MedicASIAN

Since my incident on Oct. 12th, I've had to take medication to ensure my survival. The doctors at UCSD Thornton (the Smart Ones) recommended a blood thinner and steroids. No, thanks as I don't want to be ineligible to play baseball nor do I want my jewels the size of raisins.

So, I saw a Chinese herbologist in San Jose who prescribed me herbs. They are quite............ nasty. One of them has to be mixed with hot water and tastes just like kava with no buzz. Think dark and dirty water. After downing the kava-like herb, I always chase it with few pieces of Reese's Pieces to wear off the taste. Atleast, it's a huge treat before Halloween.

The Smart Ones...

What another gorgeous day in beautiful San Diego. I awoke early to drop off my past due Home Owners Assoc fees to the property management company (they understood given my health incident) and on my return fell into traffic on the 805 freeway. The 805 in San Diego, 405 in Orange/LA, and the 101 in the bay area are the nastiest, backed up traffic gridlocks in CA. When I mean nasty, I'm talking Arsenio Hall's "give me some of that funk nasty".

As I sat in traffic, I noticed a Honda Civic that possessed a license holder that read, "UCSD - The Smart Ones". I've seen the license holders before as UCSD is known for its smarter people. A little pompous are we (given that it's not an Ivy League school)??

As we all sat in traffic, I noticed a sistah in a Dodge Stratus merging into traffic from the Clairemont Blvd Exit. Nothing was out of the ordinary until the "smart one" in front me decided to honk her horn for a period of 20 seconds and tried hard not to let the Stratus in. Obviously, "the smart one" wanted to maintain that precious pole position on the 805, leading to nowhere. The honking scared the gal in the Stratus and alerted all the other drivers. I have to give the sistah kudos for not seeking revenge nor giving "the smart one" the half a peace sign.

As we travelled up a bit, I had a chance to change lanes and look over at the driver. I had my usual Asian-Tom Cruise smirk and shaking of the head, while mumbling the ole proverb "Seng ging guh gat chi" which translates, "you act the way you look".

I would probably describe "the smart one" about 5'2 in height and weighing in at a buck eighty. You have to love "the smart ones".

In The Wake Of the Week- Oct 25th

Recession Yes, we're "officially" in a recession folks. My tip is to keep a watchful eye out for promotions at restaurants. Afterall, eating out can be less than cooking. I'm a believer that if you're paying full price, you really need to evaluate why, as almost all restaurants are providing some kind of promotion(s).

Speaking of promos, I have to reveal the best place to watch college and pro football games. Pt. Loma Sports Bar recently opened at the Liberty Station and they offer 23+ HD tv's across the entire bar. It's a sportsters dream! Not to mention, they are offering 2 for 1 entrees (check the Reader) and they even have great salads.

New Chapter I have to be constantly monitoring my blood pressure and abide by a strict diet post the "incident". Thus, I've had to go through my refrigerator and throw away all the goodies and replace with fruits and veggies. The saddest part was donating my 3 crates of Mexican Coke (cokes made in Mexico containing real sugar vs High Fructose Corn Syrup made in US).

Another new activity for the new chapter has been Yoga and Pilates. I have to ensure my body stays limber and flexible for the remaining years of my life. I feel sissy like since I'm one of a few men in the class but it's a great substitute for boxing (which was terminated due to doctor's orders).

SNL I guess Sarah Palin made such an impact in her first cameo appearance, Barack Hussein Obama will also be making an appearance on Saturday Night Live. His reasonings, "the SNL double of me doesn't resemble me and he's not as funny".

Walk This Way....

It was nice returning to San Diego on my own without any guardian since I've required a 24/7 guardian. Even though, I'm still not at 100%, I'm able to use my left hand and leg freely for walking, grabbing, etc. From a strength standpoint, it's a different story. However, I'll regain the strength, eventually. I'm just grateful to be walking, grabbing, and using day to day functions with my left arm and leg.

Being my crazy self, I forced myself to walk the beach this morning. It was a gorgeous morning walk and watching the sunrise was priceless. As I was leaving the beach, I noticed my keys had gone missing from the pocket of my hooded sweatshirt. I panicked and re-traced my steps on the beach for the 2 mile walk. Nothing. I did it again, another 2 miles. Nothing. Keep in mind that I'm still in rehab and my walk is still not straight.

I decided to stop by the ranger station to see if any good samaritan had returned the keys. I wasn't successful with that option since the ranger station was still closed. So, I went back to my car (and fortunately it was still there) and stood there figuring out what to do next. Keep in mind that I had no wallet, phone, and "keys".

I decided to retrace my steps again (partially this time) and again found nothing. As I returned, I saw the ranger station had opened and asked if they received any lost keys. The ranger smiled and said someone had turned in a set of keys about 2 minutes ago..... They turned out to be mine!!!!!!!! I was celebrating in my own way and a big thank you goes out to the good samaritan for turning in my keys. First round is on me (water for me though).

Big John

Going through physical therapy in San Jose has been going very well. I'm so grateful to see the progress made from being a vegetable and lifeless on Sunday PM to almost having full motion of my arms and legs. Being at the stroke clinic, I've come across many people who haven't advanced as fast. One of them is John. He and his wife, Mai, drive down from San Francisco two to three times a week. He's been improving at a very slow rate after receiving the stroke four years ago. He's a good looking 58 year old man that has a zest for life but has been down as of late from the lack of improvements in his left arm and left leg. Seeing him try to do the exercises reminded me of where I was almost a week a half ago.

I decided to help him throughout his session since I had gone through it. We quickly became great friends throughout the session. I kept telling him to continuously use that left arm and left leg and do whatever it takes to do those excercises no matter how dumb it looked. It's all about circulating blood through the affected areas. I've concluded that having another chance in life is much more important than what people think of you doing the silly exercises.

When I felt his hand I felt power and I knew he was going to heal. I just kept feeding him life as that energy would release itself one day. I mean, it happened to me! I know I made an impact since he stated that he would hunt me down in San Diego and we would go for a walk on the beach. I believe in him and I know one day, I'll get a knock on my door for a walk!

"You can doooooo it......."

Chapter 2

The time was 5:30 PM on Sunday Night. I had my #21 LT jersey and was awaiting the start of the San Diego Chargers vs New England Patriots football game at The Pizza Port in Solana Beach. My brother and I had not been to The PP in a very long so the idea of digging into a pepperoni pizza felt quite exciting. Not to mention, our SD Chargers was about to kick off on Sunday Night Football on NBC.


As I was about to drink my glass of Coke, my left arm goes numb. I thought nothing of it until I tried to get up and my entire left side goes numb. That was odd. I thought nothing of it again until my vision started to give way and my right eye felt like someone had stabbed it with a knife. I stated to my brother, that I had no feeling on my left side and my vision was giving way. Being a doctor himself, he knew there was something clearly wrong. As I held onto him for dear life, we went back to his car to drive me home. My rationale was, I thought I could just sleep it off. How wrong was I....

When I spoke to my mom a little later, she noticed my voice was slurring greatly and that was when I knew it was time to go to the Emergency Room at the UCSD Medical Center. I couldn't drive myself so my mom had arranged for my brother to pick me up. We checked in and the next thing I knew, I had every tube sticking into every orifice of my body. I felt motionless and lifeless as I laid in the ER bed. The ER docs felt I needed to stay overnight so they arranged for my room in the Stroke Center.

My parents flew in from SJ the next morning and supported me while I was taking every available CT Scan and MRI of my body. Not to mention, my arms looked like a heroin addict as they extracted blood almost 20+ times during my stay. It was that afternoon the doctors stated that I had suffered a stroke. Yes, a stroke. A 30+ year old male, healthy, non drinker/smoker/drug user, had suffered a stroke out of the blue. What had the doctors even more baffled was my parents were the healthiest people on planet earth and there was no genetics involved.

The 6 nurses assigned to me all say that I was fortunate to have improved greatly without any prolonged permanent damage nor death. The doctors on the other hand have no reasonings for what had happened except that I faced "bad luck".

After staying in the hospital for 4 nights and being discharged on Wednesday night, the 6 neurologists assigned to me couldn't come with a conclusion except that "it could" be this or "it could" be that. To support that conclusion, they wanted me to be on blood thinners and steroids. No thanks (as I'm aware of the side effects for both).

I flew to San Jose the next day to meet with my family doctor. I was also recommended an Acupuncturist specializing in strokes. After more testing and a session in acupuncture (think 10 needles on my head), I've started to improve. With the progress in my health, I am hoping to return to San Diego later this week.

I am truly grateful for the miracles, prayers, and support during this transitional event into Chapter 2.

HOOTERS GIRL

Hoot Hoot. Some people, including ex-girlfriend's, think I'm gay but definitely metro. That's cool and I'm ok with that since I'm comfortable with myself.

Years ago, I was set up on a blind date by Candice (CL) . She and I went to high school together and at the time, CL was working at Adobe. One of my colleagues, Doug (DM) resigned from SGI and went to Adobe and of course started hitting on her (think of CL as an Asian Princess). DM finds out CL went to Monta Vista for high school and asked if she knew me. She stated yes and asked him for my phone number. Poor Doogie got Chuck Blocked.

A few weeks later, CL and her cousin Darlene (DC) and I go out for sushi at Miyake's. The next morning, DC leaves me a voice message at Silicon Graphics, Inc. saying she had a great time and for me to call her back urgently. I returned DC's call and DC proceeds to tell me that she wanted me to go out with her co-worker, Erin (EP). Erin's a cute/hot blonde skier, runner, and candlestick maker that looks very similar to the actress, Reese Witherspoon. Being a single guy, I had a choice- Asian Princess or sporty Reese? I chose Reese and we go out the next week which leads to 3 years of being spoken for.

About a month ago, my brother and his mates go to Hooters in Rancho Bernardo and as my brother was intently watching the game, the female Hooters manager comes by and asks if all's well with their service. He looks back and it was EP!!!! Think deer in headlights, awkward moment. What are the odds of meeting up in San Diego from the bay area? My brother stated she still looked "hot" and being that I remember EP not as endowed in the top region, my bro states she definitely received fake hooters.

To date, I still have not gone into Hooters in RB even though I play water polo weekly at Mt. Carmel HS. Why bring up the past? The most important thing is that I dated a Hooters girl....

Stay Thirsty My Friends....

Adam Ant says, "Don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?". I stopped consuming alcoholic beverages after my college fraternity days due to being too fat and spending way too much $$$. Not to mention, the numerous drinking and driving moments that I got away with- think 20ish Superman. My parents caught me a few times and said that if they caught me doing the D-N-D again, they'd report me into the police themselves. They'd rather have me alive in prison and someone's bitch vs being dead.

However, I do enjoy a cold beer when playing poker, watching sports, or attending a bbq. Nothing beats an ice chilled, cold Corona.

Stay thirsty my friends.

Grand Cherokee

I just got the report for the cost to fix my Grand Cherokee. It's not a good report. Consider a few broken cylinders not covered under warranty. Ouch.

Anyone that desires a Grand Cherokee and wants to drive it off to Mexico, the windows will be opened half way and a key will be on the floor mat. It's still in great condition - V8, sunroof, leather.

Enjoy.

Religious Victims + Team Shin + OJ

Religious Victims
The bible and Charlton Heston in the movie 10 Commandments says, "Do Not Use The Lord's Name in Vain." Growing up, I was told not to swear or use God Damn or Jesus Christ when you stubbed your toe.

Well, I had a revelation in the shower the other day. The statement was applicable when you used God's name in your plan of action like "You need to invest in my scam because God told me to tell you" or "You (being married) need to marry me because God wants me to provide you the ultimate happiness."

Don't be a religious victim. Be upfront without getting God into the picture- like the guy on the corner with a sign that reads, "WHY LIE? I NEED A BEER".

Team Shin
It's all about living a quiet, drama free, and private life. Family and relationships are very important and I honor the privacy associated with those relationships.

I had one gal (we'll refer to her as fat mouth) who didn't understand the concept. She enjoyed rummaging through my emails and phone bills and would follow up even with my hairstylist about my happenings. My recommendation is, instead of screaming the loudest so you can be heard, use that mouth of yours for more productive results.

OJ Simpson
I remember being at Silicon Graphics Bldg 1 and staring at the big screen when the verdict of "not guilty" was given. Recently, OJ Simpson was caught with robbery at the Palace Station Hotel and was slapped a guilty verdict by the jury. Maximum jail time is 19 years. Trial date will be communicated later.

Karma, karma, karma......... karma chameleon.

In The Wake Of The Week.... Oct 4, 2008

Being that this is my first post, I wanted to give the PR (proper respect) to Coach Bud Geracie of the SJ Mercury News. I've been reading his sports section "wake of the week" article for many years. The guy is funny. Even when I was working for KR, it was a honor meeting up and playing basketball during the lunch hour at The Merc.

Vice President Debates. Why do so many people fear Gov. Sarah Palin? She's a Vice Presidential candidate people. That means she's running for 2nd in command. Yea, she's one heart attack away but at the moment, she's vying for #2. The silver medal, Avis, dos, #2.

Some people also think she's a moron and these same people wanted to see her fail during the debates. Who's feeling moronic now?

Gov. Palin lacks the international experience vs Biden but I respect her for her tenacity and execution. She's less political than Biden and I believe she would generate far greater results than her counterpart. That's good character in my books.

So, when I see the McCain - MILF bumper stickers, there's consideration on Nov. 4th.

Elections. I'm a registered Republican who's voted twice for Billary Clinton and would consider voting for the Hussein Obama on Nov 4th. Why? The Maverick hasn't showed a policy that's deviated from the current Bush regime and I don't believe in voting Republican just for the sake of doing so.

I consider McCain's strategy the "Bush Regime Part Deux". There needs to be radical changes and it looks like it could be Hussein and Biden in '08. Lip service and lack of execution is another story.

Bailout. $700 Billion to save our financial sector and economy. Winner- Warren Buffett. He received favorable terms with both GE and Morgan Stanley where his $3B and $5B, respectively, will reap big with very little risk. Here's a great example of Buffet's investment with Morgan Stanley. He'll receive a 10% dividend + a lock in price of $115 per share. Currently, the MS stock is trading at about $140 share. Multiply the lock in and divide by $5 Billion and do same with current and you'll see Mr. Buffett, who owns Dairy Queen and See's Candies (both very profitable companies), wipe his bung hole with $100 bills.

Football. It's football season. Saw the Oregon St. vs Utah game on Thursday. Upset #2? Well almost..... Looooooooooouie Sakoda kicked the game winning field goal with 1 sec. left. Sweet Lou will be experiencing the "hot chick" syndrome where he won't ever need to buy drinks.

Come to the light. I respect DA OAKLAND RAIDERS fans. Here you have a team that hasn't won very many games in the past 5 years and an owner who continues to dwindle the market value of the franchise. Yet, the fans continue dressing like clowns come game time.

Go Bolts (against Miami Dolphins).