Lassen Peak and Summit Lake

In Southern California we are fortunate to have so many choices when looking for a vacation spot. We are within hours of beautiful mountains and sunny deserts and in Orange County we are minutes from spectacular ocean resorts. But if you are looking for “a road less traveled” you may have a hard time finding it in Southern California. The beautiful locations frequently come at a steep price: noise, crowds and traffic. But that “road less traveled” can still be found in north central California at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Lassen is not my favorite National Park. In fact it isn’t anyone’s favorite National Park. It is the least visited National Park in the United States. But it is secluded, serene, beautiful, and because of the geothermal activity, it is unique. It is over 160,000 acres where you can hike trails up to mountain peaks that top 10,000 feet. Or camp by pristine forest lakes (Manzanita Lake is my favorite) and enjoy the visiting mule deer and occasional black bear. You can experience the fumaroles, mudpots and steaming ground of Bumpass Hell, Devils Kitchen and Boiling Springs Lake. You can take a quarter mile hike through a lava tube or drive by the devastation from the last volcanic eruption of Lassen Peak in 1915. And you can do it all without noise, crowds and traffic.

Beautiful Hanauma Bay

Growing up in Hawai’i, I was lucky enough to be able to experience some of the most beautiful and exciting outdoor activities. One of my favorite was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay (pronounced “ha-NOW-mah”, in Hawaiian) is located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu (just east of Honolulu) in the Hawaiian Islands. Hana means ‘bay’ and uma means ‘shelter,’ translating to English as “Shelter Bay”.
Hanauma Bay is one of the most popular tourist destinations on O’ahu, and in looking at its picturesque beauty it is easy to see why. The bay itself is home to many endemic species of plant and marine life.
At Hanauma bay you can spend the day snorkeling side by side with fish range in size from two inches to two feet. It’s so amazing to be so close that you can actually touch some of the fish as they swim by.
The bay also offers fish food that you can buy so you can feed the fish. My favorite thing to do is to try and hold the fish food in my hand under water, and have the fish swum up to eat it.
If you enjoy beautiful landscapes and crystal blue water you should definitely try and experience all Hanauma Bay has to offer!

Upside down guitar on Seattle Hard Rock Cafe

On a recent visit to Seattle, Washington, I discovered an interesting fact about the Hard Rock Café that opened in February of 2010. The guitar on the outside of the building is upside down.  It is a replica of a Fender Mustang that was played by Kurt Cobain of the grunge rock band, Nirvana. I’m told that the guitar’s neck points downward to signify Kurt Cobain’s left handed playing.

The Affinity Holiday Lunch and Affinity Engineer, Mayuri Patel, shows off her new Afffinity Jacket

It has been a good year for all of us at Affinity and we are thankful for that.  In 2011 we moved into our new building and grew from 160 to over 250 employees.  We thank our many OEM partners for our continued growth and success.

The Affinity team celebrated the holidays with a catered lunch on Friday, December 16^th.  The lunch room was packed with both first and second shift team members enjoying the time together.  Affinity President and CEO, Mary Phillipp, thanked team members for their hard work throughout the year.  Each employee received a new Affinity jacket in their choice of blue or red.

The entire Affinity team wishes you the happiest of Holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year!

The Magnificent Pyramids at Teotihuacan

In my last vacation to Mexico, one of my brothers asked me if I would like to go to visit Teotihuacan.  I already knew about that place, but I never had the opportunity to be there before, so we decide to go. Teotihuacan is one of the largest archeological areas in Mexico and has many ruins.  There are around 600 pyramids, as well as housings with splendid murals. Two of the most important buildings in this complex are called “the pyramid of the Sun” and “the pyramid of the moon”. This complex of pyramids is located to the northeast of Mexico City.

When we got there I couldn’t even describe how wonderful it was to see the huge pyramids.  Teotihuacan is a complex of many pyramids and some people call this place the “Birth Place of Gods” or “City of the Gods.”  Personally, I think that name is the right one because the place gives you calm and tranquility that you can feel.  Many people come to Teotihuacan to meditate and many feel that they receive good energy from the pyramids.

We started to climb all the way to the top, but some of us we were not prepared physical or mentally.  We only were able to get half way up one of the pyramids before tiring, but my two oldest children and my husband had the strength were able to climb up to the top.  But any way the experience for me and our family was wonderful. My kids enjoyed the trip and they are asking when we’re going to go back to climb another pyramid!

Friendly match between Zaldy and Richard in the Philippines in 2000

Since my late wife’s passing over two years ago, my outlook in life has changed from that which I previously held. My previous jobs had no idea that I was involved in such a hobby, I told a few people whom I trusted to keep it a secret. Well, after much self deliberation and getting up there in age…haha, I decided to share my hobby with my Affinity friends, who I consider to be like family to me.

For the past 35 years, one of my hobbies that I am actively involved in (from the learning, training & teaching aspects), is a Filipino martial arts known as Eskrima (sticks, knives, swords, and empty-handed techniques are taught). I have been truly fortunate, grateful and truly humbled to have studied and trained in Muay Thai kickboxing, Western boxing, Indonesian Silat, Chinese Wing Chun Gung-Fu and  Filipino Eskrima with eight different grandmasters and masters in the martial arts world. My current system doesn’t have a belt ranking,  I am proud and honored to be a senior instructor in my current system (Laban Tulisan Eskrima) and authorized by my current master with the ability to teach.

The following are but a few teachers/instructors who I have studied under in seminars and actual in-person classes/sessions:

Master Dan Inosanto,  best known (in the martial arts community) for being the late Bruce Lee’s personal friend, torch bearer of Bruce Lee’s “Jeet Kune Do” and sparring partner for eight years up until Bruce’s death in 1973.  Dan Inosanto is 75 years of age now and still currently teaches martial arts in Los Angeles; just search his name in Wikipedia to learn more about him.

Grandmaster Leo Giron, who was 91 years of age when he passed away and was a decorated war hero during WWII with 26 confirmed, kills. He served directly under Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s secretive 978^th signal group against the Japanese. He received a letter of commendation by the then president,    President FDR. His system still lives on in Stockton, Calif.

Grandmaster Edgar Sulite, was a young 39 years of age when he passed away in 1997. He founded LAMECO Eskrima for long range, medium range, and close range fighting. His double sticks and knife fighting techniques were exceptional. His system still thrives in Los Angeles and Europe.

Master Ner R, is highly sought after by law enforcement to teach his knife fighting techniques. He has taught the Navy Seals and the Tennessee Swat team. He is my current instructor and has been my instructor for the last 13 years. His system was handed down to him by his late father which came from five generations of family members. His system is known as” Laban Tulisan” it means to fight the bandits. It was widely used by towns people to protect themselves from marauding bandits, against the Spaniards (during the Spanish-American War), and against the Japanese during WWII.

I met Master Ner through a mutual master, and I used to go to Master Ner’s place once a week in the hopes of him teaching me. For six straight months, I would be seated in his living room for a few hours at night and we would be talking about current events or about family but never about martial arts. I knew he was testing and studying me as a person, to see if I had the patience, discipline, and the humility in order for him to teach me his system.

The first two years were the hardest training sessions I went through. I trained with Master Ner at night after a long day at work, normally from 8pm to midnight. He would train me with lights on or just the full moon at night. Since we practiced outside, I would sometimes be practicing my footwork and strikes while it was raining (real dark outside) or under chilly and muggy conditions.

People from Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Corona come to the Master’s place and  get together every other Saturday for a practice session for a few hours or until the Master decides it’s time to stop when He sees how tired our faces look. My Affinity friends are invited and welcome to meet Master Ner and join us for a Saturday session! In closing, Master Ner has a saying when it comes to knife fighting “have patience or you will end up a patient”.

Mireylli

I’m am the mother of a five year old son and am pregnant with my second child due in December. Both of my pregnancies have been the most wonderful experience in my life.  Being pregnant is one of the most wondrous and magical adventures a woman can ever experience.

Pregnancy is a beautiful and exciting!.  You feel so very beautiful, and everything seems so wonderful as a baby grows inside your womb.

Every time I feel my baby move is a moment that I will keep in my heart forever.   Before you were conceived I wanted you and before you were born I loved you.  As each day passes and your birth draws closer I can hardly wait to meet you.

There are so many things to do and plan makes that it makes me nervous, but I can hardly wait for you arrival and for the joy you’ll bring to our family.  I am so anxious to hold you in my arms for the first time and remember that day just like I remember when your brother was born.  .

I have enjoyed every moment of my pregnancies.  Those nine months have been the greatest experience in my life and one that I would never change it or trade for anything in the world.

Cenote Ik Kil in the Yucatan

I will never forget the time my wife and I jumped into a water filled hole in the ground after visiting the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá. I had no idea what I was getting into at the time and was amazed by how beautiful it was.

This water filled hole is called a Cenote (say-NO-tay). One of many located in the area. It provided a stable supply of water for the ancient Maya people and was a great place for human sacrifices. Now it is used mainly as a tourist destination for swimming and diving competitions. This Cenote is open to the sky 200 ft across and 85 ft down to the water.

As we walked down the carved stairway there were many openings where you could see impressive views. At the bottom there was a platform where at the lowest point was 10 ft from the water. You had to choose whether to climb down a ladder or Jump into 130 ft deep water! The water is so deep that you cannot see the bottom and Catfish that live in the water are blind as there is no reason to see.

We decided to jump. It was kind of scary because they told us that there was no life guard and no one was coming to save you if you couldn’t swim. With nothing to hold onto the entire time you have to be careful if you want to swim to the other side and still make it back. From the water the view was incredible. It was like watching National Geographic with the vines and small waterfalls.

Unfortunately we didn’t have much time in the water. We had been taken there on a bus tour and had to go by their schedule. We had a great time though and would love to do it again someday.

Beautiful Versallis Gardens with the palace in the background

Our colleague, Didier Chabault resides in a small city near the Palace at Versailles.  He and his wife walk the Gardens on Sunday mornings – and now, after visiting Versailles, we can really appreciate the beauty and majesty of this walk.

On a recent Holiday in France, we toured the Palace and Gardens at Versailles.  The building was started by Luis the XIII as a hunting lodge.  His son Louis the XIV further developed this property and it became the location of the court and government for France in 1682 until 1789.  The Palace is absolutely magnificent and incredibly well preserved.  It is impossible to imagine living in such splendor some 300 years ago!

Our tour of the gardens was cut short by a threatening storm, but the views from the Palace and our short walk was breathtakingly beautiful.

It started to pour buckets of rain as we left the Palace and we sought refuge from the wind and rain next to the statue of King Louis XIV as we waited for our colleague.  I don’t think Louis would have minded, do you?

Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam - photo courtesy of AceFighter19

One of the places my family and I visited on our recent trip to India was Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam. It’s located on the banks of the Narmada River, in Gujarat. The Narmada Dam is 455 feet tall. It was first conceived in the 1940s by Jawaharlal Nehru. The project only took form in 1979 as part of a development system to increase irrigation and produce electricity.

The Sardar Sarovar Project provides water to 17.93 million hectares of agriculture land, covering 3112 villages of 73 counties in 15 districts of Gujarat. It also supplies water 75,000 hectares of land in the desert districts of Barmer and Jallore in Rajasthan and 37,500 hectares in the tribal hilly tract of Maharashtra.

There are two power houses. River bed power house and canal head power house with an installed capacity of 1200 MW and 250 MW respectively. The power would be shared by three states – Madhya Pradesh – 57%, Maharashtra – 27% and Gujarat 16%.

There are many places on Narmada river bank to visit. One of my old memories is Kabeer vad banyan tree my friends and I used to visit while we were in college. Honestly, the scenery around the river is breath taking; my family and I really enjoyed our time spent there.