meet Grace

at 5:14 a.m. on july 17, 2009, we welcomed Patricia Grace into the world. She was 7 lbs and 15 ounces of pure beauty (and I'm not biased).

my delinquency in blog posts have been noted but if you were keeping track, rebekah was due in early july - as as we approached the 'due date', mommy and daddy tried everything to get her to come out including, but not limited to, evening of primrose oil pills; ingesting castor oil (which produced the predicted, but not the intend, result; acupuncture; incorporating nipple stimulation into sex; etc.

finally, labor started on july 16 (the night before) around 7 p.m. - mommy was out walking in the west village and daddy was playing golf

at 10 p.m., parents and grandma got home and the contractions started getting stronger and closer apart

at 11 p.m., the water broke and rushing out come a thick green/brown substance, easily identified as meconium - we called the midwife who advised us to head into the hospital - contractions were 3 minutes apart and lasting for 1 minute

11 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. - driving from east village to midtown - usually fast - except when President Obama is in town

12:00 a.m. - arrived at the hospital and checked in no problem - unfortunately we were already late so our planned delivery in the birthing centre was out of the question - more on this later - anyway, the meconium would have disqualified us anyway - mom was hooked up to fetal monitor (which wasn't the plan) but things were looking ok - initial assessment was that mommy was five centimeters and moving quickly

12:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m. - Primal Screams - the only way I can accurately describe the sounds and scene as mommy bravely prepared for the next contraction, and handled each one more and more by herself - no pain meds and no epidural - we told the care givers not to offer any pain medications and they were good about keeping to our requests

4:00 a.m. - 9 centimeters and mommy started pushing - the description of the pain given by mommy in between contractions gave new meaning to the phrase 'pain in the ass' - but sure enough, baby Grace started making her way down the birth canal

5:10 a.m. - pushing for over an hour and there was continual progress but no 'success' - baby's heart beat becomes hard to observe and was slowing - pediatrician is called in and options discussed

5:14 a.m. - mommy bears down and with absolutely everything she had and pushed little grace out - quick check up by the pediatrician - everything looked good - pictures taken, daddy starts picking out the LV clothes and accessories that his beautiful girl will be wearing (immediately vetoed by mommy in favor of common sense)

5:20 - 6:00 a.m. - placenta delivered and mommy stitched up - hard and fast labor resulted in a number of 'minor' tears

6:00 a.m. - moved to the recovery area - daddy was negligent in ordering a private room (we had planned to be in birth center) - 'roommate' informs us that the stitches will soon become 'f*cking itchy - just like an STD' - more advice provided by roommate but unprintable for general public

10:00 a.m - pediatrician visits and forbids us from leaving early - mom and Grace had to stay the night and dad had to leave by 10 p.m.

10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. - sleep, learn to breast feed, change meconium filled diaper, go to pinkberry, repeat

10:00 a.m. (saturday morning) - prepare to leave, wait for test results, go to starbucks, wait some more, and finally, at around 2:00 p.m., family arrives at home safe

epilogue - overall, birth didn't go as planned but was perfect - mommy is recovering slowly but surely - daddy can't believe its so easy to love someone who wasn't even around a couple of days before - Grace is looking forward to meeting all of you

home is where the heart is

april 23

we got back from our unexpected trip to vancouver yesterday. rebekah's paternal grandmother had passed away on easter sunday and the funeral was this past monday.

our flight out was uneventful. the problem with the airline industry in north america is that they are not cathay pacific - it seems to me that if one airline can do most everything right, shouldn't every airline be able to do almost everything right?

if nothing else, this trip provided many reasons to be grateful and appreciative

1. family to pick us up at the airport at 2 a.m., make us delicious meals, drive us around the lower mainland, spend time with us

2. family to play golf with - on thursday, i played 18 holes of pitch and putt with my dad in the morning and another 18 holes at riverway (one of my favourite courses ever) with israel in the afternoon. the scoring wasn't great but i had fun. on saturday, i played meadow gardens with adam and bruce. this time, the scoring was pretty good and the highlights had to be two 40 foot birdie putts (on holes 4 and 10) that looked good the moment they left the putter blade. i even got a final round in at northview (canal course) on tuesday morning

3. friends to visit - on friday, i spent the afternoon with bryce - a good friend for the past 13 years. among the many aspects of life we have shared together is learning the game of poker. so, it was only fitting that we spent the few hours we had together at edgewater casino playing 1/2 NL hold-em. the play was pretty good and bryce made a brave move with two pair to take down a $300 pot. i played good all afternoon but got burnt when my top pair lost to pocket kks. down about $50 and having to go, i played until i was under the gun. and behold, i was dealt 88s. i raised it to 15$ and had 3 callers. the flop came 87q! i bet another 10$ and was called down again. 7 on the turn. what should i have done??? i bet 40$ and took the pot. maybe you can me how i could have got a bit more. oh well, breaking even and a few hours of good conversation == priceless

on saturday night, we had the opportunity to spend time with a dozen of our friends. drinks and a good time were had by all (i hope). thanks to bri, glen, rebecca, kevin, mike, maria, roch, ellen, mark, julia, deb and shaun

4. the life of someone special - sunday and monday were spent with family remembering the life of katherine martens. the tributes were beautiful and the ceremonies well planned. the highlight for me were looking at the pictures dating back to the late 19th century. i was very blessed to have been able to participate in this event.

so where is home? i don't think one day passed during our trip without someone asking when we are moving back to vancouver. for all the reasons stated above, and for the abundance of incredible climbing, skiing, sailing, kayaking, etc., i would love to live in vancouver again.

on the other hand, new york city is, well, new york city. and now that we are about to start our own family, i think it will be great to call a place our own. it also makes sense financially for us to stay in new york and its a great city for people to come and visit.

well, for the time being, we'll be here. stay tuned and everything is not always as they seem

sorry for the delay.....

april 1, 2009

i never imagined that maintaining a blog on a consistent basis would be so difficult. and its not for a lack of time that i haven't posted in a couple of weeks

well, the weather is still acting up and playing havoc on plans but we've been able to get outside (climbing and golfing) each of the past two weekends. happy to report that my winter climbing/training is paying off. i was finally able to send a couple of gym projects but more exciting is that i came close to sending some boulder problems that only a year ago seemed impossible for me.

i definitely attribute the improved climbing to a some of my endurance/cardio training as well as a better diet. speaking of which, i went back for another cholesterol test and it appears that it is under control. back to burgers and fries :)

golf is going well too - finally had a decent round last weekend and was able to put a few things together. i'm really hoping to be able to go on a trip in next few weeks but....

i'm going back to school. kindof. i enrolled in the cfa program this week and will be taking the level one exam in december. i looked at some of the sample questions and i think i'll be able to learn the materials but if you have any tips, please let me know.

finally, its three months to go and i'm starting to get really excited/nervous. its hard to predict what will happen and right now we're taking things day by day. however, we have also started looking into moving and considering other factors that will impact our lives. nothing significant to report at this time but i'll try to keep you better posted as developments occur.

spring time (i hope)

march 18

unfortunately my undue delay between posts is simply a product of laziness. however, work has been pretty busy for the past couple of weeks and has been somewhat interesting. i also finally got our tax paper work together so hopefully we'll receive some good news in next few weeks.

regarding work - i know that times are tough for many people but i think things are going to turn around sooner than expected. having now worked on a few of government initiated programs, i think that those in charge are making the best of a really bad situation. and i truly believe what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

one exciting bit of news - i felt the baby moving for the first time the other night. i think we're going to have a strong kid. s/he is very active and seems eager to get on with life.

this past weekend, we had a friend come and stay with us - we always find it fun to have visitors so please come if you have a chance.

other than that, life is just chugging along - played some golf last weekend and am still climbing at the gym. my diet took a bit of a beating this week but overall i think i am doing ok. i need to make an appointment for another cholesterol test soon.

yup - not much to report - but stay tuned. the calm always comes before the storm.

new life - we are having a ........

march 5

in the end, we decided not to find out - what difference would it make anyway? i'm trying to scan in the ultrasound pictures so stay tuned

actually, i have some good news to report (but anything would be considered good compared to my last post)

i survived round 2 of layoffs and am actually starting to get busy again - i almost forgot what is was like to still in the office until 3 in the morning but was rudely reminded this week of how painful that is (especially when you have a 9:30 call the next morning). however, the work is interesting and challenging so i have nothing to complain about

until this week, i had so much time to go to the gym and it was starting to really pay off - i am really close to sending a couple of hard (for me) rock climbs - i really need to work on balancing my schedule and taking time to continue to go to the gym. one a positive note, i'm two weeks into my cholesterol lowering diet and so far so good - few more weeks and i'll go back for a blood test

last weekend we went down to vegas east (a/k/a atlantic city). the drive was a bit longer than anticipated but after getting acquainted with the town (its small), i sat down at a 1/2 no-limit table. my very first hand, i flopped a set (which turned into a full house) and had someone call me all the way :) within a couple of hours, i had doubled my money and things were looking good. we had dinner and then i sat down again and proceeded to hit the nuts on the turn and had someone call my all-in

why i can't just walk away when up big is beyond me???

needless to say, two mistakes/bad-beats and it was all gone. fortunately, i had an ace up my sleeve (a/k/a my fearless rebekah). having never played poker before, i explained the rules over dinner and she decided it would be a good idea no-limit hold'em for the very first time. some may call it beginners luck, others, divine intervention. but in the end, we left atlantic city with winnings sufficient to pay for gas and parking :)

looking forward to this weekend - friends from out of town and maybe even a chance to go climbing at the gunks and/or play a round of golf!

its starting to get a bit scary

february 24

at the beginning of the year, i said to myself that "if by the end of february, work hasn't picked up, i will need to find something different"

it is now at the end of february and given the current workload that i have, i will bill less that 50 hours this month - not good. having said that, there is still no indication that there will be a further round of layoffs. so, if anyone has suggestions on what i should do, i will happily take them at this time.

further scary news - i went to the doctor's on monday and have been told that i have very high cholesterol (the bad kind), very low good cholesterol and very high triglycerides. i've been told to go on a low fat, no butter, eggs, red meat, shell fish diet for a month and report back. maybe this is the kick in the pants i need to get back in shape.

in the mean time, i'm going to try and relax and enjoy the free time - last week, we bought (from a store going out of business) - the complete season 5 of '24'. after watching the first 12 episodes, it amazes me how something so absurd and unbelievable can be so watchable and entertaining.

perhaps some time off will also be beneficial. unfortunately the weather here is still so bad (i.e. cold). i would love to go somewhere warm and boulder and play golf - any suggestions?

out for now

one more year

(my attempt at artistic photography - taken at the national art gallery in washington d.c.)

february 17

so, its that time of the year again to evaluate life and make resolutions going forward - sure i made a few 'new years' resolutions but have always felt that one's birthday is the best time to sit back and do a self examination.

looking back over my 3oth year, there were many highlights and in no specific order, the following are just a few:

- summer vacation 2008 - rock climbing and golfing everyday for 2 weeks - need i say more

- surviving (so far) financial crisis 08/09

- being surprised by the unexpected expectancy

looking forward to my 31st year, the following are what i expect/hope to be significant highlights:

- surviving financial crisis 09/10

- qualifying for the ny public links and climbing my first 8a

- hmmm.......oh yeah....the baby

1. surviving the financial crisis

i took the picture above during our recent visit to the smithsonian institute museum of american history in washington d.c. i think think it is a good reminder as to what is required in order to get the economy going again. i believe that the mess we are currently facing can be partly attributed to a breakage between labour and capital and people forgetting that one requires the other in order to survive. unfortunately the amount of 'cheap' capital in the system for the past 6 - 8 years was funneled not into labour (both manual and intellectual) but rather into cheap goods that depended on other people's labour (i.e. china's). i hope that this stimulus plan (which is a first and necessary step in a long road to recovery) will produce the promised jobs and help people realize that anything worth having is worth working for.

in terms of resolutions, i want to be keep a positive attitude, work hard (when there is work to be done) and keep learning . its really easy to get depressed with all the bad news and the only thing i have control over is my work product and my knowledge base.

2. golfing and climbing goals

as previously noted, work has been slow. last wednesday i took advantage of a remarkably warm day and made my way out to la tourette golf course on staten island. for the past number of years, i have repeatedly beat myself up over the fact that i struggle directing a small white ball into a 3 inch hole. however, hope springs eternal and this winter i realized a swing flaw that resulted in my club head going to far outside on the way back and subsequently snapping to far to the inside (a.k.a. bad all around). once i realized (and corrected) this flaw, i've been hitting the ball great (at the range) and to my very pleasant surprise, the swing held up quite well on the course. there is still much to work on (especially putting) but the public links qualifying round is at la tourette on june 9 and i really hope to put in a good round.

i've also been getting to the gym quite regularly and have definitely been getting stronger. however, my climbing goals are only going to accomplished with an accompanied reduction in in weight so i've been running on the treadmill a couple of times of week. resolution: keep up with the running; goal: to climb predator (8a in rumney, nh)(shown below)

3. on becoming a father

we (and by we, i mean rebekah) are now 1/2 way through and things are being to take shape (and by shape, i mean round). since i have no meaningful role to play right now i've taken to observing parenting behavior. i think i know what it means to be a good parent and the fact that i just wrote that statement proves to all that i have much to learn.

so to all you readers out there, let me know what you think makes a good parent

should we find out?

february 10

its been a while since my last post but unfortunately i can't blame work for keeping me away - for those of you familiar with the concept of billable hours, i'm sure you will understand that 50 billable hours so far this year is not going to be sustainable. i think it is seriously time to look for a new job.....

but in the mean time, i've been keeping 'busy' studying chinese. this website is actually really, really good and you can test your knowledge of chinese characters. i'm still at around 500 but slowly improving.

last weekend was good and rather eventful - on saturday, i went snowboarding at mountain creek. it was ok considering the temperature (around 50 F). i was able to work on some tricks in the terrain park and hit some big jumps - nothing like the jumps that were made at snowscrapers (which we checked out live last thursday)

on sunday i finally made it out to randall island driving range - its so convenient to have a car and i'm sure thankful for it (even though there is something seriously wrong with the fuel tank but which i hope to fix shortly). hopefully my self repair will go slightly better than my fix of the dent in the roof using the "ding king" - check out this video to see it in action. i think it the product is 'ok' and i think my repair made the dent slightly better but rebekah disagrees... oh well

speaking of golf, i am really excited about this upcoming season - now that we have a car, i can make it out to the courses much more often and conveniently. i hope to enter a few tournaments this summer and will you all posted.

finally, climbing has been going ok - i still haven't send any of my projects at the gym but am getting close - i did do a new roof climb (11+) second go last week so that nice.

oh yeah - "should we find out if our baby is going to be a boy or girl" - i think we should; rebekah disagrees (sense a theme?). perhaps if you are reading this, you can let me know what you think

1 down 11 to go

february 2

one month into the new year and my new year's resolutions are off to a shaky start. having said that, i structured the resolutions such that they can be bent without breaking and the beginning of a new month is just the time to rededicate myself to the task at hand.

my first re-resolution is to floss daily and wear my retainer every night - growing up i had such terrible teeth. my parents sacrificed a lot so that i could get braces and somewhat straighten them out. i never really gave my thought to this sacrifice but now that i am responsible for more than just myself, i feel like i owe it to my parents to see that their investment is not wasted.

this past weekend went by so fast but it was fun. i played basketball on friday night and didn't get to bed as early as i needed to in order to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to pick up my friend and head up to the hills. however, a couple of venti coffees woke me up and a super nice day of the slopes was had by all (although i'm still terrible at taking jumps and rails)

on sunday we went to church and found out that the financial condition of this particular church is quite dire. however, what made the most impact on me was seeing the pastor's 4 kids and feeling the stress that they must be experiencing. i remember someone telling me that if you go into ministry to get rich, you're not smart enough to go into ministry. while this is true, i find it unfair that pastors and their families are often expected to live up to a higher standard on a less than standard income. perhaps there is a better way to finance church operations....

anyway, i'm back at work now and nothing has changed. in fact, it is slower than before and now i sense that everyone is worried. as previously discussed, i believe that i have a good plan in the event that i am laid off but i'm still hoping for a better outcome.

its been a few weeks without poker and i'm happy about that - even though there is skill involved, it ultimately is a game of chance and the outcome is predicated on something that you have no control over. i think that is why i enjoy golf and rock climbing so much.

on the home front, apparently the baby now looks like this

its getting closer and so far so good - we're going to the midwife again on thursday and will post another update then

when buildings collapse

january 30

do you remember the simpson's episode when homer and bart sit down to watch 'when buildings collapse' - well, i guess that show wasn't too far from reality. last night i watched ' 101 things removed from the human body'. i think the most impressive was the two motorcyclist who were impaled by the same metal rod (i.e. one long rod in and out the driver and then in and out the back passenger) - simply amazing

for everything that is wrong with the tv culture that is so prevalent in north america, there certainly are a good number of shows on the learning channel, national geographic, discovery and the history channel - below is list of a few of my favourites:

- modern marvels

- destroyed in seconds

- how its made

- taboo

unfortunately, the reason why i have had so much time to watch tv is that work has been painfully slow. in fact, i can't see how i am going to remain employed for much longer. everyone talks about an economic recovery but no matter what happens, it will take years before work returns to the same levels as it was before. however, at least i have a plan....and will share the plan with all if it happens

one benefit of abundant time is that i am making it out to the gym more often. having said that, i can't seem to lose weight and/or gain finger strength. i am convinced that my cardiovascular strength is a major limiting factor so i'm starting to run on the thread mill. am also going to go snowboarding tomorrow! looks like it might be cold but am amped about getting outside again

till next time....

relying on the kindness of strangers

january 26 - week/end in review

so if you've been following this blog, you'll know that we took possession of a car last tuedays. well, in 4 days, we were able to get 3 parking tickets and get towed. certainly unexpected costs associated with car ownership. the most frustrating aspect about these tickets were that they were unintended in the sense that we tried to find legitimate spots and thought we were legally parked. oh well....somebody needs to pay the police....

saturday was an eye opening day - i had an appointment with minh's auto repair to get the car fixed up and was up bright and early - only to find that the car had been towed. however, instead of freaking out and shutting down, i was able to be reflective, accept the situation for what it was and move on. within a couple of hours i was back on the road, had the car in the shop and before i knew it, i was back in the comforts of home.

a good mechanic is probably more important than a good doctor - i believe i can self diagnose and heal most of my physical ailments but when something goes wrong with your car, it often feels like you've been told you have just a short time left to live. i was very happy to find minh's and the fact that there are a significant number of positive reviews attributed to it was reassuring.

we also went to a mall for the first time since moving to nyc - granted the mall was in brooklyn but nonetheless, it was still an experience. rebekah was able to load up on maternity clothes and i had a five-dollar foot long - now that's a deal.

sunday morning and we finally made it to church on time (and by on time, i mean 10 minutes late) - rebekah found the village church and we've attended off and on for the past 6 month. i believe its a presbyterian church and the people i have met seem quite nice. unfortunately, it appears that the church is facing some economic hardship. i also met the pastor's youngest son yesterday and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him even though he seemed perfectly happy. of course there is a story behind this feeling but more about that another time.

after church we went to the gym, watched a movie and i went to the driving range - and hit it great! first time in a long while i felt so good hitting golf balls. hopefully i will be able to continue improving (especially my short game) and have a good summer of golf. i'm also getting stronger and climbing is more enjoyable again. can't wait to go on a trip....

i've also made peace with poker for now and have accepted that i don't have the temperament for the game - i'm going to give it a break for a while although would love to go to atlantic city and play in a tournament

so, things are good and god is good - and what does god require of me - "to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly"

do you believe in miracles

january 22

receiving a new york state driver's licence and registering a car in new york in under 5 hours at the brooklyn dmv ... some would definitely consider this a miracle. but it happened on tueday and to me. i starting to believe 'change has to america' :)

all kidding aside, i hope that what everyone takes away from tuesday's historical events and speech is that the world we live in is so much more than ourselves as individuals. of course the concept of the 'sum of the parts being greater than each of the individual components' is not new - but have you seen this? computer scientists are truly a unique bunch and by far some of the smartest people i know

so, as previously reported, we purchased a car this past weekend, took possession of it on tuesday and promptly began compiling a deficiency list. although its quite long, i don't think it will be too expensive save for replacing all four brakes and rotors. i even purchased the audi repair manual and hope to get my hands dirty this weekend.

last night i went with some clients to the knicks/suns game which turned out to be quite fun - but other than this event, work has been downright dreadful - seems like no one really has an abundance of work to do and everyone is fearful of what is to come

given the major slowdown in the financial markets, i've taken to doing quite a bit of pro bono work which can be fun but also very frustrating - one of my major projects is volunteering at the personal bankuptcy clinic sponsored by the ny city bar. this experience really reinforces how easy it is to fall into debt.

well, back to the grind for another day - can't wait for the weekend.

progress

january 19 - mlk's b-day

last november i had the chance to watch the results of the u.s. elections at rockefeller plaza and 'be part of history in the making'. although it is hard to remain positive when one is immersed in the current financial crisis, i really believe that president-elect obama and the policies he believes in represent the best chance this country has to 'turn-it-around'

progress also on the home front as this week we (and by we, i mean the baby) will enter into its 16th week of existence - apparently the picture below shows what the baby (and the mother) looks like at this stage

the more i research and watch documentaries on the reproduction of mammals, the more i am amazed at the complexity and beauty of it all. i recently watched two national geographic documentaries on the reproduction of dogs and cats and was absolutely blown away. but, if you need to watch just one, see the pbs series on the miracle of life

anyway, i had set out a list of 'to-dos' yesterday and only made it through about 1/2 of them - so, if i want to keep this them of progress going, i best be off.

labels are for cans of tuna

january 18

yesterday was just one of those days where everything seems to line up perfectly - after waking up late, having a great breakfast and cleaning the apartment, we decided to look online for a used car. our plan had been to save money for a few months and buy a car for about 15k early in the summer. however, we decided to see what we could get for 5k.

well, we ended finding a 2000 Audi A4 that comes with a few quirks - the main one being that the engine is from a 2002 A4. anyway, we're happy with the purchase and hopefully the car won't cause us too much problems. its the first time i've bought a used car so it should be a learning experience none the less. much more to come when we actually take delivery of the car on tuesday

after purchasing the car, we decided we also need a new bike for getting around the city. we currently have a dahon d7 folding bike which is great

but for practicality (including the impending need to pull a baby trailer), we decided to go with a trek city bike

we took the bike home gathered up our gear and headed over to the gym

.....flash back about 8 years .....

i was still in college and 'my life' and 'rock climbing' was synonymous - i worked at the gym, went to squamish every week and hung out with a great group of climbers, some who would go on to be today's 'superstars of rock'. i read all the climbing magazines and followed climbing developments, one of which was the explosion of bouldering in the gunks (an area a couple of hours north of nyc) - around that time, rock and ice or climbing magazine (i can't remember which) profile vadim vinokur and described his training regiment which was held at chelsea piers in nyc. and then, for reasons somewhat unbeknown to me (although i suspect 'life' had something to do with it), i fell off the climbing wagon.

however, in 2007, when we moved to nyc, our first stop was in the gunks and our second stop was at chelsea piers

it is fascinating to me how life often comes around full circle - although i am nowhere as strong (or dedicated) as i once was, the joy of climbing has certainly returned and i hope 2009 will result in the completion of some outstanding climbing projects (stay tuned.....)

after a delicious pizza dinner, we headed home and went to bed, but not before some disappointment (the day was too perfect otherwise) i logged on to pokerstars and figured my luck would have to change - i was on a streak of 5 sit'n'gos without a cash and it was starting to wear on me - especially since 3 out of the 5 times i played really well only to love to a 95:5 on the river. one time i lost to a coin flip (it happens) and one time i just sucked. well, to keep a long story short, i logged into two tournaments and was out on the bubble each time - i'm not going to rant and rave because i understand that's the nature of the beast but it sure will feel good to come out on top soon (and before my bankroll is depleted)

today is sunday and unfortunately we are too late to go to the village church - i guess it will be bedside baptist again - thank god for the internet - after listening to a few sermons recently from pastors at the meeting house i think i may have found a denomination of christianity i can relate to. hopefully i'll be able to discuss this matter in more detail in a subsequent point but for now, check out this wiki post on anabaptists

today's to dos (in no particular order):

church
gym
buy a new book or two (chinese history and the shack)
study chinese
play poker
watch nfl playoffs

i better get started....

there is always something to learn

january 14

as you are all aware, the world economy is in shambles and the trickle down effect is being felt everywhere - there is simply no work right now for those of us who were busy structuring financial products for the last few years. is it time to start thinking about a career change? only time will tell

in the mean time, i keep learning and right now i am making my way through the second volume of essential chinese characters - otherwise known as



if you are also trying to learn chinese, i have found this site to be very helpful http://www.mandarintools.com/worddict.html

i've been learning to read and write on and off (more off than on) for the past year or so and can now roughly understand portions of a chinese newspaper

i've also been trying to get into shape but for some reason, i just keep gaining weight - apparently fathers-to-be suffer from empathy-related weight gain but at this rate, rebekah will never catch up to me. i don't quite understand why this is happening especially because my diet has been quite controlled as of late - my increase weight is having a negative effect on my climbing, most recently evidenced by my needing to change 'beta' on a route at the gym because my butt is too big - i use to easily high-step the final move of this .11 but now my enlarged behind requires that i keep my feel lower on worse holds. any suggestions for quick weight loss would be greatly appreciated!

with extra time on my hand, i have been playing a bunch of sit-n-go tournaments on pokerstars - 5.50 buy-ins - i usually like to play 18 players but will sometimes go down to 9. however, on monday, i signed up for a 90 play tournament and came in third! no too shabby but i got lucky twice - both times i went all-in pre-flop as my stack was getting low - first time, i had AJs against AA - made a straight on the river; the second time i had JJ against QQ and hit a J on the turn. both times it was against the same player - better to be lucky than good? what do you think?

things that I am not looking forward too: the cold weather that is suppose to hit nyc http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/10009?from=36hr_fcst10DayLink_undeclared

i suppose it is january but given the temps during the past few years, this cold snap (plus the large amount of snow we got when in vancouver over the holidays) is certainly unexpected.

this is first day of the rest of your life

january 12 - weekend re-cap

on friday, i left work early to get my upper two wisdom teeth removed - fortunately, they were already 'out' and the removal process went very well. within a few hours, i was able to eat solids and drink soup. the following day, it felt like i never had wisdom teeth to begin with

saturday was a lazy day - resting and reading - we also went to look at baby stuff (strollers, cribs etc) - in case you didn't know, its now < 6 months until we (and by we, i mean rebekah) is expected to deliver - i can't wait to watch my own 'thing fall asleep'
http://www.cutethingsfallingasleep.org

sunday - our first NFL game together - the weather was perfect, we got to giants stadium, lots of energy in the air and......the g-men were terrible. specifically, eli m and the the offence play callig was horrible. so. very. disappointing.

well its monday and things are slow at work - i'm not complaining but it is a bit nerve wrecking. "life without lawyers" - the title of a book i saw at b&n and the question i should be asking myself. the answer has to be no....but 'life with a lot fewer lawyers'? that seems possible and potentially beneficial (to everyone except lawyers). no doubt this will become a recurring theme in this blog

anyway, since this is the first post, i should probably tell you a little about what i plan on blogging about. quite simply, it will be about life. in particular, my life - which consists of me, rebekah, dependant with yet unknown gender and name, my work (more to follow) and hobbies (golf, rock climbing and poker)

i also hope to provide pictures and interesting links and food for thought - well, till next time