Yule Shoot Your Eye Out!

The top five for the moment:

5) My computer is broken, ARGH! I'm currently using my sister's laptop to type this blog entry. Hopefully I will be able to fix it, but it requires major fixes (repair, reformat, new hard drive?). I've been reading many ways to fix this through the Microsoft website. I wish they made this more user friendly. On the other hand I like the details.

I'm learning something new.

4) I've noticed a lot of blogs that pertain to some sort of list. Personalities, songs, movie quotes, etc. Crazy. Well not really considering my blogs are usually in list form. See, I told you lists makes things more understandable.

3) I've been searching for more Christmas songs. The new objective is to find new Christmas songs aside from the common songs that we have known for years and years. It's to my surprise that there are actually a lot of good songs or even good covers of traditional Christmas songs.

However, there are a few words that I have been wondering what those words mean in the first place:

King Wenceslas: Also known as St. Wenceslas. Was attributed with spreading Christianity within the Czech region. Was killed by his brother while the king was going to Mass due to a succession dispute. The actual carol "Good King Wenceslas" is based on the legend of his miraculous good deeds towards the people.

Yule Log: A log that is burned during Christmas. It has influenced the French dessert Bûche de Noël.

Wassail: Another word for caroling. There are two variations, either singing house to house or singing to fruit trees for a good harvest (Silly? Yes!). Also, it is an old school spiced alocholic drink.

That was interesting researching these words. However, I then realized that these songs suck!

End of discussion.

2) Speaking of Christmas songs, I always have to watch the following Christmas movies during the season: Home Alone, A Christmas Story, Elf, and some version of A Christmas Carol. It has to be done, or else it's not Christmas (but seriously, it's not THAT important). The most surprisingly good movie was A Christmas Story. I have never watched it until last year...and it was freakin' awesome. It's an old movie, but it's definitely worth a watch.

If you have never seen the movie, it was on TBS Christmas Eve/Christmas Day for 24 hours. Watch it next year or rent the DVD. It's a great movie because considering that the movie was produced in the 1970s and it was based in the 1940s AND it is a Christmas movie, there's a good amount of cursing. And they say that people our generation have dirty mouths.

Oh, Ffffffudge.


1) Charlene showed me this clip known as the "Advent Conspiracy":



It's a great video because it made myself think about what Christmas was about. Especially during such a time of uncertainty in terms of our futures, it is now more important than ever to reconsider what Christmas means in the United States. There is truth that mass consumerism has covered what Christmas should mean. Despite the fact that Christmas is no longer a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the start of one of the greatest principles of faith in human history (even though that's why I and I'm sure a lot of other people still celebrate Christmas for that reason), the concept of love, compassion, and charity can still be the major emphasis for the holiday season since these ideas does not belong to a particular religion. It is at this time that we now understand what possessions and greed can do to a person and taint the holiday spirit. In fact, it was greed, along with the many other reasons, that has created the mess in the economy.

I give out terrible gifts. Hence why I rarely give gifts at all for any reason, especially during Christmas. However, I still offer something in the form of a decent Christmas dinner. This year, it was a roasted garlic and fennel seed prime rib, scalloped potato gratin, steamed asparagus, and a soup with kidney beans, red potatoes, kale, and kielbasa sausage. Thank God for the Food Network and this year's Costco Cookbook. However, I will admit that the "Advent Conspiracy" video has further encouraged my resistance to buy gifts during Christmas, unless I absolutely have to.

Next year, I think I will try to help out the community by donating my time and money.

I think it is definitely healthy to have a little revolution at times even though it is rather a personal revolution than something that can change whole communities...or maybe it can. Regardless, I think it's time to take back Christmas!

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas Season and have a blessed New Year.

That is all.

Here's to the Past...and to the Future

Greeting's from the Bay...

Let me just start by saying that...it's effin' cold here while those who live in the greater Southern California area bask in sunshine and warmth. Perhaps that should be something to be thankful for...that your ass isn't freezing at the moment! Well, enough about the cold. Here's the top 5 of the moment.

5) I went to the Immaculate Conception Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer (my parish at home). That was interesting in the sense that most of the people there were old people or people who are pretty serious about their faith. I guess I am still pretty serious with my faith. I think that's one thing I miss about Irvine, the people that I shared my faith with were of the same age group.

However, the interesting thing was not about today but rather yesterday. My family usually goes to Saturday Vigil Mass, but not last weekend because of tha Paquiao-De La Hoya fight (which, by the way, was effin' amazing). Therefore, we ended up going to St. Catherine of Siena for Sunday noon Mass. I hate going there late, which we ended up doing. The church is not big enough for the number of parishioners that attend the Noon Mass. We ended up standing out in the hallway for that Mass. That was perhaps the worst experience that I have had for Sunday Mass. We couldn't hear the priest, people were having conversations in the hallway, and kids were running around. The one thing I noticed was this really young couple with their kid. From the way they dressed, it seems like they are probably in their early 20's. Man, that is crazy! I don't expect to have any kids, if I even do get kids, until my late 20's to early 30's. What was even bizarre was how impractical the lady was dressed to take care of her kid. She wore high heel boots, and I just noticed how much she struggled to chase her kid around the hallway and through the chapel. I'm not saying that you can't be a hot parent, BUT you do need to consider practicality especially if you know if your kid loves running around like crazy. Where was the dad in all of this? He was talking to his friends in the hallway during Mass. I may not have kids, but all I know is this...DON'T do what that guy was doing.

4) Hopefully by the end of January, I will be back at school to complete prerequisites for grad school. I'm planning to go to Solano Community College. It was interesting because for the first time in a long time, I was treated like a kid. It felt like I went backwards in time and became a high schooler. First off, I went there early in the morning to sign up for a counseling appointment. As I asked for one since the website stated that I had to go there in person because I'm classified as a "transfer student", the lady not only told me to make the appointment online, but showed me the entire process. She even treated me as if I have never seen the internet in my life. I understand that community college accommodates underprivileged students; however, even they have now heard of the internet. Just my entire time trying to get registered to the school I was being babied around. I guess they're just used to doing that to the many that go there.

3) Speaking of being a kid, Kirs wrote a very awesome blog about 90's music.

Also, Ray wrote a very compelling note about the music of the 2000's.

If you want to know what good music was in those two decades, read and learn!

Really brings me back to knowing music through the radio and music videos.

2) I've been cleaning my room and I have found some interesting things from my past. What have I found? I found an old newsletter from middle school. Man, it was crazy because all the articles were about stuff in 1999 to 2000. For example, The Hot Boyz, *NSYNC, The Sixth Sense...crazy. It even had an article that I wrote for a Bible verse. It was crazy because it really had an Evangelical twist to it (It was an article that degraded the necessity of confession from an 8th grader's perspective a.k.a. my perspective.). My, how much my thoughts have changed through the years. I also found this:



My 18th birthday card. I find it funny because 1) "hear" and "your" are improperly used and 2) I spent 4 years of my life in Orange County. However, I wasn't really a Rachel Bilson fan or even into the OC.

I guess this is where my inappropriateness came from as well. Hooray for being 18.

1) The big news for the moment: I've been TENTATIVELY selected for a job. It's an agricultural specialist position for the Department of Homeland Security. It's really just a screener under US Customs in the San Francisco area (most likely the airport). The thing I'm scared of is oddly not the interview but rather the security check. The interview is not really that insanely difficult because they are only checking if I'm sort of a crazy person that shouldn't be working as a part of US Customs.

However, I guess I have to get used to being an open book if I am to run in public office in the future ;).

Otherwise, even though I will continue looking and will go to school for at least a semester (the security check will take 4-5 months), I think I will take it. It's a good place to start somewhere PENDING I pass the security check.

Hope the finals went well to those that are in school.

Enjoy the Christmahanukwanzakah season! Keep warm, people.

That is all.

Eat This, Not That

I recently bought a book called Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko. In one of the chapters, it lists which foods are relatively good for you and which are definitely not in many of the major food chains. Considering how I ate in college, I wish I had this book! Here are some interesting facts...prepare to blow your minds!

1) In Chipotle, the chicken burrito with black beans, rice, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream contains 1,092 calories, 44 g of fat (19 g saturated fat), and 2, 323 mg of sodium. However, the same dish made into a bowl (the chicken burrito bowl with lettuce, black beans, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream) only has a surprising 489 calories, 22 g of fat (9 g saturated fat), and 1,006 mg of sodium. I swear there's something sinister in the rice and the flour tortilla at that place.

2) At Jack in the Box, if you substitute a regular beef taco for the small fries in your meals, you will save 180 calories, 9 g of fat, 4 g of trans fat, and 28 g of carbohydrates. Of course, why not go the extra mile and just order a side salad?

3) At Chick-Fil-A, every sandwich (even their Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich) has less than 500 calories! Their secret: they use whole chicken breast meat and not pressed or formed meat. They also fillet and bread each of them by hand. If you must have fast food, Chick-Fil-A is the place to go.

4) Craving something hearty at Denny's? Get the country fried steak and eggs WITHOUT the hash browns (543 calories, 34 g of fat [12 g saturated fat]). It has a ton of protein and also has 200 less calories than the Grand Slam.

5) At In-N-Out, the double-double has 670 calories, 41 g of fat (18 g saturated fat), and 1,440 mg of sodium. If you turn that into a protein style burger, remove the cheese, and subsitute mustard and ketchup for that special sauce, you have just cut it down to 350 calories, 22 g of fat (11 g saturated fat), and 960 mg of sodium. Of course, a hamburger or even a cheeseburger is a lot healthier than the double-double. Just don't animal style anything!

6) At Panera Bread, whatever you do, DON'T order the Sierra Turkey Sandwich (840 calories, 40 g of fat [7 g saturated fat], and 2,080 mg sodium). How can a turkey sandwich have so much crap in it? It's the Asiago Cheese Focaccia and the chipotle mayonnaise.

7) You will have to bike 30 miles in order to burn all the calories in a large Chicken Carbonara at Quiznos (1,510 calories).

8) If you ditch the taco shell in your Chicken Fiesta Taco Salad at Taco Bell, you can remove 370 calories from that dish. That's fuckin' crazy!

9) At Wendy's, you can customize the hell out of anything! Try this...a BLT. Ask for a premium bun, 4 slices of bacon, romaine lettuce, tomato, and mayo. This sandwich only has 260 calories and 0.5 g of saturated fat! This is even less than the healthiest sandwich they have in their menu, the ultimate chicken grill sandwich.

10) The McDonald's Big Mac vs. the Burger King Whopper: Who wins? The BIG MAC. It has about 200 fewer calories and about half fewer grams of fat than its rival. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to just avoid BOTH chains.

*) This star is dedicated to what the book claims to be "The Worst Food in America." The winner...The Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing. This has a whopping 2,900 calories, 182 g of fat, and 240 g of carbohydrates. Even though this is designated as an appetizer and it should be shared with other people. Just the staggering numbers alone should be enough to avoid this dish at all costs. However, I know that many of you don't eat at Outback Steakhouse frequently, but we all have gorged on its illustrious Mexican cousin, the carne asada/carnitas/fried fish fries. Even if it doesn't reach the 2,900 calorie mark, by just knowing the ingredients of one of SoCal's most unique dishes, it must come pretty close.

Oh, how I love you, carne asada fries.

Next time, perhaps you should think about your food options. I'm sure I will.

That is all.