How To Sew A Button - My First Try

I have lived away from home for about nine years. I moved out of the house and into my college dorm room in August of 1998 and since that day I have never had to patch an article of clothing nor attach a replacement button on anything I own. There was one time that a friend of mine, Rebekah Perkins, attached a button to a shirt for me but I personally have never had to do it.

Today, things will change. I have a pair of pants and a jacket with a button on each that has fallen off and I have a pair of pants with a hole in the pocket and I am tired of putting up with it! 10 years ago if one were to want to learn how to sew a button you would have to look around for a friend to show you how; now things are easier. YouTube. What else needs to be said. I learned 3 months ago how to tie a Windsor Knot and now I've learned to mend my buttons and seams. Tomorrow my wardrobe will sing!

How To Sew A Button On

Weird Al In Concert - Straight Out Of Lynwood

I'm giving some serious thought to watching the Wierd Al concert here in San Diego this coming October. This could be the coolest thing I'll ever do in my life... assuming I go.

Thanks Rich for finding thee info posted on WeirdAl.com. Check out the following videos on YouTube. The first is the White & Nerdy music video followed by the Making Of Video.

A San Diego Weekend

This past weekend was spent in San Diego. I kind of seemed like a vacation as Flor and I did pretty much only leisurely things including many "touristy" things that San Diego has to offer.

Friday night we took off in the late afternoon with my roommate Sir Aaron Riveroll on a quest to secure last minute tickets to the Padres game against the Red Sox. Unfortunately our quest was denied because the game had been sold out for weeks.

From 2007 - Padres...

Anyway, since we were downtown we decided to meet up with Doug Downing for a little Doner Kabab from the newly installed Kebab Shop. Man those things are good. The last time I had a kebab was 6 years ago when I was in Vienna... living with Doug... ahh, good times.

Saturday, Flor and I headed out for our first ever golfing trip together. Flor had never golfed before so I thought I'd show her how it was done. Kelly joined us for a quick nine holes and then we met the Trager's for a late lunch at Wine Steals. Mmmm, pizza at a wine bar. Who knew? We had a great time and I played a marvelous round of 41 on a par 27. That translates to a 109 for a par 72 course. For me that was great! I also was able to catch this awesome action shot of Flor. Priceless.

From 2007 - Golfin...

Derek Paravicini, a blind, autistic pianist

I just came across a 5-part video documentary via Healthbolt on Derek Paravicini, a blind, autistic pianist. He's incredible and he's a fascinating case study on the peculiarities of the autistic mind.

On a personal note I cannot get enough of listening to truly talented musicians and secondly I wonder what separates people like Derek from other autistic minds. My sister Kathleen works at the New England Institute for Children with a group of autistic kids, I'm sure she would be very interested in this man and how he relates to her kids.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5

Del Mar Fair

Flor and I met the Tragers Wednesday evening for some fun at the Del Mar Fair. At first I thought it would be a very quick and possibly bad idea to go so late but it ended up being a great idea.

We arrived at about 7pm at the free parking lot and by the time the shuttle got us to the fair it was 7:15pm. We had some hot dogs, I bought a 2 foot long spicy beef stick, and we had some fantastic beverage! Man it was good! $14 worth of good! Anyway, the fair turned out to be a delight and a smashing good time. We stuck around 'till a little past 10 riding the fairs wheel, taking Old West pictures and photo booth pictures and looking at stuff in the sales tents. I took a fair amount of pictures myself and will have to post them online as soon as I pull them off the camera.

Go to the fair everybody!

Pictures are here!

2007 - Del Mar Fair

A Successful Trip to Reno & Yosemite National Park

About 10 days ago I briefly previewed my upcoming vacation to Reno, NV for the 2007 USBC Open Championships and then my subsequent plans to visit Yosemite National Park along with family while basking in the days in which I didn’t have to go to work. Well, those time have come and gone and I’m back to work with new memories safely stored in my brain and in my camera.

Two Sunday’s ago I headed out on the open road to Reno where I was meeting up with Lindsy, Kacy, and David Bonifacini along with John Staley for the team event at the USBC Nationals.

Monday night we bowled the team event and Tuesday night we bowled Doubles and Singles. Unfortunately Flor was taking her final Tuesday morning so I was without her until Tuesday evening when she flew in to meet me for the week.

For more on the actual bowling part of this trip see this post over on Mounts Bowling.

Anyway, after finishing up with bowling way late on Tuesday night Flor and I went back to the hotel and called for a late checkout as it was around 2:30 in the morning. Wednesday we finally got out of the city around 2:30 in the afternoon and drove to Fresno where we spent time with my parents and prepped for a day trip to visit Yosemite National Park on Thursday. Wednesday ended up being a nice day and we had little trouble on the roads but that darned air conditioner on my parents wall might have been better off left off as it might have spelled the beginnings of a cold for Flor as she started feeling it a bit Thursday morning.

Despite Flor and I both waking Thursday morning to slight scratchy throats we, along with my parents, headed up to Yosemite National Park for the day. This we determined was the first major place that Flor and I have visited that she had been to but I had not. We’ve done this the other way around a number of times and things that neither of us had done before but this was a first for us. It was a perfect day too. We arrived in the early afternoon and hiked up to see the Giant Sequoia Groves, had some late lunch in Wawona at the Golf Pro Shop snack bar and then drove out to Glacier Point. I thought this drive was amazing but somehow it put everyone else to sleep. At one point I could audibly hear both of my parents and Flor sleeping in the car as I wound up the mountain.

We finished the day tour with a trip to the base of Bridewell Falls which I found to be the greatest thing in the world. Flor and I went rock climbing right up to the base of the falls and had a great time. This reminded me so much of my childhood as I was always out climbing on rocks near streams bouncing around… only this time I had a hot girl chasing me from behind. It couldn’t have been better.

Finally we made our way back to Fresno… the long and scenic way and crashed hard that night. The next morning I awoke to my mom cooking me a birthday meal 16 days early. That’s right, we celebrated my birthday. We had Manacotti with peas and salad with Apple Dumplings for desert. We then headed out to get me fitted for a suit! My parents bought me a suit for my birthday; so cool.

That Friday evening Flor and I finally left and drove to LA to visit her family and most importantly her dad for Father’s Day. As always we had a great time goofing off with her siblings, niece, parents, and grandma. We all had a great IHOP breakfast on Saturday and then a nice excursion to the mall and finally we began that last leg of the car ride back to San Diego. I swear that last leg was the longest.

It was an awesome week and now I’m back to work and Flor's battling a cold but I'm going to get to relive parts of this experience at least a few more times as my real birthday approaches on the 2nd of July and I get my hands on my tailored suit on the 6th of July in Missouri for my cousin Jessica Mounts’ wedding and then later in July when I get my winnings check from the USBC Open Championships tournament. I’ve got a lot of good stuff to look forward to. And finally, the album of pictures for the week can be found below.

2007 - Trip To Yosemite

Models, Bowling Tournaments, and Visiting Yosemite

Today is my last day of work until the 18th of the month. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now! I do have some random things that I have to get done before the days over today but man that just doesn't sound too bad considering my reward.

I'll be enjoying myself tomorrow as Flor and I head out to the beach in the afternoon to frolic in the sun and waves and to help out my good friend, Sir Aaron Riveroll, aka Sir Fat, with the reflector as he photographs a model, the lovely Jennie Trabert. Sunday, I'll be checking out a condo up for auction that I might be interested in if the price is right and then Monday through Wednesday I'll be in Reno bowling followed by a day or two Visiting Yosemite National Park, some visiting with family probably, and finally a couple days of peace back in San Diego before everything kicks off again.

I'm looking forward to everything equally. I'm even looking forward to the drive to Reno, crazy I know. I picked up two audio books from the La Mesa branch Library the other day to enjoy on the ride up. I'm sure I'll finish at least one this week so I'll have at least one book review coming up again if not two.

I'll also be heading up to San Diego Bowling Supply on Saturday to pick up four of my five new bowling balls that I got used off of Vic Florie a couple weeks ago. These balls are replacing the balls stolen out of my car last month in LA and should make a nice addition to my arsenal. Just in time too, they're going to be ready two days before USBC Nationals so I'll have to report back on how things go. Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. I guess I'm just looking forward to the week ahead more than even I thought I would. I am happy right now.

Book Review: Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

I finished reading last Friday Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. Again I read this via audio book in my car while commuting so I pushed through it somewhat fast. I don't really classify myself as a democrat or a republican so I don't find myself loving or hating Obama. I tend to believe in a more Libertarian or Capitalistic political approach so there were some things that I really didn't agree with in this book but on the other hand there were many elements to Obama's philosophy that I couldn't help but love.

In this book Obama pretty much just skimmed over his beliefs on just about every possible subject while sporadically including thoughts and stories from his own childhood and adult life. It was very interesting to learn of the growth of Barack from relative anonymousness to political super stardom. I had never heard of him until last fall even. Mostly I found I loved his speaking ability and the quality of his voice and vocal inflections as he read. He seemed inspiring even when I didn't fully agree with what he had to say. Funny, but true.

Honestly, I think he would be a fine president that I could support but for now I won't be voting for him, there are to many other candidates that I might find more attractive. If anyone wants to learn about Barack then this is the book / 5 CDs to to do it.

Welcome Home Kathleen

I figured since I had these pictures posted online as of last week I should make mention of them here on this blog. I had the pleasure of getting together with my Kathleen a couple of weeks back. Man! The days are flying by! Anyway, yes it was a couple weeks ago. My whole family drove down from Fresno including Kathleen and my Uncle Jim and along with Flor we all headed up to the Wild Animal Park for the day. Tuesday, May 22 to be exact. I ended up taking a vacation day to be a part of the festivities. We had a good time and I can't wait to see Kathleen again in July at my cousin Jessica Mounts' wedding. Pictures from the day follow.

2007 - Kathleen Visits San Diego

First Beach Trip Of The Year & Pictures Of Cutie

Monday was Memorial Day. I love holidays. They mean I get a day off of work and I get to do something very pleasurable. This year's Memorial Day was no exception. I did however end up having to get up at the crack of dawn to take my newest roommate, Cutie, to Petco to get her long-haired fur trimmed. She is a beautiful cat, about 15 years old, and my inheritance from my grandparents. I couldn't be more pleased with having her around. Anyway, she's been living with me since Mid-April and in that time I've taken her to the vet to get her rabies booster and now to Petco Groomers to get her bathed and trimmed. The trimming is really to alleviate the matted hair that has been accumulating over the years on her underside. She looked great before so I was hesitant to cut her hair but there was no way I could brush her hair out so I took some before pictures of her to compare with what I assumed would be hysterically funny after pictures. Sure enough I was right.

I know my uncle Paul Mounts has been anxious to see some pictures of Cutie as he and Cathy have many cats of their own, I'm sure they will miss seeing Cutie in person from time to time so these pictures are for them. :)

2007 - Cutie Before & After Pics

Flor and I picked her up from Petco around 2:30 Monday afternoon and had a good laugh at her cuteness / funny looks. She's so skinny. Anyway from there we rushed to gather our things and hit the beach before it got to late. We went and picked up our stuff at my place and hers and picked up friends and stuffed the trunk and went to the deli to pick up sandwiches and finally made it to the beach by 5pm. Luckily it was so late that people were already leaving and we found parking right up close.

The water was not to bad. We ate and tossed a football around and frolicked a bit in the shallow surf and eventually just sat in the slightly overcast sun. It was a fun 2 hours spent before it got cold and we packed up to go home. Pictures from our afternoon can be found below this text for your viewing pleasure. Sorry I'm so white. It's my first true beach trip of the year.

2007 - Memorial Day Beach Trip

Hope you too had a good Memorial Day!