Philly is still slammin'!!!

Once in a lifetime you get to really meet people that have influenced your life and you get to thank them, tell them how much they've meant to you and pay homage to them. This weekend, it happened.

We went to see the BoyzIIMen concert at Cache Creek Indian Gaming Casino in Brooks, CA. We saw them in April of 2007 and we were dazzled then. I'm still in a daze about the whole thing.

The concert was amazing, though the crowd wasn't as electrified as the first time we saw them, if you're a fan, you're a fan, you know? They sang all the favorites, songs off of their new Motown album, and entertained completely.

At the end of the concert, we all decided,

on a whim really, to do the meet-n-greet and after we paid the new entry, got a chance to meet our idols individually. The wife told them how much she'd admired them the 18 years of their career and how my 5-year old knows all of their songs, I told them how much of an influence they've made in my life and how much I've loved their music the whole 18 years I've known them. Everyone else paid their tributes and the Boyz were all gracious. That impressed the hell out of me, how much they love us fans and were pretty accommodating.

I can't wait for their next concert. Next time, we do the meet and greet, I'm asking for autographs on my original CD!

..there needs to be a better way...to show I'm grateful...

...2 DAYS AND COUNTING...BoyzIIMen in Concert, here we come!

Since seeing them live in 2007, then finding out that their back in Cache Creek, I can't wait to see the magnificent men of BoyzIIMen again. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I just can't wait. BoyzIIMen are in my car 24/7 until the concert. ;oP

DAMMIT I'm exhausted!

My, this has been a crazy end of summer/early fall!

Per my previous post, Jake started kindergarten and I'm pleased to report that he is "Star of the Week" this week. He's been in school a month already and yes, it is still way too fast for Daddy. We're scheduling, can you believe it, parent-teacher conferences already!

I'm really proud of our little Jake. He's never really woken up for school in a bad mood. He loves school, loves his teacher, but hates doing homework. We cry, we throw a fit, we get angry and if not for positive reinforcement from Mama and Daddy, we don't get it done. He's a perfectionist and while we're working on writing our letters, if his "o's" aren't perfect, he's frustrated.

The Summer Olympics made be, once again, proud of being American. I loved EVERY MINUTE of it, from opening (can you believe the things these Chinese did???) to the closing ceremonies. The only thing I hated was the insomnia...albeit self induced. Go Phelps.

The rest of this past August-September has been a blur of business at work and home with few if any weekends spent doing nothing. Our wonderful superdog Louie lost his manhood, wifey finished her stint as juror #1, it's supposed to finally rain tonight, and I've been my father's son watching these pre-election maneuverings like a hawk. Go Obama/Biden 08.

Work has been hectic as we're finally done with the first payroll of the school year. We're ramping up work on our assignment monitoring which, hopefully will make things easier on us in the future...right now though, we're in the middle of inputting and coding and what not...and I didn't get no degree in computer science!

We've gone camping with friends, found a new Filipino food spot near home, birthdayed with our siblings, and pretty much just had fun with each other. I'm loving life.

On the home front, we're finally setting into the life of parents to a kindergartener and that's not bad at all. Right now, life is good. Busy, but good.

Things have changed in my head these last couple of months and I think it's all good. I read Randy Pausch's Last Lecture (he's the Carnegie Mellon professor who recently died of pancreatic cancer) and it's had quite an affect on me. If you haven't read it, it's pretty inspiring. You can find the lecture on youtube or read it at CarnegieMellon.edu For the first time in a long time I'm...content, it's almost zen.

2 days until the 49er game (thanks B-I-L)

1 week until the BoyzIIMen concert

2 weeks until our Mendocino Weekend

4 weeks until Halloween

Happy Spookings to all.

How the Time Flies

It's done. His first day will be over in 20 minutes and I am both proud and anxious, exhausted and happy for him. Kindergarten for him was a big deal and he's passed with flying colors. His mom and I on the other hand...

I was okay for his first day. I was prepared for today. Last night, on the other hand, I lost it...I was a mess. I spent some time alone with him putting him down finally for sleep when memories of him in my arms as an infant and toddler, swaying him to sleep, caring for him when he would throw up in bed as a baby, checking in on him, teaching him songs and making him laugh in the car.

His Mama was a mess today after we dropped him off. In the car driving away from the school and at Starbucks over coffee and chocolate croissants. Time has certainly flown by way too fast for us.

He's ready. We know he is. We're pretty proud of the job we've done to bring him up properly the past four years. He's bright, inquisitive, has a great sense of humor and sense of self, he's caring and loving and very much the young man we're hoping he will be.

In a few minutes, he'll be done with his first day and I can't wait to get off for lunch to see him and ask him how his day went. Papa and Grandma will be there with the wife to greet him and I know he'll have so much to say, but won't tell us too much.

I want so much for him to stay a little boy, but know that time does not stop for anybody and I just have to grow right along with him. It hurts to know that I can't protect him and shield him like I used to. He's learning independence and he needs to learn it. I know in time I'll eventually drop my guard. The one thing I can trust though is that he will always and forever be my son and my best bud and I couldn't ask for more, nor would I want to.

It's about growing up...

What happened to my little boy? When did he get all grown up on me and his Mama?

Maybe it's that he's gearing up for Kindergarten, but I'm feeling a little blue about my Jakey-Wakey getting ready for real school. Where did the time go? Seems like only yesterday when we welcomed him into the world and into our family, novice parents as we were. I know we've done a good job with him. He's caring, smart, friendly and has a wonderful sense of humor. You can see that all he wants is to either impress us or make us laugh, sometimes both.

Much like a baby bird learning to fly, he's learning to spread his wings and find himself in the world while his Mama and I, well, mostly I still want to hold him tight and keep him for as long as I can.

I tell him that even when he's old and gray and has grandbabies of his own he will still be my baby. That's will always hold true, I believe.

His mom gave me a wonderful gift of memories this past Fathers' Day and we took a great family trip to the happiest place on earth just a few weeks ago and all of the memories of putting him to sleep each night, playing with him, singing songs to him, teaching him about the world, about life, about being a man has got me feeling so many things lately. I'm sad that time has passed us by so quickly. I'm proud of the boy he is and the man he is becoming. I love him as a father should, and love him more because of who he is. I see so much of me in him it's scary! I find myself feeling the same feelings I felt meeting him for the first time in the hospital, holding him, scared about what we were about to embark on, scared about how fragile he still was and how unjaded he still is about the world and how I could protect him from everything as any father would.

All I can say is that Mama and Daddy love you so much. So many other people love you and care about you. And though we may not always be there beside you, we're always here to hold your hand and guide you, to make things easier for you and to show you that there is still so much good in the world when sometimes all you see is bad. We're proud of you, Jake. Just take your time and don't grow up to fast. Mama and Daddy need time to catch up. Well, I don't know about Mama, but Daddy needs time to catch up.

Recap...

So it's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged and I'm happy to say thinks have been picking up. We're four days away from our Disneyland Vacation and it couldn't come any sooner. Jake's so excited -- I think wifey and I are too -- that he's finally tall enough to go on more of the "big boy" rides. We've actually sat down with a map of the resort trying to figure out what he really wants to go on.

At work, we just finished our monitoring for this school year and it's been a pretty frenetic pace. The state has been wanting more and more detailed information and it's been a task to get into the nuts and bolts of the audit. I'm just so super glad it's done.

Home life has been pretty normal -- of sorts -- if you consider who we are. We've been S L O W L Y working on the side yard and it has been quite fun when we've had a chance to go back there.

Jake got his kindergarten shots. He was great during the shots (he got 5!), but was a lot less of a "big boy" when it came to the band aids that covered them. I can't believe he's on his way to kindergarten. It seems like only yesterday I was swaying him to sleep, trying to not fall asleep myself. He's been testing a few boundaries lately, not listening to his mom or me so well, there was a major blow up about his room yesterday, but in the end, he's still our lovable, huggable, "Ki-wakes" and we love him so. This week he's on restriction from TV until our Disney weekend.

This weekend was my in-laws 3? anniversary (I know which one it is, I'm just not divulging). It was fun and we had great food and company. This was followed by my nephews' (Joseph and Elijah's) birthday party. Again, it was a pool party and again IT WAS COLD! But did that keep us from swimming? Hell no! My niece, Jake and I still managed a few minutes of pool time before heading to my sister's house for the Pacquiao fight. It was a good one!

Wifey had a bad day the last couple of days and I'm going to keep it at that for fear of retribution (I love you, Dear!) I really felt for her. Nothing was going right. But, as will all things, the weekend ended on a great note with our dearest friends and we were able to laugh the bad stuff away.

Now it's a countdown, we're trying to get the house clean and the laundry done in time for our departure. Jake's got a graduation on Thursday and then we're driving up to my parents' house where Louie will vacay (he seems to have fun up there with Chelsea and Sammy, my parents' dogs) while we are in Disneyland.

Have a great week people. Let's hope it goes by quick!

Father's Day Post-Mortem

It's almost 9AM on the Monday after Fathers' Day and I am heartwarmed and thankful. On Saturday we cleaned house (we're still not done) after neglecting it for what feels like months and I've already gone through buckets of dust, dirt and grime. In the evening, we went up to my parents' house to celebrate with Dad. Great tri-tip! It was fun also being able to bond with the new addition to the family, my nephew Evan. We got home late that evening, spending the night in the living room.

The following morning, the two pounce on me greeting me with a loud Happy Fathers' Day. From Jake, I get a SIGG bottle that's pretty cool in design -- like I picked it out myself -- and a Gap vest which, may I add, I am sporting today. I get a card from Louie Lou and from the wife I get a card with a promise of a Wii Fit once she can get her hands on one. I also got a DVD she made for me filled with pictures of us and of me and Jake and I have to say it brought me to tears.

I'm thankful for a wife who loves me unconditionally, who understands me, who makes me incredibly happy and who I just love hanging out with. I'm thankful for a son who indulges Daddy with hugs and kisses and who has more energy that I can sometimes manage. He's always ready to made Dad laugh and impresses me everyday with the things he is learning about the world. I close my eyes sometimes and I see sometime in the future that a very lucky young lady will be impressed with him, with the way he was brought up, with his intellect and acute understanding of love and life. He'll impress her enough that she'll fall in love with him and he will make her a happy woman. And well, it doesn't hurt that he's a handsome young man himself.

I love how smart he is, how quickly he picks things up. I love his sensitivity and how he tries so hard not to disappoint his mom and me. Sure he has his moments and they are quite a few, where he isn't so saintly. But, all in all, he is a great kid, and I see more and more everyday why it was love at first sight with me and him. He is the reason I strive to be a better me.

Between Jake and the wife, I work hard everyday to be the man, the husband and the father they deserve. So on this Monday after my sixth Fathers' Day, thank you both for reminding me how much you love me and appreciate me. I am very, very blessed.

Father's Day Post-Mortem

It's almost 9AM on the Monday after Fathers' Day and I am heartwarmed and thankful. On Saturday we cleaned house (we're still not done) after neglecting it for what feels like months and I've already gone through buckets of dust, dirt and grime. In the evening, we went up to my parents' house to celebrate with Dad. Great tri-tip! It was fun also being able to bond with the new addition to the family, my nephew Evan. We got home late that evening, spending the night in the living room.

The following morning, the two pounce on me greeting me with a loud Happy Fathers' Day. From Jake, I get a SIGG bottle that's pretty cool in design -- like I picked it out myself -- and a Gap vest which, may I add, I am sporting today. I get a card from Louie Lou and from the wife I get a card with a promise of a Wii Fit once she can get her hands on one. I also got a DVD she made for me filled with pictures of us and of me and Jake and I have to say it brought me to tears.

I'm thankful for a wife who loves me unconditionally, who understands me, who makes me incredibly happy and who I just love hanging out with. I'm thankful for a son who indulges Daddy with hugs and kisses and who has more energy that I can sometimes manage. He's always ready to made Dad laugh and impresses me everyday with the things he is learning about the world. I close my eyes sometimes and I see sometime in the future that a very lucky young lady will be impressed with him, with the way he was brought up, with his intellect and acute understanding of love and life. He'll impress her enough that she'll fall in love with him and he will make her a happy woman. And well, it doesn't hurt that he's a handsome young man himself.

I love how smart he is, how quickly he picks things up. I love his sensitivity and how he tries so hard not to disappoint his mom and me. Sure he has his moments and they are quite a few, where he isn't so saintly. But, all in all, he is a great kid, and I see more and more everyday why it was love at first sight with me and him. He is the reason I strive to be a better me.

Between Jake and the wife, I work hard everyday to be the man, the husband and the father they deserve. So on this Monday after my sixth Fathers' Day, thank you both for reminding me how much you love me and appreciate me. I am very, very blessed.