CodemancerDotCoDotUK

01/2020

It has been long since I wrote monthly summaries. However, this January has been an extraordinary month that is worth noting. If any following month reaches such level of abnormality, it shall be a permanent routine to write down what happens each month.

The first is a dramatic ER visit by ambulance. On Jan 23, in a gym in Century City, I had experienced nausea and threw up, ensuing panic attack rendered me numb and immobile. While waiting for my friend and crouching in the sofa in the lobby, I asked the front desk staff to call paramedics, as I had the premonition that the worst might happen. Then, I had the lifetime experience of being taken to a chair and transported to the ER by an ambulance. I had to wait for the doctor anxiously as the symptoms gradually subsided. In the end, thankfully, I recovered fully in 24 hours. I had similar incidents but that was on a boat, or of food poisoning. What had struck me most was that I still had no idea what caused it this time.

Then, a week later, my car was hit in a parking lot. It was a first, too. While some things are bound to happen sooner or later, it did surprise me they like to occur together. Not the mention that two weeks ago, my online order was found bluntly stolen from the package in front of my door, delivered only 30 minutes ago. Investment was under-performing. Progress on capstone project was lacking…

I felt as January passed, February can pass in a more positive light. One of the changes I have made is, ironically enough, that I picked up my pen (keyboard) again and started writing on this blog. I first finished a post from 4 months ago as I felt the urge to get things done. I also applauded myself for finishing reading a book that took me forever. I went to the gym again, after a respite. Now, I shall do more, and wonderful things will happen.

I Went To See An Eye Floater Doctor

People who are close might have noticed, that I like to wear sunglasses even indoors. Most do not know that I suffer from eye floaters. Eye floaters are the lines or dots one could see looking at a bright background.

I have noticed them first in February when I was on vacation in Catalina Island. Since then, I went to see three ophthalmologists. The last one, Dr. Johnson in Irvine, CA was a specialist in this field, known for his laser treatment of eye floaters.

I went to see Dr. Johnson on 9/17. It was an experience worth noting. The meeting was fairly expected, but he gave me some extra information and insights, which is hard to find on the Internet. He spent an hour just talking, and illustrated coagulated proteins in the vitreous cast shadow on the retina, causing the perception of the floaters. After all, it is unknown what has caused the proteins to clump together, and he gave an assumption that the environment factors, like unhealthy diet, could cause the inflammation or unexpected change in the eye.

Making sure that I have all the information I need to know, Dr. Johnson started to inspect my eye. I have been told that most young patients have the floaters too close the retina, an unfavorable condition for laser treatment. The device is the same one that he used to operate with laser. He attached a contact lens-like lens in my eye, between the microscope-like device and my eye. It was not uncomfortable when he did the inspection. It took about 5 minutes for each eye.

Unfortunately, I was not a candidate for the treatment, as my age predicted. Dr. Johnson discussed other treatment options, like vitrectomy, that usually carries too much risk for an otherwise healthy eye. Yet, some people went for it. As the severity of the symptoms are different for each person, and the tolerance of each person differs. More importantly, many people are stuck at the stage to “fix it,” whereas some have obtained acceptance. It is hard to say which stage I am at, because I am still optimistic that it can be treated, or mitigated, and it does not cause me great distress if, in the end, there is nothing that can be done.

I Ain’t A Gambler

Last 500 days were like a mad train that refuses to ever stop.

Key dates:

11/25/2016 First order to buy 20 shares AMD stocks

05/19/2017 Brokerage account with IB was approved

02/05/2018 The worst performing week ever for me

Apparently, through the up and down of prices, I’ve lost the direction of life. I lost time; I lost money; and I got my first-ever C in college. I get greedy at the top and I suffer from fear at the bottom. Though trading is not the only thing that I regret doing, it turns out to be the culprit of my worsening health and academics. The addictive thought of speculation contributed to some bad decisions I made for my life, as I was ill-prepared for day trading, with an especially bad timing. Nonetheless, I do not hate the market. In fact, it has taught me much: I’ve seen a listed product lose 95% of value in a day; I’ve endured the day when I suffer 300% loss for shorting VIX; and I’ve made thousands out of option trading. However those experiences did not help me become whom I aspire to be: I became a gambler although I knew I ain’t one, not knowing trading was itself a failed financial decision no matter how much I earn out of it.

Despite all, life does not stop here. I have to move on from the mess I created, and it has to be as fast as $XIV drops on the first Monday in February 2018.

Hanwen Zhang

03/06/2018 – SAN DIEGO, Calif

You Have An Accent!

Yes, I have an accent. Everybody has. If you are told you have an accent, that means they way what you speak is different to most people in this area do.

In a university, talking to people from everywhere, I find it easy to identify an accent and thus have an idea of where he or she comes from. Nevertheless, most people don’t, because they are not careful enough. If you can distinguish Indian English or Japanese English, it is not hard to tell the difference among America’s mid-west, California, and the Eastern coast. It is also not a problem to pinpoint which part of UK a person comes from, Scotland, Yorkshire, London, or London’s east-end. The fact is, listen. 

Accents shift frequently. I can speak many English accents in different contexts. The variation is not exclusive to English. People in China typically have two accents, the standard Mandarin and their own dialect.

Language and its accents are intersting objects as they carry information about the speakers’ whereabouts and enrich an distinct local culture. As people migrate, accents are also an intangible mark they take with them.