The Return...

well, it's been a while since i posted anything. 3 wins out of 12 doesn't leave us with much to write home about...anyway, i did have a chance to do something fun yesterday i thought i'd share and have most of you say, "only jeffy..." most of you know my guilty pleasure of pop culture/teeny bopper pop music...well, one of the biggest bands from my days in amsterdam was on tour and came through SJ yesterday...yeah, don't tell anyone, but i went and saw "The Return of the SPICE GIRLS"...i was asking around to people i knew who either worked w/ us or knew someone at the arena, etc. to see if there were any tix available, and this past weekend, one of our docs who also covers the sharks gave me 2 tickets for xmas. he has a suite at the areana and have the option of purchasing tickets for other events.
when i was in a'dam, they were really hitting it big and it was amazing to see the response over there and the phenomenon in general. when i got back home that summer ('97), is when they were taking off here. the fact they played SJ was pretty curious too when you consider the other stops include Vancouver, LA, Miami, Vegas, NY, Manchester, London, Madrid, Shanghai, Sydney, and well, you get the picture...anyway, i'm sure you are anxiously waiting a review, so here goes... I must admit i was impressed that first of all, it seemed like they sang most if not all of their songs. i couldn't tell of any prerecorded stuff during any part of the show. Second, they all look very good...time has worked in their favor, in my opinion, especially baby spice (the blonde) and scary (the one that just finished Dancing with the Stars). as singers go, i'd say that scary and sporty have the strongest voices - they can actually sing pretty well, while posh's (the one married to david beckham) voice is definitely the weakest. she got drowned out the most by the music. the other two are pretty good too, w/ baby probably a little better than ginger. the energy in the place was good and i found myself laughing at the mere fact i was there in the first place.
they did all their hits of course and talked to the crowd a little, getting some shouts out to San Jose, etc....they started off the show by coming up through the stage on individual risers w/ the fog and laser show they of course deserve...they don't do a lot of dancing and had a bunch of guy dancers to handle the hardcore choreographed stuff. their first song was spiceworld which set the tone pretty well...the paper said they had 8 costume changes....ok, sure...at one point, they each had their own "solo" onstage alone. scary pulled a male fan from the stands and tied him to a large ladder while she swung a whip around and sang "are you gonna go my way" by lenny kravitz...the guy seemed to enjoy it. ginger sang "its raining men", baby and sporty sang songs i didn't recognize, and posh, in an effort at consistency (?) didn't sing, but instead strutted down the runway like a model to the stage that sat in the middle of the arena that also had a riser/floor that went up and down...towards the end they sang "mama" at which time they showed pics on the video board, first of the girls with their mothers, then with their own children. touching indeed. they finished w/ a song called goodbye, which was followed by the inevitable encore which included their most popular song, wannabe as well as a medley of some classic 70's disco songs like celebration, that's the way i like it, and we are family...the last song was a reprise of spiceword...they should be fresh since it was only the second night of the tour. they played around w/ each other and at least looked like they were enjoying being back together. it was definitely a memorable night and a good show. they impressed with their ability to entertain...say whatever you'd like about talent, spectacle, etc., the friend i went with and i had a good time overall, and i guess that's what it's all about anyway, right?

Achievements of note

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have 3 Level 70s in the family.

http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Hyjal&n=Revolxes

http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Hyjal&n=Raguo

http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Shadowsong&n=Bakaette

And 1 Senior Accountant at Novogradac & Company LLP

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I heard that Turlock had gravy as smooth as velvet. Yummy!

Jarrad

Greatest Movie Ever!

Whoa! Just woke from turkey coma and found out Hot Rod (the movie) came out on DVD today. Ok, maybe it's not the greatest movie ever, but it's really funny if you like crazy movies about wannabe stunt men in small towns that don't make any sense. Cool beans!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eat lots of turkey and mashed potatoes!

You knew this was coming...

Rod: In case you missed it...UCLA hosted Cal at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Esther and I went to the game with my college roommates, Pete and Jason. We had great seats, in Row 3 behind the UCLA bench.

Esther: It was very hot outside. And the Rose Bowl is quite old. And this 8-clap business was difficult to learn. Too much hand-eye-mouth coordination, I think. At Northwestern games, all we did was yell, but mostly boo because Northwestern can be very, very bad. (Go NU!)

Rod: Here's a view of the Cal rooting section of the stadium. The atmosphere was great inside the Rose Bowl, with 83,494 fans making plenty of noise. We were sitting close to the UCLA marching band section and the student section, which was fun.

Esther: The Cal fan section was really loud, and they were always in sync with their hand gestures and cheers. That was impressive. Since we sat next to the UCLA band, I could see all odd dance movements, like "The Robot" and a move that I can only describe as the "Ugh" move. (Looks somewhat like this "Ski" move, but with more gusto. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi2p_xvpO8E.)

Rod: I didn't think we had a chance after the Notre Dame debacle, but the Bruins kept it close (it helps that we didn't have a third-string QB looking like a deer in headlights on the field. Here's hoping Cowan keeps the starting job for the rest of the year). And, after a spectacular interception for a touchdown, we have... the final score. We picked a great game to attend.

Esther: I didn't think UCLA had a chance. But the crowd was really amazing and kept the energy level up high. Rodney and I and all the fans in our section really were the 12th man on the field. There was this alumni yell crew leader (Geoffrey Strand) who kept shouting "You! You! You! You are the 12th man on the field!" You can watch the video below (of last year's USC-UCLA game) and see he motivates the crowd to get on its feet and make lots of noise.

FYI...

Hope all is well w/ everyone...if you're interested, i made it onto the video section of 49ers.com... if you want, go to www.49ers.com and click on The Robinson Report: Seattle Prep and watch me get interviewed by one of our running backs, Michael Robinson...he's a good kid and one of the guys I tape regularly...he tricked me into doing the interview saying he needed to speak to me privately and then snuck the cameras on me...it was pretty fun. enjoy...

Trip to Nashville

We went to Nashville this weekend for my friend's wedding. It was my first visit to Music City, and I was very impressed, especially with the trees, rolling hills and abundance of green space. I loved that breakfast is served with a side of grits (yum!), iced tea comes sweetened and traffic is amazing.

Top left: We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I really liked the museum; it was well-organized, fun and educational.

Top right: After the ceremony, we hung around for what seemed to be three hours for all the picture-taking. I think the photos lasted only an hour and a half.

Bottom left: The newlyweds exit the chapel. They had the ceremony at Vanderbilt University, and the reception at a hotel.

Click HERE to see more photos.

Random musings on a Sunday

Hope this finds everyone well. just a couple quick notes since i haven't posted in a while. first off, for those of you who don't know, we play on Monday night (tomorrow) to kick off our season. it's been a while since we've been on MNF so there is definitely a lot of excitement right now. if you don't have anything going on, kickoff is at 7:15...wish us luck...if you want to keep up to date on my work life, go to 49ers.com as they do a good job of adding content, including some pretty funny video stuff on a daily basis.

on another note, a friend of mine moved to Switzerland for a few months for work and introduced me to a pretty cool website/application and i thought i'd put it out there for anyone that might be interested. She showed me a website called Skype (some of you may have heard about it). if you download the free software, you can IM or call a person computer to computer (given you have a mic and speakers) for free. it also allows you to conference call in the same fashion. i just thought it might be a convenient way to speak directly and to multiple people on the cheap. (may be handy when planning for next year's challenge?) if you are really into the 21st century, you can also utilize your video camera and see each other while speaking. i can also call my friends' land line in Switzerland for $.02 / minute which beats AT&T. we tried it out last night with another friend in SF and the quality and clarity was very good. anyway, just a thought. if any of you are interested check out skype.com or let me know. i may travel w/ my laptop when we hit the road to utilize this service and save minutes on my cell phone. btw, i'm not trying to shill for the company or anything...i don't get anything if other people sign up or anything like that.

on a final note, i was able to leave work a little early yesterday and made it to Bob's memorial service/celebration. just wanted to let you know the elder cousin did a great job sharing some special memories of Bob and all he meant to us as far as the extended family. it really dawned on me when she was speaking what a nice and special guy Bob has been through the years. i mean, i think we all knew it, but i'm embarrassed to say i may have taken it a bit for granted. she was right in pointing out supportive and interested he was in all my activities/school/career too and i should have appreciated that more. the service was really nice and it was great to see a lot of the extended yotsuyas. i didn't make it to the 'Lock for uncle kenji's party so i'm glad i made it to see him this time. not trying to sound naive, but it is another wake up call for me as these are happening w/ more frequency among our "niseis" and that has given me more reason to reflect and appreciate.

on an upbeat note, i went to the giants game on friday and met up w/ one of the asst athletic trainers for them and we grabbed some beers after. i was waiting for him outside their clubhouse and at one point the ushers started saying "move to the side please". i did with everyone else and here comes willie mccovey being driven in a golf cart. it was pretty cool...i was waiting for a while, emailing on my blackberry and at one point when i looked up bonds was walking past. i've never seen him in person up close and i was bummed b/c i didn't get a chance to see if he really did look juiced (large head, etc.) oh well...

bee & bri - i'm looking forward to a report and photos from paris; rod & esther - same for nashville...take care everyone

j

Fantasy Football revisited

So, we're getting close to the start of the NFL season. I think if we're going to do a fantasy league we should get moving. From looking at Brian's post, it looks like the participants are:

Greg
Michael
Shawnna
Esther
Brian
Brandee (? Are you running a separate team?)
JT (maybe? Do you know yet?)

I will have my own team if we have an odd number and need to even it out. If there is already an even number, I'll just be a backseat owner for Esther (whether she likes it or not).

Anyone else who wants to participate should chime in soon. I'm thinking we should have the draft by Labor Day weekend (in one week!). I think the first game is the following Thursday. So at the very latest, we need to have a draft by, say, Tuesday, Sept. 4. I think I heard (or read) that Greg would volunteer to start the league and serve as league manager. Or perhaps Brian will be willing to take it on, since he's the original post-er.

We should also lay out the scoring system, since I think people are used to different ones. And we also need to determine the number of starting positions.

For those who haven't signed up yet, it would be fun if every family had at least one team. I think you will enjoy it. And don't be intimidated if you're a rookie. It's easy to learn. Those of us who have played before could help out those who haven't played before (free tip No. 1 - don't draft Michael Vick).

Cousin Challenge Slideshow

Brian and I are working on the slideshow of our Disneyland Challenge. However, we need more pictures (we just have the team captains' pictures). If you took any photos that you would like to share, please email them to me (beeliving@hotmail.com). Thanks.

Training Camp

Rodney, his dad, his friend Johnny, and I went to 49er training camp this weekend. Saw lots of faces and plays... I'm sure Rodney can be more specific as to who and what we saw. I had a great time, and it was really fun to watch the scrimmages. (Thanks Jeff for the tickets!)

At one point, we saw a fight/argument break out behind the sidelines. Later, we found out it was between Vernon Davis and Larry Allen. The Mercury News had a story on it. And so did the Chronicle. Here's a fan blog that speculates whether Vernon will be the next T.O.

I took this picture primarily because a woman sitting behind me in the bleachers said that stretching was her favorite part of training camp.

Didn''t get it

I wanted to update everyone on my sergeant exam. I went through the process and ended up placing 5th. So, I am not getting promoted and I am really ok with that. .I love my job and I am very happy where I am at. I work with a great bunch of guys and gals from agencies throughout Stanislaus County.

I got to really thinking about my career and where I am headed. I have at least fourteen more years before I even think abvout retiring. In Ceres, to promote to Sergeant really limits you in job assignments. There is really only patrol, detectives and traffic that you can go to as a Sergeant. Don't get me wrong, I will promote eventually, right now just was not my time. Again, I have at least fourteen years to promote so I am not really upset about it. I look at it as a chance to contiune to grow as a Police Officer and take on other challanges within my department.

Last Day

For Rodney's last day at the Tribune, we bought him a pinata. Look carefully at the front of the pinata and you can see what we taped to it.

New job

Well, I'm making a big change. Tomorrow I'm starting a new job!

Friday was my last day at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. I got a job as "senior communications writer" at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. It's a small (but growing!) graduate school that offers degrees in five areas - nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine and physical therapy.

So no more newspapers for me after 10 years in the business. Esther will still be at the Tribune, so I won't lose touch with everyone there. But I decided to make a career change. I hope this will open doors and provide new opportunities.

I'm a bit nervous since it's less than 12 hours away from my first day at work.
I will have a lot to absorb in a short amount of time - new computer system, lots of new people to meet, and job duties that are different than what I'm used to. But I'm also excited. I'll let you all know how it goes.

If you want to check out my new workplace, visit www.westernu.edu

Have a good week everyone!

Disneyland Brick

Well folks, Greg & I finally purchased a brick at Disneyland. We figured we were there enough and thought it would be nice for us and our friends and family to see a name they knew. So, around mid Novemeber our brick with our names will be out there in the center between the two parks. When we get the exact location we will let everyone know so you can look for it. We are excited! It's something we should've done a couple years ago, but never got around to. We actually checked on it back in May at the cousin challenge and if we had done it then it would've been done and we could've seen it when we go AGAIN in October. We have one more trip planned for the year. :-)

Random music question

This is VERY random, but the movie "Shall We Dance?" w/ J Lo and Richard Gere was on the other day and in it was a song by Peter Gabriel called "The Book of Love." (Check out the soundtrack on iTunes if you want a sample). Anyway, I was going to try to download it, but it is only available if you buy the entire album. Since I don't want to pay $11 for one song, I am looking for alternatives if possible, so if any of you happen to have it in your iPods or know where I can buy or "find" ;o) the single, please let me know. Thanks. BTW, if you get a chance, try to check out the song, it's kind of romantic and sappy, but oh well...

JT

p.s. - tell Mell we've found the female alternative to her favorite beach musician, Jack Johnson. Her name is Colbie Caillat (Cal-ay) and she had a free single download last week. I saw her on Leno a month or two ago and I guess she was the most popular unsigned (at the time) artist on MySpace. Anyway, looks like she got a record deal and if you like the Norah Jones, Jewel, Michael Buble', Jack Johnson crowd, you might like her...

Fantasy Football

Hi All,

I think we tried to get people into fantasy football last year without much success. Just wondering if anyone is interested this year. I think it would be another good way to keep in touch and hey...it's football. If people are interested but don't know how to play, don't let it stop you, we can post the rules here. As an added bonus...looks like there are some really good 49ers to pick up this year (sorry Rod about Eric Johnson).

Brian

World of WarCraft

Just wondering if any of you played? My character is Raguo on the Hyjal server. If you do play, maybe on a different server, let me know....

More movie reviews

Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster...

Brandee and I have also been going to the movies a lot this summer. We haven't seen Oceans 13 or Die Hard yet, but I thought I'd give some of my opinions on the movies so far:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I think this is my favorite movie of the summer so far (still holding out for Bourne Ultimatum and Hot Rod). I read all the books after I saw the first 3 HP movies and before the fourth and up to this point, wished I had seen all the movies before the books, because I've found the movies (although awesome) have left some cool stuff out from the books. Order of the Phoenix, the book, was good but I thought to make the movie they were definitely going to need to cut a lot out. I think they did a great job of editing the book and the special effects were great.
Grade: A, good film adaptation, another HP hit

Transformers - Like Rod, super-Transformer fan. Unfortunately, my favorites were Bumblebee and Soundwave, so I was a little dissapointed in their new bodies (at least I think that was Soundwave). I saw this opening day as a company outing from eBay. If/when you see the movie, you'll understand why eBay was so quick to rent out a couple theaters. Anyway, I thought this was a really good movie and even better if you weren't that into Transformers in the 80's. Pretty typical action/sci-fi movie. Amazing special effects, world-saving heroes, and a story line that is a lot better if you don't think about it. One thing that irrated me a little was that when the Autobots and Decepticons were in robot form, they basically all looked the same (especially Megatron and Starscream). I never knew who was fighting.
Grade: B+, action, robots, nostalgia

Ratatouille - OK, so I'm a little biased towards Disney and especially Pixar. Pixar movies have been tops on my list every time they come out and Ratatouille is another hit. I think this is the first time I didn't really recognize many of the voices (you'd think Janeane Garofalo's voice would be distinct, but add a French accent and she totally fooled me). It's a great story and has lots of laughs. No need to talk about the animation, you've seen it before and it's better again. Brandee and I always try to rank the Pixars after a new one is release and I think my list is now: Toy Story, TS 2, Incredibles, Ratatouille, Cars, Monsters Inc. Finding Nemo, Bugs Life. But that's not to put any of them down, they're all awesome and anything after Toy Story 1 & 2 can switch daily.
Grade: A, Pixar, fun, Will Arnet

Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer- I actually liked the first one better. I was really hoping for something special given that growing up the Thing and Silver Surfer were 2 of my favorite superheroes (OK, i thought the Thing was named Rockman, but still, he's rock!). Anyway, if I had fallen asleep during the movie, I don't think I would have missed much. The Silver Surfer was pretty cool as far as effects go, so if you just like effects, I guess it's worth it.
Grade: C-, ummm...Jessica Alba with burnt looking hair?

Shrek 3 - First previews looked horrible, second preview looked pretty good, movie...not too bad. I've liked both the first 2 movies a lot, and pretty much went in hoping this movie didn't bomb. With that expectation, I really liked movie. It definitely wasn't as good as the first two, but it didn't put them to shame either. The story was interesting and Donkey and Puss in Boots were funny. Not really much else to say.
Grade B+, favorite guest cameo: John Krasinski (Jim from The Office)

The other two 3rd movies in the series, Pirates and Spiderman have been out for a while and I'm tired of typing. I'd say both are good enough to continue possible conclude (who knows) their respective series'. Neither as good as their sucessors. Both will make the DVD library and get B's.

What I'm Doing This Summer

As some of you know, I got assigned to the major metropolitan area of Waterford, CA for the Sheriff's Department. There I supervise seven deputy sheriff's, two legal clerks and a zoning officer. Mayberry is a more suitable name. Buuuuuut, included in this assignment is supervising the two reservoirs we are responsible for and the two off road parks. My staff for that includes four Sheriff Deputies. Now come the cool part. I get to drive a brand new 4X4 pickup as my take home car.

We also have two dual-sport motorcycles to cruise around the parks on. We have three more on order so all the parks guys and I have their own bike. I just ordered four quad ATVs and we just took delivery of two of the five jet skis for our reservoirs.This is in addition to the two boats we have per reservoir. Today, I spent the day passing the word on boating safety with little paper reminders so people can donate to our boating fund. We've had to deal with a rash of personal watercraft crashes that have run from paint chips to a guys getting his leg amputated. So, we have taken a zero tolerance policy on the water.

All of this is in addition to being the team leader of the Underwater Recovery Team, which has kept me on my toes also. It's also made me famous locally as one reporter from the Modesto Bee seems to be fond of my name, since he is always asking for me.

All of my people are great, hard working, no nonsense people. I really enjoy this assignment and it is rivaling my time in the dope unit as the best assignment. The best part is, since I've been in this assignment, I've put about 40 bucks in gas in my personal truck. That's been since we've been to Disneyland. So on the weekends, pop a brew and think of me, your cousin, making the waterways of Stanislaus County safe. ;)

Summer Movies

Rodney and I are going to review some of the movies we've seen this summer. We'll be rating movies on a star scale. 1 star is awful and 5 stars is AMAZING.

Ratatouille
Esther - **** - Pixar did it again. I had so much fun with this movie, and I came out very hungry for French food. The story was sweet and the animation was amazing. The plot had all the emotional highs and lows that I've come to expect from Pixar movies. The animators were able to make the rats look fuzzy and the food look scrumptious. One of the major action scenes in the sewer was so much fun because the water was so realistic! I can't give this movie 5 stars, because it didn't completely "wow" me as other Pixar movies have in the past (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Toy Story 2), but it came pretty darn close.

Rod - **** - I agree that the movie wasn't Pixar's best (for me, that's Toy Story 2), but anything by Pixar is better than most other movies by other studios. I also think the animation is stellar. And if rats turn you off, don't worry (much). You will root for the main character, Remy, as much as you do Nemo, Scully and Buzz. Warning: There are a few scenes of swarming rats that might make you a bit squeamish. But overall, there's plenty of fun, laughs and great food. Plus some lessons about following your heart (and art) mixed in.

Transformers
Rod - *** 1/2 - Full disclosure: I was a huge Transformers fan in the '80s. So I'm completely biased about this film. I really enjoyed it. It was like spending time with old friends...friends who happened to get a $100+ million CGI makeover in the last 20 years. The best part about this movie is it gives you a sense of scale. When the Transformers move and fight and knock each other around, you feel their power and heft. My main complaint sounds strange - I think there wasn't enough character development of the Transformers. You are introduced to the Autobots (the good guys) and learn their names, but you don't really know anything about them. In my 12-year-old mind they all had distinct personalities and roles. Here they are almost interchangeable, especially the Decepticons (the bad guys). So my recommendation for the inevitable sequel: more robots, less humans! And, like most of these summer movies, they should hire a better editor. Almost all of these summer movies could stand 20-30 minutes of trimming.

Esther - ***1/3 - I don't remember watching the Transformers cartoons, but I think I had some knock-off toys. The first two-thirds of this movie was great. The story was entertaining and funny, and the Transformers looked very realistic. The action sequences were quick and smooth, and it didn't feel like cgi. The romantic thread between the two main characters was mostly believable, with a few cheesy moments. My main complaint is that the ending didn't make sense. It just seemed too simple. Overall, I had a great time with this movie. It also helped that we saw it in Westwood, and the audience cheered for just about everything.

Live Free or Die Hard
Rod - *** 1/2 - For anyone who has seen and enjoyed the other Die Hard movies, the best part of this movie will be seeing Bruce Willis as John McClane. He slips back into this role easily, and you will forget there has been a long gap between III and IV. The action is great and fun to watch. But I think the biggest strength of the first movie (he's believable as an ordinary guy in a confined space, fighting the bad guys alone) is this movie's biggest weakness. As Live Free progresses, it becomes more outlandish and less believable. But suspend your disbelief and you will have a good time.

Esther - **** - I love the Die Hard series, and this movie was like visiting an old friend. What I learned from this movie is that nerds are cool. They can do anything with a cell phone and satellite/internet connection. They can even be taught John Mclane survival skills. I was thoroughly entertained and also in disbelief throughout the movie. The stunts were impressive but totally unbelievable. The things the nerds can do with computers are equally impressive and equally unbelievable. The movie was a little long, but I didn't mind.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Rod - ** - I didn't see the first movie, so I came in with no expectations. The interaction between the four main characters was fun, but they didn't use their powers enough and there wasn't enough action. I've already forgotten a lot of what happened in this movie. The Silver Surfer is done well, but he was never a favorite of mine during my comic collecting years.

Ocean's 13
Esther - *** - I thought Ocean's 11 was a huge success. All-star cast, great story, great writing, great direction, great editing. Ocean's 12 was a free pay-day for the actors. Ocean's 13 is somewhere in the middle. I think the movie people really tried to make up for Ocean's 12 and got about 60% there. The story was better, and I didn't feel cheated like I did in the second movie. However, I didn't feel any sense of urgency because I never thought Ocean's gang would fail in this caper. This movie is like Sprite: it's fun, fizzy, effervescent and forgettable.

Rod - ** 1/2 - I agree that there was no sense of urgency. And it's also very forgettable. In fact, if we had reviewed this immediately after seeing the movie, I would have given it more stars, but by now (a month later) I don't remember anything about this movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean
Esther - *** - I was reminded a lot of the third installment in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy when I watched this movie. Overall, it was an OK movie, although it was quite long, went off on tangents and a little hokey at the end. But didn't everyone expect that? But as any third (and hopefully final) installment in a series, this movie provided closure (sort of). Johnny Depp, of course, is amazing, and the rest of the cast is about average. The real stand-out in this movie, I think, is Captain Barbossa. He really is the quintessential pirate.

Rod - ** 1/2 - Almost the same review as Ocean's 13. We watched Pirates 2 on DVD for the first time the day before going to the theater to watch 3. I can't really remember what happened in each movie. There are plot points that are introduced then discarded. I mentioned editing before. This entire series could have used major trimming. I guess, like my Transformers bias, I should say I'm not a huge fan of this series. Great set pieces, but I never really became attached to any characters. I still like the ride, though.

Final Thoughts
Esther - The hot LA summer is a perfect excuse for escaping into a movie theater. Here are all the other summer movies I want to see: Harry Potter, No Reservations, License to Wed, Now I Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3.

Rod - These summer movies have been fun to watch and easy to forget. I suppose that should be expected during this season. But don't let us have the final say. Share your thoughts about these movies and others you've seen this summer. And keep it up as more movies are released... perhaps we should have a special Harry Potter post, on the movie and the book.

Hi Cousins,
I have entered the 21st century and I can now officially blog! Great pictures Rod and exceptional commentary Esther....We are almost at the end of Gakko. Wow! Another year come and gone. With great leadership, the gakko went well this year.....we only had a few injuries and just one fire alarm! Not even the extreme HEAT could stop us....and our luxurious accommodations - 4 kids per air mattress couldn't be beat. There is always an open invitation to Gakko week - especially since it's not my house. The rest of our summer will be spent at music camp, sailing camp, basketball camp and a quick trip to Southern Cal....maybe even a day at Universal Studios.....and by the way, thanks Esther for Photo shopping us into the picture!!!

I made it in...

Ok, I have finally achieved a Disney milestone i didn't know if i would make...i have joined Ally as a cousin who has dined in Club 33 at Disneyland (if others of you have, I apologize and let us know!) I was in Anaheim for this year's annual athletic trainers convention and one of our medical vendors invited our staff to a dinner/reception in Club 33. My boss and other assistant made sure that everyone attending knew about our cousin challenge and my affection for all things Disney. i'll try to keep this short, but the invitation came with a ticket to the park and a map (like i needed it!) so our other assistant and i headed into the park around 8:30 pm for dinner (the others were there already). Once we got the the door and i wiped away a tear ;o), i knocked on the door. NO ANSWER! then i looked to the left and noticed a metal door that i pulled down and pushed the button. within seconds, the door opened and a young lady confirmed our party and let us in. the reception area is small and lead up to some stair that take you up to one of the two dining areas. imagine my surprise when she asked, "is one of you Jeff?" I said, uh, yeah, and she said she heard that i was a big fan and to let her know if she could answer any questions. my boss had obviously been there already!

we went upstairs to one of two dining rooms and sat down at one of the tables. the room was decorated with a bunch of memorabilia including photos, framed posters commemorating various milestones such as the opening of rides and Fantasmic, and mounted on the wall was the knife and serving utensil they were saving for Walt's 100th birthday (I guess they'll have to wait until they unfreeze him for that). Dinner was great (Salad, scallop risotto, filet mignon, and some kind of rich chocolate fudge dessert. - oh and lots of wine!).

After dinner and the usual testimonials and thanks, we went outside and watched a little of Fantasmic from the balcony. it was pretty fun to see from that vantage point. It was definitely a memory I won't soon forget! Hope you all are well. On another note, thank you all for your thoughts and support in the past few months with everything that was going on between Kristina and I. i have appreciated your love and support in helping get though this tough time.

jt

Star Wars

A long time ago...

Actually, more like a couple weeks ago... I went to Star Wars Celebration IV, a huge convention/fanfest at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

I had the Star Wars bedsheets, action figures and Halloween costumes (thanks Mom and Dad!) growing up, so it was a no-brainer for me to go to this in my back yard.

The first thing that struck me was the sheer number of people who came out in costumes. These stormtroopers are not actors or official members of the convention. They're fans who dress up in full armor and appear at charity events and public functions. They're called the 501st Legion. You may have seen them march in this year's Rose Parade.

They held several workshops on how to properly dress as Star Wars characters. I sat in on the "Sith Lord" workshop, where fans talked about dressing like Darth Maul and Darth Vader. The Darth Maul makeup takes anywhere from 30 minutes (airbrushing) to four hours (!).

Here are two of the guys who gave presentations...

But why settle for imitators? We also sat in on a talk with Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in Episode I and also appeared in X-Men and Sleepy Hollow. He's very athletic and showed off some impressive kicks, leaps and lightsaber twirling (courtesy of a fan who ran up to the stage with his double-bladed lightsaber for Park to demonstrate with).

Here he is up close (he's very friendly and a lot less intimidating without the horns and makeup).

Fans came up with some clever costumes. This stormtrooper was on the right was apparently bitten by a radioactive spider...

And here is a bunch of fans dressed as various characters...















And hey, how did this Trekkie get into the Star Wars convention?
Here's Esther spending quality time with an Artoo unit. Pay no attention to the man leaning against the pole!

Going to the Celebration reinforced something I've learned over the years, whether it's by talking with co-workers near my age or to people waiting in line to see the new trilogy. Star Wars is truly a shared experience. While waiting in line, I talked to a guy from North Carolina who came all the way to L.A. for the show. We had no outwardly noticable ties - we were different ages, from opposite ends of the country and from different ethnic backgrounds. But we were able to strike up a conversation simply because we both loved Star Wars. So I had a blast spending time with others who share my love of that world.

Even though, in my opinion, the new trilogy was spotty at best and unwatchable at worst (especially the scenes between Anakin and Padme), I still have a true appreciation for them, simply because they let me re-enter a world I thought I left behind with my childhood. To see new lightsaber duels, R2-D2 and C-3PO and Yoda was heaven. It reminded me how much fun I had watching these movies as a child. And it also reminded me how much I wanted to be part of that world.

I guess I still do.

Hard decision

Who is a bigger Celine Dion fan? The decision is yours:

Rodney
- Owns 3 of Celine's albums, including her Greatest Hits
- Owns the movie "Titanic" on VHS
- Would pay up to $100 to see her show "A New Day" at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
- Would "possibly" see the show a second time.
- Recognized most of the songs she sang in the show
- Was quite impressed with her dance moves in the performance
- Was impressed with her first quick costume change
- Would "maybe" buy the DVD of the show
- Would not purchase a T-shirt with Celine's picture
- Has seen pictures of her son, and has formed an opinion of his appearance.
- Knows the history of Celine and her husband and has formed an opinion of their relationship

Esther
- Owns 1 Celine album -- Falling into You
- Does not own "Titanic" on DVD or VHS
- Watched "Titanic" in the movie theaters 3 times when originally released
- Would pay up to $75 to see her show "A New Day" at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
- Would see her show a second time if tickets were less expensive
- Recognized most of the songs she sang in the show
- Was awed by the special effects onstage
- Was very disappointed she omitted her signature chest thump during "My Heart Will Go On"
- Would "definitely" buy the DVD of the show
- Would not purchase a T-shirt with Celine's picture
- Knows almost nothing about Celine's husband or son

Here's Rodney at the Star Wars convention .... I mean, Celebration, last month. It was pretty great for Rodney. He got to hang out with people like him.... I mean, people of similar interests.

What a Week!

So last week Shawnna and I headed down to San Diego for a Hostage Negotiations Conference. Before we could even hit the road last Sunday, I get a call from my bank. "Mr. Yotsuya, I need to confirm some charges you are making on your ATM card. $398 in Mexico along with a few double digit transactions sound right to you?" "Uh, no." is my response. Seems my ATM card got duplicated and was being used down in Mexico to the tune of over $600. Nice. The thing is, I NEVER use that ATM card witht he exception of yanking out $20 here and there out of an ATM machine. You see that is the account we pay our bills with. Therefore I do not usually use that card to pay for items in stores or for food. The one exception was during the cousin challenge when I took Shawnna shopping at the Irvine Spectrum. Hmmmmm. "Spend your money in Irvine." I seem to remember being the last words I heard as I left that day. I didn't realize that would mean I would also be spending money in Mexico, buying who knows what.
In all honesty, I don't know how they got a hold of my info. Now I have to make a police report and file an affidavit with the bank. What a pain in the rear.

I went to San Diego thinking, "I will deal with it when I get back." My account was frozen so it was all good. Then I get the call from Dad on Tuesday. "There was water coming out from under you garage door. Your outside freezer is on the fritz." GREAT. We just went to Costco a few days before and stocked up on meat, over $200.00 worth. Nice. Turns out that I screwed up. I was having trouble with an electrical outlet in the garage. I replaced it on the day we left but could no get it to draw power. I rewired that darn thing every which way you can, still nothing. I wasn't thinking and it did not even dawn on me that no outlets past that one would be getting any power if this one was not hooked up correctly. Live an learn.

Then I hear the news of an Officer invovled shooting at my department. Thank God that none of our guys were injured. The Officer invovled is a friend of mine and a damn good cop. Not much more I can reallyt say on the topic, except that it sucks to be so far away when you hear about somehting like that.

On the plus side, we had a good time at the conference. They held a hospitality night on the aircraft carrier Midway on one night. If I have this thing figured out, there should be some pics attached. There were several good speakers at the conference and I made a couple of good contacts. Shawnna and I were able to get a little alone time and got some shopping in. "We paid with cash this time."

Tower of Terror

Just wanted to share the photo from the ride. The kid in the front row is definitely not enjoying himself!

New banner

You may have noticed a fuzzy Ally and Paul added to the "Yotsuya Station" banner. Esther combined an older picture with this new one. But the photo I had was from a distance, so they don't appear quite as clear as the rest of the group. So my call to the cousins is to find another group photo that includes Ally and Paul that we can include on the blog so they are part of this online cousins forum. I'm thinking lots of people took good shots at Paul and Jennifer's wedding...

Nor Cal Road Trip

For the last few days, Rodney and I have been driving up and down California's coast. First, we stopped in San Jose on Saturday. We had a nice lunch with friends and family, and a dinner to celebrate Jarrad's birthday.

On Sunday, we went to San Francisco to see the sights. (<-- That's Rodney eating a bbq pork bun in Chinatown. It wasn't as good as pork buns down in L.A.) We ate tons of food that day (actually, all weekend) and walked a lot, too. We had dinner with Jarrad at this great ramen place near Union Square. We also saw Jarrad's apartment and his two TVs! Totally livable. Best of all, we visited Jarrad's office and played the Nintendo Wii. Now I have to figure out how to convince my boss that getting a Wii in our office would improve morale and productivity...


On Monday, we went wine tasting in Napa Valley. Neither of us are big wine drinkers but it was a lot of fun going to different places, enjoying the scenery and tasting wine. We went to five places: V. Sattui, Beringer, Duckhorn, Mumm and ZD. Jeff recommended all those places, and he has great taste!

As we made our way back to L.A., we stopped in Monterey for a night and went to the Aquarium the next day. I liked watching the otters and jellyfish the most.

<-- This is Rodney at an R2D2 mail box in Santa Cruz





<-- That's me on the water's edge in Monterey. If you look really really really really closely, you might be able to see a sea lion in the background. I promise they're there.

The whole trip was relaxing, educational, enjoyable and I wish it didn't have to end. I'm already planning our next mini road trip!

Promotional Exam

I am not sure how many of you I told, but I took a promotional examination last August for my Department. I place third on a list of twelve applicants. (Not too shabby for the first try) It was really one of those "I'll take the exam just to gain the experience of the test" kinda of deals. When I placed third and it looked like I had a real shot of getting promoted, I discovered I really WANTED to promote. The two above me on the list were promoted in September leaving me the new number one guy on the list. Unfortunately, the list was good for only six months. (The Chief had the option to extend the list for six months, but failed to notify the City of his intent to do so in a timely fashion so the list expired and I "died" on top of the list.) Well as it turns out, the #1 guy that got promoted has left the department to move out of state, creating an opening. Nice, but he left a few months too late for me to slide into his spot.

Now I have two reactions I consider normal. I could cry in my beer about how unfair life is and blame everyone else for the pain and misery this has caused me in my career. ("If I were you Yots, I would file a grievance." was but one piece of "advise" I received from a colleague) Instead I have chosen the higher road and will simply retest and should have no excuse for not coming out numero uno right?

So far, there are about eight people who have said that they plan on testing. The testing seems pretty straight forward from what they have told us. Many of my colleagues ask if I have been studying. My response is that I have been studying for the past seventeen years that I have been with the department. Of course I am brushing up on policies and case law, but lets face facts, if I don't have the maturity and have not gained the experience to prepare me to be a Sergeant, no amount of studying in the next two weeks will really help. I mean REALLY make me a better candidate, right? Or should I devote the next two weeks to hard core studying, putting all of my cases aside as well as my family? I am not trying to be lazy, I am just a firm believer that cramming your mind with mounds of information that you are only going to retain on the short term does not make you a better person for the job. If I can not regurgitate the information asked of me based on my experience and past practice, then I do not deserve to be promoted.

That was the attitude I had during the last test, and I think it paid off well. I think I was more relaxed then most of the others because I did not stress myself out with trying to remember things I already know. The test is June 21st and I will keep you posted on how it turns out. If anyone has suggestions, comments or ideas, please let me know.

Wow I really rambled on didn't I? Sorry about that.

Thanks...Had a Blast!

Okay, so I must admit that I've never "blogged" before and I needed my son to help me figure out how to get to this point in the process! Hope this works...I'm not very tech saavy and I'm easily intimidated by all things electronic!

Thanks to all of our Southern California Cousins for another great reunion! I've never had so much fun in Disneyland AND acted so foolish in my whole life! (Probably won't want my kids to see some of those photos...pickles included!!) The Fab Five were awesome teammates--even Jarrad and Greggy. Actually, there was never a dull moment with those 2 on our team!! Congrats to the rest of the cousin teams for their valiant efforts...And, a big cheer for the Fab Five bringing home the covetted Mickey Trophy!!

I'm so glad that we began this yearly tradition 5 years ago. I must admit that I brag about my cousins all the time. Not many families have the kind of connection that we have been able to establish and maintain...its truly a blessing.

As for next year...us NorCal Cousins are happy to take suggestions from one and all. I like the biking and hiking suggestions. And, I'm already looking forward to it, whatever the activity or location.

Speaking of gatherings...you all should be aware that our parents are planning a "cousin" reunion for everyone to attend this summer. The date has been set for August 11th at the Cortez JACL Hall. I think its an event that we should all try to attend if you can...and bring your kids. Uncle Kenji, being the last of the siblings on Grandma's side, has requested the gathering. More info to follow, but it will be a nice casual day to share some food (of course!) and fellowship. Uncle Kenji, Aunty Edith, & Aunty Kimi are the last of our grandparent's generation...it would be nice to hear some of their stories and make some new memories as well.

Okay...I'm about to hit the "publish post" button...hope this goes to the right place! Thanks again for being my cousins--wouldn't want to trade any of you in (not even Greggy!!) ~The E.C.

Disneyland recap

Thanks to all the NoCal cousins for making the long drive/flight to the OC for our Disneyland Challenge. The weekend came and went so quickly. And a big thanks to Mell and Dave for hosting us yet again and Brandee and Brian for doing a lot of the behind the scenes work, like making up 99% of the bonus photo list for the scavenger hunt and creating the buttons.

Esther and I got a Disneyland season pass in November so we've gone to the two parks, oh, 7 or 8 times in the past six months. But I think our scavenger hunt will be among the most memorable Disneyland experiences I will ever have. I don't think I'll ever walk around Disneyland without thinking about all the hidden treasures and secrets that we learned about on our hunt. And I will definitely never look at a pickle or turkey leg the same way again (photos to come).

I really enjoyed spending time with my team, especially since we don't get to see each other very often, much less in a setting like Disneyland. I think we really came together and did well while having fun at the same time. Sorry we didn't actually ride any rides during the hunt. It sounds like everyone made up for that in the afternoon. So thanks to Greg, Jarrad, Jennifer and Kimber for a Fab (Five) time. And thanks to the other teams for making it a competitive and fun hunt.

I also enjoyed the Sunday activities, especially the flag football game, which has become another Cousins Weekend tradition. And I'm all for kickball next year. I also think at some point we should play basketball. Maybe a mini 3-on-3 tournament that mixes "little" cousins and "big" cousins.

I'm looking forward to adding to this blog. Please feel free to bring up new topics to talk about. If people visit and see that nothing new has been posted, they won't want to come back. So we all have to keep it fresh in order to keep this blog alive. Take care everyone!

-Rod

Thanks For The Memories

What a great time! I would also like to send my congratulations to the southern California cousins for a well thought out, well planned challange that was very fun. I cannot wait to see all of the photos! I am sure there are some in there that are gut busters. I have not had that much fun with you guys, especially Jared, in a long time. I felt a little bad for Kimber though. In addition to trying to help Rod and Jennifer in figuring out what the riddles meant, she had to babysit jared and I. The funniest was when she was trying to keep us out of trouble then she gets caught cutting across a line she was not suppose to and getting yelled at by a cast memebr half her age. (:-) Nothing but love and respect Kimber!

I apologize for our absence during the football game. I wanted to take Shawnna shopping for her birthday at the Spectrum in Irvine. (Don't worry Dave, she spent ALOT of money to help out with the local economy) We shopped for over two hours, which was...ahem, fun. Really...

So the planning for next years challenge is already underway. Alot of good ideas have been thrown out there already. I like Paul's idea of biking 17 mile drive in Monterey. I also like the bay bridge run as well. The northern Cali cousins will need to continue to send out ideas to each other via email and come up with something good.

It was great seeing all of you again. Rod, this blog is a great idea and I plan on visiting often. Thanks for creating it and giving us an additional way to keep in touch.

Greg

Had a Blast!!!

I would also like to thank the So. Cal cousins for raising the bar on the challenge. Jennifer and I had a blast. It was the most enjoyable time I've ever spent at Disneyland. The prizes and the new challenge trophy are top notch!

Now, for the meat and potatoes of my post. Jennifer did a search on "It's a Small World" and found, in writing, on the official Disney site, that there are seven (7) languages sung on the ride. I haven't spoken to the rest of the Main Street Mice Hunters, but a protest may be in order. ;-}

I came away from our weekend together with new memories of the time we all shared with each other, a appreciation for Disneyland and sore legs and feet from dodging people in New Orleans Square.

I too with make every effort to drop in and check on what's been posted. I'll also keep you updated on family stuff, work and other events going on. I look forward to planning the '08 reunion and challenge with the Nor Cal cousins. Hopefully we will come up with something just as interesting and fun as this past weekend was.

Sorry we had to bail out on Sunday, sounded like the football game was fun!

I'll be looking forward to reading about what's going on from you all and will post again soon.

Paul Y.

Challenge Recap

Thanks to the SoCal cousins for putting together another successful Challenge and to all the NorCal cousins for making the trip and the memories. This is one that won't be soon forgotten - a great 5th Anniversary Challenge. My friends and co-workers are already picking my brain about our scavenger hunt and trivia questions to see how they would do. (not very well from the sound of it) ;o) Congratulations to The Fab Five and Main Street Mouse Hunters for doing so well. Thanks and congratulations to my fellow Fantasmic Four for an awesome time and what will surely be the most entertaining photos in the entire album - just wait! I had a great time playing football yesterday too. I hope I'm not the only one who is sore. I also apologize for taking out 2 of the 3 Severson kids. I hope they recover. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos and any other updates people see fit to put on this page. I'm going to give it a shot and try to drop in from time to time w/ some work FYIs if anyone is interested - schedule, etc. Also, although the delayed-onset muscle soreness from this year's challenge hasn't even set in yet, but I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't throw out the first salvos regarding next year's challenge. My thought was the bike ride from Fisherman's Wharf, across the GG Bridge and into Sausalito, then a ferry back to SF. Another option is to take the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island and do the hike to the top - in my opinion, the best view in the entire bay area. I might be able to get a good rate at our hotel near SFO. Other suggestions anyone? Monterey? Capitola? Bay to Breakers?...

talk to you all soon!

J

Yotsuya Station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yotsuya Station

Yotsuya Station is a railway station in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, located on the boundary between Shinjuku and Chiyoda, adjacent to Sophia University and the State Guest-House, in the Yotsuya neighborhood.

Now it's also an online stop where the Yotsuya cousins can keep connected. Post your latest activities, exotic travels, accomplishments, jokes, movie reviews and announcements here. Stop in any time.

I found this Wikipedia entry while searching for information online about the Yotsuyas. I thought it would be a good name for our blog. I hope you do too. Welcome!

Signing up for Blogger

So you want to sign up for Blogger? It's very very easy.

Rodney will be sending out e-mails (if he hasn't already) inviting you to join this blog as an author. Click on the link in the e-mail and it'll take you to blogger. If you have a Google Account or Gmail, then sign in with that account. If you don't, you'll have to create either a Google Account or sign up for Gmail. Either will work.

If you get a Google Account, you can access the blog and a number of other Google-related services. If you sign up for Gmail, you'll get all of that plus a new e-mail account. (Gmail is the coolest web-based e-mail service I've ever used!) Once you sign up and sign in, you're set.

Each time you want to write a blog entry, click on "New Post" or "Create." It's really easy to include links, change the font and annoy all your readers, include silly photos and assign posts to certain Labels (think categories). You also have option of editing previous posts. If you have any questions, check out the Blogger's Help Section or e-mail Rodney.