Hello, internet friends. It's that time again. It's time to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Alex Chan, who is still holding it down on Xanga. (Remember Xanga?)Who are you?
Hello! My name is Alex Chan. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you reading this have the same name too (don't worry, we're pretty amazing). Some people may recognize me more by my Xanga username, Roadlesstaken.
What are you?
I am 100% Chinese American. My parents are originally from Hong Kong.
Where are you?
I'm currently residing in Northern Virginia, although I make frequent trips throughout Virginia as well as D.C. and Maryland. I also find myself in California and New York a lot recently. Oh how I wish someone would create a teleportation machine already!
Where are you from?
I grew up in Severn, Maryland. There was a time when I thought I would live there forever, but that changed quickly once I started traveling. My family still lives there, so I visit whenever I can.
What do you do?
I am fortunate to be heavily involved with three of my passions: tennis, psychology, and blogging.
I am a community tennis representative for the United States Tennis Association/Virginia (USTA/VA Tennis). My role includes promoting and supporting multicultural/diversity tennis participation, military tennis programming, and school tennis programming throughout the state of Virginia. Working for USTA was my dream job coming out of University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), especially after I started the tennis club program while an undergraduate there. In fact, this aspect of my life was just featured in the May 2011 issue of Racquet Sports Industry magazine (page 21).
One week from now, I will be graduating from UMBC's graduate school program with a masters in industrial/organizational psychology. For my capstone project, I worked with USTA/VA Tennis on improving the planning process of our committees. My goal is to keep on applying my I/O psychology knowledge to my organization so I can make it as efficient of a workplace as it can be.
During my free time, I truly enjoy being an active member on Xanga ever since 2003. Yes, while many people I know have came and left for newer social networks, I remained loyal and have been pleasantly surprised by the small, yet close-knit community still hanging around. Through my posts, I somehow became a consistent top blogger on the website for the past 2-3 years. Lately, I have also been known as the guy that travels around organizing Xanga meet ups around the country. The most recent meet up was in New York, where over 50 members and even a few Xanga Team members came out for sightseeing, entertainment, and drinking. Some people may see Xanga as passé in the age of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Personally, I like to see it as one of the original gangsters of social networks that still has plenty to offer.
What are you all about?
I want to have a positive influence on as many people as I can. I've been able to do so by connecting with people and connecting them with others through the mutual passions we share, despite whatever differences we otherwise have.
What makes you angry?
When people prejudge something or someone before they really know anything. Knowledge is your friend!