Preface#
This article is a record and reflection on the life from November 9th, 2022 to November 17th, 2022.
I almost missed this week's weekly report. It seems like it has been a long time since I published it on time on Sundays (even later and later). There are always various things happening, and I often comfort myself by saying that it is just a record of my life, and if I am too busy, I can lower its priority. However, I occasionally find some heartfelt comments in the background, and even on platforms like Weibo that I rarely use, I can occasionally see some reminders to update, which makes me feel the real connection between the words I write and the readers in front of the screen. So every time I open the document, it is difficult for me to be perfunctory. It's not about putting pressure on myself to produce something valuable or valuable ideas, but I can't help but imagine if I were a reader and opened the weekly report according to the usual practice, would I be disappointed? It's also my own little standard.
Actually, it has always been difficult for me to call myself an author. I always feel that this title is too heavy, as if it creates a gap between me and the readers. Maybe I define myself more as a sincere writer, whether it's the random thoughts in the weekly report or the digestion and deconstruction of knowledge in technical articles. I seem to be used to presenting many things in the form of words. In the final analysis, it is still a carrier of my desire to share. But I often receive unexpected surprises and have more motivation to continue.
Because work has occupied me, there hasn't been much input and output this week. However, I recalled a previous entrepreneurial experience due to some things, which can be considered as a complete review.
Remembering an Entrepreneurial Experience#
I have been working overnight for more than a week, sleeping around two or three in the morning every day, struggling to get up for the morning meeting the next day, and launching several major requirements. However, most of the time I worked remotely from home, and occasionally went to the office when I wanted to. So I enjoyed the ideal remote working mode in advance, and with the company of my cat, even though I was under high pressure, it was not as painful as last year when I was on-site development and rushing to deliver and verify.
Moreover, even while working on the project, I also started a side entrepreneurial project with a junior student who I happened to meet. The original intention of participating was just to improve my technical skills faster, but it was also an interesting process to gradually shape some small ideas through discussions. I also enjoyed it.
And this week, I rewatched the American drama "Silicon Valley" for the third time. I guess I am the kind of person who always has inexhaustible energy whenever I feel that I am exploring a new field or learning new knowledge (or to some extent, overdrawn). It seems that I can find more fun and sense of accomplishment. I am still lucky. The work I make a living from also carries my interests and personal pursuits. Speaking of this, I can actually somewhat embarrassingly say that I once had a period of entrepreneurship at this stage. The results were not very good, but it was still a cherished experience for me.
During the summer vacation after my junior year, I gritted my teeth and bought a Sony A7M3, which cost more than 20,000 yuan in total, emptying all my savings at that time. So I reached an agreement with a teacher from my college and came up with the idea of starting an online education video studio.
Things went much smoother than I imagined. At the end of July, I had a preliminary idea, and at the end of August, I made a business plan (BP) and negotiated with the college leaders. I quickly obtained a free venue, a considerable amount of startup capital at that time, and some opportunities for collaboration on projects. In September, the company was established, and even to save money, I learned and tried to register the company and handle the finances by myself (almost had a problem when deregistering the company due to some irregularities in tax declaration). Then there were several weeks of studio equipment procurement and setup. In October, we officially recruited people and recorded the first course.
Even from the current perspective, it is difficult to imagine what ideas and enthusiasm I had when I did this. Market promotion, lighting, shooting, editing, post-production, packaging, and various tedious business presentations and negotiations. In order to save costs, I did everything by myself in the early stage, and later I gradually brought in a few proud "interns". I can't remember how many nights I spent in the soundproof recording studio that was so airtight, and the texture of the IKEA sofa bed became an indelible memory of that time.
After a year of exploration, everything seemed to be gradually improving, and the studio also began to take shape. But when I was about to graduate, I found it difficult to truly consider making videos as my career. I stubbornly chose to apply for a master's degree in computer science, so I did some remote work to support myself during the gap year, occasionally traveling to Wuhan to complete recording projects, while preparing for the IELTS and application essays. In fact, at that time, I already realized that I might not intend to continue doing this, but I was unwilling to give up my efforts.
This dilemma didn't last too long, and then the pandemic came. The studio, which was based in Wuhan and highly dependent on offline business, naturally stagnated. As I went to Hong Kong for postgraduate studies, the time I squeezed out was only enough for me to remotely complete some business finishing work. So in May 2021, the company was officially deregistered. Actually, when I received the final confirmation of deregistration, I couldn't say it was regretful. I made some attempts in my own field as far as I could, and added some color to my college life. The ending was also decent. I gave all the final business income (although not much) to the teacher who participated in the investment and the studio members who were still helping me with many follow-up work, and drew a relatively satisfactory conclusion to my entrepreneurship.
Although they were all choices I made voluntarily, there was still a bit of sadness lingering. In many subsequent summaries, I only mentioned it briefly, as if I was afraid that the me who had passed this stage would not have the courage to pick up these things again. Mentioning the "bravery of the past" would lose its meaning. Compared with the success or failure of the results, I still feel that that period of time is positively influencing my work and attitude towards life. Although the fields and content are completely different, the belief in doing a good job, the methodology of problem-solving, the calmness in handling various things in parallel, and too many qualities seem to have been left behind during that time. I am also glad that I can still follow my heart to try some things.
'Nie Nie' and a Healing Life#
Actually, it hasn't been officially named yet. I always feel that it is something that needs to be decided very seriously, but I haven't had any thoughts yet. But recently, it has been given a nickname called "Nie Nie," a cute onomatopoeia. There will probably be some daily records in each weekly report, and I also started organizing my camera on weekends to start recording some growth. Maybe it can become a vlog or a cute pet blogger (dreaming?). However, it was indeed because of watching the video diary of polebug on Bilibili that I was inspired to start recording videos. Anyway, there are still many things I want to do, so let's start little by little.
When chatting with a friend this week, I was suddenly praised for having a healing life. I suddenly realized that I haven't been told that for a long time. I always let myself indulge in some emotions or fill my time with internal or external busyness, but in the past two weeks, with the company of Nie Nie, I seem to have become a crazy baby show-off and a milk dad, and the whole world has become brighter, along with my life.
Maybe because I spoil Nie Nie too much, it always disturbs me when I work, and it has also developed a habit of climbing on my keyboard and computer. I completely lose focus on work, haha.
Others#
This section will record my input and output, as well as other interesting things.
Input#
Books#
- My Career as a Novelist, currently reading. Murakami is truly a unique writer. I really like his writing style and way of expression.
TV Shows#
- Silicon Valley, rewatched for the third time. The first time I watched it was in high school, and I thought it was cool, but as a liberal arts student, I didn't get much out of it. The second time was after graduating from college, when I was about to study computer science, and I was more yearning for many of the jokes and the enthusiasm of these tech guys. I recently finished watching it for the third time, and I finally became a tech guy as I wished, especially with many blockchain and decentralized network-related topics, I had a strange connection and resonance. It is a work that has had a great impact on me, just like "The Social Network". I wonder what I will be doing the next time I rewatch it?
- Her and Her and Her, attracted by the theme and trailer. I can't be too arrogant to say that I can empathize with the difficulties faced by women, but there are still many points of empathy. I just finished reading "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P." last week, and then watched this movie, feeling a bit speechless. The overall pace is good, but I still feel that the ending seems a bit too idealistic and slogan-like, and reality is much harsher.
- Outer Banks, currently following.