1 Week, 1 Photo, 1000 Words (2009.07.05)

Greetings from Anaheim, California, USA!

Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland on Tuesday, June 30, 2009

With many friends having babies this year, perhaps the Powers That Be asked the Grim Reaper to work overtime keeping our population in check. Morbid, I know. June was deadly. Entertainment industry alone lost David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. This Wednesday veteran actor Karl Malden joined them. Though he died on July 1, I hope that Malden was a belated addition to an atypical ultra-gloomy June and Death takes a holiday soon.

I knew none of the recently deceased personally but the memoriams almost included a familiar face. In early June a friend had a stroke. Her carotid artery, a major blood vessel to the brain, had 90% blockage. Because she had trouble speaking, the stroke was detected and treated early. The friend is my age and highly active so I was stunned by the news. Extremely lucky, she made a full recovery, not even partial paralysis – a common side effect, and was quickly back on her feet.

In far lighter news, last week I moved again, sort of. Soon after emptying the final box and settling into my bedroom, I did a partial repack and temporarily relocated to the guest bedroom downstairs. Last month my dad began replacing the carpet with bamboo slats in most of our house’s second floor. Only the closets and bathrooms stayed untouched.

The situation had a silver (or is it blue?) lining. With furniture out of the way and carpeting on its way out, the timing was perfect to paint over 20 years of wear and tear. The bedroom was ready for a new coat and a new color. According to my Frazee Paint flipbook, my walls were bright “Robin”, as in the bird’s blue-green egg, that matched the window blinds. I narrowed my choice to two blues – Tropical Wind and Surf’s Up.

The home improvement store stocked Behr Paint and could not guarantee an exact match to the Frazee color. Ultimately I chose Tropical Wind but once it was on the walls and dry, the paint leaned towards Surf’s Up, as the two were only a shade different. I am content with the new blue hue.

On Independence Day weekend I settled into my room again and did not watch fireworks on Fourth of July evening. Instead I saw those four days sooner at Disneyland, the home of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, this week’s photo. Amidst the home renovations I took a break and used my bonus pass from Disney’s birthday offer of free park admission.

From staring down death and celebrating a nation’s birth to creating a sleeping sanctuary and enjoying the “Happiest Place on Earth”, some moments of life we must do and others we choose to do. Relaxing in my blue bedroom right now is my choice. Surf’s up, dude!

Angelo

Photo of the Week (June 28, 2009)

Greetings from Brea, California, USA!
Photo taken on Thursday, June 25, 2009.

Last January I mentioned three babies born within three days. The first two arrived the same day and the third came two days later. Later I jokingly predicted three weddings and three funerals in the months to come. In an eerie mirroring to the trio of births, this week had a trio of deaths also within three days. Ed McMahon died on Tuesday, Farrah Fawcett followed on Thursday morning and Michael Jackson made his exit that afternoon.

McMahon lived long and well. His death simply provided the finish to his illustrious life story. Fawcett had her life shortened by terminal cancer. With early awareness of her illness, we accepted her passing more readily, a fortunate happenstance as media focus quickly shifted when Jackson died mere hours later. His life was already a constant source for tabloids and his sudden death guaranteed more dirt for these muckrakers.

A master of ceremony, McMahon was sidekick to Johnny Carson on television’s Tonight Show but also had solo success hosting talent competition Star Search. A poster and a hairstyle furthered her fame but Fawcett will be first, foremost and forevermore a Charlie’s Angel as an original member of that ethereal TV series. A singer without equal, Jackson was a music video visionary – Thriller is a crown jewel – and drew attention to fledgling cable channel Music Television, MTV, which is eternally indebted to him.

All three were entertainers and television was central to their successes. The similarities originally stopped there. Ed, Farrah and Michael had very different lives, talents and deaths. But the close timing of their passings created an unlikely third shared thread for an equally unlikely trio. Nonetheless they will be remembered because of their individual endeavors, not their group departure. May these souls endure in the hereafter.

Finally end of June was also end of gloom. The month started with rain, thunder and lightning. By mid-month overcast remained thicker and lasted longer than normal. But the last days of the month are also the first days of summer, bringing clear skies from dawn to dusk and beyond. This week’s photo is of Brea Mall’s skylights glowing warm and white. Coincidentally I took it on Thursday after Fawcett and Jackson both left the mortal plain. Perhaps this was a heavenly homing beacon. I choose to believe it was.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (June 21, 2009)

Greetings from Irvine, California, USA!
Photo taken on Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

I always find the third week of June eventful. In addition to Father’s Day, it includes my dad’s birthday and my parents’ wedding anniversary. While I need not do anything for the last occasion, the other two are another story. If the hi-tech world is symbolized by the all-in-one iPhone – a convergence of web browser, camera, media player and more – then my father is content with a rotary telephone. Thinking simply, I gave him a dvd and card for his birthday and Father’s Day, respectively.

But if he was asked what his favorite gift was this year, his response may be something not received personally – the Los Angeles Lakers winning professional basketball’s NBA Championship title last week. My dad avidly watched the team during their 1980s’ heyday. Following a lackluster 1990s, the Lakers entered the 2000s with three straight championships. Perhaps they will repeat the “three-peat”, transitioning into the next decade with another trio of consecutive titles. It would be nice and only time will tell.

This Wednesday the Lakers had a victory parade & rally. I did not expect seeing my retired dad head to Los Angeles and partake in the event but at least he would watch the telecast. Instead he was on the golf course with friends, playing their weekly game. Meanwhile I saw the televised procession. It moved down Figueroa Street, starting at the Staples Center, the team’s home, and finishing at the Los Angeles Coliseum with a rally and a presentation of the team past and present.

If only my job search had a victory. After an interview I mentally replay and self-evaluate the meeting. I had another one on Friday. My assessment was “unimpressive” and a follow-up/thank you note would not do much to improve it. My search continues. Before moving on, I proffer this: I often find myself working in one county and living in another. Doing both in the same one is always short-lived. This latest job lead was in Orange County and I live again in Los Angeles County. Hello, irony.

Plenty happened this week but I took just two photos and neither one is worth including. I must break my own rules again and select a shot from the previous week instead. At a UC Irvine event last June, I toured a building in an early construction stage. A year later I toured again the same structure, nearly complete. This week’s photo, the skyline of neighboring city Costa Mesa, was taken on its “sixth floor” – actually the rooftop. Great view and cool experience.

On the roof I could have shouted a Titanic “I’m King of the World!” atop an air vent, recording and sending it via my iPhone wannabe to my dad. But he has a rotary telephone. Irony, we meet again.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (June 14, 2009)

Greetings from West Covina, California, USA!
Photo taken on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

This year baby rattles have replaced wedding bells. Almost halfway through 2009 I have yet to receive a single invitation to a couple’s nuptials. Instead I have attended two baby showers as well as a funeral. Before delving into the births, I reflect on the wedding stats.

In twelve years (1997-2008) I have received twenty-four invitations, averaging two annually, although both 2005 & 2007 had three apiece, making up for 2002, which had zero. Some friends did not invite me to their weddings, a blessing in disguise, as my count would have likely doubled. Also my wallet would not have handled the additional flights, hotels and gifts. In fact I did not attend three weddings – the first in Australia, another in San Francisco, the last in New York City – due to travel costs.

While doing the math would result in 21 weddings attended, the more accurate answer is 20 ceremonies and 22 receptions. Typically the two activities go together. But one couple had a small private ceremony, then a larger reception/celebration two months later. Also the couple that wed in New York City held a second reception in Napa Valley for West Coast guests who missed the East Coast event. The remaining weddings were mostly SoCal affairs while a handful was in Northern California and one was in Mexico.

I remain in touch with 21 of the 24 couples, although divorce has split two pairings, a great ratio compared to the United States’ 50% divorce rate. Additionally both ex-husbands have each remarried and I attended the wedding for one just last year. Only time will tell how all these marriages will fare and if my wedding lull is a temporary situation or the end of a 12-year trend.

As the doves rest, the storks work overtime. For the 19 couples who are still married and in touch with me, 11 of them have become moms and dads to a combined 20 children – 3 born since January – while another two couples will become parents by December, both adding one each for a total of 5 in 2002 and 22 overall. Yet I know other couples expecting that will easily bring the year’s total into the double digits.

At my second baby shower of the year, I steered clear of the contests except for one – designing a diaper with toilet paper. Modeled on a teammate’s young son, our creation lost. The contest of guessing the “dirty” diaper contents had a six-way tie. These people really knew crap. Pun intended. The week’s photo shows the tiebreaker – drinking from a baby bottle. From the sidelines, I happily watched and drank from a beer bottle. Baby shower, bridal shower, wedding, whatever. Here is a toast to them all. Bottoms Up!

Angelo

Photo of the Week (June 7, 2009)

Greetings from Hollywood, California, USA!
Photo taken on Friday, June 5, 2009.

June gloom is a seasonal phenomenon but it also described this week. Beyond the traditional overcast skies, the weather – thunder, lightning and rain – complemented my glum mood brought by bad news. The agent who set up my job interview last week told me that the clients met with 4 people total and chose no one. Instead they want to see new candidates. Meanwhile next week I had another meeting scheduled but it was cancelled as that client reconsidered seeing me and offered the job to someone already interviewed.

The unwanted but much needed move back to my parents’ house slowly continued. I unpacked a majority of boxes – essentials like clothes and furniture. The rest – such as kitchen items and collections of comic books, shot glasses, etc. – will remain boxed and stored in the garage until I need or have room for them. Amidst it all, I busted my cel phone’s screen. Sure I get a new phone but I rather not spend the money right now.

The biggest change is that my parents have no internet connection and cable television service. This is like losing both your legs. Not having one is hard but neither is harsh. My short-term solution is the free wi-fi at the public library and the local Panera Bread cafe. It will have to do for now though it is far from ideal or convenient. In fact on Thursday I split six hours between Panera and the library.

I had some respite on Friday. First I went to Studio City for a business networking lunch, which was okay, then ventured to nearby Hollywood. If an entertainer has a star on the Walk of Fame, a wreath is placed over it when that person passes away. Actor David Carradine recently died and I took a shot of his wreath-covered star but chose something else for the week’s photo. Among the hand and shoe prints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre are those of legendary Clint Eastwood, who happens to share my birthday.

Also on the horizon is my high school 20-year class reunion. (Yes, I am that old.) Apparently except for a tentative date, nothing else had yet been done so two classmates sent emails asking fellow alumni to help. We formed a committee and met this weekend with the first and biggest goal of finding a location. We are off to a late and slow start but at least it is happening.

I am looking forward to the reunion but dreading the question, “What are you doing nowadays?” I do not want my answer to be, “I am looking for work and living with my parents.” Between now and the reunion, hopefully my fortunes will take a turn for the better. Then I could say, “I have a job and my own place”. As Eastwood may say, that would “make my day”.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 31, 2009)

Greetings from Anaheim, California, USA!
Photo taken on Sunday, May 31, 2009.

In my birthday week, I watched Star Trek on Wednesday and Up on Friday. A buoyant adventure, the latter movie is the 10th computer-animated feature by Pixar, which continues its perfect hit record. Meanwhile after 10 films in a long-running franchise, the narrative relaunch of the starship Enterprise and crew – Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, et. al. – also succeeded. Star Trek continues to live long and prosper.

Coincidentally those same days I also watched games 5 & 6 of professional basketball’s Western Conference Championship between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. I correctly predicted that the Lakers would prevail in 6 games. Kobe Bryant and team next face the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. Go Lakers!!!

My Friday activities were actually in Los Angeles following a mid-afternoon job interview. Did I get the job? Find out next week like I did. After seeing the movie Up at the Century City Shopping Center, a friend and I watched the basketball game at O’Hara’s bar in Westwood, a shopping & social district. Following the Lakers’ win, we dine at an Italian place and waited in line at a bakery for very delicious cookies costing only 35 cents each. This was my first trip into Westwood and I enjoyed the adventure.

The weekend started the first two of several days in packing, moving and unpacking. Lack of work forces me to live at my parents’ house again. My two roommates have decided not to get a replacement and instead will share my old room as an office. Since they are not rushing me out and my brother missed his own deadline to clear all his stuff from my old bedroom, I moved only one carload each on Saturday and Sunday, allowing time for fun.

On Saturday evening a neighbor and I went to a barbecue by a common friend. Then on Sunday I intended to visit Disneyland since Disney offers free admission to one of its theme parks on your actual birthday. For being a California resident, I receive a two-park pass instead. SWEET! Having arrived late in the day, I went to Disney’s California Adventure, the smaller of the two adjoining parks, and have the next 30 days to use the free pass for Disneyland.

I had a packed calendar in my final week as an Orange County resident and it ended with a blast literally. The weekly photo shows the colorful bursts from Disneyland’s traditional summertime fireworks as seen over the replica of the Golden Gate Bridge in Disney’s California Adventure – an awesome way to end any birthday.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (May 24, 2009)

Greetings from Irvine & Huntington Beach, California, USA!
Photos taken on Wednesday & Sunday, May 20 & 24, 2009.

UC Irvine held a “campus celebration” on Wednesday to honor its men’s volleyball team for its national title and I went. The Anteater band performed until the coaches and players arrived via victory bus. A few brief speeches later, they posed for pictures and my FIRST photo shows the trophy hoisted above the team. Indoor volleyball may be over…

…But beach volleyball has already begun. The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour crisscrosses the USA but Southern California, a beach volleyball hot spot, has 5 host cities – Hermosa Beach, Riverside, Manhattan Beach, San Diego and Huntington Beach (HB). It also has volunteer and paying jobs at each site.

I got a paying job – statistics at the HB event, which has a qualifying round on Thursday. Stats are not done then but it is a good time for paid training. The job is to track the play-by-play, especially who and how points are made. Usually statisticians work in pairs – a “caller” announcing the action and a “recorder” tallying it onto a stats sheet. Example call: Dahlhausser serves. Gibb attacks. Rogers digs, attacks and errors. Rosenthal blocks.

The main competition started the next day and I was kept busy all of Friday and most of Saturday. At women’s courts both days, I had no complaints about watching bikini-clad fit females jump, run and dive. But their rallies last longer than men’s so you do more work on calling and recording. Oh, well.

In the AVP Tour teams play a brackets-style double-loss elimination tournament. Starting in the Winners Bracket, victorious teams advance and defeated ones move to the Contenders Bracket. There too winners advances but losers are eliminated. Also indoor and beach volleyball have differences. Indoors: 6-man teams play a best-of-five series, games won at 30 points. Beach: 2-man teams play a best-of-three, games won at 21.

I did not work on Sunday but came to watch the two finals. The top teams – women’s Nicole Brannagh & Elaine Youngs and men’s Phil Dahlhausser & Todd Rogers – continued their dominance. My second photo shows both Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal leap to block as Dahlhausser lunges for an attack. The shot – sand kicked up as players jump towards the ball, palm trees lining the sky (a recent trend in my photos), scoreboard and giant volleyball filling the background – is now my desktop picture.

Despite abundant sunscreen my forehead, nose and ears were all sunburned by Sunday. Hot sand and concrete also scorched the soles of my feet. Nonetheless I went to a barbecue afterwards, played an impromptu Texas Hold’em poker game, and finished 2nd of 6 – losing to the only woman, winning some cash – a near perfect end to a great week.

Angelo