Pet Peeve

Pet Peeve of mine:

People that Floss or cut their nails while in public places. I can stand brushing your teeth when you are around me, even outside of the bathroom. The other 2 are just unnerving to me. The middle-aged man beside me on this plane has a portable flossing fook and has been using it for the last 10 minutes while reading a Scientific American.

Scientific American, now that is a magazine that I might be interested in buying a subscription with. I also have a lifetime subscription to The Bent, an Engineering magazine that I really enjoy reading, so maybe that is enough scientific/nerdy stuff to read. I also read Men's Health for some helpful tips and facts.
Apparently in a sexual behavior study, cuddling is more benefical to men while women do not feel the an intimate connection because of it. I feel as though that study isn't very trustworthy. The only explanation I can imagine is that women derive more overall satisfaction from cuddling, rather than it just being an intimate action. Men, on the other hand, aren't as interested in cuddling outside of showing intimacy. So, the only way you can tell if she loves you is in her kiss, thats where it is!

The debt crisis in Greece is sadly a foil for the problems in America. Retirement funds starting around age 50 at many public jobs, barriers to fire unachieving employees, debt created by previous Presidents (not just Bush, Clinton and these ongoing wars), and a large amount of public disatisfaction because they feel as though it is not fair that brillant, possibly evil, business men in America are making most of the income in America, while the rest of us Art History Majors get nothing... I believe that there should be changes to the Tax code, taking more away from the top 1%, but there should also be more incentives for them to invest that money back into more jobs and the stock market.

More Blog Posts soon, I need to continually use my vocabulary and writing skills outside of engineering work for my future graduate school essays!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/before-after-pictures-of-japan-3-months-after-th

Here are a few before and after pictures of various places around Japan showing the incredible progress their society has been making to rebuild.

Each one of these pictures plucks at your heartstrings in one way or another, and I am filled with hope by them. These people have perseverved through the worst natural disaster I have ever been alive and are making progress.

It acts as a foil for the other problems around the world that are so miniscule compared to this one. America's threaten each other over matter of comfort while Japanese peopl clear building concrete out of streets. Japan has a credit debt rating of AA- from the early 90's while we fear our nation crumbling from just being lowered by 1 company to AA+.

Course, Americans lead the world in finding new ways to have fun and spend our parents money. I love football, as most Americans do, yet I like watching the World Cup and love the Olympics.

Makes me wonder if the US is the best country now and forever.

Go USA! I still think it is... right now even with all the problems.

Stories Missed

I know I know, this is a really late blog post.

I am making this blog post right when a Debt Deal was proposed by the the Party Leaders and President Obama. Hopefully it gets through Congress or China might bomb us.... or just increase our interest rates and therefore demolish the housing market.

But anyway, now I am watching Beauty and the Beast with my girlfriend and remember tidbits of the story. I truly did not remember that Belle loved learning and reading but she was shunned because it but the townsfolk. Yet this movie is so easy to find. Why is it that we love watching movies when they are on TV even when we own them? Could it be because now it is on public channels and that allows us to watch something that others are watching as well?

"It's not right for a woman to think!"

But there are always movies that you missed over the years and in your childhood. It baffles me when people have not watched Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, or Shawshank Redemption. Luckily I got my gf to watch Shawshank Redemption, and I am in the in middle of watching Moulin Rouge.

A short blog post today. I will blog again on Tuesday.

Stay classy!

ALOHA!

I’m on a plane to Hawaii for my cousin’s wedding! I don’t particularly like location weddings because you leave out many people that can’t travel or won’t spend the money for it, but it was a good reason to actually use my days off. I will be there from Thursday in the morning to Monday afternoon, and then I have to drive back up the Sacramento for work! Hurray!
A few things about the wedding were a bit odd.
1) No Hawaiian shirts and it is semi formal, but you can wear flip-flops. I guess this is because my cousin might hate heels?
2) There is no registry to give gifts. They asked for money to help pay for the wedding as the couple don’t cook and so don’t need many things for a house. I guess we’ll give ….$25-$30?
3) The wedding is on Sunday! I wish it was on Saturday so I would have one day to enjoy again before I leave.
Wearing the shirt I bought here 5 years ago, so I can finally get rid of it. It has been washed only 2 times because the design has already chipped off in the wash. The shirt is on its last legs sadly, and I thought it would be fitting to wear it one more time before getting rid of it. While at the airport I noticed that they have concerts on Fridays! Live music at the airport! So weird… My gf believes that San Jose is obsessed with free music, and I sadly agree with her since we have a great Jazz festival but theres no pull for good artists to play here.
As for me, I have been working hard, working out hard, sleeping hard, and studying hard (trying to) 4 weeks ago I injured my OTHER knee playing basketball and have been resting it. Instead I’ve been working on my upper body and eating much healthier. Its amazing how much better my diet is when I am not at home and not bound by the food my parents also want to eat. I have a half marathon at the end of July so hoping my knee will be find by then. As well I have decided my goal for the year is to take 2 Certification tests. That means a lot of studying!
One thing I would like to mention is that I really want to start exploring more unique places in the Bay Area. There are some places I haven’t been to in San Jose that have perked my interest, as well the new downtown’s for Mountain View and Sunnyvale are similar to Palo Alto’s, just smaller and so much more friendly.
Poor Vancouver, their Hockey Team gets destroyed in the Stanley Cup and then the Canadians riot, showing a very ugly side to typically nice people. The whole world was watching the game 7, and is now listening into the rioting and damage.

Shrinkage....

Drunk Question to a Vegan:

What do you do when Ants are swarming all over your kitchen? Do you have kitchens?

Really, I want to know what you do about Ants when you can't kill them? The house I am staying at in Dixon is being swarmed by them because of the Spring rains. I actually like rain, means plants are growing, the air smells fresher (cause it is), and its better after the droughts California has been through, but I hate Ants invading our living areas because their own are flooded.

There's an Ant on my laptop!

Sitting is apparently going to kill us all. Scientists are doing studies on the effects of sitting for most of the day as office/cubicle folk. It is really damaging our leg and core muscles. Even with consistent exercise humans must sit less and stand/walk more in a day to offset the potential debilitating problems associated with sitting too much/being inactive for most of the day.

I sadly need to start gelling/something my hair to make it more presentable at work... too much frizzy hair. Though I love running my hands through my luscious locks in frustration, and I cannot do that with gel.

Eatting an apple... but I have to throw it outside cause of the stupid Ants. There's one on me!


Honey I shrunk the kids!

Droid- The Next Frontier

So I just got a Droid 2 Global (don't worry about the global).

I know I know it is already an old smartphone. But it is still a smartphone! There is a possibility that I will "root" it (wipe the phone to be able to write code for it) but that will void the 1 year warranty on it. I do not know how to write code in Linux but there are some helpful guides online that I could take advantage of.

Whenever I get a new piece of technology it reminds me of how outdated my stuff is (always) and how most of us, myself included, don't use the tech that we have to its fullest. Really, most of us don't use anything around us to its fullest (goes to turn on the heater... its cold in Dixon!).

I have never really gotten around to learning how to keep my computers at maximum efficiency through maintenance and correct usage. My room is almost always a little dirty and there's always excess food for me to eat.

I love the droid but I got to get more assertive in my life! I am running out of my youth and I need to get things done. I have so many goals and dreams that my head is in the clouds too often and not doing what needs to be done.

Speaking of dreams, if you have ever been a Disney fan, go watch Tangled. It is a good movie all around and I think its foolish to call anything that reminds us of happy endings and following hopes and dreams girly is stupid. Sports are basically dramatic competitions about happy endings. Randy Pausch, the speaker at the last lecture is not "girly" for loving imagination and Disney.

P.S. I dont like how gyms are so busy now that people are getting in shape for summer, blah!

Dixon/Sacramento

Hi!

Well here I am on a Wednesday night in Dixon. I live here Monday night to Thursday night, allowing me to at least be on my own for extremely cheap, work, and go home to help out my parents. Work is extremely tiring, but there's satisfaction in designing Hospital campus layouts.

I am living in a 1 story household which my friend's parents use as a gigantic shed. There are so many random items in this house that it would be overly furnished even as a typical family house. This makes it a very nice place to live... if it wasn't in the middle of nowhere. I have a bat next to my bed, just in case.

But living by myself allows me to get away from the problems I deal with in my family. While I do want to help out, I'm almost 24 and I still have responsibilities to my parents that can take up my weekends. Eat, Sleep, Gym, Work. The life of a mid-twenties male. At least I have some paintings and artwork, not just supermodels! Never been a big fan of that, nor of lesbians. They are cool in my book, but not really attracted to someone who has made a choice to be attracted to the opposite sex. There's a good Family Guy scene where Peter and his friends enter into a new bar and realize that it is a Lesbian bar. The reactions quickly tell you the thought process that seems fitting: Excitement and interest, then realization of uselessness, then sadness and melancholy.

I'll try and get back into blogging more and hanging out with friends!

I'm On A Boat! Listen to funny music at work, like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQlIhraqL7o&feature=channel_video_title

Japan, disaster relief

So I'm sure everyone has heard about what has happened to the Japanese people and this is a disaster that could have happened anywhere.

Earthquakes, while typically occurring on fault lines, can happen anywhere on the planet. They are based on tectonic plate motion releasing pressure from the mantle's constant heat generation. They can happen anywhere because the mantle and the plates are constantly changing. Without warning other areas can be hit by massive earthquakes.

Areas such as Japan and California are on fault lines where earthquakes happen frequently and so buildings and roads are designed these days to minimize damage from earthquakes. These "building codes" saved thousands of lives when the earthquake hit to allow people to evacuate.

Yet even as a Civil Engineer, I have no real idea how to design correctly for a tsunami. While I could think of ways to make a building safe to a massive wave (F=ma) against the side of the building, there is no way I could think of making it for a boat or a train being thrown at it, or keeping the people inside alive from water...

I am rambling a little bit, though truly I feel guilty. I went to Vegas the weekend after the earthquake and tsunami hit. It was supposed to be for a birthday, but really my friend just wanted to go on a vacation. While I was there I tried to pay attention to the continuing problems in Japan as I felt I didn't deserve my vacation, nor in reality have I. I haven't been working as hard as I should be with my good life and health should be going so much more with my life...

So now I am going to study more and donate whatever I can!

Here is a link to some sites you can donate to, I am also going to really get on giving money to Engineers Without Borders.



More posts soon!

Fancy

You Fancy Huh?

I forgot last week to Blog because I was so busy visiting my gf in San Diego and moving into my new place in Dixon, CA (5 mins from Davis). I will make it up this week.

Well, after being laid off for 3 days, I have a job situation that works out as I can still take care of my parents and work hard.

My Engineering firm, BeKaFf (spelled it like that because HR divisions google their company's name and see what has changed about it) has offices scattered throughout Norcal and 1 in Orange County. I am now based in the Sacramento Office, here


View Larger Map

We are really close to the Capitol. The first time I have ever driven to the Capitol, and I admit that I was a little awestruck seeing the Capitol Building right in front of me. It is definitely because I have become much more interested in the news and government because of listening to NPR. Even at work I download their podcasts and listen to them instead of music. It is an excellent way of learning and keeping up on current events.
More about Sacramento later! I will be working in Sacramento and living in Dixon Tuesday to Thursday. Drive up Monday, Drive down Thursday.

On Mondays and Fridays, I get to work from the San Jose Office here:

View Larger Map

I will be putting an enormous amount of miles on my car, but it is actually less then when I was working at Walnut Creek every day. Trust me, I am driving less.

Right now I am renting a room at my friend's parents extra house in Dixon. It is a 1 story and he is there for classes in Davis Tuesday through Thursday. I rarely see him because hes out with friends or working.

I'll talk about the place more in another blog post, but the largest problem has been a poor wireless internet connection because I'm about 50 ft away from the old router and it has to past through multiple rooms to get to me. Just a few years ago it would not have been a big problem but now so much of what I do is ridiculously better with it.

I should become used to not relying on the internet to constantly entertain me, like this!

Sporting Events

So I watched the SuperBowl this Sunday at a friends place which turned out to be a small gettogether. At about halftime my friend's wife was passed out on the floor, sleeping soundly after a few drinks.

It wasn't that thrilling of a game as the first half was dominated by the Steelers poor play. Though the second half was much more thrilling and high caliber, especially for a fan that doesn't care really about either team.

What I have found odd though is that to truly enjoy watching some type of sport, you have to have been taught it at a young age and possibly have played in it. Though I am interested in Tennis (going to watch the SAP first round with some friends today), I feel like that interest has stemmed from a small of amount of experience playing it and the people around me enjoying it.

It is my goal that in the next year I go to a:

Sharks home game
SJSU basketball/football game
Battle of the Bay game
Warriors home game

For each one I will make a poster from Kinko's (its so cheap!) and try to enjoy the atmosphere. Most of those event I haven't been to in years or ever!

Something into Something

Hey hey,

Well I have been trying to keep up with my new year's resolutions!

I have been writing down my errands for the weekend.

I have been blogging consistently, and using twitter a bit.

Hanging out with friends or going out 3 times a week is pretty hard to do now because of the diversity in people's schedules at this time of our lives. Mid-20s seems to be a very chaotic time, especially because of how volatile the US economy is right now.

I am a clear example. My Walnut Creek office is unsure whether or not they will have work for the rest of the year, as well other workers in the office do not have enough to keep them employed. We work on a "job charge" system, where you always must be charging work time to the job so that project managers can bill accordingly. It's a good system of keeping companies efficient.

I will be taking a part time, possibly full time job in Sacramento while my parents are still sick and need help. It is with the same company and I believe they really want me to stay in the system and loyal.

Volatile situation, as they have to take a risk of losing me to another company because they can't even offer a potentially valuable long term employee a job.

Anyway, I was thinking in the shower today (I do my best thinking then) and I thought about the old expression, "his shit stinks just like yours does", meaning that no matter how perceivably better a person is then you, both of you are still human and equals. Yet I began to wonder if there should be more to that expression, like "its what you choose to put in you, that's what counts."

All about choice, I think.

Anyway, I am rambling, and my babe is complaining that she might have cancer.... she's definitely does not...

New years resolution!

Valentines Planning!

So... I just realized its the end of January....

Holy cow did that month go by quickly. So much seemed to be jam packed into the last 3 weeks....

The ironic part of this is that now that all the holiday spirit and cheer has come and gone, we have to begin looking forward to times that aren't as world consuming or social. I really want to go to Hawaii some time this year.

My friend has a free flight with southwest, he has suggested going to vegas, miami, new york.

But there has to be little events to look forward too as well. I am always overjoyed to see my girlfriend and spend time with her especially since it is a long distance relationship right now (rawr).

After going through the last few events in my family life with financial problems and health problems I realized that events to look forward to don't have to be ones that you can tell everyone about like a marathon or a wild trip to vegas, but little things that make lives better. I have never taken my parents out to eat, and we are going for sushi tomorrow. Hopefully the place will not be packed because of my dads wheelchair.

And if they can't, then I'll be sure to get take out and sit down with them.

Maybe I'll have a Guiness with my dad, Brillant!

Martin Luther King Day!

Well, I started his blog post that day, but I had to sleep for work! Work is excruciatingly boring when you don't have much to do, and it has been like that for the past couple days.

Happy "Everyone should remember how bad and racist the world used to be and be thankful that you dont live in that world" day!

If you stop and think about the state of the US today and what it was back then, even with the spiraling debt, political unrest, and rising prices, the American people have pulled through so much worse in the past. Maybe I should get a Martin Luther King poster, he was my favorite philosophical activist of the 20th century for his beliefs (albeit idealistic) in love and good always prevailing because it is the highest form of human emotion and action.

If anyone reads the news anymore (igoogle.com!), there have been revolts and uprisings in Tunisia because the people are disgruntled at job problems 100x worse then the US and a corrupt government. There have been public suicide burnings and riots. The President had to flee the country for safety to Saudi Arabia. This whole story is symbolic of the interesting power groups of organized people can have. When the Peasants aren't working there's no food for the Nobles.

My gf came up for the weekend to celebrate her birthday and it was a semi-crazy party! I say semi because she did not overdrink to the point of throwing up or blacking out, much to my happiness. In a way its a last hurrah of the holiday season for me, because I do not have MLK day off like some people. If you look at this article that she gave me, it spells out a funny scenario about why January 17th is the saddest day of the year.

Here we goooooo!

Til next week!

New Beginnings?

Well I started off the year sick, with a fire at our apartment complex, and not getting a lot of sleep sadly.

Every company and website is trying to push "reinvent yourself!" and I wonder how many people these things actually work one. The other day I saw a commercial for Cheerios saying "wouldn't it be great starting off the year eating right, for you and your family's sake?" Geez that's harsh. I mean I like cheerios but still, it makes it sound like I am going to hurt them if i don't reinvent myself with cheerios.

Though I am a big advocate of new years resolutions. They are fun, and sometimes work. My most successful one had been not to lose a nailclipper for an entire year.

Lofty goals this year for me though, but I want this year to be a year of.... being active. Going out, studying away from home, being athletic, traveling, and trying new things.

I really want to go rock climbing, and kayaking, and rafting and go to hawaii, and .... yeah maybe do one of the top 10 manly life experiences:

http://www.askmen.com/top_10/travel/top-10-manly-life-experiences.html

and be more like the dos equis guy!

New years again!

Oh boy, looks like I will only post on this every new year, say that its a new years resolution to say that I will post more, and then fade out like those people with gym memberships.

But NOT THIS TIME....

Anyway, I have 2 new years resolutions:

One is to push errands to the weekend so I can get them out of the way at once and save the weekdays for relaxing/working out/sleeping/studying. I'll make lists of things I need to do over the week.

Another is to hang out with GOOD friends at least 3 times a week. I don't want to become one of those people that forgets about having friends and people that he found unique or special.

All of these random ones are flooding into my mind now but I need to cut it there! Sometimes my posts get too long and I ramble so there will be no more of that even though I believe I give good information and I want to put my thoughts down somewhere to be saved and so that others can.... ok rambling.

Anyway, More blogging!

Check out this cool picture of this guy!

From here!
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132482428/into-the-tunnels-exploring-the-underside-of-nyc

First Day of Work!

Hey Everyone,

I had my first day of work today! it was a 8 to 5 day and had work almost the entire time. I wish i actually had more time to get prepared and situated, but that is life.

I am going to denote the company name with periods inside of it. Last time I blogged about a company they found it by searching their name and I prefer to keep my blog away from my work life so I do not need to be second-guessing what I say.

It is for a company called BK.F, that works in land development and building construction. They do the Planning->Design and then works with contractors to finalize the project. Its a medium size firm and I really like the "push as hard as you can" atmosphere with a lot of banter back and forth. The work I have been given deals with designing hospitals, librarys, streets, and utilities, which is what I want to be working in right now.

So many supplies! I could take all of them and find a use for each one!

Many of my coworkers are very athletic. At least 2 run Marathons and some of the others go cycling classes (Run Fat Boy Run haha).

The best thing though was getting a tote bag with free stuff in it! I got:
-BKF Frisbee (had one, gave it away, and now i have another)
-BKF Mug
-Business Cards (I'll get new ones when I become a E1!)
-Measuring Tape (good to have)
-mini flashlight (It's not great...)
-Pocketknife
-keychain.... thrown away...
-Information packet!

I brought my gf's valentine's gift with me to work for decoration, but I am looking for more of them as I need to seem like I am there for the long haul. Sadly posters have to be small because the walls are only 3 ft tall. I was thinking about more things to put all over the cubicle I reside in.

I need:
Something from SJSU
Picture Frames of my favorites (have 2 frames ready!)
A Collage (I'll make it from my pictures one day!)
Something from Simpsons
Something from Legos
A funny joke or 2

That's all for today. I am actually going to be trying to not go out on Sunday/Monday/either Wednesdays or Thursdays because I need to workout at home and if I stay later then I can leave earlier on Fridays!

Signing off, have a good day!

Dreams and Lessons

I was listening to my Ingrid Michaelson songs that I have on my flashdrive at work today and "I'll See You In My Dreams" came one. It is an incredibly powerful song . Here's the lines:

Of a happiness that used to be
Soon my eyes will close (soon my eyes will close)
Soon I'll find repose
And in dreams, you're always near to me

While I am definitely not in a position where the love of my life is leaving me as Evelyn and I are staying together while she is going to SDSU (Hurray for her! Sad for me!) and I am starting up full time work next Tuesday after helping her move in, this song reminded me of a video and book that I wanted to blog about.

The Last Lecture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

A while back I watched the youtube video of a Professor's last lecture at his college because he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The youtube video was his actual last lecture infront of a packed lecture hall filled with his friends, students and family. Everyone that he personally touched the life of. The book was about him writing that lecture and the line that rang true throughout both was:

"What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"

While there were multiple beautiful life lessons he tried to pass on, a major one and possibly the one Randy Pausch lived by was to follow your childhood dreams. It was a goal in his life that transitioned and changed just as he changed from a child to an adult, but never lost its innocence or grandeur.

"The Best of the Gold is at the Bottom of the Barrel"

I loved his lecture and his book, and both nearly drove me to tears as this man who was dying from cancer tried to give everything to he still had to give in the few months he had to live after the fatal prognosis. He continually talked about wanting his newly born children to know who he was.

People change the world in so many different ways. I hope everyone picks their path in life for the way that it affects others. I suggest everyone read that book and watch the lecture!

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251

I miss my legos and my constructs… gotta dig them up!

I just got a job with BKF Engineers! Its a rather large company in the bay area and I would like to start my career with them. This is a big step and opportunity for me. I start on august 17th and will tell you all about it later. For now here's a blog i wrote while at work and waiting for a DVD to burn (20 mins...).

What would I put on my Cubicle/Office Walls?

After seeing this interesting site online:
http://www.maxim.com/humor/stupid-fun/93917/21-awesome-office-cube-pranks-pics.html

I thought about what I would do to make my own workplace a little more fun. I'll write another post about the things I will have in my office/cubicle later.

#1: Some pictures of my family, friends, and gf. You gotta have a few of those around to show off that you have a life outside of work… you just haven't visited it in a while. Maybe 1 or 2 pictures of events in my life like graduation to round it out. I care about others, but also myself, you know.

#2: A small Whiteboard. I would have said a blackboard but no one would have wanted to use it because of the chalk (even if it was no dust chalk). It would be there to write down important notes or events, but also silly quotes like "It's A Trap!"- Admiral Ackbar or drawings of the Simpsons.


#3: Something from SJSU, maybe a poster or something I made to remember where I have come from with my Honors Society.

#4: a Possimpible poster that I will make when I have time. This word is from Barney Stintson and I think its awesome! Did you know that Kinkos will make you rather large posters for just a dollar or 2? So I"ll make my own, muahahaha. A Shirt done for the word!

#5: A "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibiity" Poster of Comicbook Spiderman. Awesomeness

#6: A Calendar. Of what…. I don’t know yet. I'll go to a calendar store and whatever catches my eye which might be a simpsons question calendar.

#7: I'm open to suggestions!

Wacky Weekend

So I am going to blog about quite an extreme weekend full of day and night adventure:

Friday, July 23rd: The day started off relatively normal, and would be the most chill day out of the next 3. I spent most of the day cleaning up the house, going to Costco to restock on supplies and get food to cook for my parents while I would be too tired/busy in the next few days. There were 3 birthdays this weekend! Blast you parents! This is what happens when you conceive a child around the same times. July births are from December (Christmas) conception, as November ones are from February (Valentines) conception. Curse you parents.

Alan asked if I wanted to come over to his place for some wine and board games around 1 pm with a few friends. I thought it would be a good way to stay chill on the drinking and have fun. Then around 8pm I’m asked by Louis to go out for drinks and laser tag.

Whenever these things happen between my friends or social events, I pick the one that came first as I already told that group YES. While in certain special situations I’ll change that policy, it works for the most part pretty well. I mean, don’t people plan important events early?

My gf and I go to Alan’s get together and find out that it is a couples night! Ahhh! These can either be fine or turn out horrible. One of the dates became too drunk, hit her knee,spilled wine on a new seat and fell asleep on her new love interest’s bed (all by accident, I’m sure…). The rest of us spent the night playing Trivial Pursuit, drinking, and watching a little TV. I got to catch up with 2 friends, hurray! Got to sleep a little before the next morning.

Saturday, July 24th: Garlic Festival in the morning! We were able to get there before traffic began to build up on 101. I felt bad not inviting more people to go, but I was not the one that planned it out in the first place… but was stuck with that job the NIGHT BEFORE. Anyway, the Shrimp Scampi and crab garlic fries were awesome, but the free garlic ice cream took the show on that hot day. While I understand why people would complain about the price, I don’t think it’s justified as parking is free and most of the appeal is seeing all the sites at a festival. Music, free food, interesting boutiques, and beer made it worthwhile.

Go with people that will make the most out of a situation and won’t complain when out of their comfort zone or when things aren’t “perfect”. I got 3 free garlic ice creams!

After sleeping and burping garlic most of the day, I got ready for Alan’s birthday party at Saddle Rack and then Christine’s Birthday that night. Saddle Rack had a high cover, but was such a cute place to hang out in a very western atmosphere. There was a mechanical bull, and a live band for square dancing!

Christine’s party was a bit more normal as it was at Pearl, a club in downtown SJ. It was nice to see her friends that I know and chat for a little bit, but the point of the night was drinking and dancing later, both of which I could not do. My friend Louis went there for his birthday too and just wanted to hang out. I honestly felt like that night was pulled away from Christine because of so many people had other issues there. Poor Christine, I’ll get her a drink the next time I see her.

This night truly symbolizes a difference in my friend groups. Saddle Rack vs. Pearl… I think I am getting old… but the mid 20’s is supposed to be when men shine!

Insert melodramatic voice

Sunday, July 25th: I awoke from a restless slumber, aggravated by only enjoying 3 hours of sleep. Quickly annoyance evaporated as I remembered the reason, the need, and the desire for me to be awake this early. The San Francisco Half Marathon would start shortly. I used what little time I had to consume as much food as possible and check to see if everything was in order as I had been training for the last 6 weeks for this day.

There were no markers, no indications, and no help on how far I had gone or had to go as I reached the end of the Golden Gate Bridge and began to run across it again. The winds cut to the bone as a mix of mist and sweat covered my body. There was finally a 9 mile marker, symbolizing an end to this journey, but that the path there would be long. Unexpectedly after that sign the path began to slope upwards, adding gravity to the obstacles I had to overcome.

As I rounded the corner to the Finish, I realized too late how close it was and how much more I could give. I saw a timer stating “3:02” as the official time and my heart sake. Completing a half marathon requires one to run all 13.1 miles in 3 hours! I crossed the line crushed and hoping for an answer. It was quickly given to me as that time represented the first wave and in my weary state I had not came to this conclusion. Sadly my time was over what I wanted by 10 minutes, and I vowed to come back and show this trail everything I had.

What I learned: Dress for the race conditions, not what you are most comfortable in running! Get a watch or better yet, a mobile GPS! Get more sleep before a half marathon! Walk uphills if tired!

SF marathon ill get under 2 hours next time!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing with my awesome gf and I can say it was a great day all and all.

Let’s do it again!

Going to start posting more often as I have so many subjects to write on right now.

Can't Hold a G Down

Hey everyone. Tomorrow is the day new Futurama episodes start coming out. I have just downloaded Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to get ready for Toy Story 3! What a great series of movies, but I hope they do not go past the 3rd one. The U.S. just got into the round of 16 at the World Cup and so American will continue to care about soccer. I like playing soccer, but watching outside of a drunken stupor or without a massive group of fans with me isn’t really appealing. The game is just not fast paced enough to maintain my interest.
There will be so many sports I shove my kids into, but I hope they never grow up emulating certain “icons of sports” that have lived sub-par lives off or on the court. Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, and… (ok I didn’t have a baseball icon when I was a kid) were people that you could look up to beyond their natural talent and determination to make money. Here’s a list of players I don’t think deserve to be idolized at all even if they are the greatest of all time:
Tiger Woods: Cheats on his wife consistently
Kobe Bryant: Cheated on his wife
Alex Rodriguez- Steroids
Mark Macguire- Steroids
Reggie Bush- Accepting money from USC and dooming them

Meaning of G
Another problem with our new age sports stars as role models is that they have problems with many of the more noble characteristics we used to take for granted in society. Players in all sports refuse to play if not being paid ridiculous amounts of money or being given enough play time (Terell Owens). They don’t care about the team winning or losing, just their own benefit. There is no loyalty, only greed. A player that exemplifies this problem with our era of sports is….

LeBron James!
(quoted from http://www.askmen.com/sports/fanatic_250/293_lebron-james-not-man-enough-to-see-it-through.html) read it if you care

Lebron James is not G because he doesn’t have the needed qualities to symbolize the best in athletes. None of the other people on this list are in their commercials as they do not either. Loyalty to the game you are meant to love, your family you are meant to love, and your team that you are meant to love, show which players have”G”. James giving up in Game 6 because the Boston Celtics were beating them and then not saying whether or not he will stay with Cleveland to get his coach fired. That’s pathetic.

If bored at work, why don't you take a look at these:

Scenery