10 Goals for 2014

OakMonster.com - Brandon and Oakley with the Endeavor

Let’s do a quick recap of 2013 first. 2013 Goals: kind of 7 out of 10 Find a job I love? Check! Oh my god, check! Don’t finish last at Race on the Base? Totally check. What I didn’t expect is that I would stick with running and continue to run 5K races around the neighborhood. This year’s Race on the Base is my one year anniversary race, and also my last race in a series of 3 to receive my first ever series medal! Be able to do 20 burpees in a row? I wouldn’t say in a CONTINUOUS...
Continue reading...

Counting my 2013 Blessings

OakMonster - Team Wicket and Animal

I know I usually do a 2013 recap here with all of my high points and low points of the year. 2013 has been a year of great things. You could say it might have been one of the best years of my life. So, instead of the usual recap, I’d like to actually, literally, count my blessings. Blessing #1: A Permanent Job Since I moved on from the last permanent job in 2011, I was freelancing for about 12 months of the 24 years of being unemployed.  My last temp assignment was to Frieda’s Specialty Produce.  It was supposed...
Continue reading...

Raced On the Base

OakMonster ran a race!

This is my final original article as the Face of the Race for the Los Alamitos Race on the Base. It’s been fun writing for them!  Please give the Race’s blog some traffic and click here to see the original post.  Also, I was interviewed pre-race with both the Race on the Base blog AND the Orange County Register. Check them out! After all this time of having shared with you about my journey and struggle with running, I almost didn’t make it to the Race this past Saturday. Tuesday night before the Race, I was clutching the toilet bowl...
Continue reading...

Five for Friday: Halloween 2012

OakMonster.com - Hockey Lock Out, Slave Leia, Captain Kirk

Since Halloween is my most favoritest holiday, it is appropriate to do a Five For Friday for it, don’t you think?  After all, there is ALWAYS something new to learn. Oh, and my album is on my Facebook right here. Double Check With Your Friends About Halloween Party When Halloween falls on a weekday, make sure to check with your friend who said he’s having a Halloween party exactly WHEN that is. For example, the invitation to a party on Friday before Halloween was clearly stated that was indeed on Friday, and Friday we were there. Saturday night, I came...
Continue reading...

Five for Friday: Vanity Sizing, Caro Emerald, and White Screen of Death

Five for Friday is a weekly series about the five new things I learned each week. It could be anything from a new recipe, new skills, or a new life lesson. Caro Emerald I heard her on XM. Now I can’t get enough. This song, especially, does NOT get old for me. Vanity Sizing Reality Check I haven’t really paid much attention to “vanity sizing“.  Sure, I know that a size M dress at Forever 21 is a tad loose but a pair of size zero petite pants at Ann Taylor Loft will fit like a dream. But I don’t...
Continue reading...

Five for Friday: First 5K, First Battleship, and Proper Gangnam Style

OakMonster.com - Zachary on the USS Iowa

Five for Friday is a weekly series about the five new things I learned each week. It could be anything from a new recipe, new skills, or a new life lesson. Race On the Base: My First 5K I’m doing it, folks. I’m going to run the 5K at Race on the Base in February 2013.  This will be my first 5K race ever. First race I signed up for since, I don’t know, 6th grade when I raced around a 400 meter track at Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Race on the Base is famous for their reverse triathlon race...
Continue reading...