When our beloved excuse themselves to disappear into their video games, we call that being a [insert game name here] Widow. For example, I was an World of Warcraft Widow, an EverQuest widow, and most recently a Fallen Earth and Fall Out Widow. Now, the table is being turned around. I’m making a widower out of Brandon for the next few months. As in, a Italian Class Widower… Nora and I are taking Italian lessons together in Irvine on Saturday mornings, starting this weekend on through January. A USC Football Widower… If you’ve read my blog long enough, you’d know...
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Oddly enough, one should be nice and high after a major life triumph like your first backpacking trip. Instead, I dropped off the side of Mount San Jacinto into the blues. Elated, I shot out an email to my family soon after I blogged about it here. It’s like dropping a pebble into a bottomless well. Except for a chirp from my sister-in-law, nothing. Well, heck, at least I expect to hear a “Well, you should’ve been working out so you don’t drag everyone behind”, but I didn’t even get that. In a way, I did know that I won’t...
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Well, not EVERY mountain but just the one. It took Brandon and I 7 years of marriage to figure out that we both like camping. Away from the cars kind of camping. We have been investing in our camping gear. When we were shopping for a backpack, the staff mentioned that REI does have overnight backpacking classes and that we should check that out. So we did. This past Saturday and Sunday, we were in Mount San Jacinto State Park backpacking for the first time with 2 REI instructors, Greg and Michael, and 5 other newbies. One was gearing up...
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My epic battle with time this week? I guess it’s a draw. I didn’t start on Monday morning as planned. Because, as you all have heard, we plan and God laughs. Or something like that. Last Sunday night, the night I wanted to go to bed by 10 to wake up at 5:15 and work on my stuff? I ended up going to bed closer to midnight and woke up the usual call time for morning with hair wash of 5:45. I was up peeling and scraping the piths off of 25 lemons to go into my first ever batch...
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Friends, get ready for another long and slow season on the OakMonster blog. Thrill the World is here. And in full force. (Oh hey, register with our LA team here.) I’m involved in many different levels this time, a lot more than I signed up for this year. Well, you know, MJ went and died on us. That brought a lot more to the original “let’s take it easy this year” plan. I met with Amanda and Mahdroo and our new group of helpers last Wednesday. This year is going to be awesome! Friday was the second anniversary of my...
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Pim of Chez Pim texted me on a lazy Saturday mid-morning to ask if I wanted to meet up at Yai in Hollywood for lunch with her and some friends. Holy crap! Brandon and I have just rolled out of bed at 11 a.m. and we were to be in Hollywood by noon!?! Pim assured us we’d make it a Thai time noon, so don’t worry if we were late. And surprisingly, we arrived first. LOL. I Yelped Yai (or P’Yai for us Thais) as “THE mothership for Southern California Thais”. Because it is. I remembered when my mom and...
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