Birthday Thoughts

A year went by so quickly. One great benefit on keeping a blog - I went back and read my 2005 birthday thoughts with just a click of a button! Last year's thought summed up into one short sentence: Relationships are the true essence of happiness in life. A year later, that statement still means a lot to me. My friends are the fabric of my life. They connect moments and experiences through out the years that define my existence. I'm always thankful for knowing and keeping in contact with them, near and far.

Recently, I'm a little sadden by the fact that, a very dear friend of mine, Will, is relocating to Minneapolis. He is a great inspiration to me and his mild manner clams me down. We both sing in the Heartland Men's Chorus, and I still remember vividly the day we met on rehearsal in the summer of 1998. I guess people come and go in our lives. Just like me packing up and came to the United States 15 years ago, leaving behind my dearest group of friends from high school. The distance didn't keep us from being close to each other, and all of us are constantly making our best efforts to travel to see each other. This year, it's their turn to come visit, and I'm very excited to play host! Knowing that true friends can never be separated by distance, it gives me hope that the friendship between WIll and I is only mildly challenged by about 6 hours of distance.

It always amazes me to think how people cross path and meet each other amongst the sea of individuals in this world. Everyone we know in our lives, is through a chain reaction of and events or people, one person leading to the other. Some people stick around, and some people, you meet for a few hours next to you on a plain ride, and never again cross path. Either you choose to belief that this random path crossing is by design or it is just mere coincidences, we cannot deny that all these cross points effect the doors that lead us to many possibilities in life, just like the Butterfly Effect. This coming year will be an eventful one for me. My parents will be visiting in about a month, and together with my brother, we're going on an Alaskan cruise; followed by the visit of my best friends, Josh and Derrick, during Thanksgiving; and the biggest event ahead - taking the big step of sharing a home with Eric, a new one that we're building soon. Even thought, it is both exciting and a little daunting at times to go down this path that has been brought to me through many past possibilities, I choose to sit back and enjoy the adrenaline along the way. Isn't this what we call the taste of life, anyways?

My Ecological Footprint

Environmental issues are not news to many people, but recently, it has become a major topic in our daily conversation. Perhaps it's because gas price has climbed up to $3.00 a gallon now. Al Gore's movie An Incovenient Truth which came out at the right time opened many people's eyes, and Who Killed the Electric Car?, another interesting documentary is coming soon, which I'm sure will make people want to go out and get a hybrid car immediately. With all these eco-talk, I've decided to take the Ecological Footprint Quiz to test and see my lifestyle, as an individual, impacts the planet. Before I took the quiz, I thought my eco-footprint would be smaller than the average American, since I grew up in Asia, and I've learned not to be wasteful. To my surprise, I scored a whopping 33 points! An average American's Eco-footprint is 24 acres, and mine is 11 acres more! (The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of ecologically productive land and sea area it takes to sustain an individual in a year.) Yikes! My worst score is under "Shelter". I guess apparently, living alone is not environmental friendly. You can take the quiz at myfoorprint.org.

Second Week of Yoga

For me, one of the toughest thing going to Yoga is that the teachers likes to keep the room very warm. It was 96 degrees outside, and I was worried that the classroom is going to be as hot as outside. To my surprise, the A/C was on! It was no cool but at least it was bearable. Nicole's mom was in town and she didn't show up for the class. The second week is a much better week for me. I think things that I learned a few years ago are slowing coming back to me. And I believe that I have a little more confidence after the first class and so I pushed myself a little more this time. My body felt really great after the class because I felt like I pushed myself as much as I could and I was sweating like a pig! I don't know if it's the heat, or I'm working harder, or I'm doing the Ujjayi Breath (Victorious Breath) right, or the combination of all of the above, I was totally soaking wet, including my underwear. Today class was a great workout got me and I'm very much looking forward to the next class!