You are getting blogged by Chris Partida

My Review of Leatherman Skeletool Multi-Tool

2011-07-13T01:17:00.001-07:00

With an REI exclusive color, this Leatherman Skeletool combines high performance, a light weight and futuristic, rugged good looks—all stripped down to the bare essence of a microtool.

Neat tool, but pretty weak lava...

By Chris Partida from Whittier, CA on 7/13/2011

Pros: Functional, Convenient size, Neat Design, Perfect Bottle Opener, Basic Tools - No Overkill, Sharp Blade

Cons: Soft Steel On Blade, Lava Red Chips Too Easily, Some Flex In Pliers, Dulls Quickly

Best Uses: Home, EDC, Camping

Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational

Was this a gift?: No

I love the design of the Skeletool, and when I saw the REI Exclusive Red version, I jumped on it immediately. That decision turned a bit sour once I noticed that the paint had started to chip off within a month of carrying it daily. Now, about 2.5mos in, with some good usage in the last few days - the paint is nearly gone on the shield over the knife blade. The other side is very spotty.

The blade has it's drawbacks, as it is very soft steel, and will really lose shape with a proper sharpening, especially when touching up the backside of the serration. This is a sad point, as I replaced my EDC blade with the Skeletool, and it lost it's edge rather quick, only to lose it's shape upon sharpening.

The bottle opener is the best I've ever seen, and love to use it.

The bits work out very well, but I think I may have killed my Phillips #1. RIP lil guy, you did great.

I would recommend this tool, but not in any color that is painted on - perhaps if it were anodized or even powder coated.

Where's the lava red?

Tags: Picture of Product

There's some, but it'll be gone soon.

Tags: Picture of Product

(legalese)

What a start to the new year...

2011-01-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

I CAME UP yesterday at Goodwill, tons of great new LPs for my collection:

The Temptations - Anthology (3-discs - In which I also found disc 1 of The Commodores Anthology)
The Best of The Doors
Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson (boxer)
The Byrds - Untitled (2-disc)
The WHO - Quadrophenia (2-disc)
The Best of The Guess Who
The Eagles - Desperado
Don McClean - American Pie
David Rose and his orchestra play The Stripper (and other fun Songs for the family)

and...

Cypress Hill - Ruff House

It's gonna be a good year...

BOOZE 'til you SNOOZE CRUISE!

2010-09-13T23:54:00.001-07:00

I think that's what we'll call it.

It'll take some time and effort to save up for and find a retired cruiseliner, but in the end it will be so worth it. All of those elderly people on their last days will party until they can't party any longer, really go for broke, ya know?

I can't believe anybody hasn't already thought of creating a cruise line specifically for those on their death beds. I mean, when I'm that old, I'm gonna want to go out with a bang.

Sure, logistics, I know. We'll have to have an on-site morgue, and some pretty hefty medical staff/facilities, but those are only so you can keep the party going. This is gonna catch on, I swear. Especially the first-class rooms, I see trust funds and life savings really going to something of value and worth: heart-shaped beds and Krystal for days!

Recommended Movie Trailers

2010-05-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Mic Macs
Inception
Jonah Hex
Robin Hood
Piranha 3D
Get Him To The Greek
Super 8
Cropsey
Gangster Paradise Jarusalema
Babies
Cyrus
Survival Of The Dead
Countdown To Zero
Holy Rollers
Buried
MacGruber
Get Low
Predators
The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
The Expendables
Oceans
Toy Story 3
Dinner For Shmucks
Iron Man 2
The A-Team
Salt
The Human Centipede
Despicable Me

I'm in Chicago, it's not that windy.

2010-03-12T01:05:00.001-08:00

Landed here around 1130 or so, got to the hotel, then proceeded to visit The Wiener's Circle on account that Ricky had seen it on tv.

It was about a mile's hike to this late night eatery. Walking thru Lincoln Park on a brisk night, just missing the rain, we were hungry. A few of us had an idea of what we were in store for, but not all of us.

As we entered the dirty little hot dog stand, we were instantly enveloped into the free flowing "motherfuckers this, pussy juice that" and every other derogatory slur possible. One drunken loudmouth kept yelling at the cashier, asking/demanding for his chocolate shake (apparently, perfectly acceptable behavior).

Ignoring him, I ordered my polish dog with everything, cheese fries and an orange soda. I waited patiently, even in the midst of all the chaos. Right before
I received my food, the loudmouth got his shake. He handed over a $20 and saw some chocolate shake, that's for sure...

The polish dog was good, but I think a regular hot dog benefits better from all the fixins. The cheese fries were gnarly, gritty and better off eaten without the cheese.

I will probably never go back, but it was worth a shot.

Tomorrow, a possible lunch at Fogo De Chao, and at least one dog from Wrigleyville!

Oh yeah, a show at the Metro, too.

Unemployed: Week Three

2010-02-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

What to do, what to do?

Sit around and wait for checks to come in the mail?
Mostly. Where are they? Come on EDD, let's do this! Come on!

Say you're going to ride your bike more often, but not really follow through?
Check. Though, I am getting a good amount in. If Mark calls me today, like he said he would, let's do this.

Apply for random jobs online?
Sure, why not. Census people, I'll see you on the 24th. Otherwise, let's get some work with nice pay coming my way. Anyone need some graphic design done well, for a reasonable price?

Play Pong each Weds night?
You bet! The Long Beach Table Tennis Club is a great place to get your ass handed to you by a 72yo senior champion, named Victor. I've met all kinds of great people there in my two weeks of going. Tonight will be my third time in attendance, I can't wait.

Eat shitty frozen food and ramen?
Naturally. I just spent under $20 on food that'll last me a week. This batch of Cuties is a bit tart, though I love them.

Argue with Charter and get free basic cable?
You better believe it! I'm watching the shit out of Kristen Schaal on John Oliver's New York Standup show (a great standup showcase), On Demand is lovely.

Paint, paint and paint some more?
Somewhat, I need to get on it a lot more. That owl needs finishing!

Practice with Dr. Holiday, for upcoming shows?
Somewhat, not this week. No shows for a little while, either.

Blog more?
We'll see. This is a good start.

Fold laundry?
Not nearly quick enough, more like 5 days later. I should get back to that, like now.

More later.

I just got Rick-rolled...

2010-01-28T23:19:00.001-08:00

I really don't feel that bad about it either.

I wish I was half as talented with Illustrator as this guy...

2009-12-07T17:50:00.001-08:00

Science Machine from Chad Pugh on Vimeo.

Life is so lifey.

2009-11-09T23:52:00.001-08:00

A lot of happenings around here. Can't get into everything, but all is or will be well.

Work is going great and I do hope our work blog gets some hits, because it's worth taking a look at. http://brobee.blogspot.com just incase you forgot.

I need to make this blog a habit. It's pretty boring, I know, sorry.

I'll step up my game soon. I wish i could post more awesome photos that I get to take at work. Someday...

Why is it that...

2009-11-09T23:46:00.001-08:00

...15 years+ later I'd be watching The State for the first time? I'm not mad, I probably wouldn't have understood the jokes in my youth anyway. But seriously, why did it take so long to finally get onto DVD?

That said, thank you The State and everybody involved Without you, my night would've been much more sober and without laughter. I love you.

-CP

Why is it that...

2009-09-30T23:53:00.001-07:00

I'd like you to know...

2009-09-28T23:10:00.001-07:00

If I'm not busy posting here, it's because I'm busy posting over at Yo Blogga Blogga!

Check it out, there's a lot if my photography, my favorite Photo Of The Day was today's. Look it up, you'll like it.

Weird Al chose me...

2009-09-24T17:39:00.001-07:00

ME!

Really now...

2009-09-17T19:53:00.001-07:00

I skipped yesterday, but with good cause.

2009-09-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've been working 11-12 hour days the last few weeks, it's not bad, really, but it's making a dent in going out.

I heard that a few people were going to see the KILLERS yesterday; sounded like fun, I thought. Then I heard that Mariachi El Bronx was opening for them; AWESOME! I had to make it happen. Luckily enough, I talked to my buddy Hud just in time and got on the list.

The rest of the work-day was a blur, I hurried all about trying my best to finish up and leave so I'd make it to the show on time. Mariachi El Bronx started at 830pm, so I didn't have much time.

630pm, tried my best to get a
Yo Blogga Blogga daily post up and pack my stuff. I was out the door by 645. First, I raced home to wash up and change my clothes. I did so in record time and hurried off to the Bren Center in Irvine. Traffic was quick and painless, parking wasn't bad either. I hurried my way to the entrance and made my way inside.

I got to the pit area about 3min before they started. Mariachi El Bronx played a great set, I loved every minute of it. It was funny seeing a mariachi band all spread across a giant stage like that, but they still sounded great. I'd love to see them all cramped inside a little bar or cantina.

Once they were done, I walked around for a bit, hoping to spot a coworker or 19. I was standing in the food line when I spotted Jon, but wasn't able to make any contact. After all that I lost him. Then I went in to get a good spot. The pit area was full and closed off, so I hung out up top, eating my Dibs.

Alright, so Dibs make you thirsty as hell, right? I went to get some water outta the fountain and saw Tyler and Quang. I was stoked, I wouldn't be alone any longer. Then everyone started piling in on the action: Hud, Scott, Ruth, Marissa, Jay, Parker, Adam, Jordan, Heather, Ben and his wife and even more! We all went in, tried to figure out some seats, but ended up sitting against the wall. Finally we hit the top row, right on the bar and just leaned it the entire night.

The KILLERS were really good, their stage was incredible and they played all the hits. Hot Fuss really got it's dues paid that night. There were pyrotechnics, lights and lazers, confetti and even a few sips from Marissa's SKYY. I was stoked, the night turned out to be a greeat one and we all had an awesome time.

After the show, we put on some after show passes and were escorted through various waiting areas until we got to see a few band members off. Some of the Jacobs brothers are old friends of the Drummer, Ronnie, he was a nice dude.

A few of us grabbed some late-night In 'N Out before heading home. All-in-all, a good night.

I've never tried riding a unicycle...

2009-09-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

...until today.

What a tough feat to accomplish. Dan Kelley makes it look so easy, I make it look probable, though can easily turn impossible.

So there I was. All set to go, bam. I hit the floor. That would only happen twice my whole series of tries.

I was able to almost get going a few times. My preference was that of the organic nature, no holding onto anything for me. Also, that'd make for more room to fall and a less likely chance of splitting my noggin open on a table's corner.

Go watch Point Break, RIP Swayze. I need to do some laundry and eat my lefties.

Whoa, tangent. Screw it, I'm ending this on that note. Priorities.

-CP

Oh yeah, congrats to the new Robles'!

9/11...

2009-09-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

...never forget.

I was a young man once...

2009-09-10T20:28:00.001-07:00

It's true, really. I haven't always been this bearded, statuesque man-squat you know and love.

Look at this guy:Young, handsomely dressed, full of sprite, still able to climb a tree...

Thanks for the memories AW.

-CP

Circa 2002.

Today I flew, shot and killed all at once.

2009-09-09T20:41:00.001-07:00

1. Flew (off the table).
2. Shot (this amazing aerial photo).
3. Killed (it).

Good times today at work.

-CP

It's been almost 11 months since I posted anything...

2009-09-08T11:37:00.001-07:00

Pretty bad, I know. Not that anyone reads, but still.

I've been inspired by some really entertaining blogs, so I am going to try to commit to posting something up every (week/work) day. I'd say everyday, but really, I don't even like turning my computer on anymore when I'm at home.

Be on the lookout...

-CP

See you.

San Juan Trail - San Juan Capistrano, CA

2008-10-15T00:54:00.001-07:00

Holy God.

This is by far the best, trail I've ridden yet.

This past Sunday I made plans to go riding with my lil brother Stevo, I tried to gather some troops, but came out unsuccessful. I headed over to his house where I met up with he and Luke (Stevo's friend and ex-coworker). We had plans to go out and ride Aliso Woods in Laguna Beach, but instead Stevo wanted to show us his home trail, the trail he grew up on; San Juan Trail. We obliged without hesitation.

We set off in 2 cars; Stevo's Ranger and Luke's Suburu. Traffic wasn't too bad on the 405 South. We hit the 5 South and it remained nice. The exit is Ortega Hwy (74), then go left. We drove up the highway a few miles until we hit Lazy W Ranch, the same exit as the San Juan Hot Springs (haven't been yet, but will go soon). We should've bought adventure passes beforehand, but didn't ($5 at Big 5 or wherever). We parked Luke's car at the bottom of the Switchbacks (I'll talk about later) and loaded up the Ranger with everything. The plan was to shuttle to the top and ride down. I know a lot of XCers would shake a fist at that idea, but I don't have the lungs for doing this both up and down just yet, I'm working on it. Plus, we'd of been screwed on time for sure.

We got back on the 74 East and headed for Bluejay Camp, which is where we'd park (right at the trailhead). On the way up, Stevo pointed out a spot locals call "Drunk Man's Turn" where you can see several cars at the bottom of the ravine that obviously didn't see the slight turn in the road (probably after a good night of partying in Lake Elsinore). Just past that to the left is a road that leads to Bluejay Camp, it's a steep and windy road that leads right to a few spots to park. We did just that. Then we geared up, aired up, mounted up and we were off.

The whole ride was singletrack, no fire roads, nothing else. The entire path winds under oak canopies and blue skies, along cliffs and fields of sage, over rocks and scattered jumps, through ruts and obstacles. Most of the 11.4 miles was downhill, but the ride still maintained it's dignity with plenty of uphill challenges. I found it impossible to get up some of them without hiking it. Luke was a champ as he only had to put his foot down once (clip-ins really helped him out). Stevo and I found ourselves walking up the loose rock ladders, I more than he of course.

After plenty of areas that left us speechless/breathless, we arrived at Cocktail Rock. We shot the shit with some various dudes that were up there. This spot is a great spot to have an energy bar and take in the scenery, so we all did. We were lucky enough to be there on a day where it was possible to see all the way to Catalina. It was pretty amazing.

We let a few people take their time ahead of us down the trail in hopes that we wouldn't catch up to them. About 3 minutes into our descent, we passed up two of them. There was hardly any climbing once wee passed up Cocktail Rock, it was great. Mile markers would creep up on us faster and faster. Some stretches were much faster than others; at times, I felt like I was riding Space Mountain.

There weren't too many falls, and no bad ones (thank God). I slid down the inside of an S-turn about 5-6 feet, luckily I fell to the inside of the mountain and not just toppling over. I also put a lifesaving leg down and almost twisted my knee, luckily I pulled it back up in time to avoid that. Luke hit a canopied switchback a little too quick and fell into some bushes. Stevo had the best fall of all, but also the closest to death. He hit some loose sand and went over the edge of a cliff, luckily he only fell a few feet and not all the way down. I saw a bunch of dust as I approached and he crawled out with a smile on his face, thanking his lucky stars to be alive.

The last part of the run was a series of narrow and rutted switchbacks, a completely fun time if you ask me. I was pretty happy with how I navigated down them, only having to put a lifesaving foot down once in the lot of them. I must say, that once I realized that I was at the end of the trail, I wished there were more.

All in all, this trail has been one of the most challenging and fun ventures I've been on in my (so far) short, but sweet MTBing career. My right knee hurts a bit, but that's perfectly fine with me.

Don't worry, I'm still looking forward to Big Bear this Sunday.

-Chris

LFR!

I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane the other day...

2008-06-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was one for the books, definitely one I will never forget.

On Friday I didn't have to drive in to work, so naturally I slept in. It feels great to wake up at 930am on Friday morning, brush my teeth, then sit around working in my underwear. There's nothing more liberating than working from your skivvies, I recommend trying it, but not getting fired over it. I managed to get a lot of work done, although because I was working via the internet it did take some more time.

I haven't been able to see both of my roommates, along with a few friends during the day on many Fridays, but I got to see Justin, David and Jillian before they left to ride in Tehachapi. Matt and Vanessa also came by, Vanessa was all kinds of excited for me taking my first jump. Mike and I tried to get her to convince Matt to go up with us sometime in the future. He said he'd watch us jump, haha.

The entire day I was trying my best to contain my excitement for the morrow's fun to come. I didn't want to dwell on going skydiving, for the sake of not making myself nervous. Mike and Jason came by, we loaded up my car and headed to Marco Polo's Pizza for some dinner before the drive to San Diego. We lived up to the "norm" of leaving 40 minutes late the night before a jump.

Our drive out to San Diego was sketchy as can be. First off, my car is slowly falling apart underneath me. Second, Mike had a feeling that something was going to happen, bringing all kinds of bad juju to us (haha). Third, my car wa really in need of some oil. Going through San Clemente, my car had an nodd feeling hiccup and the Check Engine light started to blink. I didn't even know that they did that, so I got off at the next exit. I checked my fluids and saw I was low on oil. We let it cool down for a while and skated around. After putting a quart and a half in, we were on our way. The light was still blinking, so I babied it. I was going to get there, no doubt about it.

Once we got to Jen's place, we said our hellos, dropped our stuff and turned back around for an 18 pack. Jen pointed out the nearest gas station, and we head off. Mike and Jason brought skateboards, so we high-tailed it to the ARCO. It was a long, sweaty half mile ride, but worth every bump in the road. Once back we finally got some quality time with Jen. After a few beers, we decided to call it a night, so that we could get up at a decent time to get to the dropzone in the morning.

I made sure to pop some Claritin the night before, so I wouldn't die in my sleep, completely worthwhile. We geared up and headed out for the dropzone, it was a nice day out, there was some haze, but it'd easily burn off. The drive to Otay Lakes in Jamul, CA was a nervous one, but my Check Engine light went back to (good ol') solid. We got to our destination: Skydive San Diego! We checked in, signed our lives away and manifested ASAP.

Within a few minutes, I was getting taught on how to properly tandem jump, getting fit for my harness and walking towards the plane. I didn't even have a free moment to get out my camera and get a pre-jump shot. Jason wasn't able to get onto the same plane, but Mike was at the front of the bus. I was excited as can be, others in the plane were obviously nervous. My instructor and tandem-mate Shawn asked if I was scared, I declined. All I'd heard from Mike about jumping just made me want to do it. Our flight up to altitude took about 10 minutes, I was looking out the windows at all that was below. We were about 2 miles from the border, Mike pointed out Tijuana.

once we were nearing altitude; 13,000 feet, we buckled in and got ready. Sitting low in someone's lap is one of the worst positions ever, but lucliky it didn't take long. Mike backflipped out of the plane, it was awesome. Then it was our turn, we lined up to the door, I assumed the position and we were on our way. Falling at about 120mph is a feeling like none other. I looked around and everything was so minute beneath us. Shawn game me the thumbs up and I gave it right back, on the way down I gave free reign to Shawn in regards to spins and twists. We were in freefall for about a minute, at about 5000 feet we pulled the canopy. The drift down was about 5-6 minutes, we did some spinning and had some fun. I was surprised how easily I could hear shawn's every word. I was even able to take the reigns and steer some spins myself. Our touchdown was the only choppy part of it, I am a bit taller than Shawn, and sitting lower, needless to say we tumbled a bit.

Mike and Jason jumped 4 times in total, I snapped a ton of photos from underneath. Amongst the jumpers, there was an 85-year old grandmother jumping. Her grandkids were so amped for her, it was awesome.

After being there a few hours, we headed out for some food. We saw a snake crossing the road, and luckily I was able to drive over it without hitting it. We stopped at In 'N Out for some deliciousness and headed back to Jen's. She was all wrapped up in studying, hanging out with a buddy and watching a movie. We wanted to grab some beer and head to the beach, but she decided to be a good student. We headed off to Ocean Beach and grabbed an 18-pack. Unfortunately what we didn't hear was that there is no more drinking on the beach there. So we caught some of the sunset and headed back. Mike was in the mood for drinking games, particularly Centurion and Circle Of Death. I knocked it for a little while, but obliged. We even picked up another 18er on the way back.

Centurion is, dully speaking; 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes. I knocked it saying that I just like to drink. We started, and first to fall was Jason. He was about 4 in, but said he was done. Mike stopped second at around 6 beers, he was out. I went to about 8 and was pretty buzzed, borderline drunk. Jen studied while we all drank our day away. She was a little bummed, but sipped off our beers. Her roomie Jackie came home and joined in with us. We all sat down for a game of Circle Of Death; a game where you balance cards on an empty bottle whle drawing cards and hoping you got a higher one than the previous person. If not, they counted the difference while you drink. By the end of this game, I was sloppy. I tumbled our tower of beer somehow and ran a muck. Sorry again Jen, haha. We watched No Country For Old Men, but I don't remember if we ever finished it. There was also a walk down some path alongside a river, eventually to a Mimi's. That turned out to be what we'd want for breakfast. I was staggering all around, I do remember meeting a dog out there though.

Fuck shirts I said, then I passed out cold. I'd wake up to Fuck being said repeatedly, oops. Jen slept in, first on purpose, then on accident and was late for work. I was still a bit drunk, she ran out of there with a quick but lovely goodbye. Thanks again for being a rad hostess. We all started to get ready to head out. I cracked another beer, hoping to avoid a hangover, it worked. We watched the Renaissance Faire episode of King Of The Hill and headed out for some food. Mimi's was completely busy, so we found some nice little Mexican place. It was also delicious. Mike and I had Carne Asada fries, Jason had a Torta, we were happy. The drive back was quick and easy. I was happy about that, because I was sick of driving my POS.

We got back home and regailed the people with our tales. I fed my snakes, fish and frogs. Then I took a nap, I was beat. Everyone got home, and we ate some good pizza, and watched some movies. Tim came over to grab some wigs for his cruise with Charlie, we shot the shit for a while. Gilbert and Nina came by too, I got to see Gilby's new ink. All in all, a good way to end the weekend. I was happy.

Oh yeah, Monday... I didn't drive to work, instead I did the whole skivvies thing and hung out with my dad. I love this schedule.

I'm tired of writing this, goodnight.

Irish Toasts for Everyday and Special Occasions!

2008-06-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

http://islandireland.com/Pages/folk/sets/toasts.html

Irish Toasts for Everyday and Special Occasions!

Irish Christmas Toasts:

'Nollaig shona duit!'
Happy Christmas!

'Nollaig faoi shéan is faoi shonas duit.'
A prosperous and happy Christmas to you.

May
peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch on your door, and
happiness be guided to your home by the candle of Christmas.

Irish New Year's Toasts:

'Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís.'
May we be alive at this time next year.

'Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit!'
A prosperous New Year!

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship but never in want.

Irish Saint Patrick's Day Toasts:

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here's a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish Wedding Toasts:

'Sliocht sleachta ar shliocht bhur sleachta.'
May there be a generation of children on the children of your children.

Health and long life to you, land without rent to you, a child every year to you, and death in Old Ireland.

May the roof above you never fall in,
And those gathered beneath it never fall out.

Here's to health, peace and prosperity. May the flower of love never be nipped
by the frost of disappointment, nor shadow of grief fall among your
family and friends.

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in
blessings, slow to make enemies and quick to make friends. And may you
know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

May I see you grey and combing your grandchildren's hair.

'Sláinte go saol agat,
Bean ar do mhian agat.
Leanbh gach blian agat,
is solas na bhflaitheas tareis antsail seo agat.'
Health for life to you,
A wife of your choice to you,
Land without rent to you,
A child every year to you,
And the light of heaven after this world for you.

Here's an Irish toast to your wedding:
May the roof over your heads be as well thatched
As those inside are well matched.
An Irish Toast for a Bachelor
May you have nicer legs than yours under the table before the new spuds are up.

Irish Birthday Toasts:

May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent.

We drink to your coffin. May it be built from the wood of a hundred year old oak tree that I shall plant tomorrow.

May God grant you many years to live, for sure he must be knowing, the earth has angels all too few and heaven is overflowing...

May the doctor never earn a pound out of you.

May the good Lord take a liking to you...
But not too soon!

May you die in bed at 95, shot by a jealous spouse.

Irish Toasts to Drinking:

A bird with one wing can't fly. —said to encourage someone to take a second drink

It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow
than to spend tonight like there's no money!

That the tap may be open when it rusts!

My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let's get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

Here's to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold pint-- and another one!

Here's to a temperance supper,
With water in glasses tall,
And coffee and tea to end with--
And me not there at all!

When money's tight and hard to get,
and your horse is also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt,
a pint of plain is your only man.

Here's to being single...
Drinking doubles...
And seeing triple!

I drink to your health when I'm with you,
I drink to your health when I'm alone,
I drink to your health so often,
I'm starting to worry about my own!

Here's to women's kisses,
and to whiskey, amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman's kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!

Irish Toasts to Friends & Family:

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door.

There are good ships,
and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be.

May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.

Here's to you and yours,
And to mine and ours,
And if mine and ours ever come
Across you and yours,
I hope you and yours will do
As much for mine and ours,
As mine and ours have done
For you and yours!

To live above with the Saints we love,
Ah, that is the purest glory.
To live below with the Saints we know,
Ah, that is another story!

May the lilt of Irish laughter
lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
shorten every road...
And may all your friends remember
all the favours you are owed!

Here's to the land of the shamrock so green,
Here's to each lad and his darlin colleen,
Here's to the ones we love dearest and most.
May God bless old Ireland, that's this Irishman's toast!

I have known many,
and liked not a few,
but loved only one
and this toast is to you.

Irish Everyday Toasts:

May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead.

May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.

May your heart be light and happy,
May your smile be big and wide,
And may your pockets always have
a coin or two inside!

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.

May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!

May the face of every good news and the back of every bad news be towards us.

May neighbours respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been,
The foresight to know where you are going,
And the insight to know when you have gone too far.

May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping.

May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.

May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head. May you be forty years in heaven before the devil knows you're dead.

May your mornings bring joy
and your evenings bring peace...
May your troubles grow less
as your blessings increase!

May you get all your wishes but one,
so that you will always have something to strive for!

'Lucky' Irish Toasts:

May the luck of the Irish
Lead to happiest heights
And the highway you travel
Be lined with green lights.

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

If you're enough lucky to be Irish...
You're lucky enough!

May you have all the happiness
and luck that life can hold—
And at the end of all your rainbows
may you find a pot of gold.

May your pockets be heavy—
Your heart be light,
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.

Everyday Toasts in the Irish Language:

'Sláinte!'
(pronounced 'slawn-cha', meaning Health! A common toast in Ireland, the equivalent to 'Cheers')

'Sláinte chuig na fir, agus go mairfidh na mná go deo.'
Health to the men, and may the women live forever!

'Faol saol agat, gob fliuch, agus bás in Éirinn.'
Long life to you, a wet mouth, and death in Ireland.

Some random facts about my current life:

2008-06-03T15:49:00.001-07:00

~ I've listened to See You Next Tuesday's album Parasite about 5 times between my drive home yesterday and drive to work today. Here's some black people dancing to it:

~ My band Dr. Holiday has a show on the 14th and we're just about ready for it. It's kind of exciting when we have great practices, even if we're hammered.

~ I got an hour cut and a pay raise all in one day. At first when my boss explained it to me I was nervous about it, but the more I heard, the more I liked the idea of it. I no longer have to drive in to work on Mondays and Fridays, I only have to work 4.5 hours from home (as opposed to my normal 7 hour day). So basically, I will be making $30 less each check +/-, but I can easily make those dollars up. If you need some graphic design done, let me know. If you want some web stuff done, I'll do it too. But I won't enjoy it.

~ Yosemite is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. The 4 days we spent there will be unforgettable, not that I'd try to forget them. We hiked to Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Mirror Lake, Vernal Falls and all over the meadows and forests. I've got plenty of photos and memories.

~ I witnessed a cracked-out fairy get change for a dollar, then leave the dollar on a toy dispenser. He disappeared into the nearby restroom for a bit, then left without the dollar. Up the block he creeped out a family, I laughed.

~ Falling Down is one of the greatest movies of all time.

~ I've started to sleep with my right arm stretched out completely, covering the other half of the bed. I don't know why, it might be a subconscious sign of loneliness. Come sleep with me.

~ Contrary to how that last one sounded, I am anything but lonely. I've been keeping very busy lately and I've got amazing friends to help.

~ There is no such thing as a Russian Werehound or a Northwestern Dil Terrier. Those are lies made up to protect Bear's species (75% Wolf + Giant Alaskan Malamute). I love that dog.

~ Psyllium was a great choice. Try it out.

~ Disregarding the one day I weighed 198, I can't seem to maintain pace to my target weight of 180. I'm floating around 200-202 now. I need to get back to the gym and hit that treadmill some more. Someone let me tack onto your gym membership.

~ Upon my brother Stevo's begging, I am no longer going to be purchasing the GIANT Trance X2. Instead I am interested in the TREK Fuel EX 8. Hopefully he can work out a good deal at his shop for me. I still haven't heard back from him.

~ I miss making out. Damn...

~Saturday I'm going to be jumping out of a plane. It's not a suicide attempt, I'm finally going skydiving. I can't wait. The whole thing was my last birthday present from Celina, she was nice enough to let me have it after the breakup. Otherwise I'd of fought for it.

~ I've been abusing cdscompletosdownload.blogspot.com/ a lot lately. Weezer's new album is better than the last 2 for sure.

~Gilbert's best friend/dog Tank passed away yesterday. He said to pour out a little liquor for him, so Opie and I split an 18 pack of Tecate. In honor of course. 11 was a good amount for me to be all stumbly this morning.

~ Being "in like" with someone is kinda fun. It's also kinda lame to put a title like that to it. I'm completely lame.

~ After I buy my bike, I need to get another iPod. This whole CD thing is getting really old.

So that's that. My current situation. It's got it's ups, it's downs, it's all arounds. I love life, so let's live.

-Chris

Recommended Movie Trailers - Take 2

2008-05-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Chaos Theory:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/chaostheory/trailer/
I love me some Emily Mortimer. Ryan Reynolds puts on a good performance too.

Mongol:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/picturehouse/mongol/trailer/
Recommended to me by my Kazakhi friend Assel.

Blindness:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/blindness/trailer/
Directed by Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”).

The SPIRIT:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/thespirit/large.html
The next movie from Frank Miller.

IRON MAN:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/large_trailer2.html
I've already seen it twice, but the trailer is just so good.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/indianajonesandthekingdomofthecrystalskull/large_t1.html
I have faith that Harrison Ford wouldn't sign on if it wasn't going to be true to the originals. Even the poster looks amazing.

Mister Lonely:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/misterlonely/trailer/
Harmony Korine strikes again, this time without the trashy people. Great poster too, although very Wes Anderson inspired.

The Strangers:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/thestrangers/large.html
I don't like Liv Tyler so much, but this looks nice and creepy..

Henry Poole Is Here:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/henrypooleishere/trailer/
Looks entertaining, although might be just like any other love story out there.

The Tracey Fragments:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/thinkfilm/thetraceyfragments/trailer/
Ellen Page is a good actress, even better when the dialogue isn't horrible.

Hellboy 2:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/hellboy2thegoldenarmy/trailer2/large.html
The first one was great, this one looks to top it.

Four Minutes:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/fourminutes/trailer/
Really interesting original story, I wonder if it's based on real events?

TROPIC THUNDER:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/tropicthunder/trailer_large.html
Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and a Robert Downey Jr. in blackface(body).

Bangkok Dangerous:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/bangkokdangerous/trailer/
Nicholas Cage, hitman, action-packed... The usual.

My Brother Is An Only Child:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/thinkfilm/mybrotherisanonlychild/trailer/
Not only a great name, but it looks like a great watch.

Step Brothers:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/stepbrothers/high.html
It's Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, they're funny. I hope it's better than Talladega Nights.

Chapter 27:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/chapter27/trailer/
Jared Leto is fat, and set on killing John Lennon... Sweet.

Pineapple Express:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/pineappleexpress/high.html
This is the most promising new team in movie comedy.

Righteous Kill:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/righteouskill/trailer/
Pacino and DeNiro team up again. 50 Cent is in this too, under his real name!

Redbelt:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/redbelt/high.html
Emily Mortimer again, alongside Tim Allen. Even Randy Couture is in this one.

The Guru:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/theloveguru/large_trailer.html
I hate the fact that I really want to see this one.

WALL-E:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/walle/trailer_large.html
It will be amazing, just like most PIXAR features.

Wanted:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/wanted/trailer1/wanted_large.html
Another one recommended to me by Assel

Where In the World Is Osama Bin Laden?:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/whereintheworldisosamabinladen/trailer/
Another Morgan Spurlock misadventure.

The Hammer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thehammer/trailer/
I have qualms with Adam Corolla, but this looks good.

Boarding Gate:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/boardinggate/trailer/
Michael Madsen + Asia Argento = boner.

The Happening:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thehappening/large_trailer.html
M. Night Shamalamadingdong has another thriller.

The Visitor:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thevisitor/trailer/
Looks like one of those feel-gooders. Oddly enough, it's about some squatters.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/youdontmesswiththezohan/high.html
I love Adam Sandler and everything he does, what?

Have fun watching...

So I recently turned a quarter century...

2008-04-28T16:44:00.001-07:00

I don't think my birthday weekend could've been any better. First off the 18th landed on a Friday, perfect birthday day of the week in my opinion. I woke up feeling good, I hoped the rest of the day would follow in suit. Traffic moved swiftly, and I got to work on time. I was met by some coworkers that were freshly back from a convention in Acapulco. Mariana had a chocolate muffin in one hand. In the muffin there was no candle, instead it was a single match sticking out. We struck it and then they started with the singing, oh the singing. My boss rushed down the stairs to join in on the serenade. I always feel like the biggest fool when people are singing to me, do you? After that was said and done, my boss ran off to a meeting, but left his credit card behind. Lunch was on him, even if he couldn't be there. I did my normal routine of checking the various online communities I engage in, as well as my bank account. My tax return came in, SCORE! We worked for a few more minutes until another one of our coworkers came in. Nancy wasn't scheduled, but wanted to drop off a cheesecake for me, hell yes! Then she went on to say that there were police running around evacuating people from the area due to a sewage leak that occurred the previous day. Sure enough a police officer came to our door and said they'd be towing cars in the area. They didn't need to twist my arm any more, I told my workmates to meet up at Olamendi's for some margaritas and good food, and not to forget that credit card. Here it was; noon, and we were done with work, eating great food and having margaritas. Not a bad start to the birthday weekend if you ask me.

On my way home I figured I'd go visit 2 Wheels 1 Planet to start on a layaway plan for my bike. I drooled over it for a little, then got things started. I felt good that I was on my way to having it. Immediately I thought of all the ways I could get it paid off quickly. I should have that mindset more often. That GIANT Trance X2 will be mine!

I got home around 530, which his unheard of for a Friday. The night's plans were to have a nice big dinner at Johnny Rebs' in Orange, all my family was going to be there as well as a ton of good friends, I was excited. Celina came over, she looked good like usual, I jumped in her car and we headed off. Johnny Rebs' is the equivalent to waiting in line for a ride at Knott's Berry Farm. The makeup of the restaurant was like that of an old shanty, there was a projected cricket track and peanut shells on the ground. While the servers scrambled to get our table(s) ready, we grew in numbers inside of the small waiting area. Right as we were about to be too many in there, we got called in. I was happy to see a lady having a Mississippi Mud as we walked through, so immediately when I sat down I ordered one. We were all having a great time, there were peanut shells flying all over the place, drinks were flowing. David and Danielle snuck a little bottle of Jack Daniels in, along with a shot glass. I told him "Who needs a shot glass?" and continued to swig. Danielle said that she wanted to get a picture, I chugged, she counted to three really slowly. That turned out to be a bigger chug than I expected.

The night got a little fuzzy, I hardly touched my meal, I was just caught up in all the fun. Since we were twenty-something people all lined up in a giant row of tables, I bounced around to see everyone. All were having a good time, and I was happy for that. The food was good, the drinks were too. I left with the heaviest to-go box I've ever had, as well as a nice selection of beers from Robot. Thank you: Mom, Dad, David, Steve, Joe, CCR, AW, Mark, Talia, Tim, Kevin, Robot, Derek, Shawna, Adrie, Tom, Danielle, Paul, Brittany and even Gilbert + Nina (whom I was surprised that they were able to make it out). You all made it an amazing celebration.

I don't remember much of the ride towards home, but I do remember stopping at a liquor store and buying some Sailor Jerry. Once home, Jon came over, then Vince, so did Alicia and Christina. Not too many of the dinner crew headed over, but those that did had a good time from what the pictures told me. Adrie snapped away as Jon and Vince positioned a fake vagina to the Doll and molested me with it.

Still fully clothed and laying on top of the covers, I woke up the next morning having to piss like a racehorse. After taking care of business, I stood in the hallway wondering who was sleeping in my livingroom, I was still drunk so it took a minute or two. I got myself ready for the day; I had things to do and people to see! I was meeting David in Long Beach at Hawleywood's to get a proper haircut and hopefully a nice straight razor shave. I got to the shop, had a seat and soaked it all in. I was definitely feeling the after effects of the night before, my brain wasn't as sharp as it could be. David joined up and we waited for my turn. I got set up with Carlos, he was gonna make me look good. The cut went well minus getting rid of my beard (miscommunication, oops). He cleaned my kitchen with a straight razor after hitting my face with a hot towel, I got a neck massage via some crazy ass device, and hooked up real well with some Layrite Pomade. I looked sharp, there's no other word for it. David said was a little jealous.

After Hawleywood's, we set off to grab some food. David had the place in mind: Joe Jost's - a neighborhood bar full of retired firefighters, cops and whatnots. We had goblets full of goodness and a few Joe Jost's specials (polish sausage on rye with mustard, a pickle spear and cheese) and even played a few good games of Shuffleboard. David whooped me pretty good, he's had practice. Next on the agenda was something I'd heard mentioned the night before, but didn't take seriously... I was getting my nails done. We set off in search of a legit shop and ended up in Balboa. We walked in and David said "Give him the mani/pedi." I looked at him and said "Maybe just the manicure..." but it was too late. I got into the chair, soaked my sausages, got did up and pampered. I must say that it was really relaxing. There were some other customers in the shop, we conversed back and forth, I joked around about why I was there. It was a good time. A few hours had passed while hanging out with David, and eventually all our plans were accomplished, he dropped me off at my car and we parted ways. I called Jennifer while I was out there, but dialed a wrong number. So no going to the races for me, I headed home.

Celina was at a bridal shower, so I sat around the house alone and bored. I sent Vince a pix-message of me and my new cut; that encouraged an onslaught of man crush replies. He was just as happy about my cut as I was. Talk about an ego boost. In the midst of my boredom, I got a call from Jon. He wanted to take me out for dinner, sounded good to me. Celina called and I flashed over, she reminded me that I agreed to be hers all night, so I had to take a rain check on Jon's offer. She got back to my place, and we thought about what to do. We didn't really have plans, so we winged it. We decided to try out a sushi place here in Whittier that our friends had mentioned, then go see Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Once she got back, I was starving. We didn't waste any time, I jumped in her car and we headed towards Sushi From East. We took our seat at the sushi bar right in front of the owner Iwa. He was an older Japanese fellow who talked very low and indistinct, right up until he''d shout out a joke and laugh heartily about. The menu consisted of items we'd never seen before on any sushi house menu, some of the items that were a must try were: mushrooms + scallions baked in a creamy garlic butter (amazingly rich and tender), tacos Japonesas (lettuce wraps filled with softshell crab, avocado, crab meat, and spicy cause) and of course green muscles (prepared in garlic butter without the usual mayo sauce). On top of those items, the sushi was great. The tuna sashimi was fantastic and generously prepared. Iwa gave us the usual "See you tomorrow" as we headed out the door. We'll be back.

We made it to the movie theater just in time for one of the last showings. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a lot funnier than expected. At first I thought it would all be penis jokes and no story, but I soon found out it'd be full of both. Mila Kunis looked amazing throughout most of the movie, and I developed a never before heard of crush on her, but only as long as she's in Hawaii. After we left, we found out that Opie had been at the same theater watching the same movie, but at a slightly later showtime. He sent me a few Ms. Cleo-like text messages predicting what movie I was there for. He was dead on.

Sunday morning was full of sleep. But oddly enough, I felt like I'd overshot my weekend and was supposed to be at work. Everything had been so great, I didn't think I'd get another day of good times. Sure enough I did.

At the moment, I can't remember what happened, but I do know I had a great birthday weekend. Who knows? Maybe I'll remember and update this. Probably not though...

How to beat your self up the good way...

2008-04-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here I sit; without a voice, no ability to focus, aches and bruises, rasp in my throat, on the virge of being sick, charged full of vitamin C, with a burning arm, waiting for the day to end. "Wahh, cry me a river" right? WRONG! That all sounds bad, but it was all so worth it.

For the last 4 days in a row, I've been at some sort of concert. Thursday and Friday my favorite band Face To Face reunited after a nearly 5 year hiatus to start playing shows again (and to pay a few bills I'm sure). They hit the Glasshouse in Pomona for 2 "warm-up" shows before the big night at Bamboozle Left on Sunday.

Thursday night came, and the anticipation was heavy. Opie, the Coug and I have been waiting for "The Glorious Return" for months now; with the announcement of these 2 practice shows, it came 2 nights earlier. We raced out to the Glasshouse in Pomona, but got there a little too early. Oddly, there wasn't many people in the venue when we showed up. We checked out the merch and decided to wait until after the show to get anything. The Coug and I walked to Juan Pollo and I had some tacos, they were tasty. On our way back to the club we ran into Ropie and then Robot and Matt formerly of CODE 4-15. It was gonna be a good show. The first band went on, they called themselves The Chasers. After a few songs, we were glad to see that they weren't horrible. The pit was filled with older dudes, all tough as nails and messing around with each other. A fight almost broke out, but was calmed down somewhat quickly. During the set change my good friend and roommate's horribly annoying and somewhat insane ex girlfriend walked up to us (like she does everywhere we don't want to see her), she started to engage Timmy and Rosanna, Opie and I just turned our backs and wished those 2 the best. Luckily she didn't stick around longer than a few short words. I think she does all this only because she hopes David will hear about it someday. *shudders*

The second band of the night was Slick Shoes, a band I haven't heard about since high school, they came out and Rosanna said the singer got a lot uglier since. They started to play, it was real heavy and fast, we were happy. But then, like a lot of times, the singer let loose and we had enough. We walked outside and met up with Cris and Amanda. Matt and his buds came up after searching for a bar, but ending up with tall cans in the parking lot, we chatted up some and talked some hate hate hate on that see you next tuesday I mentioned earlier.

Face To Face was up next, we got inside and posted up in some good spots. The venue had filled considerably since the first 2 bands, I was happy about that. The crowd waited around for what seemed like forever. There were chants in and out, but not consecutively. Finally the band came out and there was some (pretty pathetic for the first show in almost 5 years [present company excluded]) cheering. Once the first song started up, we all went nuts. The pit started up and I hit it good, but almost instantly my week old VANS slip-on disappeared to the counter-clockwise punk brawl. I went around a few times, minus one shoe, in hopes to get it back. After getting stepped on a few too many times, I got to the side. Luckily a guy popped up right next to me and held my shoe high. I was happy to get that back, it would've been a painful hour and a half otherwise. I decided to give up on the pit after my instantaneous bad luck, and jumped into the crowd. I fought my way forward and ended up center-stage behind some dude that smelled like a cheeseburger (not in a good way).

The set was great, the crowd was really into it, the band was a little rusty (but still good). There were a few moments that Trever had to get a little help from the audience, and even slow the song down. They are older guys, so no one really held it against them. If I could rock that hard when I'm in my late 30s, I'd be happy. All in all, there were 20 songs before any encore. Once they went off stage, there were the usual chants, although they were pretty weak. My guess was that everyone's voice was out from singing, that's what happened to me at least. They came back out and played a few more songs, even touched on our weak chants. The show ended with a roar, and the crowd went home happy. Well not all of them, from what I heard, there was a pretty good fight outside the door. I didn't get to see any of it though. I was too busy finding out that the sweatshirt I wanted was sold out, should've bought it earlier... Oops.

I never did see Robot in the venue that night, but he said he saw me and Opie going absolutely nuts, good show. We all parted ways and set off for Home. Timmy and I tried to find a place to get some water and a pisser, but only ever found the water. his poor, poor bladder.

Friday:

The next morning I awoke sore, but still sprung up. I knew I had to get the day over with so that I could do it all over again. My voice had come back to me by noon, so I was ready to sing along again. Cris said that he had to "rank out" because he was dead tired and sore from the night before, so I had an extra spot to fill; I first called Matt, but he didn't answer or call me back; Then I tried Jake, same thing; I called Vince and he was in, just as soon as he broke off some previous engagements (priorities!). Work flew by and traffic was surprisingly good for me. For Andrew, the same couldn't be said; it took him 2.5 hours to get home from Santa Monica. He was pissed, and surely sick of driving. Once he got to my house, we set off for Pomona once again.

This time I was able to get a photo pass, which was great because I was still sore from the night before. Nate helped me work out a way to get tix for the sold out show, without him and Brandon, I wouldn't have seen it, thanks guys. I checked in, got our tix and a wristband for me. Unfortunately we didn't make it in time to see the first band; The God Awfuls which I did want to watch. I made sure to help Timmy out and buy him a sweatshirt, then I grabbed my camera. I got to see my new buddy Ramy and his brother, we chatted a little, but I cut it short to go take some photos.

Up next was Death By Stereo. I haven't listened to them in a while, so I was a little behind on their current stuff. Luckily, they played a ton of old stuff I knew. I shot a good few photos of them, then sang along in the crowd. I was happy to have finally seen them play.

The crowd on Friday was much better than the last, energy flowed throughout everyone, the chants started as soon as the equipment came on and never stopped. Once the band had come out, people all over were going nuts. I ran up to the barricades to shoot photos as long as they'd let me. Turns out I'd be there the whole night. Watching from that close was awesome, I had to duck and cover with the crowd surfers coming over, but never had any problems. I saw one little gal get her nose broken, that sucked. The band played even better than the night before, the crowd had lots of energy the entire time, I was stoked to be watching from so close. I shot a ton of photos and had a great time. One of the oddest things to happen was some random broad biting me on the shoulder, never before have I ran into something like that at a show. She was something else, didn't know a word, but danced all weird the whole time. I hope she was high, otherwise who knows what she was thinking.

Once all was over, I got one of Chad Yarro's picks, met up with Opie and Vince and headed out. There was an ambulance outside due to the broken nose. We heard rumors of some sorta of after party that the guys from Face To Face would be at, so we waited around for the cops to vacate and went looking. We found a bar/gallery around the corner and Vince decided we should have a drink, so we did. We checked out some art, and had a delicious beer. Then Opie said we should have another, so we did. Realizing that there was no after party there, we hi-tailed it out of there. The three of us bullshitted around our cars for a little then headed out. Opie and I grabbed some Tacos El Chilango, as it used to be a great after-show tradition.

Saturday:

I looked forward to sleeping in, but come 930am I got a call from Celina. She wanted to make sure I was alive, I was for the most part. I slept a little more and got ready for the day. I headed out to my brothers' place (I didn't misplace the apostrophe, 2 of them live there), but after 15 minutes of driving I realized that I had forgotten the tickets on my mirror at home. I fixed all that nonsense, and wound up in Huntington a little bit later. I wanted to get to Irvine ASAP to see Supernova's set. When I got there I played a round of Guitar Hero II and waited for my bros to get ready. Stephen gave me his old BMX helmet, an early birthday present of sorts, thanks dude! We piled into David's car, grabbed some Taco Bell and were off.

Once we arrived at Bamboozle Left, parking was quick and easy, getting in was just the same. We walked up on Supernova about a song into their set. They were great like always and the crowd was totally into them. I got some shout outs from Art and Dave, and snapped a few photos with my 35mm Canon Rangefinder. I saw a few people I knew in the crowd; Julia was there and having a good time. Astraes grabbed me and said hi. Ramy was there too. Good times being surrounded with good people. I got approached by some guy that said "Aren't you The Aquabats' merch guy?" which I agreed to, he even shook my hand. I always feel kind of funny when things like that happen, but it's cool. I tell everyone that's interested, work as a roadie/merch guy at least once in your life, it's great.

After their set we went and hung out with Greg at their merch booth. He had a stogie and was in a good mood, said he had already smoked 2 that day, good man. Supernova had been added as main support for Bad Religion's show at the HOB Anaheim that night, so they were heading out pretty soon after their set. I asked about acquiring their artist passes and they graciously obliged. We said our "see ya later"s and headed off. We were sure to let them know they had some more fans now.

The day ahead was going to be a busy one, I knew a lot of friends were going to be there, and I wanted to meet up with everyone at least once. I was texting like crazy, because calling was nearly impossible with all the music happening all around. Eliza was the next one I saw, she was bored after watching her brother's band play. She and I set off backstage to see if we could find him, but to no avail. We met back up with my brothers who were in line for a batting cage. Eliza set out for her brother and we said we'd meet up again, but never did find each other again. David, Stephen and I waited for our chance at the pitching machine. David went first and did pretty good. I joked about being able to hit 10 for 10, fat chance really. I went in and hit 7 of them, one really good and hard. Stephen went in and made an embarrassment of the Partida name until the last 2. We heckled him pretty good about it.

RX Bandits were starting up soon, so we headed to the main stages. We got there just as they entered their first song. That band is awesome live, and always has been. The crowd was huge, we were pretty far back and people were packed in there pretty good. They played a lot of familiar stuff, as well as a few new ones that I didn't know. Robot was hammered and trying to find me, but we never were able to meet up. From what I hear he passed out for an hour, lost a shoe and some sunglasses, then got his shoe back. Sounds like he had a great time. Cammie met up with me and we hung out a little bit. For some odd reason, people kept scooting by here where we were standing, even though there was no good hole to walk through. She was getting annoyed by that and started elbowing big dudes, ha. She's got spunk, she owes someone $5 now though...

After they finished, we made our way to the front of the stage to see the Bouncing Souls play, but first we had to wait out Story Of The Year, who surprisingly sounded better live as opposed to recorded. There were some pretty douchey dudes pitting in front of the empty stage for SOTY, I was getting pretty sick of them, thus giving a few sharp elbows to their mid-sections.

Bouncing Souls came out and we erupted in soccer chants, circle pits and sing-a-longs. I have caught the end of their set two times, and never been able to see a full one, so I was excited. They delivered with a bang, one hit after another. I pitted something fierce, even with my camera. Astraes was nice enough to hold it so that I could go in too, thanks man. The lead singer jumped into the crowd and surfed it while singing Hopeless Romantic, it was awesome. I hope I got a picture of it, as I was running out of film and not sure if it got one off.

Reel Big Fish was next and the crowd rushed to that stage almost all at once. Little did I know, we were in for a treat. I've never seen them, and never really cared to go out of my way too. They were completely awesome, one of the most entertaining acts of the day. We sang along to plenty of the hits, and even an Enter Sandman cover. Somehow, even though I could easily see Opie about 2 people behind me, I never got to see Rosanna the entire day.

After that we had some time to kill, we walked back towards the concessions and whatnot. We watched a little bit of New Found Glory for old time's sake. The first time I ever saw Face To Face, NFG opened up for them. We heard a few songs and headed off for some food. Seen as how we had the artist's passes, I went and checked out the catering tent. I only had to meal tickets, but there were 3 of us. We ended up holding onto them and eating stuff from inside a party tent backstage. It was pretty rad because there was free Smirnoff vodka drinks, Red Bull and Bud Light. So after a few for each of us and some appetizers, we set back out for the main stage where our highlight was about to play.

Alkaline Trio was playing as we were making our way through the crowd to the front of the main stage Face To Face was playing on next. I tried to call Jennifer Lopez while A3 played, but it didn't work out. Instead I think I told Christina Aguilera (who intercepted my call out) happy birthday. How weird did that last sentence sound? I felt kinda weird writing it, whoa, all true though. It was about to be the big moment and we made our way past the barricade in attempt to get on stage. We couldn't figure out how, but didn't really try. Instead we posted up right in front of where Chad Yarro would be playing and stayed there.

Face To Face came out and thousands of screaming fans did just that. It was awesome to hear so many people singing along with my favorite band. There were a bunch of Photographers taking pictures, but they got kicked out after the 3rd song (standard show photography regulations). We thought it might be the end of our ride at the front, but we were never told a word about leaving. A few girls joined us, but half of them got kicked out as well. For that 45 minutes, we rocked out as hard as we could, sang as loud as we could and had the greatest time ever. I saw a guy that was crowd surfing get pulled over the barricade, I instantly recognized him from the previous day's show. I gave him a good ass up top. I saw him a few times after that, awesome. How he got to the front so many times, I'll never know. Stephen said he saw Opie crowd surfing and come over, I missed it, dang. After the last song in the set the crowd cheered for an encore, but there are no encores at festivals. One of the roadies was cool enough to give me and Stephen both set lists. There was someone filming the last 3 Face To Face shows, and I know I'll be all over them, I hope that surfaces soon.

While we walked off, I got to see Stephen as I've never seen him before. He was more amped up than Macho Man Randy Savage at his best. He was running up to random people asking if they had watched the set, yelling out random bursts and reliving the moment. It was great to see him so happy.

MC Lars had an unfortunate set time, from 5 minutes after Face To Face went on, until 5 minutes before they finished. Needless to say, I didn't get to watch him, although I would've loved to under better circumstances. That guy is a true homie of mine, and I ain't playin'.

Lastly, we went to see The Chariot at one of the smaller stages. I had no voice and was sore as can be, but I still wanted to see their set. They sounded really good and put on a really lively show. Lots of mic/guitar throwing, spitting, and going nuts. The drums sounded heavy as can be and the set flowed perfectly. They ended with Yanni Depp right into Heard This Noise, which worked out really nicely.

We left immediately, to avoid some of the traffic out. There weren't any other bands we really wanted to see playing, getting out was quick and the drive back had no traffic. Of course the entire way back we were regaling about how the day couldn't have gone any smoother. Once back at their house, I washed up and headed out for the rest of my night's plans.

Charlie's birthday party was happening at his house, but first I planned to meet up with Jen Lo at the Continental in Fullerton. I was able to get ahold of Mike Bukake, and he was just arriving too, although already drunk. I've missed out on Jen's last few birthdays, so I was glad to get out to this one. We had a table there and people kept showing up. Celina met me there and she looked great, Victoria finally got to meet her and was happy about that. I got a few good handshakes from the guys there, on landing a looker. We had a great time there for a few hours despite some shady dude hammered taking money from the tip. Celina and I cut out earlier than everyone else and headed over to Charlie's. We hung out there for a while, but I was starting to feel the last few days catching up with me. I got to see a good amount of cool people there, so all was good. The cops came and soon after we headed out.

Sunday:

I promised myself I'd sleep in, and that we did. I wasn't out of bed until well after 10, it was much needed, but still not enough. We got dressed and headed out to meet up with Anthony for lunch then over to see Steve Bach at Autumn Moon Tattoo in Anaheim. We had an appointment at 1 to get some work done. Turns out we'd be there for over 8 hours, not the plan originally, but that's what happened. We played with Steve's dog Bones a bunch, laughed at some of the weird flash on the walls and AW & I both got some ink put in. Anthony was first and got a sweet gal's profile staring at a crown. I left it up to Steve to fill in a spot on my right arm and he drew up a cross with a rose. It's just outlines and shading now, but it looks great. It'll look even better when it's colored in. I was proud of CCR for hanging in there, she's a trooper and I love her to death for it.

Later in that night we had plans in Hollywood, so we were kind of rushed for time. We grabbed some food and sped to Celina's house to meet up and leave. Our plans involved watching our friend Elmo's band The Devil's Orchestra play at Camerata, and event at Cinespace. That wasn't the only reason we went though, also playing was The GERMS. We got there and grabbed some good couch spots in front, my photographer buddy Carlton was there and surprised to see me. The first band The Black Summer Crush went on and they were pretty awesome. The guitarist had a shit ton of pedals and the drummer rocked it pretty hard. Next up was The GERMS, but with Shane West (actor dude that played Darby Crash in a recent movie) instead. They were good, but I'd rather have seen Darby Crash. The Devil's Orchestra is the house band for the event, so they played last. Elmo's one of the best, most creative drummers I've ever seen play. Even The Aquabats' Ricky fitness has said "No one should be as good as that guy." They played a heavy, powerful set and got a huge cheer. It was pretty rad.

By this time, I'm fully aware that I'm drained and need some sleep. So that's exactly what I did, we got back home and I slept my ass off. Here I am, just finished spending 4 hours on a damn blog, oops. I'll make it up work, I swear...

-Chris

When's the next show?

"Your brother’s on the phone, he says it’s an emergency."

2008-02-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

That explained the call that I had previously silenced in my pocket while sitting in on a meeting. It was an inevitable call I had been expecting for the last week...

Rest In Peace Guadalupe "Lou" Partida, I will always love you. Hopefully your last memory of me was a good one. The last 6-7 years she'd been hit pretty hard with Alzheimer's, so it's tough to say what her last memory of me was. Especially if hidden down in her subconscious.

The last few years I've been kicking myself for not sacking up and visiting her. I have always had a uncomfortable resistance to visiting elderly homes and hospitals. The last time I was able to see my grandma was 12-24-05.

It was Christmas Eve, and I was so happy to see her. Unfortunately she wasn't able to remember who I was without a little coaching. We shared a good night in each other's company and I'm glad to know that my last words to her conveyed that I love her.

Grandma Lou, you were a beautiful person; inside and out. Go see grandpa, see you later.

Love always,

Chris

Happy 50th anniversary LEGO!

2008-01-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

I've really been lacking content in this here b-log, I wanted to put up something outlining my start of the New Year, but I lazed. Maybe I'll add that soon, yes even still.

Regardless, back to the title... Happy 50th anniversary LEGO!

LEGOs were a huge part of my upbringing. I can easily attribute my early desire to be an astronaut or architect to playing with LEGOs for so long. I remember getting the space shuttle set for Christmas one year and being so excited to put it together. The countless hours I spent building and creating all kinds of different LEGO creations were a keystone in my childhood. By 14 or 15 I knew I had to move on, so gave my huge collection to my little brothers. They are now just outgrowing them, but do we ever really outgrow something as awesome as LEGOs? I doubt it.

Happy birthday LEGOs!

-CP

I'm so glad I own this...

2007-12-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

Heima by Sigur Rós

Buy it, rent it, watch it. It's fantastic.

-Chris

Chipotle 7 days a week?!

2007-12-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've had Chipotle for the last 4 days, I think I'm going for a 5th tonight. Maybe a 6th and 7th are also in the works. A week straight of Chipotle, I thought I could only dream up such a grandiose idea, never actually do it.

Day 1. - Carnitas burrito with black beans, rice, sour cream, cheese and tomatillo green salsa.
Day 2. - Chicken burrito with black beans, rice, fajita veggies, sour cream, cheese and tomatillo green salsa.
Day 3. - Carnitas burrito bol with black beans, rice, sour cream, cheese and tomatillo green salsa.
Day 4. - Chicken Quesadilla with pinto beans, rice, cheese, sour cream and tomatillo green salsa on top.
Day 5. - (today) Steak burrito bol with black beans, rice, sour cream, cheese and a mix of pico de gallo & tomatillo red salsa.
Days 6 & 7 uncertain...

I can't wait.

-CP

Recommended Movie Trailers

2007-12-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Just a few you might enjoy:

No Country For Old Men

Revolver - Guy Richie*

FUNNY GAMES

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Cloverfield

City of Men (same producers as City of God, not director)

I Am Legend

There Will Be Blood

Joe Strummer: the Future Is Unwritten - About Joe Strummer* (duh)

Sharkwater

Black Irish

Bella

Music Within

Slipstream - Written, directed by and stars Anthony Hopkins*

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Shine A Light

The Counterfeiters

Wristcutters - A grown up version of the kid from Almost Famous + Shannyn Sossaman*

I’m Not There - About Bob Dylan*

Control - About Joy Division*

I looked to the right, then it happened...

2007-12-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I was hanging out on the deck with a certain Ms. Hajek at the Reyjek residence. I looked to the right to see about a noise I heard and that's when I felt it. For the first time in over 3 years of having it, I snagged my nape piercing good enough to actually pull it through my neck.

It sounds really really bad, but is actually a little less so, I haven't had the right side flat in for over 2 weeks. I lost it and haven't been able to replace it yet. I seemed to have misplaced my bag of replacement balls.

The jewelry got caught on a frayed tag inside my Paul Frank Aquabats sweatshirt. Because of my looking right, it tugged just perfectly enough to drag the piece through my nape.

Basically it was this type of jewelry coming out of the left side of my nape:

It all happened so quickly, but I knew something was up. I stood there stunned and took off the hoodie slowly. Eliza looked at me funny as I oddly moved my hoodie around. I found the jewelry still attached to the fray and walked inside.

Still in shock I showed Celina and Anthony, Celina made the biggest reaction. Most likely because she's snagged her own nape piercing a few times. We ran off to the restroom and I attempted to put it back in. I had no intentions of taking it out, so I wasn't going to let it heal up that night.

I think putting it back in felt worse than it coming out. Since the bar is curved with 2 rounded 90 degree angles, I had to push through the thicker part through. That wasn't all that fun, but also not as bad as I thought it could be. Bleeding was minimal throughout this entire ordeal, I was surprised about that. I got it most of the way through but was having a hard time finding the exit with the angled end. After a few seconds of searching, I did and was relieved. Putting it back in took less than a minute, but it felt longer.

Afterwards my neck was a little swollen around the nape area, and sensitive to the touch. Celina said the right hole looked a little stretched, but otherwise ok. Things are going well today, but damn it I need to find my replacement ends.

-Chris

Ouch.

My Life In 200 Questions...

2007-11-15T01:38:00.000-08:00

200. My middle name is:
Patrick. Wanna fight about it?

199. I was born in:
Anaheim.

198. I am really:
Bummed about getting another double dose of lame tickets (no front license plate + blocking street sweeper)

197. My cell phone company is:
Verizon.

196. My eye color is:
Hazel and ever changing.

Wow, we're only a few in and already missing a question? I'll make one up: 195. What was the last picture you took?
I took 396 pictures of Class 117 in action at El Camino Fire Academy yesterday, good times.

194. My ring size is:
Unkown to me.

193. My height is:
6'1.5"

192. i am alligeric to?
Cats, dust and dust mites. They also said dogs, but I've never experienced any reactions.

191. I was born:
Fat and naked on the 18th of April, 1983.

190. I am annoyed by:
Incorrect grammar. Like the lower case i in question 192.

189. Last book you read:
Read? I'm not sure. But I'm working on Ernest Hemingway's Garden Of Eden. The other day I read Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead vol. 7, but that's a trade paperback. I need to go buy 1-4 again. I miss them :(

188. My bed is:
Getting more and more comfortable. A mattress topper is next.

187: One thing you hate about yourself:
Packrattedness. (Where'd that : come from quiz?)

Oh man, we're missing 186-180! Whoever wrote this quiz was l-a-z-y. My additions will be italicized...

186. Which of your fingers would you chop off first? Assuming you had to of course.
I'd say goodbye to my left pinky. Goodbye pinky...

185. Would you make out with one of your cousins if no one would ever find out about it?
No, none of my cousins. Sorry guys.

184. Where would you take your grandmother for lunch? Remember, you're paying...
She and I like to eat at Sarducci's in San Juan Capistrano at the depot. It's delicious.

183. What is the last thing you'd expect your dad to say to you?
"Hey Chris, wanna borrow some more money?"

182. How is your dad? If he isn't with us anymore, how do you think he'd be enjoying this day?
He's doing alright despite just being diagnosed with level 2 diabetes. We're going to have dinner tonight. Hopefully we'll talk some more about some of the guns he's had for years, which I was clueless about.

181. Ever been to the driving range?
Yes, a few times. I used to live near Costa Mesa Country Club and had a set of clubs. I never played actual rounds of golf, but hit many a ball.

180. What is your favorite type of sandwich?
Fresh baked bread, ground mustard, provolone cheese, crisp lettuce, juicy firm tomatoes, and a few different types of meat. Delicious...

179. My favorite holiday is:
I love them all, really I do. Even today's.

177. The last cd I bought was?
Oh wow, I can't remember. How sad.

Question 176 is also missing, so: Have you ever been on top of a mountain? Not just a hill, a mountain...
I've been at the peaks of some smaller buttes, but I don't know if they'd classify as mountains.

175. Are you living at home?
I call it home. So yes.

174. Do you have any siblings:
3 brothers. They're good people.

173. Are your parents divorced
Yes sir.

172. What song are you listening to?
MC Paul Barman's Anarchist Bookstore part 2.

171. What's your favorite line in it?
"'cause it's wrong to rape a slut, it's wrong to penetrate the papercut where an origami truck scraped her butt."

170. What did you do today:
I woke up, took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, kissed a gal, petted a dog, drove a bunch, went to a closed store, then got to work. Here I am now, wondering what happened to the punctuation at the end of the last 3 questions that I didn't make up...

WOW, now we're missing 169-143! How on earth did that happen?

169. When did you start this questionnaire?
On Monday, around noonish.

168. What should you have been doing instead of this?
Well, I am at work, so I should be doing work things.

167. How old are your parents?
My mom is 57 and my dad is 59, almost 60. Olduns.

166. What is a phrase you constantly say that doesn't make any sense?
I add "uns" and "uals" to a lot of words. Like for a puppy, I'd call it a "puppun" and like in the previous question "Olduns". I also call my pets "petuals". Etc...

165. Have you ever quit a job?
I quit my first job at Party City by writing my 2 weeks notice on a balloon order sheet. It was a very sarcastic "order". The last job I (sorta) quit was the Marriott, but I was kinda forced to.

164. When's the last time you sneezed?
Just now, not sure why. I hope it's not the super aids.

163. What is your stance on facial hair?
I'm very much for it, and lots of it. Have you ever seen my dad?

162. Is there a word that makes you cringe?
MOIST is a disgusting word.

161. How are you at algebra?
I can do it well, but never the right way. My teachers always hated that.

160. Now what song is playing?
CONVERGE - Love As Arson.

159. Are you physically fit?
I have a gut. Tomorrow I'll join 24-hour fitness and lose it all. Then I will win the challenge-off.

158. Which one of your friends would you never let meet your parents?
Never? That must mean it would have to be someone that hasn't. In that case, I would never let you meet my mom and dad. You're a bad influence, and I can't be seen around you with them. Sorry, it just has to be this way. I'm sorry.

157. Anything hurting at the moment?
I have a canker sore in my mouth, it sucks. I keep toungin' it and that's no good.

156. What are you currently happy about? Not something that you're always happy about, something recent...
I finally fixed my iTunes, so that it'll recognize my iPod. After I upgraded to iTunes 7.4.2 it wouldn't recognize. I had to uninstall it, then reinstall a few other versions. Now all I'm missing is my play counts. That does suck a bit though...

155. Do you have a tablet?
I do not, but I really want one. I bet I'd draw some crazy shit. Hint hint people, Christmas is coming up...

154. Have you ever been a victim of identity theft?
Yes, well no. But I did have some credit card fraud. They took like $800+, that sucked.

153. Would you like to see a bald eagle with a beard?
Yes, but I'm afraid it will make me go blind due to it's awesomeness.

152. What's the most fragrant thing around?
My feet are a little more ripe than I'd like them to be. I am gonna go wash up soon (as you can tell, I'm not at work for this one...).

151. What did you last have for dinner?
I ate some leftovers from Lucille's BBQ. They were good, but not as good as when fresh.

150. 50 down, how ya doing?
Well since I did this in an awkward order, I've been exhausted for a while on it. That's why I didn't finish on Monday (it's 1205am Thursday now).

149. I know you watch it, so what is the title of the last porn vid you watched?
I believe it was called "Streptease" and it had nothing to do with a sore throat unfortunately.

148. Which one of your friends has the coolest name?
Linus. Hands down, he has the coolest name.

147. What's the last thing you built?
I'm working on my humidor right now. I'm not really building it as much as I am preparing it and putting it together. I'm excited.

146. What's the oddest smell you like?
Besides my own brand? Green soap, gasoline, fresh cut grass, thinkin' grass, etc. Especially etc.

145. What was the last package you received?
Mu humidor came in Tuesday.

144. Have you ever opened someone else's mail?
Yes, take me to jail.

143. Have you ever sent someone a message or note that said "143"?
Yes, I believe in Jr. High. LAME.

::I Believe In:::

142. Love at first sight:
I guess these are going to be true or false answers now... False.

141. Good Luck:
True, but also karma.

140. Fate:
Very much so true.

139. Yourself:
True.

138. Aliens:
Sure do, they scare me.

137. Heaven:
Yes.

136. Hell:
With heaven comes hell, yes.

135. Ghosts:
Also true.

134. Horoscopes:
False, those are lame.

133. Soul mates:
I hate that term, false.

:::Which is Better:::

132. Jebus or Dog?
Praise Jebus. Screw that bounty hunter.

131. Hotmail or Hot Males?
Hotmail, no wait: Gmail, no: gmunk.com (no joke, really. Go check it out, it's amazing design).

130. This or That?
I use that as a fake email address all the time: this@that.com.

129. Hugs or Kisses:
Both at the same time.

128. Fire or Ice?
I just watched Blades of Glory tonight, and it was a lot better than I thought it would be.

127. Phone or Online:
Online. I have time to think about what I'm gonna say. I can't talk very well sometimes, I don't know why.

126. Chicks or Pups?
Chicks smell. I knew a gal who had a few.

125. Blondes or Brunettes:
Brunettes.

124. Hot or cold:
Cool.

123. Summer or winter:
I like them all, but winter more.

122. Fall or Spring:
Both equally.

121. Chocolate or vanilla:
Depends on the mood.

120. Night or Day:
I like the night time, but hate a wasted day.

119. Oranges or Apples:
Oranges.

118. Curly or Straight hair:
The hair that works.

117. Good questions or Bad one?
Mine (in italics, let's keep it goin'...).

I think what's missing here is something like: :::Have you ever:::

116. Abortion:
I'd make a decision if I have to. Until then, I'll stay out of it.

115. Backstabbers:
Not really.

114. Had food?
I have had food before, I love that stuff.

113. Seen a grown man naked?
Too many times.

112. Heard the wolf cry to a blue corn moon?
I haven't, but that doesn't mean I won't if I get the chance.

111. ...or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
No, we get it...

110. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains??
STOP IT!

109. Sorry. Ok, have you ever eaten a live insect?
Just a few weeks ago at Six Flags. I ate a night-crawler and a habañero pepper at the same time.

108. Tried to drink a gallon of milk?
I watched a lot of my friends try, no one could. They all puked. I was a wuss, and didn't like puking, so I passed.

107. Did you regret that?
Passing? Yes and no, I wish I had tried. Although, I'm glad I didn't have to puke up a bunch of milk.

106. Fired an automatic weapon?
No dammit, someone please help me change that. Miller?...

105. aswnerd an queston that lookked lyk dis?
Yeah, I hate those ones. They really get on my nerves. I mean, O yah, Dose R da BizOmB!

104. Contemplated suicide during the taking of this quiz?
No. But I have thought about just giving up. Too many people are waiting though and I can't let them down.

103. Nailed a hot board?
I hope some people read "Have you ever nailed a hot broad?". I have nailed warm boards in the summer time, yes.

102. Piled into a bed with 4 of your closest friends?
Yes, and I do miss those days. Tim? What do you say we get the ol' gang back together?

101. Saw someone I haven't seen in awhile:
This question is put together all kinds of incorrectly. Yes, I have seen many people that I haven't seen in a while.

100. Cried in front of someone:
Yes.

:::Friends::: was missing here, so were 99-91.

99. Do you think any of your friends are still reading this?
I doubt it, even the people that care are probably just skimming looking for their name. I know I do it. How vain am I? Who cares, we're HALF WAY!

98. Which of your friends have passed out in your front or back yard?
Opie. David too, but technically it's his front yard as well.

97. Which one of your friends have you known the longest?
Mark D. He's old school, even though we never went to the same school once.

96. Have any of your friends ever made art of/for you?
Charlie took a few photos of me, then gave them to me. They are nice. There are also some cool computer art pieces done by various people that I rather enjoy. There are also a few funny quick sketches on the surfboard and random drawing nights, I can't think of anything else.

95. What is the next event you are looking forward to with your friends?
I'd love to say campies, but I can't go this year due to tour starting up the Saturday after Mr. T-giving. I have a new shotgun and everything, dang! I don't know what's next.

94. Name a song, and a friend it makes you think of?
Not Without A Purpose, Not Without A Fight by the Street Dogs. It makes me think of Opie because we talked about it via text the other day.

93. Find something nearby that a friend has given you and tell us about it:
AW gave me a tattoo machine and some equipment. I put a bunch of money into it, and did a few. Now I'm scared to touch it until I get some proper training.

92. Who's the last friend (non sig-other/hookup) to sleep in your bed?
Maybe David, but I'm not sure. Could be Gilbert.

91. Any friend you haven't seen in a while?
Too many, it's sad.

90. Who is the ditziest person you know:
Alexis can be, even though she's terribly smart.

89. Who makes you laugh the most:
Vince is the funniest person I know. But it's too bad he doesn't hang around more. It's probably Celina.

88. Who makes you laugh the least?
I've got some funny friends, even David Reed sometimes (despite what Adam said). Least? I guess the ones that talk to me the least.

:::Movies:::

87. The last movie I saw:
FIDO. It was ok...

86. Worst movie you've seen that other people like?
KING KONG, that was a steaming pile of shit.

85. Best movie for making out to?
Boring chick flicks.

84. Worst turnout in a theater?
I saw Mr. Bean's movie by myself in the theater when I was little. I had major ADD and started running around and yelling at the screen.

83. Last movie you recommended someone not see?
BUG. Dont' see it.

:::Random:::

82. What I don't understand is:
How those little flippy wood things (that the Mexicans sell) work.

81. What was the last thing you said to your significant other/crush?
In person... "Don't forget to take your crabby cracklins."
In text... "Well shoot, I figure you'll get a few. Even if I have to send them myself."

80. Where were you on September 11th?
I was at work. I remember writing something about how the delivery guy forgot it was 9/11. Or did you mean 2001?

79. Did you answer as if I was asking about 2001?
No. I referred to this year.

78. What is 120894-8422? No calculators...

Geez, uhh...

120894
- 8422
=118472

I hope that's right.

77. I have never eaten a:?
...living human baby.

76. Something I always really miss is:
People I haven't seen in a while, CDs that were borrowed and never given back, Old TV shows, the pins during gutterballs and strikes (baseball)

75. The thing that I'm looking forward to the most:
Tour's coming up, that should be fun.

74. The thing that I'm not looking forward to is:
Shortage of $$$ during the holidays. I hope that doesn't happen this year.

73. Tomorrow:
I'm going to a screening of the new Guy Ritchie movie RocknRolla.

72. Today:
I am gonna eat some food now, then drive home and dine with my dad.

71. Next Summer:
I don't know what's in store for me. Maybe I'll move to a new place.

70. Next Weekend:
Nothing big planned. Maybe shoot a gun off.

69. Next Year:
Maybe I'll be done with this quiz.

68. Last year:
I started it.

67. People call me:
On my telephone.

66. Pick something in the room with you and tell the story behind it:
There's a rad little Asian looking mask with a blue beard. I got it at a party themed "Why We Create" from the gift table. It reminded me of my dad. He hadn't seen it until Monday when Celina asked if I'd shown him. It skipped my mind, so she ran and got it. We all got a good laugh.

65. What's the closest patriotic item to you?
Oh man, being the patriot I am, I've got plenty: An eagle's bust not made from Obsidian, an American flag du-rag, my desktop background is an Eagle with a beard, and I've got a shotgun. Why is that patriotic? 2nd AMENDMENT BITCH!

64. What are your views on dandruff?
I get it lightly on occasion, mostly when the air gets to be dry.

63. Are you scared of clowns?
Yes, but not extremely. I watched a sweet compilation of scenes from the movie IT the other day thanks to Pat's bulletin powers.

62. Do you know anyone that says "are you ascared?"?
I grew up around a lot of Mexicans that said that. I thought that was how it was spelled for a while. That last part isn't true, but still...

61. I'm just sayin'?
No. I'm just sayin'!

60. The most difficult thing to do is:
Lose my gut. Although, I haven't really tried much. I am in a challenge off with AW, and will lose it before Christmas. I'm joining the gym Thursday.

59. I have gotten a speeding ticket:
Not recently, but I have gotten 2 lame ones on the same night.

58. Do you have any bad tattoos?
Only ones I've given myself.

57. What's the nicest hotel you have ever stayed in?
Ooh, that's a tough one. I've been to a few good ones... Ritz Carlton in Henderson, NV. The Biltmore in Phoenix, AZ. Hotel 71 in Chicago, IL. Those are the best 3 I can think of at the moment.

56. Ever seen a car accident?
MANY! I love to catch them. I can't even list how many I've seen. I will say though, when I was little I saw an old lady's brakes go out on her car, she crashed into the steps at Whittier High School and die. I walked up to the car and saw her hunched over her steering wheel bleeding. Since then, blood hasn't frightened me.

55. The first person i talked to today was:
Este Celinas.

54. First time you had a crush:
When I was a little ass chump kid probably.

53. The one person who i can't hide things from:
Myself.

52. Last time someone said something you were thinking:
The other day Celina and I were singing the Cranberries song from the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack, then we went to blockbuster and it came right on.

53. Right now im talking to?
Whoa now, this is number 51, not 53. We already did 53. Way to put a "?" at the end of this one instead of a ":". Coworkers.

52. Is there anything hanging nearby?
A sweet Jeremy Fish hoodie that two friends of mine (Anastasia Nelson and George Johnson) gave to me. It's getting colder, time to wear it!

51. What is the last thing you framed?
A print out of some Sailor Jerry flash I got on eBay. I finally found an 11" x 14" frame today at some shitty dollar store.

50. What is your dream job?
Get paid to be me... ON CAMERA!

49. First real job?
Party City, that was fun for a few months.

48. I have/will get a job:
I have a job. You are right.

47. I have these pets:
Goldie Hawn (Golden Tree Frog) and Kurt Russell (Red-legged Leopard Frog) as well as Richard and Arnold (Corn Snakes).

46. I wish:
Everything would go how I wanted it to. But that's not fair.

45. The worst sound in the world:
The cry of a mother that lost her child.

44. The person that makes me cry the most is:
Myself probably. That's not that often though.

43. Best sound in the world:
Sizzling steaks.

42. What do you think about the gays?
I love when people refer to them as "the gays".

41. Do you like video games?
I do, but I'm not all about the,.

40. If you are drinking something currently, what are you drinking it from?
One of Jake's old glasses. This one's from Motive Gear Performance.

39. Something that makes you happy:
Music.

38. What's the last thing to startle you?
Goldie Hawn just jumped after a cricket and it spooked me. She's crushing it with her eyes now, frogs are so cool.

37. Anything amusing nearby?
Arnold has taken residence on top of the temperature and humidity gauges. I think he took a liking to them when I put him back in the terrarium last week after feeding. He's quite partial now.

36. How do you like sneezes?
I think they are annoying. But I know a gal that loves them. Like, LOVES them. Coo-koo...

35. Florida or Hawaii:
This one was probably supposed to have been up in the "this or that" category... I've only been to FL, but I'm certain HI is way better.

34. What are your views on the war in my pants?
It's a never ending struggle between the boys. I can't do anything about it but let them duke it out.

33. My favorite piece of clothing:
I don't really know. I am partial to my Florida shirt with the kick ass shark on it, but that's falling apart.

32. You're surrounded by aborigines, what would you like to have handy?
The ability to call lightning bolts down from the heavens. Aborigines eat that shit up.

31. Last time I cried:
I can't recall.

30. My friends are:
Friendly.

29. My computer is:
Slower as time goes on.

28. The school I go to is:
A mystery to me.

27. Last person I got mad at is:
those kids that had a death wish yesterday.

26. Boring questions are:
Ones not asked in italics.

25. How many times have you thought about giving up?
About 104. That's more than half, but like I said, people are counting on me.

24. Croutons?
I love them. Mrs. Cubbisons.

23. What is an albatross? Answer in a rhyme, don't copy the person before you.
A giant bird, and a cool word.

22.The all-time best movie is:
Well to me, it's Life Is Beautiful. To IMDB it is the Godfather.

21. The all-time best feeling in the world is:
Being loved.

20. The all-time greatest failure is?
A lot of people will say Presican't George W. Bush. I will too, just because of the kick-ass Presican't name I just made up. I'm gonna Google it now to make sure no one else has used it. Then I'm gonna copyright that shit by posting it on my own blog. Dammit, two people got to it before I could. Who cares, I'm gonna make it golden.

Those 2 people:

Arson Is Easy Posted: 01/25/07 11:11 am on http://www.bostonpunk.org
"I hate fox 25 news...one of the biggest spin doctor news teams ever. I mean, they jump on the bandwagon now with lashing out at our illustrious presican't...but before that, they were all about him. Nevermind the fear mongering that they are terrible for.

There aren't that many places to get good news from these days...but they are definitely on the top of my list as sucky."

and

seashell :-) Sun, 11/04/07 1:20 am on www.blogforamerica.com

"The dumbing down of presidents...
Reagan thinking Buenos Aires is in Boliva
cheney thinking Chavez is prez of Peru.
Another radical idea I have is to have a presidential school for aspirants. They would have to pass stringent tests...like....is Chile in

a- China
b- Iceland
c- South American

The essay: Why I want to be presican't."

19. What are you immediate plans following this questionnaire?
Post on blog and outerspace, then brush teeth and sleep. Probably call the broadual in between there sometime.

18. Do you know anyone born on the 18th of any month?
ME! April 18th!

17. I lose all respect for people who:
Partake in any scat related activities.

16. The movie I cried at was:
The KINGDOM, but I really only teared up, didn't really cry.

15. Have you seen any good bumper stickers lately?
I saw one that was clever. A political one that said (just like this):

George Bush sucks dick
Cheney too

14. TV channels you watch:
Comedy Central.

13. Favorite web site:
Scrabulous on Facebook.

12. I like/love:
A girl you probably feel I mention too much. Well jog on, I love her.

11. The worst pain I was ever in was:
Being upside down with my fingers stuck in a recliner chair.

10. My favorite word is
I'mnotcertainsoI'mmakingupawordfortemporaryreasons.

9. My room is:
Getting cleaner, and more organized slowly but surely.

8. My favorite celebrity is:
I really don't care about celebrities much, although I do admire many famous people. I choose not to answer.

7. Are there any phrases you'd like to use more often?
"Jog on", "legend" and "I'm just sayin'...". Even though I use the latter often enough.

6. Now that you're almost done, how long has this taken you?
Well... look if you look at the publish date, it's wrong. I really finished around quarter to 2 early Thursday morning.

5. My weakness is:
Good food + cheap beer.

4. What I like/first notice about the opposite sex is?
Depends on how I see them first.

3. Who broke your heart:
Who cares, that's all done with.

2. One thing that makes you feel great is:
Things going well.

1. The one person that you wish you could see right now:
I'll see her tonight, so I'm good.

Sometimes the clientelle at a Taco Bell is better than the food...

2007-11-07T16:08:00.001-08:00

Today, for lunch, I frequented the Laguna Beach Taco Bell off PCH and Cleo. I do this on a weekly basis, and always have a good time people watching when I dine in. Today's main attraction right off the bat was a gaggle of loud mouth little indie chicks with bad hairdos and facial piercings.

"I fucking hate being short. Well I'm not really short, but you know."

No, I don't know. Keep it down.

I ordered my usual (re)Meximelt with jalapeno sauce, 7-layer burrito (evenly layered) and an odd choiced enchirito. Once my order was up, I set out for seating, avoided the little broads and sat on the other side of the room. To my left was the next attraction: two of your average dutchmn, one a little moreso than the other. They sounded like tourists, not by any accent or anything, but just because the pale whities in CA don't talk like these guys...

(In all seriousness, no joke intended) "Yeah, he tries to call me sometimes. Have you seen his baby momma?"

Don't get me wrong, the usual characters were there too: we had the timid caucasian family "out to lunch", the creepy older guy in the white shirt with the stretched out sleeve holes (of course, that sat a little too close to the gaggle of girls) and the friend or family member (I can never tell) of at least one of the employees. I envy those ones, they always get hooked up.

Last, and certainly not a bit least was the middle aged guy that looked as if he might've just recently gotten laid off. His attire aimed for business casual with his white-collared shirt and slacks, but the CROCS on his feet with grey socks and the faded acid-wash purple hat on his head said "I'm gonna look for a job tomorrow." I really paid no nevermind to him when he entered, but it was after he received his food did he come into the frame. He wanted a fork, simply a fork. Of course to anyone that's been to Taco Bell, they know there are no forks, only the almighty spork. He looked where the sporks were located and turned back. He asked the cashier for a fork, the cashier quickly retorted.

"We don't have forks." he said.

"I know, that's why I came to you." The man replied.

"We only carry sporks."

"Well you only have spoons. No more forks."

"Those are sporks, we don't have normal forks."

Then the man walked off silently, picked up one of the said sporks, and walked back to his seat with a defeated and embarassed look on his face.

All in all, today the clientelle was better than the food.

Let's take ACTION...

2007-10-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled onto a link about Blog Action Day. It just so happened to be today as well. So I clicked and decided to see what it is all about. It seems this organization is of the environmental nature, I have always enjoyed the environment. Sure, I'm no tree-hugger or vegetarian but I love our planet's resources and appreciate the overwhelming beauty in it. The objective of Blog Action Day was to focus on topics surrounding our individual views on the environment. That my friends, is what I will attempt to do here today. Almost completely improvised, as I just found out about this minutes ago. For more information visit: www.blogactionday.org

I don't write with a theme in this blog, there are only 3 other entries after all... Picking a subject is almost difficult, I am sitting here wondering what to even start about. I look around my office, and it hits me. Turn off the light! We've got a track of 5 GE 65V incandescent light bulbs here in the office near the restroom. An area located near an empty desk, the fridge and a filing cabinet. Not a very busy portion of the room. It's lit with a fair amount of ambient light, as well as the 5 lights above when necessary. Necessary, often a misused word. In this case, I see these lights on more than they ought to be, so I turn them off a few times a week. Sometimes they stay off, sometimes they will get turned back on. I try to let people know that they aren't being used, so just leave them off. I figure it'll save the company a few bucks as well.

Here's a formula to see how much we might be spending:

Cost = (wattage of bulb) ÷ (1,000) x (hours per days in use) x (365 days/year) x (cost per kilowatt hour)
(65) ÷ (1,000) x (9) x (260) x ($0.2284)
Total: $34.74
Light track total: $173.70
Source (page 3 of the PDF).

Even further in the lighting category are the new Quantam dot LED lights. Switching out just one of these can save $30 off your annual electric bill. Imagine switching out an entire house/office worth. Compact fluorescent lights have been around for a short while now, even those can help keep half a ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is: If you're going to keep an unnecessary light on all the time, make it one that won't hurt both the environment and your wallet.

This applies then, today and forever...

2007-10-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

"Open Letter to the Youth of our Nation"
by Hunter S. Thompson, circa 1955
---------------------------------------------

Awake from your slumber of indolence and harken the call of the future!

Do you realize that you are rapidly becoming a doomed generation? Do you realize that the fate of the world and of generations to come rests on your shoulders? Do you realize that at any time you may be called on to protect your country and the freedom of the world from the creeping scourge of Terrorism? How can you possibly laugh in the face of the disasters which face us from all sides? Oh ignorant youth, the world is not a joyous place. The time has come for you to dispense with the frivolous pleasures of childhood and get down to honest toil until you are sixty-five. Then and only then can you relax and collect your social security and live happily until the time of your death.

Also, your insolent attitude disturbs me greatly. You have the nerve to say that you have never known what it is like to live in a secure and peaceful world; you say that the present generation has balled things up to the extent that we now face a war so terrible that the very thought of it makes hardened veterans shudder; you say that it is impossible to lay any plans for the future until you are sure you have a future. I say Nonsense! None of these things matter. If you expect a future you must carve it out in the face of these things. You also say that you must wait until after you have served your time with the service to settle down. Ridiculous! It is a man's duty to pull up stakes and serve his country at any time, then settle down again.

I say there is no excuse for a feeling of insecurity on you part; there is no excuse for Juvenile Delinquency; there is no excuse for your attitude except that you are rotten and lazy! I was never like that! I worked hard; I saved; I didn't run around and stay out late at night; I carved out my own future through hard work and virtuous living, and look at me now; a respectable and successful man.

I warn you, if you don't start now it will be too late, and the blame for the end of the world will be laid at your feet. Heed my warning, oh depraved and profligate youth; I say awake, awake, awake!

Fearfully and disgustedly yours,
John J. Righteous-Hypocrite

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

Take his words and use them in life.

911...

2007-09-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

911...

...is a phone number that was dialed countless times 6 years ago.

I read (present tense) and read (past tense) a lot bumper stickers, myspace.com banners and auto decals that say "never forget". I've even seen people with that phrase tattooed on their bodies, but I'm sure a lot of you today were thinking to yourself "Oh yeah, it's 9/11..." I know I did, even the DHL guy that came in said he kept forgetting what day it is until he had to write it down.

My stance on the events of 9/11/01 is not in the norm, probably because I was across the country and lost no one because of it. I like the fact that America stands together remembering the 2,973 people killed on that day, but things like that happen all over the world. The US has been responsible for horrific acts as unsettling, if not moreso as what happened in New York City that morning. On 8/6/45 and 8/9/45, the US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing instantly over 110,000 people, and in the long-run as many as 340,000. Why is it that we don't remember those days? (Source)

Written by Dr. William A. Cook, here is a well written piece on the innocent victims of both those dates and more. I agree with what he has to say, and I think you should take a look.

Remember the ones we lost today, but don't forget what others have lost as well.

-Chris

Anyone still have that picture of Richard in front of the Twin Towers?

¡Viva Mexico!

2007-08-08T00:11:00.001-07:00

If you somehow weren't aware, I wasn't around for a good portion of last week. Instead, I was located in the furthest Southern point of Mexico's Baja Peninsula: Los Cabos. I've worked with a company that deals with Golf & Travel to Mexico for almost 4 years now, and through the generosity of my boss Chuck Kinder (owner of BEST4GOLF Travel), I was given a great vacation opportunity for Celina and I. All of the necessities were taken care of: air, transportation, hotel, food & drink. I hardly had to lift my wallet the entire 4 days.

Our flight took off Wednesday morning at 930, meaning that we'd have to be at the airport around 730AM. That early in the AM isn't my cup o' tea. So to avoid leaving my house at 530 am and driving to San Diego International Airport, Celina rode with me to work and I booked a cheap room on PriceLine.com... About $72 for a Holiday Inn in the gaslamp district, not too shabby. I forgot my camera at home like an idiot, but CCR was a trooper and drove all the way back to Whittier to get it. We got to the hotel later than I wanted to, but check-in went fine. After settling in and combining our 2 bags into 1 large one, we set off for some food and to do some last minute shopping. After all was said and done, the shopping was done, the SUBWAY was digesting, we headed back to the hotel. I was supposed to call Jen Lo, but we were kinda dead and in no place to be out late (pussies).

Alarms went off and I jumped out of that hotel bed into a striking stance. I woke up out of that startle and went about getting ready to leave for the airport. We parked the car, loaded into the shuttle, and made our way towards the terminal. We got our tickets from AeroMexico with no quarrel. Security and all that jazz had a long line, but it moved steadily. Despite being a little late to the terminal, we were right on time. We boarded the plane, went through all the takeoff lectures and were on our way. The plane ride was only 2 hours, and to our surprise we were served breakfast: a bowl of fruit, yogurt and a muffin. I don't do well with the coffee, and was in no place to deal with that. Milk wasn't calling my name, so I opted for a cold refreshing Corona to accompany my meal. Celina and I both read books to pass the time, mine was "homework" from my boss. A book about how to use Google Maps above and beyond it's means. Surprisingly interesting, especially for a dork like me. The plane ride was quick and harmless, we were soon descending towards San Jose del Cabo International Airport, the smallest rinky-dink operation international airport ever.

We exited, waited in line for customs. I don't have a passport just yet so I was a little nervous, but not much. As long as you've got a proof of application, you're good tot enter Mexico (through Sep). We made it through no problem, the officer thought Celina spoke Español, but she didn't. Our bag seemed to walk right up to us as we entered baggage claim, then we strolled into the last checkpoint. I thought to myself "oh great, a bearded dude like me... might as well call me random bag search." (Dave Attell), but the light didn't have me and we went on our way.

I had an itinerary prepared for me by my lovely coworker Mariana Recines, she warned me that there would be a slew of timeshare reps trying to get me to listen to their gab. I wasn't having it, and tried to warn Celina. She was pulled in, as I tried to tell her to just keep walking. I won't lie, those guys are cunning, they spoke of "our vouchers" which were non-existent. Very official sounding. I grabbed Celina and made for the door. We met our driver Jose and loaded up for the 20 minute car ride to the resort. The language barrier was in full effect. We tried to get a feel for the types of American music that Jose liked. Everything was failing until he muttered something along the lines of Tammy Hakart. Instantly my ears went as Mexican as they could and I shouted "Sammy Hagar! Val Halen not Van Hagar!" From there on out we were pretty quiet, that was going to be the peak of our conversation.

We arrived at Melia Cabo Real to open arms and very hospitable people. We were instantly happy with our new surroundings, the place was beautiful. We checked in and got our room right away, about an hour and a half sooner than we should've (and sooner than the few people in front of us). We got a little lost on the way to our room while looking all around at the resort. Our room was freezing when we got in, and there was music playing from the TV. It was great, especially since it was about 95˙ outside. We settled in and got comfy. The Melia is an All-Inclusive resort, meaning whatever you want (for the most part), it's included in the room rate. I couldn't wait to start (ab)using this.

Once ready to go out, we headed straight for the bar, then the buffet. The food here was tasty! Normally I don't expect too much from a buffet, but it was really good. The service was friendly, and everything was off to an awesome start. In the resort, there are 2 restaurants you have to make reservations for (Kujira - Asian Cuisine & La Terraza - Mediterranean), I did that right after we checked in, but there wasn't anything open for this night. There was also 2 buffets and a snack shack as well as room service until 1030PM. Life was good in the food dept. Drinks were plenty, and located all over. There was a main bar upstairs, a loungy yet classy joint, a poolside palapa, buffetside bar and beachfront bar as well. I think I had a few at each one, many times. Oddly enough, never really getting completely inebriated, but having a great time anyway. Each night we walked around, mostly to the upstairs and beach bars. There were annoyingly drunk 18 year olds out every night. It was entertaining, but made me feel a little too grown up. After the meal we walked around, had a few drinks, I bought a cigar and we played some pool while I sweated my ass away. It was night time and still warm, that on top of my weak skin beginning to get sunburnt. I couldn't hang. We called it a night after a few games and headed back to the room.

We woke up at a decent time and headed out. Celina jumped on the zipline, I would've as well, but I weighed too much *shrug*. So I went down to take pictures of her while she zoomed down. The guys at the bottom of the zipline were cracking jokes with me, and at some of the riders. I bet their job is fun. I'd do something similar. We grabbed some burgers from the snack shack and a few drinks and relaxed in the sun. The beach was amazing, the water was blue as can be. I couldn't wait to go snorkeling. We swam some in the pool, rested in some bungalos, played some Spanglish Scrabble (in which I lost horribly), had some more drinks and people watched. After that, we headed over to the buffet for a bite of lunch. Everything was delicious once again, they weren't letting us down. Stuffed, we strolled down to the beach to check it out. The sand was hot and hurt to walk in. I swear I took a few years off of my dogs. The beach was amazing, I couldn't wait to get into the water, but the waves were too big to do any good diving. I would have to wait for tomorrow. After staggering back up the beach, hitting a hammock for a little and getting some good makeout time in, we headed back to the room for a nap.

Dinner reservations were late, so we had plenty of time. I wish I would've taken a picture, because for dinner we looked good... No lyin', we were a dreamy couple on the prowl. We checked in to Kujira and started dinner. The theme was Asian, and there were dishes from all over. We both ordered salads and sushi rolls. The food was good, but what we had in mind. The main courses came out (after a little bit of a wait), I had Salmon on mashed potatoes with veggies and a tasty sauce. Celina had a stewed pork. Both tasted good, but we were on our way to full. Dessert was a brownie with ice cream, very rich and delicious, but I couldn't finish it. That night we downed a good amount of drinks, strolled on the beach, watched some flamenco and called it a night. It was a great night.

The next morning I wanted to go down to the ocean and do some diving. We had breakfast at the buffet, Celina was feeling the repercussions of the previous night's drinks, and had to relieve herself from the table. I did alright. Once through with that meal, I was excited, so I made short business of that meal then we headed to the beach. Along the shore there were little kids crying, seems there were jellyfish in the water and about 3 kids had gotten stung. There was a local helping them out, and pulling the small creatures from the shore break. The jellyfish looked like small blue fish when they swam, you couldn't see their tentacles, pretty cool. We headed down into a cove where no one was getting stung and went in. The Sea of Cortez was warm, inviting and clear as a pool. I loved every second of it. I let Celina use my stuff and go out a little to try it out. She saw a few fish and was pretty excited. After she was done, I put it all back on and really went out, she went to sunbathe. I swam about 75 yards out and what I saw was more than I imagined. At least 25 different types of fish, in so many colors. You were able to see for an easy 35 ft. I wished I had a camera, so I made it a point to go buy an underwater disposable afterwards. After getting both tired and waterlogged, we climbed up on the break rocks and watched the crabs jump from one rock to another. That was oddly relaxing and enjoyable. Walking back sucked again, we avoided dead jellyfish on the shore, and hobbled across the hot sand. I dipped into the pool and hung out in the shade, my back was red from snorkeling. Seems the waterproof "Sport" sunscreen wasn't all that it was cracked up to be (Although, I will give it credit, I could've come out a lot more burnt than I am). A quick dip and we were on our way back to the room to wash up.

Lunch always seemed to end up at the buffet, and sometimes the little snack shack. Room Service always sounded like a grand idea, but the menu wasn't all that great. We overheard some kids bragging about already having room service and it made me remember that those two words meant so much at one time. Having Room Service used to make you feel like a champ, even in an All-Inclusive resort it still had a special ring to it. Something about it sounds so appealing, especially to a kid that didn't get shit growing up. The feeling was nostalgic to say the least. After lunch we set off for some drinks and a trip to the store for my camera and some sandals. Sure, I waited until the day before I was leaving to buy sandals (which I hardly ever wore until this day), who cares? You wanna fight about it? Needless to say, they were a good investment, they made walking over scalding hot sand a much easier task. That and a disposable/submersible camera cost around 510 pesos, which is something like $46 USD. That for the most part, was what I spent the entire weekend. Again, thanks Chuck!

Dinner reservations for the night were at La Terraza, the outdoor Mediterranean restaurant. We got ready and again were looking soooo good (Strong Bad). Celina didn't have high expectations for the menu, but nicely to our surprise everything on it sounded amazing. This restaurant was a nice contrast to the last night's dinner; the menu was great, the service was much better and the outdoor setting was very pleasant. A basket of deliciously rich breads came out, I could've filled up on those, but we practiced restraint. We chose a Bruschetta on "crackers" (which were really chips) along with sections of Camembert cheese. Celina had the Terraza salad, and I had the House Caesar. We shared some Artichoke soup. Our main dishes were even more enjoyable than what we'd tried so far; Celina had the Lamb Chops with mixed vegetables while I scoured down a Duck breast on mashed potatoes in a sweet & spicy sauce. For dessert we split a Crème Brûlée with fresh fruit. After the meal was said and done, we wished that we could've made reservations for La Terraza both nights after eating there.

Our last morning at Melia came early. The plan was to head out early and get some dive time in. We readied ourselves and hustled out the dooe. After checking out equipment for Celina, we headed to the beach. I was eager to jump in and get some great pictures with the fish. We suited up and jumped in. Celina got used to her borrowed equipment (not nearly as good as mine) and we went off in search of the beauty I witnessed the previous day. The water was a little murkier today due to a larger surf, so visibility was less by about 10-15 ft. It was still beautiful though. There were lots of fish, and I snapped off pictures left and right. Now that I've developed them, I should've been a little less snap happy. They are somewhat boring to look through. I need an underwater housing for my D-SLR, those pictures would've been both more and better. After getting out of the water, grabbing some drinks and dippin' in the pool we ate some delicious breakfast. The green Chilequiles were awesome, and I went back for seconds. Sadly, we had to head back to the room to start packing up. Even though we requested a late checkout, we only had until 1 PM to stay in the room. We packed up our stuff and checked it at the front desk. Luckily, they let us hold onto our bracelets so that we could still eat and drink. By this time, I was burnt and feeling it. I laid down in the closed upstairs bar and rested my withered ass. Bored, we set off to visit a local golf course; Cabo Real. I told the golf concierge that I wanted to take some photos of the course, and that I was affiliated with the Golf Guide that sat on her desk. She looked at it, and my ID, then called over to the course to arrange a golf cart for me and Celina. She said a Suburban was on it's way. "All 'burb or no 'burb" I've always said...

Waiting outside I caught eye of a buddy from back home, Mike Carran. I chatted him up for a second and wished him a good time. I knew he'd been there, but hadn't seen him until then. We jumped into the Suburban and headed to the course, once we got there the pro shop told us that were weren't exactly up to dress code, so we headed back to the resort. We laid down on the cushions and fell asleep. I awoke uncomfortable as can be due to my sunburn, Celina followed soon after. It was about our time to leave, then I saw our ride pull up. We loaded up and bid farewell to our hosts. The ride back to the airport was quiet, we didn't want to leave, but didn't have a choice...

San Jose del Cabo International Airport was a hell hole. The air-conditioning was shut off, apparently due to cheapness. The line for our flight was out of control, and we didn't think we'd board on time. Luckily, everything worked out, and we made it. The flight was even easier and quicker than the previous. We got back to San Diego in a timely 2 hours. Dinner was served, this time a ham & cheese con jalapeño salsa sandwich with a piece of cake, mine of course with a Tecaté.

When San Diego was in sight, I knew this trip was over. We landed. The old lady in the aisle row next to us was the last to get off, so we were even more last. We went through customs, I declared a sunburn and a disposable camera. Then we boarded our parking shuttle and headed back to the car. I knew that we both wished we would've had at least one more day. Even if it weren't necessary.

On our way home we stopped at Pedro's Tacos in San Clemente for some delicious foods, and headed to my house to crash. All-in-all, a great time. I can't wait for the next trip. I do have my passport now (just got it in the mail today).

Onto the next issue... The TEN came out last Friday, who's gonna go watch it with me?

I think a first post should be very meaningful...

2007-07-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with Professor Mike Miller

It's time for another grammar lesson.

There, Their, They're
Their = Possessive.
"That is their house."
There = Location.
"It is over there."
They're = conjunction: They are.
"They're not very bright."

Were, Where, Wear, We're
Were = once upon a time.
"Things are not what they were."
Where = Location.
"Where is your third grade diploma?"
Wear = to clothe.
"What are you going to wear?"
We're = conjunction: We are.
"We're going to fight soon."

It's, Its
It's = conjunction: It is.
"It's a real problem you haven't learned this already."
Its = Possessive.
"Do not play with its tail!"

To, Two, Too
To = suggestion of movement.
"Go to hell"
Two = The number 2.
"A two year old could follow this lesson."
Too = Also.
"There are too many of you."

Through, Threw
Through = in one side, out the other.
"This bullet shall pass through you.'
Threw = past tense of throwing something.
"Who threw out the first pitch?"

Meet, Meat
Meet = to come together.
"Let's meet at the movies."
Meat = Flesh of a mammal.
"Dog meat tastes like chicken."

Which, Witch
Which = One of a group.
"Which of you will learn something from this?"
Witch = an evil bitch.
"The wicked Witch was senselessly murdered by Dorothy."

Knew, New
Knew = Know, past tense.
"I already knew that."
New = Not old.
"I'm wearing new shoes."

Your, You're
Your = Implies possession/ownership.
"Is that your dog?"
You're = conjunction: You are.
"You're supposed to have committed this to memory."

Our, Hour, Are
Our = Collective possessors.
"That is none of our business!"
Hour = Where the little hand points.
"You have one hour to complete the exam."
Are = To be.
"You are cool."

Brake, Break
Brake = Used to slow momentum.
"If the light turns red, you'd better brake!"
Break = What glass does.
"Did you break wind?"

Board, Bored
Board = Piece of wood.
"Cut the board 6 feet long"
Bored = Experiencing a lack of fun.
"I'm bored, send me nudes."

Know, No
Know = Short for Knowledge.
"I know hwo to splel rtaher wll."
No = Opposite of Yes.
"No, you can't spell for shit."

Won't = conjunction: Will Not
Don't = conjunction: Do Not
I've = conjunction: I Have
You'd = conjunction: You Would, You Had
They'd = conjunction: They Would, They Had
I'd = conjunction: I Would, I Had, I Should
I'm = conjunction: I Am
IM - Acronym: Instant Message
We'd = conjunction: We Would, We Had, We Should
Can't = conjunction: Can not