08Sep04 - 02Jan06

Happy New Year! - 4:11am 02Jan06
It's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I'd start the new year with a small update. As most of you know, I got into a car accident in early November. As most of you don't know, I already got another car - another Honda Accord. And, the old car has been fixed - my sister paid to have it fixed and is giving it to my oldest nephew. The other day I was talking to Mike about how I used to say that the reason I didn't buy an expensive car my first go around was because I'd end up crashing it. Now, I used to say that with a straight face, but I was half kidding. When I hit that car, and after I saw that Jason was fine, all I could think was how stupid of me that was. I wasn't thinking, "oh, I knew this accident was coming. It was just a matter of time." I tell myself that these things happen for a reason, but it could just be gayness at it's best.

It's been about four months since I've been in SD now. I believe I'm adjusting all right. I spent New Year's down here with some of folks I've met thus far. It was good times. As far as getting around, I still don't know where a lot of stuff is and definitely have to look at maps to get to different places, but I'm getting there. Work is a different story - in a good way. I'm pretty well adjusted there and I'm what some may call super busy, but I like it.

Anyway, I hope all of y'alls New Year's celebration was good times. Here's to another year!

¡Vamonos! ¿A la Playa? - 6:20pm 15Oct05
I've been meeting a lot of people, as is usually the case when you move somewhere for the first time. At first, I was meeting mostly tourists because I was doing a lot of touristy things. Along the way I met a few people that are interesting and many that meet pretty much all SD stereotypes. Actually, it makes me miss the Bay Area folks a tad more. Really! I'm not afraid to say that I miss Zach's dorky ass. I miss his and Huong's cooking, too. I was telling (Cal) Jason the other day how I wish I had paid more attention when Zach was cooking. I could certainly use some of that now.

Anywho, I went to see Serenity the other day. Everyone kept saying how great it is and while it was entertaining, I don't think it was that great. Don't get me wrong, I like it plenty, but I'm not sure I'm ready to say it's the "greatest movie evar!!!111!" It did have some pretty good moments, along with some memorable quotes like, mmm, "I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." Speaking of memorable quotes, I watched Kill Bill 2 the other day and was reminded of this gem:

Bill: An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero, and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sort of like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plympton.

Pimpy. Speaking of pimpy, I just got back from my first business trip at SAIC. We have a big employee population in the east and a big office to go along with it in McLean, VA. McLean is pretty close to Washington DC, so I got to visit the Nation's Capitol. I got there on a Monday afternoon, so I thought it was the perfect time to go visit some of the monuments. Oh, how wrong I was. It was very, very crowded to say the least. And, the weather sucked a bit, too. They had been having nice weather until I got there when it started raining and getting a bit cold. That rainy weather almost killed me, too.

On Wednesday night, my last night there, I decided to go back to DC so I could actually see the monuments up close. I figured that not many people would be there after 9PM. However, some stuff came up and I wasn't able to go until after midnight (closer to 1AM, actually). Now, at this point it's drizzling enough such that the roads are pretty wet, but not exactly flooding. I, in my pimpy rental car - a Kia Optima - was driving around as if it was my own car, i.e., speeding whenever I could, passing slow people and checking out anything outside the car with long hair. One thing to keep in mind about rental cars is that while they're maintained on a somewhat regular basis, only the lowest of the lowest standards are used. So, what that means is that things like oil get checked often, but seldom changed. Who cares about oil when you can always get out a few more miles out of it. What I do care about is tires. If your tires suck, your traction sucks. If your traction sucks, you're going to crash. If you're traction sucks and it's raining, you're going to crash a lot faster.

I was going down north on 395 and exited on what I think was Capital St. Now, it's my first time driving in this area and it's about 1AM, so everything is a bit dark. The exit is one of those that loops around, but I didn't see a sign telling me the speed limit so I was doing about 30-35. Little did I know that, that loop is very, very short. So, before I knew it I was at the street and the light is red. The wet road and the sucky tires on the rental provided for a scary combination as I slammed my breaks. To add a little excitement to this whole event, a truck was passing by as my tires are sliding all over the place. I see the truck, the driver sees my car sliding uncontrollably towards the intersection so he starts to blow his horn at me. I panic for just a second, but then remember that using the parking break in such occasions along with turning the wheels to a side helps you stop. So, in true Hollywood fashion, I pull this maneuver and manage to stop slightly inside the intersection. The truck driver had to swerve just a bit to avoid hitting me, but I was very impressed with my awesome driving-under-stress skills. Oh, and I was happy to be alive as well. Come to think of it, being just blocks away from the White House, I probably would have made the news. Hah, "California tourist dies in car accident blocks away from White House. More at 11."

Anyway, after that little event, I went to have a decent time walking around, taking pictures. Given that it was so late, most of them came out not so great. But, it was cool being able to walk around without the usual 10,000 other tourists.

April May, Meet June - 12:07am 01Oct05
I was at the Pacific Honda Dealer the other day getting my car serviced. I was in that room dealer service places have for customers to hang out in while they wait for their cars. I was a bit bored after looking at the pictures of the fifth boat magazine. Apparently, that's big around here, you now, the boat thing. Actually, all water things are big around here. I mean, I've lived in LA and the Bay Area and neither of those beachy places are nearly as obsessed with all-things-water as SD is. But, I digress. I'm sitting there a little bored, so I started making conversation with strangers. One of the folks I talked to was some femme that works there. Her name: April May. Heh, I thought it was a bit amusing and she even told me it was okay to laugh. I didn't out loud, but I chuckled a bit. Oh, it got funnier when later that morning I talked to a lady named June. I wish I could have introduced them to each other. "April May, meet June. June, meet April May." Hah, sometimes I'm so easily amused, it amazes me.

Anyway, life around here is going all right. I've been here for three weeks now and even though it took the movers two weeks to get my shenanigans here, I'm pretty much all settled in. Actually, I just finished my first week of work yesterday. I've been doing mostly administrative things thus far, which is okay, I reckon. The people there seem pretty cool, too. And, all the people in my team that I've met so far seem to know what they're doing, which is always a plus when it comes to coworkers. Anyway, I think I'm going to like it there.

Oh, for my last weekend of my almost two-month long vacation, I went to Vegas: the now annual Cal people's trip. (Check out the pictures here, many of which I shamefully stole from Dave Shih's site.) It was pretty cool. We stayed at the Venetian this time around, which turned to be a good idea. I think it was Saturday that we hit the pool in the afternoon and we saw Usher. Given that I'm not a fan, I couldn't care less, but it makes for an interesting story...maybe. I guess it does, since everyone I tell about Vegas hears about me walking by Usher and how I totally ignored his ass. That's right! Seriously, the trip was fun stuff. Hopefully the rest of the peoples can make it next year.

The End of an Era: The Beginning of Another - 09:34am 30Aug05
It was seven years ago two weeks ago on the 16th that I moved to the Bay Area. It was a Sunday back in 1998: move in day at the Unit Two Residence Halls. I must say that back then I didn't see this place as home. I suppose most people didn't either, but I never saw it as a place where I could stay longer than the amount of time it would take me to graduate from Cal. Though when I think about it, I haven't exactly been miserable during the last seven years. In fact, one might say that, eventually, this place grew on me. So much so that some great things happened to me while up here in the Bay Area. For example, here are some of the highlights from my stay in the Bay Area:

• Four great Cal years...school got harder, but life became more interesting
• Liz...she's from SoCal, but this is where I met her
• My first "real" job...I learned a great deal and there's no way I would be in the position that I am without Syzygy (more on this a little later)
• Friendships...too many to name, but definitely some lifetime ones

So, why am I leaving this place? Well, in short, because that's how things worked out. I had been at Syzygy for about three years, had gained a tremendous amount of experience and just felt like I needed some change, preferably something with better career advancement opportunities. So, when I started looking back in April I concentrated here in the Bay Area as I wanted to stay up here for at least a few more years. However, I quickly found out that there weren't any good opportunities here in the Bay Area for a compensation consultant such as myself. At that point I decided to start looking at entry level positions in other fields, but even then I couldn't seem to find anything with any sort of flavor. Then, two great companies from Southern California contacted me: SAIC in San Diego and KB Home in Los Angeles.

After going through the interview process with them I felt that if at least one of those offered me a position, I would be set for the next few years. Well, both of them extended me job offers which was great, but given that both are great opportunities, it did make it difficult for me choose. In the end, I felt that SAIC's opportunity will better prepare me for the later years in my career. As such, I will start my new job with SAIC as a Compensation Consultant on September 26. There is a lot of change ahead, though strangely enough, I'm looking forward to it. There are some things and most definitely some people that I will truly miss here in the Bay Area. The friendships I mentioned earlier along with my kung fu training and the people there.

I recently got my orange belt second dan, very likely to be the last one, at least for a very long time. That means nothing, however, compared to the people I met and worked with there that I'll be leaving. My personal teacher, Mr Carter, is a great guy. I will definitely miss working with him. Almost all the teachers there had an influence on me. Sensei Shah is a killing machine, and I'd like to think that some of that rubbed off on me. And, Ms. Flint: I'll always remember Ms. Flint. (If you know who Kristin Kreuk is, then you know what Ms. Flint looks like. They're practically twins. But, that's not why I'll always remember her.) She taught me how to kick properly and we share the same favorite kick, the rear kick. Yes, kicking is that important to me.

In closing, kids, things tend to work out the way they do for a reason. At least that's what I tell myself to make myself feel better. Hah. Anyway, SoCal folks, Daddy is coming back home!

By The Numbers - 11:13pm 17Aug05
I've always liked numbers and they've always been kind to me. Here are a few and a little more about what they mean to me:

1990:	year I came to the US
1979:	year I was born
311:	name of the DJ crew I was in as a young'n
213:	area code where I grew up
185:	number of my favorite math class at Cal, Complex Analysis
101:	favorite numeric palindrome
38:	age I'm going to retire
22:	age when I graduated from Cal
19:	number of girls that believe they have been my girlfriend
12:	actual number of girlfriends I've had
8:	age when I officially learned about "the birds and the bees"
7:	number of times I've almost gotten into a car accident because of a girl on the street
4:	age when I first learned about "the birds and the bees"
3:	number of times I was actually doing the driving
e:	my favorite irrational number
2:	my favorite prime number
1:	number of tracks on my mind
0:	number of girlfriends I currently have

It's All About the Digits - 02:34am 08Aug05
People forward me tons "funny" emails at work and at home. Every now and then, though, I'll actually get an interesting one. Now, this one has to do with math, but it's not a typical number theory "math trick" email. It's actually pretty cool math applied to something most single people care about: (potential) significant others.

Anyway, the math in this particular email was too complex for just any jabrony to put it together and it showed. So, a little digging around led me to this page. It turns out that the dude that wrote the original piece is an associate professor at ASU, and goes by the name of Partha (rhymes with Martha, as he'll have you know). Because Partha's is so much better, I'll simply omit the actual forward I got. All right, I've built it up enough, so here it is:

Marriage by Mathematics

People meet people, people marry people. When and how should someone decide to marry? Every time, John meets a suitable lady, he must make an important decision - to attempt to marry her or to move on to find a better mate. The problem is how does he know he will ever meet a better mate?

Lets do this mathematically. Suppose someone had 100 cards with 100 random numbers on them. He shows them to you one by one and you have to guess when you have seen the highest number in the whole pack (analogous to the best lady). The goal is to do it as soon as possible. You could wait till you have seen them all, then you will really find the largest number (in case of ladies, John has to wait his entire life to decide), but the sooner you make your move the better it is for you. Mathematicians have worked this out, and the best compromise is to pick the highest number after looking at 37 cards. That is about one third of your way into the game. Actually its not one third, but 1/e, where e is about 2.71828.

Suppose we assume the range of marriageable ages for women is about 18 to 40 and for men is about 20 to 45. Then a woman has 22 years to look for a mate, and a man has 25 years, but if a person waits too long, all the good ones will all be taken. Using the above strategy, the 1/e point for women is age 26.1 and for men is at age 29.1. Hence, this is the best time to take the plunge. The same theory, with a twist, can be used for arranged marriages. If you have gathered n prospects, make contact with the first random n/e prospects and then pick the best.

This technique is of course, quite useful in a variety of optimization problems.

Interesting? I think so. Heh, if you're a lady under 26 or a guy under 29, you likely find this fascinating. You're probably telling yourself, "W00t, w00t, I have time to find Mr/s Right! The numbers don't lie!" Now, if you're over those ages, you're likely thinking, "Poppycock! Fuzzy, fuzzy math!"

Either way, you should check out some of his other stuff. It's all math being applied to real life. Cool stuff, really.

As always, before I forget, my kung fu update: I got my Orange Belt first dan a few weeks ago. I've been told that in future tests I need to be "lit." Lit as in Bruce Lee lit. Lit when someone made him bleed. Do you know what I'm talking about? You'd see some blood dripping down the side of his mouth, he'd touch with his index finger and proceed to taste it. Then, he'd wipe it off with his thumb and go medieval on their asses. That sort of lit. So, in order to be that lit I've been practicing my kung fu as if I'm fighting against Agent Smith. He's what some folks might call "super fast," so I tell myself that in order to be effective I need to be faster. Hah, I'm still working on it, but early signs show that I'm getting there.

? - 03:33am 03Jul05
Lately I've been getting asked for relationship advise. All guys, all wondering whether they should go for it or not. I've been through a thing or two to know half a thingie about this stuff. By no means, however, am I an expert. (As Maria so kindly put it, "look at all the dumb shit [he's] done." Anyway, this didn't stop these fellas from seeking my lady wisdom. So, given that these guys are a bit on the young side I told them to simply go for it. You know, don't over analyze the situation, just let it ride. If you fail, that's okay. You'll be better prepared next time. But, if you succeed, you'll be introducing me to your sister just to thank me.

Women. Ain't they perfect?...Yes, they are, they're perfect. Don't matter if they're skinny, fat, blond or blue. If a woman is willing to give you her love... it's the greatest gift in the world. Makes you taller, makes you smarter, makes your teeth shine. Boy, oh, boy, women are perfect.

Anyway, if the right opportunity arises, always give it a go, kids. Don't be afraid to get burned, but if you do, it's quite a lovely way to get burned.

As always, before I forget, my kung fu update: I finally got my Orange Belt a few weeks ago. It took a bit longer than I wanted it to, but in the end it seems worth the wait. After training for the tournament for a couple of months, which meant working on the same material for that amount of time, learning new material each week is definitely cool.

You Want E? - 6:29pm 29Apr05
I don't have the time to go through all the (indecent) proposals I get; there are simply too many of them and not enough E to go around. By creating a form that anyone interested in getting a piece (or the whole pie) of E, I made it easier for you to let me know of your intentions and easier for me to weed out, err, find proper matches. See, you win, I win, everyone wins! The form is a tad long, but fear not! Only certain aspects of it are essential. I'll let you decide which. Then again, if you want fill out the whole thing, it can't hurt! So, check/fill out the form, pronto.

All right, now I'm just going to sit back, relax and wait for the forms to roll in. In the mean time, I'll be playing with Tiger (the new version of Mac OS). Maybe I'll write an automator thingie to swift throught the forms. Anyway, hurry, hurry.

I'm Torn, Literally - 07:27pm 24Apr05
So I had my yearly physical on Friday. Some of the gems:

• Three dislocated toes: the two little ones on my left foot, the little one on my right foot

• Torn muscle fibers on my left shoulder

• Stressed ligaments and patella on my both my knees

But, hey, other than that, I'm a healthy 25-year-old. Really. Actually, is not as bad as it sounds, but I do have to spend some time rehabilitating my body, especially since I don't plan to give up what caused those injuries to begin with: my martial arts training.

Speaking of which, our school won the 2005 tournament. At least a little tiny bit thanks to me since I won my division. W00t! Check out some of the pictures that were taken as the tournament progressed. Good stuff all around.

I recently mentioned that Melissa Theuriau is good stuff, and on that note I want to bring up another special lady: Nicole Kidman. I watched The Interpreter this weekend and noticed that she has a going-on. I mean, I knew it from before, but she looked really, really good in this movie. And her acting was top notch as always, but that's not what I'm talking about right now; I'm talking about her looks. Man, she looks really, really nice these days. It's like she's getting younger. The movie itself was good, too. Check it out and see what I'm talking about.

Much More, So Much More... - 09:09pm 21Apr05
Karla was feeling sad the other day so I tried to make her feel better by telling her some of the misfortunes I've gone through in my short life. Kind of like, "hey, my fire is bigger than your fire, so don't feel so bad!" Well, my fire was way bigger than hers 'cause just after one of my sad stories she called me a "fountain of depression." So much for my plan to make her feel better... My martial arts journey (that's how they refer to it) is going okay. There are two schools in our system and every Saturday of this month we've been competing against each other, making it difficult for me to get my next belt. I've done okay in the competition. I mean, I'm in the finals representing my school for my division, but I haven't totally kicked butt. I have one more chance this Saturday to do just that...You know how some couples have a list of celebrities that if the opportunity presented itself, they'd sleep with and have it be okay with their partners? Well, every guy (and girl, if that's your sort of thing) should have Melissa Theuriau on their list. Man, she floats mah boat... I've been working for close to three years now and I'm still not used to getting up early in the morning to go to work. One more reason to retire sooner rather than later...Did you read about that cop who dropped his gun in a restroom and accidentally shot someone else in there? Rather funny, in a sad kind of way... When I was a young'n and my grandfather was teaching me how to shoot, the very, very first thing he told me before he handed me a gun (.38 revolver) for the first time was, "nunca , bajo ninguna circunstancia, señala una arma a algo que no le deseas ver un hoyo de bala." It roughly translates to "do not, under any circumstances, point a gun at something you do not want to see a bullet hole through." My grandfather never talked to me much as a kid, but when he did, it was either to educate me or to tell me, in his own way, that he cared... All night long I've been listening to the same five songs: Andain - Beautiful Things, Kristine W - Save My Soul, Motorcycle - As the Rush Comes, PPK - Resurection and Yahel & Eyal Barkan - Voyage. Not the originals, the remixes... The NBA playoffs start this Saturday without a Laker team. Sad, so, so sad...It was New Year's of '96 or '97 when Power 106 down in LA went all hip hop on us. We all cried and moaned about it, but you have to give it up to them because they saw it coming and positioned themselves to be in the middle of it. "It" being this friggen hip hop craze out there. I'm not complaining, just pointing it out. I mean, I like watching the ladies dance to it as much as the next guy, but c'mon, enough is enough. When's the trance craze going to get here? I'll be all over that puppy...iPods are everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I see people with Sean John outfits and white ear buds; ladies with Prada purses and white ear buds; even the President has one! Anyway, I still can't justify the price of one of 'em bad boys...When was the last time I did anything for you? It's unlikely that I remember. It's more unlikely that you remember...I always have some /. moderator points, which doesn't say much about me, really... Am I complex or simple? Recently, I've been called both. I think of myself as a somewhat complex person with simple needs. Perhaps I'm giving myself too much credit. How about simple person with simple needs? That may be more like it... My grandmother says that sometimes I think too much, "sometimes you just have to trust yourself and go for it," she continues... When was the last time you thanked your parents and told them you love them? Now is a good time. Get to it... "Honesty is the best policy, except when my ass is on the line." That seems to be the motto for a lot of people I know. What a shame, really. Being honest is the easiest thing you can do. It only seems hard, but think of the consequences beyond those that only affect you and it becomes clear... Have I ever mentioned Melissa Theuriau to you before? Oh, right. Well, she really floats mah boat... Pretty much everyone I know knows that I like tummies, but not many people know that I like a girl's small of the back... You're still reading this? Pat yourself on the back for me... I like stream of consciousness. Trippy stuff, but I'm afraid I have to end this as it's getting rather long...

(Yes, I've heard of paragraphs, but I'm feeling artsy this evening. And remember, if you want to feel depressed, I'm your fountain.)

Visualization - 12:47am 22Feb05
Many people I know have bought houses lately. Most of those people I went to Cal with (Andy, Ben, Jed and Lucy), so it does not surprise me that they're in a position to make such commitments. However, who would have thought that Matt would be buying a house at such a young age (25)? I mean, as long as I've known him, he's been all about "the show." You know those guys that buy the really, really expensive rims for their less-than-adequate cars? Well, that was Matt. Now, however, he's a totally different person. How so? Well, he has a plan, one that he began to execute back in 2001 when he "saw the light."

He's no dummy by any extent of the imagination, but his ability to stick to the plan he came up with totally took me by surprise. I would have not expected this from him. (That's not being disrespectful or mean, just the way things were; Matt knows and admits this.) When you ask him about it, his plan seems so simple. Basically, he saved as much as he could for a period of a little over three years; decided to live comfortably, but spending the least possible; and finally, invested his dough in some real estate. In theory, very simple. Being able to visualize such a plan down the road so that you may execute it is the difficult part, and for that he gets the upmost respect from me.

The moral of the story, if there really is one, is visualization. Funny how I've been thinking about this lately and today we talked about it in kung fu class as well. Do I want that black belt? Do I want that other degree? Do I want little Es running around in my front yard playing with the family dog (named Capitan Dos!)? Very unlikely on the last one, but the first two, those I actually want; I just need to visualize myself doing it and then actually proceed to do it. Anyway, this goes for you, too. Again, no disrespect to Matt, but if he can do what he did, you can do just about anything; you just have to visualize it. As that Chinese proverb goes, "If you can see it, you can have it; if you can't see it, you're not ready for it." Are you ready for it?

I almost forgot again! Here's me sporting my third patch thingie. (BTW, I sew these on myself, which is why they're not perfectly aligned.) I tested for it this past Saturday. It's been about five months since I started doing kung. With some luck, I should get my next belt (orange) within a month. That means I might get my orange belt in six months; not too shabby if I may say so. I can see it!

Update: Fixed Matt's age and I also want to congratulate all the new house owners =).

High Maintenance - 05:17pm 16Jan05
I guess it's that time again. Yup, yup, time for another update from yours truly. Well, not too much going on except that I've been spending money like crazy. At the end of last year I was talking to Marcus, who works for Apple, about the possibility of me upgrading sooner than later because the darn 3.0GHz G5s are taking way too friggen long to come out. Well, as an Apple employee, he had a pretty nifty discount and was willing to give it to me. That's pretty much all it took to convince me to upgrade then. I mean, I really, really want a 3.0GHz machine, but who knows when they'll be available. So, for now this dual 2.0GHz machine will have to do. Anyway, I took a few shots of it and you can check them out here. Isn't that just pretty looking? Needless to say, I'm happy with this purchase despite the fact that it set me back a nifty amount of cash.

When it was all said and done, that is, after taxes and the nifty discount from Marcus, the G5 set me back a couple grand. I thought to myself, "this is going to be the only big purchase I'll make in a long time." Man, little did I know what was coming.

So, kung fu is going well. I took my second test yesterday and did all right on it. I got my another little patch thingie to put on my uniform. I'm pretty excited about that, but what has me in a oh-not-so-excited-mood is what I had to pay in order to keep studying kung fu at this school.

When you take a test, the grader writes your evaluation and you have to go to this other place to have that evaluation read to you and that's where you find out if you passed or not. If you do, they give you a little patch thingie, if not, I don't know what happens and I hope I don't get to find out. Anyway, as soon as I get there the dude who's going to read my evaluation tells me that it's time we "reevaluate our relationship." That basically meant, "it's time you start paying us lots of money for this thing we're doing for you that you like so much." Well, no problem there I thought. Since I was in their "scholarship program" paying about $150 before, I was thinking I'd have to pay around $200 a month from now on. Well, talk about underestimating as it's going to cost more than $300 a month for the next year. Oh, and that price is that low only because I'm paying the amount in full. Had I not done the full amount at once, it would have cost me a little more than $400 per month. And I thought I was just going to listen to my evaluation...sigh.

To recap: that's more than $6,000 dollars I've spent on myself in the last month or so. Geez Louise, I'm high maintenance! Thank goodness I don't have a girlfriend, otherwise I'd be living in my car.

Oh, I almost forgot: check me out sporting the second patch thingie they gave me. Pretty cool, right? Right, it better be as it costs more than $500.

Your Help Is Needed - 07:12pm 01Jan05
Please help survivors and their families by making monetary donations to these organizations:

• American Red Cross International Response Fund
• AmeriCares South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund
• Direct Relief International International Assistance Fund
• Médecins Sans Frontières International Tsunami Emergency Appeal
• Oxfam Asian Earthquake & Tsunami Fund
• Sarvodaya Relief Fund for Tsunami Tragedy
• Save the Children Asia Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Fund
• UNICEF South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts

These words and code were taken from Apple's site.

'Tis The Season - 02:47am 13Dec04
Just read below. It's a pretty pimpy story. I won't say anything about it because it doesn't need me to. It's that pimpy. So, read it, digest it and pass it on.

I saw a boy, maybe seventeen years old, his arms folded on the table in front of him. He slept with his head rested sideways on his folded arms. Nothing unusual, really, except for the fact that he was asleep at the McDonald's restaurant inside the local Wal-Mart. His nametag said "Rick" just above "Wal-Mart," I noticed, as I pried the styrofoam lid from my "Big Breakfast" and prepared to eat. Really, I only wanted a hashbrown and a coffee, but I thought it would sound silly to ask for a hashbrown. I poked at the barely-cooked scrambled eggs and decided the biscuit looked more appetizing. Well, it would have been better if I had some grape jelly to spread over it, but I thought it would sound silly to ask for grape jelly. Besides, I really only wanted the hashbrown.

I broke off a piece of biscuit with the flimsy plastic fork which had three prongs left, having given up a prong during my struggle to free it from its plastic envelope. The biscuit didn't have much of a taste, but it had a decent texture. I reached for the coffee, carefully, knowing it was extremely hot only a few minutes ago. Just as I figured, it was still too hot to sip. Though I tried my best to transfer a few drops over my lips as I sucked in air in an effort to cool it somewhat. The effort went awry as I began coughing uncontrollably. Even with the plastic lid in place, I was unable to place the cup back onto the table without spilling coffee on my pants and all over the table. "Fuck", I said aloud, not expecting anybody to hear me. Rick instantly lifted his head, but he didn't look at me. Instead he looked at his wristwatch for several seconds, as his eyes attempted to focus or, perhaps, his sleeping brain attempted to decipher what the time really meant.

I walked toward the front of the restaurant where I had noticed a napkin dispenser. It's my lucky day, I thought, as I grabbed a pack of grape jelly from the bowl beside the napkins. Mixed fruit, Strawberry, and Grape - on ice, no less. Damn, sure would have been a silly thing to ask for, I mused as I made my smiling way back to my coffee-covered Big Breakfast. Rick had fallen back asleep during my 15-second absence. Using the handle end of my three-pronged fork, I managed to spread grape jelly onto the biscuit that I really didn't want.

I kind of zoned-out for several minutes waiting for my coffee to cool. I remembered the lady who successfully sued McDonalds after being burned by hot coffee. That was years ago. She was a dumbass, in my estimation - until I felt the pain from my burning thigh. Perspective changes too many things. It can make the most unbelievable happenings seem sincere and logical.

I glanced at Rick after some movement caught my eye. There was a girl carrying a child. She gently shook Rick's shoulder. Again, he instantly awoke and glanced at his wristwatch. The girl reached for his hand as if to say "over here." Rick sat upright and smiled at her, motioning for the child. She offered the child to him and he accepted. As the child grasped Rick's thumb and giggled, the girl inquired about his night at work. "OK", he said, "I got finished a little early and they made me help with the 'seasonal' aisles."

I saw a wedding band on Rick's finger as the child played with his thumb. "Here's your clothes. I have your lunch out in the car," she said as she played with her child's hair. "Lunch?" I thought, as I played with my jelly biscuit and waited for my coffee to cool. She sat his clothes on the table with a shirt on top that said "Quik-Lube". "You have half an hour before you have to be there. Hurry up and get changed. I'll probably be in lay-away when you get done." Oh, I thought to myself, he works two jobs while your sorry ass buys stuff. I rolled my eyes. Something I do quite often.

My coffee was finally drinkable about the time he asked her, "What do you need to get?" She reached into her purse and retrieved a folded paper. It unfolded into an angel shape. On the outside was printed "Jon" and below it "Age 10". It was one of those Christmas wish things for disadvantaged kids from the local mall. From the "Angel tree," more specifically. She offered the paper to Rick. Rick smiled as he read the list inside. "He wants something for his brother first?" Rick asked, sounding astounded as he continued reading silently. "Hurry up", Rick's wife demanded as she took their child into her arms and pushed his Quik-Lube uniform toward him. Rick checked his watch as he stood up. "Just a minute, my leg is asleep."

Rick limped toward the restroom with his clothes in hand as his wife fitted her child into a shopping cart. I stared at my relatively untouched "Big Breakfast" that I did want and wondered if Rick even bothered having breakfast. I wondered why a "disadvantaged" young couple would fancy themselves as being advantaged enough to provide a Christmas for a "disadvantaged" boy. Then it occurred to me that, perhaps, I wasn't viewing it from the right perspective. Rick and his wife felt fortunate to have what little they had - unlike myself, who has more than enough, yet wasn't planning on giving any of it away. In order to feel fortunate, I'm guessing that Rick and his family must have, at some point, been very unfortunate. Odd that I would think of them as a young struggling family when they apparently feel just the opposite.

Rick taught me a little about perspective in about 5 minutes - without knowing he did. I finished my coffee and then I wandered around the "Bed & Bath" section in Wal-Mart for about 15 minutes - keeping a close eye on the Lay-away department. When Rick and his wife left the counter I approached the clerk and asked if it was OK if I paid for whatever that young couple had placed on lay-away. The clerk looked at me without answering. She appeared to be trying to figure out what sort of scam I was attempting. She finally said "Sure, but you can't have the items." I smiled and told her I didn't want the items, and that I owed Rick a favor. She smiled back and told me, "Rick's a sweetheart, we love him to death." I paid the $66 and some change and asked if she would tell Rick "thanks" for me.

Yesterday morning I went to the McDonald's at my local Wal-Mart and I didn't see a boy. But I saw a man, about 17 years old, sitting there asleep. His nametag said "Rick."

- Spliffdaddy

The Multinational Look...Among Other Thingies - 03:11am 30Nov04
I think I may have a multinational look. Ever since I came to Berkeley people have confused me for a number of different races, usually theirs, some of which are pretty far fetched. Up to date, I've been confused for a (northern) Indian, Filipino, (some sort of) Middle Eastern, Thai and Indonesian. The order in which I listed them is what I think I look like the most. I'm pretty sure most people would agree that I look (at least a bit) Indian. Not just any Indian, northern Indian according to some. My Filipino look is quite a bit of a stretch according to Zach, but given my last name and color skin, it's not totally unbelievable. And Middle Eastern, well, even some Latinos have confused for a Middle Eastern dude. Anyway, a multinational look I have.

In other news, you know when you're filling out some sort of profile for an online account, filling out some sort of survey or some similar shenanigan they separate the age groups? The first one is usually from 13-18, then 19-24, then 25-34 and so on. Well, I recently moved brackets. I'm no longer part of the age group that causes 50% of accidents, w00t! Hmm, but I'm starting to feel old, which isn't so hot. S'all right, all it means is that I'm that much closer to retirement.

In other, other news, I got a speeding ticket. I was going west on 24 coming home from work. Right after I got out of the Caldecott Tunnel I moved to the leftmost lane and stepped on it a bit too much. I caught myself going 90, though the cop said 87 and, ultimately, wrote 85 on the ticket. Oh, and to top it off, he got me for an unsafe lane change as well. He said I changed lanes so quickly and unsafely to avoid him seeing me that the car behind me had to step on the breaks to avoid hitting me. Sure, guy. How about the car behind me hit the breaks because he saw you heading towards us and he himself was trying to avoid getting a ticket? Pfft. Honestly, I didn't even see him until we was right behind me; I was just changing lanes because I was about to get out. And while I might have done it rather quickly, the car behind was never that close to me. Anyway, the ticket plus traffic school will cost me a cool $250. Hopefully I learned my lesson.

In kung-fu news: it's been two months since I started my training. It's moving along pretty well. I had my first test towards my orange belt a couple of weeks ago. I did all right, though there are tons of things I need to work on. To show that I passed, they gave me this nifty little patch. It looks pretty cool, don't it? Mm hmm.

Oh, Thanksgiving break was good. I even did a little shopping on black Friday too. Running around in the morning trying to find the good deals was fun. Anyway, I haven't touched this site (except for pictures and such) due to the amount of time I've been spending with EZ Thinking's new project. All right, kids, remember that when in doubt, do the good stuff!

And Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting - 11:35pm 26Sep04
...even me. That's right, kids, I Know Kung Fu. W00t! Actually, given my white belt, I should say I know a tiny-itty-bit of Kung Fu. After months of talking about it with Zach, we finally took the plunge two weekends ago and called a Dojo here in Berkeley. They set us up for a couple of lessons and we saw the fruits of those lessons last Friday night when we received our white belts. We'll have two group classes and a private lesson for the next four months. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it.

So, because of Kung Fu I've been seeing a lot of sporty ladies lately. I've always had a thing for the sporty look, but, lately, that feeling has been reinforced by the number of sporty femmes I've come in contact with. There's just something about a girl that can kick a soccer ball or hit a baseball or simply kick my ass for that matter. Whatever it is, I simply find sporty femmes attractive. Also, femmes in old cars. You know, those girls that drive cars that are as old as they are? Hotness. Maybe it's the car making them look good or them making the car look bad. Maybe a combination of both, but in any case, I find them very attractive.

Hmm, imagine sporty girl finishing practice and getting into her two and half decade old Volvo. Whoa! (How did I go from Kung Fu to Sporty Spice driving a 1980 Volvo? I must be tired. Then again, we stop looking the day we die.)

Oh, How Juicy the Irony Is - 03:26pm 18Sep04
The Motherland turned 183 years on September 15th. It has suffered through civil wars and coup attempts, many of those resulting in countless casualties. The most recent civil war, with roots dating back to the 1920s, officially ended in 1992, two years before the family shipped me up here. During the last civil war, like many before it, both sides recruited young men at very young ages, sometimes as young as 15, to fight for their side, no matter how you felt about the war itself. Of course, you could volunteer for whatever side you felt was right, but given the amount of people who were dying, not many were doing this. Anyway, my family feared that I would be drafted and thus decided that it was a good idea for me to move out of The Motherland at the tender age of 11.

Two years later, thankfully, the war ended peacefully, both sides getting some things their way, while compromising on others. Great, but now I was up here, somewhat unhappy and unable to move back because my "future was destined to be better here in the States." Anyway, most of you know how it turned out. I got in plenty of trouble while growing up but never enough to jeopardize my future. Overall, it hasn't been that bad up here and now I'm even a satisfied member of this society not to mention a model citizen. I've voted ever since I became a citizen; I've been paying taxes since I stepped foot on this land; and while I'll never forget The Motherland (i.e., my roots), I don't think it's that bad of a deal to be an American. With everything "good", however, comes a little "bad."

Currently, there are talks about reinstating the draft here in the States. I came here to escape the draft in The Motherland and, as early as next year, I may be drafted here. Oh, how juicy the irony is. Most of the guys I've asked say that they would comply if asked to serve, except Mike. He said he'd move to Tijuana until the draft was over. When coming back to the States, he'd claim he was just visiting Mexico but couldn't get back in the country because he forgot his passport and looked too Mexican to get back in just by claiming he was an American. Pfft, pansy. Anyway, my sister and I have talked about it on a more serious note. She asked what I planned to do if there was a draft and if I was called. My first reaction was, "what, you're not going to send me to another country to avoid this draft?" (She didn't think it was that funny either.) But, honestly, if there's a draft and I am eligible for it, it's likely that I will volunteer for it for a few reasons. In no particular order, some of those reasons are:

• Despite the fact that I don't know what sort of war I'd be fighting (and thus if I agree with it or not) or even if I'd be fighting at all (given my level of education and what I studied, it's likely that I'd be given some sort of desk job), I can see it as giving back to the country, i.e., paying back a little

• I don't think I can sit and wait to be called or not to be called (kind of like saying, "might as well get it over with")

• If I volunteer, it's likely that I would get to choose where I do my service (Army vs Navy vs Marines vs Air Force; East coast vs. West coast; etc.)

Of course, all of this would change if I really, really disagreed with the war I'd be fighting in. But, in theory, I could very well be a man in uniform a year from now.