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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Time to lose weight & get in shape

I've let my weight get totally out of hand and this is the worst shape I have been in, in my entire life. I got the job at WB and joined SCMM right around the same time last year, the problem with these two things is that they are both all about the eating... I sit at work all day and munch on all the stuff people bring in, and you wouldn't believe all the vendor lunches we get taken too, then on the weekends when I hang out with the Maniacs all we do is drive and eat. My problem is I love to eat, so I finally decided I need to do something to at least offset the eating. I've decided that I need to start walking or hiking at least 3 times a week. Tonight me and my sister are going hiking, I know I need to do more, so I'm cutting way down on the snacking at work too. Hopefully I'll be able to lose some weight and get back in shape soon.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Finally installed front license plate

I've always hated to put a front license plate on any of my cars and have always requested that they don't drill the holes into the front bumper. I figure I can get away with it for awhile unless I get a ticket. Well I got the ticket a few months ago and now I need to get it signed off, so I finally gave in and had the dealer drill the holes. Woodstock is now almost legal, I still have to take the window tint off the front 2 windows which I really don't want to do... That's what I get for speeding, I guess it was better to get a fixit ticket than a speeding ticket.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Krispy Kreme minis Sweepstakes - Los Angeles



Great, I just decided I wanted to lose some weight and now I get this email from Krispy Kreme about their new mini's promotion. For every purchase of their new mini's donuts you will get a chance to win a new MINI Copper. The contest runs from 4/27/09 - 05/31/09. There goes my diet...

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Went Bowling last night

I got invited to join some of the Maniacs for bowling and dinner last night. I was a little apprehensive, I haven't picked up bowling ball since I was in the Army and even then I didn't really know how to bowl. They all assured me that it was more about the getting together with friends then it was about the bowling. You know, they were right, it was about the friendship. I of course, bowled very bad, but I still had the best of times hanging out with my MINI friends. It was such a nice day of bowling, friendship, food and shopping. It was such a nice day and it's so cool that they do this once a month, a different person picks the bowling alley and dinner spot each month. I can't wait until next month so we can do it again.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Woodstock needs a new clutch

Took Woodstock to MINI of Monrovia to get the panel under the steering wheel replaced due to excessive squeaking. While I was there I mentioned that when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd gear, it makes this horrendous squealing sound. The tech took it for a test ride and the same thing happened to him. So guess what? I need a new clutch at 12999 miles on the car. Luckily there's a warranty TSB that covers this problems for the 2007's and above so I don't have to pay for it. This is the 4th major problem I've had with the car which I've only had for a year... I might have to think about lemoning my poor baby =o(

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

MINI Clubman meets Airstream


I just noticed a thread on the SCMM forum about MINI and Airstream, so I had to do a little research. Wow even though this was just a collaboration with MINI and Airstream and a Swedish designer, it's a pretty cool idea. They are displaying his work in Milan at some design show in April. I don't know how feasible it is considering that the trailer probably weights too much for the MINI, but it such a neat concept, and I love the design aspect of it. For more info just click on the link jalopnik.com/mini-cooper-s-clubman-airstream-concept-lets-motorlounge

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What a difference a year makes

Well, since my contract officially ends on July 31st, I have kept my eyes peeled for another job. My resume has been posted on Dice since before I left Disney. I used to to get 2-3 calls a week and last year at the height of it all, I had 5 job interviews in a week and 2 job offers. Dice is an amazing resource, my last 3 jobs I was placed by recruiters that got my resume from Dice. Now I rarely get called and after looking at the jobs posted on Dice I notice, there are hardly any AIX jobs at all. Geez what a difference a year makes..

Monday, April 20, 2009

It's 95 degrees out!!

Geez, I was in the air conditioned building all day and just went out for lunch. Wow my car registered 95 degrees.... Yucky I hate hot weather, my ideal outside temp is 75 degrees. I'm sooooo glad I got my central air, condensor fixed last year....

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Bakersfield was better this year

My Bakersfield WTSOB5 weekend has come to an end. This is one of the best trips I've taken with the club. Last years WTSOB4 was fun, but I had so much more fun this trip. I think it's cuz last year I was only a club member for 2 weeks, so I was a little apprehensive about the run itself plus I really didn't know that many people. This year, I knew everyone and even though we didn't have as many people as last year we still had a great time. The weather was beautiful where as last year it was freezing. Niki got sick last year and injured her paw and since we were in the 3rd group this time and didn't to the extreme twisties she was much happier.

Woodstock runs soo nice and smooth, he is meant to drive those nice newly paved twisty roads up there. I can't wait until next year!!!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

It's all about the food, friendship and fun


Wow, what an amazing day!!! It was the perfect way to spend my Birthday.. We ate breakfast, went to the Tehachapie Loop but did not get to see a train do the loop.


We proceeded to the meet up point where we broke up into 3 different groups. The first group was Pedal to the Metal group, not very many choose this group but there were a few diehards. The majority of us were in the 2nd group, which is a little slower than the first but not much. Last year I was in the second group and Niki got sick and started hyperventaliting. I didn't want to kill my dog this year so I decided to go with a newly formed 3rd group. They called us the slow group, but I would prefer to call it the scenic group, cuz we weren't exactly going slow, and following the Kern River route was so beautiful. We actually made it to McDonalds before the second group and that wasn't suppossed to happen.





We met up at McDonalds for a potty break and snack, then headed to Kernville for another meal.. After lunch the 1st and 2nd group headed for the mountains and the 3rd group, back tracked to follow the Kern River again. We all met at the Lengthwise Brewery where everyone got together to talk about our amazing day, to drink beers or in my case a Coke Float. The guys gave me this great card that everyone signed.. That was soo sweet of Debe to cooridnate. Then we headed to the bowling alley for some friendly competition.



It was a day filled with lots of food I think we stopped 4 different times for food, driving (we drove approx 200 hundred miles) and friendship (approx 24 Minis and maybe 50 people attended)... that's what life is about and I love the time I spend with my SCMM buddies!!!

Friday, April 17, 2009

BBQ in Bakersfield

I met a bunch of Maniacs in Sylmar to caravan up to Bakersfield, we thought we would miss the Friday traffic by leaving at around 3:15pm, but no such luck. There was so much traffic and we saw approx 10 CHP's just sitting or giving tickets. We were good and none of us got pulled over. We made it to Bakersfield around 5 and checked into our hotel and then headed over to Tavis and Angela's house for the BBQ they were hosting.

Tavis BBQ'd this awesome tri-tip stuffed with something yummy, and the rest of the Maniacs brought all kinds of food. Lisa was so sweet and baked me a birthday cake which she brought all the way up from Oxnard, that was so nice of her. My birthday isn't until tomorrow but they figured we would be on the road the whole day so they did it a day early.

Well I have to hit the sack cuz we are getting up early to hit the road to meet the rest of the Maniacs driving up from OC and L.A.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Packing for the annual Bakersfield trip

I know, I know, who in the world goes to Bakersfield, voluntarily? Well the crazy SCMM Miniacs, that's who. This is the clubs 5th annual Walking The Streets Of Bakersfield outing and it starts tomorrow. My first one was last year, only a few weeks after I bought Woodstock. This is the trip that got me hooked on SCMM and drving my MINI. Unlike the title we really don't walk the streets of Bakersfield, we fly through the twisties up through Kernville, this is one of the best events of the year and I'm really looking forward to spending of couple of days with the Maniacs.

I gotta go pack now...I'll post pics of the event when I return.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

I've got Bloggers Block

Hmm, not sure what's happening here, I usually have so much to say, but lately I can't think of anything to write about. Hopefully I'll get over my Blogger's Block soon, cuz I already messed up my 1 post a day thing.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Ridemakerz customer service is awesome

I'm really impressed by this company, their customer service is top notch and they follow through with everything they say they are going to do.

I received my replacement Mini on Sat, as promised, they didn't wait for me to send mine back which is really cool..

Their website is pretty good, but there are a couple of issues with it that need to be refined a little. When I ordered my MINI I added my giftcard info, but apparently the web page doesn't automatically enter your giftcard unless you hit apply, the apply button wasn't very obvious to me so it didn't apply the giftcard amount. I also forgot to fill out my Certificate of Title and forgot to check the box that I wanted the stock wheels. After I hit the buy button, I found out the giftcard wasn't applied to my purchase and they charged my card the entire amount. I immediately sent them an email stating all the issues I had. I spoke with a customer service rep,and she fixed everything, she credited my account with the giftcard amount, and since the order already went out (they are super speedy for fulfulling orders) she sent me the stock wheels in a separate shipment and the Certificate of Title via Federal Express, without charging me additional shipping charges.

That is awesome customer service, it's nice to know there are still companies that put the customer first. I will definitely be buying another Ridemakerz car in the future!!!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!!!

What a nice peaceful, happy day, I hadn't planned on going to church, but my sister called and wanted to suprise my mom, so I got up and went to church, which made my mom so happy. After church, I spent the rest of the day at moms, Deb made everyone breakfast and mom made pot roast for dinner. My mom was so cute and made little plastic eggs filled with candy and a little bit of money for everyone. I felt like a little kid again. Me and Niki ended napping the whole day which was sooooo nice. I don't normally take a nap but it was such a nice quiet day we fell asleep on the couch with the windows opened and a nice breeze. It was a great day spending it with my sis, mom and nieces, I don't do it very often so it was extra special today.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Too lazy to post

My 3 day weekend has turned into a I'm going to be a bum and do whatever weekend. These are the best kind of weekends cuz you never know whats going to happen. That's why I flaked and was too lazy to post anything for the past 2 days, I just didn't feel like posting anything.

Today was a great day, me and Robert (TwistyBitz) caravaned to Ruby's to hang out with the Maniacs. It was such a beautiful puffy cloud day and we hung out longer than normal. Afterwards, we headed to Roberts house and he showed me all of this artwork and studio for his TwistyBitz t-shirts and stuff. He is so artistic, he's been giving me pointers for my little sticker and now maybe t-shirt business. I totally appreciate his friendship and his help.. day 2 of my weekend was awesome, I wonder what I'm going to do tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Looking forward to my 3 day weekend

WB is the first company I ever worked for that gives Good Friday off as a holiday. Pretty cool huh? There's really no Mini activities except the Ruby's Long Beach breakfast on Sat, so now I need to figure out what I'm going to do for the other 2 days. Hmm, maybe I'll go to the range, haven't done that in awhile

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

There's another Angel in heaven today


My good friend Edgar died early this morning and right now there are no words that can convey my sadness. We/he just found out a few short months ago that he had lymphoma. The cancer spread so fast and I never got to see him due to complications before he died. I guess maybe that was a good thing because I'll get to remember his smile instead of remembering him in a hospital bed in isolation.

Edgar was the kindest, considerate, most generous person I know, he never had a bad word about anyone, he was artistic, both with his flower arangements and his watercolors and he loved to dance, boy could he dance... He leaves behind his beloved dog Toby, his cats and many friends who loved him. I will miss him, but heaven is lucky because they got another Angel today.....

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Got my Ridemakerz MINI yesterday


On the way back from the monthly SCMM Coogies breakfast, I stopped by the Post Office and was happy to find that my Ridemakerz MINI had arrived. Wow that was fast!!!


I went home and was like a little kid opening my Christmas presents. There was so many cool things in the box. The neatest thing was the tool to assemble my MINI, it was shaped as a car key and is so well made. It's amazing the amount of attention to detail this company has put into their product and their packaging. You can even customize your license plate, which they send to you but I haven't gotten yet.


I assembled my car by attaching the RC chasis and bolted it down using the supplied key tool, then started adding all of my accessories. I was a little disappointed that while putting everything on I noticed that one of the plastic tabs was broken. However I called Ridemakerz and they told me no problem, they will ship another MINI car body out with Monday's mail. The kit that comes to the house already has a prepaid return label and a return form. All you have to do is put it in a box and ship it back with the prepaid label affixed to the box. Like I said this company has paid attention to all the details.

I got to play with my car for a little bit and I have to say this thing is amazing.. The MINI is so detailed, it looks exactly like my car except it's black. The headlights come on when you are driving forward and the brake lights come on when you reverse.

This is one of the best RC cars I've ever had... I can't wait til I get my replacement one so I can really play with it.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Woodstock turned into a Bunny


I met the Maniacs at our once a month breakfast in Malibu this morning, it was a beautiful day. Ken & Debe turned Woodstuck into a Bunny Rabbit...

You should have seen the faces on the tourists as I drove home on Sunset, they actually took pictures... Too funny...

Friday, April 3, 2009

Finally joined Facebook

Well after much prodding and poking from my sister, friends, nieces etc. to join Facebook, I finally gave in and joined. (actually I joined several months ago, but have been too busy to post about it) I was reluctant to join cuz, I have so many other things going on in my life that I didn't think joining a social network would be a good idea. I figured it would take up the remaining spare time I have left during my already busy days..

At first my fear came true, I pretty much spent all my free time on Facebook trying to find old friends, talking with friends that I reconnected with etc. It's pretty awesome to find someone that you have been thinking about for 20 years and not really sure how to find and then actually find and connect with them... that happened a couple of times already, and my life is better because of it..

It's really cool to see what's going on in my family and friends lives in real time. I have a personal rule, I don't add anyone that I don't personally know and I don't add anyone that I currently work with. Which means that all my friends are actually my friends and not friends of friends, so facebooking is more personal for me... The work thing should be pretty obvious. I have explained this to my friends at work and they totally understand. It's not that I have anything to hide, it's just I don't want to mix my work life with my personal life.

I'm still on Facebook everyday, but now I just leave it logged on and I read whats going on in my friends lives and comment when appropriate. Facebook has not taken over my life like I thought it would but it has enhanced it and I'm glad I joined....

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Got the Flu bug or something

Not sure where I got this but I started feeling not so good in the middle of my work day, ended up falling asleep in my car with the chills and everything. Went home took some Dayquill and my sis brought me some wonton soup...Fell asleep in the middle of ER and woke up later feeling much better. Weird...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Ordered my Ridemakerz RC MINI


Thanks to Andy who gave me the $50.00 giftcard he won at AMVIV, I finally ordered a Ridemakerz MINI RC car. I have been wanting one of these for a long time, ever since I saw them at MTTS L.A. last Aug.

They did not have a yellow MINI so I ended up ordering the Asphalt Black RC MINI with pretty much everything on it. I got the extra set of wheels, tires, construction light kit with orange cones, the battery pack, the side lights and some extra stuff that I can't remember. The total cost was approx $96.00 but since I had the giftcard it only cost $46 which is awesome for all the stuff I got... They shipped it yesterday, I can't wait to get it an put it together.
I wish they would open one of their awesome stores here, cuz it looks like it would be so much fun picking out all the stuff in the store and putting it together. Think Build A Bear but for cars... really cool idea!!! I'll post pics of my new MINI when it gets here.
 
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