Spain in 20 days!!!

Less than 3 weeks and I haven't done enough research or prepared myself for my train to Spain. I'm slowly starting to freak out!

Going on a diet

I've been doing research the past few days on the most effective, yet healthy way to trim some fat and lose a few pounds. I'm tired and about to sleep but it will consist of:

-4-5 meals but smaller portions with less emphasis on lunch
-increased consumption of whole grain and non-refined foods
-1 day a week of red meat, 3 days of fish
-jogging at least 3 days a week for 30 mins
-drinking 1 nalgene water bottle a day
-eating oatmeal in the morning

I'm still researching but that's my small list for now, easily doable. If you have any additional tips or suggestions, it would be appreciated!

I've been saving my money and penny pinching the past few months but it's always nice to browse around and find stuff I want to treat myself with:

Cold World 'Rap Flier' shirt. Love this band, I totally slept on getting this on eBay. Also want the 'Soccer Riot' shirt from This is Hardcore 2006

Ben Sherman 'Leftfield' Polo

Nike Air Max 90 Current Hybrid

Workin For the Weekend

Goals for the weekend:

-tonight i will be home doing extensive research on the NBA playoffs in order to continue my degenerate gambling vice and fooling myself into thinking that this can be a second income for me.

-wash and waxing my porsche to take pictures in order to sell on craigslist. at this point, i just want to get rid of it and use the money towards my savings and house purchase.

-continue house hunting. i hope i can find something in my price range. my goal is still to find a place before july 1st.

-catch up on some dvds. i currently have in my possession waiting to be watch:

• Seven Pounds


• Click


• Dan in Real Life

-enjoy the weekend! early projections have the weekend to be in the mid to upper 80's. time to bust out tank tops and shorts again.



Be safe guys!!!

Betting on Sports Rule!!!!

On Wednesday, just after 1 week I narrowly lost $1200 in basketball betting by 1 point, I redeemed myself by getting 5 of 5 correct in my basketball bet and winning $1250.00!!! I put $50 down and have to pick 5 matchups and have to hit all 5 correctly, the probability is ridiculous. The payout was 25-1 so it was well worth it. I immediately withdraw $1200 via check and kept $50 for the NBA playoffs. I feel like celebrating with my new found money but I think the smartest thing was to put it in my savings and build up from it.





Last 4th of July up in Tahoe, I had $200 and played blackjack in a span of less than 5 hours and parlayed that to $2700. Winning the NBA bets seemed more rewarding to me. Although the payout in Tahoe was greater than my NBA bets, because the odds were totally against me yesterday I overcame it.

House Hunting

Fyi: That is not me :P

After thinking for a long time and careful deliberation, I am officially house hunting. My price range isn't all too great but I think there's a few places out there in which I can call 'home'. I'm mostly excited about having my own place for the purpose of building equity to make money but also to decorate it myself. After seeing my friends Jon and Holly with their new place, I know it would be a lot of work but will be very rewarding. Any tips for a first time home buyer?

RIP Nick Adenhart

Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a felony hit-and-run car accident early this morning. Two others (one affiliated with the Angels organization) were killed in the crash, and the offender was caught and hospitalized. The 22 year-old had just tossed six scoreless innings the night before, the best performance of his young career.

Although I didn't know him personally and things like this happen all the time, it still hit me really hard to hear about this. Maybe it's because he was only 22 years old but I think it's because since I'm so involved following baseball and spend a lot of time learning about players in a way I kind of knew him. He was considered a promising superstar in the making making his MLB debut last year late in the season.

They eventually caught the person fleeing from the scene and I really hope he gets the justice he deserves. My thoughts goes out to his family for this terrible tragedy.

I made a wonderful meal tonight

My two wonderful, great friends Jon and Holly were my guests of honor as I made chicken stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese wrapped in prosciutto. I got the idea a couple of weeks ago while watching Rachel Ray. It was my first trying something daring and it turned out amazing. I also made a nice baby spinach salad and orzo in pesto. We capped the dinner with Klondike Bars that Holly and Jon brought over. All in all it was a very nice dinner and once I have my own house, I want to have more dinner parties.

What's new with me?

In the past week here is what has happened to me:

-Got an unexpected raise. I am very thankful especially in these rough economic times
-Won several big bets in basketball. I took the money and transferred it into my bank account to pay next months rent
-Got the word that Ani will be up in San Francisco next week, words cannot describe how excited I am to see her!
-Baseball season started on Monday, I will be preoccupied with sports for the next 7 months

I wish I lived the good life like my friend here

Second Installment of Salty Stephen

Here's what I'm griping about:



April Fools Day

Words cannot describe how much I hate April 1st. Pranks around the office are not funny and neither is tricking friends and family. People who do these are the same knobs who like to dress up for Halloween. Dressing up is cool if you were 10, not when you're an adult and especially if you are a working professional.

Now people will say, "C'mon Stephen, where's your sense of humor? It's fun!" To them I say, grow up and get a sense of reality. Kids should embrace this day to be silly and say corny jokes to their friends and family.



What if I started emailing and calling everyone that my beloved Pepper died? Everyone would be sympathetic towards me and my family but when I go APRIL FOOLS people get all bitter and pissed at me because I hooked people to make them look stupid.

If you spend all your time trying to find a way to make somebody look bad or scary the hell out of them for your own amusement, you're a tool! Question is, how does anyone fall for anything on April first? And anyone who falls for an April Fools’ prank is even less impressive.

A serious commentary about myself

2000-2009

After 9 years of ups and downs, I broke edge. If you don't know what that means, essentially the life of no drinking and drugs lifestyle has ended. Tonite for reasons in which I still do not know, I had a few beers while watching college basketball. Needless to say I had the Asian glow again, something that I remember happening to me when I was in high school.

As I write this, I wonder what thoughts in my head made me change my decision of living a drug free lifestyle for 9 years and suddenly losing it all within 1 evening. To honestly answer this, I do not know. People also will ask me, "Do I regret what you did?" and to that I would say no I do not regret a thing. This obviously happened for a reason but I still do not know why. Hopefully I can figure it out but I have a feeling I will not know.

I want to give a special thanks to Lauren. I randomly receive notice from her asking if I was ok. It means a lot to me that she cares about our friendship and just wanted to make sure that I was alright. I did get a chance to talk to her tonite and briefly catch up, I can definitely say she's one of the few people that understand how I operate. Plus she also got me into the tv show House.

Kate Nash

Gave her a chance the past few days, totally digging her music.

What else do you guys suggest?

Congrats to Japan for winning the World Baseball Classic

Not only was it one of the most energetic and exciting baseball games I can recall in quite some time, it was also the most profitable. A few weeks before the World Baseball Classic starting it's first round, I'd put $100 on Japan winning the whole tournament as their odds were +450. To the nongamblers out there, it's essentially 4.5:1 odds. After a wonderful extra inning match up with Japan winning 5-3, my payout was $550.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I booked my Barcelona flight last Friday so this will no doubt pay for my plane ticket as well as taking care of my cell phone bill and an extra tank of gas. Things are looking up right now!

RIP Mustache 12/20/08-3/22/09

If people didn't know, I grew a mustache as a bet with my friend to see who can grow it the longest. Whoever shaved it off first has to take the winner to a really nice steak dinner.

Dave shaved it off last week so I won, yet I was hesitant to shaving it off even though I won. I was bored tonight and figured that I reached the plateau of creepiness so WHAMMO, it's gone!!! Hi ladies!!!!

I'm going to Spain!!!

Barcelona to be specific with an anticipated stop to Madrid for a couple of days. I've never been to another country except for Canada and Mexico so this will be a trip that I'll never forget. On a whim, I purchased tickets yesterday for the periods of May 24th-June 2nd. The best part is that the round trip was $432!!! I'm going alone, hopefully meeting some new people and having the time of my life as the old cliche goes. I'll elaborate more in the coming days. If anyone has any tips, advice, suggestions on international travel or Spain please feel free to let me know.

Oh by the way, I love the NCAA Tournament. It makes me proud to be a gambling degenerate.

Sound and Fury '09

It's that time of year when Sound and Fury announcements have arrived. Wasn't considering attending this year but after hearing that Floorpunch and Mind Eraser are playing, I'll be going. Thoughts?

First Installment of Salty Stephen

Aside from writing about food, fashion and other nonsense, I'll be doing a weekly or bi-weekly rant on something that's been crawling under my skin lately....

Here's my beef right now:

Twitter- Kudos to the geniuses behind this internet phenomenon but do we really need another social network, let alone a useless one that doesn't benefit anyone in anyway? Why people want to let others know what kind of coffee you got at Starbucks at 9am or that they are listening to (insert obscure band here) doesn't make any sense to me . Look I get it, you want people to think you're important and that you're living an active/interesting life but guess what, you really aren't. Instead of updating your Twitter on your iPhone or Blackberry, how about going out in public and making new friends and talk to them about yourself. The continuing rise of social awkwardness continue...

*Please note I understand that I'm writing in a social network forum but at least I try to write something that has substance and value to it and not a 2 sentence tweet on "I think Rush Limbaugh needs to shut his mouth, Go Obama!"

Back From Florida with a crazy encounter!!

I fly into Jacksonville, Florida around 10am Friday morning and drove 25 miles out of my way to Jacksonville Beach and had lunch at the world famous Angie's Subs. Upon arriving I saw that there was a special event with 5 of the original munchkins from the wizard of oz!!!



After having a hearty sando and having the honor of meeting legends from a classic movie, I drove the 90 minutes to Gainesville to visit the University of Florida campus. Even though it was spring break, my main reasoning for stopping here was to visit the swamp and take pictures of a legendary football field.

I'm Off to Florida Tomorrow!!!!

I'm making the journey to attend a friend's wedding in Ocala, Florida. I'll be heading to SFO and boarding a plane at 10pm to Jacksonville, Florida. I have the following goals:

- Visit the Florida campus and fight Tim Tebow
- Eat BBQ Food
- Find a swamp and possibly an alligator
- See a lot of old people
- Find at least 7 confederate flags still looming

I'll be gone until Monday Morning. I wish everyone a great next few days. So until then....

My obsessions with Fatty Foods Lives On

This is why you're fat is my new guilty pleasure as people submit odd disgusting food to eat.
Tonite I'm going to Giordanos to celebrate two birthdays so I'm going to throw away my dignity and go all out on sammiches.

I've been slacking on updating this blog on an almost daily basis as I've been busy with work and my other project, International Pastime. Please check it out. See ya soon!

Writing for a baseball blog!!!!!

International Pastime is finally up and running. I am one of several writers for this baseball blog that is devoted to the World Baseball Classic. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I may not be the best writer but I always want to improve and focus on my strengths which is stats.

A small step towards one of my life goals...

On Friday I received a call from my friend Lonnie who works for a nationally syndicated sports radio talk show in Los Angeles. He will be having his own segment on the World Baseball Classic as well as starting a website devoted to the International Tournament. He asked me if I would like to be one of the writers covering the tournament as he was searching for 4 people to help write columns and blogs. Despite having zero journalism skills nor did I take any classes in college, I enthuasistically accepted the role. He knew that I had no skills in the media or writing but stated that my baseball knowledge was so deep, it would have been foolish to not include me in the website.

The reason why I wrote that is one a dream is because I wanted to get into baseball in any shape or form. Even though I'm covering this brief tournament, it will provide me with the ability to share my thoughts opinions along with the objective findings such as stats so other people can see how I feel when I watch the game of baseball. Details to come soon in terms of the website and info, I have my assignment already which is due on Tuesday.

First Day of Spring Training Games!!!

Today marks one of the highlights of the year for me as the Giants and Indians start their first spring training games and coincidentally against each other. Despite the cheating that has been rampant for the past decade or so, I have learned to accept that steroids/HGH/PED's were a part of the game.





Oh, I'm definitely taking April 7th off which is a holiday for me because that is the first day of the regular season.

Back from LA, What a Dump!!!

Being in Southern California and THE OC for the weekend made me realize how much I love San Fran and the Bay AREA. Internal Affairs show itself was pretty fun. It was really cool to see Terror only play Lowest of the Lows from start to finish. Alpha and Omega really impressed me, stoked to check out more things from them.

The highlight of the trip was going to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles and gorging myself with what they are famous for. Sorry for the poor quality.

Road Trip to LA, food mission!!!

Heading out to LA tomorrow morning with Ania, Brent, and Jessica for Internal Affairs' final show. Going to see some old friends, say goodbye to a great straight edge band and get devulge in Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles!!! Tons of pictures to come :)

Donate Blood

Now that Valentines Day is one and done, let's continue to carry on our love for people by donating blood. It doesn't hurt, it's selfish, and most of all it provides the opportunity to saves lives. The minimum days between donating is 60 days and I been donating for the past 2 years. Aside from the free juice and cookies, it puts things into prospective that life is so fragile and if we have the change to better someone else, why not do it?

Donate to the American Red Cross

San Francisco Pillow Fight!!!

If you are in the Bay Area, there's no reason to miss this fun event!!

Love a Person not an Organ

That's what being in a relationship should be about. Love someone for who they are. Never take it for granted and never ever listen people who may sway you and convince you otherwise. In rough times like these, true love will be tested and can make or break relationships. Since Valentines is tomorrow, I see more and more people stressing and being excited about what their love ones have planned for them tomorrow. How about treating everyday like Valentines Day with your loved one? Maybe it's the morose side of me who doesn't have a Valentine this year (I couldnt care less at this point), but it really angers me to see people take advantage of others while in a relationship.

That being said, I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow evening with my good buddy Dave and we are getting Giordano sandwiches and hanging out at the bar having a good time.

I <3 Bowling

Went bowling tonite with Danny. Bowling is fun in small doses. I played 2 games and my wrist and fingers are completely messed up as a result. Also is there a more disgusting thing than bowling alleys? So many bowling balls and putting your fingers in them and your hands getting all greasy and gross.

Valentines Day is this Saturday, I will most likely be watching the NBA All Star events. Anyone wanna be my valentine???

Giants Fan Fest 2009

Went to the Giants Fan Fest 2009 with my Dad. Took some pictures in places people can't regularly visit but it was open to the Public.