Say Cheese! (June 11, 2008)

Greetings from Newport Beach, California, USA!
Photo taken on Sunday, March 23, 2008.

I know. I am several weeks behind in my emails. After clearing my last backlog, I immediately got behind all over again but vow to catch up by month’s end. You gotta have goals, right?

My opening line, “Say cheese!” is the theme for this year’s Orange County Fair. For those of you who have not gotten my emails since the very beginning, my first photo of the week was taken at this annual event. I will be going to it again and already have in mind to use a fair photo with the weekly email marking my first anniversary. I will have gone full circle.

The theme is very fitting as I submitted a couple of pictures into the fair’s photography competition. Earlier this week a letter came telling me that one photo passed the qualifying round. Now I need to provide a framed print for the final judging and display during the fair. WOOHOO!

Which photo made the cut? Not the one attached to this email. This photo was taken way back on Easter Sunday and captures elements synonymous with Southern California life – a surfer emerging from the ocean, other surfers bobbing in the water, a setting sun being reflected off a wave receding from the beach. Classic. Iconic. But not the one that I submitted into the contest.

Why did I not include it with this email? I wanted to give you a new picture instead of repeating one. That is right. It is a previous photo of the week. Which one? I will give you each one guess and say if you are right. If wrong, you will have to go to the fair and look for it in the photo gallery. Hopefully next to a blue ribbon. Yes, I am being a tease.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (June 8, 2008)

Greetings from Santa Ana, California, USA!
Photo taken on Tuesday, June 3, 2008.

How can I not start with this week’s photo? This puppy is a female golden retriever with the Hawaiian name of Kala. She practically blends into the pile of stuffed animals and chew toys in the photo. Few things are as peaceful as a sleeping puppy but looks are deceiving. Kala chews and gnaws at everything (she has even broken skin on my arm - nothing serious) and needs to be potty trained (she left a few “surprises” around the office).

As I have mentioned previously, I am temporarily working for a friend. He runs his own business and brings his dogs into the office. He already has a male weinaramer named Bismarck and another female golden retriever named Tessa (short for Contessa). The latter dog is almost 10 years old and has hip dysplasia, a form of arthritis commonly found in canines, especially larger breeds. Because of her age and physical condition, Tessa is not expected to live much longer. To ease the coming loss, my friend decided to get Kala as a new companion for Bismarck as well as the rest of the family.

In other news, last weekend I saw my parents who gave me a birthday present – cash. I get the same thing for Christmas too. In fact last year in late April when visiting my parents for the weekend, I mentioned saving up for a new laptop computer and they asked how much it would cost. Right before leaving to go home, I got an early birthday present – a check with an amount large enough to buy the computer (and a printer too).

This year the money was a smaller but traditional amount. Since my current job is only temporary, I could save the cash for an emergency but, come on, it’s birthday money. I gotta spend it on something fun or at least slightly unnecessary. After a bit of thought, I bought the current version of Microsoft Outlook. I had an older edition of the software that came with my last computer but it had compatibility problems with the Microsoft Vista operation system on my newer laptop.

I lived without the program for a year and missed it the entire time. The experience was like breaking a bone in your arm. You still have the arm but it is entirely unusable. Now all my limbs are working again and I feel complete computer-wise. But getting a puppy too would be nice.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (June 1, 2008)

Greetings from Glendora, California, USA!
Photo taken on Saturday, May 31, 2008.

Memorial Day was on Monday. When you are not working, every day is a “holiday” or “day off”. I’ve barely worked two weeks and having a three-day weekend felt too soon. So despite the recent work and subsequent cash flow, I intentionally kept the holiday uneventful, which spilled into the remains of the workweek. Tuesday was the last day of my two-week job at the Orange County Register newspaper and I went back working full time at my friend’s office after that.

Friday was the eve of my birthday and I hosted a pizza & poker party. I would never turn away a present but instead of gifts this time, I asked guests for $10 donations towards a community project called ChildSpree, which I will write about in the future. About two dozen people came and I collected over $250 as some guests donated more. Additionally we had a Texas Hold-em Poker Tournament. Buy-in was $10 and 16 people played. I competed and advanced to the final round with the second-most chips of the remaining 6 players. The $160 of prize money was split for the top three spots and I finished 4th. Interestingly the winner was the player who entered the final round with the fewest chips.

I did not have the party on Saturday, my actual birthday, because a friend was having his annual crawfish boil that day which I would have skipped out on my own party to attend. For the uninitiated, crawfish are best described as miniature lobsters. This week’s photo shows my friend pouring onto a table a freshly boiled batch of steaming sausage, garlic, corn and crawfish, of course. The shot makes my hungry for more but sadly this was the last boil. For several years, my friend has hinted to moving to Texas and he looks close to actually doing it as his invitation clearly stated that this was his FINAL crawfish boil.

At the boil, I was pleasantly surprised by a birthday cake of delicious chocolate. It was brought by another friend who joined me in going to the movies to watch the latest Indiana Jones movie later that day. “Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls” was enjoyable but I rank it third out of the four movies in the series, better that “Temple of Doom” but not up to par with “Last Crusade” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. I have a tough time deciding which of these last two is better. It’s too close to call. While I was happy to see another Indiana Jones movie, this will likely be the last one and I wish it ended on a better note. Better to stop now than have Harrison Ford in a wheelchair fighting Cold War-era Russians in “Indiana Jones and the Secrets of the Kremlin”. I shudder at the thought.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 25, 2008)

Greetings from Tustin, California, USA!
Photo taken on Thursday, May 22, 2008.

A few weeks ago I started a short-term job at a business owned by a friend. I had barely been there a week when I got a call from one of the many job placement agencies with which I signed up. It had a one-week assignment for me. After months of nothing from any agency, I finally get something and I’m already working elsewhere. I had a quick conversation with my friend who was incredibly understanding about the situation.

The job start last week and was at the Orange County Register newspaper. The parent company Freedom Media just went through a round of lay-offs. I was working in the Creative Department, which lost nearly half its employees and needed temporary help while it reorganized. The length of the work assignment doubled to two weeks as I would cover for a person who was on vacation the following week. The job itself was easy as it matched well with my previous work experience and skills. In fact I had plenty of down time and I jokingly told a few friends later that reading the newspaper was practically a required part of the job.

The newspaper has its own five-story building with its printing facility in an adjoining structure. A sister company, the local television station KOCE, has offices in the first floor and that channel played on its dining center television. The cafeteria’s location was surprising. I expected it to be on the first floor but it was on the fourth instead. It also had a patio with a great view, as the building is located in a mostly residential area.

The building was literally just a mile or so down the road from my friend’s office. Because of this close proximity, I was able to work both jobs. On most days I was able to put in an hour or so at my friend’s office during my lunch break or before/after working at the newspaper job.

While I did take pictures inside the newspaper offices and the fourth floor patio view, this week’s photo was taken elsewhere. The slightly blurry shot shows one of the two air hangers at the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station. I took several photos to find the best setting and angle to show the truly enormous size of the structure (and its twin). The military base closed several years ago and current redevelopment plans have only one hanger staying up. While the buildings have both military and architectural significance, maintenance and preservation costs are naturally as large as the structures themselves. The challenge is finding a use for buildings of this size and shape. I’m stumped. Ideas, anyone?

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 18, 2008)

Greetings from Newport Beach, California, USA!
Photo taken on Saturday, May 17, 2008.

At the year’s start I mentioned an event with the intent of telling more at a later date. Fast forward four months and I am finally writing about it. The Relay for Life (aka Relay or RFL) is an annual signature event of the American Cancer Society. Many elements make the Relay go from being just a charity fundraiser to a unique experience. Individuals and teams still collect donations and the Kick Off event in January started that fundraising effort. But the big stuff happened last weekend.

RFL is not a one-day, global event. Instead literally thousands of Relays occur throughout the year in communities around the world. I participated in the one for Newport Beach on May 17-18, 2008, while the neighboring city of Costa Mesa had its own a day earlier. Also the event spans two days but it actually lasts 24 hours, which is meant to represent that cancer never stops and we won’t stop fighting back either.

While a traditional charity event is a formal dinner at a hotel ballroom, RFL takes place outdoors at a school track field typically. Teams camp overnight and teammates take turns to walk or run around the track continuously - the ‘relay’ part. The event organizers provide participants with entertainment and activities on and off the track – music, movies, contests, etc. Various restaurants and other businesses donated food for breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks, dinner, even more snacks and late-night cravings.

Relays are done differently from city to city, but a common and best part of any RFL is the luminaria ceremony. In the evening hours, the track’s inner perimeter is lined with small white paper bags decorated with writing and art to recognize people who have had cancer. Inside them candles are lit. Other luminaria are arranged in the surrounding stadium to form special words. “CURE” and “HOPE” are perennials but this year another word was added. My photo of the week shows the luminaria lining the track and spelling out “LOVE” in the stands.

Newport Beach Relay made over $223,000, well beyond its goal of $175,000. I was not at the event the entire 24 hours but came and went four times. I stopped by, walked a few laps for my team, left to do some errands, stopped by again and walked more laps, then went to a party, stopped by yet again and walked even more laps until 1:00 AM, going home to sleep in my own bed. I’m too pampered to camp out and snooze in a sleeping bag. I came back one last time at 8:00 AM, stayed for the closing ceremony and helped pack up my team’s campsite. I came home exhausted but if you asked me right then and there if I would do it again next year, I’d say yes immediately.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 11, 2008)

Greetings from Laguna Niguel, California, USA!
Photo taken on Tuesday, May 6, 2008.

Happy Mother’s Day! Over the past several years I have seen trends among family and friends. First came a wave of weddings happening practically every weekend. Next came a flurry of feathers as the stork worked overtime delivering a blur of pink and blue bundles of joy. Then black balloons bobbed by as friends tease you for hitting 40. This was followed by more weddings and then more babies, some born but others adopted.

In less than a year, I know three couples who have all adopted babies. Circa August last year the first couple went to the husband’s (and my) homeland, the Philippines, in Asia and brought back a son. In March another couple went to Africa and brought back a daughter. So far the tally is one boy and one girl.

Breaking the tie, another couple stayed within national borders and brought home their adopted son from St. Louis, Missouri. The new parents presented their prodigy, this week’s photo, at a little party, which doubled as a belated 40th birthday for the proud papa too. While father and son share attention on Saturday, mother surely got her shot in the spotlight the very next day, enjoying her first of many Mother’s Days to come.

Of course I visited my own mother (and father) that Sunday and gave her a simple gift of flowers. My mom has pretty much everything that she needs. In fact she literally has closets full of unused presents received over the years. I see no point adding to the pile. Some presents are regifted while a few have made their way into my hands for use. Also forget about going to a restaurant. My mom does not see much value in eating out nor care for the larger crowds and longer waits as everyone else dines out on Mother’s Day.

After consecutive 13 weeks my run of photos in different cities ends as I already know that the next picture will be from a previously and frequently used city. Nonetheless I impressed myself in this small accomplishment. Lastly I started a short-term job. A friend runs his own small company, which has less than a dozen employees. He recently lost a few workers and asked me to help find replacements while also working on a couple of special projects. The open positions did not fit my career interest but I could not turn down the temporary job. Maybe next week I’ll ask for a raise or is that too soon?

Angelo

Photo of the Week (April 27 & May 4, 2008) Part 2 of 2

Greetings from Orange, California, USA!
Photo taken on Monday, April 28, 2008.

What topic deserved a momentary change to my weekly email format as mentioned in my last message? First here’s a bit more suspense with a quick detour. The weekly photo is a shot of the walkway leading to the movie theatre at the Block of Orange shopping center where I had a cheap dinner with friends. Okay, enough suspense. The topic is Men’s College Volleyball. After recounting matches since January, how could I not write about the regional and national championships? At least I am combining the competitions in one email instead of spreading them over two. Count your blessings.

In Week 1 the regional championships were held at the Walter Pyramid on the nearby California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) campus. I passed on attending and simply checked the web for Thursday’s semifinals results and watched Saturday’s finals via internet video.

The 2nd-seated Cougars of Brigham Young University (BYU) did a 3-0 sweep of the 3rd-seated Matadors of California State University, Northridge. In the other semifinals match, 5th-seated Waves of Pepperdine University, having already defeated 4th-seated UCLA in the quarterfinals, rebounded from a two-game deficit, winning 3-2 over the 1st-seated 49ers of Long Beach State. Against BYU in the finals, Pepperdine continued its victory streak, winning 3-2 games (28-30, 28-30, 32-30, 30-27, 15-8). Perhaps the Waves should be renamed the Tsunamis.

In Week 2 the national championships were held at the Bren Event Center on the UC Irvine campus. The three regional champions - the Mountain/Pacific’s Pepperdine Waves, the Midwest’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Eastern’s Penn State Nittany Lions were joined by the Long Beach State 49ers, the “at-large” competitor, typically the highest ranking team not already competing.

With the Anteaters hosting but not competing in the competition, I was on the fence on attending. My indecision was resolved by a friend’s free ticket to Thursday’s semifinals. Just a week after their last face off in the regionals, the Waves repeated victory over the 49ers with a 3-0 sweep. Meanwhile Penn State triumphed 3-1 over Ohio State. ESPN2 broadcasted Saturday’s final and I watched the Waves winning streak end with a 1-3 loss (30-27, 31-33, 25-30, 23-30). In Men’s College Volleyball National Championships’ 38 years, Mountain/Pacific region teams have won all but two titles, both times by Penn State. Congrats to the Nittany Lions.

No more volleyball talk until January except for the Olympics in August. But that lasts only two weeks. Count your blessings (again).

Angelo