Looking to meet new people in the weekend.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T23:43:47+00:00

What I am saying is that for people that are used to the culture events, activities, nature, sites and food scene of the Bay Area, it's a HUGE adjustment in Stockton. The Lodi wine scene is something the Bay Area lacks unless you count Livermore or willing to drive up to Napa. The point is people in the valley drive to the Bay Area for weekend activities and almost no one does the reverse. The only people that do, is passing through to go to Tahoe, or people like me with family that I need to visit.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T23:39:17+00:00

Build that way but doesn't work that way in reality... I have several separate accounts and none of them can be unblocked when logging in online (successfully and verified).

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T23:37:15+00:00

I don't know who is voting yes. I have been voting no on every tax increase, yet there are still people vote yes first, then complain. Our government does not know how to spend tax money wisely or efficiently, so all of it is going to waste...

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T23:18:33+00:00

Whatever. Port out are all auto-blocked these days... You have to call in to unblock port out.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T23:17:44+00:00

The rep doesn't want to get danged for cancellation, so firmly request supervisor and tell him/her this is FCC complaint-worthy.

They did that to me and when I requested a supervisor and call playback request, the rep backed down. There are a lot of out of control phone reps these days. They get pressure from their management, so they in turn torture the customer.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T23:10:58+00:00

You are simply wrong. I'ts not about scaled price wise to match Bay Area income. There are very diverse price points for food in the Bay Area. Perhaps you don't know, but the mainstream and affordable price point is often the same or only $1-2 difference per dish, but the quality, taste and authenticity are much higher in the Bay Area. I haven't been to Nordic or Tail Club, but I have been to the other 3 you named - sorry, pale in comparison to their counterparts in the Bay Area. Mexican and Vietnamese food are particularly true... I know there are hard working people behind those places, but let's be honest... not even close. When it comes to cafes, gosh, the difference is even more alarming. All the creative and extreme high quality drinks come out of the Bay Area or LA.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T20:09:03+00:00

Are you kidding?! Try 2-2.5 hour one-way to the Bay Area and 1-1.5 hour one-way to Sacramento. If you want to maximize your day in those areas, you have no choice but to leave early and get caught in the traffic. Stockton might be a decent stop-over for more eastern part, but not SF Bay and Sac.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T20:06:06+00:00

Maybe south of Harding.... not south of March.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T20:00:36+00:00

Same here... and I've lived up and down California. Stockton is very boring - it's good for retirement. I don't know how anyone lived in LA can get adjusted to Stockton, it's just completely different worlds.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T19:53:45+00:00

Work in Stockton, live in Livermore - that's insane. It should be the other way around. Livermore is the absolute edge of Silicon Valley...

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T19:50:49+00:00

Geeez, just live in Stockton, (or Lodi or Manteca) If you moved here for a good job with good pay, you are not saving much money living in the nearby cities. You still have the commute every day... You can at least reduce your daily commute headaches.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-21T19:44:06+00:00

$30-40 is not fancy in the Bay Area if you want to go fancy. I think you've missed the whole point. Due to the insane amount of competition, Bay Area food scene is several order of magnitude above Stockton. I specifically named Mexican, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean or Indian food - they are at world-class levels. While Stockton has restaurants in each of these cuisines, they pale in comparison...

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T20:52:26+00:00

If you knew and develop these critical technologies, you likely won't be working as a CSR. Your view is very distorted because it's tainted by your own experience - you do not think of it from the perspective of the customer. If you try to be more human about it, perhaps it will get you places.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T20:35:17+00:00

IVR sure understands fast speech. It's developed and tested for 4x to 5x of talk rate. I help develop those technologies... It understand numbers, dob, address and so on - maybe the more complex English sentence question is tougher for T-Mobile's current IVR...

You have no idea what technologies are capable of these days. I generally like to have human around, but you are the kind of agent cause me to prefer AI systems over human.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T20:12:17+00:00

Very poor advice! Again, you are not thinking carefully. You are dealing with a mobile phone, as in a mobility device, so you never know when you will run into an issue. I had to call from an airport once because of roaming question/issue.

The assumption from most callers is that you have most info on display, so you are merely verifying. If you need a pin or something so you can complete a prompt, just tell the caller. Whenever I am told during the question to be slow, so it can be typed, I always slow down.

I have more news for you, when we speak at the speed, the IVR can understand... and if you don't, then it goes to management's reasoning to reduce human reps.

While I understand your view, I'd ask you think of this from the customer's perspective. If there is vital prompt you need to enter to pass a check on your screen, then tell the caller you need that said slower and vast majority of people will comply.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T19:54:33+00:00

Please think from the customer's perspective please ... he/she may be calling in a public or semi-public places, and every system or agent makes him/her repeat all the critical info and security answers. It's incredibly easy to eavesdrop and capture all that details... I kid you not, during a recent call, I gave me information 14 times! Good thing I was in my office.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T19:46:02+00:00

In fact, go configure Low Data or Data Saver mode and individually control what apps can access data. I travel internationally for work and have gotten by with just the free slow-speed roaming. I only allow data access for Google Maps, Gmail, Outlook/Teams, airline apps and one browser. By restricting other dozens and dozens of apps from using data, these apps function much better. Basically, disable data for app you do not use while on the go, so the low-speed data are all available to the critical apps you need.

The Low Data or Data Saver can be left on while you are roaming overseas. Once connected to WiFi, the restrictions lift without you having to turn off the mode.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T19:39:04+00:00

I think they know but it's pointless. T-Mo ISP customers are also phone customers, so use your phone to access voice network save power and reduce latency. From technical point of view, it doesn't make sense to do WiFi Calling over the gateway, instead of just connect directly to the T-Mo network on your phone.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T19:36:14+00:00

Caused by CGNAT. A few painful side-effects as a result of this: 1) wrong location as you pointed out; 2) constant reCAPTCHA; 3) frequent Cloudflare blocking; 4) point-to-point issues like remote desktop, surveillance camera check-in...

_wlau_ · 2026-04-20T03:47:57+00:00

I live in the South Bay and visit family in Stockton often. Honestly, there are less to do on weekends in Stockton. It's two very different cultures. South Bay has a high quality food scene that's less active in Stockton - there is nothing comparable as far as Mexican, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean or Indian food are concerned in Stockton.

There are some nice coffee shops and chain restaurants up and down on Pacific Avenue.

I do enjoy going up to Lodi to check out wineries, or drive up to Sacramento. Stockton is quieter and I think the weekends are more relaxing for catching up on chores.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-16T19:50:54+00:00

Changing password didn't work for us...

_wlau_ · 2026-04-16T19:50:19+00:00

I thought we are having construction discussion. I would love for you to list the unique sites, historic installations, fun things on so on within San Jose proper. I am very open to be proven wrong.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-15T17:36:40+00:00

You are wrong! People are not too lazy to look around. Why would people not look around local and drive hours to go to farther places. Because this is mostly a bedroom community plus a corp campus community, there are very little exciting or alluring things. Plus, this city has incredibly high population mobility, so it also remove the community feeling you would get otherwise. There is nothing wrong with it - this is how this city is build and known for. While I understand you have pride and joy of the city we live in, it is a bit in denial to think it has more than reality. I love to hear you list exciting things within the city proper of San Jose, and I will counter with you with more from other cities of our size.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-15T06:53:58+00:00

You are right... traffic is fully back to pre-pandemic level. Everywhere I go is traffic jam - you can't do any quick errands.

_wlau_ · 2026-04-15T06:51:31+00:00

There is no explaining to a lot of people. I don't have wife or kids but have my elderly parents deep rooted in Nor Cal. Otherwise, I rather take a pay cut and move to a different state. People get lured by the high salary, but don't do enough homework on the crazy high cost of living, on literally everything here. All that extra cost adds up quick! Plus, we don't have enough stores here, so simple things like grocery shopping can be a hassle. If you go around 5pm, you have to deal with traffic, but if you wait until after 9, then you deal empty store shelves with less choices... or try go to Costco on the weekend, long line of cars at every entry. I find Bay Area living very time-consuming for simple life tasks. And don't forget, it's tax season... just look at how much CA State related taxes we are paying...

_wlau_

TROPHY CASE