The Summer Vacation That Needs To End

A Week Long Excursion Part Two: The Garden State and the Greatest Natural International Border I've Ever Seen

2011-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to see Niagara Falls and what better time to go than when already on the East Coast? I always thought New York was pretty small and envisioned one could drive from the city to the falls. Yeah, that's not really true if you're pressed for time. Turns out it's a 7 hour drive with a series of toll roads and frustration. Alright, plane it is, but before we left the country, it was time to explore Newark and Jersey City. I wasn't there long enough to confirm or deny the Jersey stereotype, but I will say it's not as bad looking as people claim. Newark is an industrial city - what can you do? Every industrial city looks (and smells) like that. If you ever do venture to NJ via NYC, definitely head down to Ferry Street in the Ironbound District. It feels like you're legitimately in Portugal and you can eat sandes de picadinho and pasteis de nata all day.

This farmacia is actually not in Lisbon, but rather New Jersey

We headed to Ontario via Newark and after a series of intriguing customs questions (Do you plan on visiting a farm while in Canada? Are you bringing any birds to the country?) and not getting the ever so sought after passport stamp in my expedited rip off lame new border rules passport, we made it. Once we were in Niagara, you could already feel the mist of the falls hitting your face from quite a distance away. Awesome! It was already dark by the time we got there so we end up walking around Clifton Hill and getting a quick bite at Wendy's. Yes, the red headed girl from back home whose establishment serves up baked potatoes and spicy chicken nuggets. What were our other options? Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, Little Caesar's, and TGI Fridays. Hold up. It was at this point I had a very disappointing revelation: this place looks like America. < / expectations >I don't really know what exactly I was expecting from Canada, but I mean, some sort of culture? Granted, we were literally on the border of the United States and maybe if I ventured further (possibly towards Montreal), it'd be different but from what I saw, man, total let down. I'm assuming they maybe want to cater to all of the tourists, sigh, who knows. At least there was a Tim Horton's - that place rules. We spent the rest of the night at the casino and it was great because the age of majority there is 19 so Sameer was able to partake in the casino fun as well. He came out the biggest winner out of all of us and by big winner, I mean a whopping 20 dollars.

The view from the bridge (Rainbow) you cross between countries

Open the door and you will be home again.

The next blog-worthy event that happened was the morning we decided to weigh in on the Which side of the falls is better? debate. It was time to cross the border back into Niagara Falls, NY. Immediate reaction: the United States kept their side of it very natural. Niagara Falls on the U.S. side is surrounded by a fairly large state park. It's a great place to have a picnic, go for a bike ride, a quick jog, or just relax. It's very serene - a total contrast from the Ontario side. We decided while we were here, might as well take the Maid of the Mist from New York. Now, I always saw people in their crazy ponchos on a boat to get a better view of the falls on TV and what not and I always told myself I'd never do that it's kind of scary. That all changed when I told Michelle a few weeks prior to the trip that we were headed on a trip to the area. I told her I had no plans of going on the boat and she told me that it was an absolute must, because that's the most fun (if not only fun actually) thing to do while you're there and I'd regret it if I didn't. She was supported by about five others in our group who also agreed that it was their favorite thing to do there when they vacationed in Niagara, so I gave in. After reading about it online a little bit, I too was becoming very excited to ride the Maid of the Mist. I couldn't wait. I shall continue this in a later post.

A Week Long Excursion Part One: Concrete Jungle Where Dreams are Made Of

2011-02-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't have used such light colors. Rats.

Here's the entry that I should have posted in September of last year. I have a fair amount to write, so I'll break it up into several posts, each going through one leg of the trip. First stop: New York! So, being the rogues that we are, Sameer and I decided to fly first thing Friday morning to LaGuardia - right through Hurricane Earl. Earl is a big fat poser. We experienced maybe 20 minutes of "turbulence" the entire flight and once we set foot in the city, I was like 70 degrees at 6pm with a slight breeze and brief instances of drizzle. Earl Schmearl. I was relieved we declined the option to accept airline flight waivers. This was my first time ever in NYC and I was beyond excited to finally visit. Once we landed and got out of the airport, oh my goodness the city is more insane than you can imagine. Nobody was lying when they said 1 - it's a concrete jungle and 2- the traffic is absurd. Furthermore, why are these people (New Yorkers) always running? Where are you going, guys? On a Friday night, you clearly are not running to work. What is going on?! Running through intersections, running like mad through subway stations, running to Duane Reade, seriously, just always in a hurry. I stopped to take a picture in front of Madison Square Garden (where our crazy shuttle driver dropped us off) and people were literally confused as to why someone would be stopping on the sidewalk. Sorry guys, I don't run around all day! Lazy Californian supppp? This was the same issue Saturday morning and every other subsequent day. No wonder they're all thin. They don't stand still for a second. Anyway, like just about everyone else, I love NYC!!! I would love to visit again but I would NEVER live there though. I don't understand the hype about that. I love big cities and city life, but this is too much insanity for me. Pass!

First time in the city, gotta see it like a true tourist, right? Of course. That's exactly what we did. The rest of the crew came in Saturday afternoon and we were on our way. Visited the United Nations (awesome), Empire State Building (went to the top - overrated and a waste of time), Central Park (amazing), Rockefeller (nice, but I wanted to see it with the ice skating rink), Time's Square (pretty cool but way too many people, felt like a zoo haha), Brooklyn (hipster paradise), Brooklyn Heights Promenade (awesome), West Village (great area), Staten Island Ferry (fun and nice way to relax for a while), and a bunch of other random areas we ventured into out of curiosity. Remember my attack on Google Maps via iPhone? Google Maps may not know LA, but it knows New York City very well. It got us everywhere we wanted to go without a single glitch! It also was great with public transportation. It knew exactly what time certain trains were coming and always gave us the next three we could take had we missed the first. Bravo, Google Maps, bra-vo!

So, I didn't know this until I got back, but you're supposed to eat at about 20 different "must eat places" when visiting? I ask because friends kept asking me what I ate in NY once I got back. Seriously? You travel 3,000 miles to eat? I'd be lying if I said I never saw or heard about some place and was like, "Oh man I MUST eat there." I do that a lot, especially when I see something crazy on the Food Network, but when people go on vacation and make a list of like 10 places they must eat at, that is just wrong. Considering most of us live(d) in Los Angeles, a food mecca in itself, you cannot possibly go elsewhere and revolve your trip around things to consume. A lot of the things people were suggesting are readily available here! haha. Anyway, let's be real here - I had my own mini list of things I wanted to try. Gray's Papaya - awesome. I love hot dogs that are that thin and cripsy they are my favorite. The chicken and rice halal cart on 53rd and 6th - oh man it was AMAZING. That totally lives up to the hype (and I almost always get let down by over hyped things) and we were lucky enough to get there at a time when the line was fairly short. I wish that cart would be imported to California. Just writing about it is making me hungry again. Cart food rules. I ate a good amount of it. I bet you Bonni is cringing as she reads this - you need to let go of your fear of shady food, Bonni!

Looking Back on 2010

2011-01-01T10:23:00.001-08:00

DISCLAIMER: Some things will never change. I'm always such a slacker. I started this post on January 1, 2011 in an attempt to recap 2010. I got distracted and now am here to finish it on yes, Feburary 3rd. Better late than never, right? The posted I had started and now finished, is as follows:

Happy New Year! We made it through another decade! Turns out I only had 9 blog posts all of last year, but just like in 2010, I will do a quick recap of the year. 2010 was pretty good, but I am so ready for 2011. I have a lot of things to accomplish this year and I know that I can and will (can you tell I've been reading The Secret? haha). In all seriousness though, I'm getting back on track this year in more ways than one.

Recap of 2010:

January: Spent the last days of December and New Year's Day in Vegas. Definitely a fun way to ring in the New Year. I spent the first few hours of the year at a blackjack table, followed by my first trip to Pampas inside the Miracle Mile Shops where I had the best Brazilian BBQ ever! Haven't been back yet but man, let's hope I go back there ASAP this year.

February: Must have been pretty boring, because I really don't remember anything happening in February. Meesa turned 24. That counts, right? HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEESA!

March: Luck was on my side as I won a trip to Vegas with some insane VIP treatment! The downside: not many of my friends could join me as I had to take the trip the weekend right before many people's finals, but I was able to round up some girlfriends and we had such a fun weekend! I wasn't really sure why Bonni was so bent on spending the weekend with Alan, but then, days later, as I was sitting by the fountains inside The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, waiting for Amandeep to finishing buying purses, Bonni called me to let me know that Alan had just proposed. HOLLER!!!! I am so so excited for their wedding this year!

April: showers bring May flowers

May: Marie and I had this once in a lifetime opportunity to spend a day at Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory for a charity event. Probably the most random (yet awesome) day of our lives. Remember that Vegas trip from March? I was supposed to see Travis Barker at Pure one of the nights and it didn't happen. I was so bummed! Then, come May, sweet Jesus, not only did I get to see Travis Barker perform, I got to meet him too! I just about died. I also met Pharrell, the love of my life, who actually is kind of a weird guy, but hey, we all have some flaws here and there, right? I'll never forget this day. It made my entire month.

June: Celebrated another year of life on the same day as the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They later went on to become back to back champions. Three-peat here we come! Oh, remember back in 2010 when Meesa posted this comment on Justin's behalf on my Recap of 2009 post? In case you didn't, here's what she said:

Meesa said...: also, justin wants me to remind you that the lakers got killed by the cavs. and he looks forward to the lakers being beat in the nba finals.

i really don't want to be in the middle of this..; January 10, 2010 8:28 PM

Stick to NHL talk, Justin!

July: LeBron made "The Decision." What. an. idiot. Who the heck leaves a city that adores the heck out of you for a ring? Shoot forget the ring. I'd rather be idolized, man. Anyway, if he knew what was good for him - Chicago was a better option. I'm glad he didn't infest Chicago though. I love the Bulls and I do not love him.

August: All I can remember is it was super hot in August. Al Gore told you guys this was going to happen. Dang it, Al.

September: Remember when Southwest hooked me up for my College Football Pick'em skills? I took advantage of it in September. What started out as "Oh cool, I will go to NYC" turned into, "Well if we are going to NYC, let's head up to Niagara Falls and Toronto, spend a few nights in Canada, and head to Chicago on our way home." What an amazing trip that was. I wish I could do it all over again. I will do a more in depth post on this later. It's too good to be summarized into just one measly paragraph.

October, November, and December:

The last few months of the year are always filled with so many holidays (twice as many for me) so it's a lot of time spent with family, friends, and food - lots of food. It's always a time when I get really fat. It's like those people standing outside of concerts, sporting events, and anything else that is fun - "Party now PAY LATER." Oh yes, I am currently paying. It has been weeks since I have eaten out at any fast food establishment or consumed any beverage high in sugar. So boring, I know, but what can you do? Anyway, here's to an amazing 2011! Hopefully I start blogging more often. I enjoy it.

The Nightmare That is Valley Produce

2010-10-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Let's face it: an Indian family cannot live by shopping at Ralph's. It's just not going to happen. If you're going to feed a family of four daily, you're going to need to buy vegetables in bulk. At $2 a pound for tomatoes and maybe $1 PER onion, any Indian would go straight up broke. Let's not forget chicken tikka masala is all the rage now so that's going to cost you about $6 a bottle for some CTM sauce. So what do families do about this? They stay away from the chain stores when in need of vegetables and/or spices. Instead, they shop at a farmer's market or at a local "ethnic market." For my family, that local spot is the grocery store known as Valley Produce. I believe it started out primarily carrying Persian/Middle Eastern goods, but now they literally have everything from every country (they even carry Kinder Happy Hippo! +5 points for that shooooot). They have produce that's super cheap so you can happily purchase things in bulk without making your wallet cry, a wide assortment of products from all of the world, and an amazing Persian bakery with the best cakes and pastries. You might be thinking, "Wow this place sounds so awesome, what's the trade-off?" I'll tell you: MY SANITY.

The place is a freaking zoo. I won't complain about how crowded the parking lot always is because hey, they have low prices, but brace yourself because I have a hefty amount of other gripes. First of all, the people who shop here have zero patience. I can always count on people pushing me aside because I'm standing in front of something they need or someone ramming their cart into me and hitting my foot from behind because they're in a rush. That shizz hurts man! Do they ever apologize? No. At Valley Produce, apologizing is for the weak. What else grinds my gears? The employees. They're always hanging around in some aisle I need things from pretending to be "busy" restocking things on shelves. I usually see they're there, decide to go shop for other things, and plan to return to that specific aisle later with the assumption that they will be done restocking and I can purchase what I need to. Wishful thinking, right? You bet. They're always still there. If you say, "Excuse me" in hopes of them moving out of the way, dream on kid. These things I'm talking about didn't just happen once or twice, they are guaranteed to happen every time I set foot in the store. I can promise you this is the same experience every other person who shops here has as well.

This is getting long, let me just discuss the issue I had last week. My mom and I are in one of the aisles looking for atta and naturally one of the employees in right in front of what we need, refusing to move. We can't see the prices, so we don't even know which brand we wanted. My mom decides to ask the guy working there how much one of them was to which the employee responded, "All of the prices are written, see, (points to sticker), you have to read it and then you will know the price."

HOLD UP COWBOY.

I then told him, "We can't see the prices because you are in the way."

Employee: "Listen. I said read the stickers and then you will know the price. It's written. Look at it."

Me: "You need to move out of the way then so we can read the stickers on our own."

Did he move? No no moving is for the weak.

I think I get an ulcer every time I shop at this place.

Ok I could go on forever, and let's be real here, the store is a gold mine, the prices are incredible, and I could never stop shopping here. The main point is that my sanity is checked in at the door every time I walk into this place and I really wonder why it must be this way? Can't we all be happy at VP?

An Attack on Google Maps

2010-03-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Oh Google, my Google, I love your search engine, Gmail, Gchat, Google Earth, Picasa, Blogger (obviously) and pretty much everything else you have to offer. Well, everything except one thing - Google Maps. Yeah I said it, Google, you are ruining my life with Google Maps and frankly, I am not amused. I also hate that it's the default map app on iPhones. Whenever I press "current location" while sitting in my house, you put me on some random street 3 miles away in Reseda. How dare you. That's the least of my problems though. Here's what grinds my gears:

You are terrible at giving me directions to ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE!

How can a company so good at everything be so awful at a simple thing such as giving driving directions? Of course, I no longer use Google for directions if I'm planning a trip from home (MapQuest FTW!), but sometimes when I'm on the road, I need to look up directions on my phone and unfortunately, I have to use GM. Here are some of the most recent Google Maps snafus I've dealt with (multiply the amount listed here by 20 and that's about how many other times I have been messed with):

Sawtelle Blvd. is NOT an exit on the 405 South. Exit 51 actually has no mention of Washington Blvd. or Culver City either. I was supposed to exit JEFFERSON BLVD. Google geez!

From UC San Diego to Pala Casino:

Ok no that's all wrong. All of it! Thanks for that doozie G-Maps!

From Northridge to Cookies by Design in Long Beach:

This was quite the epic fail as well. When you're on PCH and make a right on Havana, you go into a residential area and a few feet away is E. 8th Street. I make the left and great, I'm back on PCH. Why did they make me go in a circle through some random residential area like that when I could've kept going straight?

I honestly could keep going but seriously, why do you suck so bad with driving directions? Get it together! Let's not forget the time you made Sameer catch a nonexistent train from Oceanside to Northridge through Metrolink's Trip Planner. I'm shaking my fist at you, Google.

Super Bowl Commercials

2010-02-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

So I guess many people thought this year's Super Bowl commercials weren't up to par. I personally thought they were pretty funny - and definitely funnier than last year's. I do laugh at just about anything though so I am not really a great indicator of comedic value. Here are some of my favorites from last night (in no particular order):

1 - "Keep your hands off my momma, and keep your hands off my Doritos"

LOL!

2 - The McDonald's shout out to the '93 McDonald's commercial

2010 Commercial:

Larry Bird at the end - classic!

Who remembers the original? Although I was seven, I sure do.

1993 Commercial:

P.S. Slammin sweater, MJ!

3 - Bud Light AUTOTUNE!

hahahahhaahahhahahahaha. Coming from someone who adores her I Am T-Pain iPhone app, you knew this was going to be a winner in my book.

4 - Dodge Charger

"I will watch your vampire tv shows with you."

Lastly, honorable mention to the folks at Vizio. I mean, they used my hero Tay Zonday. Another instant winner. Chocolate rain forever!

Tales From the Stall

2010-02-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

Every one tells a lie here or there (or at least I do...), but sometimes people take it TOO FAR. I'm talking to you, Georgia-Pacific! I was in a public restroom the other day and check out the toilet paper dispenser (yes, I took a picture in the restroom, don't judge me!):

The "Never-Out 3000." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Never out? That's a bold claim - and it's a dirty lie. Sure when that 1st roll runs out, there will be a 2nd one available for use, but what about after that Georgia-Pacific? Sounds like we have a problem. To make it worse, 3000? Really? Only super amazing things are allowed to have a denomination of one thousand in its name (i.e. The Kingfisher 9000 among other things) and your dispenser is so not worthy! I can't believe you Georgia-Pacific.

I Want These

2010-01-30T09:06:00.000-08:00

Look at my most recent discovery via the Interwebz - the answer to thank you notes! They're appropriately called You're Welcome Cards and are pretty clever (and hilarious) in my opinion. I mean really, what are you supposed to do/say when someone sends you a thank you note? I personally never know. I usually just toss them out and think to myself "Oh good, their gift arrived safely and they like it." Proper etiquette however, dictates you should always say, "You're welcome." The easiest way out is to just send one of these you're welcome notes back! lol. Why didn't I think of this? I think the best product they sell are the pack of 50 business cards. Check out the description off their site:

Business card style to throw around, leave with tips, slip under someones windshield wiper... the options are endless. And if the front of the card doesn't say enough for you, the back of the card is blank so you can write a note to whomever you are leaving the card for. Have fun with these!

Yes You're Welcome people, I would have fun with these. I would actually have a field day with something like this. lol! I think they would also be funny to send out to people who probably should have thanked you for something, and chose not to. In true passive aggressive fashion, you could just hand them a you're welcome note. Genius. Here's a link to their other merchandise - check it out!

You Elusive Sandwich, You

2010-01-10T15:09:00.000-08:00

From Chicken McNuggets Happy Meals to Filet o' Fish Fridays and $1 Parfaits, I have proudly been running on McDonald's fare since 1990 [the scale in my bathroom will tell you the same]. Since capitalism is so awesome, I can always count on there being a McD's wherever I happen to be in the world. If I can't decide what I'd like to eat, am low on cash, want hashbrowns at 6am, and/or just want a quick meal, I can always count on McDonald's to come to my rescue. Ok, enough of my homage to the humble abode of Ronald and the Hamburglar - let's cut to the chase. There is an amazing item on their menu that I have come to realize isn't available everywhere: The Hot and Spicy McChicken Sandwich. All my life I have been eating the regular non-spicy $1 McChicken sandwich - it is one of my favorites. Then this all changed. Years ago on a trip to Las Vegas [I must have been 11 or 12 I think], I asked Pops for my usual McChicken, only to be given this hot and spicy gem instead. Say what?! I tried it, and because I am brown and love all things spicy, I fell in love. Turns out Nevada does not even sell the regular McChicken Sandwich! I assumed this was a new item and that California would get it eventually too - but unfortunately they did not, and they still never have. To this day, no trip to Nevada is complete without at least 1 Hot and Spicy McChicken is consumed! Did I eat one on my last Vegas trip? You bet. I decided to further investigate. I conducted a simple search on Google, and it turns out LOTS of states sell this sandwich. Why is California getting gypped here? WHY? I want answers McDonald's and I want them pronto.

Looking Back on 2009 - Man I'm a Slacker.

2010-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

lol remember when I said I would do a daily recap of 2009 events? I lied. As you can see, I only made it to part 9 - and that last post was a 3fer! I didn't even know that today was January 6th. Ok so.. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Still not sure if we're supposed to call it two-thousand-ten 0r twenty-ten [CNN said twenty-ten], but what I do know is that saying it like Bonni does [Y2KX] is definitely gang-gangsta. My last few days of December were really enjoyable. I the last of '09 ringing in the new year in Vegas. Now all of you know I am a Vegas regular, but this was actually my first time being there for NYE. Verdict: it is awesome.

Overall 2009 was a good year - I really missed being in college / all of my old college friends, and I look forward to being back in school and back into crazy study mode in 2010. I didn't get to do my daily recap as I had originally planned, but before I officially start blogging about Y2KX events, there are some things that deserve some honorable mentions. We'll call this - "the grand finale."

Best Single Of 2009: Kim Zolciak "Tardy for the Party"
no contest!

Lakers Win the 2009 NBA Championship

and they will do it again this year!

Finally Getting to Visit the Aquarium of the Pacific

After years of pleading with people to join me, we finally made the trek Long Beach to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific. I think like most things, I over-hyped it in my head, but it was still cool.

Biggest Revelation of the Year: Kanye West is a Jerk

LOL. The joke still isn't old yet! Thank you for that, Kanye.

Chicago : The Buzz City of the Year

2k9 became the year that Meesa and just about everyone else I know moved to Chicago. As a result, I will now be making sure I make a trip out there within the first half of 2010. Cubs and Bulls games, here I come! My poor friend Meesa, missed the NBA train upon her move to Illinois and somehow got sucked into Blackhawks HOCKEY. What an outrage. Here's to hoping she comes to her senses soon!

Speaking of Chicago sports, after a very long hiatus which commenced circa 1996, I returned to the Chicago Bulls bandwagon after their impressive performance in the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Triple Overtime against the Celtics!

A Massive Mylar Balloon Messed With My Emotions Hardcore
After two hours of seriously believing a child was flying across Colorado in a helium balloon, I later learned I was gypped. Curse you Richard Heene and your antics. I want my lost time back.

On a positive note, at least an awesome song came out of the fiasco:

The Year of Kittehs on YouTooB

Surprise Kitty, Keyboard Cat - this was definitely the year of cats loaded with awesomeness.

GA-GA-OH-LA-LA-WHAT??!

Lady Gaga, you are so crazy, but you never cease to intrigue me. Props, Gaga, props.

One Step Closer to Social Security Benefits

23rd birthday celebration at Disneyland. Holla!

Baby Brother Is Becoming an Adult

I remember when this fool came home from the hospital. Now he's a sophomore in college? I really am getting old.

Fantasy Sports is NOT A Waste of Time

December 14, 2009 - a day I will never forget. I was walking to my car and noticed one missed call and a voicemail from an "unknown" number. I assumed it was a telemarketer so I listened to the message so I can confirm it and delete it. Much to my surprise, it was Ashley from Southwest Airlines calling to inform me that I had won Week 9 of Yahoo!'s Fantasy Sports College Pick 'Em and can expect to receive 2 air tickets delivered to my door within the next three weeks; allowing me to fly anywhere in the U.S. that Southwest flies to. I nearly pee'd in my pants with excitement. Case in point: fantasy sports actually has a purpose.

Barack Obama is a BAMF.

LOL.

Greatest. Hat. Ever.

don't ever forget it!

Trashy TV Never Goes Out of Style

After finally getting over The Hills, MTV gives me another guilty pleasure to obsess over. Thanks MTV. I can't even say or hear the word "situation" without thinking about it.

Here's to saying goodbye to 2009 and saying hello to what I hope to be a very exciting 2010.

Looking Back on 2009 Part 6 - Cousins Can Hook It Up

2009-12-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

NEW EXPERIENCES IN 2009 - AWESOME SEATS AT SPORTING EVENTS

Dugout seats at a Dodgers game, section 106 at a Lakers game...2009 was definitely the year of finally getting the chance to see LA teams as close as possible. A first for me this year and hopefully not the last! I have excellent cousins.

Looking Back on 2009 Part 4 - Best Movie

2009-12-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

THE BEST MOVIE OF 2009 - THE HANGOVER

no brainer man. Is Caesar's Palace pager friendly? You bet.

honorable mention: UP. I was bawling.

Looking Back on 2009 Part 3 - Professional Athletes Making my Meals

2009-12-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

THE BEST MOMENT OF 2009: HANGING OUT WITH RON ARTEST.

I still can't get over it! I won the opportunity to hang out with former Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest! One of the best days of 2009, if not my life! Thank you Mitch Kupchak for bringing one of the coolest guys in the league to LA! How many people can say that they got to play Lakers Monopoly, two hand touch football, and ate grilled hot dogs and hamburgers on the beach with a starting forward for the Lakers? Not many. Coolest. Day. Ever.

Looking Back on 2009 Best New TV Show

2009-12-15T09:13:00.001-08:00

We're quickly approaching 2010, so starting today I will blog daily about my opinions on the best (and maybe worst) of 2009 - in my life and elsewhere in the world. Let's get started.
Today: THE BEST NEW TV SHOW OF 2009 : MODERN FAMILY

Hands down Modern Family was the best new television show this year. Wednesdays just got really exciting because of it. There hasn't been a single boring episode yet and apparently others agree because it just got nominated for a Golden Globe today - for Best Comedy!! holllerrrr.

What Up

2009-12-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Yeah, LeBron's buzzer beater during the playoffs was pretty sweet, but that was a set play.

Kobe's buzzer beater was just glorious

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhboy.

Part 2

2009-12-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

shut up

shut up

whyyyyy!!!?

lady be crazy!

epic fail

It's Doesn't Get Any More American Than This

2009-11-26T11:44:00.001-08:00

Overeating, football games, family time, and shopping for sweaters 50% off at 4am while trampling an 80 year old grandma in the process - it's Thanksgiving time y'all; one of MY FAVORITE holidays of the year. I'm thankful for my family, friends, cousin trips, the iPhone, Wikipedia, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

P.S. It's been almost a month since my last entry. my bad. I'm in my own little blog clog like the one going over at Sameer's page. I will resume my blogging ways some time soon. holla.

What an Outrage

2009-10-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm considering changing the title of my blog to This is an Outrage because all I seem to enjoy writing about are things outrageous in nature. What's ridiculous now? I'll tell you what:

LATISSE^® (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03%. Brooke Shields promotes this thing like mad on television but in case you haven't seen it yet, it's a new prescription medicine that essentially extends your eyelashes. What the heck? Prescription medication for eyelashes? I don't care if your lashes are "too short" - get some fake ones if it is bothering you so much! Do eyelashes serve any other purpose besides protecting you from dust particles? No. I do not understand why anyone would want to take some prescription strength for something so ridiculous..not worth the risk! What are the risks you ask? Discoloration and or/infection of your eyelids, conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, eye or eyelid discharge, inflammation, irritation, pain, or swelling; severe or persistent burning, dryness, itching, or redness of the eye; severe or persistent eye fatigue; vision changes. It's not even a permanent thing - your eyelashes will be short again over time.

whoa there.

CORNEAL ULCERS? REDDISH-PURPLE SWOLLEN EYELIDS?

Well at least you'll have nice long lashes, right?

The World is Coming to an End

2009-10-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

So this past Sunday I was celebrating Diwali with family and friends in Torrance. Serious Lakers discussions were taking place when all of a sudden I heard Bobby (who is 12) complaining about having to go to school the next day. Given he goes to the same middle school that I did, I started asking him which classes he was taking and who were his teachers. Surprisingly, my P.E. teacher (who appeared to be at least 64 years of age in 1998) is still a P.E. teacher. But, I digress. Anywho, this was the latter part of our conversation:

Me: So are you going to take marine bio as your elective next year?
Bobby: No I don't think I want to
Me: [shocked]What! Why not? You get to go on the coolest field trips to Catalina and Sea World and stuff.
Bobby:Really? I doubt that's the case any more.
Me:Why not?
Bobby:Since the economy is so bad, all of the schools are canceling field trips. We rarely go on them anymore. The only one I have been to was to the LA River and all we did was clean it. We got to pull a mattress out of there.
Me:
Dang this bloody economy! THE CHILDREN ARE SUFFERING!

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

2009-10-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

So today is Blog Action Day and this year's topic is climate change. While there are a lot of theories both in favor and against the belief that global warming is a legitimate environmental issue, I am a strong believer that this is something we should all be concerned about. The deadliest effects of climate change include economic downturn, the spread of various diseases, polar ice caps melting, warmer waters that can result in frequent hurricanes, and more frequent heat waves and droughts. You may be thinking isn't this already happening?? Yeah, I'm thinking that as well. It rained heavily for the last two days in California and today it was sunny and 93 degrees (and it's October?) If this isn't a result of global warming, then I don't know what is. Want more proof? There was a dang tornado in Moreno Valley not too long ago - how do you explain that? In all seriousness, climate change should be on everyone's minds. If you haven't already, I would strongly suggest reading Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth to get a better understanding of what is happening around the world in regards to climate change. It is disappointing that many people believe this is a political issue and that global warming is some sort of governmental conspiracy...it really isn't. The proof is in the pictures....the data is there. Neither aliens nor the Democratic Party caused this.

I had to calculate my carbon footprint in my Ecology and Evolution class in college a few years back using this site..check it out it's pretty insane:
http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

Countries by Carbon Dioxide Emissions via Burning of Fossil Fuels:
source: Wikipedia

Basically, we all need to cool it...especially the industrialized nations.

http://www.blogactionday.org

Fall Television Overload

2009-10-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

After a summer full of syndicated shows from the 90s and random Food Network and Bravo marathons, I was definitely looking forward to the return of my favorite shows during the fall season. With the exception of The Office and Jeopardy!, most of the shows I religiously follow are actually on cable networks. That being said, this all changed in recent weeks. With all these new shows in the fall lineup, network television has become awesome again and let me just say, it hasn't been awesome since ABC had T.G.I.F. - what up Steven Q. Urkel!

Community - NBC

Being a huge fan of The Soup, I had to make sure to watch Joel McHale's new show Community. I love the storyline and the characters are hilarious. So far the first three episodes have been great and I think the show is going to be a hit.

My Rating: ★★★★

Modern Family - ABC

If you haven't noticed, I love comedies. That being said, after seeing the previews, I also decided to check out Modern Family. Although stereotypical at times with the different families, this show is awesome. My favorite character is definitely Phil (Ty Burrell) - the lame dad who tries really hard to be cool and with it. Dancing to High School Musical songs and texting his homies - you go poser dad you go! I make it a point to catch it whenever it's on.

My Rating: ★★★★.5 yeah I don't know how to make a half star

Flash Forward - ABC

When I saw the commercials for this, I was seriously blown away and wanted to watch, but I told myself no because I simply cannot follow this many shows! I don't watch shows casually either so I knew I couldn't add another to my television schedule..too much dedication into something I shouldn't really be dedicated to at all. Sure enough, leave it to my trusty friend Bonni to watch it and tell me how good it is. Great. I knew I was going to get sucked in. I decided to watch the first episode online and the 2nd one when it aired on TV - holy heck this show is bomb! If I could recommend one show you should be watching, it should be this. There's a new episode on tonight!

My Rating: ★★★★★

I plan on only watching these three new shows and nothing else! Don't recommend I watch any more please, or else I may have to call up homegirl Jenny Craig to help me out.

Greeting Cards = More Frustrating Than You Think

2009-09-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

The biggest question of our time: when I put in X amount of socks into the dryer, how come (X-7) socks come out of the dryer?

The second biggest question of our time: when I'm browsing through greeting cards and decide I don't like a particular one, how come I can never find where to put it back after I'm done?

The biggest question is universal, the second biggest - I'm not sure. Maybe I'm the only one with this issue who knows. Every time I go to the greeting card section of a store (like today), I pick a card, read it, and when I decide that I don't want it, I can never find where it goes!! How does this even happen? I even make an extra effort to remember where I got it from and I do not suffer from Alzheimer's. This is some sort of government conspiracy I swear.

Am I missing something? Where does it go? I picked it up from this section....

What a Week It Has Been

2009-09-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

shut up.

shut up.

shut up.

........... (?!?!!?)

just leave.

Revelation in My Life: I Really Don't Dig Joes

2009-09-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Joe the Plumber, Joe Sixpack, Joe Stalin and now Joe Wilson. boooo on all of you.

The People Over at Jif Peanut Butter Live in a Utopian Society

2009-09-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Whenever I see this commercial on TV, I shake my head in displeasure. So, only one piece of bread left and there's two hungry children. What EVER will mom do? She does the smart thing: tell them to split it and little Cody makes it clear that he wants the bigger piece - thus implying that the larger half is in high demand. Mom decides to let the older kid cut it [as should be the case in any house!!] but then pulls a pretty slick fast one and lets the little tyke pick which piece he wants! Obviously he picks the bigger piece. The commercial ends with the little kid cheesin' real hard and rubs it in his brother's face by saying, "I got a pretty big half!" and the older brother agrees and SMILES.

Oh heck no.

In what normal household would a child who just got gypped by their mother be happy that their younger brother got the bigger half of a PB-smothered piece of bread? Here's the answer: that would never happen. It definitely would have never happened with my younger brother and me that's for sure. Get real Jif!

When looking for the commercial on YouTube, I was going through the comments and found this gem:

Glad to see someone else in this world realizes how idealistic this commercial is. Thank you random youtube commenter.

P.S. - I believe Godzilla enjoys pie as well.

Worse than Rside? great

2009-08-28T14:46:00.001-07:00

Revelation in My Life: Midwesterners Dislike Me

2009-07-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

I was looking at the visitor statistics of my blog and noticed something quite striking: part of the Midwest Region of America refuses to visit this site. I'm a little offended..I mean, not even one visitor! Nevadans would rather gamble than blog I am sure, Colorado kids have Nuggets games to watch and mountains to snowboard on, and Utah is Utah. I understand why people from these states may not be visiting; but the midwest? Oh come ON.

The white states indicate zero visitors:

Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Nebraska..what's up you guys? Are you not feelin' this? Is there even internet over there? I honestly don't know.

News Reporters are Being Abused Nationwide

2009-07-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

How come when it's 95+ degrees outside ABC-7 News finds it necessary to send out Bob Banfield in a dress shirt and tie to give a report stating "Yes, it is extremely hot in Ontario right now.." ? Like we don't know that ourselves? When a large hurricane strikes in Florida, you can count on witnessing a reporter in the middle of it all wearing nothing but a t-shirt, weak poncho and a sorry hat on your nightly news confirming that why yes, there is a hurricane, just in case there was any doubt in your mind. Same thing with wildfires, tornadoes, and any other natural disaster. I have no problem with a news anchor sitting pretty INSIDE the station notifying me about disasters around the country, but I do not understand why there is a need to send out reporters to go out and talk about it. I'm currently sweating bullets inside my house..my phone says it is currently 97 degrees in Northridge and I believe it. Sure enough poor Amy Murphy of Fox 11 is standing in Sherman Oaks tomato red and quite possibly dehydrated right now as I watch her on TV telling me that it is "extremely hot right now."

STOP THE ABUSE!!

Indians: Making It Rain Since 1947

2009-07-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Rappers, professional athletes, and Mother Nature all love to make it rain these days. It also appears that many people believe this is something new. Here's what most of the general population fails to realize: Indians [Asian not Native American..yes, I know they can literally make it rain with their rain dance, but I'm going to talk about the Asian Indians right now..] have been making it rain for years now; definitely long before Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, or Andrew Bynum have been doing it. Weddings, birthdays, graduation parties - you name it, and you can count on several Indian Aunties and Uncles throwing the cash around like money ain't a thang. I would have to say weddings are when they definitely go all out. From my own personal experiences, once everyone hits the dance floor, you begin to notice money flying all over the place. Not too long ago I attended a wedding reception in Bakersfield and at the end of the night, there was so much money that the maintenance crew at the party hall had to sweep all the bills up with brooms! Now that is what you call big pimpin! So why do they do it? Unlike in the U.S. where people usually make it rain on scantily clad women, Indians do it essentially as a form of well wishes for whoever the celebration is for. Now I know that many other cultures have their own money dances for various occasions, but I'm just spreading the word that my brown brothers and sisters have been making it rain forever man. Sorry T-Pain, Uncle Sanjiv is the true playa in this situation.

Check this video..they're making it rain on dem Punjabis!

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop 1958-2009

2009-06-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Truly a sad week in the world of entertainment: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and as of this afternoon, Michael Jackson has passed away. This is a definitely a tragic event for his friends, family, and fans all over the world; with myself included. I grew up listening to MJ..I used to attempt to Moonwalk, lean forward like he did in the "Smooth Criminal" video, and was in love with almost every song he released. When I was a baby and was crying uncontrollably, my mom said the only way she could calm me down was by playing Michael Jackson tapes. She also recorded his music videos for me to watch whenever I was getting out of hand because she knew I'd love it. Sameer and I still let out a "hee hee" or a "shamon!" whenever possible to this day. "I Want To Love You PYT," "Bad," "Beat It", "Man in the Mirror," "Billie Jean.." my all-time faves. RIP MJ you were truly an icon.

Nike MVPuppets: Kobe Celebration

2009-06-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

Did you hear the news? The Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champs! Yeahhh boy. So throughout the playoffs, Nike had a field day with their series of NBA "Most Valuable Puppets" commercials featuring Kobe and LeBron and I loved every single one of them! Every time they realeased a new one, I decided it was my favorite until the next one would be released lol...I'm pretty sure I have decided the following "Kobe Celebration" one is my all time favorite. It may also be the last one in the series given the season is over, but you never know!

lol so good!

I truly love all of them but since I can't post all of the commercials here are a few of my other favorites in case you haven't seen it on tv 1000 times already:
Lil Dez:

UNSTOPPABLE!

LeBron James: Chalk

Three Cookies

Word Mang

2009-06-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

The New iPhone 3G S

2009-06-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Apple never ceases to amaze me so I figured the new iPhone 3G S that they were going to unveil yesterday was going to double as a hovercraft or something. Unfortunately, the 3G S does not double as a hovercraft but does have some cooler features than the OG iPhone I have, but nothing too extraordinary much to my surprise. Its claim to fame I guess is that it's a lot faster than previous models. It also now takes video, much longer battery life, the applications work 2X faster, it has a camera with auto focus [FINALLY], and has voice control which I think is pretty sweet. If you tell it to play a song by Coldplay for instance, it will. Very nice. The only thing I am not impressed with is that it comes with a compass? Really Apple? Who needs a compass in this century?? Especially considering the fact that all iPhones already have GPS capabilities. Nevertheless, I think it's pretty cool but not cool enough for me to want one ..my old skool iPhone is still good enough for me.

Cube Wars

2009-05-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

Curse you Erno Rubik of Hungary and your wretched cube of frustration!

My fascination with Rubik's Cubes has been going on for years now. I knew a lot of people with them in elementary school but what a load of cheaters they were - rearranging the stickers and all! whaaaack. It was around my Junior year of college when I came across a woman selling them at the mall and I decided I had to have one. I had always wanted to have one of my own that I could work with whenever it was convenient for me. I was also glad the ones she had didn't have the stickers, but tiles instead - a Rubik's Cube that means business. So, I bought it, went back to Riverside Monday morning...

and so the saga began.

I was working on this thing like mad. I played with it every morning ,on the trolley, in my classes, at Starbucks..literally, everywhere. Great conversation piece that darned cube is - everywhere I went with it people would check up on my progress, suggest tips, ask if they could try, the works. The truth is I wasn't getting very far and I also had decided I will not ask a single person for any sort of help, tips, nor would I go online for any assistance either. I had created a mini Rubik phenomenon in the UCR region. All of my friends had wanted to try and I had decided to buy them cubes of their own. A Cube Cult if you will. Amandeep had many sleepless nights working on that thing to no avail. Here's the sad part:
It's May of 2009 and I still have not completed the thing

I had been dealing with this monstrosity on and off through my Junior AND Senior years. My stubborn self STILL refuses to get any tips or suggestions..I will finish it..one day..oh I hope. Why blog about this now? I recently found it in my backpack [which hasn't been opened since graduating lol]. Oh here we go again..

here's what it currently looks like:

Scary Mythical Creatures Haunt My Dreams

2009-05-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

I had a fairly odd dream last night. I was in my house when all of a sudden I see this white bug crawling on the carpet from under a book. It was caterpillar-like and I had decided to wait for it to come out completely from the book so I could kill it. I've included a photo below for your viewing pleasure:

That blue line represents how big I ASSUMED the creature was, but boy was I wrong. This creepy crawler was gigantic and I had no idea how long it was going to take for it to come out entirely so I could see just how long it really was. Once it finally crawled out, it FLEW..yeah that's right this sucker had WINGS. At this point I screamed for help [just as I do in real life when faced with this sort of situation] as this crazy white winged thing was flying all around the house. Some male friend of mine [not really sure who it was] was coming to my rescue and then I woke up.

cuhhhhh-raaayyzeeeeeee

The T-Shirt I'm Beginning to Lose Faith In

2009-05-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

A while back, I had been taking part in an NBA season-long sweepstakes which offered various prizes, including an all-expense paid trip to the finals, which I'm pretty sure I did not win. I did however, win a $25 NBA Store gift card. Upon winning, I immediately began looking for Laker t-shirts on nbastore.com, and was trying to decide which one I wanted. It was then brought to my attention that I should wait until June so I could buy a Lakers championship t-shirt..I thought the idea was brilliant!

3 months later...now I'm sitting here..wondering if I should still be waiting? Last night the infamously inconsistent Lakers got owned by the undermanned Rockets....for the third time in this series. These fools are really testing my allegiance right now! I had returned to nbastore.com today to buy my shirt, and then I left the site empty handed. I can't give up..I really just want my championship t-shirt...and a parade on Figueroa...so Amandeep and I can do our Mark Madsen dance that we have been anxiously waiting to do. Don't let us down Lakers!

A Mother's Love

2009-05-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.
- Washington Irving

These days, relationships of all kinds are fleeting. Friends come and go, breakups and divorces have become the norm, and human connections in general are quite ephemeral. The one and only bond that I feel is truly unbreakable is one between a mother and her child. Although I am responsible for the majority of my mom's gray hairs, I know that the bond can never break.

To: Mom/Mummy/ Mom-ay/ Mum Jeezy/Momsy/Mummyji/ Maaaa:
I am thankful for everything you have done for me and the relationship we have. Although we have hit some serious bumps in the road from time to time, I know that we have a very strong bond with each other and I am truly blessed for it. So to the best cook, supporter, friend, cheerleader, doctor/cure-all, healer, teacher, listener, and counselor I know : Happy Mother's Day. Love, Sarina

*A special thanks to Meesa for paying premium fees for cool sites

Ay Dios Mio..Hace Calor up in Here

2009-05-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Freaking Al Gore and his global warming. I feel like at this rate, summer will begin in January, or like, by 2015 we will begin to have 190+ degree weather. It was also really windy here today..I'm convinced it was some sort of hot tornado. Apocalypse forsure.

82 degrees at 8:04 PM. lame.

Treasures From My Bedroom: Photos Taken At The Mall

2009-05-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Treasure: Photo Makers pictures* (circa 1997-2000).
Location: bottom drawer next to the bed, hidden under fat stack of papers
What Qualifies it to be a Treasure: nostalgic value. significant blackmail value as well.

*At the Northridge Mall, the place was called Photo Makers - it may have been called something else in your area, but I am almost certain every mall in America had one of these.

This was an excellent discovery. I found about 100 or so of these pictures tucked away in a small plastic bag and it brought back great memories. It's amazing how ridiculously popular taking these pictures and then passing it out to all of your friends were at the time. At my middle school, which was literally two blocks from the mall [any valley boy and/or girl's dream], this was the biggest thing to hit the scene since Lemon Ice Gatorade. The typical photo was as follows:

Why did we think this was so cool? Remember when like 15 people would get together to take a photo together? Remember how much drama was involved in deciding who you wanted to take your picture with let alone who would give one of your pictures to? Was I into this fad? Guilty as charged. hahah man someone out there is laughing all the way to the bank while thinking about how many pre-teens he/she suckered into this phenomenon.

For safety/embarrassment purposes, I have blurred the photos to the best of my ability.

Update From the Bulls Bandwagon

2009-05-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

Plain and simple: life on the Chicago Bulls Bandwagon is amazing! Whoever hasn't joined it yet - it's not too late! I am pretty sure though that by now most people have been sucked into this playoffs match up hardcore like myself. Consider the other Round 1 match ups and how many games I watched: Lakers vs. Jazz: all of them [obligatory], Magic vs 76ers: 1, Hawks vs. Heat [I think like 4 not sure], and everyone else: big fat zero. Why zero? They were all boring.

All except this Bulls/Celtics match up! Every single game so far has kept me on the edge of my seat. This is by far the best series I have ever watched in my life and last night's game six was just EPIC.

Game 1: Chicago wins 105-103 (OT)
2: Boston 118-115
3: Boston 107-86
4: Chicago 121-118 (double OT)
5: Boston 106-104 (OT and almost double OT had Miller made his free throws)
6: Chicago 128-127 (TRIPLE OT!!!!!!!!!)

Talk about OVERTIME MADNESS. This is amazing. Last night's game was 4+ hours and it was so intense you could not even turn away from the television for a second. I really thought this was going into more overtimes, and that in the end it would come down to a one on one match between Brian Scalabrine and Lindsey Hunter. With so many players fouling out, I also convinced myself that at one point Michael Jordan was just going to emerge from the sky or something and get on the court. Fights broke out, Rajon Rondo pretty much knocked Brad Miller's teeth out, Paul Pierce now runs after the ball at speeds in which you might believe he was once a sprinter, these games keep going on for hours with no end in sight; like I said...this bandwagon is a great experience. Go Bulls!!!

Game seven on Saturday should be just as intense. I can't wait. Don't bother trying to get in touch with me after 5pm.

Check this fight out from last night. Ohhhh man

Air Scare Force One Photoshoot = epic fail

2009-04-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

Apparently some White House officials found the need to take updated photos of Air Force One around the Statue of Liberty. I'm not entirely sure who cares if the photos are updated or not but what do I care about is that someone thought it was a bright idea to fly a 747 and an F-16 Fighter Jet in a NO-FLY ZONE in NEW YORK..and then decide not to tell anyone about it? The Federal Aviation Administration definitely knew that flying a presidential jet so close to Ground Zero would stir up fear on the streets, but they went along with this boondoggle anyways. Of course, mass hysteria ensued amongst New Yorkers. I don't blame them. Low-flying jets around the Statue of Liberty and other important buildings? Tell me what American wouldn't suspect terrorist activity when seeing that. Way to go guys. The head buffoon that approved of this was director of the White House military office, Louis Caldera. You know what grinds my gears even more? The total cost of this photo shoot was $328,000. We are in a serious recession here, people are losing their homes, the national unemployment rate is at 11%, banks are going under, and some White House officials really felt the need to spend $328,000 of tax-payer money on a photo? A file photo of Air Force One? It's going in a file! Who cares! Louis Caldera has apologized, as has President Obama. Apology shamomolgy man; Mr. Caldera needs to be fired immediately. Like a boss.

How come nobody has heard of using Photoshop? What a load of morons.

The Swine Flu Epidemic (Possibly Soon To Be Pandemic)

2009-04-29T14:19:00.001-07:00

Great. Infected Mexican pigs are spreading a virus around like mad. Last week I was watching CNN and heard something about a Swine Flu Virus going around in Mexico. I thought it was something minor and that maybe I'll lay off eating pork for a while.

Wrong.

As of today, April 29th, 2009, swine flu has spread across several American states as well as countries on several continents, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and New Zealand. I read this in the Los Angeles Times today:

Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan and Nevada joined the list of states with new cases. Texas said its total has now climbed to 16 cases; New York has 51, and California has 15.

This afternoon, the Marine Corps said that a Marine at the Twentynine Palms, Calif., base has been confirmed to have the virus. About 30 men at the base who have come into contact with him have been quarantined.

Riverside County Health Officer Eric Frykman also said that four probable cases have been identified in the county. Two of them, an 87-year-old woman and an unrelated 5-year-old girl, have been hospitalized. The other patients are teenage girls from Corona and Indio.

Living in LA with so many people who often visit Mexico on the weekends, let's face it: I'm scared. I just heard on the local news that a student at Cal State Long Beach who's exhibiting the symptoms is currently undergoing tests. This thing is moving closer and closer to home.

The World Health Organization had also announced in Geneva today that there is absolutely no sign that the spread of this Swine Flu/H1N1 Virus is slowing down. After hearing this, now I'm definitely scared. In addition, my don't eat pork theory has been proven irrelevant. There hasn't even been any proof yet that consuming tainted pork can cause one to develop the illness. I'm not sure if stocking up on masks is going to do much; it sounds pretty Y2K-let's-hoard-tons-of-food-and-water status to me.I guess all you can really do is keep washing your hands and stay away from any shady looking individuals. Trust me, I've been sanitizing like you would not believe lately. What can one really do? Go into hiding? Maybe I'll set up a bunker underneath my house.I hope the WHO and other researchers/scientists get this under control soon because this is clearly a force to be reckoned with.

Curse you, you wretched swine!

Alas, you can always count on my hero, Stephen T. Colbert, to make light of the situation:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Days of Swine and Doses

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

First 100 Days

Cherimoya Makes Me Say, "Oh-Ya"

2009-04-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Is this seriously an entry about fruit?

Yes, yes it is. You see, I thought I was pretty "with it" when it comes to knowing about the uncommon fruits that are in existence (durian, loquat, jackfruit, etc..) but sure enough, there are plenty out there for me to discover. A while back, Sameer was telling me how cool it is that one of his suitemates has a cherimoya tree back home. I was majorly confused. What in the name of Sweet Jesus is a CHERIMOYA TREE? After he told me about it [and after it was confirmed that apparently everyone seems to know about this glorious fruit besides me], I was definitely interested in trying this thing. I consulted Wikipedia and learned that cherimoya is native to the Andean-valleys of Ecuador and Peru. I had forgotten about all of this until last week when I was out shopping in the valley. Outside the mall there was a farmer's market going on and much to my surprise there was a vendor selling a grip of cherimoya. Bought it, went home, tried it and oh my

THIS SHIZZ IS AMAZING.

Some of you might be reading this and are now shaking your head that it took me 22 years to discover this existed, and then some of you may also now be interested in trying this heavenly fruit. For the latter group, let me tell you..it pretty much tastes like the love child of a pineapple and a strawberry whose father is a banana. Does that analogy even make sense? hmmm oh well. Think of it as a really good mixed fruit smoothie. Conclusion: cherimoya is bomb!

Oh Desis

2009-04-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

My cousin shared this video with me the other day. It's an Indian Microsoft commercial and it's pretty funny..and true

Put Me on the Chicago Bulls Bandwagon

2009-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Things that come to mind when I think about elementary school: Power Rangers, dodgeball, Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski, ice cream men who actually sold ice cream and not cocaine, and The Chicago Bulls. You were clearly a fool if you were not a Bulls fan in the 90s. Jordan, Pippen, and even you Mr. Rodman = amazing. Once that era ended and Kobe came onto the scene, I was back to being strictly Lakers. Fast forward to the 2009 NBA Playoffs. This last Saturday I'm in my usual playoffs viewing spot on couch glued to the television. Game one: Celtics vs. Bulls. I was really expecting a blowout by the Celtics - it was brought to my attention that the Bulls had made some big trades towards the end of the season and I was not to take this series lightly. I didn't really believe it. Boy was that person right. Derrick Rose is a beast and these new era Bulls are a force to be reckoned with! Truth be told this is the only series I have any interest in now. Like I said, I'm jumping on the Chicago Bulls Bandwagon. Trust me, I never do this. The 2007 Golden State Warriors? Yeah I didn't care. Could it be because they're making fools out of a team I absolutely despise? Maybe, but it cannot be the only reason. Anywho, I'm officially rooting for the Bulls! Obviously not to win the whole thing, but to go further than I had anticipated. Go Chicago!!! and will someone please tell KG I prefer he stays inside the locker room from now on? It's better that way.

Treasures From My Bedroom: Physics Lab Notebook

2009-04-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

I clean my room far less often than I should, but whenever I do actually clean it, I always come across some sort of hidden treasure; last night it happened to be my old Physics 2LA notebook.

Treasure: Lab Notebook (Used October - December 2005)
Location: under the bed
What Qualifies it to be a Treasure: It was a reminder that I did not and actually still do not understand physics whatsoever. I find the TA's confusion quite comical.

owned.

Revelation in My Life: Sunday Sucks

2009-04-19T09:50:00.001-07:00

I decided years ago that Sunday is by far the worst day of the week. In high school it meant I was not going to get any sleep that night because I more likely than not had multiple assignments and projects assigned months ago due Monday. In college, Amandeep usually felt the necessity to get the heck out of town by Friday leaving me alone in an apartment the entire weekend. Let's not forget I went to school in Riverside. UCR might as well have been a commuter school. Come Friday, everyone peaces out and goes to SD, Orange County, or LA. I could definitely find some exciting things to do over the weekend with whoever would be left in the city [thank you friends for sticking around, you know who you are] but by Sunday, it's just not a good feeling.

Think about my Sundays NOW. Oh my gosh. Yes, there are times when I go out and what not, but remember this blog is not going to detail that; I'm here to tell you about the other things and the other Sundays. Come Sunday, I usually contemplate anything and everything going on in my life, sometimes I end up picking unnecessary fights with people, watch really awful television, I EVEN EXERCISE SOMETIMES. Whoa there.

So this Sunday? So far mother has brought home this fine specimen from the grocery store. Not sure if this will end up being the highlight of my Sunday but it's definitely in contention:

Me: what is this?
Mom: it said cauliflower...looks like a hybrid

I have heard of broccoflower, but um, this purple.

Another Fallen Soldier

2009-04-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

I don't believe this: Bonni now has a Twitter account. She gave in! Outrage. I woke up this morning to find an IM that read "I must confess:" and there was a link put into tiny-URL code..trying to mask it? For shame, my friend. You have now joined the 140-character-limit-micro-blogging-omg-this-is-a-constant-facebook-status phenomenon.

Oh Here We Go

2009-04-18T16:52:00.001-07:00

Peer pressure, that’s all I have to say. It’s not like I’m new to the blog world; I’ve been livejournaling [read: whining] since I was in high school. Sometime last year I had considered starting a new blog elsewhere but then got caught up with my senior year of college alongside preparing for a rather intense standardized test. Since then, many of my friends have become bloggers themselves and have decided to coerce me into starting one as well. Meesa and Sameer, I'm talking to you two specifically. For months now I have been pestered. I have even been threatened that if I do not start my own blog, it will be started for me. Not an empty threat: I know there's a fake myspace out of there for me so I do not want to take any chances. Stubborn as I am I told them all I had no intention to do so and provided a variety of reasons why it would not be a good idea for me to be blogging [all I would do is blabber about nonsense, my life is not very interesting to be written or read about, I do not think very many people would read it, etc.]. I was sticking to my theory until the other day I had a conversation that went something like this:

Friend: omg why do you still not have a blog? You need one

Me: for the last time it’ll be too boring - my life has become boring! I don’t have much to write about

Friend: dude that’s what the blog should be about…your life after college and how it is getting boring. It will make a case about how you should be in grad school

Me: genius

So here I am now, and much like Seinfeld, this is going to be a blog about nothing. I don’t plan on really detailing every single one of my thoughts or anything like that; but moreover let the people in my life realize how much I long to start school already. People see me as a post-graduate living some sort of fantasy life. Yes, based on what I tell you personally, you may see it as a fantasy life. This blog is here to prove otherwise...to tell you what REALLY goes on a day to day basis. You know something is up when everyday I pray to know when and where I will be attending school. The point of this blog is to make my point. People wanted this so I’m just giving the people what they want...democracy son.