Journey in Japan 2014: Day 1

Man, so much went on in this day. It was hectic...

So, I woke up at 8:10 in the morning, Friday March 14th, to shower up and do my baseball draft before I left for Japan. I only to do 3 draft picks, which my three picks were Miguel Cabrera, Dustin Pedrioa, and David Wright. I didn't even want Wright, but my computer was glitching and it chose him. Then 2 minutes later, I signed off .

Then at 10 am, I went outside my apartment to get in to the mini van taxi my sister requested to come in to pick us but, ended up coming up with a Prius for 4 people and 4 suitcases. Probably wasn't smart of that Taxi company. We ordered another taxi.

30 minutes later, the other taxi came to pick us up.

In one car it was my youngest sister and my mom. The other was me and my other sister. 

The first few minute in the car was pretty awkward. We didn't talk or had said anything in the car. once we got onto the freeway, I was pretty bored so I asked to the driver, "What's the craziest story you have for me while work in the taxi business?"

I never would have thought but I encounter a driver who got a gun pulled on him, after the fact that he told me he see all the sloppy girls he picks up from Hermosa beach on weekends.

There was a lot more but I'm gonna keep that short. He dropped us off at LAX around 11:00 a.m.

My sisters, my mom and I board the plane around 12:45 p.m. Our plane was suppose to departure at 1:00 but it was delay for an hour.

Plane flight was around 11:10 minutes. Sat next to my mom....Later on the flight, I started to get annoyed by her.

When we land, it was around 6:45. Then we had to go on a shuttle for an hour and 30 minutes. 

So, then I finally got the the hotel and checked in, but the thing is, I had someone to meet up in Japan. 

It was my high school Junior Varsity coach from my sophomore year of high school.

He messaged my the day I left and we decided, since he lives in Japan, we should meet up somewhere. It worked out because I was only about 20 minutes away from where he wanted to meet.

So as soon as i checked in, I asked the front desk lady where at train station was at and I ran there and bought my ticket to go to Yokohama, Japan. The train ride took only 20 minutes. I was really thinking about, "What if I get lost?" since I don't have a working phone with me and this was my first time I been to Japan in 10 years and been out alone.

So I finally got Yokohama and waited about almost 40 minutes to find that my coach was at the other exit than I was. Just my luck.

As soon as we met up, he gave my a spirit beverage and walked as we drank.

It's crazy. You can actually drink out in public if you want to and you won't get in trouble.

As soon as he approached me, he said lets go to the karaoke bar.

We proceeded to the karaoke bar and the first thing he did, was sing a Japanese song. 

For all I remember, this guy had no knowledge of Japanese, except the fact the he went to a school that was populated with 80% Asians.

After he sang that, we sang some Eminem, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and some T-Pain.

Then after about 30 minutes, we just talked about life.

One thing I mentioned, was he preached "mental toughness."

I told him that during my roughest times playing baseball in college, that phrase would always pop up in my mind as I was about to either down or give up. As stupid as it sounds, and many of us did, it sucked with me throughout college and helped me to go through a rough 5 years of collegiate baseball.

After we went out ways, I had a hard time find my way back. I could not figure out where I was suppose to take a train back to. So I just took a bullet and took what-is-equivalent to a 70 cab ride back to my hotel. I wasn't so bad because the taxi driver was pretty cool.

Now I am back at my hotel and I am writing this, when I should be asleep because my flight leaves in 7 hour from now.

Better get going to sleep!

Jun

Embrace the Challenge

We all go through adversity at some point in our life time, whether if it's a rough patch in a relationship, struggling in school, not getting enough playing time on the field, etc.

Trust me, I'm only 23 but I've been through a bunch of obstacles in those 23 years and it help me grow as a person.

In those 23 years, I had the privilege to meet a lot professional athletes on the way; from the Majors League level to independent professional players. Those athletes put in countless amount of hours on the basketball court, in the cage, in the ring, on the field, in the gym training to become to best they can be at what they do. And all athletes know that they go through adversity every single day of their lives.


Recently, I got a phone call from one of my good friends that is playing independent baseball and is pursuing on going to the next level in the future.

As we talked on the phone, his tone of voice didn't sound to lively as usual, so I asked him what was wrong.

He had told me that the team he had signed with signed 2 other players at the same position with minor league experience and he was really bummed and discouraged with the opportunity that was given to him.

As we continued to talk, I told him, "Don't worry about the little things. Don't be concerned with what others did or is doing. You have to stay focused and do you and keep working hard. You worry about the other things, then it's just going to be all in your head. You just keep working hard and get better."

...

Couple days later, I went over to his house to get work out and asked him if he was feeling all right.

He told me, "Yea, I'm all right."

Then I told him, "Look at it this way. There are numbers of people that rather be in your position, rather be fighting for a starting spot on a professional team, than being in the position I am in."

He replied, "Yeah. I just have to embrace the challenge."

Like I mentioned at the top, We go through adversity at some point in our life time whether we like it or not. Sometimes, you overcome those hard times, sometimes you don't. But it's how you go through  with it and how you handle yourself in the situation.

You have to remember, whether you have a good day or bad, tomorrow is always a fresh, new start...Always take it one day at at time.


"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." 
- Colin Powell

Jun

After hours

Just a random thought that came into my head after work today...

So we all have those friends you're really close with. you guys probably met during elementary school, middle school, high school, college, was on a basketball team together, join a club, had the same job, etc.

The friends you hung out with during those times you might consider close to, but how well do you know them?

Today, I was talking to one of my co-workers after work today. We usually discuss about what we did at work that day.

I feel like I am pretty good friends with my co-worker considering the fact that I never hung out with him before outside of work (beside the work holiday party). 

Then I thought to myself, we really learn about someone after hours of whatever you are a part of or involved in.

Let me elaborate.

For an example, I talk about my buddy Taylor at times. I say I know this guy more than anyone of my friends right now.

People that know us remembers Taylor and I playing on the same junior college baseball team for one year, meaning I hung out with Taylor only at the baseball field.

Little did people know, the first time I hung out with Taylor was before the semester start at El Camino when I transferred back there.

I didn't know him at the time but we were friends on Facebook and saw a status he posted. I asked him if he wanted to talk it out and so we met up at the Wahoo's in Torrance.

Never ever talked to him before, but I thought since we were going to be teammates, why not talk to this guy.

Ever since that day at Wahoo's, he's been like a brother to me. Always taking care of me and looking after me. 

During that year we went to State Championships in 2010, it wasn't just about going to practices and games, but it was about hanging and drinking beers and eating 12 blackjack tacos, watching punk'd or parental control on MTV on a 1990 big screen TV, smoking a cigar on his last day in the South Bay before he left for San Diego, going to graduations and talking about life.

Other examples would be college and/or after bar hours, but that's a whole another story.

Sometimes taking risk and hanging out with someone, even if it late at night or you have to skip dinner to help them out, is worth the time to make a better friendship with someone.

If I didn't hit up Taylor to meet up at Wahoo's, who knows if we would have been friends in the long run and where I'll be in life right now. For all I know, I might be working in a cubicle office space right now.

Don't get me wrong, every one of my friends mean the world to me. But hanging out outside of whatever is going on makes it more memorable.

Jun

The Simply Things in Life

With all this social media and texting, the true meaning of communication is really disinegrating...

I got home last night around 11:30 pm after sitting in a chair at a desk for 8 hours at work.

My norman routine goes: take off my shoe; take everything out of my pockets; take off my button up shirt off; go to the kitchen to grab dinner and eat.

While I was putting away my stuff out of my pocket, I saw a letter for me placed on the table. A letter all the way from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

A few weeks ago, my friend Mary (lets call her Maltch in this post), texted me for my address. It seemed pretty urgent, though how can you tell the tone of a voice through a text, right? So I gave her my address.

My first thought was, she probably inviting me to her wedding, but thats not like the Maltch I know. So my second thought was she was going to send me a pack of Double Diamond cigars that we used to smoke after nights at the bar.

Ill tell you one thing. Maltch is a mysterious person. I still can't figure her out 'til this day.

Getting back to that letter I got, I opened the envelope and there were four pictures included with a card her and Molly (lets call her Maltch 2 in this post. How they got this name is a whole another story) sent to me.

Although Maltch and I text each other at times and only lasts about 8-10 texts every 3 weeks, reading this letter from both Maltches made my day 10 times better than what it was.

After reading this, I thought to myself that with having all kind of technology and social media to communicate now, the true meaning of connecting with people is being forgotten.

Sure the 21 Century's way of communicating now-a-day is through social media but, I think that it is more meaningful when you actually go up to talk to someone or receive a hand written letter from one of your friends that live 1,800 miles away.

Doing something as simply as writing a letter can make someone's day that much better.

So stop texting and writing a long novel on someone's wall on Facebook. Surprise someone and make someone days a little better.

-Jun

2013: A Year in Review

2013 went by really fast...

Happy New Years to everyone!

Jun