~:[Day 122]:~ The Oasis

~:[Day 122]:~ The Oasis

As I sit here finishing the work I have to do, I am tempted by my Grazie invitation to an oasis in the dessert called the Palazzo. My action on the table has earned me free rooms and this might just be my chance to hit Vegas with my father and maybe my mother is she decides to go. Interesting, no? In any case, I have mounds of paperwork to complete and this flier keeps on staring back at me. What should I do?

~:[Day 121]:~ Dreaming

~:[Day 121]:~ Dreaming

After a super busy stretch as of late, I finally had a day to breathe and just relax. I was able to run some errands, catch up on work, and just enjoy some games. Did I mention, I also was able to get a full seven hours of sleep? (It might have been more.) In any case, I had enough time to dream and almost wondered if I was dreaming after a miraculous comeback by the Clippers. Down 27, the Clippers inched their way back into the game and eventually into the lead when I took the picture. With a delay, my brother and mother in the living room knew exactly what was coming and my father and I yelled in the den. In the end, we all came together to celebrate the victory, knowing that we still need to win three more if we want to see more of the playoffs!

~:[Day 120]:~ Surf City & Potluck

~:[Day 120]:~ Surf City & Potluck

I had two choices for pictures today, both of food. In the morning, I still was in a zombie state as I headed to Huntington Beach for the MUN conference. The day felt long, but it was also very nice to see how my students have improved. While there is still a lot of work to do, this group did well and has shown a lot of growth since September, something we shoot for in our program. We also won an award in every regular sized committee where we had more than one country represented. Afterwards, I quickly rushed to pickup my food and some supplies for the potluck! Without a signup for international potluck day, I wondered what would be on the table, but out athletes did a good job bringing food including some delicious rice dishes, samosas, and more! Get in my belly!

~:[Day 119]:~ Zombieland

~:[Day 119]:~ Zombieland

The whole day was geared to preparing for this moment, the basketball banquet. In fact, I've been preparing for almost two weeks now. It's not like the cross country banquet, where I am responsible for everything, just the video. Then why, you might ask, did it take you two weeks to prepare? Compiling and transferring over twenty games of footage some with two camera angles into a fifteen minute compilation. Converting the footage took 3-4 days and for some odd reason, transferring the footage from my normal computer to my mac book took 3-4 days as well, crazy no??? My three days of editing had me trying my best to stay awake and finally I pulled off a 45 hour day with a 20 minute nap to get the video completed. Extraordinary? Unfortunately not, but it turned out well and I am looking forward to sleeping in ... unfortunately with MUN Saturday, tonight is not the night.

NBA Playoffs 2012 - Round 1

Chicago over Philadelphia (4-2) - Upset not out of question!

Miami over New York (4-2) - New York has the pieces to pull it off!

Indiana over Orlando (4-1) - No Dwight, no might.

Boston over Atlanta (4-2) - Old age is coming together.

San Antonio over Utah (4-2) - Utah could challenge, Spurs should emerge.

Oklahoma City over Dallas (4-2) - Harden all there will equal victory.

Lakers over Denver (4-2) - Opportunity to Upset???

Clippers over Memphis (4-2) - Series of the Round!

~:[Day 118]:~ Child's Play

~:[Day 118]:~ Child's Play

At today's meet at La Mirada, we concluded our official regular season and move on to the post season. We had a good run and have many signs of future success! We had a sub-5:30 and 2:30 for the girls in a regular league race and a number of good personal records! In any case, today, Dylan (Gohatanabe) met Clementine (Matsubayashi) :) What a day! Now it is to the editing board ALL night!

~:[Day 117]:~ Smells Like ...

~:[Day 117]:~ Smells Like ...

I had quite the refreshing meal for dinner tonight. While many would gag at the thought of it, natto is one of my favorite foods :) What is natto you ask? It's fermented soy beans, a delicacy of Japan :P ... IMO. However, what made this dinner even more refreshing was the okra, egg, and thinly sliced kimchi that I put into the mix. Topped with furikake and it was perfect over a nice fluffy bed of rice. Don't forget the shoyu, memmi, and hot mustard :)

~:[Day 116]:~ Innovative?

~:[Day 116]:~ Innovative?

I wonder if this an innovative style of lasagna. I purchased Trader Joe's meat lasagna and added red pepper and dill as normal but this time I also added crumbled baked onions on top, which made the lasagna even better. I guess I was getting bored of the same old thing at work, but this was the highlight of my day :) ... editing and trying to get some sleep made up the rest of my wonderful day. Hope you all had a good one!

~:[Day 115]:~ The Dark, My Love

~:[Day 115]:~ The Dark, My Love

You may just be wondering, what in the world is this? Well, it's something I don't see enough of, pitch darkness. Today was a day where I got so much sleep that I had nothing more to post :) ... since I was waiting for my computer to transfer all the files to my Mac Book so I could edit the basketball banquet video, I sat down, put my head down and next thing you know, it's almost time to get up! I was able to sleep in three places - two couches and my bed over the course of the long evening, but I guess it was a rest well needed after Ragnar. Hopefully, I will have something more interesting to post tomorrow!

~:[Day 112-114]:~ 203.5mi of "El Tor"iffico!

~:[Day 112-114]:~ 203.5mi of "El Tor"iffico!
I decided to make my first multiple day post to talk about the 203.5mi venture from Huntington Beach to Coronado Island with my eleven other teammates. Starting at 6:40am, we began our pickups to head over to the starting line in Huntington Beach. After checking in and switching to our "vans" for the next 30hrs, reality began to set in. We were about to embark on a journey that most of us were not prepared for. While I coach cross country & track and most of the team was composed of former athletes of mine, the key word here is former and for me, my legs consisted of almost as much mileage as I have run in all of 2012 with the worst elevation change for dessert :) ... Through the adventure we our van ran through cities such as Santa Ana (where we left Donald stranded for 30 minutes since we went to the wrong exchange), Anaheim (the exchange we went to twice), Yorba Linda (my first moment of relaxation!), Lake Elsinore (outlets and Mexican food, the latter not such a great idea), Murrieta, Temecula (site of the tires in ditch), Fallbrook, Escondido (the finish of my nightmare leg), Encinitas, Solano Beach (the best bathroom on the trip - church), Del Mar, and La Jolla (through Torrey Pines - my second elevation gain leg) among others! To arrive at Coronado Island to sleep, however, was the second most memorable moment of the relay. The first? A 30 hour adventure with a great team of athletes who I am glad to call teammates and even friends! Thanks so much for bringing me water and Gatorade, navigating, cheering me on, finding me food and everything else I lost in the van, pouring your energy into your legs, holding good conversation, and even organizing the event and assigning me to the legs of death. I will forever enjoy this grand accomplishment with you all, the van with almost 300 kills, but even more moments of good times and memories!

As a post race celebration, those who stayed behind enjoyed the deliciousness of Phil's BBQ after a shower and quick nap! Ordering the beefy ribs and chick-less with fries and slaw + onion rings made me quite happy! The smoky flavors were amazing and the barbeque sauce was even better. However, the smartest thing I did was get an El Toro to go to enjoy today! With Siracha and barbeque sauce, I could almost cry, as it was the best post-race meal a man could ask for :) Hopefully, tomorrow will be kind to my legs. Regardless, in the end, it was all worth it.

~:[Day 111]:~ Last Rights Meal

~:[Day 111]:~ Last Rights Meal
After our meet today, I grabbed my last meal before the big race. I know it will be a tough day for us all and I just hope we can successfully maneuver our way to the wonderful finish line in San Diego to enjoy the sun, the surf, and of course, the sleep! Since our class was holding a fundraiser at Rubio's, I scarfed down a shrimp taco and of course a milk tea boba with egg pudding! Today was quite the rough day, but I am proud of all of my teams for such a valiant effort today! If you do not hear from me, I am probably passed out somewhere near Escondido or Torrey Pines. Please call for help :) especially on my second leg which has close to a 1,000 foot elevation gain. Ugh! Nightmares tonight! See you in the morning!

~:[Day 110]:~ Picture Perfect

~:[Day 110]:~ Picture Perfect
The Prom reveal happened today at school and it was a perfect time to release the promotional shoot album so we can promote the dance to the school! Our dance will be held on the Queen Mary this year and taking the photos was quite fun! Marwan and Ellie were the most photogenic couple with Tony and Lauren a close second. Of course, there were many awkward moments. In the end, they got a good set of promotional photographs for their prom!

~:[Day 109]:~ Wishy Washy Temperatures

~:[Day 109]:~ Wishy Washy Temperatures
I'm not sure who's hands or feet these are in the picture, but regardless, today, we took an ice bath in preparation for our next league meet. The team voluntarily lined up in droves and reminded me of the days of Thien-Nam, Sam, or Victoria ice bathing. Luckily, it was not freezing like the ice bath outside, as the warm weather allowed for late night ice bathing that was a perfect remedy for these sore bodies!

~:[Day 108]:~ A Great Sports Day

~:[Day 108]:~ A Great Sports Day
The first day back from spring break was actually not so bad! I got the seniors back for their final quarter and with the freshmen, we worked on speaking skills. After a good run and some work in the weight room, I got to witness some good LA action with the Angels beating the Oakland A's with Kendry Morales just missing the cycle (no triple) and the Clippers winning over OKC. It's a good win for both but no means to celebrate. Will day 2 back from break be just as good? We'll see!

~:[Day 107]:~ Sweet Scent of Strawberries

~:[Day 107]:~ Sweet Scent of Strawberries
I realized I am not in many of my own 365+1 photographs, so I chose a picture I took today with me in it! Meet my amazing friend Jenn. Sure she is a bit strange, but she has joined me on three of our strawberry farms tours as has been my friend since September of 1997 =O are we really that old? In any case, Traci did another amazing job planning and I was able to get a few bodies over and had a blast in our wagon - Kat, Selena, Jamie, Adam, Jay, Valerie + Ben & Family! Thanks everyone for organizing and coming out, I had quite the day!

~:[Day 106]:~ Great Performances at LACO

~:[Day 106]:~ Great Performances at LACO
A day after returning from Vegas, I headed to the LA County Championships bright an early. The day was quite cold, then warm, then cold, then warm, and so on. While the weather was like a roller coaster, our performances showed that we are starting to piece things together late in the season. Our two boys varsity 1600m runners looked smooth as they both ran to PRs and one knocking on the top five marks, our girls varsity 800m runner is looking to do the same, while we can numerous great performances and PRs through the day. It may seem like sitting outside coaching a meet is not the most exciting things ever, but it can be even more enjoyable when you get to eat Porto's during the meet! Happy Stomach = Happy Coach :)

~:[Day 104]:~ A Slice of the Good Life

~:[Day 104]:~ A Slice of the Good Life
Friday the 13th is a day that many dread as for some of us, it also reminds us of the horror movies we saw growing up. In fact, his name is Jason. My goal today was to enjoy the day and do the exact opposite. When given the opportunity, I tried to be extra nice just because it was Friday the 13th and it worked, on a few occasions. The result? I got a little extra encouragement from my baccarat dealer (plus a little more dough), a good conversation with my cab driver, and I was also called a "Sir Jason" by a fellow passenger on the Jet Blue fight. The 13th did not turn out so bad and I even got to enjoy a wonderful slice of Wolfgang Pucks spicy chicken pizza ... and a few more slices after that :)

~:[Day 103]:~ Good Fortune

~:[Day 103]:~ Good Fortune

This wonderful statue was displayed at the delicious Monta Japanese Noodle House! Of course the food was not as good as the company who also took me to get boba milk tea :) ... two of my weaknesses, haha! Monta is a small restaurant off the strip, but definitely a keeper on the list! I also got to spend a wonderful day with Winnie who came all the way from Singapore! It was great to meet up and just walk the strip. My fortune in the casino was not so great (although it balanced out with the outcome of today's games) but I am definitely fortunate to have such great people in my life! Thanks for a wonderful day!

~:[Day 102]:~ Even Steven + 1

~:[Day 102]:~ Even Steven + 1

I may have made it even in the casino, but this meal was by far a winner! The flat iron steak was so delicious with it's pesto sauce. What you may not notice about this meal is that it was room service! They set up a table cloth, poured water, put out the bread, as if I were in the restaurant. It made breaking even quite acceptable! In any case, day 1 in Vegas was quite the success.

~:[Day 101]:~ A Tranquil Moment

~:[Day 101]:~ A Tranquil Moment
Bonfire days are simply crazy, especially when you start them with one of our toughest interval workouts of the track season. In any case, after a tough workout where the girls reigned supreme, I headed to do my errands to prepare for the bonfire. Despite running late, I caught up and was able to get to the beach on time after completing a Simpsons' like Tetris with my car. We had the most food that we've ever had at any bonfire! It was truly amazing and am so blessed to have such great kids! The end of the night brought on a sigh of relief that after all the prep, cleaning and cooking (especially of all those Wat burgers), as I gazed out to see a peaceful beach with a bright light over the horizon. Bonfire day complete, yay!

~:[Day 100]:~ (Pho)rtunate

~:[Day 100]:~ (Pho)rtunate
On the 100th day of this album, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has made my life so amazing. I am so PHOrtunate to have all of you in my lives! On this 100th day, I spent the morning babysitting Dylan during the run while monitoring the athletes at school. While doing line drills, I did my normal serenade to Dylan. He is going to be an amazing dancer thanks to me, don't you think? Pho was on the menu, which told me I would be winning something soon (I am going to Vegas this week too!). The day ended with some cleaning, catching up, and finally Sebastian's birthday at Hooters! Happy Birthday Sebastian!

~:[Day 99]:~ What's My Age Again

~:[Day 99]:~ What's My Age Again
Easter Sunday has arrived and I started the day off on the right foot with a visit to CBC. It was nice being back, despite the fact that it was a bit more crowded than usual and I had to sit alone rather than with someone I knew. Regardless, it was a very interesting and moving message that I will carry with me. Upon my return, my mother did her normally motherly thing and gave me an Easter gift. (Hence the title, what's my age again.) She loves to give out gifts for every holiday imaginable. One part of the gift was an Angels Rally Monkey Pillow Pet with the other being noise putty for those ages 4+. The funniest part of this is, this was the most wanted prize out of the Bingo box during our family Christmas party! You should have seen my uncles and aunties and their friends scramble to get their hands on this prize and then their faces when they were playing with it! You should be there next year to get your hands on a ages 4+ prize! In any case, thanks mom for always thinking of our family! You'll be a great grandmother when I finally get married and have kids. I think these gifts may be signs :) I ended the night with a drink at Starbucks and had wonderful company, Kara. Happy Easter to all and to all a good night! May we all find ourselves thinking of others so that we may carry on the true meaning of this holiday!

~:[Day 98]:~ Much Deserved Reward

~:[Day 98]:~ Much Deserved Reward
I wasn't expecting much after the race today, but Santouka was a good place finish the day! I did not know that they had a Mitsuwa near Irvine HS! So delicious AND I went home with some snacks from the market too :) In any case, today's races went very well as we had about 50-60% of our athletes PR and about a dozen first place medals! While I have high hopes for our athletes, today was quite an excellent day! To top it all off, the Clippers came out with an exciting victory full of exciting dunks & plays! What a great way to kick start spring break!

~:[Day 97]:~ A Meal of Champions

~:[Day 97]:~ A Meal of Champions
Today after a morning at Disneyland, I took an athlete to the Arcadia Invitational, one of the premier meets in the nation! She did amazing and competed like a champion, coming up clutch with a PR in her last throw to make the finals. She actually threw another PR in warm ups, but ultimately, finished in eighth overall. With her new discus, we'll see what she can do! Afterwards, Will and I went to grab a bite to eat and ended up at Restaurant Kiyosuzu, a place I wanted to go when I found out it was owned and operated by the parents of Mirai Nagasu, a national figure skating champion. Pretty cool. The place was simple but ended up having pretty good food, especially for the area that it was in! I appreciate your suggestions Richard, but ultimately, I remembered that I wanted to eat here!

~:[Day 96]:~ Speeding to Break

~:[Day 96]:~ Speeding to Break
Our last day of the week started spring break and as expected, we were short a few athletes, but were able to still pull out the victory. I am sad that people would miss out on a meet, but I guess that's life. I heard that other schools had more problems, so I guess I shouldn't complain. In any case, we took all four races including a tight boys race in a record finish time - 5:18pm with two 3200m races. While we haven't had the most wins we have ever had, the core of this team works really hard and I am proud to be working with them. Go Cerritos!

~:[Day 95]:~ Oh, BAO!

:[Day 95]:~ Oh, BAO!
I discovered shrimp bao at Trader Joe's. While it is quite Americanized, it isn't too bad for a quick bite to eat! I was nice enough to share my bao with a few others :) ... It was also the dreaded picture day! While it is the most dreaded day of the year, especially track since there are so many pictures to take, it actually went quite smoothly! We were able to take our team photo, girls varsity, boys varsity, girls frosh/soph, boys frosh/soph, captains, seniors, distance, sprints/hurdles, jumps, throws, vault, and of course some random shots all before 4:40! Hopefully we can get more efficient and do it even quicker next time!

~:[Day 94]:~ Ohana, Thanks!

~:[Day 94]:~ Ohana, Thanks!
Page 200 of the manuscript I submitted means a lot since it's the final piece of the puzzle. I am grateful to have a lot of support and assistance from those around who pushed me to finally reach my goal. I am in the final stages and will let you know when I reach the finish line. It's not a picture, but close enough I guess?

~:[Day 93]:~ An Empire State of Mind

~:[Day 93]:~ An Empire State of Mind
It is difficult to stay focused when you have a map of New York on your desk! My love for New York City has not diminished one bit and while moving there may not be what I am searching for, visiting again soon is something I want to do. Normally my two trips a year fulfill my appetite, however, I have only been once this year, which makes me wonder, am I due for another trip? It's always great when I can visit people in NYC, so maybe I should just do it! :)

~:[Day 92]:~ Viral Infection & Reflection

~:[Day 92]:~ Viral Infection & Reflection
After a long exhausting weekend already, Sunday became my day of rest. I longed for my bed last night, of course, I spent the first few hours of the day (12a-2a) and the first few moments of morning when I woke up, finishing the formatting of my book. Just as I was about to upload the file to the author ftp site, my computer crashed and lone and behold, I had a virus! I spend the good part of the day trying to fix my computer. I tried system restore, which failed and had to go through a multiple step process that including editing the registry, multiple run commands, a speed check and finally a scan, removal and repair. Ultimately, my computer works and actually is faster than before :) Just as I was about to go to sleep, I began to think of what I have been able to accomplish by looking at my "Wall of Fame," with the upcoming Ragnar Relay coming up where we will have our team run from Huntington Beach to Coronado. Although I have run most of my half and full marathons on very little training, my lack of training concerns me a bit more this time around :) ... I just hope that I can make it. After playing basketball at CPE, I think there could be some hope, as normally I am dying after I haven't played in awhile. I guess we'll have to see. For now, I go to bed virus free and full of great memories!