January 3, 2020

Meeting at Maicoin headquarters to review Taipei Startup Week and talk about the future of Techstars in Taiwan

January 2, 2020

A very Taiwanese-American day. Meeting some Twitter friends from America in real life, before talking the making of a new non-profit over beef noodle soup. The best way to talk about new ideas is over food. If you know 濟南牛肉麵, you know.

January 1, 2020

New Year, New Decade, with New Taiwanese Friends. Most of us have lived both in the U.S. and Taiwan. Today, I’m thankful for a chill, thoughtful local crew.

新年，新十年，和新朋友在一起。

December 6, 2019

It’s been raining hard all day in Zhubei City today. Also, it’s a little bit cold to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Taiwan weather has a way of surprising people.

下雨天在竹北市， 並且，有點冷。可能不適合穿短袖短褲。哈哈。台灣的天氣有時會讓人們感到驚訝。

Thursday, December 5 Thursdays with Morrie

My As-Am friend Stephanie Sy re-posted this video from an interview she did with ‘Tuesdays with Morrie' author Mitch Albom on religion, faith and idealism. You can read a transcript here. Wrote Stephanie, "The idea that thinking about death and mortality reminds us how to *live* and how to *give* is one of the most important lessons I've gotten."

考慮死亡率... 提醒我們如何過上生活以及如何回饋社會，是我獲得的最重要的教訓之一。

December 4, 2019 All Hands Taiwan

Signing my name and handing over my national ID number to make All Hands Taiwan a real Taiwanese company. Before All Hands Taiwan, international job seekers were on their own, when it came to finding opportunities in Taiwan. 簽名並提供我的身份證號，所以 All Hands Taiwan 能夠成為一家真正的台灣公司。

Taipei Percussion

Last weekend I went to see my friend’s band perform and I‘m already looking forward to the next performance. You can also buy their CD from their website, here! Let’s go together next time! 上個周某我去看我朋友的音樂團表演，叫 ‘台北打擊樂團’。推薦大家來去參考他們的網頁！下次一起來。

Hehuanshan 合歡山 in Taiwan’s central mountain range (which features East Asia’s highest peaks) from a camping trip several weeks back. This is right along the border of Nantou 南投 and Hualien 花蓮 counties, bordering Taroko Gorge 太魯閣. Pics by Ryan Hevern Photography and Taiwan Adventure Outings

First Date

S: Why do all guys think tiki drinks for a first date is cute?

Me: Because it sounds unconventional, even though a faux tropical resort is the most basic of all American vacations.

Thank you. I cried a little when I read this. I wasn’t perfect as student council president, but I did my human best to grow the good and promote positivity. Made the call for the long-term. Took criticism on the chin, and listened to it. Hoped to heaven people could appreciate and forgive how much time this took away from my own goals. I didn’t always feel safe, but I tried to make everyone feel Supported. Believed in. Part of something greater.

Last year, I sat in the middle of a circle while a small crowd yelled at me.

Last semester, I sat on a couch while being yelled at.

Last week, someone wrote this on a Post-It note.

Today, I just want to say, Thank You. 💪 ❤️ 🙏 .

(at Taipei, Taiwan)

How much is the soul of a nation worth? Asking for a friend....

Originally posted by my friend Travis Martin, the MBA student president at Michigan State University

Right now, the market rate seems to be a 1% drop in unemployment and some extra money in everybody’s 401(k) (and by everybody, I mean the less than half of all Americans that have retirement accounts).

Far too many of our countrymen seem far too willing to watch this transaction take place in contented silence. We seem to be making this purchase, the cyclical economic upturn, with monthly installments of credit from the account the American civic soul. One month’s payment is a Muslim ban, the next month it’s discriminating against transgender service members. The following payment is accepting “good people on both sides“, and the latest installment is separating parents from children to strike fear in those who may seek asylum. Bit by bit, we pay the bills with little pieces of soul.

The sad thing is, we aren’t buying anything; this is only a lease. Economies are cyclical and markets regress towards the mean. Someday unemployment will rise again (it always does), our 401k’s will take a hit (they eventually do), and we’ll realize that reclaiming pieces of the American soul far more difficult than filling any bank account ever was.

Zero-tolerance is another way of saying “zero problem-solving skills.” Not a good brand.

J

Some bounce back and they cope with the challenge and they're fighters, and they come back even stronger, having learned to mentally deal with the challenges -- and some people don't。

Dr. Lars Svensson, Cleveland Clinic. One of the world’s top heart surgeons. Reading this makes me think of the challenges I’ve faced since moving to Taiwan. When your study plan, support system, opportunities promised, all of it, goes to hell, we’ve still got ourselves.

Not many celebrities strike a chord, but Anthony Bourdain did. Rip.... pulled himself up, loved food, new friends, adventure, drink, and travel and made a living off of it. Props sir. I can relate.

J

Uncle life. So glad to have this photo of me reading to my nephews, doing what I love, getting a glimpse of my future.

I don't know about you, but coming from a professional background (law, medicine, architecture), technical expertise wasn't considered enough. Obviously, you had to know how to build buildings and aesthetic acumen was prized, but there was–from the beginning–a strong emphasis on making people's lives better. They wanted to teach out how to use architecture to do that. Perhaps the shortcoming of business education (at least within the context in which we find ourselves) is simply an abdication of responsibility in terms of societal contribution in favor of a simple focus on managerial excellence. Essentially, training–not education.

If you had $86,400 in your account and someone stole $10 from you, would you be upset and throw the remaining amount, $86,390, away at the person who took your $10? Of course not! The same way we have 86,400 seconds each day. Don't let someone's negative 10 seconds ruin the remaining 86,390 seconds of your day.

K