January 2014

I started the first the next several days after the New Year's Holiday by working out as my 2014 "new year's" getting fit goal. I joined Body Pump for the first time since last winter on Saturday (4th) to do something "different" from my normal workout routine. Also, it was a great way to keep warm in this chilly start of the new year. I recorded close to 50 below zero wind chills on the 6th (Monday) and 3 feet of "new" snow. We had a 2 hour late start on either the 6th/7th. I took advantage of this weather by watching some movies, which my housemate (Yuu from Japan) and I watched some World War II footage on youtube (e.g. Japanese of the Philippines). He was very remorseful by actually "apologizing" "out of nowhere" for the actions his country did towards the Philippines, which I was very caught by surprised and thought it was very thoughtful. Even though this didn't happen in our generation, it was actually humbling of him to do that as he already knew I was a WWII "history buff" (e.g. particularly the Phiippine arena). On the 9th, I finally finished a video project (interview of my Uncle Totoy about his life during World War II) I started back in the beginning of 2013. Later in the day, my housemates and I were invited to this supper "Welcoming New UMM International Students" at the La Fave House. A weather note on Friday (10th), the temperatures went up to 20F, which melted enough snow to cause some fog as I went to the RFC to workout after dropping off a client at the P.E. Center (UMM Cougar's basketball game) from the group home I work at.

With this cold weather, it's a great time to do house cleaning. I did more cleaning in my attic on Saturday (11th), which I'm hoping to get rid of as many unnecessary "stuff" before the winter season ends to enjoy the up-coming "much-appreciated" Spring weather. I also caught up on my video production of my trip to the Philippines in November of 2012. I was able to get 10+ videos alone of my 1st 2-3 day of the 14-day vacation there.

The weather warmed up to 39F as a high on the 12th, so my housemates and I took advantaged of the nicer weather by skiing and snowboarding at Cougar -Tiger Hill..

On Monday (13th), my housemate (Yuu) and I played some racquetball, which is a great "cardio" exercise alternative to running the treadmill or any machines all the time during the cold winter days. Then on the 15th (Wednesday), I went swimming as another great cardio activity.

We had another "snow" day (Thursday 16th) due to a blizzard. I took advantage of this by doing more cleaning (e.g. kitchen. If you can't "beat" the cold, might as well have fun in it. On Saturday (18th), my housemates (Yuu & Rai), Eric, and I went to Wilmar to get some shopping done and to explore a different town outside of Morris besides Alexandria. Afterwards, we drove to Spicer for their annual "Winter Fest" month-long celebration. We just got their just in time with an open parking spot to view the fireworks show over Green Lake! I call it God's blessed timing! The next day (Sunday 19th), I went snowboarding with several of my friends (Chris, Oray, and Olga) at Andes Tower Hills (Kensington-30 minutes NE of Morris). It was ideal snowboarding weather (32-39 F), but it was cut short (2 hours only) as my screw came off from one of my snowboard. Next time, I should bring extra screws! I ended-up watching 2 plus hours of the NFL playoff (Seahawks vs. 49ners).

On Monday (20th), I attend the 1st monthly "Community Meal" at Faith Lutheran Church, which was the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday theme. On Wednesday (22nd), we had another snow day due to another blizzard. I took advantage of this day-off by cutting my hair and then ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill at the RFC.

I did my 2nd body pump of the year on Saturday (25th) and then went to Benson with a couple of friends (Yuu and Chris) to "Mi Mexico" (great "authentic" Mexican food). I wanted to "get outside" of town with our "small window of opportunity" of nice weather before the up-coming forecast of more "bad" weather. We did have one as Monday (27th) there was no work again at my full-time job. I took advantage of the "snow day" by starting on my taxes. We finally had nice weather on a Wednesday (since the 8th), but the ESL/GED classes had to be cancelled due to a rescheduled Adult Basic Education (ABE)-GED Diploma Ceremony for last year's GED recipients. It was nice to bring my housemate (Yuu) along with me as we went shopping afterwards before going back to Morris.