Preface
This is a record and reflection of my life from November 9, 2022 to November 17, 2022.
I almost missed this week’s review. It’s been a long time since I published on time on Sundays (and it’s getting later and later). There are always various things happening. I often comfort myself that it’s just a record of my life, and I can lower its priority when I’m too busy. But occasionally, I find some heartfelt comments in the background, and even on platforms like Weibo that I’ve almost abandoned, there are some update requests. This makes me truly feel the connection between the words I write and the readers behind the screen. So every time I open the document, it’s hard to be perfunctory. It’s not that I’m pressuring myself to produce some useful content or valuable ideas, but I can’t help but imagine if I, as a reader, would be disappointed when opening the weekly review as usual. It’s a small standard I set for myself.
I’ve always found it hard to call myself an author. The title seems too heavy, as if it creates a gap with the readers. Perhaps I define myself more as a person who writes sincerely, whether it’s the ramblings in some weekly review ideas or the digestion and deconstruction of knowledge in technical blog posts. I seem to be very accustomed to presenting many of my thoughts in written form. At its root, it’s still a carrier of my desire for self-sharing, but I often gain many unexpected delights, which motivates me to keep going.
Because work has been occupying my time, my input and output this week haven’t been much. However, due to some events, I recalled a previous startup experience, which is the first time I’ve reviewed it completely.
Remembering a Startup Experience
I’ve been working late nights for over a week now, sleeping around two or three in the morning and struggling to get up for the morning meeting the next day. We’ve launched several major requirements. However, I’ve been working remotely from home most of the time, occasionally going to the office when I feel like going out. So I’ve had a taste of my ideal remote work mode in advance. Plus, with my cat keeping me company, even under high pressure, it’s not as painful as last year when I was rushing to deliver the final acceptance on-site.
Moreover, even while rushing the project, I started a side startup project with a junior I met by chance. My initial intention was just to improve my technical skills faster, but it’s been an interesting process to gradually shape some small ideas through discussions. I’m enjoying it very much.
I also rewatched the TV series “Silicon Valley” for the third time this week. I guess I’m the type who has endless energy (or to some extent, overdrafts it) when I feel I’m exploring new fields or learning new knowledge. I seem to find more fun and sense of achievement. I’m quite lucky in general, as my work for a living also carries my interests and personal pursuits. Speaking of this, at this stage, I can say with some embarrassment that I once had a startup experience. The result wasn’t great, but it’s a period I cherish very much.
At the end of my junior year in college, I gritted my teeth and bought a Sony A7M3. The whole set cost over 20,000 yuan, which emptied all my savings at the time. So I hit it off with a teacher from my college, and we came up with the idea of starting an online education video studio.
Things unfolded much more smoothly than I had imagined. We had the initial concept at the end of July, made a business plan (BP) by the end of August, and negotiated cooperation with the college leaders. We quickly obtained a venue that we could use for free, a startup fund that seemed considerable at the time, and some project cooperation opportunities. We established the company in September, and to save money, I even learned and tried to register the company and handle finances myself (which almost backfired when closing the company due to some non-standard tax declaration issues). The following weeks were spent purchasing and setting up studio equipment. In October, we officially started recruiting people and recorded our first course.
Even from today’s perspective, it’s hard to imagine what kind of ideas and enthusiasm I had when doing this. Market promotion, lighting, shooting, editing, post-production, packaging, and various tedious business presentations and negotiations - to save costs, I did everything alone at first, and later gradually trained a few talented “interns”. I can’t remember how many nights I spent in that soundproof, airtight studio, and the texture of the IKEA sofa bed became an indelible memory point of that period.
After a year of exploration, everything seemed to be taking shape slowly, and the studio was beginning to take form. But as graduation approached, I found it hard to truly regard making videos as my career. Somewhat willfully, I still chose to apply for a master’s degree in computer science. So while doing some remote work to maintain my livelihood during my gap year, occasionally traveling back and forth to Wuhan to complete recording projects, I was also preparing for IELTS and application essays. In fact, I had already realized that I might not intend to continue doing this, but I was unwilling to give up my hard work just like that.
This dilemma didn’t last too long. The pandemic came, and the studio, based in Wuhan and highly dependent on offline business, naturally came to a standstill. As I went to study in Hong Kong, the time I could squeeze out was only enough to remotely complete some business wrap-up work. So in May 2021, I officially deregistered the company. When I received the final deregistration confirmation, it wasn’t really regret I felt. I had tried something in an area within my capabilities, adding some color to my college life. It ended fairly decently too. I distributed the last bit of business income (although not much) to the teachers who participated in the investment and the studio members who were still helping me with many follow-up tasks, drawing a relatively satisfactory end to my entrepreneurship.
Although it was all my own choice, there was still a bit of sadness lingering. In many subsequent summaries, I only mentioned it briefly, as if afraid that once I passed this stage, I wouldn’t be able to pick up the courage to do these things again, and then talking about “past bravery” would lose its meaning. Rather than dwelling on the success or failure of the result, I still feel that that period actively influences my work and life attitude. Although the field and content are vastly different, the belief in persevering to do one thing well, the methodology of problem-solving, the calmness in handling various things in multiple threads, and many, many other qualities seem to have been left from that time. I’m also glad that I can still follow my heart to try some things now.
“Nie Nie” and a Healing Life
I haven’t officially named her yet. It always feels like something that needs to be decided very solemnly, and I haven’t had any ideas yet. But recently, she’s gotten a nickname “Nie Nie”, a cute onomatopoeia. I guess there will be some daily records in every weekly review from now on. I’ve also started to organize my camera on weekends, beginning to record some growth. Who knows, maybe I could become a vlogger or a cute pet blogger (? dreaming). But I was indeed inspired by the video diaries of polebug that I saw on Bilibili, which sparked the idea of video recording. Anyway, there are still many things I want to do, let’s start bit by bit.
When chatting with a friend this week, I was suddenly commented that my life seems quite healing. I suddenly realized that it’s been a long time since I’ve been told this. I always immerse myself in some emotions, or fill my time with some internal or external busyness. But in these two weeks with Nie Nie’s company, I seem to have become a baby-showing maniac and a dad. The whole world seems to have brightened up, along with my life.
Maybe because I spoil her too much, she often comes to make mischief when I’m working, and has also fallen in love with climbing on my keyboard and computer, making me completely unable to focus on work, haha.
Others
This section will record some of my input and output, as well as other things I find interesting.
Input
Books
- My Profession is a Novelist, currently reading. Murakami is really a unique writer. I love his writing style and expression so much.
TV Series
- Silicon Valley, rewatching for the third time. The first time I watched it was in high school, I thought it was cool but as a liberal arts student, I didn’t get much. The second time was after college graduation, about to study CS, I was more aspiring to the enthusiasm of these tech guys and many of the jokes. Recently, I finished watching it for the third time, and I’ve finally become a tech guy as I wished. Especially the later parts related to blockchain and decentralized networks, there was a wonderful connection and resonance. It’s a work that has influenced me a lot, like “The Social Network”. I wonder what I’ll be doing the next time I rewatch it?
- She and Her and Her, I was attracted by the subject matter and the trailer. I can’t arrogantly say that I can empathize with the difficulties faced by women, but there are still many points of empathy. Just after experiencing some emotional fluctuations left by “The Stolen Bicycle” last week, I watched this, and I’m at a loss for words. The overall pace is not bad, but I still feel that the ending seems a bit too idealistic and slogan-like. Reality is much crueler.
- The Peripheral, currently watching.
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