5824: The Blog

november is coming to an end, and that means dean might get kicked out of the houseblog. we could re-negotiate his contract. also, we've got a blog bowl to think about. is he dead weight? or is he valuable to the team? he has hinted at sabotage. his eyes are starting to get a bit shifty.

at work today, someone that I had already met before introduced himself to me again. what are you supposed to do when this happens? do you put on your best I'll just pretend I don't know who you are either face? or do you pull out the yo, we've met before, you putz? anyway, this seems to happen to me more than I think it should. are people really that forgettful? or am I just that forgettable?

I am not mr. cellophane.

Projections:

Blogger.com Bowl (No.1 vs. No. 2)
currently: Danny vs. Cal
what could happen: Both of these blogs are still strong, but a slip could shake up the enitre BCS.

Hyper 'bole' (East Bay vs. South Bay)
currently: 5824 vs. Seri
what could happen: Seri is coming up very strong toward the end of the season, but is it too late for her to contend for the championship?

Ramen Bowl (SoCal vs. at-large)
currently: Ally vs. Karen
what could happen: A strong showing by Karen this week has put her in contention for a BCS bowl. This gives the biggest snub title to Ryan.

Manute Bol (non-Cali vs. at-large)
currently: Tha Gee Unit vs. Bob
what could happen: Bob is dropping fast. Again, a potential championship contender may not even get a bowl bid.

Can I just say that 5824 is DOMINATING the BCS?

Cal has a theory about fantasy sports that I wonder if it applies to blogs. His theory is that the more time you have on your hands, the better you do at fantasy sports. For instance, an unemployed person would do better than an employed person. The logic is that the 'free' time you have is spent into fantasy research and what not. If that is the case for blogging, it would seem that unemployed would do best, then students, then lightly employed, then heavily employed (see Bob). However, according to Hideyo's rankings, it would seem that Youth Workers are the best bloggers. Go figure.

We'll have to do new projections, now that the rankings have been shaken up a bit. 5824, a mid-major? How about SEC powerhouse?

This story is for any of you that have ever heard of our infamous Milk Challenge. Our offer still stands at $40 for one gallon in one hour. A $10 bonus to the first successful contestant. There have been 3 or 4 attempts, but the jackpot has yet to be collected.

There are several lesser challenges which have been done. The standard test was a donut and a can of Pepsi (or other cola-flavored soda) in 90 seconds for $2. You had to complete this test to prove yourself worthy of the greater challenges.

Someday, I will attempt the Tampico Challenge.

With two weeks left to go in Hideyo's BCS season, it's bowl projection time...

Blogger.com Bowl played by the No. 1 vs No. 2.

currently: Cal vs. Danny
what could happen: Both these blogs are hot, and they look as if they will hold the top two spots. This is especially important for Danny because he is neither a blogger nor xanga. If he falls out of the top two, he will play in the Tampico Bowl, which Danny does not want to do.

Golden Bear Bowl played by the highest ranking blogger vs. highest ranking xanga.

currently: 5824 vs. Ally
what could happen: Ally could possibly be the hottest blog right now. If she keeps this up, look for her in the Blogger.com bowl. This would move Ryan into the Golden Bear Bowl.

Tampico Bowl played by highest ranking berkeley alum vs. at large bid.

currently: Bob vs. Ryan
what could happen: With Bob swamped at work, it might be difficult for him to hold this spot. If he falls, this might make room for Karen, the biggest snub by the BCS.

Battle of the Sexes Bowl played by the highest ranking man vs. highest ranking woman.

currently: Seri vs. Tha Gee Unit
what could happen: Tha Gee Unit came out of nowhere in the past few weeks to make his way into a BCS bowl. Does he have enough momentum to go further? Which Seri will show up for these last two weeks? The one that could be competing in the Blogger.com Bowl or the one that is struggling to get a BCS bowl bid.

note: all bowl names and sponsors are subject to change

the words to fallen, by sarah mclachlan, make me feel very thankful and blessed to have the friends that I have. on the surface, that probably doesn't make too much sense. I mean, it's kind of a sad song. but when I listen to it, I keep thinking that the song could have been telling my story. could have been. I messed up. but I never had to deal with any I told you so's. I did not lose everything. my friends did not turn their heads. I did not sink so low that I could not get back up.

much love. you are appreciated.

the black album came out yesterday (friday). of course, if this were something that you really cared about, then you already knew this. anyway, I was reading on a message board that jay-z shouts out talib kweli and common on it. pretty sweet, I think, because now more people will probably give 'em a listen.

but then later on in the thread, someone was like "who ever peeps com, and kewli just cuz jay-z said there names are losers.....they aint real fans.....we know who we are that liked em since back in the day thats all dat matters" (apparently, the person that posted this has no sense of spelling or grammar...brilliant).

this bothers me. makes me wanna put my foot straight up dude's ass. where does the tendency or desire to be snobbish come from? clearly, there is too much stuff out there for anyone to know everything. but for some reason, as soon as some people get their hands on something that others may not know about, they just haaave to play the "I got some ice cream, and you ain't got none" card. that's lame. what is important is not what you know or how much you know; what is important is what you do with that knowledge. share what you know with others, so that they too will know...not so that you can say that you knew from day one and that because they didn't that they're losers or aren't real or whatever. can you imagine if teachers did that? what?!...you don't know your abc's?! loser. well, actually, there are teachers like that. that's something else. that makes me sad.

anyway...don't be a snob. don't be a hater. be true. be real.

where is the love? it starts with you (me too).

i'm broadcasting from southern california...

went to a mexican restaurant today called alegria. there, i had a dish called tampiquenia. it's called that because some chef on TAMPICO hill created it. that's right, i had an entree that had to do with tampico. how was it? it was good. no nuclear colors or extra sugar added, though.

I can't believe someone paid $2.50 plus $5 s/h for this...

minsoolove | quote of the day

what is the appropriate punishment for someone who does not wash their hands after going to the bathroom? (especially after taking a dump!) I witness it happen every once in a while at work, and it makes me grrr (not grrreat). it's probably not quite at the level of a daily kick in the crotch or diarrhea shower. I was thinking more like every time they open their mouths to talk, a fart would come out. or maybe it would be more appropriate if they just didn't have elbows. have fun wiping your ass without elbows. putz.

i open the fridge door and what do i see.... a gallon of nuclear pink tampico.

i think it's to the point where cal doesn't even enjoy it anymore. he just has to get it because of the tampico freak he is.

Looks like Dean was the final piece of the puzzle, as this blog has surged to the top of Hideyo's BCS rankings. What does that mean? Nobody knows.

As for the real college BCS, I'm currently pulling for USC to win for the national title. Then they will be 12-1. Guess where the 1 came form? That's right, Cal! That's what so frustrating about Cal football; we can beat national championship contender USC, but lose games to lowly opponents like Coloraldo State and Utah. Nevertheless, I will pull for Cal to win out the seaon and get a bowl bid. Hopefully the Las Vegas Bowl.

I'm not feeling very well thought out these days (this coming from someone who spends too much time thinking and not enough time doing). without being well thought out, you end up saying things off the top of your head, whatever comes to mind. you start spitting out things that you've heard other people say, things that you've read somewhere. and the thing is that you're just spitting it back out; you haven't even taken the time to chew it. you don't even know if you like how it tastes. moreover, the problem is that, as soon as it's out there, well, there's no denying that it came from your mouth. that mess. you just spit it on someone else's head.

hmm, that's not what I wanted to write about

...

a re-run of the episode of 8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter where john ritter's character dies was on tv on saturday. I watched it. made me want to write something, but I wasn't sure what it was. my heart felt as if it was trying to punch a hole in my chest. not a comfortable feeling.

there has always been a degree of separation between me and death. it's always been a friend of a friend, or someone that I could say hi to but didn't really know. (as an aside, don't worry, nobody in my life passed away recently. just been thinking. thinking without coming up with many conclusions, though.)

lots of questions. what do you say to console someone? the more you talk about how great that person was, the more difficult it is to bear the fact that that person is gone. the more you talk about how it isn't their fault or whatever, the more they start thinking about what they should have done or should have said. you don't get a second chance once someone is gone. so why is it that we don't think about what we should do or should say until after it is too late? why do we never celebrate a person's life until they are dead?

what am I trying to say?

well, my life consists mostly of stuff that has just kind of happened. I haven't played a very active role in making my life happen. instead of being the director and lead actor of the movie of my life, I have been the cameraman. instead of creating and leading and directing, I watch and I listen. this is nothing new (and I don't just mean the analogy). this is no good.

it scares me to think that it takes someone passing (on a tv show!...didn't really think about it much when it happened in real life) for me to even think about making a change in my life.

somebody please smack me up side the head (single file, one at a time).

I've made no secret of how much I like to kick dogs. Apparently, a dog (or maybe a member of PETA) has decided to send me a message by leaving a small 'package' on the driveway in front of our garage.

In response to this dirty and hostile act, I have begun crafting projectile movie props to be used as a deterrent force. Lassie better watch out.

it's 12:20am, and the house just returned from a shopping trip. we went to albertson's and made our quarterly purchase. of course, all the food is either frozen or in a can. but now, cal can stop complaining about nothing to eat.

'highlights':
5 boxes of cereal for 3 guys.
banquet meals on sale for 10 for $10 is striking grocery shopping oil.
the debate for tampico rages on.
blacklight lightbulbs (leftover from halloween) for 99 cents.
finding ketchup that said 'meatloaf enhancer' on the bottle and buying for that reason

what is the purpose of armpit hair?

I mean, I can understand that I have hair on my head to keep it warm, and I can understand that like a beard or a moustache or whatever is just some people's style. but what about armpit hair? I don't think my armpits really need to be kept all that warm, and frankly, armpit hair better never (ever ever) come in style.

I don't get it.

A 5824 story (The events portrayed in this story are real. The names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.)

Earlier this morning, Kal was heating up some chicken and rice to eat for lunch. He opened up the utensils drawer and noticed there were no forks in the space reserved for forks. A quick look at the dish rack also showed there were no forks there. ‘Hmmmm, kind of strange,’ he thought, ‘but no big deal, I’ll just use a spoon.’ Kal checked the utensil drawer for spoons, but there were none to be found. A second look at the dish rack also revealed no spoons. This could be a problem.

‘There has to be something I could use,’ Kal said to himself. One more look into the utensils drawer. A couple steak knives and two sets of chopsticks. Since he was eating chicken, the steak knives could not be used. The two sets of chopsticks were a special gift from a friend’s wedding. They were handcrafted from the finest wood and painted black with a gold and silver trim. These were to be used for eating special foods, like shrimp flavored ramen. Certainly not for chicken and rice.

Kal continued to search all around, and in the cabinet next to the paper plates, he found a box of plastic silverware. These were to be used only at barbeques and when people came over, but Kal didn’t care. He was hungry and needed a fork, so he reached into the box and grabbed a shiny white fork. And lunch was eaten.

Afterwards, Kal vowed this must not happen again. The utensils must be found. He suspected there may have been some forks trapped under the plates in the sink. 14 hours later, the dishes were cleaned, and the utensils were found. 6 forks and 5 spoons in all.

The moral of the story: At 5824, not only do we have nothing to eat, we have nothing to eat with.

our houseguest chose angry asian man to be on the It list. we have kikko-man and angry asian man. if they battled, who would win?

I think it's funny (my funny is almost never ha ha funny) how everyone wants to make a name for themselves, and yet no one wants to be labelled. you don't just wanna be known as that dude that's hella athletic, or that girl that dresses real nice. you always want more. you want more of that cool. ice cold. genius. or maybe it's just that you end up being known for something that you know isn't really you. or maybe, psht doesn't matter, as soon as you got a rep, you gots to maintain.

I remember back in school, people would always tell me that I had a good memory, and that I was a good listener. man, I felt like I always had to remember everything people said (come on now, nobody remembers everything. word.) . I guess it's all good that the advice I give sucks then, eh. ;) something like that. I never know the right thing to say.

you know what I'm talkin bout? I dunno, I just wonder how in tune the person that other people know you as is with the real. the real you. I have a lot of trouble balancing the expectations of other people with the person that I am and with the person that I want to be.

I'm not sure I remember what I wanted to say anymore.

anyway, nick hornby writes, somewhere in high fidelity, that it's not about what you like, but what you're like.

well, to all those that got that down, I say, right on.

right on.

congratulations, dean, on winning the Houseguest contest. the people are dying to know more about this dark horse winner. will you answer a few questions for us?

you scored a 4 out of 5 on part I of the contest. how in the world did you do that?
I got a 4 out of 5 because I got jason's age wrong. man.

as a member of the south bay community, are you comfortable working with 5824?
you have offended my family, and you have offended shaolin temple.

okay, I have no idea what I am talking about. but why wouldn't I be comfortable working with 5824?

south bay! represent.

are you some type of spy for the south bay?
nope.

sydney bristow or jack bauer?
mmm, sydney bristow is pretty cool. hit the road, jack.

shaq or kobe?
dude, that's a tough one.

why were the magic/worthy/kareem/cooper/rambis lakers so easy to love, but the shaq/kobe lakers so easy to hate on?!

how do I pick one or the other...?

kobe: on the court, he definitely has game, but I'm just not feeling this whole cheating on his wife (innocent until proven guilty rape) mess.

shaq: he's just too freakin big. oh, but he did do that one song with the fu-schnickens.

I guess I gots to go with the diesel.

hand dryer or paper towels?
I think hand driers are a bit annoying because they always shut off before my hands are completely dry. so then I have to press the button again, but of course, I'm done within a few seconds. what a waste.

but then again, hand driers always have all that mess that people have carved into it. I've always wondered why people do that. like yo, this bathroom stinks...I'ma have to cut up this hand drier. fool.

eh, whatever. I guess I still have to go with the hand dryer.

paper or plastic?
I prefer wiping with paper.

peace.