Friday, December 21, 2007

Almost done

We've been almost done with our Christmas shopping for like 3 weeks now. We knocked out pretty much all of our shopping the first weekend after Thanksgiving, but always had like 3 or 4 people left to shop for. Have we finished it yet? NOPE! Now with less than a week left it is CRUNCH TIME! In all honesty, I haven't even gotten Jaz's gift yet. She knows...and I know what I want to get her. I will hopefully will be get it tomorrow when I am off.

I've slowed down the collecting considerably over the past month or so and just looking to just pay of credit card debt for now. It's amazing how quickly it all adds up. I have been paying off twice a month for a little while so I am making some good headway. Hopefully when my increase kicks in [however much it is] I can pay it off quicker. Also I'm thinking it is almost time to give my car [Jerry] the retirement it deserves. I haven't looked at any cars, but we'll have to wait until my bills are paid off. I kind of went crazy at the last show. I was planning on going all out and just buying a case of Exquisite, and hope for a Jordan auto or something. Turns out there were two cards I needed for my collection - both of Tyrus. His rainbow SPGU /10 and his Topps Chrome Superfractor 1/1. Two great additions to the collection. I'm just looking for the rest of the SPGU rainbow /10s. Wish me luck!

1/1, 1/1, 1/1

One last thing...

At work we're doing this thing called the Holiday Trio. Basically you get into teams of three and try to lose or at least maintain your weight throughout the holiday season. I was dropping a pound or two over each of the past weekends, but then I got sick this past Tuesday, and then BAM! I lost like 6 lbs. It may not be the conventional way of losing weight, but it counts! We've got two more weigh-ins until after the New Year.

Ok one more last thing...

Bulls suck.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

What would you rather have?

10 slaps to the face in a row, or 5 unexpected slaps from here to eternity?

This was from Jaz and my new favorite show: "How I Met your Mother". The show is absolutely the funniest show on television. Yes that's right, even funnier than "The Office". It's basically about a group of friends around our age and are at a transition period of their life. The main character Ted is a 28 year old bachelor who no longer wants to be a bachelor. He's pretty pathetic, but that is where the humor begins. The womanizing friend Barney [Neil Patrick Harris] is absolutely hilarious in it - LEGENDARY. I strongly advise you watch this show, it is awesome!

By the way, Barney picked 5 unexpected slaps from here to eternity.

Friday, November 16, 2007

I'm not worried

The Bulls are playing like a bunch of school girls right now. Skiles does not seem to know what he is doing with the lineup. When it looks like the team has some chemistry, he messes up the lineup. Tonight against the Suns the lineup of Duhon, Gordon, Deng, Nocioni, and Tyrus, they were doing some damage. Tyrus did his job and got Amare into foul trouble. At that point Tyrus has a much more open lane to do what he does. So what does Skiles do? Takes him out and puts in Joe Smith. Now I know Smith is a veteran, but Tyrus earned that. And when Smith was in, he played scared. Ridiculous. I'll go down the line now with everyone else.

Hinrich: BAD decision making as of late. If he is open for a 17-footer, he has to make it. No question.

Gordon: Still WAAAAY to streaky.

Deng: Absolutely ineffective in the 4th quarter.

Nocioni: Tons of heart. Leads by example.

Tyrus: Still raw. Needs to learn control, but when can control himself, VERY dangerous

Wallace: No passion, let him go

Thabo: Plays too timid

Duhon: Should be starting. Shows great composure when he is in.

Noah: NBA body, just needs to adjust to the speed of the NBA

Smith: Great open jumper, plays cool, almost TOO cool at times

Gray: BIG man, he'll be the next Brad Miller

Khryapa: His game is in his name

It's obvious there is no superstar or all-star on this team at the moment. This is how they start every year though. And if that's the case, it just means the off-season pickups did not obviously improve the team. Once they gel, they may be great, but right now it is status quo. When teams like Utah and Boston have clearly gotten better, it's going to be a looong season for the Bulls. What happens next? Skiles will mixup the lineup until ultimately Gordon will come off the bench and start scoring 25ppg. It has happened the past 3 years, and it will happen again this year. If Hinrich, Deng, or Tyrus can pick up their game a level, then they will be a successful team. But if this continues into December, we'll be saying goodbye to Coach Skiles.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Please no more Grossman!

Signs that your days as starting quarterback are numbered.
1.) You throw 3 interceptions in a game you have no touchdown passes
2.) Your home crowd chants for the backup quarterback
3.) Your most exciting play was not a pass play but when you scrambled for a first down
4.) When you have your kicker throwing passes

Sorry Rex...I think it may be time you pick up the clipboard and headset, and enjoy sitting and observing the game. You'll still make the money you were guaranteed, but we may have to say good-bye to you this off-season.

Oh yeah, and to all the Bears defensive team...please stretch out more before and during the games. I know it's probably because the offense couldn't stay on the field for more than 4 minutes, but expect that kind of abuse to your body as long as Grossman is behind center.

I would honestly rather get grizzly Orton back in the game. At least he was just lucky!

[/end rant]

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Dancing at weddings

I like making an ass out of myself. I know I'm not all that great, but I know I'm entertaining, so I will put my body through hell to entertain...like so:

My wedding
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Diana's wedding
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Frank's wedding
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Matt's wedding
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

If you have wedding pics of me dancing let me know! :)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

9/11

It's hard to imagine that it was this day 6 years ago that the United States had one of its most tragic days in US history. It's one of those events that defines a generation. One of those moments where everyone remembers what they were doing when the planes hit the World Trade Center. And it is especially vivid in the minds of the families who lost a loved one that day. Luckily I am not one of those people, but it is for those people I will say a prayer for tonight. Although we do not want to live in the past, it is days like today that you should go and remember the feelings you had when you saw the buildings fall and sat in front of the TV waiting and hoping that someone would survive from the rubble. There is nothing dark about it. Those feelings that we had then may seem distant 6 years later, but they are still real. And for the people that lost their lives on September 11, 2001, close your eyes for a moment and just remember how you felt that day. Let them know that they won't be forgotten, not ever, and especially not today.

Monday, September 10, 2007

I'm here?

Yup...it was bound to happen sooner or later, that I would return, and talk about absolutely nothing. Well here goes...

The condo is pretty much done now. I mean, there will always be things I want to replace or something, but we're just not at the place where we can fork out some dough to get some new doors. Sure, it's only like 3 doors, but I'll deal with it for now. I definitely havn't used the basketball court to its full potential...and to think I could've maintained my wicked jumper. That went out the door.

I just recently started working out at the gym at my work. It's pretty much a crappy gym. I definitely miss the days at LifeTime and all the machines and weights and all. Here, there are 2 treadmills compared to the dozens at LT. Seems so long ago...

There are babies falling from the sky around us [not literally, because that would be very gross]. I can't wait till everyone has their babies so I can get my practice in. One day I'd like to have one those and I want to make sure I get all the practice I can get. Of course Jaz knows more on what to do than me because of her profession, that's why it's good that she's around when I'm "learning". Here are the two most recent babies:


Elias Fernandez [9.1.07]


Caden Chia [7.6.07]

..and before you ask, no Jaz isn't pregnant.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom and me at my wedding
There's so much to say to all of the mothers around the world. Thank you just doesn't seem like enough...but thank you mom for being you. Sure, sometimes we don't see eye to eye because I am not understanding what you are saying, but it doesn't change the fact that I thank God everyday that you are my mom. I love you!

The realization

Being down 3-0 to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals will probably be one of the biggest reality checks the Bulls organization will have gone through in the past couple years. I'm not saying that the ast few years have been a fluke for the Bulls, but in order to do some REAL damage in the NBA playoffs, they will need a little more than some end of game heroics from Ben Gordon. It's called, playing a FULL game of basketball. Even back in the Jamal Crawford years, the Bulls have been known to play only 3 quarters, sometimes even 2. And it's in those minutes where the Bulls basically collapse at the wayside and the opposing team can take advantage of them. We were lucky the past couple years with Ben Gordon coming off the bench and hitting game winners or scoring 14+ points in the final quarter. But is that what we want? Sure, it makes for a great highlight on Sportscenter, but I would much rather have won by 6-8 points consistently in each game. Games 1 and 2 vs. Detroit was disgusting. And in all honesty, I didn't even watch the 2nd half of either game, because there was no point. If the Bulls didn't show up to play, why should I wait and watch. The first half of Game 3 had some promise, the Bulls with a double digit lead at halftime. But apparently no one told them there was another 24 minutes of basketball after the Panda bowl flipping girl had finished her act. Now we are down 3-0, and as we heard in the Miami series, no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series in the NBA playoffs. Could we be the first? Anything is possible, but not everything is probable. 49 wins and advancing to the 2nd round? I'll take it for now, but I'll want more later. Thanks, Bulls for another exciting season.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Back to an old hobby?


A couple of years back I was into golf. As horrible as I was, I loved going to the driving range and playing a course. It was a lot of fun. Sure I might a few dirty looks from the more experienced golfers in the next station at Golf Center or from the group behind us at Chick Evans, but it was fun. Today my boss and a couple of co-workers decided to hit the driving range that is almost behind our office. Now being that I haven't even set foot on a golf course let alone pick up a golf club for the past two years, I thought I would be absolutely terrible, which I was, at first! After I worked my way through my bucket of balls I was starting to remember little bits and pieces of how to swing - "keep your head down", "barely grip the club", "make your arms like a V", "keep your head down", "aim in front of the ball", "keep your head down!" And I connected a couple of ball real nicely. I may have to get back into this. I forgot how relaxing it is whack a white ball a couple hundred yards [more like 75 yards!].

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Onto the 2nd round


I had all the confidence in the world in the Bulls to beat Miami in a 7 game series. But I thought for sure Miami would at least one game in this series, but I'm glad they proved me wrong. I think I have finally figured out how to watch these games without have an anyeurism. Just watch the first 3 quarters with almost no emotion, so then get into the game in the 4th quarter. That is when the Bulls really begin to play their game.

The next opponent will be the Pistons, who are the number one seed in the East. This series will definitely be a good one, and I actually hope that it will go seven games. I love to watch some good basketball in a win or loss. The Bulls need to stop the Pistons to have only two scorers, like Billups and Hamilton. Not Wallace or Prince though. If they get going, then it's going to be awfully hard to stop the Pistons. The series will probably start sometime at the end of this week or beginning of netx week. Mike and I will be going to Game 3 in Chicago. I love the playoffs.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Bulls up 3-0!!


Being a Chicago Bulls fan, I know the Bulls have their limitations. And in all honesty, I thought the Bulls Kryptonite was one of the only people the league they've called Superman - Shaq himself. But tonight, like many nights before, they have proved me wrong. The Bulls went from up 12 to down 12 to win by 8 points. They started out real strong and then let Miami come back and just hung around throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarter. And then Ben and Kirk took over, as well as the Bulls' defense. It was such a HUGE win! Just ONE MORE GAME!! Let's go Bulls!!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Auggie Dog

My co-worker, Ken, has been talking about this thing called an Auggie Dog from a hot dog joint in Palatine named "Hot Dog Richies". Finally, Marisol, Ken, and I hit up this place yesterday. The reason he would talk about it because it's basically a heartattack dog. A hot dog wrapped in bacon, and then deep fried, and the smothered with melted cheese. Sounds good right?! Ken told us about this about a month ago and we always say that we need to go get one. We did yesterday and it was exquisite! I actually thought it would be greasier or something, but it was pretty good. The hot dog itself was real good, the bacon and cheese just added to it. I give it an 8 out of 10. 1 point deducted because there was only 1 layer of bacon wrapping the dog and another point because I didn't actually have a heartattack...well, I guess that's a good thing.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

You win some, you lose some


Winner: The Chicago Bulls
The bulls are now up 2-0 over the defending champion Heat. I am somewhat happy with thi, but not satisfied. As the TNT announcers seemed to repeat over and over, the Bulls were up 2-0 on the Wizards two years ago, and ended up leaving the remaining 4 games to lose the series. That hurt real bad. I think that was one of my first anxiety attacks. That was a sad series. Luol Deng is playing his best right now, and basically brought back the Bulls by himself in the 4th quarter of game 2. If they can get at least one game in Miami, I'd be happy, if they get both, I'd be REAL happy!


Loser: Melissa R.

I'll admit it, Jaz and I have been following The search for the next Pussycat Doll. The girl we were rooting for the whole time, an 18 year old Filipino girl named Melissa R. was not chosen to be the next Pussycat Doll. We were pretty pissed when they announced the other girl "Asia" to win the whole thing, but I guess it's okay because Melissa R. is a much better lead singer than one of the 6 backup dancers/singers of the Pussycat Dolls. So I guess that's ok. Hopefully we will hear lot more from Melissa and a lot less from Asia.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Growing up

This is my first blog in our new condo. It's such a sobering moment becoming a homeowner. You start to watch every penny and where it goes, you constantly think about what can be improved in your home, and your always looking at other people's homes and start to appreciate what they have done to their place. We've moved in all of our stuff, painted about 90% of the condo, and slowly decorating stuff. The last thing we just got was an HD box for the new TV. SWEEEET! We watched a couple of NBA playoff games on it yesterday. SICKNESS. Here are some *BEFORE* pictures of our place. These pictures were from when we were looking at places back in January:





























Onto other grown up news, Mike and Tracy are PREGNANT!!! I can't believe that I've known Mike for like 15 years or something and know he's gonna have a kid. I've already put in my bid for godfather, but I'll let them make that decision.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Monday, January 29, 2007

Almost a month later

Time flies when you don't blog. Mike reminded me that I haven't submitted a blog in a long time so this one's for you bahdy...

Last you heard I set a new year's resolution to lose some weight. Since the beginning of the year I have successfully dropped 12 lbs. I think that was a good start, if you ask me. I know I've got a long way to go, but at least I'm motivated now. I try to run at least two times a week. I would like to run 3-4 times a week, but I'm working towards it.

Some other happening during the month. Well we found out that my old friend, Chris from the Stages days is getting married. I'm glad that worked out for them. I remember when I heard they had broken up for a while how sad I was. I knew they'd make it work. Congrats Chris and Marah!

I became the editor for the HobbyKings magazine: Only the Elite and we released our first issue this past month. It got a pretty good response from the site. It only consisted of basketball, but the February issue will contain football as well since the super bowl is coming up.

I've had a couple of good additions to my personal collection, namely a Tyrus Thomas letter auto, a Thabo gold auto, and a Thabo 1/1 redemption. Can't wait to get that in. Apparently the UD blacks are being sent out now. I bet I get a Bibby GU auto...that's gonna suck.

Until next time friends...

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Oh yeah, I'm on-call

With Adele gone now we have to be on-call at most, once a month. A bunch of garbage if you ask me. It may truly be my time to move on from this company. 3 pages before 5:30am...just brutal!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

A new year brings new year's resolutions

Went to work out yesterday and found out I have hit my all-time high in weight: 310 lbs! Not good at all. Pretty embarassed that I have let myself go this much. So it's time for some changes in my lifestyle. Working out is a must as well as a better diet. The biggest thing about my diet is that I need to eat SMALLER portions. A problem I have been dealing with for years. I don't have a number in mind of how many pounds I want to lose in a period of time. I just want to start leasing a healhier lifestyle. Wish me luck and I appreciate all of your support.