Mixed-Grip Pull Up

Been doing the mixed-grip pull up for the last couple of weeks now, and it's a great exercise not only for the back and biceps but also for the core as well. How do I know? Cause I'm sore as heck. From the June 2006 issue of Men's Health:

The mixed-grip pull up is the ultimate two-in-one muscle builder for beach-ready biceps and a V-shaped back. This variation also helps define the midsection. By using an overhand grip with one hand and an underhand grip with the other, you add a rotational component to the exercise. Your core musculature is forced to contract hard to stabilize your torso so your body stays straight throughout the move.

Grab a chinup bar with an alternating grip - one palm facing you (underhand grip), the other facing forward (overhand grip). Keeping your abs tight, pull yourself up until your chest is even with the bar. Pause, then lower yourself. Do 10 repetitions with your hands in this position, then, on your next set, do the reverse. Do up to four sets.

Personal Finance Blogs

I currently subscribe to three personal finance blogs that in my opinion give great advice and tips on saving, investing, and spending. The authors of these blogs track their net worth every month and it's interesting to see how their numbers move from month-to-month that depend largely on their investment and spending decisions.

Check them out:

• www.pfblog.com
• www.mymoneyblog.com
• savvysaver.blogspot.com

Memories of My Melancholy Whores

Now reading Gabriel García Márquez's latest literary masterpiece Memories of My Melancholy Whores. Nobel laureate Marquez writes about a nameless narrator, a newspaper columnist, that is about to hit his 90th birthday, and he knows exactly what he wants for it: "the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin." A constant customer all his life of various brothels around town, he has no trouble arranging for such a tryst. But it doesn't pan out as planned. He discovers love for the first time.

It's a short book (about 180 pages) and was translated from Spanish by acclaimed translator Edith Grossman. If this is García Márquez's last work of fiction (he's said to be working on the sequels to his memoir Living to Tell the Tale), it's a wonderful note to go out on.

New Weight Scale

We finally got a new weight scale, a Healthometer Body Fat and Hydration Monitoring Scale that we bought at Target for $60. The great thing about the scale is that it also calculates body fat percentage and hydration levels. Now, we have a way to track our weight and body fat percentage.
Weight-wise, I am OK. I currently weigh 153.5 lbs, well within my desired weight range of 150 to 155 lbs. My weight normally fluctuates between 152 and 157 pounds. The most I ever weighed was 164 lbs, at a time when I was lifting alot and taking protein and creatine supplements like crazy. As a reference, I weighed 150 lbs as a junior in high school.

It's my body fat that I want to work on. I'm currently at 18.5 percent, which, according to the chart, is only a "moderate." My goal is to get down to 13 percent, which falls in the "excellent" range. I hope to get to that number in six months through a combination of diet and exercise. I will periodically update my progress.

The Secret Supper

Because we've been keeping Lediya's mom company at the hospital for an extended amount of time the past couple of days (9 hours yesterday, 8 hours today), I was able to fly through Javier Sierra's international bestseller The Secret Supper. Yes, it's another historical-religious novel, but I just can't seem to get away from these types of books because I enjoy the hidden codes and messages the protagonists in these types of books always try to decipher.

Set in Milan in the late fifteenth century, Leonardo's masterpiece The Last Supper overflows with religious intrigue. Pope Alexander IV is intent on executing Da Vinci when he realizes that the painting of the last supper contains a blasphemous message in the form of clues. It is the job of a Dominican Monk, Father Agostino Leyre, to break the master's code.

And no, this book is not a clone of the Da Vinci Code. Fast read and worthwhile for fans of religion-themed thrillers.

Lediya's 30th Birthday

Today is Lediya's 30th birthday! Since we spent most of the day with her mom at the hospital, we weren't really able to celebrate it but that's ok. Her gift is that her mom received a new kidney!

For lunch we took a break from the hospital and walked the streets of Westwood, where we hung out as UCLA undergraduate students a decade ago (hard to believe it was that long ago already!) We had lunch at Noodle Planet and had chocolate chip vanilla ice cream sandwiches at Diddy Riese (only $1 - the price hasn't changed in 10 years!) It was delicious and it's got to be the best deal in Westwood.

We then hung out with her mom more in the afternoon. For dinner, we went along with Lediya's best friend Grace's recommendation and ate at Torafuku, a Japanese restaurant next to Westside Pavilion. We each ordered the Torafuku dinner set that comes with appetizers, an entree, and a dessert for one price. I had the black cod saikyo yaki (cod marinated in miso), Lediya had the omakase (chef's choice) sushi set, and Grace ordered the fire wood grilled chicken. For dessert, we all had vanilla ice cream with sweet soy powder and black caramel. Everything was delicious.

Happy birthday Lediya!

Kidney Transplant

My mother-in-law's kidney transplant that took place yesterday is a rousing success so far. Her new kidney, very generously donated by Lediya's cousin Soan, is functioning beautifully, with creatinine levels already at normal within 30 hours of transplantation (normally, it takes 3 - 4 days for creatinine levels to fall).

She is recovering nicely at UCLA Medical Center and should be discharged by Monday.

A heartfelt thank you to Soan and her family for their generous gift and support!

Palm Springs

Lediya and I spent this past weekend at Palm Springs. It was a combination get-away for Lediya's 30th birthday on the 18th and some rest and relaxation before the upcoming busy week with Lediya's mom's transplant surgery. The desert isn't too hot at this time of the year and plus, we wanted to get some shopping done at the Cabazon Outlets!

We left Lakewood late Friday night and didn't arrive at our hotel until 11 p.m. Our hotel was pretty nice and had lots of amenities for the price (third-largest pool in Palm Springs, newly remodeled rooms, free breakfast, and Wi-Fi). The Caliente Tropics was also centrally located to where we wanted to go in Palm Springs.

On Saturday, after a quick breakfast, we drove about three miles south to the Indian Canyons, a trio of desert canyons that the Agua Caliente Indians called home. The Indians and the vegetation fluorished here despite the extreme desert heat due mainly to the stream that comes from the mountains above. We hiked a mile or so and saw waterfalls and gushing streams. After the canyons, we went back to the hotel to nap and swim at the pool in the afternoon. Well worth the $8 admission fee.

For dinner, we drove 10 miles to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, where for $30 each, we received a lift from the famous tramway and dinner was also provided. The ride to the top, which is the gateway to Mount San Jacinto State Park, took about 10 minutes aboard the rotating tram. The views were spectacular, especially in the twilight hours. This is also a great place to escape the desert heat, because temperatures at the top are usually 30 degrees cooler. We also ate a hearty dinner up there while enjoying the views below.

Sunday morning, we woke up fairly early and swam a few laps. Went to a quick brunch after that and then drove over to Cabazon, where we shopped for a couple of hours. I also picked up a new Coach bag for Lediya at the outlet store. I also picked up a new pair of running shoes, saving myself $70 over retail. Great deal!

All in all, it was a fun weekend. We were able to balance some outdoor activity with some R&R, and also some shopping. Not a bad getaway, less than two hours from Lakewood.

Check out more pictures of our Palm Springs weekend here.

Google Tools

I've been playing around lately with a couple of cool Google tools, Google Earth and Google Analytics.

Google Earth is a geographic program that enables you to see your destination from a satellite's view. It's a cool program to use for traveling, because you can actually check out to see what your destination looks like before you even get there. It has tilt and "fly-by" features, making you feel like you're Superman!

Google Analytics is another free tool that enables you to track traffic to your website. I was interested to check out the statistics on our webpage. I found out that we get traffic from all over the world and that the most visited page on our site is the Amazing Race audition video site. Go figure. The reports dashboard shows where the hits are coming from and which countries visit the site. Great web management tool.

Other Google resources that I use: Gmail, Blogger, and Picasa. I also use Google Mobile for my wireless enabled PDA.

The Last Templar

I'm now engrossed in Raymond Khoury's debut novel, The Last Templar. It's a fast-paced, highly cinematic romp through several continents in search of the infamous Knights Templar secret treasure.

I recommend this book for Dan Brown fans who enjoy reading historical suspense-thrillers. Great read so far.

Halo 3

It's finally official: Bungie's Halo 3 is in the works! The third and concluding installment of the greatest first person shooter of all time will be released for the Xbox 360 sometime in 2007. What this means is that yes, I will need to bite the bullet and upgrade to the 360, but not anytime soon. Which is what I exactly did when Halo 2 came out in November 2004 - I bought my Xbox the same day the game was released.

I know that the graphics will be much better and I surely hope that Bungie cleans up the online cheating that plagues Halo 2 today. Looking forward to 2007!

Check out bungie.net for the trailer (rendered on the Xbox 360 real time).

Pam's Baby Shower

This past Saturday afternoon we held my sister's baby shower at the backyard of the house. We had some family over to celebrate Ben and Pam's upcoming baby girl (she is due next month). We also got to play around with my sister's puppy retriever, Abby.

We had a lot of food: lumpia, pork barbecue on a stick, seafood salad, salmon, grilled mussels, fried rice, and two types of quiche (made by Lediya). We had lots of dessert too: bibingka, jello cheesecake, tropical fruit salad, and strawberry muffins.
We also played a few games, the most memorable one being the baby food taste test that was really funny. You had to guess what flavor the baby food is. What I found out was that baby food can be disgusting - poor babies!
It was a good time. Next month, Lediya and I will be an uncle and an aunt!

The Matrix: Path of Neo

Now that I am finished with the Prince of Persia trilogy, I had to find another action/adventure game worthy of my time. I found that game in The Matrix: Path of Neo. You take on Neo's character from the moment he becomes aware of the existence of the Matrix, and to his "awakening" as The One. You get to fight a bunch of baddies such as SWAT teams, agents, and against the ultimate boss, Agent Smith.

It's very cool to play as the One and be able to kick butt using multiple martial arts combos, to be able to see your environs in pure Matrix code, and to slow down and stop bullets.

Right now I'm trying to defeat Seraph to prove to him that I am The One. I recommend this game to Matrix fans.

Little Chinese Seamstress

Just finished reading Dai Saijie's critically acclaimed novella Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. It's a very quick read (187 pages, completed it in three evenings). It's a story about two sons of doctors sent to a remote mountain village for "re-education" during the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. There, the two protagonists meet the granddaughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden suitcase filled with various Western novels in Chinese translation.

The escapades of the narrator and his friend Luo are simultaneously funny and bittersweet. They encounter the "most beautiful girl in all the nearby villages" (the Little Seamstress) and she becomes Luo's girlfriend. The boys then stumble upon books by French greats (Balzac, Dumas and Romain Rolland) in a time when all books are forbidden except propaganda materials and Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book."