So things have been pretty busy lately but I was fortunate enough to have a great christmas vacation in Lake Tahoe to give me my much needed break. Diane and I drove up there the Friday before Christmas and arrived Saturday afternoon after a nights stay in ghetto Stockton.
Our family rented a cabin on the lake which was really nice with a great view. Unfortunately though it wasn't really that cold when we got there and there wasn't really that much snow either. Over the first couple of days the snow that was there started melting and I was getting pretty upset since we weren't able to snowboard or do much. But Christmas was fun and that night our Aunt Laurie and her family came in to stay with us and it was great seeing all of them since it had been 3 years since I last saw them. The next day was pretty uneventful but our Uncle David and his family did come in which was nice since it had been even longer since I'd last seen them. I really enjoyed seeing all the family and had a really good time catching up with them.
We did finally get snow on Wednesday as a storm came in and temperatures dropped. They predicted the temperatures would rise again and it'd turn to rain, thankfully they were wrong. That Wednesday Diane and I actually drove about an hour and a half up Northeast from South Lake Tahoe to go cross country skiing at Royal Gorge which just happens to be the largest cross country area in North America. This was the first time for both of us to be on skiis and with no instruction we were given skiis and set out on the trails with only the advice to avoid the hills since we were beginners. Thanks to south park we knew enough to pizza when we wanted to slow down and with that knowledge we had a great time and walked out with only one big fall each on a rather long and large hill that we attempted. While I still don't have much desire to learn how to downhill ski I did really enjoy cross country skiing and would love to do it again. It was very peaceful and beautiful and a great way to see the mountains.
The next day we made the trek out to Mt. Rose about an hour away towards Reno to go snowboarding with Aunt Laurie and her family. However, Diane and I were rather late in leaving the house and by the time we got there they were all out of snowboards and well it wouldn't really have been worth it to go try and find a new place to rent and come back since the ski resort was out by itself. So we had a nice lunch and tried to go sleding but my hands got too cold so we only got two runs in and then just decided to go home.
Friday Diane and I made an effort to get up a little earlier and made our way to Heavenly which was just down the street to take snowboard lessons at close to the top of the mountain. This gave us the chance to ride the gondola as we had been wanting to all week and finally gave us the chance to get out on the mountain. We took a 3 hour snowboarding lesson that really helped refreash everything since it had been 3 years since either of us had done any snowboarding. The lessons were great and I made my first full S turn which I then followed with 2 full S turns in a row. Unfortunately though, after that the lesson ended and by then it was 4 p.m. and the lifts were all stopping so that was it for the snowboarding. We had some Peppermint Paddys then took the gondola back down and ended our day and essentially our stay in Tahoe.
Overall it was a great trip despite the lack of snow and snowboarding time. I would have liked another day or two of snowboarding but am determined to keep up with it this time, especially since I've finally completed some S turns.
We drove all day on Saturday and even made a stop in San Jose to visit the Winchester Mystery House. However, we were a little late and missed the last tour so we were only able to tour the gardens. It was still interesting to see and I look forward to returning one day to take a tour of the inside.
We made it home late and I was so happy to get out of the car after about 12 hours of driving. However we arrived home to a rather sickly Nina (Diane's cat). She had obviously not been eating while we were gone and was so skinny and wouldn't eat or drink. We got up and took her to the vet the next day and were forced to make a difficult decision. We decided not to put her to sleep but to go ahead and hospitalize her. So that was a bad start for New Years eve and as a result decided to stay home to ring in the new year.
I have to say, considering how crappy 2006 has been it didn't shock me too much to have one last little punch at the end there. 2006 has definitely been the worst year ever and I was more than thrilled to say goodbye to it. New Years day we went to Disneyland which I thought suiting to start off the new year at the happiest place on Earth. All I hope is that 2007 turns out better than 2006.
Well that about sums up my holiday season. So to all I say Happy New Year and wish you all the best for 2007!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Friday, November 24, 2006
Just Wanted To Share
Alright I guess I have more to talk about than I realized.
I just came across this Article that made me sad and thought I'd share. It seems that now almost two years later 513 bodies from the 2004 Tsunami are going to be buried now. 103 of the bodies have been identified but no one has come to claim the remains and the rest have still yet to be identified. I just think it's so sad that no one has come to claim or identify these bodies. I mean I imagine that for many of these perhaps the whole family was killed in the Tsunami, yet it seems that there should still be somone out there coming to claim the bodies.
How sad that these bodies have just been sitting in there for almost two years and now will go with no one to claim them.
I just came across this Article that made me sad and thought I'd share. It seems that now almost two years later 513 bodies from the 2004 Tsunami are going to be buried now. 103 of the bodies have been identified but no one has come to claim the remains and the rest have still yet to be identified. I just think it's so sad that no one has come to claim or identify these bodies. I mean I imagine that for many of these perhaps the whole family was killed in the Tsunami, yet it seems that there should still be somone out there coming to claim the bodies.
How sad that these bodies have just been sitting in there for almost two years and now will go with no one to claim them.
Texas Fight?
It's been 6 years since A&M has beat UT and at this point I don't even consider them competition, yet A&M managed to finally break that losing streak this year and take a win. I'm not sure what hurt more, the fact that a team who is barely considered competition beat us, the fact that it was done on our own turf, or the fact that it comes the year after we won the National Championship. I guess it was just a combination of it all, but I'd say the fact that it was A&M who has taken us away from our bowl game is what really hurt the most. Not just because their our big rival but because they haven't been a good team in years and for the past 6 years have been considered an easy/guaranteed win for us. Perhaps it was this confidence that played a part in our loss this year.
Whatever it may be I have to say I'm a little embarrased to be a longhorn at this point and hate that this is how our year after the championship had to play out. I still love my Texas football, I just hope the boys get it together and start playing like the team I've known them to be.
Whatever it may be I have to say I'm a little embarrased to be a longhorn at this point and hate that this is how our year after the championship had to play out. I still love my Texas football, I just hope the boys get it together and start playing like the team I've known them to be.
Stalking The Celebrities
So Wednesday night I went to Spagos for dinner with my dad, stepmom, and sister and who did we see there??? Well first we saw Regis Philban eating dinner with his family a few tables over and then a little while later towards the end of our meal they sat Al Gore and his family down at the table next to us. I typically don't get that excited to see celebrities, but always think it's a little cool to see them and these two were especially fun to see. Later that night I went out in Hollywood to a party for Cindy Margolis, since she'll be gracing the cover of the next playboy magazine, and well got to see her too and even take a picture with her. She's absolutely beautiful in pictures but for some reason didn't seem that pretty in person, yet at looking at the pic of her and me she looks beautiful. Kind of strange that a camera does such wonders for her.
Well just thought I'd share since it's been a while since I've written anything on here and I don't have much else to talk about right now.
Be sure to check out my new blog on my marathon training which you can link to on the right hand side of this blog! Also don't forget to check out my forum from time to time. I've just updated some more in the movie section and hope to do more updating soon. I've also finallly just signed up for netflix so hopefully I'll be adding more to the movie section in the near future.
Well just thought I'd share since it's been a while since I've written anything on here and I don't have much else to talk about right now.
Be sure to check out my new blog on my marathon training which you can link to on the right hand side of this blog! Also don't forget to check out my forum from time to time. I've just updated some more in the movie section and hope to do more updating soon. I've also finallly just signed up for netflix so hopefully I'll be adding more to the movie section in the near future.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Track Star is Back!
Ok so I've finally decided to run in my first marathon! I've decided to join Team in Training and so I will be training with them and raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as well. I've decided to do the Napa Valley Marathon on March 7, 2007 and am very excited. I haven't started my trainig yet but I'll be sure to keep everyone up to date as I do.
If you feel you are able to contribute then please visit my training site at:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/tntglaKDalton
Thanks everyone!
If you feel you are able to contribute then please visit my training site at:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/tntglaKDalton
Thanks everyone!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Those Places I Remember
So I think it's strange the things that can bring back memories, such as a song, a smell, a certain sound, etc.
Lately music has been doing that a lot for me. I guess because I spent so much time wandering around Paris alone with my ipod a lot of my memories from that time are tied to the music I was listening too, which was often the same couple of songs or bands. Besides just the fact that a song can bring back a memory, it amazes me how strong these memories are. They actually make me feel like I'm right back there sitting on the metro or walking through the sunday market or the Tuileries. These memories are so strong that it make me miss Paris so much, so much that it actually hurts sometimes. Then from this I start questioning why I actually left Paris, I know I had my reasons and I still remember those reasons and know they probably were best, but I still can't help but regret my decision sometimes. I do look back on these memories fondly and am very thankful for my time spent there but I just never realized how much it would hurt looking back on the memories and how much I'd actually miss it. It just amazes me how much I can miss and feel attached to a place that I only spent 1 1/2 years of my life at, especially considering I was such a stranger there. I think what I might miss the most is the anonymity a city like Paris gives; the ability to go on about your life on your own with no one else to worry about or question what you're doing with your life. I sort of felt withdrawn from the world and yet completely immersed in it at the same time. It was easy to ignore the news, the t.v and its latest shows, music, pop culture, and even what my friends and family were up to back home, yet while igorning all of this and withdrawing myself from the world happenings I was out meeting new people from all over the world, traveling around to different countries, cities or regions, taking in new cultures and experiencing what the world really had to offer. And I loved every minute of it, it didn't matter that I didn't know what had happened on the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy or what the hot new band/song was, I was out enjoying my life the way I wanted to and seeing new parts of the world and experiencing new cultures, or perhaps it was simply going to a new museum to discover that maybe I do like certain types of art. But then despite all of this, I come back to the U.S. and within a few months I've fallen right back into my old ways, no more museums, no more exploring the city, barely any new aquaintances different from me, right back to watching the hot new shows, checking out the latest music, and overall being a bum. I can't help but wonder why I fall right back into a routine I didn't want to be in once I return to the U.S. and why I can't find that same feeling of anonymity here in the U.S. Was it simply the language and cultural barriers that were there in France or was the environment more inviting to that type of lifestyle in Paris or is it something else? Is it possible it's just ingrained in me that much that I turn right back into my old self upon my return to the U.S. despite how much I felt I changed while abroad, although I still do notice some changes still in place.
I guess I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, it seems to be a giant ramble at this point, but hey that's what I do, I'm a rambler. Basically I'm missing France and am very torn between my life here and my life there.
Lately music has been doing that a lot for me. I guess because I spent so much time wandering around Paris alone with my ipod a lot of my memories from that time are tied to the music I was listening too, which was often the same couple of songs or bands. Besides just the fact that a song can bring back a memory, it amazes me how strong these memories are. They actually make me feel like I'm right back there sitting on the metro or walking through the sunday market or the Tuileries. These memories are so strong that it make me miss Paris so much, so much that it actually hurts sometimes. Then from this I start questioning why I actually left Paris, I know I had my reasons and I still remember those reasons and know they probably were best, but I still can't help but regret my decision sometimes. I do look back on these memories fondly and am very thankful for my time spent there but I just never realized how much it would hurt looking back on the memories and how much I'd actually miss it. It just amazes me how much I can miss and feel attached to a place that I only spent 1 1/2 years of my life at, especially considering I was such a stranger there. I think what I might miss the most is the anonymity a city like Paris gives; the ability to go on about your life on your own with no one else to worry about or question what you're doing with your life. I sort of felt withdrawn from the world and yet completely immersed in it at the same time. It was easy to ignore the news, the t.v and its latest shows, music, pop culture, and even what my friends and family were up to back home, yet while igorning all of this and withdrawing myself from the world happenings I was out meeting new people from all over the world, traveling around to different countries, cities or regions, taking in new cultures and experiencing what the world really had to offer. And I loved every minute of it, it didn't matter that I didn't know what had happened on the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy or what the hot new band/song was, I was out enjoying my life the way I wanted to and seeing new parts of the world and experiencing new cultures, or perhaps it was simply going to a new museum to discover that maybe I do like certain types of art. But then despite all of this, I come back to the U.S. and within a few months I've fallen right back into my old ways, no more museums, no more exploring the city, barely any new aquaintances different from me, right back to watching the hot new shows, checking out the latest music, and overall being a bum. I can't help but wonder why I fall right back into a routine I didn't want to be in once I return to the U.S. and why I can't find that same feeling of anonymity here in the U.S. Was it simply the language and cultural barriers that were there in France or was the environment more inviting to that type of lifestyle in Paris or is it something else? Is it possible it's just ingrained in me that much that I turn right back into my old self upon my return to the U.S. despite how much I felt I changed while abroad, although I still do notice some changes still in place.
I guess I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, it seems to be a giant ramble at this point, but hey that's what I do, I'm a rambler. Basically I'm missing France and am very torn between my life here and my life there.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I'm So Cool
So those of you that have known me for quite some time might remember my slight obsession/annoyance at Newscasters names. They always seem to have first names that start with the same letter as their last name and this annoys me because obviously they're fake names. Not sure why this annoys me, but it does.
Well today while watching a police chase on an LA news station I was introduced to Johnny McCool reporting from the helicopter. I'm sorry but this is ridiculous and really really annoys me. I mean come on, McCool????? How lame is he that he has to give himself the name McCool. Do you think his colleauges feel stupid saying his name? I would, I think I'd refuse to say it.
This is Delia Diamond signing out. (That one's for you Lori)
Well today while watching a police chase on an LA news station I was introduced to Johnny McCool reporting from the helicopter. I'm sorry but this is ridiculous and really really annoys me. I mean come on, McCool????? How lame is he that he has to give himself the name McCool. Do you think his colleauges feel stupid saying his name? I would, I think I'd refuse to say it.
This is Delia Diamond signing out. (That one's for you Lori)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
That's So L.A.
So now that I have an hour commute to and from work I've been listening to the radio a lot more and of course morning talk shows which often revolve around Hollywood gossip. Well lately two stories have intrigued me which I feel the need to talk to you all about since I now don't have to look for a job when I get home at night.
Ok so I want to start with the death of Anna Nicole's son because that is the one that is bothering me the most. What I'm most upset about is that this is obviously a very sad time for Anna Nicole and yet immediately upon hearing of his death the press start speculating that it has something to do with drugs and an overdose. Yes I know Anna Nicole has obviously done a lot of drugs, she's screwed up, I wouldn't be surprised if the boy did do drugs, but do we really need to jump right to that conclusion and start such bad rumors flowing right after she's had to go through such a tough time. Yes it seems strange that at 20 he would just die like that but honestly he's not the first healthy young adult to have a heart attack or just die from some completely random health issue that no one would have ever realized he had. And well my first thought was that since it was stated that he had jsut gotten off the plane that perhaps he got a blood clot while on the plane which then was released and pushed through his veins to his heart, thus killing him. Now I'm no doctor obviously so perhaps this is completely correct but I'm pretty sure that's a possibility as I know that's why you're supposed to get up and move around on long flights. Anyway all I really want to say is it really annoys me that everyone went straight to the thought of drugs and didn't even explore other possibilities.
Now for my second thought on Hollywood gossip of the moment. Well it's now been reported that yesterday Britney Spears gave birth to her second child and well that's it. It's been two days shy of a year since she gave birth to her first child which seemed to be quite a piece of news. But this time it's as though no one could care, it was stated on the radio this morning almost as a second thought, just a mere mention of the fact that she gave birth to a son and then moving on to the next story. And just now while googling for an article on it, I could only find a few and even those were mixed among the ones last year of her first child's birth. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not writing this to express my dissappointment in the lack of coverage of her child, quite the contrary actually. I do not like Britney Spears and I certainly don't like all the press everyone gives her, so I'm quite happy to see that perhaps the press is finally bored of her. It just still surprises me that there wasn't more coverage, especially considering we've now seen pics of baby suri thus leaving an opening in the hollywood gossip news section.
Alright well that's it for my Hollywood gossip, perhaps I should start paying attention to more important news so I can express my concerns for something a little more important next time.
Ok so I want to start with the death of Anna Nicole's son because that is the one that is bothering me the most. What I'm most upset about is that this is obviously a very sad time for Anna Nicole and yet immediately upon hearing of his death the press start speculating that it has something to do with drugs and an overdose. Yes I know Anna Nicole has obviously done a lot of drugs, she's screwed up, I wouldn't be surprised if the boy did do drugs, but do we really need to jump right to that conclusion and start such bad rumors flowing right after she's had to go through such a tough time. Yes it seems strange that at 20 he would just die like that but honestly he's not the first healthy young adult to have a heart attack or just die from some completely random health issue that no one would have ever realized he had. And well my first thought was that since it was stated that he had jsut gotten off the plane that perhaps he got a blood clot while on the plane which then was released and pushed through his veins to his heart, thus killing him. Now I'm no doctor obviously so perhaps this is completely correct but I'm pretty sure that's a possibility as I know that's why you're supposed to get up and move around on long flights. Anyway all I really want to say is it really annoys me that everyone went straight to the thought of drugs and didn't even explore other possibilities.
Now for my second thought on Hollywood gossip of the moment. Well it's now been reported that yesterday Britney Spears gave birth to her second child and well that's it. It's been two days shy of a year since she gave birth to her first child which seemed to be quite a piece of news. But this time it's as though no one could care, it was stated on the radio this morning almost as a second thought, just a mere mention of the fact that she gave birth to a son and then moving on to the next story. And just now while googling for an article on it, I could only find a few and even those were mixed among the ones last year of her first child's birth. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not writing this to express my dissappointment in the lack of coverage of her child, quite the contrary actually. I do not like Britney Spears and I certainly don't like all the press everyone gives her, so I'm quite happy to see that perhaps the press is finally bored of her. It just still surprises me that there wasn't more coverage, especially considering we've now seen pics of baby suri thus leaving an opening in the hollywood gossip news section.
Alright well that's it for my Hollywood gossip, perhaps I should start paying attention to more important news so I can express my concerns for something a little more important next time.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Hey There Lonely Girl
So I guess I was a little late in the game, but hey I'm not a huge YouTube fan, but I've just become obsessed with this whole lonelygirl15 stunt. I kept seeing the headlines talking about it but only started looking into it yesterday. At this point it was already obvious that it appeared to be a Marketing stunt and that "Bree" was not in fact a real girl. However, I really enjoyed watching the videos, reading the comments and conspiracies, and wondering where it was going to take us. But then sadly today it was revealed who "Bree" actually is, and the entire reality of the situation was brought to our attention. It kind of saddened me once I went and looked at her cached myspace page and saw the real "Bree". Even knowing that it was probably fake before it was still fun watching the videos and wondering and guessing where it would go. Kind of wish people hadn't gotten so curious that we actually uncovered the truth. I was really wishing it was going to be the next blair witch type marketing stunt leading us up to a horror movie. I thought that would have been genius, for once we would have developed an emotional connection to a character in a horror movie, I felt like it was going to bring a whole new level to movies that are typically just there for cheap scares. Although with such an emotional connection I guess it would have not only been a horror movie but a drama as well, and maybe too emotional, hmmm. Anyway, I thought the whole idea of it leading to a movie was genius and was thrilled to see the new marketing techniques coming to play. But alas, no movie, just some wannabe film makers and actors. But hey good for them, they certainly got all of our attention and I'd guess they all have quite a future now. Although come to think of it, nothing ever did happen with the Blair Witch actors did it?
Well if you've completely missed out on it all, you can find the videos on YouTube you can also read all about the conspiracies and anything else you want to know about it at Wikipedia(pretty impressive that she got so much coverage in wikipedia) and to read how it was all uncovered you can check out this article from today.
They say they'll continue with her story, but I'm not so sure I'm that interested anymore now that my curiosity has been quelled but I will be curious to see how others react.
Well if you've completely missed out on it all, you can find the videos on YouTube you can also read all about the conspiracies and anything else you want to know about it at Wikipedia(pretty impressive that she got so much coverage in wikipedia) and to read how it was all uncovered you can check out this article from today.
They say they'll continue with her story, but I'm not so sure I'm that interested anymore now that my curiosity has been quelled but I will be curious to see how others react.
Monday, September 11, 2006
So This Is The Real World
Well today was my official first day at my new job and as I sat there this morning filling out my tax forms I realized this would actually be the first time I'm having to pay taxes (sort of) and that I'm actually going to have to file come this spring. This of course then makes me realize that I've officially entered the real world and while I'm happy to finally be working and contributing to society it's kind of odd to think that I've just taken the first step into what will be the next stage of my life, where I'm no longer a student but a working adult. And well honestly it kind of frightens me when I think of how long this stage is going to last (well hopefully it lasts a long time). No more summer vacations (although those were gone last year)and classes three days a week, but work Monday thru Friday for the next 40-50 years. I guess there's still the excitement of where my career will take me, I do look forward to that, but my restless side gets uncomfortable thinking that I'll be working for the rest of my life basically but I guess that's not even necessarily true so I shouldn't really think about it but it still creeps in from time to time. I think what most saddens me is the thought that my vacation opportunities are now very limited and well we all know how much I like my traveling and don't like to have those opportunities limited.
So my hope now is to one day be able to take a year off and travel around, perhaps choose a continent to explore, perhaps do a couple of different continents, not sure yet, but I've heard of people doing it so I figure if they can certainly I can too. So the first step is to get my loans paid off then to save enough and make a plan for a years worth of travel, perhaps that would help satisfy my travel bug, although I doubt it would for the long haul.
Well for now I guess I'll concentrate on my current situation and focus on starting my career. Who knows where it'll lead me...
So my hope now is to one day be able to take a year off and travel around, perhaps choose a continent to explore, perhaps do a couple of different continents, not sure yet, but I've heard of people doing it so I figure if they can certainly I can too. So the first step is to get my loans paid off then to save enough and make a plan for a years worth of travel, perhaps that would help satisfy my travel bug, although I doubt it would for the long haul.
Well for now I guess I'll concentrate on my current situation and focus on starting my career. Who knows where it'll lead me...
Monday, August 07, 2006
Movie Discussions And Much More!
So a while back I added a Forum to my website, which I'm quite proud of myself for having figured it out, where you can read about the movies I've seen recently, what I'm listening to, reading, or just leave general comments. I had hoped this would make my website a little more interactive and had hoped to get some discussions going but so far no one has been participating and it seems no one has been reading it either. So I just wanted to announce it here that the forum is there on my website and so far I have a few reviews of the movies I've seen lately and a few other posts up there. Please feel free to comment on what I've already written, or add your own topic. Don't be shy people!
Mel Gibson Did What?
So is anyone else as tired as I am of hearing about Mel Gibson's crazy night out without his wife and his drunk drive home? Does this really need to be covered in such depth? And my question is why do they keep talking to the other people he was with in the bar and keep questioning why he was out without his wife. I'd think it's ok to go out from time to time without your significant other, I didn't know getting married meant you had to be together 24/7 and were no longer allowed to venture out alone. What are these other people from the bar even really contributing to the story, we get it, he was at a bar drinking, tried to drive home drunk, end of story. It drives me crazy that they continue to make such a big deal out of it, hearing about it over and over isn't really going to help, we know he did it, it was wrong, move on!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Taking A Break In Barbados
So back in May I was able to tag along on a trip to Barbados with my family for a week. It was a very welcomed and much needed break, however, it was just a little too short. We've all been to Barbados before, this was actually my 5th time there, so we weren't too interested in sight seeing but were just all about relaxing on the beach and drinking rum punch and daqueries.
We did however take a trip over to a place where they make local handmade pottery, and then we carried on to the East coast for lunch. On this drive I was able to finally try driving on the left side of the road since they drive on the left side down there since they are a former British colony. It was a little awkward at first because the roads are very small there and I felt like I didn't have a sense of the left side of the car the way you have a sense of the right side of your car here. So it was hard for me to judge where that side of the car was and if I was going to run off the road or not. However, I made it to the restaurant without any problems and even took us almost all the way back home.
On another day Diane and I took a catamaran ride out to a spot where we were able to swim with sea turtles. This was my favorite part of this trip since it was the first time I'd seen sea turtles and we were even able to go down and touch them. In addition to the sea turtles I was excited that I for once actually snorkled like a real person instead of going Kristine style with a mat. Not that I can't swim or have any trouble, it's just my fear of fish and that whole unknown part of the ocean that makes me very uncomfortable and so for some reason the mat makes me much more comfortable. However, I for once jumped in the water with the sea turtle sans mat and wasn't even that concerned. We then later moved onto a shipwreck spot and they baited the fish and the water was swarming with fish. I decided I definitely couldn't get in, but after several minutes of debating and realizing I didn't want to miss out yet again, I finally got up the courage to get in without a mat. I managed to go see some of the shipwreck, however, there were just too many fish in the water and I was just way too scared, but I did stay in until they had us all get out of the water. All in all it was a fun trip on the catamaran.
When we took the catamaran to see the sea turtles we realized that the location for the turtles was actually just down the beach from us right off the beach. So the next day we walked down to the same spot and went snorkling with the sea turtles again. We then just snorkled back home and saw some great things along the way. Throughout the whole trip we saw an enormous manaray, sea turtles, an octopus, eels, puffer fishs, little cuddle fish, and lots of other interesting fish. The enormous manaray was the most amazing as I've never been in the water with something so large. Unfortunatly I freaked out too much and wasn't able to get a photo before I scared him off due to my flailing about in the water.
We were there for a week and had lots of fun ; it was a much needed escape. However, it was still too short for me and I wasn't quite ready to come home. But unfortunatly I didn't have a say in it and I had to come home and deal with everything back here again. I can only hope that I'll be able to get back again or at least somewhere else in the Carribean fairly soon. So for all of those who are interested you can check out the photos on my website under the Barbados section. Enjoy!
We did however take a trip over to a place where they make local handmade pottery, and then we carried on to the East coast for lunch. On this drive I was able to finally try driving on the left side of the road since they drive on the left side down there since they are a former British colony. It was a little awkward at first because the roads are very small there and I felt like I didn't have a sense of the left side of the car the way you have a sense of the right side of your car here. So it was hard for me to judge where that side of the car was and if I was going to run off the road or not. However, I made it to the restaurant without any problems and even took us almost all the way back home.
On another day Diane and I took a catamaran ride out to a spot where we were able to swim with sea turtles. This was my favorite part of this trip since it was the first time I'd seen sea turtles and we were even able to go down and touch them. In addition to the sea turtles I was excited that I for once actually snorkled like a real person instead of going Kristine style with a mat. Not that I can't swim or have any trouble, it's just my fear of fish and that whole unknown part of the ocean that makes me very uncomfortable and so for some reason the mat makes me much more comfortable. However, I for once jumped in the water with the sea turtle sans mat and wasn't even that concerned. We then later moved onto a shipwreck spot and they baited the fish and the water was swarming with fish. I decided I definitely couldn't get in, but after several minutes of debating and realizing I didn't want to miss out yet again, I finally got up the courage to get in without a mat. I managed to go see some of the shipwreck, however, there were just too many fish in the water and I was just way too scared, but I did stay in until they had us all get out of the water. All in all it was a fun trip on the catamaran.
When we took the catamaran to see the sea turtles we realized that the location for the turtles was actually just down the beach from us right off the beach. So the next day we walked down to the same spot and went snorkling with the sea turtles again. We then just snorkled back home and saw some great things along the way. Throughout the whole trip we saw an enormous manaray, sea turtles, an octopus, eels, puffer fishs, little cuddle fish, and lots of other interesting fish. The enormous manaray was the most amazing as I've never been in the water with something so large. Unfortunatly I freaked out too much and wasn't able to get a photo before I scared him off due to my flailing about in the water.
We were there for a week and had lots of fun ; it was a much needed escape. However, it was still too short for me and I wasn't quite ready to come home. But unfortunatly I didn't have a say in it and I had to come home and deal with everything back here again. I can only hope that I'll be able to get back again or at least somewhere else in the Carribean fairly soon. So for all of those who are interested you can check out the photos on my website under the Barbados section. Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Pictures From The Strawberry Festival
Diane and me enjoying a nice day at the Strawberry festival in Oxnard
Hanging out at the strawberry festival enjoying my strawberry beer while watching a strawberry pie throwing contest. 
Outside the Berry Go Round with my strawberry lemonade
Saturday, June 03, 2006
The Da Vinci Code
So just before leaving for Barbados I went and saw the Da Vinci Code. I found it to be a pretty good movie and thought they did a great job at sticking to the book. I don't think it'll be much of a classic but I think it had a tough job of living up to the hype of the book and I thought it did a good job of living up to the hype as much as could be expected. I was very pleased at seeing Audrey Tautou in an English speaking role as I've always thought she was just adorable and I look forward to seeing her in more American films.
I do have to express my disgust with the people in the theater or should I say morons in the theater who decided to clap after Teabag had his line "never trust the French". It's not that I want to defend the French, it just drives me crazy that people clapped for something like that because I bet they have no basis at all for supporting a line like that. They just do it because it bashes the French and they're morons.
Anyway, if anyone else has seen the movie do share your comments on it as I haven't been able to hear anyone elses opinions with the exception of a few.
I do have to express my disgust with the people in the theater or should I say morons in the theater who decided to clap after Teabag had his line "never trust the French". It's not that I want to defend the French, it just drives me crazy that people clapped for something like that because I bet they have no basis at all for supporting a line like that. They just do it because it bashes the French and they're morons.
Anyway, if anyone else has seen the movie do share your comments on it as I haven't been able to hear anyone elses opinions with the exception of a few.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
The Second Happiest Place On Earth
So in celebration of my birthday Diane and I went out to Disneyland for a magical day of fun. Unfortunatly, it was raining most of the day. However, we didn't let it get us down. We simply overpaid for a cheap pancho with a picture of Mickey Mouse on it and went about enjoying our day.
That day we bought season passes for ourselves which would allow us to visit both California Adventures and Disneyland on select days. So a few weeks later we decided to take advantage of our season passes and head back out to Disneyland.
Thankfully this time it was rain free and much emptier thus allowing us to stroll the park more and take in some of the newer attractions we hadn't seen before.
Both days were a great time and I can't wait to go back again. Oh and I finally got to ride the new updated version of space mountain they have there. I have to say it was a fantastic ride, good job Disney!
Here are some pics to document the two days:
Rain rain go away!
Spin it faster!
Just hanging out with my best buddy Mickey.
Disneyland is finishing up celebrating its 50th Anniversary, we were lucky enough to be able to celebrate with them.
That day we bought season passes for ourselves which would allow us to visit both California Adventures and Disneyland on select days. So a few weeks later we decided to take advantage of our season passes and head back out to Disneyland.
Thankfully this time it was rain free and much emptier thus allowing us to stroll the park more and take in some of the newer attractions we hadn't seen before.
Both days were a great time and I can't wait to go back again. Oh and I finally got to ride the new updated version of space mountain they have there. I have to say it was a fantastic ride, good job Disney!
Here are some pics to document the two days:
Rain rain go away!
Spin it faster!
Just hanging out with my best buddy Mickey. 
Disneyland is finishing up celebrating its 50th Anniversary, we were lucky enough to be able to celebrate with them.
Alright, $3.27!
So today I made the trip up to the Strawberry Festival in Oxnard (I'll post some pics later) and on the way noticed a gas station selling regular gas for $3.27 and got very excited considering in my area it's now $3.45.
So I made an extra effort to stop and get me some of that "cheap" gas. How sad that I'm now excited to have the chance to pay $3.27 for gas. It was only a few weeks ago that I was devestated that it surpassed the $3.00 mark and now I'm happy for $3.27.
I still remember paying $0.89 a gallon back in High school and filling up for $10. I miss those days.
So I made an extra effort to stop and get me some of that "cheap" gas. How sad that I'm now excited to have the chance to pay $3.27 for gas. It was only a few weeks ago that I was devestated that it surpassed the $3.00 mark and now I'm happy for $3.27.
I still remember paying $0.89 a gallon back in High school and filling up for $10. I miss those days.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Heading South
Again I apologize for my infrequent and delayed posts; I'm trying to catch up and be more frequent, I just seem a little lazy about it.
Anyway, so on April 21 Diane and I went down to Redondo Beach (south of LAX) for a crawfish boil with the Texas exes. Not being one to eat or want to eat crawfish, or jambalaya, I was stuck eating two nasty hotdogs. So in order to get some of my money's worth I partook in the keg of shiner. However, even a keg of shiner wasn't enough to salvage the event which turned out to be rather boring. Basically we just sat around and ate, then watched the raffel and of course they were playing our moment of glory dvd from the Rose Bowl, which seems to be a common fixture at all of the Texas exes events out here.
We decided to leave the event a little early as there didn't seem to be any hope of it turning around. On our way out of the parking lot I noticed the Redondo beach pier, having always had a fondness for piers and having never been to Redondo beach I decided perhaps we could salvage the day by visiting the pier and making our drive down there worth it.
At first it was mostly your typical touristy souvenir shops, but then at the base of the pier we came across a type of large indoor arcade. Naturally we went inside to see what it was all about. We quickly started finding random tickets that people had either dropped or forgotten to take from the machines. It then became a type of game for us to walk around and see what tickets we could find. Then we came across the skeeball games and decided to partake in those as well as a game of air hockey. With the tickets gained from the games and from the ones we found I was lucky enough to trade them in for a brand new red Redondo beach key chain! Diane got herself a shiny new picture frame with her tickets and a little charm (she didn't have enough tickets for her picture frame).
After all this excitement we realized we still needed to see the rest of the pier. We walked out on the pier, stopped and played a few minutes in a hat shop, took some pictures with the ocean behind us and finally decided to call it a day.
All in all I'd say the day was salvaged, although Redondo beach was pretty unimpressive and I have no intention of returning, and I've come to the conclusion that the Texas exes chapter out here is pretty boring. But hey I gave it a try and at least now I can say I've been to Redondo beach.
Here are some pictures to document our fun at the pier:
Enjoying the lovely view
Who's that girl?
Hello Ms. Daisy
Hello there
Yee Haw!
Anyway, so on April 21 Diane and I went down to Redondo Beach (south of LAX) for a crawfish boil with the Texas exes. Not being one to eat or want to eat crawfish, or jambalaya, I was stuck eating two nasty hotdogs. So in order to get some of my money's worth I partook in the keg of shiner. However, even a keg of shiner wasn't enough to salvage the event which turned out to be rather boring. Basically we just sat around and ate, then watched the raffel and of course they were playing our moment of glory dvd from the Rose Bowl, which seems to be a common fixture at all of the Texas exes events out here.
We decided to leave the event a little early as there didn't seem to be any hope of it turning around. On our way out of the parking lot I noticed the Redondo beach pier, having always had a fondness for piers and having never been to Redondo beach I decided perhaps we could salvage the day by visiting the pier and making our drive down there worth it.
At first it was mostly your typical touristy souvenir shops, but then at the base of the pier we came across a type of large indoor arcade. Naturally we went inside to see what it was all about. We quickly started finding random tickets that people had either dropped or forgotten to take from the machines. It then became a type of game for us to walk around and see what tickets we could find. Then we came across the skeeball games and decided to partake in those as well as a game of air hockey. With the tickets gained from the games and from the ones we found I was lucky enough to trade them in for a brand new red Redondo beach key chain! Diane got herself a shiny new picture frame with her tickets and a little charm (she didn't have enough tickets for her picture frame).
After all this excitement we realized we still needed to see the rest of the pier. We walked out on the pier, stopped and played a few minutes in a hat shop, took some pictures with the ocean behind us and finally decided to call it a day.
All in all I'd say the day was salvaged, although Redondo beach was pretty unimpressive and I have no intention of returning, and I've come to the conclusion that the Texas exes chapter out here is pretty boring. But hey I gave it a try and at least now I can say I've been to Redondo beach.
Here are some pictures to document our fun at the pier:
Enjoying the lovely view
Who's that girl?
Hello Ms. Daisy
Hello there
Yee Haw!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Swing Batter Batter!
Alright so yes it has been a very long time since my last update, despite my desires to update more frequently in order to keep you all up to date on every exciting detail of my life. Well nothing too extremely exciting has been going on but I have been up to a few things so I'll try and start posting them in the coming days.
First up, I went to my first Dodgers game on April 19. It was a Dodgers-Cubs game, and as I went with my friend Sanjiv I naturally rooted for the Cubs.
A fun tidbit about the game passed on to me by Sanjiv is that the Dodgers and Cubs had played eachother 2,006 times before our game and the Dodgers had won 1,003 times and the Cubs had won 1,003 times, thus making our game not only the 2,007th game but the tie breaker as well! Very exciting I think. And to make it even better, the Cubs won! Below are a few pics to document the event.
Mmmm, our first Dodger dogs!
Dodger field as seen from our seats. Pretty good seats considering the price was right.
I paid how much for that beer????
First up, I went to my first Dodgers game on April 19. It was a Dodgers-Cubs game, and as I went with my friend Sanjiv I naturally rooted for the Cubs.
A fun tidbit about the game passed on to me by Sanjiv is that the Dodgers and Cubs had played eachother 2,006 times before our game and the Dodgers had won 1,003 times and the Cubs had won 1,003 times, thus making our game not only the 2,007th game but the tie breaker as well! Very exciting I think. And to make it even better, the Cubs won! Below are a few pics to document the event.
Mmmm, our first Dodger dogs!
Dodger field as seen from our seats. Pretty good seats considering the price was right. 
I paid how much for that beer????
Saturday, March 18, 2006
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