Henry's Notes

I am moving to a new cyber location

2007-03-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

Life is just full of moving recently for me. Not only have I moved in real life, I am also moving my blog to a new home with Wordpress - an open-source blogging software community. I have been using Wordpress' product recently for work and I am just so much more impressed with it. It allows me to switch theme(template) seamlessly without touching any code. In addition, it allows all the advanced features such as pingback and blogrolls. Lastly, I feel I would rather support an open-source community... not that I don't like blogger/google, it's just that plenty of people already are supporting blogger; I rather put my support somewhere else.

Anyway, here is the new address: http://henrynote.wordpress.com

See ya on the other side!

Tour of California

2007-02-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I went to the beach area of Long Beach to watch the last stage of the famous Tour of California. In case you don't know, the Tour of California is a professional road race, that spans over 7 stages starting from San Francisco down to Long Beach (Los Angeles area), much like the Tour de France. The last stage is a circuit race, which means that they go on a loop course multiple times, thereby making it "fan viewing friendly".

The day started out cold, but was sunny by the time I got down to the race area. Although I am not a race watching fan, it was fun to be out there seeing what it is all about and feeling the crowds. Of course, it was amazing to watch these guys go by at 30+ miles per hour.

I also got to meet up with Moe, from Mountain Bike Riders, who is testing the F-20R bike. The picture shows him with the bike and me with F-20T2 (unavailable in the US at the current time). You can read Moe's notes about his day here.
Photo courtesy of a passerby-er.

Famous mountain biker

2007-02-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I went mountain biking at the Fullerton Loop with guys from Mountain Bike Riders (Moe and RL). Actually, it's probably been at least 4 years since I used by mountain bike. Also, the loop is very close to where I used to live in La Habra, so it was doubly sad that I didn't get to it till now.

Anyway, RL has a DIY helmet cam, which he used to film our ride. You can see me riding in the video at the bottom of their post. You can also see Moe's notes about the ride and some pictures at his blog.

Photo courtesy of Moe Ramirez.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2007-02-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year (of the Pig - on Feb 18)!

Here is a short recap of what happened: 2006 was a busy year for me. I traveled a lot and moved back to the Los Angeles region (Orange county, CA to be exact) from Tucson in July. I am very grateful to my god-sister Anne and her husband Helman for letting me live in their guest room for the past 6 months. However, I moved out 2 weekends ago to a share a home in Long Beach, CA - about 2.5 miles from work. Since my significant other, Pei, is in Tucson working on her PhD at U of Arizona, I often fly to Tucson to visit her. When she visits me in LA, we traveled to San Diego and Santa Barbara to mix things up a bit, but you knew most of this already because you have been keeping up with my posts right?

What did I do for Chinese New Year? Nothing related to it, actually. I visited Pei in Tucson and we went camping Saturday night at the Peppersauce Campground about 40 miles north of Tucson. The camp ground is relatively clean, the camp host is super friendly (he gave us fire wood and matches when we didn't arrive with either), the camping areas are well shaded by TREES (!!), and you can be visited by friendly cows (too bad I didn't get any pictures of them). We had a good time just hanging out, cooked, ate, and watch the fire burn. The hiking around the area isn't so nice though... we hiked up a 4-wheelable road for about 45 minutes before turning back because I was exhausted from suffering from a minor cold.

Updated Blogger

2007-02-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

Blogger did a bad thing recently. They updated the blogger and force everyone to upgrade, but failed to tell us that there has been a chance in the ATOM feeds. The old address: http://henrynote.blogspot.com/atom.xml no longer works. Please delete or modify your address with the one now provided on the right hand side. Ugh!! I hope I haven't lost most of you by this time.

Last week's hick-ups

2007-01-29T00:09:00.000-08:00

Two things worth noting last week...

I was coming home from Tucson Sunday, Jan 21 when it began snowing in the afternoon. Since it was still day time, the snow was more like sleet that melted on impact of anything. However, when my plane was just about to leave the boarding gate, the snow really started to pile on. Next thing we know, the Tucson crew was having trouble de-icing the plane; they simply didn't have enough equipment to do the job fast enough. An hour later of just sitting there, Southwest cancelled the flight -- I got to stay one more night in Tucson AND take off work the next day because I could not get on another flight until 2:30pm Monday. Apparently, (city of) Tucson has not seen snow for about 15-20 years depending on who you ask. Besides for the delay and minor annoyances, it was a lovely sight. Some kids even got a snow day on Monday!

------

On Thursday morning, as I was getting ready to go to work I discovered that my car's driver-side window was busted. Nothing was stolen out of the car (at least I don't remember anything being missing) even my folding bike in the back in plain sight. Of course, that ended up consuming my morning - I had to talk to the police, insurance company, and clean up the glass. Really annoying, but at least my car and my bike were not stolen.

It made me think of how much human life has been spent on preventing, recovering, investigating, and prosecuting crime. It's incredible. If only we can divert such effort to other greater causes instead, the world would be an amazing place, but such is the dharma of life.

Snow in Tucson?

2007-01-22T22:01:00.000-08:00

(this is a back-post to 1/21/07)
I got stuck in Tucson on Jan 21... of all things because of SNOW. Yeah, I know it's January, and it snows yearly in the mountains, but in the Tucson basin? Apparently, it last happened about 20 years ago. So, I got lucky and get to stay in Tucson one more night.
The truth was that we got about 1/2" of snow, which melted fairly fast, but the problem was that Tucson Airport didn't have enough working de-icer to de-ice the planes AND snow plow to clear the runway, so it was safer to cancell the flights.
So, I present you with some cool pictures of snow and catus.

Santa Barbara by train and bike

2006-11-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Nov 23

The train ride
Pei and I visited Santa Barbara (SB from this point on) for the Thanksgiving weekend, but instead of getting there the usual way, we traveled by Amtrak from Fullerton to Santa Barbara. We took our 2 folding bikes with us and was able to just roll onto the train and hang them on the bike/surfboard racks. That's right, no check-in required, just walk onto the train and hang them up. Since we are not sitting near the vicinity of the racks, I locked up our bikes with a simple braided coil lock to prevent casual thieves from just taking our bikes.

Bikes hanging on racks in the Amtrak train

SB train station with bikes

If you have never travel by train in this country, I urge you to try it because it is fun, comfortable, and relatively stress free (except trying to get to the station on time) compared to driving. The trip cost us about $65 each round trip and took about 3.5 hours, which is only slightly more than driving, but then considering the traffic that weekend, maybe it was faster. What did we do with ourselves with all that time? We talked, listened to other people's conversations, watched the scenery, watched some movies (yes, there are also power outlets to plug in your computer/dvd player), and listen to music!

Watching sunset on the train

SB Court House
Our first visit off the train and on the bike was the SB Court House, which is definitely not-to-be missed for its architecture, decorations, and 360 degree tower view. We were thoroughly impressed. See for yourself:

SB Court House

Stair case inside the SB Court House

Hearing room inside the SB Court House

View from the clock-tower of the SB Court House

Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden
Our second stop was at the Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden. We actually didn't plan on visiting this park, but happen to rode by it when we noticed the beauty and serenity of it from the road-side. It made me want to move to SB right then and there. Sigh... if I could be so lucky.

Beauties inside the Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden

SB Mission
Our last major stop of the day was at the Santa Barbara Mission, which is located at the northern edge of the city proper. While it is not an extravagantly beautiful building, its beauty is in the simplicity in reflection of frontier life and stunning surroundings.

Chumash wash basin with SB Mission in the background

Interior of the Mission

Inside the SB Mission's Chapel

Thx-giving dinner
We went to Moby Dicks on the pier for dinner, which apparently didn't require reservation even on the Thanksgiving night. Unfortunately, we were not impressed with their regular fare (seafood) and their Thanksgiving special didn't look much better either. Oh well, at least we didn't shell out $50+ per person. However, we had a nice stroll on the pier.

Thanksgiving night on the pier

Friday, Nov 24

The highlight of the day was that we biked to Goleta and back, which is about 30+ miles round trip. It really wasn't too difficult, but we took our time to enjoy the sights and life. We discovered the Shoreline Park, which was a great place to enjoy the ocean view and stroll on the beach (we only did the former, not the latter).

Pei and I at Shoreline Park

View from the Shoreline Dr.

The bike ride involved about half on-street riding and half on-path riding in Goleta. Goleta is home of the UCSB, where I visited several times when my friend Max went to grad school there. The school perch on the cliff side overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I never understood how he could study at such an environment. Anyway, we bike around the school and the college living area - both of which were basically ghost towns during this time. We spent a bit of time looking for some place to eat, but most places were closed near campus. We fortunately found a great Vietnamese restaurant in the non-student area, but the name escapes me :(

Trip back on memory lane for my friends who went to UCSB

This night, we finally found a great seafood restaurant at the Sterns Wharf called Brophy Bros. We shared clams/mussel appetizer and a fish dish (I don't remember which now) for about $35. We had to wait about 40 minutes to get seated, but we left happy as a clam :P I highly recommend it! (Just in case it mattered to you, it's small and crowded... so don't bring a large group.)

Saturday, Nov 25

Took the day easy; just enjoying the atmosphere and check out State Street, which was filled with activies of people shopping. We ate lunch on the outdoor patio of the Natural Cafe to enjoy people watching and the specialty foods. Our train departs for LA at around 1pm... it was sad to say goodbye to such a beautiful place. We vow to return sometime soon.

Note: Many links found here are from Santa Barbara.com ... From what I can gather, the information at the site would have been helpful if I had I visited it before going to SB.

Picacho Peak hike

2006-11-05T00:09:00.000-08:00

From one state park to another... On Nov 4th, I finally got to do a great hike that I never got to do while I was actually living in Tucson. Pei, Kyle, Krystle, and I went to hike the Picacho Peak, which is located about 50 miles North of Tucson on I-10. It was an intense but fun 4 mile round trip hike via the Hunter Trail.

Dead catus

Pause for a view

Group at the saddle

What are you (Henry) up to now?

The hike is NOT for the faint of heart or anyone who fear heights because at various sections you are basically being held-in by a chain and not much else. The chains are staked in various locations to help and keep hiker safe while doing this climb without any technical equipment or skill. The ranger recommended that we use gloves, but it's not really necessary (except when it's really hot or cold).

Help me!

A look at how steep it is

The view all the way up is excellent. On the peak, you have a 360 degree view of mostly flat land. If you would like to try doing this hike, I would recommend at least 2 quarts of water per person, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and sturdy shoes.

From the peak

Pei and I on the peak (South-East/I-10 in the background)

Krystle on the peak (North in the background)

Kyle on the peak (East/I-10 in the background)

I ride through a dangerous city

2006-11-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

Heard the news on the other day that Compton, CA, the city that I must go through if I am taking public transit to work, is rated #4 dangerous city in the nation. It is also rated the most dangerous city with population of 75k to 100k. This is according to Morgan Quinto Press. Wow, I really have to be careful now.

San Diego trip

2006-10-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

(This is a post with modified date. I hope it's not too confusing...)

Pei and I visited San Diego on Oct 21 and 22. We drove down from Orange County early Saturday morning to have early brunch with Alison and Bob. We had to do it early because they were actually driving up to LA to attend a wedding that night! Too bad we couldn't hang out more... but we did get to see their home. It is so cool that Ali has a land turtle! That would be my next pet if I ever get a house with fence-able back-yard.

Sea Gulls gathering on the rocks

Anyway, Pei and I spent the rest of the Saturday in La Jolla - a rich, artist area of San Diego that is built right at the edge of to the ocean. We didn't care much about the arts in the area, but we did use our folding bikes to bike along the beach/cliff and into the residential areas. It is such a beautiful area to live... I wish my job is in San Diego; I would move here (not La Jolla though) in a heart beat. Unfortunately, we were so beat after the ride that we had some Mexican food and then headed right back to the hotel to pass out for most of night.

A beautiful and big century plant flowering on the bluff

Pei in full pink right down to the bike!

Sunday was more eventful. We started the day with a nice breakfast at the hotel and went to the Torrey Pines (California) State Reserve. Torrey pine is actually one of the rarest pine tree in the world because it only grows in that area. It is a relic from the ice age. When the planet warmed, most of the Southern California coast became un-suitable for pine growth except here. Torrey pine evolved to live off the frequent fog and the unusually cool ocean breeze.

Me at the Northern-most outlook in the reserve

We drove into the small reserve and hiked at 3 of the trails that goes out to the cliff overlooking the ocean. We had a great time hiking around, but one thing I would do differently next time would be to park outside of the reserve and bike in. Plenty of people were out jogging and cycling into the reserve... we felt guilty driving in ;)

Pei posing with the rare trees

View from the highest point in the reserve

This is definitely one beautiful reserve... I am sure my pictures did not do it justice. I would highly recommend you to see for yourself if you are ever in San Diego.

That afternoon, we visited the San Diego Wild Animal Park out in Escondido. We got there kinda late because we spent all morning at Torrey Pines and then had a hard time finding the Indian restaurant we wanted to try. We ended up having lunch at "Little Italy", which really surprised us with a great meal.

Pelicant parents fertilizing an egg

A "doggie bag"

Giraffe

The mystical Unicorn?

Rhino mom and baby

Rare and untamable Mongolian horse

Visiting wild animal park is unlike any zoo you'll visit. They have wide open fields for animals to roam and live as they are naturally. The park started as a place to study animal's natural behavior, but the SD Zoo Society decided that it should be open to public for viewing and learning. I joined the membership because it supports the zoo and it is just a bit more than the regular admissions for the 2 of us (and I have more passes!). We got there late that day so we plan on visiting again when we are next in San Diego. Oh yeah, if you are ever there, don't miss the California Condor exhibit! Yes SD Zoo is one of the few zoos that breed, study, and release these majestic animals.

Life on the open fields

Don't mess with me!

PS: Thanks to JP and Alison for suggestions of what to do in SD!!

It's already October?

2006-10-12T00:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already October. What happened to September? Anyway, life has been very busy... so I didn't ride my bike as much as I hoped for. I finally got back on the bike today to ride to work (5 mile ride: drive-bike-train-bike method). Boy, was I tired from riding; I am really out of cycling shape. OK, I am determined to bike more, but it's getting darker sooner too. Can't wait for day-light savings to end (of course, I'll probably hate life for about a week when that happens).

Seen my bike?

2006-09-07T00:17:00.000-07:00

Hmm, have you seen my bike before? I don't know if I ever posted a good picture of it, but this is a relatively recent one. Yeah, I know it's kinda dark. I'll try to get a better one later. Anyway, it's a folding bike by KHS(the website does not have my exact model, but close enough). You can easily fold it up in half from the middle of the bike frame and put it in the trunk of most mid-size sedan (and maybe compact car too, but I haven't tried). It's also always allowed on the Metro trains. For buses, it depends on the ridership level.

New route to work

2006-09-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

I broke 2 spokes on my bike about 1.5 weeks ago. I haven't been riding since then and it is driving (pun intended) me nuts, not to mention so many more miles on my car. Anyway, I finally fixed it on Tuesday and got to ride it today.

I am actually staying in Redondo Beach this week. This is much closer to where I would like to live (West Torrance). So I found an easy 3.5 mi bike ride to the bus station at the Torrance Civic Center, take Torrance Transit #6, which drops me off at the Artesia Metro Station, which is about 1mi from where I work. The bus ride was only $0.50 one way! Total one-way commuting time was about 1 hr, door-to-door. Compare this with driving, which takes 30 minutes, but costs $1.50 in gas alone. On the way back home, I was the only rider the entire way. I couldn't believe it, but the bus driver said it's normal. Very strange... I guess Torrance, after all, is a car town- with Toyota, Nissan (recently moved out), and Exxon-Mobil all part of the city.

Anyway, this meant that I rode about 8 miles today. Not very much, but I am sore! However, I am very happy to be back on the bike :))))

Tribute to Crocodile Hunter

2006-09-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Steve,

Thank you for years of entertainment and education regarding wildlife. As a global citizen who is concerned about nature and wildlife, it's great to see you out there educating the public and promoting conservation. I will miss your shows, your personality, and your contribution to the conservation efforts. You have a place in my heart and I am sure in many people's heart around the world.

I pray that you have reached a better place. I also pray the best for your family.

- Henry
-------------------------------
If you don't already know, Croc Hunter, Steve Erwin, passed away from being stung by a sting ray while filming on Monday. Read the news here.

Biking and riding the train to work

2006-08-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I live 20 miles from work, I feel guilty about driving 40 miles everyday to and from work. Why? 1) With gas at $3.19/gallon, I am looking at about $5.80/day (40mi/22mi-per-gal x $3.19/gal) not including wear and tear on the car; 2) It's air polluting; 3) I don't like driving and I hate driving in traffic. My work place is close to one of the LA Metro train station on the Blue Line, so my plan is to somehow take advantage of it.

Composit graphics made with Google Maps and Pedometer

The bike ride
The station closest to my home is at Norwalk where the Green Line ends. The Norwalk station is about 10 miles away from home via shortest path. However, the shortest path would put me on a shoulder-less, heavy & high-speed traffic, and rolling hills highway, which I am not willing to take. There must be a better way! Fortunately,.I found a web site called Bike Metro where you can find directions like any other on-line map software, except it finds directions that are bike friendly. You can set your [traffic handling] skill level and your tolerance to hills. My result came up to be 12 miles on a wide shoulder street. I have taken it a few times and it's a fairly pleasant 50 minute ride (14.4 avg mph). I tweaked the route a bit to get even less hills and more bike friendly, so now I really have it down. The best part about this route is that if I am running late, I can always just drive part way and park in a residential area to cut down the distance. If I am really late, I can always drive to the Norwalk station.
The site estimates that I:

Burn 461 calories
Save 10.5 lbs of pollution
Save $11.71 compare to driving this distance

Photo from www.mta.net/riding_metro/metro_rail/green_line.htm

The train ride
The train ride is $3 per day. The LA Metro system is based on honor/punishment system. LA Sheriff patrols the stations and checks for passes periodically. You don't want to be caught without a ticket because the fine would set you back $250.
Bike are generally allowed on the train, except certain hours (the commuting hours). Folding bikes are the exception because it is always allowed. In reality, I have seen many regular bikes on the train during the commuting hours. I am glad that the bike rule isn't too strictly enforced because most of the time, there are enough room for the bike. I am actually surprised how many people chose to take their bike on the train with them. Most of the time, they are really cheap bikes, but still, I am very happy to see them.
Anyway, I ride the Green Line from Norwalk to the Imperial transfer station to the Blue Line. The train ride generally takes 20 minutes, but it depends on whether I make the transfer promptly or not. The other problem is that the Blue Line is an aging system so it is prone to break-down. I think I have had it break down on me 3/4 times in 1.5 months... not a very good record. Fortunately, the longest additional distance is 5 miles, which is completely do-able. Assuming no break-downs, I only have to ride 1 mile to work from the end station. The other thing about the Blue Line is that it goes through Compton - a relatively poor and dangerous area. Not that I have seen anything happen, but the tension in the place can be a bit scary... Maybe I should consider buying and carrying mace :(

Pics from Nashville

2006-08-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

Inside of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

A road in downtown Nashville. What road is it anyway? Let me know if you understand it. Needless to say, I was not impressed with the signage of the region. I am from LA and this seems more complex than anything I have seen back home. Also the freeway here is fairly difficult to navigate because you have to constantly merge left and right; yeah, yeah, I know LA has its fair share of crazy mergings, but in this tiny stretch just south of Nashville, you'll run into 2-3 mergings that will have you veer left and then right.

The Hermitage - residence of Andrew Jackson, you know the president on the $20 bill! I won't comment on the political/historical stuff Jackson did, but this house sure is amazing. It contains 90-95% of original items from his time. It's neat to see how relatively wealthy people lived in the 1850's.

Jump to the current...

2006-07-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Jumping to what I am actually doing now... I am in Nashville, Tennessee exhibiting in a show at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. It has a glass dome section that makes it feels like you are outdoors on a beautiful street with water fountain, trees, etc. I'll try to get some pictures in the next few days.

Oh yeah, I am hooked on this numerical puzzle game call Sudoku. I am amazed at how many different ways one can look at a set of numbers to solve these puzzles.

Also, stay tune for my bike-commuting piece, which I will write on the plane home.

June's big news

2006-07-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

June is an important month because I have two real big news for the year... 1) Pei passed her orals for her official entrance to the PhD program and 2) I am out of Tucson and moved into Los Angeles because of work. For Pei, it was an important milestone because it means she is firmly seated in her program and can concentrate on her research and other steps to reach her graduation. For my own news, it's sad because I have grown to enjoy being in Tucson and I have to leave Pei behind, who has at least 2 more years to go. Fortunately, we agreed to continue as a long distance relationship. The good part is that I'll be working the office (I was working remotely from home in Tucson). I thought remote work would be great, but it isn't, especially when an office isn't setup for such a type of work. So much of my work involve looking at the items that it was difficult to work from so far away. Another good thing about LA is that it's got unbeatable weather (although the smog and the traffic kinda negates it).

Alvera Street
Anyway, I really hate moving because I had to go through everything and decide whether to keep, toss, or give away. It's amazing how much stuff I have, even though I don't consider myself as someone who buys a lot. I guess years of accumulation really adds up. All my stuff fitted in a 14' U-Haul with only my table and office chair as my only big furniture (no bed, sofa, tv, etc)... very scary. I owe Pei so much for helping me sort through and pack my things. I think it would have taken me three times as long if I didn't have her help.

Pei at Jungle Falls in Huntington Garden
Green House at Huntington Garden
Bridge of Japanese Garden at Huntington
As for the move itself, Pei and I drove out over night on June 22 so we can avoid the desert day-time heat. The drive went well, but I was dead-tired upon arrival. I was and am currently staying at my god-sister's in La Habra (Orange County) until I can afford to get my own place closer to work. Actually, I timed my arrival with her and her husband's 2 week vacation in Germany so I can house-sit for her. It worked out really well.

Compare palm size with John Woo
Settling in didn't take too long because I left most items in storage, so we took the opportunity to explore the Northwest side of LA. On Saturday we visited: Huntington Library and Gardens, Pasadena, China Town, LA Grand Central Station, Alvera Street, and Hollywood (Mann-Chinese area) via the metro Gold and Red lines. On Sunday we dropped my godsister and her husband off at the airport in the morning and then visited Venice Beach and grand canals.
Pei flexing her muscles at Muscle Beach City Gym - Venice Beach
Venice Beach Grand Canal 1
Venice Beach Grand Canal 2

April to May catch-up

2006-07-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, so here is another catch-up (April and May) of what has been happening with me... actually a lot:
April 8-23: went back to Taiwan to attend the Taipei Sporting Goods Show. The show was only a few days long, but I stayed longer to hammer out some stuff for work.
April 30: STOMP came to Tucson's UA Presents. Pei and I got the cheap student ticket to see the show. It was a great event; it's amazing what they can do with just everyday items. I highly recommend going if it ever tours in your area.
May was another travel laden month.
May 2-3: In Raleigh, NC visiting a client with my dad. A quick in-and-out trip
May 4-5: Returned to Los Angeles and went house hunting with mom and dad.
May 6-20: Spent 2 weeks in Colorado Springs, Colorado for a Bicycle Mechanics Class at Barnett Bicycle Institute (BBI). I thought I was done with school, but this intense class reminded me of school. We were in class from 8am-5pm, then we had homework and reading to do after school. I try to do a bit of activity (like riding my bike) after school to keep me sane. I really learned a lot from BBI's class. If you plan on being a bicycle mechanic, I highly recommend this school. They are very thorough and methodical. I believe even if you already have quite a bit of experience, you'll still learn a lot by being methodical.

Morning snow in May

I sent my folding bike there as my local transportation because I flew there. It was such a great place/time to bicycle because the weather was perfect - a bit chilly in the morning but just right in the afternoon; the scenery was beautiful and traffic level was manageable. I really enjoyed my stay there. Even better, Pei came to visit me over the May 13-14 weekend so we spent it touring the area. The most amazing was Pike's Peak - an 14,000+ ft peak that you can *drive* up to the top, I am not kidding. The road up did not have guard rails so it was a bit scary to drive up because it often looks like the road just dropped off and disappears. Fortunately, the road is super wide. Check out the machines that stays there to clear the road:

Pikes Peak Equipments

Road on Pikes Peak

Top of Pikes Peak

We later hiked on a trail call Helen Hunt Falls, no, it's not named after the actress, but a 1800's writer/poet called Helen Hunt Jackson. It's a nice little hike from the water fall to a look-out.

Pei borrowed a bike from a very generous female classmate so we could go riding in the near-by Garden of the Gods. This park has wide shoulders - great for cycling and very photogenic. I actually rode through it several times myself because it's only 5 minute bike ride from where I stayed. I highly recommend visiting it.

Me in Garden of the Gods

We also visited the US Olympic Training Center Headquarters in downtown Colorado Springs. We got to view the state-of-the-art swimming pool (from the outside) and the wrestling training area. I wish I could have seen the Velodrome, but it wasn't on-site and I didn't know it existed. Maybe next time.
Olympic Training Center - Track racing

Komen Race for the Cure

2006-03-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

I am doing the Komen Race for the Cure event in Tucson on April 2, 2006. The mission is to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. I am doing the 5k timed event, which costs $30, and I donated an additional $20 to the cause. My goal for this event is to raise at least $300. If you would like to help by making a tax deductable donation, please visit my fundraising page. I realize it's the tax time, so anything you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your consideration!

Where does the money go? Here is the answer from the official Susan B. Komen website:

Seventy five percent of our net revenue helps uninsured and underinsured women have access to lifesaving programs of screening, education and treatment throughout Southern Arizona. Since our inception in Southern Arizona in 1999, we have raised over $3 Million. The remaining 25% of the monies raised support National research programs. Some of these funds have found their way back to Southern Arizona. In 2001 and 2004, the University of Arizona was awarded a total of four grants totaling about $1.3 Million.

Catch-up

2006-03-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting for a long while. It's like a vicious cycle... the longer I don't post, the harder it is to catch-up on everything so I don't want to do it. Anyway, now I am just going to update you on everything since my Mexico trip; it's going to be quick though.

Mexico Trip over New Years: Got there safely (finally). Plenty of sight-seeing in Mexico City including Teotihuacan. Drove to Acapulco for New Years. Got sick from too much alcohol drinking not from 1 night, but continuously for 3 days. Pretty much stay sick the rest of the trip. Roberto's dad took us to see the Monarch butterflies (AKA Mariposa) in Michoacan's Biosphere Reserve (here is a great article about them), since it is their prime season in Mexico. It was amazing to see millions of butterflies just hanging out or flying around. You can hear them fluttering, that's how loud they were. I'll post some pictures later.

Quartzsite RV Show, Jan 20-29: Went and exhibited KHS' folding bikes at the RV (consumer) Show. Quartzsite is a small town on I-10 near the border with California. It really is amazing that such a desolate place with virtually no population during the summer and fall would swell to hundred of thousands in the winter and spring. Most of the population growth is from snowbird RVers. I got to stay in a 5th wheel (trailer RV) in Parker - a town 30 miles north of Quartzsite; that was a fun experience, really!
(picture on left: the Big-Tent RV Show)

Tucson Botanical Garden, Butterfly Exhibit, Feb 18: As if I haven't had enough of the butterflies, I went to see the butterfly exhibit. I have actually seen it last year, but since it was so great, I wanted to visit it again before it ends. The monarch butterfly isn't in this exhibit because this one exhibits butterflies from Southeast Asia. At some point these butterflies got so friendly that they stayed on both Pei and I (see picture on the right).

Tubac - a small artist community south of Tucson, Feb26: You know I travel a lot, but it's mostly outside of my home's immediate area so I decided to visit this small city about 50 miles south of Tucson. It's actually the first European settlement/fort in Arizona. It was abandoned and re-settled several times in history. Now, it's mostly an artist community living off tourism and art & craft sales. Pei and I spent a nice afternoon there window shopping and had lunch at a restaurant call "Shelby". We also visited Tubac Presidio State Historic Park - Arizona's first state park.

Mamma Mia! the Broadway Show, March 8: This is why I love Tucson... it's relatively small, yet all the big hits comes through town AND it's easy to get tickets (Lion King is coming this fall... it might be another story). We got the tickets on the day-of and still got a decent (though far because I was cheap) seats. In LA, I'll probably have to buy tickets way in advance. Anyway, it was a fun show where Pei actually stayed up through the entire thing (I make fun of her on this because she falls asleep during most movies, especially the action flicks). The show is cleverly weaved with songs by ABBA. If the show ever goes through your town, I would highly recommend it.

Next week, I go to International Health, Racquet, Sports-club Association (IHRSA)'s trade show in Las Vegas. Then I'll spend a few days in LA before coming back to Arizona.

Also, I have decided to do a supported 2-day touring bike ride: Sonoita-Bisbee on April 8&9. I really look forward to it. Let me know if you are also interested in doing it!

Ohhh yeah, this has been a very dry and warm winter for Arizona, so the weather has been great for doing outdoor stuff. However, we are praying for some rain because we need it bad (maybe I need to sacrifice and get a car wash again... the 3 times that I car washed within the past month, it rained or sprinkled within 2 days)

In Mexico City... finally

2005-12-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Yep, I am on another travel trip; I am currently in Mexico City spending time with my now ex-housemate, Roberto, and his two friends from US. I arrived last night (Sunday, Dec 25), but I was really scheduled to arrive on Sat morning. My flight out of Phoenix on AeroMexico was suppose to leave on Sat 1:55am and arrive in Mexico City at Sat 6am. I really didn't pick that specific time because all I want to do is to arrive by Dec 26. I am using a voucher which I got in March when I volunteered to take the next flight going to Guadalajara, so I didn't have many choices on which flight to take; just whatever is available. Anyway, the flight was WAY overbooked; there were about 30 of us who got bumped on the flight. It really didn't matter much to me except I had no way of contacting Roberto about the situation. To compensate us, they give us each 2 vouchers for future flights and a night at the Holiday Inn. What a deal! From one trip I get total of 4 trips. In addition, I got upgraded to first class so plenty of room and good food :)
For others on the same flight, they weren't as well off. One women was going to HER own wedding, which has to be delayed. Really sad.

Pinky and the Brain

2005-12-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

Something funny/interesting...

Just saw this today: "Mice Created With Human Brain Cells" on Yahoo News. Can we say, this is the beginning of the Pinky and the Brain?

For those of you who are confused, Pinky and the Brain is a cartoon where they are 2 genetically engineered lab rats who plots to take over the world every night.

Gatoring in Orlando

2005-12-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Orlando, Florida is the last section of my month long away trip. As I mentioned before, I was there for the Athletic Business conference and expo. I seem to be bringing the cold weather with me because everyday except for today was a bit chilly (high in mid-60's) comparing to reported 80's in the previous week. Apparently, there was an hurricane (epsilon) out on the Atlantic Ocean near Florida; just my luck. Fortunately, it wasn't raining or super windy. Anyway, the expo went really well for me because I have significantly more sales leads than my last expo in Chicago. Maybe my posters helped (I should have taken a photo of the booth...), but then again it could have been a better-fit crowd. On another note, I got to meet Julie Faust, an ex-pro female soccer champion for the USA team (Picture above).

Work aside, I visited Universal City Walk and Gatorland. The City Walk was pretty, but was a disappointment because there wasn't that many stores and live entertainment to keep everyone happy. Gatorland, on the other hand, was a lot more interesting. I got to see alligators, crocodiles, cranes, Florida vultures, turtles, snakes, and various other critters in a clean and pleasant setting that is kids friendly. I really wanted to visit the Everglades, but I realized its too far away for the amount of time I have. So Gatorland's swamp walk was a close next best thing because it's the headwaters of the Everglades. I really enjoyed myself there, but I kept wondering if such an attraction is good for the animals and the environment. I guess it couldn't be too bad because at least the swamp was preserved and not drained.

All these travels have been great, but I really look forward to go back home in Tucson.

Left: a small egret that is very accustomed to human presence; I was about 4 feet away when I took this photo.

Right: Kids wrestling a small alligator, for $10 each, photos not included.

Back from Taiwan

2005-11-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Last week (ok, it's a few weeks ago now, but I am post dating this blog), I was in Taiwan for my grandpa's birthday celebration. His birthday isn't actually in November, but my parents (the celebration organizer) decided Thanksgiving week would work better for people from US because it's cheaper to fly and easier to get vacation.

My grandpa is 95 years old. He doesn't speak much anymore, has a hard time walking, and spits out most of what he eats. However, his spirit still remains fairly high... a major improvement over the time I visited him in August when he was suffering from intestinal problems that required major surgery.

Back to the main story... We traveled by bus as a group from Taipei (the name translates directly to Taiwan-North) all the way down to Kenting - the southern most tip of Taiwan. We stayed in Chateau Beach Resort the entire 3 days, which is a good idea because grandpa's limited mobility makes it difficult if we have to move every night. The beach resort is a nice facility with sea-side rooms facing the Taiwan Straight, clean (but not elegant) dining areas, and beautiful swimming and spa area. Their customer service, on the other hand, is a bit sub-par for a high-end resort. The worst part of the trip was the weather. Apparently, there was a typhoon (a Pacific version of hurricane) just south of Taiwan so the weather was extremely windy and chilly. Fortunately, it wasn't a wet storm so we were able to do outdoor things without getting too wet. Also, the weather did clear up on the last day, thus allowing me to go swim in the sea.

Highlights of the trip are:

Visit to ChiShan (sp?)- the banana land where my grandpa was once a principal of an elementary school AND where grandma's sister still lives in their home unchanged for over 60 years.
Early morning bike rides in Kenting - cold, windy, slow, but fun
Visit to Kenting lighthouse - the southern most point of Taiwan
Visit to Kenting aquarium
A tour on a semi-submerged boat to view underwater reef life - cool, but the waters were a bit too dark because of the cloudy weather
Visit to Be-tou-chou (sp?) - the 2nd southern most point of Taiwan
Visit to the Kenting National Park

Oh yeah, you should visit Luke's blogs for his thoughts and pictures (you might need to scroll through a few pages...).

Green house gas... is this definitive enough?

2005-11-25T06:08:00.000-08:00

CAUTION: a political rant, read at your own risk...

Here is a new article supporting un-natural CO2 level and rapidly rising global temperature: Study: More CO2 Now Than Past 650K Years. According to the article,

... measurements are disturbing: Levels of carbon dioxide have climbed from 280 parts per million two centuries ago to 380 ppm today. Earth's average temperature, meanwhile, increased about 1 degree Fahrenheit in recent decades, a relatively rapid rise...

This is scary stuff. The result is rapid de-icing of the North and South poles, rising ocean water level, thus causing floods and other disasters. In addition, rising water temperatures would mean more and stronger hurricane/typhoon/cyclones. The disaster possibilities are endless.

The Bush Administration cited that global warming is a naturally occuring process, so there is no direct evidence that human activities worsened the conditions. However, these new findings directly refute the administration's claims. How much more evidence does the administration need to admit that CO2 emissions are the cause of the rapidly rising global warming?

Travel, bike a lot, travel, travel

2005-11-17T01:52:00.000-08:00

I am taking a month off from Tucson. Hehe. Seriously, I drove from Tucson to LA last Thursday to join my friends for a bike ride on Saturday (more about it below). Then I work a few days in LA at KHS. And today - Wednesday (I am writing this entry on the plane) - I am flying to Taiwan for a family reunion with the excuse to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. I'll be back to LA on Nov 27, where I'll spend 2 more days before flying to Orlando, FL on Wed Nov 30 where I will exhibit KHS's Spnergy indoor group cycle at the Athletic Business Convention. I'll be there until Sunday, Dec 4, then I'll drive back from LA to Tucson on Dec 5. So, that all adds up to a month of being away from Tucson! I always thought I would like traveling, and sure it's all very exciting because everyday is different. However, it really makes life complicated. I always have to plan what to do next and exercise seem to take a back seat. In fact, I haven't done any form of exercise since the bike ride on Saturday. I have to figure out how to get some exercise in during the rest of the trip. Speaking of which...

This past Saturday, I did a century (100 mile) bike ride called the "Solvang's finest" with my college ski friends. The ride is set in the picturesque town and countryside of Solvang, CA, which is known for vineyard, winery, rolling hills, strong winds, and Michael Jackson's Neverland. My friends (pictured from left to right: Alison, Chris, Tracy, me, and Bob) and I have been planning on doing something like this for months. It's a chance for us together and do something fun. We couldn't have asked for a better condition. The weather was perfect - mostly sunny with temperature at 50's in the morning and 70's during the day and fairly light winds; Alison had 1 flat; and no one got injured... well maybe except for me.

My lower back apparently hasn't recovered from the half iron race. It started to hurt again around mile 20. It really slowed me down. Fortunately, Chris, who has been training for cycling races, was able to break wind for us AND push me up the hills, literally. Although I am sure we are going too slow for even his training pace, at least he got his "strength endurance ride". With my lower back disabled, I guess my body must have re-routed all the energy output to come from my legs, which made me more fatigued than ever. At mile 70, my legs finally gave out in the form of the most painful cramp I have ever experienced - so much so I had to lie down on the ground for a few minutes. Fortunately, I was very close to an aid station where they supplied me with plenty of electrolyte tablets, food, Pepsi (yes), and tums (calcium is suppose to relieve cramps). The bad news was that I still have a *EVIL* 3 mile hill to climb. Chris again pushed me several times and told me stories of his experiences with leg cramps and how to deal with it. I immediately applied Chris' lesson because I got another cramps, but this time, I worked it through just as Chris instructed me. The rest of the 30 miles was slow and on the edge from cramping, but thanks to Chris' company and encouragement, I managed to finish the ride :) I have done many centuries, but victory has never been so hard...

Chicago!

2005-11-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

From Nov 1 to Nov 5, I was in Chicago for Club Industry 2005 Expo. I was exhibiting the indoor group fitness bike for KHS. KHS has been making this product for over 8 years, but are now producing and marketing it under its own brand - Spnergy Studio Cycle. It was the first time KHS exhibits at a fitness show so we were not prepared. For the booth, we (another employee from KHS was with me) only had 2 bikes, a table, and 2 chairs, but no decoration nor any signage; it was a bit embarrassing. Otherwise, the show went pretty well for us because we had a few interests and contacts, which I would need to follow up.

Show aside, Chicago was unusually nice to me. The weather was warm enough for me to wear short sleeves outside; I was also able to run in the morning with shorts and t-shirt. Very beautiful weather. Since I stayed in a hotel next to Lake Michigan, I ran along the bike-path on 2 mornings. It was very nice.

On another note, I was impressed with how easy and inexpensive it is to use their public transportation. I rode to and from the Midway airport to downtown (30 minutes) for $1.75 each way. I also got around by their bus system, which is pretty easy to figure out. All you have to do is look at the map posted in all the bus station. Sigh, I am very envious of their public transportation system.

Oh yeah, I also went to the Field Museum where I met a very large female name Sue...

Completed Half-Ironman!!

2005-11-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, I completed the Soma Half-Ironman event. I was aiming for 6hrs, but I finished in 6:26 (close enough for now). The bike portion turned out to be the hardest for me because my lower back was hurting. I could have bike a bit faster if it wasn't because my back was killing me. I'll need to do some back exercises before any more races. I averaged 16-17mph including the 3 stops I took to stretch out. As for the run, I was averaging 10min/mile. I felt much better than I did last year when I did the quarter on the same course. Although I was extremely tired, I had fun at the event. Here is the official result:

Swim(1.2miles)= 0:45:28 (2.15/100yrd)
T1            = 0:04:45 (yeah, slow)
Bike(56miles) = 3:19:13 (16.8mph)
T2            = 0:02:51 (I did some stretching)
Run(13.1miles)= 2:13:24 (10.18min/mile)
==========
TOTAL         = 6:25:41

On another note, thanks goes out to all the Tricats volunteers. It was a great feeling to pull up to the bike station and have everyone cheering for me. It was even better when I can pull up and have a "pit" service, as you'll see in the pictures here (to see more, click here).

My lessons learned from the race are:

with proper training, you can do a half semi-comfortably
don't forget to strengthen your core... I paid for it on the bike because my lower back was killing me.
racers should call out what they want to the bike/run volunteers
if you are hot on the run, pop some ice in your mouth
if they are running out of cups on the run course, keep on in your back pocket
I think I will do another half :)

Julieta Venegas concert

2005-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

OK, this is a bit late... but I went to see Julieta Venegas (VH1 Review), a well respected Latin pop singer, last Sunday night. Julieta is a very talented artist who can play piano, guitar, and accordian. She also have been nominated several times for Latin Grammy's and was featured in the award winning movie Motorcycle Diary.

I went with Roberto, one of my roommates. The event was a City Limits (Tucson), a small music/bar venueon the east side of the city. It was a fun outing, especially when the crowd make you "feel like [you are] in Mexico" as Roberto said. Julieta put up an energetic show, going almost non-stop from song to song.

The only down side was that the tickets were $31/person (the beer was $4 each!) and the show was only 1.5 hrs long. Still, it was a good time and certainly a culture experience.

One week away from my big event

2005-10-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

It's one week away from my biggest triathlon event; I am doing a half-ironman race next Sunday. Half-Ironman distance is: 1.2 mile swim (2,111 yrs or 84.5 lengths in 25 yrd pool) , 56 mile bike, then 13.1 mile run. It's probably going to take me 6:15 to 6:40 hours to complete. I know it sounds nuts, but I have been training for a while and I am just trying to finish so it shouldn't be too bad. In addition, it's a sold-out event so I am not the only crazy one around. Still, I am a bit scared but also excited about it.

The event is in Tempe, AZ (Phoenix Metro). If you want to check out more info about the event, go to: http://www.redrockco.com/HalfIronmanAZ.htm. I actually did the quarter-ironman (half of the half-iron) last year so I know the course because the half-iron is just double loop on everything, except for the swim.

Wish me luck :)

Paul Van Dyk concert

2005-09-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Went to a Paul Van Dyk concert in Scottsdale, AZ (Phoenix Metro) on Sep 24 for Roberto's b-day. It was the best fun I had for a while. For those of you who don't know Paul Van Dyk, he is a Trance/Electronica DJ from Germany - check out http://www.popex.com/artists/VAND/ or sample his music from official website. We stayed in a hotel close to the venue so we could walk home. We bounced from 9pm-2am (actually PVD didn't start till midnight, but he also didn't stop until 2:30am). My legs were so sore... it was the best workout ever :P

Much of nothing

2005-09-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

Gosh, time really flies even when I don't have much to do... Since I got back from Japan/Taiwan, I haven't been motivated to do much. Instead of doing all the things I wanted to do when I don't have the time, I spend too much time playing a new addicting on-line game call Guild Wars. Its too much fun! Oh well, at least I have been doing some (more) triathlon training.

Aichi World Expo

2005-07-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

Nature was good to visitors to Aichi today. Typhoon that was destine to hit full force onto Japan unexpectedly turned back out into the Pacific Ocean. So we were left with a sunny weather with very nice breeze.

The Aichi World Expo is 30 minutes outside of city of Nagoya. We had to take a bus from the city center to get there. The expo opens at 9am; We got to the West Gate by 8:30am and the line was already 30 minutes long. I couldn't believe the number of people attending this event. I think it's more than Disneyland on a summer weekend (left above)!

The idea of the World Expo is that it is a gathering of world cultures to bring to a region for people to experience. Looking at it another way, it allows someone with limited means of travel to visit virtually all places on earth. With this mission, I think the expo did a great job. However, this specific expo was supposed to focus on harmony with nature using new technologies. In this respect, I was greatly disappointed as I did not see many exhibits pointing toward this mission. I think it would be great if there is an exposition showing all the latest technologies people can use in their everyday life to lessen our impact on earth. Anyways...

Our plans to see Japanese corporate expositions (like Toyota, Mitsubish, etc) were not possible. When we got to the area (about 9:40am), tickets for the morning show were already taken and people were lining up for the 2pm tickets! It simply wasn't worth it. So we moved on to see the Mammoth lab exhibit. On our way to the Mammoth lab, we visited the super hi-def TV show. It's supposed to be 4x more detailed than the current TV and 2x more detailed than the current hi-def TV. Truly, it looked like we were at all the sights shown to us. However, given the current adoption rate of the hi-def TV, I wonder if it would be at least 20 more years before super hi-def will be adopted. As for the Mammoth lab exhibit, it was a bit disappointing. It was just a quick showing of the mummified mammoth skull and one foot. We weren't allowed to take any photographs; What a rip.

We then visited South Pacific Islands commons, including Malaysia, Vietnam, and Island states. Most notable was the small exhibit of Tuvalu, the country with the internet ending of ".tv". It turned out not only they make money from the internet address, they also make very beautiful stamps, which were quickly sold out to avid Japanese stamp collectors.

Next stop was the Africa commons, where we visited Egypt, sub-saharan African states (including Angola!), and South Africa. I was pleasantly surprised at Sub-Saharan African exhibits. Although most of their booths were small, most showed something unique about their culture worthy for me to take some pictures :) There were also exhibits of an African elephant skull (not mammoth skull!) and an homo-erectus skull with a video showing the reconstruction of what the owner of the skull might look like. Pretty cool. While at the Africa commons, we had a Egyptian curry with rice for brunch. It tasted pretty close to Japanese curry though... I wonder.

Another one of our plans was to see the German exhibit in the Mediterranean commons (yeah: huh?), which was recommended by various reports. However, we again abandoned our plans when we realized that the line was over 2 hours long! Instead, we visited Morocco, Turkey (very beautiful exhibit of geometric patterns in nature and Turkish designs), and Tunisia. We also watched a decent show of Flamingo dance performed by 4 Japanese ladies on the courtyard stage.

My dad really wanted to have some Belgium beer so we moved on to the Europe section. We skipped the waffle line and went directly to the Belgium pub for some (expensive) beer, Belgium sausage, and almond waffle. It was a good stop. Afterwards, we visited Romania (a 20 minute contemporary dance show), Ireland, and Czech (whimsical musical instrument and light exhibit).

Next, we wondered into the forest area where we took a forest lesson tour. The guides explained about several plants we saw along the way and then ended the tour with a hands-on exercise to draw a family crest. We learned that a tree nicknamed "The Order" got this name because it's young leaves can be eaten. Therefore, the old empire made an order to plant this tree in case of crop failure.

Finally, we entered the India continent area, where we visited India and Nepal. India felt so familiar even though my last visit was when I was 9... maybe it's because I have many Indian friends. Nepal has a really nice exhibit, although I wondered how many people looked carefully at the intricate carvings... I am showing one here, but it's all over the place.

Because I foolishly used my JR pass the first day I arrived in Japan, today is the last day before it expires (instead of tomorrow as my dad had planned). Therefore, we decided to take the train back to Tokyo tonight and spend an extra day in Tokyo. It's not so bad because now I have more chances to talk to Luke.

(left: Evening sky at the Expo)

Osaka to Nagoya

2005-07-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

It's a slow day for me because we didn't do any sight seeing. We didn't leave the hotel until 9am, and dad had some unfinished business in Osaka. We left Osaka for Nagoya via the Shinkansen (bullet train lines) around 3pm.

I am going a bit nuts here without anyone to talk to except for my dad. When we have dinner/meeting with others, I sit there twiddling my thumb. It's worse than sitting there by myself because then at least I can read or watch other people. I hate it when someone laughs in a conversation that I think involves me. It's a really vulnerable position to be in! It's a good lesson for myself to never do this to someone who doesn't understand the predominate language spoken. This is exactly why I try not to speak Chinese while I have friends around who doesn't understand it.

Although most Japanese knows some English, I often found myself unable to say anything because I had no idea where to start. I really should have learned at least travel-level conversation Japanese... I don't know why I didn't purchase a phrase book ahead of time; it would have been somewhat helpful.

Another thing I noticed today is that all the pictures I have rarely included other people (but I do have one taken today with my dad's psychology professor - a real gentleman - and our waitress). As I mentioned, I didn't talk to many people except for my dad (Mr. Ozaki who took me around Osaka yesterday spoke very little English) so I feel like a passive observer of the culture. This trip is so different than the Mexico trip this past Spring where John and I tried to speak to the locals and not caring so much as to what sights we see. Although, I at least know some Spanish...

Oh yeah, a typhoon landed today in Japan. So far, it has been nice cooling breeze and drizzles. Hope it won't get too intense when we visit the Aichi World Expo tomorrow, maybe it would be a blessing by turning some visitors away :P.

A day in Osaka

2005-07-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... had a great night sleep in a nice Dormy Inn (really more like an hotel) in the hip part of the town. This place includes nice (but small) room, beautifully built hot-spring/spa, meeting area, free in-room internet jack, and coin-operated laundry (they don't sell detergent though). All this for a modest fee... less than what we paid for in Meiji and with far more amenities! Of course, my dad had advanced reservations here, so maybe that made a difference in price.

My dad bought a really nice camera last night with the help of his friend/consultant Ozaki. Boy, if you think BestBuy has a great selection of digital camera and electronics, you should see this place. It must have carried almost 80% of digital cameras available in the market place. In addition, they have a huge select of watches and other digital equipments/gadgets. It's a geek heaven (or hell if you are a broke geek). I got myself a semi-formal Casio G-Shock multiple-timezone solar charged watch for about $120 US. It's a self-purchased graduation gift from my aunt in Taiwan.

Anyhow, dad had to conduct some business today so Mr. Ozaki took me around town. We first went to Osaka Aquarium. It is a really amazing aquarium where you start at the top floor and gradually wind your way down to the deeper depths of the vertical aquariums. All of the exhibits were based on the Pacific Volcanic rim. The center piece contained schools of many different fishes, several different sting rays, sharks, groupers, and the most impressive whale shark. I have some pictures, but none of them correctly portray the awe I had. At least this one should show how big the center aquarium is (above-right). I may have taken some good pictures if my camera battery hadn't died half an hour into the tour... oh well.

Later, I rode a huge ferris wheel. Not terrible exciting, but I was able to see great views of the city (left - center building is the Aquarium).

We then rode the subway across town to the Osaka Castle City Park. The castle tower itself was rebuilt in modern time into a simple history museum about the castle area (right - the distortion is from the ultra-wide lens used). It's so modern that it has an elevator to the top (7th) floor. Still, it was neat to go up the tower to take in another panoramic view of the city. The most intriguing thing about the fort is that it's built of giant stone slabs that were cut/broken from even bigger stones about a hundred km away on an island. Some of the biggest pieces weighted over 100 tons.

The day wasn't over yet. We also visited the Osaka broadcasting station (with some TV show sets), Panasonic showroom, and a bit of the Tenjinmatsuri Festival. The Festival is supposed to be one of the 3 major festivals in Japan. The festival (a festive religious/cultural event) lasts 2 days starting with the prologue on Sunday with dances, drums, and various other rituals. Today, the Osaka Temmangu Shrine's divine spirits are transported on portable shrines on land and then on the river. The festival peaks around 9pm with rapidly firing fireworks and ends at 10pm with the return of the spirits to the shrine. I was supposed to see/experience part of this festival, but it didn't happen. I did see a boat preparing to transport a spirit (left). By the time we finished dinner, I was too tired from the day's travels. Mr. Ozaki had a pedometer, which registered over 17,000 steps! Instead of returning to one of the country's biggest party, I relaxed in the hotel's hot-spring pool, worked on this blog, and washed a load of laundry. Sounds great huh?

NOTE: All photo in this posting are courtesy of Mr. Ozaki, with the exception of the first photo, which I took.

My trip so far

2005-07-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

Met up with my dad the day before. So far, we visited Kobe, Arima, Himeji, Hiroshima, and now I am in Osaka. We have been using our rail passes quite a bit. We stayed in Kobe the first night. We visited a very nice waterfall right behind our hotel (pictured on the right).

Yesterday, we first visited Arima near Kobe. Arima is a hot-spring town that was frequented by many famous figures in the past. However, it's not so well known as a tourist destination anymore. Netherless, we spent half a day there walking around and taking a bath at the "Gold Spring". We then traveled to Himeji, a site of a well preserved fort/castle designated as a World Heritage Site. It really is worth a trip to visit (pictured left) not only for the castle's beauty but also for a rare tour inside the castle tower! We spent a night in Himeji so that we can view the castle at night... a sight rarely seen by travlers.

Today, we traveled to Hiroshima, you know, where the first atomic bomb was used. It was a somber trip where we are reminded of the horror of war, specifically an atomic war. It's also great to see that the city has dedicated a park to plea for world peace without atomic weapon. Unfortunately, the reality is that atomic weapons still exists, for better or worse. The park includes a building that withstood the blast of the bomb (pictured right).

If you want to view more pictures, you can do so at my Yahoo's photo site.

I am in Japan!

2005-07-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

I am in Japan visiting Luke and traveling with my dad until July 29th. I'll then make a small hop to Taiwan to visit my grandpa for a few days, and then back to LA. It's the 2nd time I visited Japan, but my last time was when I was in middle school. Anyway, I arrived on Thursday July 21 at the Tokyo's Narita Airport. The airport is actually an hour away from Tokyo itself by train so I decided to use my rail pass (about $250, which you must purchase before arriving in Tokyo, kinda like Euro rail pass). When the rail agent issued me the tickets, they told me I have only 10 minutes until the train starts, so I rushed to the train without getting any local money. I reasoned that I can always find an ATM or use my credit card to purchase things. I was completely wrong; When I arrived at the Tokyo station, I couldn't find anything of that sort. Therefore, I had no way to call my brother as I was supposed to do. I was really frustrated when I wondered to a map. To my surprise, I was actually standing below where he works! So I surprised him by showing up at the reception desk, hehe ;)

Yeah! Got my diploma!

2005-06-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am officially done with school! I got my diploma yesterday in the mail.

Sorry it's been a long time since I last wrote. I turned in my project about 2 weeks back and have been very lazy ever since. I guess I really needed a break. Anyway, here is a quick update:

May 14: graduation ceremony. Parents, Luke, godparent, and uncle were here. I took everyone (except uncle because he was only here for a day) to various places around town.

May 15-17: drove to Monument valley with parents and Luke. On the way there, we drove by Salt River Canyon, Petrified Forrest, and Canyon de Chelly. On the way back, we drove by Sedona. Maybe I'll get around posting some good pictures later.

May 21-22: Did Deuces Wild Triathlon in Show Low. It's an Olympic distance race at 6,000ft. I hadn't been training much and I was hurting big time on the course.

June 2: Turned in my Master's Project and start being lazy.

So what have I been doing since? Being lazy (like watching TV, playing computer games, or just sleeping), looking for a job, and hanging out with Pei :)

Almost done and SUPER SIZE ME!

2005-04-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

YEAH!! I am pretty much done with the hardest class this semester... just a few more small things to turn in and a final to take for it. Now I can focus all of my efforts into my Masters project, which isn't going anywhere because I have been focusing on other assignments. This is the problem with work without intermediate deadlines: it doesn't get worked on, not because I am lazy but because there are always more pressing needs elsewhere. Fortunately (or unfortunately) that's no more. All my efforts will be on the Master's project.

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I rented and watched the movie "Super size me" today. It's a documentary of this guy who decided to test out what would happen if he goes on a diet of only McDonald's food 3x a day for 30 days. It's amazing what happened to him... he gained a ton of weight and the blood test indicators all shot through the roof as if he started binge drinking. You have to see this; it will change your view of the fast food industry and make you reconsider what you eat.

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I will be turning 30 this weekend! Wow, 3 decades. My "house" will be hosting a big party on Friday for me and one of my roommate's friend. So, if you happen to be in Tucson, come on by!

ouch, what a week...

2005-04-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is a difficult week for me... Lots of things are due: taxes on Friday (yes, I am a procrastinator), a major project draft on Friday, a major paper on Monday next week, and a major case on Tuesday next week. On top of that, my lower back is hurting, which made it more difficult to work. I was planning on going to the collegiate nationals triathlon this weekend, but I have to cancel because I just have too much to do. This is sad because I have been training all year for it AND I already paid for the event. I have no one to blame but myself because I wasted so much time last week and weekend. ..... sigh.... I must be loosing steam for this school thing. At least I have an interview tomorrow.

Mexico trip to Guadalajara

2005-04-05T00:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late update on this... I have been very busy and then lazy to do this in the last few weeks. As mentioned in my last posting, I went to Guadalajara (GDL), Mexico for my spring break. It was partially for my International Management class. We had such a great time. I think I drank more than I had all school year combined.

Here are my quick run-down of events:

Friday, March 11: left Tucson for Phoenix airport with Leslie and John. The flight was overbooked, so we volunteered to stay the extra night for free tickets.

Saturday, March 12: left Phoenix around noon and arrive in GDL at night. Spend the evening looking for food and had a great time chillin at an outdoor bar drinking Michelada. We didn't know it at the time, but that place had the best Michelada we found. When we got back to the hotel, the jacuzzi area was closed. So we climbed an open window down to the jacuzzi area. It was all for nothing though... because the water wasCOLD. So, we filled up the bath tub and sat in it instead. Not very comfy to cram 3 people in a one-person bath tub, but hey, we got some hot water.

Sunday, March 13: found some bakery in the morning and had bakery items for breakfast. Went to Tlaquepaque (a suburb of GDL where people can shop for artistic items) in the afternoon on a bus for $0.04US. Very beautiful town, but was a bit empty. We found and befriended the owner of Mata Tinda, a chic restaurant. Went back to try his new mix drinks and had a great time. Leslie got a beautiful designer necklace.

Monday, March 14: Walked around GDL and toured the local scenes. It reminds me of Taiwan many years ago when shops are everywhere... I don't think it's like that anymore. In the evening, we went to a nice restaurant I found in my guide book in the Zona Rosa area. Very good food for $10-15 price range. However, someone got sick from it. We later invited 3 girls we met on the streets to hang out with us in a "sing-along" bar. Had a blast!!

Tuesday, March 15: Class starts in the afternoon so spent the day reading.

Wednesday, March 16: Plant tour starts. Visited Technicolor (DVD printing), Bimbo (Mexican bread company), Jabil (electronics), and Vitro (glass bottling plant). Yeah, it was a long day. So we drank to pass the time in our room... it turned out that John and I had the largest room out of everyone because Leslie was with us the first 2 days. Our room became the designated party room.

Thursday, March 17: Even longer day that started at 7am and ended at 10pm. We did get to visit the Tequila factory and "sample" some tequila. The guide casually invited us to finish the bottles... well, he shouldn't have because we actually finished one. He was sweating over there. We also visited Rosti (plastic molding), Arizona Trade Office, and El Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) - a private university.

Friday, March 18: Much more relaxed day. We visited Honda and Takata (airbag manufacturing). Had part of the afternoon off so we all went to Tlaquepaque (again for John, Leslie, and I). Took the entire group to Mata Tinda; the owner was very happy. At night we went to Zapopan - another town on the opposite end of the GDL (but detoured because our taxi cab refused to drive us there and dropped us off elsewhere and told us that was it). Had a great time there with our two beautiful tour guides: Alba and Karenina, although we had to say goodbye to them that night. The rest of the group came back to the party room and partied till 5am (some had to leave early though). We managed to polish off most of the 1L tequila we bought at the tequila factory. It was crazy.

Saturday, March 19: What can I say... we slept in. It was almost noon by the time we got ready to go out. Took it easy all day. Say goodbye to the city and the country we have come to love.

Four updates

2005-03-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

Things have been pretty busy around here... here are some of the recent events:

1) My official last day at IBM Tucson as a co-op was supposed to be last Thursday, but my car was in the body-shop so it will be Tuesday this week. It's sad to leave, but now I'll have more time to focus on graduating.

2) On Feb 26, I volunteered in a Tsunami Relief fundraiser put together by few people who happen to work at Tucson IBM. It raised $5,000 donated to Red Cross to help the orphaned children. The paint ball tournament event raised funds from tournament entry fees, revenue % from food stands sales, raffle sales, and donations.

3) On March 5, I participated in a 5-mile run call "Sundown at the Pass", which was another fundraiser for Roy P. Drachman Prevention Fund for Children. It was cold, rainy, and thunderous, but it was GREAT!! It's basically 2.5 miles up and then 2.5 miles down. I went a bit too easy on the way up because I had too much energy left for the way down. Oh well. I finished in about 45 minutes... roughly 9-minute mile.

4) Leaving for Guadalajara, Mexico on Friday March 11 and return on Saturday March 19. Yes, it's a week long trip - one of the few benefits of being a student: Spring Break. However, I am going for my International Management class, so it's not ALL play. I'll update you when I get back ;-)

Hotel Rwanda

2005-03-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

I went to see the movie "Hotel Rwanda" after my International Management class last night. What a timing... we had just covered issues in Africa that night. It was an eye opening experience to see how little the international society did AND how people in Africa have developed mistrust of the West. There are still talks that it was for "National Security" and "Strategic" reasons that the West did not act. Here is a BBC page that highlights many sides of the issue:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/rwanda/default.stm

If you are interested to see the movie Hotel Rwanda, I definitely recommend it:
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808592826

Blogging = free speech?

2005-02-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

I don't want to get too political here, but I thought it is interesting that free speech now has another forum... Blogs. In US, we are fortunate to have the right (most of the time) to write whatever we want without (much) fear of prosecution. People in other countries are not so fortunate. According to a BBC story and the site "Committee to Protect Bloggers" at least 2 Iranians were imprisoned for what they wrote in blogs. While I can't read Farsi so I can't vouch for what they wrote, it really hit home how much I may have taken free speech for granted.

On a related note, the deputy director for the Committee to Protect Bloggers was fired from her job as air-stewardess for Delta for posting inappropriate pictures of herself in uniform on her blog. While one can argue that it wasn't the best of taste, nothing "indecent" was exposed. How Delta handled it was a publicity disaster. See for yourself: Diary of a fired Flight Attendant.

Todd's puppies

2005-02-17T00:59:00.000-08:00

Did I tell you that Todd, my housemate, got 2 puppies over the holidays? They are German Shorthair Pointers and are large breed dogs. They are both from the same litter, one female - Shelby, and one male - Hunter. These pictures were taken in mid-January so they have grown quite a bit by now. They are a lot of fun and are almost house trained - thank heaven. The great thing about them is that I get to play with them as much as I want, but I am not required to take care of them (although I help out once in a while). I feel like the "grandpa" in this relationship :-P

Shelby (left) and Hunter (right)

See Shelby run!

Photos by me, posted with Hello

Hello to all my friends!

2005-02-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

Hi there!
Happy Valentine's Day! (if you are celebrating it, that is)

Sorry if I have been out of communication for a while. I am hoping to do better with this Blog. If you are new to Blog - it's a short for Web-Log, an on-line journal. For me, it's a good way to keep you all updated and also keep a "public" journal for myself :)
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I took a day off work today to catch-up on studying and stuff. I got some studying done and I also got myself transferred from Eudora e-mail client to Mozilla Thunderbird client. The transformation wasn't easy and I probably spent too much time working on it. However, now my Palm address book is in synch-ed with the e-mail address book (kind-of), which enabled me to e-mail all of you about this site, yeah :) Of course, that meant I probably didn't study as much as I needed to. Soooooo back to studying.

Random posts

2005-02-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

So Tracy suggested I should post some random stuff and pictures from Zion... hence these two postings. The last post took me a while to do... I uploaded each picture one-by-one as single postings and then cut and pasted them into the main posting. It's too backwards; there must be an easier way.
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I spent most of my Sunday in 2 Spinning continue-education classes: 1) Visualization and Spinning Language and 2) HRM with Perceived Excertion. They were both good classes though the 2nd one isn't what we all thought it was going to be. I was wiped out because we did some "race-day" stuff... gosh I feel weak.
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Everyone on Windows system should consider running the World Community Grid on their computer; you'll be helping to determine the function of human proteins, understanding of which can help in research of multitudes of diseases.

Back-fill update... my trip to Mammoth and Utah

2005-02-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

OK, since I started this blog recently, you missed out on my big trip over the winter break (a major perk of being a student: long breaks). Over the break, I drove out to LA to meet up with Tracy and Titus and Chris K to go skiing in Mammoth over New Years. It was great to see them, but unfortunately, the weather was too stormy so we only skiied one day out of 4 days we were there. Still we had a great time.

Double rainbow... way to Mammoth	View of Mammoth town
Snowshoeing is HARD in deep snow!!	Zion - pict on my desktop
Zion - river walk	Zion snowman ;)

All pictures posted with Hello.com:

Henry's Log, stardate 2122005

2005-02-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!

I finally got around to create this blog so you can keep up with what's happening with me :) I'll try to keep my postings to what's happening rather than just random stuff (unless you want to read that too).

So, this is what's (a really short version) happening with me these days:

I am in my 3rd year at the U of A business school (in Tucson, AZ). I completed my MBA last year, and am working on completing my 2nd degree in Master of Science in Management of Information Systems (MS/MIS). I am supposed to be finished with ths MS degree by May, but it may not happen depending on how fast I can finish my Masters Project.
Still (barely) training for triathlons with UA Triathlon Club, Tricats. I also am the fundraising director for the club. We just had an aquathlon race as our fundraiser.
I teach/lead a Spinning(r) class at the UA Rec Center this semester.
Yes, I am still single.