/blog-gone

Well well well. Great news, Weaver signed with the Angels after all.

I actually didn't hear about it until reading laobserved.com (my current favorite blog) this morning. You see, I was at the beach all day yesterday (celebrating Andy's bday). Once we got back to the car, I only made a quick scan of the scores. Upon hearing that the Angels lost a ninth inning lead, I avoided sports related news for the rest of the evening.

Cindy found me a promising commentary/urban affairs magazine: The Next American City.

I tried Metropolis but it was too... rock start architect-y? Places was good.

I'm cautious of Kaiser and doctors in general... but I gotta say that my guy did great today.

I used to have a small "growth" on my head, right at my hairline. "Used to"... because my doc just chopped it off. It's all brown right now because he zapped it with some voltage in order to close the wound. Hair loss was minimal. I hope I didn't lose any brain cells. Lord knows my adventures have caused me to lose more than my share.

Eli Broad is the powerbroker of downtown Los Angeles planning, according to D.J. Waldie of the L.A. Times.

If Grand Avenue works out, it will be indisputabe.

Mother made me a bag full of goodies: saltines, cheese and sliced pineapple.

My presentation went well. Supposedly, two of the more adversarial members missed the meeting. Thank God!

For better or worse, I fully expect that who I am at 30 will pretty much be who I'll be for the rest of my life.

Claw.

listen, i'm glad you came
i knew you would.
i waited for months
now we'll...milk the dwindling hours.

Found a gem of a song on the Trashie CD, "On a B Road". Apparently, this song only missed the cut on "I've Seen Everything" because it was too similar to two other tracks. Of course, those two songs were favorites of mine so this new fresh find is no surprise.

Can't wait to see my framed (and signed!) Trashie poster.

Great commentary by Leonardo Vazquez in Planetizen.

He's trying to motivate Planners to take on leadership responsibilities, but his discussion on the role of a Planner is more interesting to me.

In general, my jobs have primarily been about "control management". I participate and devise ways to control development for the City, the people, business, and of course, the politicians. I don't have that control myself but I administer and sometimes develop the system that receives the tension for all the competeing interests.

It certainly has been an interesting five years, but I would also like to participate in the actual "production" of something. But what is that something?

I don't know why I left last Sunday's paper in my car for so long but when I finally picked it up, I was glad to see discussion on the next City of Los Angeles, Director of Planning.

OK. Revenge of the Sith was good. Very good. I knew I was into it when I couldn't stop thinking about how angry I got at the Jedi council. Those fools!

I'm not necessarily a fan of Star Wars as a franchise, not the way I love LOTR. That said, Sith, New Hope, and Empire is a damn good trilogy, if you ask me.

While others are graduating, I'm starting Cal State Long Beach's Global Logistics Specialist program. The first module is called Follow the Freight: Process, Partners, Documents, and Decisions.

Villiaragosa by an absolute landslide.

The election is going to have a very direct impact on my workplace. You see, the Mayor appoints the Port Commissioners and Mr. Villaraigosa has promised to make wholesale changes.

I know what's good for me so I won't say who I was rooting for here.

But on a purely academic note, how did the race become 59 to 41%? It wasn't even close. Everyone at work was saying a toss up (Hahn is from San Pedro), but the LA Times had an 11(?) point lead for Villiaragosa. I didn't trust both sources so I assumed it would be somewhere in the middle... but this? This is crazy.

Actually. That isn't crazy. The next few months at work will be crazy.

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UPDATE: POLITICS AND THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

I love looking back at the conventional wisdom because everyone looks so foolish. But this time around, I get to eat my words.

I guessed that Villiaragosa would win a close race. He blew Hahn out.

I said that the LA Times poll was biased against Hahn but in reality, Villiaragosa did even better than expected!

I told everyone I knew that a low turnout would be good for Hahn. But LA Observed has the stats:

Villaraigosa actually got more votes in 2001, but Hahn's collapse was utter. More than 120,000 votes he received last time weren't there for him on Tuesday.

Turnout was 30% (as opposed to 37% in 2001) and it only made Villaraigosa's win stronger.

My only consolation is that there weren't many who were right. Nothing is ever won on paper, I guess that's why you still gotta play the game.

Got my copy of "Life is tough and then you graduate: the second PhD comic strip collection". It’s quite pleasing to the eye and consistently charming, even for a non-graduate student like myself. Get yours today and then buy more for your friends in graduate school!

If you want a taste, he has some strips available online.

I'm really lucky to have moved into a window cubicle. It's a small pleasure but it's a pleasure nonetheless.

While moving in, I cleaned out all the previous person's stuff. Going through all the files, maps, and studies seemed somewhat melancholy. This person spent 40 hours a week for the past few years for this organization but it ended without a proper goodbye.

A friend of mine is retiring today too. He was one of the "good to mike" guys when I first started (and there weren't necessarily a lot of those around). He deserved more than he got.

People. Jobs. Organizations. There isn't any one person or thing to blame. I'm just saying there's something wrong with the picture. It isn't always that way, but it happens far too often. It could be a job, a friend, a relationship, a church, a religion, or a family. Things go bad. Things go sour. In my book, it doesn't necessarily make the years not worth it, but it certainly soils the memories.

I suppose the focus shouldn't be what we walk from, but what we are headed towards.

So to everyone going places: Cheers and good luck.

I see cute kids almost two times a week and I'm always kicking myself for not having my camera available. Yesterday, I didn't forget.

Cindy and I help out with the "Crawlers" church day care. The hardest part for the kids is right when they see their parents walk out the door. The tears well up and the screaming begins. Most calm down after a few minutes but some of the newer kids have a harder time with it.

As the kids started crying, I tried to entertain them showing them pictures of themselves. For the most part, it worked. You can see how they are sad but yet strangely compelled by the magic lense.

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Saw the Trashies at Fingerprints in Long Beach. Ran into fellow fans, Charles and Jimmy. Even got a poster autographed by the boys! BTW, they were great.

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American Cities That Best Fit You:

80% Los Angeles

70% Boston

65% San Francisco

60% Portland

55% New York City

If I were a filthy rich rock star, I'd team up with Cindy and start an progressive, eco-friendly fish farm. Clean, healthy sashimi for all the world!

Bono IS a filthy rich rock star so he and Mrs. Hewson have started a new clothing line, Edun.

I've been very impressed with "sweatshop free" American Apparel and their business model. So I'm glad to see Bono giving something similar a try. I really think that there are excellent business opportunities for what I describe as progressive capitalism. Tell UCLA students to stop protesting Taco Bell and instead, start a better business! Provide a better product. Don't you think there are a few people who are willing to pay a little more for goods that are cleaner, better for people, and better for the environment? I do.

Joshua P. Hill of A World Connected has some good commentary on EDUN:

While it may seem that Bono is doing nothing more than what other businessman do (i.e. making decisions about where to locate production), there is an important distinction. The criteria for Bono’s decision-making are apparently different from what the market would otherwise dictate. Prices are a feed-back loop that allow the long-term survival of a venture but also encapsulate a great deal of information.

In fact, prices are a good indicator of need. Who needs a job more: someone who will only work for $20,000 US or someone who is willing to take $1,000 US? As a general rule, the person who will work for less money has greater need. To have the largest possible impact with this venture Bono should locate production wherever labor is cheapest—and then pay above the market wage.

Bono’s attempt to use alternate criteria when making decisions endangers both the long term success of the project and his ability to locate production in the neediest areas. Thankfully, if Edun doesn't take off, there are others who will continue to provide the impact that Bono seeks. So, we should wish him well and cheer him on… but we should also be aware that Edun is only the tip of the iceberg of what is being done to better the lives of the poor.

I'm confident it will all work out for Edun as long as the clothes actually look good.

Today's community outreach meeting went as well as it possible could!

Fell asleep at Cindy's and then fell asleep at home. Just woke up feeling heartburn but all I needed was a shower. Sleeping without that freshly scrubbed feeling apparently stresses me out. Doing much better now, thank you very much.

One day without a cell phone and I'm waiting outside Cindy's place while she is already at my parent's house.

After that was sorted out, we had dinner at Senor Fish with Richard and Danette. Note that this was Senior Fish in South Pasadena. I find it much better than the Alhambra and downtown locations.

Before bed, I watched some 24. I still don't get that show. Maybe one can't just jump in and out and still be interested in the plot. I was only interested in counting the times the Chinese guy said, "Jack Bow-wa".

I want to speak with you Jack Bow-wa! We have video tape Jack Bow-wa! Why you always in trouble Jack Bow-wa!

Switched back to Las Vegas, which isn't necessarily much better.

This time, I took my Mom to Millard Canyon and then saw Millions (again) with both parents. Hope everyone had as great a good Mother's Day.

The day before, Cindy and I toured San Pedro and celebrated Joey's 30th birthday party. I may have found some guys to go paintballing with. Supposedly they have a semi-automatic "marker" for me to borrow.

By the end of last week, I kind of broke down. I was under the weather and also physically and emotionally spent. In addition to my normal weekly activities, I don't know if trying to work out in the evenings fit my poor sleep schedule.

I'm fairly rested now. It's a new day and a fresh week. We'll see how things play out.

I dreamt that I was taught to ride a motorcycle by a father and son team in Alhambra. I think the idea is worthy of consideration but most everyone is keeping the conversation short.

My target weight for the month of May is 170. That's a decrease of 8 pounds. According to the experts, it's all about "overall negative caloric intake".

Aw man, I lost in the first round of the work table tennis tourney. I can play good defense but really need a good slam.

Rat by The Walkmen is a powerhouse of a song. I love it! Even when I'm not particularily angry, it gets me all riled up. There aren't many songs that have had such a severe and immediate impact on me.

I got the full album (which is a bit uneven). Nevertheless, Rat is timeless classic.

Part of being in a church community is getting to know people and opening myself to being known. In addition to all the great things that come with that, it’s inevitable that little annoyances occur too. And these things were subtly happening with/to me as I got more involved in Church and Life Group.

At the same time, I’ve wanted to get more involved in church ministry. Part of me really appreciates being the kid brother but I’m also itching to get going at a faster pace. In general, I’ve helped arrange Life Group socials and Sunday Service lunch. My general position was that I would help out wherever there was need, yet I wanted a little more than that. So I thought, prayed, and talked about this with a few people. I decided to take a wait and see approach in case God presented some opportunities.

Food service came up again. Part of me was glad to help but part of me was feeling rather blasé about it too. After this past week, I realized that even something as simple as food service has a lot of personality and organizational ticks. You see, I’m fairly easily frustrated and annoyed by little things. And part of the reason I wasn't too interested in it was because it annoyed me. I contrasted my reaction with one of the leaders in church. He has so much grace and civility for everyone. And it isn’t just in his outside behavior (which can be faked). It is a sincere outpouring of his heart. That’s something I need more of and something I would like to develop before I take on more at the church.

So I’m beginning to think that where I’m at is exactly what I need to be.

During church membership class, I remember hearing something that really impressed me. They spoke of the balance between talent, knowledge, and character. All three were important for ministry. I imagine my detractors would say that I’m quite deficient in the character portion, and as much as I disagree with them, I know that they also have a point. That's the muscle I need to flex, and while I get distracted by more glamorous muscles, the Big Guy is slowly, patiently, bringing me along the right workout plan.

Last weekend, Cindy and I took a pleasant 1/2 mile stroll in Altadena on Millard Canyon Trail. It leads up to a nice waterfall.

More pictures: A, B, and C.

I am set up for disappointment because despite my better judgement, I firmly believe that Revenge of the Sith is going to be awesome.

I could play it safe and temper my expectations but I refuse.

Let's be clear about something first. I'm sure there will be some embarrassing "Lucas moments", but my prediction is that Episode III will become generally considered the second best Star Wars movie of all time (after Empire Stikes Back, of course).

Believe it.

I'm horrible at prayer. I'd like to commit the following prayer to memory so I have something good to say before I eat:

For these and all his mercies, God's holy name be blessed and praised; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I feel a renewed sense of direction. It's very satisfying to have a general idea of what I want to do with my life. Of course, I have no idea how everything will turn out but that isn't necessary. All I need are the goals.