DanT1999

Friday, July 3

1) On the drive to San Diego this morning, Andrew and I encountered very little traffic. In fact, we made it from LA to SD in just over two hours when the trip ordinarily takes closer to three hours… When we checked in at the B&B we often stay at in Hillcrest, we were sad to learn the guy named Bob who owns the place is calling it quits at the end of August. It’s a shame to see businesses I like go under because of the recession… Anyway, I’m glad we decided to come to SD this weekend so that we could stay at this B&B and see Bob before he closed down…

2) We spent the afternoon at the beach, not doing a whole lot… It was kind of fun watching hang gliders fly from the cliffs toward the water (see the photo I took)...

3) We met up with Derek this evening, whom we hadn’t seen since Christmas. We were lucky enough to catch him in town again visiting his family while he was on break from finishing up his doctoral thesis in audiology at the University of Iowa. It was really fun talking to him again as he’s very down-to-earth. We had drinks at a happy hour where I got “plastered” after having two Cape Cods and an O’Doul’s (my alcohol tolerance is quite low). I was amazed Derek could drink the same plus a Miller Lite and still seem to be hardly buzzed at all. He said being in Iowa has increased his drinking tolerance (there’s not much else to do there)... We ate out at a “hole in the wall” Mexican restaurant and then checked out a few more night spots…

Thursday, July 2

1) I was really exhausted this morning, I think because of the increased amount of exercise I’d been doing the past few days. Anyway, I overslept and left for work twenty minutes later than usual but still ended up at work not much later than normal… I’m happy traffic was holiday light and also that today was a rather slow day at work…

2) I had lunch with Yuan at the Jeon Ju Restaurant in Koreatown. This place is next door to the restaurant we usually go to, the Sokongdong Soontofu Restaurant, and neither of us had been there before. Yuan suggested it might be interesting to try something a little different, and I agreed. The waitress spoke little English, but we were lucky to find that in addition to Korean she spoke Mandarin so Yuan was able to navigate the menu for us better… The food was decent (though I think the usual place is a bit better), and the lunch specials had large portions and were quite cheap. I’m sure we’ll be back… Today I had bibimbap (bowl of steamed rice topped with sauteed vegetables, egg, and chili pepper paste)...

3) After initially having no plans for the 4th of July weekend, I decided with Andrew to go to San Diego for the weekend. I think I would have been happy staying in town not spending much money, but I’m happier to be getting out of town. San Diego is my second favorite place to visit, and I hadn’t been there since Christmas, so I was looking forward to being there again…

Wednesday, July 1

1) While I was jogging this morning I saw a tiny little baby cottontail rabbit (aka coyote or hawk food) hopping into the bushes. Also, in addition to seeing more black phoebes, I came across another bird I hadn’t noticed before. This one was blue and had brownish wings and a thick beak. I discoverd it was a blue grosbeak...

2) Traffic was light this morning… I think a lot of people must already be on vacation… See the photo I took stopped at a stoplight at a famous intersection in Hollywood…

3) I checked my blood pressure again today, and it was 118/73, quite better than last week…

Happy July, by the way… and happy Canada Day if you’re in Canada… It’s already the first day of the second half of the year…

Tuesday, June 30

1) I went jogging this morning, and I saw a bird that was black with a white belly and a long tail. I did some research this evening, cross checking my description against an Audubon Society checklist of birds of the Sepulveda Dam basin and my Sibley field guide to birds of western North America and an internet photo… I discoverd it was a black phoebe...

2) I practiced swimming at the Korean gym I used to go to during my lunch break… I’m trying to refresh my swimming skills after not doing much of it the past few months… I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to do a lot of running and swimming on the same day… I think I’ll need to alternate days or run less on days I plan to swim…

3) I worked late today, and when I got home it was nice to sit around doing nothing while listening to the radio…

Monday, June 29

1) I was kind of sore from running and swimming more the past week, so I went to the Korean sauna and steam room during my lunch break which felt very nice…

2) I went swam in the pool at my apartment complex for an hour after work… This pool is kind of small for laps, but on the plus side I can make it across on just one or two breaths so my lack of breathing skills aren’t so much of an impediment…

3) I usually have a hard time falling asleep on Mondays, but that was not the case tonight… I think all the physical activity late in the day really helped…

Sunday, June 28

1) I woke up a little late, and it was already hot this morning… I drenched myself in sunscreen and went jogging anyway, albeit doing only about half my usual distance…

2) I swam a while in the pool, trying to build up my upper body strength again and trying to get better at the taking breaths thing… I need to go to a bigger pool, the one at my apartment is too small…

3) I took a long nap this afternoon inside with the air conditioner on…

Saturday, June 27

1) I spent a lot of time this morning researching about birds… The birds I’ve seen on my recent jogs have been lesser goldfinches and American robins...

2) I had pupusas for dinner at an El Salvadorean restaurant in Van Nuys. These are circular pieces of flat cornbread fried and stuffed with beans, cheese and loroco (a Central American flower) and served with marinated cabbage and hot sauce… I’ve been craving these a lot lately…

3) I hung out in Barnes and Noble (the bookstore) this evening, and it was poetry reading night. I listened to some people read their work, and some of it was very impressive. One college-aged girl wrote about having the hands of a mother though not being a mother because of having to be the one to take care of everyone and wondering what her hands would be like when she actually became a mother…

Friday, June 26

1) I had lunch with Yuan at the Sokongdong Soontofu Restaurant in Koreatown… On the drive back we had a fun conversation about the difference between a “prick”, a “jerk”, and an “asshole”... I think they’re all more or less the same thing…

2) I visited the memorial at Michael Jackson’s star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on my way home from work. I just wanted to see and be a part of all the craziness gathered around there…

3) I had dinner at a French crepe restaurant overlooking the touristy area at the Hollywood & Highland complex… I liked seeing the “inspiring” Pepsi ad (see the photo I took)...