October 31, 2002

RIP JMJ

damn, a true pioneer in hip hop gone. The senseless sh!t has got to stop. A sad, sad day in hip hop.

A quote from someone off the internet:
"God needed a DJ, so he called the best one home to back Him up..."

October 30, 2002
I went and picked up my copy of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for Playstation 2 yesterday and I spent the rest of the day playing it. I am just luvin this game, now all of my free time has just gone away. The gameplay is fun and there is so much to it.

The coolest thing about the game is the setting. It's based in the early 80's with a plot similar to Miami Vice (drug running, crime lords, etc.). And everything is done from an 80's standpoint (when the game loads, it simulates a Commodore 64 with bad graphics and all), the cars, the clothes, and most important, the music. It's filled with 9 hours worth of 80's music. How can you not like that. It's sort of a greatest hits of the 80's album with Michael Jackson, Laura Branigan, Flock of Seagulls, etc. You can buy the soundtrack if you just want the music as a 7 disc box set. This is heaven for someone like me who just grew up living the 80's lifestyle.

The TV show 24 started the new season yesterday with a cool storyline. I just hope I can stick with it this year. Last year, I missed an episode and I just got lost so I didn't finish it. I just don't seem to watch TV anymore anyways.

A bunch of CD's came out yesterday: Nirvana, Christina, Eminem 8-mile soundtrack, and ( I hope you've got your money saved up for this one) Donny Osmond.

October 29, 2002
Another birthday today, for those who know him, Chad Edralin celebrates his 29th today. Ever since he's gotten married, I've seen very little of him, but I guess that's a sign that he's doing okay.

It's also the final week of October, which is Filipino American History Month. Check out some filipino history in the making at this site.

There has been some stuff going on in the Phillipines that has been sort of controversial. If you've seen the movie Blackhawk Down, there were American soldiers that were in Somalia and their presence was contested by some (the movie touched lightly on this), but a similar situation has been occuring in the Phillipines the past few months (I'm not talking about helicopters crashing now). The American troops have been on a "training mission" in the Phillipines but some people have protested against the reason they were there. I won't get too much into this, but last week, they pulled out of the Islands to the glee of some. Here is a site that celebrated the event. I'm not trying to pick sides as I'm not too informed on political issues, but I try to stay aware. Now if we could just get the WWII veterans those benefits.

And a little history lesson from Professor Elbert:
Did you know that filipinos are responsible for naming the hot dog. Find the story here (scroll down to "What about the Hot Dog" if you don't want to read the whole page.)

If you want to read on more Filipino facts, you can check this out.

October 26, 2002
Today is Luan's Birthday. Those of you who know Lu, feel free to email him! Since he was in San Francisco, he decided to check out the World Series. And in true form, he did it without spending a dime. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a seat in the stadium, he stood outside a chainlink fence that has a view of the field. He camped out for hours with hundreds of other people for a free viewing of the monumental sporting event. Go ahead and ask him about it.

The new Convocation Center at ODU is now open. The big ole arena that was once a bunch of bars and fast food joints (oh the memories) is now a state of the art complex. There is an open house there today for those who want to check it out and a couple exhibition basketball games and stuff.

Daylight Savings time today, Busch Gardens invitation for tomorrow, and i'm out!!

October 25, 2002
I think I'm going to Busch Gardens on Sunday. I going to check out their Halloween stuff. It's also the last day that they're open this season. A group of us are going and anyone else is welcome to join. And how can you pass up busch gardens, I like the place better than Disneyland (I think it was rated #3 in the country from some show I saw on the Discovery Channel). I've already been several times this year with my season pass, and I'm already renewed for next year. If you're interested, email me or give me a call.

Speaking of calling me, you can now reach me on my new cell phone. I got my phone the other day and I went with T-mobile. So far, I'm satisfied with it. I still have my old phone, and I'll have it for another 2 months I think, but it'd be best to use the new number. What's that number ? you ask. I'm not about to put it up here for the world to see, but it'll be on the bottom of any email I send out. Or you can just call the old numbers, or just get it from me whenever I run into you.

The new phone has just sucked up my spending money for the next week, so I've got to be frugal for a few days, but I do have necessities to buy. One of them just happens to be Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for Playstation 2 which gets released next Tuesday. I found out that a bunch of stores have already sold out their preorders and this game has already started breaking sales records before it's release. Hearing this the other day, I decided it was my mission that I find a place that hasn't sold out of preorders. Yeah, I know I could just go to best buy or some other store next Tuesday morning, but I don't feel like doing that. So after store hopping I found a store that took my preorder. So now I've got $50 set aside. And now I find out that they've moved up the release date for the new Dance Dance Revolution game to next Tuesday also. Being the DDR freak that I am, I just can't miss out on this. But I think I can hold out on that for a while. I don't think it's going to sell out like GTA will. I'm really getting the most of my money with this playstation.

Remember, Daylight Savings Ends this weekend.

Next week, changes are coming. And maybe some ranting.

October 23, 2002
It's Wednesday and I still have a job. That's a relief, but I'm still going to be continuing the job hunt. But now returning to school is an option. I get a couple credits paid for by the university as a benefit and so a second major or a masters is possible. I'm still checking stuff out. But for now, everyone can expect decent christmas presents (If i were unemployed, you all would be getting a bunch of crap).

Looking towards the weekend, Sunday marks the end of daylight savings time. That means on saturday we move our clocks back one hour and the clubs get to stay open one hour longer.

I've finally archived July and August, this page was way too big. September will be archived at the end of this month, hopefully. And someday, I'll get around to redoing the whole layout.

October 22, 2002
Today is Tuesday, the day that ODU gives out the pink slips to those who are victims of the state budget cuts. There is, however, a ray of light on this dark day. It turns out that ODU gets a smaller cut than most other VA public universities. ODU has also voted on raising the tuition next semester by 8.4% (that's $12 more per credit). This offsets about half of the expected layoffs. So there were 134 expected layoffs (smaller number than estimated before) and that is reduced to 73 people. And out of those 50 are full time employees, that's 3% of the workforce. So I've got a good chance of surviving this first round of cuts, but with my luck, I'm still crossing my fingers. It sucks that this is happening right on the verge of the holiday season.

On a lighter note (sort of), I saw "The Ring" yesterday. That movie creeped the Phuk out of me. In the sense of a horror movie, it's not the kind of movie that makes you jump out of your seat with surprises popping out of nowhere, but it made me cringe a lot with just some creepy stuff. It's more of a freakish mystery kind of movie, and you've got to accept the premise to enjoy it. I'm sure you've heard about it, there's a videotape and if you watch it, you die in 7 days. It is really freaky. There are a bunch of things left unanswered in the movie and some scenes drag but I won't nit-pick since it's based on a previous movie. It's a remake of a Japanese novel and movie trilogy. Japan is on some horror movie trip lately, it seems the be the rage over there (check out Battle Royale if you get the chance). One big plus about the movie is Naomi Watts. I loved what she did in Mullholland Drive (especially the "special" scenes) and she just rules this movie. Aside from the first 10 minutes, she's in about every scene, and that's a good thing. I think I may just have my new infatuation. I don't want to elaborate more on the movie in fear of giving away some of the plot, but I give it the thumbs up. Some of the images are just engrained in my mind. I liked it more than sixth sense or signs. I tell ya, no more VHS tapes for me, I get chills now by pushing a VHS tape into the VCR. I'm glad I saw this in the theatres. I think if I'd rented it on VHS and watched it, I'd be burning the tape and fearing for my life. Freaky sh!t.

October 19, 2002
ODU has decided that if they are going to lay people off, they are going to do it before everyone else, so that those who are going to be looking for jobs will be ahead of everyone who will be laid off by other state companies when job hunting. So they've decided that this Tuesday will be the day to hand out the pink slips. Again, I'm sh!tting in my pants and so is everyone else here.

But for now, I'm gonna live it up this weekend. There is Cipher this weekend at ODU. It's sort of like an open mike kind of event with some spoken words, singers, comedians, etc. But I don't think it's open mike this year. It's run by FASA at ODU and is usually a filipino themed event, but this year other culture societies are getting involved. One highlight this year is the attendance of spoken word group Isangmahal (they're filipino, if you didn't get that from the name, it means "one love"). They are really talented and if you're one to cringe when you hear "spoken word", you should check them out, they are beyond just reading poetry. The event is tonight at 7pm at ODU.

For you ballers, the And1 tour is making it's way through Norfolk today. All those street legends, including Headache, AO, Sikwitit, and Skip to my Lou (Rafer Alston from the NBA), will be playing at Norfolk State this afternoon. A bunch of other celebrities are slated to be there - Neptunes, Clipse, Skillz, etc. It's a pretty entertaining event, especially since the players are more concerned about "wowing" the crowd instead of winning the game. ESPN has been documenting the tour with a TV show and this stop will probably make it on the show. I love this kind of stuff. Going through the legs 10 times then faking a pass and hiding the ball at your back then dancing while you spin to dunk over someone just to embarass him.

October 17, 2002
I think I've finally decided on T-Mobile as a new phone service. After a bunch of research, I'm happy with what they have to offer (costwise). I've also been told that their service is better than any of the others. Now I just have to decide which phone to get. I was leaning towards the free one they give, but then I just found out that Amazon.com is giving up to $250 rebates on all new phone purchases. That just opens up a whole new world of phones to me. I'm now looking at the Motorola V60 or it's little brother the V66. Also, some of the other phones give a bigger rebate than what the phone is worth, and that sort of draws me to them, it's like they're paying me to buy that phone. I just don't know. I've got to decide by this weekend because that's when the deal ends.

For some reason, Tone-Loc will be at Jillian's in Norfolk tonight. I guess he'll be performing his 2 songs. Now don't everybody rush over there at once.

I'll probably be at Excess at the beach tonight for their free sushi.

I've got a costume party this weekend. I've got an ideal of what I may be, but I can use some suggestions. Nothing involving tights though. And I'm not going to be an oompah loompah again.

October 16, 2002
The state of Virginia is in some sort of budget crisis. Similar to other states, there is a huge deficit that the governor is trying to get rid of. Yesterday he released a plan to try to get rid of it quickly. This will lead to massive layoffs to state employees. This includes almost 5000 employees at state run universities. And guess where I work - Old Dominion University, a state run university. There has been talk for months about the layoffs that will take place and it looks like it's closer to becoming reality.

Am I worried? Hell yeah. I'm sh!tting bricks right now. I have no clue where I fall in all of this. I'm certain that we are losing our student workers (where I started) and from there, I believe I am close to the bottom of the totem pole. I'm sort of in the dark right now. I do know that whenever there is some sort of severe weather occuring, I somehow become essential personnel. I've gone to work through 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms, and 2 blizzards (and one time ran my car into the University wall as I slid through an icy patch right in front of my building - and I still made it to work on time) when it's too dangerous for other workers to come to work. I guess the fact that I'm younger and I don't have a wife a kids makes me a little more expendable. I become the most important person in several situations (especially since I'm the only one onsite throughout the night), but I can still see them getting rid of my position.

Ironically, or lucky coincidence depending on how you look at it, there is a big job fair at Old Dominion University. Guess where I'll be today. I've dug out my resume and I've got my shirt & tie all pressed. I'm hoping for the best here while I look forward to the worst at work.

At least it's payday today for me. I guess I should start saving for a rainy day.

October 12, 2002
Okay so there's a fiesta today. I hope to see some of you there. Free food and lots of people.

And also for the basketball aficionados, ODU is holding a huge filipino basketball tournament today. A bunch of teams from around the country are coming here for this. It's always fun to watch. More info on the Ballers Invitational tournament at the FASA website. Filipino basketball players - watch out, because they will lay up on you!

October 11, 2002
I just remembered that I've got a high school reunion tomorrow night. I don't think I'm going though. I just don't have the urge to go. Yeah I'd like to see how some of my classmates turned out, but I still stay in contact with most of my true friends. I'm not trying to be snobbish or anything, it's just that those things aren't my cup of tea, dressing up for fancy dinners and making small talk with people I made small talk with 10 years ago. And it costs $90. Now if I had some hot wife to show off, that would be a totally different story. And 10 years doesn't seem to me that too much would change. I don't think anybody has gotten really famous either, except for Tim Mosley (aka Timbaland) and I don't even think he graduated, but last time I talked to him he told me he hated his high school years, so I don't expect him to show up there. Except for a few people, I can just call up friends to see what they've been up to, I don't need a reunion for that. I did look at the list of names of people who are going or who might go and it was nice trying to remember everyone and how much fun high school was, but I don't want to submit myself to a formal affair that I just might be bored at. I'm just going to go out clubbing and have fun doing what I do. If anyone needs to catch up with me, they know where to find me.

Anywayz, I'll be partying it up during the day at a fiesta at St. Gregory's. I remember practicing dances, singing, and other stuff in preparation for this thing. I still get asked to do stuff, but I think I'm getting to old to do what my agile younger self used to do. Maybe next year. Again, I'm inviting everyone, hope to see some of you there.

Tonight, blackbird pond and straight bent at the Jewish Mother.

October 10, 2002
It's a special time of year for the average sports nut. This is the only time of the year where all four major sports are playing at the same time.

Baseball is in the middle of some pretty exciting playoffs, a bunch of comebacks and lots of homeruns. And the underdogs seem to be winning in this post season. I can go on, but I know most of you don't care about baseball, but take my word, it's actually fun to watch right now.

Hockey started it's preseason the other night... *crickets*

Football is in full swing. I'm slowly starting to climb up the ranks in my fantasy league as I get into my rhythm.

And Basketball season has just started the preseason. I'm excited about this coming season. I went and saw a pair of Wizards games last year and my seats were 2 rows behind the visitors bench. With Jordan returning and the team adding some big names (Stackhouse, Ewing as coach) I may go watch a couple more this year. I've got this hookup for tickets, but his seats aren't as prime as last year, and his prices went up a little. But there is nothing like being right there next to the court. I am stoked about this season.

And to celebrate the season I went and bought NBA2K3 for the Playstation 2 (okay, I would have bought it anywayz, the coinciding start of the season had nothing to do with my decision). I've been playing that a lot. There is an online option that I haven't gotten to yet, I'm trying to hone my skillz before I get beat online. But if anyone else has it and wants to play, get me a holla, or just look for "elboogy" online.

Free Sushi tonight at Excess for everyone, I may go depending on if I feel like going out tonight. And tomorrow at the Jewish Mother, Straight Bent and Blackbird Pond.

And saturday, everyone's invited to a fiesta.

October 8, 2002
This past weekend was pretty eventful. Saturday I checked out UBE. It was actually good. All of the bands that played were so different, and you could tell the crowd was supporting everyone. Shout outs to Straight Bent for representing. And I heard Astropop 3 for the first time, and I was seriously impressed. Why haven't I heard of them before! They've got that European pop (sundays, stone roses) sound mixed with the Beatles and a whole bunch of other things. I picked up their cd, but most of their music is free to listen to on their website. Dan Villanueva, the front man, was once a member of the 90's Va Beach group Dorian Grey. He left the group and they eventually evolved to be Silverscene. Also in attendance, Blackbird Pond made it to the event for a quick set (they had been in North Carolina for another engagement, but drove up immediately to participate).

After that, I went over to Excess at the beach (again). This week it was packed with people. Last week they were filming a commercial that I probably didn't get into, but this week their was a TV crew filming, and this time I'm pretty sure I made the cut. That's because it was a crew from the show Stateside, a show on the filipino channel about the lifestyle of filipino americans. And since I fit the criteria, I got my mug on camera a bunch of times. It'll air in about a month and I'll be sure to let everyone know when (then you've got to find someone with the channel). There were so many people there that I can't just single out anyone for any kind of mention. Just watch the show in a month to see who was there.

Sunday I did the Homearama thing. It was cool, just like MTV cribs (I wish I had a video camera so I can do my own cribs). I saw a bunch of new things for the house, but nothing that I can realistically afford. Plasma TV's, leather theatre style recliners, odd-shaped pools with waterfalls, and other luxury items were on display. There were 13 homes and it took a couple hours and a lot of walking, but I saw it all. I noticed foosball tables in several of the homes, and that's one spot where I can hang. I think my foosball table is a little nicer than some of theirs (those non-foosing posers). If you get the chance check out the houses, just not this Saturday. Why? because...

I'm inviting ALL OF YOU to our town fiesta this saturday at St. Gregory's. It's going to be fun, if you've ever been to one, you know the deal. I'm going to keep bugging all of you all week about this.

One of my favorite hip hop groups,Jurassic 5, releases their new album today. Have you seen my picture with one of the rappers, Chali 2na? If you haven't, click on the picture link above and check out the california pics.

There's a reality show on ESPN called Beg, Borrow, and Deal and it airs tonight at 8pm. One of the girls on it is a Raider cheerleader and a filipina from the Bay Area. I found this article about her. She looks better on the show than in this article. Check out Aubrey Aquino in the Philippine News.

October 5, 2002
Tonight is the UBE concert at ODU. Proceeds help out the student associations at ODU as well as the Filipino American Student Cultural Center.

For those of you in lower California, the 3rd Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival is continuing this week. It's loaded with a bunch of quality asian american films and a bunch of asian american stars will be on hand to meet & greet folks. Just looking at the films on their website gets me excited about the new movies coming out. Even if you're not in San Diego right now, you can just browse around their website and learn about what's going on in the asian film industry. But boy do I wish I were back in SD this weekend for this.

I saw Red Dragon yesterday and it was really good. It was creepy and then just downright scary. I liked it a lot, way more than that weak @ss Hannibal movie. I couldn't sit through that film, but this one had me at the edge of my seat. It has lots of sly humor also, and it helps to remember Silence of the Lambs because there are funny foreshadowing references. Ed Norton is the main protagonist and he plays it really well, I've seen to have become an Ed Norton fan lately. In fact everyone in the film is great. The ending had me gripping onto my armrest pretty tight, it was intensely suspenceful. The only gripe I have about the movie is that most of it is based on Ed Norton trying to find that one clue that will solve the whole mystery he's working on. The audience is supposed to be anxiously waiting for Ed Norton to make that one big brilliant discovery, problem is that I had easily figured it out almost instantaneosly. I'm sure lots of other people in the theatre did too. It isn't exactly an original idea. There is even a movie out right now that sort of plays along the lines of this mystery. I'm not going to give it away, but I'm sure if you watch the movie, it'll be clear to you too, way before Ed Norton figures it out. But everything else in the movie worked. One of the better movies I've seen in a while, and I've seen a lot of them. A freaky and fun movie.

October 4, 2002
I was thinking about going to Busch Gardens today, but the weather has been unusually hot for October. They've got the halloween stuff going on right now and that's always cool, but I was just going to go there to eat and get use out of my season pass. I think I'm just gonna check out Red Dragon instead (for $3.75 at the morning showing). I've heard good things, but I'll let you know what I think tomorrow.

Homearama starts today and continues for the next 3 weeks. It's a cool show where builders and interior decorators show off what they can do to homes. It's like the MTV show cribs except the homes don't belong to celebrities (if you don't count Micheal Vick's home last year). I try to get ideas for what I can do at home, at a smaller scale of course. I think I'm getting old when this kind of stuff excites me.

Tomorrow, the Universal Band Experience (U.B.E.) at ODU. It's an asian american music festival. I'll be there.

I've got a fiesta going on next Saturday. It's open to pretty much everyone. Free eats and lots of people. Let me know if you want some info.

October 3, 2002

I might be headed to Excess tonight for dinner. Yep, it's sushi night and I am now a thursday night VIP. That means I get free eats. I don't even eat sushi, but if it's free, I can learn to like it. I was there with Ryan last Saturday and they were filming the new commercial for the place. They've got a couple shots of us, but I doubt they'll make the final cut. Let's see...should they show lots of girls grinding on the dance floor, or two guys chilling with their beers? Hmmm?? Pharell (of the Neptunes) was there. I talked to him for a quick sec. It seems nobody else knew him though because of the new bald look he's sporting. I guess the look of a pilgarlic keeps him in cognito.

I'm looking for a new wireless phone company. Ntelos (formerly Primeco) isn't doing it for me. I need suggestions. I'm not going to Sprint though. And what about some of the newer services - T-Mobile, Virgin (Hot LAvA!!!), etc.

Have you seen the new Christina Aguilera video? Great Googly Moogly!!!

October 2, 2002
It's a really busy time at work right now. I'm spending all night processing the end of the month fiscal reports. And since September was the first full month of school, there is a shitake load of work. Everytime a transaction is made at the University, that means more work for me. And it appears that all 20,000 + students decided to pay their bills this past month.

Also at work, it seems a worm has invaded our little network, infecting a bunch of computers. It's the Snow White virus thing. So if you get an email from [email protected] or any attachment that has Snow White in the title, don't open it. It may have been from me, and sorry if it is. It's just that I use so many of the computers here that I'm sure one is bound to have the virus.

UBE, an asian-american music show, is this Saturday at ODU.

I've got more, but I've got to get back to work. (Students of ODU, next semester, think of me and pay off your bills a month early).