Tuition

So we just sent out the check for Kailee's private school tuition next year in one full payment. Oh heartache and joy.

Yesterday

AFI performs "Just Like Heaven" while Robert Smith is in the audience watching

Here's another band I love doing a Cure cover in front of the legendary, Robert Smith.

No pressure, Davey Havok.



Look how nervous he is.

Makes you want to see an AFI concert, ey? I know... me too.

I know (I know I know I know) that this is a very popular Cure song, but for someone who was a little kid in the 80s, I can name more Cure songs then my co-workers who graduated high school during that time. Yesterday, my co-workers and I were going at it. It was good times, indeed.

THE CURE

Leo snagged some free tickets for us to see The Cure tomorrow. No big deal. It's only ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BANDS IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!

Dude, I knew I married him for something.

Feelin' down

I've been down lately. I can't really pin point what it is exactly, but I feel it. Part of it has to do with the workload at work. If I'm not working, I'm dreaming about working. In my dream, I wake up from a dream where I was working. On my weekends, like today, I was making a list of things I needed to do on Tuesday when I get into the office.

This afternoon, my boss had to force me to leave early because it's Memorial Day weekend. In his own words, he asked me if I was high AGAIN. It was because yesterday I walked into his office and said out loud "I AM SO HIGH ON DRUGS RIGHT NOW, PLEASE FORGIVE ME." In which he replied, "That's not exactly what you want to say when you walk into your bosses office." I just wasn't myself yesterday or today or the other day. I told him my situation from the get-go, so I'm glad he understands the root of my weird behavior and has shown deep concern about Leo's condition.

We haven't really told the internet yet, but Leo had surgery last week on his spine. Personally, I think this is a private family issue which is why I haven't blogged about it at all. I will go into greater detail after he's 100% (which seems to be sooner than later). I just don't want this blog to end up as a journal of his progression, because I already know for a fact that full recovery is imminent. We're all doing just fine - so worry not, friends. It's only a matter of time now before he's back to normal.

In the meantime, happy thoughts. :)

Annoyed

You know, there's so many things people can be annoyed about right now, like having a hunchback or not being able to drink clean water.

I, on the other hand, am annoyed by these juniper trees in front of our living room window. They don't do anything but collect cobwebs. On my weekends, I go outside with my broom and remove those suckers from touching the wall. And then I take a hose and wash it out of the trees only to find them there AGAIN the very next day. It's very annoying and I'm sure the spiders feel the same way about me. But these trees... they're useless and unattractive. I went on the city website to check if there are any ordinances about removing trees of that size. I don't think there are. *evil grin*

Let Nick Pitera make your day

Part of Your World


A Whole New World


I subscribe to his channel on YouTube. He'll come out with something new every now and then, like his rendition of Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love.

Bleeding Love


And my favorite cover by Nick, Celine Dion's Oh Holy Night.

It's hot hot hot

The temperature for this week is averaging triple digits in our area. There's a heat wave advisory so I suggest you Bay Area folks to keep cool and drink plenty of water.

Kailee and I went to Central Park this afternoon to chill, ride her bike, and watch the ducks in the pond. Santa Clara has their own mini Central Park which I absolutely love. To beat the heat, there were plenty of trees and shade so we didn't worry too much about skin cancer.

The park's recreation is also a plus. They have an International Swim Center that includes one diving pool, a huge lap pool, and a shallow kiddy pool. People who have participated in the olympics have practiced here. There are volleyball courts and basketball courts that are open til 3am. They have bowling greens (whatever that is), a humongous new library, playgrounds for the kiddies, a big barbeque area, people taking tai chi lessons on the grass, and tennis courts. There's heaps of things you can do in this 52 acre park. It's a great place to take a walk and hang out with the kiddies.

Callcenters in India, please!

One of the latest trends is to move your outsourced callcenter to the Philippines instead of to India.

I prefer the callcenters in India -- at least I can understand them. I'm friggin Filipino and I can't understand the callcenters in the Philippines!

Hunter

For all you fans.

This song just made my day.

Cafe Rosalena

I gave this place great ratings on Yelp for their excellent chicken caesar salad. Again, Jane was the one who introduced to me to this place. It's located on the Alameda in San Jose.

People come here just for this signature salad. They make their own dressing which makes it all the better. And the quality of the chicken and the veggie is superb. I'm not exaggerating. This place has really damn good salad.

They're also known for their breakfast burritos. People swear it's the best. But we'll have to see about that when I come back. I'm a huge critic when it comes to great Mexican food. I'm from San Diego, so no NorCali son-of-a-bitch is going to tell me what's good Mexican food. Damn straight.

So if you guys are in the area, check Cafe Rosalena out. I heard she's pretty.

Click here to check out my other recommendations on Yelp.

iPhones sold out online

Read the complete story on CNN.com.

I really love my iPhone. And I'm glad I snagged one. I can't tell you how much my boss and I swear it's the best thing since internet. I've had it for several months already and it hasn't failed me yet. True love.

"No better way to say I love you"

I am proud to say that I come up as top 3 when you search on Google: "no better way to say I love you."

Going, going, back, back, to Maui, Maui

Two months ago, Leo and I decided that we were going back to Maui for our yearly vacation. Our initial plan was to go to Kauia, but that fell through. This will be my second time going to Hawaii this year. Rough life, I know.

In 2006, we stayed in Kihei for a week at the Kihei Beach Resort, shown in the beginning of this video.


This time we will be staying north of Lahaina, which is a touristy part of the island. I don't really mind it at all. We don't plan to stay indoors 98% of the time anyway. The weather is perfect enough to even sleep on the sand.

The significance about Maui is that this is the place where we were engaged. Leo had asked me to marry him at the Keanae Peninsula on April 23, 2006. We were on the road to Hana. You can view a video of the peninsula at 00:47.



Everything about our engagement was absolutely perfect. Except for the part when I started bawling uncontrollably after Leo had proposed. Five minutes and three snot stains on his shirt later, I finally said yes. I wasn't ready for that one.



The best part about Maui, is the snorkeling. We really enjoyed the snorkeling in Molokini Crater . We woke up really early to take a ferry out. Hopefully we can do something like this: a video of a crew that went to Molokini and sighted a large whale shark. People dove in to experience an opportunity of a life time.



How cool is that? This was around the time we went to Maui.

Although we didn't do anything as remotely cool as swimming with a whale shark, we did see some humpback whales swimming by while we were snorkeling. Somebody yelled out, "whales!" I looked up and saw them passing by from a distance. Just the fact that we were sharing the same body of water with these magnificent mammals was pretty cool in itself.

For some really awesome breath-taking views of the island, we did the group bike ride down the Haleakala volcano to see the sunrise.





Lastly, we went scuba diving near Wailea. This has to be one of the best experiences I've had in my life. We took an early class and made our way out towards the shore just a little bit before noon. We saw all sorts of wildlife and sea turtles! The sea turtles were so cute.



A photo of Leo and I swimming after a sea turtle.

If you're ever planning to take a trip to Maui, feel free to ask me for some activity advice. I still have the names of the companies we've used. Unfortunely, Yelp has not reached a high demand for users in Hawaii. Otherwise I would have just posted it there.

At any rate, Maui is for lovers.

So my lover and I will return in August.

I got me a piano

On Sunday afternoon, my piano will be delivered to my house from Scotts Valley. I bought this used as you can tell from the picture, but it's in good condition. I actually pulled these photos from the ad so the quality sucks. I can't tell you how excited I am. I've wanted a piano in my house for a long time now. And since we have a pretty decent sized living room, this will fit perfectly. Last night, Leo and I moved our couch closer to the fireplace and tv. He's always wanted the couch closer to the tv so it worked out for the both of us. It's small and simple. Best part of all, I can finally revisit some pieces I've been meaning to practice for a very long time. Maybe I'll post a YouTube video of me playing a tune for you. =)

Foodie

Since the restaurants in the Bay Area are all new to me, I've decided to give this website a new spin on what to post, like my own personal Yelp. However, I still contribute my opinions on Yelp. So if you guys are ever in the area and can't decide what to eat, check out my recommendations (maryannerodis.yelp.com). I don't have much yet, but I'm sure as I discover more restaurants in the area, I'll have more to contribute. Plus, my pal Jane is always nice enough to have me tag along with her on her lunch breaks. She's been a local forever so I can trust her to guide me to good food.

One of the biggest differences between San Diego and the Bay is that there are a lot more choices when it comes to food. A lot more mom and pop owned restaurants and hole in the wall joints that you don't see very often in San Diego. As Jane and I were driving to Japan Town today, I probably saw 15 new restaurants that I want to try out. And that is just one part of San Jose. I've worked here for several months now and I've never even seen those 2 blocks of restaurants before. Am I really sheltered? All I really knew from my old job in San Diego (or Del Mar) was Subway, McDonalds, and Starbucks. Holy crap. Good food, where have you been all my life?!

"Do you know that I live for you?"

A question Leo asked me after he arrived home on Saturday from work travel.

:)

Iron Man

This afternoon, we watched Iron Man in Cupertino. I loved it, loved it, loved it. Robert Downey jr. did an incredible job as Iron Man, Tony Stark. You guys gotta watch it.


Here's the trailer:

Cinco de Mayo Weekend @ Karen's

A couple of photos I took with my iPhone.

Backyard.

Bean bag throw game.

My bitch drink.

Lily.

Dylan.

Kailee.

Donald.

Leo.

Cute kid.

Bijan Bakery

One of my favorite desserts ever. Yellow mini cakes sold at Bijan Bakery.

If you're in the neighborhood, you gotta leave these at my doorstep try these.

My co-worker was the one who introduced me to this bakery. I kiss her feet everyday.

Leo and I bought two boxes worth of desserts. Muy delicioso!

Public Schools = teh suck

As we're winding down the final weeks of Kailee's school year, I've came to the conclusion that I hate our school district. Last year, Kailee went from the best school district in San Diego County to a piece of crap school where she has regressed her ability to learn at a snails pace. Why? Because the f-ing teachers don't pay attention to the gifted students, which is like 2% of the class. We spoke with a real estate area specialist dude in our neighborhood last week who also claims that the teachers in the area focuses on the kids who are struggling. Motherfuckers.

Before we moved, we heard the schools weren't stellar, but they were decent. Why didn't anyone tell us the part about how the schools suck so much ass? Just south from us, is the Cupertino School District which is nationally recognized as one of the top school districts. That fact alone sells homes in that area like hotcake. That fact alone will get any soccer mom to drop her panties. Don't get me wrong, I love our neighborhood, our city for that matter. But the schools are nothing to rave about. I guess you can't have everything in life, right? But you sure can try.

So I tried. I did my research on private schools this afternoon. Found some that were really great and some that were a bit sketchy. Our ideal school would require a challenging environment for Kailee. This has been a major issue with her current school. Hence, the downhill spiral to retardness she has succumbed. Also, before and after school daycare and food that is included in the tuition. Better technology is a factor. Better uniforms would be nice. Happier paid teachers who have the desire to teach would be awesome for a change. A lot of things in general.

I can't tell you how much flack I get from other people who think I over-react about the schools in our area. Like dude, I know they suck. She goes there. I see these things. I point them out. Not only that, but we currently pay the public school $5k for daycare. What's an extra thousand dollars more for a better school that includes daycare and then some?

I understand that public schools are federal, state, and locally funded. So quality wise you get what you pay for. But with all the fundraisers public schools do in a year, it takes away the focus on education. Wouldn't it be better for parents just to pay upfront for these funds included in the tuition, rather than having their kids go door to door or having the parent's co-workers purchase something they don't really want just for the sake of the cause? I guess that's just one of the many reason why private schools are so benefiting for some people.

I could go on and on about this because when it comes to Kailee's education, it's something I feel strongly about. For those who have kids that will be attending school in the near future, I hope I can give you some insight on whats to come. I just hate seeing someone else go through the bullshit we went through with public schools.

The coolest thing about my job

...is seeing and feeling the finished product. :)



Melody and I at one of the stores we've built.