Well it's April and that could only mean one thing... my birthday! Nope, ever since I was a kid when April came it meant one thing; "It's time for Dodger baseball". Yep I am a life long Los Angeles Dodger fan. In fact when I was a kid, my dream was to play for the Dodgers and wear number 14, just like my favorite Dodger player Mike Scioscia . Then there was also one of my all-time heroes, Jackie Robinson, even though I never got to see Jackie Robinson, in fact he passed away 5 years before I was even born I always admired him as a kid growing up. In fact in elementary school I did a report on Jackie Robinson, and to this day have read books on his life and of course I watched and loved the movie "42". To this day if there was one person I could meet, sit and have a conversation with it would be his wife; Rachel Robinson who I believe is an true inspiration. Also when I was a kid I one 1st place in a baseball skills competition for my age group, I think I was 9 years old, and received two tickets to a Dodger game and a couple weeks later received a letter and autographed picture from Tommy Lasorda.
My all-time favorite Dodger Mike Scoscia
Jackie Robinson
As for being an Dodger fan my entire life for as far back as I can remember, I always enjoyed going to Dodger Stadium to watch a Dodger Game. From the time I was a kid to now I love to show up early watch batting practice, enjoy a Farmer John Dodger Dog, while Nancy Bea plays on the Dodger Stadium organ, you really cannot beat that. . I have plenty of great memories as a kid, teenager, and as an adult watching the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. One thing I use to do as a kid growing up was, being that my birthday is on April 9, it's always at the beginning of baseball season, and my dad would often take me to a Dodger game on my birthday or around my birthday, then I would sometimes get two Dodger games, because my Uncle who is the most die hard Dodger fan you'll ever meet would also take me to a game for my birthday. In fact the first time I ever went to a Dodger Opening Day, which by the way is a holiday for us Dodger fans, and it's something every Dodger fan must experience, myself I've been to four Opening Days. Alright getting back to my first Opening Day, which landed on my birthday on April 9, 1990. It was a great day the night before my parents dropped me off at my grandparents house so I spent the night, and the next day (a school day) was my birthday. I woke up my grandma gave me $20 to buy a souvenir at the game (I'll get back to that $20 later). Then my Uncle John and I left early from South Gate to Dodger Stadium. It was awesome, I remember walking into beautiful Dodger Stadium, the smell of grilled Dodger Dogs (grilled is the only way to eat them), with so many sounds; the sound of Nancy Bea playing on the organ, the sound of the crack of the bat as batting practice was going on, Roger of the Peanut guy, yelling; "Peanuts get your peanuts" (whenever I sat in the lodge I had to get peanuts from Roger. Before the game I remember them announcing the Dodger team player by player on the third base line, this was back when my uncle had season seats in lodge 145 (second level, aka the orange seats), so we had a great view. From what I recall about the game Orel "Bulldog" Hershiser started the game, I was happy to see Mike Scioscia playing and I think Hubie Brooks hit a 2 run HR in the 8th and the Dodgers won 4-2, it was a great game, and something I'll never forget. Now a little side story about the $20, when we got back to my grandparents house my grandma asked me; "So what did you buy with the $20". I told her; "My food", and my grandma responded like this, and if you knew my grandma, you knew what her favorite word was; "Well shit John, why did you make him pay for his food?". My uncle responded; "The ticket was his birthday gift." She said give him $20, for Jason to use at the next Dodger game he goes to. And he gave me $20 and the next time I went to a Dodger game I bought a new Dodger hat
Nancy Bea on the Dodger Stadium organ
Circa 1986 a Dodger birthday game (From left to right- Me, my friend Frankie, my brother Tim, my friend Chad)
Ariel view of Dodger Stadium
The beauty of Dodger Stadium
Orel "Bulldog" Hershiser
Fernando Valenzuela
Dodger Dog (I like my with ketchup, mustard, and onions)
Pedro Guerrero was one of my favorites as a kid
Now perhaps my favorite Dodger memory and one of the greatest and to some people would say the greatest moment in Dodger history and even Los Angeles history, is of course game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Oh yea I was at the game. I'll never forget the day... I was an 11 year old kid who of course dreamed of being a Dodger one day. So my brother and I were playing baseball in the front yard, when my mom came out and said; "Jason, Uncle John is on the phone for you." I thought he was calling to ask me if was going to watch the Dodger game that evening as they were going to be playing game 1 of the World Series against the mighty Oakland A's. So I got on the phone and he asked; "What are you doing tonight?" I said; "Watching the Dodger game"! He then asked me; "Do you want to go to the game, and of course I yelled; "Yes". So he came out and picked me up. We got there so early that the parking lot gates were not even open yet. So we parked down the hill and walked up to the stadium, of course I bought a program (which I still have). Walking into the stadium it felt so different compared to a regular season game, it was the World Series. I remember so much of the game. Such as Micky Hatcher hitting a HR for the Dodgers and then sprinting around the bases, then there was the monstrous grand slam HR by Jose Canseco, my hero Mike Scioscia got an RBI single. Then came the bottom of the 9th, with the Oakland A's leading 4-3, Oakland brought in the best closer in MLB in 1988; Dennis Ecersley who had a league leading 45 saves that season, and he had 4 saves in the ALCS with a postseason 0.00 era. There were a few (not a lot) of fans who gave up and left, but Uncle John and I had faith in our Dodger blue and stayed in our seats in good old lodge 145. Dodger pitch-hitter got to first base by being walked. Then the last person who we thought would be playing that night emerged out of the Dodger dugout, as we were behind the Dodger dugout, we see number 23, Kirk Gibson come out of the dugout. Gibson had been injured and was not able to start in the game, in fact this was his only appearance in the entire World Series. Gibson worked Ecersley to a full count, 3 balls and 2 strikes, by this time Davis had stolen 2nd base. Gibson was fouling off balls, in fact one the foul balls was just a few rows behind us and if you watch a replay of the game you can catch a glimpse of my Uncle and I, I'm standing on my seat because the entire stadium was standing up. So it's a full count everyone is on their feet including an Oakland A's fan behind us who claimed the night before she was partying with Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Then it happened, it was like slow motion, the pitch, Gibson swings and we knew right away the ball was going out of the yard, yet it seemed like slow motion as the ball just drifted over the right field fence and Dodger Stadium went crazy. The stadium was shaking it felt like an earthquake, we all went nuts, hugging and giving high fives to complete strangers. I remember no one wanted to leave, we turned around and that Oakland fan was crying. After the game we were walking back to the car, in the parking lot and I started to chant; "Sweep, sweep." As cars were honking and everyone was still cheering, my uncle stopped me right away and he told he said that in 1978 and the Dodgers lost to the New York Yankees in 6 games. As it turned out the Dodgers did not sweep the A's but they did go on to beat the Oakland A's in 5 games, to become World Champions, I remember after game 5 my dad and I going out to the front yard shaking up some cans of 7-up and pouring it on each other. 1988 was the last time the Dodgers won or even went to the World Series, as us Dodger fans have been waiting almost almost 30 years for a world championship, hopefully 2015 will be the year. Almost 20 years later I got my crumpled up 1988 game 1 World Series ticket stub autographed, by no other than Kirk Gibson.
The famous Kirk Gibson home run (Video)
The long time voice of the Dodgers Vin Scully
Unbelievable
Tommy Lasorda, loved in LA hated in San Fransisco
I have many other memories of watching Dodger games and of course listening to Vin Scully calling the Dodger games. I've been lucky to see some great games at Dodger Stadium as already mentioned, the Kirk Gibson HR. But there was another game with Kirk Gibson I remember as well. One game we use to go to as a family every year was the Hollywood Stars game. This was during the magical 1988 season, but in this game the Dodgers were playing the Montreal Expos. The Dodgers were down by one run going into the bottom of the 9th and that's when Kirk Gibson came up to bat. With a runner on second Gibson hit a single and brought in the game-tying run, he then stole 2nd base. Now to the exciting part, I don't remember who was up to bat for the Dodgers, but Kirk Gibson was on 2nd base (side note, this was way before the remodeling of the Dodger Stadium, so from home plate to the backstop was a good distance). So Gibson is on 2nd and the Expos pitcher, throws a wild pitch and we were sitting up on the top deck (to this day I love sitting in the top deck), from the top we see Gibson running like a bull out of a gate in Spain, we see him charging towards 3rd base, but we can tell he's not stopping, Gibson rounds third base and heads to home and scores the game winning run. It was then that a lot of us Dodger fans felt this could be a championship year, and it was. Kirk Gibson brought so much life into the Dodgers that year, Gibson was the NL MVP in 1988 as well.
Another great and historic game I had the privilege of attending was on October 2, 2004. That year the Dodgers and the hated San Fransisco Giants were in a head to head battle for the NL West title. In fact in came down to the final series of the season, at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers were losing 3-0 going into the 9th inning. And right away the Dodgers scored 3 runs to tie the game, and before you knew it the bases were loaded. Then Steve Finley (who only played for the Dodgers for a few months) came up to bat, and hit a grand slam home run, to not only win the game, but also win the division for the Dodgers that season, unfortunately the Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals that year in the NLDS, but that was an amazing game, to be at. I've even seen a no-hitter pitched at Dodger Stadium it may have been against the Dodgers but watching a no-hitter live is very impressive; pitched by Kent Mercker of the Atlanta Braves, it was a birthday game April 8, 1994. Another thing I've been doing since I was a kid is keeping score at games, to this day I bring my own scorecard and keep score, it makes the game more enjoyable.
In closing I could write so much more of my Dodger memories, but I'm hoping to make a lot more, hopefully with a World Series win this October. As for now I'll enjoy going to Dodger games, it's just too bad I can only afford to go to one or two games a year (so if you want to take me to game, hook me up). I played baseball up to a 16 year old playing Colt ball at Memorial Park in Upland. I had some decent years including a MVP year in 1988, which I had a .697 batting average. Sometimes when I go to games I look down at the field and wonder if I would of kept on playing, how far could I have gotten. I even had a dream of being a sports journalist (which is one reason why I started this blog). But for now I'll still cheer on my Dodgers, eat Dodger dogs, peanuts, cracker, and just enjoy being a fan. Even though I still dream of shagging fly balls in the outfield, taking batting practice, or even writing for the Dodgers. Please feel free to comment on your Dodger memories. LETS GO DODGERS!
So I have been asked many times, "How did you get into heavy metal music?" And it's a story that I love to tell people about...
Well it all goes back to the 5th grade at my old elementary school Citrus Elementary in Upland. My best friend Chris Jones and I use to get into a lot of trouble together and we did a good job at not getting caught. Well this time our teacher Mr. Hoien busted us I think we were pretending to be WWF tag team "The Bushwackers", So we were given detention. Now for some reason my parents or Chris' parents were not able to pick us up after detention, so Chris' older brother who was a Sr. in high school picked us up instead. Now being that we were around 10/11 years old and Chris' brother was the only person I knew in high school, we thought he was the coolest guy in the world. He drove red pick up truck and on the back had all these heavy metal stickers, When I got into his truck he was blasting some style of music I had never really heard before, but all I knew was that I loved it. This music was amazing, it had loud guitars, loud and fast drums, it was fast, the singer sounded awesome, and oh yea did I mention it was loud. Now this was 1989, so all the girls in class loved and listened to New Kids on the Block (we use to make fun of those girls) and most of the boys listened to Kiss FM, which I though just sucked. I never was or even to this day like that is trendy, and this goes especially towards music. So I asked Chris, because his brother was to much of a god to talk to me, I asked, "Who is this?!" Chris said, "This is Metallica." And from that moment on I became a metal head.
This was most likely the album I heard in the truck
So after this I went in search for heavy metal music on the radio. I had to listen to the radio with my headphones. Because I was scared that my parents would not allow me to listen to heavy metal music. Then one night I found the radio station I had been looking for, Pirate Radio.
Now there are most likely just a few of you out there who remember Pirate Radio, but I loved it. Now being that I knew I'd get in trouble for buying a Metallica tape, I went out and bought blank tapes and whenever I heard a song I liked on the radio I pressed record, yep pre-digital music days were fun, We did not have computers, ipods, Internet, smart phones, itunes, you get the picture. So if you were poor and wanted music you had to record it onto a tape from a tape onto a mix tape. Speaking of Pirate Radio the first concert I ever went to was at Magic Mountain on Pirate Radio night and my friends; Chris, Shawn, and Andy got to see Dramarama (there only hit was that song "Anything"). But we were 8th grade boy, Pirate Radio was at Magic Mountain and the best part the Pirate Radio Harley girls were there and we got there pictures and autographs, yep it was an amazing night.
Now from elementary school through 7th grade all I had was Pirate Radio. And during my 7th grade year we lived in Hacienda Heights and I went to Mesa Robles Jr. High school and I was the only kid who listened to heavy metal music or I was the only kid not listening to Kiss FM, oh yea Kiss FM sucks. Now for what I went through at Mesa Robles that's a whole different blog. Okay so after 7th grade we lived in Colorado for a month, with my cousins, and then we moved back to Upland, and I got to go to Upland Jr. High for most of my 8th grade year and that was fun.
It was in 8th grade where my friends and I discovered more bands, bands like; Pantera, AC/DC, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies (yes, we loved Pepsi), just name a few. We also discovered one of the greatest shows, no the greatest show MTV ever had (back when MTV was all about music), we found Headbangers Ball, hosted by our hero at the time Riki Rachtman. Speaking of Riki Rachtman back when he was hosting Loveline on KROQ I called in during a segment they did at the end of the night, and I told him he was my hero. He then told me to get a better hero someone like Perry Mason (I had no idea who that was), but we also talked about the Kings since we are both Kings fans. But Headbangers Ball would come on MTV every Saturday night at 11:30 and it was 2 hours of heavy metal videos. So my same friends from Magic Mountain we would stay the night normally at Chris' house and we would watch Headbangers Ball. While the rest of the night we would play Sega Genesis NHL hockey and play all the Metallica albums.
This was just the beginning of my love for music, later on I got into punk, hardcore, and other genres of rock music. But my first love will always be heavy metal.
Well this blog will not be as long as my previous ones, as this blog will just be an update on how life has been since the birth of our second daughter Amalia Nina Arellano (aka Gloria part 2). Amalia was born February 25, 2015 at 7:41 AM at the Kaiser hospital in Fontana, CA.
On February 27 we got to finally go home. Yes I know it's only 2 days in the hospital, but for those of you who have stayed in a hospital overnight it's not really a five star hotel. When you factor in trying to sleep in the hospital, not being in your own bed, in the comfort of your own home all you want to do is leave the hospital. Just as long as the baby and mommy are alright.
But what made this stay at the hospital tougher than when Gloria was born, was no Gloria, we missed her. We dropped Gloria off at my in-laws on Tuesday evening before Amalia was born. We had to be at the hospital at 5:00 AM on Wednesday morning, so we figured it was easier to drop Gloria off on Tuesday night, and stay there until we went home. Kaiser in Fontana recently has enforced a new rule during the flu season, "No children under 14 allowed in the hospital rooms." This rule included family members. So first off Gloria was not able to see her baby sister, which she had been so excited to meet, until we got home from the hospital. This also meant Jenette had to go 3 days without seeing her first born. Now I got to see Gloria for a little bit on Wednesday in the waiting room, because Jenette's parents came to visit their 6th grandchild, so I went to waiting room area to see Gloria. Although when Gloria saw me I had a doughnut for her, and she was more happy to see a doughnut, than to see pictures of her baby sister. So we did some FaceTime with, Gloria, mommy, and baby sister, but Gloria was not that impressed. So Thursday we did not get to see Gloria, both Jenette and I missed Gloria a lot.
So on Friday morning we got okay from the doctor to go home. Jenette's parents were not able bring Gloria home until the afternoon. Gloria was so happy to meet her baby sister. And gave her a hug and kiss when she saw her for the first time. Since being home Gloria has been a wonderful big sister and helps out with feeding baby sister, changing diapers, and even helps cleaning the house.
Now since we've gotten home it has been pretty crazy. The first night home, of course we were up all night with a crying baby. Now at the hospital I got around 2 hours of sleep a night, so the first night home she did not sleep well, which meant Jenette and I were not sleeping. So during Amalia's first night home it was around 1:30 AM and I still had gotten no sleep. I went to help Jenette at her bed side along with Amalia. So as I walking out of the room all I remember is feeling like I was about to just pass out. I then just feel head first into the wall, I banged my head real good, and could not get up. Jenette asked me a series of questions to make sure I did not have an concussion then all I remember is falling asleep right on the floor and woke up 90 minutes later.
Then on Monday morning Gloria woke up with a cold and she's been sick ever since, although today she's doing a lot better. Then on Tuesday morning I woke up with a terrible toothache so bad I couldn't even open my mouth. But I had to hold off going to the dentist, because it was finals week at school. I had 2 papers, 2 projects, a presentation, and a final to study for. I was finally able to go to the dentist on Friday and found out I needed to get two extractions to get done (which is a whole other story). Well I got extractions done yesterday and the last two days have been out. But as you can see I'm feeling better to write. I was told it will take 3-5 days to recover. Well the next blog will be something more topical. Thank you for reading and please share my blog with others.
It's been over a week since my last blog, and I plan on writing weekly, but this past week has been kind of crazy as you read in this blog...
As most of you know Jenette and I are expecting our second daughter any moment now, we actually thought she'd be here by now, but we are still waiting. There has even been a couple false alarms, in which one night I left work early because Jenette was having contractions, but come to find out the contractions were not intense enough, not long enough, and too far apart. So I feel so bad for my amazing wife, she's been having contractions off and on for a week now. So Jenette has not been sleeping well at all. Now we had planned for "Baby Sister" (Gloria's name for her), to be here on February 18, but it's now February 24 and we are still waiting. The main reason why we thought baby sister would be here now is because of Gloria.
Why do I say it's because of Gloria? Well let's go back a few years. Before Gloria was born, we had 3 miscarriages, so after the third we decided to go to the doctor to see what the problem was. The doctor informed us due to the fact that Jenette's uterus was not fit to carry a baby and that she most likely will never be able to have her own children and that we should consider adoption. Heart broken we stopped for coffee and just said well, "If God wants us to have a baby He will do it, if not lets adopt." That week Jenette found out she was pregnant again, and the doctor told us we'd be lucky if the pregnancy lasted 3 months after, 3 months we were told we'd be lucky if it lasted 6 months, after six months it looked like it was going to happen. So the doctor scheduled a plan c-section for November 17, 2012. Now during the time of being pregnant for Gloria and this baby Jenette has been miserable, being pregnant is not fun to her, yes she loves the kids but carrying the baby, has been terrible.
Jenette reminds me of the character Wendy in the movie "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Wendy was a lady who wanted nothing more than to get pregnant and have a baby, and when she finally did get pregnant she was miserable. The best scene in the movie is when she is asked to speak at a conference on the "Joys of Pregnancy" but she then tells everyone exactly how she feels, including her husband, who she says; "I love you but sometimes I just want to punch you in the face." And yes Jenette has told me this.
Here is a link to the clip (warning there is one foul word in the clip)
So jump ahead to November 10, 2012. As mentioned before Gloria's c-section was scheduled November 17. So on November 9, still a week away from Gloria being born we had dinner at home looked around our apartment and saw that it was a mess. So we planned for the next day to give the apartment a good cleaning. That night I went to bed early, because I was scheduled to be at work at 5 AM, this was during the time I was doing bookkeeping at Ralphs. So I went to sleep at 9:00. At exactly midnight Jenette woke me up and said; "I think it's time." So I called Kaiser and told them how Jenette was felling, they told me that was normal, and it probably was not time. Suddenly I thought I should let them know that the baby is breached and that her head is up. When they heard this and Jenette's symptoms they told me bring her in now. So we rushed to the hospital in Fontana, I downed a energy drink (which I never drink, and I still have the empty can). So we got there they took Jenette checked and felt Gloria's feet, so we had a emergency c-section. So at 2:14 AM on November 10, 2012, Gloria Rose Arellano was born. I'll never forget her screaming as she came out, they counted her fingers and toes, had me cut the cord, then handed her to me. What was crazy as soon as Gloria heard my voice she stopped crying. I felt bad because mommy was completely out of it, having gone through the surgery, so it was around 45 minutes before Jenette could hold Gloria. After that we went to another room where a nurse was there to assist with the breastfeeding, but Gloria got it right away and the nurse did not even need to help, and Gloria just kept on eating. I remember my sister-in-law (Deanna) text me; "How's it going?, I replied; "She she won't stop eating!". Deanna's response was great; "Yep she's Armenian". I feel bad for my daughters they are; Mexican, White, Armenian, and Salvadorian, so they will be bringing a lot of food on culture day at school.
So jump ahead to today February 24, 2015 and we are still waiting, with the scheduled c-section for early tomorrow morning. We can't wait!
So my next blog I was planning on writing about how I was introduced and got in to heavy metal and hard music, but since we are close to Valentines Day, I decided to write this...
Just like the majority of single people I use to HATE Valentines Day, because it's just another day for me to be reminded that I was single. Sure I would just say; "Yeah I'm cool, now I can just stay home and do nothing for the night". But deep down I was thinking; "I wish I had someone to celebrate Valentines Day with."
Of course there was elementary school, when every one received a Valentines card from each member in the class. We may have just put random Valentines in each classamtes envelope but I use to save the one, that was the most mushy and lovely for the girl I had a crush on, in the class (come on admit it we all did that). Not only did we all get Valentines, but it was a day, in which we got to eat; candy, cupcakes, ice cream, fruit punch, and if you were lucky and had a cool teacher you had pizza. So Valentines Day back in elementary school was a fun day. But after elementary school, Valentines Day just began to suck...
Once we all got into Jr. High and High School for those of us who were not really that popular with the opposite sex, Valentines Day was a sad reminder that you are not loved by anyone (that is someone who is not a family member; i.e, your mom). But at the Jr. High and High Schools I attended there would be Valentine grams you could buy for your "sweetheart" or for your secret crush, which then no longer was a secret crush. These Valentine grams would usually consist of a piece or a rose, along with a little note. Of course all the popular, good looking kids would always get a gram. And of course there was that one girl (you know the one), who would get around 50 of these grams throughout the day, and her response was always, "Oh my gosh I can't believe it who would give me a Valentine gram". but her facial expression usually showed, "Look at me I'm so pretty." Throughout my Jr. High and High school years I never received one of these grams. One time one was delivered to me in my class (because they always had the cheerleaders deliver these sorry excuse for a fund raiser), but when I saw the name it said to, "Jason" but it was not Arellano, it was for another Jason in class, the girl then took it away, with a look on her face towards me that said; "I'm sorry" and gave the Valentine gram to one the other Jason in the class. So hopefully there are others out there who went through the same thing as me, if so I'm sorry and I know it sucks.
Now jumping ahead to our adult years as being single on Valentines Day. As an adult (for single people) on Valentines Day it doesn't get much better. Valentines Day for single people is pretty much "Single Awareness Day". Most of the time Valentines Day for me as a single guy was sitting on the couch eating, watching TV and movies. Now when I was working at a church they use to have a Valentines Couples Dinner. Being that there was couples there, that also meant people needed child care. So I would be asked to get help from others (which meant other singles) and watch the kids. Now nothing against those kids (I loved them all), but I have to be honest with you and for those of you who knew me then, I'm sorry, but I absolutely hated doing this. It was also real difficult to get people to help with this, because they would tell me the same thing I was thinking; "No, it's just a reminder that I'm single." And I would agree with them, on a few occasions I would have around 30 kids (ages 1-16, the teenagers would help out with the babies), all by myself. The night would usually consists of pizza and watching Veggie Tales. There were a few couples who would come up to me and say; "I'm sorry you have to do this, because you're just being reminded that you're single". And I would say, "Yep". So my days as a single would continue until the Valentines Day of 2010...
Jump ahead to February 2010. During this time I was on staff at Calvary Chapel Upland, I was in my office studying for teaching, when I was told there was a phone call for me. So I picked up the line and it was an old friend who use to attend CCU Kristen Lundquist. First she asked me how things were going with me, I told her they were fine. She then asked me a question that I had been asked way too many times before; "Sooooo are you seeing anyone". After she asked this all these thoughts were going through my head such as; "Oh great here we go again." Now in the past people would want to "set me up" with someone and usually this person was between 10-20 years older than me, had some serious issues, or was just straight out crazy. So when Kristen told me this was not optimistic at all. But as she was telling me about this girl, she actually sounded like someone who I'd like to hang out with and meet. So I got her phone number and email (by the way the little sheet of paper I wrote her name and email on I still have on my wallet), her name was Jeanette (later I found out she spells it Jenette). So after I studied I sent Jeanette (that's how I spelled it in the first email). From there I went to Upland Jr. High School to teach at the Bible club. I got back from the office and there was no email. The next day I did receive a email back from Jenette, from there we just kept on emailing each other back and forth for the remainder of the week. So we finally decided to have a date. Now because we both had busy schedules, the only evening we both had open the following week was Sunday February 14, 2010. So that day I will be honest I was nervous the whole day that I couldn't eat. So the time finally came to pick her up. Now through the emails, Jenette had mentioned a couple things. The first thing was that she said Valentines was just a normal day for her and that I should not do anything special and second she was a huge USC fan. When I told some lady friends this they told me, "No Valentines is not a normal day she does not mean that". So I went and bought her a dozen roses in USC colors and a USC plush football (which for me was very difficult to do being that I'm a UCLA fan). So I knocked on her door and was greeted by her roommate who informed me that Jenette was not ready (which is still normally the case now). After around 20 minutes Jenette came out, and I was blown away by her beauty, I went to shake her hand, but she gave me a hug, which in her family hugs are the norm. From there we went to Starbucks for coffee. Jenette got a tall decaf caramel macchiato and I got a grande americano (which kept me up all night). We ended up talking for almost 3 hours, it would of been longer but they were closing. So being that we were both hungry we went down to King Taco and ended up talking for another hour because they were closing too. Well to not make a long story even longer, it's now 5 years later and we've been married for 4 years and 3 months have a beautiful 2 year old daughter and a daughter to be born any day now. So in closing if you're single don't be discourged it will happen all in God's time, I thought it would never happen for me, but it did. So now I love Valentines Day and ever since then we always go to Starbucks and King Taco on Valentines Day, except for this year we found a new coffee place Auggies in Claremont. I consider myself so blessed to have a wife like Jenette she came into my life at the perfect time. I love her so much, for so much, but most importantly for being my wife and for being the mother of my daughter and soon to be daughters.
So this is something I've been wanting to for a long time, which is writing a blog. Ever since I was in elementary school I have had a great passion, desire, and a love to write. In fact one of the things I wanted to do was to be a sports or music journalist, but God had different plans for me, which will be for a later blog. I have such a great desire to write I'm actually in the works of writing my first book, whether it gets published or not, to me I'll feel accomplished by just doing it.
Alright this first blog is just going to be introducing myself and just letting everyone know what this blog is all about, and I will also tell you the meaning of the title of this blog...
Well first off a little about myself I was born April 9, 1977 (Yes, the picture above is me as a baby, it's not Gloria), in Lynwood, CA. I lived most of my life in southern California (we moved a lot, which I will write about in a later blog). I graduated from high in 1996, from there went to Bible College, was in full-time ministry as a children's/youth minister for 12 years, got married on November 13, 2010, became a father on November 10, 2012, I've been working at Ralphs grocery store since April 2010. I know what you're thinking, "Why aren't you going into more detail about; Bible College, being in ministry, no longer being in ministry, getting married, becoming a father?" I will but all of those will be for their own blogs, because there is so much to write on each of those chapters of my life. Other than that if I ever have any spare time, I'm a huge (that's putting it lightly) LA Kings fan, and I love music; mostly, metal, punk, thrash, hardcore, and alternative music. I also have many other hobbies and activities I enjoy doing, some in which people have no idea.
So what is "My Life As a So-Called Punk" going to be about? Well each blog I will be writing about my life. Such as getting married, becoming a father, working a crappy job. I also be writing about the many hobbies and interests I have such as; LA Kings, my love for music (metal, punk, etc), how I got into that style of music, and yes my passion for professional wrestling (yes, I am a life long wrestling fan). I will also write on a variety of topics such as; fatherhood, bullying, legalism, just name a few. I have so many topics running through my head, and I'm looking forward to writing them out and letting everyone read about it. I will also post some poetry I have written.
Now regarding the name of my blog' "My Life As a So-Called Punk". Well one day my wife and I were at a local carnival type of event, when we bumped into an old roommate of hers. So as we were talking she (the old roommate), was talking about how both of their lives have changed so much when she said; "Look you went and married a punk." It wasn't the first time I've been called that, I've mostly been call a punk by home school moms and super conservative parents and others, hence the name "My Life As a So-Called Punk." Yes I love punk music, but this blog is to show that I am much more than just a "punk", I hope you enjoy it and please share this with your friends and family.
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