143.6 miles

Man, the rains were treacherous in the past week. This past Tuesday, Jo, Mya, and I headed to PAMF to make sure Joanne's left-side pain was a normal part of pregnancy. Through God's gracious intervention, everything was normal. We even saw a heartbeat on the ultrasound. On the way home, we took 880 and bypassed a little traffic by using the carpool lane. Everything was fine through Union City and Hayward - I was keeping my distance from the Civic in front of me, and the Landcruiser behind me was far as well. It was raining enough to warrant the use of the windshield wipers, but the pavement was really wet. There were some puddles here and there. I rode the carpool lane all the way to the end near the border of San Lorenzo and Hayward. Once we hit SLo, the cars in front of me suddenly stopped. The Mercedes in front of the Civic narrowly missed rear-ending the car in front of it. The Civic broke in enough time, and so did I, with room to spare. But I slammed on those brakes, man! The Landcruiser in front of me had to swerve to the shoulder and literally ended up side-by-side to me. I thought the dude was leaving a ton of space behind me, but I guess he/she wasn't paying attention.

I thank God for keeping us safe that day, and when I finally got off the freeway and stopped at a stoplight, I took a deep breath. I also made the sign of the cross six times and kissed my medallion of Jesus in our truck. I've been doing this regularly before I start driving anyways, to ask the archangels to keep the six of us safe - Me, Jo, Mya, Jo's lil' bundle, Gilbey, and Belle. This day, they were truly looking out for us. For some reason, I glanced down at the trip odometer and saw that it read 143.6 miles. 143 has always been pager code for "I love you" (look at the number of letters in each word). And the number 6, I've interpreted to be the six of us. God works in mysterious ways.

THANK YOU, LORD!

Music of the Night

I've got an eclectic taste in music, from dancehall to lounge to punk to industrial, and to good ole' pop and hip-hop. I pretty much like anything with a good beat, conscious lyrics, a melodic harmony, and/or good producing. Anything that makes my head bounce. Thanks for the thread, Vintage Star!

Random Ten:

1. Trenchtown Rock - Bob Marley & the Wailers
2. Santeria - Sublime
3. Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack
4. Please Forgive Me - David Gray
5. If you're not the One - Daniel Bedingfield
6. Blackstar (Mos Def & Taleb Kweli) - KOS/Determination
7. Clocks - Coldplay
8. Toxicity - System of a Down
9. All Mixed Up - 311
10. Amie - Damien Rice

1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
I dunno....I've got about 6 songs on our laptop and none on our desktop. The 6 songs are there cuz I had a jones-ing for some music and I downloaded Kazaa for a minute. I tried my best to hide it from Jo, but the woman found out about it and quickly erased it. We had gotten a lot of viruses from it a couple of years back so she forbade me from using it. She's like our household's very own IT department, complete with a monitoring system.

2. The last CD you bought is:
I'm not sure, but the last CD I burned was the Garden State soundtrack.

3. What is the last song you listened to before this message:
The flipface radio in my car is busted. It's permanently in mid-flip. For a while, it was working, but it would only play the radio and I couldn't change the station. And it was on this one obnoxious station, Alice. They've got a funny morning commute show and "Chill with Alice" on Sundays from 7-10am got some cool lounge music. For all y'all in the Bay, that's 97.3 FM. Soooooooooo, I have no idea what the last song I listened to was, but I've got Norah Jones' Sunrise playing over and over in my cabeza.

4. Write down five songs you listen to a lot or mean a lot to you:
a) Scientist - Coldplay
b) Who needs shelter - Jason Mraz
c) If you're not the one - Daniel Bedingfield
d) Karma - Alicia Keys
e) KOS/Determination - Blackstar

5. Who are you gonna pass this stick to?
Nobody. Ain't got no friends. Muhahahahhaaa!

Today was a good day

Man, I had a great day today. It started off in the morning when I awoke to the sounds of my two favorite people in the world, my wife and my daughter. They were sound asleep, as I tip-toed downstairs to get my day started. I had a pretty early day, so I got up at 6am and started cleaning up. I cleaned the kitchen, washed dishes, washed the bottles, swiffered the floors, vacuumed the carpet downstairs, and tidied up a bit. I like cleaning in the morning so that Jo and Mya can wake up to a relatively clean house. It went pretty fast because I turned on the radio to Alice in the morning, and Kevin Smith was the guest host. He's the acclaimed director of movies such as Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks, etc. and he normally doesn't host shows. But Sarah's partner, No Name, was out on paternity leave, and on a whim, Sarah asked Kevin to co-host the show for threed days while she was interviewing him earlier in the week. Pretty ballsy move on Sarah's part, but Kevin obliged. And I was glad that he did, because he's a funny dude. His humor definitely has an element of trash and shock, but it's also very smart and deliberate.

It was raining pretty hard, so I decided to walk the dogs. Since it's been raining, the backyard is a marsh, and I didn't want them to track in mud into the newly swiffered kitchen floor. I brought my headphones and continued to listen to Alice. There were times were I just laughed out loud to whatever Kevin and Sarah were saying. Also took out the garbage and recycling. I always love doing that because I get a really god feeling once all of the trash and recycling is out of the house. Came back home after 45 minutes of walking and discovered my favorite futbol team, Real Madrid, playing on the dish. All of my favorite players were on, including Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, and Michael Owen. Zidane has been out with an injury, and Becks looked like he colored his hair brown. It's still pretty short.
So after a few minutes of watching the match, I leave for the Oakland Hills to teach at this private school. I get stuck in traffic on the 13, so I was glad to listen to Alice. Alanis Morissette called in and Kevin Nealon joined the fray. I remember when Alanis played God in Kevin's Dogma. I was shocked to hear that she was offered the lead part, the one that Linda Fiorentino got. They also talked about her fiance, Ryan Reynolds, of Van Wilder and Blade: Trinity fame. My radio's been broken for a while so I can't turn down the volume or change the channel. I had to exit on Joaquin Miller Rd., turn off the engine (hence the radio), and call the school to tell them I'd be late.

I got to Bentley School about 20 minutes late, but they understood because of the traffic and rain. The school is a pretty haughty-taughty private school with a private gate and a plaque with an insignia on the front entrance. We work with a lot of low-income schools, and a lot of my co-workers frown upon working at these type of schools. Personally, I feel that these kids may be privileged and well-off, but they're all still little kids with impressionable minds. And I'm there to make my impression.

Had lunch down the hill at Viva Taqueria, which is near the Claremont Resort. Sorta saddened to see the workers on strike outside the hotel. I'm very empathetic to blue-collar workers and workers in the service industry. All they ask for is a living wage and decent health benefits. After I was done teaching, the teachers and students thanked me, and tld me how great my program and teaching methods were. I'm always glad when I receive praise - specially from kids. It's so genuine and pure, that it fills my heart and soul. It's the feeling I live and work for. The clouds and rain cleared up, and I was jones-ing on some coffee, so I went to my favorite joynt in Berkeley, Cafe Strada. Their Bianca Mocha is heaven on earth. And at $2.75 a pop, it's much cheaper than a Venti, Non-fat, No-whip, MocchachinoLatte crap from Starfucks. As I look for parking, a spot opens up right across the street on the Berkeley campus. There's never parking here, so I always end up walking a couple of blocks uphill. You know it's your day when a spot opens up, and you narrowly beat some yuppie asshole in their gold lame jeep cherokee to the spot.

Went back to the office, got some work done that I've been procrastinating on, and high tail it home. I recently discovered that my favorite Vietnamese restaurant(Pho Hoa Hiep or Kevin's Noodle House) in Concord has another location in Oakland, so I decide to pick up some dinner there. Found a shortcut from the freeway to the place, so my day's just getting better, and it's already 6pm. I order egg noodles with stuff, and get some bbq chicken for Jo, but my favorite order is an avocado shake. Man, I love that shit.

The end of my day consisted of spending time with my girls, playing with the dogs, eating good vietnames food, sleeping for a couple of hours, and going to work at my other job. Like Ice Cube said, "Today was a good day"

An Interview w/ Vince Vaughn

I'm watching the Tonight Show repeat from last week, and one of my favorites, Vince Vaughn was on as the featured guest. I always love watching this boy do interviews, because he's always funny, off-the-wall, and loves to play off the audience. He's basically Trent, his character in the movie, Swingers. Granted, he doesn't have much range as an actor, but when he plays himself, he's funny as hell.

Take his movie that is out right now...Be Cool. It looks like a piece of shit, but when Vince is doing his thing, he can salvage a movie. Jay Leno showed the movie clip, and Vince says, "Twinkle, Twinkle, baby, Twinkle, Twinkle!" Who da fuck thinks up of that shit? He's supposed to be a white guy acting black. Then he starts doing the Roger Rabbit, an obscure dance move from the 80's in homage to the movie, Who framed Roger Rabbit? Comedic genius.

So as I continue to watch the inteview, I think about how much this man has become a symbol of my life. In the movie, Swingers, Trent is playing NHL on Sega with his buddy, Sue. Yup, a boy named Sue. Trent threatens to make Sue's best player, Wayne Gretzky, bleed by checking him hard. Sue says, "you can't make the characters bleed." Sue turns his head away for a second, and Trent goes after Wayne Gretky, checks him hard, and makes his head bleed. When I first watched this movie, I was laughing hysterically. I remember playing NHL on Sega with my buddies, Orlando, Rich, and Mike. I remember trying to check someone so hard, that they bleed on the ice. And I remember Orlando saying "you can't make the characters bleed", as I proceeded to check HIS Wayne Gretzky into the ice. Of course, the blood ran from his head like the river Styx.



A boy named Sue, Vince, Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston, and a token black dude

As the interview continues with Leno, I'm thinking, "Only Vince Vaughn can make Jay Leno watchable". I hate watching the Tonight Show because the skits aren't funny and Leno couldn't interview a wall. Vince mentions something about being a member of Columbia House, and how they used to give away 10 tapes or CDs for a penny. You think it's a great deal, but you're committed to buy 8 more CDs for twice the full price. That's only someting someone over 30 knows about. I was a member, myself. I have no idea how he got on this topic, but it was funny nonetheless.

Vince continues on about how he's got three sisters with a bunch of kids, and he's been asked to babysit them on occassion. The boy's got verbal diarrhea, and just spews out every little detail of his day spent babysitting his nephew. He mentions how you've got to put on a diaper with the picture of Elmo on the front. I, too, had this challenge early on. I didn't know which way a diaper was supposed to face, until my sister-in-law showed me that cartoon character should be in the front.

Finally, Vince testifies that his favorite TV shows are Cheaters and Dance 360. When I started my gig at the group home, I used to watch Cheaters at 2am in the morning on the WB. That was when Tony Grand was hosting it. This guy would ambush unsuspecting people who have been set up by their partners, while they are cheating on them with someone else. Sporting his leather trenchcoat, he would speak in this really harsh nasaly voice. Then he would ask the stupidest questions to the cheating partner while he/she is trying to walk away from the cameras and lights. "Why did you do it? Didn't you know how it would make her feel?" It was hysterical! I always ended up laughing out loud, sometimes waking up the kids. And the denouement would be wathcing the credits, where Tony Grand wasn't really Tony Grand. Tony Grand is a character played by Ahmad Mohammed. This always made me laugh.

I never watched Dance 360 until I watched it on December 22, 2004. I remember this date so well because it was the day Mya was born. Vince explains the show as a "dance off" between two teenagers, where the two competitors dance in the middle of a circle of dancers, emphatically gesture with their hands to their competitor when it's their turn, and then the audience chooses who wins by their applause. It's really a show for teens and pre-teens, but it's funny how a middle-aged man like Vince is watching and loving it.

Mya was born at the UC Davis Medical Center, where they have what they call "birthing suites". Our birthmother, Bonny, was situated in one of these suites, where they had a TV, a nice bed, and a huge seating area for all the friends and relatives. While she was going through labor, the TV was on and I think it was Judge Joe Brown. As soon as Bonny started to push, Judge Joe Brown was over, and Dance 360 was on. Sure enough, these kids were trying to dance each other off the dance floor, and Bonny was trying to push a human head through her cervix. It was surreal, to say the least. Who knows, Mya might grow up to be a really good dancer.

Where the parallel ends between Vince and myself is his love for Celine Dion. When he was on Ellen, he confessed that he has watched Titanic more than 40 times, just so he can hear Celine Dion sing "my heart will go on". I can't stand this damn song. And whenever that Canadian freak of nature pounds her chest right at the refrain, I want to slit my wrists. I think it was just an excuse for him to sing the song, karaoke-style, on the show. Just to ham it up a bit. At least I'd like to think so. Otherwise, I've lost all respect for the man.

Life....

is full of funny moments. For example, Joanne was burping like an MF all night. It's like she drank an entire 2-liter of coke, and just belched away. And man, could this woman belch. She belches louder than a frat boy on a binge. I've never understood how a woman so svelt could make such a loud, guttural noise. I think Mya's already used to it. Before, she would always get startled when Mommy burps, but now she's just used to it.

The other day, I was napping on the floor because I had just come home from working at the group home. I was so tired that I slept in my clothes and I didn't want to sleep on the bed and contaminate it with all the boys' germs. I wake up at 8pm, and Jo is on the bed, enthralled with whatever is on the TV. I'm thinking it's General Hospital or some Lifetime chick movie, but it was Forrest Gump. That's right, Forrest Gump. No words were exchanged....she just kept on watching, noticed I was awake, and said, "Man, this movie is good." I proceeded to laugh hysterically. And then I made fun of her.



A couple of weeks ago, Colin and Brady came over with Lolo, Lola, Noel, and Arlene. The two boys were running around, playing with the dogs, and watching TV. We celebrated three birthdays: MJ's 2-month birthday, Gilbey's 4-year birthday, and Belly's 3-year birthday. We sang happy birthday, blew out the candles, and proceeded to eat cake. Little Colin really loved his cake. He loved it so much, that he ran from the dining room to the living room, where all of us were sitting, and said in almost a drunk voice, "Cake....." At the same time, he wiped the cake on his hands over his chest and fell to his knees. It seemed like he fell into a diabetic coma! Everyone started laughing at this, and as soon as Colin realized this, he just ran off laughing.

Forrest Gump's Ma used to say, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get." It's also a collection of funny moments, that turn into really great memories.