I am an unorthodox hair do....

Went out w/ the biznoys last night. First, Glenn and I went to vote over at the Albertson's out on Irvine Blvd. Chris came with us, but he wasn't registered to vote. We had to go to early voting because we were both still registered in OC but lived a little far to go there on voting day...I tried to re-register in LA, but I guess it wasn't received in time...not to mention I'll be about 3000 miles away in our nation's capitol. Too bad I couldn't just vote there...that would've been cool. Took much longer than I thought though, cuz of the amount of people in line, so we were there for about an hour. So I'm all set and voted. I feel pretty good about it. I think too many people don't vote. They should. So after voting, we went to grab a bite to eat at Macaroni Grille. Had the usual, Chicken Capellini and a glass of red. It was a lot of fun just catching up w/ the guys. They're truly like brothers to me, well the closest I'll ever have to actual brothers. Not that having a sister is bad or anything, just that they're my biznoys, he he he. We weren't all there though, but soon enough, we'll all get to hang out again.

What happened to the moon?
Anyone see the lunar eclipse earlier this week? It was pretty dope. Never seen one before in my life, and now, I can put that moment in the "rare things I've done" section of my personal book. Cic and I had planned to go walkin around that night to check out the eclipse, but apparently, it didn't last that long so when we got our coffee and stuff, we just walked over to Borders and looked at cool calendars...he he he.

It's halloween weekend. Kinda wierd that halloween won't actually be until sunday. I wonder how that's gonna work with people going trick-or-treating and stuff. We dressed up at work today since it's on sunday. And on Sunday, I'll be on a flight to DC. So had to celebrate my halloween today, and maybe tomorrow, if we go to halloween party or something. But yeah, I'm dressed disco style, w/ this old seventies suit pop had and this funky multi-color shirt, and then I found this pink wig. So I don't really know what I'm supposed to be. I elicited a few laughs though, so at least my getup is somewhat entertaining. And I get free movie tickets, which is really, what I dressed up for in the first place. Okay, not really, I probably would've dressed up anyway.

Give us back our timeDon't forget to turn back your clocks this weekend...fall back. We get that hour back that we lost earlier this year. Kinda sucks though, cuz now it'll be pitch black at like 5 o'clock. But it does mean, colder days ahead, which I'm all for. :)

I am unclaimed statement...

Grrrr.
Man, the work atmosphere can be an awfully frustrating one at times. And the longer I'm here, the more instances I see. A lot of the people here are great, and a blessing to work with. Yet some people here have the most enormous chip on their shoulders and they just refuse to unload it. There's this one guy who's so freakin highly opinionated that he comes off as a know-it-all jerk sometimes. He doesn't like taking orders from other people, so of course, he turns around and tells, or rather, "challenges" people to do things. And seriously, it comes off the wrong way because just now, someone from another dept asked if everything was going okay and if there was "beef." So now, the proverbial seeds of discord have been seemingly sown, and once that happens, people are gonna start thinking things and making assumptions and dadadada. I need to go talk to someone to smooth things out, it's freakin annoying. I mean, I've known this person for a while now. I've seen other instances. And the the weird part is, he's such a cool person when work is not involved...hmmm, I guess it always seems to be like that. But seriously learn how to communicate effectively man, it makes a world of difference. And people really need to stop thinking that they're better than other people...it's just not right, in all senses.
Have I already mentioned how much I love the rain? Well, I probably have, but here it is again, I love the rain!!!

Pros
-The air is so fresh and so clean clean after the rain. Things are more vivid, visually, the colors are more crisp because there's no particulates in the air btwn objects. No smog, you can breathe cleaner air.
-We get life-sustaining water to our plants and we can begin to recover from the drought as each storm passes
-EARLY snow season! WOOOHOOO
-The gym. When it rains, people are deterred from going to the gym, yours truly not included, he he he. But the gym is a lot emptier on rainy days, and you have access to pretty much any machine or weight or apparatus you want. It's great.

cons
-stepping in big ass puddles. Last night, when Cic dropped me off after we worked out, I stepped in the biggest puddle in my driveway. The kind when your whole shoe gets dunked in and your socks get soaking wet. I hate wet socks...I really do.
-Floods, those suck. Except that one time when UCI was flooded and people had inner tubes and were chillin and swimming and stuff. Gross, but pretty funny.
-Mudslides, they also suck

New Addictions
In all my business, I have forgot to mention my newfound Television(well, DVD in this case) addiction....ALIAS. Yes, that's right, I have become part of the alias cult. I was lookin for somethin to do while Cic was doin her homework last friday, and there it was, sitting on her roomates tv stand...the complete first season. Well, I popped in disc one, and I ended up watching 5 episodes the first night! And well, the rest is history...

I can't wait for this freakin work day to end already...I'm tempted to leave right now...but I still gotta try and finish as much as I can...

Okay okay, I have one more complaint...
How is it possible that someone can get mad because the other person doesn't understand them when they're talking? And I'm talking about language barriers here, specifically. One of my coworkers was so pissed that another person couldn't understand them. I was pretty surprised by it, cuz the f word was used. I guess it can get frustrating, but I also know from my own interactions that in this particular situation, that the person getting mad does not clearly communicate either, so all the blame is going to the other guy. It's always the other guy's fault, isn't it....

I am a grinding headache...

Someone get me some diet water!!!
Seriously, I need some. My goodness, I've been eating out of control lately. Balance that with my lack of cardio and bam, you have a fatass...me. This weekend alone, had roscoes(Scoe's #2 with the gravy on the side), ate at Cic's family party, went to Denny's after a movie that same night...and this was only on Saturday. Sunday, at at mom and pop's, and went to Knott's Scary Farm later that evening and had more junk food. And of course, every Knott's night must be topped with Funnel Cake. So there you have it, a weekend of gluttonous activity with no physical activity(I did play ball, but that's not enough). So I am officially putting myself on a mini-diet of sorts. Not exactly sure how I'm going about this, but I am gonna stay off eating past 11PM(which is when I usually get hungry right before bed) and just drink water if I get hungry at that time. Gotta bring lunch(sandwiches or something light) and cut out some of the carbs from my daily meals. Not ALL the carbs mind you, just some of them...until I can lose the gut a little. And of course, supplement the diet with working out and hopefully, but x-mas time, I'll be nice and lean, just in time for getting fat again. But I am going to the Philippines in a few weeks, so I know I'll be eating there...just gotta stay in control and keep everything in moderation. Wish me luck!

Argh
Haven't been feeling too hot lately. I don't know if it's just the rainy day blues or what, but it's been hard to get up in the mornings and I've had this constant headache...not so bad that I just wanna curl up and croak, and not so minor that I don't notice it. Hurts when you cough and stuff, and the light intensifies it...so I guess it's a minor migraine. I've been tempted to call in sick for the two days of work this week thus far. Luckily for me, I haven't, because there's been tons of work for me to do so far and I definitely don't wanna fall behind, with me leaving next week and then later on going to the PI. I need to definitely stay on top of things and hopefully even get a little bit in front of the ball.

My people tirade
People trip me out. It's funny how some people spit out exactly what they read, so when people ask questions or get more deeply involved in the conversation, they are left without anything else to say... I mean, at least say you read it and don't claim it as if you're an expert on the subject and then have no other answers when people ask more questions...sheesh.
It's also funny when people get all protective of their other friends. They get all crazy and angry and stuff and they don't even know the other person. Now, of course I am not saying that's right, but I would do it if someone did it to one of my friends. And friends just get like that with one another, they're protective.
Stubborn people are the funniest. How is it possible that someone refuses to accept something, even if they KNOW they're wrong? I mean, what is that all about? I think oftentimes, that people make it worse for themselves when they can't give in, because the only reason they're not accepting it is because they don't wanna admit fault, or that they're wrong, or whatever. And that is definitely not the way to go... Okay, enough people-bashing, it's time for lunch...

"Ask yourself whether the problem you are addressing is really the one you want to solve."
-Robert Sternberg

I am a bad shoulder...

Like Whoa
So my supervisor, another coworker, and I decided to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant, to get our favorite, Burro Tecampa. I was so excited to have it, my mouth started to water more and more as we got ever closer. As we reached the front door of the restaurant and I pulled the door open, the lady that usually works there pushed it back and told us they were closed. So they were going through a health inspection and we decided to eat the the vietnamese restaurant accross the way. Weird, cuz I told Chris that I had wanted to get soup before the mention of Mexican food came up, and my wish got fulfilled. So after lunch, we walked back to the car, which was still parked in front of the Mexican place and I saw a notice on the door. "Dept of Health....Notice of Closure...Vermin Infestation." EEEEW, infestation?!?!?! And OUR favorite place? I've never seen a restaurant get closed down, especially one that I frequented. How crazy is that? I still can't believe it...

We be jammin
Cic's roomates bf cooked dinner for Cic and I last night. It was pretty good. And we ended up playing Donkey Konga all night!!! That game is sweet! It was a lot of fun and totally tiring too...gotta stop these late night antics man, I'm so tired at work all the time, ha ha ha.

Anyone ever see that Old Navy commercial where the guy goes, "I'm gonna go get some air." And then his coworker chick goes on a tirade about air and how she loves it? "Air? I love AIR!!! dadadada...what kind of loter did my nose just win?..." HA HA HA HA That is the funniest freakin commercial.

I am the changing of the season...

Brain Fartlings
Damn, I stayed up pretty damn late last night, AND it was a workday...haven't done that for a while...I tried to do way too much errand stuff I think, laundry, sorting bills, folding, chatting, man...a lot... Sucks cuz I haven't had the chance to do many house errands because of all the business trips as of late. And it was nice to get into "roll" mode(as Cic would say) and get so much done. Unfortunately, I'm dead tired.

So rainy season has officially started, and what better way to start the rainy season than with some rain? And boy oh boy is it raining. I had to take down the tarp from London's b-day down while it was raining outside. Kinda fun, but it was a little tough. Because it was so dark, I had to run my car and turn on the headlights. And then the tarp was so heavy because it took on a lot of agua. It was cool though, I got it done, and I'm still alive. I love rain. I just got a little dirtier than I had wanted to. And it's supposed to rain until Thursday, woohoo!!!

Ate at Market City Caffe in Burbank yesterday...mmmm. That place is good. Had the Chicken Parmigiana. Why did I have lunch in Burbank? Well, one of my coworkers and I had to meet w/ this guy from the Production Company we work with about our new responsibilities, which is dealing with recording stuff for the navigation systems. He was a cool guy, and I met everyone with whom we'll be working with in the near future. Lots of change goin on at work lately; personel, responsibility, business, etc. It's a little scary, but I totally look forward to the challenges ahead.

Rainy day drivers are stupid man. Seriously. There's a difference between erring on the side of caution and just plain dumb. I swear...argh!!!

Check out this article I read the other night...pretty interesting...
Churches Installing Cell Phone Jammers

Tue Oct 19, 9:04 AM
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press Writer

MONTERREY, Mexico - It was the reporters who noticed first. Unable to call their editors while covering the weddings of the rich and famous, they asked the priest why their cell phones never worked at Sacred Heart. His reply: Israeli counterintelligence.
In four Monterrey churches, Israeli-made cell phone jammers the size of paperbacks have been tucked unobtrusively among paintings of the Madonna and statues of the saints.
The jarring polychromatic din of ringing cell phones is increasingly being thwarted _ from religious sanctuaries to India's parliament to Tokyo theaters and commuter trains _ by devices originally developed to help security forces avert eavesdropping and thwart phone-triggered bombings.

The Indian parliament had jammers installed after politicians ignored requests to turn off their cell phones and legislative sessions were constantly interrupted.

In Italy, universities started using the blockers after discovering that cell phone-savvy teenagers were cheating on exams by sending text messages or taking pictures of tests.
The four Roman Catholic Churches in this northern city began using the devices, from Tel Aviv-based Netline Communications Technologies Ltd., after an insurance salesman imported them as a personal favor for a priest.

"There are still many people who don't understand that being at Mass is sharing a moment with God," said the Rev. Juan Jose Martinez, a spokesman for archdiocese. "Sadly, we had no other choice but to use these little gadgets."

Purchased for about $2,000 each, they can be turned on by remote control and emit low-level radio frequencies that thwart cell phone signals within a 100-foot radius. Users get a "no service" or "signal not available" message on their cell phones. Although Mexico has no law against the devices, the private use of cell phone blockers is illegal in the United States and most Western countries. But the tide is turning.

Japan allows public places such as theaters and concert halls to install jammers, provided they obtain a government-issued license. And last week, France's industry minister approved a decision to let cinemas, concert halls and theaters install them _ as long as provisions are in place so emergency calls can still be made.

Canada had considered allowing blocking in similar situations. But Industry Canada, which regulates the country's telecommunications, decided against it, saying the devices could infringe on personal freedom and affect public safety by crippling communication with law enforcement and security agencies.

Officials at Netline, which sold its first jammer in 1998, say they are selling thousands of jammers a year and have expanded their business throughout the world.

They're far from the only manufacturers. The devices are sold the world over, with dozens of suppliers selling them on the Internet.

Tokyo-based Medic Inc. sold thousands of its Wave Wall jammers before the government stepped in and regulated their use to venues with live performances. Commuters still buy mobile jammers to shut up chatty train passengers, even though their use is illegal.

In Scotland, businessman Ronnie McGuire, owner of Electron Electrical Engineering Services, imported Taiwan-made cell phone blockers and sold them to hotels, restaurants and bars until a local newspaper reported his activities, which were illegal in Britain.
McGuire has said he will still import the Taiwanese devices but sell them for export only to countries where they are allowed.

Loreen Haim, the director of marketing and sales for Netline, wouldn't say how many devices the company sells per year or what country buys the most.

In Mexico, the main clients have been banks looking to stop would-be robbers from communicating with their accomplices and the Mexican government, which is planning to use them at prisons, Haim said.

In Monterrey, the Sacred Heart church, a baroque temple favored by Mexico's elite for weddings, church officials acquired their blockers two years ago.

"Whenever there was a wedding, cell phones would ring every five minutes," said Bulmaro Carranza, a parish clerk. "It was a real problem because there were times when even the groom would forget to turn his cell phone off."

For months, the devices went unnoticed until reporters covering the weddings began complaining that their cell phones never worked.

Since word of the jammers went public, priests from around Mexico have been calling to find out how to get them, said Carranza.

At Sacred Heart, a device at the entrance to the church and another by the altar are turned on right before every Mass. Still, priests remind parishioners to turn off their phones before beginning the services, hoping good cell phone etiquette will eventually catch on.
The other Monterrey churches with the devices _ The Rosario, San Juan Bosco and Our Lady Queen of the Angels _ are also frequented by wealthier parishioners, Martinez said.
"For a lot of them, the cell phone is a necessity. But that shouldn't prevent them from having good manners and remembering that one must respect sacred places," Martinez said.
Margarita Escobedo, a Catholic who goes to church at least twice a week and volunteers at the San Genaro church, says she would welcome the jammers in her parish, where cell phones are becoming a nuisance.

"Those who bring cell phones to church are not committed to God," Escobedo said. "It's very distracting to be praying and suddenly hear birds chirping or techno music."
___
AP writers Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo and Kate Brumback in Paris contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I actually think these jammer thingies are a good idea. So many people forget, and others, make calls and stuff KNOWING they shouldn't. I mean, if most people were just more respectful of following the rules, they wouldn't have to have these things at all. Unfortunately, the world is not full of totally honest people...rather, the opposite. And I'm ashamed to say it. Even I'm guilty of it some of the time. And people seem to just continually take advantage of everything they can until the privelege is either revoked or somewhat restricted. Even more, I think they should do it on planes too, I hate when people are talking on the phone when were already taxiing and they get in trouble and get all pissed. Some people think they're above the law...

man, long-winded...

I am my small, but comfy bed...

Hello all, I have returned from the land of the unkown, aka Canadia and other such trips, and am back home. I don't know for how long, but let's hope it's at least for a bit so I can settle in. My allergies seem to have totally gone into "attack" mode since my return, and I wonder if it has anything to do with me being away from the wonderful smoggy environment that is my home. Probably, my body adjusted to the cleaner air since I was there so long and had a hard time adjusting back. I don't remember it being this bad, ever, but it is, and now I probably have to go see the doctor about it or something. Speaking of doctors, I am also trying to get all my health bases checked before I get shipped out again. I checked my vision coverage and now I can go into LensCrafters. Tomorrow, I will check on my dental coverage and set up an appt accordingly and then, maybe get a doctoral checkup or something. But it is sure good to be home. I am a bit out of shape, esp. basketball-wise, being gone for a few weeks, but I should get back into it soon, barring any more trips, ha ha ha.

Lil Differences
Being in Canada for the past two weeks has definitely exposed some notable differences. Now these differences don't really say anything, but they are just things I noticed that were different from life here in the L to the IzzAY.
No Drive Thrus I did not see a single drive-thru for the fast food restaurants whilst I was there. I don't know if it was the area that I was in, but I was in a lot of areas, especially heavily populated areas with lots of traffic. Maybe that's why they don't have them, might affect the traffic adversely.
Autumn leaves This one is obviously not Canada alone, but again, different from LA. The leaves already started to change colors when we were test driving and it was a really amazing sight. I've seen it before, but it's always nice to see it again. Trees line the highways leading out into the country sides and it's amazing to see the richness of color and just the range.
Traffic The traffic in Toronto can get quite horrendous. Now, I know what you're thinking, LA has the worst traffic anywhere, and yes, you're right. I hate LA traffic, it's probably one of the biggest reasons why I would move out, if I were ever forced to make such a decision(for which I do not have to do currently). Anyway, it's not that there IS traffic that I wanted to write differences about, it's more of the REASONS for the traffic. Candians drive slow as hell. Not as bad as they do in Hawaii, but it's definitely comparable. I was weaving like Betty Ross man when I was out there, driving almost 60kpm over the limit at times. People probably thought I was insane, he he he. Another thing is that they freakin stop in the middle of the street to get out and do errands! Like in a 2 way or even 1 way street, a car will stop, the driver will get out and walk into a store! How crazy is that? That took quite a toll on my patience at times and I had to resist ramming a couple of cars w/ my fully insured rental. Lucky for them I'm not road-ragy. But dude, it was certainly a test...

Just a funny lil story when I ate dinner last week when I ordered room service. I ordered some soup and the clam linguine. When I got my food, I had the soup, which was good and moved on to the main course, only to find that I had 1 single mother-freakin clam in the whole thing! It was LITERALLY clam linguini, singular emphasis on the clam. I was so mad, but too lazy to call room service and demand more clams and then have to wait like another 30-45 minutes to get my order. What an ordeal.

Still lots on my mind to talk about, but they're hiding right now...

"What counts most in life is what we can do for others."

...Correction...

The "OH" is the navigation system that is in an MDX. So I meant to say MDX instead of "OH." Please make the adjustment accordingly...

I am an unsubmitted expense report...

Damn, the back of an OH is not as comfortable as I thought. It partly has to do with the fact that the two guys up front are tall so they scoot the seats all the way back, but also that the back does not recline, and that the angle is a little tight...it sucks. My knee and my ankle hurt. Okay, over it...

I love feeling useful. It makes me feel my worth, not that I should guage myself on how I can impress others. But I have to admit it does build my confidence, especially with I'm with these smart-a** engineers that have like 8 years more experience more than me.

Sportin the foaklies
This place is just like the US man, everyone's a freakin health nut. So we stopped at this place called Booster Juice. Yes, you guessed it, it's a wannabe Jamba Juice or Juice-it-up or whatever the hell else juice places we have back home. But dude, this smoothie I'm having sucks, it's not even smooth, it's icy and chunky...blech. Often imitated, never duplicated, he he he. But it's just funny how it's not home, but there's things here that KINDA remind me of home, but they're like sub-par imitations. It's like McDonald's and MacDowell's from "Coming to America." "They have the golden arches, we have the golden arcs." Ha ha ha. I love that movie. Anyway, so that's how it is...

I hate rebuilding repore(sp? and no, I'm NOT buzzed, he he he). We're currently going through a management shift at work. My old mgr, Tak, to whom I refer to as Shimizu-san, has been promoted and is set to leave for Japan. Our new mgr is Mizuno-san, I don't know what his first name is...well I do, but it's hard to pronounce. It's not an instant change, there's a two-month changover period so the transition will be as smooth as possible. I've talked to and worked w/ the new mgr on a few occasions, but still, I'm starting from scratch. I could just do things and take care of things w/ Tak, we had that connection, that trust. But not w/ the new guy, I have to build it back up again. Not that I don't want to, but it's always hard in the beggining.

3 more days...3 more days...

I am a relaxi-taxi, he he he....

So check this out...
It took the Honda guys over an hour to get to my hotel once they got within 2 miles of it this morning. So we wasted a lot of test time. So they decided it would be better for me to rent a car and meet them outside the city so as to make our testing time much more efficient(sp?). So they dropped me off at Pearson Int'l, cuz if I rented a car there, it'd be easier to bring it back when I flew back home on Sat. So I go to Hertz and tell them I needed a car with a Neverlost system(that's the type of GPS Navi's they have on rentals), but they tell me that 1) I have to have a reservation, and 2) that they don't have any available. So one of the employees sees me in a bit of a bind and calls me over(her name was Simone), and says to call their reservation number and reserve one right now, for this time. So she gives me the number and I walk away and call from my cell phone, make the reservation and go back to the counter...literally like 2 minutes after I make the call. Simone's busy with another customer, so I have to go to some other dude. He asks for my res # and I give it to him. So he goes to the back and pulls out the keys to a midsize car with Neverlost! WTF? Like 5 minutes ago, they didn't have any, and then all of the sudden they did. Freakin dumb man...but that Simone chick totally helped me out. I tried to say thanks but there were too many people there. Some places have some messed up policies man...sheesh.

Anyway, I had a few drinks downstairs with my dinner tonight, so I'm a little buzzed. He he he, no companion on a business trip like Jack. =p I didn't want to eat dinner in my room again, it would have been the 3rd night in a row, so I decided to go outside the hotel to get something to eat. All the good restaurants were too far, and I got tired of walking, so I just checked out some local shopping spots I might wanna hit up before I head back and went back to the hotel. I chilled at the bar and ordered some food. I got to chattin w/ a few folk who were also out here either on vacation or on business. One was a loud dude NC guy, a couple from I dont' remember where, and an old guy, Patrick, from Ireland. There was one more guy, but he left early and I don't remember his name, he was a little crude, but whatever... Anyway, if you guys think I cuss too much, this guy Patrick, he makes me sound like St. Peter. He said the F word every other second man, it was crazy. He was funny as hell though. We were all laughing.

Well, that's all for tonight...
some thoughts that are currently in my head that I MAY or may NOT wanna talk about at a later date...
-Stupid Americans, I hate how some of us have this US Supremacy mindset...it's really embarrassing(sp?)
-Freakin Dodgers...win a damn game for me please
-Cable up here sucks, nothing to watch, esp no Smallville, and it always freezes and tiles
-everyone help Cicely get her Ipod
I hate waking up early, esp when I'm 3 hours ahead...

"Life and love, one cannot exist without the other..."

I am an adjusted time zone...

school days
Jos called me in my hotel room this morning. She sounded so sad. Why? Because today was London's first day of school. She was so sad because her little girl is moving on. She said London wasn't even sad, she was just like, "Where's my classroom?" And then, she said, "Okay, bye!" and that was that. Then she told me she got an e-mail that she was sad during lunch. And that she didn't wanna take a nap during lunch, which made her even sadder. What a trip it must be for both of them. Even my folks...they're really sad too. She won't be there every day like she was before. But now, my parents can chill more too. Man, she's in school already. I remember when she was just born, driving all the way to Santa Monica from Irvine in the wee hours, Jos thinking I wasn't gonna make it cuz I was totally delirious and thought she was at the airport, Glenn messin up his knee right before at all nite rec nite at the Arc. My hand was still fractured at that time I think..yeah, it was. That was 4 years ago...my goodness, time flies, doesn't it?

The Life of the Lonely traveler...
Here I am, on my second consecutive week of traveling, and I must say, it's pretty boring. I mean, I was here all last week, and with a coworker, so we got to travel around and hand out and I had someone to converse with. The flight was cool, business class, not first, but both ways this time. I got to kick it in the lounge again, took some snacks for London. Sitting in first or business class is such a different experience from normal seats man. you get a 3 course meal...fancy salad, a hot entree, and then we had hagen daaz ice cream and cookies(freshly baked...I didn't know they could do that) for dessert. They always call you by your name, the ENTIRE time, it's crazy. Just a different experience altogether. Talk about wiping your butt with silk, I felt like a pampered king over there. It's like when I get to test drive RL's or a Mercedez, and then I get to drive my Corolla(no offense Baxter) back home. Oh well, that's the way the ball bounces. But I now kinda know what Verwin must have felt like when he was travelling...but there are a few differences. I get to go home at the end of the week and get a recharge, he he he. But now, he has family and people to hang with. I'm rarely ever in a place long enough for an aquaintance to turn into a hangout buddy over here. With the exception of when I was in New Jersey, and that's only cuz I was there for like 3 months it seemed. So it's quite lonely, and I am beginning to grow weary of constant travels like this, especially those on short notice. Those are the ones that take the biggest toll. Oh well, this is my job and I have to deal with it...just needed to vent, he he he. In the words of the ever so wise Joe Carlos, "Such is the life of...me."

Good-bye Mama
I found out some tragic news this morning while I was checking my work e-mail. Our receptionist, Olevia Hawk, passed away in her sleep. She was set to retire at the end of this week too...my God, how sad is that. my face totally hit the floor when I read the news. I was so shocked and tears filled my eyes. We used to talk every morning as I came in. I would ask how she was doin, she'd say good, and ask how I was doin, and I would reply that I was doin great too. We would talk about the Lakers, about how the work day was ALMOST over(well hers was always more almost over than mine, considering I left an hour later), but we'd always joke around and stuff. She was a wonderful woman, called "mama" by lots of the other people at Alpine, and I think deservedly so. So I just wanted to take a moment out of my busy life to acknowledge the life of such a wonderful person such as Olevia, she was vibrant with life and never stopped smiling. She will be sorely missed...and I feel truly blessed that God brought her into my life, even if for only a while. Til we meet again Olevia, you will live on in all of our hearts...

"Life a life worth telling, and you will have truly lived."