Staying Active is IMPORTANT!

Over the weekend, I’ve witnessed some things that reminded me of how old I am. Honestly, my brain hasn’t grown much. My maturity level hasn’t reached a higher level. But my body definitely has aged, despite me not knowing the signs. Maybe I’m lucky because age has not caught up with me yet, but for some others it has. A friend of mine who will go unnamed for example. I haven’t seen the guy for a couple of years now but now he’s gained weight… in a bad way. He told me he works out almost every day and watching his diet. The way he does it makes me want to slap him. He monitors his diet like a hawk and exercises excessively trying to lose weight. Meanwhile, I’ve been stuffing myself and barely see any difference. I’m sitting in front of the computer all day and still burning calories. But looking at him and the way he eats, it’s pretty sad. I’ll eventually become like that—having to eat healthy all the time or risk gaining weight. 

Another example is David who always declined our invitations to volleyball. I never understood why he didn’t want to play with us. I always thought he didn’t because he thought we sucked. Even if that was the case, the main reason why he doesn’t play with us (or anyone) is because playing volleyball made his bones ache. It was not until yesterday that I had the same realization. After jumping around for several hours, my shin and knees started to hurt. I was surprised myself, for only being 24, my joints were already going soft. There were some high school kids there on the court playing against us. Those guys were us, back six years ago. SIX YEARS AGO. That was us. It’s scary how fast time passes and we are quickly going through our prime. Eddie was complaining about how our prime has already passed, but I refuse to believe it. It’s so important to get regular exercise these days because without it, our bodies age even faster. By staying active at least once per week at Krav Maga for the past four months, my body did not go through soreness the day after. Last year, every day after volleyball, my entire body would ache. But now, it’s much more tolerable and my stamina has gotten a lot better. I can jump higher, I can run after the ball without huffing and puffing, and most importantly--I did not get leg cramps. I intend to stay active for as long as possible so I do not regress. It's so important to stay active, especially now. 

I'm training for the 5K run in June. Hopefully I can finish with a respectable time (under 30 minutes). My cardio has always been horrible and this is taking a lot of effort to build up.

How I Met Your Mother - Series Finale

It truly is an end of an era. How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) has finally come to an end after nine long seasons. I wasn’t there when the journey began, I was late to join the bandwagon. I usually don’t watch sitcoms because they usually aren’t appealing. Since so many of my friends watched this series, I gave it a shot and it was one of those few shows that I stuck with through these years. The series was appealing in the sense it had a linear progression while seeding a lot of unanswered mysteries. However, the general consensus was the story was dragging out way too long and everyone wanted to see the ending. I felt there were way too many filler episodes that did not progress the plotline any further these last few seasons. I guess that’s part of what’s to be expected from a sitcom series. I didn’t see the ending the night it came out, unfortunately. By the time it was the next day, I had already been spoiled by the newsfeeds and news articles on the internet.

I watched the hour finale last night and it was bittersweet. It felt like the story fell short because they were setting up Barney and Robin’s webbing for an entire season, only for them to get divorced shortly afterward. The reason why they broke up wasn’t convincing to me. The whole thing about Barney never going to settle down because he’s just a player didn’t resonate too well with me. It was depressing to see him still chasing after twenty year olds in his forties. It was not until he became a father did he grow up. Again, I thought that transition did not go smoothly. I didn’t buy it.

I enjoyed Ted and the fated mother’s meeting. The entire scene was perfect. Only those who have seen the entire 9th season would know what they were talking about when the two of them met. It was such a perfect meeting between Ted and Tracy. However, the happy scenes did not last long enough for the audience to enjoy. As a viewer, the show built up a great deal of character development for the mother. It made us like her. We believed that she was perfect for Ted and that Robin was finally out of the picture. After they gone through the entire sequence of making a statement about how Ted wasn't right for Robin, we were certain that Robin will never be an afterthought. No good things last in life, and eventually the mother died. That was a gruesome blow to us all because we were all so emotionally invested in her and it was hard to see her cruel fate. But it wasn’t enough that she died, the writers decided to put Ted and Robin together at the end. I don’t know, it just felt like a slap in the face. Wasn’t the purpose of the show about the mother? Why did it end on such a low note? For what reason did they deny all of us of a happy ending? For what it’s worth, the show creators had already filmed the ending nine years ago when the show was first created. At least they had a plan going into the show, unlike some that just go on and on with no end. But like many others, I felt the show would've been perfect if it ended after they met. The extra with the passing of the mother and him going to find Robin was extra information nobody wanted to see.

To Japan and Back

It’s a very strange feeling. While I was in Japan for two weeks, I grew weary of the foreign land. How I longed to go back to the States, where I can communicate people who spoke English. After getting back, I grow restless and agitated by the slightest annoyance. The cultural exposure in Japan made me a lot more aware of the American way of thinking. There are pros and cons of both, but how great would it be if I can find somewhere in the world where a unique blend of both could co-exist?

Japan – Pros:

1.       Superior customer service – There is absolutely no contest when it comes to customer service between these two countries. Japanese service reps were always courteous, smiling, and always professional. Even McDonald’s employees were outstanding. Compare this with the awful attitude you face with waiters and baristas, it’s not even close. I went to many postal offices in Japan, and also in the States. The clerks behind the counter in the states have terrible attitude, they don’t greet you, they look like they hate their jobs, and they work like turtles. Is it too much to ask of you to smile? You’re being paid a salary are you not?

2.       No Tipping – Tipping is such a lame concept in the States. My concept of tipping is that, if customer service is satisfactory, then you give a bonus for the service, AKA a tip. However, in America, this concept has been twisted so far from this definition, it’s almost always added to the bill in restaurants. The rational for tipping in America is because service employees are underpaid with minimum wage and thus “require” additional income in the form of tips. In Japan, tips are never given out. Service employees are paid with respectable wages and thus the customer does not need to tip. In fact, if a tip is given, it is often considered an insult because it would mean their service wasn’t good enough. Compare this way of thinking to the American way, where terrible service is still rewarded with 15-20% on top of the bill. The benefit of society is often neglected for the sake of profit maximization. Restaurant owners are reaping the rewards while the customers have to bail out the minimum wage workers.

3.       Cleanliness – Japan is by far the cleanest place I’ve ever been to. China ranks behind the US in terms of cleanliness, but Japan makes the US look like a third world country. The benefit of society is a reoccurring theme in Japan.  There is respect for both public space and themselves that causes the Japanese to not litter. It amazes me how we walk for many blocks and never see a trashcan yet there is not a trace of a bottle or litter anywhere. Don’t you hate it when you are a victim of fresh gum on the floor? Do you see black patches on the concrete ground everywhere you go in NYC? You don’t see nor encounter the same thing in Japan. Their public space is clean, well kept, and makes you feel happy. Graffiti is a very rare phenomenon in Japan that you have to practically seek it out in order to find any. Whereas in New York, every train station, public wall, even cars are vandalized. Just compare a train station in NY to any station in Japan and there is no contest. Public restrooms are everywhere in Japan. The most amazing part? The toilets are crisp clean. You don’t have to look into fifty stalls before finding one that is clean because they’re clean. Their toilets not only have multipurpose buttons, but they are 99% automated. It makes the restrooms in the US look like a complete joke. Going to the restroom in public space in the US is a nightmare. In Japan, public toilets are as clean as your home toilet. You just can’t beat that.

4.       Safety – safety is the biggest concern for any potential traveler and I could not be happier with the smooth sailing of this trip. If you’re going to China, you have to be wary of con-artists, thieves, and robberies. In Japan, things like that rarely happen and safety was not at all a concern. In fact, while traveling outside during nighttime, I still felt safe and not as tense as I would be back in Brooklyn. Sure, there were the occasional fishy looking guy in the middle of the street in a suit, probably a Yakuza member, but they didn’t bother you and you just keep walking. What I felt was, if you didn’t go look for trouble, you wouldn’t be in any. Japan is such a great place in a sense of community, mutual respect, and that leads to safety. Heck, even the homeless people are well kept. In the US, you would probably be on your highest guard and never dare to walk the back allies. The biggest difference is the youth group. Teens in the US have a habit of causing civil unrest while Japanese teens are the tamest kids I’ve ever seen. It’s no wonder bikes are left on the streets everywhere unlocked while in the US your bike wheels would be removed even with a paddle lock on the frame. It is a complete joke here in NY.

5. Homogeneity – Before I start writing about why homogeneity is so great, I would like to say I’m all for diversity. In fact, I’m the biggest advocate of interracial couples. Being in Japan had a zen like effect on me. I was in a peaceful place. Not only was it peaceful, I blended in. I was not an Asian man, I was just a man. The very state of not being judged based on your skin color was a relief. I love other cultures and other races, but the feeling is definitely not mutual. In NY, the so called great melting pot of the world, is where racism is most apparent. Racial profiling, stereotyping, racial inequality, and racial hostility is a very common theme in NY. People are just so hostile and I think race has a lot to do with it. I wish one day we can all coexist without malice toward each other, but it won’t happen. Hopefully one day, my children can be judged by their strength of character, not by the color of their skin.

Hello 2014, I am reading again.

This is a long overdue post. Hopefully I can muster some willpower to write more than 4 posts (2013).

I think this sequence of events occurs for most people.

Elementary school: “I can’t wait to read all these books!”

Middle school: “Why do I have to read so much?”

High school: “Reading? Ha! Just use Cliff/Spark Notes.”

College: “Read chapters 1 and 2 for homework? Nice… no homework.”

While growing up, my relationship with reading was a downward slope. As a kid, I read a ton. Back when the computer did not occupy the vast majority of my time, reading was the go to source for entertainment. It was a way to stimulate the mind. As I grew older, technology and other instant gratifications came into my life and I didn’t pick up a book unless I had to. I still read all the books that were assigned to me, but they were not enjoyable because they were bothersome chores. Reading became uncool and I did not pick up any books for leisure until now. It’s fascinating how now I am beginning to read again for leisure. It amazes me how much I’ve missed in these ten years. So many great works of literature have sprung out over the years. Over the past month I’ve read the Hunger Games trilogy. The movies were so great they inspired me to pick up the books in order to find out what happens. There is a newfound appreciation for the power of literature, something I ignored for the past ten years. It is so much easier to decide to read when it isn’t a chore.