Four + One Blog

Where the search for a well-rounded existence can stretch its legs.

If you’re new to the blog, here are a few things to get you started. The game behind the name tells the tale of where the name 4+1 originated. You can listen to my appearance on The Quasi-Glamourous Life podcast to hear me talk about work. This blog is constantly in flux. Some of the early posts will give you an idea of what I'm into, my latest posts have tended to showcase my work. Shout at me if you want more of some and less of the other. Enjoy.

Introducing: This American Life

It all started with my buddy and me imitating that voice. It’s nasally, and his speech pattern is a little too NPR. By which I mean, quick, wordy, and earnest.
ira-glass-intro
He’s not quite as ‘NPR’ as Terry Gross, which I would consider the most ‘NPR’ one can be. But he is certainly distinct. The format of [...]

The Quasi-Glamorous Life appearance, re-dux: download and tidbits

In case you missed the live broadcast of The Quasi-Glamorous Life podcast, you can stream it here:
the quasi-glamorous life – episode 10
My portion starts at about the 12:15 mark.
As usual, I thought of plenty of things to add once I was done with the show, so I’m going to go ahead and use the blog [...]

A Lesson – Eight Years in the Making

Yoon of ‘What three guys think’ sent in our first correspondence piece.
A friend of mine is a student at a large public university and he was recently assaulted by an alleged fraternity member of the local “tough guy” frat for being Asian.  Nothing more nothing less.
Flash back seven-plus years to September 12, 2001, a [...]

How I lost my mind and bought the big one

This is the second part of my biking story. Read Part 1 How I became obsessed.
Once I had my bike and was riding regularly I thought things might slow down on the excitement side. They didn’t. Once you’ve got a bike you start learning about parts. Pedals, tires, tubes, brake pads, racks, handlebars, cloth tape, [...]

The element of surprise

I’m sure many have seen this clip of Susan Boyle on Brittain’s Got Talent already, but it goes without saying that somebody was cutting onions nearby the first time I saw it. There’s something that always gets me about someone not looking the part but having done the hard work and preparation necessary to succeed. [...]

How I became obsessed

I never used to be a bike person. I had a bike when I was a kid, and probably liked riding it. I only have a couple of memories that involve bikes. I remember the first time I learned to ride a bike, no training wheels or anything. My dad took me and my new [...]

What I love about the present

The other day my high school buddy and I were reminiscing about how we went bungee-jumping a couple months after graduation. This was in 1998. After we had spent a couple of minutes recalling the tremendous rush and our general manliness we were wondering exactly how we went about setting this up. How did we [...]

The game behind the name

We were living in the mountains of California at the time, in a little town north of Los Angeles called Frazier Park. Megan was pregnant with our second daughter, late summer was turning into fall. What a weekend it was shaping up to be. A four game series with the Padres. Late season with the [...]

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