Cheesecake Is Good

Breakfast this morning consisted of mini-tacos (from Trader Joe's) and some cheesecake. It was unhealthy, but it was good, and just what I needed after a long run. (Kristin is not happy that I ate cheesecake for breakfast, but she knows that I cannot be stopped.)

Little Nicholas

This is our nephew, little Nicholas Pagano. Of course, he likes Kristin more than me, so that's lame. But otherwise, he rocks. And there is a very good chance that he'll end up kicking as much ass as his uncle.





And if you have baby pictures of your own, I'll post them as well on this awesome blog.

True Story

So I was at the jewelry store yesterday picking up Kristin's ring (I realize that I'm setting a bad precedent here), and I was dealing with senior gemologist Jw. Jw, by the way, is a dead ringer for NPH (that's Neil Patrick Harris, for you uninitiated), in more ways than one. Anyway, Jw sells me on the jewelry care plan for my ring, which has completely lost its finish. So I gave him my ring, and I've been without it since yesterday.

So today, all the ladies noticed that I was without my ring, and thinking I was still single, they couldn't help themselves. So I told them that I am in fact happily married. They all walked away very disappointed.

Red River Shootout Redux

So here are some random thoughts on the big game:

1. I rooted for Texas. I legitimately wanted them to win. Please remember that such a win was against my interests (at least as it pertains to me getting carrot cake). Also remember that Kristin would NEVER root for USC as long as a pair of jeans for her is at stake. So since I am the bigger person, doesn't that mean that I deserve some carrot cake nonetheless? (Kristin Jefferson, I'm looking in your direction. Back me up here.)

2. The second running-into-the-kicker penalty that Texas incurred was really stupid (even though it was debatable whether that was even a penalty). They had already had one earlier in the game, and it didn't hurt them at that time. But this one led to a first down and then Oklahoma's final touchdown. Mack Brown may be one of the best coaches in college football, but he and/or his special teams' coach had their heads up their asses on that play. If that hadn't happened, Texas might have won by 17, and they'd have a much stronger claim to #1 in this week's rankings.

3. Lewis Hamilton is on pole for the Japanese Grand Prix, with Filipe Massa starting fifth. This is excellent news for Lewis' chances for the World Driving Championship.

4. The play before Texas scored the go-ahead touchdown (to take the lead 38-35), Texas converted on third and long from about the 40, all the way down to the one foot line. But anyway, on that 40-yard play, one of the Texas players made one of the greatest blocks I've ever seen on #11 of Oklahoma. That player is now my favorite Longhorn. Who was that who made the block?

5. We went to The Parlor to watch the game. At the bar, there were a couple of OU fans. One in particular was quite annoying. Whenever OU did anything good, he was quite loud, and he single-handedly turned the rest of the bar against OU. Also, I just happened to go to the bathroom right after him, and I noticed that he urinated all over the toilet seat, and he didn't even wash his hands. So I don't know what kind of people most OU fans are, but this guy was certainly a bad apple.

That's it for now. UT fans, you can enjoy your win. Good luck the rest of the season. I am gracious now, but if you make it to Miami, and USC is there as well, I cannot promise to be so nice.

Red River Shootout

So this Saturday, at 9am (pacific), the Longhorns play the Sooners ("cheaters," as Randy might say). This game is HUGE! If Texas wins, that puts Texas on the road to the national championship, and my carrot cake is in danger. If Texas loses, Kristin will not be in a good for the rest of the weekend. So as you can see, this is a lose-lose situation for me.

Does anyone have any thoughts here? What are my options? Do I root for a Texas win, a Texas blowout, a Sooner win, or a Sooner blowout? And if so, why?

Also of note, the Grand Prix of Japan, for all you Eurotrash F1 racing fans (like me).

Road Rage

So I was carpooling with my friend Matt today. Traffic on the 10 was so bad that Matt made the snap decision to get off the freeway and take Venice all the way down. This requires a short trek through a not-so-great part of town.

Anyway, as we're leisurely heading down Venice, some guy tries to make a left-hand turn right in front of us, nearly causing an accident. So Matt hits his horn (totally justified), and the guy holds up before getting into our lane, and then gets in behind us. At the next light, we're sitting there, and he pulls up alongside us (two lanes over), and he's got his head out the window, yelling at us. He was kind of a scary looking guy, and I made the mistake of looking over at him and making eye contact, so that probably didn't help the situation.

As the light goes green, the guy takes off and pulls into the lane directly next to us. So Matt goes slow, trying to avoid confrontation. Matt eventually pulls in behind the guy, actually two cars behind. So the guy makes a quick right and stops, waiting for us to pass him. As we do, he's still got his head out the window, still yelling at us. And that was the last we saw of him.

But Matt seemed a little perturbed by the whole situation, maybe even frightened. I, of course, was not too much concerned about this. After all, I'm a veteran of road-rage incidents, having been punched in the face by a guy in a Ford Taurus in Santa Clara about two years ago.

The lesson: I am one tough dude, and Matt is not.

Neil Diamond

Last night, we went to see Neil Diamond in concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We went with my parents. Also present were my cousin and my aunt and uncle. So clearly, Neil Diamond runs deep in my family.

Anyway, let me just say this: Neil Diamond was freakin' awesome last night. If you have never seen him in concert, you should go the next time he's in town. And if you don't like his music, stop reading this blog.