that rosebud girl

mi familia …

… just left, actually.

my folks came in on sunday, hung out in sacramento a little. i finally went to the capitol! woohoo! (ahnold wasn’t around, but i did see the sign to his office. but a guard was standing in front and?Ǭ†intimidated me, hence no?Ǭ†picture of said sign.)

wednesday, we end up at uncle lonnie’s house in union city … and after serious fatty filipino food (lechon! crispy pata!), we then take a small detour to SF and fisherman’s wharf. thursday, ed and i end up playing catch in some park (i got hit in the chest by a baseball … it hurt!), go to gilroy for outlet shopping (mom bought me cleats! yay!) and in monterey (where i witnessed my brother misjudge a football and get hit in the, um, family jewels … hilarious!).

and of course, there were all sorts of family hijinks in between. it was quite a whirlwind two days. and pretty random. i mean, monterey? random as hell. i haven’t been to monterey since i was about 13 or so.

anyhow, here are some pictures.

the inside of the state capitol’s dome. almost as cool as the one in SF city hall.

a crab-shaped loaf from boudin’s on the wharf.

steven, mike (my brother), marcielle and leanne, with alcatraz in the background.

mike being a dork in monterey.

ed and i in monterey.

so i feel like i’ve gotten barely any rest. i gotta get ready for work soon. already?

at least we’ll be in LA/san diego next week. woohoo! but this means even more driving.

i heart dairy palace.

on a 100-plus-degree day such as this one, there is one thing i absolutely miss and crave.

dairy palace.

only the greatest fucking ice cream stand in world history. it was down the street from my old office, and we used to make runs there all the time in the summer. we’d send someone to buy like, nine shakes from the joint, and they’d put them all in a box for us.

it is the one thing i miss the most about delaware. big ol’ thick chocolate/peanut butter shake from the palace. no other place has a shake like the palace.

shorti sent me a link to a story the news journal did.

damn, i could use a dp shake right about now.

the recital.

so yesterday was our big show for the studio … mostly good, only a little bad. the morning show was way better than the night show. i think most of us wilted in the 100-plus heat in the afternoon and were sluggish onstage. plus, there were lots of cranky moms and really out-of-hand children who refused to listen to directions later in the day. i had to climb onto a table (that was fun) … and i haven’t had to yell “shut your mouths now” to a group of screaming children in a long time.

but anyhow, the show was pretty good. the only really sucky thing was that in the night show, our modern class miscounted during the song and our music ended before our dance did. luckily we were stopped at something that could look like an ending pose, but still, i was a little angsty over that.

can’t wait to take more classes next year. i really want to take lyrical and hip-hop. the hip-hop numbers in our show were really, really, really good.

here is a picture of the girls in my jazz class. this was one of my favorite costumes.

ah, good times.

a sign you’ve had a good night: you go home and the sun is coming up.

yeah,?Ǭ†i haven’t done that in a while, but i had a good time. fondue was excellent at lisa’s, the conversation was good, and it was nice to just chill. and i still woke up at noon, which seems to be the status quo lately.

on another note, mrs. harding sent an email out to the class of 97. yay! i must e-mail her back …

?Ǭ†

flashback (again)!

so i’m checking my email last night, and there is a message from this girl nicole, who i went to high school with. she breaks the news to all of us members of the class of 1997 that our beloved english teacher, mrs. lisa harding, is back on guam. her husband is stationed there again.

holeeee crap!

mrs. harding was honestly one of the best high school teachers i had. she came to academy my junior year, fresh out of grad school in north carolina. i remember her trying to take roll the first day of class, and she was like, “i’m so sorry if i butcher your names, but i haven’t even seen some of these names before.” it was hilarious.

i had actually been thinking about her a few days ago because ed and i were discussing over lunch what books we had to read in high school. so of course i brought up mrs. harding. she also ran the yearbook staff, and there is this terrific picture of her in our senior yearbook of her holding a butter knife and trying to stab a jar of peanut butter. (don’t ask, it was class-related.)

i hope nicole passes along her e-mail. ’cause i’d really like to talk to her again. maybe we’ll even see her for the 10-year reunion!

right now, i’m not doing much. just watching a little world cup: england-sweden. en espanol, por supesto. i actually watched a world cup match in english a few days ago — the u.s. match — because i was kind of forced to. (ed wanted to watch it in english.) it wasn’t bad. at least brent musberger wasn’t calling the game. ’cause i hate that guy. he makes me want to hurl.

i’m supposed to do some fondue with katie and lisa later tonight. woohoo.

ed is in LA to watch keane with his sister. wah.

this is the next generation?

so i’m perusing the wires at work, as i’m apt to do when there’s not a lot going on, and i come across some story about “helicopter” parents who are far too overbearing when it comes to their college-age children. (i think it’s in the st. petersburg times or something.)

it’s basically about how some parents can’t seem to let go of their kids, their kids call them for everything, like asking advice on class schedules, and how some even call the dean to complain how their kid didn’t get in a certain class, etc.

are you kidding me? kids are being coddled this much?

the story goes on to say how some parents take it too far — writing their kids’ term papers, for instance. of course, there are the usual warnings about how baby boomers’ kids are sheltered, blah blah blah.

ahmed and i have had numerous conversations about how kids don’t know how to do shit these days and that the thought of these kids growing up someday and running the country is bad news.

seriously, let your damn kids grow up. that is what college is for. let them learn to be on their own, be independent and shit. you can’t hold their hands forever! give ‘em the room to make their own mistakes and learn from them. your damn kids aren’t going to be perfect and sheltering them is a disservice.

i knew/know a lot of sheltered kids throughout my life. some of the things they think, the things they believe in still are laughable. i know i’m a cynic, but please. go out and live a little bit. really.

i moved 7,000 miles from home to go to college. it wasn’t like i could call up my mom and have her come fix some problem i had. and i didn’t go that route anyway. i think my mom gave up calling me the second week of my freshman year because i?Ǭ†wasn’t around to answer the phone. but i had to learn to make my way through adulthood on my own — and i didn’t wind up in?Ǭ†jail. i turned out okay. rebellious, but okay.

i only hope my kids wind up as independent one day.

i highly recommend leaving home to?Ǭ†go to school,?Ǭ†leaving home to start adulthood. it’s valuable experience. you actually learn to do things. if you don’t, you wind up like?Ǭ†a certain young adult i know?Ǭ†(who shall remain nameless!) who doesn’t?Ǭ†know how to change a lightbulb.

and if sheltered kids wind up like that, we’re all in deep shit.?Ǭ†no wonder they can’t do anything for themselves.

crap like this really pisses me off.

whoa, flashback!

so i’m reading jorge’s?Ǭ†blog earlier today and he had a doozy of an entry up today. dude had the final DCS (drinking championship series) rankings from the 2004 season. (it’s right here if you want to see it … it’s way too long to copy it).

that season, even though i wasn’t able to attend very many games, was one of the greatest tailgating seasons in world history. it happened to be the year ed and i got married too (and yeah, that kind of counted as a tailgate).

to wit:

• ed made the greatest ribs ever for the va. tech game in d.c.
• jphung tried to punk some black dudes … late at night … while drunk … on a d.c. street … and produced the greatest punking line in history: “i’m yao ming …?Ǭ†post up … i’ll break yo’ face!”
• jphung also tried to punk some marine at my wedding … miracle that guy hasn’t died yet.
• there was the near-riot at the ucla game (which i missed) and cook in jail.
• edgar’s greatest pickup line of the year at my wedding … “call me cynthia … “

and other crazy things. i love knowing crazy people.

the DCS was always good stuff. edgar is hella funny. jorge said he’d try to find some more of those emails.

which reminds me … three months until football season!!!!! and probably some more of the greatest moments in tailgating history … even though we have a breakaway faction supposedly. the rebel faction is way cooler.

i also got my official invite for the 4th of july party … woohoo! i can’t wait to go back to LA. i hope mark goes too. but that fool doesn’t have email, i think. so maybe he won’t even know about it!

yet another lyrical blog …

haven’t had one in a little while, you know.

i?Ǭ†wish we could open our eyes
to see in all directions at the same time
oh what a beautiful view
if you were never aware of what was around you
and it is true what you said
that?Ǭ†i live like a hermit in my own head
but when the sun shines again
i’ll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in.

sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole
just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound
but while you debate half empty or half full
it slowly rises, your love is gonna drown
– death cab for cutie, “marching bands of manhattan”

always been a huge fan of this song. i let it roll around in my head for a while. i just like its imagery. and that verse?Ǭ†is one of my favorites.

i was happy that death cab performed this song live when i saw them.

damn, i wish i was a poet again.

on an unrelated note, i had to get a tetanus booster shot today … that thing hurts like hell.

back to work …

dumbshit people.

repeat after me: being a professional athlete does not preclude you from being a dumbass.

today’s big news in the sporting world is that steelers quarterback ben roethlisberger got himself into a little accident. while riding his motorcycle. without a helmet.

now the kid is apparently okay (in other words, he’s not dead). but you know, he’s got a broken jaw, facial fractures, some knee issues, blah blah blah.

but seriously …

wear a fucking helmet!

kid’s lucky he’s not dead. there are enough dumbshit athletes out there who get into similar accidents. (kellen winslow jr., hello? jay williams?) maybe big ben could miss a few games this season. he’ll be lucky if he doesn’t miss the whole season like the aforementioned idiot, kellen winslow.

stupid kid. win a super bowl … and then get in a wreck. way to piss off fans like me.

my favorite quote out of all the stories was this, from his doctor:?Ǭ†”His brain, spine, chest and abdomen appear to be without serious injury … ”

dumbass.

again, wear a fucking helmet!

(for the record, helmets for motorcyclists are optional in the commonwealth of pennsylvania. which i think is?Ǭ†stupid anyway, considering how many motorcyclists i nearly saw eat it on the freeway while living there.)

lastly, ed told me he read some reports that steelers fans are tailgating outside the hospital where ben is holed up. that’s just insane.

damn you, san diego chargers!

a few months ago, when the NFL schedules came out, a game stood out on the sked:

october 8: pittsburgh steelers at san diego chargers

now, why is this significant? a) i love the steelers and have been dying to see them live for oh, about 10 years or so. b) that is my birthday. c) i want to see an NFL game live. (no, watching the arizona cardinals — strangely, i think that was on a birthday too — does not count.)

what made that game even better was that there was going to be a usc home game the day before. so it would have been a pretty kickass weekend. tailgate, watch usc, hoof it to san diego, watch the steelers, wave my terrible towel, have a great time.

but noooooooooooo, the chargers have to go and muck this all up.

apparently, they are only offering steelers-chargers tickets as part of a stupid package. buy a ticket to that game and you’re forced into buying a ticket to a preseason game and the season opener. grand total? 296 bucks.

wtf?

so, possibly the only chance i will ever get to see the steelers live (and on my birthday, for crying out loud!) goes down the toilet. it’s not like i’m ever going to get to heinz field and see them at home. it’s too damn hard to get a steelers ticket in pittsburgh.

stupid professional teams and their need to screw their fans.