Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
In approximately 3 weeks, Ash Wednesday will be upon us. And for good Catholics everywhere, that kicks off the season of Lent. This gives opportunities for bad Catholics like myself to step up to the plate and try to make up for, well, being a bad Catholic. I usually try to take on as many acts of penance as possible because of this. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.
I started considering what to sacrifice about a week ago. And I haven’t come up with anything concrete. In the past, I’ve given up red meat and sweet tea. Those were pretty rough. Also I went a more traditional route one year and fasted after 3pm. That sucked big time. But right now, I am having no luck on coming up with new ideas. I guess I can recycle these old ones (like I did dressing up as Indiana Jones for Halloween 3 years straight).
So I am asking for suggestions. Some friends have given me a couple of ideas that aren’t bad, but I need more. And once I get 4 or 5 solid ideas, I will put up a poll and let you all decide what I should do. So basically 6 weeks of misery will be in your hands.
I hope to have the poll up by this weekend. So leave a comment with your idea. And please,… be gentle. 
-Dave Q.
First off, Happy MLK day! Now, on with my misery…
I never used to have allergies as a kid. Never. I remember kind of laughing at all the allergy sufferers I would see. Well, I’m not laughing anymore. I am one of them now. And I have no idea how it happened. Is that part of life? Does your immune system start to break down in a way that it allows for allergies to slap you around? I may have missed the memo on this.
What sucks is that I am a “warm weather” person. I live in San Antonio, I was born in Hawaii, and my family is from Costa Rica. Tropical, humid weather is in my blood. So naturally I despise cold weather. But this is where the conflict comes in. If the weather stays cold, my allergies don’t seem so bad. But when it hits about 65 degrees, then I am miserable. Damn, this sucks. My eyes are watering. My throat is raw. I’m congested. But, hey. Who’s complaining?
And then there is the case of allergy medicine. I can’t find one that works consistently. Allegra is as effective as a Tic-Tac. Claritin D? No dice. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way. Or Kleenex. Feel free to send Kleenex my way too.
-Dave Q.
Here is a clip from a local TV station in Hawaii. My sister, Ale, is called in to drop some knowledge on why kids are fat and out of shape these days (video games) and what they can do to lose some weight. I know she went to school for this kind of thing, but I didn’t realize she paid so much attention in class!
Nice job, Ale. I’m proud of you. Not so much because you are on the news, but because of the reason you are on there. You worked hard and earned it. Unfortunately, the only way I’m going to end up on TV is because I witness a tornado or something.
-Dave Q.
2009 is 5 days old and I really don’t have any concrete resolutions. That is, until now! So I thought I would share them. This way, maybe someone out there will hold me accountable.
- Go to sleep earlier: I have lousy sleep habits. They are almost as bad as my eating habits. Basically, I am a night owl. And of course I pay for it in the morning. I think it would be an extremely good lifestyle change to do this. I can only gain from it, right? And it’s not like I go out and stay out late or anything, so I don’t feel I will be losing much. We’ll see how it goes.
- Go to Church: I’m far from being a good Catholic, but I do want to address this. And I am realistic in that I know I don’t have the self-discipline to go to church every Sunday right away. So my goal is to go to mass once a month at the least. I think that will be a good start. Also I need to find a church I like.
- Be nicer to co-workers: Now this one is kind of funny, because I think I am a pretty cool guy to work with. But every now and again someone at work gets to know me and later on tells me how little they thought of me before getting to know me. I don’t know what it is that I do to make people think like this. Maybe I will try to smile more.
- Learn to cook: I can barbecue (a little). And I can cook (very little). I just want to be as good in the kitchen like I am in other rooms in the house. LOL! Yeah! Funny!!… (crickets). Yeah, I know. I’m horrible in bed.
- Finish remodeling my house: I started this task in September of last year. It is a sloooow process. But it’s getting there. I can picture the final result, and it will be nice. I just have to knock it out.
- Lower my cholesterol: It has been steadily dropping every time I check it. So as long as this trend continues, I should be good.
So I figure 6 resolutions is a good start. Can I do this? Yes. Will I do this? Hell if I know. But I’m going to give it the old college try. Good luck on your own resolutions. I better get started…
-Dave Q.
A long December and there’s reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last-Counting Crows, Long December
I can’t say that I’m too upset about 2008 coming to a close. It’s been a somewhat rough year at different times for me. And after doing a lot of soul searching, I look forward to the opportunity to start 2009 with a clean slate. A fresh start is just what the doctor ordered.
So I wish everyone out there a very happy 2009! Be safe on New Year’s Eve, especially if you’re out there driving amongst all the drunkness. Until next year…
-Dave Q.
First, I just wanted to take a quick moment to tell you all Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah! Happy Kwanzaa! And Happy All Other Holidays I Missed With No Intention Of Making You Mad At Me Or Dismissing Your Holiday Cultural Celebration! (After all that, I know some group will still be offended by me. But, oh well. Nothing new there.)
Anyway, the movie The Spirit comes out today. I would really like to see it, but I’m going to have to wait a week or so. I am so intrigued by the movie trailer, that if the movie is crap, I will still watch it. I guess the movie trailer people did their job, right? Because that trailer is just so mesmerizing…
The same people who made this movie are the same ones that made Sin City and 300. I dig the cinematography. Their style is unique and so different from the usual. Just the visuals alone will draw people in. And who couldn’t be drawn in by a pole dancing Jessica Alba? 
Two things that are visually stimulating? This trailer and Jessica Alba.
Anyway, I hope this movie is as good as their past work. And if you see it before I do, then don’t tell me anything about it. Even if it sucks, let me find out for myself. My fear is that my roommate tells me he thinks it’s awesome. Then I will know it’s horrible. He is, after all, one of the people that highly recommended that I go see that Transformers garbage.
-Dave Q.
I try to avoid getting too personal on the blog. I don’t want to document every single little detail of my life because, quite frankly, some things just need to stay personal. But I am going to take this post to vent. I just need an outlet because I have so much on my mind. I think it may be the holidays. That and some family strife that has all kind of merged together, kind of like that movie The Perfect Storm. Too much stuff going on to really get a grasp on things. Thus, making it a very frustrating time. One that I will get through, but frustrating nonetheless.
This may sound weird to those of you that aren’t religious, but I feel that at times my actions may not bode well with The Man Upstairs, and that in turn my selfishness could be the cause of any pain my family or loved ones may endure. I don’t want to get too deep, so I will leave that one right there. It’s just the way I feel. It feels disgusting. And I need to fix it. I need to do the right thing.
Anyway, I just needed to put that out there. And I needed to read my words. And I need to focus.
-Dave Q.
Both my grandmothers reside in Costa Rica. So you can imagine when they both unexpectedly encounter health struggles how quickly my family and I want to get over there for a visit. That is the case right now. My Grandmother on my Father’s side has been getting treatment on her issue. And she is responding well. She is a fighter and I have no doubt she will come out of this with flying colors. She is extremely close with God, so I know He is on her side. That is comforting.
My Grandmother on my Mother’s side is having her own issues. That is me and her at my little sister’s wedding in the pic above. I spoke with her on Wednesday and she is in extremely good spirits. She has a contagious laugh that once I get her going, she can’t stop! And then I can’t stop! My Spanish may be horrible, but you don’t have to translate laughter. And despite the language barrier, she gets me. She knows what I’m trying to say.
Apart from my immediate family, all my relatives live in Costa Rica. I have had a different experience than most growing up in that I couldn’t just go to Grandma’s house for the weekend, or go stay the night at my cousins, etc. It was never an option. And because of the geography of it all, I am not as close with my family in Costa Rica as I would like to be. Ad that isn’t anybody’s fault. It’s just the way it is. But it doesn’t take away one bit of love I have for them all. So to know any of them are suffering is difficult to hear. But I know my Grandmothers are in good hands. And although Costa Rica is not the USA when it comes to medical care, there are far worse places to be.
I love my Grandmothers very much and I hope and pray that they get better very soon.
-Dave Q.
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