What Just Happened?

Prior to our hiatus, David and Eugene started a two part series talking about our "eras." Are you the same person you were decades ago? What’s different and what’s stayed the same? After having discussed our rocky teens and twenties, we've now moved on to our prime grown up years in our 30s and 40s. David discusses why his early 30s especially were so transformational, while Eugene talks about what's changed (and what hasn't) into his 40s. As always, thank you for listening!    Special thanks to Eugene for editing this episode! 

After a looooong hiatus, we are so back! In this episode, David and Eugene discuss two recent networking events they separately attended. We've discussed the importance of networking in several past episodes but this is the first time we put it into practice, at least for the podcast. David discusses a very different kind of networking event he attended, while Eugene talks about the obstacles of finding networks when working remotely. 2025 may be off to a bit of a sputtering start for the two of us -- there are definitely reasons for that which we will discuss in future episodes. As always, thanks for listening! :)   

While Taylor Swift’s Eras tour may be over, David and Eugene embark on an “eras” journey of our own, as we talk about how our perspectives on life has changed over time. Are you the same person you were decades ago? What’s different and what’s stayed the same? David explains why the best word to describe his teenage self was “clueless” while Eugene discusses how he overcame his “slacker mode” in his twenties. As always, thanks for listening! 

This is the last in our recent series about career planning and Eugene’s process of looking for a job. Happily, shortly after recording this episode, Eugene was offered and accepted a full time position. Thank you everyone for your support and well wishes during the transition process! In this episode we discuss juggling multiple potential job offers (not a bad problem to have), the ins and outs of job interviews, and debate the concept of “cultivating your personal brand.” As always, thanks for listening! :) 

After a solo trip to the Windy City, David and Eugene discuss how they would structure solo travel, why David doesn’t feel alone on such trips, and how (if at all!) Eugene’s extroverted self would manage. We also reflect on our childhoods living in Chicago and some of the tough choices our parents had to make at the time. As always, thanks for listening!   Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "I miss everything about Chicago, except January and February." —Gary Cole

Finding a job is not easy. Like learning to drive while driving, there’s a learning curve to how to find employment, which you need to climb while applying to job openings. There’s also a mental health aspect to unemployment that often goes under appreciated, as well as the need to still feel creative and productive. In this episode, David and Eugene have an honest conversation about Eugene’s recent experience looking for work and also discuss the practical and concrete steps that he found most helpful in his job search. (Note we recorded this episode earlier this year and since then Eugene has happily been employed.) As always, thanks for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

Did you know that 30-40 million Americans have arachnophobia? And among them is one of the two of us? In this episode, David and Eugene review the somewhat obscure 1990 “thrill-omedy” Arachnophobia. We discuss what turns out to be our very different memories of how this movie showed up in our childhoods, whether this Jeff Daniels, John Goodman film holds up decades later, and what it was like to experience the movie again in real time. As always, thanks for watching!   Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com    When spiders unite, they can tie up a lion. – Ethiopian Proverb

This year has certainly been a journey when it comes to Eugene’s work and career. This episode starts with David and Eugene taking Career Fitter's online career assessment test and discussing our results. We then consider whether Eugene should transition from software engineer to high school teacher. What would that look like, would Eugene like teaching, and most importantly, could he actually make such a radical move? As always, thank you for listening!  Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "To teach is to touch a life forever." - Unknown

Today’s episode was meant to be the second half of our discussion of the book Who Moved My Cheese? But as sometimes (often?) happens on this podcast, David and Eugene veered instead toward a different conversation -- this time about ADD/ADHD and neurodivergence. As always, thank you for listening!  Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “My brain has too many tabs open.” - Tanya Goodin

David and Eugene have been on a 90’s kick recently, and are sticking with the trend with a review of the business self-help best seller “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. We discuss the fable of the two mice and two “Littlepeople” named Hem and Haw, and how remarkably relevant the story remains today. We also apply the mindset from the book to our own lives. As always, thank you for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?” - Haw

It’s been a while since David and Eugene have talked about their fitness journeys. In this episode, we discuss how Eugene smoked David in our most recent half marathon race, how we’re dealing with injuries and stress, and our very different strategies for trying to lose weight. Unsurprisingly, Eugene’s approach is highly scientific, while David’s — mostly involving protein bars and Sprite Zero — is … different. As always, thanks for listening!    “A bad run is better than no run.”   Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com

In the second half of our discussion of "Queen of Tears," David and Eugene talk about how the show ends, the richness of the characters in this family drama, how meta the show was, and which characters we identified with the most. David asks Eugene whether he'd ever want to visit Sanssouci Palace, and we discuss the endless tropes in K-drama land. As always, thanks for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “I'm just a lucky man who married the love of my life.” – Baek Hyun Woo

In David’s ongoing effort to get Eugene hooked on K-dramas, we review the recent Netflix hit “Queen of Tears.” David and Eugene discuss what made this Korean drama so good, the main characters, villains, corporate intrigue, and love as seen in rom coms. As always, thanks for listening!  Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “Even if I have to search the world, I’ll find a way to live.” – Hong Hae In

Something happened earlier this year in Formula 1 that David has literally never seen in sports. Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving his current team Mercedes Benz to drive for Ferrari. An athlete leaving a team is not new. But Hamilton said he wasn’t leaving until NEXT season (2025), and for THIS entire current year, he would keep driving for Mercedes before jumping ship. As it turned out, Mercedes Benz didn’t know about his announcement until the last minute. Imagine what would happen to a soldier from North Korea who told his government he was going to defect to the South, but not until a year from now? Perhaps that’s an extreme example, but imagine even if Patrick Mahomes said he was leave the Kansas City Chiefs and already signed a contract with the Denver Broncos, but his preference was to plaone more season with the Chiefs before leaving. How would Chiefs head coach Andy Reid react to such news?     In this second half of our discussion about Formula 1 and Drive to Survive,

I (David) have always found Formula One to be an intimidating sport. Vaguely European, with weirdly shaped cars racing at break neck speeds around bizarrely shaped tracks, without a guide, it’s hard to know what’s going on. Eugene meanwhile has been an auto racing aficionado since his early childhood and can talk F1 shop for days. In this episode, we walk through the sport of Formula 1 through the lens of beginners, discussing everything from the sport itself to its business model, driver personalities, why its paradoxically an ultra elite sport with such broad, global appeal, and how the Netflix series Drive to Survive has expanded its reach, especially here in America. I ask Eugene how it is that as someone with a generally mellow personality he is so into a sport centered around hyper ambitious, ultra competitive people, and I share how after spending a week learning about the sport I became a fan. As always, thanks for listening!   Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com   “Th

In this second half of our discussion about the movie Sleepless in Seattle, David and Eugene discuss Anne stalking Sam, poor Walter and Victoria’s fates, and debate over some of the choices made by these characters. We explore some of our own theories about love and romance, how we see this movie so differently now that we are both parents, and wonder what’s in store in the future for Sam and Annie. We love doing these nostalgic movie reviews and hope you enjoy the journey as well. As always, thanks for listening!  Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “It was like kismet but not, if you see what I mean.” - Annie

In 1993, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks starred in the hit romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. With its quirky characters, clever writing, and stellar soundtrack, not only did the movie put the city of Seattle on the map, it was a huge box office success, and has since been recognized as one of the great romantic comedies. As it turns out, and to David’s surprise, Sleepless in Seattle was also one of teenage Eugene’s favorite movies. In this episode, David and Eugene stroll down memory lane, and discover a newfound appreciation for the craftsmanship of this film that neither of us recognized as kids. Eugene questions whether Walter was such a bad fit for Annie, while both David and Eugene discuss how little details like the peeling of an apple, dropping a bundle of mail, or sitting on piano keys are still memorable decades later. As always, thanks for watching! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.”

As Eugene notes in this episode, it’s not a surprise that David has “authority issues.” In this second half of the discussion of Jocko Willink’s book, “Extreme Ownership,” we talk about the idea of being a true believer, whether Jocko is right when he says being a true believer is necessary to being a good leader, and David gets personal in his view of why his reluctance to “drink the Kool-Aid” would make him a lousy leader of any institution or organization.  In November 1978, American cult leader and mass murderer Jim Jones ordered more than 900 members of his cult to drink a mix of Flavor Aid laced with cyanide and commit “revolutionary suicide.” Since then, the term “drink the Kool-Aid” has come to mean believing in foolish or dangerous ideas based on a misguided faith. As always, thanks for listening!  Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “In order to lead, you must believe.” - Jocko Willink

My daughter thinks the phrase “you can’t swing a dead cat in this town” is absolutely ridiculous, and to be fair, she’s not wrong! That said, you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting a couple self-help gurus and podcasters who love them. But the self help book, “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink caught my attention a while ago, and to me it genuinely reads different than what you typically see on the shelves. Willink is a former navy seal who emphasizes humility and detachment from ego as much as being "hard core." It’s also one of several books I’ve been meaning to talk about on this podcast. In this episode, David and Eugene discuss the concept of extreme ownership, what it means, its pros and cons, David fanboys about Jocko for a few minutes, and we discuss why the phrase “try harder” might mean something very different and ultimately more important than simply, for example, waking up two hours earlier or doing fifty extra pushups. As always, thanks for listening!  Threads @davidchang99 X @d

We’re back! David and Eugene reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2024. Eugene talks about why 2023 was such a challenging year, while David discusses his marathon goals, his desire to finally pick up a camera, and what Deion Sanders and marching band taught him last year. As always, thanks for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com “These kids are ready. We prepare them not just athletically, we prepare them mentally for things and challenges that are going to happen in life as well. So, I like what I see on a daily basis. I really do. Matter of fact, I love these kids. I really do.” - Deion Sanders “A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” – Herman Melville