New Years Eve Road Trip!!!

I had no real plans for New Years seeing that I planned on staying in and watching movies. I got a message from my friend to come down to Reseda (Southern California) and party with them so I decided to take her up on that offer. I'm leaving right after work and making my 6 hour trip. While I'm down there, I'll be trying to plan accordingly the food establishments that were kindly recommended to me. Pictures to come soon!!!


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Recap of Blackjack Tonite

Played for 1 hour and left $200 up. All that money is going towards paying off Credit Card debt.

I celebrated by watching some Everyday Italian to get even more stoked. I love how Giada is so expressive when eating her food!



I get to sleep in tomorrow because everyone has to come in to work at 8am. Goodnight y'all!

$200 in my hands

off to play blackjack. Wish me luck!

What I've been loving lately

House series

I started Season 1 and currently working my way up to Season 5. This show is so addictive and each character brings their own unique presence to the show


Bill Simmons Podcast

Referred to as "The Sports Guy" Bill Simmons combines sports with pop culture references and no apologetic stance of being a passionate Boston sports fan, his podcast is an underground hit with people of all backgrounds and sports knowledge. Best of all, it's free on iTunes!



Blackberry Bold for the Verizon Wireless Carrier.... (TBA)

Verizon Wireless has made a tentative announcement that the Bold, which is currently available for AT&T will be released 1st quarter of 2009. I've been drooling over this phone for over a year as I can't wait to pony up the money and buy one as soon it gets released through Verizon.

Bye Bye Hair

Shaved my head. Used a #2. Got a few compliments already and I was flattered to hear them. :)

Never Look Back, Different Directions

9 days away until 2009. What lies ahead for me? It's tough to say but here are 4 big goals that I'm looking forward to in 2009 that could be life changing for me...

Continue Becoming A Minimalist
I'm making good progress going through my belongings and either donating them to freecycle or posting them on craigslist. Part of becoming a better person is to not be so attached to material possessions, especially items that I have no use for anymore.

Save Money/Build A Surplus
As part of becoming a minimalist, I sold my Wii, Wii Fit, and Rock Band 2 band kit. All that money I got, I put in my savings account. My goal is to be completely debt free by the end of January sans my car payments and to continue putting excess monies that isn't tied to rent and utilities to my savings and Roth IRA.

Focus More On Cooking
I've been following the blog The Crepes of Wrath since it's inception as it provides great recipes for simple dishes from main courses to desserts. I had have always a knack for cooking, especially serving to my friends. I want to step my game up and try more challenging dishes. I am looking into taking a cooking class at DVC as a way to learn and also meet new people.

Drive Cross Country in June
Take 14 days off work and start in Walnut Creek, CA and drive East on 80 until I hit Chicago and loop back on the infamous Route 66. I want to visit the America I've never seen, eat at truck stop diners, see national parks, and other interesting parts of America.

Peace to my Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit

No Joke, I think I May Be Developing An Addiction.....

I think I'm slowing becoming a gambling degenerate. The past 3 weeks I've been obsessed with gambling whether it's blackjack, roulette, or sports betting. After seeing this picture from 4th of July where I won the biggest amount of money ever, I have these urges to go back. Considering I sold a lot of my useless junk around my room, I have a surplus of money that I can use at my own leisure.

That's me pointing at my stack of green chips, $25/chip so roughly $300 for one hand. Keep in mind that this isn't a big casino in Tahoe so this brought the attention of the pit boss along with other dealers that I was playing so reckless, yet winning so much at the same time

Apologies to Vegans and Vegetarians

Thanks to the fine people at Holy Taco it is my goal for to make this cheesy bacon delight as part of my New Years Resolution.

New bed spread!!!

I've always wanted flannel bedding growing up so I finally made the decision and paid $19.99 to get this christmas theme bed set

Burberry Appreciation

Might splurge with my Christmas money that my relatives usually give me each year for these awesome, yet expensive jawns

My new thing is going to thrift stores and estate sales to find and sell items on Ebay as a way to make some extra money. Upon my arrival a few days ago I found this gem



The best part was that I bought it for $4.00 and sold it on ebay for $38

Big Dreams

I decided I want to pursue graduate school but....

-I dont know where to apply to
-I dont know if I want to be in debt and commit to another 4 years of school

But I do know....

-I want to do research involving sports and perhaps the aspect of fantasy sports
-I want to continue working full time and might entertain transferring to a new office

Any ideas or suggestions?

Happy Birthday Lauren

26 years young!!! :)

-Made you baked mac n cheese w/ bacon bits
-Watched Kung Fu Panda and House
-Mini chocolate birthday cake with HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN

Hope you enjoyed your special day!!!

Smooth As Butter

Smooth As Butter

Menu is so ridiculous I gotta try it out!!!

Wishful Thinking

I have repeatedly told my family and friends I dont want any presents or gifts this season. I have everything I need. But I still can think what would be awesome to have if I had extra disposable income.




Levis 514's- Such a solid style. Why pay extra $$$ on designer and/or "boutique" denim when Levis stands the tests of time




Lacoste Essential- Went to Macys tonite to try out Lacoste per friends recommendation. Ended up testing 4 different Lacoste colognes and Essential was by far the best one. $49.00 is too steep at the moment.



Alphanumeric Simpson Plaid long sleeve- Simpsons inspired, looks really sharp and goes well with Nike Air Max 95's



Calvin and Hobbes collection set: Contains all the Calvin and Hobbes comic books and strips in leather bound casing!!! Still pretty pricey, hope to have this in my collection since I do have a tattoo of Calvin and Hobbes






Sorry for the poor pictures, I had to take them myself :|

Female Vocalists

Feel free to get the albums here:



Eisley- Room Noises
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SK0RJIIJ

For fans of: Teagan and Sara, The Hush Sound, Rilo Kiley, The Cardigans





Fiona Apple - Tidal
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7NZ0QUIV

For fans of: Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Cat Power

(Thanks to Ani for recommending me this album. I'm hooked!)

Rearrange

Got a new futon from Miguel along with speakers and ended up spending most of Sunday rearranging my room. Slowly but surely getting rid of smaller stuff and trash lying around my room.

Transitions

Keeping it brief because I was suppose to be in bed over 2 hours ago but I'm making the transition to becoming a minimalist in my current living situation. So far I've donated a lot of clothing that I don't need and sold my hardcore shirts on eBay. I've been searching my room for stuff to give away on freecycle as well. I've been cleaning out my pantry and donating food to my food drive at work and trying to finish off all my food in the house before I need to buy more. This is all in attempt to achieve my 3 short goals that I have in order to make myself a better person. Details to come soon...

Where I'll be in 2009

First week of March: Cornell University

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Middle of March: Ocala, Florida


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Fall 2009: Western Europe


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Riding my bike again

Tomorrow I'll be riding my bike to work again pending the weather. Looking to start riding around town more consistently as I'm trying to overcome my fears of getting hit by a car again. I need to buy a new headlight and blinking backlight. Hello santa????

Netflix on xbox 360

I can watch Netflix on my xbox. I'm never leaving my room ever again!

Tonite

I saw a girl and she drove me wild
She looked at me and I looked and smiled
The cutest girl you'd ever see
I never dreamed she'd go out with me

We met at school so I asked her out
The only girl I ever thought about
She's 16 and she's so devine
I never thought I could make her mine

I'm in love, I just can't wait Tonight I have a date
I have a date with the cutest girl in town
I have a date and I'm the happiest boy around
I'm in love. I just can't wait 'cause tonight I have a date

Went to the movies in my parents car
I never dreamed I'd get that far
I picked her up at a quarter to eight
I got there early I didn't want to be late

I never thought it would come to this
I drove her home and she gave me a kiss
I'm in love and it's here to stay
She said she really wants to see me again

I'm in love, I just can't wait Tonight I have a date
I have a date with the cutest girl in town
I have a date and I'm the happiest boy around
I'm in love. I just can't wait 'cause tonight
I have a date

"Blind" Double Date and Sports!

Went on a double date with Danny and his girlfriend. It was more of a blind date for me seeing that Danny set it up the night before. We started at La Scala as the three of us sans my mystery date were chatting about life and other silly nonsense. Eventually Alejandra met up with us and I immediately started conversing with her. She is a really nice gal but I can tell she is fairly shy to people she doesn't know. Luckily, I like to joke around a lot so I was trying to be affable and get her to laugh. Shortly thereafter, we went to have a late lunch at Pomegranate and continued talking. We ended our late afternoon/early evening day by getting gelato, I got the soy pumpkin!!! I told her it was really great to hang out with her and that we need to do it again. I think I'll ask her out on a real date to see how it goes without having my buddy Danny and her girlfriend to accompany us.

Fast forward to today...

Sharks took care of business beating Nashville 4-1 as they continue to be the hottest team in the NHL. Shortly there after I switch channels to Monday Night Football to see my Browns play the Bills. As a typical Browns fan, I expected the worst since it's a wonderful traditional yet always have the worst luck. It was an exciting game which led to a game winning field goal and a 29-27 victory!!!

Watch this and tell me this isn't the best thing ever!

Blind Date Tomorrow

Actually it's my first blind date and I'm nervous. My friend Danny O' Toole is setting it up for the afternoon. Details to come later....

Ice Skating

-Went to Civic Park last night with some friends.
-I have no coordination and suck at ice skating
-Took a picture with the 14 year old guest services kid who was skating around the rink and said that I was from Hong Kong and this was my first time seeing ice.
-Left wrist is jacked up after getting leveled by Miguel

I'm in Love I just cant wait, Tonite I have a date!

I wish but I am in love with Aida Mollenkamp

Host of Ask Aida on Food Network, a gorgeous gal that knows how to cook and have fun!

What a fox! <3 <3

Keith Olberman on Prop 8 Passing

I wish more people had this much conviction like Keith

Day off tomorrow

Things I will be doing to take advantage of a free day:

- Fix single speed bike since I haven't ridden it in over 2 months due to my hit and run accident with Joe

- Apple picking in Brentwood. It sounds lame and especially since I'm going by myself but it's alone time and I think it would be fun. Plus I want to try any homemade cider

- Calling in the Contra Costa Foodbank to set up a food drive for work

- Find a nice girl to talk to :)

No need for words...

Attn: California

I cannot articulate my thoughts in words as well as Jon or Holly so I apologize if this seems really confusing to some. I am really distraught and hurt about what happened last night with Prop 8. To many people, this might seem as something that doesn’t affect them and they will get over it because they have other things to look forward to such as the holidays coming up to distract them. That being said, it generally hurts me to see people let alone a government discriminate people and their desire to love others based on religion which should have no place in government. California was suppose to be the groundbreaking state for radical ideas/views/change yet over 5 million voters decided to rip out the rights from them. It didn’t help either that people were so confused that they thought Yes on 8 meant keeping gay marriage along with exposing children in tv ads scaring parents to thinking gay marriage was to be taught in classrooms.

To sum it up I’ll quote a song by Chokehold, a vegan straight edge band from Canada, says in their song Instilled:

Not natural?
Now you're playing God
A hard role to play when you can't prove it exists
Law of nature?
Nothing is written in stone
It's not hard to see love has no sexual preference
Your view of deviance is my view of love and i can only say you're the one that's sick
I'll never live by your bullshit values
I wish you'd see the pain that you inflict

Any excitement I had over Obama being elected has been nullified. Maybe I should break edge and start drinking because I don’t think I can believe anything good coming out of this country, let alone state.

No on Prop 8!!!

This evening Holly and I went to the corner of Treat and Oak Grove to participate in a No for Prop 8 rally. For the most part it was very peaceful as we took all 4 corners of the intersections and we received a lot of support and honks with also a few thumbs down who opposed our views. It wasn't until the end of our protest when the Yes for Prop 8 people decided to walk down to our area to take over (probably because they didnt get their cheers and honks and wanted to get it from our end) and things started to get a bit crazy. There was this psycho old man who was like an evangelical prophet and saying a lot of negative things to which some of the Yes for 8 people said that he didnt belong to them. He had this bullhorn and kept yelling out really obscene things to which the police came and help seperate the two crowds.

All in all it was a wonderful experience. I have never been so passionate about such a topic as I feel this is our generations Civil Rights issue.

A simple yet creative design

Saw this shirt this morning on Woot and wanted to get it but it sold out late last night

It's very simple but to the point and it can require some thinking but it's a Roe vs. Wade shirt. How cool is that? It would have been really awesome to get that right before elections on Tuesday.

Simpsons Tattoo

BOOOOOOOOO YAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

My favorite gal Heather at Final Sin did this for me. I love it and she wouldnt stop telling everyone that she was doing this tattoo

Birthday!!!

Thanks to everyone for making my 26th birthday really special. On Tuesday I went out with my friends to Roccos for pizza and beer.

Below were some of the gifts I received from my friends:

Mini Birthday Cake and lotto scratchers from Jon and Holly

Cake Pedestal from Joe and Hannah

Rachel Ray $40 a day travel book from Miguel and Brigitte!!!!!

I finally got a frame for my Mario print. I think it looks awesome



Tomorrow I have a tattoo appointment that is long overdue with my favorite gal Heather!!!
Pics will be up tomorrow depending if I go to the No on Prop 8 rally :)

What I want for my Birthday

6 more days

72 hour vacation

Went to St. Louis Friday morning and came back Sunday afternoon. Pictures to come including the infamous Elvis Sammich along with the Monte Cristo Double Dog and various pictures of my trip

Oh and congrats to the Rays for beating the stupid Red Sox tonite!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

Chicks dig us

Here's proof

I love Weiner Dogs!!

Cutest dogs ever!!! Need proof, then check outHalloweiner Party

Freecycle rules

I got a free Polaroid camera with 2 packs of free film. Thanks freecycle!!! Time to be a hipster and take fun/ironic photos and post them on the internet

Great memory of the day

AFI - He Who Laughs Last circa 1996

I was in 8th grade, album was awesome. What happened?

Religulous

Seeing this right after work at the matinee price. It will be funny, controversial, thought provoking, and risque. Plus I love Bill Maher because he's a straight shooter. What I'm really hoping is that this documentary is more tasteful than any Michael Moore film

New batch of muffins

I just made of new muffins that are cranberry/lemon peel hybrid . They taste a lot better because I cut down on the unbleached flour and put in more flax seed meal and rolled oats. I need to figure out how to ship my vegan baked goods via Post Office to Ani because I really want to try some of her vegan chocolate chip cookies

Attn: Oregon St. Kicker

Thanks for costing me $400 dollars. I appreciate you shaving points and screwing everyone over!

At least Nicola comforted me and kept saying that USC lost and that's more important <3

Wonderful Home Decor!!!

There's an awesome Mario print that is limited that I want to buy. Thanks to Holly for showing me this awesome find!!!

Vegan Treats

After work I'm going to the market to buy supplies to make vegan cupcakes. I'm so excited!!

Fast forward to 5 hours later...

I made Vegan cranberry orange muffins tonite and it turned out great. The ingredients were all organic as well consisting of unbleached flour, non-aluminum baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, organic brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, EnerG egg replacer, rice milk, coconut oil, peel of an orange, and 2 cups of cranberries.

My roommate tried one and loved it. I can't wait for my coworkers and family to try it out. I won't say what the ingredients are until they eat it and I get their opinions on them. ;)