Monthly Archives: January 2008

About this time of year, when the days are slowly getting longer, I used to look forward to the plum blossoms coming into bloom. During this season, snow still falls in the mountains, we’d eat nabe under the kotatsu table, and the plum blossoms appearance would encourage us that in a few months hanami and … Continue reading »

Well, that was a fun five days off. As much as I like the aquarium, sometimes we need our own time and space to ourselves. For my last day off, I woke up late, and went for an afternoon hike at Point Lobos. Thankfully, today, the rains let up, and I was able to survey … Continue reading »

When I was in the 6th grade I wanted to have facial hair. I don’t know why I wanted it, only that it seemed like a cool thing to have. I imagined that when I started shaving, it would encourage my follicles to produce a luxurious mustache and beard. I carefully assembled all of the … Continue reading »

I went for a long walk in the rain today through the streets of Pacific Grove. I used to frequently go for a walk in the other neighborhoods I lived in, but the prospects of having an adventure, experiencing exotic sights, sounds, textures, and smells in your home country just don’t seem like they could … Continue reading »

It’s weird to see how popular Huntington Beach has become, and seeing people on the show who I didn’t know were lifeguards. They call it “actuality TV” as opposed to “reality TV”, but it’s interesting to see how fancy editing, a dramatic voice over, and a sound track can hype and dramatize a regular day … Continue reading »

The only reason I have cable is for the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, PBS, the Travel Channel, and Comedy Central. These three channels constitute what I watch 80 percent of the time, with Comedy Central being the one channel I probably watch the most. Laughter is indeed therapeutic, but there is something else. Comedy … Continue reading »

Ah, to socialize on a Sunday! I forgot what it was like to have my days off overlap with my friend’s days off. Going a year working on Saturdays and Sundays has profoundly affected how I socialize, though it is not all bad. Nowadays, I usually spend half of my first day off working at … Continue reading »

…I would add this to my list of things to do on vacation.

For the past year, I’ve dedicated myself to learning everything about my job at the aquarium. On my time off, I read books about marine biology, social marketing, how the brain works, leadership, and science. I’ve also started up a couple of internal blogs at the aquarium, which are much less fun and even less … Continue reading »