OakMonster’s Den

Recap of tonight’s madness here.

Pictures from the day with Joshua and J.C. are also up. Here are a few.

Got a LONG day ahead of me tomorrow.  Good night, y’all!

P.S. I really am starting to love Frangelico…Hmm….hazelnutty goodness…

Much is happening around me since the busy Memorial Day weekend.

Since we last spoke, I have started playing Lego Star Wars again, but this time the original trilogy. It was on sale. We couldn’t resist. Yet, another hobby I shouldn’t have picked up. But it’s just too much fun!

Justin and Olaina will be up in town for the next few weeks with his mom. They’re just waiting now. Olaina is sharing the experience over at her place. Please keep “Superman” Justin and his family in your prayer.

I got Aunty Tim addicted to the new Almond Blueberry cookies. She has been telling her friends about them and about my Team Lesser Weevils’ fundraising efforts for AIDS Walk Long Beach. The other night she placed an order for 4 dozen. As of yesterday, the order is now 8 dozen–4 of Almond Blueberry and 4 of the original Absolutely Weevil Cookies. If you need me on Saturday afternoon, I’ll be in the kitchen baking my head off. Hey, whatever it takes to raise the dough, my friends. Speaking of which, won’t you come on by and donate a few bucks?

Finally, the bridal shower for the coworker is tomorrow. For a 1-hour informal event, this sure took a LOT of energy! My Bridal Tea Committee has been hard at work for at least 2 weeks. Pat has been bringing in just about every pretty little things she has to the office, a little bit at a time. Ditto me with hauling up on the bus my teacups and platter PLUS gazillion presents for the bride, 2 bags at a time. (Why? So I don’t have to drive on Friday!) Celeste is going to bring a surprise something to pretty up the drab conference room. Yes, our office LOVES a party. They went a little nuts with contribution to the gift pool. I damn near cleaned out the Costa Mesa Crate & Barrel with that!

I promise to upload the pictures of J.C. and Josh tonight. Well, given that I have time. Brandon was thinking of grabbing his friends for impromptu dinner at Naples Rib Company. If that is a go, after dinner I still have to make the food for the bridal tea tomorrow. (Oh yeah, we are catering the tea ourselves.)

Stay tuned, y’all. Let’s see if I survive to have myself a little break this weekend to clean the house and do laundry.*sigh*

The long weekend went like this.

Errand Saturday.

Baby and Kitties Sunday.

Baby and Doggies Monday.

I met J.C.’s baby Joshua for the very first time on Sunday. And yes, he IS tall! We brought J.C. some El Pollo Loco while Josh ate his Cheerios with us. Josh and I played quite a bit. Actually, he tackled me and drooled all over my face at some point. LOL. It was quite hilarious. What a happy little boy, this kid! Well, except when mommy went to put him down for a nap. He was tired but he didn’t like that very much. The protest went on for about 5 minutes. That was it. Haha.

J.C. is staying with her brother in Costa Mesa. To much of Brandon’s love and longing for kittens, Adam and his girlfriend have 2 friendly, cute and playful cats. So while I played with Josh most of the time, Brandon got to hang out with the kittens. We took loads of pictures of both the baby and the cats. I’ll put them up soon.

Earlier this afternoon, I also got to meet yet another baby I haven’t met in person before: Celeste’s 2-year-old niece Sadie.

I was invited to help Celeste throw a surprise party for her friend and my stylist (who is also quickly becoming my friend) Mary Ann. She was planning to just take Mary Ann to dinner but then her brother offered to barbecue and suddenly we had on hand a surprise party completed with a steel drummer!

With all the things that are going on, somehow Sadie and I managed to become friends. Well, the big kids didn’t want her in the room at one point and her parents were prepping for the party. So I sat with her. After a few peace offerings of cheese slices later, I was “flying” her up and down the driveway and danced with her in my arms to groovy steel drum tunes.

That is the test of your fitness by the way, how many trips you can carry a 2-year-old up and down a 30-ft driveway before you run out of breath and how long you can hold her up during a song.

Mary Ann was thoroughly surprised! (She did smell blood in the water when she approached the house though.) But unfortunately, I had to leave soon after she got there. Another BBQ awaited.

The impromptu BBQ at Paul & Lupe’s was called at 11 a.m. this morning. But hey, I never turned down a party at their place!

Paul & Lupe have 2 dogs, Molly the Rambunctious Rodweiler and Cassie the Cute Little Fur Ball. Brandon, a dog person when the mood strikes, hung out with Cassie and, to my surprise, happily entertained Molly. I too played with “the kids”. And then I got Molly in trouble.

Well, SHE got herself in trouble. I happened to witness it and snitch.

I walked into the kitchen to find Molly’s face in the trash can. She hadn’t picked anything up out of it just yet, but I called her out of the kitchen and told Paul. She got a good long half hour of time out in her kennel. She looked so sad!

While we were there, I also met other friend’s baby for the first time. Funny how Jim & Karen lived only 4 miles from us and I would have dinner with Karen once a month at our monthly outing, but yet I haven’t met her baby girl! I got to introduce myself to Gwen and she laughed at me. Happened all the time when I introduce myself to new people, by the way. But that was it. The little girl was tired and the clan went home.

It might as well. I think Brandon and I both hit our quotas on time with borrow babies and puppies.

Not the kitties. We can never have enough of the unconditional purring love.

Those who love music will appreciate this.

ETA: Thanks Lilian for the comment.  This reminds me that my poor readers in Thailand cannot access YouTube.  (Long story.)  So, alternately, if you can hit Google video, try this one out.

I’m gonna live forever.
I’m gonna learn how to fly.

Not only the song is my favorite to sing on Karaoke Revolution at the moment (aiming for the Diamond scoring on this one, baby!), but also a few seconds of my life!

Veronica called me and said she saw me on KTLA Trafficast commercial.

Remember that?

I can catch the moon in my hand.
Don’t you know who I am.
Remember my name!
Fame!

If anybody catch that on YouTube or anywhere else, please let me know. I can’t find it anywhere on the web just yet.

And the funny thing is, if you Google KTLA Trafficast, my blog comes up second. LOL.

I’m gonna live forever.
Baby, remember my name.

So I guess efficient sleep is the cure to writer’s block after all. I happily woke up this morning with loads of things to tell you guys.

Here goes the possibly longest blog in recent weeks. But here goes!

Kicking Carl’s Angus

Carl’s Junior is suing Jack in the Box over the “Angus…*giggle*” line of commercials. Here’s one.

As much as I LOVE Carl’s breakfast burger, I think I just have to boycott them. Take that Junior! Nobody screws with Jack!!

Sushi Raucous

I went to get sushi at Mamma’s Sushi with Aurora on Thursday night. My original plan was to come home after that and make Chewbacca cupcakes in honor of Star Wars Day.

We ended up having a good time at Mamma’s that I didn’t even bother with the cupcakes. LOL.

Mamma’s, as we found out a while ago, is actually Thai-owned. We sat with a different chef this time and he happened to be a chattier one that the one we’ve been sitting with.

So we got to talking and joking around. Aurora and I bought the chefs a bottle of Asahi. They in turn comped us the rolls we mistakenly did not order. (”Crunch Roll” sits next to the “B.S.C. Roll”. Instead of checking BSC, I checked Crunch. Whoops.) And after a while, the owner joined in the fun and also sent a bottle of sake on the house which we split with the chefs as well.

Oh, and our chef’s name is Tong. Like my best friend’s back home. (It’s both boy and girl’s name.)

Next time, Aurora and I are going in on $5 roll Monday and we’ll make sure we have someone to drive us. Tong promised to take good care of us…as long as we have a designated driver. Hahah!

Profile THIS

Brandon had quite a serious training at the F-B-I. It wasn’t the computer stuff he thought he was going for. It actually was essentially C.S.I. 101. Lots of interesting things he learned and even more things no one really need to know. Real life murder and seriously disturbing crime don’t have the magical glitz of a TV show.

They did have a linguist out there to talk about the use of language and speech and writing patterns and all of that fun stuff. Brandon shared with him after class.

“My wife would probably confuse the heck out of you,” he said.

You see, when I was growing up in Thailand, the standard English lessons are British-English base. The pronunciation and the spelling and the terms we learned were all British. i.e. lorry (trucks), colour, etc. But at some point you may ended up with a teacher who do it American style. The teachers understand that, lucky for us. So we didn’t get the point taken out for spelling with or without “ou” or scrambling our pronunciation with both kinds of English. (Can you imagine throwing in Australian accented teacher into the mix!?)

At some point earlier in my transition to American life, I was spelling things with OU here and there. The accent, on the other hand, was already American, thanks to the 2-month immersion program I was in a few months before my move.

“So she speaks with American accent with a light touch of Asian, and writes in British spelling?” the linguist inquired.

“Huh. I never heard of that one before. Good to know.”

Heck, Brandon didn’t even tell him that I also invent my own words and phrases. That’ll throw the man in a loop. Heh.

Oh yes. That reminded me to move over the OakSpeak from my old site…

Olaina recapped our adventure on Wednesday night very well.

“Gallows humor,” she called it.

I’m going to let you guys read the full story over there because Olaina is a wonderful writer. But essentially, with what Justin’s and my mom is going through, and us bopping about in the wake, we manage to make the most morbid and horrible things funny.

Justin and Olaina started off about a two-fer for hospice care. Then we talked about cremation and Thai funeral rituals.

Justin’s mom wants to be cremated and her ashes scattered. This is the part where I just now learned that it is illegal to scatter someone’s ashes in California. Well, you can do it if you don’t get caught, leaving behind bits of bones that didn’t burn.

“So, if you want to scatter your mom then you’ll have to pick out the chunks of leftover bones?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” said Justin.

“Would it be easier to just use a sifter?” It just came out.

A few giggles. Then I just had to add.

“You know have this flour sifter can thingy. That may be helpful.”

We were now laughing.

And then, another thought came to mind.

“So, if it’s illegal to scatter the ashes in California, then what do you do? Do you have to go The Great Escape style and walk the yard with the ashes?”

Sometimes all you have left is a sense of humor, no matter how dark it is.

But for the life of me I couldn’t take a picture of my own head this morning with the camera phone. (Beth…now I understand.)

ETA: Celeste helped me out.

The geeks are lining up down the streets by the Convention Center already. I saw a bunch of Rebel Fighters, one of each of Stormtrooper and Jedi, and one really big Princess Leia.

I mean, her costume and hair looked GREAT. But seriously, she looked like she ATE the Princess and stole her dress…well, make that dresses.

But that’s the spirit of Star Wars.

Around 11:15? A jolt?

A 3.8, y’all. In Devore.

My couch totally shook. I was watching my TIVO’ed LOST. (Oh and by the way, nice ending.)

Did I mention that earthquakes totally unnerves me? Even a little one?

So yeah. It’s almost midnight. I had excellent Indian food dinner with Justin and Olaina. And I’m totally unnerved right now.

Dammit…

ETA 05/24/07 - 8 a.m. : News story confirmed. I wasn’t crazy.  There WAS an earthquake!

Today in China, orangutan fled his cage and went exploring…oh, excuse me, the article said “on rampage”.

Last week in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Gorilla escaped and injured 4. And some cheeky bastard already registered the gorilla’s name, Bokito, as a brand.

Not a bad month for primates, eh?