All posts filed under: Personal

Public Policy 101: Understanding Policy

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It is important for the public to understand how to understand policy, especially when it is in the process of being deliberated and adopted. As a policymaker, I want to share some of the finer points of policy making, especially into today political climate. *My views do not represent the City of Los Angeles or the Department of City Planning. Every year, a large number of policies are deliberated at all levels of government. Some are passed, some are postponed, some are dead upon arrival. In a democratic government, almost all of these policies are heard in some form or another by the public. However, there are a lot of nuances to understanding them and because the public are not generally versed in understanding policy, there are ways to get policies passed by influencing public sentiment or despite public sentiment. To make it easier for you to understand policies, especially those you care about, the following are three important things to look for to avoid supporting a policy on misguided assumptions. They are listed in …

Unexpectedly

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Goes by hand Hand that used to be sand. It goes to a dozen numbers Around. Watching it Slowly. Turning away Quickly. Yet It brings everything. The one thing that matters. To be suddenly caught Standstill. Like the wind it knocks Over. Or, pull the metaphorical rug Under.

To Remember To Forget

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A face without name As I walk on a path in the hills Counting the rocks Under the beating sun I cannot remember I remember only to forget That face What’s the name? There are memories Faint visions but the face The face is always sharp In focus Each step I take I chew on words Ruminate on these images Fading A figure waves In the distance As I look up from the rocks And stop counting my steps I was so close But I already forget What was it that I tried So hard to remember? We walk towards the sunset Down the hill Into the forest And wait for the stars. – Fu Lien Hsu June 28, 2016

Half-Year Review – All that Work 就說到做到

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About four months ago, I wrote about goals to achieve by the time my birthday rolled around. Well, my birthday came and went on the 8th of June and here I am today, looking back and looking forward. Before we start, big shout out to my friends with their surprise cakes. First, let’s review my goals and how much I completed: Learn Spanish – I am at 50% fluency on Duolingo! Learn to write Chinese – I am halfway there. Still in progress Complete Data Science Specialization with Coursera – Completed! Complete Half of the GIS Specialization – Yup, got them certificates! Complete a site suitability study – Done, I actually completed two but only one is public on LoopNet! Check under attachments. Write and submit poetry to Poetry Foundation – Done, but haven’t heard back yet. Work-out regularly – Almost everyday and I run on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also started bouldering and biking from Venice Beach to Santa Monica. Practice violin everyday – Doing that as well, though been on a break the last couple …

Headwinds of Life

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They come, resistance. Pressure shifts, moving from high to low. Sometimes, a breeze. Other times, a tempest. How did the pressure build? Have you experienced the winds in a storm? It blows you back. If you try to fly a kite, the string may snap. Even trees bow or crack. So do you hide? You can turn around and make them tailwinds. If you are ok with moving in a different direction? For now. Or just wait. For how long? Either way, you will arrive. They say, “All roads lead to Rome.”

Words about Life

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Are you nervous? Yes. Are you scared? Yes. So why? I don’t know. Why what? Why do you keep going? There is hope. There is change. Do things really change? Always. In this second, you already are not who you were. So that’s hope? No. Hope is believing in and building for that change. If you believe, then why are you nervous and scared? There is the unknown. We all fear the unknown. What is unknown? You never know what the future holds. Then what do you do? You hope.

A Lot

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I’ve been reading a lot            “People change” I’ve been thinking a lot           “only time will tell” I’ve been writing a lot             “who am I?” I’ve been… Laughing all about the same But really silent on the name I am drawing blanks to describe The only things that come to mind As I soak in the Californian sun On the beaches where we used to run I still got that sand in my car From days I no longer remember The past is the past So do I really want to talk? I’ve been reading a lot            “People change” I’ve been thinking a lot           “only time will tell” I’ve been writing a lot             “what I have done” I’ve been… Working night and day Trying to be a better man The writing is not on the wall When I still got time to have it all My patience grows from a seed Slowly becoming a grand tree I go forward with a plan Working pieces like new bricks As I build a town to call my own …

The Notes of My Life

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Over and over I say to myself, I remind myself, I write myself. Into curves and straights, corners and turns without coming to an end because the past is never in sight and the present lingers for only a second. The future demands to be known with each stroke of the pen, it becomes present and is written into the past. The eternal struggle. Memories selected for harvest until a later date confirmed only when they are opened once again. That is not all, that is not all. There are those that remain in your mind but blanked out, slowly again by time. I feel the need to explore the depths of the lost chambers that echo within dreams. I feel the need of a flashlight into the wells of dark water long bathed in the moonlight. A moonlight that shone since the morning I opened my eyes. 7:45 AM the clock once read and will read again. This is a cycle, unending till you realize you have gone away from something at the same …

Short Post: Biology and Life

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I have been looking for a steady job now for almost a year now and one of the questions I get asked the most is why? Why am I pursuing or want to pursue a career in such and such? People really want to know where you are coming from and what your vision of the future is. Honestly, even though I know my answers, sometimes I have to look back to the beginning and ask myself why? Why am I now fascinated by the use of space in cities and urban environments? Why am I pursuing a career in understanding the urban? Like most stories, there is a beginning. As a young child, I was always chasing after butterflies, digging up earthworms, and collecting fish. Their movements and their features fascinated me. Metamorphosis, the transformation from an ugly caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, captivated my imagination and in many ways it is a metaphor for life. I never though much of it until high school, where I met a wonderful biology teacher by the …

Short Post: Mindfulness

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Mindfulness, it is a quality that is hardly seen in people today. We are all consumed by instant gratification, the so-called freedom as we are liberated to chase whatever our short attention spans dictate. We are influenced by the idea of “personal brands”; we are dominated by a desire to foster a certain type of “public image”. We become more concerned about what others think of us instead of just being who we are. We lost that ability to be happy for ourselves and to bring happiness to others. Mindfulness runs against all of that. It is a compassionate and empathetic act that comes through self-less giving. When we are mindful, we are not taking from others. We are making the world around us the subject matter. It is when we are able to see the world from another person’s eyes. It is when we try to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. We too often judge others quickly without truly understanding who they are and where they come from. We forget that everyone has …