PUMP IT UP

I woke up late having played poker all night (until 4am). Drove moms to Pump It Up in Chino Hills where my brother Paul threw a party for his daughter Lia. Many of the Eddie de Leons were there and some of the Granflors.

I spent some time playing with my nieces and going through some of the obstacle courses Pump It Up has. I was surprised how out of shape I felt after running through some of the courses. Jeez, I am freakin' old.

The party ended with pizza, drinks and cake. Well, at least at Pump It Up. Afterwards, the party moved to mom's house. The men gathered around to talk about poker. We needed a table (which Zita provided), some beer (which Kimi brought) and some cigars (which needed to be bought). BJ and I volunteered to buy the cigars at the local cigar store down the street. After blowin' some trees in the parking lot, we went in and purchased cigars for each of the poker players. Having won at poker last night, I told everyone it was my treat.

The poker table was cleaned and fitted with an old blanket. Interestingly, Jansen found an old dogs playing poker tapestry that I thought I had lost. It turned out to be on the top shelf of where we store blankets. Most people recognize the art, but have no idea who actually painted the original canvas. Here's the answer:

Even Bill got into the action after my brother Noel kind of forced him into the tournament. We all had lots of fun and there were several bad beats that we will probably never forget. Of course, BJ was the first one out but he redeemed himself by splitting the pot on the last tourney. As for me, my old ass was reduced to lying in a fetal position around 9pm having smoked and drank way too much. It was like a hangover hit me on the same day! Maybe it was the cigars, maybe it was the four glasses of scotch, but either way, the night was over for me just like that.

DIAMOND BAR GOLF

My brother Paul and I got up early and played Diamond Bar from the blue tees. My back didn't feel 100%, but that was no excuse. For some reason, I just didn't feel great about playing. We rode a cart but even then, I could still feel something wasn't right with my back. I guess it will take another week or two before it's completely healed. I wonder what the hell I did to it?

After a long nap, I ended up playing with the kids in the back yard. Kyle and Lia are getting to that age where they are capable of bonding with me. These are the times I should always try to remember.

WEAK AS HELL

I started working out again yesterday with some simple shoulder exercises and a mile jog. Little did I know how out of shape I am. I crashed last night pretty easily and had difficulty waking up this morning. I'm actually sore! I used to be able to run six miles without much soreness and now, after just a mile, my legs are really sore. That's what happens when you don't workout and just party all the time.

After watching Sideways with my brother Paul, I decided to do some more exercising even though I was starving. I started developing a hunger headache and showered afterwards. Then we went to ate Joy's new house in Brea.

When we got there, she mentioned that she didn't invite my other brother because she thought it might be too far of an excursion from Corona. She's probably right. Besides, the kids have school tomorrow.

For dinner, ate Joy prepared some prime rib, bought some Hawaiian bbq and Jansen baked some ready-made cookies. I ate way too much because I really was starving and I wanted my headache to go away. After watching a little American Idol, we went home on full stomachs.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, GET BUSY, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

Today is birthday and I am an old mother fucker. Well, I shouldn't say mother fucker because I don't think I've ever fucked a mother. Nevertheless, I'm old! 35 to be exact bitch!

My brother Paul and his family got to mom's house around 5pm. He immediately ordered the Pacquiao - Morales 2 fight. Tam called earlier in the day to wish me happy birthday and wondered what I was doing. I told her maybe we could go out so she started to make some calls.

I also got a gift from Jasmine from NY. It was a burgundy long sleeve shirt from Banana Republic. I ironed it and got ready to go out. I was bummed because I had to leave the fight before getting to watch it.

I drove to Brea to pick Jansen up and then we headed over to his place in Orange. Then I got a call from Raq and Jonah who watched the fight and they told me who won. I should have just watched the fight at home and then left to go out. Darn it. Who would have known that we would end up leaving so late?

Tam, Jansen and I headed off to LAX in Hollywood. Once we got there, we realized that even though Elaine got us on the list, there was no way we were getting in. There must have been at least five hundred people in line, milling about or waiting patiently in the cold weather. We decided to go to Plan B which was Geisha House.

We got a ride from the parking lot to Geisha from Joyce who was with her friend Balal. We met JD, Steph and Elaine there. Tam bought me a Long Island Iced Tea and I got a good buzz going fast. A cute white girl walked up to us and asked us for a smoke. I told her all I had was menthol and she said she never smoked menthol. Maybe you should try it, I said. I asked her about her ring and she said her grandmother had given it to her. I asked her if it was vintage and for some reason, she was surprised that I knew about anything vintage. After a short conversation, she thanked me for the smoke, rubbed my arm and went back to her table. Then I began to wonder what the hell I could have done to keep that conversation going or to get her number.

We left Geisha and headed to Forbidden City. Unfortunately, they were charging $15 at the door. That was too steep so we ended up at Daddy's. I wish we would have stayed at Geisha, but getting free drinks from everyone got me happy and I didn't really care where I was, as long as I was with friends.

Of course, we ended up at Jansen's house playing poker. We stayed up pretty late, playing about three games. I got home at 6am and mom was awake having breakfast with my brother Paul. I went straight upstairs and crashed.

TAPS

Stephanie took me to Taps in Brea for my birthday, a brewery and fish restaurant. I had trout and she ordered the mahi mahi. Stephanie is one of the sweetest girls I know and I really have to make sure that I don't ever hurt her feelings.

We were going to watch a movie after since downtown Brea is so close to the restaurant. However, we didn't really see anything interesting playing, so I asked her if she wanted to watch Bottle Rocket at my place. I called my mom to see where she was so she wouldn't be surprised when I brought a guest over. It turned out that she was playing bingo in Covina.

Bottle Rocket is the movie that made Luke and Owen Wilson stars. It's quirky but still very good. I'm not exactly sure what the point of the movie is though. Afterwards, we got into some hanky panky, but the darn couch is so uncomfortable, we didn't really get anywhere. I really need to get a place of my own.

I'm beginning to realize why it's a good thing not to have sex with someone you want a relationship with. There are so many reasons. First, it helps you get to know the person without the complication of sexual intimacy. Ever hear of being pussy whipped? Or know that guy that'll do anything for some pussy? That's what sex will do to some suckas. Second, you get the opportunity to keep your options open and date other people at the same time. If things don't work out, at least you can still be friends. Finally, well, I can't think of anything else really.

Regardless of the reasons, it's still difficult not to have sex with a willing woman. I've always thought that if you deny sex to a willing woman, she'll want you more. But that's not the only reaction that can happen. You could lose the opportunity because she may not take rejection very well. You could also lose the opportunity because she may not really want anything that serious and isn't willing to wait. So all in all, I'll take it when I can get it. I figure that if the woman likes you, she'll like you whether you're a slut or a saint.

TOURNEY TIME

Tyler came over close to 9am this morning so we took off immediately to Pechanga. The drive there was pretty smooth but we got in right around 10am. There were some cute cocktail waitresses (at least from behind) who were just heading into work as we walked quickly inside the casino. Even though we were about five minutes late, there were still open seats for us.

I felt good having slept pretty well last night even though I went to sleep late. I was glad I didn't play poker at Jansen's. The dealer at my table commented I was late and I smiled weakly.

Both Tyler and I made it past the first break which was the farthest I got. I was impressed that Tyler made it that far since I've been in this tourney three other times and never made it this far.

I got great hands most of the day with AA, KK, QQ and AKs that I took pots down with. I realized that you need good hands to make it pretty far in the tourney. I got down to one last $1,000 chip with two tables left and actually one a pot when I went all in with the last chip. I had A6 spade suited to go all in with just four chips and lost when someone paired A7. Out of 194 entrees, I was 14th. Although it was cool, I still didn't make any money since this week was the first week where they pay only the final table.

One of these days, I'm gonna win this damn thing. One of these days. . .

CLEAN HOUSE

I love the show Clean House on the Style Network. I just love how they can take a cluttered room, clean it and design a new space. I guess that's why some people think I'm a metrosexual. My friend Peter is the one who I first heard that term from. I heard him say it sometime in the late 90s but it's origin dates farther back.

I spent the day cleaning the house, vacuuming, cleaning the floor, dusting and Pledging. I took a lot of breaks and never really completely finished. I moved a twin bed from the master bedroom to a smaller bedroom. I also cleaned-out the bar area. I still need to go through my stack of bills and organize the computer room a little more. I'm kind of waiting to do some shopping for some new furniture and add my own touch to the room.

Gary called me up and we met at Applebees in Walnut. We had some appetizers, shot the shit and talked about how he's starting a new job as a teacher in Pomona High. He already has experience having worked for Oakland Unified, so I'm sure he'll do just fine.

Thought about playing poker at Jansen's but after talking to Vanessa on the phone, I decided to rest so I can be better prepared for tomorrow's tournament.

VEGAS? AGAIN?

Jansen and Tam picked me up and off we went to Vegas. After playing poker last night, I was surprised they actually came at a decent time. We tried to leave by 6am, but we ended up leaving about 7:15am.

The drive to Vegas was filled with great weather and no traffic. We got a blunt going and Jay and I started coughing our lungs out. Tam woke up when we were in session and asked for a hit. We had a smile on our face because we knew that the first thing that would happen when she hit it would be a coughing fit. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened and Jay and I had a good five minutes laughing our ass off.

We got to MGM for a 1pm $50 buy in no limit hold 'em tourney, but we wussed out because of the high dollar amount. So we decided to eat lunch instead and gamble a little. The minimum bets were kind of high so we took a break and went to Caesars to watch Tam's sister Tao play in the MBA tournament. Students from all over the country who are getting an MBA joined this tournament to socialize and maybe win some money. It was very organized and seemed to actually be a WSOP-type event. Tao was playing very tight and she ended up getting blinded down.

Then we went to the Cal in downtown Vegas to gamble. After a few hours, Tam was up from blackjack, Jansen was up from slots and I was up from playing craps.

We had dinner at the cafe and left to rest a little at Richie's. We got there and I made my self comfortable trying to take a nap. It didn't really work but I did get a little rest. Rich finally arrived with Randy (from the Bay) and his crew who Rich had dinner with. Rich got ready and we took off to Pure at Caesars Palace.

Tam's sister had given us passed to get in between 8-10pm, but we got there right at 10pm. There was an enormous line and it didn't look like there was any chance we would get in. Later, we found out that had we identified ourselves as MBA people, we would probably have gotten in. Regardless, we decided to go to plan B which was Taboo at the MGM.

Since Jay was up, the night was on him. The orange shields we had picked-up earlier were already starting to creep in. We had a drink at a little lounge near Taboo first since it was still early. Taboo is a strange little club because it's a round structure inside and in the middle of the MGM casino. But you can get easily lost once you're inside. It was dark, the house music was groovin' and we were rollin'. How much more can you ask for?

We spent most of the night walking around and sitting in different rooms. All of the tables had reservation signs on them, but the staff was cool about letting people sit until the guests arrived. The only interest story of the night was meeting some girls from Houston. They were white, probably wealthy and very beautiful. I got lucky by sitting down next to a half Valenzuelan/half white girl named Ariana Alvarez. She had a face that looked half ethnic, but she was definitely white. However, she had a booty like a Latina and she didn't mind me rubbing the small of her back that evening. Unfortunatley, she said she had a boyfriend for over 4 and 1/2 years. I wondered how I might feel if I were her boyfriend and knew that some stranger was rubbing the small of her back. I guess it all comes down to trust. Then I wondered, what the hell is her boyfriend waiting for? I suppose that when you're young and have your life ahead of you, some people just aren't ready to commit.

Anyway, as soon as I found out the girls I was with had boyfriends, I shook their hands and got the hell out of there. It's nice hanging out with beautiful women, but there's a point when it's a waste of time. I walked out and found Rich and his cuz Jason hanging out with another one of the three girls we had met at Taboo. She was tired of partying and wanted to gamble. I'm not sure what Rich and Jason were doing, I found them sitting there waiting for her. Tam and Jansen found us a little later and we all decided to just go back to Rich's.

I drove back and got lost (damn de Leon curse). Tam and Jansen wanted to continue to gamble so they left to go downtown. Rich and I stayed behind because we were done. I turned on the computer, put some house on, and dozed off to sleep. Vegas is just not as satisfying when you're not getting laid.

JENNIFER ANNISTON'S MOVIES

My back is whacked so rather than driving somewhere far, I thought it would make better sense to stay local. I picked Stephanie up after figuring out what movie we would watch. She loves romance movies and there were really only two available. Since I just watched Along Came Polly, I figured it might be a good idea to see Rumor Has It.

I don't recommend seeing Along Came Polly, but it's kind of interesting to compare it to Rumor Has It. Basically, Anniston's characters are totally different in each of the movies. In Along Came Polly, she plays a free-spirited, non-commital neo-hippie while in Rumor Has It, she is much more analytical, very much like Ben Stiller's character in the former. Both movies essentially ask, what kind of person do you want to be with? Along Came Polly says you should try something different if you feel it. Rumor Has It says you should select the one you can build a life with (when you are ready to marry).

After the movie, we had ice cream at Handel's Homemade. I can't believe there's a great ice cream parlor right in Upland and I never took Vanessa there. Anyway, I ended up telling Stephanie a little about my live-at-home situation and my mom's relation history. I'm not sure why I told her, but it just felt right.

The problem is that I'm beginning to feel that she really, really likes me and I am worried that I might break her heart. It'd odd because even though she has a lot of things going for her (she's pretty, smart, educated, ambitious, spiritual), I still have a thing for Brenda (who's not as smart, not educated, not ambitious and not spiritual at all, yet has the looks that kill me). What is going on with my hardwiring that would make me attracted to such a woman? Is it simply wanting what I can't/don't have? Or is there something about that face of hers that gets me? Or maybe it's my desire to take care of those less fortunate than me? Whatever the case may be, I began to feel guilty.

We hit the jacuzzi after the movie to relax. It was great because my back sure needed it. Afterwards, Stephanie wanted to hang out at her house, but I had to pass. I told her I was tired, but really, I am kind of embarrassed about hanging out at her parents' house. She explained that her parents would likely go upstairs to leave us alone, but I still don't feel comfortable. Now I know what high school girls feel like when their boyfriends ask them to hang out after a date. It wasn't as if I was playing hard to get, I honestly did not feel comfortable chilling at her house when her parents are upstairs. Still, I felt bad because I knew Stephanie really wanted me to stay. Furthermore, I began to realize that this may be how Brenda felt about me - I was there, it was fun, but let's not get that serious.

PECHANGA II

Marilou and Chantel were already in room 1803 when I arrived. We all changed and headed off to the third floor where the pool and jacuzzi are. As we went down the elevator, a Pechanga guard walked into our elevator and looked drunk as hell. He wondered why we were going to the pool because he didn't know that it was open. The girls and I looked at each other, rolled our eyeballs and said, "here we go again!"

But the gate to the pool area was open and it was all good. We slipped into the pool first because it was really warm. I always wondered if I should shower before entering any kind of pool or jacuzzi, especially considering I hadn't bathed for a day or two. Oh well.

After a few paddles in the pool, we went into the jacuzzi. It was hot, but it was easy to get used to. I placed my lower back right into one of the jets and exhaled slowly. Boy did that feel good. We spent most of the time talking about me and Stephanie. I don't know why they are so interested, but I guess girls just love to gossip about each other. They'll be spending the next two years with each other so they always want to know all the juicy details. I didn't give them any because there was really nothing to give them. All I told them was that we're not even playing baseball. I may have gotten to first base, but the game it pretty much over already.

We walked back to the room and showered. I figured I'd give it a chance and asked as I closed the door, "so is anyone going to join me in here? No? Eh, you guys are boring!" It was more in jest than anything, but I wonder if I could have gotten them to do it?

Sarah and Charlotte finally arrived a little later and it was off to the club. Silk is a humongous lounge with a large dance floor and outdoor smoking area. It's very comfortable, but it was way too big to make it look like anything was happening tonight. We didn't even have to use our free passes tonight because it was pretty dead.

There were definitely some cuties up in there, but I can never figure out how to approach them. One I thought was a bit too tall and another I thought was a bit too slutty. So I ended up talking to these two girls who were dancing next to us earlier.

The cute one was named Susie and although she wasn't really pretty, what attracted me to her were her tattoes. She had one on her lower back and I noticed one on the back of her neck. They were from Temecula and they were bored. Susie was half-Filipino and half-German. I don't know what it is about these mixed breeds that get me going so much. I guess it's because they look so different, but for me, nearly everything with a little white in it goes a long way.

She said she worked for the FBI but that it was so secret, that's all she could say. It sounded like bullshit, but she kept going on about it so I figured she might actually be telling the truth. She said she can be called at any time, but for now, she's been hanging out for two months without a call. They wanted to dance and when I asked her how we could continue the conversation, she said she would be smoking or hanging out on the dance floor throughout the night. I returned to the girls a little dejected because I thought I could get a number at least.

"Don't even trip - you can do better than that." Thanks wing girls.

FUCK I'M OLD

I packed and headed for my brother's house in Corona to await my trip to the Pechanga Indian Casino. There's a jacuzzi there that we missed-out on last time and we don't want to do that this time around.

After watching a little bit of Along Came Polly (which I actually thought was pretty good and pretty funny in a dumb sort of way), Jared and I went shopping for hamburger supplies. Maureen from across the street was invited and we all had 1/2 pound burgers for lunch along with some oven baked seasoned french fries. I love to grill because cleaning is such a cinch.

We went back upstairs to finish off the movie. Then it was time to help set-up the girls' vanity set that their grammy bought them. Jared and I carried the sets from across the street where they were being hidden. Putting the chair and the actual vanity together was pretty easy, but the only remarkable thing that happened was the news bulletin that I am fuckin' old.

I always have kinks in my lower back and when I get up out of the car, or get out of bed, sometimes, the kink snaps and it goes away. Today was a different story. As I bent over to work on the vanity, I heard a crunching sound from deep within my lower back that scared the shit out of me. I don't know if I was shocked, or if the pain was really bad, but for a few seconds, I was nearly faint. I had to lay down to keep from passing out!

I moved my lower back slowly, twisting to see if I had broken anything. Everything seemed fine and even more strangely, I actually felt like that kink was blasted away. However, the blast caused pain and I suspect I will be sore tomorrow.

The pain was bearable however, so around 5pm, I called Marilou to see where she was at. She was already just fifteen minutes from Pechanga, so it was time for me to leave Corona.

NOT YET LEAVING LAS VEGAS

I planned on going back to LA today, but decided that driving at night in heavy wind and rain is not the funnest thing to do. So I convinced Rich to go out and have some drinks tonight. We decided on Caesars Palace's The Barge to watch The San Fernando band. It brings back fond memories.

But instead, we just kicked it at the Rainbow Bar and Grill. It's a nice bar across from the Hard Rock Cafe. I was tired so I was glad it wasn't very crowded. Rich says that when it is, it's off the hook. I can believe that because there were already a few hotties hanging around and it wasn't even 10pm.

We ordered appetizers and never grew enough balls to talk to some cuties that sat right next to us. What's our problem? It seems that we fear rejection more than anything else. That has got to change and I've already told Rich this. It may also be the damned Euro-style jay that we rolled up beforehand. Whatever the case may be, this has got to change.

FIRST DAY OF THE YEAR

We got back last night from the house party around 3am. The party was already coming down so we figured we should leave instead of hanging around until we got kicked out.

As lunch approached, I explained to Rich that the first day of the year should have some kind of risk associated with it. It could represent that we are willing to try new things even if they turn out bad. What else is life for?

So Rich spent some time with the phone book and we decided we would head over to Chinatown for lunch. We had a place in mind - Mother's Korean BBQ. We sat down to a really authentic BBQ joint. You can always tell if a place is authentic when the place is full of foreigners (or whatever ethnicity the restaurant is supposed to be). In this case, there were a lot of Koreans. Another good sign was that they were young and old, so to me it meant that the restaurant didn't cater to any specific age.

We ordered some iced tea and went out for a smoke. Little did we realize that the waitress thought we had left. The owner came out (at least that's what he looked like) and apologized that the food would be delayed since they thought we had left. We said it was no problem at all and the next minute, the food had arrived. I guess that's what's called perfect timing.

We had bulgogi pork and grilled mackeral. But my favorite part is always the little side dishes of shredded, pickled or spiced vegetables. They cool down your mouth from the spiciness of the dishes and they are actually vegetables! I don't feel like I get enough vegies in my diet, so Korean meals are kind of cool.

After the late lunch, Rich and I stood around Chinatown and talked about relationships, the man and woman kind. "I guess what they say is true," he says, "Men think too much with their other brain and women talk too much because they have two sets of lips." We laughed and considered the truthfullness of this comment.

Rich hadn't seen a movie for a long time so he suggested we watch one. We went back home, rolled up a Euro-style jay with some has he had and then drove out to the Regal 18 right on Sahara, just a few minutes drive from his pad. We decided on Munich, the new Steven Spielberg movie. It was great, but don't watch it if you don't want to be depressed. That was one fucked-up movie. Do not take a date on this one unless she is a Jewish intellectual.