Kids These Days

I was talking to my mother yesterday, and she informed me of the goings on of my nieces and nephews back in New York and Florida. My nephew in NY is 14 years-old and his quite the handful.

A couple of months ago my mother told me that my nephew stole his mother's car at about 2am during the major winter storm in Syracuse. Due to all the ice and snow on the ground he lost control of the car and crashed into a snow bank, went airborne, and landed in a ditch. He denied his involvement for a couple of days before admitting guilt. Needless to say that was put on punishment for a very long time.

Last week, it happened again. He took the keys to his mother's rental car and went for a drive. Now is mom had put him out of the house and he is now living with his dad (my brother).

This is just shocking ... but not really. His mom is not a very nice person, and she has treated my nephew poorly. I will always remember the time where I went to give him a hug and he flinch as though I was going to strike him. At this time he was about 5 or 6 years-old. I told me my mom and there was nothing done. Now I think he is acting out because all of the abuse he has suffered.

It is weird -- mostly because my nephew was spoiled rotten and everything he could ever want. I think he is crying out for help and is trying to get away from his mom. He is now going to be staying with his dad, which is good, but I think he need some further help. I will have to give him a call this weekend and see what's what.

My 14 year-old niece in Florida did something so bad, that I am surprised that she is still alive. But she is still living and breathing, for now.

And that's all I am going to say about that.

Gadgets: Xbox 360 Elite

I know I don't need this, but I want it because my first Xbox is starting to died on me. The are a number of reason why I think I should get the new Xbox:

1. To play Sega: Virtual Tennis 3 in 1080p (more info)
2. The ability to download HD television shows and movies
3. HD-DVD

The new Xbox April 27th in the US and Canada, so I have a month to think about this purchase. If I get that new position I mentioned last week, then I will buy the new Xbox as a gift to myself ... since I don't have anyone special to buy gifts for me. I need to find a wealthy benefactor to enable my need for high-tech gadgets.

I star in a new reality show called, "Who Wants To Buy Me A Lot of Stuff?" Do you think LOGO or MTV is interested in a show like this?

More info via Gizmodo

Sony Ericsson Open 2007

I can not believe that Roger Federer -- MY ROGER!! -- lost to Guillermo Cañas ... AGAIN. I was not able to see the match because my TiVo cut out after Roger was down 1-3. Cañas has made his way back to the tennis scene after being busted for doping, and had been out of the ATP for 15 months. I wonder since Roger has not played him before he is not used to his game? I don't what is going on, but Roger needs to do something before heading to the French Open. (related story - Yahoo! Sports)

In better news ...


Serena Williams spanked Maria Sharapova (6-1, 6-1). Serena continued to crush Maria's weak serves and it didn't help that Maria double-faulted 8 times. It has been reported that Maria suffered from severe menstrual cramps during the match which could have affected her game. Either way, I am glad Serena is winning again; I hope she can keep up this momentum into the French Open and Wimbledon. (story)

The Today Show Experiment?

I usually watch the Today Show every morning, but I haven't watched in a couple of days. I was watching this morning and I noticed something a bit different:


Do you see it?

I couldn't figure out what was different about the show, but I know something had changed. I played an old Today Show episode from 9/26/2006 on my TiVo -- which had an interview and performance by Janet Jackson -- and I realized what was different:


The time icon moved from the right to the left side of the screen. It is not a big change but if you watch the show often, as I do, it was a bit jarring. I am not sure if this a permanent change or just an experiment, but I really hope they revert the time back to the original position.

I hate when shows I like start to tinker with their format. With that said, I am glad Katie Couric is no longer on the Today Show. I have an irrational hate for this woman for some reason. I like Al Roker (pre/post weight-loss), Matt Lauer (pre/post bad haircut), and especially Ann Curry (short/medium/long hair).


Ann Curry is incredible beautiful, and I can't believe she is 50! But, unfortunately, she can't read the teleprompter to save her life. It was a good thing she wasn't made an anchor alongside Matt. It would have been painful for viewing public to watch.

Top Design: Wait ... Matt's not gay?

I have been watching Top Design since it premiered. It's not that I like the show, it is just that I am lazy and have not deleted it from my TiVo Season Pass list. Episodes 1-3 were unbearable mostly due to John because his temper and bitching.

John praying to not kill Michael during their first challenge.
But it was later revealed that he is HIV positive and his extreme temperament was due to a doctor prescribed testosterone injection he received before joining the show. That sucks, but luckily he didn't stay too long because he was becoming tedious.

Why am I still continuing to watch this show? I wouldn't know a good design from a bad one because, frankly, I don't care about interior design. If you saw my apartment would probably think I just moved there due to the bare walls and lack of window treatments. The only reason I have continued to watch the show because I like Carissa and Goil. Actually, Goil the major reason I am watching. Look at him:


He is adorable. Yeah he whines and complains, but look how his eye wear to match his outfits.


Or maybe his eye wear is like a mood ring. Light frames = happy; dark frames = sad. I will keep watching because of his quirky design and his all around cuteness.

Last night was kind of boring with faux drama built in. But the big surprise was ... no, it wasn't Kelly Wearstler's crazy ass outfit and hair ...

Is that Renaissance Fair couture she's wearing?
it's was when Matt was doing a confessional he announced that he was married with a child.

Reminder to self: remember that you're married and NOT a flaming homosexual.
Now, I just assumed he was gay because he acts sort of ... well, gay. I didn't bother to his profile on the Top Design website, but if I had it states that he was been married for ten years. Color me surprised.

We are now down to the final 4 contestants and the show is limping to its finale. I really hope this show doesn't get picked up for another season. I loved Todd Oldham on MTV's House of Style back in the day, but he is not meant for this show.

[photo source: Bravo's Top Design website]

Best Week Ever?

Yesterday: I got a promotion and a raise.

Today: I had an interview for possible job (which my current employer suggested I apply for) and it looks like I am front runner for this position. With 11 weeks of vacation and mo' money, I think I might take the job.

Also, my best friend since the 7th grade announced that he and his wife are having a baby.

This week can't get any better ... can it?

Movies: Premonition

When I saw the trailer, I had a premonition that the movie would suck ... and I was right.

The Greek and I went this past Friday, and I was actually had high hopes for the movie. Too bad the trailer showed me everything interesting about the film and for most of the film I was commenting how pretty Sandra Bullock looked. Seriously. Her bone structure is amazing. But her looks didn't distract me enough to overlook how contrived and convoluted the plot of the movie was.

My major issue is the lack of continuity with the time-space shifts.

[****SPOILER ALERT****]
How time shifts in the movie:

Thursday(husband dies), Monday(husband alive), Saturday(husband's funeral and older daughter has scars on face), Tuesday(husband alive and daughter goes through glass window requiring stitches)...

By my logic the daughter should have scars on face the day the dad dies but she doesn't for some reason. Possible parallel universe?

Sandra Bullock's character listens to a message on the answer left by her husband apologizing for something but is interrupted by another call. The person on the other line ... Sandra Bullock. So there are two Sandras existing at the same time? How can the husband call between parallel universes? His cellphone bills must be high as hell.

This movie doesn't make any sense logically. I tried to like this movie but my brain still hurts with all the inconsistencies. Rent The Lake House, also starring Sandra Bullock, which uses a time-space shift as the plot device but it does it far better.

It is probably a good rental on DVD, but don't waste your money seeing this in the theater.

Weight Check: Endpoint

Well, I missed my goal of 20 lbs by March 9th. So far, I have lost 18 lbs and I currently weight 207 lbs. Which is good, but it was my fault I didn't do better.

After my tennis win I decided to treat myself to Pei Wei and Marble Slab. And the next day I went to McDonald's because I didn't feel like cooking. I know, I am a horrible person ... but I am not perfect. Luckily, I have been getting a lot of exercise so I didn't gain any weight.

My diet was over in Austin. Amy's Ice Cream, Magnolia Cafe desserts, Rio Grande for dinner, Dan's Hamburger for lunch ... I didn't stand a chance. I tried not to eat beef but when you are in a burger joint you are short on options. Also, I think my body craves beef after really strenuous exercise. Is that weird?

Anyway ... My next goal is to get down to 195 (190 maybe pushing it) by May 1st. My company has this health & fitness competition were they give out prizes for people who loses the most weight. See that I didn't have much too lose I won't be winning that competition. But I am currently in second place for total exercise minutes with 3116 since February 1st. There's this girl show is currently at 3364 but I will easily pass her when I ramp my fitness routine.

Also, she taunted me, so I must beat her.

Updates on 5/1/07.

DST Is Killing ME

I wake up around seven in the morning for work. Before Daylight Savings Time (DST), the sun would be already out to greet me and it put me in the mood to jump out bed to get my day started. Now, it is pitch black until around 7:30 and I feel that I have to drag myself out of bed.

What genius signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to change the DST start and end dates? Oh. It was George Bush. Well ... now things make sense.

I thought this was supposed to help save energy. If I now have to turn on lights to see due to the lack of sunlight, doesn't that use use more energy? DST made sense before because the clocks were set one hour ahead AFTER the vernal equinox and we would have more sunlight in the morning as a result.

Also because of the change in DST, we has a mini Y2K. At work I am inundated with requests to fix computer clocks because the Windows Updates did not get processed properly.

But to bright side, I can play tennis in daylight longer.

It will take me about another week to get use to the time change. Could I have S.A.D.?

Back in Dallas

I got back from Austin yesterday afternoon, but ended up sleeping the entire day. I was exhausted from the drive and from all of the tennis. My body is still sore from a grueling 2.5 hours two set match, which I lost 7-6(4), 7-5. My serve was on, my backhand was steady, but my forehand sucked so badly. I lost so many points on my forehand.

I reached my goal and I didn't get bounced in the 1st round. And my doubles partner and I made it to the Quarters. So all in all, I did fairly well. I pulled out of a tournament this Saturday because I need to recover. My next tournament is on March 24th.

I will be soaking in Icy/Hot until then.

Neglect

I know that I have been neglecting my blog and just been posting a lot of tennis stuff. But tennis is a major part of my life right now. My goal by the end of the year is to move up a level (from 3.0 to 3.5) and it takes a lot of practice time and tournaments to do that. So sorry if I have been boring you to death with all my tennis talk.

I have to many ideas that I am trying to create posts for: Project Catwalk 2 (UK version), my failed music career, the return of The Greek ... just to name a few. I am also at a career crossroad and I have to make some decisions within the next month or so.

Your patience will be rewarded ... but, don't hold me to that. I am very non-committal when it comes to my blog. So ... set your expectations low when you visit.

Thanks!

Downtime

My site was down for a couple of days because the server crashed. Luckily, my info was backup and restored for the most part.

I will be posting something tomorrow. It may or may not be interesting, but stay tooned.