I just got into work and before I start on the mountain of designs I need to fix, i thought I'd get a quick blog in. Or maybe not. We'll see.

Yes, it is that time of year. The Monday after the giving of thanks, in which the xmas season officially starts. Let's be honest here. Xmas is the only good holiday left. (Except Mother's Day/Father's Day cuz you gotta give respect where it's due) It fact, in my book, it is the ONLY holiday left. Why? Well let's take a look at all of the other "holidays":

HOLIDAYS THAT SUCK:
1) Halloween - wow. This one used to be so cool. Dressing up, going around the neighborhood to get candy, finding the cool houses (the ones that give away the regular sized candy bars, and none of that "back to school" shit aka pencils/pens/etc...and dont even get me started on the houses that gave away toothbrushes). But now halloween is a pain in the ass. You gotta go buy candy for the rude ass kids that come trick or treating. Halloween is now dumb because I would never go trick or treating myself..i mean, I can either waste an hour going around getting candy, or I can go to the store, pick out the candies I WANT, and then buy them for less than TEN BUCKS.

The only good thing about Halloween now is that it's an excuse to go party. And me, being a guy, loves this aspect of Halloween. Why? Because at our age, dressing up for halloween has become to very different things for each gender. Lemme break it down:

Males - Dress up in something funny.
Females - Dress up in anything, but then make it slutty. The more slutty the better.

Man it's so much easier for girls. I would complain that the whole naughty schoolgirl thing is played out, but I WON'T, cuz that shit is HOT.

Anyways, Halloween (the regular activities) are definitely dumb and dumbest.

2) THANKSGIVING - A big ass meal. wtf. I can make a big ass meal any day of the year!!! Hey i know, how bout I make a turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, stuffing, green beans, all that shit on Feb 22, just for the shits of it! Does that mean that it's thanksgiving? no. And rightly so, I mean on thanksgiving, you make turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, stuffing, green beans and all that shit. oh yeah. SAME STUFF.

Summary: Thanksgiving = big meal. Big meal = can be made on any day of the year. LAME.

3) VALENTINE'S DAY - K, I don't need to spell it out. Or maybe I do. If you're not single, you're obligated to do something nice. So anything you do isn't like.."oh how nice of you" it's more like.."yeah you better get me that shit". Lol. What I mean is, something nice is EXPECTED. That sucks! I mean if you plan all this shit out and do this and do that on valentine's day, then to a certain extent it's gotta be expected. If you did all that shit on ANY OTHER DAY, it would be like OMFG/fireworks/exploding confetti dogs/etc.

And lemme push the issue a little further. I'm not saying that all couples are like this on valentines day, but i would HOPE that the girls in the relationship do something nice for the guys too (And I'm not talking about sex cuz that's different)! Lets follow Japan's example, where on valentine's day, the girls give all the guys chocolates and gifts and shit.

K anyways, so if you are in a relationship, you have to do something nice and it becomes expected. If you are single, then you get to be audience to a show of what you're missing. And yes, it's going to be stuff that you're missing. You're not going to see any of the nasty stuff (fights, throwing things, girls messing up they man's car like in them rap videos). Nope. You're gonna see all the lovey-dovey shit and it's gonna be all up in your face. And don't think about shopping to avoid it, cuz you're gonna see nothing but hearts, and red, and signs telling you how lonely and ugly you are. Finally you'll end the day thankful that it's over, but even then you'll be troubled by the fact that all over the country, people are getting a little somethin' somethin', and you ain't getting shit.

4) FOURTH OF JULY - All this is an excuse to BBQ and drink beer. I ain't knocking this at all, but again, you can do this any day of the year. And if you've waited until the fourth to have a bbq and drink beer, you are a sad sap, cuz that means you've wasted half the damn summer. Fireworks are cool, but it sucks ass that the only time of the year you can see them is in july. There should be a city that has fireworks every night, and anytime you wanna see a fireworks show, you can just head there.

5) LABOR DAY - In addition to having no specific celebration involved with it, everyone gets this day off. Which doesn't make sense...i mean, you're NOT working on LABOR day. Why not just call it, "Last Day of Vacation Day" or "No Work Today Day".

6) ALL OTHER MISC HOLIDAYS (Flag Day, Arbor DAy, Columbus Day) - These days are just regular days, but with special names. They make you all excited cuz you think you might get off work, but you don't. It's like getting an xmas present that's really an empty box. Weak.

EXCEPTIONS:

ST. PATTY'S DAY - I fuckin' love corned beef/cabbage/beer/potatoes/lucky charms, so any day where I can eat this stuff is a awesome holiday. You could use my logic explained above about how you could do that on any day of the year against me. And to that, my rebuttal would be: cram it.

NEW YEARS EVE - The one day of the year where you get dressed up, go out with a bunch of your friends, and drink champagne till you're borderline drunk. You get your dance on all night, and when midnight comes you can sing that stupid song with all of your drunk friends and then pop those weird paper things that tell you not to pop it in people's faces. As an added bonus, ever year you can hope that some girl will be drunk enough to actually kiss you. Unfortunately, there isn't that amount of alcohol behind the bar for that to happen. Sorry.

Aight, now i guess I should go over why xmas is cool.

XMAS = COOL: First of all, it's nice and cold. And when it's cold, it makes you want to stay inside by the fire. This is perfect timings to invite friends over and have dinners and chill and stuff.

Second, the tree. Now getting a tree and decorating it is a pain in the ass, but I can't deny how cool a tree with lights and ornaments looks. when I was a kid, I would lay down by the tree and just watch all the lights blink on and off. Pine tree smell is dope too.

Third, PRESENTS. Dude, this is what xmas is all about. Giving presents and getting them too (fuck what you heard lol). Christmas shopping is a pain, but giving presents to friends and family is cool. But lets be real here. Getting presents is JUST as cool. You can't sit here and tell me that if you gave a bunch of presents and then GOT NONE that you would be happy with that. If you would be, then you are either: a) giving away presents just to feel good about yourself, in which i would say that you have self-esteem problems b) a person who thinks that their friends are friends but really aren't c) the Father of Christmas himself, Santa Claus.

Fourth, food. Okay this totally backs up my point about Thanksgiving. Xmas dinner is SO similar. Family. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pie, etc. ALL THE SAME STUFF. So in essense, xmas is like thanksgiving times roughly A MILLION. Thanksgiving got served/owned.
Plus peppermint, one of the coolest spices/flavors around, becomes a focal point when xmas comes around. You got peppermint this and peppermint that. Dryer's comes out with their peppermint ice cream, which is by FAR one of the dopest ice cream flavors around. Eggnog (which i still want to try getting drunk off of), christmas cookies (who cares if it's just sugar cookies with a shitload of frosting on it), christmas ham (goes even better with the owned thanksgiving turkey), figgy pudding (whatever the fuck that is).

Fifth, everyone comes home. It doesn't matter where they are, but all your friends who are based somewhere else, but actually grew up in the bay area, come home for the holidays. This means you can spend time with all of your friends without leaving home. Awesome.

Sixth, christmas vacation. OH WAIT. THAT'S RIGHT. I HAVE TO WORK.

speaking of which, i better get to it.

There is so much good in the world, it's just that our perceptions are keeping us from seeing it.

I think I'm finally starting to truly feel the difference between arrogance and confidence. It's one thing to vocalize the difference, but it's something else completely to FEEL it. Haha I should note that I'm saying I'm gaining confidence..I'm just seeing the difference.

You only have bad days if you feel sorry for yourself. Period. Horrible events are only horrible if you perceive them to be. It's hard when there are days when everything seems to go wrong, but take a look around you...is it really going wrong? Or are you just thinking they're going wrong? Life has no personal vendetta against you. Or if you must notice all of the bad things that are happening, put as much, IF NOT MORE, thought into the good things around you as well.

If all else fails, take a nap. There is nothing more enjoyable than a nap. Especially on a cold day when it's raining. Oh man. The only way that could get any better is if that nap could be taken while eating jello w/whipped cream simultaneously. Oh and with a hot girl. And money. And spam musubi.
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Aight back to work. I think i'm getting sick. Headache, and the comings of a sore throat. Time to vitamin C it and then hit the hay early. Yup.

Always learning...

Ignorance may be bliss, but i would glad pay all my comfort, and go through all kinds of pain in order to gain knowledge. Ignorance is bliss because you're simply ignorant to what true happiness is. True happiness can only be attained through knowledge, for it is only knowledge that lets you truly understand yourself and the world around you.

Ignorance is bliss? BULL.SHIT.


I don't know if i'm learning more. I certainly don't believe that I am smarter than those around me. However, I do think that due to my constantly thinking, especially in a more positive realistic POV as of late, that I digest more of what happens both to me and around me. I am certainly surprised by some of the things i've seen/observed as of late, and it confuses me. But it is not my life, and I cannot judge. I can however, keep learning.

Every single problem in life comes down to ONE single thing. Not knowing yourself. That's all it is. When you break down all of life's problems, that's what it comes down to. Sounds simple right? Yes, except for one thing. Facing what you think about yourself is something that most of us are terrified of. We'd much rather bask in a fake sunshine that gives us that immediate gratification that face reality that give us a much more geniune happiness in the long run.

Yesterday is over, and tomorrow is never here. Today is right now. LIVE IT.

Thank you Mom and Dad, for doing everything you could to raise me right and to give me the things that didn't come so easily for you growing up.

Thank you for giving me and my brother opportunities to make the most of our lives, and for even today, making sure that we have everything we need to be productive.

Thank you for always putting us first, making sure we had enough to eat, a roof over our heads, and simple luxuries that were comfortable but not spoiling. Thank you for scolding/disciplining me when I acted out or tried to do things my way.

Thank you for putting up with me, no matter how difficult I made it.

I don't deserve everything that you've done for me, but I'll do my best to make you both proud. This is only right because I am very proud to have you two as my parents. You two are both wonderful people, who I can see clearly love one another. I do not worry about being able to recognize a good relationship because in my eyes, I've been given the perfect role models.

It's so easy to take things for granted, and I think for a long time, I took what I was given by you two for granted.

I curse myself for constantly always looking at the bad things in life, when it's very clear that you've both worked your hardest to make sure that I have nothing but positive things to look at.

I love you both, and in the coming years, I will offer you the same kind of care that you offered me when I was younger.
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Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, on both sides, for doing the same thing, but also for raising my parents right and teaching them the importance of life's lessons. The way all four of you were has helped me become the man I am today, both directly in my interactions with all of you, and indirectly, through my parents.

You survied a world war, and an internment where you lost everything, the whole time raising a large family, and making sure that your children didn't feel the ill effects of a country's paranoia. Never once did you complain or make a sour comment about any parts of your past that were more difficult than they should have been.

I only wish you were all still around so that I could talk to you. I wish I could tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me and my parents. I wish I could hear what you had to say about life, because I know your wealth of wisdome stretched way beyond your years.

I miss you all terribly.

But each one of you has made a strong impact on my life, and for that reason, you're not really gone, and you never will be.

k I know I talk about it a lot, but since i'm actually going, time for yet another entry on it.

Fuck yeah. The tickets may have cost me a pretty penny, but i am going to vegas in january. oh it feels so good to know that i'm going for sure. I mean, i also want to go in Dec if possible, and then Feb too.

But even though i'm going on a weekend, i really wanna go back during the week, like Tuesday through Thursday. Foundation Room at Mandalay was fucking awesome on Tuesday night. There was a cool crowd, and TONS of dance space. It was really awesome. There's only one obstacle to that..and it's WORK. And since I get the same days off as everyone else, that means ticket prices go way up. Also, all my friends work too. So that makes the obstacle list complete.

1) Working full time
2) Same days off as the rest of the country/world
3) Ticket prices to fly there are really high
4) Driving takes 10+ hours
5) Friends also work full time/aren't as psycho about Vegas as me
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Why do people not use their blinkers when they change lanes? Is it that hard to move your hand a few inches and move a lever? I don't care who you are, how old you are, etc...if you do not use your blinker, you are a dumbshit plus a lazy bitch, which would make you a dumzyshitch.

Why do people walk fast? Nothing is more annoying than having someone walking hella fast behind you, and you can hear them coming up behind you? I have this thing about people walking close behind me. It's annoying. And don't tell me that some people just walk fast. NO ONE just walks fast. Haven't you ever heard of just taking a sroll? Slow down, smell the roses, enjoy life, and get off my ass, literally.

Disappointment is a bowl of wax fruit that looks a little too real. Fake grapes are a crime against humanity. Don't tempt me like that. It's like those smelly markers or scratch-and-sniff stickers. How you gonna make something that smells delicious, and then not let me eat it? Not cool. The only things that are allowed to smell good without tempting the person to eat it are potpourri, gasoline/rubber cement/paint thinner, and those victoria's secret body sprays that girls wear (although (BAD JOKE COMING) there's an exception cuz those damn intoxicating sprays do make me want to eat girls up...har har har. wow.)

Worst candy ever? Those damn button candies. wtf was that? You eat some candy, and you get some nice paper to go with it. This candy taught me that 1) you can ingest paper 2) button candy is nowhere good enough to take the punishment of having to eat paper with it.

Runner up for worst candy ever? Jujyfruits or whatever the fuck it was called. Yes, there is nothing I like more than candy that isn't that tasty, but is like chewing a piece of wet cement. This candy had one purpose, and one purpose only: pulling out your fillings and also making you feel like a chump for buying such a shitty candy

Second runner up for the worst candy ever? Hot Tamales. First off, I was never a big fan of cinnamon flavored candies. It's good for mints and chewing gum (sorta), but not candy. Second of all, I don't get why you would name a candy after a mexican dish that is a dinner item. Would you buy a candy called Beef Burrito? How bout Nacho Supreme? But on that note, shit...i'd rather eat a candy that tastes like beef/pork in a cornmeal wrap than shitty ass cinnamon. The last gripe about this candy is that it came in the same family as Mike and Ike, one of the best candies ever. So you see those fuckers, and they look like cherry mike and ikes and then you bite in, and your whole system is overwhelmed with the biggest disappointment ever since Back to the Future III.

I wanna take piano lessons again. Anyone know of a good teacher up here in the bay area?

Tired. too bad i have to work today till 7pm. sweet.

happy birthday ken.

11/10/80 - 3/28/04