Riley Time?

I was surprised to find a headline on ESPN.com that Cal won the final football game. My initial thought: they're still playing? To me, the season was over after the Big Game fiasco.

Anyway, after reading the recap, it seems like the kid who screwed up the season (frosh QB Kevin Riley) redeemed himself today after taking over for Longshore and leading the Bears back from a 21-0 deficit. So the big question that I'm wondering now is: who's the starting QB next year - Riley or Longshore?

Regardless, you know that somewhere in the world, Ayoob must be cursing himself once again.

2007: End of the Year Review

A 6 minute clip on what I did this year.

Happy Holidays, Take One

Word on the (proverbial) street is that Ng Film Productions has a blockbuster in the works for the holidays. Until its release, you will have to content yourself with my holiday card for 2007. As G-Unit would say, live long and prosper people.

Not in the Mitchell Report

Steroids
Originally uploaded by gng1524

In case you were wondering, this photo was not contained in the Mitchell Report. Despite allegations that this was due to steroids, I swear it was my B-12 vitamin injections and my rigorous workout regimen. Just ask my trainer Phil.

Skunk in the Jury Box

The long wait to see who would be named in the now infamous Mitchell report regarding the use of performance-enhancing substances is over. Luckily, candidate Ng dodged a bullet, escaping mention despite what we might call "questionable" practices with regards to his marathon/softball preparation. Wait, never mind.

Anyway, I am just writing in today to confirm that as the "family values" candidate for Mayor of [insert city name], Ng and this campaign will not rest until we have flushed out all the evildoers in baseball. We concur completely with the president in praying that the "steroid-era" of baseball should come to an end. And for all the naysayers out there continuing to accuse candidate Ng over his past, all I can say is this: You are throwing a skunk in the jury box, and we will never be able to remove that smell.

Who Needs the Law?

My first final of law school begins in 20 minutes. To say that it will not be a happy affair would be a grand understatement. If this experiment in "law" doesn't work out, I might be back in SF sooner than anyone expected.

An Obituary to Cal Football 2007

Yesterday, I took a day trip to NYC to do the preppy thing and check out the Yale Club. After the wine-and-dine, I went over to the Lower East Side and hung out with Roberto and Christina at the Cal bar to watch The Big Game. While it was great to reunite with some old friends, I was frustrated and saddened to see all of the Tedford magic that I have gotten used to over the years gone from the team. It was a clear sign that their hearts weren't in the game when our No. 1 receiver, DeSean Jackson, was on the sidelines just watching. Come on. It's the big freakin' game! All hands on deck, injury or no injury!!

As the game went on, I couldn't help but find parallels between being a Cal fan and being a Red Sox fan, pre 2004. In both cases, they give you so much hope only to have them bust you down with disappointment. This season and yesterday's game exemplified this. After playing like crap for the first three quarters and racking up so many penalities, the Bears came storming back with some great plays. And then they had not one, but TWO opportunities to score, but the dude kept dropping the ball. This caused several heart attacks at the bar. And of course, during the third attempt to score, we got intercepted and we saw the Longshore face.

To take a quote from the upcoming movie, "The Consultant," this team played with their heads and not with their hearts. For The Big Game, they lacked the passion and drive to win it especially when they were in control of their own destiny. But more seriously. How can you lose to a team that lost to Notre Dame last week?

The 2007 season started out with a bang, but ended with a whimper. And while I do blame the entire team and Tedford for the failure (and I hate doing the latter, but it's ultimately the coach's responsibility), there is one person I am glad to see leaving. Screw you Schenider! If you hadn't gotten injured during practice, who knows what could've happened?

Cal Bears Football 82: The Play

25 Years Ago.

After the recent free fall by the Bears, all I have to say is that they HAVE to win this year.

Better. Stronger. Faster.

To my fellow friends, family, and supporters:

Thank you so much for all your support, emotionally and financially, over the past few months. As you can imagine, it's been quite a roller coaster ride as we tried to take on Goliath, otherwise known as Mr. Newsom. Unfortunately, our efforts fell short. Despite the fact that the absentee ballots continue to be talleyed and there is a strong possibility of a comeback, it is time that we move on from this. I call upon my colleagues, Democrats, Republicans, Green, and so on, to come together and carry the message that we've been focused on these past few weeks. Let's fix the roads.

And if these roads are not paved, let me say this here and now. The battle may have been lost, but the war is ongoing. We will be back. Better. Stronger. Faster.

Thank you once again. God Bless America and God Bless San Francisco.

Yours,

Garett

4 Reasons to Vote for Me

Today is election day. It's quite possibly the biggest election in the history of San Francisco, I wanted to remind you of some reasons why I, Garett Ng, am a better mayoral candidate than my political rival, Mr. Newsom.

1. I respect family values. As Mayor, I promise to lead as the good Book dictates. In other words, I will not covet your wife as let's just say some people have.

2. I will fix the roads. San Francisco has too many potholes on the road. During this campaign, I self-initiated a study that linked the abundance of potholes throughout SF to the increased rise in depression, anxiety, and loneliness. There is only one way to tackle this problem and it is to pave these roads.

3. Like all of you, I don't have private transportation means and butlers to drive me around to my blue-collared job. I'm like you guys. I take the MUNI and embrace the notion of public transportations. However, there is something flawed in the current infrastructure. As Mayor, I will facilitate the privatization of MUNI. It will help in the long run to bring to you all a better and safer transportation option.

4. Finally, as mayor, we're going to take back the streets and take back the seats. As you may be aware, I was a target of hooligans when my car was vandalized this past summer. This is a reflection of the crime rampant on our streets, especially in the Sunset District. The line must be drawn here! It is time for all of us to rise up and take back the seats ourselves because this current administration will not do the job.

So there you have it. Four excellent reasons why you should vote for me. When you go to the polls today, be sure to vote for me.

Thank you and God Bless America and San Francisco!

- Garett

Vote Early, Vote Often

As long-time mayor and the inventor of the Democratic Machine here in Chicago, Richard J. Daley, liked to say: vote early and vote often. I encourage all of you loyal San Francisco readers out there to follow through on the legacy of this great man. Ng for Mayor! Pave the roads, assholes.

Paving the Roads

With the election coming up, I just wanted to remind you all to vote for me this Tuesday. Thank you for all your support. You've been great.

Taking Over CT's News Channels

Fans Gather at Sullivan's to Watch Red Sox in World Series

I guess I'm officially a resident of New Haven!

Why You Should Root for the Red Sox

I think the answer to this question was given yesterday when Jacoby Ellsbury, our center fielder, stole a base during the game, which prompted...

Free Tacos for America

Get your free tacos at Taco Bell (and also your fourth meal while you're at it) next Tuesday.

The Right Position

Saturday was a horrible sports night for me.

The night seemed to have promise. I was at Mohegan Sun with my parents, won some pocket change from Deal or No Deal, saw that LSU had lost their game, and witched the first three innings when the Sox staked a lead and got to the Indians' pitcher. That's when I decided to start the ride back home so I can catch the end.

The long road leading from Mohegan Sun to New Haven gets bad sports radio reception. I was able to tune in and out of the Sox game, but I really couldn't understand what was going on, so I popped in my iPod and listened to my random music for the rest of the trip. I got home, turned on the tv, and suddenly, the score has gone up, Schilling was out of the game, and there were Indians runners on base. WTF!

I quickly flipped over to the Cal game and saw that we were losing with two minutes remaining. On top of that, Longshore wasn't in. WTF SQUARED! After calling Rohit to get the lowdown on Longshore (he had a sprained ankle), I watched as Cal charged down the field, get in field goal position, and.... COMPLETELY MESS UP in a horrible, horrible ending. In the company of my floormates, I was livid and went nuts. I called Rohit, who was on the verge of crying (personal note: despite what he wrote on his blog, he totally cried. You all know it), spewing rage and threats of violence, then called Jason and continued on this rampage. It was horrible and after a bit of grievance, I moved back to my Sox.

The game lasted forever even by my standards. It didn't end with a bang, but with a whimper in the form of Eric Gagne. Horrible. After giving up 6 runs in the 11th ending, I couldn't stand it anymore and shut my tv off.

Bill Simmons said it best about how it sucks being a sports fan to a specific team because probability wise, they can't win all the time and will break your heart. I sure realized how true his words were last Saturday.

By Any Means Necessary

One of the benefits of having a tv in my dorm room is that my neighbors often drop by, grab a seat, and watch some tv when my door's open. Tonight, as I was doing my accounting problem set, two of my neighbors came by and watched the USC/Stanfurd football game. Since I didn't care at all about their respective teams and I was zoned into the joys of cash flow, I didn't pay one bit of attention for most of the game.... until there were about 2 minutes left and Stanfurd was charging down the field. Down by 6 points, the team needed a touchdown to win the game and they were getting closer and closer to scoring.

I was facing an ethical situation. Obviously as a Cal fan, I have developed a strong distaste for the Stanfurd football team. On the other hand, if USC lost, Cal could move up in the rankings (they are #3 now. #3!!!). So who should I be rooting for? Could I really take that leap and root for the evil empire?

And with a snap judgement, and shockingly so, I was rooting for the Cardinals for the first time in my life. I wanted them to win. Call me Johnny Damon or Benedict Arnold, but it was all for the greater good. If a Stanford victory could get Cal one step closer to the Rose Bowl, I had to go for it and take that chance. Damnit, it was Jack Bauer esque. You know how it is. By any means necessary.

So, with 2 minutes left, I started cheering the Cardinals when they got a 1st down. When they converted on 4th down to bring up 1st and Goal. And finally, when they scored a touchdown on 4th and Goal. I even high-fived my Stanfurd neighbor and watched as my USC neighbor almost cried. As the time expired, I even gave the team one of my highest honours: the slow clap.

Yes, it was shocking. I couldn't believe it and I still can't believe it now, about an hour after the game. Was it worth it? I think so. I hope so. Come January, if I am reporting from Pasadena, then it was totally worth it. Who knows what will happen between now and then?

One thing is for sure though. I'll never see the world in the same way again.

Shanghai Kiss - on dvd

Shanghai Kiss dvd cover
Originally uploaded by gng1524

Last March, I was at the world premiere of Ken Leung's film "Shanghai Kiss." The movie is your typical romantic comedy. Although I didn't think it was spectacular, especially compared to other Asian American films I've seen recently like The Motel or Red Doors, I didn't think it was terrible either. If anything, I really enjoyed seeing Ken Leung in a starring role.

Well, it looks like the movie is going straight to dvd, which is fine. What I find more surprising is the dvd cover. Check it out. Now, I know the company is obviously trying to cash in on Hayden Panettiere's popularity, but would it really hurt that much to have an Asian American featured more prominantly on the cover? Just a thought.

University of California Commercial

This ad's been playing during the Cal football games. The first time I saw it, I turned to some of my Cal friends here and asked, "Did I really go to that school? I didn't realize it looked like that."

Actually, Call Me McGwire

Holy Crap!!!

Steroids bust could name 100,000 users

And I'd like to announce that I am retiring from IM softball. I am also not here to talk about my past.

Call Me Vlad

Yesterday, I had my first IM softball game with our Public Health team, the Outbreaks, facing the Astronomy team, Frogs in Space. Prior to the game, we warmed up with about 30 minutes of playing catch, followed by BP where yours truly pitched meatballs to the team to hit out. It was like the home run derby because I got lit up. I told our coach that I would be in no condition to pitch in a game, unless it was an emergency. At any rate, during my hitting session, I got hit by a pitch on my thumb. Channeling my inner Chase Utley, I continued to play, although my thumb has a decent bruise on it now.

But back to the game... the Astronomy team couldn't field enough players, so they forfeited. We still played a game and I was the RF for the first 3 innings. Despite the fact that most of the hitters were righties, I ended up fielding quite a few balls and managed to get them back in the infield before too much damage was done.

As for hitting, I ended up being 1 for 4 with a two pop-ups, a fielder's choice, and a base-clearing triple. Not too bad.

I'm out for the next game, but will be back in two weeks. Hopefully, I can improve on my stats.

Morning Routine

This is what I do every morning before I go to classes.

Coming Clean

This evening, I met the Dean of the School of Public Health. It was a great meeting, and he was very personable, especially after we found out that we were both from Toronto. It was sort of like that O.C. episode when Ryan and that other waiter bonded when they both realized they were from the Chino-area. After talking about our experiences and some of our perspective of student life, I decided to come clean and tell him the truth about something I've been hiding from him and the other students.

I am planning on taking HGH and steroids in the hopes of helping out the EPH softball team.

Now, let me explain. From what I've been told, the team is more of a "hitter's" team in that there aren't too many players who are power hitters. Well, with the high expectations coming from my signing, I feel the pressure already mount for me to delivery. I thought long and hard about what I should do as I've been training in the gym. And then it hit me. What would Barry Bonds do? I need to help restore the glory and esteem that the School of Public Health once had in the softball world. This is my ticket to do it.

I am now following the regiment dictated by the phenomenal book, Game of Shadows, which by the way, will soon replace Pumping Iron as the guide to muscle and body building. I know this will help me channel my inner Bruce Banner, I mean, Barry Bonds as I prepare for the fall season. After I told the Dean my plans, he quickly walked away and said he didn't necessarily want to hear about the plans. In my pespective, that in itself is a knowing approval and a thumbs up.

So all I have to say nowis, watch out School of Divinity! This is my domicile now!

Clean and Clear

The Garett Ng for Mayor campaign would just like to let all you loyal supporters out there know that despite Messr. Ng's inexplicable love for Daly City, Calif., and his shared heritage with pariah Norman Hsu, no money was accepted from this man, or anyone associated with him, during the duration of the campaign. This is not because of the alleged "illegality" of Messr. Hsu's donations: we care not about stupid campaign finance laws used to prevent rich men and women from buying their ways into elections (admittedly, we would do so ourselves, if we could); rather, we would never have accepted this tainted money because Hsu has shown himself to support a wide variety of Defeatocrat candidates and causes that stand in direct opposition to our stated platform: Four More Years!

So rest assured loyal supporters: Ng is clean and clear of the law! Let's here it: four more years! Four more years! FOUR MORE YEARS!

You Just Never Know

Last Friday, there was a grad student mixer at one of the grad student dorms. I went with my public health posse and within minutes, lost track of them as I made a beeline to the beer line. The line was a little bit longer, but free beer is free beer. A woman followed directly behind me and made a comment, "Is this the beer line?" I confirmed her suspicion and then introduced myself. One thing led to another and I found out that we both went to Cal. She introduced me to another new friend of hers who also went to Cal and all three of us spent like an hour talking about Berkeley and more importantly, the state of Cal football. The next day, huddled around a laptop in a boiling hot (and tiny) dorm room, we watched the second game of the season against Colorado State.

Despite being a few thousand miles away, it's just funny how this east coast-west coast connection is and how you meet people from your own university like that.

And onto serious business...

For 80% of the game, I was impressed with how Cal played on Saturday. The only thing I am still concerned about is the defense, which during one scary moment in the fourth quarter, almost gave up the game. Tedford better look into fixing this because there were easily 14 points that Colorado scored that were gifts by the Cal secondary.

At least we still moved up two slots in the rankings!

#10 Ranking - A Start

After the great performance last Saturday, Cal jumped a few spots in the rankings and is now #10. It's definitely a well deserved jump, and I'm glad the Bears made a statement on National TV. The game was not perfect though. While I thought the offense looked great, I am a bit concerned with our defense giving up so many points and allowing Tennessee to stay in the game until maybe around the fourth quarter. Regardless, I think it's a great start for the fighting Tedfords and I'm looking forward to next week's game against Colorado State

This is our domicile!

To ring in the new season, here's the classic Cal tv ad that used to air during our tv broadcasts. Cal Bears football is back!!!

Whose Domicile? Our Domicile

All My Bags Are Packed...

The last few days have gone by quickly. During that time, I've been unpacking all the boxes and stuff that I shipped over from SF, organizing it all, and repacking some of it for the dorm move-in, which begins tomorrow (my final move-in is next week). While going through the obligatory back-to-school shopping, I can't help but feel the parallels to my move to Berkeley seven years ago. The major difference between now and then: I am packing a whole lot less. At least, that's how I feel now. We'll see if my room ends up being super tiny.

Of course, there are some many things I am taking with me that reflect how I've changed. Call them "treasures" or "upgrades," but among the items coming along on the ride:
- The Bay Bridge "blinking" painting/photo
- My "OC" dvd box sets
- Wine rack and several bottles of wine
- Coffee maker

Oh how things have changed.

I Drove That Dude

Yesterday, I went to see Superbad with my little sister. It's a hysterical movie - if you haven't seen it yet, you gotta check it out.

At any rate, there's a scene in the movie when the two main kids in the movie enter a house party to get some alcohol. One of the kids gets stuck in a room where some of the other party-goers are doing coke. There's an Indian actor in that scene who looked kinda familiar. Anyhow, I just did a quick IMDB search on the guy and what do you know. It's this actor I drove to the airport back at the film festival. During the ride to Oakland Airport, we talked at length about stereotypes and the lack of roles for Asian American actors. It's good to see that he's getting some work, although I don't remember if he had too much to do in Superbad.

AWESOME!

He Got Game, But Not Me

After playing some basketball with my dad for the past half hour, I came to one shocking realization. I really suck at basketball. I mean, I used to be decent. My many years as a bench player in the rec league was not without some improvement to my skill. But tonight's performance, consisting of a lot of airballs under and over the backboard, indicated that I have a lot that I need to work on. A lot. I could start with my power control, but that'd be repeating things that everyone's been talking about for way too long.

As a side note, my dad on the other hand is still spot on and was shooting and hitting his shots from all over our driveway. Pretty funny.

The Jack Bauer Cut

I decided to abandon my goal of growing a mullet today and went in for a haircut. Now before I go into the details of the actual haircut, I wanted to make two observations.

My first observation is in regards to the haircut rotation. For me, I've been going on a 4 week rotation, which means I pretty much go in for a cut once a month. Sometimes, if I am feeling pretty wild, I'll extend it to 5 weeks. After that time period, it becomes a high priority because my hair is rather thick and becomes pretty wacky. You may recall this period as when I start having a comb-over. Not pretty at all. I think I was on week 7 before I went in today.

My second observation has to do with barber/haircut loyalty. For most of my life in Franklin, I was really loyal to Ralph's Barber Shop in Medway. It was close by, it was pretty cheap, and they had some good magazines. When I moved to Berkeley, I went through a phase where I was shopping around different places. At first, I went to Combs and Scissors in Sather Gate "Alley," but the guy creeped me out. Plus, he used a vacuum cleaner to suck out the cut hair in your head. Weird! I finally settled on The Edge, which provided decent haircuts at a decent price. In SF, I went to Mabel's Beauty Shop (don't laugh), which was only like two blocks from my place. Even though I got a little annoyed at the constant questions on whether or not I wanted highlights or my hair dyed (they later offered pedicures), it was your typical mom and pop place and I felt obliged to return. I mean, Mabel herself recognized me on the streets and would wave at me. It was that kind of place.

So now that I am back in Franklin and in desperate need of a haircut, who did I turn to? Well, I went corporate and checked out the new SuperCuts. I even splurged and got a shampoo afterwards. First time in my life, I think. Anyway, my hair is now super, super short, but man, it smells nice with whatever stuff they put in my hair. My little sister says I kinda look like Jack Bauer. I guess I can't complain about the cut after that comment!

Re: Clinton's Endorsement of Mr. Newsom

I think it's another case of the liberal media making blatant biases against what is in fact reality. I've been tracking the SF Chronicle over the last few days and I've been a bit shocked that they have been assuming that there is no major and viable candidate running against Mr. Newsom. Hello? Have they been not reading this blog? I'm running. Jeez. Great job guys. Maybe you should focus your attention away from finding the Zodiac and instead, feeling the pulse of the city... just like I am. All the way from Toronto. Call it "telecommuting." People all the world do it for their jobs. I am applying that ideology towards running a political campaign. You wait and see. It is revolutionary.

Anyway, the main reason for this post and why I am breaking my silence is that I would like to address you, the people, about my thoughts on Ms. Clinton's recent endorsement on my political rival, Mr. Newsom. While I previously did not have any "beef" on Ms. Clinton, this really ticked me off. The gloves have been thrown down. It is O-VAH between me and her. On that note, I am now actively seeking an endorsement from any of her rivals including Mr. O'Reilly (I know you're not running, but doesn't that have a nice ring to it? President Bill O'Reilly), Senator McCain, Senator Obama.... heck, even Mr. Nadar. You know how to reach me. My operators are standing by for your telephone call.

Thank you all and pass this message on. Together, we can take back the 'loin.

Back in the Bay

After three glorious weeks (one of which I was the only one at my parents' house) of frolicking with high school girls in beautiful Orange County, Calif., I am returning to the Bay Area tomorrow. Party party anyone?

Sell Out

Yesterday, my cousins and I caught the Blue Jays/Yankees game during the Simcoe Day holiday. It ended up being a rather exciting game, although the Blue Jays lost in the end. Among the highlights:
- Mr. David Beckham was in the house, throwing out the first pitch and then watching from a luxary box. No Posh Spice sitting though.
- Sitting along the left field/foul line and within shouting distance of Mr. Johnny "Sell Out" Damon. At the beginning of the game, I shouted "Sell Out" and my taunts evolved to "Your book sucks!" It must've affected his play because he screwed up a fielding play causing two runs to score.
- Environmental tips being displayed on the Jumbotron between innings. There's just something weird about that in a domed stadium called the Roger Centre (Roger is the cable company up north).
- Random fan in the crowd saying hi to each player in the bullpen, getting acknowledged with a wave from the pitchers, and then getting shot down after asking for a ball.

Anyway, it was great watching the game again in the dome. First time in 14 years. Pictures forthcoming.

Igloos, Where Art Thou?

Greetings from Toronto, Canada where it is only 33 degrees outside. Okay, that's in Celsius, which means it's around 91 degrees Fahrenheit. So hot! That won't stop me from having some Tim Horton's and maybe some poutine while I'm up here.

So your Canadian fact of the day: this weekend is a long weekend up here. Monday is "Civic Holiday," which my dad calls another excuse to have a day off. Very cool, eh?

Have a good weekend!

Adventures of AF**K: Part 15 (Series Finale)

The last episode in this series... until the feature length documentary.

Adventures of AF**K: Part 14

GARETT BALBOA!!!

The Eagle Has Landed

For those of you who keep track, yes, it's WAY past my bedtime now, but I am so amped up to be back home that it's keeping me up. So I am reporting from MA where I arrived safely at home around 11:30 pm. I'll do more of a recap of the last day tomorrow, but let's say that it's great to be home, although quite surreal.

DC was a blast. By choosing to stay in Little Stanton, it cut down on our trip to DC and we got to Arlington in the early afternoon. Fellow ex-pat (and friend) Aileen joined us as we walked through the Air and Space Museum followed by the WWII Memorial. For dinner, we joined another ex-pat Sara and her roommate at this swanky place called Matchbox down near Chinatown. Despite my whining, we walked all the way over to the FDR Memorial before cabbing it back to Sara's place, where we crashed.

This morning, we had our first home cooked breakfast of the trip, courtesy of Sara. So good. And then we were off to Philadelphia and then back home. Unfortunately, due to timing, we had to cancel the Red Bank, NJ part of the trip.... which means that I'll have to check out that place soon. Who's in?

Anyway, have some more videos to post tomorrow. Until then, stay classy USA.

Adventures of AF**K: Part 12

From the WWII Memorial.

VICTORY!

To Albuqueque July 25, 2007 186
Originally uploaded by gng1524

See this picture and many more from the road trip at:
http://flickr.com/groups/gngroadtrip/

Now in E.D.T.

That's right folks... I'm now on Eastern Daylight Time. So for all you West Coast folks, be aware that I am now operating 3 hours ahead of you all... in the future! It's been a bit strange though. Since last Wednesday when we left Vegas, I've slowly lost 3 hours of time while driving. I guess it didn't really matter considering how I've been driving 8-9 hour days anyhow.

We're on Day 10 of the Road Trip. The rest of the Chicago trip was fun. Yesterday morning, we hung out with Allison over by the UIC area. Then, we went to Wicker Park with Cathy and Brian to check out the street festival and had "New Haven" style pizza. The evening was relatively chill, which was probably good because we had a 6:30 am wakeup session this morning so we could ge on the road as soon as possible.

Right now, we're in Little Stanton, PA, a small town outside of Pittsburgh. The good news is that our trip to DC will be a short one; we'll be there in 4 hours if all goes well. One thing interesting about the drive now is that instead of flat plains or desert that we saw throughout the southwest and midwest, the roads are now full of trees, which is a great change of pace. Also, it's reassuring that each exit usually has a gas station now. No more fears of being stranded in the desert.

En route to Little Stanton, we took a drive around Washington, PA, which is where Dan was working for the past year. In a throwback to the past, we had dinner at Ponderosa. You just don't see those anymore in the New England area.

Anyway, tomorrow should be fun checking out DC once again and seeing some close friends over there. Then after that.... back home on Wednesday.

As a fun postscript for you all, I'm back on the road on Friday to Toronto, then back to Chicago by next week. With that kind of momentum, I'll be back in the Bay Area by mid August. Forget the East Coast! Anyone want to find me a job?

Adventures of AF**K: Part 11

Somewhere in Indiana.

Adventures of AF**K: Part 10

Straight from Wicker Park!

Adventures of AF**K: Part 9

The long delayed part 9 of the Adventures of A F**K series.

Videos Tomorrow

Sorry folks! Looks like my sketchy internet connection will prevent any video updates from going up until tomorrow. But don't worry - I have two already good to go and they feature some special guests.

Until tomorrow in Pittsburgh...

In Buehrle We Trust!

Greetings from downtown Chicago in the Gold Coast district! We got here yesterday afternoon after an 8-hour drive from Omaha. It's kinda odd being here in Chicago to a certain degree. For one thing, this is my eighth day into this road trip and I think we're officially past the half way mark in the US when we drove across the Mississippi River. To another degree, we hit a city that I've been to before and it's great seeing familiar faces. The last part is that I expect to see more urban cities and areas during the rest of the drive back home. No more deserts or large plain land.

Our first stop on the trip was in Evanston, IL, where we checked out Cathy and Brian's new condo in Evanston. After checking out the place (which is still in the process of being unpacked and settled), I turned to my sister and said, "You're all growns up." Seriously. What an adult thing to do! The new pad is very cool and more importantly, very spacious.

This is probably my fifth time in Chicago, and every time I'm out here, I've always had a great time. Dan's old roommate lives out here and gave us free tickets to the White Sox/Blue Jays game out in US Cellular Field. The pitchers were the Sox's ace Mark Buehrle and Jay's ace Roy Halladay. It was a great pitcher's duel, but what was more remarkable was that the game only took 2 hours, 10 minutes to complete! When do you see that happen? The game was followed by a fireworks show.

Afterwards, I met up with my friend Allison, who just moved to these parts, and we went to a few bars in the Gold Coast area. The area has plenty of them! One thing that I heard from two different people: this district is known for much older men "trolling" on much younger women. Who knew? Take notes Rohit.

Anyway, some video updates will come later today. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Get Right to the Heart of Matters

I am somewhere in the middle of America, trying to get to the heart of the matter... which is that the heart is what matters most. Sorry, the temptation to integrate the Counting Crows song was too much.

For all of you who don't get that reference, I am now in Omaha, NE. On our way out of Denver, I fulfilled yet another life long dream and ate breakfast at a Sonics. Yes, that fast food joint does actually exist. The drive to Omaha was pretty boring. Unlike the drive through the desert, to LA, or to Denver, there was absolutely nothing interesting along the way. It was all flat lands and to add a little twist, lots of cornfields. I started to smile when we entered Nebraska and rejoined the I-80 for the first time since crossing the Bay Bridge.

Omaha is one spread out city. We went to Mister C's for dinner. The place is a true townie kind of restaurant, which was a nice change of pace from the chain restaurants we've been frequenting. We got some nice steaks, good wine, and good conversations. Afterwards, we checked out the local theater to see The Simpsons Movie. Very funny movie. What was more amazing was that the tickets only cost $7.50!!!! Pretty amazing if you ask me.

Anyhow, tomorrow we head over to the Windy City (and real civilization if you ask me) for a two day break. Looking forward to see my family and some friends in Chi-town.

As a sort of apology, no video updates for today. There literally was nothing to film!

The Land of Coors

Greetings from Denver, CO. Unlike last night when we were driving well into the evening, yours truly drove beyond 55 MPH and sped through the flatlands known as New Mexico. As a result, we got to the Coors Brewery just before they closed and got a chance to take the tour and check out the tasting room. This place is Coors Light HQ. Who knew it was that popular? In the tasting room, I stuck with my roots and had a Molson Canadian (Molson and Coors joined together a few years ago) and a Blue Moon. Yummy beer, and their tasting size was huge.

Our plans to watch the Rockies game were dashed when the hotel mixed up our reservations and I had to go corporate on the front desk. It was your typical case of bad customer service. Fortunately, we DID get a room and by the time we got it, the game had already started, so we opted to head downtown to the ESPN Zone.

Tomorrow, we head through the heartland of America to Omaha, NE. Woot!

Adventures of AF**K: Part 8

Part 8 from Golden, CO

I Support Gov. Richardson!!!

Greetings from Albuquerque, NM! Dan and I just got in like an hour ago. I went the complete game with about 12 hours of driving with pit stops at the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon... both of which were amazing sights to see. For dining, we went all out and had lunch at CJ's (Carl's Jr) and dinner at Taco Bell. What a one-two combo, eh? Who wants to go running with me when I get back home?

Besides the two touristy spots, we drove through two isolated rainstorms. It was quite surreal as it was sunny everywhere except this patch of the highway where it poured so hard that I couldn't see anything in front of me for a brief period. Don't worry guys - I slowed down, despite my continual plea that "I drive fast!"

Tomorrow, we head north to Denver, CO. If all goes well, we will check out the Coors brewing tour followed by a Rockies game. Enjoy Part 7, which I posted below.

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 7

Part 7 from Kingman, AZ. Enjoy!

My Bad...

So for the first six parts of the video journal, replace "June" with "July." Thanks for pointing this out Tina. It will be revised when I release the "Special Edition" of these videos.

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 6

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 5

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 4

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 3

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 2

Adventures of A-F**K: Part 1

In the Black.... by $60

Greetings everyone from Imperial Palace, in the heart of Las Vegas, NV. It is freakin' hot outside... somewhere around 102 degrees. I can safely say that I brought to heat to Vegas. Okay, lame joke. Please don't switch to another website.

I left California around 2 pm. As I was driving I-15, I saw a bunch of hotels in the distance and sure enough, these were the first casinos on the other side of the border. We got to the hotel about an hour later.

It's been a fun two days so far. Yesterday, after checking into our hotel, we went over to the ESPN Zone in New York, New York to check the BoSox game. Then we hit the casinos hard. Wait, it was just me. I ended up winning about $100 on slot machines (Deal or No Deal baby!) and then losing $40 in blackjack. Today, we've been just roaming around and I made one final appearance at Slots A Fun and Circus Circus. Tonight - much more tomfoolery.

Anyway, the next update will be somewhere in the Southwest. We head to the Grand Canyon and NM tomorrow, and then Denver the day afterwards. Stay tuned!

Goodbye California... land of Arnold

Today's my last day in California. Dan and I have spent the last two days down here in Westwood/LA and it's been a blast. We went to a great Dodgers game that was exciting in the end, had some great Mexican food, but most importantly, got a chance to chat and catch up with some of my close friends that I've made here in CA. Big ups to Melinda for being a great host. Also a special thanks to everyone who've called or came out to visit me yesterday.

As I drive over to Vegas today and cross the California-Nevada border, I'll know that I am leaving behind some great people. Until next time...

Goodbye House

Yesterday, around 2 pm, Rohit, Phil, and I closed down 1524sf... the physical location. Don't worry, loyal readers - this blog will still exist. It was a sad event and if we were all more emotional people, we would have teared up. However, since we were trying to show that we were "men" and not tied down to such trivial matters, we just grunted at each other as we left and cried privately when no one was looking.

Anyhow, I am writing to you all from Westwood's Coffee Bean in the heart of UCLA territory. I arrived yesterday evening and will be here until Monday morning. Melinda's been a great host so far; we were taked to the lethal one-two combination of BJ's Pizza House and this cookie/ice cream sandwich place. Watch out!

I'm looking forward to today when I finally check out a Dodgers game, followed by LA's (in)famous Chicken and Waffles joint.

Good Phil Hunting

(2007) Some people can never believe in themselves, until someone believes in them. A Garett Ng Joint

The I.S. (Inner Sunset)

After two years in preproduction, I am proud to present this short film about The I.S.

If you're not an O.C. fan, you may want to watch this clip to see what we're giving a nod to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KP64bFwqWq8

Paving the Roads

The first in a series of ad campaigns.

50 Years of Snow White

"50 Years of Snow White." by Mick LaSalle.

This article is hilarious! Enjoy!

The End: Party Trailer

To fully enjoy this video, you need to have seen Apocolypse Now or seen this clip.

Enjoy!

Schilling vs. G-Unit

At the All Star Fan Festival today.

Alpha Bar, RIP

Last night, Phil and I went out to the Richmond district to recapture the good old times, when we used to do the mini pub crawl up and down Clement/Geary and end the night at Alpha Bar. Joined by my buddy Margaret, we ended up spending most of our night joking around at The Bitter End, before heading over to the main attraction, Alpha Bar.

Times have changed and Alpha Bar is no more. The place, renamed Buckshot, was empty. The place kinda sucked. It was shocking and appalling. Phil and I had hyped up the magical scene that is Alpha Bar to Margaret and we were disappointed in every possible way. What happened? I just remember it being a bumping place. Now, it was just a lame dive bar that no one went to. On the flip side, since there was no one around, we were able to play a few games of pool and skeeball. Then, we left the joint.

Oh the memories. Alpha Bar, thank you for the good times. I will cherish those memories.

A Victory of Sorts

On Saturday, while visiting our good friend Cristobal in Berkeley, he asked if the 1524sf folks would be doing trivia night the next night at the 540 Club.

It had been a while since we had done trivia. In fact, the last time we went was also the last time Cristobal went, which was sometime in May. Like any good general manager, I had attempted to patch up the areas we stunk in (e.g. 80's music) with people who seemed to know what they were talking about. Cristobal was a bit like our savior, especially he had written to me saying that he was a stud with 80's music. No joke. He wrote that to me. During that night in May, we almost scored a perfect 10 in the music round. It was amazing. Unfortunately, we were still in last place. It was heartbreaking. We thought we had a chance that night, but the wheels fell off the wagon and our team flat lined. It was hard to go back to 540 Club. The memory was too fresh.

Skip ahead to last Saturday. When Cristobal suggested trivia, it felt like it was the right time to go back in the ring one last time. I immediately thought of this inspirational quote:
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"
Who was the genius who said that? Rocky Balboa.

So our team reassembled for what was likely the last time. We fought long and hard through 7 rounds of trivia. We laughed, we joked, we stressed, and we got on each other's nerves. Our answers were scored. We pumped our fists in the air each time we got an answer right. We waited anxiously for the final score.

So what place did we get in the end? Third place!

Sure, we didn't win the cash pot, but it was a moral victory for sure. We weren't the stupidest people in the room. And anytime that happens, it is a victory for everyone.

Happy Canada's Day

Centre Island Canadian Flag
Originally uploaded by gng1524

It was 140 years ago to this day that Canada became a dominion and an independent country. So what have my countrymen accomplished and shared with the world since then?

Some notables:
- Hockey
- Poutine
- Great comedians
- Universal Health Care
- Bob and Doug McKenzie
- Multiculturalism
- The looney
- Good beer
- Your humble writer
... and so on.

Happy Canada's Day, Hosers!

The Comeback

Today, as part of my prep work for the next Ng Film Productions short, I pitched two innings of whiffle ball while on a strict pitch count.

During the first inning, I had excellent control of my pitches mixed between my fastball, splitter, and breaking ball. It was awesome. My line:
2/3 IP. 1H. 2K. 0 BB. 0 R.

In the second inning, I came on in relief after the other pitcher got 2 outs. Unfortunately, I had no control of my pitches and couldn't get an out. After going through the lineup, I was relieved and went to the outfield with my head down.
0 IP (faced 3 batters). 2 H. 0K 1 BB. 3 R.

It's a start. Hopefully I can bounce back in the next start.

Man vs. Beast I

Lobster 006
Originally uploaded by gng1524

This is a picture of the remains of a lobster that we cooked up last week. It was my first time making lobster and I was surprised how remarkably easy it was. Literally, you boil some water, slam the lobster in the pot, and then take it out. One of the lobsters tried getting out of the pot. I got some tongs and pushed it down in the boiling water. Might've been a little mean, but man, it tasted so good!

Well, the score is now:
Man 1. Beast 0.

Dangerous Minds II Trailer Follow Up

This is amazing. As of this posting, we've gotten 486 views of this fake trailer. What tops that is that we got linked to this Spanish website describing Dangerous Minds.

For all you fans out there, we have a few other videos in preproduction now. Stay tuned!

Hope for a New Tomorrow

As I implied earlier, the disaffected boys at 1524 SF have been working on a grand plan to take control of the great city of San Francisco. Yesterday, we revealed that our fellow blog contributor will be running for Mayor of San Francisco this fall, and released our platform, entitled Hope for a New Tomorrow, to the public.

We are hoping to build a large 'net roots movement, and would like to solicit your help, dear readers. Please contact us if you would like to help as we seek to right what is wrong with our dear city. With your help, we can take back San Francisco! ¡Viva la revolución!

The Artiste Formerly Known As G-Unit

On Tuesday, I got an email at work saying that the multimedia department was looking for an Asian male to play a role in a new Kaiser commercial. Now, before you all get excited, these aren't the Thrive commercials that you all love and enjoy. These were going to be regional commercials to pump up a new hospital we're opening soon.

The call sheet described the commercial as the following:
The commercials reflect the ethnic diversity of the area and feature a scene with an upscale Asian American husband and wife (or boyfriend/girlfriend), low 30's to low 40's, who are shopping at a farmer's market. They are environmentally conscious, smart, fit, energetic, conversational, and enthusiastic.

Apparently, the producers found some strong candidates for the female role, but were lacking actors for the male role. After the runaway success and acclaim from Ocean Beach, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and audition. I called the producers up and they immediately asked for my age. I told them 25 and they were like, well, the actress we have for the girlfriend/wife role looks young, so that may actually work out.

I got the script, and here were the lines:

Girlfriend/Wife: A farmer's market at the medical center? Now that's exciting.
Boyfriend/Husband: Yeah, I can pick up my allergy medicine AND some fresh strawberries!

Riveting dialogue, don't you think? I had visions of my head of saying the lines perfectly during take one and being able to riff during the last few takes. Some alternative lines:
"Sweet! I can pick up my drugs AND food at once. Less gas. Value add!"
"You must be one pathetic lady if you think that's exciting. How did we meet again?"
"Is someone talking? What's that noise I hear?"

I practiced a few times over at 1524sf, then with my co-workers. I was ready to rock this audition, Johnny Drama-style.



The Audition

After chatting it up with one of my competitors in the Green Room, I was called in to the room. The producer and director miked me up and then informed me that I had to pretend that my wife/girlfriend was beside me as the casting producer read the lines in front of me. It was a bit awkward to react to your left when someone was talking in front of me, but I thought, well, it IS called acting, so I played cool and nodded. They then asked if I needed a minute to get into character. I tried to act like the cool actor, so I just did a simple breathing exercise, made a few arm motions, and then said I was ready.

I did my first take. It was okay, although I almost messed up the end of my line. The casting producer told me to say the line directly to the camera. I went ahead for take 2. Then takes 3 and 4.

The director entered the room. She came in to act as a stand-in where the wife/girlfriend was supposed to be and said it might be easier to act that way. She also handed me a new line to read. I read the script and joked about how cheesy it was.

New line:
Boyfriend/Husband: I hope they prescribe fresh strawberries!

Being a true professional, I decide to go for it, despite my obvious script concerns. For take one, I delivered the line with my normal sarcasm and rolled eyes. The director asked me to be more energetic and look directly to the camera as I spoke for take 2. I had a memory of Mr. Roper from Three's Company in my head, so for take two, I delivered the line, sitcom-style by looking at the camera, saying the line, and then smiling. They asked for a little less energy and I did a few more takes. They thanked me and I went back to work.

Afterthought:

Basically, I think I tanked the audition. It happens, but I regret not really thinking out my character and asking questions. I mean, I should've gotten some background information on my wife/gf. Was she a doctor? Is she into agriculture? How long have we been together? What is my exact profession? Am I happy? What time of day was it? Am I a Beatles or Elvis guy? What was my favorite movie? Is there a picture of the girlfriend/wife?

Had I thought these things out, I would've connected more with the character and pulled off a more realistic performance. Instead, my portrayal of "Boyfriend/Husband" was a little more reserved and less lively as I had hoped.

Well, that's acting for you. I still haven't been officially rejected, but I'm not necessarily holding out hope. Oh well. I still have NG Film Productions.

Ocean Beach

At the end of the line, three strangers must overcome their past... to survive. A Garett Ng Joint.

Revenge Clip of the Day

I just got back from the auto repair dealer where I met with the insurers to talk about fixing my car. They gave me an estimate of the cost and timeframe it'd take to fix my car. Let's just say that I'm glad I have insurance to repair the vandalism, which they called "extensive."

Regardless, I will still hunt down these thugs. It may involve some interrogation similar to how my hero Jack Bauer deals with things.

Baseball Players Pointing to the Sky

"Baseball Players Pointing to the Sky"

This was the phrase that I put into Google out of curiosity. Yes, a slow day at work. What's more amazing is the number one result, which is this USA Today Article about this phenomenon. Check it out.

Pointing: It isn't just for pop-ups anymore

As observed by Audrey last week, we at 1524sf pretty much do this for any occasion, like opening a can of chili, the second we get off of work, baseball games, opening a Miller High Life, and so on. I think you should too.

You Messed with an O.G.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

That is quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

I immediately thought about these words yesterday afternoon after discovering that someone had keyed my car on all four sides. The major damage was on the front hood and truck hood where the assholes keyed in two curse words.

Now, I'm usually a peaceful guy and I really don't turn to violence when I'm angry. I really don't think violence is the answer to most things. However, I am going to the other side on this issue.

My main goal in my remaining time here is to find these hooligans and bring them to justice by any means necessary. I will be the poster child to BAMN. Yes, I am talking about Street Justice. As Mayor to SF, I will launch sweeping raids to ensure that no corner is left unguarded. I will use all my resources to bring these people to justice. Besides paving the roads and my other campaign promises, I am now officially declaring that I will upgrade my "Take back the Loin" promise to "Take back the streets."

You, my hoodlums, have officially pissed me off. Prepare to meet your end. You're messing with an O.G.

The chase may look like this:




More seriously though... Who the hell keys cars these days? That's just idiotic.

Foreshadowing

Today I taught my final class for Junior Achievement (more on this later on the Realm), but I thought I'd share a funny dialog from today's class:

Rohit: If you want a skate park, y'all should ask Gavin. I'm not going to help build you one. (One of our lessons dealt with electing a mayor who campaigned on building a skatepark—c'mon, this is second grade.)

Student 1: Who's Gavin?

Student 2: He's the mayor, stupid!

Student 1: Oh, I thought he was dead.

Rohit: He'll be dead in the water once my roommate announces his candidacy.

Class: What?!

Rohit: Nevermind

Life on the Edge

This morning, I drove to work. Now, my commute is usually about 45 minutes, especially given the congestion at the Fell/Octavia intersection and the bridge traffic. However, probably due to my above-normal aggressive driving today, I was flying by all the cars and was already on the East Bay side of the Bay Bridge within 20 minutes. Crazy, eh? Well, not as crazy as driving over the newly reconstructed I-580 connector.

In case you didn't hear, a portion of the highway collapsed a few weeks ago during a truck accident. The contractors cleaned out the section and replaced the collapsed section not days, but WEEKS in advance. Not to knock on them, but isn't that a bit too fast? Did someone test the highway? When it reopened, I thought about how I'll let a few thousand cars test the connector before I went ahead and drove on it.

Of course, my vision of trying it a few weeks from now went out the window as I suddenly realized that I was heading up the I-580 ramp. My pulse accelerated. I thought about whether i should accelerate just in case the portion collapsed again.... I mean, if they did it in "Speed" with a bus, I'm sure my Corolla can handle a little jump. I saw the 165-foot stretch of new concrete. It seemed to stretch into eternity.

But before I knew it, I was already past it and on the 580. I saw the familiar sights from the highway, namely the Best Buy in Emeryville. I shrugged and continued on my journey. I knew it was going to be a good day.

What's Cooler Than Cool? Ice Cold!

Melinda visited my class yesterday and asked a student to tell her a secret about me.

The student said, "Mr. Sharp is mean! His heart is made out of ice!" To which Melinda responded, "That's not a secret. Everyone knows that."

What have I become? I'm turning into Rohit.

PS. Melinda says, "Actually, Rohit likes sea otters. You're WORSE than Rohit."

Anything Less Would Be Uncivilized

I don't think my students know what deodorant is...

Student: Mr. Sharp, are you wearing cologne?
Me: No, of course not.
Student: Oh, you smell really nice today.
Me: Thanks! (It's rare that a student says something nice about me). I'm not wearing cologne, but I am wearing deodorant.
The Entire Class: EEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (In the loud, annoying way that only a class of 5th graders could do).

WTF!?

Either my class doesn't know what deodorant is (scary thought), or they were playing a mean mean joke on me. And yes, I did write mean twice on purpose - that's how mean it was.

In Memoriam: Fred

Dangerous Minds II Trailer

Coming soon to a theater near you.

Dangerous Minds

Last Friday, I took the day off work and went to Phil's school to teach. Now I know you loyal readers (all two of you) just read that last statement and did a double take. I mean, G-Unit... teaching? Isn't this the same guy who got HECKLED while performing community service at a senior citizens home? Well, yes. Phil and I have been talking about making a guest appearance in the class for a long time... probably since he first started teaching. With my imminent departure to the East Coast and the end of the school year, I thought what better time than now to go ahead and make this happen.

A few days before Teaching Day, Phil sent me the following agenda for the day:
8-8:25: Journal
8:25-8:45: Religion
8:45-9: Spelling Test
9-9:50: WHATEVER WE WANT
9:50-10:15: Recess
10:25-11:10: Music upstairs with the music teacher
11:10-12:15 WHATEVER WE WANT
12:15-1: Lunch
1-1:20: Silent Reading
1:20-2:15: WHATEVER WE WANT
2:15-2:45: Party with UC Berkeley grad student Cindy
2:45-3: Pack up and go home

I had three one-hour blocks to fill. Given the recent intake of steroids I've been taking, I decided that we needed to put in a game of kickball. So that was one hour. After riffing with my boss, I decided to fill the other two hours with a "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" quiz and a "Let's Make a Deal" demonstration, which would hit a little bit of my statistical background. I figured by the end of the day, the kids would want me to be the teacher and not Mr. Phil. It'd be easy.

Well, of course, it wasn't quite as easy as it sounded.

We rolled into the school around 7 am. This is around the time when I normally get up and hit the snooze button. As we talked into the class room, I had Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" in the back of my head. Although I forgot my jean jacket, I was ready.

The Morning

The morning started off well. Before classes began, I was just looking around in the hallway and a few students came up to me and asked if I was Mr. Sharp's roommate. I didn't realize there was so much hype to the visit.

The early highlight was during a spelling game where we went around the classroom spelling various words coming from their spelling quiz. If you were the person after a word is successfully spelled out, you had to sink a basket in the Nerf basketball net or you'd get knocked out. Towards the end of the game, I was facing a do-or-die foul shot and sank it. I pumped my first in the air like Baron Davis and went back to play.

"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"

In the morning, Phil and I prepared a series of questions on various topics, ranging from math to religion. The game was played Jeopardy style and The Class and I switched off picking topics. The questions ranged from very easy to pretty hard stuff. One thing I was blown away by was how competitive these kids were. It got so heated that they started turning on each other. I pulled a Shoeless Joe and started tanking the game. It hurt my ego a lot and I kept it close... but there was no way I could face the possibility of what would happen if I had in fact won.

"Let's Make a Deal"

Originally, I wanted to do a "Deal or No Deal" game. After pitching this to my boss at work, she suggested the Monty Hall problem and I thought that was a fabulous idea. We got a projector working and recorded the statistics. Most amazing moment? The students started to piece together what was going on and eventually came to the correct solution to the problem. Most hilarious moment? I was trying to wrap up the whole segment, so I decided to babble about how "statistics can help everyone in so many ways and maybe you can do this for a living too when you grow up." I think Phil was ready to puke.

Kickball, Lunch, and Recess

I remember exactly the last time I played kickball. It was a few weeks before moving to CA when I was working part time as a band camp counselor. I was the automatic pitcher and we played rules where if you hit a person with the ball, they were out. Well, the last play I ever made was when the ball went straight back at me, I picked up the ball, and chucked it at the student. It hit that person so hard that they fell to the ground.

I mention this story as full disclosure so you know how conflicted I was to return to the mound. And after a few batters, the ball went back to me again and I had an opportunity to get a runner at second out. I caught up to the kid and lightly threw the ball at the kid to get him out. The kid did not fall. Instead, he started complaining to Mr. Sharp about how I threw the ball at him and it hurt. Of course, Mr. Sharp had my back and told the kid to sit down. I love it. Collusion.

The End

At the end of the day, we had a party for student teacher. The kids were jacked up with candy, sweets, pie, and cake. It was crazy. Think of the last time you dealt with a kid on sugar high. Well, multiple that by 13. It was all good though and I'm glad that in the end, no one cried or got hurt.

So there was my day of teaching. I learned two things. First, it's freakin' hard to teach. I have much more respect for Phil and other teachers who do this day in and day out. Second, I'm still smarter than a fifth grader. VICTORY!!!!!

Contradiction, Not Eternity

Last night at Yancy's, G-Unit once again showed us that his infamous nickname (i.e., "pimp ng") is most certainly well deserved. The three of us had arrived at Yancy's in the pursuit of happiness (and by that, I mean, some random girl who hit on me at a Starbucks), and after making the customary rounds to "scope the scene," we had found a table in the center of all the action. Though the original raison d'être of our trip was for me, it was G-Unit on whom Fortune smiled that night.

A waitress came up to our table to take our drink orders, and stopped next to G-Unit, pulling up close to him (much as another woman had just weeks before), and seductively making eye contact. The power of her gaze still gives me shivers when I think about it. After holding the eye contact a minute too long, the following conversation transpired:

Waitress: Excuse me, but, I have to ask. What cologne are you wearing?
G-Unit: Um, it's Eternity by Calvin Klein.
Waitress: I thought so. That's the cologne my ex used to wear.
G-Unit: Oh yeah? Do I know you from somewhere? Come here often? How you doing? Let me turn my spidey senses on... down there.
Rohit: G-Unit! Give her your business card!
Waitress: (blushing) Let me get those drinks for you guys...

As can be assumed, as soon as the waitress was out of sight, Phil began sniffing G-Unit, trying to figure out if he smelled that strongly of cologne. His conclusion: G-Unit didn't smell like anything! After some more investigation by Eva, we concluded that the waitress had just been using a pick-up line. The best part, however, came when G-Unit remembered that the cologne he was wearing that night was Contradiction, not Eternity. As it turned out, it couldn't have mattered in the least. Add another woman to G-Unit's already sizable bullpen. Contradiction, 1; Eternity, 0.

Friday's Conversation

Here is a conversation that I had on Friday with a student during recess:

Student: Mr. Sharp, is there an empty space inside of you?
Mr. Sharp: Yes.
Student: Where?
Mr. Sharp: My heart.

haha. I have no idea why she asked me if there was an empty space inside of me. The conversation went on from here, but this was definitely the best part.

Something is Wrong

There is something seriously wrong with my students. I will provide two examples.

Example 1:

I'm hanging out after school with a few students and I start playing the new Wilco record on my computer. One of my students says, "Mr. Sharp, this music is boring. Do you have any rap music with bad words?" At least they didn't ask to listen to the Justin Timberlame album.

Example 2:

I took all my kids on a field trip to the Audubon Canyon Ranch. For more details on how awesome this place is, check out an article in today's SF Chronicle: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/03/NSG1KPGKA51.DTL. When we get back from the field trip I ask one of my students, "Did you have fun on the field trip?" Her response: "Not really, Mr. Sharp. We should've went to the Exploratorium, it's more fun." Of course, I am way too sarcastic to let a student suggest we go to the Exploratorium, so I had to respond, "You'd rather go to the ExploraBORIUM!?"

The Bandwagon Fan

It's a common phenomenon. Your team sucks for a few years and suddenly enters a very good year or a few good years. Before you know it, you enter a stadium, arena, or some other sports venue and while before the scene was empty seats or the hardcore, loyal fans cynical of the team's potential success... it's all replaced by "born again" fans, people who claim they were always fans all along, and other people who really look like they've never been to a game before, but it's the in thing to do so they're there. People suddenly start wearing clothing reflective of your team, whether at the games or on the streets. Maybe at work. Yes, this is the sign of the Bandwagon Fan.

I first experienced it a few years ago when I started going to Oakland A's games at the Coliseum. I've gone to a lot of random games, but each year, I made it an effort to go see a Red Sox game in order to represent. During the first few years, there were fans and Boston ex-pats scattered throughout the stadium. When we bumped into each other at the food stand or in the seats, we'd give each other the knowing nod and continue on our business. During the playoffs in 2003, I remember vividly being the only Red Sox fan in my entire section. When we eliminated the A's, it was easily the scariest walk I've ever had to take from walking from the 500 level to the BART station.

The 2004 World Series changed all that. During the next year, I went to the entire Red Sox series in Oakland and I was surprised that over half the fans were Red Sox fans. Honestly. They literally appeared overnight. It became harder to get seats. Suddenly, instead of being the only Sox fan in my section, my friends were usually the only A's fans. Instead of seeing green all around the stadium, there were significant patches of Red, Blue, and the occasional pink. Yes, pink. If anything, that was a smoking gun that we now had bandwagon fans. It's those damn pink hats. Who really wears pink baseball hats? Not to be a snob, but true fans don't wear that.

So I always scoffed at those who jumped on a team's bandwagon. It didn't seem cool.

And now, I find myself being a big Warriors fan. Well, not a big fan, but a big sign of my changing attitude towards the team is how I've talked at lengths at work with people about the games, I get worked up watching the playoff games, and when there are highlights on SportsCenter, I don't flip the channel anymore. Now this is especially hilarious since I've never watched a Warriors game in my life until maybe a week and a half ago. Will I ever call them my home team? No. The lousy Celtics are. But I am considering getting a hat or a t-shirt. Does that make me a hypocrite?

G-Unit Reviews: A Good Year

a good year
Originally uploaded by foxKMar.

Rating: *** out of *****

Tonight, courtesy of G-Unit-Flix, I popped in "A Good Year," a film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe. I had heard some lousy things about the film, but given the overall theme of slowing things down, enjoying life, and most importantly, enjoying wine, I decided to scope it out.

I was pleasantly surprised, although as full disclosure, I also had very low expectations. Russell Crowe stars as Max Skinner, basically your typical stockbroker asshole. His uncle (Albert Finney) passes away, and his estate and vineyard in France are passed on to Max. While in France to sort out the details and sale of the estate, he hits a wave of nostalgia from his childhood, meets a girl, and meets someone who may be his uncle's illegitimate daughter. You can pretty much guess where this is going.

At any rate, the movie is trying to be a romantic comedy and while some things do not work, some things do. I like the fact that things aren't too slap-sticky and I like how the film just feels very leisurely. I anticipated only watching the film in 30-45 minute increments, but I ended up watching the entire film in its entirety. That's saying something, I guess. The cinematography is very beautiful and it made me want to book a flight to France right away. Or meet someone like Archie Panjabi, who plays the local French girl that Max meets.

I recommend the movie as a rental. It's a light and enjoyable film. Just don't expect too much out of it.

The Wish Tree

Grad School Tour 017
Originally uploaded by gng1524.

Here's a snapshot of what I wrote and added to Yoko Ono's "Wish Tree" project in Washington DC last month.

The Commute from Hell

For the last two years, I've been taking the commute to and from Oakland via MUNI and BART for work. Although it was an added about 30-35 minutes to my commute than the one I had from Berkeley to Oakland, it wasn't too bad. Over the months, I've found myself passing the 45-50 minute commute with books I've been putting off reading, music that I haven't listened to in years (despite popular belief, I do listen to stuff other than Hilary Duff, though she IS on my iPod), and other random activities like writing and GRE studying. I've never really had a bad experience... that is until yesterday, courtesy of MUNI.

I should've figured out that the commute was going to be awful when I read this article over at Metroblogging SF. I figured if I avoided the N-Judah, I should be fine. This was how my commute went.
5:01 pm: Left work
5:08 pm: Arrived at BART station
5:11 pm: Took SF BART line
5:25 pm: Arrived at Embarcadero Station. Walked over to MUNI station. Took the L-Taraval.
5:40-5:45 pm: MUNI stopped and stayed in place at Church station. Conductor announced that a train ahead broke down and there was no ETA when it will go back online. I decided to chance it and walked over to the Church/Duboce intersection.
5:55 pm: N-Judah arrived. The train was PACKED. I decided to wait for the next train. The crowd of people waiting for the next train grew.
6:05 pm: A Duboce/Church shuttle arrived at the stop and EMPTIED out everyone. The crowd of people waiting now doubled in size. The shuttle moved forward a little bit before turning around and heading back inbound.
6:15 pm: ANOTHER Duboce/Church shuttle arrived and it emptied out everyone. There were so many people around that we are literally blocking the street now. The shuttle moved ahead and parked.
6:20 pm: Yay! A N-Judah finally arrived. Unfortunately, it was PACKED and got even more packed when the waiting crowd got a bit aggressive with people pushing to get in the train.
However, a backup of trains resulted in a horrible domino effect. The inbound N train was not given the go-ahead to enter the underground tunnel. The parked shuttle, which couldn't go forward because of the inbound N Judah, was blocking the path for the N-Judah outbound to move forward. Coming out of the tunnel was another N-Judah train waiting to reach Duboce/Church to pick me up. I looked at another person waiting for the MUNI in astonishment and called it a Charlie Foxtrot.
6:27 pm: Things started to move and finally, the traffic cleared away. The second N-Judah train arrived and I push my way into the car to get on.
6:37 pm: Reach my normal stop. Walk home.

97 minute commute. Ugh. Rohit suggested that I run as Mayor on a single issue platform. He might be right. Who's in?

The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years is another reason why it was a genius move to upgrade our house's cable again. It's on the ION network each night at 10 pm. Awesome! Last night, we were watching an episode where Kevin confesses to Winnie Cooper in her yearbook right before summer break started. You can't beat that kind of television.

The Most Amazing Thing Since Sliced Bread

EZ Rider Pass
Originally uploaded by gng1524.

No, I'm not talking about Crossroads, which is a fantastic DC (at least, back in the day).

I am talking about BART's EZ Rider card, which is currently in the piloting phase. The EZ Rider Card is essentially a Smartcard that allows commoners like you and me to act like BART employees and swipe through the BART gates. It automatically recharges the account too, so there's no need to add any more fare at the ticket booth.

This card has been a lifesaver. Besides making myself look cool, I literally save myself about an hour each month that was wasted in lines at the BART ticket booth, at Longs Drugs, or at other locations selling BART tickets.

Thank you BART for joining the ranks of other metro systems across the country!

I have travelled afar and...

I have travelled great distances, and I can now safely confirm that Five Guys burgers have topped In & Out as my favorite fast food burger joint. It is amazing. Again, if you're ever in the DC/VA/East Coast area, check to see if there's a Five Guys joint near you. So good.

Wikipedia Search of the Day: 3/22

United States v. Wong Kim Ark

I came across this Supreme Court decision when researching the Chinese Exclusion Act for my latest blog post: American Values Come to San Francisco. As it turns out, this case set a fairly important legal precedent with regards to citizenship of individuals born to foreign nationals.

Wikipedia Search of the Day: 3/21

Today's wikipedia search of the day is...

Five Guys

Five Guys is the In and Out Burger joint of the east coast. My friend Aileen introduced it to me last year when I was visiting her in Charlottesville. Easily one of the best burger places I've been to... perhaps better than In & Out. Will have to check it out again when I'm in DC again!

Rescue 911

It's funny how sometimes when you think you've lost a skill due to the passage of time, it comes rushing back to you at the moment you least expect. That happened to me last Saturday night. The location? Ruby Skye nightclub.

After an evening of some libations, I was walking out of the bathroom when a woman came rushing out of the bathroom asking for help because her friend had cut herself on some glass on the floor. I naturally assumed the friend was still in the women's bathroom and on a whim, I went in to the women's bathroom and started knocking on the stalls to find and to help this immobile women.... only to find out that she was already relocated on a chair outside the bathroom.

I quickly reoriented myself and found the woman, clutching her foot. She had a band-aid over the cut and became worried that it was something serious. I took charge and told the club manager to get some ice as I triaged the woman. While the cut didn't seem that serious, she was in obvious pain and I instinctively began applying the 15 on/off numbing method with the ice as we elevated her leg. Through a combination of a few people, we managed to calm the woman down and instructed her what to do afterwards in terms of cleaning and self-care.

After 10 minutes of this, I said that she could probably handle herself for the rest of the evening and excused myself. I paused for a second as I walked away, turned around, and returned to the woman to give my business card, telling her to contact me if she has any questions or concerns afterwards.

Yes, it was an evening of returning back to one's natural instincts and habits. How some things just seem to make sense after you have a few drinks.

Wikipedia Search of the Day: 3/19

Today's Wikipedia search of the day is....

MC Hammer

STOP! Hammer Time!

Who Do You Got?

Ever since he became my roommate, Rohit has been raving... no wait. SINGING THE PRAISES for this little authentic Mexican restaurant called Del Taco. But not just any Del Taco like the one on Market Street, conveniently located near the Powell Street exit. No. It has to be a Del Taco outside the Bay Area.

This weekend, en route to LA, we stopped in the great city of Santa Nella, about an hour away from Livermore, to eat at Del Taco. In order to defend my masculinity, I was prompted to order to Macho Burrito and also added a fish taco, since that's the thing you do in California.

So the ultimate verdict? Well, it's okay. The burrito was pretty large. The taco was tasty. But better than Taco Bell? Not too sure about it. I'm a big Gorditas fan and there is nothing like that on the menu.

So I ask you, loyal readers... who do you got? Taco Bell or Del Taco?

WSJ Presents Open That Bottle Night

After reading an article in the venerable Wall Street Journal, 1524 SF decided to host a version of this party at our place in San Francisco. We invited a small number of fellow San Franciscans and provided classy hors d’œuvre like tater tots and French fries. The only requirement for attendance was that guests bring a bottle of their favorite wine; needless to say, we got our dosage of resveratrol that night. Look for this tradition to continue in the years to come! Photos from the party can be found here.

Announcement

In light of recent news regarding Mayor Gavin Newsom, I would like to announce that I've formed an exploratory committee regarding running for Mayor of San Francisco. More details forthcoming.

2006 Year in Review

2006 was a pretty crazy year for the house. Here's a recap of all the highlights from the year.

January:
Garett begins training for running races to the surprise of Phil and Rohit.
Overall alcohol consumption in the house begins to decrease for the first time in 1524 history.
Garett revolutionizes the entertainment system by bringing back his 8-bit Nintendo. Many Blades of Steel games result in colourful metaphors being shouted at house members.
Phil is introduced to "24," the TV series. This is easily one of the biggest life-changing moments in his life.

February:
Garett performs a concert with co-worker at a senior citizens home. Heckled by residents and not invited to return.
Garett volunteers at the Botanical Gardens and resoiled plants. Lasted one day.
Garett is recruited by a new department and accepted a job transfer at work.
Rohit moves to Salt Lake City and likes it there. Says he feels like he's with "his peeps."

March:
Phil buys a PS2 game unit to upgrade our entertainment units. His first game: 24-The Game. He later finishes the game within weeks.
Garett flies to SLC to visit Rohit and convinces him to return to SF. Alcohol consumption begins to increase again.
Garett volunteers at the SF International Film Festival. He meets Miss Chinatown and is escorted out of the festival shortly afterwards.

April:
Garett begins his frequent flier reputation with a weekend trip to Toronto. Later in the month, he flies to MA to see a Red Sox game. His rationale: "But it's a Red Sox-Yankees game!"
Rohit and Garett attends the Charter Gala. Highlights include Garett meeting his role model, Chancellor Birgeneau, for the first time, the two jumping for joy at the open bar, and much tom-foolery throughout the night.
Phil and Audrey does the impossible and watches 24: Season 4 in one sitting.

May:
Many 1524 Friends graduate college (finally), including Eva, Jason, and Christine.
Garett runs his fourth and final race in 2006 at Bay to Breakers.
Garett's past haunts him as a friend from MA comes to visit him for a week. Phase One and Phase Two of Garett's life collide.
Rohit, Jenna, Garett, and Katie go to Napa Valley. Rohit and Garett return with hats that instantly add 20 years of street cred.
Garett unintentionally is seated next to Jeri Ryan, of Star Trek: Voyager fame, at Alcatraz. For the rest of the visit, he stalks her until he is placed in a still-working jail cell.

June:
Fred becomes the new house member at 1524.
Phil and Garett volunteers for the Special Olympics softball team. Phil is cut after one practice due to his "me" attitude. Garett teaches the team how to bean players.

July:
Garett develops a "medical condition." Many jokes are thrown at him and he eventually recovers.
Garett begins to watch "Veronica Mars."

August:
Phil makes a life changing decision and begins teaching.
Phil and Garett begin watching "The Office"
Garett flies to MA and DC for a vacation and his sister's wedding.
The house goes to watch some Red Sox/A's games and witness Garett crying over 3 consecutive losses.
Rohit becomes a recluse as he studies for his GMAT.
Phil and Garett watches The Ron Clark story on TV. Phil is inspired to rap for his class.

September:
Fred passes away. Shots are poured out for Fred and his hommie, Tupac.
Garett becomes a recluse as he studies for the GRE
Cable is reduced in the house to limited basic. All of our brains say thanks for not killing them anymore with Project Runway.

October:
The house goes to see the documentary "I Trust You to Kill Me." Kiefer Sutherland is in attendance for the Q&A. Phil is paralyzed that Jack Bauer is 50 feet away from him. Garett asks a question and doesn't pee in his pants when Sutherlands answers him.
Rohit turns 23 and is feted at a classy French restaurant known as Les Hooters.
Phil turns 23 and celebrates with Garett's 25th with a night out with good friends
Garett dresses up as Steve Zissou for Halloween. No one realizes that he is in costume at work.
The 5 AM event occurs. Named Number #1 event for 2006.

November:
Rohit and Garett start really submitting grad school applications. Wine consumption increases.
Garett teaches a kid how to do a water sprinkler at a wedding. The kid is forever traumatized.
Phil and Garett cook a full Thanksgiving dinner. No medical injuries result.

December:
Garett breaks house key. House suspects steroid use, which Garett responds with: "I am not here to talk about my past."
Weekly dinners resume.
Phil and Garett party out for NYE at Yancy's, where everyone knows your name.

So there you have it. 2006. A really random year. Here's to a happy and memorable 2007!