Busy little bee

I have been neglecting this blog for a good reason.  I have been busy.  Busy with what you ask?  Looking back, I cannot peg it on one thing since so much has happened.  Here's a recap:

Had a great Movember.  My moustache looked a lot better than I thought it would.  However, I was not able to hit the donation amount I wanted. But, that was only part of the reason for Movember.  Other than raising funds, I definitely hope I raised awareness about men's health (even though some of my own life choices are questionable).

Went back to the pompadour.  So far mostly positive reactions from people.  I think I will stick with this for a while...

I am having difficulty remembering the first three and a half weeks of December other than having a wonderful night out with My and Ya in Oakland.  I introduced Nanette to them and they seemed to get along famously.  They all teased me for not eating the fat from the pork belly and being picky about what I ate.  I did not mind at all because I loved that they were getting along.  We all went to a house party afterwards that was hosted by My and Ya's kickball teammates.  Met a few people and ate some questionable pulled pork tacos.  All in all a good night.

More recently, I spent Christmas weekend in Seattle and Portland.  It was quite the adventure.  The trip to Seattle truly felt like a vacation by myself.  I flew out alone and did  not see Anjuli until later that night.  Even then we only spent a few hours together.  We had a few drinks and called it a night without things getting too out of hand which was perfect for me.

The next day I was wandering downtown Seattle on my own.  I know I can take care of myself and I honestly do not mind being on my own.  It turned out to be much needed alone time.  I walked from 11 A.M. until about 5 P.M. with a 30 to 45 minute lunch break.  By my calculations, that would have been at least 12 miles of walking.  It felt good to exercise again even if it was just walking.

I visited Pike's Place again and got to see every inch of it.  It was nice not having any schedule or people pulling me in different directions.  I got to see Seattle at my own pace and on my own schedule.  I visited a lot of the local shops and ate Beecher's famous Mac and Cheese.  To be fair, I am not a fan of mac and cheese to begin with so this was actually not mind blowing for me.  Just another mediocre mac and cheese.  I barely ate 1/3 of it before throwing the rest away.  There goes five dollars I will never see again...  Oh well.

Next stop was the shops.  Saw a lot of interesting stuff but nothing worth buying.  I tried to look for something for everyone but that did not really work out.  I ended up buying things from a collectible store for a game of white elephant with our group.  Nothing special but it seemed wrong to leave Pike's Place empty handed.  I had fish and chips after shopping.  Again nothing special.  Perhaps my expectations were too high.

I finished with Pike's Place around 1:30 or so and started wandering downtown.  I went back to the army surplus store and had a blast just looking around.  The things they sell always fascinates me.  I saw knives, helmets, clothing, first aid kits, goggles, and even bayonets.  Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.  They also had MRE for sale which I thought was cool.  Of course I walked away empty handed.

I visited a bunch of stores like Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Macy's, Aldo, and some other local shops.  Nothing worth buying.  I finished up shopping around 5 P.M. and decided to sit in the lobby of a mall just to people watch.  I sat there to rest and ended up people watching for almost an hour.

Anjuli ate at home so I walked down the block from my hotel to a nice little restaurant called Lola.  Had the beef shank with a beer.  Best thing I ate in Seattle.  Including the last trip.

The drive to Portland was fine except for this scary bridge we crossed.  Anjuli had trouble seeing the road so she had to use her high beams every few seconds.  When she did the bridge lit up in a way that cannot be described in words.  Definitely the scariest bridge I have ever come across...

In the interest of saving time, Portland was great.  Highlights included great food and drunken times. Oh yea, I got a 16 year old kid drunk to the point of projectile vomiting.  Yep.  Good times indeed...

-Thundalips

New year, new problems.

Both good albums.  Nothing great.  Something that surprised me from both albums was how different the sounds were.  Each album was very eclectic in their own way, mixing styles of their classic rhythm and blues with a bit of rock, jazz, contemporary, and others. 

During a meeting at work today, my team took about 15 minutes at the end of the meeting reflect on the year as its coming to an end.  Many had complaints saying it was a terrible year and that they can't wait for it to be over.  Maybe they don't realize the only thing that changes is the calendar.  If your life sucks, it's going to suck until you make it better yourself.  It's hard to imagine that the simple act changing the calendar year will change the future or your "luck".  Blame your life on your own decisions and faults.  I sure do.  Some things are out of your control though.  In those cases, you just have to find the good in the bad and move on.  Easier said than done. Something I'm having trouble with now.

I'm in a bitter mood.  And who do I blame?  Myself of course.  Who else is responsible for my emotions?  No one.  Got confronted for not doing much at work today, got yelled at for listening to my music too loud at home, and might be getting sick.  On the upside, I actually proved to my boss I was working and had gotten a lot done. 

Based on the current itinerary, I am not looking forward to the Vegas trip with my family this Friday.  Supposed to be a four day trip.  Leaving on Christmas morning and should be back Monday morning.  But we're driving, so there goes 20+ hours depending on traffic.  We really have two full days and that's about it.  My family is going to watch the Lion King at  Mandalay Bay, but I chose not to go since I've already seen it so I'll probably be at some table gambling.   Shouldn't complain too much though.  I know my mom really enjoys the time we spend together as a family so I'm going to try and make the best out of it.  It's the least I can do for her.  Doing the Asian thing and going to Aria to look around at the new place and then try out their buffet.  We'll see how it goes...

Until next time,

Reminder to the world (including myself): In the words of Hiep, "Quitcha bitchin'"

-Alex Thunderlips

MAYDAY! M'AIDEZ!

Plenty of goodies.  For me that is.  Made my Christmas wish list for myself and it goes as follows:

1. Some kind of scooter.  Vino?  Vespa?
2. SLR.  Need to start researching soon.
3. More interracial friends.  Hah.  Sad but also true.
4. New laptop? Maybe...
5. A DOG!  Top picks are pug, husky/malamute/shiba inu/klee kai, or maybe a bulldog.
   

Probably will get the first two for myself.  The rest is out of my hands so just Kick Back.

-Alex Thunderlips