<working out>
just got back from working out at the Bally's at Rosemead, CA. i've been working with light weights and heavy repetition. i'm thinking if i'm gonna continue working out for decades from now, my body will  thank me for not over burdening it with massive weights that it can't handle. my joints will be in better condition if i don't test my limits, like the fool i used to be. i don't really want a massive, huge body, i'm satisfied now if i can just be cut and in shape. my schedule is like this.. chest/triceps back/biceps shoulders/legs w/ abs everytime. i put one day in between sessions to rest my body. i also try to put in some random excercises to keep it spontaneous. i'm 5'9 and my goal is to be about 155. i'm about 147 now. omg this paragraph must have been the most boring thing to read, congratulations for getting this far.

<Obon>
Yesterday I went to the WLA Buddhist Temple's Obon. Obon is a festival held each summer by the Japanese community. Waterballoons, scooping fishes, taiko drums, dancing with traditional dress. Read about it here. Oh, a better way to explain it might be, remember Karate Kid Part 2? The scene where they are all partying, dancing and the enemy Okinawan dude crashes the party by entering scene Indiana Jones style? That's Obon. Hmm maybe that wasn't a better way to explain it. Anyways, I went to the Obon and saw sooooo many Japanese-American people. I hadn't seen something like that in the longest time. I'm not very good with crowds so I avoid such gatherings, but yesterday I mustered up some courage and tried it anyways. I realize that I am so out of touch with the Japanese-American community. My parents are from Japan, and I sorta felt closer to 1st generation Japanese then I did with Japanese-Americans in their 3rd, 4th, 5th generation. I'm like right in between where I'm not really pure Japanese anymore, nor am I totally assimilated to American culture. But this Obon showed me that there are many Japanese-Americans who are trying their best to stay in touch with their heritage. And the most important thing I saw was.. they were havings lots of fun! Nissei Week is coming up next August in Little Tokyo, maybe I'll try that out and participate a little more in the Japanese-American cultural experience.

Just smashed an umeboshi, and mixed it with some rice vinegar, and downed it! Omg, it'll wake you up in the morning! Here's some interesting info about umeboshi below.

It has been said that umeboshi has many medicinal and health benefits.
I'd like to introduce five of these.

1. Prevention of Aging
Saliva contains a hormone which prevents aging. Because umeboshi is very
sour, anyone who has ever eaten one would probably start salivating by just looking at an umeboshi or hearing
the word. Therefore, it is effective in releasing the hormone to prevent aging.

2. Purification of Blood
The richer our diet becomes, the dirtier and more acidic our blood becomes. Eating umeboshi, which is an
alkaline food, works to discharge wastes and clean our blood.

3. Vitalization
If our blood is clean and our metabolism active, our bodies will be revitalized.

4. Preservation
In Japan, onigiri (rice balls) are a very popular food which we prepare in advance and take with us to eat
later. We add various kinds of foods to onigiri, and umeboshi is one of the most common. Umeboshi
extract has a preservative effect which prevents the rice from going bad. Putting umeboshi in onigiri shows
the wisdom of the people of the olden days.

5. Recovering from Fatigue
The salt and citric acid in umeboshi gets rid of fatigue.

It is said that umeboshi is effective for more than 38 symptoms of illness.

From,  SheJapan.com

I like watching those World Poker Championship shows on ESPN. Millions of dollars at stake, watched by millions of people and those guys keep it emotionally under control, use their minds to outwit their opponents. Really exciting stuff. Anyways, I was watching one of the shows and they were interviewing one of the star players. fack, I forget his name. But he was saying the most important thing is to learn from your mistakes. I have heard this line over and over again throughout my life but for some reason when he said it, something clicked inside of me and I have been viewing the world quite differently for about 3-4 months now. Failure and mistakes were something I avoided at all costs. Especially if they were to be seen by people around me. I would hide, tell untruths to myself and others to protect the hidden fact that I made some kind of mistake.  But  lately, I feel liberated. I sorta look forward to mistakes and failure now, because I know I will capitulate on it, and learn! I see mistakes and failures as a opportunity now instead of something to be ashamed of. Kinda late to learn something as basic as this when I'm 30, but I'm thankful anyways.

I'm starting to realize that I make a lot of stupid-ass ass-umptions. I read in a book that 9 out of 10 assumptions are simply wrong. I tried to put this through a test and honestly checked how my assumptions faired. So far every assumption I have made have been wrong. Even the most basic assumptions that I thought were so true, were wrong. I wonder how many assumptions I have, based at my core of personal beliefs and viewpoints. It will be fun uncovering all of it. It kinda hurts to know that I am wrong in many instances but lately I'm starting to value learning over being right.

Last few days have been a little strange, but my puppy has really been keeping everything upbeat. She is really really cute! She was sorta dumb a month ago, but she is starting to show some intelligence. (fear of heights, being able to climb out of the cage by herself. etc...) My mother takes her to the store each day and she is loved by all the customers that see her.  I haven't seen one person look at her and not get a smile.

Yesterday...

1. Hit my mouth on the chair really hard, last night when playing with my puppy.

2. Spilled chocolate on my brand new white shirt.

3. My finger got caught by the door and my index finger's nail got split 1/4th.

Today...

1. Parking Ticket, infront on house when leaving for work.

2. U-Turn moving violation on Valley Blvd, near Hawaii Market.

3. Someone I really care about won't email me back at all.

4. Ants have commenced exodus out of my keyboard as I type at this very moment, I am struggling w/ typing because the ants are crawling onto my fingers. (Index finger still cracked 1/4!)

5. Lost money in stocks today.

6. Israel and Lebanon are about to trigger world war 3.

Otherwise, it was a really good day!!!

 I really love summer! So warm, beats winter any day!

Bought some ice cream after getting my ticket.

Cookie's and Cream is the best!

Maybe my luck will turn sometime tomorrow.

I should pray.

Decided not to go there that much anymore for my lunch breaks. It's too bad because there is so much going on there all the time. The last 2 times I went I saw fights break out. Arguments very close to physical altercation. Not good for my soul. When I watch the fights, I totally get absorbed in the emotions they are expressing and it sorta rubs off on me. Later that day and the next day, I was in an agitated mood. Marina Del Ray, Malibu, Santa Monica, much better! Today, I ate at the In-and-out burgers on Sepulveda.(the one right next to LAX where you can see the airplanes land and fly off) Pretty cool spot. I will go there more often.

Oh, is there free parking around LAX, close enough, where you can park ur car and walk into LAX?

On the 4th, I tried surfing for the first time at Huntington Beach.

I wasn't able to stand on the board once, even sitting was hard work!

After 7 hours, I finally got the hang of sitting on the board w/o flipping over.

Surfing is tough but I decided to continue this summer hobby.

I bought a cheap used surfboard for $75.

It's yellow, brown, old and smells funny.

But, I like it!

My face is so black from being out in the sun for 7 hours.

I learned that I should re-apply sun block after a few hours

I feel the sunblock I'm using is not strong enough either.

I'm using Sunblock 45, I need 100!

If it weren't for the sunburn I would be out there today.

Instead I'm headed out to Ballys to work my Biceps & Back.

Later, y'all. (I spend a lot of time in stock daytrading chatrooms, many of them are from Texas. Their lingo is very contagious.)

Floated on waves. Dodged Waves. Slapped Waves. Got Hammered By Waves.

Got a nice tan too.

Oh!

Found a nice surfboard rental shop at HB on the PCH. It's called Java Jungle. Prices are $20 for short boards. $25 for longboards. The price includes rental from 9am-9pm. You can switch board between rentals too, which is very cool. Rental costs can also be reimbursed if you decide to buy a surfboard at the shop!  http://www.javajunglesurf.com/
It's a surfboard shop, but also a cafe too.

Oh yea!

July 4th coming up! Let the festival of smog commence!

I can't believe how much we pollute our precious skies for this ridiculous holiday.

<cough>

<redeyes>

<post nasal drip>

btw,

Which SoCal firework show has the biggest/longest/most spectacular display? 
I need to check it out!!!

------------

20:53 edit

pictures of firework stands --
1. Emerson & Atlantic

2. Atlantic & Garvey