5 Most Overrated Things in My Life

I've been inspired (that's how I euphemistically say that I'm stealing an idea) from MetroDad. His blog is well known and loved by many. Part of his draw is that he's a NY City Slicker raising a little girl. Being Asian is his backdrop but not necessarily a main focus. He's an interesting fellow.

Anyway, back to me . . .


1. Being nice

I'm not saying that I'm going to stop being nice. I think my character is too well established to do that but rather that I just feel that being nice is still getting me the short end of the stick. It might have something to do with the fact that I live in a big city where I describe the general populace as "impatient and ignorant" (I like to allow people 2 words to describe the feel of a city). But there is a positive here. Being nice counts for a lot with the people that are most important to me. Being nice and meaning it and following through day after day and year after year with niceness shows you are willing to give something that not many other people can.

Verdict: Overrated relative to the masses. One-on-One . . . not so bad. My default is to still be nice.

2. Corporate America

It's great to have a job. But I work for a huge corporation whose general attitude towards employee benefits I find unappealing. The benefits I receive are "competitive" with the industry standard in that they are more than zero. A car moving at 50 mph is competitive with a car moving at 100 mph. Just like L'il Wayne is competitive with Shaq. Competitive, in this case, merely means that the existent benefits aren't complete crap.


When my company's policy is to give only 2 weeks severance when laying people off unnecessarily (trust me, it was really unnecessary as money was available to keep most people) I have no qualms about giving 2 weeks on resignation and leaving even though there may be work left. It's simply "business".

Verdict: Big Corporate America is generally too big for its britches. I'd rather work for myself . . . something I'm beginning to explore.

3. Proprietary Technology

These are big scary words that just mean "I know something that you don't and I'm not going to tell you".

I've recently adopted the attitude that since I have a graduate degree in the applied sciences I have the ability to understand most science and engineering concepts. This means 90% of the products available to your normal consumer I can make by myself with enough elbow grease and digging around on the interwebz. I can do it and it's not out of reach.

Verdict: Proprietary Technology is for soft ass bitches.

4. Graduating from Harvard (or some other expensive institution)

I'm of the staunch belief that Yale and Harvard and other similar places still have some of the best teachers but there's a huge ass of a BUT coming.

BUT, they generally deal in the softer sciences and brand name recognition. Work hard in high school, get into/graduate from an Ivy League school and you're set for life.

I went to state school . . .

for free . . .

in Florida.

I must be a complete retard according to how little I paid for my schooling.

My professors lead their fields and show up in the newspapers every once in a while.

Verdict: People who graduated from Harvard and think they're better than me for doing so are also soft bitches.


5. Brunch Places

Has anyone ever said a brunch place wasn't good? I've gotten so many recommendations on brunch places and while I wasn't ever disappointed, I wasn't blown away like I was told I would be.

You know what rocks that people don't talk about enough? Vietnamese Sandwiches.

'Nuff Said.

Verdict: Brunch is overrated and over priced . . . and usually noisy. I can cook a great breakfast at home.