4/30/04 Amber had a track meet today in Bellingham and I showed up to surprise her. She did really well considering that she's been sidelined with that injured nerve for so long. She easily cleared the 10-foot mark but wasn't quite able to nail the 10'6". The last track meet of her collegiate career will be next weekend so hopefully she'll be able pull out all the stops for that one.

And I also got to visit Lenka today because she goes to WWU. It was cool to see her again and check out her goofy campus. Not only is it significantly too long and slender, but you also get the impression that at least 10% of the tuition money is spent on random and unnecessary pieces of modern "art".

4/29/04 Wow, today was a fantastic videogame day for me! To start things off, I won an auction for a demo of Gran Turismo 4 on eBay. And since the full version of this game probably won't be out for another 5-6 months, I'm completely overjoyed with my purchase. And then shortly after that victory, I learned that Codemasters will be adding yet another game to the Colin McRae Rally series. Set to release this fall/winter, CMR5 will be a natural evolution of the #4, which means it will somehow have even better physics, more detailed graphics, and a sufficient increase in the number of frustration-generating stages.

Oh yeah, and one of the dudes I work with, Rich, sent me this picture he made with MS Paint way back in the day. As you can see, it's pure comedy.

4/28/04 Have you ever done something so stupid that just thinking about it made you want to puke? Or cry? Or die?

Have you ever made such a huge mistake that you know nothing could ever fix it?

Have you ever regretted something so much that you could never forgive yourself?

I know I have.

4/27/04 Today was Amber's 22nd birthday! A bunch of her friends and I took her out to a great restaurant that overlooked the waters of Puget Sound. I got some fancy Ling Cod fish and chips and a weird root beer float that also had chocolate syrup and Coca Cola in it. Her friends got her a gift card for Best Buy so she can get a TV in California. They also got her the Five Best Episodes DVD of the show Friends, which I'm sure she'll really enjoy. I got her a CD of an artist she really likes (Josh Kelley), an external number pad for her laptop because she hates using the top row of numbers, and also a season pass to either Wild Waves or the Raging Water in SoCal.

4/26/04 Well, tonight saw the close of Open Beta testing for Lineage II. And for those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, it basically just means that if I want to continue playing the game, I have to buy the retail version. But here's the catch. Not only do you have to pay $40 for the game itself, but you also have to pay $15/month to be able to play it. And since I'm morally opposed to paying for games I already own, it looks like my character, Meneldor, will have to be permanently retired.

4/25/04 I really enjoyed church today because the Associate Senior Pastor gave a wonderful sermon on the sanctity and value of marriage. He also talked about the upcoming rally at Safeco Field that's happening on May 1st. He gave us a brief history lesson on how this event came to be and it was so amazing to see God's provision. Everything from meeting the necessary financial demands (with two anonymous individuals giving $20,000 each) to arranging the speakers and events (James Dobson is going to be speaking). It's been a long time since I've been this excited and I can hardly wait for Saturday!

And on a sour note, today was the Grand Prix of San Marino and Michael Schumacher won again. But for a welcome change, Kimi's engine actually lasted all 62 laps and he finished in 8th place, thus giving him one championship point. Too bad Big Mike now has 40...

4/24/04 I got to hang out with my lovely girlfriend today. We looked through the pictures I took at the zoo last Saturday and then we went out for pizza. She got some nasty mushroom and broccoli monstrosity and but I got something truly special. At first glance, it would appear to just be a plain pepperoni pizza. But to the avid connoisseur, it's clearly much more special. For you see, I got a spicy pepperoni pizza and it was absurdly good. That's right, absurdly.

Then later in the night, I watched possibly the worst movie ever made; Kill Bill, Volume 1. This was never a movie that I had any desire to see but I made a deal with one of my co-workers that if he watched The Passion of the Christ, then I'd watch this filth. And honestly, I don't quite think it was worth it.

This movie fails on many, if not all, levels because Quentin Tarantino simply tried too hard. The artistic flourish was usually distracting and it totally ruined the pacing of the film. If he had just left out all of the needless scenes (like watching O-Ren spend 12 seconds taking off her slippers) this story wouldn't have taken two films to complete. Oh, and what a horrible story it is.

It starts out with a wedding that gets cut short by some thugs who kill every single person in the church. And after that, it's basically just about getting revenge. And along the way you meet two children that get to watch their parents be murdered. There's also some good 'ol fashioned rape and enough blood to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool. And I'm not joking about that last part.

So this movie fails due to its utter lack of worthwhile content and overly graphic/unnecessary violence.

F-

4/21/04 I went to another Mariners game with Amber and The Gang today. There was a slight debacle with our seats (they weren't all together) but that was quickly rectified and we were duly upgraded. But unfortunately, the Mariners lost again. Most of us are pretty sure we have a bad luck charm in the group and Process of Elimination leaves Amber, Janelle, and I as the likely culprits. But I got a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts afterwards so whateva!

4/20/04 I've officially found the single best digital camera in the entire world. It's the Canon PowerShot S1 IS and it is King. It's a 3.2 megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom. But the best part is that it has image stabilization (hence the IS in the name) which works like a freaking charm. How many of you have tried to take indoor pictures with your digicam only to find them really blurry later? That's because your camera is trying to compensate for the relative lack of light by keeping the shutter open for a longer duration. But with the IS on this camera, that is longer a problem as you can see in this video.

It also takes highly detailed pictures with fantastic exposure and color range. And as an added bonus, it also has the best movie mode of any camera on the market. You can read all about this beast here.

I'm going to start saving soon and hopefully it will be a Christmas present to myself this year. Below you can see what a difference 10x optical zoom makes.

4/18/04 Amber finally came to church with me today, but unfortunately, Hutch wasn't speaking. Instead we had a dude that talked about The Da Vinci Code. I'd heard about this book from a few people and I'd also seen it many times at Barnes & Noble, but I didn't know how downright rancid it was until today. Of the many themes that the authors brings up, the romantic life of Jesus is easily the most questionable. The author tries to make a case for Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene, as well as them having children together. He bases this claim off a part of some manuscripts that were discovered in 1945 called the Nag Hammadi Codices. Anyway, because these poorly-preserved documents are extremely old, some of the material has been worn through. And wouldn't you know it, the passage that talks about "Jesus" and Mary is one of these sections (surprise, surprise)! And of course the author says nothing in his novel about these missing words. Click here to learn more.

And today was also a wonderful racing day for me because Petter Solberg won the Rally or New Zealand! After 400 Km of competitive stages, he won by only 5.9 seconds and I was literally yelling at the TV for the last four stages. It was one of the most intense and hard-fought rallies I'd ever seen and I really hope this is the start of many good events for him.

4/17/04 Today was simply fanstastic, and I mean, really fantastic. To start things off, Amber and I had a blast at the Woodland Park Zoo. We probably spent about three hours there with the animals and I took these rad pictures. I was a little bummed that my Clouded Leopard was hiding from me but getting to see the giraffes up close definitely made up for it. And then there was this cocky silverback gorilla. He had been hiding in the back of the enclosure and only the females were running around in front. But Amber and I both noticed that they all seemed really jumpy and nervous, and when he showed up, it suddenly all made sense. I've seriously never seen an animal exhibit such authority or confidence. He just walked out, sat down, clasped his hands together, and surveyed his domain with the most quirky head movements you could ever imagine.

After leaving the zoo, Amber finally took me on a tour of the Ballard Locks, which are the most popular destination along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are made up of two navigational locks, a dam and spillway, and a fish ladder. The locks allow vessels to pass from Lake Washington into the salty waters of Puget Sound, and vice versa. It's a fun place and a spectacular engineering feat.

We then went out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and I got the Double Bacon BBQ Cheeseburger, which is honestly about 6 inches tall. We also shared some Chocolate Oreo Mudslide Cheesecake and then went back to my place to watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which is easily one of the better chick flicks I've seen.

4/16/04 I learned something very valuable today -- never play card games with women. For whatever reason, even the most nice and mellow girls can turn into sneaky, cold-blooded, evil-doers. Oh yeah, and if you ever get a chance to play Skip-Bo, make sure to give it a shot (as long as none of the other players have two X chromosomes).

4/14/04 Rock on!! I got a phone call today that went a little like this:

Me: Hello.
Jim: Hello, this is Jim Palmer from the University of Washington.
Me: Oh yes, you're the one I spoke to last week.
Jim: I'm just calling to tell you that I received your transcript today and you're in.
Me: silence
Jim: So we'll be sending you an admissions packet that should arrive near the end of the week.
Me: Thank you so much.
Jim: No problem. Have a nice day.
Me: Bye.

Boo-yah!

4/13/04 I work with a bunch of weirdos that have been bugging me for weeks about an upcoming videogame called Lineage II. It's set to reach store shelves on April 27th but it's currently in beta testing, which means that people can download the 1GB file and play it for free so the developers can test their coding and servers. Anyway, my co-workers have been begging me to download it but it just hasn't sounded very appealing to me. So tonight they came up with a plan to "get me hooked". I went along with their plan but I was still really skeptical because I hate RPGs (role playing games). So I went over to Tony's house and spent about two hours watching him play Lineage, which actually seemed pretty interesting because it wasn't like traditional RPGs. It's loosely based on a Tolkien-esque world that has humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs as the main characters. So I figured I'd give it a shot when I got home and I ended up playing until 5:30 in the morning. It's hugely addictive because it's an online-only game, meaning that all of the other characters running around are real people. So now the only question is, should I buy the real version when it comes out?

4/11/04 Happy Resurrection Day! Man, I truly love Easter. I love spending time with my family. I love seeing my friends at church. And most of all, I love celebrating the salvation that Jesus earned for us all. I love just sitting back and thinking about what He did on that cross for my sins. For taking my place and offering me eternal life. Those of you who are Christians know how wonderful it is to have a personal relationship with JC. Those of you who don't, well, maybe you should give it some thought. Perhaps even read through the Christianity page.

4/10/04 Today was pretty freaking money! Amber and I went to an SPU track meet in Tacoma to support her teammates. She obviously didn't compete due to her injured foot but it was still fun to watch everyone else do their thing. Later in the day we got some Blizzards from DQ and went to Tumwater Falls Park. And if that wasn't rad enough, we also went down to Priest Point Park to watch the sun go down. It was one of those days where everything just seemed perfect. Oddly enough, I seem to have a lot of those when I'm hanging out with her.

Afterwards, I took her back home so she could dye Easter eggs with her mom and I went to go meet up with my old friend, Jeff Westerberg. I hadn't seen him since November when we went to the auto show together and tonight we just caught up on recent developments in each others' lives. We also played the new 007 game, Everything or Nothing, until three in the morning. Basically, it was just like old times and I totally loved it. Hopefully I'll get to spend some more time with him soon.

4/9/04 Being that it's Easter weekend, I had to go home to spend some time with my family and friends at church. So I headed for O-Town after work but I just had to make a stop at the Krispy Kreme in Tacoma on my way. I got three more of those tasty Strawberry Shortcake donuts as well as nine others. But on my way back to the freeway, I noticed a Tacoma 5-0 speeding into the gas station next to me. Both officers opened their doors and aimed their weapons at a red Silverado that was sitting at the pumps. While this was all going down, four additional patrol cars arrived and their occupants did the same thing as the first two officers. Needless to say, I was really intrigued...

So naturally, I swung a u-turn and pulled into the gas station to gawk. The two people in the red truck appeared to be a couple of innocent looking frat boys. The officers were trying to give them instructions but the kids kept getting more and more nervous (and thus, kept screwing up) everytime they heard stuff like "we have our weapons trained on you" or "do not try to escape or we'll open fire." I'm sitting there laughing my butt off because I know that no sane officer would fire at someone standing directly in front of a gas pump. So I watched these two poor kids almost soil themselves for a few more minutes and then left to enjoy my tasty baked goods.

4/8/04 So I checked my UW status today and I got bad news. Apparently, Centralia College didn't send my transcript. Again. So my packet was officially closed because I missed the due date to have all of my materials in. Grr! So I decided to go bust some heads.

I went down there and demanded to speak with someone that could help. I was asked to take a seat and I waited until a dude named Jim showed up with my documentation in hand. I explained my situation to him and he was sympathetic to my plight. He told me to contact CC and request a third transcript. So I went home and furiously wrote them a nasty letter. So we'll see what happens this time...

And to celebrate the evasion of this potentially catastrophic disaster, I went out and bought myself an overly manly blender. Not only does it weigh about 20 lbs., but it was also 10% more powerful than any other blender in the store. I plan to make possibly hundreds of fruit smoothies and milkshakes over the next few months. So if you have any recipes or advice, please share.

Oh yeah, and Amber had an appointment with her foot doctor (who incidentally goes to my church in Olympia) today and he said she had a damaged nerve in your left foot. It was actually injured on March 6th (at her first track meet of the outdoor season) while participating in the triple jump but she thought it was only a bad bruise or maybe a minor fracture. He told her to take some time off from anything too athletic, which unfortunately includes pole vaulting. So please keep her foot in your prayers so she can finish her last season of track in style.

4/7/04 So I finally managed to catch my neighbor's cat today. He's an interesting color and I really have no idea if it's a rare breed or not. While I was playing with him in the back yard, I also noticed some odd webbing on a small apple tree. Upon further investigation I came to learn that it was infested by those nasty orange and black tent caterpillars. They were only young'uns but their death was still a necessity. So I had a quick flash back to my pyromaniac days (the entire year of being 9) and I ran into the house for some rubbing alcohol and matches. Needless to say, I smote them hard.

Afterwards, I went with my girlfriend and her roommates to the second Mariners game of the season. We had seats out in center field that were next to about two dozens seventh grade girls. It was almost unbearable. Some were planning their weddings while others were singing "She Bangs" with all the skill and talent of a garbage disposal. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Mariners also lost! It was their second loss in a row, which means that they're still winless for the season. But all was not lost. After the game, we all went to the new Krispy Kreme that just opened south of Safeco Field. Their donut of the month is Strawberry Shortcake and it's freaking awesome!

4/3/04 For those of you that don't know, I'm a huge Lord of the Rings geek. I own the extended version of both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. I've also seen both of them more times than I can remember but I only saw The Return of the King twice this past winter. And since Amber's roommate, Bree, had never seen the conclusion of the story, I took her to go see it today. We both had a good time and I cried (again) when Aragorn sees Arwen at the coronation. My favorite movie of the three is still the extended version of TTT, though.

I got back to my place a little before midnight and I stayed up for another four hours to finish my website. It's been in interesting experience full of frustration and triumph but it was well worth all of the hard work.

And at 4:00 am, the Grand Prix of Bahrain got under way. It was the first F1 race in a Middle Eastern country in a many decades and it was full or drama and excitement. Kimi started from the back of the grid because his engine blew up on Friday and the team felt it best to just be flexible with his race strategy on Sunday. It was all for nothing, however, because his new engine went ka-blamo on the 7th lap. So this is the third retirement for Raikkonen in as many races which means he has exactly zero points. Michael "Please Just Retire" Schumacher, however, has now won three races on the trot. 2004 is definitely not turning out quite the way I had hoped.

4/2/04 It blows my mind that people think Britney Spears is attractive. Girls apparently want to look like her and guys practically drool all over themselves when they see her. Well let me make this as clear as possible. I think she looks like a nasty ho! Not only does she wear far too much make-up, but she also has incredibly sad looking eyes that turn down at the far corners. She's not attractive and she never has been. And as these recent pictures clearly show, the Ms. Spears you see on TV and in magazines, isn't the real Britney.

4/1/04 Riiight...so I got in an accident today. And before you go madly scrolling to the bottom of this page, this isn't an April Fool's joke. My friend, Josh, needed to go to the airport today and my MR2 didn't have enough space for both he and his crap, so we decided to take his car instead. We dropped him off and I headed back to my place to switch cars so I could go to work. But things didn't turn out quite the way I planned. Here's the story.

So I'm following a green Ford Focus sedan off the freeway and there's a red Nissan Pathfinder right behind me. We turn onto Fairview Avenue and then make a left at the next light. Now, I wanted to switch lanes to the right so I indicated and checked my blindspot but there was a car there. But when I turned back around, I noticed that the Focus was in the process of rapidly stopping because there was a taxi backing across the double yellow line into our path. I have no idea what the cab driver was thinking but he obviously felt it was okay to commandeer our lane for whatever reason. So anyway, I'm hard on the brakes to avoid hitting the Focus and I don't quite make it. I mean, I probably only hit him at 2 mph or so because I only needed another .75-1.0" to stop fully. But roughly 1/10th of a second later I got nailed from behind by the Nissan, whose driver apparently wasn't paying attention. But even taking into consideration that I was nailed from behind by an SUV, and thus the momentum was carried through me Croquet-style to the Focus, his bumper didn't even have chipped paint, nor was any paint exchanged with Josh's car.

Anyway, so the cab driver (who was middle eastern, duh) just sat there and watched the whole thing go down. He then sped off onto Fairview, never to be seen again.

So we all start exchanging information and we call the police but they apparently don't care about non-injury fender benders unless they're blocking traffic, which ours was not. So Heather (the girl from the Pathfinder) calls her insurance dude and he takes down her statement and tells us all to stick around because he's on his way. He's a pretty cool dude, and he takes a dozen pictures of all three cars. He says that the energy foam and structure underneath the Focus' bumper is fine so its driver really isn't too worried. And surprisingly enough, Josh's trunk really doesn't appear to be that damaged either. The Pathfinder is another story. Somehow Josh's 1992 Oldsmobile Cultass Supreme  managed to completely push in her front bumper and right-front fender so much that it was rubbing against the wheel. In fact, I'm pretty sure they had to tow it.

So I'm basically immune from any consequences because the Focus is fine. Heather, on the other hand, is clearly at fault so her insurance company is going to have to make things right with Josh. That is, once he gets back from Conneticut...

And in other horrible news, Amber got a rejection letter from UW's medical school today. So that means she'll be moving to Pomona, California for the next two years. And even though that's months away, I'm sad already...