My Favorite Things

In a blatant steal from Oprah, I am going to blog about my favorite things. The holidays tend to bring to mind favorite things that one likes or desires. Growing up in a large family, everyone has stuff that they like. My mom always tried to make a special effort to get foods that each member of the family would like. Cheetos for my sister Susan, mixed nuts for my dad, and two kinds of cranberry sauce (the fresh kind and the canned kind) for picky family members who liked one or the other.

So in honor of the holidays and thoughtful people everywhere, I give you my favorite things.

Favorite Season

Autumn

Favorite type of Aircraft

Passenger Planes…777-200 or DC-10-30

Military Aircraft…B-2 Stealth Bomber or Comanche Helicopter

Commercial Helos…AStar AS350

Favorite Holiday Song

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Favorite Accent in English to Have

Hard one. I like the sound of Singaporeans speaking English. It sounds so proper. A semi-rough Brooklyn accent is also kind of cute. Think Steve from Sex and the City.

Favorite type of Food

Dim Sum. I also like Squaw.

Favorite Bed Type

I am a soft guy. A softer queen, that’s my answer and I’m sticking to it.

Favorite Cars

I like the Mercedes M Class or the BMW X3 right now. Mini Coopers.

Classic Cars, I like 50s Ford Pickups or a 62 Corvette. (Do not tell my dad. He is Mr. Ford.)

Favorite Place to Chill

Peets Coffee, Dolores Park or under the covers with a boyfriend cuddling on a cold day

Favorite Vacation Spot

Hawaii

Favorite City

I could never choose one. San Francisco, Hong Kong, Brussels, Bangkok, D.C., all for different reasons.

Top 10 Favorite Movies (Even Top 5 is impossible for me to do)

Sound of Music, Shawshank Redemption, Amelie, The Motorcycle Diaries, Grosse Pointe Blanke, Walk on Water, Auf Wiedersehen Lenin!, Born Into Brothels, The Matrix Series, Frida

Favorite Broadway Shows (as if the Gay Meter couldn’t go any higher)

Rent, Wicked

Favorite Candy

Mike and Ike’s, Sees Chocolates, Starbursts, Jelly Beans, Toblerone

Favorite Drinks

Margarita Rocks Salt if there is good tequila (NO F*ING CUERVO!), Washington Apple Martini, or Stoli Cranberry w/Lime (always a classic)

Favorite Geeky past times that are hard to admit in public

NPR, Charlie Rose, and documentary films.

If you were on Death Row, what would you choose for your Last Meal?

Probably Thai food. Yellow Curry with Chicken, medium spicy. Ice Cream for dessert. Even though Dim Sum is my favorite food, I do not think it would travel well.

Favorite Dessert

Italian Gelato. If not that, then ice cream. Ben and Jerrys, Haagen Daas, something in a pint.

Favorite Obsession

Food. Can’t you tell? :p That and mild stalking.

Favorite Sports

I like to watch tennis. In the participation sense, I like to run, toss a ball back and forth, hike, and I also like rowing.

PC or Mac?

MAC. Hands down.

Favorite Décor

Minimalist, Urban Loft style, some Asian stuff, Mexican/South American Woodwork

Favorite Sports Team

Uh…the one with the cutest guys?

Favorite Crush

Ricky Martin (no big secret), Jose Mendoza (no secret there either)

Favorite Quality in a Man

Intelligence and a dry sense of humor

Favorite Quality in a Woman

Good hair…and a dry sense of humor

Favorite Thing to Have Around the House

Fresh Flowers

Favorite Big Indulgent Dream

I would like to have a koi pond and a beautiful garden.

Favorite Time of Day

Midnight

Favorite Pastime

Spending time with friends, gabbing, having coffee, laughing.

Burial or Cremation?

Cremation

Favorite Saying

“Correct.” or “Indeed.” I am also fond of the phrase, “Hell NO!” or "Hell YES!"

Favorite Curse

“Puta Madre!” (MF’er in Spanish…)

Favorite Airline

Domestic JetBlue, International British Airways or Cathay Pacific

Favorite Type of Music

Dance Music, Latin Pop, Cheesy Pop (ie. Boybands), but I like all kinds of stuff.

Favorite Habit that Annoys Others

Singing in the shower (or anywhere for that matter) or letting someone cut in front of me in line. I cannot be bothered to argue about stuff like that.

Favorite TV Shows

Project Runway, Charlie Rose, ER, The Real World, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain

Starbucks or Peets?

PEETS

Favorite Weather

Slightly chilly and breezy or warm (not hot) with a misting rain

Favorite Snack

Jamba Juice, Cliff Bars, Pound Cake, a slice of pizza, shortbread cookies, Mac and Cheese

Favorite Foods that Gross other people out

Chicken’s feet, Macaroni and Ketchup

Non-Favorite Expressions

Any form of “disrespect” ie. “He disrespected me.” or “I was disrespected.” WTF does that even mean?????

Favorite Treasured Possession

My friends, family, the good people in my life, and my health.

I hope you all have a great last weekend of 2007. Cuidate.

Merry Christmas

So the big day has come and gone. Christmas 2007. There is such a social pressure that comes with holidays. The constant barrage of questions usually include, "What are you doing for Christmas?" , "Who are you spending Christmas with?", or "What kind of plans have you made?". When one confesses that no, I am not going to spend Christmas with my family, the looks of shock, pity, and (perhaps) horror appear. "What do you mean you aren't going to spend Christmas with your family?" No everybody; I apologize if my feeble excuses are unacceptable to you and your value system, but I will not be spending the holidays with my family. The majority of my family lives east and why everyone has a great interest in air travel at this time of year boggles my mind. Fighting full planes and waiting in lost luggage lines is not my idea of time off well spent.

For Christmas Eve, a girlfriend and I hung out. I bought some lobsters, we got in our pj's and chowed down. (I have not steamed lobsters in a long, long time! Too long.) We watched The Kingdom which turned out to be a decent action flick and then a couple episodes of Sex and the City. We woke up this morning, watched meaningless TV all day, chilled out, and did very little. Now THAT is a holiday my friends. I know for most of you (namely the straights), spending time with family is this big priority. Do not get me wrong, I do enjoy my family. But there is a host of emotional issues that any family gathering brings up. Plus the sheer number of people in my family makes the logistics of any gathering difficult. 2 parents, 5 siblings, 4 brother and sister-in-laws, 14 nieces and nephews, and me in my immediate family alone. Usually this equates to me on a floor or an air mattress. I hate to sound like an ass, but a bed is my minimum requirement. No bed, no Uncle Mark.

I scored two A's in the two courses I took online this fall. Even though they were not difficult classes, it is always nice to receive good feedback for your efforts. With a few more courses, I can likely have an associates degree if I want one.

As some of you are aware, I have been working on a possible alternative work environment for 2008. Things are proceeding nicely and it looks as if I will be able to make a move if I want to. Thanks to all of you for dealing with the calls and letters from inquiring minds. Your help and support are much appreciated as always.

I hope Santa was good to all. I am still procrastinating with my cards. Bad I know, but my Christmas letter has sucked this year. I rewrote it three times and am still not happy with it.

Cuidate.

Kilauea

Here are some shots I took on Kilauea. The active lava flows are only visible from the air right now, they are no longer flowing directly into the ocean.





The whole area is haunting and beautiful. As you can see from the photos, steam rushes to the surface and is visible all over the park. You can click on the photos for better definition.

Cuidate.

Back on Dry Ground

I got back from Hawaii late Thursday night thanks to Hawaiian and ATA. I am still pleased with ATA's service overall, but it took an hour for my bags to show up. That shit is just wrong.

So I had a great trip all in all. After having a great marathon weekend on Oahu, I headed over to the Big Island on Tuesday. When I was flying for work, we had always flown into Kona. Kona is the dry side of the island and has always given me a bit of the creeps. I never enjoyed my time there much. Endless miles of dry lava rock and the fog enshrined mountains always made me feel isolated and on edge. On this trip, I decided to visit Hilo and the volcanoes. Hilo has a completely different character than Kona. It is rainy season and it rained nearly the entire time I was there. The town of Hilo is fairly small, quaint, but a bit rundown. Still the whole area is lush and green due to the rainfall on the island. The flowers that grow are amazingly beautiful and they are everywhere. One of the highlights of my visit was a trip to a local orchid farm. As you can see, the flowers of the Big Island are among the best anywhere.









One of the other highlights of my trip was my first visit to a black sand beach. I was not prepared for how stunningly beautiful it would be. When I descended from the volcano to the beach, the sun also emerged and everything around had a gorgeous afternoon glow to it. The Big Island is also full of wildlife from birds of the rainforest to the Nene (Hawaii's state bird, a cousin of the Canadian Gooses) to Hawaiian Monk Seals which are seen on the beaches.





I wrapped up my trip on Thursday and headed home. I caught a cold while in Hilo and it is proving to be annoying in it's staying power. I am going to spend the next couple of days recuperating before heading back to work Tuesday night.

Cuidate.

O na lani

After a busy few days in So Cal, I drove home Tuesday night to the Bay Area. The drive is really quite easy. It consists of 5-6 hours on either the 5 or the 101. To make things easier on my trip, I bought myself an early Christmas gift of the Garvin Nuvi 350. When I make a purchase like this, I become slightly obsessed and spend hours searching different websites to find consumer and corporate reviews. The prices keep going lower on navigation systems such as these and I was able to score mine for $300. The Nuvis are about the size of a Blackberry or a Palm Pilot and easily fit in a jacket pocket. I could not be more pleased with it. The system will run on battery power for about 5-6 hours and then it can be charged or plugged in the car if needed. You can select a specific address or a town. You can also request restaurant options, ATMs, businesses by name, movie theatres, etc. and it will route you to the closest one within seconds. Especially when dealing with the freeways of L.A., it was invaluable. There are cheaper models, but the Nuvi seems to be the critical and consumer favorite for the basic GPS system.



So I arrived back in the Bay Area early Wednesday morning. I had a ton of stuff to do before taking off to Honolulu on Thursday. I bs'd my way through my online Spanish class final exam with my professor. Frankly, I did not have time to study the last chapter and it showed. I still think I will do fine in the class as I have had nothing, but A's so far. Still, I am a bit of a perfectionist and wish I had done better. I also got my haircut, stopped by work, and a bunch of other odd errands. I stayed up until early Thursday morning and then crashed for a few hours of sleep before my 7 AM alarm.

I sleepily awoke and finished packing. It was a bit windy and rainy this morning in Oakland and the cab was 30 minutes late. My flight left at 10 AM and I arrived at the airport at 9:20 AM. I hate being late at the airport. I am fortunate to live within 10 minutes of Oakland Airport and, being a smaller airport, it really does make things easy. Luckily, the lines were short and I was able to make the flight. We took off just after 10 AM and I dozed through most of the flight. I took ATA again because I can earn mileage credit on Southwest with them. They fly 737-800s with leather seats that are very comfortable compared with other airlines. Of course, I end up behind Mr. Jamming my Seat Back All the Way. Still, there is a lot more legroom compared to United or Hawaiian. We landed about 1:30 to a slightly windy and overcast Honolulu. Apparently the last week has brought a lot of rain and flooding to the Islands, especially parts of Maui. I love this kind of weather in general, so I was happy to be back.

I checked into my hotel, stocked up on drinks and stuff for the room, and then crashed out. I went out tonight to check out the bars later after I awoke, but not many people were around. I began to walk towards Diamond Head and the surf was really kicking up which is unusual for this side of the island. I made my way towards the water and stood in awe of the strong trade winds and the spray being kicked up as the waves hit the shore near Queen's Beach. Within five minutes or so, it started to downpour. I dashed underneath the picnic area that is close by and hung out with some birds and the local homeless population who were fast asleep. As I stood there watching the rain, the surf, and feeling the forceful breeze, I got chills because I was so happy and alive. I have always felt at home here in Hawaii and I visit frequently because I become recharged and reconnected here. All of the negativity, stress, and day to day stuff that builds up gets burned away leaving behind a feeling of tranquility and renewal. People are always like, "What did you do while you were there?" and my response, with a broad smile, is usually, "Very little." To me, Hawaii is o na lani (of heaven). I am blessed to be able to visit as often as I do.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season. I will be on Oahu until Tuesday and then I am visiting Big Island for two days before heading home.

Lest I forget, it is Pearl Harbor Day. Somehow I usually end up in the islands on this day each year. My dad and brother are both Navy veterans and it is important to remember the over 2,000 sailors and marines who were killed that fateful day in 1941. Thank you to all veterans for your service and sacrifice to our country. Ironically, it is also my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Melissa.

Cuidate.

So COLD...I mean Cal

So Hector (my car-rito) and I made the trip south to So Cal last Thursday evening. Apparently we dragged some of the cold weather with us because it has been crazy cold down here. Of course, I left my leather jacket at home because who knew it was going to be so fucking cold down here. Ah well, live and learn. A leather jacket is never a bad accessory to have. (One would have thought I would have learned that by now.)

So I hung out with my friend Meghan for most of the weekend. She is the quintessential "struggling to make it" girl in Hollywood. She did the acting thing for a while, now she's on the producing bandwagon. Like anyone in entertainment in L.A., life consists of "taking meetings", who you know, what celebrities you have met and/or run into recently, and discussions of who and what are in or out at the moment. I could never do it. Meghan is still plugging away after years of work and I hope that 2008 is her year to make it happen. Meghan is a karaoke nazi and any visit with her results in a trip to her karaoke bar of the moment. Saturday night proved no exception to the rule and we paid a visit to a local dive in Santa Monica. Leave it to me, I end up in a conversation with a slightly disgruntled dog groomer from South Africa. The men just flock to me, let me tell ya.

Last night, I drove further south to visit my friend Chuck in Laguna Niguel. Chuck and I used to work together when I was based in Newark a few years back. We have been catching up and it is always good to see him. Tomorrow I am meeting up with two other friends of mine from my Northwest days Caroline and Beckie. I have not visited Southern California for a couple of years, so I am trying to squeeze in visits with people I do not cross paths with often. I also have to meet up with the dreaded ex- tomorrow to drop off some of his stuff that he conveniently left in my apartment. Speaking with him on the phone today for three minutes was enough to make me want to purge.

Thankfully, it began warming up today. It is about 70 degrees and sunny today. I am heading home tomorrow night and will write more later in the week. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Cuidate.