It's That Time of the Month Again...

"I want to write the blogs, that right the wrongs, right on."

You would think that after an extended absence I would be chock-full of material to provide, but sadly that isn't the case.  As almost with anything, once the ship passes then it's on to the next.  I mean have you ever seen a boat trying to do a U-turn?  Anyway here's a quick highlight reel of the past month in reverse order since it's easier for me to remember that way haha:

- Co-ed Flag Football started!  New league, new field, new faces.  So after a multi-season hiatus, our squad is back rejuvenated and refreshed.  Currently we're in 1st place and on a winning streak and on pace to go undefeated.  We're 1-0 haha.

- Father's Day.  I had no idea PPQ had an upstairs.  So when we made the reservations for 17 people, I thought we would take over the restaurant.  As far as roasted crabs go in the city, I would go like this: Tanh Long > R&G Lounge > PPQ > Crustacean.  I'm sure I'm missing a few others.  Thanks to the "sissy", here are pics of that day [don't ask why the 'phews are holding hands]:

- Santa Cruz.  I tagged along with Jon and Dar's fam for a lil day trip down to the Beach Boardwalk.  I don't even remember the last time I was on a roller-coaster but it was good to get my adrenaline flowing.  That's probably how Vinny Chase felt after the season premiere of Entourage.  It's fun though to channel that inner child that we all have, so thanks for the invite! Or did I crash?  Haha jp.  Contrary to belief, we did not request the pink cart, and since Diggy wanted to ride with Dar, it left me and Jon together.  All good, he was a better soundboard for top cleavage viewing anyway haha.

- Pebble Beach.  My first ever Major Championship!  I've seen golf tournaments before, I've seen Tiger before.  But I've never seen him in a major.  It's like watching Jordan in the NBA Finals [except Jordan would never lose one].  Mike and I headed down to the Monterey Peninsula for the opening round.  They didn't allow any phones or cameras or outside food or anything, but being the sneaky person I am, I found a way to get my phone in.  Having it though felt like I was concealing drugs on a plane or something.  Here is Tiger lining up a birdie putt over the scenic 10th hole.  It's really him!

Note to self: remember your exit, but don't leave the premises accidentally and try arguing with the security to let you back in with your sneaked-in possessions...don't wait until the end to take the shuttle, or else you'll be part of a mass exodus of people trying to hop on the few buses left and you end up leaving the course at 11p when the last putt dropped 3 hours prior...bring your Amex card to get free crap...yell "Woods!" since everyone else is yelling "Tiger!"...don't expect any dimes at a golf tournament...rock the sunblock...get a lil useful memento at the merchandise tent...and if you can, sneak into the player's potty areas rather than the general publics.

- In the Heights. This was a fun musical about a close-knit community that shows the struggle's of the inner-city life.  This made me think about being an understudy for one of the main characters, but then I realized that would require to sing and dance, which aren't my strong suits.  Anyway thanks T, T, R, and N for the company!

- Healdsburg. Nick's annual birthday weekend was another success, except for the golf part.  Apologies to those with whom I play board games.  If you want to see my morph from Bruce Banner to the Incredible Hulk, challenge me to a word game haha.  It's wonderful to get away from the urban life to a quaint little retreat area, devoid of cell phone service, television and dirty air.  I look forward to the next one.

Whew, this took me all morning to write, so let me stop here. Rather than just telling you I want to write more, I just gotta do it.  Be bout it bout it, like that No Limit shirt I used to rock back in the day haha.

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Raising Arizona

Heard it was kidna chilly in the Bay this past weekend, so good thing G and I [no Joe] headed out to the desert to primarily peep the Grand Canyon and see what else the land of the Sun [not the Rising Sun - that would be JP]. Because I can't write full-on sentences just yet, as I'm easing back into blogging shape, here are the Reeg Notes:

- passed the fat test again! had to cinch up the seat-belt on the plane
- I knocked out even before we took off
- Long arse line at Hertz forced them to give us a half-tank return instead of a full-one. Stupid me over-estimates and returns it at 3/4 full
- Why are car rental taxes soo expensive? Booked a $19/day rate, ended up paying ~$36/day WITHOUT insurance
- I still never pay for additional insurance…I think my own policy covers everything when I drive
- If there's no game in town, then PHX seems deserted, and not because its in the desert
- We were able to get a private tour of the US Airways Center since they don't offer public ones
- Stoudemires > Majerles. I think I might need to eat at every NBA namesake restaurant
- Damn its hot
- Not yet ready to check in the telly, we went outlet shopping. I bought a jacket. MLIA
- The Biltmore was a dope resort area. Now recently part of the Waldorf=Astoria collection, no Gossip Girl
- They boast 36 holes, 8 pools, and countless amenities situated on 29 lush acres. We probably ventured over 1 acre
- Is there a grilled cheese renaissance? The one at Roosevelt was pretty tasty
- I can't fathom a car in PHX without AC
- Pretty much an easy 3 hr drive from downtown PHX to the GC. And I'm grateful that the G6 had an AUX output for my iPod. Well G's, since she played DJ on the way up, got my singing musical tunes =|
- Paid $25 for our car for access, which was slightly more than the $12 individual passes. But controlling your own destiny is worth it
- The first view-point was foggy, so that was pretty ominous. Looked like the city of Daly City could fill the Canyon
- Soaking it all in, the Grand Canyon is aptly named. Shoot, they should rename it the Grandest Canyon
- Pictures, maybe even with an SLR, don't do it justice. It's an amazing spectacle
- My folks visited the GC last week. Darn, we could've went together [/sarcasm off]
- Peering off the cliffs made me think how much it would hurt to fall off
- Yes - the sun is coming out!
- Book that caught my eye in the gift shop - "Death in the Grand Canyon" - good thing I saw it after the hiking!
- We only drove through Sedona…wanted to see this sunset there and experience the metaphysical healing of the vortex sites, but there was a downpour compounded with lightning. Doesn't help that you're driving 10mph sideways on a mountain. I wish I had Black Starr
- Delux Burgers - a must stop in PHX. Ish was poppin' on Saturday night and it was in the middle of a strip mall, next to a Safeway haha
- Morning Glory Café - I found a greater Monte Cristo than Mama's. Official like a referee with a whistle, and I didn't care that flies were hovering all over it
- We were lounging by the pool, and there weren't any towels. But since it was so hot, we got up and dried up without the need for one
- G wouldn't let me wear my goggles to the pool, even though I have sensitive eyes
- Next stop: The Botanical Gardens with the Chihuly exhibit. This was situated right next to the A's preseason field, so semi-wood for Francis and Jefe
- Chihuly had dope pieces…I didn't know who he was, but he's the cat responsible for Bellagio's ceilings. Collective "ahhhh" now
- Dinner was mobster-style at Durant's Steakhouse. Nope, it's not Kevin's establishment, but darn good
- Crab Mac N Cheese - yumm. Well you add crab to anything and it'll be better. It's the seafood equivalent of bacon
- Thx Liza & Jeremy for switching tickets! We went from coach to first class in a heartbeat
- Senator McCain was a few rows to the left, to the left, everything you own in a box to the left
- We left in the 8th when the D-Backs were up 7-1. The Padres score 6 runs in the 8th and 9th and win it in the 10th
- Dang the car rental place is far from the airport
- We're back home…nice and chilly when we land!
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Here are the pictures:


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The Birthday Recap

Now I'ma 30 year old blogger. Anyway this past week of birthday festivities was pretty fun and enjoyable. Let's hit rewind to see what happened:

Monday - My old manager and my favorite auditor treated me to lunch at Manhattan Cafe. I didn't even know there was a Cheesesteak spot that was walkable from work! Anyway I didn't have high hopes for this place, but it gets bonus points for serving Coke Zero out of the fountain. To recap: I got a Philly Cheesesteak in San Francisco named after a burrough in New York. Good stuff.

Tuesday - Happy Mardi Gras guys. While trying to enjoy my final day of being in my twomps, I also needed to figure out what to sacrifice for lent. G took me to BIX, where my indecisive self ordered the Prix Fixe menu and G ordered the Kobe Beef. We flanked our order with Truffle Cheese "Croques," which isn't your ordinary grilled cheese! Anyway I had my last Diet Coke to wash it all down while enjoying a fine dinner. It was kind of weird though, since the dude put my jacket on me as we were leaving, like he was Fansworth Bentley to my Puff. Anyway I just slid him a couple Washy's.

So we proceeded towards G's whip and that's where I received my gift. So big THANKS G for getting me an 8GB iPhone and for Jeff for upgrading it to a 16GB! I'm picking it up this weekend guys, so hope these blogs will be more frequent haha.

Wednesday - The Big 3-0 arrived. Honestly it felt kinda weird. The age gap between me and my siblings went away like Keyshia Cole's gap in her grill. We're all in our 30s now! Yikes.

So starting in 2009, our work went away with celebrating birthdays because that $20 cake is killer on the P&L. But since I'm special and all they decided to get one for me haha. It was a mocha-chocolate one from Andersen's [not Arthur] Bakery. I requested to leave early so I could make it to the most crowded mass ever, which would be Ash Wednesday at Saint Augustine. You would think the Pope was there, but nope, it was only me.

G then cooked my dinner that I requested - blackened catfish with grilled asparagus. It was really good and I probably still have crap in my teeth from the seasoning [j/p kids - believe I stay flossin'].

Thursday/Friday - I don't remember doing anything different so I guess it's back to the ordinary!

Saturday Morning- Woohoo time for the real celebrations to start! Thinking about wanting to do something physical for my birthday, I just said screw it and let's book a tee-time. Sorry non-golfers but I'm a grown man now, no need to climb walls and stuff haha. So myself, Francis, UglyStick, MosJef, Down with the Kingsbury, Pan Jr, MethodMik and Team Seabass ventured down to Burlingame to play 18. It was a rough start, as I started in the rough on the first few holes. My score ballooned to a 48 at the turn, but I calmed down a bit and sunk a couple putts in the back, posting a 48-39 for an 87. Guess I'll take it.

But the highlight of the day had to be MosJef jumping out of a haywire cart, slipping on a slope and soiling his pants haha. Damn you had to be there. Luckily Eric had a pair of jeans in his cart so he was able to change. OMG probably the funniest thing I've seen on a golf course.

Another warning: Make sure Mike doesn't drive the golf cart in the parking lot, otherwise he'll run into your parked car.

Saturday Afternoon - Gorrilla BBQ. Hands down the best BBQ place in the Bay Area. It even has G's stamp of approval. Just know that 45 minutes really means 1.5 hours. Go and order the ribs, brisket, chicken and hot links. And even the Mac N Cheese was hella good.

Saturday Night - I wanted to go somewhere simple and nearby, and thanks to Rach's swaying we went to Tropisuneo in Yerba Buena Lane. The food was pretty flavorful and the prices were fair [well what do I know, I didn't pay]. The drinks were good and they even had one named the Duende, which I totally forgot to try haha. Their dessert too was good, and their giant Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces and Fondue stuff fulfilled me, or maybe it was just the BBQ from the afternoon?

Afterwards we proceeded to Azul, and I don't remember much. Thanks to the pics though, it helped me vaguely remember the evening. I do remember seeing Mike in the bathroom line, and I gave him that "I'ma yack and you hit my whip earlier so let me cut" look. And thanks dude, I think I couldn't hold it much longer. So big thanks to everyone that came out and shared a drink with me. I guess Arv is the only brother who loves me haha.

So we hopped into MosJef's whip and headed out to G's, where we crashed. And I think I got up every hour to go suka. Then G started to frequently suka too! Just like in Stand By Me when they all yacked after the pie-eating contest, but we actaully made it to the toilet at least. So each time we went Jeff had to hear it since he crashed on the sofa haha.

Sunday Morning - My family scheduled brunch at Park Chow's, and I was crazy hungover like a drunk horse. I don't know how I drove there, but I managed since G couldn't make it due to her being gone too. I mean who's birthday was it?! Anyway I get there, can't really eat abut I managed to get some calories in. Ryan gives me a bottle of Grey Goose for my present and I almost yacked upon sight, but I held it in. I also received more Apple money since my Apple fanboy transformation is now complete!

Whew, so that's my 30th celebration thus far. It isn't over until we have a DSK night as the capper.

So thanks guys for the 100 Facebook messages, thanks for coming out to Azul, thanks for breaking bread and sharing a drink with me, thanks for organizing everything for venues to restuarants to invitations, thanks for answering my questions, thanks for making it out to the golf course and the 2 course BBQ meal, thanks to the fam for your presents, thanks for being a homeboy and homegirl, and thanks for making my 30th a memorable one!

Enjoy the pictures! Hopefully they'll be up on FB this weekend.


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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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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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We Run Things

So this past weekend myself and a few others ventured down towards the bad half of the state to participate in the 3rd annual Disneyland Marathon, which should probably just be called the Anaheim Marathon since you’re through D-Land for only about a mile. It cost a C-note but doesn’t include park admission, and not even a churro.

About the race:
- Woke up around 4a, was a bit anxious since it was my first half and longest timed run by far since I’ve just done a 3.5 miler.
- Kinda tapered off on the training the last week…I had to preserve my energy for the run!
- Decided to run with the Manny Pack, in honor of Manny Pacquaio! Lol I crack myself up.
- Michelle wasn’t feeling too well, so she was a game-time decision. But she still finished so she’s a trooper.
- I had a goal of breaking 3 hours lol. The ever-encouraging Rach was like no you could do it in 2:30!! We shall see.
- We all snuck into Corral B, but of course I was only one called out to go to my assigned wave. Then I went stealth-mode and dodged the volunteer.
- Oh yeah the night before we picked up our packs, and they only had XXL shirts left. Dude was like “early bird catches the worm!” Inside I’m like “annoying volunteer catches the fist!” but for real, you figure you pay a bill and you put MED as your shirt size they wouldn’t run out yeah?
- So we’re running, and I wanted to run the first 5 miles then walk then proceed running again.
- G and I break the 5 mile marker at the 57 minute mark. So we’re doing roughly a 11:30 mile pace.
- G initially wanted to run 8 miles straight, and since I’m a man of my word I told her I would then I could chill after that haha.
- So after the 8 mile marker, I started to sing “Lose Yourself” in honor of Eminem. Now I’m tryna break 2:45.
- Surprisingly I still have energy, so we’re like “how bout 10 straight?” Must’ve been that Clif Bar and Monster Drink breakfast I had.
- Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry” play on my Shuffle. I forgot to update my songs in preparation of the race haha.
- After 10 I’m getting sore and cranky and I start swearing like a seaman [aka a sailor, just wanted to use seaman haha].
- G and I just said “eff it” and “let’s just run the whole thing!” Mood: determined, as I want to break 2:30 now.
- I didn’t even look at the actual course…but G was getting excited because she anticipated certain landmarks, like Angel Stadium.
- There’s mad Disney characters that seemed new to me.
- Every cheerleading squad from the OC had to be there.
- If I maintain an 11 min mile, I could shatter my goal for the last 5K. [Sorry don’t mean to confuse yall using the metric system too].
- We pass the the 13 mile marker, and the finish line should be close, but we don’t even see it!
- The last 0.1 miles I swear was the longest 0.1 miles ever, as we zig-zagged through Downtown Disney. As we're headed towards the end, Kanye's "Champion" begins to play. How apropos!
- Finally the finishline! Clock reads 2:32, but we crossed the startline at 6:03a, and officially both G and I did it in 2:28:27. Here’s proof, just type my name. Mood: accomplished!
- After we all finished we convene to support Mark as he’s about to propose. Dude finished in 1:57 so he had hella time to think about the proposal haha. Congrats guys!

About the rest of the weekend:
- Me, G, Jeff and Michelle fly Virgin, and its good to see the latter two reconcile over that Anagram game haha
- I passed the fat test to and fro there! If you don’t know what that is, its if you need to make the seatbelt wider, then you could stand to lose a lil weight.
- We were about to get another PT Cruiser, but collectively decided to upgrade to a Dodge Nitro!
- Avoid the Jack in the Box in Inglewood, unless you want to go to the most expensive JITB ever.
- We ate at Buca and PF Chang’s you know, since we totally can’t have it up in the Bay. Sorry Louise!
- I’ve never experienced chafing before, but my right arm pit and swamp ass now know the feeling.
- G’s Garmin Nuvi 750 [nicknamed Navagina by Jeff] was the MVP of the weekend.
- We went to the J-Lounge in downtown LA [yes there is a downtown LA] to see Neil Armstrong spin. Too bad he didn’t spin the whole night since there was a repeated set! Gasp!
- The following morn finally saw Cicely after like 8 years! So it was finally good to see you and meet your man and find out about the history of Ruby’s haha.
- The UNDFTD in Santa Monica was pretty disappointing, which is good since then I would’ve bought something otherwise.
- Wow both LAX and SFO weren’t busy at all considering the 3day weekend.
- Damn I’m sore still lol.

Here are pictures courtesy of G:


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Diggy’s 2nd Birthday

Here goes pics from my adorable nephew’s 2nd birthday this past weekend at Coyote Point. I love that lil dude. Seeing him and Isaiah and Luke and CJ makes me want to have kids already lol...pause hold up press rewind! So we’re supposed to be at sites 9 & 10 right? Tell me why there’s only signage for sites 5 & 6 and then 1 & 2? So I’ve been here mad times, yet we circled that whole park like 20 minutes and I had freaking 50 pounds of ice in my car. I actually had to turn around and re-enter so I can talk to the ranger to let me know where to go. Anyway that day was really fun, and I ate like everything there.

I always wanted to do a Tacorda-themed BBQ picnic, like all my siblings and their friends and my friends and family and family friends, then that would be mad [but yet happy] people! Like invite everyone who’s like within a degree of one of us you know? Anyway peep the pics, you probably might recognize some of the people there.


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Hawaii 5.0

I should be in Maui right now, but its all good. Stuff happens for a reason. So congrats to my pinsan Ana and welcome to the fam Jeff Lyles! They're getting married today, and at least some of my fam was able to make it out. Here are pics from the gala I attended last week, which was pretty much a pre-party:

This was like the first time all my siblings been together in like 4 years, but we still weren't complete since my folks were in the PI.




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My Best Friend's Wedding

Well at least one of them. Here are some more pictures from a couple weeks ago. I felt like Alladin rocking that vest!


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Bay 2 Breakers

So a group of us participated in the 97th annual B2B, and i've been around for 29 of them, yet this was my first time to do it. Go figure. And an awesome experience it was! Its supposed to be one of the world's largest block parties, and by judging the pictures, I am in total accordance with that statement.

Everyone loves legos, so that's what we were! Thanks to Alan's pinsans for the bonne idee [uhh how's that for some frantaglish??]. Props to the runners for actually running it: Rach, Mark, Sheryl, Gerrard, Michelle* and whomever else, but more props to the legos! In retrospect, I dont' recall orange legos, but whatever. I was inspired by the SF Giants.

Granted we didn't finish the race, but the race finished me.

Anyways I'll let the pictures tell the story. The people participating are pretty creative!

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