Summer 2007 John Mayer Concert

So John Mayer concert tickets go on sale this Saturday.

I've been to two concerts of his before. I dig him a lot.

I'm torn: Should I go to the San Jose (HP Pavillion) or Hollywood Bowl concert? I mean the San Jose one is indoors! That's a bit weird, no? Both of my previous ones were outdoors. The tix are well priced, so I'll probably buy two and just take a special someone.

VOTE:
San Jose (HP Pavillion) on a Tuesday
LA (Hollywood Bowl) on a Saturday

Business Jargon I Hate: Edition # 1

In this edition, the word in question is DELIVERABLE(S).

Deliverable (noun): something that can be provided as the product of development.

"By the end of the week, your deliverables should be ready for your client."

In general, this can mean a presentation, a proposal, a paper, a product, etc.

I think I hate this word because a professor in college used it too much (ahem... Jasso). I think ever since then it annoyed the hell out of me. But when people use this term in the workplace, I think it's WAY too corporate-y.

What do you think?

Receiving Compliments

For the past month or so I've been getting an abnormal amount of compliments on my weight loss. Either 'Will, you're looking good' or 'Dude, you're skinnier than me' or 'What's your secret, hottie?' or 'Dude, I don't even recognize you.' I'm not skinny quite yet... but I'm approaching normal.

I've just been having a hard time coming up with a 'oh thanks, i appreciate it' kinda response. I usually just say, 'psssh. stop it.' :P

I usually give compliments, but I find it hard receiving them.

Taking the Valley out of the Boy

You know what's weird... everyone always assumes I live in San Francisco. I get that a lot. Co-workers figure I must live in the city... as If I resonate 'city-ness.'

However, I've also got the opposite. Like the super observant Kenji, for example, said a few months ago, 'You have to live in the South Bay... you're too practical [i.e. anal] to live in SF.'

I do go to SF a lot. On average, once a week, usually on Saturday. I like hanging out with friends or even going to random places. But I think I've concluded that I just like suburbia. It's comforting, safe, practical, and pretty. I like hanging out at Santana Row in SJ or eating at the Cheesecake Factory in Palo Alto just as much as I like visiting Fisherman's Wharf. Yes, the artsy stuff and culture is usually missing in Suburbia. As long as it's liberal suburbia, we'll get along well and be friends. That doesn't mean I don't like shopping in Union Square, but I can get the trick done at Valley Fair or Stanford Shopping center just as well. Plus the parking is [semi] plentiful and free.

I mean, the San Fernando Valley and the Silicon Valley are very similar; just switch porn and technology. I really only spent 3 months of my life in a truly Urban area [DC].

So as it stands, I'm staying in Suburbia until (1) I get a job in SF or (2) Still single by 25.

I guess you really can't take the Valley out of the boy...

Great Conversations Make The Difference

Today I had some great convos at work... mostly after 4pm.

At lunch I had some lunch with some of the newer hires. That was fun. We went to one of the newer cafe's called 5ive. Its name comes from the fact that all dishes have 5 or less ingredients. (not including sauces, cause that would be hard... lol)

Alex (not the gay one... lol) and I caught up with my old temp manager around 4pm. It was pretty cool to just talk about life... and some work. I've learned a lot from her, and Alex for that matter. We probably just spent like an hour in the micro-kitchen just chatting.

After that, I spend another like half an hour just chatting with Alex. I really like the guy. He surprises me ALL the time. First of all, you should know that he's a 'man's man' or a macho guy. He rides a motorcycle, has a tat, and participates in UFC type activities.

I told him how I appreciated that during one of our latest poker nights that he stuck up for the gays. All the guys were making gay jokes about the number of Roy's grooming products. Then all of a sudden Alex came out of nowhere, 'There's nothing wrong with being gay.' That's pretty bold when all the manliness and beer is flowing. I told him I appreciated that. He told me that he didn't even realize he said that. That made me all the more happy that he said that just instinctively. I don't think he realized how big a deal it was, but then we got into deeper talk about our past and such. He was really open with me, which I really appreciated. I let him know that it would be cool if he went to the Castro pub crawl tomorrow. He's like, 'Oh... I've been to gay clubs... so it won't be a big deal.' He told me that his 'gaydar sucked' and he didn't know I was gay until one of my old temp cubemates, Renee, brought it up. Then we randomly started to talk about fashion and jeans... and how he knows a great place to buy designer jeans at discounts. Haha... I never thought I'd see the day where I would shop with the BUTCH Alex....

Like A Speeding Bullet

Life has been like a speeding bullet as of late. I can't tell when one day ends and another starts. Everything is starting to mush together. I think it's because it's near the end of Q1 at work and I'm trying to accomplish everything I've set out to do.

• Nai is going to NYC tomorrow. He's seeing the Christina Aguilera concert at Madison Square Garden with his GF. Cool Beans. I have to take him to SFO tomorrow night.
  
• Dancing With The Stars was rather interesting. I mean, I think Joey Fatone did a good job. I was impressed with John R.'s enthusiasm and gusto. And who knew that Heather Mills could dance with only one leg? That takes balls.
• I still love watching Top Design on Bravo. I really want Goil to win. He's a cutie plus he's got a great knack for design. Every time I watch this show, I miss LA. It's mostly filmed at the PDC (Pacific Design Center) in the heart of West Hollywood. I've told Tinwin, that I would be down for going to design school sometime in the future. I think it's a secret gay passion of mine. Haha.
• I've been contemplating getting a new car. There are two sides of me. The practical and not so practical. Well, my practical side is saying to downgrade to something like a Toyota Yaris... for gas mileage and ease of parking in SF. My not so practical side has an ego that says I should wait till I can 'upgrade' my car to something like a BMW or even a new Civic. Decisions, Decisions. The even more torn side of me thinks I should just let my car live for as long as possible until it dies (it's pretty damn near close). Some of the interior is falling apart and the exterior is scratched like crazy. Plus it's less than 10,000 miles away from 100K in mileage. Yikes... It's only a 2001!
• I'm super excited about the CASTRO SF Pub Crawl this weekend. I've been wanting my co-workers to go to the Castro forever. We've done North Beach, the Mission, Polk St., etc. Now it's time for a little Flavor. Haha. I'm not sure how we're gonna fit so many people in those already crowded Castro Bars, though.
• I'm super excited that ABC is letting Six Degrees finish its run on Fridays. It's back starting this Friday at 9/8c. Yay! I loved this show :)

Not Cell-Phone-Less anymore: The LG VX8600

So, after the crappy experience trying to get a police report from the SFPD, I just decided to buy a new phone outright. Even though I had phone insurance, I just decided it was too much of a hassle. So I think I'll cancel the $5/mo. insurance.

So what did I get? Well, let me tell you what I was considering. Verizon doesn't have a tremendous amount of good phones. I was pretty sick of the Chocolate. I mean, it looks nice but isn't all that functional. The keyboard is cramped and the touch keys are a bit annoying. Plus I never used it for music, which is its selling point.

Narrowed it down to:

• The Motorola Krzr (White)
• The Samsung SCH-u740
• The LG VX8600 (AKA - The Flip Phone Version of the Chocolate)

I wanted something with Bluetooth and nice menus. It's a plus if it looks good. After playing with all 3, I decided upon the LG VX8600.

My Reasoning:

• The phone is pretty.
• The menus are slick (and fast!)
• It has Bluetooth.
• The screen is HUGE and bright.
• I can use all of my previous chocolate accessories.

Although after looking at the upcoming phones on Phone Scoop, I really would like to get the LG VX9400. That phone looks HOT. I don't know when it will be coming out, but that's totally something I'd be interested in. :)

So far I'm pretty happy. I'll write an update later.

So Many Thoughts, So Little Time

Random Thoughts:

• I Miss LA, The Valley & Riverside (Mostly my buddies and a few random places)
• San Francisco is the shit, minus the parking. I will only move there if I had a job in the city. It has so much freakin' charm.
  
• I still am cell-phone-less. I will be going to get a new phone today and just buy it outright. I'm thinking of the LG VX8600 (the flip phone version of the Chocolate).
• I need to go to the gym.
• I never knew what a Beer Garden was until St. Patricks Day.
• My straight friends added some new lingo to my vocab: Monet, Butter Face, etc. Haha.
• I have NEVER seen people wear so much green in my life. San Francisco really knew how to celebrate St. Patty's.
• I love my co-workers.
• I forgot how much I loved bike-riding. We got some new bikes at work to travel to other parts of campus. I've taken it to the shoreline located right behind the hills behind my office. Seriously... jaw dropping, peaceful and gorgeous.

That's A Bummer

So as it turns out, the Christina Aguilera concert is NEXT Saturday in San Jose, 3/10/07. I guess I put the wrong date on my calendar.

So it looks like I'll have time to hang out with Cindy at Night! Yay! :)

Are You F**kin' Kidding Me?

Seriously. America. You're racist... On American Idol.

A.J. Tabaldo was for SURE in the Top 3 Men. He got PRAISE across the board from the judges. I think he's half hispanic/half asian. I really don't think America likes Asian singers... err... I guess Indian is Asian too, but Sanjaya needed to GO!

It's probably the Midwest. *Sigh*

Season 6: Top Male American Idol Contestants

After watching the past few weeks, I think my favorite 3 male American Idol contenders are (in no particular order):

A.J. Tabaldo
Blake Lewis
Chris Richardson

I will report back later on the females.

Weekend Plans: Christina Aguilera & Random Bay Area Travel

So this weekend will be super fun. Cindy, my college buddy, will be coming up to Nor Cal on Friday.

I have the Christina Aguilera / Pussycat Dolls / Danity Kane concert on Saturday night in San Jose. I'll be going with Alex. We bought our tickets like in October of last year. Craziness. There are TWO parties going on Saturday night that I would love to go to, but with the concert and all, it will be nearly impossible.

I'll be hanging out with Cindy on Saturday night after the concert and Sunday afternoon. I'm still trying to decide what we should do. I was thinking Santa Cruz or maybe Half Moon Bay. Something picturesque and away from SF. Or maybe we'll do both... I dunno.

Alex Is Movin' On Up

So one of my best Nor Cal friends is moving to San Francisco. Alex C. got an apartment and will soon be moving. I never thought I'd see that day so quickly. So much for our pilot TV show 'The Real Gays of the South Bay.' I guess it sorta caught me off guard initially, but it's what he's got to do. I really think this will make him happier. I just hope he doesn't start boozing on weeknights. Lol.

With that being said, I really do think this will change the dynamic of our friendship. He'll be 40 miles away. There will be fewer dinners, shopping excursions, and randomness. Most interestingly, I will no longer have a carpool buddy to go up to the Castro with. My drives up will be alone and somber :/

To tell you the truth, that has been some of the best quality time we've had together. It's like 40 minutes of un-interupted face to face time. On top of all of this, we haven't been on the same work team in quite some time. I guess I just feel that all of this put together will mean things just won't be the same. That makes me sad. :(

On the bright side, I MIGHT have a place to crash every once and a while. Although, Alex has emphasized that option being very unlikely to never. *Le Sigh*

Work Limbo

So work is going well. I just don't know what I want to do next. People have been coming up to me as of late and saying "Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?"

I'm sort of in this limbo phase to where I can follow the crowd or diverge into a different path. When I tell people what I'm thinking of doing, they're like 'GO FOR IT... You should totally do that!' But then, at the same time, I've been told that I'd be a good fit for where I don't necessarily want to go.

I had a pow wow with Alex L., one of my old buddies from the temp days. He is such a good role model/advice-giver. He puts things into such a good perspective to where I can't do anything but eat up the advice he's given me. He's always looked out for me... even when he didn't have to. He was there when I was stressing out about converting into a full-hire and he's been there when I'm stressing about what I want to do next as far as career paths are concerned.

I guess it's such as life. I have a scheduled meeting with my manager tomorrow. I just hope it goes okay. We started the same day and we're pretty buddy buddy, but I hope we're on the same page...