To buy or not to buy
I want to find a new car, or buy a used car. I need one with good gas mileage. I've been driving the van from Vacaville to Concord, with stops inbetween to the babysitters. Although the van gets decent mileage, it's still putting a lot of miles on it. We have a plan when the wife goes back to CCC in San Pablo. We'll all go together, leaving around 6:00-6:30, dropping me off in Pinole at UPSer's house to use one of his cars in his fleet. We'll then meet back in Pinole with a carpool intact and just one car to drive back to Vacaville. That'll save toll money as well as gas for 2 cars. Of course I'll buy gas for UPSer's car (we're even looking to get paint jobs for both the celica and the truck), and help with oil changes and the like. One nice thing is the stereo in the truck. It rocks and he's very proud of that. I'll make sure not to overdo it with that. There will be days where the commute won't work, specifically when I work at the arena. But it should help in the long run. I'm definitely not looking forward to the increase in toll to 4 bucks. I would love to get a hybrid, prius or civic, but they are not cheap. I was thinking about going to the Kia dealer where they have that $99 a month on a car. That car has got to be bare bones, no air con, am radio with the old school tuner, roll-up windows, and no power under the hood. We'll take the Matrix to work which gets decent gas mileage but we still hate to put so much mileage on it. Damn these gas prices suck!
I must be pretty tired
I fell asleep while we were chillin' with the kids last nite. While on the couch I dozed off as the kids watched a documentary on Godzilla (On Demand is the bomb!). The wife woke me up and told me to go upstairs to the bedroom which I did. Normally, I'll say no. I'll say that I'm awake and do something like wash dishes. This must have been around 9:30-10:00. I woke up at 4:00am for some reason and had a hard time going back to sleep. Mio started crying about that time also, maybe that's what woke me up, but I noticed that my back was killing me. As I sit at my desk at work, it's still a little sore. When I did get back to sleep I had one of those bad dreams that wake you up but you also forget what it was all about. Weird. I think I need a vacation. I'm not scheduled to take one until November. I'm looking forward to the 3 day weekend. As much as I would love to run off to Vegas with the wife or Disneyland for that matter it's not in the cards. Maybe a nice short trip to Cache Creek would do the trick.
We're going to try to go to the Niner game tonite. We have 3 tickets so the wife, my mom and I will head out to Monster Park and see if the Niners have improved (hmmmm....). Not looking forward to the traffic though. There's a Niner game, Giants game, Raider game and a Tom Petty concert in Berkely all going on tonite. We still need to get the boys, go to my mom's, go to Mama Tess to drop the boys off and then head to Monster Park. I want to try to make it to the carpool at the Bay Bridge before 7:00pm. Yeah, right. My mom and dad bought a new Acura MDX, the SUV, so I think I'll finally drive that one. I've been shying away from driving it since we took their van from them. It's really nice though.
We're going to a couple of parties this weekend. One is for Likha CoCo to celebrate the end of the summer season. I enjoyed my time with the kids and look forward to assisting them more down the line. Another party is for a baby shower. Our friends who had a beautiful wedding in Carmel are expecting so we'll get to see them again. Sunday is looking like a wide open day. Call the Laxa's if you wanna hook up. If you're going shopping at the outlets in the double V let us know. If you wanna get some carne asada fries let us know also. I know where the original Adalberto's is in Fairfield and I know the quickest way to get there from our house. Have a good weekend every one. Be safe.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
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I've got the power
I picked up a huge bottle of
Roundup at Home Depot the other night. The weeds in our backyard are trying to make a comeback, kinda like the Backstreet Boys. So I sprayed them all and when I get home today we'll see the difference. Our plants are still trippin as well. Some look strong and others don't. I tried trimming them but it's only made a slight difference. I'm also going to need a lawnmower for our lawn in the back. Looks like I'm going to go with the old school one that doesn't have a motor. I'm sure if you check an old episode of Leave It To Beaver, you'll know what kind I mean. We want to have a bbq for all the Likha folks as a welcome back and congratulations party for their successful tour. I know that you're all recovering but let me know if you want to do something. Could be a chance for you to share photos, stories, show a video and also wind down the summer. Whether we do it in Vacaville or somewhere else, it doesn't matter, but for some of you it's been a month since we've seen and heard from you. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Like finding lost money in your old jacket pocket
I finally hooked back up with one of my best friends from high school. The last time we were hanging out was at his wedding in Reno back in 96. I was single and brought UPSer with me, which was cool cuz we won money I think. I remember asking the wife to go at that time, but we weren't very close then. Anyways, for years before he got married we did so much together, even though he was up at the state capitol at Sac State and I was at the gay state capital (proud to say)at SFSU. Whether it was skiing, meeting back in Vallejo, Niner games, we did a lot together. Unfortunately, he and his wife are on their last leg together and it looks like they'll be splitting up. I told the wife that although he is in a bad spot right now, I'm glad to be able to be there for him now when he can use a friend or two.
He really took to the boys and was happy to be able to play with them. He loved the house and the wanna-be korean short ribs that we broiled as well. We bought some dvds at Hollywood video, 3 for $25 and watched AVP which I really enjoyed. The surround sound is awesome for this movie as well but I have to return it and get a replacement as it was skipping enough to make it annoying.
When he left I made sure that he calls me whenever and that we'll get together to play some golf as well. Before he got in the car he said "I love you man" and I told him the same thing right back. Even after all these years away we always thought of one another but never took the extra step to get back at each other. The good thing is it wasn't because we were mad. It's just that sometimes you get so caught up in your life that you end up getting away from people you were so close to. But now I have my old friend back and am looking forward to sharing him with all my friends of today so he can see where I've been and what wonderful friends we have. Friends that I consider family.
Not a bad weekend
I worked all five days at the arena while the circus was in town. While at the arena I got to catch up with some co-workers there . It's funny how much info you can get. It's also funny how just when you think you know someone, you just don't know someone. Anyways, Saturday was a nice day there because my manager gave the wife and kids free tix in the suite to the show while I worked. My friends that do the food for the suites gave them all kinds of goodies: sodas, juice, cookies, brownies and chips. We didn't have to spend money like we normally do at the events so that was nice. The circus was cool and the kids enjoyed the animals. I enjoyed to wheel of death. The daredevil runs inside and outside of a wheel that is spinning up to 40 feet high, up and down, up and down. I was scared as hell for that guy.
After the show we ran back to the double V where our HOA had a block party. I actually offered my dj services which they took me up on and I was able to negotiate 2 months off of out HOA dues. That really helped. All I really did was hook up my gear, pop in the iPod and let it shuffle. Later, I taught some of the neighbors kids how to play different cds. We've now made new friends. There was also a huge jumper that the boys got to play in. Andres was in there with other kids. Mio was walking around looking at different bugs. I tried to pickup a rollie pollie but it was too small. Lots of bbq, all provided by the HOA. The wife and I ate to servings of franks and beans. It was nice to meet the other homeowners. I suggested getting stickers to write and wear our names which was a hit. Got that idea from the wife's family reunion. We ended up playing music until 9:00pm. It then turned into a karaoke party when some of the girls got a hold of the microphones and sang the tunes.
The real impetus of the event was to discuss whether or not to install security gates. Apparently, there has been some issues like a house being toilet papered, egged, weed-smoking in the parking lot and even drug dealing. Now, we don't live in the ghetto, but drug dealing can occur anywhere. It's a little disappointing to hear that it's going on but I heard it's just one kid who has already been arrested in a crackdown by the cops. His parents even found out but haven't done anything about it. All I know is he better not cross my path or I'll go "Walking Tall" on him.
Sunday I still worked at the arena on the last day of the circus. I ate some leftover mac and cheese and spicy popcorn chicken from one of the suites. I'm still feeling it today. The wife got a visit from a good friend and Ninang to Mio. When I got home we got ready to go to the V and met up with UPSer. We watched "
The Great Raid" about American POWs in PI after the Bataan Death March. It was really an interesting movie. I think young Pilipinos outside the PI should watch it. You see what japanese occupation did to our country. It was tough to view sometimes, violent when it needed to be. We had an interesting conversation with a guy after the movie. He was 10 years older than me but graduated from my high school. He wants to put a book together about the Pilipino farm workers labor movement. I had forgottent that the japanese released the Pilipino POWs in 1942 to try to "win the hearts and minds". Sounds familiar doesn't it? How's that working out? Being on the peace movement side I always questioned dropping the A-bombs but just think about what was going on back then and the fanaticism of the japanese at the time. It may answer a couple questions on why we, the US, did it. Yes we. It's a hell of a conundrum to be in when you think of all the consequences. UPSer says to talk to the Pilipinos who lived during those times. I think I will.
I'm at the Circus!!!
There's a good crowd on opening night. If you're interested in coming here are the times and days when I'll be here and can put you in a
suite. Let me know if you wanna come down and see someone get shot out of a cannon. Not me!
Good to see everyone is home safe
I had the honor of picking up UPSer from the airport but unfortunately he was also the last one at the airport. I hung out in Daly City from 6:30 till about 8:30 when his plane arived. I went shopping at Nordstrom Rack and got myself a birthday gift. A dress shirt with a tie, and a Ben Sherman polo shirt. I even went to Best Buy and was about to buy Sin City on dvd but I passed. I do want to get it eventually though. UPSer had some great stories and descriptions of the trip. I'm looking forward to all of your trials and tribulations. I'll be at the arena the rest of the week while the circus is in town. If anyone wants to go and sit in a luxury suite let me know. Bring the family and friends. It's usually a great show. It's really comfortable in the suite as well.
Great weekend but also tiring...
Like the wife said the family reunion was awesome, especially DJ Bolo! It was an amazing turn out with relatives all over the place. I knew I recognized my old co-worker, Connie, from my Wells Fargo days. She was the hottie co-worker that everyone went ga-ga over. My good buddy actually dated her. Funny! Anyways, we prepared for the party all week. On Friday we picked up supplies from the David's house. If you ever need anything for a party, they have it, no doubt. They are the most generous family I have ever known, hands down. We also practiced with the Likha CoCo kids. They are a great bunch of kids. I help the boys out a little and it made me wish I was on stage in Brazil. Even just thinking of the movements and then seeing their eyes when they see what the dance looks like makes me long for a return. After practice we finally made our way home. It takes about 40 minutes to get back to the Double V from Concord. When we got home I noticed something about the house. The cement path along the house that was just laid no longer had the wood frame surrounding it. I thought that was nice and that they were really getting somewhere. When I got inside, I looked out the sliding door to the backyard and lo and behold, the backyard was done! Lawn all green, bark surrounding the back, and my Japanese sand garden was all there. Luckily we got the plants on time as well for it was all laid out along the outer rim surrounded by bark. He even implemented the wife's gardenia and another flower inside the sand garden. It's almost like going to the bathroom at a restaurant and then coming back with your food all ready to go.
The parties on saturday and sunday were great. As all Pilipino parties go, plenty of food. Saturday I didn't eat too much since I was busy helping with the event but on Sunday I tore up the chinese food that we had. All my favorites were there, salt and pepper pork, prawns with honey walnut sauce, bok choi with mushroom. If we had tomato beef noodle it would have been over. It was really a generous weekend.
It's my turn to return the generosity and pickup UPSer at the airport tomorrow. I can't believe they're all done. I'm sure I'll hear and read plenty of stories which I'm looking forward to as well as pictures.
Maybe the White House isn't so bad...
Check out who got a new job at the
White House. Bush is now going to be eating lumpia and sinigang. Maybe she can get him to try so sisig. We're moving on
A chance to breathe...
It's been a little busy at work this week so I'm looking forward to the weekend. The weekend's going to be busy as well, Saturday and Sunday. Funny though that once it's all over, on Tuesday I'll be heading to the airport to pick up the UPSer. Can you believe how fast the weeks have gone? So fast that in fact my b-day is tomorrow as well! Talking about fast, how bout my age? That was fast too. I can remember getting my diploma in high school like it was yesterday and now I'm already twice that age, geez!
Moe has a gig that I can't assist with since we'll be with family all weekend. He's going to miss my ballroom experience that is needed in deejaying the older folks generation. I made a pretty cool cd for him that lists all the different types of dances and the songs that go best with that. I even found some old school cha cha music online that will be a great addition to our collection.
Hope you all enjoy the weekend. Stay cool and live it up.
Since I'm in a picture posting mood
Check out Mio here. The camera takes a little while to focus when it's a little dark so as I'm trying to take the picture I'm still trying to call him to look at me. He's got perfect timing. Notice the tv in the back? I can't wait for football season to start, especially with the HD. Baseball is awesome on it and so is basketball but I haven't see football on my tv yet. I've seen it on Moe's tv in Hercules and that was tremendous. Telling you, come on down when you can.
Here's the other pic
You can see where we're prepping for the lawn as well. I would have loved to have put together a mini SBC Park but that would have been mucho dinero que no tengo.
Here comes the yard!
It's coming along. Here's a couple pics to give you an idea on what's going on. There's still a couple more things that we'll be doing.
Our backyard is coming along
Like Mighty Mom said, we're finally getting our landscaping done in our backyard. We can finally have a decent party where people can hang out all over the place. I'm getting my japanese sand garden and the boys will have both grass and cement to play. We're even getting a tent so that there is an area where people can chill outside but in the shade. We've been planning for our parties to start later in the afternoon to avoid the noontime heat but I don't think it really matters. I am looking forward to being able to hang outside and chill, or sweat for that matter. I'll have my grill for cookouts as well. I wouldn't mind setting up some outdoor speakers but I don't know how to run the wires to the outside and I'm not about to drill anymore holes in our walls. It'll be done either this friday or early next week so be on the lookout for an invite for a bbq in the near future. We wanted to do that bbq for the Likha peeps before they left but maybe we can now just do it when they come back. Ya'll are invited. The time has actually been moving quick because I'll be picking up UPSer this time next week. Time flies, but not fast enough for one of our buddies! You know who you are. Hang in there, like they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Anyone wanna work at the Oakland Arena?
I forgot to tell everyone, but our Suites Services area is looking for new employees for concierge positions. Let me tell you what I do there, it's the same position. Before the arena is opened for the events, we straighten out all the luxury suites that are to be occupied for the night. We setup remote controls for tv's, make sure the toilet flushes and straighten out the chairs. That's usually at around 4:30. The gates open at 6:00 so at that time we are at our posts giving clients directions to their suites, checking tickets in the suite entrance as well. Throughout the night we'll continually answer questions and meet clients requests, ie. where the food places are, where's the bar, where's our food server. Once the event is over we make sure the suites are emptied and that there are no further client issues. Generally we clock out at 11:30, but it's more like 10:45-11:00.
The positives are several. I don't pay for a ticket, in fact I even get tickets to games once in awhile. I take a break in a suite to watch the game. I have almost full access thoughout the arena. I've met several celebrities and athletes as well. We also work concerts and other types of events: Disney on Ice, the Circus or And1 basketball. You don't have to work all of the events. I am even able to hook up friends with a suite at either a game or concert as well.
The negatives are some. You are working so you can't watch the whole game. We don't get paid much, 9.25 an hour. You have to deal with some stuckup clients.
Let me know if you want an extra job. The Warriors should be pretty good this year, finally. I've been at the arena now for 3 years and it's been fun. I always like the extra funds I get every 2 weeks.
Korny Korny Naman!
Ok, I thought of a new dj name. I'm not really sure if I want to use it but I just started laughing when I thought of it. Someone's probably even using it already. DJ Bolo, because I cut it up like a Pilipino
bolo knife!
This Concert is pretty bad...
I'm working the Scream 4 concert at the arena. It's with a bunch of teeny-bopper hip hop stars like Bow Wow, Omarion, Marques Houston and Bobby Valentino. As a dj I have to try to keep up with the latest stuff but it's really hard. I still like loud music but at hip hop concerts it's overkill. The sound system volume is at it's peak, they're just singing or rapping to music tracks, no bands. Minimal lighting is used and there's a couple of flame explosions. I get to see some really good concerts working here but this is not really one of them. As far as the music it's really as if someone threw on an old 70s funk record and rapped or sang over the lyrics with their own words. Where's the creativity? I may be showing my age but I know the older folks know what I'm talking about. No one did it like Earth Wind and Fire, a young, black Michael Jackson or even Cameo. If this is all it takes to entertain people it sure doesn't take much. On a side note, I was in the elevator with
Khleo Thomas. He's actually rapping with Bow Wow. He was looking for a suite when I first got here so I directed him on where to go. I even let him know that I knew who he was by asking him if he's going to be in any other movies. Talented kid.
My stomach is killing me
There are days when I just look in the mirror and say "what the hell have you been doing?" After taking a shower and seeing yourself in full glory you wonder how much extra "you" have you added. My weight is a little down but definitely where I want to be. I wore one of my favorite shirts today, a red t-shirt by Locomotion, with a drawing of a hawaiian babe. And although it's a great looking shirt it's getting a little tighter, to the point where I can't hide the gut without sucking it in a little. It doesn't help that I ate a huge cheesesteak for lunch today and refilled my soda.
The wife is also helping me pull out some grey hairs, although it's generally just one or two, here and there. I could use a haircut also. When my hair grows longer it looks like an afro and it doesn't help that I'm a little dark. I guess what I'm getting at is my age is catching up to me. My b-day is just around the corner and I'm gonna be halfway to 40. I can get away with my age sometimes but not if the body is starting to catch up with me as well. I don't even have the drive that I used to when playing softball. I'm looking forward to a break from the season but I know that there are tournaments coming up as well. It gets hard to chug this belly around for 3 or 4 games in one day and if I don't get back into shape I can actually seriously injure myself.
So as you hear the whinning in my voice (sorry) just keep in mind that I'm going to try to use this post as motivation to get over the hump and get back into shape. I have several targets for motivation (in no particular order): rejoining Likha, feeling stronger, looking better, being healthier for my family, strength for sporting activities.
On another note, it's been great to see that the Likha folks have been able to post, keep it up. I wonder if they are on dial-up or some kind of high speed down there. I read an op-ed in the NY Times that the US is ranked 16th for broadband connectivity. I'm working at the Arena this weekend at the "Scream 4" concert with Bow Wow, Omarion, Marquest Houston & Bobby Valentino. Woo hoo! At least the arena has a wireless network and I can bring my laptop with me to surf or watch dvds. I'll go out there and do my best "You Got Served" imitation, with my big stomach and all...
Ok, I feel old...
We deejayed a party for Angela's 18th b-day, Tin's cousin, on Saturday. You might remember her when she danced with Likha CoCo back in I think 1999 or 2000. She's graduated from high school and going to Davis next year. I can't believe it's been that long. I remember when she was still doing the dances with the "little kids". Time flies. It was a fun party though which was held in their family's backyard which was huge and beautifully decorated, courtesy of the talented Nepacena family. Unfortunately, I didn't know they were going a little formal so when I showed up in my shorts and button down shirt and everyone else had nice dresses or slacks I wanted to run and hide. Moe showed up like me with shorts and a polo shirt. He wanted to kill me for not telling him to dress up. Oh well, we still had a great time. It was hot anyways and we woulda died having to dress up in that heat, even at night. We got our first chance to spin with our CDJ-800s which was really cool. They really have an awesome turntable feel to it. If I could scratch like I used to be able to I think it would feel about the same. Anyways, it was great to see the Neps their huge family because the younguns know how to party.
We were able to get some cleaning done of our house this weekend as well. I haven't bought a mop for the floors but we don't have a lot of tile around the house so I just got down on my hands and knees like Cinderella and cleaned the floors with an extra large sponge. I think it worked out ok although I did have one lapse of judgement. The bucket I used had water and pinesol. Some of the pinesol suds made it's way down the side of the bucket. I moved the bucket shortly to the carpet when I got to the end of the floor and apparently enough of the pinesol acted like a bleach and put an ugly yellow-green stain on our carpet. It's also in the same area where our tenant broke a bottle of bbq sauce. We're going to eventually change that family room rug to hardwood but in the meantime the stains are there. I don't want to go the old school route and put that plastic rug thing with the spikes on the other side. That would just be too Pilipino so I guess we'll just find a rug that we can lay down in that area.
To my Likha peeps, break a leg. We'll be thinking of you daily, wondering who broke a glass, who went left instead of right, who started early or late, rondalla or the dancers. I have faith that you'll pull through like Likha always does. Yes there will be stories to tell good and bad but I'm confident that you'll be a success. Thank you to all for keeping the group strong through the past couple of years. For the oldies, one of you needs to come of with the "big speech". I expect it to be either the Math Major or the UPSer. I also think it's the Rockstar's time to shine. Let it all out cousin. M, take care of yourself out there, bad leg and all. Tin, keep the ladies in line like you always do. Ate War, do that thing that you do, when you do, what you do on these trips. Congrats to Kuya Rude Boy for another coup that you've pulled off. You really are my Obi-Wan. Gary, if you can, keep the pics coming while you're down there. We know it may not be easy but we'll be waiting for your storytelling with your camera. 2 1/2 weeks is a long time to be gone and we'll miss you all. Be safe out there, watch each other's back, make us proud, do your thing and come back stronger knowing that you shared your talents and our culture with a whole new world. God bless you guys.
