Kafka on the Shore

I'm on a reading binge! I'm now almost done with Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, an enigmatic novel with a very original tale. The novel consists of two intertwining stories featuring 15-year old run-away student Kafka Tamura and retired feline-loving simpleton Nakata. They are both on a journey, but for different reasons. The coming-of-age story of Kafka is the perfect compliment to Nakata's "exit-of age" journey.

This is my first time reading Murakami and it won't be my last. Next up on my radar: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

Seal Beach Auto Show

This past Saturday Lediya and I went to the Seal Beach Auto Show down in Main Street in old town Seal Beach. Lediya was there to volunteer for her workplace, who exhibited a 1997 Bentley Azure for auction. $500 for a raffle ticket and only a maximum of 300 tickets were going to be sold. Not bad odds at all for a $150,000 car.

The auto show exhibited a lot of American classic cars, occassional classic Japanese cars (1972 Z), and a couple of classic German cars (Porsche and Mercedes-Benz). There were a couple of Ford GTs and of course, the most expensive car there was the Bentley.

It was a nice setting for an auto show, with the beach and Seal Beach pier just a short walk away.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

Now playing the third installment of the Prince of Persia trilogy, The Two Thrones. Picked it up on eBay for, you guessed it, $15 shipped.

I just love these adventure/action games and this game is no exception. It's very entertaining so far. The best part is that I get to keep using the old Xbox for a while because of these cheap games that I keep picking up. The Xbox 360 can wait!

Never Let Me Go

I'm currently reading Kazuo Ishiguro's brilliant 2005 novel Never Let Me Go. On the surface it's a story about Kathy and her recollections of her childhood at Hailsham, an English boarding school located in the countryside. But within her recollections lurk the true meaning of her existence and her experiences.

It's a transcendent novel and an astonishingly powerful work of literature. The pace is slow and the details seem trivial, but patient readers will be rewarded for their efforts with a thought-provoking exposition on whose life is worth living and who, if anyone, has the right to set the terms and conditions.

The Third Secret

I'm currently reading Steve Berry's The Third Secret, which is a suspense-thriller that centers around the mysterious secrets that the Fatima revealed in Portugal to three children in the early 1900s.

It's a fast read so far and it gives great insight into the inner workings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Lake Tahoe

This weekend Lediya and I flew up to Lake Tahoe to get some snowboarding runs in before the end of season. We stayed at a hotel right across the Heavenly gondola, meaning that we were literally steps away from being ferried up to the ski resort. Just five minutes north of our hotel was the Nevada-California stateline, and of course, casinos.

It snowed on Friday night so we had some fresh powder on Saturday. Because we were so close to the gondola, we had the resort all to ourselves on Saturday morning for a couple of hours. It was nice to get some runs in without the crowd. Also, the stateline bisects Heavenly, so we boarded back and forth between the California side and the Nevada side. We rode mainly blue runs and I didn't go crazy with the speed because I didn't want to leave Lediya behind. I thought that she had one of her best snowboarding days ever. The bonus is the amazing view: Heavenly definitely is one of the prettiest resorts we've been to with the enormous crystal clear lake dominating the view.

We had a great time. On Sunday we drove around the west side of the lake to take in some sight-seeing before our flight back home. We definitely want to go back next season, probably hitting the north shore of the lake next time and boarding at Squaw Valley or Alpine Meadows.

Check out more pictures here.

Dodgers Opening Day

Took the day off work and went to the Dodgers Opening Game today vs the Atlanta Braves with a few buddies. We got the ticket hook-up through my best buddy Jimmy, who used to work for the Dodgers. We sat in the mid-level section by third base. Great seats!

We took the Metro Blue and Red Lines to get to Union Station, and then we walked over to Philippe's to have lunch, the place where French-dipped sandwiches were born. We then took a cab to Dodger Stadium. It rained a bit at first, but the baseball gods wouldn't let rain interfere with Opening Day. Thank goodness.

Jimmy also hooked us up with two versions of Dodger Dogs: a grilled one and a beer-boiled one. Both were delicious!

It was a good game, although the Dodgers lost to the Braves 11-10. But it was fun hanging out with the guys and experiencing Opening Day for the first time!

Lakers vs. Rockets

Went to a Lakers game today against the Houston Rockets with my cousin Henry, nephew Zac, and his dad Jason. It was little Zac's very first live Laker game, and he's crazy about the team (he knows the entire lineup and he's only 6!). To avoid traffic and save money on parking, we took the Metro Blue Line from Long Beach and it dropped us off right across the street from Staples Center.

Before the game started, we took pictures with a couple of Laker Girls who were available to sign a photograph. We also checked out the Magic Johnson statue right in front of Staples.

Even though we sat in the top section of the stadium, the game was still really entertaining. The Lakers won 104-88 behind Kobe's 43 points and 6 assists. It was his 23rd game of 40 or more points, tying a Lakers single-season record set by Elgin Baylor in 1962-63.