DAY3: MARCH 25th 2008
Again the day starts with the breakfast buffet. I was the first one up at 630am. Pretty much just waited for everyone to get up get ready for our 4 hour long road trip: Lake Tahoe. This was the part of the trip all of us were looking forward to. Strange that this was kind of a last minute thing we decided on before leaving on the trip.
The road trip there was really fun despite what I was initially thinking. Thought it was going to be dull, worn out, and just plain boring. Instead, Logan played DJ on the newly acquired iPOD Touch with his speakers blaring out songs from Avenged Sevenfold to Journey and Chicago.
We got to cross some bridges and pay tolls too! The traffic that it causes is pretty bad too. Imagine if they had that in Hawaii to add more to the traffic? Wondering exactly how the "fast lane" works on that too.
Ended up TRYING to play "Snaps" with the family but they didn't get it. Played "Questions only" also. I totally owned them in the game. Haha. Was great to just do some site seeing, before the car got quiet and we fell asleep.
I don't remember exactly when I woke up, but the first thing I remember seeing for the very first time was laying on a patch of ground on the side of the road as we continued up the mountain: SNOW! (1st blessing of the day) No longer could I say that I've never seen snow before! What an awesome site it was too, when in fact it was just frozen water on the ground.
We stopped on the side of the road so that we could just look, touch, and walk in it. It was COLD! I was wearing a shirt and a long sleeve with sweat pants and jeans and it was still pretty darn cold. The first thing Lindsey does in the snow, is step in it, only to sink immediately all of her boot! The first thing Logan does, is pick up some snow with his bare hands and throw it at me! No surprise.
We finally get to the hotel we were to stay at: The Horizon Resort and Casino. After checking in, we went ahead to "Heavenly" which is the name of a little shopping place to eat. There were many places to eat, but we ended up eating at some pizza joint called Blue Dog Pizza (2nd blessing of the day). Why? Well the guy who was working at the place, Andy, was real nice to us. Even gave us the BEST advice about us wanting to go snow boarding: Rent equipment the day BEFORE you want to go snowboarding. Forwarded us to a place called the "Boardinghouse" where we met his good friend Alex (Hehe his name is Alex). He got all our gear together and gave us the best things he could for what we payed for. Funny thing is that the boards that he recommended us to have COMPLETELY matched us. Lindsey got a PINK TOKIDOKI board, Logan a got a RED board, and I got a board with TECHNOLOGY on it or something. Alex gave us a 20% discount to, for no reason at all (3rd blessing of the day).
We headed back to the room and took a little nap before going to eat at a 24 hour restaurant in the hotel we were at called the "4 seasons" The best part? A $15 prime rib special that tasted WAY more than the $15 spent. The food and service was really good too (4th blessing of the day).
My brother and I went to check out the arcade in the building, which wasn't the greatest thing, but we ended watching "Knowing" at the theatre instead. It's a pretty good movie, scary concept but a VERY good movie.
I gambled for the first time at a slot machine. No blessing there :(
Tucked in for the night!!!!
*****
DAY4: MARCH 26th 2008
Got to sleep in, and after much anticipation, got ready to go snowboarding! I don't think I've ever worn that much clothes at the same time: two long sleeve shirts, a waterproof jacket, sweatpants, jeans, and waterproof pants. Surprisingly I wasn't that hot hahah.
We ate a quick breakfast, got our gear and headed up the Gondala. The trek took 12 minutes to get up the mountian, and it was pretty scary going up that mountain SO up high in the air (I'm not very fond of heights). There was a first stop we got off of to site see and to take some pictures. The three kids insued instead in a heated battle of snowball fights. I got the best of them though with two huge amounts thrown at them with them throwing right back at me. Logan likes to PACK the snow and they HURT when they hit.
Finally we reach the very top of the mountain. The best way I can describe it being much like a beach, with people just going around and doing their own thing, except it being very cold and with snow instead of water.
We were directed to the "small" hill, which to me didn't look very small at all called the "Big Small". It was a challenge to get on the lift itself with only one foot attached to the board. It's a very weird feeling the first time on a snowboard. I can't exactly describe it.
Now on the the most memorable part of the whole trip.
The three of us get to the top of the lift, and LINDSEY being the scrub that she is, panics and falls down, of course bringing me and Logan down with her. We eat it HARD as SOON as we get off the lift, me flipping over a few times, Logan tumbling, Lindsey falling FLAT on her back, arms flailing, legs pointed up to the sky and boards fumbling in the air... in front of about 476509234659325 people. I was cracking up at how funny it was. Logan didn'te really care, but Lindsey looked like she was about to cry (having hit her head on the lift too).
One guy behind us saw me laughing asked, "You guys ok?"
"We're fine," I laughed.
"You guys fell pretty good from what I saw!"
"It felt like it!"
"I'd pay to see that again!"
"I probably would to!"
After straping in and sucking it up, we took a deep breath to head down the slope. The "Big Small" consisted of one small hill, some flat ground, followed by a long slope. It took us 30 minutes to get down to the flat ground area. It was hard to stand up and to control the board. Most of the time it was us slidding slowly down the hill on our arms for support. Logan made a really good point: "It's so tiring and we're not even doing anything"
Lindsey is furthest down the hill, me next, and Logan closest to the top. Then something amazing happens. Logan just BOMBS the hill courageously. I was thouroughly impressed. Lindsey was like "whoa..." as we stared in awe as Logan hurled down the mountain getting faster and faster and faster.
Now at this point I'm thinking, wow he's got some guts and he's going pretty fast, but....
"Does he know how to stop?" Lindsey asked.
"I don't know..." I chuckled. It was funny, that I didn't laugh at all.
He was at the very bottom of the hill headed towards a rope blocking off a certain area and he tried to turn out of the way. Because of the laws of physics, you cant exactly turn instantaneously while going very quickly in a straight line, so while Logan tried to turn right, he still went straight, falling to his hands, flipping twice like a ragdoll and coming to a stop facing up flat on his back. Though I was far up the mountain, I could see his sungalsses fly off his face and a glove go into the air.
Me and Lindsey did the thing any other sibling would have done. We laughed. There we were, laughing our butts off, on the ground, cheeks and abs hurting, as Logan struggled to get up.
If I seriously could record and show you I would, because it was pretty damn funny :D.
Anyway, we spent the next 4 hours trying to figure this snowboarding thing out. It's a lot harder than it looks, but I think I did ok. I still am unable to turn backside...
Returned our gear and headed back towards San Francisco, stopped by some Outlet Mall area where I got a pair of shoes :) Ended up eating at an L & L. RICE and good rice too!
Other than that, there was nothing else that I can remember as we headed back to our hotel.
My body was aching though as I went to bed.
Dang it Francis, my legs STILL hurt from that P90X thingamabob stuff....
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
california day2* cuda
DAY 2: MARCH 24th 2008
Want to know the best thing about the place we were staying at? There was a complementary breakfast buffet in the morning from 630-930. The breakfast wasn't exactly the continental kind either. We're talking eggs, toast, sausage, orange juice, grape juice, apple juice, three different types of cereal, muffins, bagels, and the best thing of all, a WAFFLE maker (no rice though >.<) Best word to describe this day? COLD! Our first trek of the day was a trip to Alcatraz Penitentiary. We drive and get to the dock to boat it there WAY ahead of schedule (who would have thought no traffic? 1st blessing of the day). The boat ride there was pretty smooth, considering I have SERIOUS motion sickness. Alcatraz is sorta ineffable. I mean its a prison, where a few notorious people have served time. The audio tour we went on was pretty interesting. This island wasn't only for prisoners, there was people who actually lived on there too. As I walked the place, I kept having this mixed feelings about it. There's a sense of greatness to the place, knowing that it was the best prison of its time, and there's a bit of creepiness to it too. There's something about that prison that fascinates me and I emplore those of you that are going to travel to the area to visit!!!
We spent the rest of the day walking downtown; LOTS of walking. We ended up eating at this place that served clam chowder in a bread bowl which was pretty awesome. Oh did I mention that we found a nice big table to seat all five of us in the VERY crowded place? (2nd blessing of the day)
My siblings and I were able to ride the cable cars too! Of course, we weren't going to sit down, we wanted to hang out on the side. It was pretty fun, hanging out on the edge and coming within inches of hitting other cars. Its kinda scary too, because the hills are STEEP. Sadly, we didn't get much of a chance to explore Union Square because we were dead tired.
Back to the hotel, relaxed a little, went to the jacozee, and had fun just messing around with Lindsey and Logan . They're pretty funny, the three of us when we're together without parents or adults. Haha I almost fell asleep in the jacozee, it was pretty comfortable...
End of the day, new tomorrow to look forward to...
Want to know the best thing about the place we were staying at? There was a complementary breakfast buffet in the morning from 630-930. The breakfast wasn't exactly the continental kind either. We're talking eggs, toast, sausage, orange juice, grape juice, apple juice, three different types of cereal, muffins, bagels, and the best thing of all, a WAFFLE maker (no rice though >.<) Best word to describe this day? COLD! Our first trek of the day was a trip to Alcatraz Penitentiary. We drive and get to the dock to boat it there WAY ahead of schedule (who would have thought no traffic? 1st blessing of the day). The boat ride there was pretty smooth, considering I have SERIOUS motion sickness. Alcatraz is sorta ineffable. I mean its a prison, where a few notorious people have served time. The audio tour we went on was pretty interesting. This island wasn't only for prisoners, there was people who actually lived on there too. As I walked the place, I kept having this mixed feelings about it. There's a sense of greatness to the place, knowing that it was the best prison of its time, and there's a bit of creepiness to it too. There's something about that prison that fascinates me and I emplore those of you that are going to travel to the area to visit!!!
We spent the rest of the day walking downtown; LOTS of walking. We ended up eating at this place that served clam chowder in a bread bowl which was pretty awesome. Oh did I mention that we found a nice big table to seat all five of us in the VERY crowded place? (2nd blessing of the day)
My siblings and I were able to ride the cable cars too! Of course, we weren't going to sit down, we wanted to hang out on the side. It was pretty fun, hanging out on the edge and coming within inches of hitting other cars. Its kinda scary too, because the hills are STEEP. Sadly, we didn't get much of a chance to explore Union Square because we were dead tired.
Back to the hotel, relaxed a little, went to the jacozee, and had fun just messing around with Lindsey and Logan . They're pretty funny, the three of us when we're together without parents or adults. Haha I almost fell asleep in the jacozee, it was pretty comfortable...
End of the day, new tomorrow to look forward to...
california day1* cuda
Yet another blog up after who knows how long... not exactly sure how this is gonna go, but we'll just go from here.
With my (fairly) new mentality (mentality* cuda) so many things have come into a whole new light for me. Life just seems so much easier. One of the things that comprises of my newly acquired is to not count the burdens, but to count the blessings.
From March 23 - 30th has been one BIG blessing (not that every day isn't a blessing but those particular dates are meant to be recognized.
I got to spend time with my family in California.
I realized that we don't do much as a family anymore. Well, I guess the correct thing to say is that I don't spend much time with them anymore, mostly because I'm "too busy" or "have other things to do" which are no excuses. Boo for me....
Either way, this blog is dedicated to my family, the spring break we shared together, and the many blessings in it.
DAY1, MARCH 23rd 2008:
I still had credit from the Mesa trip that I did not attend, which caused me to fly separately from my family (they were on Hawaiian Air and I on United). I had no luggage because my famliy took it as THEIR own luggage, so as I was dropped off, I wondered if there was such a thing as a "carry on luggage" only line. I waited in a LONG line for a bit, but yes there was a line for that so I didn't have to stand forever and a day in a line for nothing (1st blessing of the day).
The seating was not predetermined, so there was an option to change seats before the flight. My original seat was in 49E, which meant I was going to be in the dead center of the plane with TWO people on the right and the left. Fortunately, I was able to change my seat to 40C, which meant that I was going to get an isle seat! But when I got on the plane, there was someone already in my seat: a much older looking man (more than likely older than my own grandpa) in a business suit. The entire 40th row was filled with the exception of 1 seat, the MIDDLE seat, which I assumed was the old mans seat. He looked tired, worn, sleepy, and looked as if he NEEDED that seat much more than I did, so I didn't say anything and let him sit there and instead sat in the middle seat. Now I know this may not make sense, but even though my seat ended up being in the center (which again I did NOT want), the row that I was moved into was right in front of one of the center walls of the plane. Now what does that mean? Well, there was PLENTY leg room AND there right in front of me was a screen, not really widescreen, but a very clear picture (2nd blessing of the day). Its funny how you ask for something and sometimes you don't get exactly what you want, but end up getting something better. I noticed that the older man that was in my seat got up a few times to go to the bathroom, which was real easy for him since he had that isle seat. Everyone ended up satisfied: He got an isle seat, and while I didn't exactly get an isle seat, I got penty leg room to stretch, and a nice screen to watch "The Big Bang Theory" and "Quantum of Solace" on.
After meeting up with my family in San Francisco, we got our rental car (or SUV to be exact)and had to upgrad to AWD because of the adventures to come (free upgrade btw. 3rd blessing of the day)
Our hotel (well not really a hotel) called the Staybridge was prety darn awesome considering it was only a "three star hotel". The place was located RIGHT NEXT to a town center and the Tanforan Mall. Our room was right up the stairs, first building on the right, right next to the barbeque pit, a full kitchen, two bedrooms, three TVs two full baths, clean and comfortable. How convenient huh? (4th blessing of the day)
At first, I wasn't that excited at all about the trip. But so far God had other plans for me :)
With my (fairly) new mentality (mentality* cuda) so many things have come into a whole new light for me. Life just seems so much easier. One of the things that comprises of my newly acquired is to not count the burdens, but to count the blessings.
From March 23 - 30th has been one BIG blessing (not that every day isn't a blessing but those particular dates are meant to be recognized.
I got to spend time with my family in California.
I realized that we don't do much as a family anymore. Well, I guess the correct thing to say is that I don't spend much time with them anymore, mostly because I'm "too busy" or "have other things to do" which are no excuses. Boo for me....
Either way, this blog is dedicated to my family, the spring break we shared together, and the many blessings in it.
DAY1, MARCH 23rd 2008:
I still had credit from the Mesa trip that I did not attend, which caused me to fly separately from my family (they were on Hawaiian Air and I on United). I had no luggage because my famliy took it as THEIR own luggage, so as I was dropped off, I wondered if there was such a thing as a "carry on luggage" only line. I waited in a LONG line for a bit, but yes there was a line for that so I didn't have to stand forever and a day in a line for nothing (1st blessing of the day).
The seating was not predetermined, so there was an option to change seats before the flight. My original seat was in 49E, which meant I was going to be in the dead center of the plane with TWO people on the right and the left. Fortunately, I was able to change my seat to 40C, which meant that I was going to get an isle seat! But when I got on the plane, there was someone already in my seat: a much older looking man (more than likely older than my own grandpa) in a business suit. The entire 40th row was filled with the exception of 1 seat, the MIDDLE seat, which I assumed was the old mans seat. He looked tired, worn, sleepy, and looked as if he NEEDED that seat much more than I did, so I didn't say anything and let him sit there and instead sat in the middle seat. Now I know this may not make sense, but even though my seat ended up being in the center (which again I did NOT want), the row that I was moved into was right in front of one of the center walls of the plane. Now what does that mean? Well, there was PLENTY leg room AND there right in front of me was a screen, not really widescreen, but a very clear picture (2nd blessing of the day). Its funny how you ask for something and sometimes you don't get exactly what you want, but end up getting something better. I noticed that the older man that was in my seat got up a few times to go to the bathroom, which was real easy for him since he had that isle seat. Everyone ended up satisfied: He got an isle seat, and while I didn't exactly get an isle seat, I got penty leg room to stretch, and a nice screen to watch "The Big Bang Theory" and "Quantum of Solace" on.
After meeting up with my family in San Francisco, we got our rental car (or SUV to be exact)and had to upgrad to AWD because of the adventures to come (free upgrade btw. 3rd blessing of the day)
Our hotel (well not really a hotel) called the Staybridge was prety darn awesome considering it was only a "three star hotel". The place was located RIGHT NEXT to a town center and the Tanforan Mall. Our room was right up the stairs, first building on the right, right next to the barbeque pit, a full kitchen, two bedrooms, three TVs two full baths, clean and comfortable. How convenient huh? (4th blessing of the day)
At first, I wasn't that excited at all about the trip. But so far God had other plans for me :)
Sunday, January 11, 2009
autoXing* cuda
First post for 2009. Go figure...
Anyway, it's Sunday morning right now and I'm way too excited to sleep anymore for today. Today is the next event for autoxing (pronounced, AW-tow-kross-ing) at the Aloha Staium and I've been waiting for this for a LONG time.
For those that know me very well, being behind the wheel of a car is an extreme passion, it's second nature, and it's where I belong. I drive because I can and I would rather be driving than sitting in the passenger seat.
I thank my good friend for introducing me to it, his thoughts and mentality about racing are way above par, so if you have any questions about that, feel free to ask him! Dude is TALENTED!!
And now to the point:
I RACE. And I love it!
What pains me is seeing and hearing all of this stories and people talking about how fun it is to go racing on the freeway. I don't condone any type of street racing. In fact, I will go on to say that I HATE street racing.
There was an incident that happened a few years ago which involved two Mitsubishi Eclipses that thought it would be a great idea to go racing speeds on the H1 freeway Ewa bound at 3-4 in the morning.
The story is that around that time, there are workers in the Safety Systems truck that work about that time and they clear the far left lane on the H1 freeway Ewa bound so that the Zip Mobile can open up the zipper lane.
Both (yes BOTH) of those cars slammed into that truck right before the overpass to go to Leeward Community College, which caused everything to go into flames.
Those of you who think that "yeah I can control my car at those speeds" or "I'm really careful" and whatever else mentality that's similar to that, think about this: Both (again I say BOTH) cars hit that truck which was on the FAR left lane of the freeway. How wide is that freeway? And if you think about it, what are the chances that BOTH cars hit another car that was pretty much stationary on the FAR left lane of a freeway that about 4 lanes wide?
I'm willing to bet that the two guys in the Eclipse (by the way they had passengers too I believe) thought they were "in control at the time" yet they were driving so fast, so recklessly, that they both hit another car hard enough for there to be a fire that got so hot AND (I quote) "that they were so burned into the seat, you couldn't tell if the occupants of the cars were male or female"
And if that wasn't enough, this is what makes my blood go into a boil:
Innocent lives were lost.
Those guys in the Safety Systems truck were where they were SUPPOSED to be. They were WORKING. They had nothing to do with the two Eclipses racing on the freeway, yet because of them, the people on the safety systems truck were affected, and so were their families...
It's one thing to go speeding on the freeway by yourself and put YOUR life in danger, but its another ball game when other INNOCENT lives are at stake too.
...
My friend who introduced me to autoxing was one of those "punk street racers" who thought he was invincible. In fact, he's totalled like 3 cars to date because of those antics. Now I would be lying if I said that I've never street raced before, and I am VERY thankful to have stepped out of that mentality long before something terrible could have happened and my friend is also thankful his mentality changed LONG before something terrible happened to and he's also admitted that he's had some pretty close calls....
I will say this one more time: I race.
Yes, I do race... BUT I race safely, in a closed, controlled environment. I race legally and I wouldn't have it any other way. How many people can actually say that? Well, according to my brother, there's "about 100 of them, once a month at the Aloha Stadium" and I will see some of them today :)
Now how big is the street racing community? I'm willing to bet way bigger than 100...
I hope that those out there find that altered state of mind before something bad happens too and I invite you to come out to autoxing at the stadium. It's pretty fun and addicting and definitely worth it!
Please be safe on the roads everyone?
Oh and don't worry, its early and I'm not sleeping, but I've had enough rest for the events today :)
Anyway, it's Sunday morning right now and I'm way too excited to sleep anymore for today. Today is the next event for autoxing (pronounced, AW-tow-kross-ing) at the Aloha Staium and I've been waiting for this for a LONG time.
For those that know me very well, being behind the wheel of a car is an extreme passion, it's second nature, and it's where I belong. I drive because I can and I would rather be driving than sitting in the passenger seat.
I thank my good friend for introducing me to it, his thoughts and mentality about racing are way above par, so if you have any questions about that, feel free to ask him! Dude is TALENTED!!
And now to the point:
I RACE. And I love it!
What pains me is seeing and hearing all of this stories and people talking about how fun it is to go racing on the freeway. I don't condone any type of street racing. In fact, I will go on to say that I HATE street racing.
There was an incident that happened a few years ago which involved two Mitsubishi Eclipses that thought it would be a great idea to go racing speeds on the H1 freeway Ewa bound at 3-4 in the morning.
The story is that around that time, there are workers in the Safety Systems truck that work about that time and they clear the far left lane on the H1 freeway Ewa bound so that the Zip Mobile can open up the zipper lane.
Both (yes BOTH) of those cars slammed into that truck right before the overpass to go to Leeward Community College, which caused everything to go into flames.
Those of you who think that "yeah I can control my car at those speeds" or "I'm really careful" and whatever else mentality that's similar to that, think about this: Both (again I say BOTH) cars hit that truck which was on the FAR left lane of the freeway. How wide is that freeway? And if you think about it, what are the chances that BOTH cars hit another car that was pretty much stationary on the FAR left lane of a freeway that about 4 lanes wide?
I'm willing to bet that the two guys in the Eclipse (by the way they had passengers too I believe) thought they were "in control at the time" yet they were driving so fast, so recklessly, that they both hit another car hard enough for there to be a fire that got so hot AND (I quote) "that they were so burned into the seat, you couldn't tell if the occupants of the cars were male or female"
And if that wasn't enough, this is what makes my blood go into a boil:
Innocent lives were lost.
Those guys in the Safety Systems truck were where they were SUPPOSED to be. They were WORKING. They had nothing to do with the two Eclipses racing on the freeway, yet because of them, the people on the safety systems truck were affected, and so were their families...
It's one thing to go speeding on the freeway by yourself and put YOUR life in danger, but its another ball game when other INNOCENT lives are at stake too.
...
My friend who introduced me to autoxing was one of those "punk street racers" who thought he was invincible. In fact, he's totalled like 3 cars to date because of those antics. Now I would be lying if I said that I've never street raced before, and I am VERY thankful to have stepped out of that mentality long before something terrible could have happened and my friend is also thankful his mentality changed LONG before something terrible happened to and he's also admitted that he's had some pretty close calls....
I will say this one more time: I race.
Yes, I do race... BUT I race safely, in a closed, controlled environment. I race legally and I wouldn't have it any other way. How many people can actually say that? Well, according to my brother, there's "about 100 of them, once a month at the Aloha Stadium" and I will see some of them today :)
Now how big is the street racing community? I'm willing to bet way bigger than 100...
I hope that those out there find that altered state of mind before something bad happens too and I invite you to come out to autoxing at the stadium. It's pretty fun and addicting and definitely worth it!
Please be safe on the roads everyone?
Oh and don't worry, its early and I'm not sleeping, but I've had enough rest for the events today :)
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