THE WEDDING

NO, NOT MINE!!!! I'm still very far away from taking that plunge. But here is a picture of me and my lady.

Gail and Nick finally tied the knot this weekend. There were people from all over the country and the world in attendance. It was a huge event with all the trimmings a wedding can have. Gail looked beautiful, and Nick looked like the happiest man on the planet. I looked stunning in my gray suit with a pink shirt and tie, escorting the lovely Gaby Pena. Everything was just about perfect. I guess the only part that wasn't so good was the fact that we missed the whole ceremony. Yup, after months and months of preparation our dumb asses showed up after the ceremony was over. Disappointed . . . yes, Surprised . . . no. The reception was a blast though. I sat at table 11 with my brothers, girlfriend, Kim, cousin T-bone "viper" Pinto, and my aunt and uncle (who have not blood relation to the groom or bride). I can sit here and talk about how amazing the wedding was and all that great stuff, but i think there is another story that needs to be told. Among all the dancing and celebration there was a side story that will probably go forgotten. I'm here to tell that tale . . . the tale of the three jack asses, who kept me up all night with their yelling and drinking. Let me introduce you to the cast.

My little bro (23)

My little cousin Eric (18)

Cousin Tony "T-bone, Viper, Tahoe" Pinto (19)

Needless to say it was an open bar. So they started drinking and drinking and drinking . . .


My older bro Rick was also pretty drunk, but at least he maintained a certain level of decency and poise . . .

The rest of the jack asses just kept on drinking. Two, three beers at a time and they just got drunker . . .

And Drunker . . .

Finally the reception was coming to an end, and we headed back to our hotel room for some much needed sleep. But the drunk asses had other, far more sinister plans. A ferocious game of flip cup broke out in the kitchen. Leo taunting the younger dumb asses to drink more and more. Leo dominated them in flip cup and maintained his title as greatest flip cup champion ever. So a couple 18 packs later, the night finally started to wind down. Mainly because Eric had passed out face first in stale beer, Tony transformed into the Zohan, and Leo wanted to punch everyone in the stomach. Rick did a good job of making sure everyone got to where they were supposed to be, but they didn't stay there. The next morning this is how they ended up . . .

SAYING GOODBYE

So I've spent the better part of last week saying goodbye to a lot of people. I don't know why, but for some reason i always feel awkward saying goodbye. Do you shake hands? do you hug? do you throw up a peace sign and bounce out? Why isn't a high five an "OK" form of goodbye?

A memorable goodbye was from my buddy at Circuit City. I worked there for about a year in 2004 and on my last day my coworker said "take care of yourself, but lets be honest, i'll never see you again . . . and i'm ok with that. " This is true about most of the goodbyes I've been involved in, but no one ever says it. It isn't a particularly nice thing to say, but at least for me its true. My life has been so many goodbyes and so many failed attempts to keep in touch. Usually do to my failed effort. I really liked that quote up until a few months ago. I'd say there is still a pretty good chance that I won't ever see most of the people I've said goodbye to, but i don't think I'm ok with that.

On Wednesday night i said goodbye to my good friends at my jiu jitsu academy. If anyone is planning on doing jiu jitsu or knows anyone that wants to do jiu jitsu in the LA area, i highly recommend Hollywood BJJ. Shawn Williams is probably the best instructor in the city and one of the best in the country. Even though i started my training in Denver, i still feel like HBJJ is my home academy. Here is a picture of some of the guys i trained with. Most of us started around the same time and have watched each other improve over the last 6 months.


Friday was my last day of work and it was bitter sweet. I never saw myself reviewing TSGs for the rest of my life, but at the same time I'm going to miss my co-workers. Normally I'd hate seeing the same person or people every . . . single . . . day. Just sounds like a nightmare. I'd usually prefer being on my knees in the dark with a shotgun in my mouth to seeing and doing the same thing everyday. But you know what . . . I actually preferred First American to the shotgun. CRAZY RIGHT!!!!! Something about the dynamics and chemistry of our team that always made it interesting. I'll post pictures of the First Am team once i get them.

Stay tuned for a post on my cousin's wedding.

I GOT ARMBARRED

The tournament went pretty well . . . up until i got armbarred. The guy i lost to won the whole tournament so that made me feel a little better about myself. I took some pictures but they didn't come out, so I'm gonna try and hunt some down from my teammates that were also competing that day.

I taught my cousin how to drive on Saturday morning. For those of you questioning the wisdom of allowing me to teach someone to drive, rest assured that your concerns are probably right. I think the only real qualification someone needs to teach a teenager to drive is brass balls . . . and i come fully equipped. I'm actually a pretty good driver . . . now that I'm sober.

I didn't end up meeting my girlfriends parents. That probably isn't going to happen. Is it for the best? Do i really have to meet them? I don't feel like I owe them any explanations or apologies or anything? Quiet frankly I'd just be doing it as a courtesy.

I bought a suit for my cousin's wedding. I went with fashion purple and a pink shirt. The salesman said it was the most fashionable way to go, so i bought it. JUST KIDDING. I know she reads the blog. I bought a nice respectable dark grey suit . . . with a pink shirt.

Since i didn't have any pictures from my most recent tournament, I'm gonna post some from my last tournament. Enjoy!!!

THE WEEKEND

As my departure approaches, things are getting more and more hectic. Hopefully that means that i will have plenty to blog about later. Here is a look at my weekend.

Tonight i have weigh-ins for a local jiu jitsu tournament that happens tomorrow. I will definitely write about the competition and hopefully have some pictures.

Saturday morning i am going to throw caution to wind, put on my helmet and other protective gear, strap on my cape and teach my little cousin how to drive. If i make it back alive I'll definitely write about the experience.

Saturday afternoon i have the jiu jitsu tournament, and Saturday night I will probably be looking for a suit to wear at my cousin's wedding. I'm thinking . . . tan.

Sunday i get to meet my girlfriend's parents. This will probably be my last opportunity to do that before i head back to Denver. That is going to be interesting. I can't imagine they are too happy with the things I've done. I knocked up their daughter, I refuse to marry her, I'm leaving for Denver, and I'm broke. TIME TO BRING OUT THE CHARM!!!!!! I better make sure my Mohawk is extra spiky for that.

REWIND

Here is a quick synopsis of what I've been doing for the last six months

In December I moved back to California after finishing my masters at the University of Denver. I moved to Northern California for a job that didn't work out, and ended up back in Burbank after a few weeks. I got a job reviewing title polices around mid January. Career ambitions seperated me and my girlfriend of two years. I was accepted into the law school in February. March was pretty uneventful, but I got my new girlfriend pregnant in April. I also lost my good friend Leo Davalos to a car accident around this time. May I won MVP at the Temecula Soccer tournament, because i kick ass!!!!! I also watched my little brother graduate from college. June I decided to enter the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships, and basically got my ass handed to me. I also made a trip out to New York to watch the USA v. Argentina soccer game. July I became a vegetarian and I started a blog.

DANIEL IN DENVER

I am about 2 weeks away from leaving for Denver, CO, and it has come to my attention that I am not very good at keeping contact with friends and family. This troubles me because i care about my friends and family . . . just not enough to call frequently . . . or ever for that matter. The people who have known me for a while understand that it isn't personal its just an extreme distaste for telephone conversation . . . well sometimes i just don't want to talk to people ever again, so i guess in those circumstances it is personal.

But rest assured that you are not one of them!!!! But i digress.

I understand that my inability to keep in contact with people has resulted in the loss of some good friends. So in an effort to better myself as human being, i am starting a blog. I know that blogging is kind of pretentious, but I'm going to work on one character flaw at a time.

Hopefully this blog will help keep people up to date on what is going on with me. There are a lot of exciting things going on in my life right now and i want to share them with the people that I'm close too. I'm not sure what I'm going to write about exactly, but I'll do my best to make it entertaining.

Ok, so I'm going to sign off for now, but stay tuned for more posts.