It’s been nearly 10 months since I released my last mixtape, and over half a year since I performed live, and I’ve been itching to start dj’ing live again.  Checkout my just released mixtape (to Save the MP3, right-click on the red link and “save-as”).  I’m a little rusty, so please cut me some slack, although I would appreciate your feedback and comments, after listening.

01 Return of the Chef by DJIronChef

Sometimes we’re so busy being busy, that we forget to take time for ourselves and engage in our true passions.  I always find that I get my best ideas when I’m doing something fun and relaxing.  Furthermore, it’s the best feeling in the world when you can lose yourself completely in whatever you’re doing, and just let your instinctual creative capacities to take over - I call this “flow”.

When was the last time you experienced a “state of flow”?  Can you recall what activity you were engaged in?  Maybe it’s time to revisit the activities that make you happy.  If you want to live a life that fulfills you, then you need to know, in each part of your life, which are the specific moments that really renew your energy and bring you joy, and go after them.

The long awaited goal of performing 100 consecutive good-form pushups finally became a reality on Monday, Jan. 18.  After eight grueling weeks of staying focused and disciplined on following the “100 Consecutive Pushups Program”, the result was really a pleasant surprise, and just confirms my belief that small daily improvements over time, can lead to stunning results.  Aristotle similarly states, “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”

Following the program however, did not come without speed bumps and impediments.  The first time I attempted this with my buddy, Roger Q., in Hong Kong last year, despite the fact that we kept each other accountable, we gave up somewhere around Week 5 of the program, citing elbow soreness as an excuse.  That experience left a sour taste in my mouth, and I was determined this time, more than ever to get over the hump, and despite how incredibly focused I was, I suffered yet, another let down around the beginning of Week 5, allowing work and other obligations take priority, and relegating my pushups to the backseat.

Fortunately, I recommitted and doubled my efforts to get back on track after a two week hiatus.  In addition to redoing the pushups in Week 5 and continuing towards the finish line in Week 6, I made the challenge even more difficult, by forcing myself to do 100 pushups per day - two sets of 50 consecutive pushups.  After 8 weeks and 4,377 pushups later, I was pumped up to take the ultimate test of performing 100 consecutive good form pushups.  My brother, Jordan, was witness to the feat, and I have to give him props for taking the creative open-shutter photograph above.  The experience felt surreal - my arms wanted to give way after 80, and each pushup thereafter, exacerbated the feeling of my chest exploding, my knees started shaking around 85, and at 90, my head was throbbing violently, and I wanted to call it quits, but I just focused on one-pushup at a time, and was steadfastly certain that I would make it, as I kept envisioning the number, “100″ in my head, and sure enough, I collapsed after “100″, and face-planted on the carpeted bedroom - my arms were lifeless and jello-like, but I was in sheer joy.

The Japanese have a word for the concept of never ending improvement, “kaizen”.  Whether it’s your respective career, a new skill you would like to develop or a new hobby, growth, progress and ultimate success come to those who train and keep training.  So in 2010, what are you training for?

I was clueless about what to take a picture of today, despite the fact that I had a full day, and drove everywhere.  That’s when I decided to rummage through my old record collection, when I realized that I had a pretty decent collection of Frank Sinatra records. When I visited Brooklyn this past December, I learned that the famous Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (http://www.grimaldis.com/) never delivers to anyone, the exception being Mr. Sinatra - if he was in Manhattan doing a show, his pizza would be delivered to him pronto.

By Jason Yeh

My attempt at having a Zen-like work space

Did you look back at 2009, and wonder where it all went or how fast it had flown by?  Do you remember the key events in 2009 that made that year spectacular?  Wouldn’t it be great if you could just flip through a photo-album of 365 pictures, which encapsulates your 2009 via visual imagery?

It’s been a long while since my last post, and I thought I’d stir things up a little bit by introducing a new project that I’ve been having a lot of fun with - “Project 365″.  Essentially, I take one picture a day, of whatever happens to inspire, bewilder, or interest me.  The goal is to chronicle an entire year through pictures and take 365 consecutive photos.  To keep me motivated, I’m going to develop a photo album for each completed month, which will serve as monthly milestones.  Hopefully through this process, I’ll learn to look at the world through a different lens, and notice things that I’ve failed to appreciate, as well as vastly improve my photography skills.

We live in such a fast-paced world, that we often forget what is truly beautiful or important, even if it’s right in front of us.  Whether it’s a plant on your workspace, your cat or dog, the drive down to work, the walk around your school or neighborhood, your family, or significant other, do we take the time to really stop and appreciate all that is good around us?  Even though it is cliche, how often do we really ask ourselves, “what am I grateful for?”  Who are the people in my life that I love and love me?  Is it really possible to see the beauty of people and things around us without a pause button in life?  Whether or not it is possible, I hope that with “Project 365″, that my camera can help me wield this godly power to pause the events in my life, so that I can truly see and appreciate people and things for who and what they are.  Just food for thought, but maybe we would all be happier if we took a minute each day, to pause our own world.

Thank you to my friends, shout-outs to Sharon Zhen, who inspired me to take on this project, and Ginger Lau for encouraging me and giving me the idea to start blogging again.

Follow along on my daily pictorial journey by visiting my Project 365 page.