Wednesday, May 30, 2007
KNIGHT RIDER
This past weekend, the strangest thing happened. We were at Garth's for a BBQ when suddenly, we found ourselves all excited about watching an episode from the first season of Knight Rider.
As a kid, I adored this show. I watched it every week and even used an entire Marks-A-Lot marker to "paint" my toy Trans-Am into KITT. I used to open up brand new Band-Aids on my wrist to serve as my Michael Knight watch to talk to KITT. And I had many dreams of someday sitting in KITT and talking to him at Universal Studious. Sadly, the closest I ever got was to see the car from about 30 yards away because the line was too long.
But watching this episode was really a lot of fun. First off all, the episode featured one of Karena's former patients. But even more interesting to me was just how cheesy the writing and acting was. I never noticed as a kid, but Michael Knight was so over-the-top cheesy. Still, I loved it.
Some other things I noticed were that the old guy Devin Miles actually has the same name as Nick Cannon's character in the movie "Drumline." It's weird to think that an old guy and a drumming hip hopper have the same fictitious name.
But I was happy to impress some people with my useless Knight Rider trivia. The two best bits of trivia were: (1) KITT is short of Knight Industries Two Thousand and (2) The voice of KITT is none other than Boy Meets World's Mr. Feeny (aka William Daniels).
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
ANGELS GAME
Everytime I go to Angels Stadium, I am reminded of how much nicer it is than Dodgers Stadium. The parking is easier (and cheaper!), the stadium is much more fan friendly, and the team is even better!
Well, last night, even though the Angels got spanked 12-5, we enjoyed a fly-over during the national anthem and an amazing fireworks show afterwards.
Plus, it's always fun to be able to hang out with Reuel, who we see less often now since he moved to Orange County. I've always found that if you want to spend some time catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in a while, a baseball game is the perfect place. You're in your seat for three hours and can spend some time talking about serious and not-so-serious things without missing much action.
Monday, May 28, 2007
MEMORIAL DAY 2007
This is a picture I snapped outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia about 3 years ago.
On a day like today, I'm trying to be thankful not for the day off from work, but for all the brave men and women who fight on behalf of our country everyday.
Friday, May 25, 2007
FINDING GOD BOOK
Yesterday was the last scheduled appointment for a patient I had been working with for a few months. She was a middle-aged mother, but we had bonded during our sessions together.
Upon leaving, she handed me a gift that turned out to be a book on how to find God.
In her card, she said something like, "I hope and pray that your life will have true purpose and meaning as you uncover the riches that God has to offer."
I thought the gesture and the leap of faith was great. But then I thought, hmm, should I feel hurt or embarassed or disappointed that she couldn't tell I was already a believer?
Does that say something about me or the way I live my life? Or am I just reading too much into it?
Yesterday was the last scheduled appointment for a patient I had been working with for a few months. She was a middle-aged mother, but we had bonded during our sessions together.
Upon leaving, she handed me a gift that turned out to be a book on how to find God.
In her card, she said something like, "I hope and pray that your life will have true purpose and meaning as you uncover the riches that God has to offer."
I thought the gesture and the leap of faith was great. But then I thought, hmm, should I feel hurt or embarassed or disappointed that she couldn't tell I was already a believer?
Does that say something about me or the way I live my life? Or am I just reading too much into it?
Thursday, May 24, 2007
WHAT'S A GUY TO DO AT A SPA?
I appreciate you guys sitting through all these entries about Cancun. I'm sure you're sick of them. This will be my last Cancun entry. I promise!
One of the last things we did there was go to an even more beautiful beach near Cancun in Playa Del Carmen. Just check out the water behind me in that picture! It's clearer than most swimming pools!
We also got to spend a day at a spa there for free. The spa included a swimming pool, hammocks to lay on, a sauna, a steam room, jacuzzis of three different temperatures, relaxing music, etc. Also, if you wanted, they had a beauty room and a massage room.
The place was beautiful and we enjoyed hanging out there. But while Karena was getting a pedicure, I decided to partake of all the spa amenities. Now, as a guy, I've never been to a spa before and never had even the slightly desire to ever go to one. So, I had no idea what I was doing.
But there I was.
I couldn't figure out whether to get into the jacuzzi first or the steam room or the sauna. And if you go into one, do you not go into the other? I felt so lost and dumb. I thought about asking the worker there, but I didn't want to look clueless so I just jumped into the first room I saw, which happened to be the sauna.
It's frickin' hot in there! To make myself feel better about my insecurities about the spa, I thought I'd do the macho thing and try to see how long I could stay in there. After about 12 minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore so I left. The worker saw me come out and I got nervous again so I quickly jumped into the next room, which happened to be the steam room.
Upon entering, I realized that I couldn't see a thing. I thought about that "Friends" episode where Chandler couldn't see in the steam room and sat on his father-in-law's lap. I took an extra minute to look at the bench before sitting down to prevent that from happening. I was pretty sweaty already when another guy came in. Again, I felt lost, but didn't want to show it. I saw that there was a pull shower in the steam room, which I assumed was used to clean off after your done steaming. So, I took the initiative and used the shower before leaving. I think the other guy didn't know what he was doing either, but seemed impressed that I looked like I did.
Afterward, I decided to relax in the jacuzzi. Which one should I choose? I didn't want the hottest one since I had already sweated in both the sauna and the steam room. And I didn't want the coldest one since I figured that would be counter-productive. So, I did the Goldilocks thing and picked the one in the middle that was supposed to be "just right." It was still really hot and I couldn't stay in there longer than a few minutes.
While most trips to a spa are supposed to be relaxing, I found my experience quite stressful. Of course, it was probably all just in my head.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Cancun not only features beautiful beaches and fun activities, but also provides some history into the Mayan culture.
Many Mayan ruins can be found near Cancun. We ended up not going to the largest one, but caught the next biggest one in Tulum.
It's interesting to see how they lived and to find out that they still live nearby to this day! They have no electricity, no running water, and still manage nearly the same way of life they had years ago.
As a guy who loves history, I was fascinated by the ruins. But after standing under the hot sun to see them, it was also nice to discover that there was a staircase right behind the ruins that led directly to an amazing beach where we got to go into the water and take some beautiful photos.
Check it out!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
THE EXCURSIONS
When we weren't relaxing on the beach, we were going to two of the biggest attractions in the area. The two places, named Xcaret and Xel-Ha are amusement park-like places where you snorkel and see shows about Mayan culture and also see many land zoo animals.
What makes the day a little tough is dressing for snorkeling in your swimming gear and then changing for the land stuff under 90 degree heat and humidity.
But what makes it better is that you can buy an all-inclusive package with your admission tickets that allow you to eat whatever and whenever you want.
You want to grab a beer or an ice cream cone from the nearby concession stand? No problem. It's covered! Wanna stop and eat lunch? Free. Wanna stop and eat again? Again, no problem. It's such a different feeling from what I normally do when I'm at place like Disneyland. I buy the cheapest, smallest thing (like small fries, for example) and call that my lunch and dinner to save money. Who wants a small hamburger for $15 anyway?
One more fun thing to mention: See that picture of me above the pool with the giant sea turtles? Right after that picture was taken, I accidentally dropped our camera case into that pool and the very turtle you see there started chomping down on it. I worried for the turtle and their ecosystem and Karena hurriedly got someone to fetch it out for us. Luckily for everbody, nobody was hurt and the camera case if fine except for some very noticeable bite marks!
Monday, May 21, 2007
TIME SHARE PRESENTATIONS
Our first experience of going to a time share presentation during a vacation ocurred three years ago in Cabo San Lucas. But we got a guy who wasn't very pushy and we got A LOT in return, including a massage on the beach, a sunset cruise with an open bar, a free dinner for two, round-trip shuttle to and from the airport, and $100 toward our hotel bill.
With that in mind, I was a little disappointed when we paid full price for some of one of our excursions. I knew any presentation we would potentially go to wouldn't be as good as we got three years ago, but I was still interested in doing it to see what we could score. Karena had the good idea of going to the local mall to see if we could meet someone to get us a deal. And she was right.
Before we knew it, we were sitting at the Hyatt at their presentation. We scored discounted rates to two other excursions and a full day at a spa. More on those later. It's a good thing Karena can play hard-ball because otherwise, we would have been there 3 hours instead of the hour and a half they promised.
Now, that we've done it twice, I think it's not worth spending your time going to a time share presentation and dealing with all the aggravation of saying no. (You should ALWAYS say no, by the way, no matter how good it sounds).
Still, as we drove by a store named "Montebello" I felt I had done my city proud!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
CANCUN RECAP (PART I OF MANY)
As good as it is to be away, it's even better to come back home. After spending a week in Cancun, I can honestly say I'm more relaxed and re-energized than before. We had a great time, even though we ended up seeing/doing a lot of things and not relaxing as much as we'd expected. I think I go over a brief overview of our trip over the next few days (with pictures, of course!)
We arrived to our hotel just as the sun was setting on a overcast day. We really feared the worst weather-wise since the forcast was for thunderstorms. But it only rained on us twice. And we quickly learned that even when it does rain, the system moves in and out very quickly, sometimes within a matter of a half an hour!
We immediately knew we lucked out on our hotel accomodations too! This place was nice! Even nicer than the Hyatt and the Ritz Carlton and some other "big name" hotels there. (We know because we checked. We're very competitive!) Anyway, Karena's homework paid off and we ended up with a HUGE one bedroom with a living room, kitchen area, two large closets, and two full bathrooms. They even had a bidet in it (you know to wash off your butt after you go . . . "you know"), but I didn't know hot to use it and didn't dare try. It just seems gross to me.
And as every good Chinese couple, we immediately made our way to Walmart to buy some snacks, bottled water, etc. Why pay more at the hotel when you can take a 65 cent bus ride to Walmart? That's where we saw the HUGE pork grinds (chorizo) you see pictured.
And on our way our, we got the final confirmation that our hotel was the place to be. All the Miss Universe Contestants were staying there for their competition. We saw many of them and decided to take a picture with Ms. Kazakhstan. Borat would have been proud! "High five!"
Friday, May 11, 2007
THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO BE RIGHT NOW
When I'm stressed, I just think about some beautiful scenery I've been privileged to see firsthand. This is where I want to be right now.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
BLACK WIDOWS
We have black widows all around our house. Sometimes, they get into the garage. And once, I even found one inside our house.
In general, spiders give me the creeps. I hate them. Even tiny harmless ones. But black widows freak me out! I can't get near them. The only way I can kill them is by spraying them with Raid or something like that.
Since moving in 4 years ago, I've killed 6 or 7 black widows.
Now, I'm getting pretty good at it . . . and I'm not as freaked out!
Still, I wouldn't want to find one crawling on me. In fact, the more I look at this picture that I just posted, the more grossed out I'm gettting. Hmm . . . maybe I'll take the picture off.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
FIRE
Living in Southern California has made me immune to the summer brush fires that have ravaged our area over the last few years.
But when the blaze is happening right outside your window and the ash is falling into your backyard, you tend to take notice. I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon and evening with my eyes on the Griffith Park fire.
Some moments in the evening, the mountain looked more like a volcano with the flames on the other side creating a bright red and orange backdrop over the smoke and cinder.
It's a horrible thing, but I'm glad they have it pretty much contained by now.
Living in Southern California has made me immune to the summer brush fires that have ravaged our area over the last few years.
But when the blaze is happening right outside your window and the ash is falling into your backyard, you tend to take notice. I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon and evening with my eyes on the Griffith Park fire.
Some moments in the evening, the mountain looked more like a volcano with the flames on the other side creating a bright red and orange backdrop over the smoke and cinder.
It's a horrible thing, but I'm glad they have it pretty much contained by now.
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