Finally Friday

Amazing, we all celebrate once Friday/the weekend arrives and before you know it – BAM! – it’s over. I’m happy, regardless of how quick the weekend always goes.

The second job has killed me this week, chaotic. A small part of me wants to play the sick card tonight. I won’t because they would not appreciate that one bit..

As happy as I am for the weekend, I still have to do more manual labor. This weekend will be known as,  “Moving Weekend”.

Saturday, I shall take my muscle to the Jackson area.

Sunday, I shall take my muscle to the Bay Area.

 The only TWO bright spots for the weekend will be the Raiders game on Sunday

 AND…….

This show is AMAZING.

It’s stories that we read, when we were young, on the tube.

Keeping it mild today.

I wish I had some of this right now…

Soon enough, hopefully.

No rest for the weary. Don’t let my negativity bring down your day.

Remember, it’s the weekend so….

Adios!

Follow away.

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From “Jeremy Lin That I Used To Know” to…

I’m going to take a break from my scheduled Wednesday writing.  With the recent announcement of the NFL Refs coming back sooner than later, I found this parody.

Enjoy!

Look familiar?

This is the same guy who gave us the love song of Jeremy Lin.

The NBA is almost back… Lakers/Heat, NBA Finals 2013.
Lakers in 7.

Happy Day of Humps!

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This Doesn’t Get You Hungry?

My co-worker showed me this video. I was laughing the whole time, especially at the big guy. Very good beat though. Then I thought to myself, my friends are weird. I love them though.

That is your laughter of the day.
Is it Happy Hour yet?

Adios!

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Do You Believe In Miracles? YES!!!!!

Yesterday, yours truly and about 11 other loveable misfits had some fun tailgating at the Raiders/Steelers game. The day went so smoothly compared to other tailgating adventures we have had. We actually arrived in Oakland on time (first time ever).

I have never seen anything like this before. It was pretty awesome though.

Taligating taken to another level.

Greg, the leader of the tailgate, received so many compliments about this. I don’t blame them,  the bar came with the stools AND the umbrella. I have no idea what to expect for next season. It should be interesting.

The tailgate was fun though, just food and booze everywhere. The weather was AMAZING also.

Then it was game time. It was a great game from the start. Non-stop scoring, defense was optional.

Big Ben at work.

Unfortunately, I guess the game was just a bit much for some people. I’m amazed how he found time for a nap. I didn’t sleep, I was witnessing a Miracle in Oakland.

Joe’s look is priceless.

Even though defense was optional, the Raiders made stops  when they had to. When they did, it led to this perfect set-up for SeBass.

Game winning kick.

It was PANDEMONEIUM!!! The crowd went wild.

While waiting for the crowd to clear, we were able to get a group shot.

Victory group.

The final is scored tucked away in the upper left.

It was a great day. Afterwards we went to San Francisco…for five minutes. I was able to get this awesome picture though…

Bay Bridge

My picture skills are horrible, but I love this picture of the Bay Bridge.

After that minor detour, we went to In-N-Out for some grub and made our way back to Sacramento.

My Sunday started at 4:55am and ended at 11pm. It was a long day, but a successful one.

BONUS??? I didn’t get hammered, which is always good.

Double Bonus???? Old High School folks came up from San Pedro for the game.

Class of 2003

Triple Bonus??????? Ryan and Cindy FINALLY showed up. Better late than never right?

Cindy the chick, Ryan throwing gang signs.

Happy Monday!

MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Treat Yo Self!

So the Endeavour made its trip over Sacramento today. Apparently it was the talk of the town, because pictures of the shuttle dominated my Facebook and Twitter page. I didn’t know it was a big deal. If I knew, I would’ve made time to see it. Of course, history repeated itself. I thought of Coachella. You know, Coachella, the return of Tupac. No?

Tupac made an appearance this past summer during the first weekend at Coachella.

When people first heard about it , they were going nuts!!!
Then the second weekend of Coachella happened, people were like “Eh”.

Safe to say that I feel the same way about this situation. Ever since the journey began, it has been in the media. For me, this was MY second weekend of Coachella.

Enough hating, my television shows are back! The Office and Parks and Recreation. I missed Parks and Rec., but I was able to watch The Office. I know The Office has been a downer since the great Michael Scott left, but the show keeps me laughing so I can’t complain.

I wish Kevin’s bit was available on YouTube because his efforts saving a turtle was awesome.

Here are three words to live by, courtesy of Parks & Rec, for the weekend.

I told the blog world what I will be doing on Sunday in my last past. If you missed the post, I’ll be doing some Tailgating at the Raiders  Game.

I just got word that Raider legend Marcus Allen will be lighting the Al Davis flame also. He should get a nice crowd reaction.

Yeah, he signed it for me.

Saturday? I have no clue. I will just be going with the flow. For now, I’m just counting down the time when my shift comes to a close.

My Friday Favorite Video?

The joy of one-hit wonders.

Enjoy the weekend!

The Tailgate Adventure

RRRRRRAAAAAAIIIIIDDDDDERRRSSSSSSS!!!

I’m excited, this is my first game that I’ll be going to attend as a fan.

(The others were for work.)

If you have never attended a game, YOU MUST.  People always worry about safety, and I’m not against that. I’ve heard people say they don’t want to go to a Raiders games because it’s “scary” or something crazy like they “might get killed”. Really? REALLY?! The Philadelphia Eagles had a jail cell in their old stadium.

Are we really going to be that close-minded? All the negative stuff that happens in stadiums around the country are isolated incidents. If that’s the case, should we stop going to the movies because of the Colorado shooting? Should we stop grocery shopping because we might get robbed? Come on, let’s be realistic. No matter where we go, we try to be aware of our surroundings. We can’t control everything, whatever happens – HAPPENS! We have still have to live our life and enjoy.

Enough with that rant. I can’t wait for Sunday.

I get to go back to this….

And this…

This..

And most important..

These pictures were taken last year against the Patriots.

The Raiders take on the Steelers and it’s a sold out. The crowd is going to be crazy. The crowd will get more rowdy if we pull off the upset.

Every time I go to these games, something crazy happens: BBQ grills falling of a truck, awesome tailgate neighbors, the infamous Raiders/Colts game, etc.  I wonder what this weekend will bring? Hopefully something low-key because I’m getting to old for this @$#^.

It’s always a good time when you go tailgate with friends. You’re just chilling out, drinking and having a good time. I think people fail to realize that’s what is all about. You shouldn’t have to worry about other people if you’re with friends. Only worry when the time comes.

This Sunday will be awesome, if you haven’t gone to a football game – GO!

If you can, go to more than one. I’ve gone to a few different games/stadiums and it’s amazing how each one is different. If anything, you just have to experience it.

If you can, TAILGATE. It’s amazing  seeing all the cars in the parking lot around 9am and smoke in the air from the grills. Everybody is walking around sporting their favorite team with a beer in hand. Most importantly, everybody is there to root on their favorite team.

Tailgate – it’s amazing, awesome and an adventure.

A Little Laughter For The Day

Vintage beating.

I don’t know why this video popped in my head.

I Challenge You To A Game Of Quidditch!

Yeah, that’s right, I said it. QUIDDITCH!

Backstory:

Question, why does one go to a bar? One goes to a bar for many reasons: Hangout, unwind, happy hour, people watching, random conversations, etc. In this case, random conversation played a role.

Saturday:

After watching my Trojans lose to Stanford, I decided to unwind and go to Barnes and Noble. I’m not even at the bookstore for about twenty minutes and I get a text from my friend Willie wanting to grab some drinks. Listen, I’m not one to reject a cold beverage so I accepted the offer.

First Stop, The Golden Bear

Everybody has a go to place, and The Golden Bear is my place. The price on the drinks are manageable. It also has a nice hipster crowd, which I can relate to. They have a back area and an outside patio in the front. It can get crowded and stuffy at times, but it doesn’t linger. Well the times I’ve gone it hasn’t been crowded, I’ve heard different stories from others.  The main reason I love the place is because of the Live DJ’s they have in-house. Not a lot of bars have it, so I like they fact that they are different.

We weren’t there that long, just long enough to recap what was going on in our lives that week. I got to talk about  my awesome time at the beach and he is still on cloud nine with his new job. The stories were long enough in which we both were able to down two drinks.  Also it was at this time that “Jager Nights” was declared by Willie.

Second stop, Streets of London.

Whenever I go to this place, trouble happens. I always run into someone who I DON’T want to see. It smells and it seems like every time that I’m there, the age group has jumped.  To keep a nice pace going – Jager Bomb again, one hit and we are out.

Drink tally:

Me: 3 Willie: 3

Stop number three? De Vere’s

This place, by far has the best brunch in Sacramento. At night? This place is always crowded and I’m bound to run into somebody I know.  Usually the somebody I know is from the station. It’s like, the meeting spot I guess. Never happened though, Jager Bomb- Again!

Ok, fast forward to Shady Lady.

(We actually went to R15, but that was miscommunication) I’m pretty happy about that because I didn’t feel like getting attacked by pepper spray again.

Long story short, I got my White Linen. It was delicious, you should try it. I recommend it. Girly drink? Yes. I ordered it with pride though.

I would like to apologize about the breakdown of the night. I had a good amount to drink and I know if I miss a part, I would mess up the story.

I really don’t remember how Quidditch topic came up, but it did. I’ve never watched Harry Potter and after Willie explained the game, I still won’t watch it.  He explained the game to me and it still sounds weird to me. He then showed me a YouTube clip and that still did not make sense.

Yeah, weird. Still not interested.

Anyway, from Shady Lady to the next bar Benny’s, Quidditch just dominated the conversation. This went on for about 6 blocks.

We finally get to the bar and met up with some mutual friends. We get more Jager bombs and head to the back. Willie is still irate about my lack of Quidditch knowledge. To prove a point he ask these two people if they knew about Quidditch. Unfortunately, they knew about Quidditch and they were excited about explaining the game to me. I’m shaking my head, he is excited, it was all bad.

We had back inside get more “Bombs” and then he asked the bartender. THE BARTENDER knew what the deal was.  She was EXCITED talking about it. By then, Willie felt like he proved his point. I feel disappointed.

Conclusion:

Minus the crazy drunks, bars/bar hopping can be a great thing. It just depends on who you are hanging with and also the mood of the bar. Every conversation has the potential of being, weird, awesome or great. It’s just taking the chance of starting a conversation. The worse a person can say is “No, I don’t want to talk”. No crime in that. The fact that he asked random people about Quidditch was amazing.

My advice to readers: Have fun, take chances, be confident. Take a risk in starting a conversation, you never know where it my lead. Who know’s, the next person you might talk to want start a Quidditch team.

PS: The night ended with my friend Nani falling to the ground and an amazing/horrible freestyle show put on by Willie and I. More liquid courage happened as well at her house.

Finally Tally:

Me: 7 1/2

Willie: 6 1/2

For the record, the quote of the night:
“I’ll whoop a @#$#% @$$ ins some Quidditch” – Willie

FOLLOW AWAY ON TWITTER:

@20Wi11

@Sylvan_Stephone

{UPDATED} Apparently, the Quidditch video earlier wasn’t good enough. Here is a better one.

Ok, I’m done with this.

Viernes, Viernes, Viernes

Just in case you forgot, I work graveyard shifts. Here is some good reading as proof: Sleep? Not Really In My Vocabulary.  I didn’t get home till about 5:30/6 this morning. After a hard-earned 8 hours, I pretty much deserved a donut. A chocolate bar and dozen donut holes satisfied my stomach. Honestly, that was the first time I had donuts in about three months.

Want to know how I felt? I thought about my second favorite TV character, Ron Swanson:

The best part about this skit, the Tiger Woods killer polo. Second favorite? Him offering to buy a Walkman. Throwback!

Because of that skit, I’m going to wear a red polo this weekend. I might even buy another donut.

OK, this post is written in no particular order, I’m just going with the flow You’ve Been Warned.

Just found out that a good friend is moving back to Sacramento. My best friend is moving to San Francisco by New Years. My cousin will be in Oakland for her birthday next month! I must say, the last months of 2012 will be AWESOME!

Speaking of SF, as much as I don’t want to bore you and tell you I’ll be there tomorrow….I will be there tomorrow. It’s ridiculously hot and I just want to be near the beach. I’ve never been to Baker’s Beach so I’m looking forward to going if the plan holds up.

Sidenote: Have you ever finished eating something good and then end up angry after? I just finished eating a Snickers and now I’m angry cause it’s gone.

Ron Swanson #2

I feel like that right now.

No more Parks and Rec references anymore.

I do have one more video for you though. This song came on my iPod last not. The beauty of putting it on shuffle, you hear things and just laugh or smile.  In this case I just laughed.

I remember this song when I was in the seventh grade. I had no idea what they were talking about yet I knew all the words. Man, good times.

Enjoy the weekend folks!

Home, Sweet Home

Back to reality. Why is the first day being at work after a vacation the worse? I thought I would be ready for work again, but I’m not. My mind is still on the shores of Redondo Beach. Let’s say the beach in general because Hermosa, Venice and Santa Monica got some love as well.

Monday:

I was able to walk along Third Street Promenade, but I had no money to buy anything. I did roller blade (yes, people still do that)  from Santa Monica to Venice Beach. I played some basketball at Venice Beach. I made my first three shots and after that? ALL. BAD. It does not help that I am out of shape. Those guys can play though. I can officially mark Venice Beach off my bucket list. I was able to walk along Third Street Promenade, but I had no money to buy anything.

One would think that I would keep a camera on me at all times, but I didn’t. The slideshow consists of pictures from my phone. The hotel that I stayed at was in Redondo Beach, three blocks away from THE beach. I was quite excited about that.  The first few slides are from Redondo and the rest are from Santa Monica.

 

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Saturday:

It was my first time getting to hang out in Hermosa Beach. I went bar hopping with some friends from high school. It’s weird, I’m pretty much ten years removed from high school. Time flies.  Anyway, the pier was just filled with restaurants/bars.  We did our fair share of walking, but it was nice. We pretty much ended the night watching the waves. I have never done that before, but THAT? Was nice.

Sunday

The family had a BBQ and that was good. Nothing beats a BBQ with a touch of home. It was cool seeing the family, and the family was quite happy to see King Alex as well. I really don’t like going to LA but for some reason this trip felt different. I really don’t have a reason why, but it felt different.

 

The best part of the trip was going to Versailles. CUBAN FOOD. Whenever I make a trip down south, I have to at least three things: Go to Versailles, chill at Santa Monica Pier or get Thai food. I was able to accomplish two out of the three.

 

Seriously though, does this not look good?

I had that for dinner and yet again it did not disappoint.

Sunday, during the BBQ, my aunt hooked it up with this….

I didn’t open it yet, but apparently it is really good. It is Rum from Belize.

 Just in case you didn’t know, fun fact of the day, my folks are from Belize. I have Central American roots. Not a lot of people know about that, but now? The internet world knows!

It felt good to be back at the old stomping grounds, but it feels good to be back in Nor Cal. At the end of the day all that matters is that everybody is alive and well. If that happens, then it’s all good.

Overall?

Home, Sweet Home