Happy Gobble Gobble Day

This is the first year that I will not be back in Sac or the Bay for Thanksgiving.

Any other normal year, I go back to Sac the day before Thanksgiving and meet up with a few hometown friends. Typically we go out to Tumi and Chargain's for a little HS reunion. The day of Thanksgiving I wake up and participate in the annual Sacramento Food Bank Run to Feed the Hungry. This usually wakes me up from the night before and makes me eat a ton of turkey.

Since I'm in Mexico, I'd like to give a huge online shout to my friends and family back home. Break out the cornucopia and make-shift turkey hands... Happy Thanksgiving.

Dogs vs. Kids

Lately I've been finding myself infatuated with dogs and babies. Almost every time I see one I either yell, "Dog!" or "Baby!" and try to pet/hold one.

Majority of San Franciscans have smaller dogs (due to smaller living spaces and lack of backyards), but we also don't have that many kids running around. Why, one may ask? Maybe it has to do with something about the fact that SF consists of young professionals with apartments and therefore there are more dogs per capita than children.

The other week, I was hanging out at another neighborhood park reading a book and soaking up the sun, when I noticed fellow neighbors greeting each other on the grass. It seemed as if htey had been friends for a long time, but after eavesdropping or "accidentally overhearing", the commonality they all had was their dog!

The conversation included a quick chat about how the park should have a yield sign saying, "Yield. Children at Play." And one of the woman said, "If only they made one for dogs."

There were more dogs at this cute little park (with a fountain, grass area and playground) than kids. I'm more of a kid person, but was actually witnessing the plethora of dogs vs. kids in SF.

Random Thought #2

Do you ever find yourself talking to your food? For example, earlier this week when I started drinking my latte from Starbucks I said, "Mmm.. pumpkin spiced latte." Or what about, "Mmm. chocolate."

Just a thought.

Nepantla, Mexico

Today I'm headed to Nepantla in Mexico for the entire weekend with my brother and the Margain family. The Margain's are having a huge bday party at their countryhouse in Nepantla. Ten years ago when I visited the estate, I left with salmonella. I think this time I'll try to be a little more cautious about what I eat and drink. My mom claims the only things I will be able to drink are tequila and bottled water. Yowza!

Feliz cumpleanos Felipe, Claudio y Cristi!

Random Thought #1

Since the fad known as a "hipster" is beginning to fade, I've decided to add a new weekly or maybe even daily as it happens, installment called: Random Thought. Every now and then I have a random thought that pops into my mind - either a blonde moment or a more profound thought - that I catch myself thinking.

Random Thought #1 - If I wore an old school pink hip pack while I exercised, do you think people would actually notice that it's a hip pack or would I be able to play it off as an exercise belt that holds my iPod?

Hitched 111508

Haley, a friend from middle school, got hitched on Saturday in Chile! She has lived there for a couple of years and I am insanely jealous of those who were able to attend the ceremony .

A quick shout to another friend, Molly, who got engaged last week! My friends sure are dropping like flies. I guess this is the "first stage" of marriages. I most likely will be in the second batch... towards the end.

Zero to Couch Madness

My friends band, Zero to Couch, performed live on Saturday at a local bar in SF called Beale St. Bar & Grill. After an enjoyable Saturday Faturday of bocce ball at Marina Greens and watching college football in the Marina, this was definitely an amazing way to top of the night.

I also enjoyed watching the guy below in the sparkly blue shirt get his groove on:
One of my fave songs is probably the Owl and the Hitman. You can check out a few of their songs on their MySpace page here of their Web site. Rock on, Piper!

p.s. Notice I'm one of their "Top Friends" on SpySpace. I also took a few of the band shots on their Web site. w00t!

Needed: A New Camera

Back in June, someone dropped my new digital camera and broke the lens. It no longer allows me to zoom and is beginning to make one side blurry when taking pics in normal mode.

Since I always take pics, I'm beginning to think that I want a Digital SLR. The only problem is that I know that I won't carry it around with me everywhere I go. SO... do I buy an SLR or buy a point and shoot?

Pros and cons on both side. Can't make up my mind. Maybe I should buy an SLR for clearer pics and travel pics, but also bring disposable cameras.

Bday Shouts 111708

First of all, a long overdue belated shout out to Jen!! Sorry I was out of town on your bday! Jen is the tiny person with big feet (on the right).


Also, a shout out to Lauren (pac man) for turning 25 today! WooHoo!!

Last, but not least, my good UCLA buddy, Jessica also turns 25 today. We definitely need to catch up and can't wait to see you when you're back up in the bay!

Family Trip

Packing for a trip to Mexico City with the family. I honestly hate packing and unpacking. Hasta luego!

Saturday Faturday

It's supposed to be 84 degrees in SF today and I've already overbooked myself! I'm meeting up with friends for brunch and then I have to make a decision as far as playing bocce ball with UCLA friends at Marina Greens or Sactown homies at Baker Beach.

Rough life!!

This pic is a depiction of how much fun I'm going to have today. Minus the pecs and shirtlessness.

Do I make you jealous?

City Livin'

Yesterday I noticed something twitching outside of my apartment building's "garbage door." That's right, ladies and gents, a disgusting little rodent called a rat.

The poor thing was twitching so it must have eaten some rat poison (especially since it was still broad daylight).

I must admit that I've always been impressed with SF and lack of rodents roaming the street slash garbage. Boy was I wrong!!!

This disgusted me and I am definitely going to bring something up to my flatmates about taking out the garbage actually down to the garbage. Heck no I DO NOT want to have a rat as an apartment pet with a name.

ICK!

Moustache Bash

Every November my brother and his friends throw an annual moustache bash. Why is it that guys with moustaches always look 10 times creepier?

Top Ten: 1980's TV Shows

As an 80's baby, I watched a ton of TV growing up. Who could forget the alien-looking ALF, Norm from Cheers, or Winnie Cooper and Kevin Arnold's ongoing love on the Wonder Years. The list is definitely too long to narrow down to ten. This week's top ten actually consists of the top 12 TV shows from the 1980's (in no particular order).

ALF
Cheers
The Cosby Show
Diff’rent Strokes
Family Ties
The Golden Girls
Growing Pains
Night Court
Perfect Strangers
Three’s Company
Who’s the Boss
The Wonder Years

What happened to the good 'ol television shows we used to watch? I say we begin to throw out all of the reality tv stuff.

Google Knows ALL

Today I discovered that not only has Google created a video/chat application for Gmail in addition to the regular chat, but it has also released flu trends for the nation.

My PC does not have a camera so I have not had the chance to test out the video chat yet. Let me know what you think. You just have to run the application, and restart your browser. TechCrunch and Mashable both give a brief rundown of the new app.

As far as the Google Flu Trends, I'm not sure if the trends are exactly accurate. According to their Web site, "We've found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional flu surveillance systems."

Who knows. I've been pleased with Gchat and Google searches for news, etc. This leads me to ponder, "What's next?"

Virginia

About one week ago, I came back from an amazing trip visiting some homies in Virginia. During the weekend I spent time in VA Beach and Richmond. All in all, it was very relaxing to get away from the City and catch up with my friends.

Thank you Parker & Caroline, Chris, Lauren and Ryan. You guys are always welcome out to the other coast and I hope to see you again soon!

Notable moments slash lessons learned:

• Sweet tea seems to be pretty big in VA with Twisted Iced Tea and Firefly Iced Tea
• There's a whole lotta history
• For a state with "McCain Country" signs, surprisingly Obama had a huge following as well
• Gas was only $1.99 the day I left to come back to SF
• VA Beach had regulated times for trick or treating
• VA Beach has something like a 30 mile stretch of beach
• A reminder that people can smoke inside bars and restaurants outside of Cali
• I need a coozie for my beach cruiser
• VA has a lot of trees and this time of the year is good to visit due to all of the "Fall foliage"
• Despite skepticism, the police do break up parties in Richmond

Chris' reaction at his Halloween party when they ran out of beer:

Tonic

On Sunday, Brigid and I guest bartended at Tonic on Polk St. The fact that they actually trusted us is HUGE and we had an amazing time.

Things I learned:

-- How to make a raspberry mojito

-- Coke backs DO NOT come with ice

-- You make more money if you flirt with patrons

Thanks to all of our friends for coming out and supporting our bartending debut. Also, thanks Duncan for bringing the Rock Band and letting us have fun!

Bday Shouts 110708

Happy bday Ana and Meredith!! w00t!

My Love for SF is Mutual

I obviously love San Francisco and everything about it - the people, hikes, historical landmarks (yes, Lauren), and even the public transportation system. The weather the past couple of days has been absolutely wonderful which only increases my love for SF.

Last night my uncle took me to a really good restaurant in the Richmond called Clementine. We had a great time catching up and eating delicious food. Although it's only a couple of miles away, I rarely venture out to the Richmond so it was good to get out of my bubble since it's "so far away."

Today I met up with my friend, Ana, who was visiting from LA for the weekend. Right after she left, a bicyclist pulling one of those little carriages asked if I needed a ride. We agreed that it would be a free ride and I would get off once he found a customer. He drove me to Pier 39 without even charging me! He said that the day has been pretty slow and he would've driven that way anyways.

After thanking the bicyclist I made my way to watch the Sea Lions bark at each other at Pier 39 and took a few pics along with Alcatraz and of the city. I trekked over to the cable car turnaround on Mason and was pleasantly surprised that they didn't charge me. Instead both conductors looked at me and said, "Hey! We haven't seen you in forever!" Thankfully I rode up to my apartment without charge.

All in all, I heart SF and SF hearts me. Happy Friday, ya'll!

Must've Been My Shirt

And so it came to pass that on Nov. 4, 2008, shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time, the American Civil War ended, as a black man — Barack Hussein Obama — won enough electoral votes to become president of the United States.

A civil war that, in many ways, began at Bull Run, Virginia, on July 21, 1861, ended 147 years later via a ballot box in the very same state. For nothing more symbolically illustrated the final chapter of America’s Civil War than the fact that the Commonwealth of Virginia — the state that once exalted slavery and whose secession from the Union in 1861 gave the Confederacy both strategic weight and its commanding general — voted Democratic, thus assuring that Barack Obama would become the 44th president of the United States...

The struggle for equal rights is far from over, but we start afresh now from a whole new baseline. Let every child and every citizen and every new immigrant know that from this day forward everything really is possible in America. - Thomas L. Freidman, NY Times

Top Ten: Presidents

Based on a 2005 WSJ poll, readers ranked our Presidents and I've jotted down the top ten. For the most part, the ranking is based on presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures and faults. I'm sure Obama will filter in with the following esteemed Prez's.

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thomas Jefferson

Theodore Roosevelt

Ronald Reagan

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

James K. Polk

Andrew Jackson

Clips from last night

Still amazed with the change and step our country has taken, I feel like I'm in a dream-like state. After all is said and done, did you catch the cool CNN hologram?



If you have time, check out the below touching video of Colin Powell getting choked up when discussing our new President-elect and explaining:

"Whether you voted for Mr. Obama or not, you have to take enormous pride in the fact that we were able to do this… competing in a typical American way which is hard fought. You fight for your positions... Now the people have made their choice and both gentlemen, Senator McCain and President-elect Obama, both said the same thing, 'This is now over. Let’s come together. We are all Americans again and let’s pursue a new agenda of transformation and agenda of change and let’s get on with the challenges we’re facing and solve those challenges.'"



Time to wake up from my dream now.

Flashback to Miami

Miss you, girls!

Victory

The country / world continues to celebrate Obama's victorious sweep last night. Still buzzing across the world, I'll be reading and watching a lot of coverage surrounding our new President and his family. AMAZING.

This is something that everyone will remember for the rest of their lives. This is something that our great-great-grandchildren will be learning about as a historical moment. This is something that our country can finally be proud of achieving. Congratulations!

I must add that I am proud of my country, but not so proud of my state. I guess animal rights beats human rights in the state of California. Until next time...

O-B-A-M-A

Still waiting to hear the outcome of a few local propostions, but I am in shock and proud to be an American today. I am speechless that our country is FINALLY making a change. Tonight we all witnessed history and I'm looking forward to what's to come.

Voted

I voted earlier this afternoon in a neighbor's private garage! Surprisingly, there was only one person in front of me in line so it went by without any problem. Gotta love living in a big city where polls are located in garages.

After turning in my ballot, the volunteer handed me the "I Voted" sticker (also in Japanese and Chinese) and told me to, "Enjoy your free cup of Starbucks."

Now my eyes are glued to the TV and Internet watching all of the swing state results roll in slowly.

Your Voice

"Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: 'Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do your part and vote TODAY.

Top Ten Ways to Get People to Vote

Whether you are left or right, promote, aggravate, push, persuade or convince people that they need to get out and VOTE. The clock is ticking...

10. Parade up and down your street with a sign encouraging people to vote
9. Make threats (not really)
8. Call or text people to make sure they've personally doing their part
7. Go to your neighbors door to door
6. Send out a mass e-mail at work (I know everyone loves those) - EOM
5. Update your social networking status (FB, MySpace, hi5, Twitter, etc.)
4. Trick your friends and family by sending an evite or virtual card
3. Send instant messages to your entire buddy list i.e. AIM or Gchat
2. Wear your "I Voted" sticker and brag to friends, colleagues and strangers on the street
1. Offer to drive - Go with your roommate or family member to the assigned station

Snappity Snap Snap

Another fun snippet to lighten the mood prior to the election chaos. For those of you who are not aware what it means when someone says to you, "oh snap!" see the below flowchart:


Thanks for passing this along, Sean!

An Extra Hour of Sleeeeeeep (or party)

Tonight I'm attending a Halloween party in Richmond at my friend Chris' house. Don't forget that daylight savings ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday and to turn your clocks back by one hour.

Hopefully I'll remember before the party and catch my flight on time the following day.

Fall back, spring forward...