Healthy In Pasadena

About a month ago, my wife and I started eating at Soup Plantation in Pasadena every Sunday. It's something we've decided to do as part of a healthy lifestyle. We both know that we can find cheaper foods elsewhere. We live in Alhambra where you can buy Asian dishes for two people for $4.00. That's like the price of one frappucino!! But we're adhering to Dean's advice: To paraphrase, "We're paying more now, but we're saving a lot more later." Dean Karnazes was refering to paying more for healthy foods now and then saving money later when you don't need to have a multiple bypass surgery. This is a pic of Dean, BTW.


I added Pasadena in the title because I just want to mention that I really like Pasadena. South of the 210 ^_^. The northern part is a bit scary at night... After eating at Soup Plantation, we walk to Grant Park where we sit on the grass, read devotions, and take naps. Imagine a warm lazy afternoon. Full stomach. Green grass. Blue skies. Soft breeze. My wife loves reading devotions. It helps us stay connected and focused.

Fat March

My wife and I have been watching Fat March, a show about a group of fat people walking from Boston to Washington DC. We like the show because it reminds us to work on our weight issues. My wife is certainly not fat, but like most women, she feels that she needs to look like the skinny models of the runway. In a way, this is good because I am reminded that I need to lose weight. I am definitely fat. I'm at least 30 lbs overweight. I think that qualifies as obese. Gone are the days when I can run marathons. That was before I got married. A marriage is a full-time commitment, and everything else must come second, including marathons.


She and I have started running around the track at CSULA. So far, we're running 3 miles for 2 or 3 (if we're lucky) times a week. The exercise is helping me a lot. I don't feel as tired, and I can walk up a long flight of stairs without losing my breath.

We've also been watching a show on Discovery Channel called The Truth About Foods. The show explains a lot of things about food and how they affect our physiology. Did you know that foods high in protein speed up the production of chemicals that signal to your brain that you're full. Did you know that aphrodisiacs don't really work. It's all in the mind (like a placebo effect). This is one of the most educational shows I've seen so far. The truth is that I don't watch a lot of TV. But when I do, it's mostly the The Military Channel or The Cartoon Network. Oh I wish Nick would already show the next chapter of Avatar.



While we're on the subject of cartoons, I just saw a trailer for the upcoming Ironman movie. Of all people, it's Robert Downey Jr. who landed the role of Tony Stark. From what I can tell, the movie will just go into the beginnings of Ironman - not the current Civil War storyline of the Marvel Universe. I can't wait to see it. I was never a big fan of Ironman until I saw him kick several heroes' butt in a baseball park. But he did cheat against Spiderman. I just love reading the new X-Men episodes and the artwork is sharp and crisp. Who'd ever thought Bobby Drake would become legendary. Why M-day? Illyana Rasputin? Damn, my thoughts are all jumbled... I'll have to devote a whole blog for comics. There's just too much to talk about...

Do It Yourself

I am a huge fan of the show Holmes on Homes. Mike Holmes is a bold and brash host, and he does not hesitate to point out the mistakes made by other contractors. The show is great, and I hope this will help get the word out. I like watching the show because I'm a Do-It-Yourself kinda guy. So far, I've done the bathroom, master bedroom, second bedroom, and laundry room in my condo. I've also replaced the water heater. Note to self: Post some diy pix.


At this moment, my new Kenmore HE5t washer is out of service. I've disconnected it because while in the process of moving it out of the laundry room, I broke the bottom plate. That was so stupid of me! It's taken me almost four months to start fixing it. But in all fairness, I'm very busy and I don't always have time to fix things...

While the washer was out of commission, my wife and I go to a laundromat to do laundry. She is so understanding. Note to self: Appreciate her even more. I figured it would be OK to keep going there until I have enough time and energy to start fixing the washer. Sadly, that didn't last. For some reason, the owner of the laundromat starts going psycho on me. He's telling me that I'm not following the directions, that I'm using too much paper towel, that it's costing him lots of money. And here I was thinking I was a pretty good customer. I don't break anything. I pay the overpriced cost of $1.25/wash. The wash lasts only like 15 minutes. How much actual washing/agitation can happen when you include the fill and drain time plus rinse! So now I'm a bit annoyed, and I've decided to fix my washer.

First, I needed all the documentation I could find. The condo is a mess and it's really difficult to find anything. I resorted to surfing the web for anything that might resemble a user's manual. I found one at sears.com. I should add that it's not straightforward. The manual was there, but no drawings were available. I found the drawings only in their Parts & Replacement section. In any case, that was enough to get started. Second, I wanted to know what kind of problems others have experienced with fixing a washer. Fortunately, there is a great website called fixitnow.com. The "Samurai" bit is funny. I like humor. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. So after spending a couple of days reading many, many posts, I kept on reading until I felt confident in tackling the washer.

So I removed screws, opened up panels, and proceeded to fix the damage. Fortunately, the damage was only superficial. The internal wiring was not disturbed, and the tub housing and motor were all spared. So there was nothing to really fix - only the bottom plate. After straightening the bent plate, I replaced both the plate and panel. Then I moved the washer and dryer (stacked configuration) back in the laundry room and reconnected all lines including hot and cold water supply, drain, exhaust, and gas supply. Don't forget to level the washer otherwise you'll see a washer running wild. The whole thing took me the entire day, and my muscles were sore from all the heavy lifting...Both washer and dryer are now operational, and my wife is happy :)

Rates

I just finished my application for extending the limit on my Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC). Since this concerns financial information, I will not mention specifics... It seems the higher your limit, the lower your rates will be. This is a much needed relief as the variable rate on my HELOC has climbed up as high as 8.8%. The process was simple - call the bank's 800 number and explain your needs. It helps to be prepared. I have called the same bank a few days prior, and it seemed they were less than helpful. It turned out that I was not asking the correct questions. Only after speaking to two other banks was I able to better understand the market rates and my available options. My new rate is now 7.49% with no fees or closing costs :)

Captain's Log

The date is Aug 10, 2007. My first blog. I've now joined the connected masses that somehow transformed the internet from a geek's domain to what it is today. Don't get me wrong. I make no claims that I helped create the internet. Only Al Gore can make that claim ^_^

The year was 1991. Sophomore year at UCI. I started to dislike math. I was a physics major, but I didn't realize the amount of math that was required. It was fun studying LaPlace, Green's, and residues, but when it was combined with Heisenberg, Hamiltonians, Schrodinger, potential wells... I gave up.



So I went to the computer lab to play video games. At the time, I bought a small game by SSI called Dungeon and Dragons: The Eye of The Beholder. I didn't have a computer in my dorm, so I decided to use the lab's. Little did I know, there were safeguards installed to prevent unacceptable uses. Back then, the lab was using Windows 3.1 + Banyan Vines, and the PC ran completely in memory (RAM disk). Needless to say, the game did not work.

I gave up trying to play video games on PC's, and I started using a WYSE terminal. I was amazed at how small the terminals were, yet many students were using it. These were the die-hard MUD users or CS majors. And for the first time, I saw someone programming in C. I've taken one class of Pascal before and did not find it interesting at all. Maybe because it was for a class and the assignments were just stupid exercises. In any case, I saw this guy typing away like crazy. I asked what he was doing, and he told me he was writing a MUD. That got me started on C. I wanted to be able to do stuff like he did. A few days later, I got a beginner's book on C. The rest is history.