Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in woongsae's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
7:14 pm	typical day (july 21) 2pm: wake up 3pm: breakfast (bagel) 4pm: clean house 5pm: go to my first boxing class in austin.  very different from the gym i went to in austin.  different stance, different form, different levels of intensity.  hands down the most physically demanding thing i've ever done. 7pm: stumble into my apartment, lay down on the living room floor for 30 min while my wife silently judges me for being melodramatic. 7:30pm: leave for rehearsal w/ ukemi, scarf down a sandwich 8pm: set up recording equipment 9pm: rehearse / record w/ ukemi 11pm: rehearsal ends; haul ass across town for rehearsal w/ rock band 2am: rehearsal w/ rock band ends 2:30am: get home, only to realize i left the power adaptor for my laptop at the drummer's house 3:30am: get back home; scarf down rice and kimchi 4am - 5am: mix down the recorded rehearsal w/ ukemi 5am-7am: grade essays 7am-8am: make wife coffee and breakfast 8am: read a book about darfur; sleep; have nightmares about being stuck in darfur (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
5:37 am	bands picking up steam Ukemi (acoustic band):new string player in the band as of a week ago. breathed life into us, just at the right time. our first few gigs begin this week, after months of the lead singer/guitarist pissing and moaning about his herniated disc. serves him right, that prick. he wanted to be an ultimate fighter. crush those dreams! we've been talking to a few other players as well - a viola player and a french horn...ist? another singer-songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist has expressed interest in jumping aboard as well. so in the next month, this band could easily morph into a multi-songwriter/frontman band w/ a mini-orchestra. good times, good times. rock band: 4 rehearsals in, already have enough material to play out with.  this is the band that will tour and do all that get-in-the-van a la henry rollins shit that every musician dreams about doing.  (update: chickened out of swapping a conversion van for my honda yesterday.)  perpetually feeling better about this band, but i still see at least 2-3 months' worth of rehearsals before we feel invincible. Tandoorifinger (hip hop/multi-genre band): good times, good fellas.  music is getting polished.  i'd always wanted to step away from being a songwriter element in a band and just come in and play guitar in a party band.  not sure where this one's gonna go, but the ride is fun.  besides, being in a fun band helps takes the pressure off of the 2 uber-serious bands i'm in. neck still goes crickety-crack when i turn it.  i also quit smoking.  going on 10 days now.  'tis difficult. (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
1:06 pm	need suggestions for wife's birthday hi all, my wife wants to eat somewhere affordable in the warehouse district this weekend for her birthday.  any suggestions? (Comment on this)
Friday, June 6th, 2008
3:23 am	fuck.  what a week.  slept in 4-hour shifts for the past 4 days.  took on an extra job doing research for a medical journal to have some money for the wife's upcoming birthday, which took up every waking moment this past week, and on top of that i had to sludge through my usual essay-grading workload.  finally finished up everything on time, and then proceeded to indulge in everything i've been wanting to do all week: eat a doughnut, get fucked up, band practice, get fucked up, eat a burger, get even more fucked up, and watch MMA matches on my DVR.  the junk food, hopefully, is also my last hurrah. okay.  the herniated disc has healed up enough.  inactivity breeds poor eating habits, and i've done nothing but work and eat comfort food since i got hurt.  4 months of inactivity have made me moody, slow, lazy, and fat - i've ballooned up to 190 lbs, and i've lost a shitload of muscle.  i'm really itching to jump right into it, but there are days when i can feel the injury wanting to resurface.  must.  take.  it.  easy.  and.  be.  patient. been doing light-to-moderate cardio (jogging, jump roping, short periods at the heavy bag) for a good part of the past 3 weeks.  instead of waiting until monday to begin, i'm gonna start my regimen today. i've spent most of the past 4 months analyzing how my injury could have been prevented.  the key is to get myself in better shape than before.  but before i do that, i need to get into the shape i was in before i got hurt.  i've realized that i've undervalued power and strength, thanks to some backward-ass advice i got back at the boxing gym in korea.  i'll never be a pure boxer...why the hell did i start exercising like i would be?  regimen for today:  my trainer friend told me to take it easy, go light, and do a whole-body workout w/ supersets. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
1:04 am	...or am i just throwing a lot of arm punches? i guess this is what happens w/ blogs for everyone after a few years...entries peter out, real life gets too hectic, etc., etc. currently playing in 6 bands, plus one possible session gig w/ a rapper.  music life is rolling full-steam, got a manager who's interested, etc., etc.  it's kinda scary when things finally start falling into place.  at least one of the projects should be fruitful in the next year.  i'd ideally like to tour  by the beginning of next year.  but still too early to tell whether any of the bands have legs. neck's healing up, but still nowhere near 100%.  doc says i'll be fully healed in 3-6 months, depending on how well i take care of it.  i can finally work out, though i'm holding myself back from going too hard.  i'm finally starting to feel whole again.  debilitating injuries suck.  3 months of inactivity haven't taken as big of a toll as i thought it would...plus i think my punches have become significantly stronger, albeit sloppier.  or maybe it's a mental thing, since i've missed fighting so much.  gonna slowly ease back into fighting, possibly just boxing for the next 6 months until i've conditioned my neck and spine to be stronger than before i injured it. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
11:08 pm	Ukemi... ...is now the official name of the acoustic project (http://www.myspace.com/ukemimusic), and we'll be gigging out soon.  add to that one rock project, a possible indie rock project, a possible postpunk project, and maybe a hip-hop project.  need to go see an advisor soon about audio engineering classes.  i've decided producing and engineering will be my dayjob in the future. neck is finally starting to heal up.  not much pain, but still a lot of tingling and numbness.  finally got the green light from the doctor to start exercising in moderation again.  current weight: 191 lbs (12 lb gain since neck injury). (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
2:31 am	http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/29/hofmann.obit.ap/index.html (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
12:32 am	finally...  things are getting better.  i finally figured out how to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time - i just slap on my neck brace and prop myself up into a sitting position.  no more muscle relaxers, thank god.  band rehearsals have resumed - a little painful at times, but the injury's not relapsing.  i went to a specialist today who was optimistic on a full recovery without surgery or extensive treatment. on another note, my favorite band (Ours) released their first album in 5+ years about 30 minutes ago.  spent my last $10 on an iTunes download.  haven't felt this giddy about a new album in years. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
2:09 am	quick update, aka The Year of I Loved to Fight. where the hell have i been?  been swimming in muscle relaxers since my last post.  neck/shoulder injury got so bad that i cried from physical pain for the first time since i was a kid, can only sleep for 2-3 hours at a time before the spasms wake me up.  even fell off the diet 2 weeks ago (i have no idea why i haven't gained any weight back...but it's holding at 182.)  damn, this is bad.  the official diagnosis: my C5 vertebrae (that's the 5th one down) is out of alignment, which is causing severe pain to a pinched nerve in my brachial plexus (shoulder blade area).  now that i think about it, the injury first occurred during my first MMA class back in korea.  we started off doing somersaults, and i'd never done a backward somersault in my life.  so i made the rookie mistake of rolling on my head.  cue 1 year later: i'm sparring with some dude that's twice my size and weight, who forces my head down.  i try to maneuver around him, he knows what's coming, does a countermove, and i hear my neck pop.  that was 2 months ago. got some weird chinese medicine from the acupuncturist (dude was picking his nose and coughing on me while he stuck me with needles); my chiropractor sold me the awesomest thing ever - http://www.wisdomking.com/product/ems-7500-digital-muscle-stimulator; and my HMO physician gave me some anti-inflammatory steroids and muscle relaxers. the singer-songwriter band has been ready to gig since last month...we're having to sit around because i can't even take deep breaths to sing because of my fucking injury.  my rock band is finally fully formed (with a bassist who's turned out to be the best musician i've ever met), only to be put on hold after 2 rehearsals.  because.  of.  my.  fucking.  injury. so yeah...i guess everybody but me saw this coming.  since the first day i started boxing, i've been getting all kinds of warnings from everyone about the kind of injuries that i can get.  even my wife made some comments about me becoming more obsessed with fighting than music.  and yes, that's what wound up happening.  MMA damn near took over my life for most of 2007.  i got to the point where i actually figured out what i was doing, then got fucked up by this debilitating injury. still not sure if i'm done with it...but at least i know where i'm at in the grand scheme of things.  no, i will never be a cage fighter.  hopefully i'll be a professional musician in the near future. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
3:21 am	email from trainer friend during week 1 ( i need to post this to remind me of the basics of my diet. ) (Comment on this)
Friday, March 7th, 2008
10:01 pm	diet/workout log week 3 ah, yes.  i've gotten lazy about posting, haven't i?  still sticking to the diet, total weight loss: 11 lbs.  still not working out due to injury.  turns out madisonmassage was dead on with the diagnosis - my C5 vertebrae is out of alignment, which in turn is affecting my scalene muscle group, which in turn is throwing my left shoulder into painful muscle spasms.  could be weeks before it's healed enough for me to start working out.  so now i'm giving second thought to doing mma so hardcore.  maybe i should go back to boxing or muay thai. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
10:33 am	diet/workout log, week 3 Monday, 3/3 breakfast: ground turkey chili w/ steamed kale, spinach, red bell peppers lunch: baked salmon w/ steamed kale, spinach, red bell peppers snack: protein pwdr w/ unsweetened soy milk dinner: egg white omlette w/ spinach, turkey breast, salami, tomato, muenster cheese; 1/2 banana snack: earl grey tea, muenster cheese, salami, turkey breast workout: nada.  shoulder pain.  madisonmassage gave me some awesome pointers and told me it's probably something to do with my scalene muscles and vertebrae problems in my neck.  HMOs are a pain in the arse, still trying to jump through hoops to see a chiropractor asap. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
5:38 am	Thursday, 2/28 breakfast: turkey breast, spinach, sausage, sauerkraut snack: protein pwdr w/ water postworkout: protein pwdr w/ water lunch: kimchi stew w/  errrrrrr....don't remember what exactly i ate over the past 3 days.  everything's a blur.  i saw a doctor about my shoulder (the pain got unbearable), and he gave me some muscle relaxers.  so everything from the past 3 days have been a bit hazy.  i know i ate a cheat meal (cereal) a few hours ago, and that i steamed and ate a shitload of kale over the weekend.  i definitely stuck to the confines of my diet, with 2 slip-ups. no workouts for the past 3 days.  like i said, the pain in my shoulder was unbearable.  shoulda gone extra strict on the carbs, but...oh well, lesson learned. dropped 3-4 more pounds this past week, if i'm counting my morning weight - a total of 7-9 pounds in two weeks.  if i'm counting my evening weight, i've dropped a total of 4-5 pounds in two weeks. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
1:15 pm	Tuesday, 2/26 breakfast: 1/3 cup oatmeal, soy milk, protein pwdr lunch: chicken salad, mashed broccoli/cauliflower postworkout: protein pwdr w/ water dinner: rotisserie turkey/chicken; romaine lettuce; radish kimchi snack: walnuts workout: walk 40 min, elliptical 40 min * Shoulder's still bothering me a lot - can't do any exercises beyond walking or elliptical. Wednesday, 2/27 breakfast: omlette (2 omega-3 eggs, chicken breast, baby spinach) postworkout: protein powder w/ water lunch: kimchi stew w/ bean sprouts, chicken breast snack: protein powder w/ water snack: 2 bites ice cream dinner: kimchi stew w/ bean sprouts, chicken breast; romaine lettuce late meal: <see comments below> workout: elliptical 45 min * Fuck.  Now I know how a crackhead feels.  Truth is, my meals for the last 3 days have been grossing me out so much that I've been forcing myself to eat until I feel like gagging.  Which has amounted to a handful of bites of food for each meal.  It got really bad today, and I was just...cranky from having to eat nasty chicken and vegetables.  Found myself scarfing down three McDonald's double cheeseburgers without bread (except for 1/2 a bun), thinking the whole time, "gee...this is okay...no carbs, right...?"  Stupid fuck.  On one hand, it made me realize once again how psychologically unhealthy diets can be - all the guilt, boomerang-ing, etc.  On the other hand, my former eating habits were so bad that I needed a diet like this to get things pointed in the right direction.  Chalk this up to a temporary slip, and hopefully get back on track. Listen to me, sounding like a 13-year old girl with an eating disorder. (Comment on this)
Monday, February 25th, 2008
7:30 pm	diet/workout log week #2 Sunday, 2/24 breakfast: 1/2 peanut butter granola bar lunch: (cheat meal) 1/3 lb hamburger w/ breaded onion rings, fries; diet coke snack: protein pwdr w/ water, unsweetened soy milk dinner: mashed broccoli/cauliflower; ground beef w/ tofu snack: handful of cheetos, 2 small cookies :( * only had a few bites of dinner, absolutely no appetite or hunger all day after cheat meal. Monday, 2/25 breakfast: 1/2 sausage link; ground beef w/ tofu; kimchi; mashed broccoli/cauliflower snack: protein pwdr w/ water, unsweetened soy milk snack: small apple postworkout: protein pwder w/ water late lunch: baked chicken breast w/ romaine lettuce; yellow squash; 2tb bbq sauce; fake butter spray snack: walnuts; handful of cheetos late dinner: chicken salad (baked chicken breast, low-fat mayo, 1 ham, hot sauce); 5 crackers; muenster cheese workout: 45 min elliptical (low-to-moderate pace) * shoulder injury from last week's MMA class put me out for most of the day.  even hurts when i run....fuck. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
7:20 pm	diet/workout week #1 Friday, 2/22 breakfast: egg white omlette w/ turkey ham, ham, feta cheese, red bell peppers, mushrooms snack: banana lunch: kimchi stew w/ ham snack: protein powder w/ water dinner: egg white omlette w/ ham, sausage, feta cheese, red bell peppers, mushrooms, white onions, muenster cheese snack: protein powder w/ water Saturday, 2/23 breakfast: yogurt, soy milk, banana, walnuts, strawberries lunch: 4 grilled shrimp wrapped in bacon, jalapenos; asparagus spears; 3 bites enchiladas; chai tea w/ milk and sugar; 3 bites choc cake snack: protein pwdr w/ water dinner: ground beef/tofu; steamed broccoli and yellow squash w/ mushrooms snack: ham w/ muenster cheese; sausage w/ sauerkraut snack: protein pwder w/ water workout: treadmill 30 min (slow); heavy bag 5 min; abs * lost 4-5 lbs this week (Comment on this)
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
12:45 am	diet/workout log, week 1 ctd Thursday, 2/22 breakfast: 1/2 ny strip steak, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, sugar-free red bull, coffee lunch: smoked turkey, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, feta cheese, vinegrette; 1 sausage, mustard snack: protein pwdr w/ water snack: small apple dinner: salmon and tuna sashimi, kimchi, romaine lettuce *fuck, what a hectic day.  3 hours' sleep, running around running errands and finishing up work assignment for the week.  BIG FUCKING NOTE: NEVER AGAIN eat raw fish from HEB...both wife and i are sick. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
11:34 pm	DIET/WORKOUT LOG #1 i just started a diet.  the first week is gonna suck, no cheat days for 2 weeks.  the first few weeks probably won't be 100% sound, as i experiment with how low i can go with my carb intake and still have functional workouts.  goals: 1) daily protein intake of 80+ grams, carb intake of 50- grams, caloric intake of 2000, take in healthy fats 2) drop down to 170lbs (currently at a whopping 188lbs) 3) 3-month diet/workout program w/ 1-2 cheat days per week Sunday, 2/17 breakfast: turkey, spinach, 2 slices oatmeal bread, mayo, mustard snack: small apple lunch: turkey/spinach salad w/ vinigrette dressing dinner: 2 baked chicken breasts, steamed broccoli/zucchini, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, 1 tb caesar dressing snack: protein pwder w/ water snack: banana (headache was so bad i felt like i had to) late snack: handful of sun chips :( * - really bad headache throughout the second half of the day, along w/ bodyaches and chills. Monday, 2/18 breakfast: 1/2 of:  1 chicken breast, steamed broccoli/zucchini, baby spinach, tomato/cucumber salad w/ 1/2 a large tortilla snack: the other 1/2 of breakfast lunch: steamed beef strips/ cabbage wraps postworkout: protein pwder w/ water dinner: chicken salad w/ mayo, romaine lettuce, spinach, vinegrette dressing, walnuts snack: protein powder w/ water workout: 1. warmup jump rope 5 min, treadmill 30 min 2. circuit training x 3 sets - leg press x 10 - knees-to-chest jumps x 10 - dumbell lunges x 10 - flat bench x 10 - rotational pushups x 10 - lat pulldowns x 10 - rows x 10 - the thingy where you run in place in a pushup position x 10 - abs x 15 3. heavy bag 5 min * no energy during workout today.  very bad headaches toward the end of the day, w/ flu-like bodyaches and chills.  also sleeping 9+ hours. Tuesday, 2/19 breakfast: kimchi + chicken breast preworkout snack: banana lunch: curry chicken breast, broccoli, yellow squash, baby spinach snack: 1 scoop protein powder + water dinner: chicken breast w/ mustard, cucumbers, romaine, baby spinach, walnuts snack: smoked turkey breast, 1/4 chicken breast, kimchi, walnuts workout: 1)MMA class, 1.5 hrs 2) jumprope, 5min 3) intervals,  elliptical machine 15 min * - no headaches:) ...but no energy during workout.  NOTE: need to balance out portions...seems like i'm eating too little during the first half of the day, and making up for it during the second half of the day. Wednesday, 2/20 breakfast: 1 cup oatmeal + 1 scoop protein powder + water + walnuts lunch: beef strips + kimchi postworkout snack: small apple dinner: steak + romaine lettuce + baby spinach snack: protein pwdr + low carb soy milk + water workout: MMA class, 1.5 hrs * the breakfast carb spike knocked me on my ass for an hour or so (i'd been warned by my trainer friend about this), but really gave me a good push for my workout.  felt great for the rest of the day.  paycheck also came in, so we went to the grocery store and bought a buttload of food for our diet plan - so the meals for here on out will hopefully be a little balanced. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 28th, 2008
1:46 pm	Today:  Body clock finally adjusted, woke up at 7am on an upbeat note, helping the wife take homeopathic stuff for her cold and get her ready for work.  Decided to spend the day running errands I'd put off for a long time, so I took her to work so that I could have the car for the day.  Maybe visit some friends I hadn't seen since we moved back into town. Came home to do housewife-y chores, noticed that I'd left my phone on the couch.  Urgent voicemail.  Shit.  Did my wife leave something at home that she needed for work?  I frantically dialed my voicemail: "Hey..it's ____ from Korea.  _____ died today.  I just wanted you to know." A friend of mine, the sister of a girl I dated, passed away from pancreatic cancer last night.  She had been diagnosed 10 days ago.  Which is apparently common with pancreatic cancer. What do you do in that situation?  No wake to attend, nobody here in town knew her.  No closure.  So I cried myself into a deep sleep.  Had dreams about more death. Now it's back to reality.  No days off from work, no break to mourn, no rescheduling, just soldier on. (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
12:43 pm	Goals, Notes to Self I got an offer from a friend (who's been doing really well in the indie scene in the past year) to be his guitarist for a European tour this May.  I regretfully declined.  It's too soon.  Wifey's still new to town, and it would slow down momentum w/ my own stuff.  Nevertheless it's tempting as hell.  Also makes me wonder if I'm being stupid, chickenshit, or stubborn.  Which made me want to organize and re-evaluate my goals and priorities.  Main goal: GET SOME FUCKING MOMENTUM GOING.  Be more proactive, dammit. music (singer-songwriter project) 1. Rehearse a minimum of 2X per week for the next month.  (We got a cellist two weeks ago!) 2. Take some vocal lessons - get more consistent w/ warmups, tone. 3. Upload album to a purchase site. 4. Press promo CDs w/ 2 tracks to be given away for free at shows.  Include link to album purchase site. 5. Be gigging by March. music (rock band): Everything's on hold until my drummer moves to Austin...he's still stuck in Nashville until he gets his shit together w/ $.  Been working out parts w/ the other members, but it's not really picking up momentum since trying to get motivated to do this w/out a full rehearsing band is fleeting.  Gonna start looking into options, like getting a temporary member. music (latin/funk band): This one's losing steam.  Great players, but they're too busy w/ their jobs.  Just keep plugging away at it until it dissolves or gets somewhere. health: 1. Change lifestyle to optimize workouts (sleeping schedule, eating habits, etc).  Try life as an early riser. 2. Cut weight down to 170 lbs by May (counting muscle gain).  I've ballooned out to 185lbs (I'm 5'8"). 3. INCREASE FLEXIBILITY. 4. Be able to spar (striking + groundfighting) at least two 3-minute rounds AT A HIGH INTENSITY by the end of 2009 - without injury or gassing out.  Struggling w/ one 2-minute round right now.  Last time I checked, my limit was two slow-to-medium paced 3-minute rounds with just boxing. 5. Focus on endurance and flexibility to be on par w/ the top fighters in my MMA class.  Catch up to them by the end of 2009. 6. I promised my wife that at some point in our marriage, I would have a hot body for at least 6 months.  Might as well as get started on it, since I'm now the housewife while wifey brings home the bacon. marriage: 1. Stop being so sensitive to her mood swings.  (Are most women this moody?  I happened to fall in love and marry the moodiest girl I've ever met.) 2. Change body clock, so that she doesn't sit around all day long on the weekends waiting for me to wake up to go do something together. 3. Spend weekends doing shit other than drinking/smoking, ie gun ranges, ATV/dirtbikes, horseback riding, paintballing, fishing, whatever. This week has been complete delirium.  Trying to change my body clock by staying up later and later.  I braved it for 36 hours (I think), then lost consciousness at 4pm yesterday.  Woke up at 10pm last night, gonna try and power through until 9pm tonight.  It was strange going to the gym at 5am today.  It's the strangest feeling, being delirious on stayawake pills during the day - paranoia, semi-hallucinations, then bliss...kinda waxes nostalgic of the old partying days. (4 Comments |Comment on this)