If you go back to the beginning of this blog (even I’m afraid to do that), you’ll meet a very different person than the writer in front of you. Today, I’m a working for a great telecommunications company, married to a wonderful wife, and raising a cute little Yoda.

It’s been fun being a husband and father, but also exhausting. Waking up in the middle of the night to take care of him. Playing with him at 5:30 in the morning when he’s ready to go. Trying to convince him that going to bed isn’t a big deal and he shouldn’t cry himself to sleep. These are some of the challenges that you read and hear about, but don’t really feel the gravity for until you’re dealing with it, everyday, even weekends. On the flip side, having a boy that laughs at the silly things you do cannot be replaced by a video game, movie, or novel. It’s something, again, that you have to experience. The pure enjoyment of a baby is so innocent, unabashed, and heartwarming.

At work, I’m managing some products that I’m very excited to work on. It’s taken longer than I planned to get up to speed, but now I’m hitting my stride with my products and I’m excited for the second half of this year. On top of that my team has gotten stronger and we are pushing our capabilities to the limits. I really think we’ll pull of some groundbreaking work.

My wife has been enjoying her summer. Being a teacher has it’s benefits. Plenty of time off during summer, winter and spring. The rest of the year, she’s wrangling 30+ kids and trying to teach them test material and raising the to be good kids. When I compare her responsibilities of watching over so many kids, I wish we could do more about the class sizes that teachers deal with and the amount of help they get. They’re really in a tough situation and could use some help.

My goals for the second half of the year include (in no particular order).

1. Writing more on my blog

2. Spending more time on Syte Gear

3. Teaching my son and supporting my wife

4. Be a strong component of my team at work

If I can pull this off, I’ll be very proud of myself =)

The speed at which time passes you by is incredible. There’s so much to do, and time keeps running so fast. It may be a part of my procrastination, but as a whole, I’ve been getting a lot done. The problem, is that I’m overfilling my calendar with activities. There’s so much I want to get done in my short time here on Earth, and life keeps adding complexities to the story.

I don’t mind it though. I now have a partner in life to go through the adventures with. Someone to share the joys and challenges together. The past four months has seen 4 weddings, including my own. Great friends coming together to be joined in the eyes of God. I wish them all the best of luck. And try to take the advice I pass on to friends, “Communication and transparency with your partner.”

In addition to all the changes in my personal life, my career has been on a radical trajectory as well. My new role as product manager is very engaging. I often feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose, but the people I work with and the products I’m working on are all top notch. I hope I can measure up and deliver happiness to my team and our customers.

Ennekube and I had an agreement to draft blogs within 72 ours of each other. That’s fallen a bit to the wayside, but I do hope to continue writing regularly. It’s relaxing to write out all that’s swimming around in my head.

In my own little world, February has changed from an average month, to a very important one. Hyun’s birthday is on February 4th, so now, every February is going to be extra special. For her birthday, I took her kart racing at K1 speed, out for drinks at 1st Street Bar, and then dinner at El Q’ero restaurant in Encinitas. I don’t think that racing was a huge success. Hyun got more comfortable with the kart on each lap, but was quite timid to start. After driving down PCH and enjoying the sound and smell of the ocean, we ended up in Encinitas far earlier than our reservation. We decided to stop for a drink and happy hour was still going on. This meant a pitcher between the two of us for under $10. Many rounds of darts and erotic “find what’s different” later, we were happy and heading over to El Q’ero. This place is tiny. They have room for about 30 people inside, and another 8 outside. Because of this tight seating capacity, it’s understandable that reservations are necessary. We checked in right on time and was told that a specific table inside would be ours. After waiting for 5-10 minutes, I started to get impatient. Seeing that there was an open table outside, I went to see the waitress about sitting outside. Unfortunately, a couple walked in before me and asked the waitress if they could sit outside. Now this normally wouldn’t bother me, but I specifically remember the waitress asking, “do you have a reservation?” and the customer saying, “No. We called in and they said to come down.” The waitress then proceed to seat them outside. At the same time, the table that was supposed to be “ours” emptied and another couple that was waiting inside with us was directed to that table. So not only had one table of walk-in’s get seated without a reservation. A second table was seated in front of us at a table that was “marked” for us. After waiting another 10 minutes, we were seated at a nice table looking out on the street.

 

Dinner at El Q’ero was very good. I had a hard time enjoying it because of feeling mistreated before we were seated. Looking back now, it was probably the best meal I had in 2011. Our quinoa salad was delicious. My short ribs were cooked to perfection and had some delicious marrow in the bone. It was served with kale, which had a hearty taste that spinach or lettuce couldn’t pull off. Hyun had the flat iron steak with qinoa. Her steak was a little chewy, but the qinoa was spectacular.

 

Geoff’s birthday was 4 days later, so I don’t think I’ll miss his birthday for a long time. Ameesh’s birthday is coming up soon as is Cheryl’s. February is turning into a great month.

 

I don’t think I can do a complete post on everything I’ve done up until today. So instead, I’ll focus on the trip to Mexico, since it’s fresh in my head. Expect lots of pictures and not too much text.

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It’s been six months since January 1, 2010. Moving by fast or slow for you? I wanted to look back at how I’m doing in my goals, and try to make adjustments. As a reminder, my goals were:

 

1. Wake up earlier that 7 am for 100 days straight. I have not been able to do this yet. I had a good streak near a month, but I fell off the wagon and had trouble getting back on. The impetus for this goal was to get better sleeping habits. Even though I am having trouble with this goal, I am sleeping earlier. I will try this again soon.

2. Go to church once a month. Sometimes more than once. This has been an interesting goal for me. I was looking for another form of motivation in my life, and thought church would be interesting. It has been. I’m still forming my opinions, but I feel it is something that I want closer in my heart and mind moving forward.

3. Read a book a month. 1 book read. This has been frustrating. I’ve started strong on a couple of books, but couldn’t keep the steam to keep reading it. I get distracted reading tech news online. I got a new book that I think will do the trick. Updates to come. I can still read 6+ books this year!

4. Learn to surf. Looking for surfboards now. Then it’s off to the ocean to try not to drown. It should be great for my cross training with running. I look forward to the challenge. Going to start around the end of June, beginning of July.

5. Learn more Chinese. Been listening to Chinese podcasts and working on pronouncing words again. Really need to get on a program to improve it instead of trying to maintain it.

 

 

Six Flags for Arnaud’s (PixelActive co-worker in picture) birthday. We all took off from work on Thursday and had a blast. Rides: Goliath, Colossus (getting old), Scream, Tatsu, Terminator Salvation (fast!), Goldrusher, Batman, Flashback. X2 was closed (booooo!!!)

Got the Pasta maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. This is a homemade spinach pasta chow mein with seasoned ground turkey, red peppers, and green onions. It’s really good.

Kogi (LA korean taco truck) spicy pork and spare rib tacos. I liked the spicy pork more.

Homemade noodle soup with

Tabe bbq, a San Diego Korean taco truck. The taco toppings were not as good at those at Kogi. The fries are underpriced at $1, but good. Aioli tastes like mayo with rooster sauce.

Hyun runs her first 5k. She finished in under 30 minutes!

Taste of Hillcrest was gastronomically delightful but stretched our stomachs. Urban Mo’s pulled pork sandwich was one of my favorites.

Rose Boa in the Jacumba wilderness. Pretty close to a nude camp community. My Aunt, Hyun, and I had a great time going through Wilderness Basics Course. Looking forward to Fall when we plan to start going again.

Wildflowers in Anza Borrego. I can’t believe it took me 30 years to go there. What a great place.

Dan and Sarah Krans enjoy the first dance. What a great couple!

Coffee art by the barista at Farley’s East in Oakland, CA.

Steve Wiebe, Donkey Kong World Record Holder and Start of “King of King” (awesome soundtrack!)

Delicious Thai pork belly

Joey giving an excellent demo at the PixelActive booth during the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC)

Amazing snow crab boil at an incredible price. Too bad yelp doesn’t tell you will be going to a safe neighborood.

Rob and Evelyn on the morning of our race, Rock n’ Roll Mardi Gras.We all finished about as happy.

Some of the beautiful things you see when outside. That’s a double rainbow.

My dad enjoying the Pacific Beach view. Then he flew to Cincinnati.

The new young family. She was pregnant, but not really showing. Bryce Benjamin Young born May 4, 2010

Erin and Alex Kozlowski’s Pirate Bar hopping.

 

You would think that with Wilderness Basics ending, my schedule would be lightening up. I guess not. I must be in my genes to keep myself excessively busy. Since coming back from Rock n’ Roll Mardi Gras, I’ve signed up for Rock n’ Roll San Diego. We’ll see if San Diego kicks my butt again, as it did 4 years ago.

In trying to keep up with my previous resolution, I am writing in response to Em’s posting. OMG. Xanga’s interface sucks. I may have to switch over to my new domain and convert to wordpress. Egad!

Since I started my 5 goals for 2010, my campaign has been met with mixed results. The 100 days of waking up 7 am or earlier is quite challenging. I’m on day 3 right now. Reading has been going along well, and I look forward to continue this reading habit. Maybe I can even get to 2 books a month. Yay! Surfing has been put on hold until July when the water temperatures don’t require a wetsuit. The last two are going well.

And the title of this post? I’ll be in New Orleans running a marathon on February 28th. Given the parties that have been going on there, I’m pretty excited to be heading out. We’ll see if my no drinking for lent will be put to the test there. I suppose I can fill my stomach with gumbo instead.

What else have I been up to? Work at PixelActive has been busy. CityScape just release 1.8.3, which is nice and stable. We’re also busy planning for trade shows and other fun times through 2010. It’s going to be awesome. I also visited the Bay Area recently and was able to hang out with Jared, Victor, Joanne, Bobby, and my cousin Ming. Now that I think back at it. It was a great trip. Don’t forget lunch at Chez Panesse. See picture below.

Chinese new year was this past weekend. It’s the year of the Tiger, and my aunt is determined to make it phenomenal.  She dragged me into a Wilderness Basics Course, which I’m thoroughly enjoying. I just sent out our application for a Mt. Whitney lottery. Maybe I can bag the peak again and actually get to check out the view.


I’m sad to see that my friends Nick and Chris are now in Michigan instead of LA. But I’m happy that they’re following their dream and still have an opportunity to do what they want. I know they’ll succeed if they keep at it. I guess I’ll have to visit my brother’s birthplace in the next couple of years.

Every new year, I try to make goals for myself that I hope to accomplish throughout the year. Sometimes I make it. Other times I don’t. One success story was my goal to run for 100 days straight. I actually made it to the 130′s. One failure was to compete in a triathlon. That one has been put on hold while I work on my goals for 2010. They are (in no particular order):

1. Wake up earlier than 7:00 AM for 100 days straight
2. Learn to surf
3. Go through 2 programs of Rosetta Stone Chinese
4. Go to church once a month
5. Read a book a month

Here are some tips when creating your own goals.

Don’t make them impossible. It’s good to challenge yourself, but create goals that are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. I’ve seen an increase in the number of runners on the road since the new year. I know there are a plethora of people who are running now because it was their new year’s resolution. I have a friend who used to work at Road Runner Sports. January is their favorite month because of all the new runners that come and try to get in the habit of running. Running is a sport that is built up over time, not overnight. I relaxed on my running at the end of 2009, and now I’m suffering from a mild case of plantar fascia because I’m aggressively trying to tack on miles before the Mardi Gras Marathon at the end of February. Make sure you goals are something you can achieve with some effort, but not Herculean effort. For example, I would recommend a friend run once a week for 3 months. That has flexibility, achieveability, and still has a sense of accomplishment.

Make a goal measurable. A friend has a goal to be more devout this year. That’s a great goal. But how do you know if you achieved it by the end of the year? By setting your goal to metrics, you can know if you were successful or not. In my friend’s case, I would advise changing it to something like, “Attend bible study four times a month.”

The final thing is to choose goals that you want to achieve. Often, people choose goals that other people set out for them. These are hard to finish and lack motivation over time. Make sure it’s something you want to do, and you’ll enjoy it much more. I made sure that all these goals I set for myself are ones that I’d like to achieve regardless of who I know or associate myself with.

How am I doing on my goals? Waking up early had a rough start, but now I’m doing pretty well. It really forces me to manage my time better and plan when I go to sleep. I did sleep in until 7:20 on Sunday, but I won’t reset the counter unless I do it again. I guess I gave myself a mulligan. Surfing hasn’t started, and probably won’t start until summer or late winter. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and can’t wait to try it this year. Learning Chinese is going well. I listen to Chinese podcasts while I run, and have realized that my Chinese sucks. I’m going to have to work really hard to achieve that goal. Books are going alright, but they are getting pushed aside due to my bad time management. As I get my time management under control, I hope to be able to block out more time to read and start getting into a rhythm. I’ve already attended church this month, so I’m doing good on that. I’ll keep my blog up to date on the progress. Hopefully, I can check off the 100 day 7 AM start some time in April. If not, it could be a hard task to complete.

What are your goals for 2010?

Homemade hot wings with Cholula hot sauce. This was just some of the fun things I’ve been up to. I’ve also been to a Chargers game with good friends, and enjoying the great weather.

 

Works going good. The business team has gotten much stronger and I’m confident that great things are to come.

I’ve been spending a lot of time hanging out with friends and meeting new people. Here’s some of the places I went to.

Blue Fire Grille (La Costa Inn) during restaurant week.

Karaoke with the co-workers after a night at O’Brians.

Going to the Air Show and checking out the Reaper UAV’s.

Washing my Vibram FiveFingers. They’ve almost replaced my flip flops.

Thanks for tuning in.

Delicious looking rice noodle stir fry with carrots, shitake, pork, celery.

Why doesn’t Xanga have a save draft functionality? Why is it that when you “save” it posts it to the web? I’m seriously considering switching to WordPress in the near future if I keep blogging this much (which I plan to do).

This recap is more for my benefit than anyone else. I spent this weekend at so many different places, it’ll be hard to remember by next weekend. The funny part about this weekend was the lack of planning involved beforehand. It started when I told my co-worker Peter that I had nothing to do all weekend. He promptly reminded me that we were going to the Del Mar Races on Friday afternoon.

Peter managed to get a set of Turf Club tickets for us at the Del Mar Racetrack. Now I had just been to the racetrack a week earlier, but sitting in the Turf Club is a different experience. Usually, you’re at the 2nd or 3rd floor looking between pillars and fighting with people for a good view. The Turf Club on the 4th floor has a mezzanine view of the stretch with service to match. Of course, this means that the dress attire is pants, button up shirt, and a sports coat. On a hot Friday, it’s not the most comfortable outfit. After several rounds of gambling, I actually came out on top. I really started to happen when Julie, my friend from Qualcomm showed up. My picking strategy is as follows: Pick the horse with the name you like most. Usually a video game or food reference. Then bet on the horse without looking at the odds. And I picked a winner three races in a row. The combined winnings afforded us one round of drinks, that’s it.

After the races we went down for the Pete Yorn concert being held in the courtyard. I’m embarrassed to say that the happiest point in the concert was when I found the food stands in the corner. We didn’t have much to eat all day, so finding those food stands was a true blessing. The least enjoyable part of the concert was the Jack Daniels Hard Cola. I thought it would taste like a Jack & Coke. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Never again.

After the concert, I got in contact with Matt from the old Concrete Games days and maybe hangout. Waiting at the Del Mar beaches was relaxing and cooling after a hot day. Shortly afterward, I ended up at Matt’s place with some Hostess treats in tow. I will tell you now that your memory of Hostess snacks will always be better than the real deal. They are sugar laden and made from the lowest quality material.

Come round 8 am Saturday and I pushed reset button for another day. Made it out to Mission Gorge for a Trek Demo Day event. Don was super friendly put me on a high end road bike and mountain bike. Both were exhilerating in their different ways. The road bike felt like a Ferrari and the mountain bike felt like a Hummer. I have to figure out what I really want to do with the bikes and commit to it before making a purchase. These are not small investments.

I had my first BBQ of Labor Day at Ryan, Gillian, and Dunphy’s new place in Encinitas. It’s a beautiful 4 bedroom with tons of space and I’m glad they got it at a reasonable rate. It was fun to catch up with Rady alumni and see that they’re doing well. Most of them are employed now in one way or another and heading in the right direction.

After BBQ #1, I headed over to my cousin Dan’s for some street tacos and drinks. He had some amazing chicken cooked up and plenty of the right fixings. Fresh pico de gallo, crema, and spicy guacamole. I had seconds on more than one occasion. Afterwards, Dan took me to a bar he’s been frequenting, the Haunted Head Saloon. The variety of activities and people there make it great for people watching. Also, the owners are very skilled in foosball and tear it up. In speaking with the manager, he would like to continue teaching the regulars how to play better and make it a fun hangout. I ended the night with a Grand Slam at Denny’s. I don’t know how I had the room for it, but on the drive home, I suddenly got hungry for pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs. What else is open at 1 am on Labor Day Saturday.

More to write here, but I have to get back to work.

Sunday
Swimming
Homemade Dinner at a friend’s place.
Hustle & Flow

Monday
Inglorious Bastards
Gears 2
Claim Jumper
Ford Focus SVT hit 100k