The Mans Guide to Love

I came across this website from following Angry Asian Man Blog. The website has various interviews of men all over the United States answering the question of what is love? Some also have various tips on love and women.
It's and interesting find, and a nice way to waste some time. It's a unique way to look at the male perspective of loving the opposite sex. I don't have any strong opinions worth sharing at the moment, and it's pretty late. I just think it's interesting hearing what other men are saying.

The Mans Guide to Love

Fantasy Basketball

I don't know where or when my love for basketball started. Was it the pick-up games during recess, or the crazy horse games after school, or that silly game called knock-out. I was never particularly great at the game. I have some memories of me, the husky kid with glasses, running up and down the court not fully sure of what I was supposed to do except put the ball in the hoop.

I didn't grow up watching the game missing all the ESPN Classics that are now being replayed. I only started watching the NBA playoffs during high school. Then I went to my first Warriors game in 2004-2005, and for some reason I was hooked. I'm not sure if it was the Bay Area swagger of the fans in the nosebleeds, or just having an underdog to root for. Nevertheless, the ups and downs of the Warriors have been difficult to defend amidst the Laker fans I am currently surrounded by. I supposed I can always elaborate on basketball later.

I was first introduced into the world of Fantasy Basketball in college. I played for bragging rights, and I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun. Paying attention to the statistics of the players on your team, and learning about up and coming players that weren't as well known gave me a better understanding of the game, and an appreciation for other teams in the NBA. Since then, I've been in other leagues, where there are buy-ins. The reason I am posting this is just because I want to write about how time consuming this can all be especially when some money is on the line.

Following the playing time, injuries, tendencies, and knowing the strength and weaknesses of your team can be overly demanding. It does take away time from studying, and almost places all that information and the desire to create a competitive, winning team ahead of my desires and time for the Lord. My will to win, and fear of losing sometimes creeps ahead of my priority to just remembering the grace of God during my days, and relying on Him for the struggles in my life.

As much as I love all aspects of basketball, God is so much greater and He deserves more than I can ever amount to or give.

Thanks, Mom!

So I was meaning to make this post earlier, but with finals and constant studying, I really haven't set aside the time to type this out. But currently my clinic schedule is Monday 2-6, Wednesday 4-8, and Saturday 8-4. Wednesday was my long day with exams at 8 am. So I was almost at school for about 12 hours.
Knowing this I would prepare dinner for several days on Monday nights, so I wouldn't have to worry about thinking of what to eat on my long Wednesdays. That was always an ideal situation, but didn't always work out. So one week, I found myself exhausted after my long Wednesday and from staying up on Tuesday night studying. I was just debating if I wanted to cook, which I did have the groceries for, or if I wanted to take the easy way out and feed on some Mexican food or L&L.
I did decide to cook, since I'm trying to make sure I'm spending my money wisely. But during that food dilemma, I realized how much I haven't appreciated my mom in the past.
Call me spoiled if you want (I'm an only child), but after my rigorous schedule, I could relate to how exhausted my mom would be from work (every day!), but still manage the energy to put 2-3 entrees of food on the table. My mom doesn't have a knack or love for cooking as much as I do, but she still prepared meals from scratch almost every day. So I'm sure many of you may have realized this about your own lives already, but I am that much more thankful that my mom did this for me while I was home.
This is kind of like an early Mother's Day post, but I felt like I wanted to write this rather than just hang on to it.

Giant Coffee and KMK

This will be the new Treta from Starbucks. It is a 31 oz. plastic cup designed to hold iced coffee, iced tea, or iced tea lemonade. 31 oz. is ridiculous; I don't think anyone can finish that in one sitting without having to pee incessantly. I also recently read on a blog (OC Weekly) that Starbucks plans to alter their logo, and rebrand themselves without the coffee moniker. The article said that Starbucks is thinking of expanding their products to items other than coffee.

I could care less about Starbucks because I don't think their coffee is very good. They are just a HUGE chain, and unfortunately one of the few coffee options that are local to where I'm living right now. There are many more quality, and privately owned coffee shops in the Bay Area, which I am proud to be patrons of. When I order a coffee from Starbucks, I don't expect much, and it is often watered down. I often opt to brew my own coffee at home using grounds from Weaver's Coffee, Peet's, or Philz's Coffee. Starbucks is Starbucks, and as long as I have a gift card or for some reason I can't brew my own coffee, Starbucks will have to be my go to.

This past weekend, I participated in KMK, which is a private review group, which presents and summarizes the material test on the National Boards Exam for Optometry (NBEO). It was a grueling 4 days (Friday to Monday) averaging 8 hours each day. I'm glad I did it because it was definitely helpful, and it painted a good picture of what to expect. But I was definitely exhausted. My week isn't over yet, but yeah it's game time.

I'm realizing that I'm quickly approaching a time in my life where I need to make significant decisions in how I plan to live out my life. The key is "how I plan" and not how God has planned my life. I definitely need to rely on His sovereignty, and trust that He knows what's best. I still make decisions, but I need to make them based off the wisdom provided in the Bible. I want to have a successful and fulfilling life, but that isn't all about me. It's about a life that worships God as well, and I need to figure out what that is for me.

Church Membership

So this past weekend, I was introduced as a member of Evangel Bible Church of Orange County. This is the second time I've become a member of a church, and I guess you can say I took it more seriously and with my eyes and mind open. Prior to my time in Southern California, I haven't been a member of a church, and didn't really know what the expectations and in what light to view a commitment and relationship to a congregation.

At Evangel, the pastor recommended Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye. The book spoke about how Christ loves the church like His bride, and the passion He has for the church. Harris' emphasizes on points of being a part of a local body. Before reading, I knew that church was important, and participating in fellowship with the body is also important. However, I didn't hold it as in high as regard as Christ does. So going through the membership process, I went with new knowledge and eagerness to be a part of a local body, specifically EBCOC.

Since going to EBCOC in Feb 2010, I've met some of the members there, and I've learned a lot, and really was preached to about the Gospel, as they go through the book of Matthew. As a committed member, I hope I can continue to learn in my faith, learn to be a good member, and serve the church in whatever way I can, while I'm still in Southern California.

can't sleep...

182.2 lb @ 9:30
Goal: 165 lb.

I was going to write up this post later, but I can't sleep. I fell asleep around 11:30 and woke up at 4. I washed up and surfed the net a bit looking at recipes and catching up on my Google Reader feeds. Afterwards, I have been attempting to sleep with no success. I guess I'm lucky I only have 2 hours of class tomorrow with no clinic assignment, but I do have an exam Wednesday morning at 8.

I'll finish this post later...here's to hoping I fall asleep. :(

Fullerton

Weight today 183 @ 9:02 AM

Since returning to Fullerton after the holiday break, it's been rough emotionally adjusting to the setting. The drive back to Fullerton took 12.5 hours this past Sunday. Not only was it the traffic, but the weather was especially horrible, with snow and icy roads. I was at my wits throughout the trip, but I was lucky that a classmate was riding with me. In a way it was an experience, but definitely something I do not look forward to ever again. But's it's nice to know that I can endure such a long time behind the wheel.

I've since adopted a "job" mentality about being here in Fullerton. I have good friends, and admire many of the staff doctors at school, but I don't see myself enjoying Fullerton, as much as I used to. I like the freedom and independence that I have and that is needed to get by and get around while I'm living here. However, I can't say I don't feel a certain emptiness just sitting in class and going through the motions while I'm in Fullerton, and in the optometry program. I don't want to say I've lost interest in optometry. I enjoy it, and the process. I'm leaning towards the fact that I'm doing all this away from home.

Seeing my friends and my family always make it hard knowing that I'm not close enough to be involved in their lives, and for them to be as involved as mine. I know I have a similar post lamenting my situation at the same time last year, but I guess it's just a reoccurring thought. I'm blessed to have the opportunity that I have, but I'm always wanting to know why God sent me to Fullerton.

All the small things

So I was thinking in order to help me keep the posts going, I'm just going to post even all the small things going on in life. I used to just want to post big-picture things and thoughts, but that will just stop me from posting. So here we go...

So when I drove back to Fullerton, after the Christmas break, I went to stock up on groceries. I like to cook as much as I can to kind of control what food I'm putting in my body, and just to minimize the amount of money I spend eating out. Over the break, I had some lentil soup at Outlanders in SF (44th and Judah). My friend was saying that lentils are super cheap and a good grad student food. All I knew about lentils were that they are good for you and you often find them in curries in Indian and African (Ethiopian food). Turns out lentils are legumes (beans) and are high in protein.

Following my friend's advice, I looked up recipes on lentil stew. I adapted the recipe from all recipes ) Lentil Stew).



Lentil Stew
3 medium potatoes, cubed
1 (14 oz) can, diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon, minced garlic
~1 lb of pork sausage
1 small can of tomato paste
~1/2 cup of frozen veggies (corn, carrots, peas)
8 oz. of lentils
salt, pepper, basil to taste
several slices of jalapenos (with seeds) to spice it up

Directions
1. Place the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, jalapenos, frozen veggies in a large pot and add enough water to cover the top, and heat until boiling. Let the water boil for about 20 min.
2. Cook the sausage in a separate pan, when meat is almost all well done add meat to pot that is set to boil.
3. Stir lentils into the pot, add more water if necessary. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium, and let boil for another 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Notes
- I cooked the sausage separately to minimize additional oil added to stew
- Skim the foam from the stew during boiling period
- Other cooks noted that the stew tasted better the next day or if there was more simmering time. I let the stew sit in a hot pot for about 4-5 hours.
- Serving size depends on the amount of water you use. I tried to cut the recipe in half and it was still a lot of stew.

This is something I would make again, and possibly try to perfect just because it's nice to have a hearty stew during the winter months. I'll try to post a picture when I can take a nice one.

Changes for 2011

So as is the trend every year, I try to re-inject some life into this blog. At least, I didn't delete it. So one way to help me keep up with this thing is update my progress in terms of losing weight in general and for my friend's wedding.

184.9 lbs @ 9:30 AM.

In addition to monitoring my weight, I'll post what recipes I've been trying out since I cook and bake when I'm not studying. I hope posting the recipes will help me get through them and encourage me to just keep trying new recipes.

It's a start. no promises.