If you can't stand the fat man in the corner

I has a new blog site

2007-11-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Go to danielwomack.wordpress.com for all future (and past) blog entries. It's just far easier to use. I'll keep this one active but I'm not going to be updating it anymore so you might as well just give up looking at it and change your link in your favorites to danielwomack.wordpress.com.

In the future I plan to get a domain name that's easier to remember. Don't any of you go buying up danielwomack.com for an easy pay off because I'll simply just choose another name.

It's that time of the month!

2007-11-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not know but Victoria and I have this little podcast called Uncast. Now I warn you, it's not for everyone. I know some of you would rather not hear us curse or talk about sex or anything dirty, vile or violent but for the rest of you who haven't checked it out at all, didn't know about it or haven't been able to yet...take a little time RIGHT NOW and listen to an episode. You can start at The Beginning and move up, you can start at the most recent or even in the middle like episode 25.

NOW when you're done there AND FOR THE REST OF YOU, please at least support us by going to Podcast Alley and voting for us. They'll send you an email. You click on the link in that email and your vote counts. Fail to do any of them and the vote won't count, we'll be sad. You don't want us to be sad do you? THEN GO VOTE FOR US!!! There are over 35,500 podcasts listed on Podcast Alley. We started at the bottom.

In September we were 205th and in October we were 61st. We'd like to continue that exponential climb to the top 10 if possible. The more of you that listen and the more that vote, the more possible that is. IF YOU LIKE IT TELL YOUR FRIENDS! They might like it. Even if they don't they might spread the word at least and that's good enough. More people need to know what a podcast is and what great podcasts are out there. Check out the side bar on this blog. A few are listed there.

The counts change on the 1st of every month. Being on the front page means more potential listeners. More listeners means potential future moneys but most of all we just love people and the more people who listen, the more will like us and that's always a good thing. So go go go!

Oceanaire Restaurant

2007-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's always great to have a few connections.

So Victoria's parents book their cruises through a couple of friends who just so happen to have a good number of connections around the city. SO, they were invited by these friends out to The Oceanaire Seafood Room. The executive chef here is Brian Malarkey, also seen on Top Chef. Along with his sous chefs, Sean Langlois and Tyler Thrasher this has got to be the best seafood meal I've had EVER. Now I haven't been to Alaska, Maryland or New England so forgive the ignorance but San Diego is known for a good deal of seafood and this has not only won awards for the best seafood restaurant in San Diego but Brian won the 2007 award for Best Chef in San Diego so that's not too shabby.

We got reservations for 5:30 and I can say the only negative thing about the restaurant (and I don't know that it's the restaurants fault) is the valet driver wasn't available until 5:30. If he could maybe come out 30 minutes earlier that'd be great. Still, when we got there the place was nearly empty and by the time we left around 7:30 there wasn't a seat to be had in either the main room, oyster bar or main bar. PLUS there was a line of people waiting to get in.

This is no cheap restaurant either. The menu changes every night based on what fresh meats they got in that morning. Entrees ranged from the fried fisherman's platter of $24.95 to the Tuna for $45. Mind you the entrees are just what they describe and nothing else. Want a side of veges, fries, hash browns, etc? Those are extra. The bill for a salad, 3 appetizers, a side, 4 entrees and 3 drinks was $260 after tip. Not cheap but not OH MY GOD expensive either.

Tonight, for me, it was the "Dover" Sole stuffed with shrimp, crab and brie and topped with a lemon blanc beurre. Don't know what all that meant except I know my tummy loved it. My appetizer was the escargots which was the best I've ever had. We had a BLT salad which was simply bacon, tomato and lettuce with a spicy peppercorn bacon ranch, or at least I think that's what it was. Either way it was easily the best salad I've had in a long time. Add to that their wonderful crab cakes and a side of The Oceanaire Hash Browns and it was heaven on a table. The hash browns easily could've fed 10 and were just a bit spicy. They went perfectly with the fish and my God I've got to come here every night but I just can't do it.

So there it is. The Oceanaire Seafood Room may have just surpassed The Prado as my favorite place to eat. Especially after the mediocre service I got at The Prado last time. It wasn't bad but if you've been to enough restaurants in this price range you come to expect a certain level of service. This was something I'd expect at a Claimjumper or Chilis. However the service at the Oceanaire definitely met the level I might expect for a place as expensive as it was. Excellence all around. Now just get that valet out a little sooner and you might have yourself a lifetime customer.

FIRE!

2007-10-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty good scare the last couple days with fires in the San Diego area. You may have heard we've become Rancho Hell West.

I don't want to bore you with too many details. Those in the area have already heard enough but for those not in the area, a fire started in Witch Creek between Ramona and Julian (Witch Fire) Sunday afternoon and around the same time there was a fire in Tecate up to Barrett Junction dubbed the (Harris Fire). Both fires headed in a westerly direction.

We watched these fires closely on the news as we watched Game 7 of the ALCS. As the fire crept through Ramona we started talking about what we'd take if we had to evacuate. At about 2am Monday morning, the fire was still 7-8 miles off so I felt pretty safe. I woke up at 5am to advisory evacuation warnings for our area. So we filled our suitcases with clothes, grabbed my main desktop computer, some hygenic products, my camera bag, mixer, microphones, laptop and all our important papers. We filled the car to the point where there's no way we're going to fit anything more in there without blocking sightlines. Lastly we grabbed the cat, some food and treats and toys and we put her in the carrier and took off at about 6:30am.

I realized when I turned the car on that my car was nearly empty on gas but I felt I could make it to Black Mountain Road without going empty. Then I hit traffic on Bernardo Center Drive heading south so I had to pull a U-Turn and hit the Chevron station on Rancho Penasquitos Dr. Then we headed south on I-15 to Chula Vista. Victoria's in-laws live on the west end of the city so we felt safe.

The Witch fire burned through Ramona and forked. The NW fork went towards San Pasqual and the SW fork went towards Poway and Scripps Ranch. That NW fork followed south of Escondido and along the northern and western rims of Lake Hodges. The SW fork hit the NE corner of Espola Road and then split again with one fork going along Rancho Bernardo Road and the other heading south on Espola Road.

The Rancho Bernardo fork burned through northern RB within 2 miles of our apartment and NW 4S Ranch meeting up with that NW fork and heading west to Rancho Santa Fe. It burned Fairfield Ranch and The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe and headed towards Del Mar.

The Poway fork hit some homes in Poway and I hear it hit Carmel Mtn Ranch but I haven't heard any real news there so I'm not sure if our apartment is safe or not. I did hear this morning that the fires there have settled down a bit so hopefully it won't flare up again.

At the moment we're at my in-laws house in Chula Vista west of the 805 and east of I-5. The fires that hit near our apartment seem to be either settled down or well west of us so I'm crossing my fingers that we escaped and our apartment is still there and just fine.

If you pray, pray for us. If not, any kind thoughts or words would be helpful. We're not asking for any more than that until we learn about our apartment. Thanks for all the kind words and offers already.

Missing The West Wing

2007-10-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

CJ Does "The Jackal"

Bartlet picks apart Biblical Quotes

Take Your Legislative Agenda...

Butterball Hotline

and since we're on the net...here's the lemonlyman.com scene

PNME & Brother Love

2007-10-01T03:38:00.000-07:00

Now normally I might just leave it there. I mean it's been two weeks since I've posted a blog but really "if you're in, no explanation is necessary and if you're not, no explanation will suffice." Those words of wisdom coming from my buddy Butch Rosser. Except I'm not just using these words to explain Keith and The Girl. I'm using them to explain Brother Love and his KATG/BroLo army this weekend.

OK the best I can do is to do this from memory. A lot went down and I wasn't there for all of it. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting more than I'm remembering but really with the amount of stuff I'm about to shove down your throat you might just begin to understand the severity of the situation and why words simply will not suffice.

Friday we (we being Butch, Victoria and I) headed up to Ontario for the 2007 Portable & New Media Expo. I'll hold back my criticisms (and there are many) because I got a free pass instead of buying into the seminars. For this alone all I can say is the hall exhibits were rather scarce. This is a growing media though so that's allowed I think.

We spoke to a few folks at Odeo who promised a re-launch of the site to come in Decemberish 2007. There was talk of taking the site in a new direction and build it using feedback from podcasters and listeners with the emphasis on building a "community". Looking forward to seeing just how that comes about. This was the beginning of Butch as our sort of unofficial marketing/business/PR man.

I didn't notice a lot of well known podcasters but then I really didn't look that well. We didn't pay much attention to the exhibitors even. Totally blew off the hall so whatever criticisms I'd have of it really is my fault but then we weren't really there looking to buy into anything but perhaps it would have helped PRwise if we'd at least talked to a few people.

We headed out to In-N-Out at 3pm to meet up with Dawn & Drew and hang for a bit. I hung with them last year when they threw a big bash and since they were only here because Podshow kinda asked them to, they weren't throwing any parties and being the sweet people they are, I wanted to be sure to see them and say hi before they headed back to Wisconsin. So we hugged, said hi, chatted for a few moments and then sat down to separately enjoy our meals.

At 4pm we headed back over to the Convention Center for the awards show. We walked into Hall B and promptly walked into Erichour. Then we saw all the KATG stickers, bumper stickers, buttons and Brother Love stickers. THEN...we saw then man...the myth...the legend. Brother Love himself in the flesh. Now in all seriousness I'd seen him last year but didn't really know who he was. This last year through KATG and his first album, I've gotten a good feel for him and some of what he's about. This weekend I'd get more.

So we hugged and introduced ourselves to Brother Love (or Larry as he is sometimes known) and to a few of the other KATG contingency that was there. Victoria and Butch put KATG stickers on their foreheads and got a bit of media attention for it. It will be interesting to see where that video ends up. We sort of hung around, got to know each other a little (more like feeling each other out) and waited for the awards ceremony to start which it promptly did.

About 5 or 6 shows in they called us up for KATG winning Best Mature Podcast. So Brother Love brought us all up to join him on stage and accept the award. Brother Love said the prayer from the stage (each KATG episode starts with a prayer) and then he handed the mic to Butch and Butch rocked the house with a GREAT speech. Short and to the point.

So we ran back to the table all excited but still on edge. You see Keith and The Girl were also nominated for the People's Choice Award for Best Podcast overall. This was the BIG ONE. This was not only won by Keith and The Girl but while they tried to play it off like it was close, we all know it was a landslide victory.

So we scream and run up to the stage like an army on the attack. Brother Love accepted the award, the prizes and we all headed back to the table full engulfed in joy and pride for our favorite podcasters (no not Victoria and I) Keith and Chemda. All of a sudden the table was alive with people buying BroLo's CD, grabbing schwag and asking about Keith and the Girl. It was GREAT.

After the awards, we headed over to the Marriott for the first of what would be THREE major parties this weekend. There in back of the pool area was a large podcasters party. There were drinks, music and so many people it was damn near impossible to fit us into the small area. We hung out for a while before Victoria, Butch and I headed out to my Aunt Bonnie's for dinner. We were sad to leave Vudell there but she was having a good time talking to Jaspar and we promised to be back later that evening.

We head over to Alta Loma and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with family. On the way, due to some peer pressure, I decided to slam a KATG sticker onto my forehead as well. Victoria and Butch had a war going to see who could keep theirs on the longest. The casserole, rice, muffins and cake were spectacular as all of Bonnie's food tends to be. Let's just say I've known her all my life and I don't ever remember having a bad meal at her house. The conversation was slightly awkward what with the stickers on our heads but we made due. At 7:45 we made a hasty retreat so as to make it out to the next round of get togethers. We hastily said our good byes and headed back out to Ontario.

First we headed back to our hotel room to collect ourselves, change and check the KATG forums to see what was going on. Then I get a text from Vudell that says BroLo secured a side room at the bar in the Marriott where we were to be the pre-show and after-show for Keith and The Girl. When we get there, Marina is there to greet us and show us in. When I walk in the sight was unreal. There's a long room with a long table and tons of chairs. There's a laptop at either end with cameras and Vudell's laptop is the microphone for the room and everyone can hear us.

So we sit down and set up our laptop and I quickly begin to get frustrated at the difficulty that is getting internet connection at the Marriott and moreso in the side room at their bar. What's making it worse is that both of the other laptops seem to be working just fine. To appease the frustrations but mostly just to get us all in a proper mood, a bucket of Miller Lite and Coors Lite is brought in. I don't mean a regular bucket. I mean a LARGE like 50 gallon tub full of like 48 bottles of beer. Then comes the waitress asking what we want. 20 minutes later there are like 3 plates each of chicken wings, buffalo wings, nachos and other assortments of foods. It's freaking awesome.

So we listen to the show (kind of) and watch the cams in Paltalk as one by one girls start to flip their tops up. Now I missed most of this but the ones I caught were quite fine indeed. Then comes this girl...Daddys_Cheeky_lil_girl. Things get crazy here as she oils up, sheds the clothes, enjoys herself and all for our enjoyment. We notice after a while that it's a video but she's still in the chat room talking so we know that while this video is going on, it is indeed her and she turns off the video a few times to prove that the body and face in the videos are her. Half the fun of this was the video and half was watching BroLo go from one side of the table to the other trying to keep up with whichever cam was the most up to date (non-delayed or non-frozen).

The show ended fairly quickly and then we partied as the aftershow, just chatting with people online for about 3 hours before cutting out and heading home. Well...we had a hotel room and well, Vudell had drunk about 4-5 beers and it was her first time drinking. There were a couple of offers to her to stay. We trusted that BroLo wouldn't take advantage but he left a little early too so that option disappeared. Then there was another guy and he had been hitting on her all day.

We gave her the option of staying with us instead and let her decide for herself. We were very happy when she chose us. So she comes back and we have a little rum and record a bit (didn't turn out so well) and then we went to bed. Victoria and I took our pants off and lay in one bed while Vudell and Butch took off theirs and lay in the other. Nothing intimate happened between any four of us and this i know because shortly after we layed down Butch began to snore and it didn't stop all night long.

In the morning we gathered ourselves and headed out. On the way out we run into Chris Marquardt of Tips From the Top Floor and say hello before heading home to San Diego. Victoria was planning to host a birthday party for a friend that night so we worked together to clean the house and get Butch and I back up to Ontario for the Expo Concert that night. Brother Love was slated to play a couple songs but only ended up playing one song.

Still, for as good as the other artists were, once BroLo hit the stage it was like the room had been asleep. As Michael said, it was "the cumshot and the kiss all in one. They had to shut it down after that song." With that one song he put more energy into the room than everyone else before combined. He was definitely the closer and I hope they'll give him more time next year.
Still as the closer (who can follow Brother Love?) but maybe this time like 5-6 songs instead of 1.

After the concert we all hung out and headed to the Libsyn party over at the Doubletree hotel. Someone had rented out the King Suite and filled it with about a thousand people. Seriously it may not have been that much but it was literally shoulder to shoulder and every few seconds someone asking you if they can get by. We walked up and decided to take the rear entrance. Butch hops the fence fine, Brother Love next, then Vudell, Eric, his girl, Michael, and me last. I fail on my first attempt so I back up and think "all eyes are looking to see if this fat tub of lard can make it over the fence." So I run, jump and literally tumble over the fencing. My leg feels like I tore a patch of skin off and the other will surely carry a nasty bruise.

So we walk through to the main part of the party and someone runs up to hand me my cell phone. Thank god I put KATG on my wallpaper or I'd be talking about how I lost my phone. We stand there and talk a bit about BroLo's upcoming birthday (which was literally a couple hours away). Butch runs to grab some pizza for myself, hisself and BroLo. Then the sickness comes. I'd been feeling it for a while and even had a personal moment in the bathroom before BroLo's performance but I'd been trying to play the rock star and party through it. All of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt like I was about to faint.

I walk out the front door of the suite and out into the night air. After a few moments and a check on the leg (no marks at all) I start to feel a bit better so I head back in and play the wallflower role for a bit before the hotel security comes in and breaks up the party. So we all head out and we hear about a party at the Marriott. I head out to the car and promise to meet them there but I was feeling terrible so I call Victoria, talk a bit and head over to the Marriott parking lot where I kinda crash until Butch walks up to the car and we head home.

It was good to sleep in my own bed but I hear later there was porn on a TV, a moterboating by BroLo for his birthday which was instigated by Butch and later there was a little enjoyment of the greenery. Nick Starr gained a lot of enemies by hitting on Vudell in front of everyone and Butch damn near knocked him out.

So the next day we all wake up on our own times, eat a little, watch some football (Bucs win again and the Chargers are 1-3) and later head out to Ontario again. This time for a meet up with Chris and a few listeners of Tips From the Top Floor at the Yardhouse in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. It was a good time talking about gadgets and enjoying food.

We get a text from Vudell that BroLo and company are at the pool at the Marriott just chillin' so we head over there. We talk and hang for a bit and this was probably my personal favorite moment of the weekend. Just sitting and chatting personally with Larry and Vudell and Butch, Michael, Victoria and Martin. It was surreal hanging with him at the Awards Ceremony, the Concert, the parties and everything but to just sit and chill with him was really cool.

This whole weekend was totally crazy. From meeting everyone for the first time at the Awards to the Friday Live Show to the concert, the parties and ending with Brother Love on his birthday, this was the best weekend I've had in quite some time. To think that Thursday I was actually worried about not having a good time and not finding anything to do this weekend. Bah! I will never doubt again.

Next on the agenda...Uncast 30 recording tomorrow night and then the "Learning To See" Photography Workshop. We'll have Chris here with us all week and will probably record episode 30 with him in the apartment and 31 with him as a guest. Right now it's 3:36 Monday morning and I haven't been asleep since about 10am yesterday morning. I have to go to work in 2 hours and work a full eight hours. Then I get home, take back the rental car, record Uncast 30 and take Butch home. Then when I get home, Chris will be there and dinner will likely be waiting for me. We'll enjoy the night and try to go to bed early. I am really looking forward to Vegas on New Years Eve.

A new and healthy me

2007-09-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I stepped on the scale and noticed a number I'd never seen before when connected to my weight. There was a 3 at the beginning. I refused to accept it so I stepped on and off it two more times. Both times it registered at 298.6 and I was floored. Last year I started Sparkpeople at 288 and it was the heaviest I'd ever been. Not anymore.

So I took this as a personal challenge. No more fast food. No more soda. No more processed crap and no more high fructose corn syrup.

Things I've already began to replace already:

[B]Breakfast [/B]used to be pop tarts and/or sugary cereals. Today this isn't perfect but I had a Morning Star Veggie Sausage Patty (3g carbs but 2 of that is from fiber), fat-free english muffin, less than a serving of strawberry preserves and less than a serving of Smart Balance. Still looking to improve on this. I think maybe it might be good if I'm going to drink milk to have it here and maybe some fruit like berries should go in place of the preserves and buttery spread.

[B]Lunch[/B] used to be fast food, hot dogs, chips, or left overs from the night before. It could still be left overs but those will be much healthier than they've been in the past. Today I have some broccoli, carrots and a bit of mushrooms mixed with a low-GI thai peanut sauce recipe I found online.

[B]Dinner[/B] for 4-5 times a week used to be fast food or restaurant food of some sort. Disgusts me now that I used to eat that way. If it wasn't that, for a while it was stuff like hot dogs and Mac n Cheese or some other processed quick to fix dinner. NOW Victoria is coming up with great light dinners from cooking light and Low-GI sites and we've cut our portions in half so that dinner is very light.

[B]Snacks[/B] used to be candy, chips, cookies, crackers, etc. but are at the moment replaced with whole grains, nuts, fruits and we're yet again looking to improve on this even further.

I've gone from drinking a quart of soda a day to 10 glasses of water and a glass of milk a day. I've gone from being totally sedentary in lifestyle to doing much more walking, some exercise bike, strength exercises (never emphasizing the same muscle group two days in a row).

Due to just these changes I already feel much more energy than last week or the week before or the week before that. I've lost at least an inch off my waist and 5 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I feel more energy than I have in a long while. I tried eating fast food a few days ago and my body had a terrible reaction to it. Maybe it was just a single bad meal but it sent the message: I can't eat this crap anymore. My end goal is simply to be healthy. Fitness and weight loss will come naturally but overall health is my real goal.

Wish me luck! Those temptations will return. I will hit bumps in the road where it feels like I'm not making any progress. I need to just ride them out and stick to what I know is right.

Speaking of which...I should start doing that in the other parts of my life too. Why wait? Tomorrow may never come.

NFL Predictions 2007

2007-09-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

This year I know less than I usually do and every year all the experts look retarded by seasons end so with that in mind, here is how I see the standings playing out this year:

AFC West: Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders
AFC South: Colts, Jaguars, Titans, Texans
AFC North: Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns
AFC East: Jets, Bills, Patriots, Dolphins

OK that was easy. The NFC won't be so easy:

NFC West: Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Cardinals
NFC South: Saints, Panthers, Buccaneers, Falcons
NFC North: Bears, Packers, Lions, Vikings
NFC East: Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Redskins

Playoffs:
AFC Wild Card: Ravens over Broncos, Bengals over Jets
AFC Divisional Round: Chargers over Bengals, Colts over Ravens
AFC Conference Finals: Chargers over Colts

NFC Wild Card: Seahawks over Panthers, Rams over Cowboys
NFC Divisional Round: Saints over Rams, Bears over Seahawks
NFC Conference Finals: Saints over Bears

Super Bowl: Chargers 31, Saints 14

OH and there's actually a bet going on. Butch said to me that the Cardinals not only will make the playoffs but they'll win a playoff game as well. HEHEHEHA AHA HA HA HA. As long as the Bidwells own the Cardinals, the only time they'll see playoffs is in eating contests or modeling shoots (depending on which position they play). Appalachian State would have their way with the Cardinals nine times out of ten.

So, if the Cardinals make the playoffs but fail to win a playoff game, it's a push. We both win there.
If the Cardinals miss the playoffs, Butch owes me $20
If the Cardinals do make the playoffs and actually win a game, then I owe Butch $20.

Easiest bet I ever took. Dude could have also put money on the Lions, Vikings and Bucs. Oh well, it's too late for that.

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

WOW what a weekend! Hmmm where do I even start?

Saturday morning at 4am I get woken up by Victoria wrestling with the bed and begging me to turn the lights on. She said she thought she was being attacked by bed bugs, so I rolled over turned on the light, looked at the bed and there's nothing there. Then I look up at her...and covering her back and the entire left side of her body are hives. So she runs into the bathroom for a wet washcloth and some Benadryl. 50mg of Benadryl and a few minutes later she was back asleep for a bit.

We were supposed to go together to my aunt's house for our annual summer BBQ/birthday celebration/Family reunion. It's one of the few times I get to see Anna and Marie or most of Andrea's friends. So, Victoria stays home this year and I go it alone. She told me not to worry too much, that she'd be OK and to have a good time. That's impossible. This is my wife. More than that this is my wife who I truly love and care about and not just some woman that tricked me and seduced me.

So I get there, I hand out our gifts to Aidan and my aunt, eat some food, talk a bit to Jen and Alex, spend a few moments with Andrea and watch a little Classical Baby. 5:30 comes around and I just can't take it anymore. I love everyone and I always love being there but my baby is at home suffering and I just can't enjoy myself without feeling guilty, no matter what she says so I say goodbye to everyone and head home. I spend the rest of the evening taking care of Victoria, cleaning up the apartment a bit and doing some dishes. Then Sunday comes.

Due to the hives and Victoria being drugged out on Benadryl, we decide that the barbecue we had planned with the in-laws should be postponed until at least Monday. Luckily the in-laws totally agree and so we spend the day just relaxing and trying to keep her cool. Then in the afternoon I get to talking to Butch through Google Talk and I bring up a tour of Little Italy I wanted to do for a photography workshop I'm helping organize. So after talking to Victoria, it's decided that I'll go hang out with Butch for a couple hours and come home. Then I get a call from Rachel.

Apparently there was an incident back at the home in West Virginia. There was a big fight that all got started over the hot water being used in the shower so Gene couldn't take a proper shower after mowing the lawn. It escalated into Rachel being permanently kicked off the 'net, threatening to smash her skull into the monitor, send her back to CA with my mom and a shove. Now before anyone gets upset, things have since calmed down, they all talked and things are good again...for now. Still by the time I left for Butch's place, Rachel was off the 'net and she wanted me to relay that message to Butch.

So I get to Butch's place, and we're about ready to head out when I get another call from Rachel. This is where it had escalated to Gene telling mom not to pay bills so he could fly them back to California. I relayed this to Butch and quickly our tour of Little Italy turned into a couple appetizers and blank stares at each other at the Yardhouse downtown.

We share some jokes, stories, quips and after a call to Victoria for permission, Butch came home with me and the three of us joked for a while until Victoria fell asleep. Then we turned on the live TDO (Team Drunk Ottawa) podcast and the real fun began. Rhian had asked that we call into the show at some point, so when she mentioned Team Drunk SoCal on the show, I called in. I didn't really have a lot to say but it wasn't helped by the fact that I only heard every third word or so. Butch called in later, performed much better than I had and they went on to plug Uncast.

Butch and I then began the longest and most enjoyable night of my life thus far. We drank for nine hours straight (10pm-7am) and only stopped because we ran out of proper booze. In our wake was empty bottles of Jagermeister, Mango Rum, 2 bottles of Vanilla Vodka, Scotch (which was mostly empty to begin with) and Baileys. About 5am Butch decided to start an old school playlist and began pulling YouTube videos of old tunes from like 1989-1993 out of his hat and it was the best playlist ever. By about 9am or so he'd lost his touch and began pulling out some 80s songs that just weren't fitting in, IMO but we kept this going until about 11am when we had to start getting ready for that family barbecue we'd postponed before.

Now, imagine...stretching out a nine hour drinking binge with GREAT tunes, plenty of water to keep the hangover at bay, NO SLEEP, and then add in a marathon of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and the scent of cooked bacon filling the room. Add in a dinner of blue cheese burgers, italian sausage, grilled Nathan's hot dogs, bacon and baked beans and that is a man's dream. The only thing missing was a great night of sex and the ONLY reason it was missing (and the wife will affirm this if you ask her) was because she was still drugged off the Benadryl and dealing with the hives.

I finally hit the sack at 10:30pm, woke up about 6am and got through my day at work with no problems at all. That's right, I dealt with drinking for nine hours straight, music blaring and NEVER got even a scent of a hangover. Mix that with 40 hours straight of no sleep and now I believe I'm ready and properly trained for New Years Eve. Bring it on people!

Keep Your Mouth Shut

2007-08-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

We all knew there was corruption in the government. Now we know that, like Russia and like Communist China, if you open your mouth about specific incidents, you WILL lose everything.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/24/ap4052736.html

So, if you know personally about government corruption, you have a choice to make: Keep your mouth shut about it and keep the life you enjoy and the people you love OR open your mouth and risk their lives and yours.

We are no longer the best country on earth. Our government is no more righteous than that of any other. Are the times of rallies, parades and sit-ins coming back? Riots? People died in the 60s and 70s defending civil freedoms and liberties. Will we see the same thing now?

Answer: We already are. So choose your side. The time is soon when you cannot just sit in the middle and remain passive.

I miss peoples

2007-08-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

So she's gone home now. My sister left us this morning at 5am to catch her flight home. I got a chance to chat with her for a bit before my computer was rudely disconnected and then bedtime struck. Now I'm sitting here, hours later and I miss them both.

I'm thinking of Stephanie and how 2 years ago she seemed to be getting her things finally figured out. She was gonna head back to school, she was looking at dresses and Josh was looking at rings with her for a possible engagement announcement...an announcement which didn't come until she was stricken and unable to mouth the words herself. Then when she passed, this kind man whom I was going to call my brother, decided that the easiest way for him to deal with the pain was to cut me and my family out of his life. Oh I'm sure if I made a call, he might answer it, but with so many emails and event invitations gone unanswered, I figure a call isn't needed to get the hint.

Now Rachel is back home and facing my mother who I'm not too happy with at the moment. Every time we mend the fences you have to go and do something to tear them down again. Why? Do you enjoy the drama? Cause I'm not sure how much more of it I can take. I'll leave it there for now. There's so much more in my head but none of it for public consumption I think. Let's leave it to the clear and obvious point that I'm well on Rachel's side in this matter and nothing but undeniable evidence to the contrary will sway me.

Anyways, so as I said, here I sit missing my sisters and wishing they were both seated here next to me. Oh well. Someone ugly once said "You can't always get what you want." I've already got what I need...my wonderful wife Victoria. Still, a piece of my heart died with Stephanie and Rachel's absence has left another small hole. I can still feel happy so Rachel if you're reading this don't worry. Your brother will be just fine. It's just when I think about you I miss you and I can't wait until next year when you'll visit us again.

Well...until then...I've waited too long to head to bed. It's 2 hours later than I wanted to go to sleep. So much to do this week to clean the apartment properly and get it back in order. So tired. Good night everyone. Never take advantage of those you love. Cherish every moment that you are in their presence...even if they're annoying you or if they piss you off. Rachel never upset us while she was here but some loved ones have a tendency to do that sometimes.

<<<>>>

2007-08-04T00:24:00.000-07:00

Now pay attention people. All of you that read this blog...

Since it seems I've just been using this as a place to rant and rave, and that's not really the face I want to put out there, here are places you can go to get pretty close to daily information about me. What am I doing, how do I feel, etc...

POWNCE, TWITTER, MYSPACE, and here at Blogger.

Also check out Uncast.net. We put out at least one show a week and we do our best to be entertaining. Even if it's not your normal thing...if you participate in nothing else online but this...participate in this for us. Email, comment or whatever. I want to make this a community. ALSO, please share us with those you love and hang with. Anyone who might remotely find this entertaining. If we suck, we can accept that. A little constructive criticism can turn this from a painful weekly experience for you to a fun one you look forward to. If we don't know, we can't fix it.

Anyways I love you guys and I'm sorry for all the rants, cursing, etc. Believe me when I say life is good right now. Just trying to be more of a positive person (and drop this little alcohol habit) and right now I'm kinda failing. Stick with me. Have faith. I'll be nice.

Love you all!

Nick Starr...

2007-08-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not be aware of who he is or what's been going on. I'll do my best.

First, there's this: His personal website & his blog

He's a twentysomething tech/gadget junkie in southern Florida. He has become known online first as a fan of The Dawn & Drew Show and then a guest on the podcast Nobody Likes Onions. He has attended both Podcast Expos and various other podcasting events throughout the country. His motive is only known by him.

He's gotten flack on NLO for lying about who he is and some of his lifestyle choices. He also got flack when he started attacking Keith and the Girl on NLO. Later, they called in and he used a certain comment that Don Imus was kicked off the air for using.

Subsequently, some KATG forum members posted his cell phone number, work number, his parents address, the description of his car and local places he frequents. Every time he changed his cell number they would post his new number. Then he lost his job and some thought it might have been due to all the calls in to his work from KATG fans. I'm not sure that's the case but it's just a view into the way some KATG fans treat enemies of the show.

Keith required him to apologize in three ways before he'd "call off the dogs":
1. Apologize through twitter (which he did)
2. Apologize by calling into the Keith and the Girl show (which he did)
3. Apologize on an episode of Nobody Likes Onions (which he has NOT done)

All of this had calmed down over the last month or so. I felt like he'd put all that behind him so I dropped any grudges I had with him and we were cool again. It's not like we were really friends. We never talked to each other and basically I just went from not liking the guy to not caring.

Then a couple days ago, Nick posted the following posts on twitter.com:

6:44pm August 1, 2007: btw I am pretty drunk already, so consider anything from here on out a drunken Twitter post
7:41pm August 1, 2007: Hrm, there is a nice high skyway bridge nearby...I've heard of plenty of people jumping from it....maybe I should give it a try tonight.
8:01pm August 1, 2007: @briancaldwell nah that's how i am all the time, I just never say the things I am thinking. I've wanted to kill myself since 1st grade.
8:27pm August 1, 2007: @valerieinto what do i have to appreciate? My 4 years w/o a gf, my lack of friends, my 11 months being homeless?
8:54pm August 1, 2007: Why can't life be like high school? Sure life was complicated, but at least I could get a girlfriend: http://tinyurl.com/yqlndz
9:17pm August 1, 2007: Alright I'm out Twitter...time to get a few more drinks and debate jumping from a bridge tonight, Sunshine Skyway Bridge here I come.
9:27pm August 1, 2007: Just paid the toll for the skyway bridge...should I stop at the top? What should I do with my car? I guess leave it there.
9:29pm August 1, 2007: Has there ever been a twitter suicide before? I wonder what I would write as I am falling to my death.
9:31pm August 1, 2007: alright this is it. Parked my car. I wish everyone who ever was nice to me well. See you in the next life

This led to people on the KATG forums and DnDS forums to voice their concerns. Most of the posts were positive and supportive. Police were called, his parents were called and local suicide hotlines were called. People all over were looking for him. Then, this post showed up on dawnanddrew.com from host Dawn Miceli:

As you may of heard already Drew and I are very concerned over our friend Nick Starr and his recent twitter posts. We have been trying to reach him since we were alerted but so far have had no luck. We have been in contact with the highway patrol down there and are anxious to hear of his whereabouts. This is a very, very serious situation and I have been totally disgusted by the heartless comments and the terrible treatment Nick has received from some of those in the podcasting community. Why must some people have to tear others down, to the point of total destruction, before they realize that their behavior could have deadly repercussions? Does it make you feel good hurting other people? Are you truly that pathetic?

We hope that Nick is safe and offer whatever help he needs to get to a better place.

I just pray that it isn’t too late.

I sincerely thank those of you that are sending their love to Nick right now, we all have had our bad moments and sometimes it is the simple act of friendship that saves us.

Kindness is something you can give freely, if you choose to.
-Dawn and Drew

I had a lot of problems with this. First, she had no idea why Nick threatened to kill himself. The only info they had was through his posts on twitter. The only motive Nick implied was "4 years w/o a gf, my lack of friends, my 11 months being homeless." She had no right to just assume that it was due to "some of those in the podcasting community." That's not your place Dawn. Let Nick speak for himself.

Instead, Dawn uses his apparent suicide as a platform to attack the podcasting community. That's just tasteless. You do not use someone's coffin as a soapbox. EVER. Also, name the people Dawn. If you're going to jump all over somebody, have the courage to name them personally or shut your face.

My next problem is the hypocracy. She has the nerve to call people out for treating Nick like shit. Really? Anyone who read his twitters every day could see where this was headed. You did NOTHING to stop the slide. He lives in his car. A decision he made himself but a decision that he apparently regretted more and more every day. Still, he just couldn't stop himself from buying more phones, gadgets, tickets to go out and see you and Drew at various locations. Not once did you take him aside and offer to help? Not once did any minion in the Southern Florida area offer to hang out, buy him a meal, take him out for a night on the town or something...SOMETHING to show that people cared? Last month he slept in his car while Drew and Don slept in comfy hotel beds. That's being a friend? That's how you treat your "minions?" Oh but WE'RE the assholes. No, instead you waited until he basically said he was going to commit suicide. THEN everyone comes running (including me apparently).

Now I never pretended to like Nick. I thought he was a decent guy until last year at the Expo party when his way of saying hello was calling me out. I put that behind me for a while until later when he started lying about who he was and then started attacking Keith and Chemda. For months he refused to apologize and then when he did, he threw Patrick from NLO under the bus. Even still, I put all the past shit behind me and I was cool with Nick. We weren't exactly friends but I no longer had any grudge for him and I hoped any grudge he had towards me was gone as well. Must've been since he asked me to add him to my Pownce page which I did and he reciprocated. Still, even I questioned his choices and confronted him about them on his blog.

It really makes me angry when people feel they're being a good friend by continually supporting you in decisions you make which are obviously not in your best interest. Your friend is homeless by choice and you don't once come to him and try to talk him out of it? You don't even say "Are you sure?" You don't offer him a place to stay? You don't even call to see if he wants to hang out. No, you think that by supporting his every decision that makes you a good friend. NO IT DOESN'T. MY friends question my choices to drink. MY friends even question whether I really should be driving home when it's 10pm. They offer me a place or help paying for a hotel room. I haven't taken them up on it and I've made it home safe but at least they were being good friends. Hypocrites. Everyone one of ya. Sorry but that letter just really got under my skin.

So yeah anyways, as the minutes and hours pass I start to care. I worry. He's a human being. Even if we don't get along and I don't agree with your life choices, I still care about whether you're ok or not. So yeah I shed a few tears worried about the guy. I worried and cared, until I saw this:

So basically not only is he just fine but he's getting a kick out of people worrying about him. So this was just an attention grab? He hasn't been in the spotlight for a while and he misses it. I fell into it. He got me to drop my grudges and try being at least civil. He got me to care and it was all fake. So now I'm feeling pissed but I still don't want to say anything because I'm not sure sure. Perhaps someone hacked his account and put that in there. There's some other explanation or something. So before I pass judgment, how about I make sure I've got all the facts. Then this comes out:

Drew and I just got off the phone with Nick Starr. He is ok and is getting help. He thanks everyone for all their positive well wishes and asks that you will respect his privacy right now as he works through a difficult time.

Please have patience, more information will come as the situation progresses, just know that he is safe and unharmed.

You can continue to send Nick your love and support HERE.

Take care of each other.

Love, Dawn and Drew

Great. He's ok. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief. Now I can say, "Nick, I'm glad you're safe, alive and getting help. Get better soon. We look forward to hearing from you again." I do because I want to know what you were thinking. Why did you think it was ok to play with our emotions like that? You didn't go through with it and instead of just letting us all know you were ok you sat there and watched as all the love came pouring in. You sat there and read our worrying, the tears we've shed, etc. and you not once said "Hey guys, I'm ok." What prompted you to finally call D&D or answer your phone? Was that fun for you? Cause frankly I'm a little pissed off right now. I feel like my emotions have been used and until I hear a satisfactory answer, you and me...we're not OK again. Right now the only positive things I can say about you are that MAYBE this wasn't fun for you and MAYBE you didn't just do this for attention. That you are human and you're breathing. We'll see. Your response will play a large part in my next reply. If this was all just an attention grab, you deserved every single thing the KATG fans and NLO fans said about you...the personal info they shared and exploited...everything.

My issues with Ron Paul

2007-08-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I think it was a fairly clever strategy by a Presidential candidate to get all his campaign staff and supporters to flood sites like digg.com with pro-Ron Paul stories and cries about him not getting a fair shot. Considering a lot of these users are democrats or at least lean to a very liberal side, here's what I want to bring up and wonder if these people STILL want to vote for Ron Paul:

Abortion:
Embryonic stem cell programs not constitionally authorized. (May 2007)
Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted NO on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
No federal funding of abortion, and pro-life. (Dec 2000)
Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)

Civil Rights:
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Rated 67% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)

Education:
Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted NO on allowing vouchers in DC schools. (Aug 1998)
Abolish the federal Department of Education. (Dec 2000)

Environment:
Voted NO on increasing AMTRAK funding by adding $214M to $900M. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on barring website promoting Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. (May 2006)
Voted NO on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
Rated 5% by the LCV, indicating anti-environment votes. (Dec 2003)

Family:
Voted NO on establishing nationwide AMBER alert system for missing kids. (Apr 2003)

Government:
Close departments of Energy, Education & Homeland Security. (May 2007)
Voted NO on granting Washington DC an Electoral vote & vote in Congress. (Apr 2007)
Voted NO on campaign finance reform banning soft-money contributions. (Feb 2002)
Voted NO on banning soft money and issue ads. (Sep 1999)

Gun Control:
Ease procedures on the purchase and registration of firearms. (Nov 1996)
Allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms. (Nov 1996)
Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record. (Dec 2003)

Immigration:
Keep rule barring immigrants from running for president. (May 2007)
Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border. (Sep 2006)
Voted YES on preventing tipping off Mexicans about Minuteman Project. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
Voted YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules. (May 2001)
Voted YES on more immigrant visas for skilled workers. (Sep 1998)
Rated 100% by FAIR, indicating a voting record restricting immigration. (Dec 2003)

These are all the ways that Ron Paul is possibly still too conservative to earn the liberal vote. All the issues I excluded? They're all the reasons why he's too liberal to earn conservative votes. Do your work people. No candidate will be perfect for you but one of them is close. Start doing your work now and learn about every candidate to make sure the right one wins their primary and the Presidency in 2008. It's time for a change.

R.I.P. Fifth Amendment

2007-07-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html

So he's basically declared himself the new dictator of the US. Are we even officially CALLED the United States anymore? When have we ever been united about anything? We just let the government fill us with fear and then walk all over us taking everything that we once held dear. Remember how we would say as children that this is the best country on the planet because of all the freedom we have that others don't get to enjoy? Well, how does it feel now to know that we no longer have those freedoms either.

Remember all the bumper stickers that read "Freedom Isn't Free"? Well it isn't. Apparently the cost of freedom is your freedom. All investigations into the White House for various violations of the Constitution and for War Crimes are going sour because the White House keeps issuing Executive Orders denying access to files and ignoring supoenas AND judges and the congress are too weak and scared to do anything about it. They have all the evidence they need and all the reasons to toss the entire Executive branch into prison (please let it be Gitmo...please forgive me. I'm mormon so apparently according to Romney I enjoy torturing people) and start fresh. Instead they sit on their hands twiddling their thumbs up their collective asses. Not a single presidential candidate is going to say a word because when they come into power (if they come into power) they want the same dictatorship like powers that Bush currently enjoys.

I swear on everything I hold dear, if Bush does anything to hamper the end to his administration I will join the uprising. If there is no uprising, I will start one. It's time to stop being brain-washed pansy asses people. If you truly believe this land is blessed by the Lord or if you believe that this country is or at least WAS great or if you even believe in defending your basic human rights then you need to stop cowering in fear. You need to stop saying to yourself, "what can I do? I'm just one person." .

Stop being weak. Stand up and fight. The Lord would not have us hating one another and threatening one another. That does not mean that the Lord asks us to lie down while our free will is being taken from us. He has sanctioned wars in the past. Our freedoms are being destroyed by the Executive Branch of our government (and Dick Cheney too). Don't feel like getting involved with politics? This is what has come of 70% of you sitting on YOUR collective hands with YOUR thumbs up your asses every election. If you continue to not let your voice be heard then I wish nothing but the absolute worst on all of you because by help me God the worst WILL come to you.

Good day and God Help Us All.

So little to do and so much time

2007-07-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you.

Last weekend I went out to my mom's wedding. You know I write these blog posts out now wondering if I should just save it for the show but then I realize a few of you wanna-be pranksters aren't listening to our show and I'm wondering why. What's stopping you? It's not that hard. You go to www.uncast.net and click on the MP3 button for the latest show. OR You can get a podcatching software like iTunes or Juice or something and subscribe to our podcast there so everytime we release a new episode it'll just automatically download for you. Get with the 21st century, people!

Anyhow, so let's start from the beginning. The plane trip out. The trip was pretty uneventful. I got me a book, the Sporting Illustrated and a bag of M&Ms and headed to Las Vegas. In the LV Airport I got some Sbarro for breakfast (BK line was too long) and a banana. Then I slept and read for most of the four hour flight to Pittsburgh. Rented myself a 2008 Chrysler Sebring convertible and started the drive to West Milford, West Virginia.

On the way two things happened. My cell died. I knew I should've charged that thing up before I left. Also, it rained. HARD. So hard in fact, that a few times I had to slam my brakes on Highway 79 and come to an almost complete stop on the highway. Thank God there was no traffic around me.

I arrived at their home and my mom had chicken and rice casserole cooking for me when I arrived. The wedding itself went off without a hitch. Or well there was none that I saw. The bride and groom always know of a few and they worry about whether everyone else knows. Of course no one ever does but it's funny how that works.

The roads in West Virginia can be harrowing if you haven't driven them before. Most of them are well marked and wide enough for no troubles. There isn't any straight stretch of road in the entire state outside of the freeways. Some stretches of road (Like Kincheloe Rd) are not marked, are rougher than the other roads and are just barely wide enough for two cars to pass. This wouldn't be so bad if the locals didn't drive those roads at 40mph. For someone who's never been up there, that's terrifying. By the end of the weekend I had gotten used to it so there's not a long adjustment period but it was still a little scary.

So I got to meet my new step-dad's family. His daughters, mother and step-dad are cool. Some of his other family (aunt, cousin, etc) were cool and some were well...I'm sure they're good people. I was just happy to not only meet them but realize that the people of West Virginia are not necessarily rednecks and aren't necessarily backwards mountain hillbillies. Well, there IS a little redneck in them but it's not crazy. You all know me. I can't stand rednecks and I thought these people were alright. Some were even pretty cool.

We had the rehearsal the night before, decorated the church up and I took a few photos. I picked up a pizza for Rachel on the way home and discovered that West Virginia has my favorite snack. A snack that California doesn't seem to have: Tom's Hot Fries. If you ever want to get on my good side, buy me a generation one Trasnformer or a bag of Tom's Hot Fries.

Then I took mom and her soon-to-be new husband out to a chinese buffet place for dinner. The food was mediocre but that's not the story. Just as we sat down to eat, the power went out in the area. We sat there, eating in the dark, got 20% off our bill and went home. It was just hilarious seeing all these people running around, talking hurredly, grabbing flashlights, checking on all the guests and the weird part was that other than a few comments, the patrons just went about their business as if nothing had happened. People got up and got more food, sat there talking to each other and paid for their meals.

The wedding was in a cute little country church off Branch of Dry Fork. Had a loose gravel ramp, grass parking lot, cemetary next to the church, porch out front, wooden exterior, all that you'd want for a country church but the choir. They weren't there this weekend.

The wedding went off without a hitch. At least that is what we all thought. The bride and groom always know of a few things that went wrong and they always worry if others know too. They never do. I walked my mom down the aisle, was the official photographer, said a toast to those appropriate and then it was time for the trip home.

Rachel and I headed out. We drove to Pittsburgh, had lunch at Primanti Bros. (the original location), very good sammiches by the way, and headed to the airport...FOUR HOURS EARLY.

This was the one mistake I made all weekend. Go to the Pirates-Cubs game at PNC or the airport. I chose safety over fun. I'll never do it again. hehe. We get to the airport at 1:50 for a 6:15 flight. So early in fact, that we can't even check in our luggage until 2:15. So we went to a newstand for some reading material, something for Victoria and another bag of M&Ms.

Then at about 4pm we headed over to the TGI Fridays in the Airport for a little something to tide us over and waste some time. I sat there watching the end of the ballgame that we would have gone to and finally it was flight time.

This was Rachel's first flight ever. I didn't know this until we were just about to take-off. I'd have made it more special for her if I'd known earlier. The flight from Pittsburgh to San Diego was cool. Rachel took a few photos, as did I.

We flew over a fire that was raging in the northwest corner of Arizona and arrived safely in Las Vegas. There we ate some BK while we waited another 90 minutes or so for our flight home. The flight took off a little soft, meaning it seemed to take forever for us to climb to 10,000 feet. It seemed like we got a couple thousand off the ground and stayed there. I heard the engines revving harder like they were trying to gain altitude and were having problems. It kinda freaked me out a little but if anything had happened, I wouldn't be typing this so we landed in San Diego about 11:30pm.

After getting our bags, hopping a taxi to the in-laws place and driving home, we met Victoria and got to hang out for a bit before falling asleep.

AND THAT WAS JUST LAST WEEKEND. This weekend is yet to come what with the lunch date with Jennifer, Victoria going to a bachelorette party, Bill visiting with Rachel and next week Victoria is taking the week off to have fun with Rachel. We'll see Harry Potter, I still need to review Transformers and well there's just too much. I've said enough here already. So much so, that I needed pictures to keep you from falling asleep. So as Victoria says, tah tahs for now.

More news going unpublished

2007-06-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

So it seems that Dana Jill Simpson has something to say. In fact, in a signed affidavit she has said it. We all know politicians are corrupt but she's not keeping quiet and it's angered someone in Alabama. They've burned her house to the ground and run her car off the road, totalling it, all after this affidavit came out. What news is this receiving nationwide? NONE. Not a single bit. Hmmm, and the Republicans make claims about a liberal media? Perhaps after seeing someone have their house burned down and their car totalled, the media is scared to run this story? Well, I'm not. My insurance will more than cover my car and my apartment doesn't belong to me so with myself not being the cause of the blaze I'd have nothing to fear I think.
If you think this is just happening in Alabama you're very wrong. I don't like extreme political activists no matter what side they follow. If you can't see the truth in the middle then you're blind and you need to take a step back. Problem is, nowadays even those in the middle are acting crazy. God help this country because the people living here sure aren't doing anything to help.

How to deal with lazy cops

2007-06-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

Growing up I often heard stories just like this. Let me preface this by saying that I totally support the local police. That is, those who come to work and put in an honest days work, never abuse their authority and genuinely care about the general welfare of the public. OK, here it is. This was a clipping from an unnamed newspaper:

Round like a shot

Going to bed the other night, I noticed people in my shed stealing things. I phoned the police but was told no one was in the area to help. They said they would send someone over as soon as possible.
I hung up. A minute later I rang again. 'Hello,' I said, 'I called you a minute ago because there were people in my shed. You don't have to hurry now because I've shot them.'
Within minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, plus helicopters and an armed response unit. They caught the burglars red-handed.
One of the officers said: 'I thought you said you'd shot them.' To which I replied, 'I thought you said there was no one available.'

BINGO. More proof that you just have to know the system. I only hope this wasn't in NYC or Los Angeles, otherwise the person would have been beaten, tasered and arrested for the smart remark. Again, I'm sure there are a decent cops in these cities but if there are, you people better do something about those few morons who taser first and ask questions later, steal bikes for ordinances that have already been repealed and arrest those who ask for your badge number. Moderate yourselves because it's obvious your captains could care less how their subordinates do.

My buddy found himself a job!

2007-06-05T22:38:00.001-07:00

Big shameless plug. Check this place out. It's brand new. They made my buddy Butch their new Guest Relations dude.

Oh and may I also indroduce Lazy Philanthropist? Yes I may. Victoria started it for those that want to give back to society but don't have the motivation or time to get out of their chairs and physically help others. Check it out.

OH and here ya go Podshow. Fix this! NOW!

Pictures from the cruise are now available!

2007-05-21T01:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the pics here: www.flickr.com/photos/czzyzx41 and then click on the set titled "Cruise 2007."

I'll post a full review later. It's 1:30 and I need to get up for work in less than 4 hours.

Cruise Day Five

2007-05-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog as if I wrote it the days it all took place when in reality I'm writing this then Monday after the cruise was over. Enjoy...

Got up a little early and had breakfast at the Windjammer with the in-laws. Headed off the ship and stood in line for the bus for the historical excursion. We were herded onto local school buses and introduced to our driver who went by the name Mother Goose. Our tour guide or the voice of the trip was a man named Bill.

We first headed over a low bridge (the small one in the picture of the bridge and mountain), through a neighborhood and down a road to Fort Clatsop and the Lewis & Clark museum in Astoria. We watched a movie on the Clatsop people and their view of Lewis & Clark expedition team and the winter they spent with them.

The ranger there talked a bit and led us out a door, down a trail to a replica of the Fort which was built on the exact spot where the original fort stood. I didn't feel like I got enough time to explore the fort before Victoria and her parents were ready to move on. I shoulda said something. It's not their fault. We just sorta progressed past all that. I just tried taking in as much of the surrounding forest as I could. I love the Northern California/Orgeon coast with all the redwoods and cedars.

We hopped back on the bus and out to the Maritime Museum which was cool. Yet another place I wish we could have had more time. There was a Coast Guard cutter and a ship called the Columbia docked next to the museum. They had a Coast Guard rescue boat and a few other boats on display inside along with all kinds of old nautical stuff along with sheets of labels from Astoria's old canning past and double guns from boats that were running in the world wars.

After an hour or so we hopped BACK on the bus and up a narrow winding road to the top of a hill where we saw the Astoria Column. The hill was high and narrow enough that you could walk around and see the landscape for miles. I tried taking pictures of some of the rolling hills of trees, the river, the flowers, etc and I just couldn't capture it. I can't come up with the proper adjective to describe it. Breath-taking? Awesome? Beautiful? Nothing seems to fit.

On the way back the bus offered to drop us off "downtown". Astoria's downtown district would make Santee look like a large city. Small little shops off the street, narrow streets, hardly any traffic lights, lots of homes and steep hills that reminded me of San Francisco. We walked down 12th to Baked Alaska for lunch. I had fish and chips. WONDERFUL. The service was pretty good too. Victoria seemed to enjoy her sandwich since it was gone nearly as soon as the plate touched the table. Sheesh!

As we walked out of Baked Alaska, we JUST missed the trolley. We could see the ship from where we were so we decided to walk back. Seemed like it was MAYBE a mile away. Took us about 20 minutes to get back so it was probably a little more. We just walked on the trolley tracks, since the trolley was headed in the opposite direction, there's only one of 'em and they don't go very fast at all. The tracks often were on wooden bridges or pier like structures where there was nothing but a single layer of boards and pylons between us and the water which was MAYBE two feet below the wood. I loved that. Victoria did not. She often sped up ahead of us to rush over a bridge because it made her nervous.

When we got back to the boat, I headed up to the top deck to get pictures of downtown and the bridge. My immature side kicked in and I thought it'd be funny to catch a picture of the last people on the boat and even hoped that maybe we'd leave someone behind and I'd catch a picture of them rushing to the boat as we pulled away. I'm a bad person sometimes.

I enjoyed watching the guys untie the mooring lines. Front, then back and then the side. All was going well when they pulled the first line off the side. Then the ship started to naturally pull away from the dock, pulling the last line REALLY tight. I saw them backing away from the line and someone scream out "It's gonna burst!" Then the ship pulled back towards the dock so they ran up real quick and pulled the line off. I just stood there staring and thinking, "I'm gonna see something freaky here." I told you I'm a bad person sometimes.

We did end up leaving a couple people behind but I never got a picture cause they just didn't make it back to the ship. Later that night I stood talking to Lorand about photography and San Francisco, had a few drinks at the Schooner Bar with the family and headed to bed since Victoria was the next day and THAT's the city I was really looking forward to.

Cruise Day Four

2007-05-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog as if I wrote it the days it all took place when in reality I'm writing this then Monday after the cruise was over. Enjoy...

Woke up late this morning. Got up around 10am after the in-laws had already headed for breakfast. In fact, we caught them as they were finishing up so we sat at their table. Had my usual breakfast which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, danish, donut and today it was sausage gravy and biscuits. Other mornings I had no extra except Vancouver when I had a waffle and pancake which were terrible.

Today was totally lazy day. We had three days left and we wanted to be sure and get as much relaxation in as possible so we'd be ready for it. So Victoria napped in the afternoon and then we headed out to Latte-tudes, a Seattle's Best Coffee stand on deck 5 and tried reading for a while before getting ready for our second formal night and dinner.

Before dinner, as was becoming tradition, we headed to the Schooner Bar for a round of drinks : a Mango Flow or Lava Flow for Victoria, Diet Coke for Teresa and a Dewars 12 and Coke for Bart and I. I took some of the pictures you see at the entrance to the Colony Club which turned out to be a bad idea. Teresa's dress blended too much with the mural behind us and the lighting was all wrong for pictures so most of the shots either had us too dark to see or overexposed our faces.

We crashed early and waited for Astoria to come the next morning.

Cruise Day Three

2007-05-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog as if I wrote it the days it all took place when in reality I'm writing this then Monday after the cruise was over. Enjoy...

Our first day at port. I got up early to shoot some pictures of our entry into San Francisco Bay. I pulled on my 70-300mm lens and headed up to deck 12. When I got there we were far too close to get any decent shots so I ran back to the room for my 18-55mm lens. By the time I got back we had passed the bridge and I missed my shot. Took some pics of the shoreline and Alcatraz Island before heading back to the stateroom where Victoria was already awake and getting ready for breakfast. We met in the dining room for breakfast and then disembarked to enjoy San Francisco until midnight.

We started out walking along Fisherman's Wharf to Powell Street. I caught a picture of our restaurant for dinner, a streetcar, a sign for the wax museum where I also caught a pic of a dude dressed as a sub sandwich crossing the street. Walking down Powell, we stopped in at Highway 66 where Victoria got a keychain and I figured we'd return to get me a flag for $10 and maybe a funny sign or ten. We never made it back.

We walked down to the north end of the cable car line and caught the cable car all the way down to Union Square and Market Street. It was fun to say I've ridden one but it was pretty jerky, uncomfortable and loud.

We immediately headed for the Virgin Megastore where Victoria picked up three CDs for $10 a piece: The Best of Bowie, Bob Marley & The Wailers Legend, and Amy Winehouse Back to Black. From there we headed up to Citizen Cupcake on the third floor. They were doing renovations and we read a sign posted that said it was only going to be closed the day we were there. Suck.

After this Teresa was thirsty and Victoria had to pee so we headed to Macy's up the street. This Macy's is huge with it's own food court and everything! We noticed an iPod vending machine so I took a picture. Victoria bought us cookies and soda to sustain me for the long walk we were about to take. The walk turned out to not be so long after all.

We reached the Chinatown gate and from here Victoria and Teresa stopped into nearly every store on both sides of the street for about three blocks. We ended up with another buddha for our living room, a couple lucky cats and a gift for Becky. We were all hungry so we headed out for dim sum at the Four Seas Restaurant. We couldn't have made a better choice I think. They have some really good dim sum there. BBQ Pork Buns and Shu Mai and spring rolls OH MY!

From Chinatown we headed to the City Lights bookstore. I really wish we had spent more time and cash here. Lots of cool books. I did pick up a little something that might turn into a gift. From the bookstore we grabbed a taxi and headed back up to Pier 35. The in-laws headed back to the boat for a nap while Victoria and I headed out to the Ripley's museum for a cheesy good time. Turned out to be more than I thought. Maybe not worth the admission but then again few things geared towards tourists are. We walked back down Powell and over to Barnes & Noble to rest and read a bit before heading out to meet the parents at Buena Vista Cafe at 4pm.

As we got to The Buena Vista, the wind picked up A LOT and it got really cold. This was perfect because the Irish Coffee we got warmed me up pretty good. They say this is where the drink was developed and that it's still the best place to get an Irish Coffee. I won't dispute it as it was the best I've ever had.

As we left The Buena Vista, I mentioned that I wanted to get to the ballpark to take some pictures. The Giants weren't in town but I wanted to see it in person. Victoria was tired and cranky and decided not to join me so I hopped a rusted out streetcar with a cranky ticket guy in it. His job was to lift the bar, check tickets and alert the driver on when to stop and when to get going again. Fascist Bastard is what he'll always be to me.

I lost my way, missed my stop (though I didn't know it until later) and got off at 3rd Avenue. I went into Kinko's to get some bubble wrap and tape to wrap the scotch bottles since I'd have to put them in the suitcase for the flight home. Then I walked to Geary and Market and took another streetcar back up to Fisherman's Wharf to meet the family for dinner at The Franciscan.

A couple stops after I got on, a group of young black teens got on and headed to the back. Just before we got to Pier 35, a group of Hispanic kids got on. One of the kids must have said something to the teens because the teens started barking, challenging them to fight, etc. I'm so glad this didn't start any sooner. I got off on the next stop and walked the rest of the way. No way I need to get in the middle of a fight while I'm on vacation.

At The Franciscan I had their Surf and Turf dinner where I learned from the waitress how to crack a crab leg properly. The food was OK but not worth the price. The calamari appetizer I got was some of the worst calamari I've ever eaten. I appreciate the educational experience though.

After dinner we headed to Pier 39 to see the fairy store Teresa wanted to go to. It was the only thing she'd been looking forward to in San Francisco and it was nearly the last thing we did. My legs were sore, back hurt and I was pretty cranky by the time we reached the boat. I rested a bit, then we hit up the Schooner bar for more drinks before heading up to the top deck with my camera to watch the boat leave and take some night shots of the skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Never in my life have I dealt with winds so fierce or air so cold as the forward side of deck 12 was on that trip out of the bay. It was tough to keep the camera still due to all my shivering, the wind and the movement of the ship. Still, as you can see above, I got some great shots. Headed over to the Thirst Quencher area outside of the Windjammer for some Hot Chocolate and to the stateroom to sleep.

Cruise Day Two

2007-05-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog as if I wrote it the days it all took place when in reality I'm writing this then Monday after the cruise was over. Enjoy...

This was a sea day. Still getting our sea legs when we woke up, every time the ship moved we thought it was an earthquake before quickly remembering we were on a ship and such a thing was impossible. We met the in-laws for breakfast at the Windjammer and headed over to the solarium to hang out and chat. Bart and Teresa told us about some of their other cruises and some of their initial impressions about this one.

Before lunch, we headed to the store and I found alcohol is VERY cheap on cruises. Duty free and tax free. The bottles are bigger too, full liter bottles instead of the 750mL bottles you get on shore. In San Diego, a bottle of Dewar's 12 year is about $45. On the ship, I got TWO liter sized bottles for $39.95 total. I figure I'll take one until I give up alcohol forever at the end of June and I'll find something to do with the other. After Victoria found a sweater and shawl to help keep her warm, I headed back to the stateroom for some rest while Victoria headed out to the art auction which she only attended for the free champagne.

We hit up the dining room for lunch and had the only bad meal I would have on the ship. I ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich which came with grilled peppers. I asked for white onions instead. The waiter didn't hear me and said they didn't have grilled onions and asked if I wanted onion rings instead. I just wanted raw white onions but I got onion rings because I was still too shy to just bluntly tell the staff what I wanted.

After lunch, Victoria headed out for her hair styling appointment. She got her hair straightened for our first formal night of the cruise. Meanwhile I stayed in the stateroom and watched some ESPN before getting ready for dinner.

I put on my newly purchased black suit, black dress shirt and red tie and we headed out to the Schooner Bar to wait for our seating time. Meanwhile we attended the Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception where we got free drinks and listened to the captain introduce himself and the staff to us. After this we headed to the dining room for dinner. Lobster bisque, caesar salad and fillet of beef. I tried some of Victoria's escargot and loved it. Tonight's wine was a merlot from Chile.

After dinner they had photographers with backdrops around the ship taking formal pictures that we could purchase later for $19.95 per 8x10. Kinda pricy I thought but we weren't sure yet when we'd do this again and it was our first cruise so we ended up buying three of them.

At night it was back to the Schooner bar for drinks and off to bed. We'd be pulling into San Francisco early and I wanted to be there to take pictures of the bridge as we pulled in. Victoria and her mom headed out to the theatre to watch the Adult comedy show with Louis Johnson.

Cruise Day One

2007-05-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog as if I wrote it the days it all took place when in reality I'm writing this then Monday after the cruise was over. Enjoy...

Victoria and I got everything together and into the car. Becky came over to help us put everything in the trunk. Becky was our cat sitter for the week. She did a little more than that. We'll get to that at the end. We arrived at the in-laws place around 11am. We went over our itinerary for each port, I put a few last things on the mapping program of the laptop we were taking with us and then we hopped a shuttle to the cruise terminal.

When we got to the dock, we gave the porter our luggage, keeping only what we needed (my camera bag, the laptop, Victoria's messenger bag and her mom's purse) and headed through security which is much like you'd see at the airport only they didn't make us take our shoes off.
We went into the line for Royal Caribbean to pick up our stateroom key. It's basically a credit card with our name, stateroom number, seating time and dining table on it. It works as our credit card on the ship, our entrance on and off the ship and our key into our stateroom.

We entered the ship at 12:30pm and waited as our room wouldn't be ready until 1pm. We entered on deck 4 and sat at some chairs in the centrum lounge across from Guest Relations. Our stateroom, number 4555, was on that deck, that side of the ship and 4 doors down on the left side. That info means little to you but it meant a lot to us as it put us really close to the central hub so we could get anywhere on the ship in a pretty short amount of time.

After dropping some things off at the stateroom, we grabbed our cameras and took a long tour of the ship (or at least areas we were allowed into) while we waited for the 5pm departure time. I took pictures of various areas of the ship and headed up to deck 11 where the solarium, spas, pool and the Windjammer Cafe which served buffet style meals through stations which I thought was much more efficient than a single long line.

The food there was really good for a buffet place. Better than Hometown Buffet at least which I guess isn't saying a lot. After eating, we had a mandatory safety drill, so we all donned our life vests, went to our emergency meeting spaces and they went through the drill of how we would all exit the ship should it start sinking.

After this, I got some pictures of a sailing ship, the ships in harbor and then headed up the stairs to deck 12 which gave me the best perspective for taking pictures as we headed out of port.

We laughed, waved and shot pictures as we left port and sailed through the bay and out to the ocean on our way to our first port of San Francisco.

After we were out in the ocean we went to the Aurora Theatre for our Welcome Aboard entertainment. We saw some singers and dancers that were decent but I could barely understand them. The male dancers were a little overly feminine. There was a comedian that we thought was pretty funny but we had to take off just as he was finishing his set so we could get to dinner for our seating.

We went to the dining room for the first night and found out our table was right next to the captain's table. He never showed up for a meal but we got the captain's waiter and assistant waitress and these two were my personal highlights of the crew on Radiance of the Seas. Lorand noticed my camera, told me he was into photography and cameras as a personal hobby and from then on we couldn't meet up without stopping to talk for a few minutes about it. I'm sure I got him in trouble because I was a big distraction but he didn't seem to mind the conversation so that was cool.

The dining room was beautifully designed with the grand staircase, big nautically themed mural, wood columns and wood trimmed ceiling. The experience resembled some of the fancy restaurants I've been to before only on a slightly higher level. Since we had assigned waiters, they got to know us during the cruise and that really provided for some very nice personal touches which I'll mention later.

Victoria and her dad got a wine package where we bought six bottles of wine for a price. We started with a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile and it was wonderful. I can't remember many of the meals we had since they all kinda ran together but I didn't taste anything all week that I didn't like. The closest thing was a buffalo chicken sandwich I ate for lunch one day. It was good but nothing special. By the time we returned from dinner, our luggage was waiting for us. Nice.

Our first night of sleeping was surprisingly calm. I was expecting perhaps a little uneasiness or seasickness but it never came. I got my sea legs by the end of the second day and from then on it was easy going.

Off to sail the high seas

2007-05-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well we're about an hour from leaving. First, it's a trip to the in-laws. In 3 hours we'll catch a shuttle to the cruise terminal. From there it's the long process of getting on the boat. Ship leaves port at 5pm.

Smooth seas and favorable winds. Wish us luck 'cause I'm really nervous. Excited for sure but nervous as well. Alright...off I go to get the rest of our things in the car and clean up a few things. See you all next week!

Half-Ass Badassery

2007-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

OK so maybe not. Cleaned the living room and dining room and quit. If you've ever seen Victoria's desk up close you'd have the same reaction after attempting to clean it. Oh, don't get me wrong. It's clean now. I've also given up the will to continue cleaning other areas of the apartment. Perhaps when I have time this week I'll clean the bedroom. Next weekend I'll vacuum and dust and in between find the time to dye my hair blue again.

You know after talking to friends and family, posting on twitter, hosting a podcast about my life and now blogging, there's just no keeping secrets anymore. Combine that with my flickr site and the only thing I haven't shared with y'all is the stuff you really don't care about. Stuff like grooming, showering, bodily functions and those very rare and fleeting boring moments when I'm just sitting here wondering what to do. I don't know whether to be alarmed or not yet.

Well, dinner of crustinis, turkey lettuce wraps and vege sushi (avocado, cream cheese and sweet potato) I'm about ready to quit. I want to clean the room but I just don't have the energy. Somebody motivate me. I'm tired of doing it myself.

Spring Cleaning Today

2007-04-28T09:02:00.001-07:00

T-minus 2 weeks and counting. Today is "Spring Cleaning" day. For the first time in a long time we're even cleaning our bedroom. Usually it's the living room, dining room, kitchen and bath. The bedroom every now and then might get a pickup or something but we don't spend a ton of time there other than sleeping so it doesn't really get messy. Well, now is the time. So yeah. Quite a fun-filled day here at the W-B residence.

I'm starting the day tired. I have two CDs to write reviews for, lyrics that need posting, hotels that need calling (for another upcoming event) and at some point I need to rest.

C'mon people!

2007-04-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing anywhere from 5-10 views on all my recent concert photos. Plenty of views on my old ones too. Yet, none of you have anything to say about them? Good? Bad? Ideas? Thoughts on new captions? NOTHING? C'mon people, go comment on my photos. I need to know where I suck, what I do well and what you think about what you see. Stop being lurkers. Get involved. LOL

For those who are unaware: www.flickr.com/photos/czzyzx41 or just click on the title of this blog entry.

Podcasts and Spreadsheets and Twitter, OH MY!

2007-04-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on lately. So let me get right to it.

First, there's the podcast. UNCAST.net is in full swing. I have purchased a new Audio-Technica AT2020 microphone and a Nady MPF-6 pop filter. They should be here in time for the next episode.

Our laptop crapped out on us (power button isn't working) so instead of recording in the quiet of the living room, we had to rely on my computer desk which has two towers running on it. That creates a lot of background noise which irritated me throughout the whole recording. I just never felt comfortable.

Work has gone well. Last week our boss came to us requesting that we increase the goal we had already set for the month. A goal, mind you, that I was convinced we wouldn't reach. Basically that came down to me miscalculating the number of days we still had left. Come yesterday's deadline and we beat his increased goal and then some. I was pretty excited. Our prize for this? No not a raise. No not a bonus. No not a day off. A couple CostCo pizzas. WOW. We are a bunch of monkeys.

I've found twitter recently but I haven't mentioned it here at all. Basically it's a bunch of mini-blogs. Works great when you don't have the time to spend posting a long blog about your day or your latest rant, rave, or obsession. Instead just answer a question: What are you doing right now? Of course, lots of people just answer each other. The one thing it misses that really sucks is a search feature. You can't search for people. You just look up people's friends (mine for example), look at their friends, their friends friends, etc. and add people you know, have heard of or care to hear about what they're day is like. Most all of my friends are podcast related. Either podcasters or podcast listeners. Go check it out anyways. If you ever miss me and wonder what my latest thoughts or actions are, you'll read it there.

Well, that's it for now. It's getting late. Love you all. Good night.

Mondays always suck

2007-03-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

So in the course of my day I've complained about some egg-shaped dude that just walks around the office. He's not an employee. Just a really short egg-shaped dude. Kind looks like a mix of Danny DeVito, Wallace Shawn and Stephen Root doing Milton from Office Space. Lacks a little hair up top with just a bit on the sides, squinty Wallace Shawn eyes, and kinda hairy. He just creeps me out. I've plotted the invasion and conquering of the mini-countries of Europe including sacking and pillaging the Vatican City, executing everyone in the cathedral and leaving them hanging from the buttresses for the carrion birds to have their fill. What is wrong with me? It's Monday, that's what's wrong.

Then I made the wonderful decision to listen to KATG this morning. Coughing really hurts my ribs. Laughing makes me cough or at least simulates the same motion. So listen to Matt and Keith and Chemda yuck it up, led to quite a painful morning.

Missed the Dawn & Drew party in LV Friday night. why a Friday and not Saturday I'll never know but I was deathly ill and broke anyways so it doesn't matter. Sounds like it was a ton of fun. Suck.

So yeah Mondays suck and this Monday has sucked double. Tired and whiny. Really whiny. I'm starting to annoy myself here so I'll take off. Ciao. Slainte. Aloha. Whatever.

Still Got It

2007-03-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm taking that in two directions today. First, Episode Two is out and Episode Three is in the post-production stage. Yep...we still got it. Every show is better than the one before it and I think that's the way it's supposed to be. Well, at first anyways. Then I suppose we'll level off and have our peaks and valleys from week to week.

Second thing is that this cold just won't go away. It's been five days and I'm still sniffling, sneezing, coughing, hacking, achy, you know...all those Nyquil symptoms. Except, I've been taking Nyquil and it hasn't helped much. Sudafed helps relieve the symptoms for a while but it doesn't take care of the problem. Gonna have to get some Robitussin PE later. Get rid of this sinus stuff and break up all the congestion in my chest. It now hurts to cough. That's not good.

Well, I've got a whole 5 days worth of podcasts to catch up on and reports to get out so I'll cut this short.

Some people will sign anything

2007-03-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Like signing a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

It's just more proof that whether you're targeting liberals, conservatives, atheists, religious zealots, whites, blacks, straights, gays, women, men, old or young people will sign anything you put in front of them if you use the right pitch and you do it in the right place. You present it the right way and you could get the NRA to sign off on gun control, atheists to get baptized, or the environmentally overconscious to sign a petition banning water.

UNCAST IS HERE!

2007-03-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

We are now officially podcasters! We released our first episode tonight. We call our podcast, UNCAST: Where absence of talent meets free media. We've been listeners of a large variety of podcasts since the summer of 2005 with DiggNation and Dawn & Drew. On our trips home and whenever we talked for any length of time we realized that we both came up with some of the funniest things. We wanted to share that with everyone else.

So, we're still trying to come up with intro and outro music at the moment. We have a salutation and Victoria begins with "Insert Awesome Theme Music Here" but perhaps actual music would make us sound more professional. OR, being UNCAST, perhaps professional just isn't on the list. So maybe it stays as is.

Now here's the disclaimer. We are us in this podcast. We aren't perfect Latter-Day Saints. We act drunk in this first episode and we also curse. This podcast is the one outlet where we both feel we can let go and be our true selves. So, listen if you want. If it's too offensive or hurts your feelings too much, then don't listen. No, we don't PRETEND around people but we do back off saying some of the things that in certain company just aren't acceptable. We don't curse around our LDS family. We don't talk about sex or make certain comments around certain people or in certain situations like work or public or whatever.

So if you'd like to listen, go for it. Give us some feedback. We want to know what you like and don't like. This is our first podcast ever so there's tons of room for improvement.

ENJOY!

Saint Patrick's Day

2007-03-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

So here I am celebrating a Catholic holiday. Well, not really celebrating. Just having a really good day.

So this morning we went out to see the new TMNT. That's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to those 'not in the know'. Victoria won some sort of Union-Tribune sweepstakes and we got to go to this premiere showing of the movie. I'm just going to start out by telling you what I thought. If you liked the action and humor of the original series, this movie is for you. The animation is updated to current standards and the voices aren't the same but the movie absolutely ROCKS! I think this is just why the studios host events like this. They want to have people tell all their friends how great their movie is. In this case, they're going to get their wish because they did this right.

In fact, let me go so far as to say this: I loved the Transformers original cartoon, toys and comics. Since the original movie back in 1986, they have completely ruined it. So what to do? How about following what TMNT did. How about keeping all the original characters. Either keep them as their original "vehicle" mode or use their current equivalent (not 100 years in the future). Then simply update the animation to current standards and this series will be a huge hit with kids yet again. As of now there's Beast Wars, Beast Machines, RID, Energon and God knows what else. Keep the originals. Update the animation. DONE. Simple, easy and hard to get wrong.

So to sum up, GO SEE TMNT! I want to go see it again already and I don't say that about many movies.

Podcasts and the weekend

2007-03-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Wow what a last few days.

It started Friday. We have a really great group at our work. There's four of us that get along really well. After I left on Friday, our company let one of them go. Skip was a temp that worked for us and he's a really cool guy. The company claimed budget issues. We have two others in our department that are leaving in June. Neither of these two that are leaving are temps. Could they not have hired on our two temps into those open slots and then just hired one temp to replace the two? Why now? Why couldn't it wait 3 more months? Anyways I'm ranting but for as NOT upset as Skip is, I'm upset about it. I just hate being lied to.

Saturday was a busy day. We headed to the in-laws place to do our income taxes and luckily we owe less this year than last year by over $200. Nice but it's still over $400. Victoria got wrangled into seeing the new horrific Tim Allen film. Poor thing. Her mom told her if she saw this movie with her, she'd go see the Wil Ferrell/John Heder film about ice skating which Victoria wants to see. Both movies look like duds to me so I'll be staying away from that.

Butch and I went out for lunch to Batter Up! Great food. I had a double shrimp sandwich and Butch had the Buffalo Chicken sandwich. We sat and admired Kevin Durant for a while before heading home. Then, the in-laws took us out to dinner at DZ Akin's. We love that place! Best deli I've had in San Diego yet. If you know of better, please let me know.

Sunday was church, home teaching and then I went out and met a buddy for dinner. Well, I say buddy. We've been part of the same online community for 8 years but we'd never met each other in person until now. We went out the The Prado for dinner. The Prado is by far my favorite dinner place in San Diego. In fact I've never been ANYWHERE better than this place but I'm sure there's bound to be better SOMEWHERE in the world. Anyways, we talked about the forums, his job, renaissance faires, press passes, etc. Good conversation, good food and overall a great meeting. Victoria and I plan to go out and visit him in February of next year when we go to AZ Renaissance Festival.

That was our weekend. Now for Podcasting.

We're hoping to start our own podcast soon. We'll be recording every night for the next week or so, tweaking things until we feel we have something decent and then we'll put out the first episode. This is going to require some quick website building by Victoria as well as getting domains and web hosting set up. We'll need all the help we can get as far as that goes. Web hosting isn't cheap. Especially when you're putting up 30 minute shows nearly every day or one hour a week or whatever. So far all I've learned is I say "um" and "uh" a lot and I tend to go into far too much detail about stuff so it ends up sounding like a rambling. So if I can get rid of the nerves and get to the point I think we'll be just fine. We're best when we just play off each other vs having our own little "parts".

So we'll release the name when we have domains set up. Hopefully no one will take our name before we get started.

Alright that's it for tonight. I'm tired. Talk to you all later.

My wife, the chef

2007-03-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

This is the wife that the good Lord blessed me with. Here is our dinner menu for the week:

Sunday: Asian meatloaf, rice, broccoli
Monday: black bean patties with pineapple rice
Tuesday: Roasted onion tart with blue cheese and salad
Wednesday: Gnochi with brussel sprouts
Thursday: Moo shoo shrimp
and Friday we'll likely eat out somewhere

If I wasn't eating with Butch at Batter Up! for lunch and DZ Akins with the in-laws for dinner, I'm sure I'd have something delicious from the wife then too. Probably Chicken Piccata.

Add to this the fact that we're best friends, she's a bit of a baseball fan and she likes watching soccer with me and I couldn't ask for much more. I love this woman.

What music?!

2007-02-25T16:47:00.000-08:00

It was set up to be the first gathering of co-workers outside of the fish bowl. We originally set the date for February 3rd. No go. 10th? Nope. 17th? Nuh-uh. So we get to the 24th and finally we find a date that works for all. Now mind you this is just 4 people attempting to coordinate their schedules so we can all enjoy an evening together.

So with the date settled we then discuss times. This seems easy as we all agree that 7pm works for all. Then word gets out that Wicked had a birthday party his family was throwing for him and he'd either need to cancel or we had to switch the time to 9pm at least. So we did. The time was switched to 9pm.

Day before the event we find that the "birthday party" had been taken care of early and the 7pm time was re-instated. After a discussion with the wife we decided to alter that to 7:30 to give us a little extra time to prepare.

So at this point the party is already has a cloud of "disaster" hanging over it. So we spend Friday night and Saturday afternoon cleaning the house. We do all our shopping Saturday morning. Victoria starts preparing food at 1pm.

Becky is the first to show up and quickly helps trim Cinnamon's claws and helps Victoria out in the kitchen. I run to get Butch at 5:30 and we're back around 6:45. Allison shows up. Sam shows up. 30 minutes later Skip and Jenny make it. Now here's where things start to turn.

Butch and Becky know each other and they both know us pretty well. So getting us to converse is no chore. From the moment when Allison arrives I like to think of things much like going to a symphony production. Thus we begin the time as the stage hands begin setting up the chairs and stands and the musicians begin making their way in with music and other odd items that they'll need but will look odd walking in with. We're having some trouble getting conversation started. There's a bit of awkwardness in the air as Butch tries to get his iPod connected on our computer and breaks the keyboard tray in the process (note: it was broken months ago and is just hanging on).

Sam arrives and the symphony begins to warm up. You hear a few instruments here and there tuning up and making final arrangements. Our conversation starts the roll and things just begin to pick up as Butch breaks the keyboard tray once again.

As the orchestra walks out on stage and goes through the final motions and the conductor addresses the crowd, Skip and Jenny arrive. Then the symphony begins and oh, what a symphony it was! What started as a split melody came together to form a magnificent masterpiece. Great conversation, a ton of laughs and the room was absolutely filled with ceol agus craic (Music and Camaraderie). Oh and Cinnamon found her voice! She snuck behind me as we were in the kitchen. I took a step back, realized I stood on something and heard a loud noise. I stood there for a moment wondering what that noise was until people around started getting startled. Then I realized it was Cinnamon screaming her bloody head off. Yeah it was her tail. I let go and she went limping into the other room.

Speaking of music, Skip you left too early. They had to get back home because, well, it was getting late and they wanted to. Lay off them already! Still, we got a little karaoke started. Butch and Becky serenaded us to start. I joined in with Allison coming in a few bars later. Sam finally decided to join us and then it was on. It's the End of the World As We Know It. Ice, Ice Baby. U Can't Touch This. Humpty Dance. Me and Bobby McGee. Billie Jean. It was magical. After about 20 or so songs, Sam and Allison headed home.

At this point we played a bit more music, talked about the cat and when Becky left we cleaned up a little and headed to sleep. WOW 8am never came so fast. Oh all those jokes we made about spinning Cinnamon in a chair and how she was bound to throw up before the end of the night? Yeah well it happened. She apparently got into the ricotta-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon while we were sleeping. I woke up around 6am to pee and found a little present on the bathroom mat. Yucko.

Well overall this was a huge smash hit. Great conversation, food, music, friendship, fun, etc. Everyone really liked everyone else (as far as I know) and I can't wait to do it again.

Life...heaven and hell

2007-02-15T23:40:00.000-08:00

So much has changed in just the last 3 weeks.

The hell: I've lost a friend (at least for a time), I've lost a cousin, lost a boss and friend in one swift move by upper management and I haven't taken very many photographs so my skills are beginning to rust a bit.
The heaven: I've gained a lot of self respect. I've gotten more involved in church. I even joined the ward choir. Yes I can sing. Stop laughing. I swear I can. I even play trumpet but there's little room for that in the ward. Might be able to apply it for Stake Easter or Christmas programs. That is, when I'm not singing. I'm reading my scriptures, praying regularly and getting to church nearly every Sunday and not just for Sacrament Meeting but all three hours PLUS choir practice AND we're greeters so that's a nearly 5 hour commitment every Sunday. I wake up actually WANTING to go to church which is a big big change from even a couple months ago. I'm sure that won't last.
I've dropped a lot of old habits, replaced them with good new ones and I'm working on taking care of the rest of my bad habits including judging, pride, cursing, being lazy as it pertains to exercising and also I need to eat healthy including eliminating pop, corn syrup, fried foods, fast food and other junk from my diet. Replace all this with an eternal perspective and healthy food, exercise and a deeper appreciation for the things and people around me. I really want to have that temple recommend before too long. I'm hoping by the end of the year but sooner would certainly be better. It just opens the door to so many more things in my life that are important to me. Ordinances, work and lessons to be taught that I know will be very important to my spiritual growth. I know some of you will be elated at this news. Others might be furious at me. Most of you will be happy for me whether or not you agree with it. It makes me happy and I think it makes me a better person. A better husband, son, brother, cousin, nephew, grandson, friend, acquaintance, co-worker, former classmate, etc etc etc.
Well...it's midnight and I have work tomorrow. I really should hit the pillow. I just haven't written in a while and i felt I needed to add something. Take care everyone.

More on Senator Obama

2007-01-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so...it seems more and more like this is the guy I'm going to be voting for late next year. I'm gonna dig a lot deeper before I officially get behind the guy but I'd take him over Clinton any day of the week at this point.

Here's a nice letter his office sent out about the FOX News report that stated Senator Obama was once a student in a Madrassa. Ahh, if this is where politics are headed, it's going to be a fun little future. Enough blowing smoke up our collective asses. Start telling us what you REALLY think and feel and not what your party is trying to force you into saying. NO ROBOTS FOR PRESIDENT!

In the past week, many of you have read a now thoroughly-debunked story by Insight Magazine, owned by the Washington Times, which cites unnamed sources close to a political campaign that claim Senator Obama was enrolled for “at least four years” in an Indonesian “Madrassa”. The article says the “sources” believe the Madrassa was “espousing Wahhabism,” a form of radical Islam.

Insight Magazine published these allegations without a single named source, and without doing any independent reporting to confirm or deny the allegations. Fox News quickly parroted the charges, and Fox and Friends host Steve Doocy went so far as to ask, “Why didn’t anybody ever mention that that man right there was raised — spent the first decade of his life, raised by his Muslim father — as a Muslim and was educated in a Madrassa?”

All of the claims about Senator Obama raised in the Insight Magazine piece were thoroughly debunked by CNN, which, instead of relying on unnamed sources, sent a reporter to Obama’s former school in Jakarta to check the facts.

If Doocy or the staff at Fox and Friends had taken [time] to check their facts, or simply made a call to his office, they would have learned that Senator Obama was not educated in a Madrassa, was not raised as a Muslim, and was not raised by his father – an atheist Obama met once in his life before he died.

Later in the day, Fox News host John Gibson again discussed the Insight Magazine story without any attempt to independently confirm the charges.

All of the claims about Senator Obama’s faith and education raised in the Insight Magazine story and repeated on Fox News are false. Senator Obama was raised in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother. Obama’s stepfather worked for a U.S. oil company, and sent his stepson to two years of Catholic school, as well as two years of public school. As Obama described it, “Without the money to go to the international school that most expatriate children attended, I went to local Indonesian schools and ran the streets with the children of farmers, servants, tailors, and clerks.” [The Audacity of Hope, p. 274]

To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago. Furthermore, the Indonesian school Obama attended in Jakarta is a public school that is not and never has been a Madrassa.

These malicious, irresponsible charges are precisely the kind of politics the American people have grown tired of, and that Senator Obama is trying to change by focusing on bringing people together to solve our common problems.

Religion in school

2007-01-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

Article found on the website of the Orange County Register:

Students do not give up their constitutional rights at the door to the schoolhouse

Everyone celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday Monday recognizing the religious leader who led a faith-based campaign against government racial discrimination. Yet few will notice that today is Religious Freedom Day, created to celebrate the constitutional right, which 300 million of us still enjoy, just as did the Rev. King.

In his proclamation to note the observance, President George W. Bush called on all Americans to "commemorate this day with appropriate events and activities in their schools, place of worship, neighborhoods and homes."

In their schools? Yes. As the Supreme Court noted in 1969, public school students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

Despite what you might have heard about "separation of church and state," the expression of religious beliefs remains a constitutionally protected right, even in public schools. Many school officials need an education on this point.

Just last month, for example, school officials told an Illinois high school senior that the statement she wanted in the yearbook was too religious and couldn't be submitted.

About the same time, another high school senior in Washington state wanted to write a religious children's book for a project, but was denied because the school's policy requires projects be sectarian, not religious. Maybe you've experienced something similar closer to home.

In both cases, officials relented after attorneys from the American Center for Law and Justice, based in Washington, D.C., sent letters to the schools explaining that the Constitution guarantees students religious freedom and freedom of speech because these are unalienable, God-given rights, not privileges permitted by men or benefits bestowed by the state.

ACLJ's mission is to "educate, promulgate, conciliate, and where necessary, litigate, to ensure that those rights are protected ... ." The organization keeps very busy.

If anyone is unclear on these rights, the U.S. Department of Education sums them up this way:

•Students can pray, read their Bible or other religious books and talk about their faith at school during school hours.

•Students can organize prayer groups and religious clubs and announce their meetings.

•Students can express their faith in their class work and homework.

•Teachers can organize prayer groups and Bible studies.

•Students may be able to go off campus to have a Bible study during school hours.

•Students can express their faith at a school event, including graduation ceremonies.

On this nationally proclaimed Religious Freedom Day it probably would be a good time for public school teachers, principals and other officials to mention these rights to their students.

So now to how I feel about this. Personally, I would have preferred the author include all religions (or lack thereof) in her/his article. I think there was a very distinct Christian overtone to it and while I myself do believe in Christ, I also realize there are a lot of other beliefs out there that deserve just as much freedom as the rest. Depending on where you are or who the student or teacher is, I've seen plenty of Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Latter-Day Saints, Catholics and the like get persecuted on one level or another just for believing differently than those around them.
No, we cannot and should not shove a belief system down kids throats when they don't believe in them but we also cannot just ignore their existence and force everyone to live and talk as if no one believes in anything. I believe the best way for us all to understand each other is to open our minds and our hearts and allow those that believe differently from us to educate us on their beliefs, their history, how they feel and see the world yesterday, today and tomorrow. We may or may not agree with what they say but the more we understand each other, the easier it will be to solve conflicts and live together as peacefully as possible. No screaming, no insulting, no assaulting. Just discussion. The more we have, the better our society will be for it.
So, share your beliefs with me. Explain your customs and traditions. Help me understand how YOU see the world and please allow me to do the same. You'll see not everyone even in one religion is the same. We may have very similar basic theological beliefs but we all see the world through different eyes. We all come from different backgrounds. We've all lived separate lives. I'm not like any other Latter-Day Saint that I know but I do have a strong testimony and I fail a lot to live up to my own standards but I'm working every day to improve that.
So coming back around, let's allow students (and teachers in a structured way) to express themselves so long as it doesn't detract from the educational process and so long as the discussion is kept civil and no one is being persecuted for their beliefs. No, sanctioned school prayer and the like SHOULD be kept to private institutions but yes, allow the students or teachers to organize a fully volunteer group for worship or discussion of non-worship. Let's allow Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Wiccan, Pagan and yes even Atheist groups to exist in school if they choose. Just so long as no student is forced or assigned to join any of them. It also shouldn't interfere with classes, homework or other things that are the main reasons students are at school in the first place.

So there, I've said my peace. Have a good day.

So much to do...so little time

2007-01-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

So I realized lately that I've gotten way over my head. I was making a list of things I'd like to do and there's just no time to give any of it the attention it really deserves.

There's work, normal stuff like house chores, hygenic maintenance, dealing with personal finances, required shopping and other errands. Then there's church each Sunday, home teaching, choir and other activities. There's checking email, this blog, TV shows to watch, photography, playing with and taking care of the cat, spending time with Victoria, and time with family and friends.
Then there's the internet. I've got a myspace page. I'm an active (of varying degrees) member of no less than eight message boards. I help run the lyrics page for the Renaissance Festival Music Podcast website. I also want to read scriptures more along with church manuals, English history, learn net languages and basic web design along with studying photography further. I want to keep up with my favorite sports and see plenty of games live. I want to read classic books and see plays, musicals and movies. I want to be more diligent in doing my genealogy work and I need to do more charity work. I should exercise more as well and I'd like to spend some real time planning out my personal budgets and better maintain the money I have.

Think I need to maybe tone it down a bit? Such is life in the 21st century, I guess. At least for me.

So if you ever wonder why I don't update this every day or even every week sometimes, that's why. I don't visit the TFTTF or Carrow Road boards as often as I'd like. I don't get to do all those bottom things I want to do as often as I should. Gonna have to take some time soon, sit down and prioritize my life and schedule time to give attention to those things that are really important to me.

Merry Christmas!!

2006-12-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone. So far the Christmas season has been more than I could have hoped for. Let's see, there was Friday night which kicked ass. There was Saturday and buying Cinnamon. There was yesterday and while I didn't feel all too hot in the morning, by the evening we were baking to Night Ripper, eating a wonderful dinner that Victoria prepared and opening a few presents.
Gifts received so far:

AND a keychain soccer game and all the Snickers I'll want for a while.

I'll list gifts given later. For now I have to take off. Breakfast with the in-laws. Unlike most people's in-laws...I love mine.

Welcome Cinnamon!

2006-12-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

The newest addition to our family has just arrived. We found Cinnamon at Friends of Cats. After looking at a few of the cats that Becky thought we would pick, Cinnamon just jumped up on Victoria's lap and was so sweet. I picked her up and immediately fell in love with her. She purred, leaned into me and enjoyed being carried.

She's so lovable, quiet, calm and she likes to play but isn't too hyper. The manager of the place was nearly in tears. She definitely seemed to be the most popular cat in the place as everyone came out to say goodbye.

We're glad she's home. She adjusted immediately and has been purring and comfortable since she was carried in the door. We'll have to brush her every day and now we have to keep the house clean but right now I'm just so happy to have this new wonderful addition to our family.

More pictures to come? Did you not read the last three paragraphs? Check www.flickr.com/photos/czzyzx41 and photos will be uploaded regularly. I love her. She's awesome. She's Cinnamon. Say hi.

Tired

2006-12-15T23:13:00.000-08:00

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas and I am getting tired.

Christmas shopping is done. All but one present is wrapped. Now comes for the edible gifts we'll be giving this year. Baking Day 1 starts tomorrow. We're baking everything for co-workers that we'll hand out next week. During the week we'll bake all the gifts for family and friends we were unable to purchase gifts for. First round of cards were mailed today. Next round goes out tomorrow or Monday. It's getting close.

WORK:
This week was hectic at work. Stressing about numbers, thousands of reservations coming through which is great but it's also a lot of work. Until they can automate the process, whenever anyone registers for a workshop we get an email which we then print and have to enter into the system by hand. Totally inefficient.

Then today it was word 30 minutes from leaving, that an email had to go out and no one else could do it. It was using an old program that I hadn't worked with in something like 18 months or more. Took a little twisting but we got it out in under an hour. VERY nice. My thanks to those who helped make it happen. You know who you are. Even if you don't read this. I'll thank them again in person.

HOME:
At home we've been catsitting. We took in Desi Saturday and had quite a bit of drama. We took her in and set her in the restroom so she could get used to the litter box. When we opened the door she was sitting behind the toilet. So, every time we headed in there during the evening, we'd pet her a bit and just make sure she was ok.

We headed to bed late and when we woke up Sunday morning, we couldn't find her anywhere. We looked under every bit of furniture. We looked in every cupboard and drawer. We looked behind and inside every piece of furniture. We opened every bag and box no matter how tightly sealed they seemed to be. No sign of her.

Victoria was beside herself with grief. She wouldn't eat, cried often, and just sat at home not knowing what to do. I made her get out to the stake Christmas concert. OOH what a wonderful evening that was! A Nigerian song, Costa Rican, just wow. Very well performed by all involved.
Monday when we got home from work we started posting flyers and talking to people around the complex. We took some time to search but again nothing.

THEN at 3:30am Tuesday morning, I wake up suddenly. Instantly wide awake I hear a mewing. I spin around to face the door and what do I see? I see the silhouette of what could be a cat walk from the bathroom to the living room. So I dart out of bed and to the bedroom door. I search the floor of the dining room and see nothing. I start to feel discouragement until I turn my head to the left and see her standing there.

I reach for her but she dashes between the couch and the coffee table then around and into the bedroom. I run into the bedroom, slam the door shut and close the closet door. She's trying to find a way out but can't so she darts under the bed. I wake up Victoria and let her know I've found the cat. I woke up my wife at 3:30 and within 5 seconds just made her entire week. How often can you say that? We both spend the next 2 hours trying to pet Desi and get her to come out from under the bed. Finally, that evening she comes out and jumps on the bed. That night she gets even more courageous by walking on us and mewing all night long.

Now she's doing much better. She loves Victoria but is still working on trusting me. I just haven't spent much time with her. She let me pet her for a long time last night but I still can't approach her without her darting under the bed. Probably that initial chase is still in her mind.

As for the rest...it's all been about Christmas. Shopping, wrapping, baking and cleaning house. We'll get it all together in a week. Yeah. Sure. Right.

Pray for us.

Chula Vista High School Spartan Marching Alliance

2006-12-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks to James for posting this on myspace.

The 1990 Maytime Hype:

The 1990 CVHS Maytime Performance:

Fortunately for Chula Vista, not only did they beat Castle Park but they dominated the South Bay for the next 10 years and even now they continue to outrank Castle Park competition after competition. Still, music in the South Bay is starting to slip a little. Bands are far smaller than I remember. Whether that's a lack of interest in band itself, conflict with a director's teaching style or personality, or just an overall lack in music courses doesn't matter. The point is that I encourage all of you to go out and support your local high school bands. Whether you graduated from Chula Vista, Eastlake, Rancho Bernardo or somewhere outside of San Diego, SUPPORT HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAMS!

Oh and Eric Mabrey? Yeah he's now moved on to Olympian High School in Chula Vista, CA. It's a very new school with only freshmen and sophomores this year. They'll be adding a Junior and then Senior class soon and I they just won Sweepstakes in Escondido so watch out. There is going to be some competition soon!

Thanksgiving

2006-11-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2006 was pretty fun. Almost all of Victoria's mom's side of the family made it. We missed Desiree and Juan with their twins, J.R. and Sierra but I believe everyone else was there.

We got there a bit early, around 11am. We got some lunch on our way and watched some football. Both of the widely viewed games were pretty boring. No one, I think, really questioned that Miami and Dallas had those games wrapped up before the opening kickoff. The results confirmed that.

The food was great and the conversation was as good as always. I missed having Bill there. I know he's staying at a shelter somewhere but I have no way of getting ahold of him or I think he may have been welcome to join us.

The evening game of Denver v Kansas City was a nice change of pace vs the morning and afternoon games. I wish Time Warner would pick up the NFL Network. Not that I like their commentating (just the opposite in fact) but it would be nice to be able to watch the Thursday Night games the rest of the year without having to go over to the in-laws.

Ahh so family, food and fun. Can't really ask for more on Thanksgiving. Other than a bit of drama about the time we ended up eating there were no fights or arguments and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Here are pictures of the event...

BTW...leave a comment. What was your favorite moment this Thanksgiving? Not evening. Not "spending time with family." Singular moment. Every get together has that moment. What was yours?

New toy and Renaissance Faire

2006-11-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

Ahhh my new toy has arrived! I purchased the new Canon EOS Rebel XTi (aka Canon 400D), a battery grip with 2 extra batteries, 5GB worth of memory cards, the 18-55mm kit lens, the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens and the backpack for it all you see in the background. Picture was shot with a Canon Elph Powershot SD550. A great point and shoot camera I intend to purchase once I've gotten more lenses, a flash and added equipment for my new camera.

I took the camera out for a test run at the Escondido Renaissance Faire last weekend. Here is yours truly and his dashing young bride at the faire:

Isn't we just shiny? It really was a great day. We hung out with our good friend Becky, ate some food, watched the Merry Wives of Windsor and checked out all the wares being sold at the various booths at the faire. There was such a friendly and funloving spirit throughout the grounds. I don't know if it was because this was a smaller faire. I don't know if it was the local feel or perhaps just the people and everyone having a good day all at once but it was pretty cool. Not the biggest faire we've been to but probably our favorite so far.

I really need to post more often...

2006-11-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

... but I probably won't.

Been a tough day. Halloween was a bust again. I didn't dress up but Victoria did. Awesomeo: her new secret identity. She was so cute. Then later there was this naughty school girl number. Well, let's just say if any kids had come for candy, I was going to have to be the one handing out the candy. Very nice indeed. Well, except I didn't get any at the end of the night and well I can't complain since I've barely been able to keep up with her lately.

Now, she's writing a novel about rape and that means I ain't getting any through the entire month of November and probably well into December. I'll keep you all updated since I'm sure what I've already written hasn't been at all too much information. I'm sure you're just begging for more.

Thought a lot about Stephanie today. Reading a story in the Ensign about Jennifer Sabin, a woman in our stake who was saved from CF by two donors within the ward who gave her a lobe each from their lungs. I was reading it out loud to Victoria while she was cooking and I just couldn't keep my composure. I just kept thinking about Stephanie and how badly I wanted to give her my kidney when she went on dialysis. I never actually took the steps to finding out if I'd be a match. I guess it's natural, when thinking back on someone you loved who died young, of all the ways you could have maybe saved them or at least postponed the inevitable.

Anyways, that's been the last few days for me and moreso the last 24 hours. Just trying to keep a smile. Of course there is one thing that's put a smile on my face today: I just purchased a black Canon Rebel EOS XTi (aka 400D) D-SLR camera with the kit lens.

I also bought a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens which I've heard is a must have. I got a special backpack for it, battery grip with a couple extra batteries and a couple 2GB memory cards. I'm also getting a battery charger and a beanbag. Then all I need is a couple other lenses (telephoto and fisheye or wide angle probably), a flash with a diffuser, and a couple small things and I'll be complete. For those unaware, I'm strongly pursuing a career in photography. I'm going to take a bunch of classes, go to workshops and of course LOTS of practice.

So it's been a bit of a bittersweet day. Thinking of Stephanie, trying to enjoy Halloween, getting my new camera and getting to spend my evening with my wife. Have I mentioned yet just how absolutely wonderful this woman is?

Anyways, I can't stress enough that you must not take advantage of loved ones around you. Even those friends and even acquaintances. One day they might not be there and you'll wish you spent more time with them. I'm just grateful for every day that we got with Stephanie. She sure caused a lot of heartache but not nearly as much as she brightened my life with her presence. What a wonderful spirit. Be kind to those around you. Even those pesky drivers on the road who get under your skin. Those are human beings in that car and we all make mistakes.

So let me not be a hypocrite and start with you. Hello there. That's a great shirt you have on. You're really cool and I want to know you better. Not in that creepy, I want to cheat on my wife with you, sort of way. That's just wrong. No it's more like that...nevermind. You're intelligent. You should be able to figure this out on your own. See? You took it in the wrong way and now we can't be friends. Just know it wasn't me. It was you. You messed this up. Good day sir/ma'am.

SIDE OF HASHBROWNS

2006-10-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

I think I'm voting Side of Hashbrowns for Governor this year. He's part of a meal you can eat any time of the day. Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?

He's liberal on potatoes but conservative when it comes to how they're served.
He's flexible but firm on the most critical issues and I think he's just one part of a great start to any day.

So, before you go looking at Schwarzenegger (mashed) or Angelides (baked) why not consider a candidate who's really looking after your best interests: Side of Hashbrowns. The only choice for Governor in 2006.

Reflective Times

2006-10-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

I've spent a little time on myspace this weekend. Our 10 year reunion was last weekend and I skipped it. Not really any decent excuses. Just a lot of little shallow ones that when add up made us feel like it would have been more worth it just to hang with our friends separately and yet we never organized anything. So that was a waste and I blame it all on me.
I've been something like a mess lately. Happy most of the time but I just haven't been holding up to my responsibilities lately. I read the blog entry I posted on myspace October 25th of last year the evening that I got the call from Josh about Stephanie. I've read the blog entries here from a year ago. I'm looking back at a year of remembering and a promise I made that I have to admit I just haven't kept. I spent so much of this year working towards it only to fall short in the last couple months.
I know I need therapy, counseling, something but I just don't have $200 a week to spend on some stranger analyzing why I'm not a responsible human being. Why do I skip church once or twice a month but then continue going 2-3 times a month? Why do I pay tithing some months and not others? Why do I have this apartment looking spotless for a few weeks and then let things pile up again? I'm doing really good at work and Victoria and I have been close lately but I know she can sense that there's something not right with me. Is it the pain returning as the 1 year anniversary of that week from hell comes up? Is it just that I'm trying to balance too many things at once while not being willing to let a few things go? Do I just need to start fresh?
I don't know what it is but for as many happy moments as I've had in the last couple weeks there's been at least 3 times as many bad thoughts. Reminders of where I'm falling short in so many parts of my life. STILL. I'm 28. You'd think I'd have my life sorted out. You't think I'd at least have that temple recommend by now. You'd think I'd have honored my sister's life in a better way than I have in the last year. Sorrow, regret and more sorrow. The story of my life. Or perhaps just my perceptions right now because of how I'm feeling.
Perhaps I need to make a list. Plan out each day and just live strictly by it for a while until some of the things become habit. More with the grains and fruits/veges and less with the oils and fats. That's not just food I'm talking about, btw. I'll figure this out. I just need to stick with something good for once instead of just 6-10 months at a time.

I've seen it all

2006-10-14T00:56:00.000-07:00

OK about 3-4 times a year we have a poker night. It's a $10 buy in and overall I've done fairly well. Won a couple bucks my first time, lost out early the 2nd and came home with a handsome return.
Tonight. I think I can honestly say that I played poker with the devil himself because the luck this guy had was unreal. I believe all night he folded once and went all in on just about half his hands. It started with 8 people around 10pm. By midnight it was down to 3 and two people had already bought in a second time. About 30 minutes later he let Butch go for $15. He took the rest.
That's right. He took the rest.
Not only did he play aggressively but on nearly every hand he actually had the best hand. The only thing he didn't get was a royal flush and a four of a kind. Otherwise I saw it all more than once.
Meanwhile, yours truly had two good hands all night. I had a straight once and was beat by a King high flush, then I had two pair with Aces and Threes only to be beat by Aces and Eights.
Next time we play, it'll be free for me. We'll see what comes out of that.

I watched a man I've never met completely slaughter 7 other people at poker including the guy who's birthday it was...twice (Happy Birthday Aaron, BTW). What also sucked was he talked the whole time. Never digging it in but just never shutting his trap either.

So yeah. It's also downpouring over here. Just a deluge of rain the likes of which we haven't seen in like...I don't know...8 months or so. Fun to sleep to. Good night.

This Week in Sports

2006-10-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, sports and teams I care about anyways...

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD! I know it's all about the "What Now" attitude that is spreading through Carrow Road but people are just very happy that "Worthless" has been ousted. Still, if we don't turn things around and find our way to at least 6th, it won't be any better than having him around.

PADRES STAY ALIVE! We went to the games Tuesday and Thursday and they promptly got outscored 7-1 to lose the first two games of the NLDS. They just didn't seem to have any chance of avoiding yet another sweep to the Cardinals. Then...as if by magic...they left like 17 runners on base and still found a way to beat them. So, down two games to one, we'll see if they can force a game 5 with a win tonight. If not, I might just find myself a new favorite team next year. Most likely I'll just get my heart broken again next year. I dealt with 1987-1995 and 1999-2003 yet this seems to hurt so much more.

CHARGERS LOSE LATE AGAIN! Marty-Ball has lost the Chargers yet another game. With a 13-7 lead late in the 2nd half, the Chargers allowed a sack on purpose when Scifers got injured attempting to punt out of the end zone. Then, the defense allowed the Ravens to march down the field and score the winning TD. 16-13. Game Over. This brought me back to the Dallas game last year where they lost a late lead by playing too conservative offensively and trusting the defense too much.

BUCCANEERS MAY NOT WIN A GAME! They've lost Simms for a long time, Cadillac doesn't resemble anything close to a decent RB at this point and the defense is old and slow. Add in a talentless O-Line and you get a team who very well might not win a single game this year. You know what? I'm really not surprised. The owners care more about Manchester United than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I say deport them and seduce some owners into buying the team who really care about winning on a yearly basis and not just once.

Oh my! What a week!

2006-10-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

PORTABLE MEDIA EXPO 2006

Friday, September 28, 2006:

Got up to the expo late and missed the live recording of TWiT. They had sound problems and started late and I still missed it. I did see Leo Laporte and watched him do some interviews with a Japanese reporter and a guy from Kaboom Energy Drink.
Headed out to the Podcast Awards Reception and met Dawn & Drew, Chris Marquardt, said hello to Randal Schwartz, and saw a bunch of others. Some of them I knew and others I did not until later.
I couldn't get any decent pictures of the reception because I was too nervous and the camera shake was out of control. These podcasters have become a part of my life in the last couple years and so these people were celebrities to me. All of the podcasters I met were really cool. In fact, I'm sure that with hundreds of podcasters, there has to be a few that aren't good people but I didn't meet any jerks all weekend (podcasters OR listeners).
I headed out to see my aunt and uncle before the party. My aunt is a great cook and she gave me a bowl of vegetable soup that I loved and a couple slices of absolutely delicious butter bread. Andrea (cousin) came home from work and we talked for a while before I left. Had a great time seeing everyone and it was the perfect segway between the expo and the parties.
At 8:30 I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel in Ontario for the Dawn and Drew Show "Dippin' Dots D'Shinding". Dawn carded me up to the 6th floor. As soon as I got out of the elevator I could hear the party. Already there was a good number of people there. Met quite a few people from the forums and a few podcasters. Lots of big names there that night including Chris Marquardt, The Invincibles, Soccergirl and Ryan, Rumor Girls, CC Chapman, Michael Butler, Franklin McMahon, Randal Schwartz, and quite a few others.
There must have been at least 100 people there. It was a hotel suite and got shoulder to shoulder thick. So full it was, that people went outside because it just got too warm and close for some people to handle.
Food and drinks ran out quick. Mass quantities of pizza gone. Lots of soda and water gone. Lani and I headed out for more drinks at the local Stater Bros. but by the time I returned I realized I was really tired, it seemed like the party was winding down and Chris, The Rumor Girls and Franklin were leaving as we returned. So I said my thanks, shot a quick picture of their award with my cell phone and headed out for the night. I was only there for a couple hours but when I got home I was absolutely exhausted. It was such a blast. More pics by Drew...

Saturday, September 30th, 2006:

Woke up around 8:30 or so. It felt like 11am or something. I checked the schedule, realized there really wasn't anything I'd be missing so I just stuck around until about 12:45 when I left to pick up Andrea and head out for lunch. Andrea and I hadn't ever really talked. It's always pretty much been Jen and I, Andrea and Stephanie, Rachel and Erienne. Now that we're grown up, we thought it was time to really get to know each other better. Not something that can be completely done over lunch but we did our best.
We headed out to Kazama Sushi which is a favorite of the family I guess. It was my first time there. She got the dragon roll, baby octopus and ordered some Nigori Sake. I ordered the Kalamari Roll, Terryaki Beef with Chicken Katsu and a Diet Coke.
The food, like the conversation, was really good. Definitely worth doing again. I took most of the Kalamari Rolls home and had them for breakfast the next morning.
Headed back to my aunt and uncle's house after lunch and spent some time there talking with my aunt and catching up on the Tips From the Top Floor forum to set up the meetup the following day.
Headed back to grandma's for dinner of fried chicken, rolls and baked beans. Simple but yummy. Went to bed kinda late but then again, the only thing I had planned that following day was the meetup and that wasn't until 3:30pm.

Sunday, October 1, 2006:

Headed out to pick up Chris Marquardt from the Doubletree Hotel by the Ontario Airport around 3:30 and we headed out to Victoria Gardens for the Tips From the Top Floor meet up at the Yard House. It took us a while to find it. I knew it was on North Mainstreet but oddly North Mainstreet is completely different than South Mainstreet. Usually it'd be the same street but just the north or south sides of it. Apparently the planners of the Victoria Gardens like to live dangerously.
Anyways, we met up with Steven Georges, David Nelson, Michelle and Brian Nambus, Ibarionex and Cynthia Perello, Randal Schwartz and Mari Len. I think we all felt like celebrities with all the flashes going off around our table. Lots of pictures being taken but the best were taken by Steven Georges. I saw people around the restaurant turning in their seats, mumbling and pointing. It was pretty cool. Oh and the food...wonderful. I had the Shrimp Garlic Noodles and it was great. Plus, Chris let us all sign his Podcast Award. AWESOME!
After dinner we headed outside, said goodbye to the Nambuses who had to drive back to Arizona and then Mari who headed back home. Ibarionex and Cynthia headed out and that left Randal, Chris, Steven and myself on our way to the Apple Store. Chris had never been to one so we attempted to document it. Problem was, once we got there they were just closing so the security guard wouldn't let us in. So instead, Randal gave Chris a tour of a sprawling American outdoor shopping village. "Once you get within 3 blocks of a Baby GAP, you've reached marketing hell." That and pointing out that the Johnny Rockets building was not once the Continental Hotel because a year ago it was dirt in the middle of a field. All tricks to give a "feel" to the place.
Anyways, I drove Chris back to the hotel and headed back to my Grandma's place to pick up my stuff and head home. I was SO tired when I got home.

I have more on the playoff games I attended on Tuesday and Thursday but frankly after all these good memories, why bring up the bad ones?

Podcast & Portable Media Expo

2006-09-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

So...the Podcast and Portable Media Expo is coming up. Borrowed my in-laws Canon Elph SD550 so I'll be taking plenty of shots with that. It'll be great learning more about podcasting and meeting some of the podcasters that I have listened to over the last 18 months. I'm really getting excited!

Just a few more days to go and the closer the event gets, the more excited I become! Now it's becoming chaotic trying to plan out what areas I want to hit, when certain podcasts are recording their shows, after parties, get togethers, etc. That little butterfly has found its way into my belly.

I'm hoping mostly to learn as much as I can about podcasting and to meet some of the podcasters I've listened to over the last 18 months. I'll admit I'm pretty nervous. Well, more to come. Perhaps with pictures.

Thumper go boom

2006-09-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get caught up with Veronica Mars before Season Three. Just watched "Plan B" and I can't explain how disappointed I am. I was so hoping they'd have used CGI or something to show Qualcomm...errrr Sharks Stadium being demolished. Instead, old footage of Veterans Stadium. Grr!

Oh well, a few years from now I'll get to see the real thing.

Meanwhile, I had a great Sunday. Church was awesome, had a few people over afterwards and Victoria has found a new friend in the ward. Things have been difficult the last few weeks. We were sick for a bit, then for no apparent reason we were bickering and arguing a lot. Just generally annoying one another for stupid things. Then we each went through our own weird little hormonal phases where we were just really emotional and needy. BLECH. I hate that. I love being around Victoria. That's not what I hate. It's when I get like that. Guys aren't supposed to go through that, are they? What's with that?

Anyways, I went to church and I'll just say the talks all seemed meant for me. The right people approached me in the right moods and I opened up honestly to people in my ward for the first time in a long while. I got all the answers I needed and I left there feeling more full of the spirit than I have in weeks. I've been slipping and falling and the Lord really picked me up today.

I think things are going to get much better now. Today was a good day. Why is Ice Cube in my head now?

Podcasting

2006-09-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

See above for updates...

Yuck...

2006-09-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Feeling sick. been sick now since last Tuesday night. Victoria had it the week before.

It's some sort of stomach thing. Pretty nasty cramps and a lot of the gross stuff one must deal with when their digestive system is having "fun" with them.
Anyways, I missed work last Wednesday and Friday and missed church on Sunday along with a Home Teaching Assignment and babysitting a couple of real cute kids.
We had a lot of plans for the weekend (mostly shopping) and wasn't able to do any more than the essentials.

This really stinks.

Psych

2006-08-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

James Roday and Dule Hill (formerly of the West Wing) are awesome in this! As imdb.com says, "A novice sleuth (Roday) is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend (Hill) the duo take on a series of complicated cases." At the end of each episode, the actors do short pieces, usually some silly song and dance number. You can tell these two actors are a perfect match. I've liked Dule Hill since his part as Charlie, the President's personal assistant on the West Wing ("You know when you told me not to wake you unless the building was on fire?"). I would say this isn't quite as well written as Veronica Mars but it's close. I might have to look into other Steve Franks ventures. Big Daddy didn't do it for me, but perhaps future things.
Speaking of the West Wing and series as well written as Veronica Mars, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will be starting soon. We saw the pilot this weekend. This is going to be yet another masterpiece by Aaron Sorkin. Matthew Perry (Friends) and Bradley Whitford (West Wing) work perfectly together and no Sorkin series would be complete without Felicity Huffman, who makes a brief appearance in the pilot, OR Josh Molina who I'm sure will show up sooner or later.

So, in this golden age of TV when there's just too many good shows to watch, make sure these two are on your list. Psych will be in rerun mode until January, but Studio 60 is just about to start. Oh, and if by some dumb luck you haven't discovered Veronica Mars yet, what are you waiting for? It's the best thing since Sorkin left The West Wing. Oh and then there's The Office and Boondocks . Just too much good comedy for TV. Nice after so long without ANY decent sit-coms.

Opening Day...

2006-08-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Today is opening day for the English Premier League. It would be absolutely wonderful if I'd have done my research but given that I just had one thistle of a week I hope you'll forgive me.
Still, as play starts today I have to give my season's prediction so here's what I'm going with having done no real research at all this pre-season...

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Blackburn
6. Tottenham Hotspur
7. Bolton
8. Reading
9. Newcastle United
10. West Ham United
11. Middlesbrough
12. Wigan Athletic
13. Everton
14. Aston Villa
15. Manchester City
16. Portsmouth
17. Charlton Athletic
18. Fulham
19. Watford
20. Sheffield United

As for the league below, I'll predict a one-two punch of Crystal Palace and Norwich City with Birmingham City returning to the Premiership after a season down. It will be nice to see my Canaries on FSC next season. They just have to get some help on the right flank in midfield. Now that Green is gone and we still have some money from the Ashton move to West Ham, it'll be nice to see us get a decent midfielder. Can we afford one of Chelsea's 15 Midfielders? Yeah right. Like anyone is going from Chelsea to NCFC.

So far today I'm looking close. Portsmouth won which was a bit of a shock as did Reading which made me happy. Arsenal surprised me with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa who has a storied history as one of the most successful English clubs in history but has been VERY weak the last few years. Norwich tied with Derby County to earn their 7th point and they still can't score on the road. 2 wins, 1 tie, 1 loss. Nice, but I'm hoping for more confident feet up front from some of the outside midfielders like Lee Croft.

Seven Short Years

2006-08-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last night Victoria and I celebrated seven very short years as a married couple. Over 13 together. We had a good time.
I picked her up around 4pm or so and we had a little over an hour before the movie started so we headed over to a little british store she saw last time she was on India Street (her parents took her to Indigo Grill which I hear is a great place to eat). ANYWAYS. This store is a bit larger than the one we went to in SLC but not by a lot. Surely there's candy, pop and the few grocery items you can't find in the states like HP sauce and various citrus curds. Also there was plenty of British memorabilia type stuff like phone booth salt and pepper shakers, toy double decker buses and a few flags, banners and stickers with which one might be able to proudly claim their British heritage. Sadly, no football related items. Even if it'd been something like ManU or Liverpool I might have gotten something but not a single thing. Not even a newspaper other than the Union Jack and I'm not totally sure that's British.
I got me some Scottish spiced biscuits and we headed out to the movie. Little Miss Sunshine is a movie which has gotten rave reviews from nearly all the critics (Jim Ridley of the Village Voice didn't care for it, whoever he is). I will say this much: Victoria loved it. I thought it had it's funny moments but maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it. I laughed here and there but it wasn't as hilarious to me as it seems everyone else found it.
Anyways, after the movie we headed to Crest Cafe for dinner. Now Crest Cafe is a place we found a few years ago and went there for dinner on Valentine's Day. We loved the place so we've gone back there for various other Valentine's Days or Anniversaries. This year was no different.
My problem? Every time I go, I forget I don't care for their pesto sauce and I always order something with pesto because normally I love the stuff. So I get a Fifth Ave Burger with Pesto which is nothing more than a burger, a bun and some condiments on the side (Lettuce, red onion, tomato and a pickle). They give you horseradish mustard (can't stand horseradish) and ketchup but this time it just didn't help. I ate most of it anyways but I have to remember there are far better things on their menu.
We left Crest Cafe after paying our $18 bill with a $4 tip for $22 total. Given the $16 we paid for the movie this is turning out to be a much cheaper evening than I anticipated, so I suggest a little dessert. Victoria points out that Corvette Diner has a Soda Fountain. Cool with me, that's basically the sort of thing I'm thinking of, so we head over there. Turns out that while there is a soda fountain they only let you sit in that area when it's real busy or somethin. Anyways, they put us at the bar and we get a root beer float for her and a hot fudge sundae for me. Neither of us can finish even half our order thanks to dinner so we pay the tab and head home.
It was just a great night of hanging out together and having fun. Can't wait to do this again. Perhaps next time for no other reason than to just go out and have fun together.

Progress?

2006-08-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Well, something doesn't seem right. I'm having a hard time staying within the 2240-2590 calorie totals that sparkpeople has me at in order for me to reach 150lbs by 2008. It's really hard, if I stay away from junk food, to reach 2000 calories. Easy as pie to hit 2400mg sodium though. I've been sticking under 2000 for both most days but hitting my sodium ceiling is easier than hitting my calorie minimum. I'm afraid of sending my body into "starvation mode".
I don't feel overly tired during the day and my body doesn't hurt but I've gone from 285 to 276 in about two weeks and lost almost 2 inches off my waist. That just seems way too fast to be healthy. One thing I've been too low on is fiber. I just don't know how to reach 30g of dietary fiber a day. Even if I eat beans, which are some of the best sources of fiber, I'd have to eat roughly 3 cups of beans every day and that would send me high on fat and sodium. ARGH!
Anyways, I'm taking exercise more seriously. I figure it's healthier to pay attention to losing my body fat than focusing on weight. I just can't afford a gym and I'm not willing to visit my physician or local gym every month to get it checked. So, I'll figure more exercise will help me lose body fat without losing muscle. If I can maintain my lean body mass and lose body fat, and keeping my weight loss to about 1-2 pounds a week I think that's a good part of becoming more healthy. Of course a balanced diet helps a lot as well.
Till later...more updates to come.

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink

2006-08-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

So it seems there was a water main break on Tuesday and it took until 6pm tonight for the city to let us know there are high amounts of coliform and e-coli in the water and have now told us to boil our water.

Went out to Albertsons tonight and the place was nearly empty of water. I saw people taking 8-10 cartons of 35-16.9 oz water bottles a person. I figure the rest of the county has water so we just bought one case and a couple gallon bottles. If we need more, we can go other places to get it. Worst case scenario, we just start boiling our water (which is what we'll do for brushing our teeth).

I've never dealt with this sort of situation before so it's added a little excitement to our evening. BTW, speaking of this evening, The Prado. I can't recommend this place enough. Victoria's parents took us there on their dime. Our anniversary is the 14th and that's the only reason I can think of that they'd do this. Still, it was greatly appreciated.

Victoria and I traded our usual dishes. I had grilled chicken and orechiette pasta with pancetta, red onions and toasted pine nuts in a gorganzola cream sauce while she had the pork prime rib center cut with aged white cheddar mashed potato croquette encrusted with panko and served with a medley of squash, wild mushrooms, fennel and blue lake beans served in a roasted apple demi. As I've said here before, if Autumn had a flavor, this dish would be it.

I've had the boullabaise, the seafood paella, the jumbo shrimp, the prime rib, ahi and now the orechiette pasta. It's all terrific. I've had nearly all their appetizers and desserts and they're all amazing. Favorite appetizers are the crabcakes or calamari fries and favorite dessert could be the tres leches or grilled pineapple financiers. The prices range from $10-13 for appetizers, $17-30 for entrees and about 8-9 for desserts. We have had drinks there in the past when we still drank and for those that partake, their martinis are awesome.

Aidan James Weist is born!

2006-08-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

Jennifer had a long, hard and exhausting labor. Sunday to Thursday in all. Aidan was born at 6:52pm, at a length of 20.5" and 8lbs 5oz. Alex was by her side the entire time, both of them staying up 45 hours straight at one stretch. Still, baby was born and all went well.
Jennifer has recovered quite quickly and they are all home and doing well. I'm going to give them a call in the next week or two. I want to give them some time to settle in at home and recover a bit further before I call. I'm just so very happy that he has come to the world healthy and that he and Jen both recovered very well. They seem to be recovering and happy and healthy so I couldn't be happier. More to come.

Harold Reynolds...gone, gone , gone

2006-07-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

I've been an avid ESPN viewer for the last 18 years. I've seen them grow from an admirable bunch of sports fans turned commentators giving the news, interviews, stories, etc that were actually really good. ESPN brought up some talents like Charlie Steiner, Robin Roberts, Dan Patrick, Keith Olberman etc and some not so talents (Craig Kilborn). They took chuckleheads like Chris Berman & Stuart Scott and turned them into icons. Might I add here that I once loved Chris and Stuart. When you don't change your act for 15 or 30 years your act tends to get a little stale.

I used to love watching Baseball Tonight. Though I thought Andrew Jackson, errr, Peter Gammons was full of himself, he usually knew what he was talking about. I loved how the commentators would go over each ballgame and discuss trade rumors or a few inside stories. Then the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry kicked in again and the show started becoming 30 minutes of Boston and New York, 10 minutes of Bonds, 10 minutes of gossipy crap, 5 minutes of game analysis and maybe 5 minutes of attention to teams not from Boston or New York (sometimes this was taken up by more talk about Bonds).
I always thought most of the players-coaches that came onto the show were way off the mark in their insight of current league issues or games. Instead of intelligently discussing the issue at hand and coming to a logical and sane conclusion, it was a discussion of all the inside parts of baseball we wish we'd never known: That baseball players, for the most part (and probably most athletes in all sports) are egotistical, machismo obsessed, pride mongering neanderthals.
One of the few intelligent spokesmen that I'd heard on this show was Harold Reynolds. Lo and behold someone who once played the game puts down his "Man Cap" for a second and actually discusses the game in an intelligent manner and doesn't assume his audience is intelligence-handicapped. Instead, he treated us as if we could handle whatever information he would give us. He stated his opinion without mistaking his opinion for fact. He wasn't the world's best baseball analyst but he was leagues above Kruk, Kennedy or Brantley. Much more entertaining than Phillips. So...how does ESPN repay him for his 11 years with the network and treating the viewing audience like intelligent human beings? They fire him. No announcement. No explanation. Just GONE.

Well...that's one more (of the many) ESPN shows I won't be watching anymore. Their Sportscenter talent has left years ago, NFL Live offers little in intelligent insight and now Baseball Tonight is off the list since there's no more Reynolds or Gammons (may he recover quickly). Darts, The Spelling Bee, The Scrabble Championships, and poker are not SPORTS. They are games or competitions...but they are not sports. Hockey and soccer are sports...but ESPN is far above covering them. I'd rather they covered Rugby or cricket before starting to cover the spelling bee or darts. Give it up ESPN, you're finished.

Clerks II

2006-07-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

Just got back from watching Clerks II.

When I first heard about this movie last year I was really excited about the prospect. Kevin Smith was up in front of something like 6,500 people and was discussing what was then "Clerks II: Passion of the Clerks". Someone asked about Mel Gibson having a beef about the subtitle and it's closeness to "Passion of the Christ". Kevin went into his idea for the crucifixion scene where two ninjas sweep in, pull Christ off the cross and someone screams out "But he's supposed to die for the world's sins!" The first ninja bellows back, "Not on MY watch!" Blasphemous? Hilarious? I'll let you decide but I have a sense of humor so I had a good laugh.

Clerks II...
Once I started seeing commercials for the movie I immediately became very doubtful. A kitschy comedy set in a fast food restaurant with purple and yellow shirts. It just seemed a bit campy for Kevin Smith and I almost didn't want to go see it.

I WILL NEVER DOUBT KEVIN AS LONG AS I LIVE.

The only words I can use to describe the movie is...Oh, cake!

Kevin Smith came in about 10 minutes after the movie for a short Q&A session.

There was a couple of women there dressed as Jay & Silent Bob who took a picture. Right after that he called on a girl who mentioned that she and her girl friend also dressed as Jay & Silent Bob a few years back and gave Kevin a picture of that.
A 12 year old kid asked about the Clerks Animated Film and while Kevin answered the question he was more astonished that a 12 year old kid was watching Clerks II. We got to meet the kids uncle Dwayne who brought this nephew to the movie. Kevin was appalled and gave him a bit of a light-hearted ball-breaking about it.
They mentioned Fletch. Apparently Kevin had planned on doing a prequel of Fletch, I guess, and he had his sights on Jason Lee. I guess it was him or no movie. The people in charge, I guess, told Kevin that Jason wasn't famous enough to do the movie. He keeps pressing everytime Jason does something and they keep telling Kevin that Jason's not famous enough yet. So then "My Name Is Earl" comes out and Kevin's going "Yes! Number 1 show in America. NOW they can't tell me he's not famous enough." "Yes," they told him, "but now he's too old." Kevin throws up his hands and says at the Q&A, "So there might be a Fletch prequel but it won't come from me." So that's sad. I guess. I've never seen Fletch.
Someone asked Kevin what he felt when he had to shoot his wife kissing Dante in the movie. Kevin's response, "It's ok. It's just O'Halloran. If it had been someone like Affleck, then I might have been jealous." Basically implying that Affleck would be an upgrade for Jennifer but Brian's safe.
There were questions about how Kevin came up with the idea for a couple aspects of the movie. One involved his first trip to Tijuana and all the myths that crop up about the area like Spanish Fly. Kevin wanted to put it in the film. The other came up in a conversation about Jason Mewes staying with a girl that wouldn't give it up and what she might have told him that would have convinced him to stick it out. The idea just flew out of Kevin's mouth without thinking and ended up in the movie.
I guess Zack was there in the theater as well (he's the inspiration for "OH! Cake!"). They discussed how he got the role (walked by at the right time as they were discussing who might get the part). He wouldn't accept the role until he got the ok from his sister, who's in high school. Saying any more would ruin it.
Anyways it was a bit of fun. Being so close to the front, I'm sure I could have shook Kevin's hand but...I don't know. Just left. Might never be so close again. Literally 5 feet away. I suck.

This is becoming a bad habit

2006-07-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here feeling really good after a pretty poor day. I'm not even going through it all. Why rehash all that and end up feeling bad all over again?

So, Victoria and I started an exercise and health food regimine about a week ago. We haven't been perfect but we're off to a great start. We've been walking for 30 minutes nearly every day and we've started doing some cardio workouts too and that's been cool. We started a program at www.sparkpeople.com and it feels good to have a plan. Not just a plan, but one that I know I can stick to, as weak willed as I am.

I haven't written in over a week. How dare I. I've even been slacking lately on posting lyrics at www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com. Anyways, life has been pretty hectic. I've even been really poor at calling my grandmother, talking to my dad, and basically getting my act together. I need to quit slacking and get moving.

What an evening.

2006-07-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

Lots of emotions going through me tonight and most of them are not positive.

There are some people I've been thinking a lot about lately. Family that I love very much and I haven't talked to in way too long. I'm sure they're wondering where we are and how we're doing.

Thinking of my Dad. Hoping I can talk with him soon. That might mean calling him during a lunch break or something.

Hoffman blew a save in the All-Star Game. I've been checking the Padres message board and lately it's been so positive. An influx of negative posts from strangers left my emotions a bit frayed. I've really been focusing on my emotions lately. Just trying to deal with negative people in a positive manner. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Especially for me because I tend to react quickly to stuff and my first reaction to someone's statement is to match their emotion. When it's positive, then all good. When it's negative, I have a really hard time. I've really been working on that and tonight it got to be a bit much.

Then right after that, we watched the Buffy episode where Joyce dies and all the emotions the scoobies go through, the fact that there's no music, it just brought back a lot of emotions of "that week" and after all the other thoughts and emotions of the evening it was just too much for me and I had to go take a break.

Yeah, so. Yeahh.

Ugliest...Match...EVER

2006-06-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

OK there was no blood. There was no rioting. There was no hooliganism in the stands (that I know of). What there was, was 22 adults acting like 12 year old boys. What there was, was a ref, 2 line judges and other FIFA officials who never once had control of the pitch.

Portugal vs. Netherlands
June 26, 2006
A Match which will live in World Cup infamy.

This was supposed to be two of the greatest national football teams playing each other on the world stage in a match that featured great players.
For the Netherlands there was goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar and striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy of Manchester United, Robin Van Persie of Arsenal, Arjen Robben of Chelsea and Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Mark van Bommel of Barcelona.
For Portugal there was Deco of Barcelona, Maniche & Costinha of Dynamo Moscow, Luis Figo of Inter Milan, and the young Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United.

Instead this turned into a fiasco to beat all fiascos. 16 yellow cards, 4 red cards and fouls too numerous to count. Brief skermishes between clubs, shouting matches between coaches (more like a monologue by Scolari of Portugal) and in between a little football.

1st Half
To start, the Dutch came out with Ruud Van Nistelrooy on the bench. He's the prime striker for Manchester United and one of the best in the world. Where is he? He's not injured. He hasn't been suspended for a red card or any off-field infractions. He's just not there. What is Van Basten thinking?

To begin the match, The Oranje were all over Cristiano Ronaldo. There was a foul and yellow card on Van Bommel 1:35 into the match for a hard tackle from behind. Later in the 7th minute there was a foul and a yellow card given to Boulahrouz for a hard spiking tackle on Ronaldo that would force him to leave the game in the 34th minute. That's 2 yellow cards in the first 7 minutes.

Then it was Portugal's turn as the Portugese begame to attack Van Bommel. First a foul was called in the 11th minute against Meira for tackling Van Bommel. In the 15th there was a non-call as Carvalho threw Kuyt to the pitch in the box. The referee also ignored Maniche when he pulled Van Bommel down by the arm 19:47 into the match. Unfortunately Maniche is dumber than he looks and he tried it again tens seconds later and this time was successful in earning himself a Yellow Card.

That's 3 so far if you're counting and we're only 20 minutes in.

22:33 - GOAL!!! Maniche scores for Portugal on a shot about 8 yards from goal into the left side of the net. This was beautiful as the ball is passed from Miguel to Deco to Pauleta and right to the feet of Maniche. One trick move to his left, back to his right and the shot with the right foot goes right past Van der Sar into the net.

Then the ugliness continues.

The Netherlands place a target on Deco that would stay on the Brazilian-born players back until he left the pitch. We're getting ahead of ourselves. This all starts in the 31st minute with a tackle by Cocu on Deco which draws a foul. Cocu tackles Deco again 36 seconds later, winning the ball but drawing no foul call. Costinha of Portugal apparently doesn't think that's fair and immediately tackles Cocu hard from behind drawing the 4th Yellow Card of the match. Van Bommel would draw a foul on another tackle of Deco in the 43rd minute.

Apparently the Ref isn't seeing what's going on here. First Ronaldo is targeted by the Netherlands. Then the Portugese go after Van Bommel so Cocu begins a targeting of Deco. Portugal then retaliates by targeting Cocu. This was just the beginning.

38:20 into the match, Costinha feeling that perhaps the yellow card was just a dream then kicks Oijer in the shins but the ref doesn't see it and play goes on. Costinha is lucky he wasn't red carded for that one.
41:46 Portugal figures they got away with kicking Oijer and they test the line. Valente jump kicks Robben in the chest inside the penalty box. If I was the ref, I'd give Valente the straight red card and award Netherlands a penalty kick. Instead, the ref ignores it, accuses Robben of diving and play goes on. This is when I truly believed that the ref never had any control on the pitch and was basically just a useless body getting in the way of Dutch and Portugese passes...and wasting time with colorful cards.

Proving that he isn't completely blind, the ref blows the whistle on Van Bommel for a tackle on Deco, then calls a foul against Sabrosa of Portugal for taking down Van Bronckhorst.

Just before the end of the half, a long pass deflects off Costinha's arm. Now in the replay he definitely reached his arm out and even in live action that's what it looked like. That earns him the red card he deserved to get on his last tackle that was ignored by the ref. A red card on a hand ball? Perhaps the referee was just showing Costinha that his earlier tackle didn't go unnoticed. So that's 5 yellows and a red so far.

Hold on folks. Believe it or not, this gets even uglier.

2nd Half

Petit comes in for Portugal to replace Pauleta who has been a bit weak on the attack.

He then earns himself his very own Yellow Card in the 50th minute for pulling Van Bommel down to the pitch. Notice the target is still on Van Bommel instead of Van der Sar and the goal.

56 minutes in we get the Netherlands first substitution as Van der Vaart comes in for Mathijsen. No Van Nistelrooy? One of the best strikers in the world is still on the bench. No injury. No infraction. No Red Cards. Not even a Yellow Card. Van Basten (the coach of Netherlands) is an idiot.

Between the 57th and 58th minutes there's a great shot on goal by each side (Maniche and Shneijder) both stopped by great saves.

Then in the 59th minute, the madness begins. Within 11 seconds (58:12 and 58:23) there is a Yellow Card given to Van Bronckhorst for a tackle from behind on Deco (Target is still on Deco I see) near the penalty box. As the players are huddling around the ref, there's a scuffle between players and Luis Figo head butts Van Bommel who smiles, nods his head, and slowly crumples to the pitch, earning Figo a Yellow Card. That's 7 yellows and a red now. Already even on the match report this looks unnatural. Just think, there were at least 2 other plays that weren't even called fouls that could have been cards.

In the 62nd minute, Figo won the ball and started down the flank towards the opposing goal. Boulahrouz followed him closely and as he ran, one of his upswings caught Figo in the face causing Figo to crumple to the floor in feign agony. There was no deliberate elbow but the since Figo had just gotten a yellow for the head butt, the ref could have seen this as a revenge strike and so he tried to take back control by giving yet another yellow card. That being his 2nd yellow, he gets the red and is sent off.

In the 67th minute we get the second Dutch substitution. Van Bommel goes out and Heitinga comes in. Safe move as Van Bommel already had a yellow, the Portugese were targeting him and the ref was obviously card happy.

NOW HERE IS WHERE IT ALL WENT CRAZY

From 72:02 to 76:55 we would see 6 yellow cards and a red. If the ref had any control at all of the match (and he didn't) here is where he truly lost it.

Let's start a little further back. About 70:13 into the match, Shneijder and Carvalho collided with each other at the edge of the Portugese box and portugal won the ball. They had control of the ball when play was stopped because both players were on the pitch injured.

Sportsmanship states that the Portugese then kick the ball out of bounds and when play is resumed, the Dutch would throw the ball back to the Portugese defense who would then resume play.

Instead, the ref restarted play with a drop ball, the dutch won the ball and refused to return it to the Portugese. This infraction occured at 72:02 into the match. Deco of Portugal caught up with Heitinga who had the ball and he tackled him hard from behind.

The ref didn't like this and gave Deco a yellow card. Apparently the Dutch didn't like it either and as the ref was struggling with getting the card out of his shirt pocket, there was a scuffle a few yards away. Shneijder and Van der Vaart were both carded for shoving Portugese players. So that's 3 yellow cards in the span of FIVE SECONDS!

3 minutes later, at 75:07 Ricardo, the goalkeeper for Portugal gets yellow carded for time wasting. Now when the ball is kicked by the attacking team past the end line behind the goal, the defending team is awarded a goal kick. Once the whistle is blown by the ref to restart play, the keeper then has 6 seconds to restart play by kicking or throwing the ball downfield or to a teammate. In this World Cup, the refs have been told to give cards for delaying the game.

At 75:47 Valente made a hard tackle on Van Persie and earned the 14th yellow card of the night.

Then at the end of the 77th minute, Deco gets carded for delaying the game. There had been a foul and Netherlands was awarded a free kick. Deco picked up the ball and started walking down the pitch with the ball before rolling it behind him to the Dutch players. The ref felt this was unsportsmanlike and handed Deco his second yellow card in 5 minutes and sent him off the field.
So that's 14 yellow cards and 3 red cards now. It's 9 men against 10.

In the 84th minute, Portugal made it's final subsitution sending Figo off, perhaps saving him from his own red card and bringing on Tiago to finish the match.

At 84:43 Kuyt is called offsides. Just as the whistle blows, Petit grabs Kuyt's arm and throws him down. No call. No foul. No card. Nothing. Totally ignored by the ref.

At 85:55 there's a hand ball called on Van de Vaart. That's the second Dutch hand ball that wasn't given a card. Most of the hand balls I've seen called this World Cup were followed by a Yellow Card. This would have meant red for Van de Vaart and yellow earlier on Kuyt which would have brought the card total to 18 yellow and 5 red.

Just as the match was about to be called, 5 minutes into stoppage time, Van Bronckhorst earned the final card of the match (A red one) for tripping Tiago. On this play Van Bronckhorst had fought with Tiago for possession and he tossed Tiago down. I thought that might have justified a foul but lucky for me Van Bronckhorst did it again less than 5 seconds later and this time got the card and the sending off.

So that's it. Portugal 1, Netherlands 0, Refs -20+

16 Yellow Cards and 4 Red Cards. At least two plays where straight reds could have been given but were not. Figo and Valente should not be eligible for this match against England. Then again, what do I know. I'm just an American.

Victoria's Birthday

2006-06-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

OK I haven't thrown something on here recently so there may be multiple blog entries today.

June 21st was Victoria's birthday. We had a lot of fun.

Woke up around 8:30 or so and I made breakfast sausage and french toast for Victoria per her request.
After breakfast we headed out to the Museum of Art in Balboa Park. They're having an Andy Warhol exhibit and so she really wanted to go see it. The 60s and 70s are sorta her "time" sorta like the medieval and renaissance periods in England are my "time". Everything that you might find tacky and uncomfortable about those two decades Victoria would find really cool.
We went around and saw a few other exhibits. They have a great Asian wing. Art from the inside covers of ancient copies of the Qu'ran, 18th century Japanese foot soldier uniform, 8th century statues of the bodhisatva, etc. I loved it.
After the museum we headed out to Fashion Valley to watch "A Prairie Home Companion". Great movie, but then we're also fans of the NPR radio show by the same name. Garrison Keillor and most of the band play themselves but the rest of the cast is all actors. It's loaded with names and it's pretty well done. Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, John C Riley, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Virginia Madsen, Lily Tomlin, Tim Russell and Marylouise Burke. I think we were the youngest ones there. In fact, I'd say the next youngest was twice our age. Still, there was something cool about laughing at dirty jokes with old people laughing along with us...often laughing harder than us.
The movie was over and our stomachs were growling. So, off to Cheesecake Factory we went. Avocado Rolls, a Crabcake Sandwich and the Navajo Sandwich. We could have just gotten the crabcake sandwich by itself and that would have been enough to feed us both. Of course we took some cheesecake home. A slice of crunchy upside down pineapple cheesecake. Victoria loved it.
I didn't have any.
Later in the evening, around 10pm or so we finally got some Olive Garden to go for dinner.
We really had a great time hanging out with each other all day. So we both started our 29th years one very high notes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2006-06-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

As of about 2am this morning I am 28 years old. To be honest, it feels no different than yesterday except today was a really good day.

Victoria woke me up this morning with breakfast. Scrambeld eggs, sausage, toast and pancakes. Very nice. I loved it. Also got to cuddle with her a bit and watch the beginning of the Ghana v. Czech Republic match.

Watch Gyan score the first goal 1:08 into the match. The fastest a goal has been scored in any 2006 World Cup match up to this point. Not to mention the Czechs were HEAVILY favored. Even after that goal and a 1st half where Ghana completely dominated the pitch, the Czechs apparently still didn't show up for the 2nd half. The Black Stars got a penalty kick late, but missed it. They did get that second goal in the last 10 minutes of the match. Kingston, the Ghana goalie had a couple great saves late in the match but Ghana beat the Czechs, 2-0 giving the United States a fresh life.

Tony came over at noon and Scott came over at 12:30. I made some Welsh Rarebit which turned out terrific. Added some caramelized onions to the sauce and tossed some Italian sausage on top. The only thing that would have made it better is if it were English sausage but I have no idea who sells that around here. Perhaps Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad but I didn't want to go that far for it on my birthday.

We watched the USA-Italy match while enjoying lunch. The Americans have never won a World Cup match on European soil. The last guy to score a goal for the US on European soil? Brian McBride in 1998 (87th min against Iran in a 2-1 loss).

Now onto the match. The match started quickly with both teams showing quite a bit of energy. It was great to see this from the United States after they looked really lackluster (I'm being really kind there) against the Czech Republic. Still, in the 22nd minute, Alberto Gilardino scored off a header for Italy. It was a great quick pass right in front of the net that was headed in. 1-0 Italy and the we (Scott, Tony and myself) were beside ourselves. 4-0 over 115 minutes. Sad.

Ahhh but then we got some help. In the 27th minute a shot was crossed over to the right post and Cristian Zaccardo of Italy tried to clear the ball. Well it hit off the wrong side of his foot and went right into the net instead. That's it. Own goal. 1-1 tie.

THEN THE TROUBLE STARTED. A minute later, Daniele De Rossi elbowed Brian McBride in the face and busted him open like a pinata, earning a deserved red card. A bloodied McBride cleaned himself off and returned to the match.

The Italians are known all around the world for being the best actors on the pitch. They are really great at diving (sometimes without even being touched) and the refs tend to just play into their hands. Such was the case when just before the half, Jorge Larriodana (that joke of a referee) gave a straight red card to Pablo Mastroeni of the USA for what was, at worst, a foul.

Still, like I said, the Italians are great actors and the extra tuck and roll by Andrea Pirlo was apparently enough. The play? Both players were running towards an open ball. Pablo slid in and caught Pirlo on the ankle, tripping him up. He didn't raise his cleats and catch him any higher than his ankle. Pirlo hit the ground, grabbed both legs, rolled over and screamed out in pain. The ref immediately pulled out the red car and all of a sudden it's 10 men vs. 10 men.
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!

Two minutes into the second half, Eddie Pope made an identical tackle on Alberto Gilardino and he too was shown the red card. Not a yellow (which was his second) then a red...just a straight red. Now we're down to NINE MEN on the pitch!

Even with only nine men on the pitch we still dominated the match and DeMarcus Beasley sent a goal through the net about midway through the 2nd half but it was called off because Brian McBride was between the shot and the keeper and he was offsides. So a 2-1 win is taken back because McBride was between the shooter and the keeper? I don't agree with that rule at all.

So we have a referee, Jorge Larriodana, who was suspended in his own country for being corrupt and for inconsistencies who somehow got a job at the World Cup. You have the Italians, filled mostly with Juventus players who are being investigated for betting on football matches, locking refs in rooms when calls didn't go their way and paying money to be sure they get refs that are more biased towards them. I'm going to make any connections. I think you can do that yourself. We got the 1-1 draw but it should easily have been 2-1 and considering how we dominated even when we were down 9 men to 10 I can only imagine the result if we had all 11 men. Embarassing. I hope that man never referees another match in his life. He likely robbed us of making it to the elimination round. Of course, we didn't help ourselves by not showing up for the Czech game ready to play.

NOW back to my birthday!

The four of us headed to Batter Up! for dinner. We met Becky there and she gave me a great photography book for my birthday. I thought that was really sweet. Had myself the Double Shrimp clubhouse. Grilled shrimp, lettuce, tartar and Batter Up sauces and bacon on three slices of bread. YUMMY!!

After dinner it was down to Brunswick Lanes in CV for some bowling. I was way off tonight scoring a 99 and 101 but I did start the night with back to back strikes. I just should have quit there.

Now we're home and I'm about to go take a shower, relax and finish up the evening with the wife. I'm going to make any connections. I think you can do that yourself. Heh.

OK here it goes...

2006-06-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

I warned you this is nothing...

So about a week ago or so I emailed Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards just asking his opinion about posting lyrics online. Some of you might have noticed I posted lyrics to a song and shortly after, they disappeared.

I emailed him because on his podcasts he seems really down to earth, a geek like me and just friendly overall. I think I read that right cause he responds, not with advice but with a "Hey that's a great idea. I'll give you some space on the podcast website and you can start building it."

So what is it, you ask? It is a lyrics directory of Celtic/Irish/Scottish Folk and overall Renaissance Festival music. In shorter terms, the Renaissance Festival Lyrics Directory. It's done through blogger so I'm putting up one song a night but it includes the lyrics and a little background (when I can get it).

I told you. I told you it was nothing. Still, to me it's everything. Yes I just discovered this music two months ago. Yes I've only seen one group perform live and no they haven't been played on the podcast yet.

So I start emailing various entertainers as they were listed on the Renaissance Festival Podcast website. Just asked if we could use their lyrics for this directory and if they would be willing to add any background or words about the song. So far 14 bands have said yes and three have said yes but to wait because there's more then one person in the group and they want to get approval from everyone (or perhaps the leader who's out at the moment).

I haven't received a single NO yet. All of them have been extremely casual and friendly. It's just like one big family.

What I love about this is when I learn something new about a song. For instance, last night I posted "Fhir A Bhata" which is a 19th century Scottish folk song originally written in gaelic by a woman for her fisherman boyfriend. I went searching for the original scottish gaelic verses and found a hand-written manuscript from 1881 with the chorus and 10 verses. That was just awesome for me.

Anyways you can find it here: www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/lyrics/

I've kinda hit this spot where I've gone from a fan of Marc's, to him allowing me to do this for him, to this odd sorta spot where I feel like I'm inside enough that I should stop acting like the doting fan and start being normal.

Not that I'm doing it on purpose but I find myself in these awkward positions in e-mails where I'd like to get to build a sort of friendship or whatever you might call it when you're 2000 miles apart but I just don't know the guy well enough yet to really open up.

I've never been good at this sort of thing. Always go too far and drive people away OR I don't do anything and leave the person feeling like I don't like them. When all it is, is that I'm nervous. I mean...it's Marc Gunn. I know that might not mean anything to you but for me it's sorta like getting to know a celebrity. When do they stop being the celebrity and just start being just another person in your life?

Anyways...that's basically what's going on in my life at the moment. World Cup Soccer, The RFLD, Victoria, work, church and of course food...but not in that order.

Good Morning all

2006-06-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Still waiting for the ok to release the word on my project. You'll smack me when it comes out because it's not as big a thing as I think I built it up to be but it's been in sole possession of my mind for the last few days so it's big to me.

Anyways, in the meantime check out www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com and listen to the podcast. Marc and Kristen put out a real quality show. If you'd like to go to the faire, this weekend is the last weekend of Faire in Corona, CA or you can check www.faires.com to see when a faire is playing in your area.

Love you guys! See you later.

Ugh...

2006-06-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend was muggy and uncomfortably warm. It only got to about 88 degrees but that was enough to keep us pretty incapacitated. We left the house only to shop where there was a/c running. Otherwise it was a long weekend at home.

I did get to work quite a bit on a new project I've just started. I'll discuss more when I at least have the first post out of the way. In the meantime, may I ask everyone to give this podcast a listen? The Renaissance Festival Podcast (click or go here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/mage/renfest) is hosted by Kristin Roger and Marc Gunn (autoharpist and lead vocalist for The Brobdingnagian Bards as well as an avid cat lover). They play tunes by musical groups and performers that are going to be playing at various Renaissance Festivals that week. It's really great. I love the songs, the banter between Marc and Kristin and well...it's just really...shiny. Browncoats will get that reference. The rest of you need to watch Firefly and Serenity.

Those who know me know that I've been into Renaissance Faires for a little over a year and I've had sort of an obsession for English history for quite some time. At some point in April I discovered this podcast and I've been obsessed with the music ever sense. My wife teases me a bit because it's all I tend to listen to now and I can listen to the same song 50 times and never tire of it.

Meanwhile work is getting stressful but I really don't want to get into it. It has been a bit heavy on my heart recently and there's a lot of thinking I need to do before I say anything.

Please guys. Tell me how you're all doing and keep me posted. A few of you I talk to on a regular basis. The rest of you have been real quiet. Let me know you're out there...and look for an announcement from me soon on that project.

Jen's Baby Shower!

2006-05-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Baby Shower the first was held Saturday at the Weist residence. It was really nice. Bonnie went ALL OUT with decorations, food, games, etc. Just really pooped herself out. Everything she did was amazing from the simple (onion dip) to the more elaborate (the decorations on the cake).

There was crab cups (crab meat and creamcheese in a pastry cup topped with little herbs), the cracker/sausage/cheese trio snacks elaborately done and wonderful sandwiches shaped like little baby bottles.

Bonnie made some DELICIOUS quiche. It's the first time I remember eating quiche (I'm sure I've had it and just don't remember). WONDERFUL.

She also put together what at first appeared to be a tall and elaborately decorated cake but on closer inspection it was a fake cake made of socks and blankies, rags, a thermometer, a stuffed rabbit and of course you must have the peepee teepees. There were rattles, pacifiers and well just more things than I could really list here. It was really cool.

They even broke out the punch bowl and cups that they apparently used at my mom's baby shower when she was pregnant with me. My grandma says it was the first time they'd been used since then. No worries, it's been washed recently ha ha.

I took a ton of photos, very few of which turned out well. I'm so bad with camera shake. I blame the shutter delay on the camera but thankfully there wasn't any pressure on me. Still I feel a bit embarassed sending these pics to Jen. I'm sure that I'm overreacting. If she likes any of them perhaps I'll toss some on here or e-mail some for those that are far away (Dad, Mom, etc) so they can see the mama and dada to be as well as perhaps a couple other pics from the event like a short movie of Charlotte (their teacup poodle) helping to open presents.

We played a couple shower games like "How Big Is Mommy" (you cut tape trying to guess how big around she is...sadly most of us were over), diaper surprise (the one with the nutella in the diaper got a prize) and draw the baby (put a paper plate on your head and draw a baby on it without looking).

They got a TON of clothes, sheets, blankets, etc. Victoria knit them a large blanket for Aidan James to sleep on or roll around on. Alex got a book for new dads and Jen got a nightie. I think if anyone wanted to pile on with the gifts, perhaps clothes from 1yr and older would be nice. Aidan has plenty for his first nine months but not much after that.

Anyways we were there for about 5-6 hours and had a wonderful time. It was so good seeing Jen, Alex and everyone else. Can't wait until later this summer when Aidan makes his World Premiere, Grand Debut or whatever you want to call it. Just can't wait 'till he gets here. Then we can start spoiling him. :-)

Wow almost two weeks

2006-05-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well we have a few excuses. One week we were out of town house sitting for the in-laws. Yes they have a computer and yes it's only Chula Vista (30 miles out). Still, the week was just hectic and I never updated.

ANYWAYS, I have added some new photos to my flickr account. Check'em out.

We're really looking forward to May 27th. We get to see Jen in all her pregness and the rest of my mom's family. Can't wait to see everyone.

Had my annual performance review and they've decided that I would be better served as the Marketing Coordinator instead of INTERNET Marketing Coordinator. I think I'll agree. I love working on e-mails but first my mistakes are really visible whereas with the MC job I can hide most of my mistakes to the point where only I know about them. Also part of my job as IMC was basically sending out SPAM e-mails and I was never comfortable with it and many times came close to quitting only to have something keep me there. Anyways I won't be working on that anymore so I'm feeling better. No raise this year but I still have a job so that's something.

On other notes, I missed the UEFA Champions League final betwee Arsenal and Barcelona and I'm glad I did. Up 1-0, Arsenal gave up a couple goals including one from Eto'o to lose the match.
I'll blame it on their yellow away kits.

Padres played an interesting one last night. 9-0 Padres lead after the first inning. 11-2 soon after. In the 6th, the Diamondbacks came roaring back. After rookie Michael Thompson (making his major league debut) loaded the bases without getting an out, Bochy removed him for Sean Cassidy who came in with an ERA UNDER 1.00.
Cassidy gave up a double to Conor Jackson to clear the bases (Gonzalez got thrown out at home so only 2 runs scored), got Shawn Green to fly out and after a double by Estrada scored Jackson (11-5 now) he got Orlando Hudson to ground to shortstop.
The problem is, Khalil bobbled the ball allowing the inning to continue. Tony Clark pinch hit for pitcher Greg Aquino and blasted a home run. 11-8 now. Craig Counsell singled and then Eric Byrnes blasted a two-run shot to make it 11-10. That's right, from 9-0 to 11-10. I was disgusted.
STILL, Brian Giles would hit a 3-run homer in the 8th to seal it and we won 14-10. Thompson in his debut got his first win and actually pitched pretty good outside of that start to the 6th.

WELL That's it. Hopefully I'll be updating this more often.

Someone needs to clean the B v. B campaign

2006-05-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

The current television campaign ads for the 50th District seat in San Diego is becoming increasingly ugly on both sides. I've seen mud slung around before but sludge like this hasn't been seen in quite some time.

The Democratic and Republican parties have used their campaign money to spend all their time talking about why I (and all of us in the 50th district) should NOT vote for the other candidate instead of focusing on why I should vote for their candidate.

When a party starts to campaign it's candidate as the lesser of two evils it's a real bad sign. Apparently these politicians feel they really have nothing to offer. If that's the case, perhaps it's best if Roach recinds his promise to step aside and instead challenges both candidates in November by campaigning on his own strengths intead of the weaknesses of his opponents.

If all we have to vote for when the rest of this term is over is Busby and Bilbray then I have to say this city is in real sad shape. San Diego has had enough problems with corrupt and/or inept politicians. Busby and Bilbray even admit themselves that they aren't offering anything more than the fact that they aren't as bad as their opponent.

I might just vote for myself this June.

A Dress, A Dragon and Draco

2006-05-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today was our annual "Day at the Faire". Well it's the 2nd Annual.

Headed out to the Faire around 8am which was held again this year at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Park in Irwindale, CA. This year the layout was much better. Last year it was really easy to get yourself lost. This year the streets seemed wider and the layout much simpler. It also seemed to be MUCH bigger than the year before.

So we get there around 10:30 and we head out for some grub right off. Bought a banger (English sausage and grilled onions in a roll) and mango lassie then head off to see the Belles of Bedlam perform.

On the way we stopped off at every other booth to look at various pieces of jewelry, shoes, paintings and various other renaissance wares. On this trip we stopped in and ended up buying Victoria and entire outfit. Bodice, blouse, skirt and a braided belt. Care to gather what those 4 items totaled up to? No, not that much. $200. Still, it accentuates some of her better features and hides the less glamorous ones. Let us just say she looks pretty good.

Caught the last two songs by the Belles: Rolly Me Over in the Clover and A Man in Every Port.

We walked over and bought a couples CDs by the Belles of Bedlam and the Poxy Boggards. We've been listening to a lot of Irish-Celtic and RenFaire music lately. Sailor's songs, drinking songs, dirty songs, and the expected Irish or Scottish folk songs. A lot of it is good and a lot of it isn't. I pretty much like it all but I definitely have my favorites.

Anyways we headed out to see the Queen's Joust at 2pm. On the way I saw my first strange sighting of the day (there would be many). A man dressed in simple clothing but he had this huge hoop around his waist supported by shoulder straps. Over this was black fabric. In the front, strapped to the hoop was a carved and painted wooden dragon head. The jaw had a lever on it so the guy could open and close the mouth. Strange man but perhaps there's a historical reference there.

The joust itself was..um..interesting. Apparently each section of the stands is assigned to a knight and we are his people. Today our section were saxons. Our knight looked exactly like a grown up Draco Malfoy and he was supposedly evil. He rode out and his words to us were something like "Let me make this clear. You are not my people. Cheer for me or not. I really don't care." He was in black and white with a snake painted on his helmet and some thing with a crescent moon outlined in a black circle being pierced with a sword. Our squire looked like a spanish pirate.

There was a French knight in green and white with a squire that looked like peter pan. There was a knight from the Northern Isles in blue and silver and of course there was an English knight in purple and gold. Victoria and Becky thought he was really cute. Blah.

Anyways the joust was really disappointing. There was no real hard hitting and when they were supposed to have been knocked off their horse, they instead stood up quickly, swung their leg over the horse and then fell. Horrible acting. This was played as a tournament to determine the Champion of Champions. It ended with the French and Saxon knights plotting the queen's murder, failing and the English and Northern Isles knights challenging them to a joust to the death. The Queen threatened to have the French knight executed but ended up agreeing to the Joust to the Death at 4:30 (the next scheduled performance). Wow. I didn't see that coming.

On our way back from this we saw a 12 yr old kid dressed up well like an archer in all green clothing and gold outlined vine designs on his shirt and cloak. With the long blonde hair he was our little Legolas. Also saw a dude dressed in full Bela Legosi Dracula garb full with red sash, gold star medal, greased back hair and fangs. Real sad.

We headed back to the food court and I grabbed fish n chips while the wife got herself a toad-in-a-hole. That's basically an english sausage cooked into a pastry. Tasty. She then went back and grabbed a Strawberry Crepe. As we stood there with dessert we saw strange sighting number four.

Now at Ren Faires you get your fantasy folk like trolls, fairies and various incantations of evil beings associated with folk tales of the period. You'll also see plenty of nobles, pirates and peasants spanning the globe. Most people fit the English or French look but I've seen spanish conquistadors, Italian scholars, Persians and barbaric tribesmen like the Huns or Goths (a bit early for the period but it works). Today we saw our first sighting of someone from the western hemisphere. Aztec warriors. Remember Monty Montezuma in his glory days with the eagles head helmet and large plumes, the real flaming spear and the such? The COOL one? Well that was these guys only looking much better.

So we go back to meet Jeff and see a troll sitting there with his dog. Decked out with motor oil or shoe polish or something. His skin was painted black, his hair matted, crude tools, huge pointed teeth on his lower jaw that almost reached his nostrils and very primitive clothing. He wore a lot and lots of layers. Must've been hot. He said nothing and basically kept to himself. Had a huge skeleton that might have been a horse hanging from a rope tied to a couple trees and a few other bones and skulls lying around his area as if to warn people to stay away. I thought it was kinda cool.

Then came strange sighting number six. This man was talking to a group of noblemen. He was wearing a cap of white cloth that looked a bit like what you might see on a puritan man when he's not wearing his signature black hat with the buckle. It went over his hair and covered his ears and had strings that tied around his chin. This all sounds somewhat normal until I mention the red neck and crown flops that you'd see on a rooster. Yes this guy had a rooster cap on. No beak or other plummage. Just the cap and the rest was normal 17th century nobleman garb.

Earlier in the day was the 7th strange sighting...a man sorta dressed as a noleman from hell. Like skeletor from he-man or something. His costume looked expensive because it was REALLY well done. His black wings looked like it was full of real black feathers including the fuzz (short plummage) that you'd see on a buzzard or something. He had on black clothing with a black cloak and hood with a mask that looked like an evil skull. His hands were black gloves with bones for fingers that were more than just above-average. His walking stick was black topped with the skull of a ram. Good fantasy costume. Not sure it's really historical but then again as I stated before this is Faire. Most people try to stay accurate but others just go with the fantasy stuff.

We headed out about 5pm. I think seven hours at Faire is plenty for one day but far too little to enjoy everything. We didn't see the Washing Well Wenches, the Poxy Boggards, Merry Wives of Windsor, ANY Shakespeare stuff or MOONie the Magnificent. I'd also like to go to faire next year with about $1000 to spend. There's so much I'd love to buy but we just didn't have the cash and really we couldn't afford Victoria's outfit but I'll make it work. Pay a couple loans double next month.

Anyways that was Faire. Yes I'm a dork for it. No I don't care. I enjoy it so get off me already. I can't breathe. LOL

Jake Peavy: Our New Jerry Coleman?

2006-04-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

When Jerry Coleman leaves us, we won't need to listen hard for someone in the Padres organization who makes odd comments from time to time. Just look out on the mound every 5 days. Jake Peavy has been entertaining us lately with some questionable quotes and I think we oughta keep this guy mic'd all the time just to hear what he'll say next. Here's a couple of his best:

Jake's comments on Robert Fick after a June 20, 2005 game against the Dodgers in which Jake struck out 13 batters. "He was giving me the fist between the legs all night, letting me know he's with me," Peavy said. "We were on the same page. The dude can catch me any time." It was the first time Fick had caught for Peavy. Perhaps Jake just got a little over-excited.

After yesterday's 13-4 win at Colorado, reporters asked Jake about facing his ex-teammate Xavier Nady. His comments maybe revealed a bit too much: "I was always high on X. Obviously, that hasn't changed." Maybe that is why Jake has been so dominant in the league since his call up 3 years ago. Makes me think ofHuey Lewis. Don't know why.

A toast to friends

2006-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

A Saturday in the Gaslamp District:

Top Sirloin, Onion Rings and Coke at Gaslamp Strip Club (relax it's a steak place). Butch interrupting himself every few minutes to dance to a great song.

Diet Coke at Hooters. Aaron needed dinner and so we headed to a place he could afford. Besides, it's guys night out. Why not Hooters?

Head out for Hot Chocolate. Long lines to get in so we head down 5th Ave.

Lady pole dancing on a lightpost in front of McMillin Realty. We leave her to her dance while tipping her $5. Butch points out his maturity in not taking advantage of the situation. I think any guy with half a brain cell wouldn't have touched that woman.

Head to a place somewhere around J Street and I get turned away because my ID card says I'm 5'9" when in reality I'm 5'8". I kid you not. The dude wouldn't let me in because I was an inch off. My ID card also says I'm 208. I'm actually 280. I haven't been 208 since 1999 when I filled out the information for that CDL.

So we head back for Hot Chocolates. We sit and Butch lectures us on the finer points of having Bill Clinton in the White House with an official title but no real responsibilities. I'm more a Romney/McCain guy myself but I humor him and we discuss the truly stupid things the man would do. Butch then goes on to explain how he'd be as the President that "keeps it real".

We depart and head south towards the cars. Butch gets his ride home from Aaron so I say my goodbyes, walk past PETCO Park and to my car. My feet hurt, my bladder is telling me that Hot Chocolate took me over the top and I'm real tired.

I make it home around 2am and fall into bed complete exhausted. I get up this morning feeling the same. Sore and tired. Still the walking was good for me and the steak was delicious.

It's goin' down at the Starbucks

2006-04-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we headed to the Starbucks in La Jolla Village Square for some beverages and danishes. That alone was strange because I can't remember the last time we were in a Starbucks.

Anyways, so we order our drinks and we're waiting for the barista to whip them up when a couple of young police officers casually walk in. I figure they're there for coffee and so I don't really pay attention until I see them walk up to a guy (about college age) sitting at a table with coffee and paper in hand.

One of the officers taps him on the shoulder and says, "you're under arrest."

This is when everything gets creepy. I'm convinced that these cops are just his friends and it's just a little joke greeting or something until the guy stands up. The cop that tapped him on the shoulder casually pulls his arms behind his back and cuffs him while the lady cop puts on a couple of purple latex-like gloves and picks up the man's case (laptop? Camera? Jars of Urine?).

They all quietly leave the Starbucks while the 3 employees and one other customer in the place are left looking around at each other like, "what just happened?" We discuss briefly what just transpired and that perhaps even still this was all just a joke. The lovely wife and I get our beverages and head outside to see the man up against the squad car and the cops are saying something to him (Miranda Rights? "Ha ha wasn't that funny?")

Anyways...6:15am and already stuff is going down at the Starbucks. Eeery.

Norwich City FC

2006-03-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

OK I don't come on here and mope but Norwich City lost Friday and with it went any hopes of reaching 6th place which would have put them into the playoffs for the final spot for promotion into the English Premier League. One more year at the Championship League level.

I have two words that only City fans will get: WORTHY OUT!!!

We reached the Premiership last season and floundered. Going into the last match we controlled our own destiny. Win and we stay. Lose and we go down. We lost 6-0.
This year started poorly and every time we had a few matches that lead to points, Worthington would make some drastic changes and we'd go on a nice little losing streak to teams we should have wiped the floor with. They let Ashton go to West Ham United. They get a guy named Earnshaw who does more for us than Deano was doing and we start winning again, giving some fans hope for a playoff run.
Then today he starts with a 4-5-1 position and sits Earnie on the bench. Surprise, we lost 0-2 and bye bye playoffs. The man is doing all he can to get fired so he can go back to Sheffield Wednesday where he was some sort of hero of a player back in the day.
OK now I've vented. I can relax and enjoy the rest of my weekend now.

odd thing...

2006-03-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

You know how in cartoons sometimes, the artists draw a little black cloud that follows a character around and it rains on only them?

Well this morning Victoria and I witness at least a solitary black cloud all by it's lonesome and REALLY low in the sky (almost fog). As we passed over the bridge onto I-56 south from westbound Highway 56, there sat this long flat cloud. It was completely black, didnt' seem to be caused by any smoke but it was VERY black. All the clouds in the sky were silvery white and here's this pitch black cloud sitting there and seemingly not caused by anything. Not from a factory or construction vehicles or a fire. Just sitting there by itself, floating in open space about 300 feet or so off the ground.

Anyways just thought it was odd and worth sharing.

Y'all stay shiny. I'm havin' a great day myself.

Condolences needed...

2006-03-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

My wife...is a sci-fi fanatic. I'm kidding about the condolences part.

She's a fan of Firefly (nothing wrong there), Battlestar Gallactica (not a fan, but it's not horrible), Dr. Who (never watched it myself). She also likes Farscape but says it's not as exciting as the other three. She doesn't watch Star Trek or Stargate so she's at least picky on what she will watch but...That's 4 established sci-fi shows that she likes to watch. Definitely more than I would have ever guessed when I married her.

Firefly...just so you all know...is one of the best shows ever put on TV. This is coming from someone who really detests most sci-fi shows. Don't think so? I dare ya to watch three episodes and NOT agree that it's good. REAL good. One of FOX's worst mistakes ever.

Last Two Weeks

2006-03-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

OK well maybe not the whole last couple of weeks. My memory isn't that good.
So my hair is now a dirty blonde color (sort of). It's normal enough that I don't feel weird at church. It's got a greenish tint to it but only in certain light. I gotta cut it so I can try bleaching it again. My hair is just fried right now. Too many color changes in too short a time span.

The last couple weeks were adventurous. More mentally than anything else. As you might have guessed from my last post, I wasn't too happy a few weeks back. Had a rough week at work, nearly lost my mind and just fizzled out. I have a ton of insecurity. I've noticed that everyone does but each person sorta handles it in different ways. My way is to get really down on myself, focus on all the things I'm doing wrong, the stuff I should be doing and then just sitting there and wallowing in it without actually doing anything. Stephanie was the same way. Rachel not so much...so I wonder where we got that trait from? My mom's parents of course, right Dad? Heh.

Anyways, so I pulled myself out of it and the last week was really good with every day being better than the day before it.

We started Monday with some new personal procedures at work. They're designed to help pin down my priorities and my focus for the day and to help me get past this little wall I have. At home I've been more action and less talk. Victoria's back has been bothering her and that has lead to more opportunities to serve the woman I love the most.

Saturday we found a great place to eat breakfast called the Golden Egg Omelet House in Escondido. It's a sit down place but they have something like 88 different omelettes on the menu and if you don't see a mix you like, if they have the ingredients they'll make any omelette you can dream up. I think I like Kono's better overall but this is closer to the house, less crowded and it's garaunteed that whatever I'm in the mood for, I'll get. I had the biscuits and gravy with sausage. Great stuff.

Sunday we had dinner with a few families from the ward. First off, I'd just like to say that one day we will own a house like the ones in the 4S Ranch district of San Diego county. Checking a few realtors in the area I found that homes range anywhere from $595k-1.8 million. I have no idea how much the Johnson home is (and really it's none of my business) but I'll just say it's nice.

We had ten adults and ten children. That means plenty of noise and not all in one language, as is the case in many San Diego homes. What isn't normally the case is that the two languages were English and French. Victoria and I have determined that since the Johnsons speak French to their kids and Matt Romney served a mission in Paris, that we're gonna brush up on the French we took in high school and maybe one day have a dinner with them in French. What an exciting thing that would be!

Anyways, food was great. Pot roast, smashed potatoes with tons of sour cream and butter, a GREAT salad and roasted brussel sprouts. Renee must have just watched the last Barefoot Contessa. Minus the stuff tomatoes and switching the meatloaf for pot roast, that's exactly what she made. ANYWAYS the brussel sprouts were amazing. I never thought I liked 'em. Maybe it's just that I've never had them cooked for me by someone who knew how to properly roast them.

The conversation was great. I can't go over everything we discussed but topics ranged from BYU, primary class and Education Week to Steve Roach, immigration and the Romney-Kennedy race of 1994. It was great hearing Paul and Matt discuss their missions in France and their favorite cheeses and pastries. I walked out of there feeling like I'd learned new things. Like now I have no idea who I'm voting for in April for Duke Cunningham's seat. Bilbray and Kaloogian are the known names. Busby's the liberal. Uke's the grand extreme conservative. Roach is the BYU Alumn who is sorta the outsider in this. I almost want to vote for him to help him gain a name for himself but really...I'm gonna read up on all of them and vote for who I agree with more and who I think will do a better job. With Roach running on his own money alone and no outside sponsers whatsoever, that has me leaning a bit his way. Special interest groups are the kryptonite to the Superman that is the American government. Without them, I think this country would be run a lot more efficiently.

I also hear there's some uproar locally about some initial plan or idea to make 4S Ranch High School into a non-sports, non-arts High School Academy. You cannot have a High school without sports and especially without arts. With sports, students learn personal discipline, physical fitness, teamwork and problem solving skills. The arts help to sharpen minds and it's been proven that those who participate in music, art and/or drama classes or groups tend to have higher test scores in history, math and english. SO, if they want their academy to graduate students who are ready to head to 4-year universities, I believe it's imperative that they include sports and the fine arts in their curriculum. In fact, I'd like to see those things required. Some kids aren't good at sports but at least SOME form of physical education should be taught. I didn't get that in high school and look at me now. Proof that Marching Band shouldn't count as PE.

Anyways so we had a great time last night.

Now...onto today.

What should I do?

2006-03-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

You know when you're talking on the phone about stuff you're interested in, and the person on the other end of the phone just sits there silently and doesn't respond to anything you say? So you go on assuming they must just be intently hanging on every word like some co-dependent lap dog. Then you realize they aren't even there anymore, they've just put the phone down figuring that at some point you'll get it and hang up.

Yeah...it's starting to feel that way here.

So here's my questions to you and they require a response. If you don't have a blogspot ID just comment anonymously and sign your name. If you can't leave a comment e-mail me to let me know it's broken.

OK so the questions:

1. What is your name
2. How often do you read this specific blog?
3. What is your favorite thing about this? Not me, what is it that I talk about or do or say that you like most about the blog?
4. What suggestions would you give to make it better? Should I add in segments or topics? Have a regular schedule of issues and bits like a show or something? Am I entertaining in any way whatsoever?

OK No. 4 was like four questions but you get the idea. I've been using this as just a journal for so long but I'd like to turn this into something a bit more entertaining and easy reading for those who're interested in what's been going on in my life. I write this for you guys. If I didn't, I might as well just write in a diary at home or something. This is my way of keeping everyone I care about updated on my life because as many of you know, I'm really bad at keeping in touch. Some of you I saw this morning and some of you I haven't seen in years and everyone in between.
Anyways...write in. Let me know you're out there. Let me know that I'm not just talking to myself here. Give me some reason to keep doing this and maybe some idea on how it can be better (less boring or whatever).

Capote

2006-03-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

So Capote. Well I will say the movie is very well done. Well worth the nomination. The movie also portrays Truman as the egotistical, glory-fed, dishonest, cold and calculating person he was. I can't pretend to know the man's true motivations in the way he wrote this book but all I can assume is that he saw the opportunity to write his "non-fiction novel" that would get him the acclaim he always wanted, and it ended with him falling in love with one of the murderers and skewing the facts of his story to make Perry Smith appear as the passive dreamer who had a moment of insanity and Dick Hickock as a domineering and pyschotic human monster. Along the way he falsely befriended and inevitably betrayed the people of Holcomb, KS and more importantly all those that loved Herbert, Bonnie, Nancy and Kenyon. That includes members of my family who now can't have the name "Capote" spoken without flying into a rage.

I can't say I have the same reaction but let's say I see him for who he was and that's that. I know he befriended and got really close to those that were the most affected. He became almost a member of their family and collected (and never returned) various items to help him write a story that the town believed would glorify the rememberance of the Clutters and tell the story of those left behind. Then he betrayed them all by getting the murderers a better lawyer, falling in love with Perry Smith and writing a book that shows the murderers in a good light and ignores the family and friends who's lives were destroyed by this tragedy. In fact, in a side of my family full of drama I can't think of a person that's more despised among them than Truman Capote. In fact, I can't say that I hold Harper Lee, George Plimpton or Jack Dunphy in high regard either simply for their long and continued association with Truman. They knew who he was and they were his friends anyways. I can't decide if that means they condoned what he did or that they loved him despite that. So I don't know if I should respect them more, feel sorry for them, or detest them for condoning his behavior and personality.

Anyways the movie, again, is well worthy of nomination for an Oscar. I'll see Crash and Munich and see if it's good enough to win. I guess either way we'll find out tomorrow.

Belated Valentine's

2006-03-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

So due to brake issues we were unable to do the Valentine's Day celebration we'd hoped for. So instead, we did that today.

We got up around 5:30am and got ready. Headed down to PB to a place called Kono's Surfshop Cafe. This place had be touted as having the best breakfast in San Diego. After having eaten there I can't disagree. It's not some 5-star resort type place. It's exactly what it says. A small little shop near the beach at the VERY end of Garnet in Pacific Beach. By end, I mean it's west of Mission and the last thing before the hotel that's right on the beach.

We ordered Egg Burritos. She got the #3 with egg, cheese, potatoes, bacon and pica sauce. I got the #1 with egg, cheese, sausage, avocado and pica sauce. The burritos were so large we barely made it through half of one. The taste? OOOOH MY! Great stuff. The spices were perfect, including the sausage and bacon. They had the perfect mix of ingredients. The avocados were just ripe enough, and there wasn't too much cheese, avocado or sausage. They also have breakfast plates, french toast, pancakes, potatoes and other stuff. They also make a killer lunch, or so I've heard. SO...Egg Burrito...$4.25. Together we had a #1, #3, and two Diet Cokes. Total was just over $12.

After breakfast we headed home. I got my oil changed and then we headed out to see Capote. For those of you who don't already know, Capote is one of the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. The last few years we've tried to see every movie that's been nominated. This year Victoria saw "Good Night, Good Luck" with her dad and now we've seen Capote. Tonight we'll watch Crash. I'd like to mix in Munich if it wins anything tomorrow. The other one is Brokeback Mountain and we're both just not interested in that movie right now. Not for the cowboy aspect. Not for the homosexual aspect. Mostly it's because while it looks well made, it just isn't that appealing to us as entertainment at the moment. I'll write more about Capote in my next blog and post it shortly after this one.

After the movie we made a quick trip to Henry's and then went out to Chin's Szechwan for lunch. I love Chin's. It's close by and has some great Plum Tree Beef. I think I got it a bit too hot though. I felt more pain than I tasted food. That can't be good. Next time I'll just order it as is, and that will be just fine. So Plum Tree Beef and Spicy Honey Chicken lunch plates and a couple Diet Cokes came to $18.86 plus tip.

OK UPDATE: We headed to Hamburger Factory in Old Poway. I never knew this little place existed. There's a Railroad Museum (small compared to Sacramento's) and they have a train track running around the complex. I guess this must have been where the old city of Poway used to be before everything grew up around it. The houses in this area are HUGE ranch-style houses and very ornate. They aren't million dollar houses, they're MILLIONS dollar houses. ANYWAYS to dinner.

So we came in around 6:30 on a Saturday night and it was crowded but there wasn't a wait. Hamburgers ranged around 5.99 for a 1/4 pound burger and 6.25 for a half-pounder. They give you the bun, patty, and whatever the burger comes with (lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, mushrooms, avocado, whatever) and at your table is jars with pickles, sliced onions, an odd assortment of carrots and chiles (never understood that), as well as mayo, mustard and ketchup. This way you can adorn your burger as you like it. Sorta like Fuddruckers with a more personal touch and less variety. ANYWAYS, the dinner was pretty good. Chili Cheese Fries, a couple "Jr" burgers (that's the 1/4 pound, we ain't adventurous) and a couple of Diet Cokes came to $20.15.

So, for well under $60 we covered all our food for the day. Our movie was $5 a piece with popcorn and drink which came to under $20. So for about $75 we enjoyed three meals and a movie. Add in a nice walk on the beach or through a park and that's a great full-day date.
We had a wonderful time.

End of the evening we watched Crash. OK the movie's alright and yes I know there are people that have to deal with these issues every single day or at least certainly more than the rest of us. I understand that ignorance and hatred still exist in society. It has since the dawn of man. When it comes into my life I deal with it as best I can. I get really uncomfortable when it's shoved in my face and kinda forced on me (yes I know I don't have to watch). Perhaps it's what I need every now and then though. To remember that these things do exist and how righteous would I act if faced with situations like the characters in this movie are faced with? So while I've not learned anything new about society, I have learned a little more about myself and I now have something I can work towards improving in my life. Even though I've rarely encountered anything close to these stories in my own life. At least now I have more tools and motivation so that if faced with something like this I can deal with it in a more mature, calm, informed, open and overall Christ-like manner.

THE MOVE

2006-02-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

This was perhaps the easiest move I think I'll ever have in my entire life. Having said that though, I can't remember the last time I hurt so much.
Victoria and I spent Wednesday and Thursday nights throwing out all our old or worn out junk and packing things into boxes. Friday we moved all the boxes to the new apartment as well as anything that was to go into our closets. We basically wanted to get as much into the new apartment as we could while still keeping it clear for moving in furniture as well as clearing the furniture in the old apartment so that it would be easy to move everything quickly.
Saturdy morning we expected 4 people to help us: Victoria's parents, Becky and Mike. Mike brought four others. So with 8 people moving things around the move went REALLY fast.
Well it also helps when your moving next door. In an apartment that means out one front door, and into the other. Less than 10 feet. Nice.
Saturday night we watched Mirrormask and emptied some boxes of clothes and books.
Sunday we spent the day scrubbing and cleaning the other apartment. That was real tough after all the moving of stuff the last 4 days. We got it done around 2pm and returned the keys. Then we went grocery shopping. UGH.
We still have about 5 boxes to open and our apartment is full of stuff so we're going to spend the week getting it unpacked and all niced up so I can take pictures for you all.
At the moment after 5 days of moving stuff around and cleaning, we're both really sore and tired of exercise. We'll take a break tonight (I have my Chapter 2 quiz in Algebra) and tomorrow we'll commence opening the last boxes and putting stuff away.

Movin' Right Along...

2006-02-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

So it looks like we're moving. We got notices about 9 months ago saying they weren't renewing any leases and they were rennovating the apartments. This was weeks before our lease was to run out giving us just 10 days or so to find a place and move. They were offering to move us to an apartment in the complex that had already been rennovated but none were ready or available yet.

So instead, they renewed our lease for 6 months, thus giving them time to finish rennovations on apartments and making them available for us to move into. Also this would give us time to find another place if we didn't want to transfer.

SO when October comes around and I start asking about apartment availability they tell us we'll be getting another 3 month renewal. There are apartments available but it would make it easier on us so we don't have to spend our Christmas money on moving.

Fast fordward to February. So now the lease is set to end March 31st, 2006 and we get a call a couple weeks ago (while I was sick as a dog) asking if we will allow them access to the apartment to inspect the walls. It seems the apartment above us and on the other side of the building from us (we share a kitchen and dining room wall) had a bad leak and there's some poor plumbing which is causing some structural damage. They want to check our apartment to see if it's been affected.

So they come in with inspectors and they plug this machine into the wall in various spots and it beeps when there's moisture or something. Well it's beeping nearly every place they plug it. SO they want to move us out as soon as possible...to the apartment right next door, which I take for granted they've already inspected otherwise they wouldn't have installed the expensive maple cupboards and granite counter top.

Come to this past Saturday. Victoria and I are cleaning like mad in the storage closet, dumping all sorts of stuff we have accumulated over the years that serves no purpose for us (not even nostalgia). On one trip out to the dumpster we notice an envelope on the door. We open it to see that it's a rental form. They want us to move the following weekend (this coming weekend).

Well, this is unacceptable. We have no money! So we ask them if we can wait to pay until March 1st. They're fine with that. PLUS they're giving us $300 off our first month's rent! Nice gesture? Hardly. It's either pay 4 hours for movers to come help us move, or give us $300 to get our own movers. I guess it's something they legally have to offer in such a situation. So we'll take the $300 and move ourselves. There isn't a lot of heavy furniture and it's just out one front door and into the other, so no big deal.

So Saturday is moving day. We already have about 10 boxes of stuff packed up and we still have a bit more to do. I think we can at least get the furniture cleared off by Friday night so all we'll have left is clothes for Saturday and pillows and sheets to sleep on. Otherwise it'll all be packed up and ready for the move.

For those friends and family wishing to know what our new address will be...just add two to our apartment number. Simple as that. Our phone number? We won't have the 1406 number any more. We're going to be switching to our cells. This way we get no sales or charity calls, and no matter where we are, we can be reached. It'll save us $30 a month as well which is going to help with all the added rent. From $1057 to $1225!

With brand new carpeting, doors, doorknobs, fresh paint, granite countertops, maple wood cupboard doors, and brand new appliances (oven, fridge, washer, dryer, microwave and dishwasher) I can't complain. We already got new windows and moldings...whatever those things are called that the glass is placed into...I figure it's all the window.

Anyways it's all new. New paint job on the exterior of the apartment buildings (new colors and I like them!) plus brand new roof tiles and they're changing all the lights around the complex to be more asthetic (and also a bit brighter). I really like what they're doing.

So yeah, we're moving Saturday and cleaning up Sunday. Gotta clean the oven and fridge since the appliances are going to another property and we have to bleach the tub to get my blue hair dye out of it. Otherwise, they're tearing everything else up so they told us not to bother vacuuming, cleaning walls or cupboards. VERY NICE.

Well that's it for now. Back to work!

Ooooh Baseball and Soccerr.....

2006-02-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

OK Baseball: Camps started this past week and the WBC starts up in a few weeks. I can't say I'm really that excited about the WBC. I'm a bit pissed that they eliminated baseball and softball from the Olympics but decided to keep TRAMPOLINE. Yeah, you read that right. Anyways, just happy to see some baseball again. Time to break out The Natural. Required viewing for the start of every season.

NOW for soccer: Arsenal continues it's slide while Norwich City starts it's futile playoff run. We picked up Earnshaw and the man has been an animal. We won two and lost one this week. That's right, 3 games in one week. Soccer is one of those sports that, like football, you just can't play 3 times a week without getting so fatigued that you risk injury. This morning apparently, they looked up beat and ready for another. There's no way they can get into the playoffs. They'd have to win 8 of their last 10 and they certainly aren't capable of that. If we can just place above Ipswich Town I'll be satisfied.

OK Olympic thoughts: Johnny Weir...you make Darren Daulton look normal. This guy's talking about how his aura, black heart and missing his bus caused him to go from 2nd to 5th in men's figure skating. BULL. You got nervous and you bombed. End of story. Meanwhile, your teammate Lazarus gets the flu so bad he can't stand up, is hooked up to IVs most of the day and he turns in the performance of his life. Johnny Weird. Get over yourself.
Glad to see the flying Tomato and Hanna Teter win gold. Great couple of people. Or so they seem in interviews.

LAST My thoughts on the Pads pre-ST:

Starting Pitching: B- Jake Peavy and Chris Young are amazing and I expect big years from both of them. If Clay Hensley is allowed to start, I think he could complete the trio. If not he'll be a force in the bullpen. Woody Williams, Shawn Estes and Chan Ho Park are a trio of has-beens and I'm disappointed at all the money we're shelling out for them. I certainly hope those first three are starting and not the last three.

Bullpen: D+ Trevor Hoffman and Scott Linebrink are the only things saving this bullpen from total distruction. Scott Etherton? Alan Embree? Did we dump all our great bullpen arms and replace them with everyone who had an ERA over 6.00 last year?

Catcher: C How fitting. Mike Piazza still has some pop but he's lost speed on his bat with age, and he's never been accused of being a great defensive backstop. In fact he's been accused more of just being a human backstop. Doesn't throw guys out, slow moving behind the plate and doesn't block the plate on throws home (Ramon Hernandez, anyone?). At least he calls a decent game, or so I hear. Doug Mirabelli is defensively everything that Piazza is not. Offensively he's about the same. Someone who will hit .250, hit 20 HR and strike out 175 times.

Corner Infield: C+ Ryan Klesko and Vinny Castilla. That would have struck fear into pitchers ten years ago, but not now. They both still have power and can still hit for average. Castilla is still a great third baseman, but their age has slowed their bats and their reflexes. I expect .270 averages, maybe 15-20 homers and much less striking out than we'll see from Mirabelli and Cameron.

Middle Infield: B Young but very very talented. Khalil Greene and Josh Barfield should be superstars before their time is through. At the moment, Greene is expected to have a breakout year while Barfield will just be learning the majors. I hear Josh is slow at the DP. That can't be good. What is good, is that's the only bad thing I hear about him. He'll hit .300 and will add some excitement to the lineup. Greene should finally top 20 homers and hit over .280. I'm expecting this to be a strength for us.

Outfield: A- Giles, Cameron, Roberts. This isn't the best outfield in the majors but with Giles and Cameron tracking balls in the spacious right and center fields (not to mention their bats), this is the strength of the club. Giles and Cameron both have the talent and ability to hit 30 homers and hit .300. They will come short of both I think, but not by much. Cameron has legs and with Roberts should provide a great 1-2 punch in the lineup. If they can both stay healthy, I wouldn't be surprised to see us have a couple of guys with over 30 SBs.

Defense: UPGRADE
Lineup: UPGRADE
Starting Pitching: UP IN THE AIR (With Henlsey, UPGRADE; without him, DOWNGRADE)
Bullpen: DOWNGRADE.

Expected finish at this point.....85-77, 2nd place in the NL West, no playoffs.

Once More With Feeling

2006-02-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

OK I don't know how many of you are or were into the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer TV series, but I've had the songs from "Once More With Feeling" in my head a lot lately. Victoria got a copy of the soundtrack and I've been listening to it quite a lot.

When the series was on TV I never watched because at first I associated the show with the movie and wanted nothing to do with that. Then all I heard was women watching it and talking about it at work so I assumed it was a chickish show and I avoided it.

Then Victoria started renting the DVDs of the series from Netflix. I watched the first season. I was still skeptical because she was also watching DVDs of Charmed and I wasn't too keen on that. So I skipped a lot of episodes in Seasons 3 & 4. Then I started watching again and now I really like it. We just recently got through the end of the series. Now we'll start watching Angel. Now that I really appreciate it, I want to go back to the beginning and watch them again.

Anyways...just wanted to share something. Haven't posted in a few days.

Ciao

The Butch Party

2006-02-10T13:21:00.001-08:00

This will be short. I'll post a link to various people's blogs when they make entries about it, but here were my impressions of the evening.

Left for the party a little late, around 7:45 or so and got up there fairly quickly. Got a little scare from the car when just before I reached the College Blvd exit, my front left tire acted like it was wobbling. The car sorta wobbled left and right slightly. Just enough to scare myself silly.

Anyways so I reach Woodstock's and stand out there waiting a bit before I text Butch to see if he's already there. I'm far too shy a guy to just walk into the place, look around, see no one I recognize and then head back out. Something about college crowds intimidates me. I don't know why. Just don't trust them if I don't know 'em...or if no one I know knows 'em anyways.

So less than a minute goes by and I see Butch and Omar. Also get to meet Abby (if I get that wrong please don't get mad) who is with them. I feel a bit dumb carrying this package wrapped in magazine pictures of scantilly clad girls (I swear it was Victoria! I can't even wrap that well!) so I pass it off to Butch, who procedes to carefully and slowly unwrap the gift to preserve the women. He opens the Pulp Fiction and Resevoir Dogs DVDs, gets that giddy look on his face (always better than a thank you) and says his thanks.

Soon after Jo and Erin arrive and we march inside, figuring we now have enough people to at least order something. Butch gets a 14" Pepperoni pizza for the guys and the girls get a BBQ Bird pizza for themselves (well, it was all community). I get an order of Wildebread and someone else ordered cheesy garlic bread.

Anyways, so now we have four drinks, two large pizzas, one small pizza, and a couple orders of breads coming and we quickly find out that Butch has failed to inform Woodstock that we'd have a group of about 8-10 people showing up.

First we found a table but with two chairs we thought that was a poor idea. Just as a group is leaving we dive into a 4-person booth while Omar and I stand on the side. Eventually we each pull the courage to grab a couple of empty chairs from a nearby table but now we're blocking access to the last booth for patrons and employees. It's pure fire hazard.

All our food comes and we're snacking away when I look over and notice 3 skinny girls sitting in an 8-person booth drinking and chatting away. It's very obvious that they got done eating a while ago and I'm thinking "If we can get them to just swap booths, that'd be great." Then I'm thinking, "Yeah and if me - a chubby white boy - comes walking up to them saying anything I'm liable to be laughed right out of the place." So I say nothing, have my pizza and we all just keep looking around and trying to spot people that look like they're getting ready to leave.

The guys in the booth get up to leave and just as I stand out of my chair, a guy walks in and literally sits down ALMOST before the guy getting up has completely gotten out of the seat. SHOOT! Erin says I hesitated, and I did, but how could I have possibly beaten that? Well the guy closest to me had already gotten up and I could have slipped in, looked up at the new guy and just said "Sorry."

Anyways after a while everyone else notices that these skinny broads are hogging a booth and that they're apparently paying an employee so maybe that means they're leaving. So Abby kindly agrees to ask them if they can reserve the table for us as they go so we can move in.

Should have maybe just asked if they'd be willing to switch tables, because when Abby turns around and says "it's cool guys!" everyone gets up out of our booth and immediately someone else takes that booth.

Just then one of the future stepford wives looks up and says "We're not going anywhere anytime soon, just to let you know." Abby says she felt like slapping her. I have to ashamedly admit I thought the same thing. She said it so smugly that it was hard to keep my hands at my side. Well that, and there were two rather large and athletic looking guys sitting at the table right next to that booth.

So there we are holding two pizzas and a bunch of sodas and an order of bread, standing up with nowhere to sit now. So, Jo and Erin box up their pizza and head home while the rest of us head to an empty table outside with two plastic chairs.

We stand around contemplating our state when I look up and say one of the dumbest things I could have said at that moment, "I'm not angry Butch. I'm just disappointed." He was kind enough to snipe back "Shut up, Sonic." Right. Blue spiky hair. Funny. Hey, I was trying to be a little funny but apparently the timing sucked and in comedy, that's all that counts.

About a half hour later we're still standing there when I remember telling Victoria I wouldn't be gone long and I'd try to get home to take care of her. This felt like the perfect time so I said my goodbyes and left. The moment I turned away, I heard a few comments and felt like a total ass. My timing all night sucked and this was the worst of them all.

Sure I was going home to take care of the wife. My reason for leaving was NOT that we were stuck outside. My reason was true. Not only that, but I had work the next morning and the latest I had planned on staying was 10pm. It would have taken at least till then to get anywhere else with the party and by then it REALLY would have been awkward to just cut out. So I thought everything was cool. I guess it wasn't. I feel like nearly as much a putz as I felt like last year for not showing up at all.

Butch, I'm sorry. Hope you enjoy the DVDs. I hope that next year's bash will be just that. A bash. A blast. A blowout. A bonanza. What else starts with B? Anyways, there it is. And here I am feeling the fool. I shoulda hung out man. I shoulda hung out. "What happened?" "uhhhh [big exhaled breath]...10 minutes after you left..."

Still ill...

2006-02-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

Got sick Friday night. I felt bad all day Saturday and didn't have the energy to clean the house like I had wanted to. Sunday we enjoyed the Super Bowl while I just flopped on the couch. Monday I missed work.
Tuesday and Wednesday I came into work only to be sent home because I was so sick.
Thursday I stayed home.
Today I'm at work and I have energy so I'll stay all day but my nose and chest are still buggin me.

I've taken Day-Quil, nasal decongestant, VapoRub, Robitussin, hot rag press on the forehead to fight the fever, plenty of rest, Orange Juice and water all the time, I spit out everything I coughed up and was blowing my nose so much that I have a scratch on the front of my nose (need to clip those finger nails) and my nostrils are dryer than a desert.

NOW Victoria has caught something. Sore throat, she says. She says that it comes in waves where sometimes she feels great and other times she feels horrible. So, I'll go home and take care of her tonight. We'll watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics at 8pm and go to sleep.

No!!!

2006-02-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

So I'm sick for Super Bowl weekend. What a bummer!

I finished my first assignment for my HTML class last night. Just a basic mini-bio using various list types , headers and just showing that we know how to use basic code like bold or italics or insert pictures. It was kinda fun.

So I'm going to sorta relax a bit today, clean a little around the house, and try to get as healthy as I can for tomorrow.

Good thing about this though. Got sick on a weekend so no days off of work (Shouldn't I be feeling the opposite about that? What's wrong with me?) and I'll be all better by Thursday night. Really looking forward to Butch's party. Well...I'm off. Wish me luck.

HUH?

New boost to color and New Canaries

2006-01-31T18:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I gave my hair a little boost of color Friday night. I didn't like how light it had turned out before. Now I'm more amazed at the wide range of colors that are going on in my hair. Most of all is this cobalt blue that I love so much. I'll keep it around until Saturday, February 11th when I'll dye it back to it's natural color..or close to it.

Now for the Canary side of things (as if you guys even care). Norwich City FC signed Zesh Rehman from Fulham for the rest of the season. Rehman is mainly a defender but can play midfield. They also got themselves a couple of strikers: Jonatan Johansson from Charlton and Robert Earnshaw from West Brom. Rehman is a loan, Earnshaw is a 3-year deal, and Johansson is on loan. Things are going to look up a bit I hope. Especially since they just lost 4-0 to Reading today. Worst loss of the season. We'll see what happens on that front. I don't believe in the board or Worthington and have no confidence in them whatsoever. If these three help get us to the playoffs and perhaps a promotion back to the premiership, then I'll change my tune. Until then...they can all sod off as the English say.

Weekend in Agoura Hills

2006-01-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

Had a great time up at the Lancaster Home.

We meant to wake up and leave at like 8am but we got up around 7:45 and didn't end up leaving until closer to 9:00am. I had rented out a white 2006 Volvo S40 with like 234 miles on her from Enterprise. I requested a full size or premium since they had this weekend rate of like $29.99 a day for a premium and $24.99 for full size. When they told me they had a Volvo for me, I was pretty concerned. I remember them being boxy and uncomfortable. Well, they've changed.

The seats were leather (or faux leather I'm sure) and padded pretty well. Each seat had a heater in it, there were track and volume controls on the steering wheel, all sorts of various settings for the A/C and heater PLUS 6-disc CD changer and AM/FM stereo. OH and I forgot my favorite piece...the sunroof. I know it's so stupid but that just made me feel a little more wealthy than perhaps I should have.

SO anyways we drive up there with very little traffic in our way and arrive about 11:30 (we stopped off for gas and batteries. Fuel for the car and the camera. We got there and headed out to a chinese place they like in Westlake. NICE. The food was pretty good and fairly cheap. When we got back we tried to think of what to do. So we decided Charlotte (their toy poodle) needed a walk so we headed to Malibu Creek State Park for a short hike.

Well I said short and I mean short. We walked across the lot, down a short flight of stairs (the drop from one stair to the other was a bit more than I'm comfortable with) and maybe a quarter mile onto the trail when a Ranger came by sporting a bald head, a goatee and a bad attitude. "You can't have that dog in here. No dogs allowed on the trail." Jen protested, "We didn't see a sign when we came in and the ranger at the gate didn't tell us anything." "Well," said Ranger Bumblenuts "that's a pretty easy dog to miss and the sign is right there at the head of the trail. So you need to get that dog off the trail and get the hell out of the park NOW." WO...a bit aggressive are we over a 2 yr old toy poodle?

So Jen said, "Alright well if we'd known we would have brought her in, we'll go then." Then she started to walk back the other direction. "Pick the dog up and carry her! She can't be on the trail!" OK now this Ranger's pissing me off. Apparently he's gotten under Jen's skin a bit too as she retorts "You could be a little more polite about it. We're doing what you asked. Calm Down."

Then she backs away from the truck a bit and the Ranger apparently thought we were just going to keep walking down the trail because we quickly got a "IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!" "Well I'm just getting out of your way so you don't spray us with dirt and rocks when you pull away..." "Just get going" The Ranger retorts sounding out of breath and just tired of trying to talk sense into us. So we pick up the dog and start heading back to the car. We got our refund at the gate and complained about the man's attitude. You give a redneck a badge and an SUV and a little uniform and he thinks he's equal to the police. Field General Ranger Roy. I've always pictured park rangers as being helpful and polite little tree huggin types. Apparently not.

SO we instead head to Valley Oaks Park to shoot some bows and arrows. Drew a nice picture of the lovely ranger on a target and Alex and Victoria shot him up good. We had a great time doing that. Jen hurt her back while we were there and so I spent a lot of my time between shooting arrows being concerned for her and so we shot 4 rounds and headed back so she could get some ice on it. By Sunday the pain had subsided some so she wasn't too worried.

Saturday night we went to a Ranch House BBQ place. The food was amazing! They serve little garlic rolls which are great. drenched in butter and covered in garlic...ooooh yum! Then I had the tri tip with mashed potatoes and baked beans while Victoria and Jen opted for the Tri Tip Sandwich and Alex got BBQ Half Chicken. There was a bit of a wait (come early Saturday nights...like opening-5 instead of 5-closing) but the prices were good for a steakhouse with most of it being under $20 an entree. It all reheated really well the next day too. Mashed potatoes tend to get grainy and meat tends to get tough...this didn't at all.

We went home and Jen and Alex showed us a video on the Rave scene and DJs in general that a film student they know put together. He interviewed Alex who has DJed for over a decade..almost two I think. Anyways, we really liked it. Weird thing was that every time I started thinking of a question I wanted to ask Alex, there he'd be in a few seconds answering my question on the video. REAL strange.

Anyways us old folks went to bed early (Like 10pm or so), though Victoria and I stayed up for a bit. She read and wrote while I studied math a bit. I have a test next Monday and I want to ace this thing. It's the first test I've taken since finals in High School back in June 1996.

Sunday morning we got up around 8am and had breakfast. We had a great conversation about religion, school, jobs, and a few other things. We sat and loafed a bit in front of the TV, played some rummy, and then headed home around 4pm. Hated to leave but we'll be seeing them again soon. Jen should be due in like August I think...so we'll get to see the new baby then. I'll take lots of pictures. Took a few this weekend and I'll get those up on my flickr site when I can.

Anyways, returning the car last night was officially saying goodbye to the weekend. Loved that car...though I still think I'll go with a Honda Civic when we get a new car. Possibly a Toyota Prius if they're more readily available.

So...in with the haircut,..out with the haircut

2006-01-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

So I dye my hair blue, think it's cool, get all sorts of compliments on it and then I go to church today.

Called as a greeter.

So there goes the blue hair. Now granted the bishopric had no idea I had blue hair when they decided to call me, still it means the blue is gone and my natural brown will be returning in 2 weeks.

Just to clarify, I'm not upset. I really like my calling and I can't wait to get started on it. I just wish I'd known this was going to happen before I spent $20+ on hair bleach and dye. Now I've got a full jar of blue hairdye. Thing is though, it lasts a long long time and so I'll just wait until my calling is over. I might not even want to dye it back when that time comes. Still, it'll be there if I want it.

2006-01-16T23:13:00.000-08:00

While I was hoping for a midnight blue, this will work for now. I think this happened because I bleached my hair and dyed it in the same evening. I'll try again next week.

Color stained the tub. Gonna have to bleach it later. SUCK.

Watched a pretty decent episode of Boondocks last night. The MLK Special. Listened to the latest episode of This Mormon Life and really loved it. It's worth a listen, even if you aren't LDS.

Well...that's it for now. Things here have been pretty slow. Hopefully I'll come up with something to discuss with everyone.

Happy 2006!

2006-01-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

I was reading back on some of my entries in 2005 and I was amazed at the fluctuations in my attitude and speech. In the beginning it was "I'm gonna say what I want. I'm not giving up who I am." Then I got to be a little more and a little more calm and collected in my thoughts and speech. Then back again with "It's party time! The old me is back!" Then VERY quickly I realized my mistake and ducked down ashamed of what I'd said.
After Stephanie passed away, my tone was much more mellow and it picked up a bit of steam on the way out the door. Well, here I am again and who knows what I'll be in a month from now or even a week. Still searching for a ME that will stick.

Thinking back on 2005 has got me thinking back on ME and my life. The best side of me loves everyone I meet and cares about the welfare of every stranger. The worst side will say exactly what I know will hurt the worst and only cares about my own welfare. The best side of me wants to serve the Lord by serving others. The worst side believes in only serving myself. I'm trying my best to let my best side shine through and I'm hoping that with that, my worst side will grow weak enough that it just won't show through.

Now I know I'm human. My flaws will definitely work their way to the surface. More in the beginning and less as I gain control over myself. Perhaps that's what all the fluctuations are for. I am 27 and I still don't know if I'm a self-centered jerk or a deeply caring individual. Perhaps the answer is that I'm both or at least capable of being both and I need to work on choosing the right more than the wrong.

So it's 2006. Time for a new beginning. Here are my New Years Resolutions:

- To do more things that I know I'll never regret having done and to avoid doing things that I might regret having done. For instance, I'll never look back and say, "I wish I spent less time with loved ones" but I could say, "I wish I hadn't spent so much time online".

- To eat more healthy and exercise more in 2006 than I did in 2005. If I do this successfully every year what could go wrong? If I fail, then there's always next year but I at least want to try.

- To get my temple recommend before the end of the year and preferably by the time my sister's work can be done for her.

- To spend more time with my wife. Even if it's just sitting on the couch watching a TV show I don't really like.

- To try and enjoy life more than just survive it. I worry so much about work and finances and what I should or shouldn't be doing, that I often don't take the time to enjoy the beauty of moments and things around me.

- To spend less money on things I can't take with me when I die and more on things that will live with me forever. So less on gadgets and more on giving to others or special trips to see family.

So there you have it. My first post of 2006. Let's see where I am in 365 days.