' the He-Ka-Wi
April 15, 2005
Operation: Driver Down
I had planned to take another turn-around trip to Vegas. It seems that I am needing to take these drives more often these days. I use the drive to clear my head. I can't seem to do that sitting in front of the TV at home.
But I had gotten some good news from my sister and I was getting ready to cancel the trip when I got a call from the hankster in Vegas.
Hank: "Hey Angel guess where I'm at?"
me: "uh... Vegas?"
Hank: "well yeah, but guess where in Vegas."
me: "I give up."
Hank: "in the hospital emergency room..."
The Story:
The hankster took the family to Vegas for their spring break. In one of his favorite buffets, he and a 64 year old Chinese woman were reaching for the same wonton. Neither one was going to yield and that's when the woman took him out with her cane.
If he had gotten medical attention right away his knee would not have swollen to the point where he was unable to drive, but he waited for the next tray of wontons to be brought in before he even told Berda what happened.
After receiving the call for help, Operation: Driver Down mobilized.
Derrick: "We're not going for fun. We're helping!"
James: "I don't want to go but someone has to help Angel stay awake on the drive back."
Angel: "How else will Hank and the family get back home? Berda can't drive that TRUCK."
On the way to Vegas, how many of you try to pronounce the name of this road, either out loud or mentally?
But I had gotten some good news from my sister and I was getting ready to cancel the trip when I got a call from the hankster in Vegas.
Hank: "Hey Angel guess where I'm at?"
me: "uh... Vegas?"
Hank: "well yeah, but guess where in Vegas."
me: "I give up."
Hank: "in the hospital emergency room..."
The Story:
The hankster took the family to Vegas for their spring break. In one of his favorite buffets, he and a 64 year old Chinese woman were reaching for the same wonton. Neither one was going to yield and that's when the woman took him out with her cane.
If he had gotten medical attention right away his knee would not have swollen to the point where he was unable to drive, but he waited for the next tray of wontons to be brought in before he even told Berda what happened.
After receiving the call for help, Operation: Driver Down mobilized.
Derrick: "We're not going for fun. We're helping!"
James: "I don't want to go but someone has to help Angel stay awake on the drive back."
Angel: "How else will Hank and the family get back home? Berda can't drive that TRUCK."
On the way to Vegas, how many of you try to pronounce the name of this road, either out loud or mentally?
April 08, 2005
Kamikazee Pigeon
I've been wanting to go on another "drive" but haven't had any opportunities. Things has been very hectic and busy. But last Thursday, I HAD TO GET OUT OF TOWN!!!!!
A midnight Santa Barbara/Solvang run wasn't going to cut it. I needed a longer run but not a lot of time. I had some friends spending Spring Break in Las Vegas so all I needed was to find a hostage and get out of town (thanks James!).
We left right at 1:00 pm. It was a nice uneventful drive until we "hit" Las Vegas. Coming up to Frank Sinatra Drive a pigeon flies across the freeway. I can only guess that it got caught in the turbulence of the car in front of me because it suddenly flips over crashes onto my hood and bounces off my windshield! I did not see it roll off the back window but I did see the people in the car behind me with surprised looks on their faces and pointing up so I guess the pigeon recovered enough to be able to fly away.
I have to say I found it incredibly funny! I couldn't stop laughing. I mean what are the odds of hitting a pigeon in flight? There was a streak of pigeon dust on the hood
and
And a "clean" streak on the windshield where bugs I hit on the trip used to be
Here's some more pictures:
James took this one,
This is my new wallpaper
After that everything was anticlimatic. But then again, there was the buffet...
The Aladdin Buffet is probably one of the best buffets in Vegas. We were a pretty large party (15 counting all the kids) . The families sure enjoy their crab. I lost count of the number of platters they brought to the table (special order, people were wondering where we keep getting them from). Derrick and Tony has the people behind the counter to steam them.
Wish I James had brought his camera in with him. We spent a little over 2 hours there.
We walked around The Aladdin shops for a bit and then headed back to Los Angeles just before midnight. I was a great drive James kept drifting in and out in the passenger seat, there was no traffic to speak of and I had some tunes. Cleared my head pretty good. People tell me I'm crazy driving around like this, but I find it more relaxing than staying at home sitting in front of the tv. Go figure.
A midnight Santa Barbara/Solvang run wasn't going to cut it. I needed a longer run but not a lot of time. I had some friends spending Spring Break in Las Vegas so all I needed was to find a hostage and get out of town (thanks James!).
We left right at 1:00 pm. It was a nice uneventful drive until we "hit" Las Vegas. Coming up to Frank Sinatra Drive a pigeon flies across the freeway. I can only guess that it got caught in the turbulence of the car in front of me because it suddenly flips over crashes onto my hood and bounces off my windshield! I did not see it roll off the back window but I did see the people in the car behind me with surprised looks on their faces and pointing up so I guess the pigeon recovered enough to be able to fly away.
I have to say I found it incredibly funny! I couldn't stop laughing. I mean what are the odds of hitting a pigeon in flight? There was a streak of pigeon dust on the hood
and
And a "clean" streak on the windshield where bugs I hit on the trip used to be
Here's some more pictures:
James took this one,
This is my new wallpaper
After that everything was anticlimatic. But then again, there was the buffet...
The Aladdin Buffet is probably one of the best buffets in Vegas. We were a pretty large party (15 counting all the kids) . The families sure enjoy their crab. I lost count of the number of platters they brought to the table (special order, people were wondering where we keep getting them from). Derrick and Tony has the people behind the counter to steam them.
Wish I James had brought his camera in with him. We spent a little over 2 hours there.
We walked around The Aladdin shops for a bit and then headed back to Los Angeles just before midnight. I was a great drive James kept drifting in and out in the passenger seat, there was no traffic to speak of and I had some tunes. Cleared my head pretty good. People tell me I'm crazy driving around like this, but I find it more relaxing than staying at home sitting in front of the tv. Go figure.
November 27, 2004
Hostages
Someone said, "We should go and have lunch at Santa Barbara!"
So off we went. By "we", read James (again), Grace and Sammy. It's funny that the person who first suggested the trip was not able to make it. My sister suggested a Santa Barbara lunch trip, but unfortunately, she couldn't get back from a trip herself. Apparently, the road from Las Vegas was shut down between Stateline and Barstow (SNOWED IN!).
So it was a great day for a drive. The rain the day before cleaned everything out and it was a cool sunny day.
From Brophy's Restaurant, Santa Barbara
Sammy
Now where to go next....
So off we went. By "we", read James (again), Grace and Sammy. It's funny that the person who first suggested the trip was not able to make it. My sister suggested a Santa Barbara lunch trip, but unfortunately, she couldn't get back from a trip herself. Apparently, the road from Las Vegas was shut down between Stateline and Barstow (SNOWED IN!).
So it was a great day for a drive. The rain the day before cleaned everything out and it was a cool sunny day.
From Brophy's Restaurant, Santa Barbara
Sammy
Now where to go next....
September 18, 2004
Hostage #1
I had just lost my dog to time. He was getting on in years, so last night we had to put him down. I didn't want to stay at home. Everything just reminded me of Flag. I would like to think that I had enough sense to not go by myself considering the state of mind I was in, but I think I just wanted to inflict a sleepless night on an innocent bystander...
Enter Wong... James Wong.
I picked him up around 11pm and with a quick stop for supplies at Lee's Sandwiches (at the corner of Westminister and Brookhurst in the city of Westminister...), we were off!
We decided to get on Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) and see where it would take us. After driving for a while, I surprise James by pulling over the side of the highway. Now, he knows why I had him bring his camera...
Enter Wong... James Wong.
I picked him up around 11pm and with a quick stop for supplies at Lee's Sandwiches (at the corner of Westminister and Brookhurst in the city of Westminister...), we were off!
We decided to get on Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) and see where it would take us. After driving for a while, I surprise James by pulling over the side of the highway. Now, he knows why I had him bring his camera...
Now, the last picture may need a bit of explanation. I wanted to take a picture at the mission, but since we did not have a map and neither of us knew where it was, it was a bit of a challenge. We drove around for a while hoping to see some kind of a sign. We briefly considered stopping a patrol car and asking the officer for direction... yeah, we came to the same conclusion.
So we settled for a picture in front of the bank. We wondered what the people, that viewed the bank's security camera videos, would be thinking of seeing a couple of bozos taking a picture by their sign.
Driving on around Santa Barbara, we came across a highway leading to....
Nice picture of the moon, huh?
By that time it was coming on 3:30am so we figured it was time we turned back. I got a little hungry so we made one last stop at...
So, I got to unload a bit (Thanks James!), think about a lot of things and drive around. I got home around 7:30am and I was exhausted enough to go to sleep.
I am going to miss my dog.
September 07, 2004
Technically challenged
I've been trying to "tweak" this blog the way I'd like but have not been very successful with it. Also I would like to post pictures of my "wanderings" but the camera I've been using really bites. I need to bump up the megapixels and go to a 5+ megapixel camera. Until then, I guess it'll be text for a while.
I've gone on a a couple of "drives" since the last posting and I am expecting the pictures from them soon. Until then ...
I've gone on a a couple of "drives" since the last posting and I am expecting the pictures from them soon. Until then ...
August 21, 2004
How it all started
It was an hour before midnight. An hour before my 40th birthday. I got in the car and thought I would drive around for a while. I was just wandering around, driving to nowhere in particular and before I knew it, I was northbound on the 15 freeway headed for Vegas. I really thought about turning back (for about 10 seconds). After a while I was in Barstow. I thought about turning back again, but that lasted for another 10 seconds, then another 10. By the time I crossed the stateline, I guess I figured that it was the point of no return.
I spent about 40 minutes in Ceasar's Palace (did very well, too) then drove back home. Since then, I've found myself going for a bunch of "little drives" and finding myself...well, somewhere.
Most times I might have a destination in mind and other times I just go. I wonder where I'll end up next? When I can, I'll try to bring a hostage, co-pilot or someone with the same feeling of wanderlust (get your minds out of the gutter!). If I do all I'll going to say is "get in the car", after that, well....
I spent about 40 minutes in Ceasar's Palace (did very well, too) then drove back home. Since then, I've found myself going for a bunch of "little drives" and finding myself...well, somewhere.
Most times I might have a destination in mind and other times I just go. I wonder where I'll end up next? When I can, I'll try to bring a hostage, co-pilot or someone with the same feeling of wanderlust (get your minds out of the gutter!). If I do all I'll going to say is "get in the car", after that, well....
