SHOPPING WITH THE GIRLS

I woke up to my nieces waking me up. They wake up early but I don't, so there's a little confrontation that happens every morning they're around. It usually goes something like this:

"Wake up Uncle Gio!"
"Five more minutes."
"Noooo, you have to wake up. Get up!"
"Give me five minutes, I'm sleepy."
"Okay, five minutes, but that's it!"
"No wait, give me fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen? Nooo, get up!"

So, after fifteen minutes, they come back and I'm forced to wake up. I don't like it, but I live with it.

I asked the girls to figure out what we'd do today so they figured it all out. First, we would go to Costco to buy some goods. Then we'd go back home, drop off the goods, and then go shopping at the Brea Mall. Finally, we'd go watch a movie in downtown Brea. So that's exactly what we did.

While shopping, I noticed they didn't really know the most efficient way to shop. They'd just walk around a store they liked (such as Ambercrombie or Limited Too), grab some items and try them on. So I told them it'd be better if they grabbed a bunch of things and tried them all. I also told them that they should look at the sales items first which are usually located at the back of the store. Also, they shouldn't worry if something was expensive - try it on and see if you can find something similar somewhere cheaper.

I really didn't like shopping with the girls because I'm just bored and waiting for them to finish. However, on the upside, they are cool chick magnets because everyone wants to know if they are twins. Kylie was smart enough to emphasize that I am their uncle so I praised her for that. It's funny because I'm always scheming some kind of plan to introduce myself to hot chicks. Our latest idea was to have the girls ask a hot chick if she was single and to tell them that I was single too. Then, I would go up and berate the girls and apologize for their rudeness. We have yet to try this scheme.

We ended up watching She's The Man starring Amanda Bynes. Even though it's ridiculous, it's actually pretty good and very watchable. I mean, if you have nieces of course.

After the kids went home, I partied with Jansen & Tam in Hollywood. All I gotta say is, Miguel Migs is the shit!

WHAT IF?

I had a really interesting conversation with my friend Shirl today. We talked for nearly two hours on the phone (thank goodness we both have Sprint and that our cellular plan doesn't count cell to cell calls against us).

Once again, I was reminded of whether our lives are destined or if we have a good amount of free will. What reminded me of this question was a little event that happened to some of my friends long ago.

I knew the conversation was going to be interesting when Shirl asked, "so what do you really think of our friend Clarisse?" I thought it was a curious question and wondered why she asked. She didn't really elaborate so I told her that because she was a good friend of mine, I would go ahead and tell her what I thought.

Frankly, I think Clarisse is a little princessy and that bugs me a little. However, that was just her personality. I had a more interesting story to tell. Long ago, Clarisse had confided in me about her relationship with her then boyfriend John (now her husband). She was unsure about the relationship and told me she was going to break-up with him.

Later, after they had broken up, I told John that I knew it was going to happen because of an email Clarisse had written. He asked to see the email and because he was my friend before I became friends with Clarisse, I showed it to him. Although it was private, I felt I had to take sides and I took his.

Then, another situation occured where I found out through my cousin (who had friends that apprently knew of Clarisse), that Clarisse was seeing someone else. Again, I decided to tell John because if I were him, I would want to know. So things came to a head and John and Clarisse ended up working things out.

Now they are married and I wonder, would they have married had I not made the choices I made? Were they destined to be married? Do things happen for a reason? Of course, there's really no answer to any of this, but I tend to believe that we're destined. It helps me not to worry too much about anything because I allow Fate to worry instead.

Later, I went to Zita's to have dinner. My brother and moms came later. We had a nice dinner with Pat and Bill and watched King Kong afterwards.

WORKOUT AGAIN

Looks like Blue, my betta fish, is going to survive. He was under the weather a week ago and I didn't think he would make it. When betta hang out at the bottom of the tank and don't eat, something is wrong with them. But it looks like the medicine I bought for him worked. His belly wasn't as large when I changed their water today. I think Blue was constipated and it should be another week when his system clears up. I've read that you should feed bettas the inside of a cooked pea to help their digestion, but I'm not about to buy peas for Blue.

After looking at the other betta, I think I may have a cool name for him. Or her? I don't know what female bettas look like, but the whitish betta I bought has never flared. And he's quite friendly, so I thought that Casper might be a good name for him. Or her?

I ran/walked three miles today, running three laps then walking a lap. It felt good to exercise again. When I got back, I cooked some spaghetti for dinner. I didn't do much the rest of the evening, just tried to catch up with some recorded tv and some freeroll online poker.

I HEART NY

I got up as late as I could and started packing. Jasmine and Joyal were buggin' me to get ready because our aunt and uncle were going to pick us up. However, as soon as we figured out where they were, we decided it would be best that we take a cab to Port Authority. On the way there, Joyal was being particularly nice to me. She always is when I'm about to leave, like she was really going to miss me. She's so sweet.

We got to Jersey and let ourselves in. We hung out a little before T. Chit and T. Ben arrived. Then we all took off to Jersey City where Joey lives. The homes on the street he lives on were older, but with a little work, they could all be really nice.

When we walked in, the food was cookin' and it smelled pretty darned good. Joey's wife Joanne wasn't home yet, so we made ourselves comfortable and got our grub on. Joanne arrived about ten minutes later and she sat down to eat.

The conversation I always have with Joey is how much he hates East Coast weather. He's determined to move closer to the West Coast where it's warmer. He's discussed California, but this was the first time I'd heard him talk about Arizona. I told him Las Vegas should also be an option, but he said he'd be afraid he'd never leave.

Later, A. Marion and K. Ray stopped by and when they arrived, everyone else pretty much left. I gave my sad goodbyes to my aunt, uncle, Joyal and Jasmine. Then I sat myself down on Joey's couch and took a nap. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport.

Joey and I talked about his moving plans on the way to the airport and I tried to encourage him. It'll be tough for him because he's the only one working right now while his wife is going to nursing school. He's also got three kids to feed so that just makes things tougher. I told him he's always got family out here in the West and that he'd have plenty of family time when we have our family parties.

The flight back was uneventful. I sat next to this Asian guy who had a huge stack of women's magazines and was ripping out pages and stacking them up. Meanwhile, I read most of the Card Player magazine I had with me and watched Deal or No Deal and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Jansen picked me up and he was with his cuz Eric and his girlfriend Tam. We thought about going to Santa Monica, but decided to drive closer to Hermosa Beach. It was packed though (at 10:30pm) so we decided to hit Manhattan Beach instead. From Manhattan to Manhattan Beach! We had a few pitchers of beer and headed home.

Someone had been pulled over by the cops and as we drove by, Jansen said he would say, "fuck you mother fucker." I dared him, but Tam said no, so of course he did. We laughed a little but before we knew it, lights were flashing behind us. Sure enough, the cop had heard us and asked, "who said fuck you mother fucker?" None of us admitted it so he asked Tam to step out of the car.

She did and we looked back to see what was going on. He made her look at his finger and talked to her a little. She came back inside the car and the cop told Jansen, "I knew it was you that said fuck you mother fucker. I'm going to let you guys go because your girlfriend seems like a nice person. I don't ever want to see you here in Manhattan Beach and if I do, I'll arrest you."

After the shock wore off, we started talking all kinds of shit about the cop. The 1st Amendment was mentioned by me and Jansen started to do the crip walk inside the car. We laughed it all off, but poor Tam was scared shitless.

G2 at the Gas Light

It was tough, but Jaz and I got ready and left to pick up Kristy and head out to the meatpacking district. It turned out to be a lot nicer than I expected, quite shee shee. I guess that's why it made it into Sex and the City.

After walking around and not knowing where the hell to go, we peeked into G2, another little extension of the Gas Light. It was just my vibe - DJ, couches to lounge in and a kick-back vibe. Unfortunately, no one was inside and it was pretty dead.

It didn't faze me though because I felt like I had to keep Jaz and Kristy company anyway. We ordered some drinks, took some pictures and hung out. Thank goodness for the yay because if it weren't for it, I'd be passed out in bed. I don't know how Jaz kept up, but she was too tired to hang and left.

That left me with Kristy all by our lonesome. We decided to check out the Gas Light next door and chill out. People started dancing and we continued drinking. Kristy is a bright girl, brunette with beautiful blue eyes. However, we don't match-up physically because I feel like I'm a little smaller than she is.

My girlfriends always give me shit and think I'm so shallow for not going for girls who are bigger than me. What difference should it make? they say. You are so shallow! You are awful! Then I turn the tables on them and say, okay, so you don't have any problems with being with a smaller guy? Of course, they never thought about it that way and realize that I've got a strong point.

We continued our drink on and I began to realize that Kristy has a crush on me. Jaz and Joyal told me they had a feeling and even though I denied it, I suspected it was true. So naturally, my little buzz and our generally good conversation led to a little make-out session that was pretty fun. Too bad Kristy had to work the next day because we may have continued the session at her place. But in a way, I'm glad we didn't get that far because I'm not sure how it would affect the poor girl. I hate breaking hearts and I do not like leading people on so that stops me from taking advantage of certain situations.

I got back and no one was awake so I just went right to bed.

RED BANK

Jasmine and I picked up my aunt and uncle's Honda CRV and drove to Red Bank, NJ to have lunch with my cuz Marivic. She was always the nicest cousin to me when I was just a little kid, about 14 years old. Long ago, her family and my family finally met when they drove all the way to Cali from Queens where they used to live. It was like meeting long lost cousins, but in actuality, we were never really lost at all. Distance and their immigration to the US from the Philippines were all that kept us apart.

We got to Red Bank a little early, about 12:30pm. Lunch was supposed to be at 1pm, so I got a chance to lie back and soak in some sun. It was actually really warm with the sun, but when you get in the shade, it's quite cold.

We met up with Vicky at The Bistro at Red Bank. It reminded me of the typical Cali-style bistro and it was quite good. Vicky was describing her pregnancy to me and how she has had difficulty keeping things down. She can only eat lettuce leaves, drink seltzer water and snack. I was reminded how noxious I felt the day after I had a Dead Poet over the weekend.

Afterwards, Vicky had to pick the kids up (among other things), so Jasmine and I got a chance to hang out at Red Bank. Kevin Smith, the director of movies such as Clerks and Dogma, apparently grew up here. He has a store called Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash and he supposedly filmed some of the church scenes from Dogma here.

After a little walkabout, we headed to the mall to watch a movie. Transamerica was showing so we watched it. I was surprised at how good it was and if I was a voting member of the Academy, I would have voted for Felicity Huffman. I thought her performance was much more difficult than Reese Witherspoon's, but I guess it's tough to vote for a transexual over June Carter.

We then headed off to the Plummaker's home which was about 15 minutes away. It's a small town with lots of room and I wondered if homes in New England are like this. I saw their kids Jaime and Jackie and hubby Jimmy. I remember being a little kid and being introduced to my parents' cousins and never remembering them when I saw them again. I suppose the same thing will happen to these kids. They have no idea how large an extended family they have.

We went to a seafood restaurant that I can't remember the name of but was it good! Everything was so fresh and you'd never know that this restaurant was any good if you just drove by it. But once you got inside, it was full of people and you could see that business was good.

It was that time again so we said our goodbyes and went back to Manhattan.

FOXWOODS AND THE PEQUOTS

Even though New York only has a three hour difference in time, I think I'm still feeling a little jet lag. I got up at 10am and felt really cranky/tired, but I toughed through it. Jasmine and I were picked up by T. Chit and T. Ben around 11:30am. Our plan was to go straight to Foxwoods Casino but we had to stop at Denny's because we were getting pretty hungry. There goes our idea for our buffet pigout.

We arrived at Foxwoods about 1:30pm. I've heard it's the largest casino on the East Coast. It certainly seemed like it. It has like six different casinos inside it and a shopping area. I walked around to get a sense of all the casinos and the kind of gaming it had. There are a lot of different kinds of games that aren't normally found inside Vegas or California Indian Casinos like Spanish 21 and some strange Asian games.

After I got my fill, it was time to hit the poker tables. I always see Foxwoods on television so I couldn't wait to play. I was nervous, but I knew I've played enough poker to hang with these folks. It turned out I was right because the $2-$4 table I got on had some tough opponents, but not so tough that I lost my shirt.

On one hand, I had AA in the hole and just called a raise with about eight other players in the pot. I looked hungrily at the pot when the flop came K, 10, 9. There was an early bet, a raise and I re=raised. Then, the bet was capped. Only four players remained. The turn was a blank. The early bettor went all-in, so I raised after a bet. I was immediately re-raised and the person to my right called and so did I. I knew I was in trouble and just called the last bet. Turns out I was already beat on the flop when the Korean guy had flopped the nut straight with a Q-J in the hole. That was the biggest pot and most money I lost. After that, the Korean guy was chillin' the rest of the time with the largest chip stack.

However, I made good plays too and in the end, came out $20 ahead for about two and a half hours of play. When I met up with my family, I found out T. Ben had hit the royal flush jackpot. So I got $50 from him and a big smile. They thought I was their lucky charm. In fact, they wanted to press their luck and head to the Mohegan Sun which is another Indian casino nearby.

So off we went but I got lost because I didn't have directions there and there are no signs on the highway directing traffic to the casino. Instead, they had signs that pointed to the reservation. I wondered if Connecticut has laws prohibiting advertising on the highway because I didn't see a thing. Anyway, the Mohegan Sun is much nicer than Foxwoods architecturally, but not nearly as big. Still, it had two separate casinos inside and lots of gaming, but unfortunately, no poker for me to play.

After losing $40 on a dumb Deluxe Double Diamond game that I felt like I was this close to hitting (in fact the jackpot was just one line below the line it needed to be on in one of my spins), I wanted to make it back. So I decided to play $10 blackjack even though I hate multiple-deck blackjack. Sometimes you feel good and tonight was one of those nights. So I made a $20-$25 bet now and then and won and lost some of them, but in the end, I came out ahead $50.

Afterwards, T. Ben treated us to dinner at a BBQ restaurant. Then it was time to go home. Thank goodness for yayo because there was no way I was going to stay away for two hours of continuous nighttime driving without her.

VIEWING JEROME

My cuz Marissa and her family left to visit her sister Marivic in Jersey today. That left me able to sleep in.

When I finally got up, it was time to get ready to see Jerome's wife Rachelle and my aunt Millette, Jerome's mother. But first, it was time to eat lunch and Jasmine took me to a Chinese restaurant called First Wok on 1570 3rd Ave., on the corner of 88th st. You can visit Restaurant Row and look them up. They have cool lunch specials that includes soup or a free drink. I ordered General Tso's Chicken and the waiter asked me if I wanted it with the honey sauce, or with cabbage and corn. Jasmine suggested the cabbage and corn and I was surprised to find that there was another way to make General Tso's Chicken. Instead of it being like a sweet and sour dish, it was more savory. So my first recommendation is to try General Tso's Chicken this way.

Then Tito Ben and Tita Chit picked us up and I took the reigns of their Honda SUV. The drive out to Long Island's Smithtown was a little less than an hour. Long Island is very different from Manhattan because it has so many more trees. Part of Queens is on Long Island, but the rest of the island is like other East Coast towns I've been to. It's so different than the West Coast because everything looks much older.

I didn't recognize Tita Millette because she had cut her hair really short. She thought I was Paul when she first saw me. But it was nice seeing her but sad considering the circumstances. I was a little afraid to approach Jerome's body at first because I didn't quite know what the protocol was. Do I kneel and pray or can I just stand and look at him? Tita Millette must have sensed my hesitation and offered to look at Jerome with me.

Before we got to do that, she introduced me to Rachelle. She's a pretty girl with some highlights in her hair and her English was pretty good. It's such a bummer that she is already a widow at her age. But as many of my elders have told me, at least she's young enough to start a new life once all this is over.

After a little merienda, we left to go visit K. Benjie, another cousin of mine who lives in Queens. He was in the middle of changing the water in one of two fish tanks he has. He has some really big big-eyed goldfish in a 25 gallon tank, and some smaller fish in another. He also has a little white dog that I practiced some Cesar Milan techniques on so the dog would know who's boss. Then, the entire night, T. Chit kept saying how well behaved the dog was compared to other times when the dog would always jump on her. I smiled quietly knowing that I was probably to blame.

When we got back to Manhattan, Jasmine and I changed clothes and took off to the Westside of town. First stop was the 420 Bar & Lounge. They had some hip-hop going on which was cool and the drinks weren't bad. This is the type of lounge I am diggin' - chill vibe, mix of people and good music. It's always a good sign when you have a DJ. There was also a downstairs area that had some dancing, but we left before we could get our groove on.

It was then time to go to the Dead Poet, a little bar featuring quotes from dead poets. They had these curious drink specials and their main one was the Dead Poet. It featured seven different liquors and supposedly tasted like grape soda. So of course I ordered it and it was damn good. A girl next to us warned me that it was a doosey and I believed her.

After our drink, we went back to the 420 to finish the night off. We had another drink there and when we got back, I felt pretty good. At least until I laid down in bed and realized that the room was spinning a little.

A NEW BETTA

I drove to Jansen's place to play some tennis. We had to hurry up because he had to meet up with Tam. I feel like my tennis is getting better and that I need more competition. They say that to get better in tennis, you have to play against someone who's better than you. I suppose some of that is true in life as well. Get yourself in uncomfortable situations sometime and you'll only learn from the experience.

After we met up with Tam, we went to Pho May, a nice Vietnamese restaurant that has a few Filipinos working in it. We wondered how long the restaurant would last because it was so dead inside. We ordered some shakes with boba but I wasn't really impressed. I think I prefer the boba teas.

Then we went to two different pet shops to look at their betta selection. I bought a white one for $3.00, half of what they cost in PetSmart or other major pet stores. Hopefully, this little guy will help Blue (my other betta) feel better. I hear it's a good sign when bettas flare and I hope he'll get Blue to do that.

When we got back to Jansen's, we watched A History of Violence and Oldboy, a Korean flick. They were both pretty violent, but both quite good.

JEROME

I got a call from my brother Paul this morning about my cousin Jerome. He's a cousin from my dad's side of the family who has a very promising career in medicine. He is studying here in the States and while he was out with his friends, he had an aneurysm. He's in the hospital now, comatose. He's always been heavy-set, but he's only 28! That's far too young to have this kind of thing affect his life. I don't know what will happen, but I can only hope that he makes it through. He's in ICU and on life support.

Jansen came over and we went over to the Urban League in Pomona to get more information about the California Training Benefits. It turns out you have to pay for the training, but if you qualify, you get to continue your unemployment benefits while you train.

Moms came home later a little upset because she felt like no one was telling her anything. I bet she feels like we're keeping things from her because she's not blood related to my cousin Jerome. However, all we've been trying to do is not have to repeat anything over and over again. Plus, doing that tends to lead to misinformation so rather than telling her details, I told her she needed to talk to my brother Paul. That's what triggered it.

Moms ended up calling Jerome's mom in the Philippines to get more information. I did not like how she sounded almost as if she was overly concerned. But I suppose that's a mother's intuition. Nevertheless, I still did not like it. It just felt like she was trying too hard to be comforting. It didn't feel real to me. Then again, what does these days?

SUNDAY BLUES

Today was all about catching up with the movies I requested from Netflix. First up was Doctor Zhivago. It's a classic love story that made me weep like a little bitch. It captures the tumultuous period of the Russian Revolution and some people caught up in it. It's like some break-ups - horribly sad, but the future also brings hope. There are a few things that are worth mentioning. First, some memorable quotes:

"You, my dear, are a slut."
- Victor Komarovsky

"If our time is limited, we should live it."(paraphrased)
- Yuri Zhivago

In the commentary track by Omar Sharif, he says that the movie is essentially a composition of fate. This point is interesting because of what I watched next.

I watched Andy Andrews' Seven Decisions. He suggests there are seven decisions one must make in order to achieve one's goals. He discusses an interesting idea that all our actions and decisions have some kind of effect on the world. Therefore, because we are still on this earth, we have yet to fulfill what we are practically destined to do.

I am beginning to believe more and more, as I've discussed in other postings, that our lives may be pre-determined. When you have this idea in mind, it's easy not to fear anything. Your life, it can be argued, is not in your own hands.

RACHELLE'S BDAY

Moms and I went to DCS Kitchen and Bath Design center to meet with Valerie Burton, a design specialist. She took my preliminary measurements, input them into her design program, and started designing the new kitchen layout. In the end, we decided that we still need some kind of divider to separate the kitchen from the rest of the family room. We ate at Coco's afterwards.

Then I watched the Cal v. UCLA Pac-10 tournament finals. Cal was blownout, but in their defense, they looked tired after having played until midnight the previous night in double OT. They should make the tournament, but will probably get a tough draw.

I watched Jason and the Argonauts after and was impressed greatly, especially considering that it was made some 40 years ago without any computer special effects. There's a famous skeleton swordfight scene that took some four months to complete and it's barely three minutes long.

After dinner, I left for Jansen's house and was disappointed that there was no more yay left. I knew I should have took it back home. I met Rachelle and Binggoy at the Block's Dave and Buster's. Binggoy's friends all came and we ended up hanging out there for awhile. Jansen and Tam came a little later. Binggoy gave me the most memorable quote of the night. He told me that he had told his friend that he was bringing his girlfriend to some event. His friend told him, "you're bringing your own food to a buffet?"

Afterwards, we went to Jansen and Tam's place to play Scene It! It's a DVD game that's actually quite fun. Jansen won both times.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Jansen came over to run some errands but first we decided to workout. Although we were weak, it felt good to exercise with a partner. It's a lot easier to stay motivated. In fact, he was even thinking about making it a part of his routine to workout twice a week.

Then we decided to run our errands. We didn't really have a lot to do, but we got started so late, we felt like we were under time constraints. Our first task was to pick-up a copy of Half Baked. So we went to Best Buy and sure enough, there it was, and there were several copies of it. I can't wait to listen to the commentary on it.

Afterwards, our next task was to go next door to PetSmart to buy some bloodworms for our betta fish. I thought about buying another betta, but they ran at $3.50 which is expensive for betta. Jansen said I should just buy them near his place for $2.00.

I went back home and showered up. Tonight, my nephew Jared will be receiving a special recognition award from the Norco-Corona Board of Education. Every month, students from each of their schools receive a special recognition for being outstanding students.

I took moms over to the Board and watched Jared and seven other students receive their special recognition. I thought it funny that Jared was initially the only one wearing a tie, but he realized that he was the only one wearing one and took it off. Some of the other students were dressed very casually so I think his parents might have made it a bigger deal than it really was. Nevertheless, it is a great achievement and will only help continue to reassure him that hard work leads to rewards.

We ate at the Outback afterwards with his grammy, Bill, Pat and the rest of us. I felt like I ate too much, but for some reason, I always feel like I want to eat something late at night.

OFF TO THE BAY AREA

I brought ate Curito to United for their flight to SFO. I flew to the Bay on Southwest. K. Paul and I decided to try to watch Cal v UCLA game but there was way too much traffic. We watched it at his home instead.

HOLLYWOOD

I was a little tired from coming home so late last night, but I got up and took a shower. That helped get me going.

I took my cuz and her husband to City Walk in Universal City after eating at Quiznos on Lankershim. We walked around a bit and spent most of our time in Hot Topic. There, I decided to practice talking to strangers. It's easy to talk to people who are working because it's their job to help customers. But the fun thing is to talk to them about stuff not related to work and see what happens.

In this case, I ended up talking to a Japanese-American looking punker. She had hard features but had funky red highlights in her hair and a lip ring. I asked her if the music that was playing was her selection. From there, she told me her memory is questionable from having hit her head so often as a little kid. Since it was mid-day, I imagined she was already out of high school, but she looked young enough to be busted if caught drinking. Then again, Asians tend to look younger than they are so who knows. Though I wanted to get her email address, I never got around to it because I began to wonder what the point was.

We decided not to go inside Universal Studios since it was pretty late already and the park closes at 6pm. Instead, we went to Hollywood and Highland to take pictures with the Oscars that are on display. They displayed a bunch of actual Oscars that hadn't been labled yet. The topper was a cheesy little set-up where you can actually hold an Oscar and take a picture with it. Unfortunately, the base had a wire attached to it so if you didn't take the picture right, it looks cheesy. I didn't have to worry about that because the picture my cuz took was blown out and you couldn't see a thing!

Next stop was Hooters for dinner. The highlight of that visit was talking to the Hooter girls and taking a cliche picture with them. Then we watched Harrison Ford in Firewall. It was cool, but it really didn't work for me. In other words, wait for DVD and even then, watch it only if you have the time.