Hittin' the Slopes

Today I'm going skiing with my mom and brother up in Tahoe. The weather should be gorgeous - clear skies and fresh powder.

Here's a little throwback photo of my family at Heavenly in 1995. I think my parents still wear the same outfits and NO I DO NOT still wear the same pink and purple sunglasses.

Movie Review: Valkyrie

Checked out Valkyrie today with my brother out in Natomas. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Tom Cruise, but was hating the movie after about 15 minutes. The movie has an amazing cast, plot, etc., but I couldn't get over the fact that I knew Hitler would live. I walked out of the theater with a headache from stressing about a failed plot and deaths of conspirators from the moment the film started. Arrrg... still have a headache thinking about it.

Recommendation: Worth watching, but wait till it comes out on video.

Summary from The Internet Movie Database (IMDB): At the height of WW2, a group of high-ranking German officers hatched a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and seize power of the military command in order to end the war. The operation was codenamed "Valkyrie", for the emergency plan that was meant to be used in case of a revolt against the Nazi government. This plan had been modified by the conspirators to ensure their success, but for various reasons the plot failed when finally carried out on 20 July 1944.

Home for the Holidays

My uncle is staying with us in Sacramento for a few days and we have definitely had our share of laughs.

On his roommate drinking a lot of milk: "I told him to just buy his own cow at the amount he drinks. Make sure he's fully loaded. And that the cow eats a S**tload of grass."

On my mom's Spanish Christmas music: "Sounds like we're in a Japanese elevator."

On his buttcrack hanging out of his pants: "Someone yelled at me while I was on the job the other week. The guy looked over from across the way and yelled, 'SAY NO TO CRACK!'"

Coming home to my uncle making orange juice: "I made some orange juice! I couldn't find anything so I put it in this (motions to a glass vase filled with OJ)".

Top Ten: Christmas Movies

In the spirit of Christmas, this week's top ten is based on my favorite Christmas movies ranging from animated, to claymation, to classic black and white films. Each film has a special place in my heart and memory of Christmas.



10. A Charlie Brown Christmas

9. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

8. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

7. A Christmas Carol

6. Miracle on 34th Street

5. Elf

4. White Christmas

3. Love Actually

2. It's A Wonderful Life

1. A Christmas Story

Filipino Food

Today I am helping my mom prep lumpia for Christmas Eve with the family. Lumpia is basically a Filipino eggroll except for it's ten times more delicious!

I'm also thinking of attempting to cook my grandmother's pancit (similar to chow mein, but with rice noodles) since she is sick in the hospital and will not be able to make the dish this year. Cheers to yummy food!

Bday Shouts - 122308

Prez elect in shape

Check out our President elect in Hawaii for the holidays. Good to know that even though he is insanely busy he still has time to not only vacation, but keep his body in shape.

Cab Driver Convo

After dropping friends off at their hotel in the Tenderloin, I noticed two scary looking chicas on the corner. I asked the cabbie, "Are there a lot of prostitutes around here?" He shook his head and said, "No, not really... those four girls are normal. Those two women (motioning to the scary girls we just passed) are men, not women."

Doesn't that still mean that they're prostitutes?

A Night of Bowling and Fans

Last night I went to Presidio Bowling Lanes in the Presidio for my friend Liz's bday. Unfortunately I was no where near getting a turkey the entire night and I ended up being stronger with my left hand and closing my eyes vs. actually trying!

During the two hours of bowlfantastic, I ran into one of my blog fans, Spike. He gave me a few tips on what I should do to make my blog more compelling and is a huge fan of the blog and the name. Thanks for the advice, Spike!

Fugly Xmas Sweater Party

The party was officially a success complete with the paper chains, paper snowflakes, spiked cider, spiked hot chocolate and platefuls of cookies! Thanks everyone for getting in the holiday spirit! Some friends (Carly, Philip and Evan) even made their own sweaters for the event. Below are a couple pics from the night.

Another One Bites the Dust - Lauren

One aspect of being in my mid-twenties is that I am at the age where a lot of people are getting married. Just yesterday my friend Lauren commented on an earlier blog post between my friends Ana and Danny in a fight and her saying that the only peace treaty would be an engagement ring.

Lauren has been dating her boyfriend Jason for a few years now and has been going through the same ultimatum/waiting period for an engagement ring. Well guess what? As of last night they are now engaged. Here is what she calls "Princess Sparkle." Congrats you guys!!!

Annnnnnnd another one bites the dust.

Sock it to me

With the current event of shoes being thrown at George W., here's a pretty funny site where you too can have a chance of hitting him. Careful though, he has great ducking skills/reflexes!

Lovers Quarrel

My friend Ana has been dating her boyfriend for a few years and gave him an ultimatum as far as an engagement. Yesterday they got in a fight and texted each other the following:

Ana's boyfriend: Should I bring home flowers?

Ana: No, you should bring home a ring!!

Once back at the house together, Danny handed Ana flowers and said, "Sorry, they didn't have any rings at Whole Foods." LOVE THEM!!

Preparation

This year I've decided to throw a Fugly Xmas Sweater Party at my place with friends from college, home and SF. All week I've been prepping by decorating the apartment with themed items from home and cutting paper to make paper chains. One of my friends even had her classroom make paper snowflakes today which will eventually hang from my bare walls on Friday.

A lot to do with such little time. A few of my friends are coming over to my place early to help me cook and make a few concoctions. Wish me luck!

Checklist for the party:
Cookies
Spiked Apple Cider
Spiked Hot Chocolate
Paper Snowflakes
Paper Chains
String and hang Ornaments

p.s. I KNOW about the "Stuff White People Like" latest entry on Monday. I heart themed parties and when else would everyone get to wear those amazing Christmas sweaters?!?

Top Ten: Christmas Songs

When I think Christmas songs I originally think of my childhood growing up to the classic Christmas tunes sung by Andy Williams and the Carpenters. I always light up when I hear one of their songs, but here's a list of other favorites:

10. Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano
9. Here Comes Santa Claus - Gene Autry
8. Snoopy's Christmas - The Royal Guardsman
7. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer - ??
6. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
5. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jimmy Boyd
4. The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks
3. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
1. All I Want for Christmas (Is You) - Mariah Carey

Honorable Mentions:
Merry Christmas Darling - Carpenters
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
Let it Snow

Buddy and Papa Elf Cancel Christmas

Amusing: Apple Announces Last Year of Christmas

So much for getting an iPod! :)

Deck the Halls

It's official... I'm finally in the holiday spirit.

During the weekend I went to a Christmas party and did a little shopping with my mom out in Roseville. Anthropologie and West Elm were having amazing sales that the two of us could not pass up. My mom also let me take a bagful of holiday decorations back to SF with me to decorate my apartment.

For the past two days I've been decorating, making paper chains and buying additional holiday decorations for my upcoming Fugly Xmas Sweater Party on Friday (even though my mom calls the sweaters "cute").

The party will be complete with a dreidel, mistletoe, spiked cider, spiked hot chocolate and plenty of cookies! Only one week left before Christmas and I'm glad that I finally jumped on the holiday fun train.

Lovely Steak Dinner

Last night I went with my friend, Chris, to his work holiday dinner party on a boat along the Delta River. Beforehand and afterwards we also went to the Liberty Hotel to partake in cheap drinks and free appetizers with his coworkers.

The actual dinner made me feel like I was in an episode of "The Office," complete with the Captain telling us we could wear life jackets for fun and forgetting to have chicken prepared for those who pre-ordered their meal. As a result, the bar was open the rest of the night.

Thanks for inviting me, Chris! He even wore boat shoes... how appropriate.

Family Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elf Ho-Down!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Tear Gas

If you know me well, you also know I have no idea how to cook. Living on my own I've tried to make the effort and branch out a little (even though the cook book I got from my mom last year is still wrapped in plastic).

Although I have slowly tried to expand my horizons to the cooking realm, I have ALWAYS stayed away from onions knowing that they make people cry.

Today I decided that I was ready to take the giant leap with all of my new knowledge from online tutorial videos such as, "The right way to cut an onion" and "Cutting an Onion without Crying."

Well... not ONLY did I cut the onion correctly with the entire bulb cut out, BUT I also teared up and cried with mascara streaming down my cheeks! Mission failed. Onions are officially my tear gas.

Any tips?

Suds

I did five loads of laundry today. Four out of five ended up perfectly fine. Here's what happened to the third load:

Luckily there were only two other people in the laundry mat at the time, but the scene did cause a few questions such as, "Did you do that?!?!?" and "Is there a number you can call?"

Woops. I'm actually surprised that this is the first time it has ever happened to me in my 15 years of doing laundry. I don't exactly understand what went wrong so I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to me again. I used the same amount of detergent, load and cycle for each one.

Note to self: Stay away from the end washer. It is pure evil. (Blame it on the washer).

Xmas Around the Corner

With the economic recession, who knows if Santa Claus will be coming down the chimney this year.

Most kids are scared of the jolly man in the red suit anyways, right?

Morning After

Went to brunch with my roommate this afternoon and she pointed out that we were witnessing a "morning after" at the next table.




We laughed our way through their awkward brunch.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last night was an incredibly random night out in SF with my roommate. We started out at Poleng and attended the screening of a skater film. After the film we went to the bar and ended up meeting the owner of the restaurant (of course).

About an hour later we left for BOSS and took a pic with Cyndi Lauper. Either she's REALLY white, or we are REALLY tan. One way or the other, taking a pic with Cyndi was like taking a pic with Santa Claus in the Christmas Story movie. She grabbed Maria's hand, motioned us to hurry up, took my camera, posed, and pushed us out.

My family

My family makes me laugh. Here are a few pics of the jokesters in Mexico posing for the camera:

9 year-old ladies' man

This morning the TODAY show interviewed a 9 yo ladies' man based on a book he had recently published offering tips and advice. The kid sounded pretty sure of himself and included tips such as, "Always comb your hair and never wear sweatpants."

For more advice... I mean to check out the full article and video, click here.

Hasta luego Mexico!

My lack of posts have been due to a two week vacay in Mexico D.F. and Acapulco. Finally back in Cali, here are my key takeaways or notes:

Everything is a little pica... even the chips

Salsa goes with EVERYTHING. Even popcorn.

I would never be able to drive without getting in an accident. Everyone ignores lights, lanes and rightaways.

Mezcal (similar to Tequila) is smokey and will do you in after a few shots.

Bite the limon before the shot, not after.

Mexican weddings are awesome.

Mexican men are extremely flirty.

Bargain.

Nobody wears flip flops.

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!