Friday, February 25, 2005

Friday Night Cabin Fever


I'm going freakin' nuts here. I am going insane. Really insane. I'm about ready to scream, crawl out of my skin, and run straight into a wall just because I feel all clammy inside.

I think it might be because I worked out earlier today. After a workout, sometimes it feels good. However, sometimes it makes you the most uncomfortable you've ever been in your life and you'll find yourself wanting to hurl yourself off a cliff.

Couple this miserableness with the fact that it's been harder for me to breathe lately and you have one very annoyed and irritated GOD PLEASE SOMEONE PUNCH ME IN THE FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm antsy. I'm pissy. I'm irritable. I'm jittery. I'm smelly. I'm masochistic (at the moment). I'm volatile. I'm moody. I'm flatulent. I'm itchy. I'm crabby. I'm bored. I'm tired. I'm hyper. I'm going to scream if I don't end this blog right now.



Having a case of writer's blog,

Sickly
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Monday, February 21, 2005

Party Shuffle


Two things.

The iPod shuffles I ordered three weeks ago finally came in the mail. I bought one for Ellvin Kelvin for his birthday and one for myself, but I had to say that it was for both Timotei and I because my parents would frown upon me having two iPod products. Timotei uses it most of the time anyway, so I'm trying to get him to give me $100 and just call it his own.





But I think they're great! They are so small and light that you barely even notice that you're carrying it. And the sound quality is superb! You seriously can't believe such a tremendous sound is coming from such a small bubble gum-sized thing. The box advertises that you can put 120 songs on the 512MB iPod shuffle, but I managed to fit 138 tunes on Ellvin Kelvin's. He loves it! I just hope he can find a place to recharge it in New York, seeing as he doesn't have a computer.

Some people won't get the shuffle because it doesn't have a screen. But the thing I learned while listening to my regular iPod is that I usually pick a playlist (I have one or two favorites) and play them in shuffle mode. I'll just listen to the songs in that list without ever looking at the name of the song because 95% of the time, I know what that song is. The playlist is filled with songs I love and want to hear, so the screen isn't needed. A screen would be needed if you want to navigate through many song files, but since the shuffle only holds around 120 songs, navigation really isn't necessary. So to me, the iPod shuffle is more like the ultimate playlist player. It's ultra compact and portable and just bitchin'.

But enough gushing over my new toy. My other "thing" is a report from Grampy and Granny K's anniversary super banquet bash. It was pretty cool. My family all got new snazzy suits and outfits for the dinner and we were told to socialize.




Love was in the air.




It was like going to the Winter Formal.




Cute airplane stuff.




After all the planning and flower making and arguments over stuff and stuff, it was all worth it. My Granny K's were extremely happy they got to see so many of their friends and family. Overall, they had fun, we had fun, and we took a ton of pictures. Oh yeah, one more thing... I overate.

By the way, it's Catwoman's birthday today, so if you see her, give her a 'Huzzah!'



Scruffled,

Ricky
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Friday, February 18, 2005

Overeaters Anonymous


Food is the devil. You do realize that, don't you?

Last Wednesday, everyone in our department at work celebrated our appreciation for a specific co-worker at Luminarias, near Cal State L.A. I have always hated all-you-can-eat buffets because you pay a hefty price and therefore are pressured into eating a ton of food to get your money's worth. So there I was eating plate after plate after plate after plate of food and during that fourth plate, the food just hit me and I stopped. I seriously just sat there with an "oh god, I'm going to explode if another piece of food goes anywhere near my mouth" look on my face, in front of my boss to boot. When I get full, I get sick. I'm one of those guys who finds it almost impossible to burp on command, so the gas just sits in my chest and gurgles in my throat. So I feel gaseous and bloated and in serious stomach pain. I found it incredibly hard to return to my work that afternoon. It hurt all the way through that night.

So you'd think I'd have learned my lesson, right? Wrong. Today, we were treated to a free lunch by the president of the company. To max out what we were allowed to spend, I got a BBQ Combo Platter (ribs, ham steak, and BBQ shredded chicken) and a box of chicken strips and fries. I ate till I was comfortably full. But then, because it is Erico Suave's birthday today (if you see him, wish him a Merry B), his family invited me to dinner at a chicken pot pie place (CPPP) called Moffett's. I got a hearty chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot piiiiiie dinner and ate till I was too stuffed to eat even ice cream dessert cake.

Then the chestular gas came. Made me feel completely ill.

So the moral of the story is, I should learn to limit my food consumption because it's not fun stuffing yourself uncomfortably only to find out that there's no room left for a freakin' delicious slice of Baskin Robbin's cookies n' cream ice cream cake.



Eat me,

Ricky
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005

We Like, We Like To Party


This past Sunday night, we celebrated Grampa K's glorious birth. And although many of us played Kingdom Hearts all night and others played... well, I don't really know what anyone else was doing since I was playing Kingdom Hearts all night, but we still had plenty of time for cake! Cake! Cake purchased by all the Granny Kids with almonds on the side just like the olden days!










Ain't it all grand?

There's plenty more partying coming in the next few days, rest assured.

In otra news, I finished Book the Eleventh (the latest released Lemony Snicket book), The Grim Grotto, and it was great! Reading the entire series is more than just reading a bunch of kids' stories. It's really like an experience. It's so clever how the author narrates and incorporates the reader into the story. I hate the fact that I'll have to wait till this Fall to read the next book in the series, seeing as it ended in a huge cliffhanger. Screw Harry Potter! I want to know what will happen to the Baudelaires! Ha ha hate waiting.



Partying is such sweet sorrow,

Ricky
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Sunday, February 13, 2005

The Year of Me


Gong hay, you big fat choy.

Yes, move over cakesniffers. It's my year. It's the year of the rooster. The year of the chicken. The year of the things that everything tastes like. Does that sound nasty?

Anyway, apparently something is amiss with this year and all who were born under the Rooster. BA GOK! My parents explain that something with the last years and the first years makes this year squashed between two years and that's bad. Believe it or not, that's verbatim! So I was told to carry this good luck charm that should send away bad luck. For all you other Roosters out there, you're screwed.

In other news, last night, I fell asleep and found that I was having trouble breathing. It felt as if my throat was numb and closing shut which obviously made it harder to breathe. So, being the Who-Careser I am, I went to the gym this morning and ran on the treadmill. Sadly, I only ran 3/4 of a mile before my throat started to close up again. Suddenly I had extreme shortness of breath and fell under a dizzy spell. I left the gym immediately, but felt like throwing up outside. I had to sit on a curb for 10 minutes to catch my breath and level my head before driving home. I was really scared. Actually it's still pretty scary thinking about it. I hope I'm just getting a cold or something.

But then again, I didn't have my good luck charm with me, so maybe it's the Rooster's Curse!



Never running again,

Ricky
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Sunday, February 06, 2005

A "D"-lightful Night of Opera


After a particularly lazy day and afternoon yesterday (spent finishing up The Hostile Hospital, watching Batman: The Animated Series, and sleeping), I was invited by Erico Suave and MacArthur to try out The Macaroni Grill near my house.

I was totally up for it because I've never been there before and it gave me a chance to catch up with them since I hadn't talked with them in a while.

So as we were greeted and eventually seated at the Mac G, we got a huge shock when we noticed that our old old high school friend Dizzy Faye there. Erico Suave and I hadn't seen her for, well, probably since 1999.

Way back in high school, my core group of friends, affectionately known at the time as The Loud Crowd, entered a talent show competition where the five girls in our group became, for one night only, the Spice Girls. Our team was challenged by another group of girls and I'm happy to report that we kicked their collective asses and walked away with the $50 grand prize. Well, Dizzy Faye, who wasn't really in our group (but was on loan and an honorary Loud Crowder), played the part of Scary Spice.

Anyway, so we catch up at our table. Erico Suave tells her where he works. I tell her that I work for an insurance company to which she replied, "Oh... well that's okay." And she told us that she of course works at the Mac G and is an opera singer there! That was surprising. We knew she could sing, but opera?

So as we ate our dinner, we could hear the most beautiful of operatic (if that's even a word) voices from around the restaurant and sure enough, it was Dizzy Faye! Man, she can sing! After this year, she told us, she is going to study opera singing and stuff on the East Coast. I'm so happy for her!

At the end of the night, when your friend works at a place you just ate, you are required to tip big. So we sent them a 25% tip and left the restaurant all warm and cozy or however opera is supposed to make you feel.

Then, with no plans or place to go (and perhaps to make it a theme of the night), we ended up seeing The Phantom of the Opera movie. Of course, I had no idea what to expect, and opera really isn't my thing (unless it's a rock opera), so I was pretty gung ho over the entire experience. Bottom line, I liked it. The story was slow, but interesting and some of the music was great, if not repetitive and sleep inducing, but yeah, I liked it. The Phantom though bugged me. He didn't really sing that well and the way his mouth moved sometimes was distracting. But the girl who played Christine was hot and had a voice to boot. So all in all, I don't think I'd watch the movie again, but I'm interested in seeing how things are staged in the show in New York. So I'll give it a shot (granted that it's not expensive).



Unnecessarily singing that last blog,

Ricky
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Thursday, February 03, 2005

The Rambunctious Reader





I am enjoying the hell outta these Lemony Snicket books! Warning, there might be some very minor spoilers (thoughts on outcomes) for The Ersatz Elevator and The Vile Village below.

On Monday, I read Book the Sixth (The Ersatz Elevator) and after hearing that it's the best in the series, I would tend to disagree. I thought it was very good and did include a few surprises and hints at the overall story behind the stories, but I just wouldn't say it was the best. By the time it ended, I felt that nothing really had progressed.

Then, yesterday and today, I read Book the Seventh (The Vile Village) which I thought was just awesome! For me, thus far, this is the best in the series. The way the author slyly slips in hints about the bigger mystery behind the books. I really love how that's done. I'm talking about Jacques, if you're wondering. It really makes you think. Toss in a very clever puzzle (that was a hoot figuring out), some nice couplets, a very likable guardian, and probably the happiest ending so far, and you have my favorite Unfortunate Events book.

Now, I love how Lemony Snicket drops hints in every book, but there comes a time when he's gotta give us something; anything! I mean, c'mon! It's been two books and I still don't know what V.F.D. really means! Although I do have an idea of what it might stand for. I guess I'll just keep reading on and he'll reveal everything in the whopping 300 page 13th book!

I finished The Vile Village at around 7:40pm. Then I remembered that my cousins, The Oblongs, don't have even numbered books in the series (for some reason), so I did a quick search for Book the Eighth (The Hostile Hospital) at my local library's website and found that they had one copy availble! With the library closing at 8pm, I rushed over there and checked it out. Very fortunate for me!



Hooked on books,

Ricky
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