USC Marching Band drum major has been stabbing his sword into the middle of the football field for god knows how long as a part of the band’s act.

Our field. Their field. Any field.

We have been taking special pleasure when we play at the Rose Bowl because our Trojan ALWAYS gets to stab through fucla logo in the middle of the field.  I don’t know where the bRUINS have been this whole time but we’ve ALWAYS noticed.

Now that the familiar scene to us Trojans got included in the PAC 10+2 promotional video, suddenly the fucla athletic director got his panties in a twist and bitched, as reported by the LA Times. Somebody’s excuse was that this is so much more offensive to them than watching it live in the stadium or having the same footage broadcasted nationally during the live game every other year because the promo will keep repeating. Blah blah blah…

So PAC 10+2 actually pulled the footage from the promo.

But not before someone got a hold of the clip…

For Trojans, you can enjoy the whole video. For those non-fans, you can skip to 1:25 on the time code.

Fight on!

From tomorrow through Thanksgiving, count me out for any Saturday activities.  Thankfully, many games this season will be in the evening, so I won’t have to miss much of my Italian lessons starting up in a few weeks.

What? Italian classes on Saturday mornings during football season?  Are you mad!?  As my husband would say, “you did that to yourself.” Yeah, I guess I’m masochistic that way.

First game of the year lands on Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, a lot of fans are out of town. Fortunately, many out of town fans are finally in town.  Many of my Trojan Tweeps I haven’t met before will converge at USC Psycho‘s famous tailgate, dubbed #Psychogate.  BYOB and bring extra stuff to help Roy out. Or buy his shirts.

Gridiron Goddess Amy (@gridirongoddess) and I will make our usual appearance there first before slinking off to another destination.  Amy with her many creative flavors of Jello shots and me with caramelized bacon-wrapped Lil Smokies.  All the new folks are bringing goodies too. This is going to be so much fun.

Among those I will get to meet finally are @fightontwist, @TrueBlueLowry21, @ScottEnyeart and @TrojanMikeG.  And of course, it’s always good to see usual suspects @vicorly and @kyle4sc. I’ll miss @maliburumbarbie though. Hopefully, I’d also get to meet Zack, the fouinding father of Arrogant Nation (@lost_angeles). But that boy’s too goddam popular now. ;-D

Oh, and all of this partying is going down starting at the usual time of  6 a.m. Kick off is at 12:30 so it’s not quite a long of a day as it usually is.

Well, the tickets were bought long time ago. I’m not going to worry about the money already spent.  Since the Coliseum is dry, and you get to marinade yourself with your booze and food before hand, there is not much more to spend. Except for occasional munchies. And appearances by food trucks.

The highest cost of the games is the parking, really.  Last year, I haven’t known too many folks I could carpool with but this year is different.  I’ll be packing my lunch for the rest of the season to do this, but this will be my splurge for the next few months instead of some fancy dinner.

Oh, all the things I’d do for USC football.

Gridiron Goddess and the OakMonster at the top of the world. (Photo @ Gridiron Goddess)

I mean, look at how neglected this blog is!!!

Let’s take a look back this year, see what all I did, and give out some 2010 awards, shall we?

2010 in Pictures:

Drinking Buddy of the Year: Bus Buddy Amanda

We’ve been riding the bus together for a few years and carpooled together numerous times.  But it was this year that Amanda and I started hanging out outside of the bus.  We grabbed a few drinks either in Downtown LA or right here back in Los Alamitos.  We occasionally dragged our husbands with us too, like when we went to the Night Dive at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Next up on our agenda is shopping.  Our wallets should be afraid. Very afraid.

Bar of the Year: Chaya Downtown

I actually have visited less and less Downtown LA hot spots since last year.  Work dynamic continues to shift and happy hour gathering has become more and more difficult to manage.  Yet, I kept finding myself moseying over to Chaya Downtown whenever I have an excuse to do so.

At the beginning, I didn’t really give Chaya much of a chance.  Compared to the cozy vibe at the Library Bar, I felt Chaya was a bit more snooty.  I was proven wrong on that.  Also with Library Bar having become so popular it was too crowded for my liking, Chaya has plenty of space to spread out either right up to the bar or out in their Japanese beer garden.  It’s one of the better places in the financial district for happy hour these days with great menu and strong drink specials.  I mean, that $5 cocktail specials they have would knock a lightweight on her ass, I tell ya!

Chaya bar is not just for drinks, but for lunch too.  Bartender Greg always take a good care of me whether I was just picking up a very reasonably priced to-go bento box or sitting down to pig out alone.  The food was surprising fast out there at the bar versus sitting down at the proper restaurant section.

Newcomer Award: USC Trojan Nation

Fight on!

It only took me 11 years since graduation to get around to buy USC football season ticket.  Bless her heart, at the time of purchase, Gridiron Goddess Amy shouldn’t be spending her money on the ticket, but she did. And we roamed and ruled USC campus as tailgate nomads, lugging our own food and beverages, looking for a place to crash.

During the sesason, I reconnected with old friend Roy aka USC Psycho and crashed at my rarely-seen Trojan brother Joel and his wife Zoe’s tailgate.  I never quite made it to Hawaiian Jen’s group at the engineering quad though, my one regret.  I also made new Trojan tweeps as I tweeted my away games from my couch or at the bar with USC Long Beach Alumni Club.

Yes, the Long Beach Alumni Club is back and very alive!  As destiny would have it, it got resurrected this year.  And naturally, I joined and soon became their director of technology, handling their twitter account and soon to design their website.

More Trojan Nation shenanigan will ensue through the spring, I am sure.  Thank god I’m not a basketball fan too or else my husband will never see me again…

High point of the Year: NaNoWriMo

I have great friends who always supported me through everything I do whether it’s AIDS Walk Long Beach with Team Lesser Weevils or joining GuerilLA in a spectacular improv musical unleashed upon the unsuspecting crowd at Universal City Walk.

This year I took a swing at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and raised money for the foundation set up in my grandfather’s name in memory of both him and my mom.  Friends were super supportive with donations and encouragement.

I was writing on the bus on the way to work. I was writing it at lunch at work. I was writing some of it at home too.  50,000 words in 30 days proved to be too much for me as my inner editor and procrastinator kept chipping away at my words and my time.  However, I did have half of that for a draft of a memoir about our family’s ties to mom’s two big folders full of fortune teller notes.

Low point of the year (other than a disappointing USC football season): Sickness and death among friends

This year has sucked for so many friends healthwise thus make it a low point of the year.  Friends have been afflicted with fibromyalgia, MS, and cancer. I hate you, diseases, for making my friends’ lives unnecessarily harder. My fist. Your direction. Grrr….

Also,  a former colleague who had been dealing with kidney issues unexpectedly passed away.  He was okay one day and died in his sleep over the weekend. It was quite a jolt.

Holiday of the Year: Halloween for a completely different reason!

The past two years, weeks leading up to Halloween had involved running around with Thrill the World.  This year, I passed on the torch so I get to have my favorite holiday back!  Then again, the costume change this year was the most I’ve ever done.  5 costumes leading up to Halloween, if you can imagine.

1. Halloween Friday: Nerd Herder for work
2. Halloween Friday Party: Slave Leia for a Star Wars party at Amy’s house.
3. Halloween’s Eve: Crazy USC fan gear.  Well, I just topped off with what became my signature Dr. Seuss hat for the game.
4. Halloween afternoon: a Jedi costume was thrown on to visit Gregg at the hospital. I did tell him I was going to bring out Slave Leia but I didn’t think it was appropriate for a hospital.  David said if anyone was to have a heart attack, that would be a good place for it. LOL.
5. Halloween: Resident Evil’s Alice accompanying Brandon’s Tallahassee from Zombieland to our usual trick or treat evening at Paul’s house.

Song of the Year: Teenage Dreams, Glee version

Can’t. Stop. Listening.

Movie of the Year: Toy Story 3.

No, I haven’t seen the Social Network, Inception, The Kids Are Alright, or anything critically acclaimed.  Naturally, Woody and the gang won this round.

Surprise Movie of the Year: Hachi: A Dog’s Tale

It’s a straight-to-video gem.  I’ve grown up knowing the story of the original Hachikp in Japan so I was curious to see this movie Entertainment Weekly and my friend were raving about.  I knew it was going to be a 3 hanky type mush so I expected a little tears in my eyes.  But oh, no. No no no no. THAT was the middle of the movie.  At the end, I was sobbing so hard Brandon asked if I was okay.  I never cried like that for a movie. Ever.

Book of the Year: Delivering Happiness

Amy G. knows me more than I know myself sometimes.  She definitely knows something I don’t when she saved me a pre-release copy of Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness she had received at an event.  It only took me months to get to read it.  And once I did, I was inspired and depressed all at the same time.  You know, excited about the future and the fact that there’s a company out there that has the same perspective about “work should be a happy, inspiring place” as I do. (Damn you, Zappos for being in Las Vegas!)  And of course, it’s a little disheartening to look at my current situation which is not quite what it could be.  Then again, there’s not much fun you can really wring out of the line of work I do. *sigh*

TV Show of the Year: Doctor Who

I might have just become a late fan of the show (helloooo Martha Jones!), but my attachment to David Tennant is pretty strong.  So I was very skeptic of Matt Smith’s taking over.  But the show managed to change my mind and kept me glued.  So, hats off to you, Doctor!

Runner Up: Hawaii Five-O.  Alex O’Loughlin’s taking his shirt off every other week?  If this is not the best show on television I don’t know what is. But to tell you the truth, it’s Scott Caan’s performance that is keeping me hooked.  His big softy, smart alecky Danno is the only real character on the show. Everyone else is kind of two dimensional.

Oh, and you’re welcome for the following clip. (Good luck, Aquaman!)  Alex’ chest deserves his own FB page…oh wait a minute…

Restaurant of the Year: Koi Sushi, Seal Beach

We have always known of Koi Sushi.  As a matter of fact, my memory of it was that Brandon’s parents wanted to take us there once but the line was out the door.  We rediscovered it one day as a part of my quest to find a true Japanese restaurant, not just a place that serves sushi and teriyaki.  Koi was exactly what I was looking for.

They hooked us at our first visit with a huge hunk of braised pork belly “appetizer”.  I mean, we could’ve split that for dinner, it was that big.  And it was delicious.  The teriyaki beef got Brandon addicted.  Tender beef cooked perfectly and the teriyaki sauce that’ not cloying.  What I like most is that they a special menu that changes every week I believe.  Food was fresh and portion is generous.  Service was great.  As long as we get there off peak hours, there wasn’t any line.

When it’s a restaurant that Brandon actually craves, that gets on my favorite restaurant list!

*

Well, that’s my 2010. How did you year go?

So, you’re finally leaving us.

Yes, I am hurt.  And disappointed.  I mean, don’t you love US?  Don’t you love college ball?  I mean, you’ve said it over and over and over again that here is where you want to be.  What changed, Coach?  Have we not loved you enough?

I know that you deny any bad blood between you and Mike Garrett or your departure has anything to with the looming NCAA ruling.  But I think we all understand how much suck it could be to work for an asshat and to get out before the heat is unbearable.   (On that note, Reggie, I hate you.  And that goes for you too, Joe McFlashy.  All I can say to you is that karma does exist, boys.  You watch out now.)

At the end of the day, Team Carroll has to come first.  It’s only human.  We would’ve done the same thing for the money and the escape.

But of course, we have expected so much from you, Coach.  We didn’t think you’d leave us.

Well, that’s all I have to bitch and moan about it.  We can throw a tantrum all day and hold vigils all night.  It’s all done now.

Now that I get that out of my system. .. *exhale*

Thanks for a one hell of a run at USC, Uncle Pete.  You have turned the Hackett Horror Picture Show around into something beyond our imagination.  You have spoiled us rotten with all the wins.  This past rebuilding season has been quite hard for all of us, but you got us through it much better than anyone could have expected.

You changed the face of Trojan football forever, Coach.  We haven’t had this much fun since, well, I don’t know when.  (I came in toward the end of Robinson’s era.)

Your charity, A Better LA, is really making a difference out there.  You weren’t just here to coach and get your paycheck.  You were a part of the  community.

Many bandwagon fans had boo’ed when we lost, and they are probably are cursing at you right now for your departure.  The Coliseum may be half empty under new management.  But hey, good riddance.  And better yet, I might actually have a chance to get in on some forfeit season tickets.  But I digress.

Us TRUE Trojan fans appreciate what you’ve done for us all these years.  All the championships and Heisman.  The Bush Push.  The surprise that was Sanchez.  The pranks you pulled on the team.  Ah. The memories!

I don’t know if Seattle folks can love you like we do.  Just sayin’.  But hey, I’m sure you will wow and charm them like you did us.

Wish you the best in Seattle.

Fight on.

Dances with Wolves in space, James Cameron even admitted that in his interviews.  And Avatar was exactly that.

And I love every moment of it.

Sure. The story is predictable.  And a little sappy.  And had been told many times before.

But it was told with a completely different visual representation.  A seamless integration of digital animation and live action.  For the first time, the CG characters don’t look like they were fresh out of a botox clinic.  Their big yellow eyes say something.  Their blue faces had nuances that the entire train full of Polar Express or (from what I saw in the trailer) A Christmas Carol didn’t have.

I mean, I *love* Sam Worthington going in.  But who knew I would also fall for his big blue avatar too!  I mean, the Na’Vi were ALIVE.  It’s so totally awesome!

Some critics have issues with the movie’s mix of live action and computer animation.  They said it felt like they were watching someone else playing video game for 2 hours.

Maybe because I am also used to the game graphics, and many of us are, we didn’t have the problem with the blending of digital and live action.

Also, surely, those critics do not play video games.  I mean, seriously, gamers (and game spectators like myself) wish our video games look as good the as Avatar all the way through,  not only just during the cut scenes.

Can you imagine how great Mass Effect, Halo, or even Final Fantasy would have been with Avatar level of facial movements and overall animation?  But I digress.

Most importantly, Avatar is one of the movies in a very long time that I got lost in. I was willing to overlook all sorts of discrepancies and cheesiness so I can stay on that planet with them.  Get lost in the adventure.  Fall in love along side Jake and Neytiri.  And root for the home team.

Okay, fine.  I did crack up when Neytiri told Jake that “You have a strong heart”.  But I guess nobody else got the Terminator accidental reference.

But the rest was pure escape. I would see this over and over again, the way I do with Dances with Wolves.

For almost 3 hours, I was running around Pandora.  And I don’t care about anything else.

I did get my $10 worth.  That is a LOT to say about movies these days.

Is it Oscar Best Picture worthy?  Nah, I don’t think so. But did it steal my heart?  Yes, it did.

Will Avatar make a pop culture impact like Titanic or Star Wars?  I don’t know.  The “I see you” thing is going to make it, I’m sure of that.  But the rest, I don’t know.  Will people take up learning Na’Vi (which, by the way, according to Professor Paul Frommer, a USC professor (Go! Trojans!) is being developed further)?  I definitely see blue, scantily clad bodies showing up at Comic Con though.

Finally, don’t get me started on a waste of Leona Lewis’ voice on that theme song.  My heart cannot go on with that gimmick.  Sorry.

Oh, and final note here for Sam Worthington.

Dear Sam,

Please show some teeth when you smile at movie premieres.  You smile a plenty in the movie and light up the screen with your cute dimples and lovely teeth.

But all the pictures I managed to find from your premieres, you only grinned…and smirked.  I don’t know if you were going for the Russell Crowe tough guy look, or you were trying to keep that piece of gum you were chewing in check.  But I must say that just doesn’t work for you quite as well.  Trust me, we are not going to complain if you break our hearts a little more by flashing us your full smile.  We’d actually enjoy that.  Very much.

Yes. YES. YES!!!

No. Not so much.

Please don’t pull a Posh.  Your mouth is too pretty not smile.

Hope to see you soon on my DreamBoat(tm).

Love,

Oakley

P.S. I watched the LA Times interview of you with gum in your mouth. Sweetie, lose the gum too while you’re at it. Okay?

Gridiron Goddess said on her FB status: “thinks USC is TRYING to lose this game”.

It sure looked like it.

It seemed every time I blinked we would be 1st and 10. Blinked and it’s 3rd and long and there went the punt. Same thing coming back from Arizona State.  It started to resemble a tennis match.

Our ball. Their ball. Our ball. Their ball. Oh hey, a score here and there.

Actually, I watched quite a bit of in on Catalina Express on my way back from my friends Zak & Alex’s wedding there.  My friend Irena woke me up just in time to witness the spectacular interception which was returned for an awesome dive for a touch town.

Another couple of chickens were sacrificed for yet another narrow escape.

Can hardly wait until next season so we can get past this one. *sigh*

Hey, all a Princess Leia Zombie have on her were booty shorts and a bra. I surely cannot go without the bra!

But then again, Bill Plaschke of the LA Times finally threw a big ass bucket of cold, hard reality at Uncle Pete and his Trojans this morning.

What’s he’s saying here…and has been saying…is something I’ve been feeling since the start of this year.

We have not been the Trojans we know. However, we have been doing pretty awesome for a rebuilding team.

Why is it that some people are afraid to admit the fact that we ARE in a rebuilding year?  They expect the whole new coaching staff and a brand new team to perform like past years?

What brand of delusional crack are you smoking?

I mean, we lost the entire coaching staff and a butt load of great players. Our new QB, although he’s proven to be quite an ace for all the 3-minute period that he’s on fire, definitely needs seasoning.

Our defense wasn’t turning anything over.  3rd down is now a horror picture show.  Our kicker probably has more field days than any past years.  Our offense wasn’t going anywhere fast most of the game except for a few spurts when they all decided to wake up.

Oh, and the MAJOR noticeable downturn for the Trojans: we are no longer the 2nd half team.

We used to come out of that locker room after half time ready to kick ass and eventually take names.  Now, we come out and flail all over the field, holding on to dear life and possible sacrificing a few chickens somewhere behind the benches for Jobu to grant us more lucky breaks  to escape the disaster just one more time.

We are not the Trojans we were.

This year’s team has surprised me long enough with the lucky escapes.  The loss to Oregon definitely pulled the curtain off the masquerading Wizard of Troy.

It’s the loss that humbled everyone.  The team. The fans.

Have I lost faith in my Trojans?  Never. Have never done that even through the Hackett years.  I might not have been so proud then, but I for one have never boo’d my own team unlike some of these bandwagoning, fair weathered Trojan so called “fans”.   (I did yell “Suck it, Hackett!” a lot, but never once boo’d the players.)

I still have faith.  This year may not be a championship year, but hey, we didn’t do so bad so far.

Get it together, Trojans and Trojan TRUE fans!  We have the year to finish.  Finish off this season and work through the year to find your groove.

Next year, come back better, stronger. Asses will be kicked.  Names will be taken.

Fight on!

Brandon was a complete trooper, escorting me up and down the street and once again played photographer and roadie to our rag tag team of zombies.

Obviously, I barely watched USC…and even more obviously, I had a bra on.

Sorry, team. My bad. Moo. Moo…

Sunday came easily. First Sunday with zero schedule. No Thriller. No meeting.

Holy shit.

I had no plan.

I took it in stride and parked on the couch for the first half of the day, picked myself up to go get a massage, took luxurious long shower, and went out to dine stress-free at James & Aurora’s.

A normal Sunday, I quit you for so long. It’s so good to have you back!

How was your weekend?

I can hardly wait to get going with my first site.  Well, I kinda did…but not really.  LOL.  Need a full geeky weekend, I tell ya.

UCI Engineering quad is an awesome venue for what we had (despite the distance from refreshments and the mystery of hidden bathrooms).  Free wifi everywhere was perfect.  We didn’t even mind that the best lecture hall they had–every seat equipped with power source, great stadium seating, big ol’ screen–was actually inside a freezer.  Well, mild onset of hypothermia might messed with our memories a little.

Oh, a case of nostalgia came free.

We had lunch in the Pippin cafeteria along with their students.  We hauled our stuff from classroom to classroom, our brains exploding along the way.  Annette and I sat together in a few session and we broke out into giggles here and there, writing “notes” to each other via twitter AND actual note paper.

It was like going to college all over again.

There was even an on campus party afterward.  LOL.  (We didn’t make it there, but a lot of people did.)

That got me thinking about how far I have come since college.

Obviously, I’ve gotten a lot geekier than when Frenchy taught me HTML back in 1996.  I am married, living a good life.  Sure, I’m not the high level executive rolling in money, but I love what I do.

Frenchy himself has become an Ubergeek, a swing dancer, and a husband and dad.  Other college friends have become a lawyer, a nurse, and a mom.  One did achieve his goal of getting out of California and doing fine up in Portland.  Another is about to get married for the second time to a fantastic girl.

Look how far our lives have taken us.

A few days ago, my Trojan “brother” Joel announced his engagement to his girlfriend Zoe.  Huge news!

Yesterday, I was giggling at Rude Cactus’ video of his little girl Mia singing “Police Navidad” and giddy over 50% Christmas decoration sale at a flower shop in downtown.

I also took the bus home after week of being shuttled around by my carpool buddy and got to say Merry Christmas to my other bus buddies.

My cousin Nicky called to ask if I want to go the Rose Bowl with him.  Because I’m saving my dough for the Billy Joel/Elton John concert.  And I’m going to take James with me!

But then Brandon called.  James and Aurora’s house was broken into.  Aurora left the house with Dresden for mere half an hour, returned to find the back door pried open and bedroom tossed.  The thieves took their game consoles and Aurora’s jewelries including her engagement ring.

They suspect the gardener.  Aurora was waiting for him but he was late.  That’s why she left.  When she came home, not only the house was burgled, the lawn was mowed.  Curious, isn’t it?

Now this morning, I’ve learned another good news. Our beloved Mazing Amy, my Trojan “sister”, is engaged.

Tonight, we’re going over to Nora’s family for good ol’ Christmas dinner.  I haven’t seen her folks or her siblings for a while.  As a matter of fact, I have never met her little niece, 2 years old by now?  And I will get to meet the new niece.Oh god. I need to go buy some gifts for the little girls.

You see what I mean?

Well, Merry Christmas to all!  (There’s an embeded Windows Media file under the banner that should play automatically.)