July 26, 2003
It's the weekend and I really don't have anything planned, but that's a good thing. With the end of summer coming around, practically every weekend in August is already booked for me. Lots going on next month, I better rest up now while I can.

It's my Dad's birthday on Sunday too. I'm not sure what we're doing but I'm sure it won't be anything big to celebrate. I was going to see the White Stripes in concert, but Jack White decided to get into a car accident and mess up a finger, causing the cancellation of their tour. Damn.

July 25, 2003
My new golf clubs:
I tried out my brand new set of expensive golf clubs yesterday for the first time at the driving range and WOW! All this time, I thought it was me that was terrible at golf. Once I started swinging away with the new set, it was like I was a seasoned player. And to think that all this time, I may have been a natural golfer, but my equipment was holding me back. It's not me that sucked, it was my cheapo clubs. But now I'm on my way towards the PGA tour. I couldn't believe how on I was. And I got an incredible online deal on these clubs to.

Before I went to the driving range I went to a tent sale at the golf store. Because I'm available during the day, I'm able to be one of the first people at these things and catch all of the best deals. I get there thinking I'm only going to spend about $50 on some shoes and a couple other little things. I walked out of there $150 lighter than when I walked in. There I go again. But I got more than $300 worth of stuff. So I guess that's a good thing. But while I was there I notice that they had my set of clubs for a little more than what I paid for it. Then I noticed the set that is a level higher than the ones I bought. These were the ones I really wanted but couldn't afford. They were selling one set of these for the a little less than what I paid for my set. Normally, this wouldn't bother me because there was only one set and I usually miss out on these things, but this time I was there, before anyone else noticed the incredible price. So even as I believe I got an incredible deal on my expensive clubs, THE MAN has stuck it to me again by showing off a better deal on a better set.

July 24, 2003
For those of you who are fed up with all of the debating over the next Batman movie, someone made their own short movie on the caped crusader and it premiered at Comicon last weekend. Batman fans state that it's done well and as Batman should be, except for the Adam West tights. Check out the short, oddly enough, at the Star Wars Fan site.

And for the few of you that were born in the 80's, this offer might please you - a free autograph. And if you are older, then don't tell me about your Full House affliction.

Can you be my friend?. Help me make my Friendster profile look more respectable to others. Right now people are seeing it and saying "What a loser, only 2 friends". And I think Francine Dee just checked me out too.

More July 24, 2003
I just wrote a long & informative story about waiting for the UPS man, and it got deleted. Boy that pisses me off. I guess I'll save it for tomorrow or something. It's never good the second time around though, even if nobody's heard it the first time. I write better off the top of my head, now I've got to remember what I wrote.
Darn you Geocities/Yahoo!!! Stuck it to me again! Arrrghh!

July 18, 2003
So what do I have planned for the weekend. Nothing really. I guess I'll be cuddled up with the XBOX this weekend as I hone my Jedi Skills. I've got to find the darn game first though. I hear I can get a $10 Gift Card from Circuit City if I wait till Sunday though.

The annual San Diego Comic-Con is going on right now on the west coast. The event is like mecca to comic book geeks around the world. Although I don't proclaim myself too much of a comic book geek, I wouldn't mind going to it one year. Maybe I'll settle for one of the east coast conventions in Philly or Baltimore (I think I can take a little vacation in September).

So now I'm going to have to pay for 2 tickets to see Kill Bill. Miramax announced that instead of cutting Tarrentino's homage to martial arts flicks to make one long movie, they are going to make it 2 movies, released weeks apart. Although the wait isn't as bad as Matrix or LOTR, it's still an odd move. But as long as it's good, I'll be watching both movies. They are supposedly going to be violent, but the return of Gordon Liu is enough to get me to the movie theater.

July 17, 2003
I've finally got my internet connection at home working again. So, how did I do it? After hours of playing around with it I still couldn't get it to work. So I got frustrated, turned it off for a few days, then tried to work on it again. When I turned it back on, it was working again. So I have no idea what I did, but it works. And I know it was my computer and not the cable co. I still haven't got the home network running though.

So I played golf last week and I played terrible. But the good news is that I didn't do as terrible as usual. In fact, there were a few moments of brilliance there. There were a few holes that I actually played like a real golfer would. I still had my fair share of shots into the trees, but the trajectory into the trees was good. I hadn't played in several months and it seems like the bad habits I picked up have now gone away. I'm now in the upper echelon of bad golfers. I saw considerable improvement from hole #1 to hole #18. My drives are flying off the tee (but not always straight) and I'm getting a decent arc on my irons. So now I think it's time to take it to the next level - new, better golf clubs. Time to retire the no-name starter set and settle for a good name brand. I'm looking for a set that will be forgiving on my miss-hits. And if I can reduce my miss-hits, I'll probably get scores that have names - pars, birdies, etc. I can cut down on all the +5, +6, +8 scores that seem to run across the scorecard. This sure is an expensive sport that I'm taking a leap into.

The past few days have been pretty nice weather-wise, and guess what I've been doing to enjoy them... Sleeping.

Fellas only: this is for you . Don't say I don't care. Remember - Once a month. And don't forget to sign up everyone at the office.

July 11, 2003
Today's date is 7-11. Don't you think that's cool? Ok, I didn't think so. But 7-11 convenience stores are celebrating it. Free stuff according to their press release:

On Friday, each participating 7-Eleven store will offer 1,000 customers a free 7.11-oz. Slurpee drink of their choice. The new featured Slurpee flavor this month is Mountain Dew Live Wire. Participating stores also will be sampling Big Eats Bakery� Dreammm� Donuts, new beef enchilada-flavored 7-Eleven Go-Go Taquitos�, Chipper Snacks, Briar�s Premium Root Beer and DefCon3 Energy Drinks.

And I'm going to be needing a bunch of those free slurpees. I'll be enjoying this extremely hot and humid day outside, swinging a bunch of clubs at golf balls. I'd call it golfing, but the other people on the golf course probably wouldn't. Yes, I'll be spending 4 hours today under the blazing sun trying to play golf. I think I'm starting to get addicted to it, but I suck so bad at it at the same time. Why is that? As long as I don't hit anything, or anyone, I'll be okay.

Time for another movie review: Pirates of the Caribbean

This is another movie that I had low expectations for and I came out liking it a lot. It's a good ole' fashion pirate movie. Pirates come around, steal gold, wreck havoc, steal the girl...then our heroes go after them, get into some good sword fights, shoot cannons at each other, and go off on an unpredictable journey. The story and Johnny Depp can be corny at times, but hey, it's a pirate movie. It's not supposed to be a serious role and the story is pretty silly, and that's why it works. The special effects are cool and the action scenes are well executed. It basically plays out as an Indiana Jones film, but with pirates. Just don't get caught up trying to find relevance or pointing out the obvious plot problems, it's a pirate movie. Just enjoy the "ride" it takes you on. (disney pun intended)

I tell you, Orlando Bloom seems to be catching the coolest roles (aside from his wimpy role in Blackhawk Down). First he's the @ss-kicking Legalos, slinging arrows everywhere with ease. Now he's an @ss-kicking pirate, weilding a sword, acting as a master swordsman, fighting off everything with ease.

The only issue I had with the movie is the 2.5 hour run time. It could have easily been cut to under 2 hours and some of the moments drag, but that is just a minor thing. And most of the 2.5 hours are spent watching Keira Knightley, the Natalie Portman look-alike (so much so that she played the Queen Amidala look-alike in Episode 1). She alone makes it worth watching on the big screen. And if you like her in this movie, check her out in the ultra-feel good "Bend it Like Beckham". For some reason, I find her more sexy as a sweaty, soccer playing tomboy instead of the damsel in distress. If only this movie weren't rated PG-13...
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July 9, 2003
I haven't been online that much lately. One reason is because I've been fairly busy over the past two weeks, with the holiday and a bunch of other events going on. Another reason is because I screwed up my internet access at home and I can't seem to fix it. But I work in computers right? Watching over a multi-million dollar network?

It all started when I decided to get my parents a new computer. It's a cheap ole emachine that was on clearance at Circuit City. While I am usually oppossed to the brand, it was only $249 and a lot of it worked better than the Dell that I use at the moment. So with 2 computers in the house, the first thing that pops into most people's heads is networking. This will let me share my pictures and music (i've got tons of the stuff) and also the internet access. So I tried to hook the two machines up and nothing. I try several different things but my computer seems to be a little jealous of the cheaper, but newer machine. So after giving up, I try to return everything back to the way it was, but now the internet isn't coming up on my computer. I haven't spent hours trying to figure it out, but I've seen this problem before and I know it's not something easy to fix. So don't expect my usual quick responses to emails, as I only check it once a day now...(how will I live!!!)

So basically I just check my email and stuff when I get to work, on the multi-million dollar, state of the art network at ODU. And the reason it costs so much is because it basically fixes itself when something goes wrong. It runs on its own...

And that brings me to my next topic - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. I've got to say that it is so far the best action movie of the summer (I haven't exactly picked a best movie yet though). Lots of stuff just getting destroyed and its a really loud movie. Not exactly mindless entertainment, but there wasn't exactly the importance of a plot that was present in the previous two installments. There is some stuff, however, that is pretty important in the Terminator story line. But it's basically the exact same set up as T2 - new, slick terminator comes to kill Johnny Boy to prevent any resistance to the machines taking over, but old, outdated Arnold comes along to help Johnny Boy out. So I didn't really expect much from this movie. In fact, I only watched it by chance (i happened to be at the right place at the right time *snicker*) but once the movie started and the action took off, I was enjoying it. After hearing of problems with the filming & casting, budgetary issues, Arnold's age, and the fact that James Cameron wasn't involved made me really weary of what the movie would be like. But the movie came out slick, the special effects were tight, Arnold looks natural in the film (but he does play a "supporting role" this time), and the new director didn't make the movie as "dark" as James Cameron did and that was a good thing this time. Although the action does tail off at the end, I still enjoyed how it ended. You need to see this in a theatre, or if you wait til it comes out on DVD, see it on the best sound system possible with the volume turned up loud.

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July 3, 2003
Okay, so it's been 2 weeks since I've written anything here. Usually when I don't write anything, it's because I have nothing to really say. But this time, it's the opposite. Ever since Paul's funeral, there have been 100 thoughts a second going through my head and I'm sure that it's normal with anyone that experiences the death of a friend, but the fact that his death was so sudden at such a young age really hit everyone hard. Paul was a genuine soul, and this is what I thought of him even before he passed away. I didn't just reflect on his life and say, he was a good person, but rather when I talked to him and later walked away, I would honestly think "That Paul is such a good guy". And everyone knew it.

I went through a whole bunch of topics that I wanted to post but I hesitated because I wanted to do it right. I wanted to describe what kind of friend Paul was and how he always went out of his way just to say hi if he saw you at the mall or something or how he made everyone feel like a good friend, even if it was just the first time you had met him. I wanted those of you who didn't know him to know just how he didn't shy away from making friends, but rather embraced every opportunity to know someone. I could write pages and pages about him so that you would know how Paul was, but it wouldn't capture the genuine spirit of his personality from meeting him for just one minute. He really had this magic of making you feel like you could be good friends when you first meet him, and everytime afterwards, he would treat you like a good friend, even if he didn't know your name.

I wanted to describe how he was a friend to me. I don't even know how we met. He would always just end up talking to me, basically because we hung around the same crowd in high school. Every now and then, I'd be in my little carpool and we'd see him walking home, and we'd pick him up. He had his own little dance crew and I had mine. And we had respect for each other. And after high school we'd lose base with each other, but on that rare occasion that we did run into each other he'd give me some daps and a hug and he'd make it a point to catch up with me. He could have easily just saw me, say hi or just wave, and keep going like so many others, but he didn't let our friendship ever get to that point. He had a special way of not losing friends. And I remember visiting his house a few times. He always welcomed me. And he had a nice house, and the last time I was there I thought about how well he has done. A nice family, a beautiful house, and I was truly proud to see how things have turned out for him.

I wanted to describe his love for his family, how everybody knew how much he loved his family. In high school, he would walk his girlfriend, who would eventually be his wife, home and she just live a block or two from school but he himself would miss his ride home and would walk the 2 or 3 miles to his house (and that's when we would pick him up when we saw him). He would do this everyday. My friends and I would joke, saying how much in love he was, but he really was in love. And until now, you could tell that he was still in love with his wife. They had just renewed their vows to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary in May. And even while he was stationed away, he would call his wife everyday. And with his kids, he was so caring. One of the last times I saw him, he was buying a cart full of clothes for his two girls. He joked about how much he was spoiling them, but he enjoyed providing for them. He said that all of his money was going to them and we laughed but in the back of my mind I knew that's how he wanted it. And every chance he got, he drove home to see his family. He was able to spend one last Father's Day with them.

His memorial and funeral were probably the saddest events I have ever been to in my life. His friends and family had so much to say about how beautiful a person Paul was, and each person only echoed the sentiments in my mind. It was a blessing to hear person after person describe the magic of Paul's friendship and the love of his family. Everybody that knew Paul understood the importance of friendship to him and the outpouring of blessings reflected that. There were hundreds upon hundreds at his funeral. The church was filled from wall to wall with people from all over the country. People flew in from several states to attend his funeral. This could only serve as a fitting tribute to someone with so many friends. Even those who barely knew him still made it to the funeral in honor of the way Paul may have been a friend in a just a few meetings. Just about everybody that knew Paul understood the importance of being there for one last goodbye. It was the saddest funeral I have ever been to, but I guess that only shows how much of a loss his life was to so many. But as I stood in the crowd I looked around and I could only be amazed to see how many lives he had affected. He truly was someone who had made the world a better place. I don't know if there is a bigger complement to his legacy than that.

Although it was just a short life of 28 years, I could only imagine that it was a good life. And he still affects many of us and always will. Talking to some of his good friends, they tell me that since he was such a big part of their lives that he will always be a big part. They talk about what a big void it is without him, but in caring for his wife and children, they still have the love instilled by him in them. And even in me I can see changes. I have been constantly aware of all that I have and how important everyone is around me. And now I am trying to find ways that I can be a better me. In the past two weeks, I have done lots of stuff and each time I have stopped to enjoy the moments. I am cherishing my friendships more and I intend not to lose any. I am happy to have known Paul and I know I am now better off because of him.

Paul, you will be missed.