Mikey the Champ

Mikey is pretty good for a 5 year old kid. He got a bronze medal in the boxing training game. He kicked my butt.

Sarah Wii Boxing

Here's a clip of Sarah on the Nintendo Wii. I can't believe she beat me on the punching bag training game. I wonder who looks sillier?

Got No Skillz

Here's a clip of me trying to hit the punching bag on the Nintendo Wii. I don't know how to play. I'm just trying to move my arms back and forth as fast as possible. Obviously, that doesn't work. Next time, I'll learn how to play before I make a fool of myself.

Hula Hoop Champ

Mikey doing the hula hoop. He did it much longer than this 4 second video. Trust me. It's just hard to catch the best shot sometimes.

Healthy Neighborhood Fair

I took Mikey to the Healthy Neighborhood Fair on Saturday. I wanted to take him to Toys 'R Us and to a car show also, but there just wasn't enough time since I had so many other things to take care of too. There are just too many choices. Too many things to do and see and not enough time to experience everything. I was also thinking about going on a couple of different bike rides too. Also, the Miramar Air Show was in town. Oh well. There's always next time. Hopefully.

I still had fun with my nephew Mikey. He seemed to have fun at the fair too. We had tasty sandwiches and healthy Asian Chicken Salads among other things.

Mikey was pretty good at hula hooping, but every time I tried to videotape him, he didn't do it too long. Isn't that always the case?

There were a lot of different things for kids to see and do. They dealt mostly with nutrition and sports.

Pasadena Art Night

On Friday night, Sarah and I went to Art Night in Pasadena. A bus shuttled us around the different art institutes and museums in town. We stopped by the Pasadena Playhouse, saw some art exhibits at Pasadena City College, enjoyed body percussion at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, listened to cool jazz at the Pasadena Jazz Institute, and heard some fantastic classical music at the Pasadena Symphony.

We got to experience a lot of art, music and culture there.

The body percussion was kinda fun and crazy using our bodies as percussion instruments.

I really enjoyed the aural pleasures of the symphony. Having so many performers in an orchestra really magnifies the sound quality.

Ride to the Beach

My coworker, Hadi, and I biked to Venice and Santa Monica Beach after work last night. It was a fun ride. Biking along the beach is the greatest when you're on a road bike. The ocean air is great and it feels so fast passing by so many people and other bikers.

Hadi also bikes to work sometimes like me. He did a good job of keeping up with me on his dual suspension mountain bike. All that hard work at the gym helped him out.

I got some good training in. I biked a total of over 60 miles for the day.

We're planning on riding even more next time along the coast.

I've Been Attacked!

I got assaulted today when I was riding my bike. I was going north on Alameda in Little Tokyo Downtown L.A. A car passed by me dangerously close on the right hand lane. Cars are supposed to give plenty of room to safely pass cyclists. When he stopped at the intersection to make a right turn on 4th Street, I passed him on the left and yelled at him to watch out. I continued biking north on Alameda, when all of a sudden the passenger threw some small object at my head. Fortunately, I wasn't injured. The driver drove slowly and the passenger shouted, "I'm going to kill you, @#$%er! I'm gonna shoot you! @#$%er!" They kept yelling and shouting obscenities at me for a couple blocks. At the intersection of 2nd and Alameda, I pulled out my cell phone and told them I'm calling the police. They took off. After about an hour after calling 911, a couple officers came and took my statement. I waited at the corner of 2nd and Alameda. I saw 5 police cars go by until finally the 6th car came and stopped to help me.

I told them it was 2 young Hispanic guys in their early 20's in a light baby blue Ford Fiesta or Festiva. It looked like it was made in the 1980's. The license plate was either 3TVW239 or 3TXW239. They both had shaved or nearly shaved heads.

I hope the cops get them.

Wolfpack

Last night, I went to ride with the Wolfpack. I would estimate that there were almost 40 riders. We met around 10:00 p.m. and started riding out at 10:30 p.m. These guys are fast! I was able to keep up with them, but I was getting tired and started struggling. I was okay on the flats and fast on the downhills, but weak on the uphills. A lot of these guys were on fixies and track bikes too. The pace was pretty fast. We went through Hollywood and Downtown. We stopped a few times for drinks and snacks. It was fun going through Hollywood. People were cheering us on.

There was a Korean girl who was on a fixie and I was pretty impressed. They're in such good condition and had incredible stamina.

During the ride, I rode into a big pothole and got a flat. The guys were pretty nice and they all stopped for me. A few of the guys helped me fix my flat tire.

On the last stretch, we turned on to Sunset Blvd., from Downtown L.A. That's when they dropped me and I got schooled. Well, I did learn a lot. I need to train much more and work on my conditioning, especially sustaining high speeds on inclines.

I want to ride with them again. Too bad it's so late for me. We got back around 1:30 a.m. I finally went to bed around 3:00 a.m. I still got to work close to 6:00 a.m. Boy, I'm tired. It's so much fun, I want to ride on more Midnight Ridazz rides, but I'm killing myself.

BMW Palm Springs to Las Vegas Rally

On Saturday, I helped transport BMWs from Palm Springs to Las Vegas. This was for the BMW Ultimate Drive in connection with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer foundation. I got up and left at 5:00 a.m. and got to Palm Springs before 7:00 a.m. Just getting there was over 100 miles. I wanted to drive the 335i convertible so I was the first one there. When I went to choose my car, some other woman had her name on the list for that car. Dang it! Oh well. I got to drive the Z4 coupe si. The Z4 has a higher top speed anyway. After breakfast, we left for Vegas around 8:00 a.m. We made a stop at around the 80 mile mark and had some snacks. We made another stop at a rest stop at around the 160 mile mark. A few of us had to get gas in Baker. I might have been able to make it all the way to Vegas if I drove slowly and conserved gas, but who wants to do that. I'm glad I got gas, because I was able to drive the way I wanted to. I broke my personal best record again in the Z4, because it doesn't have a speed limiter/governor. That was a lot of fun! I saw a few cops waiting to catch someone at the side of the freeway, but I was able to spot them first and slow down before they saw me.

We got to Vegas but we didn't get to stay. We headed back on the big bus. It was really comfortable. We saw "The Wedding Singer", "A Cinderella Story", and "Titanic" along the way. I tried to get some sleep, but the caffeine from all the Mountain Dew prevented me from falling asleep. I finally got home around 8:30 p.m. I traveled nearly 800 miles just to end up back at home.

Andy's Best Man

I had lunch with Andy Nagai today. He says that he's getting married! He asked me to be his Best Man. I said that I would be honored. He's getting married to his girlfriend, Ayako. They're getting married in June, 2008. All my friends are getting married now. I have to start planning for his bachelor's party. I wonder where I should take him....

NightRiders

Last night I went on a night ride with a group of riders called "Friends and Family." We met at 8:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and took off at 9:00 p.m. We biked about 10 miles to Pasadena and then biked back. It was a fun ride and I want to do some more late night riding. Next time, I want to race with the Wolfpack gang that goes all out superfast for 60 miles or so at night. That will be fun but I'll be supertired at work the next day.

We came back to Disney Hall around 11:00 p.m. and then I biked another 10 miles back home. After taking care of a few things at home, I finally went to sleep around 1:00 a.m. I still managed to get to work by 6:00 a.m. I want to go on some more rides, but I've got to get ready for the BMW charity event. I'm transporting BMWs from Palm Springs to Vegas. That will be fun. Hopefully, I won't get any speeding tickets. Well, at the speeds we go, I hope I don't get thrown in jail. I have to get to Palm Springs which is over 100 miles away by 7:00 a.m.

Here's a shout out to my nightriding homies from the Friends and Family ride: That was an excellent ride, Ernie, Ben, Michael, Johnny, Mark, and Israel. Hope to ride with you guys again.

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 1

Korean Classical Music and Dance Ensemble. Watch this very short clip and learn some culture. I like the drums, but I'm not crazy about the twangy instrument sounds. This was one of the many performances at the Grand Ave. Festival of music and art. Run Time: 1:09 minutes.

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 2

Korean women on drums. Run Time: 1:24 minutes.

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 3

Korean Classical Performers. Run Time: 1:24 minutes.

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 4

A long time ago, Korean farmers held festivals to celebrate the new harvest. The gong sounds represent heaven and the drum sounds represent earth. Together they make harmony....or something like that. I don't know. I never really could pay attention to anything. I've got a really short attention span. Run Time: 1:02 minutes.

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 5

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 5. This guy must have a strong neck to keep spinning his head like that. I would get dizzy. I guess he would look silly if he twirled his head like that if he didn't have that long ribbon. Run Time: 1:35 minutes.

Korean Classical Music Performers Part 6

Korean Classical Music. Run Time: 26 seconds.

Korean Classical Music Performance Part 7

Korean Classical Music and Dance Ensemble. Run Time: 27 seconds

Grand Ave. Festival

I had sensory overload at the Grand Ave. Festival in L.A. There was a ton of stuff to see and listen to. There were a lot of different musical and artistic performances going on at once. I especially liked the Korean Classical Music performers. I wish I could have been in more than one place at the same time.