Wisp 2008

No, not the shiny things from Warcraft. (Obscure reference?) Anyway, this weekend me and like 50 other people went to Wisp in northern Maryland for a weekend of snowboarding. The trip was a ton of fun, I met cool new people, got two days of good snowboarding in, and partied every night. To tie this thing back to my new years resolutions, all this uninhibited fun is can be defined in one picture:

That's a low calorie, low carb, low fat pizza. No, not really. I mean, I already assumed I was going to eat pretty bad this weekend, and there is mistake number one. Eating bad here and there isn't that big of a deal, but every time I have a "trip," I take it as an excuse to go nutritionally wild. First it was San Francisco where I gained 3 POUNDS IN 3 DAYS. That's pretty bad, and this weekend was similar to that. I wish I had a picture of the giant jar of cheeseballs that basically 4 guys managed to crush in two nights. A few cheeseballs here and there, alright; constantly eating them while playing beer pong? Disastrous! It's disappointing to work hard and eat well 4 or 5 days out of the week, and then totally negate all of it in two or three days of partying.

Beerpong, breakfast of champions.
May the spirit of college live on forever :]

I feel like the reason I eat so badly is because these trips are "vacations" to me and I should treat as such by fully relaxing. In afterthought, I'd be just as happy and have just as much fun without the random detrimental eating. I think I am turning these small weekend trips into excuses. Excuses won't get me to my 10% body fat goal, commitment will. So again, I face the same decision this weekend. I will be going to Charlottesville / UVA to visit some friends and possibly snowboard. Charlottesville has some of the BEST restaurants to eat at that I really miss. The plan this time around is to still go to all the restaurants. However, on this "vacation" I hope I can be smarter about the portions ... or just in general.

It may seem like I'm being too overly cautious or analytical about my health and nutrition, but really it's now or never. If I start slacking this early in the year, who knows what is to come later on? For once, I want to be proactive and really stick to it.

On a side note, here is a clip of some Rock Band action at my Wisp house. Man I love that game:

Edit: Since some people have asked: Miguel and
Terro are dancing, Chris Chen is singing, Victor is on
the drums, and I think thats Christine on the guitar.

Filomena

This week is Washington DC Restaurant Week. I've never been to a restaurant week; basically it's expensive DC restaurants at "normal" prices. For 30 to 35 dollars, you can choose an appetizer, a main meal, and a dessert from a limited menu. Tonight was really fun and my first restaurant week experience at Filomena was a good one. Filomena is an Italian restaurant in Georgetown. Their limited menu was still larger than most restaurant week menus. I went with three other friends from summer school: Matt, Kris, and Miguel. It's been a while since all four of us from our infamous Summer of Sausages '04 have gotten back together as a group. It was nice reminiscing over good eats. Talking about eats, here is a breakdown of what we ate and my review (keep in mind I am not a food connoisseur whatsoever): If you want to skip all this and read the overall review, goto the bottom.

Appetizers

Bruschetta Trio -- Of the appetizers, I think this one my favorite. The smoked salmon with Creme Fraiche was soooo good, a great way to start off the night. It had the flavor of a smoked meat with the sweetness of a cheese. As I write this, I realize I know nothing about technically analyzing food, to me things are either tasty, really awesome, or damn-that-was-good. Anyway, Bruchetta Trio, good job, you are damn-that-was-good. A+

Funghi Alla Fiorentina -- This was stuffed white mushroom caps in a spinach and Italian Cheese. There were comments on the table about the cheese being too sweet but I thought that the bitter taste of the mushroom mixed well with the sweet tasting sauce. B+ Funghi, B+.

Arancini -- This was rice balls with mozzarella, bolognese meat sauce, and Italian rice. If you cut it in half, the cheese and rice oozed out. It was like a heart attack in a ball, and really now, any heart attack in a ball is heart-teriffic. B+.

Calamari Fritters -- I try calamari where ever I go. I love squid and I think there are so many variations of it that it's worth it to find the places that make the best calamari. This place was not one. The calamari was standard at most, they only had the main portion/the body of the squid. The little crispy and squiggly calamari tentacles were non-existent, and that's my favorite part. Calamari's acronym is C. Just like it's grade!

Vongole Oregantana -- This was Jumbo sized clams with a bread stuffing, almost as if they were fried. The garlic and butter were also stuffed in (as opposed to a dip) making this a pre-made present to the tongue. Aside from the Bruschetta, this was probably my second favorate appetizer. With lemon squeezed on the clam, it was Clamtastic. A+!

Entrees

Lasagna Alla Bolgnese -- This was homemade pasta sheets on Ricotta & Mozzarella Cheese. Mixed in with the Bolognese Meat Sauce, this was a great reminder of homemade lasagna. Of the entrees I tried, this was my favorite. In the front of the restaurant was a window showing two ladies hand making all the pasta that (I assume) they are using to serve in the restaurant. Personally, I think that extra touch of homemade pasta makes and breaks a lot of Italian food. Congratulations window cooking mamas, A+.

Dessert

Strawberry Mousse Cake -- This was a very light cake. It makes sense because there was very little yellow cake, most of it was mousse. That in and of itself was a bit of a deterrent, but the strawberry glaze on top really boosted the flavor of this dessert up. Pretty good, not something I'd die for, but I'm not much of a sweets guy anyway. Outside of flavor which was alright, the presentation was really well done. So, Presentation A+, Flavor B-.

After Dinner Drinks

After dessert we were offered free Italian drinks. There were two liquors to choose from. One was called Sambooka, and the other I don't quite remember. The one I tried, not the Sambooka, tasted like a really strong amaretto sour. Each drink cup had three coffee beans in it. Individually, they represented health, wealth, and love. When put together in a cup, soaked in alcohol, toasted and drank... I dunno what they represent, take from it what you may.

Overall

Given the circumstances, its hard for me to judge if Filomena is worth the money. The average entree seems to run about 21 or so dollars, meaning that it isn't too pricey. At the front there is a coat check, and overall the place is pretty classy. One GREAT thing about Filomena is the portions, they are gigantic. I went home with half of my lasagna today, and it was the smallest of the entrees we got as a group. Taste wise, every dish was well thought out. The balances of flavors was really nice. Bottom line, if you are not on a diet, and want to eat like Super Mario, definitely give this place a try. Health, Wealth, and Love-

Some January Doodles

It's been about a year and a half since the last time I've taken the time to actually sit down and draw something. On one hand, it's a bit frustrating remembering the limitations of my knowledge and ability. On the other hand, it's really refreshing just to draw for fun without worrying about technicalities such as anatomy or style. So today, I just picked up a pencil and started doodling. After an hour or so, I managed to draw up some random faces, random hands, and this (you can also click the picture to see a bigger version):

That's a penguin her on head, and a weird... scarf thing. And then a jacket and some random gloves... and some type of loose pants with one cargo pocket. As you can see, not only should I be a fashion designer, I really thought this character out.

I was originally drawing tonight with the intention of creating a good outline to color in Photoshop and Corel Painter. I may still do this, but more likely that not I am going to continue sketching (doodling) in my free time to regain some hand control. When I feel like I have that back to an acceptable level, maybe then I'll color a picture. It would be nice to follow this resolution and see progress in my technique and ability as time goes on. Again, like most of my other resolutions thus far, it feels good to have even taken the initiative and put something on paper.

Capital Jiu Jitsu Free Trial

Capital Jiu Jitsu
My friend Jamil asked me to go try out a brand new gym opening up in Dulles, VA. Dulles's Capital Jiu Jitsu grand opening was today, it is an expansion of their already established Alexandria location. The facility was pretty barren, they haven't finished installing all the punching (body) bags, mirrors, and equipment yet. However, they did have all the floor padding and all their expert teachers present. After the brief tour of the facility, Jamil and I took the beginners Muy Thai class. There were only 4 of us total, so it was a really good individual experience to learn the basics of Muy Thai.

The Muy Thai Experience

The first thing we did was run for 10 minutes while using a jump rope as our "warm-up" (yea right) cardio. Then we went on to learn the basics of a Muy Thai stance and a basic jab. After that was "established," we combined the two techniques together by learning the one-two punch. This involved generating power from your legs, pivoting on the balls of your back stance foot, and rotating your hand as you shot forward. The teacher had to help me a lot here, it was pretty pathetisad. But anyway, afterwards was basic knee-raise defense and roundhouse kick combinations. These were a lot easier for me with my background in soccer. To finish off the workout, we ended with 10 minutes of calisthenics. It alternated between leg exercises and chest exercises and was really intense. An hour of instruction later, Jamil and I talked to our instructor a lot about general MMA fighting. He is a really nice and humble guy, yet I'd definitely not want to be in a fight with him at a bar. He was huge and you could see his technique and intensity when we were shadowing angling the one two punch with feet pivoting. Long story short, this was a really good experience but it's 120 a month for unlimited classes. With all these other resolutions, I'm not sure what kind of commitment I can make to the gym and how much it will really be worth it.

On another note, Capital Jiu Jitsu also offers lessons in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Go figure. Here is an excerpt from their handout I got today:

" Jiu-Jitsu classes cover the battle-tested techniques of the Gracie family. Developed to enable a smaller-weaker practioner to be effective against opponents of all shapes and sizes. Jiu-Jits's throws, reversals, joint locks, chokes, escapes and self-defense techniques rely on loverage, making it one of the most effective martial arts in the world. "

If you didn't read that excerpt, let me give you my summary of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. So basically, if me or any of my thug friends (thug lifeeee *gang symbols*):

Use Brazilian jiu jitsu against this guy:

Any of us would win the fight because we could leverage our body weight to toss him over our shoulders and knock him out with a headlock. Ha, sounds about right... All joking aside, I am really interested in signing up for and learning Jiu Jitsu. It's a tough decision. I'll sleep on it for now, hopefully I'll be able to walk tomorrow morning!

Put your money where your... MIND is

I'm pretty oblivious to how often I spend money. In the past, my money seems goes so many different places that it's impossible to stay on budget, or to have one at all. Of course, it is one of my resolutions to document all of my expenses and create a budget after a month of tracking. This article talks about some "Tips and Tricks to Ensure You Track Your Money." Here is a verbatim taken directly from the site, afterwards I will talk about how I've adapted these bullets into my own expense tracking system:

• Create a system. Make it painless. Come up with techniques that are easy and mindless, and then make them automatic. Develop a routine. Have a place for your receipts and your bills. Follow your system.
• Make the most of on-line banking. Check your account often, and set up as many automated transactions as possible.
• Do your finances regularly. The longer you wait, the more transactions there are to process. The more transactions there are to process, the more intimidating it all seems. Don’t procrastinate. Designate a time to do your finances and do them.
• Develop self-discipline. Ultimately, this is a problem that only you can solve. You must force yourself to track your spending if it’s something that’s important to you.
• Create custom categories. Don’t be hamstrung by the default categories in Microsoft Money. (Or Quicken.) Create categories that make sense for you and your situation.
• Work with a partner. If you’re in a relationship, ask your partner to help prompt you to track your spending.
• Post a visible reminder. Frykitty suggests putting up a graph of your progress. I think that any visual cue should help: a sign, a photo, etc.
  

Create A System: To keep track of my spending, every receipt goes into my wallet. From the gum I purchased at 7-11 to the HDTV I bought over Christmas, they all go in. Personally, coming up with a technique that is "mindless" isn't a good approach to creating a system. When it comes to my finances, it’s out-of-sight, out of mind. Instead, I get really annoyed when I have a lot of receipts in my wallet and want to throw them away. Instead, I created a system to record my receipts and get them out of my wallet. Here is a picture of my complex receipt system:

A cup full of receipts. Not just any cup of receipts, a margarita cup from Bubba Gump Shrimp in Cancun where a man in a gorilla suit with a banjo who was dancing and singing around our table wouldn’t stop staring at me… But anyway, this cup that sits right next to my monitors on my desk is the key to my system. Ideally, I would record my spending and receipts the moment I spent everything. However, for the sake of a realistic system, anytime the cup overflows with receipts, I have to update and record my spending.

Make the most of on-line banking: I already pay my bills and credit cards online. The more important extrapolation from this tip is that nowadays, practically everything can be done on-line. To avoid my out-of-sight out of mind mentality about finances, I’ve done everything I can to make sure I am constantly reminded of them. On my iGoogle page, I’ve installed a gadget from ExpenseView.com (below). This means that every time I open up my web browser, whether it is at home or at work, my expenses are one of the first things I see:

The iGoogle gadget is pretty simple, and I've created custom categories so that expense tracking isn't a hassle to me. Eating out, Bars/Clubs, Entertainment, Clothing, Savings, and Bills. I figure if I have simple broad categories, it will be simple to categorize my receipts. The last thing I want to do is make this too much of a hassle that I end up not doing it. The remaining tips and tricks are encompassed within these first two explanations. This gadget is a visible reminder to record my expenses and having a system helps me do my finances regularly.

I hope this system works. My resolution is to eventually have a budget setup in February after a month of tracking. I want to track my spending meticulously enough that the budget can be accurate and realistic. For now, I think this is a good start.

Type C

Type A personality types tend to be very methodical, schedule driven, organized people. Definitely not me.

Type B personality types tend to be easy going, less schedule driven people. Pretty much me.

However, for the sake of maintaining my 2008 goals, i am classifying myself into a brand spankin' new personality type, Type... *cue drum roll* C!

Type C personalities represent commitment, consistency, and ultimately, completion. For the first time in my life, I want to say I completed my new years resolutions, and actually believe myself. To do so, first I needed to make tangible new years goals. Documented in a simple Excel Sheet (there is also a link in the title,) I have categorized my 2008 new year's resolutions into 5 major aspects of my life that I would like to see positive change in: Health, Creativity and Intellect, Social, Financing and Business, and Career. Each category has its own tab in the Google document, with its own defined goals for the year. The first two columns are filled with gray because I completed making the list yesterday, January 11th. From here on out you can watch as I track resolution progress in the spreadsheet. Future posts will be updates that will detail my up-comings, shortcomings, and over-comings about completing my goals in all areas of my life.


So for today, Type C can also stand for Cheers. Cheers to a new year, and Cheers to my first of many posts!