Don't worry about it

Wind Caves

2010-10-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

My Brother David

This was a stop also in South Dakota the famous Wind Caves. I have a picture of the original opening to the cave and it is about the size of some body's head.

Yeah i couldn't believe people could actually fit down there. The cool thing about it was that there was always air flowing out of the cave or into the cave dependent on weather systems pressures.

Usually caves have stalactites and stalagmites well this has 'Box Work" it looks like this

And it is only found in three other places in the world. The wind caves were way cool to see something completely different. So if you ever find yourself in Hot Springs, South Dakota go check out the Wind Caves you won't be disappointed

Family Road Trip 2010

2010-10-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

I look at this heading and a rush of memories flow through my brain. Memories of fighting, sleeping, getting too close to one's side of the seat in the car, the constant bathroom stops delaying our final destination, numerous highway rest stops and the interesting people you see there, and not to mention the smell. I have been on a lot of road trips with my family but this summer was the mother of them all. Two weeks in a car with 5 grown adults sounds fun huh.

Mt. Rushmore one of our first stops

It was pretty amazing to see that great monument. As we drove up through Colorado and Wyoming to get to this "in the middle of nowhere" spot we passed various fireworks stores and soon realized that if you want to get high quality, Mexican style fireworks in the Midwest.... you go to Wyoming.

Mt Rushmore is right outside of the small town of Keystone in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We stayed in a town by the name of Custer, after General Custer for all you history buffs. When we drove up to the monument we took the road up the back of the mountain and as we came around the corner I was surprised how small it looked. In the movies they make it look huge because of those killer close ups and special effects Those thoughts we squashed as we walked up closer to the monument and realized that the faces we huge. It is sad what Hollywood has done to our perception.

I loved Mt Rushmore it was amazing to see it up close and personal and to learn about how it came to fruition. My favorite part was the lighting ceremony at night where they light up the faces and have a video presentation on a stage below the monument. At the end the guard asked if all people in the audience retired and actively serving in all branches of the US Armed Forces would come down on stage and help fold the American flag. As they stood there the crowed rose and sang the national anthem and then we just stood there clapping for at least 5 minutes it was pretty amazing. I am glad I got to be a part of that and thank all those men and women who fight for our country

AMERICA!!!!

Nauvoo

2010-08-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

I was in Nauvoo on a family trip. well lets back track a little, I was on a two week road trip with my family. Yeah i know what you are all thinking, what the...! My parents love road trips and this trip started out being a family reunion that was gonna take place this summer in Nauvoo. Needless to say that failed, due to financial reasons and scheduling conflicts. (Side note) There is great motivation for grandparents to see their grandkids especially if they live 1300 miles away and no other children have given them any... thats another story. SO we decided to go to Nauvoo this summer anyway with all the single kids in the family namely my brother David my sister Natalie and myself.

We couldn't just fly to Chicago or Iowa or St. Louis and drive the 2 hrs to Nauvoo that would have been too easy. To explain, my family is very competitive so we are having this little competition. The first one to visit the 50 states in our great union wins. Wins what, i don't know... bragging rights for all time. This all started when my older brother nathan decided to drive most of the continental U.S. and he has visited 48 states over the course of his 10 years of marriage. I having a undying competitive spirit told him that i would visit all 50 states before he did. (I had only been to 23 states at the time) thats how competitive i am. So the competition began, my sister natalie jumped in to the competition having this crazy idea when planning this trip that while were were in the midwest why don't we just knock off 10 states in the meantime. EERRRR (scratching of a record), 10 states in two weeks! my family is certifiable but we all went along with it. My mom and Natalie planned the whole thing out, fly to denver and then drive.... just drive. We saw some of the most beautiful countryside in Colorado, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri. In future posts i will give you a run down, of my extensive travels this summer

29

2010-01-04T22:49:00.000-08:00

As 2009 is out and 2010 comes in thinking about new years resolutions are on the forefront of peoples minds. I am going to make some definite resolutions for this year but i want them to be more thought out than the average "no more fast food" resolution or "i am going to go to the gym religiously" or "i will call my mom more". Not to say that those are noble goals... they are just not for me. I mean i just moved out of my parents house 3 weeks ago just 4 days shy of my 29th birthday, so..... who am i to judge. I think the reason i wanted to write something tonight at this hour was to say i need to trust in the Lord much more than i have been doing in the past. so i am going to leave my new years resolution up to this

Proverbs 3:5-6

Worst Umpire in Baseball=Tim McClelland

2009-10-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

I was at the Angel game last night and don't get me wrong the Angels didn't hit very well against the fat man CC Sabathia and we lost 10-1 to the Yankees, but there were some outright missed calls at the game that I could have called from the upper deck

Example 1

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=7078739

Example 2

I couldn't find video of it but there was another missed a call on Swisher (NY) getting back to second base when Aybar (Angels) clearly had the ball and tagged him out before he made it back to second

See how the ball is basically in the hands of Aybar

and how far away Swisher is from the bag.

I mean c'mon!

here is another one

Another missed call by the guy pictured below was when a player from the yankees did not tag up properly before the ball was caught and New York scored off that play

If you need clarification on what "Tagging Up" means look here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_up

I (like most other people) tend to complain when things don't go the way I would like them to go so I have to distract myself without bad the Angels played with something else... like this guy

Tim McClelland

The Umpire that missed the two calls at third base

The Angels played pretty poorly and like I said above we could not hit against the fat man CC Sabathia. That guy is huge!

Just kidding this is really him

Blogging is back.... for now.

2009-03-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Nailed it!

I finished/passed my 4 month test so i get to keep my job for another

6 months, i am getting ready to switch stations in Nov but

i am just glad i am finished with the first test!

I am still Alive

2009-02-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

Yes it is me, i have given in to the peer pressure and have found the time to...BLOG!!

But that is just it, what do i actually blog about, do people really have interest in what i have to say. For those who are not actively in communication with me i will let you know i started a new job. Well it is my career, my dream i have made another step closer to being locked in with the fire dept. 4 years of testing, applications, schooling, training, close calls, long drives and tons and tons of support from my family and friends. I could have never even dreamed about obtaining my dreams without that support. So i guess this is a thank you blog.

I got a job with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and i am currently in the academy that they hold before we start working at a particular station. It is 5 months of rigorous training.

My day starts at 430 with my alarm i then carpool with an "interesting fellow recruit" up to Pomona. The East County Training Center a.k.a "The Grinder" We set everything up for the day and we are ready for physical training by 630. We stretch and then we go on a run or workout on the gym. We then have time to get ready in the locker room and we are dressed and ready for inspection by 8 0r 830. After being scrupulously looked over with a fine toothed comb we go to work. 8 hours of on your feet pulling hose, throwing ladders, putting on SCBA's and tying knots. Oh yeah we get an hours for lunch. One week i think i lost 12 pounds but i think me not eating a lot the day before i weighed myself didn't help the cause. In other word i am exhausted especially after fighting traffic for an hour on the way home. I usually have time to make my lunch, shine my boots, and study and i am in bed by 9. Then it starts all over again. I am lucky cause we have wed and sun off sat are a half day. After a month of this my body has gotten more used to the abuse that it gets put through everyday.

I can't wait till graduation

New Bike

2008-09-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hey there i am back, yes another blog that has taken me three months to post. So i recently got interested in biking. I wanted to save gas by biking places like the gym and other places .... well its just the gym for now. I am using my sisters mountain bike, i know what your thinking but it is pretty manly looking even though it is not my size at all. The worst thing about the bike is that it is heavy and oh yeah the back rim is so bent i had to set the brakes wide enough so the wheel wouldn't rub against them every rotation, but that cancels out any rear brakes, so if i have to stop abruptly i am flipping over the handle bars! So i started riding to the gym to get a good warm up. Its about 5 miles to the gym and then i do my shpeel at the gym and i ride home. It was working out great, i would pop my ipod in and jam out cruising down the river bike path.

I then realized i would take it a step further. I would bike to the train station and then bike to work from there... Brilliant. I would be saving gas and lowering my expenses significantly. Mind you i do drive approx 26 miles to work. which is not a lot compared to other people coming in from the I.E. but i want to cut my cost where i can and get exercise at the same time.

So i got back from my trip in Mexico on the 31st and i happened to be working the next day and i was all pumped up to ride the train. I get up earlier then normal get things ready and hop on my bike toward the train station. I pull up to the train station with plenty of time before the train arrives and i am thinking "this is a great idea!" i go to buy my ticket at the kiosk and i see a piece of paper stating the train will not be operating on Sept 1st in observance of Labor day.

DOH!!! i am an idiot, of course the trains aren't going to be running on labor day, But i failed to look on line to see what holidays it wasn't running. So i hung my head and rode the 3 miles back to my house where i proceeded to take my car to work that morning... The bright side of this story is that there wasn't any traffic on the way to work :)

To continue the story that same day i went running on the tredmil and i had to stop because my lower back was killing me. I blame it on that beat up bike i was riding. I proceeded to research road bikes and i found one the Cannondale CAAD 9. It is freaking sweet, it put me back a pretty penny but it is all worth it.

Here it is

2008-08-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

So i recently joined up with Protectmarriage.com to get email alerts regarding what is going on in California and the new amendment we are trying to pass. I want to do all that i can to help Proposition 8 pass. The most recent news is that a lawsuit was filed against the Attorney General for the changes he made to what the Title and Summary of Prop 8 will be on the ballot in Nov. The original summary was

"LIMIT ON MARRIAGE. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

Amends the California Constitution to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California"

Jerry Brown made changes so now it says:

"ELIMINATES THE RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Changes California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Can you get any farther from the truth Jerry. Marriage is not a right. Where in the constitution does it say you have the right to get married. As much weight as people put on the summary of an amendment this could be devastating to the campaign. People need to know that we are not changing anything in California, we have given more privileges to gay couples than any other state in the country. Under California Law it states "domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections and benefits" as married spouses. Proposition 8 will not change this law.

To see some of the arguments in favor of Proposition 8 go here, as you will see i have quoted a few of them.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/bp_11042008_pres_general/prop_8_arg_in_favor.pdf

2008-05-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

ok i know kids, its been a long time since i left a post and i keep getting the nudge or should i say push from my recent social butterfly friend to post something about work. So i work as an EMT in the city of La Habra, or as people like to call it Guadelahabra, a cause of the overabundance of Latin Americans in the city. i mean my station is neighboring a church with a 25 foot mural of the virgin of Guadalupe on the front wall. I mean, until i saw the 75 ft Jesus on the way to Encinitas that was the biggest catholic mural i had seen. So how fitting for the city to have such a nickname. To get on to my story i go on a lot of random calls some pretty interesting and others just straight up lame. I understand that when people call 911 it is their emergency so we need to be sensitive, we are public servants. We had a call that came to our area and over the text that we get in our computers that gives us information about the emergency we need to go said electric shock so my partner and i were more or less stoked cause we wanted to see what the person looked like, and what we could do to help. We get to the call and there a bunch of people next to a park around a kid in his Lexus IS and I thought to myself did he get shocked by the car battery or what. So we find out that the kid was hyper-ventilating and we found out that the girl who called 911 told dispatchers that he was IN shock......... um yeah big miscommunication! The last thing that we want to go on is a depressed rich kid who breaths to fast and gets scared cause he can't move his fingers. In case you didn't know, thats what happens when you breath too fast your hands cramp up cause you are not getting enough oxygen. There is a simple remedy for spoiled kids who cant take their g-friend breaking up with them its called the "CAN-O-MAN" So whenever you see a guy experiencing a panic attack try to get that to him as soon as possible for fast and effective relief. It will keep the Emergency Medical System available for real emergencies

Sushi and wasabi

2008-02-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

It been a while, i finally realized i am old, well older than a lot of people. The thought came to me last night while i was at a sushi restaurant for a friends birthday. He recently met a bunch of people in north orange county so he has been hanging out with them quite frequently. Mind you they are all in junior college and between the ages of 19 and 21. I had plans that night to go out somewhere else but those plans fell through and i decided that spending 30 bucks at a restaurant that wasn't that good, was somehow better, ughhhh. To get on with the story, i was finished with my food and i decided that playing with it would be much more interesting than talking about what i did in high school, why you ask... well maybe cause it was 9 years ago!

So i decided to take my wasabi and my friends wasabi and make a super wasabi ball. I told the young kid sitting next to me (who had never been to sushi) that my lovely green ball was in fact guacamole. The sad thing was that he partly believed me. I started to say i will give you ten bucks if you swallow this entire ball of wasabi, but i refrained and my other friend sitting on my right decided it would be funny to finish my sentence. The kid on my left picked up the wasabi (ball which could have been the size of a golf ball if you need a size reference i gave you one) and placed it in his mouth, i was laughing so hard and i felt so bad for the guy, but at the same time i was thinking "wow what an idiot", to top things off the kid hadn't eaten anything at the restaurant he just came "to kick it", take up space and steal the establishments water.

Immediately after he inserted the grossly large green ball of flaming hot Japanese spice from hell, he began to gag and since i was sitting right next to the guy i sharply scooted over to my right. I thought the guys head was going to explode as his face turned a color red that i had never seen before. FYI my face has been pretty much every shade of red imaginable. The kid was even offered a glass of milk by the server, cause he felt so bad for him. But then again the server was thinking the exact thing i was thinking "wow what an idiot"

The crappy thing was i had to pitch in 5 bucks cause my friend who initially made the bet didn't have enough cash to pay the guy. It might have been worth my 5 bucks if he had gotten so sick to point of being hauled away to get his stomach pumped but it never happened. After all was said and done we ended up 25 bucks short on the bill, (you all know how fun that is)

Venitng

2008-02-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

i was really trying to keep this a constant thing but i really have to think about what i want to write otherwise it just turns out to be rambling, and really who wants to read that... not that sooo many eople read this but i would like for it to be entertaning in some way. Wow i need to get to the point.
I have a Mac and i love it it is probably the one thing i spend the most time with when i am not at work... i just realized how pathetic that sounds, but anyways there are many perks to a Mac, i.e. its fast, it looks cool, people say "wow a mac" when they find out i have one, i have become more legit in the computer world because of my hardware. Moving from a PC was pretty easy, i didnt have much to move but it took me a long time. I guess you could compare it to how long it is taking me to get out of my parents house! I am glad i am writing this blog cause i am comming to the self realization of what a big loser i am.
I wanted to tell you of the set backs there are to owning a mac, and this might expose my technological incompetence because most of you might already know this. Found out that i cant recieve files over google talk which pretty much blows any chance of getting new songs from my friends. i will have to go back to the old fashioned way of itunes and buying them online. Heaven forbid me paying 99 cents for a song... no way! I am sure there are other options of ripping songs from the internet but who wants to go through all that trouble when you can just ask you chat buddy for the file.
Another set back is that i cant get the full benefit of my netflix package... why, cause it wont allow me to watch instant videos on my comp, its only for PC. That 14 hours of movies that i am paying for that i am not getting. A lot of you are saying "wow i dont have 14 extra hours of time to watch movies" i dont either! But it is the princple of the matter, that i am not getting all i can for the measly 14 bucks a month i pay to satisfy my cravings for movies. i almost stopped my membership but i realized i was in the middle of watching the office season 3 and i couldnt just quit it i had stuff in my queue... you know how that is. so i hung my head and was defeated by the website.
Inspite of what i can't do on my mac which is not much, i love it.

Mt. Icy

2008-02-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

This is my first time doing this blogging thing and i am gonna have to say i get my inspiration to blog from the Kevin and Bean show in the mornings on KROQ. There is a little jingle that goes along with it but it probably isn't worth repeating. BUT have decided to call it quits on snowboarding in So Cal yes i know it comes as a shock but i just can't do it anymore. SO yesterday i decided to go snowboarding with a buddy of mine at Mt. Baldy... which i found to be very depressing, for those that don't know your geography of so cal it is right east of Upland and Claremont, if you don't know where those cities are... stop reading this blog... or get a map. Snowboarding... (how would i describe it) capital S, Sucks in southern California especially if the last place you went was Utah. I was definitely spoiled out there. I mean how could i have not been spoiled, trying to walk through 4 feet of powder, falling head over board and the only thing you feel is soft soft fluffy white clouds, dodging trees in thick back country not being able to make a snowball cause it is too dry to stick together, enough examples for you ... i would have to say that right there is a little bit of heaven. And then i was thrown back into reality with the sound of boards scraping down the mountain as i was riding up the lift to the top of that icy tundra. Every time i heard a person below me turn it was like nails on a chalk board or utensils on a plate ughhh. It really didn't help when the thought of me paying 49 bucks for the day to snowboard at the tiniest mountain ever created, 49 bucks i couldn't believe the prices we pay to get some snowboarding down here. Their sales pitch is "real close," it IS the closest resort... i take that back... closest hill with snow on it, to all the OC people who cant go to the beach cause its too bloody cold, and are to retarded to learn how to surf... a.k.a me! Boarding in Utah is about the same price and a bazillion times better. I just have to say that the worst day up there (Utah) couldn't compete with the best day down here at any resort. I just need to fix this problem by getting a whad of cash and buy a cabin in Utah.... in twenty years.... when i have that whad of cash.... ok i am done using periods