As I was panting on the way back to our room from a long day, and regretting the fact that I had not brought a portable oxygen with me, we coincidentally spotted a small nook with colorful bubbly liquid  and a big sign that says “oxygen bar”. I thought to myself, “well, if only that’s real oxygen!” It turns out that the powers that be from above heard me, and it was, in fact, just what I needed, real oxygen.

The place looks just like a real bar. In front of each bar stool  was a small apparatus with several plastic cylinders filled with colored liquids, and a small control panel with a series of dials. The hot, friendly bartender (if you can call her that) explained how the session works. You pay for oxygen based on a fixed period of time— US$10 for 10 minutes or $20 for 20 minutes. Each customer gets a nasal cannula (a thin plastic tube that goes over the ears and has nozzles that fit loosely into each nostril – just like the one I have at home from the hospital). This is attached to the apparatus with the cylinders, each of which contains flavored, aromatheraphy water. Oxygen is fed through the liquid and then into the cannula; you choose which scent or combination of scents you’d like using the dials—choices included scents like eucalyptus, lavender, and lemon.

And so I began breathing. This isn’t something new to me since I do this at home all the time, but I felt like I look rather silly wearing tubes in my nose, in public. In bars, people usually know how to look at each other and carry on a conversation. But those rules don’t seem to apply at an oxygen bar. It feels very unnatural to have a casual conversation with someone when you’re both tethered by the nose to a bubbling machine. Later on, the bartender offered a series of different massages and oils to enhance and heighten the experience.

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First time I heard a song by this Seattle-based band, I thought it sounded familiar – I had a feeling like I was listening to my parents’ old records which, in fact, had a lot of influence on me and the music I listen to today. I looked at the album date, and no they weren’t from the 70s or 80s. I also had to double check that the song isn’t by Tears for Fears or something.

I have confronted that awkwardness from the first second of lead single “My Time”. It’s probably the most awkward video I have ever seen – with some dudes looking like Jesus wearing M&M outfits and a bunch of girl break dancers I feel like I’ve seen before, somewhere.

And yet, in a weird way, their album Omni is interestingly admirable. Minus the Bear is something more than just another competent indie band, their music sounds like it was made 30 years ago, but the only difference is, they are still alive, and young. So, yeah — if you’re into old school, classic 70’s or 80’s rock but wasn’t old enough to appreciate music during those times, these dudes sound just like it, with a modern feel.

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The outdoor dining at Kona Grill delivers a nice restaurant ambiance – modern, chic, and clean cut – yet makes that very cozy and interesting at-home feel of your own patio. Complete with a glass covered fireplace for chilly nights and LCD screens so you can watch sports while drinking 2-dollar beers during happy hour.  The food ranges from 5-dollar happy hour munchies, to 50-dollar specialty entrees.

You can go for the buttery and delicious Sea Bass or the Pan Seared Ahi Tuna, but whatever you do, make sure to try their Macadamia Nut Chicken – a signature specialty that has people talking.

chef Zach & Takeshi of Kona Grill

jalapeno yellowtail sashimi

miso-sake marinated sea bass

pan-seared ahi

Kona Grill

511 Highway 1

Iselin, New Jersey 08830

(732) 750-4400

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If you are looking for a dramatic way to give your home a new look, changing you kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets is the way to go because they carry most of the weight in your home’s personality.

The best part is you can now easily buy kitchen cabinets online. I recommend Kitchen Cabinet Kings for all your kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets needs. Kitchen Cabinet Kings offer unbelievable wholesale kitchen cabinet and bathroom cabinet prices. I’m a big fan of dark wood and I’m looking to remodel with the Pacifica Kitchen Cabinet line (pictured above) to match my dark wood living room furniture.

They even have an amazing Design Service center where experts and trained kitchen cabinet designers could help you design your new kitchen on the latest remodeling software that allows you to watch your dream kitchen unfold right before your eyes!

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It’s 8am on a Monday. I press the snooze button. I say a little prayer, lift my head slowly from a mountain of pillows (I can’t lay flat or I won’t get air to my lungs) and put my body in an upright position, making sure I don’t do any sudden movements or I’ll start to cough my way out of breath. I’m finally up.

I take a puff of my inhaler #1, walk slowly away from bed into the bathroom. I brush my teeth, jump into the shower, making sure to leave the door open so the steam won’t suffocate me. I go back into the room, take a puff of inhaler #2 and get ready.

I put my phone on vibrate, take my stuff and head out the room. I take a bottled water just in case I get tired on my way to the car. I say bye to my dog, my fish, and my robo hamsters. I take baby steps to the parking lot, into the car.

It’s a 30-minute ride to work. I keep the radio on, but most of the time random stuff just goes through my head. Approaching the entrance to the building, I look for my ID card. I kiss Chet goodbye, and head to the elevator on to the 2nd floor, where people sometimes give me that why-are-you-being-so-lazy-to-take-the-stairs-instead look. I don’t mind them.

I get to my desk, and go through the stuff I need to do for the day. A meeting here, a client call there.

A day without a phone call with a client is considered a good day for me. It only means I don’t have to talk, explain, or laugh, and get out of breath and cough my brains out while on the phone. But if I have to do it, then I try my best to get it done.

It’s almost noon. My co-workers invite me to eat out. Fridays and Delicious Heights are my restaurants to go to, only because  instead of walking, I get to ride in a car going there. My answer would normally be yes, except when it’s a Monday or if they want to walk to the pizza place down the street. I don’t do “walks down the street” anymore. It’s just going to take me forever, and I would probably need oxygen.

People like to do their summer hours on Fridays, I do mine on Mondays. I get to leave work at 1pm and my mom picks me up. It’s her only day off from work, and the only time she’s in Jersey. It’s the only time we really get to spend some time together. I get home at 1:30pm, or sometimes go with her to run errands, but I usually just stay in the car so I don’t have to move so much.

Getting home and getting up the stairs to our 2nd floor apartment is probably my biggest challenge everyday. I need about 5 to 10 minutes (sometimes with the oxygen tank involved) after the hike to settle myself down and breathe normally again. Once I’m up the stairs, I rarely ever want to come down at night again to hang out with friends or do anything. Because that means having to shower, get ready, walk to the car, then go up the stairs again when I get home. It’s just too much work.

It’s almost midnight. I need to take a puff of my inhaler #1 again, say a prayer, and if it’s a really bad day, maybe hook myself up to the oxygen tank one last time until I fall asleep. I wake up around 3am, turn the machine off and go back to sleep hoping that I wouldn’t be out of breath anymore, at least not until I wake up again.

My alarm goes off.

It’s 8am on a Tuesday. I press the snooze button. I say a little prayer, hoping that I would somehow stay where I am a little while longer and that today would somehow be a better day.

If only life had a snooze button.

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Made from 3M premium easy-on, easy-off, scratch-resistant materials, these iPhone 4 Skins are pretty much the best skins on the planet! GelaSkins are removable covers for protecting and customizing your portable devices. They feature stunning, photo-quality graphics ranging from fine art prints to contemporary urban images designed by hundreds of their growing family of artists from around the globe. You can even design your own using the Gelaskin Creator and stand out in the crowd with personalized protection from GelaSkins.

(*) Speck

If you’re a big fan of hard cases for added protection for your iPhone 4 but won’t settle for those cheap-looking ones you’ll find at the mall kiosks, (*) Speck has the sickest and classiest designs you’ll ever find. Their starting line-up includes PixelSkin, Fitted, CandyShell, and the newest PixelSkin HD and Geometric. A few of these iPhone 4 Cases from Speck are already in stock at AT&T retail stores nationwide.

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The Bird and the Bee, with singer Inara George and multi-instrumental/producer Greg Kurstin, just released Interpreting The Masters Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates, on EMI’s Blue Note Records on March 23, 2010.

This album is a follow up to their2009’s Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future. The acclaimed band’s third full-length is a love letter to my favorite famed “rock and soul” duo Hall & Oates.

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peking style chicken with crispy garlic and soy-chili eggplant

Pan Roasted Duck Breast with roasted garlic, corn & scallion spoon bread, five spice jus

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I dig Metric. I cannot describe them in words, which is why I am encouraging every person reading this to go to myspace.com/metric after you finish reading this post and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I like them and I like them a lot. I rarely say that about a band with bands that have female vocalists. Metric is fronted by the insanely talented Emily Haines. The band has a way of writing music that not only takes your breath away, but also leaves you pissed at the world, and happy to be alive all within the same album. They have written and recorded stories of your life, cleverly.

The single “Help I’m Alive” is a personal favorite. I’ve heard both the remix and the acoustic versions, and I must say I can’t just pick just one between the two. Both versions are disturbingly infectious and addicting. One makes me feel like dancing without a care in the world, while the other leaves me thinking while my whole life flashes in front of me. Amazing how it brings me to two separate worlds with the same exact lyrics.

“Metric” is a super group of musicians that are masters of experimentation. I think fans of Bjork, Faithless, and DJ Shadow would especially enjoy Metric as well.

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