New home
Mood:  a-ok

Hola --

For the time being - the month of August - me and my blog shall be vacationing at:

http://daboywonder.blogspot.com

Should you wish to reach us, please do so there. Otherwise, well be back when were back.

-- DBW --

...so take off all your clothes.
Mood:  a-ok

Cheeses!!!

Its now 4:30 in the afternoon, we have three fans on high, and its still 80 degrees inside the house. Yes, it really is hot in here.

Not too sure why were having this weather, but its bad, and I want it to go away. I dont like the heat. And I sure dont like excessive heat. And to make matters even worse - yes, they can get worse - is that all the air seems to be sucked away.
As soon as you walk outside your first thought is: "Wow, its hot and I cant breathe."

I have nothing else to say. Just wanted to share my discomfort with yall.

Til next time...

-- DBW --

Im a jinx
Mood:  blue

There comes a time in your life when you must accept things for what they are and stop living in a fantasy world. I think my time has come. And now I must face the cold, hard facts... Im a jinx.
This past Christmas I was given a jersey of my favorite football team: the San Diego Chargers. I was beyond thrilled cuz I had always wanted one, but never been able to get one. And it wasnt "any" jersey, no, it wasnt the cheap screen printed kind, no sir, it was a bad ass navy blue LT jersey with sewn nameplate and numbers.
I was so thrilled with the jersey that I wore it almost every day that week. No matter where I went, it went with me. I would have done it regardless, but this past season I had a reason... the Chargers were in the playoffs! For the first time in like 100 years we made the playoffs, and for the first time ever, I had a jersey to proudly wear. Life was good.
This part of my story doesnt have a happy ending because in their very first playoff game - a game they were supposed to win - we lost after our kicker missed the game winning field goal and the Jets drove the field for the winning score.

Yes, this was the first time the "jersey curse" had struck.

This past Friday - July 15th - was my birthday. On Sunday my whole family went to the Padre game and my girlfriend bought me a Padre jersey.
It too was a bad ass jersey. It was the away "sand" colored jersey that is perhaps the most prized out here in San Diego. It also has the sewn numbers - these are double sewn - and it has the MLB logo on the back, and the Padres patch on the sleeve. All this comes at a price: $200.
Like my Charger jersey, I wear my Padre one alot. Really, if its my day off and Im just relaxing or I have to run somewhere, Im usually in my jeans and one of my jerseys. I love em.
That Sunday - new jersey day - the Padres lost. And then they got swept in New York. And then today they finished getting swept in Philly.

The second recorded case of the "jersey curse" striking.

And in case you lost track, the Chargers didnt win a game after I received their jersey and their season ended, and now the Padres havent won a single game since I got their jersey.

What the Hell? Is the only way to end this horrible turn of events to burn both jerseys? Hopefully another way will show itself to me. I shall wait until after the next Padre game, but should they lose... I just might have to do the unthinkable.

Indeed, I really am a jinx.

-- DBW --

I shall never leave my room again
Mood:  a-ok

Aloha --

Ok, hopefully that title wont come true, but I fear it just might. Why would I dread such a thing? Cuz I am writing to all of you on my brand new laptop.
Why does one such as myself need a new laptop? Heck, why do I even need an old laptop for that matter? Good question. And if you happen to know the answer, please enlighten me. But I do have my theories:
- Its MINE. No longer will I have to share a computer.
- Its secure. No longer will I have to wonder if other people are going through my files. Yes, it happened before, which is one of the reasons Ive wanted something of my own.
- I "need" a dvd drive that not only will play dvds, but will make me some too. And my laptop has a pretty cool dual layer one.
- I want to get my credit card bills down. I know, I know, how will spending $1000+ lower my bills? You people ask some good stuff. See, its simple. Currently in my room I have WebTV. Dont know exactly what that is? Its a set top pseudo-computer. No, its not even a computer. It does allow email and web surfing, but everything is extremely restricted. Want more than one window open? Not gonna happen. Wanna watch any video clip longer than five seconds? Keep wanting. Wanna download even the smallest of programs? Silly person, it cant do that either. Basically, it sucks. And its costing me $35 a month. So you see, thats $35 that doesnt get added to my credit card, and is basically a bonus $35 payment each month.

So yeah, those are my theories. And I think every one of them is valid. Even if you dont. I mean, really, who asked you anyway. Youre not the boss of me. So shut up.
Fine. FINE! You want to know the truth. FINE DAMMIT... Ill tell you... I got the damn laptop to watch my porn in the privacy of my own room. You happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?! Screw you!
I have better things to do than talk to you. Im gonna go watch some... I mean Im gonna...

SCREW YOU!!!

My birthday weekend
Mood:  a-ok

Admit it, you missed me --

I know I said that Id write as soon as I got the chance, and believe it or not, this was the first chance I got. You understand, right?
So how was my three day birthday weekend? Very fun. Very fun indeed.

On Friday I took my girlie to go see Master And Commander. Yes, thats an old movie, but she really likes it - or Senor Crow to be precise - and it just happened to be playing on my birthday. But even better was the "theater" it was playing at.
In our harbor we have a Maritime Museum that is home to a cool collection of ships. They have the steam ship Medea, the ferry boat Berkely, a Soviet B-39 attack sub that used to patrol off of our coast, the aircraft carrier USS Midway, the "HMS Surprise" from the Master And Commander movie, and The Star Of India which has sailed around the world 21 times.
And on the Star Of India, they had a special sail set up as a screen to view the movie on. Our seats were at the front of the ship and right behind the screen was the "Surprise" so it was really cool to see the movie and glance over and see the ship.
Before the movie we were told there would be a scavenger hunt on the "Surprise" and that the first couple back with the right answers would get a dinner for two at Anthonys. Blanca and I bolted for the ship, got the answers as fast as we could, and I literally raced another guy back to the finish line. I won the race, and thus we were the first couple back, but we got one answer wrong so we lost. Oops. It was still fun though.
To view pics from the day, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daboywonder/sets/610895

Then on Saturday Justin and I went to the Comic-Con. If you dont know what this is, you need to get out more. Its the largest - and most important - comic, movie, television, and pop culture convention in the world. Its a four day event thats held at our GIGANTIC convention center, and includes everything from an enormous showroom floor full of things to buy, various sized rooms and halls for panels and discussions - the two biggest being a 7000 and a 5000 seater, an autograph area full of famous people signing for free, bags and bags, and bags full of free stuff to take home, and no matter where you look... stars everywhere, sometimes literally rubbing elbows with you.
We got there at 7:30 in the morning and didnt leave until later that night and still didnt do everything we wanted to.
For those of you that arent into comics, youd still find way too much to do. And when youre all done, youll look forward to next year. Guaranteed. Its just a fun time.
To see pics from Comic-Con, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daboywonder/sets/610919/

Then on Sunday my whole family - my girlie too - went to the Padre game for the now traditional "Sams birthday Padre game."
Game wasnt all that great, we lost, but it was the first time all of us went. And my girlie even bought me a ridiculously expensive Padre jersey that Ive wanted for a loooong time. I was a very happy boy. And shes the best girlfriend in the world. Period.

And then when we got back home there was a "surprise" party waiting for me. Yeah, I wasnt that shocked, but it didnt matter. Im not a birthday person, but I relaxed enough to enjoy it.
Im not going to list every single thing I got, but some of the things you might find of interest include:
- My niece making a cd for me that was kinda like "This Is Your Life" and was totally embarrassing. In a good way. Its funny cuz when I was a kid I was all happy and smiley when it was picture time, but when I got older I seemed to have turned into a grumpy old fart. And the pictures show it. Too funny.
- Alot of money for my laptop.
- My Padre jersey.
- A gift card for a bike so me and my girl can lose weight... I mean go riding.
- And Ive always wanted to be able to say "Ive taken off in a plane, but Ive never landed in one." I know, its stupid, but what can I say? Well, it seems like Ill be able to say that cuz I also got a skydiving package for me and the girlie. Woo-Hoo!
I could go on and on with what I got, but I shant bore you any longer.

And I could go on and on with this post, but again, Ill spare you.
Thanks again for waiting for me and not getting too upset. Ill stop from saying next time wont be so long of a wait, but I cant promise that.

But til then...

-- DBW --

They say its my birthday.
Mood:  a-ok

Sorry, but I dont have time to post anything big, just a little "Hey, its my birthday" and thats about it.
I have a big three day weekend and when I get a chance - Monday? - Ill try and recap it for ya. Maybe even with pictures. :)

Til then...

-- DBW --

Happy Happy Joy Joy
Mood:  a-ok

After two - or so - long years, I FINALLY have the complete collection of Cla$$war. What is this? Its a comic book. Well, its a comic mini series to be exact.
Back when it first came out I was only able to buy the third issue. I couldnt find the other five. So I went hunting and still couldnt find them. I begged my comic shop to track them down for me and they did their best, but still couldnt get them. Part of the problem was that it comes from England and so imports arent that easy to get ahold of. Even the people on ebay werent selling the full series, just a book here and there. Until recently.
Last week I bid on and bought the full set, in near mint condition, for less than $20 including shipping. That, my friends, is a steal cuz each book is no less than $5 a piece. And yes, I would have paid that, or more, to finally read this story.

On a similar note - before the invention of "borrowing" sites such as Kazaa and its cousins, and legit sites such as iTunes, listening and collecting music was done the old fashioned way... buying it in a store.
During one MTV award show I was treated to a performance by a group called the Leningrad Cowboys. Theyre made up of English speaking foreign guys wearing giant elf shoes, unicorn hairdos, and super bright costumes. They cover classic American songs and are occasionally backed up by the Russian Red Army Choir. Yes, real Russian soldiers, in full uniform, singing Sweet Home Alabama.
The day after watching them I went to my local music store to buy their cd. They didnt have it. Neither did any other music store in San Diego. Or Los Angeles. And yes, I looked.
I finally got Blockbuster to agree to order it for me, but that order never showed up cuz it was coming from Japan and theyre were problems or something. So after a year of waiting, I canceled.
A total of about five years went by before I managed to get a copy of the cd. Five whole years, for one cd. But it was worth it.
And then not too long after that I found out about Kazaa and managed to snag a couple dozen more of their songs - all very entertaining.

So in both cases, persistence did indeed pay off. And I am a happy boy.

-- DBW --

I am who I am... or am I?
Mood:  a-ok

I guess this post is all about perceptions. Specifically, how others perceive me to be.
The other day my cousin Brian called me and asked for some help. Under most circumstances, Id say yes and try my best to help him out, try and have fun while Im doing it, and expect to succeed. This time the request was a bit different cuz theres no way in Hell I can do what he asks. But after me telling him this many times, I agreed to help.
The thing is, he wants to remodel his house. He wants to add on a room, switch rooms around, and do it professionally. Yeah, I cant figure out where I fit in either. And yes, I did tell him this.

He had a contractor/architect lined up to handle every last detail - the planning, the specs, the coding... everything. But somewhere along the line this guy did something to give Brian cold feet and so to the bullpen Brian went for my fresh arm. An arm Brian perceives to be filled with the talent to help him out of his jam. Only problem is, two minutes before getting the call, I was sitting in my seat eating peanuts and Cracker Jack.
This guy Im supposed to replace went to school to do what Brian wishes to be done. Im sure he went for a couple years. He probably paid alot of money to learn this stuff. And now he has a job - his career - where he probably gets paid alot more money to do the stuff he learned. Hes a professional. I am the exact opposite.
I do have a creative mind, I have to give myself that, but due to not practicing enough, I am losing the skill to produce what I see in my head. And when it comes to computers, which is the medium Im expected to use, I have yet to acquire any skill whatsoever. The perception is otherwise. And not just with Brian - pretty much all of my friends have the same view.
How I got that reputation I have no clue. But if you ask my friends about the way I manipulate a computer, theyll tell you Im a genius. Somehow they all seem to think that surfing the net for porn makes me Mozart with a keyboard and mouse.
But my situation gets "better" still. Part of this house revamping will require me to use math. I hate math! I was NEVER good at it. Fractions? Percentages? Equations? What language are you speaking cuz I just dont understand?!

So far we have me using math, on a computer, to redesign a house. And do it all to California building code. Oh yeah, and the programs to do all of this on? Im kind of expected to find this for free on the internet. Where? No clue. If it somehow involves a naked lady, then I have no doubt Ill find it. Probably a couple copies. In a couple different postions... umm... I mean locations. If not... well... shit! Oh, if you want, I can find pictures of that too.

So why must people continue to perceive me to be something I am not? And why wont they listen when I try to explain to them that I just dont have the skill or knowledge to do what the wish of me?

Anywho, next week will be interesting and Ill probably update this with how my first contracting job went. Pray for me. No, pray their house doesnt fall down.

-- DBW --

So happy together
Mood:  a-ok

I must learn how to shorten my "laters" and "tomorrows." Either that, or just stop saying when Ill post next.

I dont quite comprehend the concept of cheating in a relationship. To me, its stupid to be in a "loving and committed" relationship and then sneak around behind your partners back to be with someone else. Why dont you just break up or get divorced?
Before I continue, some of you will attempt to point out that Im in one of these relationships, but I must correct you - my girlfriend, who is married, is not in a loving and committed relationship.
Her husband wasnt the nicest of guys and would disappear for multiple days and then come home and expect her to be okay with it. She wasnt. She asked him to change. He didnt. So she told him that she wanted a divorce. He said no. He wanted another chance. She said no. She told him to leave. He said no.
On and on this has gone for longer than her and I have been together. He just refuses to leave cuz he has a free ride right now and once the divorce happens, hell be forced to fend for himself, and he cant. Nor does he want to.
So see, despite what the outside appearance might look like, the inside is a bit more complicated.

But our relationship isnt todays topic. The goings on behind the scenes at Target is.
There are currently at least four affairs going on right now. Im sure there are more, but these are the people that I know.

1) My friend Derek is in love with this girl Briana. Briana is a major flirt, sometimes swinger, attempted lesbian... and married. I dont know exactly how they started, but it was apparently with her husbands blessing - cuz of the swinger lifestyle. But then Derek and Briana started seeing each other without the husband knowing. And now theyre in a really complicated place.

2) My friend Ernesto is "happily" married, with kids, just bought a house in Arizona, and is moving there in August with his wife. In the meantime, hes having extra fun with this girl named Oli. Of all the affairs going on, this one surprises me most.

3) The second highest guy in our store, Tim, is "happily" married, with kids, and is currently getting it on with a girl, Gloria, who hes the boss of. He even called the entire team - almost 50 people - into a meeting to tell them that nothing was going on and that they better not say anything. Unfortunately, they were caught making out on the sales floor. Our store manager found out, and now they arent seeing each other for real. Or so they want you to believe.

4) This guy - Gabe - is "happily married" with kids, but he tried to start something with Blanca before she was my girl. That didnt happen and so he got with Gloria. Yes, the same one. But then they broke up and now hes currently doing it with Mimi - whos also "happily married", with kids, and one on the way. Whos kid is it - her husbands or Gabes? Not sure anybody knows.

So why are all these "happily married" people cheating on their spouses? Could any of them even give a reason? Or are they just doing it to do it?

I have no snappy, smart ass closing line, it just confuses me. Thats all.

-- DBW --

Just stuff
Mood:  a-ok

Hello, my friends, we meet again.....

How have yall been? Hopefully good. Me... Ive been peachy.
Life is a lot of fun when you have someone to go and do stuff with. Ive been in the opposite situation where Ive been bored out of my mind cuz I didnt have a girlfriend to go out with and so I sat home doing nothing and wishing for the hours to hurry up and pass. But now, the days just arent long enough.
This Summer is getting sopacked for us that we made our own calendar to keep everything organized. For those of you who are curious and know how to access it, go for it. If not, keep looking.
Anywho, Ill spare you more of the lovey stuff and Ill move on...

This past Saturday I went to go try on a tux. I was scared. Yes, really. The last time I wore one was when I was but a wee lad, and I hadnt worn one since. Let alone rent one. So I had no idea what to expect.
I had been putting it off for days and finally I sucked up some courage and just went for it. Lucky for me theres a tux shop a block away and it had been there almost forever. So I got dressed, walked the block, and saw that they were..... out of business? This cant be. As far back as I can remember, it had been always there. And now, the one time I actually needed it, its gone. Just my luck.
Id continue to go on and on and try and make myself seem like a victim of bad luck here, but right across the street from the now-out-of-business tux shop, is another one. So I was ok.
So I walked across the street, opened the door, and plunged into a world I had yet to experience.
I dont really know why I thought it was going to be so bad. The older gentleman inside walked me through everything, and as I explained that the tux was just for a theme birthday and that I didnt need anything expensive or flashy, he flipped right to a few pages with really nice get-ups and goes "$49."
My mouth kinda fell open cuz I was thinking Id have to fork over a hundred or more, but hes like "Theres no need for me to TRY and get $100 from someone when I CAN rent them for $50." Made sense.
I asked how long it would take from the time I ordered a tux until I could have it ready and he goes "I can have it tonight if you need it." Again, I was shocked cuz I was expecting a month or something.
He took a quick measurement of my chest - Im a 36c :)- and went to the back and brought out a jacket for me to try on. Im not the kind of guy that thinks hes the greatest or whatever, but I have to admit I looked pretty impressive.
I told the guy that I would be back sometime this week and we shook hands, exchanged smiles, and parted ways.
So why do I need a tux? Cuz a friend of mine is having a birthday party with a prom theme.She rented a Hummer limo for four hours and were gonna dress up in prom clothes and have us some fun.
Ive been trying to get Blanca to agree to come along with me, but shes being stubborn and hasnt agreed to it yet. Her main excuse, I mean "reason", is that she doesnt think theyll be enough room in the limo for her. So I called my friend today to ask if it was ok if she went and she said yeah and that she expected her to go. Cool.
We talked some more and since I was excited about my tux adventure I say to her "I went to try on a tux on Saturday." And what does she say? She says "For what?" I explain to her about HER party and she goes "Oh, we changed that." Good to know! Can you imagine my embarrassment when I showed up at the party in a tux, and Blanca in a nice dress with a corsage, and everyone else is wearing jeans and a tee shirt? On the bright side, less money I have to spend.

I have more to write, but Im hungry, so perhaps a bit later - or maybe even tomorrow.

Til next time...

-- DBW --