Ice Cream!

We hired the Ice Cream Guy!!!!! YIPPPEEE!!!!!

Bad Mommy!!!!

Kobi has been acting a little strange lately. Yesterday, we took him to a dog park and he couldn't even wait until he got into the actual park to pee. He just kept on going....and going.....and going. Without exaggeration, I think it was a good couple minutes. People were even laughing at how much he went.

Then yesterday, when I came home from practice, he was so excited to see me then went downstairs. I kept calling him to come upstairs and he wouldn't. I thought he was outside. But when I went down there, he was just lying in the office and was reluctant to go up with me.

This morning when I woke up, he got so excited and ran downstairs. While down there, he let out a sissy bark. I thought it was just because he saw a cat or something. I made him come upstairs with me and locked him in my room while I got ready. Usually, he just hangs but he kept ringing the little bell on my bedroom door.

As I was leaving, I walked with him downstairs just to make sure he had enough water to last him the day. I smelled pee but knew it couldn't be Kobi. I've been keeping him down there while the contractors are here so he doesn't get in their way. But when I was down there, he was whining. And when I looked over, he kept on trying to push his doggy door open with his nose but it wouldn't budge!

I forgot that I locked it when I went to NY. He's been having to hold his pee in for a really long time! I felt so guilt-ridden all morning! I'm a bad mommy!!!!

For the Love of Us

I just felt like saying that Bruce and I are doing so well and I couldn't ask for anything better!

The Dog Nazi

Bruce and I ran errands in Oakland/Piedmont with Kobi all morning. After taking him on a dog run, we decided to get some lunch on Piedmont Ave. So, we scoped out the cafes and found one with outdoor seating so Kobi can hang with us.

After Bruce ordered, I went inside to see if I could get a bowl of water for Kobers. I always tend to be a little nosy and sometimes listen to other people's conversations. A few feet away from me, an elderly lady was ranting about something and the guy behind the counter just had an "ok lady, I'm walking away now" look.

So I perked up my ears and started eavesdropping. She was bitching about how some owners leave their dogs tied up while their owners go inside a store. And how they pee outside while their owners are away, causing a health hazard. He could care less about what she was saying so she asked for the manager. Hmmmmm.....I wonder who she was talking about?

So, after getting his bowl of water, I went outside to tell Bruce what I overheard. But as soon as I set the bowl down and got up, she was staring me right at my face. The first thing she asked was if Kobi was a seeing eye dog. I said, "I know what you're getting at. I overheard you inside."

She tells me that she's a restaurant owner and that it's illegal to have dogs in outdoor cafes. She said if the police come by, the restaurant has to pay a fine of $500. Well, I told her that I wouldn't leave until they came out here themselves and told me to leave. She kept harassing me about me being liable for the fine as well. But I was adamant about not leaving until they said something.

Fine. I thought that was over with. Bruce and I were enjoying our lunch when storming out of the cafe was an employee followed by the lady. They went several feet away and were immersed in this heated and animated conversation. She would just not give up. The whole time, poor Kobi was just laying down chillin'.

After a couple of minutes, the pair headed back into the cafe with the employee telling her that she was not welcome in the cafe anymore and to just leave! Nice!

Bumpin'!

I've been getting calls once in a while from someone that has me programmed onto their phone. I got another one today on my voicemail at work.

This time, I decided to listen to see if there were any clues on who it could be. I heard a car, so I know they were driving.

The music in the background gave me some hints. It was some hard core rap going on. Who could it be? One of my nephews? My cousins? Angelo? John? Bruce? Hmmm....

I got tired of listening because it was on for so darn long that I put it on speaker phone. Then I heard voices and started listening closer.

Could it be? No, he wouldn't be listening to that music!

It was my DAD!

Going Back to Cali

I caught a 930 am flight this morning and it was hell waking up. I woke up at 330 PST, or 630 EST. Sucks!

Thank goodness for the TVs on the plane. It prevents me from engaging in obligatory conversation with my row mates. I had an aisle seat, which I usually hate but I had to get up to use the bathroom like 8 times.

When I landed, I went straight to the Verizon store. My phone hasn't been sending or receiving photos and I tried to get that fixed and get my credit. They fixed it but I had to struggle to get my $2.00 credit! Dammit, just give me the $2.

Then I drove to SF to pick up Kobi Wobi. Bryan was at a dr.'s appointment, so Kobers was locked up in his room. When I knocked on the door, he started barking but as soon as he heard my voice, he stopped. He loves me. That's the best part of traveling. Having a 100 pound dog "hug and kiss" me.

Then I made a "quick" stop at Walgreens. The line for the cash register was long. Apparently, they started one line and the next person would go to one of two cash registers.

So, this not so old but not so young mexican woman had her daughter try and see if they can cut and go straight to one of the registers. We told her it was one line. The daughter told her what we were doing in spanish. But what did she do? She went in line anyway. One of the sales people told her that she had to go back in line and wait for her turn. She totally played the "I don't understand what you're saying" card. I knew darn well that she did because she was answering him correctly in spanish.

I don't know how I managed to say this but in spanish, I told her that she had to go to the back of the line. She looked surprised that this asian chick could talk spanish. With attitude, she told me to go in front of her then. I said, "well, all these other people are in front of you." Mamacita rolled her eyes at me! When I looked at her daughter, she looked quite embarrassed.

I tell you, my mom tries to pull some stuff like that sometimes but I put her in her place! Maybe I was just grouchy from the 10 hours of traveling.

But I finally made it home to Bruce and an almost finished guest bathroom! Whew!

And to top it all off, I checked my work email and the other people that had later flights out of NY are snowed in and have to stay an extra night. Maybe I should just say that I got snowed in. But wait, I have to sign my refi papers tomorrow. Oh well!

Slow.....

I've been trying to update my blog now for 3 hours but blogger is painstakingly slow! In fact, this is my second try since I lost the first post. Why I'm doing this at 130 am, I don't know why.

Last night I didn't go to sleep until 3 am. I woke up this morning completely startled because I thought I slept right through my meeting. But I made it there with plenty of time to spare.

I actually like these meetings since I've made some good friends throughout the years. The most important part is that I've made quite a few contacts from:

• MTV
• Disney
• Warner Bros.
• NBC Universal
• Sony
• Fox
• New Line Cinema
• and Paramount

Who knows where I'll be after the movie, but at least I have options if it ever boils down to the unthinkable.

After the meeting, I took Bev's advice and went shopping. I ended up buying a pair of Coach sunglasses and a Cole Haan wallet. I'm not sure why I spent all that money on sunglasses since they usually end up lost or broken (which is why I had to buy another pair). But at least I don't have buyer's remorse like my Dolce & Gabanna shirt!

We had dinner at Haru. Yummy! I ended up just getting a couple of appetizers since I've been stuffing my face all day long!

The Producers ended up just being ok to me. I saw the movie a few years ago and thought it was just alright also. I did like the Broadway version better though. I know that it's gotten the most Tony's ever but I didn't walk away thinking, I'd love to watch that again. Usually, I want to buy the soundtrack after a show but had no urge at all to purchase this one. Our tickets were $100 each for the Orchestra. Thank goodness, I didn't buy those or I would have been disappointed.

And now here I am super tired but not able to sleep.....

The Big Apple

I'm in New Yawk right now. I have a meeting here tomorrow, in conjunction with Toy Fair, so I flew up this morning. They are actually going to have a life size Darth Tater roaming through the convention center. That should be pretty funny!

The flight wasn't so bad since I flew on Jet Blue. The best part is the personalized TV. I brought my huge pile of magazines to go through too. It's funny because I won't throw out a magazine until I at least flip through it. Unless it's PEOPLE, I usually don't find anything interesting anyway. I should just simplify my life and unsubscribe or toss them out right away.

So, as I was going through the mags, I had HGTV on, watched a little cribs on MTV, and even better, watched last year's finale to 24.

I was looking forward to hooking up with my friends:

• Eddie Tolentino from CAL, who now works in Jersey
• Armie (Bacarro) Farcon, my college roommate and one of my best friends, who also lives in Jersey
• And Yvette, former LIKHA dancer

Unfortunately, I didn't give Eddie enough advance notice and he's down in Atlanta. Armie had to cancel also because her son Jaryd has the flu. And Yvette forgot that she double booked with her college buddies.

So, I hung out at the ole Hotel Giraffe. I was pooped from traveling anyway, and the weather was a bit nippy for me to go venturing out alone.

Tomorrow, after our meeting, we're going to watch The Producers.

Slipping...

This weekend has been a little of an emotional rollercoaster for me and I'm not really sure why. All emotions have been involved, except for tears. I think the strongest feeling I've been having all weekend is anxiety, impatience and frustration.

I take a look around me and I know that I shouldn't feel the way that I do. I have such a great life.

But I can't help and feel that happiness is elusive to me. Part of my theory is that I set high goals for me to reach. And I live my life to reach that goal. And when I do, I feel happy for a while and then I feel empty. Then, I set more goals to give me something to look forward to.

It's somewhat of a vicious circle. A circle that I hope that I can break through one day.

Trailer

Just saw the EPIII Trailer. Cool!

Today is Bryan's Birthday

I gave him a call this morning to wish him happy birthday and to check up on how he's doing. He sounds pretty much back to normal.

In fact, his improvements are pretty amazing to me. He:

• Is walking 4 miles a day
• Started jogging last week
• Started to play basketball, to improve his motor skills

Overall, he gets more exercise than I do in a week! He should start driving by next week and will probably be back at work on 3/7, a little over a month after it happened. Glad to hear he's back on track!

On a side note, I just got an email from a high school friend that I haven't talked to in years. I brought up Bryan's stroke. She mentioned that a girlfriend of hers had a stroke at 34!

My dear friends, in this world of fighting to get to the top and stay on top, please take a moment to think about what is really important in our lives. In our hectic lives, make conscious decisions to stop and enjoy the world around you. It can be snatched away from you in one blink of an eye.

And if I haven't told you lately or never at all, I just want to say that I love you and thank you for being in my life.

Site Meter and Secrets

I'm infatuated with the site meter I put on my blog. As Bruce would say, my ego rises as the amount of visitors rise. I always want to see where my "fan base" comes from: other people's blogs, people that just go directly on to my site, or from a yahoo search.

I've gotten hits from people looking for:

• Ablounge
• Toni Braxton's cousin on American Idol
• Why Ilocanos are considered cheap
• Mur (Did you know there is a band in Texas called Mur)
• Horny Goat Weed
• Best Pilipino Blog (I swear I'm not making that one up)

Sometimes people hit the "next blog" button and come across mine. So, I venture onto there's to check it out. I've written about a blog a found where a teenage girl lost her boyfriend to a motorcycle accident. But most of the time I click on then click off.

The other day, I found one that I really like. It's called "Post Secret". This was the first post:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are invited to anonymously contribute your secrets to the PostSecret project. Each secret can be a regret, belief, experience, fear, betrayal, desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

Steps:

• Create your own 4 - inch by 6-inch postcard.Tell your secret anonymously.
• Stamp and mail the postcard.

Tips:

• Be brief - the fewer words used the better.
• Be legible - use big, clear and bold lettering.
• Be creative - let the postcard be your canvas.

Advice:

• Please only put one secret on each postcard.
• PostSecrets are more likely to be displayed if they are easy to read, short, and artistic. (Can't draw? Try including an old picture, memento, or collage).

Mail your secret to:

PostSecret

13345 Copper Ridge Rd

Germantown MD 20874

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Throughout the blog are postcards that people sent in. Some are shocking and some just crack me up. Check it out. I linked it under "my pack." I'm gonna send my secret in soon. But I'll have to change my handwriting because it's a juicy one!

Give Me My Discount!

I decided to just try and finish the house before my party in March. So, I set up an appointment to meet with my contractors tomorrow. But since I was home sick, I asked them to come today so I wouldn't have to come home early tomorrow.

After checking out the bathroom, we went on a field trip to Home Depot. We loaded up the carts with bathroom fixtures, sinks, a toilet and tiles. Of course the first thing that caught my eye was the 10% discount on all in-store tiles. I have some leftover from the master bathroom suite but needed more to do the countertops in the guest bathroom. I also needed some border designs and bullnose tile. Of course, they ran out of most things. The only thing they had in stock were the bull nose tiles at $1.97 each.

I got rung up and was pleasantly surprised at how "cheap" everything was. But I had to make sure I got my 10% discount. She had to call someone to help her give me my $3 discount since it didn't register. But when I was about to swipe my card, I noticed the discount wasn't there. So, I pointed it out.

In my quest to get my $3 discount, she realized that she forgot to ring up over $200 worth of merchandise in the bottom of the cart. Darnnit! I ask for $3 and instead get rung up an extra $200! That's what I get for being an anal accountant.

I Caught It!

Bruce has been sick for the past week and a half and I did a great job of avoiding it...until today. Blah! I'm at home sick.

Being bored, I've been on everyone's blogs clicking on all their links. On Tina's blog, she's got Friendster linked, so I clicked.

To my surprise, on the homepage is my girlfriend Ping (the one that hosted our Thanksgiving get-together), right smack dab in the middle. They say 13 million people participate. What were the odds of her getting picked? She should play the lottery!

Bravo!

Bruce did good! He took me out to Cafe De La Paz, a Nuevo Latino and Tapas restaurant. It's a cute restaurant in Berkeley. The only thing was, the greedy side of the owners came out. From the website, we got the impression that the ambiance would be very intimate and that we would be able to have private conversations as we gazed into each other's eyes. Not so...

They crammed as many 2 person tables as possible. Bruce was practically elbow to elbow with the little old lady at the next table.

The highlight of the evening was the Caminos Flamencos dance company that performed. The singers, guitarist, and cajon (literally, a box) player sounded like the Gipsy Kings. The 3 female dancers (including a Pinay) were awesome, especially Yaelisa, who was awarded an Emmy for her choreography. It made our jotas look very amateur.

It was a great show, delicious meal, and even better company. I even made it home on time to catch 24!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. To all you couples out there, may your day be filled with love, joy and happiness. And remember that every day should be Valentine's Day.

Special congratulations to my cousin Norman and his new wife Sheila on their marriage!

To all you single people out there, who ever thought of this day anyway? What a dumb day. You're loved by someone even if you don't have a significant other. Live life to its fullest.

Hotel Rwanda

Tonight Bruce and I went to watch Hotel Rwanda. What a powerful and heavy heavy movie.

That's the most I've cried in a movie in a long time. The movie, itself, was so tragic, but the true story behind it is even more so.

In 1994, the downing of the Rwandan President's plane initiated 100 days of bloody massacre in Rwanda. During Belgian colonization, the Belgians divided the Rwandans into two classes: the Hutus and the Tutsis, the Tutsis having the narrower noses, height, and lighter skin. They appointed the Tutsis to run the government for them. It was believed that Hutu extremists were behind the downing of the plane.

Upon his death, the Hutus began murdering the Tutsis, or "cockroaches" as they called them, in hopes of completely wiping out the population. That included killing the kids so they would be the last generation of Tutsis. In those 100 days, about 1 million people died in this small African country. That was 13% of the total population dead in 100 days!

The most tragic part was the UN tried to tap dance around the definition of genocide. If they determined that genocide was occurring, they legally had to intervene. And on top of that, the whole world dismissed the tragedy as if it was just another 3rd world issue. When they thought others would help, they were abandoned and left to be killed.

About 5 years ago, a friend of mine from work went on a trip through Africa and stopped in Rwanda. He visited a genocide memorial in southern Rwanda. 40,000 Tutsis were led to a Technical College as they were promised safety. Instead, they were all killed in 4 days. To this day, all 40,000 bodies are preserved, stacked on top of each other, at the college. The lime that was used to preserve the bodies have turned them white....ironically.

After watching that movie, I left with such a heavy heart. But I also left feeling very blessed to be leading the life that I live. Thank you God!

The Presidio

In September, our offices will be moving to the Presidio. This morning, I got to tour the facilities. Even though it is still in construction, the grounds are gorgeous. I have mixed feelings about moving out there.

Yes, we will be right by the Golden Gate Bridge and I will be near civilization once more. But I love the warm weather of Marin and soaking up the sun at lunch. The good news is, my commute is exactly the same amount of time. Granted, it is Friday. So, I'm sure the traffic was a bit lighter. AND I'll have to cross 2 bridges now, upon hearing the news that the GGB will up their tolls. SIGH!

Here is a history of where I've worked throughout these 10 years. When I first started, we were at Skywalker Ranch.

Then in August 2002, we moved 5 minutes closer to the freeway to Big Rock Ranch.

And in September 2005, we will be moving here:

The park grounds are public so y'all are welcome to visit me any time!

The Eyes Have It

Right now, we are having open enrollment for our benefits. I've been toying with the idea of getting LASIK surgery, especially for Scuba Diving. Now, that I can increase my section 125 deductions, I think I'm going to take the plunge.

Have any of you out there had the surgery? I know the plusses. Any minuses from your experience?

Kobi Doggy

Good News! Kobi doesn't have a thyroid problem.

Bad News! He's just fat!

What do you think? Does he look chubby to you?

Going Solo

My cousin, Karen, called me yesterday to see what I was doing for my birthday. She wanted to see if I wanted to do something to celebrate with her. Her birthday is 22 days after mine.

I told her it was funny that she called since I just put the "save the date" post on my blog. She doesn't read my blog. So, we decided to do a joint party together.

The only problem is she's from down south. She talked to her brothers and sister and they may not be able to make it up so she decided to bow out. That's ok, I'll have her blow out the candles with me anyway. Love ya Ading!

Save The Date

I'm planning on celebrating the "I've lived half my life" birthday this year. And since the house is 90% done, I'm tacking on a housewarming party as well. So, save the date for March 19.

BTW, here's my senior picture from High School. Bruce thought I was 14 here. I think that was the height of my hair.

An Unexpected Visitor

I was planning on leaving work early on Friday afternoon because I was meeting a contractor. I already packed my bags and shut down the computer. But when I called him, he had to reschedule. Since Bruce was working late, I decided to just stick around until 6.

When I turned my computer back on, there was an email from my buddy Mark.



He's the one I visited in Italy. He said he was going to be in town this weekend and to give him a ring. Good thing the contractor canceled or I wouldn't have gotten his email.

So, Saturday we hooked up. The whole weekend was like a flashback to my college days. I ended up meeting him in Cafe Strada in Berkeley. Mark was there with Amy Duran Labao and her 3 year old son, Noah.

After showing him my place, we ended up going to dinner at North Beach Restaurant. It was cool because he was talking Italiano with the Mafiosos. I felt like we were back in Roma. Bruce joined us for dinner. So, they got to talk some military shop. Mark is in the navy, back flying planes....picture Top Gun. And Bruce was in the Army during Desert Storm.

This morning, we went to brunch with Bernard Camarao, his pregnant wife Shelly, Jenn Demetria Gronbach, her husband Keith and their baby Ben. It felt like old times at CAL hanging out at the the Bear's Lair.

Since I missed 24 last week, I HAD to see it before the next episode tomorrow. My friend Itza TIVO'd it. So, I dragged Mark with me to her and her husband Ray's house to watch it. Man, was that an awesome episode.

After that, we headed over to the Bear's Lair to meet Amy. While we were roaming the streets of Berkeley, we ran into Ben Reyes. He's my friend that is the city attorney for Pinole. He was the one that was going to help me with the lawsuit (that I never pursued) against the pittbull owner.

After that we hung out at Raleigh's to watch the Super Bowl. I haven't hung out in Berkeley this much since we graduated.

Believe it or not, tomorrow is the 13th anniversary of his sister Grace's death. That's the reason for his visit. He's in Nevada doing tactical training before he ships off to the Gulf for 6 months. He wanted to be around friends during this weekend.

For those that don't know, Grace Asuncion was murdered on campus. To this day, it still looks like there are security issues at Eshleman Hall. The murder is still unsolved. It was a difficult time in the lives of all of us that attended CAL at the time. It's hard to believe that it happened so long ago. If you knew her, stop and take a moment to think about her today.

My Appraisal

I got the results for my appraisal. It came in a little lower than I had hoped but it still has increased by 58% in 3 years. Pretty exciting!

Interviewing My New Boss

After a year without having a boss, we are finally in the midst of hiring someone. We've narrowed it down to 4 people. I'm glad that they asked me to be a part of the interviews. I've done 3 so far.

Here's a summary of the candidates so far:

• Dreamworks - He seems very competent but felt like he was telling me what I wanted to hear vs being completely honest
• NBC Universal - Much more personable. Has great ideas for Licensing business endeavors. But not as gung ho as I picture a Controller to be
• Dreyers - No industry experience which is not a bad thing. I LOVED this guy! His name is Jeff like my last boss. But not judging him on that

So, I'm crossing my fingers for the Ice Cream Man!!!!! "ICE CREAM....ICE CREAM!" (in reference to Eddie Murphy....ok forget it)

May the Force Be With Me in finding a good boss! Yeah, I'm a geek!

Overweight Doggy

I took Kobi to the vet yesterday to get a blood test for Heartworm (standard test) so he can get his refill on his heartworm medication.

Whenever he goes to the vet, they weigh him. This whole time I kept on saying that he weighs 95 pounds. Well, I was a little off. The big boy weighs 107! Crap, that's how much I weighed in high school!

On my way out, they made a comment about him going on a diet and asked if he was on a free feed. He isn't. I feed him 1.5 cups in the morning and 1.5 cups in the night, with barely any snacking during the day. Sometimes, I add a couple pieces of leftovers to add flavor to his meal, but never all at once.

The vet assistant said she does the same and her dog is only 60 pounds and he rarely gets exercise. Kobi runs off leash for an hour every day and I also take him for walks after I get home from work.

So, that rang some bells. They took him back to the rooms and ran more blood tests. They wanted to test him for any Thyroid issues. I hope that's not it.

Poor thing. In his 2 short years, he's gone through a food recall with minor liver damage, a heartworm medication recall, a pitbull attack, and now possible thyroid issues.

Hmmm....maybe I should get checked for a thyroid issue too. Yeah, right!

Bryan Update

Yesterday was Bryan's first day at rehab. Initially, the doctors said he would be out a minimum of 2 weeks. I thought that was an aggressive estimate since my mom has to be out of work for a month and her injuries are mainly bruises, whipflash, and sore muscles.

Well, they confirmed yesterday that he'll be out at least a month. They also referred him to a Hematologist to do more tests on his circulation and clotting. Overall, he sounds pretty good.

I got a bunch of people at work to donate some $ so we can give him a gift certificate to Waiters on Wheels. That way he doesn't have to worry about food since he can't drive. Some other people are giving him gift certificates to Safeway.com. I'm glad that people are coming through for him.

Our First Picture Together

Thank goodness for picture phones!

Meet the Fockers, I Mean the Hastings

Last night, I had dinner with Bruce's family. I thought it was going to be an intimate gathering with his father, step mom and sister. It ended up being a gathering of about 12 people. Man, was I nervous. We went to Phnom Penh, a Cambodian restaurant in Oakland

Other than a few awkward moments, the dinner went really well. I sat next to his dad, so I got an opportunity to get to know him. I liked him a lot. I was totally impressed that his wife saw the Bayanihan Dance Company in the Philippines 20 years ago and that his father actually tried Tinikling in Hawaii. I was even more impressed that they remembered what the dance company and dance were called without asking me.

Even with my short-lived feelings of uneasiness, I think it ended up being a pretty successful "Meet the Parents".

I've now met all of Bruce's aunts, uncles, cousins, grandfather, sister, father and step-mom. I just need to meet his mom who lives in Italy and his brother who lives in Virginia.