FOOD: Getting Healthy

Some people go for retail therapy. I tend to lean towards food.

This morning I opted out of coffee and instead picked up a Squishee and a few donuts:

RUN: 7 1/2 miles, Home <--> Spyglass @1:05:23

INAH. Monday wasn't a good day. I'm not going to elaborate here as to why -- it'd just be a d&t road.

I couldn't find my walk-around-the-lake buddy at work, so I made the walk myself and ran into another friend who offered to walk around with me. He really saved the day and got me through the rest of work.

But heading home, I was drained and fazed. I drove home without any music and didn't realize it until I pulled into the garage.

Once home, I was planning on sitting in the shower for an hour then remembered that I promised my neighbors that I'd take pictures of them with their dogs. I did get a hug from one of the dogs (black labs). I miss the bullies.

Afterwards, I went for a run... a long run in the dark to get my frustration and energies out. I wore compression shorts, brought a bottle of water to the first mile, and carried music. The pace was pretty steady, and I got a good sweat. I took pictures but decided not to post.

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Goal: $375.00
So far: $37.00
To go: $338.00

JOURNAL: Busy Weekend

This past weekend was 3-day-er. On Friday, I stayed home and performed my domestic duties. On Saturday, I went for a long run (8-miles!) and toured downtown Orlando with some friends. And on Sunday, I went to go see the Orlando Gay Chorus perform then had dinner with a new friend.

Now it's Monday, and I'm pretty tired. I did the coffee thing, and as expected, am dehydrated and feeling like I can do without food so as to make up time for the late start this morning -- but also knowing that I really should hydrate and feed. Bah (knowing what I need to do, but not really feeling like doing it).

Anyways, gotta keep pushing through. It's a case of the Mondays.

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At the Tea House

Pom says Good MorningMy Pod
On the walking tour of OrlandoLook UpBlack Geese and Their Egg
Dinner at Thai HouseMen's Restroom SignHoney Garlic Chicken
At the gas stationBig WeinerInappropriate Car Pic

MOM!: Our Day at Disney, Boma (3 of 3)

Sorry for the long delay in getting this third episode out. I was kind of procrastinating it because honestly, I didn't get a whole lot of photos at the AKL and no there wasn't a YouTube video to post either -- so it would've been/is an anti-climactic post. Nonetheless, here it is:

After our day at Epcot, MOM and I drove to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at their African buffet restaurant, Boma. This was also a chance for her to meet two more of my good Orlando friends. MOM and I got there half-an-hour early to change into our clothes, then we met up with POM and Mike.

We discovered that our reservations were for the wrong day, but the ladies at the counter were nice enough to fit us in without much extra wait -- and we took the opportunity to out back behind the resort and look at the animals in their reserve. We saw a giraffe, a zebra, a few large birds, and some big horned oxen-looking animals.

There was a cast mate from Pretoria, South Africa that was there to answer questions, and she took our picture:

And here's a picture I took of POM and MOM (cute!):

We headed back and were quickly seated. The dinner was delicious as before. And asides from that, it was nice that each of us were able to take a break from busy schedules, away from the Orlando city and be there together.

After dinner, we were all stuffed and decided that we wanted to go check out the suspension bridge that stretched high above the lobby. We made it to the 4th floor only to discover the 5th floor (where the bridge was) was being renovated. So we went to Plan B: those mythological night-vision goggles that guests could use to see the animals in the dark. This took us around the Lodge. We hit each floor at least twice. Seriously. If this was The Amazing Race, not only would we suck, Phil wouldn't be able to find us to eliminate us and tell us that we sucked.

Anyways, the place with the night-vision goggles ended up being the Savannas, which was past the pool area, but there wasn't a Cast Member there, so we just toured around the area and checked out the Mara, the AKL market service. We headed back inside and checked out the gift shop, and that was a lot of fun too.

I'm so happy that MOM got to meet some of my Orlando friends and that they got to meet MOM! It was a long and wonderful day at Disney -- Thank you Billy, Pom, and Mike!

MOM!: Mastering the GChat status message

I'm about to get ready to head over to Orlando for the weekend. But before I could go start packing, MOM caught me on GChat:

Luisa: Hi, Cedric!
me: Hi MOM
I'm trying to get everything done over here so I can head over to Orlando...
Luisa: What did you do today? I am tired again!! So I am trying to finish the last load of laundry..all whites and finish the papers to get out the clatter.
   ...
Have not heard from Camille yet. She maybe working today.
Got to get off the computer so I can finish my chores here!
Drive carefully.
me: okay, thanks mom! [smile]
Luisa: I wish I can put a smiley face too. I have to learn that next time!
me: don't forget to change your status to domestic goddess
   Luisa's new status message - domestic goddess #1 9:12 PM
me: HA!
Luisa: I did it! HA!!
I hope Cindy will not grab the title back.
me: she knows your password


PUG: Brothers & Sisters

Today, I'm at home trying to clean my desk. In doing so came across a piece of paper on which I had written down a conversation from one of my favorite shows, Brothers & Sisters on ABC.

It's of when Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) the gay lawyer son of the family, meets Chad Barry (Jason Lewis) this attractive actor, and Kevin's getting mixed signals from this guy who's supposedly straight. I like the exchange not only because of the inherent giddiness factor but also because of the pug reference...

Here's a pic of the two at the gym (Chad on the left, Kevin on the right) followed by the exchange:
Chad Barry: I know this great off-leash trail.
Kevin Walker: I don't have a dog.
Chad Barry: I do. Lola, my pug.
Kevin Walker: You have a pug named Lola?
Chad Barry: Yeah, short for Lolita, and she's getting pretty fat dude.


JOURNAL: Kelly!

I found this picture in a stack of photos in my house. It's of my friend Kelly and me about 4 years ago. Wow, we look so young. We started our jobs down here at about the same time, but she's left Florida since then -- she went back to school in Chicago. She was so much fun and so real. She took care of me during a kid-hostage-gone-wrong episode. I miss her.

MOM!: Our Day at Disney, World Showcase (2 of 3)

After Future World, MOM and I headed to the World Showcase starting from the Mexico-side. The Gran Fiesta Tour reminded MOM of the couple trips to Mexico she took this year (for weddings). I glanced over at the San Angel Inn restaurant and saw Alberto, which reminded me of Irene and Masayo, my crazy friends.

We didn't take any pictures there, but we made up for it when we visited China:
MOM was more interested in the shops, to see what there. She saw these lanterns and told me that both said "Love" but that the one on the left (with the red-marking) is the original, more correct writing -- and that the red portion of the character stands for "Heart" love -- and the other writing is a short-hand and is more friendship.Who misses the doggies?
Outside, mom saw this banner and said that the middle character was her name. *shrug*, okay, let's take a picture!
From there we walked to Germany. MOM said "Ooo, so colorful", then quietly and slowly started backing up away from me. I started walking towards the next country before I realized that she wanted me to take her picture. Here you go, MOM:
When we walked by Italy, Auntie Rita called MOM, so we stopped and took rest under some shade before moving on.

Next was the American Pavilion, we went into the building to watch the Voices of Liberty singers perform and for the air-conditioning. When the singers came out, they invited everyone to get closer. So MOM got off the bench we managed to get and went to go sit on the floor like a kindergartener. Awww, MOM is so cute.
We didn't stay for the American Adventure show and just headed over to Japan to look into their shop. MOM was fascinated by the area where people can choose an oyster and get a pearl. She also liked the delicate string globes with the figurines inside.
By this point, we've done a lot of walking and were already getting hungry, so I suggested we go to my favorite place to eat, the Yakitori House, and split a Tomosama Combo -- big and very flavorful portion at a very reasonable price -- and it got MOM's approval (woo hoo!).

After that, we both figured that there wasn't too much shopping to do with the rest of the countries in the World Showcase and rushed to Morocco to catch the ferry back.

We had a couple hours free before we had to leave for dinner, so we went back into Future World and over to the Universe of Energy. I keep thinking that it's not a very popular attraction, so I was surprised to see so many people there. I actually really like the ride and knew that MOM would also like it because 1) it's educational and 2) it has Ellen! She did cover her eyes at the part where Ellen was fighting the snake-like creature though. Awww.

After the Universe of Energy, I brought MOM to Project Tomorrow, at the Spaceship Earth exit area, where she did the Super Driver game. It's so weird to see MOM playing a video game. Watch the video and you'll see why I do all the driving when she visits! (HA!)

Video clip:After that, it was to the exit and to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. Stay tuned for the third and final part of the series!

WORK: Push Me to Work

This morning on the way to work, someone tail-gated me for about a mile all the way to work -- all the way. We both ended up in the back parking lot of the office building, and the guy was pretty adamant about staying close. I didn't get angry, just more confused, then amused. I was thinking, "Seriously?". And very funny that the guy jumped out of his car and rushed through the turnstiles and into the building, hoping that I wouldn't be able to identify him. Seriously? All I've got to say is:

Watch your back. HA!

MOM: What She's Doing This Morning

Before I left for work, I took a picture of MOM. She's watching news on the big tv and her Chinese soap operas on the portable DVD player. I told her that I was going to work and to give me a hug, but she wouldn't get up. She's getting lazy.

Cindy and I aren't training her well.

MOM!: Our Day At Disney, Future World (1 of 3)

This past Saturday, MOM and I went over to Orlando/LakeBuenaVista for a day at Disney. We met up with my friend (i.e. the doggies' Uncle Billy) late morning at Epcot. First we took pictures in front of SSE (look at the wand-removal progress!):

then we headed to the Land Pavilion and got in line for Soarin'. Mom thought the new interactive games were cool and she tried them out (she's so funny):


And Billy was there to coach her:


I took a 2-minute video of Billy and MOM during the "Build the Land" game. The video's dark and there's a lot of arm-waving all around, but 37 seconds into it MOM says "Oooo... there's my flower!". Here's a link.


MOM enjoyed the Soarin' ride a lot (her favorite now). She was a happy kid.

After that, we rode the educational Living With The Land then sat down in the center area to eat our packed lunches (bulgogi sandwiches, cherries, and chocolate wafers) before Billy had to get back home. He's such a wonderful friend and tour guide.

We headed next to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Mom hasn't seen the movie yet, but she's seen Cindy's mini. And as we passed the characters, MOM said that she wanted her pictures with Nemo:
We also went to sea... I mean see Turtle Talk with Crush. MOM thought it was neat and laughed at the bikini top joke and when Crush got "the Bubbles".

After that, we were off to the World Showcase:

Tune in next time for Part Two of this Three-part series!

RUN: 3 miles = $3, Home <--> Murrell

Tonight, I ran three miles while MOM made dinner -- soy sauce chicken drumettes (mmm!). I wore compression shorts and my newer-est shoes and ran with a raspberry hammer gel in-mouth. The run was easy-going and good. I didn't time but guessing 7:45 per mile pace... got a good sweat on.

Anyways, I came home and set up the camera for the traditional kitchen pic, and mom just got in and posed for the picture (HA!):

I <3 MOM
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Today: 25 push-up & 3 miles = $4.00

Goal: $375.00
So far: $14.00
To go: $361.00

MUSIC: "The Way I Are" by Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson

Okay, here's another one from Timbaland -- "The Way I Are" featuring Keri Hilson. How can you not move when you hear this?! (just bounce side-to-side!)

Video clip:

Oh, baby, it's alright now, you ain't gotta flaunt for me
If we go there, you can still touch my love, it's free
We can work without the perks just you and me
Thug it out 'til we get it right

EVENT: "Laughter on the 23rd Floor"

Tonight, MOM and I went to go see my friend Emily perform in Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor". Emily warned me that there will be foul language and hoped that mom would be okay with it. In my giving MOM the disclaimer, she said, "Maybe I don't know the foul language (HA!)."

Actually, MOM laughed when they said f*** and told crude jokes (...i.e., when the actors told crude jokes... not her).

Anyways, we made introductions after the show but were quick since we have an early-ish start tomorrow -- we're doing Epcot (and maybe another park if we get through early and feel adventurous and mom's feet and my knees feel okay), then we're meeting Pom and Mike at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge's Boma restaurant for a late dinner. Mmmmm... their seafood gumbo is SO delicious!

Alright, time for bed. No money earned tonight (...that didn't sound right) -- still $365.00 to go.

Here's our picture of Emily, Me, and MOM!:

WORK: Soundboard

This morning, I've found myself a captive audience to a number of co-workers' vent-ments. And although this is not inherently a laborious task, I do consider it a responsibility reserved for spouses and other "more-involved/evolved" relationships. The TMI I've been experiencing has been moreso in the sense of quantity than quality, and I need to be concentrating more on work... oh well... half-way through the workday, only 4 hours away from the weekend.

JOURNAL: MOM, Day 2

Cindy said that when MOM went to visit her, she cleaned the house and cooked lots of food. I only got the "lots of food"... my house is still dirty. Maybe it's because I can't bribe her with Tivo... or grandchildren.

Anyways, I'm glad to be home and spending time with MOM. We had dinner then played a lot of Rummikub. That's about it. Shower then bedtime.

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Yesterday: 50 sit-ups = $1.00
Today: 50 push-up & 25 sit-ups = $2.50

Goal: $375.00
So far: $10.00
To go: $365.00

EVENT: MOM and the Space Shuttle Endeavor

MOM's here! She arrived from South Carolina this afternoon and is staying till next Wednesday.

At 6:36pm, we went outside and watched the Space Shuttle Endeavor blast off.

We then had some dinner inside, looked at some wedding photos online, then played some Rummikub.

I <3 Mommy.

BULLOG: Happy Birthday Billy

To our friend Billy, Happy Birthday:
(click on the card)

CARROT: +$3.00

Tonight, I ran 2 miles ($2.00), and did 13 girly push-ups ($.50) and 25 sit-ups ($.50) = $3.00

Goal: $375.00
So far: $6.50
To go: $368.50

MUSIC: "Apologize" by One Republic

I heard this song on SYTYCD and was immediately drawn to it. I searched YouTube for its music video and didn't care so much for it, so instead, here's some cover art with a good audio:

[note: the other video was deleted so I've replaced it with one with the song's music video *shrug* I'll take what's available.]
Video clip:

And here's a pic of the band:

CARROT: $3.50

I have to take better care of myself.

A month ago, I said that I would start doing push-ups and sit-ups on a regular basis. And how many have I done so far? Yeah, none.

I couldn't get myself to take the one minute it would take to do 25 push-ups -- mind you, I wasn't even going for "three sets of yadda"... just one friggin' set. I needed a something to use as motivation.

And the answer was the most obvious.

I've been sans Disney Annual Pass since June 4th. And although that doesn't mean that I haven't been there since, having a pass of my own gives me more freedom to some much-needed distraction.

The pass now costs $375.00 (without tax). So, for every 25 push-ups I do, I'll earn a dollar towards that pass (I'm not going to count tax). And for every 25 sit-ups I do, I'll earn fifty cents. And sure, I'll add running to the qualifiers: a dollar per mile, but only fifty cents per mile if I don't do any stretching before or after.

This is something that I've gotta do for myself. I now have a goal.

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Tonight, I did 50 push-ups ($2.00) and 75 sit-ups ($1.50) = $3.50

Goal: $375.00
So far: $3.50
To go: $371.50

CATABLOG: Cats, GH, SYTYCD

Yesterday after work, I stopped by Running Zone to pick up more brochures (woo!) and the owners, Don & Denise, liked my new hair. And I picked up three more running gels (raspberry hammer). It was a nice visit to the store.

I didn't stay for their weekly fun run because I had made dinner and Guitar Hero plans with Chuck. It was also nice to see the cats again; StinkyPants stayed close as we played while Nala just lounged the entire time.

We watched the first couple episodes of Fruit Basket, a Japanese anime, while we ate, then watched Sara and Dominic get eliminated from SYTYCD. I also introduced Chuck to Bubble Trouble.

Anyways, here they are:

NalaStinkyPantsChuck with StinkyPants

VIDEO: "What the Buck?"

Below is an episode of "What the Buck?", an entertainment commentary series from this really caffeinated, really gay guy. Anyways, this is just as an intro. If you like, you can search his other ones on YouTube.

Video clip:

RUN: ~2.6 miles @19:28, Around WL

Tonight, it was dark and cloudy outside with a light, steady rain -- so it was still acceptable weather for a much-needed run (it's been a couple days). There was no signs of thunder or lightning, but just in case, I decided to just run around my neighborhood. No music this time (of course) but I was working on a gel packet pretty much the entire time. It was exactly what I needed.

I ran at a pretty good pace. I wasn't straining myself, but I didn't feel like I was slacking either. I didn't stop, except for one time when a couple of small dogs ran out of a garage and started chasing me. The run in the rain tonight was exactly what I needed (asides from "more sleep"... that'll have to be tomorrow night).

Anyways, here's tonight's pic (I like it):

Tonight, I also cooked dinner. I cooked a tofu and ground beef dish (w/chopped celery and onions, salt and pepper, soy sauce and some Maggi seasoning)... served on some white rice. It was really tasty, and now I won't have to go out for lunch tomorrow. I'm eating well and saving money! (Mom would be proud.)

Here's a pic of the Tofu-Beef dish:

And before I go to bed, below are a couple more Blonde-Me pics (taken from this very home office chair). As of late, a red horizontal line sometimes shows up in the picture... I'm thinking that it's time for a new camera.

EVENT: "Top 3 @ 3" on 107.1 FM - WA1A

Like home where I can only get one tv station (NBC), I can only get one radio station at work, and it's WA1A 107.1FM.

Anyways, I like them. I even listen to them at home (where I have more options) in the morning as I prepare for work. Listening to WA1A is the closest thing I have to being on any sort of regiment (which I need). They have a number of contests throughout the day, such as the "Avenue Viera 5-Question Quiz" at seven in the morning and the "Drive at Five". The radio programming keeps me "regular"... helps me pass the day.

The contest that I personally look forward to is their "Top 3 @ 3", where Tony Banks plays the three most requested songs of the day then gives the seventh caller the opportunity to say back the list for a prize. I started calling in a couple weeks ago but I'd always end up being caller #1 or 2 then getting busy signals afterwards.

I tried again today. I could feel my blood surging through body as the last song of the list ended and the dial tones played on the radio. I picked up the phone and started to call. I got a busy signal and tried calling again, and on my third try, I got a dial tone (waiting... waiting...)

VOICE ON THE LINE: "You're caller number one, try again!"

VOICE IN MY HEAD: "Frick!"

So I did it: I dial again. Busy. And again. Busy. And again and again until... a second dial tone!

My body was paralyzed, receiver-to-the-ear... paralyzed by the over-eager delusion of possibly being the seventh caller, then...

VOICE ON THE LINE: "Hello."

ME(after a couple long seconds of silence): "Am I caller number seven?"

VOICE ON THE LINE: "I believe you have something for me."

ME: "HOLY CRAP!"
...

So I read the three songs back to him:
           #3. Pink "Who Knew?"
           #2. Eliot Yamin "Wait For You"
           #1. Fergie "Big Girls Don't Cry"

and BOOYAH!

I won a couple tickets to the Rave Motion Pictures theatre (which is only 1.8 miles from my house!) and a gift certificate to the new Japanese restaurant in town (teppanyaki!) -- I'm taking MOM there next week when she comes to visit!

I did my happy celebratory dance in the office.

Oh, it still feels good!

BULLOG: Which One is Euchre?

Thanks for the pic, Cindy!