A good friend and I meet up for lunch at least once a week. He works in the mall that is a few blocks away and today we spent our hour sitting and watching little kids on the indoor playground there, chuckling to ourselves about how easily amused and cute they all were. I’m pretty sure they would have been just as entertained with a cardboard box as they were with this 4ft tall boat.
I have been on the look out a few weeks now for a new hat and after leaving my friend I somehow wondered into a store towards their sales bin where I found the perfect one for $10. My head is ecstatic.
I said I ‘somehow wondered’ because I was on the phone and not really paying attention to what I was doing… (apparently I spend money when I’m not paying attention, hmm).. but as this hat was getting out of my mind and into my life…(why am I hearing Billy Ocean right now??)… I was finalizing the plans for a cupcake baking party, (for prom), on Thursday at my house. I don’t even like cupcakes, but the thought of baking them with a few of my girlfriends sort of fancies me.
It’s the simple things in life that make me smile.
Happy Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
8 days and counting.
I’m finding great humor in the fact that, at age 25, I was just asked to my first dance. A long time friend of mine messaged me a few days ago from Arizona and asked if I would go to prom with him. I immediately informed him that it was rude to tease a girl about such a thing. This morning he sent me his flight itinerary. How could I refuse?? It’s entirely besides the point that his family lives here and that I’m pretty sure he was planning on coming anyways... what is relative is that I now have a date to the prom and someone to slow dance to Celine Dion with. I find the whole thing rather humorous and cute. Now I just need to find a dress…
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
today’s tid-bits
The Giants? Really? GO PATRIOTS!!!
I reinjured an old knee wound from back in Nam snowboarding last Sunday. Of course I continued to ride for another 5 hours. As a result a co-worker is taking great joy in being able to call me gimpy again. I suppose I deserve it. My new dodgeball season starts next week and naturally I will be playing regardless of the handicap. I apparently love learning the hard way…. and I’m stubborn.
My Grandparents, I will have you know, are quite the gamblers. They are frequent offenders of a little place called Atlantic City. Once a year my Mom’s side of the family meets there to eat, visit, and gamble (obviously). How it works: Grandmas on the slots, my Aunts and Uncle are on various card tables, and Gpa is meandering around between everyone keeping tabs on individual’s winnings and making sure we all know when and where we're eating again so we can do the aforementioned visiting thing. Gramps is turning 80 at the end of next month but taking a preemptive trip to the AC in two weeks, so now I am as well. I’m not sure that any other extended family will be there besides the Grand-rents, but in addition to them I’ll get to see my Dad (who has since moved to the east coast), my brother (who I haven’t seen in… I’m not actually sure anymore), and my prego sister (I’m looking forward to seeing her nice and plump). I leave Friday morning and get back Sunday night. 2 days of planes, trains, and automobiles for 1 day of fam time. It’s worth it.
Prom is in nine days. NINE DAYS PEOPLE!!! The decoration committee is hard at work, 100’s of cupcakes are being made to serve along with the punch (which I plan on spiking), and I’m working on a list of early 90’s songs for the DJs that definitely need to be played. This may just be the most ridiculous thing ever. Well, maybe.
Last but certainly not least, in case you were wondering about the monster truck show… I’m pretty sure my face in this picture accurately portrays how absolutely fantasmica it was….
You know you want one…
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Key note for the day:
It is almost time for Girl Scout cookies!!
him: Do you ever correlate the girl scouts with drug dealing?
these girls get rounded up
they are given product from their supplier
who get it from their supplier
all the money that they make they have to give back
and all they get is a merit badge or some ish like that
what do the girls get out of it?
me : sugar high?
him: gotta get that fix
‘I need some more smack bird’
but none the less I do like those damn cookies
He's got a good point.
him: Do you ever correlate the girl scouts with drug dealing?
these girls get rounded up
they are given product from their supplier
who get it from their supplier
all the money that they make they have to give back
and all they get is a merit badge or some ish like that
what do the girls get out of it?
me : sugar high?
him: gotta get that fix
‘I need some more smack bird’
but none the less I do like those damn cookies
He's got a good point.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Are you ready for some football??
Well I’m not. Not really anyways. Not after the Hawks had their asses handed to them on Saturday. I could rant on about what a horrible game that was but I’ll refrain and get on with what I’m really festering over. Who the hell am I going to cheer for in the AFC championship game?? I’m fairly confident that either team could beat the winner of the NFC game, but I find myself at odds with who gets my vote.
I am a Charger by birth. I was born in San Diego and they, along with the Padres, will forever be my default teams. Last season my Hawks section nearly gave me the boot because I wore my ’86 Chargers t-shirt (how I still fit into it is beyond me) underneath my Seattle jersey and I caught myself cheering for SD as we clinched the win. <---- Did you see how I just did that?? I said ‘we’ as if I am still a Charger. I’m sure I will eventually be ousted as a true Hawks fan for such things. I have a soft spot. Give me a break. So here is my dilemma: I would really like to see first hand (via the television obviously) an undefeated season by the Patriots. They are now just two games away from accomplishing this but in order to do so they would have to beat my Chargers in Sundays AFC championship game. So who am I going to cheer for?? My ‘home’ team? Or the second team in NFL history to have a perfect regular and post season? At this point I’ll just have to wait until I’m watching the game and see who I end up screaming at the television for (because I do that sort of thing). If only they could play each other in the Super Bowl.
The two reasons why I don’t really care about the NFC game now that the Hawks are out: the Packers and the Giants.
Green Bay beat Seattle. Hard. Granted the Hawks didn’t really show up to play so I should be upset with them, but instead I’ve opted to point the finger elsewhere and blame the Packers on their own victory. Yeah, it would be nice to see Favre win in his last season (maybe?), and sure he’s a great quarterback with a laundry list of various awards, rings, and records under his belt… one of which includes most interceptions thrown ((had to throw that one out there (no pun intended). Really, who would want that??))… and he of course helped mold the Hawk’s own Hasselbeck into the QB he is today so I should be grateful… but despite all of these things, all of the reasons I should want to see him succeed, there is one particular thing keeping me from wanting to see the team succeed and advance to the Super Bowl… I’m bitter. *folds arms*
And then there are the Giants. It’s 2004 and Eli Manning is the number one draft pick by the San Diego Chargers… and then he refuses to play for them because they are not a good enough team. Excuse me? Aren’t you new?? Subsequently he was traded to the New York Giants. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of how/why the draft is set up the way it is don’t you think?? Hate to dislike an entire team because of one person, but the QB is the front man so the cards just fall that way some times.
**Small disclaimer - I am fully aware that none of these reasons are the most statistical way I could approach either of these games, but it is what it is.**
So here’s how I see it:
If the Patriots beat the Chargers, (notice I said ‘if’), then they will win the Super Bowl. I think they could beat both NY and Green Bay, but that they would have a more difficult time with the latter. Patriots are currently 0-1 against Green Bay in previous SBs, so their chance at redemption, along with the obvious potential 19-0 record, would add another interesting element. This team match up would be the most entertaining in my opinion, although one scenario that would be just RAD to see... NY and SD. Watching Eli be defeated by the team he refused to play for would be absolutely priceless.
I’ll be snowboarding all day on Sunday so the TiVo will be set and the games will be awaiting my return… so no one call me and say who won or you’ll ruin Christmas!!
I hate to say it, but football this year needs to just hurry up and end so I can focus more on my true love, basketball.
I am a Charger by birth. I was born in San Diego and they, along with the Padres, will forever be my default teams. Last season my Hawks section nearly gave me the boot because I wore my ’86 Chargers t-shirt (how I still fit into it is beyond me) underneath my Seattle jersey and I caught myself cheering for SD as we clinched the win. <---- Did you see how I just did that?? I said ‘we’ as if I am still a Charger. I’m sure I will eventually be ousted as a true Hawks fan for such things. I have a soft spot. Give me a break. So here is my dilemma: I would really like to see first hand (via the television obviously) an undefeated season by the Patriots. They are now just two games away from accomplishing this but in order to do so they would have to beat my Chargers in Sundays AFC championship game. So who am I going to cheer for?? My ‘home’ team? Or the second team in NFL history to have a perfect regular and post season? At this point I’ll just have to wait until I’m watching the game and see who I end up screaming at the television for (because I do that sort of thing). If only they could play each other in the Super Bowl.
The two reasons why I don’t really care about the NFC game now that the Hawks are out: the Packers and the Giants.
Green Bay beat Seattle. Hard. Granted the Hawks didn’t really show up to play so I should be upset with them, but instead I’ve opted to point the finger elsewhere and blame the Packers on their own victory. Yeah, it would be nice to see Favre win in his last season (maybe?), and sure he’s a great quarterback with a laundry list of various awards, rings, and records under his belt… one of which includes most interceptions thrown ((had to throw that one out there (no pun intended). Really, who would want that??))… and he of course helped mold the Hawk’s own Hasselbeck into the QB he is today so I should be grateful… but despite all of these things, all of the reasons I should want to see him succeed, there is one particular thing keeping me from wanting to see the team succeed and advance to the Super Bowl… I’m bitter. *folds arms*
And then there are the Giants. It’s 2004 and Eli Manning is the number one draft pick by the San Diego Chargers… and then he refuses to play for them because they are not a good enough team. Excuse me? Aren’t you new?? Subsequently he was traded to the New York Giants. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of how/why the draft is set up the way it is don’t you think?? Hate to dislike an entire team because of one person, but the QB is the front man so the cards just fall that way some times.
**Small disclaimer - I am fully aware that none of these reasons are the most statistical way I could approach either of these games, but it is what it is.**
So here’s how I see it:
If the Patriots beat the Chargers, (notice I said ‘if’), then they will win the Super Bowl. I think they could beat both NY and Green Bay, but that they would have a more difficult time with the latter. Patriots are currently 0-1 against Green Bay in previous SBs, so their chance at redemption, along with the obvious potential 19-0 record, would add another interesting element. This team match up would be the most entertaining in my opinion, although one scenario that would be just RAD to see... NY and SD. Watching Eli be defeated by the team he refused to play for would be absolutely priceless.
I’ll be snowboarding all day on Sunday so the TiVo will be set and the games will be awaiting my return… so no one call me and say who won or you’ll ruin Christmas!!
I hate to say it, but football this year needs to just hurry up and end so I can focus more on my true love, basketball.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Monster Jam!!!
Anything that goes BOOM!!!, gets crunched, smashed, obliterated, can be lit on fire, implodes, or explodes kind of excites me. I would love to be a pyrotechnic. Being on site for a demolition and pushing the big red button for some 30-something story building has always been a fantasy of sorts. In a nut shell, I like watching things be destroyed. When the old Kingdome stadium here in Seattle was set to be demolished I planned out my viewing spot 2 months in advance. It was in that same stadium that I went to my last monster truck show. This Saturday I get to go rock out again, (this time in the Tacoma dome), watch a little derby action, and see some big trucks break shit. I’m stoked.
Things to be expected:
- a variety of mullets
- an array of handle bar mustaches
- chaps (I’ll give double points for no pants underneath)
- to loose a few brain cells by inhaling exhaust fumes
- total inhalation of multiple cars
- something to be set on fire
- to leave wanting my own monster truck
- a damn good time
BRING IT!!
Things to be expected:
- a variety of mullets
- an array of handle bar mustaches
- chaps (I’ll give double points for no pants underneath)
- to loose a few brain cells by inhaling exhaust fumes
- total inhalation of multiple cars
- something to be set on fire
- to leave wanting my own monster truck
- a damn good time
BRING IT!!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Luis Bernal
My friend Luis (aka Taco) was murdered on December 11th, 2006. The first of two trials recently concluded and tomorrow afternoon i will be going to the sentencing of the first person found guilty. I was asked by the family to write a victims impact letter to the court and will possibly be reading it aloud tomorrow.
Love and hugs.
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT
State of Washington vs. ABEL EDUARDO CONTRERAS Superior Court
Cause No. 06-1-05904-4
State of Washington vs. Anthony N. Sakellis
Cause No. 06-1-05885-4
I appreciate this opportunity to let the court know how the death of Luis Bernal has personally affected me. This is something that I have been forced to think about ever since last December, and no matter how much time passes finding the words to describe how I feel about the murder of my friend still proves to be very difficult.
I have known Luis for over 10 years. He was a loving son and brother, along with a caring friend and former roommate. He was a teddy bear and could always bring a smile to anyone’s face. I have countless memories of him including traveling, video games, hearing him play records, various road trips, late night talks, food runs, kitchen cleaning parties, holidays, shared pets, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, the last memory and image I have of him now is of his murdered body lying in a coffin, dressed in his favorite football jersey, covered in a blanket, and wishing that he’d just jump up and tell me that it was just one of his stupid pranks. Only it was not. I have spent countless hours playing out what that fateful night may have been like for him. I have heard him calling for help, and I have envisioned him being shot and killed. I have never wanted any of those thoughts to run through my head, but they have. His death has brought up emotions within me ranging everything from depression to rage. I feel sorrow for everyone who has been left to deal with this horrendous loss and I am angry at those who are responsible for making us feel this way. We will never be able to call Luis on the phone again. We will never be able to hear his voice. We will never share another birthday, laugh, story, smile, or joke. We will never find out what his children will be like, and he will never experience the joys of being an Uncle. How can anyone accurately portray the feelings these facts create? And how are we supposed to cope and accept his loss when it was something so completely unnatural and at the hands of another human being?
This letter was suppose to be written in order for me to explain what the impact of Luis Bernal’s death has been on me, but I don’t think that any arrangement or amount of words will ever give justice to how torn inside I am about this situation, and neither will any sentence that is ever handed down to the defendant. Luis will be missed by so many and no amount of jail time served will ever bring him back. My only wish is that the court recognizes the fact that Abel Eduardo Contreras deserves to be in jail as long as possible because five, ten, or fifteen years down the road Abel will still have the one thing that he robbed Luis of: His life.
Love and hugs.
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT
State of Washington vs. ABEL EDUARDO CONTRERAS Superior Court
Cause No. 06-1-05904-4
State of Washington vs. Anthony N. Sakellis
Cause No. 06-1-05885-4
I appreciate this opportunity to let the court know how the death of Luis Bernal has personally affected me. This is something that I have been forced to think about ever since last December, and no matter how much time passes finding the words to describe how I feel about the murder of my friend still proves to be very difficult.
I have known Luis for over 10 years. He was a loving son and brother, along with a caring friend and former roommate. He was a teddy bear and could always bring a smile to anyone’s face. I have countless memories of him including traveling, video games, hearing him play records, various road trips, late night talks, food runs, kitchen cleaning parties, holidays, shared pets, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, the last memory and image I have of him now is of his murdered body lying in a coffin, dressed in his favorite football jersey, covered in a blanket, and wishing that he’d just jump up and tell me that it was just one of his stupid pranks. Only it was not. I have spent countless hours playing out what that fateful night may have been like for him. I have heard him calling for help, and I have envisioned him being shot and killed. I have never wanted any of those thoughts to run through my head, but they have. His death has brought up emotions within me ranging everything from depression to rage. I feel sorrow for everyone who has been left to deal with this horrendous loss and I am angry at those who are responsible for making us feel this way. We will never be able to call Luis on the phone again. We will never be able to hear his voice. We will never share another birthday, laugh, story, smile, or joke. We will never find out what his children will be like, and he will never experience the joys of being an Uncle. How can anyone accurately portray the feelings these facts create? And how are we supposed to cope and accept his loss when it was something so completely unnatural and at the hands of another human being?
This letter was suppose to be written in order for me to explain what the impact of Luis Bernal’s death has been on me, but I don’t think that any arrangement or amount of words will ever give justice to how torn inside I am about this situation, and neither will any sentence that is ever handed down to the defendant. Luis will be missed by so many and no amount of jail time served will ever bring him back. My only wish is that the court recognizes the fact that Abel Eduardo Contreras deserves to be in jail as long as possible because five, ten, or fifteen years down the road Abel will still have the one thing that he robbed Luis of: His life.
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