GOLF AT PARADISE KNOLLS

Jansen and I went out to Paradise Knolls again to try to play some good golf. Unfortunately, the group behind us caught up and we also caught up to the group in front of us eventually which resulted in pressure as well as long waiting periods. That generally translates into bad golf and we both sucked terribly.

Part of the reason for our weak scores were so bad was the rough. It was pretty tall and when you hit a drive into it, sometimes it was impossible to find the ball. I lost three balls this way and losing balls off the tee meant you had to go back and hit another drive. On two holes I just cheated and dropped a ball around the fairway.

I also noticed that my drives were drawing or hooking so I adjusted by trying to hit a cut. It's weird. I thought the new driver was so easy to hit when I started playing with it but now, I'm having trouble hitting it! Golf is such a weird sport because it plays into so many mental and physical aspects.

Jansen didn't have time for Hooters or eating afterward, so we just went home and ate there. At least we saved some money.

(written 7/5/11)

P90X ALMOST BARF

It was time for the chest and back workout and I thought I could do it pretty easily. Then, halfway through the thing, I realized how out of shape I am. I started to feel a little nauseous and couldn't finish completely even after taking a pretty long break. But that's what happens when you don't workout completely and take a very long extended break from exercise.

Oh well, all I can do is keep trying. I'm mostly excited about just training for the half-marathon and have tired of the P90x system. Although I think it's a great workout, it really burns you out when you do the same workouts over and over again.

(written 6/30/11)

GOLF AT WILLOWICK

Jansen, Jared and I headed to Willowick to play some golf today. It was surprising how well the handicap system worked because going into 18, we were tied. But I choked and the cost of losing meant paying for 20 wings at Hooters.

The nice thing was that we used a coupon that got us 20 free wings already. I'm not sure if it was the day of golf, the lousy round, the choking under pressure, the beer I drank on 17 or the tree smoking, but these wings were the most satisfying I've had in a very long time. In fact, after seeing that I spent $17 for 20 wings, I realized what a deal the AYCE Tuesdays are and it made me really think about going back there for that.

(written 6/30/11)

CHILLIN' WITH J.D.

I took Karina home and then Jared asked if he could go to DB with me. So we chilled at their place for a bit, then I took him to J.D.'s place to hang out on the way home. I was hoping J.D. would give me some goods, but the cheap bastard didn't share.

Instead, we smoked trees and looked at his 3D tv. We got home pretty late and just chilled.

(written 6/30/11)

ALISON BRIE AT CONVERSATIONS

The SAG Foundation will sometimes have an actor come to the actor's stage to discuss their career and other things that they've done in their lives. It gives aspiring actor's the chance to see a fellow actor and meet them close and personal. Today was Alison Brie's day.

Jansen was going to go, but he had to go to Avalon and be in line really early. So instead, I invited Karina to roll to Los Angeles with me to see her. She was game, but she didn't really know who Alison Brie was. She really just wanted to go out to the big city so she could have fun. Unfortunately, there wasn't much fun to be had since she's only 15 years old.

But we did get to see Alison Brie and she was great. She had such a vibrant personality, and she was really open to sharing a lot of things about her life. She wasn't shy at all and she seemed really happy about all of us coming to see her. I asked her a question, but I wish I made it a two part question and ask her if she was single.

Afterward, we went to Chego right off Overland to eat dinner. Karina saw a cook wearing an RCVA hat that talked to her, and all of a sudden she was all gaga over him. Then we just went home, rented some movies at Redbox and kicked it at home. Karina fell asleep while watching The Illusionist, a cool cartoon from France.

POMONA WORK PRETTY MUCH DONE

Moms and I went over to the Pomona residence to see the work that was done. It was great work, and the rooms had new carpeting and the bathroom looked great. Everything seemed like an upgrade and we were very satisfied.

Then we got gas at Shell and then we went to the Korean store to buy the ingredients for the tofu with mushroom steak sauce. It was an easy recipe and the longest part was pan frying the tofu. It was delicious though because silken tofu is one of my favorites.

(written 6/27/11)

A LITTLE RUN

I ran two miles using the new forefoot step style that I've learned online. I noticed that the run seems to feel like it's slower, but when I looked at my time, it was pretty much the same as when I do the heel strike stride. But my calves definitely felt a little sore afterward, but not as bad as I thought it would feel.

(written 6/27/11)

FINALLY P90

Jansen did his darndest yesterday to convince me to go to Newport Beach with him today, but I got out of it. He's very good at helping you do things that you don't really want to do, but that sometimes gets me feeling like I shouldn't have done it.

So after lunch and a little cleaning, I finally did the P90x legs and back workout. It wasn't that bad and I felt like I could do it, though I was pretty tired at the end. Then I did the ab ripper workout and again, that wasn't bad, but I did feel pretty tired after.

Then it was just watching tv and eating leftovers. I also got Weeds downloaded so I'm beginning to watch that again. Firefly is also getting me quite interested because the characters are so interesting as you get to learn more and more about them.

(written 6/23/11)

I DIDN'T SUCCEED

Don't remember much of what I did today.

I BLEW IT

I didn't do anything today except watch tv pretty much.

(written 6/27/11)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

It was pretty tough getting up since I slept so late yesterday, but the girls woke me up when the family came over for Father's Day. Moms bought some crabs for lunch, but she boiled them and they were overcooked. But the shrimp and the steak was pretty good.

After chilling out a little, it was already time to get the bbq going. Everyone else left to do some hiking, so by the time they got back, I was already on the grill. I cooked some steaks and also some pork and grilled some broccoli too. Then we ate dinner and we had a ton of food leftover.

(written 6/27/11)

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY FOR CARLO

My brother Noel and the kids flaked, so it was only me that headed out to Winetka for Carlo's birthday. It was the usual couples that came to celebrate, so it was the usual single me hanging out with the gang.

It's kind of funny because the couples I hang out with all have little babies that are about the same age as Carlo and Ayet's baby Caitlin. Honestly, I feel a little different and not so comfortable because as I like to say, birds with a feather flock together. But there are no birds of my kind at these parties, so I generally try to go home earlier rather than later.

So thankfully, Jansen was at Reubin and Runjith's place in the Hollywood Hills. I headed over there and basically we hung out at their place for awhile. Since we missed out on a house party, we decided to head over to James' place to kick it. I saw Sahra and we sang a few songs, but then I decided it was time to go home before the sun came up.

(written 6/27/11)

HAWTHORNE #5

I only worked on a quick scene the entire time, but at least I got to work. The last two times I've worked this show, I didn't get used at all. It seems like such a waste, but a lot of the other background folks didn't get to work and they wondered what it was all about. I guess they don't mind distributing money to background actors because it sure seems like we don't do much work on this show.

We were wrapped around the same time that my old student Alex (or Munchie as he's known) was getting out of work at UCLA. He now works for a company that uses technology to help hospital workers locate items they need for their work. So we met in Santa Monica and walked over to a cantina for some drinks. The waitress told us the best deal was the giant margaritas, but we should have asked how much they were because they ended up being $18!! They were good though and they used Patron so I guess I couldn't complain that much.

Afterward, we walked over to his co-worker and roommate's friend's place in Santa Monica. These are recently graduated kids, so I was easily the oldest there, but everytime I walk into a room with young folks, they always think I'm the same age. Anyway, we started blowin' trees and drinking, but after some time, I told them I had to get going because of family responsibilities tomorrow.

(written 6/23/11)

JARED SPENDS THE NIGHT

After work last night, I went over to Jansen's to hang out a bit. We finally decided on Buffalo Wild Wings and we tried some chicken wings that seemed incredibly spicy. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe the drinks we had with it, maybe because the place just opened and they did things a little differently than the one in Chino Hills, but I had some wings that were incredibly spicy and took about five minutes before I calmed down enough to start enjoying some of the wings.

I went to Adam's house (Jared's friend in DB) after and waited for him to come out. But he never did so I just went home. I kind of snoozed on the couch and I heard Jared finally come home. The problem was, Adam's mom woke up to find Adam missing. It turns out that Adam had snuck a girl into the house and had to walk her home. His excuse was that he walked Jared home.

Well, Adam's mom Tess ended up calling moms up to find out if Adam was here. Of course, he wasn't. She told moms that he was walking Jared home so moms went out side to wait for him. But after awhile, she went back inside to see that Jared's shoes were already inside. He'd already gone to sleep!

So of course, I had to give Jared some shit about lies and how they tend to compound the more you do it. I don't know if any of this will do anything, but someone has to keep pounding away until it gets through that thick skull. The more you say it, the more it makes sense over time.

Then I drove Jared home to his moms and we began working on his computer. We replaced the faulty CD drive, only to find out that my Windows XP disc was a lame copy. It didn't have everything on it. So we started downloading some other copies and trying to make copies of discs, but in the end, I just ran a bunch of different anti-malware programs and finally found the anti-malware that was hiding. Once it was deleted, we could safely browse the Internet without getting re-directed. So in the end, we didn't need to re-format the disc.

I stayed there pretty late and got a chance to catch up a little with Kimi, but I have work tomorrow so I left at a decent time to get some zzzzzs.

(written 6/23/11)

PAIR OF KINGS #3

I was booked on the show again as one of two wait staff people. Claudia, who was also one of the cooks from last week's show, was also cast again by Brandi, a BBW who showed-up again on set. I have a feeling she shows up to get hooked up with food, but who knows? Maybe she likes to make sure everyone she casts doesn't fuck around or something. Or maybe she just likes to get showered with love from everyone who she casts.

The scene was fairly simple. The black kid king decides to move out of the palace and sets up a little bachelor pad. He throws a party and we're there to serve some of the food. Everyone else is having a good time.

While there, I talked about switching calling services with Claudia, who decided she is going with Jessica's A-List. I'm beginning to wonder if I should do the same thing, but I've been with Joey's for so long, I feel like I might be making the wrong decision. At the same time, Jessica's doesn't just work with Central, so maybe I could work on commercials and more movies. It's hard to say because no one really knows. We wondered if it'd be a smart move to get two services, but what if you get caught?

We wrapped and by the time I changed and got out of there, I thought there might be a good chance I wouldn't be caught in traffic. But I kind of was since it really wasn't that late. At least I didn't have to worry about the clutch though.

(written 6/22/11)

DEEP SCALING AND ROOT PLANING

I hadn't had a dental check-up for about a year, missing my last one because of the whole root canal issue. So I went in there and it was nice to see that I had a new dentist who went to UCLA. She recommended a root planing treatment because I told her that my gums always bled when I flossed between my right cuspid and the one next to it. She also recommended a laser treatment but that shit cost another $200 so I passed on it. I did agree to the deep scaling and root planing.

Basically, it's just a more aggressive cleaning. The dentist noticed that the gums around some of my teeth looked raised and that was an indication that they were irritated. So the hygienist went after my teeth, scraping and getting rid of a bunch of tartar that had built up below the gum line. It was painful, but not in the traditional sense. It kind of felt like the kind of pain you feel when a tooth is loose and you're kind of playing around with it to finally get it off. Yes, pain, but a good kind of pain. I guess because I also knew that the tartar was getting scraped off, I knew it was good for me and I could handle it.

My gums bled like a mother fucker. It bled a lot and I guess that wasn't a good thing. But I can't imagine even healthy gums not bleeding because this guy was getting in there pretty deep. My mouth felt like it had been raped and traumatized. But again, I didn't feel so bad because I knew it was good for the long run. I left the dental office without even getting my normal treatment, but what I got was basically the normal treatment. I'm scheduled to return three months from now so they can see how my gums have responded.

The great thing about the rape was that when it was time to brush my teeth in the evening and I began flossing, my gums didn't bleed at all! So there it was the whole time, fucking tartar hiding between my teeth causing my gums to get irritated and get fucked up, thus leading to the constant bleeding when I flossed. It was like a little monster hiding the entire time, fucking with my gums and messing with them. What bothers me is that I've never felt like I've had this many problems with my gums when I had a normal job. It's only now that I feel like a lot of problems have been happening. Is it the dental office? Is it me? Is it my insurance? Or is it just old age?

At the end of the day, the best way to take care of your gums and your teeth is prevention. That's the bottom line.

(written 6/22/11)

MORE CLEANING

I re-mopped the hardwood floors since I knew Scarlett was walking around yesterday making a mess with her dirty paws. Since I walk around the house without shoes, I can really feel when the floor is dirty. It's kind of like running barefoot and being more connected to the ground than when running with shoes.

I had to take care of a few things today before working out. First, I went to the bank to deposit some money to pay for all these upcoming bills. I have some tickets for Hardfest, the AFTRA bill and my clutch all need to be paid. Additionally, I charged some things on my Discover card to get the points, but they were to pay for some things done at the Pomona duplex that moms is really paying for.

The next stop was the library to drop off some books I've had for weeks. It's funny how I never read these damn things and wait till the last minute to try to catch up on them. It's either because isn't very interesting, or I'd rather do other things than read.

Finally, I went to Ace to buy some gopher bait. They didn't have any giant pellets that I saw the professional exterminator dropping into the holes he made. Whatever he had must be something only he can get, because Ace only had little pellets. So I ended up getting blocks of bait and I think I put them in wrong. I broke them up to get them in the tunnels, but I think I was supposed to leave them as big blocks. I just don't get how you can put the entire thing in the tunnel, they are too big.

Then after a little work on the compost bin, I decided to finally kill the ants that were circling the home. They had a huge trail going and I didn't mind at first, as long as they didn't make their way in. But they did eventually, so they had to go. I always think of Apocalypse Now when I'm killing the poor buggers.

Then I finally did the 2nd half of the P90x yoga. It's tough and even half of it is pretty tiring. It's not that it's super intense, it's just some of the stomach exercises are rough.

I'm really thinking about putting some money into Bodog Poker. I miss poker and find that I don't do much during the evening. I suppose I should translate that time into something more productive, but I'm just on such a lazy stroll. I was looking at how long I've been doing background work and it amazes me to see that I've been doing it for years. I'm just skating by, making a lame living without much ambition. Why is that?

(written 6/14/11)

THE OLD MAN LIKES TO REST

I woke up feeling tired from golf yesterday. It might have been a combination of drinking, eating too much and golf, but basically, I felt like I worked-out or something.

I spent most of the day fending Jansen off because he wanted to play golf or go to a Hollywood day party. I don't know how he does it. He's got this crazy energy that forces him to do these things even though he has a kid and he's nearly as old as I am. It amazes me but I guess that's how he gets the things he wants in life.

K. Noel, Amanda and her dog Scarlett came over to chill out and watch the game. Dallas finally won the NBA Finals and I finally won a bet after a long losing streak on freesportsbet.com. It's weird how I can be so wrong so often, but I guess that's just the losing streak someone can go on, just like in poker.

(written 6/14/11)

DRUNKEN GOLF

Jansen was on a tear to play golf this morning and I got home way too late last night to feel like getting up and playing. By the time I got up, Jansen was already at Fullerton golf course playing. When he came back, he wanted to play some more.

I dilly dallied and got to calling Jared to see if he wanted to play too. He did, and we all decided to finally play at Paradise Knolls. I got caught in a little traffic, so we were a little late by the time we reached the course. Jansen was already there. It turned out Jared had reserved for tomorrow, not today, but the guy at the front desk was able to switch the dates to let us play for $17.

We started around 4:15PM and wondered if we would be able to finish. I was driving well, or at least pretty good, and noticed that I have a natural draw. It's probably because I tend to close the club at the bottom of my swing, so I made a few minor adjustments like aiming a little more right on my drives. I still had some issues with duck hooking on some drives, but I was surprised how long I was hitting the ball. I was hitting close to Jared's drives, but I was a lot more inconsistent.

I still have trouble with my second shot into the green. My stats prove it but it's pretty obvious that the issue is my GIRs. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I'm doing a lot of scrambling to get my pars so I definitely need to improve on my shots into the green.

During our round, we had some drinks and that's probably why my second half suffered. I shot a 41 on the front and a 46 on the back. It felt like the back was tougher, but it was probably more due to the buzz I had from two beers, a shot or two of rum and some disgusting red malt liquor. Still, it was fun and the 87 I shot is pretty average anyway. At the end of every golf round, I always feel I could have done much better.

Then we ate dinner at 5 Guys. It's the restaurant I'd read about that is slowly expanding into In-N-Out territory. Their burgers are bigger, their fries beefier and they give away free peanuts. They're also a lot more expensive. But you definitely get a lot more too, so it's a tough call. At the end of the argument though, I like In-N-Out because for around $6, you get a burger, fries and a drink. At 5 Guys, you'd have to spend around $9 to get the same items, but again, you get a lot more. In fact, I was stuffed after the meal and worried that I would have diarrhea tomorrow because of the drink and the food.

When I got to Kimi's, the girls were there with their friend and they convinced me to drop them off at their friend's house so they could leave a surprise picture album for their friends from the river. So we drove out there to Riverside along some winding streets so they could take pictures with the dogs and tape the album on their window. When we got back, it was late and Kimi had returned. We spent some time on the computer trying to get rid of some malware but by the time I left, it was still present.

I got home, took a shower, watched some tv and went into some blissful sleep.

(written 6/12/11)

NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING #2

I was a little bummed I didn't get any work today since I was booked for three days in a row to my shock. After lunch, I was waiting to do the second half of the P90X when Jansen texted me to see if I wanted to play golf. I haven't played for some time and wanted to get out there. As soon as I got off the phone, I got a call from Joey's List asking me if I was available for a rush call for Nine Lives. I told them I was and that was that.

I was also planning to wet wipe the hardwood floors so I got half of them done before I took a shower and headed to stage 23b again. I got there on time and I was the only background for the day. They got me dressed and I met Alexis Delarosa while he was being dressed in the same cop uniform.

It's weird being the only background guy in a scene since you're the only one that doesn't get to speak. I felt out of place since these were all actors while I was just here primarily for the money. I mean, I don't consider myself an actor, but sometimes you have to look at the opportunities you're given and try to take advantage of them. Maybe I'll do that but the problem is, I don't really know where to begin. Maybe I just have to ask and wait to receive.

After hanging around the stage for a little while, we were sent to a fake alley within the studio grounds. There, Alexis and I watched the principles do a little scene where they fight over a bag of jewelry. We talked about where he got started, what his loves are and his work as an actor. He had such an amazing energy, always smiling and very open to questions I had for him.

Then it was our time to get in the cop car and pull our handguns out. Alexis' lines were simple. "Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them." When he did that, I started to believe that I too, could do that. It would be fun to get some bit parts and the biggest breakthrough I had was that I knew I could do the same thing.

(written 6/12/11)

NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING

Wow, I'm surprised that I have been booked for three shows in a row. I haven't had this much work for a very long time. And it's all Disney shows too, so I guess they just keep things going even during hiatus, whatever hiatus really means.

I did half of the P90X yoga routine in the morning. I didn't feel I had the strength and stamina to do it all, besides the fact that I had to get ready for work.

I was sent to CBS Radford where I hadn't worked since the "Samantha Who?" days. We checked-in in front of stage 23b and there was a variety of us. I was booked as a cop and I haven't been booked as a uniform cop since the very first day I started working background. I can't believe it's been so long. But as they say, time flies when you're having fun. I wonder if I got booked as a cop because of the picture I sent to Joey's List? Interestingly or perhaps coincidentally, it's for an SF cop too which is what I was on the first background gig I've ever had.

But first I was dressed as a pedestrian for a location shot we did just outside the studio. I met Crystal there, a recent USC grad from El Paso who was very cute and very talkative. It's nice to get talkative people to talk because you're not as bored when you're doing work. It was a humid day and it started getting hot so the work wasn't as fun as the day wore on.

Then we were broken for lunch so I walked to a teriyaki bowl joint that had the game on. What a game it was, but before I knew it, I had to go back to work again. At least I will have the game on the DVR when I get back home (I thought).

Then it was time to do the police station scene. Thankfully, the uniform fit better than on Women's Murder Club and we didn't have to wear a vest underneath the uniform. But it was still hot in the uniform once we put it on. We sat in holding for some time as English Mike, a background English dude, talked to us about investing and saving money. He sounded like the Rich Dad Poor Dad guy, but his investment advice was all pretty good. Essentially, you have to save money and make it work for you. It's common sense as he says, but a lot of people just spend too much money and don't save enough.

I met Nicole Buehrer who looked a lot like Kristin Davis. She had the type of body I go gaga for. A full butt with wide hips, a petite frame and brunette hair. Give me that any day and I'll go nuts. I don't know why but it's as if I'm programmed for that. Could it be an image of my mom when I was a child? Light skin, brunette, petite? And where did the full butt come into play? I suppose that might have come from my first girlfriend who didn't have that, and since then, I've craved it.

We got wrapped very late, past midnight, so when I got home I watched the final quarter of the game. It was a great game with Dallas hitting big threes at the end to come back and clinch the sixth game. What a series this is and the nice thing is that Shayne made 200 off it. One more Dallas win and he's got another 300 coming his way.

(written 6/12/11)

PAIR OF KINGS #2

I worked on the pilot for this show a long time ago, but I noticed they had re-shot the pilot with fancier clothing for everyone and a nicer set. I had a mustache then and always wondered if that prevented me from being called back to work on the show. But since I got booked on the show again, I think what prevented me was not being in AFTRA.

It was a small call for our scene today since there were only five or six of us and we were all kitchen staff. We were dressed in orange chef gear with some color hankies that went around our necks and waist. We sat around waiting for our scene until we were finally asked to come to set.

The surprise was that Dwight Howard was cast as the head chef. The mother fucker is huge! It's amazing to see how tall someone can really be when you're standing right next to them. Another surprise was how enthusiastic he was on set. He seemed excited to be on set to work as an actor and actually shook everyone's hand who was on the set. Needless to say, his hand was gigantic.

The tough thing for Howard was that he was given his lines just today. It was no joke because he had a lot to remember and he's no actor. Lauren Lawson explained to me that they usually don't give non-actors the lines very early because it might confuse them if they decide to make changes to the script.

As we worked, it was easy to see that poor Howard had it tough. He had so many lines to remember and the script supervisor had to spend a lot of time with him between takes to help him get through it all.

I met a girl from Brooklyn who was pretty cute, but I just didn't get the sense of really wanting to talk to her. Maybe I'll run into her again someday, but I don't know if it's because I felt shy or because I didn't see any point, but I never got to ask her if she was on Facebook.

The nice thing about the day was that it was short. We were wrapped before traffic got bad so I decided to just go home and eat lunch there to save some money. I was interested in doing my next P90x yoga workout, but I just ended up taking a nice long nap.

I had a root canal scheduled for tomorrow and finally got a call from the endodontist's office. They asked if I was still available for the root canal tomorrow. I told them I was waiting for the estimate. They called back and said I would need another examination and that the pre-exam would cost $100. I told them I'd already had that done and was waiting for the cost of the actual procedure. After going over the files again, they said it would cost $1000. I'm certain now that they are running either a scam to get people in to charge them if their insurance doesn't actually cover the costs of the pre-exam or the actual procedure.

It's either that or they are very unprofessional and the doctor doesn't know this. I'd be surprised if the doctor didn't know this was happening, but then again, if he's not going through all the paperwork, how would he? All I know is that I'm not paying shit for what they charged me because I feel I was definitely ripped-off. I suppose it is going to take a letter to explain my stance since he would not know it if I don't bother to mail one. I think I'll have to discuss this with Aunt Pat to get her view as well.

(written 6/12/11)

BUCKET & SKINNER

Bucket and Skinner is a Disney show about two surfer dudes very much like Bill & Ted. I just noticed it but if you shorten the name it's BS. And that's pretty much what the show is about. Two dudes goofing off and just having fun.

I was cast as a parent who watches his kid in a karate studio. B&S are there to take lessons so they can kick ass and be cool. But the master is a little girl they know so they give her a hard time but still learn that it's not as easy as it looks.

Darrin Cooper was there and telling people again about the struggles of acting, how long he's been doing it and so on and so forth. I always like hearing him talk because he's not only doing it for himself, he also has a family. I don't know how he does it but he does.

The nice thing was that we actually got fed. It surprised me because a lot of shows have walk-away lunches, but not this one. Maybe it's a Disney thing? After the karate studio scene, we moved to a pier to watch some para-sailor drop in on someone. It was a relatively long-ish day since we started at 8:30AM and didn't wrap until a little after 8PM.

(written 6/12/11)

NO ESTIMATE

I checked my email to discover that the email Luke sent to State Farm didn't even have an attachment. I felt like I screwed up because Cindy ended up asking me why reconstruction was taking so long. I didn't know what to say except that the estimate was still being considered by State Farm. The reality is that they hadn't even received it.

The only good news was that I got booked for a Nickelodeon show called Bucket & Skinner tomorrow. I guess joining AFTRA was a good idea since it seems like it's the only kind of work I'm getting during this so-called hiatus.

I also noticed that the checks to all the vendors that have worked on the Pomona duplex hadn't been mailed. So I rode the bike down to the mailbox to get them mailed and also deposit the check from HawthoRNe I received last week.

NEWPORT BEACH WITH THE KIDS

After half a bagel, we headed off to Newport Beach. We got a little lost because of the gps, but we found our way to the beach eventually. But first, we had to eat lunch so we went to In-N-Out and ate outside on their tables. It reminded me a little of Diamond Bar's set-up where there's no restaurant and is purely a drive-thru. Maybe I should go on a voyage where I visit every single non-restaurant In-N-Out!

We looked for parking on outlying streets with no luck. But suddenly, out of the blue, I found a spot that no one would ever find. It was on 44th street on a corner right next to a park. It was impossible to see unless you actually drove into this street. We got lucky, saved money and were just two blocks from the beach.

We took a leak at the park bathroom then set-up right behind a lifeguard station (#44) and started working on our tan. We used no sunblock since it was pretty cool outside but started getting much warmer. I guess 70 degrees isn't as cold as I imagined. I'm not sure why I thought it was cold since 72 is room temperature.

Then we waited for Kelly, Marissa and Adam to roll through. Their parents' dropped them off and we decided to walk to the pier. Adam and I lagged behind so we could kick back a little. Then we headed to the pier. Apparently, there's more than one pier, but eventually found our way to Newport Pier with the others.

We hung out near the pier which is much more crowded than where we posted-up earlier in the day. It seems more ghetto and dirtier. We walked back to where our car was and Marissa and Jared decided to tough the weather and jump in the water. They said it was hell at first, but you get used to it. That's how I remember the Pacific Ocean to be.

We said good-bye when Adam and Kelly's parents came to pick them up. Then we packed our belongings and headed out to Corona. We stopped by a Mexican restaurant in the hood in Corona to get some cheap eats. It was surprisingly good, especially their taquitos.

I got a chance to watch the last half of the last quarter of the game at K. Noel's. What a game it was! But Miami ended-up taking the game and winning by just two points. Looks like they are favored once again.

After driving home, I just chilled and watched tv till I fell asleep.

(written 6/6/11)

KIDS GET DROPPED OFF

K. Noel's kids got dropped off today since K. Noel and Amanda went to Herb's retirement party.

We spent the afternoon cooking and eating, but when it came time to getting people motivated to exercise, it was not happening. I got sick of all the waiting, so I decided to hit up the P90x back and biceps workout.

I thought I could do the workout, but it wasn't happening. About 3/4 of the way through, I knew I couldn't keep up with my previous progress, so I toned it down so I could actually get through the entire thing. But once again, I didn't do the ab ripper x which makes me wonder if I could even get through that.

Marissa was over but she had to leave early which left me with the kids and nothing to do in the evening. So we decided to go for a car drive and we ended up in Rowland Heights. We decided to hit up a boba place called Boba Time for a quick treat. It was like a little hang out bar where people were just chillin' and a much nicer atmosphere than our local boba place. Their boba was sweetened though which is something we weren't really used to.

On our way back, we got some gas for mom's car but Jared decided to test his ID at the Chevron station. To our surprise, he got away with it pretty easily. He's a smooth operator I gotta say, and even though I don't totally agree with what he's doing, in some ways, I'm kind of proud that he's got the balls to push it through.

(written 6/9/11)

TIME FOR A NEW CLUTCH

My clutch for my poor baby Civic was on its last legs. So I finally decided to go with a transmission specialist who looks like a Filipino, a guy named Art who works at DB Transmission. I dropped it off and had moms take me back home. Then she went to bingo and I stayed at home.

I played a little LA Noire and just watched tv most of the day. I didn't miss my car too much since I have access to mom's, not that I needed it.

(written 6/9/11)

QUESTIONABLE RECONSTRUCTION COMPANY

Turnkey Construction is handling the reconstruction job in Pomona, but the lead went from Willy to this guy Luke. I have a bad feeling about this guy because he doesn't seem to really communicate as well as Willy.

He said he had an emergency on Tuesday and couldn't get to the Pomona job site until yesterday. It took him a day to get his estimate written and then I had to get him to send it to State Farm today. That means the place has been sitting around all through Memorial Day weekend without any work done and without any estimates being written or discussed with State Farm.

We had our cousin dinner that Eleanor planned at the Radisson in Buena Park. Her cousin by marriage works there so Jansen and I were the first ones there. We didn't see Binggoy slip in though, so technically, I guess they were there first.

We started with a Honey Jack Daniels and it was a strong and big drink. The wings were just $0.50 so we ordered several of them. Over time, everyone started to show up. I felt old though because these were all 3rd generation kids. Only Binggoy, me and A. Ella were from the 2nd gen. Still, we had fun because Maranans, Granflors, Yuviencos and Nepos were there. We were missing the De Leons, but I guess they are still too young to hang. We also missed Justin because he was out with his girl.

The night ended up with a lot of drinking and peer pressure to gulp down shots. Even Tyler and Allison showed up to drop off some sugar. A. Ella really let loose and it was fun seeing her get a little tipsy.

Afterward, Jansen and I went back to his place to chill a little. We played some LA Noire and hung out until it was time to go home.

(written 6/9/11)

FEELING BUMMED OUT

It's weird when you return from a mini-vacation so close to home because you don't quite feel like you've left, but you don't feel like you were close to home either.

I spent the day just kind of hanging around and wondering what I'd left behind in SF. I had so much fun that I felt like I was missing something when I came back. It's just so different over there. Funny how the environment has such an effect on you. City living is so different from the 'burbs but one thing is certain - I still don't miss the weather.

(written 6/9/11)