Top 5 Burrito Spots - Burp

Aight here it is - Reeg's Top 5 Burrito spots in the city. I feel like I'ma Burrito connoisseur. Shoot, I just had a Carnitas one for lunch today. As Rol would also say, this is my go to food when I can't think of anything else to eat. Comfort food just doesn't have to be from the South! So starting in reverse order:

5. La Morena - Yeah, how much credibility can this list have if the first place listed is in South City? At least the area is surrounded by Mexicans, making the place legit. But its my blog, my rules, and thus it makes the list. They probably make my favorite Al Pastor ever.

4. Pancho Villa Taqueria - Yikes, at least this place has a city locale in addition to the original spot in San Mateo. They have a grander menu and their churros are on point, well more than **insert amusement park**, Costco, and that dude on the corner slanging lukewarm ones.

3. Gordo's - Gordo's is that spot, I'm sure you Richmond/Sunset/Parkside people will admit. Their burritos are dense and girthy [pause], but I guess that's what happens when your order has a "super" prefix in front of it. Plus I never usually order Quesedillas but wouldn't hesitate here.

2. Papalote's - Okay this isn't a surprise if you read my previous entry. I know no authentic taqueria's should have tofu as an option or have wheat tortillas, but I'll make an exception. Order a Carne Asada and they'll cook it on the spot, so you have to wait a lil longer but it's well worth it. And their house Orange House Salsa puree is mad official. I could eat tortilla chips and wash it down with that stuff.

1. La Taqueria - Okay, despite many Best Burrito of the City accolades, this is my fav joint. On half days back at MIssion Dolores, dad would swoop us up and pick up burritos here for lunch. So I always will have a soft spot for it. Shoot even nowadays I'll take PT down there during slow times at work and enjoy a tasty one! Think about it - its the OG Taqueria that it doesn't even need a second name - its simply La Taqueria.

There you have it. If I missed any, then maybe they're ranked 6th through 10th haha.
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Golf Is My Medicine

Course: Chuck Corica Golf Complex, Jack Clark Course

So I was reeeeaaallyy sick a couple Fridays ago, and to feel better I ventured out to Alameda to play a round of golf with MosJef. Plus since it was a belated birthday gift I wanted to play on a weekday so I could save some loot hahaha. Anyway a couple weeks prior to this round, I felt a part of me missing. It turns out it was my golf bag, since Arvin borrowed my sticks as he's looking to get some Mizuno's too. So I got my clubs back, all clean and all, so everything should've been back to normal. I actually bought a new sand wedge to complement my 'zuno's and haven't even used it at the range, so I was pretty excited to play.

I like Chuck Corica since if its not busy they'll let you go out in twosomes, which is what happened that day. You could shag balls if you want, just be on the lookout for the Marshall. So on the first hole, I pierced a drive down the middle. Only thing is the middle of the fairway contained a sloped bunker! Anyway the 1st Hole pretty much dictates your round, and I double-bogeyed it eeek. The ensuing holes weren't much better, as my score ballooned and I didn't have a par or better in the front 9! Meanwhile MosJef was competitive in his time to shine, and he was playing solid golf, even birdieing a hole. Back 9 started out similarly to the front, and after 13 holes I find myself trailing him. WTF?? I can confidently say I'm undefeated against all the 3rd Floor peeps since 1996, and I've never collected a penny on all the monetary bets we've had.

Realizing I might lose, I was thinking of excuses [I was sick remember, well its his b-day, bro cursed clubs, etc]. However I just turned on the Eldrick Juice and finished bogey-par-bogey-birdie-par. I finally knocked in a birdie putt on 17 and had another snake on 18, pulling out the pin for a crazy save. My last two holed putts covered like 75 feet, so I was even impressed with myself. Breaking it down, I was +23 over 13 holes and +1 over 5 hahaha. My 95 beat his 98, but congrats to him for breaking 100 for the 1st time! I thought I wasn't even gon break the Century Club that day whew.

Since I was victorious, I enjoyed a burrito with Rol at Papalote's afterward, which is probably the 2nd best burrito spot in the Sucka Free.

Hopefully I'll have at least 2 rounds left in me for December!
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One Crabby Saturday

So on Saturday Anthony [sous-sous chef] and myself [head chef] cooked for Steph and G, doing you know, that crap older people do, liking hosting dinners and stuff. Anyway initially it was a competition since they cooked for us a couple weeks ago, but really there wasn't a competition and I think they would admit that haha. I'm glad they came too since that kick-started me cleaning my condo.

The menu was as follows:

Appetizer:
Lori's Brie and Apple Appetizers
Entrees:
Green Beans & Oyster Sauce
Dungeness Garlic Crab Butter Noodles
Oven-Roasted Dungeness Crab
Dessert:
Tiramisu Affogato

Music:
Jamie Cullum - twentysomething

Lastly there was White Wine for the girls while Any and me had San Mig Lights haha.

I was responsible for the noodles and crab and ambiance while Ant handled the appetizer, veggie and dessert. And I'm usually a humble dude but our dinner was on point. Granted there was some initial issues [thinking that Pacific Sales was a grocery store when in actuality it is an appliance store lol, not knowing how to get to Ranch 99 in Rich-town, finding the Mirin, almost mincing my finger while mincing the garlic, etc]. Yeah, I honestly felt like we were in the kitchen stadium on The Iron Chef, since we wanted to get everything done in an hour. [Whereas the girls took 2 hours to make chicken hahaaha].

First I had to steam the crabs, and its pretty fun dealing with live crabs. They get all active tryna escape the pot but then they quickly perish. Sad but we gotta preserve the food chain. Then as I was making this sauce I had to preheat my oven to 500 degrees, and no joke I didn't even know it could get that high. Ish was mad hot though when we had to open it. The noodle dish was proper, but next time I wanna use thicker noodles. We saw some dude at the grocery store, and we were all loud looking for a specific type of egg noodle. Then he chimes in "oh like the ones at Thanh Long?" and we're like "yeah!" So we jacked his noodles since he was making the same thing! But really, those dishes weren't similar at all haha.

Oh yeah, 3 of the four crabs were fully limbed, but one crab had his whole left side amputated. However his one claw was gigantic, like the size of a lobster. I wonder if he grew up like that, and his arm got bigger since he just had to rely on that? Hmmm.

Afterwards we were mad stuffed and my place probably still smells like garlic lol. But it definitely helped my cooking swagger in preparation of the sides we need to prepare for this upcoming holiday. So if anyone else wants to battle, me and Ant will take you on!*

* except for Tiff L
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Pan-demoniom!

Oh yeah I never wrote about Amelyn and Ed's wedding. While they already celebrated their ceremony in the Great White North known as Banff, Canada, they also had a dinner celebration at Dynasty Something for the family and friends up in the Bay. Well Cupertino was mad far from my crib, so it felt like I was driving to Santa Cruz or something. But that town gets a pass since its home to Apple HQ. But anyway I had to coordinate with Jeff, Rol and Ant to make sure we weren't goin to wear the same colors haha. I just knew already I wasn't gonna match anything Al was gonna rock lol. I opted for a brown pinstripe, which doesn't really fit me like it did when I bought it. Maybe I need to re-alter it I dunno.

Anyway we had the grand ballroom in the restaurant, when there seemed to be like 10 other celebrations going on. Ed probably was the tallest dude, so he probably got first dibs. You know, tall folks get everything. Anyway, maybe I should stop mentioning height when I talk about Ed. I swear he has other redeeming qualities too. He has dimples, and not on his ass [not that I know of at least]. Did you know if Ed and I went to UC-Santa Cruz we were gonna be roommates? Yeah I don't know how he leapfrogged the rest of the UC's and ended up at Berkeley. Well I wasn't gonna go to UCSC anyway, regardless of how much I like Pulp Fiction.

Ant played the MC, and he did a good job, except he never advertised Stergeron Enterprises, so I'm a tad disappointed. So there was the Filipinos at our table [less Nick] and some other random people. You know you're at a Chinese wedding when the person sitting next to you neither knows the Bridge or Groom hahaha. Luckily we were placed with a dude who didn't like seafood, and seafood comprised bout 75% of the dishes. More for me! Dish du Jour was probably the SeaBass. Ish was good. They tried to fool us 2wice though, as the crab soup wasn't shark-fin soup and the roasted chicken wasn't duck. I guess 2008 is the year of the cupcakes since that was the dessert, and I think I had one of all 4 flavors haha.

2008 is also the year of the Photobooth, and we did a few No on 8 poses. Blame Roland for that. Another 3rd Floor alumnus got wedded, so we did that pose too. Now that I think of it, I don't think I was in the one for Steph's wedding? Hmmm. Anyway the liquor kept flowing and Jeff and Nick ended up being impromptu bartenders. And I was gone after one of Luna's concoctions. The night was winding down and there was excess beer left, so naturally with the ShotGun Kings in the house [shouts out to Man G holding down the East Coast], we had to take it to the dome. And it was refreshing.

The ride home was mad long. G drove Black-Starr and we followed Jeff home to make sure he arrived safely. Then we made it back. All in all another one bites the dust. But congrats guys!

Attached are some pics, and really the Bride was there somewhere although you won't see her hahaha:


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9-0-2-1 Uh Oh!

I knew there was a reason I kept watching this show. I sometimes have problems living in the past. Why do you think I have so many retro kicks? Why was the my last playlist created called Mission Dolores R&B Ish? [FYI first song I put on there was Troop's Spread My Wings]. So naturally I'ma be drawn into 90210. Anyway after watching the Dubs slip by the Sportscoats, errr, Blazers [haha!], I quickly launched my DVR to put on the latest episode. [note to self: write about hoops soon to maintain some man-cred].

And guess who makes a cameo?! None other than Nubian Princess Number One LL, the one and only Nu-Nu aka Lauren London. She is to Regan as TI is to G, to use an SAT analogy. Hmmm…no wonder we were both quiet when we were watching ATL during their love scenes! Its all making sense now. But anyway, I was wondering where L-Boogie 2K went after messing with Turtle in that one Entourage episode, and apparently she just enrolled in West Bev high. Good thing she peaced out, since that would've been statutory for the Turtle and he wouldn't be in this position messing with the Sopranos first daughter Jamie-Lynn.

But yeah, she plays a cheerleader, so I'm expecting a Gabrielle Union routine from Bring It On or something. I thought it was just a one-time cameo, but I IMDB'ed her and found out it’s a recurring role woohoo. Unfortunately the show is on hiatus [hi haters!] and won't come back until after the new year. So the anticipation builds up.

Another bonus: the last song played on the show was Death Cab's I Will Follow You Into the Dark, which made me think if I should at least try to obtain tickets for their upcoming show?? Hmmph. Man one day I'ma stop watching CW shows, but at least I honestly can say I don't follow Gossip Girls and Priviledged lol.
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I Got 99 Problems...

But blogging ain't one!

Money
1. Doubtful about a raise or bonus for 2009, when I had decent ones in prior years.
2. I feel like the antithesis of Big's "Mo Money Mo Problems"
3. Only roughly 28 years left on my mortgage.
4. HOA fees kick in during Q2'09.
5. I have a car note after not having one for like 4 years.
6. I still have school loans to pay.
7. My wallet is worth more than the money that's in it.
8. I took a peek at my retirement accounts.
9. I cashed out all my change, so the clang is louder when I throw it in the bucket.
10. My financial advisor disowned me.

Career
11. I'm in the financial services industry.
12. Our company posted 11 consecutive months in the red.
13. I realize I need to get certified to get to the next level.
14. I sit right outside the Corporate Controller's office, and he calls my got damn name too much.
15. Our stock today has reached a 52 week low, and for the record, an all-time low.
16. I'm the most tenured in my department.
17. I feel guilty requesting for time off.
18. I've never taken a full-week off since I've started here.
19. I feel like I do other people's work in my department.
20. Sometimes work feels like groundhog day.

Personal
21. About half of my threads don’t fit me right.
22. Don't know what I should do with my 'do.
23. I have more man-crushes than woman-crushes.
24. I'm cranky pants when I don't have my morning coffee.
25. I think I want to get a colonic.
26. I want a dog, but can't even take care of an e-pet [RIP Flappie].
27. I have my wisdom teeth still, but am scared to get them extracted.
28. Debating whether or not to let go of Sen-dog.
29. I don't remember the last time my whole immediate fam has been in the same city.
30. About 18 months of personal statements need to be recorded and filed away.

Sports
31. I have Lebron in one of my leagues, and I'm closer to last than first.
32. The Warriors have a losing record.
33. The Niners have a losing record.
34. I haven't shot at a hoop since our last playoff b-ball game.
35. I shot over a 95 last time I played golf.
36. I bought football cleats but we haven't played a new season.
37. I have a mediocre fantasy football squad too.
38. My golf game peaked when I was 17.
39. If Tech makes the NIT I think that would be a successful season.
40. I got fast hands but slow feet, word to Chris Mullin.

Technology
41. My MacBook Pro thus far is a glorified Internet surfing tool.
42. I have a Smartphone, but am on a Stupidplan.
43. I still got that dumb light on my truck. Lights out please.
44. I got a lil ESPN ghostmark on my Plasma.
45. My wireless speakers aren't working properly.
46. I pay hella for cable, but don't even get the channels I want [NBATV, HBO, Spice]
47. I need PC access to download my CPA software.
48. My web projects and ideas haven't taken off.
49. My blog needs a facelift.
50. Ayyyyo, I'm tired of all this technology.

Health
51. I haven't got a physical since I can remember.
52. My back is crooked and balky, word to that dude from Perfect Strangers.
53. I have a gym membership that I pay for but don't utilize.
54. I go to Run Club only because it’s a precursor to Breakfast Club
55. I haven't rode my bike [well, Arvin's] in a minute.
56. I'm not following my perfect pushup schedule.
57. I never stretch really before anything.
58. I play golf riding a cart when I see 80 year olds walking the course.
59. My eating habits lately have been horrible.
60. My fingers and left wrist are the body parts that get worked out the most.

Friends
61. Not sure when our winter Tahoe trip is gonna happen.
62. The homie Roland is moving to Sac.
63. I talk to some people more via technology than in person.
64. Some of them aren't blogging as much as before.
65. Some of them just are Swayze [ie. Ghost].
66. I don't live in the same vicinity as some of them.
67. Sometimes I feel some of my friendships aren't met halfway.
68. Friends shouldn't just be friends because of history, word to Kelly and Brenda.
69. I can't and shouldn't have to choose between friends.
70. Sometimes I feel that I can't count on some of them.

The Crib
71. I can't maintain a clean place when I only have 750 square feet.
72. You could probably remove half the crap in my condo and I wouldn't miss it.
73. I have a couple bins in my folks garage in their big house, and they want me to get rid of it.
74. I have a couple power outlets that aren't operating in my kitchen.
75. I still haven't filled out the paperwork to get my property tax adjustment.
76. Sometimes I feel workers still have keys to my crib.
77. I don't get enough natural light in my unit.
78. My plants are dying even though I water them weekly.
79. My sofa and granite counters are dust magnets.
80. I'm not really done furnishing, and I've been there for over 18 months.

Music
81. I'm tired of all my Pandora stations.
82. I want to go to that Killers/Death Cab concert, but its sold out and I don't like paying above retail.
83. Hip-hop, why have you forsaken me?
84. My whip only is a single disc changer, for now.
85. I still buy CD's.
86. I don't know where my New Edition "Under the Blue Moon" CD is.
87. I have vivid flashbacks of that Musiq concert still.
88. My iPod is full, but think anything over 30GB would be too much scrolling.
89. I don't seem to dig deep enough for good music.
90. I have high hopes for Kanye's album.

Miscellaneous
91. I have about 50 other non-kicks I haven't yet listed on eBay.
92. I'm struggling to come up with 8 more problems.
93. I'm superstitious.
94. Sometimes people close to me annoy me for no apparent reason.
95. I'm addicted to Diet Coke and Coke Zero.
96. I have a dinner to plan with Ant on Saturday but we haven't started discussing it.
97. I spend a lil too much time on Facebook.
98. I lack motivation right now…you gotta get up, get out, get something.
99. Sometimes I front like its all good, but sometimes its not really.

Whew. But on the real, I love life and all its issues and problems. And I guess if these comprise the bulk of my troubles then it mustn't be too bad. I even do 55 in a 54, but don't have to worry about stepping out the car. Its all part of the ride!
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Regan and Himself Go To Best-O Burger

So obviously we don't have a White Castle in Northern Cali [them frozen ones they sell at grocery stores don't count]. My coworker told me about this place nearby work that sold sliders. And I was like for real, I gotta peep this. I ventured up Kearny and swung a right on Pine, and I could smell the patties being fried as I was approaching the establishment. They're menu was pretty limited, as I believe they're going after the In-N-Out approach for simplicity. So then I just decided to order the 2 slider with fries and frings bag for like $6.

First the good: the patties were like 10x the width of White Castle…shoot it shouldn't even be a comparison. The frings were good too. Oh yeah and they have a gelato selection. Then that's about it! So homie asked me if I wanted lettuce and tomato on them, and I was like sure. Didn't know that cost an extra 25 cents for each! Ordering the combo meal didn't save me one penny - I hate when they do that! The bread was decent, but got soggy from all the grease. And the biggest crime was using their thousand island dressing on it - ew. Loyal readers know how much I don't like that sauce on my burger [well actually you don't have to be loyal, you could've just read last week]. Oh yeah the fries were overfried too, which I generally like, but not if they have a pretzel-like crunch.

So I'll probably only go back to sample the gelato, even though they too have a secret menu. Its kinda wack though when they advertise their secret menu on their website. Lame!
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I'ma Jack Rol's Steez For a Sec...

Everyone loves to link up ballers and rappers to see similarities, especially Rol lately haha. How come only brothas are being used? Well obviously, since they dominate both groups, but I'ma do reverse affirmative action. Here's one we've always talked about but now its time for the pictures:



AND



Just look at the facial hair, nose, ears...its all there.

And Yes, Dennis is a rapper, as I have 2 of his CDs! This whole time I thought I was the dopest spitter reppin' SI Class of '97, but I'll bow down to him. Diverse Curse in the house for real [and thanks for the shout out on that one song.] And if you haven't seen him in action yet, go watch Contour. And Marco is a baller technically, since he gets NBA paychecks haha.

And how come I see Marco more often than Dennis??
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Andele Andele Mami, E.I., E.I., E&Ohhhhh!

So last night I had a pseudo happy hour [started at 7:30p] and a pseudo dinner [just appetizers really] with my old manager FM and my cool auditor [yeah I know, oxymoron] AS, who is battling for Tiff’s current title of FCG. Usually clients shouldn’t mix with their audit team so ssshhh don’t tell! Anyway we went to E&O, and I’ve been here countless times for work-related functions, so it was kinda weird when we had to pay for the bill out-of-pocket! AS probably just billed it back to us anyway…have you seen their invoices for engagement fees?! But anyway, the food we ordered was pretty tasty: chicken satay, duck rolls and corn fritters, while being washed down by a couple Stellas. AS and I were both drinking that, so I’m thinking I need to man up and drink something darker? I didn’t want a piece of FM’s Guiness though, since there was no Bailey’s to be found.

FM was telling me the story about my hiring process…pretty much I was their 2nd choice and was only hired because their 1st choice took another offer! The ego was momentarily bruised, but luckily I’m a quick healer [think Superman right when the Kryptonite disappears]. Last time we got together if was for like a 45 min lunch, but before you know it 3 hours elapsed and it was already 10:30p and I had to trek back to Villa Emery, which would mean I need to get off at MacArthur around 11ish haha.

I ain’t soft, but I really didn’t want to wait on MacArthur Blvd 30 minutes for my bus to come, since the Shuttle service ends at 10p. Last time I did that some crackhead looking chick asked me if I wanted a ride home lol. I actually contemplated jumping in the car to see if she would actually bring me, but using better judgment I passed. And I hate taking taxis, but that seemed to be the best alternative last night, so spending the extra 10 bones was worth it for peace of mind and a savings of time.
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Ghetto Big Mac

So I was really curious what happened to my beloved Double Cheeseburger, and naturally started to research it. It turns out I received a variation of the Ghetto Big Mac [without the fries replacing the middle bun]. Per Urbandictionary:

1. The act in buying a normal double cheeseburger off the dollar menu while substituting the ketchup for bigmac sauce and the chopped onions for sliced, then putting french fries in between the beef patties as if to be the middle bun in a big mac.

So this is definitely something I didn't customize. Maybe because of my 'hood appearance being masqueraded in fitted business casual garb she thought I would prefer this type of sandwich? Then again this was a Mickey D's on 3rd and Market, so I probably just received someone else's Ghetto Big Mac.

Whew the OG Double Cheeseburger is still intact!
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My Legend Has Just Begun...

John Legend – Evolver

Legend’s are born, not made. But with the case of John Stephens, he created himself [with the help of Kanye] into John Legend. I probably first heard him on Slum’s “Selfish” and thought he had a dope voice, but not much more since I probably can sound fresh on a Kanye track. Okay maybe not, but anyway that still is one of my favorite tracks this decade. Fast forward is sometime around Q3 of 2004, and your boy Reeg is going through problems. Right then JL releases “Used to Love U” and bam, that captured how I totally felt, so fluidly and succinctly over a dope beat. This dude definitely landed on my Man-Crush radar. “I realize…that I just don’t love uuuu, not like I used to.” So then I’m going through some ish, realizing that I’m just an ordinary person, then Ordinary People drops! Damn he has good timing for releasing songs that parallel my feelings. As a result “Get Lifted” won the prestigious reegsta.com R&B Album of 2004. [How did I overlook The College Dropout for Album of the Year?! - shame on a ninja!]

Anyway JL releases Once Again in 2006, and dude is just sprung. His beats were more melodic, as Kanye was pretty absent from these tracks, but they were still dope. Even if you never heard this album, song titles such as “Heaven” and “Each Day Gets Better” and “PDA” pretty much sum up the mood of his album! Happy, he found Maxine and its all good. 2006 ironically was also a happy year for me – see this dude customizes his albums for me haha. But towards the end of Once Again, my fav song is “Where Did My Baby Go?”….hmmmm, maybe its not all blissful as it was in the beginning. Duh, even John Legend is human.

So its now 2008, and the artist has changed – thus the Evolver title. His first single “Green Light” is a jam you all have heard…its always good to see Andre 3K rapping again. It sounds like John is ready just to get back in the game, so I’m not sure what happened with Maxine? He’s definitely more mature now, since its been over 4 years since I Used to Love U, which tells me he knows what homie wants. He vows to do things differently on “This Time.” But the jewel of the album is definitely “Everyone Knows” – “one day you’ll see, no one has it easy…” Rol already summarized this song here, which pretty much I agree wholeheartedly. Songs resonate with us pretty similarly…its kinda scary lol.

And true to form, JL again mimic’s my feelings with the last song on his album – “If You’re Out There”…that shouldn’t be too hard to interpret. Go get this album...shoot I paid full price for it and got my money's worth!

4 Acura Legends out of 5
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The Prince has his [Shoe] Palace

How come no one told me a Nike Store was opening in my hood? Everytime I go to that mall, I'm like this place would be comprehensive if it only had a athletic footwear store. I even entertained the thought of opening a shop there. Shoot if they can sell hella cupcakes there then I can push kicks, no Lupe's Kick Push.

They're gonna have a concept section where you can create your own IDs. I think its time for a Prince of the Ville exclusive.

Well I'm just glad its just not a Nike Women's Store like the one they have in Paly. Its straight walking distance from the crib FTW! Howeve, E-ville's 8.75% tax rate is FTL.

If any RC'ers want to do a Sunday run and get a free gift and a chance to win a stack [aka $1000] worth of gear, holler back! OMG and there is also going to be a Running Man competition, word to Arnold. What other elements can you ask for?

Nike Store - Bay Street 411
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What Secret is Victoria Hiding?

Note To Self: When you buy something from Victoria’s Secret, first ensure you order want so you don’t have to go through the returns process. And then when you complete your profile ensure that the box is unchecked so you won’t receive any correspondence from them. So apparently I overlooked that 2nd step and what appears in my work email? None other than a VS promotion email! I don’t care if I get a free panty if I order 3 of them. I have never unsubscribed so fast in my life. Then I checked my stale mail the other day, and I see a VS catalog! I mean it wasn’t even the nice one with Marissa Miller in lingerie, but rather one that just sells their clothes and stuff, so Marissa might have very well been in there.

Remember before the VS catalogs were the rage? We had to resort to Sears and Mervyn's ads to get some cleavage shots haha. Man this generation is so spoiled...everything is just at their fingertips. Back then we had to rely on our wits and improvisation skills...but I digress.

So thanks you know who. Haha no worries I'm not tripping – happy early birthday!
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Fugazi Foodie From Francis

Where: Little Beijing
When: November 6, 2008
Who: Tiff, Nick, Mike, Reeg, Roland, Geraldine, Rach, Ant, Steph & Alan
What: Chinese Food
How Much: $14

Since we’ve been having imclement weather lately, the authentic foodie spot chosen by Nick had to be indefintiely postponed. As a result we went to LB [not Little Brother] for the the 3rd time in about 2 years. It must be one of Nick’s fav spots, since we had his last 2 birthdays there. But this place is decent, you get some bang for your buck. Not to be confused with getting to bang for a buck, although since this was the Sunset, they might have been some brothels around.

Dishes Ordered from first to worst: Onion Pancakes, Salt & Pepper Pork with Parmesan Cheese, Mongolian Beef, Spicy Dumplings, Green Beans, Glazed Chicken, Other Dumplings, oh yeah and a chinese soup. Something tells me if TheUglyStick were here we’d have a completely different line-up haha. Oh yeah I just realized we didn’t order a seafood dish. No biggie.

Afterwards Alan was fiending for some dessert so we went to this dessert spot that straight looked like a Hong Kong establishment. I mean I’ve been to a lot of Asian restuarants in the Bay, and there’s remnants that remind you that you’re in SF. But this one looked to be straight out of the HK, from the décor to the folks to the menus. I was tempted to order the Lychee dish but didn’t want it hot, so I just opted to share a Mango juice drank with G. It was aaaaight, as I either only like Mango’s in the Mitchell’s Ice Cream format or straight fruit, but G seemed to like it. I sampled Tiff’s cantaloupe [Flip Fantasia!] dish, and it was semi-refreshing. I probably would’ve enjoyed it more on a hotter day.

But yeah, the 2008 Foodie Year is coming to a near end, with Rach choosing the next spot and our year-end one in December, which means I get to lead off 2009 woohoo!
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Exactly 6210 days ago [(17 * 365) + 5 leap days]

As I alluded to on my Facebook status page, 17 years ago to this day was a pretty emotional time for a 12 year old who’s hero announced he contracted the HIV virus. If you knew me in the 80s, my man-crush on Magic was greater than all my combined man-crushes since – Kenny, Steph, Ne-Yo, Kanye, Nas, Pac, Justin, Ne-Yo, Tiger…okay you get the idea – and all my homies knew it. We had basketball practice that afternoon, and I played inspired ball so I could eventually take his place in the NBA lol. But for real, all the ridicule he received was something I took personally. “He’s gay!” to “Ahh that’s why him and Isiah always kissed before they played?” to “What does Magic stand for? My Ass Got Infected Coach!” Man…that was a tough pill to swallow.

The season before the Bulls beat the Lakers for their first championship, and Magic did all he could, getting a triple-double in the last game when the youngin’s like Elden Campbell, Tony Smith and Vlade Divac were getting a chunk of minutes. So naturally I was looking forward to the upcoming season. I remember that preseason where he played a few games and abruptly stopped, and the Lakers used the excuse that he’s resting for the regular season or something. Then he missed the first few games because of the flu or whatever, no biggie he’ll come back better and stronger.

Then a couple people run into the gym screaming “Magic has AIDS!” and of course I was in disbelief and shock. Its not like now when these tweens have Blackberries and get news on the fly. We had to rely on word of mouth! This was a fairly new disease and my assumption was only gay dudes can contract it. And of course he’s not gay, he’s Magic Freakin’ Johnson. Anyway after practice I went home and just was in a somber mood. I’ve never had a dog, but if he were to pass or runaway or something, then that’s how I would feel. Anyway that night I hit the sack, crying my eyes out, hoping it was all a bad dream. But of course it was reality.
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Over a Billion Served

So for lunch today I was fiending for my monthly Mickey D's lunch trek. I usually get the same thing, which is whatever the special is and at least something off the ever-shrinking $1 menu. Today I ordered a Chicken McNugget mini-meal for $2.99. A regular McNugget meal is like $4.99, so I'm cool off extra fries and 2 extra Nuggets and a slightly larger soda, since that doesn't justify a 67% price increase.

As for the double cheeseburger, I order that because a single cheeseburger cost 94 cents, and for 6 cents more you get twice the meat. And I usually ask for BBQ sauce because it reminds me of the Tim & Chris burger we had back in the day.

But todays burger was different - it had another sauce oozing out of it. Then I realized it was the special sauce used in their Big Macs! WTF [w = when] did this happen?! It kinda felt like in 2002, when I ordered a Sourdough Jack at a JITB in Culver City and realized that it now comes with ketchup. Don't get me wrong I love me some ketchup [probably not as much as Tiff and Ant though], but I was accustomed to having SDJ's without it. So every time since I need to request for that burger without ketchup, and get really ticked off when I forget to.

Back to the revised cheeseburger^2...I'm not too fond of this special sauce, since i haven't ordered a Big Mac in about 15 years, even when they had their 2 for $2 specials. Shoot a Big Mac isn't high on the my McDonald's hierarchy...it might even fall below the Arch Deluxe. Or maybe they just messed up my burger, since sometimes you can get 7 McNuggets in a 6 piece box?

This concoction didn't mesh well with the BBQ sauce even after I tried to scrape as much off as possible, so I had an unsatisfying lunch. I should've ordered a caramel sundae off the $1 menu instead dammit.

Another thing that dawned upon be recently is that Mickey D's doesn't sell bacon, not as an option in their burgers or during breakfast or whatever. Why is that??

Anyway hope to make it up during fake foodie!
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Some Sucky Feelings

So my mind was wandering and I was thinking of crap that may or may not have happened to me. I still like to think I'm a blessed dude, but sometimes there's moments or situations that just suck. Here are some of them [that I may or may not have experienced hahaha]

- Going into your bosses office expecting a raise or promotion but getting terminated instead
- Knowing at work you know and do twice as much more as another person, but they get paid twice as much as you
- Getting assigned to do something at like 5p. On a Friday.
- Getting caught pleasuring yourself and/or looking at pr0n
- Dropping a satisfying deuce then realizing there's no toilet paper in the bathroom
- Mistakenly wash some DRY CLEAN ONLY clothes in the wash
- Giving it your all and still coming up short
- Thinking about a chick but she's probably not even thinking about you [think 98 Degree's "Invisible Man"]
- Letting down your loved ones, especially your folks, especially especially your moms
- Doing only 9 reps in a set of 10
- Wearing only one contact lens since the other one was irritating you, and you had to drive somewhere
- Getting a parking ticket early in the morning on a weekend at a public university

These are all definitely FTLs, but I promise you I never got caught choking the monkey ever haha. But you know what, we're always going to chalk up Ls sometimes, we just need more Ws. And just like Barack, if the Ws outweigh the Ls then we'll end up victorious. Damn I wonder how long this Election Erection is gonna stay firm?
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Ninong Reeg and Other Musings

Say hello to my newest godson! So now the Tacorda clan has a starting 5. It's a trip that my folks had 5 boys in succession to start off my generation, and now this generation starts off with 5 boys too! While some may think my family is male-dominated, I'm quick to think of the story of my Uncle Junior, who has 4 girls only. Here's a quote from his surprise 60th b-day earlier this year: "sometimes I wish I had a shotgun around in the house" haha. He always gave the best speeches though. Anyway I think I might parallel him, since he's the youngest boy, just like me.



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So today I received my dri-fit Disney Marathon shirt, size extra medium. Remember this was when they ran out and were only stuck with XXLs? Like XXL-sized people run marathons away, so I wonder if that came as a surprise to them. Anyway that was over 2 months ago, and while Kram ran another half and a full since, I became the anti-Kram and maybe ran 1 mile total since no joke. Then I've been eating like a Somalian at a Vegas buffet, except after midnight as Rol and MosJef can attest to haha. For example I had a rib-eye for dinner last night and had a carnitas burrito for lunch today. But for some reason I can't really keep the weight on! Since I love me, I ran Disney clocked in at 143lbs. My weigh-in moments ago read 145lbs. So 2 lbs in 2 months without anything physical save for a few bike rides? I'm 5 lbs away from my goal, but I want that weight to go to my arms, chesticles and thighs, since boxer briefs aren't supposed to be baggy on your legs lol. If I was a chick I'd have chicken legs and be flat-chested.

As a result I did a few reps on my Perfect Pushup, since I told Cicely I would workout if the Warriors won, and they did indeed. [Nellie please be right and play B. Wright more!] So as a man of my word, I'm writing this shirtless after 75 pushups, and too bad I haven't really figured out to use this built-in cam, otherwise I'd post Reeg's pecs, which would've probably led to some pek-peks. Shout out to the Pek-Pek Posse!

Anyway I need to contribute daily to the R^3 program I've referenced before, so this is a start! This weekend is when I'll drop the CPA software on my laptop after I get my XP cd from moms. Lives and careers are developed when you're in your thirties, and I'm just tryna get a jumpstart!

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Woohoo while I was gone I had my 10,000th visitor! But these stat is beginning to resemble the US economic situation, where a small percentage gets most of the wealth haha. So I'm sure like 30 people or whatever represent like 9,000 of those hits, and the other 1,000 hits are from a 1,000 different visitors? Well that might have been confusing but it made sense to me.

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Started up my G-Chat account on the MBP, so its a iChat X Jabber X Google collab. I added a few of you so don't hit the decline button if you see reegsta come your way. I'm liking my MBP the more I use it. Its even travel-friendly.

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Final thought - its a little more comfortable blogging outside of work, since I can actually have cohesive thoughts rather than a portion of my mind thinking about work. Hmmm....I feel like a Mr. Belvedere/Dr. Howser hybrid posting my thoughts before calling it a night.
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Halloweenada

It was either that title or Halloweento, but both titles work, or not really? Anyway this is the second time I've been to Toronto [and second time in Canada this year], so I pretty much seen most of the city. Unfortunately I didn't even know the Warriors were in town, but I couldn't have seen them anyway. I guess my fanhood is still in preseason form.

But the purpose of the trip was to accompany G to celebrate her lola's 100th birthday. Damn imagine that. Barack's speech about the 106 year old voter reminded me she was born when there was no cars, no planes, no TV or anything.

Movies seen on the plane:
- Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skulls - The Last Crusade should've been the last crusade
- Sex and The City - I can't front, I watched the whole series so I should've watched the flick. A manual for a man.
- The Happening - Wack

So G has the most adorable nephews and nieces, and not because they're all mixed haha. But peep the pics and you'll see. Me and G dressed up as a couple Jabawockeez, but we were probably a Halloween too late. The weekend was pretty much immersed with G's fam, which was cool since I already met them. And I found out that my brother's X is a cousin-in-law with G.

Oh yeah that Texas Tech-Texas game was off the chain, and there were a few disappointed Longhorns in attendance haha.

Anyway I can't access personal storage space here at work, so here's some linkage from the past weekend. Shoot I don't even know if the link will work! Maybe I'll fix it if I figure it out on my Mac:

T-Dot Pics 2K8
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The 12 Day DL

Damn has it been that long since I've entered this realm? Well here is the formula which caused the lack of entries:

Month-End Close + Long Weekend in T-Dot + Getting Back from Vacay + Soul Searching + Poor Earnings Call + Another Round of Layoffs = No Blogs for Almost 2 weeks!

Going forward I'm going to lift my self-imposed moratorium from blogging at home. I mean I freaking got a MacBook Pro so I might as well be on it when I can haha. Its like spending a paycheck on some highly sought after kicks and just putting them in your closet....oh wait nm haha.

But I'm back though, hoping to bring it consistently unlike my fantasy basketball teams. I mean Barack kept on campaigning til the very end and his work showed. Not running a blog is anything close to running a nation [unless its ploomy.com], but I'm here for the people. My metrics still maintained even during the days of my abblogstence, so thank you loyal readers. Right now I'm talking but not saying anything, which is about 90% of my blogs hehe.

Anyway let's make this a super-post and try to rewind these past dirty dozen days:

The Annoying Carpool Companion:
This broad had like 3 bags and ended up sitting shotty, even though she was the first person and she could've just had the backseat, which in turn made the semi-cute girl sitting in the back. Then she starts doing her hair and makeup using my mirror, when all the foundation in the world couldn't help her out. Then she was telling me her day's agenda about calling her mom's and not having time to vote and ish. Then she goes out on a limb and predicts there's gonna be traffic on the Bay Bridge during the morning rush hour, and when it happens she goes "she told you!" Then she talks about my whip, saying she was gonna get one but she opted for a little Mazda instead, like you were really gonna get one. Then I'm like less than a mile from my exit, and she goes "this lane is slower then the others." Then as I'm exiting she goes "do you go on California?" which is like 2 miles up. Hell naw trick the walk would do you good.

The Election:
So after I dropped off the annoying chick and the semi-cute one, I bounced all the way down to South City to cast my vote. If I was responsible I would've been able to vote half a block away from my condo, but since I didn't reregister in Alameda County I had to front like I was still a Peninsula resident. Anyway I was in line next to my pretty-cute neighbor who I used to think was fly baaaaack in the day haha. I was "2530 Bantry" and she was "2545 Bantry Lane" lol...and damn Jen Ortiz isn't a Facebook friendly name! Wait I'm just glad [and puzzled] that they didn't ask for ID since since I have my E-Ville one on the license.

Anyway of course I voted for Hussein. And since I wasn't well-schooled on the candidates for the schoolboard, I just voted for the people with the weirdest names to be consistent with the Presidential choice haha.

Using TheUglyMind's piece as a reference, I voted the following:
Prop 1: Train from LA to the Bay - YES, since I always hated that drive on the 5. I don't care how much it costs
Prop 2: Animals Stretching Limbs or something - YES, since I wouldn't want to my contained. What if they're claustrophobic?
Prop 3: Children's Hospitals - YES, since I have a cousin who has cerebral palsley, and that's who I was thinking of when I was for it.
Prop 4: Letting Moms Know - NO, since there's people more mature than their age and adults too immature for their age. But if they're preggy at 15, then I guess that's moot?
Prop 7: Renewable Energy - NO, since I just bought a gas guzzler and that would be hypocritical haha.
Prop 8: Ban on Gay Marraige - NO, but YES on Facebook lol.

Dennis didn't have 5 & 6 on his blog and I'm too lazy too look it up haha. Damn midnight already...lights out!
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