Jason's Daily Notes

SNOWBOARDING! I'm so excited!!!
Everything has conspired against this snowboarding outing, though... I'm getting sick, there's a storm coming through, the hassles of renting a snowboard (and buying the extra clothing I need - it's expensive!).
Rented my stuff from Sport Chalet last night. Rushed through, before they were closing - I hate shopping under time pressure but it seems like the only kind of shopping I end up doing. I couldn't find my snow jacket so I had to buy a new one - found the cheapest one for like $45. Luckily I had the $100 gift card that I had since Christmas to offset a good chunk of the costs.

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[post-snowboarding]
Everything did end up conspiring against us - Martin was a little late, the weather was horrible, I was sick (hopped up on pain killers/antibiotics/vitamin supplements though). We drove up the mountain in the pouring rain, and as we hit the snowline there was a huge backup of cars putting on tire chains. Chrystal and Lynn asserted that we'd be okay because we had 4-wheel-drive on the truck. We were not. We got turned back and had to descend the mountain again (15 miles) to find tire chains. Then, when we were leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot (to go to another store because Wal-Mart didn't have chains in our tires' size), the car wouldn't start. It needed a jump. This would happen 2 more times during the day. We headed to Autozone (after deciding that Chevron's chains were too expensive at $140+) to get the chains. Then finally we could go back to the mountain. We installed the chains in the pouring snow (does snow pour? In any case, it was coming down hard). The line of cars had cleared out. We had planned to leave at 7am, actually left at 8:30, and we didn't get to our first ski resort (Bear Mountain) until after 2pm. Ugh.

BUT snowboarding is FUN! It just takes a while to get the hang of it. I spent the day just learning how to control myself on the board (i.e. how to stop without crashing!); and I think I got the gist of it.

I am SOOOOO SORE now though. My arms hurt so much, I can't even drive a car properly.

I have a persistent and rough cough. (shouldn't those words be better spelled phonetically - "ruff" and "coff"?). I may be getting sick?
Watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia last night. Then picked up Matt from school, around 9:30. I was tired.
There were a ton of dishes that had been just waiting to be washed lying in the sink. I did 'em all this morning.
Lunch: One apple (I've been having one a day :) ), and office snacks. Yay, money saving!
Planning my Panama/CR visit! Also have to figure out snowboard rental for tomorrow - I'm going snowboarding!!!

Songs: Estelle - American Boy; Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

"Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up"

Last night! Picked up Mike D. @ the Beverly Hilton, where he saw his Hawaiian friend Taimane Gardner performing the ukelele. Drove with him to Covina's Chili's, where we met up with Michelle, Priscilla, and Lawrence with our server Adrian haha. Then we headed to Altadena where we grabbed some Kogi and met MM's coworkers - Amerie (sp?) and Anthony. Finally, we ended the evening at the Verdugo bar, saying our goodbyes to Michelle before she leaves for Vietnam. (BTW, no Tokyo Teas/Long Islands at the Verdugo, wtf?!) Dropped Mike off at his CS hosts in Eagle Rock (near the park/Figueroa/Colorado).

Transportation/planning career? I should contact UCLA professors to talk with them.
No, international relations is better!
Lunch: bacon-wrapped hot dog; strawberries from the farmers market

Still trying to keep in touch with all my friends that I haven't really spoken to in a while - adding them on gchat, orkut, twitter, etc.

Weather: Yucky last night, light rain and foggy.

Snowboarding this Saturday!!! And I'm still super excited about Costa Rica! (and Panama) I still gotta pack...

Songs: The Ataris - In This Diary; The Wombats - Kill the Director

ate soy nugget sandwiches for dinner last night. Left work early b/c of the power shutdown.
Jogged to Bundy this morning - arrived at work 8:55
- a pile of dishes continues to fester in the sink. I don't feel like cleaning, and neither does Matthew. Luckily it doesn't bother us at all.
gchatting! It feels good to reconnect/keep in touch with friends - J.B., L.W., L.F., P.L., L.T.!

work: avoiding it all morning (go distractions!)
Lunch: An apple :)  and a turkey burger from Fuddruckers
Healthy habits - I still feel really good!

It's starting to rain.
I may go snowboarding after all this Saturday! Big Bear.

Thought: In our modern times, fear is almost always irrational. It's a natural response to an always-new environment.
I have so much to keep up with - news, friends, music, photos, reading, traveling, aah!

Songs: Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead; Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart; The Wombats - Kill the Director; Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills

Worked late last night. Returned to the apt tired.
Video chat w/ Leslie & Cassy!

Jogging every morning! :) Makes me feel good all day. Today, jogged to Olympic/Butler and back.
Uploaded pics to fb (today my laptop decided to actually work for once).

Work is the same. Continued printing out documents.

I'm getting excited for Costa Rica! Just over 1 week!

Lunch: Leftover Diddy Riese (yes, I only had cookies and milk for lunch!), plus my snacks

Going for a break - walking around the block. Walking along city streets is calming in its own way - you can hear the rhythm of cars passing by, kinda like the rhythm of ocean waves.

...shutting down computers early today, because the building's power is going off too. Therefore, leaving work early for once! 5:10 pm!

- it may rain tonight/tomorrow.

News: the Olympics continue. I'm not really watching.

Songs: Gwen Stefani - Cool; The Doors - People are Strange; 30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens

A big backlog of stuff to do @ work this morning.
... yeah, very busy. Lots of printing out documents, etc.

Lunch: pizza slice from the food court.

Still thinking about possibly going to Tahoe this weekend!

Seriously - FULL day, printing/formatting spreadsheets.

Needing to recover from Vegas

...I need to get a new laptop - a MAC! I'm just holding on to my current laptop situation - I guess I can because I can just use the work computer just fine.

At work late! Til 8pm :/ - I want to skydive (for my birthday?)

Songs: Mariah Carey - We Belong Together; Blink-182 - All the Small Things; 90s commercial - da da da by Trio

VEGAS! A spontaneous trip with the family. But first, Friday night:

Friday night: Went out with Christina, she came over. Felipe had to stay in the apartment :( - we did throw darts at my world map though! Christina and I went to pick up Mike (from CS) in downtown LA, then went to the R Bar in Koreatown (you needed a password to get in!), where we saw Mike's friends who comprise the band Swingset Committee. They're good! Sound like Ratatat/an edgier Death Cab/the vocals of Placebo. I gorged on fries at the bar during the show haha, spoke German with Mike's friend Carrie.
Then we were off to the CS Art Show/Pancakes and Booze! Unfortunately it was too late for Leneve, but it was pretty cool. I met two Spanish girls (Angela and Laura). No ID checking, damn - Felipe could've come! Well, it ended up getting late and I let Mike crash on the floor at my place.

Saturday! Jogged briefly (to Wilshire/Barrington and back). Mom and the relatives picked me up; they came early, so got to meet Felipe and Mike. We said bye and parted ways.

DROVE TO VEGAS straight from the apt. Ate Carl's Jr in Victorville. Arrived close to 3pm. Saw the Wynn/Encore, stopped by the bank to get cash. Then we headed to the Monte Carlo, where we got a room. Then, we were hungry so we went to get our buffet on! At the Mandalay Bay! SO MUCH FOOD. I was feeling sick the rest of the evening from the sheer amount of food. I walked all the way to the Venetian to meet up with Marissa and her friends - I got there JUST in time, right when there were being let into the club. I didn't go in (I felt underdressed). I walked back to the hotel, picking up a big sippy cup along the way (which I really couldn't finish, I was so full). There were sprinkles in the air. I returned to the room relatively early, encountered a brief food coma, then headed out again, wandering to Planet Hollywood and back to New York New York. I succumbed to slots and video roulette haha! I found $10 jammed into one of the machines; it made up for the $10 I had lost so I came out even!

I'm seriously contemplating going to Tahoe this weekend. I mean, when will I have another opportunity like this?!

Sunday: Awoke in the hotel. Got ready. Checked out. Drove to downtown Vegas - no (free) parking. Drove way out to Boulder Station casino. $11 champagne buffet (again with the food overload!) - we just had to join their players club (which was free).

Music: Bloc Party; Ke$ha - Tik Tok; Young Money - BedRock

Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.

Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
and live every day as if it were your last