Love

Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
Note: I have updated Photos section with new photos.

Sunset at Venice Beach

It was definitely a long week. The business trip to west coast was exhausting. The trip was both fruitful and educational, however. On the last day of the conference, there was an earthquake that rated 4.7 in magnitude shaking the convention center. I was in the basement and didn’t even know about it until someone notified me. Good news is there was no significant damage caused by this earthquake. Other than this “small” incident, visiting Long Beach was a blast. Long Beach is the most industrialized and polluted beach I’ve ever seen. Luckily, beaches in the nearby area are a lot better and I especially enjoy the dining experience I had nearby the Venice Beach. The weather was a little chilly. Consequently, no girls on bikini were seen near the beach. Furthermore, it was near sunset at that time. The only person on a swimsuit (more like just a thong) was a black guy that playing tricks with his metal “ball.” He stopped me and offered to show me his trick playing with a metal ball. To ensure me that he is using a heavy metal sphere, he asked me to “hold and feel” the sphere. At that time, I guess I must have out of my mind and accepted the “challenge” to “hold and feel” a black guy’s “ball”. I was totally disgusted after he showed me how he can agilely roll the ball on his body, from left to right. I looked at my left hand that just held that ball; I can see germs laughing at me. Yuck! I did clean my hand thoroughly before I had my dinner. Luckily, the dinner was a very fine French cuisine and that definitely made me feel better.

It’s 10,000 hits, baby!

It was year 2000 when my first blog was published. Blogging wasn’t as popular back then. At that time, I only shared my blog with close friends and family. It has been a good avenue for me to share my life experiences, photos, and to channel all the rants and raves. However, when blogging became infectious, my blog received many comments from many unknown visitors. At one point, I was at the edge to discontinue blogging because I wasn’t able to get over the overwhelming fact that the Internet is a wide open channel. Never had I felt so naked. Of course, it didn’t take long for me to overcome the insecurity. Jinsonchan.com is still surviving and this week it received more than 10,000 unique visits since it was established. I know this number doesn’t mean anything (some blogs have more than 10,000 hits a day), but it is a milestone in my life. I appreciate you people out there visiting my website and posting appropriate comments. Hopefully this website will evolve together with my quest for a good life.

Sex and the City

I have been reading “The Ultimate Book of Cocktail” lately and found an inspiration to come up with a slightly twisted version of Metropolitan, which I called Sex and the City:

Ingredients:
2 oz Grey Goose Vodka Le Citron (No substitute)
1/2 oz Chambord
Dash of fresh lemon juice
1 small scoop of Häagen-Dazs raspberry or strawberry sorbet
Lemon twist
Music

Directions:
Add 2 oz of Grey Goose Lemon Vodka, 1/2 oz of Chambord, and a dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice into shaker with ice. Turn on your CD player and play Beach Boys' "Surfing USA." Dance with the music while shaking. Strain the mixture into a frosted martini glass. Add a small scoop of Häagen-Dazs raspberry or strawberry sorbet. Finally, garnish with a lemon twist.

Why I call it Sex and the City? A friend of mine once told me having sorbet in summer is better than sex (really?). I added sorbet into a Metropolitan, therefore, Sex and the City (Okay, damn it, I made this up). This is a relatively girlie drink, but it tastes so good that no one can resist.

Biking!

My bike on my car.

I’ve learnt the lesson not to simply cancel my outdoor plan according to the unreliable weather forecast. It was yet another false alarm last weekend. Contrary to the predicted rain storm, weekend was perfectly sunny and steaming hot. On Sunday, I went biking with my coworker. We biked for about 16-mile loop in DC area. The scenery of Potomac River along the bike trail was very enjoyable until the temperature went up to 90F. Seriously, nothing can be enjoyable at this temperature. I am so glad I was able to complete the whole trip on my first ride. I am hoping I can build up stamina to bike on 18-mile long Mt. Vernon trail to visit George Washington’s house. Although I am confident I can get there with no problem, riding back another 18 miles is a potential issue. Oh boy, spring is almost over and summer heat wave is on its way. I have to make it before the heat attack (My coworker yelled at me, “Dude, aren’t you from MALAYSIA?” My answer was, “I lived in a frozen Iowa for past 4 years, that’s why”).

Note: I have updated Photos section with photos I took last Saturday trip to Great Falls Park.