Prop 8 - my little rant

I don't typically take much interest in politics.  Let's be honest, this past election was only the 2nd time I've ever voted.  In general I'm very analytical and pretty good at seeing both sides of an argument.  I am typically "on the fence" about most issues.

So here's the deal, I can't see the other side to Prop 8.  I very rarely feel this way about anything.

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

1.  If you can make some people better off without making others worse off, then you might as well.  My life will stay the same and remain completely unchanged regardless.

2.  For those that argue that marriage is sacred and special - the divorce rate in America is approximately 50%; a 50% success rate isn't very good.  And then there's Britney Spears and her Vegas marriage (and subsequent annulment) to that guy....nothing about that seems sacred.

3.  The state supreme court justices did not "impose" gay marriage on anyone. They are appointed to interpret the constitution, and their interpretation of "equal protection" meant equal protection for everyone.  The constitution was purposely vague.  The justices are not left wing activists, they are well educated individuals.

4.  There's an argument that prop 8 would redefine marriage and it does.  But who really cares? If you think the definition is wrong, don't worry about it.  If you think it will somehow lessen the significance of your heterosexual marriage, you might be forgetting that marriage is about love.  Would you really love your spouse any less knowing a gay couple in San Francisco entered in the same loving contract? 

5. Proponents of Prop 8 often site religious reasons for why they believe gay marriage is wrong and should be banned.  We have separation of church and state for this reason: the rights of the minority can't be trampled on by people with different beliefs.  Plus, if you believe homosexuality is wrong, you likely believe homosexuals will burn in hell for their sins anyway. Your belief isn't going to stop them from being gay.  And since that's the case, why not let them enjoy married life on this earth if that's what they want to do before their inevitable eternal damnation? 

6.  At one point in history (not all that long ago), interracial marriage was banned.  Looking back, I think most people would agree that the ban was wrong (if you don't, we are longer friends).

7.  California failed to pass Prop 8 but successfully passed Prop 2 (giving chickens and other farm animals --that we are going to kill for food -- more rights).  What's even more disgusting is the estimated millions of dollars spent on the Yes on 8 campaign, with the sole purpose of taking rights away from American citizens.  Imagine the myriad better uses for that money -- feeding the hungry, curing disease, saving the planet.  Shoot, burning it would have been more productive than using it to etch hate into the constitution.

To be honest, I don't plan on getting married anytime soon.  To me, it's just a piece of paper.  A ring would be nice, but who needs a government contract to prove their love and commitment to each other. And let's be honest, Nick and I already have a 30 year contract - the mortgage.  

October, a month in review...and a little bit of November

So let's see....Beth came, but the blogger is having a tough time letting me upload the cute picture of us golfing.  So I'll move on.

We went to a Jimmy Buffett concert in Mountain view.  I think Google should invest in better roads...it took us nearly 45 minutes to make it from the exit ramp to the theater.  Without traffic, this drive would have taken 5-10 minutes max.  But the concert was fun and very entertaining and we got to see lots of older people dance, which is always incredibly entertaining for me.

Then I went back to UW to recruit for Sandia. While there, I visited with an old RA buddy, Zach Tobin!  He's now an RD!  All grown up.

Back to the bay area for hot sizzlin.  What is hot sizzlin you ask?  Well it's an event they hold during the "summer" with a live band dance party......for people 40+.  It's excellent people watching.  This was the halloween version so it was about 10 times better than normal.  I wont go into details, but the costumes were incredible, and by incredible, I mean kind slutty.

On Halloween we dog-sat Pico.  The two buddies got dressed up and ran around the house.  Pico was not pleased so the doggies only wore the costumes for a few minutes.

And while it didn't happen in October, I'll include anyways.  UW volleyball played the evil Cal Bears.  Let's just say that UW was awesome and KILLED the competition, 3-0.  Husky fans - if you want a winning team, switch to volleyball.  They haven't let me down in 4 years.

Disneyland, the Tonight Show and Six Flags

Nick turned the big 2-6 this year, and to celebrate we went to California - Southern California.  I kept telling people we were going to California.....without realizing I live in California.  It sounds silly, but the north and south might as well be 2 different states.  Totally different......I don't know if I could live in LA.

In any case, we drove down south on Friday and hit up Hollywood and Jay Leno.  The above picture is of my favorite stars - the kids from Harry Potter.  Tina Lin hooked us up and we were in the front row (yeah for Tina).  There was a super crazy girl next to me, but it was all good. The guest was Hugh Laurie from House.  I still can't get over his accent.  I actually realized that I have more fun watching what goes on behind the scenes.  For instance, there are these people that sit on the side of the stage and scribble notes on cards.  They hold up the cards behind the

 guests and help guide the conversation.  It's incredible.  I wish I had these people walking around with me all the time!

After Leno we were off to Anaheim.  A good nights rest and it was time to hit the ground running - Six Flags!

There weren't any pictures taken at six flags....lots of big rides.  Nick rode a lot.....I got a little sick.

Then we made the long trek back to Anaheim for an Angels vs. M's game.

The Mariner's played a good game...but alas, they lost.  We actually sat next to a bunch of M's fans, so at least we could cheer (and sulk) together.  K-Rod set a major league record for saves.....the bad news was that he set it against us.....the good news, we kept it close enough for him to get the save :-)

Sunday was Disne

yland day!  And it was a marathon (I think both literally and figuratively).  I'm kind of intense at Disneyland.  If you want to hit up as much as you can in one day, come with me.

9AM

Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain

10AM

Head to CA Adventure, Tower of Terror, CA Screamin and some of the little rides

FAST PASS for Soarin over CA

11AM

Wait in line for Toy Story ride (AWESOME)

Soarin

Grizzly River run - I didn't want to go because I always get soaked....and then I got soaked.....I never learn!

1PM

Back to Disneyland, Indiana Jones fastpass, big thunder mountain......it gets a little hazy after that, but we definitely did:

Indiana, space mountain (again), star tours, finding nemo, the house of tomorrow, matterhorn, autopia and ended the night with fireworks.  We were DEAD!  But it was really fun.

Grizzly river run

See below for a pic of big thunder mountain.

California Love

So Harvey and I went to LA for a conference. An Asian conference. The National Association of Asian American Professionals to be exact. I mean, we're Asian, and American and heck, if we try hard we can be professional.

Tina Lin, an old RA buddy lives in LA so Harvey and I met her for dinner and PINKBERRY! I'd never had it, but Harvey and I became addicted.....original+mochi (not the dog, the food).

Here we are flashin our best asian sign.

The conference was only meh, not too well organized. But Harvey and I did manage to have Pinkberry every day. We then proceeded to have a Pinkberry hangover as soon as we got back to the Bay Area.

One night we drove to santa monica.....it was cool, but kinda dirty. Here's proof that we made it.

Birthday Blog

I actually tried to post this a while ago, but the internet was acting funny.

Anyways.  For my birthday weekend, Nick planned a whole bunch of fun stuff. 

First, we headed to the Mountain Winery in Saratoga for a show by Brian Regan.  He's a comedy central comedian.  Good stuff and a pretty winery.

The comedy show was in front of this awesome old building.  The show was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be.  That sounds bad.  But see, I feel like they have to be REALLY funny when you are paying money for it.  The TV and internet can make me laugh quite a bit....so I expect a lot from a live show.  It exceeded expectations.

The next day we headed to pebble beach and 17 mile drive.  Here we are enjoying the scenery off the 18th green.

Here is the 18th green.  It costs $400 to play the course and that doesn't include your caddy or golf cart or the tips for your caddy.  I'm not ready yet.  Too rich for my blood.

What trip would be complete without a visit to the Monterey Aquarium.  Here are my artsy jellyfish.  There are more if you are interested.

We saw seas otters, deep sea creatures and not so deep sea creatures get fed.  It's a nice aquarium....but I think the Atlanta one is better.

Camping

This weekend Nick, Mochi and I, went camping with Caresse, Tyler, Lisa, Sterling and Pico.  Yeah, yeah.....I know.....I went camping.  It was actually a lot of fun.  It turns out that camping is way more fun than I had originally thought.  The only camping I was familiar with, were Nick's million mile hikes where everything has to fit in your backpack.  This was CAR camping.  You get to bring whatever you want!

We stayed at Pinecrest Lake outside Sonora.  Caresse, Tyler, Nick and I left on Friday after work.  We nearly ran out of gas - I think we were down to 2 miles before we finally found a gas station.  And then we couldn't find dinner.  But we eventually made it to the campsite just in time to setup our tents and have a few smores.

We spent Saturday at the lake.  Pico was a champion swimmer!  Mochi tried too.  He would walk into the water up to his chest.  Nick wanted to make him swim so he carried him into the water.  I guess Mochi's 6th sense kicked in.....he could "feel" the water and started paddling in mid air.

Nick finally dropped him in the water and he started swimming like a champ.  He always b-lined for the shore, but at least he wasn't a sinker.

Nick finally dropped him in the water and he started swimming like a champ.  He always b-lined for the shore, but at least he wasn't a sinker.

One little tid bit of info about Nick.  He's a flashlight nazi.  I couldn't find my flashlight before we left.  He wasn't helping at all and I was getting really frustrated.  Then he says, "B, here's the thing.  When we were little, dad wouldn't let us use the flashlights.  He said our eyes would adjust.  So it's been ingrained in me since I was little."  I found the flashlight (And I used it).  But don't worry Steve, it doesn't run off of batteries, it's one of those windup kinds.

Good Stuff

So I guess I missed the entire month of June.  No worries, nothing too exciting happened in June.  Nick, Mochi and I went home for the 4th of July.  It was Mochi's first trip on an airplane.  Let's just say it could have been worse (although it could have been a lot better).  We'll keep practicing in anticipation of Christmas. 

It was a fun 4th at the Loper's lakeside abode!  Too many burgers and people to count.  Mochi

 had a blast and made all sorts of new friends.

Once we returned home, I was off to Shreveport LA.  My project for the last year and a half was a flight test unit.  The unit was getting loaded onto a B-52 in preparation for the drop.  Lisa and I got to get into the cockpit and turn the plane on.  Sweetness!

Then, we were headed to Vegas - for 24 hours.  After our stint in Vegas, we were headed into the middle of no where to watch our unit get dropped.

Here we are making a stop at the A-Le-Inn (get it?).

The drop.

oops

Well I better post at least once in May.

Things got a bit busy to say the least.  Stacey came to visit at the beginning of April.  We went to Vegas (but you already knew that).  Then Grandma and Hiroko came to visit.  We had a great time in San Francisco visiting the Asian Art Museum as well as the botanical gardens.  

Then I went to Amarillo for a week.  It wasn't terribly exciting.  I saw some lightning, a bunch of cows, lots of flat land, a dead bird as a hood ornament, and the cadillac ranch.  I took some pictures of the cadillac ranch, mostly to prove to Nick that I had in fact been in Amarillo and not some other super secret place.  Unfortunately, I can't find the cord to transfer the pictures to my computer.....but just imagine cadillacs buried in the ground, "ass" up.  Then imagine they are spray painted - a lot.  It takes about 5 minutes to experience.  But hey, it's art...right?

Then I came back and Mom came to visit.  It was a pretty relaxing weekend and I know she was glad to see (and play with) mochi.  

Now, Nick and I are trying to decide what we will do with our Thanksgiving holiday.....cruise in Mexico or an all inclusive in Mexico (or somewhere else warm).  Thoughts?

Oh, by the way.  My friend Kelly is going to Disneyland.  I'm super jealous.  I'm thinking I'll hit it up in August or September.....maybe after the summer rush.  Either way, splash mountain and I have a date.  This is what happens when you wait to take your kids to Disneyland....they become obsessed. 

Vegas 2008

So it's been a little busy.

Mochi got his "boys" removed.















He looks a little scary in this photo.

I went to the 'querque a few weeks ago. Then Stacey came to visit. Then Nick and I went to Vegas.

Ford was having a new car show thingy.....at the BELLAGIO! I was thrilled!



















This is the hallway to our awesome room. We guess that it was 3 blocks. Literally. I'm not joking. We were at the end of the hallway.

The rooms were also very awesome.















While Nick was doing work.....I sat by the pool.




















After the Bellagio we downgraded to the Luxor. Well, anything would be a downgrade after the Bellagio.

We saw Yellowcard, which was cool. But then we realized that we actually didn't know very many Yellowcard songs.

the elusive Ichiro autograph...

So Nick and I spent the weekend in Phoenix AZ for baseball spring training. Let me break it down for you, baseball, then some baseball and then a little more baseball. There was some shopping, but it was for baseball t-shirts.

Day 1:
We arrived in Phoenix (HOT!!) and drove to Peoria. Our game was at 1:05 and we were within sight of the ballpark by 12:00. Then it took us 40 minutes to move less than 1 mile. Our seats were on the lawn and it was HOTTTTT! Then we went back to the hotel and jumped in the pool.














Day 2:
So this was our only full day in Arizona, so we were going to do the full baseball thing....batting practice, autographs and the game. So we went to batting practice, where we met up with Kristen and her fam. We saw Ichiro take a few hacks.....he never really looked at me, but here is the best picture I got. I like to pretend like he's staring into my eyes.














Then we had a huge surprise. Buhner was in town coaching! And he even signed some autographs and took pictures with us!

Here's me getting Buhner's autograph.



















Here I am acting like I'm 12.



















Here's Kristen with Buhner.














I was actually pretty impressed with Buhner. He stayed and signed autographs for EVERYONE!
Once again the M's lost. Here's the back side of Ichiro.














Day 3:
We were going to go to a mall today. But it was Easter, so the mall was closed. Thumbs down! Today's game was in Tempe. We played the Angels. It sucked. We lost again. But the weather was a smidge cooler.














The best part about this picture is the woman over my left shoulder. She probably never dreamed she'd ever be on an internet blog. All in all it was a fun trip. We are hoping that the M's got all the losing out of their system. I got a lovely tan and Nick didn't get burned, so it was a successful trip for all. Mochi stayed with Brian and spent the weekend watching the NCAA basketball tournament. I think they drank beer on Saturday. It's cool, he's almost 21 in dog years.

Mochi the giant shih tzu

So Mochi was scratching his ears. I took him to the vet. He has an ear infection. Poor kid. But what was even more astounding was his weight. He weighs 15 lbs and he's only 6 months old. He was only suppose to be 12 lbs total. The vet thinks he could be as much as 20-25 lbs full grown. She says to me, "We have 1 or 2 other GIANT Shih Tzus that come in." WTF?! Mochi is a giant!

What have I been doing lately?

Well that's an excellent question.

Let's see, since our last blog update.....we've successfully painted 1 wall in the bathroom and 1/3 of a wall in the kitchen.


































So it looks a lot greener than it really is. I mean, it's green...but a little more muted than the picture makes it out to be. Nick picked it.

I've also honed my cake decorating skills. Caresse and I made Tyler (Caresse's boyfriend) a cake for his birthday. It was our first attempt using fondant. While it is no Ace of Cakes, I think I see a future for us in cake decorating :-) I can see it now....Bryn, Cake Decorator, Hair Dresser Extraordinaire.















And what blog experience would be complete without an update in the life of Mochi McMocherson.

Here he is eating a treat.

"Muhaha....I will get you!"














"Gnnaaa, got you sucka!"















"Victory"














"Hey, what are you lookin at?"

The cutest hiking dog EVER

Nick and I climbed a portion of Mt. Diablo last weekend! I know what you're thinking....Bryn doesn't like that sort of thing...she prefers running water and shopping. Well the California weather has gotten the best of me and I was ready for a hike.

Let me first preface this story with a story of my first hike EVER. Some grad school guys wanted to go for a hike. Since I was familiar with the area I offered up some suggestions - Tiger Mountain being one of them. So they of course invited me along....and not wanting to seen lame and out of shape, I happily accompanied them on this "hike." We arrived at Tiger Mountain but couldn't find the "easy" trailhead (that's hiking lingo for "the start of the trail"). So the boys decided we would just walk straight up the mountain. It was awesome, and by awesome, I mean sucky. It was like doing stairs for 2 hours and not resting - my calves, thighs and butt were BURNING. Anyways, by the time it was all over I hated hiking.

So back to mt. diablo. We this hike was much better. The scenery was awesome and the weather was perfect. Instead of hiking straight up, we sort of criss crossed. Anyways, we took Mochi so he could get some fresh air. He made it all the way!

Here are a few pics of the hike.

Nick and Mochi at the summit. It's an awesome view....but it's kind of discouraging. You can drive all the way to the top :-( Oh well.















Mochi was an excellent walker.....




















But he took every opportunity to rest.























































One of the more interesting sights on our hike....a unicycler. He was cycling UP the mountain. And what's even crazier is that we saw 4 of them - all at separate times. Not sure if there was a unicycling convention going on or what....but definitely a sight!

Work has been pretty busy so I don't have too much to report.

Mochi's hair has grown out nicely.














He has also learned how to fetch.

Nick was gone for a few days and mochi missed him.














Nick loves mochi.

And one more picture of mochi after he stole the toilet paper roll.















I had an interesting thought the other day. Nick and I went to see Juno. The whole time I'm thinking "man this girl looks familiar." She was in X-men! So then I got to thinking, X-men has a lot of oscar ties. Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin and now Ellen Page. I love x-men and nick has never even seen one of them!

I'm addicted to the crate and barrel outlet in berkeley. If you come and visit me I'll take you there.

Amy Winehouse just won a grammy for "rehab"....ironic.

I'm trying to decorate the condo but it's really not that easy. These walls are really big and I have too many different colors of wood.

It was sunny and 70 today. I love california.