OakMonster’s Den

I often say I don’t have a stand about the War in Iraq. Because I don’t.

I don’t care why our troops were sent over there. But I care that they are there now.

I don’t care if PODUS is an idiot. I care that troops are risking their lives right now.

Soldiers have been deployed already. They are getting shot at and blown up already.

Standing around in the safety of US soil they protect and bitching about the war may help bringing them home sooner, but it’s not bringing them home right now or bringing anyone back from the dead.

US Military is a volunteer military. No one is forced to be soliders. One is not forced into becoming a soldier and pick up his/her gun. These brave men and women sign up to serve their country. They sign up to fight battles.

When their country said go to war, they go to war. It’s their job. And they do it proudly.

They give up their lives because their country tell them to, no matter the reasons.

Instead of taking today to protest the war, to bash the president, to scream at soldiers as “baby killers” or whatever, think about this.

You can do all of that because you are NOT in the front line. Guess who’s out there right now in your place so you can protest the war, bash the president, and call our brave men and women baby killers?

No, I don’t have an opinion about the war. But I do have an opinion about our troops.

I’m fucking proud of them.

TO US TROOPS EVERYWHERE: If for some freaky reason you end up reading my blog, please know that I have the utmost respect for you. You’re out there in a foreign country, making sure that folks there get to have the same freedom that you do, and that the rest of us on this side of the pond stay safe. I want you safe. I want you to come home to their families. I want you to receive all the glory and gratitude you deserve.

You are my hero. God bless you.

…seeing your best friend 6-month pregnant, and hanging out with a great group of people for the entire afternoon. J.C. and Erick are near due date, but they flew out to CA for the holiday to be with their friends and family. It was like being at their wedding all over again yesterday with Erick’s family and their friends. Good times!

…sleeping for 10 hours straight.

…watching X Men: the Last Stand first thing in the morning–well, right after breakfast of Campbell’s Chunky sirloin burger soup– and having theater popcorn for lunch.

…laying on the couch for the rest of the day watching TV and letting the little devil over your shoulder wins out on thoroughly enjoying the SLOTH part of the deadly sins.

…realizing that there are a few sounds that qualify as the happiest sounds, the sounds that make you smile no matter what: doggy pawsteps on hardwood floor, a cat purring, lone cricket outside your window, baby laughing (thanks to Rude Cactus’ video of Mia on that one), and the sizzling noise of anything being cooked on the grill or in a skillet.

…having a 3-day weekend with not a lot of plan.

The Spanish Team won the Tsunami Memorial Design Competition

Congratulations, ladies! (A week late.)

Although, I must confess that I was rooting for the Australian team. I did love that underwater light show idea, but it was a bit too ambitious for Thailand.

I did like American team’s design because it blends in with the environment. But then again, that might just be too much.

Finland won me over with the banana leaf boats idea, but that was all there is for me there.

And finally, Belgium. It looks great. Just not for this secluded lagoon.

Anyhoo. Congratulations, you guys! I’m still bummed I didn’t get to party with y’all on your last night in the city. Hehe. But, it was such an honor to get to know everyone and watch how you work. I’m so proud to have been a witness to such process.

And daddy, GOOD JOB! ;-D

I don’t watch American Idol, but as a pop culture fiend, I’ve been following the results by listening to Ralph talks about it on Kevin & Bean Show on KROQ.

Sure, Ralph is totally in love with Katherine McPhee. Afterall, it’s him who coined “McPheever”. But after watching a brief glimpses of her here and there, I do agree with him. She has a great voice. And yeah, she’s hot.

That Hicks guy? Sorry. He doesn’t wow me. Period.

My question to you today: McPhee or Hicks?

Nonetheless, I will be watching LOST finale tonight. After all, I had a dream about running around this haunted mysterious mansion on the Island with shirtless and sweaty Matthew Fox. Yum…

Because I’m Thai, I took a little joy in a few jokes that flew around me today on Cambodia’s expense.

Oh come on, it’s a well known feud. I’m just being patriotic.

Person #1: So, how was your meeting yesterday?

Person #2: It was good. We had all of these folks there. And there was a Cambodian banker there too…

Person #1: Cambodian banker? You mean, the guy with the wallet?

—

Person #2: Apparently, they were ready to make investment in the U.S.

Person #3: I don’t know. Money from Cambodia seems fishy to me.

Person #4: It’s from Cambodia. Of course, it is fishy.

While we were all out and about today, Shane mentioned that he had to call into jury duty next week.

I told him about how, a few years into college, I got my first jury duty summon. The thing is, I’m not a U.S. citizen. So, I made my call and checked the little box that said “I am not a U.S. citizen”. In a few days I received a letter to confirm that my service would not be required.

And then, every couple of years, I’d get a summon again. And again, I’d go through the motion of telling them that I AM NOT A U.S. CITIZEN. Stop wasting your resources and leave me the hell alone. The last time I did that, it seemed to have worked. I haven’t gotten another one since soon after B and I got married.

So after Shane left our place, I went to get the mail.

You couldn’t possibly guess what awaited me in the mailbox.

Oh yeah. A jury duty summon.

Not to mention that I am no longer a resident of LA county.

*sigh* Here we go again.

We woke up at 7:58 on our own. Fully rested. A sign of a good morning.

And then I checked my morning reading list, and found that Chris Frenchy has posted the story his proposal to his lady love Brandy, completed with video.

I’m smiling ear to ear now.

Yep. It’s going to be a good day.

*UPDATE* Soon after I posted that, I wasn’t having too good of a morning. It’s going better now though…

I wanted to play the piano and sing. But life got in the way and it’s now 10:09. 9 minutes past my courtesy noise curfew.

I don’t even have anything to write about. I feel, like Lauren would say, lame.

Yes, my piano sounds like a beat-up old thing in a saloon from a Western movie. I need to get her tuned. Someday.

But in the meantime, I guess I’ll have to let out the creative bug on Flickr…

Here’s me meeting Owen for the very first time!

Also, I uploaded the photos from this year’s first Ren Faire. (You’ll have to go down half a set to see this year’s photos.)

Yes, I said first. Because the Boren and the Grat-Clark clans will go again this Sunday!

I’m here. I’m here. It’s been a busy week. And it’s only going to get busier. But I want to drop by. I will have pictures from Renaissance Pleasure Fair posted soon.

My company holds a monthly board meeting for our investors. With our history, something usually goes wrong either during the preparation or before the event at some point.

So when nothing went wrong yesterday or this morning during our set up, our team was still visibly tensed. We were ALL waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Some shit is going to hit the fan. Some shit is going to hit the fan. Some shit is going to hit the fan…was our thought. And we braced for it.

I’m happy to report that no such shoe dropped. No shit ever hit the fan. The meeting went down as smoothly as a mojito on a hot summer day.

And I even got a snippet for my blog from it!

Here’s what happened at the check-in table when Rick BigShot, a hugely successful businessman and our guest speaker, arrived.

StellaMama: Good morning.

Richard: Good morning.

StellaMama: Can I please have your name?

Richard: It’s Richard Bigshot.

StellaMama: Oh. Oh, my! You do look exactly like your name.

Richard: What do you mean?

StellaMama: Rich.