Its been an experience of a lifetime

In the last month, I have move my horizons to a new level. I surfed, kayaked, wind surfed, hiked, ran, jumped, swung, dived, danced, sailed, and was simply blown away. I met so many great people with totally different view points of life. I learnt whats it like to live in paradise. For the first time in my life, I was able to write down my thoughts and be organized. I realized that in life, its about moving forward. Its about breaking barriers. Its also about knowing who you are. That is what gives you the satifaction day after day so you can be content. I learnt that life is a roller coaster and I should get used to it and expect things to be good and then bad. But I should wholly believe that things are going to get better.

I believe that the most important thing in life is time. If I can get time advantage by spending money, I'll do it. Cause I can get the money back, but I can never get the time back.


So what is it that I want now?

I want to finish my physical fitness mania by losing the remaining few pounds.
I want to get the girl of my dreams in my arms.
I want to change things up in my career and go for it all!

Remember, these are goals from my perspective. Every second I lived and gathered experience has made me form these goals. Yours could be totally different or you could not even have any goals. Thats the beauty of each indivdual. This is what I want and as time passes, I'll feel satified as I make progress in each one. A year from now, it could all change. You never know :-).

Hawaii didn't want me to leave

So on the way to the airport, I realized that I might be late. Well, if I realize I am late, then its WAY late by a normal person's standards. But after a huge amount of hustle, I am in the terminal about 15 minutes before departure. Then by some glorius mistake, I went to the wrong terminal on the other side of the airport. After I realized my mistake, I RAN to the correct terminal only to see the plane taxing off!! Maybe I wanted to make that mistake on purpose. Luckly, the hawaiian airline dudes had another flight to SFO (instead of SJC) leaving in 10 minutes so I had to run AGAIN across the terminal back to the other side. I made the second flight and now I am sitting on cal train going back to san jose. But not before I froze my ass of in 51 degree weather waiting outside for the train for 20 minutes!! Cheez, I forgot "how cold" cold is!! I feel like I have frost bite.

How do you live your day?

I feel privleged to have this month in Hawaii. I was able to do everything I wanted cause I have the resources.

Here's an old quote that everyone has heard - "I am my own worst enemy"

As someone goes through a day, they feel many ups and downs. It leaves people in a mixed state day after day and life doesn't feel as great as it should. We all know that most of us have very "easy" lives. By easy I mean that we aren't fighting for our lives, but instead other factors are out there that affect us with just as much stress as if we were fighting for our lives. The best part is that we are in a situation that we can do something about it. We are in a situation that we can help ourselves. I'll say it again, we have full power over how we feel everyday.

Here's a few things we can do everyday to make our lives better -

Break your negative patterns - patterns are behaviours and emotions that happen over and over cause of a stimulus. Like binge eating due to stress, depression due to lost loves, etc. Patterns are addictive, but breaking them is possible. If you can recognize the pattern, break it. Here's how you do it. As you see the pattern happening, radically change your mental and physical state. Simple. I mean, jump around and yell like a wolf. Just something stupid and funny. Keep doing it. Do it in public also. You'll give others a chuckle.

Keep an ocean away from negative "stuff" - just stay away from people or things that make you feel worse than you already feel. Like a song that brings back bad memories or someone who only critizes you. This is really important.

Eat a whole food diet - Food is a HUGE factor in how you feel everyday. Eating sugary and salty stuff will give you pleasure immediately, but will ultimately make you feel like the dumps. Break the eating pattern and eat whole foods. Whole foods are foods which don't come with nutrition labels. There's lots of text on this, but the general rule is lots of veges, fruits and nuts. Some amount of meat.


If you do these three things daily. You'll see how your life moves a level up.

I have to add one more thing to this post -

How do you motivate yourself to do any of this?

Setup a few goals and write down all the reasons why you want those goals. A list. Think about all the reason why you must achieve the goals and how it'll make your life better. Realize how much you WANT it. Keep the goals in a spot where you can see it everyday. It'll keep you going like the energizer bunny.

what has happened and what the future holds

Honestly, terrible things have happened in my life in these months passed.


My girlfriend and I of many years broke up. I really felt as if someone had died and, honestly, I was in mourning for many months. Kept having these images, dreams and flashbacks. Almost drove myself insane. After a while, I realized that she is alive and well and even went on a new year's vacation with some other guy. Helped me to start moving at snail pace.

My job went south cause of politics and random old men who are too old to understand when things change. Last year, I had spent all my heart and soul trying to make things work for my team. Just gave it all I had and my ignorant boss thought we all faltered. Idiot.

My knee was busted in a half marathon in Feb and I was not able to workout for 2 months. This is after I spent January running 7 miles a day. I was hanging onto the only thing I had at that time. My health.

Thats the three things a man has in his life. Love, Career, and Health. All were gone.

Then came Hawaii...

For the first time, I felt like I found someone I could fall in love with again. It was all based on friendship. I didn't even touch her, but my heart was beating again!! First time in a LONG time. Its pretty confusing that I am leaving so I decide not to mess with her life. I am totally alone and totally unattached. Yes, I am a wanderer.

For the first time, I saw the bigger picture in my career. I used to take on my goals like my destiny, but they aren't. They are just numbers. I have a HUGE heart and I can take a fall. My ability is way beyond where I am working now. I need to put myself in a spot where I want to be. Thats my goal when I get back.

For the first time in 2 months. I went all out 30 days of excercise. The trend is on my side now. I am going to go on a super healthy diet to get myself back to the old me.

I have more to write tomorrow. Good night.

Trip is over

I have no words

Starbucks Iced Green Tea - Sweetened

My people (that means you), you all have to go to starbucks and try the Iced Green Tea. Tell them sweetened, not stirred. It is the most refreshing drink I have had in a long time. Its is so good and so sweet and so EXCELLENT! I am sipping on it right now. One sec... AHHHHHH, so good.

Eyes Wide Shut

Look at this! I am person number nine. Whats up with people? Why do they need to be with someone? Well, its the meaning of life. Finding someone we love and leaving our children to carry on our genes is what nature intended for us. Our society makes that fundamental truth seem like a path that is boring and something "everyone does anyway." Although, if you ask anyone who has had kids and is in a good marraige, they are the HAPPIEST people you'll meet. As mundane as that sounds, its what we are here for. Now, with that said, I am not ready for marraige (I can't even spell it) and kids. My logic is that you have to go step by step. First I gotta find someone I can LOVE and TRUST and someone who'll do the SAME for me. Only then I can move forward to the next steps. So after more than 6 months after my last relationship, I sincerely want to be with someone. I want to be with a girl who'll bring me a piece of mind. I want to be with a girl who'll let me live and I'll let her live. A girl who's honest and compassionate. A girl who's absolutely beautiful ... to me, inside and out.

There was only one girl who had a chance at my heart even when it was CLOSED! I can't figure out why that was the case. If you are reading this, I hope it puts a smile on your face. I'll see you soon.

I can't believe I have to leave Oahu soon!

My days have been so packed, I can't believe I have spent 22 days here already!! Yesterday, I made a new friend at dinner and he HOOKED ME UP with three big things. I am about to leave in a few minutes to get scuba diving certified! Diving is such a thrill and its also like meditation. You get to see a different world. This world is not only beautiful, but its based on just instincts. That means I have to also work on instincts. There's no emotions there! This is good for me cause I don't follow my instincts all the time and let things go by. I have one big mistake I made just the night before I went on sabbatical where I didn't follow my instincts. Its not looking good for me. She's off somewhere else and seems to have forgotten about me already :-).

Tomorrow, I am going to go surfing (duh), but I am also going to go to Parkour class. They are going to teach about doing stunts. http://youtube.com/watch?v=jquXcwooV6A

On Saturday, I am going to try out crossfit. Its a gym that focuses on pure power building. Thats what I want!! Soon (than later) I am going to be JACKED!

Lets go of your limits

Yesterday, I jumped off a 25 feet high cliff. Few years ago, I would have never jumped, but within a few minutes of standing next to the edge and admiring the view, I was airborne.

Breaking limits that you have set for yourself is one of the toughest parts of life. Even little ones. I believe that personal satisfaction in life is directly related to your self worth. Your self worth keeps growing as you keep moving your limits. You keep reaching new levels. And the great part is that the more you break your limits, the EASIER is becomes.

Isn't this interesting?

Check out this picture I took while leaving Kauai. There's a car in the way and you can see the streaking headlights. BUT the license plate shows up like it didn't move!!!

Wow, the magic of Kauai.

Going to North Shore of the island tomorrow. Going to check out all the sights and go on a 4 hr kayaking trip on Kahana bay!! I love kayaking!

Monestaries are slow to reply!

I have two weeks left and I can't find monestaries who move fast enough to let me come right away! Does anyone know of a place I can go? I need a place to go!

Here's some news, my right knee is feeling much better cause I only ran twice in the last 3 weeks!! I am going to go on a long run today! About 10 miles around waikiki. I know exactly where to go!



BTW, I definitely plan to continue windsurfing with my roomie once I return to the bay. I also want a boat! A starter boat kinda like this one - http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/boa/639378765.html. After I learn, then it'll be time to trade up!

The path to my goals of extreme fitness which'll blow away any competition is not clear

I have now spent 16 days straight of working out hard in the ocean everyday for multiple hours. Its taking its toll... I have a deep cut in my right shin which is still bleeding after one week. My left arms hurts when I lift it up. It wakes me up at night cause of pain when I move around. I hit my head on the windsurfing board and I am having headaches today. I have countless bruises, cuts and scrapes on my arms and legs. I hurt my back on the rafting trip to Napali coast cause the swell was so big that day. It was tossing me around like a twig. I have a slight left ankle sprain. To sum it up, my body is totally beat up.

I am still going surfing today at diamond head :-). Its supposed to be the biggest waves today!!!


I'll tell everyone what I really want and need and desire. What I really need is to lean out!! I need to go on a supremely awesome, healthy diet to help me get super skinny so my six pack has a chance to show! I need to live like a buddist monk with no earthly pleasure to distract me from my goals. Hawaii has a abundance of two things that distract me. Food and Girls! The food is awesome and the girls are awesome... rrr! In San Jose, if a girl is cute, she acts like a goddess. Here a cute girl can be replaced at will. Its like going shopping with so many choices at the dollar store! Its a huge distraction. The food is amazing and I get HUNGRY after getting beat up while working out.

I think I am going to be a buddist monk soon and will have to cut my hawaii trip short but couple of weeks. I am thinking of going to a buddist temple in the middle of nowhere and live the holy life. They eat vegetarian once a day and work and pray all day. There's no ben and jerrys within a 100 mile radius.

I hate to leave hawaii. I'll make a decision by tomorrow morning.

windsurfing is ON

After getting cancelled twice, I finally get to go out to windsurf in Kailua today!!

I went to lanikai beach yesterday near Kailua. There's these two small islands off the beach which look stunningly beautiful. I want to be able to swim there about half a mile out. If not, then I'll rent a kayak and paddle over there!

Behold the beauty of the world II

Behold the beauty of the world

Finding someone right for you

Guys -

How do you know when you have found someone right for you? (Please comment if you care to share)

I used to be idealistic, until one woman was able to utterly crush my innocent little thoughts in a systematic massacre like the holocaust. Now in the aftermath of the utopia that I thought as reality, I turned into a lot more patient and understanding person. With that come these thoughts...

Someone right for you is the person who matches you in as many ways as possible. Physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. Someone who shows you mercy when there's no reason to. Gives to you when she has nothing to gain from it. When you can't shock and awe her with glit and glammer. This is still pretty idealistic...

On the flip side, you have to be a person who's able to find someone right for you. You gotta believe and be optimistic (not jaded). Here a quote that sums it up, "The secret to success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes." Basically, to have someone be right for you, you have to be right for her. Otherwise, it was wrong. Just swallow it and move on.

Girls -

I would like to know from as many girls as possible what they feel makes the right man for them. Remember to differentiate between what you FEEL you want versus what you really want when you see it. Please email me your thoughts and in return, as an incentive, I'll randomly pick one of you to recieve a $100 Banana Republic gift certificate that I have sitting at my house. I also have a flurry of other gifts that I bought for certain people and never got to them, if you'd like those instead. Please send email to ksaftermath@yahoo.com.

Arrogance

Have you ever been modest and then suddenly found that people around you think that they are better than you? That they can look at you and be like, "yeah, I am better than that?"

Maybe its just a trait in certain people. I think I had it before and I absolutely disklike that trait. For me, it stemmed from the fact that I didn't think I was good enough and my ego couldn't bear that thought. Not until I realized that legends are created from break through moments when you are able to conquer your fears and not from being the absolute best at every moment. Everyone takes many falls, but if you have those special amazing moments, thats all you remember. Thats all everyone remembers. Nonetheless, if you are around people who can make you feel small without ever giving you any props, but a LARGE distance between you and them. Most of the time, its unnecessary.

Sing it

Go speed racer
Go speed racer
Goooooooooooooo!!


Who wants to see this movie with me in May?? Email me.

I was born to be a speed racer and a thrill seeker in general.

Kauai is ultra kewl

So I landed in Kauai to find a costco! And even a Walmart! I am really surprised, but looking at everything else, the island put me in a state of bliss. A state where I really would do what I desire and leave earthly pressures behind. I take this trip as a vacation from a vacation!! Can you believe that? I need a vacation from my vacation. My body was so beat up with scratches and bruises that I was just starting to sit around. Now in this second level vacation, I feel a relaxation from my first vacation. So from now on I'll make it a point to always have 2nd level vacations and maybe will even go to the 3rd level, if needed. Well, in this mini-vacation, I am having a ball!!!

I met with a med student who's out in Oahu for a month for a job and we went to Kauai. His name is Andy and he's a cool kat. We get along really well. Reminds me of a highschool kinda friendship. Its been a while since I had a new friend like that. Well... since high school. So this morning we headed out to a waterfall where they have a rope swing. 20 feet high above the lagoon this swing seemed kinda dangerous, but wow, once I got on, I didn't look back. It was a BLAST!! The lagoon had warm fresh water that felt really good to swim in.

Then after we finished there we headed out to shipwreck beach. We were going to to jump a 50 feet cliff, but when we got to the top and looked down into the blue. We were like, oh SHIT! Our excuse was that there was no local person there jumping and we didn't want to jump at the wrong spot and into the rocks! That would certainly hurt.

And THEN, we went over to some other beach where we went to a spot where the lava had formed into a huge jaccuzi. It was a great spot to relax until massive waves started to beat down on us.

Then we went to a fresh water cave where that was getting real dark. It was like the earth's mouth about to swallow us and honestly it scared the big jesus out of us. But we ended up swimming a little bit in the cold, cold water but didn't have the guts to go into the depths where it was dark as hell and bats could have housed us.

oh, and I had some shaved ice today! Yummy

DiamondK injured last two days

Since Wednesday, my right shin is totally bruised and unusable after I fell off the ledge. My windsurfing was cancelled yesterday cause there was no wind and I didn't want to get into the water cause that little wound hasn't clotted yet. Sharks would be like "Yummyyy!" Its still bleeding 2 days later!! I just sat with a fan on my leg for one hour hoping it will start to dry up and its finally starting to look it its going to clot. YES!!! Clot dammit so I can get back into the water.

On another note, I am going to Kauai today!!! YEEEEEEHAW! Going to jump on a flight soon and I'll be posting my first pictures of Kauai tomorrow. This island is known as the garden of Hawaii.

Argh, I just looked again and its again wet and gooey :-O. These pictures really don't show the damage, but local people have said comments like, "Dude, you just lot a chunk of your meat."

DiamondK has other talents besides physical activities - Macrobiotic Cooking

Macrobiotic Cooking is a religion of cooking of which I learnt a little yesterday. It pays really close attention to how food affects your body and your mind. For every season and every day, you can eat a certain way to make yourself feel great! Its also a way to eating low glycemic index WHOLE foods to support a better health and longer life. On a macrobiotic diet, a guy ran 100 miles a day EVERY day until he ran straight across the continental USA. Amazing huh? I real life Forrest Gump. His energy levels were insane, his recovery time was insane, and he was also insane. Thats makes for one potent combination of insanity. I been working on my diet to get me to the point where I wanna be, which is insane. I ran a half marathon in Feb on just my own energy (meaning without any supplements during the race like gatorade or GU, just water). I messed up my knee, so it didn't work as well as I wanted.

After and hour of learning how to cook macrobiotically, we finally were able to enjoy the goodies.

Soup

Salad

Fried Rice

Blueberry Swirl (yummy)

DiamondK going DEEP

I had a great time yesterday scuba diving. There's definitely something cool about being 40 feet under the ocean. I couldn't believe how easy it was. After a 30 minute class on all things diving, we did a few underwater tests and we were off into the blue. We saw sharks, turtles, eels, crabs and tons of fish. I also learnt that turtles are really curteous. One of them was swimming towards a fellow diver who was in the turtle's path. When the turtle reached the diver, he waited until the diver got out of his way and then proceeded onward.

I am late for a windsurfing lesson today already, but I also did some running yesterday! 4.4 miles in 39 minutes. Pretty leisurely, but fun nonetheless. I also managed to fall off a ledge during the run while jumping between two ledges. It didn't stop bleeding all night. Its a deep one. Chunk of my skin is missing. This one hurt!
All Patched up!
You know, I am putting lots of thoughts down everyday about people and life, but now I am really looking for the big thing. The meaning of this trip. There's gotta be some big lesson that I can take back from this trip and keep it close to heart forever. We'll see. I am searching.

Getting Schooled!

Yesterday was the first day in my WHOLE life when I went forward with my kicks. I had an excellent coach. John swims channels whenever he feels like it. He's an olympic level long distance swimmer and he was helping me improve my freestyle stroke. At the start, I was abysmal. He was chuckling :-). But with a few minor corrections in my form, I was doing awesome! When I put the fins on, I was like a motor boat, just flying across the water. People used to make fun of me cause I'd go backwards with my kicks :-D.

Funny, but it took a little guts to admit I suck in front of everyone, but with the right attitude to try to learn something, someone was able to help me get to the next level. AND I am not stopping now. Off to the beach to do some more swimming!

Downtime Day was Yesterday

Wow, wow, what a day yesterday was! Since I woke up more sore than usual cause of the 5 hr hike, I decided to call it a rest day today in terms of excercise. Instead, I decided to work on my ultra brilliant super duper unbelievable incredible idea. I ended up at starbucks in Ala Moana mall and started reading the book on UML (Unified Modeling Language). That book will be my guide to designing my idea into something tactile. Incredible book.

Well, surely enough, while I was at a cafe, I started talking to a couple of strangers. Obviously, they aren't strangers anymore. Ray is the striking gentleman in the picture. He is a true free spirit in the midst of self discovery. After working so many years under the "head" (which I am doing also), he decided to leave it all to pursue peace of mind. Now, he's been living in Hawaii for three years and he's never been happier! Currently, he's a freelancer and he's focusing on writing his own novels. Talking to him open doors to new ideas for me. Folks, this is rare that someone gives me something new to think about. He talked about how there's a link between the human collective and each individual and how that link affects us daily. Some aspects are positive and some things aren't, but they shape our lives and guide us to our destiny! I had never thought about this concept before in detail so now I have some more thinking to do. Claudia is the beautiful lady in the picture. She is a marine biologist who left the blase life of materialistic pursuits in long island to do what she loves the most. That move takes a lifetime of courage since everyone else is doing the path that was obviously paved for them! She's very young, but has the intellect of someone far more experienced. From our conversation, I noticed that the best part about her is that she's ready to learn new things and keep an open mind to whats out there. Thats remarkably different that most people who have their opinions and will not budge. This point touches back to my blog about variable change and how someone who can deal with it is most likely to achieve what he/she desire. The most succesful people (with regard to any goal) are the ones with open minds. And by success, I don't mean wealth. To each person, success is different. It could be to discover a new species. It could be to help the poor. It could be to raise your kids such that they have a better life.

Speaking of success, my goal in my twenties is financial freedom. My ultra brilliant super duper unbelievable incredible idea is how I am going to get there. As I read the UML book, I started to see how I could put this thing together. I have this dream and using this book, I am seeing the steps I need to take to get to where I am going!! Its SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL! I took my first steps yesterday on how to get my idea off the ground. Here's another beautiful part. Actually its very beautiful. Its the most beautiful thing. All the resources I need to achieve my goal are all within my means. I want everyone who read this sentence to realize how incredibly lucky I am. There's a lot of people out there who have passion, who have ambition, who have drive, but they just don't have the resources. They can't get the resources. Thats a sad situation to be in and majority of the world faces this problem. Lucky, I am (Yoda style).

Ok, I am off to swim today and maybe I can find a swimming lesson to help me out with my kicking.

Sunday's a great day for some INTENSE hiking on Wiliwilinui

Just look at me. Thats a happy face.

THATS WHAT I LIKE TO SEE!!! See the bright light of truth right behind me. Its Luminous.

This hike lead to top of a mountain high as the himalayas. It was so rainy and foggy and windy that we all thought we were f****** at times. Nonetheless, we forged on to the summit. The ridges were we walking on were only a few feet wide at times and we were in slippery mud. Deceptively, the white out fog made us totally oblivious to the bone crunching fall we could have taken. GOOD, otherwise we probably wouldn't have gone. I was trying to take a picture of a huge valley with my digi cam, but I was just getting white out

Now think about it, you are on a mountain looking over a ledge onto a huge valley, supposedly. BUT there's no direct proof. Its blocked!!! There's supposed to be this grand view. What view? I don't see it. Is it really grand? Is it all what people said? Can I trust them? I was asking myself these questions. I was definitely not getting the feeling of inspiration that I wanted. I was doubtful of the whole thing. We could have been just a few feet off the ground for all I knew. Well, now I have something to say about my bad attitude :-).


Sometimes I HAVE TO JUST BELIEVE. Give trust when its just so hard. I am so afraid to put ourselves on the line. I have been duped so many times; I am jaded. Now, I say PISH-POSH! I'll use my gut. I'll not let slight setbacks ruin my times. I'll look at the big picture.


There is a view! It is inspiring! I'll go back to see it before I leave hawaii. I'll touch more on this subject at other times as I learn more about it. I didn't get a chance to think during the hike cause I had so many people with me to talk to.

Everyone in the group just had something very cool about them. They were all so open and so relaxed. They are all going to live long and happy lives. I feel privileged to have met them. And so we finished the trail with great passion and drive and lived to tell the story to our grandchildren, but we got really muddy.

Ok, I am going to go watch Serendipity.

Saturday Night FUN FUN FUN

Yes, Yes, once in a while diamondK gets a chance to go out also. This time it was through the Oahu new residents yahoo group. The organizer, Shilpa, is the most wonderful and amazing person I have EVER met. We met at Mike's Garage (an art gallery with some nice paintings) for an improv show at their theatre where they probably auction nice paintings at other times. This show was the most hilarious piece of comedy I have been to in years!! Laughter is the best cure for anything. Anything. Having the ability to make someone laugh, its is equivalent of being a saint. That 90 minutes of laughing made so much of my lingering stress melt away just like butter. Every moment I spent blinding the people on the stage with my pearly whites, was a moment when the world didn't exist anymore. There was no tax deadline on the 15th, there was no terrorist marathon bomber who blew up the Sri Lankan dude (why make marathoners look so bad dammit, we are peaceful people, we get excited by running for goodness sake), there was no spoon. I'll like to take all of my friends to a comedy show when I return.

Well, Shilpa, at first sight was a very beautiful woman. Wearing red dress, kinda like those romance novels which we all have read secretly. "Lady in red, blah blah blah .... dancing blah blah." I don't remember the song. But anyway, beauty doesn't do it for me anymore. I have talked (etc etc) to SO many beautiful girls who think they are SO amazing, its just not my thing anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'll still look and talk anyway, but with no heart. If they are gone, I'll forget before the next time I blink. What I look for is way deeper. I look at their soul and and I look into the depths of their character. Things they probably don't even know about themselves. But I have been kicked around by some smart girls, too smart ain't good, hehe. This girl has one great thing about her (probably among many things). She has sensitivity to her surroundings. She'll is one of those good people who'll help a stranger when someone needs help just to do good and expect nothing in return. She can understand where others are coming from. All that good stuff. Funny part is people like her are often misunderstood. And usually, people like her live stressful lives because majority of the people (who aren't like that) and who are close to her, don't understand why (oh why) she's the way she is. Well, for her (or you) its key to be with a person who's similar to her (or you) in that one regard. It'll make for a grand life. One that'll live on forever in the hearts of the people who lived it.

We thought about calling it a night, but we ended up taking the tour of downtown honolulu nightlife. I loved it. Threw down a couple of goose martinis, shaken not stirred. Saw so many places to hang out. Shilpa knew exactly who has happy hours and at what times. She's good with numbers. Afterwards, we went to her favorite joint in waikiki and listened to live music and had very deep conversation. I almost cried a few times!! Sissy. We had to top off the night with a walk on the waikiki beach. It was tremendous at night. Just the sound of the surf and the dark ocean till the horizon.

My best night in Hawaii.

Saturday Morning Surfing

So I got up this Saturday morning and decided to (duh) surf again. Hauled my board down to Waikiki beach and it was an AMAZING day. I saw the bright sun gently touching the soft sand and bunches of sun bathers were hogging the sun by casting their shadows. The water was a sparkling blue with a touch of green. Just beautiful. I took another look at the beach bums. I was like, lazy buggers! Then I jumped in and paddled out to the horizon where I saw a couple of waves, but by the time I got there the waves were gone and were crashing much more inland. Fiddlesticks. The tourists on a massive catamaran were staring at me and taking pictures. I gave them a wave (I was the one who needed a wave), but I could imagine the news, "Newbie surfer gets run over by catamaran." I furiously paddled out of the way till I was pooped. After chilling for a bit, I realized I probably should paddle back since I'd take me a while to get back against the current. While leasurely paddling back, I thought what is it that guarantees the success at anything, whether it be career, sports, getting laid, or even making a difference. The answer is simple. Its just pure ATTEMPTS! "Just keep at it," we have all heard that, but its actually not that simple. While doing multiple attempts, there one thing you, as a master of his/her life, have to deal with.

Variable Change

Simply saying, things change and you gotta adapt and you gotta adapt fast! I struggle at this cause I am a person who's works through his heart. If I believe in what I am doing, I will keep going against the odds. As oppose to a person who works with his/her mind, who'll know when to give up and choose his/her battles wisely. Lets me give you an example, I hurt my right knee really badly running a half-marathon in beginning of Feb in Maui Run for the whales marathon. Before the injury, I was going at a break neck pace into getting into peak shape. I had lost 20 lbs in about 5 months and gain a tremdous amount of fitness (I ran a marathon in Dec 07). I was running 7 miles a day and I was tireless. I had to contain myself, hold myself back, otherwise, I'd keep running till I touched the horizon. Well, until my knee broke. Since then I been in a spiral till now. And the old me would still be in a spiral until my knee totally healed. Behold, I am different now, I can deal with variable change which in this case is my bad knee. After waiting for a month to the knee to improve, in March I started swimming at the campbell community center. If my legs don't work, I'll use my arms! It didn't come naturally. I still spent time running on a bad knee, thereby delaying its recovery. Now I am surfing almost everyday and paddling MILES and MILES! It was slow though cause I was depressed from my injury and started to lose the drive. Those pesky emotions! This whole change was slow, cause I was so dedicated to running and running FAST that I just didn't want to give up that goal. Well, a person thinking with his/her mind will find this change obvious and that person (maybe YOU) are better adapted to live life and what it throws at you.

Just then I hit a reef! Can you believe like hundred yards out there was a reef about 1 foot deep? I was stuck!! Also, my arms were running out of juice paddling for so long. I look at the guys in kayaks with a sneer, (variable change) got off my board, lifted it up and threw it over the reef and was off in 30 seconds. Cha-Ching!

Birthday Surfing

Thank you to everyone who wished me happy bday yesterday. I really felt that I have so many great friends! Its amazing!

Guess what I rented my surfboard! Its a 9 footer tanker, yeehaw! Check out the white beauty with mini red stripes.

Then I went surfing again yesterday. Thats twice in 3 days. Was out there for over 2 hours and caught 1 wave... 1 wave!! There were no waves in Waikiki. I probably paddled for miles, I was more than a few football fields out. There were sailboats passing around me. I realized one thing out there. Life is about compromise for most people. My surf instructor from the day before was buffed. Kinda like what I wanna be, but he was asking me for a tip cause he makes only $8.50 an hour (I gave him 20 bucks later and doubled his salary). He said he's been in Oahu for 10 years and thought he'd be earning more by now. On the other hand, he said he has a beautiful finance and loves living with her. So he has two out of three things that a man needs. Love and Body, but no Money. I was thinking all I have is career. Even that is in shambles right now cause I dunno what to do next and cause of polictics. My girlfriend and I broke up last year and I got out of shape over last two and half years. So all is going south... BUT the funny part is that I am better than ever before at all things. There's few people you can find who know how to what I do better. I can run 15 miles in any given day. I was playing around with 4-5 girls at a time, until recently when I decided to just go for one special lady (You know who you are =]). There you go, Money, Body and Love. Maybe, I AM JUST BEING AN ASSHOLE TO MYSELF!!! I need to make friends with my inner voice.

Hi Maunawili Waterfall

I woke up sore from yesterday's surfing fun and it was a rainy day with cold wind so I decided to go hiking today. Using my trusty guide, "Oahu Revealed," I found out that the Maunawili is a great place to hike and at the end I'll be rewarded by a nice waterfall. So off I go!

The first trail I took, it just looked like a forest. Where's the trail?

Look left

Look right

"Duh George, which way do I go? Which way do I go?" After I spent a bunch of time, about 30 minutes, trying to figure out where I was in the foilage, which was beautiful by the way, I decided to track back to the car. It was a great and also unnerving feeling to be lost all alone in the forest. I really starting thinking a lot about my life. One thing I thought, among other things, was that in San Jose I am so busy with work and work related issues, I never get a chance to concentrate on my things. Literally, I don't get downtime to concentrate on my own life. I wonder if people think something's wrong with me cause I am never close to them. Either way, this trip should help make that better.

So, I went to another trail head and found my way in. Crossed a few streams and got my sock wet and muddy!!

AND here you go, the waterfall. eehhhh, its aight :-. If I was more daring, I would have jumped off the cliffs into the water. Atleast I got some excercise...

Ok, Now I am off to starbucks to plan the rest of the trip!

Made Friends from Japan!

After the surfing school, I went to lunch with a couple of new friends I made! They were two really cool sisters from Japan who were in Hawaii to celebrate the graduation of the girl in the green cap, Ikuko. I like japanese names, they have a very hip tone to them. We had some bi bim bap for lunch and talked about Japan, US, Hawaii, and super monkeys :-). It was great! Later that evening, we all went on a tour of honolulu. Saw some really nice sights at night. One was a breathtaking view of Honolulu from high on a mountain. Its amazing how many people this island can fit and how all they can be all laid back at the same time. I saw a traffic light where the crosswalk light counted down from 30!!! In the bay its like 5 seconds or you get run over.

Surf School, its like 1 2 3 and ... 4 :-O

On my first morning in waikiki, what else could I do? I took a surf lesson! The weather was perfect and the water was warm. Wow, it feels good. After spending half hour listening on how to surf, we hit the water. And wow again. I was paddling out into the ocean with my fellow classmates and instructors. I wasn't nervous at all, actually, very calm and composed and there BOOM!! I took my first wave and surfed it down. HECK YES! F**** YES! Dude, I need bigger waves...

Spent the next 2 hrs surfing and paddling. It was exhilerating. Here a shot of me riding dirty -















It was all fun and games. Heres one of me getting smoked!

Then ofcourse of the diamondK in me, I had to race against a bigger engine...

Guess what happens when you are outmatched. Aiyoooooo!