J Peterman is real!

I love Seinfeld. I have seen every episode, and though I can't quote it like me cousin Brandon, I do consider myself a loyal fan. While perusing the internet in search of a good Henley shirt, I came across a link that I thought for sure was fake. I had no idea that there was actually a man and a clothing company called J. Peterman. Even better was the backstory of how the company is still around.

Anyway, as a loyal Seinfeld fan, I believe I need to buy something from J. Peterman. I was disappointed when the Urban Sombrero wasn't offered, so I'll just need to find something else.

My New Crush

I just found my new crush. One on my favorite parts of this video is the Ranchero guys. They look lost dancing, unsure if they should be in the video, let alone be dancing with a white girl. But I like her style, her moves, her voice and her ability to not take herself too seriously.

I am jealous of Vocal Point, something I never thought would happen, because they get to meet her and she compliments them! I don't watch the Sing-Off, but I may begin because of Sarah Bareilles.

My attempt at art

The other day, I was walking through the store and saw those huge jaw-breakers. I had never had one and I wanted it. I wanted it bad. So, I thought up an excuse to carry it with me all weekend and turned it into a little art project. Mind you, I was a science major in college, so excuse the high school level thought process. My idea was to suck on the jaw-breaker and take pictures of it as the weekend went on, with whatever we were doing in the background.

Chan had to put up with it all weekend. I basically looked like this the whole time.

By the end of the weekend, my tongue was raw and it hurt, so I don't know how smart the project was. But here it is.

The weekend started at Chan's. And yes, that is Point Break on the TV. Any good weekend starts with watching the cinematic achievement called Point Break.

Then we met up with John and Bonnie @ Chego. This place is soooooo good.

From Chego at night to McGriddles in the morning. We're hitting the road to our campsite.

Now, for some reason, Chan had been wanting combat knifes. So he bought some. Good thing too, we wouldn't have survived the night without them...

My tongue started bleeding at this point, sucking on this damn thing.

As you can see, I didn't eat too healthy. But ooohhh, it was great.

We were the only people at the campground without a tent.

This is General Sherman, the biggest tree in the world. Not the tallest, but the biggest. Apparently, because it was stated repeatedly, girth matters!

A long needed update

I apologize for the tardiness of my post (I know not many follow this, so my apology is directed at you, Mom). There is something about getting myself to post. I think years of being forced to write for school has caused me to inherently not like it, or at least the idea of it. Though, once I start writing, I actually enjoy it. That is what my college education has done for me! Anyway, here is a quick update of my activities

A while back I went to the street art exhibit in LA. It was the last day it was open, so the line was crazy, but I really liked it. There was so much awesome art. It was also interesting because they kind of paid tribute to gangs and such, like the Bloods and the Crips. Anyway, I snapped a few quick pics. These weren't the best things on display, but good nonetheless.

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I liked this because lately, at times, I just feel this way. But also, I'm still looking for that tagline.

I found this tucked away in the corner of the exhibit. I had to snap a picture because when I was a sophomore in high school, playing football, a couple of seniors hazed me saying I looked like the Mad magazine kid in my football helmet. Just a reminder of my glory days...

And this? Well, this is just an awesome picture.

I loved the whole exhibit. Also, it was fun going with Chan, because he is like a free tour guide (He knows a lot about this stuff).

I've also done little random things. I had been craving grilling up an awesome hamburger, so this is what it looked like.

It was good...

One other thing worth mentioning is that Chan and I went camping. I tried a little art project, but I'll do a separate post for that. We headed up north to Sequoia National Park for Labor Day weekend. Mom, these pics are for you...

Near our campsite.

We made tinfoil dinners, s'mores and these. They're called banana boats, bananas cut open with chocolate and marshmallows stuffed inside, and they are awesome.

These are Sequoia Trees. They are huge and so much cooler than Redwoods...

Well, there are more experiences to follow.

My most gay, non-gay post

So, a few years back, my buddy's fiance (now wife) told him that I have some gay tendencies (Just a quick side track. I once told this to my cousin and she responded, "Really? You don't dress up in women's clothing." Oh, what she must think gay people are like). Now, I don't know exactly what she (my buddy's fiance) was referring to, but there are times in my life that I can't put up a good defense.

Which brings me to my last weekend's activity. Like I had planned, I went on a hike to some grottos in Malibu. I know that isn't something that summons up questions of my sexual orientation (maybe if I threw on a garter belt...), but what I did before hand kind of does. To accompany me on my hike was my friend, Chandler. Before we went on the grueling 3 1/2 mile trot, we decided to grab something to eat. Chan always knows of good places to get a quick snack and took me to a little spot called "Little Blue" in Calabasas.

Now, this is where my defense weakens. I first need to start off by saying, I was pleasantly whelmed by "Little Blue"; it was quite a quaint dive. And what did we eat? We shared (yeah, that's right, shared) a sandwhich called an "Ellen's Special"... and a cheese plate. Sadly, this isn't the first time Chan and I have shared a cheese plate. About a week before, we shared a succulent plate in the valley. Also, after sharing our cheese plate, tucked away together in the corner, we just had to skip next door and peek at the Kardashian's Clothing Boutique...

This is where I picture myself defending my sexuality in a courtroom.

The attorney asks, "Mr. Funk, do you like men?"

"No, not in the way you're implying."

"Really? Well Mr. Funk, please describe to me your lunch this past weekend."

"Well, you see, my friend Chandler and I shared this cheese plate at this great spot in Calabasas. Oh, it was right next door to that Kardashian Boutique... shit."

I really need a good make-out with a hot girl to reaffirm my manhood.

Oh, and the hike was alright.

New Things

I have never been good at blogging. I've almost had an opposition to it... for a few reasons. First of all, I associate blogs with married people who tell everyone how great their lives are. I suppose their lives could just be that awesome, but to me, they lack genuineness, something I really appreciate... and maybe I'm a bit jealous. I get it, you're married. You went to Hawaii. Your kids are cute (Aw, look, his first spaghetti experience... it's all over his face. So adorable...).

Also, I have thought, why should I blog? Who would care what I have to say? And honestly, I do think that. But there is a part of me that wants people to care. Then, subsequently, the fear arises - what if no one cares what I have to say? I know, I shouldn't worry about that. I need to push that fear to the back of my head. I shouldn't blog for other people. I want to blog for myself.

I do want to say that I am self conscious about my writing ability. I'm just not very good at it. I read what I have written and usually think, "this sucks." But I figure, the only way to improve my writing is to do more of it. So, those who actually suffer through reading any of these posts, I apologize, but let's just hope it improves.

Which now brings me to my reason for posting today. There are a myriad of things I want to try, stuff I want to experience. So, what it is that holds me back? Honestly, laziness and fear. For example, I love the outdoors, but I don't get out much. Why don't I? I don't take the time to figure out where I can go. Let's attribute that one to laziness. Next example, fear. I have always wanted to approach a girl I've never met before, strike up a conversation and get her number. I feel that is an experience I need to have. Why have I never tried it? The cliche fear of rejection. But additionally, the fear of annoying the girl. Really though, that just comes back to me, because I have some weird fear of being the source of such annoyance.

I don't want my fear and laziness to hold me back anymore. I was thinking today that my opportunity to do new things is disappearing. Right now, I have a window of time that I can really do whatever I want. I need to take advantage of that. Who wants to have regret later in life?

So, I am going to try a new thing (or something I haven't done in a long time) each week. I will post my activities, and how they went, here. Some will be simple, like learning to re-string my guitar or try a new recipe. Others will be more elaborate. But I just want to experience and discover new things. In posting them, it will give me some sense of accountability, if only, to myself. But if anybody reads this and has ideas, new things I could try, I would love to hear them.

My first two activities:

Activity #1 - I've heard there are grottos in Malibu. I want to go.

Activity #2 - Go to a horse race track.

Open-Minded

I don't know why I continue to watch Real Time with Bill Maher. His unreasonable generalizations are just as ridiculous as Fox News and Glenn Beck's ability to find a "scare you shitless" story about, say, a photo taken of President Obama years before. The difference to me is when I hear Fox News, I just role my eyes and can't take them seriously because I feel in some way, they don't really believe that President Obama is a secret Muslim trying to bring down democracy and strip me of my freedom. That is just a good tagline to throw it to commercial. As for Bill Maher, I think he actually believes that if one is critical of President Obama's policies, it is only because he is black. What gets me is that he actually believes he is open-minded.

I wish SNL Weekend Update would do a "Really, Bill Maher, Really?" sketch, but I'm going to save my birthday wish for something more important, like a white suede vest sported by the great Boyz II Men (I hold my breath every time I open a present, hoping for that white vest). But I digress. My point is that Bill Maher is NOT open-minded. Open-minded somehow has gotten mixed up with progressive (which I would also argue is not the correct term, but a matter of opinion). But if people don't agree with Bill Maher's progressive ideology, he deems them close-minded, religious, Republican bigots.

Bill Maher is just as much of a bigot as he accuses others to be!

big-ot:

-noun a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

I'm not defending the people who don't share Bill Maher's views. There are people who are right-wing, Fox News fanatics that are bigots. Only, it is the smug, I know better than you, attitude of hypocritical Bill Maher that gets me - along with anyone who claims they are open-minded, but really just think those who share their opinion are the real "open-minded" ones.

So, if you love European green energy, universal healthcare, and believe that every Homosexual has the right to marry (I'm not taking a stand on any of these here) and you condemn anyone who doesn't share that point of view while you drive around in your Prius (complete with a Darwin-Jesus fish) with a trunk full of organic food stuffed in canvas bags, you are just as close-minded as you are accusing others to be.

Bill Maher, it is possible to respectfully disagree. And I disagree with many of your opinions, you left-wing liberal, immoral, s.o.b., devil in a Gucci suit who is destroying the fabric of our society...