10 Things I like about Bikram Yoga:

1. Heat - the room is heated to about 105 degrees. Crazy? Yeah, I thought so at first, but actually, heat is the key.

2. Sweating - I drink plenty of water and a glass of Kumazasa before going to the class, and during the class, I usually finish a big bottle of water. Before doing Bikram yoga, I never knew how good it feels to just sweat your ass off! It's excellent for your skin too! It gives you that inner-glow you always wanted.

3. Hard Work - The class makes you work harder than you ever thought you could. As a beginner, I suffered. Well, I still suffer. Sometimes the heat drives me nuts. But as long as you work hard and do your best, you feel like a million dollar baby after you get out of the 90-minute torture chaimber (I didn't name that, that's from Bikram himself!). Believe it or not, the class makes me feel better than an hour massage session does.

4. Effort Counts - The most important thing is doing your best. It's not Yoga Perfect, it's called Yoga Practice.

5. Extreme Stretching - I wasn't always flexible. In fact, I couldn't even touch my toes with my legs extended. But through practicing Bikram yoga, I got soooo flexible and it feels so good to stretch!

I love Ashtanga yoga too, but it doesn't make me stretch like the Bikram series can. So when I'm feeling stiff, I definitely go to a Bikram class. In my pre-Bikram days, I was often bothered by lower back and shoudler/neck pain, but it's gone. GONE!

6. Energy - Bikram yoga class works like a gas station. You go to the class empty and leave the class with full of energy. Seriously, after the class, my body feels 10 pounds lighter and I always feel like jumping around because I have so much energy!

7. Detox - You sweat all the toxins out. At first, you can literally smell your body detoxify. But I think with a regular, continuous practice, your body gets cleaner inside. I don't stink like I used to during the class.

8. Weight Control - Regular practice definitely keeps you in a great shape. You actually gain a lot of muscle doing yoga. My legs and arms are buff!

9. Inner Peace - Through practicing this yoga, you learn how not to stress yourself out in a stressful situation. I think now I'm able to handle myself better.

10. Ageless - They say yogis are ageless. It's true! I've met so many yogis who look way younger than their age. Hopefully I age well too!

This list is not in any sort of order, it's just a random list I came up with.

Next post is going to be the Benefits of Ashtanga Yoga. Stay tuned.

Ashtanga Yoga

Thanks to my yoga buddy Kyoko, I have been introduced to a whole new experience - Ashtanga Yoga. Kyoko came to visit in February when she competed in the International Yoga Asana Championship. After the event, her teacher and other students went back to Japan, but she stuck around for another week. So we decided to go to an Ashtanga class together. Kyoko had been doing Ashtanga in Tokyo for over a year and she wanted me to try it. We went to Yoga Works in Santa Monica. It was so different from what I was used to (Bikram yoga classes). There was no mirror, no carpet on the floor, and the room wasn't 100 degrees! But there was something about it. By the end of the class, I was feeling incredibly good and got completely hooked. I will talk more about why I like Ashtanga Yoga in my next post.

I also fell in love with Chuck's teaching style and energy. For yogis, energy is a weird, complex thing. Your energy and the teacher's energy have to sync up for you to have a good practice. Well, it's been about 2 months since, and I'm still loving it! I've even bought a book on Ashtanga Yoga, so I can study the sequence. But most of all, I'm just amazed that I'm actually getting up at 6:30am to go to an Ashtanga class 2-3 times a week.

Sweet Deal-

Last Thursday, Bill and I went to a Lakers game at the Staples Center. Overture, one of my agency's vendors, has a suite there and they were treating their clients. My boss was supposed to go, but her baby got sick, so she gave me the tickets. Those suites are awesome! We went in/out from the VIP entrance (no waiting in line) and the suite was complete with food and drinks. I'm not really a basketball fan, but I had a lot of fun.

Now another vendor is working on my Red Sox - Angels tickets. If he can get me good seats for those games, I'll be soooooo happy!

So, the occasional free lunches and invitations to events are the only highlight of my job. I hate everything else, but I'm sticking around at least till I get those Red Sox tickets!

Happy Birthday, Bill!!

Wow, this is the 5th year that we celebrate his birthday together... Let's see, what did we do every year??

1st year - Got drunk at Rajat's house in Troy Hall and then went to 29.
2nd year - Lots of Sushi/drinks at Miyagi's and more drinks at Yamashiro.
3rd year - ...?
4th year - Had great Yakiniku at Gyu-kaku.

My god, I just can't remember what we did 2 years ago! You don't understand how hard I'm trying to remember right now... Is my brain that damaged?? I hope not.. Maybe Bill can fill in on this later tonight. I even remember what I got him for the 1st, 2nd and 4th year, but the 3rd year is just like a blind spot for me. April of 2003... What was I doing? It was just a month before my graduation.. I may have gotten him a Shiatsu gift certificate and a book that year. I definitely need to figure this out - it's bugging me like crazy!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

As a retreat to myself, I went to the 7am Yoga class this morning. My body was pretty stiff at first, but I could feel my body waking up as the class went on. What a good feeling that was! I had never been to the 7am class before. The hardest part was forcing myself out of the bed at 6:15am, but hell, it was worth it! I'm gonna try to do this as often as I can.

There have been a few celebrity citings lately. First, I saw Penny Johnson (Sherry Palmer on 24) at Buddha's Belly, when I was eating dinner with Chisa a few weeks ago. Although she's not a big shot, I was pretty psyched because I'm a huge fan of 24. It seems like I see someone famous when I hang out with Chisa. We also saw Nicole Richie at a Japanese restaurant in Brent Wood a while back.

Anyway, my brother was visiting me from 1/28, so we went to O'Brien's in Santa Monica to watch the Super Bowl. Bill spotted Evan Handler (Charlotte's husband on Sex and the City) at the bar. He was actually standing right next to me and I heard a few women go up to him and tell him how they loved his character on Sex and the City etc. One of them actually was hitting on him hardcore.

Then when I took my brother to the airport next day, I saw Shigeki Maruyama, a very famous/popular Japanese golf player, standing right next to us at the check-in counter. My brother went up to him and they shook hands. After that, I walked him to the security check point, and just when I was saying bye to him, I saw Gabe Kapler going into the security check point. I happened to be wearing my Red Sox hat that day, so he looked at my hat and that's when I recognized him. I assume he was on his way to Tokyo. He looked damn good!! I think he's one of the hottest baseball players now.

Well, I'm not done yet. I was having lunch in Pasadena with my co-worker and a few Overture guys today. Then there goes Kyle MacLachlan. He actually looked better than he does on screen.

My friends from Japan always ask me if I have seen any celebrities, so I guess I have added a few to my short list. I swear, for someone who has lived in Los Angeles for 7 years, I haven't seen that many celebrities.

Ocean's 12

Tonight, Bill and I went to the Grove to see Meet the Fockers. But unfortunatelly the movie was sold out, so we decided to see Ocean's 12 instead... a big mistake! It was a classic example of "sequel gone BAD." I mean horrible. This was probably one of the worst movies I've seen in a theater. If Brad Pitt wasn't starring in the film, there was absolutely no entertainment in this film. Don't waste your money! This movie can wait till it comes on HBO or Starz.. well, even then it might be waste of your time to watch.

Interesting...

I tuned into some local news tonight (I'll talk about the reason for that later, when the time is more appropriate), and saw a story about a girl being accused of cheating at USC. I wasn't paying too much attention at first, but the name sounded familiar and the face looked familiar... Paige Laurie... Yes! She was in my class! It was Sarah Banet-Weiser's Children and Media. She was the typical Mercedez-driving, Louis Vuitton-loving, dumb USC blond sorostitute (sorority + prostitute), but I didn't know she was the heiress to Wal-Mart, and she had some sports arena named after her in Missouri. She paid her freshman roommate $20,000 in 4 years to have her papers written and other projects completed. And she graduated with a 3.5 GPA. It's funny that some professor commented on Paige's paper that her paper was much better than her in-class work.. No shit! I hope she gets what she deserves.

Never say never...

This week, I did something that I thought I would never do. I joined a gym. It's not that I'm a lazy fat ass who hates working out. I'm quite the opposite. I have been practicing Bikram Yoga religiously for two years. The first time my friend Chisa took me to a Bikram class, I got hooked. I felt something different, something that I never felt before. Since then, I never looked back. Let me tell you - I'm not the type to stick to something for a long time. But I have been regularly doing this yoga for the last 2 years, and I do not see myself quitting. And the results are just amazing. I have become so flexible (I could not even touch my toes when I first started!), lost some weight, said good-bye to chronic back/shoulder pain, have a lot more energy, better circulation of blood, and less headache! Nothing had given me this kind of results before (I used to work out at the gym), so I thought screw the gym, I'm only going to do yoga from now.. Plus gym work-out is so boring, compared to 90-minute Bikram class.

So what changed my mind? Well, Bill joined LA Fitness and got me a 2 week trial pass. I went to work out a few times during the first week of the trial, and thought it wasn't too bad. I still think all those cardio machines are boring, but it's fun to lift weights, especially when you can see yourself building some muscle. Plus as much as I love Bikram Yoga, it is kind of a pain in the ass to prepare myself for the class. I absolutely cannot eat any food for 2-3 hours before the class (you get really sick if you do), so I have to plan my whole day around the class, especially on the weekend. And it's not like I can start a class whenever I want to. There is a set schedule. Also, even though the class is only 90 minutes, I like getting there a little early to stretch and get situated in the classroom, and I have to take a shower there after the class (you get drenched in sweat), so it is pretty time consuming.

So, the LA Fitness, which is 5 minutes away from my house and does not require all that preparing comes in pretty handy. That's why I decided to join. It's really convenient actually - like tonight, I got home from work, and I was doing stuff online, and got bored. It was too late for the last yoga class, so I just went to work out at the gym.

I'm liking it so far... We'll see.

When I first saw this a few days ago, I thought it was a joke.. like someone made it up. But it's so cool that Britain can actually publish something like this. Very nicely put...

America: The Rationals and the Irrationals

Does separation of the state and church exist in America? This presidential election was yet another reminder that it does not. And I think that's exactly why this country is split in half. When you bring religious beliefs into politics, it just doesn't work. That's precisely where the disagreements arise. You cannot expect a nation to be united when you make the nation's policies based on one religion.

I come from a country where there is a complete separation of the two. No religious beliefs affects my country's policies. In fact, if a political candidate starts talking about how great his God is etc., he will NEVER be elected in Japan. Everbody would be too creeped out to vote for that person. I'm not gonna say Japanese people are smarter than Americans, but at least, we can think rationally. We value science more than faith, and progress more than regression.

I'm not suggesting that everybody should drop their faith. But it should never be mixed with your politics. Honestly, I don't care what you worship or believe in, I really don't. But don't bring it out of your house. Don't try to force that belief on others. And most importantly, the government should always be neutral. I'm so sick and tired of all those extreme right-wing wackos (aka the Irrationals) running this country. And who suffers? The smart, rational people.

Why Faith and Beliefs are Bullshit

I love it when people say "I believe in God," because that just proves my point. They say "I believe...," because they are not 100% sure if God exists. If they actually know that God indeed exists, and therefore they can prove it, then that becomes knowledge, not a belief or faith. This applies to anything. You use the word belief only when you are not sure if a subject matter is 100% true. In other words, if you have to believe in something, you don't know if it's true or not. For example, I believed John Kerry would win this election, because I, in fact, did not know whether he was going to get elected. So beliefs can be wrong a lot of times.

For all those Bible lovers: Prove me wrong. Take one story in the Bible and prove to me that it is logical and true. Until then, Bible continues to be a book of fantasies.

What Freedom?

For someone who loves to say the word "freedom" over and over, George W. Bush takes away people's freedom too much. What happened to freedom of choice for Gays and Lesbians? What about freedom of choice for women? And where is our freedom of speech??? I want to listen to Howard Stern every morning, not Rush Limbaugh.

And now he claims to be the preacher of freedom for the Iraqis??? Something is wrong.

If someone loves "freedom" so much that he is willing to go through all the troubles to bring it to another country, you would think that person would give more freedom to his own people. Oh, but wait a minute, you can't think rationally when trying to understand Christians.

Disappointment, Disbelief, and Disgust

I still can't believe George Bush has been re-elected. Still too pissed off to do anything at work. What the fuck is wrong with those red-necks? To All the idiots who prioritized the moral values over the country's economy and jobs: I hope you lose your god damn job because your company shipped your job to overseas to get tax breaks. I hope your employer slashes your health care benefit so you and your family can't get decent health care. Then let's see if you made a right decision - voting for the arrogant, stupid hick who doesn't get foreign relations, economy, or anything that requires intelligence.

And I secretly hope Texas would get bombed the shit out of them by Bin Laden in his next attack. I'm so sick of all the modern, Blue states being targeted by the terrorists. We don't want that guy in the White House either!!!!

Why are the democrats being so nice about this again??? If Bush/Cheney were in the same position as Kerry/Edwards right now, they would be fighting to tip the balance in their favor like a maniac.

Here is Bill receiving numerous calls minutes after the Red Sox won the Game 7 of ALCS. Doesn't he look so happy? 

I have been so excited about Red Sox beating the Yankees and going to the World Series that I completely forgot to post something here! Was it unbelievable or what? To be honest, I didn't think they would come back from 3-0 deficit. I was in a sad, depressed, pissed off mood after Game 3. But somewhere in my mind, I was thinking "maybe they are just setting up a stage for a great come back..." But I told myself, "nah, that's a wishful thinking!" I'm just happy that they beat the Yanks!!!! It totally made up for the last year's mysery. I loved seeing the devastated look on A-Fraud's face. Well, it's starting again tomorrow - GO SOX!!!!

Here goes A-Fraud and Derek Cheater in Game 6 of ALCS! Yankees suck!! 

Somewhere in the October baseball frenzy, I have lost in touch with politics. To tell you the truth, I have been way more focused on ALDS and ALCS than on presidential debates. The only one I seriously watched was the first Kerry-Bush debate and Edwards-Cheney debate. I saw some of the second Kerry-Bush debate, but didn't even tune into the third one. But I was just looking at the polls right now, and Bush has a slight lead??? I mean come on, what more evidences do Americans need to wake up!?!? There is no weapons of mass destruction, no tie between Sadam and Qaida members, Osama is nowhere to be found... What more do you need to know to disapprove Bush's job? I'm so sick of thinking about this. Are American people that dumb???

I have a feeling this blog will soon turn into I-hate-my-job blog. I've started this job about 3 weeks ago, but I'm already thinking about how I really don't give a shit about my job. I just can't get interested in anything that goes on in the office. I'm always day-dreaming. But as much as I'm disinterested in what I do, I don't know what I want to do... One thing I know is I hate working as a team. I hate working with people. I spend good 3-4 hours everyday calling/emailing people. I'd be so productive if I can work on my own. I want a job which doesn't require me to interact with a lot of people... I mean, I like meeting people if it's for fun, but not in business occasions. The less talking and explaining I have to do, the happier I'd be.

And what the fuck is wrong with the Red Sox???

Ugh! I'm just having a bad day.

Sweet Sweep

Yesterday's Game 3 of ALDS was beyond exciting. I have been watching a replay of Ortiz's homerun, but just can't get enough of it! Bill and I were at a sports bar in Santa Monica watching the game yesterday. I called sayonara game (means walk-off in Japanese)!! There were so many Boston fans at the bar, so everybody went nuts.

At Johnnie "foot-fetish" Walker's request... hehehe 

A Grrreeaat Bill Maher Moment

Real Time with Bill Maher came back on air tonight - it was such a long, painful wait!! I have been a huge fan of the show since its debut. But tonight was the night. It was the best Bill Maher moment to see Michael Moore refute a Republican congressman (David Dreir). Maher had two Republican guests and when they were questioned about Bush sitting in an elementary classroom for 7 minutes after being informed "America is under attack," both of them gave the exact same bullshit answer. I wonder if the Republican party provides its members with the *excuses* to everything and they just practice it before they get interviewed? It's hard to believe that they actually believe in what they say.. After watching the show, I was all fired up about things, but now I think I have calmed down and am ready to go to bed.