PGT's Thoughts From Within

Thoughts from my trip to Indiana/Kentucky

2010-07-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Aunties and uncles think that driving 15 miles is far. 15 miles isn’t far.

In Indiana, people say I drive too fast. In California, I’m actually driving the speed limit.

White Castle isn’t all that. A few Californians are saying that those in Indiana/Kentucky need to come out to California to try In-N-Out Burger.

We “older” cousins had our under 21 year old cousins take us out to find places to drink alcohol. LOL (Thanks Shawn, Amber, Rachael, and Richard for being our tour guides)

Shawn told Dave on the phone that Amber is a redneck. Amber says she can’t help her accent. People in California love people with accents. When you guys come out here, watch how people pay attention to how you pronounce words.

Need to teach aunties and uncles how to use cameras that have red eye reduction because once the flash goes off, it doesn’t mean to put the camera down. There’s a 1-2 second delay before the picture is taken.

American Legion Hall is cool because it is connected to a bar and alcohol is cheaper than in California.

Tax is cheaper in Indiana and Kentucky. Usually in Cali, we look at the tax total on the restaurant bill and multiply it by 2 as a guide for how much to tip. We can’t do that outside of California.

“Lawyers are liars.”

We couldn’t face time (i.e. video chat) with Dave because other than the hotel, there wasn’t Wi-Fi anywhere that grandpa was.

The nieces wanted to swim every day.

Even at 97 years old, lolo still remembers what we all look like. I’m impressed.

It was too long to see family since last reunion. Let’s not wait that long for the next reunion.

Less Than A Month Away From Giants Baseball!

2010-03-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

There are about 5 weeks left in the Golden State Warriors season and I'll write something in late April or May about "my first year being a season ticket holder for a Bay Area sports team" because growing up, it was something I always wanted to do. Granted, the Warriors had an expected terrible season, I did enjoy the experience, was able to take pictures with the Warriors Girls, got to make some season ticket holder friends, but more on that in few weeks. Anyways, the sun is starting to stay out a little bit longer, rain isn't in the near forecast (I know if I wash my truck, it will rain the next day, so I'll hold off), I'm getting the feeling that I want to jog/run each weekend to shed off some layers, I get to go home after work when there is still sunlight, and baseball is starting in less than a month. The Giants didn't make any big name changes, but I do think that the roster that they are planning to field this season is an upgrade over last season, no matter what anyone thinks. The young players have another year under their belt and hopefully, there will be consistency with the offense. This time of the year is always exciting for every franchise!

I went to a good number of games last year and I'll probably do so again this year, but for now, I listed the games for sure I'm going to. The Warriors didn't do ANY (none, as in nothing which is B.S., but no sponsors, no give-aways) give-aways this season, but the Giants always have decent ones, including their heritage nights. So, below are the games that I bought tickets for, but I know a couple of season ticket holders, so I'll probably buy some tickets from them throughout the summer. If I still lived in SF or if BART actually stopped in front of AT&T Park, I would entertain becoming a SF Giants Season ticket holder, which was one factor that played in becoming a GSW STH. Pricing for bleachers for a season isn't that bad, tickets make good presents, it always gives you the option to go to a game with someone you rarely see and kick it with, and after a bad day at work you can boo the heck out of the opposing team. There are just so many games that it would be hard to go multiple games a week. Even going to 4 Warrior games a week was tough, so my cousin and I always tried to sell/donate/give away at least 1-2 of those games when they were all bunched together.

Although I enjoy going to AT&T Park, something I'm not too happy about is that tickets should be a flat price and not this dynamic pricing- scalpers are supposed to be the ones that jack up prices, not the Giants, right? Giants jack up pricing for certain high demand games and then scalpers jack them up more. The last few days I've been on craigslist, ebay, and stubhub to see bleacher seats almost selling for $100 for Opening Day. I know that the tickets aren't "sold out" like the organization wants you to think. They are holding tickets for those that want to buy mini-plans or season tickets. The Giants are making it a "high demand" game, which is why prices are so high. This "dynamic pricing" is legalized scalping, although MLB says it's just marketing. No matte what, I won't let that ruin the season for me since I love this time of the year getting ready for baseball. Because of this dynamic pricing though, I guess I have to look at more Tuesday-Thursday games to get decent prices/seat. Dynamic pricing actually makes being a season ticket holder more appealing to lock in good pricing, but that's an argument for a future season when I hopefully have a better salary.

Here are the games I'm going to and I'll be there early enough to get these give-aways, especially the bobbleheads. See you at the games!

Fri., 4/9: Braves: Opening Day Calendar
Sat., 4/24: Cards: Pablo Bobblehead
Tues., 4/27: Phillys: Filipino Night I
Fri., 5/14: Astros: Rally Scarf
Fri., 6/11: Athletics: Rally Hair
Sat., 7/17: Mets: Lincecum Bobblehead
Fri., 7/30: Dodgers: Beat LA Towel

Frustrated with Niners, but I saw this coming.....................

2009-11-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

Just knew the Niners would go down today. Titans are better than the 1-6 record they came in with (super fantasy back Chris Johnson anyone?) and if you are someone that just looks at records and figures out who will win based on that, then you were shocked today- I wasn't. The Titans were competitive in most of their games this year and with winning last week, they had confidence coming to SF. They were the dangerous, hungry team- not the Niners.

November is a bad month for the Niners (see their schedule), but December will be better (Seahawks, Lions, and Rams; Cardinals should be healthy by then and go off on us). When I heard that Shaun Hill was being benched and then Alex Smith would start in November, that was and is setting him up to fail- see the teams on the schedule in November.

We should of beat Houston, but they have an offense that can score like crazy, so although I felt our defense could limit them, I wasn't confident the 49ers could outscore them. They came back, but that's because they were forced to throw with a different QB as the Texans weren't prepared for Alex Smith. They were prepared for game manager, Shaun Hill. Although the team made it interesting, I was expecting us to lose to the Colts. C'mon folks, its freaking Peyton Manning!!!!! He and his team were going to adjust at halftime to pull out a win- it's what good teams do. At least we come out with the distinction of holding Manning to no TD passes for the game, but that's a meaningless statistic.

We might beat Chicago this Thursday because that team's offense is bad, but we also still have Green Bay (we'll lose unless we can sack Aaron Rodgers 5 times, but keep in mind that he has that chip on his shoulder of being overlooked by SF, so he'll be inspired) and Jacksonville (we'll lose unless Patrick Willis has 30 tackles and 20 of them are on Maurice Jones Drew). I'm a realistic Niner fan. They are still on schedule to finish 7-9 or 8-8, if they don't lose faith in Singletary who is a good motivator, but as a coach he's questionable. He seems slow to adapt to change. He and Jimmy Ray need to give up on this predictable power running game. Take away the 4-5 long runs that Gore has had this year and his stats would not be good. Use him like Marshall Faulk where he can stretch short dump off pass plays into bigger yardage, not have him running into walls. Gore is sucessful when he has room to run and if the OL can't give it to him, let's improvise. With AZ playing better, we ain't winning the division. The Cardinals have a very favorable record the rest of the season.

Random thoughts-

I want to see Nate Davis in at QB, but not in the games in November 'cause he'll be set up to lose the way Alex is now. Look at the schedule. Michael Crabtree looks like he could be a star. So, for those that wished he didn't sign or wanted the 9ers to trade him- he's one of the few bright spots we'll be talking about when the season is over. No question about it, we need him. Vernon Davis looks better now than he has in years (he's not afraid to go down the middle when he's going to get hit like he was before), let's continue to use him and hopefully he doesn't over-celebrate going forward for 15 yard penalties. Isaac Bruce is getting ready to retire and it doesn't look like he has much in the tank. Josh Morgan and Jason Hill looked promising last year- this year, not so much. Glen Coffee doesn't look like he's ready for the NFL- we are entering week 10, so wake up dude! Brandon Jones likes to fair catch kickoffs/punts when the ball is at the 5-10 yard line.....what's up with that? And if it's not Brandon Jones, we have Michael Robinson, who likes to run into the opposing team players versus trying to go around them.....what's up with that too? He's not in college anymore where he was known to run over players- that stuff doesn't work in the NFL.

LOVE WILL

2009-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Love will find you
In some way
Just like a ray of light
Brightens up each and every day.

Love will transform you
And make you better than you are today
To the point where all your doubts
Will just simply fade away.

Love will define you
As the beautiful person that you are
Also smart, caring, and strong,
As you are a shining star.

Love will find you,
Yes, it will.

My Cellphones Over the Years!

2009-06-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just started thinking when I did my last blog about how many cell phones have I had in the last few years via Ebay, Cingular/AT&T contract renewals, premiere discounts via work and wow......... it was to the point that I think every 3-4 months, I was on a new phone due to being able to swap out my sim card. I've slowed down a little and I think I've worked it down to 1 phone a year! LOL

It was because of this that when I got the original iPhone that it took a few days to activate because on record they saw I ordered a lot of phones, but I didn't 'activate' any of those new phones. I never extended by contract because I was just swapping SIM cards. I think they have a way now to watch over things like this, but ya know....... you only live once, right? haha

These are not in any particular order and I'm sure I'm missing at least a couple here.

Apple
iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S (coming soon)

Moto’s:
M70 series, v220, v400, v551, v3, v3i

LG’s:
CU500

Sony Ericsson:
w600i

Nokia:
6160, 8290, 3390, 3395, 3650

Cingular/AT&T (HTC):
8525

Samsung:
SGH X427, Blackjack

Will I upgrade from iPhone 3G to 3GS?

2009-06-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is what I just posted on facebook, but below I'll go over this more in detail:

So far, the best review, I've seen of the iPhone 3GS and I've read a few. Most of the new features are standard on most smartphones these days, so it is nice Apple included them now (cut & paste), MMS soon, landscape texting, video camera, & voice recorder. I like the faster processer (can't be that much faster) & bigger hard drive. An added bonus for 3G upgraders is you don't have to buy new accessories.

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-3g-s/4505-6452_7-33674173.html?tag=nl.e723

Just so you know, most reviews you've read so far in the last week are just speculation because people were writing reviews on something that was just announced and they had not even touched one, but more importantly, used one over time. So, just like the last 2 iPhones (original 2G and last year's 3G), I waited to see reviews from actual users to see how things went. Let's not forgot that the last 2 iphones had problems at launch (1st iPhone had really bad volume/earpiece levels, software update made it better, although I wouldn't say it fixed it; 3G iPhone couldn't hold a darn signal and during calls they would drop because it was switching from 2G to 3G all the time, again a software update made it better). Let's also not forget that with the first iPhone many customers had problems activating, which took anywhere from a day to a week and the 2nd iPhone people couldn't activate right away because Apple's servers crashed release day coinciding with the 2.0 software release. Anyways, that's the past.......

So far, it looks like yesterday's 3GS launch went smoothly. I'm thinking it is partly because the 3.0 software was available a couple days earlier, so those on the previous iPhones didn't bombard the server. Good idea Apple, but it would of been nice if you had the 3.0 available around the time the Palm Pre came out a week earlier to take away some of their thunder. Marketing-wise, I think that would of been a better move, but Apple or AT&T must of not been ready to do so is what I'm thinking.

The jump from the original iPhone to the 3G iPhone was a jump in speed. The 3G network upgrade (which is standard on all recent cell phones at the time) was much better than the 2G (aka. EDGE) network. Now, I've had tons of cellphones over the years (ie. ebay, work discounts, and swapping sims make it easy to do on AT&T) and I got used to the 3G networks already that in a way, the iPhone was a step back in regards in regards to cellular network, but the other benefits were good. Bigger hard drive storage space is always better although you can have a ton of music and pictures, limited storage space makes putting movIes on your iPhone a pain. Why? Because when you have a lot of videos on your iPhone, the syncing process takes longer (right Domingo? lol). Going into the early to mid 2000's, there were already a lot of phones out there that let you play music, but the intergration was never really that good in my opinion until the iPhone. But, enough about that 'cause you want to know will I upgrade from 3G to 3GS, right? That's what I've been getting at work, on email, on text messaging, and in person.

I know a lot of people are happy with the 3.0 software upgrade. I for one am shaking my head. A lot of the features that were added: (cut & paste), landscape texting, video camera, voice recorder, and later this summer MMS and tethering are standard features on cell phones from a few years back. (Anyone ever hear of HTC? If not look up their phones as you'll be surprised.) So, Apple is giving us what the rest of the world already had, so in the iPhone world, we are happy. Should these of been available on the 3G a year ago, yes, but I'll go over that later on. But, are those new features enough to make an existing 3G iphone owner, buy the 3GS? Maybe not, since those features are now available on the 3.0 software update from this past week.

What would make me upgrade to the 3GS? Bigger hard drive space as I have a lot of music on my computer and these days when you buy blu-ray discs, they tend to give you an itunes version of the movie on a separate disc. Faster speed- although something that takes 4 seconds to pull up now taking 2 seconds isn't that big of a deal. Now, this is still a tricky selling point because although it has a faster processor than its predesessors and pulling up programs will be faster, it won't take advantage of AT&T's faster network because it isn't fully upgraded yet. The network speed isn't expected to be ready to go via AT&T until 2011 and with the way Apple is, we'll have 2 more iPhone models by then. Video camera- although this isn't something I'll use very often, it will come in handy when I don't have my Cannon with me. Digital Still Camera- 3.0 megapixels will always be better than 2.0, but Apple could of done at least 5.0 as that would of made many people upgrade. Many cell phone cameras overseas have way better still/vid camera options out there. Voice control- I don't plan on using this to call people very often as I don't like to talk on the phone while driving anyways, but I like how it interfaces with your music. Battery life- I'll have to see it to believe it, but if you use your iPhone a lot, this would be great to see.

The major factor that I'm thinking about is PRICE. 2 weeks ago, AT&T said they that wouldn't let existing 3G owners upgrade at the subsidized (discounted basically) price. So, I'd have to pay $499+tax+upgrade fee for the new 32 gig iPhone? Well, on Wednesday night, AT&T loosened up a bit and instead of being eligible in early August, I am eligibe now.

One thing though about Apple bugs me. At some point (maybe now as I heard that lines weren't that long at stores although they let people order online now), consumers are going to get tired of Apple releasing a new iPhone every year with minor changes. It would only make sense to continue at the pace of iPhone releases if there was something big to switch for. For example, 6.0 megapixel video camera/recorder, front and back camera lens for video chat, a phone that transforms like a decepticon or autobot, etc......... Apple is treating the iPhone like a new car model every year with minor changes and they are still alienating those on TMobile, Verizon, and Sprint. Plus, AT&T charges too much for service, data, and text messaging plans. It would be in the consumers' best interest if the exclusivity of AT&T was gone- competition among the cell phone providers would mean better rate plans for us. My 2 line family plan cell phone bill cost more than what I pay DirecTV and I probably watch more tv than I even talk to people these days.

My advice to those that have asked- if you have the original iPhone, you should consider the time to upgrade now. You should be eligible (2 years up now), you'll soon have access to MMS which the original phone's chip won't allow (so I've read), subsidized price is good, and you'll notice the difference in speed. For existing 3G owners, it's really an issue of money. I don't think spending full retail of $499+tax+upgrade fee is worth it if you can't get the discount on a 32 gig, when most of the features are already in the 3.0 software. You'll only be losing a few seconds of speed, a video camera (someone will make an app for the 3G, there's already one for jailbroken iphones), and a compass. If anyone uses the compass as the reason to upgrade, I don't know what's wrong with you..haha. Besides, most of you have families now, so money is really the issue for you.

If you don't have an iPhone at all, I think this would be a good time. Basically, the iPhone 3GS has everything that I, Paul Togonon, expected it to have when the original one released. As for me...............bigger hard drive, possibility of faster speed, better battery life, I don't have to buy new accessories since the size and everything hasn't changed, I get the discount NOW, AT&T will waive my upgrade fee, I have a small crack on my existing back cover of my 3G iphone, and you know there will probably be 3GS specific apps using GPS and the faster chip.............................. I already made my decision, although I won't stand in lines. I guess you can figure out what I did. Hope I helped someone out with my rambling.

Forever

2009-03-30T07:12:00.001-07:00

There is a time when you feel the situation is right and you have that perfect moment to say the one thing that can change both of your lives possibly forever.

It is that moment of vulnerability where the inflection of your voice and the emotion seen through your eyes can decide whether you will be with this person you care about forever.

It is the time where everything else going on becomes a blur to both of you as each second seems like it is an eternity before the words come out of your month and what you say may decide “forever.”

Everything leads to this one point that you have both been waiting for forever.

You know you have to say something, but if you don’t your chance may never come again for “forever.”

Do you let the seconds pass and keep your mouth shut, although you know something needs to be said to change your lives forever?

Or, do you take that chance and say those words which she’ll replay in her mind forever?

The timing seems to be right for you to say something as it is now or never- to decide if you want her to be your one and only love, forever.

Usher’s “Separated Lyrics”

2009-03-28T09:25:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of music artists out there that it seems like they write lyrics to complement the music or the beat, which is fine. But, sometimes when you read those lyrics you can tell they were just looking for words to rhyme, which doesn’t really give meaning to the song other than it just being a dance track.

That’s why these days, I still listen to ‘older’ songs and one that I really like the lyrics to are Usher’s “Separated” from his 8701 CD. This song is about 9 years old now, but I don’t think it was one released as a single. There are some songs out there that I listen every (like Babyface written songs) so often that gives me hope that there are still songwriters that write lyrics to get their points across and if the music complements it, then great.

This is more of a break up song, but it’s the words I focus on. It appears to be a poem that became a song and if I were to write a song, I’d do something in this style. Here are the lyrics:

Separated

If love was a bird
Then we wouldn't have wings
If love was a sky
We'd be blue
If love was a choir
You and I could never sing
Cause love isn't for me and you

If love was an Oscar
You and I could never win
Cause we can never act out our parts
If love is the Bible
Then we are lost in sin
Because its not in our hearts

So why don't you go your way
And I'll go mine
Live your life, and I'll live mine
Baby you'll do well, and I'll be fine
Cause we're better off, separated

If love was a fire
Then we have lost the spark
Love never felt so cold
If love was a light
Then we're lost in the dark
Left with no one to hold

If love was a sport
We're not on the same team
You and I are destined to lose
If love was an ocean
Then we are just a stream
Cause love isn't for me and you

So why don't you go your way
And I'll go mine
Live your life, and I'll live mine
Baby you'll do well, and I'll be fine
Cause we're better off, separated

Girl I know we had some good times
It's sad but now we gotta say goodbye
Girl you know I love you, I can't deny
I can't say we didn't try to make
it work for you and I
I know it hurts so much
but it's best for us
Somewhere along this windy
road we lost the trust
So I'll walk away so you
don't have to see me cry
It's killing me so, why don't you go

So why don't you go your way
And I'll go mine
Live your life, and I'll live mine
Baby you'll do well, and I'll be fine
Cause we're better off, separated

Weight on Your Shoulders

2009-03-28T08:36:00.001-07:00

Sometimes the weight on your shoulders seem so much to bear, but others look at you as someone that has it all together. The thing is they don’t know what you go through. They don’t see the different people you deal with. They don’t see that you have to determine who to get on and who to give space. They don’t see that you have to thank some people more than you do others in order to get the best out of them. If they aren’t in your shoes, their frame of reference is slanted. They don’t see that some people will do what you expect them to do, while others need you to lay everything out for them.

When you go to watch a concert and the crowd is going crazy, you feel like it you are at one of the best shows you’ve ever been to. You think that ‘wow, it would be great to be musician’ because it looks so extraordinary and the crowd is going crazy for you. What you don’t see is that there are weeks and weeks of practice and frustration to get everyone not always on the same page, but close enough to make everyone content. People get yelled at and those that don’t cut it are let go like an afterthought. You can watch the show and think that all the transitions were great, the pyrotechnics were awesome, and the singers are having fun. So to you, it was a tremendous show as the singers, dancers, and band leave to thunderous applause. You know what’s going on though………someone in the band missed their cue and was off, but you can’t tell. One of the dancers jumped in one second too late. One of the singers didn’t hit the high note the right way or didn’t hold it for two more seconds longer than they should have. The smoke from the pyrotechnics should of cleared up sooner. The concert started 15 minutes later than it should have and it throws off the event staff a bit because now they will get home later than expected. You can take this example and associate it with dancing groups, a Broadway play, sports, etc……. Those watching on the outside only have a small perspective on what’s going on, but make interpretations based on those small perspectives. This is sometimes when I watch or read reviews, I think to myself, these fools are idiots. Not a good example, but just to make a point- how can the McDonald’s drive thru employee give a bad review for acting in a war movie where there were some stupid lines. When you are in a war and you have to watch each other’s back with bullets flying by, sometimes stupid likes or phrases help you get through the day. It helps you keep that human connection in a high stress situation. Haven’t we all been in those awkward quiet moments with friends and you feel like you have to say something and all that comes out …… “How’s the weather going to be tomorrow?” even though you don’t really care about the weather?

The thing is your point of view is always going to be skewed. You won’t recognize the little imperfections that the actual people doing the job know, see, and feel. Just realize that the people you think have it all together, they don’t always do. They just know how to organize it and have a somewhat poker face to survive. You aren’t with them 24-7 because with most people after they clock out for the day, they are a totally different person. A person in the office is a different person at the bar. So, just because people tend to be quiet, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have things that they are dealing with. Some people like to lay out all their shit to everyone. If it doesn’t concern you and I don’t really think you care, why would I do that. The weight on some people’s shoulders are things you don’t always see. Don’t assume those that seem to have it together do have it together ‘cause the second they walk out that door, they could either scream or breathe a sigh of relief that they made it as far as they did.

Strength of Apologies

2009-03-28T07:47:00.001-07:00

Some people rarely apologize and because of that you know that they actually feel sorry or regret for whatever the situation is. You let them slide because you can genuinely tell that they feel bad and will do what they can to make sure they don’t have to apologize again anytime soon or do what they can to strengthen that trust. These are the type of people we always want to surround ourselves with and ones that I’m glad to call my friends.

Then you have the other ones that tend to apologize all the time. You can’t take their word as bond because you know you’ll end up sad in the end. After a while you no longer get sad because the expectations you have are low. My question is- how do these people view themselves? Is it that hard to know that you make promises you don’t keep? Is it that hard to think that you can count more than 10 times you’ve had to apologize to someone?

It is hard to rid the apologizers from your life if they are people you care about, but do you hold on thinking that they’ll change their behavior? It’s easy to say “I’ll cut this person out of my life,” but they are still in your cell phone contact list and in your email address book.

An apology can mean you screwed up, you regret it, and you'll work on being a better person and regain trust. An apology can also mean……NOTHING. I’ll end it with this………don’t apologize if you don’t mean it. You’ll get closer to being deleted from someone’s cell phone contact list, email address book, and oh hell no………facebook or myspace.

RE: Thank You for attending the March 14 Hinunangons of Northern CA Winter Party

2009-03-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Being the previous president and current secretary, I want to thank Jeorge for doing a great job as the new President of the Hinunangons of Northern California for our Winter Luncheon Party this weekend. Taking a step back after the last 3 years is different for me and it was nice to see how Jeorge took control of his first event (non-meeting). The karaoke situation with the audio difficulties wasn’t something that any of us expected, but the restaurant didn’t charge us for using it, although we were expecting to. Jeorge handled that in a very cool manner.

Bobby also did a great job as the new treasurer. Last year A LOT of people paid up front via mail or dropped off the money to Auntie Ester’s house, but this year, majority of the members paid at the event. That’s a lot of people and can get confusing, so Bobby deserves kudos for doing that as well. We wanted to be careful about how to approach people on paying in advance (including dues) with the way the economy is now and we know that it hit some of our members over the last few months.

Victor also did a great job on the 3 different money lei! Vic took the responsibility to get many of our raffle prizes and all of the karaoke prizes via donations. The 3 money lei prizes that he made were a big hit and when graduations come up for our extended family members, I would recommend Vic’s money lei making services. Through Jeorge, Bobby, Victor, and I, I believe we did a great job in identifying people that were coming in and recognizing if they paid or not. This is why for most of the event, we were walking around a lot. When there are multiple group parties at one restaurant it can get confusing and the people at the restaurant were very helpful.

I would also like to thank many others that helped make this event happen-

Myra and Domingo- no matter what, it seemed like people needed more tickets, lost their tickets, or didn’t even know they had tickets. Thanks for always printing more tickets, even within 1 hour of you coming to the party! Having a newborn probably didn’t make this any easier with my random phone calls saying “Can you print more tickets and is my case of beer still in your fridge?”

Jenny- thanks for always volunteering to be our emcee (mc). You never need practice and you know what you are doing on the fly.

Kathy- you always bring a good number of ‘guests’ to our events and that’s what we love seeing. It was nice that your sister (who I barely remember as a little kid) worked out her vacation to make our Winter Luncheon with her family from Ohio.

Roland- thanks for flying in from Georgia just to have an extended family lunch (everyone he flew back at 6am this morning to GA).

Ramona- thanks for taking time to come from Bakersfield as well for just an extended family lunch.

Lastly, I don’t want to forget those that attended the event! You made this happen. Your Cabinet would not have worked as hard as we did if it wasn’t for the support of our members. With the turnout we received, I’m thinking our upcoming Casino Trip fundraisers and our Summer Fiesta will be successful as well. If you see that I missed anyone in this email, please forward this to them.

Take care everyone!

Idea from Cell Phone Companies to Help The Auto Industry

2009-03-07T09:15:00.001-08:00

This may sound like an off the wall suggestion, but here it goes........

Almost everyone has a cell phone these days. A lot of us actually signed 2 year contracts to get free cell phones and all you do is pay for service. Basically, the cell phone companies subsidize the cost of the phone with all the monthly payments and features (texting, insurance, data/internet, auto roadside) you add over the 2 year contract. This basically means that they pay for the phone cost up front and make up the difference over the life of your contact. Now, let's take this example and apply it to the auto industry............

The auto industry is struggling and it looks like its not very long before the American automakers go under no matter what kind of bail out they get. Even Nissan and formerly believed untouchable Toyota are closing down dealerships. Now with vehicles, there is always extra costs other than the cost of the car with add ons, including new tires, wiper blades, oil and other fluids, insurance, upgrades stereos, etc.. etc...., but the biggest extra costs that you'll never avoid is gas, auto repairs, and hopefully insurance. So, since auto dealers are having a tough time selling their vehicles, why not work out a deal with the Gas companies (Chevron, Shell, Arco, etc), tire companies, insurance companies, oil change locations, tire companies, and the repair companies where they have customers sign 5-10 year contracts that they get a FREE vehicle, but they have to get gas, insurance, and repairs done mostly at certain locations. Most car loans run from 3-7 years and just think of all the money you spend weekly on gas, monthly on insurance, every few months on repairs and new tires. Like if I get a free pick up truck, by contract I have to get gas at Chevron and get most of my repairs done at the Toyota dealership with some authorized smaller repair chains like Pep Boys and authorized oil changes at Jiffy Lube, plus get my tires replaced at Goodyear. By contract, I'd have to sign up for insurance at AAA (not AA like for some of you fools! LOL).

This way the cost of the vehicle is subsidized by the Auto Dealerships through $$$$$$ via the contracts associated with the supporting gas, tire, oil, repair, etc...... companies. This way the economy is still stimulated because all the affected industries are still being used. In general, the auto industry will have to downsize in order to make this profitable, but they are downsizing anyways because there really is no other choice.

So President Obama, Senators, House Reps, Governors, and Mayors, this is my pitch to help try to save a dying industry. If you take that general concept that cell phone companies have used, it might work. I'm not saying it will, but we need to start thinking outside the box. All these companies want to stay separate, but in order to survive, they better start thinking of collaboration. Besides, I want my free Toyota Tacoma Doublecab pick up truck!!!!

Valentine’s Day Poem For Our Warrior Girls

2009-02-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

I know this is corny, but I sometimes think that I could of made a career out of writing out my own greeting cards. Instead of Hallmark, it would of been "PGT Creations." Instead of writing a "congratulations on your wedding" note on the present I bought, I realized there wasn't enough room to write what I wanted, so I wrote a Wedding Poem for Richard and Jasmine Cabida. There have been a few birthdays where I didn't feel the "bought words" in the card expressed anything personal enough, so I've done my own birthday greetings. I've written for a wedding anniversary and I've written for my mom's retirement. I've written for someone's going away event.

Anyways, I wrote the below with the intention of mailing to the Golden State Warriors to see if I could get all 16 Warrior Girl autographs, but alas that is only a dream and it probably would of got lost too.......... Unfortunately, I didn't finish it until late last night because no matter what I write, I always feel that it's never good enough. I've written poems for specific people before, but to write something meant for 16 beautiful women wasn't and still isn't easy.

Here's the Valentine's Poem for our Golden State Warrior Girls! I hope someone enjoys my cornyness (is that even a word?).

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Valentine’s Day Poem For Our Warrior Girls

As we see blue, gold, orange, and white,
Our eyes gaze upon the 16 beauties across the end lines
Not knowing where our eyes will rest as each
Vision is an attractive view along the sidelines.

As they cheer, dance, and pose in poetic motion
Our hearts beat dashingly quick with many a shiver
The intensity grows stronger within our arena
Similar to a wave that builds across a cool river.

The feeling of the first touch of a new rain
The first ray of sunshine on a bright new day
The smiles and looks of style and grace
Provides hope to our team within the Bay.

The smiles across those charming faces
Can brighten up our team spirit’s soul
And your cheers will still flow through our being
Even though our hearts, you have stole.

My Chris Brown Rap

2009-02-13T06:33:00.000-08:00

Those of you know I am definitely not a rapper, but I do like to think of words that rhyme. I would never condone beating up women, but today I read on my boy Chepo's facebook (shout out to Jose Chepo Hernandez!) profile that he is thinking of rhymes about the whole unfortunate Chris Brown-Rhianna situation. Well, I don't think I beat him to it, but here's something I wrote this morning................... This is all is good fun. Remember, I didn't do anything to Rhianna. Hopefully, Chris Brown gets the help he needs because it's ok to be passionate about a woman, but not violent.

My Chris Brown Rap

Chris Brown, he's the man,
Beating up chicks like nobody can.

Slapping girls from left to right,
He's lovin' the girls that want to fight!

Stunning the crowd like a RKO,
Bitches scared going (pause for effect here)... uh-oh!

Drinking alcohol makes him feel finer,
Only to dish out a black eyed shiner.

"Forever" is his song that he will always sing
and he'll get off without losing much bling!

Chris Brown may beat up other women too
Like....with you, with you, with you, with you...with you
Girl, with you, with you, with you, with you, with you.

The Sound of Silence

2009-02-13T00:21:00.000-08:00

Silence can be the longest
Noise that you can never hear
As the pause between the sound of words
Can seem like an eternity lost in fear.

Silence can be an awkward time of reflection
But it can also be a slow moving vehicle for pain
When you can’t find the time and words
That can drive you both defensively insane.

When too much time passes by
Feelings can change and be gone
Just like when a motionless sunset
Turns into a new, but quiet dawn.

A Hug Can Be Powerful

2009-02-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

More powerful than words
Sometimes a simple hug can be
The presence of a loved one can
Open up your eyes so that they can better see.

A heart can be filled with warmth
With a loving embrace any given day
That together with a sound of your voice
A touch can be more than what words can say.

An air of concern can be felt
In the companion’s caring eyes
Knowing that tears of love dripping down
Can come in more than just one size.

A hug can be a very symbolic gesture
Passing your support to someone in need
Letting someone know that you can be
Emotionally connected to them indeed.

Girl, You're The Reason (My first official poem)

2009-02-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

Everyone once in a while, someone will ask me when did I realize I liked writing poetry and the answer is basically, I didn't really realize anything. It was in my first and only year at USF and I started writing how I felt. It was really a combination of 2 things- a letter I was writing that I never sent that somehow rhymed and a general poem about finding the right person. The letter I was writing had a purpose, but the poem didn't really. I don't know why I did that.

One night, I started looking at both and figured that combining them just looked right. Suddenly, it became a poem about missing someone. Through the writing process of this 'poem,' I realized that I had a lot of great friends at USF back at this time because they gave me the support that I needed. Out of a tough girl situation grew my creative mind and although I did take a break in writing a few years ago, I'm writing again.

I also took a music/singing class at SFSU for an easy credit in between a long break I had between classes. I actually turned this poem into a song, but when I realized that everyone else did covers of existing songs (I'm the only one with an original?), I ended up doing Tony Rich's "Nobody Knows." I still remember the instructor telling me that "You have great tone." After all these years, I still haven't decided to disect that comment. LOL
__________________________________________________________________

Girl, You’re The Reason

I think of you as I dream at night,
I think of you in the wake of the my might,
I need you here right by my side,
With your sweet smile there’s no need to hide.

Girl, you’re the reason I live,
Girl, you’re the reason I give,
Love, it makes the world go around,
Love, for you it will always be found.

Nights I look up at the stars high above,
Makes me wish I had you in my arms in love,
Oh girl, I think I love you,
I don’t want to spend my life without you.

Times I drive the streets wondering where you are,
Times I drive the streets missing you in my arms,
Day and night, I wish you’re by your phone,
Hoping for a call straight from your home.

Take some time to think who’ll be there for you,
Take some time to think how much I love you,
Look into my heart, tell me what you see,
Look into my heart, that’s where you will be.

Once I get down on my bended knee,
You’ll see the man full of sensitivity,
Time and time again, I’ll whisper words into your ear,
And hopefully, you’ll be mine for always my dear.

Guys have made you cry over the years,
With my touch, I’ll take away your tears,
I’ll always treasure the moment we met,
My love will grow through each and every sunset.

Girl you are the reason I live,
And girl, you are the reason I give.

Cupcakes?

2009-02-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

No this isn't a poem or some piece of writing to make you contemplate life, but I'm just wondering what's the fascination with cupcakes over the last few months (or should I say 2008 to early 2009?). When people are getting married these days (yes, I go to alot of weddings, but usually too drunk come cake time), I'm seeing more wedding cupcakes. This is probably because you don't have to pay for cake cutting and it's easier to pass around, right? Also, I was walking around safeway in the cake section where I'm not supposed to be as a diabetic, I noticed a bunch of cupcake cakes of SpongeBob Square Pants instead of traditional cakes. I went to my cousin's daughter's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and they had cupcakes. I read one of my friend's blogs (shout out to Jay-Lo!) and she writes about how much she loves cupcakes too- hers I understand because she has a sweet tooth. Then, just the other day at the Warriors game, my buddy tells me he has to get cupcakes for his significant other....and he wants them too! LOL! So, maybe it's the diabetic in me that is trying to understand, but what's up with the cupcake fascination? With Valentine's day coming up, I know there will be more cupcakes around. Red Velvet anyone?

Just a little story, when I found out I had type 2 diabetes a few years back, I didn't know how certain foods would affect me. Of course my doctor and the instructor at the diabetes management class I took made it seem like the only thing in life that is healthy is water and lettuce. One of my co-workers at the time was also type 2 diabetic, but she was the worse example EVER of how a diabetic should be. She literally ate what she wanted and ended going home early not feeling well or went to the hospital. Her motto was if "I'm going to die, I'm going to die happy. I'm going to eat whatever I want and nobody can tell me what to do." With me being a new diabetic at the time, she didn't make me understand my condition any easier and wasn't a role model I was going to follow! Anyways, to test how I would react to certain things, we were given cupcakes with hella frosting by our supervisor at the time. She didn't want to give me one, but I insisted for my experiment. I know by having this cupcake eaten at one time that it would shoot up my blood sugar, but I wanted to see how fast and how long it would last. Being new at this, if I didn't test my limit, how would I know what my true limitations are. Most car rentals won't let you drive up to 100mph, but if you don't test it, how would you know? So, I ate the whole thing before I went home. I didn't feel anything different driving home, but once I got home I fell asleep so fast (I guess you say pre-coma). I slept from 4pm and woke up at 3am. I generally am a light sleeper (my cats wake me up at 3:30am to 4:00am when they are hungry every morning), but I slept WELL that night. I slept so WELL that one of my cats clawed me 'cause I saw the 3 lines on my arm in an attempt to wake me up. So, maybe my view of cupcakes is skewed, but I still don't see the fascination.

When Is It Time To Move On?

2009-02-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

When you no longer feel you can make a difference?
When you’ve taught all you can and nobody listens anymore?
When the grass on the other side is greener?
When you feel like you need a new purpose?
When passion becomes despair?
When you breathe out, it is harder to breathe in?
When your seem to lose every fight?
When everything becomes a fight?
When simple talk turns to yelling?
When you feel like a Jedi ready to embrace the dark side?
When you feel like stepping on the gas, but should step on the brake?
When you start drinking alone?
When your heart feels empty?
When your dog no longer wags his tail when he sees you?
When you fall and don’t feel like getting up?
When fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering?
When you expect sunshine, all you get is rain?
When black and white become grey?
When rivals give up on each other?
When the ratings are in and nobody’s watching?

All these can happen, but it is time to move on when you lose your heart. Until then,

Keep making a difference,
Keep teaching,
Stay on your side of the fence,
Renew your purpose with new ideals,
Review why you were passionate in the first place,
Keep breathing and get an oxygen mask,
Work to break that losing streak,
Keep punching until you can’t punch no more,
Send an email in all lower caps,
Find your Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan, and R2-D2,
Take your foot off the gas pedal and change lanes,
Find old friends to drink with you just because they know you need them there,
Find someone new to love,
Play catch with your dog,
Roll to the side and get a better angle to get up,
Remember, “do or do not, there is no try,”
Dance in the rain,
Wear bright clothing,
Push your rivals to be their best and then beat them,
Add new people to the cast.

If none of that works, then it is time to move on.

A Heart In Fifteen Years

2009-01-22T01:46:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like writing for no apparent reason other than to see where my thoughts take me. Below is an example of something I wrote waking up at 1 am today and just exploring what I can make of it. No, it's not written about or for a certain person, but a few weeks ago, I watched a Broadway play on PBS about Cyrano De Bergerac and his feelings for Roxane remained strong for 15 years before he died......henceforth here's what I have to share:

A Heart In Fifteen Years

In fifteen years from now
Many things will undoubtedly change
What once was considered weird
May no longer seem strange.

As our bodies, our image, and thoughts
Evolve from each year to year
The feelings within a heart can remain the same
With each and every tear.

Time doesn’t always mend
The wounds that people tend to say
Because emotional scars can seem
Physical each and every day.

The message from a longing heart
May not always be felt
But we still have to deal
With the cards that we are dealt.

As each year brings forth
The beginning of a new age
A heart can feel like an animal
Still locked away in a cage.

Through these fifteen years
One thing can always renew this heart
It is the beauty of your smiling face
That will keep me from falling apart.

Poem/Toast at Mom's Retirement and 60th Birthday Celebration

2009-01-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Five years ago I had to do a speech at my mom's retirement party. I'm not good with speeches, so I figured I'd do something I'm comfortable with, which was to write a poem for the occassion. So for those that weren't able to attend the retirement party, here it is.

Ironically, people started crying before I even read the first couple lines and I started to get emotional when I mentioned my dad. My dad passed away almost 13 years ago, but I can still get emotional talking about him. This doesn't happen very often, but it was a great feeling to know that the whole restaurant was quietly listening to each word that I said. I don't know if this is something I should say, but I guess it's nice to know I can make people cry?

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Poem/Toast at Mom's Retirement and 60th Birthday Celebration

Throughout all the years,
We have not been limited within your heart,
But we have been the driving force to help keep you going,
Through the easy and difficult times,
And still you remain our survivor.

Your strength, sensitivity,
Giving, and love,
Are many things that excudes,
And can be seen within us, your children.

Not just because it's your 60th Birthday,
But for the 29 years of my life,
The 25 years of Michelle's,
And the 23 years of Roland's,
Us, along with all your extended family,
Friends, co-workers and future friends,
Would like to wish you all the happiness,
Into a new chapter in life.

Enjoy this time as God has rewarded you,
With life and the eternal love of your family and friends,
Dad is watching with his loving eyes and smiling down,
On us now as we are all here to honor you,
On your special day.

This toast is to celebrate not just your 60th birthday
And your retirement, but for blessing us
With your presence and heart,

Congratulations Mom, we love you!
Cheers!

Worlds Collide

2009-01-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

Below is a poem I wrote a few months back that I sent out when I did an evite for my birthday. It was my attempt to show people that I still have a somewhat creative mind in regards to words and my attempt to get people to come out that I don't get to see very often.

Worlds Collide

As our worlds have collided over the years,
We've moved in different directions,
But no matter how much time passes,
We'll always meet at life's various intersections,

As our worlds continue to collide,
Many faces will come and go,
But true friends are the ones that,
Always think of you on the down low.

As a collision can be that forceful impact,
That causes worlds to fall apart,
Our collision brings us back to center,
To remind us of those deep within our heart.

PGT

Happy New Year! Welcome 2009 and My Wishes For You!

2009-01-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Just want to wish you all a Happy New Year and here are some thoughts I have for you:

May 2009 be better to you, your family, and friends.
May you enjoy the success of all your hard work.
When you get phat out drunk, may you be with your best friends as you enjoy alcoholic memories for years to come.
Wishing you the best in love, life, financial success, and laughter.
May your favorite sports teams do well for years to come with this year showing promise.
May you get a bigger raise than you have become used to getting on your annual review.
May the love of your life continue to value your passion, time, and friendship.
If you haven't yet, may you find the love of your life and grab on to that person forever.
May long lost friends find you via myspace, facebook, friendster, or whatever new social community networking site rises to the top this year.
May an old friend send you a card in the mail (snail mail, not email or text message) to let you know that you are still thought of.
May all your online purchases arrive faster than the estimated timeframe that UPS or Fed Ex advised you.
May your health be better in the new year and all the supplements you take actually do what they say on the bottle.
May your loved ones overseas in the military come home safe with great stories to share.
May you actually take a vacation and have enough time to relax and enjoy the small things in life.
May you actually have time to spend with all your godchildren, neices, and nephews.
May the children you have in your life find happiness and wisdom in everything you say and do.
May the grocery checkout clerk at the grocey store mis-scan an item so you get more than what you paid for.
May you fill up at the gas station at the lowest price of the month.
May all your pets never get lost or if they do, they find their way home safely, which allows you to cherish them more.
May you lose that extra ten pounds that has been hard to shed for years pretty fast.
May your ex realize what they lost in you, but you are over them already and you let them know, so all parties can move on.
May you manage your credit wisely and strengthen your credit history.
May you always find exact change in your pocket, so you don't have to break that $20 bill.

If I didn't get to see you in 2008, maybe our paths will cross in 2009! Have a great year.

Take care and be safe in 2009,

Paul

Who Saves a Hero?

2008-12-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

People always look up to heroes because they always save the day. Heroes take that small glimmer of hope that we have and shine a bring light upon it. Heroes can look at a situation, assess it quickly to find the best way to keep everyone safe. Heroes put everyone’s well-being in front of theirs. Heroes don’t expect anything back for their assistance. If a hero has a choice between saving 2 people, he or she still tends to find a way to save both.

But, what if a hero needs to be saved? Every hero has a weekness. They may publicly show you that nothing bothers them, but they are people too. Heroes have families of their own that they worry about. Heroes have people that they look up to. Heroes get tired. A hero can worry if that girl he has a crush on likes him back as a person or just because he's a "hero." Heroes need to take time to unwind and have a beer everyone once in a while without having to worry about saving someone when they are buzzing out with their buddies.

So, who saves a hero?

Tough Times With Don Nelson and the Warriors

2008-12-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

I was a supporter of Don Nelson coming back to the Golden State Warriors a few years ago. I mean, look at what the team had offered us loyal bay area GSW fans with the years after the Chris Webber/Nelson fiasco, which I still blame on Webber being a spoiled brat coming out of college crying because a coach actually had the balls to actually yell at him when he wasn't following the gameplan and all. I was thinking that Don Nelson along with one of my all time favorite Warriors, Chris Mullin, was going to make good things happen. We get Baron Davis. Unloaded Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy (I liked Murphy though) and got Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson. Little bits came along and guys like Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes played important roles along with these others 2 years ago in one of the greatest 2nd half season runs I've ever seen. I'm not talking about just upsetting the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs, but I'm talking about the last 2 months of the regular season where everything was working for the team. I mean EVERY 3-Pointer was going in. Loose balls led to something like 16-2 scoring runs at least 2 twice a game. Everything was looking great. Last year was a fluke year because the West had so many good teams with winning records that the Warriors missed the playoffs barely.

Then, this 2008 offseason happened. We all knew that Baron wanted an extension, but I thought he would play out the final year of his existing contract this season and then possibly next year he would leave as a Free Agent since the Warriors weren't going to give him that fat contract. Baron leaves. I wasn't happy at how the whole thing played out, but Management (not Mullin as he got Baron a 2 year contract that Baron agreed to, but "management" overulled) started looking at saving $$$$ again and figured, let Baron go. So Baron left within hours of free agency, not something I was expecting. As expected, Barnes left and so did Pietrus. Then, Harrington gets mad after he finds out Nelson gets a contract extension meaning that Harrington was going to play the undersized PF and C under Don for 2+ years, so he wants out. I know alot of people hated Harrington, but to me he would of been a good bench player being the 6th-7th guy that could play 3 positions and a spot starter, but he thought he was a bigger star in his mind. Let's not forget, that the Warriors were trying to get Harrington from Atlanta a few years back, so he's been on GSW's radar for a while. Then, Stephen Jackson signs an extension, hurts his hand, continued to shot 0 for a zillion 3's, and has been playing like crap- just sit Stephen for the holidays and let that shit heal otherwise you are just making the team worse. I'm a Stephen Jackson fan, but when you are hurt and you can't produce, why can we all see it, but not you o Capt'n Jack who I think still leads the league in turnovers? Only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant seem to be the only ones that can play at an extremely high level when injured or sick with the flu, but thats another story.

So as the drama goes, Marco Bellini complains to the media about how he's being handled with no playing time and all the while, Don Nelson has been telling us for 1+ years that this guy doesn't know how to play basketball. So, after the media writes about this, Bellini gets playing time and we learn he can actually play, does try to play defense, can dribble, can pass- basically be more than just that 2 minutes a month 3 pointer shooter, which is what Don Nelson made us think. During this time, we figured that Don Nelson was also saying that Brandon Wright and Anthony Randolph can't play, but when they play they look impressive. But then again, they could play 30 minutes 1 night, DNP the next 3 nights, then play 2 minutes, then DNP for the next week. You have Anthony Morrow that everyone thinks could be a good player since his breakout game versus the Clippers in LA, but he's run into the same playing crapshoot as Wright, Randolph, and others like Rob Kurz, Markus Willians, etc....

Anyways, I still go to Warrior games this season, enjoy the games, including seeing other team stars, but the last 2 days this drama is making things worse............ Nelson says he's tired and he'll let his 2 assistants take over to teach defense 'cause he can't do it anymore. Rumor is he told Anthony Randolph to ask his agent to shop him for trades 'cause he ain't that good in practice (try telling Allen Iverson that he ain't good in practice and we'll see where that goes!). Don Nelson is an old man that admits he likes to drink alot, wants to go to Hawaii all the time, and that 2 year contract extension he got looks like a joke. We always hear about how he manipulates the media, makes other's adjust to him, but I think he's confusing himself that doesn't know what he believes anymore. Sounds like a man that is FINALLY ready for retirement. I know that the contract extension was to try to bring stability to a team that is so unstable, but if he plans to get rid of all the players via trades or piss them off then want to get traded, he's just going to run this team into the ground. Part of the reason he's still coaching is he wants that all time coach winning record, but if the last 50 wins are meaninless over the next 1+ years, how is the latter part of his legacy going to be viewed? In my gut, I think he wants to win, but seeing that it's a steep uphill challenge, he looks like he's going to bail on us like he did to Dallas. Maybe Don needs to take a 2 week vacation and see if he comes back re-energized. I know he doesn't have the best team, but the minutes he plays his guys are so confusing.

Hopefully, after Don takes this little vacation, Monte will be back, Maggette's 2 hamstrings will have healed, Jackson's hand will be healed, everyone with the flu gets healthy, and we can make a 2009 run to try to get to .500. That's what I want right now. This team hasn't excited me for a while now and I don't know why I keep spending so much money on them. Must be them damn bobbleheads, tshirts, signs, hot dogs, and the Warrior Girls.

Look at the players that aren't on the team now actively that made up the 2006-2007 team:
Matt Barnes, Baron Davis, Monta Ellis (injury), Al Harrington, Patrick O’Bryant, Mickael Pietrus, Zarko Cabarkapa, Adonal Foyle, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Josh Powell and another all time favorite, Jason Richardson. Alot of them were bench players, but that is still a lot of turnover from their playoff run and there's no more "We Believe" in Oakland. That team is gone and so is our mascot Thunder! C'mon guys let's make this work. I still have Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Phoenix, and Philly games coming up, so make me proud. There was a point that every game I went to was always a win. That has changed drastically. I just want some moral victories and let's not let the Clippers and the Kings have a better record than us. Chris Jericho came back to WWE to "SAVE US" and now it's almost Monta's time to try and save us!

How I Found Out I Have Diabetes (3 Year Anniversary)

2008-11-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Here's one of my first posts I had on friendster about 3 years ago. I always have lots of things to be thankful for during Thanksgiving, but it's also the anniversary of where over a period of days I found out I had type-2 Diabetes. I guess this is why I tend to focus on just having time off from work, watching football, and not seem to care too much about food around this time when everyone else is ...........................

From December 2005:

The weekend after Thanksgiving, for some reason I had a craving for Orange Juice and Apple Juice. For the first time in my life, I was wanting to drink that, instead of sodas or coffee drinks. Anyways, I just kept getting thirsty and I was also drinking lots of other liquids. I was wanting more to drink things than eat for some reason. Anyways, the weekend went on and I didn't think much about it. Just thought I might be coming down with a cold or flu. Well Sunday night, I had a tough time going to sleep. I was so thirsty that I kept drinking water all night- in fact, I had two glasses of water in my room at all times. I literally would wake up every hour or so, pee, drink more water, get more water from downstairs, and try to go back to sleep. This cycle just kept going on for hours that I ended up calling in sick the following Monday because I was feeling crappy, tired, and my throat felt really dry. During this time, I also started to notice that my 20/20 vision (via LASIK a couple years ago) was getting a bit blurry every here and there. So, I just stayed home on Monday just to relax.
That same night, I went through the whole thing again with the water, bathroom, etc. So, I went to the doctor on Tuesday and took a urine test. Found out that my blood sugar (glucose) level was at 450!! Your glucose level is supposed to be around 100 or between 70-140. Took a blood test and another urine test the next day while fasting and the results verified the same thing. So, as of my doctor's visit on 12/2/05, I am now officially a "Diabetic." Type 2, so I have to take medication, but not Type 1 where I need to have insulin shots.
I was given medication to bring my blood sugar level down and it worked. I felt fine after that. A few days later, I was given a second one. Then, I started having problems. When I started taking the 1st med, my eyesight started coming back. I visited the eye doctor (optometrist/ophthalmologist) and I was close to 20/20 again and the eyes looked healthy. A few days after taking the 2nd med, my eyesight got blurry again. This was weird because your eyesight is supposed to be blurry when your sugar level is off the charts, but mine was normal. Told the doctor this and he thought it was just my eyes adjusting to the "changes" going on. A few days later that's when I realized this started happening after the 2nd medication. So, I skipped an evening dose and wouldn't you know it, my vision vastly improved the next day!!!
I was thinking about how my eyesight would be fighting to focus throughout the day and then in the morning it would be blurry and it was like deja vu every day. That's when I realized the only consistent thing in my system was the evening medication that I was taking. That's why I skipped that day's dosage. Thing is, eyesight being blurry is not a side effect of this drug. Go figure.
So, now I'm living my life watching what I eat, staying away from sweets, monitoring my blood sugar with my new trusty glucometer, exercising (slowly building up), and having alot of water around me. So far, I'm doing well and I eat alot of chicken, steak, pork chops, sausage, jello, etc. Hardly or no white bread, candy, RICE, regular sodas, ALCOHOL, etc. Almost as if I'm on Atkin's diet, which I did a couple of years ago and I did lose like 16 pounds in a month.
I'm taking this as a challenge to myself to get back into good shape. I used to be one of those guys that people looked up to because I would work out twice a day and eat whatever I wanted like when I was at USF. I was in the best shape of my life back then and I'm hoping I can get somewhere close to where I once was. I always make a New Year's promise to get my weight down and I always start motivated and then I stop. Maybe this is God's way of helping me get back into "Bigsexy" shape? Only time will tell, but for my drinking buddies out there......that time is gone. I guess I'm your designated driver now. And, you know how I hate being the one taking care of the drunks!
Everyone please take care of yourselves and even if you don't watch what you eat or workout, please try to drink more water everyday. Try to take the stairs instead of the elevator when you are only going up or down 1-2 floors. Try to cut down on eating fast food, which is full of sodium, sugar, fat, calories, and carbs, although there are some healthy things at McDonalds, Burger King, etc.... Park in the middle of the parking lot instead of in front of the store. It will make a difference in your life. We aren't getting any younger and those days when we were teenagers and in our early 20's when we thought we were invincible might catch up to you. I just want to live for a long time and have ALL my friends there with me, ya know? We need to live, not just for ourselves, but for our loved ones as well. =)
Peace, love, happiness, Happy Holidays, and sincerely,
-Paul.G.Togonon-

Warriors Filipino Night, 11/21/08

2008-11-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

Last night I had fun at the Oracle Arena watching the Chicago Bulls @ our Golden State Warriors. Went to the game with Rich, Jasmine & her parents, Joey, and Jeorge. Dean was there and he looked intense watching the game. Plus, I ran into some folks from high school too! As expected, saw some pinoys and pinays that I know and ALOT of people that I think I know (You know that "I'm looking at you and you are looking at me and hoping it clicks that one of us remembers the other" look LOL). BART took longer to get to the game so I missed the opening Filipino performance(s), which I heard was tinikling, but it's all good as I got my beers and my SHIRT!

Beers are expensive at any pro sportings event, but even if I don't get buzzed, they seem to make me happy when I have at least 2. As most of you know, I'm pretty quiet and like to observe, so here are some thoughts-

Tickets of course for this Filipino event were in Club 200 (upper level for those that don't know) and some dude a couple rows in front of us kept standing up throughout the game. I'm sure you can imagine all the folks behind us yelling at this guy to sit down. At first, it was annoying 'cause we had to look up at the screen to catch some of plays, but then we turned an ackward situation to an entertaining one. Although he would get up at random times, whenver the Warriors hit a 3, blocked a shot (daym on Randolph's 4 blocks!), made a dunk, we knew he would get up. So, Joey, Jeorge, and I posed for pictures with him in the background. I know.... I know... it's stupid, but if you were there, you would of jumped in too for a picture!

Derrick Rose- Wow! Because the Warriors are in the Western Conference, I don't really follow the Eastern Conference that well, so I didn't really know what to expect from Derrick Rose. Other than being the #1 pick on the Bulls and seeing some highlights on tv, I didn't expect almost every offensive move he made to be a potential highlight. Even when he missed shots, it looked smooth! I was impressed and I'll probably look at his stats throughout the season since I do fantasy basketball anyways.

Something weird- not sure if others noticed this, but there were gaps in the areas for the Filipino Night tickets. Not sure if a lot of people didn't show up, but you could see empty seats in the areas. To make the event look good, wouldn't the planners try to fill all the seats (ie. sell the seats) in the same sections so it looks like a mass of people where there! I went to the first Giants Filipino Night and that was packed like crazy! I would of thought the event planners would of pushed everyone to wear their shirts, so that people in the Oracle can look at once section and just know "hey, that must be the filipino night section." I took a look around and even if everyone wore their shirts, there were a lot of non-filipinos there. Not that I mind that, but why would they want a "Filipino Night Shirt?" I knew some Filipinos in other sections (ie lower level) that would of bought the shirt. Anyways, that was kinda interesting.

I have a couple more games on my mini-plan, plus my cousin and will get another 1-2 plans, and my work will offer periodic $15 tickets to games, so I'll post more about the Warriors. Until then..........

Oh and did I mention.............GOT MY SHIRT TOO!!!!!! =)