Work and Food TV

Worked too much today. It feels funny when the computer is shut off, my brain just goes blank. There's nothing inside. This always happens when I just focus too much on work and nothing else. Oh, I did watch Food Channel on and off. It's such a soothing, comforting channel to have on. You start with various different ingredients and you always end up with a great looking dish or many pretty dishes. I always feel satisfied watching it.

Holiday Drama

Thanksgiving at Dave's started off rough. Dave and I got into an argument about me calling him before I left my place. The shouting match crashed and burned after he yelled at me and I threatened to leave. It was total drama. I guess that's what people do on Thanksgivings, family members get together then duke it out, kind of like a typical holiday movie. We were fine after we aired it out and the dinner went along fine. We had 9 people and we all enjoyed the big feast Dave and everyone prepared. Yesterday I stayed at home and did some shopping online. I wouldn't want to compete with the mall crowd. Today I slept 'til noon and had a late lunch with Sylvia. There was a little miss-communication in the morning that reminded me of my frustration with her. Fortunately my annoyance did not get too far, we talked it out and the trip worked out fine. Holiday does give people a lot of tremendous stress, and any little mishaps can roll into a big dumb mess. I feel lucky I didn't let things get too out of hand. Now let's go shopping.

Salad

So happy this week is going to be a short one. I am looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Dave Jose and a few other friends. Today after the gym I went to Fresh & Easy and bought things for lunch. When I got home I made myself some hearty salad, with popcorn chicken and spring green mix. I didn't really do any cooking, all store brought and the sweet yellow bell peppers from the trip. Salad is kind of like a single guy's food. Easy to make, not too festive, but efficient and good enough for one.

Back from Big Bear

The trip to Big Bear was more mellow than I thought. We stayed in the cabin most of the time over the weekend, did some trail hiking on Saturday, and spent the rest of the time hanging out with each other in our little cabin. We cooked, watched a couple of DVD's and played board games. The only trail we went on, Cougar Trail, was not bad. It just was not having its best time. The scenery looked rough and bare. It probably would look a lot nicer if we came a month earlier. I came back home this afternoon, took a nice nap, and finished the sandwich we made. Overall it was a fine trip, even though I didn't get to sleep very much, I enjoyed the time we shared to know everyone better. I was also happy that I finally got to see Big Bear Lake, and what that town was all about, sans the snow.

Promotion is good

Something good happened today before my trip. I received my monthly cable bill statement and it was like, over a hundred. I wasn't having it. So I called them right away and asked if they could put me on some special. Well, at first the agent only gave me a promotional special on the internet access for six months. I asked if she could help me on the cable service as well. She took a minute and then gave me another promotional special on that package for six months too! That made me feel good. So now I am back to under $80 per month for cable tv and internet. That's a small good news that brings a smile to my face (and my wallet).

Almost Big Bear

I saw Megan today finally and gave her her birthday present. I think she was not expecting it! Luckily she seemed to like the fragrance. Yay! We caught up a little bit about her apartment hunting, and shared her little birthday cake. This week was mostly busy for me. So glad it's almost over! I'm going to Big Bear this weekend, and I have been thinking about how cold it is there. I always hear about the place when the winter nears, but this is the first time I'm actually going to experience the whole cabin and snow thing. PK and David S and a bunch others are going too. It's going to be another new place I get to visit this year.

Noise

The morning started out with lots and lots of noise. There was my landlord, towing her truck, or her other car right under my living room. It went on and on, I was glad I woke up before all the loudness. Still, I already turned on my computer and wished all that would go away. A thought came to me, is it time to move? I thought about it some more during the day. I guess if I had not met Caretas I would be looking at apartments in the area more aggressively. Maybe next year. Who knows, maybe I will be here for another few years? Probably not. Not with all the noise I have to endure everyday.

Watched a movie this weekend finally

I spent the day alone. I resisted the urge to check work email, and I was good. Computer was off-limits. Whatever happened this weekend, it could wait. I drove around the area trying to find an alteration place to take in my jeans a few inches. The first place I went was closed. The second place was open, but they were a little surprised to see a guy walked into their store. It costs $5 and I hope they do a good job. The rest of the day was pretty easy breezy. I even took a nap. Watched a DVD that PK lent me, The Brothers Bloom, it was quite good. Shot beautifully, fun story, great acting, just a well-rounded effort all around. Tomorrow begins another week. Let's hope all goes smoothly, I know it will.

Vacuuming Day

I did some vacuuming in the apartment today. Put away my AC. Repotted my tomato plant. It was not a lot of work or time, but afterwards I felt like I did a ton! I thought about going out and doing something, then I just stayed in and took a nap. I figured it had been a while since I took time to sleep, so I did. This morning the cleaning crew for the apartment started blowing dust in the lot and I was awoken around 7:30am, I was pissed. So I kind of made up for it in the afternoon, even though it was not a deep, full sleep. Tonight I hung out with PK and some of his friends. We went to Masa and ordered soy-cheese deep dish pizzas. It was pretty good. We then went back to David's apartment to chat. Some decided to go to a bar, PK and I just came back home. We wanted to go to bed already.

Cleaning

The week is over! I have a lot to do around the house. It's so messy and I really should do some cleaning. I missed a bunch of movies this year. Maybe I will try to go catch some this weekend. Of course I want to sleep in too. Too bad these days I open my eyes in the morning and that's that, I can't go back. Hopefully this is going to be a relaxed but still productive weekend.

Icy treat

It was another busy day. I finally caught a break and had lunch at Caretas. Then she and I went to a frozen yogurt place for a icy treat. She couldn't really eat dairy, or so she said, but she ended up trying a bunch of flavors. I got green tea, ginger bread, and pineapple flavors, with fruits and nuts toppings. Typical style, still it was so delicious. We came back after she got some lotto tickets. I did my first net-meeting, and it was not a complete failure, hahaha. The connection was buggy, so the 2 attendees couldn't hear me most of the time. Oh well not as bad as I thought! I was so sleepy tonight after logging off from work. Somehow I stayed up and kept watching random TV. I could use some good yummy hot meal. Can't wait to see Dave and Jose tomorrow :)

She sold it

I went out and had lunch with Sylvia and her pals in Rowland Heights today. She told me about her awesome news, that she sold her truck finally. I was so happy for her, and so proud of her that she stood up for herself. It was such a dead weight for her financially and mentally, and to know she finally took care of it, I was just so happy. I came home and took a nap. It was a quiet night. I went to the gym, came back, ate a small dinner, and vegetated. Tomorrow will be another busy start. I did get enough rest this weekend, I think I'm ready.

Too much

Another full day! I couldn't sleep last night, so I woke up around 3 in the morning and started working on an ad for my previous company. Why in the world would I do that to myself? I don't know. My life changed obviously. I went back to bed around 5:30, and got up again after 10. Went to the gym, Jose called, and I met up with Dave and Jose for lunch at 1. We removed my AC in the bedroom, and watched random TV while Dave took his nap. After they left, I interviewed an applicant overseas. That's just too much action for one day! It didn't stop, I went out and hung out with PK and David after their dinner. I actually was falling asleep on his couch. Let's hope I get a full night of sleep tonight :)

Took off early

I did it. I took off work early today and finally spent some time outside my apartment with Caretas. We went to Hometown Buffet and had a lot of food. Of course my stomach was acting up right away. I didn't care, I just kept eating, hahaha. Then we went to TJMaxx and I bought a pair of odd pants. There was some jeans that I thought were cool, but I wanted to get something new and weird, so there, dirty gray construction-looking funky pants! We came home after 6 and I couldn't help myself, I checked my emails and of course there was something happening that I needed to respond. It was kind of nice to know that I was needed, at the same time, I thought "Don't these people ever take a freaking break?" Oh well, it's all good. Nothing I can't handle.

Overworked

I overworked today. I felt completely drained. It really seemed like it was never going to end. When I was done I was SO exhausted. Of course I had to get out of the apartment. I got into my gym clothes and left. At first I visited Caretas to chat. The more we talked though, the sleepier I became. When her husband came home, it was time for me to take off. Once I hit the treadmill my energy kicked in and I was feeling less tired. I probably won't work as many hours tomorrow. I better not!

Boring

I didn't get to do too much non-work today. Slowly and hopelessly I'm becoming one of those people who work too much and talk too much about work even when not working. Sylvia and I were on the phone tonight and we were just went on and on about yes, work. I feel like I'm some boring person. I feel like I need a hobby, or a life. Oh well, it could be a lot worse.

No internet

The internet connection at home has been dropping off in the middle of the day this week. It is very frustrating. I would finish work and try to email it, find out I didn't have any connection, so I would wait or go to Dave's to get stuff done. I spent most of day today at his place because of this problem. The cable representative did not know what was going on. She actually thought it was my wire or modem went bad. I finally had to schedule an appointment with their technician/repairman tomorrow morning after being talked at for more than 10 minutes. When I left my place and saw a cable truck parked on the street with a 5 people crew, I backed up and asked one of the workers if they were working on the cable/internet/phone in the neighborhood. Of course he said they were! And of course it was a problem that they had been trying to fix since two days ago! And of course the phone operator did not know anything! So while I waited for the takeout food at the restaurant I called the cable company again and canceled my appointment. I'm not going to have one of them come and end up charging me for the visit. Ugh! It was good to see Dave though!

Quick trip to San Diego

I went to San Diego on Friday and spent a night there. Downtown SD really came alive with big, young, rowdy crowds in town for Halloween. The streets were packed with visitors from top to bottom. The bars had lines going from inside to around the block. It was wild to see and walk through that heavy, dense crowds. We went to a very nice Spanish restaurant called Cafe Sevilla and were very impressed by the food and their service. We let our perky waitress order for us, and she didn't disappoint. The appetizer, grilled bacon rolled dates and tuna tartare tower, were SO good! The entrees were just as delicious. We had the hanging steak shrimp kabob, cheese fundido, and a baked pastry with beef (or lamb) filling served with red wine sauce. I thought the food was going to be salty, but I was pleasantly surprised it was seasoned perfectly. I even liked the steak because it was so tender, and not too rare. What a great experience! The next day we went to Coronado and dined in one of the restaurants by the sand, Peohe's. The ambiance was different from the night scenes in downtown. The seashore really gave the view a serene, calm presence. The food there was just OK. The calamari appetizer was strangely lukewarm, and lacking a crunchy factor. It also came a little late (like more than 15 minutes after we ordred it). I tried out their two entrees, the fish taco and Peohe’s Halibut Mai’a... My fish taco was good. I thought it could use a little more salt. Peohe’s Halibut Mai’a was interesting, it's halibut with banana and pistachio sauce, never had that anywhere. After our meal we went for a walk by the sands and were quite taken by the view. It was a very nice weekend spent with a new group of friends. And it's another side of San Diego that I had not seen before. I came back to Dave's on Halloween night, and enjoyed homemade sausage and sauce with him and Jose. We also watched Psycho, and really liked it. It was a great weekend, and a sweet ending to an excellent month. I saw some old friends. I found a job. One of my closest friends got married. I went and visited beautiful cities and saw sights I had never thought would be that beautiful, and that stunning before. This October I experienced such a turn around, and I'm so happy that it brought my life to a much fulfilled, and satisfying state. I feel truly blessed.