Been busy with my next home project these past few days - new kitchen sink. I've actually had a blast doing it so far, and it feels like I'm applying my fluid dynamics class in the process. Before this project, the garbage disposal stopped working, the faucet leaked, and the fact the sink was only 1 compartment always bugged me. So far, I installed the new sink (2 compartments), new faucet with sprayer, and new garbage disposal. I also go a new powertool in the process (jig saw) to cut out a bigger hole in the countertop. All I have left is re-piping the drains, which I just need a few elbows and tees.
The yard is looking way nicer now too as Arlyn has been destroying the weeds. It's nice that knowing my future wife helps around with stuff like that.
Other than that, Sounders got another W last Sunday as they came from behind to beat New England 2-1. Another entertaining game, but was disappointed they didn't open up the whole stadium again....
06.26.11
I’m having a hard time finding the time, or motivation when I have time, to blog. I’m still adjusting to Arlyn being home a lot more, which is not a bad thing at all. Just my random projects, such as this blog, suffer sometimes. Don’t get me wrong though, I’d still prefer that she’s home than not.
Now that basketball, and hockey are done, I’m down to watching only 1 sport -> Soccer. There is no way I can watch baseball…way too boring. Yesterday, the US blew the Gold Cup championship game vs Mexico 4-2, after being up 2-0. Honestly Mexico absolutely dominated and they were just flat out way faster than the US. Then there are the Sounders. They finally opened up the whole stadium at the new Clink and drew 46,000+ fans last Thursday as the Sounders beat New York (minus Henry) 4-2.
Today I’m headed to another Sounders game vs New England. The weather looks beautiful today so it should be fun. It’s also my first day game this year.
06.13.11
Been pretty busy lately to update, but lets see whats been going on….
This past weekend was a good one as usual. On Saturday, Arlyn went to her first Sounders game with myself, Greg, Ben and John. It was also the second match of the Cascadia Cup in which the Sounders once again tied… this time it was vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps. Its all good though because they could have easily lost (even though Vancouver is one of the worst teams in the MLS).
Sunday, Arlyn, Mack and I went over the Greg and Melisa’s for dinner after my indoor soccer game. Dinner was nice, however apparently Mack and Oscar forgot to get along. After a few moments of playing, it got out of control and they were completely fighting. I jumped in the middle (twice) and finally broke it up with Mack in my arms, not after getting a few bites on both hands. Nothing major, but just enough to break the skin. I was relieve however that it was only my blood that was on Mack’s cheek and not his own.
And the previous weekend made me miss the good ol college days when Matt and I were roommates (not that I don’t love my life now). Matt came into town and we played Smash Brothers the entire time, it was perfect.
06.02.11
My six days off from work flew by as expected... Man, it involved some very good times to very bad times, but no complaints in the end. I'm already a few days removed from all events so I have nothing I want to share about any of it.
Basically, went to a Sounders game (drank too much), and Arlyn, Mack and I headed to Spokane to visit my Grandma... My parents went too. I'll upload some pics of the better times sometime soon.
05.23.11
Friday almost brought back memories of college… I was in class all last week, and we had our test on Friday. We had about a 2 hour gap between the final lecture and our test to study… I of course convinced a couple of my old co-workers who were in the same class to not study and just go to the Boat Shed for drinks (because it was such a gorgeous day). I’m such a bad influence, but it all worked out in the end as we all passed with flying colors.
Saturday Arlyn and I ran errands in Seattle. We wandered thru the Ave Street Fair, checked out new UW gear (which I got none), hit up China Town, and finally IKEA. Feels like its been awhile since I was last in Seattle.
Sunday was just relaxing with an indoor soccer game mixed in. No complaints, especially since it looks like this work week will be a short one for me leading into the holiday weekend.
05.15.11
The renewed Cascadia Rivalry lived up to the hype, except the final result. The crowd was intense as were the players… It was almost the atmosphere of a great college football game. Too bad it ended in a 1-1 tie.
05.14.11
Man, what a great day yesterday… I haven’t had a good day like that in a long time. It started off with me deciding not to go to work. It felt sooo good to go back to sleep after my 5AM alarm went off and slept like a baby.
It was a productive yet relaxing day and it was nice that Arlyn had it off also. I got to work on some of my computer projects, did yardwork in the backyard, and ended the day with a long peaceful bonfire.
And today I’m PUMPED for the Sounders game tonight. Nothing like the first Seattle vs Portland MLS match. This is not going to help my hatred of all things Oregon.
05.10.11
Happy Birthday Arlyn!
05.09.11
It was nice having a weekend off work where both Arlyn and I didn't go to work.
On Friday I tried sooo hard to stay the entire 8 hours, but I only made it 6.5 hours. The only thing that drove me to stay that long was the fact that I was filling in for my boss and it wasn't sunny out.
Saturday I went to pickup soccer for the third week in a row. Greg ended up going too and the weather was surprisingly perfect (for soccer anyways). After that, Arlyn and I met up with my Mom and Dad for lunch and a movie. Of course, we went to my parent's favorite place, King Wok Buffet, and we ended up seeing Thor. Lunch wasn't great for me because I had a throbbing headache... I actually enjoyed the movie however, it probably helped that I came in with the worst expectations. I just had to get over Conan's skits in making fun of the movie -> dubbing a high pitched Thor Voice thru the movie trailer..."I'm Thor!"
After the movie Arlyn and I were in the mall and ended up running into Ryan and Mallory. Ended up grabbing dinner with them at Famous Dave's. I haven't been there before, but it was pretty damn good. I'll have to go back there in the near future, preferably on a day where I didn't have buffet for lunch.
Sunday was much more relaxing. It just consisted of indoor soccer, and a long bon-fire in the backyard until the weekend ended. Not bad at all overall.
05.04.11
Arlyn and I finally saw the 5th Fast and Furious movie -> Fast Five. Finally... as in it hasn't even been out a week yet, however I did see all the previous four on opening night! As for the movie however, I really liked it (shocker there). My fav NSX from the 4th one was also in the beginning of the 5th...gives me bad ideas!
04.29.11
Man I'm tearing thru this book. I'm about 90% done with it so far and just love it. Some of the content in there really gets me fired up and the insight behind the scenes explains a lot. Of course you've got to take it with a grain of salt because it only tells one side of the story, but I'll take it.
I'm also now a huge Tennessee Titans fan!
04.27.11
I just got my new book in the mail today and I’m really excited to start reading it. Of course its about UW Football, but I’m really interested in this book because it has all the insider information about the Willingham era; teams in which I’ve followed very closely.
04.25.11
Well I did it... It went against almost everything I believe in, but I finally went to church for Easter with my mom and Arlyn. I thought the pastor was pretty good, although a bit quirky. I liked his sermon and the message was good, however it brings up the same question that I've always had.... He was telling a story about this kid who was a criminal all his life - thief, murderer...etc, found his freedom (God) while he was on death row. BUT, I may ask... does he get to go to heaven? If so, how does that make him better than someone who lives a good life and is a good person, without ever believing in God?
I'm sorry, but the worst people I have ever met in life are people who are all about religion. Note, I'm not trying to group all people together, as I do know a few great people that are super religious... I'm just saying I just don't want to be associated with it at all; especially with the news being flooded by priests taking advantage of children! And don't tell me those are isolated cases, because I know of one personally that happened that started to turn me away when I was in high school. And I was the one they were worried about that needed to be saved and was going to hell? I'd better stop ranting.
04.16.11
I’ve been busy on this web-site back fixing a lot of stuff. I’m sure nobody has really noticed… Today I was pretty damn busy adding sporting events that I’ve attended (with a game photo) since I’ve started this site in 2004. You can see them in the previous year blog entries.
I’ve also been SLOWLY adding childhood pictures. All the links to the pages are up, but not all the pictures are uploaded yet (so it shows page not found). Be patient, they’ll be up soon!
Other than that, a quick update: Last night was really fun hanging out with my co-workers. Delaney, Brent, Will, and myself headed to Silver City after work, and eventually ended our night in Delaney’s hot tub. It was a good ‘ol sausage fest, haha. Poor Will, barely caught the last ferry back to Seattle; he was originally planning on catching the 7:55PM… That didn’t quite work out.
04.11.11
Been a bit since I've updated, but that's not really shocking. It's been nice at work now that I have my APE working for me. It's still been pretty hectic trying to balance my own work with helping out with Japan, so it's nice I have some help now.
I was really hoping the government would have shut down for a couple days so I could get an extended weekend... Stupid politicians trying to come off as "heroes" for agreeing on a last minute deal on the 11th hour to avoid a shutdown. How quickly do they forget that it's all their fault it even came to this. I guess you can spin anything these days.
So I only went half and half on Season Tickets for the Sounders this year, but I have yet to miss a home game. Not sure how that really worked out, but I'll take it. They got their first win of 2011 Saturday as they downed Chicago Fire 2-1.
03.29.11
I know it’s a little late to blog about the weekend, but I’ve been freaking busy at work! I’ve got my own avail issues, the current fiasco in Japan, and I’m filling in for the big boss all week. It’s extremely hard to get any work done when I’m stuck in meetings all day….
Anyways, to this past weekend -> Started off on Friday heading to the Sounders second home game. They finally scored their first goal of the season (although they should have had numerous more). It was one of those games where the Sounders completely dominated, but couldn’t finish. And Houston got only one real opportunity and scored on it… Final score: 1-1.
Matt and Anna stopped into town to meet up with Arlyn and I for lunch at the Shed. It was really nice seeing them as its been awhile. It also worked out nicely because there was a time Matt and I were playing GT while Arlyn and Anna were engaged in wedding stuff.
After they headed back to Ballard, had a pretty intense indoor soccer game. We fell behind by 3 with 5 minutes to go and ended up coming back to win it with seconds left. All for now.
03.17.11
So I've been put on 12hour days for the next week or so for support on a really crazy situation. I'm glad the right decision was made and it'll be a really tense time until things are settled. Obviously I cannot divulge any more information than that.
On a more fun note, I went to the kickoff game to the new MLS season on Tuesday. Sadly the Sounders repeated their previous attempts and dropped the match to the Beckham / Donovans, AKA the LA Galaxy. Good times though, even though it wasn't my wisest night. Drinking with a cold is never a good idea, but my excuse is I only bought 1 of my drinks... and that was the last one for the night (when my fate was already set).
03.14.11
Crazy news out of Japan as its really saddening to hear what is going on over there. It hits a little closer to home for me as opposed to similar recent quakes since I've spent and will be spending quite a bit of time over there. It's good to know that everyone over there from my work is accounted for and safe though. On a more selfish note and a very miniscule one in the big picture, but I was supposed to be over in Japan and would have been waiting for my flight home at Narita Airport when the earthquake hit...
This weekend I also got some things done that were on my "to do list" for quite some time. I finally went to the eye doctor and updated my prescription, and now have contacts. All I can say is wow, it's amazing playing soccer and being able to see! It's also a weird feeling every time I rub my eyes and not having my glasses in the way. It'll also be nice for the summer when I'll actually be able to wear sunglasses driving and not be blind!
Speaking of the weather, rain, rain and more rain. It's that time of the year when it is getting really old.
Arlyn and I finally got around to seeing a movie in an actual movie theater. We saw "Battle: Los Angeles", my choice of course. I liked it, always nice to see an alien invasion movie every now and then.
One final note, I finally hired my APE. It was annoyingly tough as expected, but I finally got my first choice. He comes aboard 4/4.
02.26.11
So this kid knocks on my door this afternoon selling candy... When I open the door, he asks, "Is your mom or dad home?" Haha.
Anyways, I'm still somehow addicted to UW Football, so I made this highlight video from 2010. It's the first time I've ever edited video since my days using two VHS players.
01.28.11
Well I’m updating from the Narita Airport waiting for my flight back home. It was a really short trip to Japan for me this time, totaling 4 days. It was very different from my previous adventures as I really didn’t do much, and I think I only took one picture. I guess I feel like I’ve been there done that, and I’ll be here many more times for a lot longer periods in the near future. It seems like my main goal was to pick up more Hibicki Sunitory Whiskey…haha.
Other than that, it was really good seeing some old faces in Japan again, from my boss to my old co-workers who made the trip this go around again. Anyways, next stop…. America.
UPDATE: Haha, kinda funny. I’ve just been chilling here listening to my iTunes Music library and just happen to notice that I have a shared library available. So apparently some girl (I’m assuming it’s a girl) has iTunes open also and I can access all her music. Interesting music library too… a little bit of everything (even more than me!). There’s classical, alternative, Japanese, and some artists I have no idea who they are. It works out perfect because I’m pretty sick of all my music, so thank you Emily Goldsmith, whoever you are!
01.12.11
So I definitely think I'm getting old. You know what I'm listening to now on my drive to and from work?? AM Radio!! I do have reason for this however:
I used to strictly listen to my iPod, but I got too sick of my songs way too fast. So I transitioned to listening music through the radio. It was good for awhile as I got to hear new music and such... There was one thing that bugged me though and it just kept getting worse and worse until I couldn't take it anymore! The hosts talk more than they play music; and they say the stupidest things that I could care less about. I don't want to hear what they did yesterday, or some stupid daily question about guessing what 10% of women and 15% of men do! It got to the point that I would get annoyed driving because I found their stupid laughs annoying.... The whole drive I would just be constantly changing stations just trying to find music and getting pissed off in the process. I was constantly switching between 92.5, 101.5, 103.7, 104.9, 106.1, 106.9, and 107.7 (although I will admit that the new 104.9 was my favorite of the bunch). Not a good way to start or end a work day in my opinion.
So my resolution since I'm stuck listening to talking anyways, I might as well listen to something I care about / enjoy hearing about. Now I tune into 950AM KJR and 710AM ESPN Seattle. I'm really enjoying the hosts and think they are pretty damn funny too. Plus I get to hear a lot of what's going on in Local & National sports. Win win for me.
01.10.11
Wow what a great National Championship... it was a great game, but I like the ending better with Auburn sending the Ducks packing. I know its terrible for me to say, but I simply hate the ducks no matter what... I don't care if they are from the Pac-10 or not. I'd root for the Cougs, but not the Ducks!
On another note, crazy Seahawks game! And even crazier is that I never thought I would ever blog about the Hawks. That TD run by Lynch to seal the NFC Wildcard Playoff game was simply beautiful. Wouldn't it be awesome for a team that finished the season with a losing record make it to the Super Bowl!?
01.05.11
Wow, what a holiday break - it was pretty eventful and a good change of pace from previous holiday breaks.
I usually spend Christmas time with my family, either in Spokane or Colorado... This year I decided to head to San Diego with Arlyn instead to spend the week in sunny San Diego. No coincidence, but UW was also playing in the Holiday Bowl down there, haha... BTW - Thanks to Greg and Melisa for watching Mack!! Anyways, SD was beautiful, even though it was colder than normal SD weather (it was still way warmer than here). Our hotel was kinda ghetto, but everything else was great. Some of the places we went to down there were Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Old Town, Coronado, and Imperial Beach. We ate at Coyote Café (amazing Mexican food) and also Hodad's (amazing burgers).
And to top off the trip, we went to the Holiday Bowl to watch UW get revenge on Nebraska and win the bowl game! I went into the game with the expectation that they were going to lose and I just wanted to have fun... The trip was great in itself, but this was just the topping on the cake.
As for X-mas presents, Arlyn got me GT5!! Man I got sooo addicted to that game right away as I came close to playing it all night one night. Thankfully I was able to break away from in when we went to SD and I haven't played it since I've been back... yet anyways.
And the biggest news out of the Holiday Break is that Arlyn and I are engaged! Crazy huh? I still act like I'm 12, haha.
01.02.11
Holiday Bowl / San Diego pictures are up in the 2010 UW section, blog entry to follow shortly!
