a few days ago, i got an email from pbase. they will be terminating my site since i haven’t been paying the yearly fees. with the advent of facebook and other ‘free’ photos sites, i found little desire to pay for the site. mind you, it has hosted my photos without a hitch and with a certain privacy and ‘not with the crowd’ flavor. i also liked how much of the EXIF data for the photos are one click away for your viewing – great for the photographers out there.

so long pbase.com. you’ve served me well…in time, things must come to an end.

mom is reading the star advertiser and the front page features ‘largest swell of the new year’. with that, my brother and i looked at one another and said ‘let’s go!’ my wife didn’t really like how that whole event materialized from getting ready to pack up for our overnight stay at the Aulani Disney Resort to dropping everything and taking a trek to the Mecca of the Surfing World to see what might be some incredible waves. it wasn’t the fact that we wanted to go…but HOW i presented it…or in actuality, the lack of presenting it.

long story short, she wasn’t mad once we arrived at the hotel – another day event that deserves it’s own post.

on to our adventure…

heading up kamehameha highway toward hale’iwa.

hale’iwa sign means we’re very close, but the traffic is building…

such a peaceful scene…amidst all this traffic…

a harbinger of what’s to come…

“tottemo abunai da yo!” scream the nihonjin…

waimea’s treacherous shorebreak…

two surfers battle it out on the mountain!

the entire surfing world was here at waimea bay.

media, surfing fanatics and tourists? they’re all here…

proof…

i just discovered the Nike Training Club from the apple store. it’s a completely free app – it’s an apparent offspring of the ever popular Nike+ GPS app for the apple iOS.

first of all, it’s an app for the wahine – and let me tell you, it will kick your butt! i’m not a professional athlete by any means, but i do consider myself in good health and in good physical shape.

unlike most men’s workout routines that you commonly see, these workouts entail a lot of movement and aerobic activity. some of the more intense workouts ask that you have some weights and a medicine ball. after my first 30 minute workout (get lean / intermediate / the shredder), i felt great. a lot of perspiration and high intensity. great, i got a workout in and i feel great – perfect workout before our trip to hawai’i right?

the next 3 days, my okole muscles where crying and i was whimpering like a sad puppy. my brother was laughing and my wife never heard the end of it. i could barely raise or lower myself to the ground without shuddering in pain. well apparently my okole muscles needed some tuning up…and that is what this app did!

i would highly recommend this app to anyone – male or female – who’s looking for a great series of exercises and great instructional videos to show you how to do the routines correctly. and for the kane out there, there’s some extra incentive and inspiration during the workouts.

we went to a new italian restaurant named Mosto Enoteca on friday out in marina del rey on friday. we enjoyed some really excellent antipasto and some vino. it was also great that we were able to take advantage of a restaurant.com $75 coupon! dining smart!

on saturday we went to a friend’s son’s first birthday party and met up with some old friends and co-workers. keitaro was walking around a lot and he enjoyed himself very much. he was trotting around in the backyard – falling, but not getting hurt…and learning a lot!

on sunday we attended the LTRC christmas party at the usual grounds around the griffith observatory. there was a lot of good food and it was fun to hear about what was happening with everyone. we hadn’t been able to make it up there in a while. the gathering also got me thinking again about training for the upcoming LA Marathon on march 18th.

on monday, my wife and son made me a very nice dinner squid ink pasta. however, it was not quite as black as this pasta should look since she misread the can of the squid. nonetheless is was great! she also made some hanbagu (ハンバグ) and rosemary potatoes. washing all that down was a nice chardonnay. finally my wife treated me with some green tea cake, a mango jello pudding and a grapefruit dessert. oishikatta! gochisousama deshita!

i had a great weekend!

it was about him gaining enough confidence to walk without holding our hand. we would see him take a few steps here and there but he would later ease down as if he realized “what am i doing?”

perfect timing as we are just about to embark on our hawai’i trip in a few weeks!

it consists of 30 reps of jumping jacks, air squats, situps, pushups and burpees.

i did a set minus 25 burpees in 3:10. yes yes i know the burpees are the hardest part so call me weak! next time i’ll see if i can complete the entire set.

keep it up!

i’m in!

it was so-so. it looks great though! next time we’ll have to add a little more olive oil and use whole unadulterated cream. even 2% milk doesn’t cut it. like anything, it takes time.

kenji and aya were married yesterday at redondo beach just a minute away where they first met. it was a quaint and personal wedding. we are so happy for them! congratulations once again!

i had the pleasure of taking photos of them for their special day. it was a learning experience but it was challenging and fun all the while being able to witness a special moment.

cam newton single-handedly kept me in the race for a playoff spot! talk about diamond-in-the-rough, i picked him up at the 15th spot. see below.

chris johnson finally came around for me in the last few games. manning was decent to start the season and later fizzled out. jennings was a solid a receiver you can have. and it was a great addition for my last game against kent who has rodgers. a breakout player was gronkowski who just obliterated the tight end spot.

i need one more win to put me in ‘prize’ contention!