Luau!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

2008-05-12T07:06:34Z

Greatest Indy film made by all accounts on my part. While Raiders was more enjoyable overall, ToD had those scenes you just can't forget to rememeber. Can't wait to see the newest installment on the 22nd of May!

2007 World Series

2007-10-22T09:19:54Z

How fun is it right now? I'll admit I much would have prefered the Indians to play the Rockies, but regardless, it's still going to be tough for the Rox. It's hard to tell at this point if it's actually going to be a good series. In theory, Beckett, Schilling, and Dice- K could shut down that high octane offense of the Rockies, but I see that young lineup battling through like they have done all year.

Jeff Francis is most likely going to take the ball in Game 1. He'll climb up the mound and throw the game of his life. Countering him would be Beckett who will march out there and win. I can't wait.

I just got this weird feeling...

2007-07-19T09:08:08Z

Final AL West Standings for right now:

1. Mariners
2. Athletics
3. Angels
4. Rangers

Feel free to ask me about that. The Tigers still win the World Series.....

Yankee Stadium

2007-06-29T03:17:36Z

Subway Series. I went. It was terrible....

I expected to feel something holy, magical, and historic. Instead, I got 500 NYPD officers patrolling a large concrete basin while surrounded by, get this, REAL Yankee fans (or as real as you can get). I decided to wear my A's road jersey in an attempt to stir up the fans of both teams and be "that guy". No one cared. No one. Well, one drunk Mets fan called me out and said the A's Mets series was next weekend. I said I would not be there.

The stadium (it's not a ballpark), is really old. Really old, and it shows its age. It's not kept up at all. The uneven concrete walkways in the third deck are scary followed by the incredibly low railing that keep you from falling over the edge. I noticed two of those railings falling out of the bolts that hold it together. The stairs that lead up to the highest part of the ballpark are very narrow (hecka scary) and it's really high up there. I couldn't last long, I had to walk around. I assume they don't repair anything because it would cost too much. They have to pay A-Rod's salary, whom Yankee fans hate anyway. You wonder why they boo him all the time. They want new seats without splinters sticking their asses!

If you like hot dogs. Yankee Stadium is the place for you. That's all they sell, and there's a lot of them! I counted 296 in the stadium. $6, small, and keep you on the throne all night long. If you get a soda, they put aluminum foil over the top like you're going to take it home. I still haven't figured that one out.

It's an old ballpark like I said. It shows its age, but it doesn't look like Fenway. Fenway is just pure fun. In Fenway, you can feel the history, at Yankee Stadium, you just want to go home. Yankee Stadium may have been remodeled in the mid 1970's, but it was just the outside of the park. You get what you pay for there. DiMaggio, Mantle, and Ruth all dug their cletes into that same dirt. Unfortunatly, you can tell....

Jason Giambi possibly being dismissed from the Yankees?!

2007-05-22T09:33:37Z

We all know Jason Giambi used some sort of steroid or human growth hormone when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics. He was an overweight utility player who couldn't hit that well and never really got a shot at first base until Big Mac was traded. We're also pretty sure Big Red used that crap too. Well, I'm led to believe that Jason Giambi has admitted to using such substances. Why is this such a big deal now? I'll tell you why.. Politics!!!

Giambi testified in front of a Grand Jury stating he used performance enhancing drugs such as the aformentioned in the BALCO case in 2003. His statements last Friday to the AP were as followed: "I was wrong for doing that stuff". "What WE should have done a long time ago was stand up- players, ownership, everybody- and said, WE made a mistake". Giambi didn't make the mistake by himself. It wasn't even a mistake. It was a culture in the the American and National League's and in all of baseball. We have to face it. Baseball was taking second place to the NFL in the mid 80's. Something had to revive it.

So we all know he juiced. He apologized. We forgave him. What's the big deal now? He ran his mouth off. His contract has various articles stating player behavior and substance usage. Steroids were not illegal in MLB Baseball until recently and Jason running his mouth could have hurt him.

The Yankees could void his contract at any time now stating a violation of the terms. Sucks for him. Even if you hate the Yankees, you have to remember that Jason is a nice ass guy. He's going as far as to say "I did steroids, I'm sorry I did, but so did everyone else". I actually find that reasuring.

If the Yankees do try to void his contract it won't work out in the end. The Player's Union holds all the strength. He'll be back in the batter's box in no time. Sad to say he's still a good hitter without the drugs.

As much as I am sick of this era, I will agree with his final comment: "Taking performance enhancing drugs doesn't help you hit a baseball. That's the hardest thing in the world". Well, hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do, especially off great pitchers. The strong body parts unfortunatly help you hit it harder.....

eHarmony.com Day 2

2006-09-20T09:08:38Z

They found me a match! Sorta...

She's 28. I requested no one over 25. She lives in Campbell! I requested something in the East Bay and Campbell is in the South Bay. This site is stupid. We'll see if it gets better.

eHarmony.com!

2006-09-19T10:18:18Z

I'm trying this site out even though I know they're full of shit on that 29 some other bullshit match points they hook people up with. I answered the very long questionare as truthful and patiently as I could. It could be a matter of days before they set me up with Gertrude the Emu Farmer from Sunol. Oh, I can't wait! I'm also expecting to hear from Lupe the Matress Flipper at the Ramada on A St. This is going to be exciting.

My iPod playlist

2006-09-19T08:34:46Z

Right now my iTunes playlist is kinda week. I used to have gigs upon gigs of music on my old hard drive. It's sitting pretty bare right now with only 369 songs. Not even 2 gigs! What's fun about this list though is that I have really old mp3's from way back in the day when Napster was free, illegal, and nobody cared. At any random block in the playlist it can play Fionna Apple followed by Echo & the Bunnymen to Pocket Size. I think there's even some Everything But the Girl on there. Hey! They had some interesting atmpspheric songs! So, that's my story for the day. iTunes says it's a little over a days worth of songs. I might leave it on random when I go to sleep and see what happens. I might have to rip everything again tomorrow. My iPod is full and it's a 40G.

No fun today

2006-09-15T06:40:58Z

When ever I have a day off from work I seem to be the most bored. Nothing to do but clean the house, watch TV and sleep. I should propose to my job that a seven day work week would be beneficial to my health.

I was so bored last night that I built a desk for my computer. I got halfway done, and decided that it was too big. So I threw my monitor on top and that's the way it stayed. Now I won't have to sit on the floor anymore and have my legs cramp up. It's pretty nice to be typing right now and not have my wrists locking up.

After the desk was done, I was planning on going to bed. All of a sudden a dozen people show up with my roomates. They practically brought the whole damn bar home with them. Needless to say, I was up until 6am consoling Carly who was upset. I didn't wake up until 4 today. That's enough from my boring life for now.

All the while

2006-08-15T08:07:39Z

Spinning these records and drinking:

Hella "Hold Your Horse Is"
Seam "The Problem With Me"
Hot Snakes "Suicide Invoice"
Minus the Bear "Highly Refined Pirates"

Here's a game for you. Get as drunk as possible by yourself. Then convince yourself you're a superhero and then drink more. It's pretty tight.

Here's another game for you. Smoke a few a bowls and get really high. Then listen to Todd Rundgren's "Something/Anything?", Radiohead's "OK Computer", and Stevie Wonder's "Music Of My Mind". It'll blow your fucking mind how different and brilliant each were. The first is a musical genius mocking the music he's making while acting out the music he's making, the second is a technical three guitar band with a cynical singer basically saying technology is the end for us while they make the album sound futuristic using technology, and the third is a blind composer striving to make music like no one else has, but trying too hard and making himself look even better.

Can you build a life you picture in your head?

2006-08-08T09:26:05Z

It's not that I'm sick of living in the Bay Area. It just seems like the past 5 years have been like renting a room close to home. I could always sell all my shit and live on my mom's couch, but that would make me 19 years old again. I can't go back to that obviously, in which I mean being young and irresponsible again.

I first moved out when I was 19. I had lived in Pleasanton for 14 years with my mom and brother. I came to the conclusion I couldn't get along with her anymore and moved out a couple months later. I got my driver's license and started paying rent. Long live Berkeley, it was great, it was fun, but I was still living at home. I'd need money a lot of the time, and she would lend it to me, not expecting it back. She gave me food, let me crash at her place to get away from the ghetto, and help me pay for my car insurance. I was still living at home basically. I worked five minutes from her place in Pleasanton.

With the strange turn of all our lives (meaning our close knit family as far as my roomates went), I was suddenly dealt a huge blow. I had to find a place to live within a month. I almost moved into a co-op on Shattuck, but had I been caught, people would have found out quick that I didn't attend the University of California. That sucks, because my girlfriend went there as well as some friends.

Things worked out, Michelle gave me a room in Danville. She is an amazing person. So nice. It was cool because Emily and Ryan moved in with me! I ended up staying there for two years having the best time of my life. It was so family like. I got more responsible, and was becoming aware I was an adult.

I still did work at the same High School job I started at years earlier. It was time for me to go out and make some money. I applied at T-Mobile 6 feet in front of my previous job and got hired. Right after that I moved to Fremont with Abigail. It's nice here, but it seems like a step back for me. It's kinda party like. Sure, Abby, Parker and I work really hard, but that's not what I'm after anymore. This brings me to the point of this post.

I'm moving to Portland, Oregon after baseball season. I feel old and mature enough now to be a complete boring adult. I want to pursue my career with T-Mobile, I want to fall in love and get married, have kids, and buy a house. Yes, buy a house. I would most likely not be able to do that here. I in no way want to leave, but I think it's necessary. The main thing is, I think it would be good for me.

More on the A's

2006-04-26T08:24:54Z

April 26, 2006

After tonight's game against the Texas Rangers the A's hold a record of 9-12. We're third in the division behind the Rangers and Angels. Not to worry, it's only April and the A's have already done some amazing things.

I will now take into account the individual player records and explain why they are important. Follow along.

2006 Player Statistics (Mainly key players. IE, starters. Borrowed from the official Oakland Athletics MLB website. I hope these are up to date. I will put ! next to a category where there is a big improvement or something that is helping the team win games):

3 Eric Chavez, 3B- Games Started 20, At-Bats 70, Runs 11, Hits 20, Doubles 4, Triples 0, Homeruns 8!, RBI's 17!, Total Bases 48, Walks 12!, Strike-outs 12!, Stolen Bases 0, On Base % .386, Slugging .686!, Batting Average .286! Read on: Chavvy is off to the best start of his career. He's finally realizing his potential and it's going to help us win it all this year. He might be averaging 20 homeruns for his career, but he's already parking 8 in the first three weeks of season. Expect another Gold Glove and a massive ring to fit around it.

33 Nick Swisher, Outfield, 1B- Games Started 20, At-Bats 68, Runs 17!, Hits 23!, Doubles 4, Triples 0, Homeruns 9!, RBI's 20!, Total Bases 54!, Walks 8, Strike-outs 16, Stolen Bases 0, On Base % .423!, Slugging .794!, Batting Average .338! Read on: Swish is doing all the right things right now. He's getting on base, driving in runs, and blasting homeruns from both sides of the plate! I think he's finally found his groove and I hope it doesn't let up anytime soon. If he keeps playing like he does, he's going to rival everyone including A.Rod and Peter Gammons pick Bobby Crosby for the American League MVP. Swish and Chavvy seem to be feeding off eachother. We're going to win a lot of games this year.

I'll continue my analysis on the 2006 Oakland Athletics baseball season tomorrow. The stats I just listed might not be up to date, but I'll make sure I revise it if anything is incorrect.

Tomorrow might include Milton Bradly and Frank Thomas. Then again, I'm thinking Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis. More later!

charataxis0093 @ 2006-04-24T23:18:00

2006-04-25T06:44:48Z

This was originally published on myspace. Since I'm not blogging there anymore, I thought I'd repost it here.

2006 Athletics Compared to Previous Teams Plus Predictions for 2006

In 1999, the Oakland A's were flirting with becoming great again. They hadn't won the American League West since 1992 and were below .500 for as many years. With emerging star players such as Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, third baseman Eric Chavez, and pitcher Tim Hudson, things were starting to look bright again. The A's finished that year with a record of 87-75, falling just short of the division crown by eight games to the Texas Rangers.

2000 started off on a high note as the A's seemed to build on their previous season. Joining the ranks that year were lefties Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. They solidified the top of the starting rotation and carried the team into the playoffs by defeating the Mariners on the last day of the season. The A's lost to the Yankees in five games in the American League Division Series, but still, things were looking good for next year. (The A's finished the season with a record of 91-70).

2001 saw the A's returning to the unbeatable form they last looked like in the late 1980's. The Big Three destroyed any hopes of opposing teams winning anything, and the A's quickly shot up from a sub .500 team in July to winning 102 regular season games. Unfortunatly, the Mariners set a record in 2001 by winning a MLB best 116 games, the best record of all time in the modern era. The A's would settle for the Wild Card and have to rematch the Yankees in the ALDS. It looked like the A's would have won it all that year if it weren't for a play by Derek Jeter in game five to ruin all chances of advancing to the next round. The A's would have to wait until next year again.

2002 was going to be different. MVP Jason Giambi and outfielder Johnny Damon were gone. Still intact was the Big Three and 2001's signing of Jermaine Dye. The A's weren't out of anything yet. In fact, they were just getting started. After another sluggish start, the A's came back with the help of Tejada and Zito to win 103 games that year. It didn't hurt that the A's broke another record by winning 20 games in a row. Number twenty almost didn't come, but with the help of Scott Hatteberg's game winning homerun in the bottom of the ninth, the A's had accomplished something not done in our lifetimes. Zito won the Cy Young award that year while Tejada won the MVP. Once again however, the A's would be defeated in five games in the ALDS, this time by the American League Central champions Minnesota Twins. This was becoming a bad pattern.

To get on with it, the A's won the AL West again in 2003, only to be defeated in the playoffs by the Boston Red Sox. The A's had a chance in Game 5, but it was quickly laid to rest as Pedro Martinez out pitched Barry Zito, sending the Red Sox to battle the Yankees for the pennant.

You know the story after that. Billy Beane doesn't even make an offer to shortstop Miguel Tejada, he instead decides to re-sign Eric Chavez to a six year contract. With everyone shocked by the move, the Big Three remained in tact. Getting the call up was a future All-Star shortstop to take his place. Things weren't looking too bad. Maybe this would be the year.

2004 was probably going to be the last chance the A's had at making it to the Series with the core that was built in the late 90's. Things looked good, and the A's were probably going to make the playoffs again. This time though, they would have to win.

Things didn't turn out as expected, and the A's lost the division by one game to the then Anaheim Angels. No one knew what to expect. Who would be gone in the offseason? Who would we sign? Are we done for? It looked like it there for a few months when Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were traded to the National League. What we got in return had no brand name on it and people were really terrified of the idea of uncertainty. If the 2004 season taught us a lesson, you don't know what you have 'till it's gone.

March 2005, players report to camp. Our new pitchers look pretty good, we're settling in. Juan Cruz looks like he can throw an unhittable fastball. Dan Haren seems like a great fit to the team with his long hair and goatee. Our rookie call up Joe Blanton is just waiting to start his first game. Rich Harden looks like a little Huddy. His 100 MPH fastball combination looks to buy him a Cy Young in the near future. Beane signed veteran catcher Jason Kendall in the off-season to help the young guys out and drive in some runs along the way.

Of course the A's started off slow and everyone burried them in the first month. Haren couldn't win a game if he sold his soul; Blanton couldn't get any run support, losing countless low scoring one run deficits. Zito looked lost without his best friends Hudson and Mulder cheering him on. If Rich Harden hadn't been there, ouch.

But the A's came back in June and July and did what they always did, make a serious run at it. Haren came back from an 0-7 start to finish the season 14-12. Zito also was looking like the wizard of old. He came back from a disappointing '04 season with a record of 14-13 and an earned run average at 3.86. Had Bobby Crosby, Nick Swisher, and Rich Harden all been healthy, they probably would have won the division, instead they fell out of contention the last week of the season. If this is a dream team in the making which I certainly believe it is, I think of the 2005 A's more like the 1999 A's, but more improved, and with more playoff power.

Here are my predicitions/ opinions on every player and why I think the 2006 A's are the most complete team since the '01 roster. I'll begin with starting pitching.

Pitchers:

75 Barry Zito- Assuming Billy doesn't make a silly move and trade him before the season, I think Zito will have his best year since '02. He's got the bats behind him, and the new found confidence with the younger staff under his wing. I think he wins close to 20 games do to the offense, and keeps his ERA under 3.50.

25 Esteban Loaiza- Possibly the third or fourth guy in the rotation. He will make a big impact and win some games. I didn't watch him to much last year with the Nationals, but he's a vet.

24 Danny Haren- If he can do what he did last year with Zito's teachings, he's going to win 17 or 18 games. I hope the A's keep him for a long long time.

55 Joe Blanton- I've been following this guy since 2004. I've always liked his attitude, and am looking forward to seeing him become an All-Star. His ERA will be under 3.

40 Rich Harden- If he doesn't win 20 games this year and have an ERA under 2, I'm going to be very, very surprised. He just needs a goatee and some sideburns, all he lacks is the appearance intimidation factor.

58 Justin Duchscherer- Honestly, I really don't know where the A's would be without this guy. He can come into a game in relief and pitch 9 innings if he had too. He worked pretty good as a closer too. He's so useful in the pen, I would never start him, although I'm pretty sure if I did he'd have a perfect game under his belt.

50 Kiko Calero- Aquired from the Cardinals along with Dan Haren in the Mulder trade. Kiko was hurt a lot last year. He looked good early, but coming back late in the season seemed to hurt him and he never returned to form. I think he's going to be an essential set up guy, possibly one of the only good things to come from those trades.

37 Joe Kennedy- He doesn't really scare me, he just makes me nervous. He's worlds better than previous lefty specialist Ricardo Rincon, but his inflated numbers make him look the same. Joe came out of the pen half the year in Colorado, but when the A's sent Eric Byrnes packing, Joe ended up starting a few games here. He didn't get much done. 2006 will be a much better year for him here mainly because our five man rotation will be healthy and he'll start the year in the same place he's going to finish it, in the bullpen and in Oakland.

31 Kirk Saarloos- I've liked the guy ever since we got him. He made a few good starts in '04 when Huddy went down. Last year he was the No. 5 guy and he did well, winning 10 games and losing 9. In game three at home against the Tigers, Saarloos pitched a complete game, his second of the season. Macha let him pitch the ninth even though his arm was done and he couldn't even see the plate anymore. He finished the game. This guy is a workhorse.

45 Jay Witasick- He started his career in Oakland and I think he'll finish it here with a Championship. A very underrated middle reliever anywhere you look. I'm still really excited to see what he's going to do with a full season with one team. Sit him a lot and use him when you know he'll be good.

20 Huston Street- 2005 American League Rookie Of The Year! If there's one key piece to this years success, it's got to be Huston. This kid has got some serious stuff and he knows how to use it. Pressure is his best friend and he'll be under a lot of it. I have 100% confidence in him. He's going to be this Dynasty's Eck.

Catchers:

18 Jason Kendall- If it's one position we need improvements on, it's in the starting catching department. Kendall is a great catcher. Without him, last year would have been a disaster. The problem is mainly within his defense. I have no doubt in my mind that he can throw out 90% of the runners that steal off him. He just needs to make that second year transition into the American League. If he does, we'll be fine. His hitting won't be scrutinized as much anymore. I see a career year for him, at least I hope so.

17 Adam Melhuse- Great back-up catcher, clutch hitter, not much more to say.

Infielders:

29 Dan Johnson- His defense is good. He's a half rook still. I expect his bat power to increase, mainly in key series against the Twins. He's got big shoes to fill with the release of Hatty. Look for him to DH on occasion. He's going to hit mad doubles and drive in a ton.

14 Mark Ellis- The Comeback Kid! After the year he had, I don't expect him to be anything short of amazing. It's too bad I really like Scuty, he'll just have to fill in around the horn. Which is good. Really good. We have a really solid infield.

19 Marco Scutaro- Out of every Athletic in the past few years, never have I seen something more incredible out of a player every game than Marco. Clutch base hits, game winning homers, amazing double plays, an undiscovered Gold Glove. Billy Beane said Marco reminded him of Mike Gallego. That's something to be really proud of. It's not every day you have five Gold Gloves in the infield when there can only be four starters. This guy is so underrated it makes me want to cry.

7 Bobby Crosby- 22 homeruns in 2004. Rookie of the Year. His defense needs a lot of work. Ron Washington is going to help him become an All-Star caliber shortstop during Spring Training. When that happens, he needs to spend every waking hour in the batting cage. Crosby has serious raw talent, he just needs to learn how to use it. It's nice to hit an inside the park homerun and all, but the goal is to make it easier on yourself. Crosby is simply amazing.

3 Eric Chavez- Chavvy and Zito are going to be the keys to winning it all this year. Both have years of playoff experience and plenty of things to prove. As long as Eric gets off to a good start and keeps it going throughout the season the A's are going to be fine. His defense can only drop to the level of "GREAT" if he even starts to get tired. Maybe we can replace this years glove with a ring? I think he deserves it and will make it happen.

Outfielders:

22 Milton Bradley- I really don't know what to expect. I'm hoping for a 30 HR, 110 RBI output from him. He needs to throw beer in at least two Yankee fans faces too. Bradley, Chavvy, and The Big Hurt will produce in the middle. His defense won't be bad either.

23 Bobby Kielty- This is only if he's here on opening day. He needs to grow his hair tall again and not shave. He's a pretty clutch hitter when it comes down to it. It doesn't hurt us much by keeping an average outfielder, but it helps us a lot when we have a decent switch hitter. I wouldn't mind him dressing up as Ronald MacDonald again either.

16 Jay Payton- I'd take Payton over Kielty in left. I'd love to see both back starting the year, but I don't think that's a possibility. I'd take Payton's defense over Kielty's bat.

21 Mark Kotsay- I didn't cry when Ramon was dealt for Kotsay. I was pretty jazzed actually. Kotsay has become a figure of what is great for us. His defense is ballet like, but without all that pizzaz. He can hit the ball harder than anyone else, and he will not stop. He's like the Terminator. You don't notice the great plays from him until you sit back after the game has ended and you go deep into thought. If he's the MVP of the World Series I won't be surprised.

33 Nick Swisher- I hate that he wears 33. In time without steroid use he will hit more homeruns than Canseco. He'll also go down in A's history as being the funniest person to ever play the field. West Virginia kids drive big trucks, I guess they hit the ball well and will hurt themselves to make an out.

This has been my preliminary account on the 2006 Oakland Athletics. My MLB website will return shortly. You can find it here: http://greenandgold.mlblogs.com

Bored and boring makes a dull dullard

2006-04-18T07:11:16Z

Home is boring. I was thinking of going out tonight, but I'm more broke than this country. I did however drop some money at Rasputin's in Newark this evening, so I'll have something new to listen to for a week or so.

Looks like I'm heading out to St. Louis for a while in late May/early June to attend a wedding with Nicole. She's also going to take me to New Busch Stadium to see the Cardinals play the Cubs. Then, get this! She's also taking me to Wrigley Field in Chicago!!!!!! You can't beat that. You really can't. What an amazing girl. I owe her my life. Plus, wedding's are quite fun. They make me jealous, but my turn will come someday. I'm debating on staying there for a little while, not too sure yet.

On a record nerd account, Superchunk's "Foolish" is a really awesome album. I thought their career started when "Here's Where The Strings Come In", but I was way off. This is one of the best damn indie rock bands ever. EVER! More later.

Every good boy deserves a fuck

2006-04-10T02:58:17Z

I can handle a lot of alchol. It seems that when I go out, I can't. It's pretty sweet to be stinking drunk most of the time, but sometimes I over do it. So yeah. Went out to Frank's in San Leandro last night to get some action on. It's was rad, Japhy came by (he lives down the street from the bar now), and the Cabral Crew kicked it mad hard. Rick even came by for a few drinks. Pretty badass.

I'm on my way to hitting at least 70% of my quota again this month, so hopefully I won't get canned. Even though my commission check isn't going to be nearly as good anymore, it's still a fun place to work. I think I'd like to go far in this company. They pay well, most of the people are cool, and the downtime is like chilling at home.

The A's won again today, beating the Mariners 6-4. Harden was pitched a gem. He gave up one run in seven innings while striking out 8. Saarloos came into the game in the ninth and gave up three runs. It's okay, we won the game. As of April 9, the Oakland Athletics are 5-2. Good way to start off the season boys. We're winning it all this year.

Blah, fuck this shit

2006-04-03T06:46:16Z

I've had a miserable couple months. It seems like I use Livejournal to complain only. That's all good, because one, possibly two people read it.

My job has fried my brain to the point of me having weird paranoid delusions. They seem like flashbacks sorta, and my heart races for a good hour. I pretty much break down. Stress is a killer, I can't stress that enough. Once again I have fallen for a girl I used to really like. I have no idea what to say to her mainly because I don't really understand what's going on. It's been killing me the past few weeks, but I assume I'll manage. I always fuck shit up hard core style anyway. Good excuse, I sound like my boss. Love is unforgiving.

Opening Day in Major League Baseball is tomorrow. I'm terrified that my game will get rained out. I've been waiting for this day for sixth months now. I shall resume being depressed now. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful night.

Good times my friend

2006-03-01T10:06:51Z

T-Mobile will employ me for a little while longer. This is good because I need the money and I love the people I work with. Rick and I sometimes talk about how it used to be there. I've known everyone who has ever worked there, and was damn near hired back in 2002. MinEx has gone up, we've got more reps coming in, mainly Rich, a good friend of ours. If they raise our quotas, I'll just wait until I'm dismissed three months from now. Of course, I'll do my best to do keep the greatest job I've ever had. I'm not that bad at selling after all, I bring the smoking energy.

I got home tonight and felt musical. I wrote the best lead off track I've ever done. I was thinking about Linday a little bit and also about some people I met in Santa Cruz. Two hours later I had a song that worked pretty well. The music wrote itself, then I sat down and bashed out the lyrics. I'm sticking with the title "Santa Cruz Girls". It just seems to work for whatever reason. Maybe it is the best song I've ever written. I'm recording it as we speak.

Time to finish Mega Man X off. I whooped all eight bosses today, now it's time for Sigma. More later.

Bullshit and debates, hopefully a lawsuit!

2006-02-20T06:42:37Z

This has been a terrible month. My job is trying to get rid of me, and the stress I'm accumulating is not worth it. I'm not going to get into it because there's no need for more frustration yet.

Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday to the A's minor league complex Papago Park in Arizona. Milton Bradley showed up a little early which gives me a little more faith. I think we're going to run away with the division pretty early and not look back. When the playoff's start, all we have to do is get over that first hump, then the Series is ours. More on that later. It's time for Hot Pockets and then sleep.

College baseball spent on the off day

2006-02-15T10:27:57Z

Rick and I drove from Hayward to Davis today to attend a small baseball game mixing the UCD Aggies against the Cal Golden Bears. Good drive, no problems, quite fun. We got there, had less problems finding Dobbins Field on campus and saw some amazing sites along the way. Bikes, fine college girls in spandex, and confusing parking garages. A lot of the cars in the parking structure were double parked, we found that odd and amusing. Mikey later explained that it was none other than luxurious valet parking and had quite a fee attached to it.

Rick and I found Dobbins Field moments later with the help of a student. Surprisingly, admission was free. Always good for a baseball game, and exceptable for any event. Cal seemed to get whooped starting when we arrived, but scored three runs in the first inning. A scoreless venture through five, Davis came back and dominated for a while. Cal then rallied and scored four times in the seventh to come within two runs of tieing. Davis put the lid on the pan then, and sailed away to win. My first college game, a true winner, but without the win.

College baseball is something else I must say. Really different from anything you'll see in real baseball.

Today was good though. After the game Rick and I went over to Starbucks on F St. to see Mikey. I hadn't seen or talked with him since at least July and I missed his wit and all around enjoyment. He gave us free coffee, which for once wasn't bad from Starbucks. We smoked outside after that, and had a good time. We talked a little bit about Opening Day and about Armadillo's Music Shack (Or something like that).

Rick and I had a nice drive back to the Bay Area listening to the new Minus The Bear album. We talked a little bit about the game, some talk about work, and then listened to John Tesh make a fool of himself on San Francisco radio. I rocked out to New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle while cruising through downtown Oakland. I almost started singing.

Starting at Richmond when we got off the bridge we were repping every bay town we drove through on 80. Richmond! El Cerrito! Albany! Berkeley! Emeryville! Oakland! Alameda! Finally we got back to Hayward and stopped off at Southland Mall because I needed to get a pair of Chuck's. I ended up eating hella food at Arby's in the foodcourt. We also visited our T-Mobile store there, nice guys and gals, but shady as hell so I hear.

Good day. I haven't spent a day off like this in a long time. Also good I was occupied this Valentine's Day.

Hard work doesn't always pay off

2005-02-24T06:36:23Z

Billy Beane is known in Oakland as the GM baseball genius. He makes trades in the most simplistic yet complex way. He knows how to build a team. He knows how to be economical. He knows how to build a winning team. As of this off-season, he's proven he can really dismantle one.

Since the year 2000, the A's have made it to the playoffs every year by winning their division or snatching the Wild Card. The A's of this era were pretty much built on a very strong pitching rotation whose core was the Big Three; Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito. Many 4 and 5 spots have come and gone, but the essentials were ALWAYS there. The A's won close to 400 games in 4 seasons. This was due to the Big Three. This brought people to the Coliseum much like Barry Bonds brings people to SBC. There's a key element to bring in heads to pay for the team that the fans really love. True fans will always show up even if the team is 20 GB. This is where my point comes in.

On paper, Billy Beane just destroyed the A's. He had no choice but to start over, it's not his fault, he's doing his job (don't forget that without him, the A's would have been gone long ago). With the Hudson trade, the A's got a very good outfielder and some pitchers who could work very well. If we go down the depth chart for the OF positions on the roster, we find Eric Byrnes no higher than second every time. Why is this? Beane could have gotten a trade done for Byrnes, but what would we get in return? SOMEONE WHO ISN'T ERIC BYRNES! Go around the league and you'll find better OF's defensively and offensively, but you'll never find the spirit and attitude that Byrnes brings. Quite frankly, I'm surprised Billy even thought of trading him. Byrnes is dirt cheap compared to most salaries in MLB, he's proved he gets better given more starts and more AB, us fans adore him, he adores us. He lives for the game of baseball, and the team he currently plays for (the Oakland A's), is his true love. He will do WHATEVER it takes to help them win. For fucks sake, Byrnes starts stretching and puts himself in the game. Macha isn't an issue. He just loves it so much, and that's what I LOVE to see.

I honestly think Byrnes and Zito need to take the team over this year. I'm not worried like most A's fans I know. I think we'll be just fine. The Byrnsies and hippies of the A's will definitely take us close to the play-offs or most likely the World Series.

This is why I don't even semi-follow the Giants

2005-02-23T09:32:39Z

It's late February. Pitchers and catchers have already reported for Spring Training in Florida and Arizona. As a huge baseball fan, I'm pretty eager to see how things are going for the teams. It's too bad that all I hear about baseball right now is the question of "who's using steroids"? NO ONE is actually reporting on the game, it's all about the scandal that's been going on since the season ended last year. Can't we pick one thing to focus on? Sure we can! STEROIDS! Damn kids! They're fun and exciting, you should do them! Forget about the game of baseball, let's do drugs!

Barry Bonds held a press conference today documenting his arrival in Scottsdale, AZ for Spring Training. It was the typical Barry Bonds type of slaughter, he gets questions that piss him off, reporters who shouldn't be there, and it ends up being a circus, just like he said. I thought it was funny. The media already believes he's guilty, Giants fans don't, the rest of us do. I guess my point is, 25 years down the road, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron will still be regarded as the homerun kings.

That's saying Barry does pass Ruth and possibly Aaron. He had two different knee operations in the offseason. He says he doesn't know what's going to happen. He might not get as many AB this season. If he does have the same amount of AB as he did last season, who knows if pitchers are going to intentionally walk him? What if he goes on the DL for 3 months? I finally kind of agree with one thing he said today. Anything can happen. He's 12 homeruns away from passing Babe Ruth's record. If this was his last season and he ended up with 714 career HR, tying Babe Ruth, would he be mad? Well, according to him, no. He'd be happy. Hey Barry, why don't you try stealing a few bases this year, why don't you try hustling to make a great defensive play? In my opinion, I would much rather see a defensive show than 2 homeruns from 4 or 5 at bats in a game. Not that I don't love seeing a homerun, but there's a time and place for that. My favorite homerun moment for right now is seeing Marco Scutaro park one to left to win the game. It seemed like an unwinable game, but the rookie-minor leaguer 2nd baseman pulled it off. His defensive play in the top of the ninth didn't hurt it either.

Giant's fans and the media expect homeruns out of Bonds. He delivers. SBC is built off a foundation. That foundation is pure entertainment and excitement. Casual baseball fans understand a homerun, they probably don't know what the infield fly rule is. Go ahead, spend $20 per person to see Barry. This is why Oakland is the better organization. We can hit for the cycle at SBC, it's sunnier in Oakland, and we know how the game works. Oh yeah, we know all the players too, even the bench. Bay Bridge series anyone?

Entertainment just isn't fun anymore (for the most part)

2005-02-19T10:22:22Z

I'm sure all of you who read this are wondering where I've been. Sadly, I'm back. I got a few new records in the past couple months, and I think you should hear about them.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters The Delivery Man

What can I say, he's Elvis Costello. He'll never put out a terrible record. His newest effort gets better every time I listen to it. I'll always drop cash on his albums. 4 of 5 guitars.

Mos Def The New Danger

Black On Both Sides was one of the best hip-hop albums of the 90's. After being spoiled with that great record, I just don't know what to do with The New Danger. I just don't like it. 1 of 5 mics.

Elvis Costello My Aim Is True Re-issue

While not nearly as good as This Years Model, Elvis's first album is still a classic. For fucks sake, Alison could be the only good song and it would still be a classic. Since it's a reissue with bonus material, I have to dock it points for having a weak second disc. The early version of No Action is fucking awesome though. Screw it. 5 of 5 guitars.

Garden State DVD

It took me forever to see this movie. I bought it last night hoping it would be worth the $20 price tag at Best Buy. I came home and watched it and forget about it five minutes later. It was pretty boring. A lot of my friends consider it one of the best movies of all time, but I couldn't even consider it the best movie I'm watching at the moment. The characters are weak, there wasn't much of a plot, it was too short, and I'm not really sure what it's supposed to mean. While not a horrible movie, just a bland one. 2 of 5 Hollywood Squares.

Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain LA's Desert Origins

Pavement's second album CRCR is a classic. I personally think Slanted and Enchanted blows it out of the water, and it's reissue blows it out of the atmosphere, but LA's Desert Origins is just as engaging a listen as the first Pavement reissue. They're both equal in quality, so CRCR:LA's Desert Origins gets 5 of 5 guitars.

My system

2005-02-11T08:35:20Z

My computer is done. Here's the specs:

Intel Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz
ABIT IC7-G M/B
ATI Radeon 9800 pro, 8x AGP, 128 MEG DDR
Western Digital 200 Gig SATA HD
1 Gig Corsair dual channel DDR (2x512meg DIMMS)

It's about time.

MLB division winners and playoff picture for 2005 (To be disputed)

2005-01-22T12:45:19Z

AL West-

1. A's
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Rangers

AL Central-

1. Indians
2. Twins
3. White Sox
4. Tigers
5. Royals

AL East-

1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Orioles
4. Blue Jays
5. Devil Rays

NL West-

1. Giants
2. Padres
3. Dodgers
4. Diamondbacks
5. Rockies

NL Central-

1. Cardinals
2. Astros
3. Cubs
4. Reds
5. Brewers
6. Pirates

NL East-

1. Braves
2. Phillies
3. Marlins
4. Mets
5. Nationals

AL Wild Card- Red Sox
NL Wild Card- Phillies

The AL West will be a race down to the last couple of games, just like it was in '04. The NL East will be tough as well. I can see the Phillies, Mets, and Marlins battling it out late in the season. I like Philly to win the Wild Card for some reason. I'll update this entry as baseball season gets closer (while I'm in Arizona).

charataxis0093 @ 2005-01-06T02:40:00

2005-01-06T10:50:37Z

Barry Sims came into my work today. I made his Vanilla Caramel Chiller. For those of you who don't know who he is, he's an offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders. He was pretty cool. He went from my store to the T-Mobile kiosk in front of our store where my friends work to buy a Sidekick II or something. His Raider pals must have referred him, those being Jerry Porter, Tyrone Wheatley and Jerry Rice. They've all been there recently. (Rice being the exception, before the trade). I think Charles Woodson may have come in too. Jerry Rice came into my store once last year. I wasn't there, but my roomate was, she made his latte. As much as I hate the Raiders, they're all really nice guys. Barry Sims was cool, Jerry Porter is a really nice guy (I think he's gonna finally excel as a WR beings Collins needs a guy to throw to). To sum up my story, all the Oakland guys come to our mall. My A's guys seem to be shy and very shy double that, but the Raiders are really cool. I'm a Niner fan. Read the news, I'm not happy. Funny again how I've met a bunch of Raiders who are really cool.

I'm actually a big Jerry Porter fan now.... Except, not really.