yellowtailshark's Xanga

life \ \ \ The Presentation of Your Life

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:10:42 GMT

At the TED Conference, individuals are given no more than 20 minutes to give a presentation of their life. By that it does not mean your life history (necessarily), but the on a topic that one feels passionate speaking on. It could be about a journey to a developing country, or a thought-provoking insight that came from years of trial-and-error, or an invention you've made, or a performance you've perfected.

I've thought about what it meant to have a life-as-living-proof, to stick to a creed, idea, or action and be known for it (or trapped by it). I'm at an age where I'm just about certain what my role in this world is. That much I am certain.

I used to delve into my mother's books on raising a garden ever since elementary school. My earliest memory was probably passing by the plant area of Home Depot, spotting a strawberry plant, and asking my mom to buy it so I can raise strawberries (hey, why buy it when you can grow it?!). Unfortunately I planted it in the ground right by the wall of the house, so barely any sun shone upon it. I think at the time, my rationale was that the little strawberry plant shouldn't be exposed to the harsh sun and rain, that it needed some form of shelter. The plant died in a week or two. I think I was heartbroken. Since then, I started reading books to understand more about plants, and eventually understood that every plant had optimal conditions in which it had to be raised. Mom and I had a lot of indoor plants and outdoor plants, each one unique in their own right.

There were two moments of glory that came from being able to apply my knowledge of plants after reading from the books. The first was the potted lemon tree. It often sat in this remote corner of the garden by itself, being watered quite freqently. I mean, a little sun and water are all you need for a healthy lemon plant right? Not quite enough. I learned that citrus plants, especially young ones needed a lot of sun and were prone to frostbite damage. So I moved the plant to the other side of the garden where the morning sun shone, and placed it under a tree so that the plant isn't exposed to open sky where heat loss is greatest. In about a year, the little lemon tree bore me a green lemon! (Yes, I'm pretty sure it was a lemon tree, not a lime tree.) The second plant I applied similarly, which was the bird-of-paradise flower. It never bloomed for many years, probably because its growth was stunted by cold weather, and so I decided to place a plastic "greenhouse" over it to help keep it warmer during winter months. After awhile, the plant grew rather quickly, and I saw the first bloom!

I might be wrong on my presumptions looking back now, but it did launch me into a repeated pattern of learning theory, and then testing to see if it worked. To this day, I still read on theories and test it. But my interest has moved from the garden to the community organizing. I think the day I saw VSA Link, one of the predecessors to UVSA of which I am part of, died on my watch, I couldn't help but feel compelled to understand why. To think that a youth organization could die troubled me. And so I embarked on learning how to foster the growth of organizations to prevent its demise. Except, unlike gardening, there were no obvious books to read on how to raise an organization and sustain it. I could only identify problems and figure out potential solutions as it came.

Fashioning greenhouses, moving plants around (garden design), and understanding the characteristics and needs of each plant were all things associated with gardening that I learned to do. And in a similar vein, I had to learn a lot about organizations, groups, and individuals; everything from learning about personality types and working styles to the layers of leadership focuses, and so on and so forth. The fact that 4 VSAs died ever since the founding of UVSA told me that I didn't know enough yet. The solutions were also getting tougher. What if one of the solutions was to institute a mentorship program? That would have been a huge undertaking already. So recognizing the limitations of a single body at trying to keep my strawberries (the VSAs) alive, I focused on building leadership capacity by fostering a network. In essence, this group of leaders are the very extensions of my body and mind, not exactly to act according to my wishes, which would sound like a dictatorship, but to function more like the heart, where it beats no matter what I say, and yet I'm glad it does because I can rely on it to keep the blood flowing so I can focus on other things.

With 100 VSAs across the nation, one can't help but feel that there are 100 simultaneous laboratories going on at once trying to figure out answers to the common problems of the day, things like how to keep members stay interested, or what to do when an officer breaks a law or school code, or learning about the origins of the Vietnamese people.

Now I am presented with a problem again: the declining quality of two of the most important holidays in the Vietnamese culture: Tet and Tet Trung Thu. What scares me is that the San Jose festival associated with Tet Trung Thu was on the verge of total collapse. Even now, its foundations are shaky. I also heard that the Moon Festival of Silicon Valley had also collapsed. And thus, this is the mission on which I am about to embark upon: to restore the vibrancy of an ancient tradition and bringing back its relevance to the modern age.

As I continue to organize in the community, I see the same patterns exist as they do in gardening. Every group and individual needs something in order to grow healthily, and I should not be afraid to move them around so that people support each other best (like the lemon tree being sheltered by the bigger tree). It makes me happy when plants don't die (unless it is really old, which I accept as things I cannot change or fight), and similarly when organizations are able to survive by remaining relevant to the people who are part of it, then I feel happy. Of course the greatest joy is being able to see the first bloom of something that has never bloomed before. I guess with people, it is when they become most assured of themselves of who they are. When it is with groups, it is the moment when the group goes from having the mentality "I'm better than you" to "We (the group) are great", and eventually to "Humanity is wonderful!"

entrepreneurship \ \ \ Stipends for Projects

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:13:53 GMT

I can't pay much because I'm on a wage job. But I am looking for people to take my ideas and turn it into fruition. I am willing to pay a stipend, which will grow as I can allocate more money for it.

Vietnamese science-fiction

$50. Science-fiction script featuring Vietnamese people.
$50. Turning that script into a Vietnamese culture show.

Adapting Vietnamese epic "Tale of Mon Man" into a double culture show across two campuses.
- $50. Adapting the creation of the world part into a culture show.
- $25. Creating a dance for a parade formation that interprets the creation of the world for Tet Parade in San Jose.
- $50. Adapting the heroic epic into a culture show.
$100. Goal management application for Facebook, aka Peer Support.
$50. VSA Map/Directory (see http://maps.ythuc.com). It needs some way to display Facebook fans for each school and a text display of results.
$50. Creating blueprints and expense report for LED-powered lanterns of various sizes (from 10" for children to 5' wearable lantern costumes) to be used for Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival.
$50. Compiling a list of a few "popular" Vietnamese retail clothing stores in every major metropolitan area of the United States (and Canada).

leadership \ \ \ A New Community Plan

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:22:33 GMT

Must jot down thoughts.

Instead of leaving your local neighborhood and traveling around the world, bring the world to your local neighborhood.

Why wish you can go to all kinds of events all over the place? Build a city that hosts them all. Export the ideas to other cities.

UVSA is now overseeing independent teams working on 3 different projects: Tet Trung 2.0, UVSA Summit, and Miss Vietnam of Northern California—Intercollegiate.

Tam, the current UVSA President and I made an informal pact: UVSA is to become a network of nonprofit startups.

TT2.0 will be a Spirit of the Youth Festival, a radical return to our roots of what was traditionally a children's holiday.Tam and I will be on this project for the next 6 years to see it complete its 2.0 moniker. Part of the funding from TT2.0 will be to eventually establish the UVSA Foundation in the spirit of TT2.0, a cornerstone which will to fund Social Entrepreneurial endeavors. If TT2.0 is about having a youthful spirit, then I think a social entrepreneur is the prima facie of the kind of people who embody that spirit. Act Young. Be Fresh. Dream Big.

The UVSA Summit should then have a component which will allow our constituents to network, become inspired, and participate in decisions that affect the well-being of their community. I believe there should be an opportunity for the constituents to select a UVSA Foundation Recipient, because giving them a voice is one of the pillars of UVSA.

I haven't given pageants much thought before, but I think everyone on the organizing committee can agree: there's no motivation to volunteer for a project that loses its soul. If I had to give input on what I think this pageantry's soul should contain, then I think the first thing is the beauty of sisterhood. No doubt each contestant has a dream and vision, and serving their community will (and always) be at the forefront of their vision. A true leader is one who can turn her/his competitive environment into an ecosystem for doing good. No contestant (nay, Sister), crowned Miss Vietnam or not, should be discarded by our community as long as she has a vision. Whoever becomes Miss Vietnam of Northern California—Intercollegiate is someone who can manage her 19 other Sisters to advance their collective vision. Because honestly, there is no money in this, the event won't make these women any more famous, and it takes time out of their busy lives. It is hard work, and we are already in a competitive environment for funding sources, so the only thing we have is our philanthropic vision, born out of an entrepreneurial spirit: Can we make this pageant into something far better than a spectacle? If those who participate hang on to each other as Sisters, they will have something worth far more than a useless tiara.

After the MVNCI pageant application of September 15 midnight, TT2.0 will probably be a good day for the Sisters to meet and mingle, and perhaps give publicity on the nonprofits they work with and interact with other youth peers. They will have an opportunity again at the UVSA Summit to help inspire and advance a candidate project, as well as network with peers. The MVNCI organizers are still deciding on a judging system, so we're not sure if giving an audience some weight in determining the crowned MVNCI. I'm interested in the idea of giving each Sister a vote on who they think should be MVNCI (perhaps top 3 choice). That could encourage the Sisters to work hard at supporting one another, although I'm wondering about the formation of pacts. Maybe we can try it anyway.

In the first few years we shall see what sort of startup projects will be born, and from there it is simply a matter of figuring out how to best integrate them with the other projects/programs. I shall call this interproject optimization. It is a skill that I'm left wondering if there are that many people who can do it. Sometimes I wake up feeling lonely; I have seen coalitions that cannot optimize their confederated relationship. And I want to help them. I really want them to see the beauty where in unity, there is strength.

Carpooling with Mom \ \ \ Guess What!?

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:53:10 GMT

Me (gleefully): Ooh, ooh, ooh! Guest what happened at work Mom!?
Mom: What is it? Something exciting?
Me (defeatedly): Just the same ol' thing.
Mom: Psh!

Carpooling with Mom \ \ \ Hey Hickey, You're So Fine You Blow My Mind

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:52:06 GMT

Mom (in Vietnamese): When I was in high school, a boy gave me a "hickey" (there's probably no elegant translation for "hickey"), and all of my classmates were giggling at me about it. So you know what I did?
Me: What?
Mom: I was shocked at first, but then I told them that my mom gave me "cạo gió" (ointment rubbings) because I was sick.
Me: Uh…

Carpooling with Mom \ \ \ Living in an Aquarium

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:23:43 GMT

Mom: You know what? I seem to get along with Pisces. I grew up with Pisces everywhere! You, your dad, anh Toàn (her second husband), my best friend. What a coincidence hah?
Me: That sounds like you live in an aquarium. So are we all alike?
Mom: Yes, every Pisces I have met is multi-talented. Your dad was an engineer and singer. Anh Toàn was a musician and designer. You are multi-talented. My friend is a real estate broker, painter, and programmer! All very creative!
Me: Haha, I wonder if that just means we are all scatterbrains. I have a Pisces friend in Colorado who is like that. Like me: scatterbrains!
Mom: You know what you need? You need a girlfriend like your Mom, a Sagittarius. Someone to ground you.
Me: Thanks Mom. I really don't need that image in my head right now.
Mom: What? You are lucky to have a Mom like me! I am so cool!

Carpooling with Mom \ \ \ This Woman…

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:25:29 GMT

Mom and I commute everyday to work together. She works a block from where I work, near Stanford University. She is really into astrology and palm reading (chiromancy), whereas I am really into pop psychology, e.g. Meyer-Briggs, Socionics, Holland Codes, etc. When we carpool together, we are always talking about people and relationships, and bring our perspectives as astrologer, chiromancer, and pop psychologist.

Mom: When are you getting a girlfriend?
Me: When it happens, it happens.

a few days later…

Mom: Do you need me to help you find a girlfriend?
Me: No mom, I’m doing okay.

a few days later…

Mom: Your horoscope says July will be a good month for you in the area of romance. The Saturn moon rising in the house of Cancer means sparks will fly on the 2nd weekend. Oooh!
Me: Sure mom.
Mom: You will find your love at a public event, such as a festival, a club meeting, or concert. Are you doing anything that weekend?
Me: Nope, no plans.
Mom: You can go to the movies with me. I will keep an eye out for you.

Phở My Life…

life \ \ \ Dating, Marriage, and Parking Lots

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:36:23 GMT

My mom told me today that dating/marriage is like looking for a parking space at the mall. All the good spots get taken really quickly, and all the nice spots start filling up over the course of the day. If you wait too long, you'll only have the spots that are the furthest away or whatever opens up that are closer if you are lucky. Don't spend too much time driving around the parking lot looking for the best spot; if you find a spot that's good enough, just go for it. Otherwise the mall might end up closing and you have no choice but to go home.

technology \ \ \ Redesigning Group Chats for Instant Messaging

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:40:08 GMT

I remember doing a research paper analyzing instant messaging for my anthropology class in college. I love anthropology; just being able to study life in a way I never considered. Then when I became a graphic designer, I acquired skills to synthesize solutions. If you ever become a designer (not just a graphic designer), taking anthropology courses is probably one of the best decisions you'll ever make. It is probably a foundation for interaction design, a whole new field of study which looks at how we interact with our environment, and as an interaction designer you would be helping others connect with their world in a more richer and engaging experience.

So I had a little chit chat with my cousin about group chats for instant messaging the other day and we complained about the messiness of group chats when people start going off on tangents and you have to somehow follow multiple conversations or look for your own conversation in a pile of other conversations. That has always been the dynamic nature of conversation. Unless you moderate the room, you can never really get people to "stay on point". But why lock the discussion down to just one theme/topic? Chat rooms are and will always be organic. What is needed is a way to leverage the simplicity of the one-to-one conversation in a chat room environment.

Let's take a simple problem, and this sometimes happen when I converse with friends, is when two conversations starts to exist in parallel (even though it is only two people!), and they alternate each other. It happens because something new gets introduced before the other person has had a chance to respond.

A: Did you see the new movie Up?
B: Yeah, hold up, my mom's calling.
A: Oh okay. What's going on?
B: I haven't seen Up yet.
B: Mom was just asking if I ate dinner yet.
A: You wanna go see it tonight?
B: She's going to be out so I gotta fed myself.
A: Where is she going?
B: Sure let's go see Up.
A: Yeah, let me go buy tickets for 9:00pm.
B: She's on a date.

Well, you can kinda sense that there are always two topics on the table. In a one-on-one conversation, this is normal, and not so big of a problem. The problem is when you go into chat rooms, and 4 or 5 topics are running concurrently. If it were me, I would consider the possibility of being able to visually drag my own conversational thread into a new space (or press tab twice to indent into a new area).

Another way to keep conversations more orderly is the ability to insert media objects such as a YouTube link will automatically be clickable into a video frame for playback. But another media object I would like to see is the Text Block. Sometimes my friend copies and entire web page or email, and once she pastes it in my chat window, I can't see our previous comments without having to scroll all the way past the entire copied text. The Text Block is merely a neat way of showing a huge piece of text, but it should be able to collapse into a preview of the first few lines of text like Gmail's email preview when you look at your inbox.

I suppose these wishlists aren't new. But I like Google spearheading an effort to change the way we communicate with their Google Wave development.

poetry \ \ \ Return of the Butterflies

Thu, 28 May 2009 20:51:35 GMT

Children eye a display of lanterns in a Hanoi shop before the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1932. The butterfly shape is no longer produced. Copyright owned by Musée de l'Homme.

Envelope of secrets
Beauty lies within
But in time the cocoon is shed
A butterfly born

Coral wings fly high
Watercolors fill the sky
Brushed with clouds of tempra
Sunshine runs down the canvas

Hanoi artisans build homages
In the form of a lantern
Tributes for flying flowers
Children chasing them mid-autumn

Candlelight spirits burn within
Incense circumscribe the wings
With curls seeped in glows
Like angels blessed by God

Memoirs of seven-scent heaven-sent
Monarchs linger in the air
Intoxicated by the nectar
Illusions trick our senses

But embedded in our hearts
Lies our cocoon of reincarnation
A passion for the beautiful
Return of the butterflies