I had a blog?

So it looks like its been over half a year, 7 months to be exact, since the last time I posted to this thing... Lemme try and reflect a little on what happened since then....

Went to Tahoe in late Feb. Had a pretty good time riding. The only bummer was that Richie dislocated his shoulder on the last day.

Pretty much the entire month of March I was in the middle east in the country of Qatar. I was doing SQL dev and Crystal Enterprise support for a product go-live. The chicago golden gloves took place in its entirety while i was gone. Maybe next year.

April, nothing much happened... started working out a little more. Isa and the kids went to H-town for a few weeks at the end of the month into May.

I rolled off QNEDS in may. Got on a DC project right away doing full life cycle SDLC analysis. It was a little strange getting moved into a functional position. I've been a BA before, but the bulk of my experience was either in maintenance, versioning, or product support. So all the requirements gathering, use case design, and product design sessions seemed a little outside my skill set, but I guess it panned out since the end result was good. Since then I've been moved to 100% on DC projects as a solutions analyst. Lex turned one at the end of the month. I cant believe the kid is already a year old. He's definitely a spunky one. If theres only one thing in a room that could possibly harm him in any way, he'll be able to identify what and where it is and make a bee line right to it. Its like a gift. He held on to his beautiful blue eyes so it looks like I really did get my wish of having a blue eyed baby fulfilled. My, for one awesome month.

June was pretty low key. Meca had her birthday. I got an ipod video. At the time of this writing I have yet to put an actual video on it, but i gotta lot of music and everytime I see a gaggle of trixies yapping to each other on their way to the fullerton stop on the red line i count my blessings i cant hear what they're saying. Started loving me some Lupe Fiasco. Dan fought and won the 190 lbs. title in hammond, IN.

July was crazy. Dan and Claudine got married. That might of happened in June actually, but i cant remember. I had to fly out to DC. Got back on Isa's birthday. Then less than 2 weeks later Isa took the kids to H-town again. This time for over a month. At the time of this writing I miss all of them so bad it hurts. I met Isa in LA so we could go to her friends wedding. We used the wedding as an excuse to take a much needed vacation. Got to relax for a couple of days. Went surfing for the first time. That was cool.

Its now the end of august. My family will be home soon. In the meantime, Ive been working out pretty well, working my ass off while I got the chance to put in the extra time, and trying to go out with friends if I get the chance. Rich's sister Nikkie got married. I went to San Francisco with Tony and saw Cat. Went rock climbing a couple of times. That was also pretty fun. I've been trying to put in a ceiling fan in the master bedroom with the help of Jimmy and Tony. Almost done with that. Well see how it looks.

Thats about it. I'll probably retro-post some of the important dates I missed.

Upcoming events: Dan defends his title on Sept. 9th and Meca gets married in October.

Focused Pacquiao downs fading Morales

LAS VEGAS -- A bigger, stronger, smarter, and more focused Manny Pacquiao gradually and dramatically wore down and stopped Erik Morales in the 10th round of an electrifying rematch Saturday before 14,618 fans at the Thomas & Mack Arena.

Pacquiao's victory evened their series at 1-1 and raised his icon status in his native Philippines even higher.

After struggling to find range and mount a sustained attack in the first five rounds of intense back-and-forth action that he often got the worst of, Pacquiao found his stride in the sixth round.

Using timing, feints and combinations, he set up his lightning-fast power shots. Then Pacquiao dominated the following rounds with intensity and intelligence until twice dropping the ever-game Morales in the 10th round, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to wisely step in and wave the contest off at 2:33 of the round, just seconds after the second knockdown.

Until Bayless called it off, Pacquiao's fanatical followers had to hold their breath as numerous times throughout the bout, just when it appeared that Pacquiao was about to overwhelm Morales, the hard-nosed Mexican would come back and stun their hero.

It happened in the second round, when Pacquiao (41-3-1, 32 KOs), landed a series of lefts that hurt Morales and sent him stumbling back into the ropes. Morales (48-4), waved Pacquiao in as if to say "Bring it!" and then fired back, driving the Filipino icon into the ropes.

It happened in the fourth round, after Pacquiao appeared to briefly stun Morales at the start of the round only to get knocked off balance by a counter punch.

Of course, this was to be expected from these two maulers. They have fighting styles and mentalities that ensure that when they step into the ring versus. one another the result is as good as it gets in boxing -- non-stop two-way action.

However, in the sixth round the benefits of the best training camp of Pacquiao's career began to show.

Coming into this rematch, Pacquiao did not have to deal with the drama that his former promoter, Murad Muhammad, used to invite by messing with the three-division champ's purse money, fight tickets, hotel rooms and contractual agreements (such as the kind of gloves he could wear -- for this fight he got to wear his favored Reyes-brand mitts).

Pacquiao also had a closed camp from his legion of L.A.-based Filipino admirers. Possibly for the first time in his career, he was able to focus on the instructions and game plans laid out by trainer Freddie Roach. And possibly for the first time, Pacquiao carried out those plans and instructions 100 percent.

Pacquiao did not rely on his speed, power and reflexes (in the form of his big left hand). He was a two-handed fighter this night. His right hook did as much damage as his vaunted straight left. He mixed his punches up well to the body and hand, and he worked Morales' mid-section consistently throughout the action.

Pacquiao paced himself. He picked his spots. He landed lead power punches to the body and head and flurried when appropriate. He did all of this with the kind of poise and accuracy expected of an elite fighter.

Gone were the manic charges and retreats of the first fight with Morales. This version of Pacquiao was not nearly as easy to anticipate and time with counter punches.

Still, even after looking the best he's ever looked versus Morales in rounds six and seven, the Tijuana native managed to give Pacquiao hell in the late rounds, despite absorbing the majority of punishment.

In the eighth round, Pacquiao hurt Morales early, driving the Mexican into the ropes, but the three-division champ might have been playing possum as he suckered his antagonist into a counter right. Furious exchanges ensued, but it was Morales, who didn't seem to enjoy the edge in size that he did in their first encounter, who was repeatedly hurt.

Even in the fateful 10th round, Morales was able to hurt Pacquiao with a right before absorbing the salvo from from the Filipino hero that put him down for the first time. Utter chaos mixed with absolute joy broke out in the Thomas & Mack arena following the precise combination that put Morales down again, and the Filipino fans quite exploded out of their seats when Bayless called a halt to what had become an unnecessary beating.

The knockdowns that Morales suffered in round 10 were the first times he's really been decked in a pro fight (the 12th round of his first fight with Barrera was more a slip or flash knockdown). And, of course, the stoppage itself was the first time Morales was knocked out in a hall-of-fame career.

Maybe all the ring wars finallyy have caught up with "El Terrible." But a more likely reason for his loss is that he was beaten by the better fighter this night.

Psalm 127

Now I'm not what most people would consider an avid Bible reader, but I thought the following passage was pretty cool...


1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Which god are you?

This was kinda fun: Which god are you?

Congratulations!!! You are a proud member of the Norse Pantheon. Siding with the Norse puts you in the realm of the honor-bound, valiant warrior gods who are only strengthened by adversity. Never say die! Too much vision can lead to depression, but even though you and your fellow gods know your world is eventually doomed, your goal is to build your empires, fight your enemies and party with the greatest gusto you can muster up until the twilight of the gods. Your stunning Norse landscape of icy mountains and fjords, mysterious forests and rushing rivers will inspire you to great deeds of heroism.


A sneaky trickster, Loki is always feeling slighted by the other gods and determined to take revenge. Identifying with Loki can mean you have a good feel for the strengths and weaknesses of a situation or a system and intuitively know how to turn things to your own advantage. Your Loki power of persuasiveness and dis-information (deceit) contributes to success in psychological warfare, gaining unexpected allies, and unifying rabble and rogues to your cause. Beware of being tricked yourself.

God Power: Spy: Target on an enemy unit to secretly see what he sees.

Which sci-fi character am I?

Obi-Wan Kenobi

With the prowess of a seasoned samurai and the wisdom of a wizard, you try to do the sort of things that root out evil.

The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded

Sweeeeeeeet!

Thanks to Yano for the heads up on this one.

The big 3 - 0!

I'm officially a Thirty-Something today. It feels old. There's something about being 30 that screams "You're an adult, whether you like it or not". Not that having a wife, a house, 2 kids and 2 cars DIDN'T make me feel like an adult... but still. If you need me, I'll be researching money market funds.

the Speech

(Looking sheepish)
I have to admit I'm a little nervous standing up here in front of everybody. This is my first time being a best man and I'm a little unfamiliar with all of the protocols involved. So I was a little suprised when I received a note from the Bride-to-be with a list of guidelines and instructions I was to follow. I'd actually like to read them to you. (Hold up email) This is an email Kara sent to me a couple of weeks ago:

Dear Sam,
I was very pleased when Kevin asked you to be best man at our wedding and I instantly knew he had made the right decision. I have known you for some time now and I cannot think of anybody more charismatic, better looking or downright sexy than you to fulfil this crucial role on our big day.

But…I do want you to remember that this is our wedding day and I don't want something that you might say or do to spoil it. With this in mind, please take note of the following and I'm sure we'll all have a wonderful day:

DO NOT get drunk
DO NOT use bad language
DO NOT tell dirty jokes
DO NOT sing
DO NOT let Kevin sing
DO NOT mention Kevin's little problem
DO NOT let Kevin drink tequila
DO NOT let Kevin drink whisky
DO NOT let Kevin drink

And finally…
Make sure you keep your clothes on and definitely make sure Kevin keeps his clothes on.
Lots of love,
Kara

Well, I am sure you will agree that my first duty of getting Kevin to the church not only looking good but also on time and relatively sober was an achievment by itself.

Another of my responsibilities was the potentially delicate issue of keeping Kevin's ex-girlfriends out of the way today. Thankfully though, due to a lack of numbers, this task had been made a lot easier.

In all seriousness, someone much smarter than me once told me that you don't marry someone you can live with... you marry someone you can't live without. And that is definitely the case with Kevin and Kara.

So, please, everyone raise your glasses. (Toast) To Kevin and Kara, may they be as happy 50 years from now as they are today.

Congratulations Kevin and Kara!

Kevin and Kara got married on Saturday, Oct. 1st. You couldnt have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, the weather was perfect, the best man was inebriated... Actually when I think back on the day, I'm not sure how I pulled through. The rehearsal dinner the night before ended up being a springboard to a night out with the guys. Everyone I would have expected Kevin to have at his wedding was there: (Groomsmen) Joe M., Joe V., Matt B., Kevin R., Jim S., and (Ushers) Joezy P. and Mitch. It was nice to see all the guys I havent seen since real-life snuck up behind us and got us in a choke-hold. After Popolano's we went to the Hideaway... and then it was on. We actually left there around 1 AM to get Kevin enough rest but Jimmy and I ended up still drinking with Kev's mom and Kelly, the mother of one of the flower girls. I ended up not falling asleep til well after 4, and got an 8 AM wake up call. Me and Jimmy had to run to my parents crib to get showered and changed for all the pictures and stuff that was to start taking place at Kev's ma's round 11. With my breakfast Guinness in hand, we began the series of picture-taking events that would seemingly last the rest of the day.

Fast forward to the wedding: I TOTALLY beefed right at the beginning of things. As we were walking out, I was sposed to lead everyone out and walk around this banister thingy and wait for the maid-of-honor on the main floor... instead I stopped BEFORE the banister and hung out before i realized that everyone else had followed Kevin who was making all kinds of faces and hand motions to me since he couldnt talk due to being wired for audio. I tried to pretend that I was supposed to stand there until the last groomsman walked past and then assumed my place at the correct spot on the floor. In truth, everyone I talked to said they didnt even notice. But it was still embarrassing. Kara looked great and the ceremony got off very nicely. We took a bunch more pictures and then proceeded to the Halls of St. George, where the reception was to take place.

The reception was awesome. The only hitch was the long wait at the bar. There is no way that the Hall could have made any money off of this wedding. The alcohol tab had to have killed them. The thing I had been worried about all day, the best man toast, actually went off so well I received many flattering compliments on it the rest of the evening. I'll post it here later. After getting plowed, Jimmy, Joe M., and I went back to the hotel, changed, and met my sister and Dave out at Jackson's, a bar down the street. From there we went to a round the clock, ate while i tried not to fall asleep and then k'd out at the hotel. The entire day was a great time. I would have expected nothing else for anything having to do with Kevin.

Congratulations again, Kara and Kevin!