The Soltrans # 4 bus, scheduled for 2:20 p.m., was about 10 minutes behind schedule.
Just as I was about to step-off the bus at the transfer station, the little old white lady seated in front of me ( I sat in a forward-facing seat while she sat in a side-facing seat ) turned to look at me and gave me this compliment, "You're a very nice looking young man."
I wonder what kind of mirror she uses 'cause my mirror reflects an ordinary looking face. Oh, well. I guess "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." And her eyesight is failing her, the poor ol' lady! Well, of course, I was flattered as I responded, Thank you, mam. Have a nice day.
I ran towards the # 80 bus that was waiting to board BART Train-bound passengers. It was 11 months ago when I had to make a similar dash, with 2 bags in hand, to catch a bus. But, this time around, I didn't run out of breath since I'm more physically fit now than I was last year.
I still eat at buffets, though. But I'm more careful about my food choices now as I strictly limit the amount of simple carbohydrates that I have with a meal. It simply means that I don't eat any more of the following: Cakes, Ice Cream, Candies, Pies, Pastries, Doughnuts, Pastas/Noodles, White Rice, White Bread, Milk Shakes, Soft Drinks, and everything else made with sugar and/or white flour. Do I miss any of it? No, not really.
You see, last year, on May 12th, 2014, my doctor gave me 2 options: Either I go on a diet, exercise and lose weight or I start taking Blood Pressure Medication. On my way home from my doctor's appointment, I thought long and hard about my 2 options and why it all narrowed down to these. You see, because of old sports injuries to my knee, my back and my shoulders, I stopped exercising and just "let myself go", so to speak. And all the food that I've eaten for over a half century was the main culprit behind the sorry state that I found myself in. So, I asked myself, If I stop eating all the food that I've been eating all of these years, will I miss any of them. And I answered, You know, I've eaten such foods so many times that if I just think about any of them my "taste memory" will conjure up the experience. Therefore, I will never miss any of them because they're forever branded in my mind! That was all it took to get me to give up my junk food habit!
I went back to jogging once again. And through trial and error, I found the right knee brace ( the adjustable kind with metal supports ) to help me get back to jogging. It was slow going the first time. I actually could only jog for about 70 yards---I was that out-of-shape! ( And to think, I used to jog 12 miles a day, 6 days a week in 1982 back in the Philippines. ) I jog for only 30 minutes now, but in a more intense way since I add 3 sprints and 2 staircase jogs to my routine. I also do upper body exercises and stretches.
And I lost weight quickly! I lost 27 pounds in a month's time. That's the good news. The bad news is that I now have loose skin to deal with! And my body still wants to lose more weight. But I have to put off the need for more weight loss until my skin tightens back up. Which is why I still have to pig-out at buffets for the time being to keep from losing more weight.
A co-worker said that I should give a compression shirt and a pair of compression shorts a try as they will help to tighten up my skin again. I wouldn't mind trying on a compression shirt. But I don't think that my testicles are keen on the idea of me putting them in a pair of compression shorts! Where do I sign up for the Vienna Boys Choir? Ha, ha, ha.
Well, I arrived in San Francisco, CA, between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. I stepped off the train at the Montgomery Street BART Train Station. Then, I stopped at the 7-Eleven on Sutter Street to buy a 16.9 oz bottle of store brand water before I walked on over to the hotel to check-in.
When I arrived at the hotel, I asked the front desk clerk if the Chinese New Year's celebration was already over. He told me that the last parade was yesterday, a Sunday. Darn, I missed it by just one day!
I'm staying once again at the Grant Plaza Hotel, in Chinatown, in room 514. The room is small but it looks nicer than any of the other three rooms in which I stayed in on the 3rd floor in my previous stays at this hotel.
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| This is room # 514, with a double-size bed. |
The hotel is in the middle of some renovation because the hallways on the 3rd floor are all stripped of carpeting and the smell of fresh paint is in the air.
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| This is the stairwell on the 3rd floor. I took this photo and the one below it at just 9 minutes past midnight when I had to go downstairs to get some ice for my lunch cooler. I want my Greek yogurt to be nice and cold for breakfast in about 8 hours from now. |
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| These are the hallways on the 3rd floor. To the left is the hallway leading to the room that I stayed in last year. To the right is the hallway leading to the rooms that I stayed in back in 2013 (?) and 2012 (?). Also, to the right is the elevator. |
After resting for a short while, I went to AMC Metreon 16 on 4th Street to see the English subtitled Chinese movie, 12 GOLDEN DUCKS. It's a comedy about gigolos in China. It was entertaining enough. And the Chinese people in the audience of mostly giggly girls liked this movie.
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| I went to see this movie at 6:20 p.m. in auditorium 11, 4th row ( counting from the front ), 5th seat ( counting from the right ). The price of admission was $12.99. And I bought a Kid's Pack ( junior popcorn, junior fruit punch [ they didn't have diet lemonade ] and gummy candy snack [ which I threw away ] ) for $6.49 at the concessions counter. |
Watching some of the gigolos in this movie gave me an idea: I should go to Hong Kong and work as a "duck" once I'm more physically fit! I will specialized in little ol' ladies with poor eyesight! LOL
Anyway ....
After the movie, I went to Eastern Bakery in Chinatown to buy a Pork Bun ( I only ate the filling ), a bag of dried yams and a bag of peanuts for my dinner.
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