Adventures at IKEA

Last night Manuel and I went to IKEA. We wanted to pick up a TV stand for the bedroom, because we’re doing a lot of TV rearranging. The new LCD HDTV is now in the entertainment center in the living room, so the TV that was there is going into our bedroom, but it is HUGE and I don’t want it sitting on top of the dresser, hence we were looking for a TV stand.

But that’s not the point of my story, that’s just why we were at IKEA last night. Here’s the point of my story…

It was after 6pm when we got to IKEA and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we decided to eat before we shopped. IKEA actually has some pretty good food; we recommend you try the meatballs the next time you’re there. So we each get a meatball plate and notice a sign on the counter that says you get a free roll with each hot food plate. Score – a free roll!

We go to get our rolls and as we’re doing so there are 2 ladies also with a meatball plate at the roll place. I overhear their conversation:
Lady 1: Let’s get a roll.
Lady 2: No, you have to pay extra for them.
Me: No you don’t. They’re included in the price of a hot plate.
Lady 2: No they’re not.
Me: Well, that’s what the sign on the counter said…

And I walk away, thinking to myself how much of a bitch that lady was for arguing with me. It doesn’t come across in print, but she had a tone and a half when she said, “No they’re not.” Well excuse the hell out of me for trying to help you out!

So Manuel and I are in line waiting to pay, and bitchy lady is behind us. The line is longish, as you can imagine, what with it being dinnertime and all. An IKEA employee is cruising down the line, asking if anyone plans to pay with a credit card. Manuel and I NEVER have cash and ALWAYS pay with credit cards, so he raises his hand and says that we are. He calls us to a different register and as we’re walking away, I hear bitchy lady say, with an unreal amount of disgust in her voice, “Can you imagine paying with a credit card?!”

Excuse me?! Who is she to judge how we choose to pay for our food? We pay off our credit card bill every month and I guarantee our credit is better than hers. What I should have done was turned around and said, “I’ll remember you said that as we’re taking our free flight to Europe.”

What a Christmas

I had a great Christmas and I hope you all did as well. Tamales on Christmas Eve were great and even greater knowing that once again, I took part in making them. I also did pretty damn well in the gift department. Let's see if I can think of everything I got:
Patio furniture
Gas barbecue
Cap Gun
Alien statue (as in the movie) made from random car parts
Fart tshirt
Sword holder in shape of claws ( I have a sword collection)
Cookie jar
Cookies
Guitar Hero 1 for PS2
Ice Chest
Bully for PS2
Lucky Number Slevin DVD
50 First Dates DVD
4 pairs of fun boxers
Young Guns 2 Soundtrack
Monopoly Here and Now Edition
Rocky tshirt
Cobra Kai tshirt
Punisher tshirt
2 Comic Book tshirts
Buddah Belly tshirt which will be returned - too small
PJs
Resistance for PS3
X-Men Encyclopedia which is a history of the comic and the marketing of the comic - HUGE
Stuffed PEZ snowman
Gift certificates to comic shop
Antique WW2 German Bayonet

I think that is it. Hopefully I didn't forget something. Yeah, I am pretty spoiled. It is weird. I am 28 years old and I see many similarities to when I was 12 years old - video games, comic stuff, etc. I am not grwoing up in the least.

In case you didn't notice, I made a post on December 22 where I gave all you fellow bloggers a Christmas gift. Be sure to check out what I got you if you haven't already.

Brilliant

We just saw Rocky Balboa. Brilliant is all I can say. Truthfully, this is now one of my favorite films of all time. The emotion in this movie is just magnificent. My mom pretty much cried the WHOLE movie. Jess, who wasn't really excited about going, said she got teary eyed a few times. Now, I have been always partial to Stallone as one of my first posts ever was a tribute to Stallone films - http://manuelsview.blogspot.com/2004/12/why-hate.html. But seriously, this film exceeded my expectatins by a mile. There were plenty of naysayers when I first blogged about this movie many months ago. But truthfully, this one might be even better than the first. Bravo Stallone. You did it. You have silenced the naysayers. You have made a movie to stand up with the original.




Thank you...

COME ON!!!!!

Let me relay to you a telephone conversation that took place at work today. When I'm done, let me know if I was justified in wanting to murder this woman.

Background: She previously had a girlie-problem for which the doctor prescribed a pill, and now this girlie-problem was back and she wanted the pill again. She called me asking for it and there are a few pills I can prescribe via standing orders without asking a doctor and this is one of them.

Me: What pharmacy do you want me to call this into?
Her: The Walgreens on Fruitridge and Mack.
Me: Do you have the number?
Her: Yeah, it's 339-0872 (not the real number.)
Me: 339-0872?
Her: Yes.
Me: I'll call it in right now.
Her: Thanks.

So I dial the number but it's not the Walgreens on Fruitridge and Mack, it's the Walgreens on Auburn and Madison. But I leave the prescription anyway. And I didn't have to do this, but I'm a nice person so I call her to tell her.

Me: I wanted to let you know that the number you gave me was for the Walgreens on Auburn and Madison, so I called the prescription there.
Her: No, that's too far away!
Me: Well, that was the number you gave me.
Her: No I didn't.
Me: Um, yes you did. I even read it back to you before we hung up.
Her: 339-6549?
Me: That's not the number you gave me.
Her: Well I don't know how you got that other number... Oh, I see it right here on the bottle. Sorry.
Me: OK, so the number to the one of Fruitridge and Mack is 339-6549?
Her: Yes, 339-6549.
Me: OK, I'll call it in now.
Her: Thanks.

So I call this number. But it's not Walgreens. Oh, no...

Ring, ring...
Him: Yolo County Sherrif's Department.
Me: Um, you're not Walgreens...
Him: No...
Me: Sorry.

I try the number again, thinking maybe I misdialed. No such luck - I called the sheriff's again.

So I call the patient back... again.

Me: I've never had this much trouble calling a prescription for a patient. The number you gave me was for the Yolo County Sheriff's Department.
Her: It was? 399-6549?
Me: That's not what you gave me. I'll try that.

And indeed it FINALLY was the Walgreens on Fruitridge and Mack but MY GOD!!!!!

Present time!!!

Time to hand out presents to all my fellow bloggers. I worked hard on finding the perfect gifts for all of you who have entertained me with your writings over the past year. So what did I get you all?

Battlerocker - Yeah, I think this shirt explains it all. With one semester left before he graduates from law school, he will need this novelty shirt soon.

Sebastien - He like art so much, why not get him a big book of nothing but famous art.

Crazybitch cousins - I'm sure this calender will be right up their alley!

Rhys - Yeah it is a lot , but I know he really wants one of these 360s. Of course, if he was smart, he'd go with a PS3. Hehe.....

Jose - He likes Harleys and I think he likes to eat. Why not a cookbook of good foods to cook before you go on a long ride?!?

Night Panther - Well, he really doesn't need a book on how to do phoography as his pictures are all amazing. Here is a book of great pictures taken in Life magazine.

Jerry - Mr. Political gets a book that I believe makes fun of politicians. Hell, he has probably read it already!

Sonja - The parrot who owns me? Yeah, I think she'll like this one.

Sushi - Not to make light of her situation, but maybe it will help her get a good laugh .......or idea.

Jerkstore - Ya get jerk Sauce. Yup, pretty original.

Val - A Rouge graphic novel. Yeah, I am sure she'll read this.

Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy the holiday...

I don't think I can move to the UK

Before I start my post, where the hell is everyone?!?!? I think I am averaging like 3 comments per post the last week or so. Is it because I switched to BETA? PLEASE, if you are having trouble commenting on my blog now, please email me at mrmanuel @ surewest . net to let me know about it so I can give some suggestions. I miss my readers...


Anyways, today I got a Christmas card in the mail from Rhys across the pond in Wales. I thought it was cool we were exchanging cards. I've never received a Christmas card from Europe. It was cool because I have always had a fascination with the UK because of things like Manchester United, Wimbledon, etc. I've always wanted to go there. In fact, my parents promised me when I was a freshman in high school that they would pay for me to go after I graduated. Still waiting on that one. So back to the card. I opened it up and what did it say? Read below(sorry for the blurriness):







"We don't have Santa here!!"

What?!?! No Santa? I still really want to go there, but my heart just broke into a million pieces. I can visit there, but not during Christmas time! Regardless, thanks for the card Rhys.













By the way, here's the trailer for Ocean's 13.

http://movies.aol.com/movie/oceans-13/24822/trailer

FUCK YEAH!!!

Quick post. The new Transformers trailer is up. Go see it. Go see it now!!! Here is the link!

http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/transformers/

My god, it looks good. CAN NOT WAIT!!!

Another brawl

Last night saw another brawl in the NBA. Not really too surprising, as the big grown men beat on each other for two and half hours. It just drew my attention because some of my least favorite people in the NBA were involved. First the background: Nuggets were up by around 20 with only a couple of minutes left and still had the starters in. Why? Were they rubbing it in? Well, according to some people, yes. Larry Brown was treated pretty shittily as a coach last year in his one year as coach of the Knicks. Isiah Thomas, who controls the Knicks, could probably be seen at the main person responsible for it. So who coaches the Nuggets? Not Brown, but George Karl, who is a good friend of Larry Brown. The rubbing it in was seen by some as Gerge Karl retaliating against how Isiah, now the coach of the Knicks, treated his friend. What a better way than a blowout?

So, according to sources, Isiah picked up on this and told Carmelo Anthony, a player for the Nuggets, that it wouldn't be a good idea to go anywhere near the paint. If that is true, that is definitely a threat. "Come anywhere near the basket and we will take you out," is pretty premeditated. So, it comes as no surprise that a Nuggets players, JR Smith, was fouled pretty hard by a Knicks player, Mardy Collins, when trying to dunk. From there the brawl was on. Pandemonium ensued. It could have been just between the two players, but Knicks player Nate Robinson was the first to get involved and take it further. Once another player gets involved, you can be sure more will follow. If Nate had just let the other two go, it might not have been so bad. But he is not the only one to blame. Carmelo, who I probably hate more than any player in the league, then ran over and sucker punched Collins right in the face. The audio picks up the brutal bunch very well.

So does Carmelo stand his ground and fight? Nope. As Collins recovered and started to give chase, Carmelo ran away like the bitch he is. When Nate Robinson tries to confront Carmelo, who is a foot taller than him, Carmelo continues to back pedal away from the fight. So that's how you fight Carmelo? Punch someone and run?

There is just so much I hate about this fight. First, Isiah. I have always hated that little bitch. If it is true that he made the initial threat, then fuck him! In fact, based on what I know about Isiah, it probably is true. He probably ordered his player to take the brutal foul. Fuck you Nate Robinson for getting involved. You made a bad situation just escalate out of control. And finally, fuck you Carmelo. Sure, your team was threatened and then the threat was carried out. You know what, I have no problem with you sticking up for your teammates. I actually have no problem with you throwing a punch to fight for your teammates after they were attacked. But, I do have a problem with sucker punching someone and then running. Thanks for confirming my belief that you are nothing but a bitch.

I would post a video of it all, butI know the NBA is already taking action to take all of the videos of the fight down so I won't even bother. I'm sure most will be gone in a few days anyway...

Back to back baby!!!

Last night was the player of the year tournament at my house. All year we earn points from the poker tournaments at my house every two weeks. These points give us a certain number of chips for the final tournament. Well, after the elimination of 11 other players, I am the player of the year again for the second year in a row. Like I said last year, sure the money is great. I got almost $250 for first place. It might mean more to me to actually win the dorky trophy and be considered the top player of the year out of all my friends. They are all really good players so to be at the top for the second year in a row means a lot. Hey, I might be pretty good at this poker thing!

The player of the year trophy, right next to my good luck card marker.

Are You Serious?!

Look at these pictures and tell me what you think...

This is Manuel playing Guitar Hero 2. If you look very closely, you can see something in his hand...

Yes! He's playing while holding a piece of pizza!

The switch

Well, I switched the blog over to BETA. Hopefully, this fixes my problems with posting comments on other blogs. I heard that it makes it hard sometimes for people to post on blogs that have switched to BETA blogs so please email me if you have trouble posting on my blog. My email, in case you need it to let me know of problems is mrmanuel(at)surewest (dot) net.

Guess what I saw today?!?! A trailer for a movie coming out next summer that I am VERY excited about. A sequal (well, isn't everything). I was going to post it, but it got taken down already because it accidently got leaked one day early. The trailer fucking rocked! What is it? Well, if they release it back on the net tomorrow as promised, you will see it here. Yippe Kiya mother fucker!!!!!

Again, please email me with any problems that arise from me switching, please!
EDIT: It won't let me copy and paste the long code right now to put the video on the blog for some reason, but here is the link to go see the video. Go see it, you won't be sorry! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHbpRg86Vi8

Random Thoughts

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. There’s not much new to report, but I do have a few random thoughts I’m willing to share…

Thank you, Sonja, for asking how the new job was going. All is well. Apparently the holiday season is slow, so I have a lot of down time. I usually have 5 patients I see each day – these days I’m lucky to have 3 scheduled. And I’m even luckier if they actually show up. I never knew how many people just didn’t show up for their appointments. No call, no reschedule, no kiss my ass, nothing. So yeah, I spend a good deal of time playing Minesweeper or wandering around, looking for things to do. I like the cushy, laid back, relaxed atmosphere – a BIG change from the stressful, crazy, hectic pace of the hospital. Things will pick up after the New Year. I’m just hanging in there until then.

My name is Jessica and I’m a Guitar Hero 2 addict. I know I bought this game for Manuel for our anniversary, but I admit that I play it more than him. In my defense, he plays his PS3 more, but still, I’m always the one asking if we can play. It’s addicting! We try to beat each other’s high scores, plus I think it fills the little musical void I’ve been feeling in my life. Granted, I’m not REALLY playing the guitar, I’m not REALLY making music, but it’s a pretty good substitute.

Anyone who knows me, or has seen pictures of me, knows that I’m a bit fluffy, voluptuous, curvy, thick, heavy, fat - whatever descriptive words you want to use to say that I could stand to lose some weight. I’ve been heavy ALL MY LIFE. That’s my cross to bear, I suppose. It upsets me, sure, but I try to make the most of it. I think I’m surprisingly healthy for my weight. And when it makes me feel self-conscious and uncomfortable, I use self-deprecating humor. I know I should be happy with who I am and not worry about what others think, but I do – I think that’s human nature. I make fun of myself so they know that I know I’m fat. For some reason it’s my ultimate fear for someone to look at me and think, “Does that girl know how she looks?” Yes, I am painfully aware, thank you. And I can honestly say that I’ve done everything under the sun to lose weight without 100% success. Oh sure, I’ll lose the weight, but keeping it off is the hard part. My point? I am, easily, the heaviest girl who works in the back at the office (the back sees patients, the front checks them in.) Everyone else has a cute little figure, and if they have weight to lose, it’s 20 pounds at the absolute most. Why then do I constantly overhear my co-workers talking about how fat they are and how they want to lose weight? Are they serious?! I want to scream at them, “ I’m sure your problems are real to you, but open your eyes sister! I WISH I had your weight issue!” Then I want to hit them until they fall down, then kick them until they die, then go through their pockets to see if they have anything good to snack on.

I made myself laugh with that last part. But really, if you’re going to talk about your weight issues, please be aware of your surroundings and not to it if someone heavier than you is within earshot.

Christmas is fast approaching. Thanks to my wonderful husband going out to shop while I was at work today, we are very nearly done. I think we have 2 things left to get for 2 different people, and that’s it. It’s a good feeling, to have all of your shopping done - a big weight off the shoulders, almost like you can enjoy the holidays now.

And I think that’s it from here. Thanks for listening to my random thoughts, and feel free to comment as you like. And if I don’t talk to you before, have a fantastic Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

What the hell?!?!?

Blogger is having some major issues right now which is keeping me from commenting anywhere. I was able to try something different and comment on my cousin's blog using a google account, but it is not my true blogger account. I don't know if this is keeping people from commenting on mine. So if I haven't commented on you site since Monday, you know why. Hopefully, this gets resolved soon...

Movie Recommendation

Yesterday, Jessica and I saw a TREMENDOUS movie called Lucky Number Slevin. It's a little less than a year old so some of you may have already seen it. We didn't get to see it in the theaters so we had it on our Netflix list. This was a really fun movie. It's kind of a cross between Pulp Fiction and Usual Suspects with an element of black comedy thrown in. It may seem a little confusing to some at first so just be patient and it will all start to make sense in the end. If you liked the above movies I mentioned, you should definitely give this movie a chance. We liked it so much, I think Jess and I might buy it. Anyone else seen it yet? Anyone planning on seeing it now?

The celebration

Well, I missed the post yesterday, but I did mention that December 9th, was going to be a special day. Why? Well, besides it being Sushi's birthday, it was also the 2 year anniversary of my blog. Yes, I have been writing on this blog for a whole two years now. It's amazing that it has lasted this long. In fact, I am more enthused about ti now than ever before. I actually have readers and even though my last two posts have only garnered 3 and 2 comments respectively, I know I have a readership. Thanks to my wife and MrVideoGuy for their great contributions.

So what do I hope for the future of the blog? I don't know. More good ideas. More bloggers that I can share ideas with. More people commenting. You know, the usual stuff. I just hope I can keep you entertained for many posts to come. Thanks to everyone.

PS3...and then some

So, I promised my view on my PS3 today. It is 10 o'clock, but I keep my promises. In simple words, I LOVE it. I have had it almost a month now and I am so not disappointed. At first, I was excited about it, but I knew it had more to offer. The problem was, it was meant for an HD TV. So, although it looked great, I knew it had more potential. I convinced Jessica, rather easily, that we should get a new TV as well. Of course, that was really out of our price range until Circuit City so kindly did a 3 year no interest plan on TVs over $999. With that kind of plan, it was more than affordable. We ended up buying a 32" Samsung 720i. I wanted a 1080, but that was definitely out of our price range. So, with the PS3 now connected to the brand new TV, it looks AMAZING. Amazing what a TV can do to improve graphics. And to boot, the sound on the new TV is amazing. So, how do I feel about the PS3 overall? It's great. I think it is great that it has Wi-Fi and connects to the internet. Now, I won't be surfing on it for fear of getting a virus, but it is cool that Sony sends updates to download and you can download everything from game demos to full games. I downloaded one demo and realized that I had to have the game. That is what is cool - not sure if you want to get it? Download the demo. So far, I am VERY happy with my purchase.

I don't suck...the worst!

Well, as I said before I entered a photoshop contest at the ADVANCED level. Truthfully, my picture wasn't THAT good, but I had an idea for the contest and figured, "What the hell, just enter it and hope you don't get last place." So, after the voting began and I saw all the entries, I realized even more how much I have to learn. But, I didn't think I had the WORST one. And I was correct! I got 99th out of 121 people which is way down the list, but hey, think of all the people I did beat. What was cool is that I asked for constructive criticism and I got a lot of good ideas. It felt good. I don't think I will enter an advanced one for awhile unless I have a REALLY good idea, but it was still fun. Anyway, the contest was to take a cartoon character and put it in a real life setting. I thought of the game Mouse Trap, and figured I would put a few cartoon mice we all know and love in the game. Here is what I came up with:


Some of them were just awesome! One of our favorite things to do now is vote for each contest. There are two contests to vote on every day, one beginner and one advanced. All you have to do to vote is register and registration is FREE. Of course, you can always just look at the daily contests without registering. Curious? Check out www.Worth1000.com I promise, sometimes you see the most amazing entries. Be sure to tell me if you check it out, and be sure to REALLY tell me if you become addicted to the site like me! Hey, maybe you will see a contest that you have an idea for me to do! I always like ideas...

Tomorrow - My views on my PS3.......and my new tv I bought to go along with it after.

Saturday - A special day!

Lazy, disgusting, and stupid...

Three stories, but first my results. I ended up getting 49th place out of 99. So I just squeaked into the top half of entries. I know I was better than some of the ones that beat me, but what can you do? What kills me is that I actually got a lower score average than I did on my last entry, the musical note crop circle. I feel my new entry was better, but somehow, got a lower average score. Oh well. I actually entered an advanced contest today for fun, but I will talk about that tomorrow.

LAZY
Yesterday I went to Sam's Club to pick up some stuff. I found a great spot and then as I am pulling in, I notice that there is a cart right in there. I sihn and park a few spaces back. As I am walking to the store, I notice that the cart that was in the spot I did want, is RIGHT next to the cart rack. Seriously, is it that hard to take your cart back to the cart rack out of consideration for others? That is why I ALWAYS take my cart back. Racks are never that far that it is that big of an inconvenience. Please people, rerack your cart!

DISGUSTING
On the drive to the same said trip to the Sam's Club, I pulled up to a stoplight. I look around and notice a girl in her sports bra and shorts jog up to the light. I look over as any male would and notice she is quite attractive. She jogged in place to keep up her heart rate and then.....she barfed. Yeah, that is what I get for looking at other women I guess.

STUPID
So this morning I wake up and turn on the shower. If I haven't put on my contacts already, one of the first things I do is put on my contacts as the water warms up. So this morning, I go to the toothpaste instead. I proceed to open the toothpaste, spread it on my finger, and finally put the toothpastey finger in my eye as if I am putting on my contact. It only took a second to realize what I had done and I jumped in the shower to quickly wash off the burn that had overcome my eye. How I mistook toothpaste for contacts this morning, we will never know. But trust me, do not spread toothpaste in your eye.

Pissed.....

Ok, with 12 hours left in voting, my photoshop entry is on SIXTY THIRD place out of 99. That is crap! I saw all the entries. Yes, some are better than mine. I can't deny that. But nowhere near 62 of them are better than mine. That is bullshit. Some in fact are really crappy. Some people commented that the hat on Steve was unrealistic and too bright. Maybe a tad too bright, but I don't think that it makes a HUGE difference in the poster. This pisses me off because I know I am going to see the ones that got better than me and be pissed off at some of them. Remember my crop circle entry awhile back that was musical notes?? That got a better score than the one I have right now and that wasn't even that good. You know one reason why I think my entry is doing so poorly? My entry is near the bottom of the list for voting so once people get that far down, they are tired of voting. That could be killing me with 99 entries. Look, I may come off as bitter and a poor sport, but after seeing what I am up against, I think I deserve better. CRAP!!!

Photoshop contest

I entered another photoshop contest today. I won't find out the results for awhile as today was just the first day. It ends tomorrow and there is another whole day of voting after. So, I won't find out how I did until Monday around 9pm. However, I decided to show it to you guys ahead of time. The contest was to take a movie poster that has nothing to do with Christmas, and make it a holiday film. I thought about it only briefly and came up with this.

Here is the original poster.





















Here is what I changed it to. The guns they are holding, in case you didn't know, are old Nintendo guns. What do you think?

Hot Fuzz

Here is the trailer for Hot Fuzz, a new movie that I am super excited to see. This movie is created and stars all the same people who made Shaun of the Dead. In case you didn't see it, and I wouldn't be surprised, Shaun was a zombie movie that was half horror, half HILARIOUS comedy. Jessica and I watched it and found it to be a very pleasant surprise. It comes highly recommended. Anyways, here is their new movie. Check it out and if the trailer seems even remotely funny, rent Shaun.



Jess and I are going to attempt to Christmas shop today. We truthfully haven't started yet and I am not freaking out quite yet, but I would like to get as much done today as I can.

6 weird things about me

I was tagged by Sebastian to do a 6 weird things about me post. As I had really nothing to write about tonight, and I am trying to write everyday this week, I'll go with this. Damnit though, I have to think about what is weird about me. Sorry Battlerocker, I know you have tuned out already! Damn memes!

1. I can crush a soda can and break a pencil with my toes alone. Yes, my toes are both freakishly strong and ape-like. If I am barefoot, I NEVER bend down to pick anything up. I just simply grab it with my toes and lift it up.

2. I enjoy getting boxers. Not just regular boxers though, fun boxers. All the boxers in my drawer have some sort of print on them - Simpsons, super heroes, movies, etc.

3. My toe nails grow funky. Instead of growing staright out, they curl down around my toes. That is why they are always long. They curl around my toes and I never realize they are long. By the way, and this is the truth, my feet NEVER smell.

4. I am 28 years old and afraid of the dark. It's true. When Jessica used to work night shift, I used to have to sleep with the tv on simply because it couldn't be totally dark when I was going to sleep.

5. I often get told by women that they are jealous of my eyelashes. By now I am used to it, but it used to be embarassing when a female would call her friends over to show off my eyelashes. No, I don't use mascara. They are natural.

6. I hate to eat anything that gets my hands dirty. Ribs...I won't eat them because my hands are constantly dirty. When I eat pizza, I pick up the piece, take a bite, set it down, and wipe my hands. I repeat this for EVERY bite. I don't like the grease on my hand so I go throuhg a lot of napkins when I eat. Jessica thinks it is cute that I ALWAYS pack a napkin when I eat.

There ya go. My six things. I won't tag anyone, but if anyone else feels like doing this, go right ahead...

Liquid Courage.

Any one else notice that my blog titles usually have nothing to do with what I am writing at the time? Aren't I the clever fella?

It finally hit me. I have discussed my past and my regrets and how I have things I'd change. This without a doubt is something I would do over again. This one moment has pretty much defined me without ever really running through my mind much at all. Maybe I have changed certain memories cause it's kinda depressing and I may just be remembering things the way I want to. So be it. This is my take and I don't really know too many people who can contribute much to change the way it went down in my own mind. Except for maybe Coach Sondra, but I don't think she will be reading this any time soon.

Junior year of High School. Best I can recall I was 16 years old. I was the starting goalkeeper for the best division 3 varsity soccer team in the city. Perhaps by default, but I had the job. I can readily admit that I was not the heart and soul of the team. I was not making any all-conference teams, but for our team at the time I was in between the pipes. It was playoff time. As the number one seed in the playoffs, we earned a home game against a High School by the name of Ceres. I did nothing all day at school cause all I thought about was that game later that afternoon. As I write this I can feel that same tension and nervous excitement again running through me. A chance at immortality. Maybe that sounds like a cliche, but it is what it is. I heard talk of people actually being charged to attend the game cause it was a playoff game and certainly any chance for the section to make money off the kids is a good thing. Ok I made that part up, but it sounded funny didn't it? Final bell and now there was maybe 2 hours to kill till game time. I'm really not sure if I went home or just hung out at Manuel's house as was a usual occurrence back in those days. By the way Mom, thanks for all the food back in the day. I can remember getting to the field and seeing something that changed my life.

Someone else was in my goal.

I won't name him cause he doesn't deserve to even be named, but here is the back story. He was basically the kid who took my spot on the varsity team when I transferred overto Foothill High School as a sophomore. Coach Sondra felt I wasn't the right fit for the team at the time. Come the next year he was a field player and I was inserted in goal. He got injured about midway through the season and wasn't playing for us the rest of the season. Until that day. He dusted off his goalie uniform and got to the field early and started warming up for the game in MY goal. And yes I keep saying my goal cause it was my job. I had earned it all year and no one had questioned it all year as far as I know. It seemed to work out well for us considering our record and all, but on with the story.

I put my uniform on and then I stood on the sideline. WAITING. For someone. Anyone. To say something to me. For my coach to explain to me that this was the best move for the team cause he was the better goalie. For my replacement to walk up to me and talk to me about the situation. For my friends and teammates that I had spent nearly 5 months working with to get to this point to look in the goal and ask, "Where is Rich?" I waited. I got no answer. To make it worse I did not ask anyone why. I didn't ask my coach why. I didn't ask my teammates why I was being replaced. I have talked about that day with some of my friends and they don't really have a good answer for me. Part of me hated them for a while for just brushing me off as easily as my coach did. The part that makes me cringe even till this day?

I TOOK IT!

I watched someone else take my goal. I watched someone else play my playoff game. I watched my teammates that I thought depended on me go at it with someone else and they didn't even flinch. I watched for 100 minutes. If memory recalls we played two 40 minute halves and two 10 minute overtimes. I sat in my coat as the rain fell on us all and I did something that still to this day kinda disgusts me. I watched that second goal sail over the back-up goalies head in the final minute of that overtime as we lossed the game and I smiled. "GOOD!"

Talk about repressed anger and memories. My coach was running around trying to get her penalty kick list together as our 5'7" goalie gave up the game winner. Yes I mention his height cause maybe a slightly taller goalie makes the save that he couldn't. Perhaps revisionist history on my part cause no one really knows, but go with me on this one cause I'm being a jerk at the moment.

If you go back to Foothill High School and see the 1994 Capital Valley Conference championship banner for boys soccer hanging wherever it hangs at the school you will know one thing. I spent the next few years telling everyone that I wasn't apart of that team. I wasn't on the field at San Juan HS when we clinched the title cause the injured midfielder took my spot on that day as well. Maybe I should have said something then as well. Maybe I am just remembering this all differently for the effect of the story, but I got a descent memory. I don't recall my coach ever saying you gotta sit now cause our best goalie is back now and he is gonna finish the season for us. If memory serves me correctly He was given a game to perhaps feel him out and see how he was as far as coming back from the injury. The nature of the injury would prevent him from playing his normal midfield position, so the only way to get him in the lineup was through ME. I was good enough to help beat Rio Americano, Center and so on. I was good enough at the beginning of the season, but not the end. Maybe somewhere along the way I showed that I wasn't going to be good enough to get the job done come playoff time. Maybe my teammates didn't believe in me, so they told our coach to replace me. I wish I had a photographic memory, but this is gonna have to do.

Why do I tell this story to you? Cause I have always waited. Just like that. I didn't find a way to get my job back. I didn't go the extra mile to overcome the obstacle. I didn't shake the powers that be cause I wasn't a shaker or a mover. I was a witness to my own lil tragedy. The thing that I think about now? I never got to really know if I was good enough. My senior year we bowed out in the first round of the playoffs with a torn and tattered team as the same kid who replaced me in goal my Junior year yelled, "WAY TO BLOW IT FELLAS." Ya I do remember that clear as day. The last organized soccer game of my life and I got a turncoat teammate spitting on me after the final whistle. If I could relive that moment you can damn sure bet that I would throw the first punch in my life towards that SOB.

I still do it today. Wait that is. I believe I have what might be referred to as excellent self-recognition. I could tell you a lot more stories that followed this lil soccer story, but that would be redundant. I guess I finally found a new fuel. Maybe a slight chip on my shoulder would do me a lil good. I don't call it a grude anymore. Maybe for the first couple of years after, but not so much nowadays. I just wish I had more answers than questions. If that was the case I wouldn't be writing this here blog. So it would be a win-win for everyone, right? Self-deprecating humor is the best kind. No clever lines today after all that.

Oh wait! What are your measurements again Cassie? I gotta get the right sizes for that package. ( wink wink ) I really am just asking for a butt-kicking soon. But it's just too damn fun to insert foot into mouth and be EDGY! Rabble Rock people!

Book review and then some...

I finally found time to finish Deception Point today. Pretty good book I must say as I quite enjoyed it. I can't say I am surprised though as I enjoyed Dan Brown's other three books. If I had to rank them in order of my preference, I would start at the top with Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code, Deception Point, and finally Digital Fortress which was a good book in itself. Brown just has such an easy writing style, it is easy to just flow right through his books. If you liked his other books and haven't read this one, go ahead and check it out.

At the right in my What I am Reading column, I have an issue of Card Player magazine, a magazine I subscribe to. Each issue runs nearly 200 pages of small print articles and comes every 2 weeks. It is easy to fall behind, which is what I have done. I am behind three issues so I am going to concentrate on finishing those before I start a new book. Besides, I don't have a book in mind right now anyway.

I am giving my experiment from yesterday a couple of more days.

Today my sister told me she found a wedding cake she likes, but wanted it in chocolate. She said she couldn't imagine what it would look like though and asked if I could change it in photoshop. Well, I told her I would give it a try. Here is my result.

I took this....



















..and turned it into this. What do you think?

A simple experiment

Today I was looking at my site meter to see the new fun ways that people have found my website lately. There were some crazy ones, but I am going to skip listing them this time. The point of my post is, sometimes, it doesn't make any sense how they got to my website based on what they typed. If I wrote one post on "television" and one post on "dogs", someone who searches for "dogs on television" will find my site. It doesn't make sense, but that is how it goes sometimes. I didn't write a post on different dogs on television, but they still end up on my site. So, it made me think, if I type out a bunch of random words that people might be interested in, will the amount of people visiting go up. I am not looking just to get my numbers up. I don't really care so much about winning any popularity contests. I have my loyal readers and if I happen to get more, so be it. I am just curious if a random headline would make the sitemeter spike dramatically from a bunch of random nonsense. So without further ado, "Scientist admits on tape that the female sex chromosome of a hairy chinchilla can be found in the DNA of Jessica Simpson." Yes, random, but there are of course some certain key words that might drive my site meter bonkers. Or not. Like I said, it is just a test.

Because you got this far, here is the teaser for the new Harry Potter:

The Power of Words

Hopefully this actually comes out of my head properly cause if it doesn't I may just turn a lot of people off. Thanks to Michael Richards for the inspiration. I don't approve of what he did, but for some reason this popped in my head. This will probably be the last time I talk in such a manner.

I, in my life, have used exactly one racial slur. I was 18 and in a Chicago hotel lobby with my friend Matt. For the purposes of the story I add that my friend Matt is White. For some reason that truly shows my lack of ignorance I stated to my friend that, "I felt like a freaking mully," as we waited in line. My friend Matt looked shocked and asked me, "Do you know what that means?" I honestly did not at the time. I don't know why it came out as much as it was just an exasperation with the long travel and because I had heard only one place ever in my life. Eddie Murphy said it in his comedy concert titled "RAW." I, at the time, was pretty young when I saw the film and didn't make the connection that mully was basically an Italian form of saying niggar. Even right now I'm not a hundred percent sure that is the exact translation, but if I recall that is what my friend Matt told me right away. At the time we were traveling 4 deep into a hotel room and one of matt's friends and one of my new acquaintances was a black guy. He wasn't around when I made my statement, so nothing ever came of that. Needless to say I walked around that entire day feeling like a fool. Even today my reason for even saying it sounds lame. I heard it in a movie once and never used the word until that moment? I just plain didn't know what it meant and felt it was ok to use because I saw one of my favorite comedians use the term. I was so ignorant that I used it to describe myself. I, for the record, am a Filipino-Irish-German fella which makes me the opposite of a Mully. If that is even how you spell the damn word. Deep down I always had this feeling that my friend Matt always looked at me differently from that day on. Did just simply saying the word Mully make me a racist?

I prefer to think that it was just my ignorance and lack of knowledge that led to that moment in time. Regardless of intent it still sticks out to me as a memory burn. My question now after the event at the Laugh Factory and my memory included is do we give words way too much power?


Comedian George Carlin once concluded in a famous bit of his that it's not the racists words coming out of a guy's mouth that makes him a racists. Instead, it's the racists asshole saying them that makes him a racists. Perhaps not as clear cut when being recycled out of my mouth, but hopefully you get the point. Terms like Niggar, Mully, Cunt...etc......Just words. I have no experience having to bear the brunt of being called any one of these terms, so I may just sound very naive. Aren't they just words? I have been insulted plenty of times in my life and snapped at lesser terms than the ones I just described. By no means am I saying that people are expected to not react to insensitive and hurtful remarks. But what if we really treated words as just words?

What if, after Michael Richards explosion the people in the balcony had no response? Instead, they just simply sighed, smiled and shook their head at a pathetic man who was so fed up with being heckled that all he could do was pulled out the insult atom bomb. Sure they had every right to get mad and leave the facility. People have every right to take offence at Richards' tirade. What if they had just killed the power of the word by not saying a damn thing? I know there is a sordid past and for the longest time it has meant nothing but bad things to a whole lot of people. In my theoretical world I would suggest doing this to every insulting and degrading word. Not just Niggar. I am not here to free the use of the word for everyone simply because I alone don't take offence to many insults. I have not been practicing what I am currently preaching, so I don't have any empirical evidence handy. I will though. Next time I am in that situation I will sigh, smile and shake my head disapprovingly. Cause calling me a worthless lazy mother fucker doesn't indeed make me that. Just cause Michael Richards called a group of black people niggars does not indeed make them niggars. And ladies, just cause some jerk calls you a bitch or a whore or cunt, does not make you any of those things. They are all still just words.

Maybe I am being liberal and idealistic. Naive for sure. What if? What if people didn't respond to racial slurs, sexists remarks or otherwise unsavory language? They would not lose their meaning, but wouldn't they lose the power we have given them over time? The FCC and other forms of censoring groups are policing the words we use and the way we use them to protect from how powerful they are to us, but are they really that powerful? Would the world come to a screetching halt cause some radio DJ referred to a caller as cock? I'm not saying this would stop hate. Maybe it would just put words in a slightly better perspective.

I know I may have lost a lot of people with this. Honesty has ruined my life before. I guess I will just let all of you decide for me cause I am in no place to judge my actions or thoughts. I am biased. I kinda like me. And I kinda like people. So if you find fault in who I am please respond. I think I am still the same dude that I was before I wrote this. I'd provide more history for you, but that just seems like me attempting to justify my mistake. I am not sorry for being a racist cause I am not a racist. I am sorry for being an ignorant fool who lemminged his way into saying what I saw on TV without actually getting it. This post was after all about the power of words. I say give it a try sometime. Deflate the power of an insult instantly. Smile and walk away from it. Maybe then words can just be words. And people can just be people.

Shout out to Opie and Anthony and Lil Jimmy Norton. You guys actually make me think outside the box and this post is for you. Special hello to Cassie as well. Just cause you are engaged doesn't mean I am going to stop being my charming self. And I have to state that for the record I got clearance to deliver the package. :) Then again after this post I might be exiled into blogdom hell for all eternity, so no one will get that package. Spread the virus! Rabble Rock!

About damn time....

Yes, I am back and I apologize for being away so long. Here is what happened: As you may remember, I was sick a few weeks back. Well, over three weeks later, I am starting to get better. I developed bronchitis and it just made me feel pretty crappy. I wasn't down and out sick, but energy was low. In the middle of all that, I got my Playstation 3. Well, besides playing games, it also has wireless internet access. After opening it up, I attempted to get the wireless to work. I messed with my router and with some tinkering by me, I not only managed to not get my internet on the Playstation working, but lost my internet on my laptop as well. It wasn't until a few days ago that a friend of mine got everything back up again. So now, everything is back to normal. I feel way behind though. I haven't checked everyone's blog in almost 2 weeks, in addition to the countless entertainment websites I browse on a daily basis. But I am back. I know I am too far behind to catch up with all of what I have missed, but I promise that I am back on a regular basis, both here and on your respective blogs.

So what else has happened lately:

A couple of weeks ago, Jess and I, with the help of my sis, threw a surprise 30th wedding anniversary party for my folks. We rented a hall, invited people from as far as 8 hours away, and had a GREAT party. It was fun to have so many people together for the first time in a long time. Some pictures from the fun event:





















Thanksgiving was a great time as usual, preceded by the annual Turkey Bowl - tackle football with my friends. Well, it used to be with my friends. Each year, more drop out and we have to bring in other people to fill numbers. It feels like the game might be reaching its end unfortunately. My injuries weren't quite as bad this year. If you remember from last year, I scraped up my leg and that led to blood poisoning and a nasty infection. Look back a year if you want to see the pictures. This year, just some bruises. Some bad bad bruises, but just bruises nonetheless. I hope this picture doesn't disgust you too much!

That one on my chest hurt like a son of a bitch and actually ended up looking worse than pictured here. Maybe I am getting to old for this...







That is it for now, but damnit, I'm back!

ERROR!!!!

Sorry, experiencing technical difficulties - computer stuff. I have so much to talk about too - Michael Richards, OJ, new Rocky trailer, new Harry Potter poster, my PS3 adventure, my parents' surprise party, but I won't be able to for a while. Have a Happy Thaksgiving, sorry to all my fellow bloggers that I have been unable to visit, and I will see you all hopefully after Thanksgiving.

Where's Manuel?

Has anyone noticed we haven't heard from Manuel in a few days? Has anyone wondered why? I'll show you...

Yep, that's him, camped out in front of Target since 11am Wednesday waiting for his Playstation 3, which comes out tomorrow at 8am. I'm sure we'll hear all about his adventures when he comes back. In the mean time, wish him warmth.

Do-It-Yourself IS NOT Always Best

Like the vast majority of women, I feel the need to control my body hair. This includes shaving my legs and underarms, as well as occasionally having the hair pulled off my face in the form of waxing my eyebrows.

I used to pay to have this done. I would give someone my hard-earned money to torture me and pull the hair off my face. Then it occurred to me - I could torture myself basically for free, after I bought all the stuff. And, crunching the numbers, I figured that after I had done it twice, it would pay for itself.

The first time I waxed my eyebrows, it went very well. I found that it hurt considerably less simply because I knew when the rip was coming. I broke out less afterward, and, like I did when I paid for it, I didn't have to come home and tweeze the hairs I could see but they couldn't. Yes, this waxing my own eyebrows was a BRILLIANT idea!

Until today...

My right eyebrow is considerably thinner than I would normally have it, and my left eyebrow is this close to having a bald spot. I don't know if I wasn't in the mood to do it or if I just wasn't as careful as I was last time, but today I learned that doing it yourself is not always best. Sometimes is it worth spending your hard-earned money to be tortured. At least you don't walk out of the salon looking like a dork...

Guitar Hero 2

As you know, Manuel and I recently celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. We discussed the gifts we would give each other, and it was decided that I would buy him a Playstation 3 game when he got his Playstation 3 (be it when it comes out next week or later when supplies increase.)

We were out and about tonight, as I was going crazy from being cooped up in the house because of Manuel's cold all last week. We stopped by Best Buy because we needed some color cartridges for our photo printer, and they had a demo set up where you could play the new Guitar Hero 2 that came out for Playstation 2 this week. We had seen a few videos on YouTube where people were playing in expert mode, and we were fascinated. The kids playing at Best Buy were nowhere near as good, but it was still fun to watch.

Having been married to Manuel for 4 years, and dating him for 6 years before we got married, I know him pretty well, and I could see it in his eyes - he wanted it. He REALLY wanted it. So, after a little but of protesting on his part (and truthfully, I think the protesting was all a show only because he believed it was the right thing to do) I bought it for him.

And here we are, at 1240 am, taking turns playing with it. In case you don't know what it is, it's a video game where you play a guitar and have to push the "notes" in time with the "notes" on the screen to make beautiful music. And if you don't hit them right on, the song doesn't sound nearly as good.

I took pictures of Manuel playing, to document his enjoyment of his anniversary gift (and dare I admit, I think it's quite fun as well!)

RIP Jack Palance 1919-2006

So, so sad to see this fine actor go. I still remember him doing his pushups at the Acadamy Awards. Post your favorite Jack moment!

It's Friday Part 2

Thought this should go in its own post so it doesn't steal the thunder of everything else I wrote! This is a picture of my beautiful, wonderful sister(What is with my big eyes?). Now, I can say, this is a picture of my beautiful, wonderful, ENGAGED sister. Yes, her and her boyfriend are now engaged and getting married next September 1st. Yes, it is many months away, but be sure to wish them love and happiness. May they have a long, sucessful marriage! Love you sis!

It's Friday Part 1

It's Friday and I have so much news to report. I might actually split this into two posts so I don't overwhelm you and some of what I wrote doesn't get overlooked.

First off, the photoshop news. Like I said, I entered a photoshop contest. The contest was to insert musical notes into an image. Some people made clouds that looked like a musical note, some made bamboo into a muscial note(the winner), and I did this:



It is supposed to look like a crop circle shaped like a musical note. What do you think? It was fun, so I think I'll enter one again when I contest interests me. By the way, 75 people entered and I got 29th place. I was more than satisfied with it.

I told you I had some Michael Jackson news and it is exciting!. Next week, at the World Music Awards in London, MJ will be making a comeback of sorts by perfoming Thriller on stage, complete with dancers dressed as zombies doing the Thriller dance. I think this is exciting news. Call him what you want, and I know his is all kooky in the head now, but if he ever decided to return to normalcy again and tour here, I would SO be there! Regardless, I hope this performance makes it onto tv. Here is the Thriller video to make you nostalgic. You know you want to watch!!!



Wanted to show more of the google searches people are doing to get to my site. There were some funny ones last time, so here are some from the last few days or so:

1."what does schnike mean?" - They don't already know?!?!?
2."when someone is insane as you clearly are movie quotes" - Someone likes Se7en!
3."Chris Klein Total Alpha heterosexual" - Interesting...
4."gg: vampires "do not explode when sunlight hits them" - I am mpre curious what the gg at the beginning means
5."stephanie mcmahon .vs playboy" - A fight? Rich, know anything about this?
6."ufc 65 will suck" - Huh? Maybe Rich or my sis know something about this.

There you have. Some interesting ones...

Finally, the new Spiderman III trailer was released last night. I was going to post it, but isnce it was on like every channel last night, you probably caught it. If not, go check it out online it's good.

FINALLY!

What a day of finallys(is that even a word?)! I am finally starting to feel better, and Rich finally posted again in what seems like a month. I always like his posts because they have more meat to them. More substance. My posts are like a cheeseburger. His are like filet mignon. Totally different, but both yummy. It is no suprise though that my posts tend to go more in the cheeseburger direction as I would prefer a cheeseburger to a filet mignon. Go figure...

I read that some people around the country are starting to line up already for the Playstation 3. Over a week ahead of schedule. Now, I really want one, but I am not going to THOSE lengths. I just hope when I decide to get in line Thursday morning still 24 hours early, it is not too late.

There is a great website that I found recently that does nothing but photoshop contests. They give you a topic, and you have 2 days to complete it. They have advanced and beginner contests. I finally entered one yesterday and today they are being voted on. I think around 75 people entered the contest, so being my first one, I just want to finish in the top HALF of entries. That would be a good goal. I find out tonight. My contest was to put musical notes somewhere in a scene or some kind of object made to look like a music note. The example was a cord for a computer mouse tangled up to look like a music note. This of course had to be done with photoshop, not really done in real life. I'll show you what I made tomorrow.

I don't think I ever sent out kudos for the last movie quote quiz. At least I don't think I did. Either way, congrats to Nani for getting the first one and for Kelly to get the other two. Other people got them right, but they were first. Congrats.

Take care, and be sure to check out and comment on Rich's post below. Exciting Micheal Jackson news tomorrow as well as the new trailer for Spiderman 3!!!

Forever taking the SAT's

I guess I wonder about things way too much. That is usually why I never sit down and complete one thought because I have already moved onto the next random idea by the time I document my original light bulb. That is my lame excuse for not doing anything for the past 2 months or so. I have sooo much free time and what do I do with it all? Usually nothing productive. That said, here is my one moment of literary genius for the day.

I voted yesterday. Got my little sticker and filled in the tiny bubbles. As I did this I realized something. Perhaps not an original thought or even a mantra or whatnot.

Isn't life just a series of Mad Libs and Multiple Choice Tests?????

Today everyone will wake up and make a choice. Shower or no shower? Then it will continue. Cereal or oatmeal? Ya see what I mean? My point being that as ordinary as your life can be on a day to day basis it is always different. ALWAYS. As ordinary as these choices are they will effect everything you do for the day. One decision leads to the next question and you will arrive at your answer for that next question based upon what you did prior to that moment. Within all these multiple choice pop quizzes are the mad libs. The template questions that we all get every single day. How do you fill in the blanks with those classic, "Well my day is going ______."

So you get my drift, right? I guess I think of life in this matter cause I wonder sometimes if I had chosen bubble B instead of A where would I be? I think for the most part that kind of thinking comes from dissatisfaction with the results of what I actually did choose. Otherwise why would I be looking back. Maybe instead of wanting to change past decisions I should worry about the new ones I am about to make today. Makes that whole life is a test kinda thing more of a reality to me I suppose. Ya know I have no clever way to end this, so just hi to all my fans out there and make sure you stay alert. The next pop quiz is on it's way ASAP. Rabble Rock

News to make me feel better...

It's all over the news! Britney Spears has filed for divorce from Keven Federline. I miss the days when I would drool over Britney. it really has nothing to do with her being pregnant, she just started looking trashy. Hopefully, this divorce will bring back the hot Britney. The news inspired me to do this photoshop creation on the fly....

Yuck...

Still sick and have been since Friday night. I'm tired of this. I am usually a quick recovery kind of guy, but not this one I guess. I'm barely sleeping. I feel a little better today so hopefully I am on the upward slope.

The image on my face in the last pic was Morro Rock at sunset. I am so disappointed in my family...

It is only a little over a week now until Playstation 3 comes out. On Friday the 17th, supposedly at 8am, they are scheduled to be released. I was hoping that would go on sale at 12:01 am. Maybe they still will as I don't want to camp overnight. I guess you do what you have to do to get one though. Supplies are SUPER limited so I am going to have to get there pretty early. Wish me luck...

Still sick...

Yeah, my last post was just earlier today, but I'm just keeping you updated.

Here is a photoshop pic I just did. It's pretty similar to that last one, but with a scenery background. My family should know where this is....

Sick...

The post applies both to me and this funny article. I'm sick right now, so all you are going to get from me right now is an article I cam across this morning. Sorry to everyone to all fellow bloggers as I haven't been up to checking out other blogs the last couple of days. I hope I get better soon. In the meantime, check out this article...


Naked man arrested for concealed weapon

EL CERRITO, Calif. - A man was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon after police found him outdoors — naked — and he told them he had a tool in his rectum, authorities said.

The man was lying on a tree stump, masturbating beside a nature path, near a Bay Area Rapid Transit station Thursday, police said.

John Sheehan, 33, of Pittsburg, was initially arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure. But when asked whether he was carrying anything police should know about, Sheehan mentioned the tool, said El Cerrito Detective Cpl. Don Horgan.

"You can't get much more concealed than that," Horgan said.

Officers drew their weapons and firefighters were called to the scene. Sheehan removed a 6-inch metal awl wrapped in black electrical tape without incident.

Sheehan, who was paroled from state prison last week, was then booked into jail on suspicion of parole violations, indecent exposure and one felony count of possessing a concealed weapon.

"When you're talking about an awl or an ice pick and you're dealing with somebody who's fresh out of prison, it's a weapon. That's a stabbing instrument," Horgan said.

It was not immediately clear what Sheehan was on parole for. A person answering the phone at the jail Friday night did not know whether Sheehan had a lawyer.

I LOVE crazy people!!!

Love trivia

As you can see from the post my wife left below, today is my anniversary. In honor of that, here are some romatic movie quotes to set the mood. Hope someone knows some of these. Have a good day...

1)Well, yes, ma'am, I do... I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or, who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count.

2)Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.

3)Your true love lives. And you marry another. True Love saved her in the Fire Swamp, and she treated it like garbage. And that's what she is, the Queen of Refuse. So bow down to her if you want, bow to her. Bow to the Queen of Slime, the Queen of Filth, the Queen of Putrescence. Boo. Boo. Rubbish. Filth. Slime. Muck. Boo. Boo. Boo.

Happy Anniversary, My Sunshine!

4 years ago today Manuel and I got married. What an absolutely fantastic day that was. Here are some random thoughts on that day...

* We were so lucky - nothing except the caterers putting the punch out too late went wrong.
* Manuel looked very handsome in his tuxedo.
* I was surprised with a bouquet of red roses from my soon-to-be-husband, delivered to my hotel room as I was putting on my earrings.
* I stepped on my wedding dress as I was walking up the few stairs leading to the aisle. I was stuck and couldn't go anywhere until I let go of either my mom or my dad (I can't remember which, as they both walked me down the aisle) to lift my dress out from under my shoes.
* When we kissed, the harpist played a magical music sound.
* Everyone laughed at the part in the vows where Manuel promised to be my partner in mischief. In fact, they laughed so loudly that he didn't hear the rest of the vow and mumbled a response instead.
* When I took pictures with my family before the wedding, Manuel's grandparents walked in and I freaked out because I thought he was going to come inside and see me.
* My last breakfast as a single woman was a bowl of Frosted Flakes.
* We got a $100 bill from someone during the money dance!
* My step-dad was so drunk that when he made his toast, he told us that "it doesn't get any better than this," when really he meant to say, "it only gets better." When we danced our father/daughter dance later, he said to me, "I think I messed up the toast. What I meant to say was that it doesn't get any better than this." He said the same thing again!
* When Cassie, my sister-in-law, took the microphone from the DJ to make her toast, he shocked her and she said, "SHIT!" right into the microphone.
* The DJ put Manuel on the spot and told him to do a sexy walk over to me to take my garter off. The DJ told me that if I didn't like his sexy walk, I could clap my hands, sending him back to make him do it again. His sexy walk was fine, but even if it wasn't, I wouldn't have clapped because I know it would have pissed Manuel off and that's not the way to start a marriage.
* We went to the hotel bar after the reception was over, and a lady in the bar bought us a bottle of champagne and told us that she hoped our marriage worked out better than any of hers had.
* When we went up to the hotel room when the day was finally done, Manuel helped me take my hair down, and I was nearly in tears because the bobby pins were stuck in my hair so well that it hurt to take them out.

Such fond memories of the happiest day of my life. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. Not everyone is lucky enough to be married to their best friend.

In honor of our anniversary, here are the lyrics to our song, the first song we danced to as husband and wife.

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No nothing else matters

Thank you, Manuel, for everything you do for me. I love you with every ounce of my being.

New season, new hope

Today the Kings have their first game of the NBA season. In the recent past, a new season meant high expectations for a team that could contend for the title. Those days are now gone for the Kings. In fact, I don't know what to expect from this group. Having one of our stars out to begin the season doesn't help. If I had to guess, I would say the Kings are going to win somewhere between 40 and 45 games. That should give them somewhere between the 7th and 9th place teams in the conference. Yes, they might not even make the playoffs. No matter what happens, I'll watch and it should be interesting. Hey, if they lose a lot, I can always swith to another game as I paid the $170 again to have every single NBA game available to me. Love that NBA league pass! Nothing like turning on the tv and having 12 NBA games on...

You know what I have been having fun with? Checking my site meter to see what people type in on google to get to my blog. Now you regulars, you guys don't usually show up because you have it bookmarked or something like that. But how about stangers to visit my site? How do they end up on my site? These are a list of things people have typed in on a search engine the last few days to get to my site:
1)Jessica Manuel (ok, maybe that is someone's name they are looking for)
2)USPS Lost and misdirected mail facts jury summons (What does that even mean?)
3)Eddie Guerrero LatiNo Heat 1967-2005 Photos (Sweet!)
4)oriental not politically correct (Hmm...)
5)Manuel gay (I CERTAINLY AM NOT!!!)
6)her feet smelled (What were they looking for?)
7)Ewok dog (ORKO!!!)
8)NITRO BLOWS UP A SCHOOLYARD FULL OF KIDS (Comic reference...someone likes caps)
9)En Manuel CANT (Uhh.....???)
10)ufc after parties in sacramento (That you Rich?)

I'll try to keep you updated as more fun searches come along....

Congrats to my wife for getting all the quotes right! Sad though that nobody else has even tried the last two times. I'll try one more time and see if I get responses. Tomorrow, I'll post some romance movie quotes in honor of my 4th wedding anniversary tomorrow....

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody. No party for me tonight, but I did dress up my face anyways, courtesy of photoshop. I wanted to go as the Thing from the Fantastic Four. Here is a pic in case you don't know who I am talking about:

I'll post the photoshop pic at the end.

I heard some VERY exciting news today on the comic front. One of the best comics I have read since I started up again was a mini series called Marvel Zombies. It is a series that imagines what would happen if all the super heroes turned into zombies. It was very fun and a big commercial success. Well, like all success stories these days, it demanded a sequal. Yesterday, Marbel announced that they are bringing back the zombies, and they will have to fight none other than ASH. If you haven't seen the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness films, you have no idea who I am talking about. Ash, played by the awesome Bruce Campbell, will make an appearance to fight the zombies in a mini series called Marvel Zombies vs The Army of Darkness. Should be really fun. I can think of at least one person who will want this... Valkyrie, I'm looking at you! Here is some preview art, complete with a spelling typo!

I am disappointed that everyone did so poorly in the movie quote quiz. I guess it was too obscure an actor. Well, it was Carl Weathers, and the movies were 1)Rocky, 2)Predator, and 3)(which Jess got!) Happy Gilmore.

I'll make this one easier! The rules are change din honor of Halloween. These are three totally different actors. What horror movies are these from? Bonus if you know the actors who said them...

1)Because he's probably dead. His body will come popping up in the last reel somewhere. Eyes gouged out, fingers cut off, teeth knocked out! See, the police are always off track with this shit! If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time! There's a formula to it. A very simple formula! Everybody's a suspect!

2)Did they look like psychos? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires. Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!

3)I've been trying to figure something in my head, and maybe you can help me out, yeah? When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you're insane? Maybe you're just sitting around, reading "Guns and Ammo", masturbating in your own feces, do you just stop and go, "Wow! It is amazing how fucking crazy I really am!"? Yeah. Do you guys do that?

I think these are easy...hopefully. I know at least Jess should get them so beat her to the punch...


Happy Halloween everybody!

GG's 100th Birthday Party 10/21/06

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Book review and a new photoshop pic

I finished Beach Road last night. Not a bad book. I quite enjoyed it. Basically, it is a murder mystery with all the court room drama in the last third of the book. If you are into that kind of book, you will really enjoy it. The twist ending is a good one. It didn't make my jaw drop like it did to Jessica who read this right before me, but it was definitely not an ending that I saw coming at all. I should probably start giving my books ratings if I am going to be doing these book reviews. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it about a 7. A good fast read.

Played with a photoshop tutorial today that I found online. This tutorial aimed to take a photo, and make it look like it is graffiti on a wall.

So I took these two pictures:


...and turned it into this:


I know I am new to this whole photoshop thing, but I think I am getting better. I think for Christmas, I am going to ask for a photoshop tutorial book for beginners that has LOTS of pictures. I work better with pictures. I have a photoshop book, but it is nothing but text, and am having a hard time getting into it.

BTW, if you haven't tried your hand at the movie quote quiz on the post below, be sure to give it a try. Have a good weekend everybody.