No on H8te!!!

We are one week away from elections and there is a lot of decisions that are going to be made. One importation decision here in California is Proposition 8.

Proposition 8 is to amend the state constituion to define marriage between one man and one woman. A lot of propaganda is going around. Those who are in favor of proposition 8 is using children to scare people to vote yes.

Unfortuantely, the tactics are misleading and not true. I had asked my teacher friends whether they teach marriage or in the curriculum that is required is there a mention of marriage. All of them said no.

Proposition 8 is about discrimination and hate. If two people who love each other want to confirm their love through marriage. Let them be. What is the harm? What if you were not allowed to be with the one you love. How would that feel?

Two good friends of mine got married on 8/8/08.

I would hate for their marriage be reversed because of this proposition.

Please do not believe in the propaganda that the Yes on 8 have produced. Vote no on hate - Vote NO on 8.

Girl Can Dance!

I was sent this video randomly and this girl CAN dance. I wish I could move like her when I was her age. Heck I wish I could move like her now.

Birthday Week

I had a great birthday week with the culmination at the Bungalow Club last night. Thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes and to those of you who came out and celebrated with me.

It meant a lot to hear and be with friends as I turned Dirty 30.

My Endorsement

With the elections quickly approaching I have finally chosen a candidate that I will be supporting. Join me with a vote for this candidate.

More Watermelon for Everyone . . .

I've been going to my chiropractor since June and they recently started sending out a newsletter. There was something in the newsletter that caught my eye and that I wanted to share with everyone about watermelons.

Like berries, watermelon is loaded with phytochemicals, including lycopene, beta-carotene and citrulline. When citrulline is consumed it is converted to arginine. Arginine is an amino acid that has beneficial effects on the heart and circulatory system, as well as the immune system. Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, leading to another beneficial side benefit of watermelon . . . a Viagra-like effect without the hazards of a toxic drug.

Can't get Viagra - eat a watermelon slice. hahaha.

Dirty 30 - Part 1

Yesterday was my 30th birthday and with it falling on a Wednesday I couldn't do anything too wild. So a couple friends and myself went out for a couple drinks. A couple became a lot and I did end up yacking. So much for not doing anything wild, right?

Anyhow thanks to Andrew, Olaf, Melissa, Pinay, Eric, Jay (Juan, Junior, whatever), Eduardo, Peter, Dutch, Trevor, Jessica and everyone else who came out to have a drink with me.

Highlight of the night - besides hanging out with friends was meeting Tabatha from Salon Take Over and Shear Genius.

Below are some photos from last night. Part 2 is happening on Sunday.

Dirty 30

Dirty 30 Here I Come!

Here are other people who share the same birthday as me on October 22nd -

Zac Hanson

Shaggy

Brian Boitano

Jeff Goldblum

Annette Funicello

Tony Roberts

Christopher Lloyd

Timothy Leary

Two More Days . .

Two more days and I turn the Big 3-O. In the meantime - Happy Birthday to my mom!

Filipinos are Yummy

So I was supposed to go on vacation in Spain but unfortunately due to my work schedule I wasn't able to go. Sucks, huh? I'm glad that Andrew, Leia, and Gwen had a good time.

Before Andrew left I was wondering what could he bring back from Spain for me. I actually heard that Filipinos is a dessert in Spain and he was able to locate some.

A couple days after he came back he had the pleasure of bringing me to the Emergency Room at Cedars. If you don't know what happened read the earlier posts.

Anyhow, he had given me these and I finally ate one of the packages yesterday. They are chocolated coated cookies in the shape of O's. They're pretty good but it's just weird that it is called Filipinos. It's like having a dessert named Chinese, Mexican, Canadian, etc.

Jam With Me

Enjoy these songs. Jam with me . . .

Running at Night is Hazardous to My Health

For those of you know I still have my sprained wrist but at least I'm back and running. Here we are and it's a Tuesday night and I needed to get a 3 miler in. Going down 6th Street I almost had a repeat of last Wednesday. Almost a week later.

I tripped and almost fell but I caught myself and didn't fall. Whew!!! I didn't want a repeat visit to Cedars Sinai.

I did get a good look at the sidewalk and it is probably the same piece of concrete that made me fall and sprain my wrist. I probably will need to change my route if I have to run at night. No more running on 6th street. I'll figure a different route.

The Aftermath

Last night was supposed to be a usual evening. After coming home around 8 p.m. from my meetings in Long Beach I was getting ready for my run. On the schedule was an easy 3 miles. Easy enough, right? Been doing that for months now so 3 should be no different.

Well last night was different. As I was going down 6th street towards Fairfax it changed. As I was running my foot got caught on a slightly raised part of the sidewalk causing me to trip and fall. I totally skidded my knees and of course with me in my head I was thinking - I must finish the 3 miles.

When I finally reached Fairfax I felt a sharp pain in my wrist. Didn't feel good at all so I decided to walk back home. When I got home I contacted Andrew and decided to go to the Emergency Room at Cedars.

Cedars was great and I was in and out in an hour. They took x-rays and lucikly nothing was broken but I do have a sprain and now have to wear this thing on my arm. Below is a picture.




They also took care of my abrasions on my leg. In addition I had to get a tetanus shot.

Thanks Andrew for bringing me to Cedars and thanks Trevor for bringing me home and getting me McDonald's.

What a run, eh? Maybe I should just run on a treadmill from now on.

I've Decided to Go Do It!!!

I've decided to move forward with a costume of Diego for Halloween. This is what I need:

1. Cargo Vest
2. Light Blue Shirt
3. Blue Cargo Shorts
4. Gray/Orange Sneakers
5. Orange Backpack
6. Stuffed Jaguar

Hopefully this will be easy to find. It'll be an easy costume since I won't need a mask. blah!

Visiting the Old Roomie

My Mondays are usually spent in Orange County. I first start off with a visit to my chiropractor, now I started adding hitting the gym before I head back home. Today I decided to give Rey a call. Trevor had asked me to go Hi-Times Wine Cellar to pick up a bottle of Pinot Noir. My wine literacy is very limited so I asked Rey to go with me to pick out wine. I figured it would be good to see him, catch up and see Malia.

After I worked out I stopped by Target then a store that sells hair product for cheap and then it was off to the old apartment. It's always good to see Rey. (It's always good to see you Stacey but you were at work. I'll call you soon though. Maybe lunch since I'll have meetings in Manhattan Beach.)

Anyhow when I went over there Malia was aslept. The minute I stepped in she awoke. Rey brought Malia out she was acting really shy. Actually I think she was scared of me. Then again she's probably not used to me especially since I do not visit often. Rey was laughing and was saying that Stacey is going laugh. Everytime Malia would take a peek at me she would scream. He made some comments and I texted Stacey the comments. If you want to know what they were e-mail me. Just don't want to offend anyone. Hahahaha.

Malia eventually warmed up. She was crawling over, playing with my cell phones and eventually wanting for me to pick her up. Below are pictures from when we were playing. Rey even had me feed her a little bit.



We were lucky to have Erin come home to stay with Malia a little bit so Rey can accompany to Hi-Times. When we arrived at Hi-Times it was a little funny because Rey got teary eyed. Ever since Malia was born he has done very little drinking and he's finally getting back into it.

As we made our way through the wine I picked up a Pinot Noir by Thousand Foot from the Russian River Valley. Rey also made a suggestion for another wine that I might like so I picked it up. It's called a Menage a Trois. I laughed but we'll see how good it is when I give it a sip.

Thanks Rey for hanging out. It was fun. Come up some time and we'll do Ugo.

Dance! Dance! - The Todo, Todo.

When going to a Filipino family party - dancing and karoake is a favorite past time. What is interesting is the dancing part. Not sure how line dancing became so big amongst the Filipinos but I am surprised at how many line dances there are to songs that you may already know. We all know the electride slide probably started it all but second to that the Todo Todo is a widely popular selection. Anytime you are at any Filipino gathering you are sure to hear and see the Todo Todo. Below is the music video and after that is a bunch of Filipino Moms, Dads, Nanays, Tatays, Apongs, Lolos and Lolas doing it.

I've done it a couple times but I still need to learn the steps to get them down. Who wants to practice with me? haha

Top 100 Hip Hop Songs

VH1 is counting down the Top 100 Hip Hop songs. Some of them I agree . . some of them I don't but I know for sure that I'll be downloading a bunch of these songs. Below is the list -

100 Biz Markie - "Just A Friend"
99 Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft/ Ying Yang Twins - "Get Low"
98 Warren G ft. Nate Dogg - "Regulate"
97 Eve - "Who's that Girl"
96 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - "Parents Just Don't Understand"
95 L'Trimm - "Cars With The Boom"
94 Master P ft. Sikk, Fiend, Mia-x and Mystical - "Make 'Em Say Ugh"
93 N.E.R.D. ft. Lee Harvey and Vida - "Lapdance"
92 Yo-Yo - "Can't Play with my Yo-Yo"
91 Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone - "Ridin'"
90 Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y)"
89 Cam'ron - "Oh Boy"
88 Jungle Brothers - "What U Waitin' 4"
87 Wyclef Jean ft. Refugee All Stars - "We Tryin' to Stay Alive"
86 Heavy D. and the Boyz - "Now That We Found Love"
85 Black Star - "Definition"
84 UTFO - "Roxanne Roxanne"
83 2 Live Crew - "Me So Horny"
82 Chubb Rock - "Treat 'Em Right"
81 PM Dawn - "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss"
80 Three 6 Mafia ft. Paula Campbell- "Hard Out Here For A Pimp"
79 DMX - "Ruff Ryders' Anthem (Stop Drop)"
78 Arrested Development - "Tennessee"
77 Cold Crush Brothers - "Cold Crush Bros. at the Dixie"
76 Big Punisher ft. Joe- "Still Not A Player"
75 Lil' Kim ft. Lil' Cease- "Crush on You"
74 EPMD - "You Gots To Chill"
73 Black Sheep - "The Choice Is Yours"
72 J.J. Fad - "Supersonic"
71 Whodini - "Freaks Come Out at Night"
70 3(rd) Bass - "Pop Goes the Weasel"
69 Common - "I Used to Love H.E.R."
68 T.I. - "What You Know"
67 Mase - "Feel So Good"
66 House Of Pain - "Jump Around"
65 Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three - "Love Rap"
64 The Roots - "What they Do"
63 Kid 'n Play - "Rollin' With Kid N Play"
62 Digable Planets - "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)"
61 Slick Rick - "Children's Story"
60 L.L. Cool J - "I Need Love"
59 Ol' Dirty Bastard - "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"
58 Ludacris ft. Shawna- "What's Your Fantasy"
57 Big Daddy Kane - "I Get the Job Done"
56 Busta Rhymes - "Woo-Ha! Got You All In Check"
55 Terror Squad ft/ Fat Joe and Remy - "Lean Back"
54 MC Lyte - "Cha Cha Cha"
53 Lox ft. DMX and Lil' Kim - "Money, Power, Respect"
52 Foxy Brown ft. Jay-Z - "I'll Be"
51 Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew - "The Show"
50 Lil' Wayne - "Tha Block Is Hot"
49 Boogie Down Productions - "My Philosophy"
48 Nas - "One Love"
47 Young MC - "Bust A Move"
46 De La Soul - "Me, Myself, And I"
45 Geto Boys - "Mind Playing Tricks On Me"
44 Method Man ft/ Mary J. Blige - "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By"
43 Game, The ft. 50 Cent - "Hate It or Love It"4
2 Roxanne Shante - "Roxanne's Revenge"
41 Funky 4 + 1 - "That's the Joint"
40 Run-DMC - "It's Like That"
39 Tone-Loc - "Wild Thing"
38 Coolio - "Gangsta's Paradise"
37 Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock - "It Takes Two"
36 Nelly - "Hot In Herre"
35 Queen Latifah ft. Monie Love - "Ladies First"
34 Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Brain"
33 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - "Tha Crossroads"
32 Puff Daddy & The Family ft/ Notorious B.I.G., Lil' Kim and The Lox - "It's All About The Benjamins"
31 Kool Moe Dee - "How Ya Like Me Now"
30 Tribe Called Quest - "Check the Rhime"
29 Digital Underground - "The Humpty Dance"
28 Ice Cube - "It Was A Good Day"
27 Beastie Boys - "Hold it Now, Hit it"
26 MC Hammer - "U Can't Touch This"
25 Fugees - "Killing Me Softly"
24 Eric B and Rakim - "Paid in Full"
23 Outkast - "B.O.B."
22 Naughty By Nature - "OPP"
21 Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force- "Planet Rock"
20 Kanye West ft/ Jamie Foxx - "Gold Digger"
19 Ice T - "Colors"
18 50 Cent - "In Da Club"
17 Sir Mix-A-Lot - "Baby Got Back"
16 Missy Elliott - "Get Ur Freak On"
15 Eminem - "Stan"
14 Tupac - "I Get Around"
13 Wu-Tang Clan - "C.R.E.A.M."
12 L.L. Cool J - "I Can't Live Without My Radio"
11 Jay-Z - "Hard Knock Life"
10 Kurtis Blow - "The Breaks"
09 Salt-N-Pepa - "Push It"
08 Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Gin and Juice"
07 Notorious B.I.G. - "Juicy"
06 N.W.A. - "Straight Outta Compton"
05 Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message"
04 Run-DMC ft/ Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"
03 Dr. Dre - "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang"
02 Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"
01 Public Enemy - "Fight The Power"

Homework for the Kids or for the Parents?

I go to the Hawthorne Library a little earlier than I usually do for a recruitment meeting. It’s a new location so I wasn’t sure what I would expect. Whether the room would be set up for me or would I have to set up, where signage goes, etc. I got here extremely early so instead going straight to the meeting room I decided to sit down at a desk, pull out my computer and do some work. I was hoping to go onto the internet unfortunately I need a library card t and currently I do not have one so I sit and play bubble breaker on my phone.

As I look around I notice two ladies at a table next to me working on a project that looks like it is meant for their children. They are hard at work painting, gluing, scraping, coloring, etc to make it look decent. Whatever they are building looks like a scene of Native Americans. (Maybe in time for Thanksgiving). They had fake trees, Indian figurines and fake grass, etc.

As I sit here watching them two work a thought comes to me. Is homework really for children or is it for the parents? I’m sure as parents they want their child to do as well as they can in school to ensure that they receive the best education possible. However, does it come to a point where as a parent you do the homework, projects, reports or whatever is needed so that your child gets the best grades possible?

When I was a child my parents did help me do my homework when needed but I remember most of the time it was myself figuring out the math problem, writing the book report, looking in an encyclopedia for answers. My parents had a way of helping me with homework. They made sure that they didn’t give me the answer right away but made sure I knew the process in getting to that answer. (This came less and less especially when I got into Algebra and other subjects past grade school. Hahahaha)

Shouldn’t homework be about teaching the student not the parent? If the children don’t succeed through the homework how is the child going to learn?

At the end the kids whom I’m assuming that the project belongs to eventually came around and it turns out they were playing and running (or as my parents would like to say – gallivanting) around the library.