Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Funnist #1

Dear Funnist,
My girlfriend really really likes amusement park rides. For her birthday she really wants to go to Magic Mountain and ride as many rides as possible in one day. Even repeating rides if possible. I get violently ill on these sorts of things. I really love my girlfriend and want her to have a nice birthday, but I am afraid I will puke all over if I go on one of these rides like this, over and over. Possibly on her, myself or both of us.
What is the FUN thing to do??
Really Apprehensive Latino Potentially Hurling
Los A, CA


Dear RALPH,
What do you normally eat for breakfast? I would suggest NOT eating the Denny's Grand Slam that morning. How attractive is your girlfriend? Could you possibly find one more attractive, who doesn't have an affinity for extreme rides? Any other advice columnist at this stage would now say "seriously" and try to give you 'good' advice. Well, you wrote The Funnist, so I am here to give you the fun advice.

Eat a light breakfast, preferably one with a high liquid content. Stand in line next to the most annoying person you can find. Study the ride while you are in line then pick the seat that has you on the outside. Use centripetal force to your advantage, clearing yourself and the ride totally when your weak wussy stomach eventually does let go. With luck you might give your annoying friends from the line a souviner of their trip. Your girlfriend will be having so much fun, she won't be paying attention to you anyways. I also suggest Altoids or peppermint gum. Have fun!!

The Funnist

Saturday, November 29, 2008

unique 3 of me

Hmm, you probably don't know I can't straighten my right arm fully due to a broken radial head. Also I can't straighten my left ring finger due to an injury. Or that my second toe on each foot is significantly longer than my big toe.

But now you know I shave my armpits.
And that my eyes are grey, not blue.
Or that I am missing half my intestine.

two cars, one helicopter

Myself, M. and neighbor M. were down at the little league field having an airsoft war. One of the residents of the nearby trailer park, who was a little inebriated, called 911 saying, "there are a bunch of guys with machine guns on the roof of a building near my house."

So when M. said, "hey look there are a bunhc of cop cars talking to that guy", and neighbor M. said, "is that a police helicopter?" I knew it was time for me to see what was going on.

As I walked up to the window of the patrol car the first thing he said to me was "airsoft war?" and I said yes. He then rolled his eyes and called it in as a false alarm.

We didn't get yelled at, no one got in any trouble and it all worked out just fine. But our little game sure did attract some major attention for a little bit.

Basically the cops were happy with what I said, that all our guns had the bright orange tip, we all had eye protection, we were shooting biodegradable bb's, we would no longer climb on the roof and that we don't play there if there are other folks around.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

So we were running 5k at 0800 this morning. That lead to a breakfast of bacon, eggs, english muffins and juice. Oh and I of course started us in on the pumpkin pies. YUMMY! Lunch turned into the requisite snack platter of various crackers, cheeses, pickles, meats and so on.

Dinner was the very traditional and delicious feast of two turkey breasts, home made from scratch rolls, fresh green beans, a couple yams, mashed potatoes, field greens salad, gravy and drinks. Loved it!

We all talked about the things we are thankful for and the good things we hope for the future.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

East County Turkey Trot 5k

1. Rowdy 21st overall
2. M. 3rd place child (under 16)51st overall
3. Diane, new personal record
4. J.
5. K. .5 second behind J.

The ground was super wet, a little chilly and a narrow course. We all had a great time!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

rowdy, an astronaut, barely alive..we can rebuild him

better, stronger, faster.

I ran 5 miles at 0600 this morning off road, up and down hills and across streams. I of course had to lead and set the pace and was done first. Crazy as I have only run that distance twice previously IN MY LIFE. Then I went to brazilian jiu jitsu for 1.5 hours. I tapped a few blues and held off a few others. So feel pretty good even with 6 weeks off due to my jacked finger.

And now for your viewing pleasure:

oh hai, whyz u laff like dat?

why oh why do these pictures do what they do to me? funny pictures of cats with captions
more animals

3 YEARS!!!

the day we meet sparks flew
the day i kinda proposed, Mt Soledad
the day she got her ring and real proposal, Mt Diablo
married in our La Jolla home with just family
our reception at The Prado in Balboa Park

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Rowdy Collection

bier mugs from Munich & Oktoberfest
marble I stole from one of Sadam's palaces
terrorist propoganda I picked up
my dead shark in a jar
the complete 'Outlaws of the Marsh' in chinese and english

A Rowdy Menagerie

an antique straight razor
plush sucker arms!!

an 1874 printing of JV 'A tour of the world in 80 days'
my awesome home gym and rock climbing wall!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

"What do you know, you're just a kid"

It is funny how anyone older than yourself seems to think they know soooo much. Age is not directly correlated to intelligence any more than vitality is to youth.

Good or bad, all things have been for my profit and learning in this life. So the next time you think you are dealing with some punk kid, realize that maybe, just maybe, they have experienced quite a bit in life such as:
winning and losing real fist fights
having a chronic, incurable illness
being married 3 times and divorced twice
sky dived/bungee jumped/swam with sharks
seen someone die
found and met a biological parent
been in a war
saved a child with the Heimlich maneuver
filed for bankruptcy
been hospitalized for 28 days straight and numerous week long stays
fired from a job
been shot at
been on food stamps
totalled a car
traveled to 13 countries
seen a child born
worked themselves through college doing both full time

I like to picture my Rowdy in a tuxedo t-shirt -OR- Self Portrait Sunday


I like this outfit cause it says I can dress up, but also I like action to.

it's all a #'s game

143 lbs What I weighed this morning. This is the most I have ever weighed in my entire life. Just earlier this year I was routinely 134lbs in the morning. My exercise regimen has yielded almost 10lbs of muscle gained this year. I never thought it would have happened.....
110 visitorsGoogle Analytics tells me on November 16th I had over 100 visitors in a day for the second time this month. Reminds me of the t-shirt I saw in the airport "more people have read this tshirt than your blog".
3 Had a big airsoft war with the neighbor kids and this is how many times they shot me. I got hit in the neck, upper lip and finger. (Yes, we were all wearing eye protection)
21Pull ups I did in a row on Friday night.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

theme song....

I was asked recently what my theme song is. Now I don't really feel like my life needs a theme song or sound track continually playing. I don't and never will have an ipod. If I have heard a song, I remember it. If I need to hear it, it is in my mind ready to be heard again.

When I do things I just let my internal dialouge suffice.

But if pressed, this would rank towards the top as a them song for me.

reluctant rowdy runs rapidly -OR- SDRI trail running club's first meeting

If you've been following me for a while you know I started trail running this year, competed a little bit and I am training to run faster. Just 5k trail runs and races, nothing special.

The San Diego Running Institute (SDRI) is near my house and my jiu jitsu school so when I saw they were starting a trail running club I immediately signed up to check it out.

This morning was the first meeting and run. Blah blah blah, information and propoganda. When are we running?!?!?! I mean, I didn't come to this parking lot at 0700 to hear someone talk, I was ready to hit the dirt.

It's time to run and V. asks "Who runs faster than a 8 minute mile?" To which me and two other people raise there hands. Great. A group of 30 people and I'm already singled out, laughingly enough now as 'fast'. HA! V. follows this up with, "Alright then, whats your name? Rowdy you lead the group on the run. Go."

Who? What? Where? Me???? So yeah, my first meeting with this group and I am leading the whole club on it's first run. I had mountain biked this trail before, so I knew where I was going. Jumping out at about a 7:45 pace I lead the group for the first 1.4 miles and then directed traffic so people didn't go down a side trail.

I could go on and on about the club and stuff, but why bother. You probably are not interested. But me, I'm not a group person and I am a reluctant leader. I don't feel particularly fast, experienced or anything where I should of had a train of 29 people running behind me. You should have seen it....

It felt funny. But guess what, now I am probably leading one or two runs a week now for this club! Hahahaha. Guess I'm in it......

Chef Boyrowdee

Every guy should have one meal he actually can cook. At least one. I'm pretty good at making phad thai, yakisoba, burgers, chicken tacos, chicken pot pie and the number one easy for a guy to cook meal, spaghetti.

And by cook I don't mean remove from box, microwave and serve.

So here are my hints for you making pretty good spaghetti, Chef Boyrowdee style.

-use whole wheat noodle. They still taste very similar to the 'other' kind and you will look like you're 'healthy'. Don't get fancy, just use regular spaghetti noodles, they hold the sauce best.

-in boiling the water, add salt and olive oil, getting a faster boil and less sticky noodles. Rinse them in lukewarm water as soon as you dump them into the colander to prevent over cooking.

-dice up yellow onion and white mushrooms, saute them in the pan, set aside to add to the sauce while simmering.

-for your meat, use ground turkey. Again it is 'healthy' and you will win points for being an intelligent progressive eater. Season it simply with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and one of those generic "Italian" seasoning mixes. Be liberal with these as it is really hard to put too much in as the sauce will dilute it. Don't forget to drain the fat and such off the meat as well before adding the sauce.

-my one concession to "guyness" is using a jar sauce. At least use a good one, I think the Classico brand is the very best one out there. So you have sauteed your onions and mushrooms, browned seasoned and drained your meat. Now back in the same deep frying pan combine all these elements. At the same time dump a pretty good amount of grated Parmesan cheese in there also. Continue to cook this on medium till it bubbles and then turn down to low, letting it simmer until the noodles are done cooking.

-if you started everything at the same time, you will roughly be done with everything at the same time. Good!

-you want some vegetables, green ones. Do not use a can of green beans, buy the fresh string beans. all you have to do is wash them good, put them in a bowl with some water, salt and a little bit of lemon juice. Cover this and microwave it for about 3 minutes. Drain it and then you are ready to serve.

Ding! It is all set! Now you can impress your girlfriend, your mom and even your own stomach. Start to finish you are done in less than 20 minutes to do it all. Never again should you just dump plain old Prego on white angel hair again. Never.

Chef Boyrowdee, over and out.

-

Friday, November 21, 2008

35mm SLR

Does anyone have an actual "old school" 35mm slr camera they will let me borrow?? You know, one that takes like film and all. Not a point and shoot.

Just let me know....

truely, a gripping tale

I went to my weekly occupational therapy appointment this moring at 0700. It is a good thing I wake up easy or appointments like this would never work for me. Or probably anyone at that...

Zero improvement basically. So we decided giving my finger something to do might help, with the idea that not using it had weakened it.

How do you think you exercise a weak finger? Why with the biggest tub of Silly Putty you have ever seen.




And how do you work on dexterity? Why with the biggest ball bearings you have ever seen.

I am sooo going back to jiu jitsu now!!

all killer, no filler


watchmen graphic novel+smashing pumpkins+winter weather=perfection

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

It's the thought that counts. Right?

A few people have asked me what I want for xmas. So after a little thinking, scary I know, here is my list. From mild to wild. In no particular order:
Gift Apprx Price Location
California Superbike School class $1,000 www.superbikeschool.com
silver Tiffany money clip ?? Tiffanys store
"I am the stig" t-shirt, sz M $25 www.topgear.com
2005 Lotus Elise $30,000 Symbolic Motors/www.lotustalk.com
fossil Megadalon shark tooth $50 www.ebay.com
New World Disorder 9 dvd $45 online or bike shops
white "i'm feeling rowdy" hoodie sz M $35 www.cafepress.com search 'rowdy'
diving w/great white sharks off SF $700 wwww.incredibleadventures.com
casual SPD mnt bike shoes $70 bike shops
Get Fuzzy comic collection books $25 Borders
Rock River Armory AR-15 carbine $800 Rock River Armory of any gun store
XM radio for the Lexus $150 Best Buy
Top Gear show dvds $40 www.topgear.com
white Lucky Gi for jj, size A1 $220 www.onthemat.com
Sig-Saur 9mm pistol P229? $700 any gun store
Beta fish and bowl $30 Petco or similar pet store
subscription to The Atlantic mag ? ?
subscription to Foreign Policy mag ? www.foreignpolicy.com
biodegradable Airsoft bb's $20 airsoft xtreme store
black lightweight balacava $20 various

Masterbadge, don't leave home without it.

Let's say you're a little late to work. Riding a motorcycle lets you get through traffic a little quicker than everyone else, and you're just plain in a hurry.

Then suppose a local cop feels your breaking this thing they like to call a "speed limit". You follow the rules and pull over, but like the Grinch, so smart and so slick, you think of a ___________ and think it up quick.

"So, why are you in such a hurry?" says the cop without even asking you for your social conformity papers. Yet.

"I'm on my way to the hospital. I got called in and they need me there." is the Grinchy reply.

"What do you do? Are you a doctor?"

"I do Nuclear Medicine. I actually am in kind of a hurry and I do need to get there..."

"Really? You got a badge you can show me?"

Flint grey eyes twinkling, you know you just won. "Yeah, here it is." And you produce a badge for a nearby hospital with your picture on it and the impressive words Nuclear Medicine.

"Alright, you can go. Remember, I'm just like you. My job is to help people to and you don't see me speeding around."

I'm not even sure he heard my "OK" and I rode off. Smiling.

top secret

If you can decode this, let me know. You will win a prize. Email or comment your guesses.

31-45 11 13 32 21 35-45 11 43-52 32 42-31 21-35 33 44-33 32 32 55 52!

upcoming posts

1. My xmas wish list, from mild to wild.
2. Funny photos of..... just wait and see.
3. Photos of some of my favorite murals and graffiti in SD.
4. The first letter to The Funnist.

Stay tuned, stay tuned loyal readers.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

why internets, why?

CAN'T I EVER GET A LINK TO POST IN THE TEXT OF MY FREAKING BLOG!

I can readz buks

Over at The AV Club website, , they recently did a feature about the most useless books derived from websites. The number one happened to also be my number one, I Can Has Cheezburger?, .

So low and behold but what to mine eyes should appear but this cute little book, thanks UPS dear.


Thanks DD

Monday, November 17, 2008

you know you live in San Diego when....

1. It is November and you have to worry about hot weather and your house burning down.

2. You can ride your motorcycle year round.

3. Tacos come with cabbage, not lettuce.

4. Three of your dresser drawers are devoted to shorts: cargo board biking running swimming etc.

5. You own "dressy" flip flops.

6. 'Chonis' is the only word you know for underwear.

7. 60 degrees is cold.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

A new feature!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the New York Times Magazine on Sundays there is a weekly feature called "The Ethicist" where people write in with their ethical dilemmas to be resolved.

It's been said many times "you're the funnest person I know", or "you should be the Minister of Fun" to me.

Well in keeping with my personality and using my natural gifts I have started a new blog feature called "The Funnist". You can email me with whatever question or delimma you have and I will give you the appropriate FUN answer. I will publish the email and my response (of course keeping you anonymous) for all to enjoy and learn from.

Email RowdyStyle@gmail.com to ask The Funnist something today.

Coast to Coast

From San Francisco(the Presidio)
to New York(Gray's Papaya)in 30 days.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

And I ran, I ran so far away..

Today I ran stairs. Steep big stairs for a little over 60 yards(????). And the last bit is twice as high in rise as the previous bit. Demanding. I warmed up, did some dynamic stretching and push ups then it was time to go.

GO!

Here is how it went, run up as fast as possible, maximum effort. I was covering this distance in 10 seconds on average. Sprint up heaving and straining. Walk down and do 10 push ups, recover. Repeat. And repeat. And..... till I had done this set of stairs 10 times and had done 110 push ups.




At the end I was on the verge of passing out or puking. Anaerobic/aerobic overload accomplished.

Locked Up Abroad casting call

So in my sifting through the trailings of the interwebz, mining for something precious I found the Nat Geo channel looking for people in San Diego with stories to submit to their show "Locked Up Abroad". Guess they need some gringo in a Mexican jail programming. How funny that I jokingly posted about my Morocco experience in the past month and how it was soooooooo close to being a hostage kidnap scenario worthy of that show. Being held "social" hostage for a few hours hour is hardly worth submitting but it is still a great travel story.

for my foreign readers

A little about me, I am 169cm tall and I weigh 62kg. Just so you know...

the opposite

since i have been whining a bit in my last few posts, i thought i should post some pics of me smiling to counter the negativity.




Friday, November 14, 2008

Dinner, I'm doing it wrong.

Half a bag of Baby Ruth minis does not a dinner make. Nutrition Fail.

Never Satisfied

I had a great mountain bike ride this morning. I went to see the new 007 movie and enjoyed myeslf. I went out to lunch. I ate all the candy I wanted today.

But for some reason it seems like a sucky day and I am not happy. I want to be doing more. I hate nights at home alone doing nothing.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

love thy neighbor

right now, that is the hardest thing for me to do. our relationship is very very very heated and strained right now.

i can no longer speak to her and she can't even make eye contact without the hatred burning through.

my plan is to wave, smile and not talk to her at all. and now i guess we will talk through our insurance companies......

"pride" (shaking my head) "pride"

faster than a speeding

Well, not faster than my fastest speeding ticket. That was for 120mph+ up in the bay area on one of my motorcycles. yeah...

!anyways! I ran my speed workout today. I'm working on running 6 minute miles over the course of a 5k trail race.

.5 mile #1 was 2:59
.5 mile #2 was 3:01
.5 mile #3 was 2:59 with the normal walking in between those sprints. I spent a total time of 25:34 to go this 3 miles and my average heart rate was 145bpm. All of this tells me that by February I should be running my 5k race in under 19 minutes!!

Nissan Xterra race at Mission Trails, February 2009 watch out!

ओच्चुपशनल ठेराप्य redux

so today is a day where i really like doing nuclear medicine. i just wish it would have worked out for me here in san diego.

i really wonder what it will be like to have a MS and be a physicians assistant 2 1/2 years from now.............

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

1st place


The Volvo C30 is in first place right now to replace the Acura as the next new car. Went and drove one today and I really liked it. And a top line one is only $30,000.

3 to 7 years.

80% of individuals with MCI convert to AD within 3 to 7 years. Having both APOE4 allelles increases your risk 12 fold. Diagnosed with MCI t...