Banana Republic = not a good friend.

So what have I lined-up for myself this birthday month?! *EH* Nothing much. The events leading up to that 30-year-old mark seems to become more and more uneventful the closer it gets. I've still got another year before I actually get there, but still. I've done the drunken stupor birthday, I've gambled on my birthday, I've traveled to other cities on my birthday, and I've had the month-long celebrations at restaurants, clubs, lounges, and living rooms... What to do for the coming 2-9?! Eh. I digress.

What makes it worse is that every year I seem to be the birthday planner... not only for those around me (my dear familia and friends), but for MYSELF, too. This can come as both a blessing AND a curse. It's a blessing cause I am able to plan something that I really want to do WHERE I really want to have it... but at the same time, it's a damn curse to be willing to shed all this love for people on their b-days, but when it comes to your own --- you get NADA, ZILCH, ZIP. EH. One day I'm gonna be surprised by these mutha f*ckas with a big ol' bash --- complete with food, performances, a video tribute, and a party to last all night long... Yeah, after I win my first Oscar. Right. (ahaha.) Lots of people think that I have everything, or that I'm all too picky or just fucking too HIGH MAINTAINENCE to appreciate anything used to surprise me. But I'm not, I tell you! I'm not! (OK - well maybe I'm over the Dave & Busters and/or Cafe Asia thing... and I'm not about TGIFriday's as a place to celebrate the big day... but still...) Anyway.

In an effort to NOT think about the coming b-day festivities, which I'm thinking about spending at Strike Bethesda and in NYC/AC (but not sure yet, so...), I'm gonna focus on my trip to San Francisco next weekend. My Godsis, Lenore, graduates from USF and I'll be going there to take part. *WOOHOO* I'm staying at a Kimpton Boutique hotel in the city, the Galleria Park Hotel in Union Square, and I'm so looking forward to it.

Oh yeah, good-bye Jasmine... Poor girl forgot her words. Even though I hate Diana Degarmo with a passion, Jasmine will be going home tonight.

I haven't even bought anything from Banana in months. I'm so bored with it. I'm all for an edgier style, and Banana is just way too business casual for me. *eh* Personally, I don't think that I love to luxe anymore. Not right now, anyway. Until something from there screams my name out, I ain't tryin' to holla. In the meantime, I'll have to stick to Zara and/or French Connection. I've even been going into Guess? more, and I hate that store. Would they freakin' open Energie in G-town already?

So Leah called me last night, and our conversation ended after we were both perusing through the December 2003 issue of Washingtonian. That magazine has the absolute BEST reviews of the city's greatest restaurants. We're restaurant whores, as I have now noticed. Unfortunately, I haven't been on the fine-dining buzz so much this year. But last year was a different story: I hit everything from DC Coast to Buttferfield 9 to Poste Brasserie to Firefly to Neyla to Oceanaire Seafood Room to Angelo & Maxie's to McCormick & Schmick's to Roy's to this and that and yada-yada-yada. Leah wants me to get back into the swing of things... although, we're both not sure how we'll work that into our "trying to save money" lives. We shall see. If things don't workout, we may end up doin' Bennigans instead of Gordon Biersch on any given day. *eh* Next on my list: Charlie Palmer Steak, Zola, and Corduroy.

And once again... I've blogged about food.

So Saturday came, and that went well, too. Charisse and Josef's wedding was absolutely gorgeous. It was CLASSY, it was STYLISH, and it was just well-planned, and well-executed. Everything was just so bomb. I'm sorry, I've become very critical about weddings in the past few years - probably because I've gone to so many. But yeah, theirs was definitely one of the best. They spent mad-loot on it, but that's the way to go if you want it to be a day/night you'll remember for the rest of your life. I, personally, don't believe in half-assin' your wedding. There are ways of being "thrifty" in case a lavish wedding is totally unafforable. But definitely do NOT half-ass it. You'll regret it one day, I'm sure of it. Great wedding --- very reunion-ish. Instead of throwing her bouquet, Cha decided to have a "Generation Dance," where all married couples danced and got weeded out until the final couple, who had been married the most years, was standing. That night, it went to 36 years of wedded bliss... my own MOM & DAD... *sigh* Congratz, Mom and Dad! But yeah - a reunion wedding... old-school SFC, TG, etc.-etc.-etc. Simply awesome... The night ended with a much-needed "pow-wow" among the Top TG Leaders (ahahaha) at Debbie and Godfrey's house. Good conversations, good company, good fun.

Sunday was Mom's day. And while me, Mark, and Tes slept in longer than we wanted to, mom & dad were up and at 'em. They had a meeting at church, and then went to 12 o'clock Mass. I got my ass up and went to Pentagon City to return my tux. For some reason, I didn't want to pay $1.50 for parking, so I went to Macy's and looked for something to buy just so I'd get my parking validated. I ended up with DKNY towels - a bath one, and a face towel. I totally didn't need them, but they were HOT. Very comfy, chic-looking. A lil' pricey though. The bath towel was like $18.99, and the face towel was $5.99. A far-cry from the usual $1.99-priced face towels I'm used to snagging at Wal-Mart. LOL. All for a freakin' parking validation. Looking back, I think I would've rather paid the $1.50 parking fee as opposed to getting the $25-towels. I don't even want to use the towels cause they feel sooooo soft. I might just return them. Oh well. The things Wen does... *shrug* Anyway, I caught the 12 o'clock Mass near the mall, then headed home. We went to dinner with mom, and that was that. Mom loved the gift I got her from Crate & Barrel. She even loved the card I got her from Bubba. I swear. My mom and the dog are like best friends. After dinner, we stopped by the aunties' houses to drop off cards and flowers... then we ended up at Pream's place again. He had just finished DLing Mean Girls, so we caught that. FUNNY movie.

I took this "Which FRIENDS Friend Are You?" quiz, and this is what I ended up with:

Ross
The puppy-dog eyes are just the beginning. Your Ross-like, brainy, charm can be devastatingly lovable. And like a certain unlucky-in-love paleontologist, you don't even know it! You do deserve some sympathy though, because, hey, it's hard not to come off as a know-it-all when you really do know it all. But there's more to your Ross-iness than what's stored in your head.
On the whole, people can see through whatever slight insecurities you may have because they just can't conceal your ultra-sweet nature, and deep-rooted, romantic, old-fashioned values. Oh yeah, and the monkey likes you best!

Then I took a quiz on my "favorite theme song," and came up with this:

Cowboy - Kid Rock
Whoa, big fella. There's a swagger to your walk and you haven't even hit the play button yet. Whether it's in your car, on your walkman or cranked to 11 on your home system, Kid Rock's "Cowboy" gets your giddyup going. Before a big game or a big date, Kid Rock reminds you that you're a force to be reckoned with. You usually wear your attitude on your sleeve, but Cowboy makes it feel branded on your bicep. Part bullet-proof vest, part Teflon jacket, when the first few guitar licks of "Cowboy" hit your ear drums, pretty much all your troubles roll right off your back. The simple, driving beat puts a defiant smile on your face and a hitch in your step every time.

So yeah... with that in mind, I bid you a HAPPY MONDAY. Giddy-up.

ER, on the other hand, was a tear-jerker. Losing a baby like that is just insane. And the Scooby-Doo girl's baby daddy is some annoying ass shit. ER is losing it.

SO ANYWAY. I go to the tuxedo place to pick-up my tux, and I try on the jacket and it's like WAY too big for me. The measurements were right, according to what the girl had taken a few months back. I failed to tell her that I've been dieting on Special K and water for the past month, so... EHEHHEHE. MY BAD! She said she'd have a new coat in the truck today. She better.

I just read a post on justleah's Xanga about the cicadas, and I am officially GROSSED-OUT. Why do I imagine them flying around in swarms, hoarding on trees and bushes, making nasty noises as they copulate for an even bigger cicada population to re-surface in the next 17 years?!!?@! Is this cicada-thing just an East Coast issue, or are they expecting this kind of bull out West?! Hmmm. L.A. is lookin' a lot more appetizing. Besides IN-AND-OUT burger (food), SUSHI ROKU (more food), and SANTA MONICA (more-more food, shopping, and beach)... there may be no cicadas. A possible match made in heaven.

It's FRIDAY!

I need a jump. I really should make myself go to Whole Foods and get some coffee from Jamba Juice. My friend, Flo, tells me that stuff is potent...to the point of caffeine-jitters. Eh. I don't know if I want caffeine jitters. I just need to be awake. *yawn*

Anyway. Cinco de Mayo was very uneventful. Gone are the days when I'd trek over to a friend's place, take multiple shots of Jose Cuervo, down margaritas, and eat chips and salsa all night. I didn't even make my way to Lauriol Plaza, Cactus Cantina, or Rio Grande... shoot, not even Don Pablo's or Chevy's (btw, Chevy's is some GROSS stuff... *barf*). Not even a burrito from Baja Fresh, tacos from Chipotle, a tostada from California Tortilla, or even a freakin' crunchy taco from Taco gross Bell. Nope. No Cinco de Mayo-ness AT ALL. But notice I just mentioned food yet again. HARDY-HAR-HAR. Well, hope your Cinco de Mayo was arriba-ful. Mine sure wasn't. AHAHAH. OH, and Mother's Day is coming up. Don't forget your cards and gifts for dear ol' mom. I have an appointment at Crate & Barrel tomorrow. (ahahah.)

Another wedding this Saturday. Once again, I am always a groomsman, never a groom. (!) But I ain't hatin'... I'm milkin' this single life for all it's worth. All I know is that it's gonna be a krunk-fest. Ladies, Fellas - drop yo' cups... in yer mouths. I know. I'm so asinine... I love it.

But I refuse to talk about food.

Tell me WHY One Tree Hill was weird last night?! It was a sleeper, but interesting at the same time. So, the season finale is next week. Why are Jake and Lucas planning to leave Tree Hill? And what is Dan's damage?! He's trying to run both his sons' lives by coaching their basketball game... Whitey is just huge, old and annoying. Nikki is a sneaky beeyatch, but I have a feeling she's not gonna get her way. Peyton and Jake?! Hmmm... Haley and Nathan - get over the sexual frustration already, sheesh... There was just too much going on last night.

Anyway. So I was listening to the news, and they were talking about how kids these days aren't getting as much exercise, but they're eating more. Now young kids are at risk of high blood pressure. Isn't this madness? I know that I love myself some McDonald's fries and food from Fatburger, but c'mon now! If you're a parent, and you see your kid growing more sideways, then I know you better handle that mess. It's bad enough people grow up with body image issues, but dayam! If you're feeding your kids fat on a platter more often than you should, then HELLO!!? It's called "a diet."

And I said I didn't want to talk about food. But I didn't... not really, anyway.

SO --- I'm listening to the singing psychic on Hot 99.5, and she has predicted that #1) President Bush will win the election due to John Kerry always getting his "foot stuck in his mouth..." LOL. And #2) Jamine Trias will win the 3rd season of American Idol. Who knows at this point?! AHAHAAH... You can check out the singing psychic on www.singingpsychic.com - ahahaha.

Yesterday I was lazy. It was the rain, I tell you. All I did was eat & watch cable. Word to the wise: Fireside brand vanilla wafers SUCK. They are SO not Nilla Vanilla Wafers, which are awesome with milk. Fireside brand sucks! No wonder they're like about $1 at Shoppers Food Warehouse. Gross-gross-gross. Oh yeah, Johnny Depp is the greatest actor of our generation. I swear. Saw From Hell again last night. It's cool cause the story is the exact one that this tour guide had when we went on the Jack the Ripper walking tour in London last December. Caught pieces of 10.5 on NBC last night. Now how crazy would that be if the west coast did have a series of horrible earthquakes that eventually blasted Southern California from the coastline?! Scariness. And caught Half & Half on UPN, too. I don't know why, but that show had me straight trippin' for 30 minutes straight. TOO funny. Top that all off with this commercial for some cellular phone or service... it's the commercial where this mother is away on business and her husband sends her a video message via her cellie. The hubby shows her their daughter as she shows off her science project. She has some weird contraption that's connected to her little brother and the dog. After she flips the switch, the dog starts to talk, while the son starts to scratch behind his ears WITH HIS FOOT! The mom totally faints from the madness... HAHAAH. Sheer ha-ha-ness.

Ahhh. It's only Tuesday. Shoot me please.

But let me just tell you... Yesterday, when I was done with Mass, I was about to go to the gym. BUT I was having banh mi flashbacks, and I called my mom and asked her if she wanted to go to Eden Center. Of course she did. I totally used my mom's need to go to Eden just to fullfil my need for boba and banh mi. AHAHAHA. What's "the gym?!" I didn't go to that yesterday. Oh well. AHAHAH. At Eden Center, my mom bought the weirdest Asian things: 2 pig's heads, 4 pig's legs... GROSS. Then I drove her to Lotte, the Korean super grocery store. My gosh. She went buck-nutty on shrimp, fish, and patis. Supposedly, the patis is way cheaper at Lotte than it is at the local Pilipino store. EH. I grabbed a bag of shrimp chips and called it a day.

By the time I got home, I was exhausted. Being at Eden Center on a Sunday afternoon is physically draining... even if you're just standing there while your mom does all the shopping. It's like you're in the Philippines, or in some Southeast Asian public market. It was madness: people everywhere, lolos and lolas being guided here and there by their grandchildren, little kids throwing tantrums... ALL amidst people talking in Vietnamese, Tagalog, Ilocano, Chinese, etc-etc-etc. I felt like I was in Central Market forreal.

I went to two different DSWs (Discount Shoe Warehouses) this weekend and found NOTHING. NADA. ZILCH. NOT A DAMN THING. It was highly disappointing. Oh, did I tell you that I bought two more banh mi yesterday?! LOL.

Lindsay Lohan was aight on SNL. I think the funniest sketch was the one on Harry Potter... That and the sketch on the girl who's such a downer. I forget the character's name, but the lead woman in that one could NOT stop making herself laugh. Next thing you know, they were ALL laughing really hard. FUNNY.

Oh, and I had Jamba Juice Saturday night... *eheehehe*

Is ALIAS not getting too intense?! Vaughn is ready to kick some Lauren-ass!! I am SO ready to see it. He needs to call her a "bitch" then kiss Sidney in front of her sorry ass. Damn freak! She and Sark need to go on with their trife selves.

ONE THING. My dumb ass boss won't let me take Friday off for my friend's wedding prep. I'm one of the groomsmen, and the rehearsal/rehearsal lunch is scheduled for the AM, and the dumb ass boss won't let me go. He says "You're too valuable for us. We could not afford not to have you Friday..." WTF?! While I'm happy that he considers me "valuable" (in other words, "job security...") - I'm still annoyed that it's ONE day. And a Friday, no less. I was planning on taking that day off and taking care of a LOT of stuff: wedding rehearsal, rehearsal lunch, buy mom's mothers' day gift, go to the gym, get a haircut... OK, so maybe I can still do all that after work is done. I think if worse comes to worse, I'm just gonna come in as usual, then take off for like 3 hours, then come back. I can't stand the boss. He's this short Vietnamese guy who's an architect, and knows NOTHING about running a facilities/engineering department. And while he's still learning, he's blowin' everyone in the process. He's such a Nazi. He's a freakin' communist. Just cause he puts his whole life into his work doesn't mean that people who work under him should have to do the same. Spare me the cold metal stick up the ass. He really needs to get over himself. What a way to start a Monday morning. *sigh*