Being Held Up at Gun Point

For all of you accustomed to my normally funny/whitty/satirical blogs, you will be surprised to read a very serious blog I am posting.

The title is true in every sense of the word. I was held up at gun point after entering my house at 1am on Saturday morning, April 4, 2009. There were many events leading up to this, and it has seriously led me to believe that I either have a guardian angel, as I have been told by a girl I was dating back in 2005 (and I thought she was crazy at the time), but definitely do believe that God is looking down on us at all times.

I started off Friday like always, coming home from work. This day I got home around 3pm because, like most Fridays, it is rather slow and there are not a lot of surgeries or Docs around to talk to after 12pm. I had already made up my mind that I was to go up to Keystone to go snowboarding with my cousin, Walter. They were staying up there for the weekend anyways, and he said I might be able to stay up there with them on Saturday night. So I had already made up my mind to get up to the Mountains. There are only 2 more weekends before the resorts all close anyways. So, normally I try to get to bed early on Friday night so I can wake up at 5:45am to make the drive up to the mountains without hitting any traffic.

Well, I didn't go out with my friend Jackie because she said she was having a Girls Night Out, and I didn't want to hit anyone else up so I could get into bed as early as possible. I was watching VH1's "One Hit Wonders of the 80's" and also "The Girls of the Sunset Strip," which got me all the way to about 10pm. Then I watched some more TV and before I knew it, I was going up to my room about 11:30pm. I had failed in my attempt to go to bed early. So I texted Jackie, "Damn! The whole point of me not going out 2nite was 2 b in bed by 10:30 2 get up @ 6am so I can snowboard, n here it is 11:30... FAIL!!!"

She texted me back and said her friends and her were at Rock Bar if I wanted to go out. The bar is only like 2-3 miles away and not Downtown, so parking is not an issue. I decided to head over there. I left the house at around midnight and met up with her and her friends. I attempted to get a drink at a severely packed bar, and got so fed up with waiting that I didn't even care anymore. Danced with Jackie for a little bit, and then around 12:45am I was ready to head out. I drove her to her car at her friends place, and then headed home to get my snowboarding gear ready.

At around 1am I get home and unlock the deadbolt on the front door, and walk in. The only light on in the house is the front entry-way light. Todd (the home-owner/Amy's Brother) was not home, and his car was not there. He had gone to go skiing in the mountains, but I thought he said he'd be back Friday night. I hear noise coming from upstairs, which is where my room is. I start to wonder if Todd is home. I stand and listen some more, and I hear more noise coming from upstairs. I start to think maybe Todd is home, and his car is just not there. He had been having trouble with his car and was talking about getting rid of it anyways, so that was in the back of my mind.

Let me caution everyone: if you think that something just doesn't seem right, you should trust your instincts! DO NOT go investigate!

I'm thinking that something is fishy about this. I thought I heard papers ruffling around, and now that I think about it, it was still dark upstairs. So if Todd was home, he would've had the lights on. I yell out from downstairs, "Hello?!" No answer so I walk up the stairs (like an idiot), and yell out one more time, "Hello?!"

As I look down the hall into Todd's office, a black male, about 5'9" and maybe 200-220 lbs comes into the doorway down the hall. He is down the hall about 20 feet away. He points a silver pistol at me. I was looking down the barrel. He says in a really deep bass voice, and quietly yet forcefully, "Yeah. Give me your wallet."

I'm like, SHIT! No way is this happening! Why did I feel the need to go upstairs and find out what was happening? Why did I not just get the hell out and call 911 when I thought something was not right? My hands are up in the air and I had my wallet in my left hand and my keys in my right hand. Homeboy walks towards me and says, "Go down the stairs." I have my wallet in my hand walking down the stairs kind of holding it towards the intruder so he can take it. He says, "Throw the wallet on the stairs. Get down on the ground, face down." I get on the ground with my keys in my right hand, and I'm face down on the ground. "Are you calm," he asks.

"Yes," I respond.

"Good! Stay calm, lie down there, and no-one gets hurt."

He walked around me towards the back door. I was lying down, thanking my lucky stars to still be a living organism on this planet. I stayed lying there for a few minutes, listening, and I hear nothing. No sound at all. So I call out, "Hello... Hello?" It is apparent that he is not in the house, so I get up and visually check the back door and see that it is creaked open. So he must've exited out the back door. I feel ok at this point. I want to leave, but I start to fear he may be outside, so I check out front to see if he's there. I don't see anything, but I wait for a few more minutes and check again. Still nothing. I go out the front door and drive to Jackie's place. It is 1:30am at this point.

She's asking me if I'm ok and stuff... I tell her yes, I'm ok, but then it dawns on me that I should call 911. I hang up with her and call 911. I was fully intent on driving straight to her place, but I am told there are cop cars already on the way back to my house. I turn around and go back to meet the cops at home. I call Jackie and tell her that I am not going straight to her place, I have to meet the cops. But I am not sleeping at home tonight, so she can expect me later.

I meet the cops back at home, tell them everything. They go in and sweep and clear the house. They come out and tell me to come inside. I was on the phone with Navy Federal while they were sweeping the house, cancelling my bank/credit cards with them. I didn't even have cash on me. This guy didn't really get anything out of taking my wallet. I go through the house with the officers. Todd's room is tore apart, my room is tore apart, and Todd's laptop was taken from the office. The intruder did not have a bag with him because he emptied out my backpack and it was missing, so he must've put the laptop in my backpack.

I find out Sunday that a pocket watch I got for being in my friend Grant's wedding was taken also. Ironically, I am moving out of this house and moving this week into a much nicer and safer neighborhood. I will not even be here next weekend!

The cops say that the intruder came in by busting through the back door. This was the only door in the house that was not dead-bolted. He couldn't have been there for maybe 15 minute before I got there. I don't really think this was a thought-out, meticulous robbery. Just a smash and grab. I am lucky I was not sleeping in my bed when this happened. I would've freaked out probably! Somehow I didn't get to bed early enough, and Jackie invited me out. And what's more, I was wrestling with the option of either going to bed or going out at the time Jackie texted me back. Someone made up my mind for me to leave the house. Too bad that same someone didn't make up my mind for me to get out of the house the second I heard noises from upstairs, but I guess there's only so much a guardian can do.

ALWAYS DEAD-BOLT your house! ALWAYS! Granted, Todd lives in a sketchy, ghetto, neighborhood, but still. After this experience I will have everything bolted from now on.

Talking to some people, they say that they probably would've panicked or freaked out if it happened to them. Luckily, and I mean this... I'm me. I'm pretty calm and collected, and I was able to just deal with the situation as calmly as possible. I didn't know what to expect after the guy told me to go face-down on the ground, but I just trusted that he didn't want to shoot me. THANK GOD! I have been talking to a lot of people about it to get it out. I can't bottle this up, and now you all can read it, and hopefully take a lesson from it...

The Vail Weekend 2009

Okay, so finally I have something else to write about after all this time…

Let me start out by saying that I LOVE COLORADO!!! Seriously, I can’t think of anywhere else on Earth I would rather live at this point in my life. This past week, I have gotten a little bit more confident in my virgin career in Medical Sales, and I had the pleasure of playing tour guide for a few days with my friend Dre who came in from San Diego to snowboard in the Rocky Mountains. She got into Denver on Monday afternoon with three other California friends. We texted back and forth and decided to meet up downtown at Pat’s to do some liberal drinking. I called up my new friend Ashley, and her roommate and her met up with us down at Pat’s.

Probably the most important thing about Monday was the price for drinking: $7 pitchers! And there was a beer pong tournament. Dre came with her California friends Ashley, Ryan, and Doug. She was also staying with her friend Austin and his roommate Diego. We all met up, and then my friend Ashley showed up about 20 minutes later with her roommate Liz. Come to find out, Doug went to SDSU so there was an immediate, “We can party hard,” connection between Doug and myself since we’re both party animals that went to SDSU. We played in the beer pong tournament and dismantled our first opponents who were native Coloradans. We talked trash about the Broncos with these guys since our SD roots run deep… We then got destroyed by another set of Coloradans that were transplants from the Boston area. All in all we went 2-2 and didn’t win any prizes as it was double elimination in the beer pong tournament.

Tuesday through Thursday Dre and all her friends headed up to the mountains. Todd hooked them up with his FAT Frisco Cabin for Wednesday and Thursday nights at $300/night. Ridiculously cheap when you realize that it’s about 2000 square feet, has a hot tub, four rooms, a living room upstairs, a den downstairs, a huge kitchen, and is hooked up with a flat screen TV, Ipod radio, and surround sound system!!! It has enough sleeping space for 12 comfortably so it is perfect!!! I was fortunate to meet up with the crew on Thursday night and stay at the Frisco Cabin with them Thursday night. I stayed Thursday night for free since I hooked them up with a $200 discount. Of course the first thing I did was get in the Hot Tub. I was so jazzed up about the Hot Tub that I didn’t even mix myself a drink. Not to worry, Ryan aka Dingo, mixed me a Jack and Coke, emphasis on Jack! Austin is an awesome cook and he cooked us some Salmon with Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes on Thursday night. Then we all went out to the bars in Breckenridge and stayed out til 2:30am. Woke up at 7am and cleaned up and then bailed for Vail…

We parked at Vail and were on the mountain at 11am, and it was dumping!!! Visibility was not so good, but I took Austin, Dre, Dingo, and Doug to the back bowls immediately. It was not easy at all to see with the conditions, but we still hauled down the mountain on the first run. The SD transplants were so tired thanks to the massive elevation of the Rockies. I am lucky enough to be used to the elevation so I had no issues. We went up lift 17 and went through some open trees. This is where I got a bit ahead of everyone, and went through some open trees myself. I hit some powder bumps, and was having an awesome time! I was having so much fun hauling downhill that I kept going, but then I hit a tuft of snow and lost control. Fell down on my back on my way straight into a tree. I was hoping that I might be heading away from said tree and hopefully just slide to the side of it. I really tried to bring my board down to stop or slow down but my momentum carried me straight down. Unfortunately for me, I was heading towards the tree, but fortunately my helmet stopped me! As in, I hit the tree head first, but the helmet saved my LIFE!!! Everyone was behind me and they just saw a puff of powder smoke as I lost control and then they just saw me lying next to the tree. I got up and we went back down to the bottom.

We went a couple other places and warmed up at Two Elk’s Lodge around 12:30 on the top of the mountain cuz it was 11 degrees and there was no trace of the sun. After we warmed up it was about 1pm, and then the sun came out. We hit up a bit more POW runs, and then headed down to Los Amigos for some Apres Ski drinking! We started chatting up two other ladies from NYC, and got their numbers to hang with later on. We finally finished at Los Amigos, and went to the hotel. Dre got a room at the Sitzmark Lodge, so we all recovered there for a bit. The awesome thing was, there was a stage and live music being played right outside our hotel. We got in the hot tub on the second floor outside and were drinking our own mixtures of alcohol while being serenaded with live Reggae. The stage was almost right below us, so we got hooked up! It was so chill, and it was like GOD was smiling upon us, allowing us to listen to really good music for free while soaking our loins.

After the hot tub, we decided to get my car and drive out to West Vail to park it at a Safeway parking lot since we had no other parking passes for it, and I didn’t want to necessarily pay for overnight parking. Diego and I went to drop off the car while everyone else got ready to go to Garfinkles for the partying portion of the night. We dropped off my car, and Diego and I made an executive decision to get everyone $1 menu McDonald’s. Called up the rest of the crew and gave them specific instructions to figure out what they want from the $1 menu. Got the text of the order and we got the food and headed back. We went to Garfinkles around 10pm and met up with the NYC girls Rebbekah and Lara. The one thing about Garfinkles is that they must stamp you when you enter. Not a big deal, but the stamp must be radio-active! I am writing this on Monday, and there is still a faint blue mark from it. It has a half-life of 5 years I think! I digress, $3 U-Call-It’s all night long = SUITE!!! Love the cheap drinking! It was packed in there. We met a lot of Vail locals and I’m pretty sure between Austin, Diego, and I we will have a place to stay in Vail for free from now on. Austin was playing pool, and after winning and taking control of the table, he was awaiting for the next man up to rack for him. This guy was probably waiting for an hour, and finally racked up so Austin could break. I heard the distinct CRACK of the break and watched in amazement as Austin sank the “8” ball on the break! Translation: GAME OVER! This guy waited all that time to just lose on the break, OUCH! We were pretty much done at Garfinkles after that, so we headed back to the Sitzmark Lodge. Austin already said that we’re gonna hang at this Aussie’s place next weekend in Vail. I love it!!!

The bad news of the night was that my neck was so stiff from hitting that tree. Not only that, but I tried to ride on Saturday, but I really couldn’t rotate my neck. I’m gonna get a massage from Jackie later on this week to hopefully loosen me up…

Saturday we woke up, and my neck was so stiff! I had issues sleeping Friday night. I was sleeping in between Ashley and Dre, without a pillow to hopefully straighten out my neck. I woke up in the middle of the night so sore, so I got off the bed and tried sleeping on the floor sitting up with my back against the bed. After that didn’t work out, I just lied down on my back on the hard floor without a pillow again. I was so stiff and sore! Dre woke up and I didn’t think that I could ride on Saturday. Yeah, it was that BAD! If you know me, it’s gonna take a lot for me not to go riding… I’ve gone up sick as a dog before because I love to ride! That should let you know the kind of pain I was in.

The Sitzmark Lodge had free breakfast, so we all went in waves to get us some food. The breakfast was excellent! Fresh fruit, bagels, cereal, and the coup de tat: Fresh Waffle Batter to be poured into the Waffle Maker! Man, what a great way to start your day! I really wanted to get on the hill cuz it was my last chance to go riding with Dre, Dingo, and Doug this trip. Finally I decided to soak in the bathtub under some hot water one last time. I psyched myself up and got on my gear and was off to the mountain. Dre got her lift ticket, and we waited in the never ending singles line to get on the mountain. Finally when it was time to get our tickets scanned, hers was not scanning. Come to find out the peeps at the ticket counter had given her a pass for Keystone, A-Basin, and Breckenridge instead of the one she really needed: VAIL! Luckily they fixed it, cuz the ticket scanner dude went down to the ticket office and switched it out for her so we didn’t have to leave the line. We finally got to the top and met up with Doug and Dingo. Went down Sun Up Bowl, but it had mostly been skied out already so we didn’t get to hit some FRESH POW. It was at this point that we got some pictures of us on the mountain.

After the pictures and hitting some crusty snow on the way down, I was barely able to move my neck. Every time my heel would slip or I would have to dig into the snow extra hard, the pain would shoot up into my neck and the pain was getting ridiculous. Since I couldn’t do much I decided to ride down and call it a day for myself. Dre and the Cali boys kept on going, and I can’t blame them.

Since I was done for the day, I went back to Austin’s truck and dropped off my gear. After that I called Austin, who was with Ashley and Diego. They came and picked me up in the rental car and we went to Denny’s to eat us some food. It was a little ways away from the resort, but I got the Super Bird, and it was excellent! We then drove on back over to the Safeway parking lot to pick up my car. We get there and there’s a sticker on my car reading,

Okay… So I didn’t get a ticket, just a big orange sticker on my car. Funny! I had to take a picture of it to document this part of the trip. Austin had to go take a massive poopy, so he went into the Ace Hardware store, but before he went to said bathroom he called me and told me I had to go in and see the fish in there. So I went in, and got some pics of the fishies. They were pretty big, so it made for good use of my camera.

After that we headed back and met up with the rest of the crew. We had a little bit of time to chill in Vail still, so Austin and I went to an art store and saw some ridiculously expensive art, sculptures, displays. He started chatting up the girl who was helping us and come to find out she’s apparently an ex-pro snowboarder. She gave him a card with a website she’s supposedly on. I checked out what I could on my Blackberry, and it’s def a pro-snowboarding website. Her name is Zoe, but there is no last name. He got her phone number and email, so I hope we can all ride in Vail if she really is that good. It was my own little, unofficial vacation! It was excellent!

Back in Denver, we decided to go out on Saturday night too… Why not? So Austin, Diego, Dingo, Doug, and I went downtown to Spill, Monarch, and 24K to get our swerve on Saturday night. Dre and Ashley actually drove from Vail over to Aspen to visit with some other of their friends. The boys all stayed out all night Saturday… I think it was three birthday parties and a girls night out between all of the ladies we chatted up Saturday night. It was just ridiculous! My First Bank Visa Check Card got stolen, but luckily I have two bank accounts, so after I called and cancelled that card at 12:30am Sun morning/Sat night, I wasn’t completely cut off from society… Sunday was recovery day from all of the hard partying we did. The Cali crew flew back on Sunday night, and my weekend was finally put to a hault! But not before I watched, “Taken” with my Colorado friend Ashley. BTW… “Taken” was awesome!!! Great ending to a great weekend!

Superbowl Sunday Ride Day!!!

Yee-haw!!! It's the day after the Superbowl, and I did the best possible thing... I went snowboarding! And it was ridiculously awesome!!! Thanks to Jimmy Lin and myself, we decided a long time ago that if the Chargers aren't in the Superbowl, we will pass up seeing some or all of the game if it gives us a chance to ride. The reasoning behind this: way back in 2000, when Jimmy met me in Big Bear on Superbowl Sunday to ride, it was dead on the mountain! So it seems that it's the most watched sporting event in the U.S. every year, and that means a majority of the skiers and boarders won't be hitting the mountains on this day.

Before we get into all that, there was the beginning of my day. It consisted of getting up before my alarm at 5:39am and jumping out of bed, ready to suit up and get my butt in gear. Got me some McDonald's for breakfast: chicken biscuit, hash browns, and a coffee. What would happen on my commute later on that morning would prove that actually drinking coffee helped me stay alert. I was on the 25 south at 6:20am, so I was making good time. If I can manage to get on the freeway by 6:30am I'm normally gonna make it to any mountain before opening time, and this day would prove no different. Only I had a slight issue with my commute on the way up to Vail this particular Superbowl Sunday.

I was making great time. It was 7:30am, and I had passed Frisco, which is normally about 25-30 minutes from Vail on the 70 westbound, assuming there is no traffic. Well, there wasn't a lot of traffic this morning, so I was going at a comfortable pace, only passing mainly semis on the way once past Frisco. The rode was definitely slick because I could see the white sheets of snow and ice in either lane. I was doing about 50 mph, and I felt completely safe. I was thinking, "I'll be fine as long as I don't have to make any sudden stops or sharp turns." I should really stop thinking these things.

Maybe five minutes later, I'm in the left lane and I'm coming up about to pass a semi that is already in the right lane about 1/4 mile ahead of me, maybe 1/2 mile. Guess what? Yeah, he was doing about 30 mph and he turns on his blinker and immediately gets in my lane! I see this ahead of me, and I immediately know that I am going too fast because he is not gonna speed up in time to keep me from hitting him at this pace, and I don't have a lot of room to safely slow down. I start with cussing, "Sh--." I keep saying this over and over again to no-one in particular since it's just me in the car. I AM GOING TO HIT HIM, unless I slow down. I don't down-shift, which in retrospect would have been a smarter decision. I instead opt to tap on my brakes and see how much I can slow down. The tapping isn't working too well. I'm still going too fast to hit him. I can feel my car starting to slide, but I have no other options. The wheels locked up because I was either gonna try my luck at sliding and slowing down while on the brakes, or rear-ending the semi ahead of me! My car starts to shift to the right, and the tail end is coming around. I do the over-correction steering move, and then I'm sideways sliding, still going too fast. The passenger side is downhill, facing the semi and now I can see the AWD Subaru that he was passing! Friekin' ALL WHEEL DRIVE SUBARU was going 30 mph!!! This person, in my mind, should never be allowed to drive a Subaru again in their life!

Well, while sliding downhill sideways, I managed to slow down enough to give the semi time to accelerate and get on his way so I won't hit him. The Subaru, however, was still doing 30 mph! I was now in danger of hitting the Subaru! I can still remember catching up with Mr. or Mrs. AWD, and thinking that now I'm gonna crash into this AWD vehicle! The whole time I was just waiting to hear the CRACK!!! that happens when you are in an accident. Thanks to myself, and Jimmy, I have been in two accidents so I know what it sounds like inside the car when you crash into something, so I have experience! I was maybe three feet away from the Subaru at my closest point. If I had a passenger, they could have stuck a lacrosse stick out the window and whacked the Subaru with it! Miraculously, I slowed down enough to miss the Subaru as well!!!

But this is not over! No, not yet! I am still sliding, but now I am headed for the concrete divide on the left-hand side of the road! Now, I think I'm gonna hit the divide! And yet, another miraculous thing happens as I turn the wheel to the right and some-how decide to hit the gas to get the front tires spinning again. I managed to miss the divide! At this point I am going very slow, maybe 10 mph, and my wheels finally begin to grip, and I straighten out as my heart is leaping out of my chest! Now it's decision time: 1. Do I stop on the side of the road and try to compose myself or, 2. Do I just keep driving and let the adrenaline wear off eventually.

There were about 3-4 other cars that I had passed that passed me on the left when I was slow and go in the right lane after my out-of-control incident. I opt for option # 2. I decide that I should just keep driving because if I stop, it's not gonna do much for me to "compose" myself at that point. Since I averted that disaster, I felt that I would just take it slow and get to Vail. And the Subaru was so slow, that I still passed it maybe a mile down the road! As Jimmy put it, "The most fun I never want to have again."

So that was the morning commute. I still get to Vail at 8am, and get my gear on. I am on the Gondola right as they open at 8:30am. I get on the mountain, and now I really have to make this day worth it since I almost crashed my car on the way up there! Vail is huge! Over 5,000 acres, and this is the fifth time on the mountain this year. I go to the familiar back bowls, and look at a map at the top. There is still a whole side of the mountain that I haven't seen yet. I decide to go explore, and to my surprise I find a sweet Black Diamond on the far western(?) back-side of the mountain. It's got some rocks with a few smaller drops, cliffs. I don't get enough cajones to go off the top of these and drop into some soft, albeit, crusty powder. But I did follow another boarder and a skier into the trees. Normally, I hate tree runs, but today is different. In this particular tree run, it's still a bit narrow, but I can keep my speed up and shoot through the trees! It was sweet! It was so good, in fact, that I had to do it again.

After all of that, and after getting back to some of the more familiar back bowls, I was getting hungry. I ride down to the bottom and pull out my trusty Nature's Valley Granola Bar, and munch down on it. By this time it was 12:30pm, and I call a few people to hopefully tell them about my morning commute, but no one answers except my Dad. I tell him about it, and then get some water and do a restroom pit-stop. Now it's 1:00, and I'm pretty much done for the day. I get on the lift at 1:15pm to take me back to the top so I can ride to the other side of the mountain where my car is.

While on the lift, I see to my left, Vail's Terrain Park, complete with a super-pipe and a few jumps that look too big for me to hit. But I really wanted to hit the half-pipe! So I notice that the lift I'm on just keeps getting higher and higher up the mountain. So high in fact that I can traverse all the way to the Terrain Park. So I ride over towards the Terrain Park and finally, I'm there! I immediately hit the super-pipe, and then I notice a few jumps to my left that are smaller, and therefore, I can hit them. There is a shorter pipe to the left of the super-pipe, so I hit that one because it gives me access to the other smaller jumps. After the first couple jumps, I hit the third one and launch myself in the air enough to get a decent grab. At this point, I was hooked! I kept the same routine for about an hour and fifteen minutes. I got to the park at 1:45pm, and ended up taking the lift past the Terrain Park higher up the mountain at 3:00. I made my way all the way to the other side of the mountain where my car was, and I get to my car at 3:40. It was the best Superbowl Ride Day... EVER!!!

I was on the road back home at 4:00 which, as anyone who has ever experienced traffic back to Denver on the 70 can tell you, is normally the kiss of death! Parking lot!!! Yes, there was an accident on the way back, but the normal commute is an hour forty five minutes, and I still got home in two hours and fifteen minutes. Even if it would've taken me three and a half hours to get home, the whole day would've still been totally worth it! EPIC!!! Loved it!

So... Who wants to do it with me next year? I'll try to keep control of the car this time, I promise!

San Diego Tourism

Well, here I sit at home alone listening to some serenading love song mix that I made on my Ipod, as I just put down my guitar after dabbling with a few Bush songs for about a half an hour. I am still recovering from a New Year's Party in which I had absolutely no business going to! Why do I feel the constant need to party, especially when it is hazardous to my health? I probably sped up the cycle that is the common cold by drinking and playing beer pong all night while chilling with Katie and Glenn and some of their friends. It was good to get out because I met a few more ex-lacrosse players that play in various club leagues out here in Denver so when the time comes I'll be playing me some lacrosse! But this is not the purpose of this blog. No, this blog is about my first visit back to my Home Town after defecting to Denver. And as far as first visits go, this was just what I needed!

Was in San Diego from December 23-29th, and saw quite a few of my old peeps. From the old Theater Crew, to the old Roomies Crew, to the old Pub Crew... It was great seeing everyone again. Got to hang in O.B. for a night with Balys, stayed most of the rest of the time over at Chris' new place and got to test out their futon. Ha! Hey, it's free hospitality, and I'm cheap so I can't complain.

This visit could also have been called the official re-introduction to San Diego's finest foods. You know what I mean? Tio Leo's, Mexican Shops, Sushi, and Filipino cuisines. And then there's the west coast In N Out visit that must be made, of course! That was a major part of it, but I was really glad to see everyone for a little bit and share my adventures in Colorado with them.

Wednesday just hung with Chris and went to Santana's for lunch to meet up with Gamp. It was funny because Chris thought he was being pro-active in setting it up since he thought I wouldn't be seeing Gamp this trip if it wasn't for the lunch set up. Little did Mr. Miller know, his girlfriend Leanna was planning him a surprise party for his 30th B-Day that Saturday. Complete with good friends: Gamp, D-Low, Lindsay, Nani, Jimmy, Courtney, and Hung. There was also a stripper pole set up in the middle of their living room... So you can guess where that was going, muahaha! We'll get to the B-day Party later...

Christmas just hopped from house to house and saw Travis and Chris Jordan, then hopped over to my old step-brother's place in Poway and said a quick hello before heading home. Friday, the weather finally started to cooperate and I had to get to the beach, so Chris and I went to Del Mar. The weather was beautiful, all-be-it a bit chilly. It was partly cloudy and a little breezy, probably 55 degrees outside. But I got some good shots of the Pacific with the sun, and my official "I'm a Tourist" shot in front of the water at the Del Mar Beach. Later that night, I went to visit the old Theater Crew: Jeff, Grant, Jessa, Marisa, Quyen. We were all hangin out at Jessa's parents place in Scripps Ranch for a little while. I was there from about 9-11pm, then I headed over to Patrick's Irish Pub for Irish Car Bomb Friday Night! Saw some of the old Pub-Junkies Crew: Vas, Jersey, Jimmy, Al, and Steve showed up after work at about 12:45am. Jimmy's friend Natalie came down from the O.C. with her friend Mary. Did the Irish Car Bomb thing and we all went over to Vas' place about two blocks away to crash after the bar was closed. Seriously, Patrick's Irish Pub is always a good time. I will miss that place the most I think. For a time, we were all quite the popular crowd, but then I moved to O.B. and stopped going as much, and now I'm in Denver (translation: I don't go at all!).

And then there was Saturday. Actually met up with the old Roomies: Jimmy, JenGen, and Balys. And Kristin from O.B. was there too. We were denied sushi as we showed up at 3:15pm, and all sushi places are closed from 2:30-5, then re-open for dinner. Boo! We went to the Tofu House instead, and the lunch conversation was very reminiscent and also moved into recent events in our lives. Good times always with that crew. We all lived together for the better part of 2 years, then we slowly moved away from each other. Jimmy went to the O.C., then Balys and I went to O.B. But we always try to get together at least once if we're all in town. After tofu, shot down to O.B. to get a quick shot of the Pier just after Sunset. What a beautiful place. I don't think I realized what I had when I lived there, but hey: new city, new advantages. Had to head to Chris' place again as Leanna took him out to a Birthday Dinner so we could set up the place for the party. The Stripper Pole guy showed up, and we set that up. Hung had all the booze and Courtney brought the party favors. Chris' face was funny when he entered the door to a room full of people. It was almost like he was disappointed in me. Kind of like, "Why are all these people in my house?" It was priceless! He warmed up like always after a few shots. Jersey, luckily called Jimmy at about 9:30pm so we figured there was plenty of booze to go around. Why not let him come over? He was glad he did! Around 10:30pm the main event happened. Yes! There was a "Special Delivery" for Chris Miller! I think the whole time this girl was dancing on the portable stripper pole the whole room was lit up with flashes from cameras! Chris got quite the show! Lucky him! The female entertainment for the night did a good job, no doubt!

Sunday, I had got Chris and I tickets to the Chargers game vs. the Broncos, so we went to the AFC West Championship game and rode over with JenGen and her friend Joe. I bought four total tickets, 2 for me, and 2 for JenGen. We were all in our Chargers attire! I had blue hair, JenGen sported a blue wig, we were all wearing our Chargers Jerseys. The game could not have been any better. Chargers killed the Broncos! 52-21, not even close. At one point the Broncos scored a TD in the 1st quarter, and the few Broncos fans were boasting cuz they were winning 6-3. Wait a minute though, normally you get 7 points for a TD, right? Yeah, the Broncos missed the extra point. I believe at that time, I knew the game was over. Next thing I knew it was 31-13 at the half! Excellent! Poor Broncos fans, but I had to deal with those cocky jerks for three weeks in Denver as they were telling me how much the Chargers sucked and the Broncos were going to the playoffs. Ooooops!!! Chargers are going to the Playoffs, and Broncos are done!!!!! Ha Ha Ha!!! It is so fitting that I got to go to the clinching game.

On Sunday night after the game I met up with one of Leanna's friends for some Karaoke all the way up in Temecula. Long drive, but I likes to have me some fun, and it was my last night out in my Home Town. So I was obligated to do something fun. Flew back Monday morning after waiting in the SD airport for 3 extra hours cuz--SHOCK!!!--my flight to Denver was delayed. There is normally a 50% chance of that happening I've noticed when flying into or out of Denver. So I was prepared for it. Now I sit here after watching a pretty uneventful Rose Bowl, but I am glad that Va. Tech finally won a BCS game, and I watched them play in the FedEx Orange Bowl tonight just before coming up to my room to write this.

As Ron Burgundy says, "Stay Classy San Diego!" Know that you are missed...

The Rocky Mountains

Well... It's been a little bit since my last post, but I am sitting at home on Sunday night at 10:20pm after my latest excursion to Keystone.

I must say, I have boarded four days, and today was the best by far! I drove up to Keystone to stay at my cousin Walt's condo so we could just wake up and hit the resort for a day of skiing and riding. Mission Accomplished! I hit the best powder run yet, of course, wearing my helmet. I was able to launch myself off a few bumps into the air and not worry about any major injuries because it was like landing on pillows. I believe one time I was sideways, and then got flipped over in the powder, but it was so soft and fluffy! The powder run was definitely a workout. I never thought I could exert so much energy snowboarding, but it is possible. I got my exercise in today for sure.

I have been to Vail and Breckenridge, but today was the best like I said. I got to use my new gear that I bought with a gift certificate to R.E.I. from the Boone Hiatt's (Russ and Amy and Co.) and a check from my Mommy! It was a good day to test out my new gloves, and the pullover that I bought because it was 15 degrees on the mountain, not counting the wind chill. All of the gear worked out perfectly!

The other thing about the day was the Chargers were playing, and I got updates from Mr. Chris Miller telling me that they won their game, and then I saw the Broncos choke against the Bills later in the day. So that means next week, I'll be in my home town of San Diego watching the game with friends, and more importantly Chargers fans, as they play the Broncos. The winner of that game is in the playoffs. Take that Broncos fans!!!

The mountains are awesome, though! I am so happy I am only 1 hour and 15 minutes away from the closest resort that accepts my pass. Now I can't wait to hit up the half-pipe at Breckenridge! I went there last weekend, but the whole park was closed because they were getting ready for the Action Sports Tour. Boo!!! Oh well. I'm San Diego bound on Carter's Birthday, 12/23, and I get to visit all my S.D. friends, and eat real Mexican and Filipino food. Yay!!!

Hope the Holidays finds everyone in as good spirits as I am! Enjoy!!!

My New Profession

All right, first thing: sorry, but there are no pictures associated with this post.

I've been working with my cousin, Walt, for two weeks now, and he's been showing me the ins and outs of the Medical Supplies Sales game. If anyone is in tune to my Facebook account or my MySpace account, you would notice that I have been feeling like I'm going back to college with this whole job. The reason being that I have to study all these new medical terms, and parts of the spine and how it relates to your nerves and where these surgeries are taking place in the body. It's not like college in that I am focused only on one major thing: the spine. This is because I am selling tools and implants specifically for back surgeries. So I can kind of sound smart I guess :-b

It is definitely different from anything I have ever done. I have to register with all these hospitals because once we sell a surgeon on one of our products, then we have to be in the Operating Room while he/she is performing the surgery to tell the assistants (Scrub Tech) what tools he/she will be asking for, and also to make sure we don't further mess up someone's spine when the surgery is taking place because it is very specific the size of plates or screws that the surgeon will be asking for. It is amazing how important we are when it comes to the surgery. I never thought that would be the case, but I will be in the OR. And since I will be talking with Surgeons that is why I need to know all the medical terms because they are going to be expecting me to know what on earth they are talking about when I am with them. I guess I should feel lucky that I don't have to try to read they're handwriting!

So what's the OR like? Uh... It's awesome being in there when they cut someone open and you get to see the skin peeled back. Forgive me if I get a bit detailed with all the gruesomeness that is surrounded with these surgeries, but I love me some blood and gore films, so this is like a dream come true to see it in person! They're a lot cleaner than Hostel or Texas Chainsaw Massacre as I'm sure you would think, but still. AWESOME!!!! So I have to be in Scrubs, and wear a mask, and all that jazz when I'm in the OR. I am not allowed to touch anything either, so I have to verbally tell the Scrub Tech the size of the implant or the next tool that is going to be used. I'll be getting myself a laser pointer as ridiculous as that sounds, but I already saw one of Walt's associates use his to perfection. Now it's yet another thing that I can critique when I see it on TV, like how I critique movies, and Sports TV, and Lacrosse, etc... Get it!

I think that Walt will throw me a case or two (that's what we call it when we go in for the surgeries) when I get back from Utah for Thanksgiving weekend. Then I'm gonna be bangin' on Neurosurgeon and Orthosurgeons doors. And trying to sell them this stuff. Plus, there is a TON of money that can be made, so once I get good at this, I can seriously start saving up huge chunks of $$$ for myself! It's gonna be hard, no doubt, but the fact that I get to see the carnage up close and personal is motivating enough! So that's about it for now. I'm gonna sleep on my posterior side and try to catch some rays and try to prevent myself from radiculopothy and myelopothy. See how my vocabulary has changed!

Denver Night Life

Night life out here rocks! Chris and I actually went to my new hometown bar: Horseshoe Lounge for happy hour on Thursday. Half price drinks, any drink: no exclusions. Translation: ridiculously cheap! After that, we headed over to the Denver Improv and saw Jim Breur. Think Half Baked. Let me tell you: if you liked him on SNL or in Half Baked, you will love his Stand Up! I almost fell out of my chair laughing, he was so hilarious! So if he comes into your town you should seriously see him. Tix were $25 a pop, but SOOOO Worth It!

We then headed over to the Cowboy Lounge after that b/c Thursday nights are Lady's Night. Oh, and no cover b4 10 and the only dress code is: I guess there really wasn't one. Lady's drink free all night on Thursdays, so if the females ever come out here, make sure you make it out for a Thursday night. The atmosphere was very country in there, and there was a bunch of good-looking cowgirls in the place, but I got shot down on numerous occasions. That's ok, b/c I've got plenty of time to get my game on out here.

Friday, Chris and I met up with our friend Katie & here boyfriend Glen at his place. We went to the Keg Steakhouse with them and yet another Glen (yup Glen had a friend: Glen). Both Glen's actually played lacrosse at Denver University, so I already have an in to start playing when it gets to springtime.Oh and Katie also brought out her attractive lawyer friend, Kelly. Excellent! The steaks were good, and the table banter was more than a little entertaining. Katie got her fare share of Chris time. I guess she forgot what it was like to hang out with the three of us. I believe she said that hanging out with the two of us was like hanging with her siblings b/c she seems to always have to be defending herself around us? I don't know what that's all about...

After that we went to Maloney's which was no cover. Got there at 10:30 I think. 32oz. of Guiness is only $9. Awesome! I love it! We got pretty drunk last night, and Chris luckily stopped drinking at about 12:30 so he will be able to drive today. Katie, Glen, Kelly and myself ended up back at Glen's place at 1? I really don't know what time we got back there. The party did not stop just b/c we weren't at the bar. Glen cranked up the tunes, and had an 18 pack of Coors Light so we dented that thing back at his place! We drank til 2:30 or 3 in the morning. And there was dancing involved. Not much else. I passed out on his comfy couch, and woke up this morning at about 8:45, had some water, watched me some ESPN. Then called up Miller, or he called me... It doesn't really matter. Went to meet him at Katie's place since that's where he's been staying all week long. As I was leaving Katie had to take Kelly back to her car. Unfortunately for the Lawyer, Kelly, she has some work to do today. I believe she almost cried when thinking about it this morning. I would too, I've definitely been in that boat before!

Reality is about to kick in though b/c Chris left this morning to make the long drive back to SD alone. I don't know how I could've done this whole thing without him. The Best Man I know! I met Chris for Waffle House this morning before he headed out. Got the hangover special: coffee, waffle, and grits. I start real life on Monday when I work with my Cousin, but I am still in the excited state. Plus it's a gorgeous day out today. 60 degrees and sunny! I think I will have to be getting outside today and do some grocery shopping since I am now officially a Denver local. Enjoy life and the beach and sunshine in SD everyone! I'll be out in SD in December for a little bit, so... See the SoCal family then!