I don't need no stinking title

Work in progress. My swing. Thanks to Michael and Eric we're off to a start. Slow start but a beginning nonetheless. One month to go. The hard part if letting go of my old baseball style lowball hitting and raising my swing up around my shoulders which if it works will make it more powerful. Right now it sucks. I can't get the cocked back part in sync with my forward step and my follow thru is pretty fucking bad. We won't even talk about how bad I am at keeping my eye on the fucking ball or where my head is. Challenge is a good thing. But if it all comes together I'mma be the happiest motherfucker walking. Right now it's so fucking uncomfortable I feel like Robocop swining a bat.

Korean BBQ = nasty burps. But it was good. I can still taste the shit.

Good news and not so good news. Thats the way it was served up and described to me by my favorite ex waitress. The good news? Her BF broke up with her. Bad news? She came back from japan this week and found out she had to be out of her apt since her rooommate is moving out. The kicker? By tomorrow. She found a apt today which is a good start. Not within 2 blocks of me which were the top 3 choices. Only a tool like me would be relieved by that. I'm still leery about why the breakup was good news for me. Time to do what I do so well. Play stupid. Did I mention I'm a tool?

Most Improved

The cool thing about moving up from "totally sucks" to "doesn't suck as much".

MVP Table

Perrenial MVP Michael, This years MVP, Bryant, and MVP Runner up Rich. At Zankous. Where the big boys eat.

Don't it look like Rich is about to inflict great bodily harm on BK?

Word To The Wise

A quick word to the wise. Me under the cherry tree has nothing in common with that piece of shit Prince movie, Under the Cherry Moon. I will give props to Kiss being his last good song and the only reason to want the soundtrack. Damn Sting fans.

I'm getting too fucking restless without balls to hit and my knees getting scabbed. Evil thoughts have been seeping into my brain whenever I see FOBS with nice cars or poser looking Asians wearing their NBA replica jerseys with a Mr T gold chain starter kit. Criminal minded thoughts. Once i get back on the field all will be well again. I'll be too sore to even contemplate the thought of robbery and random assaults. Cross my heart.

I uploaded some pics to the Giant Robot Photo gallery. Enjoy.

Nihongo Wakarimasen

Some useful phrases I picked up from a few phrasebooks that my homegirl brought me after her most recent trip to Japan. Being a Yonsei means that my nihongo isn't really up to par considering most of what I know was passed on by family members and obasans who speak very old fashioned Japanese. Now this is the kinda shit I can use. Welcome to the 21st century.

Gomu tsukeru.

Piru nonderu?

Donna-fu-ni shite hoshii?

It gets better.....

Mada kekkon shitakunai.

Mada konyaku shitakunai.

Suki-dakedo kekkon-wa dekinai.

Boku-wa kimi-ni fusawashiikunai-yo.

Ask me if you need translations. Or better yet just ask Eric, Michael, or LV.

Special LV word of the day. Kijoi. Sorry. We're missing the line over the o.

FYI

Like Martin figured out you don't have to have a Blogger account to leave comments now. Course this is prolly a open invitation to spammers and shit but now you know.

Spent the morning before work playing NBA Street 3. Much better then watching any of the local NBA teams of late. Finally got the controls down. The Career mode is off the charts for fun and unlocking shit is muy cool. Creating my own shoe and designing my own park is the icing on the cake. That and getting Ray Allen to join my team.

For the first time in a long time took a walk around the hood today, admiring cherry trees and whatnot on my way to the GR store. Walking is good. Specially for fat out of shape people like me. Too bad they were out of the Ong Bak dvd I wanted.

This love for cherry trees has no end in sight as I also spent part of my day reading under the ones across the street at the park. Idyllic as Eric says. Besides the pink shit all over me.

Practice the other night literally kicked my ass. I couldn't even finish it out I was cramping so bad. I have a feeling I pulled something in my Ab but no worries. It only hurts when I do something. Like move. Or breathe. I'll get over it.

Kinda sad to see the NHL season called off today but in all honesty I have't really missed hockey since Novemeber. One less distraction in my life.

Catching Up

Music to Write By: Uncle Kracker ~ Drift Away

To quote my homie Hap, "Yeah, it's been a minute". End quote.

This year we had a full weekend of Valentine's joy. Saturday night with Bachan and Moms doing what all Japanese Americans do for important events. Chinese food. I still don't know why. It's just like that. Even though there's a local branch of the restaurant that happens to be Bachan's favorite I ended up driving across town to Chinatown. Why? Cuz they insist the food tastes better in Chinatown. I wouldn't know but it was nice seeing Alpine Rec again. We used to ball there back in the day. My rushed appearance after work enabled me to arrive just in time for cookies and oranges then a ride down the 5 to my Uncle's in the OC. Lucky for them my credit card made a cameo appearance before I got there. Which reminds me I better get it back from Mom's before my evil brother "borrows" it to finance his next trip to Vegas. Family gatherings like this are a perfect excuse for me to practice my one word answering techniques with the odd head nod or shake thrown in.

Sunday nite was spent in the company of a VIP ex of mine. Words of wisdom. Having many exes doesn't really make you a stud or a player. It means you either fuck up a lot or you're a dog. Dinner at Jerry's Deli is nothing to write home about but dessert is a great thing making me happy not to be jinxed like my girl LV.

So what the fuck have I been doing? Playing lots of poker for one. Changing my game of choice from No Limit to Pot Limit means muchmore stability to the bankroll. This means no more mecurial runs and having to grind a bit more then I'd like but the secuity makes it all good.

In the past week and a half I watched the entire 1st season of the tv show Las Vegas. Fun show, gorgeous girls. James Caan rules. I thought the main character was a tool but by the end of the final episode where he gets called back to active military duty I was affected enough to phone my friend who watches it regliously and ask her if he made it back this season. Yes he does. All is right with the world.

On the videogame front I picked up NBA Street 3 and suck at it.

Picked up a few of my all time favorite books to reread them. Hawaii by James Michener and The Stand by Steven King. A few years back my brothers had a yard sale and I have a feeling those books ended up there along with more then a few other items of mine. Since I wasn't living in LA at the time it was everything goes. That's a big reason we have storage space now.

You're a Philospher?

I think very deeply. So does Christian.

Cherry Blossom Sighting

The first cherry blossoms of the year. To be marked under "things that make you smile".

Shhhhhh

Shhhh. Genius at work.

Coming Attractions

The signage for a new restaurant opening on the Blvd in the very near future. Random comments from the crowd.

"What's that mean? Greats?"

"I hear they're gonna be a sandwich shop."

"Isn't it going to be all vegetarian?"

"Is his Mom gonna run it?"

The truth is out there.

The Morning After

The morning after is never ever a pretty sight. 5 hours after playing my final hand in a "friendly" house game and 8 minutes before opening the store. Nope, not a good thing.

Unofficial Giant Robot Softball Awards

After a long 5 months our 2nd season if finally over. What better way to commemorate it then awards? Now anyone can be the MVP. These are in Bill's words, the "Special Olympics" awards. Meaning there's something for everyone on the team, just for participating.

Roadrunner Award ~ Bryant. Nobody but nobody on the team is as fast as BK. Whether it's his 5 pm arrivals for 7:30 games, or hitting on the girl he just met there's nobody in his class. He's also pretty good on the bases and chasing down fly balls that he gets a late jump on just to make it interesting.

Pick Me Up Award ~ Martin. Given to the pitcher who has to sit there and watch his defense fuck up, time after time. Patience is indeed a virtue.

Phoenix Award ~ Hap. After a thrilling nite of batting cages and bowling alley food Hap got so ill he missed the next game and made a miaraculous recovery before the following game to spark the team to victory. Lesson learned. When your teammates wanna hang out just say no!

Bun E Carlos Award ~ Carlos. Everyone's favorite quiet, smiling drummer was one of the unsung heros of the past season laying a steady beat with his hitting while letting his teammates get the spotlight.

Ice Cream Man Award ~ Rich. The premier power hitter like to fuel up on pints of ice cream. Don't hate. The team leader in extra base hits and RBIs.

Loreal Award ~ Bill. Not only does he look good with the blonde tresses but he plays like a supermodel too with a team leading number of doubles and base on balls. Even if the real reason he goes to the batting cage is to play Tekken 5 and pick up on the girl who works there.

Tony Hawk Award ~ Bret. The player who energizes us the most with his death defying baserumming and catches in the outfield. Picture Ichiro as a Texan and there's Bret.

Purple Heart Award ~ Anthony. Nobody gives up more for the team bodywise. Ant must have lost a few pints of blood this year as his scars will attest to.

Robocop Award ~ I love Chi to death but he still reminds me of a cop. A cop who led the team in home runs and managed to hit almost .600 with only one practice.

Black and Decker Tape Measure Award ~ Sky. Twice in one game he got on base without hitting it past the pitcher. Very underappreciated skill. In reality a on base machine with lots of walks and hits.

Bo Jackson Award ~ Nate. Ok. He doesn't hit or run like Bo, nor does he run over over linebackers or break bats over his head. But Nate's a playa, filling in at 3 positions and the most improved hitter on the team. With Sammy Sosa on his way to Baltimore somebody buy this man a Oriole hat.

Eddie Van Halen Award ~ Herden. So he dumped us to be a rock star. I still love him.

Best Cameo By A Movie Star ~ Michael. Plays in 2 games, we win them both, then rides off into the sunsets.

Fast Food Award ~ Greg. Unwritten rule. If you strike out you buy fries. Being the team leader in that category makes me more generous then usual. I still owe a round. Shhhhhh.

World's Greatest Deck

It's not often you see Eric skating up and down the street. But lately he's been tooling up and down the Blvd on the best looking skateboard I've ever seen. Yes, it's the Official Ming Tran with a hot dog in her mouth board.

I used to envy Eric because he found a Christian Hosoi Hammerhead when he was in Japan. No longer. This is the holy grail, right fucking here.

On a related note I'm a pussy. Seeing Eric with the board made me claim that I could jump, grind the board across the railing in front of the market, and not kill myself. I'd fucking die. Of course I'd die on the hottest board in the world but that's a small consolation. Dead is dead.

The Lady In Red

Why is she red? Too much alcohol? The color reflecting from her shirt? Or maybe it's just my shitty phone cam. Regardless she's dope and I envy her hair. It reminds me of Watt's from Some Kinf of Wonderful. Too bad she don't play the drums. She also scares 90 % of my homeboys. I'm immune. Been there done that.