Weekend in photos: "WTFBBQ?" Event

Memorial Weekend at Joe's folk's mountain house in Ramona.

We finally made it to the driveway safe. It's sheer cliffs all the way to the top."

We filled up the trunk with a shit load of ice.

Jill found a bird's egg.

The all-you-can-eat cotton candy machine from Raphael's Party Supplies.

Our gracious host, Joe.

This is how you give an invisible man a mean blow job.

The view of the pool on the lower level of their backyard. It overlooks the town of Ramona. Isn't San Diego County purdy?

My good people chillin'.

Another view of the pool and the humongous house. And in the back near the bridge is a waterfall.

Three adults in the cube!

Leo and I in the cube!

We used and abused the cube!

Jay and Leo are totally gay for each other.

See, I told you.

Living room #1.

A view of Ramona.

I played some tunes on the piano. I have to revisit a few pieces. It's been awhile.

Little Joe and Present Joe. The innocence, lost.

Good peoples.

How I found my Dad's photo on Google

I was curious to see what images would pop up on Google when I type in my name. Instead, I found a photo of my dad on the very first search page. But no photos of me! Lame! I was wondering if any of you guys have ever done that or am I just plain fucking weird?

23 years later and I love you

Last night my mother called to say hello and how I was doing. So random, I'm tellin' ya. She usually calls when she needs something or to remind us to attend a family function.

So we chat for about a brief 5 minutes. Not knowing what she really wanted/needed, I tried to get off the phone as soon as I could because I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE INTERUPT ME AND MY INTERNET.

At the end of our conversation, she began stumbling her words - which doesn't help me one bit because her accent is thicker than a vault in Fort Knox. And just before I could complete my sentence to say, "Okay Mom, I'll talk to you later, good night." I heard her say, "Okay Anne, I love you." In a very sincere Carol Brady voice. At that very moment, hell froze over. The awkwardness seemed almost unbearable that I had to somehow distract myself or pretend like I dropped the phone. I have never never heard her say such things to me or any of my siblings or even my father.

Totally disregarding her sentiment, I said, "OH YEAH, DID YOU WATCH THE FINALE OF AMERICAN IDOL?" In my mind, I was hoping she'd forget about the whole I-love-you thing and that I was just hearing things, because afterall that's what people do when you talk over them. But I love my mom! It just baffles me why it took her so long to tell me.

So after another minute of conversing, she ended it with another "I love you." But this time loud and clear as if it would be her last time she would ever tell me.

And for the very first time, after 23 years, I told her I loved her and I always have.

And it was at that moment I realized, it's because of her I make sure I tell Kailee that I love her every single day.

Monthly self-portrait: Beginning to shag

Growing out my hair for the very first time in a very long time. It's out of control. I wake up some mornings with my hair caught under my elbow while trying to get up head first. Yeowch. Or when I close the sun-roof of my car, I always seem to snag a couple of strands. I can't help it. After I wash my hair, I hate to comb it. I seldom do. It's kind of sexy when hair naturally falls where it pleases. I'm not a big fan of The Comb. But since I started growing it back, it's in dire need of taming.

This has been my first girliest post of the year.

Leo thinks I'm not girly enough.

No argument there.

We have a very brotherly relationship.

Except I'm the handsome one.

BIG changes?

It's been a couple of weeks since Leo and I have been flirting with the idea of finding opportunities elsewhere. And when I mean elsewhere, I mean out of San Diego. OUR DEAR BELOVED CITY CALLED HOME. This "idea" actually sounds possible in the very near future and the opportunities seem very promising. However, it's not a San Diego. And although our lives will be financially sound, we won't have our family and friends nearby.

I asked Kailee last night before she fell asleep about her feelings about this "idea." Although she had a perplexed look on her face, she seemed very open to WANTING A BIGGER LIVING SPACE WHERE SHE'S NOT TOLD NOT TO RUN IN THE HOUSE OR ELSE THE WITCH DOWNSTAIRS WHO SMOKES IS GOING TO BURN A CIGARETTE HOLE THROUGH HER STUFFED BARNEY. Because oh my god that would seriously be her worst nightmare, right next to her nightmare of me severing my arm from sticking it out the window of the Jeep while we were on the I-5 heading home.

But I don't want to disclose anymore information until I see forward progress in our endeavor. So in the meantime, I'm gonna keep you hanging in suspense. We've got more good news. Just stay tuned.

(Don't you hate it when people end it with that note? It's like when Ryan Seacrest is ready to reveal who will be eliminated on American Idol, but instead cuts it to commercial. Such a tease.)

San Diego Golfer gives "living on the edge" a whole new meaning

I have no idea why this was on Fox news.

Read article

Shit Happens

I love this shirt from bustedtees.com.

How to stay positive when being called "small"

Exiting the building during my lunch break, I push my way out through a heavy glass door.

Man from behind says, "They weigh five times more than you do."

I turn my head to see where the voice was coming from.

Me: "Excuse me?"

Man: "The glass door. You're a tiny little thing, you look like you were almost struggling there for a moment."

Me: "Struggling? Are you kidding me? The door is the one struggling to keep me back." [flexes imaginary bicep and walks away]

Man: [laughs]

A mini sigh of relief

(This is just a random note, but Blogger now has automatic draft save. Finally! Just found that out while typing this post.)

Anyhow, I've been on a medication that my doctor prescribed to me 2 months ago and I have not had any real complications. As a matter of fact, I really like how it makes me feel. However, there was one problem I was having difficulty doing. And I was a bit apprehensive about letting others know, denying it over and over again, telling myself that it will pass, and even shyed away from my doctor when she asked if I was having any real side effect. Of course, I said no. I mean, I know I have to be honest with her about these types of things, but I would rather see another doctor for that "issue." I don't believe these types of doctors even exist.

So after a several weeks of self denial, I finally went on the internet to do some research in hopes that someone could confirm that I'm not losing my marbles.

And lo and be-fucking-hold, I wasn't alone. Muchos gracias to the internet community. About 60 people who posted on a forum has had this "issue." Surprisingly, some cases were more severe than others, and although the majority of people swear on their mother's grave that this medication has done wonders, it has taken a toll in other ways, primarily relationships. There were a few desperate for a solution and a few that were willing to share some advice from experience. Very helpful stuff, I must say.

The effects of these meds they recommend, however, varies from people to people. I wasn't going to allow myself to soak up any advice and get my hopes up till I can ask my doctor for alternatives. In the meantime, I'm just going to blog about it because that's the only thing I can do.

It's times like these that I'm thankful that no one really gives a shit about me and reads this blog.

Wow. That felt good.

Blogger or Wordpress? That is the question

I've been debating for a couple of weeks now whether to convert to WordPress. I've been tooling around with it, learned a lot about css/php, was overwhelmed with all the awesome plugins they offer, and felt lost at the same time. I swear, if anybody is technically challenged, I would be on top of the list. Overall it was good learning experience. But frankly, I don't think it's for me. Why? Because I only blog for content anyway and I don't intend to rake in any doe with this blog. If I were to start any type of business and want a more professional look, sure, why not? But I think that's not what I'm aiming for here. I just want to blog and be happy. I don't think I'm going to hop on the bandwagon this time. Atleast not for awhile.

I'll continue this later. Have to go to yoga.

Finally, a non-half-assed post

Lately, I’ve just been too busy to do anything. Hence, the short and sporadic updates. And yes, being busy is just an excuse people like to use so they don’t have to explain themselves. It totally deserves the understatement of the millenium award right next to "I’m good. How are you?" Because no one is ever "good." They just don’t want to tell you because they’re too "busy." <– Again, the winning understatement right next to "good." You see how that works?

Anyhow, my Cinco de Mayo weekend was fantastic because we watched Spider Man 3 and the weather was gorgeous. So GORGEOUS we stayed inside to enjoy the weather outside. I was listening to the radio the other morning and they had counted how many crying scenes happened during the movie. They counted 16 scenes!

"There’s no crying in baseball Spider Man!"

You might want to bring your girlfriend or date to watch this movie. And not because James Franco is hot. It's because I could of swore I was watching a chick-flick. Nevertheless, Marvel movies are always a kick to watch. No matter how cheeseball it seems at times. Which in essence, wouldn't be a bad thing because guys and girls alike would enjoy the movie. The action is always great and the childhood is always relived. What more do I really need to say for you to watch the damn thing?

Anyhow, I just watched the last half of The Last King of Scottland while Leo passed the fuck out on the bed and all I have to say is RUN WHITE BOY, RUN!

God. It's been total beach weather in San Diego for the past couple of days. I could feel my face melting off my skull. And it's such a tease being indoors while at work. It would be nice to rack up my surfboard to my car, work half day, and then hit the beach. It's only a 3 minute drive. It would be so grand.

Leo, we've got to play hookey one of these days. We can watch a matinee, eat a whole bag of Doritos and a bucket of ice cream, and then hang out at the beach and make Pamela Anderson sand boobies on our chest.

*cough, cough, cough*

I think I'm getting sick. I could feel it. I read somewhere that ocean salt water cures these types of coughs.

Can I just tell you...

what a wacky wacky day it has been?

How does someone confirm how crazy a person really is without knowing anything about the person? I think one of the weirdest feelings a person could ever experience in their life is having a doctor tell you, "But you really need help."

I'm so tired... of seeing doctors.

Arrrrh!

An old photo I found of me eating in our old office (which is now Kailee's bedroom). My hair was a lot shorter and darker. And I'm most likely eating carne asada fries out of that box.

And that back there behind my hardcore knuckles, ladies and gentlemen, is Mr. Ringo Star.

Naked man glued to exercise bike during theft

LOL.

(via MSN.com)

Mother's Day is coming up...

and there's no better way to say happy mother's day with a gift from Amazon.com.

The Brown Bag Challenge

Yesterday, I joined the Brown Bag Challenge on the MSN message boards because:

1. I checked my bank statement online (because balancing checks manually is just tedious and prehistoric), to see where the hell my money goes besides the re-occuring bills. This month my bank statement looked something like this:

STARBUCKS/DEL MAR
STARBUCKS/DEL MAR
STARBUCKS/DEL MAR
EINSTEIN-BROS
STARBUCKS/DEL MAR
SHELL-GAS-STATION/CARMELVALLEY
STARBUCKS/BLKMOUNTAIN
STARBUCKS/DEL MAR
EINSTEIN-BROS
STARBUCKS/DEL MAR

Wow.

2. According to my doctor, I'm not suppose have that much caffeine intake.

3. I need to stop eating their reduced fat blueberry coffee cakes for lunch. Cake for lunch! WTF?

4. One bagel is $3.15 at Einstein Bros. Sometimes I eat two.

5. Just because I order lattes non-fat doesn't mean they're not bad.

6. I seriously hate preparing food before work. Is that bad? Not that I'm lazy or anything, but I hate the way my food taste when I prepare or cook it myself. My cooking doesn't hold the standards of my mom's or Leo's. And perhaps because theres an added ingredient called "love."

7. Because ultimately it really add$ up.

So I think I'm up for the challenge. I'll be posting a couple of times during the week on the message boards getting advice and chatting with other folks if you're curious to see my progress. The challenge is only for a month - so I think I can hang. I'm currently on DAY 1. And not to bend the rules or anything, but it doesn't specify anywhere that I can't eat-out "cheap."