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| http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/12/ourhealthcircle-because-misery-loves-company/
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| So I lied, I will write one more public entry.
I have been working on a startup website called OurHealthCircle . It's an online health community for people to discuss and support each other with health and wellness concerns. I think when I first told people this, they thought either that
1. This is my own invention
2. I'm one of the cube monkeys who wrote some obscure backend.
It's neither, of course. There was a team of four that crafted this under the pressure of a deadline in IEOR 190A. We understood that social networking and health were popular areas that fit our background. So it was easier to convince anyone that we would be able to create such a company. Fortunately, it convinced our teacher, Jon Burgstone. But unfortunately, I still failed the midterm, so no A+ for me.
Whatever though. Jon Burgstone is an experienced entrepreneur who took his time to teach because he liked it. He decided last semester to stop teaching, and start a little company which takes seedling startup ideas and nurture them simultaneously. So OurHealthCircle is sort of a subsidiary of Arbor Labs. Arbor is a tree, and OurHealthCircle is one of the seeds. We were the only team in the class offered a position in this new startup. We were flattered needless to say.
I think we made the right choice. I've learned a great deal that I would probably never have learned, ever. Incidentally, before we were offered a position in Arbor labs, the four of us already started discussing incorporating our little idea and developing it on our own. We had already sketched out our next steps and goals and schedules. We believed the idea that much, to be willing to tackle the market on our own. But if it weren't for Jon and Jeremy (IEOR 190A TA, works with Jon and all the other arbor lab teams), the website wouldn't be this far in development simply because of our other obligations during the semester. This is the one most important thing I learned about startups: Motivation is key. This sounds simple, but it's so easy to slip away into schoolwork, social life, relaxation, when you're doing unpaid work that inevitably gets bogged down due to many reasons.
I'm so proud of myself, to be frank. Mostly because, actually, I didn't enjoy 190A. I considered dropping it because I didn't like the participation grade. But I figured it was better to force myself to do what I'm uncomfortable with, because I wouldn improve. Well, I don't think I really improved on public speaking on topics that I didn't like (I can talk about EECS without qualm, for example), but I never dreamed we would actually turn a project into a company. Those were stories I heard of, not lived.
Additionally, I couldn't have asked for better partners. I've had plenty of group drama throughout my CS classes, but the team we have fits in one of those great team dynamics. The reason isn't because we're all such great friends or we understand each other. In fact, we run into tensions pretty often. Heck, this is a real business, if someone doesn't like a feature, and think it's going to ruin the site, they're gonna do everything they can to stop it. The one key thing though, is that we all have the same solid goals in mind, and we try hard to work with everybody. Everyone listens to each other, and respects everyone's opinion. We know we have the same interest at heart, so we trust each other. I think that's something particular to this sort of a project. And it's very valuable.
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| this xanga is idle, all things i write will be private. i'm telling you
this to save you the trouble of checking my xanga hoping i'd say
something entertaining. nope.. all dried out. thank you velly much.
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| this entry is dedicated to my brother. i've been meaning to do this for a while.
my brother matt was born when i was 12. i grew up in china as a single
child. i had very little experience of siblinghood, as i had very few
children neighbors and my cousins were always too far away. i was
accustomed to staying home alone ever since i was like oh, about four?
the first time my mom left me alone at home to go to work, she left me
with a pile of toys, which delighted me at first. but when she came
home for lunch, i cried and begged her to stay with me.
i came to the US when i was 10. and i think shortly after i asked my
parents for a younger sibling. and when he was born, i named him matt,
meaning "god's gift". the best gift.
here are just my favorite moments of him, there are more of course, but these are actually on the comp.
can't reach...!
look at his expression! he's trying to be cool
peeeeeyouuu
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snoreeeeeee
he's jumping on the hotel room bed 
like me, matt loves insects. he's staring at a bug right now i'll bet
MINE! all mine! those are seeds from the sunflowers in our backyard
i love his missing teeth.
just the two of us. also like me, matt has no problems taking ridiculous closeup self pictures.
... i don't think i can do that anymore =[ by the way, why am i stepping on caution tape? i never noticed that before...
it always puzzles me when people can't seem to appreciate kids. what's
there not to like, not to admire about them? they're smarter than you,
funnier than you, cuter than you, cleaner than you in multiple ways,
and the nice ones like my brother treats everyone with utter honesty
and best manners. you think they're annoying and bothersome to you? oh
please, how high a probability is it that the next time you open your
mouth you can only utter ugly words to lie, to offend, to judge?
i've rarely regretted anything in my life, but one thing i do regret is
not vehemently defending my brother in front of my friends, like i know
he would've done for me. when he came to visit me in my suite freshmen
year, he actually told off some guys who were teasing me, which he
interpreted to be insulting, and he was only six back then. but when i
was babysitting him in high school, and brought him to hang out with my
friends, some of them used to act like they don't want him there, or
talk about how much they dislike kids in front of him. i feel ashamed
that i didn't just tell them then and there to shut the fuck up. i
don't think i had the edge back then as i do now. i also feel ashamed
that i hadn't treasured the time we had together enough. my parents
always told me, my friends, especially high school friends, will leave
and disappear, but my brother is always mine. well it's true, there
should have been no reason to choose anyone else when my brother needed my
company the most.
so here's a toast to my trooo loooove matt 
edit:
lol I read portions of my diary, and i am reminded of one of my
favorite moments of matt. i came back from berkeley and went to pick
him up at his afterschool a year ago or so. he was wearing a blue
sweater my mom made, so i recognized him immediately. and i saw him
running towards me hesistantly, not sure it was me he saw. but i can't
forget that light that lit his eyes when he did recognize me. and the
squeal of "jiejie!" that followed.
contrast this to myself, who made my mother heartbroken when she came
to pick me up at my grandma's house when i was three, and i just gaped
back at her like she was a stranger. are these things just born into
us? and i wonder if i learned these acts of endearment solely from my
brother...
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| this society has a strong repulsion to singing in public. i always
thought it was a teenage sort of thing, but it looks like it's
outlasting that age. i swear when i was growing up in china there was
no such taboo. i know when i was in the dorms it was like a notable
event when i sang in the showers or that i sing at my computer. and
people still make comments when they hear me randomly singing to
myself. and this is a personal thing - i find it kind of awkward when
i'm just singing to myself and people start giving me tips on singing
(their way), like oh i think u shouldn't breathe through that syllable.
it's just as awkward as if someone were to tell u when to breathe as ur
talking u know? i don't know why people do that. my singing is my own
expression, it's not professional, it's not entertaining, it's me doing
my thang ya know?
it's cool most of the time though. my officemates at ibm were okay with
it. they sang a little to the music too, and one guy rapped.
but yeah i just realized that singing is like my number one stress
reliever. speaking in very chi terms, it makes the energy flow in my
body and gets me in motion, in mind and soul. yeeeee!!!
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