What's up with Ron?

Hello, again.

2005-05-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hi people. One word.....sorry. I know, it's been a long time since I've been updating this. You know, all this time I've been gone, I've been checking out my cousin's Fotopage. It looks like something I wanna try out. It allows you to put alot of pictures up. So I think Imma try it. I'll let you know what the address is when I get one. See you again soon.

Fallen Heroes

2004-10-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today, I heard found out that two heroes of mine have passed away. One of the more international ones is Christopher Reeve. He's popularly known as Superman. He apparently died of heart failure. As everyone knows by now, he was paralyzed after being thrown from his horse in an accident. Growing up, I will always remember the role of Superman he played in all three Superman movies. Since his accident, he has become a strong supporter for Stem Cell research. During his battle with his paralysis, he showed a strength comparable to that of Superman himself. The world will miss him and I will miss him. He will ALWAYS be Superman to me.
...Another great loss is the death of Ken Caminiti. Padres fans will remember him from the 1998 season when he was one of the heroes that lead the Padres to the World Series and his 1996 National League MVP year. He was a very gritty and brave player. He certainly was a gamer. No matter the injuries he had, he still wanted to be put in the lineup. I remember the one game that was played in Monterrey, Mexico against the Mets when he was suffering from a Flu and was on IV's and hit in four runs in a shutout victory. One thing he did that people remember from that game is that he ate a Snicker's bar and went out to the field and hit a home run. In more recent years, he has been in the center of controversy because he admitted that he was on Steriods during his year with the Padres. This evenutally tainted his awesome stats he had with the Pads. To me, it's not so much that he has those stats, what I liked and admired more about him is that he was a Gamer. He would do what it takes to get in the game, even is he was not well. And when he was in the game, he gave it his all. It definitely more than what some athletes are putting out these days. May these two souls rest in peace.

Finally!!!!

2004-10-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

I didn’t think would come, but we received our keys to our brand new home last night! (Insert picture coming soon) After so many delays and postponements, it didn’t seem real at first, but the next thing I knew, I was standing in MY living room, calling my sister and brother-in-law and niece to come visit MY house!!!! Crazy, isn’t it? This whole journey started in May and finally it’s almost complete! Yesterday started off with a final walk-thru and Orientation at 1pm. Everything was fine except for the lock on the garage door, which will be fixed. One bonus is I think we got hooked up with A/C! Randy and I didn’t purchase a A/C unit yet so we were really surprised to see one hooked up. And we asked our inspector, and he basically came up with some sarcastic stuff like, “ Oh well, there was something about how the city says that this side of the building is required to have air conditioning and such. Something like that. But then again if it’s already installed and working, free isn’t too bad, isn’t it??” WTF??!!!?? Boy, did that bring a grin on my face (=]) Part of me feels that the builders hooked us up because they feel bad that they kept postponing our move-in dates so many times and all, but then again sometimes you don’t really need to know why you got mysteriously hooked up somehow. Then, we signed some paperwork and they said that they couldn’t give us a definite day when they could hand over the keys because they were basically waiting to receive papers from the city. Then Randy and I went to order our blinds and went home. Our blinds cost us a grip, but we’re happy with our choice. When you come by, let us know if we made the right choice. After all that, we were tired and hungry so we went home. So I’m hanging out with my niece…they leave and then I’m almost asleep in my bed watching TV when the phone rings again and it’s Carla, from the sales office. She says, “Mr. Lansang, come over so you can pick up your keys.” I didn’t believe her so I asked her if she was serious and she told me that she had just heard from the city and our papers had “recorded”! Wasting no time… Randy, Mom, and I left to pick up the keys from the sales office. Carla signed over the keys to us and there it was…our keys to our new home! Being sentimental, I had to take a picture of the sales persons and us; Carla and Lisa. (Insert picture coming soon) They have been very helpful in our first experience buying a home. And I know that at times they had to be the bearers of bad news, they were just doing their jobs. It’s not their fault so many things were delayed. But what’s important is that everything worked out. And I’m very happy now. We did it!

6am-3pm

2004-09-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

I gotta tell you, this 6am-3pm gig is not too shabby. I just have to get used to sleeping @10pm every work night. Thank God for my VCR. At least I can use it to record my episodes of CSI while I go to sleep. At least I won’t be missing out on too much. It’s so much easier to get to work, driving during the 5am hour- compared with the 7am hour. Also, getting out earlier in the day feels so good. I think I’m gonna like this. On another note, Randy and I just signed our Escrow papers yesterday and we’re getting closer to moving out! I spoke to the sales persons and they said that we should be closing anywhere from this Friday (October 1st) to next Wednesday (October 6th). Hopefully, we’ll close on Friday, so we can have the weekend to paint and move in. Gosh, sometime I STILL can’t believe that we bought our own place!

Season's Change

2004-09-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Remember that song? It's starting to feel a lot like fall now. I love it! We've had a hot summer and it's about time that the air starting feeling crisper and the air had cooled down. Fall has got to be my favorite season. Baseball's winding down, football is starting up, and in a bit...college basketball will be starting up! So much going on. One thing that’s going to change is my residence soon. I received a call from our loan guy the other day and he told me that they are really close to working out dates for the closing dates for my condo development. He said he didn’t have a definite day for me yet, but it should be happening next week. In fact, he mentioned that they’re closing out the first property next Monday. So next week, Randy and I will be moving into our brand new Condo! One other new change for next week is my work schedule. With Elsa (see previous posts below) leaving, they’ll need someone to cover the 6am-3pm shift. I accepted the offer and will be starting this schedule next Monday. It should be pretty cool. I know that I’ll be coming a lot earlier in the day, but it also means that I’ll be going home a lot earlier in the day, too. This should give me more time to run errands, cook some dinner, and even hang out with Roslynn longer. Man, that’s a lot of changes. Man, I still need to pack my things! * doh * I don’t have any boxes!

Oreo

2004-09-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight, at around 9:20 pm, we had to say goodbye to Oreo. She apparently had a stroke which incapacitated her. This morning, she seemed okay and then my parents got worried as they noticed that she did not want to get up and was not moving much. We brought her to the Pet Hospital and the doctor there told us she had maybe a 20 percent chance or getting revived but she would still have some brain damage and she will never be the same. Seeing her at that condition was very difficult for my parents, Jon, and I. And so after the doctor gave us our options, we felt we really didn't have a choice to make. We knew she would have to be put to sleep. She has been with us for 14 years, and we could tell for a while that this moment would soon come. And so as hard as it was, we made the choice. We'll never forget her. She was very loved and was very loveable. I'll always have so many fond memories of her and will miss her very much. There's nothig to be angry about because she's had a very long life with us. I feel very lucky that she's been able to be with us for this long and that she died of natural causes. I love her alot and will never forget her. I do believe that dogs go to heaven because Oreo's soul belongs there.

Shut Da Hell Up

2004-09-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you guys have been watching the news... but on Monday, during the Texas Rangers vs. Oakland A's game, there was an altercation between some heckling fans and the Texas Ranger relief pitchers. In brief, the game was played in Oakland and a group of heckling A's fans that sat right next to the visiting bullpen were heckling the Rangers' pitchers. The visitor's bullpen was situated right next to the field level seats at the right field corner of the stadium so basically, any fan sitting right there can speak or yell at the visiting team members with ease. I understand that sometimes, heckling by the fans is useful because it knocks the opponent off-focus and can distract them, but come on, have some sense! Of course if you tease anyone for a period of time, they may get upset. Of course if you tease them they may lose thier cool and get violent. It happens to everyone. Especially if you get personal with your words. It happenes to everyone. But try being an athelete and hearing it everytime you go to a opponent's field. Try hearing it and having no way get away from it, like being stuck at the bullpen unless they call you up to pitch. That's what happened to The Texas Rangers that day and to single one out, it happened to Frank Francisco. Things got pretty bad and it got to the point that some of the pitchers and staff got up and started yelling back at the fans. Then Frank did what I think shouldn't of had happened. He picked up a folding chair and threw it at the heckling fans. It struck the wife of one of the fans and broke her nose, which is really unfortunate. After that, Frank was arrested and the couple are thinking of pressing charges. They feel that the Rangers are at fault in this situation. WHAT??!!!?!?!?! Although I agree that it was very wrong for any person to throw a chair at someone, but how is it the Rangers' fault??? I mean, if you're going to talk $hit, you better be able to take whatever's coming back at you. And if you can't, then SHUT DA HELL UP! I thought you were there to watch a freaking game?? Then watch! Stop bothering these athletes! The woman even went on to saying something like, " there's these big 6 foot 5 guys...I was fearfull for my life". Man, she makes it act like the pitchers were wild animals in a circus. They only acted that way because they were trying to defend themselves from the verbal abuse they were taking from those fans. I don't think they were trying to pick a fight with anyone. If that lady was fearful for her life, she should of told her husband and the rest of those hooligans, I sorry, I mean "fans" to SHUT DA HELL UP! Her husband said that he was just heckling them so he "can get on them a little bit." And that he was trying like all fans to be the "tenth man". Whatever. There are other more effective ways to be the "tenth man". Give me a break. It was wrong for Frank Francisco to pick up a chair to deliberately hurt someone. But it was also wrong to be heckling the Texas Rangers pitching crew to the point that they got really upset. How do you expect anyone to react under those conditions? I don't expect anyone to be throwng chairs around like Bobby Knight, but I do expect them to try to turn the other cheek. But man, if they are going to keep trash talking, you gotta find a way to get themn to SHUT DA HELL UP! It's as the saying goes, what comes around...goes around.

Elsa

2004-09-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today, we received word that one of our co-workers turned in her two-weeks notice. She will be moving on to work at Northrop-Grumman. It’s very bittersweet because although I know she must have decided to move on because she had a better opportunity, we are going to be missing a key member in our team. She’s been working at the hospital for 15 years now and with those fifteen years; she brings to our group a wealth of knowledge. And along with that, she’s good people. She and I have had some meaningful talks while at work and I’ll definitely miss her. She does have her idiosyncrasies, which drives us crazy, but we still will miss her. When she announced it today to us, my first feeling was of sadness because it’s like a friend is moving away. Our team has gotten along really well. As compared to some other groups in the Hospital, we're actually pretty close with each other, which is really cool. Our closeness is the key reason why we are able to support 3200 users with our 8 man team. Crazy, huh?

We will NEVER Forget

2004-09-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Today is the three-year anniversary of an event that changed all of our lives forever. Before 9-11 had happened, life was great. In fact, I remember not too many days before that; I was talking with a friend about how people in my generation probably are living in the best times. What I meant by this is that before 9-11, we haven’t really had catastrophes or war. I know we had Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, but that almost didn’t feel like a war because it happened so far away and we basically kicked ass in those “conflicts”. We in the homeland didn’t feel the war in sense that we lived differently or anything. I know there were protests, soldiers were dying and families mourned, gas prices streaked, and there was so much media to see on television of the fighting that it almost looked like we were immersed in a movie. But, while all of that happened, we still did things the same way. We all went to work, we went to ballgames, we went out to have fun, we traveled freely, and basically our way of life did not really change. We had normality. We knew that thousands of miles away, some of our men and women were fighting to keep things that way. But we at home lived the same, basically. Pre 9-11, there are some things that stayed in my mind as life-changing events outside of my life. You know, the things that you hope to tell your grandkids about when they have history reports to write and such. The types of things that start of with, ”I remember when…” or “I remember when this happened, I was…” One thing I know I will always remember is the day Reagan was shot at. I was just a kid, but even at that time, I really liked Reagan as a President. And as a person, he had this passionate love for his wife, which I admired. He was a great man. Another thing is the Night Stalker. Everyone I knew feared this guy. One lasting image that freaks me out is the artist’s rendition of him that they showed on and on in the news because they we out on the hunt for him. It looked so scary. I was young at the time and so it gave me nightmares imagining that face. What was also scary was that when they caught him, he eerily looked like the drawings. Another event for me is the Chargers-Dolphins playoff game. You know, the one were a tired Kellen Winslow is walked off the field with two teammates? That was one classic of a game. Anyone who saw this game would agree. This was during the Air Coryell years, the best times for the Chargers. Another event is the day the Space Shuttle blew up. I remember that I was in my science class, we were all trying to witness the first ordinary person to go into space. And then it blew up. Right onfront of our eyes, it blew up. We were all in shock. I remember we all looked at each other and then at our teacher, he didn’t know what to do. So we kept watching, hoping that maybe it wasn’t what we thought we saw. But it was. Another memory I have is not really the 1998 Padres Playoff team, but basically something I’ll call “The Tony Gwynn Era”. >I say this because he is one of my sports heroes. I believe to a lot of baseball and Padre fans, he is their hero, too. He’s a great role model and outstanding player. I know that I have so many fond memories of the Padres, especially when he was in the team. I feel privileged to have been able to witness his career. The next memory is Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This was the first time anyone in my generation experienced war or even a large-scale deployment of our own troops. It helped me realize that we are lucky. We live in best country, live the best lives, and have the best military. We kicked Asses in the Middle East back then and suffered minimal losses. It showed our military might and also demonstrated how whatever’s happening in a afar off land can affect us here. It also soon showed as a prelude to the war in Iraq. And so I guess this brings us to September 11, 2001. What were you doing when it all happened? I remember that day very well. It was 8:45 am, Eastern Standard Time. Over here, it was 5:45 am. I was working at the Children's Hospital when it all happened. Our Supervisor at the time was Dave Inniss and we had arrived at 6 in the morning to do a major deployment of new PC's that day. Mike and Dave was working as well. We have been working away when Inniss told us about some new he heard about some planes were hijacked in our country. We at first just thought it was crazy but nobody could have imagined what would soon happen. The next thing we know, Inniss tells us to go upstairs to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) waiting room to see the news because one of the hijacked passenger planes had just crashed into one of the twin towers in NY. We all ran upstairs and it was incredible. We were the only ones in the room, staring at this televison. We were all shocked. We stood there trying to figure it all out. It was just incrdible. And then about 15 minutes later, something crazy had happened. A second plane had crashed into the second tower. We were there, watching as this plane hits the second tower. I never thought I would actually witness anything like this in my life. All I could think about was all those people in those planes and in the towers that had died instantly. I was watching a situation in which people were dying. It was so shocking and creepy. Inniss was in the military and he automatically got angry. He was talking about how someone was going to pay for this. For a long time, we were watching the news, it was too hard to peel ourselves away from it. And when the images of the people jumping from the towers were shown, I had to walk away. It was just too much. So many people have died already and now people are dying. And there was nothing that I could do. I did know that I had to maintain my focus because we were at work and we had alot of things to do. As we set off to continue our work, it was so silent. We were quiet and as we walked throught the hospital, everyone was solemn. Obviously, everyone knew what happened. For the rest of the day at work, I couldn't maintain my focus, I kept thinking about all those people. I also thought about my friend Cindy.

She'd been living in NY for quite a while and we had been keeping in touch. I didn't know what part of NY she lived in , but I did know that she lived in the city so I knew that she had probably been near the towers. It's really weird. I've known her since our days at Southwestern College, but I guess it took an event like this to realize that she's a really good friend of mine, one of the keepers. I guess I took it for granted that she would call me all the way from New York sometimes just to say hi, or even ask me to tell her a story to help her go to sleep. But when it hit me, all I wanted to do was try to call her. But then I heard new reports that they wanted people to try not to call into NY because the phone lines were down and whatever was up was getting impacted for real emergencies. So I had no choice but to wait and hope that I would soon hear from her. I eventually heard from her and found out that she's okay. She was near the towers but was safe. I didn't know what to ask her because I knew that something like this can be traumatizing. I just focused on whatever she wanted to talk about. Since that time, she's moved back to SD. We're alot closer friends now. We spend alot of time talking on the phone and hanging out once in a while. We had talked about so many things before, but once thing she doesn't like to talk about much is September 11th. I totally understand and I don't want to pry into her and all. It was a terrible day and there's no need to take her back to memories that hurt her. So most of the times, I just wait for her to bring it up. Mostly, I just listen and try to do whatever I can do to help. There's alot I know about her, but I guess I'll never really know that episode of her life. But it's okay. As long as she's safe now. Yesterday, she told me she's leaving for NY to visit and possibly get some closure. I admire that. It's gotta be difficult, but it does take balls to even try. Today, she's probably going to the vigils, memorials, and commemorations to mark that day. I hope she's doing okay. I know it's not going to be fun, but I hope she gets the closure she needs. I'll be waiting for her to come back so I can find out how things went. Today is definitely going to be a hard day in this country. I think it will always be a difficult day for Americans. Why shouldn't it be? We were all attacked.

My First Time

2004-09-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

Holy Crap! I never thought that I would be posting in one of these. In fact, I'm not very good at typing my thoughts out, but it occured to me that it does help to act as a release. Hopefully I won't bore you to death as you read this. I'll try and fill you in as much as I can. First of all, time's coming close for our closing date for our new Condo/Townhome. It's really ridiculous that the closing date's been moved like 230920930237 times!! This time, they say that "It's going to be during the last week of September". Let me see....I think the original closing date was way back in July? Talk about lagging!! Last week, Randy and I had our first official walk-thru. Things looked pretty good. All of the appliances were already there and the carpet looked great. Except for some minor cosmetic fixer-uppers, things looked pretty good. It was just really exciting for once because for the first time, Randy and I could walk into it with all of the carpet installed, all of the appliances in place, the walls were done- everything looked very liveable. We both said to each other for the first time, "This is our home!" It's really awesome to be able to say that and to really believe it for the first time. For the first time, it wasn't just drywall or studs or a pile of lumber. For the first time to us, it looked like a living, breathing being. It looked alive, just waiting for us to come home. Those of you who don't know the feeling, believe me, it's unbelieveable. I took some pictures of which I still have to post in my Yahoo album. When I get them up, I'll let you know. Those of you that know about the Townhome, will understand how long Randy and I have been waiting to get it completed. The reason why I say this is because I haven't really told alot of people about it. And if the rest of my friends know, it's not necessarily because I told them. I don't know why, but I just didn't wanna make a big deal about it. I guess that's partly also because I'm not the type of person to announce things like that. It makes me feel like I'm bragging or that I'm a show-off or something. Also, I guess I wanted to deliberately be discreet about it, so maybe I can surprise some people that I am able to do something like buy a house. Who wudda thunk? I have to admit though, that I'm very proud of Randy and myself because we're both doing this on our own. It's all based on our own credit and our own income. I purposely didn't want to ask my parents for help because I wanted to prove to myself that I can do this, that I can take the next step on my own. And boy am I glad that we both did. With the way prices are going, it looked very discouraging to me at first. But with Randy co-owning it with me, we should be able to hang. So hopefully at the end of the month, Randy and I will be in our new home, probably painting or trying to cook for ourselves. It is kinda weird......moving out. It's so nice living at my parent's house. They don't mind we're still around. All they want is for us kids to be responsible and working. And we're all doing well. Between the both of us (Randy and I), I think I'll have the hardest time adjusting to moving out. After all, Jenn's already out... John used to live in Riverside and LA...and Randy used to live in Virgina. I'm the only one that hasn't moved out for any reason. I never really had to. My parents never made me feel like I wasn't welcome, and I did all of my schooling and working here in San Diego. So I always have been home at my Parents' house. It's going to be very weird and hard. After all, 1622 Sherbrooke Street has been my home for so long. It's so comforting there. There's always food- and very good food at that. There's always the presense of my family there. There's everything there. And now I have to "Leave the Nest" soon. I'm scared and excited. Another thing that I know that will change after I move is the proximity of my loved ones. Not only will I be away from my immediate family, I'll be a little further away from the Hulsey's. I love that family. They're my second family. It's not going to be a convenient drive to just drop by right after work before going home any more. One of joys I have is that Christian, my Godson, was always nearby.
Whenever I wanted to see him, I could just go there and we'd spend some time together. It's only a 3 minute drive. And yes I know that I can still visit him after I move, but it'll be like a 15 minute drive- not that I'm saying that'll keep me away, but you know what I'm saying. I'll also be a drive away from Grace and Dave. I know, it's not going to ruin or get in the way of our relationships, but you gotta admit, it's not going to be the same. I guess I'm a stickler for having things remain the same. I know, I know...change is good. But I guess I have a hard time adjusting my comfort zones. Is that so wrong? *looks at the text* Holy $hit, looks like I unloaded on this thing! I better cut this entry off for now. There's defnitely more to post!