So today I went with some of my co-workers to LA's Chinatown and had Dim Sum for the first time. For those of you that haven't been to Dim Sum, it is quite an different dinning experience. A hostess shows you to your table and as you sit down you are pounced upon, by the servers/food pushers. Before I was even seated we had a vegetable dish, and some kind of deep fried shrimp creation on the table. Durning the first round of attacks by the food pushers there was no less then four carts of steaming hot food, that had everything from pastries with pork and shrimp to things that I could barely be identifed with my untrained eyes. The food pushers were sticking the plays of entrees in your face fast and furiously, while telling you you'd like it. Fortunately Yvonne and Eggman knew was to eat and what to let walk away. If you are a first timer to Dim Sum I highly recommend going with a pro, otherwise you'll have 800 dollars worth of food on your table before you know what hit you.

I decided that I'd start off this culinary adventure with a simple plan. I'd start with the foods I recognized and progress to dishes I couldn't quite identify and or would make my coworkers laugh. First round was a little bock choy and seaweed salad. Both of course were very good. I had a little bbq pork and short ribs, and then Eggman dropped the food bomb. He ordered the chicken feet. Well, when in rome right? So I tried me some chicken feet. I'm going to have to say not my favorite thing on the menu. The flavor was surprisingly good, but I just couldn't hang with the texture or having to contiunely tell myself that I wasn't eating chickens feet, when in fact I was. But hey I tried it right! However I did try something called porage, its a soup that is made from rice pork and green onions, it was absolutely delicious. Ed man stole the show when he ate the shrimp with spicy salt whole, in two bites, head, tail and everything inbetween. The man likes his shrimp, that is for sure, not to be out done the Left Handed Texan, followed suite.

So we got through most of our meal and it was time to get some desert, again Eggman was up to bat for ordering, and he choice sweet tofu. Its appearance left a little be desired. Mike said, "when something looks like that in the frige, I was taught, its time to throw it away." But I tried it anyway, It was good, I actually finished off the huge bowl that Eggman served me up. All in all a nice adventure in food.

Today is the Little Boy's first day of First Grade. It seems completely amazing to me that the Little Boy is already in First Grade! My Beautiful Wife and I were talking and it seems like just yesterday when we were talking about how it would be only five years till he'd be in school. And now, he's in first grade. He'll now have two recesses and lunch at school. We tried to tell him that these were good things, and I am sure soon he we feel it is.

So as per our ritual The Little Boy and I rode down the the local starbucks this morning and got our usual's. I'm always surprise to see how many people smile at us, and wave to him. Its a great thing that seeing him riding is so nostalgic for so many people besides myself. In November the Little Boy will be riding for a year. Riding with him I've learned more than I think he's learned from me.

One thing I've learned is lead by example, the do as I say not as I do thing doesn't work. You have to ride as you tell them to. For example in California, children under 18 must wear a bicycle helmet by law. However adults are not required to do so. I always wear a helmet when I ride, even if I'm not riding with the Little Boy. If I come home and he sees me riding without a helmet. I've nulled all of the time I spend telling him he has to wear a helmet. So today we are riding home from starbucks and he sees a guy riding his bike, and says too me "That guy isn't wearing the seatbelt for his head!', I agree with him and say, you are right, he's not wearing a helmet." He says, if he falls he can hurt is head.", I of course again agree.  Inside, I'm thinking "Yes!!!! he gets it!, wooohooo!".

Another thing I've learned is, you want to be a good bike handler, it's amazing how quickly they zig and zag. They will keep you on your toes. I can't tell you how many times the Little Boy has jumped all the way across the street and back on our little side street, and cut me off. Crossing a main street at the crosswalk, with cars speeding it two directions, you learn how to do a trackstand, while putting yourself between the Little Boy and Angry motorist, without pulling you feet out of the toeclips, you've learned to handle the bike better than you ever thought you could.

So as I mentioned yesterday, I am home in bed sick on my vacation. I'm trying very hard to stay in bed rest and get better. I really don't want to be sick my entire vacation. So I am watching some of my favorite old movies. The movies that you watch by yourself because everyone else is bored with them.  So I am watching American Flyers. I love this film, it's corny and the acting isn't very good, it has the cheesy 80s synth music in it and completely love it. I remember watching it as a kid.

We use to live in a little house in rosemead. I remember laying on the floor hands on chin looking up at the TV and watching  American Flyers. There was another movie I remember watching when I was a kid was Breaking Away. I also seem to remember that is wasn't just Dad who enjoyed this movies by my Mom as well. In fact I remember very clearly on our family vacations, bringing a bike for Mom and Dad, Brother K, Sis and myself. Brother J was just 3 or 4 years old so he rode in a childseat on Moms bike.  We would take rides around the campgrounds at Lake Jennings. That an about a thousand other great childhood memories, of riding my bike with my Brothers, my parents, or even just by myself. So its save to say that I get my love of cycling from my parents. Now I ride with the Little Boy, I wonder if he'll have the same love of cycling I have?

So today is the first day of my week long vacation, and I am sick. Not only am I sick, but I mad about being sick. You see the last time I took a vacation, about a year ago, I was sick then too. So it seems that I can't mention the word vacation without catching a cold or the flu. My Beautiful Wife suggest that I just rest for the next couple of days. Which sounds like a good idea. She's a smart lady so I plan on listening to her.

It's coming up on a 10 months since the doctor told me to shape up or things would not go well. I was really good for the first three months. Mostly because I think I was scared for my life. However around January I slipped some. We had a huge project at work, and I let the stress of that allow me to slip back in to some bad habits that had gotten me in trouble in the first place. Like handfuls of M&Ms to reduce stress. Don't get me wrong, a handful of M&Ms can reduce stress, but only for about 10 minutes and then another handful is required. A vicious cycle I admit. While I haven't slipped all the way back to drinking three 20oz Coke-Colas in an afternoon. I have been eating too much beef and not enough fish. Also did let other things go, like getting out and exercising. But I am back at it now.

However its a little difficult. The only real exercise I can stand to do is cycling. In fact I love cycling. I have a photo of a 10 speed cassette on my wall at work as art. And around July people are tired of me talking about the stages of The Tour De France (That is Tour of France for those non-french speakers out there). So for me the best way to get  exercise is to ride my bike. Again we run into a problem. I am asthmatic. One of my biggest triggers is cut grass. It takes my breath away faster that Max the wonder puppy can wolf down a hot dog. (For those of you that don't know, that equates to about .005  of a second). So for those that aren't asthmatic with cut grass as trigger, you'll be interested to know that at almost all times, someone is mowing a lawn with in a 7 mile radius of where you are standing. So ride a stationery bike, you say.  Yeah, I can't do that, the futility of all of that work and you're still in the living room just doesn't work for me. So I ride when it's dark. Usually earlier in the morning. Because if you can't see the lawn, you can't mow the lawn.

Now I've learned some interesting things from riding in the dark. First, more people eat breakfast than you think. This morning I passed a house where I could smell bacon, fried potatos and eggs. I almost stopped by for a bite. Secondly doughnuts smell disgusting after you've ridden 5 miles as hard as you can. Third anyone that has gotten up before the sun to exercise, is happy to see another person and will always wave hello. Somehow knowing you aren't suffering alone makes it more bareable. Forth, I really love riding to the east and watching the sun rise as I ride. The sunlight dancing through the leaves is quite breathtaking (but not in a cut grass kind of way). Fifth, there is such an amazing feeling you get when you've ridden to the top of a hill that intimidates you. Sixth, you get a great comfort riding along a road by yourself and there isn't another car on the rode to be seen for miles. Its amazing how tranquil an empty road can feel. Seventh, I actually love to ride when it is misting or drizzlying. After the first ten minutes, you actually warm up, and feel comfortable and feel like you can ride farther than you have before.

 So if you see a guy riding a silver bike, with a silver helmet pedalling to towards the foothills early in the morning, don't pull up behind him and honk, that scares the bejeepers out of me.
Happy Pedalling

Well, Sis is off to Indy for Gencon. This is here second time going. It's one of the biggest gaming conventions there is. These people like to dress up for the occasion, which is where she fits in. My Sister makes some of the most beautiful costumes you've ever seen. She is flying over there for the conventions and being the nervous geek I am I had to track her flight. Of course I didn't want to have to hit refresh each time to see how her flight was going so I wrote something to do that for me.