Funny commercial

I saw one of the funniest series of commercials ever last night, shown during the NBA All Star Game. The game itself was fairly entertaining. It was even competitive for almost three quarters until the West showed how talented a conference it is. The game also marked the first time Kobe and Shaq were on the same team since the 2004 NBA Finals, and they didn't disappoint by being named co-MVPs for the game. But back to the commercial. It was for Gatorade and they made it in the style of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. KG, Jeter, Jimmy Johnson, Misty and Kerri and two other Olympians, Usain Bolt and Alicia Sacramone were in The Quest For G. Kareem made an appearance at the start of the commercial. Pretty funny stuff, but it helps if you have seen the movie before, as well as have an appreciation for the athletes in the commercial.

A river runs through it

No, I am not talking about the movie that came out about 10 years ago. I am talking about the Santa Clara River, a river over 100 miles in length and at its end, runs between Oxnard and Ventura and finally empties out at the Pacific Ocean. Most of the year we see a dry riverbed but with all of the rain the past couple of days, there is actually water flowing through. I noticed this as I was driving over it on the 118. It's kinda nice to se the water flow. It is also nice to see and hear and experience the rain. It has been a nice steady rain, no real hard downpour. Just enough to get the streets wet, and maybe, just maybe, some of this water will get absorbed on the ground and not run off straight to the ocean. I did have to unclog my drain spout coming off the roof on Friday. It had been clogged by some of those seed-nut like things that fall off from the big tree right next door. I had tried to keep it clean of leaves all year but I wasn't able to see those things in the drain until too late. Thank goodness the drain snake worked and I was able to clear the clog. In the mean time I will enjoy the sounds and sights of the rain.

Facebook

I broke down and joined the masses in getting a Facebook account. Some people from work had it and kept talking about it a lot, and despite my claims over the past few weeks that I would never get on Facebook, I did. So far it has been good. I have exchanged a few emails from friends I had in high school. I can now get more updates on friends from different parts of the country. Instead of having to send individual emails to keep in touch, I can just go to people's facebook pages and see what's new with them. I even found a friend from my volleyball playing days who moved out of the state - she now lives in West Virginia! One huge advantage being on Facebook is that I am able to check it while at work. I can't check my personal email at work, and being on facebook allows me to contact people while at work. OK, that may not be a truly good thing as this is very addictive. I need to practice moderation with Facebook, or pretty soon I will be saying, "Hello, my name is Rafael, and I am a Facebookaholic".

What the heck?

Politics doesn't make any sense to me. Growing up I would have to say I was a left of center guy, mostly because I saw the Republicans as the white man's party. Since I'm not of the Caucasian persuasion, I couldn't be a Republican, can I. Also I only thought that one had to be a Republican or a Democrat. I couldn't consider myself a true Democrat since I can't really agree with a lot of their thinking as well. So as I have grown older I now consider myself more on the right side of center, and have been a card carrying member of the GOP for a few years now. But the party has not been making any smart moves recently, especially this past presidential election. So I think I will start to be really open minded about things and just stay independent of these two parties until either one proves to be really caring of this country.

Our new president has shown promise of giving hope to our country. But some of his early moves in his term has really turned me off. I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but how can I when he backs someone, who intentionally forgets to pay his taxes for a few years, to be the secretary of the treasury. He claims that it was an honest mistake, but if he didn't realize it to be a mistake, then he is not smart enough to figure out how to get our economy working again. If he is that smart, then he did deliberately not pay his taxes, which should be enough to disqualify him as a candidate. Guess the chosen one's magic won the senate over as they confirmed this crook to be the secretary, to be in charge of the very same IRS that he cheated on.

Our prez also reversed a decision made by our last prez which stopped funding to groups which allow the killing of innocent babies. Pro choice is the supposed stance. Guess since the babies can't speak yet, they don't have a choice and therefore don't count. He considers the torture of terrorists to be unethical yet allows the killing of innocent babies. Yep, he's an ethical prez all right. I will have to continue to pray for his conversion, as well as that of others who do not see the dangers of their pro choice thinking.

OK, one last thing on politics today. Late last week while flipping through the channels, there were a few so-called news channels sharing their views. I consider these shows to be talk shows and not news, as the hosts just love to hear themselves talk. One channel hd Sean hannity interviewing Rush Limbaugh, the next had larry King interviewing Nancy Pelosi, while a third had Lou Dobbs having a few experts talking about what has happened since the coronation of the nu prez. All I can say is that thank goodness there were basketball games on tv that night.

546

Today marks the 546th month that I have been on this world. It's a pretty big number but it is something of which I am thankful for the blessing of living 45 and a half years. I pray that I have quite a few more months, a few hundred more is what I hope, to live in this world. I know that I haven't made the most of all of my time here but it's not too late to start to make something of my life. We all think of what our legacy would be, but that usually happens after the end. The end of life or the end of being in a position of importance.

Just got thinking this way as today is also the day when our country celebrates the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. A man who I didn't know much about, other than he was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement that was many, many years in the making but hit its stride in the 1960s. Many know of his "I Have A Dream" speech in August 28, 1963. I was 40 days old at the time and was living far, far away from Washington D.C. Over 8500 miles! The first time I heard of this man was shortly after my family moved from the Philippines to Los Angeles.

I was in sixth grade then, the year was 1974. My elementary school didn't have many black students there as the neighborhood was mostly Hispanic, Asian and Caucasian. Junior high was mostly the same and not until senior high school was there a large African American population. In an ironic twist the high school was Fairfax High, located in the mostly Jewish district of Fairfax near West Hollywood. It turns out my high school was one of the first in the LAUSD to integrate, in the early 1970s. Imagine, a school in LA had to integrate, with the very diverse population that lives in LA. But because of an earthquake that damaged LA High School, a lot of students were bused in to Fairfax. From what I read there wasn't any riots or protests against it, but it did make some people uncomfortable. A history teacher/basketball coach, who was Jewish, welcomed the new students with open arms and made smooth the transition for everyone.

By the time I got to Fairfax I didn't notice anything strange or different about the student population, it just seemed normal. The only thing that puzzled me was how many students were absent the first time there was a Jewish holiday - I didn't think there were that many Jewish students there. Even my sister was not in school! Turns out that most of the teachers were gone too so it might as well have been a holiday for everyone. Needless to say I celebrated the Jewish holidays after that one. Mr. Biegel, the teacher/coach was there and he was one of the favorite teachers in the school. I never took any of his classes but he was always welcoming and cheerful to all. "Biegel here" was his standard greeting on the school intercom whenever he had an announcement. I can't believe that it has been over 27 years since I graduated from Fairfax.

Fast forward to January 19, 2008, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the day before the inauguration of the 44th president of the country. I am sure that MLK is smiling upon our country as he sees it getting ready to welcome an African American to the White House. I may not have voted for Barack Obama but I am so proud to be an American. The struggle and fight that was so prevalent in our country just over 45 years ago and is still going on has torn down another barrier. I have been blessed to not have known these struggles that many have faced, but it is because of it that I don't have to face much of it. Because of it I was able to become a citizen of this country. Because of it I have been able to have a voice and vote. I do pray for our next president, that he is able to lead us out of the economic crisis we're in, that he is able to lead and govern with wisdom. I may not agree with a lot of his politics but I will pray for him. For we are a free country, free to have differing opinions, free to worship as we want to, and may that freedom continue. "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last".

Home sweet home

OK, so a plane similar to this one took me home this past Saturday. I happened to be in the plane next to this one, but this one just reminded me of one of the cool things about living in SoCal - Disneyland!!! Still no definite plans to go but the desire is getting stronger every day. Need to contact all of my D-land friends to see who can play hooky one day and go down there with me. I have some park hopper tickets that need to be initally used by December 18. Anyone interested?

One thing I got to do while in Alaska was to take lots of pictures in a very wintery scene. After all, it is December and I am above the 54th latitude. Luckily I was able to get enough pics before a "warm" storm front came through and it rained on us, melting a lot of the snow. This picture of me - my coworker Greg was ontravel with me so I had someone who can take pics of me - was at one end of town. Cordova, AK isn't too big so going from one end to the other only took a few minutes. The background was so cool that I think I may use this pic for a Christmas card.

We got things done on time - it was almost a miracle. The weather at the launch site was very foggy and usually the ability to see the rocket launch, along with the first few seconds of flight, is required. That was waived and off it went. Just about everything went according to plan. Greg and I were even able to get on a plane from Cordova to Anchorage about two hours after the launch. We spent the night in Anchorage, just cruising around the downtown area. It was colder there, as there were still lots of snow and ice on the roads and sidewalks. It was a pretty sight, but thank goodness I only had to spend a few hours there. I love my mild weather in Ventura. What a surprise I got when I got home and had to fill up my car at the gas station - $17.94 for a fill up. I don't know when the last time I filled for that low a price. Less than 6 months ago I paid $4.439 for a gallon of gas and here it is, a few weeks before Christmas, and the price is $1.799 for 89 octane and going down. Who'd have thunk it?

Ahhh, Ventura. The high today was in the upper 60s and it was partly cloudy. Took the afternoon off so I can pick up my mail at the post office. Went to Mass this evening as this was the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. Saw lots of people at church, some I hadn't seen in a while. Talked to them about my last few trips, especially the Alaska trip. I did tell them I was on a search for Sarah Palin, and I tiold them I found her. Well, it's not her but a picture of her on the front page of the Anchorage Daily News. But hey, it's still her and I found her.

In search of Sarah Palin

OK, I don't really think I will find her, nor am I trying at all to find her, but I am in Alaska. Yep, up here for another work trip, maybe my last one depending on the next administration. Flew up here yesterday, and here is Cordova near the Prince William Sound made famous by the Exxon Valdez accident 20 years ago. Should be here about a week, depending on when things get done. This may be my last trip to Alaska, as there aren't any missions planned up here for at least a year, and the country is getting a new administration in about 7 weeks.

This is the third work trip, totaling 5 weeks on the road, in a 7 week period. Needless to say it's the last work trip of the year. It may not be my last trip of the year as I may go to Las Vegas with my mom and sister the week before Christmas. And of course, there will be trips to the Merriest Place on Earth this month. I have a couple of 3-day hoppers that must be first used by December 18, and used up within 45 days of first use. There's a little blockout period from Dec. 19 until after the New Year, but should be able to use it with no problem. My niece is done with her finals this week so I plan on taking her some time next week. In the mean time, I will try to take more pics up here in Alaska. Hopefully some of them will be worhty to post here.