A One Year Old is Always King

I salute to all the mommies and daddies who have thrown a birthday party for a one year old. I just watched, and even I was exhausted. A bunch of other infant and toddlers running around, chewing at everything they see, throwing any toy they can get their hands on around. Adults stay busy eating and then cleaning up after the kids and feeding them whatever might be edible to them. The one year old may never be aware that his/her birthday is being celebrated, but of course receives more toys than a day care center could hold.

1st Lesson learned: A one year old is always king
2nd Lesson learned: Be quick in stealing the cake before the kids get all of it
3rd Lesson learned: It's always worth it in the end

** Photo 1: Cake custom made by Tracy L - friend and pastry chef
** Photo 2: Tino excited about his new bike

Void of Emotion

I didn't realize this is until after I spoke about it, but tandem skydiving is more of a physical experience than an emotional one. Prior to getting on that plane and jumping 10,000 ft from the sky, I never gave the idea much thought. I had no strong feeling about it either way: no fear, no excitement, no happiness.....nada. It simply didn't seem like a big deal, and there was no anxiety attached to it. I don't know what it was that voided me of all emotion but in the end it probably took away from the experience than anything. When I was in the air, I felt the physical sensation more than anything. I always though that maybe I'd do a lot thinking in that big sky, but that didn't happen either.

Strange thing is, everything has been that way for me lately. I'm at ease with everything, it's been an emotionless journey for some time now. Perhaps I should be thankful. Or perhaps I'm missing out big time in life.

** Photo is of me Skydiving in Casa Grande, AZ.

Life Colors

I took this Life Colors survey online and this is what it came up with. I resent that last line "However, be careful that you don't live too much in the future. There are the realities of day-to-day living to think about." If I could help it, I truly would run away from the realities of every day. But what does that make me? The most pathetic coward I know.

Your Life Colors

You scored mainly in the Water-Sky quadrant. This 'Blue' quadrant highlights the water sign of your personality and your tendency to be cool and free-flowing in most circumstances. Water from the sky provides the necessary resources for growth and this is a feature of your approach to life. You will enjoy the freshness of new ideas and actively seek these out, either by talking to others or by reading.

People who map into this quadrant will enjoy examining problems or making discoveries. Consequently, you may sometimes tend to take your time in coming to decisions which affect your day-to-day life. If there are any uncertainties, your natural reaction will be to postpone things until you are sure.

You are unlikely to enjoy conflict situations which, more than likely, will create stress for you. In these circumstances you may well be a 'worrier' and this could affect your health. As a result you will usually move to defuse any potential conflicts well before they occur.

You will be a considerate person and choose your words carefully so that you don't upset others. Sometimes however, you may be so subtle that people don't realize what you are feeling about a particular issue. You may need to check that people fully understand your views and incorporate these into their decision making.

Being a sky person, you may well have a strong imagination which causes you to fantasize about the future. Future possibilities interest you greatly whereas the past is something you can readily put behind you. However, be careful that you don't live too much in the future. There are the realities of day-to-day living to think about.

** The photo is of me dressed up as a revolutionary girl in the Autumn shoot.

Soooo L.A.

Hiking is one of those great things anyone can do on an early morning of your day off. No matter what level you are at, you can get yourself to a destination at your own pace. After trying out Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles for the first time, I discovered that this hike is just "soooo L.A." Everyone is dressed up in their cute work out outfit, walking their adorable dogs. It is apparently a very popular park where you can take free yoga classes or just take a stroll to catch up with friends while trying to get some exercise in you busy schedule. My favorite part is the non-stop inclining steps, where you end up with a beautiful view of the smoggy city of Los Angeles and Hollywood sign. There's just no place like home.

Photos of this first time hike click here.

100% Pure Chocolate Passion

Chocolate is one of those things we take for granted as we all have easy access to good chocolate. I've always liked chocolate, but never put too much though into it. If it's in my visual proximity, I will naturally eat it. It wasn't until I received a box of Leonidas chocolates one day, in which I did not share even a piece to anyone else, and took my time to indulge a piece a day. So one day, at the Southwest terminal of the Las Vegas airport, I felt so bored I decided to shop inside this cute store called "Ethel's Chocolate." The lady working was nice enough to give me the details of each type of chocolate they made that I ended up hand picking 12 pieces of chocolate to put in box all for myself. After putting down most of the box on my own by having a piece a day, I now finally understand the love for chocolate. It's truly a sinful indulgence. I formally welcome chocolate as an addition to the joys of my life.

Sailing Takes Me Away

Sailing takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free
(lyrics from Christopher Cross' "Sailing")

I wish I could relate to this but with 3 hours of sleep and a bunch of junk food in my stomach, I think the lyrics should go something like this:

Sailing takes me to pain
To where my nauseousness takes over me
Just a wave and a wind to sicken me
Soon I will feel green
Soon I will be free

Don't get me wrong, I still love sailing. Next time I just have to be prepared and using some recommended Scopolamine.

* Photo from Marina Sailing off Long Beach. View more photos here, here, and here.

Hit and Run

I hope nobody who drives a white '05 or '06 Honda Civic reads this blog because I hit one today by accident. It was parked crooked in the shopping mall parking lot and as I was backing up, I dented the rear, tearing a lot of the paint off. The car had dents all over to begin with so I figured another won't hurt, right? I'm sick of having car troubles, so I looked around to see if anybody witnessed. Not one person around, so I jetted away. Sorry Civic, but it's your unlucky day. Happy April Fools Day :) This is a totally made up retarded story.