Sam's Blog

I’ve been listening to The Pixies a lot recently (mainly in my head) because I keep asking myself, “Where is my mind?” I am forgetting things easily and tired all of the time and it feels like I have ADD or something. I know that it’s because of the move, but I know that it will soon be over. My new apartment is coming along. Things are all over the place and I can’t seem to remember where I put things when I need them. But other than that, things are great. I really like the new place even though I’ve been over here regularly for 2 years, I am starting to see things shape up and it’s beginning to feel like home. It holds all of my stuff perfectly and it’s starting to look really good. It seems like an entirely different place. I have to go to IKEA soon, I’m excited!

Friday night was crazy packing. M came over for a while and helped and we went to New India Grill, yet again, for dinner because M is so predictable (he he!) but seriously, it’s always good there. Saturday night was a memorable experience. I was so tired after moving heavy furniture all day and renting the U-Haul, etc. (many thanks to those who helped) but it was nice to go out for drinks. We went to St. Nick’s Pub and saw many B-list celebrities, such as Rachel Leigh Cook (She’s All That), Busy Phillips (Dawson’s Creek), Keenan and Sean Wayans, and the older brother in Blossom. It was a crazy night. Josh’s friend Jae had her birthday party there as well, so all of our friends were all in the same place that night. It was much fun.

Angela is back from training and we were able to hang out with the gang at Roscoe’s last night for Andrea’s going away dinner. She’s on her way to Denver to get her phD in, I think, marriage and family counseling, I’m not too sure. But it is something like that. It was nice to see everyone together again for one last time. I am going to miss her and all of the freaks that she attracts! No more Lush (aka The Space) and no more Fast Times. Sigh.

On a side note, I am happy to see that Hero was #1 in the box office this past weekend. I love that movie. I saw it when it first came out 2 years ago and it was a great film, please watch it if you have time. It’s too bad that it took this long to release it in the US, but what’s new, right? Also, Scrubs will be on again tonight and I can’t wait! I’m not a big fan of Heather Graham, but she’s been making her rounds on other shows, like Arrested Development, which is also a great show, so I guess I will tolerate her. I just hope that JD doesn’t date her because he deserves better than her or Tara Reid. Oh well, I guess we’re just gonna have to find out!

I think we’re finally gonna set up my desk and computer at home so I will finally have my computer back! Yay!!

Can I say that I love Coldplay? They are one of the better bands to come out of this era of bad pop music and wanna be punk/pop rockers. Too bad Chris Martin isn't sad anymore because he has Gwenyth and Apple (really, what were they thinking when they named that poor child? I think they drank too many apple martinis that day) and now he can't really write depressing music because he is happy now. I'm sure he can muster up something soon.

Anyway, note to self: Do not plan on moving to a new apartment during the Olympics. So August 2008 is out of the question for moving. I say this only because I have been trtying to pack and move all of my stuff and I always get sidetracked by all of the events, even wrestling. But that's all I've been doing...cleaning, packing, moving, and throwing away stuff that I should've thrown away a long long time ago. But I am fortunate that I have dependable people that are willing to help me and I am forever indebted to them, especially Josh, who has helped me move soooo many times throughout the years. But I gotta keep on movin'. I will email my new address and info soon.

The title of this post is Monica's new motto in life. I think that it's great for her! It's not like she was an alcoholic or anything, but she was just saying it because she is trying to focus on more important things in life and I commend her. It was a great weekend. The "brownies" from D12 were back together again (including the honorary "whitey" Kate) and it was just like old times again. Though we are all going different places, I am glad that we were able to get together one last time. We went to C & O Cucina, a new restaurant from the owners of the popular C & O Trattoria in Marina Del Rey. It was rather tasty, but I like the original better. They do have the yummy garlic rolls there too, so it's worth it. We then found out the hard way that the W was closed and I ventured to catch up with Nate's party at Q's. Nate was having too much of a great time and we got free drinks all night because one of his friends from work was flirting with the bartender. It was nice to see John and Erica again too.

Sunday was awesome because the weather was perfect for bike riding and that was what we did. We introduced Monica to Coral Tree Café before our bike ride and she became an instant fan. I ordered the Latin latte, my new favorite drink, with my breakfast. It was weird because the people that were there were sooo LA/Brentwood. It felt like I was underdressed and felt ashamed because I was eating something with carbs in it. Oh well, I've never really cared for that type of trendy and glamorous lifestyle anyway, but should I? Eh, whatever. I would like to think of myself as too cool for school and leave it at that! He he he!! Alexis and I rode a tandem bike and it was sooo much fun! I recommend that everyone ride one sometime in their life. It's great and we sang show tunes and other great songs, like "Build Me Up, Buttercup," and the Doublemint gum jingle while people looked on and thought that we were dorks. While we were singing "I Will Survive," I heard someone call out, "Sam Sim!" and I turned around and it was Rob Scholz and a friend that looked familiar, but I was too far away to recognize. We tried to stop the bike but it was really hard to do so and once we did, he had already started walking away and it took us a long time to get back into our rhythm again, but it was so funny. I guess it's a small world after all. Speaking of which, I ran into two old friends from my early college years at Q's, of all places. I was waiting in line and I ran into Kelly and her sister on her way out. Kelly and I worked together for years at Starbuck's and she just finished her master's program in library science and is working in a Cold War museum. It's so fitting because she loves going to Russia. I also ran into Neeraj, whom I haven’t seen in years because he’s been in law school at Yale. He is going to start his last year this week. It’s crazy how fast time flies and how fate seems to allow me to keep running into old friends like that.

I also went home briefly for a BBQ that my sisters were throwing for their friends. I am glad that they were able to meet such great and nice people in the short time that they’ve been in So Cal. It was great seeing them again because I hadn’t been home in a long while. I miss my grandma. I got there too late and she had already left to my aunt’s house. But I am glad that I was able to hang out with my dad and brother. I got my brother into watching Sex and the City and I have been letting him borrow my DVDs a season at a time and he finally finished the first part of the sixth season and wanted the rest of the episodes, but I told him that they weren’t out yet because they just aired them a few months ago and he was really disappointed. He wanted closure and I wanted to tell him what happened in the end, but I didn’t want to spoil it for him. He’s hilarious sometimes!

Anyway, I am in the process of moving and it’s making it so hard for me to post regularly. I have been working on this post for a few days now. But I have to add this on here because I had so much fun last night! Josh and I went to a small club called Las Palmas in Hollywood with a few of his friends in his animation program…Rob, James, Rachel, Regis, Donna, and Carlos. We were thrilled because we heard that The Crystal Method was going to be there and I’ve never seen them in that small of a venue before. I was such a surreal experience. The music was great and they played a 2 hour set. I can’t describe how euphoric it was and I danced all night. It reminded me of the good times that Jamie and I had during high school and the first two years of college. I use to listen to them, The Chemical Brothers, DJ Keoki and Prodigy all of the time and go out dancing. I miss going to good raves.

So my day started off like any other day at work, but something new happened around lunchtime. My clinic has a courier that goes back and forth to the blood bank at CHS (main hospital) across the street and drops off or picks up blood products (platelets and packed red blood cells (prbc's) mainly) and she has lunch from 12-1pm daily, so when she is at lunch, I have to go for her and though I've been there before many times, this time was very different. I actually went to pick up platelets for a patient and the guy at the counter said there were prbc's to be picked up as well, so I picked them up too. The blood is placed in an indestructible plastic bag that can take a lot of pressure and not burst. (They send them through the tubing system throughout the hospital and they never break). But the tech, Jim, took out the unit of prbc's and throws it on the counter (which they do every time I am there) but right when it hit the counter, the bag burst open and red blood cells splashed all over the place, landing on my khaki pants and my arms. Crazy! So I had to get cleaned up and had to wear scrubs for the rest of the day. Luckily, it didn't get in my eyes or mouth, but it wasn't too bad. I'm just glad that it was "good" blood because they type and screen it every time they release it to our clinic, but it still irks me a little. Apparently there had been some complaints recently about some of the units from the Red Cross cracking at the top of the bags, but none of them ever burst like that. It was a very interesting experience.

I had dinner and watched Maria Full of Grace (which I highly recommend) with Lindsay. She is a very fun gal and I am glad that we are able to hang out more often recently. We both have a tendency to say inappropriate things, but unlike others, we don't care what other people think. It's always an adventure hanging out with her. We both miss Amy P. who is in Japan doing the JET program for a year. She is teaching in a school in Nakayama and it seems like she is having a blast.

Well, the weekend is here and instead of watching the Olympics, I am going to be active and do stuff, unlike last weekend. Monica, Kate, and Alexis are all in town and I am excited!

I had a very nice and peaceful weekend. I was finally able to sleep for hours and just sit, eat, watch the Olympics and hang out with friends, family and Josh with no real time restrictions. It was so great. When did all of these crazy kids begin qualifying for the Olympics? I remember a few here and there, but I see little girls competing in gymnastics and diving. Even Michael Phelps is only 19 and it’s his 2nd Olympics! It makes me feel unaccomplished in a way, but I do not consider myself “athletic,” so it doesn’t matter to me. I just like playing sports for fun. I hate competition. I guess that’s the main reason why my cousin and I don’t get along in general, but that’s another story for another time.

I went to lunch with Vanessa today and we went to Whole Foods and it was the busiest I’ve ever seen it, EVER. I was surprised because it was 1:00pm and I thought that going that late wouldn’t be too busy, but I stand corrected. Vanessa informed me that Jenni Ito is back from her extended vacation. How exciting! Vanessa has a great knack to enjoy life to the fullest and I think that if we all were like her, we’d be the happiest people in the world. She is pleasant to be around and I am glad that we have lunch regularly. I am hoping that this week goes smoothly with no hang-ups. It’s Alexis’ birthday and Monica will be in town this weekend. I’m so excited because she and I always play phone tag and we haven’t seen each other since we were in DC together last September. Yay! On another note, Angela is in Delaware training for her new job for two weeks, but I hope that they fly by without me being too bored without her. It feels like everybody's life is busier than mine, but I don't particularly care. I like it this way right now. I think I'll go for a walk outside later this evening.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002J58LK/joshuajmorgan-20/102-5898954-1043332

Kate came into town Tuesday night and it was so much fun. We had a night out on the town and went to Paris and New Jersey and back. Well, not literally, but it was pretty darn close. We had dinner at Café Crepe, a new crepe restaurant on 3rd street promenade. It was excellent! The interior had the ambiance of a tiny French café and it was really cute. Kate and I ordered dinner crepes and then we split a banana nutella crepe for dessert. All I can say is, yum! I highly recommend that you try it as soon as you can. After dinner we saw Garden State because Kate hadn't seen it yet. Moorpark is not as hip to the times when it comes to movies. Besides, it hasn't really gotten wide release yet so I guess it's not that bad. The movie is great the second time around. Much more detail was noticed and the cinematography was more distinct. I've been raving about this movie, so I hope that you all watch it. We then had a slumber party at my place because it was a bit late for Kate to drive home. She's in the proceess of finding an apartment in NY, Manhattan preferably, but anywhere is good. Does anyone have any suggestions? Fun!

On Wednesday, M and I had dinner at New India Grill. We've been there a dozen times together and I think her stalker guy is no longer working there. Maybe he went back to India, who knows. But it's nice to go there without worrying about that anymore. We stopped going there for a long while, but the food is so good that we had to go back. I'm proud of M, not only because she just got an awesome government job, but also because she went against the odds and was able to overcome them. I believe that we were destined to be together since junior high and for that I am grateful.

I saw my mom that night as well. Our relationship is interesting, to say the least. I see her less than a dozen times a year, even though she lives in Monterey Park. But then again, that doesn't mean anything because I haven't seen my dad in a while either. In any case, it was a good visit and I ended up with a dozen eggs, a 5lb bag of granulated sugar, fish, cucumbers and a few articles of clothing. Not too shabby. She will always try to feed me and then tell me later that I’ve gained weight and should go on a diet. My grandma does the same thing, so I guess it runs in the family.

I got home that night with the song, "The Only Living Boy in New York," by Simon & Garfunkel, stuck in my head. That's where the line, "Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile" from the title of this post comes from. It’s on the Garden State soundtrack and though I tried to buy the soundtrack at Best Buy that day, they were sold out. I really need to call them ahead of time from now on. But I was so happy when I saw a copy of it on my living room because Sia had gotten a copy. I was ecstatic. Josh got me a copy of it from Deep Discount CD, but I burnt a copy of one anyway because I wanted to listen to it while the other one was on its way. It is so good. Zach was able to convince Simon & Garfunkel, Coldplay, Frou Frou, and others to sell him the copyrights at a much discounted rate. It only cost $2 million to make the entire movie and I know that it will make a huge profit. Hooray!

Start Rant: So we have new neighbors downstairs from us and they play their music at a reasonable level most of the time (excluding now because it’s really loud) but I can feel the vibrations of the bass from their speakers and it’s annoying, especially now and every night at 1:00am when I am trying to get sleep. It’s unnecessary. End Rant.

On Thursday, I ran into Lisa and we chatted for a while, but she said that it was the first time in a long while that she wasn’t with the Orientation staff (even though I have been drinking with her recently, but that was with staff). So sad and yet I totally understand that dilemma. But those 30 minutes with her was great and satisfying. I love that Lisa and I are on the same level like that, it makes things so much simpler and fun, all at the same time. I miss living with her. I also saw Aussie for a bit after I got off work and we hung out at Farmer’s Market. It’s fun seeing her every week. Though we didn’t hang out for too long, it was fun. I’m excited because Matt should be back from Japan soon. I’m so happy for her because I know she’s missed him so much.

Angela, Josh, Rob and I went to Islands for Happy Hour after that and all I can say is: nothing can beat ½ price appetizers and cheap beer. Hooray for Islands.

Overall, it has been a great, but tiring week. Hooray for good company!!

"Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk."

So I found out that Zach Braff went to Nate's party Saturday night, about 1 hour after Josh and I left! I'm so mad that I missed him. I guess one of Nate's roommate's friends is friends with him and brought him to the party and they hung out her room most of the time. But Nate said hello and apparently he is just like his character from Garden State, kinda aloof and awkward when he speaks. But I am bummed. We left the party around 2:00am because the wedding was earlier that day and we were exhausted. Oh well, I am sure that if I was meant to meet him, it will happen on its own. And I am sure that I will say something stupid to him because I wouldn't know what to say.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000059QYB/qid=1092238987/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-7677275-6008108?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

So Russ (Josh's younger brother) and Arissa got married this past Saturday. It's crazy because I met Arissa when they started dating and I knew that they were perfect for each other. It's just crazy that they are married though! The wedding was really nice and sweet. It was simplistic and yet elegant and very low key. It was a lot of fun and I am glad that I was able to meet a majority of his family and it helped me figure out their family tree. They kept on asking josh and I when we were getting married and it was funny because we are in no rush to get married at all. It's just like Dr. Leo Marvin says, "Baby steps..."

Speaking of baby steps, it looks like I will be living with Josh fairly soon, assuming that everything works out properly. I am hoping that I can find someone to take over my lease, preferably someone that Lisa or Anastasia knows. But I am starting to look now that things seem a bit more definite. I'm excited because it will allow us to actually see each other more often by default. When he starts school, I will hardly get to see him, so it will be nice when we do live together. this is a few years in the making though because we wanted to do this years ago, but we never really had the opportunity to do so until now. And I think that it's about time.

On a side note, I am very sad to say that I have finally come to terms with the fact that some of my friends will be leaving LA in the near future. Andrea is going to Denver for her PhD program, Kate is moving to New York to work for the city, and Orianna is going to Minnesota to get her Masters. All great friends and I am saddened that they are going to be gone. I know that we will see each other in the future, but not as frequently as I would like. But I am itching to go skiing this winter...maybe Denver isn't so far after all. I know that I have a place to stay in NY and that gives me all the more reason to visit Kate and as far as Minnesota...um, I guess I will see Orianna during the holidays?! In any case, I will miss you guys dearly and I know that we will keep in touch, so it'll be fine. But on a happier note, Amy D. is back and I am excited. We all had dinner last night at Noodle Planet because apparently there were no Asian restaurants in Telluride, CO. But I am happy that she is back and it seems like old times. I miss the good old days when we were roommates, but alas, she has moved on to Hollywood and I know that she likes it there. And Alexis will soon be back on the Westside (if she ever finds a place) and I am excited because she will be working near my new apartment. Yay! So you win some and you lose some, but I am confident that I will be keeping in touch with those moving away and that we will try to see each other as much as we can.