Is anyone reading these blogs?

It's just a question.

… I finished all my Christmas shopping spending just under $250 and in a time of two and a half hours. I was shopping for eight nieces, five nephews and other family and friends. The time is what people find shocking. I look at it this way; I have a good idea of what I am looking for each person on the list. It's not that I don't care as some may argue; I just get to the point with no dilly-dally.

I'm buying presents mainly for children ranging in the age of two weeks to 10 years old. I'll walk up and down and aisle, stop, and say: "I think (so-and-so) would like this." They usually do. Well now that I think of it, I've never gotten a complaint.

Now, I just need to wrap everything.

… Between now and the last time I blogged, I spent time with my parents. I picked them up from the airport as they arrived from Mexico and took them to my sister Georgia's house in Pasadena. The next day, I drove them to Fresno where my sister Clemencia lives and where they had left their truck.

I used to drive my parents everywhere when I lived at home. I thought it was pain then. Years later, however, I found it was enjoyable.

On the way there, I asked them what they wanted for lunch and at first didn't know until they saw an In-n-Out billboard and said they wanted to go there. Then my father said their food is good for you. Now keep in mind, my dad is now 78 and had never heard of the food pyramid, let alone the four basic food groups. I asked why he thought that and he said, "They put so many vegetables on their food." He had a point.

He then told me that another sister, Rosa, took them to an In-n-Out before they had left for Mexico and they enjoyed it, they had never been there before. I reminded him that they do have In-n-Outs in Tracy and Stockton and he was surprised and asked if they were new. I said no, the Tracy one has been there since I was in high school.

But I am looking forward to them renewing their wedding vows next month.

… I've been babysitting a two-year-old recently for a friend at work. He and his wife take their newest born to the doctors nearby and leave me for at least 90 minutes with the toddler. Their child, Sophie, knows me well enough that the parents know I am not a stranger to her.

The first time was easy until an hour into it. Then Sophie realized after watching her DVDs that her parents weren't there. She began to scream and cry and I tried reasoning to her but that wasn't happening and so I put the DVD back on. It worked, but I felt like I failed and took the easy way out.

It wasn't until later where I learned a trick. Focus is everything. While having dinner, I had her crayons and was drawing. She became possessive and said it was hers. Later on, as she was trying to play with one of her parents who was trying to get dinner ready, I yelled out, "Look Sophie, I'm coloring." She stopped and looked, then came towards me. So the next time I watched her, it was much easier.

… It's Christmas time and once again I turn into the free airport shuttle for friends. I started this week taking a friend to the airport who's flight was at 7 a.m. That translates to me getting up at 5 a.m.

Maybe I am just too nice. So, if anyone needs a ride, you know what to do. This is a service for friends and family only. No friends of a friend or family of a friend. But I will do friend of the family for some reason.

Rainy day will come another Sunday

There's a drought, but I'm originally from Northern California so I can use as much water as I want. It's my birthright.

… I recently made a second trip to Fry's in as many weeks last Tuesday. For those who don't know what Fry's is, the best way I could describe it is if Radio Shack went Wal-Mart with sodas and cookies.

I went last week for a back up drive among other things and thought I would only spend 45 minutes there. An hour and 45 minutes later I finished. It's easy to get lost, after all, it's "Wal-Mart" sized. There is so much to see, from big screens to computer PC fans.

I came back again looking for a multi-card memory reader for my Sony Memory Stick and Micro SD card. Well it sucked. While the place has everything electric, it doesn't necessarily mean it is high quality.

So I need to go back this week. I'm looking forward to kill more time there.

… I recently watched an episode of South Park for the first time in more than a year and I've missed so much. In this episode, Kyle and Stan are good at the video game Guitar Hero. The whole episode mirrors the rise and fall of a rock star except with video games. But the punch line is excellent.

I forgot how well the show makes its case without sacrificing humor. It showed you the hard times of a rock star with two fourth graders playing video games, but reminded you that it was just a video game with the punch line.

I have a lot of catching up here.

… There was a light that was recently installed by my window of my apartment room. I was reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer couldn't sleep because the Kenny Rogers Roasters moved in next door. If you'd read my last blog, you would have known I've been a little sick so most of this week I've gone to bed without any problems. But now I can see everything in my room clearly, even with the curtains closed.

Opinions I’ve made Sunday night

I had an extra hour of sleep today, but wasted it.

…I went shopping and found an old friend in Ramen. I forgot how cheap that was. One package for 12.5 cents, you can't beat that, I don't care who you know.

I don't know how much I ate in college and immediately after college, but I could always count on the price. I bought eight for a dollar. It's a bargain.

…Another reason why I bought soup is I'm starting to feel sick. I bought this wonder product called Airborne. It's a product that was invented elementary school teacher from Carmel, Calif. It is recommended at the first sign of illness, but is not a cure for the common cold and flu.

As I read the instructions and dietary nutrition I found something out of the ordinary. It's Vitamin C content is off the charts. Each pill that is supposed to be dissolved in 4-6 ounces of water has 1,000 mg of Vitamin C. That's 1,667 percent of your daily allowance. It is recommended you take no more than three a day.

So if I followed the instructions, I would have 5,000 percent of my daily allowance. I know Vitamin C is good for you, but that can't be healthy, can it?

…It's three paycheck month. I'm using some of the money to pay for Christmas presents for my numerous nieces and nephews. Each year, it gets more expensive, but I love them all. I just need to remember what I bought them last year and make sure I get age appropriate gifts.

Ah, Christmas is only seven weeks away.

Looking at the world the Sunday night before Halloween

Thoughts from a guy who went to a Halloween costume dressed in the cap and gown that he wore for his college graduation. That costume was six years in the making.

… I thought my parents weren't romantic. I never saw them hug or kiss when I lived at home. They spent their nights at home watching Spanish soap operas. The only thing they ever did together was go to Mexico three different times for three weeks starting when I was 15. I was home with my one of my sisters and brother.

So when I called my parents today to see how there were doing, they surprised me. They were going to renew their wedding vows early next year. My parents were married in 1960 and had their first child in August of 1961. So I guess they never had time to their own to do what they wanted until the last child moved out in 1997.

I'm so excited and I can't wait. It's the best thing I've heard in a while.

…A columnist for the Oregonian bloged about a run in he had with the wife of the head football coach at the University of Oregon. She wasn't too happy about him writing a column about their son getting arrested for their second DUI. Her and her nanny began to verbal berate with no words barred. By the way, this took place in front of her other children while the nanny was holding one, in the middle of a press box during the USC-Oregon football game.

She may have figured he'd never write a column about this and the public would never hear about it. But she's not up on her Internet.

…Speaking of college football, "The Play" now has a rival. For those unfamiliar, the play was when Cal defeated its archrival Stanford with five laterals on the final play of the game with the Stanford band on the field.

On Saturday, Trinity defeated Milsap in their Division III game by using 14 laterals to win the game on the last play of the game.

While the Trinity play is exciting and enjoyable to watch – unless you're on the other side – it still does not overtake "The Play" as the greatest play in college football history. For starters, Cal and Stanford are Division I and as mentioned before, it was a rivalry game for the Stanford Axe (the trophy given to the winner). Second, this game ended the college career of John Elway at Stanford, as the Cardinal would have been bowl eligible with a win and it would have been his only bowl game. Third, there is still controversy on whether the play was legal. The Stanford Axe has engravings with results of each year and every time Stanford wins it, they change the 1982 result to a Stanford win and of course Cal sets the record straight when it wins. Fourth, the call of the play-by-play from Cal announcer Joe Starky is priceless.

And finally, Cal player Kevin Moen scored the winning touchdown by running through the Stanford band and jumping on Cardinal trombone player Gary Tyrrell, giving new meaning to the word: tromboner.

…I got another Baltic Ave. That makes five.