hey homies.  i've been meaning to write on xanga for a while to let everyone know what i've been up to but i kept getting lazy.  i did however manage to muster up some motivation to post sound clips and pictures of the vegas trip.  short and sweet.

second time this year, fifth in the past two (somebody stop me please).  it's the last big thing i did that is worthy of spankin' great times status and plus it was pao's birthday so, i had more of a reason to be there.  

at first, i didn't even think i could go because i was an unemployed broke ass:

who was i kidding though, i love LV..it's everyone's playground.  so you can only imagine how i felt when i knew i was going:

our plane ride sucked.  five hours of discomfort and impatience (at least for me)...kind of makes ya lose your motivation in the process...

so there i am stuck on the plane, feverishly contemplating about our arrival...but at the same time we were at the point of no return so, all i could do was imagine the possibilities...

(you might wanna pause the music for this sound clip)

we secured our suites at THEhotel.  50inch plasma, mmmmmm sweet.

...got free porn too, the hotel messed up with our television service...!!!

as always, girls are everywhere:

and it's guaranteed.  if you're a single guy your neck will break left and right.  makes you wonder if you'll meet anyone...

if you do meet someone, make sure you get her thinkin' this by the end of the night. 

feels good don't it?

so, i discovered it's illegal to walk around in public with open alcohol but the police in vegas have a good philosophy of not biting the hand that feeds them.  the casinos also don't seem to care if you walk out with their cocktail glasses.  and there i saw, some people chatting to a police officer getting tips on what shows to see, drinks in hand...gotta love that. 

fill in the blank:
"i got a hundred guns, a hundred clips.  i'm from ___ ____, ___ ____."

(you might wanna pause the music for this sound clip too)

and that totally leads to being lost in another dimension when laying out at the pool:

(and, you might wanna pause the music for this sound clip too)

ummm...duh?

(pause the music?)

ok...back to earth.  so we did a lot of gambling and the overall winner was jeff on the craps tables.  he rolled for at least thirty minutes and won us money right before our flight home.  "scared money don't make money."

a few winners...in all ways

it was a great trip and everyone had a blast.  i'd write more but i can't remember anything.  thanks for the good times.

(pause the music!)

riding the wave...stretch hummer anyone?

in other news, i've got a new job near penn station (power lunch buddies where are you?) and haven't been talking to anyone much.  i still go out, but usually just on the weekends.  i miss seeing my homies and hope we get together soon.

til then, life moves on...stayin' focused.

good news travels fast.  bad news travels even faster.  or maybe the news traveled slow in this particular case?  either way, i found out...and just in time for my new entry.  yes, i am quite disgusted.  happy to hear the news?  no.  sad that i heard it?  no.  surprised?...even in the least?  hm...not really i guess.  that's the great thing about teaching yourself that anything can happen in life (no matter how bad it is) and that there are ways to deal.  it's kinda like one of those "expect the worst and hope for the best" ways of thinking.  you learn to build this shell around yourself as hard as diamonds.  because at some point, there will always be a storm of negative energy that comes to break you down, unintentionally or not.  thunderstorms, sandstorms...all in different forms and of different measures.  but that's how storms are anyway.  it's natural...and they'll come after you at some point in time or another no matter what you do.  but, if you've already built up a shell to protect yourself from the negative energy, then you've already got your raincoat for that thunderstorm.  you've already found shelter for that sandstorm.  and after the storm passes...you get up,  get that dirt off your shoulder, and move on forward.

first off, the homies and i went camping for hank and ronna's birthday (happy birthday homies!) at the catskill ranch in upstate, ny.  it's been one of the most relaxing times i've had this year (big thanks to pao for picking up my non-driving ass).  we roasted marshmallows and made smores, started fires and stole (i mean borrowed) some wood from our gracious neighbors, took a hike through the mountains, did a few congo lines!, stacked some blairwitch rocks, ate, drank, laughed, played...just about everything needed to keep a smile on everyone's faces, including my own.

one of our hiking views:


the waterfall reward at the end of our long journey through the woods:


we found tarzan at the waterfall too. oh wait, that's gil.


this is a game the campers created out of sheer boredom while we were cooking some blueberries in a pot for our pie. the object is to toss a rock on the pot (making the game) and then knock it off with another (playing the game). so, here's a movie of us throwing rocks...at rocks!:

vince at the yankees game:

anyone remember this cartoon?  i used to be an addict...

the star wars kid remixed (again), but this time he's fending off laser beams.  in case you didn't already know, this kid was fuckin' around one day on video and some bored (yet somewhat skilled) guy added some effects and publicized this poor kid's video on the internet...

hello friends.  life's been good lately.  just came back from las vegas (yup...again!).  it's the third time this past year but as always every minute was worth it...and then some!  so, what's the best part about it you may ask?  the best part is that if you include my winnings at the craps & roulette tables, i spent a whopping $0 for the entire trip!

the lucky chip:  the trip of good luck began at the golden nugget where a dealer at the craps table unknowingly handed me a 9-year-old $5 chip (9 is my lucky number by the way) for one of my bets.  the pitboss came down, examined it, said he'd never seen the chip before, and that i should check ebay to see how much it's worth.  well i did, and it's worth 8 to 10 bucks (not much more).  anyway, he referred to it as a lucky chip and told me i should keep it.  now, i'm not sure if it was lucky or not but i rubbed on it every now and then and ultimately, raked in a sweet (saaweeeeeeeet!) $1700.  can you say HOLLER?!.

gotta love the way the chip glows inside and out...so money.

the ladies first tour:  pier and i saw the concert at the mandalay bay convention center.  surprisingly, there were still tickets left only a half hour before showtime.  the seats were awesome (about 20-30 rows back in the center) and the concert was well...just all out chaos!  i don't remember sitting once...all night long i sipped my crown & coke, ate some nachos, and danced at my seat.  it was definitely the best lineup of grammy-winning artists ever (5 each fyi).  pier even saw simon from american idol there along with some other famous people whos names i can't remember...but who cares i was paying attention to beyonce.

i fell dangerously in love...realized this is not a test...and heard the diary of alicia keys.

yea missy was good.  alicia keys was great.  but beyonce...beyonce certainly takes the cake.  if you've seen her shake that booty of hers in the "crazy in love" video and liked it, then you'd love her even more if you saw her shake that ass in person.  not only does she have sexy moves, but this girl can fuckin' sing her ass off.  so the next time you get a chance to see beyonce, you go and do it.

THEhotel at mandalay bay:  as some of you may know, the mandalay bay is my favorite hotel in vegas.  technically that still remains a fact, but there's a new hotel in the hood that is just a bit better and that's THEhotel at mandalay bay.  kind of a stupid ass name for a hotel, but it still deserves every ounce of respect.  one reason is because there is a flat screen tv in every room.  your suite also comes with an office, free broadband for all you laptop users, big bed(s), a bathtub & shower equipped with 3 water filter settings, two bathrooms, a living room with an enormous (yes, enormous) plasma, and everything else you'd expect from a 5-star hotel.

if a living room in your suite like this doesn't look comforting, then this hotel isn't for you.

the midnight fantasy:  as if winning money and staying at a posh hotel wasn't enough.  we decided to watch a topless revue at the luxor: midnight fantasy.  not too shabby.  there was a tap dancer was who decent and a comic relief who was fucking hilarious.  the dancers were sexy as well was the lead singer, stephanie jordan (2nd from left), who never took her clothes off (boo!)...really though, the one who caught my attention the most was the lead dancer, jennifer young (1st from left).  it's not so easy to tell how much of a 10 she is from the pic because of her red eyes and the far view, but she's got to have one of the best looking bodies i've seen in a while and that includes her legs, her breasts, and her unbelievably super hot ass (which is a whole lot more than you see in the pic).  sure i may be a little over the top about these girls' physical appearances but that's part of what a topless revue is for...to make people like me salivate at the mouth for these fine nekid women.  and, considering the theme song of this year's vegas trip is naughty girl by beyonce (currently in the music box), all i could think of during the show was how i wanted jennifer to be my naughty girl...oh well, life can't be perfect right?

eddie & i with the entertainment...delish?

the connecting flight:  made a new friend, tara, on the way home.  sorry, no pic.  i noticed her sitting behind me as soon as i boarded the plane and had a short one or two liner with her.  she seemed friendly, had a cute smile, and she was a good looking chick (italian, thai, & something else) so i convinced myself (during the flight) to talk to her when we get off the plane...and so i did.  we hung out for about thirty minutes in dallas while we were waiting for our connecting flights: she was flying off to florida.  tara seemed laid back and chill...i kinda liked that.  definitely gotta give her a ring some time soon...maybe i'll tell her to meet me in vegas this summer.

on the way home my connecting flight was empty.  i had 3 seats folded up and laid across 'em all to get my zZz's.  who said connecting flights can't be rewarding?

the car accident:  i was tired.  i was exhausted.  6 hours or less of sleep a night, a 10 hour flight with 1 stopover...couldn't i just get home and pass out like i had planned?  nope.  after my father picked me up at the airport, we got into a car accident.  everyone was ok.  the lady we hit was ok.  her car didn't have a scratch.  but us...we had a leaking radiator and the front was all fucked up.  so we waited...and waited...and waited for a tow truck to come pick us up and drop us off in the city so we could take a cab home.  is that not a pain in the fucking ass or is that not a pain in the fucking ass?  thank you.

the girl from virginia:  when i got home, i went on friendster and found out that another friend of mine who i've missed a lot has moved to new york.  she's from virginia.  she's awesome.  and she's here.  she's here!!!  time to catch up on old times and take her out to dinner.

well that's basically my weekend in a nutshell...a big nutshell.  basking in the sun & working on my tan with rick james (bitch!), ghost bar at the palms, caramel at the bellagio, yada yada yada and yea you're probably tired of hearing all this shit about my trip right?  right.  how about a few more pics then...

the newlyweds: and no, i'm not talking about nick & jessica

pier & me (well...part of me at least)

no matter how much i love vegas or try to get everyone i know to go there...there's still no place like home.  so, i just wanna say sorries to the birthday boy and girl whos parties i missed this past saturday and hope you had a great time.  wish you both the best.  happy 30th trish and happy 30th anthony!

after six years of losing touch with one of my best friend's from college, i was finally reconnected to her through alex (small world).  being reconnected with daniella was great because it brought back so many fun memories about college.  we agreed that it was like six years had never even passed and that we would definitely not lose contact with each other again.  aside from being the sexy and fun girl i always remembered, daniella always wanted to be an actress...so what better news to hear from her than how she landed a three and a half month part as pilar, the troublemaker, on "as the world turns"!  and fyi, i'm all about supporting my friends (as always) so if you get a chance, go watch it and support her as well.

now, winter is coming to an end and i would like to give mucho props & thanks to ray for planning this year's snowboarding trip to utah.  the house was more than comforting for all the 20+ people (thanks to you all as well for cleaning, driving, cooking, yada yada) who stayed in it because this will be yet another season to remember.

so where shall i start with the pictures? how about the house ray got for us...

or our breathtaking view from the hot tub and patio...

one of our living rooms...enough breathing space?

an unforgettable sunset after a long & hard day of riding...

the #1 reason: untainted snow on a fine sunny day.

the trip was more fun than words can say and i can't thank everyone enough for making it what it was...so let me end this entry with a video wei made a few weeks ago showing a few of our homies rippin' it up in park city, utah this past march.  watch it...and if you can't understand why snowboarding is my favorite thing to do in the world (okay, second favorite...sex is definitely better) then you will never understand why i love winter. let's roll tape shall we?