Thursday

Happy Turkey Day.   I woke up and drove my family to my aunt's house in Oxnard.   This was the first time in a while that we didn't have our Thanksgiving dinner at my other aunt's house in Gardena.   Despite the long drive, I still had a great time hanging out with my family.   

Friday

Esther and I went to Best Buy at 4:45 in the morning and realized how late we were.   By the time we got there, the line wrapped all the way around the building.   Since there was no way of getting in, we headed over to Staples since they had Samsung flat panel monitors for $199 after rebate.   Once we finished shopping, we went to IHOP for breakfast.  After we ate, we went back to my place and slept for a bit.   Around 5, we picked up Shane and went to eat sushi at Kabuki's.   Once we finished eating, we went to Shane's and hung out for a few hours.

Saturday

The original plan for today was to head to Knotts Berry Farm but it didn't go through.  Instead, Charles, Shane, Jen, Wayne, Esther and I went to the Getty museum.   We stayed there for a few hours and then headed out.  Jen, Wayne and Charles decided to eat at Koji's.   Shane, Esther and I went to Mika's for dinner.  Once we finished eating, we went to Wayne's and played Cranium.   Here's a group picture at the Getty that I found from from Charles' xanga.

Friday

Esther came over and we went to eat dinner at Koji's.  After we ate, we met up with Shane, Wayne and Jen at Shane's house.  We played cards for a few hours and called it a night relatively early.

Saturday

Jen, Wayne and I met up at Shane's since he was going to drive for the night.   Once we got there, we went to pick up Esther and headed over to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner.   Dave was already there and had reserved a table.    After we ate, we all headed over to the Laugh Factory for a night of comedy.  Some of the comedians were really funny and some were the complete opposite.   Once the show was over, we went to Shane's and hung out for a bit before going home.

Family Guy

Check out this link.   A-Ha fans will definitely get a kick out of this.

Thursday

Since Friday was Veteran's day, I went out with a few co-workers to go bowling at Bayside Bowling in Santa Monica.   After we bowled a few games, we went to Denny's and grabbed a midnight snack.    Here's a picture from the night.

Friday

I picked up Esther and we picked up dinner at Pick Up Stix.  After we ate, we went to Shane's and met up with Jen, Wayne, and Phil.   We played cards for a few hours and then Charles came by around 11.  He brought over a 90's version of Trivial Pursuit.   We played that for a few hours and it's surprising how little I know about the 90's even though I lived through it.

Saturday

Shane had a barbeque at his house so Esther and I brought some chicken and teriyaki sauce over to cook.   We had to leave a bit early since I had to go my grandma's birthday dinner and Esther had a reception dinner.   After my dinner, I went back to Shane's and we played cards for a bit.  Once we finished playing, we watched Crash.   Great movie.  

Friday

I picked up Esther and we stopped off at Papa John's to pick up pizza for dinner.  After we picked up the pizza, we went to Shane's and ate with Shane and his mom.   Once we finished eating, the four of us worked on making a pumpkin pie from scratch.   It was actually more like Esther and Shane's mom that worked on the pie, Shane and I just did a lot of cleaning.   A couple hours later, the pies were done and they came out pretty good.  Jen and Wayne came by later on, and the five of us played cards for a few hours before calling it a night.

Saturday

Esther came over and we went to go eat sushi at Kabuki's.   After that, we came back to my place and we hung out before calling it a night.   I guess Jen's co-worker had some birthday shindig at HQ's so that's where a lot of people were.   Esther and I decided not to go since we don't drink and we have work tomorrow.   This weekend went by way to fast. 

Friday

I went to pick up Esther and then we headed back to Torrance to pick up Shane.  The plan was to head over to Kabuki's for sushi but the wait turned out to be over an hour.   Instead of waiting, we decided to eat Sam Woo's since it wasn't too far away.  After we ate, we went to Shane's and ended up play Pisoy for a few hours before going home.

Saturday

Esther and I headed out to the Block since the plan was to meet up with everyone at D & B's around 9.   We figured we'd go early and grab something to eat.  

Now maybe it's just me but it really seems that hit and runs are a lot more prevalent in this day and age than it was a while back.   Add me to the list of victims.  Right before the exit to the Block, this car in front of me slammed on his breaks so I in turn slam on my breaks.  The guy behind me didn't react fast enough and hit my bumper.   I don't know where my mind was but rather than get out of the car, I thought it was wise to get off the freeway (since the exit was so close) and discuss the matter with the guy behind me.  Wrong. Wrong!  Right as I pull off, the guy just takes off and is gone just like that.    When I did finally stop, it looked like all he did was push my bumper in a bit.   I know it's wrong but I find it a little gratifying to know that his car was way more messed up than mine.   Its instances like this that make me forget how much gas my truck guzzles down. 

Anyway, getting back to the night, Esther and I ate at this place called Alcatraz something.   Once we finished eating, we met up with Shane and walked to D & B's.   Dave, Jen, Wayne and Charles showed up a bit later and we all hung out for a few hours before calling it a night.  

Even though getting hit really sucked, in retrospect, it could've been a lot worse.  I could've been the guy delivering the damage to the car in front of me.   Or Esther could've gotten hurt.  So at least I'm able to xanga here tonight and will be able to go to bed without having to worry about something that happened.   Oh yeah, don't forget to set your clocks back.

Friday

Esther came over and we went to eat dinner at L & L's.   Afterward, we met up with Jen, Wayne, Shane and Charles at Munchicup and played cards for a few hours before calling it a night.

Saturday

Esther and I went to Charles' since he was having a barbeque and brought over some teriyaki chicken.   Shane showed up shortly after we did and then Jen and Wayne were the last ones to come.  After we finished eating, we started a game of Monopoly using Charles' army Monopoly set.   The game only lasted a couple hours but it felt like it lasted forever.  Once we finished playing, we had to leave since Charles' had to watch his dad's store.   We decided to relocate to Wayne's.  On the way there, Esther and I stopped at L & L's again for some spam musubi.   From there, we went to Wayne's and played cards for a few hours before deciding to go home.

On a side note, I attended this work conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lake Arrowhead.  It was pretty fun.  I got my own room and we stayed at this nice resort. There were activities we needed to do but after dinner, it was nothing but fun.   There was a mechanical bull, a foosball table, a pool table, an air hockey table and to top it off, a DJ and a dance floor.    

Friday

Esther came over and we had Papa John's for dinner.  We had a slight scare while we were eating when my grandma needed to go to the hospital but thank goodness it was just a mild cut on her leg.    Later on, Wayne called and we went over to play some cards.   

Saturday

I picked up Esther and we went to eat dinner at Burnt Tortilla.  After we ate, we met up with Jen, Wayne, Shane, Charles and Dave at Alpine Village to check out Oktoberfest.   It was pretty cool even though Esther and I don't drink beer, or drink for that matter.    Once we decided to leave, I dropped Esther off and went to Wayne's to play some cards with Dave, Shane and Wayne.   We played for a few hours before calling it a night.

Interview With God

Check out this link.  It really makes you think.

Friday

I picked up Esther and we met up with Jen, Wayne, Shane and Charles at this 50's diner. I forgot the name off hand but I think it was called Ricky's and Charlies.   It wasn't too bad but it was a bit pricey.   After we finished up eating, we stopped to get boba and then went to Wayne's where we played cards for a couple hours before calling it a night.

Saturday

 I met up with Jen, Wayne and Charles at Shane's since we were all going to carpool to Dodger stadium.  Esther just walked there since she's very close to the stadium.   We sat much closer than I had thought we were which made it more enjoyable since we could actuallly see what's going on.  After the game, the All-American Rejects performed for about forty minutes.    Once they finished performing, we squeezed four in the back (just like in our Vegas run back in July) and dropped Esther off before heading home.

Sunday

I met up with Shane, Jen, Wayne, Shayan, and Charles at this one park by Inglewood and 190th.    We played some basketball, tennis and baseball (well, more like playing catch).   It was pretty fun but I really need to work on my throwing.

Friday

Esther came over and we went to eat dinner at Koji's.   After we ate, we hung out at my house since everyone else had other plans.  We ended up playing Mario Doubledash and then watched some television before calling it a night. 

Saturday

I met up with Jen and Wayne at Wayne's house since we planned on going to the lobster festival.  Once we got there, we met up with Esther and her co-workers since they decided to carpool.   It wasn't bad but I'm not too fond of lobster personally.   The festival itself turned out to be a little better than I had anticipated.   It was almost like a mini carnival, complete with vendors, game booths and entertainment.   After we walked around and (of course) ate lobster, we headed back to Wayne's and played cards.  Shane showed up right when we got to Wayne's.   We played for a few hours and then I had to take Esther home.   I went back to Wayne's and we played for a few more hours before quitting.

Sunday

It's another boring Sunday for me.   I stayed in most of the day, and ran a few errands to get out of the house.

I finally started playing poker online for money a few weeks ago and didn't do too bad.   For some reason, I caught bad beat after bad beat this weekend.   It's pretty sad how beats I took but that's poker I guess.  At least I was able to learn new things with each game I played.   

Friday

I picked up Esther and we decided to have Papa John's for dinner.  After we ate, we met up with Shane, Charles, Wayne and Jen at Gable House where we played Photo Hunt for an insane amount of time.   Once we finished playing, we headed over to Shane's and played poker for a few hours before calling it a night.

Saturday

In the afternoon, I finally did my online traffic school for that stupid ticket I got back in July.   It only took about an hour so it wasn't that bad.   For those who ever need to do their traffic school online, I recommend this site.  Around 6, Esther came over and we headed over to Charles' for a pool party/barbeque.    Esther brought over her own marinated teriyaki chicken wings and they were good.     Around 9, we relocated to Shane's and played Monopoly.    I'm still not a big fan of that game but I digress.  As we were about to go, Wayne and Jen had this contest as to who could hold up their legs the longest while sitting on his bench.   It's pretty nuts so I won't even try to explain.  Anyway, Charles and I tried it as well.   Yes, we are nuts too.  

Sunday

Peter had a barbeque at his place so I headed over there around 6.  When I got there, Mike, Hilo, and Chris were already over.   Shane came by shortly after.  Jen, Wayne, Charles, Erwin, and Glenn showed up later (not all together).   Since there was a total of 11 people there, we ended up playing a multi-table game of holdem which would later be consolidated when a couple players were knocked out.   When the game finally finished, we called it a night.

Monday

I did a whole lot of nothing but at least I didn't have to labor.  Hope you all had a good labor day.

27

I'm a year older now but I sure don't feel any wiser.   Yep, I'm the big 2-7 now.   It also happens to be the worst hand in holdem.  Anyway, Esther and I celebrated by going to Disneyland.  We covered every ride we wanted to in about 4 and a half hours.   Most importantly, we were able to ride Space Mountain, a ride that has been closed down for the past couple of years.  It wasn't anything special though, just looks like they did a little remodeling to the outside but not the ride itself.

I'm back!  Well, I been back but I just got back online today. 

Monday

Esther and I arrived at Laughlin around 4:30.  We checked into our room at the Flamingo Hilton and had dinner.   After we ate, we took advantage of the tennis courts they had and ended up playing for about a hour.   The one thing I really hated about Laughlin is the insane amount of bugs that are out at night.  Once we finished playing, we went back in and gambled for a bit before calling it an early night.  On a side note, I hit my first ever straight flush in Pai-Gow.    

Tuesday

We woke up and ate lunch at Subway.    After we finished, we drove out to check out  the London Bridge (located not too far from Lake Havasu).   From there, we drove over to Harrah's Lauglin and ate dinner.    We gambled for a bit and drove back to our hotel.   Since the Flamingo Hilton had a comedy club there, we decided to check it out.   The comedians there were pretty funny, especially the last guy.

Wednesday

We checked out of the Hilton and headed off to Vegas.  On  the way there, we took a small detour over to the Hoover Dam.   After that, we headed straight to the Four Queens.    When we got there, the computers were down so we ended up going to the outlets, located in downtown.    After we walked around a bit, we went back and the computers were back up so we we were able to check in.  Jen and Wayne were already there, playing at the Pai-Gow tables.   After Esther and I put our stuff away, we joined them at the table for a bit before they decided to check in as well.  Once they were settled in, the four of headed over to the Bellagio since we had tickets for "O".  

Since none of us had eaten yet, we decided to eat the buffet there.    It was pretty expensive but definitely worth it.   I shudder to think how much it would've cost had we eaten there on a weekend.   Once we finished eating, it was time to watch "O".   I enjoyed the show and thought it was better than Zumanity.  

As we were leaving, I saw Dwight Howard.   With that said, I bet that a good amount of people reading this are saying "Who's Dwight Howard".    He was the first playing chosen in the 2004 NBA Draft and is currently on the Orlando Magic.   Anyway, after the show ended, we headed back to downtown and gambled before calling it a night.

Thursday

This day was spent gambling so there's really not much to talk about.   One thing I would like to mention though was that Jen, Wayne and I entered a shootout tournament.  That's basically where 10 people enter and play until there's only one left.    I ended up placing fourth (which pays nothing) but Wayne did win the whole thing.  If I couldn't win, I was happy that he did.  

Friday

After Esther and I checked out, we ate lunch and then headed to the Primm Outlets like we normally do.   We stayed there for a bit to avoid the L.A traffic we would surely hit had we left at 1 or 2.   Once we got home, we ate dinner and went to Munchicup to hang out with Charles, Mike, Jen, Wayne, and Dave.  We played cards for a bit and called it a night early. 

Saturday

Dave had a pool party so Esther and I brought over some chips, hot dogs, soda and corn.   When we got there, Jen and Wayne were already there.   Mike and Charles showed a little after and then Peter showed up a bit later.   Esther and I left around midnight.

Friday

Esther came over and we went to Wayne's.   Most of the night was spent hanging outside of his house and talking.   The night ended pretty early.

Saturday

Esther and I met up at Charles' where Jen, Wayne, Charles and his brother were swimming in his pool.   Dave showed up a little later and jumped in as well.    After everyone finished swimming, we headed over to the Loft for dinner.  I forgot how expensive everything was.   Once dinner was over, we went back to Charles' and watched various Dave Chappelle episodes.  YEAH! OKAY! WHAT! 

Sunday

I spent most of my afternoon lounging at home.   Around 5, I met up with Dave, Wayne and Charles at Starbucks.  We played cards for a bit and then headed over to Grant Park to play ball.   Once we finished playing ball, we met up with Jen at PV Bowl for Quartermania (25 cents for one game of bowling).   Once we finished bowling, we went to Jen's and watched more episodes of Dave Chappelle (it's a darn shame there will be no season 3).

Esther and I be heading out to Laughlin tomorrow for a few days and then it's off to Vegas.   This will be my first real vacation since I was a kid (a vacation to me constitutes me being gone for more than three days. 

Enjoy yourself bitches!

Friday

Since Esther and I both had the day off, we decided to check out Universal Studios to check out the newly added Fear Factor stunt show.    The show itself wasn't that bad but I don't really watch it much on television.   One thing that did suck though was the fact that the tram ride was severely shortened.   I'd say they probably cut out about 1/3 of what they normally show.   After we left, we ate dinner at Sam Woo and then I dropped Esther off.   I headed over to Wayne's and played cards with Jen, Shane, Dave, and Wayne for a couple of hours.

Saturday

I picked up Esther and we headed over to the Gardena Obon.   We met up with Mike and Karen there and walked around for about a hour.    I normally see a lot of familar faces there but I only ran into my recently married cousin and her husband.   After the Obon, Esther and I ate dinner at El Pollo Loco.  Once we finished eating, we went to Wayne's and met up with Jen, Wayne, and Shane.   We played cards again for a few hours before calling it a night.

Sunday

My day was spent lounging around, doing nothing at all.   I really need to be more productive on Sundays.   Since there was another day of the Obon carnival, I thought about going but the parking was ridiculous.   I gave up on looking for parking and came home.

Friday

Esther came by and we went to eat dinner at Fusion.    After we ate, we met up with Jen and Wayne at AMC Theatres to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.   Everyone has their split opinions on this movie but I personally enjoyed it.   It was a different twist on something I watched as a child.

Saturday

 I picked up Esther and we went to eat dinner at Pat & Oscars.   Once we finished eating, we went to meet up with Shane, Jen and Wayne at Mulligans to play miniature golf.   After we finished playing, I had to drop Esther off and then went to Wayne's.     Once I got there, Jesse (Wayne's brother), Jesse's friend, Shane, Wayne and I played a couple rounds of holdem.   We played much later than we anticipated though and cut the last game early. 

Sunday

I finally got to catch a few episodes of this year's World Series of Poker.   After I finished watching it, I met up with the guys for basketball (something I haven't done in a long time).    I was worn out after only two games and called it a night early.  It looks like I really need to get back into shape.   This will probably take a while.

Friday

Esther came by and we picked up Shane to go eat dinner at Kabuki.  Jen and Wayne showed  up as well and the five of us had dinner.  After we ate, we went to this place that sold shaved ice and hung out before calling it a night.  

Saturday

I hung out with Doug (who I haven't seen in a while) in the afternoon for a few hours.  Afterward, I picked up Esther and we stopped by Curry House to say hello to a few friends I haven't seen in a while.    After that, Esther and I picked up some pizza from Papa John's and went back home to eat it.  Once we were finished eating, we went to Shane's and played poker.    This is the first time in a while we actually played for money (it was only three bucks) and Esther turned out to be the ultimate winner.  

Sunday

 I spent the day helping my dad and grandpa work on our backyard.    That's about it.