Friday, February 29, 2008

Hawaii Trip 2008

Happy Friday.

Finally a weekend to relax. I know that sounds kind of retarded considering I was in Hawaii (on the island of Oahu) last week, but you have no idea.

In a nutshell... with photos from the collaborative efforts of me and my wonderful co-workers.


We stayed at the Moana Surfrider Hotel (A Westin Hotel) on Waikiki Beach. It's actually the first hotel establishment (1901) on Waikiki and is on the National Register of Historic Places.


Behind the hotel is Waikiki Beach!


From the outside, it looks like a mansion.


From our balcony view to the right is the city.


And to the left is Waikiki Beach.


Inside the hotel elevators with Mel.


This meal cost me nothing but hard dedicated work.


My boss.


Breakfast the very next morning on the veranda. That's James.


And here's the rest of the gang.


My gorgeous co-worker, Lakeisha.


Off to the beaches.

This was the same day we snorkeled out towards the ocean and I swam above a shark without even knowing it. My boss grabbed me and told me to stay calm and that there was a shark right below me. I looked down and saw how big it was. And yes, it was big. I freaked out and hugged my boss. Mel, my boss, and I swam to shore safe. There is a longer version to this story. But I freak myself out everytime I think about it. I'm waiting for my boss to develop the underwater photos so I can share with you the horror. He thought it was funny. I obviously want to smack him across the face.


We saw a monk seal hanging out outside our hotel on the beach. The monk seal is an endangered specie with only an estimated 1,200 remaining in the world. How cool is that?!


Lily and I.


My Melody.


On our hike up to the tippy top of Diamond Head Crater the very next morning.


We woke up early in the morning to do this hike so we could watch the sunrise. Apparently crowds of people beat us to it.


Japanese tourist everywhere!




More Japanese tourist and Honolulu in the background.


Waikiki Beach in the morning.




This.


Is.


Love.




Getting ready for the 16 mile hike... ON OUR VACATION! My boss and James behind me.


View above the trees.


Manoa Falls.




That's me tempted to take my clothes off and dip into the pool of cold mountain water. It gets really hot in the jungle.


Boss man and James surrounded in bamboo trees.






We ran into this random man in the jungle. He probably lives somewhere in the trees. He says his name is Harold. But it's probably Mohipupunakoki.


View of a valley during our hike.


We attended a luau in Paradise Cove - which is somewhere I can't tell you because I really don't know my ways around the island and that is why you pay good money for internet to do the research.


Honestly, I prefer the luau in Maui (Lahaina) over this one because it really wasn't that great. The Maui luau wasn't all that great either which says a lot about how god awful this one was. However, if you do drink enough mai-tai's with your friends/co-workers, it's not so bad.


The pig.


And of course, the guy with the flaming batons at each end of the stick. This was kind of cool. It's like a raver with glowsticks, but on steroids.


It began to rain on our way to Pearl Harbor. It really sets the mood for whats to come.


Mel not happy with the rain and traffic.


...which makes for good PICTURE TIME!




The USS Arizona memorial. Unfortunately we did not make it to the last ferry to see the actual sunken battleship. But we did visit the visitor's center and enlightened ourselves with some good ol' US history... ON OUR VACATION!


I sat on this bench when I took this photo overlooking the harbor and thought to myself, "Holy shit, Japanese fighter planes hovered across these skies and totally pwned the US... I really miss playing TF2 with Leo... I would so want to be a soldier right now."


Sunset at the famous North Shore. The waves were calmer that day.


A closer look at the sunset. This is love.


Eating Mexican food for dinner at North Shore with the gang. On the right is me pouring Splenda into my ice tea. That was probably my 6th packet. I never use less than that.


Back in Waikiki there was some drinking.


And then some drunk karaoke.


And where there is drunk karaoke, there is drunk people. I do not know what is wrong with my face in that photo.


What I do know is, we had one hell of a time.


But Hawaii is for lovers.

And my lover was back home.

So I left.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Aloha

Back on the mainland. The trip that took less than a month to plan was a complete success. My co-workers, boss, and I had a grand time. I will keep you guys updated with more photos and stories of swimming with sharks and drunk karaoke. I'm still on Hawaii time so I need to sleep. In the meantime, here are some photos. 1.) My feet on Waikiki beach 2.) USS Arizona anchor, Pearl Harbor 3.) Sunset in North Shore







Aloha!

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Sweet Escape

Hi. Remember me? I use to blog very long blog post. But that was before I knew I was broke and needed a job. Oh, and friends. So the update on the new job: I've met new friends along the way and even learned a new trick or two. It has been very busy. So busy I don't have to clean my work area and get myself organized. But there are a lot of good things that out weight the bad. In the course of 4 months, I've been to ground breaking events, company paid for trips to Disneyland for an entire weekend (car rental/hotel included), flew us out to bowl in Orange County with other developers, gave us iPod shuffles, took us on a $50 shopping spree at one of the stores we've built, and fed us to death. So has work been good? I guess I can't complain.

This Thursday, my boss and my boss' boss is taking our entire office to Hawaii for 4 days for our "team building event." Now tell me if you know of any other company that would do this for their employees? My boss and I plan to wake up early in the morning and hike/jog on the beach on Friday. I don't think the rest of the clan is up for that. They plan to be beach bums during their stay. My boss and I will be packing our own snorkeling gears so we can snorkle in Hanuama Bay, Oahu. Later, the gang will be visiting Pearl Harbor and the famous North Shore. At night, we will attend Luau for our team building. And somewhere along the trip, we'll get massages and a day at the spa. It's going to be fun. And best of all, it's all expense paid for. Except for the souvenirs. I'll make sure I bring back tons of photos. And souvenirs for Leo and Kailee. And maybe some video.


This is me scuba diving at Wailea Beach, Maui, in 2006.


Be back next week.

Aloha!

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Monday, February 18, 2008

Slammed

Last couple of days at work have been killer. This weekend (actually beginning Thursday), is going to be sweeeeeeeet. I'll elaborate more later. Just wanted to drop in and say hello. Haven't done a serious post in forever.

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Alcatraz

The following photos are from yesterday's trip to Alcatraz. Leo's boss, Colin, was nice enough to invite our family to join his family for the fun filled trip. He's such a cool boss. So cool, I even play online video games with him. Why can't everyone's boss be this great?

Photo of the Bay Bridge from the ferry.

This cute boy was sitting right in front of us. He kept pointing out the dinosaurs on his rain coat.

Still blingin'.

It's all good in that hood.

Windows from inside of the penitentiary.


The cells and the infamous "D Block."


Kailee doing her time.

Cry me a river, baby.


Boss' son, Kyle. Apparently, he's standing inside the haunted cell, cell 14 in D Block. Lots of people have died in here and has also been known to be colder than the other cells. Unexplainable paranormal activities has made this cell particularly famous.


Recreation area of the prison. And old stomping grounds of George "Machine Gun" Kelly.


Another part of the recreation area where the inmates would play baseball.


Leo's boss, Colin, and his family.


First lighthouse to direct boats going through the Golden Gate Bridge.

There were a few things that I was hoping to see, but didn't. Like Al Capone's prison cell. Oh well. That's why we have the internet.

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

<3



Happy Valentines day!

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Monthly self-portrait: H-A-M-B-U-R-G-E-R

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Looking for a maid

When we lived in San Diego, we had a really great maid who come to our house regularly to clean. It was great. She was great. And I really do miss her because she gave our home personal attention. Probably knew where we kept our home movies and the unmentionables. Bwaha. Anyhow, it's been months since our new home had that personal care. I haven't done much research or phone interviewing as of yet. But if anyone living in the bay area would please refer me to one, that would be great. Not an actual company. More like a hispanic women by the name of Maria. Thanks.

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There's no better way to say I love you than these Barack Obama Valentine's Day cards


Get it here.

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Friday, February 8, 2008

A real IM conversation between Leo and I when we first started dating

Bluerooroo is me. Leo is foobar.

it is foobar: hi
bluerooroo: hi
it is foobar: what are ya up to?
bluerooroo: i'm washing my hair...sorry i cant hang out tonight
it is foobar: =(
it is foobar: hang out after your done washing your hair
it is foobar: ill wiat
bluerooroo: i'm sorry i can't
bluerooroo: my grandma is sick
bluerooroo: i have to take care of her
it is foobar: ok, well ill come over and help you
bluerooroo: no, i can't...my grandma is shy...she doesn't like strangers
it is foobar: ok, well what about when she falls asleep
bluerooroo: i go to bed early anyways
bluerooroo: i have school in the morning
it is foobar: what about breakfast tomorrow morning... just wake up 30 minutes earlier
it is foobar: and i'll take you to get some IHOP before school.
bluerooroo: awww how sweet
bluerooroo: but i'm sorry, i really cant
it is foobar: why not? dont you miss me?
bluerooroo: i dont want my parents to know i'm dating
bluerooroo: of course i miss you
it is foobar: dont go to school tomorrow
it is foobar: run away with me
it is foobar: we'll go on a road trip.
bluerooroo: where?
it is foobar: anywhere! everywhere!
it is foobar: wherever the wind takes us.
bluerooroo: you're psycho
bluerooroo: a very sweet psycho
it is foobar: no, i'm crazy.. there's a difference!
it is foobar: crazy in love.
bluerooroo: are we going to run away to mexico?
it is foobar: how about europe.
it is foobar: we can find jobs there and live there the rest of our lives
bluerooroo: my dad is going to kill me
it is foobar: he won't. he'd understand, and besides, we'll keep in contact with our families through emails and the interweb
bluerooroo: he's gonna come after you with a shot gun
it is foobar: he wouldnt kill me... not if we were married and had kids and lived in europe
bluerooroo: he will find you...my dad works for the c.i.a.
it is foobar: dont you love me?
bluerooroo: of course i do....
bluerooroo: we have to keep it a secret for now
bluerooroo: or my parents will have me by the neck
it is foobar: when can i see you again?
it is foobar: when can my heart beat again?
bluerooroo: you're heart will go on jack
bluerooroo: i mean...
bluerooroo: leo
bluerooroo: ooops
it is foobar: ARE YOU SEEING SOMEONE ELSE?!?
it is foobar: that motherfucker jack
it is foobar: imma kill him
bluerooroo: um
bluerooroo: no
bluerooroo: jack is my friend
it is foobar: I dont believe you
it is foobar: I'm going to get to the bottom of this, right now.
bluerooroo: jack has a gf
bluerooroo: her name is jill
it is foobar signed off at 7:56:54 PM.

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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Super Toozday

So we normally refrain from national politics here. We get emails and stuff from nutcases and we just dont care to deal with it...

But for the first time in my life I feel truly compelled to share:



Now get out and vote, motherfuckers.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Countryside of the Bay Area

Here are some random photos I took with my iPhone while driving down to San Diego for the holidays. This is somewhere in the Gilroy area heading towards Hollister and Los Banos. It's a beautiful drive until you get to the 5 freeway.







So have I sold you an iPhone yet?

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tired

Have you ever felt tired of a lot of things?