š„ Life
FRIENDS!! I AM BACK!!!! How are you doing?? I was quite busy with Lonely Octopus for the past few weeks but tbh I also totally fell off the wagon and got out of the habit of writing newsletters. BUT weāre back on the wagon now!!
Omg I have so much to tell youā¦idk where to even start lol. Well, basically Iām in fugitive mode. š± They finally locked down Beijing because there are too many Covid cases. No idea how long the lockdown will be, but for reference, Shanghai was locked down for 2 months and there are some places that have been locked down for 3+ monthsā¦
Iām currently running away to the south. ā¬ļø The general rule of thumb is that you can go to cities with similar or higher risk levels, but itās rather unpredictable because not only does each province and/or city have its own definition of risk, but also risk levels of cities change quickly. For example, one of the cities I was in was considered low risk, but by the next morning it was high risk and some places didnāt let me in even though I had already left that city. There are literally people stuck on the highways because no other cities will let them in. š«
Itās insane, isnāt it? Fingers crossed pls - Iāll keep yāall updated!
š Books
Iāve read a bunch of books since I last wrote a newsletter, but the best one is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Thanks, Ned for the recommendation!
The book is a memoir by the creator of Nike. Itās the story of how a young Phil graduated from business school, borrowed fifty dollars from his dad, and then launched a company to sell low-cost Japanese running shoes. He sold shoes from the trunk of his car in 1962, which then kickstarted a twenty-year rollercoaster ride. Yes, itās about business, but itās even more so about life, relationships, and unrelenting bravery. I think what makes someone brave is not that they feel no fear, but that they feel it but carry on anyway.
One of my favourite quotes right at the beginning of the book:
Thereās a kind of exuberant clarity in that pulsing half second before winning and losing are decided. I wanted that, whatever that was, to be my life, my daily life.
I was actually super resistant to reading this book because I thought it would be testosterone-filled or something but Iām so grateful that Ned finally convinced me to read it. ā¤ļø Itās one of the three non-fiction books that have ever made me cry. The audiobook version is amazing so donāt hesitate to grab it if youāre into audiobooks. HIGHLY recommend!
š» Learning & Productivity
Due to me running away from the covids, my schedule is absolute trash and I havenāt live-streamed properly for a couple of weeks now. Iāve been squeezing in some work here and there but productivity has definitely suffered. Hopefully, this will get better soon!
šØāš» What Iām Working On
Iām mostly working on Lonely Octopus stuff and making videos. Both the Lonely Octopus team and the octopi are amazing (thank you so much if any of you are reading this). Itās been so much fun getting to know everyone and Iām so proud of the progress octopi have made in the past 4 weeks! šš
š» Todayās coding challenge (SQL/Python)
š® Amazon question!
Calculate the first-day retention rate of a group of video game players. The first-day retention occurs when a player logs in 1 day after their first-ever log-in. Return the proportion of players who meet this definition divided by the total number of players.
players_logins
Head on over here to answer the question!
*Btw if youāre prepping for data science interviews or just want to keep yourself sharp, Stratascratch is a great platform with 10k+ real interview questions on SQL and python coding, probability, product sense etc. You can use my code ātinahuangā at checkout for 20% off ā¤ļø
P.S. All constructive feedback is greatly appreciated :)
-Tina
I also liked Shoe Dog but its important to remember that a billionaire paid someome to write it and edit it.
Its great having basically infinite resources to make your book sticky and successful and sanitize your story of your business.
Again great writing but Phil Knight is still a shitty ruthless capitalist who profits off of sweat shop labor.
Greetings from #Shandong , Tina. Say HI if you ever stop by here. Always a treat to watch your LIVESTREAM accountability sessions.
As of #lockdowns, i am living here since 2018 and now they have become #lifestyle here . Can't comment further.
Keep moving girl. Remember, we the audience are always here to support you.
I will be submitting my PhD Econ thesis next month. Wish me luck !
PEACE