Do You Need A Good Night Sleep?

I entertained a couple of Spanish speaking guests along with uno Americano last night. I prepared boiled corns, bbq beef sandwiches, and potato chips. Sinziana, one of the Spanish speakers, brought a bottle of wine called (get ready now) - - Fat Bastard. It is a French merlot. I guess an arrogant name like that would be thought up by a French. None the less, it was a pretty good wine. Well, take it from a guy with no real experience in distinguishing a good wine from a bad. Esteban, the other Spanish speaker, brought four little tarts from Bashas. They were filled with creamcheese icing and topped by glazed fruits. (Side note: I think I did a pretty good job describing the tarts. I even knew the pastries were tarts. I am impressed with myself although I did look up what a tart was in my dictionary.) Dinner was great, conversations were flowing, and wine was going down easy. Good times. I learned one of them used to be a graffiti artist!!

After they left, I remember lying down on my sofa, but lights out. I woke up this morning feeling very refreshed. What contributed to my fast sleep? I have to say "a glass of Jesus juice." I thought about other times when I also slept well, and one common element seems to be "a small dose of alcoholic beverages." I do not condone drinking everyday, but I will keep this one-trick pony in mind for a future insomnia.

Have You Ever Danced By A Famous Landmark?

It never occur to me how entertaining a video can be having a person dance in front of famous landmarks. Here is a guy named Matt doing his "trade marked dance" in front of famous landmarks around the world. I am envious of his travel!

How About A Drink?

I enjoy watching Tiki Bar TV, which is a collection of short videos that educates and entertains. How can it accomplish both? It is eductional, because the videos always provide cocktail recipes. It is entertaining, because characters are funny when they drink. Here is a link to my favorite episode called Red October!

El Cheapo y Bueno Musica ...

I always score at least one song free every week by checking iTunes music store. Last week's free song was Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put your records on." Corinne is a British singer, who is apparently making a name for herself. "Put your records on" is a nice slow tune. Some might say jazzy and soulful. I just like it. If you want to check out her stuff, then head over to her site. If you like her stuff, then Best Buy is selling her album this week for mere $7.99 before tax.

Tired of Others Telling You What To Do?

I know I am. Tell this guy in a chicken suit what to do, and be amaze at how accurately they are carried out. I know I was.

Some of my favorite commands so far are:

1. do electric slide
2. do macarana
3. do running man

Thanks for Rocket Boom for bring this to my attention.

Would You Like To Jog With Me?

I have compressed my morning run down to two minutes for your first-person experience. Our run is accompanied by Oasis' Songbird. Enjoy.

Do Photographers Prefer Swedish Fans?

I was reading the sports section from Yahoo. You know, catching up with all the World Cup stories. I found the above photo above as the most viewed and most e-mailed. We, men, are so predictable!

Naturally, I checked out other photos from the World Cup section. I was very surprised that most fan pictures were of Sweds. Most of Swedish fans weren't blantly making out.

I think I have a solution. I am thinking more ladies from other countries need to step up and make out in front of photographers. Otherwise Swedish fan photos will continue to dominate World Cup fan photos.

Do You Like Air Guitar?

Do you like air guitar? I mean do you really like air guitar? If yes, then you will enjoy the C Diddy's performance. Well check out the video to the left. It is great fun. Hello Kitty!

Big Beef Tomatoes
I just bought some from a local grocery store. It takes me back to those simple days when I used to eat tomatoes slices with sugar sprinkled on top. Ah, the good ole days. I might post a video of me eating Big Beef Tomatoes.

Lottery Update
Expense: $3 Winning: $0

I still have not had any luck with this endeavor, but it is not like it takes very much effort.

Day 3 of Bryce Canyon Trip ...

Weather: Sunny to overcast
Fuel: 9 gallons at Page, AZ
Quote of the Day: "Hate to get back to Phoenix weather," by moi.

I woke up early again. I guess the morning chill does not allow me to sleep late. Or maybe, I just went to sleep too early. Anyway, I packed up everything and readied myself for the jorney back home. After putting things in the small trunk of my car, I decided to drive back to Red Canyon, which is about 20 miles west of Bryce. I remember Red Canyon being very scenic and I wanted to take good photos with flattering lighting.

The drive to was nice since there were no traffic whatsoever. I guess it is too early for most. I did not see anything that I recognized as Red Canyon. If it was not for the signs, I would not have noticed Red Canyon. I did not find any scenic vistas I remember wanting to take photos of when we drove through two days ago. How weird!

I decided to drive back to Bryce and take some more pictures. I was racing against time, since I could see the sun was about to rise. I wanted to be in Bryce just before the sunrise. Well, my time was just a little late. C'est la vie! I took some pictures anyway. I hung around the vista for awhile before heading over to the inn, because I knew they were still sleeping.

I knocked on the door when it was about eight local time. It took them about an hour to get ready so they could check out. We were going to hike Mossy Cave Trail before heading back back home. It was an easy hike. I was excited to see running water, because I could practice taking photos using slow shutter time. I took some okay pictures, but nothing spectacular like Arizona Highways or anything. There was too much light for that. The Mossy Cave was not a great destination, but at least there was a mossy cave at the end of the trail unlike most trails that do not have any ending landmarks. When we got back to the parking lot, Dhumal and I waited for Danielle and others to start driving ahead of us like usual. Well, it took sometime and we wondered what happened. The Xterra did not start. I was starting to think, "we might be delayed for sometime." Danielle did not sound very concerned. She told us and other helpful bystanders, "it usually starts if I just jiggle the contact." Voila, it worked. Thank God!!

Our drive back was uneventful. We stopped at Kanab and decided to have lunch at Page. Since we stopped, we were taking our bathroom break. We all took turn taking care of our business while arguing which was a better snack cake, Snow Balls or Ho Hos. Although I argued ardently for Snow Balls, Ho Hos seemed to be favored by most. Snow Balls have cream filling, chocolate cake, and marshmallow cover with coconut shavings. If that does not describe a perfect snack cake, then I don't know what does.

None of us were ready for what happened next. Danielle came out with the ladies room. She told us that she dropped her keys while changing her clothes. Yuck! She had to put her hand in the toilet. Luckily, her keys stayed in the toilet, and toilet water was not polluted.

We discussed where we would eat in Page. As I read names of restaurants from my coupon book, we settled on Sonic. Sinziana suggested that Dhumal and I drive top down. It sounded fine at the time since I used sun screen. Weather became too hot for a convertible ride for me. Once we got in Page, we started looking for a Sonic. It was funny, but Page did not seemed to have a Sonic. We ate at a local burger joint. I had a green chile burger. It was a little too bland for my taste, but good for a quick lunch. I finished eating a little early so I could fuel up. I put the top back on my car for the rest of the trip back.

On the way back to Flagstaff, I took a lead for a change. I was getting tired of following. I kept my eyes on the Xterra anyway. Just outside of Flagstaff, I saw a coyote walking in front of Xterra in a very nonchalant manner.

Once we got in Flastaff, we stopped at a McDonalds for a break. Dhumal left to rejoin the group for the rest of the trip. I drove back home rest of the way alone since the rest were parked at Sinziana's. We took Carefree Highway and bypassed the bottleneck on I-17. That worked out great. I was at home at last. I just wished I said good bye to the group in Flagstaff more formally.

If you missed other journal entries, they are at Day 2 and Day 1.

Potpourri ...

Yes, yes, yes. I know how to spell "potpourri," but do not read anything into it. Besides I had to look it up to be sure of the spelling. I thought of the title, because this blog entry is going to be made of different things without any dominant or related themes.

Why Men Loves Bitches
I was eating at a restaurant, whoes name I cannot recall. It is funny how I cannot recall the name although I was not intoxicated. Hmm. I digress. I spotted a lovely young woman having a light beer reading a book. I was not impressed with the beer selection, but I was quite taken with how good looking she was. Naturally, I peeked at her few times to figure out what is the deal with this woman. I guess that is the Sherlock Holmes in me. I figured she is waiting to meet someone. I thought a good looking person, who is reading and looking around occasionally, is not a lone diner type. Sure enough a guy showed up about twenty minutes later.

What I found most interesting about her was her reading material. The title is "Why Men Love Bitches." What is the deal with people thinking nice people do not hook up? I thought I have to look up these books on Amazon when I get home. Apparently, this book is just one of a two part series. The other titles is "Why Men Marry Bitches."

Hmm. I cannot think of a bitch woman I really liked. I wonder if I am normal.


Webby Awards
I was watching Jeanne Moos' report on Webby Awards. Award winners were allowed only a five-word acceptance speech, and they were all creative. One of the website that caught my eyes aside from the liberal columist Adrianna Huffington's website was a pet photo web site called Cute Overload. It even has a section called Cats'n'Racks, where pictures of cats are caught between breasts. It is funny not in a perverted way.

World Cup 2006
I have been watching just about all the matches. Yes, football games are called matches if you don't know. I would have to say Spain and Czech Republic are the two most dominant teams after playing first matches. I am keeping my eyes on USA (EEUU), Ecuador, Spain, and Korea. Rest of the matches, I was want interesting and entertaining matches.

My Favorite Rocket Boom Episodes
I thought I would link some of my favorite past episodes from Rocket Boom. Just because I want you to get hooked on it.

1. Is this the way to Amarillo? by bunch of millitary guys. It is funny as he!!.

2. A Cinco de Mayo episode. Do you want cervezas or margharitas?

3. Footbag Championship 2006. Did you know hacky sacks are called footbags in Europe?

A Cat Goes Round And Round ...

I was listening to TWiT and John Dvorak mentioned this video. Quite funny.

Penguins Must Not Like My Blog ...

The map above shows visitors for my blog courtesy of sitemeter. Out of all seven continents, I do not have any visitors from Africa, Antarctica and Austrailia. I am thinking penguins do not have internet connections down there, but what are Aussie and Africans excuses for not reading my blog. Maybe I should start writing things that are more relevant to their lives. Hmm!

Numa Numa Videos ...

I've been watching past episodes of Rocketboom, and became aware of the phenomenon that is the Numa Numa videos. It is funny and very addictive. If you don't believe me, then you need only to check video.google.com for numerous Numa Numa video. Please be forewarned, it is like watching an accident. You don't really want to look, but you cannot look away!!!!

Here is the original.



Here is my favorite spoof. If you know who Village people are, then you will really appreciate this version.

This Would Be A Tremendous Waste of Money ...

I have never been to France, but I usually like French things. You know, Freedom Fries. Ha ha. I do like melted cheeses and chocolates, aka Fondue. I like their infinitely sad movies. J'adore Julie Delpy. She was exellent in Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and White, but not so much in An American Werewolf in Paris. I digress.

I've been aware of this wifi bunny called, Nabaztag, from France for sometime. It is a frivolous little gadget that communicates simple information and keeps others in touch with you. I think it is almost Japanese like in its cuteness. I think I want one. However, it is $150. $150 from Thinkgeek. Too much I think!

Check out what Nabaztag can do.

Day 2 of Bryce Canyon Trip ...

Weather: Alternating between windy, cloudy, Snowy, and Sunny
Fuel: 9 gallons from Bryce
Quote of the Day: "Snow? It must be cold." by unknown tourist

I woke up early again. I quickly packed my sleeping arrangement, which consisted of a tarp, a mat, and a sleeping bag. It was a great night of sleep. I guess driving a long distance makes you tired. Right away, I thought of driving to scenic vistas for taking photos. I took numerous photos, but I was not very satisfied with them. Why? Since sun light does not reach the canyon when it rises, lighting is harsh by the time it reaches the canyon.

After a couple hour of taking photos, I drove to meet up with the group. Of course, I am like their alarm clock. They were saying things like "what time is it?" We talked and watched TV as people got ready one at a time.

We went to the nearest general store to buy our lunchs. We did not want to go hungry while hiking in and out of the canyon. I bought an apple, a sandwich, a bag of popcorns, and a bag of jerky. Of course, I blew my budget on beef jerky!

Once we reentered the park, we stopped at the Visitor Center. We wanted to verify our hiking routes and such. I bought the fanciest national park patch to date while waiting. We were going to be hiking at least two trails for sure. Before embarking on the first trail, we drove to the lodge to change our dinner reservation. We all wanted to Suns play Mavs, who are playing for the Western Conference Title.

We drove about 19 miles to Rainbow Point. The road there is windy and uphill. It was fun driving my MX-5 shifting between third and fourth, which was much more fun than shifting due to slow traffic.

We did an easy trail called Bristlecone Loop Trail. We talked and looked around. It is great being outdoors. We actually found some Bristlecone trees. I didn't find them any more interesting than other pine trees.

We stopped at a scenic point, whose name I cannot recall. There were many tourists taking pictures of two huge crows. There were a couple who fed the crows Goldfish crackers. WHAT! I approached the couple, and told them, "I am not trying to be mean. Please do not fee the animals." I hope the couple did not think I was being hostile.

We, then, drove to Sunrise for the next hike. I had a hard time finding a parking space. The group ate lunch in the parking lot while I drove around. After ten or fifteen minutes, I was able to find a lot. I ate my sandwich and some popcorns, and drank some water. I think we all felt ready to hike into the canyon via Queen's Garden Trail. The hike in was quite easy, because it was downhill, and we did not carry anything, really. We arrived at the Queen's Garden, where hikers were looking at a rock formation resembling Queen Victoria. I thought the rock was supposed to resemble her face, but it looks like a lady with a poofy dress. Oh, well. Hiking out was a little bit harder. I guess we are not accustomed to climbing. There was a switchback even. Thank God, it was not a long trail. The hike ended at Sunset Point.

We had to walk back to Sunrise via Rim Trail. It was overcast at the time and snow flakes started falling. It was such a nice change from 100+ hot weather. As we walked past many visitors from different nations, it was fun to drop in on their conversations. I could make out some French, Spanish, and Korean. Of course, I smirk whenever I can make out exactly what they are saying. Danielle and I heard the quote of the day from the following conversation.

Old Male Tourist: It's snowing!

Old Femail Tourist: "Snow? It must be cold."

Danielle and I decided a nap would be better than taking another hike while the others did not. We separated after making a plan to meet up at the lodge restaurant for dinner. I washed up first and shut my eyes for a couple of hours. Before long, it was time for us to meet up with the group for dinner.

We were seated right on time although Chinese looking hosts were a little confusing at first. They asked us to wait and then seated us shortly with confused look on their face. I think they had a hard time with Danielle's name. Funny, I don't think her name is all that complicated. A happy waitress, who I thought was pretty, helped with selecting our meals. When Danielle asked what the waitress liked, she obliged with what is preprepared and what is made on-site and other good information. We selected chicken (the original white meat), pork loin (the other white meat), and trout (another white meat ? although it looked pink). We all had a beer each to go with our meal. To top it off, we even got desserts, which were a small chocolate cake and an apple dumpling. I even had organic coffee. After having crappy to mediocre meals for the past couple of days, the dinner was heaven sent. I think being in pristine outdoors with good company made the meal much more.

We came back to watch the Suns' game. Everyone was really into it. Some more than others. Suns lost, but there would be more games. I went back to my campsite for the last night in Bryce.

In case you missed the day 1, click here.

Walking the Dog, Walking the Dog ...

I put together footages of my dog, Cenya, and I walking this morning. We saw many birds, but only one bunny, which is Cenya's favorite for chasing. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the little bunny with my camcorder. Darn! Enjoy the sights and sounds of Piestawa Peak area.

Yet Another Time Lapsed Video ...

Phoenix does not get usually get rained on in June, but we got one today. It has a great clouds action. Enjoy the time lapsed video of the Piestawa area.

None Alcoholic Sangria? What?!?

I found this beverage while doing my grocery shopping. It is a cheap import from the Southern neighbor. I say cheap, because it is a meager $0.69. I say the Southern neighbor, because it is from Mexico.

Now I am not so sure about this. NON ALCOHOLIC SANGRIA!!!! I thought our neighbor to the South was fun loving people. I imagine this would be like a cheap grape juice enhanced with other cheap citrus fruit like ingridients. I will post if I actually have the guts to drink and find out. Also, Mexican bottles had been reported to contain arsenic/mercury. Like I want to be any dumber.

Random Thoughts Again ...

Congratulations. You are a high school graduate!

Josh just graduated from North Canyon High and is starting out his post high school life. He is going to study business management and work at the same time.

We have been matched as a big brother and a little brother since he was eleven. Josh was shorter than me then. He has outgrown me for many years. I have enjoyed spending time with him and I hope he feels the same way. Ah, the times we had going to amusement parks, watching my races, visiting Tucson, camping at Prescott, and other numerous events.

Good luck with everything. I know you don't need it.

Frivolous Purchases

I have been purchasing Powerball tickets on regular basis since January this year. Doesn't that sounds like a desperate person? Hmm. I think I will start keeping track of winning to expense ratio. This way I can verify how much money I really waste although I do like to think about spending millions in very off-handed manner.

Expense: $1 Winning:$0

Frivolous Links

Rocket Boom is a daily video about interesting tidbits. Amanda Congdon is quite good as a host of the show. You can check its website daily or subscribe through the RSS feed or iTunes.

Are You A Good Driver?

Why don't you take this test and find out? I got 80%. Meaning I passed the stupid licensing test. Good luck.

Bryce Canyon Footages ...

Here are some footages from the Bryce Canyon Trip. Enjoy!

Day 1 of Bryce Canyon Trip ...

Weather: Windy
Fuel: 4.5 gallons from Flagstaff
Quote of the Day: "Make a vee, so I can pee." by Danielle

I woke up early (4:30 am) by chance. I must've fallen asleep early. I put wet clothes from the previous day in the dryer. I looked up a camping packinglist on-line. I packed following the list and walked through each room to make sure I did not forget anything. I felt ready.

I decided to go for a morning run as this could be the last time for a run for few days. Cenya, my dog did not seem to want to run. Oh, well. It's her loss. It was nice and cool. Three miles did not last very long, but it was enough.

After a shower, I packed some of the dried clothes and started for Flagstaff, where I would meet up with Danielle, Dhumal, Jennifer, Mark, and Sinziana. It was a nice drive up. It was little cold for a convertible ride, but I turned the heat on once I felt too cold. The ride was uneventful due to little traffic. Only thing worth mentioning is the time I had to downshift to fourth, but second accidently. I was a little upset with myself.

I drove to the Days Inn, where the group was staying. I asked a counter person to call the room, and Mark promptly came and got me. It would seem they were not ready. I decided to use my camcorder to record their laziness. A couple of them, who shall be nameless, gave me the horrified looks.

The group started to get bustling with readying for a long car drive. For one person, readying included curling her locks. Although we poked fun, I can understand people having poor hair image since I also have this problem. We went to the Inn's continental breakfast. Unfortunately, Danielle found the breakfast set up to be less than favorable. This would not be the last time a meal would not meet her standard. Poor Danielle. I think the group as a whole was not crazy about the breakfast.

After the breakfast, the group packed the Xterra with their belongings, and we drove to the nearest coffee joint and gas station for filling up people and vehicles. After these two quick stops, we started driving toward Bryce on 89. Mark rode with me first, and we followed the Xterra. We all first decided to go on 89A for a scenic drive, but the Xterra missed the turn. I am not sure if it was incidental or accidental. The Xterra stopped soon after missing the turn. I was a little confused as the Xterra stopped just off the road. Huh? It turned out Danielle needed to tinkle, and then she uttered the Quote of the Day, "Make a vee so I can pee." Danielle wanted me to back the car and make a vee for some needed privacy. Rest is up to your imagination.

I was a little glad we stopped since I was getting hot and feeling a sunburn from driving with the roof down. One of the group called Mark and me, "rednecks." I was tired of feeling hot, sticky, and dusty. Roof went up soon after.

We stopped at Kanab, UT for lunch. The only Mexican restaurant, Escobar's, was closed, which made all of us really sad. We ate at a local Subway. What consolation! At least they had Vanilla Coke.

Jennifer rode the rest of the way to Bryce with me. It was nice. We just talked about this and that and nothing terribly important. Our ride came to an end pretty soon. The group checked in at Ruby's Inn, which is just outside of the park. I drove into the park to find me a campsite so I can sleep under the stars. Most of the sites were taken, but I was lucky enough to find one.

I went back and met up with the group. There were still plenty of daylight left so we were planning on sightseeing today. No real hiking however. First I had to wait for the ladies to finish watching "Coyote Ugly" on CMT. It is a reality show that documents pretty young thangs competing to become a dancing bar wench on Country Music Television.

We drove to all the major scenic vistas and acted like bunch of amateur photographers or tourists. Since the sun hid behind clouds often, it was a pretty decent condition for taking photos.

We drove back in town for dinner. We ended up at a no-name restaurant. We all ordered a beer and an entree each. A couple of us ordered the special, elk burgers. While elk meat was good, it could been much better if it was not overdone. In fact, Danielle's burger was completely overdone. Not quite a charcoal, but very dry indeed. Everyone also found out Danielle's dislike for Mexican food. WHAT?!? We all were so surprised in fact, some of us kept asking the question over or make comments about seeing her in Mexican restaurants.

The group went back to Ruby's Inn, and I went back to my campsite, B43, in North Campground. It was windy and chilly. I laid out a tarp, a yoga mat, and a sleeping bag in that order. Once I was in the sleeping bag under the dark night, I fell asleep quite fast. It was a long drive, but a great day.