4°BreakfastMilk

HOLA, it's the time of the year! Thanksgiving is the only western festival I have a special feeling with, neglect the fact that I cannot spend time with my family. But guess what, it's freinds giving! In the past three years' Thanksgiving, I went to Mammoth Mountain skiing, drove to Desser Hill, and took a road trip to Arizona and New Mexico. It's rare to have any time to cook with my friends during the semester and stay up to really late just for fun. And this year, I'm super excited about the upcoming trip to Vancouver. Vancouver has always been on the top of my bucket list. The national parks and large ports really cause my curiosity. Because I'm going to visit in winter, it's probably hard to visit national parks because of snow, but there are few activities I listed out to do:  Candy Town: I don't like eating candy, but it was so satisfying to just watch them lying perfectly in the candy shop. Plus my friends love candy, so we decid...

individual action and system change. It reminds me the liberalism/constructivism in international relations theory I studied about, where the structure is constructed by social practice and it is more about social rather than material. The theory also has an implication that a de-construction of the current system and a re-construction will make the whole world a better place. The author mentioned "Ultimately, we need to change the story of wealth, how it is created, where it comes from, and why it is distributed the way it is.", which really corresponds to this IR theory. Even though I totally get individual wealth is accumulated not only by personal efforts and luck but also by commonly shared resources and infrastructures, the assertion in sharing wealth through mutual understanding and empathy still frightened me. I really appreciate the idea, but my question is if the whole solution is raised under the setting that wealth...

I examed my stock portfolio this morning, and the last quarter looks fabulous. So I think it's time to  Middle August, a bad news from NK and Trump dragged down the market by 3%, but the market bounced back in 2 weeks although with some fluctuations afterward. Easy money to make. Tech sector continues its strong performance,  Hold: MU(Micron Technology): due to the soaring need of semiconductor and the fact only three suppliers on the market, semiconductor industry went up by 10% on average. Originally valued at $40, it is now traded at $42, probably not a great time to buy.  Buy: Sohu is my biggest surprise: up by 22.68% in the past month. Its performance was very mediocre before early October when it announced Sogou's IPO -- the about-to-be first NASDAQ Chinese AI company ever. Considering the IPO valuation and Sohu's diversified investment portfolio, there is still a 60% upside. In comparison, Alibaba, another Chinese tech firm, went down by ...

I really admire Gloria's candid and timely manner in this book. Traveling halftime of her life is not a coincidence, and she started off by telling where this gene comes from and how does it contrast with the home wanted nature(false?) in her mind. Yet the difference comes from not only the other family members like sister and mother and her self-conscious education but most importantly the fact that SHE is a FEMALE. Realized the difference, Gloria traveled around the world and brought snapshots of female she saw and how the chemicals among them transformed feminism in the last century. Gloria is always an activist. Feminism back to the time was a new creature, and Gloria pushed it to an even newer level by "feminism should include female from all background". I can imagine how exciting it would be when she spoke as a team with Dorothy and strived to transform the society instead of integrating with. Gloria never stopped moving and traveling; through traveling with fe...

I really love rainy days, where I can have a legit reason for not going out and spending some time with myself. Living in Los Angeles for three years, I often feel exhausted of the pale sunshine on the forever green grass and the agitated social involvement.  The group activities: student clubs, group meetings, volunteers, all night parties, and hours-long dinners used to take 4/5 of my free time. The result is not-so-good, I was not sure where my passion lays at and what I want to do after USC. Talking to people and making friends is fine, sometimes are inspiring and great. I once believed that 'social person' is a great compliment and building relationships and having fun with friends is the purpose of life. WHAT? Sure, I can. There is a culture that being around by people is COOL and selling yourself wherever possible is admirable. But it feels not right, for me, there were side issues in the over advancement of leadership and socialization. "Social" is not a com...

The Secret to Fast Casual’s Ongoing Success I know a fast-casual restaurant, a mixed creature of casual dining and fast food, is not new, especially for us millennials. After years of glowing coverage, the fast-casual seems to be rather dreary. The not-so-good service and lost controlled foods raised people’s doubt on how sustainable this business is and how long can it go? Is it the end of this model’s golden age? My answer is, simply, No. Food industry research firm Techomic Inc, in an advance copy of its annual ranking of the country’s top 500 restaurant chains, said that while sales rose an average of 4.9 percent for all the chains, the fast-casual segment soared with a growth of 11.4 percent. [1] People looking for quick, fresh, customizable dining options are only increasing today, anywhere from downtown NYC to rural Tennessee. Consumers are still drawn to this segment, but not all fast-casual chains equally. Based on my ...