Stories From My Twenties - SAMPLE

SAMPLE - Go to http://livinganawesomelife.com/blog/twenties if you want the whole thing!
For my mom and dad, whose stories make my stories possible
2012 Sandra Jean Chua - All rights reserved.

Sacha Chua is a writer and web developer living in Toronto, Canada. She shares what shes learning
through her blog at http://livinganawesomelife.com
Logo font: !Sketchy Times
Heading font: Merienda One
Body font: Georgia
Chapters
18 to 19 years old: In university
19 to 20 years old: Teaching
10
21 years old: Japan
13
21 to 23 years old: Moving to Canada
14
23 to 25 years old: Settling into Canada
15
25 to 26 years old: Work and life
16
26 to 27 years old: Getting married
18
27 to 28 years old: Coming into my own
20
Introduction
One of the best things about keeping a journal is
being able to travel back in time and see yourself
as you were. Curious about the highlights of my
past decade, I spent a few weeks re-reading my
entire blog archive and rating each post on a
scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most significant.
It wasnt easy rereading the past. I winced over
mistakes, felt nostalgic, regretted lost friends,
and missed the certainty of idealism. Im glad I
did, though. I can trace the story of how I got
here, see how much Id grown, and imagine
where this next decade will take me.
Out of more than six thousand posts, I
rated a little more than a hundred with five stars.
These are those posts - the milestones of my
twenties, the things that I want to remember as
the years go by. There are many things I hadnt
written about, but most of the highlights are

here.
This is the story of a geek girl growing up. I
started writing when I was eighteen years old and
in
university,
flush
with
possibilities
and
excitement. I followed my passion into teaching

computer science in the Philippines, then spent
six months in Japan on a technical internship.
While there, I applied for graduate studies, which
took me halfway around the world to Canada. In
Canada, I struggled with homesickness, made
difficult decisions, and grew into someone I
could not have imagined being when I started.
Now, on the threshold of something new, I cant
wait to see what else life will bring.
The twenties are for figuring yourself out,
but thats really a lifelong experiment. I learned a
lot from so many people along the way, and
maybe youll pick up some ideas from my stories
Living An Awesome Life
Introduction
too. Life is too short to be able to explore all the
off. Let me tell you this: Im glad I wrote about
different paths, so its great to be able to catch
the simple, everyday, mundane details of life. Its
glimpses of other peoples lives. Heres mine. I
only when you look back that you can see the
hope its useful.
significance of little things, so hang in there and
I also want to share what it feels like to

have been writing for so long. Many people are
just starting out with writing or blogging, and it
can be difficult to imagine how writing can pay
keep writing.
I still have so much to learn and do, and I
hope youll keep sharing the adventure with me.

Playing with planner (linux, emacs) ............................................................................................................. 1
Borging out .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Immersion ................................................................................................................................................... 3
On priorities ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Evolution of an Emacs user ......................................................................................................................... 8
Playing with planner (linux, emacs)
November 2nd, 2001 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/6738
Today's been a busy day. I don't suppose I can get

planner to nicely work with all the rest of emacs,
can it? I rather like emacswiki... Alright, seems to
be fine. Planner's actually pretty nifty. I'll pop the
description into my remembrance agent index on
the next scan, I suppose; maybe it'll be useful. I
wonder if I can get the wiki to recognize non-wiki
words. That would be pretty nice. Off to dinner
with me now.

while struggling with literary analysis and
procrastinating essays. My literature teacher told
me that I was among the worst underachievers
he had ever seen. The computer science
department head called me into his office and
wagged a finger at me for my grades.
I'm a programmer! I don't do irony, I
said. I wanted things to be as simple and clear as
computer programming. Writing essays made me
feel like I was making things up, trying to figure
out what the teachers wanted. I didn't write
much. It was only when I started writing for
Update from June 17, 2012
myself - notes about the things I was learning,
I didn't start out in love with writing. In 2001, I
transcripts from class, brainstorming about life -
was eighteen years old and in the second year of
that I found that writing was helpful. When I
my computer science degree at Ateneo de Manila
started publishing my notes out of technical
University, a liberal-arts university in the
curiosity, I was amazed to find that other people
Philippines. My entrance test results had placed
found them useful too.
me in Merit English, where I promptly earned Ds
The next few years of my blog posts were
I like being able to read my mail or check
mostly just quick notes that I'd taken while
my messages. I like being able to read my history
exploring Emacs or learning in class. It took me
notes or dash off a quick note. I like this.
years to figure out that I could write about other

things, too.
Borging out
No accidents yet. Good thing. I don't read

while crossing the street, and I can pay attention
to the real world well enough.
I've also freaked out some of my students. I
July 23rd, 2002 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/6747
Richi and my mom started bugging me about my

journal. Here it is!
The CE guys came through with my battery
asked for someone's ID number, pulled up my

records, and started rattling off full name,
contact info, project submissions...
Life is good.
power supply, so I have been walking around

with my M1.
I am Borg.
I showed it to some CS teachers waiting
outside the department. Everyone was, like, This
is sooo cool. Random strangers walk up to me
and ask me what it is.
Glossary:
Computer
M1
CE
Engineering
head-mounted
display available from

www.tekgear.ca Borg short for cyborg. Also
term made popular by

Star Trek, a television series.

This was the first time I'd played around with the
idea of an opportunity fund, and my experiments
paid off. We had won a significant sum in a
programming competition, and my parents
helped me put my share in a savings account. I
wanted to use part of the winnings to learn more
about technology, so after lots of consideration, I
ordered a head-mounted display from Tekgear.
The M1 was a 320x240 monochrome

Using the M1 was a little disruptive,
though, as people kept walking up to me and
asking me what it was. I eventually switched to
using speech synthesis with the Emacspeak
package. That way, I could read my mail or listen
to a manual while looking like I was listening to
music.
Still,
the
M1
captured
people's
imagination, and I ended up in a few news stories

because of it.
Immersion
August 11th, 2002 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/6754
display with a monocular eyepiece attached to
I had my social immersion this weekend. See, our
the headband. It was a little difficult to use with
university requires that all graduating students
eyeglasses and drew too much attention when
spend two and a half days living among the poor
out and about, but I liked using it within the
so that we can get an idea of what their life is like.
safety of school. With the Twiddler one-handed
I actually enjoyed it. It wasn't too bad. Actually, it
keyboard, I could take notes -- or look up my
was kinda fun watching my groupmates freak
notes -- while walking around.
out. Shhh.
We learned how to cook some of the things
the different groups in these slums is a small
the vendors sell on the street. We slept in their
chapel. Hardly a chapel, even - just a clear space
shanties, ate their food, and (to the horror of
with a roof over its head and a small altar for
some of my groupmates) showered in their tiny
Mass - but it has resulted in deep rifts. Fr. Padua
bathrooms equipped only with a bucket of water
and the other people we talked to seem to think
and a small pitcher. I'm sorta used to it because
that one of the families there is trying to
of camping. Not a kind of life I'd want to live
maintain control over this chapel for somewhat
permanently, but I made do.
less than admirable reasons. It's apparently quite
Most of the time, though, we listened. They
a lucrative venture - P2,000 for a wake, when the
have interesting stories. Apparently most of them
actual costs are so much lower! Other people
are from a few provinces in the Visayas, and they
complain about the drinking and gambling going
left because they feared the insurgents in the
on there - sometimes even inside the chapel.
area. They've been occupying that lot for some 30
Accusations of nepotism abound, especially since
to 40 years now, and a few generations have
the controlling family seems to be exploiting the
grown up there.
common space for their own personal gain.
As part of our social immersion program
Of course, I feel vaguely uncomfortable at
under Fr. Padua (our theology teacher), we
hearing only one side of this. I wonder what they
looked into the issues that united and divided
would have to say.
their community. A major bone of contention for
We'll probably be focusing on that for our
little money they had on drinking and gambling.
report. Anyway, look - I survived immersion.
I also heard about how families scrimped in
Cool, yes?
order to send their children to school; long days

I haven't been back to the area that we stayed in
for our immersion, but I still remember what it
was like. Our host family was gracious, making
space for us even though there was hardly any
room or privacy in their shanty. My host mother
remarked how good it was to see that I didn't feel
queasy about eating simple food with my fingers
or showering with a dipper. My parents had
raised us to not be particular.
I remember going around with our host
mother to people's places as our host mother
talked about the different families. I peeked into
leanto that had a DVD player and a karaoke mic,
and heard stories about fathers who spent the
vending food on the streets in order to make

enough money for uniforms and books. It was
good to see how people's faith helped them stay
strong and how they trusted their pastor (our
teacher) to help them speak up for their needs,
but I also heard how families struggled with
taking care of so many kids running around, and
how some despaired because the babies just kept
coming...
Some of my groupmates made a break for
civilization, taking a few kids with them to a mall.
I stayed and learned a little about selling food
from carts. Later, during the immersion, one of
my groupmates broke down in the church,
sobbing
about
how
he
had
never
really
understood and how lucky he felt. Me, well... no
particular earth-shattering epiphanies, but that
on what actions or decisions you make.
was okay. Although we had never gone hungry,
Judge well what is good for you.Love you
my parents had been poor when they were
always, Mom
young, and I had already known how lucky I was
P.S. See, you do have a love life. We all love
to have the kinds of opportunities I had. It was
you. I more than and ahead of anybody and
enough to connect with people as people, to get
everybody else.
to know some stories of individual lives.
So, here are my priorities as of 20030113, not
On priorities
January 13th, 2003 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/418
necessarily in order:
Here's the official word from my mom.
for a love life later on. For now, concentrate

on your studies. But then, it's your choice. I
teaching techniques along the way.
other people realize how fun and helpful it
would have to watch yourself and decide

that
there
are
rewards,
repercussions or complications - depending
Teach computer science. I really, really

like computer science, and I want to help
can't be watching you all the time, so you

which or who(m) are your priorities. Just
Get a PhD. The training will help me do

research, and I'll be able to pick up useful
Dearest Sacha, You will have plenty of time
remember
can be.
Help people grow and reach their

potential. (That includes helping myself
grow.) Still have to figure out how to help

people do that.
This does not, however, prevent me from

appreciating the friends I have. I know that really
I'm not completely devoted to this plan, and by
good friendships help me grow as a person and
that I mean that I understand that I am not
achieve my dreams, and indeed the warmth and
absolutely
and
support I receive from my family and friends is
development of computer science. Still, I really
something I treasure. And it really is rather nice
like the field, and as one of those rare girls who
to interact with people.
essential
to
the
progress
actually enjoy computer science, I feel I have an
I think I have recently figured out how to
opportunity to make a big difference. I don't
get around my occasional spells of antisocial-
think I want to have to deal with the possible
ness. It seems to be simply a matter of practice
complications of being in luuuuuurv until I've
and will, and I must give credit to some friends
earned my PhD and have established a name for
who don't know that they helped me figure it out.
myself. So that pretty much rules out formal,
There is something to be said about love and
long-term, conventional romantic relationships
growth, if my Philosophy and Theology classes
(eeeeew!) for a long time. I suppose that should
have any truth to them.
postpone all dilemmas until after I finish
I also have to watch out - might become
graduate school, by which time I should have a
_too_ rational or need too much control over my
better understanding of all of this.
life. Like for example, I have a bit of a hang-up

regarding the word love, since it can mean
quite different things to people, and I'm a little
afraid of becoming incontinent as defined by
It turns out that relationships can be a Good
Aristotle. (See? I get to use Philo after all.)
Thing. It took me a while to figure that out. I
Distraction is doubleplus ungood, but so is
found myself gradually opening up to making
neurosis.
long-term plans with someone, and W- and I got
I love computer science not just because of

the abstract algorithms and programs, but more
because of the people I get to meet and help and
learn from. So I'm into this whole social thing,
but I'm just taking things a little at a time. Kinda
like the spiral model of software development.
I'm sure we'll all manage to figure
something out.
So basically, people know my plans. If you
think that you can help me become a better
person and that I can help you become a better
person, then we'll see how things work out.
This is published for future reference, since
it's nice to have more information.
married in 2010.
Evolution of an Emacs user

March 18th, 2003 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/526
Like many newbies, I started out with pico, the

editor that comes with pine. pico was friendly.
pico was easy to use. pico also kept wrapping my
lines, which is a Very Bad Idea when you're
programming. I discovered that pico -w would
turn such undesirable behavior off, and alias
pico="pico -w " became part of my .bashrc
everywhere.
However, I felt mildly ashamed of pico. All
the Unix books said I should learn how to use vi,
so I did. vi was fun, too - vim, especially. I had
shortcuts and extended commands. It was pretty
my
cool.
funky
one-line
ex
commands,
like
:s%/foo/bar/g. I could go to any line with
Then one summer, I opened the Emacs
:linenumber. I regularly used :! to invoke shell
LISP intro manual. I got hooked. I started
commands. I liked the way it syntax-colored
reading Emacs source code. I traced through
practically all the files I edited - even the more
functions. I wrote my own. I did more and more
obscure ones - and I was even thinking of writing
stuff in Emacs and I realized how much I had
my own syntax files for the things it didn't handle
missed by using other editors.
yet.
Emacs is cool.
I suppose it was sheer curiosity that made
me try out Emacs. Emacs was an intellectual

challenge. I found myself attracted to its
intimidating complexity. I wanted to see if I
could get the hang of it.
Emacs was surprisingly easy to use. I read
through the tutorial. I even browsed through the
info node in my spare time. I used the menu bar
and the tool bar until I learned the different

I'm still in love with Emacs after all these years.
It grows faster than I do. There's so much to
learn about it, and the more I learn, the more I
appreciate having such a flexible tool. The Emacs
community is amazing, too.
Youve reached the end of the sample chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, and Id love to hear from you. You
can comment on my blog at the URL below, or e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com .
In the next few pages, youll see previews of the other chapters. If you find them interesting, you can get
the full book of highlights from http://livinganawesomelife.com/blog/twenties . Thank you for reading!
10

Kitten .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
On helping people learn ............................................................................................................................. 13
Found an apartment! ................................................................................................................................. 15
Cat stories ................................................................................................................................................... 15
Oooh, teaching story! .................................................................................................................................16
On the introductory sequence .................................................................................................................... 16
Wedding stories......................................................................................................................................... 24
CookOrDie!................................................................................................................................................ 26
CookOrDie: Day 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 28
First day of classes ..................................................................................................................................... 29
On puzzles and conversation ...................................................................................................................... 31
The potato misadventures ......................................................................................................................... 32
Somewhat depressed ................................................................................................................................. 36
Rice ............................................................................................................................................................ 37
Thoughts on training ................................................................................................................................. 38
The class is practically running itself ........................................................................................................ 40
Herding cats ............................................................................................................................................... 41
11
Tales from under my desk ......................................................................................................................... 43

ISC stories: Elimination ............................................................................................................................ 45
12
21 years old: Japan
21 years old: Japan

AOTS confirmed ........................................................................................................................................ 50
Another Kitten Who Must Not Be Named! ............................................................................................... 50
Necessity is the mother of invention ......................................................................................................... 52
Reflections on what I value ....................................................................................................................... 52
My moms started blogging! ...................................................................................................................... 53
On being an assembly-line programmer ................................................................................................... 56
13

Daring cat rescue!...................................................................................................................................... 59
GOT MY VISA! Despedida details ............................................................................................................. 60
Milestone: first time to use a washing machine ........................................................................................ 62
Moments with my mom ............................................................................................................................ 64
Reflections on 2005 .................................................................................................................................. 65
Potluck lucky ............................................................................................................................................. 68
Raided the library ...................................................................................................................................... 68
Democamp a blast! .................................................................................................................................... 69
Musicals...................................................................................................................................................... 71
Neko .......................................................................................................................................................... 72
14

Help getting on my feet = priceless .......................................................................................................... 74
Opera is wonderful .................................................................................................................................... 75
Keys to my first apartment! ....................................................................................................................... 76
My very own place! .................................................................................................................................... 76
I miss my family .........................................................................................................................................77
Weekly review: Week ending May 18 ........................................................................................................ 78
Year in review: Life as a 24-year-old ......................................................................................................... 81
15

How I got my job at IBM .......................................................................................................................... 114
Life as a 25-year-old ................................................................................................................................. 117
The shy connector .................................................................................................................................... 119
Reflecting on relationships....................................................................................................................... 127
Notes from my staycation........................................................................................................................ 128
Back from staycation ............................................................................................................................... 130
Made a lunch bag ..................................................................................................................................... 131
Almost a permanent resident! Decisions, decisions.............................................................................. 132
Thinking about conferences ..................................................................................................................... 135
Vacations and the introvert ...................................................................................................................... 137
Fleece blankets and seasons ..................................................................................................................... 141
Trying out visual notetaking at a workshop .............................................................................................142
Living in the sweet spot ............................................................................................................................ 143
Learning about my grandmother ............................................................................................................. 145
Thoughts on the brain drain ....................................................................................................................146
Behind the scenes: Livin la Vida Emacs .................................................................................................. 147
Lessons from 2009 and plans for 2010 ....................................................................................................150
16
Learning plan for 2010 ............................................................................................................................. 153

Happy-do, epiphanies, and relentless improvement ............................................................................... 155
Gifts .......................................................................................................................................................... 156
Getting ready for a long trip ..................................................................................................................... 157
What do I delegate, and why? ..................................................................................................................158
How I explore my interests ..................................................................................................................... 160
Sketch: Elephant love ...............................................................................................................................163
Learning assertiveness .............................................................................................................................164
Recovering from jet lag ............................................................................................................................ 165
Recovering ................................................................................................................................................ 165
Every teachable moment .......................................................................................................................... 167
17

Agendas ................................................................................................................................................... 170
How not to propose marriage................................................................................................................... 170
Patternicity, how things come together, and happiness .......................................................................... 172
Circuses, pots, and cathedrals: three key stories...................................................................................... 174
Seeds......................................................................................................................................................... 176
Winter ...................................................................................................................................................... 179
Getting ready for a new adventure .......................................................................................................... 180
Not just a word ........................................................................................................................................ 182
A little less wise, a little more awesome .................................................................................................. 184
On circumstances and somebodies ..........................................................................................................185
Experiments as a presenter ..................................................................................................................... 188
Kitchen kaizen ..........................................................................................................................................192
From delegation to automation................................................................................................................194
Bread of salt and taste of home ................................................................................................................ 195
Squirrels, shop class and drafting: making my peace with high school ...................................................196
A letter to my 8-year-old self................................................................................................................... 198
Dear future Sacha, ................................................................................................................................... 201
18
Keeping my name .................................................................................................................................... 202

Blueberry jam, apricot syrup, and kiwi jam ............................................................................................ 204
Love and reaction .................................................................................................................................... 205
Two days of awesome .............................................................................................................................. 207
Long weekend reflections ........................................................................................................................ 210
Twenty-seven; life as a twenty-six year old .............................................................................................. 212
On a Lenovo X61 ......................................................................................................................................214
Drawing with my tablet ............................................................................................................................ 215
Redoing things .........................................................................................................................................216
Filipiniana ................................................................................................................................................ 217
Married! ...................................................................................................................................................219
Back on the writing wagon ...................................................................................................................... 220
19

How I got into computer science............................................................................................................. 223
The story of the shoes at our wedding ..................................................................................................... 228
Watched Wicked again; thinking about experiences .............................................................................. 229
Yearly review: 2010 ................................................................................................................................. 230
The great washing machine adventure.................................................................................................... 233
Ten lessons learned from disassembling and rebuilding our washing machine ..................................... 236
Back from the Netherlands ..................................................................................................................... 239
Looking back at life as a 27-year-old ....................................................................................................... 242
Built a USB foot pedal using the Arduino Uno........................................................................................ 245
Experience report: Incorporating a federal numbered corporation in Canada ...................................... 249
Happy monthsary to me!............................................................................................................................. 2
20
TO BE CONTINUED
LivingAnAwesomeLife.com
Sacha Chua
21

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SAMPLE - Go to http://livinganawesomelife.com/blog/twenties if you want the whole thing!

For my mom and dad, whose stories make my stories possible

2012 Sandra Jean Chua - All rights reserved.

19 to 20 years old: Teaching

21 years old: Japan

21 to 23 years old: Moving to Canada

23 to 25 years old: Settling into Canada

25 to 26 years old: Work and life

26 to 27 years old: Getting married

27 to 28 years old: Coming into my own

written about, but most of the highlights are

excitement. I followed my passion into teaching

Living An Awesome Life

too. Life is too short to be able to explore all the

off. Let me tell you this: Im glad I wrote about

different paths, so its great to be able to catch

the simple, everyday, mundane details of life. Its

glimpses of other peoples lives. Heres mine. I

hope its useful.

significance of little things, so hang in there and

I also want to share what it feels like to

Living An Awesome Life

18 to 19 years old: In university

18 to 19 years old: In university

Living An Awesome Life

Playing with planner (linux, emacs)

November 2nd, 2001 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/6738

Today's been a busy day. I don't suppose I can get

18 to 19 years old: In university

Update from June 17, 2012

myself - notes about the things I was learning,

I didn't start out in love with writing. In 2001, I

transcripts from class, brainstorming about life -

was eighteen years old and in the second year of

that I found that writing was helpful. When I

my computer science degree at Ateneo de Manila

started publishing my notes out of technical

University, a liberal-arts university in the

curiosity, I was amazed to find that other people

Philippines. My entrance test results had placed

found them useful too.

me in Merit English, where I promptly earned Ds

Living An Awesome Life

18 to 19 years old: In university

The next few years of my blog posts were

I like being able to read my mail or check

mostly just quick notes that I'd taken while

my messages. I like being able to read my history

exploring Emacs or learning in class. It took me

notes or dash off a quick note. I like this.

years to figure out that I could write about other

No accidents yet. Good thing. I don't read

July 23rd, 2002 - http://sachachua.com/blog/p/6747

Richi and my mom started bugging me about my

asked for someone's ID number, pulled up my

power supply, so I have been walking around

display available from

Living An Awesome Life