I added another audio piece to the site. In the Philippines we heard Brian McKnight sing in Tagalog so I looked for the song and here it is. Download (4.16 MB) at your leisure.

Home sweet home.

ALLELUIA! Freakin' thank the Lord Almighty! So I finally decided to check my grades for last quarter. I passed all my classes. Looks like I can still graduate this year.

So been kind of gone for a little while. We're now in a hotel with an expensive Internet connection but its broadband and I'm freakin' bored and not ready to sleep. According to the time on my dad's laptop it's around 11 AM on the 28th, Cali time. If I do my calculations correctly, that's 3AM on the 29th here. I could be wrong.



Anyhow, on the 28th here was my grandparents' on my dad's side 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration (actual day was the 20th I believe) and for the most part, it was pretty cool. It's just, I don't really know any of the relatives on my dad's side. At the hotel we're at, there were two side-by-side ballrooms. One for a different wedding and one for my grandparents. Because of that, my brother, sister, and I felt obligated to smile at everyone we passed because we weren't sure if they knew us.



Since I'm lazy and since most of you don't really want to hear about the happenings here, I'll just write up some thoughts elsewhere and post 'em. Some quick hits:



* Traffic sucks. It makes what would normally be a 10-15 minute drive into an hour to an hour-and-a-half long boring session of frustration. It also explains the massive and numerous billboards littered along the horizon.

* Related to the topic above: I find it peculiar that various people fix up there cars similar to racers do in the US. The average top speed we've probably gotten to around the city is 30Mph or so. 45-50 on a lucky day. If it's a race to the next bumper less than 4 feet away, is a huge spoiler really necessary? It's probably just a dumb question for me to ask, considering my supreme lack of knowledge in the area of autombiles, but I just find it peculiar. And then I think about it and I guess it's all about making cars look good. But one thing I found pretty funny was a huge spoiler on a Jeepney.

* I forgot all of my other quick hits.



After today, I'll be headed home. Cool.



It's been fun but I'm ready to leave.

Ugh. So I missed the Niner game but saw some highlights on ESPN. T.O. is still the man but it sucks that his celebration dance wasn't for the game winning touchdown. Dammit! I wish I could've watched the game but firstly, couldn't find it. Secondly, I was asleep at around 4 or 5 in the morning. But, I did catch some of the Sunday night game and Monday night game. There is American Football on ESPN here. Rejoice.



So another blog from the Philippines. Haha. Just waiting around again since nothing much planned for later tonight. It was an enjoyable day though. Just some notes:



* There are hella Filipinos here.

* I eat and eat and when I get full I eat some more.

* For whatever reason, we're waking up hella early here. 8 AM early. This is vacation!?

* They have some funny educational TV shows here. "What is the past tense of the irregular verb, 'forget'? Is it forgetted?" I'll post the pictures when I get back. It's a talking carabao that asks it. This is a live action show so the carabao is a girl in a suit.

* Who woulda thought that wearing my slippers outside would embarrass my aunts. "Hoy! They don't wear those here! Put on your sneakers!"

* Air conditioning is good.

* In big crowds, I can see over everyone.



Haha. And I read all your guys' blogs. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm laughing here in another Internet cafe and they're all giving me weird looks. Till next time, rock on.

A blog from the Philippines!



Whatup y'all. So I'm sittin' here with my bro at an Internet cafe waiting for my mom and some other family members to get done with some shopping at whatever mall we're at. I'll keep this short with some quick hits that I'll elaborate on a little later:



* Airplanes are way too small to get comfortable in for bulky guys like me.

* When we arrived it was a nice 77 degrees. At 6AM in the morning.

* I am eating way too much here and continue to add bulk.

* Ms. Manila and her friends are pretty hot. And my aunt is embarrassing.



Ok. There's more I should write, but perhaps later. I'm cutting out of this joint and paying my 50 pesos.

Auto response from risk absurdity: BRB. just gotta make a quick stop in the Philippines.



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (to those of you not attending my party)!

What? You act like you've never failed a class before? Oh, you haven't? I guess that's just me.



Or...



What? You act like you've never taken a midterm or final without studying before? Oh, you haven't? I guess that's just me.



Take your pick.



But I will pass this class. And I'm pretty sure I will study. Soon. After a short nap...

Uhhh. So did that final suck major f***in' @$$ or what?

Just thought I'd add this in before I start studying again. For those of you bored and interested in what my group and I are working on for our Senior Design Project, I put up some information on it in the "Visual Eyes" section.

An interesting footbal tidbit:So in the endzone of the Dallas Cowboy's stadium they have what normal football teams have - their helmet and something that probably says "Dallas" or "Cowboys". I hadn't noticed at the time, but after Terrell Owens scored the winning touchdown, do you know where he stretched out his arms and looked up, just like he did two years ago? It wasn't at the midfield star. It was at the star on the Cowboy helmet in the endzone. Haha! Too bad Norwood Creek's park doesn't have any emblems such as that... Or any other place for that matter. I'd really like to add that celebration to my reportoire. Haha! J/K.

I haven't yet met a final that I liked.

Niners clinch NFC West! Rockin'!



Whew. That was a close one. Good win but everyone needs to get healthy! And special teams need to step it up! Man. They better have some football americano over in the Philippines because if they don't, I'm gonna be missing a critical time of the year and I'm gonna be pissed. No kidding.



Another thing about the offense... I think the next game or two we need to start in a hurry up offense to get Garcia in a rhythm. If that doesn't get him going, then I think there's something wrong with him because he just doesn't seem to be displaying the accuracy that made him a Pro Bowl quarterback the past two years. But what do I know? I'm just an armchair quarterback.



On that note, isn't it interesting that Michael Vick should be a senior in college, just like myself. And that guy is making more this year than I'll likely make... within the next three or four years (hahaha. hopeful thinking). But that guy possess incredible physical abilities. The difference between our 6 foot, 205-210 pound bodies? His is 100 times faster, stronger, and doesn't possess as much body fat. Why didn't I get that ability? Damn that's weak.



And now, back to studying. Damn! Vick's not studying for finals right now!

Actually, yeah. I'm pretty happy. No classes! Rockin'!

So I should be a pretty happy camper right about now, right? Just finished classes, it's Friday, parents out of town, life is good. But for some strange reason, my excitement isn't what it probably should be. Yeah, there's always those damn finals, but I should at least still be kind of happy, right? Well not if you're in danger of failing a course, I guess.



And so, if y'all wanna come over tonite, you're more than welcome to. Tomorrow and Sunday I'll be studying. After football of course.

Call me a nerd but I'm kind of worried that when I'm in the Philippines, I'll have nothing to do. Well, not so much nothing to do. I just won't have a reliable internet connection. But don't get me wrong - as an addict, I'll find a way. I have to find a way or else I don't really know what I'm gonna be doing over there. Is San Miguel beer any good?

LOL! So I was just perusing through my daily blogs when I came across one embarrassingly funny picture. Oh man. Online gangs, AOHell and eThugs. Goodness gracious.

Just thought I'd share some sporting news that I found interesting:



- In a bit of irony, Jason Baker, the punter cut by the 49ers after his dismal performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, was signed by the Eagles

- The Washington Redskins, who may have been interested in a trade for current Niner kicker, Jeff Chandler (played college football under current Redskin head coach), just cut James Tuthill and signed... you guessed it... Jose Cortez. HAH!

A formal apology to Warren, Roxy, and all others witness to my embarrassingness

I'd like to apologize for my actions last night, or perhaps lack thereof. I was retarded. And quite embarrassing. Oh man. So embarrassing. Good gosh. Sorry.



Oh man.