I’ve been reading a book about getting things done. (So it’s a self-help book. So what.) No, not David Allen’s Getting Things Done, though some concepts are similar. I’ll reveal the name of the book if or when I really do get a lot more done.

Getting work done for a client or an employer is not a problem for me—I can prioritize work. The problem is my hobbies and stuff in my personal life that I want to do. I’m the type of person who never gets bored and can’t understand how anyone could ever get bored. There is always something I want to do. If that sounds like a good thing, it’s really not.

Just off the top of my head I can think of five web sites that I abandoned before they really took off. I can think of just as many skills I wanted to learn and never stuck with. I’m never focused on one thing and I don’t have time to do all of them. (That sentence may be the story of my life.)

This book I’m reading is telling me to eliminate the things that do not take me toward my high-level goals, or that lead me away from them. It also suggests this as a way of clearing clutter: throw away everything. Or at least use that mentality. People generally keep everything and think about what to throw away. Well the book suggests doing the exact opposite: throw away everything and think about what to keep.

As I’m going through my massive to-do lists with the mentality of deleting everything, I’m finding that my to-dos for this blog do not qualify for keeping. There are several reasons but basically updating this blog is not a good use of my time, at least not now.

So I’m writing this post to say goodbye for now, because I’ll be updating very infrequently (if at all) while I work more seriously toward my personal goals. Wish me luck!

(Post updated.)

The Apple iPad starts selling in China tomorrow (Sep 17) at 8:00 am. I was around the Shanghai Apple Store (Lujiazui) tonight and there were already five people waiting in line at 8:15 pm. The couple who were first in line were already holding an iPad so I guess they just enjoy camping out in front of an Apple Store.

Right across the street, the Best Buy in Super Brand Mall is also preparing to sell the iPad on launch day, but will start selling four hours after the Apple Store. Seems like few people know about that. Maybe people aren’t supposed to know.

(Blurry pics shot with my iPhone 2G.)

Launch Day Update:

The news says around 200 people were lined up at this Apple Store when the iPad became available. The above photo was taken around 11:15 am today (Sep 17). Saw roughly 20 people in line, a few being let in at a time.

Between the metro station and the Apple Store, there were two separate signs held by Best Buy employees stating that the iPad is available at their store in the mall across the street. People who didn’t want to wait in line probably just went and got their iPads there instead. Including yours truly. ;)

No, I did not disappear because of StarCraft 2. Not entirely anyway. I’ve been working on an online magazine called MOZIMOGO, handling mostly its art and design but a bit of everything else as well. Maybe more than a bit. And recently I set up DKWAN.net to serve as my design and photography portfolios. Looks pretty cool with the browser set to fullscreen. Check them out. Feedback appreciated.

Amanda: Pretty.
Angelo: Older than I thought.
Anna: Talks funny.
Chichi: Looks just like his photos.
Chris: Buff.
Desmond: Taller every time I see him.
ee: Younger than I thought.
Emily: Looks better in person.
Eva: More manly than I remembered.
Jam: Round.
K: Shorter than I remembered.
Karl: Darker than I remembered.
Lelong: Doesn’t look as goofy in person.
Minh: Looks like he’s from the Bay Area.
Nerina: Much shorter than I thought.
Paul: Looks just like his photos.

Also saw and photographed a guy who looked just like Mike Quinn.

Shanghai’s first Apple Store just opened today in Lujiazui, right across the street from the Oriental Pearl Tower and Super Brand Mall. I waited in line like an Apple fanboy with Joe from 6:30 am until doors opened at 10:00 am. Roughly 300 people ahead of me when I arrived. Not sure how many by the time doors opened, but I guesstimate around a thousand (based on what I could see from my spot).

At about 7:30 am it started to rain. (See pics below.) Fortunately the Apple staff was prepared for this and brought out a bunch of black umbrellas with Apple’s logo on them. Unfortunately everybody thought the umbrellas were being given away as free souvenirs and some people got rowdy while trying to get one. The rain only lasted about 15 minutes, and the staff collected all the umbrellas sometime later.

A few minutes before doors opened, somebody cut in line at around the 400th spot, which got a few people quite upset and he was forced out. You can see in the video that it got a little violent.

Aside from that incident, and people grappling for umbrellas, the event remained cheerful overall with the staff all high on caffeine and endlessly going “woooooo!!!”

And I got a free tshirt. Woooooo!!!

The easiest way to shoot nice portraits is to shoot pretty people. Chesley is one of just a handful of people I’ve shot who model professionally. These pics were taken last December, about two years after I shot her the first time at the same location. I used a point-and-shoot since I went back to the States that time without my SLRs.

The guy apparently does graphic design and talks about Apple stuff. Total opposite of me, except not really.

Looky what I found, another D.Kwan who takes photos. I bet he tried to get the dkwan.com domain name but had to settle for dkwanphotography.com. Sorry Don! Maybe I should warn him that promoting himself as DKWAN in all caps is gonna make a bunch of non-Asians think it’s pronounced like “D-K-1″. I speak from experience.

By the way you’re currently looking at the blog of Daniel Kwan from Fremont (not a photographer), and in this post I’m writing about Don Kwan from Toronto (photographer), in case anyone with low IQ is reading.

For venues in these countries, I recommend that the naming format be the primary name, followed by the secondary name in parenthesis. The primary name is defined as the name used by the locals for the venue, and the secondary name is in the language that the venue uses internationally (usually English). Examples and clarifications below, using venues in China:

东方明珠塔 (Oriental Pearl Tower)
This venue is known to locals as “东方明珠塔” and to foreigners as “Oriental Pearl Tower”.

外滩 (The Bund)
Locals call it “外滩”, foreigners call it “The Bund”.

中国移动 (China Mobile)
Chinese company, known to locals as “中国移动”, known to everyone else as “China Mobile”.

Meters/Bonwe
This is a Chinese company called “美特斯邦威”, but it brands and promotes itself as “Meters/Bonwe”, and is known to locals as “Meters/Bonwe”. The Chinese name is not needed in this case.

KFC
Although KFC in China is known as “肯德基”, all of its localized branding still contain the letters “KFC”, so locals all recognize “KFC” as “肯德基”. In this case the Chinese name is not needed as it would be redundant.

麦当劳 (McDonald’s) [???]
Here’s one I’m not sure about. This is an American company but is known in China as “麦当劳”. I’m not sure if most locals would recognize the name “McDonald’s” without its Chinese name “麦当劳”, since its signage and packaging here usually just uses “麦当劳” (unlike KFC/肯德基 and Starbucks/星巴克).

So basically, the format is whatever the venue is known as to the locals, followed in parenthesis by whatever it’s known as internationally.

As for street names, I believe they should just use the local language, since they sometimes get translated in multiple ways (at least in China).

Any suggestions?