J E E - R A H L

How I almost got my ass kicked

As some of you may know, I recently took a little trip to Vegas. So while I'm there I find myself at the BlackJack tables at about 3am. Here's the story about how I manage to almost get my ass kicked.

So I'm sitting at this BlackJack table and things are going pretty good. I was severely down at one point and I've managed to claw some of my money back. We're all drunk and were having a pretty good time at this particular table. To set the scene, the players at the table are as follows. In the first position, just to the right of me, there's this girl, I even remember her name, Angie. She's a decent looking girl, curly, dirty blonde hair, black dress, not skinny but definitely not overweight. I'm sitting next in the second position. My buddy Kyle from Chicago is sitting in the third spot. Now, to those of you who don't know Kyle, Kyle is a very large dude. Just imagine a large samoan dude, he even looks like one, although he's Mexican. Next is a random guy, medium build, pretty young, late 20's maybe early 30's. After him is a nother guy, a bit younger, pretty tall, maybe early to mid 20's. There's an older lady at the last spot at the table, she's smoking and she knows the young guy sitting next to her, they are here together. heh. So anyway, we're all playing and we're all drunk. Everyone's having a good time.

We play a couple hands and at some point, the guy sitting next to my buddy Kyle, gets up and moves all the way over and sits next to this girl Angie. Keep in mind that she's sitting in the first position so there's no extra spot there for him to play. Now, I personally didn't find this so odd because Angie was only playing a couple hands and then sitting out a lot. So this guy goes over there and plays the hands that Angie dosen't play. Predictably, he also uses the opportunity to hit on her. He puts his arm around her, keeps asking for drinks and is generally all over this girl. At one point, she looks up at me with this face "please help me!". Try as I might, this guy is all over her. So whatever, I keep playing, and everyone at the table is having fun...... well, everyone except Angie. After a while she gets fed up with it all and decides to leave.

So now this guy is sitting there, looking all sad. He continues to play for about 20 more minutes and then decides he's done as well. After he leaves, my curiosity gets the better of me so I start asking the table about the two. I ask "so were they together or what?". The lady at the far end of the table, who's been pretty quiet but seems to laugh at my jokes pipes up and proceeds to tell me that not only are they not together, that the guy is actually married and his wife was at the table earlier! Of course this leads me to my follow-up question: "was his wife ugly??". The woman tells me that the guys wife was really hot, and not only that but the dealer confirms. (Now, keep in mind, that I'm drunk, it's about 5am in a casino, and I'm being LOUD and generally obnoxious.) So I hear the woman's reply and I go "WELL IN THAT CASE I'LL KEEP HIS WIFE BUSY WHILE HE HITS ON ANGIE". Yeah, I basically yell it. So as this is coming out of my mouth, I look at the dealer and the other players and they have this terrified look on thier faces. I think the dealer was actually shaking his head a little trying to say no. I realize what's going on and quiet down instantly and say "uhhhh..... he's right behind me isn't he?". The lady at the table cracks a huge grin and goes "yup". I BLATANTLY look over my shoulder and sure enough, there he is, looking down at his cell phone. There is NO WAY he didn't hear what I said. HAHA, luckily, he decides just to walk away, didn't even say a word to me. As soon as he was gone the whole table, including the dealer, almost died laughing.

Friends

This past weekend, my little sister visited me in Phoenix. When I was a little kid, my dad used to tell me a lot of deep things that I never quite understood at the time. One day, he described how he had met a good friend of his, and he was able to "open his heart and tell him his troubles". My dad's always been a pretty easygoing guy, never seemed to have many "troubles". This weekend has really opened my mind as to what he was talking about. For the most part, my life is good. I know I'm a pretty lucky person. That dosen't mean I don't have worries. This weekend my little sister came to town and for the first time in a LONG time, I was able to truly open my heart and share my troubles. I guess that's what the old man meant......

Allergies

Ok, somehow, I've developed allergies. To what, I have no idea. Apparently there are a lot of plants out here in Phoenix that were brought here from other places and only grow because we water them. Anyway, for the past 2 months or so, I've been in a constant state of suffering. My nose is plugged and my eyes feel like they're all puffy. It's exactly like when you're getting sick, but not fully sick yet. Anyway, so a couple weeks ago I tried Zyrtec. Worked ok but it made me tired. Wasn't thrilled about it. So I went on suffering for a while. Last Sunday I was at the drug store and decided to pickup some Claritin-D. Went up to the pharmacy asked for it and then I asked "This won't make me drowsy will it?" There was a cute pharmacist behind the counter who kind of chuckled and said "No." Cool I thought. I get home, pop a pill and head to sleep. Couldn't sleep. At all. Not even close. Turns out, Claritin-D causes sleeplessness (a nice way to say insomnia) in some people. I am one of those people. I would have just stopped taking it altogether but the thing is, all of my allergy symptoms were gone too. I've never breathed so well in my life. SO. Here's the plan. I pop a pill in the mornings at work. My thinking is that the brunt of the sleeplessness will happen during the day, exactly when I want it. Then at night, I take a Benadryl.

DOOOOOD. I've never felt or slept this well in my life!!!!!

New Toy

No I haven't bought anything yet. I don't know exactly what I want. So, this all started when my work Blackberry started acting up so they bought me a new one. The new one is pretty nice and so I started looking around at new toys. So, there are 3 main contenders. In no particular order, there they are, any my thoughts on each.

1. Blackberry Curve 8320 - I've used Blackberries at several different workplaces and I've always liked them. The thing is, I don't get enough e-mails to really justify having one for personal use. The new generation of Blackberries though, have all kinds of fun features that the old ones didn't have. The things that I don't like are that I'd have to pay more to get the Blackberry plan from T-Mobile, and I'm not so sure I want to carry around 2 Blackberries.

2. iPod Touch - So, apart from having all the iPod features of playing music and videos, the new iPod touch can also tap into WiFi and browse the internet. Another plus for the iPod touch is that I can plug it into my car and use the integrated iPod features to listen to the music. There's also the coolness factor. The bad is that I'd have to start using iTunes. I HATE iTunes. Keyboard also sucks.

3. Sony mylo 2 - Not many people know this little thing even exists. It's actually got a really nice screen and probably has the best web browsing ability of the three devices. It dosen't have a phone integrated but you can make calls using Skype, assuming you have WiFi connectivity. It can check e-mail and does Instant Messaging. The downside is that it has to use WiFi for internet connectivity and it dosen't have nearly the same amount of memory as the iTouch.

So there you have it. My dream device would be the Blackberry 8320 if it wasn't a Blackberry, and it had GPS built in. Must haves are a full keyboard, built in WiFi and at least 1GB of memory, or the possiblity of having at least 1GB of memory via memory cards.

Overwhelmed

Any of you ever get overwhelmed by life? I guess it's just a phase I'm going through. I've been going on a lot of business trips and there are a lot of significant events that are comming up that I promised I'd make. Some people get all excited about this stuff and the opportunity to go places. I guess I've always been one of those people that just wants to stay home and chill...

Damn Rain

So, I drove Sofia out to LA today. Puzzling thing was, on the way I was getting pretty bad gas mileage. Apparently, rain kills gas mileage. Arg. We both made it safely though.

Genuine

gen·u·ine [jen-yoo-in]
–adjective
1. possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real: genuine sympathy; a genuine antique.
2. properly so called: a genuine case of smallpox.
3. free from pretense, affectation, or hypocrisy; sincere: a genuine person.
4. descended from the original stock; pure in breed: a genuine Celtic people.

In other words, the REAL DEAL. Is anything really genuine anymore? Seems like everyone has a gimmik these days. Every once in a while however, you run into something genuine, something real. I tend to gravitate towards these things. More importantly, I strive everyday to be a genuine person. Not only to others, but to myself. Noone is ever perfect, and noone can ever be. But at least we should try to be. I really don't know where this entry came from.

Prius

I hate Priuses. They're ugly, slow, heavy, AND, tree huggers love them. Hey, news flash people, carbon dioxiode emissions isn't the cause of global warming. Go google it.

So today I'm getting on the highway and there's a Prius in front of me on the on-ramp. I'm behind it and I can see the exhaust comming out of the tailpipe indicating the guy is flooring the car. I'm watching this from behind closing in on the POS with an engine that's larger than twice the size. The real fun was when it was time to merge. I dropped a couple gears and slug right around the guy. Prius 0, MB 1.

The real reason why these cars suck is that yeah, they're great now, but what happens in a couple years when all of those batteries start to go bad. Has anyone considered the amount of extremely toxic chemicals and metals that are used to produce these batteries? No. I'm not saying we should continue to use fossil fuels like we currently do forever, but I'm not so sure hybrid technology is the answer. Did I mention I hate Priuses?

PS - Merry Christmas!

insomnia

Look at what I stayed up all night doing

Gravy

So, I'm in the cafeteria getting lunch today. They were serving country fried steak with mashed potatos and corn. DAMN!! That's my kind of lunch. So the guy puts my plate together. One country fried steak, one scoop of mashed potatos and one scoop of corn. He loooks up at me and goes "do you want gravy on this".... to which I responded "what kind of question is THAT?? of course I want gravy on it!!!!!" hahahhahah

Fortune

Fortune of the day: "You are attracted to things with an exotic flavor"

Finally, a chinaman that understands me!

On a more serious note. I think I'm ready to jump back into the dating game again. We'll see. Which brings me to something I want to talk about.

Women are full of shit. Here's a prime example. How many times have you heard someone ask a chick "what do you look for in a guy?", and she responds with "I just want to meet someone that can make me laugh". BULLSHIT. Want proof?

Chris Rock and Wife:

Jay Leno's Wife:

Conan O'Brien and Wife:

NOW.... Lets compare with NFL Quarterbacks.

Tom Brady's Gisele Bundchen:

and that's only after he was done with Bridget Moynahan

Tony Romo has been rumored to be dating the following:
Jessica Simpson

Sophia Bush

Carrie Underwood

Peyton Manning's wife, Ashley:

You get my drift ladies??????????????

Bouncin

I, I, I, I, I want the knife........... Please..........

hahahahahahah

Smelly Cat

Smelly cat.. smelly cat... what are they feeding you???

Somehow, I managed to lose my voice. I think it all started a couple days ago when I found myself in a freezing pool. Don't ask. So today I looked up how to help treat a hoarse voice. Here's what I found.

If you smoke, quit
Avoid agents which dehydrate the body, such as alcohol and caffeine
Avoid secondhand smoke
Drink plenty of water
Humidify your home
Watch your diet - avoid spicy foods and alcohol
Try not to use your voice too long or too loudly
Seek professional voice training
Avoid speaking or singing when your voice is injured or hoarse (this is similar to not walking on a sprained ankle)

Um. You can probably imagine the kind of week/weekend's that have lead up to my lost voice and figure out that I'm not doing so good. Add to that I just polished off a Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich and chili with extra chili sauce and I'm pretty much destroying my voicebox.

Exodus

I had a chat with someone today. Sparked a thought. Now all of you know that i'm not a very religious person. I did however, grow up in the church and still remember many of the stories of the bible. Anyway, don't get too weirded out by this entry.

So I was thinking about my current situation. I can't help but compare it to some of the stories in the bible. Three in particular come to mind. The first is Noah and the Arc. We all know the story. Homey had to go to Home Depot and get some lumber and some nails. Rained for 40 days and 40 nights. A period of transition. Jonah and the whale. I'm not so convinced that the whale had any idea what he was doing. I mean, if you were a whale, would you really care if you in-advertently swallowed something??? Moses wandering through the DESERT for 40 years. Here we go with the number 40 again. The point is, sometimes, it's good to go through a bit of a painfull transition period. All three of these people were pretty comfortable doing what they did. All of a sudden, things changed and they had to make it through a somewhat lengthy unpleasant spell. The key is that they made it through, and the end result was positive. Noah saved the animals, Jonah repented, and Moses... well, he made it to the land of milk and honey, what more could you ask for?

Resolutions

Interim update..... I'm failing MISERABLY this year. I mean, I don't think I'm going to be able to say I got close to any of these...... MAYBE two of them, definitely not a majority like I usually do.

Crazy Dream

So this morning, I wake up at 4AM to do some eary morning work I need to get done at that time and also watch the F1 race. Sweet. Around 6, the race wasn't finished but it was pretty much done and I start to doze off. I'm laying on my couch and facing the front door to my place. Here's where it gets crazy.

In my dream, I'm sleeping, exactly as I'm sleeping in real life. I sorta sit up where I'm at, and someone is pouding on my front door. For some reason I'm kinda scared. So I keep watching. Then, the front door starts to open. Now i'm really freaked out. It keeps opening and closing. So I think, "if i yell at them, they'll leave". I muster all my strength and try to say "Hello" in the deepest, most menacing tone I can. Well, nothing comes out. I try again. Nothing. I'm gasping for air to try and yell, but I can't get anything out. The door keeps opening and closing. Just as I'm about to go insane, I wake up. Wow. WTF.

Friggin I

I've somehow developed a nervous tick in my eye. My right eyelid just starts spasming randomly on and off again. Damn it's annoying.

Do you remember as a kid, playing those games where there was a "good guy" side and a "bad guy" side? Cops and Robbers for example. I'm sure there are others but I can't think of them right now. Anyway, when I was a kid, I would always choose the side of right. I always wanted to be a good guy. I mean, who the hell would choose to be the bad guy? Aren't they supposed to lose anyway? I love it how things were so simple. Well, being in the corporate world and grown up has certainly blurred things. I still hate being the bad guy, unfortunately, I'm good at it.

Funny

friend: hot dogs feel like cardboard in your mouth
me: no they don't
friend: have you chewed on coardboard lately
me: no, why would I?
friend: then how would you know?

Weekendupdate

I don't want to go to work tomorrow........

weekendupdate

another weekend, another nickname........... "korean cowboy"

hahahahhahahhahahhahha

May Flowers

What can I say..... it's been a HUGE month.

Another year another birthday... Looking back, it seems I don't really write much on my birthday. Maybe it's because I don't really have much to look forward to. haha. Anyway. This year I actually spent a lot of time reflecting on my past, on who I was now, and where I wanted to go. Yeah, heavy stuff.

So a couple months ago I actually attended church out here in Phoenix. The message was ok, nothing special, I don't even remember it anymore. Afterwards however, I sat through bible study and the topic of discussion was a question. The question was "who are you?". In an instant the enormity of the question struck me. I mean, how do we define ourselves? Can we even define ourselves or is it best left to how others define you? I sit up at night thinking about this question and what it might mean. The interesting thing about me is that three times in my life now I've had the opportunity to ball up whatever answer I had to this question and start all over.

Now comes the hard part. Where do I want to go. I've always been an optimist when it comes to the future. I've always said I was "the luckiest man on earth" and firmly believe it. It's hard isn't it? I mean really, if you think about life, all the different outcomes, the possibilities. It can be something as simple and seemingly insignificant as wording something a certain way or randomly bumping into a stranger. Life altering events that are defined in microseconds. Someone said to me this weekend "it's not all about the money Eric". He probably didn't think twice about it before or after. Boy did it hit me like a baseball bat though.

Sorry if my thoughts are a bit fragmented but I'll definitely be writing more soon. I've had a couple of quiet months and I feel like something is brewing...

Good Day

.....and momma cooked breakfast with NO HOG!!!!!!!!!!

Today, was truly a good day. Started off with me dropping Sofia off to get her yearly checkup/oil change. In the Benz world, this is called "Service-B". Now, dealerships charge vastly different ammounts for this so I was kinda expecting the worst. Met with my normal service advisor, drop off the car, and take the loaner to work.

Got to work and although I was busy, it wasn't like I was overwhelmed today. Just a nice day. Here's where it starts to get good. Just after noon, my boss calls and send me an e-mail. Apparently, I've been bustin my arse and the higher ups noticed so they decided to give me a corporate pat on the back. You know, it does feel good to be rewarded once in a while.

So I get a call around 2:30PM to come pickup my car. YAY! I go to the dealership, meet up with my service advisor to go over my car. He gives her a clean bill of health. Now on to the best part of my day......

I go up to pay for service. The cashier desk at this particular dealership is staffed by a bunch of hotties. MUAHHAHAHAH. I usually flirt with the chicks but I had work to get back to so I was sitting there handing my credit card over. Then one of them asks me "hey, what kind of phone is that?" looking at my KRZR. So I hand it over and she's checking it out. The others come over and they all start looking and asking questions.. Just when they're about to lose interest I tell them to open the flip and look on the outside screen. BAM!!!! they see the outside LCD show the Mercedes star! HAHHA All three of them went "ooooooooooooooo"

Attention

Sofia's sutch an attention whore.......

So, a couple of days ago the brakes on Sofia warn me that they need replacing. It was kinda expected so no worries. I ordered some new pads and they came in last thursday. Was busy during the week so I figured I would take care of it on the weekend. I wake up saturday and that's the first thing on my agenda. Got it done early saturday moring. Now, when you get new brake pads, you should always "bed" them in. In order to do so, I've been driving around quite a bit this weekend. But that's not why Sofia is an attention whore.

Last night, I have to go into work for a bit so I decide to leave early and pick up a Jamba Juice on the way. I get my Jamba Juice and I'm heading to work. I'm sitting at a stop light and a Jeep Cherokee pulls into the left turn lane 2 lanes over. I think nothing of it. I'm sitting there, sippin my Jamba Juice and I look over. There are 3 people in the Jeep and they are STARRING at me. I quickly look back forward hoping the light will turn green. No luck. Now I'm thinking, maybe it was a fluke, maybe there was something in the road they were looking at. I quickly glance over again. As I look over, the guy riding shotgun starts to say something. I turn my music down and he goes "NICE RIDE" and gives me a thumbs up. HAHHAHAA. Couldn't help but bust a big grin.

Earlier today I'm driving to work again. Uh huh. Anyway. I'm actually driving at a lazy pace and I catch up to a pack of cars at a stop light. One of the cars in the pack is a bright blue IS300, dark dark window tint. So we start to go and I end up in the right lane, the IS is about a car behind me, in the left lane. The cars in the center lane are stacked so that the IS can see me, and if I turn my head back far enough I can see the IS. I usually take note of cars so I know they're there. Not only that, I thought I saw the outline of a chick's head in the passenger seat earlier, but coudn't see the driver, who's most likely some dude that'll throw a hissy if I checkout his chick. I look over anyway. HAH. It's not only a chick, but it's an ASIAN chick, and she looks cute! My eyes are straining against what little light is showing through the tint and dosen't want to look over at the driver, fearing that it's just wasting eye-time on the chick for some dude that probably want to beat my ass because his chick is checking out my car. I give in. I look over and the driver is ANOTHER ASIAN CHICK! Not only was there 2 asian chicks in the IS, again, they were both STARRING at Sofia. HAHAHHAHAHAH.

Weekendupdate

Had a very soothing, relaxing weekend. Just what the doctor ordered. Got lots of sleep and just relaxed at home. AAHHHHHHH

$80 for a tank of gas and a hand wash..... I think I spoil Sofia too much. I still haven't found a self-hand wash place around here that allows bucket washing. I used to go to a place back in Chicago early in the morning on saturdays and just sneak out before anyone was around. I need to find a place soon because I need to clay and wax before summer is in full swing.

So, a friend of mine called me twice randomly this past week. It's so easy to lose touch after college. She lives out in San Francisco now. It was really really good to hear from her, even if it was just smalltalk on her way home from wherever she was at. Maybe I'll start doing that too. Anyway, you know who you are and I hope you keep calling.

I need a new digital camera. My old one is on it's last leg. I'm not a big picture taker but it's always nice to have a camera around. My new phone takes 2MP pics but the overall quality isn't great, plus, no flash.

Ride

Check out my ride to the airport today:

Fortune

Fortune of the day: "You will never need to worry about a steady income"

DOH! Why couldn't I get this years ago?

Rain

it's raining!!!!!!!!!!!

Fortune

Fortune of the day:

"A new challenge is near"

Crawling

Linkin Park

Tical

As I walk in the shadow of death
Sixteen men on a dead man's chest

In Review

Wow.. another year just flew by. 2006 was DEFINITELY one to remember. Looking back, my resolutions from the begining of the year are definitely interesting. Looks like I hit 5 of 7 resolutions. Not bad considering I was pretty busy and my life changed in ways couldn't have imagined. I'll say this for sure, 2006 was a huge year for me in many respects.

Now... for 2007. I'm hoping 2007 will be a quiet year. I feel like so much has been going on that I need a break. I just need some time to establish a routine, go to work, maybe meet some new people, but I really don't want a lot of drastic changes in my life. Heh, I did enough of that last year. So anyway, here are my resolutions for the year.

- Volunteer - Yes, this was on my list last year and it was one of the things that I didn't get around to doing. I still feel strongly about this, and hopefully with my mini-goal of having a quiet year, I can find some time to do this.

- Take more time off - Wierd huh? Since I've started working in corporate america, I've probably taken less than 15 work days off for vacation. I'm not so sure my parents even know what I look like anymore. I don't intend to abuse it but I feel like I need to take some time off now and again.

- Be more ambitious - As if I wasn't ambitious enough right? Well, I guess with this new job I'm in the mood to push myself harder. I know I keep putting resolutions that seemingly conflict one another, but I think it can be done. Yeah I might take some more days off, but I can always work that much harder while I'm at work.

- Look for "The One" - As one of my resolutions for 2006, I said I would start considering the "M" word. Well, I considered it. To an extent this has already happened, but I think now I can see myself really getting involved in a serious relationship that could lead to "M". So we'll see - this one's a bit open ended but it's on my mind.

- Have more fun - I think I learded a lot about fun in Chicago. I had to crawl out of my comfort zone and oddly enough, I did well. For 2007 I want to continue that and look at life with positivity, optimism, and just have a lot of fun.

- Save Money - OK OK, this is another one from last year. For 2006, I think I did pretty well. I think 2007 could be even better and I've got a plan to set myself up pretty well. Overall I'm very positive on the outlook on this resolution.

That's 6. I think 6 is plenty for this year. We'll see. One less resolution, but I really want to be successfull at all of them this year. I think I've set some high goals. Goals are good and hopefully I can push myself again. Seems like lately I've been having some big years. Either way, I think 2007 will be interesting, there are a lot of things that were put in motion in 2006 and 2007 should see how things turn out....

Bad Day

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day......

So. I had a pretty crummy day. I come out to Sofia during lunch. Fire her up and just as I get out of the parking garage I hear a "thump thump thump". DAMMIT. I get out and sure enough, my rear passenger tire is flat. Not only is it flat, apparently, I drove on it for a while without knowing and the sidewall was damaged. So. I get the donut put on and I drive over to a tire shop. Noone would touch it because the tire was damaged so badly and it was a "liability" for them to let me put it back on. So now I'm freaking out. I've got plans to go to Vegas this weekend and this really really puts a crimp in those plans. Here comes the solution........

19" TSW Bremmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AKA-SL65 AMG replicas. 2" lip in the back dogggg!!! Staggered setup with 235's up front and 265's in the back! I'm feeling a lot better.....

EUROTeck Motorsports is getting them out to me on Friday so I can make my trip to Vegas over the weekend. What a PIMP.

Epiphany

I've lived my life being independant. As an only child, for most of the time I really haven't had a choice. Two years ago I put that independance to the test. I travelled to a city where I didn't know anyone and started a new job. Amazingly, I adapted, took to the new city and made it my own. Chicago, being the city it was, showed me nothing but love. Back then, I was able to let go of Atlanta. I had a lot of ties to that city but somehow I was able to look to the future without looking back too many times.

Two years later I find myself playing russian roulette with my life again. Another new city and another new job. Unfortunately for me, this time the transition was smoother, less harsh. Like a little kid walking down a scary hallway, I keep looking back. I see now that I've been too busy looking back that I'm not looking forward at the path in front of me. Maybe it's the holiday. I remember in 2004 I spent Christmas at a casino as an esacape.

The last couple weeks I've been humbled. It almost feels like my time in Chicago was so short that I feel like I didn't give it enough time. I've REALLY REALLY been considering moving back.

No more. It's not to say I won't move back to Chicago, or even move back very soon. The line in the sand has been drawn however. If I do move back, it will be to move forward in one way or another. The past isn't something to be scared of, or forgotten, but it should also not be dwelled on.

It's that time again. Time to grow. Time to be uncomfortable. I need to look forward to what the future has in store for me, whatever it might be. So as I walk in my journey of life, I'm turning my head around, looking into the darkness, and putting one foot in front of the other.......alone.

Edit: - Merry Christmas everyone

Cuz

Was chatting with my cousin last night and she's thinking about comming out to visit me. SWEEET! I hope she makes it out, I haven't seen her in a while and family's always been important to me.

I think today's gonna be a good day.... It's friday, it's payday, and we're having the office secret santa......

Life

I don't know why but I get up damn early every morning now. Har Har, yes, I'm getting old. Anyway, so, this morning, I had a moment of clarity.

I was thinking back on how life is similar to a scene in the movie "The Three Amigos". I hope all of you out there have seen the movie. I'm not a big Martin Short fan but the movie is damn funny. Anyway, on to the scene.

In the scene, the Three Amigo's are riding thier horses through a desert. They look at the beating sun and decide to stop for a drink of water. The first guy gets out his cantine, opens the lid and tries to drink from it. All that comes out is a buch of sand and he gets covered in it. The next guy does the same thing, opens his cantine, tuns it up. This time, like 5 drops of water come out, and he barely has enough to wet his lips. Both guys look defeated as they look over to the last Amigo. The last Amigo opens his cantine, hesitates, then turns it up. This time water comes flowing out, covering his face, hair - it's like a water hose. He drinks as much as he wants and if I remember correctly, he even gives some to his horse. After he's done, he throws the cantine on the ground, and it's still leaking water. The other two guys watch and nearly pass out.

Just something to think about. The difference with life is, you could be the first Amigo in one respect, and the third Amigo in another respect.

Houston

Houston... We have a problem.....

Hahhaa. Why do I always have the oddest airport experiences?

So, I get to Phoenix Sky-Harbor Airport and I've got plenty of time to burn. I'm walking around checking out the shops and randomly, a buddy of mine from Atlanta calls. He needs help with his computer. As I'm talking to him, I look up at one of the many monitors they have and see across the bottom "Mr. Chun, please go to the America West ticket counter to claim lost property". I my mind I replay the crucial moments as I check in. I put my drivers license away, I didn't take out my credit cards and I have my boarding pass. WHAT could I have lost that has my name on it? So, I get off of the phone with my buddy and head over to the ticket counter. They're clueless. One woman wasn't even helpfull. They finally directed me to these kiosks that have a phone where you call in to see what the hell they want you to do. So I call. This guy picks up and tells me to go back to the ticket counter. Blah blah blah, long story short, I spend the next hour talking to the most unhelpfull people I've ever met. I swear I didn't lose anything. And if I did, it wasn't anything important. Anyway, I finally gave up and just boarded my plane. I'm thinking there was another "Mr. Chun" out there. What are the chances?

The plane. It's always the same thing. I usually wait and board towards the end when the line isn't as long. That way all the ametures have rushed in and gotten seated and shoved thier oversize bags into the overhead bins. I board. I have an isle seat and the window seat is open. Heh. You ALL know what this means. This means that the next 15 minutes is a private little game show. You inspect every person walking down the isle. I sit there hoping it's some cute chick that I might be able to have some kind of conversation with. Riiiiiiiiight. All I see is person after person of tall wierd looking dudes. They all pass - WHEW, there might be hope yet. Then there he was. Scruffy hispanic dude. Eyes COMPLETELY bloodshot. I mean, this dude could make a bloodhound jealous. He didn't smell like alcohol though. It gets better. He had this jacket on, well, if you could call it that. It was more like he bought a down comforter and decided to wrap his upper body with it. And he is sitting next to me..... Wonderfull.

Before we take off, two very odd, but funny things happen. The first is, there's this guy that decides to walk to the front of the plane. I don't know exactly why because I don't think this plane had any bathrooms up near the front. But that's not the funny part. The funny part is, this dude had something hot pink in his back pocket, and a little piece of it was hanging out. Now, there's no way to know for sure what it was, but if you ask me, it looked a lot like women's underwear. I noticed it as he walked by and started laughing to myself. I wonder if anyone else saw it too. The second funny thing is, about two rows up, someone gets a call before we take off. The dude's ringtone, I SWEAR, was M.C. Hammer's "Can't touch this". I don't know why I found that so funny.

Neglect

Ok ok, so I've been neglecting my blog lately. I always seem to go through phases when I like to write and when I don't.

Anyway, work is going pretty well. I'm already getting in to the swing of things and the people that sit around me are pretty nice too.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is already here. It kind of snuck up on me and I'm a bit wierded out. I'm pretty sure I'll be spending it at my place this year. I'll be ok - I actually spent Christmas alone back in 2004 so it's not a new thing. Maybe I should just drive up to Vegas...

I'm glad that I'm starting to meet some people here. I was talking to someone I knew back in Georgia that lives here now. He didn't like it so much here, but then again, his perspective is a bit different than mine as well. I always like to make the best of the situation, especially when I'm stuck with something. I could just hate it and be miserable, but what's the point?

Seppuku

Seppuku - Crazy? Yes. Yes, I'm writing about my dad again. My dad actually told me that I've got to live my life with the ability to go through with something like Seppuku. Scary. The ability to risk it all, the mental strength to give up everything, to end it all. I think I could...

EI EI

Uh.... Uh uh uh uh, uh ohhhhhhhhhh! Made it past St. Louis on the first day. Tommy mentioned that Nelly was from here so we blasted all of his greatest hits while driving 90 through the city! haha. For the most part the first day of driving was uneventfull. St. Louis is actually a beautiful city. Nice modern buildings and the Arch is magnificent. I don't know why but I've gotten in the habit of waking up at 5:30am every day lately, no matter how late I sleep. I'm about to hit the shower and then we'll be back on the road again. My good buddy Adriana gave us a buzz and actually helped keep me awake last night, although Tommy was doing a pretty good job of it by punching me and trying to scare me. Anyway, just checking in.

Chicago

What can I say...... I guess, in the end, you think about the begining...

I remember before I moved up here, I met with people who had lived in Chicago, and they all said the same thing, "You're going to love the city, it's great, there's always stuff to do, but it's REALLY COLD". The funny thing is, now that I'm moving to Arizona, everyone is saying "You'll love it down there, the weather is great, there are golf courses everywhere, there are a ton of ASU chicks, but it's REALLY HOT" hahahhahahaha

Well, for me, it looks like my time here is comming to a close. The plans have been made and the papers signed. It's not quite last call yet but the party is definitely winding down. The thing that always kills me is the fact that I'm never the guy that wants to leave. Even in Atlanta, I always felt like I enjoyed my life just the way it was, I liked the people I surrounded myself with, and I really didn't want to leave. It's almost worse this time. True, I haven't met as many people up here as I did in Atlanta, but I feel like I did meet a great group of people and I've had a lot of fun. Actually, thinking back on my stay here in Chicago, I've pretty much gotten everything I've ever wanted..... except maybe one thing.....

People keep telling me that I should be excited and happy to leave. Don't get me wrong, I am... I just can't help but feel sad and down about leaving sutch a great city that has been so good to me. The first time I drove through downtown, I thought to myself about how grand this city is. I've always felt like Chicago was truly a world city, and for a little fish from a small pond like me, it was inspiring.

So here I am, a couple days away. Time seems to be broken lately. Sometimes it seems like it's flying by, other times it seems to just dribble on like cold molasses. I know I've written this before, but my dad has always told me to live my life "like a Tiger". I think he was referring more to how they are fearless and impose a presence that commands respect. I don't know if I'm there yet on those qualities. Unfortunately, Tigers are solitary animals, and somehow I feel like I've picked that up.

I know I'll make it, I'm just too stubborn to quit or go back. I just don't always have to enjoy how it all happens.... So, farewell Chicago, you'll always have a special place in my heart. Who knows, I COULD always come back...... We'll see I guess........

Kidding!

You gotta be f*ing kidding me!

Fortune of the day: "Some fortune cookies contain no fortune."

I swear I'm not making this up.

sleep

oof...... couldn't sleep last night. Starred at my ceiling for a couple hours before I came into work. I usually love sleep but sometimes, I get these bouts of insomnia out of nowhere....

Fortune

Fortune cookie of the day: "Prepare yourself for a change of events in your personal life"

Weekendupdate

Had a HUGE week. Where do I begin.

So, last Sunday I flew out to San Jose for training. Well, I usually don't really like business trips because for the most part, you're out there alone and you just sit in a hotel room. That's how they go for me anyway. But this is San Jose! The difference is that I have a bunch of friends out in the Bay Area and what better chance to hang out. I was a bit worried at first that they live too far from where I was staying but then I found out that Szujin lived about 15 mins from my hotel. Perfect! I hate showing up and taking time out of peoples lives but we go back kinda far so I made her hang out with me every night. Anyway, Josh and Danny (and Julie) are out there as well and I had a chance to break bread with all of them. It was really good seeing all of them again. Most of all, it was great seeing them all do well.

Otherwise, class was good. I actually did learn a lot and hope that I can use my new skills.

Had a nightmare flight back on Friday. It all started when I get to San Jose airport wayyy too early. I was supposed to wait 2 hours before my flight was scheduled to leave. Then it got delayed. Then again, and again. I finally boarded after a 6hr wait. I hate waiting. The flight itself wasn't bad. The crew was actually pretty easygoing and treated us all like we had actually flown before. Now the bad part. We land at O'Hare and I book it to baggage claim. No bags. The damn carousel dosen't even move. Apparently, there was a tornado watch and it caused a ground freeze at the airport. Had to wait another 2 hours before I got my damn bags. My buddy Jammerson was picking me up and waited the whole time. What a trooper. Funniest part - So I'm sitting on the baggage carousel texting Jammerson. I look over and this HOTTIE had just sat down at the carousel across from me so we're facing each other. So now I'm thinking of ways to start conversation with her. Yes, I am chicken. Anyway, right then Jay tells me he's at McD's. What a bastard. I've been waiting at the airport all day and hadn't had anything to eat but half of a tuna sandwitch before the flight so I was starving. The plan was that Jamerson would pickup my order and drive it by for me so I can eat while I wait. Right then the little wheels in my head start CHURNING. My big master plan was to ask the chick if she would watch my messenger bag that I had carried on while I go out to get my food. It would give me a good, non-creepy way of starting conversation, AND maybe make her a little jealous that I had food. MUHAHHAHHA. The stage is set, my order is in, and Jamerson says he's on his way in 5 minutes.......... Yes folks, it happens. The damn bags show up. DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe next time...... I was too tired to come up with a PlanB.

Saturday was a bit crazy too. Lets just say I got back home at 5am. Errr body in the club gettin tipsy!!!!!

......I don't want to go back to work tomorrow..........

It's a rental

I hate my rental car. It's a Buick Rendezvous.... Feels like I went from a sportbike to a semi-truck. Arg.

San Jose

First day in San Jose. The Meca of everything that is technology / internet related.

Flight wasn't so bad. I was actually seated between two rather large older men that decided that they would see who could start snoring fastest as soon as they got on the plane. These guys were definitely professionals and before we even took off I had a stereo duet of frieght train noises... yay. At least I picked up a GQ at O'Hare before we took off and made good use of it. I'll hafta find something else for the trip back. Flying is one of the few times that I'm actually a bit glad that I'm a smaller dude.

It's so great to see my good friend Szujin again. Pretty sure we'll hang out for the rest of the week.

Fortune

Fortune cookie of the day: "Three times a week, treat yourself to dessert."

Church

it's been a LONG time..... but I WILL be going to church tomorrow. Don't ask me why or what brought this on. I really don't know myself.......

Fortune

Today's fortune cookie:

"Someone with blue eyes admires you"

Icons

Tom Ford

I was watching "Iconoclasts" where Tom Ford did a special on Jeff Koons. Anyway, something he said really struck me. He described how people at Gucci saw him as a control friek but went on to describe why. He explains that he was a control friek because he felt that if someone bought something that was designed by Tom Ford, every detail of that item, the buttons, the seams should be just as Tom Ford intended it to be. That's powerfull.

weekendupdate

Whooaaaaaaa what a weekend.

-- Wednesday

Get off of work early and have a nice dinner at WildFire. My choice - the special, "Filet Medallion Trio". Three small Filet Mignon steaks topped with your choice of crust, I got 2 horseradish and 1 mushroom like I always do. Had some au-gratin potatoes on the side. What a meal.

My cousin Mugz flew in at 9PM into O'Hare so I headed there after dinner. I was watching the flight info and he was comming in late. Scooped him up and called it a night.

-- Thursday

We woke up a bit late, grabbed some food at a local place that serves some killer breakfast. After breakfast, we didn't have much to do so we headed into Chicago proper for some shopping. Michigan Ave. I should have left my credit cards at home. Caught dinner in the city, Fried chicken, biscuits and gravy and mashed potatoes. Uh huh

-- Friday

Woke up really late. Hurriedly got ready and packed. Loaded up the ride and met the guys in Chicago. Off to Indy for the weekend. Stopped along the way and caught some Hooters wings. Definitely eating good. Get there late and CRASH.

- Saturday

Aaaawwwww YEAH. Woke up early for a golf outing. A buddy of mine always gets a bunch of his friends to go play Memorial Day weekend. Started off ok. Ended up shooting a 78!!!! I haven't played that well since high school. What a rock star. After golf we meet up and catch dinner at Fleming's steakhouse. 22oz bone-in ribeye steak. Very nice.

-- Sunday

We all go to the Indy 500 and watch the race. The sun was beating down but we managed to stay cool. Race was fantastic and the chicks there weren't bad either. HP and chicks, can't beat it. We wash up after the race and go to a hole-in-the-wall mexican place for dinner. Back to Chicago after dinner.

-- Monday

More golf. Hot day again and we went to a difficult course. It started to lightning so we had to end early. I wasn't playing well though.

what a weekend.....

home

lo....... just got home from work... UGH..............

Taxes

"The only thing guaranteed in life is death and taxes"

Did my taxes tonight. I feel like I'm back in school. I don't trust anyone else to do my taxes so I end up doing it myself. It's depressing sometimes...

Looks like I'm getting a bit of it back this year. Is it bad that I'm already thinking of ways to spend it? I should save that money but my first reaction is to go through the laundry list of wants in my life...

insomnia

Can't sleep..again.

I took a nap earlier today and now I can't sleep. Oh well, I guess I'll just pay for it at work tomrrow.

Temperature was up to about 55degrees today in Chicago and I FINALLY had a chance to hand wash my car. Took 3! hours. Outside, inside, windows, wheels, tires everything. Gotta say she looks really nice after a good cleaning.

So, I was wondering today. People say "money dosen't buy happiness". I disagree. First, what is happiness. I realize that it's a bit different for each person, but I think most of us would follow one of the dictionary definitions. With that said, if you think about it, how do people get rich? As much as people portray rich people as backstabbing and ruthless, I think most of them don't fall into this category. So, I proceeded in my thought and started to think that rich people become rich because they provide a good or service to other people. Why do these people want these goods or services? To make them happy. So, although money dosen't buy happiness, I think you COULD say money is a measure of how much happiness someone has provided to others. Maybe.... Maybe not.

Work

So, work has gotten a bit hectic lately. I once read something somewhere (don't worry, it wasn't a book) about people who "work to live" and other who "live to work". What's the difference? The "work to live" people are those that go to work to be able to enjoy life, and often do so. The other type of person "live to work" are classified by being workaholics, and are usually engrossed in thier jobs. Which one are you? I think i'm borderline between the two.

Weather

I seriously can't wait till the weather gets better. At least it hasn't been snowing a lot though. Looks like I got through February without much drama. Come on MARCH!!!!!

Silver Arrow

I was looking back over some old entries can came by this one. It describes the history behind Honda Type-R vehicles being colored Championship white, with red emblems. Well, now that I drive a Benz, I think it's about time for me to do a little writeup of why you see so many Silver Benzes and most importantly, why I bought one.

Mercedes-Benz is not simply a luxury car company. It is the FIRST EVER motorcar company. Yes, it invented the modern automobile. Not only are they the first, throughout history, they have participated in all levels of motorsports. So around 1934 the rules for Grand Prix racing were changed so that the maximum weight could only be 750kg. Mercedes was entering thier car, the newly developed W25. Unfortunately, it weighted in at 751kg. The solution? The team decided to wheel it back into the garage and strip all the paint off of the car, leaving only the bare aluminum skin. The W25 went on to compete, and ultimately win the race it entered. The gleaming aluminum cars were nicknamed "Silver Arrow". Since then, Mercedes race cars have been deemed with the "Silver Arrow" moniker. The tradition continues with the Mercedes - AMG acquisition, turning out sutch masterpieces as the SLR McLaren, and countless AMG factory vehicles produced by Mercedes.

Watch

So I finally got my watch fixed tonight. The band broke and I haven't been able to wear it for months. Really glad I was able to get it fixed.

Target

VERY interesting read - it's long but worth it.

I'm on my way home from work and I decide to stop by Target to get some light bulbs since some blew out. They recently renovated the store so I'm walking through the isles, also searching for anything else I might need. Out of the blue, a well dressed white guy approaches me. He starts by asking me if I know where a Kinko's is. Very typical of a businessman that has been sent to some strange city to close some deal and he needs to make some copies. So, being the helpfull person I am, I give him directions. As I'm about to leave, he strikes up more conversation. He asks me if I live around the area, how long I've been here, etc etc. I'm always cautious so I tell him enough, but nothing specific. Then, the pitch........

He tells me that "they" are looking to hire some people and could use someone like me. He then gives me a business card and asks for my contact information. So I give him my name and a bogus phone number. I go on my way, (they didn't have the bulbs I was looking for) and don't think much of it. I get in my car and drive off. As I'm heading home, I think more and more of the conversation, person and circumstances. Then it hits me. Almost exactly a year ago, the EXACT same thing happened, in that same Target store. So now I'm curious as to exactly what kind of scheme this is.

The business card has the following information:

Company: Francis Business Group
Position: Business Development and Mentorship
Name: David Clinard
Phone: 772-426-8230
e-mail: dave.clinard@gmail.com

So, just by looking at the card I was a bit skeptical. Why? First, the e-mail address is a G-Mail account. This is ALMOST as bad as an AOL account or even worse, Hotmail. No self respecting business would operate using a free e-mail service. Second, there is no corporate logo on the car itself. It's a nice card, with a funky design along the top with most of the card a light greenish color. Third, there is NO website address. Even startups will have some kind of website address these days.

So I do a little googling and find THIS. BUSTED. My next instinct is to go to the Target website and read THIS. Heh. Now I decide to have some fun. I call the poor bastard up. He actually answers. So, I straight out ask him if he's afiliated with Amway. He denies it and his voice is audibly getting uncomfortable. He explains he is affiliated with Quixtar. Busted again. I then proceed to tell him Quixtar is affiliated with Amway, and since solicitation is illegal within Target stores, that I will be contacting them and the police. Dude hangs up with the quickness. HAHAHHHAHAH

So, I do good on my promise and call Target. The manager is helpfull, takes down the details and promises to pass the info along to thier security team. I admit, I haven't called the cops yet but I am considering it tomorrow. To be clear, Amway, Quixtar and multi-level marketing is not in itself illegal.

FYI, here are some more websites with more info:

Amway/Alticor/Quixtar Sucks!
MLM Survivors Home Page
Dateline - MSNBC
FTC - Multilevel Marketing
Steve Hassan on Amway

Weather

I HATE Chicago weather! It just won't make up it's mind. If it's gonna snow, SNOW dammit! If not, knock it off. It always starts the same way lately. It starts to rain at around 4PM. I start looking outside etc etc. Then, right around 5PM it starts to snow. Sometimes it will accumulate, sometimes it won't. Either way, I always feel nervous driving home. If the forecast would flat out say SNOW, I'd go get some winters. Since there's a hope for a mild winter, I'm trying to see if I can get through this season with out shelling out $800 on tires.... This sucks.

Sofia

So... Sofia and I were out today. Figured I'd show her the city, head down to Michigan Ave and gaze at the huge buildings. On my way this 2006 TL comes right up behind me (he HAD to have thought I was a C230 Sport). Younger dude, shaved head, looked like he was just having some fun. So, Sofia and I decided to join in. First pull I was behind the TL. Nailed the throttle and I'm sure he was too. We broke out of traffic and I ended up passing him quite easily. Maybe it was a fluke. Again we hit traffic and this time we start out about even. Pulled on him so hard I couldn't belive it. We hit some more traffic and I pulled into the center lane. He came up beside me, gave me a thumbs up, so I looked over, smiled and did the same. Damn, couldn't get that silly smile off of my face after that.

C350

Three years of waiting has come to an end....

I am now the proud owner of a 2006 Mercedes Benz, C350 Sport Sedan. Pics to come tomorrow.

Weekendupdate

Pretty uneventfull weekend. I can't believe Christmas is almost here. Didn't have much in the way of shopping to do, although I still haven't bought anything for my parents.

Last night I had the worst chinese food I've ever had. Being single, I eat out a lot and that last statement comes with many years of eating some really bad chinese food. The sauce was thick and muddy, the beef looked, tasted, and felt like liver, and the broccoli looked like it had been through a heavyweight title match and lost. Yeah, I still ate it though. I'm sure I'll regret it later today.

So I wake up this morning to go to work and yes folks, it's -8 degrees outside, BEFORE the wind chill....

Last Year

This time last year....

So, this time last year, I was in a hotel, in sunny Orange California. I had just started a new job and wasn't planning on going home (ATL or VA) for Christmas. SO, the awfully sweet Lee sisters decided to send me a little package to make me feel more at home. Anyway, Peggy was sending me something (neither of us remember what it is) and Katee decided to make a Christmas music mix CD. So, I get the package and see the CD. It's a burned CD, but it had some girly writing on it "Christmas Mix". I put it in my briefcase so I can play it on the way into work the next day. The next morning I get out to the rental, excitedly pop the CD in to listen to some joyfull music. The radio fires up, but no music come out. Nothing. So, I cuss out the CD player, eject the CD and put it back in my briefcase. I actually forgot to deal with it during work so that night at the hotel room, I put it in my laptop. Same thing. Nothing. Now I KNOW my laptop cd-rom works. Pop it back out and look at the underside and think to myself "huh, that's funny, it looks like it's still blank". So I put it back in and fire up a media recognition tool and BAM, it says it's been unwritten to....

THANKS KATEE!!!!!!!!! HAHHAHAHHAH

Snow

It's snowing....AGAIN. I can tell today that this winter will either make or break me here in Chicago. Between the dangerous winter driving and cabin fever, I'll need to keep my head on straight.

random!

Whycome all medical TV shows couple together asian women doctors with black men doctors? Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against it, but I think I remember two of those couples in ER and now another one in Grey's Anatomy... Odd..

I don't want to go to work tomorrow....

insomnia

Can't sleep. Probably because I slept for like 13 hours last night... On one hand, I can go lay down and force myself to sleep... OR, I can stay up, go to Wal-Mart at 5AM and try to get one of those $400 HP laptops.... Dunno, it's a tough choice...

Jill

Damn, now that my digestive system is working in the correct direction, I'd like to share a story about two rock stars.

No no no, the title isn't about my ex in Virginia.

It all started Saturday when Jay messaged me asking if I wanted to head out for a chill night in Chicago. It's been a while since we hung out so I was up for it. Around 9:30 I head into the city from the burbs. Two blocks from my place and I see 5.0 with his gumballs on behind me. So here's the situation, I'm being pulled over, I have tint on my front windows (which is illegal in IL), and no front plate. So I'm thinking to myself, this dude is gonna pile on the violations a-la-carte till the cows come home. I pull over, he walks up, asks for the usual documentation. He walks back to the patrol car and sits there for what seemed like 30 mins. What a crock. He comes back and breaks the news "Since your GA driving record came back clean, I'm gonna write you up as a ordinance violation, if you pay in the next ten days, it dosen't get reported at all". WHAT? I swear I'm the golden boy of getting out of tickets. No mention of the tint, or the plate.

So now I'm ready to light it up! Finally get to Jay's house at about 10:45. We decided to go checkout a new place - Y Bar. Contrary to it's name, Y Bar is really a lounge. Neither of us had been there so we didn't know exactly what to expect. We roll up, dressed to kill, ready to have a great time. We get in and the place was a bit slow. We got some drinks and chatted up the cutie bartender, Suzanne (i think). The place got pretty busy in the next 20 mins or so. So this guy comes up and is looking for a drink, and as you know, the problem at bars is getting the attention of the bartender. We get her over and she takes his order, in the mean time, we chat him up. Turns out he's an account rep for a tech company. He ends up buying us a drink and then he goes "hey guys, I come here a lot, if you want to sit down you can come with me into the VIP section". WHHHAAAATTTT. Hook it up!

There we are chillin in the roped off VIP section, looking at all the beutiful people. So I look to Jay and I say, screw it man, we're getting a bottle. We call over our new waitress - Jill. I have one word to describe her - HOTTTTTIIIEEEE. Tall, blonde, perfect body. She says she's from Kentucky but I don't believe it. She also adds she used to live in South Beach. Damn. I start talking about my South beach experiences and we trade a couple hot spots there. Best part - she says I'm cute. Oh BABY!

We chat for a while and another guy comes up. He's in a suit, black with red pinstripes, kinda skinny, bald, and generally looking like he's not someone you want to mess with. He tells us we're in a reserved spot and although we're fine for now, but when the people show up, we hafta move. Cool, I can handle that. He comes back a couple drinks later (both Jay and I are completely drunk by this time) and breaks the bad news. We ask him his name, Daly, and explain we've bought a bottle. He looks down and gets this surprised look and says "ok, I'm sorry, I'll take care of it". He comes back and asks "Would it be ok if we moved you to the VIP room?". I mean, if he's insisting, who are we to say no? So we tell him, we'll move if we keep Jill! Hell yeah!

We crawl through the crowd of what seems like every blonde in Chicago. Hotties left and right. Get to the VIP room, which is just another VIP secion but it's only got 2 tables. Chillin, everyone is wondering who the hell we are. HAHHA. Right as they are about to close, Daly comes over again. He says that if we want, he'll personally walk us to the sister bar, Soundbar, get us in, and buy us our first drink there. At this point, I can barely walk, and drunk is an understatement of the century. But you know what, I just got out of yet another speeding ticket and I wasn't done yet. We get to Soundbar and the place just wasn't our scene. We ended up going home after one drink.

The story ends with me waking up STILL drunk. Damn. Threw up, threw up again. I dunno how I made it home in the morning. We'll DEFINITELY hafta do it again.

KKK

Interesting. Did you know the head or leader of the KKK is known as a "Dragon"? This is just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. This group of complete bozo's name thier position of leadership after a CHINESE mythical creature!!!!!! AM I MISSING SOMETHING?

Stupid people do stupid things.... Just incredible.

Dave

Could I have been
A parking lot attendant
Could I have been
A millionaire in bel air
Could I have been
Lost somewhere in paris
Could I have been
Your little brother
Could I have been anyone other than me
Could I have been oh, anyone other than me
Could I have been anyone
He stands touch his hair his shoes untied
Tongue gaping stare
Could I have been a magnet for money
Could I have been anyone other than me
Twenty three
I’m so tired of life
Such a shame to throw it all away
The images grow darker still
Could I have been anyone other then me?
Then i
Look up at the sky
My mouth is open wide, like and taste
What’s the use in worrying, what’s the use in hurrying
Turn turn we almost become dizzy
I am who I am who I am well who am i
Requesting some enlightenment
Could I have been anyone other than me?
And then i’ll
Sing and dance and I’ll play for you tonight
The thrill of it all
Dark clouds may hang on me sometimes
But I’ll work it out
And then i
Falling out of a world of lies
Could I have been dancing nancy
Dancing nancy
Could I have been anyone other than me?

- Dave Matthews Band | Dancing Nancies

Friendster

Ok............ I finally did it. I registered on Friendster....

Wrath

Back to the deadly sins.

Wrath. No suprise here. Get pissed off, kill people. I think this one is interesting because I've personally learned the importance of keeping my cool.

Ok ok, since this one was short I'm gonna write about other things.

I've figured it out. FINALLY. I finally understand how to encode a raw video file (recorded from my cable box through firewire) to DVD or compressed to wmv. Why WMV (Windows Media Video) you ask? It's the only format that can compress to 1080p, with full support for compressed 5.1 channel audio. Simply put, a HD stream will be kept in all it's glory. SWEEET. The only problem... It takes forever to compress files. A 150 minute Formula1 race takes 23hrs to encode. What's the fix? Well, video encoding is highly dependant on processor speed. So, I have the bug to upgrade my puny 1.4Ghz Duron machine I'm using to encode these files. More to come on that later...

Flugtag

This looks like so much fun. If they ever come back to Chicago I'm seriously thinking of entering. Who's with me!!!

Sears Tower

They should count the spire on the Sears....

hungry

I could go for a taco or four..... Probably not good because it's almost 1am. But then again, if i go get something to eat, maybe I'll get sleepy afterward.... Hhhhhhmmmm

DVR

So I finally got Comcast cable and opted for the DVR. Although it's equiped with a 120GB hard drive, it can only hold 9-12hrs of HDTV. Arg. Time to tamper. I guess I'm being a little demanding as it can hold 90hrs of standard TV. I'm sure I'll find some fix..

200

So I'm watching a show about Tommy Lee going back to school. It's actually pretty funny. The best part is that as goofy and out of place as he is, we share a lot of the same traits when it comes to studying. I'm sure he gets paid a little better for going to school. Maybe I shoulda been a rock star.....

Xanga

What's with the rash of people closing down thier Xanga sites?

Powered by HONDA

So, after work today, I went to the Honda dealership and put my car in for an oil change and tire rotation. Finally get done at around 7:30 and start to head home. I'm on a main road and pull up to a light. To my left is a red Nissan SE-R Spec-V. I look over and there's this dude driving with a girl in the passenger seat. Uh oh. Light turns green. I don't chirp the tires but get off to an aggressive start. Definitely not an optimal launch tho. We stay neck and neck and as I accelerate harder so does he. After about 2 seconds of that, we both floor it. I end up edging ahead and just take off. We stop at another light. (BTW, I'm talking on my phone the whole time).... It's on like DONKEY KONG!! I don't even look over at the guy this time and decide I'm gonna take off, regardless of what the other dude does. Why not? Light turns green, we both chirp tires and it's off to the races. Through half of first gear we were pretty even. At some point though, my car just kept going and his just couldn't keep up.

You know, I just hate to love my car. Deep down though, there are many times that it brings a smile to my face though... And for all Nissan SE-R Spec-V owners out there, you WILL handily lose to an Accord V6, any day, any time.

Weekendupdate

I dunno about you guys but Memorial Day 2005 was a blast!

Started off Friday driving out to Indianapolis. We get there and meet up with some friends to go bar hopping. God bless college girls! Heh. We didn't stay out too long but we still had a lot of fun.

Saturday morning we all go out to play in a little friendly golf tournament. Played at a pretty nice course. Grass was green, the sun was out and unfortunately, the wind was blowing like hell. I couldn't get off the tee but otherwise had a decent day. I need to practice my driver and my L wedge. Shot a 92, wasn't shabby for the first time at a pretty tough course.

Sunday morning we got off to a late start to make it out to the race. We're late, with no tickets, things didn't look too good. We get there with little fuss and found decent parking. Scalped some $80 tickets for $70 and got in the race. The weather was perfect and the seats were surprisingly pretty good. Now, if you don't know Argent is also part of the Ameriquest family of companies. Not only was Argent a big sponsor of the race, they fielded two cars, one driven by Danika Patrick. If that wasn't enough, Ameriquest also was running the blimp overhead. Anyway, back to the race. I must say Indy puts on a pretty good show. They had a B2 bomber make a flyby, and who can't help but love all the tradition following the race. It was awsome to be trackside and hear the words "Lady and Gentlemen, start your engines!". We stayed in our seats for about 50 laps and then got a bit restless. We walked to the infied and looked around. We somehow sneaked into the Grandstands and watched a pit stop from no more than 20ft. Very exciting. The race was fantastic. Danika drove a great one leading 19 laps. I honestly thought she had won it during the second to last caution. She was pased just before the yellow came out but since she was low on fuel I was happy. The cars use a lot less fuel under caution and so I thought a couple laps would really help her get to the end. As I predicted, the race went green and she jumped back into first. She held everyone off until she was running on fumes the 7th or 8th lap. In any case, she ran an exceptional race.

After the race we chilled at a friends house, BS'ed a bit and told old stores. Got back pretty late. Got back home Monday morning.

Two thoughts: I WILL be going to Indy to catch the F1 race. As much fun as I had at Indy, the cars are that much more advanced in F1. I also follow F1 pretty closely. Secondly: Sunscreen. I got pretty burned...

Women

Women.... and the headgames they play. I'm finding it kinda fun. Let the games begin.

quote

Mother Flower......

gift

My parents sent me $200 for my birthday. I'm wondering what I should get myself. No, saving is not in the picture as it is a gift and I think it should be spent that way. Here are my top options:

1. PSP - uh huh. They're slated to have my favorite game (GT4) so I think I should get it. The only thing holding me back is I'm wondering how much I'd actually play.

2. Misc Electronics - a new wireless router, sony memory card, maybe a new HDD.

3. Clothes - Some new pants and a pimp shirt.

4. Yet another new cell phone. Heh.

5. DVD's - Since I have a pimpin HT system, I might as well expand my library of DVD's

6. Shoes - hhhhmmm, I could use a new pair of shoes

I think that about covers it. Really not sure though...

Rant

So I usually resist playing cheesy online games but this one is just addicting. Someone sent it to me at work and I've been hooked since. Too bad it's reminding me of my weekend adventures....

Happened to come across this article today. I'm glad I don't live in Texas because if I did, I'd personally walk down to this guys office and take back my tax dollars. There are much bigger problems in this world and yes folks, in the state of Texas than for this guy to be worried about some high school/college girls wearing frilly skirts while jumping up and down. Who's to say it's not HELPING society. Holy conservative.

Yes folks, we all made it through another useless switch to daylight savings time. I STILL want to kick the guys ass that made this up.

Wierdest thing happened to me today. I get off work and start driving home. I get to my place and remembered someone called me during the day and I hadn't called them back. It was nice outside so I decided to step out on the balcony and talk on the phone. So I'm sitting there watching cars go by (I face a smaller back street). A couple cars go by and this one with it's sunroof open and about 4 chicks drive by. One of them in the back seat looks out and waves at me. NICE. Hhahaha, maybe a neighbor was outside too. So anyway, later on I'm driving back from getting something to eat. I turn onto my street and there's this SUV blocking the whole road pulling out from a parking spot. I'm in no rush so I stop and wait for them to get going. The woman was very attractive but a little older, and she waved at me. NICE. Hhahhaha...

Lately I've been thinking about my parents a lot. It's been a while since I've seen them so I'm considering flying out there for the weekend. They've done so much for me and I'm always thinking of ways I can give back to them. Time seems so important now that my life has become so hectic.

weekendupdate

Ah, I love laid back Sundays. Maybe that's why I can't seem to justify church. My weekdays are getting increasingly hectic and Saturdays are becoming pretty busy too. That leaves Sunday as my only real day of "rest". I'll hafta think about this one.

Anyway, I felt TERRIBLE friday afternoon so I decided to actually leave work on time. Told the guys at work we would hang out but I had to tell them I might not make it since I felt so bad. I don't know what it was but I came home, ploped on the couch and took a nap. Woke up around 7 and felt much better. Took a trip out to UPS and pickup something I ordered and decied I would be joining the bro's at a local Pub. Threw back some drinks and made it home safely. Saturday morning I was pretty busy with little things that needed to get done. If you don't already know, my house is almost officially sold and FedEx came by with some papers for me. To celebrate, a couple of us decided to hit the town. We ended up playing a couple holes of golf at Dave&Busters (the virtual kind) and by the second hole I was screaming "GET IN THE HOLE!!!!!!" for every shot we made. Hahah. Played till about 11 and headed over to Via Due for some more drinks. It was a pretty quiet night (apparently easter is a quiet day for bars) and so we had a lot of the bar to ourselves. I wasn't complaning as the place has the HOTTEST bartenders and waitresses. Maybe it was the drinks. Got done pretty late and headed home to the burbs. The drive absolutely sucked. Oh well, another weekend.

I'm still shopping for a TV. The one I want won't be out until July so I'm pretty torn on what to do until then. Finally ordered and recieved my new home theater system. It kind of reminds me of that line by Jay-Z "I got this model chick that don't cook or clean, But she dress her a** off and her walk is mean". Maybe not that bad but it definitely dosen't sound like my old system I had. I'm hoping it will sound better when I tune it which I currently can't because I can't see the on-screen display (see: need tv)...

Something

No internet, no TV makes Eric go something something.....

Hahhahahaa. Well, at least I've resolved one of those problems. Today marks the first day in over 3 months that I have been without internet of my own. Didn't have much choice in the matter but SBC's DSL offering seems pretty good so far. Hopefully it can keep up with me.

adjustments

Ok, so living in Chicago has requires some little minor life adjustments. Here they are, no particular order, no particular importance.

- lotion - Damn. Being an asian, I've always had slightly oily skin. Not, "what a greaseball" but my skin wasn't ever too dry. Well, after a week, my skin has now completely lost the moisture fight. So, here I am, sitting in a hotel room, by myself, rubbing body lotion all over myself.... Heh. The only thing that I'm not too big on is that I smell like a girl afterwards. Stop laughing.

- water - Gotta drink water. Lots of water. When the temperature dips below freezing, humidity instantly goes to 0. Your body is a walking breathing sack of water and it starts to lose it. Ugh.

- cold - it's very cold here. Clothing changes, lifestyle changes. It looks so scerene and crisp from my office window though!

There were more but I started eating - sorry.

Toys

Creative math:

Ferrari Enzo + Mercedes SL65 AMG + Maybach + Bentley Arnage + V12 Vanquish + Carrera GT + Rolls Royce Phantom + Lamborghini Murcielago + Ford GT + Hummer H1 = Oldsmobile???

Hhmmmm - not beeing much for old cars I'd take the Phantom, Enzo, SL65 and the H1 for a fair swap! Hahhahaha

Life update:

I'm adjusting well to my new environment. I've actually found a place and plan to move in early March. It will definitely feel good to get out of living in a hotel room. Sorry about the sporadic and sparse posting but I haven't had a lot of free time and internet access has been somewhat more difficult. Its so odd to live in a hotel and have certain things become that much more challenging. Just the fact that I have a very limited supply of personal items with me at any time is very uncomfortable.

On a more positive note, I've really started to meet some good people. Whent to a party last weekend and had fantastic time. Note: Don't bring a bottle of Grey Goose to a party - it will get killed first. Hahhaha.

Shout out

This goes out to a very close friend...

You are so money, and you don’t even know it… - Swingers

Valentines

Ok, so it's Valenties weekend and I'm alone, in a hotel, watching TV. Dosen't get much better than this folks. Actually, I might go out later, but for a moment, lets focus at the holiday at hand.

I've never much liked Valenties day. For guys, it's just another day that we could potentially mess something up. I remember when I was a little kid, teachers would make us do pretty dumb things like have the boys write the girls in the class cards. An excersise in futility I say, we'll still forget it, no matter how much you try to brainwash us when we're young.

On a more serious note, I'm not so sure I even want to go out. All those couples with thier relationships. No, no, I'm not bitter or even envious, it's more that being surrounded by couples makes single people feel wierd.

In any case, to all you couples out there, HAPPY VALENTIES DAY!

withdrawal

Ok, so I think i'm going through what I have coined "information withdrawal." I've had internet access at work, but there's just some things that I don't want the IT department to see about me. So, being at a hotel that charges $10/day for internet really makes things challenging. Anyway, due to moral reasons, I refuse to pay almost $300/month for internet access. My only alternative was to subcribe to T-Mobile's hotspot access. This allows me to go to any Starbucks, Borders, or FedEx Kinko's and have wireless access to the internet. Although it's not the best solution, it's gonna hafta do. Which brings me to my next point.

Not having internet access at my hotel somewhat forces me to get out more. I have less of a tendancy to fire up my laptop, watch TV and just vegg on the couch. So I hafta get myself clean, get out and sit at a public place. As I sit here in the midst of a flurry of people ordering thier latte's and cappucccino's, I'm begining to enojoy the madness. I see a woman, sitting outside smoking, just watching the people walk by. A group of friends, talking while in line to order. I think about what thier lived might be like. What they may be thinking at the moment.

I've always enjoyed watching people. Not in that sick, hide inthe bushes through a window kind of way, but more as a "I wonder what brings that person here" kind of way. Adding to the spectacle, California is an amazingly diverse place. Just the environment of this coffee shop alone brings so many different people from so many different cultures.

Oops - totally forgot I was writing this post - Will check in later.....

weekendupdate

I'm finally in Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois. My first impressions? It's cold. I'll admit, it's not unbearable cold, but It's definitely not Georgia, or more recently, Orange, CA. The snow is nice to look at however and it makes the landscape someone scerene.

For some reason, Schaumburg feels a lot like Virginia and I feel like I could get adjusted to the place pretty quickly. I guess I really don't have much of a choice anymore. Interestingly enough, I've been seeing quite a few rear wheel drive vehicles up here, very interesting indeed.

Internet access has been a challenge as I am a homeless vagabond. Ugh, I swear it should be a law that all 3+ star hotels have free broadband internet access. Oh well. I've finally given in and subscribed to T-Mobiles hotspot plan that gives me access at Starbucks, Fedex Kinko's, and Borders book stores, as well as most Airports. I'm using it now and I must say I REALLY miss high speed access.

The people here seem pretty nice. I haven't had a chance to go into the city yet but I intend to before I leave. Had a rough first experience at O'Hare airport. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Hartsfield isn't a pretty airport like some, but it's very functional and I've always been impressed by it.

That's all for now, I'll check in again when I get the chance.

Hello MOTO

Ok. So i took a little trip to downtown LA. My friend Kevin hooked me up with someone he knows here to show me around. We meet up around 2 and chill at a local coffee shop. Met some other people from ATL she had in town and we talked for a bit. Decided to go do some shopping. We all went out and drove to Melrose.

The atmosphere at Melrose was like Little 5 Points in Atlanta. Pretty laid back, very diverse but a lot larger. So there I was walking around, chilling. The girls we were with were looking for some jeans so they ducked into this little shop. Next door was a cellphone place so curiosity won out and I decided to walk in. I asked about unlocked phones and they told me that they had some. There it was, the Motorola RAZR..... Damn!!!!! I just had to get it. Second phone of the year.... oh well....

After shopping, we drove around a bit, through Rodeo Dr, and along some other hot spots. Eventually went and ate dinner at a korean restaurant. Can definitely say that LA has great korean food.

More to come.....

Top 10

So as I pack I thought to myself "I should put together a list of things I've liked and disliked about Atlanta/Georgia." So here it is:

Likes:

10 - My House - self explanatory - I've enjoyed it from day 1

09 - Kitty - Not specific to Atlanta but I had to throw it in. I'll miss the little bastard

08 - Southern Hospitality - Uh huh

07 - Georgia Peaches - I'll miss getting them fresh and eating them. Although most of them are grown in South Carolina...

06 - Coca Cola - Ok, so they sell it everywhere. Was always a Coke fan and living in Atlanta you could find Coke products ANYWHERE.

05 - Hartsfield Airport - Busiest airport in the world, it has been good to me.

04 - Georgia Tech - Ah yes, tough love but in the end, it worked out.

03 - Chick-fil-a - Gonna suck

02 - My Homeez - All the people, relationships that I've made over the last 6 years.

01 - SWEET TEA - :)

Dislikes:

10 - MARTA - never liked it, it's useless

09 - summer humidity - didn't get to me much but some days it was just too bad

08 - Speeding tickets - I promise I drive the speed limit

07 - Atlanta traffic - Bob and weave

06 - Bellsouth - I HATE this company

05 - Southern twang - Just not me

04 - mullets - yes, they do exist!

03 - Camaros and Mustangs - I don't think I'll be seeing many of these in Chi-Town

02 - Camouflage clothes in public - yeah, only in the dirty south...

01 - "So are you Chinese or Japanese" - Hank Hill... the quote embodies what I didn't like most of the south...

spam

Dammit Eric, now look what you did. Online Poker keeps spamming my blog. Should I fight it or just leave it? I don't know... We'll see

remix

Lean back, lean back, lean back,

This was by far the most eventfull night of my trip. I'm leaving tomorrow so I had to get in some fun time. I had scoped out some places earlier in the week to check out in South Beach so tonight I was out to have a good time. Started out by getting some dinner.

I was with some other people from the training class I'm attending and we were all out to have a nice dinner before we left. We went to Barton G. With two Bentley's parked out front, it wasn't for the squeemish. They had this dish that if you ordered it, you would get two embroidered aprons. What was it you ask? Just happened to be a 6lb!!!! lobster. So, it sounded tempting and another person I was with wanted an apron so I decided to order it. Usually an order that is split between two people, I ate it myself, beeing the selfish bastard that I am. I must say 6lbs of lobster is mighty filling. The only drawback was that the market price for a 6lb lobster is $150. Oh well, you only live once.

I did a little shopping right before dinner as well. The shops on Lincoln Rd are fantastic. They had stores ranging from Gap to trendy stores carrying more obscure fashion labels. I had to partake and picked up a few items.

What's South Beach without the clubs? Decded to check them out. Had some trouble getting in at first but managed to slip by. Uuuuuhhhh. Must say the tail here completely outshines anything Atlanta has to offer! Miami is definitely the place to party and it was living up to it's reputation. Skybar Miami Beach was bumping, even for a thursday night in the off-season. Thought it strange until I saw a rather tall image in the distance. Got closer to see it was - none other than Scotty Pippen. Had to leave early since I do have another class tomorrow morning and then a flight out, but I'm definitely going back. Oh, don't worry - I had a couple of drinks and got to meet a couple of the nice ladies here. Spent a little cash, had a lot of fun. Can't wait to come back.

WHO'S WITH ME!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?

uhhhh

Went down to Biscayne tonight for some light shopping and some dinner. Lobster tastes better on the oceanfront. It shouldn't really matter because it's not like lobster live anywhere near Florida, but there's something about the air comming off the ocean that makes it better.

Miami

Gotta love corporate travel. My company decdided to send me out for training and the office just so happens to be located in Miami. DARN! Hahahhahah. If I didn't know better, I'd say I landed in paradise. There are beautiful women everywhere. The only downside is a lot of them don't speak any english. Damn, I should have paid attention in Spanish class. The weather is pretty much perfect. 90 degrees, although it is a bit humid, nothing like Atlanta tho. Also seems like everyone here drives a luxury car. Maybe I'm looking for them. Maybe I'm drawn to looking at those cars with previously said beautiful women. hahhaha. So what's a man to do when he's 10 minutes from South Beach? I just hope I make it back to Atlanta in one piece!!!!!

thinking

So I was talking to a friend about life earlier tonight. This particular friend has really been a huge help for me to adjust to some of the changes that have been happening lately. As we talk, we realize how utterly contrasting our lives are. It was as if we wanted what the other one has. One man's trash in another man's treasure.

On a different note. I have pretty much made my decision on my big manual or auto debate. I had a chance to drive a old Honda Civic manual tonight. From the factory, the car didn't come with A/C, power steering, or even a passenger side mirror. But there was something about that little 4 speed Civic that really made me fall in love with it. So simple. I felt so connected to the road, as if I was a part of the car. After that drive, I've decided that my next car must be a manual. Muahhahahahha

life

Just when you think life has settled a bit, things are turned around and completely changed.... In the past two months, my life has changed drastically both professionally, and personally. Makes me wonder, as Dave sings in Dancing Nancies - "Could I have been anyone other than me?" I guess with things changing so much, I haven't had much time to be bored... I'm not sure if these changes are good or bad, all I know right now is that my life is signficantly different than it was just a little while ago. Only time will tell...

On a different note. I'm contemplating looking for another roomate. I'd really like to find another girl. Just seems like with four guys, the place will become a frat house with too much testosterone. No balance. If anyone knows a girl looking for a place to live, please let me know.

back

Been down for a couple of days. I use a php include to build some of the links on the menu bar on the right. For some reason, my host changed the way these includes are handled and it caused my site to hang. Oh well. I've got a band-aid fix but it's not a pretty solution.

cracks

Uncle.

Life is getting to me and I'm starting to crack. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the weather. It seems as if nothing has changed but my attitude. Today was one of those days you wished you had stayed in bed and never woke up. There wasn't one event that made it so bad, it was more like I had been very slowly pushed right up to the edge and today was just enough to make me teeter. I'm secluded in my room, fearfull that I might lash out at someone. I've always liked beeing alone when I'm frustrated and pissed. Maybe it's because I'm an only child.

Sometimes I feel like I'm carrying the great weight of aspirations and expectations of many. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Time marches on without regard, without pitty. I sometimes think of how lazy I can be, how unmotivated. I feel like I can do better, faster, smarter. But can I? Should I? How do you balance time? Work, sleep, personal time, social time. All these things take time. How do you place a value on one hour of sitting on the couch, doing nothing, because you want to. Is it as valuable as working for an hour? The money in my wallet tells me no, the fatigue in my mind and body tells me yes.

The more I live life, the more I realize that there are many situations that can be identical, yet described very differently. Ambition and Greed. Determination and Stubbornness. Assertive and Agression. Where do we draw the line? I can't tell you why I'm writing this, or even if it's supposed to mean something.

The beauty of silence and darkness... broken by a buzzing cellphone.

rant

My parents left this afternoon after visiting from VA for a week. I'm really happy they had a chance to visit and have a good time.

So for the next two weeks I'll be on the later shift at work. This means that I'll probably be spending a good portion of my time at the pool right around lunch. If any ladies feel like joining me I'm very open to the idea.

F1

So lately I've been watching a lot of Formula1. Not many people here in the US watch it, but overseas, it is very popular. Undeniably the pinnacle of racing, it is a league where teams often spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to foot 2 cars in 19 races. Although a bit lacking, I though this recent article was a very good intro into why people like me are so interested in F1.

weekendupdate

Ok, so I've been working like a madman my first week. I've been averaging 12 hour days. It shouldn't be indicative of my normal schedule so it's not bad. If I seem like I've just completely dropped off the map, it's because I'm at work. Hope everyone has been doing well. Considering having a cookout to celebrate my new job soon so stay tuned.

whoa

Someone has too much time on thier hands...

sleep

It's almost 4am... can't sleep. I think I've just been sleeping later and later... I have an odd habit of getting very motivated late at night. It's the weirdest thing. I'll sit around all day, do basically nothing, watch tv, and then all of a sudden, 3am and BAM, I want to hunt for jobs. I don't know what's wrong with me.

While in Virginia, I brought back something that I thought was funny. It's a Virginia license plate that says "IS UP2U." At face value, it's an interesting comment, empowering others to make decisions. It can also be interpreted, however, as a statement in how we must take charge of situations at times. Beeing jobless, the second interpretation is more relevant, and definitely more thought provoking. Am I actively doing enough to be sucessfull? My parents are telling me that they regret pushing me so hard to be sucessfull. They tell me that they now belive that I may be missing out on the pleasures of life, and more importantly, life experiences of my age. Maybe they're right. Maybe they are trying to hold on to the idea of my youthfullness.

I recently saw an interview with former President, Bill Clinton, on TV. The interviewer was asking questions about his recently released book. I don't remember the question, but one of the answers dealt with goals. Clinton spoke about reading a book and listing goals in his life, and prioritizing those goals as a young man. He goes on to say that of those goals, those that were most important to him, we belives he has achieved in his life. The thing that struck me the most is not that he had achieved his goals, but that he had listed them in the first place.

hiatus

Yes, yes, it's been a while. It's not that i haven't had the desire to write to my blog, it's just that I've had a lot going on in my life that I couldn't really talk about here. I know the purpose of a blog is to write, somewhat like a journal. Unlike a journal however, a blog is public, very public, and I think what is written should be take into care. With that said, here are some of the things that have been going on in my life.

I quit my job. Let's just say I left due to personal reasons. So i'm taking a break in the interim. It's kinda fun bummin around and waking up in the afternoon everyday. On the other hand, my bank account is about to undergo a complete attack. Oh well, you win some you lose some. Time to move on. If anyone knows someone who may need a System Administrator, full time, please let me know. If anyone needs a shopping buddy, let me know too.

More later, I PROMISE!

frustration

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monaco

Whhooooooo Hooooooo!!!

What a great race. First off, the bad - Takuma Sato grenaded his engine.

Congrats to Jarno Trulli for his first career victory, especially due to the fact that it's on the streets of Monaco!

Honda had a great race. Jenson Button started second on the grid and finished the day in that position as well. Overall he had a very solid race keeping composed and always competitive. I really think BAR Honda has something special with the BAR006. It's turning out to be a very strong race car!

sick

I managed to get sick in the begining of summer. I don't know what it is, but my eyes water, my nose runs, and I'm occasionally dizzy. UGH. Gotta get some sleep tonight....

Barcelona

Ferrari does it again. A 1,2 finish for Schumacher and Barrichello. Renault had a very good race, finishing 3 and 4. Takuma Sato finished 5th for BAR, a good result, but I personally thought the car was better than a 5th place finish. Jenson Button started back in 14th due to a bad qualifying lap, and had an overall finish of 8th today..... Ferrari is just too good.....

rant

Ok, my desktop is re-installing so I'm a bit bored. Started surfing through the internet and looked up how Honda is doing so well in F1 this year. So that lead me to star thinking of cars and car companies. You ever wonder what separates a REAL car company from a bad one?

Racing.

All good car manufacturers have long racing backgrounds. Racing is the perfect medium in which a car company can showcase it's engineering prowess and measure themselves to thier peers. Which got me thinking of Honda again...

You ever wondery why Honda only offers Type-R vehicles in Championship White w/ red emblems in the first production year? Well folks, the history of this color combination is very interesting indeed. It all started in 1960 when honda decided to enter into Formula 1 racing. Thier car sucked. By 1965 however, the RA272 was a much different beast and improved greatly over the season. During the last race, the Gran Prix of Mexico, the car was just unstoppable and won by a considerable margin. This very car, the RA272, was painted Chapionship White, and sported red HONDA emblems.... Today, the tradition continues, and it seems that the dominant Ferrari may even be a little concerned!

car

So my car has been driving just a little funny lately. I've been noticing hard shifts from the transmission and overall slugishness... Found today that one of the tires were flat. ARG....

party

The cookout/birthday party here yesterday was definitely HOT. Weather was perfect, although it was supposed to rain. We had a lot of cold beers, grilled food, and great group of friends (although they weren't my friends necessarily). It wasn't my party, but I did host the event, and as a host, I'd like to especially thank the ladies that dropped by yesterday.

rant

ok, so my friend Szujin is giving me crap about not updating my blog and I think she's right. Here I go...

First things first... Congratulations to Eric for turning 24 today... We're having a little get-together at my place and I hope it dosen't get out of hand. There may be pictures so stay tuned.

Yes, I've been working my ass off lately. Been averaging 9~10 very hard hours a day. Although very busy, it's not terribly stressfull due to the fact that I'm doing what I enjoy.

All for now.... must sleeeep....

Easter

I hope everyone had a happy Easter!

weekend

I hope everyone enjoyed thier weekend, because I sure as hell did.

Eric invited me to go to Cirque du Soleil Saturday evening. The show was absolutely fantastic. The performances were nothing short of amazing, with a great blend of song, dance, gymnastics, and a touch of comedy. If you get a chance, I highly recommend going.

GO TECH!!! - If you don't know what i'm talking about, you need to get out more. I really hope we win tonight.

April

Finally!

I think I'm the king of fast food. Not only do I eat it a lot, but I somehow never get tired of it. Not that I don't enjoy a good meal once in a while, as my friends will attest to my restaurant choices.

Happy April Fools everyone

rant

This will be a rather large random rant...

March - Is it just me or is march the longest month ever. Maybe it's because February is such a wimp at a normal 28 days. Even with it beeing a leap year, March seems like an eternity for some reason.

Traffic - Along with a new job, I've inherited a new commute. This one is actually quite substantial, unlike my previous 1 mile or so. It hasn't been all that bad actually, but today was just a nightmare. I285 west bound at 6:45PM was quite simply a parking lot.

Work - Work has been very interesting. I don't like to talk about work here due to obvious reasons. If you wanna know more, give me a call.

Life - Life seem like it's really picking up. (See March) Maybe that's why march seems so long.

Laundry - I need to do my laundry.

GF

... all I need in this life of sin, is me and my girlfriend

Hair color: black or brunette
Eye color: brown
Height: just not taller than me, unless she's an underwear model
Sixpack: dosen't matter
Long/short hair: As long as she's happy
Glasses: glasses can be cute
Piercings: ears are fine, nothing too fancy
Makeup: not too heavy
Body Type: petite
Straight teeth, gap, or braces: not into the whole gap-toothed thing
Party or stay at home: home, party once in a while
Should she cook: if she wants
Should she have a lot of friends that are guys: dosen't matter
Should she have a bestfriend: everyone should have a bestfriend
Outgoing or shy: dosen't matter
Sarcastic or sincere: sarcastic,but can have serious moments
Should she watch ESPN/sports games on TV: dosen't matter
Would she smoke: no
Would she drink: a little
Would she swear: sometimes
Would she give you massages: :)
OK with one or more girls at the same time: I'll try almost anything once!
Would she pay for dates: maybe once in a while
Does she “give” on the first date: probably not
Where would you go for dinner: someplace nice
Would she want you to bring her flowers: most girls like flowers
Would she want you to lay under the stars with you: yes
Would she do your laundry for you: if she wants
Would she call you hunni, sweety, or baby: if she wants
Would she hang with you and your friends: of course
Would you hang out with her and her friends: of course
Would she come to support you in any activity you’re in: yes
Holding hands: sure
Baseball: dosen't matter
Basketball: dosen't matter
Clean her room: not a clean friek
What kind of car does she drive: something sporty
What is one requirement she'd have to meet: independant
Have you found her yet: no

taxes

Yes folks, it's tax season. It all started with me running around the house looking for my pertinent tax documents and led to me e-filing....

I don't know how people did thier taxes before computers, the internet, and electronic filing. It's not so much that it's impossible to do, it's just that the forms are very intimidating/confusing, and figuring out where on what form the numbers should go is terrible. 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ? I think the IRS does this on purpose to have people make mistakes, hopefully in thier favor.

packrat

I am THE biggest packrat on the face of this earth. I'm cleaning out my closets and I'm finding stuff from 1998! I will post items of interest later... for now, more cleaning.

mp3's

So I finally bit the bullet and decided to organize my mp3 collection.... All 9GB of it. My music was really in disarray, with no naming standard or standardized ID3 tags. People don't usually care about ID3 tags, but my iPod categorizes mp3's according to it's ID3 tag. Although I did upload a lot of music to it a while back, it was a sloppy job with, again, no standardization. So yesterday, I spent something like 10! hours organizing my mp3's, looking up and filling in ID3 tags. Although it sucked really bad, I'm happy it's done.

car

I just spend 4! hours on my car. It all started when a couple weeks ago i washed my car and the paint felt like it was "gritty". So, as a solution I decided to try and get back to that new car shine. Woke up today and thought I would tackle the issue.

[20 min] First started off with a wash. Carwash soap only, never use dishwashing liquid (unless you KNOW what you're doing). Got all the bugs off. Washing is very important.

[1:40 min] I then used a new product, Mother's Clay Bar. Clay bars have been used for quite some time by professional detailers to really bring back the smoothness of a car finish. The surface of the car is sprayed with a detailer spray, and then rubbed back and forth (with gentle pressure) with the clay. The spray acts as a lubricant and the clay breaks off and picks up any dirt, tree sap, deposits and dust that may not be removed by other means. The stuff really works!

[20 mins] Wash again. The spray lubricant gets everywhere. Must wash again.

[2:00 min] Wax. Since the clay removes all the stuff from your paint, you need to proceed to put a nice coat of wax on it for protection. It also will give the paint that silkyness.

Done. Takes forever but my car looks incredible!

internet

Ok, so I'm a dork. As such, a high speed internet connection is a big part of my life. Although I don't see it as a necessity, it is a luxury that I value highly. I'm even ok with not beeing on the internet for extended periods of time, just as long as I know ahead of time.

I had the displeasure today of losing my cablemodem connection. Puzzling. The biggest problem with my cable service going down is that I use some very unorthodox equipment. Customer service at my cable company never believe me when I tell them what I'm using to connect. This makes a situation where they basically tell me "it's your fault because you run wierd equipment." After 3 calls and some interesting troubleshooting, I got it to work again...

tutorial

Ok, now on to how to de-spyware/adware your computer..

First - follow these directions.

Second - make sure you are running an up to date antivirus program.

If for some reason this dosen't help your situation, your computer needs more lovin and you can feel free to give me a ring.

T610

So as you guys know, I've got a T610. The good thing about this phone is that it has a very wide featureset. The bad thing about this phone is that everyone is starting to buy it. So, to differentiate myself from "the rest" my phone now looks like this.

It's now "Volcanic Red". An OEM color not released here, only in Europe. It's also unlocked and is running firmware revision R6B004!!!

friday

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh - it's finally friday....

I think I slept wrong wednesday night however and am now suffering from slight neck/back aches... I think I'll live...

Due to positive feedback about my previous entry, I'll be doing a write up on how to identify and remove common spyware and adware from your systems. Look for it soon...

laptop

So i'm considering buying a new laptop. Most of you have seen me tote around my work laptop, a Dell C640. Although it's now showing it's age, I really enjoy the machine. It's highlights include a great keyboard, good form factor, and at the time, good feature set. The keyboard has a very good layout, nice size keys, and positive tactile feedback. Unlike the newer Dell's, the C640 was made out of black plastic, although with tastefull curves. Some people like the newer style better, but for some reason I like the no-nonesense black. At the time, the C640 was cutting edge, it was thin and light, with a Pentium 4-M processor, and a lot of integrated features. So why would I be looking for yet another computer you ask? Well, the truth is, having this work laptop has shown me how I might consider using one for personal use. So here we go with the buying decision.

First, lets start with a list of what I'm looking for in a laptop. These priorities may be vastly different from yours, so your decision may be very different than mine.

1 - Size - Lets face it, it's a laptop, it's supposed to be portable, size does matter. I was initially looking for a widescreen laptop, but scrapped that idea after seeing how unusually shaped they are and how thick some of them are. I'm looking for a relatively thin (under 1.8") and light laptop, probably with a 14.1" LCD.

2 - Style - It's must have at least an inkling of style. I don't mean a complete sacrifice of features for style, but rather a good meld of both. I refuse to use a hideous looking device.

3 - Centrino - More accurately, a laptop with a Pentium-M processor. The Pentium-M is kind-of a "Franken" processor born of advancements seen in the Pentium III and Pentium 4 processesors. It was designed from the begining for laptop applications. Very efficient, very fast, low power usage.

4 - Features - There are a couple of metrics that must be met with this machine (other than the ones already given). It's gotta have a SXGA+ LCD (1400x1050), 512MB DDR-SDRAM, DVD-CDRW drive, and built in Bluetooth.

So, now that's out of the way, lets meet our contenders:

Dell D600 - The next generation from Dell. Very slim, very light. Some concerns about build quality but Dell also has a decent parts department so it's less of an issue. I've gotta say that I'm not very keen on the styling of the new series. I don't like the contours and the overall shape. The touchpad is also another issue, WHY they would round the edges is beyond me. The positives are that it has the same great keyboard layout, a great SXGA+ screen, and of course, bluetooth. The Dell is also the most affordable laptop between my choices.

IBM T40 - IBM still makes computers!?!? Lol, J/K. IBM actually makes great laptops. From a featureset point of view, the T40 is my ideal device. Just over 1" thin, removable optical drives, great screen, proven reliablility. The highlight of this laptop however is it's ability to go a staggering 8hrs on it's extended battery. The only thing that's keeping me from crowning this the perfect laptop is the design. I'm actually hoping that it just dosen't photograph well. IMO, the thing is just ugly. Ugly enough to make me look at something else.... The T40 also happens to be the most expensive out of the bunch. It's almost $1,000 more than the Dell!

Sony Z1 - So this is the strongest contender right now. As you can see, it's a very very sexy machine. Beutiful SXGA+ screen, decent keyboard, slim and light. So, it's a winner on asthetics, but as life would have it, some of the features are a bit on the light side. First off, it's got a fixed optical drive. That means I can't change the CD-Rom after I buy the laptop. To make matters worse it only burns CD's at 16x. Even my older C640 burns at 24x. Yea yea yea, i know it's only a couple seconds but it's the principal of it.

So there you have it. Like I said, I think the Sony is the stongest contender at this time. I guess I could live with a 16x burner.... TBC

sick world

We live in a sick, twisted world....

I really don't know what to say about that article. I'm left dumbfounded and speechless....

monkey!

Didn't realize this year was the year of the monkey according to the chinese zodiac. Ah yes, I too am a monkey, although I don't know if I fully believee in this zodiac stuff.

2004

Whooo hooooo!!!

I dunno why but I'm very excited about 2004. Last year was sort of a "calm down" year for me. There was a lot going on in my life in 2002 and I needed some time to recoup. Well, rested and ready, it's time to stir the pot again.

Anyway, back to the argument at hand. So with a new year there are new resoultions. Since this is the first new year that I've had while having this blog, I think I'll post my resoultions here for all to see. (maybe you guys can keep an eye on me) So, here we go....

(no particular order)

1. Save more money - ok ok, may be bad to start off with issues of money, but seriously, I think I should save a little more money. I like this one because I've been doing good over the past couple months leading up to Christmas and I intend to get back on track in January. This one also has a greater and grander intent. Being 23, I feel like fiscal responsibility is imperative now in order to maximize my potential later in life. This also means that I might not necessarily spend less, but spend smarter.

2. Eat healthier - I'm not gonna lie to myself and say that I'll excersise more so this is my compromise. Less soft-drinks, less fast food. Ok, this one might be tough. Sushi anyone?

3. More work on the house - Yard is lookin a little shabby. The grass is great but the shrubs/flowers need a little lovin. Lovin or money. (see resolution #1)

4. Only 2 more new phones - In the past 10 months I've bought 4 cell phones... We'll see about this one...

5. Drive slower - no comment

6.Volunteer work - So my dad's been really sick and in and out of the hospital. I've come to greatly appreciate modern medicine (not that I ever doubted it) and the great people that are there for us when we go to the hospital. I really want to volunteer at a hospital on weekends or maybe during the week after work.

7. Enjoy life - What's life if you're not gonna enjoy it.

8. Play more golf - FORE! Been slacking in the golf department for the last couple years. I'm not trying to go pro or anything but I think I should give the clubs a swing every month or so.

9. Expand knowledge - I really think there's so much more to learn out there. As of today business and computers are what interest me the most and I'm always looking for more to learn.

10. Strive to be the best at whatever I do - This one's always there but I'm gonna throw it in anyway.

Alright - there it is. In any case, HAPPY 2004!!!!!!

update

So basically, I've found a spot in Richmond VA that is an internet black hole. Not only have the neighbors shut off thier wireless broadband, but GPRS service through T-Mobile isn't avaliable either. ARG. Anyway, I've figured out a really really elaborate way for me to connect. It's not the most poetic solution but I'll take whatever tiny trickle i can squeeze out at the moment.

My dad on the other hand is back in the hospital. I didn't write about the issue previously due to the fact that some family members were not told of the situation to prevent thier concern. Anyway, we had to go to the emergency room on friday to start his dialysis early. He wasn't feeling well and his legs had considerable swelling. The dialysis itself isn't so bad, but the reduction in water causes SEVERE muscle cramps.

Christmas!!!!!

Merry Christmas everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!

My dad's neighbor with the wireless broadband connection has for some reason turned his wireless off (no it's not just hidden) and so I'm going over my cell phone to write this message.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great Christmas.

Virginia

I'm flying up to VA this afternoon. It'll be good to see the folks again. Taking the longest vacation since I've started at Equant. I'll probably be checking in (via 56k - UGH).

cell use

Yeah, uh huh, I REALLY REALLY think there should be a law banning cell phone use while driving without a headset. Don't go showing me a bunch of worthless statistics either. Maybe it's just the holidays but there seems to be more and more people out there completely not paying attention to the road (and usually driving a 5,000lb SUV) and when you pull up next to them, they're yapping away on thier phone. Yeah, I talk on the phone too but sometimes I'll pause or even lose my train of thought to pay more attention to driving. I will even admit that I would benefit from not using the phone in the car. People, the carnage (lol) must stop!

DeBeers

I've linked to a article on Wired a while back in reference to synthetic diamonds beeing created. Recently, I ran into a great article describing the history of the DeBeers cartel and how they came to power. Definitely a great read and a must for all you ladies!

new phone!!

Ok ok, before everyone frieks out, it's not a NEW phone, just a new-to-me phone. A classic phone, at one time the top of the line GSM world phone. The 8890 has joined my small but growing collection of phones.

So, to date, here is the list of phones I currently use:

T610 [Sony Ericsson]
T68i [Sony Ericsson]
v70 [Motorola]
8890 [Nokia]

December

Whoa, it's December already. Hope you guys are ready for Christmas! Honestly, I haven't even started to do any Christmas shopping yet.

scary

Revelation 13:16-18:

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666."

Who here thinks this is a bad idea....

Friday

For some reason I woke up in a great mood today!

Anyway, I took a little break at work to read this Wired article. It's really interesting to see just what the human brain is capable of. Hopefully, they'll figure out how to unleash the Savant in all of us and we can pitch these comptuers. ...... Don't call me if your brain blue-screens!

OUCH

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH

I bit the hell out of my tongue today. It wasn't just a nick either, I bit down on it with a molar. Tongue bled for a while afterwards.... ARG

Anyway, so the king of rock is in trouble again. Dunno about you guys but I personally think he's a very disturbed man. Not saying he committed child molestation but at the very least, it seems that he needs help.

A good friend of mine flew in this past weekend. He went out to California after graduating from Georgia Tech to attend UC Berkley. It was really good to see him and hang out with my old college buddies.

college

So everyone here knows full well that I never finished college. Got kicked out my freshman year (for bad grades) and I'm proud of it. Why? Because I learned more about life and myself through the process of getting kicked out and I bettered myself through it. Now, the reason I'm posting this is because of this article. As I'm reading this the only thought in my mind is the confusion of causation and correlation. I've seen this happen a lot lately where statistics get skewed and mis-interpreted. To elaborate, just because someone finished college dosen't mean that he/she will make more than if that person had not. I believe the statistic shows that there is a correlation, but not a causation. Smarter people go to college, finish school, and make more money. DUH! If you're a smart person, don't finish college, you'll still be able to make a lot of money (do a search for "dropouts". I'm gonna make a statistic showing how many billionaires there are per dropout - I'd bet it's higher than billionaires per graduates.....

monday

It's just another manic monday...

I don't know why I like quotes from songs but I do. Pretty uneventfull weekend. My roomate Tommy threw a little get-together at the place. In good fashion, he had a good turnout with most beeing rather attractive females.

Did absolutely nothing Sunday. You ever sit in one place and watch TV for so long that your head starts to hurt. Yeah, it's a great feeling isn't it. Going in and out of sleep watching whatever happens to be on at the time, watching the day go by. AAAAHHHHHHHH.

I promise I'll have more content and better content soon. There have been a lot of things in my life but I'd rather not write about them. I also plan on either starting a photolog or posting pictures here about my life. It's hard to keep in touch sometimes. I used to put together these once a month dinners. We went to nice resaurants once a month just to sit, relax, and talk amongst friends. I eventually got busy and stopped. Maybe I should start that back up.

rant

So it's been a bad couple days for me. It's not that I haven't had a lot in my life to talk about, it's that much of it is very sensitive and I don't consider it apropriate for my blog. I would like to thank those close to me for the support and concern...... more later.

November

November is upon us. The month of thanks and getting off of work after it's dark outside. Who thought of this daylight savings crap anyway. Yeah yeah yeah, farmers needed it, yaddah yaddah. I hope to think both our society and humans have evolved enough to get rid of this summertime/wintertime rubbish but the custom continues on...

haircut

I need a haircut... I always have this bad habit of waiting too damn long to go get a haircut. Maybe I'm just cheap like that, but I can't seem to go just a couple days earlier and save myself the feeling of shaggyness that eventually makes me go. Oh well...

sick

I think I'm getting sick. Woke up feeling like crap and with a sore throat. Voice is becoming raspy and my head is pounding at work. Maybe I'm just getting old...

weekend

Where do the weekends go?! A friend told me about a new lounge that opened up in the city last weekend so I decided I'd check it out this past weekend. I'd hafta say that I definitely liked the atmosphere. More laid back than a club but definitely has pockets of people dancing and upbeat music. Drinks were a bit on the high side but they make them strong... at least mine was.

Friday

I hereby propose that fridays should be considered a pseudo-weekend day. By this I mean that employees should have the choice of working at home or simply taking the day off with full pay IF and only IF said worker has completed all duties and tasks and dosen't intend to get anything done anyway...

phone

bought a new phone. Enticed by a good deal I couldn't resist...

contacts

Ok, so I went to the eye doctor yesterday to get new contacts. I had a suspicion for a while that my current prescription wasn't quite powerfull enough and so I decided to go to a new doctor and get new contacts. I really liked the convieniece of the Night and Day contacts from Ciba Vision that I currently used. They're great because it's designed to be worn for a month straight, even at night and then discarded. Anyway, back to the story. So i go to the doctor and I was relieved to find out that the one I had picked used some very new and sophisticated equipment to gauge my vision. I never really liked contacts (or glasses) because they never seemed to make my vision "perfect". Of course they improved my vision, but I had always felt that I could really see better. I'm glad to say that the new set I recieved are right on, so much so that I didn't realize how powerfull the human eye was. So I decided to do a little research.

There is no doubt that the human body is an amazing thing - the eyes are no different. So I started to think - how do human eyes compare to modern day visual equipment such as film cameras and digital cameras. Off to google I went. (Please keep in mind that all of these numbers are based on 20/20 vision and are averages)

Resolution: I think we've all shopped for digital cameras and know what megapixels are. Anyway, the current crop of digital cameras take pictures at about 3 megapixels, or 3 million pixels per image, and professional digital cameras are usually 5 megapixels, and the truly high range obscure stuff getting up to 16 megapixels. The human eye has a combined rod and cone count of about 1 million, effectively 1 "megapixel", but the eye cheats... The eye uses two types of nerve endings, rods and cones. Rods are insensitive to color but are very sensitive to light, and therefore used at night. Rods are found near the edges of the retina and are deviod at the center of the retina, the macula. Cones on the other hand are used during sufficient lighting, and are concentrated in the macula. The macula is the center of the retina that is very densely packed and does most of the work for normal vision. It contains about 250,000 cones, not very impressive - yet. So we have an overall resolution of about 1MP (MP=megapixel) and during normal vision we use about 1/4 that... but as I said, the eye cheats. It does this by having a small focal view. When you look at an object there is a small area that is using your optimal vision, but things surrounding that area get blurrier as you move out. So what I'm saying is that while the eyes have a low megapixel count, they are taking a much smaller picture as well. Comparitively, your eyes see at an astonishing 13.5MP! Pretty powerfull stuff.

Sensitivity: No contest right off the bat here. Your eyes are designed for versatility. Remember the rods and cones above. Not only can you see during the day, but your eyes can adjust smoothly all the way to very low light conditions. Digital cameras are particulary bad here so we'll compare with a film camera. Simply, you cannot buy film that is even 1/4 as sensitive as the human eye. Nice!

Overall design: The human eye is much more compact than current digital or film cameras (much less camcorders). The lens focuses light onto the macula, which is about the size of the pointy end of a pin. The eyeball itself is controlled by 3 sets of muscles, a set for vertical movement, a set for horizontal, and a last set for rotation. Your brain can use these muscles to not only move the eye, but compensate for vibrations, tilt, and movement. The muscles also have some very interesting traits. Your eye muscles are the fastest moving muscles in your body. This is due to the fact that the eye does out of focus during fast movements. Your eyes can go from focus, to out of focus, move, then refocus in approximately 20 milliseconds. You also cannot (for some reason) look smoothly across a stationary object. Smooth movement can be achieved when your eyes are fixated on an object and either you move or that object starts moving. Wierd!

Anyway, I thought all this stuff was interesting, maybe someone will take the time to read it!

toy

I think I've found a new toy that I want...

cell

hhhhmmm... yes folks, it almost happened. Today is the last day in my current billing cycle. Why is this so crucial you ask? Well, this past month was a very busy wireless month for me it seems. In just one month, I've managed to use 784 of 800 anytime minutes, 483 weekend minutes and a whopping 616 night minutes! It's about 2pm and I have 16 mintues of talk time till 9pm tonight... So don't call me!

billionaire toys

So I recently watched a show called "Billionaire Toys". It was on the Discovery channel or the Travel channel. Anyway, the show is about the most extravigant toys that billionairs have. Not general things, but very specific as in "the largest and most expensive single mast sailboat". Watching the show, I realized why most lottery winners either go broke or go crazy within a couple years. It's not only hard to make money but when you have a multi-million dollar net worth, it's hard to spend it too. Here is a Forbes list of things that billionaires like to spend money on.

october

ooo - October is here. The month for drunk Germans (i know, i know, are there any other kind) and dress up parties. I'm considering having a Haloween/year anniversary party at the end of the month but i dunno...

cell

aaaaaahhhhhh!! - I'm wayy over my average minute usage for this month. I'm not over but if I keep using my phone like I have, I definitely will be. If i stop answering calls, you know why...

augusta

Visited Augusta, GA this weekend. A friend of mine had some computer issues I needed to look at so I thought I would help him out. Got there Saturday afternoon and got some of it done. That night we went out to a club. I don't normally drink but I thought I might go out anyway. We get there and meet some of his more boisterous friends. They finally persuade me to take a drink. And another, and another. I think I had about 4 drinks. I was still doing ok. To conclude the evening, I had one last drink. Didn't know what it was but then again, I don't drink often so why does it matter. Well, I proceeded to pour this hideous liquid in my mouth. My lips and tongue instantly started to tingle and get a bit numb and it was like pure fire going down my throat. Not cool. Yes folks, they gave me 151... I couldn't walk straight for a while. I did become rather loud after that. Fortunately I didn't do anything stoopid. We finally got home that evening and I had a heart to heart with the ceramic god. I felt the need to make amends two more times the next morning... I don't see how people do this to themselves week after week. Anyway, I really did have a good time tho.

interesting article

Very interesting article I found on MSN. It deals with the potential generation gap we are facing in the workplace. The article focuses on the fact that the baby boomers are working longer due to the current poor economy while Gen-X and Gen-Y people are starting to enter the workforce. Beeing fairly young and currently working, I have seen these type of differences first hand. Inherintly, I think I think more like a baby boomer "live to work" rather than "work to live" type of person. Honestly, I'm just gratefull to have a job at all. More on this later.

labor day

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh, labor day. Spent the time cleaning the house. Big house, big job. It was satisfying though. I think i'm gonna try and do it more often. Sorry about the short post, i'm getting sleepy...

weekend

been an interesting weekend so far. Friday night I decided to go out to eleven50. I don't usually go out so it's a suprise when I do. Met with some friends and had fun. I don't feel the need to drink so I was DD. Today was very relaxing. I don't know why but I woke up at 8:30, only 2 hours after I had gone to sleep. Stayed up and got some things done around the house. Went to Publix around noon and picked up some groceries for a cookout for lunch. We ate till it hurt and sat around and did nothing. Nice, very nice.

DUH

Ah yes, online filesharing. Once again in the news.

hectic weekend

Had a pretty crazy weekend. Friday I came home from work and felt sick. Didn't know exactly what it was. My stomach felt a little nauseated and my head hurt like hell. As the evening progressed, I really started to feel like throwing up. Took some excedrin and pepto and went to sleep.

Saturday I felt a little better, still not 100%, maybe more like 70%. Woke up and went to visit Crest (company I used to work for). They needed some maintenance done and I've been pushing it off. Spent a good 5 hours or so there. Came back around 5pm to get washed up to see the Blue Man Group. I must say the performance was exceptional (although I sensed a "fight the machine" message in thier performance). It started out with 2 opening bands. The first one was more to my liking, sorta Dave Matthews sounding (female vocalist). The second band was a bit more edgy and wasn't my style. After about an hour, the two bands finished, there was a brief intermission, and the Blue Men appeared. The performance was an overload of sights and sounds. Not only are there the three blue men jumping around and beating odd shaped PVC piping and other objects, there's a full band behind them. Visually, you have the three, blue, bald heads that your eyes key in on amongst the LED's, strobe lights, neon lights, stage lights, and other effects. Really amazing stuff, if you ever get a chance to see them, don't pass it up.

Sunday I woke up and had to help someone out setting up a wireless network. Felt a little better too, I'd say around 80%. Wireless setup went without a hitch and was back home in time to relax about an hour before I had to go to driving school. DRIVING SCHOOL. yay... I guess it wasn't as bad as it could have been. There were 10 of us in there. Six hour class but there was an hour "dinner break" in the middle. The instructor was an older lady, she gave us healthy breaks and was generally pretty good. The thing was, she had a rather thick southern accent and it reminded me of the prosecutor in "My Cousin Vinny". For example, "on" is pronounced "own". Her favorite words were "buh-cahws" (because) and she tended to add "an-all" (and all) to every sentence. All in all, I guess it wasn't too bad of an experience. Probably not enough to slow me down.......

Dreams

So. I met with my cousin this weekend up in Virginia. He currently owns a company in Korea that produces components for cell phones and other wireless devices. What does this have to do with my dreams? Ever since I got kicked out of Georgia Tech, I've lived my life with a particular long term goal. Some of you may know that eventually, I told myself that graduate or not, I wanted my name on a building at tech (not the scribble on with crayon type). So I figure in order to do so, I need to be very successfull. One short term goal that I've been working toward is to be worth a million by the time I'm 30. That leads me back to my cousin. Even before I started work at Equant, I've had a desire to work with or for a Korean company. Not only because I'm Korean, but because I see Korea as an emerging economy with a vast potential for growth and a place where money can be made. With this in mind, I really spoke to my cousin seriously about possibly moving out to Korea or working in his San Jose office but working for his company nonetheless. The biggest blocking issue for me however, is that I never graduated from college. Apparently, Korean people highly regard a college degree (as they should), and unlike here in the US, promotions and growth are difficult without one. So there in lies the problem, I work full time but I need to finish school. I can't quit my job because I have (massive) bills to pay. I honestly belive this is my chance to chase my dream. A dream that reqires a high level of discipline and investment (time, money, effort) to even try to attain.....

I think for the next 3~4 years, I'm gonna be a busy man...

hives

HIVES! - Woke up friday morning and I had hives all over the left part of my torso down to my upper thigh area. Skipped out on work because of it. Not only did it look nasty, it itched like crazy. It's sunday night and I'm finally done with it. Completely ruined my weekend. The consensus is that it was probably something I had eaten. Dunno. Anyway, gotta go to sleep.

rant...

Ok, so i've been a grumpy bastard for the last couple of days. If i've hurt anyone's feelings, so be it, it's my word and I'm sticking to it. I usually try to keep things that will offend people to myself but this week it's been gloves off. Oh well, people will deal. Anyway, it's Thursday afternoon. Close enough to Friday to start celebrating. Ah, how important weekends have become. Too bad it's not a payday Friday tomorrow. I'm still kinda miffed about my accident, my car looks ok cosmetically, but it dosen't feel the same.

Writing to a blog is a bit odd sometimes. On one hand, it is somewhat of an "online journal," although people use them in all kinds of creative and innovative ways. Contrary to a journal however, the contents of a blog is public, and therefore not the best place to express your most inner feelings, desires and emotions necessarily. Just a thought.

accident

Got into an accident today. Some woman () hit me while she was comming out of a parking lot. I was on my way to work, and for the first time this week,I had a positive outlook on the day. Luckily, the only damage to my car is a scratched wheel, damaged tire, and a damaged rear bumper. I understand accidents happen, but I'm still bothered by the fact that she didn't even attempt to apologize. She just sat there, trying to grin and lighten the mood, the more I looked at her the more disgusted I became of the whole situation. Called the cops and they gave her a ticket for failure to yield. Accidents are a lose-lose situation. I lose because I now have another "not at fault accident" listed with my insurance company and she loses out because she'll get points on her license and a "at fault accident" (much worse) with her insurance.

Altogether this has been a very stressfull week for me. My parents own a Days Inn in Richmond, VA and were robbed yesterday. I'm convinced I can be a cold heartless bastard and more and more, things like this are pushing me in that direction.

Oh well... what can you do. What is done is done. My only recourse is to learn from past experinces and avoid them like the plague. I've had a couple of months without much drama so I guess I was due for some. Gotta roll with the punches I guess....

insomnia

I can't sleep. I'm bored. It's 2AM and I have work in a couple of hours. Came home early from work because I started feeling nauseated and developed quite a nasty headache while I was there. I took a nap when I got home and I think that's what's keeping me up tonight.

monday...

monday... At least it's not raining...yet. Start of another work week. Work isn't so bad, the thing I dislike most about my job is all the red tape I have to deal with on a daily basis. It's not really anyone's fault, it's just how it is. For the most part, I really enjoy my job and what I do. My only concern is that at 23yrs old, I feel as though working for a large company may lead to complacency.

I was thinking the other night how ironic this whole blogging thing really is for me. As a child, my dad always wanted me to keep a journal, maybe not on a daily basis, but at least on memorable trips and the like. I really hated writing, and to an extent, it still isn't my most favored activity. I think I'm getting a bit older and the dislike of writing is outweighing the need for an outlet of random thoughts.

some progress

Alas.... It was not meant to be. Our firewall dosen't let me work on the page during the day. Oh well, it may be better that way. I can still make entries so once it's all set I should be golden. Anyway, I've done some sprucing up as you can see (baby steps, baby steps). Still working on getting full emoticon support and a guestbook.