2004 in a Snapshot

With less than 1.5 hours to go before the New Year, I wanted to summarize my going ons for 2004. This is more a post for myself more than anyone. So, I can look back and see where I've been and how I've grown in this past year:

• January: My boss Jeff quit. All his Licensing responsibilities were transferred over to me while they searched for a new replacement. It's now the end of December and no replacement.
• February: Went to NY for a meeting and made a pitstop at Armie & Eddie's house in New Jersey. Had a great time with great friends.
• March: My 34th birthday. It was the best that Bryan and I had been. Thought he would propose when we took Kobi up to Tahoe. Didn't happen. Instead we looked into buying property together. This was the start of our problems. All types of commitment frightens him.
• April/May: Bryan slept in a separate room for the whole month. Why we stayed together, I don't know.
• June: Went to the Prince concert at the Staples Center. Then went to Italy to visit Mark after my meeting in NY. Took a whirlwind trip of 6 days and visited Rome, Gaeta, and Capri. Highlights included the Blue Grotto, all of Rome after reading "Angels & Demons", and the free Sting concert at Circus Maximus.
• July: Kobi got attacked by a pittbull on the 4th of July. He had to undergo emergency surgery. Almost got into a lawsuit with the pittbull owner. Gave Mom a surprise 60th birthday party in Cerritos.
• August: Bryan and my last hurrah. Vacationed in Costa Rica. Again I thought he would propose. Although it didn't happen, it was the best vacation I ever took and will remember it for all its adventure.
• September: Went to the Prince Concert at Oakland Coliseum. A few weeks later, Bryan and I split up. He continued to "live" with me. I worked exhaustingly late to avoid seeing him at all costs.
• October: He finally moved out. I suffered major depression and sought therapy. In the midst of all this, our family lost Auntie Connie. Rejoined LIKHA after a 2 year break. Kobi started scent training for Ovarian Cancer.
• November: Kobi filmed for 60 Minutes. Suffered through the Thanksgiving holidays. I barely made it. Had a Jah reunion at Ping's house. Started a profile on e-harmony.
• December: Theresa convinced me to do a profile for match.com. Reluctantly I did and met Bruce. It's been an amazing journey so far.

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Things I'm thankful for: my family and friends, Kobi, Bruce, my job, my happiness, my health, my house, and love.

Favorite book: Angels & Demons, DaVinci Code, He's Just Not That Into You

Favorite Shows: 24, SNL, and the Amazing Race

Favorite Movies: Spiderman 2, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Incredibles

Gadgets/Trends I got addicted to: TiVo (which went away with Bryan), my iPod, Netflix, iTunes, blogging, checking match.com and e-harmony on a daily basis, spider solitaire, crossword puzzles

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Happy New Year to all of you. May 2005 bring you all that you hope for, especially love and happiness.

Fending off the Wolf

I arrived back in the Bay on Tuesday. I made record time driving 430 miles in 6.5 hours. Only thing is I think I got sick from driving with the windows down. I just wanted Kobi to be comfortable so we didn't have to stop. It worked to his benefit but not to mine.

Well, today I pushed myself a little more than I probably should have. Bruce took me hiking in Crockett to Port Costa. The views were absolutely gorgeous and it didn't rain the whole time we were out. It was great until we reached the town.

As we walked down the neighborhoods, towards the water, I see this dog (more like a wolf) running towards us. There was no one around except Bruce, Kobi and myself. My first instinct was to protect Kobi, especially after the pitt bull incident. The dog was barking up a storm and would not stop. Poor Kobi's tail went straight underneath him.

The dog then started baring his teeth and started circling us. Bruce said it's because they like to attack from behind. It was a very frightening moment. Bruce told me to keep walking with Kobi. He stayed behind and was yelling at the dog to go away. At one point, he said he lunged at the dog and the dog lunged back.

After the pitt bull incident, people were telling me that the way to release a dog's jaws is to jab something up their ass. So, while i was walking, I was looking for a stick in case I needed to come to the rescue. Fortunately, it didn't have to go that far.

We came out unscathed and Bruce rescued us from the throes of the evil Wolf!!! As Darla said on an episode of Little Rascals, "You're my hero!"

Be careful, Mur!

My family has noticed one thing about me this Christmas...that I'm glowing and very giddy. As you can imagine, it is attributable to meeting Bruce. Although they are excited to see me this way, the ongoing theme is "Be careful, Mur."

I am so blessed to have people that care deeply for me. I appreciate all the concern that everyone is expressing over my well being. I'm sure that many of you that I haven't spoken to in person, may be having side discussions with other people or are even thinking the same thing in your heads.

As much as I appreciate it, deep down it bothers me a little. It's not everyone that bothers me. What bothers me is the fact that I'm happier than I have been in years. Yet there are those that are actually "lecturing" me and not having a mature discussion with me about their concerns. But when I was crying every day for a month before breaking up with Bryan, I never heard, "Mur just leave him. You'll be better off."

I'm not saying to hold off any comments of concern because I do welcome them. I just feel like my parade is being rained on. And I feel like I don't want to share my happiness publicly.

But it is natural for my loved ones to watch over me and make sure that I'll be ok. His family is doing the exact same thing. So, I can't blame anyone. All I ask is please be happy for me. It's ok if you're concerned but don't tell me that I'm wrong for being this excited about something new.

I've heard, several times now, that it takes one month to get over someone for every year that you are with them. We broke up in September and it is now December.....about right. I am not saying that we are getting married in a week. All I'm saying is I met an exciting person and he makes me happy.

I hope that I haven't offended anyone because that is not my intent. Just know that I love you and I'm happy that you care about me.

Back at Home

I drove back down to LA on Wednesday. I was having iPod issues. Thank goodness the Gary IT support line is 24 hours a day! I don't think I could have survived the drive without it.

As I was walking Kobi today, I met the most interesting little girl. Her dog was trying to herd Kobi so she walked with us. She's in 4th grade. And in the midst of conversation, I asked her what she wanted for xmas.

She started giggling saying that it was funny stuff that adults would probably ask for. So, in my head, I'm thinking DVDs, MP3 player, TV. But no! I don't think adults even want this for christmas. She wanted a swiffer wet jet and a jet attachment for the dishwasher. Her dad told her no, but she promised that she would do the dishes for 3 weeks!

Maybe she should come over to my house!

With that everyone, Merry Christmas! I'll be back home in the Bay on the 28th!

Lookin' for New Homes

The cool thing about going out with a Real Estate Agent is being able to check out the MLS. He has a client that was a former Raider and has some mula to spend. I never searched for houses out of my budget because I never wanted to desire something that I couldn't have. But it's so much fun when it's someone else's money.

Then I got to run some comps on my house. All I can say is woooo hoooo! I'm not planning to sell, especially after all the work I've done. But it's cool to see how much hard work and hard earned money pay off in the end.

He ended up giving me my xmas present early. On our first date, I told him that I almost tried out for the "Fly Girls" but couldn't get out of work. So, he ended up giving me the "In Living Color" 2nd Season DVD. Pretty funny!

We be Jammin'

Did I ever tell you musicians are hot? Now now Rondolla, come back down to earth :)

Bruce is an amazing musician, song writer, and singer!

That night they played a bunch of his songs. He was on bass and sang, his roommate was on keyboards (he toured with the Wailers, as in Bob and Ziggy Marley, for 10 years, and his buddies were on guitar and drums). His boss' wife sang a few soulful/jazzy tunes also.

I had a great time! We're getting to know each other a lot more and he is just the most intriguing person I've met in my life. It's a very exciting time for me.

Here he is:



The things I hate about him:

• He's skinnier than I am!
• He has close to 0% body fat
• He thinks he's getting fat because he can now "pinch an inch"

Other than that, he's pretty close to being perfect!

Housewarming Party

Tonight Bruce is having a housewarming party. I told him that unless I found a friend, I wouldn't go. I'm not very good with large crowds of strangers. Deep down inside, I'm a pretty shy person.

My cousin, Jenn, said she would go with me. But I knew it would be a long shot since she just had a baby. And as expected, on Friday she bailed. No worries. I totally understood. My good friend at work, Emmy, said she would go but she's leaving for Costa Rica tonight. She's basically doing the same itinerary that Bryan and I did. Then Liza, another friend at work, said she would go with me just so I can go and see how he's like with his friends. But last night at 2 am, I awoke to an epiphany.....IDA!

I called her up when I woke up and threw the idea at her. I knew she'd come through. So, tonight, she's going to keep me company while Bruce is hosting his party and jamming on bass. That's the main reason why I wanted to go. I wanted to see him jam and sing.

I still don't have internet access at home, but the directions to his house are on my email. I forgot to print them out. So I had to go to a cafe in Hercules. Remember the prior post? Anyway, there are lots of kids around me playing video games and I'm trying to tune them out! I feel like I'm at the Philippines at an internet cafe.

Anyway, after giving Kobi his morning walk, I spent the rest of the day trying to look beautiful: manicure, wax, etc, etc.

It should be a fun night! Thanks Ida for being there for me!

Company Holiday Party #4

Yesterday, was Santa day at work. This year, we got a leather duffle bag, a stainless steel water bottle, and an umbrella (all with the Lucasfilm logo).

Then, that night was my department's 4th annual holiday potluck. This time I was hostess. I co-host with Kevin, who is the Sr. Manager in the Planning Department. Bryan is in the Planning Department.

In the beginning of the month, there were doubts whether we would actually have this party this year. But being the adult that I am, decided that I could do this. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the group and life does go on. And so it went...

It was at my co-worker's house in Novato since it was closest to work. People dropped off like flies for various reasons but we still had about 10 people there. Enough to have a good time.

We did the white elephant and I ended up with a Best Buy card. I'm scoring this year!

Afterwards, we played Trivial Pursuit's: Pop Culture in the DVD format. We pulled numbers out of a cup and had the odd #s on one side and the evens on the other. Do you see where this is going? Bryan ended up on my team. No biggy! He was good in the "sports" category and I, being competitive, will take anything. It came down to a deadlock and we lost.

The other team's question was: Who was Jimmy Kimmel's guest host the first week of his talk show? Well, of course I knew that it was Snoop Dogg because we were watching it at the LIKHA Ski Trip. Remember the ghetto spelling bee?

The party was totally fun! I think that is it for my company parties this year! Five pounds later but TONS of fun! Get it? Tons...gaining weight. Anyway....

The Details

I don't really want to go into the details of the date. All I could really say is we clicked and laughed a lot. I didn't even hold back on the goofiness.

I know some of you out there are worried that I may get too involved with someone so quickly, as I've been known to fall in love easily. But I'm a Pisces. What can you say? And DY, don't worry. I followed your advice :)

What the date did more than anything was remind me that I am still very eligible and can meet someone that will make me happy. If not Bruce, then someone else.

Some highlights included:

• him actually listening to everything I had to say and wanting to hear more
• holding hands
• him "rapping" these goofy lyrics about hang gliding; he wasn't a great rapper but the lyrics were a crack up
• taking a stroll around Old Town Pinole with no one else around
• some sweet one-liners that weren't cheesy at all

Some of you may not think that these are highlights, but I've lacked this for years and forgot what it was like.

It ended at 10 with plans to meet again before I left for LA. So, whether or not it works out is not the most important part. The most important part is that I'm happy again.

Company Holiday Party #3

Wednesday's luncheon was for our Licensing Department. We had it at The Olema Inn which is such a cute little bed & breakfast. They shut down the restaurant for lunch so we had it all to ourselves.

The highlight of the afternoon was when our president read a poem set to "Twas the Night Before Christmas". He does it every other year or so. He incorporates every single person's name into the poem. My line was:

"Maria makes sure the money's counted and someone pays the tab
And how can you not love someone that has a yellow lab"

Of course I was all smiles because he included Kobi Wobie! Side Note: I call Kobi all these different names, Kobi Wobie being one of them. And when my friend, Leah, was up this weekend, she randomly called him that, not knowing that I do too. I was kind of tripping.

Anyway, I got another awesome gift. I got the Sarah Jessica Parker scarf in this print, from The Gap.

I didn't bother going back to work since I had to meet Bruce, yes Bruce, at 6. So, I ran a few errands. Liza, I went back to Scrappin' and bought the eyelit kit like yours. I don't know why because I don't even know how to use it. You'll have to show me how!

Then off I went.....

The Date

Two Words.....I'm happy!

Shutterfly

I know a lot of you guys got my xmas card already. Well, in true Mur form, Shutterfly screwed up my order. Thank goodness one of the cards got sent back to me because of the wrong address and I opened it. There was supposed to be a message on the left hand side but it was blank.

Angelo confirmed that his did not have the message.

I did an online complaint last night but no one emailed me back today. Well, me being the little hot head that I am, called Shutterfly. I demanded either a full refund or they resend the cards correctly BEFORE the 24th.

Unfortunately, they would only give me a 50% refund. So you all may be getting another picture of Kobi's big face but with a little more about my life. If you read my blog, it's not new news to you. Anyway, feel free to do what you want with the other one: cut, burn, frame, enlarge, make more copies, whatever. Anyway, I'm off to Holiday Party #3.

Hasta Manana!

Scrappin' and Modems

Liza invited me to take a scrapbooking class with her at "Scrappin' with Mommy and Me" near my house. It was my first class so I was a little anxious. Would I have the right tools? Would I do everything right?

Well, the answer was no and no. Liza had to lend me an adhesive. I had the dots and the corner mounts but not the rolling kind.

And let's just say, I was the dunce in the class. I used to get frustrated at people that held the class up from moving on because they were too lame to understand the concepts. Well, tonight it was me. I applied adhesive on the wrong side of the paper. But teacher came to the rescue with a magic eraser to rub off the adhesive. That took me a long time to get rid of it. Then I applied adhesive to the next scrap. And guess what? It was on the wrong side again! Duh!

It was cool though because I learned a bunch of new techniques. Definitely worth the $10. Anyone else interested in joining us next time?

Funny thing was the teacher looked really familiar to Liza. In fact, I don't think Liza could have forgotten her because she had a pretty memorable personality. Turns out they were in LaMaze classes together when she was pregnant with Crickey.

We finished early so she dropped by to check out the house. Angelo came over soon after to help me install my wireless router. The router is working fine. In fact, I'm on his laptop right now. It's just that my computer is not reading it for some reason.

He's on the phone with John right now trying to figure it out. Thanks Angelo for lending your computer and being my IT support!

The Dating Game

I "met" someone on Match.com and we talked yesterday for a couple of hours. I didn't cry this time. In fact, I was cracking up the whole time. His major pluses are:

• Certified Rescue Scuba Diver
• Former Landscaper
• Former Hang Gliding instructor
• Sings - he sang a couple of jazzy songs on the phone to me
• Realtor
• But MOST IMPORTANTLY -----He's a PRINCE FAN!!!!!!!!!

Here's his profile from Match. We're going out to dinner tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Here's who I am in no particular order: a multi-instrumentalist, I sing, play guitar, bass and hand drums as well. I like to write music and record it in my home studio. I love to go dancing, especially to hip-hop or salsa. I am a homeowner, professional, hardworking and hard playing man. I'm a very straightforward kind of guy and have all my communication skills intact - Looking for the same thing in a woman. When I'm not working, I'm pretty laid back and very slow to anger, although I never hesitate to stand up for myself, my ideals, or those who are weaker. I love nature and animals, have a really cool cat who I've trained to shake paws. I love hiking, and can hike for miles, but don't expect you to. I live in an area where there's lots of wild life and great hiking opportunities. I have a green thumb and love planting and transforming my garden. I've spent years practicing various martial arts, but have not had to whoop ass since 7th grade. I'm a little rusty, but maybe when I retire I'll have time to practice again. I'm in excellent shape and exercise regularly. I'm a gentleman, a romantic, and a man of integrity. I try to always remember my connection to my higher self/god/whatever you call it. Meditation, deep breathing and nature always help. I believe in karma and always trying to be positive to others. I surround myself with positive people who are a good influence on me. I've traveled around the country and around the world and cherish the diversity that the bay area has to offer. I've been through massage school and my fingers have x-ray vision to find the tension in your back. I'm like a multi-faceted gemstone, and you'll just have to discover the rest!

Before and After pics

Drum Roll please........ladies and Gentleman, "The Room!" The order will be: when I bought the house, how I was living in it for the past 9 months, and now!

The Hallway


The Bay Windows


The Fireplace


The Wall Leading to Downstairs



TA DA!!!!

Judging Amy

Today I judged for Likha's audition for the 2005 season. Warren and Ditas also judged. From the group, 3 definitely stood out and made it without a doubt. I felt so bad for them as I watched them sweat it out up there. But you gotta do it.

Based on the cutoff score pre-determined by Kuya Rudi, all of them made it. They may not be stars now but there's lots of molding that can be done. There are always people that want to dance because they can.

But it's the ones that have a deeper reason for coming to LIKHA, that made me root for them even more. Like the girl whose mother is Pinay and she wanted to learn her mother's culture. Or the Chinese guy that volunteered for the September show and was impressed with the sense of community and outreach that LIKHA provided. Those are the 2 whose answers stuck out to me.

After the audition, I dropped Leah off at the airport and headed over to the LIKHA Xmas party. All I can say is "I LOVE MY AUTOMATIC TAPE MEASURE". Most of you would not have been excited but I was in heaven! What a perfect gift for the remodeler! Thanks Ernie!!!!!!

Company Holiday Party #2

What a busy weekend! My best friend, Leah, came up to be my date for the Lucas party. After talking til 230 in the morning, we woke up around 8 to start our day. In a nutshell, we took Kobi to Pt. Isabel Dog Park behind the Richmond Costco. That's where they found Laci. I used to be afraid that he would retrieve something from the waters. I know that sounds gross but it's such a reality. We didn't go for months after they found them.

We got to the party around 8. It was a boardwalk theme this year. This had to be one of the most fun parties since I've been here. They served corn dogs, white castle burgers, philly cheesteaks, fish tacos, ice cream cones, cotton candy, popcorn in addition to the shi shi food of sushi, shrimp cocktail, pecan crusted salmon, etc.

Highlights of my night included:

• Getting the Temporary Tattoos like Eve on my chest....and yes, I'm aware that both my tattos and my chest are smaller than Eve.

• Winning the carnival game where you roll the balls into the holes and it moves your man
• Beating the star athlete at Lucasfilm in the basketball game. I made 3 out of the first 4 tries. You needed 3 out of 5 to win. He only made 1! (Can you tell I'm competitive)
• Riding the bumper cars with my buddies from work
• Taking black and white photos in the photo booth.
• Leaving the party with a huge smile on my face and a bag full of stuffed animals for Kobi
  

A day off

I took Friday off, hence no blog updates. But I'm back. Comcast came over to hook up internet cable, so they gave me the typical 4 hour window. I didn't feel like driving all the way to Marin, on a Friday afternoon, during the holidays to work for a few hours. So I took the whole day.

Well, it definitely was NOT a day of rest. I wish I had Gary and Bev's washer and dryer that day. I basically washed everything, and I mean everything, because of the dust from the construction. My whole closet, all the linens in the rooms and blanket chests, rugs, kobi's mat, etc.

In between time it was errand after errand before picking up my date from the airport. On the way there, I decided to stop off at Rug Depot to pick up a runner for downstairs. I found a nice Kilim Rug but was worried that Kobi's hair would show. That was $145. So, he pulled out a Kazak similar to this. It was perfect....until I saw the price tag. $398! It was thicker and nicer quality than the first, but I just couldn't do it. He told me it was on the floor for about a week and he could sell it to me "as is". He went to go see how low he could cut it and when he came back, he gave it to me for the $145!!!! I was so happy!

Then I went to the airport and picked up my girlfriend. We headed over to Bay Street for dinner at PF Chang's but had an hour to kill. So, we went shopping. I saw this gorgeous clock at an artsy store. It was made of copper and bronze and thought it would look great in the new room. The price....$450! Oh well, I passed that one up since I got my deal for the day!

Company Party #1

Here it comes....holiday parties galore....which means about 5 extra pounds. Today was our Finance Holiday lunch.

While I was in Italy, my buddy Mark peer pressured me into buying my first designer item....a Dolce & Gabbana shirt. Boy, was I having buyer's remorse. I told my friends at work what I did (not revealing the price, of course) and told them I would wear it one day but not say anything and see if anyone noticed. If they did, then I would feel like it was worth it (at least a little bit). After about 2 weeks, I did and it took the 4th person to see me to notice it.

Well, I never wore it to work again because I didn't want to get harassed about it.....until today. And yes, when I got to work about 5 different people said...."hey, its THE SHIRT". My Shirt has a name..."THE SHIRT."

So, at lunch, we were off to the party. Imagine a whole dining room of about 50 finance people (accounting, tax, planning). Sounds like a wild party doesn't it? It's actually not that bad. Surprisingly, a lot of them are as goofy as I am.

In preparation for these parties, I had to buy the impersonal $15 secret santa gift. From the look of my person's face, he didn't seem to be too keen on it. He's from Boston so I wanted to get him something regarding the Red Sox. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time, nor was in the holiday spirit. So, I settled for a "Beers of the World" book with 2 pilsner glasses. Yeah, generic I know. But not much to work with for $15.

I, on the other hand, loved my gift. I got a $15 gift certificate to Itunes for my new Ipod. Gary, I haven't even loaded up the software. As my cousin, Bette, would say, I'm a "techno peasant." When can you come help me? You can see the house and I can feed you guys din din :) I digress.

Anyway, after dessert, one of the waiters picked up my plate and the fork came tumbling down. It was like a Seinfeld episode. Imagine this scene all in SLO-MO: the fork filled with vanilla ice cream and chocolate frosting slowly tumbles in the air towards THE SHIRT! Around me, I see faces in horror, hands covering mouths, people gasping and screaming (maybe not screaming) "not the shirt". I panic and reach my hand out in time to catch the fork and get ice cream and frosting all over my hand and wrist. And THE SHIRT escapes unscathed. (CUT!)

Anyway, I'm headed home to pick up a xmas tree with my girlfriend. No, I'm not turning lesbian, but I might as well be!

Buenos Noches!

A House is Not a Home......

.......unless it's renovated!!!!!! You know what that means? My house is done!!!!!! Yesterday, I had a few of the contractors help me move furniture around. Thank goodness they are cool!

Now, I can start decorating. I haven't been this happy in months!

Thanksgiving with the Jahs

I just got these pics from my get-together with my high school friends over Thanksgiving:

This is me & Pat. Pat was my very first boyfriend....many many moons ago!


L to R: Denise, Shannon, Ping, Mur, Leah, Melissa (Ron's girlfriend)


L to R: Pat, Ron, Wally, Tad, and Denise's husband (forgot his name)


And our picture from our 10 year reunion.
L to R from top to bottom: Joni, Tina, Shannon, Mur, Ping, Han, Dana, Christine and Jacki

Happy Birthday Dad-Dad!!!!

This is a day late but Happy Birthday to my daddy!!!!! I love you Pops-icle! :)

Family Time & Heaven

My brother and his family were up here (sans my niece Kea) for my nephew's hockey games. They get ranked, so in order to claim the "Best in California" title, they have to play all California teams.

So, Ray played 2 in San Jose (lost 1, won 1) and one in Vacaville. I went to the game in Vacaville. Since it's so close to home, they picked me up on the way there. Ray scored a goal! They were in the lead the whole time. But with 2 seconds left in the game, the other team scored to tie it. Oh well, a tie is better than a loss.

After the game, they dropped by the house to check out the renovations and to play with their "cousin, Kobi-Dog" before they drove back.

Later that day, Kobi & I took xmas pictures, went to practice for ONE dance, ran errands, then celebrated Laurie's birthday.

When I got home, I caught the ABC Sunday night movie: The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It's based on a book written by Mitch Albom, the author of Tuesdays With Morrie.

I highly recommend both books. Who would have thought that a sports writer could capture the human spirit so beautifully in these 2 books. In "Heaven", the Philippines also plays a role in the book.

Typically, I enjoy books better than the movie. But for a television movie, I thought it was able to do it pretty good justice. Pick up the book. This one will put your life in perspective (and not just relationships, like my last recommendation).

The Grinch That Stole Xmas

After going to Pt. Isabel with Kobi, on Saturday, I dropped by Costco. I saw that they carry Game Cube games so I looked all over the place for the Sponge Bob game for my nephew. What sucks is it's on the top shelf so I was tippy-toeing the whole time!

So, after working out my calves for a half hour, I came up short. So, I started looking in the book and DVD section for other gifts and saw a box underneath that looked like Game Cube games.

Lo and Behold, Sponge Bob was staring me straight at my face with that goofy smile! Well, my smile could have been competition for his. What luck!

So, I threw it in my cart and went to look for other stuff. I was probably gone for 5 minutes.

You know what happened? Someone stole the game out of my cart!

I felt like going on the intercom and saying: "Attention all Costco shoppers. Please do not STEAL items out of other people's carts. If you need help finding something, please see a Costco employee for help. And YOU who took the Sponge Bob game out of my cart....You're an ASSHOLE!" (click)

At least I found another one. How's that for the holiday spirit? Now you know why I shop online.

The Holiday Blues

I've been on match.com trying to "get over" Bryan and to try and get myself out there again. So, I met someone and he wanted to go out today. I told him if he wanted to drive out here (he lives in San Jose), he could go with me to walk Kobi.

Well, he called in the morning and we talked for 2 hours. He's an interesting guy. He works for a company that builds surgical robots. The surgeons control "DaVinci" like a video game to perform Heart Surgery. Instead of cutting through the breast plate, DaVinci goes underneath the rib cage and straight to the heart. Recovery time is amazingly fast with this technique and is currently in place at Stanford Hospital.

Anyway, during our 2 hour conversation, I found myself crying during a lot of it. I finally admitted to him that I was and that I was in no shape ready to start dating again. He was very cool and decided if anything, to be just friends.

So, in my emotional state, I decided not to go to the 2 birthday parties I had planned to go to. Instead I spent the day with Kobi at Pt. Isabel, watching the CAL game (I hate the BCS! No Rose Bowl for us this year!), and crying.

I used to love the Holidays....

I went on a Date!

Friday, I made the huge decision to go on my first date. Close your mouths and calm down. It was a date with myself.

I went and got a massage at Stellar Spa. My friend from CAL, Bernard, works there. I was a little disappointed with the massage but it did release some built up tension.

Afterwards, I was going to go to Baja Fresh to pick up dinner. But as I pulled in the parking lot, I said to myself, "Why can't I go to a restaurant now that I'm single?"

So, I had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. When I was younger, my biggest fear was going to places by myself. I felt like everyone would stare and think why I was by myself. Now, especially on Friday, I felt like it was a simple pleasure.

So, I sat at the bar, and pulled out my book: "He's Just Not That Into You". This is the most powerful book I've ever read. It was recommended by my cousin's girlfriend, My Linh, when she found out that Bryan and I broke up. Thanks Girl! This is one book that EVERY, and I mean EVERY, woman should read. It was a case study on my relationship with Bryan.

I know that many of you out there are involved in happy and strong relationships but this helps you understand so many things in a no-nonsense kind of way. It's written by a couple screenwriters of Sex and the City, so there is enough laughter to get you through such a serious topic.

I've already started passing it around the office and everyone can't say enough good things about it. So, pick up your copy or even better. Give it as a Christmas gift to one of your girlfriends. I finished it in less than a day.

I am Sam!

Welcome Sam Largo to the blogging world!

Kobi's STYLIN'

My dog walker just called and said she was dropping Kobi off at my house. The girls working on the remodeling had a huge ladder at the top of the stairs and didn't know how to move it (I guess the guys were on a break). She was able to squeeze through but Kobi didn't know how.

So, now he has a stripe of paint on him. At least it's Ralph Lauren! Couldn't have been more fashionable!

Spelling Bee II

Last night was ILM's 2nd annual Spelling Bee. It was to raise funds for the Aids Emergency Fund. This year, we raised $22K.

Last year I participated. Most of them were ILM employees and only 3 of us were from the Ranch. I was totally nervous about it and couldn't believe that I joined. Bryan actually printed out a 400 page document with spelling bee words. He even quizzed me when we drove down for Thanksgiving. And each time someone would come into my office, I made them ask me a word from the list.

But alas, it was all for naught. We picked numbers to determine our order. I was #2. So I had to sit in the front row! Who knew there would be about 200 people there watching. Well, they gave me my word and I almost sh*t in my pants!

They gave me dare-ee-air, the french word for buttocks. Well, I missed one letter! Not only was it embarrassing that I was the first one eliminated, but I had to sit there in the front row until all 30 contestants were done. At least I wasn't the only one eliminated in the first round.

I think the worst part was that this guy who worked on "Pirates" all year misspelled "Caribbean". Poor thing.

This year, they shaved 3 guys heads (with hair down to the middle of their back). It's awesome what people do for a good cause!

The girl that won last year won again.

Life Without the Internet

Since I don't have access at home and have aversions to crowds, I decided to do some Christmas shopping Millenium Style. I stayed late at work last night to do some online shopping. I finished in a couple of hours. Makes me VERY happy.

I guess I was kinda loopy when I was driving home. So, these weird thoughts started popping in my head. You might think I'm crazy but let me share.

If I married a guy whose last name was Lopez, would I be Mur Lo (Merlot)?

And if I named my son Beau, would he be Bolo?
And if I named my daughter Soledad, would she be Solo?

Cheesy I know but I crack myself up!