What Exactly is the Perfect Gift...

Over the years, I have been trying to figure this one out. Sometimes you buy things for loved ones because they simply want it...and sometimes you get the things because they need it. It's very hard to figure out the needs of the ones you love or like.

I've bought some pretty nice things over the years and every year, someone always tells me that I bought the perfect gift. But before I go on, let me just say "halt" for a second...I may have bought some pretty nice things for the people I love, but I did it out of my heart. If I could get that one person to smile, then it can be pretty contagious. Trust me, I don't try to show anyone up on Christmas Gifts...that's the last thing in the world I want to do because I know how it feels to be on the other side when someone else gives a gift that blows you away.

This year, I basically went for nice stocking stuffers. The reason being, because I simply fell behind this year and I'm going on a trip to a foreign country in a couple of weeks. The gifts that I bought were straight from the heart...something that wasn't too expensive but at the same time, something that was nice enough to make the people I love smile and possibly say... "wow"
...which brings me back to what I was saying at the beginning...What exactly is the perfect gift...

I hope I can still makes the ones I love smile...

Merry Christmas Everyone...
Juje

Pagers: The Caveman Days of Text Messaging

We all had pagers back in the day. They were an equal-opportunity technology, owned by drug dealers, whores, doctors and CEOs—and new college students whose parents couldn’t drop the leash. At least there was the code.

Saddled as I was with my beeper, I did what I could to avoid actually picking up the phone. I would carry around a few ROLLS of Quarters: a reminder that when someone paged me, I was supposed to call them back. Most of my paging, however, was sending numerical messages to my Golf Buddies (I was always there for a good TEE Time)

Our Pagers were all Black...it had that official look to it. We were so very cool. This number-to-word conversion we became addicted to will probably go down as only a very minor footnote in turn-of-this-century communication, but, for kids who’d never known from text messaging and hardly used email, the idea that I could send my friends any kind of message and they'd get it instantly—that was pretty darn huge.

Some of our codes were super private so I can’t share them, but others were standard: 411 for information, 911 for emergency, 143 to symbolized the number of letters in each word of the phrase “I love you.”

There was also an accepted system of sending numbers so that, when written together, looked vaguely like letters. We’d grown up getting adults to spell “BOOBLESS” on calculators by typing in the elements of a story about Dolly Parton and then holding the calculator upside down. (Her bra size was 69 and that was 2, 2, 2 big. So, she took 51 diet pills and went to see Dr. X eight times. Now she’s… 55378008.) From there, it was an easy jump to many other words. Hello was 07734. That was one of the easiest one. We said “Hello” a lot. There were so many, it became necessary to have beeper-code dictionaries, or at least, a basic decoder.

Today...we text with our cell phones. I go online with the darn thing and I call friends up whenever I just want to talk instead of messaging people....but I sure do miss the old days when the Pager was the "IN" thing. The simplicity of it all made things fun and adventurous.

Christmas Show

December 15, 2009
Chula Vista Middle School
7:00 PM

The show started off with the Beginning Choir singing quite a few Christmas Songs to the enjoyment of a lot of family and friends in the Audience. They started off with a very Traditional Song but then cranked it up with a little boogie woogie with Choir getting a little animated and the Piano Player/Teacher hammering it out on the Keys.

Next up to plate was the Boys Choir. The voices weren't strong but the boys were pretty animated by doing their best Elvis Impersonation Dance Routine as they sang....It got people off their seats and gave the boys choir a lot of confidence. I give the boys a lot of props, because it's really not easy to perform in front of a lot of people.

After the Boys Choir finished their show, there was a brief intermission.

Isabella stepped up to center stage and performed a solo. For a 13 year old, she has a strong and beautiful voice...
She's not afraid of the stage and just smiled throughout her performance. There were people in the audience screaming her name (...I think she has a fan club) but that didn't rattle her nor did it make her nervious...but I think she is use to it...she's been performing in front of the stage for years.
Bella probably had the best performance of the night.


Then came the Girls Advance Choir... The Girls sounded confident and even did little sole routines in between songs. It was nice to see Bella perform again as she did a small solo but it was nice to hear the other voices singing in the Christmas Song...it gave it quite a variety and in the end, they combined both beginning Choirs with the Advance one. The girls all had their Santa Hats on (Some of them even wore reindeer antlers)and were exchanging gifts as they sang....it was really beautiful.

This was a very entertaining show. Anytime a person can walk out of a show with a smile on their faces tells you something. I know there was a lot of parents in the audience, but there were a lot of folks just there to be entertained...and I saw a lot of smiles from a lot of people as they left the show.

Thank You Chula Vista Middle...Job Well Done.

Old School Party #2

Once more, we had another Old School Reunion. It was pretty cool to hang out with a lot of the old friends that we all grew up with...I know that this is a few weeks late in Posting this but I felt that it needed to be done. The Second Reunion was nice...extremely nice. There were more Blasts from the Past (So to Speak) that made it this time.

The Party was held at Patty's Place. We had a Bar-B-Que in the Back Yard with Lots of Food and Drinks. The Usual showed up from the last Party....Ed, Kandi, Aileen, Bill, Carlos, Patricia, Bob and their families...but we had some new folks that showed up too. People that we haven't seen in a very long time.

It was nice seeing Noel (he shaved his head bald), and David (I haven't seen him since 1979...YIKES) and ofcourse, Jarvis (still looks the same...just graying). I'm sure there's more and I'm sorry if I forgot who else was there...must be my age...Man I'm getting old.

What was so funny about our little get together was we were known as a Party School back in the day...a school that had a lot of fake I.D.'s and we got drunk alot. To make a story short...everyone of us brought in some Beer for this party. There were hardly any sodas so I sent my son out to Albertson's to get some Cokes, Diet Cokes, and some Sprite. I did however bring in some Captain Morgan's Long Island Ice Tea and Aileen brought in some Tequila.

I was asked to bring in some Old School Music because of the huge Library I have...but I do have a lot of Variety and I wanted to bring to jog a lot of memories. The Music I brought in had alot of surprises...From ABBA, to Bad Company, to the Floaters, to Led Zeppelin, to the Commodores, to the Brady Kids...It was all 70's Music...the stuff we all grew up with. They all loved the playlist, and it was good to have people stop for a second and say, "Hey...I remember that Song".

In the end, it was nice to hang out with everyone. We ofcourse exchanged phone numbers incase we all needed to get in touch with one another. We are planning another party for the Superbowl. Like the first 2, I hope this one gets even better.

What Exactly Does UCLA Stand For...

Over the years, I've been trying to figure out what these letters stand for. I know I might sound a little Bias coming from a USC Trojan Family and I'm not afraid to share with everyone my dislike to UCLA....so here's what I've come up with...

Ugly Cheerleaders Lousy Athletes

U Can Lose Again

Under Construction Like Always

Upper Corner of Lower Alabama

University of California of Lower Achievers

United Colon Lovers Association

U Clowns Lose Again





Earlier in the week, Vandals Attacked and Painted the UCLA Bruin Statue on the UCLA Campus. I don't CONDONE any of these types of vandalism but I did think it was kind of funny. Last year, the Tommy Trojan Statue was vandalized by UCLA so I think this paint job was in retaliation for what had happened last year. To make matters worse...the Vandals used an Oil Based Type of Acrylic that's very hard to clean off. Word has it that they used gallons of Turpentine to clean it up.

Humility...

You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.

To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.

To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.

I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.

Humility is like underwear, essential, but indecent if it shows.

Life is a long lesson in humility.

Our best thoughts come from others.

Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.

Humility makes great men twice honorable.

I'm not insecure. I've been through way too much f**king sh*t to be insecure. I've got huge balls. But I've been humbled. That makes you grateful for every day you have.

Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.

True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

I am no more humble than my talents require.

Random Thoughts....

A word to the wise ain't necessary...it's the stupid ones that need the advice.

Fashions have done more harm than revolutions.

A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths.

Airplanes may kill you, but they ain't likely to hurt you.

Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.

Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect.

Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed.

Electricity is really just organized lightning.

Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them.

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.


God did not intend religion to be an exercise club (on why some people preach exercise clubs)

Honesty is the best policy...when there is money in it.

I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.

I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.

I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead.

Just some Thoughts....

Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.

The price of justice is eternal publicity.

A woman dreaming of a bachelor denotes a loss of innocence and purity. A man who dreams of being a bachelor is a warning of an insincere female who will shortly be entering your life. It is also the sign of loss of honor and dignity.

	In a conversation, hand-behind-head may be read as a potential sign of uncertainty, conflict, disagreement, frustration, anger, or disliking (i.e., social aversion). It usually reflects negative thoughts, feelings, and moods.

THE 10 REASONS WHY FOOTBALL IS BETTER THAN BASEBALL:

1. A Sport that has Players Constantly Grabbing their Crotches Can't be All that Sophisticated.

2. There's no Tobacco Spitting in Football...What a Disgusting Habit.

3. NFL Head Coaches don't wear those silly, form-fitting polyester uniforms like baseball managers do. Real Leaders don't Sport Tights.

4. Cheerleaders.

5. The NFL Commissioner has Power...Real Power.

6. Quarterbacks have 3-5 seconds to release the football or they get hit....Simple. Pitchers on the other hand take forever to deliver the baseball: rub the cap, scratch the rear end, stare at the catcher for a few seconds, Spit, Scratch again, spit, and then pitch....ENOUGH ALREADY.

7. Most Football Officials are in Excellent Physical Condition. Baseball's Umpires need a Salad or two...They're all Shaped like JOHN CANDY.

8. Baseball tops out at 162 games...Have they ever heard the phrase "less is more"?

9. What exactly does a Baseball Manager do?

10. Superbowl Commercials...They're more entertaining than some movies. Advertisers don't bother spending all that cash on a WORLD SERIES Contest...No one is Watching.

Biker Birthday Party

Today was a Birthday for a Biker friend of mine. It turned out better than I thought it would. My Niece Isabella and some Family members went all out and cooked some serious Bar-B-Que. The Ribs had this Honey Like Rub on it (Very Sweet) and there was Plenty of Beer...

Overall...The Turnout was pretty darn goon and we all had a good time.

Respect

It's a Shame that These Girls never got the Recognition they Deserved. These worked Hard and have been a Dominating Force for the Past 2 Years....Something that the City of Chula Vista and the City of San Diego hasn't recognized.

I'm Talking about being NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2 STRAIGHT YEARS.

Sure the PARK VIEW Little League Team Deserved all the Props they got in winning the World Series of Little League, but so do the Girls. They Travelled all the way Down to Portland Oregon to Compete for the National Championship...unfortunately, the way things are, they Never got the Recognition they Deserved After Winning the National Title....and they did it 2 years in a row.

It's a Pitiful Shame that the City of San Diego or even the city of Chula Vista will never give the girls any props for their hard worked achievements. We talk about Equality in this world, whether it be by Race or Sex (Boy or Girl Teams)....

...The Bonita Valley Girls should have gotten alot more than just a few minutes of Recognition...That's my Perspective.

The Reunion

Last night was a night to Remember. Even though they were just a few of the friends I grew up with, it was nice seeing them again. And alot of them still look the same...just older and a little more Mature. Aileen Barrios, E Cam Pasimio, Patricia K Martinez Mahalko, Bob Shafer, Kandi Sinatra, Me and Carlos Ladran are all Pictured in this Photograph.

The Night Started off with the Fella's just hanging out in the SCOREBOARD Sports Bar in Imperial Beach. The Patriots/Redskins Football Preseason game was on and we had a couple of beers and got acquanted with each other...It's been a long too many years since I've seen the guys....since 1980. Then Aileen and Patricia showed up and we hugged and caught up with one another. We talked about the old times....growing up and the people we knew. And Finally, Kandi and her Husband showed up. It was a Tearful type of moment when we all got together and I'll admit, we were all teary eyed.

As the Night went on, we talked about certain people that we knew....some good and some bad. It was all Harmless fun but we sure did learn alot of some of the other people that we grew up with and what they are doing now.

Later, we did some Karaoke....I was the first to start it off. The SCOREBOARD was the first place I've seen that had the song SHOOTING STAR from BAD COMPANY....I love that song...I consider it my favorite of all time so I just had to sing it. I think my friends were more surprised that I was brave enought to sing in front of alot of people. Kandi's Husband then joined me on stage and sang the Chorus of the song. I later Joined him to sing LOVE GUN from KISS...We simply ROCKED OUT!!!

In Closing...I finished off the night singing THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD from the BEATLES. It was a fitting way for me to end the night cause I had to work early in the Morning. This night, I will never forget....not just because of the fun, but the Memories and the love we shared as Friends...Friends Forever

GEORGE CLINTON - August 27, 2009

I went to CANES last night...It was pretty cool to watch George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars...A Change of pace from all the Rock and Roll Concerts that I've been listening to, and I had a Blast.

The show started off pretty cool. The Opening band for George Clinton was His Bassists' Band (Sorry...No Bootsy Collins) but there were really good musicians. They played mostly Solo's and the Guitarist was most the impressive.

When George Clinton opened up, it was all over....Everyone Danced and got funky. They played their traditional "Tear the Roof off the Sucka (Were gonna turn this Motha out)" to open things up at the Concert. They also got the House Rocking with songs like FLASHLIGHT and ATOMIC DOG. What I found most impressive was the new girl on the group...Not only was she extremely cute, but she can belt out a soulful yet bluesy tone from her voice...She basically stole the show...and all the guys hearts...

But the last half hour of the Show sucked...no disrespect intended. They dragged it out with a guitar solo that was not impressive...I know that this guy isn't a ROCK GOD, but what they should have done was get others to play along with the show...Just my opinion.

Anyways...that's my report of the Concert...

Take care...

Juje

August 3, 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Monday, August 3, 2009
12U National Champions!!!!!

All I can say is Wow!! You girls are simply the Best!!!! Girls, thank you for a unbelievable finish to a already amazing season. You showed so much heart and determination this weekend you were not going to be denied!! Playing 14 games total and 8 of them in 2 days and not even skipping a beat. (I guess the conditioning did help after all ;)... Congratulations girls nobody can ever take this from you...

Your 2009 12u ASA National Champs- Bella,Haydn,Alex,Carolyn,Nikki,Shayne,Erika,Reyna,Anissa,Amanda,Alyssa,Ashley,Kelly, and Bat-girl Alizah...

Alyssa G.. Get well soon girl. way to leave it on the field for your team. Parents Thanks for all the support.

Coaches- Lance,Fernando,Laura,Bernie,Sharon,Nate.. thank you for all your hard work and dedication. couldn't do it with out you guys/ladies!!!

August 17...Night Time

Tonight, we paid Respects to a Very Good Man. He was a Father, a Coach, and a friend to many...His Name is Mario Vargas. Mario was very well respected in the Border patrol as he worked as a Sargent...He was also a very good Father to his kids...and from the Viewing I was at tonight, well loved by many. Mario battled Cancer and fought it to the very end...During his life, He also coached Girls Softball...He wasn't one of those that yells at the student...He taught....He did it the right way and with his teachings, the Girls won 2 National Championships (you gotta think that some of his teachings were responsible for it)

Mario is in a better place now after suffering from Cancer...God Bless you Mario...We Miss You Already...

August 14, 2009

Wow...this is my very first Blog
this is all very new to me, so gimmie a break...okay
Anyways...I was so Tipsy last night at the Sports Bar that when I logged on to a chat site, I was a little embarrassed from it...Had a Huge Headache so I had to log off and get some sleep. I hope I never embarrass anyone...