Summa Time

Wow, it's that time of year again. We've got kind of a heat wave going on here, but it's nothing compared to what we'll be experiencing in Phoenix. They don't call it Phoenix for nothing. Either way, I am going to enjoy it because I will be reunited with family members from all over the country once again!

As with every reunion, I can count on antics by the cousins and bad jokes from the self-proclaimed comedian uncles. I can count on lots and lots of food and hopefully just as much beer (oops scratch that I'm in training). And I can definitely count on one of god's most beautiful gifts to us: a sizeable, succulent, roasted whole pig (lechon)! OK I'll admit, that's what it's really about. That pig. The crispy skin and juicy meat dipped in pork liver sauce... mmm, some of you may be cringing, but I'm drooling... hey what can I say, it's the other white meat. And I love it.

I will take pictures of that magnificent beast. And I will post them. Stay tuned.

*slurp*

RIP MJ

It's been almost 2 weeks since his death, and Michael Jackson is still making headline news. It really is hard to believe he is gone though I admit I haven't exactly been following his music for the past bunch of years. As freakish as people thought he was, there is no denying the power of his music and persona.

During his memorial he was portrayed as not only a great entertainer and ultra talented vocalist, but also as a person- a family member, brother, son, father, etc. in a way that the public has not seen before. His daughter's speech summed it all up and brought it all into perspective.

This is most likely something we will not see again, as Michael was one of the last of a dying breed of celebrities that affected fans across the world, and across generations. To see older folks crying and mourning is almost expected- chances are that at some significant point in their life an MJ hit was on the radio and provides a nostalgic anchor. But to see teenagers screaming and crying on the other side of the world just proves the expanse of his reach.

I'll have to admit that I wasn't paying much attention to him these last few years. Which is odd because now I am starting to miss him.

OPD in action

The alarm company called the lil lady to alert her of a fire alarm at the house. Then they said it was a burglar alarm. On all contacts. Being so close to home, I dropped everything at work and tested the handling limits of my Nissan Rogue. En route, I get a call from neighbor John who got a call from his lil lady, who happened to be home at the time, telling me fire trucks are outside the house. I peel through the final turn and hop speed bumps up the street, arriving in front of my house to see... nothing. No trucks, no alarm, no broken anything.

I inspect the perimeter windows and all seemed in tact. I unlock the front door as my guard dogs inside continued to bark. Just then a police car pulls up, and I slowly make my hands visible as I descend to the sidewalk. The officer tells me to stay out of the house and waits for his backup to arrive. In the meantime he compliments me on having such a nice house. Two more officers show up, and prepare to enter. I told them that there are two vicious dogs on the other side of the door, but that they should be OK.

The break the seal and yell "Oakland Police" as they enter and the dogs go berserk. Daisy ran straight to me while Patch stood his ground and defended his turf against the intruding officers. I could have sworn I saw one of the cops point his gun at Patch and shout "Oakland Police!!". The officers cleared the house SWAT style and Patch finally came outside to me.

All was well. No forced entry, no contacts disturbed. The system somehow reported false signals to the alarm company. It was a hell of a false alarm, and a good drill to prepare us for a real incident.

Props to the OPD and OFD for showing up fairly promptly. Props to the dogs for defending their home. Okay, props to Patch, cause Daisy bolted outta there like a released hostage.

It's finally warm out... Aaaaaahhhh...

But I'm indoors, so BOOOO!!! But anyways, it's nice to see good ol' Sol back on the job.

Waiting for Mr. Kitchen Inspector to come by and finalize all the work that was done in our food factory. The beasts are mellow right now, but I am waiting for a sudden commotion once home boy (or girl?) arrives. Then I gotta go back to work.

Celebrated Candace's birthday on Saturday night at Le Colonial. The food was purty dang awesome, and the fact that she provided a private room, hosted bar, and all courses was generous beyond belief. It was an honor to have been invited.

Sunday was another feast; huge steaks marinated and grilled in a tasty BBQ sauce. We were celebrating father's day without a father in sight. Sure was fun. And filling. Again.

Inspector gadget better get here quick or I'm gonna pass out.

Nothin' ado about nothin'

Where did the weekend go? Ahh yes, team run Saturday morning followed by an afternoon with the in-laws. Wrapped up with a bad experience at PF Chang's in Pleasanton. Sunday morning Kali followed by an afternoon at the WC Art & Wine festival. Finished with a tasty pie from Amici's in Danville. There it is in a nutshell. Answered my own question. What am I doing now? Grilling. I can go on like this all night. Food rules!

Hendrix, the chihuahita we have been fostering, finally left this weekend to go live with his new parents. I did my best not to get too attached, but I gotta admit, I kinda miss seeing his crinkly face running around here terrorizing the other two dogs. Oh well, I hope he finds happiness in his new digs.

OK, gotta check on the meat now. Skirt steak, I believe, on the grill. If it burns while I'm blogging, I be in trouble!

The TV competitions are over... for now

I'm not proud to say that I have been glued to the couch watching up-n-comers sing and celebrities dance, but alas, I am but a man. The absence of a training schedule and an abundance of Heineken Lite only make the couch that much more inviting.

That being said, both Dancing With The Stars and American Idol ended satisfactorily for me. I was surprised at the battle lines that were drawn all across Facebook during this heated season. Particularly for AI, which elicited either love or hate for one particular finalist.

DWTS - Should Shawn Johnson have won? I say YES! She is an athlete; a focused Olympic gold medalist. Her mastery of body control translated well to dance, and she never missed a step. Yeah she's a bit tiny, and chunky, and very young, but she was still riding on her status of America's sweetheart, which gave her the edge to take it all. At first glance, Gilles and Melissa were the beautiful people that should have taken 1st & 2nd. But the gymnast eeked it out, and I'm cool with that.

AI - Viewers either loved or hated Adam Lambert. Didn't matter if it was Kris or Gokey or Paula Abdul herself against him in the final 2, people just loved to weigh in on their feelings for the eccentric rocker with painted black nails! It seems that America is just not ready for an openly gay Idol (we knew it all along, Clay) that doesn't fit a cookie-cutter mold for a prescribed genre. The show obviously caters to R&B, pop, maybe country and lite rock. Which may seem a bit odd since this final featured freaky acts like Black Eye Peas, Kiss, and Queen (ha ha, get it) among others. But hey America voted for Kris, who is sweet and talented and is building up to be the biggest thing since Elliot Yamin. I am banking on Adam taking the Daughtry route.

OK that's it, no more TV for me.... hey, is that So You Think You Can Dance playing on the tube right now? OK... gotta go.

Summer is upon us - Information Time Suck!

This means many projects at work, MHB gigs, and marathon training!

Work: Network room expansion, Cisco equipment install, Virtualization implemenation, blah blah blah! Will be a challenge but great experience for me to pickup for sure!

MHB: Red Devil Lounge in June, who knows what's after that. I did, once again, lobby to get us in to the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon this year. I really hope we get to play it cause I don't want to be running it because...

Marathon: Chicago is the destination race this year. October, um 18, I think. So once again I have volunteered with Team In Training. My role this season is that of Web Captain! I can now add this after hours computer activity to my Tweeting, Facebook, Myspace, this blog, the MHB blog, the MHB website, etc, etc, etcetera.

Throw kali, husbandry, homeownership, dogownership, and maintenance for anything else that I own on top of all that, and Xmas will be here in no time.

Gotta run... time to check all 4 of my email accounts...