About Me. My name is Raymond Mar. I live in San Jose my entire life. I workout at the gym, read books, play board games, hike, and cook. I find new adventures and new experiences. I live a proactive life. I'm working intelligently to earn a good life. I meet new people and make new friends. Get up and do something, anything is my life motto.
I'm physically active four to five days a week at the gym. I follow three weight training programs from bodybuilding.com. I bike on the stationary bike and I jog on the treadmill for cardio workouts. I continue to improve my workouts such as finding new workout guides.
The Outdoors. I started hiking in Mar 2009. My favorite places to hike are Castle Rock, Angel Island, and Point Lobos. I hike, camp, and backpack anywhere including urban hiking and open trails. Give me my hiking hat and my hiking shoes. I like to see new scenery.
Music. Classic rock, classical music, classic jazz, and big bands are my favorite music. The Beatles is my all-time favorite band. Let It Be is my all-time favorite Beatles song. I listen to 80s rock and 80s pop most of the time and 90s rock and 90s pop sometimes on cardio workouts.
Books. I started reading books in 2001. Books became a hobby in 2002. I read business, investment, self-improvement, technology, and advice. I read more fiction books than non-fiction starting in 2008. The fiction books include bestsellers, classics, and young adult. I'm a sucker for recommendations.
Cooking. I rate my cooking skills "survivable" because I cook healthy meals like a single person. I have lots to learn including stir-frying and making the meals taste better. I have cookbooks and printed recipes I'm eager to try; however, I have simple recipes at my Cooking 101.
I minimize eating processed foods in my household. We rarely eat frozen foods. We don't eat deli meats. The only canned foods my family and I eat are chili, tomato sauce for spaghetti, and ingredients for big meals such as olives and tuna. My family and I must eat rice, fruits, and vegetables.
Board Games. I play kiddie games such as Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land; mainstream games such as Settlers Of Catan and chess; card games such as Ascension and Fluxx; party games such as Pictionary and Beyond Balderdash; and board gamers games such as Viticulture and Puerto Rico. I also play Hong Kong and Japanese or Riichi Mahjong. My favorite casino game is craps.
Dancing. I learned ballroom dancing in Jan 2009. My sister danced competitively and taught me during her free time. I learned the fox trot, waltz, tango, cha cha cha, nite club two-step, east coast swing, west coast swing, and the hustle.
Movies. Watching good movies is worth my time. I avoid stupid movies. I'm picky purchasing DVD and BD movies for which I ask myself the question, "Am I going to watch the movie multiple times?" If the answer is yes, then I purchase the movie. My all-time favorites are the following: A Few Good Men, A League Of Their Own, Aliens, All The President's Men, Ben Hur, Black Hawk Down, Breaking Away, Casablanca, Clerks, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Good Will Hunting, Hot Fuzz, La La Land, Mary Poppins, Office Space, Saving Private Ryan, Stand By Me, The Dark Knight, The Godfather, The Princess Bride, The Sound Of Music, Titanic, Toy Story, Wall Street, and UP!
Television. I watch little TV. I spend more time watching sports than primetime. I watch TV series on DVD because I don't have cable. My TV DVD collection is small. My all-time favorites are Breaking Bad, Firefly, Knight Rider, Leave it to Beaver, Malcolm in the Middle, Seinfeld, The A-Team, The Dukes of Hazard, The Simpsons, and Three's Company.
Sports. I follow the headlines in football, baseball, and basketball. I'm a San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Sharks, and San Jose Earthquakes fan. I cheer for the Oakland A's and Oakland Raiders. I follow the headlines for college football and college basketball casually especially the bowls games and March Madness, respectively.
Vacation. My family and I started going on vacations in 2001. In the 1990s, my family and I went to Disneyland and Santa Barbara many times, and Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon once. In 2001, my family and I went to Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo. In 2003, my family and I went to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Huntington Library, San Diego, and Hoover Dam.
For myself, I started going on vacations in 2004. I went to Las Vegas in 2004, 2006, and 2015; Washington and British Columbia, Canada in 2005, 2008, and 2009; and Oregon in 2005. My latest vacation was visiting Zion National Park in Utah in 2015 and 2016. Click My Photo Album to view my vacation pics.
Podcasts. I listen to 99% Invisible, Awesome Etiquette, Freakonomics, Sex With Emily, and Stuff You Should Know. My current events podcasts are 60 Minutes and Nightline. My retired podcasts are Car Talk airing repeats and NBC Sports Bay Area Happy Hour.
Japanese Anime. I'm a retired anime fan.
Video Games. I'm retired playing video games. I play a little mobile games.
Other Parts Of Me: Taking pictures of police cars, writing blogs posted on my webpage Innovating Common Knowledge, writing personal blogs posted at Finding Raymond Mar, watching ballet especially The Nutcracker, and exploring new places to visit.