Chak's Experience: From Childhood to Adult, and meeting with John Beaver

Like I often hear from John Beaver, I always hear a familiar phrase: zoo keeper by day, DJ by night, and cancer survivor. The latter does tell a huge difference with how his life has changed. You have heard about his side of the story, but not my side just yet. Well, now is the time for me to tell my part of the story in Part One before I tell my side of the story on John Beaver. The only similarity is that Beaver and I are considered San Jose natives, but the only difference is the present city.

PART ONE: CHAK'S CHILDHOOD

Late November 1988... I was born at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, not far from where the present Westfield Valley Fair is. My parents moved from their native China to the United States a year earlier while my father was nearing completion of what is to be the headquarters of our family's housing.

San Martin, California... A 23.5 mile drive from the main San Jose State University campus. Not long after I was born, I often cried and was very scared and fearful because I feared that my parents would drop me, especially over bridges and tall structures that would end my life because of proper handling.

I started preschool at a San Martin school, which today is the present San Martin Gwinn Elementary School in San Martin. In the first few years, I changed schools; in my kindergarten, I was at Jackson Elementary (now called Jackson Academy of Music and Math) before moving on to Nordstrom and eventually Paradise Valley, which I remained there for most of my younger grades.

My family and I would frequently have vacations to Hong Kong and Macau, but in 1998, I was on vacation at my relative's house in the hilly Wan Chai district along Stubbs Road. My parents and aunt initially asked me to go to a doctor to get a flu shot, but it turned out to be a trip across the Cross-Harbour Tunnel to a psychiatric hospital. The doctor told me and my parents that I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder, somewhat a type of autism that would change my life on how I learn stuff (presently, Section 16 in the RTC Clipper Card application classification).

However, one of the teacher's aides has been with me between Britton Middle School and Live Oak High School, both of which I graduated in 2004 and 2007, respectively. However, my diagnosis was not over as I applied for an RTC Clipper Card (then known as Translink), which required another visit to a psychiatric hospital in Watsonville. The troubling thing about my learning experience associated with my disability is the low test scores due to that specific neurological disorder.

I enrolled at Gavilan College following high school as a young adult, though the disorder continued to haunt me for most of my education, which I often call myself as the "troubled kid," as in the life overall for me. I eventually transferred to San Jose State University four years later, as sometimes need assistance associated with wayfinding despite technology advances. I usually do most of my own wayfinding, however.

When I am comfortable, I do take breaks and both attend and volunteer the annual FanimeCon event held in downtown San Jose during the Memorial Day weekend. Those are some of the ways I usually stay out of trouble. I generally do stay out of any drugs or alcohol as any smell of those can result in a violent vomit, as well as owing to family customs.

PART TWO: CHAK'S TAKE ON JOHN BEAVER

My story on my take of a guy can be described as both a zoo keeper and a DJ, although there is more to his story. Let me tell my own story on how I actually met John Beaver long before he sent me a friend request on Facebook. Because his photos do tell most of his stories, I often "like" his posts, due to the fact that the pictures to me tell some kind of a great story.

John Beaver's life is full of potential when I viewed his stuff, and many of them are stories of his survival of cancer. The first exposure to John Beaver is when I encountered him at the San Jose State University Event Center about a year ago, as part of a series of DJs that involved Tiesto. The exposure was so great that I decided to take some photos of his signature moves. I never talked to him about that event, though he probably never remembered unless he would like to indicate that with me in person. Until now, the event at SJSU was the only time that I've seen him, but never formally talked to him up until recently. I only attend events whenever Beaver has a free show in Santa Clara County, and only if I have time to do so.

Like in the manner of some of my friends, I often posted pictures of my experience with Beaver, who I knew that he is a cancer survivor. The sad part about me, though, is I typically only have one to two minutes of a chat with him, as he normally chats with his sidekick named Steven Crandell. I will be surprised if he does spot me on Twitter and/or Instagram, of which both of my profiles have a simple name, as well as any lunch or dinner opportunities...

Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak