Dave's Finally Getting with the Times Blog

Del Scorcho downgraded

2008-11-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Del Taco in about a year. Usually they'll ask hot or mild at the drive-thru, and I say hot because the Del Scorcho isn't that hot. This time though I found two different sauces in my bag.

Once labeled as "Beyond Hot" the Del Scorcho is now labeled "medium." Poor Del Scorcho.
In it's place is the Del Inferno! I tried a little bit of it. It did seem a lot hotter. I think I like the Del Scorcho best. Here's an old pic of the Del Scorcho, before the downgrade.

Iron Gym

2008-10-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

I bought the Iron Gym pull-up bar at Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday. I had a $10 off $30 coupon so it only cost $20 plus tax. It took about 10 minutes to put together. I put it up on the doorway, and found out that I could only do 2 pull-ups in a row. So sad. Now my Perfect Pushups and Body by Jake situp bench will have company while gathering dust.

Picutre by Sat.

Bball

2008-10-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

Today I played basketball with Allen and Dee. It was my first time playing in about... 3 years? We shot around, then played 3 on 3 against random people. We actually won! I even scored a few! Halfway through the game I got reeeally tired. I think I almost tripped because my legs didn't move as fast as my brain thought it could. I'm so old and out of shape.

Here's a picture taken by Sat. It looks like I'm falling backwards because my short little arms are so weak I have to shove the ball as hard as I can to get it up in the air. :(

Happy Bday to me Part 2

2008-10-23T23:25:00.001-07:00

This is a late post but oh well...
Last Saturday we went to Capital Seafood in MPK for my birthday. Ardith, Steph, Bung, Vicki, Allen, Steve, Sofie, Dennis, Dee, Sat, Vu, Shiz, and Hangyee all came and we had to squeeze into one table.

Sat says it's because everyone's free in October, not because everyone likes me. ;_; But it's okay, I would have done nothing for my birthday if Sat hadn't planned the dim sum. Thanks Sat!

I got some presents too this year! Target gift cards from Ardith and Dee because Sat put it on the evite, 360 controller and charger from Vu and Allen because I just got a 360, and jeans from Sat. Thanks everyone!

Happy Bday to Me

2008-10-17T18:38:00.001-07:00

Allen was going to eat Rally's (so unhealthy) today so he dropped by to give me an early birthday present. Thanks Allen!

Now where's that darn UPS truck with my Xbox 360?

edit: Sat buzzed my apartment door and I thought it was the UPS guy, but sadly it was just Sat.

Wendy's Chicken McRib

2008-10-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

McDonald's McRib is suppose to be back, but it's nowhere to be found in Southern California. Wendy's though, has these new Flavor-Dipped Chicken Sandwiches. It comes in either Buffalo, or BBQ. The BBQ one has onions and pickles, and looks just like a McRib. I heard they tasted just like the McRib, so I went and gave it a try.

I'd say it tasted about... 50% like a McRib. I was a little disappointed. The chicken just didn't go with the BBQ sauce like the magical processed fake meat that is the McRib.

Happy Face

2008-09-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

This morning I was about to put on my contact lenses when I saw something funny, so I thought I should take a picture. Then I thought I should blog it so here it is. It's a happy face! Heeheehee!

In other news, I got laid off at my job yesterday, but strangely that doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I guess I've been waiting for it to happen for the last year. I got 10 weeks pay severance as a lump sum, and my 4 weeks of vacation time paid out to me, so that's a lot of money all at once. Hmm... time for a new TV?

Free Smoothie Coupon

2008-08-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

I spotted "free smoothie" out of the corner of my eye before throwing the junk mail ads away today. Now I get to have a free real fruit smoothie at Jack in the Box. Yay!

Edit: I heard Shiz dug through trash and got 3 coupons. LOL.
Edit2: Shiz is going to dig through trash some more... LOLOL.

Buying Music Digitally

2008-06-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today I bought a song and downloaded it digitally. Another first for this old man. It was from Amazon's mp3 download thing. I still haven't bought a song from iTunes... maybe I never will. I remember downloading a MP2 file back in the day. Man I feel old. Get off my lawn!

Dentist Visit

2008-06-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

About 3 years ago I tried a new dentist office across the street from me. There was a really good dentist there, Dr Stephanie Lopez. Unlike other dentists who just scolded me and told me to brush and floss more, she actually explained to me how and why. She also did the exam and cleaning herself. Every since that time though, every time I made an appointment, I only got to see the hygienist, and never Dr Lopez. Lame. Then a few months ago they sent out a letter saying Dr Lopez had left the dental center. Hoping she was still in the area, I looked her up in the Delta Dental directory and there she was at Marina Del Rey. So I made an appointment and saw her last Thursday. She was still an awesome dentist like before, and my teeth were in good shape. Yay! So if you're looking for a good dentist, try Dr Lopez: 4640 Admiralty Way, Suite 714, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. (310)821-0839. Here's the goodie bag you get for going there!

Metal Gear Solid 4 (part 2)

2008-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is like 3 days late... :|
I got to the mall about 11:45pm. The store was open for people to go in and pay for their game, so that they could pick it up and go home and play right at midnight. There were about 30 people in line at that time. It looked pretty subdued. I wonder if any one of them really went there at 10pm... that would have been pretty boring. Inside the store there was a clerk dressed like Naked Snake from MGS3 and they had Metal Gear music playing. Pretty ~~cool~~ geeky.

Here's a picture of the people in line.

I was number 33 in line. They even gave me a little artbook for pre-ordering the game.

The line finally started moving. Here's a poster on the wall. I have no pictures of me inside getting my game because I didn't want to be the weird guy that kept taking pictures.

Finally I go home. The collectors edition of the game comes with a bonus DVD. It tells me to play the game first because it's full of spoilers. Heehee.

The game has a 11 minute install time while it copies stuff to the hard disk. During this time it shows Snake smoking while stupid tips go by, like "take a break every hour, throw your trash away, eat your vegetables, etc."

Finally, the game! It starts with Snake standing at a gravestone, looking really old. Lots of passage of time imagery in this game. Oh I just remember that was the same EB Games I bought Metal Gear Solid 1 from, back in 1998. SO OLD!

Metal Gear Solid 4 Midnight Launch

2008-06-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

Gamestop (formerly EB Games) at the mall (Westside Pavillion) is doing a midnight launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots tonight (tomorrow). Since I pre-ordered the super duper collectors edition ($84.99 plus tax) I'm gonna go pick it up. Hardcore! Not really. They're suppose to have "activites" there starting at 10pm, but I don't really want to spend that much time waiting. 10 years ago I would have loved something like this. But I guess I'm just not hardcore anymore. Now I'm just old. Old like Old Snake. I just need to grow a mustache. Yes. More pictures to come when I get back from the mall.

LED Keychain Flashlight Thingy

2008-05-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today at work they handed out key-chain LED flights with the company name on it. It was good timing too because my old one was so old you can barely see the light (if you look really carefully in the picture you can see it). Yay Treyarch4Life yo!

Free Chicken Sandwiches

2008-05-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

I got some bungee cords from Amazon to tie down my tennis ball hopper because I leave it in the trunk of my car. Along with the bungee cords, Amazon sent a "Cell Phones for Soldiers" bag, and... coupons for free chicken sandwiches at McDonald's! WOO!

Here's the ball hopper with the bungee cords. There weren't really any places to tie it down with. I don't think it's going to work very well. :(

Federal Tax Refund

2008-05-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

Whew... I've been neglecting this blog thing. Well it was a New Year's resolution so I guess it's only right that I don't keep it. Heehee!

So my federal tax refund came today. I had no idea what I was going to get, since I don't file my own taxes for various reasons... but it was much more than I thought I was going to get. Time to spend it on hookers and blow!

But wait... on the envelope it tells me to invest wisely... so no hookers I guess.

Undefeated 4-0

2008-03-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Back in January I joined Sat's USTA tennis team to play mixed doubles. This was my first time playing in a USTA league. We played in the 7.0 division. We won all 4 of our matches without even losing a set. The matches were no challenge but it was fun to go undefeated.

Our final match was last Saturday, and we wore matching outfits. How cheesy!

I was on American Gladiators

2008-02-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

Last December Shiz, Sat, Dennis and I went to a taping of American Gladiators at Sony Studios nearby. This past week they showed the episode we were in the taping for, and I saw myself! After the blue contender kisses his parents, the camera pans up and there's me!

Ok so you can barely see me... but it's me I swear!

Free Shirt

2008-01-31T00:48:00.000-08:00

I won a free shirt in my Wednesday night tennis class. Woohoo! Well I didn't really win it, the guy who won it didn't want to be a walking advertisement, so since I was in 2nd place I got the shirt. I have no problems being a walking advertisement. It says www.SantaMonicaTennis.com on the front and the back.

Australian Open 2008

2008-01-29T22:21:00.001-08:00

This year's Australian Open was particularly bad because I don't like either of the winners. On the women's side Maria Sharapova won. I'm really not a fan of her at all. She's hugely popular to the mainstream, but most tennis fans don't like her. She plays an ugly power game and screams like she's giving birth every time she hits the ball. She's 20 but seems to have the mind of a 10 year old girl who's scared that daddy won't love her if she doesn't win. Last year when she lost in the finals, her dad didn't even stay for the ceremony. This year when she defeated Justine Henin in the quarters her dad made a "slit the throat" sign. Ugh. On the men's side Novak Djokovic won. He gives incredibly cocky interviews and likes to take his shirt off and walk around shirtless when he wins a match. But I guess he's 20 so if he was in college he'd be a frat boy, walking around the frat house with his shirt off hoping the girls will look.

Oh well, since she won, here's a picture of Shrap from my cheapy Tennis Warehouse calendar. Happy January!

Culver City Meat Co.

2008-01-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

This truck is often seen around West LA and Culver City.

You can't beat their meat!

Donut Day

2008-01-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

On Wednesdays they buy donuts for the whole team. I love donuts.

But I don't eat any because I'm trying to be healthy. Fight on Dave!

Spider-Man Nohohon

2008-01-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

Someone at work went on a trip to Thailand and bought my office mate this thing as a souvenir.

It's a totally unlicensed Spider-Man solar thingy. Those two little guys look freaky!

Friday Bagels

2008-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Every Friday our company buys Noah's Bagels for everyone. I guess it's pretty nice of them. In our kitchen half of them go to waste though. Maybe people are tired of bagels.

I gave a bagel to Sat. Does that count as stealing company property? Maybe I'll get fired!

Breakfast

2008-01-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here's my breakfast. I'm so healthy!

Saddest Scrabble Board Ever

2008-01-15T00:27:00.000-08:00

At Erika's party we decided to play Scrabble while waiting for food and other people to show up. Soon we realized there there was no pen and paper to keep score. Uh-oh.

Here's the final result. The saddest Scrabble board ever.

Highlights include...
ISO... it's Latin for symmetry.
AXER is a person who axes questions.
SIM is like those sim cards
OM is the sound monks make
After spelling WAXER Ardith decides she wants her W back so she takes it back to spell WIZARD.
FLY with the F off the board.
HEHE, BI, NE, GI, HUN

Sad indeed.

Erika's Birthday

2008-01-13T00:10:00.000-08:00

Erika had her birthday party today at her house. There was pizza and sushi and cake. We played Scrabble and Cranium. It was fun. Happy Birthday Erika!

Here's Erika being a lifeguard courtesy of Sat.

Bonus video: Ardith and Allen making sweet... breakfast.

Lunch at Norms

2008-01-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

We went to Norm's for lunch today. Here's what they had on one of their menu inserts:

Korean BBQ sandwich! Chinese chicken wrap! When I think of great Asian food, I think of Norms!

In-N-Out Truck

2008-01-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

The In-N-Out truck came to work again today. Our company has been getting it every month for like the past year. They only have burgers, no fries. I think everyone's sick of it... I've skipped it the last few months. They should get a taco truck or something.

Lunch

2008-01-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

today i had lunch with sat
the food was hot but not spicy
the end

and this commercial is totally awesome

Ben's Birthday

2008-01-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

Ben turned 31 this past week and today we went to Soot Bull Jeep Korean BBQ to celebrate. There was Ben, Sofie, Allen, Erika, Sat, Vu, Shiz, and me. Here's a totally gay picture. Happy birthday Ben!

Tennis at UCLA

2008-01-04T00:55:00.000-08:00

This is a few days late, but on New Years Day I finally got to play on the big stadium court at UCLA. The very same court that pros like Agassi, Chang, and Sampras have played on. I never got to play on it when I was going to UCLA. Since it was New Years Day and school was still out, me and Sat decided to go play there.

Here's Blake and Stepanek playing on the same court during the Countrywide Classic.

So awesome!

Tennis at Mar Vista

2008-01-02T22:50:00.001-08:00

It was a ghost town at work today because everyone's still on vacation so I ditched at 3:15pm to play tennis with Sat, Shiz and Duc. Video highlights below...

Christmas Presents

2008-01-01T23:50:00.001-08:00

What I got for Christmas...
From my sister and brother-in-law: i-Dog amp'd!

From myself: Adidas Barricade V tennis shoes!

Yeah, that's it. Not really a presents kind of guy.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T02:29:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolutions
1. Make a blog.

Done!