Options are good.

Having options is always good. If someone walks up to you and says that they want to take you to a baseball game, but gives you three different dates to choose from, that's good! It's definitely better than a tuesday night game when your favorite show is on.

So recently I've had the humbling experience of being able to sit front row at a baseball game. But not just one, I have the option to sit front row at three different games if I want to. I've been lucky enough to meet a guy who has the ability to provide me seats front row to the Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's really a great deal! I'm definitely taking the Dodgers tickets. The Mariners tickets may be next but I'm not so sure about the Brewers tickets. They are kinda far and I'm not a big fan of the midwest.

I'm very grateful to have this guy and I plan to put him to use. Updates may follow. We'll see how things turn out.

Me? Exercise?

Being newly single can really change your outlook on your life. When I had a girlfriend, I really didn't have any free time. Pretty much every free minute I had was spent with her. Now that isn't necessarily a bad thing, we usually had some good times. But being single has given me a lot of extra free time now. Being single has also motivated me to use that free time for something good. I used to be extremely lazy whenever I had free time. I still can be, but I've turned a new leaf.

I've started working out and running at least 3 times a week. I've been on this routine for about 4 months maybe more. There are times when I get lazy and don't run or I take a week or two off, but for the most part I've stuck to it. I've definitely noticed a difference in my arms and chest from the workouts which is also motivating. Most days I try to run at least 2 miles, sometimes I run 3 miles. I run on a treadmill or outside some days depending on the weather and if the Lakers are on tv. Treadmill with the tv on when the Lakers play or it's too hot outside.

Even though I've noticed my pants fitting a little looser, I still haven't gotten rid of my slight gut. The problem is that I have a major sweet tooth and love all kinds of fast food. I don't drink too much soda anymore, but I can't pass up a frosty cold beer or pizza. That's why I keep running. To make sure I don't blow up. =)

Quick Hits!

I've neglected my writing duties for a few weeks. Sue me. Here's a few short notes about what's been going on since I last wrote.

• My last Vegas trip was a lot of fun. I didn't win any money, but I did meet up with some girls I hadn't seen since high school. We went to club XS at the Wynn (girls $20, guys $50), hung out at the Venetian Pool (bikinis and high heels), and had some sourdough waffles for breakfast one day. Good times.
• My friend Damien was back in town from the east coast for a couple weeks. He's in the Navy and doesn't get to come home often so I spent plenty of time with him and the rest of our friends. I partially blame him for me not writing. We went to the beach and became pyros around a bonfire, had a pool/wii/bbq party, went to his mom's graduation party and got plenty hammered. Actually, I was drinking for about 2 weeks straight after I got home from Vegas. Met up with a couple other girls I hadn't seen since high school because of D as well. More good times.
• I bought tickets to see Blink 182, Taking Back Sunday, Weezer, and Asher Roth for September 17th at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Didn't get pit tickets like I had hoped, but I'm just excited for the fact that I actually got tickets at all. Now I just have to figure out who I want to take as my date. I saw Blink 182 once my freshman year in college at San Diego State. They put on a great show and I had a blast! But that was almost 10 years ago now. The band had been on hiatus for the past 4 years, so being able to see them again is going to be a real treat.
• Over the last two weeks I also got a couple of new cds. I got the new Eminem cd titles Relapse. He is back at it again and just as good as ever. Of course if you didn't like him before, this album probably won't change your mind. But I'm a fan of his, so I enjoy it. I also got the new Taking Back Sunday album. I figured that if I'm going to see them in concert I better know their new stuff. I've got their other 3 albums, so I'm sure I'll have fun anyways. They are going to be the surprise hit of that concert, IMO.

Today, I'm heading out to the Dodgers game with my brother and my neighbor. I'll be sitting in the Loge section today. Loge 165 if my memory serves me correct. Today's tickets come with a free reception complete with Dodger Dogs, cheeseburgers, chips, peanuts, sodas, cookies, and other goodies! Later tonight I'll be heading to a friends house for some beers before he gets shipped off to Korea. Who knows when I'll be back again, but hopefully it won't be 3 weeks again.

Post Vegas/Pre Vegas Part 1

This past weekend in Las Vegas was loads of fun! Friday morning I drove up with my neighbor who was visiting her pregnant friend. We made good time, getting into town in about 4 hours. I dropped my neighbor off with her gal pal and headed to my condo. Dropped off my brother's new wheels at our place in Henderson and made myself some lunch, then headed to the strip.

I met up with my friend and his family at the Miracle Mile shops. Some of them wanted to walk around and shop (lame!) so we headed back to the hotel room for a quick drink and to head down to the pool. After some sun and an AMF we decided to do a little gambling. With a new batch of AMFs quickly made up and a little food in our stomachs we headed to Planet Hollywood to play some video blackjack and wander around a bit. I lost $20 on blackjack and penny slots in about 15 mins so I decided to move on to Roulette. I played for about 15 or 20 mins and made my money back plus a little more. About $45 in all. Remember the $20 bet increments from the last post? Anyways, a win is a win.

We moved from there to staring at the girls in The Pleasure Pit, all very attractive. After a little bit of gawking we decided to play some poker. My favorite. Unfortunately, the cards were not very kind to me. I didn't win my first hand for over 2 hours! After that beat down we headed back to the hotel where my buddies girlfriend had finally arrived. She had to work, but flew in after a long day and was ready to party.

We ate some dino chicken nuggets (they are the best) had some redbull vodkas and a little Patron, then decided to walk towards the strip for a bit. We started walking at around 1:30 am. On our walk, we decided that a midnight swim in the 24 hour pool would be a more fun idea. We got changed and headed down to the pool with more redbull vodkas at 2:30am. The pool was surprisingly not empty. Plenty of people had the same idea that we did, and a few people partied too hard. We saw one person passed out on a pool chair. Drinking at the pool always leads to interesting times and tonight was no different. I ended up making $20 to swim naked across the entire pool and back. It was, by far, the most exciting way to earn a quick Jackson. My buddy and I convinced his gf to do it too. Since she had never been skinny dipping, we figured this was as good a time as any. Plus he said he would cover her $20 skinny dipping debt to me.

Saturday "morning" was spent down by the pool again for a couple hours. Really it was about 12:30pm when we finally got down there. My buddy and his gf had a wedding to go to, so I got changed and headed out to make a bet on the Preakness horse race. I had a couple exacta boxes and bet on three different longshots to win just for the hell of it. Nothing panned out for me, but I won some money back on a quarter wheel of fortune slot machine, so it was all good. After that I walked to MGM Grand and played some poker for a few hours. Got a couple beers and made a little money there too. Chilled in the pool for a while saturday night, no skinny dipping this time. Got back to the room around midnight and started watching Eagle Eye. A really entertaining movie that I should have watched sooner. My buddy also made some awesome cinnamon rolls. After two of them, I called it a night.

Sunday morning, my buddy and his family all took off at 5am. I slept in until 9. I checked out, packed up, and headed back to my condo to load up a couple things to take home. I thought about gambling at Green Valley Ranch, then I thought about laying out by our pool. I ended up staying home and playing some Rock Band for a couple hours before picking up my neighbor and driving home. Made pretty good time getting home and had a good chat with my neighbor. When I got home, I pretty much just relaxed and got ready for the new work week.

You may have noticed that the title says "Pre Vegas" as well as "Post Vegas." It's pre Vegas because I'm heading back out to Sin City again this weekend. I'm not taking friday off this time, but I do have the holiday on monday, so it will be another three day weekend in the desert for me! This time I'm heading out there for my brother's birthday so I'm sure we'll have plenty more to drink and loads of fun. I don't think I'll get my good steak, but I'm sure I'll have some other stories for you next week. See ya back here then.

Vegas baby! VEGAS!!!

Today is my friday. I'm taking tomorrow off from work so that I can head out to Las Vegas early and beat all the traffic. A buddy of mine found some awesome deal online for a 2 bedroom condo which is usually a timeshare. I've stayed there once with him and it was great! The place has a kitchen, living room, and two seperate bedrooms.

The room is nice and all, but that's not where all the fun of Vegas happens. (Well some of it happens there if you're lucky!) There really isn't a plan for this weekend except to have some drinks and play some poker. My plan also includes winning thousands of dollars while only betting in $20 increments. So that part of the plan might not happen. We'll see. The only other itinerary item for me is to somehow get someone to go get a good steak with me. I'm thinking Prime Rib at Lawry's or maybe a steakhouse in one of the hotels. Look for a post next week to find out what went down this weekend in Vegas.

Baseball, baseball, baseball, baseball!!!!

Weekend update with QuadSevens, aka BetAsBogus.

So this weekend was full of baseball games. Friday night I got free tickets from work to go see an Angels game. Yes, you read that right, an Angels game. I am a die hard Dodgers fan, but I can't turn down free tickets. And don't worry, I wore my Dodgers hat to The Big A. My work was giving away free tickets because it was Dairy Night. This of course means that two cows get marched out onto home plate before the game for a good milking. The Royals first base coach and an Angels pitcher (I forgot their names) take two minutes to milk each cow and then the buckets are weighed to see who wins. Without even watching I'm sure you can guess who won. With the cow kicking on every pull of the udder, the Angels pitcher somehow still won. The Angels won the game that night 4-0 and I got to see a few coworkers outside of work.

Saturday I was invited to go to the Dodgers game with an old friend. It was a 12:30pm game so I got up bright at early at 8am. Yes, 8am on a Saturday morning. Some of you may know that I'm not much of a sleeper. I almost never sleep in, and on a regular night I get about 6 hours of sleep which is just fine. Sleeping 8 hours is sleeping in for me. So I decide to get up at 8am so that I can work out and get in a run and also pick up a mother's day card and some sunblock for the game. The tickets my buddy has for the Dodgers game are field level near the left field foul poul. Excellent! Great weather and the three of us (he had another friend going to the game) are living it up with our Dos X beer and the cool family in the row ahead of us. The Dodgers are coasting along on the back of an Eric Stults complete game shutout when I get a call from my brother. He's in town for the weekend for mother's day and invites me to that night's Angels game with some friends. He's buying the ticket, so I can't pass this up!

The Dodgers win 8-0 and I pass out in the car for the ride home. 4 large Dos X in the hot hot sun will do that to me. I get home, take a quick cold shower to sober up and wake up, then I'm on my way. It's a quick 15 minute drive to the stadium and I'm in the parking lot having a burrito and beer with the guys. The Angels are facing the Royals again, but tonight Zack Grienke is pitching. The guy has won his first 6 starts of the year and has an ERA of 0.40! That's insanely good! Somehow the Angels's Joe Saunders throws a complete game shutout and the Angels win 1-0. After the game we drink some more in the parking lot, then go to a party at some girl's house where we drink even more. I'm smashed by midnight and decide to head home. Two baseball games in one day though! That's a first for me, and it was loads of fun!

Sunday, Mother's Day, I wake up at 9:30 for breakfast. Got 8 hours of sleep, but I'm still a little hung over. I have some Sunny D, eggs, potatoes, and BACON!! then I start to feel a little better. For Mother's Day we are heading out to Chavez Ravine for a Dodgers day game. 1:10pm against The Hated Ones. Since I started the day a little hung over I decide not to drink at this game. Instead, I enjoy a chocolate malt in the sun! They never get old. Seats were in the Reserve level third base side which gives you a great view of the entire field. The game was exciting but eventually the Dodgers lost in the 13th inning.

Just to recap, my weekend was 3 days long, but included 4 Major League Baseball games. I was 3-1 on the weekend and only had to pay for 1 seat. Doesn't get much better than that.

Viva Los Doyers!!!

Today was Sunday Funday! I had a nice block of 9 field level seats to the Dodgers/Padres game today. I invited 6 friends and headed to the game with my parents as well. The Dodgers have been on fire to start the season. They won today, 7-3, and now have a perfect home record of 10-0! It's a new franchise record.

The Dodgers got up early with 3 quick runs in the first inning. Chad Billingsly took care of the rest from there. He went 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs. His record has improved to 5-0 now this season. As great as he was, the highlight of the game is very easy to pick out. During the 6th inning when the Dodgers were finished warming up, Andre Ethier threw a ball into the stands that I ended up with! I think it's a pretty sweet souvinir.

Another nice souvinir was the coupon that all the Dodgers fans got today. Since the Dodgers won the game by 4 runs, everyone got a coupon for a free order of Mini Sirloin Burgers from Jack in the Box. Yippie-I-A Mini Sirloin Burgers! HA!

Calm Like a Bomb

It's Sunday morning and I was up way too early today. I had a few beers last night, not enough to make me hungover or super drunk or anything. I went to sleep at about 1130, which is pretty early for me. Then for some reason this morning I was wide awake at 4am. I tried to force myself to go back to sleep but that only lasted until 545am when I just couldn't sleep anymore.

I was still a little groggy so I really couldn't write anything. Instead I just surfed the web a bit and tried to go back to sleep at around 7. That lasted about 2 hours and finally I just got up. I staggered down the stairs and into the garage to work out and run on the treadmill for a while. It's been over a week since I last did either one, because I got lazy last week. I only did 1.75 miles today since I hadn't run in a while and was already dieing on the treadmill. Figured I'd wait until tomorrow to really kill myself while running.

After a shower and change of clothes the song "Calm Like A Bomb" by Rage started playing on my itunes playlist. If you don't know this song, go listen to it. It has one of the best opening bass lines ever in my opinion. So of course, I had to relearn how to play it right that second. I used to play bass almost everyday when I was in college just to kill time and because it was fun to play along to my favorite songs. I still know how to play quite a few songs, but not nearly as many I used to know. Bass is also a pretty good workout for your hands and forearms. So I relearned how to play that song, then started playing a few others (Chick Magnet, Disco Inferno, Pawn Shop, Groove Is In The Heart, I Will Survive, Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts). As you can see from the picture above, I have an extensive music collection which is why I like to play songs from all types of genres.

After that, and a quick discussion of Lost and how skinny Lindsay Lohan is over text messages, I'm ready to get some grub and start my day.

Catching Up...

Last sunday we tried to go back to the Back Abbey for some awesome sounding burgers and of course more Belgian beer. Four of us went there the friday before and we all missed the fact that the Back Abbey is closed on sundays. BOOOO! We ended up walking down the street to Heroe's for some burgers instead. I was a little hung over from the night before so I didn't have any giant 33 oz beers, just an iced tea.

The day before I went to Newport Beach and checked out a bar with my friend called Mutt Lynch's. This place is right on the beach with people walking into the place in bikinis which is tormenting for a single guy. Mutt also has some great pizza and giant 32oz beers. We got there at about 5pm and my buddy was intent on getting me drunk for some reason. So we ordered a giant pepperoni pizza with had loads of cheese and layers of pepperonis. It was amazing. I also got a Newcastle (left).

Finished that beer and a couple slices of pizza and I went on to have two more giant beers (Fat Tire). Then I decided to slow it down a little so I had a regular size pint of Amstel Light. We started playing some pool as the night went on and the bar emptied out. I played some pool with a good looking girl and her mom and aunt. Interesting peeps. I won the game and she bought be a beer. So that was cool. Then they took off before Mutt Lynch's doesn't have any hard alcohol, just beer and wine. Somehow after all that beer I managed to not throw up on the ride home. Usually the car is my worst enemy after drinking. I'd highly recommend checking out Mutt Lynch's. And if you do, give me a call so I can come along as well.

Friday fun!

So this past week was a really busy one at work. When friday comes around I'm ready to go out and have a little fun. Lucky for me, I have cool friends who know new spots to go to all the time. Last night we went out to a place called The Back Abbey in Claremont. They are supposed to have extremely good food and 30 Belgian beers on tap! A beer drinkers heaven! Unfortunately, this place is about as big as a bathroom. It was too packed to sit down and eat, but we couldn't let the night go by without trying out some new Belgium beers. We would return later when it wasn't so packed.

We walked down the street and found a good Thai food place called Bua. The four of us got a table pretty quickly and started perusing the menus. I already knew I wanted the spring rolls to start and I had some chicken fried rice as well. And of course a Thai beer, Singha. My friends had some duck, spicy beef noodles, and some sweet noodles with vegies. I tried the spicy beef noodles, and it was really good. I'll probably have that next time.

We packed up our doggie bags and headed back to the Back Abbey for our dessert beers. The place had emptied out some so we got to sit right at the bar which only had about 7 chairs. We each ordered a different beer and passed them around to get a taste. I had the Piraat which of course had a pirate on the tap. That drew me in right away, and I wasn't dissapointed. The other beer that I tasted which I really liked was called Chamay. Had a nice golden color and was tasted great! One really cool part about this bar was that every beer they had on tap, had it's own beer glass. Not something you see everyday, so I thought it was cool. And I might be heading back there tomorrow for the food. We decided we have to have a burger and some of their double fried french fries with dipping sauces. Yelp it and you'll know what I'm talking about.

After our excellent beers, we walked back towards the Thai place and found a Mediterranean restaurant and bar that had hookah. So we each had another beer and ordered some strawberry hookah. I had a Lebanese beer called Almaza. It was a light beer and tasted pretty good. The hookah lasted a long time and wasn't too badly priced at $15. The service was a little slow, but that's not surprising. Seems like every hookah bar I've been to has been this way.

I loved that all three of these places were on the same street super close to each other. It was definitely a great way to begin the weekend. I'll keep you posted about the burgers at the Back Abbey if I go back on sunday.