Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to ME-EE.
Happy birthday to me.

Cho prepared the Hello Kitty image for me. How sweet.

However, he gave it to me a month ago, so it could be that he doesn't really know when my birthday is. How rude!

There was a full lunar eclipse last night. I stood outdoors to look at it, but it was covered by clouds, so it appeared more gray than red. The picture shown here is from the lunar eclipse in 2000. Oh well, I'll try again in 2007.

	Happy Birthday, Beast!

Beast and I celebrated our birthdays by having a nice dinner at The Drying Shed. As usual, I drank too much wine. Then again, that's what you're supposed to do when consuming a large hunk of beef. So I was merely following protocol.

I finally saw Garden State. So many people have told me how depressing the film is, but I enjoyed it because I felt uplifted ... and not in the "your life sucks more than mine, so I feel better now" kind of way.

I saw Team America: World Police today. Outrageous film. It's amazing how perfectly they captured the North Korean president's buffoonery. Then again, I don't really know much about him, but I do know that he looks like a freak. So it stands to reason that he is a freak. I doubt there's a person outside of North Korea who disagrees.

We went to see R.E.M. tonight at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Although I only knew five of the songs they played, it was still a fantastic concert. The light show in the background was awesome.

Every time tickets go on sale for a band that I like, I get very excited and quickly buy tickets. From that point on, I start agonizing over having bought the tickets ... "Do I really want to go?" "What if they suck?" "What if it rains that day?" "What if there's something good on TV that night?"

This sense of dread lasts up until about half-hour before the concert starts, at which point I start to feel very happy about being there. Sadly, knowing that I will ultimately love any concert I go to does not prevent me from going through the same lame agony the next time I buy tickets.

	Arnon's first day at Lockheed Martin!

We went to see another 49ers Game, courtesy of my boss. This time the 49ers were playing against the Arizona Cardinals, and they actually won ... in overtime.

The seats were much better than the ones we had at last week's game, except for one thing ...

Shortly before the half, the punk sitting behind me dropped a large portion of his Haggen-Daz chocolate-coated ice-cream bar down my back. I turned to glare at him, and he was pretending like he didn't know what had happened. Did he really think I wouldn't figure out that he was the culprit? He was the only one holding a popsicle stick. The nerve of some people.

Today is Arnon's last day with Secure Computing. He's been with them for two and a half years. He's leaving behind a great work environment, and I think he'll miss it. Still, he's young, and thirsts for more exciting and challenging work. We've all been there.

Pictures of Arnon's Secure Computing farewell lunch ... Click Here

We said good-bye to our cute blue Corolla today. It served us well, but there was simply no reason for Arnon to have two cars.

Being the generous person that he is, Arnon gave the car to Jose, a really nice fellow who works for the same company as Cho. Poor Jose's car died a week or so ago, and he has been taking Greyhound daily from Tracy to Santa Clara. I hope the car serves him well, too.

Arnon bought a new car today. It's actually a new used car ... a '97 Mazda Protege in white. It will be much better for him to drive to Lockheed than his old blue Corolla. Although, he hasn't really been driving the Corolla. He prefers my Honda's manual transmission, so he's been driving the Honda and I've had to suffer with the Corolla.

I'm happy to have my car back.

We saw our first 49ers game at Candlestick Park, courtesy of Rudy Morales. I couldn't get over the tailgaters. One guy had this contraption attached to the back of his SUV that allows him to transport his BBQ grill ... one of those large fancy gas grills that allows you to cook enough meat for a whole football team at once. Incredible. You know, they sell burgers in the stadium, and they taste pretty good.

Had delicious ribs today at Memphis Minnies in San Francisco. Very messy, but worth it.

We saw Mr. 3000 today, starring Bernie Mac. I love Bernie in everything he's been in, especially the shoe commercial, with LeBron James, in which Bernie dances and it just looks so wrong. Plus I love how Bernie's eyes often look like they're about to pop out of his head.

We went to see the Oakland A's play against the Rangers with Marc. It was fun, even though they lost. Arnon was pretty frustrated throughout the game, but I was at peace, having drunk half a bottle of two-buck-chuck. Thanks, Marc.

Check out these two A's fans. These guys, poking fun at Texas Ranger Frank Francisco, are even funnier than the guy who threw the humongous cork at Sammy Sosa shortly after Sammy's corked bat broke while batting.

Have you seen How's Your News? It's a documentary film that follows a handful of reporters with disabilities as they drive across America in a RV and interview people they come across. I couldn't even get through half of it, not because it was bad, but because the camera-work made me nauseous. So, if you've seen it, let me know how it ends.

Martha Stewart now sells vultures ... $52 vultures.

	Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

For the first time ever, we went to an A's game. Sadly, they lost to the Kansas City Royals.

It was so hot in Pleasanton that we wore shorts and doused ourselves with sunscreen. Big mistake! It was freezing at the Oakland Coliseum. Poor Richard was in a thin tank-top. Everyone else around us was wearing wool caps and poofy jackets. They were probably laughing at us as we fought over the hot chocolate.

I actually had the windshield on my Honda replaced today. Normally, that's not big news, but considering that I've been putting it off for nearly three years, it's tremendous news. At least it is in my little world.

	Happy Birthday, Willie!

Arnon flew to Clearlake today in Beast's plane and took these photos of our place in Pleasanton from the air.

Unfortunately, just before landing back at Reid-Hillview, he vomitted. Thank God Beast had a barf-bag handy.

Actually, he was sick for the next several hours. Poor guy. I don't think he'll be flying again anytime soon.

So here's the story.

Last December, not long after attending a San Jose Stealth exhibition game, Arnon bought a lacrosse stick. Then he devoted countless hours to learning how to wield the stick and practicing moves he learned by watching a lacrosse DVD. About two months ago, he joined a clinic where he worked with a goalie who taught him the basics of lacrosse.

Last night, he asked if I would accompany him to the Bladium to check out the first game of some advanced outdoor league that plays indoors in the summer. I agreed, and he started packing his helmet and pads to take to the Bladium. I started to protest, saying that he didn't need all his equipment to watch others play, and that there was no way he was going to sneak in and play with advanced players when he had never played before. But he assured me that he simply wanted to practice by himself before the game started.

So, we got to the Bladium, and I sat up at the bar with my homework while Arnon practiced shooting on the net as the players warmed up.

The next time I looked up, when the buzzer went off to indicate the start of the game, I was shocked to see that Arnon was wearing a yellow team jersey and sitting on the bench with a bunch of giant guys. That FOOL!

Still, I have to give him credit for bravery. Most people would start out in a beginners league and work their way up ... but not him. On second thought, it's not bravery ... it's sheer arrogance. The only other person on the planet who is more arrogant than Arnon is his brother, who claims to be a better lacrosse player than Arnon despite never having held a stick.

Amazingly, Arnon scored a goal in the second period of game 2. He had a breakaway, had a moment of indecision in front of the goalie, and then suddenly shot and it went in. Of course, his version is different. He insists that he made a nice fake deke, fooling the goalie in one direction while shooting in the other, and bouncing the ball in for a goal. Hmmm ... likely story. I think we all know whose version is accurate.

Fortunately, he only got steamrolled once. I was sure he would be killed, but he's still with us ... at least until the next game.

We went to check out the 40th Annual Watsonville Fly-In & Air Show today at the Watsonville Municipal Airport. We were interested in watching the planes do cool acrobatic maneuvers, but it was hard to do because it was so damn hot, and many times, we had to look directly into the sun to watch the planes.

Arnon, Guy, and I were totally suffering from heat exhaustion, sunburn, and dehydration. Beast, however, held up extremely well, despite being the only one out of the four who stood the entire time (four hours), didn't have a drop of water, and didn't reapply sunscreen lotion.

Survival of the fittest ... Beast will outlive us all.

	Happy Birthday, Richard!

We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves here in Pleasanton ... sunset dinners on the balcony, long walks on the trail, evenings in the hot tub. We also found a newly-built outdoor roller rink and inline skate park close to home, which made Arnon's heart flutter.

** Photos of our new place **

Here's one interesting difference between here and Concord ...

Countless times at Albertson's in Concord, I would see a child whine about wanting something or cry hysterically, and a parent (usually a mother) would grab the child's hand, turn the child around, and spank the child right there in the middle of the store, for all the world to see. I would always stand there in shock, wondering if I should step in and inform the parent that her behavior was cruel and humiliating to the child.

A couple of days ago, I was picking up some groceries at Safeway in Pleasanton, when a little curly-haired girl started to whine. Her mother, in all her trophy-wife glory, stooped down to get close to the little girl's face, and said, "Now darling, I'm going to count to three, and if you don't stop whining by three, you will lose your horse-riding privileges for an entire week. Do you understand me?"

Horse riding privileges? Oy vay.

We just saw "Super Size Me", Morgan Spurlock's film about obesity in America ... and the role fast food corporations play in making Americans fat.

Oh ... My ... God!

Tofu and brocolli, here I come.

On a separate note, Arnon had his four wisdom teeth removed yesterday. When I had mine pulled out more than a decade ago, I was on vicodin for a week, and moaning in agony like a trapped animal each time I woke from my drug-induced coma. Given that Arnon whines like a two-year old whenever he has a mild cold, I figured he would be in a lot of pain, not to mention a handful to take care of.

Man, was I wrong.

Not only did he burn off the Halcion quickly, which was supposed to keep him asleep for eight hours, he didn't bleed at all and he didn't require any painkillers. Punk. It's truly unfair how some people don't suffer at all. But he did throw up his oatmeal and raisin breakfast on his doctor, so there!

We're moving to Pleasanton! Our new place is absolutely gorgeous, facing the hills with the rainbow sherbet sunsets.

As far back as when we were living in Davis, we used to drive by this particular area of Pleasanton, en route to our weekly visits to our families, and talk about moving there someday. That day has come.

Less than a mile away from our new place is the charming old downtown, lined with countless Italian restaurants and coffee shops. We're looking forward to visiting each one.

I think we'll be spending a lot of time relaxing on our balcony, admiring the view.

Happy Birthday, Coyote!

Last Friday, I stopped by Fry's for their grand opening, but the line to get in was so long that I gave up and went home. I tried again today, and there was no line to get in, but there was a long line right after the entrance of people waiting to return whatever they had bought in the last four days. In fact, the "Return" line was about 20 times longer than the "Purchase" line.

Last fall, I chopped off my waist-length hair to shoulder-length. Yesterday, I took the next step and chopped it to chin-length. I now look like the moon with a wig.

In an effort to get some sympathy, I told my dad I was the moon. His reply? "You can't be the moon ... you're not bright."

Waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Fry's Electronics is supposed to open a store here in Concord today, in the old Levitz Furniture building. I'll go check it out later today.

Back in '93, I worked for Fry's as a Customer Relations clerk. You might remember me ... I was the one who actually spoke English.

Last night, we went with Richard to see Sarah Brightman's Harem concert at the Arco Arena in Sacramento. It was our first time seeing her ... and Richard's fifth! She sang most of our favorites, and we were ecstatic. Such an amazing voice! Sarah, the set, the costumes, the belly dancers, the fireworks ... It was a night to remember!

	Happy Birthday, Troggy!

Guess what we did last night?

That's right ... we went and watched the Stealth ... AGAIN!

Fortunately, there won't be another home game for about a month, but that just means the psycho will drag me to a sports bar each weekend to watch lacrosse on tv. NO!!! When we're not watching the game at the arena or at a sports bar, he makes me watch video clips on the computer, and talks my head off about players and stats.

One good thing has come out of all of this ... I figured that if he can subject me to endless hours of lacrosse, then I can finally have what I want ... a Hello Kitty shower curtain. Yay!

Suffer, sucker!

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!
It's the year of the Monkey!

Earlier this month, Cho and Victoria went to Vegas with some friends. A couple of nights before their departure, Cho dreamt that he caught a monkey by the hand following a short chase. Of course, this could only mean one thing: Cho was going to win big in Vegas. Still, monkey or no monkey, Cho is still Cho, and of course he lost big ... BIG!

Cho figures that his monkey-luck can strike at any time during the year of the monkey, so he's not worried that he may have already blown his opportunity.

	Happy 31st Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Last night, we went with a couple of friends to catch San Jose Stealth's inaugural home game against the Colorado Mammoth. It was a close game, and the score was tied at 12-12 until literally the last second, when the Stealth scored a goal and won the game.

Before that happened, I was very anxious that the game would go into overtime. Don't get me wrong ... I found the game to be quite exciting, especially after discovering that if you actually follow the game instead of simply sitting back drinking beer and stuffing dogs down your throat, it's an intriguing and fun game. Still, we had already been at the arena for three hours, so I was ready to leave.

Finally, there were 2.6 seconds left on the clock, and the two teams were tied, so I was sure we'd be there much longer, but amazingly, at the very last possible moment, the Stealth scored. I stood up and cheered loudly, thankful to be going home at last. Quel relief!

Well, it's only eight days into the new year, and I've already broken all of my resolutions. A few items on my list were...

Arnon can't even remember the resolutions he made, so he figures he hasn't technically broken any. The nerve of some people.

On January 1st, I watched the Clean Sweep Marathon on TLC for 7 hours, and now I'm hooked and try to catch the show every day. When I miss it, I feel devastated. I'm inspired to clean out our apartment, but don't actually feel like doing anything. I also want to help my parents clean out their home, but I don't know if I'm ready, mentally or physically, to deal with that nightmare. I'd better not make any promises.