Jeremy Lin And Taylor King

In 2006, an underdog Palo Alto high school boys varsity basketball upset a highly regarded Mater Dei high school team in the California State Division II basketball championships 51-47:

Jeremy Lin's NBA 3-pointer broke Mater Dei's back
By now, most of you know the story.  Palo Alto was led by Jeremy Lin and this game has been mentioned many times over as part of Jeremy Lin's journey to the NBA.  While most stories reference Mater Dei as a powerhouse, they don't mention how much of a powerhouse.

Palo Alto had only one player on a Division I college basketball roster (Jeremy Lin) while Mater Dei had EIGHT players that made Division I teams including one Taylor King.

King was a big 6'7" kid that was well known throughout Southern California and apparently had committed to Duke as an 8th grader.  When Palo Alto faced Mater Dei, much of the focus was on how Palo Alto would stop King.  Jeremy Lin was mentioned but not prominently.  

For all of the Lin fans out there, we all know Lin's journey.  For me, I always wondered happened to Taylor King.  Here is a recent article updating everyone what happened to him:

Back from the depths, ex-phenom Taylor King finding himself, looking for his game

The main point in talking about Taylor King?  Jeremy Lin recently went onto 60 Minutes to talk about his experience getting to the NBA.  He talked about how there may have been some discrimination because he was Asian American.  Indeed there may have been, but this path had made Jeremy Lin appreciate where he has gotten. 

In the case of King, it's an example of how much pressure highly touted players go through.  Jeremy Lin may not have gotten a lot of recruiting attention but that may have been for the best.  College basketball recruiting and NBA scouting is purely a business affair.  Jeremy Lin didn't have to fight off tons of colleges fighting for him, agents trying to get him to sign, etc.  

It is entirely funny how King and Lin's paths have diverged.  I'm thrilled Lin got to the NBA and is doing well.  I don't know King but sounds like he's had some struggles.  I hope he does get his life straight and if can get to the NBA, it would make for an interesting reunion between Lin and him (not sure if they would even remember each other). 

To Move Forward, Sometimes You Have To Venture Into The Unknown

I had some deep conversations this past week.  Those conversations led me to think about how many people get to a point in their lives (work, family, etc) where they feel stagnant.    Things seem routine and maybe even a little boring.   For some this feeling is ok, but for others, they yearn to break out of the routine into something new.

Yet, many people don't even know where to begin to change.  I definitely was like this.  There were a few things in my life in the years past where I felt things had gotten stagnant.  I liked what I did but it felt like the "same old thing".   I was semi-aware of this but did not know how to get out of it.

Fortunately, for a couple of situations in my life, I found a way to break out of the routine into something newer and fresher.

Basketball Officiating

I started officiating youth basketball around 1993.  I had served as a volunteer coach for my old catholic grammar school since 1988.  The school's athletic director needed an official at another school he ran and he asked me to help out.

I signed up and started officiating in addition to my coaching duties.  The early years were rough as I had no idea what I was doing.  Over time, my experience grew and I gained confidence in my capabilities.  However, the youth league was limited in training the officials.   I knew a lot of about the youth league but not about the "actual" rules of basketball.

As time went on, I realized I was getting bored of officiating the youth league.  I didn't really know what to do so I just kept doing the routine for a few years until a chance opportunity appeared.  I had referred a couple of friends to come officiate in the youth league with me.

They joined the youth league but took a chance to join a basketball officiating group to work high school and adult basketball games around 2002.  I had tried to join this group a few years before but had not been accepted.  With a second opportunity, I went along with my friends to training and was finally accepted into the group.

Though I wouldn't realize it at the time, this situation was a great thing for me.  Joining the group was tough initially but the knowledge and experience I gained were great for me.  I was able to apply it to youth basketball as well and get my interest back.

While my high school officiating hasn't gone as well as I would like due to multiple issues (mainly work), I have enjoyed the past 10 years working with the officiating group.

Sales Engineering

Fresh out of college, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my career.  For the first year, I stayed with a part time administrative job I had.  I had worked with the company toward the end of my college days and they were willing to keep me around.

About a year after I graduated from college, I saw a posting for a "Technical Analyst" position at my college Career Center and immediately applied.  After screening with the folks at the Career Center, I interviewed with a manager at the company.   The interview was pretty uneventful and I was told a few days later that I had gotten the position.

From those humble beginnings, I spent seven years at the company (1999 to 2006).  For about 5 1/2 years, I was a technical support representative (the other 1 1/2 years were spent as a process manager).

By 2006, I had gotten a little tired of doing technical support and was looking for a change.   An opportunity presented itself with a smaller company which I ultimately decided to pursue.   With the smaller company, I ended up doing a mix of work including technical support, sales engineering, manual writing, QA Testing and project management.    The overall experience was good but I got laid off as the company had not been doing well.

At this point, I still yearned for a change.  While I had gotten an opportunity to diversify my skills, I still spent a good amount of time on the phone with customers doing technical support.   I wanted to get away from that type of work if it was possible. I looked around for jobs online.  However, most of what I was qualified for was still technical support positions.

Then a chance opportunity occurred one day.  I was out one day when my cell phone rang.  I answered the call as I was expecting a call back from a company regarding a job I had applied for.  It turned out to be a recruiter instead.

This particular recruiter had saw my resume and inquired if I would be interested in a "Sales Engineer" position with a local company.   He had noticed that I had some sales engineer experience with my last job.

We talked a lot about my background, the job, and the requirements.  After the discussion, the recruiter stated he was impressed and wanted to submit my resume to the hiring manager.  I was a little less sure and asked the recruiter to send me information on the position so I could think about it.

After a few days, I had emailed the recruiter to decline the position.  The reasons were simple.  I did not know much about Sales and I did not know much of the about the technology that was required for the position.   The recruiter emailed me back almost immediately and stated that I should reconsider.

I thought about this for a short while and called the recruiter back about 30 minutes later.  I told him that he could submit my resume.  The reason for the change of heart?  I had finally seen that this job would be a natural evolution from my technical support position.

After one interview with my manager (who is now a Vice President), I got the position and remain there today (after 4 years +/- some layoffs....another story hahaha).



Conclusion

As you can see from my stories, I was a little stagnant in some aspects of my life.  Yet, I was fortunate enough to have some opportunities come up to break out of the routine.  That is really my main point.

Many people feel they have to "find something" to break out of their routine.  In reality, I have found that opportunities COME TO YOU.  You just have to learn to be aware and take advantage.  Have courage to venture into the unknown even if you're not sure it's the right thing.

Good luck!

The Layoff Aftermath

It's a late Wednesday evening / Thursday morning as I write this.  It will be a week since I unexpectedly got laid off from my job.   While the title of this posting makes it sound like something bad or bad happened after my layoff, in reality NOTHING earth shattering happened.

I didn't jump off a cliff, bang my head against a wall or curse out my luck, bosses or anything else for that matter.    I talked about things with a few people last Thursday.  I wasn't too emotional and was pretty rational trying to figure out what exactly happened.

The next day was my birthday and I spent my day relaxing.  I had lunch with my parents and went shopping at the local mall for a while before going home to rest for a bit.  I then headed out to dinner / dessert with friends and had a good time.  While my layoff was discussed, I didn't express my bitterness and actually was my normal jovial self.

Saturday, I spent the day officiating basketball before going to dinner with another group of friends for another birthday celebration.  This time, the celebration was for two other folks plus me.  Once again the layoff was discussed but not too long.

Monday, I replied back to a ton of emails from my former co-workers who expressed disbelief at my layoff and gave me some best wishes.  I also took care of submitting my unemployment papers as well.   Though I was not intending to job hunt, I ran across some job postings so I reviewed them as well.

Tuesday, I spent time reviewing my severance papers and understanding what I was signing.  I have to return the papers in the next couple of days to complete from departure from my company.

Wednesday, I actually started the job hunt by talking to a recruiter.  The recruiter actually had two leads for jobs and I got another email later with another lead.  Whether they will come to fruition is another story but it's good to see I have some options.

As Thursday dawns, everything is all positive on my end.   I left my job last week in a state of disbelief.   In the week sense, I've gotten over it and moved on.  Sometimes when these roadblocks occur, it is life telling you that you should going another direction.  What that direction is I don't know 100% yet.

However, I am in the process of figuring it out and will take everyone once I decide which way I am going.  :)

The Struggles Of Work / Life Balance

I'm a season ticket holder for our local professional basketball team and split the tickets among a group of people.  So, for my friends, they take their significant others OR other friends they know from church or other social groups  

For me, since I am not married nor do I currently have a girlfriend, I knew I had to find people to take to the games.  I had several friends in mind but not all the plans come to fruition.  The main problem is that the games are sometimes on weeknights which make it difficult for people to go.  Fortunately, my mom is around.  Since she is retired and likes basketball, I ended up just taking her instead.

However, for this particular weekend, I had a Sunday game with a marquee team and player coming into town.  There was one friend (call her Friend A) who I wanted to take.  She wanted to go but the timing (Sunday evening) would be tough because she had to work the next day.  Of course, I have to work too but I can deal with it better than others since I typically have more energy than many people I know.

So I had to go to a backup plan with another friend (Friend B).  This friend had already went to a game about a month ago.   While there was going to be some logistical things I had to address with this friend about the game, I figured it would be worth the effort.

Alas, all the plans got shot down.  Just like Friend A, Friend B has work issues.  Alas, Friend B's work issues were a little more pressing.  She was put on call for this weekend out of the blue and could not commit to making the game.

I admit to being frustrated at the time we talked.  This had nothing to do with Friend B and more so with the fact that it's just been one BUSY week for me.  I have had evening activities this ENTIRE week and not much downtime to myself.  While it's enjoyable, I haven't had much a chance to recharge.   Friend B's situation just muddled matters.  With me being tired already, I wasn't too thrilled to have think about what to do for the game.

After taking a nap to recharge, I feel better and thought I need to address the issue of work / life balance because of what I went through with my friends the past couple of days.

For me, work / life balance has always been important.  In the years I've been in the workforce, I've always done my 40 (and sometimes more) hours.   But after work, I've always had activities.  It could be something simple like just going to the gym to workout or hitting a bookstore to read which take a small amount of time.  Alternatively, I officiate, play or go watch basketball.

For Friend A, work dominates her life though she doesn't seem to mind and she cuts small time for herself to take walks.  I wasn't surprised at her for not attending the game.   Her life is structured around work and you have to fit into her schedule.  It's not always easy to do that.

Friend B isn't anything like Friend A.  In fact, Friend B is probably more like me in that work/life balance is important.   The major difference with Friend B and me?  Her work schedule is currently Tuesday through Saturday PLUS she works in an environment that operates 24 hours a day.

Thus, that is why Friend B's situation came up and I believe that is a source of resentment for her.  On one hand, you have to do the job you currently have.  On the other hand, she's already losing one weekend day.  Plus this weekend, our plans got shot down just because she MIGHT have to do work on one of her days off.

Since I am calmer about the situation now, I advised Friend B to start looking for a job that is Monday to Friend and does not operate 24 hours a day.    I am not thrilled that Friend B's job is going to make her miss the game Sunday.  We talk a lot but don't see each other much so any opportunity to see her is welcome.

But beyond that, work / life balance is important.  You need time to yourself and the fact is work is not everything.   Yes, we all need to earn money to support ourselves.  But work should not override your own personal time that you need for yourself.   Considering I know Friend B very well, this personal time is much needed, maybe more so than maybe your average person.

I went through what Friend B is experiencing now early in my career and I am quite understanding of what her situation is.  I worked in call centers with odd schedules like Thursday through Monday.  Fortunately, as time went on and I got seniority, I was able to get myself out of those odd schedules.  My current job is just Monday through Friday though I have to deal with odd hours every now and then.

All in all, I don't envy what Friend B has to deal with.  It's not fun.  For everyone reading, do what you need to do at work.  But make time for yourself and also try to avoid working on your days off.  All in all, I think it will allow you to enjoy your life much more.

Appreciate Life And People Are You NOW!

This one will be brief!  I found out today that a local boy's varsity basketball coach had suddenly passed away yesterday at the age of 50.  While I didn't know the coach that well, I had seen him around when I officiated or spectated high school basketball games around the area.

All in all, the point is we all need to appreciate life and the people around this.   You never know when it's your time to go.  Even though I didn't know the coach that well, I feel sadness for the family, friends and players he leaves behind.

Things Happen For A Reason

Thursday evening, I left my work place around 6 PM to head to the East Bay for a basketball game around 7:15 PM or so.   Since traffic is pretty bad around this time, I typically call a friend or two to say hi and chat bit.  It alleviates some of the boredom of sitting in traffic.

For this night, I initially gave a call to someone I'll call "Friend #1".  This person is usually around and we hadn't talked for a while so I thought we could catch up.  However, Friend #1 didn't answer so I left a voice mail and continued on with my commute.

As I was driving, it occurred to me that I should call my coworker back ("Coworker #1").  I had called Coworker #1 around 5 PM to ask them something.  Alas, Coworker #1 was busy at the time and called me back at 5:30 instead.  However, I was busy and missed the call.   I thought about calling Coworker #1 back but ultimately didn't.  I was out of the office already and talking more about work would probably just drive me crazy.  It was around this time that I thought I should give a call to Friend #2 instead.  Friend #2 typically gets off work around this time and would be free for a little bit.

However, I resisted because I assumed Friend #1 would call be back.  However, 20 minutes into my commute (it turned into an 1 hour, 15 minute total commute), Friend #1 still hadn't called back so I figured they were busy.   At this point, I gave up the idea of calling anyone and focused on driving.

Well, a few minutes later, Coworker #1 calls me.  Since I'm still on the road, I talk to them a little bit about their day and asked them the question I had.  We talked for a few minutes before Coworker #1 had to go because he had some family things to talk care of.

Literally minutes after I hang up with Coworker #1, Friend #2 decides to give me a ring.  We again talk for a few minutes about our workday before they have to go.

Lastly, just when I thought no one else would call me (I had put my headset down), Friend #1 calls me back.  Unfortunately, I'm the one a little short on time so we only get in a short conversation before I have to go.

All in all,  it was great that I talked to these people.  I'd had a tough workday Wednesday and stress had been high.  So it was good to get a chance to decompress and talk with some people you know.   I didn't quite realize it when I was originally driving but felt a lot better after talking to these people.

Sometimes, even though things initially might not go your way (Friend #1 not around, doesn't call back right away), don't fret.  It was meant to be that others were around who wanted to talk to you plus Friend #1 got back to me eventually.

Life is like shooting a basketball

If there is one thing my friends know me for, it is my passion for basketball. If I'm not playing basketball, I'm officiating, coaching or watching basketball somewhere.

Sometime ago, I wrote on Facebook that I was surprised at my sudden improvement in my basketball shooting, even though I am over 30. Indeed, I have been working on my basketball shooting since I was in 8th grade. Various people (coaches, friends, etc) had commented in my younger days about my shooting mechanics. Some comments involved my release point. Other comments involved my slow release.

I did my best to improve but it wasn't until 2007 when I noticed significant changes. I suddenly discovered my groove and everything started to fall into place. My release point was better. My release was faster. Of course, the shots started falling more often. The best thing though? I was no longer thinking about my shot. Everything was free flowing and natural.

In many ways, life is very much like learning to shoot a basketball. I definitely read many books and tried different ways to shoot a basketball. In life, people go through different jobs, majors and even boyfriends/girlfriends. When you initially try new things like a job, it takes you some time to figure things out. But once you figure it out, you stop thinking about things and just get into your daily groove.

In addition, just like when you shoot a basketball, sometimes you're going to make it and sometimes you may miss. Maybe you end up dating the wrong person. Maybe you choose the wrong major or get into a job that doesn't fit your personality. However, as all basketball players know, if you miss a shot, you eventually will get a chance to shoot again later. When life doesn't quite go your way, don't get discouraged. There will always be another opportunity at some later point.

As smooth as my shooting is going now, I do wish that EVERYTHING in life would go as smoothly. I know that is a bit of a pipe dream, but one can hope. :)

Life in the Fast Lane or the Slow Lane?

From talking to my friends and just reading the news, I see that some people live life to one of two extremes. On one hand, you have people who breeze through life at full speed. They never look at the past and have no regrets over anything that happens.

The positives of living life at full speed is that they never worry about anything. They just do things as they see fit. These people are often confident (if maybe a little cocky or arrogant) that things will go right. Even if things don't go right, they just move on to the next thing.

The negatives are that sometimes these people don't learn from their mistakes. If these people are on the wrong track, then it may be difficult to steer them the right way because they don't stop to think about why things aren't working out.

On the other hand, there are people who do look back at the past but let it be a crutch. These people may have made mistakes which put them in tough situations but they can't get over the mistakes. Or they may have grown up in tough family or social environments and are unable to move past them.

You might say there aren't many positives in looking back but they are. For anyone to improve at anything in life, mistakes have to be made. I can't think of anyone who was able to do something perfect the FIRST TIME.

The negatives for looking back are fairly strong. For people who like to look back and analyze, sometimes when a situations or opportunities arise that need immediate action, these people aren't able to respond in such a quick manner. Thus there may be many missed opportunities in life.

Obviously, the majority of people don't live life to one extreme or the other. We tend to be centered toward the middle. There may be things we breeze right through without thinking about it. There will be other things that we take our time to look back to make an appropriate decision.

My point is that everyone needs to be flexible. Enjoy life but be willing to look back and/or listen to others if things don't seem to be going right. On the other hand, if you tend to look back, don't let previous situations or mistakes cripple your confidence. Every mistake we make will improve us more than we realize.