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About Me. My name is Raymond Mar. I live in San Jose my entire life. I workout at the gym, watch anime, read books, play board games, hike, and find new adventures and new experiences. My life is never boring. There is always an activity, an errand, a responsibility, a hobby, and something new to occupy my time. I live a proactive life. I'm a positive, kind, smiling, always looking for a laugh person. I like to meet new people and make new friends. Get up and do something, anything is my life motto.

Japanese Anime. I became an anime fan in 1996 watching Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2. My first exposure to anime was in 1982 watching Starblazers (Spaceship Battleship Yamamoto), 1984 watching Robotech, 1992 watching Ranma 1/2 episodes 1-3, and 1994 watching Record of Lodoss Wars episodes 1-3. My first anime convention was Fanime Con 1997. My first costume (cosplay) was Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist in 2004. (Click My Cosplay to view my costume pics.)

My DVD collection fills three 12 gallon containers. I have about 150 anime and Japanese Popular (J-Pop) CD music mostly from the 1990s and early 2000s. I have two PVC figurines and a small collection of plastic and resin figures. I have three wall scrolls and three posters. My art book collection totals 30. I have a small collection of anime goodies such as stuffed anime characters (plushies), pencil boards, key chains, playing cards, etc. And I have three fan art books (dounjinshi).

My all time favorite anime are the following:

• Ah! My Goddess
• Ano Hana
• Azumanga Daioh
• Bakemonogatari
• Ben-to
• Binbougami Ga
• Bleach
• Card Captor Sakura
• Clannad: After Story
• Cowboy Bebop
• Fooly Cooly (FLCL)
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Hyouka
• Lucky Star
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
• Maho Tsukai Tai OAV
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Read or Die OAV
• Rozen Maiden
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Sailor Moon
• The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
• Tsubasa Chronicle
• Vision of Escaflowne
• Voices Of A Distant Star

Being Physically Active. I workout at the gym four days a week. I follow two beginning weight programs from bodybuilding.com two days and I jog on the treadmill and bike on the stationary bike for the other two days. I stretch out before going to the gym. I continue to improve my workout such as finding new workout guides. My maximum bench press is 200lbs.

Hiking. I started hiking in March 2009. My favorite places to hike are Castle Rock, Angel Island, and Point Lobos. I hike almost 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, and classic jazz are my favorite music. I also listen to anime, Vocaloid, and big bands.

Video Games. Video games are my oldest hobby since the Atari. I have been a casual video gamer for a long time. I play Team Fortress 2, my first online video game. I also play Portal, StarCraft 2, Half-Life 2, and Rock Band.

I was never a die-hard video gamer. I played Starcraft and Command & Conquer a long time ago. My brother and I played Atari, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Playstation, Sega Saturn, and Sega Dreamcast games.

Books. I started reading books during my spare time in 2001. Books became a hobby in 2002. The books I read were business, investment, self-improvement, technology, and advice. Since Oct 2008, I became interested in reading more fiction and less non-fiction. I read bestsellers and young adult fiction. I'm a sucker for recommendations from my friends.

Cooking. I rate my cooking skills "survivable" because I have enough cooking skills to cook healthy meals for myself. (Click Cooking 101 to view my recipes.) 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.

I minimize eating processed foods for myself and my family. We rarely eat frozen foods. We don't eat deli meats. The only canned foods my family and I eat are soups, chili, tomato sauce for spaghetti, and ingredients for big meals such as olives and tuna. My family and I must eat rice and fresh vegetables.

Board Games. The board games I play range from kiddie games such as Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land; mainstream and popular games such as Monopoly and chess; card games such as UNO and Fluxx; party games such as Pictionary and Apples to Apples; and die-hard games such as Settlers of Catan and Puerto Rico. I also play Japanese MahJong (Riichi). My favorite casino game is craps. I play craps only in the casino; however, if the casino is in California, then I play slots.

Dancing. I started to learn 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. I'm weak at salsa.

Movies. Movies is one of my least hobbies I put time into. 2009, 2010, and 2012 were the best years for me watching in theatres and watching on DVD. Here are my all-time favorites:

• A League of Their Own
• Aliens
• All the President's Men
• American Beauty
• Beauty and the Beast
• Black Hawk Down
• Cars
• Casablanca
• Clerks
• E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
• Finding Nemo
• Inception
• It's A Wonderful Life
• Hot Fuzz
• Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
• Office Space
• Saving Private Ryan
• Stand By Me
• The Dark Knight
• The Godfather
• The Princess Bride
• Titanic
• Toy Story
• Wall Street
• UP!

Television. I watch little TV. I spend more time watching sports on TV then primetime. I catch reruns when I'm bored. Otherwise I watch anime. My TV DVD collection is very small. I have five Simpsons box sets, three Family Guy box sets, Malcolm In The Middle Season 1, Glee Season 1, Breaking Bad Season 1, Justified Season 1, and The Shield Seasons 1-2. Here are my all-time favorites:

• Family Guy
• Firefly
• Knight Rider
• Leave it to Beaver
• Malcolm in the Middle
• Seinfeld
• The A Team
• The Dukes of Hazard
• The Simpsons
• Three's Company

Sports. I follow the headlines in football, baseball, and basketball. I'm a San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants fan. I cheer for the Golden State Warriors and the San Jose Sharks. 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 and 2006; Washington and British Columbia, Canada in 2005, 2008, and 2009; and Oregon in 2005. (Click Family Photo Album to view my vacation pics ^O^)

Other Parts Of Me:

• Taking pictures of police cars
• Write blogs at Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar
• Watching ballet especially The Nutcracker
• Exploring and finding new places to visit