Day Two Hundred Seventy Four

Dear Readers,
      The sports teams are looking good this weekend.  Oregon Ducks romped the Cougars in the second half.  My 49ers made the Jets look pathetic in today's match up.  Which was nice after the way they blew it last weekend.  And my Dodgers are on a five game winning streak for the first time in about three or four months.  If only St. Louis would lose a couple of games and help them out.  It is really starting to look like too little too late for the Dodgers.  Unless the Cardinals get with the program, then it is all going to be for naught for the Dodgers.  Either way, it is nice to see all the teams in win mode this weekend.  Now I just need my fantasy football teams to follow suit and it will be the exclamation point to the weekend.  Speaking of the Dodgers though, I saw the preview for the upcoming Jackie Robinson movie, 42.  What a great movie that could potentially be.  I am really hoping they do a good job with it and make it what it could be.  There is nothing worse than going to see a movie, coming out, and thinking of how it could of been so much better.  Especially with movies these days.  It is really rare when a movie fulfills all it's potential these days.  They are all too worried about pumping movies out quicker to hurry up and make a quick buck.  Instead, they should be making quality movies to make it worth our while to spend the money to go see them in the theater.  Especially considering how much going to see a movie in the theaters is now.  Raina and I went to see The Trouble With The Curve today, and it cost us like $22.00.  We missed out on matinee prices by fifteen minutes.  By the way, if you are wondering, the movie was entertaining to see once.  I don't think I would buy it or care to see it again, but to see once I would say it was worth it.  It would have been more worth it to rent it or wait for a Tuesday night and see it for $6.00 at the theater in the Cerritos Mall.  Movies are so expensive these days that it would be more worth it to wait for it to come out on blu-ray and buy it.  If it came out for $19.99, we could have saved a couple of bucks, and then we could have sold it and saved even more if we didn't want to keep it.  I wouldn't do that for some movies though, because there really isn't a comparison to seeing a movie in the theater.  That giant screen and eardrum exploding sound.  Action flicks just wouldn't be the same on the small screen.  It is just a matter of preference, and knowing which movies will be that much better in the theater.  Just like The Avengers.  That was worth every penny, seeing that in the theater.  The movie we saw today, I probably could have waited until it came out on blu-ray.  Well, enough ranting for one day.  Maybe I will catch a little of the night football game now.  Then get ready for bed and a start to another week at work.  Boo.

This Day In History: 1955
American actor James Dean is killed in an automobile accident, along with his mechanic, Rolf Wutherich.

Born This Day: 1861
William Wrigley Jr. - American chewing gum tycoon.

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."

-Katherine Hepburn

I think Donald Trump got a hold of him.

Day Two Hundred Seventy Three

Dear Readers,
      Today was a very lazy day. I spent it with my wife. We started early, or should I actually say, late. I slept in later than I have in probably a long time. I don't think that I actually got out of bed until about 10:00AM. In fact, I never even got out of my shorts that I sleep in. We spent the whole day bumming it. One of the better perks about staying with my parents is that my dad actually enjoys making breakfast. Well, I'm not sure he enjoys it as much as he just does it fairly consistently on the weekends. Breakfast was served just as soon as we got out of bed. Who could ask for more? It's a plus that my dad always makes a killer breakfast. Whipping up a mixture of whatever he might find sitting in the fridge. Then, after breakfast, instead of getting ready to go out and actually do something, we hung out in our room. I tried doing some organizing and cleaning, but that was a failed venture. We ended up on the phone with my sister for a while, trying to convince her to come over and bring our niece and nephew with her. We hadn't seen them all in a while and were looking to spend some time with them. Although our lazy day called for them to come to us and not us going to see them. So, a bargain was made. Raina would go with my sister on an errand while Micah slept and then would pick up the kids and come back over afterwards. It was fitting that our other nephews were over by the time Yoli had shown up. So we had a crowded house full of kids. Entertainment every where. We all ended up out on the front lawn, chasing each other and tackling kids. Learning how to hula hoop, watching the kids try to balance on the balance ball only to fall off in every which direction. It was great fun. Then we topped off the evening with a viewing of The Avengers with my niece, Kailee. What an awesome movie. I bought it yesterday and had been looking forward to watching it. I'm glad I didn't have to wait very long.
      The cherry on top for the whole day, was getting to bust out and use our light saber chopsticks that we got at Comikaze a few weeks back. They don't work real well, because the food has a tendency to slip off the end of the sticks. Either way, how can you not look cool eating Chinese food with a pair of light sabers? What a day of laziness and geekness. Guess I better take a shower and watch the end of the Oregon football game. By the way, the Dodgers won another game today and are only two games out. The playoffs are barely within reach. A little end of the season magic? I sure hope so.

This Day In History: 1930
Filming begins for the classic American made horror film Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, who had played the title role on stage beginning in 1927.

Born This Day: 1907
Gene Autry - American singer and actor, "The Singing Cowboy".

"There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity."

-Douglas MacArthur

Lightsabers!

Day Two Hundred Seventy Two

Dear Readers,
      The Dodgers are making their push here late in the season.  I am really hoping that it isn't a case of too little too late in the season.  They could win all of the remaining games and still get pushed out of the playoffs.  We need the Cardinals to lose a few games.  At least three games, and then they could tie the Dodgers, forcing them to have to play a one game playoff to see who gets into the playoffs as a wildcard.  Then they would have to face the other wildcard team the next day for another one game playoff to see who advances to the next round.  It would be a lot of stress and would probably emotionally drain them, but stranger things have happened in baseball.  We can all remember the miracle game against the A's in the 1988 World Series.  Kirk Gibson's magical home run against all-star closer, Dennis Eckersley.  It is a famous moment in history, when a majority of the fans had left the game early, thinking the Dodgers had no chance to come back and when.  Then there is that famous picture of all the cars in the parking lot about to head out of the stadium, hitting their brakes as they listen to that magical moment.  I wish I had been old enough to appreciate that moment, because who knew that I would be thirty years old, still waiting around for my miracle World Series moment for the Dodgers.  Sure, there have been amazing plays and performances that I have watched and appreciated, but nothing in the big game series.  It has eluded the Dodgers for 24 years now.  I know I have been ranting about the Dodgers for a second day in a row now, but I may only have five more days of truly enjoying baseball season this year.  I worry that I will have to tell everyone, again, that we are primed for a big year...next year.  It seems like we are always saying that "next year" will be our year.  I want "next year" to finally show up.  I am tired of continually waiting for "next year".  One of these years, I will have my moment.  Hopefully soon, so that I don't have to keep dealing with disappointing year after disappointing year.  Go Dodgers!  Down with the Cardinals!

This Day In History: 1955
The World Series was televised in color for the first time. The game was between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Born This Day: 551 B.C.
Confucius - Teacher and philosopher.

"There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence and more sense than we have."

-Don Herold

Just to clarify for everyone.

Day Two Hundred Seventy One

Dear Readers,
     The Dodgers sure know how to take things down the the wire.  I have not been this frustrated with my Dodgers since they traded away Mike Piazza back in 1998.  They have been teetering on the edge of completely blowing a promising season, to possibly squeaking into the playoffs sometime in the last few games of the season.  Just when I think they are about to let me down, they keep doing things to make me hopeful.  There are six games left in the season and the Dodgers need to win at least five of them, unless some other teams have enough key losses.  This will be an unbelievable collapse of a team that has been given more than enough pieces to pull it off.  I just wonder what the biggest problem could be.  Is it a chemistry issue?  An injury issue?  Something I am not even close to thinking of?  Why can't the Dodgers buy a ring, the way the Yankees do almost every year?  It is finally a year where they went out and spent some money.  I have had to suffer through multiple years of missing out on some great players because they either didn't want to spend the money or offer a contract for too many years.  So with all the hope that we got from the trades this year and the willingness for the owners to spend the money to get the players that were needed for a playoff run, we are sitting here watching the whole 162 game season come down to the last six games of the year.  I was very close to giving up on them and start with the saying that it was going to be about next year.  Then, Kershaw came back instead of ending the season with surgery, so there is hope.  I am going to keep on hoping for a great finish.  There have been stranger things to happen, so why not have them happen to the Dodgers this year?

This Day In History: 1989
Two men went over the 176-foot-high Niagara Falls in a barrel. Jeffrey Petkovich and Peter Debernardi were the first to ever survive the Horshoe Falls.

Born This Day: 1949
Mike Schmidt - Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player.

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot."

-Michael Althsuler

Of course he did, he is a stinking Giants fan.

Day Two Hundred Seventy

Dear Readers,
      We went to one of our favorite date hang outs tonight.  Even after Raina's long day of work.  It wasn't a date night though.  My sister Melissa got taken out to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then went to Barnes & Noble afterwards.  So, Raina and I met up with them at the bookstore after she finally got done with work for the day.  Yup, she had a long day of babysitting until 8PM.  I know she would have preferred to just head home and get some rest, but she went out afterwards anyways.  Which was great, because I love Barnes & Noble's.  I could browse through the books and magazines for hours upon hours.  I never leave there thinking that I was finished looking through everything that I wanted to.  It always feels like there was something else that I wanted to browse through or read.  I don't know how I can have such an appetite for all those books, but I do.  So many books to read and not nearly enough time to read them all.  Needless to say, we had a bit of a date night, even while celebrating Melissa's birthday.

This Day In History: 1964
"Gilligan's Island" premiered on CBS-TV. The show aired for the last time on September 4, 1967.

Born This Day: 1774
John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed)

"If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect."

-Ted Turner

A new history book for all the Harry Potter fans out there.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Nine

Dear Readers,
      It's late.  I'm tired.  I have had a very long day and want some sleep.  It is also my sister Melissa's birthday.  I didn't get to see her and wish her a happy birthday until she finally got home after 10:00PM.  I have grown up with my little sister as the older brother who picked on her, while she was the younger sister who tattled on me at every turn.  Not that I did very much for her to tattle on.  Okay, I was constantly doing things to get tattled on.  It was every little thing.  I couldn't look at her the wrong way without her yelling for mom.  It was a rough life growing up with her.  We eventually grew out of it though, when we were in our twenties.  Maybe not that long, but it seemed like it.  Now she is 26 years old, married, with two wild and crazy sons.  She is all grown up.  Sort of.  She is still my little sister and I need to remind her of that every so often.  I hope she had a great day with her family at Disneyland today and is continually blessed throughout this next year.  Love you sis.

This Day In History: 1890
The Sequoia National Park was established as a U.S. National Park in Central California.

Born This Day: 1951
Mark Hamill - American actor. (Star Wars)
1986 - My sister Melissa.  Happy Birthday Sis!

"I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific."

-Lily Tomlin

The newest Batman villain.  Carpet Face.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Eight

Dear Readers,
      We have a full house this week.  It is already full with my parents, Raina and I.  Now we have added my sister Melissa and her family of four.  Her, her husband and two sons.  My crazy nephews Joseph and Joshua.  They are getting their hardwood floors redone and taking out some of the carpet to refinish the old hardwoods in their house.  So, while the work is being done and the varnish is drying for the week, they are staying here with my parents and us.  It is going to be a bit crazy this week, especially with the kids.  They are wild children.  At least they can be.  They can also be very entertaining.  They have been introduced to Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog on the Nintendo DS.  The DS's are Raina's and mine.  It was just one at a time at first.  Having to share between the two of them.  Eventually we pulled out the second one so they could both play at the same time.  After getting their opportunity to play for a little bit today, I overheard Joseph telling my sister how we bought two DS's so that they could both play.  That we had gotten a second one just for them.  It was kind of sweet to think that we had bought a second DS just for them and I didn't want to ruin it for them by telling them we had two the whole time.  I will just let them continue to enjoy their moments of Mario and Sonic.
      Then there was a moment when I had come home from my class to find out that the kids were taking a bath.  After being home for a few minutes, there was a sudden burst of crying and tears coming from the bathroom.  The bar of soap had fallen into the tub and Joshua had felt a burning sensation in his eye.  They are used to Johnson's no tears version of bath soap, so they usually don't have that problem.  My sister then proceeded to tell them that it was because the bar of soap was in the tub with them and that it would burn their eyes.  They immediately burst out in tears, crying that they didn't want to burn.  They were thinking that the soap was going to make their entire bodies burn and they just wanted to get out.  They could not be consoled and they had to cry it out before they finally calmed down.  Poor kids thought they were going to burn up all over.  It just shows how not explaining every little thing to a child can lead into total misconceptions.  It was still funny though.  I am sure it will not be the last thing they do to make me laugh this week.

This Day In History: 1924
At Mitchel Field, New York, Lieutenant James Doolittle takes off and lands in a windowless airplane.  It was the first all instrument blind flight.

Born This Day: 1936
Jim Henson - American puppeteer who created the Muppets.

"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."

-John Foster Dulles

The nephews, fresh from a cry in the tub.  Joseph and Joshua.  And no burns.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Seven

Dear Readers,
      Happy birthday to my mother in law, Karen.  It was her birthday today, and we went out and celebrated in style.  With an exhilarating round of miniature golf over at Boomers.  That is what she decided she wanted to do for her birthday, aside from going out to dinner at Lucille's.  Which was fine by me, because I always enjoy a round of miniature golf.  Even though I can be terrible at it.  I think that there was only one problem with going with the whole family.  The fact that there is nine of us and we play our round of mini golf all in one group.  Which can be pretty slow for the group of two or three that might be lucky enough to be stuck behind us.  Then there is the fact that we play with rules dictating that the person furthest away from the whole goes first, always working our way closer to the cup.  It can make for an interesting game of mini golf that can often times turn into croquet, always trying to know someone's ball out of the way, thereby making it harder on them.  So, for those people that were behind us, too bad.  No, I am just kidding.  We told every group behind us that they should play through or go ahead and come back to that one hole they skipped, because we knew we were going to be a while.  Either way, we made it an entertaining round.  At least as entertaining a round of mini golf can possibly be for a group of grown adults and one child.  You have to love how there really isn't too much skill involved.  Just smack the ball and hope another person accidentally knocks you closer, or even in the cup.  Which did actually happen a couple of times, even to the point of giving someone a hole in one on the technicality that they didn't take a second swing themselves.  Gotta love our own made up mini golf rules.  It really makes it even more entertaining that way.
      Happy Birthday again to Karen.  I hope we made it a memorable one for you.  Thanks for being a great mother in law, even though I know I can be pretty ornery.  I know you treat me so well for Raina's sake and not for anything that I do myself.  We love you and are praying for many more blessed birthdays with all the family.  Who knows?  Maybe eventually with a few additions to the family.  Wink, wink to Brandon and Brooke.  I don't think Karen could ask for a better Birthday gift.  Wink, wink, wink.

This Day In History: 1862
Russian author Count Leo Tolstoy, 34, marries 17 year old Sophie Andreyevna Behrs.  The couple proceeded to have 13 children over the next 17 years.

Born This Day: 1930
Ray Charles - American singer and songwriter.
???? - My mother in law, Karen Piliavin (Happy Birthday Karen!  Hope you had a wonderful day.)

"Great art picks up where nature ends."

-Marc Chagall

Caveman Beard.

Brandon, Brent and I hitting up the batting cages at Boomers.  We are all home run hitters.

That's me

Brandon

Brent

Day Two Hundred Sixty Six

Dear Readers,
      It is official.  There are only one hundred days left of beard growing.  After today, my days of Sasquatch face are numbered.  I can feel the end coming.  It just means I only have one hundred days left to figure out a way to convince Raina to change her mind.  You just never know.  Anything is possible.  Right?  With faith of a mustard seed I can move mountains.  Right now, I just need to move Raina.  It is all about faith, right?  If you have any suggestions I am open.  
      My poor wife is about to be a workaholic.  She has just gotten hired at Buffalo Wild Wings, which would give her a fourth job.  She is already super busy as it is.  Babysitting, helping a lady with flowers for weddings, substitute teaching and now waitressing.  I wish it was me getting another job and not her.  I just don't have the time available.  I shouldn't say that.  I could have the time, but it would interfere with any possibility of working overtime with my job.  And overtime with my job is more lucrative then any second job I could get.  Which makes it really hard to make a second job worth it for me.  It would be better for us for me to work overtime with my job.  Enough about me though, my poor wife.  She is going to be really busy these next few months, if not longer.  Depending on how many substituting gigs she can pick up.  I wish Raina didn't have to be doing this, but we have a goal in mind and I am pretty sure she is more stubborn than me about completing it.  I can't believe how hard my wife works and I will never be able to show I grateful I am to have her in my life.  She has continually been an inspiration to me and if I were to work half has hard as she does then I could do great things.  My wife is the best a guy can ask for and I am blessed to have her in my life.  Thank you my love.

This Day In History: 1962
U.S. president Abraham Lincoln issues his Emancipation Proclamation, which would free slaves in Confederate-controlled territory as of January 1, 1863, and lift the tenor of the American Civil War to a higher plain.

Born This Day: 1791
Michael Faraday - English physicist and chemist who invented the electric motor, the dynamo, the transformer, and the generator.

"Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson."

-Willie Mays

Half the man he used to be.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Five

Dear Readers,
      I did it!  I was right about my internal time clock waking me up even before I had to be up.  I didn't even have to wait very long for it.  I expected it to be busier than last year when I wen to pick up Raina's iPhone for her.  It was about the same as last year though.  I got there just before 7AM and was home right about 9AM.  It helps to know of a Verizon store that doesn't seem to be very busy for these kinds of things.  I don't know what it was like anywhere else, but I didn't have to wait in line all night long, camping out for a new phone.  I showed up at a moderate time and waited in line just over an hour or so.  I always hear about these horror stories and the commercials make them out to be dreadful things to go to.  Not at all.  Showing up at 7AM, got me sixteenth place in line.  More than enough iPhones to go around by the time I got up there.  Now I have stepped up my mobile communication game.  I don't know what to do with all those apps and games and little detail things to keep myself organized.  It is options and information overload at my fingertips.  I guess I have to get with times.  Everyone else seems to be doing just fine with it.  I am afraid I am going to be just like everyone else I know who has these fancy smartphones.  Always with my nose in my phone.  I see everyone doing it.  It seems that walking anywhere can only be done with a phone right in front of your face.  Who needs conversation while you walk when I have the information highway on my phone.  Status updates and emails and text messages and games to be played.  Sitting at the dinner table is only tolerable if my phone can be in front of me or at least in a very close proximity.  I don't get enough television at home, so why not take it everywhere with me, and then even when I am watching television at home I still need to have my nose in the phone.  I don't want to miss out on anything.  Maybe I should try doing everything with my phone.  How about while I am driving?  Oh wait, that is illegal, right?  Who cares?  Everyone is doing it.  Are you catching my sarcasm here?  My one fear about having this phone, is all these possible scenarios.  I have done a fairly good job so far of not letting this happen to me.  At least not completely.  I can't say that I am totally innocent, because I have fallen into these traps before.  I just hope it doesn't become a habit now.  There is still meaning to a face to face conversation and actually paying attention to what we are watching, so we don't have to ask the one person who actually is paying attention what is going on.  Let's just say that I might know a person or two who I have to keep in line while watching a movie or television show.  I plan on making full use of my phone, but not let it take advantage of me.  It is a pretty stinking cool phone though.

This Day In History: 480 B.C.
Persian King Xerxes I pillages Athens.

Born This Day: 1866
H. G. Wells - English author (The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds)

"Remember if people talk behind your back, it only means you're two steps ahead!"

-Fannie Flagg

Here it is, my proof that I have finally stepped into the 21st Century of mobile communication.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Four

Dear Readers,
     I have mulled over and over about getting myself the new iPhone.  When I bought Raina hers last year, I told myself that I was going to wait until the next one that was going to be on the 4g LTE system that Verizon has.  So I held on to my old outdated Blackberry, because I didn't want to spend the money until it was something I would be completely happy with.  Now that it is finally coming out tomorrow, I am still indecisive about it.  My Blackberry does all the things I need it to do.  Phone calls, texts and even lets me check the sports scores.  I know there are so many other things you can do now with a phone, but I guess I have been so long without it that I don't totally see the value in me spending that much money on a phone.  The other worry I have is that I won't use enough of the features to warrant the money I spent on it.  Then there is the cost of having to get an adapter so it will fit the charger that has fit all other apple devices for the last five years.  Also a case to protect the new phone and even a shield to protect the screen.  The money just keeps adding up.  There is a part of me that is really looking forward to getting myself something new and then there is the part that is a cheapskate and doesn't want to spend the money.  Is it really worth it?  Do I really want to get up early and see if I can get a close enough spot in line to get it tomorrow?  I should have made my decision over a month ago and then preordered it.  Should've, could've, would've.  I will leave it to the alarm clock.  If I wake up to it, then I go get it.  If I sleep through it, then there goes my chance.  I will probably wake up though.  My inner clock will wake me up from getting up early every day for work anyways.  I can't use the excuse of it only being 3g anymore.  It has finally caught up with the times.  At least it will be fast.  I hope.

This Day In History: 1853
American inventor Elisha Otis sells his first elevator.  Called a "safety hoist," it was the first to employ a device to keep it from falling if the hoisting cable broke.

Born This Day: 1878
Upton Sinclair - American author and social reformer.

"Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life."

-Sophia Loren

Great beard in history.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Three

Dear Readers,
     We got a package in the mail yesterday.  Actually, Raina got a package.  I saw it when I got home, but didn't open it.  If the roles had been reversed though, Raina would have opened up my mail.  She has a tendency to be a little nosy with my mail.  For the most part, I really don't mind.  Every so often there are things that I wish to keep private.  Especially around Christmas time.  Back to the point of the story.  When we finally got home together later last night, she took a look at the box and then told me it was actually for me.  I didn't get it right away.  I guessed she had bought me a gift some time back and it had finally shown up.  It turns out that it was the replica of the baseball I got for my birthday.  The one that is going up in Dodger stadium in my name.  I got a nice little stand for it and it has the same inscription that is on the one in Dodger stadium.  Now that I know it is up, I can go and see it for myself.  Now I just have to make it to one last game this year before the season is done.  Even though this season is looking more and more disappointing, I still want to go and enjoy one last game and hopefully enjoy it as a win.  Then go see my name in print.
      I recently got a birthday gift.  Yeah it was a little late, but it is the thought that counts.  It also helps that it is a pretty awesome gift.  My friend Jeff had been asking if he could come by because he had something for me.  He brought me a shirt, but not just any shirt.  A shirt I can wear with pride, at least for the rest of the year.  A mutual friend of ours has another friend who makes shirts for fun, including the line of shirt that I now have.  Take a look for yourself.

      Isn't it freaking cool.  My facial hair is locally grown, so why not get myself some support.  Needless to say, I was pretty happy to get this shirt as my birthday gift.  Getting it late, just meant I got to enjoy it all on it's own instead of having to share it with all the other gifts.  Thanks Jeff.
      Since we are on the subject of birthdays, it is a perfect time to wish another great friend of mine a very happy birthday.  Jaime Rocha has been in my life for what seems like forever, but forever is actually about fourteen years or so.  Happy birthday Jaime!  Thanks for being a great friend for so many years.

This Day In History: 1927
Henry and Edsel Ford drive the 15 millionth Model T off the assembly line at the Highland Park plant in Michigan, officially ending Model T production.

Born This Day: 1871
Orville Wright - American aviator who, with his brother Wilbur, developed and flew the first powered airplane.
1984 - Jaime Rocha (Another great friend)

"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me."

-Noel Coward

The commemorative Dodger ball.

Day Two Hundred Sixty Two

Dear Readers,
      I had a fairly exciting ride home from work today.  When I say exciting, I mean that I was driving our carpool van to drop off the first guy on our way home when I was hit by another car.  We were getting off the freeway and making a right hand turn.  It is one of those exits that has a light and has four lanes.  Two for turning right and two for turning left.  I was on the outside turn lane and drove out into the third lane away from the curb to head down the street.  She happened to be turning inside of me but too widely.  She smacked the side of our van and we had to pull to the side of the road.  Except it was too busy of a street for that, so we pulled into the gas station parking lot on the corner.  We got out of our cars and I was waiting for her to say something to me, but she just went about gathering her information.  So I broke the silence by asking in a half joking manner, "What happened?".  Her response, "You hit me is what happened."  I couldn't believe what she was saying to me, but instead of arguing with her and getting no where, I just went about getting a hold of the police to get a report done.  It was a city vehicle we were driving, so we had to have an accident report done.  At first we thought it was going to be CHP to have to handle it and that was the information we were getting from our office, so we called CHP to come on out.  After waiting forever, they finally showed up.  Only to find out that we had just crossed the line outside of their jurisdiction, so they couldn't do anything for us.  Literally, the accident happened only ten feet past where it would have been their problem.  So then we had to call local police to handle our accident report.  Fortunately for us, it ended up being our own city police, Garden Grove.  So after waiting forever again for another cop to show up, he finally got there and took our report down.  Only problem, was that he seemed like he did not want to be there.  No talking or joking, just a very serious straight to the point guy who looked bored out of his mind.  This guy works for the same city as us and still just seemed totally upset that he had to be there.  I tried talking to him a couple of times without success.  Both times answering my questions with a short monotone answer.  Finally, he finished taking our statements and then just stood there, like he was waiting for something.  Only, he didn't tell us he was waiting for anything.  We just stood there in silence having no idea what was happening or why we were just standing there doing nothing.  Finally, another cop showed up with a camera to take pictures of the damage.  I couldn't believe he just stood there like we were supposed to know what we were waiting for or what we were supposed to do.  What a personable guy.  They finally finished doing all the needed to do and we were free to go.  As we were leaving I thanked the cop for taking time out of his precious day to come and do his job.  Okay, I didn't say it like that, but I did thank him.  Only for him to tell me that it was no big deal and he was just doing his job.  The best part was when the cop then told me that the lady was going to have a bad day when she read the accident report and then found out that she was at fault.  I couldn't believe the lady had tried to say that she turned into the slow lane and I cam all the way around the outside lane only to come back into the slow lane and hit her.  There wasn't even any damage to our van anywhere near the front of the car.  Crazy lady.  Why does California have so many bad drivers?  If the didn't then I wouldn't be almost two hours late coming home.  Driving tests need to be stricter.

This Day In History:  1851
The New York Daily Times publishes its first issue.  Now the New York Times.  In it, publishers Henry J. Raymond and George Jones state, "we intend to issure it every morning (Sundays excepted) for and indefinite number of years."

Born This Day: 1905
Greta Garbo - Swedish born American actress.

"Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it."

-Greta Garbo

Let's be smart about this now.

Day Two Hundred Sixty One

Dear Readers,
      It was back to reality today and reality hit me smack in the face starting with my 5:00 AM wake up call.  Back to work and back into the heat.  Thankfully it was considerably cooler today than it was over the weekend.  Only problem is, that it is supposed to get hotter again by the day after tomorrow. I still can't believe it has been hotter here in September than any other part of the Summer.  This is normally when the weather starts to cool down, not heat up.  I just wish October would hurry up already.
      I had a nice little cherry on top to my fantastic weekend.  After tonight/s football game, it was official that I am undefeated in all three of my fantasy football leagues.  I know you are thinking that I am living in an imaginary world and this is just one of the many things that makes me a nerd.  Face it, fantasy football is mainstream now and no longer just something that some stat geek does in the basement of their parents house to live out some fantasy of managing an actual football team.  Even though I do live at my parents house, it is not a basement.  So ha!  There wasn't one week last year where I won a game in all three of my leagues at the same time and now I have done it two weeks in a row.  Let's hope it is a sign of things to come and not a strong start to a slow spiral down towards the end of the season.  I just have to keep up with my statistical analysis every week to make sure I am in the best position to win week in and week out.  Boy am I glad I love math, otherwise all these stats would make no sense to me or just frustrate the heck out of me.  If I could, I would be a statistician for ESPN or something like that.  What a cool job.  Even though I know most of you are thinking I must be crazy.  If my wife loved sports as much as me, she would probably be agreeing with me.  It just so happens that I married a fellow math nerd.  Probably one of the reasons our arguments can be so calculated and can carry on forever. 

This Day In History: 1787
The newly drafted Constitution of the United States of America is signed by 38 of 41 delegates to the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The document then required ratification by nine of the thirteen states to become law.

Born This Day: 1900
John Willard Marriott - American hotel magnate who founded the Marriott chain.

"Time is a storm in which we are all lost."

-William Carlos Williams

He he he.  Thor wasn't an orphan.

Day Two Hundred Sixty

Dear Readers,
    What an absolutely awesome day.  I didn't think we were going to be able to top our day yesterday, but it happened.  It started yesterday at a vendor booth that was selling electric guitars with awesome Marvel prints on them.  Spider-Man, Thor, Wolverine, Ghost Rider and so many more.  The guy was telling us about how Stan Lee had come to their shop to do a signing at their shop.  He showed us pictures of Stan Lee signing his own guitar.  He then proceeded to tell us about some of the guys actually selling their signed guitars on Ebay.  At first I couldn't believe they would get rid of them like that, until I heard about how much they were selling for.  They were ranging from a minimum of $1000.00 all the way up to $2500.00.  I couldn't believe how much they were selling for.  Then the idea popped into Chris' and my head.  Why not buy multiples and then the awesome guitars would pay for themselves.  It would become an investment with a nice present to ourselves.  So I ended up buying not just one, but two guitars.  One for me to keep and one for me to sell.  For the money I make on selling one, even if it is only for the $1000.00, it will pay for both the guitars and then some.  I got myself a Thor guitar with an awesome print with lightning in the background and an inscription saying "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."  It is freaking cool.  Then, the one I got to sell, is an Avengers one, with multiple characters on it.  They are both so awesome, but the Thor one is awesomer.  It was nerve wracking to actually meet the creator himself, Stan Lee.  He is so cool.  I can't believe I was that close to Stan Lee.  He is a hero to me and I wish I had just a tenth of his creativity.  I am so thankful to all those wonderful characters he created that I grew up with. 
      We met some pretty stinking cool artists and book writers and soaked in even more games of quidditch.  I tried very hard to get Brooke to sign up for a game, but she refused.  I even offered $100 and she still said no.  She is the one that missed out though.  She could have had a great time playing and $100 in her pocket, tax free.  Chris got a replica of Storm Shadows samurai sword from G.I. Joe and an awesome drawing of him to frame up above the sword in his house.  We also met the voice of Charlie Brown from those great movies we grew up with, including A Charlie Brown Christmas.  My mom is a huge Charlie Brown fan, so I had to get his autograph on a picture for her.  We thought about saving it for Christmas, but we didn't want to hold onto it for fear of getting it damaged sometime in the next three and a half months.  So we gave it to her tonight.  All in all, a fantastic weekend that I hope becomes a yearly tradition now.  We were here at the beginning.

This Day In History: 1920
In New York City's financial district, a horse drawn wagon filled with explosives detonates near the sub treasury.  Thirty-three people were killed and about 400 were wounded.  The bombers were never identified.

Born This Day: 1875
James Cash Penny - American founder of the J.C. Penny Company department stores.
1996 - Micah Vargas

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

-Winston Churchill

Comikaze pictures.

UCLA actually has there own quidditch team that played there.

The voice of Charlie Brown in all those great movies we grew up with.

Chris bought himself Storm Shadows samurai sword.

Presenting Dark Helmet.

Who made that man a gunner?

The amazing Stan Lee signing Chris' guitar.

Then he signed my guitar.

We are so cool right at this moment.

Star Wars characters.

That's it, I am joining Cobra.

Cobra Commander made me.

Stan Lee in the flesh.

A fellow bearded brother.

Brandon is doing his best Harry Potter impression for Brooke.

That's right, Stan Lee's very own signature.

Brandon had to say "Chimichanga" too.