makupengu's Xanga

Labor Day Wknd '06

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 02:59:09 GMT

Talk about last minute trip... Talked Tammy into coming along with me on a "casual" backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park on Wednesday before the long weekend. Before we knew it, we were on the plane to Denver with our backpacks...destination Grand Lake. Day 1: Hiked 6.2 miles from the North Inlet Trail Head going counter-clockwise. Day 2: Hiked 8 miles round trip to check out lakes Nokoni and Nanita. Day 3: Continue on North Inlet trail, ascend Flattop Mountain, and hop on Continental Divide Scenic Trail. Day 4: Hiking another 8.8 miles to complete the North Inlet/Tonahutu Creek Trail loop.

4 days and 33 miles later...

Tammy passing out...

Can you find Tammy in the picture?

not a happy camper...

So I thought these were "wild horses"...but they turned out to be elks.

and finally at the finish line...

Overall, the trip was an awesome experience. It was my first time planning and leading a backpacking expedition. And it was definitely a lot of firsts for Tammy too. Thanks for staying tough and being a good sport! I promise the next beginner I con, or persuade, to go backpacking, I'll share more details upfront =P

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:13:49 GMT

Mi Casa Nueva

Finally...after 3 months of looking and the most emotional rollercoaster I've been through...my new crib!! Signed the contract over the weekend and closing is in 30days. I don't know what I got myself into...but I swear when I was sitting there going over all the paper work and documentation with the agents, there was a voice in my head saying "stand up and leave, Mark..." Anywho...too late now. I am now a slave to my mortgage...no more buying plane ticket to the Bay two days before leaving. No more $100+ drinking tabs and saying "drinks all around on me!" So please come visit me in Houston and bring some In-N-Out. I promise there's plenty of floor space to sleep (there won't be any furniture cuz I need the $ for food) and we can drink some cheap 40's from the balcony.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:10:43 GMT

City of Angels

Oh how I miss the awesome Korean food in Ktown. And nothing like drinking whiskey, singing karaoke, and booking fobby girls at Prive. Ah yes...good ol' ktown . The Lim sisters always can party like rockstars. Hands down to these soju loving gals who can drink me and Jas under the table any day. Oh and In and Out is still THE best burger joint ever. Diddy Reese also added to the weekend of pigging out...man I love those ice cream sandwiches

Alice, me, and Jas at Diddy!!

Lena's Bday at Prive

Caught the Cal vs UCLA Pac-10 Championship game...guess it was a win win situation for me, but of course I was cheering for my Golden Bears

The grad nerds meet up at Santa Monica. Chad drove down from SF on Saturday just to have a few beers with me...what a trooper!!

Doesn't that doube-double look good!! I'm getting hungry just looking at this picture. Great pose, Alice.

Bumped into Big Joet on 3rd St , haven't seen this cool guy since '01!

Monday, March 27, 2006

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 04:02:13 GMT

CNY '06, Part 3 - Good Times

The "boys" reunite again (firs time since '03?) in Frisco: Jason from SF (of course), Da-wei from Shanghai, DH from Seattle, and me from Houston...

for some odd reason, it always gets kinda.."friendly"

mmm...Irish single malt Scotch...my favorite

I think I was trying to do the Batz Maru (don't ask me why...) or it was an imitation of DH with his eyes open

Bowles Men '97-'98 - James, John, me, & DH - unite!

Yvonne and some kinda monkey (or could be Camille) in the background

Paula and Camille reacted differently to the 4-horsemen

wtf is that in the back?! oh it's crazy Jason.

I don't think Jason was feeling the affection

Good times, guys and gals. I shall be back...

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:27:43 GMT

CNY '06, Part 2 - South Lake Tahoe

Finally, after y'll pestering me to upload these pictures...

Jake driving up to South Lake. Doesn't he look like "San-Ji", the Taiwanese Mafia boss, in Young and Dangerous?

Pasta, steak, and beer at the cabin...I think the 5 of us ate enough food for 10.

Dave did it.

Powder at Kirkwood was pretty sick...

Didn't take long to find ourselves back at the resort bar.

Lotion, paper towel, and a very exhausted Dave.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 03:57:52 GMT

ASIA SF

Ok..some of you guessed it. The restaurant described below is Asia SF! I wanted to see who would be the suckers that holler at the "girls" in the pictures...sorry Denny. Check out this picture my brother took with one of the "chude" ( chick + dude = chude).

I still get the goose bumps when I look at this picture. Dudes, next time you check out a girl, make sure you look for an Adam's Apple or a bulge in the pants. If you're intoxicated and have the goggles on, ask your wing-man/wing-woman to check. If it's too dark to see, make sure you talk to her enough to know that she doesn't sound like Darth Vader. Cheers!

Monday, January 30, 2006

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:57:48 GMT

MY NEW FAVORITE RESTAURANT

Back in the Bay Area this week for vacation...WOOHOOO!!! Went to this awesome fusion restaurant in the city last night with hot chicks dancing on the bar top! The food was great, the atmosphere was buzzing, and the girls were just....see for yourself

Dancing to Britney's "I'm a Slave 4 U"

She did a rendition of a Janet Jackson song...forgot what it's called, but this chick can dance and shake her thang!!

They need to have this in Houston .

Monday, January 16, 2006

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:56:37 GMT

Houston Half Marathon

After 3 months of training and 100+ miles of running , I finally did it !! 13.1 miles. 9.12 min per mile. 2:02 was my chip time. One of the most exciting thing I've ever done. The adrenaline, 17000+ runners, 200,000 spectators, and all the cheering was just awesome. I think I'm hooked. I'm not an athlete by all means, so being part of this huge sporting event and accomplishing something was just too cool. When I stuck around after the half marathon to cheer on a couple of co-workers, I couldn't believe how many marathoners whom you would never think they can even run from the front door to their mailboxes at the end of their driveways without keeling over. I'm definitely pumped up and inspired to run more and hopefully run my first marathon one day. If a 75 year old grandma or a 300+ guy lugging around his beer belly can do it, I can do it!

Below summarizes how I matched up with other half-marathoners...

2311th place with 5042 finishers behind. About 31% of finishers ahead.

1586th place with 1707 finishers behind. About 48% of finishers ahead.

210th place with 171 finishers behind. About 55% of finishers ahead.

That's Joe's wife Jen in the middle (Joe's my co-worker). Even though she's done 3 marathons already, it was a pretty emotional trial for her when her running partner couldn't continue around mile 20. Jen said she just broke down emotionally and started crying. But she showed heart and made the 6 hr race cut-off, finishing the marathon at 5:58. Manju, who I also work with, came in at 5:20. When I saw him at the finish line, his white shirt had blood stains running down from where his nipples are. Funny..but ouch. Did you know marathoners (male) wear nipple caps to prevent all that chaffing?

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 01:15:40 GMT

80s Music Rocks

After snowboarding in Northstar Tahoe for two days, I met up with Scott, Camille, Alice, Tina, and Geoff on Friday night at the Cellar. Okay, I've always liked 80s music, but I must say I haven't danced like I don't give a damn for a while. As usual, we busted out all of our ol' school moves...there was definitely no room for amateurs or being embarrassed here.

Scott was perplexed about something I was thinking about

Not sure what that move was...

Alice and I dancing to Guns N' Roses

Notice how some of us are really wet...thanks to the girls as they started throwing water at each other and then proceeded to dry themselves using my sportscoat...

I thought Camille was the one complaining about her stomache pain

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 02:20:41 GMT

"Homosexuals are Gay"

So I saw this bumper sticker on the back of a Chevy Blazer 5 mins ago while coming home from running errands. WTF does "Homosexuals are Gay" mean? First I was a little offended. I have nothing against homosexuals and my personal belief is that they have just as much rights as everyone else. I'm irritated by this bumper sticker, but at the sametime I'm not sure what it means. It's almost like saying "Asians are Orientals". The words 'homosexual' and 'asians' are neutral and don't draw much attention; however, the words 'gay' and 'oriental' could have negative connotations. So is the bumper sticker I saw trying to antagonize the homosexual community? Is this soccer mom trying to make a statement that she and her family are right wing republicans who believe homosexuals should be burned at the stakes?? What if I drove my car around with "Blacks are Niggas" or "Whites are Honkeys"? Yes, everyone has his/her freedom of speech, and I guess this blog entry is my form of protest against ignorant mofos.