judo Facing my fears I injured my knee 2 weeks ago during Judo class due to someone new doing a technique improperly. I have been planning to go to the San Jose judo tournament for a while, and the injury has made me unsure about whether I should
rant The question I get asked the most and struggle to answer I get asked this question fairly often, and it's one of those questions I had no problem answering earlier in my life, but as time went on I'm finding it more and more difficult to answer. I get asked this question in all kinds
judo My first judo tournament experience(s) As I'm lying in bed still sore while typing this, I want to go back and compare my judo experiences back then and how I got started, with now and how my view / interest in judo has changed since I picked it back up
travel Lessons learned from packing for Asia Trip 2016 In one of my previous posts I showcased my first attempt at packing for my Asia Trip at the beginning of the year. I then followed up with my review of one of the bags I took with me and it showed what I
review Shirt Review: Merino Shirt Showdown Most travel blogs swear by merino wool shirts. They are supposed to be odor resistant,keeps you dry, and works in both warm and cool temperatures. You can find plenty of information out there regarding the pros and cons of merino wool shirts so
Japan Bag Review: Alchemy Equipment Carry-On Duffel I was asked by a few people since I got back from Japan about the Alchemy Equipment Carry On bag I bought for my trip to Asia. My previous post had pictures and a small review of me putting stuff for my trip into
Hagi Sake Bar 46 I've discovered my new favorite place to go to in NYC. I read about this place from another blogger I follow, Eataku. I've been dying for an izakaya to open up in Austin, Fukumoto ended up being a great restaurant but I left disappointed
travel iM Star cafe in NY Chinatown I was meeting my aunt for lunch in NYC chinatown and she decided to bring us to a HK style cafe called iM star (called M star on yelp for some reason). The HK style french toast was nowhere near as good as the
travel Asia Trip 2016: Attempt to pack light I tried to pack light for my NYC/Japan/Korea trip. Here is some pictures of my first attempts. I ended up taking out a few more things so I could put my day pack into the duffel bag to consolidate down to one
Restaurant Review: Daito Out of all the restaurants I've tried so far in Austin, Daito is by far my favorite. They specialize in homemade udon noodles with homemade dashi broth made from scratch (no dashi packet mix), this isn't something you find very often in the U.
Restaurant Review: Wu Chow (Dim Sum) I was going to review my favorite restaurant in Austin (Daito), but felt like I should have a change of pace and write about a restaurant that isn't Japanese. For Valentine's day, I managed to make a reservation for morning Dim Sum at Wu
opinion Why knowing your limits and when to give up is important. We've all heard these phrases "never give up" "you never know until you try" "if at first you fail, try again until you succeed" But what if you are able to realize that your goal is either impossible
travel Price differences I discovered while researching plane tickets I have been doing research/planning for the past few months for my trip to Japan and Korea next spring. The plan is to fly from Austin and land in Tokyo travel across to Osaka by bullet train and stop at places in between,
food Not so good Austin food / coffee I'm trying to avoid devoting a whole blog post to negativity but since I've been trying out new places to eat faster than I can blog. I think its much easier to just compile a list of places I didn't like with a short
food Restaurant Review: Fukumoto, the Izakaya Austin Deserves? I have been moving into my new apartment over the past week, and the movers came today to move all of our big furniture ( Einstein Moving was AWESOME btw I highly recommend them ). I have also been eagerly anticipating the opening of Fukumoto, which
food Coffee Shop Review: Sa-Ten I felt like I've been writing about food a lot recently, and was planning on taking a break by writing about either technical / personal development or traveling. But I've been so excited about Sa-Ten that I just could not wait to share this place
food Restaurant Review: Peché Decided to meet my girlfriend and a few of her coworkers downtown at Peché for drinks and dinner. I was told that their cocktails are amazing, but expensive. I found
food Most versatile Chinese home cooked recipe I know I approach most of my cooking with a very engineer type of approach. Look up a recipe, follow directions and use the exact amount listed on the recipe and use a timer and scale when necessary. This following recipe is one of the few
food Restaurant Review: Does Uchi live up to the hype? On to my first restaurant review on this blog. I think I'd like to set up a general guideline on writing my reviews. A brief introduction, followed by a list
opinion What do Agile and Bruce Lee have in common? This post contains my personal opinion from my relatively short experience so far in the working world. I have no experience with project management or leading any teams. What is agile to you? I was motivated to write this due to a recent conversation
Hello Austin. why I risked my job and moved I was originally planning to move to Austin with the girlfriend back in August of 2014, but my manager convinced me to stay until our current contract ends and help him out doing my usual jack of all trade roles, also to train my
travel Japan Trip Part 4 - Last few days in Japan Japan Trip Part 1 Japan Trip Part 2 Japan Trip Part 3 Leaving Kyoto We started the morning off by visiting a small bakery around our Ryokan called Rauk. If you're ever in the area I highly recommend you try out the bread here.
travel Japan Trip Part 3 - Kyoto Japan Trip Part 1 Japan Trip Part 2 Leaving Tokyo Woke up in time for hotel breakfast. It wasn't particularly amazing but wasn't bad either. Natto, fish, Miso soup and some fruits. We went into the JR office asking the attendant there how to
travel Japan Trip Part 2 - Akihabara Japan Trip Part 1 We started the day off by going to the cafe across from the hotel and had some breakfast. Our plan today was to explore Akihabara. All this cost around 8 USD. We walked by this bakery right next to the
travel Japan Trip - Part 1 After we arrived at the airport I opted to purchase tickets for the coach bus into Tokyo that drops us off right in front of our hotel, the tickets cost ¥3000($30 USD) per person. The reason I chose to take the coach bus
