Japan!

It's my third day here in Japan and everything's going great! I still haven't able to shake off the jet lag yet but it's starting to wear away. The only downside to traveling are the long plane rides and the jet lag that accompanies it.

We left on a Monday evening and got to Okinawa Wednesday morning. Missing a whole day really screws up your body. I was so out of it the day we got here. It's difficult because you want to do everything but your body wants rest.

We did manage to go to Amber and John's favorite park which I think it's called the Sports Park. I'm sure there's a more official title to that. There's a map on the desk and I think it's called the Koza Sport Stadium. There are basketball courts, an indoor soccer field, and a cycling track just to name a few. There was this really cool spider web looking thing made out of ropes that you can climb on. I don't think I took a picture but maybe we can go back so I can.

That park is huge! Oh, there was also a large pond with koi fish in it. I took some video of the huge fish. It was good to see people walking around being active. There were surprisingly a lot of elderly people there. I've read that Okinawa has one of the largest percentage of oldest living people in the world or something. Diet and exercise are some of the contributing factors.

After the park, we stopped by the base. Nothing too exciting there except that we did see a (I think) local woman trying to get gasoline. The attendant had to help her because she didn't know how to pump gas. She probably never gets gasoline on base because off base there are gas attendants that provide full service. Fill up your tank, check your fluids, wash your windows, etc. But it was still weird seeing an adult no knowing how to fill up.

We had dinner at a place called Coco Curry. Which I hear the Americans go crazy for. It's a local chain here that serves rice with curry where you can add different toppings. The toppings ranged from tofu and okra (which I got) to sliced pork and cheese (which Will got). It was decent and different. I might have gone too spicy and didn't fully enjoy the food. I don't think it helped that there was this American woman who had out of control children. The woman had to go spank one of her kids because the little girl spit on someone. It happened in the bathroom where we were sitting next to. Sometimes, kids do need a good spanking because that girl was good to go after that.

The next day we stopped by Amber's work where they had a potluck. It was good meeting all of her co-workers and see where she works. It's nice for us that Amber gets off early because it feels like she works a half day.

We all drove to the Katsuren Castle Ruins. That place was pretty cool with awesome views of the island. It was crazy to see that you could walk right up to the edge of the castle and there are no railings. I'm sure you could die if you fell off the edge, it was pretty steep.

We next hit up American Village which I am assuming caters to all the soldiers living nearby. It was an interesting place. The whole area felt like a boardwalk type place with shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and even a Starbucks. There was a shop called American Depot that felt like a more funky Urban Outfitters. There were a lot of cute clothes that were a bit on the pricey side. There was a another store that sold a bunch of t-shirts that had Engrish sayings on them that didn't make sense. American Village was right by the beach so we walked down there along the boardwalk. There was a bunch of graffiti on the walls that were pretty cool. There were also some swastikas on some of the graffiti, too. That was a little weird.

For dinner, we ate some taco rice. I guess it's big here. It's basically rice with taco meat and American cheese on top and comes with Pace-type salsa. Um, it pretty much tastes like how I described it. I can't wait to try some sushi, soba, and other more Japanese foods.

Well, I think that pretty much sums up the last few days. I will post some pictures when I get around to it.

New direction

I think I want to take this lame blog in a new direction. I think it might motivate me to post in it more. I was thinking of doing a daily picture post thing but do you think that would get boring? Plus I think that might get a little repetitive and too much work for me. We'll see.

Besides boring school news, I'll be going to Japan at the end of May! I'm so excited about not only because I get to see one of my best friends but I hear Japanese people go to Okinawa as a vacation destination. Beaches and nice weather! That reminds me, I really need to kick it into gear with the exercising and eating well.

I read that shorter women have a harder time losing fat than taller women. Here's the article: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2010/03/speed_up_slow_female_fat_loss.php

I know I'm not a fatty BUT I have never had a really defined stomach. I not only want to look good with less clothes but be stronger as well. That was probably way too much information to put out there but oh well...

Spring break, no parents!

Today marks the tail-end of my spring break and I'm not ready to go back to school. I'm starting an 8 week class on Monday which is Econometrics. I don't know what I was thinking signing up for an accelerated class that is a combination of math, statistics, and economics. It must be self-hatred. BUT on the bright side, less than 2 months away from graduation!

Had a super fun trip to Austin, TX this past weekend. It was a pretty random trip, but I'm glad I went. Visited an old friend whom I haven't seen for about 5 years. It was great; it feels as though we never stopped hanging out. We ate at some good places and just hung out. She just opened her own hair salon and I'm really proud of her! I hope to make many more trips to Austin because that place is so cool, especially for being in Texas.

After coming back from the trip, I got some promising news on the job front but I don't want to go into details because it's not a done deal yet.

Inspiration

Last night I went to go watch Henry Rollins do spoken word. It was an entertaining 3 hours. Yeah, the guy talked for three hours last night. I can barely do a 5 minute presentation let alone 3 hours talking the whole time. But Henry Rollins is not any regular person. He's an angry 49 year old man who travels a lot. Which makes for a lot of material to talk about. This was the first time seeing him and I now regret not going when he has come to town before!

Back in high school, I was into Henry Rollins. I didn't listen to his music, watch his videos, or even read his books. No, I was obsessed with his quotes. I remember seeing him somewhere and was intrigued by him. Who was this muscular guy with those horrible tattoos and thousand yard stare? I had to know. Well besides being in a pioneering hardcore punk band, he was an actor, writer, speaker, and general trouble maker.

One quote that has always stood out in my mind was:

"The best revenge is to always survive yourself."

Oh ok, well I just looked it up and it's lyrics from a song called "Alien Blueprint". The song kind of sucks... But that's beside the point. Anyway, I always thought of that quote throughout high school which were one of the many ways I survived high school.

So Henry Rollins will always be one of my personal saviors from high school.

Olympic fever

I told myself that I wouldn't get invested in the Olympics this year. After all, the winter Olympics is kind of like the red-headed (sorry, Amber) step-child of the Olympics, isn't it? I know there are only two kinds but it seems like the summer games are a lot more popular. Or maybe that depends where you live. Canada and any Nordic country? Winter Olympics is probably more popular in those areas. Plus I think there are more athletes wearing less clothes in the summer Olympics which provides some eye candy just in case you find the sport they're playing boring.

Anyway, so here I am putting off studying for an exam I have tomorrow blogging and watching the Olympics. I'm not picky to the sport either. I will watch anything! Well, except curling because that's boring. Thank God for DVR because I don't think I could handle all those stupid commercial interruptions.

Speaking of, I think NBC's coverage is horrendous. Nothing shown is ever live and even when it is "live", it's on tape delay. It'd be nice to be able to experience an event as it's happening once in a while...

Oh, I also think I'm dating Russian ice skater, Yvgeny Plushenko. I didn't think I would be, but I'm really into the men's figure skating. I love Johnny Weir! While I was watching the men skate last night, they showed training footage of a Canadian skater named Patrick Chan. Dude does some hardcore stuff, especially with core and Pilates exercises. I have to give a lot of credit to figure skaters because it seems like their training is just as hard as any other athlete maybe even more so.

I can't wait for warmer weather...

I'm so sick of the cold and (little) snow that we have been getting. I'm ready for it to be spring and be outside more!

I'm not one for resolutions but I did resolute to work out more which I have been doing! I started going about 2 weeks before school start and I try to go about 2-3 times a week. I figure I can't waste my money and needed to start utilizing my gym more. I think that was another resolution of mine this year.

Be more economical. I think majoring in economics has got me weighing the benefits and costs of every decision I make. I know I make it a lot more laborious than it sounds but I think it just makes sense to me to ask myself "do I really need this?" I'm currently taking this development economics class and it depresses the hell out of me sometimes. It makes me take a step back and be fortunate for all the things that I have access to. Simple things like indoor plumbing and a warm place to sleep.

I am going off topic everywhere but just wanted to check in with the blogging world (Amber).

I'm trying...

School has been in full swing and keeping me busy. I found out last week that I won't be graduating until next spring which is a bummer but I'm not too upset about it. I wasn't sure what I was going to do next year anyway. So this gives me some extra time to decide if I want to try applying for jobs or apply to grad school. Can someone just pay me to eat and travel like Anthony Bourdain? That would be totally awesome.

I've also gotten into football, both college and pro. With Will being totally into it, his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me as well. I gotta have love for my Arizona Wildcats and Arizona Cardinals. I remember when I lived w/ my parents, I hated Monday Night Football because my dad "hogged" the tv that night.

I've been really lazy with the work out plan, if you want to call it that. Join a gym a few months ago and still haven't been to! I keep making excuses to not go; school, housework, etc. But I really need to motivate myself to go because I paid for the damn thing and I'm just wasting money by not using my gym. I can even bring guests everytime I go so I should drag friends and Will to go w/ me.

I think I've done enough blabbing and I'm sure you'll hear more blabbing from me hopefully sooner rather than later.

Ahhhh...

Summer school is finally done and I've just been chillin. Been neglecting my blog, if you haven't noticed...

Will be updating (hopefully) more often.

Sowwie!

It's been a while but I'm back! Was out of town and started a new session of summer school which is really time consuming. That's why I'm here blogging! I ate pretty bad when I was out of town but since I've been back I've been doing pretty well. Although I haven't done any working out in a while.

I want to go running but it's been too hot lately for that. I know... excuses, excuses. But I'm so beat when I get home from classes, I just want to nap and then force myself to do homework. I've never looked forward this much to a Thursday as I do right now... On the other hand, I've been eating pretty well.

- two scrambled eggs
- slice of whole wheat honey toast
- banana
- veggie sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ hummus, guacamole, red and green bell peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions w/ a dash of balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil
- plum
- roasted squash w/ baked salmon and a side of my homemade pico de gallo



And I'll probably have some cantaloupe and an apricot for dessert. Don't worry I haven't been a saint either because I had some frozen chocolate custard yesterday.

Busy bee

Been a busy bee w/ work and getting ready to go out of town. I will be leaving the man-boy and dog at home to go back and visit some friends and family. And when you're on vacation that means eating out a lot. It should be interesting to see how good I can eat when we're out. I definitely have to hit up Culver's. Butterburgers and frozen custards is where it's at! I'll miss the man-boy even though it's only for a few days. But I did eat pretty well today:

- plum
- coffee (with 1 1/2 teaspoon of sugar; I'm trying to cut down on my sugar)
- 2 slices multi-grain toast w/ butter
- 2 eggs over medium
- big salad w/ beets, celery, red onions, left over rotisserie chicken, sunflower seeds
- organic dark chocolate w/ blueberries
- apple
- chicken salad (homemade) sandwich on 2 slices of mutli-grain toast

I think that's it!

Single mom

I'm not really why my ads are about single moms but I'm neither. "Socially Alienated Person" ad? I obviously need to write about other subjects other than what I eat and how little Timmy is crimping my dating life...

So camping was really fun but I guess if you do it in a camper then it's not really camping. I say it's a start, especially for a city slicker like myself. I kind of want to get a camper now. Just a small one. Maybe when I start working a real job...

I have this artichoke but I've never cooked one before so I've been googling to see how it is done. I don't think I have had a fresh artichoke so this should be interesting... OK, I just finished watching on how to cook an artichoke and they seem like a pain in the ass!

NOM NOM NOM - 6/19/09

Meal log sounds kind of gross so I changed it to "nom nom nom" because that is what I sound like when I eat. Anyway, hectic day at work today. Two elderly sisters were arguing w/ each other so that was entertaining...

- breakfast burrito w/ 2 scrambled eggs and salsa
- cup of coffee
- cheddar cheese burger w/ salsa on top and some potato chips on the side
* I originally was going to have the stir-fry leftovers from the night before for lunch but one of my co-workers offered to bring me back a burger she grilled so I couldn't be rude and say no. I could have also eaten a piece of chocolate-frosted cake that was sitting in front of me in the break room. Another co-worker bakes a cake whenever someones birfday comes up so that was why the cake was there... I digress

- 1 nectarine
- handful of raw almonds
- some homemade beef jerky
- chicken stir-fry leftovers w/ white rice topped w/ a little Kimlan soy sauce

I'm trying to get ready for the camping trip tomorrow and also crash a poker party as well. They better be ready for my poker face!

Meal log - 6/18/09

I told a little bird I would put up what I eat everyday so here it goes. This is actually for Thursday and not today.

- handful of blueberries
- classic scrambled with bacon and 2 pieces of toast and coffee
- apple
- chicken stir-fry with white rice (pictured)
- late night snack of oatmeal w/ flax in nonfat milk

I kind of skipped lunch because I was out all day running errands and getting ready for my camping trip! Last one I went to was back in 7th grade. Oh, also got in some catching up time with my homie, Erica.

Dinner for tonight: Salmon on salad.

Myspace blog - December 10, 2008

This is for Scott T. Ninja (or anyone who hates it when their wrist hairs get caught in their watch)

Myspace blog post #2 January 30, 2009

Jon and Kate ain't got shit on this

Eight kids? Psh, try having 14 and being a single parent! But seriously, you guys have heard about the woman in California who just had octuplets, right? I didn't really care much about the story until more details came out about the mother and her situation. Here's a link if you're not aware:

http://jezebel.com/5142685/new-facts-about-mother-of-octuplets-raise-ethical-questions?skyline=true&s=x

Yeah. Being pro-choice, I really do believe women should have a voice over what they want to do with their body but isn't this a bit bat shit insane? A single parent and living at home? I guess it's nice she has her parents to help with the litter but there's all kinds of wrong going on. I think single parents can raise a child or two well but not fucking 14 kids! Ethical questions are raised and there is a thin line between freedom of choice and not letting people crazy people do whatever they want.

This is an extreme idea but I propose having a license to have children. You can't technically drive a car without having a license so why can't have people pass a test for having kids? It's a stretch but this shit makes me mad.

Myspace blog post #1 December 17, 2008

I think I'm going to start consolidating all of my blog postings from various sites like myspace and livejournal and also look back at what I was thinking about at the time.


Read this article: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/today/index.ssf/2008/12/holland_township_family_angry.html

Last night's dinner

Left over salad from McAlister's and some brat/ pasta concoction I made up.

Chicken tortilla soup

And turkey bacon salad.

Sauerkraut and brats, green chili mac n' cheese, and roasted green beans. Dinner a few weeks ago.