我今天给抽了10罐血。I had 10 vials of blood drawn today.

我在 Sutter 看的长期新冠医生要做11个血液测试。今天去抽血，给抽了10罐血。😭 还正好碰到了一个新手，还不会抽。新手抽了一罐血，针就出来了。后来最后九罐是她的老师抽的。我今天两个手臂都给戳了一下。😢 

The long COVID specialist I'm seeing at Sutter wanted to run 11 blood tests. I went in for my blood test today, and they took 10 vials of blood. 😭 Also just my luck, I got an intern who didn't know how to draw blood. After the intern took the first vial, the needle came out. Her mentor had to do the other 9 vials. I got poked once in both arms today. 😢

昨天晚上撞了个野猪。We hit a wild boar last night.

我昨天晚上和爸妈去了 Mines Road、State Route 130、和 Mt. Hamilton 拍夜景。我和爸一直拍到了今天早上五点。😁 昨天晚上在山里开车的时候，我爸不小心撞了野猪，我们车的 bumper 有一点点损伤。我们撞的好像是野猪的屁股，所以 bumper 上还有点野猪屎。😓 我等会儿因该去把车上的野猪屎去洗掉。。。

Last night, my parents and I went to Mines Road, State Route 130, and Mt. Hamilton for night photography. My dad and I were shooting until 5 AM. 😁 As we were driving in the mountain, my dad accidentally hit a wild boar. Our bumper took a little damage. I think we hit the boar's butt so there is a tiny bit of poop on it. 😓 I should go wash off the wild boar poop off our car later...

在我们车 bumper 上的野猪屎。

The wild boar poop on our bumper.

在我们车 bumper 上的野猪屎。

The wild boar poop on our bumper.

我兔子的博客上找到了 Google+ 的代码！I found Google+ code on my bunny blog!

我不知道你们知不知道，我有专门给我兔子做的一个博客（你要是不知道的话，可以在这里找到。这个博客没有中文。）。我今天才发现我那个博客上还有 Google+ 的代码。Google+ 2019年就没了。我把博客上 Google+ 代码这件事忘记了！😂 我现在清理掉了。

I don't know if you know, but I have a blog for my pet rabbit (Berg). If you don't know, you can find it here. The blog is in English only. Today, I found Google+ code on the blog. Google+ was retired in 2019. I completely forgot I still had Google+ code on the blog. 😂 I cleaned it up now.

我这几天在整理旧照片！I spent the last few days sorting old photos!

我这几天好像把我旧的照片全部整理完了。我也哭了很久。我最早的照片2005就开始拍了。好多很伤心的记忆在里面。我小时候三岁，那是还在中国呢，第一次跟我妈说我觉得我是个女孩儿想要她把我当成女儿，可是她没把我当回事。那时候她还骗了我，给我留下了创伤。（这件事我就不想多说了。）我十六岁才知道变性是什么。中间痛苦了很久，也不知道多少次不想活下去了。我也看到那时候十六岁刚开始有点打扮成女生的样子拍的照片，可是那是父母不接受。我那时候忧郁的拍出来的照片装个笑脸都装不出来。😭 我开始用雌性激素以后就不一样了，那个笑是真的，我那年拍了好多自拍啊！后来过了几年又没有拍太多了，一直到疫情中间我减了肥，又拍了好多自拍啊。😂 我还看到那时候二零零八到二零零九年的时候钓了好多鱼，有时候每天跑一个地方钓鱼。我妈再说她和爸以为可以帮我忧郁症好一点。我现在看着都有点恶心了。我那时候杀生杀了很多，一直都是有点可怜那些鱼的。现在我吃素了，所以不杀生了。有可能一部分也是那时候的记忆有把我推回来又变成佛教徒了。这几天感觉好像这么多年从新过了一遍，有好的记忆也有坏的记忆，就是坏的记忆比较多。。。

I think I finished sorting all of my old photos these past few days. I also cried a lot. Some of the earliest photos are from 2005. There are a ton of memories in them. The first time I came out to my mom, I was 3 and still in China. I told her I felt I'm a girl and I wanted her to treat me as if I'm her daughter. She didn't take me seriously. In fact she lied to me and left me with trauma. (I don't want to elaborate on this anymore.) I didn't know what being transgender was until I was 16. I suffered a lot during that time, and even thought about not wanting to live a lot. I can see photos from when I'm 16 when I first started really dressing up as a female, but my parents wouldn't accept me. I was so depressed back then, I couldn't even fake a smile. 😭 Once I started hormone pills, I started smiling for real, and I shot so many selfies! A while after that, the selfies died down. Then after that, during the pandemic, I started taking a ton of selfies again after I lost a ton of weight. 😂 I also saw so many fishing photos from 2008 to 2009, sometimes our family went to a different spot to fish every day. My mom told me that she and my dad thought it might help with my depression. I feel a bit nauseous just looking at them now. I killed so much life back then, and I always felt a bit bad for the fish. I'm now a vegetarian, so I no longer kill animals. Maybe a small part of me coming back to Buddhism was because of those memories. These past few days has me feeling like I've been reliving all those years all over again, with good memories and bad memories, but unfortunately most of it was bad...

Tech Company Controlled Future Dystopia (Dream)

I had the weirdest futuristic dystopian dream yesterday night. My dad needed to go to work, and for some reason our entire family drove up to this building, which kind of looked like some sort of smart vehicle parking garage. One side was for employees, and the other side was for cars and guests. My dad gets off, badged in, and walked off down the corridor for employees. This conveyor belt starts moving my mom, the car, and I through the system of futuristic looking corridors that is very brightly lit (like something you'd see in a Sci-Fi movie). Then the conveyor belt split. One lane for Facebook, another for Microsoft, and another for Apple, and the final one for Google. The in car GPS suddenly lit up and changed, saying the trip will be 38 miles and 50 minutes.

We began traveling down the Google corridor. I blinked once, and suddenly my mom and I was in this bus sized gondola traveling with others through the San Francisco Bay Area's network of cables and gondolas, all of which were owned and operated by the 4 largest tech giants.

At first I was enjoying the scenery, as all the mountains surrounding us (apparently we were traveling through Fremont at the time), were covered with snow. There is some reality to this since it has been snowing like crazy here in the San Francisco Bay Area recently. After a while, I remember getting into an argument with my mom thinking, "Wait! When did I agree to this trip?", also "Don't I have photos to edit, and photos to take?", and "What the heck did I get myself into?". Anyways I woke up pretty soon after. 😂

It was pretty creepy dreaming of a San Francisco Bay Area covered with a public transport system comprised of gondolas and light rails, all of which are owned and operated by the 4 biggest tech giants. I wonder if I did end up seeing into the future of capitalist America. 😅 Anything is achievable if you have the money. Honestly, it looked a bit like China 🇨🇳, but in the Fremont, with all the public transportation built out. In China 🇨🇳 we have gondolas at most tourist hotspots, and we have really sophisticated light rail systems.

PS: I responded very well to an experimental treatment recently for Visual Snow Syndrome. My day time vision is almost completely normal now, and I've recovered around half of my night vision. I've began taking photos again during the day, and very rarely, some night photography with assistance from my parents.

做梦梦见了佛。I dreamed of the Buddha.

我好久没在这个博客上写东西了。今天我想给你讲一个故事。二零二一年三月三十号，我做了个梦，我梦见了佛。那天晚上我做梦，我和妈回到中国 🇨🇳 旅游了。我们来到了一座山，山顶有座庙 ☯️。我们爬了很多楼梯才爬到了这座庙。我妈手机响了，她叫我一个人先进去拜佛，她先接个电话。我就一个人进去了。我看到了一个很大的佛像，还有很多和尚和尼姑在念经。我跪了下来开始求菩萨帮我把视力治好，帮我不要感觉这么难过了。我正在拜佛的时候，那个佛像一下子从打坐的姿势站了起来，化成了一位和尚，走了过来。我和庙里和尚和尼姑都吓了一跳，都看着现在化成和尚的菩萨，慢慢的往我跪着的地方走了过来。我站了起来，菩萨把一个手放在我的肩膀上，让后对我说，“别吃肉了，别杀生了，吃素吧。” 我吓了一跳，吓醒了。那次梦做完了，除了几次不小心吃了点荤，我一直都是吃素的了。

I haven't wrote on this blog in a long time. Today, I want to tell you a story. On 30 March 2021, I had a dream, I dreamed of the Buddha. My mom and I returned to China 🇨🇳 for travels. We arrived at a mountain, at the peak is a Buddhist monastery ☯️. We climbed a lot of stairs to reach the monastery. My mom's phone ran, and she told me to go in first to pray, she has to answer a call first. I went in myself. I saw a giant Buddha statue, and there were quite a few monks and nuns inside reading the sacred scriptures. I kneeled down and started praying, asking the Buddha to help fix my vision, and to help me not feel so horrible all the time. As I was praying, the Buddha statue which was in a meditative pose, suddenly stood up, proceeded to transform into a monk, and started walking towards me. The monks and nuns in the monastery along with me became quite shocked as we watched the now transformed "Buddha monk" slowly walk towards me. I stood up, the Buddha put one hand on my shoulder, and said to me, "Stop eating meat, stop killing animals, and become a vegetarian." I suddenly woke up from the shock. After that dream, other than a few times I accidentally ate meat, I've been a vegetarian since.

7 years later...

It has been 7 years since I posted on this blog. So many things has changed. In fact, most of you guys reading this post right now don't even know I had a personal blog. I wrote on this blog back then during my immature, teenage years, now I'm an adult (so please keep this in mind if you do decide to read my old posts). So much of my views has changed, the world has changed.

I still remember back when my mom drove me to and back from Mid Pen, as we get onto the Dumbarton Bridge, I'd always be excited to see the Sun Microsystems sign and their office buildings. Of course that is all gone now, replaced with a huge Facebook hitchhiker's thumb, along with Facebook and Instagram headquarters. Facebook has also changed the way we blog. Back then, I'd rant and talk about my problems and things on my mind here, over the past 7 years, Facebook has sort of replaced this, although it is not exactly the same thing. The whole company went from being a small company helping friends connect or reconnect with each other, to being a huge company that hoards and sells off your personal data.

We have also changed the way we use our phones and the phones we use has changed too. Back then, we'd use phones for their intended purpose, for calls, texts, and maybe the occasional crappy photo (if you were the lucky few with a crappy camera on your phone). The phone batteries would last weeks to months on a single charge instead of just a few days if you're lucky. People didn't care much about security because our lives didn't revolve around a tiny device that flips open when you need to use it. Now we protect our phones like it's our baby, sheltering it from the criminals of this world, and protecting it from getting damaged or lost. Also, the smartphones these days are a lot more fragile, and break a lot easier than the flip phones back in the day. Everyone has a mini computer in their pockets everyday now, and we barely use it for their original purpose, to place calls and send texts. Instead we use them as our cameras, our social media clients, as an exercise tracker, etc... It seems as if we use our phones these days for everything but their original purpose. Remember back then when your math teacher would tell you're most likely not going to have a calculator in your pocket in the future? I bet those teachers feel pretty stupid now don't they? HAHA

Vision Loss

Things has also changed for me too, I wouldn't say for the worse, but I went from a passionate photographer for over a decade, to an individual who uses a white cane. Unfortunately, I've been diagnosed with neurological conditions (visual snow syndrome and migraines) that affect my vision. It does not make me fully blind, but it does impair my vision quite a bit. I still take photos to a certain extent, but the vision loss has severely cut into my ability to take photos and ambulate. There are no treatments for the first and limited treatments for the latter. There is also not a lot of research on visual snow syndrome. Both conditions seem to affect the way the brain processes visual information from the eyes. My eyes, on the other hand, are healthy.

I am readapting to my remaining vision and my remaining senses, and using a white cane, so things are getting easier over time. I wouldn't say this is for the worse. I can finger read Grade I Braille to a certain extent (sometimes I don't have any remaining vision to use, the amount of vision loss varies a bit daily), so I can read in the dark. I can navigate in the dark pretty well, which means I'm not completely lost during a black out. Also it has helped me experience the world in whole new ways. My hearing is a lot more sensitive now, I can hear a lot more things these days, and have a much better time locating and identifying things just by the sounds they make. I can identify a lot of things by touch only. These are skills a lot of people without disabilities don't have, and it allows me to do things those people can't do. 

I have also started appreciating a lot of new things in life, and learned not take things for granted. Everything in life can change fast, mother nature is unforgiving, Murphy's law is real. One day you can be a passionate photographer, and the next you can be blind as a bat (not exactly my situation, but you get my point). My conditions are neurological, there are short periods where my vision returns to normal or almost normal, I always fill up these "good periods" with as much vision intensive work as I can.

I am also very grateful that I am living in the 21st century, where technology is advancing at an incredible rate. Accessible technology is also way better than back in the day, and I am very grateful I'm dealing with vision impairment now than over a decade ago. Screen reader support is somewhat mature these days, they don't sound like the old robotic voice of Microsoft Sam anymore, they sound a lot more human and it is easier to understand them. AI can figure out what is on photos and tell me. I can video chat with volunteers so they can look at my surroundings and help guide me. Computer monitors has gotten so big these days, I can magnify things quite big. Also, big companies are a lot more aware of the importance of accessibility for the disabled, so they are building native assistive technology right into the devices we use.

Anyways, I'm really glad to be back writing on this blog. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years before I write here again. No idea if I will continue writing here, but I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you do decide to go read my past posts, please keep in mind I wrote on this blog back then during my immature, teenage years, so you might see things that are offensive, things that are considered not nice by modern standards, or things that people wouldn't say these days. There might also be broken links in the past posts. 

Canon "Crap" Service Center in Irvine, CA

UPDATE: Canon has finally repaired my camera after 3 TRIPS to the repair center. Read this article to find out what happened.

I would like to tell you about Canon's "Crap" Service Center in Irvine, CA. As you guys know that a while back I told you that the self cleaning unit on my Canon EOS 5D Mark III is most likely malfunctioning and that my sensor got dirty fast as it isn't shaking any dust off. So I went ahead, contacted Canon about it and they told me to ship it into their service center so they can have a look. While at it, I also told them about the under exposure issue I was having with the camera. Once I got it back, they told me they have adjusted the meter system which was slightly off. Also they said that they did check and adjust my self cleaning unit (pretty much admitting it was malfunctioning) and that they also gave me a sensor clean. Note that the only reason the sensor got so dirty that I had to get it cleaned was because the self cleaning unit was malfunctioning. So I got it back and noticed that their technician left some residue on my lens. I told Canon about it, and they were nice enough to give me a free shipping label to get my camera back in for a reclean, something they didn't do adequately the first time it was in there. I was happy and I sent it back in for a reclean. Funny thing. Once I got it back, not only was my sensor dirtier than when I sent it in (I have photos to prove this), there was also a deep scratch across the Canon logo on the back of the camera, and if it wasn't for my screen protector on the LCD, they would have left a small but deep mark on my LCD too! What kind of "professional service" is this? More like "we have workers who don't give a shit about you". If you need your camera repaired do not ship your camera to the service center in Irvine, CA. It's a joke. Let this be a warning. Do not trust your camera to the service center in Irvine, CA. I have contacted Canon customer support about this. Will update you guys if anything turns up.

Update 6-27-2013:
I got an email back from Canon saying:
"Dear Eric Wu:

We appreciate your continued correspondence regarding EOS 5D Mark III.

I'm sorry to hear the problems you are having with our service center. If you would reply to this email with the previous repair number I will get you a shipping label to get the camera back to us, so we can correct this for you. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause having to send it back in, buy we will get this taken care of for you.

We look forward to your reply with the information we have requested regarding your EOS 5D Mark III. Thank you for choosing Canon.

Sincerely,

[Name Removed For Privacy]
Technical Support Representative"

Here is what I have to say to that. Do you not hear me of the condition I got my camera back in? You expect me to trust and to ship my camera back to the same service center that "corrected this for you [me]" the first time? How exactly are they going to "correct this for you"? By making another scratch on my camera? Come on Canon, you better have a better solution or I will be spreading this everywhere on the internet.

Update 7-1-2013:
Canon has provided me with a shipping label to get it back to the service center and I just dropped it off at my local UPS store today. The customer support supervisor has also promised that he will request the service center to have a "senior" technician work on my camera and a more thorough quality control check after the repairs before they send it back to me. This has made me feel slightly more reassured which is why I have sent it back. Canon if you are reading this, if you screw up my camera again, you are loosing a customer for good, and I will also be spreading this repair story everywhere on the internet. Don't disappoint me. My blog may look small but I have many many followers elsewhere plus I teach photography. If you guys disappoint me again, I'll be sure to spread this story!

Update 7-8-2013:
Just got an update from Canon's service center. They will spare me a labor charge however wants me to pay $236.62 + tax for replacement parts (most likely due to the scratches) and $15 for shipping. This brings the total charge to $273.18. Are you serious Canon? Your service center put those scratches on my camera! Not me! Definitely will complain and work things out with the customer support because there seems to be no email contact for the service center. This is very unprofessional and unethical Canon!

Update 7-9-2013:
After posting my repair story on Canon's Facebook page yesterday, they removed the post immediately. This morning, Canon private messaged me on Facebook saying that they have readjusted the estimate and removed the charges. I checked the new estimate and it says it will be a free in-warranty repair. Several hours later at 4:22 PM, they have said they have shipped the camera back to me. Canon, if you screwed up my camera again, I will be updating my review on this camera on sites including Amazon and Adorama stating how you guys screwed up my repair a 3rd time. The 2 websites everyone goes to look before they make a purchase. If my camera comes back satisfied, I will be raising my ratings and updating those reviews.  Let's see how it turns out.

Update 7-11-2013:
Just got my camera back from the repair center today (it was the Irvine repair center for all 3 repairs). My camera was wrapped in a bag that said CPS, so Canon Professional Services probably took on this repair as I am a member. While the sensor is not 100% clean, it meets my expectations. The few dust spots left on the sensor are not very visible (from my test shot) until I boosted up the Clarity in Camera RAW. They have also replaced the parts of the camera that they have scratched up free of charge. Now I just have to go replace the screen protector the removed to replace the parts. No biggy, only cost me a few cents anyways. Thank you Canon for fixing my camera up. While having to send my camera into the repair center 3 times is a quite ridiculous, I am happy my camera is finally fixed and can be used again. I can finally go on vacation soon which I had to delay because the camera was in the repair center. Will update here if anything comes up, if not, you will see more photos I take with this camera up on my photography blog. :)

Paragon Outlets in Livermore, CA is a SCAM

I went to go clothes shopping at Paragon Outlets in Livermore, CA, and all I have to say is the stores there are a SCAM! Why? They use deception to try to get you to buy stuff and tell you about "discounts" that they will not give you at check out. So here is what happened.

The first store I encountered this problem is the GAP Outlet Store. When I first went to the store, they had a sign saying "Entire Store 50% Off" and an employee also told me that when I walked in the door. I was like, okay, that's great! So I went ahead and looked through the discount racks and found some stuff I liked. When I went to go check out, they told me that the 50% discount did not apply to the discounted items! I was like that is not what your employee told me at the beginning. Then they said, well it doesn't matter, it isn't included in our 50% discount. The sign says "Entire Store 50% Off", it didn't even label excluded items. They are using deception to get you to by things. I still bought the items because even without the discount, they were still a pretty good deal, but still, I do not condone such practices. This is not the worst deception anyways. Let me tell you about the next store I went to.

The next store I went to was American Eagle Outfitters. This store was even worse, but let me make it clear it is just the Paragon Outlets store only and does not apply to the store at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, CA. So pretty much, let me begin with yesterday. I went to the Stoneridge Mall American Eagle Outfitters store yesterday because I had a 20% off coupon that was about to expire today. I didn't find anything I like there so I didn't end up not spending any money, but they didn't try to cheat you there. At that store, they clearly labeled the racks that had the 40% discount and did not put that sign on any rack that did not have the discount. Today, at the Paragon Outlets American Eagle Store, when I walked in, they told me that they had a 40% discount and the stuck the sign on EVERY rack including the ones that does not have the discount (of course no one told me until I tried to check out). Even though they labeled "Select Styles Only" on every sign, it is very deceptive to put it on EVERY rack even the ones that DOES NOT have the discount! When I found the stuff I wanted and went to check out, they told me that it was not included with the 40% off discount, which brought me up to $20 for a t shirt that wasn't even made from cotton and the material did not even feel that high quality. This was very deceptive. They put the sign and labeled every rack 40% off and it is not like the customer misplaced their clothes or anything because the racks were very organized and the same styles are all grouped together. This means the employees purposely put the signs on the racks to deceive the customers. I do not recommend you shop there.

So that is pretty much my little rant on Paragon Outlets in Livermore, CA. While I have seen some bad reviews on the Forever21 in the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, CA, it is still a way better mall than the Paragon Outlets. This was 2 stores that was using deception trying to get you to buy stuff at the Paragon Outlets and I bet there were other stores also using this method and I just didn't shop at them. If you are planning to go shopping at the Paragon Outlets in Livermore, CA, just forget it because they are obviously trying to scam and cheat you.

Christian Influence in North Korea

I was very surprised to learn that North Korea's eternal leader, Kim Il Sung was Christian, and if you think about it, the country has very high Christian influence right now.

1. Jesus died, but you are to worship him as your eternal savior. Kim Il Sung died, but North Koreans are to worship him as their eternal savior/leader. 
2. Jesus performed miracles and healed people. North Korea claims Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un performs miracles and have magical powers. It has even been claimed that Kim Jong Il has hit several holes in ones in golf in one day, and apparently is so magical he does not need to go poop or pee. 
3. Christians are to thank Jesus before every meal and for every blessing. North Koreans are taught to say "Thank you Dear Leader" before every meal and every blessing. 

Just putting it out there, if Kim Il Sung never had the Christian influence, the country would probably be better off right now...

Got Myself a Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse

I got myself a Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse for cheap on Ebay! :D Just wanted to share the good news with you guys. LOL I always wanted one of these ever since I saw it at the different Microsoft Stores. It works great with my laptop. Just sucks a bit that there is no where to hold the receiver except for the magnetic bottom.