I admit, I am not a very active person. I would rather read a book or play a game than take a walk outside. But I have a “hobby” that I was doing for years now: boxing. Even though I don’t have other physical activities, boxing helps me to keep a reasonably healthy body.
So what do I like about boxing?
While driving towards home with my family, my younger sister asked me (to make sure I don’t fall asleep), “What is your New Year’s Resolution?“. I paused to think, then replied “I don’t have one and don’t believe in it“.
Explaining further, I told her that changing ourselves should not be tied to a specific date or time. We can start changing ourselves the moment we determine that it is the best course of action.
Benjamin Franklin is not only an American patriot, but his writings are also influential in the personal finance space. His annual journal called the Poor Richard’s Almanack contains gems on how to manage money and how to build your wealth. He summarized it in his essay in 1758 called The Way to Wealth. Here, I will highlight some of the items in his essay that resonated with me and helped me in my financial journey.
“Friends,” said he, “the taxes are indeed very heavy, and, if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us.
When my daughter was only learning to speak, her word for green was “nini” and her word for car is “ke“. So she calls our green car “nini ke“.
First carWe bought green car a few months before my wife and I were married. The owner was living in the same condominium building that we were renting at that time. Originally I planned to buy a second-hand Honda or a Toyota, and I was not really impressed when I first saw the Ford sedan. My wife liked it though and so we decided to buy it.
It has been our primary mode of transport through the years. My sister borrowed it after our wedding to go to the province. When my wife got pregnant, green car was there for every doctor’s appointment. When it was time to deliver my daughter, green car was also there.
My daughter grew up knowing that green car was our car.
I didn’t expect my 4-year old daughter, or my wife, to be very emotional once the reality loomed that our old car is going away. Our garage only has space for one car and we will not have the time or the money to maintain another one. We decided that we will only sell it to a relative or a close friend so we know that green car will be taken care of.
MemoriesWe have been with green car for 6 years, and has made some memorable events with us.
I have only learned how to drive a few months before we bought green car, and I have used it to fetch my wife to and from work. Combined with having to park daily on a multi-level single lane parking space, it forced me to increase my driving skills.
One evening while parking (backing), the rear side of the car scratched the parking column resulting in large scratches. Since then, no other parking mishaps happened thankfully.
One day while going to the hospital for a doctor’s appointment, I made an illegal turn on a left turn lane and got apprehended by a traffic enforcer. Since my wife is expecting, I said that my wife is about to give birth (which she did one week later). The enforcers let us go without any fuss.
On our way back home from the province, there was a funeral march in the provincial road which caused very slow traffic. It forced me to level up my clutch and gear skills as not to stall on the hilly road. I had trouble learning those skills while on driving school.
En route to a beach resort, I made a wrong turn on the wrong resort, resulting in my front wheels being stuck in the sand. I tried everything but the car won’t move and it dug the wheels deeper in the sand. Thankfully some kind locals helped me by digging the sand around the wheel and putting water on it so it becomes compact.
Going home, I saw that the road was gutter-deep in flood. I made a risky decision to go through it. Thankfully the car didn’t stall but the next day I was not able to start the engine. It did start after a few tries though and didn’t have any long-term damage.
While driving in the province I heard a loud noise from one of the rear wheels. I continued driving for a few kilometers before I was stopped by a motorcycle driver informing me that I was driving flat. Later we found that a screw has embedded itself in the tire. Thankfully no one was hurt and no damage was done on the wheel assembly.
Moving OnThey say that a car is like a family member, which is true from my experience. I spend at least an hour washing the car which also serves as my meditation for the day. We made sure the car is maintained at least once a year, replacing any old or worn out parts.
When green car moved away from our home for the last time, it felt like losing a beloved pet. It was hard, but knowing that the new owners appreciated it made it better. Thank you for your service, nini ke!
I enrolled in an online course offered by the University of California, Berkeley called Foundations of Data Science. This is an actual university course that they converted into an online course format. As the topic of data science interests me, I decided to give it a shot.
The course is composed of three parts with each part lasting for 5 weeks. To learn the material, you need to watch video lectures about a topic every week. A free online book is also available to supplement the video materials. At the end of the week, you need to finish a practical test (laboratory) using a Jupyter Notebook.
After 4 months, I have successfully completed the course. Here are some things that I learned about my experience completing an online course.
As this is my first time taking an online course of any kind, I was wondering how they can assess what I have learned. Surprisingly, technology has advanced far enough to make it easy for teachers to assess students online.
In the data science course, we use Jupyter Notebooks to run examples and to take exams. This is basically a web application that allows you to run Python code in the browser and display the results in real-time. This allows the student to experiment using actual code and actual data without installing Python or any additional software on the computer.
The web application also allows teachers to use auto-grading software to assess the student’s exams. This means that they no longer need to manually check each individual student and instead the application handles it for them automatically.
The best part of this is everything is done in a web browser! For students, this means ease of use and accessibility. A modern web browser is an integral part of computers nowadays, and having it as a web application means that students can learn and take exams anytime and anywhere that has an internet connection.
One dilemma that I encountered when I was enrolling for the course is whether to purchase a certificate or just do it for free. The course is also offered for free to the public so there is an option to learn the same things without paying for anything.
Online course providers list several reasons why you might want to pay for the course. Main reasons are to support the teachers and making sure the service is running smoothly. For me however, I opted to pay for the course due to the following:
If you are considering taking an online course, chances are you have something else to do in your day. Having a full-time job, studying for a degree, or home-building may be reasons why studying online is attractive.
To be more effective, you need to set a specific schedule in your week dedicated to studying. As there is limited communication with the teachers, you need to focus on the learning materials and absorb as much as possible. This will require a set time in the day when you can focus and study.
Having a set schedule also allows your mind to switch to “study mode”. I find it easier to do the courses in the evening after work and when the chores are finished. This provides me an hour or more of uninterrupted time that I can use to focus solely on study.
As the learning materials are readily available (given every week for example), you may be tempted to rush things and do everything in one sitting.
While this may allow you to catch up on the lessons, this could be counterproductive. Your mind needs some time to solidify the concepts you have learned and also to help retain the ideas in memory. Binge studying may be helpful in the short-term, but may not be that useful long-term.
Taking regular breaks and sticking to your schedule in the week will help you understand the lessons better.
While online courses are more convenient than traditional learning (e.g. classroom setting), it does not necessarily make it easier or faster. After all, it is still studying! Learning anything requires attention, time, and practice.
No matter how good the online materials are or how accessible it is, if you do not devote time for studying or incorporating it into your schedule, then you may not get the most out of the course.
To summarize, online courses are a great way to learn new things. The ability to incorporate learning into your own schedule on your own terms is powerful. I hope this article helped you see the benefits of learning online and perhaps motivate you to enroll for one in the future.
Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash