OakMonster’s Den

Party at the Library Bar last night? Fan-fucking-tastic! Here’s a proof.

Oh no. You will not be seeing the rest of the pictures from last night here. Folks will be lining up to sue my ass. LOL.

Much fun for all last night. Over 20 people came to send off the Big Boss. THAT was the biggest unofficial gathering I’ve ever had! Lots of beer and martinis were consumed. Even the BB got into the action, sipping a glass of 1903, his 3rd drink in 10some years! (By the way, that 1903 beer is fucking awesome.)

The rest of us was nicely toasted. I mean, I had 2 beers and the house bought me my last one to apologize for not roping off our area as planned. That last freebie put me over a little bit.

As in, my designated driver and me were belting Berlin’s “Take my breath away” in the car on our way home. Fucking. Hilarious. I rolled out of that into the apartment, kissed Brandon, and went straight to bed.

I woke up buzzed. So, there you. That’s how much fun I had last night.

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Originally uploaded by theoakmonster.

Apparently I can use this crappy piece of camera phone to take some neat pictures once in a while.

Seriously. Can’t wait to get a camera that is a phone. *sigh*

(So, Miss Kitty Gadget - what’s the next one I should get? I mean, 5 years after it already comes out in Thailand/Asia that is. Hehe.)

YEAH FUCKING RIGHT!

That little motto was on a Marine Corps. t-shirt Brandon has.

Fuckin’ Marines. They’re not human. (And God bless them all for that too!)

Anyhoo. Apparently my bad ankle doesn’t like the concrete pavement that much. My ankle has bugged me all day and it’s insy winsy little bitty swolen.

The upside is that my legs aren’t sore. So at least somebody is getting used to the new ritualistic abuse called running.

Now, to my preparation for tomorrow’s festivities.

The Big Boss is leaving. Did I tell you that? And tomorrow is the day we throw him going away shindigs. First, the official staff farewell with a cake thing. Then after work, it’s boozing up at our new favorite hangout, the Library Bar! (Oh yeah, if you’re in the area. Come on by and say hi to me!)

Ahhh…the emancipation…

Um…whoops did I say that out loud just now?

Sorry about the digression. Ahem. Where were we? Oh, prepping for tomorrow.

The prep for tomorrow’s drinking was my dinner, a bacon cheeseburger from a local grill. Well, that’s actually is a bad excuse. The real justification for that lovely thickness of perfectly seasoned and cooked minced cow meat slapped with drippy processed goodness called American cheese and crispy fried pork belly is, well, I was fucking hungry. LOL.

It’s the running. Nhien and Tiffany agreed with me on that one. Nhien also agrees with me that the perfectly good reason for working out is so that you can eat more. Indeed, sister!

And Tiffany? That funny girl called to laugh at me about my runner’s ears. LOL. Tiffany also runs and she’s starting back at it again. She said that happens to her too. And that I have to keep at it. Just a little bit further each time, she said. My bus mate/marathoner Amanda said the same thing. Keep at it. Just little bit further. Just a minute more.

This ankle pain is truly annoying for now, but it’s nothing compared to my craving for a few minutes on the run.

Oh god. I ran once a week for 3 weeks and I already am addicted to the runner’s high.

I’m so screwd. LOL.

I have failed to mention to you guys that I have started my attempt at running again.

Yep. I started a few weeks ago. At once a week rate. LOL. Pretty much I showed up at Pound 4 Pound on Monday. Tuesday I’d be incredibly sore. Wednesday I’d have all the intentions to go back but something would happen. Next thing I know it was the weekend.

So, this morning I went out for my 15-20 minute walk/jog/run at the neighborhood park. All cocky about having run a whole mile on the treadmill on Monday, almost 1.5 mile when I was starting to run out of breath.

Oh yeah. I can totally hit the streets.

Not.

Like Brandon said, the treadmill is keeping my pace for me. So here I went half a mile around the park and starting to run out of breath. Seriously, kids. I can’t go slow. I just can’t!

I like to do things quickly. I drive fast. I walk fast. I talk fast. If I need to, I can be in and out of the shower and ready to go in 15 minutes. 2 things I can’t do fast is eating and washing my hair. LOL.

I am, what Thai people call it, Jai Ronn, “hot heart”. Essentially, hasty. And that applies to my running. I mentioned before, I have never been good at a distance run. Want me to out sprint someone? Oh yeah I could do that (like 10 years ago…hehee).

Anyhoo. So I was pretty much dying after I completed the mile, but I decided to lightly jog home about 3 blocks. Suddenly I couldn’t catch my breath. And of all things, my ears started to hurt. Like how your inner ears hurt when you’re on a plane? It’s THAT pain but on the outside, top part of your ears. How weird was that?! Perhaps because my ears were cold? I don’t know. But I try to briskly walk home to keep up that “Ooh I’m a runner” facade. The ears were such torture it reduced me to just a stroll.

From start to finish, 20 minutes.

Complete. Utter. Failure.

But hey, I’m going back to hit the treadmill some more. May be I will eventually learn to pace.

So, the running is a part of my newly formed stress management tactics this year. After going back to read my blog, I believe my struggle with the stomach issues and all of that was a back lash of ill-managed stress. And you can see on Thursday, a month into the new year, my body already succumbed to stress once. That’s not a good sign.
If I want to get back to enjoy my eating and having a good life, I have got to get healthy again.

So, there’s the running I’m trying to get into. I may try buying a Hatha Yoga video as well. Ashtanga is just not my thing.

I am trying to eat better meaning going low-fat if it doesn’t compromise the flavor. (Mayo, sour cream, and my cafe latte have already gone that route.) Fear not, my friends. I am NOT giving up bacon, cheese, butter, or chocolate. In order for me to keep eating those, I have to cut out in other ways, you see. Hahah!
I have been eating good breakfast and snacking well. Vitamin Water–Rescue (green tea) and Focus (strawberry-kiwi)–has become my newest addiction. LOVE the flavor! Whatever it takes to trick me to drink for fluids, that is a good thing.

And of course, I MUST return to making music. I haven’t made any noise since Christmas!

Pretty much that is about it. How about you guys? What is your tips and tricks to keeping healthy and not stress out so much?

Dear Chris,

It just hits me that you are getting married today. TODAY! My dearest Frenchman is getting married and I couldn’t be there with him. *sigh*

I am so happy for you, Chris! I know we haven’t been close in the recent years, but I think being one of your early friends still count for something.

After all, you introduced me to a lot of things that shaped the rest of my life. IRC. HTML. Star Wars. My first boyfriend Kit. The Derby — well, we were fools the first time we were there, weren’t we? But then you got bitten by the swing and you became a pro. And then there was our fantastic journey to the strip club with me dressed like a little boy Asian gangster. LOL. And of course, sleeping on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard outside the Mann’s waiting for Episode I was probably the best time of my life. Ranked up there with being carried down 3rd Street Promenade, drunk on my 21st birthday. “Stop the rocking!” LOL.

And the most recently, you got me to wade out in the California water deeper than my knees for the first time. Without my glasses, even. And I wasn’t even afraid because I know you’re just an arms length away. Well, until you took off after the dolphins. Hehe.
After all these years of being friends, and after a few years of not seeing much of each other, I still trust you with my life. THAT is just a kind of friend you are to me.

And here I am, on the biggest day of your life, on the computer in California, while you’re out in Texas, getting married to the wonderful and beautiful Brandy. That just fucking kills me!!

But like you said, I am there in spirit, circling the bar at the reception waiting to have my one drink to salute you and your lovely bride on your very first day of the rest of your life.

Congratulations to you, Chris and Brandy. You did it!!! I’ll see you newlyweds when you get back.

I love you, man.

Your Oakz

Yep. I’m home. Again.

The first one of the somewhat quarterly 24-hour exhaustion and low fever bug attack is here.  Then again, that is common when I’ve been stressed out and then suddenly there was a relief.  My system just crashed like that.  If you’ve been reading here a while, you should know.
Remember how I went to bed at 8:30 last night?

Well, I woke up once in the dead of night drenched in sweat.  The kind that you get when your fever breaks.  And of course, after kicking off the blanket, a minute later, I was  cold and shivering all over again.  Curious, eh?

Waking up at the usual 5:30 with a headache is never a good sign.  I tried to get up but my body felt like I either ran a marathon in my sleep or I got hit by a bus and didn’t know it.  I plopped back into bed and asked Brandon to bring me my phone when he gets out of the shower.

The Lady Boss usually has her cell phone off, but today she had it on. So I woke her sleepy ass up at the crack of dawn from Brandon’s phone and all she heard out of “Hey, I’m not coming in today. Felt like I got hit by a bus. I’m dead tired.” was “…hit by…dead”.

Poor thing. She panicked for a second.

So, pretty much after 12 hours of sleep. I’m still achy, exhausted, and sleepy.  The construction crew a few doors down has no mercy on my soul.  Perfect timing to finish your roof, jackasses.

I guess I’ll have to rest in the living room instead.

And there’s SO FUCKING MUCH TO DO AT WORK!!!!!!

*sigh*

The tired caught up with me.

I slept all the way home from Downtown LA.  Usually that’d give me the second wind.  But today wasn’t the case.  I was sleepy getting off the bus.  My bus buddy/runner encouraged me to get to the gym like I planned.  And I did come home to change.  But Brandon met me at the door.

And I changed my mind completely.

Good night my darling.  I know it’s 8:30 p.m. but I’m so tired I can’t even think straight now.

Sexy enough for you, baby?

This classic video here is from Dark Age of Camelot. Simply a c-las-sic!

…I posted.

A writer’s block? Maybe. More like uninspired?

Oh I don’t know. I’m sort of in a weird funk right now. I’m tired as heck, but the moment my head hits the pillow, my mind races. (Pond, you KNOW what I’m talking about!) So I decided to stay up and geek out until I’m really tired then I would go to bed.

The flaw in that plan is that Brandon is asleep long before I got to bed. And there I am, tossing about for another good 10 minutes, hoping I didn’t wake him up.

I’d fall asleep, say, by midnight or so. My first alarm goes off at 5:10 a.m. and I would hit snooze until 5:55 on the day I don’t have to wash my hair or 5:45 when I do. I’d wake up, tired as hell, but after a while everything seems to wake up on its own.

But of course, you know me and riding in cars. A few minutes on the bus and I was out cold. The rest of day would be fine. I DO have the energy for the day. But then again, when don’t I? I’m like a fuckin’ hummingbird! Except for when I’m sick or troubled.

Another nap on the way home secured the level of energy for the rest of the evening. (Besides, my bus driver currently drives like a maniac. I have to go to sleep or I’d be sick. Although that is a small price to pay in exchange for getting home at 6:15 instead of 6:30 or later.)

And here I am. Dead tired once again with an overactive mind.

Oh wait wait wait. I think the wine may be working…

Good night, gang! I will try to get back on the saddle of original content soon. In the meantime, you’ll see more clips and read more articles, I’m afraid…