
Munich, Germany
Freiburg, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany

We haven't gotten too many responses back from couchsurfing. I think it's maybe because of the following reasons:

1.) We don't give enough notice.
2.) I'm an unverified member of couchsurfing.
3.) I'm carrying a large bush knife hacking away at a coconut on my default picture.

Travels have been fun so far! I have a few funny stories that I'll write about when I get back.

Edited: I'm back!!! I'll update the stories here.