ENTRY# 358

wow. . its been a long ass time since an update. . so my apologies to what few readers i may have left. . but this entry goes out to christine .since apparently some stalkers, err people keep up with my life through my xanga. . and this entry also goes out to the haters who were thinking. . "see, i told you that you would get tired of xanga" hehe. . on a serious note, life is such a crazy concept. . like, you never know when someone or something is going to get taken away from you. . and you never get to say or do what you wanted to say before that ever-changing moment EVAPORATES forever. . i always say i try to live my life with no regrets .. but i just dont know if i really practice what i preach. . i dont know if death scares me, but it definitely depresses me. . like ill be smoking thinking,  " i should quit" but the selfish part of me enjoys it too much, and thinks "well if you could really go at any moment, then you should live in the moment, and live life to the fullest". . so perhaps you see my dilemna with two competing philosophies. . do everything you can to be heatlhy for the future or live life as you want because you never know when it can get all taken away. . last but not least, this entry goes out to mr. miyamoto, a great man, who i knew since i child, and raised two great sons. .

(EVAPORATION - this doesnt really make sense to me)

*3 year anniversary*

so bbe and i had our 3 year anniversary a few days ago. . we went to tengu, the same restaurant we went to on our first date (and have continued to go for every anniversary). . i cant believe that its been three years already..  i am very thankful and fortunate to have bbe in my life for many reasons, but personally, for showing me that i could be a good boyfriend, despite those in the past who said otherwise. . and for being there to listen to me, to tolerate my craziness, and to love me the way i want to be loved. . i love you bbe

*1 year anniversary*

on the same day as my 3 year anniversary with bbe, i had my one year annivesary with the firm .. yup, i started just over a year ago as a law clerk (awaiting bar results), and now one year later, i feel good. . not great, but good. . i mean, civil lit is a somewhat frustrating area bc it is so broad. .like, its hard to develop any sort of expertise where there are so many different things, rules, laws, etc. to learn. . but on the positive tip, i do feel a lot more confident than i did a year ago. . i think sometimes, with work, like many other things, its about being confident, whether in the courtroom or in the office with adversaries who are being childish, igrnorant or stupid. . so yeah, happy anniversary to me!

*olympics - nastia is the queen*

yeah, so if you know me, then you know that womens gymnastics is my shit. . dates way back to 96 with the "magnificent seven," where i first met my love svetlana khorkina, who i got to see win live at the 2003 world championships in anaheim. .but then retired after 2004 olympics. . so what was i to do when the women that made me a fan and that i watched for 8 years, finally retired?  well, like any other man, i had to find a new woman. . hello NASTIA LIUKIN. . i think in many ways i like her bc of her similarities to svetlana. . the russian background, the tall and lanky frame, the artistic nature of their work. .and the fact that they rock. . the night of the all around, you have no idea how nervous i was for nastia. . well, actually my roommate knows how nervous i was, bc i couldnt sit down, and even though it was tape delayed. . i forbade anyone from telling me the results. .but watching it, being nervous for the whole two hours. . hoping for the best. . worked out really well!  congrats nastia on your medals, esp the all around title. . i hope she sticks around for 2012

(NASTIA LIUKIN - work it out!)

*work - slcp*

slcp = summer law clerk program. . so at work, i got appointed to be a part of the two-member slcp committee. . me and one of the partners toni. . basically, bc we were both "home-grown" within the firm, the partners thought that we would be the ideal committee members. . it was really awesome to be given some responsibility and authority outside of the work realm (yet still inside the workplace)..  we basically reviewed applications, conducted interviews, had the final say as to who got hired, facilitated their workload, and basically helped them get adjusted. . .it was very rewarding bc i was a law clerk not too long ago, so i think the law clerks appreciated that i wasnt too far removed from their situation, and they felt comfortable asking me questions and for help and stuff. . the partners thought that toni and i did a good job. . so much so that they gave us a bonus for our work over the summer. . yay bonuses! and the better news. . they asked us to stay on to do again next summer! yay!

*itap - assistant coach position*

in other good news, itap has asked me to be an assistant coach for one of the competitions this semester. . i was a little bit apprehensive at first bc of the time committment, but ultimately decided to do bc the program was so helpful to me, and i hope that i can give a positive impact back to the current itap members. . basically i meet with the team 1-2 times a week, sit through practice rounds, and possibly even get to travel with the team. . their competition is at georgetown . . so that would be awesome if i did have the opportunity to go because i could visit my friend jess from law school . .i havent started doing anything yet, but im sure it will get going soon since the team recently got their fact pattern . .

*work - same old bullshit person, different day*

yeah, so moving to the bad news part. . the paralegal at our work is working my last nerve. . the straw that broke the camels back was a couple weeks ago. . basically, i was out of the office with my boss, so in terms of our department, it was just her, the file clerk, and my secretary akiko, who is a really great person, very good secretary. etc. . anywho, bitch-lady yells at akiko for no stupid reason really. . blaming her for things that arent her fault, and just getting really out of hand. . to the point that akiko goes to the bathroom starts crying, etc. . and you wanna know the kicker. . after akiko goes to the bathroom, bitch lady starts bragging that she did it on purpose!!  i was like are you fucking kidding me!?!  ever since then, my attitude towards bitch-lady is a lot different. . i mean she gets on my nerves a lot. . but i consider myself my tough, ill deal with it. . its like this, you fuck with me, i can take it. . you fuck with somebody i care about, gloves are off. . know what i mean?  she knows im not happy with her. . stupid email wars that i would usually back down from.. . but now, im like fuck you bitch..  part of me is disappointed in myself bc i feel like im stooping to her level. . on the other hand though, enough is enough. and if nobody else will stand up to her. you better believe i will. . i just hope i dont get all ignorant and act stupid. . thats what im trying not to do. . you know like say some shit like "ey, listen, you're a paralegal, im an attorney!  know your place"  i know it sounds terrible, and i highly doubt it will get to that, but that's just a testament to how annoyed i am with her. . happy thoughts happy thoughts.. people are beautiful

*candace parker rocks!*

yeah, so i watched the wnba this summer, especially the sparks and CANDACE PARKER . that girl can ball, for real!  take the slam dunks aside, and she is just talented, she can score, pass, defend, rebound, etc. . probably why she was both the ROY and the MVP. . first time it ever happened where one player took home both trophies the same year. . its pretty remarkable. . i just hope the sparks are able to win a title next year!

(CANDACE PARKER - balling out of control!)

*sarah palin is a dumbass*

i mean, i understand why mccain picked her and all. . i mean trying to ride the women support, trying to show the dumb independents and undecideds - "hey look at the republicans, we support women, unlike democrats who wouldnt pick hillary clinton" but of all the women, did you have to pick the dumbest one ever!  you couldve picked condie rice, or elizabeth dole or someone with intellect. . i mean, id rather have tina fey or katie couric as vp. . not palin!  i hope this shit backfires for the republicans

alright yall, thats a long ass update. . im going to try and be more consistent. . maybe weekly or biweekly. . we'll see. . thanks for reading and have a good one!

ENTRY # 357

wow. . ALICIA KEYS is ridiculous! if you didnt see her on the bet awards last night, then check out her performance

http://www.bet.com/Specials/BETAwards08/betawards-videos/beta_video_performances.htm

 . that shit was freaking awesome. . omg, i watched it, and i was like . "ahh, this is cool, and then it got good. . great, and freaking off the chain". . .ive been watching it several times today, and if you are an old skewl r & b person, then you will really appreciate it. . okay, thats it, i dont want to ruin it for other people. .

(ALICIA KEYS - hot, talented, damn . .i am not mad at you)

in other news - work has been a bit of a roller coaster. . i was having all sorts of drama with the paralegal in my department, was seriously considering quitting or issuing some sort of ultimatum, but i chose not to, and its been a lot better (like 200X better) bc i think my boss, the head partner talked to her. . so yeah, work has been busy, but not unbearable as of late. .

bbe left to do his field research thing for two months. . its all lonely. . i mean, its not like we saw each other all the time or anything, but we would talk every night before we went to bed, saw each other a couple times a week, you know, that stuff. . . but now, i cant talk to bbe bc he out in the back-country, with limited internet access, and no phone access. . so i miss my bbe. .

alirght just wanted to do a quick update and plug for my girl alicia. . . have a great one!

ENTRY # 356

i havent forgotten about you xanga. . ive just been busy and there are other things to take care of, like relaxing and resting, and lets not forget about that work thing. . . but yeah, shame on me for it being two months since my last entry. . . so lets just go over some HIGHLIGHTS bc i cant possibly recap two months in one entry. .

(HIGHLIGHTS - oh this brings back memories from the dentists/doctor's office)

vegas - so i went to vegas for part II of my bday celebration. . ill post pictures next entry. . but it was a lot of fun. . it was a good group - jeff, olivia, steve, bbe, kam and scott. . . it was cool bc we basically played and drank the whole trip. . like not that much shopping, shows, and what not. . the hightlights of the trip included the village people jackpot party (hey. . hey. . hey hey hey hey. . macho macho man), our whole crew playing on one blackjack table at the plaza hotel, and then hitting a number on roulette (won $350 - but i ended up giving 1/2 to my friend howard who picked the number for me, bc i told him i would give him 1/2 if his number hit)  sure, i could have kept the money for myself, but thats shady, not to mention bad karma. . so yeah, vegas was cool

work - work has been pretty good. but busy, i thought i was going to go crazy for a while bc i was working late, lots of deadlines, and i went in two weekends in a row. . yeah, while im basically used to the work environment, im still pretty attached to my personal life. . in terms of people relations at work, its so much better. . im getting along with the paralegal in my department so well . . i think she reaizes now that im working hard and eager to learn, so we actually have a really good relationship right now, which to me, is huge. . like seriously, you need to get along with your co-workers. . . in other work personnel news, i have a secretary, they promoted one of the file clerks to legal secretary and i have an ASSISTANT. . her name is karina, but we call her chatty bc she talks a lot. . . but she's cool bc she's really eager to help and learn, and we have a real good relationship. . . we can joke with each other, but we also get stuff done. .

(ASSISTANT)

we also have two summer law clerks starting in a couple weeks. . it was really cool bc i got to be on the hiring committee for the law clerks. . i got to review the apps, interview the people, and make recommendations to the partners. . . at the end of the day, we hired two - one that i really really liked, and the other one was my third choice ( i wanted a different dude than the one we hired). . but whatever, i need to realize that it is business, and it's not personal. .

misc- - in other news, i went to my first indian wedding reception (with bbe) for my friend heena. . it was so much fun. . food was fuckin awesome, beautiful saris and sarongs and all that, and those people know how to get down. . for real! they were just dancing, drinking, and having all sorts of fun. . my kind of party for sure. . speaking of weddings, two of my best friends got engaged recently . congrats to twin and hun (not getting married to each other). . and the even cooler thing is that i am going to be in both of their weddings. . crazyness, including best man for twin. . . that is, of course, if he pays me enough. . kidding i think. . and last but not least- i have pink eye. . yeah i heard its really really contagious, so i hope you dont get it from reading this entry. .

have a great week!

ENTRY # 355

so yeah, thanks to everyone who came out for my bday bash. . i had such a great time. . even though i didnt eat that much, i had such a good time. .thanks to everyone who came out, even those people coming from the oc. . to sum up the night. . between 40-50 people showed up at the restaurant and/or the bar. . from family to hacienda peeps to ucla peeps to law school peeps to work peeps, it was awesome, and seriously made my day. . being born on leap year is cool bc i makes you unique and stuff, and yes, i still celebrate every year, but it makes it a lot more special (some would say FOUR TIMES) as special when you actually get a bday. . so yeah thanks to all again, and i hope i entertained all with my ass-slapping antics, my poking myself in the eye with a straw, and knocking people into tables. . long story short, i was drunk off my ass, i was hungover like crazy the next time. . but it was all worth it

(mo, cj)

(partner and i)

(my indian friend)

(partner and baldy)

(norma jean, wheres mo?)

(the number of bdays ive had)

(sissy)

(mike)

(chicken little)

(sha-ron)

(summer roomie, loud ass mike)

(crazy texas girl, cubs fan)

(wildcat)

(costco and bagboy)

(table 1 - law skewl)

(table 2 - hacienda and ucla)

(table 3 - fmbk, friends)

(table 3 - hacienda, family)

(roomie)

(lawyers)

(j.abo)

(considerate one and the girl who graduate high school early)

(me being stupid (and drunk))

(the fam bam)

ENTRY # 354

so im really excited bc i turn seven this week. . yeah, its been nearly four long birthday-less years and i finally get a birthday this year, and it falls on a friday. . how cool is that?   so yeah, this week is going to be real quick. . i can just feel it. . i mean work will go pretty fast and my evenings are booked for the rest of the week. . i have two alumni receptions and im a judge at an itap practice round at school. . and then after the festivities, going to the clipper-detroit game on saturday with twin, my co-worker and his girlfriend. . so yay for a good fun week with a real good ending (I was going to put happy ending, but i know how bad you people are )

so yeah, im alive, i turn seven, and have a good week!