Updates (June 26, 2024)

Life: Finally living and working now – I finally got to where I wanted in life I think. It took me forever. I guess that is what you expect living in Canada. I was always wanting to jump ship and do plan B jobs all the time but after a while of programming constantly and the guidance of my friends Tan Vu (John) and other Vietnamese, I kept at it. The Vietnamese way from a Saigonese perspective is very alarming and showing. People in Saigon have to use their mind. It is scary not to use my mind. It is basically life or death if you don’t think and use your mind. That is what it is generally in the modern world. You have to use your mind for health and to constantly grow. Grow to feel good. Grow to feel healthy. That means spending 8-10 hours a day learning something high like abstraction and web design. This abstraction feeling is so gratifying. There is no other feeling that gives me this stability, growth and reward. That is what programmers don’t tell you. It is so satisfying programming. There are people out there in the tech world who say to not learn programming and not learn computer science and they are wrong. They don’t want competitors.

Life: It is all about learning and growing and thinking abstraction at the end of the day – I go shopping. I go eating ice cream. I go buy a summer drink at McDonalds for $1.50: large iced coffee. I even go buy exotic foods at the Asian markets. At the end it is no longer satisfying. Generally it is a bit but the big deal is just programming web development for most of the day. The art, math and playing with design is so high and basically unreachable. That is the thing you want. I realized it after finally finishing the project I am working on. It is not about the money really and not about the job status. It is basically the act of programming web development that is so enjoyable in the high level sense.

Programming: Specialized and really in depth – I am doing general web development using WordPress. I am recreating a theme and done most of it so far. To go really the extra 10 miles is to not only understand the WordPress theme implementation, but also everything else. That requires understanding the special cases and workarounds. It seems forever learning this and it is good. Good to have something to learn and get excited over.

Culture: I always knew this was going to be the way – In Canada and in Vietnam, becoming a medical professional feels all that makes sense to have everything. It is I think. But I always ventured to computers. Now after finishing school and doing work, the computer background enables you to have it all maybe. I never understood what life meant but I have a good grasp about it now. It is to be smart and worldly and open to have that broad sense of knowing and ability. But also abstraction. The math that programming gives you is an enabler. When combined with art and design things are so vast. I guess in order to live properly here in Canada is to have this option to think and do without feeling guilty. It is to have the options to do this and that and have the knowledge to do anything really and the vastness.

Life: When life sucks, you should have an activity that enables you to grow and feel good – I guess escaping to programming is a gift. When life gets tough and not in your favor, you still have programming to help you grow and feel confident and strong and enables you.

Culture: Keep seeing how you interact with your fellow people – I am keeping interacting with my fellow people who are Vietnamese. The Vietnamese that are Westernized help me navigate life now. How we Vietnamese Westerners go through life to grow and help ourselves and each other is important. As one of the oldest Vietnamese born in the West, I am watching what I do and try to learn the complex feelings and reasonings of fellow Vietnamese born in the West. I am trying to add and enable others. It is very complex to see how things grow and develop. I thought I knew a lot but it is continuing to grow and develop here in Canada/West. For myself and my brother, we developed software and websites with our very good friends. Now there is more growth and development as things are now understood and stagnant now. Doesn’t help my fellow friends and people to just sit there and not develop and help develop others more.