batter up.

[ the 2009 baseball season is almost here. ]

noah, ezra and i went to get a little batting practice before noah had tryouts this year. ezra will play t-ball for the first time.

noah blew me away. he remembered his good stance and proper techniques and he made contact with practically every ball. he was a slugger at the tryouts too.

and ezzie did awesome too considering he won’t even be pitched to in the season and he stood out there against 35 mph pitches.

we’re pretty fortunate to have a really cool training facility in our own backyard. Up Your Average, Fullerton, CA. check them out: http://www.upyouraverage.com

my girlfriend.

[ "i'm glad we're connecting right now." was what she said to make everything alright. ]

my girlfriend is someone special, i tell ya. we beat all odds in the beginning and we’ve persevered our way into a life that cannot be beat. God is good. i know i blog a lot about my boys, but they wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my wife. we’ve been going strong now for almost ten years — so long, that i had to scan the pictures from our beginning. in light of both our parents’ celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year, i have a lot to look forward to.

march ‘99, i took kristy back to my old backyard, trafalgar square.

then we backpacked through europe. starting with paris.

where we kissed for the first time in a hole-in-the-wall club just doors down from the “moulin rouge” windmill. i’ll never forget the iron-barred, gothic Metropolitain subway entrance in that seedy part of town.

i knew she was mine when she didn’t mind sleeping in the attic of an old hotel just a few minutes from Gare du Nord. we were even above the housekeeper’s linen rooms. so high, the slanted ceiling housed windows to the sky. my kind of penthouse — no running water, just a mattress.

these were the stairs we had to take to our “penthouse.” the lift didn’t go that high.

the year 2000, somewhere around haight and ashbury, sf.

march ‘01, tied the knot in lake arrowhead. yeah. i cried.

and today, my girlfriend. my best friend. my wife.

random happenings.

[ it's been difficult to blog here lately. just been busy i guess. i've noticed that i've been spending a lot of time with my boys this autumn. man, it feels good. ]

i’m realizing it’s so much easier to post “just words,” but i finally got around to some color. here are some random shots from the past three months or so…

the boys had a monday off recently so we reaped the opportunity to get some princeboy-time in at the aquarium.

this was the real fun for me. i like to take advantage of the times when we don’t have a woman around to really teach the boys about life. we parked it next to a homeless guy on some grass to eat lunch. i’m trying to eliminate their fear for worldly fear early on.

i like to donate a few bucks once in a while. ha!

halloween this year…

speed racer and sarah palin. classic.

one evening while noah was at cub scouts, ezra and i snuck out to catch a cal state fullerton soccer game. tuffy loved him.

both the boys played soccer for the first time with the fullerton rangers.

i had noah at home for two days of bonding. unfortunately it was because he was sick, but nevertheless, it was bonding time. here he is at the doctors getting a breathing treatment.

apparently this is the view my boys see me in. one of them took this, i can’t remember.

just the other night we went to the fullerton museum. they love the fender exhibit. i mean looove it! this is the power rocket boys, by the way.

roastbeef ‘09.

[ in light of my previous post in august, it's confirmed, i can die now. ]

what you are about to see in the photos below, is a piece of art that just made my 2008.

when kristy told me she spotted this today, i couldn’t resist the photo opportunity. i’m still smiling at the ingeniousness behind this.

freakin’ brilliant. hats off to roastbeef for his bold campaign.

standing apart with black and white, roastbeef is sure to be resting politically phat come 2009. you should really inquire about the book now.

go on… http://www.smackbooks.com it will be ready early ‘09.

gettin old.

[ it's no secret that i like old things. ]

growing up i never pictured myself at 32. seriously. never… i always had a live-in-the-moment mentality and didn’t worry too much about the future. it kinda makes life interesting now as i discover new things about myself without any preconceptions. for instance, who knew i’d be sportin a beard. i stumbled upon it about five or six years ago and it never left. weird. beyond my appearance though, there are other traits i never thought i would become accustomed to either, like being a total mess… i used to be the neatest, cleanest freak in the east (of LA). i’m the one who invented o.c.d. and now i kind of enjoy a little clutter. or i always liked bright colors… but thought it would just be a phase. nope. give me the zarape baby. and i love running. and reading. who wouldof thought…

recently, i’ve been reflecting on who i am and things i surround myself with. my over-arching conclusion is that i like old stuff, things of the past, vintage – if you will. i took and collected loads of snap shots of some old stuff that i find a new kind of joy in. it’s just my style.

a coca cola sign in our backyard says it all. “s(old) here.”

like the stripe on my old 1975 open road motorhome.

or the brown of my ‘77 vw bus.

the brand name and logo for the carpet cleaner that my dad got from his dad.

my collection of LA’84 olympic memorabilia.

can’t hate on the psycho stick (mini) with slimeball wheels.

the stove in our ancient 1970’s apartment.

the vintage vans that dr. canova hooked me up with 15+ years ago.

the wood working tools from grandpa.

a logo that reads well in motion. from my father-in-law’s history.

the harmonica from grandpa cooks.

an old solvent label from rose’s trash can.

my famous pimp chair.

and hanging lamp that no one likes except me.

how about that. a ‘91 ford taurus fender from the junk yard.

random shot in LA can’t ignore the colors.

random truck in an arkansas gas station. with a bunch of junk.

arkansas again. self-explanatory.

the letterpress room at csuf.

some old books on my shelf.

the wannabe old record player from target, circa 2007.

the fridge from a cabin in lake arrowhead.

the butter door inside that fridge.

and finally (well, not finally… i could find 100 more things, about 3 that i’m starring at now, just too beat to take anymore photos.) the butter label found in a vintage painters case from a garage sale a few years ago.

old. yes.

new. always.

change. never.

i’m just me.

i’m fast. right?

i’m funny too. right? and i’m good at lots of stuff. huh!
can we go to target and get a toy?

[ kindergartners rule. ]

why is 6 afraid of 7?

because 7 8 9.

[ i love 3rd grade. ]

sticker collections.

[ i am the (self-proclaimed) sticker-collecting king. ]

it didn’t take my whole life to realize that i was a collector. just the first eighteen or so years. growing up i collected all sorts of things from keychains and garbage pail kids to stamps and olympic paraphernalia. the ultimate collection i had in my late teens was stickers. all sorts, from board shops to aftermarket automotive shops.

coffee table from my first apartment.

i still have a box of these type of stickers with no where to put them. yet.

not to mention the clothes dryer that i covered after kristy and i got our first place. it was a work of art. i wish i had a pic, but i couldn’t find one.

and now as a full-blown old man :) i found a nifty place for my fruit sticker fetish. inside the vitamin cupboard door.

this disease has even trickled into noah and ezra’s room. this is inside the door of their “junk” locker.

never bored: prince board games.

[ turn the honey-do list into a game. ]

ezra and i were home one random summer day while mom and noah were at the doctor and we decided to please mom while having some fun. it’s been months since kristy asked me to put wheels on the coffee table so that we could easily move it around the living room. mainly to make room for some intense competition on the Wii!

in order to move it, we had to empty it out.

while we had all the games out, we did a quick inventory of the prince games.

and i now realize how blessed we are to have the toys-r-us game aisle in our very own living room.

david jerome: roastbeef’s promise.

[ the last book i can remember reading and actually finishing was indian in the cupboard back in sixth grade or something. it takes a lot to grab my attention and even more to hold it. a certain birthday present i received this year met par as i finished the 330-page adventure in 7 days. ]

david jerome gave me his book, “Roastbeef’s Promise” this year at my tender age of 32 and man did it hit home.

every action-packed chapter, every hair-raising sub story within the already-stimulating story, every dramatic character encounter harmoniously strung every string in my vangabondaged heart. if you can’t already tell, i highly recommend it.

for more information on this awesome book visit smackbooks.com.