It’s been pretty crazy these past few weeks. Everything from work to working out to just enjoying outdoor activities. Its been 3 weeks that I been working out with my friends at the BSC and wow… what a phenomenal change. The past month my schedule has been like this… Go to work, leave work, head to the gym, work out for 2-3.5 hours depending on what my psycho drill sergeant best friend has in mind. I would get home by 10:45PM-11PM then try to catch up on other work. But I’m down 13 lbs and I see a big difference in the mirror. My chest and arms are firming up pretty damn well. I been poking at my biceps a lot lately because they’re hard as a rock. ROFL. I feel much more energy now. Just the other day, I was limping from the leg/abs workout but things are paying off. I’m moving up on dumbbell weights and I was able to do a few 1 handed push ups again.

I actually got into a heated argument with my psycho drill sergeant friend the other day because he was getting annoyed with my bitching on some of the workouts. So it was like listening to him bitching about my bitching. It’s been a long time since I worked out. I lost a lot of strength, energy, stamina due to my personal issues that I was dealing with (which involved many restrictions). But my strength and energy are starting to come back. Problem with him is… he is impatient and has a bit of an anger problem. ROFL. I use to work out with him in the past and he didn’t complain like this. I remember going at my own pace. I remember one time when I was going up in weights and he even asked me if I were sure. I know the limitations of my body and what I can or cannot do - and right now, it’s playing catchup. But now it’s not just him and I working out. We also got another person with us so things are a bit different. The routine is different, more things are involved and to be honest, my stamina is not where it use to be. But we worked it out after arguing a bit in my cubicle. I am trying, I haven’t skipped out on any of the workout days… we been going 5 of 7 days per week.

So what else has been happening? Manny hit #500 and the Boston Celtics are in the NBA finals. I’m also getting some good results from my new trial contact lenses. Oh and work… Things are starting to slow down finally. I swear my head was going to explode there with all the things that were going on. I scheduled vacation time between June 9th - 13th so hopefully I can get my sanity back.

Another personal dilemma was about my career path… recently there was another opening in my company for a database analyst. Was I interested? Somewhat - It was a bit tempting and I can do database work. Why was it so tempting? Most likely the pay. I did some homework on salary.com and saw the pay difference. But hey… what’s an extra $20,000 anyways? haha. I had a chat with my friend lani about it and she agreed on my decision to not apply for it. Why? Well, I look at it like this… I like what I currently do (it’s challenging and i learn new stuff frequently especially with all this web 2.0/3.0 movement), I like my boss, my boss speaks highly of me (to the CEO and other big shots), he knows my potential, he knows I bust my ass, he got me what I asked for (in terms what how much I’m worth - let’s just say another 30% hehehe), he lets me leave early sometimes, I can wear anything I want to work, people don’t invade my space, i can listen to headphones while I work, and there are many other reasons. But mainly, I’m happy at the moment. If I switch to become a database analyst - I would get paid more but I would have a different boss, I would sit there and do more monotonous tasks, and things probably wouldn’t be the same. Yes the money would be nice but I’m sure I can reach that salary range in due time. I’ve only been with this company for a year and a half now and my work speaks for itself. It was quite a ride though, my brother’s best friend works for another dot com and wanted me to apply with his company. Then my friend introduced me to his co-worker who works for Channel 2 (WGBH Boston) who was looking for someone who does my kind of work. But you know what? I’m not ready to leave my company yet - maybe when I realize that I can’t go any higher, I might go elsewhere but for now… Thanh is pretty content. And do you wanna know why I’m so good at what I do? It’s because I know a little bit about everything - not only you get a marketing guy but you also get a developer, a good researcher, and someone who is business oriented. Those are a powerful mix. So I conclude this blog entry with…. I rather be happy and get paid less than unhappy being paid more. If you feel different… you can talk to D… (Who’s D?) Deeeeeeeez nuts!

So I was checking up on the hot topics on the net today (I do that almost everyday) - I found this link about how Dove gets the “Palm Oils” into their products. They are actually destory tons and tons of acres of forest that are homes to animals and people.

Unilever, the makers of Dove beauty products, are buying palm oil from suppliers who destroy Indonesia’s rainforests. We’ve got the proof. They’re causing forest destruction, species extinction and climate change.

Together we can make the company stop destroying forests for palm oil.

Join the international Dove campaign today - sign the open letter below.

More info at: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/asia-pacific/dove-palmoil-action

FYI:

Dove’s parent company, Unilever, is also the world’s biggest ice cream maker. Ben & Jerry’s is one of their brands. I’ll leave you to connect this with that marketing campaign…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unilever#Brands

They also make Axe body spray. Hence, they are also behind the Axe ad campaign. Try to square that up with the Dove ad campaign.

Due to recent events, It looks like I have to make a change of plans for my vacation time. I’ve been working too much and too long without a relaxing vacation. So I ask my readers to suggest places for me to go. Where does a single 27 male go for vacation? Due to certain circumstances, it has to be a location based in the USA. I’ll be traveling alone so any suggestions will be great. I gave it only a little thought at the moment but here’s my list:

1. Miami
   Pros: Short flight. I know a couple people there. Lani said she would come hang out with me and my boy epidemic lives down there too.
   Cons: Humidity and although I know a couple people there, I don’t expect them to be hanging out everyday with me so I’m really not sure what else is there to do out there.
2. Orlando
   Pros: Short flight. My boy Steve lives down there. He’s a long time friend of mine that I’ve known since my programming AOL days.
   Cons: Same as Miami
3. Hawaii
   Pros: My brother been there and he says that it’s great. And Lani also suggested this.
   Cons: Long ass flights (12hrs each trip) - Don’t know anybody there.

Looks like I’m going to spend some time on Yelp.com to do some homework on what’s out there. I really don’t know where else I should consider traveling to. If anyone have any suggestions, please leave me a comment or send a message. It would be very helpful. Great part is… I won’t be paying for my trip. Rewards are great.

*Edit: Lani doesn’t recommend Hawaii while single. So I guess I need time to compile a better list of places to go and hang out with people who KNOW that i’m NOT A STALKER nor even think of it.