~:[Day 275]:~ Piecing It Together

~:[Day 275]:~ Piecing It Together

Today we finished our shoot for the upcoming music we have been working on. This picture is the only teaser that you will get before I release the actual video, but I am hoping that it will turn out well. It was tough because of the time we had available to work, as we were shooting in the dead heat (90+ degrees) each day we did shoot, trying to keep everyone from sweating and dealing with all the lighting issues of the afternoon. In any case, we did what we could and ultimately ended up with what I will be releasing in a week or two! Keep an eye out for it :) Now, it's time to get back to shooting the video I started this summer, right Brandon???

~:[Day 274]:~ Starring ...

~:[Day 274]:~ Starring ...

In the morning, the day starred my wonderful athletes who push forwarded and did well at the Brea Invitational, where we had 30 athlete who reach a new CAREER PR! Of course, today was a special day, as it was the start of the Clara C and David Choi tour! My friend who was originally suppose to go could not go at the last minute so it was great that Sunny could fill it. It ended up being a wise choice as I first, had a music, and secondly, had someone quite assertive and who takes initiative. We were the first ones in, got our grub on with the band and a small group, hung out for sound check, got the best seats in the house, and chatted with them after the concert. It was really quite the evening to remember with David Choi and of course, Clara C!!!! I was quite impressed with David Choi. As we were chatting, he was talking about Sunny's iPhone 5, he brought his older iPhone out and said, "mine is big" so I pulled mine out and said, "mine is bigger." We had quite the laugh. In any case, he agreed to write a melody for Sunny or I think that's what we agreed upon :) Clara finally got the copy of my book that I've been holding for her, she pointed me out twice during her first song, and had such an amazing set! :) And just one more thing, she said YES! ... style sponsored her tour :) ... gotcha! :) What a day indeed!

~:[Day 273]:~ Sweet Dreams

~:[Day 273]:~ Sweet Dreams

People who know me well know that I am not a cake eater. When it comes down to it, sweets are just not my thing. However, Micasa cakes are so tempting. One of my athlete's family owns the two locations and I try to stop in to grab some pastries that are so delicious. Today, I got a box of some for Confucius Day! While I didn't eat any, like a good boy, I enjoyed check it out, as it looked so amazing! On another note, I am playing the biggest loser with Jonathan Liang and Allison Koizumi. The first to their goal (10lbs, 7lbs, 8lbs) wins a bowl of pho :) ... let's see who does this. Weight in starts Sunday :)

~:[Day 272]:~ It's Called Coaching

~:[Day 272]:~ It's Called Coaching

I guess it was about time that I post an action coaching shot of me during this 365+1 day trek, since it's something I do most of the year. Today, we went to La Mirada Park for our first league cluster. In the girls junior varsity race, some of our girls went the wrong way! Already shorthanded, it made it difficult to close the gap, however, Mayfair ran quite the race, as we finished second and in striking distance for cluster #2. On the boys side, the junior varsity team did exacted what was asked of them as they came out with an unexpected win of about 50 points! The boys also went long on the course and had to turn around and catch up with the second group who went the right way. Obviously, it was not a great way to start in terms of course knowledge! The girls varsity team showed us that they could tough it out and keep pushing through. While they finished in third, they made it an exciting 40-42-44 finish late, as they were able to close the gap. Our boys had an opportunity today, but let it slip away late in the race. They ran decent today, but still got more in the tank. Regardless, it was a fun day and to top it off, I had Yoshinoya, Jamba Juice and Shabu Shabu ... the scanner sped things up, we didn't miss times, and the printer worked! Yahoo!

~:[Day 271]:~ The Chaos of Connections

~:[Day 271]:~ The Chaos of Connections

I am almost done setting up my new computer and I just added my hub. I have yet to make the cables look somewhat organized, however, it made me think of the chaos of all the connections that we have. Somehow, despite all these crossing wires and paths, we find a way to connect with people and make it all work. Not knowing where the source of the wire is, is something that is unimportant, as ultimately, it's a matter of if the connection works or not. I'm happy that MOST everything works, now it's just a matter of making it look better. Yes, those are all my hard drives in the back, but there still are nine more on the same desk :) Here's to backing up all my video and photos!

~:[Day 270]:~ Cold as Ice

~:[Day 270]:~ Cold as Ice

Today was ice bath day and the feeling of ice bathing, is normally not too pleasant. It's a shock to the body, but helps us down the road of recovery. I think life works the same way. You have to know that you'll have some very uncomfortable situations, yet, in the end, you'll find that all these difficult situations leave you in a place better than you were before. When life is at its most difficult, it's probably doing the most work to help you get back on your feet. Trust that all things will pan out in the end.

~:[Day 269]:~ Pineapple Friend Looks for a Deal

~:[Day 269]:~ Pineapple Friend Looks for a Deal

Another adventure with pineapple friend who joined us for another happy hour Jamba Juice day. Unfortunately, I realized after today's Jamba Juice visit that I don't think I can make any of the other happy hour days because of meetings and events for the rest of the week :( ... in any case, today was quite a normal day with a long run mixed in. From a sports perspective, it was a bad day as I saw the Packers get robbed on a hail mary that was a offensive pass interference and was also an interception ruled a simultaneous catch since Tate had his hands on the ball. Please. I think that if we really want the NFL to hear our message, STOP WATCHING THEIR GAMES!  Don't buy any NFL apparel, don't do anything NFL related. A boycott! Use the power of the Internet (Facebook) to send a message to the NFL, that mediocre is not good enough. I feel sorry for the refs because it's not their fault. They were thrown into an impossible situation and will be scrutinized because of it, however, the only way to expedite the process is if the NFL, hears the message in their wallets. On a good note, Texas beat the A's. I will be a Texas fan and with Darvish and Harrison pitching the next few games, there may be a good chance of doing well. Regardless, pineapple friend got his deal and hopefully there will be many more adventures with pineapple friend :)

~:[Day 268]:~ If Only Life Was Like Soup

~:[Day 268]:~ If Only Life Was Like Soup

Life can sometimes be so complicated. Busy schedules, challenging times, heartache, and tears mixed in with smile, laughter, memories, and joy. Right when things are up, the balloon pops or when things are at it's lowest, the elevator suddenly takes you to the top. Regardless, this bowl of soup was amazingly delicious. The perfect mix of things together in a bowl and left a nice warm feeling inside for the rest of the evening. I realize each time I am with my friends just how lucky I am. Friends who spoil the ending, can't watch the scary scenes and laugh together through a horror movie, will conquer the world together and one day make it into a soup as delicious as this one. Thank you Jinny for being an amazing chef and host and thank you friends for a great evening :)

~:[Day 267]:~ Sunny Hills, Sunny Days

~:[Day 267]:~ Sunny Hills, Sunny Days

Today was the first invitational for our team where I felt I could just coach. It was great getting to the spots and running back and forth, accumulating almost 7 miles at a high rate in segments. While I was exhausted in the end, it was worth all the running around getting times and splits for the athletes and watching them push their limits! We had a mix bag of results, yet our junior boys were able to pull out the Division II 1st place award. While I still know they have a better performance in them (hopefully saving it up for Warren), it was a good highlight to have on the day which include 16 new career PRs despite the weather, and 62 who improved from their last race! Afterwards, we had a team gathering at Korean BBQ :) I found some time to rest, catch the game and now it's time to get some more rest for tomorrow's music video session! I can't wait to finish shooting so I can get down to editing! In any case, it was a great day and was highlighted with an eVoucher from American Airlines for all the delays we faced! Looks like I'll be able to travel to somewhere exciting soon!

~:[Day 266]:~ Dancing into the Weekend

~:[Day 266]:~ Dancing into the Weekend

The weekend began by singing and dancing my way into it at our first potluck of the season. As usual, the festivities were all around with dance central, karaoke, instrument playing and ping pong. Of course, don't forget to mention the great food as well! While we have our real first meet with no other worries that racing and coaching, there still are so many things to worry about. However, the weekend started off on the right foot. Hopefully, our school will get some good press going into the weekend, as our students produced a video for our district, A parody of gangnam style - Cerritos style! I'll decide whether or not I am going to shoot my parody of it now, but I guess it couldn't hurt?

~:[Day 265]:~ Transitions

~:[Day 265]:~ Transitions

I'm currently in a transition between computers and I hate it. I do not like the process of moving so many files over to another computer, however, I guess it's something that you deal with. The new computer is much faster and seems to be more reliable, but I know that I will constantly find things that I need and will have to go back to my old computer from time to time. Life is like that. It's always tough to change, but sometimes it's just necessary. I hope that this transition goes well. It's time to adjust and adapt.

~:[Day 264]:~ The Ohana Spirit

~:[Day 264]:~ The Ohana Spirit

I cheated. This picture is actually from Monday, but today as I looked back through the Hawaii pictures, this one caught my eye. This sign is what our team has lived by for the past five years, but something we shared before it became our cornerstone. It made me think back to all the teams of the past, all the great memories, all the struggles, all the days we never thought we'd make it, and all the days we thought we'd never make it and we did. I've spent ten wonderful years at Cerritos and I am glad that I found a great place. To keep the Ohana spirit, it always be a bit of a battle, but hopefully, those around me and those in the program can do something to make this word mean something more than just something we say at the end of practices and before each race. It has to be something we live by, that we believe in, and that we are willing to do something more to make sure we can maintain. As ohana is not a right, but something you must earn. For now this spirit remains, but I hope each generation can help the younger generations understand that it is much more than just a word, much more than just a sport, and must more than anything else.

~:[Day 263]:~ An Energy Boost

~:[Day 263]:~ An Energy Boost

I'm usually exhausted from trips, but this far surpasses any trip so far. After an almost six hour delay, we flew in to LAX at about 5am and by the time I got home, it was about 6:15am. I had enough time to shower and head to work when I dragged through the day. Sure I slept on the plane, yet it's not the kind of sleep that leaves you refreshed. Regardless, I made it, but was helped by my energy boost in my power pink star that was on $3 at Jamba's happy hour! I was so amazed that the deal would be so good right when we came back! Of course Dylan joined us and would not let go of the drink! The rest of the night? Dedicated to sleeping!

~:[Day 262]:~ Pineapples Are Our Friends

~:[Day 262]:~ Pineapples Are Our Friends

While we loved eating the delicious pineapples in paradise, we also discovered that pineapples are our friends. This is the larger version of Jamie's pineapple friend. We found our friend in Hawaii and brought our friend back to the mainland to remind us of all the wonderful memories that we had. While pineapple friend belongs to Erika, at least I'll have many photos of our deal old pineapple friend. We did finally leave paradise on this day, almost six hours after we were scheduled, however, it did not ruin all the great memories!

~:[Day 261]:~ Heading North

~:[Day 261]:~ Heading North

Our final full day was spent on the other side of the island that we had not visited. We went to Aloha Stadium for the Marketplace and Swap Meet where we got most of our goods including all my dry goods. Afterward, I got to see my aunt, who I have not seen in some time. After that quick stop, we headed to the center of the island to Dole Plantation for some chili moco and pineapple floats followed by a rainbow shaved ice at Matsumotos. We stopped at a few beaches and caught a glimpse of some turtles, then some playable conditions at Waimea (unlike in the past). Then we were able to sneak into Famous, a shrimp truck, just as they were closing for some garlic shrimp. Delicious!! It was a great day to end a wonderful trip. After packing, it will be time to rest before our last chances at surfing, swimming, and more!

~:[Day 260]:~ Water & Culture

~:[Day 260]:~ Water & Culture

In the morning we headed to Koko Marina where we got to bumper tube, banana boat, as well as wake board. It is always one of the team favorite days and we had a blast! As usual, Marcus caused some trouble, as he was the instigator behind the wipe outs on the banana boats. In the end, the morning was awesome, as we ended with special Jamba Juice flavors, Korean food, as well as poke! Afterwards, we quickly got everything together and headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center. What a great place! The luau and food were amazing and the show, especially the second half, were great as usual! While the drive there is long, it was definitely a great FULL day of Hawaiian fun!

~:[Day 259]:~ Don't Wake Me Up!

~:[Day 259]:~ Don't Wake Me Up!

After a relaxing morning of food, walking around, and more, we headed to our race at Kualoa Ranch. I am not sure how you can beat running at a place like this. While the terrain is a bit rough leaving us with a few slightly tweaked ankles, the experience itself was great. After our team photos on the beach, we headed to race and of course, try to meet the teams from Hawaii. It was difficult because we were missing a few athletes within our team who didn't make the trek, yet our athletes still ran hard on one of the tougher courses they'll face this year, more so because of the weather than the course itself. After the race, we got our Rainbow Drive-in, as well as Leonard's for a post-race meal!

~:[Day 258]:~ Up Up and Away

~:[Day 258]:~ Up Up and Away

Usually a day off is suppose to be just that, a day off. However, the day of a race, a day off is running around trying to get things in order. The day of a trip, is running around with my head cut off, barely making it in time. Of course, after all the chaos, I got on board the plane and got to rest. Out of the entire plane, I had the only row with no one. Since I had two seats open, the Gohatas came over with Dylan and we got to bond on the flight over. When arriving, our athletes were greeted with leis and it started the trip on the right foot. Originally we were suppose to start with Rainbow Drive-in, however, since we were sitting on the runway for an hour, we arrived late and it was closed. Thus, we headed to Zippy's for our first meal. Well done. Well done :)

~:[Day 257]:~ REPEAT - Shabu Shabu & Sukiyaki

~:[Day 257]:~ REPEAT - Shabu Shabu & Sukiyaki

Yesterday, I had hot pot, today I had sukiyaki at a shabu shabu place. Simply delicious! Today was my last meal in California for the weekend as I will be going to Hawaii for a cross country meet! I spent most of the night packing and getting ready plus recovering from the District Championship race. I am exhausted but I will survive :)

~:[Day 256]:~ Hot Pot of Gold

~:[Day 256]:~ Hot Pot of Gold

I have two wonderful friends who I shared hot pot with tonight. I just know I am so lucky to have two amazing people such as yourselves in my life! Hot pot was delicious but being around you two just makes everything taste that much better! I also struck it rich today with a good food run, as well as 50c Vitamin Water! I restocked today! Yahoooooooooooooo!

~:[Day 255]:~ Organizing the Disorganized

~:[Day 255]:~ Organizing the Disorganized

It was time to go through all my files and finally organize them. While there is still work to do, back to school means I will have to get things back in order. Since I am in my room all day and do not have to move, it has been easier to get everything organized! I am not far off from being on top of everything. We'll see how long this lasts!

~:[Day 254]:~ It's Quite Bazaar

~:[Day 254]:~ It's Quite Bazaar

Today, was a day of rest. Maybe not for my schedule, but for my mind. I enjoyed not having the stress of organizing and could focus on producing something with my time. Finding time to do what I love. I was suppose to be at Jamba at 8. I woke up early, but then fell back asleep and woke up to a message that I was late. I went to the meeting to layout Rorschach's video and then got everything together to shoot. Despite the 90+ degree weather outside, we shot for approximately four hours in the blazing sun with good results in the end. While we still have many segments left to shoot, it was fun getting to record and work on my artistic side of my mind. Afterwards, I got ready and headed to LA to a dinner at Bazaar that I got invited to. The food is served tapas style and while small and expensive (imagine $11-12 bottled water expensive), the food was plated nicely and delicious. It's great since you get to try so many different dishes and then they re-seat you for dessert in another section of the restaurant. The desserts are on display and the restrooms are pretty amazing, as well! The restaurant has the flavor of a bazaar, is a bit bizarre, yet feels upscale and classy. Of course the cost of valeting really makes it feel even more upscale. Even after the bill comes, you get hit with that. In the end, despite not hanging out with my friend after, it ended up being such a great day! 

~:[Day 253]:~ I COWdn't be Happier

~:[Day 253]:~ I COWdn't be Happier

Sure I love cross country and I love races, but to host a race such as this is not super fun. However, in the end, the rewards are great and it's such a great relief when it is all over. The lifting of the stress is amazing. While there are some results to still look over to make slight corrections to and some other work to be done, I feel sooooooooo good. Sweetee Thai was quite the treat, as well as Cha2o. In the end, I feel great tonight and know that tomorrow will be even better :)

~:[Day 252]:~ One More Day

~:[Day 252]:~ One More Day

Tomorrow is the big day and while I have to worry about the first day of school, the race prep has been taking all of my time. After the race is over, I can breathe a sigh of relief and go to sleep for a million zillion years :P Maybe not, but at least I can let my mind rest for an hour or so :)

~:[Day 251]:~ COWnt Down Has Begun

~:[Day 251]:~ COWnt Down Has Begun

I can't believe that tomorrow is already the day to begin setting up, as the cow run came up so quickly! I feel like I am so unprepared this year, but I feel a bit better after tonight, as I finished printing out papers that I have never printed out TWO days before the event. Normally my last minute rush results in mass chaos and total disorganization on the morning of, but we'll see. Bibs are printed and so are the labels and so it seems like everything will be in order by the end of the tomorrow. Pray for me please. I'll need it to get through the next few days!

~:[Day 250]:~ Last Day of Freedom

~:[Day 250]:~ Last Day of Freedom

Today was my last day of freedom before school officially began and I got to go out and grab a meal at the Kabob Corner. It was a very great meal and a wonderful selection. You really know how to pick 'em. I totally messed up when ordering when the first thing I blurted out was one of the two things my friend already had. In any case, it ended up being great with even greater company and ended with a wonderful cherry on top, pistachio ice cream :)

~:[Day 249]:~ Striking It Rich

~:[Day 249]:~ Striking It Rich

Today marked the end of summer, as I had to hit my alarm and wake up for work. I have not said that for over two months, yet for some reason, I was not sad one bit. While the convocation was full of speeches and the meetings were somewhat lengthy, getting back in the groove of things was pretty nice and the day seemed to go by quickly. Of course, hard labor ensued as we moved all the textbooks in the school library to prep for the school year with a minimal group of XCers. Already sore, I headed out in the heat for practice where the team (not I) ran a tempo. We quickly scrambled to finish, then headed to John's Incredible Pizza for a team dinner/fundraiser. It was quite the night and as usual, everyone who went had a blast. I enjoyed the bumper cars at the end of the night but of course, despite missing out on a good deal in DEAL OR NO DEAL, I redeemed myself by hitting the jackpot in plinko. I won 1,000 for the jackpot, another 700 in winnings, and a total of almost 4,000 on the night! While I may have hit this jackpot, my dreams of winning the Mega Millions fell short, of course, this was definitely a close second. Thanks to all those who came out to support!

~:[Day 248]:~ Sweet Celebrations

~:[Day 248]:~ Sweet Celebrations

I technically cheated since this picture was from Sunday, however, today was my mom's birthday and we celebrated with dinner on Sunday. I just made it back in time from Vegas to celebrate and it was no surprise we were at Black Angus. My mom has always been an amazing woman who is both tough and determined, yet loving and caring. She always is generous, yet also knows where to draw that line. While you had to do a lot of work on your birthday, you deserve the very best today and every day! Happy Birthday, love, your son :)

~:[Day 247]:~ The Wonderful Trays of Life

~:[Day 247]:~ The Wonderful Trays of Life

Life is like dim sum. You come across so many dishes in your life and you have to select those that seem appealing to you. Each person has their own ideal of what is appealing and each dish will have their opportunity to show that they are exactly what you had in mind. Sometimes you are unpleasantly surprised by what you selected, sometimes there are great surprises, and sometimes, you're right on. To my wonderful friends, thanks for being such great dim sum dishes who have all pleasantly surprised me with your different, yet wonderful selves. A special thanks to all those wonderful people I spent the past day and a half or so with in Vegas. Good times Gangnam and 'stache crew! Epic 3.5.

~:[Day 246]:~ Taking Gangnam Style to Vegas

~:[Day 246]:~ Taking Gangnam Style to Vegas

Labor Day weekend called for the epic 3.5 trip to Vegas. We had a few birthdays around the time and ended up with a pretty good sized group, of course, not as crazy as some of the group sizes we've had. After driving in that morning and gambling some money away, we prepped for Tao. Just before we left, we had our Gangnam style photo and video shoot, which was quite fun. Andrew and I decided to go Gangnam style and with that and the mustaches, our group was the hit of the night. We also were able to get an epic ride to Tao (infinity bus limo) and ended the night with Pho :) In any case, as usual, the trip was fun and it was interesting to be all dressed up and try to act in character the whole night :) ... Before you judge, if you have no idea who I am suppose to be, watch one of the most popular videos on youtube right now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 (check the 1:40 mark). Once I get the wig, I'll have the whole character completely down! BTW, my yellow pumas got dirty TY! :( ... it wasn't too bad though :P ... Also, thanks Kristine for helping me piece together the costume.