How I allegedly got my friend fired from his job

Recently a longtime friend of mine and I started recording a weekly podcast and on the podcast he made a quick comment about how I got him fired from his job. On the podcast I am quick to point the finger back at him and claim it was his own negligence that led to his firing and not mine. We laugh and let the podcast go on.

Since the podcast I have been asked how I manged to get Brett fired so let me tell you the story.

Brett was living in a quiet mountain town called Groveland for awhile and he would come down periodically for weekly visits. Now my memory of this may be incorrect. He might have only made weekend visits, but because in my younger days sleep was not something I was looking to do, in my head it feels like a week long excursion. Regardless the point of this long paragraph is that he visited.

On his visits we would play a lot of video games, watch a lot of King of The Hill, make trips with all of our friends to the casino, go out to eat, and get gnarly at a local punk rock show. In order to sustain energy and not being into coffee yet we began to the consumption of energy drinks. I vividly remember our 2am trips to the corner store because the excitement I felt as I walked up the glass cases that contained the energy drinks was similar to what I felt as a kid on Christmas day. We'd make our energy drink selections and then ride the surge of energy until we crashed and woke up on the floor of my room disoriented with dry mouths.

Drinking energy drinks began to snowball for Brett when he moved to Groveland and as it turns out he ended up needing the crash from an energy drink to fall asleep. He would drink 2 energy drinks at night in order to fall asleep and it led to health problems and him losing the job at the diner up in Groveland.

So I guess you can make your own decision on who's fault it is or if it was just the ebb and flow of life.

Be sure to check out both the podcasts I do.

Thursday Top 5: The Summer So Far

After 18 weeks of 19 college semester units and almost overloading myself summer vacation has taken full effect. 

In no particular order here are my top 5 favorite things so far this summer.

1. TAKO BBQ and the Farmer's market every Tuesday.

Every Tuesday night so far instead of going to my managerial accounting class I'm able to go out eat some fantastic tacos or burritos and then check out the vendors at the local farmer's market with my friends.

2. Comics

I am fortunate to have been able to trade in reading textbooks and doing homework for word bubbles and art panels. My weekly pull lists have been stacking up and being able roll up my sleeves and dig into my "must read" pile has been awesome.

3. Friends

This semester I didn't have much time for friends except for the ones I saw at school. Now I'm able to see everyone and anyone who has time to just hang out.

4. MLB The Show 14

I love baseball and I love video games. And while my responsibility level is low I'm able to spend 1 or 2 hours after hanging out with my pals to unwind with Franchise Mode or Road to the Show.

5. Candy Hearts

I've been listening to this band for awhile, but their new song "I Miss You" more infectious than anything else I've listened to by them. Pop punk is alive and well. Their new album comes out next week and I cannot wait. My iTunes play count for this track is at 42 and that's just on my laptop. I listen to this song a lot on my desktop computer as well.

The summer school session begins June 23rd so who knows how much more free time I'll have, but the summer so far has not been disappointing and I haven't even been to punk rock shows, road trips, or beach visits.

What has your summer so far been like?

Weekend Recap: A June Wedding Edition

This weekend I was given the opportunity to witness my longtime friend Nathan Talbot celebrate his love for for his longtime girlfriend Sage.

I've known Nathan since my elementary school days and to me he is the epitome of person who is proud to be himself 100% of the time. I am fortunate to know him and I wish him and his brand new wife Sage all the best in life.

The best dudes.

 Nathan's face and his bride approached.

The swiftly moving down the aisle.

A real "awww" moment.

 No hesitation to kiss the bride.

 Sophi and Danny.

 Jadey and I cheesin'

 Mingling.

 Tom found something more adorable than him. He couldn't believe it.

 Photobooths are fun.

 Jadey and a lumberjack.

 Alan has no bad angle.

 Azario and Jadey are looking at all the hashtag'd pictures and Danny can't believe them.

 Most of friends don't drink so Tom couldn't let that champagne go to waste.

 And Jadey is against wasting champagne as well.

 Their first dance as a married couple.

Thanking friends and family for celebrating their love.

Growing up is lame, but I am definitely down for more moments like this.

Chipotle Sunday

For most people the ages between 18 and 25 are a fast paced and adventure filled time in life. Freedom is placed into your inexperienced hands and you go out and make some of the best mistakes you'll ever make in a lifetime.

You'll cut class to take a road trip where you'll sing a long with all your best friends in the world to all your favorite songs with the stereo cranked up as loud as it can. You'll drink coffee at midnight to stay up and have some of the most memorable conversations of your lives. The down side is at some time the ride is going to end. Hang outs become few and far between. Your friends find new friends, boyfriends,  girlfriends, husbands, wives,  jobs, people move away, etc. Life just gets in the way and that's just the way it is.

My group of friends had a tradition that every Sunday at around noon we would go to the local chipotle have lunch and hang out. It didn't matter if we all saw each other the night before at a show or were hanging out all through the evening. We went to chipotle. I don't know why we stopped but we just did.

This past Sunday my friend Azario and I had our own chipotle Sunday and the memories came back.

Look to your friends and keep your own version of chipotle Sunday or at least cherish the tradition you have while you can because you never know when life will happen.

Fantasy Baseball 2014

One of my favorite things in the world is Fantasy Baseball. It adds a lot more depth to the baseball season and makes knowing baseball statistics a lot less trivial. (Well at least for me)

This year I'm in a 12 team league with people from my work and I'm looking to be the 2014 Fantasy Football and Fantasy Baseball league champion. I had the 5th pick in the draft and this is the team I came out with.

Position Players
Buster Posey C
Paul Goldschmidt 1B
Matt Carpenter 2B
Kyle Seager 3B
Everth Cabreera SS
Alexi Ramirez SS
Eric Hosmer 1B
Ryan Braun OF
Jusin Upton OF
Brandon Moss 1B/OF
Michael Cuddyer OF
Ben Revere OF
Adam Lind 1B/DH
Brian Dozier 2B
Matt Joyce OF/DH
Justin Smoak 1B

Pitchers
Koji Uehara RP
Alex Cobb SP
Jim Henderson RP
Casey Janssen RP
Clay Bucholz SP
R.A. Dickey SP
Jose Veras RP
Kyle Lohse SP

I don't really have a science or strategy when drafting a team I just go with players I like and are streaky.

I took Paul Goldschmidt first and I think that I may have been mistake since there is a lot of depth at 1B, but that kid knows how to hit and if here weren't in a Diamondback Uniform I would definitely a player shirt or jersey.

I might have made a mistake not drafting a backup catcher and hopefully I can unload one of the many 1B for someone decent.

For the most part though I just go with the flow and every year after I draft a team I feel like I drafted poorly but in the end I do pretty well.

March Mustache Radness

During the month of March I have this weird tradition of growing out a mustache. The tradition came from seeing a show flyer for a Bay Area benefit show about 9 years. I don't remember who played the show and I didn't even go, but I do remember that dude's with mustaches got into the show for discounted price.

I can't even grow a proper mustache, but I still participate. The picture above is taken today and I haven't shaved my upper lip for 1 month.

My dad is able to grow out a fantastic Tom Selleck type mustache, but sadly that didn't carry over to me.

A day in pictures

Today I took a picture during each hour of the day for a fun little post.

 8AM woke up and was ready to start the week.

 9AM Walked to class and didn't have a chance to get myself a morning coffee.

 10AM after a fun lecture in my entrepreneurship class I treated myself to a cinnamon rasin bagel and coffee.

 11AM finished up some stats homework before class.

 12PM 1 hour and 15 minute elementary statistics class.

 1PM Waiting to be seated for lunch at Japanese Kitchen

 2PM Seated and ready for a meal and show

 3PM with a full belly and teary eyes I watched Matt Smith's last episode as the Doctor.

4PM Not sure what to do with myself and feeling emotional I started Sherlock. It is fantastic!

 5PM Checked the mail and got this awesome Title Fight shirt today.

 6PM Went to go pick up Azario and Bri for a movie.

 7PM Studio Ghibli Never Disappoints.

 8PM watching dreams comes true.

9PM arrived home ready to unwind and relax and live another day tomorrow.

(Belated) Weekend Recap: Up and down California

I've had a busy schedule of work, exams, Doctor Who, and studying that I haven't had a time to sit down and write.

And I have had so much I've wanted to write about.

Not writing is the worst writers block.

This past weekend I hit the pavement and spent my Friday in Los Angeles and my Saturday in San Francisco.

A benefit to living in the part of California that I live in is being 3 hours or less from the beach, the mountains, the forest, the babes, the waves, San Francisco, and LA. Sure the air is bad and my town is frequently voted "the worst (blank)" but hey it's home.

My trip to southern California was brief. I went to go pick up my grandma from her mini vacation from Fresno. I took this opportunity to stop by the Johnny Cupcakes store on Melrose to pick up a few goodies and then go to Glendale to meet up with one of my best friends Christina.

Christina had just moved to Glendale for school and it was a pleasure to walk around Glendale and grab a quick bite. We ate this Japanese restaurant that was nothing to write home about. Hopefully next time I visit we find as the youth like to say "dope spot."

Nightsky and Traffic 

Xtina

I made the 3 hour drive back home with my grandma slept a few hours and then made another 3 hour dive to my favorite place, Northern California, with my good friend Lisette for a day in the bay. We went to go see the Golden State Warriors play the Brooklyn nets and it was so crazy to see future Hall Of Fame players Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce play. I have a bad case of hoop fever and I just want to go to basketball games every night forever. It was super loud at Oracle and I got goosepimples when Steph Curry knocked down a 3 that went off the backboard to ice the game. The atmosphere in arena was electric when the shot went down and I was so happy.

 We walked down Haight Street and did some shopping.

This me living out my boyhood dream of getting a foam finger.

 Game time!

 Jermaine O'neal had a monster game looking 10 years younger.

I was honestly afraid that Joe Johnston was going to go off and break my heart with a loss.

Ended the night with a trip back to San Fran for a Veggie burger at Mel's Drive-in.

Weekend Recap: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu in San Francisco

This weekend I went to San Francisco with my longtime pal Azario and new companion Brianna.

They are fan of a Japanese Pop Star named Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

Other than a few music videos that Azario had shown me my knowledge of Kyary was very limited, but being the carefree, I'm down for whatever type of person I am. A trip to the bay seemed like a fun time.

Once we were in the West Bay we stopped at Paxti's Chicago Pizza and I dove into my very first Chicago deep dish style pizza. Spinach and Mozzarella in all of it's divinity.

I highly recommend that if you are anywhere near a Paxti's Pizza to dine there. I definitely have plans of visiting again.




After that we went to Haight street where I stopped by Super7 a designer toy store where I picked up a couple t-shirts and stickers. If I had started to purchase toys I would have put myself in tough financial situation. I'm surprised my will power held up.

After a quick stop in Japantown for some cool photobooth pictures we headed to the sold out show where the line was wrapped around the Regency Ballroom into the alley. The line got into the concert hall rather quickly and I was blown away to see a giant teddy bear on the stage. I knew I was going to be in for a brand new experience.

Her fans were dedicated and the line for merchandise was long. People of all ages were dressed up like they were anime characters. Entire families were standing together waiting to see Kyary and 5 minutes before she took the stage people began chanting "Ky-ar-y! KY! AR! Y!"

Not being a fan I was getting goosebumps in anticipation for to hit the stage and when she did I was not disappointed.

Bright lights, dancing, and glowsticks everywhere. People jumping up and down with smiles on their faces all because of this girl with a pleasant voice, pretty decent dance moves, and awesome costume changes.

I was definitely softly banging my head and tapping my foot to her songs and would definitely go see her again. If this was your first time hearing about Miss Kyary Pamyu Pamyu I don't think it'll be your last.