.: What’s Bruin :.

7:10 AM (PST) – Just settled down in an airport chair at Gate 39 in Terminal 2. No hassles from the Airport security. I tried inserting my wireless card here. There was a signal, but the Internet access is not free. So I’m blogging on Word for later upload at the hotel. My flight leaves in 1.5 hours from now at around 8:50 AM. It took about an hour to get to the airport, not really heavy traffic other than the usual blockage in Escondido.

UCLA + iPod

The access point to get to the departure gates had a line that extended from the security check all the way out to the lobby and then out along the bridge that leads to the parking lot. It only took about half an hour to get through the checkpoint—moving fast.

I’m glad to being doing something different this week instead of “flying my desk” at work. But I already miss Josephine. I don’t like being away. I don’t think we have ever been apart for this long before. I’m feeling a little sad right now.

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Tags: Career, Marines, Travels, work

I just finished my fourth week on my weight loss plan and my third week on my new nutritional program with Sunrider. So far I’ve lost a total of 11 pounds, with 0 pounds lost this week. I didn’t lose this week, so I guess it’s time to start exercising… yeah right. When am I gonna have the time for that?

Sunrider Weight Loss Tracking: Week 3

Tags: Health, Sunrider, weight

Well, I’m just about finished loading the iPod. First things first, right? Right now my iPod library contains 2,575 songs, using 9.80 GB with 8.76 GB free. In a 20 GB iPod, this is a total of 18.56 GB of space (not actually 20 GB). I guess the other 1.44 GB is used for the iPod system software.

My stuff is all packed. Unfortunately, I’m bringing two sport coats and three ties for the three days of meetings, which start on Tuesday. It’s a little more than business casual for me for the next week. It’s supposed to be cloudy until Wednesday in Pensacola and then there is a slight chance of rain on Thursday and Friday.

I’m also lugging around some textbooks to do some reading while I’m travelling. There are several hours worth of plane flights and layovers in airports, so I should have plenty of time to catch on my school reading.

It will be my first time to Pensacola, but my second time to Florida. The last time I went to Florida was in 1988, I think. I was a 5th year senior at UCLA, travelling on Campus Crusade for Christ’s “Spring Break in Daytona Beach” trip. I’ll be taking a company laptop, along with my Josephine’s smaller digital camera, so I should be able to blog and share photos while I’m there. I bought a wireless card at Fry’s (which I will return for a full refund when I get back from this trip). It’s been nice using a laptop, both in class and at home. I’ll return the card to Fry’s on Sunday, March 6th (a very special day) so I can still use it in class on Saturday the 5th and at home.

Tags: Career, Marines, Travels, work

Josephine used the Filipino cookbook I gave her for Valentines Day to make one of my favorite dishes, chicken adobo. I could smell the garlic earlier this afternoon while I was studying upstairs, but then there’s that unique combination of cooking the garlic with vinegar that I recognized! I knew it was the adobo. I have a wonderful wife who takes the time to learn how to cook my favorite dishes that previously only my parents made. What a special treat before I leave for my business trip tomorrow morning.

Tags: Food, love, Reflection

After today’s session with our group’s project adviser, I realize that I need to buckle down and get this research project done if I am going to graduate in May. I have to figure out a way to get past my procrastination and laziness! The rough draft is due in four weeks exactly. And it’s supposed to be around 75 pages long.

I have the crappiest part of the project. I have to do market research to determine the characteristics of the people who would partake in online music communities. This sucks.

Tags: CSUSM, education_and_training, MBA

I’m glad I’m in my new Strategic Planning and Management class versus the other class that is doing the CEO simulation. However, my professor, Dr. T, is full of himself. All he talks about is himself, how great the aviation industry is, and how great he is. That’s all salt on top a wound anyways. He had the nerve to tell us that our work is no good because we have four people in our group. We only got 8.5 out of 10 on our last case study. And he has the nerve to tell us that it should have been better because we have one more brain than most of the other groups.

Honestly, I can take the fact that he thought it could have been done better. And yes, it sucks that we spent hours working on that report. I think I could have taken that it did not meet expectations. BUT DON’T TELL US IT’S BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE EXTRA PERSON IN OUR GROUP.

Tags: CSUSM, education_and_training, MBA

I’m having trouble thinking of something to write about for a possible Commencement speech. I just may have to give up on it. It’s due on Monday. At this rate, Josephine will have to deliver it to Cal State San Marcos for me.

Update: Well, I officially give up. I have no inspiration for what to say. I’ll just be a regular Joe in the crowd of graduates.

Tags: commencement, CSUSM, education_and_training, MBA

When I was 11 years old, I got into a skateboarding accident. I made friends with an idiot, probably like most kids do. So he suggested that I hang onto his bike while riding my skateboard. The board I rode was a “classic”, one of the earliest ones. It had a nice, wooden board with clay wheels… before all the fancy ones came out with the polyurethane wheels. So anyways, I did it and my idiot “friend” started pedaling faster and faster. I, of course, became very frightened and started screaming for him to stop.

STOP!

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Tags: dentist, Health, Humor

FQ1: Are you a collector? If so, what are some of the things you collect?

I’m not really an avid collector. But I do have some Ronald Reagan stamps, just recently purchased. I also have a quarters collection of the new 50 states coins. I have not updated my colection for 2005 yet, but I need to do so.

FQ2: If you could collect anything… no matter how rare or expensive, what would it be?

I would collect used tennis racquets, preferably autographed, by my favorite tennis players: Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, Andy Roddick, etc.

FQ3: Looking around you, what is some ordinary, everyday object you possess that would make an interesting collectable 100 years from now?

Hmmm. Probably my old 35 mm film-based SLR camera, Nikon F-801, that I bought in Hong Kong in 1990. Anyone want to buy it? It’s still in great condition.

FQ RECOMMENDED: Are there any public collections you enjoy (museums, galleries, etc.) that we should know about?

I don’t really enjoy museums that much. I think they are boring for the most part, but I do highly recommend the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. It’s awesome! Here are some photos from my trip there last summer.

–Meme from FridayQ

Tags: Participation

Six Foot Snake in the Toilet

This is kinda funny, but then again, probably not. Good thing he did not sit down! Or worse, get bitten in the “head”. But I suppose pythons wouldn’t bite; don’t they squeeze their prey to death?

I love the excuse for being late to work:

Scavotto called his boss to tell him he’d be late because he’d had to wrestle a snake out of his toilet. His boss joked he would need a better excuse than that.

WKMG Central Florida News - Local6.com

Tags: Humor

After reading Mark’s list, I decided to do mine.

Tags: Participation

Today, I verbalized a decision I made a couple of weeks ago: I decided that I’m not going to pursue adoption. I told Josephine today. She hadn’t really given it much thought, especially since I’ve been silent about it for the last month.

Here’s why:

1. I don’t really feel like parenting a teen when I’m 51.
2. We have a lot of freedom right now with our other kids grown up. Life would be radically different with a new child to raise.
3. Raising children involves a lot of disappointment. I’ve had enough disappointment to last a lifetime. I don’t think I need anymore. I just can’t handle it.

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Tags: family, Reflection

I sold my two tickets to the Duran Duran reunion concert at the San Diego Sports Arena. I lost $28 on the sale on eBay. I decided to sell since we are spending so much money on the trip to Greece. Unfortunately, the new album is just mediocre. I like some of the songs. It would have been nice to see them in concert again, but I saw them 20 years in 1984 at the Sports Arena. Those days seem so far away and . . . kind of juvenile.

Tags: Events, Music

I’m collecting data for my Master’s project. If you’re reading this, can you please answer the six questions in the short survey regarding Internet usage and music interests? Thanks so much.

Tags: CSUSM, education_and_training, MBA

Today is my mom’s 62nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Make a wish!

Tags: birthday, Events