Here a couple photos fro Christmas. Yes, my father loves Michigan football. The other picture is of the cousins. Starting from the back, it's me, then Amber, Jeannette, Julia and Jenna (from left to right).

Merry Christmas
Yeah, call me a tradtionalist. I say Merry Christmas. However, for all the those who fall out of this spectrum, Happy Holidays. My goal is to reach out to others than be political correct. Nevertheless, I hope the very best for you in 2007!

More is More until It's Too Much

Recently, I mentioned that I would examine that many people, particularly those in the US, Europe, Australia, and areas of Asia have too much. The notion of more is better. I actually prefer the term "moreness", meaning pushing it to the next degree of whatever it is - the fastest, smallest, in terms of beauty, wealth, and anything else you can think of.

Right now I'm going Save as Draftto rant about something that is related to this topic. The diamond. Yes, the illustrious, glorious, perfect, forever, immaculate diamond. The more I read about diamonds the more I'm convinced that diamonds are a hoax, fraud, and illusion. Well, the actual diamond is real, but the preciousness of this mineral has been cleverly created by the diamond cartel De Beers. Here's a nice article written in 1982 about the diamond scheme.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/198202/diamond

Some background info about this company.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Beers

I'm still pondering this one thought. Wouldn't it be better to spend all the money you would on a diamond and put it towards a house, retirement, children's education or something that gives you a true return on your investment. People have enough other costs to deal with than paying some outrageous price on a mineral (salt is a mineral too). The other part that irks me about diamond is the composition of diamonds. They're made out of carbon and the last time I checked there was plenty of that stuff laying around (it's the 4th most abundant element in the Universe). That means you could burn that ugly couch you have from the 1960's or beautiful tree in the backyard and you'll end up with some carbon. Now remember from elementary school, "A diamond is formed by heat, pressure and time." And voila, you could end up with some type of diamond orr you could end up with something that has a similar lattice structure as a diamond- graphite. Oh, yes, graphite the ugly cousin of the precious diamond. Now why isn't graphite worth lots of money?

Where am I going with all this?

If you're a dude and you're planning on buying an engagement ring I think it's perfectly fine to discuss diamond alternatives such as synthetic diamonds with your significant other. I know what you're thinking, "Oh, my gosh, the diamonds are synthetic. They can't be any good." The problem is that these "fake" diamonds are usually a more perfect diamond than a the "natural" one. I won't tell you how much the man-made diamonds are, so you'll have to search for that yourself. I suggest that you put on a pair of Depends because you just might poop your pants. You've been forewarned. If you want to spend some extra cash then purchase a nice platinum setting for the engagement ring and wedding bands. Platinum is a element and no one so far has learned alchemy or learned to control nuclear forces on a whim.

One more thing, Superman created a diamond out of a piece of coal for Lois Lane. Oh, wait, that wasn't real, but the diamond myth is.

3 Hours

So what would you do in three hours? This past weekend I did two activities that took about 3 hours to complete. The first one was wash and wax the car. RainX the windows and clean the interior glass. As well as vacuum the carpets and condition the leather seats. Yeah, this took me three hours. The car looked immaculate. I had a hard time going back inside. I'm sure I would have stared at it longer if the sun wasn't going down. Okay, I had better things to do. My next three hour project was writing out Christmas cards. Yeah, it took me that long. Well, I wrote some of them while I was hanging out at Panera Bread. These two nice old ladies started chatting me up. I was like, hey, what's up ladies. You like party? Get ready to ride the Oriental Express. Okay, I didn't say that, but they were very nice. We talked about the Holiday season; buying gifts, writing letters and seeing family.

Oh, I still haven't watched tv since last week. I'm too lazy to buy antenna for my television. Actually, I don't need one until my two shows return in January. I'm excited for the new season of 24 and the continuation of Heroes.

Good Riddance

Today, I did something that I thought I would never do. I called SuddenLink and told them to cancel my subscription to cable. All those glorious channels are now history. When I was in Germany I vacillated if I wanted to make the leap to a cable free life. I had solid examples that people can continue living without cable. My friend, Pat in Washington DC seems to be living a perfectly normal life and Isabel in Texas seems to happy without cable (but she can't get enough of Korean dramas), so why couldn't I? I have plenty of other hobbies to entertain me like the six behemoth classic books sitting on my shelf - 6 books for $2 - I can't pass that up. Plus, I have the vast internet at my disposal. It's truly a more gratifying experience than tv. This leads me to another topic for tomorrow. Our lives are bombarded with too much of everything. More the merrier, right? Oh, hell no. More just means more time I have to take to decipher the crap from the all the other crap. Leaving me less of the thing I want the most - time.

Europe

So last week, I made the trek to see my sister and my brother-in-law in Germany. I had a blast! There are lots of stories like the oven that couldn't cook, Stacey, Brian and a white baby, name the fifty states, professional teams that share the same name, the long walk in Paris, Dangerous and Double Dangerous, Dude and the rabbit, Korean lunch for 43 Euros, Stacey and Danny sing-a-long power hour, and so many more. However, I won't write them all down. I'd rather tell them personally to each of my friends. Nevertheless, take a look at some of the pictures from my trip.

Fleeting Dream

So, I've started this dream journal, but there's this one thing. I keep forgetting what I dreamed about during the night. Last night I woke up around 1AM and got some water. As I got back into bed I told myself not forget my dream. I was confident that I wouldn't forget. Two seconds later I forgot as I fell back to sleep.

Zoom Zoom

Last week, I woke up at 3:45 AM to drive my 1996 Mercury Sable to the Gaithersburg, Maryland. I had been waiting for a long time to see my new car.; I was giddy like a kid on Christmas. After, checking out the car, learning about the features, signing the papers and shoveling out a few grand I received my keys to my new galaxy gray Mazda 3 hatchback. Yes, you heard correctly, hatchback. I've received plenty of grief about this, but don't expect me to help you move your crap around with my car. Actually, the hatchback is rather nice because it can store some wet items, and store a mountain or road bike easily. However, eventually, I think I'll purchase a proper roof rack to carry my bikes.

Oh, my, I nearly forgot to tell everyone that it's a manual. So after I jumped into my new car, I shifted into first and then into second followed by a good stall at the first stop sign I came too when I retried to get into first gear. For another 10 miles, I drove around a hotel parking lot, grocery store parking lot, and some random office building. Then I mustered up my courage to drive into Washington DC to hang out with the Michigan Alumni club. I can say that highway driving is fine. It's the city that will get you!

Well, I really do love my car. Tonight, I spent 30 minutes practicing going up a hill from a dead stop. I found this quiet neighborhood in Parkersburg to practice on for a while. I'm sure the neighbors thought, "What the hell is wrong with that guy. All he does is stall and then sometimes goes up the hill, then stops and rolls back down again." However, I realized one thing. I've been releasing the clutch too fast. Maybe, I'll do a kimchee run to Athens, OH and practice driving there.

Battlefield 2 Retirement

Tonight, I reached my final goal of reaching Sergeant Major on Battlefield 2. It's a good time to put that game to rest. I've spent about 15 months playing this game. It's by far the longest time I've ever put into a game. Well, there are some Final Fantasy games that I've beaten at least twice. Nevertheless, I can focus my energy on more productive endeavors such as studying.

Michigan Continues to Roll
Today, Michigan defeated Northwestern on a cold windy and rainy day. By doing so, Michigan preserved its perfect record (9-0) as it moves towards the inevitable; in three weeks I expect the nation to be watching the premiere game of the entire season. Last week, I was lucky enough to watch Michigan beat up Iowa with my Dad. It was his belated birthday. This picture is of Victor's Plaza at Michigan Stadium. We're standing in front of the football column. With any luck they'll be chiseling in new titles for this year's performance.

Do you Own a Truck?

Okay, I really do have a beef with people who own trucks and never use them properly. I have this gripe because they are gas hogs. On another note, people should stop complaining about gas prices; I have two reasons backing my opinion. First, saving 10 cents a gallon won't save you on your $5000 credit debt. Secondly, people should be more worried about paying $3.75 for a cup of coffee from Starbucks (that's 8 oz of sugar and fat) or some other outrageous price for other crappy stuff.

Now, since I've vented I can continue with my story. So, I was coming back from Mountwood park; I had a great day mountain biking even though my bike wouldn't shift gears. Anway, I was driving down this state road until it intersectedwith the expressway. There is a traffic light to make a left hand turn onto the highway and I was lucky enough to pull behind a truck. I was like wow - a truck and someone is using it to carry something. Now, I've seen all types of objects tossed in the back of a full size truck, but this was the first time I've seen two cows in a cage in the bed of a truck. The cows were just standing there eating some hay. Well, the light changed and the truck made the left hand turn to head up the on ramp to the highway. At this moment, the cow just looked at me and while continuing to eat it started peeing. Yeah, so here I am trying to get on the expressway and my car is getting showered with cow urine. There's nothing I can do. I can only hope my my wipers will work and I'm staring at one of the cows. The cow just continued to look at me; if it could talk it would have said, "Hey, what would you do when it's 50F outside and some dude is taking you on the expressway. I'm a little nervous. I'm Sorry. But as a condolence this hay is good. Man, I can't get enough of this hay."

Yeah, let's just say my car needed to get wash ASAP.

Lovin' Philly

Once in a while it's worth driving 7 hours to escape West Virginia. This weekend proves why Mineral Wells will never catch Philadelphia. Actually, when I was at King of Prussia mall I saw more people there than the entire town of Mineral Wells.

The purpose of my trip was to drink some good beer and eat some good Philly food. I met the first goal when I got into town around 10PM. A local brew from Kalamazoo didn't hurt either. Nevertheless, after a few drinks it was time to head over to the local diner - 401 Diner for some grub. You know nothing beats a omelette on corn bread and covered with marinara sauce at one in the morning. Don't worry, somehow I managed to fall a sleep.

The following day I spent shopping with Sara. I really wanted to buy a pair of distressed black jeans. No, not pure black and not pure gray either. It took me some time, but I found a pair. Plus, the shoes and sweater match the jeans well. I consider it a successful shopping trip.

Yes, there are more fun stories about me drinking martinis and a little dancing on Market Street. Saturday night was just a great time, but you'll have to ask for those details later. It was only fun because I was there with my friends.

Maize & Blue Run over Irish

Yes, dear Michigan fans, today we were vindicated from being that Div I-A school that people whispered ,"I wonder if Michigan football is falling from grace." to gaining some national respect. With all these cupcake games that premiere programs are taking, you can't judge a team until the 3rd week of the schedule and Michigan is no exception. And today, with all the national hoopla, two legendary school programs clashed - Michigan versus Notre Dame. In the end it was nice to see UofM thrash Notre Date 47-21. It's been a while since I've seen Michigan beat Notre Dame. What's more suprising is how well Michigan played.

Now, I won't say that they'll win the National Championship, but today they did play like champions. The only thing I'm sure of is that they should have a better record than 7-5. If they continue to play like this they will definitely challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten title. But Michigan has something this year they didn't have last year. The hat. Isn't it the best?

You Can't Squeeze Blood from a Cabbage

Okay, I understand that the real idiom is you can't squeeze blood from a turnip. I'm not sure who thought of this, but I'm guessing it's because turnips can leave a horrible red stain. Maybe, they should say that you can't squeeze blood from me. Yeah, today, I tried to donate blood at work. I think I succeed in giving a pint of blood 75% of the time. Hmmm...I don't the success rate is even that high. I usually have drink a lot of water the night before and have a big breakfast the following morning. Anyway, here's what I look like after a bad attempt. It's going to get worse.

The second part of my story is about cabbage. This past weekend I went home for Labor Day and I saw my parents, cousins, aunt/uncle, my grandpa and his "lady" friend. Anyway, all of them grow vegetables so it was like your friendly farm market - without the paying part. Anyway, my family donated tomatoes, corn, beans, zuchinni relish, and cabbage. This isn't your average cabbage. It's really really big; the size of my head. So what the heck can I do with this much cabbage? Put it with 2.5 pounds of corn beef and have a meal.

Family

It's amazing how talking to your sibling turns an ordinary day into something special!
Mom, I hope your foot heals quickly!
Dad, I'll see ya for a beer when we yell at the screen while watching the upcoming Michigan game.

The Monday Effect
Yes, it is a strange phenomenon that can be witnessed at your local fitness center. Go there on a Monday and observe how many people are milling around; running on that treadmill, stepping on the stair climber, and pumping those weights. However, continue your observation each day and you'll soon notice that you won't be bumping into people and asking, "Are you done with those weights?" By Friday, there's only a handful of people and on Saturday even you'll give up going to the gym.

So what causes people from working out? Well, as the Monday effect diminishes, the Weekend effect takes hold of people. This other effect's strength is inversely proportional to the Monday Effect. Signs of the weekend effect are laziness, staying up late, drinking, and eating too much. I haven't been able to pinpoint when the Weekend effect stops; I hypothesize that it's sometime during Sunday evening and you're resting comfortably. People succumb to the Guilt Function. It takes the Weekend Effect and transforms it back into the Monday Effect. Thus starting the cycle once more.

Okay...then.


Well, here's what I've spent my money on. Yes, meet the newest technological goodies in my apartment. That is a beautiful GE Harmony high efficiency washer and dryer set. I can't compare them to the high efficiency front load washers and dryers from other manufacturers, but let's say they're much better than the sketchy appliances I used at Speedee Laundromat. Okay, there's a bazillion settings on the washer. However, the menu interface is rather intuitive so I don't see what other people were complaining about. One caveat is trying to find the setting for blankets, sheets or comforters. Those all fall under the special settings catergory. Drying is a cinch because you just tell the dryer to use the proper setting as told by the washer. It has been rather accurate. The only issue I had with that was my comforter because it got all balled up inside that heating cavern and didn't completely dry. All my clothes, on the other hand, have come out nice and dry; they were even cooled to minimized wrinkles. The average cycle that I've encountered for drying is 19-24 minutes. The 24 minutes were for a load of jeans.

That's it. Yeah, long live West Virginia - Wild, Wonderful. I think the new state slogan is now "Open for Business." I'm not sure what this means.

Not Sleepy

I'm not sleepy now. I should be. I didn't sleep all that well last night. My mind just ran around in circles. I felt like I was on coffee - all wired. Maybe, it's the protein shakes I'm eating. No, usually, that just gives me wicked gas. Thank goodness I have no roommates because I have shame about letting out a bellowing fart. I'm not exactly sure where this entry is going.

Well, I'll take a detour and say that this little town is growing on me. HA! Did you just believe that sentence?

I did do laundry for the first time since I got here and it has made me realized that I really need a washer and dryer. I don't know what's in those things, but those things are now next to my skin. EEwwww!!!

I'm trying to force myself to be sleepy, but Mr. Peterson and his awesome piano skills are keeping me entertained. One of my favorite pieces is his Bach Suite (Allegro). Hmmm...this song just reminded me of another piece I really enjoy. Carnival of Venice by Arben. I'm not really sure why I just thought of this piece. They're nothing alike. Oh, well. The funny thing is I've only heard Carnival of Venice played one time. It was in NPR one time. Yeah, I love NPR. I have a lot of fond moments while listening to NPR. I could tell lots of stories about driving and listening to NPR. One of the more recent memories is when I drove home for Christmas and I listened to an entire rendition of a Christmas Carol. The performance was utterly amazing, plus it was snowing like hell. I was crazy tired too, but this wonderful story kept me sane during the drive home. I remember when I finally got to my destination my sister asked me if I wanted a beer. Yeah, I'll have one.

Memories are wonderful.

West Virginia Love

Okay, I'm finally "settled" here in this this wild wonderful state. I haven't seen the wild part of this area, but I will start exploring beyond Parkersburg in the upcoming weeks. I'm sorta pumped to hike, camp, and mountain bike. However, I need to find a place that will sell road bikes. I might have to get one off eBay or better yet I'll purchase a bike from Cadence in Manayunk.

Crazy Korean in the News

What in the world is Kim Jong Il thinking? I think he watches too many US dramas like the OC or House to figure out that international diplomacy isn't like the tv shows. You can't just shoot off some missiles and hope that the world embraces your country. However, personally, I don't think the threats from the North are too shocking and terrifying. The news is a little bored with the Iraq war so they're putting their attention to other topics. I have this feeling that both Russia and China have put restraints on the hawks from the US and Japan to prevent them from running around like loonies!

Detroit Love Betrayed

Big Ben I hope you shoot even worse in the windy city. Wait, you can't. With all the bricks you've made I could have remade the Great Wall of China by now.

More Korean News

Last week I was reading the latest copy of Men's Fitness and an article about men's sexual health around the world. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Korean men have the most sex per week. Yes, I know, it's crazy. They average 4.50 times a week. I'm not sure how you have half sex, but I guess it's possible. Put your mind to it. However, I was sorely deflated as I continued reading the article. The next statistic said that Korean men overwhelmingly pay for sex more than other men around the world. Now, I know how they got to be number one for sex per week.

So a message to all Korean men. Go out and get in shape, read a book or take up a new hobby. Do something because women won't fall over you because you're a man.

Okay, that's all I got.

DS Lite is no BS

Yes, I was one of the people who had to get to Walmart on June 11 so I could purchase the new DS Lite. Oh, how old am I? 27 and I'm still a gamer. For the past few years, I've been more addicted to my GBA than my PS2. I'm deeply rooted in believing that the quality of the game surpasses the fancy graphics that so many developers are using as their selling tactic. I think players are voicing for better game quality; it is gaining popularity again as the biggest buzz in video games is the Nintendo Wii. I think the Wii will enhance the video game experience unlike the 360 and PS3. Hmm...I wonder who really cares what I think about video game systems. All right... I'll write something better than this later.

Slippery When Wet

This past weekend I attended some Memorial parties to kick off the unofficial beginning of summer. The party at one of the local engineer's house was the best; we were actually celebrating some 30th birthdays. There was the food, drinks, and outdoor games. However, the real entertainment didn't begin until night fall. A three-lane slip and slide was brought out for the older kids and the younger kids. Oh, I can't believe how much fun these things can be. As the night went on, the slip n' slide held its own as it was battered from the heavy bodys careening out of control. Then something magical happened. You could continue sliding past the regular 18 feet of plastic and slide on the grass. I'm not sure who thought it was good idea to continue sliding, but many of the boys took up the challenge to slide as far as possible. Do you see the problem yet? Grass can give you cuts like paper. Let's just say the following day it was clearly visible who tried to slide on grass. Ouch! Oh, by the way, I'm one of those dummies.

Congratulations to Tika & Rudy Santosa

This past weekend I was in Philly celebrating the union between my two friends, Tika and Rudy. Well, I never actually met Rudy till this weekend, but our good friend, cognac, was nice enough to get us acquainted. It was a nice wedding service even though I couldn't understand a lick of it. The service was in Indonesian, but I'm confident that it was a nice Catholic service. I made some new friends from Philly - Eddie, Athony, Erlin and Yong. I just had a great time. I wish I had pictures of the games we did. I think that got people fired up! Woohoo!

In retrospect this weekend was spectacular; so many great things happened. First, at the Detroit airport my friend Josh helped me find a discount for my car rental. So when I rented my vehicle I didn't get the Toyota Camry, but instead I chose the Infiniti G35 sedan. Yeah, they didn't have coupe, but this car is really nice - no offense to my 96 Mercury Sable. I met my friends Csilla, Austin, Alan and Vanessa. I also met my friend SooJin, Myeong, and their son,TaeHa. I'm not sure if I just butchered those Korean names, but if someone knows the proper Romanization please let me know. I drank some great local microbrew beer. But most importantly I was able to satiate my craving for a real genuine don't try to imitate me Philadelphia cheese steak.

Plus, today when I was in the city for one more thrill I when was walking past Sansom I heard a cornet being played. What was more amazing I knew the music being played. It was some warm up scales from the Arben book. This doesn't make sense unless you played a brass instrument, but we spoke briefly and he gave me his card. His name is Jafar Barron and he plays in a small band with his bro. I really love this city. It's not the size of the city that counts but the hearts and souls that breathe life into it.

Buying the Stuff You Already Own

Today, I went to Best Buy to repurchase items that at one time I have already owned. Yes, I spent $30 to get the Aladdin DVD and Rachael Yamagata's CD. It seems odd when I think about it. I could have done something better with that money but I'm attached to certain items. It's like my first pair of running shoes from 6th grade that I still own and carry with me every time I own. I really like those shoes because they are part of me. The CD and DVD? I'm not exactly sure why I worry about them. However, tonight I tossed Rachael into the CD player and I was surprised to hear how good it sounds on a pair of speakers rather than a pair of ear buds. Oh, to all those who are reading this... this summer Butch Walker and Rachael Yamagata will have new CDs coming out. Go out and purchase them, you won't be disappointed. If you don't like them then feel free to yell at me. Haha!

Marathon Fun

Okay, I'm a little behind about posting pictures from the marathon. However, nothing says Nashville like western music, the Parthenon and foreign beer. Yes, there is a Parthenon in Nashville. Can't you tell from the photo?

Hopefully, I'll post the photos from the Kentucky Derby a little faster. The strange thing though is that I don't have a single photo of a horse. Hmmm...don't worry because I had lots of fun with my OMLP friends. At least I had a $9 mint julep. They're kinda gross tasting, but after a few I'm sure you couldn't taste them. I still prefer beer. I just realized that I don't have any good stories to tell. That's really strange. I'll have to think about this. Am I losing my touch?

Marathon Splendor

This morning I got up at 4:15 and prepared myself for the marathon. Meticilous on every part of my dressing and eating. Music to pump me up and let me focus on the race that was about to rain. The only distraction was a light rain at 6am which got everyone questioning their running strageties. Luckily, the rain subsided and then ended within 20 minutes.

Overall, the race went as plan. The only factor I was afraid of was the wind and sun - two elements that all racers despise. Luckily, the wind and sun held off until 8:30 or so. However, they took their toll on me. I've never been a good runner in the wind and I often wither under the sun. I knew that I wouldn't match my 1:22 half marathon split for the second half. However, like all runners, I knew that I needed to run hard, no excuses; one foot in front of the other, keep moving. At the end I saw the mile 26 marker and I knew I was almost done. I didn't hear my name called, but I heard the announcer mention that I was from Mt. Vernon. My final time, a PR.

I'm feeling pretty good right now. But I'll have to put that aside soon and start planning for that next race.

Salty

Okay, my training for the Nashville marathon has come to a peak. I've ran 60-70 miles in 5 days; actually, I've done this several times. Is this crazy? Yeah, I think so. Look, even my legs get sweaty. Eeeewwww!!! Yeah, that's salt on my legs. I think this was after a nice chilly 20 mile run one Sunday morning. Don't worry, I didn't wash pants. HA!

Happy Birthday to Liz!

This past weekend a bunch of us celebrated my friend, Liz's birthday. This of course meant going to Fast Eddy's a doing a little drinkin' and dancing. Don't worry, we had a designated driver. The girls on stage are Liz and her friends from New York (Julia, Adel, and Liz from left to right). The next pic is of Adel, Angela, and Liz. The one with the girl kissing the camera is Pam, Amy kissing the camera and Liz. They're all OMLP which means they're super smart. Umm...yeah, that's two girls and me. The final picture is of the dudes, Nate, myself and Wyso! Okay, Wyso is really Jeff, but I'd rather call him Wyso. This guy calls me everytime to make sure I'm going out. It never fails. I swear. Of course, we ended our night at Denny's once again. Well, most of us ate there, however, Julia got a little sick with her escorts Adel and Liz.

Oh, I spent the night on Liz's couch. Usually, I get the big couch, but this time Julia was there all curled up. I had the two seat sofa. Let's just say I didn't sleep real well. I honestly, wanted to pick up Julia whose body took up at most two sections of the couch and move her to the sofa. Oh, well, after I left that morning I got a nice nap in my bed.

Fine more thing. Darn all my friends and their light colored eyes. I have to touch up the red eye on almost every photo. So please get brown eyes!

Sorry for the Delay

I must say this is the longest time I've been away from writing in my blog. I guess you can blame work and all my training for my marathon. Or maybe it's what I've returned to. I have new passion for my personal journal. Well, don't worry, more stories and photos to come. I promise.

Toast This!

Okay, I just purchased my premium toaster - the Waring Pro 2 Slice toaster. I hope it's worth the $71 I paid for it. However, I couldn't force myself to purchase a $10 toaster. I actually someone comment on a toaster on Amazon; what was amazing was that they placed a $10 toaster on their wedding registry and 5 months later they purchased another toaster. I see it this way - my wife won't have to worry about having these things on our registry because I already own some cool stuff - Wusthof Trident knives, a nice Cuisine Art blender, Cuisine Art ice cream maker, a nice stainless trashcan from SimpleHuman. Now, my toaster will do fine in its new home. Geez, I'm personifying a toaster.

Now, this brings up a good point. This past weekend I spent one fabulous night in the Music Country Inn located on the western side of Nashville; the going rate a measley $30. A quick calculation in the old brain says that my toaster is worth two nights at this place. Let's just say it was a nice and sketchy. Why? Let's see, when I get there three cops cars have pulled over a car in front of the hotel. I know, I know, you're thinking that's where the cops pulled someone over. However, when I get up and leave, I see flashing lights again and ummm it was different car. After I left the hotel, I made my to Waffle House where it took me 20 minutes to get a waffle. Let's just say I shared breakfast with some sketchy company. Oh goodness, the foul language would have made a sailor blush. I'm not sure if I was scared of the lady that moved as fast a slug or the lady that didn't have access to ring people out. Oh, there's the cook who was berating this woman in front of everyone. I was sitting at the counter so I can't forget the two gentlemen that I think were stone or drunk and stoned. They were nice enough to share their conversation with me as they tried to pick up two thirtysomething women sitting on my other side. Here's the best line when the guys told to the older woman once they found out here age. "Honey, you're like a fine wine." The lady calmly asked how he knew. The best was once she said she had kids. Let's just say the conversation just kinda petered out.

Well after breakfast, I was looking forward to my run with the Nashville Striders. I had a great time. The runners weren't that fast, but at least I got a chance to see the course. Hopefully, during the real marathon I won't stop in Shelby Park's porta john and drop a deuce. Oh, geez, I would lose a couple of minutes.

Finally, to end my journey, I will say that a nice African woman tried to pick me up - almost literally. I think I was turned off when she rolled her eyes over my body to see what I was wearing (Diesel outfit) and then asked in this husky voice that came out of her nearly toothless mouth, "Hey, you gotta a woman!?!" I wasn't sure how to respond. So, I just kinda smiled and went inside the gas station and bought a candy bar. (Note, this gas station was in relative proximity to the Waffle House.)

Old...

I went to the movie store to see a copy of Toy Story, the original story from Pixar. Oh wait, it was the special 10th anniversary copy. Wow, I'm old.

Michigan!

Just in case anyone was curious. Michigan beat Illinois. However, I kinda wished they beat them when I was in Urbana earlier in the season. That's okay because they Michigan might just make it to the big dance. They probably won't dance too much before they're bounced out, but it'll be nice to see them qualify.

Toaster

Okay, this sounds weird, but I'm having the hardest time choosing what toaster to get. I'm thinking between this sleek Russell Hobbs toaster and the one from Waring Pro. The Waring Pro toaster at least looks like a toaster. The Russell Hobbs version looks like a think glass wafer. I'll probably get the Waring Pro.

Koreans Very Intelligent, but have Difficulty Putting the Peg in the Hole.

Okay, the title of my entry is very Onion like, but, you have to agree with me that it's funny. Today, I read a somewhat serious, but funny report about the sexual dysfunction between Korean couples. Korean men and women were the least satifisied with their sexual lives. This of course can be explained that Koreans have the fewest intimate encounters. Hmmm... I think Korean women are now out of my dating pool. Here are some of the states listed by Chosunilbo.
"Only 53.3% of Korean men and 31.3% of Korean women were satisfied with their married sex life, ranking the lowest after Japan (men: 47.3%, women: 30.7%). In France, a whopping 93% of men and 80% of women said they were happy with their marital sex life. The U.S. figures were 78% and 65.3% each.

As for the reason behind the discontentment, Korean men cited 'not enough sexual intercourse' (32%), 'wife's lack of technique' (24.7%) and 'wife's lack of desire for sexual intimacy' (23.3%). On the flipside of that coin, the women said their 'husbands are indifferent to atmosphere during foreplay and after sex' (26%), 'seek only to please their sexual desires' (20.7%) or simply they 'have grown tired of their husbands' (12.7%).

Korea was also in last place after Japan as for the frequency of sexual intercourse. 43.3% of Korean men had sex twice or three times a month, while 34.7% of women reported that they had sex only once or not at all. This compares to 30% of American men saying they have sex 4-7 times and 22% of women 2-3 times. Moreover, 17.3% of American women were found to participate in lovemaking more than 16 times a month. Japanese were the least active in bed with once or none at all for 65.3% of men and 71.3% of women.

Meanwhile, 54% of Korean men and 41% of Korean women (the highest percentage of the four nations) said that the sexual frustrations had put a damper on their daily conversation. The country was also at the top of the heap for the number of respondents who experienced sexual discontent but did not mention it to their spouse."

Laziness was the Culprit

I watched this CNN report the growing epidemic in the US - the citizens are getting fat! Well, the show also highlighted some people who re-prioritized their life and loss weight as a result of their actions. Then today I saw that most of the population is like this woman. This afternoon I walked to the video store. It's three short blocks away from my apartment. The video store is located in a small strip mall. There aren't too many stores; at the beginning of the mall there is a Cousin's sub shop, a bar, a small enigneering company, a nail place and then Movie Gallery. As I passed the sub shop a lady had just walked out of the store. I turned my head not to gawk at her but rather her Lexus GS430. It was maroon. It looked pretty sweet. Anyway, I kept walking another 150 feet to the video store. By the time I got there the lady from the sub shop had gotten out of her car and enter the movie store a few seconds before me. I seriously had to do a double take. I looked behind me; as I turned my head my brain was quickly estimating the distance, the fuel used to start the engine and the seconds saved by driving. What the hell?!? We're doomed.


GE - Crotonville Training

Here are some of my friends from Crotonville, the GE training center in Ossining, New York.
The left is a picture of Luis, Pam and Omar. The othe picture is of Dan, Tom, Nithin, and me. One day we will be the leaders of GE.

Flat World For Sure

Today, I went to the movie store and I realized how flat the world is. Here I am in a town in the middle of no where. Heck, I'm a couple hours away from the closest Banana Republic, but at the local movie rental store I can get my fill of Korean movies. Is this strange? Yeah, I'm sure there aren't too many Koreans in this little town.

GE - Turino

Last night the Olympics started. My favorite events are bobsled and short track speed skating. However, keep your eye out for GE commercials. Imagination at work or Ecomagination. Oh, right, I admit it. I love my company.

Run on this!

Today, I tested my new Asics 2100. They are so sweet! I love them. Hopefully, I'll be able to rack 400 miles on them before I have to replace them. In addition, I've purchased a new pair of trail shoes which I'll use as my regular walking shoe. They're made by a company called Five Ten. I can't recommend them for running because they have this bloated section near the ankle which you can't tie down tightly. Oh, well, at least they have Gore Tex XCR and are good enough as a regular shoe. However, I'm sure I'm going to go back to the North Face Ultra Gore Tex trail shoes. They'll be worth the worth $100 price tag.

Well, this past week I was in New York at corporate training session for GE. There were about 80 of us there. All of us were relatively new to the company. I learned a lot about becoming a more active listener. Also, I found out my MTBI is ENFJ (Extravert Intuition Feeling Judging). Does any one know their MTBI?

Orangish


Well, that's what I was going for - a nice orange shoe rack. I'm sure some of you were dying to see my new rack. Well, the color isn't exactly what I had hoped for. I really wanted to get the color pumpkin, but I ended up with tangerine. hehe. Yeah, I like to describe colors with food. However, they are more visually appealing than brown-orange. Nevertheless, the IKEA shoe rack does a fine job holding my shoes. Then again, why wouldn't it work? As you can see I have three pairs of running shoes there. Oh, yeah, plus I want to get the Asics 2100. I really don't see the purpose of getting the 2110. I mean, look, I'm running in New Balance 831. This is my second pair of these shoes and I have another pair left which I'll use to run my marathon it. I am such a dork! Oh, yeah~ that's fine with me.

Actually, know what? I like this the color of this font. haha. Later.

Happy New Year

Well, happy new year to everyone. I tried my best to call as many people as I could before my cell phone died. If you didn't receive a message, sorry! Anyhoo, here are a lot of pictures from this holiday season. Here is a picture of the family. Don't we look great?!?!


After seeing the family I drove to Philly to see my other friends. I couldn't see everyone, but I was able to hang out with some great friends. Plus, I was able to eat Korean food. Haha! On New Year's Eve I went downtown with Sara, Hannah and Chris. We had a fun time playing Cranium. Oh, I also ate a great place called Amada - it serves tapas. What was kinda cool was that City Hall was all colored somehow. I'm not sure how they did this, but the building looks spectacular even without beer googles.


While I was in Philly I couldn't pass up the opportunity to shop. I was so excited to see the King of Prussia Mall. I bought some more things for my apartment from IKEA.

Sara told me that Diesel was having a sale on their clothes. So, that means that the clothes were only greatly overpriced instead of exhorbently overpriced. Nevertheless, I did purchase one thing from the store. I won't say how much I spent. Also, I got a cool Diesel hat from Sara. Look, I'm showing off my jeans in a weird way. Also, here's my serious fashion pose.


So what did I get at IKEA? Well, a coffee table for starters as well as a small side table. Plus, I bought some vases to fill in my book shelf. Finally, I purchased a matching lamps. Is this weird? I felt a little strange doing this. Nevertheless, I'm impressed with the soothing effect the light gives off. My apartment looks better now. Well, I think so. However, I couldn't find any pillows I liked for the couch. When I paint my shoe rack from IKEA I'll post a picture. I know you can't wait. Ha!