The Things We Think And Do Not Say

Just the two of us...

2012-01-27T16:09:00.001-08:00

props to DK for bringing this to my attention

My Favorite Things To Watch

2012-01-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

you might not know this about me, but whenever i'm bored. or sitting at home on a lazy afternoon with nothing to do but relax. i am fascinated (and possibly borderline obsessed) with nature documentaries.

especially with the emergence of High Definition television, these documentaries have taken my breath away and have kept the fire burning deep inside me to travel and see the many things there are to see on this world.

my absolute favorite makers of nature documentaries has got to be BBC earth. Ever since i watched Planet Earth i've been a fan of anything they make. Here are just a few of the amazing documentaries they have made and whenever i'm bored, these have been my go-to things to watch again and again:

Wild Pacific
---------------------
As a pacific Islander i am proud to say that the pacific ocean is just breathtaking:

Yellowstone: Battle for Life
---------------------
America's first national park is unlike anywhere else in the world, learn all about it as it goes through the different seasons throughout a year:

Blue Planet
---------------------
The ocean world is almost alien-like

Human Planet
---------------------
This is the only one of the great series i haven't watched yet

Life
---------------------
The sequel to Planet Earth and just as amazing as Planet Earth

and finally... the most amazing documentary i've ever seen in my life:

Planet Earth
----------------------
The world life u've never seen it before:

there's a new one coming out:
Frozen Planet
--------------------------

the world is so much better in HD... thank you BBC Earth

life goes on

2012-01-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

man. yesterday sucked. it suckedso much i had a hard time sleeping last night even tho i m a little sick. i needed some sleeping aids to help me sleep and even then i slept from only 11:30 to 2:30. i had a few bad dreams last night. one was reliving the game and another involved our puppy crying. both made me wake up feeling very sad.

i finally managed to fall back asleep at 5:30 after lena woke up and comforted me along with ella who proceeded to kiss my whole face to make me feel better. woke up at 7:30 with the images still in my head. nothing i can do about it now. i wish it didnt end like the way it did but it did. i understand someone had to win but losing off a mistake really hurts.

gonna b a hard one to swalow and as of right now the football season is over for me. not even gonna watch superbowl. i dont think its possible to have neither team win but i have never wanted either team in the superbowl to equally lose as much as this year.

i leave my football season with a quote from batman begins:
"why do we fall? so we can learn to pick ourselves back up again."

thank u for cheering me up

2012-01-22T21:49:00.000-08:00

i just want to point out that my girlfriend and my puppy are the best at making me feel better through this really sad time

i love them very much

Remember how you felt when it happened...

2012-01-19T17:22:00.000-08:00

make sure u watch it with audio... if u are a football fan... you HAVE to watch this video

just.... just wow....

Spreading the Evil

2012-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

i know i'm spreading the evil by doing this but if it's stuck in my head it might as well be stuck in everyone else's head as well...

EVERY TIME I HEAR THIS SONG I THINK OF HAMSTERS DANCING WITH A KIA!!!!!!

oh, and yes, i really hate this commercial... and how the marketing of kia thought of hamsters to be their go-to product sellers is beyond me... but somehow, someway it works, and whenever i think of this song, i think of dancing hamsters.... and then a kia

although its not persuading me to buy one, if all they wanted to do was brainwash me into associating the 3 things together then they succeeded with flying fucking colors

Love at First Sight

2012-01-18T23:17:00.000-08:00

this was the very first moment lena and I were allowed to see Ella Banana at the shelter

we were already head over heels for her from her one picture but meeting her in person it was like OMG OMG OMG please let us have her!!!!!

when lena showed me ella's picture while I was in a meeting at work, I made the decision to try and adopt her. left early for lunch, picked up lena and drove as fast as we could to the shelter. Once we got there we found out that adopting isn't open until 12pm (we got there at 12:05pm) so we were in luck... grabbed a number immediately and waited... asked a worker if we could find ella and she took us to the Paws Inn room where we met ella for the first time.... after waiting in line for an hour and each time scared that someone would adopt her before we do, we were finally called and immediately asked to adopt ella and next thing you know.... she's riding home in our arms

Carmel invaded by Ella

2012-01-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

yesterday was my last day in my "mini-vacation" and so lena and i had originally wanted to get out of town with our little Ella Banana (yeah that's what i call her) for those that don't know, ever since we got ella she's been cooped up in the house waiting to be cleared of all her shots before we take her out (we've been pretty good about protecting her because she's so loved in this home)

so her first road trip me and lena drove all the way down to Carmel-By-The-Sea because the city is heavily touted to be Pet Friendly. Think of one giant dog park and even dogs are allowed on the beach.

so we wake up in the morning and it being norcal its freezing so we had to find a way to fight our laziness and get our asses ready to get going. we eat brunch at Main Street Bagel, packed up our things and of course Ella likes to ride on lena's lap and not in her crate (something about being in a car she ALWAYS falls asleep on lena's lap) very well behaved, doesn't like to stick her head out the window or bother me as i drive. She knows to behave herself when the car is in motion and maybe the only thing she's ever guilty of is she will lick the straws of drinks we have in the cup holder when me and lena are not looking (seriously, she can be pretty ninja at times.

so an hour and half later with ella sleeping and me and Lena playing our patented Alphabet game (its the funnest game ever when we are on a road trip) we arrive to Carmel and first stop?

a cute little doggy boutique store just to see if we want to buy anything new for ella. we end up getting her a new toy, a rain-coat, and a very pretty pink dress. walked around the outdoor mall and the stores were very kind and open to allowing ella in the store and ella behaved herself very well (tho she will still occasionally bark at ladies with large purses or shopping bags.... i like to think its because ella doesn't want to get stolen away in a bag)

after the mall we decided to go to the piece de resistance for the day.... Carmel Beach!!!! it was a tuesday afternoon (in January also) so the beach was pretty much empty with some people walking by maybe once ever 2 minutes but almost nobody sitting down so we pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves... we probably saw as many dogs as there were people on the beach!!!!

this will be the first time (at least I think it is... we rescued her at 4 months old....) that ella has ever seen the beach and me and lena were excited to what she would think:

Emo Ella

oh she loved it alright.... we laid out a picnic basket and she dug holes around the basket like a little moat and threw the sand up onto the banig and even onto us all the time

every now and then a dog would stop by and say hello and of course ella is still shy and hides behind me or lena.... then lena and i noticed that almost every dog was unleashed... lena and i looked at eachother worried (we have never unleashed ella outside of the house) and wondered what would happen and if Ella would enjoy it....

we made sure we had treats in our hand and tested out if she is still responsive to our "Come here" calls and can pick out our voices when we try to get her attention...

I think ella was also ready to run around free... and this was her way of showing it to us:

so the scared parents that we are, we finally mustered up the courage to unleash her in the beach. I was ready at any moment to have to dart through the beach if Ella were to run off unsupervised but instead Ella surprised us yet again.... she just ran around in circles around us.... in my head i'm thinking she was screaming out FREEEEDOOOOOMMMM!!!!!! but always stayed near her mom and dad

i think lena and i could tell that ella was very happy to be at the beach and unleashed:

but every now and then we made sure she would come back to me or lena and listen to our commands and practice our "Sit" "Stay" and "Down" commands:

this was my failed attempt of trying to get her to listen to my Down command.... if u ask me, it looks more like a Reverse Sit

but our puppy just seemed so happy running around the beach... she would run back and forth between me and lena with the look of happiness and joy:

SUPER ELLA!!!!! i need to buy her a cape now:

and as for me? i got my dream come true with owning a dog... being able to run around together on a beach... sunset... unleashed... and the look of fun and elation on both of our faces:

she was hyper and loved to run with me but with her mom, she is very calm and is just curious:

Ella even met some other doggy friends that wanted to stop by and say hello:

but i think she's still shy.... always ends up getting chased:

i think it's pretty obvious... i love this little brown thing that has entered our lives:

if you notice in those last two pictures, ella will look at the camera when i'm not looking, and she will turn away when i tell her to look.... typical little girl

yesterday was probably one of the funnest days of my life:

and after about an hour and a half of running around ella (and including lena and myself) was pooped out:

we think ella really loved the beach and want to come back here at least once a month to let her play:

after everything was winding down the temperature started to drop... and of course started to get cold and like a worrisome mother, lena wrapped ella up like a little burrito:

our happy family:

Thank you Carmel

see you again in 4 weeks.... i thought it would be interesting to point this out... this entire post as i typed it up, ella has been sleeping on my lap with her head resting on my left forearm and it surprises me she can still sleep eafter all this typing

Go NINERS!!!!

2012-01-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

when i get home...

2012-01-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

some of my favorite moments of the day is when i pull up to the garage after a long day of work...

i pull into the garage, i get out of my car and think about what is awaiting for me behind the garage door... i see the light on from the crack underneath the door and immediately know...

i close the garage to make sure its safe to come in and when i do, i see my girlfriend wearing her apron at the stove making finishing up dinner for tonight... my puppy on the other side of the door waiting patiently for me to come in... as the door swings wider and wider i notice her tail wags harder and faster...

as soon as i step through the door i smell the delicious food that we're about to eat but before i can figure out what it is, ella banana runs straight for me and begs for me to greet her... bombarding me with doggy kisses on my hand.... before i can already put my bag down she's already anxious to play... i give my girlfriend a kiss... i see the table is already set and we enjoy a wonderful dinner together... in the middle of dinner my girlfriend asks me.... "beer?" to which i respond with a resounding yes... all while ella sits at our feet watching her mom and dad enjoy a peaceful dinner together...

we end the meal with me doing the dishes and ella onto her dinner or playing with her mom... and once i'm finished turn on the tv to watch what's on TV with a hot cup of coffee to get me through the night....

i love these two =)

One of the Best Games of my Life

2012-01-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

THAT WAS AN AMAZING GAME!!!!!!! OMG what an emotional rollercoaster of craziness that ensued in the first quarter and the final 4 minutes of the game.... just WOW!!!!!

words cannot even begin to describe what went through my mind during that game and it felt like it was a battle throughout the whole day

in case any of you don't know what i'm talking about... its the NINERS game where they beat the saints and advance to the NFC Championship game

and in even FURTHER case any of you missed the most amazing game ever, here's the final magical drive for the 49ers with an ending that i think is absolutely dubbed The Dagger because it was placed perfectly in the heart and soul from our team to theirs.... and Alex Smith placed it perfectly on Vernon Davis' heart

then when the game ended.... insanity and celebration ensued among my compatriots but there were two endings.... one that ended with a timeout before the final play leading to a paused celebration:

and finally the ACTUAL celebration:

THAT GAME WAS AMAZEBALLS!!!!!

From Drop Box

thank you niners and please don't let this end.... this is such an awesome group of guys we have here and they deserve all the praise and adulation that is coming their way... stay focused, stay strong, and keep fighting!!!!!

and i leave you with one final thought and prayer that will be resounding through the Bay Area for the next week

for every two fails... there is a win

2012-01-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

CALL TO ARMS!!!!!

2012-01-12T16:09:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is Friday that means it's casual day for most people....

so if you got it... wear it with pride...

NINERS JERSEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

don't bother

2012-01-12T13:25:00.001-08:00

don't bother looking for me on saturday... i will be unreachable... glued to the television

go niners

so awesome

2012-01-11T16:07:00.001-08:00

great way to start the day

2012-01-11T10:52:00.001-08:00

Congratulations Mixup

2012-01-11T10:46:00.001-08:00

Dog Fail

2012-01-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

ahahahahahahahhahaha

I got a poo to stick with you

2012-01-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

okay,

first of all i would like to apologize to anyone that this may offend or find stupid or grotesque, but this emerged as a highly debated topic after dinner yesterday and I leave it to my bloggers to chime in and see what they have to say.

lets take one person who has a regular diet and regular physiology. Nothing out of the ordinary, no special diets or anything like that.

lets say we give this person 20 lbs of meat to eat however long it takes and throughout this time we weigh the cumulative weight of his fecal matter (shit for you laymen...)

now lets say on a different occasion, we give this person 20 lbs of any other types of food (grains, vegetables, whatever....) and throughout this time we weight the cumulative weight of his poo-poo...

disregarding "drying out" or whatever you want to say to cleverly make this even more awkward than it already is... will the two poo's weigh the same from each incident, or will they weigh differently?

please give me your answers

Movie Review: Apocalypto

2012-01-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

it being 2012, i had this fascination of the Mayan culture... don't ask me why but I just am and Apocalypto has been on my list of movies to watch for a very long time. For anyone who has seen Passion of the Christ know that Mel Gibson is pretty gruesome when it comes to depicting torture or physical anguish. With that being said, let that be a disclaimer for anyone who wishes to see this movie for themselves, it is NOT for the faint of stomach, but if you could get past the 3 scenes that deals with these gruesome acts, the movie as a whole was very entertaining and defied my initial impression of the movie.

Think of Rambo set in time during the Mayan civilization. It is an action/adventure type movie which i didn't know at first coming into the movie, and yes it is entirely subtitled but adds to the authenticity of it all. How many times are you tired of watching movies set it very old times yet everyone magically has "english accents" but still speaking in english to try and fake the age of the movie (yes prince of persia i'm looking at you). At least this movie stuck with the language and opted for subtitles which I commend actually cuz if they all started talking in english I would have probably pressed stop a long time ago.

The setting, direction, and cast were all great, albeit very dark at times; which makes me question what really goes on inside Mel Gibson's head. But try not to think of it that way, leave him be to whatever he is and just appreciate this movie for what it is. Pacing was done very well and the action was great. I don't think at any moment did i stop and think to myself "no way not possible" as I do in some other films. This was very realistic which I like. I also like to commend that this movie was shot entirely using a digital camera instead of the film cameras many of us are used to. You can tell the difference if you watch the movie knowing that ahead of time, and quite honestly it made the movie seem more realistic rather than the Hollywood Makeover most other movies have these days.

For anyone who hasn't seen the movie, loves action, and can stomach a few gruesome scenes, i recommend this movie. Didn't think i would enjoy it as much as I did but afterwards i was thoroughly pleased.

last ones i promise

2012-01-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

finding pockets fail

and lastly....

bros are always there for eachother

2012-01-06T13:15:00.001-08:00

i'm bored at work and sharing my internet finds with everyone

boys vs. girls

2012-01-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

so true

coolest thing i've seen today

2012-01-05T13:58:00.001-08:00

WOW and he's doing it without wheelies on his shoes.... just... some insanely weird way to go down the stairs.... just.... WOW

Best AS SEEN ON TV Commercial

2011-12-20T00:35:00.000-08:00

best PSYCHO-boyfriend/girlfriend equipment EVER and with an added bonus... look like a total douche in the process!!!

seriously, watch this commercial in its entirety.... i cannot believe the situations they actually use to advertise this product

and then after watch this parody for the product MUAHAHAHHAHAHA

HAHAHAHHHAA

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

Greeting card made with Smilebox

Ella got a haircut

2011-12-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

From Drop Box

i didn't think she could get any cuter but i stand corrected...

Merry NFL Xmas

2011-12-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

I saw this and laughed

Why My Girlfriend Doesn't Eat Lunch With Me Anymore

2011-12-13T11:09:00.001-08:00

From Drop Box

I think Ella conveniently tries to fall asleep on her lap around 11am to prevent Lena from getting ready to have lunch with me.... and honestly, who can blame Lena

Niners Love

2011-12-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

in case you didn't know.... i'm totally digging everyone on the niners squad now... and the receiving corps is getting better and better...

i liked this kid ever since he caught that amazing touchdown against dallas... too bad we lost that game because his TD in that game would have been an ESPN highlight (yeah right... ESPN hates the niners... don't believe me? watch ESPN and see how often they talk about the niners....)

but anyhow.... here's his interview from one of his breakout games last weekend:

Kyle Williams

also get to know some of the players:

Happy Monday

2011-12-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

props to trev for these.... made my day

and then this is what you should do at EVERY toy store

hahaha... long.... live.... the king

NNNOooooOOOOooOooOoOoooOOooooooooooooo

Ella fun facts

2011-12-03T00:57:00.000-08:00

When Ella sits on the hardwood floor her hind legs begin to slip under her and she slowly slides backwards

From 2011-11 Ella

I like to carry Ella around the house like a football

From 2011-11 Ella

Ella loves her sock monkey bed

From 2011-11 Ella

Sometimes Ella makes weird faces like she's from the hood

From 2011-11 Ella

Ella loves to rummage around the rug for crumbs from her last meal

From 2011-11 Ella

Ella loves to wait on the couch until I get home from work

From 2011-11 Ella

Ella loves her new home

From 2011-11 Ella

Our First Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

sorry for the late pics... me and lena hosted our very first thanksgiving for the whole family... our job.... Fried Turkey

and yes... that is a light saber.... cue theme to the Empire

From Drop Box

Happy Holidays everyone

ELLA

2011-11-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

that's the look she gives us when she's hungry

From Drop Box

Holiday Menu

2011-11-21T11:14:00.001-08:00

Alright.... so it's been a while since i've posted... needless to say life's gotten a bit overdrive as of late... house, puppy, friend's weddings, work, niners, and yet somehow.... there's always some time for some video games

each year i try to limit the number of video games i buy during the holidays... i think in a way i've grown up since my immature days of thinking money is an endless fountain that flows out of my wallet/credit cards.... those stupid "Buy 2 get 1 free" deals always used to suck me in, until one year i realized that when i bought all 3, that means i must PLAY 3 games before any of those 3 games drops below the price that i just bought when i effectively bought them at a paltry 33% off. If anyone pays attention to video game prices, you will know that a game drops pretty drastically after the holiday season and well into the spring/summer seasons.

there's only one of me, and there are 3 of them... i never had time to play and sadly enough, i still have one or two games that haven't been opened yet (yeah i bought them for like $10 bux so it was more for a collector's thing for those games) and then there are some games that i still have yet to play but want to play

what's the point of all this? well the holidays are coming up.... the weather is getting colder... and no NBA season means i'm only paying to the NFL (but with the niners winning it's always on my mind) but i want to say i'm going to make some time this holiday season for video games....

i always split my holiday video game season into 3 categories because i can handle 3 games if the 3 games are all different enough from one another... if they are too alike then i begin to critique one game over another and instead hurt both game in the process...

the 3 categories that i can devote my attention to are:

Multiplayer games over XBOX Live

These are the games that when you turn on your xbox and you see like 50 of your friends playing the same game you think... crap... i gotta get in on this funtasmic time also so you join along with them...

right now i have one game and a second game waiting in the wings once "the price is right"

Halo Anniversary

Old School Halo 1 Multiplayer with revamped graphics... the game that single handedly gave birth to XBOX Live is back and man.... still HELLA fun!

Modern Warfare 3

meh... i still think Black Ops was the best of all the Call of Duty's so i'm not too sold on jumping on the MW3 bandwagon yet until the price drops or my brother cave's in.... once he buys it then i buy it HAHA

Co-Operative Campaign Games

these are the games probably reserved for only two people right now that i can safely say will ALWAYS play with me... in fact they have more time to play video games than i do so i'm usually the one holding them back but whenever we do all have time together it's the funnest times ever... i'm talking about DK and my brother.... from Left4Dead, Halo3, ODST, Halo Reach, Borderlands, Gears of War, and so many other games... we always find the time to play these campaigns together and relive the childhood days

right now there's only 2 games that i'm working on campaign with them:

Dead Island.... zombies... tropical settings.... open world.... melee weapons.... a weapon system similar to Borderlands... game ON

Borderlands will never get old... if we ever finish dead island early... borderlands just always comes back

One Player Games Action/RPG

the game that i play all by myself... requires the most amount of time to complete and the most amount of my attention since in the multiplayer world i can usuaully rely on my teammates... these games are all me and require a lot of motivation to hit the "start" button

Uncharted 3.... uncharted 2 might have been the best game i've ever played in my life... or at least close to it... and 3 looks like another frontrunner to be another game of the year.... i didn't buy it on opening day like i said i would but that's because i smartly knew i didn't have the time to play it yet... but it is dropping down to $29 this black friday so if i can get my turkey fried hands on it then GAME ON!!!!!!

Assasin's Creed: Brotherhood i know... i'm half a year off... but if i don't get uncharted 3... then this is the one player game that i'll be completing this holiday

whew... that took a lot of thought..... but looking back, i say i got a pretty good lineup for video games and at least i have most of these games already so if i were to buy any video games this holiday season it will be kept to a good minimum.... wow... i feel all grown up now!

Unpretty

2011-11-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

I know i like the TLC version a lot but i'm really digging this version lately

my ideal backyard furniture

2011-11-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

THIS close to getting it at sears over the weekend (well just one of the recliners) but the stupid manager said that it was no longer on sale even tho it was CLEARLY RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF HIM.... i got angry inside but lena was able to calm me down and told me that the guy was most likely saving it for himself since he wasn't willing to help a customer out

and now, i'm going to keep looking for it

Say Hello to Ella

2011-10-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

the newest addition to our happy household

she's a 4-month old puppy adopted from the shelter who rescued her off the streets

she LOVES to be held

spending time in the back yard

pretending to be a doggy pillow

extreme closups to camera lenses

she loves tummy rubs

sniffing fake grass

watching 49ers games

and just being an overall great puppy

she has now found a home where she is very loved

Siri: what its really used for

2011-10-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

honestly.... it's 2% actually useful but lets face it... 98% of the time this is how it will be used:

it's so funny yet so true

what a GAME!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-10-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

not to be outdone.... last week's game against philly was also as amazing!!!

niners for life!!!!!!!!!!

Great place to work

2011-10-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

I would LOVE to work in this office!!!!! soooo frickin jealous

hands down the best pumpkin ever!!!!!

2011-09-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

just..... just WOW!!!!! i totally want to do that for halloween this year!!!!

X-Factor

2011-09-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

i know it's just another American Idol show... which is fine... take it for what it is... but for the thousands and thousands of people that go through these shows, you cannot deny that every now and then you'll find someone who is just absolutely special

WOW.... just...... i was speechless after the song.... that's what hip-hop is all about and i already want this song on my ipod... and represent the guy is from Santa Cruz!!!!!

Who has better drivers... norcal or socal?

2011-09-01T09:23:00.001-07:00

WELL................... well, i guess its obvious, i wouldn't be blogging unless it's in my favor correct?

i think for the longest time there has been a debate amongst my friends (especially since i've lived in both norcal and socal) on who has better drivers? hrmmm....

well according to Allstate's National Best Drivers Report for 2010 i would like to point out some data points. This report shows 3 major categories. 1) population 2) Relative Accident Likelihood w.r.t. Nation Average 3) Average years between accidents (larger is better in this case)

First of all, I compared the BAY AREA to just Los Angeles, the reason being is because of the population, this is the closest i could get with the datapoints labeled out for Norcal Cities. As for reference, Norcal cities that were represented in the data are:

San Jose

San Francisco

Hayward

Fremont

Sunnyvale

Oakland

Figure 1: Norcal vs. Los Angeles

So according to All-State, the weighted average for all of norcal has an accident likelihood of 28.72% whereas Los Angeles has a 44.7% pretty bad driving don't you think? Also the time between accidents is much more frequent for the Socal Drivers vs. the Norcal drivers....

but wait.... that may not seem fair... there is SO much of socal and the other cities are actually much better drivers than in just LA.... okay, fair enough lets do a full blown weighted average analysis between the Norcal region vs. Socal region

Figure 1: Norcal Weighted Averages

aaaaaaaand.....

Figure 2: Socal Weighted Averages

the other cities do help out the cause (except for stupid Glendale WOW 70%?!?!?!) bringing it much closer but overally, not enough to counterweight the fact that Norcal drivers are.... with proof in the numbers.... better drivers than Socal drivers....

THANK YOU ALL STATE!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM IN VERY GOOD HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!

Portal: No escape

2011-08-26T14:01:00.001-07:00

my brother linked me to this video and it is so frickin awesome.... its EXACTLY how i feel portal would be in the real world... they should make a movie out of it:

my rant

2011-08-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

i think it's been a while since i've blogged and i wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a subject that has been recurring for me for a while now.

each morning while getting ready for work i've been watching the news and maybe every other day the same story goes on and on about the BART protests and how furious the riders are that BART officials turned off cell-phone service during a previous protest / strike to avoid riding bart.

REALLY?!?!

you are going to start a protest, because BART officials turned off cell service to your phones during yet a DIFFERENT protest?

then i hear from these interviews of people complaining about how BART had no right to turn off the cell phone service because "what if i needed to contact my family?" or "what if there was an emergency?"

people today have become VERY spoiled with the technology that's given to them. it got me reminiscing about how we communicated back then before cell phones, before pagers, before email, before facetime. did people complain then? how did you handle emergencies then? or how about how did you contact your family then if you wanted to? what if a REAL emergency happened and ALL cell phone service went down, did these people not properly leave their houses in secure hands or are they purely reliant on the technology that is in place today? taking the little things for granted like asking a friend of neighbor to check on your family if something were to ever happen.

and so, after all of this, the BART riders arranged a protest about BART trying to prevent their last protest. this thing is so never-ending that nobody really cares what the original protest was about, it's just the "new fad" to protest about. seriously, do people have NOTHING better to do? again, i want to emphasize.... do people have NOTHING BETTER TO DO?!?!?!

stay at home and be a parent... go do community service... do house work... read a book.... shit do something productive with your lives!!!!

sorry, i think watching the news has made me really cynical with this world... the world is really retarded... i got another rant about the idiots who fought at Candlestick during the niners/raiders game.... paid $200 to talk shit to one another... get into a fight... and go to jail... best.... money.... ever.... spent....

i love TV

2011-08-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Photo Hunt

2011-07-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

hello blog... sorry i haven't been updating, lots of stuff has been going on.

as soon as the dust settles i'll be able to fill everyone in with my boring life... but until then, just sharing a thought that has crept into my head:

i'm somehow in the mood to go on a photo-trip right now

*sighs*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

TODAY IS MY GIRLFRIEND'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♫ Happy Happy Birthday, from all of us to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu... Happy Happy Birthday and we hope your dreams come true!!!!!!!!!! ♪

Happy Birthday My Love =) ♥

3 Years and COUNTING

2011-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

it has been 3 years since i magically stumbled into who would be my girlfriend... i look back at the whole situation and still smile =)

and to continue with the tradition.... here's OUR STORY:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

exactly 2 years ago this very day was the first day i met who would end up being my most favorite person in the whole world....

photo by the amazingly talented Lena

I will let her yelp review of the retelling of the day we met take you through that fateful day 2 years ago... (with my comments in between) this is just a repost of my post one year ago but i like putting it back up and smiling each time i read it

Date: June 22, 2008
Location: McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, NV

It was a typical Sunday at work. I was at the counter working as fast as I could to get everyone checked in and on their way to the gate. Something happened and I had been forced to logout and the comp just showed a OUT OF SERVICE message. I had never seen this before and after calling the Help Desk they advised me that they were working on it. In the meantime.. I was forced out into the lobby.

just my luck that the real reason why you and i crossed paths was due to a computer crash... haha... that has my life written all over it... (BSOD FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!)

The lobby isn't bad.. its just kinda lame when there's no one out there to help. You look like a little lost puppy and you become the information booth for everyone entering the airport. (arf-arf?) Anyway.. this particular weekend seemed like it was THE weekend for bachelors and bachelorettes to celebrate. The morning was filled with groups dragging their feet through our lobby trying to muster up enough energy to check-in. It was entertaining...

There was a lull.. then he walked in. I smiled. He smiled back. He strolled up with his luggage tag and I helped him pull it off. I waited with him until a counter opened up. He asked me where I was from.. and I pointed to the Flight Information Display Screen.
i thought u were pointing at like... behind the counter... like u were trying to be smart... heh... then i quickly realized u were pointing at SFO... i didn't know exactly what that meant yet so i had to ask... "ur from the city?" (only a true bay area peeps would be able to answer that back...) i would like to point out that you were looking very pretty in ur hottie airport uniform... =P and then i noticed the dimples (or i thought it was dimples) and made the notion to check u out as ninja as i could be...

Let me explain.. the only place we flew to in the summer with SFO. I always got a kick out of "magically" knowing where all our guests were going. My favorite response was, "How did you know?? Do I look like I'm going to San Francisco?!" I always laughed and pointed to the screen behind me reading San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco... then it made sense.
still took me a while.... =( i blame the bottle service from 8 hours prior to us meeting.... >.<

So.. back to the story. He didn't get it. I had to tell him. He felt silly for not noticing the display only showing San Francisco. (my brain wasn't working!!!!!!!!) A few counters opened up and our conversation was cut short. He stood to the side as the rest of his friends were helped.. and I felt I needed to continue the friendly chitchat. (thank you for doing so... otherwise i would have looked the total fool for just standing there telling all my friends to just meet up w/ me outside the line...) He asked me how often I went to the city and after finding out I went quite often.. He asked "Do you wanna hang out sometime?" LAME I know.. but how could I say no? (LAME?!?!?! more like... how about very subtle and honest?? i have no lines.... unless lameness is my game... like u said... how could u say no to something so lamez?? *sighs* well, at least it worked.... everyone else can ridicule me for this later...) He asked for my number and he put it in his phone. I noticed he had the LG Prada which is a phone I had drooled over since the first time I saw it online. Bonus pts!
i owe johnny 1 point for this one for lettting me use it that weekend... really it's cuz i didn't want to lose my more expensive BlackJack II that weekend, so i instead used a more expensive but FREE phone for that weekend that had the nice WoW factor to it.... looks like it worked also... =P

A group walked up and I excused myself to assist them. I returned to the friendly stranger with the cool phone. He then said,

"Uhh.. by the way.. my name is ______." (Let's call him The Pook) (adrian)

At that very moment I realized that he realized that he had asked for my number, AND I gave it to him.........without knowing each others names! I looked down in shame and saw my name bar on my badge holder.. and lifted it to show my name. (i didn't look at the badge because i didn't want to make it look like i was staring at ur chest.... i just heard u say LEE-NAH and just spelled it in my head...) I think we both were laughing on the inside... but had to keep it there so we wouldn't show how embarrassed we were. At that very moment.. his friend walked by and said, "The first thing he noticed were your dimples" and I gave him brownie pts for the perfect timing. I pointed out that I only have one dimple and he pretended to be interested. lol...
i owe johnny a second point for this one.... maybe i should buy him a beer for this....

To this day I still think he had it all planned out. But he doesn't think so because who asks for someone's number without getting their name?... but who is silly enough to actually give it. Lol..
like i said... our plan is to never have a plan.... its so.... unplanned, that it may come off as planned... but the beauty of it is its never planned nor can we ever do it over again.... we're the king of improv...

He went on his way to the gate and my computer was fixed so I went behind the counter. Just minutes later I received a text. (i spelled ur name Lina and u had to correct me on the next text... lol) The following day was my birthday and he wanted to hang out if I made way over there. Unfortunately the following day was also the beginning of many many delays caused by the smoke from the fires in Napa and I wasn't able to make it out for a while. I called him to let him know and the rest is pretty much history.
what was supposed to be a 2 minute call telling me that you won't be coming into town turned into a 1.5 hour convo before u headed out that night.... since then we've spoken on the phone every day when u walked to work at 7:30am in the morning....

Although it was tough living in different states.. we got through all the bumpies. I visited practically every week on my days off and he came when he could.

she hearts me in that picture above... =P

and i only came to vegas one time... unless u count the second time when i flew to help u drive ur stuff back... =P but that one time was a great one... we had red mango and i found u at the airport wearing ur Alex Smith Niners Jersey.... haha... too bad he was cut that very week...

He even took me to Hawaii for the first time. It was the perfect vacation.. and the location he finally asked me to be his gf. I know it's a little high school.. but I've always needed to be asked. I never assume.

i was wanting to ask for the past 3 days but i wanted to hold it in until we got to hawaii... once we entered our room i just went and did it.... after that..... here we are now... =)

The week of Thanksgiving I was given the opportunity to go on temp duty at HQ and I said yes in a heartbeat! His Christmas wish came true and I was able to stay for the holidays. A month later I was offered a permanent postion and we have never been happier.
thank you again for making that happen.... best christmas gift... EVER

---------------------------

and that's pretty much how it all happened between her and i... since then her and i have been happily together and i couldn't see myself happier with anyone else...

was it all just a dream?

2011-06-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

last night i had the oddest dream that occured between 10-2:30am. (yeah i had a hard time sleeping. if you knew what happened yesterday u would understand)

anyhow

this dream consisted a mixture of borderlands and friday night lights.

the scenery felt a lot like barren texas. you know, kinda like the farmlands you see along highway 5 when driving to/from socal. for some odd reason inside this small outhouse on this property was a glowing toolbox. much like weapons chests in borderlands and for some weird reeason i had to have it. i knew it wasnt mine, and i probably should jot have taken it but for some reason i had to have it. so in my dreams i schemed and plotted to attain this chest. i also knew that it was me because i was driving my trusty honda and i pulled up sort of in the break of dawn when it was still semi-dark out. i snuck into the outhouse and took the chest and threw it in the back of my car. as soon as i felt like i was in the clear the villains of my dream (although i. this case i m sorta the bad guy since i m pretty much stealing something of theirs) come out and notice what i am doing and begin yelling and screaming to reach for their guns. i immedieately felt the adrenaline rush through my body. knowing this could be a matter of life or death, and also knowi g that i was ill equipped to take on guns even in my dreeam, also simply pitting back what i took would result in the same punishment i started my car and began peeling out onto the road.

thie villains began running with a fury the likes of the T1000 and somehow all the cars on the road stopped and out popped people with hockey sticks trying to slow me down or deter me from my course. i wondered what was wrong with this world, then i realized that i was still in the wrong so i didnt think twice about the crazed lunatics outside their cara tryint to stop what they believe is a robber.

so i am driving frantically in my car with the vikkains in. y rear view mirror closely gaining due to my constant need to bob and weave through the throngs of people in my way. the adrenaline in my body grew and grew to the point where the extremities in my body felt like they were numb. light as a feather yet responding to what my mind was telling them to do. i was bobbing and weaving tighter and feastee like as if it were a video game in front of me. yet the villains were still gaining. the adrenaline quickly turned to fear. i still dont know whats in this box yet they look like they are willing tp kill for it. in a split decision i ran off the road and on to the dirt side next to the road. none of the people were on the side as if they could only stay on the asphault of the road. once io hit the dirt side i could feel the car bumbing left and right and kicking up dust everywhere as the villains got withing arms reach of nabbing me, i pressed my foot down as hard as i could on the gas and the car just flying forward to a clean getaway into the morning light.

as i was getting away, my adrenaline lebels were stabalizing. i could feel my heart beating somewhat normal and i breathed a sigh of relief. it was at that moment i thought to myself.... did they notice my license plate?

and the.... i woke up

It was only just a dream

2011-06-06T10:36:00.001-07:00

sick instrumental

http://www.mediafire.com/?8al15ibhz9rr6ho

the way the world works

2011-05-24T12:12:00.001-07:00

this is pretty much how the world works in the technology arms race:

this has happened to me with the following products:

1. HD-DVD
2. first Ipod Mini
3. Mini-Disc
4. pretty much every single computer part i've purchased

The ones that have stood the test of time:

1. Dell UltraSharp 24" Monitor
2. Panasonic Viera 50" Plasma
3. XBOX 360

what type are you?

2011-05-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

are you the type that when. shopping for an item and there isone that you like you immediately go andgetitregardlessof the price?

or if you see something similar a little less on theqality but much lower in price get that one instead?

like the degredation in price faroutweighs the degredation in quality? or do ujust go for thequality puurchase and bedonewith it?

movie bunnies

2011-05-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

today was a momentous day. i took lena on her first movie hop ever in her life today. haha. we felt like rebels and yes she was scared and nervous because we may hve gotten cqught. i didnt do my infamous pre-hop technique. we did a straight up hop

1st movie was Bridesmaids and it was hilarious. definitely had that ZaOMG factor in it and it was overAll a great movie

once tha movie ended lena looked at me and wondered if we were going to or not. i already had my 3D glasses ready and so we left the theatre knowing when the next showing of Thor 3D was and fortunately it was on the same side as where we were

we scurried into the bathroom (respectively of course) and took our time. we both emerged having taken our our sweaters and me removing my hat (like that is enough but who knows!). anyways the thor theatre was kiddy corner from the bathroom but closer to the main part of the theatrre instead of closer to the exit (on the way out are the easiest movies to hop into and they know it that is why they stick the crappiest movies there)

well in plain view across from the thor theatre was a security guard that we walked right in front of as we exited frok bridesmaids and he was leanin up against the counter watchingn down the hallway. lena and i sat at the bench closer to the bathroom side of the hallway and all we needed to do was just cross but i know the security guard will see us. so now it was just the waiting game because the mocie wasnt going to start for another 15 minutes but the guy just stood there the whooe time! we were about to abort but then thats when i said ok then lets go and just casuakky walked into the theatre like we just came from the bathroom.

we overheard a voice behind us yeslling "wait!..... can we go to the bathroom first!". and we realized it was a coupke behind us

walked calmly to the back of the theatre and lena had this big smile on her face. i can tell it was a bit exhilerating dodging the man haha.

i asked her if she wanted popcorn since i m already in i had confidence i can get. bavk in but lena was scared of whether i could get back in or not or if a secueity gAurd comes in she wont kno what to do. so we sat there and felt like rebels. luckily we snuck in our own snacks too AND we walked back out with our 3D. glasses as well HAHA

yes. we that is the extent of my badboyness now that i m 29. this is alll i got left. (i know..... i never had any to begin with). but it was a big day for us. well for her. for the first time in her life she finally movie hopped at the movie theatres in the summer.

Office Humor

2011-05-17T08:40:00.001-07:00

Practicing a Sales Call goes haywire

so... classic....

so many things going on

2011-05-16T11:32:00.001-07:00

lots of things going on... haven't had time to blog about everything...

i just leave you with one thing to post on for now:

I HELLA WANT THAT TV!!!!!!!!

Panasonic TC-P55VT30

Calvin and Hobbes: The Future

2011-05-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

i see myself doing the same thing with my hobbes doll

props to trev for the strip

props to lena for the hobbes doll

Mamba Feet

2011-04-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

I noticed something very important when i was watching the lakers game on Tuesday

i really really really want Kobe's Shoes:

They would close up on it during the game and it's got this snake-skin like look to it which is appropriate since he's known as The Black Mamba.

Welcome to the Playoffs

2011-04-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

have i forgotten to mention that he is my hands-down favorite player in the NBA?

Game-Changer

Demoralizer

o, and he has a sprained left ankle. kinda hard to tell with those two plays but supposedly it's there... somewhere

GO KOBE!

doctor visits

2011-04-26T10:38:00.001-07:00

today i'm seeing almost all my doctors at once today (yeah i count my dentist as my doctor)

went to the dentist this morning, the usual: floss more big whoop. i have a calvin and hobbes strip ready for this occasion but i couldn't seem to find it. if i do i will share with everyone. my hygenist is really nice so i think i'm going to try to make a goal for my next checkup to floss more regularly and stop the bleeding when they are cleaning my teach with that weapon... er... dental tools

yeah, that sickle one and the pick one are the ones that scare me the most

then it was off to my regular physician to pick up some test requests... lets hope everything is alright there

and now i'm here waiting at my endocrinologist to check on my metabolism and make sure i'm not overly burning what i eat

*sighs* to make up for it i was up at 3am this morning working and prolly won't be in the office until after lunch (not that i'm THAT anxious to make it back to work)

all that's left on my doctor lists was my podiatrist (foot doctor) and my Knee Arthroscopist doctor for my ACL and i would have gone through the gamut of all my doctors

Tossing and Turning

2011-04-26T04:31:00.001-07:00

today is already going to be a bad day. I can already feel it.

i woke up at 3;30am but sparsely waking up since 1:10am which I last saw on my clock. Working until 1:10am and not finished with what I needed to do all that went on (even in my own dreams) were the thoughts of work amongst other things that have been on the negative downturn in my life.

i wake up. it's reality (not that the dream world was any better)

working right now. can't find anything to watch on netflix.

it's going to be a bad day, i know it.

i wish it were that easy

Think Positive!!!

2011-04-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Why is it called a semicolon? why couldn't it be called a supercomma instead?

glass is half full people... glass is half full

Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus

2011-04-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

or.... maybe.... not....

watching this extremely hilarious commercial over and over again you find that the men are reacting the same exact way as the women are. there's the guy/girl jumping up and down clapping her hands. the guy/girl pointing and shaking hands. and the guy/girl with the hands on their face in utter amazement.

i guess we're not too far apart; only noticeable difference is we have cherish different things, yet react very passionately towards them in the same way.

so i ask myself, what's the equivalent to talking trash in video games and yelling/cheering/jeering while watching sports?

Calvin and Hobbes: Thinking too fast

2011-04-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Calvin and Hobbes: The Grass is always greener

2011-04-19T14:24:00.001-07:00

ahahaha.... cartoons like this is what goes on in my head ALL the time

Mikey's Blog

2011-04-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Mikey is the Dividend Turtle and as his blog states: "Slow and steady wins the race! My take on how we can all achieve this through dividend growth investments."

Check out his blog here

I encourage all my readers to follow him as well... u may learn a thing or two about life and finances that is lost between the lines among many other websites

and i'm sure many of u will get the same reaction after reading his blog as i have felt the entire time i've known him.... why are you not in business?!?!?

Calvin and Hobbes: What are you doing with your life?

2011-04-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

i've always marvelled at how Bill Watterson can take such a funny cartoon strip and make it seem something more in just 4 panels. it truly is a work of art, and at the end of reading this strip, i found myself staring at the crack for a little longer than i would any other object... just as calvin and hobbes are doing...

Stairway to Heaven

2011-04-19T01:36:00.001-07:00

can you do this job?

just watching this video made my legs numb...

Bieber Fever

2011-04-15T01:49:00.001-07:00

MAD props to lena... this read made me laugh so hard tears came out.... HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA read everything please and enjoy:

Renowned master of email aggravation David Thorne recently tormented a seemingly random coworker by digitally grafting Justin Bieber's obnoxious grin onto every single image in his stock photo library. Below is the brilliantly infuriating conversation that preceded this formal complaint, followed by several of the images Thorne Bieber-ized. (Via The Daily What, David Thorne)

Bieber wants to walk in Jesus' footsteps >>

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAA the one in the rocks or the beans made me laugh so incredibly hard.....

U-C-LLLLL-A!!!!

2011-04-08T09:25:00.001-07:00

something i think only me and trev would appreciate

So Long Kid

2011-04-08T08:54:00.001-07:00

not very many people know this about me probably because this was all at a point before my adult life and none of my friends really shared this passion but my favorite baseball player of all time is Ken Griffey Jr.

If anyone keeps up with baseball, they know that he recently retired calling it quits but looking at him in recent pictures he still looks like a Kid. haha, always known as "Junior" or "The Kid" or "The Natural" he had one of the sweetest swings in all of baseball and when he was up at bat, it was a thing of beauty.

baseball lately has been known for pitching, but at the plate this guy made me forget who was pitching at him and demoralized most pitchers on the mound in his hay-days.

i still remember when he slammed it out of the park against an A's game that i was watching to put the mariners out of reach and iced the game for them. i was at that game and i knew in the 9th inning, when i looked up at the billboard and saw the batting lineup that if Ken Griffey Jr. was going up to the plate say goodbye to that ball... i called it... and it happened

and now that he's retired, i saw the commercial nike did for him as a tribute to the kid

oh yes and i still own his Rookie Card =)

Happy Birthday Johnny!!!

2011-03-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

From Drop Box

picture pretty much says it all

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-03-23T11:53:00.001-07:00

From my fav photos

Team Prestige

2011-03-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

so... if many of you don't know.... i spent the better half of my weekend (actually more like 80% of my weekend) playing call of duty: black ops. I've discovered a couple cool new game modes (gun game) and zombies are still always a great thing to fall back on. but last friday, through another 6 or 7 hour session with the guys we went 26-0... that's right... 26 straight wins... with whatever xbox-live had to offer us and we still knocked them all down with just about everyone on our team of 6 averaging over 1.0 K/D ratio. In my book that's pretty damn good to have everyone having a good game.

and i realized something towards the end of the night when i saw our names on the server list. we all hit level 50.... all 6 of us were sitting there owning everyone left and right and it got to a point where we didn't really have to try anymore (decoy + jammer = AWESOME)

so this really insane thought popped into my head. i told the guys that the next time all 6 of us log on together as a team, that we all prestige AT THE SAME TIME.

now for those of you who don't know what prestiging is in call of duty, what it basically does in the multiplayer game is you reset your account back to level 1. you lose all your money, all your weapons, perks, everything.... the only thing that carries over is your customizable icon, your clan tag, and you get an upgraded medal to signify that you've prestiged.

basically it's voluntarily kicking yourself in the balls

and last night.... after teetering with only 5 peeps on xbox live... our 6th man signed on aaaanannnnnd.....

From Drop Box

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

everyone being at level 1 and now everything is a challenge... we have to kill someone and steal their gun and go around and kill them again with their own guns!!! plus its satisfying to know that we just beat someone that is vastly higher level than we are and all we got are the first guns you start out with in the game MUAHAHAHAHAHA

this game is awesome

i never wanted to prestige until this game.... this game actually doesn't make it all that bad

Mt. Hamilton Madness

2011-03-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

earlier this month I achieved what I deem is the hardest physical thing i've done so far in my life. Bike up an entire effing mountain.

training for the upcoming century has lead to larger and larger bike rides that are the highest i've ever climbed on pure manpower and the furthest i've ever biked.

Feb. 27, mike and I decided to try and tackle a mountain we've always said we wanted to do but never had the full time to do it (it takes 4 - 6 hours to complete).

Starting from our houses and biking to the top of Mt. Hamilton to the Lick Observatory. It is the tallest mountain in the Bay Area, towering at 4200 ft. of elevation and 18 miles of road to the top (with 2 descents of 1 mile each... yeah that's right... you climb up and then you go downhill and lose about 200 ft. elevation each time, so all in al... you're climbing about 4600 ft. all together)

For more information on the bike ride and the ACTUAL website where we got our inspiration from to do this crazy ride at the end of february GO HERE

Mike and I started at around 11am knowing that the sun will set at around 5:30, it didn't leave us much time becuase from our houses we still had to bike there to the actual mt. hamilton road, and THEN start the climb. Starting from mike's house we went down penitencia creek, then up alum rock park and finally crossing over to Mt. Hamilton road highlighted above.

once we started the trecherous climb, we knew we were in for a doozy. the first half of the climb to Grant Park is our first original PR. 8 miles up the mountain there is a national park with a beautiful view of the mountain and climbing up was actually a lot easier than the first time around (maybe we got better?)

but the gradients didn't feel all that bad. A few 5 percent grades (i know 5 doesn't seem that bad in your eyes but its actually a lot harder than it may seem)

Once we reached grant park decided to take a food, physical, and mental break.

From 2011-02-27 Lick Observatory Ride

yes, our food of choice was Uncrustables: Peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches (HELLA GOOD!!!)

with spirits high and still excited to reach the top, i decided to take a video and snap a few pics:

From 2011-02-27 Lick Observatory Ride

and YES... that is SNOW at the top of Mt. Hamilton.... RIGHT?!?!??!?! after seeing the top from Grant Park. Another 8 miles and 2400 ft. of elevation to go, we weren't sure if we would make it to the top. but we were already here, and determined to do it for the sake of becoming better cyclists so the second half began and the second half is like a night and day comparison to the first half. it kicked my ass every single way. I am not sure if it was fatigue that set in or the gradients just getting harder but the second half was much tougher than the first.

and the last 5 miles is what killed me. i had to stop very frequently and hit a point where I wasn't sure if i would make it to the top. Luckily mike was there to push me and prevent me from mentally breaking down and starting back down the mountain. i became quiet, purely focused on each pedal one after another.

seeing the observatory at the top and knowing that its only hundreds of feet more of climbing, but a few more miles of actual climbing. mentally i was reaching my limit. i didn't know what to do other than just keep pedaling and hope that the top eventually comes. we later found out that what happened to me was that i "bonked" meaning i wasn't properly energized to go the last leg. i needed food because my blood sugar was low and that's what started affecting everything else in my body. pure fatigue and unable to replenish the nutrients.

but eventally.... FINALLY.... we hit the top!!!!!! the snow covered top. temperatures dropping to the 20's (yeah it has to be that cold in order for the snow to be there) and MAN was it cold!!!!

BUT WE MADE IT!!!! ACHIEVEMENT!!!!

had to take a few pictures to validate where we were as proof to ourselves

From 2011-02-27 Lick Observatory Ride

yeah, we JUST biked through that entire valley of mountains right there

From 2011-02-27 Lick Observatory Ride

THe Lick Observatory Telescopes with snow all around

From 2011-02-27 Lick Observatory Ride

and all i gotta say is our bikes are so fucking cool.

2001 Trek 5200 Carbon and 1999 Trek 5200 Carbon USPS

btw, i also tried to save some snow in my water bottle for the a souvenier but all but a lump of ice was melted by the time i got home. =/

and as happy as we were for reaching that mountain top. i was exhausted. thrilled that we finished, freezing, hungry, and not looking forward to the 18 miles of downhill that we need to descend through the icy conditions.

but alas, we needed to do it. i was very tempted of bribing someone at the top of the mountain to just throw our bikes in the back of the pick up truck along with me and mike and just hitch a ride down the mountain. i wanted to. but we decided not to.

so we started down the long, treacherous ride down 4200ft. mountain. The first part was absolutely FREEZING. twisting and winding roads in 20 degree weather. my thumbs felt like there were going to fall off, and i was holding on for dear life because the level of concentration needed to safely go down the mountain is the most focus i've ever been in my life. imagine, 20 degree weather, reaching speeds of 25 - 30 miles an hour, twisting and winding roads with blind turns, keeping your head up from a downhill position, all while trying to hold on to your breaks with frozen fingers.

plus, motorists are complete assholes to us. revving their engines and intimidating us. like we could just stop on the side of the road. they were being complete dicks while we were trying to descend. but i must confess. as we were making our way down the mountain, each time a pickup truck overtook us, i thought to myself "there's another person we could have bribed for a ride back down the mountain.... shoulda asked him" but we kept on going.... kept on freezing.... kept on concentrating.... hanging on for dear life with the mountain cliffside on either side of us...

it took us an hour to go down the mountain. the sun was setting and the temeperature was dropping even faster. it was close to 5 by this time and we weren't sure if we'd hit the bottom before it got really dark. we had to stop several times to warm up our fingers and the 2 1-mile climbs going back were just as hard as the 5 mile climb at the last leg of Mt. Hamilton. My legs were jelly and my mind was only fixated on a few things. going home to lena, eating tacos, and my warm bed. that's what kept me going the last 2 climbs. one foot after another was what i kept telling myself.

once we reached the bottom of the mountain, sadly we realized we still had another 7 miles to go to bike back home. the sun was practically all gone and we feared for catching pneumonia from being out in the cold for so long. at this point, after reaching our goal of the top of the mountain we decided to take refuge at a starbucks on the way back home at the corner of Alum Rock and Piedmont. I decided to call lena to come rescue us from ourselves as me and mike sat inside the warm starbucks with our bikes. a cup of $1.50 coffee was the best damn coffee i've ever had. downed it like it was nothing, and the sugar i'm sure helped me.

lena drove my car to the starbucks where i already had the bike rack on my car. racked up our bikes, drove to jack in the box for some tacos and ended the night warm in my bed with lena after a well deserved hot shower.

Looking back at the whole ordeal, i shit you not, that this was the hardest thing i've ever had to do physically in my entire life.

the final numbers. in order to bike up to mt. hamilton road, the final elevation of climbing was roughly 5000 ft. from our homes. and also since i started from my house, the final distanced "biked" from my house to the end was 45.7 miles

In the end of all ends, with me and my video game head, this is what popped into my head:

XBOX live achievements are the best thing to ever happen to video games in a long time. =)

next on the list:

Sierra Rd. (THE HARD WAY)

Henry Coe Mountain (the actual mountain we are doing on century)

2011-02-27 Lick Observatory Ride

Behind on the Blogging

2011-03-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

I am VERY behind on my blogging / photo-updates

Mt. Hamilton Ride
California Academy of Science
Monterey
Presenting in Design Conference

i'll try to post when i can

Glee Song of the Day

2011-03-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

don't listen if you haven't watched today's episode but this song is great

Prayers and Thoughts for everyone in Japan

2011-03-11T19:33:00.001-08:00

The Concept of Portal

2011-03-08T11:57:00.001-08:00

maybe my last post didn't make sense to 90% of the people out there so to give a brief introduction of what the "portal" gun can actually do... here's a tutorial from the first portal... very insightful and already from just watching that think of the possibilities you can do with it...

now imagine if there were two of you with that gun

ZOMFG!!!!!!!! PORTAL 2

2011-03-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

THIS IS THE MOST EXCITED I HAVE BEEN FOR A GAME IN A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG TIME!!!!!

my brother and i are all over this game and come april 16th the mythical "Brother Connection" will be put to the test between him and i

if you haven't played the first portal GET IT AND PLAY IT!!!! if you need to i will let you borrow my copy cuz ZOMG it is an amazing game!!!

coolest thing on the internet

2011-03-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

this has got to be one of the coolest videos... the guy rescues a baby hummingbird and they become friends!!!! i wish i had a pet hummingibird, they are so cute!!!!

watch the whole video, it should give you a smile on your face

happy monday all

outflashed the FLASH

2011-03-06T12:15:00.000-08:00

derrick rose is burning the miami heat... more importantly... he's burning dwayne wade out of his own buliding. wade carried the "fastest man in the NBA" title for a while, punishing everyone from the 3pt line to the rim but derrick rose is just annihilating the big 3 to the rim

i didn't like rose because of what he did to UCLA at the final four back when he was on memphis and its a tough pill to swallow to root for him, but i like him and the bulls in the east right now. they might be my favorite team in the east.

LETS GO BULLS!!!!

o... and the bulls JUST swept the heat during the regular season... wade AND james both missed a last second shot... so much for the superfriends

BUY THIS GAME RIGHT NOW!!!!

2011-03-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Braid was one of the THE best games i've ever played in my life... the concept was so great that there's no better way to describe it other than PLEASE WATCH THE TRAILER

for anyone that's SLIGHTLY intrigued by what you just witnessed, it's on sale for 2.99 for your PC. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Steam has Braid (PC) for $2.99

Glee - Blame It

2011-03-01T14:38:00.001-08:00

song stuck in my head

Zombies!!!!!!!

2011-03-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Call of Duty Zombies Survival mode is quite possibly the funnest "accidental" game that ever came out of any franchise. it is practically a third game out of the multiplayer / campaign and could EASILY stand on its own as its own game if treyarch so much as wanted to release just ONE disc with all the zombie maps on it, i bet it would sell....

So far here are the records that I can recall:

Nacht der Untoten

2 players = Level 25 with me and dennis

4 players = Level 22

Der Riese

2 Players = Level 35 with me and dennis

interestingly enough this is the highest me and denn have ever gotten in any zombie maps thus far

Kino der Toten

2 Players = Level 18

4 Players = Level 22 KEEP MOVING!!!!! Barrier at the stairwell.... ROCK THEM!!!! BABIES!!! GET THE BABIES!!!!!

"Five"

yes, you play as JFK / nixon / and fidel castro as well as the chief of security

2 players = Level 11 stupid mad scientist steals your shit!!!!!!!!!!

3 players = Level 13

Ascension

played this last night

2 players = Level 5

4 players = Level 18

Zombies mode = the best thing to ever happen to Call of Duty

And that was the TOOTH!!!

2011-03-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Ever have one of those mornings where you go through your normal routine and right as you do a specific action, something sparks in your head and all of a sudden you remember very vividly the dream you had last night?

That's what happened to me this morning right when i was brushing my teeth and i spit out the toothpaste into the sink. Right at that moment, what was churning through this large noggin of mine over the past 8 hours.

Last night I had a dream that I lost my lower canine and first premolar on the right side of my jaw. It just slipped right, kind of like in District 9 when the main character goes to the bathroom and is slowly mutating and finds that his fingernails, his hair, and his teeth are just falling right off. Yeah, it was pretty much THAT moment for me too in front of my mirror.

Now, not many may share this same feeling with me, but that feeling you get when you lose a tooth or a fingernail and its this part of your body that NEVER gets touched? Its like your gum feels weird or that skin underneath ur nail is so sensitive because it has never felt another touch. I've had that feeling when i lost my toe-nail on my little to (thanks again johnny) and i became obsessed with just touching it because it's a feeling i've never felt ever in my life. well that's how it was in my dream with my lost tooth. I kept inhaling really fast to let air ride over that gap or slide my tongue through and feel this game of what used to be two teeth sitting there.

i guess this dream is just serving as a reminder to me to floss and brush my teeth every day. I would say there are many things about my body that i take for granted and its dreams like that, that remind me to appreciate all the things we have.

so yeah, that's my dream. just thought i'd like to share

Funny of the Day

2011-03-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

Jay Cutler getting bitch-slapped by a ref

the look on his face is priceless

Thanks SBNation.com

HOLY RAVIOLI

2011-02-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

wow..... just..... WOW!!!!!!

24 Season 8 Series Finale is mind-blowing-ZOMGness....

my jaw dropped and i am still in disbelief that the series is finally over. there have been some few missteps (season 3 and 6) but other than that... WOW!!!!

for anyone that hasn't watched it yet... it's on netflix and WATCH IT

What Goes Around Comes Around

2011-02-24T15:15:00.001-08:00

the timeless adage: Karma's a bitch ain't it?

Baron Davis was traded from the LA Clippers to the leage's worst team: Cleveland Caveliers

why is this relevent to me? well... its a few degree's of separation away, but i do keep a close eye on every UCLA player that's still playing in the NBA today (gooooo westbrook, collison and love!!) so this naturally caught my eye sifting through my usual news feed.

so the next question is... why the title? well for those of you that live in the bay area know this story only all too well. baron davis played for the warriors where he not only made the warriors relevant to the rest of the nba... but the warriors made him relevant as well.

Baron Davis brought the warriors to the playoffs for the first time in a verrrrrrry long time... sparking the T-shirts, posters, banners, billboards with big bold letters: We Believe!

Convincingly beating the mavs and losing to the jazz... then came back to the playoffs again the following year only to lose to the suns...

so what did Baron Davis end up doing? selling out the warriors and taking the huge contract with the clips. and now, he has been banished to the black-hole of the NBA.

please understand, i am in no way a warriors fan. i was cheering for them becuase it was great to see the bay area excited for basketball for once. rarely happens when you have the Giants / A's / and the Niners, all of which have been champions in their own respective sports. But i do feel for them. I like it when a UCLA player played for the warriors, Matt Barnes, Baron Davis, Dan Gadzuric but am i a fan? nope.... i buy warriors tickets when Kobe is in town and that's about it...

and although i love all the UCLA players, what b-diddy did to the franchise was wrong. its always for the money. it's that greed that i hate when it comes to professional sports. it is why i'm so disgusted with the NFL / NFLPA fighting over a CBA. when greed rears its ugly head in sports, its only the fans that get the short end of the stick.

so... all i have to say is..... karma's a bitch ain't it?!?!

a TRUE inside joke

2011-02-24T13:58:00.000-08:00

reading the comments on this forum i am just shocked and amazed at how many people don't "get" the joke... then again, i grew up with transformers and its quite possible that these people on the forum didn't (as is the case with many people)

http://www.allspark.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t29986.html

i know... most are probably scratching your head.... but HIGH FIVE to those of you that get it... you are getting a cool-point cookie from me =)

what also amazes me is this forum is an transformers related forum... being www.allspark.com i am just appalled that these people commenting on this forum don't understand this joke, yet claim to belong to a Transformers forum.... SHEESH....

The Man that Killed the NBA Slam Dunk Competition

2011-02-22T14:37:00.000-08:00

seeing the progression of the slam dunk contest these past few years (and the antics pulled off last weekend) it just goes to show what players have to do to try and receive attention in the slam dunk contest.

it's safe to assume that nobody will EVER come close to Vince Carter's slam dunk competition in 2000

He single-handedly destroyed the competition for every year beyond that. if you took what he did in 2000 and replayed it in 2001 all the way to 2011, i GUARANTEE you he would win out every single competition with those dunks. do you see how insane and creative those dunks are? NO jumping over a car. No two balls in your hand and dunking on two different basketball hoops. NO slapping on a superman cape and raising the basket 12 inches high just to show you can still dunk it. NO, Vince Carter dunked so believable that even in a regular game his dunks are legit. No Travelling, dribble two steps. no coasting in and just putting the ball in the hoop. His 360 Windmill dunk will forever live down as the greatest opening dunk in a competition EVER. nobody can top that. And then elevating so high that not only does he dunk the ball but his entire forearm as well?!?!?!

ever since 2000, the only way players can wow the crowd (which nobody is really wow'd anymore after vinsanity demolished the playing field) is to come up with stupid antics.

They should have retired the slam dunk contest after the year 2000 because nobody has had the entire nation going WHAT DID I JUST SEE?!?!?! since then at the competition. PERIOD

Poor Blackout

2011-02-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

Blackout had an operation and now he has to wear the cone of shame

From Drop Box

awesome TV

2011-02-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

Rainy Valentine

2011-02-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

i can control the weather i swear....

lena just left last night for a whole month and first morning i wake up.... it's raining

quite possibly the coolest dream ever

2011-02-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

okay... maybe this had something to do with watching the new Karate Kid movie last night (which by the way was pretty good... different enough from the original, but overall the same exact storyline which i like that they kept true... jackie chan plays a good mr. miyagi)

anyhow, back to my dream last night. a little history about my dreams. i never dream about anything super-natural. well, as a kid i used to dream that i was being chased by a mummy, or being abducted by aliens. everyone else always had dreams that they could fly or teleport or something insanely awesome. others even claim that they realize that they are dreaming and decide to do crazy things in their dreams when they are flying. i apparently do not have imaginative dreams such as that, and i always felt left out.

so that is why my dream last night was awesome. i didn't realize i was in a dream, i just took it for reality and went along with it for as long as i could sleep. in my dream it was a cross between karate kid, harry potter, and sorcerer's apprentice. i dreamt that i was 12 years old and attending a school of martial arts and sorcery. we were, without lack of a better word, badasses, or rather i thought we were. the coolest, and absolute COOLEST thing that we could do, or at least i thought we could do were elemental plasma balls:

electricity, fire, water, ice, you name it, and that happened to be the lesson of the day. you could summon them from your extremities and either make it an extension of your hands or feet, or as a shield from other elementals. usual elementals that negated one another were present... water beats fire, fire beats ice, electricity beats water, you name it. from every single elemental negation from role playing games was possible in my dream.

during one training mission, we were split into 2 teams with a goal in mind, i believe it was reach a certain point first (first with 3 teammates to make it at the finish line wins). anyhow, i never finished the training mission but at one point in the match i was pincered in a cornered alleyway with two rivals on my flanks. each standing a fair distance away from me so that i could not perform any martial arts attacks and one could cover the other if i tried to attack one of them. so a barrage of plasma balls were coming at me from all directions and i used my own elementals to block them and fire them back at the other person instead. this perhaps went on for a few rallies in my head until i of course emerged victorious (it is after all my dream)

once i dispatched those two and the finish line was in sight, i got ambushed by this girl from another steam and was standing right in front of me. after a bit of hand-to-hand combat i eventually got the drop and had my hand up to her face and about to plasma blast her face off, but i instead said BLAM!!!! you just died and she stood there frozen acknowledging that if i wanted to, i could have, then i ran off to finish the training mission

i then woke up and thought to myself. man, that WOULD be an awesome power.

thanks, that was my dream

Manic Monday

2011-01-31T16:16:00.001-08:00

a funny to kick-start your work week

if me and that husband were ever in the store together.... my-oh-my... all the trouble we would cause....

off the top of my head:

Go to the home department and build a fort out of pillows
Place high-priced items in the clearance racks

and so many more but i do give him mad props for the nose-picking, and hiding in the clothing racks... i would have never thought of those.... MUAHAHAHAHHAHAA

right now, i'm picturing myself to look like this:

Professor Chaos!!!!! with his trusty sidekick: General Disarray

props to trev for the find

what a creep

2011-01-31T13:31:00.001-08:00

browsing through my usual slickdeals/dealsea forums for whatever i want to buy... i cam across this interesting yet utterly useless product:

Barska 20x-60x Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope with Tripod $60

would would i need it? good question... i don't... but i was interested to see what the hell it would be used for other than what construction guys and caltrans ppl use on the road every now and then...

i clicked through it on amazon, scrolled down to the reader review... and read it for a little while and found the reviewer is from UCLA.... read on for his full review:

This review is from: Barska CO11502 20-60x60 Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope with Tripod (Sports)

I'm not sure why no one has made a review on this product yet. Here's the quick report.

I wanted to buy a good spotting scope for when I go on nature hikes or whatever (I'm a bio undergrad at UCLA), so of course i'm interested in observing natural phenomenon. Anyways, looked online, found this one (but no one reviewed it yet), took a chance and ordered it. My logic was, it didn't have all the accessories that come with other spotting scopes, plus a cheap looking bag, cheap looking tripod, and had a high original listing price. So I figured, most of the quality was invested into the scope itself.

Ordered it, and got it within two days via amazon prime here at UCLA dorm.

Tried it out, at night, by viewing from within my dorm out the window to another window of a dorm about 100-150 meters away. It's extremely clear, at least in my opinion. Now take note that I have never had one of these devices before, and am brand new at the hobby or interest, so I have nothing to compare with. But to me, it seems extremely clear, at 20 magnification all the way up to 60 magnification (fine focus knob helps a lot). I mean, from 100-150 meters away, at night, I can read the evacuation plan in the other dormitory room. And I can recognize facial expressions very clearly (yeah, creeper status, I know). So, in my opinion, it's an awesome spotting scope, for a good price too. It's got an included lens cover, eyepiece cover, and is simple yet slick looking. Rubber coated, feels nice and light weight, yet feels like it's made of great quality. I'm really happy with this product. I can't wait to use it out on the field. Impressive device, overall. 5 stars based solely on the quality of the scope to price ratio, not anything else (tripod, bag, etc.)

-----------------------------------------------------

i cannot believe that creep is attending ucla... UGH....

Next game on the horizon

2011-01-31T11:46:00.000-08:00

i know i played this game a lot before... but i never actually beat it from start to finish.... i know my bro has... so i gotta next:

New Super Mario Bros. on Wii

HALO: REACH

2011-01-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

this morning i woke up to a completely drenched rainy sunday so i decided to take this opportunity to play video games till my head hurts (it actually kind of does right now)

i decided to complete Halo: REACH and my, what an AMAZING game it was. started at maybe around 10am today and just finished it right now with the help of my bro on co-op

this game.... is insanely bad ass... the production value is through the roof with the campaign and i thoroughly enjoyed it. too bad it's over... too bad halo is now over.... the chapter is closed, and there just isn't anything left from bungie regarding halo =(

so with that... after my awesome day of playing halo... i leave you all with this INSANELY awesome video... watch it... and then go check out Halo Legends on Netflix!!!!

FYI: just click on the play button twice. do NOT click on LOW or HIGH