BakeGreek

So I've been working on a new venture. Its been a pretty crazy ride, and we're getting pretty close to launching the site.

Website is live, but the shop has not launched yet.

Check it out at bakegreek.com

Starting up again

It's been about a year and half since I've seriously reflected upon my life and written anything of substance.

Looking back at it now, it's been a pretty meaningful ride.

1. Met really quality people through APEX and saw how a professional organization is run.
2. Worked at a large consulting firm with high caliber people and corporate perks.
3. Found a wonderful, supportive girlfriend that knows what success looks like.
4. Experienced what its like to be laid off and unemployed.
5. Hired by a good friend at a small internet company with a startup vibe.

Everything I could have asked for.

Interesting Encounter

tryamasaki (2:10:49 PM): how's everything else going?

willyuwaychang (2:11:15 PM): so I met a drug dealer on the plane back from LAX to SFO

tryamasaki (2:12:01 PM): hahahaha

tryamasaki (2:12:02 PM): you did?

tryamasaki (2:12:06 PM): did he try to sell you something?

willyuwaychang (2:12:09 PM): nah

willyuwaychang (2:12:14 PM): we sat next to each other

willyuwaychang (2:12:24 PM): and he was telling me his life story

willyuwaychang (2:12:30 PM): like he dropped out from Harvard

willyuwaychang (2:12:44 PM): and went into High Tech Sales and was doing really well

willyuwaychang (2:12:54 PM): and then he started a company 5-6 years ago

willyuwaychang (2:13:02 PM): and was doing really well off it

willyuwaychang (2:13:13 PM): he said he made about 200,000 a year

willyuwaychang (2:13:28 PM): and then his wife divorced him about a year or two ago

willyuwaychang (2:13:40 PM): took all his money

willyuwaychang (2:13:43 PM): and froze his company

willyuwaychang (2:14:14 PM): he wanted to make it back quick

willyuwaychang (2:14:28 PM): and so he saw an opportunity selling meth to west hollywood

willyuwaychang (2:14:49 PM): so thats what he did

willyuwaychang (2:15:04 PM): he said the cops are hella corrupt there

willyuwaychang (2:15:13 PM): they just bust drug deals

willyuwaychang (2:15:24 PM): and basically take the drugs and sell it back to the people

willyuwaychang (2:15:38 PM): and everyone is an informant and snitches on everyone

willyuwaychang (2:15:50 PM): he said that LA has the worst people hes ever met

tryamasaki (2:16:06 PM): haha wow

tryamasaki (2:16:13 PM): the cops resell the drugs back?

willyuwaychang (2:16:16 PM): yeah

willyuwaychang (2:16:20 PM): so anways

tryamasaki (2:16:21 PM): he should write a book

willyuwaychang (2:16:25 PM): he got caught

tryamasaki (2:16:29 PM): so you wanna sell meth now?

tryamasaki (2:16:30 PM): haha oh

willyuwaychang (2:17:00 PM): and there he saw how many people snitched on him... and he had like 231 calls in for him

willyuwaychang (2:17:09 PM): so he has this open case in LA

willyuwaychang (2:17:16 PM): and then he wanted a good lawyer

willyuwaychang (2:17:43 PM): so he went up to SF to sell the rest of his stuff

willyuwaychang (2:18:05 PM): and then he got caught selling e or something

willyuwaychang (2:18:15 PM): so he missed his court date in LA

willyuwaychang (2:18:30 PM): and then he went to boston to see his daughter before he went back to :LA

willyuwaychang (2:18:48 PM): and then his ex-wife and and parents wouldnt let him see her

willyuwaychang (2:18:52 PM): and he got super crazy

willyuwaychang (2:18:57 PM): and started making death threats

tryamasaki (2:19:01 PM): wtf

willyuwaychang (2:19:02 PM): and stuff

tryamasaki (2:19:04 PM): you sat next to this guy?

willyuwaychang (2:19:07 PM): yeah

willyuwaychang (2:19:11 PM): then they arrested him

willyuwaychang (2:19:18 PM): and put him in jail

willyuwaychang (2:19:29 PM): and since he was on meds or something

willyuwaychang (2:19:36 PM): they put him this jail

willyuwaychang (2:19:55 PM): where the craziest people go

willyuwaychang (2:20:21 PM): so most of the people did something violent shit at other jals and were sent here

tryamasaki (2:20:41 PM): dude... wtf

tryamasaki (2:20:41 PM): haha

willyuwaychang (2:21:02 PM): he said he saw like 2 people get beat to death

willyuwaychang (2:21:17 PM): they like expect fights to happen so they dont stop it until its over

willyuwaychang (2:21:33 PM): and they dont add onto your sentence if you do get into a fight

tryamasaki (2:21:43 PM): so baiscally there's no reason not to fight

willyuwaychang (2:21:48 PM): yeah

willyuwaychang (2:22:16 PM): said that the jail hella takes advantage of you

willyuwaychang (2:22:31 PM): and people that dont really know the law get fucked

tryamasaki (2:22:31 PM): the jail itself?

willyuwaychang (2:22:35 PM): that specific jail

tryamasaki (2:22:38 PM): ah

willyuwaychang (2:22:48 PM): because they try to hold you for as long as possible

willyuwaychang (2:22:58 PM): cause most people in there are insane

willyuwaychang (2:23:07 PM): he was held 7 months there

willyuwaychang (2:23:13 PM): before they finally let him out

willyuwaychang (2:23:24 PM): over death threats

willyuwaychang (2:23:37 PM): said that there was this one guy

willyuwaychang (2:23:43 PM): who was there for 35 years

willyuwaychang (2:23:58 PM): when he was 18 he robbed a guy with 25 year old friend

willyuwaychang (2:24:04 PM): I mean

willyuwaychang (2:24:06 PM): robbed a store

willyuwaychang (2:24:22 PM): and while they were robbing the store

willyuwaychang (2:24:38 PM): the 25 year old took the cashier to the back and shot him

willyuwaychang (2:24:51 PM): the guy didnt know what happend and didnt even know he had a gun

willyuwaychang (2:24:59 PM): that guy is still in jail

willyuwaychang (2:25:06 PM): but the 25 year old only got 7 years

tryamasaki (2:25:18 PM): wow

tryamasaki (2:25:23 PM): that's kinda how my friends brother is

tryamasaki (2:25:27 PM): he's in jail as an accomplice

tryamasaki (2:25:33 PM): but the guy that actually killed

tryamasaki (2:25:37 PM): got out

tryamasaki (2:25:40 PM): long time ago

tryamasaki (2:25:45 PM): cuz he was rich

tryamasaki (2:25:48 PM): and had a better lawyer

tryamasaki (2:26:01 PM): damn

tryamasaki (2:26:10 PM): so he's going back to LA

willyuwaychang (2:26:11 PM): anyways

willyuwaychang (2:26:23 PM): he has open case in LA still

willyuwaychang (2:26:54 PM): he went up to SF for one last time before turning himself in

tryamasaki (2:27:10 PM): wow

tryamasaki (2:27:13 PM): is he well spoken?

willyuwaychang (2:27:34 PM): yeah, really good talker

willyuwaychang (2:27:41 PM): wanna know the craziest thing?

tryamasaki (2:27:47 PM): he's asian?!

willyuwaychang (2:27:56 PM): no 38 year old white man

tryamasaki (2:27:59 PM): oh

tryamasaki (2:28:02 PM): is that the craziest thing?

tryamasaki (2:28:06 PM): what's the craziest thing?

willyuwaychang (2:28:19 PM): so I text him later to wish him a happy new year and good luck on the case

willyuwaychang (2:28:26 PM): and then he texts me back

willyuwaychang (2:28:30 PM): and asks me if I was gay

willyuwaychang (2:28:46 PM): hes like, dont be offended but are you straight?

willyuwaychang (2:28:52 PM): and I was like... no I'm not gay why

willyuwaychang (2:28:55 PM): and he was like

willyuwaychang (2:29:35 PM): I've been secretly gay my entire life, and was hoping you were.

tryamasaki (2:30:03 PM): OMG

Smart Financial Decisions: Level 1

Since before I can remember, my money-management skills have been literally non-existent, and everyone who knows me knows this. Every Chinese New Years growing up, my grandmother always gave my brother two sets of red envelopes: his money, and mine for him to hold onto because I'd lose it or spend it all too fast.

The sad thing is my brother is three years younger than me.

It became worse throughout college. In one year, I went through all the money my parents put in my savings account while I was growing up. There have been too many times when the accumulation of my overdraft fees, below-minimum fees, and other fees actually dwarfed my expenses for that month. It got to a point where my mom actually closed my savings account and replaced it with a credit account. That way, when I overdraft from my checking and the system dipped into the credit account for more money, it was alright for that account to be negative.

Yes, I am horrible with money. And this is where my story starts... at Level Zero. I've been actively pursuing financial literacy and nurturing the ability to make financially smart decisions. The point of this series is to chronicle my financial decisions and share with you my success, failures, and most importantly, knowledge.

Level 1: I changed my perspective on money.
First of all, all the most motivated and successful people that I know or know about are all extremely well-read. This isn't a coincidence. Among other things, if you want to be successful in a specific area you must read, reading more complex books as your level of understanding of the subject elevates.

The first books that started me on my path:
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Millionaire Mind

These books are easy to read and contain simple concepts that are constantly repeated to ingrain them in you. They don't tell you what to do, but how to think: the right mentality is the first step in becoming financially successful.

The basic underlying concept explains that those that have high-paying and "stable" employment are actually broke and have no job security if they don't make disciplined spending decisions or invest in passive income. Just because you make a lot of money doesn't mean you're rich.

My understanding of this concept changed my life.

New Years Resolution

Lets take a look at my goals that I set for myself half a year ago and how I feel about them now:

1. More Goal Oriented:

a) DIG DEEP to get a REALLY good job offer

• This was basically the only thing on my mind for the entire second-half of 2007. This is the only one that I really actually feel I've accomplished on my list. Pretty proud that I was actually able to achieve this.
  

b) Work in Asia within 3 years

• I'd still like to achieve this goal, probably won't in three years but I know I will get there, or at least visit often.

c) stay flexible career-wise and obtain an MBA by doing well on GMATS and having awesome work experience

• I've been able to obtain a career that definitely is flexible ("non-programming" and very cross-industry oriented). I know that Accenture will be able to provide excellent work experience for business school. Now its up to me to get that GMAT business done.
  

d) Work really hard, keep my shit clean and organized, and cook for myself more

• This needs a lot of work, goddamn.
  

2. Become a Better Person

a) Become more genuine, kinder, and more compassionate... and fuck reputation

• I've been working on this pretty hard, I feel like I'm a little closer but still made a lot of mistakes and have a lot of regrets this past half-year. Aside from living a healthier lifestyle, this goal is a huge priority.
  

b) Network better and stay in touch better

• I've taken the first steps to get closer, let's see how much better I can I get at this. I've definitely tried to reach out and learn from those more wiser than I am.
  

c) Become involved with the community

• I've definitely taken a huge step with my involvement with APEX. I've met many people that are active within the Asian American community and hope to learn from them and meet more like-minded people, especially in the media and entertainment industry.
  

3. Become Healthier

a) quit cigarettes within this year
b) More consistent workouts
c) Eat healthier
d) sleep and wake up early

• Complete failure in all aspects.... actually I've gotten a lot worse. This is now one of my top priorities.
  

and finding a like-minded, loyal girl

• I no longer care about this whatsoever. I actually really enjoy being by myself and working on myself.
• My goal now is actually to concentrate on myself and a drama-free existence. This means complete abstinence until the time is right. Lets see if I can do it. =)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my growth over the past six months. I've made pretty drastic steps towards improvement, and surprisingly my goals haven't changed whatsoever (which is pretty damn crazy, especially for someone as fickle as myself). However I still have a lot of work to do.

My New Years Resolution for 2008:

1.Become a Better Person
a) Become more genuine, kinder, and more compassionate: work hard on my lack of empathy.
b) Network better and stay in touch better. Find mentors in all aspects of my life I want to improve on.
c) Become involved with the community: learn from those that are involved, and meet active key players that I look up to.

2. Become Healthier
a) quit cigarettes within this year
b) More consistent workouts
c) Eat healthier, cook for myself
d) sleep and wake up early

3. Career Oriented
a) Study my ass off for my GMATS and score high before the end of January
b) Work hard, keep my shit clean and organized, and be efficient with my time.
c) Work in Asia

4. Become Financially Smart
a) Become discliplined in what I buy
b) Keep track of my cash flow every single day
c) Learn to invest in passive income

5. Abstinence.

Wish me luck.

Kip

Tonight, a group of friends and I went out to dinner at California Chicken Cafe. As some of us began leaving, the remaining bunch talked about our jobs, explaining to each other what exactly we were doing as careers (which apparently isn't very easy). A couple of my friends quickly came to the conclusion that they were content with their jobs. I argued back, telling them they must stay hungry.

As I finished my piece, a man sitting at the next table interjected. He told us that he had overheard our conversation and would like to share his story.

And I would like to share his story with all of you.

Kip owns a cell phone service company that installs cell phones in the cars of high-end clients. These installations can include bluetooth, pioneer, satellite radio, ipod, and security technology products. What makes him stand out from all the other cell phone service stores is that he provides extraordinary service and smooth transactions to his clients. His clients are the type people that value personable interaction and service, and don't care much about figuring out the technology behind it. His client base includes media and entertainment celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson, and Pete Sampras.

But this isn't important, the important thing is his story and the message behind it.

Seventeen years ago, Kip worked at Sav-On managing the liquor department. He told us he had nothing when he was growing up and was into drugs and alcohol and was in jail for a time; but he became extremely hungry to turn it all around after reading a book: The Four Agreements. After he was fired, he was able to convince a bulk (cheaper) cell phone service distributer to partner up with him and teach him the business by being extremely persistent and passionate. With no experience whatsoever, Kip did this by continually marketing his talent as a salesman, convincing the owner that he could double their sales in 90 days, and assuring the owner he didn't want to see his money until after 30 days when he's proven himself.

His first move was to hire five bikini girls on roller blades to pass out flyers that promoted cheaper cellphone bills at Marina Del Ray, where all the rich men keep their yachts. This was a time where only rich men had cell phones, and saving money was what made these men successful. Within six months the office got so many clients they had to move to a bigger office.

The second move he made was to aggressively target the managers of entertainers. By managers referring the artists to him, it not only made the managers commission money but made them look good as well since they were saving their clients' money. From there he expanded to five different locations across the country since one of the managers had five different branches in those locations. At the same time, he cut out the middle man and was able to go directly to the source, the service providers themselves. As time went on, he continually adapted to the changes in the industry and the cell phone service company he started seventeen years ago became the company he has today.

He left us with three key traits that defines his success.

1. Be Persistent

2. Be Aggressive

3. Be Passionate

While these attributes are important, I think the most important thing he shared with us was something he felt strongly about: Staying Together.

I believe we must help each other reach our successes, through the sharing of knowledge, the sharing of time, the sharing of resources, and really help each other get to that next level. This isn't an open invitation to use others to your advantage. Instead, this means that we must individually put in the work to climb to that next level after we have been shown the path and have been recommended the equipment to use.

To Be A Rock Star

After three rounds of interviews with Accenture, they invited me to a formal dinner at The W
Hotel, which, while they said was not part of the interview process, I still suspect was a fourth round interview.

It was a wonderful experience with cool young people that I could really connect with and talk to. I spent most of my dinner speaking with a consultant named Kirk.

Kirk shared lots of great experiences and insightful knowledge with me, but his advice to me stood out the most. I asked him how be a rock star at your job. He told three things that were extremely important, no matter what the job. I don't remember the exact wording or order he used, but I remember the lessons behind them.

1. Meet deadlines. To be trusted with increased responsibility, you must show that you can handle what you already have and have the desire to take on more. You must gain the trust of your supervisor.

2. Do all that you can. When a supervisor asks you to do something, do it. When you have the opportunity to be involved with a project, do it. The more people you know and trust you, the better the position you are in.

3. When presented with a problem, always try to solve it with the best of your ability before asking for help. And when asking for help, present your solution and how you approached it, with your question. This shows that you tried, and didn't give up one the problem without thinking about it and internalizing it.

Elevate Your Company

"You're moving up in the world, you gotta elevate your company."

Tonight, I spent a good portion of my night speaking with a buddy of mine, Cavan. We are Information Systems co-directors together for a organization called APEX. I'm not going to go into the specifics, but Cavan is extremely successful, both financially and career-wise. He's done a lot for himself and is at a really young age where he can really enjoy his success. Of course, he's still hungry as hell, but he is exactly where I would like to be when I'm his age.



We discussed a lot of things and he dropped a lot knowledge on me. Among them, I asked him how he was able to get to where he is today. He told me to look at the five people you spend the most time with, and look at what they are doing. If they are not where you want to be, and not doing things you want to do, then you need to find new friends. This is because you pick up the habits of the people you hang out with, and if you are in good company, then you pick up habits that will make you successful.

Makes sense. It's simple concept. I'm in the position I am because of my friends. Shuo-Hsiu took the extra time to tutor me throughout high school out of the kindness of his heart and I still believe that he is reason I ended up academically alright. Whenever I wanted to improve on something, be it interview skills, financial literacy, or even girls, I had a friend I could look to for help.

But this is definitely a lot easier said than done. He told me he doesn't believe in true friendships because in the business world, at the end of the day everyone does things for their own gain. This is a tough concept to accept, but logically it spells out success. When you help people with great resources when they don't expect it, they will be willing to help you and put you in a great position. Wasting time on people who cannot affect you in positive way will only slow you down and even push you backwards.

My logical computer science mentality and my newly gained business mentality embrace the idea whole-heartedly. However, my sentimental side has a hard time accepting this because friends are... well, friends.

I'm at a point in my life where this decision will seriously affect me. In school, while the type of work ethic the people you surround yourself with have, in terms of academia, does matter, it doesn't really matter how you think about money, how much money you have, how you think about your career, how you think about personal growth. But it matters now.

I guess the answer to this question is that we must actively affect our friends in a positive manner while they return the favor. We'll grow and reach for the stars together.

And hopefully we'll be still be together at the top.

Inspiration

If, for some odd reason, you only could only watch three internet in your lifetime, I would like to share those three very important videos with you.


Steve Jobs: Stanford Commencement Speech 2005


Guy Kawasaki: The Art of Start


Randy Pausch: Last Public Lecture
Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Given 6 months to live due to cancer, Randy gives his Last Lecture.
"What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"

They all are long, but extremely worth it. Each of these men are talented public speakers and extremely interesting people, sharing insightful knowledge with the rest of world.

These amazing videos speak for themselves, but I will write on them when I have time.

A New Beginning

Today is officially my last day at UCLA. I've decided to start a blog because I wanted to begin chronicling my life and my personal growth as I leave my old life and step into the exciting unknown.

I scanned over my older blogs and realized how much I've grown and changed throughout the years.

In high school, I wrote in a livejournal to archive the wonderful experiences I was going through while high on life. Reading through those entries, I followed the wild ride of my emotionally-shallow seventeen year-old self, oblivious to life's troubles.

The only emotions I seem to have had when I was younger were: happy, excited, and ecstatic, with a little bit of doubt sprinkled in at times.

It's almost refreshing to discover that there was a time where I was an extremely open person, expressing my feelings on just about everything for all of the world to see. Of course, these entries are little embarrassing because the lack of depth, but they helped me remember a time of worry-free innocence. where enjoying life and getting into a college where I could further enjoy my life was all that mattered.

College changed me.

One of the key differences between my post-college self and pre-college self is my inability to open myself up for the world to see me for who I am. The further along my life my entries were posted, the less I shared. Other than a couple gems like my Alfie post, my sidekick post, and 20 random facts, the only thing I shared in my xanga were interesting videos.

Eventually I stopped sharing altogether.

Omegas and UCLA helped define and hone many aspects of my personality, including the importance of representing an image of something bigger than myself as well as the ability to keep secrets (a very great feat for someone such as myself). The point of starting this blog is to stray away from the image-oriented, private person, and begin sharing myself again, both with the public and with my future-self.

The other key differences between post and pre-college Will:

• Involved and Active: As a high-school student, Being involved in clubs or organization and committing to sports team never was something I was good at. This changed as I realized there is so much reward in dedication and taking on responsibility in something you care dearly about. As I grew as a person and as an Omega, being involved and taking on leadership roles became very natural to me. I now go out and pursue leadership roles such as my current role as Director of Information Systems for APEX.
• Passionate: In highschool, I never had any real interests. As I progressed through college, my passions in life really blossomed.
  
• Technology: My father chose my computer science major for me because I had no idea what I wanted to do and knew if I had no direction, I would have wasted my time aimlessly and picked a convenient and easy major (He knows me very well). I had no real interest or knowledge in computers and technology prior. This major gave me understanding of technology and opened my eyes to the excitement it's future and potential.
  
• Design: I discovered computer graphics classes offered by the Computer Science Department and was immediately hooked. I loved the fact that I could apply my technical background with something so visual and accessible to the public. I began interning at DreamWorks Animation, Duck Studios, and finally working as an animator for the UCLA medical school. At the same time. I created my own technical minor, taking Film and Television classes and Design and Media Arts classes. And took the time to develop my artistic skills as well as learn 2D and 3D animation software.
  
• Media and Entertainment Business/Consulting: While happy about the fact that I could apply both my technical and artistic skills in animation, I soon realized that there was still a ceiling. This is when I decided to look even broader and realized I can incorporate my soft skills as well. This is how I found IT Consulting in the Media and Entertainment and striving for an MBA in this industry as well.
  
• And of course, Asian Americans in Media and Entertainment
• Goal-Oriented: In high school, I lived day by day, hoping for the best and expecting the worst so I was never disappointed. I now realize the importance of knowing what you want and taking the steps to get there.

Now join me as I take the steps to further continue my personal growth and share myself with the world.