777 Building 

The 777 Building. Corner of 8th + Fig. in Downtown L.A. 

Revolving Door Etiquette

One of my co-workers (a female) and I were about to walk out of the building as we were leaving work today. There was a revolving door, and I motioned her to go first. She asked me to go first. And then, I insisted, "Ladies first." After she went first, she informed me about the etiquette when it comes to revolving doors. Apparently men are to go first since the traditional thinking is that men are physically stronger so they should have an easier time spinning the door. If I was in New York, I would have known about this instead of making this faux pas. Being in L.A., I just didn't come across revolving doors that much. I went home and checked online and she was right.

I've always thought that women go first, but this happens to be one of the rare exceptions to that rule. I always open doors for ladies. In fact, I've always waited and held doors open for the fairer sex and guys too. Sometimes, other people I'm with have to wait for me since I get stuck holding the door when a bunch of people keep walking through the door.

One time in law school, I was trying to open doors for a female classmate of mine as we entered the law school library. If you have been to the University of San Diego School of Law library, you would know exactly what I mean when guys have it rough trying to be chivalrous. When you open the main door to the library building and hold it open for a lady, you then have to rush past her to open another set of doors inside the building that leads to the main entrance to the library itself. There is another set of doors about 15-20 feet away from the second set of doors. So, you have to open and hold a third set of doors before she finally enters the library. It's hard trying to be chivalrous and look cool when you're constantly opening and holding doors and then running to open more doors so that she won't have to open them. You've got to do it without looking like a geeky fool. I remember that one girl laughed because I was trying so hard to open all the doors for her. She should have walked slower.

We celebrated my mom's birthday this past Saturday, August 12. It was a nice small family gathering. It looked like my mom was pretty happy that day. 

Christine and Sae Woon barbecuing gal-bi (Korean ribs) for my mom's birthday. Sae Woon is the BBQ King. 

Celebrating my mom's birthday. 

My mom making a wish. 

My mom blowing out the candles. 

More pictures of my bike. If anyone wants to bike with me, let me know.  

Resting in the shade. I feel a lot faster on the road on my triathlon bike than on my mountain bike. Since it's very light, efficient, and aerodynamic, I feel like I'm cutting through the wind. With every stroke of the pedal, I can feel it transfering it into a burst of power. I estimate that I'm getting a boost of 5-6 mph over my mountain bike on flat roads. On downhills, it's much faster. On uphills, I feel very quick and nimble. Even on flats, I can maintain a higher cruising speed for much longer. My only complaints so far is that it's hard on my back when I'm riding hunched over in aero tuck position. I also feel muscles burning in my legs, perhaps because I'm riding in a different position. Triathlon bikes are different from road bikes because their geometry is designed to be more aerodynamic and also less draining on muscles used for running. They will help save your legs for the final running portion of the triathlon.  

At the airport. 

Posing next to the airport. 

Here's a picture of me trying to pose next to my new bike, the 06' Motobecane Nemesis. I haven't ridden it much yet. Ever since I got it, I haven't had much of an opportunity to ride it. . .Must maintain discipline and train hard if I ever want to enter a triathlon. . . 

'06 Motobecane Nemesis Triathlon Bike

Here are the specs for my new bike. Everything is pretty much top of the line.

I'm hoping on entering a triathlon sometime. I don't have any hopes of winning the triathlon, but I just want to do it for my own personal sense of accomplishment.

Frame-- Motobecane Z-Matrix6 Aero A-6 Quaternary phase Aluminum alloy, custom butted and Aero shaped, Integrated Head Tube, Double water bottle mounts shaped seat stays Motobecane forged dropout with replaceable derailleur hanger

Fork--- MOTOBECANE FC-770 Bonded Aero Carbon w/ 1 1/8" ALUMINUM steerer

Crankset--- TruVativ Rouleur GXP w/ Integrated Spindle, 7075 CNC 39/53T Chainring

Bottom Bracket- TruVativ GXP exterior bearing system

Pedals--- Forte

Front Derailleur---Shimano ULTEGRA 6600, Braze-on

Rear Derailleur---Shimano ULTEGRA 6600

Shifters--- Shimano DuraAce, SL-BS78 20-speed

Cassette/Freewheel--- Shimano ULTEGRA, 10-speed, 12-23T

Chain--- Shimano Ultegra 6600, 10-Speed

Front Hub--- Formula Xero XR-1 Sealed Cartridge Bearing

Rear Hub--- Formula Xero XR-1 Sealed Cartridge Bearing

Spokes--- Stainless steel, 14g

Rims--- Formula Xero XR-1 Aero Deep Section, Black w/ CNC sidewalls

Tires--- Continental ULTRASport, 700x23c with Ultralite presta tubes

Brake Set--- Tektro RX40 w/Cartridge Pads

Brake Levers--- Tektro 4.0 Reverse for Aero Bars

Headset--- VP Integrated Road Sealed Cartridge Bearing Threadless 1 1/8" with hollow 25mm spacer

Handlebar--- RITCHEY PRO Cow Bar with RITCHEY PRO Clip-on Aero bars

Stem--- Ritchey PRO Aluminum

Tape/Grip--- Motobecane custom cork wrap

Saddle--- Motobecane Velo UltraLite Racing with Cro-Mo rails

Seat Post--- Ritchey PRO Aluminum, 27.2

Seat Clamp--- Motobecane Ultralite alloy, 31.8mm

I just got my 2006 Motobecane Nemesis Triathlon bike. I finally got it put together in perfect condition after a couple weeks of some hassles. This thing is wicked fast on the road. I can't wait to ride it all over Los Angeles County. I got to get used to it more though. It's much more uncomfortable than my mountain bike. It's also much more difficult to balance and steer, especially with cars brushing past me. But, I'm really happy with it so far. 

A deer in front of the townhomes we were looking at in Burbank over the weekend. If we buy a home here, Bambi will be our neighbor. How cool would that be? 

A famous co-worker that sits next to me shared some of her Oral Pleasure chocolate with me. I think the name of the chocolate is hilarious. It's made by a company called Bloomsberry & Co. Those dang Brits and their wacky of humor! One of the Nick(It) shirts I bought is also from England. The tag that came with the shirt said, "Approved by people who wear clothes." 

Last Saturday, July 8, 2006, I went back to conquer El Prieto. There are a lot of side trails off the El Prieto singletrack trail in Pasadena nearby JPL. Last time, we got lost and went off course while riding down one of El Prieto's many forks in the road. We knew there had to be more to it since we read so many good things about it on mountain bike websites. Fortunately, this past Saturday, we rode the whole trail down. Boy, was it fun, but technical! Here's a shot of me going down a crazy steep angled slope before crossing the stream. What a blast! 

Ice Age: The Meltdown. This was a great animated movie for kids. I saw a couple weekends ago with Mikey. It got Mikey's seal of approval. . . I think Mikey likes all the animated movies. It was pretty funny, but it leaned a lot towards the kiddy side. Ray Romano plays a woolly mammoth who has to avoid the dangerous effects of global warming with his buddies. The ice age is ending and a glacier is about to flood the entire area. They have to find higher ground or risk drowning. Meanwhile, he meets another female woolly mammoth played by Queen Latifah who thinks she's a possum. They think they're the last two woolly mammoths on earth. Since he thinks they're the last two, he hits on her by saying that they have a responsibility to continue the species. It was a cute movie. I give it a B, 83. 

Oh no! My beautiful Hyundai!

Last Sunday, July 9, 2006, my parent's neighbor backed up into our Hyundai after I finished washing it. Dang it!! She smashed the driver's side door. Well, at least it wasn't my brand spankin' lookin' 240 hp Honda Accord EX V-6. If she smashed into that car, I'd be freakin' out. Since it was our Hyundai, I didn't care as much since it was kinda beat up anyway. That thing is an accident magnet. All these people ram into it and take off. There's a big dent on the passenger side too from last year.

When I went to talk to her, she started getting defensive. She made outrageous arguments like how I was partially to blame for parking there. Ha! I said that that had nothing to do with how the accident happened. I just finished washing the car and it's okay to park there in order to do that. Then, her husband said that I parked there too long and how it's against the homeowner's association CC&R's. He said he was a cop and I said that I was an attorney. I said that I didn't want to fight since we're neighbors. Hopefully, I'll be able to get my door fixed.