I am a spitball on the wall...

I am doing the most freakin boring project ever...

Old knowledge
Isn't it funny how back in elementary school we learned about all the states, and their capitols, and cities in each state? Well, today at work I was working on this one task and I had to verify some database information for the Northern United States...so I ask out loud, someone name a city in Vermont...silence. No one knew! So I was like, "What's the capitol of Vermont?" And again, no one could answer, until about after a minute, when one of the dudes looked it up. So I asked a few people online "Name two cities in vermont..." and check out what they said:

Person #1
ME (2:42:56 PM): hey, name a city in vermont
Person #1 (2:43:38 PM): montpelier
ME (2:44:01 PM): another one
Person #1 (2:44:11 PM): thats all i know
ME (2:44:18 PM): ha ha ha
ME (2:44:31 PM): i couldn't even think of that one
Person #1 (2:44:35 PM): is that th eonly one anyone knows haha

Person #2
ME (2:45:30 PM): hey, name 2 cities in vermont
Person #2 (2:45:39 PM): there are cities in vermont?
ME (2:45:44 PM): HA HA HA
Person #2 (2:45:55 PM): i thought it was just one big community?
ME (2:46:19 PM): he he he
ME (2:46:20 PM): nope
Person #2 (2:46:35 PM): hmm
Person #2 (2:46:36 PM): strange
Person #2 (2:46:39 PM): and by the way
Person #2 (2:46:45 PM): the most random question ever in the history of AIM

Person #3
ME (2:44:52 PM): hey, name two cities in vermont
Person #3 (2:45:20 PM): there are cities in Vermont?
ME (2:45:37 PM): HA HA HA
Person #3 (2:45:59 PM): haha, jk sorry, i don't know any
ME (2:46:13 PM): I'm taking a poll
ME (2:46:16 PM): to see how many people know
Person #3 (2:46:44 PM): dude, it's a trick question, Vermont has no cities, haha
ME (2:47:18 PM): ha ha ha

only 1 person could name a single city...interesting...

I am a new accessory...

I still haven't had the time to take my computer apart so I can bring it in to IT. I hate when I'm too lazy to do stuff. That said, my room is also not yet clean... However, on a brighter note.This came in today! Woohoo! I love sending stuff to work!

And here it is opened up.


Sweet! A bag purely for my basketball gear. It has all the compartments I need, shoes, clothes, WET clothes, water bottle holders, and a basketball pocket! Sweet! I love it! Now, I can show up to the gym lookin like the total wannabe baller!

btw - this is my very first picture post! I have evolved as a blogger! I am one step closer to ruling the world! Muah ha ha ha!
_______________________________

I am a forgotten post...

This was supposed to be posted on Friday, right before I left work, at around 7ish. Seems like Friday was a day of forgetting lots of stuff...

I am a rock in a lake...

I totally didn't feel lke working today, yet here I am, past 7...it's just one of those days...I've had too many things on my mind lately...

So my computer has ceased working. The monitor will not wake up from sleep mode and before that, I saw that there was a bios checksum error. I borrowed the floppy drive for my laptop so I could download the bios update on floppy and then try to fix it at home. Unfortunately, the BIOS update was 1.54MB and the space on a floppy is only 1.44MB. So I asked around at work and one of our IT people said it could be either, the monitor, the bios update, or even the videocard. And since I have no spare monitors at home, they said I could bring it in and get it checked out by the IT dept. Well, I woke up late today and I didn't get the chance to unplug everything so I can bring in my tower to work.

My room is so damned dirty. I have stacks of unsorted, but still paid, bills. Unfolded laundry still in the basket. My dvd's are all over the place including my CD's. My closet needs rearranging.and there's still a ton of work I need to do around the house...

My goodness...it has been one hell of a frickin week.

I am a few forgotten thoughts...

Shhhh
So yesterday, I took the day off work because I had several important tasks that needed to be taken care of right away. In no particular order(except for the last) here they are...I had to pick up my tux for my coworker's wedding that I'm in this weekend, buy another pair of compression shorts from Sport Chalet, find a way for Uncle Lem(he's back btw) and wifey the best way to get to the airport and get him registered for this Chess Tournament in Minneapolis because online registration was already closed, attend a wedding rehearsal, and last but definitely not least...

WATCH STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH!!!!! Yes folks, I am one of those countless numbers of geeks that took the day off and contributed to the projected more than $50 million dollars lost by the US economy because of people taking the day off this week to watch Star Wars... I met up with a Rob and Chris at the block and got to see the movie we have all been waiting for to see. Pretty good I thought. There were some poor transitions and some overkill on the messsages they were sending, but who doesn't enjoy a great lightsaber fight and a film that brings us all back to where it all began?

Getting back on track, I was able to do all of those things, and also play in my Thursday league game. So it was definitely a very good day off.

Another one(s) bites the dust..
In all the craziness that has been this week, I have not yet had the chance to post about my friend Mina and Dannys wedding, who were wed this past Saturday, May 14th, at St. Pius Catholic Church in Buena Park, CA. Was a bit late for the ceremony because of traffic, but we still got there and got to party it up at the reception at the Black Gold Country Club/Golf Course out in Yorba. As usual, had a lot of fun at the wedding, dancing, being rowdy, and just celebrating. I don't think there could have been any better match for Mina than Danny and vice versa. I wish you two the best and once again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Working out?
So I think I've situated myself in a general groove of sorts at the gym. I have gone to the gym 3x this week and possibly will go again tomorrow. Hopefully, this trend keeps up, and then I can slowly start working my running back in. I'm gonna take it a little slow on the running because I still need to see a podiatrist to check out the foot pain and shin splints I've been experiencing lately.

From Cic...
Total volume of music files on my computer(s)
My desktop at home has probably about 3 Gigs of music. My laptop has about 3 as well. I probably only listen to like 700MB of those songs though...
Last CD I bought
I lost my old Weezer CD's, and I wanted the new one...so the last CD(s) I purchased was the entire collection of Weezer Albums. Yay!
Song playing right now
There is no song playing right now except for the one in my head...and it's a Weezer song.
Five songs I listen to a lot, or really like
Real Love - Mary J
Jack Johnson - Banana Pancakes
Weezer - Best Friend
My Posse's on Broadway - Sir Mix-a-lot
Moonlight Sonata - Ludwig van Beethoven
Pass the Baton to Five people...
Tommy - I don't know what music you listen to and I am interested in finding out
Verwin - you can do this when you get back, he he he
Lou - You must have a ton of muzacs on your computer
Dana - Something for you to post about
Anna - What do you listen to?

I am the last ray of sunlight...

God saw that he was very sick
and a cure was not to be;
So He put his arms around him
and whispered, "Come with Me."
With tearful eyes we watched him suffer,
and saw him fade away;
Although we loved him dearly
we could not make him stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
hard working hands are at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.

This was the poem that was written on the back of the program for the funeral for my high school track coach and alebra teacher, Mr Wells, who passed away last Tuesday, May 10th. It was so unfortunate for a man so young to have lost his bout with prostrate cancer, but just from what everyone had to say at the funeral, both family and the other teachers and coaches, he could not have made more of an impact in our lives.
I remember him as the sarcastic teacher in my Algebra 2 class my freshman year...who always gave me a hard time, but would always encourage me to never give up, and that I had a lot of potential for such a little guy. There was never a dull moment in his classes. I remember one time when he brought in a little bottle of "Kick yo a$$ hot sauce" and dared one of the big football dudes to try a little drop. Needless to say, he could not handle it and was crying as soon as the sauce touched his lips.
I joined the track team because of the good natured relationship we had and the postitive influence he had on me...that I could take up any challenge and, with the right attitude and hard work, could come out on top. My freshman year, I was on the sprint team, where he was the specialized coach, and for the next 2 years, I moved on to the long jump and triple jump team, but was always under his leadership as our head coach. Throughout those 3 years, we remained undefeated and he ultimately went 105-1 at the helm of the Loyola Track Team. I did not continue my stay on the track team my senior year, looking back now, simply b/c I wanted a kick back year..., which, looking back now, I wish I had not done. He maintained a standard of excellence for the team and always inspired us to do our best.
I never passed up a moment to talk to Mr. Wells when passing him in the hallway, or during my free periods...I would always drop by his class just to say hello. After I graduated, I always said to myself that I'd go back and visit him, along with a few of my other favorite teachers. But as it happens to a lot of us, I never took that opportunity to come back. It was always, "I'm too busy," or "I'll go next time." Well, now, I have to accept that I never got to really talk to him again after so long because of me, not anything else. And it is things like this, that burn into my mind, to never wait to do something becuase you really never know...
'Til we meet again, rest in peace Coach...

Gregory Irvin Wells
Born: July 01, 1951
Died: May 10th, 2005

I am the boring dull path of the black cat...

Another boring day at the place of employment. It was kinda busy for a while, and then, everyone realized it was Friday, and well, things just seemed to slow down after that. So I've been sitting here thinking...and here's what I think...My blog is way boring. I need to jazz it up a little...maybe start putting pictures in it...have some cool did you know, and personal info crap, and all that. Maybe I can put in an FAQ section? I don't know. I'm not creative like all the other bloggers out there...I just type random ish. Not that I want my site something for everyone to look at, but even I get annoyed looking at it...cuz there's nothing to look at! Well, we'll see if some inspiration can come my way...

I'm awake now, but I was dead tired for most of the day. Why? Well, because Cic and I decided to work out yesterday after my basketball game...which was at like 10:30. We end up working out til close to 11:30. Bad news yo...my blood was totally pumping when I got home...so I was doing this and that, and when I finally got finished taking a shower and getting ready for bed, I was still wide awake. I stayed up until almost 3AM reading, watching the Tony Danza show replay(Michael Vartan, Cic's man, and Rachel Ray were on. She has a new cookbook out...dude, she has 10 already...never knew that.) Needless to say, I had a tough time waking up this morning, and it's a miracle that I was only 10 minutes late this morning(what wonders night showers bring to your morning gettin ready for work routine).

What a boring entry...

dun dun DUN! Friday the 13th, be careful out there! (if of course, you believe in this pish posh)

I am a dose of tryptophan...

Dude, today has been one of the slowest days at work ever. I have barely had anything to do, because I'm waiting for other people to finish their parts before I can continue working. It was awesome, not having anything to do...for about the first hour. After that, I got totally totally bored. I've been looking for things to do for the past few hours now, talking to other coworkers, roaming around, I've even considered going into the car and taking a nap...but that'll only make me more tired. I did however, go to my throne on our lavatory here just to pass the time, and I made a few observations over the 15 or so minutes I was in there.
1) I heard the door open and close a total of 8 times. And not everyone who goes to the bathroom washes their hands afterward. And I know they weren't fly-by's becuase I heard them peeing. Dude! That's sick! 3 people didn't wash their hands! You work w/ these folk man...that's blech! If not for yourself, at least do it for your coworkers! SHEESH!
2) Some people are exactly the opposite of the no washing hands dudes. They do wash their hands...but they use way too much paper towels to dry their hands. What a waste. One guy was pulling the lever like a million times and I can only imagine how much paper he must've pulled out from the paper towel dispenser. I mean, at least he's clean...but still...
3) And finally, the toilet is very boring w/o my cell phone. I usually have it with me, but today I forgot it at home. So I couldn't play blackjack, video poker, or organize my phonebook, which made it seem like I was in there forever! I'd bring something to read, but I don't want people knowing what I'm going to be doing in there.

So yeah, that's me trying to pass the time away...and here I am, back at my desk...still trying to do the same...sheesh.

Chi-town
Cic and I booked our flights for the big Chi-town trip on Labor Day weekend! Woohoo!!!! Looks like we're gonna be the first ones there, being that we are taking the red-eye on thursday. But hey, at least we'll have time to roam around and hang out. Plus, we'll be coming from O'Hare, whilst everyone else will be coming from Midway. Hopefully, Sherwin hooks us up with a hotel on the Magnificent Mile. But heck yeah man, I can't wait. A big travel group...it's gonna be like the cruise...but w/o the constant rocking and that damn casino! I can't wait! Woohoo!

I am a hand in the face...

I was thinking yesterday, after I posted that one entry about the AIM rules and stuff, and from reading Regan and Tommy's blogs about communication, and now Joe's about missing the good old days, how hard it is to keep in touch with everyone, even with all of the tools we have. Yes, it IS the information age, e-mail, IM, text messaging, all of that. So many avenues for us to use to keep in contact with all of our loved ones. Text messaging isn't really used for very much other than quick messages, which are mostly informational..i.e, party at so and so's, dodger game, etc. And on IM, people just sign in and out, drop a quick line, and a lot of converstations are really just very superficial. E-mail: every now and then, I'll get a letter-like e-mail from a friend, telling me what's going on, and how they're doing, and all that. But usually, it's a forward of some sort, or a mass e-mail or e-vite. And it's not like I'm always doing my part to keep in touch either. It's just sad, I think...it seems that we take communication and keeping in touch for granted. And of course, everyone's busy nowadays, and it seems we'll only get busier and busier, what with all of the responsibilities that we already have and will have soon enough, but it only takes a small amount of time to let a friend know what's going on. This was one of my new year's resolutions, to do a better job of keeping in touch with my old friends. And I think I was doing a good job of it at one point, but I have since strayed away from that path. So here we go again...

The ongoing issue..
It seems as though I stand alone on this whole "Is almost enough" issue... I still think it's a matter of perspective, on my part at least. Take a look at these examples:

I almost finished 1st
I almost almost won that game

Okay, so you didn't finish first...but you came in second! Okay, you didn't win the game, but look, you were in a position to win it, it just didn't come out your way. How come no credit is given for the effort? I know to most people, a win is a win and a loss is a loss, but if you played your best, and it just didn't happen, then hey, you take your licks, but you have to be proud of giving it your all. If for some reason you were giving it 110% but couldn't finish the marathon...is it a total loss? I don't think so. I don't know, maybe I'm just trying to hard to put a positive spin on it?

Who needs G-mail?
So now yahoo has provided 1 gig of space to it's users...thereby making g-mail a thing of the past. I never even really came close to using my 100 megs of space, and then 250, and now 1 gig. I think I might be a close to 1% of my total space used. At least I know I have all that room, if I were to need it. Now, I have more room for those epic e-mails from my friends and family, he he he. Man, I wonder if they're ever gonna force us all to start paying. Eeks, I sure can wait patiently for that day to come.

Dude, it amazes me how childish people can be at work. Today, I straight saw one guy cover his ears cuz he didn't wanna hear what the other guy was saying! I know, I know, WTF?

"To some, needing 'to be right' becomes more important than 'doing the right thing.' "

Hey, this is for you Tommy, ha ha ha. It doesn't have everything you were writing about, but I think it's pretty good.

AIM rules

-Courtesy of the Reegsta (Thanks man, he was just blogging about this the other day...so I only saw it too fitting)

Oh yeah, I forgot about this earlier...

T.J Simers has found favor with me. I'm such a Shaq hater, he he he.

I am a cloudy day...

What a blah day. I don't feel like doing anything really... It was hard gettin out of bed this morning...I didn't want to get out of the shower. Even while I was driving to work, I wanted to just be in my bed still. If I were still in college, today would've been one of those perfect days to ditch class. Just stay in and play PS2 all day long. Man, I sure do miss those days. I could've called in sick, but I would've had too much work to make up...plus, I don't wanna waste a sick day, just cuz I'm feeling lazy. Maybe it's just the weather...

Saw Kingdom of Heaven this weekend with Cic, Jovan, and Sherwin...I didn't realize I hadn't seen that guy since before he left for up north. So we lucked out and got to hang out w/ him on a weekend he was down here...well, it WAS mother's day and all. Anyway, so it was a pretty good movie. I think they may have tried a little too hard to make an epic out of it, and even after, we were all talking about it, clarifying things and answering each others' questions. The events weren't crystal clear, but I liked it still. It's hard to disappoint me when it comes to movies because I don't come in expecting much anyway. So in summary, I give it 3 stars...

Thank goodness there was dragonboat practice this weekend. Because I didn't do crap as far as working out is concerned. Didn't have a sunday league game cuz of mother's day I think, and then we tried to run yesterday. Operative word...TRIED. We went to Liberty Park where we were supposed to meet up w/ Lou and Belle (AHEM AHEM) and ran for about 20 min. Well, truth be told, Cic and Jovan ran and I walked half of the time. My left shin was really bothering me. That shin has always been a nuisance, even when I was running track back in hs...but it never gets too bad. I gotta find some kind of remedy, or I can kiss marathon training and the marathon goodbye. But yeah, other than that, spent most of the weekend layin around watchin Ranma or just kickin it. Nice quality relaxation doin nothing time this weekend...but now, I feel all lazy and stuff.

I think my laptop may be on it's last legs...the cooling fan was running at high speed for like 3 hrs. IT has to run a diagnostic on it that'll take more than 3 hrs, so I get to leave early, woohoo! I better back up my files tomorrow....

I am later in the week...

Happy CINCO DE MAYO!!! It's 05 05 05...crazy huh! Wow, someone go buy some lotto tickets or something.

Well, it's Mother's Day this weekend...and Cic, Jos, London, and I went shopping last night to get her this Mother's Ring that she's been wanting like forever. Basically, it's a ring that has usually has the birthstones of all her children on it. So since there's only 2 of us, we decided to put Mom's, pop's, Jos' and my birthstones on this flower-shaped looking ring. It's pretty cool. Cic arranged the stones by color, and the names accordingly. It looks waaaaay cool....but it won't come in for another 3-5 frickin weeks. Apparently, the last day to put in an order that would guarantee arrival by Mother's Day was last week... Frickin procrastinators man...sucks. Oh well, so we're gonna give her a box with a picture of the ring on it. It's her mother's day/b-day gift...and she totally deserves it. You rock mom!

So either someone's playing a mean trick or there's a new form of junk mail...but guess what I got in the mail recently....ADULT film catalogues!!!! I got this big envelope the other day with a "Do not bend" message accross it, and figured it was some important document or something. When I opened it, it was a bunch of adult catalogues for Videoage.com! Frickin crazy man...I can't believe I got this thing. Of course I chucked it....after quickly browsing through it of coure(hey, you never know, he he he).

Paula Abdul is psycho
Anyone see that ABC Primetime special last night about American Idol? Well, Paula Abdul was doin one of the dudes that were in the competition back like in the 2nd or 3rd season or something. They were like 15 years apart, and he had the inside scoop and stuff...like she would suggest what songs for him to sing that would go well with the judges, and he would even send her messages live on TV under everyone's noses! I wasn't really watching the show closely, cuz I was cleaning my room, but it was pretty interesting. Paula's crazy man...and that dude was even crazier for going w/ with the granny.

I am a gym membership not being used...

Deja Vu
More Vegas, more thoughts...

Another bachelor party in Vegas this past weekend. That's two in a row. When I was out there, it felt like I didn't even leave for a week...sheesh. Anyway, did the regular old bachelor party stuff: drink, gamble, you know...
Got to check out the new Wynn hotel and play poker out there. Poker room is quite nice, but not as big as Bellagio's. But if your name is on the waiting list, they post it up on the plasma screen, which kinda makes you feel important, he he he. It's a pretty nice hotel. Shoot, if you spend 2.8 Billion Dollars on a hotel, it BETTER be nice. There's a golf course on the property and I hear there are 2 plasma screens in each room. Oh yeah, there's also a Ferrari and Lamborghini(sp?) dealership inside, and there was a hella long-ass line to get in. But they wouldn't even let you take pictures or like touch them..which is stupid. I could've just gone to that exotic rental place out on the strip. Anyway, I still think the Bellagio is nicer overall, but it's still not too shabby. Props to Mr. Steve Wynn.
Thought I was gonna get my arse beat by a big Mexican dude at Sapphire. To make a long story short, ended up he thought I was some general of the Chinese Mob and was asking for my protection...I should've ran with that and made him do all this stuff for me, ha ha ha. Anyway, one of the dudes from our party asked security to excuse him and that was that. The guys were saying I should bring a white suit and sunglasses and a cane whenever I go out w/ them in the future.
I Some dude caught a running straight flush to my trip Aces and A-high club flush. I did everything I could to push him out, but apparently his bankroll was much higher than mine. Sucks to be outdrawn, but that's the way the cards come and I'll play that hand 99 times out of a 100 and I bet 98 times I'd win it...grrrrr. Anyway, I didn't end up losing very much. I was down in the beginning (from craps) and won back in BJ(I only played $25 blackjack for about 10 minutes) and Pai Gow. I spent probably about 250 bucks and lost another 1something, so all in all, not too bad.
Last week I had company on the way to vegas. This time I drove up all by my lonesome. At least I got to take a test car and get gas and all that covered. Took 7 hours to get up there, 4 to get back home, I left at 7:30AM on Sunday. Only 4 hours because I left at 7:30 in the morning. Didn't wanna experience traffic again on my way home. But dang, 7 hours...that was by far the longest I have ever been driving on my own. And I thought it would be good thinking time. Turns out, I don't have many thoughts in this here noggin of mine, he he he. I also thought I'd end up using my phone the whole time, but I really didn't use it at all, except to tell Cic where I was at, or to find out where the guys were in Vegas and where I'd be meeting them, and a few very brief conversations with some other people. But hey, I lasted the drive and now I know I can do things like that in the future. I used to be freaked out that I could never handle such a long drive...well, not so I say, not so. Like us, Vegas has had a very very rainy season, and it's weird on the drive home becuase the terrain is not bare as it usually is. There's all this "greenery." I mean it's the desert, so how green can it actually be...but it IS a rather interesting sight.

~~~~~~~~~

So the Eagles opened up another Staples Center show on their tour and I was this(imagine my thumb and forefinger a millimeter apart) close to buying them. But I rethought it and realized that 1) I came to hear the Eagles live, so where I sit/stand/whatever doesn't really matter so much to me 2) I only spent $45 on the tix and these were gonna be $85 minimum. I want to save some money. 3) Had I purchased tix for the new show, I'm not absolutely sure someone would buy the nosebleeder Eagles tix I already have, so I could've ended up out an extra $100 bucks(that's the $45 tix plus the stupid fees). So, as a result, I decided that I am very happy with my tickets and will think about it no longer...unless I win the lotto.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lately, I've heard about and have had first-hand experience with people who have absolutely no tact. It both bothers me and boggles my mind to think that people are just so ignorant of their surroundings and/or just don't know how to approach things politely, w/o coming off like a jerk.

Almost is not good enough...
It's funny to me how some people think that. I totally think almost is good enough, as long as you're putting out your best effort. I think a lot of people out there do not cut themselves enough slack for things they do. They are too critical of themselves and are often times afraid or embarassed to mention certain accomplishments, acheivements, what have you. I mean, I'm not saying people should totally announce to the world every teeny tiny little thing one might get recognition/notice/etc. for, but I also don't think it's such a bad thing to be proud of these things. I guess I'm just trying to put a good spin on things, I don't know, maybe it's just me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haven't hit the gym regularly lately, and haven't been running as much either. I'm slowly going from superactive to superslug. Luckily I still have basketball. I've been running during the week only once each week, so my marathon training has really been on the downside lately. Argh. Someone help me. Hopefully tomorrow, I can start hitting the gym regularly again and participate on our long weekend runs.