Hard Rock Birthday

Happy 23rd to Rose! We took her to the Hard Rock Cafe', had a great dinner, enjoyed the Sound of Music, and did some shopping. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did.

Housewarming

We had such an awesome time yesterday at Janice's housewarming party. She's got the loveliest home I've seen in a while, and the 50" TV isn't bad either. It was great seeing some old co-workers and just catching up on things. I can't wait until our next event. Thanks to Janice and her husband Andrew for inviting us into their lovely home.
Seen above: Miriam and her husband, Lourdes, Shabnam and her husband

Jason & Liz

Today we had lunch with Jason and his wife Liz. It was so great to see them again! Those two have got to be the most amazing people ever. After loosing almost everything they owned they still have a great positive outlook on life, it's really amazing. After attending a friend's wedding they'll be headed toward Connecticut. I wish them all the best!

Farmer's Market

So after being cooped up at home working on my thesis for the past 4 days, Rose finally got me out of the house. We went to the local farmer's market to get some yummy food and do a little shopping. It was nice to get some fresh air.

N.U.T.S.

This thesis is driving me CooCoo for Coa Coa Puffs!

Presenting....iClass

So the new GUI is finally done. Poor Lemonhead, he's slaved these past few months to get this done and now it is. Yay for him! Next week he's taking a well deserved vacation.

Attacks on London

This is just devastating!

No Dumping Zone

This reminds me that I need to make time this summer to volunteer with Heal the Bay. I volunteered once when I was younger and got a great feeling out of cleaning up those beaches. It's sad to see the beaches so polluted the way they are these days.

Americafest 2005

Thanks to Brian for suggesting the Rose Bowl for the 4th of July fireworks show. It was awesome! I've never seen so many fireworks at once before. Too bad the pre-show was a bore. It was still worth the $10/per person.

I give it an A-

Just saw this movie today and although I'm not a huge sci-fi fan I will admit that it was a great movie. It's very suspenseful and the acting is great as well. Too bad the ending was weak.

Catalina Fishing Trip

The boys went on a fishing trip to Catalina Island today and caught some nice looking fish. While they were out having fun I was at the doctors getting some x-rays done. Next Tuesday I'll be finding out if what I have is acid reflux or not. I'll post the results as soon as I get them.

Go-Kart Racing

Went to check out "Golf n'Stuff" today and loved it. We played a round of miniature golf, road the go-karts several times and then it was off to the arcade. Too bad it's located in Ventura 'cause we really need a go-kart place out here.
So today I found out that I may not have diabetes but instead acid reflux. I'll know for sure in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow it's off to get an x-ray...yay...not!

Vacation Part I

We're back from our little trip up north and soon we'll be headed south. I've posted most of the pictures I took during the first part of the trip and I will continue to post them on my gallery site. A special thanks to Jess and Sven for being such wonderful hosts!! Thank you for letting us crash at your place and eat your wonderful food! I miss you both already!

SF

Today was awesome. We got to see my bro at the Alameda County Fair. After we checked that out for a while we drove down to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and took a boat ride around the bay. That was a lot of fun, and it only cost us $10/per person. The traffic in San Francisco was a nightmare since most of the main streets were closed for the Gay Pride Parade. I hadn't seen San Francisco for a while so it was cool to go check it out again.

Hearst Beach

Today we traveled along the California coast and stopped by Hearst Beach so that Marco could fish for a bit. After that we continued up north and stopped by Monterey Aquarium. That was pretty awesome. Now we're going to be spending the night at Jess' house in Sunnyvile, yay! It's so great to see her again!

Solvang...Not a Dutch Town

On day one of our trip up north we stopped by Solvang (Danish Town). Had a great time just looking around and on the way back to the Fwy we got to feed the emus at the Ostrich Land.

Bad News Thursday

Today has been a day of bad news. First I hear that Jason's U-haul was found but it had been burned to the ground. That's very upsetting news. Then I go to the doctor's and find out that this little problem I've been having may have been caused by diabetes! Yikes! Anyhow, long story short...went to get my blood tested and now I have to wait a few weeks to get the results. I sure hope they come back negative 'cause I really don't want to have to deal with something like that. It doesn't help to find out that diabetes runs in both sides of the family. Crap! I will post an update as soon as I hear something.
Today I also had to say goodbye to my sweet friend Xiaoyu who has gotten an internship for the summer. I wish her all the best! It's always sad to see great people go.
On a happier note, Happy Birthday to my buddy Carlo who turned 26 today! Yay Carlo! Also, tomorrow is the start of my week long vacation so I'm looking forward to that.
**Seen above, Carlo and Xiaoyu at Acapulco**

Why do bad things happen to good people?

So last week Jason and his wife left for Connecticut to start their new life. Unfortunately they only got to Arizona before their U-haul was stolen! That just totally sucks!! Who would do that!? I feel so bad for them...everything they owned, gone. Poor Jason and Liz! I hope they find their truck and get to Connecticut safely. We really miss Jason at work; it just isn't the same without him.

July Deadline

Talk about having a busy day! Donated a car to charity so I'm feeling pretty good about that. Then I had a meeting with my thesis chair and found out I need to finish my paper by July 15th so now I'm totally wiggin'. So, after my meeting went to work for what seemed like an eternity. Now I'm home, real tense 'cause I keep thinking about that thesis paper...yuck! Wish I was in that pool right now.

Party Sunday

Worked another party with my bro this weekend. It was good. This time most of the kids were pretty sweet and some were just silly (as seen above). I'm glad this party was only a few hours long 'cause tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me.

Pizza Time Friday

Although working on Fridays is usually a drag this Friday was actually kind of ok. Part of it was the fact that our lunch breaks were over an hour long spent watching a slideshow and eating pizza. Now that's what I call a lunch break. The only downfall to this extended lunch was the fact that eventually we all had to go back to work.
Now that my weekend has started I'm waiting for our guest to arrive. Skip (our guest) will be coming to stay with us for a month since he's visiting from Holland. It's going to be a blast.

Fire Season

Looks like one of the other buildings our landlord owns was on fire today. Crazy! Just a few days ago some guy in our building almost burned the place down when he jumped into the shower and forgot to turn the stove off. Minutes later we had to walk through a thick cloud of smoke and the worst smell ever. What was this guy thinking? Who goes into the shower while they're still cooking?! That's just plain stupid!

Acapulco Lunch

I had a wonderful time today with the gang from work. We celebrated several birthdays and Jason's 2nd to last day by going to Acapulco. Boy was the food yummy! I love when we could all just get together and have a nice relaxing lunch. The toughest part was going back to work and actually getting something done. That food coma gets me every time.

He Beat It!

Creative journalism at it's best. Since this is the topic that everyone is talking about I'll just say: "I'm glad it's over." Now we could all move on with our lives. It always amazes me how the media spends 15 minutes covering a story like this while a major earthquake in Chili only gets 1 minute of coverage!

Japanese Treats

It was nice to see Thomas at work again. He brought us back all kinds of goodies from Japan and lots of great stories. Perhaps tomorrow we'll have more time to check out his 3,000 photos! I also think Pablo is coming home tomorrow, yay!

Brunch Buffet

On our last day in Vegas we finished up our shopping and had a great brunch at the Flamingo's buffet. Boy was it yummy! Vegas was lots of fun but it was nice to get back home again. The traffic home was a little heavy but Rose got us back in just a few hours.

Moss Adams Party @ the Flamingo

After another long day of shopping and checking out The Strip, Rose and I attended her company's dinner party at the Flamingo. We had an awesome time. I got to meet some of her co-workers and the food was amazing. We sat in groups of 10 and every table had to compete in a little questionnaire game. Wouldn't you know it...we won! That meant that every employee at the table got PTO (paid time off). Rose was a happy girl.

Las Vegas Weekend

Today Rose and I started our weekend at Las Vegas, NV. We first stopped at a couple of outlet centers and did a bit of shopping. After a few hours of shopping we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe' and later checked into the Monte Carlo hotel. We really lucked out because we had perfect weather. Usually at this time Vegas is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pictures from Japan

Yes it's finally here, Pablo's Travel Blog now contains the first pictures of Pablo on his trip to Japan. Thank you to Thomas who took these amazing photographs. More pictures will be up soon and the journaling will be added once I have collected all of the data from Pablo's trip. Hope you all enjoy this virtual trip to Japan.

Mr. Popular

Today I talked to Thomas who will be returning with Pablo from Japan tomorrow. He sent me the first pictures of Pablo in Japan. Yay! It turns out Pablo was a big hit with his friends there. I can't wait to see the rest of those pictures. If things work out, Pablo might be going to Vancouver this week.

Going Away Party

Went to Jess' going away party. It was so awesome! Although it's going to be sad to see her go I'm very happy for her. There are so many things for her to look forward to. Just yesterday her boyfriend Sven proposed so not only will she have a great new job, house and stuff but soon she'll also have a new husband. Congrats to the happy couple!
Above is a picture of Jess and her Dad whom she dedicated her thesis to.

The Regent Beverly Wilshire Gig

Today I worked another gig for my bro. This one was held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. The party was awesome! I was very impressed. Not only did they have a great DJ, but they also had a magician, violin players, flute players, fortune tellers, dancers...the list just goes on and on. On top of all that, the people were great. I'm looking forward to the next gig.

Class of 2005!

Yay, it finally happened! Jess, Zach, and I graduated today!! The weather was perfect (not too cold, not too hot). The timing was just right (We only had to stick around for the first part of the ceremony). And now it's all over (thank god).

P.S. I manage to make it through the entire day without tripping. Yes!

Gift from Jess

I got the most amazing graduation gift from Jess. Although graduation isn't until tomorrow she gave it to me yesterday. She's so amazing! She got me a charm bracelet and picked out charms that represent stuff we've done together. Awww...sweet girl!

Golf and DDR

We went miniature golfing again with Rose and Ernesto. It was so much fun! We had several tokens left over from the last time we were there so we used those as well. DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) was the best game there but we only got two chances to play it. A group of teenagers which we referred to as the "DDR gang" wouldn't let us play. It looked like those kids own those machines so no one else dared use them. That really sucked. I think I'm going to look into getting that game at home 'cause it's so much fun.

Madagascar

I saw "Madagascar" this weekend which turned out to be one of the cutest movies ever. The penguins and the lemurs were hilarious! There were a few parts in the movie where the screen would just fade to black for a little too long so that was kind of a drag. Overall, the movie was funny and worth watching.

Chili's Sign

It looks like Chili's is trying to get cute with their signs. Today we had lunch there to celebrate Tiffany's birthday and to say goodbye to Wen Shan who has gotten an internship and will be gone for 3 months.

Japan Time

So it's official...Pablo will be leaving for Japan in a week. He's all packed and ready to go. In a few weeks I'll have 'Pablo's Travel Blog ' up with pictures of him in Japan. Thank you to 'Brian ' for letting Pablo tag along.

She Did It!

Yay!!!! My girl did it!!! My girl Jess kicked a@* today. I'm so super proud of her. She went up there did an absolutely perfect job, could answer every question, and passed with flying colors. God I'm proud. After Jess' defense we had to wait outside the room while the committee met and discussed her fate. Five minutes later we got the wonderful news that she passed and is now a Master's Graduate. Omg it was awesome! We all just cried with joy including her mom who was there.

Current Events

So Villaraigosa is the new Mayor, which is not a big surprise. I must say, his team sure is persistent. I must have gotten over 5 calls to remind me to vote. It looks like Bo is going to be the next American Idol, and being the big Star Wars fan I'll be watching the movie tomorrow... hopefully.

Almost Friday...Yikes!

This Friday is Jess' final thesis defense. She's so nervous. She's going be great though, she always is! I'm so proud of her!!! She's already got an awesome job lined up, she's looking for a house, and she's just about the most amazing person I know. I sure am going to miss her!

My Cap

It's so close, I could almost taste it!

Pablo the Sock Monkey

Here's a picture of my new sock monkey Pablo. My bro and Rose brought him back for me from Vegas. They're the sweetest! Today we hung out with them and had dinner together. It was nice to get out for a while.

1 of 2

I've had an exhausting day. Today I spent the entire day working on one of two papers due before the end of the semester and it looks like tomorrow is going to be spent the same way. It does feel good to get some of this writing out of the way though. As soon as I'm done with those two papers I'll be done for the semester. What a relief.
On another happy note, this week I talked to my cousin in San Diego who will be graduating this month from her nursing program. I'm so proud of her! She's going to make a wonderful nurse. I wish I could make it to her graduation but it looks like that's going to be a bit difficult.

The Booth

I saw that caps and gowns are in, yeay! You know what the means? Yup, graduation is just around the corner! I can't wait! I still have to finish my thesis though. I think this weekend I'll dedicate it to coding the rest of my data. There's so much to do. I've also been working on a new version of my website so we'll see how soon I could have that up.
So, today at work we built our new sound proof booth for audio recording. It's a pretty big unit and the boys spent most of the morning putting this thing together. Now that it's all set up we'll have to run a few tests to see what the difference in audio quality is. Anyhow it's going to be nice for our narrators like "Bryan" 'cause that means they won't have to hike across campus to get their recordings done.

Julia's Here

Congratulations to my friend Yelena and her husband. Yelena gave birth to a little girl named Julia 3 weeks ago. How exciting for them! It's so weird because it seems like just yesterday that we found out Yelena was going to be a mom.

An Amelie Fan

I love this movie! Marco and I watched it again this weekend...this has got to be one of the greatest movies I've seen in a while. Thank you again to Zachy and Alvin!

Sick of Classes

Oh boy, I'm getting real sick of school already. I spent most of my weekend trying to finish up our HCI project and finishing up the coding for my thesis. Thank god graduation isn't that far away. I'm really looking forward to finishing up my classes but not really looking forward to attending all of those ceremonies. Last week I got a letter saying I'm getting some kind of award too so that's another ceremony I have to attend...*sigh*

Mommy Day

Today we celebrated Mother's Day with my mommy. It was nice to spend some quality time at home with my parents. We got to eat yummy food again and just chill for a while.

Pet Peeves

Dang, today I was about to tell a mother to control her kid because the little punk just would not shut up. It's too bad new parents don't get a lesson on this.

Ana's Pet Peeves:

When parents let their kids scream and do as they please because they "can tune them out"
When people snap their gum
When people chew with their mouth open
When people don't hold doors open for others
When people don't believe anything you tell them
When people pick any part of their body
When people crack their knuckles
When guys wear their pants low on their asses and when girls wear short shirts with their fat belly hanging out (buy a mirror people!)
When sandals are worn with socks
When people with ugly feet wear sandals

Anyhow the list could go on forever. Perhaps another day I'll add to it.

A Very Long Birthday

This week was sweet! Celebrated my birthday all weekend then went to work on Monday and celebrated it some more. The gang at work took me to Chili's and got me a bunch of cool gifts. Hey, it's not everyday you turn 27.

Ana's Birthday Bash

I had the bestest (an ana term) birthday ever! It was so perfect! It started out yesterday at my parent's house. My mom made my favorite meal and we sat around and spent some time together. Then, today 13 of us celebrated at a nearby miniature golf course which turned out to be super awesome. To top it all off Marco got me the perfect cakes from Porto's and I got super cool gifts. Quoting Ice Cube, "Today was a good day."