Friday, May 31, 2002

damn, i'm tired. i posted an ad for my apartment in the guardian and off campus housing. the guardian ad cost me $24. damn, if i still can't find roommates, i deserve to move out. i realized today i totally mixed up my work out routine yesterday, so i had to do what i missed today, and couldn't do the conflicting ones. after working out, i went over to nguyen's house at 10:30, saw harry potter, came back at 1, worked till 3am. i was thinking of going to boomers, but i couldn't fit it into my schedule today.



my bro said he's gonna get 170 movies on top of his collection....so i'll probably increase my divx collection by ~150. and looking at the list, there are a lot of good movies. the makers of the xbox mod chip is making a divx player, so after that comes out, my divx collection will be so more appealing.

Thursday, May 30, 2002

i thought this whole roommate fiasco was over, but i get the word that, i'm still roommateless. now i'm as stressed as i was this morning. maybe a little less since i got some work out of the way. still...being healthier than usual helps me deal with stress better. even when i think i'm at my threshhold i manage to get a few moment of clarity to do something productive. no time to watch harry potter once again. might have to go into work early tomorrow. i was barely able to squeeze in lifting and work out today cause i got home from work at 8:30.



this whole roommate thing has gotten me really stressed. i was just talking to some coworkers the other day about how i still dream about worrying about not being able to cram information in time for tests. and then the other day, i had the most vivid dream of all, of exactly that. i somehow was really stressed about some school thing, and then i realized, "wait a minute, i graduated." even after that realization, it seemed so real, i wasn't able to convince myself. i just kept telling myself that i graduated, and i need not to worry. after i stopped questioning how i can have school stuff due after i graduated, in the dream, it slowly put my mind at ease, and i was able to just stop dreaming and sleep.



creatine stuff might be working. i was able to do full extensions of even at my third set. usually, I just cheat, but not today. i was gonna get some crangrape at the market today, but i had to rush home to work out cause the gym closed at 11, and i wanted to lift and do cardio.

Tuesday, May 28, 2002

i started taking creatine today. probably just psychological, but i think it is working. my muscles feel like they are retaining a little more water than usual. i gotta bike everyday....so i don't retain too much water. did a lot of stuff this week. i think i'll go on more of a stricter diet and cardio schedule. lifted today. went to eric lai's bbq today. it was cool. good crowd. good food. good view. what else can you ask for? even erik showed up. how amazing is that? : ) then jeff and i got pho and boba. and i came home and biked. i think i'll have a busy week of work in front of me. stressin' a little cause erik wants something done by thursday afternoon and i'm not sure if i can get him results he's looking for by then. i'll have to get crackin'. i'll also have to blanket the campus with the my flyers for roommates for the summer. damn....wasn't life supposed to be less stressful after school?



i think i'm gonna buy a condo with jeff. i'm tired of looking for roommates every year. this way i can save money and not have to deal with looking for roommates yearly.

Monday, May 27, 2002

posted flyers yesterday for the apartment, no calls yet. went to bully's and saw star wars 2 again with tommy and nguyen, but this time on a digital screen. the picture was amazing. today, i went to lunch at the flame broiler, they really jacked me on my portions. worked out. got some creatine monohydrate. i'll start taking that tomorrow. tommy, nguyen, jeff, and i were gonna go eat at this place called Bamboo Hut and watch spider man, but somehow we ended up at the Butcher Shop. Everyone was more than pleased with their meals. And it was really late so we went to nugyen's place and watched training day again. i think i'm gonna work out tomorrow and go to eric lai's bbq.

Saturday, May 25, 2002

got to class an hour and half late. but it was koo. i didn't miss much. got home at around 3:00pm. took a nap. lifted. got ice cream, played ddr, and went to viejas with wendy. it was a lot of fun. got home at 4am. came home with $55 extra. enough money eat a little bit better this weekend. tommy is over for the weekend. we're gonna watch starwars on a digital theater. post some flyers around campus cause i need apartment mates for the summer. man, i'm gonna wake up laaate tomorrow....

Friday, May 24, 2002

today was an uneventful day like yesterday. came home. took a nap. lifted. ate, then biked at the gym. now i've spent the last hour worrying about my living situation for next year. i need to find 2 roommates who are willing to pay 425 to share a large master.....damn i'm gonna be late to class tomorrow again i bet.

Thursday, May 23, 2002

today was a pretty uneventful day. i went to work to turn in my self appraisal. came home. played ddr, biked at the gym. laundry. my parents want me to come home this memorial day weekend. kinda don't want to. too many things going around here. plus, i don't like driving to LA. it's expensive, and time consuming. not to mention risky...feel guilty though. we'll see what how i feel about driving there this weekend.



damn 1:50 am. class tomorrow at 9. just 2 more day of classes for now. : )



Wednesday, May 22, 2002

ok...the smallville episode was a tota. ripoff. that should not have been the season finale.....what would have been a good season finale would have been if they had a 2 hour special of what they showed today and what they are planning to show as a season premier...



oh man...i got home from wendy's place...and i was hungry so i ate more than i should have (tofu and fish....mostly protein and fat though)....probably ate 3000 calories today .....possibly 250-350g of protein. i did work out today, so it can't be too bad. if i counted more carefully today i wouldn't have done that. oh well. gotta ask travis if there is a thing called too much protein.



i have to do a self performance appraisal tomorrow.....i'm too tired right now...i think i'll do it tomorrow morning and head to class late if i have to.

Tuesday, May 21, 2002

just read an interesting article.... here's one tip on losing fat around your stomach. when you get stressed, what happens is that adrenaline gets released into your body, and the fat stored in your body will get released into the blood stream. this might be good but...it is more common that stress will be caused by something like your work, school, parents, bills, etc. so when the fat gets released into the blood stream and isn't used, the fat will be reabsorbed by your stomach. so the moral of the story......try not to stress out. and stretch before you do any exercise (stretching will cause stress on your body).



gonna go catch smallville season finale at wendy's place.

Monday, May 20, 2002

saw starwars this weekend...the movie was good. yoda...man.......he's such a badass....i think he'll be included in as the definition for badass in the webster's dictionary.

found some really interesting info about my parents and how they got us here.

had boba at this place called go go juice in Torrance. It was pretty good.



i was planning on working out today but got home at 1:30am. doh. did the best i could to eat every 2 hours.......

i got smallville 118 and 119. i'll have to catch the season finale at someone's place....maybe if wendy isn't busy on tuesday...

i'm gonna need to get a satelite dish for my place....and get more channels than a sane person could flip though in a day....of course i'll only be initially interested on watching smallville and newsradio. but hey, if it can be free....why not have it. : )



i bought a very small tripod for my digicam at fry's. it should work out nicely. i'm sure more happened.....just gotta get up early tomorrow. exchange 2k class all week...

Friday, May 17, 2002

i'll be in torrance all weekend....



i really need that heart rate monitor.....even at 80rpm at level 4 i might be at boarderline aerobic/anerobic exercise...which means all the strain and no fat burn. even though i have noticed my cardio is really good right now. : ) pedaled again for 32 minutes...20 minutes on level 4.



here's my la schedule.



dinner and stuff with andrew, jeff, ritchie, kat, thomas. sleep over kat & thomas' new condo. help them move into it from their old place saturday. and maybe starwars saturday night. then i might sleep there or at tommy's place saturday night, and then try to catch lunch with tommy, then head to my parent's place for an hour or two, and with my bro, then drive him to irvine, trade some cd's, and back to sd sunday night.....
one more thing...sungod is tomorrow. i didn't think i was gonna go this year...and then they said Cake was going to be there....not that i'm a big Cake fan but i do like some of their songs a lot. but then i realized i had already made plans a week ago. so no sungod for me. probably will be too crowded this year anyway. and i'd have to pay. oh well. it wasn't at all that great 2 years ago when i went.
newsradio, i'm up to 95 out of 97. and 2 more should be on their way any day now...could take a while cause the person that has them is a weird guy/gal.



went to forever fondue with the OG resnet crowd. erik couldn't make it. it seems as though he's less interested in OG resnet dinners these days. the dinner was interesting. never had fondue before. the food just food boiled in broth...not all that fresh either i thought. now if they had really fresh stuff and let you eat it raw, it might have actually been better. the desert was awesome though. great place to get desert.



i'm thinking of doing the rosarito 50 mile bike ride with travis. as long as i take enough water...a heart rate monitor, sunscreen, and eat a few bananas...it shouldn't be at all impossible. also i'll be packing my lunch....after the e coli inncodent that nik and travis ran into, i don't care if it's free. i ain't eating that shit. i'll get more details from travis.....try to train on the weekends with travis on real bikes...see how much stress i need to put on my legs to do 50 mph on flat land.



worked out today after dinner. got home at about 9:30, then worked out till about 11:20. my wrist still is not any better. it's not a sprain...it must be some kind of strain i'm doing on the cartilege or bone.



i probably won't have time to chill tomorrow. just run errands. another thing i have to list is to pick up Old Settlers beef jerky from ralphs for tommy. If you know how to pick the right bags, this is the best beef jerky you can buy. Ralphs usually runs out of them because of people like us.



2:50 am. ray's not home yet. either he's at the computer lab, or in san francisco. more likely at the lab.



so i won't be working tomorrow. i'll probably be driving up to LA around 7pm...taking a few protein bars with me...maybe a sandwich so i can eat one when i get there. shouldn't be eating more than 2 of those protein bars a day though. too much saturated fat. each bar is 23% of daily saturated fat intake. i should be back sunday evening....hopefully be back to get a work out in.



3 day weekend for me but why do i already feel like it's sunday evening with no more play time? it's already a full schedule. at least i should be having fun hanging with my old SD friends back in my hometown Torrance......yes, that is a bit odd. why they all decide to move there? i dunno. i thought i decided i've left that place for good. : ) everyone that I went to high school seems to already have done that.

Thursday, May 16, 2002

my wrist is still showing no signs of progress. i'm gonna stop taking advil and see if it gets worse or something. i hope its not serious.



i almost got into a major car accident today. if i swerved a split second too late, my car might be totaled right now....I think I would have made it out with just bruises even though the car would be totaled. you know i was just thinking i hope nothing physically happens cause i finally feel like i'm getting my body in shape for a change, and all i need is something that will totally kill any progress i made. anyways, i'll spare the details, but no scratches...just maybe less brake pads and tire tread. whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. these mistakes make me a better more aware driver and make me avoid worse collisions in the future. thank you Bridgestone, Honda, GTA3.



i'm gonna take friday off to run errands i've been putting off, maybe chill, and hang out during the day if anyone is available.



my target heart rate for fat burning turned out to be 135-171. so i biked today for 30 minutes.....20 minutes of that was my max at level 4...my heart rate was at about 160 the whole time on those 20 minutes i think.



i'm gonna get a heart rate monitor and a body fat scale soon. i went to get those 2 things today and they didn't much that i was looking for in stock. those 2 things should help my progress.



to do friday before taking off to LA.

laundry (maybe)

get lunch or boba with a friend (maybe if i have time)

take digital cable boxes to time warner

get a haircut

get my contacts ordered

work out routine #1

cardio before i leave to la.

get meal replacement shake from 24 hr fitness.

get more glutapro? (maybe)



that means i should try to do cardio tomorrow earlier if possible.

Tuesday, May 14, 2002

well, my wrist has only gotten slightly better, but i still lifted yesterday. it didn't get any worse...so what is wrong with my damn wrist. i hope it's nothing serious. i'm starting to think my metacarpels got out of place or something...i'm gonna keep taking advil, and doing exercises where my wrist stretches so it can pop back into place.



another big news. i think i'm gonna do a swap with one of my coworkers and i'll be rolling with the red "A" permit from now on. sweet ain't it? i think it'll actually help me get on campus on time....



big newsradio news. probably by tomorrow, i should have 94 of 97 newsradio episodes. one episode is missing a minute at the end unfortunately. but we did get news that they are out there. we'll just have to get in touch with the guy that has been encoding them.

Monday, May 13, 2002

went to walmart today cause i was bored. i looked around and was pretty much surprised by the fact that walmart was pretty much the same if not cheaper than costco. one thing about walmart though...it feels like they are selling overstock items...even though they do have everything. all the boxes feel like they got left out in the sun, or missed the shipping truck or something like that.



at walmart i bought some Glucoasmine Sulfate and Vitamin C. overnight it seems as though i've become a pill popper.....on top of the protein drink that has 10-20g of Glutamine i get through my protein shake, I now take Glucoasmine Sulfate for my joints, a multivitamin (centrum performance), more vitamin c, calcium w/Vitamin D. On top of that, I had to take advil today to make my wrist pain go away. i should have gotten advil days ago. hopefully it's just a minor inflamation. should go away in a day or two. can't wait to start lifting again.



oh yeah, today was a big cardio day for me. i warmed up on 3 and 4 on the bike for 6 min, and plateaued at level 5 for 12 minutes, then back to 4 and 3 for 6 minutes. after i got to about the 11th minute on level 5, i felt like i could do a few minutes more...even though i couldn't wait to switch down a level cause i was exhausted. maybe i should consider changing up my cardio...like run perhaps....good thing the days are warming up. if i go running, it'll have to be in the evenings.



i also bought 2 dvd's at walmart. V - Original Miniseries. It's about these spaceships that come to earth like the movie Independence day. And then they're all nice, and look like humans. But it turns out that they are reptiles and they just want the humans for food. Not everyone knows this so there are rebels who know this who fight against the aliens. the other dvd I bought, National Lampoon European Vacation. It's not one of the best movies out there, but it's the last one of the set National Lampoon Vacation set. I already have Vacation, Christmas Vacation, and Vegas Vacation. Now I can scratch that off my list.



will I be able to lift tomorrow? let's hope.

Sunday, May 12, 2002

went to the pb block party today. just walked through it. i was carrying no cash, so the hundreds of vendors didn't interest me. me and ray walked about 2 miles down pb, then ate at the da kine. then i get a phone call from the honda mechanic saying i needed new brake pads....for the rear ones, they cost $185, and the front ones were like 265. so i only got rear ones cause the front ones had about a few thousand miles left. who knew i was gonna wake up and end up spending $560 today? i was expecting 3-350 tops. it's always like that at the mechanic. it is like going to the dentist for a checkup, and then him telling you they gotta drill....or worse....do a root canal.



ya know, why is it so that car insurance doesn't pay for car checkups and maintenance. dental insurance pays for check ups and fillings. they ask for so much money, and they don't really do anything. and we're required by law to have insurance too. what is the deal?



my wrist still hurts. it has gotten better, but it still needs a lot more healing. my right calf should be good to go by tomorrow.



I made a info page with instructions on how people can get newsradio episodes through the internet over irc. if you want to check it out, the url is:

http://www.lucidera.com/newsradio/



tomorrow i'll do laundry, call my mom, return the digital cable boxes (i cancelled cable early this week. do i miss it? considering i haven't turned to a channel yet to see if it has stopped working should tell ya if i miss it or not).

Saturday, May 11, 2002

other than about 40 minutes of ddr, i didn't work out today. my right calf was cramped all day (still very sore from yesterday), and my right wrist is very slightly sprained. don't they make a shot for these things? : ) i'm guessing i should be 90% recovered tomorrow, but maybe i could use another day. went to go eat and hang out with ray, his friend ryan, and his gf. ate at royal thai cuisine, family fun center, then lolicup. we almost went bowling, but there was a long wait, so we didn't bowl. very glad that we didn't cause it probably would have sucked really bad for my wrist.



tomorrow i'm gonna get the 30k mile service done on my car and check out the block party at pb....not gaslamp as i originally mentioned.

Friday, May 10, 2002

i just came back from watching Training Day at Nguyen's house. that is a badass movie. i'm not sure I would have made the same decision if i was the good cop. for example, if you kept denzel alive, a lot more drug lords would get put away. you need a guy like that to go after and put an end to big fish. yet denzel (whoever he plays), is worse than the drug lords. if i was in the same shoes as the good cop, i'd probably stick with denzel. just keep my distance, and let him do his thing because he is making more of a positive impact than his negative ones.



i might have overdone my cardio today. i was thinking if i should even do cardio today cause i knew i was gonna cramp up. but then i did it anyway. plateaued at level 5 for 8 minutes, warming up for 6 min on level 3 and 4.....then the leg cramps started, and i had to cool down real fast. it was really exhausting though. without the cramps, i probably would have gone down from level 5 anyway. i think i'll take a break from cardio tomorrow unless my legs feel real good. they feel like crap right now cause of the cramping.



tomorrow is friday already. no plans for tomorrow, but since i'm not doing cardio, i'll probably want to find something to do in the evening. maybe get boba at least. i'm gonna get a 30,000 mile service on my car saturday at noon. when they're servicing my car, i'm gonna go check out the block party at gaslamp with ray...what goes on at a block party? what will the vendors be selling? hmmm....

Thursday, May 9, 2002

oh man...i totally bombed on my cardio today....well maybe not entirely. it was my mistake of playing intense DDR for an hour, then trying to bike right after. totally cramped up in 10 minutes on the bike....yikes. probably the pho and the sodium in it had something to do with it too. tomorrow, i'm eating 2 bananas. i'm also making a rule of no ddr less than 2 hours before biking. gonna do warm up with level 3 and 4 for six minutes, and plateau on 5 for 12 minutes, and cool down with 4, 3 for six minutes tomorrow. i know i can do it. today, i just made a boo boo.



i went to look for protein shakes and protein cereal today. travis told me that there is a protein cereal at vons. i looked at the cereal and health food isles. couldn't find it. he also told me about this place called nutri sport. i went in there to get a meal replacement protein shake....and as i was checking out with the Met-Rx protein shake, he suggested this Glutapro stuff (meal supplement). It has 5g of L-Glutamine per serving along with the protein. So I got that stuff instead. I've been reading up on L-Glutamine and it looks like good safe stuff. And it actually tastes pretty damn good. I think I'll stick with it.



I've also been reading up on Creatine. But I don't think I can benefit much from that right now until I have more mass. Maybe by summer, I'll try that stuff. To read up on L-Glutamine: http://www.theministryoffitness.com/mof/library/faq/faq6.htm



To read up on Creatine: http://www.theministryoffitness.com/mof/library/faq/faq1.htm



Creatine looks like stuff that might be a little bit more dangerous to use carefree. I learned my lesson of reading labels and suggested doses. Exactly about a year ago, I was doubling up on Centrum....I think I took 2 Centrums a day for 2 weeks, and I'm pretty sure I got iron poisoning. I thought I had mono. But it was more like iron poisoning doing damage to my liver. I'm glad that didn't kill me. : ) Whatever doesn't kill you will make you stronger. So life lesson #33445. Don't OD on vitamins.

Wednesday, May 8, 2002

yesterday, i was able to plateau for 16 minutes on level 4 on the bike, and felt like i could probably do 4 or more minutes. I guess it is time to move up a level. warm up for 6 minutes with level 3 and 4, plateau on 5 for 12 min, and cool down for 6 minutes on level 4, and 3.



i'm gonna go run today with ray. i'll see how much i like running. i think i might enjoy biking at the gym more than running. we'll see.



quick work out tip for today. drink cold water when possible. this will make your body generate more heat to warm up the cold water you drank. this will burn calories. not sure how many, but definitely some.

Tuesday, May 7, 2002

we had a potluck today at work. i brought Kirkland smoked salmon. about half got eaten. I guess the rest of it is tonight's dinner. I ate way more than I usually eat at lunch. I think I finally starting to feel hungry after lunch. Probably a good sign that my metabolism is getting better. I'll probably have to go home, lift, play ddr, and do cardio at night to fight the calories from the potluck today.



I've been steadily getting newsradio episodes. I've gotten 74 of the 97 out there. I'm going to guess I'll be up to 80...maybe even 85 by the end of this weekend if I'm lucky. working out yesterday, i didn't effectively work out my triceps. oh well. maybe it's a good thing cause i do tend to use my triceps the days i'm working out my biceps. maybe it's not a total loss after all.



i'm going to cancel cable today. i really don't watch cable anymore. no time.

Monday, May 6, 2002

First day I played DDR at home: 1/26/2002

First day I went to the gym to bike: 3/17/2002

First day I went to the gym to work out with machines, and dumb bells: 3/22/2002

Day I started to seperate lifting and the cardio exercises completely: 3/29/2002

Day I started to do bike correctly to achieve an efficient cardio workout: 3/31/2002

Started changing my diet gradually: 4/1/2002

First day to plateau for 12 minutes on the bike at my max: 4/4/2002

Changed my diet completely: 4/17/2002

Day I started to work out on mostly freeweights: 4/30/2002

Incorporation of the protein bar into my diet: 5/5/2002



To do:

Protein shake, and 40-30-30 cereal. Not really something i have to do, but i would like to incorporate it into my diet in the future. I wish they sold it at costco. : ) I don't like buying stuff through the Internet anymore. 2 other things i can do is go to rimac and start running. i'm not sure how i can fit those in my schedule, but i would like to get that incorporated. All 4 things are not necessities. I can not do them, for as long as I want and still achieve levels i'm looking for, but would definitely help in the process of achieving goals.

Sunday, May 5, 2002

watched spiderman yesterday. it was a really cool enjoyable movie. they could have done some do-overs in some of the takes and redid some lines, but if you look past the sillyness, the movie is cool. a little rushed i say.



i worked out with freeweights yesterday and today, and man am i sore. i guess that's a good thing. i gotta help tommy move the big couch tomorrow. i hope i'm not too sore tomorrow.



tommy came over this weekend. we went to costco, ate and got boba. and we watched a lot of newsradio episodes. ever since i've gotten these newsradio episodes, i haven't even seen cable for the last 2 weeks. at costco i got so much meat (turkey, beef, chicken, smoked salmon, some pork). and more protein...(protein bar, smoked salmon, fat free kraft singles). i need to go back to costco cause i forgot 2 things....contact lens solution and wendy's dumplings i was supposed to get. doh.

Friday, May 3, 2002

went to get korean bbq, boba, and spiderman tickets for tomorrow with wendy today. i really like hanging out with her. never feel like i have to adjust my personality or do something out of character. guardian has coupons for lack of a better phrase, "free supersizing" for lolicup. : ) tomorrow is my work out day and my back is acting up...did i strain it playing ddr??...i really hope it doesn't get in the way of my lifting tomorrow. i feel another cold coming on....better take some vitamin c with echinecea. tomorrw (today), i'm gonna go watch spiderman. should be cool.

Thursday, May 2, 2002

yesterday i bought 100 more lbs of weight for my bench. A grand total of 200lbs i can put on the straight bar. not that i could bench it. yet. ;) i really need a spotter when i'm doing bench presses...can't get an effective workout for my pecs if i don't have one. on those days where raymond can't spot me, i might just go back down to the small gym we have here and use the machines....and the bench i got looks cool, but is horribly designed....flawed..whatever. damn. still could do exercises, but not too well. i could have gotten another bench for 15 cheaper but so much better...but would have been 2 foot wider...but we would have had room for it. oh well, i'm trying to adjust my work outs for my bench. i do like working out with freeweights though. feels like i get a much better workout. muscles feel a little more stiff...which is a good thing cause when you don't feel nuthin after 3 sets, it means you totally blew it. : )



i got my performance evaluation at work today. did great on some, but lotta room for improvement on others. surprised they don't rate you coming in late, or excessive out-of-office-ness. but if they had that, half the people at the university would fail those. : )



i realized i should focus on my career more. my job isn't just a job where i do stuff and they pay me. it is a part of my life, and one of the things i have to have to have a successful life is to have a successful carreer. no one explains or tells you that. you just have to figure it out for yourself. i have 2 jobs now.....my job at UCSD and a on call computer consultant. maybe like how moving off campus made me got me perfect attendence at school, having 2 jobs will make me prioritize things more and make me a better worker for my first job. couple that with conscious effort to focus more on my career, i should have some success at the very least.



i've been playing ddr konamix the last 2 days. it is pretty good. i'm sure, like a good cd, the more i play it, the more i'll enjoy it. i think ddr usa was a very good mix, and ddr disney was a mediocre one, but cost the most.



whatever i try to do i can't seem to go to sleep before 2 and get to work on time....even though i could easily do it....i get up jmore than 2 hours before i have to be at work everyday....still can't seem to make it on time. what is wrong? i'll aim to have lights out by....12:45 today...don't have to be sleepin....just lights out, and in bed by 12:45.



i guess today is ramble on day. i don't think ddr works out my cardio as good as the bike. i think i'll have to save energy for the bike...and can't replace biking with ddr. maybe since tomorrow is a rest day i'll just do bike in the morning so i can just do ddr when i get home. enough rambling for today.