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it has been my experience that most video games that are turned into movies suck big balls.

house of the dead [this is possibly the worst movie ever], street fighter [yeech], wing commander [like a lava lamp], mortal kombat [fun, but not much for replay]...

doom... [have yet to see it]

alone in the dark... [never saw it]

tomb raider... [eh...]

resident evil... [I like this one a lot]

and now... silent hill

dude.

that game messed me up a bunch, and I wasn't even the one playing it.

so the trailer looks very intriguing.

I'll be looking out for it.

I just thought i'd tell you. because I haven't blogged, I haven't updated the poker league and I really need to send out an e-mail.

k.

that's it.

bye.

10 days.

no flying on planes and no getting rental cars. no working until 8pm. family, food, friends, fun, and sleep. hopefully I can get some snowboarding in there some how. but I'm more looking to untie the knots... crazy - we just got back from the philippines only a couple of months ago...

I think the need for the vacation isn't so much a need, but the fact that the time is there and that I'm just anticipating it so much. if I think about it - I'm not stressed out or anything, but it will be nice to have a solid block of time to be at home.

I'm out of here in 3 hours.

that's nothing.

except for the fact that it is 3 hours and I want it to be now.

there is no way I can put into words how impatient I am at this moment and how excited I am going to be once I leave... for the rest of the year!!!

sweet.

yeah... so you know...

I get really bored sometimes. this is probably my fifth time going through the links on the links page. I am considering adding links to people I don't even know just to have something to read/do when I am just sitting in fransont of the computer with an excel spreadsheet open and the browser window open at about 30%. and cougar - I do not have a plethora [of links anyways]

It's funny, because when I am typing an entry, it actually looks like I am doing work beacuse the window is small and seems to fit inside of the cells in excel.

in anycase, it's hard for me to read to go through the day trying to read blogs because no one updates nearly as often. the worst part is - I don't even care if what you have to say is interesting. the fact that I know who you are and are reading something that you wrote is good enough for me.

hell, it's good enough for me if I have a pretend aquaintance with you - "oh, so and so from dadada who commented a year ago wrote something new!" at this point of my boredom - that is exciting!

mostly I just keep checking if jon wrote something because it's usually well presented and interesting. eric doesn't even have his site anymore for some reason - I think someone should tell him. and some people haven't touched their blogs in over a year...

since I am bored, I will tell you why the different links on the links page are bolded or italicized or not... bold means that they updated in the last month - i am bored, so as I read the blogs, I change the format - it's not hard - it actually takes 10 seconds. [tangent] - why is it when we want people to wait just a bit longer we say "two seconds?" like anything that we could possibly do in two seconds will complete the task at hand? and the way we say it also, "twoooo seconds" - it almost takes two seconds to say that![/tangent]... no formatting means that you blogged in the last few months... italicized means that you haven't blogged in over a year - and since italics is harder to read that bold and normal - I figured people will over look the link...

there is no real preference, as the whole thing is in alphabetical order, but I did link all the family whom I know has some type of online presence - in-laws, cousins, in-law cousins, whatever...

btw - alvin got engaged, chris took some pictures and video (protected), and J flew out to see the engagement (eric went too, but I already linked his dead-end link)... connie has house stuff, chrissy busted her hand (again), and probably most exciting is anna is preggers again...

I also just found out that luis has a blog - I haven't seen him in at least a year - I probably would have linked more people, but all this linking is making me tired...

so as I wrap up this post - which took all of two seconds to compose - I remind all of you people to blog and blog often because people like me and like george need something to do.

eyeah, no...

I would like to think of myself as one who can effectively articulate thoughts into words - in a written and spoken manner. I may not be a colorful or as clever as some people, but dammit, I can get my point across if I so choose. I am also very talented at bs. I can come across like I know what I am talking about, giving you sufficient cause to... back up off me. Regardless of the impression with which I leave you, for the most part, I can deliver. I can get the job done, because I know how to figure stuff out.

now, there are some people who would like to believe that they have this ability. they like to believe that they can talk their way out of a sticky situation. unfortunately, they cannot.

it is not unfortunate that they do not have this ability. It is unfortunate that they sound like an ass when they think they are coming off as intelligent. It bothers me when someone tries to pass off bs on me - but given the quality of bs I can produce, don't think that your second rate caca is going to pass for roses.

these people, have not figured out that the more they say, the more they reveal about what they know (or in most cases, do not know) in fact, they more often than not have diarrhea of the mouth. this ailment is further exacerbated by their defense of their "work" or "thinking", for their defense is not only weak, but arbitrary. Most of the time the arguments contradict themselves and usually go around in circles.

when I am in a patient mood, I sometimes let them argue themselves around until they realize they are wrong, but some of them never get there - they just sit (or stand) there blustering about nothing until I walk away because I get bored or pissed or they are pink in the face...

like strawberry quik...

is shorter sweeter?

if variety is the spice of life, then given that short but sweet is the way to go, the way to be is varied shortness.

but how does one accomplish that? one can only say so much in a short space, which severely hinders variety.

sweet and sour
hot and sour
sweet and spicy

there is that chili sauce that is sweet and spicy... maybe the answers are contained therein.

I like eating eggrolls with that sauce. in fiji, we ate these potatoe chip-ish things with it.

yum.

there is a reason for wrapping presents.

it makes presentation pretty (depending on who wraps it - so not eric or ryan)

it adds a hint of mystery upon the excitement of receiving and opening the gift

it serves as a deterrent of feelings of inadequacy and jealousy because no one knows what anyone got anyone else until they open it, and hopefully not in front of parties whom you do not wish to see.

so when a present is placed underneath the Christmas tree, it really should not be poked or prodded or pondered until the designated time to open the present... some people just cannot wait the [now] less than 7 days to open gifts.

if the gift is under the tree, someone knows who put it there and will give the present accordingly [so no touching lorie or kimmie]

some people cannot help themselves. I recommend shock treatments using a 12 volt lantern battery attached to your left forefinger every time you feel the urge.

I hear that it also helps to get rid of stuttering (although I heard about a neat echo device that helps people stop stuttering)

J:What do you tell a man with two black eyes?
P:Nothing... he's already been told twice

crisp.

we had been delayed by at least an hour. at one point we were excited that we might catch our friend at the airport (he was on his way to DC to propsed to his girlfriend, no fiancee), but alas, as it was, we missed him by 15 minutes.

OKC was the destination - not a typical destination by choice, but definitely not somplace we had ever thought to visit. the occaision was a wedding. so as it seems, we were willing to fly to attend a wedding - of course, given the number of frequent flier miles we had, not to mention hotel points and free weekend rentals, the trips was actually more of a travel/time hassle that it was monetarily or in terms of schedule.

amzingly enough, very few pictures were taken - given the opportunities at the cowboy store (literally called because of the contents, but it was one of many) where one could find boots and hats well over the $500 range.

$500. not an amount that either of us would probably spend on boots and a hat together, let alone for a signel item - we are not rich (in that sense) but there they were.

hindsight being 20/20, we should have at least gotten pictures of them, the hat's or the boots, or both - but alas, the camera's batteries had died due traveling in the cold underbelly of the plane.

well, that and we just plain forget to take pictures.

... ... ...

interesting.

the groom was methodist and the bride was Catholic, but the wedding was in a lutheran church. the service lasted twice as long as most non-catholic weddings simply because the bride and her family were from guatamala - so the ceremony, every part, was translated from english to spanish.

at the reception, it was hard for me to like the vodka, because it just didn't taste all that good - of course, this could be due to the negative reinforcement from the previous thursday where too much of the liquor was imbibed. and the DJ was poor - no good frank, no good swing, no good hip hop. for goodness sakes, ice ice baby was the best he could muster - everything else was salsa or meringue(sp?) and even some of the top 40 songs were remixed into salsa. not that we mind, for a few songs, but it became overbearing after the first hour...

in any case, it was just nice that we had time to spend together - away from the house - away from the craziness of the secularism and materialism that seems to cloud Christmas and the holiday season.

karamel sutra is good ice cream although some would argue that pistachio pistachio is better.

OKC, not terribly warmer than farther north, but definitely less snow.

it is very strange to see oil derricks just chillin in the middle of a city.

... ... ...

speaking of secularism and materialism - we are almost done shopping... our credit cards and bank accounts will be very happy once that is over.

then we have tax season to which we can look forward...

ugh.

Thursday can't get here fast enough.

that usually means meeting at a bar.

and that mostly means I have a rough morning the next day.

::: ::: :::

it is the next day and I am having a very rough morning.

I cannot focus on anything - I think last night, when I got back to my apartment, my eyes wouldn't focus on the same object at the same time.

::: ::: :::

I am trying nestea cool, yogurt scotch, and sensory therapy peace of mind.

::: ::: :::

so far. I still can't focus.

when not at home [read: at work], how many of us actually surf the web at full screen?

I know that I have to make it about 1/4 of my actual screen, enabling me to block the window the majority of the time from passers by and it is much easier to flip to a more "professional" window.

btw - our exchange server has been down most of the day, so I haven't had access to my calendar or email since before lunch.

and since most of the people who are supposed to be working on things for me are gone - I am struggling (at the moment) to keep myself occupied... more or less.

in any case - I don't think that I have viewed many pages over the past few months in their full glory.

I've had to scroll most pages off screen to hide images or ads or whatever so that any hint of impropriety is masked.

I do not have the luxury of an office or an out of the way desk. The walls of my cube are easily breached as they only stand about five feet high and most of my co-workers are very tall and have no problems looking over my "walls"

for a few years now, I got the alt-tab and the alt-f4 quick manuever down pat. for the most part I have the switch screens without looking suspicious down, but there are a few lapses when I now I was caught. sometimes I try the bold leave-it-open-because-if-you-close-it-it-will-look-more-suspicious-and-you-have-to-take-the-chance-that-they-won't-read-what-is-on-your-screen-so-you-stare-at-their-eyes-to-see-where-they-are-looking-hence-making-them-uncomfortable-so-they-look-away-but-you-hope-your-head-is-blocking-something-anything play - but it all depends on my mood.

paranoia - sucks

so they are moving me into a different apartment.

it doesn't really matter to me, but it's kind of sudden. I found out today and I need to move Friday.

maybe I can scam the TV from old apartment and bring it to my new apartment - eh whatever.

so tonight is my last night at my current apartment, my last roommate had left a few weeks ago and I moved into that bedroom since it had the attached bath - I think what I like the most about not having a roommate (to whom I am not married) is that I can walk around in my underwear without feeling/making someone feel uncomfortable.

I hate moving. not for any sentimental reason, but it's just such a pain in the ass. packing, lifting, moving, lifting, packing.

moving out of a house is a major motivation to never move again... of course, moving into a much nicer house is a motivation to move - so it's all a matter of your point of view.

"A certain point of view?"

"You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

eh.

don't want to think about it.

so the IT fix it guy, you know - the guy who fixes computers in the office, or gets you more RAM if he thinks you might need it, or sets up your workstation, that guy - he sits in the cube across from me.

it's cool, because we can talk geek talk, new tech, gadgets, whatever.

the problem is when people come looking for him.

at any given time, when he is not at his desk, someone will come calling. The will get to his cube and notice that he is not there, and then they will stare, as if to say,

"where are you now, now that I'm ready..."

and take a step in as if he were hiding or if he would somehow magically appear if they stre long enough. these cubes are about 7'x7', so, really, people should not have to use their peripheral vision to see that no one is in the cube.

anyway, after about three minutes, they will look around and see me looking at them (laughing on the inside) and I'll say something like "you just missed him" or "I don't know" shrug and then turn around and pretend to be busy to avoid any awkward moments...

so it's actually pretty funny, yet highly annoying once it gets past four people over the course of the day.

I think I should put up a sign that says "If J__ isn't at his desk, I don't know where he is."

um.

that's it.

ok, so I found pre-cooked wrapped bacon.

I just noticed it in passing.

... ... ...

OH - and they are selling magic singalongs at Sam's club now.

around $90 for about 300 songs.

I haven't looked too deeply at that either, but it was cool to be one of the few with those mics for a while.

the chips look different and they only seem to hold 50-100 songs per additional chip.

we aren't buying it because we have one already - and I don't think the karaoke fad is as big in the US as it is in asian...

we're not buying one because we already have one... but it looks like a tank compared to the new ones.

... ... ...

eh.

what of it.

conversations...

I find that it happens more now, you know, talking to people - the more you grow up, the more you are expected to interact... confersations, though, lead to the whole awkward silence after a segment of conversation... I'm attributing this to the fact that I am just starting to really talk to people here... at work...

With some people, it's very easy to flow from one topic to the next, but with others some times it just stops.

depending on how I feel about the person, I'll try to ask questions about that topic, something relevant, so the conversation keeps going and hopefully it will develop into something else... because you can sense when the conversation is dying, flailing - sometimes the conversation just dies, with no fight, no effort - as if it were happy ceasing to be...

other people whom I like less than some, usually when there is any break in the conversation, I just turn around.

any break - I mean if they take too long to catch their long winded breath or if they sneeze.

then, there are the people the are basically the coolers of coversation - when they walk in, all coversations stop or die shortly thereafter. Maybe because that person is the boss, or maybe because the person is just really bad a talking to people, but they are like bulls in china shops... socially inept.

and I want you to know...

I try very hard (most of the time) to accomodate these people... really - but there are times when you cannot. you really cannot hndle these types of people because no one has bottomless patience - and I don't have that deep of a reserve as it is.

so sometimes I can be less than hospitable... nah...

I'm a dick.

I will own up to it.

I just find those breaks in conversation funny - mostly I like to see what kind of faces they make, or where their eye contact goes, because, I don't know - I like to see people squirm. there are also those unfortunate people that just happen to, I guess - not click - with me, so it's always harder to talk to those people. you know? the feeling that - yes you can tell that they are trying to be engaging and polite - they just aren't your type of people. you have a chip, or they have a chip, or you both have chips, and it comes out in subtle word choice, body language, or maybe even phermones.

I'm a big fan of a theory of phermones, because know that at times I hold my breath when certain people walk by, not because they stink, but I just don't like their smell? or maybe I don't want to know their smell? and usually, if I don't like a person's scent (again, not because it is malodorous) I tend to like the person a fraction less that I probably would... I guess then, you could assume that it is easier for me to interact with people with whom I have no issues about their "scent"

but trust me. I don't go around sniffing people or anything weird, it's just a passing observation of which I am sometimes concious...

[awkward break in thought]

um.

so.

[sigh]

[turns around and pretends to be busy]

so I guess I have a maid service for my apartment that comes every other week.

it's nice, they wash my towels, change the sheets, make the beds, vacuum, wash the dishes, clean the bathrooms, dust, etc... they don't do laundry though, but most of my stuff is dry clean only so I don't mind.

it's nice, considering I'm only in the apt 4 days of the week... 3.5 really, but who's counting... but I can pretty much use a fresh towel every day I'm in town without having to wash the towels myself. (that wouldn't be possible because they only supply 4 towels per person, but I don't have a roommate yet.)

I thought cleaning day was thursday.

so this morning, I had my laundry that I was going to do tonight in piles on the floor. I was watching s few dvd's last night, so the case were out in front of the tv, and I knocked over a stack of xbox games right before I left in my mad rush out the door this morning.

for a brief moment, the thought "k - so cleaning day is tomorrow, so I'm not going to sweat this mess" flashed through my head.

and then I went to work - as my IQ is normal.

I decided to run home for lunch - I needed to send some e-mails out and check somethings online, and I really couldn't do it from work - not because I'm not allowed (which I'm not), but because it was just too damn slow trying to do it from work.

so I get home and I notice immediately that the dryer is running. once I heard that I checked the floor and noticed it had been vaccumed and the laundry was moved.

so my first thought is, oh how nice. but it quickly shifted to, great, I had these separated into piles. but since it only took a minute to undo the single pile, that thought evaporated...

I just thought it funny that I was fully prepared to clean up my apartment because I thought that the maid was coming... it's like expecting company, except this comopany is going to be cleaning anyways. I just like my stuff to be out of their way when they are cleaning up my stuff. plus, I wouldn't want them to have to pick up my boxers...

eh. I have to remember to leave the maid a christmas card and a tip...

I still have to do my laundry.

I'm really in the mood for breakfast right now.

maybe because it's lunch... maybe it's because this protein bar I'm eating has a bad after taste...

I have no idea why, but I'd really like some bacon... I've noticed that it's really hard to get decent bacon at fast food places.

I think they should make a crispy bacon stick... kind of like a slim jim, but bacon. but it can't taste like the imitation bacon bits, because those are too salty.

you know what? I'm not sure, but I think I remember trying to eat rice with the imitation bacon bits. I don't think it was all that bad, besides the fact that I had to balance out the saltiness of four or five imitation bacon bits with about two spoonfuls of rice...

I was probably in college, and I don't think I did it more than once. it could very well have been during summer vacation when I was in highschool and I was just too lazy to cook.

they should make these rice balls with something type of meat or vegetable in the middle so you can have a meal to go. you know, add some salt so that it helps preserve it a little better, make it a little moist so that it doesn't dry out in your lunch box. Oh! better yet, they should also but individual sections in the lunch box, so you can separate the rice from fruit or veggies or even some type of meat. they could even put a lid on it and put a picture or something - you know, to help market it. maybe even putting a place where you can put a cup or something so you can have something to drink too...

when I say "they", I really mean "someone"...

but who am I kidding. it'll never happen. I'll have to make my own sectioned lunch box and take it with me... I guess I'll have to keep throwing money away to get something to drink.

they have drinks in a machine, but they don't have pre-wrapped bacon...

"well... can you blame them?"

yeah!

grande caffé mocha with caramel, extra hot(a.k.a caramel mocha, a.k.a I have to explain it at least twice if the person behind the counter is an idiot)

I get sleepy at work around 2:30 - 3:00 - if we were in Spain there would be seista or something - but we are not. we are in the country where it is typical for yuppie scum to overwork themselves, "complain" (a.k.a brag) about how much overtime they have to do and then essentially knock what at first seem to be an awesome hourly wage to something more along the lines of what the typical GAP or McDonald's employee makes. But at least we get benefits, right?

eh. I'm not complaining about being overworked though - because, right now, I'm not. I'm more in a waiting mode, which can be boring at times.

so I go to starbucks. I get my $4 drink at around 2:30, so by the time I get back I can move my car to the visitor lot, so I don't have to walk the three blocks to the contractor parking lot in the cold in the dark. it's usually gone by the time I pull into the client site, and I'm wired and jittery for the next 90 minutes, at least.

which is good. at least I won't be prone to fall asleep when the clients are still in the building. what is depressing though is that it gets dark so quickly nowadays that I feel like I should go to sleep right when I get back to the apartment... (as of late, usually around 8pm or 8:30pm) but then I have trouble sleeping so I'm awake again around 11pm and up until 2am either reading or playing video games or sleeping - you't think I'd do something more productive, but I'm so lethargic that late at night and I have no one to really motivate me (and it can't be done remotely)

you know what would be really cool? if I could drive out to boston or nyc for a night - except driving for a few hours to hang for a few hours isn't really my thing...

bored now...

going to play x-men legends - (I like gambit)...

should you catch him buzzin' round you, keep away...

so yesterday, we completed a good portion of our Christmas shopping. During that same time, we also bought a new shower stand for our tub since the one we had previously was cheap and therefore rusted very fast. Hopefully this one will not corrode so easily.

funny thing though. as I was putting together the stand, I felt very, very, stressed. it was strange. I couldn't figure out what brought on this anxiety, but looking back I think it was some kind of post-traumatic stress triggered by the assembling of the shower stand (something akin to the west wing episode where josh heard the brass quartet in the lobby of the west wing and it triggered an anxiety attack attributed by the fact that he got shot - if you know what I mean, you know what I mean, if not - tough cookies)

in any case, I've been trying to analyze why something like that would make me stressed out? Fortunately for me, last night I had the sensory therapy for peace of mind breather and three vodka tonics on the plane... [free alcohol is nice, but it could be better - but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth - as those who remember the all you can karaoke/drink in NYC a few years ago can attest - or rather, the next morning]

in any case, I have never been shot - paintballs and plastic bb's excluded. I don't seem to recall any situation which assembling a shower stand or the like caused me great trauma. yeah. drawing a blank.

whatever - I'm sure it'll suss itself out some day... there'll be a parade... 76 bloody trombones... long about a saturday night...

in the end, I hope the new stand doesn't rust... but I'll just continue to ignore the fact that it might rust... you know.. thinking everything is alright. Read more.

you focus.

you stand right side road.

safe.

you stand left side road.

safe.

you stand middle, sonner or later [squish] just like grape.

ah-ta-ta-ta-ta...

so... I've been out of it... I heard this last weekend that Pat Morita died and it didn't register until today. go figure.

if you check his imdb.com profile, he's been busy - though I wouldn't say that they were blockbuster roles - I thought his last movie was that one where he was living in the mountains and his daughter was with a white guy I think, but it was in the past when that kind of thing was looked down upon...

... ... ...

ok, wow. I'm way out of it... the movie I was thinking of was captive hearts which is like 13 years old. so never mind....

... ... ...

sho'nuff you'd recognize some of the movies he was in since then and probably just never noticed... at least I never did.

in any case, I'm chillin at the airport, as is the ritual for me every thursday. now that I realize there is wireless here, I've decided to use it instead of twiddling my thumbs listening to people complain about their lack of status and not having first class.

but I guess if all you do is travel, then all you have is your status.

I'm glad I haven't been sucked into it.

the only time I give a hoot is when I have a roller bag, otherwise I only care about how close I am to the front because I don't want to be on the plane longer than I have to.

so I'm a little bit tired today - I finally saw march of the penguins. cute movie. I definitely see it as movie you could plop a little kid down to watch and chill for 90 minutes.

time to chill is definitely worth its weight in gold.

Lorie is home (yay!) for a while, at least, so that means she gets to be home while I travel, but at least I'll be home on the weekend and since fridays are days off for me, I can particularly focus on her.

well, I can focus on what she needs me to do for the weekend. you know how it is.

... ... ...

hehe - I was just thinking about this story that my sister told me about her baton teacher, rhonda - rhonda was talking to my mom and telling her that her and dave (that's rhonda's husband) were trying to have a baby (this was over a decade ago) so basically she was telling my mom that she and her husband where having sex. (for those not in the know, that's how babies are made. Sex)

no one should read into this much. lorie and I aren't planning on having a baby anytime soon - aaand I'm gonna stop there because all of a sudden I feel uncomfortable.

... ... ...

ok - so there is a really smelly person somewhere around me. I'm going to stop typing before he/she sees this and I'm going to post this right now.

man... smelly people... they stink.