Hi friends.

So, some of you readers know that I will be running the Los Angeles Marathon this Sunday. I've been asked several questions, so I might as well answer them here in a FAQ area. Feel free to ask more if you wish.

1. Why are you running the marathon (for the 2nd time)?
1st reason is the new course and the 25th anniversary. I love the idea of starting at Dodger Stadium (aka my "happiest place on earth") and finishing nearby my home in Santa Monica! It's net downhill too! 2nd reason is for redemption. Last time I ran in 2006, I hit the wall around mile 18, and had to walk/jog the rest of the way. This time around, I'm hoping to own that wall!

2. Do you have a time goal?
Yes and no. I will be running with the 10 minute mile pace group from LA Roadrunners, so if everything goes according to plan, I should arrive at Ocean/Santa Monica Blvd. in 4:22 (11:42 am). Problem is, there are too many variables (weather, hills, hydration...) to consider in running 26.2 miles, that I would not like to be pressed into a specific finishing time. We will see how it goes!

3. Hey, can we catch you somewhere on the course?
Yes, that would be so encouraging to me, especially in the last ten miles! My Mom and sister will be at the Beverly Hills Niketown (9560 Wilshire Blvd) around 10am to see me pass through. That is between Miles 16 and 17. If you would like to see me when I am closer to your residence (Sorry theikedas! Chiang Mai is a long stretch!), here is a link to the official course map (PDF format). Contact me by tomorrow evening (latest by 8pm since I need my rest!) and we'll work something out.

4. Can we track you online?
Sure you can, for those who like to sleep in on Sunday or out of town! Signing up for this utility will allow you to track me on your cell phone. It will send you text message updates when I reach certain checkpoints (10km, 20km, 30km, 40km and the finish @ 42.2km).

5. So, what's the traffic going to be like on Sunday?
I had to rephrase this question, since I know a couple of people used expletives to detail their displeasure on the road closures. As a courtesy to you and my other friends , here is the latest LA Department of Transportation information. I hope it helps!

I would like to conclude this blog entry with a Neil Young song that has recently "spoken" to me. I heard him play it on the final episode of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" and the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Although the song was originally written as an elegy to his old car, and used recently to bring closure to events, I like to think it's also an encouraging message to remember the great memories and continue moving forward. The song title also is very appropriate to this marathon-centric entry!

Have a great weekend, and long may you run!

Well, this Christmas was unlike any other to say the least.

It started out as normal with the family exchanging gifts and enjoying an early lunch together. Then Mom got a call in the afternoon from Aunt Otome in Japan. We found out that Grandma had passed away peacefully. She was 96, and had some difficulties these past couple of years after suffering a stroke. While Mom knew that Grandma was becoming quite frail (especially since last visiting her in June with my sister), it was still understandably difficult to take the news. She will be heading out tomorrow to Tokyo.

Unfortunately, I didn't know Grandma that well. Unlike the rest of the family, I haven't visited Japan since 1990. And I must admit that it felt a little awkward that Mom and my sister shared in the grief, while I felt like I was just there for support.

So, as I was driving back home to Los Angeles, I thought the best way I could honor/remember Grandma is by sharing some anecdotes about her.

During my first visit to Japan (circa 1980), Grandma introduced me to the wonderful world of Doraemon. She handed over 5 tattered comic books of the famous cat and the 4th grade characters. While Japanese was my first language, I couldn't read it back then, and Mom had to read it out for me. But, it did encourage me to learn quickly when I started attending Japanese school. Eventually, I started reading it on my own, and still find the lessons valuable to this day. And believe it or not, I still have the comic books. Here is the best quality one, taken with my phone camera.

Grandma gave me another gift while I was there as well. She apparently was a puzzle fan, as she handed me a scrambled, secondhand Rubik's Cube. I assumed that she purposely left it unscrambled to challenge me to solve it on my own. This took a lot longer than expected as I tried and gave up on it many times over the years. But, eventually after reading a book on it in the 6th grade, I solved that thing and I still remember running into the kitchen to show Mom my accomplishment.

If there was only one adjective that could describe my Grandma, it would be "tough". I remember when she visited us during the mid 80's, and she was watching me do my Japanese school homework. She scolded me immediately on not using the proper order when writing kanji down. I wasn't too happy about that, because I probably wanted to just finish up so I could play. Grandma was also physically tough as well, as I accidentally ran into her while riding a bike; and she not only got up without a fuss, but she got on my case for not being more careful!

After Dad passed away in 1997, my Mom made the commitment to visit Grandma once a year. And when Mom returned and I was in Diamond Bar to visit, Mom would sometimes share inspiring stories about Grandma. Like how she quit smoking cold turkey (which some of my readers can confirm, is a difficult habit to break). And how she went regularly to local pool to get her swim workout on. Not bad for an octogenarian!

I like to think that in the limited time I got to know Grandma, she influenced me a lot. While I definitely exhibit the characteristic traits of my parents, I think that there is a certain part of me that represents Grandma too (besides the love of baseball, and being left-handed). So Grandma, thanks for keeping me focused on the details. I hope you know that if I ever take up shodo, I will definitely make sure to write my kanji correctly.

Hi everyone. I'm back!

My apologies for not updating the past 8 months! Unfortunately, this
blog has been passed over to the sweet tweets of Twitter. It is much
easier to write a snippet of 140 characters or less to explain what
is going on in my life. That leaves things vacant here.

However, I've known all along that this domain serves a purpose as well. Some stories just can't be shared with such limitations. Plus, I like to share my experiences progressively, with various media (audio,video, photo) and widgets. And I know that there are those out there (Naoko & Joe, Evelyn, The Asian Persuasion, John G., David H., etc.) who only know what is going on in my life by coming here. So, this entry is especially dedicated to you!

Kid Akio gets Pop-upped via the Metrolink

A couple of my friends (Josh H. and Kayla), have just started their street cuisine business (--pop-up-), partnering with some other UCLA School of Architecture classmates. They had their "soft opening" last Thursday at a gallery reception, in which Josh's work was on exhibit. I noticed that Gallery 1927 was close to the 7th Street/Metro Center station, so I decided to take the Metrolink instead of scrounging for parking in Downtown LA. I parked nearby the Wilshire/Western station and made my way.

I appreciate the compliment, and yes I am going Metro tonight!

Mission accomplished: Josh working the grill with one of his partners. I want one of their cool t-shirts!

So UPC Thinks It Can Dance?

It's not very often where you will see members at my church get up and boogie. I guess that is why I was glad that I brought my camera along to service this past Sunday. We just finished up with a week of Vacation Bible School (VBS), and the kids learned a dance to some praise music (which has a Lion King/Little Mermaid feel to it). Well, the pastor's wife thought it would be a great idea to have the congregation do the dance as well! Viral video gold! Here, why don't you just watch it!

Some things that cracked me up.
1.Most of the congregation is doing the motions quite well!
2. I like the enthusiasm of the teachers!
3. Seeing my pastor do the motions during the bridge part of the song was worthwhile!

Currently...Falling Behind the Times
I'm not too fond of the "Currently" extra on xanga. Especially as a music fan. When I want to share a song, I want people to have the opportunity to hear it (instead of linking somewhere). So, I will experiment with this Grooveshark widget for the time being. You can leave a comment on my musical tastes if you wish!

I received e-mail news Monday afternoon from the L.A Marathon folks saying they will be moving the race date again from President's Day (Feb. 16) to Memorial Day (May 25). The reason they give? They want to give us runners a "world-class runner experience"

I've seen a lot of chatter on the running message boards I frequent, and not too many people are happy about it, considering that it rearranges training programs, interrupts vacation/travel plans, and hurts the potential contributions to the various marathon charities.

I had been looking forward to it, but with all these changes going on, I am not sure if I will go through another 3 months worth of training just to run in hotter weather conditions. At least L.A Marathon LLC is offering refunds, so I am toying with the idea of doing this half-marathon in February. I have already done multiple 14+ mile runs, so this shouldn't be too bad! Plus, I won't have to take a sick day the following Monday to recover!

We interrupt our (ir)regularly scheduled program to bring your this blog entry.

Unlike some of you readers out there, I am not a fan of adult contemporary musician Josh Groban. I find his vocals and performances to be too schmaltzy for my taste. But to his credit, I have to give him respect for his immense talent.

After watching a snippet from last night's Primetime Emmy broadcast, I can also appreciate that he has a good sense of humor. Who knew that he could mimic The Rembrandts, The South Park kids, and Inner Circle? Although he needs to work a little more on his Will Smith!

(Facebook Notes readers can go here to view the YouTube magic)

Relish

About 4 years ago as a relatively green runner, I accomplished my race goal to break 25 minutes in the 5K (8:03 mile pace). Around that time, I set another timed race goal to eventually run faster than 51 minutes in the 10K (8:12 mile pace). I kept a printout of that taped up on my bedroom wall, resolving to remove it only when I completed my task. Unfortunately, I just couldn't take down that "51:00" paper, which was frustrating. The closest that I ever came to it was 3 years ago during a fun Nike Run Hit race, and even then, I still was short by about 1.5 minutes! I started to ignore the paper after that, since I didn't want to ruin my hobby by trying for a difficult time goal. After all, I am not a professional!

But, you know how life throws you a pleasant surprise now and then? Well, I am happy to say that I finally removed that paper after completing the local Keep L.A Running 10K. Even though the results may say that I took 18 seconds over 51 minutes, my stopwatch (which did not begin until I crossed the starting line; no chip timing) said I had 3 valuable seconds to spare!

That unexpected encouragement and my pleasant training experiences with the Nike+ Human Race 10K convinced me to try the Los Angeles Marathon again. Last time, I cramped up at miles 18-19 and was just happy to finish (with a sick day the following Monday). I am training with a different group this year to see if I come out of it in better shape. I'm also going to adjust my workouts during the work week because I previously burned out from overtraining; too many anaerobic runs and too few aerobic ones. And yes, the mileage counter is back again!

There is still one question that remains (beside a funny one a Sunday school student posed last weekend, "Why do it? I think running for more than 10 miles is like a waste of time." ). Should I be bold enough to put up a race goal on my bedroom wall?

Ketchup and Mustard

I haven't had the opportunity to hang out with my old rollerhockey friends Jesse and Alice since their April wedding. So, we found some time in our busy lives to attend last Saturday's Dodger game, which included post-game fireworks and my first opportunity to see our newest Japanese pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda in action.

Now my customary Dodger trip experience includes a Dodger Dog. But my friends suggested having dinner at a historical downtown L.A joint called Philippe's (home of the French dip sandwich), one of their Dodger game traditions. I found out that it is a favorite pre-game ritual for a lot of Blue Crew fans, as many patrons that were sitting and waiting in the long lines were dressed in Dodger gear!

From my various vacation trips, I learned that the best thing to order at a new place is the same thing "the regulars" like to eat; So I chose a double-dipped beef with a side of slaw. Pretty good, but the sandwich is definitely better when you add their famous house mustard, spicier than wasabi and addictive like Coke (the drink, not the drug!)

As for the game, we lost in extra innings. The Dodger bats are still not cutting it to help out on the good pitching. Our bad-to-the-bone closer Takashi Saito injured his right (throwing arm) elbow in the 9th, and it now appears he won't be available until late August. And while I usually save my boos for the visiting team, I joined in with the home crowd as our "prized" centerfielder Andruw Jones struck out swinging in all 5 of his at-bats! Besides the dinner experience, I think the fireworks (better than the Hollywood Bowl) and the conversation were the highlights of the evening.

I enjoyed my time with the newlyweds, but I felt bad about one thing. I had wanted to give them a wedding photograph I took in a picture frame, but I didn't have the opportunity to visit Diamond Bar over the 4th of July weekend to use our family photo printer. Now mind you, my photography skills of taking "people shots" are lackluster (which is why the "Pictures at an Exhibition" section has minimal photos of people!), but I think this one turned out OK because I captured a good moment!

My blog entries have become more scarce lately. And I must admit, that I am having a bad case of the blogger's block. However, I feel like I owe an entry to my friends who only know about my life through this medium. (You know who you are!).

So, I have updated my "Pictures at an Exhibition" section with 3 shots from my Sequoia National Monument trip and a video from my 4th of July Hollywood Bowl outing. Hope that will suffice for now.

Well, as you can probably notice, Memorial Day Weekend came and went; I was enjoying my time in Santa Barbara (church retreat) and Glendale (visiting an old friend) so much that I didn't get around to sharing my April and May stories. I can't make any promises, but I would still like to blog about it. As for today, here are some snippets.

If you feel like posting your comments about yesterday's basketball game, go right on ahead. I missed my usual Thursday night running club to watch it, and instead of exercising my body, I worked out my voice box. I am still hopeful that the Lake Show will take the championship in six (games), but am worried that the Celtic team defense will shut that down.

One of my favorite bands, Coldplay, is coming back to Los Angeles in July to promote their upcoming, lengthy-titled album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends". I will be among those in attendance after scoring a couple pre-sale tickets via a local radio station promotion. Their current singles don't appear to translate well into live performances, but if the lads put together a show similar to their last one, I won't be disappointed. One thing that definitely will be better: I won't have to travel as far to see them, so I will hopefully get home on a work night at a reasonable hour.

One last thing. I haven't done a Music Video Spotlight in a while, but I finally saw one that was worthwhile. Anyone who has spent way too much time checking out YouTube (And a certain troublemaking kid definitely comes to mind) will enjoy this latest cut from Weezer. See how many references you can recognize!

Link for my Facebook readers.

Yeah, I know. It's been a while. I've been meaning to blog for the longest time. And to upload various photos and a movie clip to boot, because the "Pictures at an Exhibition" and video sections could use some changes too. I'll try to get to it this Memorial Day weekend to share about...

• My last business trip to Belmont, with a side stop to Half Moon Bay
• A scorching wedding at the Los Angeles County Arboretum
• Some unusual diaper-changing attempts at a baby shower
• A "classic" 5K 7K run near the Santa Monica Pier, and
• The mother of all windows changes (the non-OS kind)

In Other News: It took a while, but I am delighted to have achieved this milestone last night around the UCLA campus. In about a week, I should be receiving a cool T-shirt in the mail.

In the meantime, the quest for 1000 begins tonight at Hermosa Beach. Can't rest on my laurels just yet!