My To Do List: Winter

I have been distracted lately and I have not written in a while. I am posting some of my To Do List to keep me on track.

Poems

Message In A Bottle
Why Can't I See Heaven From Here
Eight Seconds

Stories

The Christmas Barn Story
Leo & Carmen
Time Capsule
River People
The Lazarus Project

Work Emergency

I was working overtime this Saturday trying to get the balance of a seven million forecast out of the door. We only have two more days, Monday and Tuesday, to get the rest of the orders out. The night inspection crew were not really happy to be asked to work overtime. It pretty much rearranged your schedule and sleep patterns. This day was not that problematic, but because of the hot weather we were a little slow. We only have a few jobs available when night shift started, because the rest of the jobs were locked inside the storage room. An outside contractor's work crew was working inside the building cleaning the air ducts from the build up residue from coating the pins.

The shift was almost over and I had my area cleaned up when another inspector came to drop parts for the cetyl alcohol area. I was helping him unload the pans. When he finished I walked him to his electrical golf cart while talking about how slow it was that day. Suddenly I heard a big explosion and a second later I felt hot air rush out of the door. I was facing away from the big door when the explosion occured and I got the heat square on my back. I turned around and saw what looks like sparks flying inside the building. I also saw a few people inside running for the door. I told my friend to run to the opposite building.

I saw the new safety officer, who was supervising the work, ran outside and started to yell to call 911. I ran to the guard shack, but the guard was not there and the door was locked. I ran back to a safe distance. The rest of the people started to go home since they clocked out already. I called my lead lady and she told us to leave and go home. I kept telling her I needed to run inside our office to get my bag and my phone. I later realized that I had my missing phone in my hand, the one I was using to talk to her. My co-workers and I went home while the fire department was hosing down the inside of the building. What a day!

Restaurant: Catalina Coffee Company

This is our favorite coffee shop in the whole of Southbay California. The atmosphere is fantastic and being near the beach is a plus. They serve great fresh ground roasted coffee, soothing teas, delicious baked goods, excellent sandwiches and far out exotic sodas. They have a used mystery book store, a great fireplace, an outdoor patio, internet connected computers, games and serene surrounding. Lady Steel and I would visit and relax while drinking our coffee. I would be reading one book or another, while she would be fixing the content of her bag or catching up on correspondence. This place is very close to me because I have the best chat here with my wife or sister.

Catalina Coffee Company
126 North Catalina Avenue
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-318-2499

The UFO Incident

My wife and I were driving her Aunt and Uncle to San Jose, California to their other niece's house after a few weeks stay with us. We left Los Angeles in the late afternoon to be able to avoid the heat. The trip was uneventful, but we have a colorful and cheerful chat among us to occupy the time. We reached Gilroy very late and a road construction was in progress forcing us to use a different route to San Jose. We were waiting for our turn on the only lane open for both opposing traffic for a few miles. While we were last in the line of cars waiting for our turn on this one lane, I noticed a set of headlight coming towards the rear of our rented van. I thought it would be hilarious and crazy if the headlight was really a UFO flying low to the ground.

I kept looking at my rear view mirror and mentally said that the vehicle seemed to be travelling a little fast. I looked around the van and no one noticed the approaching vehicle. I again looked in my rear view mirror and the head lights was still coming toward us. I started to panic when I was looking at the headlights I could swear it was about to hit the back of the van. I yelped out loud when I saw the lights about to hit and then it split into two separate lights. One light went to the right side of the van and the other to the left side. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the headlights were from two motorcycles. They went on each side of the van to avoid the traffic and leap frog to the front of the line. It took a while for my pounding heart to calm down. We reached our destination without another incident or UFO sighting..

The Spear Incident

When I was growing up in Manila, Philippines, I remembered an incident involving one of my cousin. The house we lived in Madison Street was next to my grandfather's warehouse. The old trucks, tires, treehouse, old oil drums and a lot more junk became fodder for our rich imaginations. We turned the oil drums into horses. Our wild west bar was a board between two standing oil drums. The old empty bottles were our whiskey and the flattened bottle caps were our coins. We played cops and robber, cowboys and indians and even Tarzan.

It was while we were playing Tarzan that an accident happened. It started when we crafted spears from the wood poles and metal welding rods. After watching an episode of Tarzan where the hero exchange spear throws with his enemy, we tried it with our spears. We stood a decent distance apart from each other like Tarzan in the TV show. I threw the first spear and missed him by two feet, purposely missing him like in the Tarzan show. My cousin aimed his shot and threw his own spear toward myself. He threw the spear a little harder than he wanted. Instead of it landing in front of me, it found my left leg.

We were both shocked, I guess, I was more shocked because I have a spear imbedded into my leg. The wound was deep, but it was a clean straight wound. I pulled the spear out of the wound and saw blood spurting from the hole it left. My cousin helped me to our house to get it taken cared by my Mom. When my Mom saw us we explained what happened. She clean the wound and put a bandage on it. She asked if we would be repeating that crazy escapade and we answered a big "no, Mom." Thinking back now, I don't really think I cried when the incident happened. I was so shocked because of the spear in my leg and also imagining how mad my parents would be at me. I was just glad I didn't get punished and grounded.

Down Hill Slalom

When I was growing up in Baguio, Philippines, my friends and I discovered a new sport. The house my family and I were staying was at the bottom of the hill. The street was very steep and paved with cemented gravel, to allow vehicles more traction on the road. The gravel were rough and raised to allow the tires to grip better when climbing up the hill. There was a house construction site were they gave us scrap plywood. We waxed the bottom of the plywood with candles. We went to the top of the hill, sat on the plywood ans slid down the hill. The raised gravel allowed the plywood to slide all the way down hill. We slid down at a high speed, but we were able to avoid major cuts and bruises. We played this game for a few months until we found other games to play. I love it when the wind caress your face as you hurl yourself downhill. It was not smart, but very enjoyable.

Restaurant: Kelly's Coffee & Fudge Factory

This is one of my wife's favorite coffee shop. She liked the way this particular shop make their house mocha. A house mocha or Kelly's Mocha is a mixture of coffee of the day, steamed milk, chocolate and topped with whipped cream. She would also buy a muffin with her coffee. I on the other hand, depending on my mood or state of alertness pick from several drink like Jump Start, iced cappuccino and house mocha sans the whipped cream. This is our first stop before heading to the AMC Rolling Hills 20 movie cinema next door or just hang out catching up on our daily talks.

Kelly's Coffee & Fudge Factory
Torrance #5
2595 Airport Drive
Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 539-7201

Born To Cha Cha

When I was seven years old growing up in Baguio, Philippines, I learned how to dance Cha Cha from one of my relatives. I became very adept at dancing the Cha Cha after practicing every day after school. I started to teach my classmates after they found out I knew how to dance. So for several weeks, we would all go to the grassy knoll in front of the school during recess and practice dancing the Cha Cha. I became very popular with my classmates and my teacher smile at me a lot when we came in after recess.

Country Line Dance Party

In my early 20's before I got married Frank and I would wander a lot in my pick-up truck. After coming back from the Idaho trip were Frank and I learned about country line dancing, my friends and I decided to practice every week at my apartment. Frank or I would show them the steps we learned and everyone would practice for one hour each week. The furniture would be moved and my room mate would invite all of our friends. The music would be pure country, like Dan Seal's Bop and Don Williams' Tulsa Time. The drinks would flow and the guests would dance. We never made it to a dance floor, but we were ready to dance at the drop of the hat.

The Great Street War

When I was a young kid still living in San Juan, Metro Manila, I grew up with a few friends and my abundant cousins. I don't know how it started, but one day we got into a fight with the kids from the next street. The taunting and the jeering were very vicious that war was declared. The designated warzone was the local church parking lot. The opposing street's kids were positioned on one side of the parking lot, while we are positioned on the opposite side. We have collected a huge amount stones and rocks as missile ammunitions. The melee did not last long, but a huge amount of flying missiles were exchange during the short period. I was pedaling the only mobile rock launcher, a beat up bicycle, in the whole conflict, while my cousin launched rocks from behind me. There were slingshots used but because of the distance accuracy was not great. After the missile melee, no kids were hurt, but a few of the ornamental big flower pots were smashed. Realizing what we have done, everyone ran home and after a day or two truce was declared.

Geocache: Getting Ready

Well, I bought a GPS device today. I also signed up on GEOCACHING.COM. I am preparing for my first geocache hunt. I found information on some caches near my house that I would like to try first. As I get better with using my GPS, I will start looking for cache that are far away. I might even start participating in finding and releasing Travel Bugs. I'll repot my activities here and in GEOCACHING.COM.

Spelljammer

I love role playing games. I have been participating as a player and lately as a DM (Dungeon Master) since 1985. As a DM, I have the role of storyteller, referee and judge to help guide the players in the game. My favorite Gaming scenerio are AD&D: Spelljammer and BattleTech (Mechwarrior). I am a member of the Spelljamming Mailing List, an online help group for Spelljammer. Spelljammer Beyond The Moons is the official website for the Spelljammer universe.

Playing House And Cooking Lunch

When I was a young boy on vacation in Bulacan, Philippines, I had many adventures with a group of friends I grew up with at my Grandma's town. One memorable experience was the time two of my friends and I were playing house at my friend's frontyard. We have clay pots and pans full of dirt and leaves on a pretend stove. My friend's Mom saw us and she called her inside the house. We thought that the game was over and about to leave when she came out of the house holding several genuine clay cooking pot. She told us to gather some wood for a fire,since her mother decided we might as well cook our lunch while playing house. She went back in and returned with the ingredients for our lunch. We cooked a pot of rice, and a pot of sinigang na hipon (shrimp sour soup)on the fire. I can imagine only a few times when the food tasted better than that time. Three 10 year old kids cooking their own lunch without adults around us was very eye opening. I am glad that the mother trusted us enough to allow us to live beyond playing house.

SETI@home

I started participating with this group after I heared them mentioned on a radio program. I am curious about the idea of helping find intelligent life on another planet. I joined SETI@home and downloaded a program that would analize files collected by the group. The files were scans of a specific area in space gathered from Aracebo Radio Observatory. My setup allowed the program to run as a screen saver allowing SETI@home to run only when I am not using the computer. I download the files, the program run when the computer is idle and I upload the finished file back to SETI@home. Woohoo! Space is the place!

Restaurant: Spires Coffee Shop

This is our local around the corner restaurant. My wife and I eat here, especially when we are too lazy to drive far from home. My wife and I would sometimes dine here in the middle of the night since they are open 24 hours. My sister and I would also dine here after I worked overtime on Fridays. We would chat and catch up on things we missed during the week. I would always order breakfast since it fills me up and the breakfast taste excellent. Nothing to write home about, but then again we are already near home. =)

Spires Coffee Shop
22327 Wilmington Ave.
Carson, CA 90745

Steel Realms Bulletin Board System

I have been running a BBS for more than ten years. My first BBS ran under Wildcat! BBS software and my current BBS is running under Synchronet BBS software. I started my own BBS after using several local BBS. My BBS is named Steel Realms and at the moment it not specializing in anything. It carry a few of echomail network, including FidoNet, DoveNet and at one time RIME Net. Before the internet became popular and easy to use, BBS was hub of the electronic community. We read and post messages, played text games and exchanged files on the BBS. Since the BBS started to use the internet instead of the phone to connect, we are seeing a new rebirth in the BBS community. I hope to continue and one day open my BBS to the public again.

The Grand Cooking Experiment

After my wife and I got married, I came to the realization that cooking was not one of her strong points. Mind you, she can cook when she puts her head into it and she collected recipes from the different restaurants she was employed. Her Korean fried chicken wings is one of my favorites. The problem starts when she get fixated on one particular recipe. Like that one time where she cooked the same recipe three times in one week and they never seemed to came out the same way. My wife has the habit of tweaking the recipe by adding or deleting an ingredient or two every time she cooked the same dish. One of my Mom's advice came in handy on occasions like this. "However it taste, always asked for a second helping," my Mom said to me. I realized that my wife put the effort in cooking the meal and that I should appreciate her and the food. I am lucky so far that all the meal she experimented with came out fine, if not great. I remedied the situation by volunteering of cooking the meal myself. She loved the meals I cooked and she never complained about my cooking. I wonder sometimes if I got tricked. I wonder?

Neighbor's Fried Chicken

When I was living in San Juan, Manila, Philippines, I and some friend would hang out at the the street corner every weekend. We went there for a great occasion. Our next door neigbor would be deep frying whole chickens in her kitchen with the back door opened wide. The smell was wonderful nothing like I ever smelled before in my entire young life. I always associated fried chicken, whole ones, as the height of luxury and great taste. My friends and I would dream of being invited to eat one of those succulent chickens. The crispy skin, the delicous meat and the enticing aroma would dance in our heads making us sigh. Mind you, we were not starving children, we ate pretty well as a middle class income family, but the luxury of a whole deep fried chicken was a little beyond the budget. I still have flashback of those days when innocence and youth makes eating a fried chicken a holy grail to be achieved. I ate my share of chickens since then, but I can still smell that aroma on it's meandering danced from our neighbor's kitchen to the street corner.

Happy Bithday Dad!

Happy Birthday!
On this occasion,
many wishes,
I hope I don't
end up doing
the dishes.

More music,
more smiles,
more joys,
more years,
more love,
more cheers.

A great husband
to a loving wife.
A firm father
to four crazy kids.
An adoring grandpa
to his grandkids.

All the best!
The best is
yet to be,
the future
is undefined,
we loved you
with all our hearts.

Wanderlust

When I was around ten or eleven, my paternal grandmother would asked me to join her in one of her many escapades. For a woman in her sixties, she loved to travel around the metropolitan city of Manila and surrounding provinces . She would visit each of her children, several churches and large markets in her wandering. She had the wanderlust in her blood and she have logged plenty of miles cris-crossing the island of Luzon. Amazingly, she did all of this travelling with bad eyesights. This was the reason she took me along in her journeys. I am her eyes in a world she can barely see.

Even with her bad eyesights, she would later have eye surgery, she would not listen to people about curtailing her travels. I became her travel companion, an excuse to continue her wandering. There were times that I knew she was doing things from memory. She have memorized the bus schedules, the roads and destinations. We can go from each of her childrens houses, even how remote or how many transfer we have to make on the buses. We have visited her favorite shrines and churches dozens of times. We have a lot of adventures together. I think I received my wanderlust from her, my love of travel, my itchy feet.

Restaurant: Seafood Port

My Dad celebrated his birthday on Sunday, instead of Tuesday, at one of our favorite restaurants. My Mom and Dad invited my wife and I for lunch at Seafood Port Chinese restaurant. My wife was not able to make it since she was working, but she asked me to buy her wonton soup for after work. My Mom ordered the fried whole fish, fried rice, scallops, shrimp chow mein and others. The food was wonderful. Of course, as usual, I came late, but I was still able to eat a lot of food. The whole family was full when we left the restaurant.

Seafood Port Chinese Restaurant
21180 Hawthorne Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90503
310-370-8478

The Painting Party

When I was living with a friend in an apartment during my mid twenties, we decided to paint the living room. Because of the high ceiling, we had to use a ladder to reach the high areas of the wall. To prepare the room, we filled in the holes on wall, especially the holes made by our darts that missed the dart board. We used a combination paint and blue colored toothpaste to make the filler. The reason we used blue toothpaste because we ran out of the white toothpaste. The filler was darker than we liked, but it did the job. We started to paint the wall.

To reach the upper areas we placed the step ladder on top of the table. When we were halfway done, we had to move the ladder and table to another section of the wall. Someone had the bright idea of just keeping the paint bucket on top of the ladder, since we were only moving the table a small distance. We felt it would be a lot of hassle to remove the paint bucket and the ladder to just replace the ladder on the table again. With people on each side, we lifetd the table with the ladder on it and moved it slowly. With so many people moving the table and without proper coordination, the table moved erractically. In one of our sideways move and abrupt stop, the paint bucket on top of the ladder fell to the floor.

The bucket landed on the living room carpet turning it into a sea of white paint. My room mate, our friends and I was speechless for a minute or so. When we finally able to express our disbelief, my room mate provided a logical solution to the problem. He would buy a carpet to cover the white spot in case the apartment manager came to visit. Until I left to return to my parent's house, the white stain was still on the carpet. I heard he finally had it replaced when my room mate's Mom can to live with him.

Wild Carabao Ride

When I was in the 6th grade, one of my friend's family were farmers who owned a carabao, an asian water bufallo. They used it to plow the rice field and help with moving materials around the farm. On the weekends my friend, as one of his chores, would watch the carabao while it munch on grass in the pasture near my home. The pasture was a muti-level rice paddies were grass grew when the it was not planting season. He would take it by the river afterwards and let it cool itself in the water before leading the animal home.

One day, another friend and I saw him riding his carabao while it lazily grazed on the green grass. We talked to him and after a while asked us if we wanted a ride on the carabao. Since I never tried it before, I jumped at the chance and I had to convince our other friend to join me on the back of carabao. Since we can only comfortably fit two people my friend let us ride by ourselves. We carefully prodded the animal to move so we can feel how it moves. My friend was moving around the carabao while he talked with us.

The carabao was very gentle and it just snorted and kept munching on the grass. It would occasionally dart it's tongue into one of it's nostrils. The carabao was almost pure black except the gray where the mud clings on it's skin. The horn was massive and sweeping, unlike the bufallo in the U.S. with it's short horn. The body was covered with coarse hair that tickles when it came in contact with my bare legs. I have never seen a more noble animal than this carabao.

While day dreaming that I have mastered another skill, nothing short of riding a water bufallo, the carabao bellowed, snorted and started to gallop. My friend and I got frightened and held on the hair on animal's back trying not to fall and get trampled by the beast. It ran like a see-saw and on the down swing I kept sliding toward the carabao's neck. I saw the huge black horn looming in front like giant spears. The carabao jumped into a lower rice paddy and the really scared us because we thought we would surely fall of the animal's back. I was so happy when the poor animal stopped it rampage and we both got off it's back. We later found out that my friend went behind the carabao and used a rubber band to shoot the animal's "dangling participle." The carabao was so surprised that it ran away in panic with us still on it's back. I don't know why I was not angry towards my friend, but we all have a good laugh afterwards.

Nighttime Adventures

When I was around in my early twenties, Frank, my best friend, and I would drive around South Bay after work. We would take off after work on friday, point to a random direction of the compass and drive for hours. When we don't have to be back right away, we would usually park the car and slept before we headed back home. We discovered a lot of interesting places, like Big Bear, Laguna and San Bernardino, because of our nighttime escapades.

On one of our nighttime drive we ended up in a park in San Diego. It was late at night and we were both tired, so we decided to sleep before heading back home. Frank slept in the back of the VW Bug with a blanket, while I slept in the front seats with my own blanket. The car was parked in second gear in a slight slope near the water's edge. I kept twisting and turning trying to find a comfortable position when I knocked the gear shift into neutral. Frank and I noticed that we seemed to be moving. When I looked up I saw we were slowly rolling towards the water.

Frank and I were frantically trying to get ourselves loosed from our blankets, which after our twisting around, wrapped itself around us like a straight jacket. We were close into going into the water when one of my foot was loosed enough to step on the brake. We parked in another section of the park away from the water, but we could not sleep after the incident. We decided to just watch the people jogging around while the sun rised on the morning sky. We went home afterwards, but we continued our nighttime adventures.

Caught Red Handed

I started smoking when I was in my late teens. After the McDonalds restaurant I worked for was robbed, I smoked my first cigarette given to me by a friend to calm me down. I started to smoke regularly after the robbery, but I bummed cigarettes from my friends at work. Later, I bought my own cigarette pack, since I need to smoke after work. I kept my smoking a secret from my parents, since I knew they would be very upset about my picking up the habit. It worked for a few weeks until my Dad caught me.

My Dad was a heavy smoker in his early days. After he had a heart attack, the doctor gave him a choice, either stop smoking or die. My Dad stopped smoking a couple of years before I started smoking. He was very sensitive to the smoke and he can not stand the smell of cigarette after he quit. I tried to hide the smoking from my Dad most of all, since I knew he would be very angry and disappointed.

One day while I was at home and my class was over early, I came home to an empty house. I decided that I would sneak a quick puff of smoke before my parents came home. I knew my parents would be home later and the tell tale smell of the cigarette would be gone by then. I was about halfway finished when I heard a car in the driveway. I quickly put out my cigarette and checked from the window who was in the driveway. My heart sank when I saw my father coming towards the front door. I panicked and made a quick plan to tell my Dad my friends visited and they smoked inside the house, if he asked about the cigarette smell.

My Dad came inside and sniffed the air and asked who was smoking. Out of no where, I heard someone say, "I was the one smoking Dad." I blinked twice and look around who in heaven's name would say that to my Dad. I realized that I was the one who said those words. I was trembling, my knees knocking, knowing anytime now my Dad would about to read me the riot act. Since physical discipline was part of my growing up, I was already rubbing my butt anticipating a very painful lesson I was about to learn. My Dad looked at me intently, you can see the scowl on his face. He opened his mouth and said "Next time you smoke. Smoke outside." My jaw dropped and I could not believe my luck. I left for my friend's house before he changed his mind and punished me.

I guess, my Dad realized that I was an adult now and I would make my own decisions. I also thought at the time since he smoked before, he does not want to come across as a hypocrite by telling me to stop. I started smoking outside the house after the incident, but it took me years before I even smoked my first cigarette in front of my Dad. My Dad was very happy when I informed him in the year 2000 that I quit smoking.

Blogshares: Steel Realm

Woohoo! We are in BlogShares. We are not generating much activity, but we hope to change that soon. I just hope we don't slide any lower in share standing. Hehehe! Peace!

Click here to see Steel Realm blogshare results.

Where's George?

I was about to insert a dollar bill into a change machine for some quarters when I noticed something unusual about the dollar bill. The bill has a smiling face and a text stamped on the face of the bill. The text mentioned the Where's George? website. I visited the website, registered and entered my dollar bill. I found out I was the first person that registered it after the initial entry on April 6, 2005 in Tucson, Arizona. I am spending the dollar bill and let it return to circulation. I am looking forward to my next bill and I might even release a few of my own into the wild for general circulation. I'll keep track of my dollar bill and report it here.


The smiling face on the front of the dollar bill.


The back of the dollar bill with the text.


See where I go next!
Track where I've been!
Enter my serial number at:
www.wheresgeorge.com


The front of the dollar bill with the text and the smiling face.


See where I go next!
Track where I've been!
Enter my serial number at:
www.wheresgeorge.com

Click here to see the tracking report on my one dollar bill.


Other Search & Hunt Resource Links

Eurobilltracker - Similar to Where's George?, but tracks Euro.

Where's Willy? - Similar to Where's George?, but tracks Canadian bills.

Canadian Money Tracker - Similar to Where's George?, but tracks Canadian bills.

Armchair Treasure Hunt Club - The Armchair Treasure Hunt Club is for people who like puzzles that lead to real buried treasure.

Letterboxing North America - LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest.

BookCrossing - The practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

Geocaching - Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users.

Restaurant: Hong Kong Garden

Since the time Golden Pheasant changed owners and recipes, we were looking for another Chinese restaurant that could equal our demised old favorite. We found a couple of restaurant that not only equaled our old restaurant, but surpassed it in flavor and cost. The only drawback about these two restaurants were the distance we have to travel to eat great Chinese food. We had to find a closer solution.

My wife and I remembered about the rival restaurant of Golden Pheasant named Hong Kong Garden. We went there once with friends to sing karaoke, drink and try some of their dishes. The restaurant was on the same street and a block away from Golden Pheasant. I remembered how the food tasted and when my wife requested we eat there, I said okay. I also remembered a friend at work telling me he liked HKG than GP since he liked the noodles dishes better.

On our first visit, my wife ordered fried rice, sweet and sour shrimp and Hong Kong style chow mein. The fried rice was debatable, the shrimp was rock hard, but my wife loved the chow mein. On our next visit, my wife discovered boba, a tea drink with tapioca pearls, and Chinese sausage with vegetables. We have tried other dishes when we dined there and the result were mixed. The cost of the food was pretty high that it sometimes give my wife sticker shock. The taste of the food still out weigh the cost. We keep on trying, knowing that they may stumble on some dishes, but they have really good food. They still have a huge menu that we still have to try.

Hong Kong Garden
2178 South Vermont Avenue
Torrance, CA 90502
310-320-8802
310-320-8803

The Older Woman

When I first started at McDonalds restaurant, I worked in the dining room area. As the designated newbie, I got the glorious job of cleaning the tables, emptying the trash and cleaning the restrooms. I don't know why, but I loved working there. I guess because of the people and the management are so friendly and helpful. I always give 110% effort on whatever I do and I take pride in my work. I kept an eye on the area and always tried to be helpful to the customers.

On one occasion, I was working the dining area alone and the place was busy. I would jump from one empty table to another cleaning and wiping them. I removed all the trash and threw them in the trash cans. I did not noticed that one woman was watching me while I was doing my work. I liked the tables to be really clean and I put some elbow grease into wiping them down. I guess, not realizing it that my whole body was moving and swaying in my effort to clean the table.

When I was near her table she greeted me and I smiled back. At the time, I was really a very shy person and I get embarrased easily. She kept talking to me and I finally started to talk to her. She sounded like a very nice person and we conversed while I kept cleaning the tables near her table. I was surprised when she asked me what I was doing later that night. Innocently, I answered that I would probably sleeping since, I would be getting out late at 10 o'clock that night and I was very tired. She smiled and asked me if I want to go on a date with her after my work. I thought to myself, it was a silly question since all the places were closing about the same time I was leaving work. Where can we go for a date? When I realized what she meant I was momentarily stunned and speechless . When I recovered I smiled nervously and made a hasty retreat for the kitchen.

My manager saw me run into the kitchen and thought something was wrong. He followed me into the back of the kitchen where I was pacing back and forth nervously. He asked me what happened and I explained about the lady in the dining room. He went to the front counter to checked on the lady. The lady was finished her meal and was walking out of the restaurant. I was standing behind my manager and glanced at the woman. This was really the first time I looked at her, she was in her early twenties and very good looking. She greeted me again and told me her name, I just smiled and just stared down. My manager asked if she wanted a date, he is free for tonight. The lady just smiled and walked out the door.

Now that I am more the wiser, I would sometimes think back to that time and imagined what would have happened if I acted differently. There are so many ways to answer her question and I pretty much imagined them all. What would have happened if I did say yes to a date? Would my life changed by that one incident. I always like to think that I did the right things.

Restaurant: Tom's Burgers No 1

This restaurant has the best chili cheese fries in the whole of Southbay. They don't serve it in puny cups but in huge to-go dinner plates. The fries tasted delicious because they used their special seasoning instead of just salt like other restaurants in the area. I always ordered mine with extra cheese and onions. I know the cheese is process cheese, but it tasted great. Why eat it? Because since I was a teenager, it was the most affordable restaurant that you can eat in. Even with a few dollars, you can eat like a king and burp like one, too. Some of my other favorites on the menu are chili burger special (chili burger, fries and soda) and pollo asado (half chicken, fries, salad and rice).

Tom's Burgers No 1
Carson
626 East Sepulveda Boulevard
Carson, CA 90745

Restaurant: Diana's Mexican Food Restaurant & Deli

When I want good mexican food, I always visit this restaurant. It was usually after work, very hungry and don't want to make a mess and noise in the kitchen, that I would swing to pick up some to-go food. I have two favorites that I always ordered, either a wet beef burrito or albondigas soup (meatball soup). The wet burrito was delicious as always and it comes in a red sauce or a green sauce. The flour tortilla was wrapped around the tasty chunky beef, flavorful rice and perfect beans. It was a big meal, but I always found room when I have a craving for a Diana's wet buritto. My other pick was an albondigas soup, which was great on cold nights, ok, even not so cold nights. The soup came with 3 flour or corn tortillas, Mexican rice, chopped onion, cilantro, wedge of lemon, chips and salsa. They have a great menu and I would like to try them all.

Diana's La Bonita Mexican
Food Restaurant & Deli
Carson
300 East Sepulveda Blvd.
Carson, CA 90745
310-834-4886

River People

I remembered when I was young and on vacation with my family in the province of Hagonoy, Bulacan. The people were superstitious and tended to believed in certain myths about the area. One of the myth that was floating around was about how the river always took a life every year as a tribute for people's safe usage of the river. I have been told that the river always took people who are not native to the area. I always felt that we belonged to the area since my family always visit my grandparents, my Mom's parents, during school vacation. I often worried when my Dad swam the big river, but he was a good swimmer and the river knew him.

My grandma's house was in a small community at the junction of a busy major commercial river and a tributary stream. The stream was just behind my grandma's house, while the river was about 50 yards away. The stream was 20 feet wide on low tide and around 30 feet wide on high tide. When the tide slowly came in, the flow of the stream was reversed. There were small docks on each property that lined the stream.

The neighborhood kids always swam in the river when it started to get hot in the afternoon. The older kids would swam back forth and play games, while the younger kids would sit at the dock watching the older kids. The first sign that there was a problem was when some of the kids started screaming. At first glance I saw a piece of drift wood floating where they were pointing. When I looked a second time, I realized it was a human body, a man, floating faced up. The kids scrambled to get out of the water and climbed into the docks. The body started to float closer to the docks. The kids climbed the carved steps on the side of the river bank to reach safety. I climbed the steps and ran to my grandma's house. I ran into my Mom who asked what was happening. I told her that there was a dead man floating in the stream. My mom asked next where was my sister, who went to watch me at the dock while I swam with my friends. That was when I realized my kid sister was still at the dock and I told my Mom. My Mom ran to the dock grabbed my little sister and ran back to my grandma's house.

The body was fished out of the water and the ambulance took him to the hospital. We later found out that the man did not drown, but had an epileptic seizure. He was walking along the river when he had the seizure and fell into the water. He was very lucky that he was floating faced up and able to breathed air. We also later found out that he was slowly kicking one of his leg underwater which pushed him into our little stream. It was a while before the kids went swimming again in the stream, but a few weeks later the incident was already a distant memory. The kids went back swimming and playing in the stream the next school vacation. I guess, we are truly the river people, we are a part of the river and the river are a part of us.

The Great Robbery

I worked for the McDonald restaurant in my area when I was a teenager to earn some pocket money. I worked for the company for 3 years. It was the longest I ever stayed with a company at that point. It was one of the best experience I ever had at that point in my life. My co-workers were so close that we treated each other as family. We celebrated together, we partied together and yes, we even cried together. I think outside my own family, this were some of the closest and precious people at that stage in my life. So, I have a lot of stories concerning this stage of my life.

One of the story was when the restaurant was robbed at gunpoint. The manager asked everyone to keep calm and keep doing what we were doing. I guess, as a procedure, it was easier to replace the money than someone's life. The management staff cooperated with the robbers and have everybody herded in the kitchen. The robbers were helping themselves to the money in the store and the safe. Everybody stayed calm and everyone kept quiet.

When the robbery started I was on the grill just laying down some hamburger patties. When the manager told us to cooperate and I stayed by the grill and watched the restaurant being robbed. Let me tell you, I was scared, but for some reason, I kept cookig the hamburgers. When the buzzer went off warning that the hamburgers were ready, I needed a cheese count. Yes, I need a cheese count, how many hamburgers need cheese and how many plain ones before I placed them on the buns. When I turned off the buzzer, I automaticaly asked how many cheese from my manager. My manager jaw dropped because of our situation and I still asked for a cheese count on the burgers. To her merit, without missing a beat, she gave me a cheese count. I placed the cheese on the hamburgers, placed them on the buns and placed them on the top counter ready to be wrapped.

I stayed quiet after that and the robbers left with their loot. We started to check on each other making sure nobody was hurt. The sheriff came and started to take statements and they interviewed our managers and the people closer to the robbers. We all sat at the tables in the dining area and we were told to write down everything we remembered about the robbers. I was not able to tell much, because I was mostly facing away from them while cooking the hamburgers. My friends knew I was upset and a little scared, so one of my friends offered me a cigarette to calm me down. If I knew then what I know now, I would have said no to that first cigarette. I forgotten about the robbery after a few weeks and everything went back to normal.

My Internet Resources & References

The Exodus War - A great space novel about mankinds struggle with each other and the unkown. The story is enhanced by the fact that it is brought to life using lego blocks. You have to see it to believe it. Read the historical archive to understand the story behind this great website.=)

Joseph Wu's Origami - A great place to learn about the art of folding paper. This person is very talented and creative. Search his website and try to find the origami of a flying pig.

Starship Modeler - If you want to know how to make a ship from your favorite space movies and tv shows. I always liked looking at the Mitchell-Hyundyne SA-23E Starfury from Babylon 5.

Equipped To Survive - The Definitive Source for Independent Reviews & Information on Outdoors Gear and Survival Equipment and Techniques. See Doug Ritter's Mini Survival Kit for an example of what you always should carry in case of an emergency.

Kevin Kelly - A lot of cool information. Try looking into Cool Tools for some innovative but very useful gadgets.

Ex Astris Scientia - Bernd Schneider's Star Trek site. A great Star Trek site for ships, equipments and personnel.

Federation Starship Datalink - Welcome to the Federation Starship Datalink your best source for starship information on the internet. Since 1998 the FSD has continued to provide only canon starships and classes facts, including a brief explanation about each individual starship and the episode/series/movie it appeared in according to the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

Jury Duty

Most of you probably was wondering what happened to me since I was not online yesterday. I went to sleep early as I was supposed to serve as a juror in our courthouse in the morning. I went to sleep at 3 A.M. but tossed and turned and fell asleep at about 5 A.M. in the morning. I got up at 7:30 A.M. and promptly got ready and left for the courthouse.

Since I was visiting an area I have never frequented, I checked my local map book for the location of the courthouse. I have been searching for 5 minutes when I spotted on the map a courthouse. To make the story short, I had 1 hour to get to the courthouse since I was told it is a 20 minutes drive, I thought I had plenty of time. I would be working on my webpage on my laptop while waiting for the jury to be assembled and presented to the judge.

First off, the courthouse, well what I presumed as the courthouse on the map turned out to be a movie theatre. I stopped, asked direction and a young lady pointed me to what I would later find out to be the city hall. So for the second time I asked direction and I was finally given the right address of the courthouse. Since I arrived when the court was just starting it's morning session, the parking lot was full. I ended up parking at the farthest spot away from the courthouse so I walked briskly to the building's entrance.

When I entered the building, right in front, three deputy sheriffs were checking people for weapons, scanning their bags and making the people walked through a metal detector. I placed my bag on the x-ray scanner and promptly taken off all metal objects from my body. I was waved as okay but when I try to retrieve my bag, I was told that my bag contained a weapon and they ask me to produce it from my bag. I showed them a folding knife that I stuffed in my bag a year ago and forgot since that time. I also produced a can of pepper spray and another folding tool with a plier attachement. I was told that I can't enter the courthouse and I have to go back to my truck and leave my knife and pepper spray in my truck. I complied walking back all the way to the end of the parking lot and leaving my knife and spray in the glove box.

I then returned to the courthouse entrance and went to the ritual of removing all metal objects and placing them on a tray at the table separating the entrance and the lobby of the courthouse next to the metal detector. As I was about to walked through the metal detector, one of the deputy sheriff noticed that I have a small pen knife on my keychain. He told me that I have to go back to my truck to secure my pen knife since any type of pointed object is not allowed in the courthouse. I made a second trip to my truck and to make sure I did not have to go back again, I removed all metallic object from my body and any possible weapon from my bag.

The third time was a charm since I passed the inspection with flying color. I proceeded to the fourth floor and went to the Jury Assembly Room. There I was told that I was late and they can't use me now since the potential jurors are being instructed already and I have missed a good portion of the instructions. I left the building after 10 minutes of entering it. I will let you know how it turns out. At least, now I know where the courthouse is located and also not to bring my knives into the courthouse again. It can only happen to me..LOL..=)

February 6, 2001
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The story was moved here from my website.

Special Award

When I was attending kindergarten on Easter School in Baguio, Philippines, I used to drive my teacher crazy. She reported to my Mom that I would talk all the time and I would not complete my work. When we were doing our classwork, I would finish the quiz, except I would leave one question unanswered. It occured everyday. What drives her crazy was the fact that I would get all answered questions right, except for that last one that I did not answer. I would then turn or walk around and try to help my classmates answer their own quiz, while talking to my classmates in the process. At the end of the school year we have a graduation ceremony for the kindergarten students. I was called for my diploma, but they also gave me an extra certificate. The certificate proclaimed me as the Most Talkative Person In Class. I was so proud of the title. Imagine it, if my teacher did not liked me, I might not have received the title.

Geek Code

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Carpenter's Breakfast

When I was around six years old, my grandfather built a vacation house for my uncle in Baguio, Philippines. My mother, my sister and I stayed there to watch the house and eventually stayed for three years. My father worked as a civil engineer at a nearby river dam project. Instead of travelling all the way to Manila, he would make the short trip to Baguio instead. We stayed at the guest house at the back of the property, since it was built first.

I remember waking up early in the morning with a white fog mist blanketing the hills and the construction site. The smell of the mist and the dew on the grass and the evergreens was always peaceful and welcomed. My grandfather's workers, his closest friends, were cooking their breakfast. I could smell the wood burning heating up their pots and pans. They were huddled around the fire for warmth and trading stories. One would be cooking the rice, while another would be readying the fish and while a third would be getting the water for the coffee. It felt like they were boy scouts camping in the woods.

I saw that they just removed the pot, with the cooked rice, off the fire. The rice smelled so fresh and clean. They were frying some tuyo (salted dried fish) and the strong odor of fish cooking floats in the air. I knew people that say that fried tuyo smelled bad, but it smelled wonderful to me. They also have coffee brewing in a coffee pot. Now let me tell you, Pilipino coffee is so strong it could walk and pour you a cup. They also have sliced tomatoes as condiment for the dried fish.

They would see me watching from the porch and they would always invite me to eat with them. I guess, after a while they would cook an extra portion just for me. I would be listening to all their stories while sharing their food. Except for my Mom's cooking, I have never tasted food as delicious as the ones on those foggy mornings. I still eat tuyo with white rice and drink strong coffe from time to time. It always reminds me of those days when simple food taste so great.

Restaurant: L & L Hawaiian Barbecue

I am always on the lookout for great fast food. If I don't eat rice during my meal time, I would be hungry in about an hour. I found this place after I had enough of the food from the lunch truck at my work. I laughed the first time I read their menu board because I saw grilled spam served with their saimin (noodle soup) and musubi (giant rice sushi). I ordered the sesame fried chicken wings, since the food reminded me of my wife's version of Korean chicken wings. I also tried their saimin with spam, chicken katsu (chicken tonkatsu) and their seafood. I also discovered that they have a restaurant near my home.

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue
Torrance
24223 Crenshaw Blvd. #G
Torrance, CA 90505
310-326-0810

Carson
272-274 East Sepulveda Blvd.
Carson, CA 90749
310-549-2913

Restaurant: Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse & Catering

I have been passing this restaurant in my travel around town. I have always wondered how the food tasted. My sister seemed to have the same thought and invited me to try it with her. The bbq was great and delicious. I don't think I have better smoked bbq baby back ribs. I liked the idea of the drinks being served in mason jars. The restaurant is a small shack with peanut shells on the floor. You have to make sure you arrived before the crowd or you will be parking down the street.

I introduced my wife to the bbq and she fell in love with the food. She ordered the bbq pork sandwich at one point, but she loved the smoked tritip sandwich. I liked my baby back ribs with cajun rice and fries. The next time we visit, I'll try their blackened prime rib. When we are hungry for bbq, we made a point to eat there. I am in hog's heaven when I eat good bbq ribs.

Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse
4663 Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90805
562-423-7327

"Reminding Me"

Your eyes are so blue
Reminding me of cool water
It is reflecting you true
Making me wish to drink of it's water

Your smile is so sweet
Reminding me of sugar cane
It's taste is a treat
I'll look for it even in the rain

You are a person for me
Friendship is the key
Close to me I want you to be
This I hope for you to see

3-21-96

The Perfect Shot

When my friends and I became obssessed with an object or activities, we would pursue it until we got it out of our system. This was the case with foosball in the late 90's. We would visit our favorite pool hall every weekend just to play foosball. We tried some pick-up games from the locals that played foosball. We pretty much kept away from the hustlers, those tournament class players that suckered you into a money game. If there are many players, we would place our quarters on the table and wait out turn on the table. The rule was that whoever won controls the table and the players next in line pays for the next game.

In one game, Frank, my best friend, and I played against two locals. They were pretty good, but Frank and I were better than our opponents, since we have been playing doubles for some time before the game. We worked well together and we anticipated each other moves giving us an edge on our opponents. I was playing the front men, while Frank was controlling the backmen, as well as, the goalie. Everytime I controlled the ball, I would set the ball on my three-man for a power shot. I would set on the left and pull or hit the ball towards the center before using a wrist flick to power the ball into the goal. The opponent goalie would guard at the corner preventing an easy shot and then raced his goalie and two-men to the center to protect from being scored.

I would always set the ball on my three-man and wait for my opponent, asking him if he was ready before I continued play. I would face the opposing goal making my body perpendicular to the foosball table and I would extend my right leg out for balance. Once the opposing goalie was set, I would make my move and slammed the ball into the goal. Frank was exceptional working the goalie preventing our opponents from scoring on us.

With only one point away from winning the game, I got control of the game ball. I positioned the ball in the same place before I made my power move. My opponent knew what would occur next and he eagerly anticipated it. When I asked him if he was ready, instead of pulling the ball for a power goal, I gently ficked it from the corner. The ball rolled slowly at an angle to the goal. Our opponent over committed his goalie and two-men into protecting his middle. When he realised the ball was rolling from the corner he tried to move his men to intercept the ball. He over compensated and he missed the ball, he erratically shifted the men from side to side to no avail. The ball slowly rolled into the goal winning us the game.

The oppossing goalie was flabbergasted at what just occured. After some time, he smiled and laughed and gave me a high five. It was very satisfying win and one that I will remember fondly. I think maybe it is time that I introduce my nephew to foosball. He might make a good goalie or better yet, a great three-man player. Set, soft shot and score, a game plan to a perfect shot.

Steel Realm FAQ

• What is the meaning of the name Ariel?
  
  The name Ariel means "Lion Of God", "Hearth Of God" and "City Of David".
  
  
• Where did you get the name Lord Steel?
  
  I got the name Lord Steel from a Role Playing Game that I used to play when I was younger. In one of the books there is a story of a Lady named Steel who defended her city against an evil horde. She and her compatriots died defending the city. I liked both the story and the name so from that day on everytime I needed a name for a character I end up using the name Lord Steel. Alexander "Temogen" Steel is the full name I used but I used it as Lord Steel most of the time.
  
  
• Where did you get the nickname Jojo?
  
  When I was baptised the priest insisted that the name Ariel was not in the bible. To satisfy the requirement that a saint's name be a part of each child's name that was baptised in the Catholic Church at that time, I was given the baptismal name of Jose or Joseph. I really did not use a nickname until I was in high school. My friends and classmates have a hard time pronouncing my name correctly so I told them to call me Jojo or Jo. I took the name Jojo from Jose which is easier for people to say. I was also glad that I was known as Jojo by the time the Disney movie "The Little Mermaid" was released, since the main character's name was Ariel. I guess I am one of the lucky ones that was able to choose their own nickname instead of being given by other people.
  

Gone Fishing

It has been a while since I went fishing. It some how removes me from the hustle and bustle of the city and let the serenity and sweet song of the river and ocean perculate into my soul. There are only a few activities that seemed to affect me this way and fishing is one of them. I always associated fishing with friends and family. It was always an occasion when the fishes start to appear in abundance. Mackarels and bonitos were the catch of the day when we fished near the Queen Mary's Wharf. While fishing on the lakes and stream, trout and bass would be breakfast during a camping trip. Fishing is and will always be a part of me.

When I was younger growing up in the province of Bulacan, Philippines, my grandmother thought me how to fish. In those days, my fishing pole was a long and thin ten foot bamboo pole. A strong white store string would be tied to the end and the string would run the length of my pole. I would attached a store bought fishing hook at the end of the string. My grandmother would mix corn meal as bait and we would shape the bait into a nice pear shaped on the hook.

When the sun was not hot, my grandmother and I would walked to the big river and fished at it's banks. I always catch one big fish or two small fish, but after that I would never catch anything else for the rest of the day. I caught early and after catching my limit of one fish, I went home. My catch would always be part of our lunch or dinner the same day, since being in the farm very few houses have a refrigerator to keep the food fresh. The fish you caught with your own hard work taste a whole lot sweeter than the ones bought from the market. The freshness makes the fish taste better that even plain salt grilling surpasses gourmet prepared food.

My next goal is to learn how to fly fishing. The homemade or the store bought flies, the colorful mixture of feather, threads and metal, that helps lure the fish to your dinner table. The way you follow a clock when swinging your fly fishing pole, back and forth, until at the right time, releasing and easing the line to present your fly to the hungry fishes. I am attracted by way fly fishing is presented as a gentlemen's way of fish angling. I am learning more about fly fishing day by day and I hope that I can try it soon.

"We Are One"

I am only a whisper away
I am only a breath away
I am only a sigh away
I am only a smile away

You are just an inch away
You are just a call away
You are just a dream away
You are just a kiss away

My mind is of you
My heart is of you
My very soul is of you
My love is of you

You are my love
You are my sunshine
You are my everything
You are my life

The very air whispers to you
The very earth blossoms for you
The very sun shines on you
The very water reflects you

We are happiness
We are truth
We are purpose
We are one

Sweet Taste Of Victory

When I was a sophmore in high school, I joined the men junior varsity tennis team. I joined because I assumed that it would have looked better in a college application to have a sport as one of my activities. I have been told that it would add to your entrance evaluation points and I have a feeling that I would need every point I can get my hands on. I was not really a sporty type of a person, so I joined the one of the few sports I knew. I owned a tennis racket and other needed equipment because my Dad and I used to play on the weekends.

I knew I was out of shape so I tried to workout during the off season hoping to slim down and build up endurance. I had this crazy idea of working out with the school football team to build up my muscles. I hit the weights and even did exercises with the football team. I liked the workout so much that I have even thought I might go out for the football team. That fantasy came to a halt after I was clobbered flat on my back on a scrimmage line play by one of the players. I guess, football was not my game, but I finished the summer training.

I was glad that I took time to train that summer because all we did for a couple of weeks were run and exercised. I don't think I ran up and down so many stairs, before or since tennis opening week. If I was in a worse shape, I might not have made the tennis team, heck, I might not have survived the opening week. The team was wonderful and I was surprised that the coach was a real great guy. They really gave me a lot of support even if I was the worse player in the tennis team.

I played doubles and singles. My partner and I always came close to winning, but we never won a match. When my coach made my partner played singles did he finally won a few games. I, on the other hand, was still on a losing streak. I tried to work harder, chase after all the balls, and even dive after them. I only improved in winning a few sets, but I never won a game. I thought I would close the season with a skunk, a losing record.

It was the last game of the season. My coach knew that I was really bummed out because I never won a game yet. Everyone was very supportive, but nothing they do really get me off the track to loser ville. My coach had me scheduled for a singles match with a girl player on the other team. We were playing pretty even at the start of the game, but I noticed that I was winning more sets as the game progressed. When we played the game ball of last set, I was ahead, I was so nervous, I was afraid I would missed the ball while serving. When she returned it and it hit the net, I yelled out so loud and pumped my arms in victory. When my coach found out I won a game, he congratulated me, smiled and gave a heart felt celebration. The whole team celebrated also when they found out I won my match. The albatross that was hanging on my neck was finally removed and I celebrated. There was no other feeling like it in the world. The sweett taste of victory.

"Holiday"

I will be gone for the holiday
But you will be on my mind
I will miss your smile that greets me everyday
But memories of you will keep it fresh in my mind

I'm hoping you will also miss me
You are a true friend indeed
By your side I want to be
Remember I'm your friend in time of need

Though the parting wouldbe bitter sweet
My days would race one after another
Until your sweet smile, myself again greet
Then those days apart will not be a bother

3-27-96

Restaurant: Buono's Authentic Pizzeria

We have been ordering from this restaurant for sometime now. They happened to have one of the best pizza in the Southbay. I first learned of them on the internet when I was looking for some recipe. They have their first store in San Pedro, but I learned later that they have another store near my home. The restaurant looks like it belongs in Italy and the smell is heavenly. The pizza is one of the best I tasted and my wife loves it also. She would order a family size italian sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza, with an order of buffalo wings. Don't ask me why, but I love buffalo wings. I would usually eat the whole pizza in about two to three days. It is good eats.

Buono's Authentic Pizzeria
401 West Willow Strret
Long Beach
562-595-6138

Restaurant: Mami King

My wife and I order take-out from this Pilipino restaurant from time to time. They cook and sell a lot of Pilipino based comfort food. Today I ordered pork mami noodle soup, pork asado siopao (steam buns) and savory chicken plate. My wife ordered Lomi noodle soup. They are always fantastic and they hit the spot.

Mami King
22222 South Main Street, #106
Carson, California 90745
310-830-3828
10 A.M. to 9 P.M. Daily

Food: Pork Bistik

Ingredients

4 pork chops
½ cup of soy sauce
2 lemons
1 large onion
vegetable oil

Directions

Rinse pork and pat dry. Slice onions into ¼ inch thick rings. Juice the lemons. Combine lemon juice with the soy sauce in a bowl. In a skillet brown the pork chops on both sides on high heat. Remove from the skillet and let them rest. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoon of oil in a bowl after cooking the pork chops. Remove and clean any residue and excess oil in the skillet. Return reserved oil in the skillet. Preheat skillet on high heat. Add onion until transluscent. Return pork chop into the skillet arranging them carefully. Add the soy sauce/lemon mixture. Let it come to a boil then lower heat to low medium and cover the skillet. Cook another 10 minutes. Serve pork chops and sauce over white rice.

Add button mushroom if desired. Slice mushroom the same thickness as the onion. Cook after the pork chops. Remove from heat and let it rest. Add mushroom when pork chop is returned to the skillet.

Easy skillet clean up tip: Place a plate of white rice into the skillet. Let it soak the remaining sauce while stirring the rice. Add more sauce if you like a stronger taste.

Serves: 2 to 4 people

The Chess Gambit And The Ring

When I was around twelve years old I finally asked a long time childhood friend to become my girlfriend. The girl was from the province of Bulacan, Philippines. Her house was just across my grandparents and my parents knew her parents very well. The night that I asked her to be my girl was the time of the big dance at the local school during the summer festival. When she answered yes, I jump off the balcony and was very happy. We sat together the whole night just holding hands and flashing silly grins at our friends. We spent as much time together as possible before I have to leave for Marikina to return to school.

During the school year my Mom informed me that we were leaving the Philippines to fly to the USA to join my father in California. Our papers were ready and that my Dad paid for our plane tickets. My Mom informed me that we would be visiting my grandparents in Bulacan before we leave for the USA. I was really despondent at the time. I don't know how I can leave my new girlfriend when I just asked her to be my sweetheart only a few months ago. I decided after a while to leave something special for her to remember me. I did not that much money and my treasures were few. I have a couple of Matchbox toy cars, a few marbles and a chain of rubber bands, but nothing worth leaving behind as a reminder to my girlfriend.

During the school year to past the time when not in school, my friend and I would play a few games of chess. He lived in the house behind our home in Marikina. He was sixteen years old at the time and very big for his age. We were pretty much even in our skills playing chess and we pretty much split the victories evenly. We would go to the corner store and borrow their chess board. We would sit there playing a few games until the sun was setting before going home. We were very serious with out chess and we were very competetive with each other. We played each game like it was the most important game in our life.

One day while we were playing I noticed he was wearing a ring on one of his fingers. The ring came from a crackerjack box, but it looks like a diamond ring to me. Trying not to let him know of my interest on his ring, I asked him about the ring like I just noticed it. He was smiling when he started to talk about his ring. I said that why not make the next game of chess interesting by putting something on the line. He said he did not have anything of value and this was when I mentioned why not bet his ring. I told him he was a really good player and we are pretty much even in our skills. I told him I would place my new crisp five peso paper money against his ring. I held my breath for the longest time not daring to exhale afraid he might realize I was setting him up. It was a big relief when he said yes. I can see it in his eyes he lusted after the money. Gotcha!

The game was very stressful since I might come out with nothing after the game. We both played at the top of our game and we did not give an inch to each other. We took our time and thought real hard about each position, each move and each decision we made. It took us a while to finish the game, this game lasted longer than a few of our previous games combined. Only when I heard myself say checkmate did I realized that I won the game. It seemed very surreal.

When we visited my grandparents' house for the last time, I searched for my girlfriend, but my best friend told me that she was at her grandparents. She was not coming home until after we left for Manila. I was really sad at this time, I wanted to personally give the ring to my girl. I finally did the next best thing. I gave the ring to my best friend and told him to give it to my girl. I told him to tell her that I would never forget her and that this is a symbol of my promise. I left Bulacan for the last time not knowing that I would not be able to fulfill the promise I made to her.

When I was around in my early twenties, my mother went back to visit the Philippines. She went back to the province to visit her relatives there. She met with my girlfriend's mother and they talked about us. Her mom was very nice to remember me and she gave my Mom a picture of my friend. She was very nice and I heard she was very industrious. She was sending herself to school by working her own business. I did not know what to do since at the time I was involved with my high school sweetheart. I decided that it was better that I did not contact her since it might complicate things. I heard that she graduated and she married a really wonderful guy. I still cherished the memories and friendship with my friend. I hope someday that we could meet and talked about the old days.

"Promise"

In a mid summer morning
Intruder in this place of mourning
Where love ones wait the day
When they are called to say
Their testimony of their love
On that day when they are released like doves
Idaho sunshine lit the way for three
We have walked to a marker pass the tree
Intent in respect quiet are we
When we were close there we see
There on the grass a rolled parchment with a rose
We went and pick the paper and read it up close
Tears welled in our eyes our heart in our throats
For their in the parchment a simple note
"This is for you Grandma
My graduation diploma
I have kept the promise I made
To me a long time ago you bade
In the time we are together I know I said it never
Now I hope it is not too late to say I love you then now and forever"

3-21-95

This poem was based a true story. My friend, his aunt and I read the letter and the diploma that his cousin left at his grandmother's grave site who died a few months before his cousin's graduation.

"Rhymes & Reasons"

Moving about in my own beat
Loss in the music and shuffle of feet
The bright full moon showing the way
The true expectations of today

Loss in the rhymes and reasons
My heart move along with the seasons
On that one bright moment of the night
Your presence is a welcomed sight

Laughter is our catalyst
Freedom and fun, this we insist
Hoping that the night will not end
To each other a smile we send

Loss in your essence and spirit
Thank you for such a beautiful visit
On the light of day
Your memories with me stay

3-14-96

"Perfume"

Your perfume lingers in my mind
My heart to yours I bind
A second away an eternity
You not in my mind a rarity

Whisper of your name I hear all around
My ears only hear your sound
None other than you I want to be true
In other's illusion I see through

My feeling for you feeds me
Giving credence to the world I see
In the night your sweet dream enters
In lovingly you saunter

Once wishing a full life
Life would be better if you are my wife
Loving, caring, joy and hope
Our love is as tight as a knot on a rope

1/95

"Quiet Man"

I'm a quiet man
With quiet ways
Looking for a girl
To spend my days

A Simple man
With true emotions
For that special girl
Love and devotion

I'm a man
Nothing more, nothing less
To the one and only girl
All my very best

3-7-96

"A Friendly Smile"

I always asked myself
How life would be
Without a friend to share it with
I realized this would be a lonely place for me

So I reach my hand across
To see if you would mind
An understanding from someone's touch
And loneliness could be left behind

So now I wish to say
Maybe the next time we see each other
A friendly smile would greet me
I'll smile back and become friends to one another

3-7-96

Restaurant: Ling's Kitchen

We have been ordering Chinese take-out from Ling's Kitchen almost every week since we found them several years ago. My wife usually order the letter G combination plate which contains b.b.q. pork fried rice, sweet & sour pork and egg foo young. I used to order a letter G also, but lately I am ordering the letter A combination plate which contains pork chop suey, sweet & sour pork and b.b.q. pork fried rice. I am surprised for a take-out chinese food they cook to order and they have restaurant quality food for cheap prices. Their food rank as good as the top Chinese restaurant in the area.

Ling's Kitchen
3553 ½ Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90807
562-424-4284
Open Daily 11:30 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.

Restaurant: Buca Di Beppo Redondo Beach

I always thought of trying out this restaurant everytime I drove by to visit my sister Anna's apartment by the beach. My first time was when my wife and I attended a birthday party for my three sisters about two weeks ago. It was a happy occasion and we tried a lot of food. It was a surprised for my younger sister, Anna, as her fiancee invited all of the family to celebrate the birthdays. Anna's birthday was on June 11th, follwed by Cecile on June 12th, so one day a year they are the same age and Maria's birthday is on June 22nd.

My wife and I went tried it again this Saturday. She called to make a reservation to be told that the restaurant was fully booked for the day. Luckily, when I got home from work, She told me they called about a cancellation and that we got a reservation at 6PM. The restaurant was full as usual and I am glad we called instead of just stopping by since we would be waiting for a long time for a table. We got seated as soon as we arrived and we got the tour of the kitchen before being sat down on the table.

My wife and I ordered calamari for appetizer, shrimp scampi and pizza with spicy sausage and mushroom for the main course. My wife and I loved the calamari and pizza, while the shrimp scampi was okay, but did not measure to our expectations. The service was a little slow because of packed restaurant, but the food made up for the delay. My wife and I were planning to return again soon since we wanted to try the other dishes.

Buca Di Beppo Redondo Beach
1670 South Pacific Coast Highway
Redondo Beach CA 90277
310-540-3246

My Magical Leather Coat

When I was around nine years old, my Dad immigrated to the United States after his long awaited petition to work in the US was approved. He knew that for a better future for his family he must sacrifice and work hard in this new land. It was not any better for his family in the Philippines. I knew my Mom missed my Dad very much, but sacrifices must be undured for a better tomorrow. My Dad would come home "Balik Bayan" every year to visit us. I remembered the wornderful things he brought home from the mysterious land across the ocean. I treasured everything he brought home.

I remembered he brought me Matchbox cars on one of his visit. I played with those toys and I would always put them is a safe place so I would not lose them. In his other visit, he brought home a fishing pole and tackle box. Everytime he would used it to fish, I would be smiling as I hear the swish of the line as he cast it to the river. I guess, I was amused easily when I was young.

The best of all the treasure he brought home from this far away place was a brown leather coat. It was so warm and the smell was intoxicating. I always wore it to school wearing it with pride. I always told my friends that my Dad brought it for me. My friends would be a little envious about my good fortune. It protected me from many a rain storms. I was thinking it was a magical coat and that as long as I wore it everything would be okay. I wore that coat for two years or so until it was too small to fit me. I was really sad that I had to leave it on the hanger.

Now that I am here in the USA and I have my pick of leather coats, I still remembered that little brown leather coat. I don't think that anything would feel as comfortable and as warm. It helped me through those years when my Dad was away. I knew he was somewhere out there working hard to get us all together in this mysterious land called USA. It was my magical little brown leather coat and it kept me safe.

Restaurant: Jongewaard's Bake & Broil

This outstanding restaurant happens to be located just a mile or so away from my house. My wife and I ate there on the weekends for breakfast, lunch and even dinner. Their fare are simple but very delicious. In their small kitchen they cooked some of my favorites like roast beef, broiled cod with dill sauce or a ranch style breakfast. The decor are easy on the eyes and was one of the main point that drew my wife and I to the restaurant. It kind of remind me of a modern country kitchen. They also bake their own pies and bread in their small bakery. The help are fast and courteous. It would become your favorite "around the corner" restaurant.

Jongewaard's Bake & Broil
3697 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90807
562-595-0396

Up A Tree

I remembered when I was around eleven years old and on school break vacation in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. I was very fond of guava at the time and there was a particular tree that grew across from my Grandma's house. This tree grew just outside the property line of our neighbor across the street and close to the road where there were a lot of foot traffic. The tree was sporting some really nice size guavas and some were ripe enough to eat. I climbed the tree, sat comfortably on one of the tree limbs and proceeded to eat my fill of the nice succulent fruits. The guavas tasted heavenly.

It was about this time that I heard a noise coming from behind our neighbor's privacy fence. It was our neighbor's daughter and she looked like she was about to take a bath. You have to remember that we lived in the province and the water comes from a public water pump. If you want a private bath, instead of taking a public one at the pump, you have to haul your own water to your house and take a bath there. Even though she was taking a bath behind their privacy fence, she was wearing a dress that tied just under her armpits keeping her body hidden. She took her bath, soaped her hair and using a wash cloth to wash her body. She slipped the wash cloth under her dress and washed herself while keeping everything hidden. After she finished with the soap, she tilted her head towards me and she rinsed her hair and body with water. I was praying that she would not open her eyes while in that position because she would certainly noticed me sitting up the guava tree.

I started to panic since if she looked up and saw me, she might scream and I can get into a lot of trouble. If someone on the road looked up they might asked me what I was doing and my neighbor's daughter would hear me answer from the tree. So quietly, I sat there until she finished her bath and went inside her house. While waiting I was still eating the guavas that I could reached and I ate a lot because I was so nervous and scared. When no one was around I climbed down the tree and went home. After the incident I payed more attention to our neighbor's daughter and we became great friends. It was only a year later, the next school break vacation, that she became my first real girlfriend.

"The Far Horizon"

I am lost to the world at large
Somewhere on a slow trip on a barge
Traveling all day never nearer to reach that far horizon
Never nearer to that edge I keep in my vision

Yet even if it is far I would go
That somehow in my own mind I know I tried so
Never to prove to anyone that it could be done
But a word of wisdom learned this I could leave my son

If I look at the far horizon it will always be there
Never nearing even all day I dare
Unless I go for that dream that some dayit would be
If I try who knows one day catch up and there is me

1-1-95

"Ebony Rose"

Walking along my garden one day
I came across among the marigolds
A black flower of exquisite beauty
With diamond gleam it's quite to behold

Black satin for petals
Velvet to the touch
Fragrance of myrrh dancing along the path
Proudly it stand defiant

She is a dream
A vision of my long lost African queen
Supple beauty of delicate creation
As it dance among the breeze I bowed and said "My queen"

To my surprise in low whisper it speaks
"Dear gentle cavalier, brave knight of Camelot
Free a poor rose of it's bonds
For reward your consort I will be"

Careful of the thorns of dagger sharpness
I pluck the ebony rose off it's perch
Laying it among the grass of the garden
As it grew toward the heaven in woman form

"What is thy name dear lady
So I could address thee proper
My queen you will be from now on
Speak to me so I can name beauty"

"My dear Sir Daryl
The beat of my heart
You can call me Sylvia
Daughter of the sun and the earth"

"Dear Lady Sylvia I extend my hand
Will you guide me among the garden
To finish this walk I started
Among the flowers you will be my only rose"

And that my friends ends the tale
How the last ebony rose came to earth
For heaven's greatest creation
And the last to walk the realm of men

Commisioned '95

Father's Day

My wife and I spent the afternoon with my Dad and Mom for Father's Day. We had deep fried calamari, Korean beef rib BBQ, pork sinigang and white rice for lunch. We also had ice buko (young coconut) juice drink. All of my family was there and it was a happy occasion. We watched a Filipino movie on the Filipino Cable. It was a slower grind than the occasion the day before and it was more enjoyable. =)

"Danger"

I to myself a stranger
Like the dream that I behold
Of walking into danger
And there myself I hold

I know of peace and freedom
But to know not enough
Act you must or lose the kingdom
Even when the travel is rough

1-95

Music: "Gaelic Storm"

I owned a cd copy of Gaelic Storm Special Reserve, but my sister borrowed it and I have not seen hide or hair of it again. So, while walking around Best Buy, I saw it on the music bin and it was the last copy. My wife told me to get it before someone else walks away wih it. I played it last night and it was as good as I remembered it. The cd contains great songs that let you identify yourself with the music. The cd contains great Irish drinking songs and pipes. I would start to sing along with "Johnny Tarr", "Beggarman" and "She Was The Prize." The pipes in the "Schooner Lake Set" always put a smile on my face. This Gaelic Storm cd would be blasting on my stereo at work keeping me company, while I sang and my body keep time with the music. =)

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary

A Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary to my Mom and Dad. They celebrated it Saturday with a Hawaiian Lua. The food was tremendous and my Mom's Lomi and eggrolls were again the hit of the party. I know some of the people went just to taste my Mom's famous shanghai eggrolls. They also visited because of my Mom's growing collection of orchids that she sell. The people were numerous among them people from my Mom's work, the member of the local choir my parents belonged, their friends and relatives. The kids took over the front yard playing games. While we milled around the television and the food. They received a lot of gifts from the people who attended the party. It was a great success! =)

Movie: "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"

I went to see the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith with my wife yesterday afternoon. We watched it at the AMC Rolling Hills 20 cinema in the city of Torrance. We went early and watched the movie at 4PM. The week before all the tickets for the movie was sold out, but we saw our friends waiting on line to watch the movie. We talked to them until they were allowed to enter the cinema.

My wife and I liked the movie and we are planning on watching it again. The plot of the story was okay, I mean, being married to a fellow killer for 6 years and not even have a suspicion was over the top. The movie itself, after excusing the story line, was very exciting and lots of action. The pairing of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were electrical. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who loves big action and lots of explosions. =)

AMC Rolling Hills 20
2591 Airport Drive
Torrance , CA 90505
(310) 289-4AMC

Homeward Bound

I remembered when I was 7 years old growing up at the mountain province of Baguio in the Philippines. Since I lived there for 3 years, I was very familiar with the city and the passenger jeepney route. I remembered how to get to my school and the major tourist spots. You could say that at 7 years old I was a well travelled person.

I guess, it was bound to happen, when my Mom and I was visiting the city to do some shopping, that I got separated from her. We were crossing the crosswalk and I remembered reaching up for my Mom's hand. When I reached the other side, I looked up and, lo and behold, it was not my Mom's hand I was holding. I started to look around for my Mom, but I could not find her. I thought that she might be looking for me and she might be worried so I decided to go home on my own.

I first went to see if a friend who drove one of the jeepney was at the jeepney terminal to get a ride home. My Mom could always pay him later when we catched a ride on his jeepney to school. When I did not saw him, I decided to walk home. My house was near the city, but it seems a long ways off for my small legs to walk all the way home. For the life of me, I was never scared and knowing the way home it was just another day on the road. I was halfway home and just passed the hospital when a car suddenly stopped ahead of me and my Mom jumped out of the passenger side. My Mom was crying while hugging and kissing me. She asked where I went after I got separated from her and got lost. I told her that I was never lost and that I knew the way home. I told her if she did not find me that I would see her at the house.

I guess, after that episode that my Mom would rarely let myself or my three sisters from her sight while we were growing up. We are always a touch away. Even now, I can still see how my Mom keeps an eye on her grandkids when they are around her house or when they travel with them. I grew up knowing that I can always find my way home and knowing that my parents will always find me if I got lost again.

"The Way I Am"

You found me the way I am
Now you are trying to change me
You forget the things you liked about me
Deep in my soul you can't see

I leave my heart open to you
But in my heart the last place you look
You wish for me to change to your expectation
I wish you would read me I'm an open book

Don't look at the covers
There you will not find the real me
If you look in my soul the story unfolds
The pages of my life there for you to see

Later maybe there would be changes
But that is all a part of life
For now love me as I am
Which is who I really am

7-23-95

"Dreamers"

We are the sailors in metal ships
Dreamers in our own right
We travel in this our ocean
On top of thunderous scarlet plumes of light

We are the brave who carry the spirit
That it one day soar into heaven
And there even for a moment be with the angels
Looking over God's creation our haven

Leaving our home to place our heart on the stars
There hopeful that one day would breach the distance
And say to our children to reach for the lights
And look at it as discoverers in this instance

This we dreamt since man infancy
His humanity tied lock in those lights above
We now undertake our mission
And joyously say we are underway to the stars above

1/3/95

"My House"

My house stands on my name
Its walls my works and deeds
Its roof my words
The door opens to my heart
The windows into my eyes
My soul lies inside awake
With it I shelter my children
In it they learn of me
Protected they face the world boldly
But all of it is not enough
My house stands on my name
And you stand along side me
You make my house a home

5-31-94

"A Flower"

There in my garden is a flower
A pretty yellow rose
Under the sun's golden shower
It beckons me up close

Caressed by nature's own hand
As it's green leaves flutters
as it grew out of the land
And around it the bees flutters

Indecision came through me
To take it or leave it
Beauty up close to me
Or left on the stem, beauty without limit

7-9-96

"The Lost"

Today it seems I lost a friend indeed
More of a trusting soul looking up to me in need
Not the frantic lost person wandering around
But the quiet defeated locked and bound

Looking up to me asking a question
I not minding giving her no attention
She is just asking a question
I distracted lost in my position

In her own way she answered her queries
Ignoring me, she is lost to the fairies
By the time I noticed her she has locked herself away
Calling I could not reach her, she is locked to stay

Today I lost a friend
My own child into the trend
If I just given time to answer
How I wish now I could tell her how much I love her

A simple question a little child would ask
Just asking to answer not a task
Ignoring her she has walled herself away
Even calling forever now her I can't sway

I thought she knew I love her
All the things I have to be hers forever
All the advantages to better her position
Then I realized I hadn't answered her question

Now I know what has been taken
The question had been forsaken
Wealth and power her mind can't grasp
Oh how I wish her hand and mine again clasp

I work to root to this earth her dreams
In busy hectic work I have no time for her it seems
To be around me all she asked
With a trusting soul she asked

1-25-95

"Color War"

You are red I am blue
To our causes we are true
We are kin but different clans
So brother we follow different plans

You have a knife I have a gun
We kill each other under this crazy sun
Was it you or was it I who started this clash
I have forgotten as I see the muzzle flash

Both our parents we have failed
You are dead and I am jailed
You are my brother that is true
But you are red and I am blue

You are hot and I am cool
We live our lives in this world of fools
We are kin but with different plans
We do the bidding of our chosen clans

I have my name to uphold
Even if I have to bring you down if I am told
Brother why did it happened
I wish now it never happened

10-10-95

"The Fountain of Youth"

As your body and mind catches up with your age
And in the book of life you turn another page
You find life is very precious
And along the way you become cautious

To make a difference don't start up a wall
Always try to follow life's little red bouncing ball
Let it be your guide on life's highway
From oneself don't let yourself stray

To forget how to smile, be happy or play
Your dreams and imagination in one place stay
When the time comes when we can't dream any more
Out of the river of life we come to shore

From memories now we live our lives
Our body and mind ages like knives
Dull and forgotten with out any use
A hard stance on reality on oneself an abuse

Sharpen those knives let it again be useful
In our time let us live our lives full
Life is not a simple single motion
But bits and puzz;es of an adventurous commotion

In our own life we are the architect
Though no plan is always perfect
And on these notes we must close with this truth
Love, dreams and happiness is the true fountain of youth

2-21-95

"Run Away"

Run run away
Cry in the dark and then pray
With the spirit avenging
From yourself go far away

Hear hear the voices
Until your ears hurts and ringing
With nerves quaking
From yourself go far away

Speak speak the words
Even when no one listens
There in the twilight
From yourself go far away

Feel feel the pain
The touch that burns the flesh
Forever torment
From yourself go far away

Reach reach for yourself
As the other world draws you closer
Leave the demon homeless
Break the chain forever

1-1-95

"From The Heart"

There are times when I don't understand
When our hot heads crash head on
Just give me time to cool off and think
I'll amaze you how much love I hold for you
Remember just give me time
You can always count on me when you need a friend to talk to or just listen
Don't be afraid to be real in your emotions
Don't hold any tears inside
If I don't know I will never learn
I will always be by your side
Love is the first thing in marriage
The others you learn as you go
I guess love is the little things in a marriage that you do from the time you get up to the time you lay down
It is not big and flashy but say I really love you
Spending time with you makes me very happy
Together we see the world bright and blue
But I'll understand when you need time alone
Remember we should not go to sleep angry
We should resolve it before we lay our head to sleep
Let all the bad things stay in the past
The new day is for the new things
I will always love you
But I guess it is only fair to warn you
Forever is as far as I'll go

6/2/94