Reinvention

It is time to rethink, overhaul, and retool the direction of the sensitive man. I am proud to say that I have spent good years on Confessions growing up and learning about life from a new perspective. It's time to make these writings into something more productive. Stay posted for a spin-off.

Let's just say that actual success, wealth, and happiness emanate from within. Let us take a journey down a path to success, and meet with the gurus, role models, and leaders that have inspired us to do what we do everyday.

It's Been A While...

My absence has been extensive to say the least, but really, if you have been following this blog since its inception, then you probably figured out that long silences are indicative of big changes.

One of the biggest changes of my life is at hand, and gradually, Sensitive Man will be back up and running as the newest chapter of my exciting life comes into fruition. Stay tuned.

Long Distance Thoughts: The Preview of a New Beginning

Alas, one main thread of thoughts that has materialized over the past year is soon coming to a categorical end, closing out over the next few months as it inches closer to mootness, while I inch closer to what I consider to be a very exciting and promising married life.

Yesterday, I was lucky to be schooled by a new yoga instructor, whom Bikram instructed personally, and ran one of Bikram's two U.S. studios back in the day before the practice became a global health sensation. My instructor wasn't necessarily the most spiritual guy, but his humor made the class lighter and was encouraging as we all struggled to get ease into our "asanas" in 100 degree heat and 72 degree humidity. At some point in the class, the instructor deviated from his banter and said something a bit more serious, interesting and simple about the practice. He stated, "There is a difference between will power and mental tension. You can will your body to get into a pose, but remain in a state of mental tension. In this practice, even if your body is working every single organ, your mind should be relaxed."

I tried that today during yoga, and while I was relaxing my mind, I came up with this simple reflection (or mantra if you will):

Love has truly been the key in having this relationship stand the test of distance and time, but respect has been, and will continue to be the key in having the relationship stand the test of life.

*The picture is a shot I took over the Alaskan skies during the trip when I realized I was going to propose to my fiancee soon.

A Random Love Letter: Hibachi Night

Dearest Wife-to-be,

Instead of giving you your typical morning greeting, and in the interest of getting this blog going again, I decided to write you a letter here to start off your fantastic week.

Sunday proved to be an interesting day after all. After talking to you last night, I took a short nap and then woke up to take a walk around the neighborhood. It was during the walk that my plans for the day materialized in my head.

I decided that I needed to drive around a bit, and come home early so that I could enjoy some Blockbuster DVDs (remind me to subscribe to Netflix when we live together) at home and relax for the rest of the evening. I ended up renting The Invasion, Street Kings, The Secret and Redbelt. You probably know at this point that I decided to forego a night at the U.S. Open and possibly a second round match including Roger Federer. I just didn't feel like travelling to far I guess just to watch perhaps the greatest tennis player ever hit a little yellow-green ball.

Instead, I found myself having dinner at Gasho and treating myself to a full Japanese hibachi meal.

Here are some highlights:

1. Just like any other hibachi experience, my chef showboated by flipping and spinning his cooking tools like a young college band leader.

2. My chef started flipping small pieces of broccoli in the air toward us customers so that we could attempt to catch the flying food in our mouths. I was the first target, and for the first time ever, I caught the bland piece of vegetable in my mouth. The people around me gave me a light applause as if I were a seal in Sea World catching dead fish while gyrating on my little rock.

3. The filet mignon and grilled chicken were pretty good, and the rice was less than mediocre. The meats were grilled to perfection, but the seasoning was lacking. The sauces were alright, but just alright. The rice was dry and not of the Japanese quality we expect. Tonight confirmed to me the superiority of Japanese food back home over here. Overall, the experience made it a pretty decent dinner, so I have no real complaints.

4. The chef made a smiley face with a heap of rice in the middle of the hibachi grill, two peas as the eyes, and a carrot stick as the smiling mouth. Good job, chef.

5. There was a beautiful Japanese garden located at the back of the restaurant. Cool place to hang out for some drinks while waiting for other guests to arrive.

So there. That was my dinner. I think I'm going to hang out in the living room and watch some DVDs while munching on my favorite Whoppers.

Good luck today, and I hope our planning continues to go smoothly.
You know what goes here,

Me

Long Distance Ritual: Fried Rice and the Good Things in Life

The reality of today, yesterday, last week, tomorrow and years to come strikes me like a breeze of cool air after a humid session of Bikram Yoga. I am currently weak with metaphors, words, expressions, but quite strong with emotion on the inside...simple, but overwhelming happiness.

I'm going to spend the rest of my life with a woman whom I've called good friend for 16 years, and I could not ask for anyone better. It's amazing how this blog came full circle, and now, I'm so ridiculously happy, I think placing exclamation marks at the end of these sentences would be a form of self-patronization. So let's hide the cheese for a moment and do my favorite long distance ritual today, and dedicate a delicious dinner to the one special woman living halfway across the world.

On tonight's menu, a very simple dish that my wife-to-be cooked for me just a few weeks back during the "proposal" trip: Japanese Fried Rice.

Japanese Rice*
Corn Oil
Teriyaki Sauce
Leeks
Green Peppers
Red Onions
Carrots
Scrambled Egg
Strips of Beef Tenderloin

Throw'em all in and fry, mix, fry, mix, fry!

*Please steam your rice ahead of time. You don't want to be that person who threw rice grains into a wok or pan hoping it would pop into puffy rice.

A Review of The Dark Knight

I am not one to analyze films because not that many films make me think about what I had just watched after it is over. So it is quite telling when I write this post; The Dark Knight has prompted me to think about my recent movie experience with great excitement. The Dark Knight was simply a masterpiece for a few reasons:

1. It was probably the most "human" superhero movie I have ever seen. For beginners, the self-discovery process and formation of Batman's (and Bruce Wayne's) persona start where "Batman Begins" left off: nascent and growing. Character development in a superhero movie is somewhat easy to pull off because the nature of this genre is so extreme, it becomes open to exaggeration and extreme reactions by characters when put on film, let alone a 2-hour one. When the producers of Batman decided to stretch out the maturing process and full realization of the hero's role in his universe, the human aspect of the character became so evident, I had forgotten halfway through the movie that I was watching a superhero movie.

2. The darkness of Gotham, both through the cinematography, sets, and plot/context of the mafia is depicted in a way that makes it look like an alternative universe city somewhere in the northeast or urban midwest (again, a characteristic seen in "Batman Begins" but continued and developed here). This is truly a far cry from the zany, rainbow-brite nightmare metropolis depicted by joel schumacker in the Batman flops, and a slight improvement on Tim Burton's chilly towering Gotham in the original classics (I am a huge fan of the original Batman). Moreover, the mafia in the past two Batman movies looked like they were taken out of a typical mob drama, and not a colorful Dick Tracy film. The setting of the movie was just the right kind of dark.

3. Character development yet again. The Harvey Dent story was phenomenal. Watch the movie and tell me you didn't appreciate Aaron Eckhart's execution of Dent even in the shadow of the great Heath Ledger (and Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman...and yes, Christian Bale).

4. Speaking of the devil...Heath Ledger. One recent article notes that it is quite rare for a dead man to win an Oscar post-mortem, and therefore, the likelihood of Ledger bagging one for his breakthrough role as the Joker is quite low. I refuse to enter the Oscar debate, but I will say this: Jack Nicholson's Joker was phenomenal at the time, but Heath Ledger's Joker scared the living daylights out of me. Sometimes, an actor can find the true heart and soul of its character, and internalize it beyond what the camera captures. The audience becomes captivated by certain performances and cannot distinguish between actor and character (no, I do not mean Jon Heder and Napoleon Dynamite). Ledger, may he rest in peace, has truly outdone himself in this film, and the spookiness of it all speaks for itself. That, I believe, is a greater compliment for an acting performance than simply labelling it as "Oscar-worthy."

5. Ridiculous Cast. Enough said.

6. The movie did not focus on Batman's cool gadgets and hot vehicles (the lamborghini was hot though). Instead, Bruce Wayne's relationships with the people close to him, the function of the police and law in Gotham city, the depiction of the mafia, Jim Gordon's relationship with Batman, Rachel Dawes relationship with Bruce Wayne...all of these were woven together masterfully into one plot and very deep subthemes for a superhero movie.

7. The movie just keeps on going. You'll see what I mean after you watch it, and then appreciate that 2 and a half hours of your life were put to fantastic use.

8. New Yorkers applauded at the end of the movie. Wow, right?

I probably have more to say, but I have some important things to do...

...like plan my wedding.

Greetings from LAX

I just wanted to drop a note from a business center here in LAX. I am flying home for a few important reasons, one of them being a wedding to attend and another to spend some quality time with the girlfriend. Again, I feel like I have tons to write but food coma has gotten the best of me and my brain is not functioning very well. Notably, the toxins and weight I lost the past month to bikram yoga may have come back with a vengeance.

I have an interesting next few weeks ahead, so there is definitely more to come. Peace.