HOLIDAYS-3 STORIES IN ONE

Yes, it is that time of the year.
I spent thanksgiving at Bill and Debbie's in San Francisco with family and friends. It had been a few years since I had been up there because of work but, it is time to continue with the tradition.
FIRST STORY - DRIVE UP.
Not a bad drive from Vegas, but it is a bit boring when you go from Vegas to Barstow on your way to L.A. as often as we do. Since we were going further North, we took the road that Goes from Barstow and to Bakersfield. Probably as boring if you drove it more than three times a year, but not for me. It is a road that traverses the high desert and goes over a mountain pass but, not before passing by an airplane graveyard. There is a lot of 18 wheelers on this two lane road which makes it a bit dangerous. It is not even a major road, since it curves and dips like waves. Of course you also want to fill up your tank before you venture into any of these roads. Gas prices are steep in small desolate towns. You also don't want to get into an accident-we saw a bad one on our way up there-cops, paramedics or fire trucks take a long while to get there from the closest town.
Next stretch of road is over the Tehachapi Mountains and down into Bakersfield. The town of Tehachapi is quite picturesque. It sits atop the pass of the same name. mostly farmers. There was this huge building all lit up at night. Not quite sure what it was. It looked like a huge power plant, probably the biggest structure up there. It doesn't take away from the beauty up there.
Once you get into Bakersfield, it is more of the same, particularly if you are driving on highway 99. Nothing but farmland and huge complexes that deal with anything that is is vegetable and edible and can be canned or boxed and shipped to major grocery stores.
We stayed in Hanford at a Best Western. Not a bad place except that there are a few trains going through blaring their horns "throughout" the night. The hotel just happened to be by a freeway and about half a mile from the train tracks. Next morning we drove from Hanford over to the "I-5" and up into San Jose. Passing through Gilroy and more California Landscape, quite unique I may add.

STORY 2-- LATER

FOX CORP HAS BIGGER COJONES!

OK.
I think I am overusing the word, "cojones" hopefully you know what it means and I promise it was the last time I typed or used it.
HOWEVER!!!!
Unbelievable but true. They are pulling out of the Murderer's plot. Now why is that?
Answer the following survey....

News media does have a:
a. heart.
b. fear of the American TV Viewer.
c. something else will come up where we can make a gazillion dollars from.
d. fear of the American TV Viewer.

If you picked b,c or d, you may be taking way too many on-line surveys. If you picked a.

You are wrong.

OJ SIMPSON

This guy has some big cojones!
If you didn't already know, he is telling you how he would have done it
Unbelievable that someone would agree to "publish" a so called story.
Unbelievable that Fox would agree to air his interview. What is he going to write or say that we don't already know? I wonder if all the people that cheered and applauded when he was declared -Not Guilty- will be buying his book. As far as I am concerned, I consider it worse than National Enquirer or anything like it and I do not even read those. Will I be watching the interview?.. Hell No!
I have to see if there is a re-run of "The Worst Movie Ever" or something bad before I watch his interview.

US ELECTIONS

By the looks of it, the Democrats got their wish. As of right now, they seem to have won the house of representatives while the senate still seems to be up for grabs. Though the Republicans may very well keep control of the senate for more "Divided Government."
Now what!
If you remember when the Republicans took controll of Congress in 1994, they were put into ofiice by an electorate that was leaning a bit to the right and fairly conservative. They basically supported Gingrich and his "Republican Revolution" based on an actual belief that the party they were voting in, espoused and believed in the same issues.
This time though, aside from the Iraq issue, the Democrats really have no base to stand on or to lead from. That is the sad part. This was an election or a vote "Against" the Republican administration as opposed to a vote "for" the Democrats.
This is truly another historical point in American politics as big as when the Republicans came to power in 1994. I believe that this is the turning point in the Iraq quagmire. There will be more pressure on the White House to come to its senses and end this mess.
There are still a couple more years left for Bush to stand his ground against a Democratic house. It will not be much more different from the previous years, since much of his Republican support in Congress and throughout the country has diminished, again due to to the Iraq issue. However, with a House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats, many skelletons will be dragged out of closets and it will be interesting to see how far they are willing to take the fight and really show that they have a back bone and a real plan for leading this country into a better place than it is right now. The Gingrich Revolution is over and lets see if the Democrats can be as revolutionary.

ELECTION

Over the weekend Olivia and I attended a "Hispanic Day Parade" that my employer and its "Diversity Council" supported.
I guess this parade was supposed to happen last month (Columbus Day, etc) but due to bad weather, the parade was re-scheduled. Of course most of the majority attending the parade were; Latin American, Hispanic or however you may refer to anyone south of the border. The parade was well intentioned becuase the theme was to celebrate "diversity."
This was quickly taken advantage of by some of the candidates running for office here in Southern Nevada. Of course, if you were a candidate for office, you would use any and every available gathering of people to get your face and name out.
The main culprit here was Jim Gibbons. He showed up in a big blue mobile home with a large entourage of his staff. They were also part of the parade and were lined up behind us.
It was funny to hear them cheering in Spanish with a "Viva Gibbons" chant. I say funny because of the stance of the candidate on immigration and the English language as the "official language of the U.S. (Nothing wrong with that) etc. It was obvious that they were just there pandering to the public. Shelley Berkley was there as well though I am also a bit surprised that none of the other candidates were not there as well. Particularly the Democratic candidates, you would have thought they would be there to show that they are concerned and wanting to be part of the "diverse" crowd. I gotta hand it to Gibbons for at least being there.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone.
Last year I asked how you celebrate this season, since in many other parts of the world people celebrate differently.
Tomorrow, I will get out of work early and make it home to scare the wits of some kids who come to my door "trick or treating".
Olivia and Anthony will go around the neighborhood and get lots of candy. It was only a few years ago that Olivia would not go to the door because she would be frightened by the kids in disguise coming for candy. Now, she has become a pro. Olivia is going to be Cleopatra and Anthony will be Captain "Jack Sparrow". I had originally told them I was going to be "The invisible Man", since I was going to be at work all day. Now I may just be "The visible Daddy"..
It will be a good Halloween.

BOA---Bank of Africa

I've been seeing some of these e-mails in other bloggs, so here is my contibution:
In case you are interested, email me and I will go 50-50 with you.....

FROM MR.ERIC KOSHY
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING SECTION OF
BANK OF AFRICA
(BOA)
EMAIL;(benprivate1@myway.com)

Dear friend,
I am ERIC KOSHY the
director in charge of auditing and accounting
section of Bank Of Africa
(BOA)with due respect and regard. I have
decided to contact you on a
business transaction that will be very
beneficial to both of us at the
end of the transaction During our
investigation and auditing in this
bank,my department came across a
very huge sum of money belonging to a
deceased person who died on
October 31st 2000 in a plane crash and the
fund has been dormant in
his account with this Bank without any claim
of the fund in our
custody either from his family or relation before
our discovery to
this development.The said amount was U.S $11.5M
(Eleven million Five
hundred Thousand United States dollars).

Meanwhile all the whole arrangement to put claim over this fund as the
confide next of kin to the deceased, to get the required approval and
transfer this money to a foreign account has been put in place and
directives and needed information will be relayed to you as soon as
you
indicate your interest and willingness to assist us and also
benefit
your self to this great business opportunity.In fact I could
have done
this deal alone but because of my position in this country
as a civil
servant(A Banker),we are not allowed to operate a foreign
account and
would eventually raise an eye brow on my side during the
time of
transfer because I work in this bank.This is the actual reason
why it
will require a second party or fellow who will forward claims
as the
next of kin with affidavit of trust of oath to the Bank and
also
present a foreign account where he will need the money to be
re-
transferred into on his request as it may be after due verification
and
clarification by the correspondent branch of the bank where the
whole
money will be remitted from to your own designation bank account.

I
will not fail to inform you that this transaction is 100% risk
free.On
smooth conclusion of this transaction,you will be entitled to
30% of
the total sum as gratification, while 5% will be set aside to
take care
of expenses that may arise during the time of transfer and
also
telephone bills,20% will be set aside for the poor and the needy
after
we have received the money, while 45% will be for me. Please,
you have
been advised to keep "top secret" as I am still in
service and intend
to retire from service after we conclude this deal with
you.I will be
monitoring the whole situation here in this bank until
you confirm the
money in your account and ask me to come down to your
country for
subsequent sharing of the fund according to percentages
previously
indicated and further investment, either in your country or
any country
you advice us to invest in.All other necessary vital
information will
be sent to you when I hear from you.

I look forward to receive your
reply as the urgency implies.

Yours faithfully,


MR.ERIC KOSHY
BANK OF
AFRICA(BOA)

ELECTIONS

Elections are upon us and TV ads are all over the place that is hard to pinpoint who's running for what or what they stand for from one day to the next. Just today I received a "Employee Voter's Guide" from my employer. You would have thought they send you a straightforward guide with no biases. However, after reading through a few pages, I noticed boxes next to some candidates already checked. This was the "employer's recomendations". Granted, all recomendations were from both major parties. Though I disagree with this type of guides, If I am a business with thousands of employees, that would be the most direct way of affecting an election to my favor. Another advantage to the employer, is not only the passiveness of average voters, but also the diverse pool of employees. Most of these new citizens have never voted in their own countries. So, now they find a guide in their mail box that tells them exactly the way to vote.
Hopefully these new voters will read through the fine print and vote according to their beliefs. There is much at stake, as with any election, but this is the only way to send a message to the Bush administration that it's time to re-think and put an end to the Iraq fiasco. Does it matter that this implies to vote along and with Democratic candidates?. Not if you put your own self interests ahead of everyone else's, much like companies do when they send pre-checked "voter guides"
Happy Voting!

NEWS

Yes. it's been a while since I posted, aside form the one earlier today.
Been busy at work, much too busy. I also attended a 3 day seminar on "Diversity".. Somewhat of a life changing experience seminar. Based on the principals espoused by "The 7 habits of highly effective people" as well as the "8th habit". Plenty of exercises that make you look inward as well outwards towards your support systems. At the same time it allow me to not worry too much about work, however, when I got there, all hell had broke loose. Oh well, I guess it is time to put in practice what I learned.
Till next time..

Shopping for a worthy cause

Why not.

Product Red

Technorati Profile

KEVIN'S WEDDING

Anhtony overlooking the pond.

The wedding was great.
Kevin is a friend I've known for about 15 years now. Kristal is someone whom he's known since elementary school, not that they've been together that long. Everyone had a great time, Olivia was in her element. This was her third time as a flower girl, though she does not want to be a flower girl anymore, now she wants to be a "junior bride's-maid" By the looks of it, she may not be a bride's maid or other for a lot of years.......
This is Anthony "break dancing"

Melissa ---- Happy.
"The Boys" playing a joke on Kevin...Their last one

Indeed, it was a great wedding.
I have more pictures in flickr for those interested in seeing them.

LAST WEEK

So we did go to the baptism which turned out to be a great party. Lots of food were all over the place. A bottle of Chivas and some sort of Vodka that looked like Grey Goose (it wasn't)were also on each table. The party was done by a family of Armenians who live here in Vegas but I guess most of their relatives are in LA (Glendale), so that is where the party was.

We left on Saturday night after I got out of work. We got into Pasadena a little after 10:30PM, stayed at the Sheraton, a bit old but still comfortable.
Next day we hang out with the kids in Old Town Pasadena. Still a great place to walk around, but the restaurants are a bit more snobby and slow. Take Mi Piace for instance. Used to be a great place for a quick easy breakfast, now it is a pain. We sat for close to half an hour without anyone coming to our table. The place was packed, but it also looked like they had enough servers. Some were at time just hanging out. Finally a waitress, perhaps felt sorry for us or played the old trick of, "Nobody's been with you!!???. Let my find out who's got your station and I will let them know."
I guess she never did, because she came back to take our order, which was better than anybody else. We finally got our food, still good and hot as we ordered it.
So in a nut shell. Mi Piace, good for food, but slow service.
If I was a food writer, I would give them a "C". The party on the other hand was definitely an "A+".. Too bad we had to drive back that same night. Well Melissa drove, so the credit goes to her..

And now tomorrow....... Kevin's wedding! More to come.

OLIVIA'S WEEKEND PICTURES

This was the only picture I took.
A shot of an ad for Love.


At Lunch


At Build a Bear



Having fun with the mirrors


The Lobby


A shot from the upper floors at the mall.


A self portrait


My car at the car wash.


The inside of the jetta.

STRONG WINDS

I guess when you see an airplane off the runway and into a street it's beacuse it did not measure correctly the length of the runway or because the runway is wet or icy, but to be "pushed" by the wind because "someone" forgot to apply the breaks or forgot to place those "wooden things" to keep it from taking off on its own is kind of unheard of.
That is what I happened to run into last night, well, I did not "run into the plane". I ran into this traffic snarl, luckily the "event" had just happened and I was able to drive fairly quickly through the mess, not without firsttaking a picture with my cell phone. (Picture to be posted later).
Aside from that, on Monday Olivia and I had a "Father-Daughter" day. She skipped school and we went shopping, to lunch, to the park and just had a nice relaxing day.
Pictures coming as well.

So far a good week.
This weekend the bunch and I are driving to L.A. for a quick baptism party. I promise I will take pictures ...

See you!

Fall Wheather

Finally it arrived!

I left work last night and instead of being blasted by hot blowing air, I was received by a cool breeze. Just wearing a thin black t-shirt made me wish I had a sweater on but after the long summer we've had, I just opened my arms and stood there feeling the air. A stronger gust came by and almost knocked me off my feet, that's when I made the trek up to my car.
Other signs of Fall:
College Football on Saturdays
College Football on Saturdays
College Football on Saturdays
College Football on Saturdays

What else could you wish for?

TEXAS

There are good people in Texas after all. Ann Richards was one of them.

But, what ever happened to good, strong minded, independent, tough, democratic candidates? I know they want to take back the House of Representatives, but who are they? Where are they?. Here in town the political machinery is dominated by Republican money and it is business as usual, including the Status Quo Democrats. The only fresh face is that of Jack Carter, son of President Jimmy Carter.

Fun Weekend

This was quite a good weekend. Aside from the business from work, I was able to have a fun outing both Friday and Saturday.
Melissa and I went to theHard Rock Hotel on Friday hoping to get into "the Joint" for a concert (Kind of a surprise for Melissa). However, when we got there, they were sold out, so we just hang out at one of their bars where we stayed late into the night. I did buy tickets for the following night though.
What a concert.
Classic Albums Live did a concert of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (SPLHCB). In a nutshell, it is a concert where you are listening live music of the Beatles performed by these guys from Toronto. They recreate the music, as they say, "note by note cut for cut". They were awesome. They are not trying to imitate The Beatles by singing like them or looking like them. It is all about the music.
Every sound was recreated, including all the animal sounds in "Good Morning" and the strange sounds in "Helter Skelter".
After doing the SPLHCB songs, they did a medley of different songs culminating with an encore of some of the original first Beatles songs; Help!, I want to Hold your Hand, etc. They do other albums from other artists, so if they come by your town, check them out.
A great weekend!

NEWS!

So, a new President was declared the winner in the Mexican elections. It is Mr. Calderon. He is also a member of the party that won the lection 6 years ago and began the dismantling of the PRI, the party that ruled the country for decades since the early 1900's.
He was declared the winner by an electoral tribunal, much like Bush was elected 6 years ago too, during the big "chads" fiasco in Florida.
So this should tell and show Calderon that just because a tribunal or a bench of judges signs off on your title and job, does not necesarily mean that all the citizens or at least half of them will go along for the ride.
As for Andres MAnuel Lopez Obrador. He worte himself off with the shenanigans that he and his party got into in the last month...He's done.

More news from the wires!
Dick Armitage revealed the name of Valerie Plummer to the press?....
I think he is just a patsy. The White house wants you to believe that now that there is a declaration of "mea culpa" everyone can concentrate on the displays of patrotism coming up in light of the 5 year anniversary of 09-11-06. Purely political I say.
The tune will be, "We republicans honor those who died on September 11"
While the Democrats just want us to cut and run.
Don't forget it is an election year and anything goes.
Dont get dupped!.

Mexico Crisis

In Mexican wrestling, there is an event where a bunch of wrestlers get into the ring and go at each other until there is only one standing. Something similar is happening at the moment in Mexico. It isn't just the presidential chaos. It is citywide protests throughout the country, the drug cartels and the entrenched corruption and undefined line between politicos and criminals that threaten to turn the country into a free for all.
For the last few years and since the PAN took power in Mexico, a political storm is about to come to its end or beginning. The PRD, who so far it seems, lost the presidential race anyway you look at it, is still claiming that it won the election because of electoral fraud and to prove its point (Or that of its leader, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador)it closed down one of the main avenues and thoroughfares of the capital city. In essence shutting down this main corridor has created tensions between the business community, city commuters and the political parties themselves. Now the PRD along with Obrador, are threatening with "shutting down" the last of the State of the Union speeches of president Fox. They have amassed a large number of supporters outside of their congressional building at par with the armed guards and soldiers who normally protect the building and the President himself. It's not only the supporters oustide but also the members of the legislature who sit inside the chamber, who have also threatened to "quiet" the President during his speech. By the way. This is supposed to happen today. So keep your eyes on the news.
In the capital city of Oaxaca, what once was a protest for better wages for teachers (Asamblea Popular), has turned into a free for all as well, for all kind of organizations who demand the same-better wages and the resignation of their current governor. The protesters have also shut down the Zocalo in Oaxaca, a beautiful place when it isn't being crowded by protesters. There have been attacks to offices, newspapers, people have been shot and killed. Currently there are talks between the state government and the Asamblea Popular to "solve" their situation however, the protesters main demand is the removal of the governor and as things go, that might be the only viable solution for everything to return to the way it was before.
The recent arrest of the "Tigrillo" does not mean that drug trafficking is about to come to an end. It actually creates a power vacuum within the drug cartels who are now going to continue killing each other for more territory. The drug cartels were limited to the North of the country as of a couple of years ago. Now you hear about killings, retribution, drive by shooting happening throughout the country. It is not just in remote areas anymore. There are shooting on touristic areas, such as Cancun, Acapulco as well as in residential areas where innocent bystanders get caught in the line of fire.
Who is doing something about this?
Nobody it seems.
The current President is on his way out. The federal government so far has refused to take any action to solve demands or at least listen to them.
The City government in the capital, has blatantly supported the blocking of the main avenues by providing tents and other supplies to the protesters.
Your average everyday law abiding citizen in the meantime just goes about his business as best as he or she can. It is almost futile to complaint to your local government (delegacion) unless you know someone on the inside, your pleas will go unanswered. Of course if you have a briefcase full of dollar bills, then all the head honchos will be shining your shoes.
I know this happens everywhere and every country suffers from these maladies. What is troubling is what is coming ahead. Looking at previous events in other countries, the next and logical steps are not pleasant. Violence and more violence. Sort of like what you see in Mexican wrestling. Lots of biting, chair throwing, pulling of hair and blood everywhere with only one winner.
Who is going to be the last man standing in Mexico?

TIPS

While we are discussing tips and since it seems to be a hot topic lately; Waiter Rant,LV Review Journal, I must discuss it further.
When and who do you tip?

I only tip in restaurants and at the car wash. That is it.
Oh yeah, my hairdresser. Yes I have one. Also the pizza delivery guy.(Even though there is already a "delivery fee" added to the check by the pizza place)So, I break my own rule and tip a few other people. In a nutshell as long as you are provided good service regardless of the setting or place, it should be a good gesture to tip.
The problem is when certain places or jobs expect a tip.
Example-The drive through window at Starbucks. WTF!
Isn't it enough that you are paying out your eyes for hot dirty water?. OK I am a hypocrite, I indulge in Chai Tea Lattes.
Fast food places are also some where you are "supposed" to leave a tip. I don't. Why?....
There isn't much that is provided in service or quality. IT IS FAST FOOD!
Yes, the people working there don't make that much hourly, so I am supposed to subsidize their wages?...Yeah, once they split the tips for the day, they get about $5.00 a day..
Oh well.
There's the door bell...
UPS Guy.
Do I tip him?